The Boy Who Wants to Go to War
Version 1
by Mark J. Green (Wą́nihegá)
translated by Bill Hall (Hų̄ka)
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| William Hall, ca. 1895 |
Then he said, they counted themselves, and then separated those who were not to go. He did not tell his grandfather as he was not the kind who would shoo away his kin. This was a man's business, there was nothing to give to those who were going. They said, then, they let him do as he pleased, then they started to go. There were enough so the others were to go later. Someone exclaimed, "My little brother, here you stand and whatever you are thinking, to whoop is why I am going." And then we said to him, "How would it be if he went to war?" They call it 'war', [as] that is what they are going to do. "Ho-o! Right now if one should come back, even if only one should return, I'll be first to welcome him home. I will do it again, if only there be two; if three come, I will be the third one. If then only four return, again, I will be the fourth one. And then, I think you ought to turn back. The 'Dog's Head', this coming spring, when all the grasses are cut, he will stand up. Then and there, I think you should come. Right now I think you should go home."
And now there was someone standing there, then he turned and came back. He was with the group that left. On the way back, he kept going two days and nights. There he laid down and slept.1
The Boy Who Wants to Go to War
Version 2
by Stella Stacy
translated by Sheila Shigley
(00:02.58) "When they would go to war, men have this cultural practice. it is not a hokíwáhas practice, however. "My dear son, I am asking you not to go this time. (00:40.5) Older brother is going to very much shut you in. When it's spring, you will be going on a hara. (00:47.5) Dog Head will be around in the spring. Then you should go there," said the man who was his father. (00:56) So the boy said to the man, "Ą-ą-ą, that is as I would have thought. (01:02.9) Of the men they made me miss one, I think they would make me come home. (01:12.4) Again the second one, if there were two of us, they would make me, the second one, [come home.]. (01:18.4) And again for three of us to come home, they’d make me the third. (01:24.3) And, even if four come home, they would make me the fourth, that’s how I’m thinking. (01:32) So like this, though I was trying to go, [very much] I shall not go there," he would say, this young man, that boy. (01:41.5) And so he wouldn’t go, a boy, "He’s too young," is what the father would be thinking.. (01:45.5) So that you boys wouldn’t go to war at that time, and sohe went in order to break loose when they were about to go to war. (01:53.1) Nevertheless this is what a man would tell this boy, that’s how they’d say it, they say. || (01:56.3)2
Commentary to Version 1
"separated those who were not to go" — at the staging area for the warparty, the initial higixara, the leader and his core cohort determine whom they will accept into the warparty.
"they let him do as he pleased" — in other words, the Warleader decided to leave it up to the young man whether he would go or turn back.
"to whoop" — this appears to refer to a victory whoop. What is meant is that his purpose for going on the raid is to achieve a war honor, that is, to give a victory whoop as he counts coup.
"to him" — Hall adds parenthetically, "the medicine man." Nothing in the text thusfar, or even subsequently, has indicated that a medicine man was present. The medicine man in question seems to be the young man's grandfather.
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| J. O. Lewis |
| Dog Head (Sarcel, Teal, Little Duck) |
"Dog's Head" — Sų́gépága was a famous warrior and chief, who quickly became legendary, as we see from semi-mythological accounts of his life in the stories Great Walker's Medicine, The Warbundle Maker, and The Shawnee Prophet — What He Told the Hocągara. "The Warbundle Maker" says, "There was a man named Sų́gépága, who belonged to the Eagle Clan."3 The name "Dog Head" is clearly not an Eagle Clan name, and must be a nickname. Prior to the War of 1812, he was known to the French by this same name, Tête de Chien. So what was his Eagle Clan name? The French also knew him by his clan name, which they rendered as Marcelle, which means "Teal." George recorded the word for teal as being hunašizka, which is for hunašiske, from huna, "to come hither"; šis, "to shoot"; and -ke, a suffix indicating a kind of thing. So a teal is "the kind of thing that comes hither to be shot." So it appears that his Eagle Clan name was Hunašiskega. The Anglos rendered his clan name as "Sarcel," "Teal," or "Little Duck." Col. McDouall in writing to Gen. Drummond in 1814, says of him,
the Susell or tete de Chien, [is] a distinguished Chief of the Winnebago Nation (who came to supplicate assistance) ... The solemn & impressive eloquence of the tete de Chien, excited a general enthusiasm, & never was more zeal or unanimity shown amongst them, this chief is scarcely inferior to Tecumseh, & I doubt not will act a distinguished part in the campaign ...4
Brisbois remarks that, "One of the Carimaunee family of Winnebagoes was known as Tête de Chien, or Dog's Head. He lived in 1827, at English Prairie, now Muscoda (ca. 43.210370, -90.30401). He was a prominent man, of considerable good sense, and very honest. The Indians cultivated some fields there, and lived there as one of their changeable localities."5 This means that he was related in some way to the famous chief Nąga (Wood), known as the "Elder Keramąnį," who was standing next to Tecumseh when the latter was struck dead by a stray bullet. Lurie's informants told her that the Keramąnįs were originally of Fox or Sauk extraction. Foreign captives who are spared are always put into the Thunderbird Clan, or may enter it through marriage. Mrs. Kinzie said that this name meant, "Walking Rain." This is due to the fact that the name has a double meaning in Hocąk: Ke-ra-mąnį means literally, "The Turtle Walking," where -ra is the definite article. On the face of it, this name is rather peculiar, since the -ga attached to the end of it to indicate that it's a personal name is also a definite article. This leads to the rather stilted translation, "The Walking One Who is the Turtle." However, the same name differently parsed, Kera-mąnį, means "Walking Cloud," where kera, like the more common mąxí, means both "cloud" and "sky." It could be that Kera-mąnį-ga was originally a Thunderbird Clan name for the ancestor of the lineage, but members of that family liked the mystical association that the double meaning gave them to the God of War. Sometime before 1832, Dog Head had moved to Big Green Lake (43.813354, -88.934092), where he lived in a large lodge with three other men, five women, and six children.6 Grignon says, "Sarcel, or The Teal, resided at the Winnebago village at Green Lake, in Marquette county; in his younger days his reputation was not good, but he afterwards became a very good Indian. I have already adverted to his war services. I think he died at Green Lake, before the emigration of his people west of the Mississippi."7
"he will stand up" — Hall adds parenthetically, "Meaning he will go on the warpath."
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Commentary to Version 2
"war" — most of the stories retold by Stella are set during the time period of the War of 1812, as stated here:
During the mid-1920s, Milford G. Chandler, an engineer by trade and folklorist by avocation, recorded ninety cylinders of oral data. He focused primarily on tales from the War of 1812. His major informant was Oliver Lamere, a Winnebago man who collaborated with a number of field researchers, among them the anthropologist, Paul Radin.8
His major informant was not Oliver Lamere, but Mark J. Green (1865-1920). Most stories are centered on the Battle of Tippecanoe, fought on 7 Nov. 1811. The participation of the various Indian tribes in this war saw them assume an unfamiliar kind of warfare, more suited to the style of combat engaged in by Europeans. The ideal Indian attack is a surprise ambush against an inferior force, and after the typically devastating attack, to make a quick retreat back to their own territory. The object was to win honors while at the same time taking no casualties. This wasn't likely to happen under British supervision, as they were frequently about investing U. S. forts. So a warparty under this kind of warfare was in danger of losing a significant number of men. Therefore, the father in this story is perhaps more than usually concerned about his son's welfare.
"a hokíwáhas practice" — hokíwáhas, from ho, "place/time at which"; ki, "one another"; wáhas, "they chase after." So hokíwáhas, would mean, "place/time at which they chase after each other." This word has hitherto not been encountered in lexicons or in the literature. Perhaps this means it’s not a battlefield practice, but a cultural practice surrounding war service. I think hokiwahas can be translated as "action in battle," "battlefield actions," or even simply "fighting (tactics)." —Sheila Shigley
"he went in order to break loose" — the audio tape has kawaxguže, a word of unknown meaning. This word may be a mishearing of giwąxguže (Ki w xoKo de), "he went to break loose," which makes sense in this context, as it would imply that he was trying to free himself from his father's control.
1 "The boy who wanted to go to war." Archives of Traditional Music (ATM), Indiana University, translation by William Hall, recording by Milford G. Chandler of Mark J. Green - vocals, bef. 1920, Black River Falls, Jackson County, Wisconsin. ATL no. 526.1-12 8742.2-13 trs. 2, Recording 48.SCY 1813, Collection number (collection identifier): 54-196-F, pp. 40-52 of 87; D10-11 7695; APS accession number 7212.
2 Stella Stacy, "The young boy who wanted to go war," reading by Sheila Shigley, from audio tapes in the American Philosophical Society. 10-04. Fraenkel, Gerd. Mss.Rec. 29, recorded 12 July 1959, 1 .mp3; 00:00:02.58 - 00:01:56.3. Copy made by Gerd Fraenkel of an original tape held at the Archives of Languages of the World, Indiana University. This program comes from original tape 526.12. APS accession number 7212; APSdigrec_0953; Recording Number: 02; Program Number: 14.
3 W. C. McKern, Winnebago Notebook (Milwaukee: Milwaukee Public Museum, 1927) 167-174 [167].
4 Douglas Brymner, "The Capture of Fort M'Kay, Prairie du Chien, in 1814," Wisconsin Historical Collections, 11 (1888) 254-270 [260, 263].
5 B. W. Brisbois, "Recollections of Prairie du Chien," Wisconsin Historical Collections, IX (1882/1909): 282-302 [300].
6 See Kinzie's Rolls for Big Green Lake.
7 Augustin Grignon, "Seventy-two Years' Recollections of Wisconsin," Wisconsin Historical Collections, 3 (1857) 197-295 [288].
8 Carol F. Inman, "The M. G. Chandler Collection: A Case Study for Reappraisal of Archival Materials," Resound. A Quarterly of the Archives of Traditional Music, 2b-3a [2b].
Source
Stella Stacy, "The young boy who wanted to go war," reading by Sheila Shigley, from audio tapes in the American Philosophical Society. 10-04. Fraenkel, Gerd. Mss.Rec. 29, recorded 12 July 1959, 1 .mp3; 00:00:02.58 - 00:01:56.3. Copy made by Gerd Fraenkel of an original tape held at the Archives of Languages of the World, Indiana University. This program comes from original tape 526.12. APS accession number 7212; APSdigrec_0953; Recording Number: 02; Program Number: 14.