4 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS. VOL. 66 



is the narrow sandy island wiiitli foiiiis the noillu in side of 

 Chequamegon, or Ashland Bay, It is now called" Long Island; 

 formerly it was a jifiiinsida C(jnnected with the ni;iiidand. It runs 

 at a right angle to I ,a I'ointe Island.' 



U|jon this rather unsuitable site the Ojibwa built their first settle- 

 ment in the Chequamegon I'.ay regioiL- The setllenu-nt took place, 

 according to all authorities, about 1490. As the ]>lace was, at that 

 time, a peninsula, it was open to the attacks of the Sioux and the 

 h'oxes, which tribes had replaced the Irof|uois as enemies-in-chicf of 

 the Ojibwa." Accordingly, the Ojibwa moved their chief village: 

 to Mon-ing- wun-a-kaun-ing ( place-of-the-golden-breasted-wood- 

 |>ecker J, now called I .a I'oiiUe. There (hey established their j)rincipal 

 village, though there were several other setllements along the s-hore 

 of Chequamegon (Ashland) Bay.* 



We may safely assume, then, that by <jr so(jn after 1500 a large 

 < )jibwa town llourislud on tlir an-a jusl indicated. This important 

 community was menaced by lli<- Sioux from ihe west andlln- boxes 

 from the sonlh, but fscajicd deslruclioii, and in the course of time 

 innner<jus hi-tllcments were established by the ( hippewa on the 

 lu.iinhnd, which served as outposts to the main village at l.a Pointe. 

 War against their enemies occupied much r»f the r)jibwas' strength 

 and time for generations.^ 



For about uo years, from about 1500 to 1620, the ( )jibwa lived 

 uninterruptedly on I, a I'ointe Island. About 1620, however, cinum- 

 stances arose which led them to desert the place. There are two 

 theories put forth to account for this desertion. One is that the 

 branch of the Ojilnva who remained at (lie Sault (or jxissibly their 

 kinsmen the (^)ttawa) received (iiearms at this time from the earlier 

 French settlers, and, passing (hem on to liieir allies (»n La I'ointe, 

 enabled the latter to drive olT their hillierlo Idrnndable enemies 

 l)y means <jf their p<iwerfiil new weapons, and progress over the 

 niainianri lo the southward and westward. The other theory is 

 that a cra/.e for lunnan (lesh grew upon the medicine-men of the 

 Ojibwa at I.a Point*- to such a degree that they even made use of 



' See map J, \>. 3. 



■* This iblaiitl i.s flat, sandy, hpaifn-ly m-UI<(I, .ukI iioI {'>*• iiitK li I ort-ilcd, 

 uKeiiriK every advantage to the archeologist. l-iiids frum the iiorthwcsteni 

 end of Ihe island would date from a very early prehistoric and an early 

 historic period. 



"Warren, 1H85, j). 05; Verwyst, iKos, P 4.1'J. 



* Verwyst, iH<>5, p. 430. 



' Warren, l88s, p. U-'. 



