. History of Shiawassee and Clinton counties, Michigan . theearlier years of Okemoswere passed is notknown. His first ap-pearance as a warriorwas at Sandusky inthe war of 1812, andhis participation inthat fight was the prin- OKEMOS. ^P* ^^^ of lis life. On that occa-sionf eighteen young Chippewa braves, among whom wereOkemos and his cousin Manilocorbway, and who were serv-ing as scouts on the side of the British, had come in fromthe river Raisin, and were crouching in ambush not far from * Okemos, or Ogemaw, meant, in the Chippewa language, LittleChief, and Clie-ogemaw, Big Chief. Whether the
. History of Shiawassee and Clinton counties, Michigan . theearlier years of Okemoswere passed is notknown. His first ap-pearance as a warriorwas at Sandusky inthe war of 1812, andhis participation inthat fight was the prin- OKEMOS. ^P* ^^^ of lis life. On that occa-sionf eighteen young Chippewa braves, among whom wereOkemos and his cousin Manilocorbway, and who were serv-ing as scouts on the side of the British, had come in fromthe river Raisin, and were crouching in ambush not far from * Okemos, or Ogemaw, meant, in the Chippewa language, LittleChief, and Clie-ogemaw, Big Chief. Whether the name ** LittleChief, as applied to this Indian, had reference to his small stature(as he was very short) or to the extent of his power and authority asa chief, does not appear. I The account here given of the participation of Okemos and hiscousin in the fight at Sandusky is written from factsfurnished by B. 0. Williams, Esq., of Owosso, who had a minuteaccount of it from the two chiefs themselves, with both of whom hewas well 16 HISTORY OF SHIAWASSEE AND CLINTON COUNTIES, MICHIGAN. the fort of Sandusky, waiting to surprise the Americansupply-wagons or any small detachment that might passtheir lurking-place. Suddenly there appeared a body oftwenty American cavalrymen approaching them directly infront. The red warriors promptly made their plans, whichwas to wait till they could count the buttons on the coatsof the troopers, then to deliver their fire and close on themwith the tomahawk, fully expecting that in the disorderproduced by their volley they would be able to kill most ofthem and take many scalps. But they had reckoned with-out their host. When the flash of their guns disclosedtheir place of concealment the cavalrymen instantly chargedthrough the cover upon them, sabre in hand. Almost atthe same instant a bugle-blast echoed through the woods,and a few moments later a much larger body of horsemen,warned of the presence of an enemy by the firing,
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