Page:Archæologia Americana—volume 2, 1836.djvu/97

 SECT. II.] ALGONKIN-LENAPE AND IROQJJOIS NATIONS. 61 Outagamies, so called by the Europeans and Algonkins respec- tively, but whose true name is Musquakkiuk (Red Clay), are in fact but one nation. The French Missionaries on coming first in contact with them, in the year 1665, at once found that they spoke the same language, and that it differed from the Algon- kin, though belonging to the same stock ; and also that this language was common to the Kickapoos and to those Indians they called Maskontens.* This last nation, if it ever had an existence as a distinct tribe, has entirely disappeared. But we are informed by Charlevoix, and Mr. Schoolcraft corroborates the fact, that the word Mascontenck means " a country without woods, a prairie." The name " Mascontens " was therefore used to designate " prairie Indians." And it appears that they consisted principally of Sauks and Kickapoos, with an occasion- al mixture of Potowotamies and Miamis, who probably came there to hunt the buffalo. The country, assigned to those Mascontens, lay south of the Fox River of Lake Michigan, and west of Illinois River. The identity of the language has been more recently ascer- tained by the answers of Masco, a Saukie, and of Wahballo, a Fox chief, recorded in the report of the Rev. Jedidiah Morse. f The last-mentioned chief says, "the Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo nations are related by language ; " and again, " There are only three nations with whom we can converse, the Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo nations." We have no other vocabulary of the language of those nations, but that of the Sauks taken by Dr. Keating from the Sauk chief Wennebea, inserted in his narrative of Major Long's Second Expedition. When first discovered, the Sauks and Foxes had their seats toward the southern extremity of Green Bay, on Fox River, and generally farther east than the country which they lately occupied. The Foxes became particularly hostile to the French and their Indian allies. In the year 1712, they, to- gether with the Kickapoos and Mascontens or Sakies, attacked Fort Detroit defended then by only twenty Frenchmen. But it was relieved by the Ottawas, Hurons, Potowotamies, and other friendly Indians, who, after a long resistance, destroyed f Appendix, p. 122.
 * Father Allouez, Relations of New France, 1666.