32 THE MENOM1NI INDIANS [eth. ann. 14 



230,400 acres. 1 The reservation is located iu the northeastern interior 

 of tlie state of Wisconsin. The tract embraced within its limits is well 

 wooded and is tilled with lakes and rivers, affording an abundance of 

 game and fish (see plate i). 



The Indians removed to their present home in < Jctober, 1852, most of 

 them ascending Wolf river in canoes; yet today a canoe is looked 

 upon by them with as much interest and curiosity as it would be iu au 

 eastern city, so rarely is one found. 



By an act of Congress of February 13, 1871, provision was made for 

 the sale of a portion of the Menomiui reservation, but as the consent 

 of the Indians was not obtained, no portion of their lands have yet 

 been disposed of. 2 



POPULATION AND CHARACTERISTICS 



According to the report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 

 1892, the "whole number of Menomini reported on the reservation is 

 1,335, with 3-13 children of school age. 1 ' To this should be added about 

 300 representatives of the tribe scattered throughout the country east 

 of the reservation, at Oconto, Meuoinonee, and several other places. 

 This would raise the aggregate population to 1,635, which corresponds 

 with the number estimated during the summer of 1893. 



But little is known of the early population of the Menomini tribe, 

 inasmuch as in most instances reference is made to villages, or simply to 

 the warriors. If an estimate is to be based on the number of fighting 

 men, various processes may be adopted to determine the approximate 

 population of the entire tribe. 



In the Paris documents of 1718, number vn, 3 the statement is made 

 that "The Puaus and the Folle Avoines are not numerous; each nation 

 may number 80 or 100 men. . . . All these tribes are very indus- 

 trious, and the women are four times more numerous than the men." 

 Here we have a specific comparison of numbers between the males and 

 females, but when Charlevoix arrived at the mouth of Menomonee river, 

 in 1721 , he found a village of this tribe, and says: "The whole nation 

 consists of this village, and that not very numerous." 4 



Lieutenant (lorrell, commandant of La Bay (Green Bay) in 1761, 

 states that "There are, by both French and Indian accounts, 39,100 

 Indian warriors, besides women and children, depending on this post 

 tin supplies." 5 Among the tribes enumerated he mentions 150 warriors 

 of the Folles Avoines, occupying two towns at La Bay. According to 

 numerous comparisons made, as pertain to other tribes, this would 

 place the entire population at about 751) souls, thus allowing five to 



1 According to the land surveys, about 10,000 acres additional are embraced in lakes and meandered 



streams. 



2 Report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1872, Washington, isTl', p. 20. 



■Docs. Coll. Hist. New York, vol. ix, Albany, 1835, p. 889. 



4 Journal of a Voyage to North America, vol. ii, London, 1781, p. 61. 



* Gorrell's Journal, Coll. Hist. Soc. of Wisconsin, vol. i, ls.">4, p. :12. 



