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  Ojibways of the Upper Mississippi The year after the battle at Long Prairie,the Dakotas,along the whole line of their eastern frontiers, made an unusual attempt to enter into a general peace with the Ojibways. Shappa (the Beaver), head chief of the Yankton Dakotas,the most numerous section of this extensive tribe,and occupying the most northern position, first made advances of peace to the Ojibways on Red River.Some years previous he had taken captive a young Ojibway woman,who soon became his favorite wife.This woman he now placed on a fleet horse,and giving her his peace pipe,he bade her go to her people at Pembina, and tell them that in so many days, Shappa would come and smoke with them in peace and good-will. On the day appointed, the Dakota chief, with a large number of his people, made his appearance, and the Red River Ojibways accepted his offers of peace.At the same time the Sisseton,Warpeton,and M’dewakanton Dakotas,in a large camp,approached the Ojibways of the Mississippi and Sandy Lake,and Mille Lac.The two parties met on the banks of Platte River, near its junction with the Mississippi, and the peace pipe was formally smoked between them, and games of various kinds was played between the young men of the two camps.The feeling of hatred,however, which rankled in the breasts of the Dakotas against the Ojibways,could not altogether be restrained. At a grand game of ball, or Baug-ah-ud-o-way, played between the young men of either tribe for a large stake, a disturbance nearly leading to a scene of bloodshed occurred. One of the seven Dakota warriors who had survived the battle at Long Prairie, picked a quarrel with an Ojibway, by striking him for some trivial cause,with his ball-stick.The blow was returned,and the fight would soon have become general,had not the young Wa-nah-ta,son of Shappa,rushed in, and forcibly separated the combatants, inflicting a summary punishment and scolding on his fellow Dakota who had commenced the fight. This is the first occasion in which Wa-nah-ta is mentioned by the Ojibways . He afterwards became celebrated as a warrior, and a chief of vast influence over the wild Yankton Dakotas. 256 Schenck bk p i-xxiv 1-318_Layout 1 5/13/11 10:54 AM Page 256 While peace parties thus met above and below him, Flat Mouth, the Pillager chief,quietly hunted beaver on Long Prairie River.The peace pipe had been sent to him,but he had not as yet determined to accept it,for he mistrusted the intentions of the Dakotas in thus unusually making thefirst advance to bury the war-club. The wary chieftain could not think them sincere in their proffers of good-will and fellowship,so soon after suffering such a severe blow as the Ojibways had inflicted on them at Long Prairie. He suspected from his knowledge of their character,that some deep design of treachery was concealed beneath this guise of peace,and he hesitated to place the stem of the sacred peace pipe to his lips. Flat Mouth,pursuing his hunts,proceeded to Otter Tail Lake,and was one evening encamped at the outlet of Otter Tail Creek, dressing a bear skin, when a feeling of fear suddenly came on him, and in the darkness of night he ordered his family to raise camp,for he “felt that the Dakotas were in the vicinity.” They embarked in their canoe, and passing the night on the lake,the next morning he landed to reconnoitre.On the prairie which skirted the lake shore,he discovered a wide,fresh Dakota war trail! Having left some hunters in his rear towards Leaf Lake,and fearing that they might be attacked (as from the late reports of peace they hunted in apparent security),he followed the trail to satisfy himself as to the direction the war party would take.They had passed close to his last evening’s encampment, where,hadheremained,theywoulddoubtlesshavediscoveredandattacked him. He saw their encampment of the past night, and from the marks left, he judged the party to be fully four hundred strong, marching under the direction of four different leaders, who left their respective marks on the trees. One of these was a beaver, which satisfied Flat Mouth that the false Yankton chief, Shappa, was...

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