First Americans

CHINGWACKONCE is the Sachem or Great Chief of the whole Chippewa nation, and the immediate Chief of the branch living on the river Ste. Marie. This man is seventy-eight years of age : he is not more than five feet six inches high, but is immensely muscular, and, notwithstanding his great age, still retains wonderful activity. Chingwackonce was present at the battle of Queenston; he, with a band of the warriors of his tribe, took the part of the English in the last war with the United States, and the medal which he wears was given to him by General Brock. The father of the other Chief, who carries the war-club with the appended scalps, was killed at Queenston. To this father the club belonged, and there are thirteen scalps attached to it: some of these are coarse black hair, evidently Indian : but the finer and fairer texture of the majority of the locks shows that they were torn from Yankee heads. The scalp-locks are about eight inches in length, very tastefully twisted at the extremity by which they are attached to the club with pieces of ermine skin and dyed porcupine quills. The club Itself is formed of iron-wood, and weighs about eight pounds. It is further ornamented with tufts of red feathers, and some bunches of bears' claws, which make a rattling noise. Attached to the heel of the right leg of the warrior with the club is the skin of & skunk : this means, that, as the skunk is one of the most villainous-smelling animals while alive, and makes everything stink that touches it, so he, the warrior, had better not be touched. It pats one in mind of the Irish fashion of daring any man to tread on the tail of a coat.

The dresses of these chiefs are made entirely of leather-the skin of the caribou or red deer. This leather is very soft and pliant, but exceedingly thick and hot. The dresses are ornamented with fringes of the same material, and worked besides with very beautiful embroidery in dyed porcupine quills, principally scarlet, blue, and green. The leggings of the youngest warrior are of scarlet cloth, with bright blue edgings, covered with a pattern worked in white beads. The head-dresses are made of the fine inner bark of the silver birch, worked with figures of men and animals in coloured quills; these figures have a most remark able resemblance to some of those pictured on the walls of Egyptian temples. On the breast of the young warrior is the figure of a crane; this is the totem, or crest of his family, and it is also worked on the handle of his fan: the fan, made of birch bark and the tail feathers of the large brown hawk, is an emblem of chieftainship.

The feathers of the head-dresses are the white and black plumes from the wing of the great American eagle: four of these in the cap of Chingwackonce were tipped with a kind of tuft of ermine-skin and red feathers, and three tufts of the same kind hung down on strings of wampum from the side of his cap-each tuft denominated a slain enemy. The old chief had also a quantity of strings of blue and white wampum round his neck-another badge of authority. The old chief and the warrior with the club had extraordinary ornaments in their ears, made of large tufts of feathers and rings of brass wire; and the straps by which the pouches of the latter were suspended were covered with hundreds of bears' claws and the dried hoofs of deer, which made a curious jingling as he walked along. This man (whose name was Meniss-i-no-wenninne) was a very great dandy in his way ; and the others used to laugh at him for the extraordinary pains which he took in ornamenting himself. This man was certainly a magnificent specimen of humanity, standing about six feet four inches high and of immense muscular development.

The names of these men in English are, CHINGWACKONCE, Little Pine; NABUNAGOGING, The Eclipse: and MENISSINOWENNINNE, The Great Warrior.

Neither of them could speak a word of English.

The occasion which brought them to Montreal, and which enabled Mr. Somerville, the artist, of that city, to furnish ns with the sketches, was to present an address to the Governor-General, complaining of the unjust sale of part of their lands to the mining companies by the Government of Canada. The Chippewas say that their territory was never ceded by them to the British Government, nor taken from them in war; and that no man has, therefore a right to sell it. They complain that the firing of the woods, and the noise of the blasts made by the miners, is driving the deer so far back into the woods as to deprive them of the means of food, without taking great trouble to get it; while the occupation of the Lake shore interferes with their fisheries. They have also sustained what to an Indian is the most grievous of wrongs, in the wanton disturbance of the piece of ground in which from time immemorial they had buried their dead. The Chippewas declare that they are the allies, and not the subjects, of their great mother, the Queen ; and that, if the Government does not make a fair treaty with them for their lands, they will this winter drive off the obnoxious miners.

We understand, however, that the Canadian Government has recognized the rights of these men, and that an amicable arrangement will be immediately made. We believe that the Indians only ask for an annual sum equivalent to the interest of the money which the Government has received from the mining companies for the locations; this already amounts to £12,500 ; but much more has to be paid into the provincial chest. The American Government has agreed to pay the Chippewas on their side 100,000 dollars per annum for twenty-five years, for the lands which they have ceded. This income the Indians wisely receive in the shape of agricultural implements, ac.; and those in the British territory desire to have their money expended for them in the same way. It is to be hoped, for the sake of humanity, that these poor people will not be driven into Acts of violence.


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