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Show 64 APPENDIX TO PART I. 6th. The ll'o~ruois Chipeways, are dispersed along the bunk~ of all the G re&t Lakes, from Ontario to the Lake of the Woods. 7th. The l\1 uscononges reside on the waters of Lower Red river, ncar to Lake \Vinipie, and are the fat·thcst band of Chipeways. The Chipcways were the great ancl almost natural enemies of the Sioux, "ith whnm they had been waging a war of extermination for ne·1r two centuries. ( >n my arrivul among them, I succeeded in inclLh·ing both sides to agree to a peace, and no blood was shed from Sept. 1805, to April 1806, when I left the country. This object had fr eq uently been (in vain ) attempted by the Bl'itish government, \\ llo ol"ten brou~ht the chiefs of the two n.1tions to~ether, at Michil\macJ,in<~c ; made them presents, &c. but the Sioux, still hm11.; hty ancl overbeat·ing, spurned the preferred calumet; and retu l ned to renew the scenes of sl ,1ughter and barbarity. It may then he demanded, how could a subaltern with 20 men, and no presents worthy of notice, efT' ·ct that, which the govemors or Canada, with all the immense finances of the Indian dcpanment had attempted jn vain; althouhh they frequently and urgently recommended it? I reply, that, the British ~ovcrnment, it is trne, requested, recommended, and made presents; but all this at a distance; and when the chiefs t·cturncd to their bands, th eir thirst of blood soon obliterated from their· recollection the leCtlll'eS or humanity, which they had heard in the councils of Michilimackinac. llut, when I appear d amon?;St them, the United States had lately acquired the jmisdiction over them, at.cl the n,,mcs of the Americans (as warriors) l1acl rrr qucntly been sounded in their cars; and when I spoke to thern on tl.e subject, I commandt·d them, in the name of their great father, to make peace; and offered them the benefit of the mediation and guarantee of the U ni1 eel States : and spoke of the peace, not as a benefit to us, but a step t o.tkcn to rnake themselves and children ho.1ppy. This language held up to both nations, with the assistance of the traclct·s; a happy coincidence of circumstances; and (may I not add?) the assi~tance of the almighty, affected that which had long been attempted in vain. But I am perfectly convinced, that, unh.ss troops arc sent up between those two nations, with an agent, ·whose busincs~ it wo\11<..1 be to watch the rising discon· tents; and check the brooding spirit of t'evenge: that the weapons of death will again be raised, and the echoes of savage barbarity will resound through the wilderness. The Chipcways arc uncommonly attached to spirituous liquors; Gut may not this be O\\ ing to their traders, \\ ho fiud it m11ch to their i1•tcrcst to encourage th<.:ir thirst after a~ article, which enables APPENDIX TO PART I. 65 them to obtain their peltries at so low a rutc, as scarcely to be denominated a consideration, and have reduced the people ncar the establishments, to a degree of deg-radation unparallcl ·<1? The Algonquin language is one of the most copious and sonorous lun ~ua gcs of all the savage dialects in North America; and is spoken and undcrstuod by the various nations (except the Sioux) from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Lake "\Vinipic. This nation is much more mild and docile than the Sioux; :md (if we may judge from unprejudiced observers) more cool and deliberate in action ; but the latter possess a much hig her sense of the honor of their nation : the others j zlan for sdf-jwesen Jation. 1 he Sioux attack with impetuosity, the other defends with every necessary precaution. But the superior number of the Sioux, would have enabled them to have annihilated the Chipcways long since, had it not been for the nature of thcit· countt·y, which entirely precludes Lhe pussibility of an attack on horseback. Also, gi,·cs them a tlecicled udvantuge ovct· on cnemy1 wl1u, being- half armed with arrows, the least twig of a bush would turn the ~h.~ft of dc,1th out of its direction. \Vhcrcas, the whizzing bullet ltolds tts course, nor spends its force short or the destined ,·ictim. Thus, we generally hQ.ve found, that, when eng-aged in a Prairie the Sioux came off victorious; but if in the woods, even, if not obliged to rctl·eat, the carcascs of their slaughtered bt•cthrcn shew how dearly they put·chase the victory. The Sioux arc bounded on theN. E. and N. by these two powerful nations, the Cbipcways c.tncl Knistenec~ux, wh o~c manners, strength, and bounchu·ics, are ably dcscl'ibed 'by sit· Alex~tndct· M<~ ckenzie. The Assinniboins (or Stone Sioux) who border the Cllipcways on the ~ W. and \V. are a revolted band of the Siot,x, and have maintained a war with the pat cnt nation fot· about a cent11ry; and have now rcnclet·ed themselves their most violent enemics. They extend ft·om the Reel rivc1· west, ncal'ly to the Rocky Mountains, and arc computed at 1500 warriot·s. They rc..,ide on the plains, and follow the buffalo, consequently they have very little occasion for traders or European productions. z. l\1. PIKE, 1st. Lieut. 1st United S~ates Re~t. lofty. 9 ,. |