Sauk and Fox
In September Piankashaw and Wea warriors led by de Noyelle arrived from a Miami post with instructions from the Governor of Canada that no peace was to be made with Fox. Apparently some Sauk ignored this order and provided the Fox with food, but it was not enough. Surrounded by over 1,400 warriors, the Fox fought off everything, but their food and water gave out. They began throwing their children out of the fort, telling their enemies to eat them. Many apparently were adopted by other tribes, but the fate of their parents was far worse. After 23 days, a thunderstorm struck on the night of September 8th, and the Fox took advantage of this to break out and flee. They did not make it. The French and their allies caught up and killed between 600 and 800 of them. There were no prisoners.
Shawnee
In desperation, Amherst wrote the commander at Fort Pitt, Captain Simeon Ecuyer, suggesting he deliberately attempt to infect the Shawnee, Delaware, and Mingo besieging his fort with gifts of smallpox-infected blankets and handkerchiefs. Ecuyer took this as an order and did exactly that. It proved particularly effective...
Susquehannock
The Susquehannock have been called noble and heroic. They have also been described as aggressive, warlike, imperialistic, and bitter enemies of the Iroquois. They may also have warred with the Mahican from the central Hudson Valley. When he first met the Susquehannock in 1608, Captain John Smith was especially impressed with their size, deep voices, and the variety of their weapons.
Tionontati
In 1615, Samuel de Champlain made the long journey west from Quebec to the Huron villages. The following year he met the Tionontati. While the French were welcomed because of their trade goods, the Tionontati were not nearly as enthusiastic about their religion. Protecting their trade advantage with the French as middleman, the Huron had secretly told the Tionontati that the French priests were sorcerers who used magic to cause epidemics.
Tsalagi (Cherokee)
Male and female, they were hospitable but uneffusive. The men appeared to be respectful but remained aloof, were secure within themselves. They would shake a stranger's hand silently while looking off toward the horizon, securing their own independence. They never bowed to any other creature; they were not even willing to nod. They spoke one at a time, deliberately and with many motions, then fell silent, listened without looking at their companion.
They were of a copper color and proud of it, referred to Europeans as 'ugly whites," were lighter than their Indian neighbors, the Creeks and Choctaws and Iroquois. They were lithe, tall, erect, and without noticeable deformities. Their spoken language was musical, punctuated by gutteral, breathy breaks. The men enjoyed ball games, hunting, and warfare. Indeed, warfare was their favorite activity and occupied much of each winter.
They were a clean people, when compared to the white English, German, and Scots-Irish settlers drifting in, infiltrating their territory, most of whom were satisfied to bathe in autumn and not again til spring. The Indians "went to water" often, considering water, the sun, and fire to be three holy gifts of the Great Spirit...
Wampanoag
European captains were known to increase profits by capturing natives to sell as slaves. Such was the case when Thomas Hunt kidnapped several Wampanoag in 1614 and later sold them in Spain. One of his victims - a Patuxet named Squanto (Tisquantum) - was purchased by Spanish monks who attempted to "civilize" him. Eventually gaining his freedom, Squanto was able to work his way to England (apparently undeterred by his recent experience with Captain Hunt) and signed on as an interpreter for a British expedition to Newfoundland. From there Squanto went back to Massachusetts, only to discover that, in his absence, epidemics had killed everyone in his village. As the last Patuxet, he remained with the other Wampanoag as a kind of ghost.
Wappinger
Rodolf and his men just slaughtered every Wecquaesgeek in the sleeping village at Pavonia without regard for age or sex. The killing by these Dutch "Christians" was especially brutal involving babies hacked to death in their mother's arms, torture, and mutilation. When the attacks began, some Wecquaesgeek made the mistake of fleeing to Fort Amsterdam. They were murdered in cold blood outside the gates and their bodies tossed into the Hudson. De Vries, who had relocated near the Tappan villages at Corlear's Point and apparently bore no hatreds after his plantation on Staten Island had been destroyed by the Raritan, saved some of the Wecquaesgeek who came to him for protection by telling them to hide in forest. In all, Andriansen killed 31 but brought 30 prisoners back to an uncertain fate at Fort Amsterdam. Rodolf butchered 80 Wecquaesgeek and took no prisoners. His soldiers reportedly brought the severed heads of their victims back to the fort and played kickball with them. Preparing for a possible siege, Kieft further inflamed the situation by seizing corn from the Metoac on Long Island and killing three Canarsee warriors in the process.
Wenro
Wenro is a short form of their Huron name, Wenrohronon, meaning "the people of the place of floating scum." The name derived from the location of their main village near the site of the famous oil spring at Cuba, New York.
Winnebago
Nicollet in 1634 described them as brave but lacking in humility ...almost to the point of arrogance. Their clothing was fringed buckskin, which the Winnebago frequently decorated with beautiful designs created from porcupine quills, feathers and beads - a skill for which they are still renown. Men originally wore their hair in two long braids, but in time this changed to the scalplock and roach headdress favored by the Algonquin. Body tattooing was common to both sexes.
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Compact Histories - Native American
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