The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1858-04-22


Minnesota, are words derived from the Dab
kotah vocabulary.
Between the head OF Lake Superior and
the Mississippi river, above the Falls of
Saint Anthony, is country of many lakes
So numerous are they and interlaced by
clear and sparkling brooks, to an acronaut
they would appear like a necklace of dia,
monds, on silver tilaments, gracefully thrown
upon the bosom of Earth.
Surrounded by forests of the sugar ma
ple-the neighbouring marshes fertile in the
growth of wild rice-thc waters abounding
| in fish-the shores once alive with the bea-
yer, the otter, the bear, and the iox-they
!. were sites iis' adaptei for tbs. rcsiaGnes -
an Indian population.
When the Dahkotahs were first noticed
by the European advcnturer, large numbers
were occupying this region of country, and
| appropriately called by the yoyagcur "Peo.
| pie Of the Lakes" ID And tradition, asserts
that here, was the ancient centre of this
tribe Though we have traces of their
waIring and hunting on the shores of Lake
! Superior. there is no satisfactory evidence
! Of their residence, east Of the Mile Lac re-
| gion. (2)
The word Dahko,ah, by which they love
to be designated signifies allied or Joined to-
/ gcther in friendly compact, and is equivalent
to 4" + pluribus ununI," the motto on the
seal of the United States.
/ THE FUR TRADERS.
| The trade in iurs has produced class of
men OF marked peculiari,es. Under the
| French dominion, military officers, and the
! descendants OF a decayed nobility, were IL
censed, by authority, to trade ia particu
| lar district. These men were well educated
! polished in their manners. and fond of con
troll. Living III a savage land, surrounded
| by few dependents, they acted as monarchs
OF oil they surveyed. The freedom from the
restraints OF civilized life, and the aduation
/ received from the barbarians, who are 50
easily impressed by tinsel and glare, had
wonderful fascination. so that lodge in
soMe vast wilderness " became preferable
to the drawing rooms OF ancient France, and
/ the gay assemblies OF Quebec.
These licensed officers did not harrass
! themselves with the minutm of the Indian
trade. In Their employ were a few clerks,
chiefly natives Of Canada, who had received
I the rudimcnts OF an education. Upon these
/ devolved the task Of conducting European
/ articles of merchandise. to the tribes on the
/ various water courses that radiated from the
/ centre Of trade, with whom they wintercd.
and then returned in the spring or summer
! with the pctrics that had been obtained in
! exchange for powder, lead, rum, and tobac-
/ CO.
/ Under each clerk were few men OF no
/ cultivation, the children Of poverty or
I shame, who from their earliest youth had led
! rowing life, and who acted az canoe men,
hewers Of wood. and drawers Of water.
! Mercurial in temperament, and with no
sense OF responsibility. they were "jolly
SET OF fellows, in their habits approylnla-
ting to the savage, rather than the Euro
pean
! The labors Of the day finished, they dane.
/ ed around the camp fire 10 the sound Of the
viol. or they purchased the virtue Of some
4 Indian maiden, and engaged in debauch as
disgusting az that OF sailors sojourning in
the isles Of the South Sea. or
Worn with the long days march and the
chase
or The deer and the bison,
stretched Themselves on the ground and slept
Where the qglyering fire lgh,
Flashed on their swarthy cheeks. and their
Forms wrapped up IA Their blankets. ."3J
Injured 10 toll, they rose in the morning
when II was yct dark" and pushing the
PROV oi their light canoes into the water.
swiftly they glited away like the shade Of
cloud on the prairie, AMI did not breakfast
until the sun had been above the horizon for
several hours.
Hating for short period, they lartook
Of their cUarse fare, aud sang their rude
songs; then re-embarkng. they pursued their
course b. the land oi the beaver and the
buffalo, until the "shad's Of night Legan 10
fail.
From early youth accustomed TO dssccnd
rapd', aud ascaDd lofty bluffs with heavy
burdens. they guided their canoz. an1 car
red Their packs through place that would
have tecn impas.able 10 ans but tie, "cou-
reur. des bois. ~
!" ben Oil age relaxed their sioewy join,..
they returned 10 Mackinaw, or sOme Otiler
epirePot. ami with an Indian woman OBJ
taiDei, after the manner OF the country, 70
amend Their moccas-io- AMI hoe their gar
deus, ras-si the reInaioder of life in whiting
the p.le and recounting hair-brcadth
escals-.
The "bo.s oyu!e ~ Clipping naturally he
came eDaDOUred with the rovers lie. q re-.
trozpect oi waich Infused fire INTO the dim
eye Of the Oh man, aud a. soJn "a employ
n'ent could IL ob;aio'sd they left the home
stead TO follow 10 The footsteps Of their an
CstOrs.
The vCyageur seIdom remains in a settlel
coan'ry. As c.viIizatiou advances be feels
cramp,i AMI uncomfortable, AMI follows the
lnd,aa IN hss retreat On the eOnhnes Of
Minnesota are many Of this ciAss, whose fs-
then, generation ago, dseit 3, la PoiDe,