History of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians of Michigan | Page 7

quite frequent, for immorality has
been introduced among these people by evil white persons who bring
their vices into the tribes.

In the former times or before the Indians were christianized, when a
young man came to be a fit age to get married, he did not trouble
himself about what girl he should have for his wife; but the parents of
the young man did this part of the business When the parents thought
best that their son should be separated from their family by marriage, it
was their business to decide what woman their son should have as his
wife; and after selecting some particular girl among their neigbors, they
would take up quite large package of presents and then go to the
parents of the girl and demand the daughter for their son's wife at the
same time delivering the presents to the parents of the girl. If the old
folks say yes, then they would fetch the girl right along to their son and
tell him, We have brought this girl as your wife so long as you live;
now take her, cherish her, and be kind to her so long as you live. The
young man and girl did not dare to say aught against it, as it was the
law and custom amongst their people, but all they had to do was to take
each other as man and wife. This was all the rules and ceremony of
getting married in former times among the Ottawas and Chippewas of
Michigan: they must not marry their cousins nor second cousins.

CHAPTER III.
Earliest Possible Known History of Mackinac Island--Its Historical
Definition--Who Resided at the Island--Massacre at the Island by
Senecas--Where the Ottawas were Living at That Time--Only Two
Escape the Massacre--What Became of Them--The Legends of the Two
Who Escaped --Occupants of the Island Afterwards--Who Killed
Warrior Tecumseh?
Again, most every historian, or annalist so-called, who writes about the
Island of Mackinac and the Straits and vicinity, tells us that the
definition or the meaning of the word "Michilimackinac" in the Ottawa
and Chippewa language, is "large turtle," derived from the word
Mi-she- mi-ki-nock in the Chippewa language. That is, "Mi-she" as one
of the adnominals or adjectives in the Ottawa and Chippewa languages,
which would signify tremendous in size; and "Mikinock" is the name of
mud turtle--meaning, therefore, "monstrous large turtle," as the

historians would have it. But we consider this to be a clear error.
Whereever those annalists, or those who write about the Island of
Mackinac, obtain their information as to the definition of the word
Michilimackinac, I don't know, when our tradition is so direct and so
clear with regard to the historical definition of that word, and is far
from being derived from the word "Michimikinock," as the historians
have told us. Our tradition says that when the Island was first
discovered by the Ottawas, which was some time before America was
known as an existing country by the white man, there was a small
independent tribe, a remnant race of Indians who occupied this island,
who became confederated with the Ottawas when the Ottawas were
living at Manitoulin, formerly called Ottawa Island, which is situated
north of Lake Huron. The Ottawas thought a good deal of this
unfortunate race of people, as they were kind of interesting sort of
people; but, unfortunately, they had most powerful enemies, who every
now and then would come among them to make war with them. Their
enemies were of the Iroquois of New York. Therefore, once in the dead
of the winter while the Ottawas were having a great jubilee and war
dances at their island, now Manitoulin, on account of the great
conquest over the We-ne-be-goes of Wisconsin, of which I will speak
more fully in subsequent chapters, during which time the Senecas of
New York, of the Iroquois family of Indians, came upon the remnant
race and fought them, and almost entirely annihilated them. But two
escaped to tell the story, who effected their escape by flight and by
hiding in one of the natural caves at the island, and therefore that was
the end of this race. And according to our understanding and traditions
the tribal name of those disastrous people was "Mi-shi-ne-macki
naw-go," which is still existing to this day as a monument of their
former existence; for the Ottawas and Chippewas named this little
island "Mi-shi-ne-macki-nong" for memorial sake of those their former
confederates, which word is the locative case of the Indian noun
"Michinemackinawgo." Therefore, we contend, this is properly where
the name Michilimackinac is originated.
This is the earliest possible history of this little Island, as I have related,
according to the Ottawa traditions; and from that time forward there
have been many changes in its history,