Weshcoob / Sheshepaskot (Sugar / Old Manamine / Sucre
/ Wiscoup):
From 1796 to 1813 he was a principal Ojibwe
Chief of villages at Red Lake Falls, mouth of the Red Lake River, Lower
Red Lake & Forest River (Riviere Salle) area.
In William W.Warren's "History of the Ojibway
People" he writes of the Ojibwe attacking a war-party of Dakota (returning
from an attack on the Sandy Lake village of Ojibwe) at the mouth of the
Crow Wing River; "...The ammunition of the contending warriors failing
them, the Dakotas dug their hiding holes so close to those of their foes,
that large stones were easily thrown from hole to hole. In this manner,
a late noted Ojibway Chief named Weeshcoob (Sweet), who was then a young
man, received a stunning blow on his face, which broke his jawbone...".
Fall of 1797 Charles J.B.Chaboillez's (of
the North West Co.) Journal mentions "Old Manamine"/"The Sucre" at the
River Salle of the Pembina River.
Spring 1798, North West Co. explorer/cartographer
David Thompson meets "...Sheshepaskut (Sugar) the principal Chief
of the Chippeway Tribe..." on the Red Lake River. This Chief gave an
account of him leading a war-party before the 1770's, against a Cheyenne
village on the Sheyenne River, driving them west to the Missouri River
and an account of Sioux killing 67 Ojibwe in 1796 at a sugar making camp
on Sandy Lake.
In October 1801, Alexander Henry writes in
his journal from his Pembina post that 10 Leech Lake Chippewa under Wiscoup
(Sucre, Sweet) arrive at his post.
In Feb.1806, he met Z.Pike at Leech Lake while
he was on his journey up the Mississippi River for the U.S. government.
After the fort at Mackinac Is. was taken by
the British at the beginning of the War of 1812, Weeshcoob was at the fort,
being asked to send warriors against the Americans. According to Warren,
Weeshcoob refused to fight for the British and as the English Commander
was leaving the council after calling the warriors, "women", the Chief
grab the officer "...on his epaulette and gently held him back...he said...Englishman!
have you already forgotten that we once [1763 Pontiac War] made you cry
like children? yonder! who was the woman then?...If you doubt our manhood,
you have young men here in your strong house. I have also young men. You
must come out on some open place and we will fight. You will better know,
whether we are fit or not, to wear the breech-cloth. Englishman! you have
said words which the ears of Weeshcoob have never before heard...throwing
down his blanket...exclaimed: I thought I carried about me the marks which
proved my manhood...".
In July of 1820, Henry R.Schoolcraft writes
in his "Narrative Journal of Travels" of the area north of Leech Lake;
"...On the north shore of this lake [Cass/Upper Red Cedar/Cassina Lake],
on a cleared eminence, is a village of Chippeways, of ten lodges and sixty
souls, under Wiscoup, or the Sweet. They received the party with every
mark of friendship and presented us an abundance of the most delicious
re raspberries and a quantity of pemican or pounded moose meat..."
Yellow-Head (Ozawwendib): (1750's - aft.1800)
He was the son of Ojibwe Chief Sweet. In John
Tanner's, "The Falcon, A Narrative of the Captivity & Adventures of
John Tanner", Tanner describes his encounter with this person about 1800;
"...Some time in the course of this winter,m there came to our lodge one
of the sons of the celebrated Ojibbeway chief, called Wesh-ko-bug, (the
sweet) who lived at Leech Lake. This man was one of those who make themselves
women, and are called women by the Indians. There are several of this sort
among most, if not all the Indian tribes. They are commonly called A-go-kwa,
a word which is expressive of their condition. This creature, called Ozaw-wen-dib,
(the yellow head) was now near fifty years old and had lived with many
husbands..".
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