278 



CHIPPEWA 



[ B. A. B. 



at La Pointe, .Wis., about the time of tlie 

 discovery of America, and Vervvyst (INIis- 

 sionary Labors, 1886) says that about 

 1612 they suddenly abandoned this local- 

 ity, many of them going back to the Sault, 

 while others settled at the w. end of L. 

 Superior, where Father Allouez found 

 them in 1665-67. There is nothing 

 found to sustain the statement of War- 

 ren and Verwyst in regard to the 

 early residence of the tribe at La Pointe. 

 They were first noticed in the Jesuit 

 Relation of 1640 under the name Baouich- 

 tigouin (piobably Buwa'tigowininiwug, 

 'people of the Sault'), as residing at 

 the Sault, and it is possible that Ni- 

 collet met them in 1634 or 1689. In 

 1642 they were visited by Raymbaut 

 and Jogues, who found them at the 

 Sault and at war with a people to the w., 

 doubtless the Sioux. A remnant or off- 

 shoot of the tribe resided n. of L. Superior 

 after the main body moved s. to Sault 

 Ste Marie, or when it had reached the 

 vicinity of the Sault. The Marameg, a 

 tribe closely related to if not an actual 

 division of the Chippewa, who dwelt 

 along the n. shore of the lake, were ap- 

 parently incorporated with the latter 

 while thev were at the Sault, or at any 

 rate prior" to 1670 (Jesuit Rel., 1670). 

 On the N. the Chippewa are so closely 

 connected with the Cree and Maskegon 

 that the three can be distinguished only 

 by those intimately accjuainted with their 

 dialects and customs, while on the s. the 

 Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi have 

 always formed a sort of loose confederacy, 

 frequently designated in the last century 

 the Three Fires. It seems to be well 

 established that some of the Chippewa 

 have resided n. of L. Superior from time 

 immemorial. These and the Marameg 

 claimed the n. side of the lake as their 

 country. According to Perrot some of 

 the Chii)pewa Hving s. of L. i^uperior in 

 1670-99, although relying chiefly on the 

 chase, cultivated some maize, and were 

 then at peace with the neighboring 

 Sioux. It is singular that this author 

 omits to mention wild rice {Zizania 

 aq-natica) among their food supplies, since 

 the possession of wild-rice fields was one 

 of the chief causes of their wars with 

 the Dakota, Foxes, and other nations, 

 and according to Jenks (19th Rep. B. 

 A. E., 1900) 10,000 Chippewa in the 

 United States tise it at the present time. 

 About this period they first came into 

 possession of firearms, and were pushing 

 their way westward, alternately at peace 

 and at war with the Sioux and in almost 

 constant conflict with the Foxes. The 

 French, in 1692, reestablished a trading 

 post at Shaugawaumikong, now La Pointe, 

 Ashland co., W's., which became an im- 

 portant Chippewa settlement. In the 



beginning of the 18th century the Chip- 

 pewa succeeded in driving the Foxes, 

 already reduced by a war with the French, 

 from N. Wisconsin, compelling them to 

 take refuge with the Sauk. They then 

 turned against the Sioux, driving them 

 across the Mississippi and s. to Minnesota 

 r., and continued their westward march 

 across Minnesota and North Dakota until 

 they occupied the headwaters of Red r., 

 and established their westernmost band 

 in the Turtle mts. It was not until after 

 1736 that they obtained a foothold w. of 

 L. Superior. While the main divisions 

 of the tribe were thus extending their 

 possessions in the w., others overran the 

 peninsula between L. Huron and L. Erie, 

 which had long been claimed by the 

 Iroquois through conquest. The Iroquois 

 were forced to withdraw, and the whole 

 region was occupied by the Chippewa 

 bands, most of whom are now known as 

 Missisauga, although they still call them- 

 selves Ojibwa. The Chippewa took part 

 with the other tribes of the N. W. in 

 all the wars against the frontier settle- 

 ments to the close of the war of 1812. 

 Those living within the United States 

 made a treaty with the Government in 

 1815, and have since remained peaceful, 

 all residing on reservations or allotted 

 lands within their original territory in 

 Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and 

 North Dakota, with the exception of the 

 small band of Swan Creek and Black River 

 Chipjiewa, who sold their lands in s. 

 Michigan in 1836 and are now with the 

 Munsee in Franklin co., Kans. 



Schoolcraft, who was personally ac- 

 quainted with the Chippewa and married 

 a woman of the tribe, describes the Chip- 

 pewa warriors as equaling in physical 

 appearance the best formed of the N. W. 

 Indians, with the possible exception of 

 the Foxes. Their long and successful 

 contest with the Sioux and Foxes exhib- 

 ited their bravery and determination, yet 

 they were uniformly friendly in their rela- 

 tions with the French. The Chippewa 

 are a timber people. Although they have 

 long been in friendly relations with the 

 whites, Christianity has had but little 

 effect on them, owing largely to the con- 

 servatism of the native medicine-men. 

 It is affirmed by Warren, w^ho is not dis- 

 posed to accept any statement that tends 

 to disparage the character of hie people, 

 that, according to tradition, the division 

 of the tribe residing at La Pointe prac- 

 tised cannibalism, while Father Belcourt 

 affirms that, although the Chippewa of 

 Canada treated the vanquished with most 

 horrible barbarity and at these times ate 

 human flesh, they looked upon cannibal- 

 ism, except under such conditions, with 

 horror. According to Dr William Jones 

 (inf'n, 1905), the Pillagers of Bear id. 



