Michigamea is not Dhegiha (Re: Quappa)

[Michael McCafferty]

Quoting Koontz John E <John.Koontz at colorado.edu>:

> In 1673, below the Ohio on the Mississippi the the Jolliet & Marquette
> Expedition encountered a village of gun armed people whom they are later
> informed are enemies of the Akamsea - perhaps Chickasaw, or at least
> particpating in the later Chickasaw trade with the English.

Marquette does not name these people in his narration of the voyage but does 
appear to name them on his map: Mosopelea. Wheeler-Voegelin has suggested that 
these people were Shawnee, although there is nothing but circumstantial 
evidence to support her belief.


> Communications with these people were weak, perhaps by signs.  They did
> not understand Huron and spoke an unknown language.  They reported trading
> with Europeans to the east.  They thought it worth reporting that their
> trade contacts played musical instruments.  I mention these people because
> it shows the ethnic diversity of the sub-Ohio Mississippi in 1673.
> 
> The next village, near the 33rd degree of latitude, was called Mitchigamea
> [recognizably Miami-Illinois for big-water].  "At first we had to speak by
> signs ['parler par gestes' in the parallel French version], because none
> of them understood the six languages which I spoke.  At last we found an
> old man who could speak a little Ilinois.  [In regard to the distance to
> the sea] we obtained no other answer than that we could learn all that we
> desired at another large village, called Akamsea, which was only 8 or 10
> leagues lower down.  [They are accompanied there by their translator.] We
> fortunately found there a young man who understood Ilinois much better
> than did the interpeter whom we had brought from Mitchigamea."  Presumably
> the new translator was a native of Akamsea, which seems to have been Cappa
> (Okaxpa or 'Downstream').

We know that the m of Akamsea is a mistake made by a copyist, since Marquette 
writes Akansea on his holograph map of the Mississippi.

> 
> The Akamsea indicated that they traded through nations to the east of
> them, or through an Illinois village four days to the west.  This latter
> village was apparently not the Mitchigamea village, which a day to the
> north.
> 
> A short description of the Akamsea follows including the comment "Their
> language is exceedingly difficult, and I could succeed in pronouncing only
> a few words notwithstanding all my efforts."  ["Leur langue est
> extremement difficile, et je ne pouvois venir about d'en prononcer
> quelques mots, quelque effort que je pusse faire."] Once an Algonquianist,
> always an Algonquianist, I guess!  A pity he didn't essay to write down
> some of those words he could pronounce, not to mention some examples of
> Michigamea.
> 
> After spending some time at Akamsea, the Expedition decided to return
> north, feeling ill-prepared to deal with hostile gun-armed people to the
> south, or th Europeans beyond them, and perhaps taking the hint that the
> Akamsea preferred that they not go further and open relations with the
> Akamseas' enemies to the south.
> 
> It may be added that Marquette visted the Peoria and Kaskasia et al.,
> coming and going and seems to have been familiar with Miami-Illinois, or
> perhaps a pidgin form of it. 

Marquette, previous to the Mississippi voyage, had spent two and half years 
working with an Illinois boy held as a slave by the Ojibwa. I imagine, given 
his track record with Algonquian languages, that he was fairly conversant in 
Miami-Illinois by the time he descended the big river. Certainly the few words 
from that language that he transcribed, on his Mississippi map and in his 
autograph narration of his second trip to the Illinois, are nicely done. 


 He says of the Illinois "They are divided
> into many villages, some of which are quite distant from that of which we
> speak, which is called peouarea [Peoria].  This causes some differences in
> their language, which on the whole resembles allegonquin, so that we
> easily understood each other."  One presumes that his six languages
> includes at least Huron, Alleqonquin (Eastern Ojibwa), and perhaps
> Miami-Illinois, if he distinguished it from the former.

It is never stated explicitly that Marquette knew Huron. However, he travaled 
with refugee Hurons going back east along the Lake Superior coast, so it is 
possible he knew something of that language. Marquette began his language 
studies—-beginning with Montagnais—-on the very day he arrived at Quebec from 
France, 20 September 1666. He then went on to study Ojibwa at Trois Rivières 
under the master Jesuit linguist Gabriel Druillètes. 

Michael