Pages 90 - 91
JOSEPH GAUTHIER, of Keshena,
Shawano county, was born August 18, 1818, at Rock Island, Illinois, and
is nearly a full-blooded Menominee Indian. His father's name was Shaw-nah-wah-quah-hah,
and his mother's name was Sho-sha-quaer, a daughter of Kanote, who was
a sub-chief and a brother of Tomah, the head chief of the tribe, and a
noted Indian of his time. Both Kanote and Tomah had some white blood
in their veins from a distant ancestor.
Mr. Gauthier's Indian name was Mahchickeney, and he was an only
son. His father died when he was eight years old, and his mother afterward
married Antoine Gauthier, an employee of the American Fur Company, who
were extensive traders with the Indians all over the Northwest. Antoine
Gauthier remained with this company for about thirty-five years. He then
went to farming in Henry County, Illinois, where he remained until his
family grew up and were
scattered, when he went to Kansas and died in Kansas City, Mo.,
in September 1856. After his mother's second marriage, Mr. Gauthier took
his step-father's name, which he still retains. By the second marriage
of Mr. Gauthier's mother, children were born as follows: Antoine, who for
many years was interpreter for the Sacs and Fox Indians, but afterward
married a daughter of Muck-Kunth, the chief of the Chippewa and Munsee
tribe; he died in 1875. Louis also married into the same tribe and family
as his brother, Antoine, and died in 1892; Frank, who married into the
same tribe, died in 1870; John, who married into the Sacs and Fox tribe,
was a farmer near Rock Island, Illinois, all his life, and died there in
184? , Susan married a half-breed Menominee, is still living, and since
the death of Mr. Gauthier's wife has been his housekeeper; Margaret married
a son of Muck-Kunth, the chief of the Chippewa and Munsee Indians; she
died in 1862, and her husband in 1888.
Joseph Gauthier's younger days were spent in the vicinity of
Rock Island, Illinois, and he received some education by attending the
primitive schools of that period, and from what the officers of the fort
taught him, which he improved as he grew older. In his boyhood days he
knew Gen. Harney, Gen. Scott, Gen. Banks, and other officers who became
noted soldiers later on, and was always a favorite with the officers and
soldiers at the fort. Mr. Gauthier was fourteen years old at the time of
the Black Hawk war, and has a vivid recollection of the stirring times
of that period. He was enrolled with the militia and carried a musket with
the balance, but being young was not sent into the field. He was one of
the pioneer lumber boys of the State, working for several years on Black
River for D. B. Seers & Co., of Moline, Illinois. In 1850 he rejoined
his tribe, who were located at Poygan, Wis., a few miles above Oshkosh.
After working on a boat on Fox River one season he was given a position
in the government blacksmith shop conducted for the benefit of the Indians
at Winneconne. In 1852 the Menominees were removed on to their present
reservation in Shawano county, and Mr. Gauthier came with them and continued
to work in the blacksmith shop. Shortly afterward he»was appointed
the boss of the shop at $40 a month, which was large wages for those days,
and he continued in that position until 1857, when he was appointed the
official interpreter for the tribe, which position he held until 1860,
when a change of agents took place, and for political reasons he was removed.
He then engaged in the mercantile business at Keshena under the firm name
of Gauthier & Upham, his partner being Charles M. Upham, of Shawano,
Wis., who is a brother of the present governor of the State. Mr. Gauthier
continued in the mercantile business until 1866, when he was again appointed
interpreter, which place he has held ever since, with the exception of
about one year and a half.
During the Civil war Mr. Gauthier was an enthusiastic Union man,
and if he could have arranged his business matters satisfactorily would
have been to the front with his musket. As it was, he encouraged enlistments
among the Indians, and was the prime mover in raising Company K, Thirty-seventh
Wis. V. I., paying the expenses of transporting the company to Madison,
and supporting many of the families of the men who enlisted. He accompanied
the company to Madison, and was appointed special quartermaster for the
services he had rendered. It is well enough to say here that Company K,
Thirty-seventh Wis. V. I. were all Indians but two. They were mustered
into service June 27, 1864. On July 31, 1864, they were in the front of
Petersburg, and were caught in the explosion of the mine celebrated in
the history of that fight, and nineteen of the company were killed, and
several others wounded.
In 1852 Joseph Gauthier was married to Mary Ann Mo-sha-quah-toe-kiew,
whose father died when she was a small child. They had one child, Frank,
who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Gauthier adopted a small boy, and brought
him up as their son. His name is Joseph F. Gauthier, and he is now a prosperous
merchant and lumberman, and resides at Keshena, Wis. Mrs. Gauthier died
July 12, 1892, when about sixty-seven years old, loved and respected by
all.
Joseph Gauthier is a member of the Catholic Church, and
a regular attendant. Although he is partly blind, he retains all his mental
faculties, and is respected and held in high esteem both by the Indians
and whites. The present Chief of the Menominees is Ne-oh-pet, a son of
the celebrated chief, Oshkosh. Ne-oh-pet, Chickeney and Nah-tah-wah-pah-my
are the present judges of the Indian court, and try all Indian cases arising
on the reservation. Mr. Gauthier acts as interpreter for the court. The
decisions of this court are so pure and just that many white judges could
learn a lesson from them in equity and justice. |