[Footnote A: Alexander Ramsey.]
They were then numerous and powerful, holding in check the neighboring Algonkin tribes, but soon after an alliance of tribes attacked and very nearly exterminated them. Became firm friends of the French until the Revolution, when they joined the English; made peace with the colonists afterward, but sided with the English again in 1812.
In 1820 they numbered about 4,500, and were living in five villages on Winnebago Lake and fourteen on Rock River. By a treaty in 1832 they ceded all their lands south of the Wisconsin and Fox Rivers, for a reservation on the Mississippi, above the Upper Iowa, but here they became unsettled, wasteful, and scattered. In 1846 they surrendered this reservation for another above the Saint Peter"s. This proved unfit, and they became badly demoralized, losing many of their number by disease, but were kept on it by force. In 1853 they were removed to Crow River, and in 1856 to Blue Earth, Minnesota, where they were just getting a start in civilized pursuits when the Sioux war broke out, and the people of Minnesota demanded their removal. Thus again they were put on the march, and this time landed at Crow Creek, on the Missouri, near Fort Randall, a place so utterly unfit, that the troops could not retain them on it. Out of 2,000 when taken there, only 1,200 reached the Omaha reserve, to which place they had fled for protection. They were then a.s.signed a new reservation on the Omaha lands, and placed under the care of the Friends, and since then have prospered. At the time of their removal, in 1863, from Minnesota, many of the tribe who had taken up farms remained, receiving their share of the tribal funds. There were also last year 860 in Wisconsin, of whom 204 have lately joined those in Nebraska, swelling their numbers to 1,667. Nearly all of these now dress in civilized attire, and many of them have taken farms, their lands being divided into 40-acre allotments for the purpose, upon which they are building neat and comfortable cottages. There is an industrial and three day schools on the reserve, which are attended by one-sixth of their whole number. Their chiefs are now elected annually by the tribe, who in turn appoints a force of twelve policemen from the Indians to preserve order.
1080. JNO. M. ST. CYR.
A delegate representing the Wisconsin Winnebagoes. Has been to Washington three times. His mother was a relative of Little Priest, one of the most prominent chiefs of the tribe, and his father a Frenchman.
808. { NAW-CHER-CHOO-NU-KAW.
{ BAD THUNDER.
812. WAH-KUNK-SCHA-KAW, and daughter.
Wife of "Martin Van Buren," a former prominent chief of the tribe.
814. KA-RA-CHO-WE-KAW. _A Blue Cloud Pa.s.sing By._
809, 813. WINNEBAGO CHILDREN.
IV. p.a.w.nEES.
1. ARICKAREES.
The Arickarees, Ricarees, or Rees, as variously written, call themselves Sa-nish, or Tanish, meaning "the people," a common form of expression among Indians to indicate their superiority. They were originally the same people as the p.a.w.nees of the Platte River, their language being nearly the same. That they migrated upwards along the Missouri from their friends below is established by the remains of their dirt-villages, which are yet seen along that river, though at this time mostly overgrown with gra.s.s. At what time they separated from the parent stock is not correctly known, though some of their locations appear to have been of very ancient date, at least previous to the commencement of the fur-trade on the Upper Missouri. At the time when the old French and Spanish traders began their dealings with the Indians of the Upper Missouri, the Arickaree village was situated a little above the mouth of Grand River, since which time they have made several removals, and are now located at Fort Clark, in a former village of the Mandans.
The cabins or huts of the Arickarees and other stationary tribes are built by planting four posts in the ground in the form of a square, the posts being forked at the top to receive transverse beams. Against the beams other timbers are inclined the lower extremities of which describe a circle, or nearly so, the interstices being filled with small twigs, the whole thickly overlaid with willows, rushes, and gra.s.s, and plastered over with mud laid on very thick. A hole is left in the top for smoke to pa.s.s out, and another at the side for a door. The door opens a few steps distant from the main building on the surface of the ground, from which, by a gradual descent through a covered pa.s.sage, the interior of the hut is reached. The door is of wood, and the aperture large enough to admit a favorite horse to the family circle, which is often done. These buildings are located within fifteen or twenty feet of each other without any regard to regularity.
They cultivate considerable land, each family separating its little farm from their neighbors" by rush fences. Corn is their princ.i.p.al dependence, of which they raise considerable quant.i.ties. The work is done entirely by the women, the primitive hoe being their only implement. They generally have quite a surplus, which they trade to the Dakotas and to the fur companies.
The Arickarees are quite expert in manufacturing a very serviceable kind of pottery, neatly shaped, and well adapted for cooking purposes. They are of clay, hand wrought, but not glazed.
At the present time they number 900, and are a.s.sociated with 600 Gros Ventres and 420 Mandans at the Fort Berthold agency on the Upper Missouri, where 13,000 square miles has been set apart for them as their reservation. They have 500 acres under cultivation, and are receiving considerable a.s.sistance from the Government in the way of improved implements. Many houses are being built, and the more progressive Indians are abandoning the old mud-lodges for them.
_List of ill.u.s.trations._
1042. KU-NUGH-NA-GIVE-NUK. _Rushing Bear._
Head chief; age, 56; height, 5.8-1/2; head, 22-3/4; chest, 39-1/2.
1044. E-GUS-PAH. _Bull Head._
Age, 57; height, 5.4-1/2; head, 23-1/4; chest, 42-1/2.
1043. CHE-WA-KOO-KA-TI. _Black Fox._
Son of Black Bear, a great chief of the tribe. Age, 23; height, 5.5; head, 24; chest, 36-1/4.
717. BLACK BUFFALO.
718. LONG KNIFE.
2. KEECHIES.
The Keechies, of whom there are now only a small remnant of about 90 in the Indian Territory, affiliated with the Wichitas, Wacos, and Tawacanies; were originally from Texas, and are supposed to be the Quitzies of the Spanish authorities of 1780. Even at that time they were a small tribe, numbering about 100 warriors. After the admission of Texas, were placed on a State reservation, where they remained undisturbed until 1859, when their presence became so distasteful to the settlers that it became necessary to remove them. Land was leased from the Choctaws and Chickasaws, and the Keechies settled on it, building their villages of gra.s.s houses along the Canadian River. The breaking out of the civil war set them back, just as they were beginning to prosper, compelling another remove for safety. In 1867 they were restored to their lands again, and since then have progressed rapidly in civilized pursuits. Like the Wichitas and Wacos, they are of the same stock as the p.a.w.nees.
_List of ill.u.s.trations._
411. KNEE-WAR-WAR, (front.)
412. KNEE-WAR-WAR, (profile.)
3. p.a.w.nEES.
There is but little definite knowledge of the early history of the p.a.w.nees, although they are among the longest known to the whites west of the Mississippi. Marquette notes them in his map, 1673, as divided into various bands. They are supposed to be the Panimaha of La Salle"s voyage in 1688. At the time of Lewis and Clarke"s visit, in 1803, their princ.i.p.al village was on the south side of the Platte. Pike, in 1806, estimated the population of three of their villages at 6,233, with nearly 2,000 warriors, engaged in fierce combats with neighboring tribes. In 1820, three of the four bands into which they have been for a long time divided resided on the banks of the Platte and its tributaries, with a reservation on Loup Fork, on the ninety-eighth meridian. Were then estimated at about 10,000 souls, living in earth-covered lodges, and much devoted to the cultivation of the soil, but engaging regularly every season in a grand buffalo-hunt. The Delawares, in 1823, burnt the Great p.a.w.nee village on the Republican, and these p.a.w.nees, becoming much reduced in numbers by small-pox soon after, sold all their lands south of the Platte, and removed to the reservation on Lou Fork. The means were provided, and many exertions made to place them on the high road to prosperity; but their inveterate foe, the Sioux, hara.s.sed them continually; drove them repeatedly off their reservation, and despoiled their villages. This warfare and disease soon reduced them to half their former number. In 1861, they raised a company of scouts for service against the Sioux, and a much larger force under the volunteer organization, incurring in consequence an increased hostility from their enemies, who hara.s.sed them so continuously, that in 1874 the chiefs in general council determined upon removing to a new reservation in the Indian Territory, lying between the forks of the Arkansas and Cimarron, east of the ninety-seventh meridian.
Their removal was almost entirely effected during the winter of 1874-"75.
The p.a.w.nees now number in all 2,026, and yet retain the subdivision into bands, as follows: The Skeedee (p.a.w.nee Mahas, or Loups), Kit-ka-hoct, or Republican p.a.w.nees, Petahoweret, and the Chowee or Grand p.a.w.nees. There are also living on the Was.h.i.ta, a small band of affiliated Wacos and Wichitas, sometimes called p.a.w.nee Picts, who are undoubtedly an offshoot of the Grand p.a.w.nees. They are under the care of the Friends; have well-organized day and industrial schools, and are well supplied with implements and means to carry forward a systematic cultivation of the soil.
_List of ill.u.s.trations._
530-2. PETA-LA-SHA-RA. _Man and Chief._ CHOWEE.
Reputed head chief of the p.a.w.nees, though really chief only of his own band, the _Chowee_. His claim was based partly on the fact of having been the first signer of their treaty of 1857. Being a good Indian orator, and of dignified bearing, he was generally awarded the first place in their councils, and led off in speech. In 1820, it is said that he put a stop to the custom, then prevalent among the p.a.w.nees, of offering human sacrifices, but only by a display of great courage. In 1825 he visited Washington with a delegation of his tribe, and attracted much attention by his fine presence. Has always been friendly to the whites and in favor of the advancement of his tribe in civilized habits, although very slow himself to adopt new ideas. He died in the summer of 1874 from an accidental pistol-shot. Had but one wife, and she survives him.
533. LA-TA-CUTS-LA-SHAR. _Eagle Chief._ SKEEDEE.
At present the oldest, and consequently the head chief of the tribe.
534. LA-ROO-CHUK-A-LA-SHAR. _Sun Chief._ CHOWEE.
A son of Peta-la-sha-ra and head chief of the Chowee band; also a leader in the councils. Height, 5.9; head, 22; chest, 36-1/2.
535. TUH-COD-IX-TE-CAH-WAH. _Brings Herds._ SKEEDEE.
Height, 5.10; head, 22; chest, 42.
543. TU-TUC-A-PICISH-TE-RUK. _Gives to the Poor._ SKEEDEE.
A soldier or policeman of the Skeedees. Height, 5.9; head, 22-1/2; chest, 42.
545. SQUAW OF TU-TUC-A-PICISH-TE-RUK. SKEEDEE.