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

idence OF the great commander, whose
apartment is built by itself towards the
side of the lake, ard surrounded by so
other apartments where all his relations
are lodged. When he walks his way IL
strown with the leaves Of trees, bat
commonly he is carried by six slaves.
His royal robes are ofthe same magnit-
licence as those of the chief of the 0ko-
lros. He is naked all over, excepting
his lower extremities, which are cover
ed with a large scarf made Of the bark
of trees.
The large extent Of this village might
Justly entitle it to the name of city.
The houses are built almost IKE oy-
ems, but they are large and high. aud
most of them are composed of reeds
and clay.
The day before left this place as
was walking about saw 80 or 40 e.
males running at full speed. They were
lately married and were Fastening 10
receive the soul of an old fellow WHO
was dying"
He therefore concluded that the PEG
pie were Pythagoreans in their belief
| On the 4th of December he left this vii
lage, and after some four or five days Of
travel and Of breaking the ice, he land
ed within two leagues Of village Of
the Gnacsitares. He then had two
hours talk with the. chief, who assured
him that the Spaniards of New Mexico,
were about $40 leagues distant.
On the 9TH of January the chief re-
quested him to accept of a large house.
| He here narrdtes what no one who was
not little libertine, would have mem
toned, and concludes this part of the
narrative with this latin sentence, Sine
Cerere ct Baccho friget Venus"
t Having fastened plate of lead TO
pcle. he remarks that on the goth Of
January he began to return. On he 9TH
of February he reached the country Of,
the Essanasses, and arrived at the Mis-
sissippi on the second of March
On the tenth he arrived at the Isle
aux Recontres, so called because par
ty Of 400 Iroquois were here defeated
| by 800 Nadouesses.
On the Gath Of April, via the Iliaois
river, he arrived at Chekakan, { hica-
CO. and on the 22nd of May he wa. at
Mackinac
Long River on the chart accompany
ing the letter, enters the Mississippi Oh
the West side, some distance below
Lake Pepin. He also terms it On his
map Riviere Morte. He represents in
one corner Of the chart medal of rose
colored metal resembling copper, which
was in possession of nation that lived
beyond the Gnacstares. A view OF the
map in connection with the persuai Of
Lahontan's letter, will impress most
readers with the belief, that the voyage
up the so styled Long River, is sheer
fabrication Yet Nicollet is disposed
to insist upon Lahontan's yeracity, and
has given his name in his map to Can
non River, which enters the MississipFs
at the head of Lake Pepin. In view q
the objection that it is impossib'e to
travel up rivers in this region, in Cd
noe in the month of December, he says,
at is one of the last to freeze. anC q IS
the last resort of the wild fowl. The
Sioux are said to congregate, in conse-
quence. upon its banks in large mum
bers"
But Notwithstanding the defence IN
behalf of I.ahontan by this late estima-
bic man of science, many will remain
incredulous, and consider Long River IL
be ''long yarn" spun ont of Lahon-
tan's brain to excite the wonder OF The
Europeans, and support the theory that
had been advanced by HennePln and
others, that there were large navigahle
streams entering the Mississippi, by
which a SPEEDY and easy voyage could
be made to Japan.
Among the fabulous things in Lahon-
tan's works, is the chapter on the coats
of arms of the different Indian tribes.
II isilustfated with several engravings,
among ykhers a representation OF the
arms of HE Nadouesses or Sioux, and
of the Ontchipones [Ojibwas or Saul
teurs. The former is a squirrel eatias
a penkniie.. the latter is an eagle perch
ed upon high rock devouripg an owl
which he holds in his claws.
In toucI9 ding this article we trnns-
cribe a cri2aue of Charlevoix upon the
author '4p e6et pressure tons les mons
propres sent cstropies, la plupart des
fats y sout ;defiqures, ct l'on y trouve
des episodes entiers, qui sout des pures
ictions, tel que lie voyage sur Ia.
Riviere Lohgue, aussi fabuieuse que
l'Isle Baratatia. d nt saucno' Pansa fsss
fat Gouveneur'" ~
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