"The southwest is the pleasantest wind which blows in New England. In the month of October, in particular, after the frosts which commonly take place at the end of September, it frequently produces two or three weeks of fair weather, in which the air is perfectly transparent, and clouds, which float in a sky of the purest azure, are adorned with brilliant colors. If at this season a man of an affectionate heart and ardent imagination should visit the tombs of his friends, the southwestern breezes, as they breathe through the glowing trees, would seem to him almost articulate. Though he might not be so wrapped in enthusiasm as to fancy that the spirits of his ancestors were whispering in his ear, yet he would at least imagine that he heard 'the still small voice' of God. This charming season is called the Indian Summer, a name which is derived from the natives, who believe that it is caused by a wind which comes immediately from the court of their great and benevolent God Cantantowan, or the Southwestern God; the God who is superior to all other beings, who sends them every blessing which they enjoy, and to whom the souls of their fathers go after their decease."
7. INDIAN HIEROGLYPHICS, OR PICTURE WRITING, LANGUAGES, AND HISTORY.
XX.
Pictographic Mode of Communicating Ideas among the Northwestern Indians, observed during the Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi in 1820, in a Letter to the Secretary of War. By Hon. Lewis Cass.
Detroit, February 2, 1821.
Sir: An incident occurred upon my recent tour to the Northwest, so rare in itself, and which so clearly shows the facility with which communications may be opened between savage nations, without the intervention of letters, that I have thought it not improper to communicate it to you.
The Chippewas and Sioux are hereditary enemies, and Charlevoix says they were at war when the French first reached the Mississippi. I endeavored, when among them, to learn the cause which first excited them to war, and the time when it commenced. But they can give no rational account. An intelligent Chippewa chief informed me that the disputed boundary between them was a subject of little importance, and that the question respecting it could be easily adjusted. He appeared to think that they fought because their fathers fought before them. This war has been waged with various success, and, in its prosecution, instances of courage and self-devotion have occurred, within a few years, which would not have disgraced the pages of Grecian or of Roman history. Some years since, mutually weary of hostilities, the chiefs of both nations met and agreed upon a truce. But the Sioux, disregarding the solemn compact which they had formed, and actuated by some sudden impulse, attacked the Chippewas, and murdered a number of them. The old Chippewa chief who descended the Mississippi with us was present upon this occasion, and his life was saved by the intrepidity and generous self-devotion of a Sioux chief. This man entreated, remonstrated, and threatened. He urged his countrymen, by every motive, to abstain from any violation of their faith, and, when he found his remonstrances useless, he attached himself to this Chippewa chief, and avowed his determination of saving or perishing with him. Awed by his intrepidity, the Sioux finally agreed that he should ransom the Chippewa, and he accordingly applied to this object all the property he owned. He then accompanied the Chippewa on his journey until he considered him safe from any parties of the Sioux who might be disposed to follow him.
I subjoin an extract from the journal of Mr. Doty, an intelligent young gentleman who was with the expedition. This extract has already been published, but it may have escaped your observation, and the incident which it describes is so heroic in itself, and so illustrative of the Indian character, that I cannot resist the temptation of transmitting it to you.
Extract from Mr. Doty's Journal.—"The Indians of the upper country consider those of the Fond du Lac as very stupid and dull, being but little given to war. They count the Sioux their enemies, but have heretofore made few war excursions.
"Having been frequently reprimanded by some of the more vigilant Indians of the north, and charged with cowardice, and an utter disregard for the event of the war, thirteen men of this tribe, last season, determined to retrieve the character of their nation by making an excursion against the Sioux. Accordingly, without consulting the other Indians, they secretly departed, and penetrated far into the Sioux country. Unexpectedly, at night, they came upon a party of the Sioux, amounting to near one hundred men, and immediately began to prepare for battle. They encamped a short distance from the Sioux, and, during the night, dug holes in the ground into which they might retreat and fight to the last extremity. They appointed one of their number (the youngest) to take a station at a distance and witness the struggle, and instructed him, when they were all slain, to make his escape to their own land, and state the circumstances under which they had fallen.