Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1908-02-04
INDIAN TRADITION.
Legendary Tale Related by a Mara
thon County Redman.

tnon County Redman.
When one wants to learn anything
about Indian customs and traditions he
must go among the Indians and con
verse with and observe them. Book in.
formation on this subject is rather apt
to be inaccurate. The Indians as a
race are hard TO pump for information,
but occasionally you will meet with
one who viii talk as freely as woman,
and when you run onto one of this
character it is then that you can learn OF
traditions hundreds of years old,
| handed from sire to son.
Big Bill Boyce, who resides on a
homestead in the town of Kronenwetter,
Is such an Indian. In this respect he
differs from his neighbor, Jim Snow
ball.
Jim is as quiet as an oyster. Both
are Winnebagoes. but Boyce has little
better breeding than has SNOWFALL.
Both come to Wausau occasionally to
collect bounties on wild animals and
sell pelts. Bill is always sociable, "a
hale fellow well met" and has peculiar
knack of making acquaintances. True
to the Indian nature he never forgets a
face or name, and apparently deeply
appreciates any favors extended him.
Bills ancestors lived in this part of
Wisconsin long before the first white
settlers came. At the time VIM Clark
and Lewis Cass were delegated by con-
gress to meet several tribes of
Indians at Prairie du Chen, Aug.
10, 1926, and make treaty with
them, the band of Winnebagoes to
which Bill's parents belonged kicked
over the traces and refused to
enter a reservation assigned them
Their old stamping ground was around
lake Winnebago. where for centuries
they had fought other hostile bands
and res ented the intrusion of the French
and English. After the treaty of 1926
was signed by majority of the tribe,
Boyce's kinsmen moved into this Sec
ton and established village in what
is notg the town of Bergen, on Rice
lake. There they lived unmolested for
years, except to occasionally fight with
band OF rowing Chippswas who in
vaded shis territory. But eventually
the avaricious and covetous white man
came, got hold of their lands by fair
or foul means presumably the latter
and drove them out the band scatter
ling. Ii Is true the whites held some
title to this land as early as 1867 when
Jonathan Carver, captain in the
English army and a great traveller
secured a large grant, including the
whole territory of what is now Mara
thon county, from the Indians. This
deed was signed by two chiefs, Hawno-
pagatan and Otchtcngoomlishean, the
former making a picture of turtle
in lieu of his name, the other a snake.
Boyce was boy when the whites be-
gan to invade the territory surrounding
Riesa2satia, bat he distinctly remembers
the scenes of his youth and can relate
many an interesting story regarding
that section.
On one of his recent trips TO the
county seat with two wild cat skins he
got into conversation regarding the
Indians prowess as a hunter, and he
told story which brought out the fol-
lowing:
When the redman dwelt on the banks
of Rice lake and the Big and Little
Eau Pleine rivers his subsistence was
wild game and corn.
The indian, contrary to general
presumption, did not live from
hand to mouth, but in times of
plenty he made provision for the
future by storing eatables in caches.
Many of these caches were found in
that section by the early whites and oc-
casionally one is found even at this
late day. The cache was somewhat in
vided shelter from the elements for
anything stored in it. The Indian had
method of drying meats, and when
the corn was harvested in the fall both
were placed in caches, to be used when
needed. Although that country
abounded in game and fish, this band
would in the fall make excursions into
other yritory where game was more
plentiful and bring back great quanti-
ties of venison, which would be dried
and stored away. While the men were
on the hunting expeditions the squaws
would harvest the corn, aud then a
winters supply would be laid away.
The Indian was different from his
white brother in the fact that be would
share with other members of his tribe.
What belonged to him also belonged to
all the others. In this respect their
! .hsssis5its were akin to those of the Univer-
sal Brotherhood colony, established in
southern California some years ago,
which proved failure
In the spring of the year, at certain
time, the medicine dance would begin.
At this feast those who died during the
year would be buried in the tribal bury
| ing ground. 1t was their custom when
one OF their number died to bury him
at the spot where he died and the fol-
lowing spring to exhume his body and
re-bury him in one of the regular bury
| ing grounds. Although most of these
burying grounds have since been
plowed over by the sacrilegious white
man, still there afe some evidences of
them in the towns of Bergen, Day and
Cleveland. Only few years ago one
was plowed over near the picturesque
Indian ford in the town of Cseve.snd,
near where the h Connor Lumber Co. s
railroad crosses tSe Big Eau Pleine
river.