Millerville History
Millerville Township, Douglas County, Minnesota, USA
DERIVATION OF OSAKIS.
The Origin of the Word Traced From the Indian by
Justice Collins of St. Cloud.
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Name "Sauk" From the Same Source.
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An Interesting Historical Paper Prepared For the Stearns
County Old Settlers.
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Who Can Add To The Subject?
from
"Alexandria Post News"
Thursday, August 12, 1897
Page 1
At a meeting of the Old Settlers Association of Stearns
county held a few weeks ago, Justice L. W. Collins of St.
Cloud, contributed the following which is of as much or
more historical value to Douglas county as it is to Stearns
county. The POST NEWS therefore re-publishes the letter in full:
"One of the objects for which in association of this
character, (Old Settlers Association of Stearns county,)
should be organized is to collect and to preserve matters
of early history, which will be lost to those who come after
the old settlers, unless soon recorded; therefore I take this
opportunity to relate the manner in which the river which flows
through Stearns county obtained the name "Sauk," by which it is
now known. When I first came to St Cloud it seemed strange to me
that the stream should bear this name, and also the lake in which
it had its source should be called Osakis, for neither of these
words are to be found in the Dacotah (Sioux) or Ojbieway
(Chippewa) languages.
The word "Sauk" is the French pronunciation of "Sac," the name
of a tribe of Indians, who lived in the south of what is now the
state of Minnesota. This tribe finally united with another known
as the "Foxes" and the two were then called the "Sacs and Foxes."
Blackhawk, the leading spirit of the Blackhawk war of 1833, was of
this tribe and so was Keokuk, noted in those troublesome days
as a friend of the whites. Neither of these tribes ever occupied
any part of the country within two hundred miles of Stearns
county, and how the name by which the Sacs were known among
the French was bestowed upon our river, became a matter for
inquiry. I sought for information among the old Indians in
both of the tribes Sioux and Chippewas. You probably know that
one hundred and fifty or two hundred years ago all of Minnesota
was the home of the Sioux tribe. They lived in bands principally
upon the Mississippi river, but one very large hand had a village
upon Mille Lacs, near the south end. The Sioux were finally
driven out by the Chippewas. Among the Sioux the tradition is
that both river and lake were called "O-za-te," (which in their
language means the forks of a stream or road. Although this
tradition is not very well authenticated, its truth may rest
on a solid foundation, as you will discover when comparing
the pronunciation of this word with that by which the lake
and river have always been known to the Chippewas. Assisted
by P. H. Beaulieu, one of the best of Chippewa interpreters, I
learned from Kay-zeh-aush, Kay-she-be-aush and She-bing-ogoon,
patriarchs among the Leech lake band, that the river was never
known to the Chippewas by any other name than the "O-zau-kees,"
while the lake was "O-zau-kees lake," the fact being that after
the Sioux were compelled to remove their habitation from that
part of the Mississippi valley north of the Rum river, and while
the country was still debateable territory, as between the Sioux
and Chippewas, and the scene of many a conflict, five Sacs,
refugees from their own tribe on account of a murder which they
committed, made their way up to the lake and settled on the outlet
on the east side. Three had wives of their own people, but the
other two ultimately took wives of the Fondulac band of Chippewas.
The men were great hunters and traded at a post of the Northwestern
Fur Co. located on the lower Leaf lake, about six miles east of
the eastern extremity of Otter Tail lake. The post was also
visited by bands of Sioux and Chippewas, and the traders were
frequently entertained by deadly conflicts betiveen their
visitors.
The Sacs were known to the Chippewas as "O-zau-kees," the "z a u"
having, the sound of "z-a-w" and the "k-e-e" being pronounced as
in "McKee," and hence the origin of the name given to the river
and lake. They are named after these refugees, or, as some say,
after the tribe to which they belonged.
On one of the excursions made by some of the Pillager band of
the Chippewasto the asylum of the "O-zau-kees," it was found
that all had been killed, supposedly by the SIoux.
In 1837 Nicollet visited the lake, having as a companion an
educated mixed blood of the Chippewa nation, Francois Brunette
by name. Nicollet, aided by Brunette, reported his explorations
with a map of the basin of the upper Mississippi to the general
government. This report, with the map, as prepared by Col. Abert
of the army, was published by the government in 1843, and on this
map both river and lake are called Osakis. The French
pronunciation is not far from right, for it is "O-sau-kee,"' but
the word is mis-spelled. Brunette knew its origin, and how it
should have been spelled, so the error must be attributed to
Nicollet. The present pronunciation is our own, and it is to be
regretted that we have not retained the original, for it is
much more musical, I think.
There are two copies of this map in St. Cloud, one owned by
Captain Oscar Taylor and one by the writer hereof, and the lakes
and streams of our state, nearly all bearing Indian names, are
delineated with wonderful accuracy, in view of the fact that no
surveys had been made. It is not difficult to see how the
Chippewas might have changed the name by which the river and
lake were known to the Sioux, "O-za-te," to "O-zau-kee." There
is a wonderful similarity in the pronunciation, in addition to
this it was the abode of the refugees I have mentioned, and as
the French came into the country, it was for them to shorten the
name and adopt their own pronunciation, "Sauk." Why the name
of the lake was permitted to remain Ozaukee or Osakis we cannot
so easily understand.
Sometime about 1800 the Sioux destroyed the trading post mentioned,
killing the trader in charge, a Frenchman by the name of Felix
Sausausis.
In this connection it may not be uninteresting to state that when
the first census of the territory of Minnesota was taken, in the
year 1849, that part of the Mississippi valley about the mouth
of the Sauk river was officially known as "Osakis Rapids." The
returns were made from nine different places in the territory,
and a total population was reported of 2935, of which 133 were
credited to Osakis Rapids. In 1857, a town site was laid out just
north of Sauk Rapids, and named "Osauka."
With best wishes for those assembled, I am,
Yours sincerely
L. W. Collins.
E-mail: dwagner2@isd.net
©2003 DJW
Last Modified:
December 17, 2003