McNair Scholars Journal

Volume 5 | Issue 1 Article 2

Winter 2001

Main Poche: The Last of the TraditionalPotawatomi War ChiefsJeff ChivisGrand Valley State University

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Recommended CitationChivis, Jeff (2001) "Main Poche: The Last of the Traditional Potawatomi War Chiefs," McNair Scholars Journal: Vol. 5: Iss. 1, Article 2.Available at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mcnair/vol5/iss1/2

Main Poche: The Last of the Traditional Potawatomi War Chiefs

Most Indians believed thatdeformities were a from the Great

the most powerfulindividuals received such r1Di-r\VOlr-Y\lf-1Dor'

The Great in return for grantingthese deformities tothem so that the Great Spirit could

if they ever came intocontact. is one Main Pocheachieved his influence amongst thetribes of this era (Draper 1814-1827).

Another way Main Poche achievedgreat was through his father,who was, a Potawatomiwar chief and intensely anti-American.All the Potawatomi villages in Michiganand northern Indiana were anti-American;thus, Main Poche up hating whiteAmericans. Main Poche was taught theart of warfare at a very young age, andthe fact that his father was a great warchief only increased his odds of'-',","~'-'.LJL.L.L.L.L.f"-.. a great warrior chief him­self. Therefore, Main Poche gained influ­ence through his numerous successfulraids against the Osage tribe and theAmerican settlements. The Potawatomibelieved these accomplishmentsshowed that the successful warriorleader possessed great spirit powers.Remarkably; the first time Main Pochewas injured was in 1810 on a raidagainst the Osages. By this time, MainPoche was probably in his mid-40's.When the Indians saw that Main Pochewas injured, they believed that the mus­ket that wounded him was made from agreat Manitou (Draper 1814-1827).

Being a great, eloquent speaker wasanother way Main Poche gained

influence amongst the Indians. MainPoche "was an excellent orator with theability to mesmerize his audience"(Edmunds 1985:261). He persuadedIndians through his eloquent oration tobelieve everything he said.

Shortly after 1795, Main Pochemoved to Illinois to establish his ownvillage at the crossing of Rock Creek andthe Kankakee River (Edmunds

'-'IJ'-_.L.L.L.L·.L"-. years of the 19th century;I......, , .... ,,"V">,r>r\"V"\ Americans

r-t-...." .... r.,In.rl for lands the areathat we now refer to as the Midwestof the United States. the leadersof the Indians whointrusion into their territories were the

brotherLJ.L.LLA vv .L. .L,",,,", Prophet.

written these twoin American

(Sugden but other leaders also,",.L.L.L_,",.Lj;....V'-'L during this time that have notbeen as well researched. One of these isthe Potawatomi wabeno and war chief,Main Poche. This paper briefly describesMain Poche, his role in Potawatomi

and offers several toaccount for why he is not as well knownas other Indian leaders of this period.

At the time of European contact, thePotawatomi occupied lands in thesouthern Great Lakes area (Clifton1998). The Potawatomi subsisted with amixed economy of hunting andgathering corn, beans,and squash agriculture. As Europeansmoved into areas west theAppalachians seeking fertile farmland,the Potawatomi and numerous othergroups fled and/or attempted to resistthe intruders.

Main Poche was born in the mid-I 760s in southern Michigan. Early on,he was recognized as being a powerfulfigure because of his deformity thathelped him to gain respect and poweramongst his people. "Main Poche," inFrench, means Withered Hand. Thisname stems from his deformity-he wasborn with no fingers or thumb on hisleft hand. Many Indians believed thatMain Poche was not born of a woman,but that the Great Spirit, himself, createdhim. They believed that he sprung outof the ground and, as a consequence ofproviding Main Poche with his specialpowers, the Great Spirit "marked" himwith his deformity or clubbed hand(Draper 1814-1827).

Jeff Chivis

Janet G. Brashler, Ph.D.Faculty Mentor

GVSU McNair Scholars Journal VOLUME 5.2001 59

1985: Because of his anti-Americanreputation, Main Poche's village soonattracted other anti-American Indiansand became a major meeting place forAmerican raiding. During this time,Main Poche married several women.Main Poche "always had three wives,and at one time had six" (Draper 1814-­1827). This further demonstrates thepower and wealth of Main Poche. Onehad to be very powerful and wealthy tosupport a family of this size.

Main Poche was described as a

figure of commanding presence ...A huge, muscular man with longblack hair, Main Poche had a'surly and brooding countenance'highlighted by dark piercing eyes....a monster who was distinguishedby a girdle, sewed full of humanscalps, which he wore around hiswaist, and strings of bear clawsand the bills of owls and hawksround his ankles (Edmunds(1985:260-261,269).

Main Poche used another tactic togain influence amongst the tribes of hisera. Drinking whiskey, Main Pochebecame an alcoholic at a young age. Hetold his tribesmen the Great Spirit toldhim that he must constantly drink this"spirituous liquor" and kill as much aspossible in order to keep his greatpowers. If he did not perform theserites, Main Poche would lose his powersand become inferior to other powerfulIndians (Draper 1814-1827).

Main Poche, however, displayed anegative side while drinking. Whenintoxicated, he raped any woman thatcrossed his path and fought against hisfriends and family This created intra­tribal bloodshed, which rarely happenedand was considered to be the worstaction within the Potawatomi tribalsociety But Main Poche, even sober,possessed a violent temper and tolerated

no rivals. Using his great influence, hepublicly destroyed other wabenos. If thiswas not effective enough, Main Pocheused poison, such as arsenic, to kill hisrivals (Blair 1911:203). Even inPotawatomi terms, Main Poche wasconsidered to be "a rogue male, a manwith an insatiable desire for killing"(Clifton 1998:194).

Main Poche was the most powerfulPotawatomi wabeno or shaman. Awabeno was skilled in many areas. Awabeno used sleight-of-hand tricks andventriloquism to increase his influenceamong his people. A wabeno was also a"fire handler" who possessed magicalpowers that enabled him

to hold hot coals, place theirhands in campfires, and even toexhale flames from their mouthand nostrils ... and could thrusttheir arms into boiling water orvats of steaming maple syrupwithout any apparent injuries(Edmunds 1985:259).

This medicine made it possiblefor wabenos to transform themselvesinto human fireballs that could attacktheir enemies.

Being a wabeno, Main Poche washighly respected or feared by everyonethat he came into contact with. ThePotawatomis also recognized two othertypes of shamans. The medical specialist,curer, or sucking doctor was skilled insleight-of-hand tricks that captured thefaith of the ill and their family members.This doctor actually sucked out the bad"medicine" or illness that was harassinghis patients. He then presented hispatients with an object that was blamedfor the illness. A chaskyd (Diviner)captured the attention and faith of hisaudience through ventriloquism, sleight­of-hand tricks, foretelling future events,and locating lost objects or loved ones.A wabeno (Dawn Man), however, wasthe most powerful of all shamans.

Besides performing his own uniqueskills, he could also do anything that amedical and chaskyd could do(Clifton 1998:

Much of a TTT"ho....'"\r"\'c

related to fire.performeddark. \J\/"f""\D ''''\C

which 0r"\......., O,...~ ....Dr1

world ..spints, a andprovided important information. Atnight, a wabeno was joined in feasts byfollowers at which point, they chantedand used special drums and rattles. Thiskind of ritual impressed a wabenosaudience by providing a contrastingeffect of dark from the night and lightfrom the flames. In addition totransforming into human fireballs,wabenos were also believed to beshapeshifters. They could "assume theshape of animals and prowl thePotawatomi villages or the surroundingcountryside after dark" (Edmunds1985:259).

A wabeno, such as Main Poche,possessed a medicine bundle thatincluded sacred objects in it thatprotected him during the rest of his life.This medicine bundle also enabled himto cure diseases. He was believed to beable to change the weather and castspells on certain people or events. Someof these spells were directed towardsincreased "success in hunting, whileothers were particularly effectiveinwinning lovers or obtaining sexualfavors" (Edmunds 1985:259-260).

Wabenos were highly respected andfeared by the tribesmen. Evil powersfrom other medicine men were blamedfor all misfortunes that happened to atribal member. The Potawatomi andother tribes, as a result, allied themselveswith a powerful wabeno. In this way,individuals hoped that they might obtainsome of the wabeno's medicine and theshaman shielded them from anymisfortunes that other shamans cast

60 Main Poche: The Last of the Traditional Potawatomi War Chiefs

them. Tribal members wouldapproach the wabeno and offer their

with of liquor,the

mainreasons Potawatomi went towar. A very important motive for theindividual was to obtain prestige andwealth. This was achieved by takingtheir defeated enemies' women, horses,or other materials. They also tookprisoners from their enemy groups. Thesecond reason was to defend andexpand the tribal territory Specifically;the tribe defended and increased theirhunting grounds, fishing sites, gardenlands, and village locations. The thirdreason to go to war, as fashioned byMain Poche, involved the effort torestore the power and energies of thewarrior and his clan. When a clanmember received an insult, such asdeath or any other kind of injury; this"insult" was felt as a blow to the entireclan. It was an insult, which theybelieved, weakened the magical powerand energy of the clan. Such an injurydid not have to be an actual event. Forexample, an insult could be received in adream or vision. To the Potawatomi, thiswas sufficient enough to wage waragainst their enemies (Clifton1998:173).

Once this injury was actuallyexperienced or dreamed of, thePotawatomi warrior painted his face andbody black and red. The color black isthe traditional symbol of approachingdeath or catastrophe. Before leaving forwar, the warriors shaved their heads,"leaving only a scalp lock and oftenadding a roach of deer or porcupine hairadorned with an eagle feather" (Edmunds1978:17). The warrior made hisintentions publicly known to the wholetribe, and made a temporary wigwam

GVSU McNair Scholars Journal VOLUME 5.2001

with a red wampum belt or strip of redcloth hanging in the center. Wampumwas a woven belt used by different tribesto invite another tribe or individual toside with warrior in war. This beltwould be painted red. The warriorwould then wait in wigwamvolunteers to join his war party Thiswarrior to be OV'Y'\Or1on 1~t>r1

in war or recognized as a warrior leader.In fact, the leader of the war party didnot have to possess any war experiencesat all. This is how Main Poche and everyother warrior started out (Clifton1998:174).

With sufficient support from hisclan, the warrior and his volunteersfasted, abstained from sexual intercourseand other sources of "pollution,"dreamed and compared their dreams,stored up their magical powers, andworked up their courage before going towar. By doing this, a Potawatomi warparty formed a kind of magical­supernatural pact with one another.They also agreed to eat portions of anyenemy they might kill. This symbolizedtheir rage. The Potawatomi believedwhen they did this, they acquired thepersonal spirit-power of the fallenenemy warrior, thus increasing thestrength of their own spirit-power(Clifton 1998:174).

The war party's main objective wasto kill as many enemies and capture asmany prisoners as possible, while at thesame time, avoid any losses tothemselves. The Potawatomi and otherIndians believed that if a warrior killedand ran away; he would receive gloryand be available for combat for anotherday For this reason, Main Poche and thePotawatomi were masters of the surpriseambush. This military tactic involvedusing bows-and-arrows or muskets. ThePotawatomi tried to surround the enemygroup and fire their weapons from adistance (Clifton 1998:174-75).

This long-range tactic would createan initial shock for the enemy group.

This tactic worked exceptionally wellagainst the British, andAmericans. groups were trained toline up accordingly and oncommand. But, these attackscreated panic and they were unable tofollow this happened, thePotawatomi followed up immediatelywith a of closecombat. weapons includedshields, ball-headed war clubs,tomahawks, flat war clubs, knives,spears, and lances. In this way, thePotawatomi achieved their goal of losingvery few casualties and defeating a largerenemy group (Clifton 1998:174-75).

A victorious Potawatomi war leadersuch as Main Poche was in charge of allthe prisoners. The leader ordered theprisoners to be tortured and killed,which further insulted the enemy group.Or, they adopted them into the tribe. If aclan lost a family member due to deathor any other reason, they may haveadopted a prisoner or other member ofthe tribe who then acquired the samename as the lost child. At the time of theadoption, a naming ritual wasperformed. This ritual was believed totransform the adoptee into the identityof the lost family member and he/sheacquired the soul of the lost familymember. Thus, after the ritual, theadoptee was believed to be the sameperson the clan had lost, both in bodyand spirit. Interestingly; the adopteebelieved this too and even went to waragainst his former tribe or group(Clifton 1998:176).

Successful warriors were rewardedin several ways. Eagle feathers weregiven to warriors who had killed anenemy The tribe made songs or legendsabout the successful warrior. The featsinvolving man-to-man combat werenoted on coup sticks or on a specialkind of war-club shaped like the stock ofan antique French wheel-lock musket.These were ways in which the warriorobtained prestige among his clan-mates.

61

Because MainPoche was considered to be so.L.L.L.LJ........ ' ...,Je.L ... .L ...... .L, the United States IT"'''TDy...,yy\D"l1t

invited him to of

to convinceMain to stop the and tosettle down. Jefferson told Main Pochethat the Potawatomi tribe shouldbecome farmers and raise domesticanimals. Main Poche refused Jefferson's

and decided to back to hisvillage

Main Poche never completely joinedforces with the British, or theShawnee brothers. The fact that MainPoche had to drink and go to war withthe Osages and the Americans onlybenefited the British. But the Britishwere not enough to keep theirpromises. After Tecumseh's death onOctober 5, 1813, the chances of a unitedIndian army faded away Realizing thewar was over, Main Poche retired to hiscamp called the Manesti, on the YellowRiver in Indiana. Here, Main Pochedrank heavily and deaf. In thespring of 1816, he died while hunting inMichigan. Main Poche's "death in 1816is significant in that the incorrigible oldwarrior was the last of the traditionalwar chiefs. His way of life had ended.The new leaders among the tribe wouldbe men skilled in diplomacy, not warfare.Some would be full-bloods, and somewould be of mixed lineage, but allwould be masters of accommodation"(Edmunds 1978:206).

Even though Main Poche often wasat the center of Indian-white relations,most historians and scholars overlookedhis accomplishments for several reasons.As far as personal influence over Indiantribes, Main Poche was overshadowedby Tecumseh and the Shawnee Prophet.'Iecumsehs influence was extensive andhe was highly respected, but Main Poche

a

Indiana on the River. MainPoche said that the new site held more

and was less vulnerable

unwelcome.replied that the "Great backed hisventure. " and it was not in the ofmortals to obstruct it. .. MainPoe and other Indians him,and he (Main had invited themto join at his new town" \'-''-'''''-'-'L''-'.L.L

1985:167). Once the Miamis learnedthat Main Poche endorsed this plan,

retired in defeat. Main Poche wasalso in contact with Tecumseh. MainPoche traveled into Canada withTecumseh to recruit more warriors forthe Shawnee Prophets cause. And onseveral occasions, Main Poche joinedTecumsehin raids against the Americans.

The British also wanted Main Pocheto be their ally The British went about itthe way, however. They weremore concerned in using the Indians tofight their own wars for them against theAmericans. They encouraged MainPoche and the Potawatomis to continueraiding American settlements. The Britishtold the Indians that war was inevitablewith the Americans and promised thatthey would join them in war against theAmericans. The British never reallyfollowed through with their promises.Later, made peace with theAmericansafter realizing the strength ofthe United Statesmilitary (Clifton 1998).

Main Poche hated the Americans,but they, too, tried to win him over.United States Indian agent, WilliamWells, described Main Poche as being"the greatest warrior in the west ... thepivot on which the minds of all theWestern Indians turned ... , (he) hasmore influence than any other Indian"

1-1 rY{"XTD'[TDY there was one act that waslooked down If a successfulwarrior home any kind oftrophy or souvenir from the event, theman was believed to be weakened andpollutedforces. Hethrough a

1998:Because of his successful raids

against the and the .L. .... .L~. .L"-'.L.L"-'\A.L.L'-',

Main Poche influenceamong Ojibwas,Ottawas, Kickapoos, andother Indians. For this reason, MainPoche was courted by groups whowere seeking his allegiance. The mostimportant of these were theShawnee brothers and theShawnee Prophet), the British, and theUnited States.

Tecumseh and the Shawnee Prophetpreached against the white ways. Theybelieved that all Indians should notaccept any part of the white Americanculture and should go back to living thetraditional life. They tried to wipe outthe Americans by forming a unitedIndian army They both knew that MainPoche, because of his great influence,could be the to their success.

Main Poche met with the ShawneeProphet late in October 1807 inGreenville, Ohio. He spent almost twomonths with the Shawnee Prophet andagreed with him that the Americanswere the "children of the Great Serpent,or Evil Power, and evidently subscribedto Tenskwatawas teachings that theIndians should use no products ofAmerican manufacture" (Edmunds1985:262). However, Main Poche wasunwilling to stop his drinking andrefused to cease his raids against theOsage tribe. Despite this, Main Pochedid agree to spread Tenskwatawas newreligion. He also invited the Shawneebrothers to move their village to western

62 Main Poche: The Last of the Traditional Potawatomi War Chiefs

was also respected, though perhaps itwas respect derived from fear. As amaj or Indian religious figure, MainPoche has been overshadowed theShawnee Prophet, partly becauseTenskwatawa was associated withTecumseh. Shawnee Prophet alsopredicted an of the sun in June1806. Again, Main Poche wasperceived also to be a powerfulwabeno with great power derived froma number of spiritual sources andmaterial substances.

Another reason why Main Pochemay not be as well known is that he ishard to find in the historic record. Hisname, "Main Poche," has over a dozendifferent known spellings. These alsohave different English translations suchas Lame Hand, Crippled Hand,Withered Hand, or Swelled Hand.Besides these names, Main Poche alsohas at least two other names, such asWinibiset (Crafty One) and Wapakee.

References Cited

These are spelled differently as well.Because of such confusion regarding hisname, some historians and scholars havereferred to Main Poche as being two ormore different Indians (Edmunds1985:269).

Main Poche not be as wellknown as other prominent Indians of histime he does not fit the image ofthe noble savage (Edmunds 1985:269).The image of noble savage wasconstructed by historians of the 19thcentury and has been carried forwardinto contemporary times. This imagecharacterizes Indians as dignified andvirtuous in their speech, relationships toeach other and to the land. Main Pochewas perceived as a ruthless person,possessing few qualities that Americansadmired. Compared to Main Poche,Tecumseh was seen by white Indianagents and traders as being a "goodIndian," or a savior, and he has beenimmortalized for it. Main Poche lacked

imagesPotawatomiabundantd~.~,n~~.~~~'h~'~

and ofthis time.

Finally; because so little has beendocumented about Main Poche, it ispossible that accounts of his activitieswere slanted or biased by writers such asForsyth and others writing in the early19th century A careful and extensivereview of literature from this time needsto be undertaken to more fullyunderstand the character and role ofMain Poche, one of the last greatPotawatomi war chiefs.

Blair, Emma H. ed.1911 The Indian Tribes of the UpperMississippi Valley and the Region of the Great Lakes.

2 vols. Arthur H. Clark Co. Cleveland.

Clifton, James A.1998 The Prairie People: Continuity and Change in Potawatomi Indian Culture,

1665-1965. University of Iowa Press. Iowa City

Edmunds, R. David.1978 The Potawatomis: Keepers of the Fire. University of Oklahoma Press Norman.

Edmunds, R. David.1985 "Main Poc: Potawatomi Wabeno." American Indian Quarterly, Vol. 9. 259-272.

Draper, Lyman Copeland (compiler)1814-1827 Thomas Papers: "Letter-book, 1814-1827" Vol. 4. Draper Manuscripts.

Wisconsin State Historical Society MadisonSugden, John.

1985 Tecumseh's LastStand. University of Oklahoma Press. Norman.

GVSU McNair Scholars Journal VOLUME 5.2001 63