The writings of this author are ultra romantic, and in giving verbatim the dialogues of his very interesting characters, he places a rather grievous burden upon our credulity. But his stories have an apparent basis of fact, and most certainly a historic value. It seems proper to give in brief outline some of them that deal with our locality; it would be unwise to reject them entirely while we treat as historically valuable the tales Herodotus brought out of Egypt.

About the year 1804 there was a village of the Chippewas, known as Mus-cat-a-wing, located along the river within the present bounds of the fifth ward of Flint. The Indians name of the river was Pewonigo-win-se-be, or the river-of-the-flints, and from this name the band of Chippewas was called Pewonigos. Up the river from Mus-cat-a-wing, and about a mile above Geneseeville, was Kish-Kaw-bee, another village of the Pewonigos. At this time Ne-o-me, a name that occurs in the early accounts of our city, was chief of the Pewonigos and resided at Mus-cat-a-wing, his territory including the entire basin of the river to the headwaters of its affluents.

At this same time a remnant of the Hurons lived on the Shiawassee river, their territory also extending up to the head of the tributary streams, and their chief being Chessaning, a young man who had recently become chief.

` Ne-o-me's brother, Mix-e-ne-ne, was sub-chief and a relative, Ton-e-do-ganee, was war chief of the Pewonigos. A sister of Ne-o-me, by name of Men-a-cum-seque, lived with her brothers at Mus-cat-a-wing.

Chessaning also had a sister, Ou-wan-a-ma-che, and as the relations between these two bands, Huron and Chippewa, were especially friendly, it came about that Chessaning paid his suit to the sister of ne-o-me, while that chief became interest in the sister of Chessaning. Ton-e-do-ganee had been rejected by Men-a-cum-sequa, and later, seeing Chessaning's sister, became violently in love with her, but she rejected him.

She had also turned a deaf ear to the suit of Ne-o-me, whose sister men-a-cum-sequa, instead of favoring Chessaning, had fallen in love with a French trader whom the Indians called Kassegans. Of this love Ne-o-me was ignorant, but it had come tot he knowledge of the war chief, who was determined to profit by it in some way to the injury of Ne-o-me, whom he wished to succeed as chief.

Chessaning, being rejected by Men-a-cum-seque, determined to appeal to Ne-o-me to exercise his power as a chief and coerce his sister into the marriage.

Ne-o-me at this time had ambitions and was planning to bring under his rule an independent band of Chippewas to the north on the Cass river. To this end he was plotting an invasion of that country, and when Chessaning asked for his interference in his behalf with the sister, he made the same conditional on Chessaning's joining the proposed expedition. Chessaning, with rare chivalry, said that he, a chief, could not barter for a wife, however fair, and the diplomatic Ne-o-me then appeased him by promising the hand of Men-a-cum-sequa, unconditionally, after which he asked Chessaning's aid as a favor to this prospective brother-in-law; this diplomacy secured the promise of Chessaning's forces.

Ton-e-do-ganee, the war chief, thought this the moment to interfere and he dramatically informed Ne-o-me, in presence of Chessaning, that the chief's sister was in love with the trader and that even then they had fled down the river; this fact was corroborated by Se-go-guen, the mute foster-brother of Chessaning, who had seen the canoe and elopers on the river. The effect of this announcement was the opposite of the war chief's expectation. Chessaning's chivalrous nature again asserted itself and he assured Ne-o-me that this fact of the elopement would not affect his promise of aid, as it had plainly been beyond Ne-o-me's knowledge, and, turning upon the war chief, he accused him of bad faith that merited punishment, which he promised to inflict.

Ne-o-me during the negotiations had visited Chessaning' s home and so ingratiated himself with Ou-wan-a-ma-che, that she relented her former decision and they became engaged.

There were at Mus-cat-a-wing two renegades, outlaws from the east, who had taken advantage of the hospitality of the Pewonigoes, and loitered about Mus-cat-awing, leading a vagabond life. One was a white man and the other a half-breed. To them Ton-e-do-ganee went with a plan of revenge upon Chessaning and Ne-o-me.

The intended bride of Chessaning had fled, and the war chief planned a similar disappointment to Ne-o-me, by inducing the two outlaws to abduct the sister of Chessaning. It was planned that they, taking advantage of the disorder of the expedition, should seize Ou-wan-a-ma-che, and take her in their canoe up river to Kish-Kaw-bee, where she was to be hidden in the lodge of a relative of the war chief. The two were also to take information to the chief of the Wakisos against whom the invasion was planned, of the plans of Ne-o-me.

The outlaws undertook the execution of the war chief's plan for revenge. They, however, failed in part, for, after reaching Om-a-gan-see, Chessaning's village on the Shiawassee, and seizing his sister, they paddled down the Shiawassee to the Flint and on attempting to go up that river to Kish-Kaw-bee, they were cut off by Ne-o-me's sentinels and had to turn down stream. Passing the mouth of the Shiawassee, they hoped to reach the Tittabawassee, but here again they wee obliged to turn back, because the camp fires of a large number of warriors apprised them of the gathering of Chessaning's forces. They were driven to ascend the Cass river, called by the Indians Wakishegan, on the headwaters of which they knew of a grotto where they hoped to be safe until the could communicate with the war chief.

The trader, fleeing with Min-a-cum-sequa, had preceded them up the river, and after visiting the village of the Wakisos, had also sought refuge in this same cavern.,

The aged chief of the Wakisos, because of his infirmities, had delegated the rule of his daughter, Mo-kish-e-no-qua, and she hastened to meet the invading forces of Ne-o-me. So successfully id she prepare her defense, which included an ambush, that Ne-o-me's forces were severely handled and his advance guard nearly annihilated. Then only did Ne-o-me know that he was making war against a woman. Turning back, he joined Chessaning's forces, and for the first time they were informed of the abduction of On-wan-a-ma-che. This information came from the foster-mother of Chessaning, who had pursued the abductors in her canoe and had traced their flight up the Cass. Ne-o-me and Chessaning, with a few picked men, and the mute Se-go-guen, paddled up the hostile river, their objective being the cavern, and on their way found that the Wakisos had abandoned the river and retreated to some inland refuge. Keeping on, they reached the cave and there found the elopers, renegades and the captive. The eloping sister of Ne-o-me was forgiven, and the captive sister of Chessaning rescued. Three marriages followed. Men-a-cum-sequa and the trader; Ne-o-me and Ou-wan-a-ma-che, and Chessaning and the Amazon leader of the Wakisos, for peace was happily achieved through the office of the chivalrous Chessaning. The renegades were forced to run the gauntlet and were banished.