A Funny Tale of a Pottawatomie Dinner
In October, 183l, the late Gen. N. D. Grover, at that time Indian Agent, located at Logansport, in company with a young man from Baltimore—an Agent of the Government, in charge of a large amount of money—were en route for Chicago with a supply of change for the disbursing department the Northwestern Agency at that point. The route lay along the Indian trace, the only line of travel between those points. When about half way to Chicago, night was likely to overtake them before they could reach any regular stopping place for travelers.
Early in the evening. they reached the Wigwam of an old Indian chief well known to the General to be highly honorable and trustworthy. According to custom, they applied for accommodations for the night. Permission was readily granted, and the squaws set about preparing the evening meal for the guests.
During the progress of the cooking, the young man .was seen to watch the operations with intense interest. though little attention was paid to it, supposing it was mere curiosity. He grew fidgety and pale, indicative of acute suffering. Though very hungry, he seemed afraid to touch the hominy that was cooked, and dished out in wooden bowls. Finally: the General, seeing the young man’s pallor and indisposition to eat, knowing he was hungry, asked him the cause of his sudden illness. Having, in the meantime, also noticed that the youth had been eyeing with fearful interest, the process of boiling something in a kettle near by, the General became some what alarmed as to his condition, lest some terrible malady had suddenly overtaken him. The young man answered his question by pointing to the kettle he had been watching so intently. Seeing something resembling a baby's hand thrown above the service by the boiling water every few moments, he whispered, almost breathlessly, with fear unmistakably impressed on his countenance, “ Cannibals! Cannibals! they are boiling a negro baby, and are going to eat it, and give to us to eat! Why, they are heathens, and eat one another: and we, too, will be murdered and eaten!" He continued to grow still more excited as the boiling went on, and stoutly insisted on leaving at once, before they were murdered.
The General, observing his continued trepidation and discomfort, explained to him that what he saw in the kettle was only a skinned raccoon, that animal being often cooked and eaten by white people. This quieted him somewhat, but there was still a tremor about him that destroyed his appetite. The squaws soon discovered the cause of the young man's conduct, and manifested a good deal of merriment. Pointing to the kettle and then to their own hands, they would exclaim: " Muck-she-as-pin (black raccoon), seemingly much delighted with the young man's cause of fear eating a coon, supposing it to be a baby.
