Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe the Great Chief of the Chippewa
by Barry Babcock
Sometimes it may happen that one interested in the history of human events stumbles upon a personality of such immense proportions and who for some unknown reason has slipped through the cracks of our national recognition.
So it is that I stumbled onto William Whipple Warren and the life of Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe or Chief Flatmouth. If not for Warren’s book History of the Ojibway People and the personal interviews he had with the aged Chief, we would know little, if any, of the history of this man, Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe also known as Chief Flatmouth, and the events that took place during this colorful period in Minnesota history.
Warren, who was born in 1825 and lived only 28 years, was part Ojibway and part white blood. On his paternal side, his ancestry goes back to Richard Warren, one of the pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock on the Mayflower. On his maternal side, his lineage is traced back to an Ojibway woman of the ‘A-wause’ clan (catfish totem) in Sault Ste. Marie, said to be of “great energy and tact, and force of character.”
Every account of the young Warren reputes him to be a brilliant young man with a promising future. In 1851 he was elected to the House of Representatives of the Territory of Minnesota (Minnesota would not become a state until 1858.) In a eulogy on Warrens death, it was written, “From his kindly and generous nature, he has ever been a favorite, especially with chiefs and old men….Often has the writer of this tribute found him seated at the foot of an old oak, with Flatmouth, the Pillager chief, noting down upon paper the incidents of the old man’s eventful life, as he related them”
Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe’s (Flatmouth’s) life dates from around 1774 to 1860. As a leader of the Leech Lake Band of Chippewa’s he is recognized as the Washington or Lincoln of his people – one of the greatest of Chippewa chiefs. It was just prior to and during his reign as Chief, that the Ojibway waged war with the Dakota over who would occupy the regions north of Mille Lacs in Minnesota. It was the Leech Lake Band or Pillagers (as they were also called) that formed the leading edge of the Ojibways, pushing west and south into the regions formerly occupied by the Dakota. This part of north central Minnesota; rich in wild rice, maple sugar, whitefish, and wildlife was intensely fought over. It’s rich and diverse waterways provided easy access to subsistence, communication, and warfare. Its natural bounty truly made it a land of milk and honey to anyone occupying this rich ground. It was also the time that whites were arriving on the scene and the fur trade was being set in full motion. It was a time of momentous change for the native peoples occupying the land. A strong, wise leader was crucial for strategically positioning themselves amid the shifting winds of the times.
William Warren described the Leech Lake region as related to him by Flatmouth: “[….]the Dakotas having been thus severely checked and driven back by their invaders, became hopeless of future success and suddenly evacuated their important position at Leech Lake, and moved westward to the edge of the great western prairies….A few hardy hunters, mostly of the bear and catfish clans, gradually took possession of their rich hunting grounds, and planting their lodges on the islands of Cass, Winnipeg [Winnie], and Leech Lakes, they first formed a focus around which gathered families from Rainy Lake, Sandy Lake, and Lake Superior, which now form the important villages or bands of the Ojibway tribe, who occupy these important lakes at present day…..It [Leech Lake] abounds in wild rice in large quantities, of which the Indian women gather sufficient for winter consumption of their families. The shores of the lake are covered with maple which yields to the industry of the hunter’s women, each spring, quantities of sap which they manufacture into sugar. The waters of the lake abound in fish of the finest quality, its whitefish equaling in size and flavor those of Lake Superior, and are easily caught at all seasons of the year when the lake is free of ice, in gill-nets made and managed also by the women. At the time when the Ojibways first took possession of Leech Lake and the surrounding country, which is covered with innumerable lakes and water courses, beaver, and the most valuable species of fur animals abounded in great plenty, which procured them the much coveted merchandise of the white traders. The lake itself is said in those early days to have been, at certain seasons of the year, literally covered with wild fowl and swan; pelican and geese raised early their brood of young on its numerous islands. From this circumstance Goose and Pelican Islands have derived their names. The incentives, therefore, which actuated the first Ojibway pioneers to fight so strenuously for its possession, there many and great, and soon caused the band who so fearlessly occupied it to become a numerous body, and to be the most noted western vanguard of the Ojibway tribe.”
Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe epitomized the bravery and warrior spirit of the Leech Lake Chippewa as acknowledged in his many battles throughout north central Minnesota with the Dakota. Twenty-five times he tactically out maneuvered the Dakota on the field of battle but his sagacity and intelligence is what really sets this great chief apart from others. When Zebulon Pike entered Leech Lake in the winter of 1805, following the Louisiana Purchase, on his exploration of the Mississippi and journey to take possession of the new American territory, including the British trading post on Ottertail Point, the young warrior chief, Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe exchanged his British flag and medals for an American flag and medals.
It was ironic that Flatmouth who held complete and total control over all present, including Pike and his starving and weakened companions, should superficially defer to Pike. It was all part of the great chief’s personality as he would hood wink Pike and many more who thought themselves his equal but would find out they were not. Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe stated later in life that here he “ceased to be an Englishman, and became a Long Knife.” The great chief made a trip to Washington where he said to the President, “Now, two great men have met.”
When Henry Schoolcraft entered Leech Lake in 1832 after his journey to the Headwaters of the Mississippi, his task was to vaccinate the Ojibways ravaged by small pox. Schoolcraft exhibited an arrogant and superior demeanor to the old chief and his people. With Schoolcraft was the Reverend William T. Boutwell who gives us this vivid account of Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe, “It is a building perhaps twenty-five by twenty-five, which I am informed was presented to him by one of the traders. As we entered, the old chief, bare-legged and bare foot, sat with much dignity upon a cassette. A blanket, and a cloth about the loins, covered his otherwise naked body, which was painted black. His chief men occupied a bench by his side, while forty or more of his warriors sat on the floor around the walls of his smoking room. The old man arose and gave us his hand as we were introduced, bidding us to take a seat on his right, on his bed. As I cast my eye around on his savage group, for once I wished I possessed the painter’s skill. The old chief had again returned to his seat upon the large wooden trunk, and as if to sit a little more like a white man than an Indian, had thrown one leg across the other knee. His warriors were all painted, feathered, and equipped for service. Many of them wore the insignia of courage, a strip of polecat skin around the head or heels, the bushy tail of the latter so attached as to drag on the ground; the crown of the head was ornamented with feathers, indicating the number of enemies the individual had killed, one of which I counted no less than twelve [...]. The subject of vaccination was now presented to the chief, with which he was pleased, and ordered his people to assemble for that purpose […]. Preparations were now made for taking our leave when the chief arose, and giving his hand to each, spoke as follows, in reply to Mr. Schoolcraft, who had addressed them as “My children.” “You call us children. We are not children, but men. When I think of the condition of my people I can hardly refrain from tears. It is so melancholy that even the trees weep over it….” Flatmouth gave Schoolcraft an ear full of indignation to the latter’s pompous attitude.
He was so highly thought of by other Ojibway bands that he was asked to be a major negotiator and signatory to the controversial 1837 Treaty involved in the Supreme Court decision affirming Indian hunting and fishing rights even though he did not dwell in the regions covered by the treaty. He said “… but they wish to reserve the privilege of making sugar from the trees and getting their living from the lakes and rivers as they have heretofore done, and of remaining in this country…You know the Great Spirit above made the Earth, and causes it to produce that which enables us to live.”
No matter how the 1837 treaty is viewed in today’s world, one must respect the veracity of Flatmouth. He represented his people’s best interests at the time. His presence at these negotiations is still being felt over 160 years later.
His role in Washington in the Treaty of 1855 also was pivotal for representation of his people. It was here that he said, “If we sell (land), we do not want to part with all…We feel that as we have yet the control and possession of our lands, we should not part with them without reserving a home. We had better not be in existence than not to have a place we can call our own.” And when pushed by the government to quickly sign the treaty, he shot back, “You would not think well of us if we were to jump right at your proposition without taking time to consider it.”
During the war of 1812, the British sought the aid of Flatmouth in waging war on the Americans. Presents and wampum belts were presented to Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe in enlisting his warriors to fight the Long Knives. The chief sent back the gifts with the blunt reply, ‘When I go war against my enemies, I do not call on the whites to join my warriors. The white people have quarreled amongst themselves, and I do not wish to meddle in their quarrels, nor do I intend ever, even to be guilty of breaking the window glass of a white man’s dwelling.”
In old age, the chief felt that he had failed to do his best and protect his people. Given the over whelming circumstances of the changing times, Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe did what probably no other man could have done. He is an example of the right man being in the right place at the right time in the history of a people. With the competition for living space with the Dakota, the unstoppable surge of white civilization, and the preservation of the Ojibway way of life and resource, I cannot believe that any man could have done better for his people. I am sure history will be much kinder in its interpretation of the greatest of Chippewa Chiefs, Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe.
And thankfully his kindred spirit in the 'catfish clan,' William Whipple Warren, was there to record it in the annals of Minnesota history so that our lives can be enriched by story of Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe who truly deserves to be placed among the great people of Minnesota history.
Wherever their spirits now reside, may Warren and Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe enjoy the Minnesota sunshine at the base of the great oak and reminisce in many of the great Chippewa legends and deeds.
Today, the great chief is only one of four Indians and only a few Minnesotans to be honored with a statue in the United States Capital.
READER COMMENTS:
Sometimes it may happen that one interested in the history of human events stumbles upon a personality of such immense proportions and who for some unknown reason has slipped through the cracks of our national recognition.So it is that I stumbled onto William Whipple Warren and the life of Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe or Chief Flatmouth. If not for Warren’s book History of the Ojibway People and the personal interviews he had with the aged Chief, we would know little, if any, of the history of this man, Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe also known as Chief Flatmouth, and the events that took place during this colorful period in Minnesota history.
Warren, who was born in 1825 and lived only 28 years, was part Ojibway and part white blood. On his paternal side, his ancestry goes back to Richard Warren, one of the pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock on the Mayflower. On his maternal side, his lineage is traced back to an Ojibway woman of the ‘A-wause’ clan (catfish totem) in Sault Ste. Marie, said to be of “great energy and tact, and force of character.”
Every account of the young Warren reputes him to be a brilliant young man with a promising future. In 1851 he was elected to the House of Representatives of the Territory of Minnesota (Minnesota would not become a state until 1858.) In a eulogy on Warrens death, it was written, “From his kindly and generous nature, he has ever been a favorite, especially with chiefs and old men….Often has the writer of this tribute found him seated at the foot of an old oak, with Flatmouth, the Pillager chief, noting down upon paper the incidents of the old man’s eventful life, as he related them”Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe’s (Flatmouth’s) life dates from around 1774 to 1860. As a leader of the Leech Lake Band of Chippewa’s he is recognized as the Washington or Lincoln of his people – one of the greatest of Chippewa chiefs. It was just prior to and during his reign as Chief, that the Ojibway waged war with the Dakota over who would occupy the regions north of Mille Lacs in Minnesota. It was the Leech Lake Band or Pillagers (as they were also called) that formed the leading edge of the Ojibways, pushing west and south into the regions formerly occupied by the Dakota. This part of north central Minnesota; rich in wild rice, maple sugar, whitefish, and wildlife was intensely fought over. It’s rich and diverse waterways provided easy access to subsistence, communication, and warfare. Its natural bounty truly made it a land of milk and honey to anyone occupying this rich ground. It was also the time that whites were arriving on the scene and the fur trade was being set in full motion. It was a time of momentous change for the native peoples occupying the land. A strong, wise leader was crucial for strategically positioning themselves amid the shifting winds of the times.
William Warren described the Leech Lake region as related to him by Flatmouth: “[….]the Dakotas having been thus severely checked and driven back by their invaders, became hopeless of future success and suddenly evacuated their important position at Leech Lake, and moved westward to the edge of the great western prairies….A few hardy hunters, mostly of the bear and catfish clans, gradually took possession of their rich hunting grounds, and planting their lodges on the islands of Cass, Winnipeg [Winnie], and Leech Lakes, they first formed a focus around which gathered families from Rainy Lake, Sandy Lake, and Lake Superior, which now form the important villages or bands of the Ojibway tribe, who occupy these important lakes at present day…..It [Leech Lake] abounds in wild rice in large quantities, of which the Indian women gather sufficient for winter consumption of their families. The shores of the lake are covered with maple which yields to the industry of the hunter’s women, each spring, quantities of sap which they manufacture into sugar. The waters of the lake abound in fish of the finest quality, its whitefish equaling in size and flavor those of Lake Superior, and are easily caught at all seasons of the year when the lake is free of ice, in gill-nets made and managed also by the women. At the time when the Ojibways first took possession of Leech Lake and the surrounding country, which is covered with innumerable lakes and water courses, beaver, and the most valuable species of fur animals abounded in great plenty, which procured them the much coveted merchandise of the white traders. The lake itself is said in those early days to have been, at certain seasons of the year, literally covered with wild fowl and swan; pelican and geese raised early their brood of young on its numerous islands. From this circumstance Goose and Pelican Islands have derived their names. The incentives, therefore, which actuated the first Ojibway pioneers to fight so strenuously for its possession, there many and great, and soon caused the band who so fearlessly occupied it to become a numerous body, and to be the most noted western vanguard of the Ojibway tribe.”
Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe epitomized the bravery and warrior spirit of the Leech Lake Chippewa as acknowledged in his many battles throughout north central Minnesota with the Dakota. Twenty-five times he tactically out maneuvered the Dakota on the field of battle but his sagacity and intelligence is what really sets this great chief apart from others. When Zebulon Pike entered Leech Lake in the winter of 1805, following the Louisiana Purchase, on his exploration of the Mississippi and journey to take possession of the new American territory, including the British trading post on Ottertail Point, the young warrior chief, Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe exchanged his British flag and medals for an American flag and medals.It was ironic that Flatmouth who held complete and total control over all present, including Pike and his starving and weakened companions, should superficially defer to Pike. It was all part of the great chief’s personality as he would hood wink Pike and many more who thought themselves his equal but would find out they were not. Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe stated later in life that here he “ceased to be an Englishman, and became a Long Knife.” The great chief made a trip to Washington where he said to the President, “Now, two great men have met.”
When Henry Schoolcraft entered Leech Lake in 1832 after his journey to the Headwaters of the Mississippi, his task was to vaccinate the Ojibways ravaged by small pox. Schoolcraft exhibited an arrogant and superior demeanor to the old chief and his people. With Schoolcraft was the Reverend William T. Boutwell who gives us this vivid account of Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe, “It is a building perhaps twenty-five by twenty-five, which I am informed was presented to him by one of the traders. As we entered, the old chief, bare-legged and bare foot, sat with much dignity upon a cassette. A blanket, and a cloth about the loins, covered his otherwise naked body, which was painted black. His chief men occupied a bench by his side, while forty or more of his warriors sat on the floor around the walls of his smoking room. The old man arose and gave us his hand as we were introduced, bidding us to take a seat on his right, on his bed. As I cast my eye around on his savage group, for once I wished I possessed the painter’s skill. The old chief had again returned to his seat upon the large wooden trunk, and as if to sit a little more like a white man than an Indian, had thrown one leg across the other knee. His warriors were all painted, feathered, and equipped for service. Many of them wore the insignia of courage, a strip of polecat skin around the head or heels, the bushy tail of the latter so attached as to drag on the ground; the crown of the head was ornamented with feathers, indicating the number of enemies the individual had killed, one of which I counted no less than twelve [...]. The subject of vaccination was now presented to the chief, with which he was pleased, and ordered his people to assemble for that purpose […]. Preparations were now made for taking our leave when the chief arose, and giving his hand to each, spoke as follows, in reply to Mr. Schoolcraft, who had addressed them as “My children.” “You call us children. We are not children, but men. When I think of the condition of my people I can hardly refrain from tears. It is so melancholy that even the trees weep over it….” Flatmouth gave Schoolcraft an ear full of indignation to the latter’s pompous attitude.
He was so highly thought of by other Ojibway bands that he was asked to be a major negotiator and signatory to the controversial 1837 Treaty involved in the Supreme Court decision affirming Indian hunting and fishing rights even though he did not dwell in the regions covered by the treaty. He said “… but they wish to reserve the privilege of making sugar from the trees and getting their living from the lakes and rivers as they have heretofore done, and of remaining in this country…You know the Great Spirit above made the Earth, and causes it to produce that which enables us to live.”
No matter how the 1837 treaty is viewed in today’s world, one must respect the veracity of Flatmouth. He represented his people’s best interests at the time. His presence at these negotiations is still being felt over 160 years later.
His role in Washington in the Treaty of 1855 also was pivotal for representation of his people. It was here that he said, “If we sell (land), we do not want to part with all…We feel that as we have yet the control and possession of our lands, we should not part with them without reserving a home. We had better not be in existence than not to have a place we can call our own.” And when pushed by the government to quickly sign the treaty, he shot back, “You would not think well of us if we were to jump right at your proposition without taking time to consider it.”
During the war of 1812, the British sought the aid of Flatmouth in waging war on the Americans. Presents and wampum belts were presented to Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe in enlisting his warriors to fight the Long Knives. The chief sent back the gifts with the blunt reply, ‘When I go war against my enemies, I do not call on the whites to join my warriors. The white people have quarreled amongst themselves, and I do not wish to meddle in their quarrels, nor do I intend ever, even to be guilty of breaking the window glass of a white man’s dwelling.”
In old age, the chief felt that he had failed to do his best and protect his people. Given the over whelming circumstances of the changing times, Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe did what probably no other man could have done. He is an example of the right man being in the right place at the right time in the history of a people. With the competition for living space with the Dakota, the unstoppable surge of white civilization, and the preservation of the Ojibway way of life and resource, I cannot believe that any man could have done better for his people. I am sure history will be much kinder in its interpretation of the greatest of Chippewa Chiefs, Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe.
And thankfully his kindred spirit in the 'catfish clan,' William Whipple Warren, was there to record it in the annals of Minnesota history so that our lives can be enriched by story of Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe who truly deserves to be placed among the great people of Minnesota history.
Wherever their spirits now reside, may Warren and Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe enjoy the Minnesota sunshine at the base of the great oak and reminisce in many of the great Chippewa legends and deeds.
Today, the great chief is only one of four Indians and only a few Minnesotans to be honored with a statue in the United States Capital.
READER COMMENTS:
"I really enjoyed this story, sad as it is. Thank you! " -Janet Hill
posted by Katie Carter at
2:08 PM
<< Home