simple and natural civil polity had been so entirely broken up, that it is a doubt in the minds of many whether the Indians ever possessed any form of government), the descendants of this chief still retain the shadow of their former ascendancy and real chieftainship.
Waub-ish-gang-aug-e (White Crow), the son and successor of Keesh-ke-mun, fully sustained the influence of his deceased father over the inland bands, till his death in 1847. His son Ah-mous (the Little Bee), though lacking the firmness, energy, and noble appearance of his fathers, and though their formerly large concentred bands are now split up by the policy of traders and United States agents into numerous small factions headed by new-made upstart chiefs, yet virtually, in the estimation of his tribe, he holds the first rank over the Lac du Flambeau and Chippeway River division, and his right to a first rank in the councils of his people is unquestioned.
The war-chiefs, though second in rank to the civil chiefs, have often attained a paramount influence over the villages or sections of the tribe with whom they resided; but this influence (before they learned to follow some of the evil ways of the whites) they always used towards sustaining and strengthening the hereditary civil chiefs. The war chieftainship was usually obtained by courage and exploits in war, and success in leading a war party, through spiritual vision, against the enemy. It sometimes descended from father to son, in fact always, where the son approved himself in a manner to secure the confidence of the warriors.
Half a century ago, in the Chippeway River district, Yellow Head, of Lac Coutereille, was a noted war-chief, and so also, Ke-dug-e-be-shew (Speckled Lynx), who first founded the village on Lac Shatac. The father of Mah-een-gun (Wolf), at present a chief of Chippeway River, was also a noted chief. These men guided the war and peace movements of their respective villages, and they were
