SOURCE OP ST. Peter's river. 151 



CHAPTER III. 



Account of the Chippewa Indians. Their usages, man- 

 ners, and customs. 



HAVING described with some detail the manners and 

 habits of the Potawatomis and Sauks, we shall curtail our 

 observations and notes upon the Chippewas, because they 

 have derived from their common Algonquin origin, cus- 

 toms and usages, in many respects very similar. The lan- 

 guages of these nations will, on reference to the vocabula- 

 ries, (see Appendix,) be found to have a great analogy, 

 while all will be observed to differ much from that of the 

 Dacotas. 



The term Chippewa, which is generally applied to this 

 nation, is derived from that of O'ch^p^'wag, which they re- 

 strict to the Indians who reside near Fond du Lac, it sig- 

 nifies plaited shoes, from the fashion among those Indians 

 of puckering their moccassins. The whole nation are by 

 themselves styled N^een^wfi's'ik, which signifies natural 

 language, implying that they speak an original tongue, 

 and that other nations have an acquired one. The term 

 Neenawesik includes, however, all those that speak the 

 same language, and that are usually designated under the 

 names of Algonquin, Nypsins, (living near Montreal,) Ot- 

 tawak, Meskigouk, Menomones, and even the Sauks. At 

 least such was the statement of Charles Bruce, a man who 

 was considered as well acquainted with the Indian man- 

 ners and habits, and who was recommended to Major 

 Long, as one on whose assertions implicit reliance might 



