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 First published in Great Britain in 2005
Paperback edition 2014 by Pen & Sword Military
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS
Copyright © David Cooke and Wayne Evans 2005, 2014
ISBN 978 1 47382 704 2
eISBN 9781783409402
The right of David Cooke and Wayne Evans to be identified as the
Authors of this Work has been asserted by them in accordance with
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical
including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.
Typeset in Palatino by
Mac Style Ltd, Bridlington, East Yorkshire
Printed and bound in the UK by CPI Group (UK) Ltd,
Croydon, CR0 4YY
Pen & Sword Books Ltd incorporates the imprints of Pen &
Sword Archaeology, Atlas, Aviation, Battleground, Discovery,
Family History, History, Maritime, Military, Naval, Politics,
Railways, Select, Transport, True Crime, and Fiction,
Frontline Books, Leo Cooper, Praetorian Press, Seaforth
 Publishing and Wharncliffe.
For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact
PEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED
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 CONTENTS

PREFACE

GLOSSARY

Chapter 1 WACHT AM RHEIN

Chapter 2 KAMPFGRUPPE PEIPER:

ORGANIZATION AND EQUIPMENT

Chapter 3 16 DECEMBER 1944: PEIPER

FRUSTRATED

Chapter 4 17 DECEMBER 1944:

BREAKTHROUGH

Chapter 5 18 DECEMBER 1944: THOSE

DAMNED ENGINEERS

Chapter 6 19 DECEMBER 1944: FURTHEST

POINT

Chapter 7 20 DECEMBER 1944: PEIPER CUT

OFF
Chapter 8 21 DECEMBER 1944: A
SHORTENING OF LINES

Chapter 9 22 DECEMBER 1944: THE PRESSURE

BUILDS

Chapter 10 23 DECEMBER 1944: THE END IS

NIGH

Chapter 11 24 DECEMBER 1944: THE LONG

WALK

Chapter 12 TRIALS AND RETRIBUTION

BATTLEFIELD TOUR
APPENDIX A: SS RANKS AND THEIR
BRITISH AND US EQUIVALENTS
FURTHER READING
 Preface
The Ardennes offensive in December 1944 was Adolf Hitler’s last
throw of the dice. A huge German force struck the thin American
lines in the Ardennes, in Belgium, bursting through and driving on
for the River Meuse, with the objective of reaching Antwerp and
cutting off a major part of the Allied forces from their supply
sources. Although many histories of the battle look at the whole
offensive in terms of corps, divisions and regiments, the fighting
took place at a much lower level. Many of the actions fought across
the whole front were at the company or battalion level. In these
actions small groups of men, and even individuals, were
instrumental in winning or losing the battle. This holds true for the
fighting that Kampfgruppe Peiper was involved in.
Obersturmbannführer Jochen Peiper commanded the spearpoint
unit of the German offensive, with the objective of seizing one or
more crossings of the Meuse. Peiper and his American opponents
fought a series of fascinating actions over a period of eight days,
and these are covered in detail using the accounts of the participants
and after-action reports of the units involved. The fighting became
very confused, with elements of both sides vying for possession of a
number of towns and villages, and other units being drawn into the
fighting. It is the objective of this book to detail each day’s fighting,
area by area, and with the use of numerous maps give a clear,
concise description of the action.
 Glossary
AAA Anti-aircraft Artillery
CCB Combat Command B
CP Command Post
ECB Engineer Combat Battalion
IR Infantry Regiment
I & R Intelligence and Reconnaissance
Kampfgruppe (KG) Battle group
Nebelwerfer Multi-barrelled rocket launcher
Panzerfaust German one-shot infantry anti-tank weapon
PIR Parachute Infantry Regiment
Pz.AA.1 Panzer Aufklarungs Abteilung 1 (Panzer Reconnaissance
Battalion 1)
Pz.Rgt 1 Panzer Regiment 1
Pz.Gren.Rgt 1 Panzergrenadier Regiment 1
Pz.Gren.Rgt 2 Panzergrenadier Regiment 2
Rollbahn March route
Schwimmwagen German amphibious jeep
Spitze Advance guard
Spitzen Company Advance guard company. Followed behind the
spitze and provided support for them.
SPW Schutzenpanzerwagen. Variants of the SdKfz 251 halftrack.
Used for carrying infantry and engineers, and as mortar- and
weapon-carriers.
TAC Tactical Air Command
TB Tank Battalion
TF Task Force
VG Volksgrenadier
TD Tank destroyer. Either a towed or self-propelled antitank gun.
Peiper at Westphalia during reorganisation of his Panzer regiment
prior to Operation ‘Wacht am Rhein’ November 1944.
 Chapter One

WACHT AM RHEIN
Operation Wacht am Rhein (Watch on the Rhine), in December
1944, was Hitler’s last great offensive in the west. His plan was to
cut a swathe through the Ardennes, cross the Meuse and drive on to
Antwerp, thus cutting off the British 21st Army Group and the
American 9th Army from their supply sources. This, it was hoped,
would lead to mass surrender or a second Dunkirk. Following such a
major disaster the Allies would be forced to sue for peace. Then
Hitler could turn his whole attention on the Soviets.
Hitler plans a shock for the Allies in the west.
 By December 1944 the Allies had driven the German forces back
to the West Wall, Germany’s equivalent of the French Maginot Line.
The breakout from Normandy, in August 1944, was followed by a
rapid pursuit of the disorganized German forces across France and
into Belgium. By early September the Allied advance was in danger
of grinding to a halt, not because of German resistance, but a
shortage of supplies. Most of the Allied supplies were still coming
over the Normandy beaches or through a number of small ports the
Allies had captured intact. Cherbourg, a major port captured early in
the campaign, had all its facilities destroyed by the German garrison
before it surrendered, and was in the process of being repaired.
Antwerp, in Belgium, another major port, had been captured by the
British with its docks in full working order. Unfortunately, its
approaches along the Scheldt Estuary were still held by the
Germans, so shipping was unable to reach the port.
North-west Europe, December 1944.
The planned objective of the Ardennes offensive.
Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
 CHAPTER III
ALEXANDER HENRY

II

T
he French Government had established regulations governing
the fur trade in Canada, and in 1765, when Henry made his
second expedition, some features of the old system were
still preserved. No person was permitted to enter the countries lying
north-west of Detroit unless furnished with a license, and military
commanders had the privilege of granting to any individual the
exclusive trade of particular districts.

At this time beaver were worth two shillings and sixpence per
pound; otter skins, six shillings each; martens, one shilling and
sixpence; all this in nominal Michilimackinac currency, although here
fur was still the current coin. Henry loaded his four canoes with the
value of ten thousand pounds’ weight of good and merchantable
beaver. For provision he purchased fifty bushels of corn, at ten
pounds of beaver per bushel. He took into partnership Monsieur
Cadotte, and leaving Michilimackinac July 14, and Sault Sainte-Marie
the 26th, he proceeded to his wintering ground at Chagouemig. On
the 19th of August he reached the river Ontonagan, notable for its
abundance of native copper, which the Indians used to manufacture
into spoons and bracelets for themselves. This they did by the mere
process of hammering it out. Not far beyond this river he met
Indians, to whom he gave credit. “The prices were for a stroud
blanket, ten beaver skins; for a white blanket, eight; a pound of
powder, two; a pound of shot or of ball, one; a gun, twenty; an axe
of one pound weight, two; a knife, one.” As the value of a skin was
about one dollar, the prices to the Indians were fairly high.
Chagouemig, where Henry wintered, is now known as
Chequamegon. It is in Wisconsin, a bay which partly divides Bayfield
from Ashland county, and seems always to have been a great
gathering place for Indians. There were now about fifty lodges here,
making, with those who had followed Henry, about one hundred
families. All were poor, their trade having been interfered with by the
English invasion of Canada and by Pontiac’s war. Henry was obliged
to distribute goods to them to the amount of three thousand beaver
skins, and this done, the Indians separated to look for fur. Henry
sent a clerk to Fond du Lac with two loaded canoes; Fond du Lac
being, roughly, the site of the present city of Duluth. As soon as
Henry was fairly settled, he built a house, and began to collect fish
from the lake as food for the winter. Before long he had two
thousand trout and whitefish, the former frequently weighing fifty
pounds each, the latter from four to six. They were preserved by
being hung up by the tail and did not thaw during the winter. When
the bay froze over, Henry amused himself by spearing trout, and
sometimes caught a hundred in a day, each weighing on an average
twenty pounds.
He had some difficulty with the first hunting party which brought
furs. The men crowded into his house and demanded rum, and
when he refused it, they threatened to take all he had. His men
were frightened and all abandoned him. He got hold of a gun,
however, and on threatening to shoot the first who should lay hands
on anything, the disturbance began to subside and was presently at
an end. He now buried the liquor that he had, and when the Indians
were finally persuaded that he had none to give them, they went
and came very peaceably, paying their debts and purchasing goods.
The ice broke up in April, and by the middle of May the Indians
began to come in with their furs, so that by the close of the spring
Henry found himself with a hundred and fifty packs of beaver,
weighing a hundred pounds each, besides twenty-five packs of otter
and marten skins. These he took to Michilimackinac, accompanied by
fifty canoes of Indians, who still had a hundred packs of beaver that
they did not sell. It appears, therefore, that Henry’s ten thousand
pounds of beaver brought him fifty per cent. profit in beaver, besides
the otter and the marten skins which he had.
On his way back he went up the Ontonagan River to see the
celebrated mass of copper there, which he estimated to weigh no
less than five tons. So pure was it that with an axe he chopped off a
piece weighing a hundred pounds. This great mass of copper, which
had been worked at for no one knows how long by Indians and by
early explorers, lay there for eighty years after Henry saw it; and
finally, in 1843, was removed to the Smithsonian Institution at
Washington. It was then estimated to weigh between three and four
tons, and the cost of transporting it to the national capital was about
$3,500.
The following winter was passed at Sault Sainte-Marie, and was
rather an unhappy one, as the fishery failed, and there was great
suffering from hunger. Canadians and Indians gathered there from
the surrounding country, driven in by lack of food. Among the
incidents of the winter was the arrival of a young man who had been
guilty of cannibalism. He was killed by the Indians, not so much as
punishment, as from the fear that he would kill and eat some of
their children.
A journey to a neighboring bay resulted in no great catch of fish,
and returning to the Sault, Henry started for Michilimackinac. At the
first encampment, an hour’s fishing procured them seven trout, of
from ten to twenty pounds’ weight. A little later they met a camp of
Indians who had fish, and shared with them; and the following day
Henry killed a caribou, by which they camped and on which they
subsisted for two days.
The following winter Henry stopped at Michipicoten, on the north
side of Lake Superior, and about a hundred and fifty miles from the
Sault. Here there were a few people known as Gens des Terres, a
tribe of Algonquins, living in middle Canada, and ranging from the
Athabasca country east to Lake Temiscamingue. A few of them still
live near the St. Maurice River, in the Province of Quebec. These
people, though miserably poor, and occupying a country containing
very few animals, had a high reputation for honesty and worth.
Therefore, Henry gave to every man credit for one hundred beaver
skins, and to every woman thirty—a very large credit.
There was some game in this country, a few caribou, and some
hares and partridges. The hills were well wooded with sugar-maples,
and from these, when spring came, Henry made sugar; and for a
time this was their sole provision, each man consuming a pound a
day, desiring no other food, and being visibly nourished by the sugar.
Soon after this, wildfowl appeared in such abundance that
subsistence for fifty could without difficulty be shot daily by one
man, but this lasted only for a week, by which time the birds all
departed. By the end of May all to whom Henry had advanced goods
returned, and of the two thousand skins for which he had given
them credit, not thirty remained unpaid. The small loss that he did
suffer was occasioned by the death of one of the Indians, whose
family brought all the skins of which he died possessed, and offered
to contribute among themselves the balance.
The following winter was also to be passed at Michipicoten, and
in the month of October, after all the Indians had received their
goods and had gone away, Henry set out for the Sault on a visit. He
took little provision, only a quart of corn for each person.
On the first night they camped on an island sacred to Nanibojou,
one of the Chippewa gods, and failed to offer the tobacco which an
Indian would always have presented to the spirit. In the night a
violent storm arose which continued for three days. When it abated
on the third day they went to examine the net which they had set
for fish, and found it gone. The wind was ahead to return to
Michipicoten, and they steered for the Sault; but that night the wind
shifted and blew a gale for nine days following. They soon began to
starve, and though Henry hunted faithfully, he killed nothing more
than two snowbirds. One of his men informed him that the other two
had proposed to kill and eat a young woman, whom they were
taking to the Sault, and when taxed with the proposition, these two
men had the hardihood to acknowledge it. The next morning, Henry,
still searching for food, found on a rock the tripe de roche, a lichen,
which, when cooked, yields a jelly which will support life. The
discovery of this food, on which they supported themselves
thereafter, undoubtedly saved the life of the poor woman. When
they embarked on the evening of the ninth day they were weak and
miserable; but, luckily, the next morning, meeting two canoes of
Indians, they received a gift of fish, and at once landed to feast on
them.
In the spring of 1769, and for some years afterward, Henry
turned his attention more or less to mines. He visited the Ile de
Maurepas, said to contain shining rocks and stones of rare
description, but was much disappointed in the island, which seemed
commonplace enough. A year later Mr. Baxter, with whom Henry had
formed a partnership for copper mining, returned, and during the
following winter, at Sault Sainte-Marie, they built vessels for
navigating the lakes. Henry had heard of an island (Caribou Island)
in Lake Superior described as covered with a heavy yellow sand like
gold-dust, and guarded by enormous snakes. With Mr. Baxter he
searched for this island and finally found it, but neither yellow sands
nor snakes nor gold. Hawks there were in abundance, and one of
them picked Henry’s cap from his head. There were also caribou,
and they killed thirteen, and found many complete and undisturbed
skeletons. Continuing their investigations into the mines about the
lakes, they found abundant copper ore, and some supposed to
contain silver. But their final conclusion was that the cost of carrying
the copper ore to Montreal must exceed its marketable value.
In June, 1775, Henry left Sault Sainte-Marie with four large
canoes and twelve small ones, carrying goods and provisions to the
value of three thousand pounds sterling. He passed west, over the
Grand Portage, entered Lac à la Pluie, passed down to the Lake of
the Woods, and finally reached Lake Winipegon. Here there were
Crees, variously known as Christinaux, Kinistineaux, Killistinoes, and
Killistinaux. Lake Winipegon is sometimes called the Lake of the
Crees. These people were primitive. Almost entirely naked, the
whole body was painted with red ochre; the head was wholly
shaved, or the hair was plucked out, except a spot on the crown,
where it grew long and was rolled and gathered into a tuft; the ears
were pierced, and filled with bones of fishes and land animals. The
women, on the other hand, had long hair, which was gathered into a
roll on either side of the head above the ear, and was covered with a
piece of skin, painted or ornamented with beads of various colors.
The traditions of the Cheyennes of to-day point back to precisely
similar methods of dressing the hair of the women and of painting
the men.
The Crees were friendly, and gave the traveller presents of wild
rice and dried meat. He kept on along the lake and soon joined Peter
Pond, a well-known trader of early days. A little later, in early
September, the two Frobishers and Mr. Patterson overtook them. On
the 1st of October they reached the River de Bourbon, now known
as the Saskatchewan, and proceeded up it, using the tow-line to
overcome the Great Rapids. They passed on into Lake de Bourbon,
now Cedar Lake, and by old Fort Bourbon, built by the Sieur de
Vérendrye. At the mouth of the Pasquayah River they found a village
of Swampy Crees, the chief of whom expressed his gratification at
their coming, but remarked that, as it would be possible for him to
kill them all when they returned, he expected them to be extremely
liberal with their presents. He then specified what it was that he
desired, namely, three casks of gunpowder, four bags of shot and
ball, two bales of tobacco, three kegs of rum, and three guns,
together with many smaller articles. Finally he declared that he was
a peaceable man, and always tried to get along without quarrels.
The traders were obliged to submit to being thus robbed, and
passed on up the river to Cumberland House. Here they separated,
M. Cadotte going on with four canoes to the Fort des Prairies, a
name given then and later to many of the trading posts built on the
prairie. This one is probably that Fort des Prairies which was situated
just below the junction of the north and south forks of the
Saskatchewan River, and was known as Fort Nippewen. Mr. Pond,
with two canoes, went to Fort Dauphin, on Lake Dauphin, while the
Messrs. Frobisher and Henry agreed to winter together on Beaver
Lake. Here they found a good place for a post, and were soon well
lodged. Fish were abundant, and the post soon assumed the
appearance of a settlement. Owing to the lateness of the season,
their canoes could not be buried in the ground, as was the common
practice, and they were therefore placed on scaffolds. The fishing
here was very successful, and moose were killed. The Indians
brought in beaver and bear’s meat, and some skins for sale.
In January, 1776, Henry left the fort on Beaver Lake, attended
by two men, and provided with dried meat, frozen fish, and
cornmeal, to make an excursion over the plains, “or, as the French
denominate them, the Prairies, or Meadows.” There was snow on the
ground, and the baggage was hauled by the men on sledges. The
cold was bitter, but they were provided with “ox skins, which the
traders call buffalo robes.”
Beaver Lake was in the wooded country, and, indeed, all Henry’s
journeyings hitherto had been through a region that was timbered;
but here, striking south and west, by way of Cumberland House, he
says, “I was not far advanced before the country betrayed some
approaches to the characteristic nakedness of the plains. The wood
dwindled away, both in size and quantity, so that it was with
difficulty we could collect sufficient for making a fire, and without
fire we could not drink, for melted snow was our only resource, the
ice on the river being too thick to be penetrated by the axe.”
Moreover, the weather was bitterly cold, and after a time provisions
grew scanty. No game was seen and no trace of anything human.
The men began to starve and to grow weak, but as tracks of elk and
moose were seen, Henry cheered them up by telling them that they
would certainly kill something before long.
“On the twentieth, the last remains of our provisions were
expended; but I had taken the precaution to conceal a cake of
chocolate in reserve for an occasion like that which was now arrived.
Toward evening my men, after walking the whole day, began to lose
their strength, but we nevertheless kept on our feet till it was late,
and when we encamped I informed them of the treasure which was
still in store. I desired them to fill the kettle with snow, and argued
with them the while that the chocolate would keep us alive for five
days at least, an interval in which we should surely meet with some
Indian at the chase. Their spirits revived at the suggestion, and, the
kettle being filled with two gallons of water, I put into it one square
of the chocolate. The quantity was scarcely sufficient to alter the
color of the water, but each of us drank half a gallon of the warm
liquor, by which we were much refreshed, and in its enjoyment felt
no more of the fatigues of the day. In the morning we allowed
ourselves a similar repast, after finishing which we marched
vigorously for six hours. But now the spirits of my companions again
deserted them, and they declared that they neither would, nor
could, proceed any further. For myself, they advised me to leave
them, and accomplish the journey as I could; but for themselves,
they said, that they must die soon, and might as well die where they
were as anywhere else.
“While things were in this melancholy posture, I filled the kettle
and boiled another square of chocolate. When prepared I prevailed
upon my desponding companions to return to their warm beverage.
On taking it they recovered inconceivably, and, after smoking a pipe,
consented to go forward. While their stomachs were comforted by
the warm water they walked well, but as evening approached fatigue
overcame them, and they relapsed into their former condition, and,
the chocolate being now almost entirely consumed, I began to fear
that I must really abandon them, for I was able to endure more
hardship than they, and, had it not been for keeping company with
them, I could have advanced double the distance within the time
which had been spent. To my great joy, however, the usual quantity
of warm water revived them.
“For breakfast the next morning I put the last square of
chocolate into the kettle, and, our meal finished, we began our
march in but very indifferent spirits. We were surrounded by large
herds of wolves which sometimes came close upon us, and who
knew, as we were prone to think, the extremity in which we were,
and marked us for their prey; but I carried a gun, and this was our
protection. I fired several times, but unfortunately missed at each,
for a morsel of wolf’s flesh would have afforded us a banquet.
“Our misery, nevertheless, was still nearer its end than we
imagined, and the event was such as to give one of the innumerable
proofs that despair is not made for man. Before sunset we
discovered on the ice some remains of the bones of an elk left there
by the wolves. Having instantly gathered them, we encamped, and,
filling our kettle, prepared ourselves a meal of strong and excellent
soup. The greater part of the night was passed in boiling and
regaling on our booty, and early in the morning we felt ourselves
strong enough to proceed.
“This day, the twenty-fifth, we found the borders of the plains
reaching to the very banks of the river, which were two hundred feet
above the level of the ice. Water marks presented themselves at
twenty feet above the actual level.
“Want had lost his dominion over us. At noon we saw the horns
of a red deer [an elk or wapiti] standing in the snow on the river. On
examination we found that the whole carcass was with them, the
animal having broke through the ice in the beginning of the winter in
attempting to cross the river too early in the season, while his horns,
fastening themselves in the ice, had prevented him from sinking. By
cutting away the ice we were enabled to lay bare a part of the back
and shoulders, and thus procure a stock of food amply sufficient for
the rest of our journey. We accordingly encamped and employed our
kettle to good purpose, forgot all our misfortunes, and prepared to
walk with cheerfulness the twenty leagues which, as we reckoned,
still lay between ourselves and Fort des Prairies.
“Though the deer must have been in this situation ever since the
month of November, yet its flesh was perfectly good. Its horns alone
were five foot high or more, and it will therefore not appear
extraordinary that they should be seen above the snow.
“On the twenty-seventh, in the morning, we discovered the print
of snow-shoes, demonstrating that several persons had passed that
way the day before. These were the first marks of other human feet
than our own which we had seen since our leaving Cumberland
House, and it was much to feel that we had fellow-creatures in the
wide waste surrounding us. In the evening we reached the fort.”
At Fort des Prairies, Henry saw more provisions than he had ever
before dreamed of. In one heap he saw fifty tons of buffalo meat, so
fat that the men could hardly find meat lean enough to eat.
Immediately south of this plains country, which he was on the edge
of, was the land of the Osinipoilles [Assiniboines, a tribe of the
Dakota or Sioux nation], and some of these people being at the fort,
Henry determined to visit them at their village, and on the 5th of
February set out to do so. The Indians whom they accompanied
carried their baggage on dog travois. They used snow-shoes and
travelled swiftly, and at night camped in the shelter of a little grove
of wood. There were fourteen people in the tent in which Henry
slept that night, but these were not enough to keep each other
warm. They started each morning at daylight, and travelled as long
as they could, and over snow that was often four feet deep. During
the journey they saw buffalo, which Henry calls wild oxen, but did
not disturb them, as they had no time to do so, and no means of
carrying the flesh if they had killed any. One night they met two
young men who had come out to meet the party. They had not
known that there were white men with it, and announced that they
must return to advise the chief of this; but before they could start, a
storm came up which prevented their departure. All that night and
part of the next day the wind blew fiercely, with drifting snow. “In
the morning we were alarmed by the approach of a herd of oxen,
who came from the open ground to shelter themselves in the wood.
Their numbers were so great that we dreaded lest they should fairly
trample down the camp; nor could it have happened otherwise but
for the dogs, almost as numerous as they, who were able to keep
them in check. The Indians killed several when close upon their
tents, but neither the fire of the Indians nor the noise of the dogs
could soon drive them away. Whatever were the terrors which filled
the wood, they had no other escape from the terrors of the storm.”
Two days later they reached the neighborhood of the camp,
which was situated in a woody island. Messengers came to welcome
them, and a guard armed with bows and spears, evidently the
soldiers, to escort them to the home which had been assigned them.
They were quartered in a comfortable skin lodge, seated on buffalo
robes; women brought them water for washing, and presently a man
invited them to a feast, himself showing them the way to the head
chief’s tent. The usual smoking, feasting, and speech-making
followed.
These Osinipoilles seemed not before to have seen white men,
for when walking about the camp, crowds of women and children
followed them, very respectfully, but evidently devoured by
insatiable curiosity. Water here was obtained by hanging a buffalo
paunch kettle filled with snow in the smoke of the fire, and, as the
snow melted, more and more was added, until the paunch was full
of water. During their stay they never had occasion to cook in the
lodge, being constantly invited to feasts. They had with them always
the guard of soldiers, who were careful to allow no one to crowd
upon or annoy the travellers. They had been here but a short time
when the head chief sent them word that he was going to hunt
buffalo the next day, and asked them to be of the party.
“In the morning we went to the hunt accordingly. The chief was
followed by about forty men and a great number of women. We
proceeded to a small island [of timber] on the plain, at the distance
of five miles from the village. On our way we saw large herds of
oxen at feed, but the hunters forebore to molest them lest they
should take the alarm.
“Arrived at the island, the women pitched a few tents, while the
chief led his hunters to its southern end, where there was a pound
or inclosure. The fence was about four feet high, and formed of
strong stakes of birch wood, wattled with smaller branches of the
same. The day was spent in making repairs, and by the evening all
was ready for the hunt.
“At daylight several of the more expert hunters were sent to
decoy the animals into the pound. They were dressed in ox skins,
with the hair and horns. Their faces were covered, and their
gestures so closely resembled those of the animals themselves that,
had I not been in the secret, I should have been as much deceived
as the oxen.
“At ten o’clock one of the hunters returned, bringing information
of the herd. Immediately all the dogs were muzzled; and, this done,
the whole crowd of men and women surrounded the outside of the
pound. The herd, of which the extent was so great that I cannot
pretend to estimate the numbers, was distant half a mile, advancing
slowly, and frequently stopping to feed. The part played by the
decoyers was that of approaching them within hearing and then
bellowing like themselves. On hearing the noise, the oxen did not fail
to give it attention, and, whether from curiosity or sympathy,
advanced to meet those from whom it proceeded. These, in the
meantime, fell back deliberately toward the pound, always repeating
the call whenever the oxen stopped. This was reiterated till the
leaders of the herd had followed the decoyers into the jaws of the
pound, which, though wide asunder toward the plain, terminated,
like a funnel, in a small aperture or gateway, and within this was the
pound itself. The Indians remark that in all herds of animals there
are chiefs, or leaders, by whom the motions of the rest are
determined.
“The decoyers now retired within the pound, and were followed
by the oxen. But the former retired still further, withdrawing
themselves at certain movable parts of the fence, while the latter
were fallen upon by all the hunters and presently wounded and
killed by showers of arrows. Amid the uproar which ensued the oxen
made several attempts to force the fence, but the Indians stopped
them and drove them back by shaking skins before their eyes. Skins
were also made use of to stop the entrance, being let down by
strings as soon as the oxen were inside. The slaughter was
prolonged till the evening, when the hunters returned to their tents.
Next morning all the tongues were presented to the chief, to the
number of seventy-two.
“The women brought the meat to the village on sledges drawn
by dogs. The lumps on the shoulders, and the hearts, as well as the
tongues, were set apart for feasts, while the rest was consumed as
ordinary food, or dried, for sale at the fort.”
Henry has much to say about the Assiniboines, their methods of
hunting, religion, marriage, healing, and many other customs. He
notes especially their cruelty to their slaves, and says that the
Assiniboines seldom married captive women.
On the 19th of February the Assiniboine camp started to the Fort
des Prairies, and on the 28th camped at a little distance from it; but
Henry and his companions went on, and reached the post that
evening. Henry declares that “The Osinipoilles at this period had had
no acquaintance with any foreign nation sufficient to affect their
ancient and pristine habits. Like the other Indians, they were cruel
to their enemies; but, as far as the experience of myself and other
Europeans authorizes me to speak, they were a harmless people
with a large share of simplicity of manners and plain dealing. They
lived in fear of the Cristinaux, by whom they were not only
frequently imposed upon, but pillaged, when the latter met their
bands in smaller numbers than their own.”
On the 22d of March Henry set out to return to Beaver Lake.
They reached Cumberland House on the 5th of April, and Beaver
Lake on the 9th. The lake was still covered with ice, and fish had
grown scarce, so that it was necessary to keep fishing all the time in
order to provide sustenance. Early in May, however, water-fowl made
their appearance, and for some little time there was abundance.
They left their post on the 21st of April, very short of provisions.
They travelled slowly, finally coming to a large lake which, on the 6th
of June, was still frozen over, but the ice was too weak to be
crossed. The Indians killed some moose. On reaching Churchill River
they set out for Lake Arabuthcow [Athabasca] with six Canadians
and an Indian woman as guide. The river was sometimes broad and
slow-flowing, and again narrow and very rapid. Fish were plenty. On
January 24th they reached Isle à la Crosse Lake, and met a number
of Indians, to whom they made presents and whom they invited to
visit them at their fort. These Indians seem to have been
Chipewyans, known to ethnologists as Athabascans. They accepted
the white men’s invitation, and all started for the fort, continuing the
journey day and night, stopping only to boil the kettle.
The discipline among these Athabasca Indians seemed
exceedingly good, as, in fact, it usually was in primitive times. The
orders given by the chief were conscientiously obeyed, and this
under circumstances of much temptation, since, when liquor was
being served out to the young men, a certain number were told off
who were ordered not to drink at all, but to maintain a constant
guard over the white men.
In the trade which followed, the Indians delivered their skins at
a small window in the fort, made for that purpose, asking at the
same time for the different articles they wished to purchase, of
which the prices had been previously settled with the chiefs. The
trade lasted for more than two days, and amounted to 12,000
beaver skins, besides large numbers of otter and marten skins.
These Indians had come from Lake Arabuthcow, at which they had
wintered. They reported that at the farther end of that lake was a
river called Peace River, which descended from the Stony or Rocky
Mountains, from which mountains the distance to the Salt Lake,
meaning the Pacific Ocean, was not great. Other things the Indians
told Henry which he did not then understand, but a few years later
Alexander Mackenzie was to meet these problems and to solve many
of them. These Indians dressed in beaver skins, and were orderly
and unoffending. Mr. Joseph Frobisher and Henry now set out to
return to the Grand Portage, leaving the remainder of their
merchandise in the care of Thomas Frobisher, who was to go with
them to Lake Athabasca.
 When Henry reached the Lake of the Woods he found there
some Indians, who told him that a strange nation had entered
Montreal, taken Quebec, killed all the English, and would certainly be
at the Grand Portage before they reached there. Henry remarked to
his companion that he suspected the Bastonnais had been up to
some mischief in Canada, and the Indians at once exclaimed, “Yes,
that’s the name, Bastonnais.” Bastonnais or Bostonnais, that is,
“Boston men,” was a name commonly used in the Northwest to
distinguish the Americans from the English, or “King George men.”
Without further accident Henry reached the Grand Portage, from
which place he continued to Montreal, which he reached the 15th of
October. Here he found that the Americans had been driven out, and
that the city was protected by the forces of General Burgoyne. The
capture of Montreal took place in the fall of 1775, and Quebec was
besieged during the winter of 1775–1776, and it was nearly a year
later that Henry heard the news at the Lake of the Woods.
This ends the account of Henry’s travels, but he was still in the
fur trade for many years later. In 1785 he was a leading merchant of
Montreal, and in 1790 he returned to Michilimackinac.
His book was published in New York in 1809, and thus not until
eight years after the publication of Alexander Mackenzie’s great
work. Henry died in Montreal, April 4, 1824, in the 85th year of his
age.
Besides himself being a fur trader, Henry was a father of fur
traders. His son, William Henry, is constantly mentioned in the diary
of Alexander Henry the younger. A second son, Alexander, was also
in the fur trade, and was killed on the Liard River. Alexander Henry
the younger, a nephew, is well known, and will be noticed hereafter.
A Mr. Bethune, constantly spoken of by Alexander Henry, Jr., may, or
may not, have been a relative. Certain it is that Alexander Henry had
nephews named Bethune.
The narrative is remarkable from its simplicity and clearness of
style, as well as for the keen powers of observation shown by the
writer. It is one of the most interesting of the many interesting
volumes on the fur trade of its own and later times.
 CHAPTER IV

JONATHAN CARVER

A
t the close of the “late war with France,” when peace had been
established by the treaty of Versailles, in the year 1763,
Jonathan Carver, the captain of a company of provincial
troops during the French and Indian War, began to consider how he
might continue to do service to his country and contribute as much
as lay in his power to make advantageous to Great Britain that vast
territory which had been acquired by that war in North America.
What this territory was, how far it extended, what were its products,
who were its inhabitants, were some of the questions that suggested
themselves to Carver. He was a good patriot, and felt that
knowledge as to these points would be of the greatest importance to
his country. With the natural suspicion that Englishmen of his time
felt of the French, he believed that they, while they retained their
power in North America, had taken every artful method to keep all
other nations, particularly the English, ignorant of everything
concerning the interior parts of the country. “To accomplish this
design with the greatest certainty,” he says, “they had published
inaccurate maps and false accounts; calling the different nations of
the Indians by nicknames they had given them, and not by those
really appertaining to them. Whether the intention of the French in
doing this was to prevent these nations from being discovered and
traded with, or to conceal their discourse, when they talked to each
other of the Indian concerns, in their presence, I will not determine;
but whatsoever was the cause from which it arose, it tended to
mislead.”

Carver contemplated something more important and far-

reaching than the mere investigation of the country, for he says:
“What I chiefly had in view after gaining a knowledge of the
manners, customs, languages, soil, and natural products of the
different nations that inhabit the back of the Mississippi, was to
ascertain the breadth of that vast continent from the Atlantic to the
Pacific Ocean in its broadest part, between 43 and 46 degrees north
latitude. Had I been able to accomplish this, I intended to have
proposed to the government to establish a post in some of those
parts about the Straits of Annian [Puget Sound] which, having been
first discovered by Sir Francis Drake, of course belonged to the
English. This, I am convinced, would greatly facilitate the discovery
of the northwest passage, or a communication between Hudson’s
Bay and the Pacific Ocean, an event so desirable, and which has
been so often sought for, but without success. Besides this important
end, a settlement on that extremity of America would answer many
good purposes, and repay every expense the establishment of it
might occasion. For it would not only disclose new sources of trade,
and promote many useful discoveries, but would open a passage for
conveying intelligence to China, and the English settlements in the
East Indies, with greater expedition than a tedious voyage by the
Cape of Good Hope or the Straits of Magellan would allow of.”
Carver’s projects for crossing the continent to the Pacific Ocean
proved abortive; yet he travelled into the interior nearly as far as any
one had hitherto advanced. True, the Verendryes and one or two of
the Jesuit Fathers went beyond him on this parallel of latitude; yet
the work which Carver published is almost the first that touches on a
region lying well within the borders of the Louisiana Purchase, and
now one of the most important sections of the United States.
In his introduction, Carver has a prophetic word to say about the
unhappy relations existing, when he wrote, between Great Britain
and America. “To what power or authority this new world will
become dependent, after it has arisen from its present uncultivated
state, time alone can discover. But as the seat of Empire, from time
immemorial, has been gradually progressive toward the west, there
is no doubt but that at some future period, mighty kingdoms will
emerge from these wildernesses, and stately palaces and solemn
temples, with gilded spires reaching the skies, supplant the Indians’
huts, whose only decorations are the barbarous trophies of their
vanquished enemies.”
In June, 1766, Carver left Boston for the interior parts of North
America. He has little to say about the country lying adjacent to the
“back-settlements,” which, he observes, have often been described.
He passed through the Great Lakes, mentioning as he goes various
Indian tribes and some of the products of the country, stopped some
little time at the great town of the Winnebagoes, at Lake
Winnebago, in Wisconsin, where he was very civilly received. At this
time these people had a queen, or woman chief. He discusses this
tribe at some length, and incidentally repeats a curious story: “An
elderly chief more particularly acquainted me that, about forty-six
winters ago, he marched, at the head of fifty warriors, toward the
south-west for three moons. That during this expedition, whilst they
were crossing a plain, they discovered a body of men on horseback,
who belonged to the Black People; for so they call the Spaniards. As
soon as they perceived them, they proceeded with caution, and
concealed themselves till night came on; when they drew so near as
to be able to discern the number and situation of their enemies.
Finding they were not able to cope with so great a superiority by
daylight, they waited till they had retired to rest; when they rushed
upon them, and after having killed the greatest part of the men,
took eighty horses loaded with what they termed white stone. This I
suppose to have been silver, as he told me the horses were shod
with it, and that their bridles were ornamented with the same. When
they had satiated their revenge, they carried off their spoil, and
being got so far as to be out of reach of the Spaniards that had
escaped their fury, they left the useless and ponderous burthen, with
which the horses were loaded, in the woods, and mounting
themselves, in this manner returned to their friends. The party they
had thus defeated, I conclude to be the caravan that annually
conveys to Mexico the silver which the Spaniards find in great
quantities on the mountains lying near the heads of the Colorado
River; and the plains where the attack was made, probably, some
they were obliged to pass over in their way to the heads of the River
St. Fee, or Rio del Nord, which falls into the Gulf of Mexico to the
west of the Mississippi.”
From the Winnebago town, Carver proceeded up the Fox River,
and then carried across a short distance to the Ouisconsin River, and
proceeded down that. Here he found the great town of the Saukies,
the largest and best built Indian town he ever saw. It consisted of
“about ninety houses, each large enough for several families, built of
hewn plank, neatly jointed, and covered with bark so compactly as
to keep out the most penetrating rains.” The streets were regular
and spacious; and it appeared more like a civilized town than the
abode of savages. About the town lay the plantations of the Indians,
in which they raised great quantities of corn, beans, and melons;
and their annual product was so large that this place was esteemed
the best market for traders to furnish themselves with provisions of
any within eight hundred miles. Near the mouth of the Wisconsin
River, on the banks of the Mississippi, the Ottigaumies—Outagami,
i. e., “people of the other band,” that is the Foxes—had a large town,
at a place called “La Prairie des Chiens [Carver writes this name in
various ways], which signifies Dog Plains,” a great trading place.
About the first of November, Carver reached Lake Pepin, and
speaks with the greatest enthusiasm of the beauty of the country, its
apparent productiveness, and the extraordinary number of game
and wild fowl seen near about it. “On the plains,” he says, “are the
largest buffalo of any in America. In the groves are found great
plenty of turkeys and partridges; while great numbers of fowl, such
as storks, swans, geese, brants, and ducks frequent the lake.” A little
below that lake he discovered, in a fine, level, open plain, what had
once been a breastwork, about four feet in height, extending the
best part of a mile, and sufficiently capacious to cover five thousand
men; one of the famous mounds for which the Mississippi Valley has
so long been celebrated.

A MAN OF THE NAUDOWESSIE. A MAN OF THE OTTIGAUMIES.

From Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America, by Jonathan Carver.

About thirty miles above Lake Pepin, near the St. Croix River,
Carver met three bands of the Naudowessie—Sioux—Indians; and
while he was there a war party of Chippewas approached the camp,
and seemed to be preparing for an attack. The Sioux requested
Carver to help them, to put himself at their head and lead them
against their enemies. This the traveller was of course unwilling to
do, for his work in the country made it important that he should be
friendly with all people. He endeavored to persuade the Sioux to
allow him to attempt to make peace with the Chippewas, and when
at length they assented, he met the invaders and succeeded in
inducing them to turn back without making an attack. He then
persuaded the Sioux to move their camp to another part of the
country, lest the Chippewas should change their mind and return to
attack them. Carver declares that this diplomatic success gained him
great credit with both Sioux and Chippewas; that to it he was
indebted for the friendly reception that he afterward met with the
Naudowessie of the Plains; and that when many months later he
reached the village of the Chippewas, farther to the north, he was
received with great cordiality by the chiefs, many of whom thanked
him for having prevented the mischief.
About thirty miles below the Falls of St. Anthony, Carver was
shown a remarkable cave of amazing depth, which the Indians called
Wacon-teebe—Wakán tipi, mysterious or sacred dwelling—that is to
say, “the Dwelling of the Great Spirit.” Within it is a lake, which
“extends to an unsearchable distance; for the darkness of the cave
prevents all attempts to acquire a knowledge of it.” The walls are
covered with many Indian hieroglyphics, which seem to be very
ancient, for time had nearly covered them with moss. The Falls of St.
Anthony greatly impressed Carver, as they did the young Indian in
his company.
At the mouth of the river St. Francis, Carver says, “I observed
here many deer and carraboes—a record for the caribou unusually
far south for the mid continent—some elk, with abundance of
beavers, otters and other furs. Not far above this, to the north-east,
are a number of small lakes called the Thousand Lakes; the parts
about which though but little frequented, are the best within many
miles for hunting, as the hunter never fails of returning loaded
beyond his expectations.”
Above the St. Francis River, the Mississippi was new ground, for
Hennepin, the river’s first explorer, had not passed up it farther than
the St. Francis, and Carver remarks that, “As this river is not
navigable from sea for vessels of any considerable burthen, much
higher up than the forks of the Ohio, and even that is accomplished
with great difficulty, owing to the rapidity of the current, and the
windings of the river, those settlements which may be made on the
interior branches of it must be indisputably secure from the attacks
of any maritime power. But at the same time the settlers will have
the advantage of being able to convey their produce to the sea-ports
with great facility, the current of the river, from its source to its
entrance into the Gulph of Mexico, being extremely favorable for
doing this in small craft. This might also in time be facilitated by
canals or shorter cuts; and a communication opened by water with
New York, Canada, etc., by way of the lakes.”
Returning to the mouth of the river St. Pierre, now the
Minnesota River, Carver ascended this about two hundred miles, to
the country of the Naudowessie of the Plains. The northern branch
of the river St. Pierre rises, he says, from a number of lakes near the
Shining Mountains; and it is from some of these also that a capital
branch of the river Bourbon—the York, now Nelson River—which
runs into Hudson’s Bay, has its sources. All this geography comes
from the accounts of Indians, and is clearly misunderstood as to
distance and location, for Carver says, also, that the river Messorie,
which enters the Mississippi far to the southward, also takes its rise
at the head of the river St. Pierre. His distances were very far from
right, for he makes the St. Lawrence, the Mississippi, the river
Bourbon, and the Oregon, or River of the West (Columbia), head all
together in these high mountains.
At the great Sioux camp, which he came to on this river, and
which he estimated to contain a thousand people, most of whom
had never seen a white man, he was most hospitably received. He
spent the winter with them, studying their language, acquiring so far
as possible a knowledge of the geography of the country, and at
last, with a considerable portion of the camp, returning down the
river to the Great Cave, and to the burial ground which lay near it.
Before parting with the Sioux he held a council with them, at which
long speeches were made by both Englishman and Indians, and
finally Carver left them to return to La Prairie du Chien, where there
were some traders from whom he purchased goods for his farther
journey.
 Among the places now well known which Carver visited, was
what he calls the Red Mountain, from which the Indians get a sort of
red stone out of which they hew the bowls of their pipes. This is, no
doubt, the pipestone quarry, described by Catlin, and then owned by
the Sioux Indians, which has been purchased by the government as
a park. Carver says, also, that in some of these parts is found a
black, hard clay, or rather stone, of which, the Indians make their
family utensils.
Carver was much impressed by the beauties of the country
through which the river St. Pierre [Minnesota River] flowed; of which
he says: “Wild rice grows here in great abundance; and every part is
filled with trees, bending under their loads of fruit, such as plums,
grapes, and apples; the meadows are covered with hops, and many
sorts of vegetables; whilst the ground is stored with useful roots,
with angelica, spikenard, and ground-nuts as large as hen’s eggs. At
a little distance from the sides of the river are eminences, from
which you have views that cannot be exceeded even by the most
beautiful of those I have already described; amidst these are
delightful groves, and such amazing quantities of maples, that they
would produce sugar sufficient for any number of inhabitants.”
Carver at length reached La Prairie du Chien, and after attending
to various matters there, returned up the Mississippi to the place
where the Chippewa River enters it, a little below Lake Pepin. Here
he engaged an Indian pilot, and instructed him to steer toward the
Ottowaw Lakes, which lie near the head of that river. About thirty
miles from the mouth, Carver took the easternmost of the two
branches and passed along through the wide, gently flowing stream.
“The country adjoining to the river,” he says, “for about sixty miles,
is very level, and on its banks lie fine meadows, where larger droves
of buffaloes and elks were feeding, than I had observed in any other
part of my travels. The track between the two branches of this river
is termed the Road of War between the Chipeway and Naudowessie
Indians.” Near the head of the stream he came upon a Chippewa
town, the houses built after the Indian manner, and having neat
plantations behind them. He then carried over to the head of the
river St. Croix, descended one of the branches, and then ascended
another; and on both streams he discovered several mines of virgin
copper. Then carrying across a height of land and descending
another stream, he found himself on Lake Superior, and coasted
along its western shores until he reached the Grand Portage,
between Lake Superior and Lac la Pluie, or Rainy Lake.
Here were met a large party of Killistinoe and Assinipoil Indians,
“with their respective kings and their families.” They had come to
this place to meet the traders from the east, who were accustomed
to make this their road to the north-west. From these Indians Carver
received considerable geographical information about the country to
the westward, much of which, however, is too vague to be very
valuable. Many of the great lakes to the westward were mentioned
and described, and some of them are readily recognized. Such are
Lake Winnepeek, Lac du Bois, and Lac la Pluye, or Rainy Lake. Of
the country about Lake Bourbon and Lake Winnepeek it was said
that there were found some buffalo of small size, which were fat and
good in the latter part of the summer. This difference in size Carver
attributes to their northerly situation; “just as the black cattle of the
northern parts of Great Britain differ from English oxen.” But it is
quite probable that these “small buffalo” may have been musk-oxen,
and their location wrong.
“These Indians informed me that to the northwest of Lake
Winnepeek lies another whose circumference vastly exceeded any
they had given me an account of. They describe it as much larger
than Lake Superior. But as it appears to be so far to the northwest, I
should imagine that it was not a lake, but rather the Archipelago or
broken waters that form the communication between Hudson’s Bay
and the northern parts of the Pacific Ocean.”
As already stated, Carver believed that the headwaters of the
Missouri were not far from the headwaters of his St. Pierre River.
The Indians told him that they frequently crossed over from the
head of that stream to the Missouri. The nearest water to the head
of the Minnesota River is Big Sioux River in Dakota, which is, in fact,
a tributary of the Missouri.
The ethnological information there gathered was as little
trustworthy as that concerning the geography of the more distant
parts. For example, it is said that in the country belonging to the
Pawnees, and the Pawnawnees, nations inhabiting some branches of
the Messorie River, mandrakes are frequently found, a species of
root resembling human beings of both sexes; and that these are
more perfect than such as are discovered about the Nile in Nether-
Ethiopia.
“A little to the northwest of the heads of the Messorie and the
St. Pierre, the Indians further told me, that there was a nation rather
smaller and whiter than the neighboring tribes, who cultivate the
ground, and (as far as I could gather from their expressions), in
some measure, the arts. To this account they added that some of
the nations who inhabit those parts that lie to the west of the
Shining Mountains, have gold so plenty among them that they make
their most common utensils of it. These mountains (which I shall
describe more particularly hereafter) divide the waters that fall into
the South Sea from those that run into the Atlantic.
“The people dwelling near them are supposed to be some of the
different tribes that were tributary to the Mexican kings, and who
fled from their native country to seek an asylum in these parts,
about the time of the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards, more
than two centuries ago.” After a brief discussion of the reasons
which may have led these supposed immigrants, and the
Winnebagoes to leave their southern home for the north, Carver
speaks at some length of the Shining or Rocky Mountains, just
mentioned.
“That range of mountains, of which the Shining Mountains are a
part, begin at Mexico, and continuing northward on the back or at
the east of California, separate the waters of those numerous rivers
that fall either into the Gulph of Mexico or the Gulph of California.
From thence continuing their course still northward, between the
sources of the Mississippi and the rivers that run into the South Sea,
they appear to end in about forty-seven or forty-eight degrees of
north latitude; where a number of rivers arise, and empty
themselves either into the South Sea, into Hudson’s Bay, or into the
waters that communicate between these two seas.
“Among these mountains, those that lie to the west of the river
St. Pierre are called the Shining Mountains, from an infinite number
of crystal stones, of an amazing size, with which they are covered,
and which, when the sun shines full upon them, sparkle so as to be
seen at a very great distance.
“This extraordinary range of mountains is calculated to be more
than three thousand miles in length, without any very considerable
intervals, which I believe surpasses anything of the kind in the other
quarters of the globe. Probably in future ages they may be found to
contain more riches in their bowels than those of Indostan and
Malabar, or that are produced on the Golden Coast of Guinea; nor
will I except even the Peruvian mines. To the west of these
mountains, when explored by future Columbuses or Raleighs, may
be found other lakes, rivers and countries, full fraught with all the
necessaries or luxuries of life; and where future generations may
find an asylum, whether driven from their country by the ravages of
lawless tyrants, or by religious persecutions, or reluctantly leaving it
to remedy the inconveniences arising from a superabundant increase
of inhabitants; whether, I say, impelled by these, or allured by hopes
of commercial advantages, there is little doubt but their expectations
will be fully gratified by these rich and unexhausted climes.”
The pages which Carver devotes to a description of the unknown
country to the west, are inserted in his account while he was
sojourning with these Crees and Assiniboines, at the Grand Portage.
There were more than three hundred people in the camp, and as
they waited for the traders who did not come, their stock of
provisions began to run low; and the coming of the traders was
awaited with an impatience that increased day by day.
 It was during this period of waiting that Carver had an
opportunity to witness one of those prophecies by a priest, or
medicine man, which even in modern times have puzzled many cool
and clear heads; and though the story of what he saw is long, yet it
is worth while to give his account of it in full. It appears that one day
while all were expressing their hopes for the early arrival of the
traders, and were sitting on the hill looking over the lake, in the
hope that they might be seen, the chief priest of the Crees informed
those who were with him that he would endeavor to obtain
information from the Great Spirit as to when the traders would
arrive. Carver gave little heed to the suggestion, supposing it to be
merely a juggling trick; but the chief of the tribe advised him that
the priest had made this offer chiefly for the purpose of allaying his
anxiety, and at the same time to convince Carver of his ability to talk
with the Great Spirit.
“The following evening was fixed upon for this spiritual
conference. When everything had been properly prepared, the king
came to me and led me to a capacious tent, the covering of which
was drawn up, so as to render what was transacting within visible to
those who stood without. We found the tent surrounded by a great
number of the Indians, but we readily gained admission, and seated
ourselves on skins laid on the ground for that purpose.
“In the centre I observed that there was a place of an oblong
shape, which was composed of stakes stuck in the ground, with
intervals between, so as to form a kind of chest or coffin, large
enough to contain the body of a man. These were of a middle size,
and placed at such a distance from each other, that whatever lay
within them was readily to be discerned. The tent was perfectly
illuminated by a great number of torches made of splinters cut from
the pine or birch tree, which the Indians held in their hands.
“In a few minutes the priest entered; when an amazing large
elk’s skin being spread on the ground, just at my feet, he laid
himself down upon it, after having stript himself of every garment
except that which he wore close about his middle. Being now
prostrate upon his back, he first laid hold of one side of the skin, and
folded it over him, and then the other; leaving only his head
uncovered. This was no sooner done, than two of the young men
who stood by took about forty yards of strong cord, made also of an
elk’s hide, and rolled it tight around his body, so that he was
completely swathed within the skin. Being thus bound up like an
Egyptian mummy, one took him by the heels and the other by the
head, and lifted him over the pales into the inclosure. I could now
also discern him as plain as I had hitherto done, and I took care not
to turn my eyes a moment from the object before me, that I might
the more readily detect the artifice, for such I doubted not but that it
would turn out to be.
“The priest had not lain in this situation more than a few
seconds when he began to mutter. This he continued to do for some
time, and then by degrees grew louder and louder, till at length he
spoke articulately; however, what he uttered was in such a mixed
jargon of the Chippeway, Ottawaw, and Killistinoe languages, that I
could understand but very little of it. Having continued in this tone
for a considerable while he at last exerted his voice to its utmost
pitch, sometimes raving and sometimes praying, till he had worked
himself into such an agitation that he foamed at his mouth.
“After having remained near three-quarters of an hour in the
place and continued his vociferation with unabated vigor, he seemed
to be quite exhausted, and remained speechless. But in an instant
he sprung to his feet, notwithstanding at the time he was put in it
appeared impossible for him to move either his legs or arms, and
shaking off his covering, as quick as if the bands with which it had
been bound were burned asunder, he began to address those who
stood around, in a firm and audible voice. ‘My Brothers,’ said he, ‘the
Great Spirit has deigned to hold a talk with his servant at my earnest
request. He has not, indeed, told me when the persons we expect
will be here, but to-morrow, soon after the sun has reached his
highest point in the heavens, a canoe will arrive, and the people in
that will inform us when the traders will come.’ Having said this, he
stepped out of the inclosure, and after he had put on his robes,
dismissed the assembly. I own I was greatly astonished at what I
had seen, but as I observed that every eye in the company was fixed
on me with a view to discover my sentiments, I carefully concealed
every emotion.
“The next day the sun shone bright, and long before noon all the
Indians were gathered together on the eminence that overlooked
the lake. The old king came to me and asked me whether I had so
much confidence in what the priest had foretold as to join his people
on the hill and wait for the completion of it? I told him that I was at
a loss what opinion to form of the prediction, but that I would
readily attend him. On this we walked together to the place where
the others were assembled. Every eye was again fixed by turns on
me and on the lake; when just as the sun had reached his zenith,
agreeable to what the priest had foretold, a canoe came round a
point of land about a league distant. The Indians no sooner beheld it
than they sent up an universal shout, and by their looks seemed to
triumph in the interest their priest thus evidently had with the Great
Spirit.
“In less than an hour the canoe reached the shore, when I
attended the king and chiefs to receive those who were on board. As
soon as the men were landed, we walked all together to the king’s
tent, where according to their invariable custom we began to smoke;
and this we did, notwithstanding our impatience to know the tidings
they brought, without asking any questions; for the Indians are the
most deliberate people in the world. However, after some trivial
conversation, the king inquired of them whether they had seen
anything of the traders? The men replied that they had parted from
them a few days before, and that they proposed being here the
second day from the present. They accordingly arrived at that time,
greatly to our satisfaction, but more particularly to that of the
Indians, who found by this event the importance both of their priest
and of their nation greatly augmented in the sight of a stranger.
“This story I acknowledge appears to carry with it marks of great
credulity in the relator. But no one is less tinctured with that
weakness than myself. The circumstances of it I own are of a very
extraordinary nature; however, as I can vouch for their being free
from either exaggeration or misrepresentation, being myself a cool
and dispassionate observer of them all, I thought it necessary to
give them to the public. And this I do, without wishing to mislead
the judgment of my readers, or to make any superstitious
impressions on their minds, but leaving them to draw from it what
conclusions they please.”
The arrival of the traders, so anxiously looked for, did not greatly
help Carver, who found that he could not procure from them the
goods that he desired, and shortly afterward he proceeded
eastward, having coasted around the north and east shores of Lake
Superior. He describes the lake, and the various peoples who inhabit
its borders, most of whom are Chippewas. During his trip, he found
native copper on a stream running into the lake on the south, and
describes how large a trade might be made in this metal, which, as
he says, “costs nothing on the spot, and requires but little expense
to get it on board; could be conveyed in boats or canoes through the
Falls of St. Marie to the Isle of St. Joseph, which lies at the bottom
of the straits near the entrance into Lake Huron; from thence it
might be put on board large vessels, and in them transported across
that lake to the Falls of Niagara; there being carried by land across
the Portage, it might be conveyed without much more obstruction to
Quebec. The cheapness and ease with which any quantity of it may
be procured will make up for the length of way that it is necessary to
transport it before it reaches the sea-coast, and enable the
proprietors to send it to foreign markets on as good terms as it can
be exported from other countries.” Stockholders in the Calumet and
Hecla and in other Lake Superior copper concerns are requested to
take notice.
The fishing of Lake Superior impressed Carver as much as it has
other travellers. Of these fish he says: “The principal and best are
the trout and sturgeon, which may be caught at almost any season
in the greatest abundance. The trout in general weigh about twelve
pounds; but some are caught that exceed fifty. Besides these, a
species of white fish is taken in great quantities here, that resemble
a shad in their shape, but they are rather thicker, and less bony;
they weigh about four pounds each, and are of a delicious taste. The
best way of catching these fish is with a net; but the trout may be
taken at all times with the hook. There are likewise many sorts of
smaller fish in great plenty here, and which may be taken with ease;
among these is a sort resembling a herring, which are generally
made use of as a bait for the trout.” The foot of the Sault Ste. Marie,
which Carver calls the Falls of St. Marie, is noted by him as “a most
commodious station for catching the fish, which are to be found
there in immense quantities. Persons standing on the rocks which lie
adjacent to it may take with dipping nets, about the months of
September and October, the white fish before-mentioned; at that
season, together with several other species, they crowd up to this
spot in such amazing shoals that enough may be taken to supply,
when properly cured, thousands of inhabitants throughout the year.”
Passing now through the Straits into Lake Huron, this body of
water is described, and attention called to the rise and fall of the
waters, which Carver says is not diurnal, but occurs in periods of
seven years and a half. Still going eastward, the town of Detroit was
reached, and something given of its history in recent years, and
especially of the conspiracy of Pontiac, and the death of that chief.
In Lake Erie, Carver noticed the islands near the west end, so
infested with rattlesnakes that it is very dangerous to land on them;
and also the great number of water-snakes, which lie in the sun on
the leaves of the large pond-lilies floating on the water.
“The most remarkable of the different species that infest this
lake is the hissing-snake [the innocent Heterodon platyrhinos], which
is of the small, speckled kind, and about eighteen inches long. When
anything approaches, it flattens itself in a moment, and its spots,
which are of varied dyes, become visibly brighter through rage; at
the same time it blows from its mouth with great force a subtile
wind, that is reported to be of a nauseous smell; and if drawn in
with the breath of the unwary traveller, will infallibly bring on a
decline, that in a few months must prove mortal, there being no
remedy yet discovered which can counteract its baneful influence.”
Still proceeding eastward, the author continues to describe the
country, mentioning many well-known lakes, and the peoples about
them.
This concludes Carver’s journey, but by no means his book, of
which the remaining two-thirds are devoted to the manners and
customs of the Indians, with a chapter giving vocabularies of several
languages, and other chapters treating of the fauna and flora of the
vast region passed over. Like most writers about the Indians, he
discusses their origin, quoting a great number of authors, from the
discovery of America to the time of his writing; the last of these,
Adair, who, as is well known, devoted a very considerable work to
proving to his own satisfaction that the Indians were the lost tribes
of Israel. Carver announces that he is of the opinion that “the North
American continent received its first inhabitants from the islands
which lie between the extremities of Asia and America, viz., Japon,
Yeso, or Jedso, Gama’s Land, Behring’s Isle, with many others”; to
which he adds a cluster of islands that reach as far as Siberia, which
may possibly be the Aleutian Islands. To support this conclusion, he
advances many cogent arguments, and announces that “that great
and learned historian Doctor Robinson,” is of the same opinion with
him.
Concerning the persons and dress of the Indians, Carver has
much to say. He notices many things still well known, and speaks of
certain others that are so long obsolete as to be almost forgotten.
Thus he declares that: “It is also a common custom among them to
bore their noses, and wear in them pendants of different sorts. I
observed that sea-shells were much worn by those of the interior
parts, and reckoned very ornamental; but how they procured them I
could not learn: probably by their traffick with other nations nearer
the sea.” Another custom noted, which has long been obsolete, but
is still remembered by the most ancient persons of some of the
Western tribes, is the woman’s fashion of dressing the hair. To the
west of the Mississippi, he says, the Sioux and Assiniboine women