Two War Chiefs are Called on to Spy

by Mark J. Green (Wą́nihegá)
translated by Bill Hall (Hų̄ka)

William Hall, ca. 1895

There were two war chiefs then. There was, "Shoong-gay-pah," or the Dog's-Head, and, "He-la-loo-cake-laik", these were war chiefs. This may have been at a feast. The warriors said, "If there are only three deer heads, how will we make it go around? There are so many of us." And then they left.

As they went, a man named "Black Cloud" entered a very thick thicket. And then another man was with him and they laid there. When they did this, and following this, they were called on to do some spying. The two were called on to spy. It concerned a man who came from their side of the river. The man was a war chief. Had he seen them? — but maybe not. They had not seen him. This is why the spies should go. There is a tree they should climb, and lay on top, and from there they would be able to see the head of anyone moving. They did their best to get the job done.

Then, nearby something moved, there was a man there. And then, just when they saw him, he uttered a bear whoop. They jumped down. When they did this, they too jumped down.¹

Commentary

"war chiefs" — this office is in contradistinction to the peace chief. The latter chief, who is taken from the Thunderbird Clan (ideally), does not participate in war or killing of other human beings. His function as arbiter in disputes is a further reflection of his role as a source of peace. He stands in opposition to the War Chief, who maintains a bellicose psychological orientation. The Peace Chief has the power to block military expeditions by laying his peace pipe across the path of the War Chief as he leads his warparty out of the village. This is usually done if the Peace Chief deems the warpath ill considered or the War Chief insufficiently blessed by the Spirits. The oldest ethnology that we possess, that of Trowbridge published in 1823, recorded the following:

(90) If a war is determined upon the War Chief who is to command commences to fast and continues for four days & four nights, during which time it is usual for them to dream of the future success or defeat of his party in case he undertakes the war. If his dream is favorable a feast is prepared and they depart, but if unfavorable their departure is proposed and he continues his fast. When he becomes satisfied that his dreams portend misfortune or death to his party, the Thunder Chief collects a present of goods and having made a feast presents the whole to the warriors to appease their anger and to induce them to abandon the enterprize. This present has the desired effect and the war is postponed until some future period, when another proposition brings together another council & the (91) same ceremonies. During the war with the Sacs, each nation burnt the prisoners taken in battle, but no instance has occurred within the recollection of any of this tribe now living.²

McKinney, writing in 1846 adds,

The leader of such parties seldom engages in a fight as a common brave, nor does he usually even carry a gun. The systematic and cautious tactics of Indian warfare, and the inevitable disgrace which results from defeat, imposes upon him a responsible office; and like the general in the army of a civilized people, he is expected rather to direct the efforts of others, than to fight with his own hand. The plan of the enterprise is often the subject of a council, in which all who are of sufficient age may speak, and the decision is usually unanimous; for we know of no instance among the Indians in which questions are decided by majorities. When the leading features of the scheme are agreed upon, the execution is left to the war chief, who may rely on the secrecy, as well as the implicit obedience, of his well trained followers. On the eve of a battle, he gives his orders to his captains, or if the party be small, to the whole band; and during the fight he is engaged in overlooking (364) and directing the whole operation. Occasions may occur, as in all military enterprises, where it may be proper for the leader to place himself at the head of his men, and go foremost into battle; and in all cases when the fight thickens so that the braves meet hand to hand, the leader is thrown into personal contact with the enemy; but the general practice is as we have stated.³

When scouts were to be sent out, it would be the task of the War Chief to appoint them.

	J. O. Lewis
	Dog Head (Sarcel, Teal, Little Duck)

"Dog's Head" — Šųgépaga, a famous warrior and chief, quickly became legendary, as we see from semi-mythological accounts of his life in the stories Great Walker's Medicine, The Warbundle Maker, and The Shawnee Prophet — What He Told the Hocągara. "The Warbundle Maker" says, "There was a man named Šųgépaga, who belonged to the Eagle Clan."⁴ The name "Dog Head" is clearly not an Eagle Clan name, and must be a nickname. Prior to the War of 1812, he was known to the French by this same name, Tête de Chien. So what was his Eagle Clan name? The French also knew him by his clan name, which they rendered as Sarcelle, which means "Teal." George recorded the word for teal as being hunašizka, which is for hunašiske, from huna, "to come hither"; šis, "to shoot"; and -ke, a suffix indicating a kind of thing. So a teal is "the kind of thing that comes hither to be shot." So it appears that his Eagle Clan name was Hunašiskega. The Anglos rendered his clan name as "Sarcel," "Teal," or "Little Duck." Col. McDouall in writing to Gen. Drummond in 1814, says of him,

the Susell or tete de Chien, [is] a distinguished Chief of the Winnebago Nation (who came to supplicate assistance) ... The solemn & impressive eloquence of the tete de Chien, excited a general enthusiasm, & never was more zeal or unanimity shown amongst them, this chief is scarcely inferior to Tecumseth, & I doubt not will act a distinguished part in the campaign ...⁵

Brisbois remarks that, "One of the Carimaunee family of Winnebagoes was known as Tête de Chien, or Dog's Head. He lived in 1827, at English Prairie, now Muscoda (ca. 43.210370, -90.30401). He was a prominent man, of considerable good sense, and very honest. The Indians cultivated some fields there, and lived there as one of their changeable localities."⁶ This means that he was related in some way to the famous chief Nąga (Wood), known as the "Elder Keramąnį," who was standing next to Tecumseh when the latter was struck dead by a stray bullet. Lurie's informants told her that the Keramąnįs were originally of Fox or Sauk extraction. Foreign captives who are spared are always put into the Thunderbird Clan, or may enter it through marriage. Mrs. Kinzie said that this name meant, "Walking Rain." This is due to the fact that the name has a double meaning in Hocąk: Ke-ra-mąnį means literally, "The Turtle Walking," where -ra is the definite article. On the face of it, this name is rather peculiar, since the -ga attached to the end of it to indicate that it's a personal name is also a definite article. This leads to the rather stilted translation, "The Walking One Who is the Turtle." However, the same name differently parsed, Kera-mąnį, means "Walking Cloud," where kera, like the more common mąxí, means both "cloud" and "sky." It could be that Kera-mąnį-ga was originally a Thunderbird Clan name for the ancestor of the lineage, but members of that family liked the mystical association that the double meaning gave them to the God of War. Sometime before 1832, Dog Head had moved to Big Green Lake (43.813354, -88.934092), where he lived in a large lodge with three other men, five women, and six children.⁷ Grignon says, "Sarcel, or The Teal, resided at the Winnebago village at Green Lake, in Marquette county; in his younger days his reputation was not good, but he afterwards became a very good Indian. I have already adverted to his war services. I think he died at Green Lake, before the emigration of his people west of the Mississippi."⁸

"He-la-loo-cake-laik" — there is a name of uncertain form, said to be Hirarukekrega, thought to mean, "Pacifier."⁹ Hirarukekreįka would be "Young Pacifier."

"Black Cloud" — this is Mąxisepka, an Upper Moiety name.

"spying" — the older term "spy" was current in the XIXᵀᴴ century, but today we usually call such people "scouts."

"the man was a war chief" — they would hardly send forth scouts to find a man of their own tribe. So the man seen on their side of the river would have been an intruder. That he was a war chief suggests that he might be scouting the area in order to lead a warparty against the people living there. Therefore, it became imperative to keep tabs on him.

"a bear whoop" — here is the sound, in this case of a grizzly bear, making a yell: 

Presumably, the opposing war chief is mimicking this kind of bear yell. "Low growls are warnings that you're too close."¹⁰ An opposing scout imitating this sound, if faithfully rendering bear "language," would be signaling that there is visual contact with an opponent who is too close for comfort. We can readily see how it applies to the present circumstances: the enemy chief scout now discovers an enemy scout who was spying on him. So he lets out a roar which indicates that he has detected "someone dangerous who is too close".

"they too" — as the adverb "too" indicates, we are talking about a different set of men besides those who were already mentioned as having bailed from their arboreal concealment. So this presumed pair jumped from their own spy-tree when their leader indicated a proximal threat with a vocalization that for grizzlies indicates an imminent danger. The precipitation of his scouts from their tree creates a humorous symmetry.

Concerning the scouts sent out by a War Chief:

When the two warriors sent out to reconnoiter return, the attendant offers them the pipe that he had prepared for the war leader. They smoke it and say, "Those whom we are after are entirely unaware of our presence." Then the members of the war party would thank them for their information. All would now start out against the enemy.¹¹

The scouts here, on both sides, comically fail in their ability to say they were undetected.

Comparative Material. ...

Links: ...

Stories: about famous Hocąk warriors and warleaders: How Little Priest went out as a Soldier, Little Priest's Game, The Masaxe War (Hogimasąga), Wazųka, Great Walker's Warpath (Great Walker), Great Walker's Medicine (Great Walker, Smoke Walker, Dog Head, Small Snake), Šųgepaga (Dog Head), The Warbundle Maker (Dog Head), Digging a Trench and White Strategy (Dog Head), Black Otter’s Sacrifice to a Thunder, Black Otter's Warpath (Dog Head, Black Otter), The Shawnee Prophet — What He Told the Hocągara (Smoke Walker, Dog Head, Small Snake), Big Thunder Teaches Cap’ósgaga the Warpath (Big Thunder, Cap’ósgaga), The Osage Massacre (Big Thunder, Cap’ósgaga), The Fox-Hocąk War (Cap’ósgaga), The Origin of Big Canoe's Name, White Thunder's Warpath, Four Legs, The Man who Fought against Forty (Mącosepka), Yellow Thunder and the Lore of Lost Canyon, The Hills of La Crosse (Yellow Thunder), The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits, Fighting Retreat, Mitchell Red Cloud, jr. Wins the Medal of Honor (Mitchell Red Cloud, jr.), The War of Indian Tribes against White Soldiers (Dog Head, Black Otter, Big Sandbar), How Jarrot Got His Name, Jerrot's Temperance Pledge — A Poem, Jarrot's Aborted Raid, Jarrot and His Friends Saved from Starvation, Bear Gets Challenged, Soldiers Catch Two Boys, a Black One and a White One, v. 1 (Dog Head, Short Wing, Bear), They Owe a Bullet (Pawnee Shooter); about Šųgépaga (Dog Head = Sarcel = Teal = Little Duck): Šųgepaga, The War of Indian Tribes against White Soldiers, The Warbundle Maker, Black Otter's Warpath, Great Walker's Medicine, Digging a Trench and White Strategy, The Shawnee Prophet — What He Told the Hocągara, Soldiers Catch Two Boys, a Black One and a White One, v. 1; – see also Kinzie's Receipt Roll; mentioning (spirit) bears (other than were-bears): White Bear, Blue Bear, Black Bear, Red Bear, Bear Clan Origin Myth, The Shaggy Man, Bear Offers Himself as Food, Hare Visits His Grandfather Bear, Grandmother Packs the Bear Meat, The Spotted Grizzly Man, Hare Establishes Bear Hunting, The Woman Who Fought the Bear, Brass and Red Bear Boy, Redhorn's Sons, The Meteor Spirit and the Origin of Wampum, The Wolf Clan Origin Myth, Hocąk Clans Origin Myth, The Messengers of Hare, Bird Clan Origin Myth, The Hocąk Migration Myth, Red Man, Hare Recruits Game Animals for Humans, Lifting Up the Bear Heads, Hare Secures the Creation Lodge, The Two Boys, Creation of the World (v. 5), Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, The Brown Squirrel, Snowshoe Strings, Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, East Enters the Medicine Lodge, Lake Winnebago Origin Myth, The Spider's Eyes, Little Priest's Game, Little Priest, How He went out as a Soldier, Morning Star and His Friend (v. 2), How the Thunders Met the Nights, The Race for the Chief's Daughter, Trickster's Tail, Old Man and Wears White Feather, The Warbundle Maker, Whiskey Making, cf. Fourth Universe.

Themes: scouts spy on the enemy (from a height) without being seen: The Twins Join Redhorn's Warparty, Moiety Origin Myth, How Little Priest went out as a Soldier, White Thunder's Warpath, The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion, Worúxega.

Notes

¹ [No Title] Archives of Traditional Music (ATM), Indiana University, translation by William Hall, Original Typescript (Black River Falls: ca. 1960-1970) A12, recording by Milford G. Chandler of Mark J. Green - vocals, bef. 1922, Black River Falls, Jackson County, Wisconsin. ATL no. 523.13 8742.14, tr. 1, Recording 12.SCY 177501:58, Collection number (collection identifier): 54-196-F 13 of 87; OTS 7694.
² Charles C. Trowbridge, "Manners, Customs, and International Laws of the Win-nee-baa-goa Nation," (1823), Winnebago Manuscripts, in MS/I4ME, Charles Christopher Trowbridge Collection (02611), Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library, 85-102 [90-91].
³ Thomas Loraine McKenney (1785-1859) and James Hall (1793-1868), History of the Indian Tribes of North America: with Biographical Sketches and Anecdotes of the Principal Chiefs. Embellished with One Hundred Portraits from the Indian Gallery in the War Department at Washington, Vol. I and Vol. II (Philadelphia: D. Rice & Co., 1872) sub nom. "Amisquam" (I.363).
⁴ W. C. McKern, Winnebago Notebook (Milwaukee: Milwaukee Public Museum, 1927) 167-174 [167].
⁵ Douglas Brymner, "The Capture of Fort M'Kay, Prairie du Chien, in 1814," Wisconsin Historical Collections, 11 (1888) 254-270 [260, 263].
⁶ B. W. Brisbois, "Recollections of Prairie du Chien," Wisconsin Historical Collections, IX (1882/1909): 282-302 [300].
⁷ See Kinzie's Rolls for Big Green Lake.
⁸ Augustin Grignon, "Seventy-two Years' Recollections of Wisconsin," Wisconsin Historical Collections, 3 (1857) 197-295 [288].
⁹ from the Hōcąk Language Teachers, in a marginal note to the Blue Zepsicon.
¹⁰ National Park Service > Bears > (Bear Sounds).
¹¹ Paul Radin, The Winnebago Tribe (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1990 [1923]) 159.