"A Frenchman [Nicolet] told me some time ago, that he had seen three thousand men together in one assemblage, for the purpose of making a treaty of peace in the country of the People of the Sea [Winnebagoes]."] [Footnote 67: "Chacun des principaux fit son festin, en l'vn desquels on seruit au moins six-vingts Castors."--Vimont, _Relation_, 1643, p. 4.] [Footnote 68: Shea ("Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi Valley," p. 20) has evidently caught the true idea of Nicolet's mission to the Winnebagoes. He says: "With these [Winnebagoes] Nicolet entered into friendly relations."] [Footnote 69: Synonyms: Masscoutens, Maskoutens, Maskouteins, Musquetens, Machkoutens, Maskoutench, etc. They were called by the French, "Les Gens de Feu"--the Nation of Fire; by the Hurons, "Assistagueronons" or "Atsistaehronons," from _assista_, fire and _ronons_, people; that is, Fire-People or Fire-Nation. By Champlain, they were noted, in 1632, as "Les Gens de Feu a Bistagueronons" on his map. This is a misprint for "Assistagueronons," as his "Voyages" of that year shows. I., p. 262 [272]. "The Fire Nation bears this name erroneously, calling themselves Maskoutench, which signifies 'a land bare of trees,' such as that which these people inhabit; but because by the change of a few letters, the same word signifies, 'fire,' from thence it has come that they are called the 'Fire Nation.'"--_Relation_, 1671, p. 45.] [Footnote 70: Synonyms: Sauks, Saukis, Ousakis, Sakys, etc.] [Footnote 71: Synonyms: Outagamis, Les Renards, Musquakies.] [Footnote 72: The distance by days up the Fox river of Green bay from the Winnebagoes to the Mascoutins, is given in accordance with the earliest accounts of canoe navigation upon that stream. The first white persons to pass up the river after Nicolet were Allouez and his attendants, in April, 1670. That missionary (_Relation_, 1670, pp. 96, 97, 99), says: "The 16th of April [1670], I embarked to go and commence the mission of the Outagamis [Fox Indians], a people well known in all these parts. We were lying at the head of the bay [Green bay], at the entrance of the River of the Puants [Fox river], which we have named 'St. Francis;' in passing, we saw clouds of swans, bustards, and ducks; the savages take them in nets at the head of the bay, where they catch as many as fifty in a night; this game, in the autumn, seek the wild rice that the wind has shaken off in the month of September.