Chapter 80

HOME OF THE CHIPPEWAS.

An embryonic red man.--A primitive hotel.--An unkempt inhabitant of the forest.--Leech Lake.--Major Ruffe's arrival.--White Cloud.--Paul Beaulieu and his theory about the source of the Mississippi.--Che-no-wa-ge-sic.--Studying Indian manners and customs.--Dining with Indian royalty.--Chippewa hospitality.--How the wife of an Indian Chief entertains.--Souvenir of Flat Mouth.--Return of Che-no-wa-ge-sic.--A council held.--An Indian speech.--"No White Man has yet seen the head of the Father of Waters."--Voyage of exploration.--Launching the canoes.

Upon the arrival of the travelers at Leech Lake their first glimpse of the embryonic red man was a little fellow of about six years, who ran out of a wigwam, brandishing a bow in one hand, and carrying arrows in the other. He was very far from being warlike, however, for with the first glance at his white brothers he suddenly disappeared in the bushes. A little further on they came to a log-cabin, over the door of which was nailed a primitive pine board, bearing the inscription--"Hotel."

Here they were received by a rough-looking man with long hair and unkempt beard, wearing, besides one other garment, a pair of pants made from a red blanket. The surroundings were certainly not inviting, and a closer inspection of the squalid accommodation did not lead them to form any more favorable opinion. However, travelers cannot always be choosers, and they really fared much better than they had expected, dining very agreeably on fresh fish and vegetables; breakfast the next morning being selected from the same simple bill of fare, varied only by the addition of "flap-jacks." In default of habitable beds their hammocks were swung from the rafters of the loft.

Leech Lake is one of the most irregularly shaped bodies of water that can be imagined. It has no well-defined form, being neither oval nor circular, but rather a combination of curves and varied outlines made by peninsulas and bays, of which only a map could convey any accurate idea. Ten islands are found upon its surface, and seven rivers and creeks enter it from various directions. It extends not less than twenty miles from North to South, and a still greater distance from East to West, with a coast line of over four hundred miles. It was for many years the seat of the Chippewa Indian Agency, but is now consolidated with the White Earth and Red Lake agencies. Major C. A. Ruffe is at present agent of the three departments, with headquarters at White Earth. The village consists of some half dozen government buildings, as many log-cabins, and about twenty or thirty wigwams scattered here and there along the shore of one of the arms of the lake.

The day after the arrival of Captain Glazier's party, the agency was thrown into a state of excitement by the announcement that Major Ruffe was on his way to Lake Winnibegoshish by way of Leech Lake. The Major came the next day, accompanied by Captain Taylor of St. Cloud, one of the pioneer surveyors of Minnesota; Paul Beaulieu, the veteran government interpreter, and White Cloud, the present chief of the Mississippi Indians, who succeeded Hole-in-the-day, the latter having been killed some time before by one of the Leech Lake band.

Paul Beaulieu, the half-breed interpreter to Major Ruffe, possesses a fund of information concerning the Upper Mississippi which cannot be ignored by those who are in pursuit of its mysterious source, and Captain Glazier considered himself most fortunate in meeting him before his departure for Lake Itasca. Beaulieu deserves more than a passing mention, as he is a man of wide experience, and is well known throughout Minnesota, and, in some circles, throughout the country. He was born at Mackinaw, while General Sibley was stationed there in the interest of the American Fur Company, of which John Jacob Astor was then the head. His father was a Frenchman and his mother an Indian. He received an English education, partly in the government school of Mackinaw, and partly at Montreal. On leaving school he was employed by the Fur Company, and sent all over the United States from the St. Lawrence to Lower California. He crossed the continent with the Stevens party on the first Northern Pacific survey, and rendered such valuable services that he was presented with a testimonial in recognition of his efficiency.

Beaulieu had a theory of his own regarding the source of the Mississippi, based upon the stories of the Chippewas and other Indians of his acquaintance. In conversation with Captain Glazier upon the subject he said that to the west of Lake Itasca there was another lake, the outlet of which united with the stream from the former, and which contributed a much larger volume of water at its junction with the Mississippi than the outlet of Lake Itasca. He therefore assumed that this nameless and almost unknown lake was the true source of the Mississippi.

In corroboration of the Beaulieu theory Major Ruffe said that he had heard the same opinion expressed by a number of old and reliable Indian voyagers. It will thus be seen that there was a great diversity of sentiment among the most trustworthy authorities as to the actual source of the Great River.

Captain Glazier was greatly exercised on finding that his arrival at Leech Lake was at a season when the local band of Indians, the Pillagers, as they are called, were away upon their annual hunting and fishing excursion. Their absence from the agency was a serious obstacle in the way of immediate further progress, for the reason that, being compelled to take the final step in their expedition to the source of the Mississippi from this point, it was important that they should complete their equipment by securing an interpreter, reliable guides and birch bark canoes.

"Find Rev. Edwin Benedict as soon as you reach Leech Lake" was the last injunction Captain Glazier received on leaving Brainerd. Mr. Benedict is Post Missionary, and one of the five representatives of the Episcopal Church on the Chippewa Reservation, holding his commission from Bishop Whipple of Minnesota. With this genial gentleman, Captain Glazier spent the greater part of his time while waiting at the Agency, when not engaged in preparations for the voyage. The courtesy of a semi-civilized bed, and the convenience of a table, with pens, ink and paper, were luxuries to be appreciated and not readily forgotten.

Conversations with Mr. Benedict and with Flat Mouth, chief of the Chippewas, developed the unexpected fact that there was but one Indian in the Chippewa country who had actually traversed the region which the Captain and his party were about to explore, and that he was then visiting some friends near Lake Winnibegoshish, and was not expected to return until the following Saturday, some three days off.

Satisfied that Che-no-wa-ge-sic, the Chippewa brave referred to, would prove indispensable to the success of his expedition, Captain Glazier decided to await his return to the Agency. While thus detained the Captain and his friends found themselves indebted to Major Ruffe for his untiring efforts to relieve the monotony of their sojourn, and to render their condition as agreeable as possible while within his sovereign borders.

As an important part of Captain Glazier's purpose in his Mississippi expedition was to study the manners and customs of the people in the several portions of the country along its banks, he took advantage of his present detention to inquire into the habits and traits of the Indians with whom he now came in daily contact. Some extracts from his private diary, graphically portraying the characteristics which impressed him, are here especially interesting, as evidence of a certain power of philosophic reflection and inductive reasoning unusual in the mind of one so given to the excitement of an active, enterprising life as was Captain Glazier, who as soldier, author, and explorer certainly allowed himself little rest for the quiet abstractions of the student.

"Through conversations with Major Ruffe I learned much of the pioneer history of the post, and the attempts to civilize the Pillagers, as the Leech Lake Indians are named. This band appears to have separated from the other Chippewas at an early day, and to have taken upon themselves the duty of defending this portion of the Chippewa frontier. They 'passed armed before their brethren' in their march westward. Their geographical position was one which required them to assume great responsibilities, and in the defence of their chosen frontier they have distinguished themselves as brave and active warriors. Many acts of intrepidity are related of them which would be recorded with admiration had white men been the actors. Perfectly versed in the arts of the forest they have gained many victories over that powerful assemblage of tribes known as the Sioux. With fewer numbers the Chippewas have never hesitated to fall upon their enemies, and have defeated and routed them with a valor and resolution which in any period of written warfare would have been stamped as heroic.

"It is not easy on the part of the government to repress the feelings of hostility which have so long existed between the respective tribes, and to convince them that they have lived into an age when milder maxims furnish the basis of wise action....

"The domestic manners and habits of a people whose position is so adverse to improvement could hardly be expected to present anything strikingly different from other erratic bands of the Northwest. There is indeed a remarkable conformity in the external habits of all our Northern Indians. The necessity of changing their camps often to procure game or fish, the want of domestic animals, the general dependence on wild rice, and the custom of journeying in canoes has produced a general uniformity of life, and it is emphatically a life of want and vicissitude. There is a perpetual change between action and inanity in the mind which is a striking peculiarity of the savage state, and there is such a general want of forecast that most of their misfortunes and hardships, in war and peace, come unexpectedly."...

Our explorers were agreeably surprised one day during their stay at Leech Lake by an invitation from Flat Mouth, the present ruler of the Pillagers, to take dinner with him. Captain Glazier accepted the invitation with pleasure, for it so happened that although he had for many years been much among the natives of the forest he had never before had an opportunity to dine with Indian royalty.

Flat Mouth is a descendant of Aish-ki-bug-e-koszh, the most famous of all the Chippewa chiefs. He is stalwart in appearance and endowed with marked talents, and well deserves the title of "chief." At the appointed time for the dinner, Captain Glazier, accompanied by his brother and Mr. Paine, went to his residence. They found him living in a comfortable log-house of two rooms, well floored and roofed, with two small glass windows. A plain board table stood in the centre of the front room, upon which the dinner was served. Pine board benches were placed upon each side of the table and at the ends, and they followed the example of the host in sitting down. Five other persons were admitted to the meal, the wife of Flat Mouth, White Cloud, chief of the Mississippis, and three Chippewa sub-chiefs. The wife of Flat Mouth sat near him and poured out the tea, but ate or drank nothing herself. Tea-cups, spoons, plates, knives and forks, all of plain manufacture, were carefully arranged, the number corresponding with the guests. A fine mess of bass and white fish cut up and very palatably broiled filled a dish in the centre of the table, from which the host helped his guests. Birch bark salt cellars containing pepper and salt mixed allowed each one to season his fish with both or neither. A dish of blue berries picked on the shore of the lake completed the repast.

While they were eating, the room became filled with Indians, apparently the relatives and friends of Flat Mouth, and after the dinner was over, speech-making being in order, White Cloud arose, and, assuming an oratorical attitude, addressed Captain Glazier:

He expressed regret that white men had so long been in ignorance of the source of the Mississippi, and said that although he had not himself seen the head of the Great River, there were many braves of his tribe who were familiar with its location. He hoped that his white brother had come thoroughly prepared to explore the country beyond Lake Itasca, and that he would not return to his friends until he had found the true source of the "Father of Waters." Continuing he said: "I am told that Che-no-wa-ge-sic, the Chippewa warrior, will accompany you. He is a great hunter and a faithful guide. He can supply you with game and paddle your canoe. The Chippewas are your friends, and will give you shelter in their wigwams."

After he had finished, Flat Mouth presented Captain Glazier with a beautifully beaded pipe and tobacco pouch, the work of his favorite squaw, and expressed an earnest hope for the complete success of the expedition. Although Captain Glazier needed nothing to keep the memory of this novel dinner fresh in his mind, he will always treasure this souvenir of Flat Mouth among the many pleasant mementos of his visit to Leech Lake.

Here again, in referring to this dinner and those whom he met there, Captain Glazier's diary furnishes one of his vivid pen-pictures in an admirably conceived criticism upon the mental attributes and general character of the distinguished Indian chief, White Cloud, the orator of the feast.

"I was much gratified on this occasion by the presence of White Cloud, whom I had been told was the most respectable man in the Chippewa country; and if the term were applied to his intellectual qualities and the power of drawing just conclusions from known premises, and the effects which these have had on his standing and influence with his own tribe, it is not misapplied. Shrewdness and quickness of perception most of the chiefs possess, but there is more of the character of common sense and practical reflection in White Cloud's remarks than I have observed in most of the chiefs I have hitherto met. In his early life he was both a warrior and a counselor, and these distinctions he held, not from any hereditary right, but from the force of his own character. I found him quite ready to converse upon those topics which were of most interest to him, and the sentiments he expressed were such as would occur to a mind which had possessed itself of facts and was capable of reasoning from them. His manners were grave and dignified, and his oratory such as to render him popular wherever heard."

Upon the return of Chenowagesic and other Indians, a council was held and Captain Glazier stated his object to them. They were asked to provide maps of the country and to furnish an interpreter, guides and canoes. Of course, it was impossible to conclude any such important negotiations as attended an expedition involving the veritable source of the noble red man's mystical stream without the characteristic Indian speech. Accordingly, Chenowagesic arose, and with much dignity, extending his arm towards Captain Glazier, said:

"My brother, the country you are going to visit is my hunting ground. I have hunted there many years and planted corn on the shores of Lake Itasca. My father, now an old man, remembers the first white chief who came to look for the source of the Great River. But, my brother, no white man has yet seen the head of the 'Father of Waters.' I will myself furnish the maps you have requested, and will guide you onward. There are many lakes and rivers in the way, but the waters are favorable. I shall talk with my friends about the canoes, and see who will step forward to supply them. My own canoe shall be one of the number."

But a few hours were required to complete the maps, and on the following morning, three Chippewas, including Chenowagesic, brought each a canoe and laid it down on the shore of the lake.