National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1873-08-29
THE WINNEBAG0 INDIANS.
THEIR TRIBAL NAMES AND RELATIONS,

Tribal Nom nclnture-InterestinG Histori-
cal Rcminlsccncc-The Origin OF the
Northwestern Tribes-Thc Old North
western Far Company and the Hudseu
Bay Company-Corrections or Some In
accuracIes-Thc Geography Of the In
dian Country.
Prepared for the REPUBLICAN by DR.. Thomas
Poster, nIstoriographer Indian Burcsu.l
The existence Of the winnebago indiana
has been known to the white race since about
l832-for more than two hundred and forty
years. At that time, and long subsequently,
conrin, In the vicinity Of Green Bay and Of
the Lake Wlnncbago or winnepcek OF Fox
river. Under tho stipulations OF treaties
made with them at different times they have
been successfully removed to the upper part
Of the State Of Iowa, on turkey river; then
sofa on the Mississippi, and on Long Prairie
river, q branch Of Grow-wing river, one Of
Its tributaries; next to the country on the
Blue Earth river, q tributary Of the upper
Minnesota river In the same State. until,
finally, they rest on Reservation on the up
per Missouri river, in the State Of Nebraska,
Gated tiselr oft-shoots or "youneer brothers, "
tin Omahaws. A part OF the yinncbagocs,
stragglers at different periods from the main
tribe, have remained In or have wandered
back 20 Wisconsip, and refuse to cmigrate,
though strong efforts are now being made to
have them do so. This tribe Is Representa-
tive Tribe, at the head OF class OF Tribes
which may be ftly designated as the win
Tribal NOMENCLATURE.
baeoes Is not That which they bestow' upon
themselves, bat thc one which their Indian
neighbour In Wisconsin, who were all tribes
Of the oIibway algonquin race, conferred
upon them IN consequence OF their residence
u,ou che shofes OF so-called lake, ofaspecies
or kind which Il termed by oil the 0jlbway-
Algonquin nations Winnepeek-thati ID, Dirty
or Sinking Watsrs--to which name. when APP
piled TO the tribe the termination In 10" Is
added 10 indicate personality, with the further
addition Of ''uk' or 'ug' TO form the plural
whenever more than one Winnebago Ii
ton Of the word is from .',seen-td," dirty OF
foul IN the odious sense, ,'nespeek,r waters,
and the Anal 80" But the fake Tor lakes)
In Wisconsin ere not the sum total OF Weenne-
petky to DO found within ihe range Of Amet.
lcan-Indlan geography. Thpre arc several ol
this name In the Northwest, hundreds Of Dilcs
apart, but alike In those local charactcristics
which. in tic opinion OF the widely-sprcad
Ojibwhy-Algonquin race, call for the be-
stowai upon them Of the same descriptive
II is in fact Q generic term by which they
dlstingush all lakes, Tor long bays Of great
lakes which they consider 1akea) through
wSlch rivers pass, and which, from that cir
cumsssses, or some Pecnllasity OF their earhy
or which from having much shallow marsh
on either side giving, perhaps, = msrshy
odor or taate u the waters in-shore,) OF
from the presence Of sulphur or Iron sPr.ng'
dIscharping into them, are Of inferior drink
a6le qualify 10 the ordinarily pellucid lakei
OF thoee northern regions. -.
sheet Of water possessing these features
wherever found. lake Of this dirty o.
marsh water kind exists above the Falls o.
Pokeguma on the upper Mississippi. IL y
widening Of the Great River, which passei
through II; and the Chippeways term u
WeennseJsegoshish, or Little Winnipeg.
Another lake Of the same description 4
found still farther north, In the British Pos
scssious. The Red River Of the North flow
into and through II, AZ does also the CREATE
saskatchewan, (the Mississippi Of the ia
Northwest their united waters at the lako'
outlet forming the still greater Nelson River
(the old Bourbon Of the French,) emptyinI
Anslly Into Hudson bay. This lake Is callel
The Great Lake Winnipeg Tor Weenneepeek
Of the North. Still beyond IT. northwest
wArOly. ~ vel AuOllltE Mhb VI tbunlutIhuN
slse, possessing ali the Resn-,pspesk charac
terlstics. and which Is therefore known o
Wonnebiroshish, the same name that Is born,
nv the Iittle Ween -neepeek Of the Mis-
sissIppI. = .-'.-- -..l7- -. ..-.. ...0
Bcsldes these proper lakes, am q goo
dsai under the impression that the "Grce
Bsy" Of Lake Michigan was also original,
beid by the OIibway.A Algonquin tribes 10 be
LAKE hWeen-neepeek." In the "Jcsuit Re
iItions" OF 1859t6O, page Al, we nnd TIL
sentence; "He set out In the month Of june
1858 from the Lake Of the .Ouinipegouel
which, properly speaking, Is only large Ba
from that Of the Hurons, Lake Michigan
meanf here by "the Hurons;"1 others call
the Lake Of the Stinkards-not because 1t
salt ike the water Of the sea, which 1.-The sea
the sayapcs call Ouiniper, that Ia stinkin
Water-but because Il Is surrounded b
from whence issue many streams, whic
carry into this lake the malignity which thos
waters have contracted at their sources"
IN n.r. az M tho ,s2e,at,ops. " 1872 "a
cr.an .,,naed m as thc HIake" Of IN
W,nn.i Dg IN Inc sfse,atio,s" of 16so-,
Fa,har fionez sncaling al Green Raw an
wr,,ira % ~ Mad aroma The mouth of IA
,I.n. srs svThs water Of this bay and /
r.e. ~ .i,niiar ~ that which stagnates
a,,chss Xuai, in The nRelatlons" ,
Isrn-T wa have Green Raw alluded 10 :
t.,h. hay cailed .of tho Puants' " with tho a,
,,n.,,o,, .ninn,asrad that ..,t bears IN
p ass ,.,h,.n i. ,ha ssma Thai thu saya0.