Pioneer history of Ingham County, compiled and arranged by Mrs. Franc L. Adams, secretary of the Ingham County pioneer and historical society.

INGIIAM COUNTY NOTES

195

soldier with clubbed rifle raised to strike, his head felt as though
it was pierced with a red-hot iron, and he went down with a heavy
saber cut.
"All knowledge ceased from this time until many moons afterward, when he found himself being nursed by the squaws of his
friends, who had found him on the battlefield two or three days
after the battle. The squaws thought all were dead, but upon
moving the bodies of Okemos and his cousin signs of life appeared
and they were taken to a place of safety and finally partially restored to health. The cousin always remained a cripple, but the
iron constitution of Okemos, with which he was endowed by nature, enabled him to regain comparative health; but he never took
part in another battle, this last one having satisfied him that
'white man was a heap powerful."'
In the "Past and Present of Ingham County," compiled under
the direction of Albert E. Cowles, of Lansing, about 1900, is found
a continuation of this story as chronicled by O. E. Jenison, also of
Lansing.
"Shortly after the recovery of Okemos from his wounds he solicited Col. Godfroy to intercede with Gen. Cass, and he and other
chiefs made a treaty with the Americans, which was faithfully
kept.
"Okemos did not obtain his chieftainship by hereditary descent,
but this honor was conferred upon him after having passed through
the battle described. For his bravery and endurance his tribe
considered him a favorite with the Great Spirit, who had preserved his life through such a terrible and trying ordeal.
"The next we hear of Okemos he had settled with his tribe on
the banks of the Shiawassee, near the place of his birth, where,
for many years, up to 1837-38, he was engaged in the peaceful
avocations of hunting, fishing, and trading with the white man.
About this time the smallpox broke out among his tribe, which,
together with the influx of white settlers, who destroyed their
hunting grounds, scattered their bands.
"The plaintive, soft notes of the hunter's flute, made of the
red alder, and the sound of the tom-tom at council fires, were
heard no more along the banks of the inland streams. For many
years before the tomahawk had been effectually buried, and upon
the final breaking up of the bands Okemos became a mendicant,