Diplomacy in the Time of Cholera: why there was no Ojibwe delegation to President Taylor in the winter of 1849-50
December 15, 2024
By Leo
At Chequamegon History, we deal mostly in the micro. By limiting our scope to a particular time and place, we are all about the narrow picture. Don’t come here for big universal ideas. The more specific and obscure a story, the more likely it is to appear on this website.
Madeline Island and the Chequamegon region are perfect for the specific and obscure. In the 1840s, most Americans would have thought of La Pointe as remote frontier wilderness, beyond the reach of worldwide events. Most of us still look at our history this way.
We are wrong. No man is an island, and Madeline Island–though literally an island–was no island.
This week, I was reminded of this fact while doing research for a project that has nothing to do with Chequamegon History. While scrolling through the death records of the Greek-Catholic church of my ancestral village in Poland, I noticed something strange. The causes of deaths are usually a mishmash of medieval sounding ailments, all written in Latin, or if the priest isn’t feeling creative or curious, the death is just listed as ordinaria.
In the summer of 1849, however, there was a noticeable uptick in death rate. It seemed my 19th-century cousins, from age 7 to 70, were all dying of the same thing:
Cause of death in right column. Akta stanu cywilnego Parafii Greckokatolickiej w Olchowcach (1840-1879). Księga zgonów dla miejscowości Olchowce. https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/22431255
Cholera is a word people my age first learned on our Apple IIs back in elementary school:
At Herbster School in 1990, we pronounced it “Cho-lee-ra.” It was weird the first time someone said “Caller-uh.” You can play online at https://www.visitoregon.com/the-oregon-trail-game-online/
It is no coincidence. If you note the date of leaving Matt’s General Store in Independence Missouri, Oregon Trail takes place in 1848.
Diseases thrive in times of war, upheaval, famine, and migration, and 1848 and 1849 certainly had plenty of all of those. A third year of potato blight and oppressive British policies plunged the Irish poor deeper into squalor and starvation. The millions who were able to, left Ireland. Meanwhile, the British conquest of the Punjab and the “Springtime of Nations” democratic revolutions across central Europe meant army and refugee camps (notorious vectors of disease) popped up across the Eurasian continent.
North America had seen war as well. The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (1848) ended the Mexican-American War and delivered half of Mexico over to Manifest Destiny. The discovery of gold in California, part of this cession, brought thousands of Chinese workers to the West Coast, while millions of Irish and Germans arrived on the East Coast. Some of those would also find their way west along the aforementioned Oregon Trail.
Closer to home, these German immigrants meant statehood for Wisconsin and the shifting of Wisconsin’s Indian administration west to Minnesota Territory. Eyeing profits, Minnesota and Mississippi River interests were increasingly calling for the removal of the Lake Superior Ojibwe bands from Wisconsin and Michigan. This caused great alarm and uncertainty at La Pointe.
All of these seemingly disparate events of 1848 and 1849 are, in fact, related. One of the most obvious manifestations was that displaced people from all these places impacted by war, poverty, and displacement carried cholera. The disease arrived in the United States multiple times, but the worst outbreak came up Mississippi from New Orleans in the summer of 1849. It ravaged St. Louis, then the Great Lakes, and reached Sault Ste, Marie and Lake Superior by August.
Longtime Chequamegon History readers will know my obsession with the Ojibwe delegation that left La Pointe in October 1848 and visited Washington D.C. in February 1849. It is a fascinating story of a group of chiefs who brought petitions (some pictographic) laying out their arguments against removal to President James K. Polk and Congress. The chiefs were well-received, but ultimately the substance of their petitions was not acted upon. They arrived after the 1848 elections. Polk and the members of Congress were lame ducks. General Zachary Taylor had been elected president, though he wasn’t inaugurated until the day after the delegation left Washington.
If you’ve read through our DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE OJIBWE DELEGATION AND PETITIONS TO PRESIDENT POLK AND CONGRESS 1848-1849, you’ll know that both Polk and the Ojibwe delegation’s translator and alleged ringleader, the colorful Jean-Baptiste Martell of Sault Ste. Marie, died of cholera that summer.
So, in this post, we’re going to evaluate three new documents, just added to the collection, and look at how the cholera epidemic partially led to the disastrous removal of 1850, commonly known as the Sandy Lake Tragedy.
The first document is from just after the delegation’s arrival in Washington. It describes the meeting with Polk in great detail, lays out the Ojibwe grievances, and importantly, records Polk’s reaction. I have not been able to find the name of the correspondent, but this article is easily the best-reported of all the many, many newspaper accounts of the 1848-49 delegation–most of which use patronizing racist language and focus on the more trivial, “fish out of water” element of Lake Superior chiefs in the capital city.
New York Daily Tribune, 6 February 1849, Page 1
The Indians of the North-West–Their Wrongs–Chiefs in Washington
Correspondence of The Tribune
WASHINGTON, 3d Feb 1849.
Yesterday (Friday) the Chiefs representing the Chippewa Tribe of Indians located on the borders of Lake Superior and drawing their pay at La Pointe, representing 16 bands, which comprise about 9,000 Indians, after remaining here for the last ten days, were presented to the President.– The Secretary of War and Commissioner of Indian Affairs were also present. One of the Chiefs who appeared to be the eldest, first addressed the President, for a period of twenty minutes. The address was interpreted by John B. Martell, a half-breed, who was born and has always continued among them. He appears a shrewd, sensible man, and interprets with much fluency. This Chief was followed by two others in addresses occupying the same length of time. They all addressed the President as “Our Great Father,” and spoke with much energy, dignity and fluency, preserving throughout a respectful manner and evincing an earnest sincerity of purpose, that bespoke their mission to be one of no ordinary character. They represented their grievances under which their tribes were laboring: the trials and privations they had undergone to reach here, and the separation from their families, with much emotion and in truly touching and eloquent terms.
The oldest chief was Gezhiiyaash (his pictographic petition above) or “Swift Sailor” from Lac Vieux Desert. The two other chiefs were likely Oshkaabewis “Messenger” from Wisconsin River, and Naagaanab “Foremost Sitter” from Fond du Lac.
They represented that their annuities under their Treaty of La Pointe, made about the year 1843, were payable in the month of July in each year and not later, because by that time the planting season would be over; beside, it would be the best time and the least dangerous to pass the Great Lake and return to their homes in time to gather wild rice, on which they mainly depended during the hard winters. The first payment was made later than the time agreed upon. The agent, upon being notified, promised to comply with the terms of the Treaty, but every year since the payments have been made later, and that of last year did not take place until about the middle of October, in consequence of which they have been subjected to much suffering.– They assemble at the place for payment designated in the treaty. It is then the traders take advantage of them–being three hundred miles from home, without money, and without provisions; and when their money is received it must all be paid for their subsistence during the long delay they have been subjected to; and sickness frequently breaks out among them from being obliged to use salt provisions, which they are not accustomed to. By leaving their homes at any other time than in the month of July they neglect their harvesting–rice and potato crops, and if they neglect those they must starve to death; therefore it would be better for them to lose their annuities altogether. And without their blankets, procured at the Pointe, they are liable to freeze to death when passing the stormy lake; and the tradespeople influence the Agent to send for them a month before the payment is made, and when they arrive the Agent accepts orders from them for provisions which they are obliged to purchase at a great price–one dollar for 15 lbs of flour, and in proportion for other articles. They have assembled frequently in regard to these things, and can only conclude that their complaints have never reached their “Great Father,” and they have now come to see him in person, and take him by the hand.
In regard to the Half-Breeds at La Pointe, who draw pay with them, they say: That in the Treaty concluded between Governor Dodge and the Chippewas at St. Peters, provision was made for the half-breeds to draw their share all in one payment, and it was paid them accordingly, $258.50 each, which was a mere gift on the part of the tribe; a payment which they had no right to, but was given them as a present. Induced by some subsequent representations by the half-breeds, they were taken into their pay list, and the consequence has been that almost all the half breeds, as well as the French who are married to Indian women, are in the employ of, or dependent upon one of the principal trading houses, (Dr. Bourop’s) at La Pointe, with whom their goods and provisions are stored; and that they are thus enabled to select and appropriate to themselves the choice portion of all the goods designed for them–in many cases not leaving them a blanket to start with upon their journey of two or three hundred miles distant to their homes. After many other details, to which we will make reference in future articles, they urged that owing to the faithlessness of the half-breeds to them, and to the Government, that they be stricken from the pay list.
One half the goods furnished are of no use to them. The articles they most need are guns, kettles, blankets and a greater supply of provisions, &c.
They are under heavy expense, and no money to pay their board. They have undertaken this long journey for the benefit of their whole people, and at their earnest solicitations. They have been absent from their families nearly one year. It has cost them $1,400 to get here. Half of that sum has been raised from exhibitions. The other half has been borrowed from kind people on the route they have traveled. They wish to repay the money advanced them and to procure money to return home with. They want clothes and things to take to their families, and ask an appropriation of $6,000 on their annuity money.
They have before made a communication to the President, to be laid before the present Congress, for the acquisition of lands and the naturalization of their bands–propositions which they urged with great force.
All the Chiefs represented to the President that their interpreter, Mr. Martel, was living in very comfortable circumstances at home, and was induced to accompany them by the urgent solicitations of all their people who confided in his integrity and looked upon him as their friend.
The paternalistic ritual kinship (“Great Father”) language used here by James K. Polk, can be off-putting to the modern reader. However, it had a long tradition in Ojibwe “fur trade theater” rhetoric. Gezhiiyaash was no meek schoolboy, as evidenced by his words in this document (White House)
Their supplicating–though forcible, intelligent, and pathetic appeal, to be permitted to live upon the spot of their nativity, where the morning and noon of their days had been past, and the night time of their existence has reached them, was, too, and irresistible appeal to the justice, generosity and magnanimity of that boasted “civilization” that pleads mercy to the conquered, and was calculated to leave an impress upon every honest heart who claims to be a “freeman.”
The President, in answer to the several addresses, requested the interpreter to state to them that their Great Father was happy to have met with them; and as they had made allusion to written documents which they placed in his hands, as containing an expression of their views and wishes, he would carefully read them and communicate his answer to the Secretary of War and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, assuring them of kindly feelings on the part of the Government, and terminating with some expressions very like a schoolmaster’s enjoinder upon his scholars that if they behaved themselves they might expect good treatment in future.
The fact that they met Polk was not new information, but we hadn’t been previously aware of just how long the meeting went. It is important to note the president’s use of “kindly feelings” and “behaved themselves.” Those phrases would come up frequently in subsequent years.
One could argue that Polk was a lame duck, and would be dead of cholera within a few months, so his words didn’t mean much. One could argue the problem was that the Ojibwe didn’t understand that in the American political system–that the incoming Whig administration might not feel bound by the words and “kindly feelings” of the outgoing Democratic administration.
However, the next document shows that the chiefs did feel the need to cover their bases and stuck around Washington long enough meet the next president. To us, at least, this was new information:
National Era v. III. No. 14, pg. 56 April 5, 1849
For the National Era
THE CHIPPEWA CHIEFS AND GENERAL TAYLOR
On the third day after the arrival of General Taylor at Washington, the Indian chiefs requested me to seek an interview for them, as they were about to leave for their homes, on Lake Superior, and greatly desired to see the new President before their departure.
It was accordingly arranged by the General to see them the next morning at 9 o’clock, before the usual reception hour.
Fitted out in their very best, with many items of finery which their taste for the imposing had added to their wardrobe, the delegation and their interpreter accompanied me to the reception room, and were cordially taken by the hand by the plain but benevolent-looking old General. One of the chiefs arose, and addressed the President elect nearly as follows:
“Father! We are glad to see you, and we are pleased to see you so well after your long journey.
“Father! We are the representatives of about twenty thousand of your red children, and are just about leaving for our homes, far off on Lake Superior, and we are very much gratified, that, before our departure, we have the opportunity of shaking hands with you.
“Father! You have conquered your country’s enemies in war; may you subdue the enemies of your Administration while you are President of the United States and govern this great country, like the great father, Washington, before you, with wisdom and in peace.
“Father! This our visit through the country and to the cities of your white children, and the wonderful things that we have seen, impress us with awe, and cause us to think that the white man is the favored of the Great Spirit.
“Father! In the midst of the great blessings with which you and your white children are favored of the Great Spirit, we ask of you, while you are in power, not to forget your less fortunate red children. They are now few, and scattered, and poor. You can help them.
“Father! Although a successful warrior, we have heard of your humanity! And now that we see you face to face, we are satisfied that you have a heart to feel for your poor red children.
“Father Farewell”
The tall, manly-looking chief having finished and shaken hands, General Taylor asked him to be seated, and, rising himself, replied nearly as follows”
“My Red Children: I am very happy to have this interview with you. What you have said I have listened to with interest. It is the more appreciated by me, as I am no stranger to your people. I resided for a length of time on your borders, and have been witness to your privations, and am acquainted with many of your wants.
“Peace must be established and maintained between yourselves and the neighboring tribes of the red men, and you need in the next place the means of subsistence.
“My Red Children: I thank you for your kind wishes for me personally, and as President of the United States.
“While I am in office, I shall use my influence to keep you at peace with the Sioux, between whom and the Chippewas there has always been a most deadly hostility, fatal to the prosperity of both nations. I shall also recommend that you be provided with the means of raising corn and the other necessaries of life.
“My Red Children: I hope that you have met with success in your present visit, and that you may return to your homes without an accident by the way; and I bid you say to your red brethren that I cordially wish them health and prosperity. Farewell.”
This interesting interview closed with a general shaking of hands and during the addresses, it is creditable to the parties to say, that the feelings were reached. Tears glistened in the eyes of the Indians and General Taylor evinced sufficient emotion, during the address of the chief, to show that he possesses a heart that may be touched. The old veteran was heard to remark, as the delegation left the room, “What fine looking men they are!”
Major Martell, the half-breed interpreter, acquitted himself handsomely throughout. The Indians came away declaring that “General Taylor talked very good.”
The General’s family and suite, evidently not prepared for the visit; were not dressed to receive company at so early an hour; nevertheless, they soon came in, en dishabille, and looked on with interest.
P.
One of the lingering questions I’ve had about the 1848-49 Delegation has been whether or not the Ojibwe leadership viewed it as a success. This document shows that the answer was unequivocally yes. It also shows why the chiefs felt so blindsided and disbelieving in the spring of 1850 when the government agents at La Pointe told them that Taylor had ordered them to remove. They didn’t have to go back to 1842 for the Government’s promises. They had heard them only a year earlier from both the president and the president-elect!
It also explains why during and after the removal, the chiefs number-one priority was sending another delegation. One would eventually go in 1852, led by Chief Buffalo of La Pointe. This would help secure the reservations sought by the first delegation, but that was only after two failed removal attempts and hundreds of deaths.
If the cholera epidemic had not come, Chief Buffalo and other prominent chiefs, would have likely gone back to Taylor in the winter of 1849-50. They may have been able to secure new treaty negotiations, reservations on the ceded territory, or at the very least have been more prepared for the upcoming removal:
George Johnston to Henry Schoolcraft, 5 October 1849, MS Papers of Henry Rowe Schoolcraft: General Correspondence, 1806-1864, BOX 51.
Saut Ste Maries
Oct 5th 1849
My Dear sir,
Your favor of Sep. 14th, I have just now received and will lose no time in answering. Since I wrote to you on the subject of an intended delegation of Chippewa Chiefs desiring to visit the seat of Govt., I visited Lapointe and remained there during the payment, and I had an opportunity of seeing & talking with the chiefs. They held a council with their agent Dr. Livermore and expressed their desire to visit Washington this season, and they laid the matter before him with open frankness, and Dr. Livermore answered them in the same strain, advising them at the same time, to relinquish their intended visit this year, as it would be dangerous for them, to travel in the midst of sickness which was so prevalent & so widely spread in the land, and that if they should still feel desirous to go on the following year that he would then permit them to do so, and that he would have no objections, this appearing so reasonable to the chiefs, that they assented to it.
I will write to the chiefs and express to them the subject of your letter, and direct them to address Mr. Babcock at Detroit.
You will herein find enclosed copy of Mr. Ballander’s letter to me, a gentleman of the Hon. Hudson’s Bay Co. & Chief factor at Fort Garry in the Red river region, it is very kind & his sympathy, devotes a feeling heart.– Mr. Mitchell of Green Bay to whom I have written in the early part of this summer, to make enquiries relative to certain reports of Tanner’s existence among the sioux, he has not as yet returned an answer to may communication and I feel the neglect with some degree of asperity which I cannot control.
Very Truly yours
Geo. Johnston
Henry R. Schoolcraft Esq.
Washington
It is hard to say how differently history may have turned out if a second delegation had been able to go with George Johnston. There is a good chance it would have been a lot more successful. Johnston was much more of an insider than Martell–who had had a lot of difficulty convincing the American authorities of his credentials. One of those who stood in Martell’s way was Henry Schoolcraft. Schoolcraft, was regarded by the American establishment as the foremost authority on Ojibwe affairs and was Johnston’s brother-in-law.
It may not have worked. The inertia of United States Indian Policy was still with removal. Any attempt to reverse Manifest Destiny and convince the government to cede land back to Indian nations east of the Mississippi was going to be an uphill battle. The Minnesota trade interests were strong.
Also, Schoolcraft was a Democrat, so he would have had less influence with the Whig Taylor–though agreements on Western issues sometimes crossed party lines. However, one can imagine George Johnston sitting around a table in Washington with his “Uncle” Buffalo, his brother-in-law Schoolcraft, and the U.S. President, working out the contours of a new treaty avoiding the removal entirely. Because of the cholera, however, we’ll never know.
For more on how the fallout from the Mexican War impacted Ojibwe removal, see Slavery, Debt Default, and the Sandy Lake Tragedy
For more on the 1848-49 Delegation, see: this post, this post, and this post
Memoirs of Doodooshaboo: Joseph Austrian at Eagle River 1854-1859
November 2, 2024
By Amorin Mello
This post is the seventh of our Memoirs of Doodooshaboo series reproducing the memoirs of Joseph Austrian at the Chicago History Museum. The previous post began in 1852 when the Leopold & Austrian family transferred Joseph from their La Pointe store to work at their other store in Eagle River on the Keweenaw Peninsula, and ended up spending the Winter of 1853 at the family headquarters in Cleveland to greet his mother and siblings upon their arrival immigrating from Bavaria.
This post begins in 1854 upon Joseph’s return from Cleveland to Eagle River to continue the family business at their new storefront, and provides insights into the growing pains of the pioneering copper mining companies on the Keweenaw Peninsula, Joseph somehow fails to mention much else about life on Lake Superior during 1854-1859.
1854-1859 were the boom and bust years of La Pointe County land speculation, which arose from the La Pointe Treaty of 1854 and Soo Locks of 1855, and crashed with the 1857 Financial Panic of 1857 and American Civil War of 1861. It is unfortunate how Joseph’s memoirs do not mention anything about his Leopold & Austrian family’s business at La Pointe during 1854-1859, when they were capitalizing on Chippewa Treaty Allotments in the Penokee Mountains to form the La Pointe Iron Company.
Some of that story can be told through other records in our Austrian Papers and upcoming posts on Chequamegon History. Until then, we’ll continue with Joseph’s memoirs.
Memoirs of Doodooshaboo
… continued from after La Pointe 1852-54.
Partner of Leopolds in Eagle River Store. 1854.
Louis Leopold & Babette Austrian;
Hannah Leopold & Julius Austrian.
On our arrival in Eagle River, May 1854, I found the work on the store had not been properly finished by the contractor, and I had my hands full to get the new store in shape quickly for business without unnecessary delay. Henry Leopold & wife (my sister Ida) occupied the apartment over the store and I boarded with them as soon as they started housekeeping, which as a matter of course was a great improvement over our former mode of living, and fresh meat was no longer scarce.
Sketch of the Cliff Mine, 1849.
~ The Cliff Mine Archeology Project Blog
The additional store now permitted us to add, various new departments in; grain, heavy provisions, hard ware, &c. We also opened up in connection with our business a meat market located at the Cliff Mine, managed by Henry F. Leopold with a branch at Eagle River. I took sole charge of the Eagle River business making the daily rounds to the Cliff and other near by mines, boarding houses and miners homes, soliciting orders. In the evenings I worked at the books, as I had no one to assist me in this work.
Sam went to Mackinaw to wind up the old business affairs of his brother Louis, then he went to New York and settled with his creditors. After this he went to Eagle River in the fall and we jointly attended to the business. He went to New York every season to buy goods, consisting of clothing, dry goods, boots & shoes & mens furnishing goods.
During the second winter of our settling at Eagle River, he went to Europe and became engaged to Babette Guttman, a cousin of mine, and the following winter he went to Europe again to be married and returned in the Spring with his wife. A Mr. Henry Guttman, Babette’s brother who had been interested with us in the meat market at the Cliff Mine assisted me in our store during Sam’s absence.
Henry Guttman (Goodman) immigrated with the Austrians.
~ 17 October 1853 passenger manifest of the steamer Atlantic.
Business Increases.
Later on I found it necessary to engage a book keeper owing to the rapid growth of our business, and for that purpose I engaged a Mr. Moses Hanauer, a son of the teacher in the native place of the Leopolds.
I made it my duty to solicit orders and deliver goods, and went the rounds in a delivery wagon daily, soliciting new orders. Of course I had a hostler to attend to the horses & wagons and who assisted in loading the goods. By the next year our store had again become too small and I contracted for a new wing to be added, which made a great improvement and gave us better facilities for carrying on our business.
Phoenix Mining Company’s Drafts Protested.
By an arrangement with the Phoenix Mining Co. we agreed to attend to the payment of their miners, taking the drafts of the Company’s agent in Boston in settlement each month. We did this on account of the business which came to us through it.
~ The Mining Magazine: Devoted to Mines, Mining Operations, Metallurgy, &c., &c., Volume 2, 1854, pg. 404.
After this thing had gone on for some time, the several drafts had amounted to a big sum, and unexpectedly to our consternation the drafts came back protested.
We had quite a struggle and wrangle trying to get them to make good their drafts. Finally Sam Leopold went to Boston and proposed that we would take the mine in payment of their debt if they though it was not worth the protested drafts. This proposition brought them to their senses and they made immediate arrangements then for funds by calling an assessment on the Stockholders to satisfy our claim.
The success we had met with in the Eagle River business in course of years gave us sufficient capital for new enterprises.
To be continued on the Keweenaw Range 1860-1864…
Wednesday’s Recorded Livestream: Tragedy of the Siskiwit
June 29, 2024
Watch on YouTube for description.
Wednesday’s Presentation Will be Livestreamed
June 22, 2024
If you aren’t able to make it out to Cornucopia Wednesday night, check out the livestream on https://www.facebook.com/ChequamegonHistory/ The link should be up around 5:45.
Chief Buffalo Picture Search: Coda
June 1, 2024
My last post ended up containing several musings on the nature of primary-source research and how to acknowledge mistakes and deal with uncertainty in the historical record. This was in anticipation of having to write this post. It’s a post I’ve been putting off for years.
Amorin forced the issue with his important work on the speeches at the 1842 Treaty negotiations. While working on it, he sent me a message that read something like, “Hey, the article quotes Chief Buffalo and describes him in a blue military coat with epaulets. Is the world ready for that picture that Smithsonian guy sent us years ago?”
This was the image in question:
Henry Inman, Big Buffalo (Chippewa), 1832-1833, oil on canvas, frame: 39 in. × 34 in. × 2 1/4 in. (99.1 × 86.4 × 5.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Gerald and Kathleen Peters, 2019.12.2
We first learned of this image from a Chequamegon History comment by Patrick Jackson of the Smithsonian asking what we knew about the image and whether or not it was Chief Buffalo from La Pointe.
We had never seen it before.
This was our correspondence with Mr. Jackson at the time:
July 17, 2019
Hello, my name is Patrick, and I am an intern at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. I’m working on researching a recent acquisition: a painting which came to us identified as a Henry Inman portrait of “Big Buffalo Ke-Che-Wais-Ke, The Great Renewer (1759-1855) (Chippewa).” We have run into some confusion about the identification of the portrait, as it came to us identified as stated above, yet at Harvard Peabody Museum, who was previously the owner of the portrait, it was listed as an unidentified sitter. Seeing as you’ve written a few posts about the identification of images of the three different Chief Buffalos, I thought you might be able to give some insight into perhaps who is or isn’t in the portrait we have. Thank you for your time.
July 17, 2019
Hello,
I would be happy to comment. Can you send a photo to this email?
I am pretty sure Inman painted a copy of Charles Bird King’s portrait of Pee-che-kir.
Doe it resemble that portrait? Pee-che-kir (Bizhiki) means Buffalo in Ojibwe (Chippewa). From my research, I am fairly certain that King’s portrait is not of Kechewaiske, but of another chief named Buffalo who lived in the same era.
Leon Filipczak
July 17, 2019
Dear Leon,
I have attached our portrait—it’s not the best scan, but hopefully there’s enough detail for you to work with. I’ve compared it with the Peechikir in McKenney & Hall, as well as to the Chief Buffalo painted ambrotype and the James Otto Lewis portrait of Pe-schick-ee. The ambrotype has a close resemblance, as does the Peecheckir, though if that is what Charles Bird King painted I have doubts that Inman would make such drastic changes in clothing and pose.
The identification as Big Buffalo/Ke-Che-Wais-Ke/The Great Renewer, as far as I understand, refers to the La Pointe Bizhiki/Buffalo rather than the St. Croix or Leech Lake Buffalos, though of course that is a questionable identification considering Kechewaiske did not (I think) visit Washington until after Inman’s death in January of 1846. McKenney, however, did visit the Ojibwe/Chippewa for the negotiations for the Treaty of Fond du Lac in 1825/1826, and could feasibly have met multiple Chief Buffalos. Perhaps a local artist there would be responsible for the original? Another possibility is, since the identification was not made at the Peabody, who had the portrait since the 1880s, is that it has been misidentified entirely and is unrelated to any of the Ojibwe/Chippewa chiefs. Though this, to me, would seem unlikely considering the strong resemblance of the figure in our portrait to the Peechikir portrait and Chief Buffalo ambrotype.
Thank you again for the help.
Sincerely,
Patrick
July 22, 2019
Hello Patrick,
This is a head-scratcher. Your analysis is largely what I would come up with. My first thought when I saw it was, “Who identified it as someone named Buffalo? When? and using what evidence?” Whoever associated the image with the text “Ke-Che-Wais-Ke, The Great Renewer (1759-1855)” did so decades after the painting could be assumed to be created. However, if the tag “Big Buffalo” can be attached to this image in the era it was created, then we may be onto something. This is what I know:
1) During his time as Superintendent of Indian Affairs (late 1820s), Thomas McKenney amassed a large collection of portraits of Indian chiefs for what he called the “Indian Gallery” in the War Department. He sought the portraits out wherever and whenever he could. When chiefs would come to Washington, he would have Charles Bird King do the work, but he also received portraits from the interior via artists like James Otto Lewis.
2) In 1824, Bizhiki (Buffalo) from the St. Croix River (not Great Buffalo from La Pointe), visited Washington and was painted by King. This painting is presumed to have been destroyed in the Smithsonian fire that took out most of the Indian Gallery.
3) In 1825 at Prairie du Chien and in 1826 at Fond du Lac (where McKenney was present) James Otto Lewis painted several Ojibwe chiefs, and these paintings also ended up in the Indian Gallery. Both chief Buffalos were present at these treaties.
4) A team of artists copied each others’ work from these originals. King, for example remade several of Lewis’ portraits to make the faces less grotesque. Inman copied several Indian Gallery portraits (mostly King’s) to be sent to other institutions. These are the ones that survived the Smithsonian fire.
5) In the late 1830s, 10+ years after most of the portraits were painted, Lewis and McKenney sold competing lithograph collections to the American public. McKenney’s images were taken from the Indian Gallery. Lewis’ were from his works (some of which were in the Indian Gallery, often redone by King). While the images were printed with descriptions, the accuracy of the descriptions leaves something to be desired. A chief named Bizhiki appears in both Lewis and McKenney-Hall. In both, the chiefs are dressed in white and faced looking left, but their faces look nothing alike. One is very “Lewis-grotesque.” and the other is not at all. There are Lewis-based lithographs in both competing works, and they are usually easy to spot.
6) Not every image from the Indian Gallery made it into the published lithographic collections. Brian Finstad, a historian of the upper-St. Croix country, has shown me an image of Gaa-bimabi (Kappamappa, Gobamobi), a close friend/relative of the La Pointe Chief Buffalo, and upstream neighbor of the St. Croix Buffalo. This image is held by Harvard and strongly resembles the one you sent me in style. I suspect it is an Inman, based on a Lewis (possibly with a burned-up King copy somewhere in between).
7) “Big Buffalo” would seemingly indicate Buffalo from La Pointe. The word gichi is frequently translated as both “great” and “big” (i.e. big in size or big in power). Buffalo from La Pointe was both. However, the man in the painting you sent is considerably skinnier and younger-looking than I would expect him to appear c.1826.
My sense is that unless accompanying documentation can be found, there is no way to 100% ID these pictures. I am also starting to worry that McKenney and the Indian Gallery artists, themselves began to confuse the two chief Buffalos, and that the three originals (two showing St. Croix Buffalo, and one La Pointe Buffalo) burned. Therefore, what we are left with are copies that at best we are unable to positively identify, and at worst are actually composites of elements of portraits of two different men. The fact that King’s head study of Pee-chi-kir is out there makes me wonder if he put the face from his original (1824 portrait of St. Croix Buffalo?) onto the clothing from Lewis’ portrait of Pe-shick-ee when it was prepared for the lithograph publication.
A few weeks later, Patrick sent a follow-up message that he had tracked down a second version and confirmed that Inman’s portrait was indeed a copy of a Charles Bird King portrait, based on a James Otto Lewis original. It included some critical details.
Portrait of Big Buffalo, A Chippewa, 1827 Charles Bird King (1785-1862), signed, dated and inscribed ‘Odeg Buffalo/Copy by C King from a drawing/by Lewis/Washington 1826’ (on the reverse) oil on panel 17 1⁄2 X 13 3⁄4 in. (44.5 x 34.9 cm.) Last sold by Christie’s Auction House for $478,800 on 26 May 2022
The date of 1826 makes it very likely that Lewis’ original was painted at the Treaty of Fond du Lac. Chief Buffalo of La Pointe would have been in his 60s, which appears consistent with the image of Big Buffalo. Big Buffalo also does not appear as thin in King’s intermediate version as he does in Inman’s copy, lessening the concerns that the image does not match written descriptions of the chief.
Another clue is that it appears Lewis used the word Odeg to disambiguate Big Buffalo from the two other chiefs named Buffalo present at Fond du Lac in 1826. This may be the Ojibwe word Andeg (“crow”). Although I have not seen any other source that calls the La Pointe chief Andeg, it was a significant name in his family. He had multiple close relatives with Andeg in their names, which may have all stemmed from the name of Buffalo’s grandfather Andeg-wiiyaas (Crow’s Meat). As hereditary chief of the Andeg-wiiyaas band, it’s not unreasonable to think the name would stay associated with Buffalo and be used to distinguish him from the other Buffalos. However, this is speculative.
So, there we were. After the whole convoluted Chief Buffalo Picture Search, did we finally have an image we could say without a doubt was Chief Buffalo of La Pointe? No. However, we did have one we could say was “likely” or even “probably” him. I considered posting at the time, but a few things held me back.
In the earliest years of Chequamegon History, 2013 and 2014, many of the posts involved speculation about images and me trying to nitpick or disprove obvious research mistakes of others. Back then, I didn’t think anyone was reading and that the site would only appeal to academic types. Later on, however, I realized that a lot of the traffic to the site came from people looking for images, who weren’t necessarily reading all the caveats and disclaimers. This meant we were potentially contributing to the issue of false information on the internet rather than helping clear it up. So by 2019, I had switched my focus to archiving documents through the Chequamegon History Source Archive, or writing more overtly subjective and political posts.
So, the Smithsonian image of Big Buffalo went on the back burner, waiting to see if more information would materialize to confirm the identity of the man one way or the other. None did, and then in 2020 something happened that gave the whole world a collective amnesia that made those years hard to remember. When Amorin asked about using the image for his 1842 post, my first thought was “Yeah, you should, but we should probably give it its own post too.” My second thought was, “Holy crap! It’s been five years!”
Anyway, here is Chequamegon History’s statement on the identity of the man in Henry Inman’s 1832-33 portrait of Big Buffalo (Chippewa).
Likely Chief Buffalo of La Pointe: We are not 100% certain, but we are more certain than we have been about any other image featured in the Chief Buffalo Picture Search. This is a copy of a copy of a missing original by James Otto Lewis. Lewis was a self-taught artist who struggled with realistic facial features. Charles Bird King and Henry Inman, who made the first and second copies, respectively, had more talent for realism. However, they did not travel to Lake Superior themselves and were working from Lewis’ original. Therefore, the appearance of Big Buffalo may accurately show his clothing, but is probably less accurate in showing his actual physical appearance.
And while we’re on the subject of correcting misinformation related to images, I need to set the record straight on another one and offer my apologies to a certain Benjamin Green Armstrong. I promise, it relates indirectly to the “Big Buffalo” painting.
An engraving of the image in question appears in Armstrong’s Early Life Among the Indians.
Ah-moose (Little Bee) from Lac Flambeau Reservation, Kish-ke-taw-ug (Cut Ear) from Bad River Reservation, Ba-quas (He Sews) from Lac Courte O’Rielles Reservation, Ah-do-ga-zik (Last Day) from Bad River Reservation, O-be-quot (Firm) from Fond du Lac Reservation, Sing-quak-onse (Little Pine) from La Pointe Reservation, Ja-ge-gwa-yo (Can’t Tell) from La Pointe Reservation, Na-gon-ab (He Sits Ahead) from Fond du Lac Reservation, and O-ma-shin-a-way (Messenger) from Bad River Reservation.
In this post, we contested these identifications on the grounds that Ja-ge-gwa-yo (Little Buffalo) from La Pointe Reservation died in 1860 and therefore could not have been part of the delegation to President Lincoln. In the comments on that post, readers from Michigan suggested that we had several other identities wrong, and that this was actually a group of chiefs from the Keweenaw region. We commented that we felt most of Armstrong’s identifications were correct, but that the picture was probably taken in 1856 in St. Paul.
Since then, a document has appeared that confirms Armstrong was right all along.
[Antoine Buffalo, Naagaanab, and six other chiefs to W.P. Dole, 6 March 1863
National Archives M234-393 slide 14
Transcribed by L. Filipczak 12 April 2024]
To Our Father,
Hon W P. Dole
Commissioner of Indian Affairs–
We the undersigned chiefs of the chippewas of Lake Superior, now present in Washington, do respectfully request that you will pay into the hands of our Agent L. E. Webb, the sum of Fifteen Hundred Dollars from any moneys found due us under the head of “Arrearages in Annuity” the said money to be expended in the purchase of useful articles to be taken by us to our people at home.
Antoine Buffalo His X Mark | A daw we ge zhig His X Mark
Naw gaw nab His X Mark | Obe quad His X Mark
Me zhe na way His X Mark | Aw ke wen zee His X Mark
Kish ke ta wag His X Mark | Aw monse His X Mark
I certify that I Interpreted the above to the chiefs and that the same was fully understood by them
Joseph Gurnoe
U.S. Interpreter
Witnessed the above Signed } BG Armstrong
Washington DC }
March 6th 1863 }
There were eight Lake Superior chiefs, an interpreter, and a witness in Washington that spring, for a total of ten people. There are ten people in the photograph. Chequamegon History is confident that this document confirms they are the exact ten identified by Benjamin Armstrong.
The Lac Courte Oreilles chief Ba-quas is the same person as Akiwenzii. It was not unusual for an Ojibwe chief to have more than one name. Chief Buffalo, Gaa-bimaabi, Zhingob the Younger, and Hole-in-the-Day the Younger are among the many examples.
The name “Sing-quak-onse (Little Pine) from La Pointe Reservation” seems to be absent from the letter, but he is there too. Let’s look at the signature of the interpreter, Joseph Gurnoe.
Gurnoe’s beautiful looping handwriting will be familiar to anyone who has studied the famous 1864 bilingual petition. We see this same handwriting in an 1879 census of Red Cliff. In this document, Gurnoe records his own Ojibwe name as Shingwākons, The young Pine tree.
So the man standing on the far right is Gurnoe. This can be confirmed by looking at other known photos of him.
Finally, it confirms that the chief seated on the bottom left is not Jechiikwii’o (Little Buffalo), but rather his son Antoine, who inherited the chieftainship of the Buffalo Band after the death of his father two years earlier. Known to history as Chief Antoine Buffalo, in his lifetime he was often called Antoine Tchetchigwaio (or variants thereof), using his father’s name as a surname rather than his grandfather’s.
So, now we need to address the elephant in the room that unites the Henry Inman portrait of Big Buffalo with the photograph of the 1862-63 Delegation to Washington:
Wisconsin Historical Society
This is the “ambrotype” referenced by Patrick Jackson above. It’s the image most associated with Chief Buffalo of La Pointe. It’s also one for which we have the least amount of background information. We have not been able to determine who the original photographer/painter was or when the image was created.
The resemblance to the portrait of “Big Buffalo” is undeniable.
However, if it is connected to the 1862-63 image of Chief Antoine Buffalo, it would support Hamilton Nelson Ross’s assertions on the Wisconsin Historical Society copy.
Clearly, multiple generations of the Buffalo family wore military jackets.
Inconclusive: uncertainty is no fun, but at this point Chequamegon History cannot determine which Chief Buffalo is in the ambrotype. However, the new evidence points more toward the grandfather (Great Buffalo) and grandson (Antoine) than it does to the son (Little Buffalo).
We will keep looking.
Chequamegon History Event: Tragedy of the Siskiwit
May 25, 2024
Join Leo for an evening of history at the most beautiful place in the world: Cornucopia Beach.
Check Cornucopia Green Shed Museum and Chequamegon History Facebook for more details:
1842 Treaty Speeches at La Pointe in the News
May 15, 2024
Collected by Amorin Mello & edited by Leo Filipczak
Green Bay Republican:
Saturday, November 5, 1842, Page 2.
Robert Stuart was a top official in Astor’s American Fur Company in the upper Great Lakes region. Apparently, it was not a conflict of interest for him to also be U.S. Commissioner for a treaty in which the Fur Company would be a major beneficiary.
A gentleman who has recently returned from a visit to the Lake Superior Indian country, has furnished us with the particulars of a Treaty lately negotiated at La Pointe, during his sojourn at that place, by ROBERT STUART, Esq., Commissioner of Indian Affairs for the district of Michigan, on the part of the United States, and by the Chiefs and Braves of the Chippeway Indian nation on their own behalf and their people. From 3 to 4000 Indians were present, and the scene presented an imposing appearance. The object of the Government was the purchase of the Chippeway country for its valuable minerals, and to adopt a policy which is practised by Great Britain, i.e. of keeping intercourse with these powerful neighbors from year to year by paying them annuities and cultivating their friendship. It is a peculiar trait in the Indian character of being very punctual in regard to the fulfillment of any contract into which they enter, and much dissatisfaction has arisen among the different tribes toward our Government, in consequence of not complying strictly to the obligations on their part to the Indians, in the time of making the payments, for they are not generally paid until after the time stipulated in the treaty, and which has too often proven to be the means of losing their confidence and friendship.
On the 30th of September last, Mr. Stuart opened the Council, standing himself and some of his friends under an awning prepared for the occasion, and the vast assembly of the warlike Chippeways occupying seats which were arranged for their accommodation. A keg of Tobacco was rolled out and opened as a present to the Indians, and was distributed among them; when Mr. Stuart addressed them as follows:-
The Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) was a metaphor for infinite abundance in 1842. In less than 75 years, the species would be extinct. What that means for Stuart’s metaphor is hard to say (Biodiversity Heritage Library).
The chiefs who had been to Washington were the St. Croix chiefs Noodin (pictured below) and Bizhiki. They were brought to the capital as part of a multi-tribal delegation in 1824, which among other things, toured American military facilities.I am very glad to meet and shake hands with so many of my old friends in good health; last winter I visited your Great Father in Washington, and talked with him about you. He knows you are poor and have but little for your women and children, and that your lands are poor. He pities your condition, and has sent me here to see what can be done for you; some of your Bands get money, goods, and provisions by former Treaty, others get none because the Great Council at Washington did not think your lands worth purchasing. By the treaty you made with Gov. Cass, several years ago, you gave to your lands all the minerals; so the minerals belong no longer to you, and the white men are asking him permission to take the minerals from the land. But your Great Father wishes to pay you something for your lands and minerals before he will allow it. He knows you are needy and can be made comfortable with goods, provisions, and tobacco, some Farmers, Carpenters to aid in building your houses, and Blacksmiths to mend your guns, traps, &c., and something for schools to learn your children to read and write, and not grow up in ignorance. I hear you have been unpleased about your Farmers and Blacksmiths. If there is anything wrong I wish you would tell me, and I will write all your complaints to your Great Father, who is ever watchful over your welfare. I fear you do not esteem your teachers who come among you, and the schools which are among you, as you ought. Some of you seem to think you can learn as formerly, but do you not see that the Great Spirit is changing things all around you. Once the whole land was owned by you and other Indian Nations. Now the white men have almost the whole country, and they are as numerous as the Pigeons in the spring. You who have been in Washington know this; but the poor Indians are dying off with the use of whiskey, while others are sent off across the Mississippi to make room for the white men. Not because the Great Spirit loves the white men more than the Indians, but because the white men are wise and send their children to school and attend to instructions, so as to know more than you do. They become wise and rich while you are poor and ignorant, but if you send your children to school they may become wise like the white men; they will also learn to worship the Great Spirit like the whites, and enjoy the prosperity they enjoy. I hope, and he, that you will open your ears and hearts to receive this advice, and you will soon get great light. But said he, I am afraid of you, I see but few of you go to listen to the Missionaries, who are now preaching here every night; they are anxious that you should hear the word of the Great Spirit and learn to be happy and wise, and to have peace among yourselves.
The 1837 Treaty of St. Peters was mostly negotiated by Maajigaabaw or “La Trappe” of Leech Lake and other chiefs from outside the territory ceded by that treaty. The chiefs from the ceded lands were given relatively few opportunities to speak. This created animosity between the Lake Superior and Mississippi Bands.Your Great Father is very sorry to learn that there are divisions among his red children. You cannot be happy in this way. Your Great Father hopes you will live in peace together, and not do wrong to your white neighbors, so that no reports will be made against you, or pay demanded for damages done by you. These things when they occur displease him very much, and I myself am ashamed of such things when I hear them. Your Great Father is determined to put a stop to them, and he looks that the Chiefs and Braves will help him, so that all the wicked may be brought to justice; then you can hold up your heads, and your Great Father will be proud of you. Can I tell him that he can depend upon his Chippeway children acting in this way.
One other thing, your Great Father is grieved that you drink whiskey, for it makes you sick, poor, and miserable, and takes away your senses. He is determined to punish those men who bring whiskey among you, and of this I will talk more at another time.
Stuart would become irritated after the treaty when the Ojibwe argued they did not cede Isle Royale in 1842. This lead to further negotiations and an addendum in 1844. The Grand Portage Band, who lived closest to Isle Royale, was not party to the 1842 negotiations.When I was in New York about three moons ago I found 800 blankets which were due you last year, which by some mismanagement you did not get. Your Great Father was very angry about it, and wished me to bring them to you, and they will be given you at the payment. He is determined to see that you shall have justice done you, and to dismiss all improper agents. He despises all who would do you wrong. Now I propose to buy your lands from Fond du Lac, at the head of Lake Superior, down Lake Superior to Chocolate River near Grand Island, including all the Islands in the limits of the United States, in the Lake, making the boundary on Lake Superior about 250 miles in extent, and extending back into the country on Lake Superior about 100 miles. Mr. Stuart showed the Chiefs the boundary on the map, and said you must not suppose that your Great Father is very anxious to buy your lands, the principal object is the minerals, as the white people will not want to make homes upon them. Until the lands are wanted you will be permitted to live upon them as you now do. They may be wanted hereafter, and in this event your Great Father does not wish to leave you without a home. I propose that the Fond du Lac lands and the Sandy Lake tract (which embrace a tract 150 miles long by 100 miles deep) be left you for a home for all the bands, as only a small part of the Fond du Lac lands are to be included in the present purchase. Think well on the subject and counsel among yourselves, but allow no black birds to disturb you, your Great Father is now willing and can do you great good if you will, but if not you must take the consequences. To-morrow at the fire of the gun you can come to the Council ground and tell me whether the proposal I make in the name of your Great Father is agreeable to you; if so I will do what I can for you, you have known me to be your friend for many years. I would not do you wrong if I could, but desire to assist you if you allow me to do so. If you now refuse it will be long before you have another offer.
October 1st. At the sound of the Cannon the Council met, and when all were ready for business, Shingoop, the head Chief of the Fond du Lac band, with his 2d and 3d Chiefs, came forward and shook hands with the Commissioner and others associated with him, then spoke as follows:
Zhingob (Balsam), also known as Nindibens, signed the 1837, 1842, and 1854 treaties as chief or head chief of Fond du Lac. The Zhingob on earlier treaties is his father. See Ely, ed. Schenck, The Ojibwe Journals of Edmund F. ElyNaagaanab (Foremost Sitter) is likely the 2nd Fond du Lac chief mentioned here.
My friend, we now know the purpose you came for and we don’t want to displease you. I am very glad there are so many Indians here to hear me. I wish to speak of the lands you want to buy of me. I don’t wish to displease the Traders. I don’t wish to displease the half-breeds; so I don’t wish to say at once, right off. I want to know what our Great Father will give us for them, then I will think and tell you what I think. You must not tell a lie, but tell us what our Great Father will give us for our lands. I want to ask you again, my Father. I want to see the writing, and who it is that gave our Great Father permission to take our minerals. I am well satisfied of what you said about Blacksmiths, Carpenters, Schools, Teachers, &c., as to what you said about whiskey, I cannot speak now. I do not know what the other Chiefs will say about it. I want to see the treaty and the name of the Chiefs who signed. The Chief answered that the Indians had been deceived, that they did not so understand it when they signed it.
Mr. Stuart replied that this was all talk for nothing, that the Government had a right to the minerals under former treaty, yet their Great Father wishes now to pay for the minerals and purchase their lands.
The Chief said he was satisfied. All shook hands again and the Chief retired.
The next Chief who came forward was the “Great Buffalo” Chief of the La Pointe band. Had heavy epaulettes on his shoulders and a hat trimmed with tinsel, with a heavy string of bear claws about his neck, and said:-
“Big Buffalo (Chippewa),” 1832-33 by Henry Inman, after J.O. Lewis (Smithsonian).
My father, I don’t speak for myself only, but for my Chiefs. What you said here yesterday when you called us your children, is what I speak about. I shall not say what the other Chief has said, that you have heard already.
He then made some remarks about the Missionaries who were laboring in their country and thought as yet, little had been done. About the Carpenters, he said, that he could not tell how it would work, as he had not tried it yet.
We have not decided yet about the Farmers, but we are pleased at your proposal about Blacksmiths. Can it be supposed that we can complete our deliberations in one night. We will think on the subject and decide as soon as we can.
The great Antonaugen Chief came next, observing the usual ceremony of shaking hands, and surrounded by his inferior Chiefs, said:-
The great Ontonagon Chief is almost certainly Okandikan (Buoy), depicted here in a reproduction of an 1848 pictograph carried to Washington and reproduced by Seth Eastman. Okandikan is depicted as his totem symbol, the eagle (largest, with wing extended in the center of the image).
My father and all the people listen and I call upon my Great Father in Heaven to bear witness to the rectitude of my intentions. It is now five years since we have listened to the Missionaries, yet I feel that we are but children as to our abilities. I will speak about the lands of our band, and wish to say what is just and honorable in relation to the subject. You said we are your children. We feel that we are still, most of us, in darkness, not able fully to comprehend all things on account of our ignorance. What you said about our becoming enlightened I am much pleased; you have thrown light on the subject into my mind, and I have found much delight and pleasure thereby. We now understand your proposition from our Great Father the President, and will now wait to hear what our Great Father will give us for our lands, then we will answer. This is for the Antannogens and Ance bands.
Mr. Stuart now said, that he came to treat with the whole Chippeway Nation and look upon them all as one Nation, and said
I am much pleased with those who have spoken; they are very fine orators; the only difficulty is, they do not seem to know whether they will sell their lands. If they have not made up their minds, we will put off the Council.
Lac du Flambeau Chief, “the Great Crow,” came forward with the strict Indian formalities but had but little to say, as he did not come expecting to have any part in the treaty, but wished to receive his payment and go home.
The 2d Chief of this band wished to speak. He was painted red with black spots on each cheek to set off his beauty, his forehead was painted blue, and when he came to speak, he said:-
What the last Chief has said is all I have to say. We will wait to hear what your proposals are and will answer at a proper time.
Next came forward “Noden,” or the “Great Wind,” Chief of the Mill Lac band, and said:-
Noodin (Wind) is mentioned here as representing the Mille Lacs Band, though his village was usually on Snake River of the St. Croix.
I have talked with my Great Father in Washington. It was a pity that I did not speak at the St. Peters treaty. My father, you said you had come to do justice. We do not wish to do injustice to our relations, the half-breeds, who are also our friends. I have a family and am in a hurry to get home, if my canoes get destroyed I shall have to go on foot. My father, I am hurry, I came for my payment. We have left our wives and children and they are impatient to have us return. We come a great distance and wish to do our business as soon as we can. I hope you will be as upright as our former agent. I am sorry not to see him seated with you. I fear it will not go as well as it would. I am hurry.
Mr Stuart now said that he considered them all one nation, and he wished to know whether they wished to sell their lands; until they gave this answer he could do nothing, and as it regards any thing further he could say nothing, and said they might now go away until Monday, at the firing of the Cannon they might come and tell him whether they would sell their country to their Great Father.
We intend giving the remainder of the proceedings of the treaty in our next.
Green Bay Republican:
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1842, Page 2.
(Treaty with the Chippeways Concluded.)
Monday morning three guns were fired as a signal to open the Treaty. When all things were in readiness, Mr. Stuart said:
I am glad you have now had time for reflection, and I hope you are now ready like a band of brothers to answer the question which I have proposed. I want to see the Nation of one heart and of one mind.
Shingoop, Chief of the Fond du Lac band, came forward with full Indian ceremony, supported on each side by the inferior Chiefs. He addressed the Chippeway nation first, which was not fully interpreted; then he turned to the Commissioner and said:
in this Treaty which we are about to make, it is in my heart to say that I want our friends the traders, who have us in charge provided for. We want to provide also for our friends the half-breeds – we wish to state these preliminaries. Now we will talk of what you will give us for our country. There is a kind of justice to be done towards the traders and half-breeds. If you will do justice to us, we are ready to-morrow to sign the treaty and give up our lands. The 2d Chief of the band remarked, that he considered it the understanding that the half-breeds and traders were to be provided for.
The Great Buffalo, of La Pointe band, and his associate Chiefs came next, and the Buffalo said:
My Father, I want you to listen to what I say. You have heard what one Chief has said. I wish to say I am hurry on account of keeping so many men and women here away from their homes in this late season of the year, so I will say my answer is in the affirmative of your request; this is the mind of my Chiefs and braves and young men. I believe you are a correct man and have a heart to do justice, as you are sent here by our Great Father, the President. Father, our traders are so related to us that we cannot pass a winter without them. I want justice to be done them. I want you and our Great Father to assist us in doing them justice, likewise our half-breed children – the children of our daughters we wish provided for. It seems to me I can see your heart, and you are inclined to do so. We now come to the point for ourselves. We wish to know what you will give us for our country. Tell us, then we will advise with our friends. A part of the Antaunogens band are with me, the other part are turned Christians and gone with the Methodist band, (meaning the Ance band at Kewawanon) these are agreed in what I say.
The Bird, Chief of the Ance band, called Penasha, came forward in the usual form and said:
My Father, now listen to what I have to say. I agree with those who have spoken as far as our lands are concerned. What they say about our traders and half-breeds, I say the same. I speak for my band, they make use of my tongue to say what they would say and to express their minds. My Father, we listen to what you will offer for our country, then we will say what we have to say. We are ready to sell our country if your proposals are agreeable. All shook hands – equal dignity was maintained on each side – there was no inclination of the head or removing the hat – the Chiefs took their seats.
The White Crow next appeared to speak to the Great Father, and said:-
White Crow is apparently unaware that in the eyes of the United States, his lands, (Lac du Flambeau) were already sold five years earlier at St. Peters. Clearly, the notion of buying and selling land was not understood by him in the same way it was understood by Stuart.
Listen to what I say. I speak to the Great Father, to the Chiefs, Traders, and Half-breeds. You told us there was no deceit in what you say. You may think I am troublesome, but the way the treaty was made at St. Peters, we think was wrong. We want nothing of the kind again. We think you are a just man. You have listened to those Chiefs who live on Lake Superior. What I say is for another portion of country. It appears you are not anxious to buy the lands where I live, but you prefer the mineral country. I speak for the half-breeds, that they may be provided for: they have eaten out of the same dish with us: they are the children of our sisters and daughters. You may think there is something wrong in what I say. As to the traders, I am not the same mind with some. The old traders many years ago, charged us high and ought to pay us back, instead of bringing us in debt. I do not wish to provide for them; but of late years they have had looses and I wish those late debts to be paid. We do not consider that we sell our lands by saying we will sell them, so we consent to sell if your proposals are agreeable. We will listen and hear what they are.
Several others of the Chiefs spoke well on the subject, but the substance of all is contained in the above.
Hole-in-the-day, who is at once an orator and warrior, came forward; he had an Arkansas tooth pick in his hand which would weigh one or two pounds, and is evidently the greatest and most intelligent man in the nation, as fine a form of body, head and face, as perhaps could be found in any country.
Father, said he, I arise to speak. I have listened with pleasure to your proposal. I have come to tie the knot. I have come to finish this part of the treaty, and consent to sell our country if the offers of the President please us. Then addressing the Chiefs of the several bands he said, the knot is now tied, and so far the treaty is complete, not to be changed.
Zhaagobe (“Little” Six) signed as first chief from Snake River, and he is almost certainly the “Big Six” mentioned here. Several Ojibwe and Dakota chiefs from that region used that name (sometimes rendered in Dakota as Shakopee).
Big Six now addressed the whole Nation in a stream of eloquence which called down thunders of applause; he stands next to Hole-in-the-day in consequence and influence in the nation. His motions were graceful, his enunciation rather rapid for a fine speaker. He evidently possesses a good mind, though in person and form he is quite inferior to Hole-in-the-day. His speech was not interpreted, but was said to be in favor of selling the Chippeway country if the offer of the Government should meet their expectations, and that he took a most enlightened view of the happiness which the nation would enjoy if they would live in peace together and attend to good counsel.
Mr. Stuart now said,
I am very happy that the Chippewa nation are all of one mind. It is my great desire that they should continue to for it is the only way for them to be happy and wise. I was afraid our “White Crow” was going to fly away, but am happy to see him come back to the flock, so that you are all now like one man. Nothing can give me greater pleasure than to do all for you I can, as far as my instructions from your Great Father will allow me. I am sorry you had any cause to complain of the treaty at St. Peters. I don’t believe the Commissioner intended to do you wrong, but perhaps he did not know your wants and circumstances so as to suit. But in making this treaty we will try to reconcile all differences and make all right. I will now proceed to offer you all I can give you for your country at once. You must not expect me to alter it, I think you will be pleased with the offer. If some small things do not suit you, you can pass them over. The proposal I now make is better than the Government has given any other nation of Indians for their lands, when their situations are considered. Almost double the amount paid to the Mackinaw Indians for their good lands. I offer more than I at first intended as I find there are so many of you, and because I see you are so friendly to our Government, and on account of your kind feelings for the traders and half-breeds, and because you wish to comply with the wishes of your Great Father, and because I wish to unite you all together. At first I thought of making your annuities for only twenty years but I will make them twenty-five years. For twenty-five years I will offer you the following and some items for one year only.
$12,500 in specie each year for 25 years, $312,500
10,500 in goods ” ” ” ” ” 262,500
2,000 in provisions and tobacco, do. 50,000$625,000
This amount will be connected with the annuity paid to a part of the bands on the St. Peters treaty, and the whole amount of both treaties will be equally distributed to all the bands so as to make but one payment of the whole, so that you will be but one nation, like one happy family, and I hope there will be no bad heart to wish it otherwise. This is in a manner what you are to get for your lands, but your Great Father and the great Council at Washington are still willing to do more for you as I will now name, which you will consider as a kind of present to you, viz:
2 Blacksmiths, 25 years, $2000, $50,000
2 Farmers, ” ” 1200, 30,000
2 Carpenters, ” ” 1200, 30,000
For Schools, ” ” 2000, 50,000
For Plows, Glass, Nails, &c. for one year only, 5000
For Credits for one year only, 75,000
For Half-breeds ” ” ” 15,000$255,000
Total $880,000
With regards to the claims. I will not allow any claim previous to 1822; none which I deem unjust or improper. I will endeavor to do you justice, and if the $75,000 is not all required to pay your honest debts, the balance shall be paid to you; and if but a part of your debts are paid your Great Father requires a receipt in full, and I hope you will not get any more credits hereafter. I hope you have wisdom enough to see that this is a good offer. The white people do not want to settle on the lands now and perhaps never will, so you will enjoy your lands and annuities at the same time. My proposal is now before you.
The Fond du Lac Chief said, we will come to-morrow and give our answer.
October 4th, Mr. Stuart opened the Council.
Clement Hudon Beaulieu, was about thirty at this time and working his way up through the ranks of the American Fur Company at the beginning of what would be a long and lucrative career as an Ojibwe trader. His influence would have been very useful to Stuart as he was a close relative of Chief Gichi-Waabizheshi. He may have also been related to the Lac du Flambeau chiefs–though probably not a grandson of White Crow as some online sources suggest.
We have now met said he, under a clear sun, and I hope all darkness will be driven away. i hope there is not a half-breed whose heart is bad enough to prevent the treaty, no half-breed would prevent he treaty unless he is either bad at heart or a fool. But some people are so greedy that they are never satisfied. I am happy to see that there is one half-breed (meaning Mr. Clermont Bolio) who has heart enough to advise what is good; it is because he has a good heart, and is willing to work for his living and not sponge it out of the Indians.
We now heard the yells and war whoops of about one hundred warriors, ornamented and painted in a most fantastic manner, jumping and dancing, attended with the wild music usual in war excursions. They came on to the Council ground and arrested for a time the proceedings. These braves were opposed to the treaty, and had now come fully determined to stop the treaty and prevent the Chiefs from signing it. They were armed with spears, knives, bows and arrows, and had a feather flag flying over ten feet long. When they were brought to silence, Mr. Stuart addressed them appropriately and they soon became quiet, so that the business of the treaty proceeded. Several Chiefs spoke by way of protecting themselves from injustice, and then all set down and listened to the treaty, and Mr. Stuart said he hoped they would understand it so as to have no complaints to make afterwards.
The provisions of the treaty are the same as made in the proposals as to the amount and the manner of payment. The Indians are to live on the lands until they are wanted by the Government. They reserve a tract called the Fond du Lac and Sandy Lake country, and the lands purchased are those already named in the proposals. The payment on this treaty and that of the St. Peters treaty are to be united, and equal payments made to all the bands and families included in both treaties. This was done to unite the nation together. All will receive payments alike. The treaty was to be binding when signed by the President and the great Council at Washington. All the Chiefs signed the treaty, the name of Hole-in-the-day standing at the head of the list, and it is said to be the greatest price paid for Indian lands by the United States, their situation considered, though the minerals are said to be very valuable.
The Commissioner is said to have conducted the treaty in a very just, impartial and honorable manner, and the Indians expressed the kindest feelings towards him, and the greatest respect for all associated with him in negotiating the treaty and the best feelings towards their Agent now about leaving the country, and for the Agents of the American Fur Company and for the traders. The most of them expressed the warmest kind of feelings toward the Missionaries, who had come to their country to instruct them out of the word of the Great Spirit. The weather was very pleasant, and the scene presented was very interesting.
Le Boeuf et Le Pain: Alexis Cadotte’s letter to Chief Buffalo and Manabozho, January 11, 1840
April 30, 2024
By Leo
This was supposed to be a short post highlighting an interesting document with some light analysis of the relationship between the Ojibwe chiefs at La Pointe and the ones on the British-Canadian side of Sault Ste. Marie. It’s grown into an unwieldy musing on the challenges of doing what we do here at Chequamegon History. If you are only interested in the document, here it is:
(Copy)
Sault St. Maries 11 Janvier 1840
A Msr. le Beuf chef au tête à la pointe}
Cher grand-père,
Nous avons Recu votre par le darnier voyage des Barque de la Société. Ala nous avons apris la mort de votre fils qui nous a cose Boucup de chagrain, nous avons aussi bien compri le reste de votre, nous somme satisfait de n avoir vien neuf à la tréte de la pointe plus que vous ave vien neuf vous même nous somme de plus contents de vous pour L année prochaine arrive ici à votre endroit tachez de va espere promilles que vous nous fait que nous ayon la satisfaction an vous voyent de vous a tete cas il nous manque des Beuf ici, nous isperon que vous vous l espère Sanger il bon que vous venite a venire aucure une au Sault est Boucoup change de peu que la vie du Le Pain ne pas ici peu etre quil vous quelque chose pas cette ocation espre baucoup de vous voir l’etee prochienne, nous avons rien de particulier a vous mas que si non que faire. Baucoup a vous contée car il y a de grande nouvelles qui regarde toute votre nation et la nôtre tachez de nous faire réponse à notre lettre par le même.
2 Toute notre famille sont ans asse santé et Madame Birron qui est malade depui un mois et demi, un autre de ce petit garcon malade de pui cinq jour. Mon cher grand père nous finisson au vous Souhaitons toute sorte de Bonne prospérité croyez moi pour la vis votre tautre et efficionne fils
Signed Alexi Cadotte
Mon nomele Mainabauzo,
Je vous fais le meme Discours a vous dece que je vien de dire ici au Bouf. Il faut absolument que vous vene nous voir ici particulièrement votre patron qui moi meme et mon fils il y a un an l’été Darnier je vous espère au aspeill à la pointe nous avant neuf après ent la réponce du contenu de notre di proure si vous vere nous rejoindre nous iron ansemble à l ile Manito Wanegue au présent Anglois Car les Mitif se toi en Britanique resoive à présent comme les Sauvage vous dire à votre Jandre La pluve blanche que nous avon pas compri la lettre mon chère on ete je fini au vous enbrassan toute croyez moi pour la vie votre neveux.
signed Alexis Cadotte
Toute la famille vous fon des complément. Complement tous nous parans particulièrement
signed Cadotte
If you only want the translation, keep scrolling. If you want the story, read on.
Several years ago, I received a copy of this letter from Theresa Schenck, author and editor of several of the most important recent books on Ojibwe history. She knew that I was interested in the life of Chief Buffalo of La Pointe and described it as a charming letter written to Buffalo by one of his Cadotte relatives at Sault Ste. Marie. Dr. Schenck made a special point of telling me there were jokes inside.
Many streak freezes were used to obtain this number.
My immediate reaction was what many of you might be thinking, “But I don’t speak French!” Her response was very matter-of-fact, “Well you need to know French if you’re going to study Lake Superior history. Learn French.”
During the pandemic, I finally got to it, and according to Duolingo, I now have the equivalent of three years of high-school French even though I can’t speak it at all. I can read enough to decipher Alexis Cadotte’s handwriting, though, and get the words into Google Translate. That’s where we hit a second problem.
The French that Cadotte uses in 1840 is not the same French that Duolingo and Google Translate use in 2023. Ojibwe was almost certainly the mother tongue of Alexis, who was born at Lac Courte Oreilles around 1799, but later he would have picked up French, and later still English. However, the French spoken by Cadotte and his contemporaries was commonly called patois or Metis/Michif (Alexis spells it “Mitif”), and was a mixture of French, Ojibwe, and Cree. This letter shows that Cadotte had some formal education, but even formal Quebec French deviates significantly from modern standard French. This is all to say that the letter is filled with non-standard spellings and vocabulary.
Lacking confidence in my translation, I shared the letter with Patricia McGrath, a distant relative of Alexis’ and Canadian Chequamegon History reader, and with the help of her her cousin Stéphane, we combined to produce this:
(Copy)
Sault St. Maries 11 January 1840
To Mr. Le Boeuf, Head chief at La Pointe}
Dear grandfather,
We received your communication at the last arrival of the Company Boat. It was then that we learned of the death of your son, which left us in grief. We also understood the rest of your message. You are more satisfied to have us come again to the head of “La Pointe” than for you to come here yourself. We are more than happy to see you next year, when we arrive at your place, but we hold out hope for the promise you made to give us the satisfaction of seeing you here in person. We are missing some Beef here. We hope you agree. My blood, it would be good that you should come here soon. There are many changes at the Sault. One is that Le Pain does not live here anymore. Perhaps there is something wrong with the timing. We hope to see you next summer. We have nothing new in particular to say to you. Much has been said to you because there is great news, which concerns your entire nation and ours. Try to respond to our letter in the same way.
2 Our whole family is in good health but for Madame Birron, who has been ill for a month and a half, along with one of her little boys who has been sick for five days. My dear grandfather, we end by wishing you all kinds of good prosperity. Believe me, for life, your affectionate other son
Signed Alexi Cadotte
My namesake Mainabauzo,
I am making the same speech to you as I have just said here to Le Boeuf. You absolutely have to come see us here, especially your chief, who was with me and my son a year ago last summer. I hope you will welcome us to La Pointe. Please respond to the content of our report if you wish to join us, go together to Manito Wanegue Island and receive the presents of the English, because the Mitif, if you are in British territory, now receive them as the Indians do. You tell your son-in-law White Plover that we didn’t understand his letter. My dear one, we have finished greeting you all. Believe me, for life, your nephew.
signed Alexis Cadotte
The whole family sends salutations, especially the parents.
signed Cadotte
Food puns? Long, circular statements that seem to only say “come visit your relatives.” What the heck is going on here? Another letter, written by Alexis Cadotte on the same day, sheds some light.
Sault Ste Marie, January 11 1840
Cadotte clarifies here that Le Pain is yet another food pun–this time on Le Pin, or the Pine. Zhingwaakoons (Pine) was a powerful Ojibwe chief on the British side of the Sault. The Lagardes and their in-laws, the LeSages were Metis trading families in the region.Eustache Legarde
My dear friend,
I write you this to wish you good health & to send my compliments to all our friends. I make known to you the result of the counsel we held yesterday with the Bread.* The answer is now received. The English Government has accepted all the applications of the Indians in favor of the half breeds, so the half breeds will begin to receive presents of the Government next summer. Furthermore the Government promises to supply the Indians with all things necessary to cultivate the soil. Besides all this the Government promises to build houses for the Half breeds, and to let them have a Forge. The Bread (Pine) is looking for a convenient place to build a half breed village. I recommend that you tell this news to all who are concerned in this matter. I am very sorry to inform you that your youngest nephew died some days ago. The rest of Sages family appear to be well. I close wishing you all kind of prosperity.
Believe me your friend
Alexis Cadotte
*Pine
From this letter, it becomes clear who “The Bread” is. It also shows that Cadotte’s motivation for writing Buffalo and Manabozho goes beyond simply missing his relatives. He wants the La Pointe chiefs to maintain their relationship with the British government and potentially relocate to Canada permanently.
By 1840, the Lake Superior Ojibwe were beginning to feel the heat of American colonization. The influx of white settlers (aside from in the lumber camps on the Chippewa and St. Croix) had yet to begin in earnest, but missionaries had settled in Ojibwe villages, and their presence was far from universally welcomed. The fur trade was in steep decline, and the monopolistic American Fur Company was well into its transition into a business model based on debts, land cessions, and annuity payments (what Witgen calls the political economy of plunder). The Treaty of St. Peters (1837) further divided Ojibwe society, creating deep resentments between the Lake Superior Bands and the Mississippi and Leech Lake Bands. Resentments also grew between the “full bloods” who were able to draw annuities from treaties, and the “mix-bloods,” who did not receive annuities but were able to use American citizenship and connections to the fur company for continued economic gain post-fur trade. Finally, the specter of removal hung over any Indian nation that had ceded its lands. The Lake Superior Ojibwe were well aware of the fates of the Meskwaki-Sauk, Potawatomi, Kickapoo, Ho-Chunk and other nations to their south.
Keeping up relations with the British offered benefits beyond just the material goods described by Cadotte. It forced the American government to remain on friendly terms with the Ojibwe to prove that they were a more benevolent people than the British. In negotiations, the Ojibwe leadership often reminded the U.S. of the generosity of the “British Father.” Canadian territory also offered a potential refuge in the event of forced removal. The Jay Treaty (1796) had drawn a line through Lake Superior on European maps, but in 1840, there was still Ojibwe territory on both sides of the lake, and the people of La Pointe had many relatives on both sides of the Soo.
Zhingwaakoons was a fierce advocate of Ojibwe self-determination, and Cadotte’s letter shows that Little Pine (a.k.a. The Bread) was beginning to implement his scheme to concentrate as many Ojibwe people as possible at Garden River. If he could add the Lake Superior bands on the American side to his number, it would strengthen his position with the British-Canadian authorities. The British were open to the idea, as the Ojibwe provided a military buffer against American aggression in the event of another war between the United States and the United Kingdom. The more Ojibwe on the border in Canada, the stronger the buffer.
If you are interested in these topics, I strongly recommend this book:
I had already been writing Chequamegon History for a few years before I discovered The Legacy of Shingwaukonse: A Century of Native Leadership by Janet E. Chute through multiple fascinating references in Paap’s Red Cliff, Wisconsin. It was a nice wakeup call. It’s easy to get into the rut of only looking at records from the U.S. Government, the fur companies, and the missionary societies. There are other sources out there, of which the material coming from the British side of the Sault is a one example.
One of the puzzling things about the Alexis Cadotte letter is that it’s written in French. The common mother tongue of Cadotte, Buffalo, and Manabozho would have been Ojibwe. Granted, 1840 was a little early for Father Baraga’s Ojibwe writing system to have caught on, and Cadotte wouldn’t have known Sherman Hall’s system. In the following decades, letters in the Ojibwe language would become slightly more common, but at that early point, Cadotte may have still regarded Ojibwe as strictly a spoken language. It’s also possible that French offered a little more secrecy than English. Potential translators on Madeline Island would be other Metis (or Canadien heads of Metis families), whose goals would align more with Cadotte’s than with the United States Government’s. However, this is speculation.
Chief Buffalo is probably referenced more than any other individual on Chequamegon History, but we haven’t had a lot to say about Manabozho. The truth is, we don’t have a lot of sources about him. From another French document, from another Cadotte, we know that he was living at La Pointe in 1831:
This 1831 census of La Pointe was taken by Big Michel Cadotte (first cousin of Alexis’ father, Little Michel Cadotte), and we see Le Boeuf listed as chief of the band. Me-na-poch-o is the eleventh household listed, and “se gendre,” an unidentified son-in-law and grandson are directly beneath him. 1 man (des hommes) 1 wife (des femmes) 2 sons (des hommes & garsons) and 3 daughters or granddaughters (des filles et petite filles) were living in Manabozho’s household.
We also see his name among the two La Pointe chiefs who signed the Treaty of Prairie du Chien (1825).
“Gitshee X Waiskee or Le Bouf of La pointe Lake superior” “Nainaboozho X of La pointe Lake Superior” Manabozho is named after the famous trickster and rabbit manitou who William Warren called “the universal uncle of the An-ish-in-aub-ag.” The initial consonant in the name of this powerful being could be an “M,” “N,” or “W” depending on grammatical context and regional dialect. Spellings in La Pointe documents from this era use all three.
And from the testimony from the 1839 payments at La Pointe, to mix-bloods and traders under the third and fourth articles of the Treaty of St. Peters (1837), we can see that Manabozho and Buffalo had a history of working with Alexis’ family. This testimony was given in favor of Alexis’ brother Louis’ claim against the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe:
Heirs of Michel Cadotte a British Subject
To amount of private property destroyed at the post occupied by Mr. Louis Corbin in the year 1809 or 1810, the claimant being then absent from said post but had left there his private property and that of his deceased father, Estimated at Eight hundred Dollars– $800.00
Louis Cadotte
His X mark
La Pointe 30th August 1838
G Franchere } witnesses
Eustache Roussain
N.B. The papers and books were all destroyed
L x C
We the undersigned Pé-jé-ké, chief of the Chippewa Tribe of Indians, residing at La Pointe and Mé-na-bou-jou, also of La pointe but formerly residing at Lac Court Oreil, do hereby certify that, to our knowledge, to the best of our recollection, about the year 1809 or 1810 the above claimant and his father had who was an Indian trader at said Lac Court Oreil, had their property destroyed by a band of Chippewa Indians, whilst said claimant was absent as well as his late father who had gone to Michilimackinac to get his usual years supply of Goods for the prosecution of his trade, which we firmly believe that the amount of Eight hundred Dollars as specified in the above account, is just and reasonable, and ought to be allowed. In witness whereof we have signed these presents the same having been read over and interpreted to us by Eustache Roussain. La Pointe this 30th day of August 1838.
Pé-jé-ké his X mark The Buffalo
Mé-na-bou-jo his X mark
This claim is for property destroyed by followers of the Shawnee Prophet, Tenskwatawa on the Cadotte outfit post of Jean Baptiste Corbine at Lac Courte Oreille. Tenskwatawa, the brother of Tecumseh, had many followers in this region. Chequamegon History covered this incident, and Chief Buffalo’s role, back in 2013.
In the general mix blood claims, published in Theresa Schenck’s All Our Relations: Chippewa Mixed Bloods and the Treaty of 1837 (Amik Press; 2009), we learn more the exact relationship of Manabozho and Buffalo to the Cadottes. The former is their uncle, and the latter is their great uncle. Whether that makes the two men closely related to each other isn’t clear. The claims don’t say if they are blood relatives or in-laws of the Cadotte’s mother, Okeebagezhigoqua. However, if Manabozho was born into the band of Buffalo’s grandfather, Andegwiiyaas, and was living at Lac Courte Oreilles at the dawn of the 19th century, this would be consistent with a pattern of the “La Pointe Bands” of that era who were associated with La Pointe but living and hunting inland.
I should note that in Alexis Cadotte’s letter, he refers to Buffalo as grandpere rather than grand oncle. Don’t get too hung up on this. I am no expert on traditional Ojibwe conceptions of kinship other than to say they can be very different from European kinship systems and that it would not be at all unusual for a grandnephew to address his granduncle with the honorific title of grandfather.
From Francois, Joseph, and Charles LaRose claim
“Their Uncles are now residing at the Point, one of them is a respectable full blood Chippewa named Na-naw-bo-zho. The chief at La Pointe called Buffalo is their grand uncle. Their mother is a sister to the Cadottes. (Schenck, pg. 86)
From claims of Alexis, Louis, and Charles Cadotte, Mary Ann Biron, Agathe Perrault, and Mary McFarlane
“[Their] father was Michael Cadotte, a French trader in the ceded country, where he married a woman of the Ojibwa nation from Lake Coute Oreille named O-kee-ba-ge-zhi-go-qua.” (Schenck pg. 41)
“Five of the Earliest Indian Inhabitants of St. Mary’s Falls, 1855: 1) Louis Cadotte, John Boushe, Obogan, O’Shawan, [Louis] Gurnoe If this caption is to be trusted, andcaptions aren’t always to be trusted, there is a man named Louis Cadotte in this photo who would be about the right age to be Alexis’s brother. I read the numbers to indicate that he’s the man in the upper right. Others have interpreted this photo differently.
Sometimes different people have the same name. Very few of us can be expected to be fluent in English, Ojibwe, and regional dialects and creoles of 18th-century Quebec French (that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try!). It’s not only language. Subtle differences of religious and cultural understanding can skew the way a source is interpreted. Sources can be hard to come by, contradictory, misinterpreted by other researchers, or in unexpected places. Sometimes you stumble upon a previously unknown source that throws a monkey wrench into all your previous conclusions.
All this means that if you’re going to do this research, expect that you are going to have to humble yourself, admit mistakes, and admit when you might be pretty sure of something but not absolutely certain. My next few posts will explore these concepts further.
As always, thanks for reading,
Leo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P.S. Speaking of monkey wrenches…
Facts, Volumes 2-3. Facts Publishing Company. Boston, 1883. Pg. 66-68.
At Chequamegon History, we try to use reliable narrators. We try to use sources from before 1860. First-hand information is preferable to second or third-hand information, and we do not engage in much speculation or evaluation when it comes to questions of spirituality. This is especially true of traditional Ojibwe spirituality, of which we know very little.
Therefore, I strongly considered leaving out this excerpt from FACTS Prove the Truth of Science, and we do not know by any other means any Truth; we, therefore, give the so-called Facts of our Contributors to prove the Intellectual Part of Man to be Immortal. From what I can tell, this bizarre 1883 publication is dedicated to stories of “Spiritualism,” the popular late 19th-century pseudoscience (think the earliest Ouija boards, Rasputin, etc.). If you haven’t already guessed from the the length of the title, FACTS… appears to have been pretty fringe even for its own time. Take it for what it is.
Florantha (above) and Granville Sproat were more than just teachers with funny names. They wrote about 1840s La Pointe. The sex scandal that led to their departure sent a ripple through the Protestant mission community. (Wisconsin Historical Society)
Granville Sproat, however, was a real person–a schoolteacher in the Protestant mission at La Pointe. His wife, Florantha, is quoted near the top of this post, referencing the death of Chief Buffalo’s sons. The Sproats’ impact on this area’s history is pretty minimal, though they did produce a fair amount of writing in the late 1830s and early ’40s. Perhaps the most interesting part of their Chequamegon story is their abrupt departure from the Island after Granville became embroiled in what I believe is Madeline Island’s earliest recorded gay sex scandal. Since I can’t end on that cliff hanger, and it might be several years before I get to that particular story, you can learn more from Bob Mackreth’s thorough and informative treatment of Florantha’s life on youtube.
This post has really gone off the rails. Thanks for sticking with it, and as always, thanks for reading. ~LF
Special thanks to Theresa, Patricia, and Stephane for making this post possible.
1838 Arrests at La Pointe
April 4, 2024
Collected & edited by Amorin Mello
The legendary Gichi-miishen (Michel Cadotte, Sr.) passed away days before the 1837 Treaty of St Peters was signed. One year later his son Michel Cadotte, Jr. and son-in-law Lyman M. Warren were both publicly arrested at the 1838 Annuity Payments in La Pointe, clouding their families’ 1827 Deed for Old La Pointe and 1834 Reinvention of La Pointe.
Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs:
La Pointe Agency 1831-1839
National Archives Identifier: 164009310
April 6, 1836
from La Pointe Indian Sub-agency
via Fort Snelling
to Commissioner of Indian Affairs
Received May 21, 1838
Answered May 22, 1838
Lapointe
April 6, 1838
C. A. Harris Esq’r
Com’r In Affs
Sir
I take the liberty of addressing you to ask whether in your opinion there is a probability that my salary can be increased by an act of Congress, or otherwise. I make this enquiry because I feel desirous of keeping this office, and unless the salary can be increased I shall be compelled to resign; the great distance of this place from any market and the expenses of transporting property hither, together [with] the prohibition of entering into trade rendering it at present altogether insufficient. A speedy answer is respectfully solicited.
I am sir with great
Respect your most obdt servant
D. P. Bushnell
American Fur Company public notice in newspapers nationwide about Lyman M. Warren being removed from La Pointe.
October 27, 1838
from Governor of Wisconsin Territory
to Commissioner of Indian Affairs
received November 19, 1838
Superintendency of Indian Affairs
for the Territory of Wisconsin
Mineral Point Oct. 27 1838.
Hon C. A. Harris
Com. of Ind. Affs.
Sir:
Henry Dodge
I have the honor to transmit the report of E. F. Ely, Esq. Sup’t of a school at Fond du Lac, Lake Superior, forwarded by Mr D. P. Bushnell, Sub agent at La Pointe, which had not been received at the time the other reports were transmitted.
Mr. Bushnell also informs me under date of the 18th Sept. that he has caused Lyman M. Warren, an American citizen, and Michel Cadotte, a half-breed, to be removed from the Indian Country, and has furnished the Dist. Attorney at Green Bay with the necessary evidence and requested him to commence suits against them, for violations of the 12th, 13th & 15th Sections of the act of June 30, 1834. Mr Warren is now here, and suits have been instituted upon the representations of the sub-agent. Further information will be furnished to you as soon as received.
Very respectfully
Your obed’t serv’t
Henry Dodge
Supt Ind. Affs
November 23, 1838
from Lyman M. Warren of La Pointe
via Governor of Wisconsin Territory
to Commissioner of Indian Affairs
Received December 15, 1838
Answered December 22, 1838
Superintendency of Indian Affairs
for the Territory of Wisconsin
Mineral Point Nov 23, 1838.
T. Hartley Crawford Esq’r
Com. of Indian Affairs
Washington
Sir:
Copy of 1834 “Map of La Pointe” by Lyman M. Warren.
I have the honor to transmit enclosed herewith, a communication from Lyman M. Warren, recently of La Pointe, Lake Superior, who, upon charges of a violation of the 12th, 13th & 15th Sections of the “Act to regulate trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes &c,” was removed from the Indian Country. Mr Warren has been long in the service of the American Fur Company at that post, and extensively engaged in Indian trade; and, from the hurried manner in which he was taken from the country, much of his business remains unsettled. He now asks from the Department, for the reasons given in his letter, that he be permitted to return to La Pointe next Spring for the purpose only of settling his business; an indulgence which I think may be safely granted. Mr Warren was the bearer of the information to the Dist. Attorney of the United States at this place, upon which suits were instituted against him, which fact, with that of his previous good standing and the respectability of his connection in this Territory, warrants me in the opinion that no detriment can arise to the Government from a compliance with his request. I have also consulted with the Sub-agent at that station, Mr. Bushnell, who admits the propriety of permitting him to return to the country, for the purposes expressed in his letter, if the agent be not absent. In case the Department should feel disposed to accede to his request, it would be well to instruct the District Attorney not to take any advantage of his absence at the Spring term of the Court, at which he is recognized to answer.
Very respectfully
Your obed’t Servant
Henry Dodge
Supt. Ind. Affs.
Prairie du Chein 7th Nov. 1838
To His Excellency
Henry Doge
Governor of Wisconsin
And Superintendent of
Indian affairs
Sir
Since Michel Cadotte and myself have arrived at this place and been served with process in the various suits brought against us in the name of the United States and given bail for our appearance at the May Term of the Crawford District Court in the Cases where bail was required, I have thought proper to address your Excellency in relation to the course that has been taken against me, and to request through your Excellency, some indulgence from the Department in the management of the Cases from the peculiar circumstances of my situation.
Your Excellency is aware that I was arrested at Lapointe on Lake Superior among the Chippewa Indians by a Military force, without legal process, and brought from thence by the way of the Sault Ste Marys, Mackinac and Green Bay to Fort Winebago from which place I came voluntarily and brought to the complaint against me to your Excellency that after giving bail in one Case at Mineral Point I came to this place whither the Deputy Marshall was sent to execute other process on me and Michel Cadotte. I was arrested and brought away from Lapointe at a time when private business of the greatest importance required my presence there, and my arrest and removal and consequent losses have almost ruined me. On my way I was robbed of upwards of One Thousand Dollars in Cash which is one of the consequences to me of the proceedings that have been commenced against me. I believe that your Excellency is fully aware that if I had been disposed to disregard the laws and authorities of the Country and to set them at defiance the force which was sent for me was not sufficient to bring me away. In fact the Indians in the vicinity were disposed to resists and to prevent my removal, and would have done so if I had not used my influence to restrain them. I mention this as an evidence of my disposition to submit to the laws and authorities of the Government, rather than to oppose or violate either.
I have been a Trader in extensive business among the Chippeways on Lake Superior for upwards of twenty one years, an can appeal with confidence to all intelligent Gentlemen who have been acquainted with my course of conduct throughout that period for testimony that I have always conformed my conduct to the laws of Congress, and the regulations of the Department, when known and understood. I have never knowingly violated either, and if I have ever in any case gone contrary to either, it has been when the law or regulation had not been made known at my remote and far distant station.
No one could expect that so far removed as I have been from settlements and civilization with so little intercourse with either, I could be so well and promptly made acquainted with the legislation and regulations of the Government as those who enjoyed the advantage of a residence within the more immediate sphere of its action and opperations. In the present Case I feel perfectly conscious, that I am free from all blame, and believe that it will be found upon investigation, that the proceedings against me originated in malice.
It is expected I believe that the Half breeds of the Chippeways on Lake Superior will be paid their share of the money donated to them by Treaty, some time early next Spring. It is of great importance to me and to others that I should be present at that payment. I have of my own a large family of children who are interested in the expected payment. Besides I am guardian of an estate which will require my personal presence at that place, in order that it may be settled.
Cadotte is also interested in the payment on his own account, and that of his children. It will be impossible for us to go up in the Spring and return to the Spring terms of the Court at Mineral Point and this place. I would therefore request it as a favor of the Department, if sufficient reason does not appear for dismissing the prosecutions altogether, that I may be permitted with Cadotte to attend at La Pointe in the next Spring season at the contemplated payment, or when ever the same may be made, and that no steps may be taken in the prosecution of the suits against us in our absence, and that the Attorney for the Territory may be directed not to take any default against us in any of the Cases either for want of bail, or plea, or other necessary propositions for our defense, while we may be absent on such business.
I hope that your Excellency will perceive the great importance to me of obtaining this indulgence, and sufficient reason to induce the kind interposition of your Excellency’s good offices to have it granted to me.
With great respect
I am your
Excellency’s Obedient Servant
L. M. Warren
W.718.
December 15, 1838
from Solicitor of the Treasury
to Commissioner of Indian Affairs
Received December 17, 1838
Answered December 22, 1838
and returned papers
from US Attorney Moses McCure Strong
dated November 25, 1838
Office of the Solicitor
of the Treasury
December 15, 1838
T. H. Crawford Esqr.
Comm’r of Indian Affairs.
Sir,
Moses McCure Strong
~ 1878 Historical Atlas of Wisconsin
I have the honor to inclose to you herewith a letter received by this morning’s mail from Messr Strong, United States Attorney for the Territory of Wisconsin, with a copy of one addressed to him by D. P. Burchnell, Indian Sub-agent at Mineral Point, Wisconsin, in relation to sundry suits commenced by him, to recover the penalty incurred for the violation of the 12, 13, & 15 sections of the act of Congress of of 30 June 1834 intitled “an act to regulate trade and intercourse with indian tribes, and to procure peace on the frontiers.”; which suits he states were commenced at the request of Mr. Burchnell.
To enable me to reply to the District Attorney’s letter I shall be obliged by your informing me at your earliest convenience, whether you wish any particular [directions?] given to him on the subject. Please return the District Attorney’s letter with its inclosure.
very respectfully Yours
H. D. Gilpin
Solicitor of the Treasury
December 28, 1838
from James Duane Doty
to Commissioner of Indian Affairs
forwarded to Secretary of War December 31, 1838
Received January 3, 1839
See letter to Solicitor of the Treasury dated January 3, 1838.
Washington
Dec. 28 1838.
The Hon. J. R. Poinsett
Secy of War
Sir,
1827 Deed for Old La Pointe from Madeline and Michel Cadotte, Sr. to Lyman M. Warren for 2,000 acres of unceded tribal land on Madeline Island to be held in trust for the Cadotte/Warren grandchildren and future generations.
A prosecution was commenced last fall by the Indian Department against Lyman M. Warren, a licensed Trader at Lapointe, Lake Superior and a half Indian by the name of Michel Cadotte, for accepting of a verbal gift to Warren by the Indians of a part of an Island in Lake Superior. This gift I believe was intended to be in lieu of 14 sections of land given by the same Indians to the wife of Warren (an Indian woman, and his children, which had been reserved to them in the Treaty of Fond du Lac, but which was I am informed, stricken out, with other reservations of land, by the Senate.
It appears that Warren was ignorant of the act of Congress on this subject, and that so soon as he was informed, he desisted. Some months afterwards, and without anything new having secured, the sub-agent (then 300 miles from Lapointe) obtained a military force to be sent from Fort Brady to arrest Warren and his interpreter Cadotte. They made no resistance but voluntarily came with the soldiers to the Sault Ste Marie, and thence to Mineral Point 600 miles further.
Mr. Warren has been a Trader in that Country for the last 20 years, and I have personally known him there since the year 1820. During this long period he has been much respected as an upright Trader, submissive to the laws, and at all times disposed to extend the power of this government over the Northern Indians, who it is well known have been most inclined to visit and listen to the British authorities. I do not think there is another Indian Trader in the North West who has a greater influence with those Tribes than Mr. Warren.
The sub-agent, Mr. Bushnell, was a stranger in that country, but recently appointed, and, I cannot but think, has caused Mr. Warren to be arrested without a due examination of the facts of the case, or without giving a proper consideration to the effect it will be likely to have with the Indians of that country.
If Mr. Warren is compelled to defend this suit, whether it results in his favour or not, it must ruin him and his family, and I think the government will lose more than it will gain by continuing the prosecution.
From my knowledge of the parties, the facts of the case and the condition of the country I would respectfully recommend that the District Attorney be directed to discontinue the prosecutions against Warren & Cadotte upon the payment of costs and a stipulation not to prosecute Bushnell and the Commanding Officer at Fort Brady. I have no hesitation in expressing to you the opinion, that if the prosecution is continued the judgement of the Court will be in favour of the defendants.
With much respect I am Sir your obdt svt
Chequamegon History 