The Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1849-1855, 1850-09-12

September, with my company and i've
Outaouass (Ottawas.) good hunters
All my brave men being provided with
good canoes filled with provisions and
amunitioni together with goods for the
Indian trade. / took advantage of a
north wind, and in three days entered
the bay sof the Ponteoutamies, dis
tant from here about 40 leagues. On
the 29th we entered a river which is
quite deep, whose waters are so affected
by theLakes, that they rise and fall 3
feet in IL hours.
The Sakis, the Poutouatimes, and a
few of the: Malominis, have their villa
ges on the; border of this river, and the
Jesuits have house there. In the
place there is carried on quite com
merce in furs and Indian corn, which the
traffic with the coureurs des bois who
pass to and fro, for it is their nearest
and most convenient passage to the Mis-
sissippi."
After giving an account Of a feast
that the Indians held in his honor, and a
description of thel beavers and their hab-
its, which occupies five pages, he re-
marks:
''To return to my voyage. After our
arrival ii, the bay, we babe alden to
navigation upon the lakes, and setting
out on September Sd arrived ON October
End at tho foot of the falls of Kakalin,
after stem ming some little currents in
the River of Puants. The next day we
made snail portage, and on the fifth,
at a village of Kikapous, in the vicinity
, of which,. encamped. The village
stands upon the brink of little lake.
On the 9th arrived at the foot o. the
Outagamis, Foxes were / found but
few people. They received me kindly,
and after the dance of the calumet be-
fore the dpor of my tent, they made me
present: of vension ard fish. The
next day they conveyed me up the river
to the place where their people were
hunting beavers. Upon the 18th, we
landed uppn the shore of "a little lake
where theihead of the tribe resided
The chief'visited me after | pitched my
tent, and inquired which way l was
moving. L replied, that | was SO far
from designing to march towards the
/ Nadouessious, his enemies, that should
not come near them by 100 leagues, and
to prove the truth of my assertion,
asked him to send six warriors to &C
company sne to the Long River, which
designed to trace up to its source.
On the night of the 10th, he arrived
at the Wisconsin portage, which he de-
scended, and on the 23d, encamped up
on an island in the Mississippi opposite
that riverj On the end of November
he arrived at the entry of the Long Riv-
err, which, he describes as a sort OF
Long Lake filed with canebrakes, in
the midst Of which he discovered mar
row channel, which, on the s3d, he
began to follow up. The next morning
he inquired of the Fox Indians the
Outagamis who accompanied, how far
they would have to GO before they were
clear of the bushes, and received this
answer; THAT they had never been in
the mouth, of that river before, though
they assured me that about 300 leagues
higher, the banks of it were clad with
woods and meadows. But we did not
have to sail so far, for about ten O'Clock
the next morning the river became pref
ty narrow. and the shore was covered
with lofty trees, and after continuing
our course the rest Of that day We occa-
sionally had the prospect of meadows.
On the 6lh a gentle gale spring up
which waited US to an island about L..
leagues higher, where we landed Our
! passage To this place was very quick,
Notwithstanding the great calm that pre-
walls upon the river, which take to be
the least rapid stream in the world. On
the 9TH, tie same winds drove us to q
third island that lay ten or ID leagues
beyond. On the eighth the winCiHbeing
intercepted by the fir clad h,Ss, we piled
our oars, and about two in the afternoon
deserted Gin the left hand large meadows
and som@ huts at the distance of one
fourth of a league from the river.
Upon this discovery, our savaoes,
and ten OF the soldiers jumped upon the
shore and directed their course td the
houses, where they found 80 or 90 bun
tiers prepared to receive them with bows
and arrows.
They W ere the Eokor6s presented
them, more out of politS than acknowl-
edgement, with tobacco. knives and
needles, which they could not but ad-
mire. .
| took leare of them on the 18th, and
set out with convoy of or 600 isatae
ges, who hrched upon the shore, keep
ing pace with our canoe. The chief
of this people informed him, that they
had twelve villages peopled by &c, 900
warriors, and that their number was
much greater before their wars with the
Nadouesses, Panimohh, and Essanas-
SOS. Their huts are long and round at
the tops, not unlike those of our 'sava-
ges, but Tfade Of reeds and rushes
twisted ana ccmented with clay. Both
the men and women go naked With the
exception .of their loins. !, The women
are not so good looking as those who
live upon Abe Ddkes of Canada. +;
On the 18th yncowed briskIy, hopinst to
reach the ,ti1 (killage of the E.ssanas-