Mis-cow-pe-tung's Camp, 1869

To gather information on the pre-treaty era, when Muscowpetung Saulteaux Nation ancestors were still living a nomadic existence, Joan Holmes & Associates' historical research team has been working to figure out who would have been around in the same places at the same time to leave a written record of what they saw. Casting a wide net, the researchers found that the earliest writers were male traders, explorers, and tourists from Europe, who reached the South Saskatchewan and Qu’Appelle Rivers in the early 1800s. However a long term, stable presence at the Qu'Appelle Lakes, near the Nation's modern-day land base, was not established until the missionaries came in the early 1850s. The Hudson's Bay Company post at Fort Qu'Appelle was established at around the same time.

One of the most comprehensive sources for the region and era is Isaac Cowie, who in 1913 published a book called The Company of Adventurers: A Narrative of Seven Years in the Service of the Hudson's Bay Company during 1867-1874 on the Great Buffalo Plains with Historical and Biographical Notes and Comments. This work was based on earlier articles he had written about his experience at Fort Qu'Appelle post in the years immediately before the Qu'Appelle Treaty was signed.

On August 7, 1869, as a rookie trader out on the plains, Cowie came across:

"the small camp of Mis-cow-pe-tung, consisting of a few Crees and Saulteaux, on a branch of the Arm River, where they had many stages heavily laden with pemmican, dried meat and grease. There were enough men, including Day Star, who considered themselves warriors and chiefs in the camp to fill a council lodge."

--Isaac Cowie, The Company of Adventurers: A Narrative of Seven Years in the Service of the Hudson's Bay Company during 1867-1874 on the Great Buffalo Plains with Historical and Biographical Notes and Comments (Toronto: William Briggs, 1913) p. 375. See original source

Buffalo Meat Drying, White Horse Plains, Red River, 1899, by William Armstrong. See original source

There are many contemporary, eye-witness descriptions of buffalo hunting and processing on the northern plains, but this one is interesting because it shows the land use of Muscowpetung ancestors and traditional allies:

• the author states the people were mixed Cree and Saulteaux, confirming an alliance;

• the location named, "a branch of the Arm River," records traditional land use possibly on or near the area where the Touchwood Hills and Fort Qu'Appelle-area First Nations have a shared reserve at Last Mountain Lake; and,

• the description of the camp containing "enough men ... who considered themselves warriors and chiefs ... to fill a council lodge," suggests Muscowpetung was a prominent leader since it was "Mis-cow-pe-tung's" camp.

Cowie describes Day Star as a "councillor" in his index (p. 492 - see original source). Five years after this incident, Day Star (Kii-si-cau-ah-chuok, or kîsikâwacâhk) signed Treaty No. 4, which describes him as a Chief from the "South side of the South Branch of the Saskatchewan" (Treaty No. 4 between the Government of Canada and Indian Tribes at Fort Qu'Appelle, September 15, 1874. See original source). Muscowpetung did not sign, but he was listed as a follower of Cheekuk on the "Cheecuck's Band" 1875 paylist. Cheekuk adhered to Treaty Four on September 8, 1875.

From Clement A. Lounsberry, Early History of North Dakota; Essential Outlines of American History (Washington, D.C.: Liberty Press, 1919) following p. 32. See original source

Cowie goes on to describe the trading that ensued on the spot, as well as other people who were present at the time. He may have taken particular note of this incident because while he was in the camp there was a full solar eclipse and apparently it caused a bit of an uproar. Towards the end of his account he notes that "in that year of plenty the storage at Qu'Appelle was far too scanty for the provisions" and that the traders had obtained more goods than they could handle. He wrote:

Being within the rather indefinite limits of their own hunting grounds, where attack by the Blackfeet was unlikely, the Indians of both posts [Qu'Appelle and Touchwood Hills] had scattered about in small camps, each with abundant herds of buffalo about them. So, having supplied the wants of the first band, we went on to the next with just enough carts to carry the goods. ...

--Isaac Cowie, The Company of Adventurers: A Narrative of Seven Years in the Service of the Hudson's Bay Company during 1867-1874 on the Great Buffalo Plains with Historical and Biographical Notes and Comments (Toronto: William Briggs, 1913) p. 379. See original source

This summer of "plenty and peace" was followed by a near miss as smallpox swept the plains from the south. The Touchwood and Qu'Appelle people were spared ... but that's a story for another time.

Thanks for reading and please come back soon!

Mīkwēc