1. sports
2. fishing

Chief Otusson
Of the Thumb of Michigan
The Onottoway River:
The river of the Enchanted or Magical Fur
By Mark R. Putnam
http://ipoetry.us/
Page 2 of 39
Native People the Wakisos hunted elk along the Cass River that early on was known as the
Onottoway and Upper Huron River.
Page 3 of 39
Chief Otusson
Of the Thumb of Michigan
The early history of Michigan's Thumb denotes Chief Otusson.
His wigwam or lodge was located on the river called the Wakishegan.
The Wakishegan River was also known as the Onottoway, Upper Huron, and Mattawan.
Chief Otusson was likely part of the Native American band called the Wakisos.
That is what I or we suppose.
The name Wakishegan likely meant it sparkles, gleams, or glitters.
In the Chippewa and Ottawa language "wakeshka" means it is glossy or shiny. 1
Into the Saginaw River emptied three great rivers:
The Tittabawassee—the rolling, twisting, or turning sparkling stream,
The Shiawassee--the straight ahead sparkling stream,
And the Wakishegan the river that was bright and shiny.
These rivers enter the Saginaw River at the place called Green Point.
Here all the rivers meet or adjoint.
Chief Otusson knew all the rivers very well.
However on the Wakishegan he would mostly stay, live, or dwell.
The Chippewa and Ottawa people were the kindred of Chief Otusson.
His name meant the platform, bench, bed, or bank in the lodge.
Chief Otusson was a sovereign over a great woodland fen.
A few miles above Green Point on the north bank of the Wakishegan River was his lodge.
The Chippewa and Ottawa called the land in which he lived Tesse-aki.
The French in the 1700’s knew this realm as Le Pays Plat.
In the middle to late 1700’s the English called it the Flat Country.
All these names meant the ground that was level and flat.
1
A Dictionary of the Ojibway Language by Frederic Baraga, pg. 398.
Page 4 of 39
After 1761 during the time of British control, the Thumb of Michigan was called the Flat
Country.
It was also called by Chippewa and Ottawa Tesse-aki that meant the stretched out land or the
flat country.
Page 5 of 39
Chief Otusson lived in the Flat Country or Tuscola east of Saginaw.
The Flat Country was also the land of the enchanted or magical beaver.
The castor, the beaver, filled the streams, swamps, and ponds that ran into the Wakishegan
River.
Just before 1850 much of this grand woodland and swampland was known as Sanilac County.
Sanilac was soon afterward divided into Sanilac, Huron, and Tuscola County.
The Chippewa and Ottawa word tesse-nagan meant flat dish.
The root of tessi-nagan was likely "esse", which means a clam or shell.
Tesse-aki was the land that was flat like a plate or dish.
Here grew the woodland mushroom and morel.
Its rivers also were filled with sturgeon, bass, pike, and other important fish.
Tessi-aki was also the land of the hawk, pigeon, heron, duck, crane, and goose.
It was a place of sugar maple trees, corn fields, and wild berries.
The interior hills of Tesse-aki were noted for its majestic pine trees.
In the woods roamed black bear, martin, lynx, mink, raccoon, deer, elk, and moose.
Here also were large groves of oak, hemlock, and spruce.
Page 6 of 39
Before 1761 the French called Michigan's Thumb Le Pays Plat.
The French name meant the land that was flat.
The later name likely means where the flat land projects out.
It was the land that had the best of fate . . . without doubt.
Page 7 of 39
Michigan’s Thumb is a peninsula, a cape, or point of land.
It is long and spread out and for the most part level and flat.
It is extended out like an Indian blanket or mat.
It was once composed of both upland and swamp or wetland.
To the north and northwest of Michigan’s Thumb is Saginaw Bay.
It was a land that was bountiful and fruitful in many a way.
Tessi-aki was the heart of the beaver hunting ground in Michigan.
Everywhere there was found the ponds, dams, and lodges of the beaver.
To the east of Michigan’s Thumb are he shores of Lake Huron.
To the south is Lake St. Clair.
This was the land of the costly peltry.
Great hunting and trapping was found in this the Flat County.
Chief Otusson lived on the Upper Huron or Onottoway River
The Wakishegan River was central to the Thumb or the Flat Country.
In the south was the Belle Chasse River.
Further south a few miles was another river called the Nottawasippee.
Nottawasippee means in Chippewa and Ottawa the “the adder or rattlesnake river”.2
The Nottawasippee was also called the Lower Huron River and later the Clinton River.
The Wakishegan River was in the same way named the Onottoway Sebewaing and the Upper
Huron River.
There was a commonality between the two streams.
Both used the base word “Nottaway”.
There was a common path or Indian trail also between the two streams.
The passageway led from the High Banks at the mouth of the Nottawasippee north to Saginaw
Bay.
At the mouth of the Nottawasippee was the village called High Banks.3
There was moreover a village of the matching name halfway to the bay.
It was on the Wakishegan or the Onottoway Sebewaing and was also called High Banks.4
Near the central part of the Onottoway Sebewaing was village called the Ridge or High Banks.
To make a distinction between the two places, perhaps it was also called the Upper High Banks.
The Onottoway Sebewaing was called by the French the Upper Huron River.
The Nottawasippee was called the Lower Huron River.
2
Historical collections, Volume 6 by Michigan State Historical Society, Michigan Historical Commission, pg. 361.
Historical collections, Volume 6 by Michigan State Historical Society, Michigan Historical Commission, pg. 361.
4
A Look in Your Own Backyard by Dorr N. Wilse, Sr., pg. 5.
3
Page 8 of 39
The trail between he two High Banks was conceivably called the Ridge or High Banks Trail.
In the center of the Flat Country was the Ridge, High Banks, or Podunk.
A hill or ridge in Chippewa and Ottawa is “ishpadina”.
High Banks Trail was possibly known also as he Podunk rail by white people who later visited
Tuscola.
The Podunk or Ridge Trail started at the mouth of the Nottawasippee that emptied into Lake St.
Clair.
Podunk Trail went along the river to an intermediate fork in the river [at what is today
Rochester].
The trail from there ran almost straight northward to the place called Lapeer.
The trail ran along a long ridge that went from the headwaters of Nottawasippee to the
headwaters of the Onottoway Sebewaing.
From the Fork in the Nottawasippee to Lapeer and onward to the Upper High Banks was a high
ridge.
Into Lake St. Clair went the runoff water south of this substantial ridge.
Along the expanse of the causeway he water flowed west to the Flint River.
Eastward it ran into the Belle Chasse and Black River.
At the northwest bifurcation of the ridge that terminated at the Upper High Banks, the water
flowed into the Cass River.
A northeastern spur of the ridge gently rises to a great marsh or bog in the middle of Michigan’s
Upper Thumb.
Here he water flows northwest into Saginaw Bay through the Sebewaing, Pinnebog, Pigeon,
and Bird River.
From the large bog also arises a river that runs to the south called the Black River.
These were the streams and rivers of the region of the Onottoway headwaters in sum.
One other Creek the Willow River runs north from the bog into Lake Huron.
It was likely noted for its headwaters that was a swamp of fen.
The Flat Country was north and east of the ridge.
It was north and east of Detroit and was part of the land called Teuschagronde.
Teuschagronde means “where there are beaver dams athwart many.”
In this area of the Thumb travel was done mostly by way of the rivers and the few trails that ran
along the ridge.
During the early Indian trade this was the beaver hunting ground.
Here great numbers of beaver and other fur being animals were known to live or were found.
Page 9 of 39
Otusson Village was a few miles up from the mouth of the Onottoway River.
Otusson's Village, on the Wakishegan or Onottoway River, was in addition known as
Matotiswaning.
The Wakishegan River had several names including the Mattawan.
From Matotiswaning the main camp on the river, Native People went out hunting, trapping,
and fishing.
In Chippewa and Ottawa, the meaning fur or peltry in a word is the suffix “wain”.
The name Mattawan likely meant enchanted fur.
The Mattawan was the river of the great and wonderful fur.
Otusson’s Village—Matotiswaning—was located on the Saginaw Trail.
Saginaw Trail was a Native pathway that went from Detroit northwest to Flint then Saginaw.
At Matotiswaning eastward ran another trail.
It loped along the northern higher bank of the Matawan or Onottoway River.
The trail followed the river eastward to [Vassar then] the High Banks and then beyond to the
Elk.
Native People hunted for moose and the great majestic elk or stag deer in the Elk Land.
The Mattawan River was home to the magical animal fleece.
Furs here were of the greatest quality and in quantity.
For many years their measure seemed not to cease.
In New York “Matteawan River” meant the river of the good fur or peltry.
In New Jersey the “Matawan River” meant the river of the enchanted fur.
In Chippewa and Ottawa “madawa” or “madaan” means the tool used for scraping a fur.
The Onottoway or Mattawan River was not only the place of the fur that was of good quality.
It was the place of the magical peltry.
In Chippewa "mamanda" means wonderful.
“Mamanda” also means above all and admirable.
"Mamanda-waian" was likely the root of the word Mattawan.
It means magical fleece that is without exception.
Chief Otusson's Village was called Matotiswaning.
It was situated at the junction of the Mattawan River and Saginaw Trail.
Here was a bend in the river that became a village and place for trading.
Here goods were traded and furs were offered up for sale.
Henri Ariel Campau established his trading post about 1819 at the Bend in the River.
An ancient village site been used for a long time for native trading on the Mattawan or
Onottoway River.
Page 10 of 39
Matotiswaning was established on the northern high bank of the Mattawan River on a slight hill
that was composed of gravel and sand.
The forest, all around, held majestic cork pine trees that were tall and grand.
Chief Otusson was held in high regard on the Mattawan River.
Some Native People also called it the Wakishegan River.
It was the shining river or the river that sparkled with luster and gloss.
The region was plentiful, and for fish, game, and wild rice the Native People were seldom at a
loss.
Page 11 of 39
This is a cutting from the 1836 Farmer Map of Michigan. Near the center is the Reservation of
Chief Otusson. (Courtesy of Michigan State University Library)
Page 12 of 39
In 1824 Otusson’s Village was surveyed.
It was located just a few miles up from the mouth of the Cass River.
At this spot the Saginaw Indian Trail met with the Cass River.
The location was the site of villages along the river of the peltries that were enchanted.
Page 13 of 39
The above cutting is from the 1855 Farmer Map of Michigan and shows Otusson’s Village as
Frankenmuth, Michigan. Cheboygoning means the great rice gathering location. (Courtesy of
Michigan State University Library)
Page 14 of 39
Page 15 of 39
The district around Matotiswaning included Cheboygoning.
The prairies north of the Village of Matotiswaning in the spring were wet and dank.
A short distance east of Matotiswaning [at the Village of Tuscola] a Native a trail went north
over a fertile and rich land.
Matotiswaning on the Cass River and the trail were located on a high bank.
The trail led to Cheboygoning Creek whose name means “the great rice gathering place” in the
flat wetland.
The trail set off along the creek mostly on ground that was somewhat elevated land.
The Cheboygoning Trail then forked with the lower branch going to another Indian town.
The Cheboygoning Village near Crow Island is found.
The upper branch to the Cheboygoning Trail went on to the mouth of the Saginaw River and the
Saginaw Bay.
Here was found the Village of Chief Nabobask.
There were a numerous villages on the Saginaw River at different times from Green Point to the
bay.
On the Saginaw River Native People lived at different times in large numbers and engage in
many a task.
In spring Otusson’s clan went to the sugar-bush.
There they camped and gathered sap from maple trees and boiled the sap in copper kettles to
made sugar.
In late spring at the gardens they planted potatoes, squash, and corn that they would harvest
during the mid to late summer.
During the summer they harvested rice from Cheboygoning Creek and ate rice and mush.
Matotiswaning Village was hospitable and welcoming.
Everyone lived in good quarters and lodging.
The lower part of the Upper Huron or Cass River was more thickly populated.
Native People brought flint nodules down the Cass River from which arrow points and other
tools were fashioned.
The Flint River paralleled the Cass River.
Both rivers were very populated and arise from the interior of Michigan’s Thumb.
Also very peopled was the lower part of the Tittabawassee River.
Less populated were the headwaters of the interior of the Thumb.
Native Indians easily traveled by canoe up and down the streams.
When they had less to cart or carry they, used the trails that ran between, above, or along the
streams.
Habitations at Ka-pay-shaw-wink the great camping ground [or Saginaw] were the most
frequent or numerous.
Page 16 of 39
The early Saginaw region was the most populated part of Michigan when Native people had
their influence or sway.
The Saginaw and the Onottoway River each was the golden water passage way.
Native people here existed in a rich land that was fruitful and copious.
The Tittabawassee, Shiawassee, Flint, and Onottoway River united to form the Saginaw River.
Aquatic life such as wild rice, fish, shell fish, and turtles filled each river, stream, and pond.
This was an environment in which many people found doting or fond.
Once a year soon after sugar-making, nearly all the Indians of the interior came to Ka-pay-shawwink or the great camping ground.
Today the spot [“gabeshiwn” meaning encampment] is known as Saginaw.
Many an inveterate Indian feud reached an injurious termination at the great camping ground.
Native people engaged in a grand jubilee of one or two weeks’ duration in Saginaw.
They engaged in dances, games, and feats of strength.
They celebrated at great length.
The fruits of the forest were plentiful and bountiful.
The forests of Michigan’s Thumb flourished with all types of game.
Maple sugar, nut, and wild berry trees also were numerous.
Native people as well cultivated hundreds of acres of corn that was often bounteous.
The region supported a great number of people and among the Indians was held in much fame.
Nearly all the Indian tails led to Ka-pay-shaw-wink or Saginaw.
From there paths led the way to the Thumb, Detroit, Lake Michigan, and Mackinaw.
Canoe travel also was possible in nearly every possible direction.
There was a portage between the Shiawassee and Grand River.
This portage connected Eastern and Western Michigan.
Native people often preferred travel by water.
There as well was a portage between the Tittabawassee and Muskegon River.
The affable topography produced the sites of the local Anishinaabe or Indian villages in
Michigan’s Thumb.
After 1819 the Upper Huron or Onottoway River was renamed for Lewis Cass and called the
Cass River.
Transportation early on by Indians was done by the Indian trail, lake, and river.
The trails of Michigan’s Thumb regularly traveled the high ground.
They avoided the areas that were swamps or bogs.
Page 17 of 39
However the bogs were good for hunting or tapping and were often where good furs were
found.
The trails time and again laid high above the swamps that were filled with muskrats and bull
frogs.
Northwest of Matotiswaning the Cheboygoning, Ma]Quanicassee, Squaw, and Wiscoggin
streams were each a favorite hunting and fishing creek.
About twenty miles northwest of Matotiswaning was Sucker Creek.
It emptied in to the Matawan River and was an excellent stream in which to spear the fish
called the sucker.
Sucker spearing was done on many a Thumb region creek or river.
Quanicassee was a very populated site with Native People during the spring sucker run.
Here fishing was made into a bit of enjoyment or fun.
In the Chippewa and Ottawa Language the Sucker was called “namebin”.
The namebin and other fish were often speared and smoked during the spring.
The summer and winter camps had different functions or occupations.
To the summer camping ground Native people went in the warm season. 5
Here by the streams and clear lakes or ponds they hunted and fished.
In early summer in the fertile soil of burnt openings maize and other crops they planted.
In the fall the valuable garden crops were gathered by the squaws or by the women.
The frosts and storms of November bore the news of the approach of winter.
They then returned to their comfortable villages where the forest was much denser and was a
sanctuary from the cold of winter.
During those cold months in the refuge of the warmer woods they would take haven.
From here the young men would go out to the winter hunting and trapping ground.
This winter practice was throughout Michigan’s Thumb was common.
In the upper regions of the rivers and streams animal or food and fur abound.
With the approach of spring everyone went to the spring sugar bush.
Here they pitched camp and spent a few weeks boiling maple tree sap in copper kettles to
make sugar.
Afterward to the summer camps they would push.
These camps were often along a lake or river.
There they once more they hunted, fished, and planted.
Maize, beans, pumpkins, and other Native crops they cultivated.
5
History of Livingston County, pg. 10.
Page 18 of 39
Podunk was a wonderful spot with a relaxed pace.
Along Sucker Creek elk were found.
Near the creek was an incredible planting, hunting, trapping, and fishing ground.
The spot called the High Ridge or High Banks was nearby.
The earth there was elevated and away from the mosquitoes and bogs that were fairly close by.
During the winter when the mosquitoes and black flies were gone, these bogs were good places
for hunting and trapping.
Also in the area were sugar maple trees that were good for making sugar.
Berries and nuts were also here for the gathering.
This spot called Podunk with Sucker Creek nearby was the best site for a village on upper the
Cass River.
Here many fields of Indian corn and potatoes by Native people were planted.
Indeed the area around Podunk was called the Indian Fields.
Crops here grew with large yields.
Here native people likely throughout the year camped.
Bear Creek or Quanicassee was the place for spearing fish such as the gar pike and sucker.
The Bear River or “Makwa-sibi” was likely the name of the Quanicassee camp ground.6
Very likely to sight bear along the stream was normal or frequent.
Muskrat, beaver, mink, and martin were also commonly found in or near its slow current.
A the camp and used for hunting was the Naive hunting dog or hound.
Squaw Creek ran northwest along a low knoll to the Saginaw Bay.
Running northeast of the Quanicassee River, Squaw Creek was a place to collect or gather food.
Squaw Creek emptied into the Saginaw Bay between the Quanicassee and Wiscoggin Creek.
An Indian village lay halfway between the bay and the headwaters of Squaw Creek.
Native women went out to collect plant berries, nuts, and roots here or to gather food.
The land adjoining the Creek was likely crammed with nuts or berries.
The region was a wet [prairie and likely had only if any a few large trees.
6
History of Saginaw County by Truman B. Fox, Pg. 15.
Page 19 of 39
A trail along a gentle sand knoll from Quanicassee to Wiscoggin Creek by Native feet over time
was drawn-out or imprinted.
Likely from the trail in the spring to avoid the wet lands no one deviated.
The natural growth of the wooded portion of district was hickory, elm, beech, maple, basswood
and different varieties of oak.
Walking in many places in the wet prairie away from the trail, one’s feet would frequently get
wet or soak.
Wiscoggin Creek was the home of the muskrat and beaver lodge.
North of Podunk was the headwaters of Wiscoggin Creek that flowed north to the Saginaw Bay.
The name Wiscoggin likely means the place of the small beaver of muskrat lodge and comes
from the Anishinaabe word “wiskons”.
Here was found the fur that was dark brown and bronze.
Wiscoggin Creek flowed from the upper ridge at Podunk and went northward to Saginaw Bay.
Along Wiscoggin Creek scampered a well used Indian trail or pathway.
There were no permanent villages on the Wiscoggin.
It was likely only a hunting, fishing, and trapping location.
Wiscoggin was surrounded by a wide wet prairie, wetland, or fen.
While there was here a pathway, travel near the bay with a canoe was often done.
At Wiscoggin on the Saginaw Bay were a great marsh and a sandy point.
The projection into Saginaw Bay was called Fish Point.
With bows, spears, and nets Native people here would fish.
The meals made a hale and hearty dish.
Geese and ducks during the spring and fall filled the air.
During these times where was more than enough food to share.
The Elk Lands contained perhaps at different times three camping grounds or villages.
The Elk Lands were located in the highland north of the north and south forks of the Onottoway
River.
There were three villages here at one time or another.
Down to the banks of the Onottoway elk were found or located.
For hunting elk this was a place that was very celebrated.
Page 20 of 39
The above Cutting is from the 1855 Farmer Map of Michigan: at the mouth of Sucker Creek
was an Indian Village [Podunk] in Tuscola County. (Courtesy Michigan State University
Library)
Page 21 of 39
The Sebewaing River was the stream that was winding or bent.
Northeast of Wiscoggin Creek along the Indian Trail and shore of Saginaw Bay one meets the
mouth of Sebewaing River.
The Sebewaing River twists or winds like a thread into a wide arc or semicircle.7
Into Saginaw Bay it flows first south, west, and then northwest from its headwater.
There was a village at the mouth of the river that was the domicile of a number of Native
people.
Near the Elk Lands one finds the river’s source.
I current flows slowly in a curve or winds without much momentum or force.
Along the sandy shore of Saginaw Bay grew large oak trees whose branches gently turned in
the breeze.
The sandy beach that was once burnt over was covered with many of these noble trees.
The knoll that ran along the shoreline served as a natural trail or path way.
Above Sebewaing summer camps or villages were numerous along the beach to the tip of the
Thumb and to the end of Saginaw Bay.
The meaning of Sebewaing is the twisting or curving river with wiggle or wag.
The Sebewaing River is bent or twisted like a thread in a cloth or rag.
At Sebewaing was the spot of another native village.
Native people lived here for many an age.
Shebeon Creek was the place of concealment or hiding.
Northeast of Sebewaing River and emptying into the Saginaw Bay is Shebeon Creek.
Shebeon was the place of the hidden passageway.
Shebeon Creek flows north from the interior of Michigan’s Thumb with very slight sway.
Native camps here at times reached a peak.
The outlet of Shebeon Creek into Saginaw Bay is just south of North and Stone Island.
The district around Shebeon creek was a rich and fertile land.
At the mouth of Shebeon Creek once were two Native Villages at one time of another.
The spot was later called the “Fair Haven”.
An Indian Mission was built here in 1845 for the Chippewa Indian.
It was afterward moved to Sebewaing a few years later.
The local tribe was said to consist of about 300 Native People.
Rev. J. J. Auch established the mission on Sheboyonk Creek on at a spot that was beautiful.
The Mission was located on the "Middle Ground”.
7
Huron County Centennial History 1859-1959.
Page 22 of 39
The local Native people were peaceful and hospitable.
Extensive and abounding with game was their hunting ground.
Small patches of corn and potatoes they would also cultivate or till.
With their furs they bartered for the white man’s clothing when they had the occasion.
The local Native clan became devoted to “Kije-manito”, the Great Spirit, or the God of the white
man.
The Shebeon people were governed by much-loved chief Soe-a-che-wah-o-sah of Shebeon
River.
His name may be written “Mogisse-gisiss- wasseias” that means the rising sun that is brilliant.
Chief Brilliant Rising Sun was to have had dazzling red hair.
The Shebeon people bought land at Shebeon from the government in 1847 and sold it in 1856
to settlers.
Shebeon women often made baskets that they sold in the white villages to settlers.
The men hunted, trapped, and fished.
When the wigwams were nearby, the Shebeon children the local schools attended.
A great village of the Ottawa in the 1700’s likely lived here.
The Shebeon Creek was the Ottawa’s permanent camping ground throughout the year.
In the early 1800’s Edward Pettit a well known trapper had a trading post at Shebeon.
Chief Otusson of the Upper Huron or Onottoway River may have traveled as far as Shebeon.
Page 23 of 39
The above is a cutting from the 1855 Farmer Map of Michigan showing the northwest
shoreline of the Thumb of Michigan. (Courtesy of Michigan State University Library)
Page 24 of 39
Northeast of Shebeon Creek was the Pigeon, Pinnebog, and Bird River.
The Pigeon and Pigeon River empty northward into Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron.
Pigeon in Chippewa and Ottawa is “omini”.
Pigeon River was named for the many wild pigeons that once nested in the region.
This was an area of abundance and plenty.
Near the mouth of Pigeon River were two villages.
They likely had been there for ages.
Saginaw Bay at the mouth of the Pigeon River teemed with fish.
In the woods roamed moose, deer, elk, bear, wolf, wild cat, lynx.
Along the Shebeon, Pigeon and Pinnebog River was the beaver, otter, muskrat and mink.
The district seems to have everything the hunter and fisher could wish.
Wild berries, seeds, and insects furnished daily food for birds such as the pigeon
The sky at one time was darkened by great flocks of wild pigeon.
When the pigeons passed by people would knock them down with a long pole.
The wild Pigeon none the less is no extinct on the Pigeon River.
Also common in thefall were flocks of wild turkeys in the woods would stroll.
The great place for birds was the Pigeon and Pinnebog [or Partridge] River.
The Pinnebog River lies northeast of the Pigeon River.
“Pinna Sibi” in Chippewa and Ottawa means Partridge River.
It is likely that the ending of Pinnebog is simply an English extension.
It likely means simply the moor or bog.
The region for birds of all types was a haven.
Sometimes the skies they would almost seem to blacken or clog.
A small tribe of Indians made their home on the banks of the Pinnebog River.8
The Pinnebog seems also in the early1800s to have been called by the English Sugar River.
Finally above the Pinnebog River near the tip of Michigan’s Thumb is the Bird River.
Near the Pinnebog River there were four Indian Villages.
Their occupation may have been at different times or historical stages.
The woodlands of the Center of Michigan’s Thumb Podunk were the land of great white pine
trees that were bounteous and copious.
Coming in from Quanicassee and from Wiscoggin to the Ridge or Podunk were two pathways.
They led to Podunk, the Onottoway River, and Sucker Creek.
8
Huron County Centennial History 1859-1959.
Page 25 of 39
At Podunk the white pine trees were so tall and plentiful that the sunshade was dark even
during the days.
The woods were silent and would almost not make a noise or speak.
At Podunk a path also came in from the west from Matotiswaning.
A path also came in from the east from the Elk Land that was excellent for large game hunting.
The four trails met at Podunk to form one that went southward to the place of the stone or the
Flint River.
The Ispadnang, Ridge, or Podunk Trail led south to what the French would call La Pierre.
The Ridge lead southward from Podunk was the highest ground in the center of Michigan’s
Thumb.
The Podunk Trial was the high ground.
Near both side of the Ridge Trail wetland was to be found.
The adjoining land was also somewhat high but often swampy and still.
Podunk Trail ran directly southward along a gentle interior ridge or hill.
Hemlock mostly grew near the lowlands.
A large quantity of scattering or white pine filled the dry graveled highlands.
The high ground often held elk while swamps held the moose and wetland game.
The ponds along the way were a chance to fish and served as a reframe.
The Podunk Trial ultimately led to the ridge or High Banks along the Lower Huron River.
I was also called the Nottawasippee River.
Page 26 of 39
Pays Peles: Michigan's Thumb near the Baye of Saguinam. Pays Peles means the country of
peltries that lay within Michigan’s Thumb.
Page 27 of 39
The beauty of Otusson’s realm would one’s awareness overwhelm.
Trees on the highlands of the Nottoway River in some sections were wind-fallen.
The landscape was a picture of great destruction.
During great storms they were blown to the ground.
They would have created a booming sound.
Scattering cork or white pine trees along the Onottoway River grew on the highlands.
Tamarack and hemlock grew on the ground that dipped into lowlands.
Native People traversed the gravel hills.
In doing so they avoided swamps that may have brought on chills.
Along the shore of Saginaw Bay and shores around Michigan’s Thumb the Flat Country had soil
that was fertile.
In the center were knolls and ridges that were gravel.
Michigan’s Thumb was the stage on which Matotiswaning was its central player.
Forests held weasel, mink, raccoon, and chipmunk.
Also at its center was the Village of Podunk.
The Onottoway River was the river that was bright and clear.
It was realm of Otusson's or his people’s kingdom.
It was Michigan's Thumb.
The Onottoway River was the central element transportation.
Not far from White Rock and Lake Huron, the Onottoway River descends from a peat bog or
great swamp.
Its ancient inhabitants were a clan of the Huron the Ariatoeronon.
Over the trails along the river both Native and European people would tromp.
At a peak in the landscape west of White Rock the Onottoway River would arise.
The richness of its land is really a great surprise.
The Ariatoeronon were likely the Rock People.
They lived in the vicinity of White Rock.
There was an Indian trail that went southwest from White Rock.
It led to the Black River and then went along the stream southward.
Going west up the White Rock River one may portage and to west go to the Onottoway River.
Also, one may portage and go south to the Black River.
The Great Marsh at the headwater of the Onottoway and Black River had an Indian name.
The Chippewa and Ottawa called it “kitchi-maskig” that had a meaning that was the same.
The Black was called by the Anishinaabe the black water
The French used the phrase La Riviere Noire.
Page 28 of 39
Great stands of Eastern hemlock stood in the ravines and dominated the virgin forest of the
river.
The eastern shore of Lake Huron along Michigan’s Thumb was a land of the Indian drum.
Near the Nottoway River from Podunk to Bark Shanty Point [Port Sanilac] there was not a
village.
At the headwaters of the river the land was but swamp and good only for hunting and trapping.
At a distance to the south along the Lake Huron shoreline was an Aamijiwanaang village.
To the north along the shore from Bark Shanty was White rock a place of dancing and
celebrating.
From the great peat bog west of White Rock also springs the Black River.
In the language of the local Native People it was Makatewigamisibi, which also means Black
River.
There near the outlet of Lake Huron and the Black River lived the Aamijiwanaang people.
Their name means "at the spawning stream.
They were originally from across the St. Clair River from Sarnia.
***************
***************
***********
To the northwest above White Rock and going near the tip of Michgan’s Thumb was Willow
Creek.
It was by the Chippewa and Ottawa called Wet-to-bee-wok.9
An Indian village [Huron City today] was located near the mouth of the creek.
It was the first village above the camping place White Rock.
An Indian basket in Chippewa and Ottawa is called a “watabimakak”.10
A box is “mkak”.
“Watabi” means the [willow] tree root.
Hence Wet-to-bee-wok likely means where there are the roots for basket making in the woods.
Willow baskets are made from osier or a withy a long flexible willow shoot.
Willow Creek was the place in which Native people made basket goods.
The prefix “watabi” then means willow root while the suffix ““waki” means woods.
9
Pioneer History of Huron County, Michigan by Florence McKinnon Gwinn, pg. 9.
A Dictionary of the Ojibway Language by Frederic Baraga, pg. 404.
10
Page 29 of 39
The above cutting of the eastern shoreline of the Thumb of Michigan was taken from the 1855
Farmer Map of Michigan. (Courtesy of Michigan State University)
Page 30 of 39
The villages in the southern part of Michigan’s Thumb were somewhat numerous but not as
numerous as in the Saginaw Valley.
From Podunk the Ridge Trail went southward toward the Le Pierre.
Before reaching that spot the trail divided.
One southern branch ran to the Belle Chasse River.
Another trial went on to south where another branching occurred.
At this later spot a trail went back to the Northwest to a point just west of Matotiswaning
where it forded the Onottoway River.
From the fording place [now the village of Tuscola] It went on to Cheboygoning Creek and on
the mouth of the Saginaw River.
Near these two forks in the trail were three Native villages and the Native wigwam.
They were near the north branch of the Flint River.
The Native huts stood below majestic cork pine that caused the air to be dark, still, and calm.
The spot called Le Pierre was on the South Branch of the Flint River.
Here nights were full of rest.
Here were the forests of Michigan at their best.
The first Native Village was at a branch of the Flint River or Indian River and Squaw Lake.
The second and third were farther south near Crystal Creek.
Southwest of Le Pierre were two more camps near Nepessing Lake.
The Native People were nomadic.
Near Lapeer were at least two camping sites
Nepessing Lake was a district that was a favorite place for hunting. 11
Numerous trails led in many a direction.
One led to the Saginaw trail .
The Indians had a village near Nepessing Lake.
They also had a camping ground on the south bank of Flint River.
Nearby they cultivated corn on an opening that gave to the locality the name of the Indian
garden.
They had sugar-bushes too where they tapped the maple-trees and manufactured maple-sugar.
The Podunk Trail went southward to the High Banks of the Lower Huron or Nottawasippee
River.
11
History of Genesee County, Michigan, pg. 406.
Page 31 of 39
From just west of Nepessing Lake the Ridge Trail went south and [near Lake Orion] to another
Squaw Lake.
The Ridge Trail then went southeast and followed the Lower Nottawasippee [Clinton] River.
Halfway to Lake St. Clair were ridges that had Indian villages [now called Rochester] where the
trail makes more than one divide or break.
To the northeast were two Native villages on the way to the Indian Town on the North Branch
of the Nottawasippee River.
Indian Town had two Indian communities.
At the forks were at time three different Native communities.
At the fork in the Ridge Trail two branches go northwest and southwest to the Saginaw Trail.
Those routes lead to Flint and Detroit in that order.
Here the Native paths were strong and not frail
A fourth trail led to the Detroit River.
Following the Nottawasippee River and passing a village the Ridge Tail ended on Lake St. Claire
and the High Banks.
On last village along the trail was High Banks.
There were river tails running down along the Detroit River.
The same trail went up passed the Salt, Belle Chasse, Swan, and Pine River and then went along
the Clair River.
There had been two villages near the mouth of Salt Creek.
Another one was at Swan Creek.
Near the headwater of the North Branch of the Onottoway River there were two villages
[Almont] in a camping ground.
Also at the headwater of the Belle River [Capac] two more villages were found.
From Swan Creek the shoreline path went north to the Aamijiwanaang village at the outlet of
Lake Huron.
From there were no villages along the Lake Huron shore until [Port Sanilac or] Bark Shanty
Point.
However there was a village a few miles up the Black River [at what is now Ruby].
The interior part of Michigan’s Thumb did not contain any Indian villages between the Elk Land,
Willow Creek, and the lower Black River.
Page 32 of 39
The above is a cutting from the 1836 Farmer Map of Michigan.
Page 33 of 39
A concluding thought is in order.
The tang of cork pine filled the air from the haughty hills from Matotiswaning to the Elk Land
and Lower High Banks.
The massive white or cork pine ascended lofty, expansive, and wide.
Groves of huge white pine skirted the ridges and many of the river banks.
To travel the Native person the ridges walked and the rivers plied.
On the fertile lands of many areas they produced potatoes, corn, and squash.
They dressed and marked themselves with a bit of panache.
The region was a place that was most bountiful.
It held many bear, lynx, mink, martin, raccoon, muskrat, and beaver.
Native and trappers would their traps in winter.
In the spring their canoes and he packs on their ponies would be full.
In many of the low and level spots the land was often sodden.
Here in the grand marshes the ground was not as often trodden.
The elevations of hills were the good for you or healthful.
The ridges were the high banks were the most hale and hearty.
They were places of the wigwams and hostelry.
Camps were far above the ground over wetland ponds, pools, and puddles in this land of
bounty.
Michigan’s Thumb was contained the rivers of the beaver hunting ground . . . Teuschagronde.
The land and water here was overall the best.
It was a country that became for many people a great pursuit or quest.
In late spring and summer Native People lived at the mouth of the rivers near Lake Huron’s
shore.
Those sites were the great fishing retreats.
Each spring entice many a Native fishing fleets.
In winter they may also have fished near the shore.
They could often see fish through the clear ice.
The beaches were the Native fisherman's paradise.
***********************************************************
During winter often were traversed the interior passageway.
They came in from Lake Huron and the Saginaw Bay.
There places for their Wigwams were often in the soaring woods of the white pine.
These sites were held in high esteem.
The inland trails often led to hunting and fishing grounds that were productive with furs that
were superior or very fine.
The trails often began along the mouth of a river or stream.
Page 34 of 39
Time and again the trails lead to the knolls or highland.
The hill forest had majestic white cork pine trees.
Their light and tall bodies soared and waved in the breeze.
The Native person regularly made a dugout from its buoyant wood when trapping the upland.
In the cork pine pirogue or dugout canoe, they then floated down a river.
They float with their cache of furs or food with the assistance river.
Trading post where typically located near a large Native village that was frequently at the
mouth of a river.
The dugout or pirogue made of cork pine transport many furs down each River.
Winter camps more often than not were on the high banks where majestic cork pine rolled in
the breeze.
High out of reach their grand branches would wave, weave, and dance.
They would skip and dip as the tops of the trees would twist, strut, and wheeze.
The cork pine made a huge impression in their immense size and stance.
These grandiose cork pine Native People called the "zhingwaak",
The upper reaches of the interior waterways were possessed by the beaver and its dam or lock.
Here the haughty pine trees filled the sky.
At their feet or nearby were rivers and its streams that would fill with sturgeon.
The rivers and streams also contained in season the pike, bass, and walleye.
This was Michigan’s Thumb the land of Chief Otusson.
Page 35 of 39
The Tuscola Court House mural show and Indian Chief meeting with General Lewis Cass who
may have been Chief Otusson.
Chief Otusson was the Native leader of the Mattawan or Cass River: It was also called the
Onottoway and Upper Huron.
Page 36 of 39
Matotiswaning was the Native village of Chief Otusson that laid below the Onottoway River
portage.
Matotiswaning was at a great river bend.
For enumerable years there was here many a Native village.
To the Saginaw River from Matotiswaning it was easy to descend.
The lower and smaller bend in the Cass River was called by Native People Skop-ti-qua-nou.
Its translation meant the short turn shaped like a horseshoe.
In the early 1800's, the upper and larger bend was home to Henri Ariel Campeau’s trading post.
The Campeau trading post was on the Saginaw Tail.
On the Mattawan River trading was done here the most.
The American Fur Company had their trading post hat was at the lower bend in and the river
and also on the Saginaw Trail.
The Native people of the Onottoway River understood the value of the district’s enchanted or
magical fur.
He knew well every woodland trail in Michigan’s thumb and each Mattawan River.
They were acquainted with the majestic green forest filled with the tall white or cork pine.
Each knew the animals and their dens that were hidden away from the sunshine.
They were familiar with the woodland flowers yellow, red, white, lavender, and blue.
They understand the value of each rushing stream and its quiet beauty that was fresh,
unsullied, and new.
That time is now gone by.
It was a time left here with poem that acknowledges its significance with a grateful and thankful
sigh.
Page 37 of 39
Page 38 of 39
One Post Thought
Indian personal names of the Cass River:
Mo-kish-e-no-qua was an early mystic maiden warrior of the Upper Huron or Cass River.
Her name likely meant moccasin lady or simply shoemaker.
Another early Native person of the Saginaw River Valley who ventured here includes Chief
Naomi.
Naomi was chief of the Flint River band of Native American’s, and his name likely meant
sturgeon.
He was a leader of much in south eastern Michigan.
Meno-cum-se-qua was the sister of Chief Naomi.
She married first James Van Slyke Riley or Kassegans.
Cache of valuables or hidden treasure may have been the gist of the name Kassegans.
The name Menocumsequa seems to mean good lady or possibly spring lady.
Chief Mash-ke-yosh [Mark Joshua] later was also a member of the Onottoway or Upper Huron
River.
He resided where Caro and Wahjamega now stand.
His name seems to mean stag or elk.
Omashkos in Chippewa/Ottawa means elk.
Perhaps more so his name meant the carver or marker.
This is what I understand.
Page 39 of 39