eshcubb, "The Sweet," original by James Otto Lewis, Prairie du Chien council, 1825; copied in Washington by Charles Bird King.

eshcubb is a chief of Red Lake, north of the sources of the Mississippi. He is the son of Le Sucre, a chief who is mentioned by General Pike, in his narrative of his voyage up the Mississippi in 1806. The similarity of the names of the father and son would seem to indicate the existence of some family trait of character, which was designed to be described by their respective names, which have reached us in English and French translations. The father died on Lake Superior while on his return home from a visit to Michilimackinac. The son is represented as worthy of the place he holds in the estimation of his tribe. He is considered a just and good man, but has never evinced much capacity, nor shown a disposition to lead war parties. The family is noted for...the son of Weshcubb, who feigned or fancied himself a woman, and assumed the female dress and employments. The cause of this transformation...and in the son of a chief who can aspire to the office of his father, if worthy but not otherwise, is not known. It might have been suggested by a dream or induced by monomania or by some bodily infirmity. He however joined war parties, and after serving in seven expeditions, was...killed by the enemy.

History of the Indian Tribes of North America, Volair 1st Edition, 1978, Volume 1, Page 365.

lexander Henry, the famous Red River Valley trader, wrote in his journals: "His walk and mode of sitting, his manners, occupation and language are those of a woman. His father, who is a great chief...cannot persuade him to act like a man."

more vivid description of the chief's son is given by John Tanner, an Indian captive: "They are commonly called A-go-kwa." Tanner eagerly joined a hunting party to escape the attentions of the agokwa who kept wandering the woods "whistling" for him. The other Indians were amused by the advances of the agokwa, but Tanner found them "intolerable."

cKenney described Weshcubb as a "good, fat, comfortable looking Indian."

The McKenney-Hall Portrait Gallery of American Indians by James D. Horan, Bramhall House, 1986, Page 198.

uring the winter of 1805-06, American lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike traveled with a number of soldiers up the Mississippi River to Leech Lake to visit the Ojibway bands in the region. He was met by Sweet, the Red Lake chief...Pike asked the chiefs to make peace with the Sioux, and then go with him to meet General James Wilkinson, the new governor of Louisiana Territory; he also wanted to replace their British medals with American ones.

weet (Le Sucre) replied in such a way as to firmly decline taking the proposed trip: "My father, this medal I hold in my hands I received from the English chiefs. I willingly deliver it up to you. Wabasha's calumet, with which I am presented, I receive with all my heart. Be assured that I will use my best endeavors to keep my young men quiet. There is my calumet. I send it to my father, the great war chief. What does it signify that I should go to see him? Will not my pipe answer the same purpose?"

weet was another of the Ojibway chiefs summoned by the British to Mackinac at the outbreak of the war of 1812. Like others, he was urged to join the British cause with his band of Red Lake warriors. When he steadfastly refused, a British commander resorted to insults, saying "I thought you were men, but I see that you are but women, not fit to even wear the breechclout..."

weet stood up, and placing his hand on the officer's epaulette, said: "Wait, you have spoken; now let me speak. You say that we should not wear the breechcloth, but the dress of women. (Pointing to the old English fort taken by the Ojibway in 1763), Englishman! have you already forgotten that we once made you cry like children? Who was the woman then? Englishman, you have said that we are women. If you doubt our manhood...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 breechcloth. Englishman! you have said words which the ears of We-esh-coob have never heard, (and throwing down his blanket in great excitement, he pointed to different scars on his naked body, he exclaimed) I thought I carried about me the marks which proved my manhood." The officer apologized for his hasty words, and goodwill was restored.

Ojibway Oratory by Mark Diedrich, Pages 17 and 20.

"Weshcubb, A Chippeway Chief," Philadelphia, 1848-50 Octavo lithograph with original hand coloring.

Photograph of Weshcubb 1848-50 Octavo.