474 



SAUK 



[b. a. sj. 



their allies, the Ottawa, encountered 

 their enemies on the western "shores" 

 of L. Huron, i. e., in the present 

 Michigan peninsula, alnd as it is known 

 that as late as 1642 the Neuters 

 sent into this region a force of 2,000 war- 

 riors which destroyed a stronghold of 

 their enemies, it can be said with pro- 

 priety that the Algonquian tribes formerly 

 inhabiting the peninsula were driven 

 therefrom by the Nado^weg, meaning, 

 conclusively it would seem, the Neuters, 

 but understood by the French mission- 

 aries and writers to signify the "Iro- 

 quois," properly so called. Hence, the 

 confusion regarding the invaders who 

 drove out the tribes formerly dwelling 

 westward of L. Huron. But it is also 

 true that after the total defeat of the 

 Neuters in 1651 by the "true" Iroquois, 

 or League of Five Nations, these latter 

 tribes came in touch at once with the 

 tribes which had been at war against the 

 Neuters, and in some cases naturally the 

 Iroquois inherited the quarrels of the 

 Neuters. The Iroquois proper did not, 

 therefore, drive out the Potawatomi, the 

 Sauk, the Foxes, and the other fugitive 

 tribes from their ancient territories w. of 

 L. Huron, for the Potawatomi were in 

 Wisconsin as early as 1634, when Nicolet 

 found them there. It was nearly 20 

 years later that the "true" Iroquois 

 advanced into the lake region in pursuit 

 of the Hurons, the Tionontati, and the 

 Neuter fugitives, fleeing from the ruins 

 of their towns and homes. 



It seems clear that the tribes of the 

 Algonquian stock formerly inhabiting 

 the northern peninsula of Michigan were 

 driven out by the Neuters and the 

 Ottawa, their allies. It is erroneous to 

 assume tiiat the fugitive tribes retreated 

 first soutlivvard and then westward 

 around the southern end of L. Michigan, 

 directly across rather than directly away 

 from the line of attack from the e. along 

 Detroit and St Clair rs. It is learned 

 from Perrot that the Neuters occu- 

 pied Detroit r. Most Indians who 

 have been forced to retire from a 

 battlefield or from their homes have 

 shown that they were past-masters in the 

 art of eluding a pursuing foe, and it has 

 not been shown that the Sauk, the Pota- 

 watomi, the Rasawakoueton or Fork tribe, 

 and their allies, were devoid of this 

 characteristic trait. It is not probable, 

 therefore, that the Sauk, starting from 

 the shores of Saginaw bay, deliberately 

 exposed their flank and rear to the direct 

 attacks of the Neuters over a march 

 exceeding 300 m. The more probable 

 course of the retreat of the Sauk and 

 their allies from the Michigan peninsula 

 was evidently northwestward across 

 Mackinaw straits into northern Michi- 

 gan, thence westward to the region 



around Green bay and Fox r., where 

 they were first found by the early 

 French explorers. 



From the Jesuit Relation for 1666-67 

 it is learned that bands of the Sauk and 

 Foxes were dwelling in the vicinity of 

 Shaugawaumikong (La Pointe) and that 

 Father Allouez preached to them and 

 bajitized some of their children. 



During 1671-72 the expatriated Hurons, 

 composed largely of the Tionontati and 

 the (Black) Squirrel band of the Ottawa 

 (Sinagos), having perfected preparations, 

 together marched against the Sioux, who 

 were at peace with them. On their way 

 they succeeded in corrupting the Sauk 

 with presents, and the Foxes and Potawat- 

 omi also weiie induced to join the expedi- 

 tion. The united tribes mustered about 

 1,000 warriors for this raid, nearly all of 

 whom were armed with guns and pro- 

 vided with ammunition which the first 

 two tribes had obtained in Montreal 

 during the previous year. As a precau- 

 tionary measure they had moved their 

 villages back to Michilimackinac and 

 Manitoulin id. As soon as this force 

 reached the Sioux country, it fell upon 

 some small villages, putting the men to 

 flight and capturing the women and 

 children. Fugitives soon spread the 

 alarm in all the allied villages of the 

 Sioux, whence issued swarms of warriors 

 who attacked the enemy so vigorously 

 that the latter were forced to abandon a 

 fort which they had commenced to erect 

 and to flee in consternation. The Sioux 

 pursued them so closely that they were 

 enabled to kill many of the fugitives, 

 some of whom threw away their arms to 

 expedite their flight. These losses and 

 those caused by hunger and the rigor of 

 the weather resulted in the practical 

 annihilation of the allies; the Foxes, the 

 Kiskakon, and the Potawatomi, being 

 less inured to the stress of warfare than 

 the others, did not lose many warriors 

 on this occasion, because they fled at the 

 beginning of the combat. The Hurons, 

 the Squirrel baud of the Ottawa, and the 

 Sauk, however, distinguished themselves 

 by their courage and prowess, and by 

 tlieir stubborn resistance materially aided 

 the others in making their escape. In 

 the retreat, which wac turned to a rout 

 l)y the furious pursuit of the Sioux, the 

 confusion became so great that many of 

 the fugitives, driven by privation and 

 hunger, were compelled to eat one an- 

 other. The chief of the Squirrel band of 

 the Ottawa was captured by the Sioux 

 and condemned to torture by fire. They 

 broiled pieces of his flesh and forced him 

 to eat them. He and his brother-in-law, 

 the Sauk chief, were thus fed until their 

 death at the stake. The rest of the pris- 

 oners were shot to death with arrows. 



Bacqueville de la Potherie says that in 



