History of the Ojibways - Chapter 5a

I have already stated that they located their town on the island of La Pointe, for greater security against the harassing inroads of their enemies, but though the island is located at its nighest point, about two miles from the main shore of the Great Lake, yet were the Ojibways not entirely secure from the attacks of their inveterate and indefatigable foes, who found means, not only of waylaying their stray hunters on the main shore, but even to secure scalps on the island of their refuge itself. On one occasion a war party of Dakotas found their way to a point of the main shore directly opposite the western end of the island, and during the night, two of their number crossed over, a distance of two miles and a half, each swimming by the side of a log, and attacked a family who were fishing by torchlight along the eastern shore of the island.

With four scalps, and the canoe of those they had killed, they returned to their friends, who immediately retreated, satisfied with their success. Early in the morning, the mangled bodies of the slain were discovered, and the Ojibways, collecting their warriors, made a long but unavailing pursuit.

Shortly after this occurrence, a party of one hundred and fifty Dakota warriors again found their way to the lake shore, and taking a position on the extreme point of Shag-a-waum-ik-ong, immediately opposite the Ojibway village, they laid in ambush for some stray enemy to come within their reach. Shag-a-waum-ik-ong is a narrow neck or point of land about four miles long, and lying nearly parallel to the island of La Pointe, toward the western end of which it converges, till the distance from point to point is not more than two miles. In former times the distance is said to have been much less, the action of the waves having since gradually washed away the sand of which it is composed.

It lies across the entry to a deep bay, and it has derived its name from the tradition that Man-ab-osho created it to bar the egress of a great beaver, which he once hunted on the Great Lake, and which had taken refuge in this deep bay. The name signifies" The soft beaver dam," as the great beaver had easily broken through it, making the deep gap which now forms the entry of the bay. This point or peninsula does not average in width more than twenty rods, and in many places it is not more than six rods across. It is covered with a growth of scrubby oak and pine, and the extreme end where the Dakotas lay in ambush, is said in those days to have been covered with numerous sand hillocks, which the winds and waves have since nearly blown and washed away.

Early one morning, two Ojibway lads crossed over to the point to hunt ducks: on landing they were attacked by the ambushed war party of the Dakotas with loud yells. For some time the two youths, protected by the numerous sand-hills, defended themselves, and evaded the attempts of their enemies, who wished to take them captives. In the mean time, the Ojibway town being aroused by the distant yelling, and seeing the point covered with the forms of numerous men, the startling try of Aboin-ug! Aboin-ug! was shouted from wigwam to wigwam, and the men of war, grasping their bows and arrows, spears and war-clubs, jumped into their canoes and paddled with great speed to the scene of action. They crossed over in two divisions, one party proceeding straight to the point where the Dakotas were still to be seen hunting the two lads, while the other party living at the lower end of the great village, crossed over to that portion of the peninsula lying nearest to their wigwams. These landed about two miles below the extreme point, and taking their position where Shag-a-waum-ik-ong is but a few rods wide, and covered with scrubby oaks, they entirely cut off the retreat or egress of the Dakotas. Meanwhile the two unfortunate boys had been dispatched and scalped; but their friends who had crossed straight over from the village, landed on the point and proceeded to revenge their death, by bravely attacking the now retreating Dakotas. These being pressed by an enemy increasing in numbers every moment, turned their backs and fled down the point, merely keeping up a running fight, till they were met by the main body of the Ojibways who had collected in their rear, and cut them off effectually from escape. Discovering, too late, the fearful position, which their rashness and want of foresight had brought them to, the Dakota warriors took shelter in a thick grove of scrubby oak, and fought to the last gasp. Overwhelmed by numbers, all were killed but two, who were seen to throw themselves into the lake and swim off towards the opposite shore of the deep bay. They were never heard of afterwards, but the probability is that by swimming two miles to the nearest point of the main shore, they saved their lives, and returned to their people with the sad tale of the almost total destruction of their war party. Over the whole point of Shag-a-waum-ik-ong, are still strewn small particles of bones, which are said to be the remains of the warriors who fell in this bloody fight.

An anecdote is told of an old man, who was the father of one of the lads waylaid by the ambushed party on the point. He was not at home when the alarm was first sounded, and when he arrived, the warriors had all gone, and taken all the canoes belonging to the village. Burning to know the fate of his beloved child, he lashed his weapons of war to his back, and notwithstanding the entreaties of the women, he threw himself into the lake, and swam over to the scene of action. He arrived too late to join in the fight, but he was ever afterward noted for this almost superhuman feat, and his name is preserved amongst his people even to this day.

On another occasion a party of four hundred Fox warriors floated down the Ontonagun River in their small inland bark canoes, and coasting along the lake shore, they landed in the night time on the island of La Pointe, and at early dawn in the morning, they succeeded in waylaying and capturing four young women who had gone from the village to cut wood. The spot is pointed out to this day, where they were taken. The Foxes satisfied with their success, hastily retreated to their canoes, and under cover of a dense fog, they silently paddled homeward. Confident, however, in their numbers, and full of exultation at having bearded their enemies even on the island of their refuge, feeling also secure of escape in the fog, when still within hearing distance of the Ojibway village, they yelled back the whoop of derision and defiance, and commenced singing a stirring scalp song.

The town of the Ojibways became instantly a scene of commotion, and the eager warriors quickly arming themselves, hastily embarked in their large lake canoes, and silently but swiftly pursued their enemies under cover of the dense fog.

The lake was perfectly calm, and they could hear the loud talking and laughter of the Foxes from a long distance. Guided by the noise thus kept up by their careless and confident enemies, the Ojibways silently straining on their paddles gradually neared them. By the wise advice of their leaders, they deferred the attack, till the Foxes had arrived opposite the rock-bound coast one mile below Montreal River, and twenty-two miles from La Pointe, where the steep and slippery banks would prevent them from making their escape by land. Here the Ojibways fell on them with greatfury, and easily upsetting their small canoes, they dispatched the surprised and now fear Stricken Foxes as they struggled in the water. They killed and drowned this large war party, nearly to a man.

This is the only naval engagement in which the Ojibways tell of ever having been engaged; and their great success on this occasion, they attribute not only to superior numbers, but to the great advantage which they possessed in the size of their canoes, compared with those of the Foxes. Theirs were made large and strong, sitting firmly on the water, made to withstand the storms of Lake Superior, and capable of holding from five to twenty men each, while on the other hand, the canoes of their enemies, though made of the same material (birch bark), were constructed frail and crank, made to be taken across long portages on a man's head, and capable of containing but two or three persons. These, therefore, were easily upset, and their owners struggling in the deep water, were easily knocked on the head with war-clubs.

These two successful battles materially strengthened the foothold, which the Ojibways had obtained in this portion of the Lake Superior country. The Dakotas and Foxes received thereby a check on their war propensities, and they learned to respect the prowess and bravery of the Ojibways. Their war parties to the lakeshore became less frequent than formerly, and they were more cautious in their attacks. On the island of La Pointe, they never again secured scalp nor prisoner, for never again did they dare to land on it.

The war carried on at this period between the Ojibways and Foxes, was fierce and bloody in the extreme, and it was marked with every cruelty attendant on savage warfare. The Foxes tortured their captives in various ways, but principally by burning them by fire. Of old, the Ojibways did not practice these cruelties, and they only learned them at this period from the Foxes. The hellish custom of torturing prisoners with fire, originated amongst them as follows:--
"A noted warrior of the Ojibways was once taken prisoner by his own nephew, who was a young warrior of the Foxes, son of his own sister, who had been captured when young, adopted and married in this tribe. This young man, to show to the Foxes his utter contempt of any ties of blood existing between him and his Ojibway uncle, planted two stakes strongly in the ground, and taking his uncle by the arm, he remarked to him that he 'wished to warm him before a good fire.' He then deliberately tied his arms and legs to the two stakes, as wide apart as they could be stretched, and the unnatural nephew built a huge fire in front of his uncle. When he had burnt his naked body to a blister on this side, he turned him with his back toward the fire, and when this had also been cruelly burned, he untied him, and turning him loose, he bade him to 'return home and tell the Ojibways how the Foxes treated their uncles.'"

The uncle recovered from his fire wounds, and in a subsequent war excursion, he succeeded in capturing his cruel nephew. He took him to the village of the Ojibways, where he tied him to a stake, and taking a fresh elk skin, on which a layer of fat had purposely been left, he placed it over a fire till it became ablaze; then throwing it over the naked shoulders of his nephew, he remarked. "Nephew, when you took me to visit the village of your people, you warmed me before a good fire. I now in return give you a warm mantle for your back."

The elk skin, covered with thick fat, burned furiously, and "puckering," it tightened around the naked body of his nephew--a dreadful "mantle" which soon consumed him. (It is not unnatural to suppose that the tale of this occurrence being spread amongst the surrounding tribes, gave the name of Ojibway--"to roast till puckered up," to this tribe. Tribes have derived their names from circumstances of lesser note than this.--Author.) This act was again retaliated by the Foxes, and death by fire applied in various ways, soon became the fate of all unfortunate captives.

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