1.A Report on the Existence of Deposits of Copper in the Geological Basin of Lake Superior.By Dr.D. Houghton.Fredonia, N. Y., November 14, 1831.Sir: In fulfilment of the duties assigned to me in the late expedition into the Indian country, under the direction of H. R. Schoolcraft, Esq., Indian Agent, I would beg leave to transmit to you the following observations relative to the existence of copper in the country bordering on the southern shore of Lake Superior.It is without doubt true that this subject has long been viewed with an interest far beyond its actual merit. Each mass of native copper which this country has produced, however insulated, or however it may have been separated from its original position, appears to have been considered a sure indication of the existenceof that metal in beds; and hence we occasionally see, upon maps of that section of our country, particular portions marked as containing "copper mines," where no copper now exists. But, while it is certain that a combination of circumstances has served to mislead the public mind with regard to the geological situation and existing quantity of that metal, it is no less certain that a greater quantity of insulated native copper has been discovered upon the borders of Lake Superior, than in any other equal portion of North America.Among the masses of native copper which have engaged the attention of travellers in this section of country, one, which from its great size was early noticed, is situated on the Ontonagon River, a stream which empties its waters into the southern part of Lake Superior, 331 miles above the Falls of the Ste. Marie. The Ontonagon River is, with some difficulty, navigable by batteaux 36 miles, at which place, by the union of two smaller streams—one from an easterly and the other from a westerly direction—the main stream is formed. The mass of copper is situated on the western fork, at a distance of six or eight miles from the junction.The face of the country through the upper half of the distance from Lake Superior is uneven, and the irregularity is given it by hills of marly clay, which occasionally rise quite abruptly to the height of one or two hundred feet. No rock was observedin situ, except in one place, where, for a distance, the red sandstone was observed, forming the bed of the river.The mass of copper lies, partly covered by water, directly at the foot of a clay hill, from which, together with numerous boulders of the primitive rocks, it has undoubtedly been washed by the action of the water of the river. Although it is completely insulated, there is much to interest in its examination. Its largest surface measures three and a half by four feet, and this, which is of malleable copper, is kept bright by the action of the water, and has the usual appearance of that metal when worn. To one surface is attached a small quantity of rock, singularly bound together by threads of copper, which pass through it in all directions. This rock, although many of its distinctive characters are lost, is evidently a dark colored serpentine, with small interspersed masses of milky quartz.The mass of copper is so situated as to afford but little that would enable us to judge of its original geological position. In examining the eastern fork of the river, I discovered small water-worn masses of trap-rock, in which were specks of imbedded carbonate of copper and copper black; and with them were occasionally associated minute specks of serpentine, in some respects resembling that which is attached to the large mass of copper; and facts would lead us to infer that the trap formation which appears on Lake Superior east of the Ontonagon River, crosses this section of country at or near the source of that river, and at length forms one of the spurs of the Porcupine Mountains.Several smaller masses of insulated native copper have been discovered on the borders of Lake Superior, but that upon Ontonagon River is the only one which is now known to remain.At as early a period as before the American Revolution, an English mining company directed their operations to the country bordering on Lake Superior, and Ontonagon River was one point to which their attention was immediately directed. Traces of a shaft, sunk in the clay hill, near a mass of copper, are still visible—a memento of ignorance and folly.Operations were also commenced on the southern shore of Lake Superior, near the mouth of a small stream, which, from that circumstance, is called Miners' River. Parts of the names of the miners, carved upon the sandstone rock at the mouth of the river, are still visible. What circumstance led to the selection of this spot does not now appear. No mineral traces are at this day perceptible, except occasional discolorations of the sandstone rock by what is apparently a mixture of the carbonates of iron and copper; and this is only to be observed where water, holding in solution an extremely minute portion of these salts, has trickled slowly over those rocks.It does not, in fact, appear that the red sandstone, which constitutes the principal rock formation of the southern shore of Lake Superior, is in any instance metalliferous in any considerable degree. If this be true, it would require but little reflection to convince one of the inexpediency of conducting mining operations at either of the points selected for that purpose; and it is beyond a doubt true, that the company did not receive the least inducement to continue their labors.In addition to these masses of native copper, an ore of that metal has long been known to the lake traders as the green rock, in which the characteristic substances are the green and blue carbonates of copper, accompanied by copper black. It is situated upon Keweena Point, 280 miles above the falls of the Ste. Marie. The ore is embraced by what is apparently a recently formed crag; and, although it is of a kind and so situated as to make an imposing appearance, there is little certainty of its existence in large quantities in this formation. The ore forms a thin covering to the pebbles of which the body of the rock is composed, and is rarely observed in masses separate from it. The crag is composed of angular fragments of trap-rock, and the formation is occasionally traversed by broad and continuous belts of calc. spar, here and there tinged with copper. Although the ore was not observed in any considerable quantity, except at one point, it apparently exists in minute specks through a greater part of the crag formation, which extends several miles, forming the shore of the lake.This examination of the crag threw new interest upon the trap formation, which had been first observed to take the place of the sandstone at the bottom of a deep bay, called Montreal Bay, on the easterly side of Keweena Point. The trap-rock continues for a few miles, when the crag before noticed appears to lie directly upon it, and to form the extremity of the point; the crag, in turn, disappears, and the trap-rock is continued for a distance of six or eight miles upon the westerly side of the point, when the sandstone again reappears.The trap-rock is of a compact granular texture, occasionally running into the amygdaloid and toadstone varieties, and is rich in imbedded minerals, such as amethystine quartz, smoky quartz, carnelian, chalcedony, agate, &c., together with several of the ores of copper. Traces of copper ore in the trap-rock were first noticed on the easterly side of Keweena Point, and near the commencement of the trap formation. This ore, which is an impure copper black, was observed in a vein of variable thickness, but not in any part exceeding two and a half inches. It is sufficiently compact and hard to receive a firm polish, but it is rather disposed to break into small irregular masses. A specimen furnished, upon analysis, 47.5 per cent. of pure copper.On the western side of Keweena Point, the same ore appears under different circumstances, being disseminated through the body of the trap-rock, in grains varying in size from a pin's head to a pea. Although many of these grains are wholly copper black, they are occasionally only depositions of the mineral upon specks of carnelian, chalcedony, or agate, or are more frequently composed, in part, of what is apparently an imperfect steatite. The ore is so connected with, and so much resembles in color the rock, of which it may be said to be a constituent part, that they might easily, during a hasty examination, be confounded. A random specimen of the rock furnished, upon analysis, 3.2 per cent. of pure copper. The rock continues combined with that mineral for nearly the space of three miles. Extremely thin veins of copper black were observed to traverse this same rock; and in enlargements of these were discovered several masses of amorphous native copper. The latter mineral appeared in two forms—the one consisting of compact and malleable masses, varying from four to ten ounces each; and the other, of specks and fasciculi of pure copper, binding together confused masses of copper green, and partially disintegrated trap-rock; the latter was of several pounds' weight. Each variety was closely embraced by the rock, although the action of the water upon the rock had occasionally exposed to view points of the metal. In addition to the accompanying copper green, which was in a disintegrated state, small specks of the oxide of copper were associated in most of the native specimens.Circumstances would not permit an examination of any portion of the trap formation, except that bordering directly upon the lake. But facts would lead us to infer that that formation extends from one side of Keweena Point to the other, and that a range of thickly wooded hills, which traverses the point, is based upon, if not formed of that rock. An Indian information, which, particularly upon such a subject, must be adopted with caution, would sanction the opinion that the prominent constituents are the same wherever the rock is observed.After having duly considered the facts which are presented, I would not hesitate to offer, as an opinion, that the trap-rock formation was the original source of the masses of copper which have been observed in the country bordering on Lake Superior; andthat, at the present day, examinations for the ores of copper could not be made in that country with hopes of success, except in the trap-rock itself; which rock is not certainly known to exist upon any place upon Lake Superior, other than Keweena Point.If this opinion be a correct one, the cause of, failure of the mining company in this region is rendered plain. Having considered each insulated mass of pure metal as a true indication of the existence of a bed in the vicinity, operations were directed to wrong points; when, having failed to realize their anticipations, the project was abandoned without further actual investigation. We would be induced to infer that no attempts were made to learn the original source of the metal which was discovered, and thus, while the attention was drawn to insulated masses, the ores, ordinary in appearance, but more importantin sitû, were neglected; and perhaps, from the close analogy in appearance to the rock with which they were associated, no distinction was observed.What quantity of ore the trap-rock of Keweena Point may be capable of producing, can only be determined by minute and laborious examination. The indications which were presented by a hasty investigation are here embodied, and with deference submitted to your consideration.I have the honor to be,Sir, your obedient, servant,DOUGLASS HOUGHTON.Hon.Lewis Cass,Secretary of War.2.Remarks on the Occurrence of Native Silver and Ores of Silver in the Stratification of the Basins of Lakes Huron and Superior.ByHenry R. Schoolcraft.Traces of this metal which have been found in the drift and boulder stratum of both Lakes Huron and Superior, indicate the existence of the metal in place. During my residence at St. Mary's, two specimens of its occurrence were brought to my notice. The first of these consisted of points of native silver in a moderately large mass of native copper, found in 1823, near the entrance of theNamaor Sturgeon River into Keweena Lake, of the large peninsula of that name, in Lake Superior. Like the majority ofsuch masses of the region, it had no adhering portion of rock or vein stone, from which a judgment might be formed of its original position.I had, the prior year, set up my mineralogical cabinet in my office, and stated to the Indians, who roved over large tracts, my solicitude to collect specimens of the mineral productions of the country of every description, and, indeed, of its zoology, always acknowledging their comity, in bringing me specimens in any department of natural history, by some small present; and I found this to be a means of extending my inquiries.Subsequently, I received a boulder specimen from the shores of Lake Huron, containing veins of native silver. Part of the metal had been detached. I submitted these specimens to the Lyceum of Natural History at New York, in 1825. The following remarks are taken from their annals.Mineralogical and Chemical Characters.—By examining this mineral, it will be perceived to possess the color, lustre, malleability, and other obvious characters of native silver. It is so soft as to be easily cut by the knife; and in a state of purity which permits it to spread under the hammer. These characters serve to distinguish it from antimonial silver, which is notmalleable; from native antimony which tarnishes on exposure, &c. The metal occurs in thin, massive veins in the rock. These veins sometimes intersect, but never cross each other. It is also disseminated in small particles through the stone, or spread in flattened masses over its surface. Some of these masses were detached by the discoverer, but have been preserved, and are presented to the Lyceum with the more solid and undisturbed portions.By submitting a small portion of the metal to the action of nitric acid, I obtained an imperfect solution. On repeating the experiment, and adding a little sulphuric acid, the action was more brisk, and a clear and apparently perfect solution effected. By standing, however, a pulpy, white precipitate appeared at the bottom of the glass. This was collected and submitted to the action of the blowpipe, on a basis of charcoal. The result gave a number of minute, metallic globules, possessing greater lustre, malleability, and ductility, than the original mass. I repeated the latter experiment, adding to the nitro-sulphuric solution muriate of soda. A more perfect precipitation of the white powder was effected; but the results with the blowpipe remained the same.Geognostic Position.—It is a rolled mass. An opinion of the specific character of the rock may be dubious, from the smallness of the specimen. It appears to have been detached from a stratum of gneiss, and is essentially composed of quartz. The blackish color of some parts of this latter mineral would, at first glance, lead us to attribute this color to the presence of hornblende; but, on closer examination, it will be perceived to be owing to a dark-colored steatite, which, in certain parts of the rock, is well developed, soft, and easily cut. A little calcspar is intermingled with the steatite.Locality.—I am indebted to the politeness of Lieut. Lewis S. Johnston, of the British Indian Department, at Malden (U. C.), for the opportunity of adding this specimen to the mineralogical cabinet of the Lyceum. This gentleman, as he informed me, obtained it from an Indian, who picked it up on the southeastern shores of Lake Huron, near Point aux Barques, in Michigan Territory. That part of Lake Huron was cursorily examined by me, in the year 1820, in the course of the expedition conducted by Gov. Cass, through the upper lakes, &c. I consider it remarkable, even in a region abounding in rolled rocks, for the great number and variety of granite, gneiss, hornblende, and trap boulders, scattered along the shores of the lake. The water here is generally shallow and dangerous to approach in vessels; these boulder stones sometimes extending and presenting themselves above water for a mile or more from land. But we could not satisfy ourselves by an examination necessarily partial, that either of the primitive species mentioned, existed there in any other condition than as rolled masses, or displacements of rock strata, contiguous, perhaps, but not observed. Dr. Bigsby has informed me, that he observed the gneissin sitû, on the northwestern shores of this lake. The nearest rock in place, and that which in fact constitutes the abraded and caverned promontory of Point aux Barques, is gray sandstone.The occurrence of this metal in the copper-bearing and other metalliferous rocks of this region, may be confidently affirmed.[273]3.A General Summary of the Localities of Minerals observed in the Northwest in 1831 and 1832.ByHenry R. Schoolcraft.CLASS I.Bodies not metallic, containing an acid.1.Calcareous spar.Keweena Point, Lake Superior. Imbedded in small globular masses, in the trap-rock; also forming veins in the same formation. Some of the masses break into rhombic forms, and possess a certain but not perfect degree of transparency; others are opaque, or discolored by the green carbonate of copper. Also in the trap-rock between Fond du Lac and Old Grand Portage, Lake Superior, in perfect, transparent rhombs, exhibiting the property of double refraction. Also, at the lead mines, in Iowa County, in the marly clay formation, often exhibiting imperfect prisms, variously truncated.2.Calcareous tufa.Mouth of the River Brulé, of Lake Superior. In small, friable, broken masses, in the diluvial soil. Also, in the gorge below the Falls of St. Anthony. In detached, vesicular masses, amidst debris.3.Compact carbonate of lime.In the calcareous cliffs of horizontal formation, commencing at the Falls of St. Anthony. Carboniferous.4.Septaria.In the reddish clay soil, between Montreal River and Lapointe, Lake Superior.5.Gypsum.In the sandstone rock at the Point of Grand Sable West, Lake Superior. In orbicular masses, firmly imbedded. Not abundant. Granular, also imperfectly foliated.6.Carbonate of magnesia.Serpentine rock, at Presque Isle, Lake Superior. Compact.7.Hydrate of magnesia?With the preceding.CLASS II.Earthy compounds, amorphous or crystalline.8.Common quartz.Huron Islands, Lake Superior; also the adjoining coast. In very large veins or beds. White, opaque.9.Granular quartz.Falls of Peckagama, Upper Mississippi.In sitû.10.Smoky quartz.In the trap-rock, Keweena Point, Lake Superior, crystallized. In connection with amethystine quartz.11.Amethyst.With the preceding. Also, at the Pic Bay, and at Gargontwa, north shore of Lake Superior, in the trap-rock, in perfect crystals, of various intensity of color.12.Chalcedony.Keweena Point, Lake Superior. In globular or orbicular masses, in amygdaloid rock. Often, in detached masses along the shores.13.Carnelian.With the preceding.14.Hornstone.In detached masses, very hard, on the shores of Lake Superior. Also, at Dodgeville, Iowa County, Mich. Ter., in fragments or nodular masses in the clay soil.15.Jasper.In the preceding locality. Common and striped, exceedingly difficult of being acted on by the wheel. Not observedin sitû.16.Agate.Imbedded in the trap-rocks of Lake Superior, and also detached, forming a constituent of its detritus. Variously colored. Often made up of alternate layers of chalcedony, carnelian, and cacholong. Sometimes zoned, or in fortification points. Specimens not taken from the rock are not capable of being scratched by quartz or flint, and are incapable of being acted on by the file; consequently,harderthan any of the described species.17.Cyanite.Specimens of this mineral, in flat, six-sided prisms, imbedded in a dark primitive rock, were brought out from Lac du Flambeau outlet, where the rock is described as existingin sitû. The locality has not been visited, but there are facts brought to light, within the last two or three years, to justify the extension of the primitive to that section of country.18.Pitchstone.A detached mass of this mineral, very black and lava-like, was picked up in the region of Lake Superior, where the volcanic mineral, trachyte, is common among the rolled masses. Neither of these substances have been observedin sitû.19.Mica.Huron Islands, Lake Superior. In granite.20.Schorl.Common. Outlet of Lac du Flambeau. Also, in a detached mass of primitive rock at Green Bay.21.Feldspar.Porcupine mountains, Lake Superior.22.Basalt.Amorphous. Granite Point, Lake Superior.23.Stilbite.Amygdaloid rock, Keweena Point, Lake Superior.24.Zeolite.Mealy. With the preceding.25.Zeolite.Radiated. Lake Superior. This mineral consists of fibres, so delicate and firmly united as to appear almost compact, radiating from a centre. Some of the masses produced by this radiation measure 2.5 inches in diameter. They are of a uniform, pale, yellowish red. This mineral has not been tracedin sitû, being found in detached masses of rock, and sometimes as water-worn portions of radii. Its true position would seem to be the trap-rock.26.Asbestus.Presque Isle, Lake Superior. In the serpentine formation.27.Hornblende.Very abundant as a constituent of the primitive rocks on the Upper Mississippi, and in the basin of Lake Superior. Often in distinct crystals.28.Diallage, green.Lake Superior. In detached masses, connected with primitive boulders.Harderthan the species.29.Serpentine, common.Presque Isle, Lake Superior.30.Serpentine, precious.With the preceding. Color, a light pistachio green, and takes a fine polish. Exists in veins in the common variety.31.Pseudomorphous serpentine.With the preceding. This beautiful green mineral constitutes a portion of the veins of the precious serpentine. Its crystalline impressions are very distinct.32.Argillite.River St. Louis, northwest of Lake Superior. Nearly vertical in its position.CLASS III.Combustibles.33.Peat.Marine sand formation composing the shore of Lake Superior, between White-fish Point and Grand Marais. Also, on the island of Michilimackinac.CLASS IV.Ores and Metals.34.Native copper.West side of Keweena Point, Lake Superior. Imbedded in a vein with carbonate of copper, and copper black, in the trap-rock.35.Copper black.With the preceding.36.Carbonate of copper, green.With the preceding.These two minerals (35 and 36) characterize the trap-rock of the peninsula of Keweena, Lake Superior, from Montreal Bay, extending to and around its extremity, west, to Sand-hill Bay.The entire area may be estimated to comprise a rocky, serrated coast of about seventy-five miles in length, and not to exceed seven or eight miles in width. The principal veins are at a point called Roche Verd, and along the coast which we refer to as the Black Rocks. At the latter, native copper is one of the constituents of the vein.Green and blue carbonate of copper was also observed in limited quantity, in small rounded masses, at one of the lead diggings near Mineral Point, Iowa County.37.Chromate of iron.Presque Isle, Lake Superior.38.Sulphuret of lead.Lead mines of Iowa County, Michigan Territory.39.Earthy carbonate of lead.Brigham's mine, Iowa County, Mich. Ter. Also, in small masses, of a yellowish white, dirty color, and great comparative weight, at several of the lead mines (diggings) in the more westerly and southern parts of the county.4.Geological Outline of the Taquimenon Valley of Lake Superior.ByHenry R. Schoolcraft.The River Takquimenon originates on a plateau between the northern shores of Lake Michigan and the southeastern coast of Lake Superior. At a central point on this plateau, there lies a lake of moderate size, which, in the translated Indian phrase, is called Heartsblood Lake. A little to the west of this lake, and, perhaps, connected with it, originates the head stream of the North Manistic River of Lake Michigan, running southwest. Towards the northeast the Takwymenon takes its way, winding through level grassy plains, till it reaches the rim of the geological basin that circumscribes Lake Superior. The height of this point is conjectural. It is probably one hundred and fifty feet above the level of the lake.To comprehend the geography of the region, it is necessary to advert to the fact that the sandstone formation, which appears in the picturesque form of the Pictured Rocks, is last seen in its range eastward at La Pointe des Grande Sable, where its surface is of a compact structure and dull red color. Between thislocality and the bold cape of Point Iroquois, at the head of St. Mary's River, there intervenes an extensive formation of gravel, boulders, and sand. The length of this line of coast is about ninety miles, its breadth to the basinic rim, perhaps thirty. It is covered with small pines, spruce, birch, and poplar, with frequent sphagnous tracts and ponds; the lake shore, where the sands are continually accumulated, being higher than the interior portions. It has, from early days, been a favorite resort for beaver, from which it is called by the natives, Namikong, meaning, excellent place of beavers.This tract of the Namikong is primarily due to diluvial formations, with a comparatively recent hem of lake action, consisting of sands and pebbles pushed up by the waves of Lake Superior. Through this tract, from the plateaux, four small rivers make their way to the lake. They are, in their order, from west to east, the river of Grand Mauvais, the Twin River, the Shelldrake, and the Tacquimenon, which enters the lake fifteen miles from Point Iroquois.Of these streams, the Tacquimenon carries the largest body of water into the lake. It is already a stream of seventy feet wide, and three feet deep, when it reaches the rim of sandstone rocks referred to. Over these, it is plunged, at a single perpendicular leap, forty feet, falling like a curtain. It drops into a vast concavity in the sand rock, where the water is of unfathomable depth, black and still. I had reached this point in a canoe manned by Indians. They had urged their way up a very rapid brawling bed for six miles above the lower falls, and when we reached this still, deep, and dark basin, they said that care was required to keep from under the suction of the falling sheet.The lower falls of the stream are probably twelve or fourteen feet. They are broken into several fan-shaped cascades, and present a picturesque appearance—an idea which has also impressed the Chippewas, for they refer to it as a favorite locality of fairies. Hence their name for it. Immediately below these falls the river winds about, making a peninsula, which is covered with deciduous trees and a fertile soil. The amount of water power at this point is such as must command attention whenever the country justifies settlement.5.Suggestions respecting the Geological Epoch of the Deposit of Sandstone Rock at St. Mary's Falls.ByHenry R. Schoolcraft.Lake Superior presents to the eye the singular spectacle of a body of pure translucent water, five hundred miles in length from east to west, and one hundred and eighty or two hundred miles wide. This vast mass of water is thought to have an extreme depth—I know not on what principles—of nine hundred feet deep. It lies at an elevation of six hundred feet above the Atlantic ocean, at high water.From this depth there has been protruded from its bottom two species of formations, which were thus elevated by volcanic forces, namely, the trap and the granitical series. Cones and high mural cliffs, with large rents, make this basis one of great inequalities. To fill up these, the sedimentary rocks, by a natural law of gravitation, let fall the dissolved and suspended matter which constitutes the horizontal strata, such as the neutral and deep-colored sandstones. This process also gives origin to grauwackes and the grauwacke slates and the argillites. But these horizontal deposits do not all retain their horizontality. They were tilted up by other volcanic forces, after the deposition and hardening of the sandstones, as we see them at the north foot of the Porcupine Mountains and along the rugged valley of the St. Louis River.This secondary upheaval or series of upheavals, is conceived to furnish proof of epochs. Strata of the same mineral constitution and system of formation which are upheaved, are clearly of posterior age to the horizontal. Some of these strata of the secondary, epoch have only had their horizontality disturbed, while others are quite vertical. Yet, the disturbances of an epoch are only relative, and it remains true that any disturbance, however slight, in the fundamental series, throws the epoch beyond the newer fletz and tertiary formations.Some theory of this kind is necessary in scrutinizing the position of the St. Mary's sandstone, which is manifestly of the palaozoic era. It has felt the impulse of disturbance, although it appears to be little. Evidences of this are most perceptible in the British Channel, on the north side of the Island of St. Joseph.This channel, and, indeed, the entire course of the river up to Lake Superior, is the line of juxtaposition between the rocks of elder and the secondary epoch. At the extreme foot of Sugar Island occurs the remains of a stratum of the sandstone era, consisting of white quartz filled with coarse red jasper pebbles. I observed remains of this stratum of remarkable rock, which have been broken off and swept away in the basin of Lake Huron, deposited in boulder masses on its southern shores.The sandstone of St. Mary's is, structurally, brittle, fissile, and worthless, as a building material. Its substructure is complicated and made up of thin layers exactly deposited, as if from watery suspension, but deposited without disturbance. These sub-layers of construction, are sometimes cut off by parallel lines at right angles, or by new series of layers diagonally formed, or in echelon.3. INDIAN TRIBES.VIII.CONDITION AND DISPOSITION.1.Official Report of an Expedition through Upper Michigan and Northern Wisconsin in 1831.Sault Ste. Marie, Sept. 21, 1831.Sir: In compliance with instructions to endeavor to terminate the hostilities between the Chippewas and Sioux, I proceeded into the Chippewa country with thirteen men in two canoes, having the necessary provisions and presents for the Indians, an interpreter, a physician to attend the sick, and a person in charge of the provisions and other public property. The commanding officer of Fort Brady furnished me with an escort of ten soldiers, under the command of a lieutenant; and I took with me a few Chippewas, in a canoe provided with oars, to convey a part of the provisions. A flag was procured for each canoe. I joined the expedition at the head of the portage, at this place, on the 25th of June; and, after visiting the Chippewa villages in the belt of country between Lake Superior and the Mississippi, in latitudes 44° to 46°, returned on the 4th of September, having been absentseventy-two days, and travelled a line of country estimated to be two thousand three hundred and eight miles. I have now the honor to report to you the route pursued, the means employed to accomplish the object, and such further measures as appear to me to be necessary to give effect to what has been done, and to insure a lasting peace between the two tribes.Reasons existed for not extending the visit to the Chippewa bands on the extreme Upper Mississippi, on Red Lake, and Red River, and the River De Corbeau. After entering Lake Superior, and traversing its southern shores to Point Chegoimegon, and the adjacent cluster of islands, I ascended the Mauvaise River to a portage of 8-¾ miles into the Kaginogumac, or Long Water Lake. This lake is about eight miles long, and of very irregular width. Thence, by a portage of 280 yards, into Turtle Lake; thence, by a portage of 1,075 yards, into Clary's Lake, so called; thence, by a portage of 425 yards, into Lake Polyganum; and thence, by a portage of 1,050 yards, into the Namakagon River, a branch of the River St. Croix of the Upper Mississippi. The distance from Lake Superior to this spot is, by estimation, 124 miles.We descended the Namakagon to the Pukwaewa, a rice lake, and a Chippewa village of eight permanent lodges, containing a population of 53 persons, under a local chief called Odabossa. We found here gardens of corn, potatoes, and pumpkins, in a very neat state of cultivation. The low state of the water, and the consequent difficulty of the navigation, induced me to leave the provisions and stores at this place, in charge of Mr. Woolsey, with directions to proceed (with part of the men, and the aid of the Indians) toLac Courtorielle, or Ottowa Lake, and there await my arrival. I then descended the Namakagon in a light canoe, to its discharge into the St. Croix, and down the latter to Yellow River, the site of a trading-post and an Indian village, where I had, by runners, appointed a council. In this trip I was accompanied by Mr. Johnson, sub-agent, acting as interpreter, and by Dr. Houghton, adjunct professor of the Rensselaer school. We reached Yellow River on the 1st of August, and found the Indians assembled. After terminating the business of the council (of which I shall presently mention the results), I reascended the St. Croix and the Namakagon, to the portage which intervenes between thelatter and Lac Courtorielle. The first of the series of carrying-places is about three miles in length, and terminates at the Lake of the Isles (Lac des Isles); after crossing which, a portage of 750 yards leads toLac du Gres. This lake has a navigable outlet into Ottowa Lake, where I rejoined the advanced party (including Lieutenant Clary's detachment) on the 5th of August.Ottowa Lake is a considerable expanse of water, being about twelve miles long, with irregular but elevated shores. A populous Chippewa village and a trading-post are located at its outlet, and a numerous Indian population subsists in the vicinity. It is situated in a district of country which abounds in rice lakes, has a proportion of prairie or burnt land, caused by the ravages of fire, and, in addition to the small fur-bearing animals, has several of the deer species. It occupies, geographically, a central situation, being intermediate, and commanding the communications between the St. Croix and Chippewa Rivers, and between Lake Superior and the Upper Mississippi. It is on the great slope of land descending towards the latter, enjoys a climate of comparative mildness, and yields, with few and short intervals of extreme want, the means of subsistence to a population which is still essentially erratic. These remarks apply, with some modifications, to the entire range of country (within the latitudes mentioned) situated west and south of the high lands circumscribing the waters of Lake Superior. The outlet of this Lake (Ottowa) is a fork of Chippewa River, called Ottowa River.I had intended to proceed from this lake, either by following down the Ottowa branch to its junction with the main Chippewa, and then ascending the latter into Lac du Flambeau, or by descending the Ottowa branch only to its junction with the northwest fork, called the Ochasowa River; and, ascending the latter to a portage of sixtypauses, into the Chippewa River. By the latter route time and distance would have been saved, and I should, in either way, have been enabled to proceed from Lac du Flambeau to Green Bay by an easy communication into the Upper Ouisconsin, and from the latter into the Menomonie River, or by Plover Portage into Wolf River. This was the route I had designed to go on quitting Lake Superior; but, on consulting my Indian maps, and obtaining at Ottowa Lake the best and most recent information of the distance and the actual state of thewater, I found neither of the foregoing routes practicable, without extending my time so far as to exhaust my supplies. I was finally determined to relinquish the Lac du Flambeau route, by learning that the Indians of that place had dispersed, and by knowing that a considerable delay would be caused by reassembling them.The homeward route by the Mississippi was now the most eligible, particularly as it would carry me through a portion of country occupied by the Chippewas, in a state of hostility with the Sioux, and across the disputed line at the mill. Two routes, to arrive at the Mississippi, were before me—either to follow down the outlet of Ottowa Lake to its junction with the Chippewa, and descend the latter to its mouth, or to quit the Ottowa Lake branch at an intermediate point, and, after ascending a small and very serpentine tributary, to cross a portage of 6,000 yards into Lake Chetac. I pursued the latter route.Lake Chetac is a sheet of water about six miles in length, and it has several islands, on one of which is a small Chippewa village and a trading-post. This lake is the main source of Red Cedar River (called sometimes theFolle Avoine), a branch of the Chippewa River. It receives a brook at its head from the direction of the portage, which admits empty canoes to be conveyed down it twopauses, but is then obstructed with logs. It is connected by a shallow outlet with Weegwos Lake, a small expanse which we crossed with paddles in twenty-five minutes. The passage from the latter is so shallow that a portage of 1,295 yards is made into Balsam of Fir orSapinLake. The baggage is carried this distance, but the canoes are brought through the stream. Sapin Lake is also small; we were thirty minutes in crossing it. Below this point, the river again expands into a beautiful sheet of water, called Red Cedar Lake, which we were an hour in passing; and afterward intoBois François, or Rice Lake. At the latter place, at the distance of perhaps sixty miles from its head, I found the last fixed village of Chippewas on this stream, although the hunting camps, and other signs of temporary occupation, were more numerous below than on any other part of the stream. This may be attributed to the abundance of the Virginia deer in that vicinity, many of which we saw, and of the elk and moose, whose tracks were fresh and numerous in the sands of the shore. Wild rice is found in all the lakes. Game, of every species commonto the latitude, is plentiful. The prairie country extends itself into the vicinity of Rice Lake; and for more than a day's march before reaching the mouth of the river, the whole face of the country puts on a sylvan character, as beautiful to the eye as it is fertile in soil, and spontaneously productive of the means of subsistence. A country more valuable to a population having the habits of our northwestern Indians could hardly be conceived of; and it is therefore cause of less surprise that its possession should have been so long an object of contention between the Chippewas and Sioux.About sixty miles below Rice Lake commences a series of rapids, which extend, with short intervals, 24 miles. The remainder of the distance, to the junction of this stream with the Chippewa, consists of deep and strong water. The junction itself is characterized by commanding and elevated grounds, and a noble expanse of waters. And the Chippewa River, from this spot to its entrance into the Mississippi, has a depth and volume, and a prominence of scenery, which mark it to be inferior to none, and superior to most of the larger tributaries of the Upper Mississippi. Before its junction, it is separated into several mouths, from the principal of which the observer can look into Lake Pepin. Steamboats could probably ascend to the falls.The whole distance travelled, from the shores of Lake Superior to the mouth of the Chippewa, is, by estimation, 643 miles, of which 138 should be deducted for the trip to Yellow River leaving the direct practicable route 505 miles. The length of the Mauvaise to the portage is 104; of the Namakagon, from the portage, 161; of the Red Cedar, 170; of the Chippewa, from the entrance of the latter, 40. Our means of estimating distances was by time, corrected by reference to the rapidity of water and strength of wind, compared with our known velocity of travelling in calm weather on the lakes. These estimates were made and put down every evening, and considerable confidence is felt in them. The courses were accurately kept by a canoe compass. I illustrate my report of this part of the route by a map protracted by Dr. Houghton. On this map, our places of encampment, the sites and population of the principal Indian villages, the trading-posts, and the boundary lines between the Sioux andChippewa, are indicated. And I refer you to it for several details which are omitted in this report.The present state of the controversy between the Sioux and the Chippewas will be best inferred from the facts that follow. In stating them, I have deemed it essential to preserve the order of my conferences with the Indians, and to confine myself, almost wholly, to results.Along the borders of Lake Superior, comparatively little alarm was felt from the hostile relation with the Sioux. But I found them well informed of the state of the difficulties, and the result of the several war-parties that had been sent out the last year. A system of information and advice is constantly kept up by runners; and there is no movement meditated on the Sioux borders, which is not known and canvassed by the lake bands.They sent warriors to the scene of conflict last year, in consequence of the murder committed by the Sioux on the St. Croix. Their sufferings from hunger during the winter, and the existence of disease at Torch Lake (Lac du Flambeau), and some other places, together with the entire failure of the rice crop, had produced effects, which were depicted by them and by the traders in striking colors. They made these sufferings the basis of frequent and urgent requests for provisions. This theme was strenuously dwelt upon. Whatever other gifts they asked for, they never omitted the gift of food. They made it their first, their second, and their third request.At Chegoimegon, on Lake Superior (orLa Pointe, emphatically so called), I held my first and stated council with the Indians. This is the ancient seat of the Chippewa power in this quarter. It is a central and commanding point, with respect to the country lying north, and west, and south of it. It appears to be the focus from which, as radii from a centre, the ancient population emigrated; and the interior bands consequently look back to it with something of the feelings of parental relation. News from the frontiers flies back to it with a celerity which is peculiar to the Indian mode of express. I found here, as I had expected, the fullest and most recent information from the lines. Mozojeed, the principal man at Ottowa Lake, had recently visited them for the purpose of consultation; but returned on the alarm of an attack upon his village.The Indians listened with attention to the message transmitted to them from the President, and to the statements with which it was enforced. Pezhickee, the venerable and respected chief of the place, was their speaker in reply. He lamented the war, and admitted the folly of keeping it up; but it was carried on by the Chippewas in self-defence, and by volunteer parties of young men, acting without the sanction of the old chiefs. He thought the same remark due to the elder Sioux chiefs, who probably did not sanction the crossing of the lines, but could not restrain their young men. He lived, he said, in an isolated situation, did not mingle in the interior broils, and did not deem himself responsible for acts done out of his own village, and certainly not for the acts of the villages of Torch Lake, Ottowa Lake, and the St. Croix. He had uniformly advised his people to sit still and remain at peace, and he believed that none of his young men had joined the war-parties of last year. The Government, he said, should have his hearty co-operation in restoring peace. He referred to the sub-agency established here in 1826, spoke of its benefits, and wished to know why the agent had been withdrawn, and whether he would be instructed to return? In the course of his reply, he said that formerly, when the Indians lived under the British government, they were usually told what to do, and in very distinct terms; but they were now at a loss. From what had been said and done at the treaty of Fond du Lac, he expected the care and protection of the American government, and that they would advance towards, instead of (as in the case of the sub-agency) withdrawing from them. He was rather at a loss for our views respecting the Chippewas, and he wished much for my advice in their affairs.I thought it requisite to make a distinct reply to this point. I told him that when they lived under the British government, they were justified in shaping their course according to the advice they received; but that, on the transfer of the country, their allegiance was transferred with it. And when our Government hoisted its flag at Mackinac (1796), it expected from the Indians living within our boundaries the respect due to it; and it acknowledged, at the same time, the reciprocal obligations of care and protection. That it always aimed to fulfil these obligations, of which facts within his own knowledge and memory would affordample proofs. I referred him to the several efforts the Government had made to establish a lasting peace between the Chippewas and Sioux; for which purpose the President had sent one of his principal men (alluding to Gov. Cass), in 1820, who had visited their most extreme northwestern villages, and induced themselves and the Sioux to smoke the pipe of peace together at St. Peter's. In accordance with these views, and acting on the information then acquired, the President had established an agency for their tribe at Sault Ste. Marie, in 1822. That, in 1825, he had assembled at Prairie du Chien all the tribes who were at variance on the Upper Mississippi, and persuaded them to make peace, and, as one of the best means of insuring its permanency, had fixed the boundaries of their lands. Seeing that the Chippewas and Sioux still continued an harassing and useless contest, he had sent me to remind them of this peace and these boundaries, which, I added, you, Perikee, yourself agreed to, and signed, in my presence. I come to bring you back to the terms of this treaty. Are not these proofs of his care and attention? Are not these clear indications of his, views respecting the Chippewas? The chief was evidently affected by this recital. The truth appeared to strike him forcibly; and he said, in a short reply, that he was nowadvised; that he would hereafter feel himself to be advised, &c. He made some remarks on the establishment of a mission school, &c., which, being irrelevant, are omitted. He presented a pipe, with an ornamented stem, as a token of his friendship, and his desire of peace.I requested him to furnish messengers to take belts of wampum and tobacco, with three separate messages, viz: to Yellow River, to Ottowa Lake, and to Lac du Flambeau, or Torch Lake; and also, as the water was low, to aid me in the ascent of the Mauvaise River, and to supply guides for each of the military canoes, as the soldiers would here leave their barge, and were unacquainted with the difficulties of the ascent. He accordingly sent his oldest son (Che-che-gwy-ung) and another person, with the messages, by a direct trail, leading into the St. Croix country. He also furnished several young Chippewas to aid us on the Mauvaise, and to carry baggage on the long portage into the first intermediate lake west of that stream.After the distribution of presents, I left Chegoimegon on the 18th of July. The first party of Indians met at the Namakagon,belonging to a Chippewa village called Pukwaewa; having, as its geographical centre and trading-post, Ottowa Lake. As I had directed part of the expedition to precede me there, during my journey to Yellow River, I requested these Indians to meet me at Ottowa Lake, and assist in conveying the stores and provisions to that place—a service which they cheerfully performed. On ascending the lower part of the Namakagon, I learned that my messenger from Lake Superior had passed, and, on reaching Yellow River, I found the Indians assembled and waiting. They were encamped on an elevated ridge, called Pekogunagun, or the Hip Bone, and fired a salute from its summit. Several of the neighboring Indians came in after my arrival. Others, with their chiefs, were hourly expected. I did not deem it necessary for all to come in, but proceeded to lay before them the objects of my visit, and to solicit their co-operation in an attempt to make a permanent peace with the Sioux, whose borders we then were near. Kabamappa, the principal chief, not being a speaker, responded to my statements and recommendations through another person (Sha-ne-wa-gwun-ai-be). He said that the Sioux were of bad faith; that they never refused to smoke the pipe of peace with them, and they never failed to violate the promise of peace thus solemnly made. He referred to an attack they made last year on a band of Chippewas and half-breeds, and the murder of four persons. Perpetual vigilance was required to meet these inroads. Yet he could assert, fearlessly, that no Chippewa war-party from the St. Croix had crossed the Sioux line for years; that the murder he had mentioned was committed within the Chippewa lines; and although it was said, at the treaty of Prairie du Chien, that the first aggressor of territorial rights should be punished, neither punishment was inflicted by the Government, nor had any atonement or apology thus far been made for this act by the Sioux. He said his influence had been exerted in favor of peace; that he had uniformly advised both chiefs and warriors to this effect; and he stood ready now to do whatever it was reasonable he should do on the subject.I told him it was not a question of recrimination that was before us. It was not even necessary to go into the inquiry of who had spilt the first blood since the treaty of Prairie du Chien. The treaty had been violated. The lines had been crossed. Murdershad been committed by the Chippewas and by the Sioux. These murders had reached the ears of the President, and he was resolved to put a stop to them. I did not doubt but that the advice of the old chiefs, on each side, had been pacific. I did not doubt but that his course had beenparticularlyso. But rash young men, of each party, had raised the war-club; and when they could not go openly, they went secretly. A stop must be put to this course, and it was necessary the first movement should be madesomewhere. It was proper it should be made here, and be made at this time. Nothing could be lost by it; much might be gained; and if a negotiation was opened with the Sioux chiefs while I remained, I would second it by sending an explanatory message to the chiefs and to their agent. I recommended that Kabamappa and Shakoba, the war-chief of Snake River, should send jointly wampum and tobacco to the Petite Corbeau and to Wabisha, the leading Sioux chiefs on the Mississippi, inviting them to renew the league of friendship, and protesting their own sincerity in the offer. I concluded by presenting him with a flag, tobacco, wampum, and ribbons, to be used in the negotiation. After a consultation, he said he would not only send the messages, but, as he now had the protection of a flag, he would himself go with the chief Shakoba to the Petite Corbeau's village. I accompanied these renewed offers of peace with explanatory messages, in my own name, to Petite Corbeau and to Wabisha, and a letter to Mr. Taliaferro, the Indian agent at St. Peter's, informing him of these steps, and soliciting his co-operation. A copy of this letter is hereunto annexed. I closed the council by the distribution of presents; after which the Indians called my attention to the conduct of their trader, &c.Information was given me immediately after my arrival at Yellow River, that Neenaba, a popular war-leader from the Red Cedar fork of Chippewa River, had very recently danced the war-dance with thirty men at Rice Lake of Yellow River, and that his object was to enlist the young men of that place in a war-party against the Sioux. I also learned that my message for Ottowa Lake had been promptly transmitted through Neenaba, whom I was now anxious to see. I lost not an hour in reascending the St. Croix and the Namakagon. I purchased two additional canoes of the Indians, and distributed my men in them, tolighten the draught of water, and facilitate the ascent; and, by pushing early and late, we reached Ottowa Lake on the fifth day in the morning. Neenaba had, however, delivered his message, and departed. I was received in a very friendly and welcome manner, by Mozojeed, of the band of Ottowa Lake; Wabezhais, of the Red Devil's band of the South Pukwaewa; and Odabossa, of the Upper Namakagon. After passing the usual formalities, I prepared to meet them in council the same day, and communicate to them the objects of my mission.In the course of the conference at this place, I obtained the particulars of a dispute which had arisen between the Chippewas of this quarter, which now added to their alarm, as they feared the latter would act in coincidence with their ancient enemies, the Sioux. The reports of this disturbance had reached me at the Sault, and they continued, with some variations, until my arrival here. The following are the material facts in relation to this new cause of disquietude: In the summer of 1827, Okunzhewug, an old woman, the wife of Kishkemun, the principal chief of Torch Lake, a man superannuated and blind, attended the treaty of Butte des Morts, bearing her husband's medal. She was treated with the respect due to the character she represented, and ample presents were directed to be given to her; among other things, a handsome hat. The latter article had been requested of her by a young Menomonie, and refused. It is thought a general feeling of jealousy was excited by her good reception. A number of the Menomonies went on her return route as far as the Clover Portage, where she was last seen. Having never returned to her village, the Chippewas attributed her death to the Menomonies. Her husband died soon after; but she had numerous and influential relatives to avenge her real or supposed murder. This is the account delivered by the Chippewas, and it is corroborated by reports from the traders of that section of the country. Her singular disappearance and secret death at the Clover Portage, is undisputed; and whether caused or not by any agency of the Menomonies, the belief of such agency, and that of the most direct kind, is fixed in the minds of the Chippewas, and has furnished the basis of their subsequent acts in relation to the Menomonie hunting-parties who have visited the lower part of ChippewaRiver. Two women belonging to one of these parties were killed by a Chippewa war-party traversing that part of the country the ensuing year. The act was disclaimed by them as not being intentional, and it was declared they supposed the women to be Sioux. On a close inquiry, however, I found the persons who committed this act were relatives of Okunzewug, which renders it probable that the murder was intentionally perpetrated. This act further widened the breach between the two hitherto fraternal tribes; and the Chippewas of this quarter began to regard the Menomonie hunting-parties, who entered the mouth of the Chippewa River, as intruders on their lands. Among a people whose means of verbal information is speedy, and whose natural sense of right and wrong is acute, the more than usual friendship and apparent alliance which have taken place between the Menomonies and Sioux, in the contest between the Sacs and Foxes, and the murder by them jointly of the Fox chief White Skin and his companions at a smoking council, in 1830, have operated to increase the feeling of distrust; so much so, that it was openly reported at Chegoimegon, at Yellow River, and Ottowa Lake, that the Menomonies had formed a league with the Sioux against the Chippewas also, and they were fearful of an attack from them. A circumstance that had given point to this fear, and made it a subject of absorbing interest, when I arrived at Ottowa Lake, was the recent murder of a Menomonie chief by a Chippewa of that quarter, and the demand of satisfaction which had been made (it was sometimes said) by the Indian agent at Prairie du Chien, and sometimes by the commanding officer, with a threat to march troops into the country. This demand, I afterward learned from the Indians at Rice Lake, and from a conversation with General Street, the agent at Prairie du Chien, had not been made, either by himself or by the commanding officer; and the report had probably arisen from a conversation held by a subaltern officer in command of a wood or timber-party near the mouth of the Chippewa River, with some Chippewas who were casually met. Its effects, however, were to alarm them, and to lead them to desire a reconciliation with the Menomonies. I requested them to lose no time in sending tobacco to the Menomonies, and adjusting this difference. Mozojeed observed that the murder of the Menomoniehad been committed by a personnon compos, and he deplored the folly of it, and disclaimed all agency in it for himself and his band. The murderer, I believe, belonged to his band; he desired a reconciliation. He also said the measures adopted at Yellow River, to bring about a firm peace with the Sioux, had his fullest approbation, and that nothing on his part should be wanting to promote a result in every view so wise and so advantageous to the Indians. In this sentiment, Wabezhais and Odabossa, who made distinct speeches, also concurred. They confirmed their words by pipes, and all the assembly made an audible assent. I invested Mozojeed with a flag and a medal, that he might exert the influence he has acquired among the Indians beneficially for them and for us, and that his hands might thus be officially strengthened to accomplish the work of pacification. I then distributed presents to the chiefs, warriors, women, and children, in the order of their being seated, and immediately embarked, leaving them under a lively and enlivened sense of the good-will and friendship of the American government, on this first official visit to them, and with a sincere disposition, so far as could be judged, to act in obedience to its expressed and known wishes.The Indians at Torch Lake being dispersed, and my message to them not having been delivered, from this uncertainty of their location, I should have found reasons for not proceeding in that direction, independent of the actual and known difficulties of the route at that time. I was still apprehensive that my appearance had not wholly disconcerted the war-party of Neenaba, and lost no time in proceeding to his village on the Red Cedar fork. We found the village at Lake Chetac, which in 1824 was 217 strong, almost totally deserted, and the trading-house burnt. Scattering Indians were found along the river. The mutual fear of interruption was such that Mr. B. Cadotte, Sen., the trader at Ottowa Lake, thought it advisable to follow in our train for the purpose of collecting his credits at Rice Lake.While at breakfast on the banks of Sapin Lake, a returning war-party entered the opposite side of it; they were evidently surprised, and they stopped. After reconnoitring us, they were encouraged to advance, at first warily, and afterward with confidence. There were eight canoes, with two men in each; each man had a gun, war-club, knife, and ammunition-bag: there was nothing elseexcept the apparatus for managing the canoe. They were all young men, and belonged to the vicinity of Ottowa Lake. Their unexpected appearance at this place gave me the first information that the war-party at Neenaba had been broken up. They reported that some of their number had been near the mill, and that they had discovered signs of the Sioux being out, in the moose having been driven up, &c. In a short conference, I recited to them the purpose of the council at Ottowa Lake, and referred them to their chiefs for particulars, enjoining their acquiescence in the proposed measures.I found at Rice Lake a band of Chippewas, most of them young men, having a prompt and martial air, encamped in a very compact form, and prepared at a moment's notice, for action. They saluted our advance with a smartness and precision of firing that would have done honor to drilled troops. Neenaba was absent on a hunting-party; but one of the elder men pointed out a suitable place for my encampment, as I intended here to put new bottoms to my bark canoes. He arrived in the evening, and visited my camp with forty-two men. This visit was one of ceremony merely; as it was late, I deferred anything further until the following day. I remained at this place part of the 7th, the 8th, and until 3 o'clock on the 9th of August. And the following facts present the result of several conferences with this distinguished young man, whose influence is entirely of his own creation, and whose endowments, personal and mental, had not been misrepresented by the Indians on my route, who uniformly spoke of him in favorable terms. He is located at the most advanced point towards the Sioux borders, and, although not in the line of ancient chiefs, upon him rests essentially the conduct of affairs in this quarter. I therefore deemed it important to acquire his confidence and secure his influence, and held frequent conversations with him. His manner was frank and bold, equally free from servility and repulsiveness. I drew his attention to several subjects. I asked him whether the saw-mill on the lower part of the Red Cedar, was located on Chippewa lands? He said, Yes. Whether it was built with the consent of the Chippewas? He said, No; it had been built, as it were, by stealth. I asked him if anything had been subsequently given them in acknowledgmentof their right to the soil? He said, No; that the only acknowledgment was their getting tobacco to smoke when they visited the mill; that the Sioux claimed it to be on their side of the line, but the Chippewas contended that their line ran to a certain bluff and brook below the mill. I asked him to draw a map of the lower part of Chippewa River, with all its branches, showing the exact lines as fixed by the treaty at Prairie du Chien, and as understood by them. I requested him to state the facts respecting the murder of the Menomonie, and the causes that led to it; and whether he, or any of his band, received any message from the agent or commanding officer at Prairie du Chien, demanding the surrender of the murderer? To the latter inquiry he answered promptly, No. He gave in his actual population at 142; but it is evident that a very considerable additional population, particularly men, resort there for the purpose of hunting a part of the year.The day after my arrival, I prepared for and summoned the Indians to a council, with the usual formalities. I opened it by announcing the objects of my visit. Neenaba and his followers listened to the terms of the message, the means I had adopted to enforce it, and, finally, to the request of co-operation on the part of himself and band, with strict attention. He confined his reply to an expression of thanks, allusions to the peculiarity of his situation on an exposed frontier, and general, sentiments of friendship. He appeared to be mentally embarrassed by my request to drop the war-club, on the successful use of which he had relied for his popularity, and whatever of real power he possessed. He often referred to his young men, over whom he claimed no superiority, and who appeared to be ardently attached to him. I urged the principal topic upon his attention, presenting it in several lights. I finally conferred on him, personally, a medal and flag, and directed the presents intended for his band to be laid, in gross, before him.After a pause, Neenaba got up, and spoke to the question, connecting it with obvious considerations, of which mutual rights, personal safety, and the obligation to protect the women and children, formed the basis. The latter duty was not a slight one. Last year, the Sioux had killed a chief on the opposite shore of the lake, and, at the same time, decoyed two children, who were in a canoe, among the rice, and killed and beheaded them. Hesaid, in allusion to the medal and flag, that these marks of honor were not necessary to secure his attention to any requests made by the American government. And after resuming his seat awhile (during which he overheard some remarks not pleasing to him, from an Indian on the opposite side of the ring), he finally got up and declined receiving them until they were eventually pressed upon him by the young warriors. Everything appeared to proceed with great harmony, and the presents were quickly distributed by one of his men. It was not, however, until the next day, when my canoes were already put in the water, that he came with his entire party, to make his final reply, and to present the peace-pipe. He had thrown the flag over one arm, and held the war-club perpendicularly in the other hand. He said that, although he accepted the one, he did not drop the other; he held fast to both. When he looked at the one, he should revert to the counsels with which it had been given, and he should aim to act upon those counsels; but he also deemed it necessary to hold fast the war-club; it was, however, with a determination to use it in defence, and not in attack. He had reflected upon the advice sent to the Chippewas by the President, and particularly that part of it which counselled them to sit still upon their lands; but while they sat still, they also wished to be certain that their enemies would sit still. And the pipe he was now about to offer, he offered with a request that it might be sent to the President, asking him to use his power to prevent the Sioux from crossing the lines. The pipe was then lit, handed round, the ashes knocked out, and a formal presentation of it made. This ceremony being ended, I shook hands with them, and immediately embarked.On the second day afterward, I reached the saw-mill, the subject of such frequent allusion, and landed there at 7 o'clock in the morning. I found a Mr. Wallace in charge, who was employed, with ten men, in building a new dam on a brook of the Red Cedar, the freshet of last spring having carried away the former one. I inquired of him where the line between the Sioux and Chippewas crossed. He replied that the line crossed above the mill, he did not precisely know the place; adding, however, in the course of conversation, that he believed the land in this vicinity originally belonged to the Chippewas. He said it was sevenyears since any Sioux had visited the mill; and that the latter was owned by persons at Prairie du Chien.The rapids of the Red Cedar River extend (according to the estimates contained in my notes) about twenty-four miles. They commence a few miles below the junction of Meadow River, and terminate about two miles below the mills. This extension of falling water, referred to in the treaty as a fixed point, has led to the existing uncertainty. The country itself is of a highly valuable character for its soil, its game, its wild rice, and its wood. We found the butternut among those species which are locally included under the name ofBois franc, by the traders. The land can, hereafter, be easily brought into cultivation, as it is interspersed with prairie; and its fine mill privileges will add to its value. Indeed, one mile square is intrinsically worth one hundred miles square of Chippewa country, in some other places.The present saw-mills (there are two), are situated 65 miles from the banks of the Mississippi. They are owned exclusively by private citizens, and employed for their sole benefit. The boards are formed into rafts; and these rafts are afterward attached together, and floated down the Mississippi to St. Louis, where they command a good price. The business is understood to be a profitable one. For the privilege, no equivalent has been paid either to the Indians or to the United States. The first mill was built several years ago, and before the conclusion of the treaty of Prairie du Chien, fixing boundaries to the lands. A permit was given for building, either verbal or written, as I have been informed, by a former commanding officer at Prairie du Chien. I make these statements in reference to a letter I have received from the Department since my return, but which is dated June 27th, containing a complaint of one of the owners of the mill, that the Chippewas had threatened to burn it, and requesting me to take the necessary precautionary measures. I heard nothing of such a threat, but believe that the respect which the Chippewas have professed, through me, for the American government, and the influence of my visit among them, will prevent a resort to any measures of violence; and that they will wait the peaceable adjustment of the line on the rapids. I will add that,whereverthat line may be determined, in a reasonable probability, to fall, the mill itself cannot be supplied with logs forany length of time, ifit is now so supplied, without cutting them on Chippewa lands, and rafting them down the Red Cedar. Many of the logs heretofore sawed at this mill, have been raftedup stream, to the mill. And I understood from the person in charge of it, that he was now anxious to ascertain new sites for chopping; that his expectations were directed up the stream, but that his actual knowledge of the country, in that direction, did not embrace a circumference of more than five miles.The line between the Chippewa and Sioux, as drawn on the MS. map of Neenaba, strikes the rapids on Red Cedar River at a brook and bluff a short distance below the mill. It proceeds thence, across the point of land between that branch of the main Chippewa, to an island in the latter; and thence, up stream, to the mouth of Clearwater River, as called for by the treaty, and from this point to the bluffs of the Mississippi Valley (where it corners on Winnebago land), on Black River, and not to the "mouth" of Black River, as erroneously inserted in the 5th article of the treaty; the Chippewas never having advanced any claims to the lands at the mouth of Black River. This map, being drawn by a Chippewa of sense, influence, and respectability, an exact copy of it is herewith forwarded for the use of the Department, as embracing the opinions of the Chippewas on this point. The lines and geographical marks were drawn on paper by Neenaba himself, and the names translated and written down by Mr. Johnston.
1.A Report on the Existence of Deposits of Copper in the Geological Basin of Lake Superior.By Dr.D. Houghton.
Fredonia, N. Y., November 14, 1831.
Sir: In fulfilment of the duties assigned to me in the late expedition into the Indian country, under the direction of H. R. Schoolcraft, Esq., Indian Agent, I would beg leave to transmit to you the following observations relative to the existence of copper in the country bordering on the southern shore of Lake Superior.
It is without doubt true that this subject has long been viewed with an interest far beyond its actual merit. Each mass of native copper which this country has produced, however insulated, or however it may have been separated from its original position, appears to have been considered a sure indication of the existenceof that metal in beds; and hence we occasionally see, upon maps of that section of our country, particular portions marked as containing "copper mines," where no copper now exists. But, while it is certain that a combination of circumstances has served to mislead the public mind with regard to the geological situation and existing quantity of that metal, it is no less certain that a greater quantity of insulated native copper has been discovered upon the borders of Lake Superior, than in any other equal portion of North America.
Among the masses of native copper which have engaged the attention of travellers in this section of country, one, which from its great size was early noticed, is situated on the Ontonagon River, a stream which empties its waters into the southern part of Lake Superior, 331 miles above the Falls of the Ste. Marie. The Ontonagon River is, with some difficulty, navigable by batteaux 36 miles, at which place, by the union of two smaller streams—one from an easterly and the other from a westerly direction—the main stream is formed. The mass of copper is situated on the western fork, at a distance of six or eight miles from the junction.
The face of the country through the upper half of the distance from Lake Superior is uneven, and the irregularity is given it by hills of marly clay, which occasionally rise quite abruptly to the height of one or two hundred feet. No rock was observedin situ, except in one place, where, for a distance, the red sandstone was observed, forming the bed of the river.
The mass of copper lies, partly covered by water, directly at the foot of a clay hill, from which, together with numerous boulders of the primitive rocks, it has undoubtedly been washed by the action of the water of the river. Although it is completely insulated, there is much to interest in its examination. Its largest surface measures three and a half by four feet, and this, which is of malleable copper, is kept bright by the action of the water, and has the usual appearance of that metal when worn. To one surface is attached a small quantity of rock, singularly bound together by threads of copper, which pass through it in all directions. This rock, although many of its distinctive characters are lost, is evidently a dark colored serpentine, with small interspersed masses of milky quartz.
The mass of copper is so situated as to afford but little that would enable us to judge of its original geological position. In examining the eastern fork of the river, I discovered small water-worn masses of trap-rock, in which were specks of imbedded carbonate of copper and copper black; and with them were occasionally associated minute specks of serpentine, in some respects resembling that which is attached to the large mass of copper; and facts would lead us to infer that the trap formation which appears on Lake Superior east of the Ontonagon River, crosses this section of country at or near the source of that river, and at length forms one of the spurs of the Porcupine Mountains.
Several smaller masses of insulated native copper have been discovered on the borders of Lake Superior, but that upon Ontonagon River is the only one which is now known to remain.
At as early a period as before the American Revolution, an English mining company directed their operations to the country bordering on Lake Superior, and Ontonagon River was one point to which their attention was immediately directed. Traces of a shaft, sunk in the clay hill, near a mass of copper, are still visible—a memento of ignorance and folly.
Operations were also commenced on the southern shore of Lake Superior, near the mouth of a small stream, which, from that circumstance, is called Miners' River. Parts of the names of the miners, carved upon the sandstone rock at the mouth of the river, are still visible. What circumstance led to the selection of this spot does not now appear. No mineral traces are at this day perceptible, except occasional discolorations of the sandstone rock by what is apparently a mixture of the carbonates of iron and copper; and this is only to be observed where water, holding in solution an extremely minute portion of these salts, has trickled slowly over those rocks.
It does not, in fact, appear that the red sandstone, which constitutes the principal rock formation of the southern shore of Lake Superior, is in any instance metalliferous in any considerable degree. If this be true, it would require but little reflection to convince one of the inexpediency of conducting mining operations at either of the points selected for that purpose; and it is beyond a doubt true, that the company did not receive the least inducement to continue their labors.
In addition to these masses of native copper, an ore of that metal has long been known to the lake traders as the green rock, in which the characteristic substances are the green and blue carbonates of copper, accompanied by copper black. It is situated upon Keweena Point, 280 miles above the falls of the Ste. Marie. The ore is embraced by what is apparently a recently formed crag; and, although it is of a kind and so situated as to make an imposing appearance, there is little certainty of its existence in large quantities in this formation. The ore forms a thin covering to the pebbles of which the body of the rock is composed, and is rarely observed in masses separate from it. The crag is composed of angular fragments of trap-rock, and the formation is occasionally traversed by broad and continuous belts of calc. spar, here and there tinged with copper. Although the ore was not observed in any considerable quantity, except at one point, it apparently exists in minute specks through a greater part of the crag formation, which extends several miles, forming the shore of the lake.
This examination of the crag threw new interest upon the trap formation, which had been first observed to take the place of the sandstone at the bottom of a deep bay, called Montreal Bay, on the easterly side of Keweena Point. The trap-rock continues for a few miles, when the crag before noticed appears to lie directly upon it, and to form the extremity of the point; the crag, in turn, disappears, and the trap-rock is continued for a distance of six or eight miles upon the westerly side of the point, when the sandstone again reappears.
The trap-rock is of a compact granular texture, occasionally running into the amygdaloid and toadstone varieties, and is rich in imbedded minerals, such as amethystine quartz, smoky quartz, carnelian, chalcedony, agate, &c., together with several of the ores of copper. Traces of copper ore in the trap-rock were first noticed on the easterly side of Keweena Point, and near the commencement of the trap formation. This ore, which is an impure copper black, was observed in a vein of variable thickness, but not in any part exceeding two and a half inches. It is sufficiently compact and hard to receive a firm polish, but it is rather disposed to break into small irregular masses. A specimen furnished, upon analysis, 47.5 per cent. of pure copper.
On the western side of Keweena Point, the same ore appears under different circumstances, being disseminated through the body of the trap-rock, in grains varying in size from a pin's head to a pea. Although many of these grains are wholly copper black, they are occasionally only depositions of the mineral upon specks of carnelian, chalcedony, or agate, or are more frequently composed, in part, of what is apparently an imperfect steatite. The ore is so connected with, and so much resembles in color the rock, of which it may be said to be a constituent part, that they might easily, during a hasty examination, be confounded. A random specimen of the rock furnished, upon analysis, 3.2 per cent. of pure copper. The rock continues combined with that mineral for nearly the space of three miles. Extremely thin veins of copper black were observed to traverse this same rock; and in enlargements of these were discovered several masses of amorphous native copper. The latter mineral appeared in two forms—the one consisting of compact and malleable masses, varying from four to ten ounces each; and the other, of specks and fasciculi of pure copper, binding together confused masses of copper green, and partially disintegrated trap-rock; the latter was of several pounds' weight. Each variety was closely embraced by the rock, although the action of the water upon the rock had occasionally exposed to view points of the metal. In addition to the accompanying copper green, which was in a disintegrated state, small specks of the oxide of copper were associated in most of the native specimens.
Circumstances would not permit an examination of any portion of the trap formation, except that bordering directly upon the lake. But facts would lead us to infer that that formation extends from one side of Keweena Point to the other, and that a range of thickly wooded hills, which traverses the point, is based upon, if not formed of that rock. An Indian information, which, particularly upon such a subject, must be adopted with caution, would sanction the opinion that the prominent constituents are the same wherever the rock is observed.
After having duly considered the facts which are presented, I would not hesitate to offer, as an opinion, that the trap-rock formation was the original source of the masses of copper which have been observed in the country bordering on Lake Superior; andthat, at the present day, examinations for the ores of copper could not be made in that country with hopes of success, except in the trap-rock itself; which rock is not certainly known to exist upon any place upon Lake Superior, other than Keweena Point.
If this opinion be a correct one, the cause of, failure of the mining company in this region is rendered plain. Having considered each insulated mass of pure metal as a true indication of the existence of a bed in the vicinity, operations were directed to wrong points; when, having failed to realize their anticipations, the project was abandoned without further actual investigation. We would be induced to infer that no attempts were made to learn the original source of the metal which was discovered, and thus, while the attention was drawn to insulated masses, the ores, ordinary in appearance, but more importantin sitû, were neglected; and perhaps, from the close analogy in appearance to the rock with which they were associated, no distinction was observed.
What quantity of ore the trap-rock of Keweena Point may be capable of producing, can only be determined by minute and laborious examination. The indications which were presented by a hasty investigation are here embodied, and with deference submitted to your consideration.
I have the honor to be,Sir, your obedient, servant,DOUGLASS HOUGHTON.
Hon.Lewis Cass,Secretary of War.
2.Remarks on the Occurrence of Native Silver and Ores of Silver in the Stratification of the Basins of Lakes Huron and Superior.ByHenry R. Schoolcraft.
Traces of this metal which have been found in the drift and boulder stratum of both Lakes Huron and Superior, indicate the existence of the metal in place. During my residence at St. Mary's, two specimens of its occurrence were brought to my notice. The first of these consisted of points of native silver in a moderately large mass of native copper, found in 1823, near the entrance of theNamaor Sturgeon River into Keweena Lake, of the large peninsula of that name, in Lake Superior. Like the majority ofsuch masses of the region, it had no adhering portion of rock or vein stone, from which a judgment might be formed of its original position.
I had, the prior year, set up my mineralogical cabinet in my office, and stated to the Indians, who roved over large tracts, my solicitude to collect specimens of the mineral productions of the country of every description, and, indeed, of its zoology, always acknowledging their comity, in bringing me specimens in any department of natural history, by some small present; and I found this to be a means of extending my inquiries.
Subsequently, I received a boulder specimen from the shores of Lake Huron, containing veins of native silver. Part of the metal had been detached. I submitted these specimens to the Lyceum of Natural History at New York, in 1825. The following remarks are taken from their annals.
Mineralogical and Chemical Characters.—By examining this mineral, it will be perceived to possess the color, lustre, malleability, and other obvious characters of native silver. It is so soft as to be easily cut by the knife; and in a state of purity which permits it to spread under the hammer. These characters serve to distinguish it from antimonial silver, which is notmalleable; from native antimony which tarnishes on exposure, &c. The metal occurs in thin, massive veins in the rock. These veins sometimes intersect, but never cross each other. It is also disseminated in small particles through the stone, or spread in flattened masses over its surface. Some of these masses were detached by the discoverer, but have been preserved, and are presented to the Lyceum with the more solid and undisturbed portions.
By submitting a small portion of the metal to the action of nitric acid, I obtained an imperfect solution. On repeating the experiment, and adding a little sulphuric acid, the action was more brisk, and a clear and apparently perfect solution effected. By standing, however, a pulpy, white precipitate appeared at the bottom of the glass. This was collected and submitted to the action of the blowpipe, on a basis of charcoal. The result gave a number of minute, metallic globules, possessing greater lustre, malleability, and ductility, than the original mass. I repeated the latter experiment, adding to the nitro-sulphuric solution muriate of soda. A more perfect precipitation of the white powder was effected; but the results with the blowpipe remained the same.
Geognostic Position.—It is a rolled mass. An opinion of the specific character of the rock may be dubious, from the smallness of the specimen. It appears to have been detached from a stratum of gneiss, and is essentially composed of quartz. The blackish color of some parts of this latter mineral would, at first glance, lead us to attribute this color to the presence of hornblende; but, on closer examination, it will be perceived to be owing to a dark-colored steatite, which, in certain parts of the rock, is well developed, soft, and easily cut. A little calcspar is intermingled with the steatite.
Locality.—I am indebted to the politeness of Lieut. Lewis S. Johnston, of the British Indian Department, at Malden (U. C.), for the opportunity of adding this specimen to the mineralogical cabinet of the Lyceum. This gentleman, as he informed me, obtained it from an Indian, who picked it up on the southeastern shores of Lake Huron, near Point aux Barques, in Michigan Territory. That part of Lake Huron was cursorily examined by me, in the year 1820, in the course of the expedition conducted by Gov. Cass, through the upper lakes, &c. I consider it remarkable, even in a region abounding in rolled rocks, for the great number and variety of granite, gneiss, hornblende, and trap boulders, scattered along the shores of the lake. The water here is generally shallow and dangerous to approach in vessels; these boulder stones sometimes extending and presenting themselves above water for a mile or more from land. But we could not satisfy ourselves by an examination necessarily partial, that either of the primitive species mentioned, existed there in any other condition than as rolled masses, or displacements of rock strata, contiguous, perhaps, but not observed. Dr. Bigsby has informed me, that he observed the gneissin sitû, on the northwestern shores of this lake. The nearest rock in place, and that which in fact constitutes the abraded and caverned promontory of Point aux Barques, is gray sandstone.
The occurrence of this metal in the copper-bearing and other metalliferous rocks of this region, may be confidently affirmed.[273]
3.A General Summary of the Localities of Minerals observed in the Northwest in 1831 and 1832.ByHenry R. Schoolcraft.
CLASS I.Bodies not metallic, containing an acid.
1.Calcareous spar.Keweena Point, Lake Superior. Imbedded in small globular masses, in the trap-rock; also forming veins in the same formation. Some of the masses break into rhombic forms, and possess a certain but not perfect degree of transparency; others are opaque, or discolored by the green carbonate of copper. Also in the trap-rock between Fond du Lac and Old Grand Portage, Lake Superior, in perfect, transparent rhombs, exhibiting the property of double refraction. Also, at the lead mines, in Iowa County, in the marly clay formation, often exhibiting imperfect prisms, variously truncated.
2.Calcareous tufa.Mouth of the River Brulé, of Lake Superior. In small, friable, broken masses, in the diluvial soil. Also, in the gorge below the Falls of St. Anthony. In detached, vesicular masses, amidst debris.
3.Compact carbonate of lime.In the calcareous cliffs of horizontal formation, commencing at the Falls of St. Anthony. Carboniferous.
4.Septaria.In the reddish clay soil, between Montreal River and Lapointe, Lake Superior.
5.Gypsum.In the sandstone rock at the Point of Grand Sable West, Lake Superior. In orbicular masses, firmly imbedded. Not abundant. Granular, also imperfectly foliated.
6.Carbonate of magnesia.Serpentine rock, at Presque Isle, Lake Superior. Compact.
7.Hydrate of magnesia?With the preceding.
CLASS II.Earthy compounds, amorphous or crystalline.
8.Common quartz.Huron Islands, Lake Superior; also the adjoining coast. In very large veins or beds. White, opaque.
9.Granular quartz.Falls of Peckagama, Upper Mississippi.In sitû.
10.Smoky quartz.In the trap-rock, Keweena Point, Lake Superior, crystallized. In connection with amethystine quartz.
11.Amethyst.With the preceding. Also, at the Pic Bay, and at Gargontwa, north shore of Lake Superior, in the trap-rock, in perfect crystals, of various intensity of color.
12.Chalcedony.Keweena Point, Lake Superior. In globular or orbicular masses, in amygdaloid rock. Often, in detached masses along the shores.
13.Carnelian.With the preceding.
14.Hornstone.In detached masses, very hard, on the shores of Lake Superior. Also, at Dodgeville, Iowa County, Mich. Ter., in fragments or nodular masses in the clay soil.
15.Jasper.In the preceding locality. Common and striped, exceedingly difficult of being acted on by the wheel. Not observedin sitû.
16.Agate.Imbedded in the trap-rocks of Lake Superior, and also detached, forming a constituent of its detritus. Variously colored. Often made up of alternate layers of chalcedony, carnelian, and cacholong. Sometimes zoned, or in fortification points. Specimens not taken from the rock are not capable of being scratched by quartz or flint, and are incapable of being acted on by the file; consequently,harderthan any of the described species.
17.Cyanite.Specimens of this mineral, in flat, six-sided prisms, imbedded in a dark primitive rock, were brought out from Lac du Flambeau outlet, where the rock is described as existingin sitû. The locality has not been visited, but there are facts brought to light, within the last two or three years, to justify the extension of the primitive to that section of country.
18.Pitchstone.A detached mass of this mineral, very black and lava-like, was picked up in the region of Lake Superior, where the volcanic mineral, trachyte, is common among the rolled masses. Neither of these substances have been observedin sitû.
19.Mica.Huron Islands, Lake Superior. In granite.
20.Schorl.Common. Outlet of Lac du Flambeau. Also, in a detached mass of primitive rock at Green Bay.
21.Feldspar.Porcupine mountains, Lake Superior.
22.Basalt.Amorphous. Granite Point, Lake Superior.
23.Stilbite.Amygdaloid rock, Keweena Point, Lake Superior.
24.Zeolite.Mealy. With the preceding.
25.Zeolite.Radiated. Lake Superior. This mineral consists of fibres, so delicate and firmly united as to appear almost compact, radiating from a centre. Some of the masses produced by this radiation measure 2.5 inches in diameter. They are of a uniform, pale, yellowish red. This mineral has not been tracedin sitû, being found in detached masses of rock, and sometimes as water-worn portions of radii. Its true position would seem to be the trap-rock.
26.Asbestus.Presque Isle, Lake Superior. In the serpentine formation.
27.Hornblende.Very abundant as a constituent of the primitive rocks on the Upper Mississippi, and in the basin of Lake Superior. Often in distinct crystals.
28.Diallage, green.Lake Superior. In detached masses, connected with primitive boulders.Harderthan the species.
29.Serpentine, common.Presque Isle, Lake Superior.
30.Serpentine, precious.With the preceding. Color, a light pistachio green, and takes a fine polish. Exists in veins in the common variety.
31.Pseudomorphous serpentine.With the preceding. This beautiful green mineral constitutes a portion of the veins of the precious serpentine. Its crystalline impressions are very distinct.
32.Argillite.River St. Louis, northwest of Lake Superior. Nearly vertical in its position.
CLASS III.Combustibles.
33.Peat.Marine sand formation composing the shore of Lake Superior, between White-fish Point and Grand Marais. Also, on the island of Michilimackinac.
CLASS IV.Ores and Metals.
34.Native copper.West side of Keweena Point, Lake Superior. Imbedded in a vein with carbonate of copper, and copper black, in the trap-rock.
35.Copper black.With the preceding.
36.Carbonate of copper, green.With the preceding.
These two minerals (35 and 36) characterize the trap-rock of the peninsula of Keweena, Lake Superior, from Montreal Bay, extending to and around its extremity, west, to Sand-hill Bay.The entire area may be estimated to comprise a rocky, serrated coast of about seventy-five miles in length, and not to exceed seven or eight miles in width. The principal veins are at a point called Roche Verd, and along the coast which we refer to as the Black Rocks. At the latter, native copper is one of the constituents of the vein.
Green and blue carbonate of copper was also observed in limited quantity, in small rounded masses, at one of the lead diggings near Mineral Point, Iowa County.
37.Chromate of iron.Presque Isle, Lake Superior.
38.Sulphuret of lead.Lead mines of Iowa County, Michigan Territory.
39.Earthy carbonate of lead.Brigham's mine, Iowa County, Mich. Ter. Also, in small masses, of a yellowish white, dirty color, and great comparative weight, at several of the lead mines (diggings) in the more westerly and southern parts of the county.
4.Geological Outline of the Taquimenon Valley of Lake Superior.ByHenry R. Schoolcraft.
The River Takquimenon originates on a plateau between the northern shores of Lake Michigan and the southeastern coast of Lake Superior. At a central point on this plateau, there lies a lake of moderate size, which, in the translated Indian phrase, is called Heartsblood Lake. A little to the west of this lake, and, perhaps, connected with it, originates the head stream of the North Manistic River of Lake Michigan, running southwest. Towards the northeast the Takwymenon takes its way, winding through level grassy plains, till it reaches the rim of the geological basin that circumscribes Lake Superior. The height of this point is conjectural. It is probably one hundred and fifty feet above the level of the lake.
To comprehend the geography of the region, it is necessary to advert to the fact that the sandstone formation, which appears in the picturesque form of the Pictured Rocks, is last seen in its range eastward at La Pointe des Grande Sable, where its surface is of a compact structure and dull red color. Between thislocality and the bold cape of Point Iroquois, at the head of St. Mary's River, there intervenes an extensive formation of gravel, boulders, and sand. The length of this line of coast is about ninety miles, its breadth to the basinic rim, perhaps thirty. It is covered with small pines, spruce, birch, and poplar, with frequent sphagnous tracts and ponds; the lake shore, where the sands are continually accumulated, being higher than the interior portions. It has, from early days, been a favorite resort for beaver, from which it is called by the natives, Namikong, meaning, excellent place of beavers.
This tract of the Namikong is primarily due to diluvial formations, with a comparatively recent hem of lake action, consisting of sands and pebbles pushed up by the waves of Lake Superior. Through this tract, from the plateaux, four small rivers make their way to the lake. They are, in their order, from west to east, the river of Grand Mauvais, the Twin River, the Shelldrake, and the Tacquimenon, which enters the lake fifteen miles from Point Iroquois.
Of these streams, the Tacquimenon carries the largest body of water into the lake. It is already a stream of seventy feet wide, and three feet deep, when it reaches the rim of sandstone rocks referred to. Over these, it is plunged, at a single perpendicular leap, forty feet, falling like a curtain. It drops into a vast concavity in the sand rock, where the water is of unfathomable depth, black and still. I had reached this point in a canoe manned by Indians. They had urged their way up a very rapid brawling bed for six miles above the lower falls, and when we reached this still, deep, and dark basin, they said that care was required to keep from under the suction of the falling sheet.
The lower falls of the stream are probably twelve or fourteen feet. They are broken into several fan-shaped cascades, and present a picturesque appearance—an idea which has also impressed the Chippewas, for they refer to it as a favorite locality of fairies. Hence their name for it. Immediately below these falls the river winds about, making a peninsula, which is covered with deciduous trees and a fertile soil. The amount of water power at this point is such as must command attention whenever the country justifies settlement.
5.Suggestions respecting the Geological Epoch of the Deposit of Sandstone Rock at St. Mary's Falls.ByHenry R. Schoolcraft.
Lake Superior presents to the eye the singular spectacle of a body of pure translucent water, five hundred miles in length from east to west, and one hundred and eighty or two hundred miles wide. This vast mass of water is thought to have an extreme depth—I know not on what principles—of nine hundred feet deep. It lies at an elevation of six hundred feet above the Atlantic ocean, at high water.
From this depth there has been protruded from its bottom two species of formations, which were thus elevated by volcanic forces, namely, the trap and the granitical series. Cones and high mural cliffs, with large rents, make this basis one of great inequalities. To fill up these, the sedimentary rocks, by a natural law of gravitation, let fall the dissolved and suspended matter which constitutes the horizontal strata, such as the neutral and deep-colored sandstones. This process also gives origin to grauwackes and the grauwacke slates and the argillites. But these horizontal deposits do not all retain their horizontality. They were tilted up by other volcanic forces, after the deposition and hardening of the sandstones, as we see them at the north foot of the Porcupine Mountains and along the rugged valley of the St. Louis River.
This secondary upheaval or series of upheavals, is conceived to furnish proof of epochs. Strata of the same mineral constitution and system of formation which are upheaved, are clearly of posterior age to the horizontal. Some of these strata of the secondary, epoch have only had their horizontality disturbed, while others are quite vertical. Yet, the disturbances of an epoch are only relative, and it remains true that any disturbance, however slight, in the fundamental series, throws the epoch beyond the newer fletz and tertiary formations.
Some theory of this kind is necessary in scrutinizing the position of the St. Mary's sandstone, which is manifestly of the palaozoic era. It has felt the impulse of disturbance, although it appears to be little. Evidences of this are most perceptible in the British Channel, on the north side of the Island of St. Joseph.This channel, and, indeed, the entire course of the river up to Lake Superior, is the line of juxtaposition between the rocks of elder and the secondary epoch. At the extreme foot of Sugar Island occurs the remains of a stratum of the sandstone era, consisting of white quartz filled with coarse red jasper pebbles. I observed remains of this stratum of remarkable rock, which have been broken off and swept away in the basin of Lake Huron, deposited in boulder masses on its southern shores.
The sandstone of St. Mary's is, structurally, brittle, fissile, and worthless, as a building material. Its substructure is complicated and made up of thin layers exactly deposited, as if from watery suspension, but deposited without disturbance. These sub-layers of construction, are sometimes cut off by parallel lines at right angles, or by new series of layers diagonally formed, or in echelon.
1.Official Report of an Expedition through Upper Michigan and Northern Wisconsin in 1831.
Sault Ste. Marie, Sept. 21, 1831.
Sir: In compliance with instructions to endeavor to terminate the hostilities between the Chippewas and Sioux, I proceeded into the Chippewa country with thirteen men in two canoes, having the necessary provisions and presents for the Indians, an interpreter, a physician to attend the sick, and a person in charge of the provisions and other public property. The commanding officer of Fort Brady furnished me with an escort of ten soldiers, under the command of a lieutenant; and I took with me a few Chippewas, in a canoe provided with oars, to convey a part of the provisions. A flag was procured for each canoe. I joined the expedition at the head of the portage, at this place, on the 25th of June; and, after visiting the Chippewa villages in the belt of country between Lake Superior and the Mississippi, in latitudes 44° to 46°, returned on the 4th of September, having been absentseventy-two days, and travelled a line of country estimated to be two thousand three hundred and eight miles. I have now the honor to report to you the route pursued, the means employed to accomplish the object, and such further measures as appear to me to be necessary to give effect to what has been done, and to insure a lasting peace between the two tribes.
Reasons existed for not extending the visit to the Chippewa bands on the extreme Upper Mississippi, on Red Lake, and Red River, and the River De Corbeau. After entering Lake Superior, and traversing its southern shores to Point Chegoimegon, and the adjacent cluster of islands, I ascended the Mauvaise River to a portage of 8-¾ miles into the Kaginogumac, or Long Water Lake. This lake is about eight miles long, and of very irregular width. Thence, by a portage of 280 yards, into Turtle Lake; thence, by a portage of 1,075 yards, into Clary's Lake, so called; thence, by a portage of 425 yards, into Lake Polyganum; and thence, by a portage of 1,050 yards, into the Namakagon River, a branch of the River St. Croix of the Upper Mississippi. The distance from Lake Superior to this spot is, by estimation, 124 miles.
We descended the Namakagon to the Pukwaewa, a rice lake, and a Chippewa village of eight permanent lodges, containing a population of 53 persons, under a local chief called Odabossa. We found here gardens of corn, potatoes, and pumpkins, in a very neat state of cultivation. The low state of the water, and the consequent difficulty of the navigation, induced me to leave the provisions and stores at this place, in charge of Mr. Woolsey, with directions to proceed (with part of the men, and the aid of the Indians) toLac Courtorielle, or Ottowa Lake, and there await my arrival. I then descended the Namakagon in a light canoe, to its discharge into the St. Croix, and down the latter to Yellow River, the site of a trading-post and an Indian village, where I had, by runners, appointed a council. In this trip I was accompanied by Mr. Johnson, sub-agent, acting as interpreter, and by Dr. Houghton, adjunct professor of the Rensselaer school. We reached Yellow River on the 1st of August, and found the Indians assembled. After terminating the business of the council (of which I shall presently mention the results), I reascended the St. Croix and the Namakagon, to the portage which intervenes between thelatter and Lac Courtorielle. The first of the series of carrying-places is about three miles in length, and terminates at the Lake of the Isles (Lac des Isles); after crossing which, a portage of 750 yards leads toLac du Gres. This lake has a navigable outlet into Ottowa Lake, where I rejoined the advanced party (including Lieutenant Clary's detachment) on the 5th of August.
Ottowa Lake is a considerable expanse of water, being about twelve miles long, with irregular but elevated shores. A populous Chippewa village and a trading-post are located at its outlet, and a numerous Indian population subsists in the vicinity. It is situated in a district of country which abounds in rice lakes, has a proportion of prairie or burnt land, caused by the ravages of fire, and, in addition to the small fur-bearing animals, has several of the deer species. It occupies, geographically, a central situation, being intermediate, and commanding the communications between the St. Croix and Chippewa Rivers, and between Lake Superior and the Upper Mississippi. It is on the great slope of land descending towards the latter, enjoys a climate of comparative mildness, and yields, with few and short intervals of extreme want, the means of subsistence to a population which is still essentially erratic. These remarks apply, with some modifications, to the entire range of country (within the latitudes mentioned) situated west and south of the high lands circumscribing the waters of Lake Superior. The outlet of this Lake (Ottowa) is a fork of Chippewa River, called Ottowa River.
I had intended to proceed from this lake, either by following down the Ottowa branch to its junction with the main Chippewa, and then ascending the latter into Lac du Flambeau, or by descending the Ottowa branch only to its junction with the northwest fork, called the Ochasowa River; and, ascending the latter to a portage of sixtypauses, into the Chippewa River. By the latter route time and distance would have been saved, and I should, in either way, have been enabled to proceed from Lac du Flambeau to Green Bay by an easy communication into the Upper Ouisconsin, and from the latter into the Menomonie River, or by Plover Portage into Wolf River. This was the route I had designed to go on quitting Lake Superior; but, on consulting my Indian maps, and obtaining at Ottowa Lake the best and most recent information of the distance and the actual state of thewater, I found neither of the foregoing routes practicable, without extending my time so far as to exhaust my supplies. I was finally determined to relinquish the Lac du Flambeau route, by learning that the Indians of that place had dispersed, and by knowing that a considerable delay would be caused by reassembling them.
The homeward route by the Mississippi was now the most eligible, particularly as it would carry me through a portion of country occupied by the Chippewas, in a state of hostility with the Sioux, and across the disputed line at the mill. Two routes, to arrive at the Mississippi, were before me—either to follow down the outlet of Ottowa Lake to its junction with the Chippewa, and descend the latter to its mouth, or to quit the Ottowa Lake branch at an intermediate point, and, after ascending a small and very serpentine tributary, to cross a portage of 6,000 yards into Lake Chetac. I pursued the latter route.
Lake Chetac is a sheet of water about six miles in length, and it has several islands, on one of which is a small Chippewa village and a trading-post. This lake is the main source of Red Cedar River (called sometimes theFolle Avoine), a branch of the Chippewa River. It receives a brook at its head from the direction of the portage, which admits empty canoes to be conveyed down it twopauses, but is then obstructed with logs. It is connected by a shallow outlet with Weegwos Lake, a small expanse which we crossed with paddles in twenty-five minutes. The passage from the latter is so shallow that a portage of 1,295 yards is made into Balsam of Fir orSapinLake. The baggage is carried this distance, but the canoes are brought through the stream. Sapin Lake is also small; we were thirty minutes in crossing it. Below this point, the river again expands into a beautiful sheet of water, called Red Cedar Lake, which we were an hour in passing; and afterward intoBois François, or Rice Lake. At the latter place, at the distance of perhaps sixty miles from its head, I found the last fixed village of Chippewas on this stream, although the hunting camps, and other signs of temporary occupation, were more numerous below than on any other part of the stream. This may be attributed to the abundance of the Virginia deer in that vicinity, many of which we saw, and of the elk and moose, whose tracks were fresh and numerous in the sands of the shore. Wild rice is found in all the lakes. Game, of every species commonto the latitude, is plentiful. The prairie country extends itself into the vicinity of Rice Lake; and for more than a day's march before reaching the mouth of the river, the whole face of the country puts on a sylvan character, as beautiful to the eye as it is fertile in soil, and spontaneously productive of the means of subsistence. A country more valuable to a population having the habits of our northwestern Indians could hardly be conceived of; and it is therefore cause of less surprise that its possession should have been so long an object of contention between the Chippewas and Sioux.
About sixty miles below Rice Lake commences a series of rapids, which extend, with short intervals, 24 miles. The remainder of the distance, to the junction of this stream with the Chippewa, consists of deep and strong water. The junction itself is characterized by commanding and elevated grounds, and a noble expanse of waters. And the Chippewa River, from this spot to its entrance into the Mississippi, has a depth and volume, and a prominence of scenery, which mark it to be inferior to none, and superior to most of the larger tributaries of the Upper Mississippi. Before its junction, it is separated into several mouths, from the principal of which the observer can look into Lake Pepin. Steamboats could probably ascend to the falls.
The whole distance travelled, from the shores of Lake Superior to the mouth of the Chippewa, is, by estimation, 643 miles, of which 138 should be deducted for the trip to Yellow River leaving the direct practicable route 505 miles. The length of the Mauvaise to the portage is 104; of the Namakagon, from the portage, 161; of the Red Cedar, 170; of the Chippewa, from the entrance of the latter, 40. Our means of estimating distances was by time, corrected by reference to the rapidity of water and strength of wind, compared with our known velocity of travelling in calm weather on the lakes. These estimates were made and put down every evening, and considerable confidence is felt in them. The courses were accurately kept by a canoe compass. I illustrate my report of this part of the route by a map protracted by Dr. Houghton. On this map, our places of encampment, the sites and population of the principal Indian villages, the trading-posts, and the boundary lines between the Sioux andChippewa, are indicated. And I refer you to it for several details which are omitted in this report.
The present state of the controversy between the Sioux and the Chippewas will be best inferred from the facts that follow. In stating them, I have deemed it essential to preserve the order of my conferences with the Indians, and to confine myself, almost wholly, to results.
Along the borders of Lake Superior, comparatively little alarm was felt from the hostile relation with the Sioux. But I found them well informed of the state of the difficulties, and the result of the several war-parties that had been sent out the last year. A system of information and advice is constantly kept up by runners; and there is no movement meditated on the Sioux borders, which is not known and canvassed by the lake bands.
They sent warriors to the scene of conflict last year, in consequence of the murder committed by the Sioux on the St. Croix. Their sufferings from hunger during the winter, and the existence of disease at Torch Lake (Lac du Flambeau), and some other places, together with the entire failure of the rice crop, had produced effects, which were depicted by them and by the traders in striking colors. They made these sufferings the basis of frequent and urgent requests for provisions. This theme was strenuously dwelt upon. Whatever other gifts they asked for, they never omitted the gift of food. They made it their first, their second, and their third request.
At Chegoimegon, on Lake Superior (orLa Pointe, emphatically so called), I held my first and stated council with the Indians. This is the ancient seat of the Chippewa power in this quarter. It is a central and commanding point, with respect to the country lying north, and west, and south of it. It appears to be the focus from which, as radii from a centre, the ancient population emigrated; and the interior bands consequently look back to it with something of the feelings of parental relation. News from the frontiers flies back to it with a celerity which is peculiar to the Indian mode of express. I found here, as I had expected, the fullest and most recent information from the lines. Mozojeed, the principal man at Ottowa Lake, had recently visited them for the purpose of consultation; but returned on the alarm of an attack upon his village.
The Indians listened with attention to the message transmitted to them from the President, and to the statements with which it was enforced. Pezhickee, the venerable and respected chief of the place, was their speaker in reply. He lamented the war, and admitted the folly of keeping it up; but it was carried on by the Chippewas in self-defence, and by volunteer parties of young men, acting without the sanction of the old chiefs. He thought the same remark due to the elder Sioux chiefs, who probably did not sanction the crossing of the lines, but could not restrain their young men. He lived, he said, in an isolated situation, did not mingle in the interior broils, and did not deem himself responsible for acts done out of his own village, and certainly not for the acts of the villages of Torch Lake, Ottowa Lake, and the St. Croix. He had uniformly advised his people to sit still and remain at peace, and he believed that none of his young men had joined the war-parties of last year. The Government, he said, should have his hearty co-operation in restoring peace. He referred to the sub-agency established here in 1826, spoke of its benefits, and wished to know why the agent had been withdrawn, and whether he would be instructed to return? In the course of his reply, he said that formerly, when the Indians lived under the British government, they were usually told what to do, and in very distinct terms; but they were now at a loss. From what had been said and done at the treaty of Fond du Lac, he expected the care and protection of the American government, and that they would advance towards, instead of (as in the case of the sub-agency) withdrawing from them. He was rather at a loss for our views respecting the Chippewas, and he wished much for my advice in their affairs.
I thought it requisite to make a distinct reply to this point. I told him that when they lived under the British government, they were justified in shaping their course according to the advice they received; but that, on the transfer of the country, their allegiance was transferred with it. And when our Government hoisted its flag at Mackinac (1796), it expected from the Indians living within our boundaries the respect due to it; and it acknowledged, at the same time, the reciprocal obligations of care and protection. That it always aimed to fulfil these obligations, of which facts within his own knowledge and memory would affordample proofs. I referred him to the several efforts the Government had made to establish a lasting peace between the Chippewas and Sioux; for which purpose the President had sent one of his principal men (alluding to Gov. Cass), in 1820, who had visited their most extreme northwestern villages, and induced themselves and the Sioux to smoke the pipe of peace together at St. Peter's. In accordance with these views, and acting on the information then acquired, the President had established an agency for their tribe at Sault Ste. Marie, in 1822. That, in 1825, he had assembled at Prairie du Chien all the tribes who were at variance on the Upper Mississippi, and persuaded them to make peace, and, as one of the best means of insuring its permanency, had fixed the boundaries of their lands. Seeing that the Chippewas and Sioux still continued an harassing and useless contest, he had sent me to remind them of this peace and these boundaries, which, I added, you, Perikee, yourself agreed to, and signed, in my presence. I come to bring you back to the terms of this treaty. Are not these proofs of his care and attention? Are not these clear indications of his, views respecting the Chippewas? The chief was evidently affected by this recital. The truth appeared to strike him forcibly; and he said, in a short reply, that he was nowadvised; that he would hereafter feel himself to be advised, &c. He made some remarks on the establishment of a mission school, &c., which, being irrelevant, are omitted. He presented a pipe, with an ornamented stem, as a token of his friendship, and his desire of peace.
I requested him to furnish messengers to take belts of wampum and tobacco, with three separate messages, viz: to Yellow River, to Ottowa Lake, and to Lac du Flambeau, or Torch Lake; and also, as the water was low, to aid me in the ascent of the Mauvaise River, and to supply guides for each of the military canoes, as the soldiers would here leave their barge, and were unacquainted with the difficulties of the ascent. He accordingly sent his oldest son (Che-che-gwy-ung) and another person, with the messages, by a direct trail, leading into the St. Croix country. He also furnished several young Chippewas to aid us on the Mauvaise, and to carry baggage on the long portage into the first intermediate lake west of that stream.
After the distribution of presents, I left Chegoimegon on the 18th of July. The first party of Indians met at the Namakagon,belonging to a Chippewa village called Pukwaewa; having, as its geographical centre and trading-post, Ottowa Lake. As I had directed part of the expedition to precede me there, during my journey to Yellow River, I requested these Indians to meet me at Ottowa Lake, and assist in conveying the stores and provisions to that place—a service which they cheerfully performed. On ascending the lower part of the Namakagon, I learned that my messenger from Lake Superior had passed, and, on reaching Yellow River, I found the Indians assembled and waiting. They were encamped on an elevated ridge, called Pekogunagun, or the Hip Bone, and fired a salute from its summit. Several of the neighboring Indians came in after my arrival. Others, with their chiefs, were hourly expected. I did not deem it necessary for all to come in, but proceeded to lay before them the objects of my visit, and to solicit their co-operation in an attempt to make a permanent peace with the Sioux, whose borders we then were near. Kabamappa, the principal chief, not being a speaker, responded to my statements and recommendations through another person (Sha-ne-wa-gwun-ai-be). He said that the Sioux were of bad faith; that they never refused to smoke the pipe of peace with them, and they never failed to violate the promise of peace thus solemnly made. He referred to an attack they made last year on a band of Chippewas and half-breeds, and the murder of four persons. Perpetual vigilance was required to meet these inroads. Yet he could assert, fearlessly, that no Chippewa war-party from the St. Croix had crossed the Sioux line for years; that the murder he had mentioned was committed within the Chippewa lines; and although it was said, at the treaty of Prairie du Chien, that the first aggressor of territorial rights should be punished, neither punishment was inflicted by the Government, nor had any atonement or apology thus far been made for this act by the Sioux. He said his influence had been exerted in favor of peace; that he had uniformly advised both chiefs and warriors to this effect; and he stood ready now to do whatever it was reasonable he should do on the subject.
I told him it was not a question of recrimination that was before us. It was not even necessary to go into the inquiry of who had spilt the first blood since the treaty of Prairie du Chien. The treaty had been violated. The lines had been crossed. Murdershad been committed by the Chippewas and by the Sioux. These murders had reached the ears of the President, and he was resolved to put a stop to them. I did not doubt but that the advice of the old chiefs, on each side, had been pacific. I did not doubt but that his course had beenparticularlyso. But rash young men, of each party, had raised the war-club; and when they could not go openly, they went secretly. A stop must be put to this course, and it was necessary the first movement should be madesomewhere. It was proper it should be made here, and be made at this time. Nothing could be lost by it; much might be gained; and if a negotiation was opened with the Sioux chiefs while I remained, I would second it by sending an explanatory message to the chiefs and to their agent. I recommended that Kabamappa and Shakoba, the war-chief of Snake River, should send jointly wampum and tobacco to the Petite Corbeau and to Wabisha, the leading Sioux chiefs on the Mississippi, inviting them to renew the league of friendship, and protesting their own sincerity in the offer. I concluded by presenting him with a flag, tobacco, wampum, and ribbons, to be used in the negotiation. After a consultation, he said he would not only send the messages, but, as he now had the protection of a flag, he would himself go with the chief Shakoba to the Petite Corbeau's village. I accompanied these renewed offers of peace with explanatory messages, in my own name, to Petite Corbeau and to Wabisha, and a letter to Mr. Taliaferro, the Indian agent at St. Peter's, informing him of these steps, and soliciting his co-operation. A copy of this letter is hereunto annexed. I closed the council by the distribution of presents; after which the Indians called my attention to the conduct of their trader, &c.
Information was given me immediately after my arrival at Yellow River, that Neenaba, a popular war-leader from the Red Cedar fork of Chippewa River, had very recently danced the war-dance with thirty men at Rice Lake of Yellow River, and that his object was to enlist the young men of that place in a war-party against the Sioux. I also learned that my message for Ottowa Lake had been promptly transmitted through Neenaba, whom I was now anxious to see. I lost not an hour in reascending the St. Croix and the Namakagon. I purchased two additional canoes of the Indians, and distributed my men in them, tolighten the draught of water, and facilitate the ascent; and, by pushing early and late, we reached Ottowa Lake on the fifth day in the morning. Neenaba had, however, delivered his message, and departed. I was received in a very friendly and welcome manner, by Mozojeed, of the band of Ottowa Lake; Wabezhais, of the Red Devil's band of the South Pukwaewa; and Odabossa, of the Upper Namakagon. After passing the usual formalities, I prepared to meet them in council the same day, and communicate to them the objects of my mission.
In the course of the conference at this place, I obtained the particulars of a dispute which had arisen between the Chippewas of this quarter, which now added to their alarm, as they feared the latter would act in coincidence with their ancient enemies, the Sioux. The reports of this disturbance had reached me at the Sault, and they continued, with some variations, until my arrival here. The following are the material facts in relation to this new cause of disquietude: In the summer of 1827, Okunzhewug, an old woman, the wife of Kishkemun, the principal chief of Torch Lake, a man superannuated and blind, attended the treaty of Butte des Morts, bearing her husband's medal. She was treated with the respect due to the character she represented, and ample presents were directed to be given to her; among other things, a handsome hat. The latter article had been requested of her by a young Menomonie, and refused. It is thought a general feeling of jealousy was excited by her good reception. A number of the Menomonies went on her return route as far as the Clover Portage, where she was last seen. Having never returned to her village, the Chippewas attributed her death to the Menomonies. Her husband died soon after; but she had numerous and influential relatives to avenge her real or supposed murder. This is the account delivered by the Chippewas, and it is corroborated by reports from the traders of that section of the country. Her singular disappearance and secret death at the Clover Portage, is undisputed; and whether caused or not by any agency of the Menomonies, the belief of such agency, and that of the most direct kind, is fixed in the minds of the Chippewas, and has furnished the basis of their subsequent acts in relation to the Menomonie hunting-parties who have visited the lower part of ChippewaRiver. Two women belonging to one of these parties were killed by a Chippewa war-party traversing that part of the country the ensuing year. The act was disclaimed by them as not being intentional, and it was declared they supposed the women to be Sioux. On a close inquiry, however, I found the persons who committed this act were relatives of Okunzewug, which renders it probable that the murder was intentionally perpetrated. This act further widened the breach between the two hitherto fraternal tribes; and the Chippewas of this quarter began to regard the Menomonie hunting-parties, who entered the mouth of the Chippewa River, as intruders on their lands. Among a people whose means of verbal information is speedy, and whose natural sense of right and wrong is acute, the more than usual friendship and apparent alliance which have taken place between the Menomonies and Sioux, in the contest between the Sacs and Foxes, and the murder by them jointly of the Fox chief White Skin and his companions at a smoking council, in 1830, have operated to increase the feeling of distrust; so much so, that it was openly reported at Chegoimegon, at Yellow River, and Ottowa Lake, that the Menomonies had formed a league with the Sioux against the Chippewas also, and they were fearful of an attack from them. A circumstance that had given point to this fear, and made it a subject of absorbing interest, when I arrived at Ottowa Lake, was the recent murder of a Menomonie chief by a Chippewa of that quarter, and the demand of satisfaction which had been made (it was sometimes said) by the Indian agent at Prairie du Chien, and sometimes by the commanding officer, with a threat to march troops into the country. This demand, I afterward learned from the Indians at Rice Lake, and from a conversation with General Street, the agent at Prairie du Chien, had not been made, either by himself or by the commanding officer; and the report had probably arisen from a conversation held by a subaltern officer in command of a wood or timber-party near the mouth of the Chippewa River, with some Chippewas who were casually met. Its effects, however, were to alarm them, and to lead them to desire a reconciliation with the Menomonies. I requested them to lose no time in sending tobacco to the Menomonies, and adjusting this difference. Mozojeed observed that the murder of the Menomoniehad been committed by a personnon compos, and he deplored the folly of it, and disclaimed all agency in it for himself and his band. The murderer, I believe, belonged to his band; he desired a reconciliation. He also said the measures adopted at Yellow River, to bring about a firm peace with the Sioux, had his fullest approbation, and that nothing on his part should be wanting to promote a result in every view so wise and so advantageous to the Indians. In this sentiment, Wabezhais and Odabossa, who made distinct speeches, also concurred. They confirmed their words by pipes, and all the assembly made an audible assent. I invested Mozojeed with a flag and a medal, that he might exert the influence he has acquired among the Indians beneficially for them and for us, and that his hands might thus be officially strengthened to accomplish the work of pacification. I then distributed presents to the chiefs, warriors, women, and children, in the order of their being seated, and immediately embarked, leaving them under a lively and enlivened sense of the good-will and friendship of the American government, on this first official visit to them, and with a sincere disposition, so far as could be judged, to act in obedience to its expressed and known wishes.
The Indians at Torch Lake being dispersed, and my message to them not having been delivered, from this uncertainty of their location, I should have found reasons for not proceeding in that direction, independent of the actual and known difficulties of the route at that time. I was still apprehensive that my appearance had not wholly disconcerted the war-party of Neenaba, and lost no time in proceeding to his village on the Red Cedar fork. We found the village at Lake Chetac, which in 1824 was 217 strong, almost totally deserted, and the trading-house burnt. Scattering Indians were found along the river. The mutual fear of interruption was such that Mr. B. Cadotte, Sen., the trader at Ottowa Lake, thought it advisable to follow in our train for the purpose of collecting his credits at Rice Lake.
While at breakfast on the banks of Sapin Lake, a returning war-party entered the opposite side of it; they were evidently surprised, and they stopped. After reconnoitring us, they were encouraged to advance, at first warily, and afterward with confidence. There were eight canoes, with two men in each; each man had a gun, war-club, knife, and ammunition-bag: there was nothing elseexcept the apparatus for managing the canoe. They were all young men, and belonged to the vicinity of Ottowa Lake. Their unexpected appearance at this place gave me the first information that the war-party at Neenaba had been broken up. They reported that some of their number had been near the mill, and that they had discovered signs of the Sioux being out, in the moose having been driven up, &c. In a short conference, I recited to them the purpose of the council at Ottowa Lake, and referred them to their chiefs for particulars, enjoining their acquiescence in the proposed measures.
I found at Rice Lake a band of Chippewas, most of them young men, having a prompt and martial air, encamped in a very compact form, and prepared at a moment's notice, for action. They saluted our advance with a smartness and precision of firing that would have done honor to drilled troops. Neenaba was absent on a hunting-party; but one of the elder men pointed out a suitable place for my encampment, as I intended here to put new bottoms to my bark canoes. He arrived in the evening, and visited my camp with forty-two men. This visit was one of ceremony merely; as it was late, I deferred anything further until the following day. I remained at this place part of the 7th, the 8th, and until 3 o'clock on the 9th of August. And the following facts present the result of several conferences with this distinguished young man, whose influence is entirely of his own creation, and whose endowments, personal and mental, had not been misrepresented by the Indians on my route, who uniformly spoke of him in favorable terms. He is located at the most advanced point towards the Sioux borders, and, although not in the line of ancient chiefs, upon him rests essentially the conduct of affairs in this quarter. I therefore deemed it important to acquire his confidence and secure his influence, and held frequent conversations with him. His manner was frank and bold, equally free from servility and repulsiveness. I drew his attention to several subjects. I asked him whether the saw-mill on the lower part of the Red Cedar, was located on Chippewa lands? He said, Yes. Whether it was built with the consent of the Chippewas? He said, No; it had been built, as it were, by stealth. I asked him if anything had been subsequently given them in acknowledgmentof their right to the soil? He said, No; that the only acknowledgment was their getting tobacco to smoke when they visited the mill; that the Sioux claimed it to be on their side of the line, but the Chippewas contended that their line ran to a certain bluff and brook below the mill. I asked him to draw a map of the lower part of Chippewa River, with all its branches, showing the exact lines as fixed by the treaty at Prairie du Chien, and as understood by them. I requested him to state the facts respecting the murder of the Menomonie, and the causes that led to it; and whether he, or any of his band, received any message from the agent or commanding officer at Prairie du Chien, demanding the surrender of the murderer? To the latter inquiry he answered promptly, No. He gave in his actual population at 142; but it is evident that a very considerable additional population, particularly men, resort there for the purpose of hunting a part of the year.
The day after my arrival, I prepared for and summoned the Indians to a council, with the usual formalities. I opened it by announcing the objects of my visit. Neenaba and his followers listened to the terms of the message, the means I had adopted to enforce it, and, finally, to the request of co-operation on the part of himself and band, with strict attention. He confined his reply to an expression of thanks, allusions to the peculiarity of his situation on an exposed frontier, and general, sentiments of friendship. He appeared to be mentally embarrassed by my request to drop the war-club, on the successful use of which he had relied for his popularity, and whatever of real power he possessed. He often referred to his young men, over whom he claimed no superiority, and who appeared to be ardently attached to him. I urged the principal topic upon his attention, presenting it in several lights. I finally conferred on him, personally, a medal and flag, and directed the presents intended for his band to be laid, in gross, before him.
After a pause, Neenaba got up, and spoke to the question, connecting it with obvious considerations, of which mutual rights, personal safety, and the obligation to protect the women and children, formed the basis. The latter duty was not a slight one. Last year, the Sioux had killed a chief on the opposite shore of the lake, and, at the same time, decoyed two children, who were in a canoe, among the rice, and killed and beheaded them. Hesaid, in allusion to the medal and flag, that these marks of honor were not necessary to secure his attention to any requests made by the American government. And after resuming his seat awhile (during which he overheard some remarks not pleasing to him, from an Indian on the opposite side of the ring), he finally got up and declined receiving them until they were eventually pressed upon him by the young warriors. Everything appeared to proceed with great harmony, and the presents were quickly distributed by one of his men. It was not, however, until the next day, when my canoes were already put in the water, that he came with his entire party, to make his final reply, and to present the peace-pipe. He had thrown the flag over one arm, and held the war-club perpendicularly in the other hand. He said that, although he accepted the one, he did not drop the other; he held fast to both. When he looked at the one, he should revert to the counsels with which it had been given, and he should aim to act upon those counsels; but he also deemed it necessary to hold fast the war-club; it was, however, with a determination to use it in defence, and not in attack. He had reflected upon the advice sent to the Chippewas by the President, and particularly that part of it which counselled them to sit still upon their lands; but while they sat still, they also wished to be certain that their enemies would sit still. And the pipe he was now about to offer, he offered with a request that it might be sent to the President, asking him to use his power to prevent the Sioux from crossing the lines. The pipe was then lit, handed round, the ashes knocked out, and a formal presentation of it made. This ceremony being ended, I shook hands with them, and immediately embarked.
On the second day afterward, I reached the saw-mill, the subject of such frequent allusion, and landed there at 7 o'clock in the morning. I found a Mr. Wallace in charge, who was employed, with ten men, in building a new dam on a brook of the Red Cedar, the freshet of last spring having carried away the former one. I inquired of him where the line between the Sioux and Chippewas crossed. He replied that the line crossed above the mill, he did not precisely know the place; adding, however, in the course of conversation, that he believed the land in this vicinity originally belonged to the Chippewas. He said it was sevenyears since any Sioux had visited the mill; and that the latter was owned by persons at Prairie du Chien.
The rapids of the Red Cedar River extend (according to the estimates contained in my notes) about twenty-four miles. They commence a few miles below the junction of Meadow River, and terminate about two miles below the mills. This extension of falling water, referred to in the treaty as a fixed point, has led to the existing uncertainty. The country itself is of a highly valuable character for its soil, its game, its wild rice, and its wood. We found the butternut among those species which are locally included under the name ofBois franc, by the traders. The land can, hereafter, be easily brought into cultivation, as it is interspersed with prairie; and its fine mill privileges will add to its value. Indeed, one mile square is intrinsically worth one hundred miles square of Chippewa country, in some other places.
The present saw-mills (there are two), are situated 65 miles from the banks of the Mississippi. They are owned exclusively by private citizens, and employed for their sole benefit. The boards are formed into rafts; and these rafts are afterward attached together, and floated down the Mississippi to St. Louis, where they command a good price. The business is understood to be a profitable one. For the privilege, no equivalent has been paid either to the Indians or to the United States. The first mill was built several years ago, and before the conclusion of the treaty of Prairie du Chien, fixing boundaries to the lands. A permit was given for building, either verbal or written, as I have been informed, by a former commanding officer at Prairie du Chien. I make these statements in reference to a letter I have received from the Department since my return, but which is dated June 27th, containing a complaint of one of the owners of the mill, that the Chippewas had threatened to burn it, and requesting me to take the necessary precautionary measures. I heard nothing of such a threat, but believe that the respect which the Chippewas have professed, through me, for the American government, and the influence of my visit among them, will prevent a resort to any measures of violence; and that they will wait the peaceable adjustment of the line on the rapids. I will add that,whereverthat line may be determined, in a reasonable probability, to fall, the mill itself cannot be supplied with logs forany length of time, ifit is now so supplied, without cutting them on Chippewa lands, and rafting them down the Red Cedar. Many of the logs heretofore sawed at this mill, have been raftedup stream, to the mill. And I understood from the person in charge of it, that he was now anxious to ascertain new sites for chopping; that his expectations were directed up the stream, but that his actual knowledge of the country, in that direction, did not embrace a circumference of more than five miles.
The line between the Chippewa and Sioux, as drawn on the MS. map of Neenaba, strikes the rapids on Red Cedar River at a brook and bluff a short distance below the mill. It proceeds thence, across the point of land between that branch of the main Chippewa, to an island in the latter; and thence, up stream, to the mouth of Clearwater River, as called for by the treaty, and from this point to the bluffs of the Mississippi Valley (where it corners on Winnebago land), on Black River, and not to the "mouth" of Black River, as erroneously inserted in the 5th article of the treaty; the Chippewas never having advanced any claims to the lands at the mouth of Black River. This map, being drawn by a Chippewa of sense, influence, and respectability, an exact copy of it is herewith forwarded for the use of the Department, as embracing the opinions of the Chippewas on this point. The lines and geographical marks were drawn on paper by Neenaba himself, and the names translated and written down by Mr. Johnston.