Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1870-06-16
Agricultural.
NV LIFE AMONG CHiPPEwAS.
BY f. A. MOORE.
From Hearth and Home.

The best sampie VI iuuiaA iainihS
..1nnd Lake Superior is found on the Red
4 49, reservation near the farther shore,
n "a, ,oint is reached by canoe navigation,
~. n miles south of Bayfield,, the only
tt"soontitnl village on the whole lake-borders.
gyart' are two thousand Chippewas on the
Aerrotion. under eleven chiefs, The
Il;.fs are all stalwart men, of the ancient,
T..r,as1ue type strong-linbed open
l Lon5 and high-headed. They are evil
l 5"nYy the pick and best men OF the tribe.
~ Great orator, Na-gau-nup, is well
W. st Washington. His three daugh
A az would be noticed any where for their
.,tv intelligence, and fine manners
Torr.ffths of the tribe wear citizens dress,
lat distance have the air OF the Cana
dian gentleman. -,
"A The aid of pilot and oarsman The
hest 10 be had are two Chippewa women,
,rbo will make the twenty miles distance
s.an, Bavfeld, with neat stroke, in six
ho T Should the wind favor, they will
Lo;st sail, and 90 down in four hours
,lossinp the largest of the Apostle Islands,
iprbera Catholic mission has been planted
for two hundred years.
,ownsl Is. each six miles square, along the
liver. It is rich bottom-land, heavily tim
bered and bearing striking resemblance to
tba famous Miami Valley, ID Ohio The
liver is deep, clear, and winding. Wide
bov meadows and wild.riee marshes border
he mouth Farther up, we open into
flick forest OF elm, ash, cedar, birch, bal
sam, maple, and aspen, with occasional
nlnmns of pine The reflection of the green
;ockets Of the cedars and the red caps of
iba naples on an autumn day, puts all Mr..
prano's chromos to shame. As weapproach
The village, five miles up the river, our fair
oors-women, nsing the riversurtace for
mirror, slick up their hair and face, and
then send forward our canoe with the
swiftness Of steamer
The village proper takes IN three hun
drad acres of level clearing, including SIX
acres of graveyard, populous with small
frame coops and crosses, There are two
little churches, Protestant and Catholic, a
scbool.house, playhouse, government
farmhouse, store, shops, and forty or nifty
hark and log cabins stretching for mile
along the grassy river bank. Here dwells
the ancient Ojibway. The scene presented
Of pleasant Sunday afternoon, when half
me tribe have gathered; the groups in
motion and ct rest; the variegatel cos
fumes of pagan and Christian; old chiefs
with pipes and paper collars; old women
of seventy in the dress of seventeen; stylish
vonnp bucks; modest maidens, halt-nked
children. and wolfsh dogs. forza a picture
and study rarely equaled on city boule-
wards
ONE ACRE ENOUGH.
The averaged-sized Chippewa farmer Is
satisfied with an acre of clearing near the
stream, There are two hundred, perhaps
of these farmers scattered along the reser-
walton. They are assisted in making clear
inos with Government oxen. The trees are
feIied. trimmed, and the logs pulled aside
in the edge of the timber. Their cabins of
logs or cedar-bark usually occupy the north
side of the clearing. The bark is double
lowed set upright with sloping roofs
The sides are supported and bound fast
with poles, crossways and perpendicular
inside and out. They have little square
window at one end, and door at the side
The walls are mostly lined with rush-mas
A little raised platform, foot or so high,
at one side, answers Tor bed, table, aud
chairs. A little hammock swung from the
corners takes the place of the cradle. In
most cases q cracked stove of some sort Is
seen in the centre, with a retinue of pots
and dishes, kept clean and shining by the
dogs.
The philosophy of the indian is to have
enough for the present, to drudge little,
trust fate AMI follow his nature. The
Chippewa farmer don't care to add to has
acre of clearing. He has no yards, no
teaces. Indian dogs are guardians OF the
cabin lot. A few have ponies, few oxen,
many COW and calf, and some a pig, but
never hog. Their stock is driven down
to the lake shore in summer, where they
find good pasture and relief from flies.
The COW IL sometimes kept about the
cabin, watched by children, and tied at
night They work their bulls and oxen
singly, using a bend for bow, with long
thills attached to each end with ring and
bolt They use them to plough, and to
draw up hay end wood in winter. They
have seldom a wagon road; their canoe is
coach and carryall during the reign OF sum-
mer.
SUGAR MAKING.
Every family has a separate sugar-bush,
Of one or two hundred trees, which has
come down to them from former genera
ton Sugar-making begins in April, ard
Is followed up with unlimited frolic and
Tasting, The trough, are made Of nan
keen-colored bark folded at the end. Flat
spiles with creases age driven into ehisel-
cuts made in the trees. The women do all
the work gathering wood and sap on snow
shoes The san is boiled in long iron
kettles, hung in the centre of the camps.
Sugar is king. Children kick about on
their bellies, daubing their faces with
candy and rolling on the snow. Young
bucks gorge themselves by day, and ca
rouse about with rattles and drums at night
Old men start out for ducks and muskrats
Witha big cake of sugar in their sacks and
live on it for days When dry the sugar
is put IN bark mococks holding from two
20 sixty pounds. Many of the smaller are