History of Saginaw county, Michigan; together with ... portraits ... and biographies ... History of Michigan ...

122

HISTORY OF SAGINAW COUNTY.

that death-bed scene in the wilderness. At length the chief spoke,
while the fire of his youth seemed to kindle again in his dim eye,
and his voice, though weak, was calm and clear:
"My children," said he, "the Great Spirit has called to me, and
I must obey the summons. Already is the hand raised to sever
the last chord that binds me to my children; already my guide
stands at the door to convey me to the hunting grounds of my
fathers in the spirit-land. You weep, my children, but dry your
tears, for though I leave you now, yet will my spirit-bird ever
watch over you. I will whisper to you in the evening breeze, and
when the morning comes you will know that I have been with you
through the night. But the Good Spirit beckons for me, and I
must hasten. Let my body be laid in a quiet spot in the prairie,
with my tomahawk and pipe by my side. You need not fear that
the wolf will disturb my rest, for the Great Spirit, I feel, will place
a watch over me. Meet me in the spirit-land, my children. Farewell." And the old chief slept the sleep that knows no waking
till the end of time.
They buried him in a lone spot in the prairie, near the beautiful
river, with his face toward the rising sun. His remains were
never disturbed by bird or beast; for it would indeed seem that so
the Great Spirit had ordered it. Time passed on, and a tree arose
from his grave and spread its branches over it, as if to protect it,
and a beautiful white owl took possession of it. The Indians tell
us that the "lone tree " marked the last resting place of Ke-wahke-won, and that the white owl was the spirit-bird sent to watch
over it. The " lone tree " is no longer seen by the boatman or the
passer-by, for vandal hands have cut it down; yet the spot is often
pointed out upon which it stood, and where sleeps Ke-wah-ke-won,
the beloved of his tribe.
INDIAN PAYMENT DAY IN OLD TIMES.
There is a vast difference in the Indian payment day of the
present and that of "olden time," long before Saginaw had
attained its present importance and standing. The writer of this
had occasion to visit Saginaw City many years ago, at which time
he had an opportunity of attending an Indian payment. About
twelve hundred Indians, of " all sorts and sizes," from the toddling
pappoose to the swarthy niche-nah-va, were assembled together in
the morning, upon the beautiful lawn which gently sloped toward
the river in front of the council house. It would be almost impossible to give the reader an idea of the hub-bub and confusion of
tongues that prevailed upon the occasion. Aside from the 1,200
Indians were a variety of other characters, including the chattering
Frenchman, the blarneying Irishman, and the blubbering Dutchman, all mingling their discordant jargon with that of the vociferous Yankee. Groups of Indian boys, some exercising with the
bow and arrow, others jumping, running, wrestling, and making
the welkin ring with their noisy merriment, were collected in the