The North American Aboriginal Port-Folio

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: MISH-SHA-QUAT. THE CLEAR SKY. This is a distinguished chief of the Chippevva tribe of Indians, of whose particular genealogy little is known beyond the circle of his family tradition. His parentage however was reputed to be noble, according to the ideas of nobility entertained by the aborigines. His...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: MISH-SHA-QUAT. THE CLEAR SKY. This is a distinguished chief of the Chippevva tribe of Indians, of whose particular genealogy little is known beyond the circle of his family tradition. His parentage however was reputed to be noble, according to the ideas of nobility entertained by the aborigines. His character was marked by bold and daring features, calculated to commend him to the favor of his people. His residence was at Rainy Lake, beyond Lake Superior, and he attended the treaty at Fond du Lac, in the year 1827. At the opening of the council, he presented himself with a British flag in his hand, which Governor Cass immediately seized, and placed beneath his feet, at the same time telling the chief, that an American Council fire, was not the proper theatre on which to exhibit the national banner of a foreign power. Mish-sha-quat manifested much surprise and great astonishment at this act of the commissioner. Apparently, however, unconscious of his error he acquiesced in the act in silence, and no difficulty arose on that account, and the business of the council uninterruptedly proceeded. In the Indian character, there is on all occasions a constitutional imperturbability of countenance, calculated to conceal the powerful emotions that often agitate the feelings within. This is accompanied with an air of calmness and composure, and associated with a firmness and determination of purpose, that equally prepares them for victory or defeat. It is the philosophy of the stoic, copied into the life and actions of the Indians, enabling them to bear prosperity with moderation, and adversity with fortitude. In the presentation of the British flag, it was undoubtedly the intention of Mish-sha-quat to intimidate the commissioners by exhibiting the ensign evidence, of powerful for...