The Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1849-1855, 1851-02-20
TcoHr,Nurp.1

ltOA' VI e
Tho Chippcwas number within the
lih,its of the In.ied States about eight
thousand souls. OF this number, four
hundred, at the present time, reside in
the State of Michigan, three housand
III Wisconsin,, and the remaining four
thousand five huaGred IL tho Territory
OF Minnesota As those living in Mich
iaan and Niscansin, Oh land coded to
government, will soon fall under the ju
,ssdc,ioa Of this perintendency, hav-
iar been ordered 10 remove to the
Country appropriated for them within
this Territory, / have tAoaght proper
10 embrace them in brief sketch OF
the history, numbers. villages, and
modes Of livelihood Of the different d.
visions of the tribe. For much Of my
information on this subject, am indebt
cd to the researches OF Mr. w. w.
Warrea, an educated O3jibway half
breed
Five thousand Chippcways arc equal
parties TO, and receive annulties under
the treaties of 81. Peters in 1857, and
of Lapointe in I5i2. OF all treaties
from time to time entered into by the
several bands of this tribe, these two
are in every respect the most important.
in these treaties, they ceded to the
United States all their possessions IL
Wisconsin and Michigan, comprising
the rick, mineral distric, whidh extends
along tie south coast OF Lake Superior,
and tac valuable pineres which skirt
Black, Chippewa, st. CroiX. Rum, and
Wisconsin rivers, and tributaries
For this large cession they receive an
rally, for the respective periods OF
twenty and twenty-five years, the sum
cf sixty-f5ur Thousand dollars, in goods,
money, sc. The parties TO these trea-
ties wi,h tae exception Of the Mississippi
pi division. numbering scnc eleven
hundred, still reside upon the lands
they have cedcd. BY treaty provisions
tne term Of thier stay was left optional
with the President; and rot tlil last
spring was IA mandate for their rem val
given by the Chief Magistrate CT the
country.
. Beside the BODY of five thousand who
receive annuities under treaties al st.
Peters, La Poinle, and Fond da Lac,
& division Of one thousand, known as
the PIllager Chippewas, residing 10
Minnesota, receive stated amount of
goods under the treaty OF Lecch lake
Ia 1917, wherein they sold the lands
which have been set apart for the Me-
NOMINEES. The remaining body Of two
thousand residing in this territory re-
~
The Chippcwas are well nar1ed
type and leading tribe OF tho Algon-
4ain stock. They call themselves Oiib-
r:aig--the plural of OGjuway from Oiib-
,sah, ''puckered or " drawn up
According 70 al eminent writer, this
Game = denotes as peculiarly i'll their
Voice. Or mode OF speaking or manner
Vi utterance but rs there is no discern
able pucker IN their voice or
raodc OF speaking their really
rausical language, moro natural gen.
esis OF the word could probably be de-
rived frori circumstance in their past
history. Upwards oftwo centuries ago,
they were driven by the Iroquois or
Six Nations Of New York into the straits
df Mackinaw, where. Lakes Huron,
Michigan. and Superior are s. puckered''
Into a small channel, or narrow compass.
Error to this esei.t, there is nothing in
their traditions, or in the writings OF
early travellers, to Indicate that they
Tcre known by the name of O,iqraig.
When Intercepted upon the subject,
Some of their old men affirm that they
IRE named after the OUJray moccasin.
o peculiarly made article, "puckered
ipto seam the whole length Of the
foot"
The history of this tribe. prior TO
eight generations ago, is collected en-
tlrely iiotn oral traditions, which savor
of the marvellous or supernatural. and
from which but vague and unsatlsiac-
tory deduction can DC drawn. From
these traditions, however, We learn
That they once were familiar with the
salt ocean, that they lived on large
river, again on a great lake, where
they exierminated a tribe they call the
.Neendaa, and last in large centre
tpwn ON an island in the bay of Stag
rii-lcarn ik-on5, on Lake Superior, or
Keche Gumme. The old men Of the
tribe agree in saying that to this spot
taier ancestors first came, about eight
generations CT two hundred and forty
years ago, estimating an Indian gem
Grafton at thirty years. They were
driven from the east by powerful tribes,
wohm they denominate .Nodswaig mean
iig "adders." These were the Iro-
duois or Six Nations of New York and
Canada, who, coming first in contact
With the whites, became first armed
&ith deadly weapons, giving them great
advantage ever more western and re-
E,ote tribes, who still welded the prini-
hive weapon of bow and arrow. Driy-
en- wcstward!y upon Lake Superior, the
the Ojibwas came i'll collision with the
.45-5ons- &c Sioux, or "Roasters" and
abe O-dug-aumeeg, Opposite side peo-
Hle" or Foxes. These two tribes be-
came their invctcrate enemies, and for
q long time hemmed them in upon the'