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J. WESLEY WHICKER. 



HISTORICAL SKETCHES 

OF THE 

WABASH VALLEY 



BY J. WESLEY WHICKER 

ATTICA. INDIANA 

1916 



REPRINTED FROM THE ATTICA LEDGER 

AND PUBLISHED FOR PRIVATE CIR- 

CULATION BY THE AUTHOR 



COPYRIGHTED 1916 






FOREWORD 



LOCAL history is seldom appreciated at its full value by the contempora 
generation and the local historian usually has a thankless job. Fam 
iarity tends to breed contempt and so it comes that we often fail 
appreciate the historical value of what is going on about us all t 
time. When the years have passed and we finally realize how valual 
it v/ould have been had some accurate record been kept of events as th 
transpired it is usually too late to right the oversight. 

Occasionally a man arises who has the historical instinct and takes a p< 
sonal delight in unearthing and preserving the history, folk lore and legen 
of preceding generations. Such a man is J. Wesley Whicker, the author of t 
sketches that are printed in this volume. 

The year 1916 being the centennial of Indiana's statehood, brought for 
more than usual interest in Indiana state history, and knowing of Mr. Whiekei 
interest in and study of the history of the Wabash Valley, it was suggested th 
he write a series of articles for publication in The Attica Ledger. He readi 
acquiesced and as soon as they began to appear they attracted wide attentic 
being very extensively reprinted by other papers in western Indiana and easte 
Illinois. The intention had been at first to make them only local in scope, b 
many of the incidents narrated were interwoven with larger incidents and almc 
before he was aware they had extended until they covered the greater part of t 
central Wabash Valley. As appreciation of his work grew there arose a demai 
that the sketches be put into permanent form and it is to meet that demand th 
this volume is printed. The issue is limited to two hundred copies, many of whi 
will find a resting place in local libraries thruout the state. 

The sketches appear just as they did in the columns of The Ledger, and we 
often prepared hurriedly amid the press of other business, so that the litera 
critic may find in them much to criticize. However, since they reflect t' 
intimate life of the people that developed one of the finest sections of t 
United States the critic will also find in them much of literary value in additii 
to their worth from the historical standpoint. 

The author, Mr. Whicker (sometimes spelled Whickcar), is a well kno\ 
lawyer of Attica, Indiana. He was born and reared a few miles east of tl: 
city, not far from the old town of Maysville, the first town of consequence 
Fountain county, but now only a memory. He is a typical Hoosier, born in 
log cabin during the great Civil war (1863). After more than the average vie: 
situdes of the youth of his day he educated himself for the law, located in A 
tica and has built up a wide and successful practice. An omnivorous reader fro 
his youth and possessed of a phenominal memory he accumulated a remarkab 
store of facts concerning the things in which he was especially interested. I 
took keen delight in tracing the developement of the Wabash Valley and th 
has been collecting all his life the material which is here preserved to posterit 
Mr. Whicker has traveled extensively, having visited every state of the unio 
and is a keen observer so that his comments and comparisons are of real vain 
Many of the stories told in these pages are of things in which he or his frien 
were participants while much of the o.feher. material was gathered from the li 
of men who themselves had a hand in sh^.j;ing the course of events. As a you 
he spent much time in the company of these graybeards, plying them with que 
tions and delving into veins of rich material of which the present generation 
almost wholly ignorant. 

The volume is put forth without hope of monetary reward for the lab 
expended, the author desiring only to preserve for future years the history > 
some of the more important features in the developement of the rich and beau1 
ful Wabash Valley, particularly that portion centering about Attica. 

HAEEY F. EOSS, Editor of The Attica Ledger. 



Gift 
Author 

OCT 14 19t8 



Ouiat 



enon 



The first white settlement in the 
tate of Indiana was made at Ouiate- 
on on the Wabash in Tippecanoe coun- 
r, near Granville, about fourteen miles 
p the river from Attica. This Indian 
)wn was visited by the French as 
irly as 1688. The first detailed notice 
I this settlement is given in certain 
emoranda, found in the French ar- 
lives at Paris, France, written in 

ri8. 

In 1754 it was announced to the Gen- 
■al Assembly of Pennsylvania that 
le French were settling among the 
[iami Indians on the Ouabashe, Ouia- 
snon, being mentioned as one of the 
jints. 

Colonel Crogham was in charge of 
le Indian department for the British 
id visited Ouiatenon in 1765. He 
)und about fourteen French families 
ving there in a fort. This, at that 
me, was the largest Indiana town in 
le United States, and is said by good 
ithority to have been the home of 
5,000 Indians. 

A letter to Thomas Jefferson, dated 
ugust, 1785, gives an account of a 
ouncil of War held there by many of 
le Algonquin tribes. The fact is that 
le representatives of the English 
jvernment were the cause of this 
eeting and at the time the English 
ad offered a reward of ten dollars, to 
le Indians for the scalps of white wo- 
en and children, along the borders of 
16 United States. This reward was 
aid by the English government until 



1816, and it was the English, and not 
the Indians, that had called this coun- 
cil of war. 

With this reward before them these 
Indians begun their depredations upon 
the white settlers along the Wabash, 
and continued them until the United 
States government was forced to take 
action to exterminate the Indians if 
they continued the westward march of 
immigration. 

In 1790 General Knox then secretary 
of war, ordered Brigadier General Scott 
of Kentucky to send an expedition of 
mounted men, not exceeding seven hun- 
dred fifty, against the Indians in the 
Wabash valley; this order was issued 
on the 9th day of March, 1791. Im- 
mediately upon receiving the order 
Gen. Scott marched toward Ouiatenon 
from Kentucky. There is a story to 
the effect that while on this expedition 
Scott or some of his men encountered 
the Indians on 

Kickapoo creek near the Milligan place, 
opposite the city of Attica, and there, 
on Warren county soil, fought the Bat- 
tle of Kickapoo. There is really but 
little doubt that some of the Indian 
graves on the Milligan place con- 
tain the bones of warriors who 
went to their death in this first 
historic struggle. Altho there are 
few persons in this vicinity that know 
anything of this battle it was not al- 
ways so. O. A. Clark has in his posses- 
sion a letter written by an aunt of his, 
telling of having visited the battlefield 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



of Kiekapoo, while on her honeymoon 
in the early '30s of the last century. 

In June of 1791 Scott reached the 
Wea town of Ouiatenon, found about 
fifteen thousand Indians living there 
and fought a battle with them, very 
near the site of Granville. He de- 
feated them and destroyed their city. 
The Miamis, Pottawatomies, Ouiate- 
nons and Kickapoos took part in the de- 
fense of Ouiatenon. 

Scott returned to Kentucky and im- 
mediately following Brigadier General 
Wilkinson started on the first day of 
August, 1791 with an expedition against 
the Indians in the Wabash valley. He 
first captured the Indian town of Ke- 
ne-pa-com-a-qua on the Eel river, and 
destroyed the town; then took up his 
march toward Ouiatenon on the 7th 
day of August, 1791. He had a few 
skirmishes with the remaining Kicka- 
poos and Pottawattomies and reached 
Ouiatenon on the 11th day of August, 
1791, but found that General Scott 
had destroyed the town in June. 

After the destruction of Ouiatenon 
the remaining warriors, old men, wo- 
men and children had returned to the 
site of the city and had put out be- 
tween 400 and 500 acres of corn on the 
Wea Plains, and Wilkinson found it in 
a high state of cultivation, with splen- 
did gardens, and vegetables growing. 
The corn was in the roasting-ear, and 
was being gathered for food the com- 
ing winter. Gen Wilkinson wantonly 
destroyed their fields of corn, their 
gardens, and their tents, and left them 
without food, without homes and with- 
out clothing, and returned to Ft. Wash- 
ington. 

The following year, 1792, General 
Hamtramek led an expedition of In- 
diana volunteers and militiamen from 



:1 



Vincennes to attack the non-aggressive ; 
Indians and their villages on the north 
banks of the Big Vermilion river (on 
now the Shelby farm) near where thet 
Big Vermilion empties into the Wabash.i 

After the raid of Scott in the pre- 
vious June and Wilkin.son in the pre-: 
vious August, the Potawatomies andj 
Kickapoos were very much weakened/ 
and on account of the destruction ofi 
their food the year previous many of; 
them had died, but the remnants of 
the Potawattomie and Kiekapoo tribes 
were camping here. This was theii; 
favorite hunting ground for the reasoui 
that the Big Vermilion emptied intci 
the Wabash there, and about a mil«i 
up the Vermilion river from the Wai 
bash (about where the covered wagor^ 
bridge at Eugene now stands) there i 
were rapids in the river and the fisl 
going up stream could not easily ge' 
over these rapids, so there they coulc|fp( 
easily catch fish. The adjoining ter 
race lands were filled with wild strawi 
berries, blackberries, raspberries, wihl 
plums, blackhaws, redhaws, wild crati 
apx^les and grapevines bearing evert 
kind of grape that grows along the Ws: 
bash. This place was known by/ al 
the Indians far and near as "the Grean 
Plum Patch." 

This expedition of brave Hoosier:t| 
when it came near the Indian camj;, 
divided into two columns. One column^ 
marched up the Vermilion river, crossj 
ed it and was to attack the Indian 
from the north, while the main armi 
should come directly up and across tH 
Vermilion river and attack them froi 
the south. * 

The warriors and braves were off c ,, 
a hunting expedition and there we:i 
1 one to molest or make afraid tha; 
army of gallant soldiers, except tltj 



'k 



fii 



Jii 



H!i 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



roken-down old men, women andchild- 
sn. These were unmercifully slaugh- 
>red in the coldest of cold blood; there 

ere so many of them killed that this 
rave army, on the return are said to 
oasted that they crossed the Vermil- 
<n river on the bodies of dead women 
ad children, and the water was red 
ith their blood. It was as wanton a 

assacre as any ever committed by the 

ost uncivilized savages. 

When the braves returned and found 
leir tents destroyed, their homes laid 

aste, their aged men, their women 
ad their children killed, they swore 
engance on the white race. 

Is it any wonder then that the In- 
ian tribes of this locality greeted 
ecumseh with open arms and gave 
Im and his tribe of Shawnees a home 
ad a hunting ground among them, and 
lat they joined and became a part of 
'ecumseh 's Confederacy? 

These Indians of this region took 
art in the Battle of the Fallen Tim- 
ers in Ohio, and the Battle of Tippe- 
inoe, Nov. 7th, 1911. 
' The Shawnee Indians had their head- 
uarters at The Prophet's Town only 
bout eight years; they had become a 
•ibe of tramp Indians; their hunting 
rounds and homes, when the white 
len first met them, were in Canada and 
long the borders of Lake Huron, 
rom there they migrated southward 
nd lived among the southern tribes in 
lorida, on the banks of the Swanee 
Iver, which was named for them, and 
len in their wanderings came back 
3 Ohio. 

Tecumseh was a triplet; The Prophet 
as one of the three children. These 
hildren were born near Springfield 
1 the State of Ohio, and they were 
tie youngest of the family. Their 



brothers and sisters were born in the 
;-unny southland. In their wanderings 
they had became acquainted with the 
Indians of the west, with the Indians 
of the north and with the Indians of 
the south, and it was the hope of Te- 
cumseh to form a confederation of all 
of the Indians in the North American 
continent for the welfare of the In- 
flians, both defensive and offensive. 

He stated to General Harrison that 
he refused to observe the treaties that 
had been made with the Indians up 
to that time on the theory that all the 
land belonged to all the Indians; that 
no one Indian, by right of place or 
litle, chief, prophet or close connec- 
tion with man or Manitou (Great Spir- 
it) had the right to sign and pass away 
the title of any other Indian, as every 
Indian could only pass title by signa- 
ture for his proportional part, divided 
per capita among all of them, this, and 
no more; and that in their treaties the 
whites had only secured title of the 
chiefs. This argument was a surprise 
to Harrison and he was both astonished 
and offended by it. It broke up the 
council because it had taken him un- 
prepared and he was not able to an- 
swer; in fact, he never made an ef- 
fort to answer. 

The next day he renewed the council, 
called upon his servant to bring chairs 
for himself and Chief Tecumseh. This 
council was held beneath the spreading 
branches of a magnificent elm at the 
City of Vincennes. He seated himself 
in the chair brought for him, and ten- 
dered to Tecumseh the chair he had 
ordered for the chief. The chief re- 
fused the chair and said, 'Thank you 
for your kindness, and your well mean- 
ing offer, but the sun is my father, the 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



eartli is my mother, and I shall recline 
upon her bosom." 

Eichard Mentor Johnson of Ken- 
tucky had raised a regiment of Ken- 
tucky volunteer riflemen for the War 
of 1812 and was placed in charge of the 
defense of the Canadian frontier. The 
defense of this frontier was very im- 
portant to the United States. He and 
his riflemen took an active part in the 



Battle of the Thames on October l| 
1813, and in this battle it was at th 
hand of Eichard Mentor Johnson oi | 
Kentucky that Tecumseh is supposec , 
to have been killed. In March, 1837 
Mr. Johnson was elected by the Unitec 
States Senate vice-president of thi 
United States and served in that ca 
paeity for four years under Van Bu 
ren's administration. 



Sheshepah or "Little Duck" 



tr 



We quite often hear Tecumseh spok- 
en of as the most influential chief of 
the Indians who lived in this locality. 
Tecumseh had his headquarters at The 
Prophet's Town, at the mouth of the 
Tippecanoe river only about eight years 
and was there but very little during 
that time. 

He did not take part in the battle of 
Tippecanoe and outside his councils 
with Harrison at Vincennes in the in- 
terest of all the Indians of North Am- 
erica he did but very little in his life 
in which this immediate locality would 
have been interested. Sheshepah, who 
was a Potawatami Indian and chief of 
the Potawatamies and Kickapoos for 
many long years, took a far more ac- 
tive hand in Indian affairs in the vicin- 
ity of Fountain, Warren, Parke, Ver- 
milion, Tippecanoe and adjoining coun- 
ties, than any local chief who at any 
time lived in this locality. 

Sheshepah, if the legends be true, was 
born in Warren county, across the river 
from Attica, near Kickapoo falls. 

His mother was a Kickapoo squaw, 
his father a Potawatami chief. It has 
been stated that his father had two 
squaws, one a Potawatami and one a 



Kickapoo, and Sheshepah was the s«c 
of the latter. Sheshepa's Kickapqc 
mother was the daughter of the chi^i 
of the Kickapoos, and on account 
his royal lineage Sheshepah inheritdf 
the chief tainchip of the Kickapoos f roc 
his mother and of the Potawatami 
from his father. 

Sheshepah was a well built, straigm: 
short, heavy-set Indian, about five fei) 
four inches high, very broad across til 
shoulders, and as active and athletitl*' 
as a cat. JMi 

With his warriors, he took part i '""^ 
St. Claire's defeat; and again his war"" 
riors, with himself commanding, too 
part in the Battle of the Fallen Tii 
bers, on the 20th day of August, 179i 
at the Eapids on the Maumee river, 
the state of Ohio, not far from Dei 
ance, and in that battle he was agaa 
facing Scott, Wilkinson and Hai 
tramck. 

He had led his band of Potaw£ 
amies and Kickapoos to the aid of titjiiver, 
Miamis when Scott destroyed Quial 
non in June, 1791. He had again answ< 
ed tothe call of the Wea Indians a:ii 
faced Wilkinson in August of the sai 
year, and it was the aged warriors, ti 



yea 



MlP 



llVI 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



women and the children of his tribe 
that Hamtramck had killed at the 
mouth of the Vermilion river in 1792, 
and he and his warriors took an active 
part in the battle of Tippecanoe. But 
after this battle Sheshepah signed a 
treaty of peace with the American 
authorities, after which time he was 
faithful and trustworthy, and finally 
became a reliable friend of the white 
people. He was a splendid commander, 
brave in battle, wise in council and 
true to his obligations. He signed this 
(treaty at Ft. Harrison, June 4, 1816. 

LHe had a splendid son, of whom he 
as extremely fond. At the age of sev- 
mteen this boy, who was very fond of 
lunting, fell about fifty feet from a 
;ree while hunting bear, near where 
ihe CoUett Home for the Aged stands, 
iouth of Cayuga, in Vermilion county, 
ind was killed. 

Sheshepah lived in peace for many 
[^ears with the whites; his hair became 
LS white as snow, he was still in com- 
nand of his Indian tribe and respected 
ind loved by them and the whites. At 
he age of one hundred ten he was 
purdered in a foul manner by a lazy, 
ficious, renegade Indian named Nan- 
fuah, at the Nebeker Springs on the 
preorge Nebeker farm near Covington, 
p. Fountain county. 

1 There is a little story told of She- 
hepah that it might be well to add: A 
?hite man was cultivating a tract of 
and near the mouth of the Vermilion 
iver, which belonged to the Indians, 
ight near the ford of the Vermilion, 
["he Indians forded the river there and 
IS the corn was in the roasting ear, 
hey took some of the roasting ears and 
t quashes for rental. The settler fol- 



lowed them up and on finding some 
squashes and roasting ears in the folds 
of Sheshepah 's blanket undertook to 
castigate the old chief with a cane. 
Sheshepah did not shrink worth a cent 
but dropping the blanket and the com 
turned on the settler and drove him out 
of the field with a stick. 

The settler went to Blair and Cole- 
man, two of Harrison's men who had 
been in the Battle of Tippecanoe, and 
asked them to call out the rangers and 
the militia to prevent the Indians from 
destroying his property; they refused 
to call out the militia and notif ed them 
to assemble at the house of one of the 
pioneers the next morning. They did 
so and commenced shooting at a mark. 
Sheshepah and his Indians had camped 
for the night near the Buffalo springs 
on the farm of the late Worth Porter, 
and Blair announced to the Indians and 
their chief the matters to be settled. 
He and Coleman were chosen as arbi- 
trators; they repaired to the plum 
thicket with an old law book, an al- 
manac and well-worn testament as 
authority and reference. Under the 
spreading branches of the plum thick- 
et they held a sham court, with much 
chattering and gibbering, like an In- 
dian council, and finally returned with 
their verdict that the two litigants set- 
tle the whole matter by a fist fight. 
The decision was no sooner announced 
than Sheshepah, the little old Indian 
chief, threw off his blanket and his 
belt and made ready for the fight. The 
settler "stood not upon the order of 
going, but went." He ran as fast as 
he could, mounted his pony and was 
soon out of sight — and this was She- 
shepah 's last encounter with the white 
men. 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



Zachariah Cicot 



One of the most interesting charac- 
ters among the men of influence in 
shaping the early destiny of the Wa- 
bash valley was Zachariah Cicot, who 
laid out Independence, and whose name 
should have been perpetuated in the 
name of that town. 

Cicot was the son of one of the 
French settlers from Guiatenon who 
chose to live with the Indians. His 
mother was a daughter of a Kickapoo 
Indian chief and his brother, George 
Cicot, inherited a chieftainship among 
the Kickapoos from her. According to 
the best information available Cicot 
was born about the time the War of the 
Eevolution was coming to a close 
in an Indian village where Independ- 
ence now stands. 

There is a sand-bar in the Wabash riv- 
er a little above Independence which 
was known as Cicot 's Ford which led 
to Cicot 's Landing on the north bank 
of the river. From this landing the 
trail led up the ravine just above In- 
dependence bridge and off to the big 
spring at the north side of the town. 
This spring and this ford brot the en- 
campments of Indians to that place. 
Near the Cicot Landing was a large 
niggerhead stone which had a natural 
depression in its upper side which form- 
ed an excellent mortar for the Indian 
squaws to grind their corn in and it 
was commonly used for that purpose. 
This stone is still there altho it has 
been moved from its original location 
and now lies near the bridge with the 
mortar side down. Thomas Atkinson, 
one of the pioneers of southern Benton 
county, told me that when he was a boy 
herding cattle on the prairies of Benton 



and Warren counties, he saw many 
wandering bands of Indians come from 
the north and west to camp at Cicot 's 
Landing and trade with Cicot and the 
other Indians there. Mr. Atkinson told 
me too of his own vists to the place, 
where he had often seen the young In- 
dians practicing with their bows and 
arrows. It was a favorite sport with 
the settlers who visited the camp to 
insert a coin in the split end of a stick 
and hold it up for the youngsters to 
shoot at, giving them the coin when 
they knockt it out of the stick. So 
skilled were they with the bow that he 
never knew of one of them, either boy 
or girl, missing a coin. 

It was in this environment at Ci- 
cot 's Landing that young Zachariah 
spent his boyhood and from what is 
known of his after life it is safe to in- 
fer that he was a leader among the 
young Indians among whom he grew up. ] 
When he was 16 years of age he fash- 



tin 
Diiii 

aroB 



eh 



ioned him a pirogue and went down theMor t 
river to Vincennes to see something onflitioi 
the white men of his father's blood.! ' 
There he pickt up the rudiments of amiltyot 
education and soon began making exi 
cursions up the Wabash to barter witlfi 
the Indians. His natural shrewdnesa#le ( 
and his thoro acquaintance with the In-i niles 
dians along the river made him a verj 
successful trader. Many tales hav^( 
been handed down from early settler! i TO ri 
concerning Cicot 's dealing with the InJi'My, i 
dians and his narrow escapes but thesepefsf 
are not the essential things about him|(fas8igi 
In the fall of 1811, while Cicot wa^ esimed 
at the Landing (Independence) heiashii, 
received a communication from Gea't Cicot 
Harrison at Vincennes, summoning hiniii p from 



J.v. 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



9 



■) come immediately to that point to 
et as a scout for the government of 
16 United States, whose army was 
bout to undertake a punitive expedi- 
on against the Indians of the upper 
Wabash. Cicot had always been friend- 
: to the white men and responded 
t once to the call. Already the In- 
ians of Warren county were holding 
ar dances and were becoming greatly 
scited in anticipation of the great con- 
ict which they knew was coming and 
icot knew that their anger would be 
8nted against him as soon as they 
new that he had cast his lot with the 
hites. So when he left Cicot 's Landing 
) answer Harrison's call he left be- 
ind him much of his live stock and 
:her wealth. He saved only a herd of 
) ponies, which a trusted Indian drove 
way from the village under cover 
P darkness and took down the river 
lound thru Warren county, to a place 
P safety. 

No one knew this section of the Wa- 
asli valley like Cicot and upon him 
ists a very large share of the credit 
or the success of the Harrison expe- 
Ltion. He guided the army away from 
le river after it had reacht the vicin- 
,y of the mouth of the Vermilion and 
.1 order to prevent an ambush in the 
iivines or woods kept as much as pos- 
ble on the open prairie about ten 
iles back from the Wabash on the 
est side. Cicot participated in the 
attle of Tippecanoe and after it was 
'■er returned to Vincennes with the 
■my, still acting as Gen. Harrison's 
lief scout. After the treaty of peace 
as signed with the Indians Cicot soon 
sumed his trading trips up the Wa- 
lsh and re-establisht his headquarters 
; Cicot 's Landing. In 1817 he brought 
) from Vincennes on rafts hewed and 



mortised timbers with which he con- 
structed a large house that stood for 
many years; in fact, was torn down 
only about fifteen years ago and some 
of its timbers are still in existence. 
This house was fitted together like 
Solomon's temple, each piece having 
been hewed and fitted in Vincennes. 
Grass was mixt with the clay used in . 
filling the chinks between the logs. The 
house was fitted for defense if neces- 
sary, having loopholes thru which rif- 
les could be fired and the legends say 
that at one time it was surrounded by 
a stockade. 

Cicot soon regained his prestige 
among the Indians and traded with 
them successfully, recouping his for- 
tune and finally becoming probably the 
wealthiest man in northern Indiana. 
The erection of his residence in 1817 
clearly entitles him to rank as the first 
settler of Warren county, for it was 
not until five years later (1822) that 
the first land entries were made. When 
the white men began to come into this 
section they naturally drifted to Ci- 
cot 's trading post but they found so 
many Indians hanging around it and 
so much whiskey being drunk and 
fighting going on that they went across 
the river into Fountain and there es- 
tablisht a settlement known as Mays- 
ville, which grew into a town of con- 
siderably importance and concerning 
which I shal] have something to say in 
a later article. 

On Oct. 2. 1818 Cicot married the 
daughter of Perig, a Potawatomi chief. 
On account of this connection Cicot re- 
ceived a section of land from the gov- 
ernment which he took in Tippecanoe 
county and another section in Carroll 
county. His son, Jean Baptiste Cicot, 
and his daughters, Emelia and Sophia 



10 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



Cicot, each received a half section of 
land, which was located in Tippecanoe 
county. Later Perig, the father of Ci- 
cot 's wife, was given a section of land 
on the Flint river in Michigan but the 
old man never took up this grant and 
at the treaty of Chicago in August 29, 
1821, it was transferred to Perig 's 
grandson, John B. Cicot, who trans- 
ferred it to his father. Zachariah lo- 
cated the claim where the town of In- 
dependence now stands, that section be- 
ing known to this day in the land rec- 
ords as Cicot 's Eeserve. In 1832 Ci- 
cot platted the town of Independence 
on this reservation. The town grew 
and thrived and for many years was an 
important center, there being a number 
of manufacturing industries located 
there. 

Emelia Cicot, the elder daughter of 



the old trader, was a very bright gir] 
and at several of the conferences at 
which treaties were signed, acted ajaj' 
interpreter, this fact being attested iaii- 
government records in the archives at' 
Washington. In the treaty of Jan. 21 ' 
1832, Zachariah Cicot received fromthij 
government $950 and in the treatjt;, 
made with the Indians at Chicago Sepfci,, 
26, 1833, he received $1,800, his lasliij] 
allowance. He was at this time wealthj « 
as riches were accounted in that day jj 
He lived to be an old man, respecte( li; 
alike by the Indians and whites, anniao 
spent the remainder of his life at In tl( 
dependence. In 1832 he suffered : of 
stroke of paralysis but recovered froi/ 
that and lived until 1850, when he di^( fri 
and was buried in the old graveyard ai 
Independence. 

fsi 



The Burnett Family 



Contemporary with Zachariah Cicot, 
whose activities and influence had 
such a large effect upon the early his- 
tory of the Wabash valley, was the 
Burnett family. Like Cicot the Bur- 
netts were half-breeds but while Cicot 
cast his lot with the whites and was 
one of General Harrison's trusted 
scouts, the Burnetts chose to cast their 
fortunes with the Indians. They left 
their name upon the early records of 
this and adjoining counties and it is 
often encountered in the records of 
land transfers to this day. 

The elder Burnett was a Frenchman 
from the Vincennes settlement, who 
had come up the Wabash and lost his 
heart to an Indian princess. It was 
Kaukeama, the sister of Topenibe, the 



principal chief of the Potawatomi<i 
of this locality, whose black eyes cap 
tured the adventurous Frenchman, am 
so strong was their attachment thji 
Burnett was adopted into the tribe an 
they were married. Sheshepah, whoc 
I have written up in an earlier skete( 
was a half brother of Kaukeama an 
Topenibe. His mother was the daugi 
ter of a Kickapoo chief and thru hli 
he inherited a chieftainship among tl 
Kickapoos, the honor and prestige 
which he also shared with his half-ss 
ter. So it was thus no ordinary squa; 
whom the Frenchman Burnett took 
wife. 

Burnett and Kaukeama were the pj 
ents of Abraham, Nancy, Eebecca a:t 
James Burnett and the grandpareri 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



11 



of William Burnett. There is a legend 
ito the effect that the father and his 
eldest son were killed in the Battle of 
Kickapoo. Another son, Abraham 
Burnett, is known to have been in com- 
mand of the band of Kickapoos and 
Potawatomies which attempted to am- 
bush Gen. Harrison's army in 1811 in 
the southern part of this county where 
the bluffs and ravines extend down to 
;he river opposite the vicinity of Per- 
Vysville. Had it not been for the cun- 
aing of Zachariah Cicot, who may have 
bad an intimation of the ambush from 
:«ome of his Indian henchmen, the bat- 
(de which became famous as the Battle 
9f Tippecanoe might have been fought 
n this county. Cicot led the army back 
crom the river ten miles into the open 
country on the opposite side and the 
surprise of Burnett and his Indians 
ailed. 

The Burnetts made their home in 
^hat is now Wabash township, Foun- 
;ain county, their camp being located 
lear a spring in what is now Capt. 
Schuyler LaTourette's barnyard. The 
pe spring there is still known as Bur- 
nett's spring. 

In after years when the United States 
government made settlements with the 
Indians the Burnetts were well pro- 
vided for. They got six sections of 
and, most of it in Tippecanoe county, 
(>ut almost one section of it in the 
lortheast corner of Fountain county. 
The large flint deposits, which have 
)een operated for years, and from 
;vhich the refractories brick plant of 
Danville, HI., secured the material for 
ts fire brick, is on the Burnett reser- 
ation. North of Lafayette on the 
lorth side of the Wabash river was a 
arger grant of land to these Burnetts 
znown also as the Burnett reservation. 



The name also clings to a creek in that 
locality. 

On Oct. 16, 1826, in a treaty made 
with the Indians at the mouth of the 
Mississinewa where that river empties 
into the Wabash, in addition to the 
lands in Tippecanoe and Fountain 
county, Abraham Burnett was given 
three sections of land, to be located at 
the village of Wyanamac, now Winamac, 
the county seat of Pulaski county. 
Nancy, Eebecca and James and the 
grandson, William, were each given 
one section of land, which was located 
in northern Indiana. Capt. Schuyler 
LaTourette's parents remembered well 
when Burnetts left the land they enter- 
ed. Eobert Eay and myself spent a 
day with Capt. LaTourette and looked 
over the home grounds of the Bur- 
netts. I afterwards visited a relative 
by the name of Burnett, now living at 
Dana, in Vermilion county, Indiana, 
and received further information from 
him regarding these Indiana relatives 
of his. 

From the LaTourette place the Bur- 
netts were taken north into the state 
of Michigan, I think Hetfield had 
charge of this migrating party and 
Charles McKinney of Eichland town- 
ship has the story from Hetfield 's son, 
who marched a ways with the Indians 
as they left here. 

In about 1860, Thomas Marks, who 
lives near Odell in Tippecanoe county, 
went to Kansas to take up a home- 
stead and there met William Burnett, 
the grandson of Kaukeama. He was 
then an old man but still retained his 
chieftainship. Mr. Marks purchased 
of him a horse, saddle, and bridle, and 
was directed by Chief Burnett where 
to find the best lands for entry. Mr. 
Marks told me that under ordinary 



12 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



circumstances this horse, saddle and 
bridle at least calculation was wortli 
$100.00 but Burnett, after learning 
where he was from, would accept from 
him only $12.50. 

The Burnetts' sympathies were al- 
ways with the Indians and the British. 
While they received large grants of 
land from the United States govern- 
ment, they took an active part always 
with the Indians, against the interests 
of the government, and were different 
in their views from Cicot. They were 
never friendly to Cicot for the reason 
that he was always loyal to the Ameri- 



can government and was ready and ac- 
tually did sacrifice everything he had 
but 40 ponies to aid Gen. Harrison. He 
was ready to give everything, even his 
life, that the Wabash country might 
be part of the territory of the United 
States. No man could do more. 

In his old age Cicot always consid- 
ered that he had not been fairly dealt 
with in the matter of land grants as 
the Burnetts, who had fought the gov- 
ernment, were given more than he who 
had stood by it and sacrificed greatly 
for it. 



Indian Tribal Characteristics 



The Indians who lived in this local- 
ity, when the French began making 
settlements along the Wabash, were 
the Wyandotts, the Delawares, the 
Shawnees, Ottawas, Chippewas, Pot- 
awatamies, Miamis, Kickapoos and 
Winnebagos. 

The Miamis claimed to have origin- 
ally possessed the land along the Wa- 
bash river in this locality; the Dela- 
wares occupied the land along White 
river and south of Coal creek in Foun- 
tain county; the E'ickapoos and Pota- 
watamies nunted on the Fountain 
county side in what is now Wabash, 
Fulton and Troy townships, and had 
possession of the territory across the 
river from the little Vermilion river, 
at Newport in Vermilion county to the 
Tippecanoe river. The Miamis com- 
prising the Eel river and Wea tribes, 
had their hunting grounds extending 
from Coal creek north; the Shawnees 
came in later and hunted in the north- 
ern part of Fountain county. 



The Miami Indians are spoken of as 

the Miami Confederates, being a con- ' ' 

federation of different tribes of the Miji'' ' 

amis. They were the original inhabfli 

tants of the Wabash valley and conftP 

prised the Weas, the Eel Eiver, theH 

Shoekeys, and several other smaljf ' 

tribes. The Pottawatomies and Kicki, ' 

Til 
apoos came in from the north; the', 

Delawares and the Wyandottes camo' 

into the Wabash country from the eastP 

The Shawnees were a tribe of tramjij^* 

Indians and gathered a good deal olT^' 

knowledge from the various tribes ojjf 

Indians north and south in their wanir™ 

derings. The Miamis did not wanderij^''* 

they were satisfied with Wabash valr"^ 

ley and they did not care to leave itp ' 

They were the last tribe to cede their '^ 

lands to the United States governmenlip *f' 

They ceded the last of what was know:] 

as the "Big Eeserve" on Novembe 

28, 1S40. The families of John iT^m 

Eiehardville, Francis Godfrey and thPs 

principal chief Me-Shing-lo-Me-Sia annp Gi 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



13 



lany other families remained on the 
.eserve and some of them still live 
lere. 

The Miami Indians were the best 
aecimens, mentally and physically, of 
ay of the Indian tribes that inhabited 
le Wabash valley. The men were tall 
ad straight; the women were larger 
lan the women of any other tribe and 
ir more attractive. They did not in- 
jr-marry with the other tribes, but 
any of the women married white men 
ad many of the men married white 
omen. 

The Miamis were the principal In- 
ians in all the treaties. The Miamis 
ere large men, full six feet high and 
!; almost perfect physique. Their 
omen were beautiful and splendid 
leeimens of womanhood and the men 
ded their women in taking care of 
e papooses and doing the work about 
le tents. 

jThe Kickapoos were short, heavy- 
t, sulky fellows; their women were 
lall and common in appearance and 
e squaws were practically slaves to 
e warriors. 

The Shawnees were handsome men, 
th handsome women, but hardly 
ual to the Miamis. They were per- 
ps the most intelligent of the In- 
ms who ever lived in this locality, 
die the Kickapoos were at the bot- 
m of the scale. 

The Delawares were the most peace- 
l of any of the tribes of Indians who 
ed in this locality, and sometimes 
of the tribes that I have named 
p would hunt together. 
Ouiatenon was the largest Indian 
ftlement in North America; 15,000 
jdians lived in this settlement on 
th sides of the river, and it extended 
im Grindstone creek in Fountain 



county to Wea creek in Tippecanoe, on 
the south side of the river. 

On this side were the Weas and Mi- 
amis; on the other side were some very 
good settlements of Kickapoos and 
Potawatamies. They were very loth 
to leave the hunting grounds along the 
Wabash. 

On the prairies of Warren, Fountain 
and Benton counties were splendid 
pastures for the scattering herds of 
buffalo and deer, and many prairie 
chickens, the streams were filled with 
fish, the birds were in the forest and 
the pheasant, wild turkey and quail, 
there were squirrels galore, and in the 
Wabash Valley the Indian had but 
little trouble to secure his meat. He 
never killed as the white man kills for 
pleasure of killing; he only killed 
game for his food and his clothing, and 
he killed only what he would need; 
he took from the waters only the fish 
he actually needed for food; and the 
birds whose feathers he could utilize 
or whose flesh he could use for food. 
His aim was unerring and when an ar- 
row left the string that bended his bow 
it seldom failed to hit the spot at 
which he aimed. And then the fertile 
soil along the Wabash river was util- 
ized for the growing of corn, which 
he plucked in the roasting ear and 
dried and kept for winter use. Beans 
and other vegetables were grown in 
this locality by them, and they spent 
their winters in comparative comfort 
before the advent of the white man. 

The Potawatamies and Kickapoos 
came from the north and west; the 
Delawares and Winnebagoes came 
from the east, but the Miamis were the 
original tribes here, and in their na- 
tive state they did not inter-marry 
with other tribes, for each tried to 



14 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



preserve their racial or tribal features, stitions and their peculiar forms of 
along with their legends, their super- worship. 



The Battle of Kickapoo 



I have been informed from different 
sources that some persons who are read- 
ing these articles doubt the authentic- 
ity of some statements I am making. I 
am glad to know this tho few of them 
have been brave enough to express 
their doubts to me. How much more 
I should think of these critics if they 
would just come frankly to me and 
ask where I got this information. 

Mr. E.E. Eay of the Attica Daily Tri- 
bune, in his issue of January 26, in an 
article entitled "The Battle of Kicka- 
poo," says, that he doubts whether the 
whites had any part in it, and yet he 
admits a battle having been fought at 
Kickapoo, and says "That there was 
a battle fought at some time on the 
hills opposite Attica is shown by the 
vast number of graves known to exist 
on what is now the Milligan farm" 
and gives other evidences of the bat- 
tle there. 1 had stated that a letter 
in the possession of O. S. Clark, writ- 
ten by his aunt, stated that she had 
visited the battlefield of Kickapoo on 
her wedding trip, and this letter was 
written in the late twenties. 

Much of the material that I have 
been giving is from "Dillion's History 
of Indiana" and Dillon, in that history 
gives the battles leading up to the de- 
struction of Ouiatenon, first in June, 
1797, by Brig. Gen. Charles Scott of 
Kentucky, and in the same year by 
Gon. John Wilkinson. He gives Scott 's 
line of march, the date that he started 
and the different places where he 



camped; it tells of his coming to Quia- ■' 
tenon and gives a description of the '-; 
battle there. The river was not out in ^'' 
the bottoms, but it was too high to be ^^ 
forded easily when this battle was '' 
fought, and in his official report of this 
battle, in which he used 750 men. Gen. 
Scott says that he sent Wilkinson two 'i'J 
miles up the river from Ouiatenon to '™ 
ford the river but he could not ford 1^3 
there. Scott had covered with his 750 ^^e 
men the entire length of the settle- '^s 
ment. One of the villages which he ■Jfl' 
mentions was located in the north- Fi 
east comer of Fountain county; there J?i 
were actual engagements here. They 'joo. 
were shooting across the river at thojWUs 
Kickapoo villages on the opposite side,')* i 
On page 264 Dillon's history quotes soat 
Scott as follows: "About this timeW.S 
word was brought me that Col. Hardinwott 
was encumbered with prisoners anduttls 
had discovered a strong village furtheri^'e aj 
to my left (down the river) than thosef 
I had observed, which he was pro-i 
ceeding to attack. I immediately dei|<i tit 
tached Capt. Brown with his companywstbi 
to support Col. Hardin" — (Brown 's'wat 
company was attacking the Indians Jfiwij 
near the county line; Scott himself Ijaay ; 
was near what is now Granville, anc 
Wilkinson was sent two miles furthe^ii 
up the river) "but the distance being 
six miles (from Brown) before the|*a i 
Captain arrived, the business was done,* 
Col. Hardin joined me a little before 
sunset, having killed six warriors andJileii 



taken fifty-two prisoners." 



i%( 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



15 



Now, six miles down the river on 
if! side there were no Indian villages; 
E miles down the river was what was 
terwards known as the Emmons Ford, 
w on the Gus and Ed Leaf place, 
lich was then a gravel ford and the 
st ford along the Wabash. Here 
irdin's men could cross the river, 
ige a battle on the other side with 
e Kickapoo village in the morning 
d it would take them until about six 
jlock in the evening to return. They 
ly reported killing six warriors, they 
Dbably killed more; it is sure that 
ey did kill six and they took fifty- 
prisoners. Figuring the distances 
have concluded this would have 
iched to the Kickapoo village which 
i,s a large and strong village on the 
ckapoo creek. 

Prom another source comes interest- 
\r confirmation of the battle of Kick- 
loo. A. S. Peacock, of this city, re- 
ikis that his father (who was one of 
l^ first settlers of Attica) told him 
lat W. E. Crumpton, grandfather of 
t E. Crumpton, jr., was with General 
btt in this expedition and was one 
j. the detachment that fought the bat- 

against the Indians at Eackapoo. 
ampton later returned to the site of 
tica and establisht a store in a cabin 

the river bank, which became the 
3t business house of Attica. The il- 
itration printed herewith is from a 
9,wing which Mr. Peacock had made 
^ny years ago and is from deserip- 
|ns as given by his father and other 
■ settlers. The Crumpton family had 
prominent part in the affairs of At- 
a during the first generation of its 
stence. 

tf Hardin captured 52 warriors and 
led only six there is great prob- 

lity that this is not a complete cas- 



ualty list. The custom of the Indians 
was to fight as far as possible under 
cover and if the engagement lasted 
several hours, as the report indicates, 
it is probablo that this was the case 
there. If this were true many more 
might have been killed and their bodies 
hidden in the brush by their comrades 
or the squaws. The fact that at least 
58 warriors were engaged indicates 
that there was at Kickapoo a village of 
probably three to five hundred Indiana 
counting the old men, the women and 
the children. 

Personally I am of the opinion that 
thig was not the only fight at Kicka- 
poo, but evidence is lacking to establish 
it, except the large number of 
bones that have been unearthed at 
Kickapoo. It is recalled by residents 
of that community that a number of 
years ago the creek bank caved away 
uncovering a lot of these bones, which 
had the appearance of having been 
buried together in a trench rather than 
in single graves. 

In closing his article Mr. Eay says 
"The Handbook of the American In- 
dian, issued by the Ethnological Bu- 
reau and purporting to give all the 
tribes of Indians and noted characters, 
makes no mention of Sheshepah, al- 
leged leader of the Indians." In the 
history of Vermilion county, Indiana, 
it is stated that Sheshepah, or Seseepe, 
was the principal chief of the Kicka- 
poos, and the stories that I told of him 
I got from an authentic history of 
that county. 

In the U. S. Statutes at Large, No. 
7, entitled "Indian Treaties," at page 
120, six Kickapoo Indian chiefs signed 
the treaty at Greenville, Ohio, on July 
22, 1814, the most important treaty 
that William Henry Harrison ever made 



16 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



with the Indians, and Sheshepah, or 
Duck, was one of the six Kickapoo 
chiefs that signed that treaty. In the 
same volume at page 146, in a treaty 
entered into at T*^t. Harrison (now 
Terre Haute) on the 4th day of June, 
1816, Benjamin Parker being the spe- 
cial agent of the president, Sheshepah, 
or Little Duck, signs as the principal 
chief of the Kickapoos. This I am giv- 
ing from Indian treaties taken from 
the Statutes of the United States of 
America, and I believe it to be as au- 
thentic as the "Handbook of the Amer- 
ican Indian, issued by the Ethnological 
Bureau." 

No, Mr. Eay, I am not talking thru 
my hat, neither am I an inspired writ- 
er. I have the documents to back up 
the statements that I am making in 
regard to the Indians, and the early 
settlers in this locality. I could not 
give the names, the place and the date 
without the authority to back me; I 
was not there, I am not writing from 
memory; I occasionally add some le- 
gend but I tell where it came from and 
give it simply for what it is worth. 

After Hardin returned to Scott's 
main army Scott siys "The next morn- 
ing I determined to detach my Lieu- 
tenant Colonel Commandant with five 
hundred men to destroy the important 
town of Kethtipcanunk eighteen miles 
from my camp, and on the west side of 
the Wabash. Three hundred sixty men 
only could be found in a capacity to 
undertake the enterprise, and they 
prepared to march on foot. Col. Wil- 
kinson marched with this detachment 
at half after five in the evening and 
returned to my camp the next day at 
one o'clock, having marched thirty-six 
miles in twelve hours, and destroyed 



atf 



the most important settlement of tb 
enemy in that quarter of the feder; 
territory." But I wish to call yoi 
attention to the fact that he sent non< 
down the river for the reason that Got 
Hardin had disposed of all danger the 
day before in that direction. Wheii. 
Brig. Gen. Scott left he released siift 
weak and infirm prisoners at Oui 
tenon and gave them a written speed 
in which he said, among other things: 

' ' The sovereign council of the thir- 
teen United States have long patiently 
borne your depredations among their i 
settlements on this side of the great 1 
mountains. Their mighty sons and 
chief warriors have at length taken up 
the hatchet, they have penetrated far 
into your country to meet your war- .j^j 
riors and punish them for their trans- ^j 
gressions; they have destroyed your ^^ 
old town Ouiatenon and the neighbor- ^^j 
ing villages, and have taken many |j, 
prisoners; they have proceeded to your p^^i 
town of Kethtipcanunk^ and that great ^i 
town has been destroyed. They are 1^^^, 
merciful as they are strong, and they j^j. 
again indulge the hope that you willLj^j 
come to a sense of your true interestSjU 
and determine to make a lasting peaee|k,j 
with them and all their children fori, 
ever. " , . 

In speaking of Topenibe, the Potas .^ 
watami chief, and brother ofKaukeamasi 
Burnett, the United States Statues at (1°^ 
Large says: "That the United States ijj^^ 
extend their indulgence of peace alsadj 
to the bands of the Potawatamies which tL 
adhere to the Grand Sachem Tobinip- ji 
we," and at page 298 it says, speaking ,^j, 
of Kaukeama Burnett: "Kaukeamaj , 
the sister of Topenibe, the principal 
chief of the Putawatimie tribe of In- 
dians." I only add this that there may r, '^ 



eE 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



17 



no question about Topenibe, the 
l)tawatami chief, as there was about 
leshepah, the chief of the Kickapoos. 
iVariation in spelling of these Indian 



names is due to the fact that when they 
were affixt to treaties they were written 
by the interpreter, who was compelled 
to rely upon the pronounciation alone. 



Topenebee 



The Potawatami tribe of Indians, 
th the Kiekapoos, inhabited the ter- 
ory along the Wabash valley on the 
istern side of the river from the Lit- 
' Vermilion which empties into the 
'abash near Newport in Vermilion 
'jnty, north to the Tippecanoe, and 
I of the state of Michigan, all of the 
i,te of Wisconsin, and northern II- 
jois. This was the most monarchial 
Ibe of Indians in all North America 
fd the principal chief and sachem of 
h Potawatamies presided over their 
I'iinsels, directed their tribal affairs 
ijd was the head of their religion. To- 
l^ebee held this position among all 
h Potawatimies in North America for 
|)ut fifty years. He and his sister, 
ukeama Burnett, were full-blooded 
tawatamies. Their father first mar- 
d the daughter of a Kickapoo chief 
i Sheshepah, the Kickapoo chief, 
s the only child by the first mar- 
ge. He held his chieftainship among 
( Kiekapoos from his mother, and his 
;h position among the Potawatamies 
m his father. Topenebee was not a 
rrior. He was more of a circuit rider 
a it took all his time to visit and 
k after the welfare of the many 
bes of Potawatomies over which he 
isided. Topenebee 's headquarters 
s in the vicinity of Attica. I am of 
I opinion that he made his local 
Ldquarters in the vicinity of the nu- 
rous springs, from those in Eavine 



park, in Attica to what is now the 
Clark place, this side of Eiverside. 

Topenebee took part in the defense 
of Ouiatenon against General Charles 
Scott in June of 1791. He also took 
part in the defense of Ouiatenon against 
General James Wilkinson in August of 
the same year and perhaps some of his 
Potawatami aged men and squaws were 
killed by Major John F. Hamtramck 
in 1792 at the mouth of the Vermilion 
river. He took part in the battle of 
the Falling Timbers (Wayne's victory 
in August of 1794) and signed the 
Treaty of Peace made with General An- 
thony Wayne at Greenville, Ohio, on 
August 3, 1795, as the principal chief 
of the Potawatamies. He signed the 
Treaty of Peace at Mississinewa on Oc- 
tober 16, 1826, as the principal chief 
signing that treaty, and on September 
20, 1828, at St. Joseph, on Lake Michi- 
gan, in the territory of Michigan, he 
signed as the principal chief in that 
treaty. In the treaty made on the Tip- 
pecanoe river October 27, 1832, he sign- 
ed as the principal chief. And at the 
treaty made at Chicago on the 26th day 
of September, 1833 he again signed as 
the principal chief, so that his signing 
of treaties extended over a period of 
thirty- eight years. 

From 1805 to about 1808 the Shaw- 
nees were trying to make treaties with 
the various tribes in this locality. 
Sometime in the fall of the year 1807 



18 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



Topenebee and the Kickapoos and Pot- 
awatamies, Miamis and Winnebagos 
met Tecumseh and his prophet beneath 
the spreading branches of a splendid 
oak that stood within the corporate 
limits of the city of Attica. Many of 
the older citizens can remember this 
tree. It stood on the lot where Frank 
Merrick now lives and according to 
Jack Hegler was cut down about 1866 
for the construction of the house in 
which Mr. Merrick lives. This oak 
was known locallv as "The Council 
Tree" and was pointed out to visitors 
on account of its beauty and its histor- 
ical connection. It was cut down by 
a man named Mitchell, and there was 
general regret among the citizens of 
the city when the tree was destroyed. 
In this council it was agreed that the 
Shawnee tribe, under Tecumseh and 
hJs brother, The Prophet, might have as 
their hunting ground the territory 
drained by Shawnee creek and then a 
line drawn from there to the water- 
shed of the Tippecanoe river, and up 
the Tippecanoe river about twenty 
miles. So Tecumseh and The Prophet 
and their tribe located at the mouth of 
the Tippecanoe in the spring of 1808, 
by permission of the Potawatamies and 
Kickapoos, as the result of the council 
held beneath the oak in what is now 
the city of Attica. 

In the allotment of land to the In- 
dians Topenebee took his grants here 
and there over the large territory over 
which he presided, among them a splen- 
did piece of land in Benton county, 
which after his death was sold by his 
heirs to Edward Sumner. Sumner lived 
on Shawnee prairie in Fountain county 



and owned four hundred acres of Ian 
which he sold at $40.00 an acre. Hi 
made a sale of his personal property^ 
bought Topenebee 's grant in Benton 
county and from this purchase made •'" 
the foundation of the millions which ilF 
was afterwards the property of Sum- 



Tov,' 



ffl 
ner's estate. The famous Caldwell and 

Hawkins law suits in Warren and Ben- i, 

:diii 
ton counties were over land once own- 1,, , 

fot 

ed by Topenebee and of the land grant- ;y 

ed to him. L 

Topenebee went from this locality in-i;Jiej 

to the state of Michigan. In the latter ip 

part of June in 1840 he passed from dire 

among the inhabitants of earth and na 

took his trackless way alone to the hap- f 

py hunting ground. The gentle zephyrs '^ 

laden with the perfume of blossoms '^'' 

from tree and vine and shrub, blew 

softly past his wigwam; the song birds ' 

came to warble their harmonious notes ' 

■). iprii 
of love over his funeral bier. Th«fu , 

tribe of the Potawatami sincerelyij 

mourned the departure of their beloveA-Lj 

sachem, their worthy and trusted chiefJiJijijj 

and bore his remains to an Indiai^iiue 

graveyard and laid them in the bosom:i|oth 

of the earth, which he deemed as hia|ita 

mother. Thus this loved and loving 

child of nature went the way of 

the earth, and now there remain bu 

a few legends and scattering ref erencei ; ' "I 

by early historians concerning him. An( i| 

yet, there is sufficient to show that hi i 

was a greater man than Tecumseh ii j 

his day and exerted a far greater in iL^ ' 

fluence among the red men of the cen 

tral states. But it was ever thus — tb 

popular glory is to the warrior an( iingj 

the heroes of peace have but scant] ^ n, 

praise. 



aSffiti 



'irvej 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



19 



Tecumseh and the Prophet 



Early in the year 1806 Tecumseh 
ad his brother, The Prophet, accom- 
anied by a small band of Shawnees, 
oved from the Delaware town on the 
/hite river in Indiana to Greenville, 
If the state of Ohio, and about this 
me began making treaties with the 
otawatamies, Wyandottes, Kickapoos 
id Miamis for hunting grounds along 
le Wabash valley. In 1807 these tre- 
es were finally finished beneath the 
treading branches of "The Council 
ree, " in the city of Attica, as related 
a preceding sketch, and in the spring 

1808 they settled on the banks of 
e Wabash near the mouth of the Tip- 
canoe river, at a place which after- 
^rds bore the name of The Prophet's 
)wn. There were only about forty 
lawnees who came with them that 
ring but there were about one hun- 
ed Indians from other tribes in this 
w settlement. Tecumseh was then 
ming to complete his federation and 
ite all the Indians in all North 
tneriea into one great confederation, 
ith offensive and defensive, hoping 
us to serve the best interests not of 
y particular trible but of all the 
bes and of all the Indians. 
Tecumseh maintained and expressed 
3 opposition to the making of treaties 
r the disposal of Indian lands, and, 

speaking to Governor Harrison at 
ncennes, in August, 1810, Tecumseh 
^arly intimated that he would resist 
y attempt that might be made to 
tvey the lands which had been ceded 

the United States. The lands ob- 
ned by Governor Harrison and ceded 

the Indians to the United States, 
der various treaties, amounted to 



about thirty millions of acres. On the 
12th of August, 1810 Tecumseh attend- 
ed by 75 warriors arrived at Vincen- 
nes. From this time until the 22d of 
August Governor Harrison was almost 
daily engaged in the business of hold- 
ing interviews and counsels with this 
celebrated Shawnee Indian. 

The conduct of Tecumseh was haugh- 
ty and his speeches were bold and in 
some degree arrogant. In one of his 
speeches addressed to Governor Harri- 
son on the 20th of August, which was 
taken down by the order of the Gov 
ernor, the following passages are 
found : 

"Brother, I wish you to listen to me 
well. As I think you do not clearly 
understand what I before said to you 
I will explain it again. Since the 
peace (of Greenville in 1795) was made 
the white people have killed some of 
the Shawnee, Winnebagos, Delawares 
and Miamis, and you have taken our 
lands from us and I do not see how 
we can remain at peace with you if you 
continue to do so. You try to force the 
red people to do some injury. It is 
you that are pushing them on to do 
mischief. You endeavor to make dis- 
tinctions. You wish to prevent the In- 
dians to do as we wish them, to unite 
and let them consider their lands as 
the common property of the whole. You 
take tribes aside and advise them not 
to come into this measure, and until 
our design is accomplished, we do not 
wish to accept of your invitation to 
go and see the President." 

The Prophet may have had his faults 
but intemperance was not one of them. 
He bitterly opposed the sale of intox- 



20 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



ieants to the Indians. In an interview 
with one of the messengers who visited 
The Prophet's Town in the month of 
June, 1810, The Prophet declared that 
it was not his intention to make war 
on the white people; and he said that 
some of the Delawares and other In- 
dians had been bribed with whiskey, 
to make false charges against him« 
When pressed by the messenger, Mr. 
Dubois, to state the grounds of his 
complaints against the United States, 
The Prophet said that the Indians had 
been cheated out of their lands; that 
no sale was good unless made by all the 
tribes; that he had settled at the mouth 
of the Tippecanoe by order of the 
Great Spirit and that he was, likewise, 
ordered to assemble as many Indians 
as he could collect at that place. In 
August of 1808, The Prophet in an in- 
terview with Governor Harrison said: 
"Father, it is three years since I first 
began with that system of religion 
which I now practice. The white people 
and some of the Indians were against 
me but I had no other intention but to 
introduce among the Indians those 
good principles of religion which the 
white people profess. The Great Spir- 
it told me to tell the Indians that he 
had made them, and made the world; 
that he had placed them on it, to do 
good, and not evil. I told the red skins 
that the way they were in, was not 
good and that they ought to abandon 
it; that we ought to consider ourselves 
as one man; but we ought to live agree- 
able to our several customs, the red 
people after their mode, the white peo- 
ple after theirs, particularly that they 
should not drink whiskey; that it was 
not made for them, and that it is the 
cause of all the mischiefs which the 
Indians suffer." 



IS 



And Tecumseh himself was as bitter 
ly opposed to the use of whiskey and 
intoxicating drinks as his brother. The 
Prophet. 

The Shawnees came to The Prophet 'd n 
Town in 1808 and some of them stayed 
there until the town was destroyed by 
General Samuel Hopkins, November, 
1812, one year after the battle of Tip-JWd 
pecanoe by Harrison. Some of them 
went about fifty miles further north in ^ 
Indiana and lived there about four 
years longer so, all told, the Indians 
under Tecumseh and The Prophet did 
not live in Indiana to exceed eight 
years. Both Tecumseh and The Pro- 
phet afterwards joined the British. The 
Prophet and some of the principal 
chiefs of the Miamis retired from the 
borders of the Wabash and moved to 
Detroit where they were received as 
friends and allies of Great Britian. In 
September, 1815 the Shawnee Prophet 
attended some of the sessions of the 
Councils held at the Spring Well near ^. 
Detroit and retired with a few of hisi^i 
followers across the river Detroit, to ''■ 
British territory. Before the treaty 
was signed, however, they professed 
in open council, before they went 
away, the most pacific intentions and 
declared that they would adhere to ; 
any treaty made by the chiefs wb 
would remain. Sometime afterwards, 
The Prophet returned to the Shawnefljt 
settlement in the state of Ohio, fro 
whence with a band of Shawnees 1 
removed to the Indian country on th9' 
western side of the Mississippi rivetj^ 
where he died in 1834. The Britishiliii 
government allowed him a pensionid 
from the year 1813 until his death. Te^^ 
eumseh, the distinguished brother o^i ut 
The Prophet, was killed at the Battlel 
of the Thames on the 5th of October, 
1813. 



fiie; 



itert 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



21 



A Little Family History 



The name of my Grandfather Whick- 
r's mother, before she was married, 
ras Bingaman. The family was Ger- 
lan and came into the state of Vir- 
inia about the year 1600 and lived on 
le frontiers. Many of the incidents 
f their frontier lifehave been for years 
matter of recorded history, a little 
E which I shall relate in these artle- 
ss as it may tend to show why I have 
ach a keen personal interest in the 
istory of these first Americans. 
While living in what is now Green- 
rier county, West Virginia, the father 
as away from home on " business. A 
and of Indians surrounded the cabin 
I which the family lived. After a 
esperate struggle they captured them 
1 alive and took the entire family and 
leir belongings with them. When the 
Ither returned he immediately gather- 
his neighbors and went in pursuit 
the Indians. They overtook the 
idians and succeeded in getting all 
e family but one little girl five years 
age. This little girl they could not 
lid and were forced to return to the 
ttlement without her. The family 
terwards moved to what is now Guil- 
ird county, North Carolina. Two of 
e boys who were a few years older 
an the girl, when they became young 
fen, started in search of their sister 
kd wandered from one tribe of In- 
ans to another until at last they 
bnd her, a young woman living with 
e Miami Indians in the state of Ohio, 
the Maumee river. She had been 
lopted by an Indian chief and his 
rfe and was satisfied with her home, 
It, finally, the chief and his wife con- 
ated to her return with her brothers 
th the understanding that a year 
;er they (the Indians) should go to 



North Carolina to see her. With this 
agreement she went back with her 
brothers to North Carolina. Every- 
thing was done to make her home hap- 
py that the family could do but she 
longed for the life of the Indians and 
when the year Avas up and her foster 
parents came to North Carolina to see 
her, she of her own free will, returned 
with them to the life in the forest. She 
afterwards married a Miami chief and 
the tribe of which she was a member 
came to the Wabash valley. She raised 
a large family of children and my 
grandfather's brothers and sisters of- 
ten visited their aunt and their Indian 
cousins. These visits and their friend- 
ship was continued until about 1840 
after the last treaty was made at the 
forks of the Wabash and those Indian 
relatives went with the rest of the 
tribe to the state of Kansas. My father 
told me that he never heard any of the 
family speak of those Indian cousins, 
his father's aunt and her husband, on- 
ly in the kindest of terms, and often 
the families would visit back and forth 
and stay for a week or more at a time. 
Afterwards two of my grandfather's 
brothers and his father settled in Dela- 
ware county, Indiana, on what is now 
one of the finest farms in that county, 
taking up land selected by their In- 
dian relatives. Nearly all of the re- 
serves made to the Miami Indians were 
made to individuals with French, En- 
glish and German names. I believe the 
Miami Indians to have been the most 
intelligent as well as the most hand- 
some tribe in North America. I have 
regretted very much that our family 
did not keep in touch with those In- 
dian cousins. 



22 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



The Earthquake of 1811 



Probably the most noted earthquake 
that ever oceured in the United States 
was that which happened in 1811 and 
reached from a little below Louisville, 
Kentucky, on the Ohio river to a con- 
siderable distance below New Madrid 
on the Mississippi. The first shock was 
felt on the 16th day of December of 
that year. 

The few French settlers along the 
Wabash from The Prophet's Town to 
Montezuma knew that there was likely 
to be trouble between the settlers and 
the Indians. The Burnetts, in the 
lower end of Fountain county, had cast 
their fate with the Indians and Zach- 
ariah Cicot, of Independence, had de- 
cided to east his lot with Harrison and 
the settlers. A Frenchman constructed 
a flatboat on the Vermilion river 
about where Eugene now stands, and 
Zachariah Cicot and the Burnetts help- 
ed to load this boat with furs and other 
produce to be taken to New Orleans by 
the Frenchman who had constructed 
the boat. This flatboat was to leave, 
and did leave, the mouth of the Vermil- 
ion river before Harrison left Vin- 
cennes. Cicot had probably invested 
about everything he had with the ex- 
ception of the forty ponies which he 
saved, in furs, and his furs were on this 
flatboat on the way to New Orleans 
when he joined Harrison and the army. 
This flatboat reached the Mississippi 
and floated down the stream just in 
time to be caught in the earthquake. 

The channel of the Mississippi river 
was changed in many places; sand bars 
were sunk in some places and new ones 
appeared in others. The banks of the 



river caved in in many places and large 
openings appeared in the earth from 
which issued smoke, cinders, burnt and 
reddish sand, mud and boiling water. 
The chimneys of the houses were 
shaken down and many houses were 
ruined. Eeel Foot lake, in Tennessee, 
was formed by this earthquake, while 
many lakes in Missouri were emptied 
by it. A large island in the Mississippi 
covered with a forest of large trees, 
sank into the bed of the river never to 
appear again. Lightning darted from 
the bosom of the earth towards the 
sky and this continued along with the 
roaring and other disturbances, for over 
six weeks, even the current of the 
Mississippi river was changed and at 
one time for more than an hour the 
waters ran up stream. 

Just at this time, while these con- 
vulsions were causing universal horror, 
the first steamboat that ever navigat- 
ed the western waters, and named the 
New Orleans, was making her way out 
of the Ohio into the Mississippi and 
down the Mississippi, the intention be 
ing to run the boat between Natchez 
and New Orleans. This pioneer steam 
craft was destined to have as stormy 
a time as her human contemporaries, 
but after a thousand narrow escapes 
from snags and sand bars and earth- 
quake shocks she arrived at Natchez 
January 7, 1812. The flatboat was 
caught in this backward flow of water. 
The Frenchman found a good landing 
for his boat, and knowing that there 
was trouble along the river, waited 
until the earthquake was over and then 
went down the river to New Orleans, 
landing safely with his cargo. Dispos- 
ing of it and his boat he returned and 



I 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



23 



;ttled with those whose produce he 
ad taken. 

Dr. Hildreth says of this convulsion, 
: rather series of convulsions: "An 
7e-witnes3 who was then about forty 
lies below the town of New Madrid 
I a flat boat, on his way to New Or- 
ans with a load of produce and who 
irrated the scene to me, said: 'The 
ptation which convulsed the earth 
id the waters of the mighty Missis- 
ppi filled every living creature with 
>rror. In the middle of the night 
ere was a terrible shock and jarring 
the boats so that the crews were 
,1 awakened and they hurried on deck 
lith their weapons of defense in their 
bnds, thinking the Indians were rush- 
ig on board, the ducks, geese, swans 
lid various other aquatic birds whose 
I'mberless flocks were quietly resting 
i the still waters in the eddies of the 
i^er were thrown into the greatest 
[mult and with loud screams exposed 
tsir alarm in accent of terror. The 
rise and commotion soon became husb- 
and nothing could be found to ex- 
ie apprehensions. The boatmen con- 
ded that the shock was occasioned by 
falling of a large mass of the bank 
the river near them. As soon as it 
s light enough to distinguish objects 
crew were all up, making ready to 
bart, when a loud roaring and hiss- 
was heard like the escape of steam 
m a boiler and the sandbars and the 
nts of an island nearby gave way 
i we saw them swallowed up inthe 
ttultous bosom of the river, tearing 
Nn with them great cottonwood 
es. Cracking and crashing, tossing 
ir great limbs to and fro as if sensi- 
of their danger, the sycamore, cot- 
wood and other large trees disap- 
red beneath the flood of water. The 



water of the river the day before, was 
tolerably clear, and the river was 
rather low. The water changed to a 
reddish hue and became thick with 
mud, thrown up from the bottom of the 
Mississippi, while the surface of the 
water, lashed violently by the agitation 
of the earth beneath, was covered with 
foam which gathered into great masses 
as large as a barrel, and these masses 
of foam floated along on the trembling 
waters. Along the shores the earth 
opened in wide fissures and, closing 
again, threw sand, mud and water, in 
hugh jets higher than the tops of the 
trees. The atmosphere was filled vidth 
a thick vapor or gas to which the sun- 
light imparted a purple tinge alto- 
gether different in appearance from the 
autumnal haze of an Indian summer 
of that of smoke. From the temporary 
check of the current, by the heaving up 
of the bottom of the river and the sink- 
ing banks and the sand bars into the 
bed of the stream, the river rose in a 
few minutes five or six feet and, as if 
impatient of the restraint, again rushed 
forward with redoubled impetuosity, 
hurrying along the boats now set loose 
by the horrer.stricken boatmen, believ- 
ing they were in less danger in the 
water than at the shore where the 
banks threatened every moment to de- 
stroy them by the falling earth or car- 
ry them down in the vortices of the 
sinking masses. 

'Oui boat got thru, but many boats 
were everwhelmed in this manner and 
their crews perished with them. Many 
boats were wrecked on the snags and 
old trees thrown up from the bottom of 
+he Mississippi where they had quietly 
rested for ages while others were sunk 
or stranded on the new sand bars and 
new islands. New Madrid, which stood 



24 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



on a bluff bank fifteen or twenty feet 
above the summer floods, sank so low 
that the next rise covered it to a depth 
of five feet.' " 

In all probability the ye-witness who 
told this story was the Frenchman en- 
routs to New Orleans with Cicot's and 
Burnetts' furs from this section of the 
Wabash valley. 

Mr. Bradbury, an English scientific 
explorer, speaking of this earthquake 
says: "It commenced by distant rumb- 
ling sound, succeeded by discharges as 
if a thousand pieces of artillery were 
suddenly exploded. The earth rockt to 
and fro, vast chasms opened from 
Avhich issued columns of water, sand 
and burning coal accompanied by hiss- 
ing sounds, caused perhaps by the es- 
cape of pent-up steam, while ever and 
anon flashes of electricity gleamed thru 
the troubled clouds of night, rendering 
the darkness doubly terrible. 

"The current of the Mississippi 
pending this elementary strife, was 
driven back upon its source with the 
greatest velocity for several hours, in 
consequence of an elevation of its bed, 
and the stream ran in the opposite di- 



rection. The day that followed this 
night of terror brought no solace in 
its day. Shock followed shock, a 
dense black cloud of vapor over- 
shadowed the land thru which no 
struggling sunbeam found its way i 
cheer the desponding heart of man 
Hills disappeared and lakes were form] 
ed in their stead. One of the lakel 
formed on this occasion is sixty oi 
seventy miles in length and from thre( ( 
to twenty miles in breadth. In some ( 
places it is very shallow, while in othei 
places it is from fifty to one hundred (i|t 
feet in depth, much deeper than the 
Mississippi river in that quarter. In dj 
sailing over its surface, in a light canoi < 
the voyager is struck with astonishmenj ij 
at beholding the giant trees of the for- it 
est, standing partly exposed amid a 
waste of waters, branchless and leaf- 
less, and the wonder is still further in- 
creased on looking into the dark blue 
depth to observe cane.brakes covering ,, 
its bottom over which a mammoth 
species of testudo is seen dragging hit 
slow length along which countless myri- a; 
ads of fish are sporting thru the \c 
aquatic thickets." ,(t 



Harrison's March to Tippecanoe | 



One hundred and four years marks 
but a short space in the world's his- 
tory. One hundred and four years ago 
Napoleon was making history in Eur- 
ope. It had been only nine years since 
Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase 
and England viewed the new republic 
of the United States as hardly worth 
recognition, and had some designs to- 
ward its annexation. The war of 1812 
was brewing and the threatening clouds 



of war, the occasional flashes of battle 
never passed from our national horizon 
The Indians on our frontiers were rest 
less, and with the eloquent and reason 
ing Tecumseh they were fo.es witl' 
which we had to consider. They heh 
undisputed sway and control of a vas 
empire reaching from the Ohio river t 
Hudson bay and from the Pacific oceai 
to a line markt by the Wabash rivei 
the Maumee and Lake Huron, an enr 



ill 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



25 



pire worth the efforts of a race. It 
A^asi for the retention of this empire for 
:heir posterity that the Indians fought 
it the Battle of Tippecanoe. It was 
nj pleasure in August, 1914, in com- 
)any with Barce and Walker, of Fowler 
md Babcock, of Goodland, all limbs of 
;he law, to follow the trail of William 
lenry Harrison and his gallant army, 
ihat fought the Battle of Tippecanoe, 
Jrom the battle ground to old Fort Har- 
dson which is inside the city limits of 
ferre Haute. We went in a Ford and 
^ook our time. 

The line of march from the battle 
■[round to Pine creek is easily followed 
;*ut from there on the ruthless hand of 
ijivilized man has altered the earth's 
urface, cleared the forest and drained 
he prairie lands; but there is here and 
here along the route a man or woman 
earing the ninety-year mark who has 
ived thru the days of the rugged pio- 
eer, the Mexican war, the gold fever 
f California, seen the exodus to the 
bates west of the Mississippi, the ex- 
iting times of the Civil war and the 
ears of inventive genius and industrial 
ctivity that has followed and still lives, 
.nd their words are as a voice from the 
ast; they are the few links left that 
ind us to those historic days that 
ave past away forever. 
The first of those with whom we talkt 
as John Pugh, the father of Dr. Pugh, 
f Williamsport, then past 89 years 
f age, a nimrod, a mighty hunter of 
[d, the last of the type of Daniel 
ioone. He showed us his faithful old 
|fle and his hunting knives and told us 
ne line of march as he remembered it 
sfore a plow had turned a furrow in 
le prairie or the woodman had felled 
16 trees of the forest. After consult- 
\g with him we took up the line of 



march at the "Army ford" about a 
mile and a half up Pine creek from 
Kramer, just above the dam of the old 
Brier mill. This was the first mill built 
on Pine creek, and the land is still own- 
ed by the Briers. All the early settlers 
for miles about brought their grain to 
this mill to be converted into flour or 
meal. Mr. Pugh gave us a detailed ac- 
count of the mill and the process used 
for separating and grinding the grain. 
From this point Harrison's army skirt- 
ed the prairie. They detailed sixteen 
men to stand guard to prevent an am- 
bush from the river between the camp 
and the river. These sixteen men were 
deployed on each side of Pine creek 
nearly straight north from Williamsport 
and just about where the Williamsport 
road starts across the Pine creek bot- 
toms in going to Kramer. The army 
skirted the prairie for the reason that 
in its march to the battle ground it 
could easily watch and guard the left 
flank of the army and the view of the 
prairie would prevent an ambush. There 
were many Indians along the river so 
the soldiers left the timber land of the 
Wabash well to their right as they 
moved northward. 

It was on the 26th day of September, 
1811, that Governor William Henry 
Harrison with an army of about nine 
hundred men left Vincennes, on his 
momentous expedition against the Wa- 
bash valley Indians. Two hundred and 
fifty of these men composed the Fourth 
Eegiment of the United States Infant- 
ry, sixty were Kentuckians and the re- 
maining six hundred were the militia of 
the territory of Indiana from Oorydon 
and Vincennes along the Wabash and 
Ohio rivers. 

They started on this expedition from 
Fort Harrison, marching up the river, 



26 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



on the eastern side, to Montezuma. It 
took the soldiers two hours to cross the 
Wabash at Montezuma. They then fol- 
lowed near the banks with the army, 
taking their provisions in boats on the 
river, to a point a little below the 
mouth of Coal creek, which is a little 
below the south line of Fountain coun- 
ty. Here on the banks of the river they 
built a fort as a base of supplies, sent 
forty men back to guard the women and 
children at Fort Harrison, and left 
eight men to guard the fort. With the 
assistance of W. W. Porter and his wife 
and sons we were able to locate the site 
of this fort which was on the Porter 
land. John C. Colett, at one time the 
state geologist of Indiana, (a local his- 
torian of rare worth, a philanthropist, 
having given to Vermilion county a 
home for all its orphans with money 
enough for its maintenance, and a park 
1o the city of Terre Haute known as 
Oolett park, and with his brother built 
the C. & E. I. railroad from Terre Haute 
to Chicago and who gave me my first in- 
spiration for the study of geology,) had 
made his home with Porter's parents 
and had inspired Mr. Porter with a 
pride in local history. He made Mr. 
Porter one of the trustees of his or- 
phans' school. The Porters were thus 
able to show us the remains of the cor- 
duroy roads made by the Harrison 
army thru the swampy lands near his 
place. They crossed the Little Vermil- 
ion river just south of Eugene at what 
is known as the ' ' Army ford ' ' near the 
Shelby place. This was the principal 
camping ground of the Kickapoo In- 
dians. After crossing the Vermilion 
river they went north to the prairie in- 
to the State of Illinois, south of Dan- 
ville, and crossed the state line south of 
State Line. Two private soldiers of 



the army were buried in the Gopher 
Hill cemetery south of Marshfield, and 
the trail can be plainly seen thru the 
yard of a farmer who has carefully 
preserved it about a mile and a hall ; 
northwest of the cemetery. They camp- \ 
ed one night in the Eound grove, now ' it 
the property of Frank Goodwine, onl| 
West Lebanon. There was a spring in '' 
this grove which never went dry and 
the grove was far out in the prairie. 
On their return trip two of the soldiers 
were buried in this grove. It can be 
plainly seen from Sloan or Hedrick. 
Cassius M. Clay said the soldiers got 
blue grass seed here and carried it back .,„ 
to Kentucky, from which came thejfiiL 
Kentucky blue grass. From there they " 
mareht to the ' ' Army ford ' ' across Pine 
creek above Brier 's mill. On their re- m 
turn trip they campt one night there, 'ki 
On the northwest shore of the creek 
two of the soldiers died and were bur- 
ied. There was a very large rock in the 
middle of the road one mile south of 
the Butler place knovvm as the "Army 
Eock. " It was a niggerhead and the a 
largest niggerhead in Warren county. ;;*< 
The trail led past the rock. A road au-iiout! 
pervisor with about as little regard forrpiti 
local history as a country school teacher 'pte 
had Charley Burgeson break this rock 
into small particles with dynamite aijjndi 
few years ago. 

Zachariah Cicott, who was born of' 
an Indian mother and a French father,! 
near Independence, and lived to be ani: 
old man on the grounds where he waSi resfj 
born, led the Harrison army from th<i 'asli 
camp on the Wabash near Cayuga tdt ctl j 
the battle ground. The men who mad^l'etit 
the advance guard were under Duboiajf n lie 
and this Dubois was the grandfather oi e, ]( 
the XJ. S. senator from Idaho of thfli upafit 
same name. Daviess, who had chargi;iitit 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



27 



f the trial of Aaron Burr for treason, 
'as in tMs march and in the battle, 
"aylor, who for many years was judge 
E this judicial district was in the march 
ad in the battle. Tipton, who at one 
me represented our state in the United 



battle and many other equally as prom- 
inent made this march and were in the 
battle. 

I hope that we can some time get 
this line of march plainly marked from 



bate senate, was in the march and the Fort Harrison to Tippecanoe. 



Battle of Tippecanoe 



iln 1800 Congress created the Terri- 

iry of Indiana and Gen. Wm. Henry 

arrison, who had been governor of the 

iorthwest Territory, was continued as 

ivernor of the new territory, with 

;adquarters at Vincennes. For ten 

ears the Indians, inflamed by agents 

' the British and by ambitious chief - 

ins, continued to wage guerilla war- 

■re against the encroaching settlers. 

hite men were shot down in their 

Ifclds, women and children were awak- 

led in the night by savage warwhoops, 

aybe to find the roof blazing over 

eir heads. Most of these depreda- 

)ns were committed further east and 

luth than this section, the tide of 

aite settlement having not yet pene- 

ated this far. It was here however 

at the Indians had their strongholds 

d it is for that reason that the final 

ttles with them were fought here. 

Of the battles the most important in 

effects was the Battle of Tippeca- 

, Compared with the battles of the 

esent great war in Europe this battle 

is but a tiny skirmish — the losses on 

ith sides did not exceed a hundred — 

it it had a very important effect up_ 

the history of the American repub- 

It not only made possible the oe- 

pation and settlement of Indiana 

fc it settled the Indian question ef- 



fectively for the whole western coun- 
try. This resulted in the settlement of 
the Mississippi valley and ultimately 
U:d to the extention of the territory of 
tlio rjnited States to the Pacific coast. 
Thus in the history of the developement 
of the human race it was more import- 
ant than any of the bloody battles that 
have been fought thus far in the pres- 
ent European war. 

In a preceding article I have told 
you how Gen. Harrison, out of patience 
because he had been unable to effect 
a ticatj with Tecumseh and to con- 
vince him that it was useless for iho 
red man to oppose the march of the 
white, had finally determined to de- 
Etroy his headquarters — The Prophet's 
Town— at the junction of the Tippeca- 
noe and Wabash rivers. It was in 1808 
that Tecumseh had established his 
headquarters at this point on invitation 
of the Potawatomies. This town was 
sometimes known as Tippecanoe and it 
grew rapidly in importance as the head- 
qaar-ters of the confederacy which 
Tecumseh and his brother, The Prophet, 
vere organizing among the Indian 
tribes cf the whole country. Tecums-ia 
establi?ht relations with the British m 
C.'inada and while holding talks, some- 
times peaceful and sometimes stormy 
with the territorial authorities, he was 



28 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



retiUy ciganizing a war against them 
Those practices he continued until 1811 
when in futherance of his plans he went 
south leaving The Prophet in control of 
affairs in Indiana. 

Gen. Harrison had a proper estimate 
of Tccumseh. In an official report he 
said of him: "If it were not for the 
vicinity of the United States he would 
perhaps be the founder of an empire 
that would rival in glory Mexico and 
Peru. No difficulties deter him. Tor 
four years he has been in constart 
motion. You see him today on the V/a- 
bash and in a short time hear of him en 
the shores of Lake Erie or Michigan, 
or on the banks of the Mississippi, and 
wherever he goes he makes an impres- 
sion favorable to his purpose. He is aow 
upon the last rounds to put a finish- 
ing stroke upon his work. I hope, how. 
ever, before his return that part of 
that work which he considered complete 
will be demolished and even its founda- 
tion rooted up." 

Governor Harrison's judgement was 
sound and it was time to act. Had he 
delayed until the return of Tecumseh, 
possibly within a few weeks, the whole 
trontiei — from Michigan to Georgia — 
might have been drencht in blood. 
Knowing that a war was imminent he 
boldly struck at the heart of the mat- 
ter by marching against the head- 
quarters of the confederacy, and seized 
another advantage by doing it when 
the interpid leader was away, Tecumseh 
being in Mississippi when the battle 
occurred. 

I have told you the story of the 
march from Vineennes up the Wabash. 
It was the 26th day of September when 
the army set out from Vineennes and 
at 2:00 o'clock Nov. 6th it halted and 
camped two miles from The Prophets 



lafl 



Town, and it was there that the Battle 
of Tippecanoe was fought. 

Perhaps I can convey to my readers 
the best description of this battle by 
giving an account of it written by Isaac 
Naylor, who was a militiaman in the 
battle and who afterward settled at 
Crawfordsville and became judge of 
this circuit, which at that time includ- 
ed Fountain county. He was a man of 
ability and afterward had a very im- 
portant part in the developement of 
this section. The manuscript from 
which I quote was lost for many years 
but was found some twenty years ago;i 
and is now a part of the established ( 
history of the battle. Following iBJu^i 
his account: 

When the army arrived in view of 
The Prophet's Town, an Indian was^Jm 
seen coming toward General Harrison 
with a white flag suspended on a pole. 
Here the army halted, and a parley wasajlet! 
had between General Harrison and anu 
Indian delegation, who assured the 
General that they desired peace, and 
solemnly promised to meet him thei i 
next day in council, to settle the termsii lou 
of peace and friendship between them: 
and the United States. 

General Marston G. Clark, who wasti 
then brigade major, and Waller Taylor,*; 
one of the judges of the General Court 
of the Territory of Indiana, and aftef->; 
wards a Senator of the United States*] 
from Indiana (one of the General 'Bi 
aide's), were ordered to select a plaoflciiom 
for the encampment, which they didi 
The army then marcht to the grounAjnu 
selected about sunset. A strong guardi[reat 
was placed around the encampment, 
commanded by Capt. James Bigger aii£ 
three lieutenants. The troops wert 
ordered to sleep on their arms. Tttl 
night being cold, large fires were ma 



iies, 



«ia 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



29 



long the lines of the encampment and 
ach soldier retired to rest, sleeping on 
lis arms. 

I Having seen a number of squaws and 
hildren at the town I thought the 
ndians were not disposed to fight. 
k.bout ten o'clock at night Joseph War- 
'ock and myself retired to rest, he tak- 
iig one side of the fire and I the other, 
he members of our company being all 
sleep. My friend Warnock had dream, 
d, the night before, a bad dream which 
brboded something fatal to him or to 
bme of his family, as he told me. 
laving myself no confidence in dreams, 
> thot but little about the matter, 
itho I observed that he never smiled 
fterwards. 

I awoke about four o 'clock the next 
horning after a sound and refreshing 
leep, having heard in a dream the fir- 
ig of guns and the whistling of bul- 
ts just before I awoke from my slum- 
3r. A drizzling rain was falling and 
.1 things were still and quiet thruout 
le camp. I was engaged in making 

calculation when I should arrive 
bme. 
In a few moments I heard the crack 

a rifle in the direction of the point 
here now stands the Battle Ground 
ouse. I had just time to think that 
me sentinel was alarmed and fired 
s rifle without a real cause, when I 
bard the crack of another rifle, fol- 
iwed by an awful Indian yell all 
found the encampment. In less than 
minute I saw the Indians charging 
ir line most furiously and shooting a 
i-eat many rifle balls into our camp 
(res, throwing the live coals into the 
|r three or four feet high. 
At this moment my friend Warnock 
as shot by a rifle ball thru his body, 
e ran a few yards and fell dead on 



the ground. Our lines were broken and 
a few Indians were found on the inside 
of the encampment. In a few minutes 
they were all killed. Our lines closed 
up and our men in their proper places. 
One Indian was killed in the back part 
of Captain Geiger's tent, while he was 
attempting to tomahawk the Captain. 

The sentinels, closely pursued by the 
Indians, came to the lines of the en- 
campment in haste and confusion. My 
brother, William Naylor, was on guard. 
He was pursued so rapidly and furiously 
that he ran to the nearest point on the 
left flank, where he remained with 
a company of regular soldiers until the 
battle was near its termination. A 
young man, whose name was Daniel 
Pettit, was pursued so closely and fur- 
iously by an Indian as he was running 
from the guard line to our lines, that 
to save his life he cocked his rifle as 
he ran and turning suddenly around, 
placed the muzzle of his gun against 
the body of the Indian and shot an 
ounce ball thru him. The Indian fired 
his gun at the same instant, but it be- 
ing longer than Pettit 's the muzzle 
passed by him and set rife to a hand- 
kercheif which he had tied around his 
head. The Indians made four or five 
most fierce charges on our lines, yelling 
and screaming as they advanced, shoot- 
ing balls and arrows into our ranks. At 
each charge they were driven back in 
confusion, carrying off their dead and 
wounded as they retreated. 

Colonel Owen, of Shelby county, 
Kentucky, one of General Harrison's 
volunteer aides, fell early in action by 
the side of the General. He was a mem- 
ber of the legislature at the time of his 
death. Colonel Daviess was mortally 
wounded early in the battle, gallantly 
charging the Indians on foot with his 



30 



SKETCHES OP THE WABASH VALLEY 



sword and pistols, according to his own 
request. He made this request three 
times of General Harrison before he 
was permitted to make the charge. 
This charge was made by himself and 
eight dragoons on foot near the angle 
formed by the left flank and front line 
of the encampment. Colonel Daviess 
lived about thirty-six hours after he 
was wounded, manifesting his ruling 
passions in life — ambition, patriotism 
and an ardent love of military glory. 
During the last hours of his life he 
said to his friends around him that he 
had but one thing to regret — that he 
had military talents; that he was about 
to be cut down in the meridian of life 
v^dthout having an opportunity of dis- 
playing them for his own honor, and the 
good of his country. He was buried 
alone with the honors of war near the 
right flank of the army, inside of the 
lines of the encampment, between two 
trees. On one of these trees the letter 
"D" is now visible. Nothing but the 
stump of the other remains. His grave 
was made here, to conceal it from the 
Indians. It was filled up to the top 
with earth and then covered with oak 
leaves. I presume the Indians never 
found it. This precautionary act was 
performed as a mark of peculiar respect 
for a distinguished hero and patriot 
of Kentucky. 

Captain Spencer's company of mount- 
ed riflemen composed the right flank 
of the army. Captain Spencer and both 
of his lieutenants were killed. John 
Tipton was elected and commissioned 
as captain of this company in one hour 
after the battle, as a reward for his 
cool and deliberate heroism displayed 
during the action. He died at Logans- 
port in 1839, having been twice elected 
Senator of the United States for the 
State of Indiana. 



The clear, calm voice of General Har- 
rison was heard in words of heroism in 
every part of the encampment during 
the action. Colonel Boyd behaved very 
bravely after repeating these words: 
"Huzza! My sons of gold, a few more 
fires and victory will be ours!" 

Just after daylight the Indians re- 
treated across the prairie toward their 
town, carrying off their wounded. This . te 
retreat was from the right flank of the i0 
encampment, commanded by Captains m 
Spencer and Eobb, having retreated w 
from the other portions of the encamp- Ti 
ment a few minutes before. As their i 
retreat became visible, an almost deaf- 
ening and universal shout was raised 
by our men. "Huzza! Huzza! Huzza!" ^ 
This shout was almost equal to that 
of the savages at the commencement 
of the battle; ours was the shout of 
victory, theirs was the shout of feroc- 
ious but disappointed hope. 

The morning light disclosed the fact 
that the killed and wounded of our 
army, numbering between eight and 
nine hundred men, amounted to onOilci 
hundred and eight. Thirty-six Indiana r 
were found near our lines. Many of)P 
their dead were carried off during theip 
battle. This fact was proved by the 
discovery of many Indian graves 
recently made near their town. Oursi 
was a bloody victory; theirs a bloodj 
defeat. | 

Soon after breakfast an Indian chief: 
was discovered on the prairie, aboul; 
eighty yards from our front line, wrap-f 
ped in a white cloth. He was found hfi 
a soldier by the name of Miller, a resi* 
dent of Jeffersonville, Indiana. Th 
Indian was wounded in one of his legi 
the ball having penetrated his knecj' 
and passed down his leg, breaking thfli 
bone as it passed. Miller put his fooiu 
against him and he raised up his head 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



31 



ad said: "Don't kill me, don't kill 
le. " At the same time five or six 
igular soldiers tried to shoot him, but 
leir muskets snapped and missed fire, 
[ajor Davis Floyd came riding toward 
im with dragoon sword and said he 
ould show them how to kill Indians, 
'hen a messenger came from General 
[arrison commanding that he should 
e taken prisoner. He was taken into 
amp, where the surgeons dressed his 
'ounds. Here he refused to speak a 
ord of English or tell a word of truth. 
hru the medium of an interperter 
e said that he was a friend to the 
'hite people and that the Indians shot 
im while he was coming to the camp 
) tell General Harrison that they were 
Dout to attack the army. He refused 
> having his leg amputated, tho he 
as told that amputation was the only 
i eans of saving his life. One dogma of 
idian superstition is that all good 
id brave Indians, when they die, go 
a region abounding with deer and 
her game, and to be a successful hun- 
r he should have all his limbs, his 
.n and his dog. He therefore prefer- 
d death with all his limbs to life with- 
t them. In accordance with his re- 
vest he was left to die, in company 
th an old squaw, who was found in 
e Indian town the next day after he 
IS taken prisoner. They were left in 
6 of our tents. 

A-t the time this Indian was taken 
soner, another Indian, who was 
lunded in the body, rose to his feet 
the middle of the prairie and began 
walk toward the woods on the op. 
3ite side. A number of regular 
(diers shot at him but missed him. A 
In who was a member of the same 
npany with me, Henry Huckleberry, 
a few steps into the prairie and 



shot an ounce ball thru his body and 
he fell dead near the margin of the 
woods. Some Kentucky volunteers 
went across the prairie immediately 
and scalped him, dividing his scalp in- 
to four pieces, each one cutting a hole 
in each piece, putting the ramrod thru 
the hole and plaching his part of the 
scalp just behind the first thimble of 
his gun, near its muzzle. Such was the 
fate of nearly all of the Indians found 
dead on the battle-ground, and such Was 
the disposition of their scalps. 

The death of Owen, and the fact 
that Daviess was mortally wounded, 
vdth the remembrance also that a large 
portion of Kentucky's best blood had 
been shed by the Indians, must be their 
apology for this barbarous conduct. 
Such conduct will be excused by all who 
witnessed the treachery of the Indians, 
and saw the bloody scenes of this bat- 
tle. 

Tecumseh being absent at the time 
of the battle, a chief called White Loon 
was the chief commander of the In- 
dians. He was seen in the morning af- 
ter the battle, riding a large white 
horse in the woods across the prairie, 
where he was shot at by a volunteer 
named Montgomery, of this state. At 
the crack of his rifle his horse jumped 
as if the ball had hit him. The Indian 
rode off toward the town and we saw 
him no more. During the battle the 
prophet was safely located on a hill, 
beyond the reach of our balls, praying 
to the Great Spirit to give victory to 
the Indians, having previously assured 
them that the Great Spirit would 
change our powder into ashes and sand. 

We had about forty head of beef cat- 
tle when we came to the battle. They 
all ran off the night of the battle, or 
they were driven off by the Indians, 



32 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



so that they were all lost. We received 
rations for two days on the morning af- 
ter the action. We received no more 
rations until the next Tuesday evening, 
six days afterwards. The Indians hav- 
ing retreated to their town, we perform- 
ed the solemn duty of consigning to 
their graves our dead soldiers, without 
shrouds of coffins. They were placed 
in graves about two feet deep, from 
five to ten in each grave. 

General Harrison having learned that 
Tecumseh was expected to return from 
the south with a number of Indians 
whom he had enlisted in his cause, 
called a council of officers, who advised 
him to remain on the battle-field and 
fortify his camp by a breastwork of 
logs about four feet high. This work 
was completed during the day and all 
the troops were immediately placed be- 
hind each line of the work when they 
were ordered to pass the watchword 
from right to left every five minutes 
so that no man was permitted to sleep 
during the night. The watchword was 
"Wide awake, wide awake." To me it 
was a long, cold, cheerless night. 

On the next day the dragoons went 
to The Prophet's Town, which they 
found deserted by all the Indians, ex- 
cept an old squaw, whom' they brought 
into camp and left her with the wound- 
ed chief before mentioned. The dra- 
goons set fire to the town and it was 
all consumed, easting a brilliant light 
amid the darkness of the ensuing night. 
I arrived at the town when it was about 
half on fire. I found large quantities 
of corn, beans, and peas. I filled my 
knapsack with these articles and car- 
ried them to the camp, and divided 
them with the members of our mess, 
consisting of six men. Having these 
articles of food, we declined eating 



1 



horse flesh, which was eaten by a larj 
portion of our men. 

Thus closes the story of Judge Naylor 
and it gives you a very intimate and ac- 
curate view of the struggle from the 
viewpoint of one who was in the con- 
flict. There is one incident which he 
omitted, however, which I think should 
be included here, as it will be of par- if 
ticular interest to the boys who arerF 
reading these sketches. 

The company known as the Yellou 
Jackets and referred to by Judge Nay- 
lor, was under command of Capt. Spier, ■ 
Spencer, and had been raised among the) 
pioneers of Harrison county, down on 
the Ohio river. Spencer had been ser'^i 
ing as sheriff of that county, and trttti '" 
dition has it that he was one of "MaA'P 
Anthony" Wayne's seasoned veteranSj 
He had spent all of his life on thjti 
frontier and it was but natural that hdi 
should organize from the brave and) 
hardy pioneers of southern Indiana 
company to serve under General Harri-r 
son in defense of their homes and littlt 



lit 
no 
»' 
m 
I 

riis 

larr 

ones. His brother George was one oi' "*' 
the company. So too, was his son Edl P'' 
ward, only fourteen years old, but larg(< ™ 
for his age and well able to handle i * 
rifle. The taking along of this boy, ii*' 
a campaign which all knew was to bd "" 
an arduous one, is evidence of the nee« 
for men and proof of the devotion anii 
patriotism of these early Hoosiers 

There were 47 men in the companjii 
exclusive of officers, and in the foE 
tune of battle it happened that the;* 
were placed where the most bloodj 
fighting occured. The Indians wei 
in hand-to-hand conflict with th' 
soldiers at this point and it was thJ 
struggle that is commemorated in th 
large mural painting in the office o 
the Fowler hotel at Lafayette. 



l! 



r'slj 
fardi 



it 



SKETCHES OF THE "WABASH VALLEY 



33 



Early in the fight Capt. Spencer was 

lot down, struck by three bullets. Two 

E his men, Pfrimmer and Bayard, 

:arted to carry him to a protected 

lace, but a fourth bullet struck him 

^ the shoulder and passed lengthwise 

aru his body, killing him almost in- 

fantly. The first and second lieuten- 

fit were also killed soon afterward and 

le ensign, John Tipton, took command 

.■ the company. As the battle raged 

^rdest at this point the attention of 

jOn. Harrison was attracted to it and 

3 rode to this part of the field. 

^ Where is your captain?" he demand- 

I of Ensign Tipton. "Dead, sir," 

:)plied the young man. ' ' Where is your 

Butenant?" "He is also dead, sir" 

i|as the reply. ' ' Who are you ? ' ' then 

^manded the rough old general. "I 

Ml the ensign of the company, sir, and 

was put in command." "Hold your 

Vn a little longer my brave boy, and 

11 send reenf orcements to help you. ' ' 

lis story was related by one of Gen. 

arrison's staff officers who was by 

s commander 's side when it occurred. 

tpton and the Yellow Jackets held 

eir own until assistance arrived, tho 

f-ty percent of the company was 

3unded or slain. The battle lasted 

o hours and twenty minutes and 

ien it was over 8 of the 47 Yellow 

ickets were dead and fifteen wound- 

Among the latter was Capt. Spenc- 

s brother who died on the home- 

ird march. In testimony to his abil- 

and bravery Ensign Tipton was 

cted captain within an hour after 

.e battle. Tipton was 29 years old at 

e time. He became a man of promin- 

|Ce in Indiana in after years, served 

the legislature, also as an Indian 

ent. He it was who bought the land 

aere the battle was fought in 1829, 



and in 1834 gave it to the State of 
Indiana to be preserved as an historical 
park. I shall have something more 
to say in a later sketch of the men who 
comprised this army of Harrison's, 
many of whom occupied positions of 
prominence later and had an active 
part in the developement of the state 
whose centenary we are celebrating 
this year. 

The boy, Edward sspencer, whom I 
have mentioned as the fourteen-year 
old son of Capt. Spencer, went thru 
the battle unscathed, tho his father 
and uncle were killed. Gen. Harrison 
in appreciation of the brave death of 
the lad's father, took the boy under 
his personal care for the remainder of 
the campaign, and later secured his 
admission to West Point Military Acad- 
emy, assigning as a reason, bravery 
shown on the field of battle. Later he 
secured the admission of a younger 
brother of Edward to the same insti- 
tution. Prom that time on there has 
been always in the U. S. army a 
descendant of Speir Spencer, trying to 
live up to the example set by the brave 
pioneer captain who gave up his life 
for his country at Tippecanoe. 

On the third day after the battle 
preparations were hurriedly begun for 
a return march. The weather was get- 
ting cold, snow was not improbable, 
and Vincennes was 150 miles away. The 
wounded were loaded into wagons with 
the supplies, made as comfortable as 
possible, and the march was begun. 
There were 22 wagons in the train. Be- 
fore nightfall the army had got out 
onto the prairie west of where the city 
of Lafayette now is where they felt 
safe from attack. Six days of un- 
eventful marching brot them to Fort 
Harrison, from which point the wound- 



34 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



ed were taken to Vincennes by boat. 
Capt. Snelling and his company of 
regulars were left there as a garrison 
and the remainder of the army proceed- 
ed south to Vincennes, where they ar- 
rived Nov. 18th, having been away 49 
days. By the end of the month the 
militia were mostly mustered out and 
sent to their homes, where they were 
welcomed as returned heroes. 



Tl: 



Following the battle the people ol 
Indiana spent a quiet winter. The 
hope of the confederacy among the 
Indians having been broken up Tecum-i 
seh spent some time in the South bui 
returned before spring and made hia 
way to the British at Detroit, wherdi 
he allied himself openly with them andjtjiva! 
became one of the chief figures in the 
War of 1812 



The Men of Tippecanoe 



, 



Anyone who delves into the history 
of the battle of Tippecanoe cannot es- 
cape being imprest by the character of 
the men that composed Gen. Harrison's 
army. In my sketch of the battle there 
was a hint of this in the statement that 
Isaac Naylor, one of the privates, after- 
ward became judge of this circuit; but 
there were many of the others who 
were with Harrison who became prom- 
inent afterward and whose names are 
inseparably linked with the history of 
Indiana. Every school boy knows that 
Harrison himself was made president 
later, but comparatively little is known 
of the others, so I have thought it 
worth while to set down here some 
things of interest relative to a number 
of the men in his command. I shall be- 
gin with Harrison and in this I shall 
quote from Elmore Brace, of Fowler, 
because I think my friend Barce has 
written the best short description of 
Harrison that has ever been printed. 
If Benton County has not discovered 
Barce I hope it will soon. A few years 
ago I told Barce a prairie country could 
not produce great men, that it required 
hills and landscape for oratory, elo- 
quence and greatness; and Barce imme- 



id 



diately made a trip down th 
Wabash from the source to the moutl 
of the river and wrote the best des 4'^\ 
scription of the Wabash valley I hav 
ever seen in print. I have not spokei /% 
to Barce since that time, and if he con i wa 
tinues to prove my statements false 
may never speak to him again. Here i 
his sketch of "Old Tippecanoe: 

' ' Harrison arrived in Vincennes ii i 
1801. At that time he was twenty ^lini 
eight years of age, had served as aid I 
de-camp to Gen. Wayne at the Battl I'l 
of the Fallen Timbers and had 
tinguished himself for braver<y. lii 
personal appearance Harrison was com 
manding and his manner prepossessing. jJ/ieii 
he was about six feet high, rather slend Hi 
er form, straight and of a firm elastii iijtfj 
gait. Even at the time of his electioi (njfj 



as president, tho bordering seventy, h 
had a keen penetrating eye, was quid 1. 
of apprehension, prompt and energetic 
In the severe winter campaign o; 
1812-13 he alept in a thinner tent thai 
anyone in his command, whether office 
or soldier, and his accommodations wer 
known as the worst in the army. O: 
the expedition of the Thames all hi 
baggage was contained in one valis^ M : 



tie: 



tlva 



:Mc 



Jjllii 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



35 



11 the night after the action of the 
'hames, thirty-five Britisli officers 
upped with him on fresh beef roasted 
lefore the fire, without salt or bread, 
fnd without spirits or drink of any 
lind except water, and whether in 
amp or on the march his whole army 
fas up regularily and under arms at 

tybreak, and upon no occasion did 
fail to be out himself, however se- 
&re the weather, and was generally 
16 first officer on horseback ready to 
jart his whole army. He made it a 
int on every occasion to set an ex- 
nple of fortitude and patience to his 
en and to share with them every hard- 
ip, difficulty and danger. Judge Law 
rites that William Henry Harrison 
as as brave a man as ever lived. At 
ppecanoe immediately after the first 
vage yell, he mounted on horseback 
id rode from line to line encouraging 
s men and knew that he was at all 
nes a conspicuous mark for the In- 
an bullets. One leaden ball passed 
ru the rim of his hat, and Col. Abra- 
,m Owen, Thomas Randolph and 
(liers were killed at his side. Upon 
e occasion, as he was approaching an 
gle of the line again, Indians were 
vancing with their horrible yells, 
jeut. Emerson of the dragoons seized 
e bridle of his horse and earnestly 
treated him to go no farther, but 
tting spurs to his horse he pushed 

to the point of attack, where, under 
! command, the enemy was received 
th firmness and driven back. To 
3se traits, his fearless courage, his 
llingness to share in the burdens and 
rdships of the common soldier, may 

attributed his great and lasting 
id on the affections of the Kentucky 
southern Indiana Indian fighters. 



» 



To them he was more than a hero, he 
was a man approaching the divine. 

On his arrival at Vincennes in 1801 
the population of that town was seven 
hundred fourteen persons, eighteen 
hundred nineteen more lived in the sur- 
rounding country, and fifty-five fur 
traders were scattered along the Wa- 
bash. A large part of the inhabitants 
of Vincennes belonged to that class 
of French Canadians who produced the 
LaPlants, the Barrons, and the Brouil- 
ettes, some of them renowned Indian 
interperters and river guides, and 
among the settlers of the state were 
Benjamin Park, one of the commanders 
of Tippecanoe and founder of the state 
law library, and Waller Taylor, Thomas 
Randolph, two of his aides in the Wa- 
bash campaign. These men favored 
the suspension of the sixth article of 
the ordinance of 1787, prohibiting 
slavery in the Northwest territory, 
which is now established history. 

"While at Vincennes Harrison con- 
ducted a great number of difficult ne- 
gotiations and treaties with the chiefs 
and head-warriors of the Miamis, Pot- 
awatomies, Delawares, Shawnees, Kick- 
apoos and other tribes. Copies of the 
Old Western Sun amply testifies to the 
fact that prior to the important In- 
dian treaties of 1809 at Ft. Wayne and 
Vincennes, he issued a public procla- 
mation prohibiting any traffic in liquor 
with the Indians, that he constantly 
inveighed against this illegal com- 
merce with the Indian tribes. 

"Dillon says the total quantity of 
land ceded to the United States under 
treaties which were concluded betwen 
Gov. Harison and various Indian tribes 
amounted to about 29,719,530 acres. 

"On the ffrst day of September, 1809 
he set out on horseback for the council 



36 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



house at Ft. Wayne, accompanied only 
by Peter Jones, his secretary, Joseph 
Barron, the interperter, a Frenchman 
for a guide, and two Indians, probably 
Delawares of the friendly White Eiver 
tribe. He travelled eastward in Dear- 
born and Wayne counties. While in 
Wayne county, he and his party were 
entertained by Peter Weaver, who af- 
terwards became the first settler of 
Fountain and Tippecanoe counties; 
and Patrick Henry Weaver, who came 
here with his father told me that on 
this journey William Henry Harrison 
gave him a fifty cent piece, which was 
the first money he ever owned. 

"Judge Law says of Joseph Barron, 
the interpreter. 'He knew the Indian 
character well, had lived among them 
many years, spoke fluently the lan- 
guage of every tribe which dwelt on 
the upper Wabash, understood their 
customs, habits and manners, and char- 
latanry well. And altho but imperfect- 
ly educated, was one of the most re- 
markable men he ever knew.' The 
Governor arrived at the post on the 
fifth of the month, at the same time 
with the Delewares and their interpre- 
ter, John Conner. This treaty was fin- 
ally completed on the thirtieth day of 
September, 1809 and no resort was had 
to the evil influence of bribes or intoxi- 
cants. ' ' 

The following summary of the life 
and work of Judge Isaac Naylor, to 
whom I have already referred, is from 
an address made by Gen. Lew Wallace 
at the dedication of the Montgomery 
courthouse: "Isaac Naylor was a Vir- 
ginian, born in 1792, brot to Kentucky 
and, when seven or eight years old; to 
Clarke county, Indiana; read law with 
Supreme Judge Scott; served as a 
soldier with Gen. Harrison in 1811, 



when he removed to Crawfordsville; 
was first a partner of Thomas J. Evans, 
and then associated hiimself with Hen- 
ry S. Lane; was elected circuit judge 
by the legislature in 1838; served sev- 
en years; was reelected; held second 
term of six years; was then elected by 
the people judge of the court of com- 
mon pleas, and continued such for six 
years. He died full of honors, in June jv 
1837. He was thoroly imbued with the p 
principles of the system of pleading 
yet found in Chitty. In the early time 
his contemporaries called him famil- 
iarly 'Old S. T>.' (Special Demurrer.)" 
He was the second judge of the cir- 
cuit that then included Montgomery 
and Fountain counties. 

State Senator, Alva O. Eeser, of La- 
fayette, has perhaps given the most 
careful study to the personal character 
of the men who fought in the Battle 
of Tippecanoe, and the following de- 
scription of those who participated imM 
that battle is from Mr. Eeser; : lijai 

Gen. John Tipton impressed himselliimji 
perhaps more upon the early history of » 
Indiana than any other man, Capt, 
Spencer 's company was raised fn Har-i 
rison county and Tipton was ensign iatnoe; 
it; he afterwards became United State*' 
senator, bought the lond on which Tr 
pecanoe was fought and gave it to th| 
State of Indiana; he settled and liv 
in Logansport. Tipton County w 
named for him. He died in 1839 at thi 
age of 53. 

White County was named for Isaa( 
White of Kentucky, a brave fellow whi 
was killed in the Battle of Tippecanoe iL 

Wells County was named after Capl ^jj, 
William H. Wells, who had beel 
brought up among the Miami IndiaB i 
and who gave the settlers of Vineennq 
southern Indiana, the first inf ol , pj 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



37 



lation tliat the Indians intended to 
ttaek them. In 1812 Capt. Wells was 
tationed at Ft. Dearborn, near Chica- 
o, and was induced by the Indians to 
ave a council with them under a flag 
f truce and was lured by them into 
mbush, where Capt. Wells and all his 
arty were massacred. 
Parke County was named for Capt. 
lenjamin Parke, who fought in the 
lattle of Tippecanoe; he was after- 
wards a member of Congress from the 
'erritory of Indiana and was the first 
United States District Judge for the 
district of Indiana. In the latter part 
f his life he became financially em- 
iarrassed, and unhesitatingly gave up 
11 his property for the benefit of his 
reditors. So completely did he deny 
limself that his family at their meals 
ank out of tin cups. The wife of 
pt. Parke was named Betsy, and she 
las held in such high esteem that more 
by daughters were named for her 
an after any other lady in southern 
tdiana. 

Bartholomew County was named for 
bseph Bartholomew, who commanded 
e infantry at the Battle of Tippeca- 
■)e; was formerly a citizen of Clarke 
lunty; was severely wounded at the 
ittle of Tippecanoe; he was a member 
the legislature in 1821 and 1824. 
lere is a portrait of General Bartholo- 
Bw in the court house at Columbus, 
idiana. He died in 1840. 
Capt. Spier Spencer commanded the 
mpany called ' ' The Yellow Jackets, ' ' 
lich company occupied the ground at 
e southern point of the battle-field, 
bon this company fell the brunt of the 
ittle and more men were killed in that 
bipany than any other. During the 
Ittle Capt. Spencer was wounded. J. 
Pfrimmer, of Corydon, writes me: 



'After Spencer was wounded he was 
being carried to the rear by two 
soldiers and while in their arms was 
struck by a ball in the shoulder, which 
ran lengthwise of his body and killed 
him outright.' 

Daviess county was named for Joseph 
Hamilton Daviess, a brilliant orator and 
distinguished citizen of Kentucky, 
who was killed at the Battle of Tippe- 
canoe. He had been United States Dis- 
trict Attorney and prosecuted Aaron 
Burr; he once challenged Henry Clay 
to fight a duel, and he was once grand 
master of the Masonic fraternity of 
Kentucky. 

Dubois county was named after Capt. 
Toussant Dubois, who was the guide 
to Tippecanoe, and who relied very 
largely on Zackariah Cicot to guide the 
army from Vincennes to The Prophet's 
Town. He knew the route almost as 
well as he had been a trader and often 
traveled from Vincennes to Detroit, and 
had great influence with the early 
pioneers and the Indians. When Gen. 
Harrison decided to move against the 
Indians in 1811 Dubois offered his ser- 
vices, and he was made captian of the 
spies and scouts in the Tippecanoe cam- 
paign; Dubois was the last man to vis- 
it the headstrong Prophet on the even- 
ing before the battle. Jesse Kilgore 
Dubois, a son of Capt. Dubois, became 
a warm personal friend of Abraham 
Lincoln. United States Senator Fred 
T. Dubois, of Idaho, was a grandson 
"of Capt. Dubois. On March 11, 1816, 
Capt. Dubois attempted to swim the 
Wabash river, not far from Vincennes, 
on horseback, and was drowned. 

Floyd county is by some supposed 
to have been named after John Floyd, 
a surveyor. By others, it is claimed 
the county was named after Davis 



38 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



Floyd, who fought in the battle of Tip- 
pecanoe. Davis Floyd was an ardent 
friend of Aaron Burr, and was indicted 
with him for treason, but when Burr 
was acquitted, the prosecution against 
Floyd was abandoned. He was an ad- 
jutant in the Battle of Tippecanoe, atul 
was a member of the general assembly 
of the Territory. His estate was set- 
tled in Harrison county. He was ad- 
mitted to the bar in Clarke county in 
1817. In the early days he had been 
a pilot on the Ohio river. 

Warrick county was named after 
Jacob Warrick, who fell at the Battle 
of Tippecanoe. General Harrison 
speaks of him in his report and said 
that Warrick was his friend, in whom 
he had placed great confidence, and 
Harrison in his report says: "Warrick 
was shot immediately thru the body. 
On being taken to a surgeon to have 
his wound dressed, as soon as it was 
over, being a man of great vigor and 
able to walk, he insisted on going back 
to the head of his company, altho it 
was evident he had but a few hours to 
live. 

Harrison county was named, of course 
after William Henry Harrison, the hero 
of Tippecanoe. 

In 1840 great political meetings were 
held at the Tipi^ecanoe battle-ground. 
This was called the singing campaign. 



In other years political meetings had 
been held on this spot. Here the little' 
giant, Stephen A. Douglas, has spoken 
and in later years, Eoscoe Conkling, 
James G. Blaine and others. I give 
herewith a couple of stanzas from twOj 
of the old political songs of the sinj 
iug campaign of 1840. 

Old Tippecanoe 

Hurrah for the log cabin chief of our 
joys; 
For the old Indian fighter, hurrah! 
Hurrah; and from mountain to valley 
the voice 
Of the people re-echoes hurrah! 

Then come to the ballot box, boys come 
along, 
He who never lost a battle for you 
Let us down with oppression and 
tyranny's throng, 
And up with "Old Tippecanoe." 

Tippecanoe and Tyler Too 

Let them talk about hard cider, cide^^i 
cider, 

And log cabins too, 
'Twill only help to speed the ball 

For Tippecanoe and Tyler, too, 
For Tippecanoe and Tyler, too — 

Tippecanoe and Tyler, too, 
And with them we'll beat little Van 

Van, Van, is a used-up man. 
And with them we'll beat little Van 



Indian Battles of 1812 



The memorable massacre at Fort 
Dearborn, where Chicago now stands, 
is of interest to residents of the Wa- 
bash valley because it was a part of the 
same movement against the whites of 



which I have told you in precedi 
sketches and because some of the 
dians from the Wabash were conce: 
ed in it. Topenbee, the old Potaw^ 
ami chief, was present, but it is 



'Mi 
iftl 
Hi 

|lief! 
'Mil 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



39 



orded of him that he was opposed to 
lie massacre and it was thru his in- 
trumentality that seven persons — the 
[inzie family, Mrs. Heald, Mrs. Helm 
ind Sergeant Griffith, escaped. 
; On the 9th of August, 1812, Cap- 
lin Nathaniel Heald, who was in com- 
mand of Port Dearborn, the present site 
f Chicago, received orders from Gene- 
iil Hull, requiring the garrison at Fort 
pearborn to evacuate that post and 
'love to Detroit. Captain Wells, who 
pas with Harrison at Tippecanoe, and 
br whom Wells county, Indiana, was 
amed, left Fort Wayne with about 
jiirty friendly Miami Indians, and ar- 
ived at Fort Dearborn (now Chicago), 
1 the 13th day of August, 1812, the 
Lirpose being to act as an escort to 
e retiring garrison. On the 15th day 
I August, the troops under the com- 
and of Captain Heald, consisting of 
fty-four regulars, and twelve militia, 
i'acuated Fort Dearborn, and after 
arching about a mile and a half down 
\e lake from the fort, or about where 
?th street would intersect the lake, 
ere attackt by a superior force 
imposed principally of Potawata- 
ies. The Indians killed twenty-six reg- 
lars, all the militia, two women and 
yelve children, and took twenty-eight 
dsoners. Captain Wells was among 
\e killed. The losses of the Indians 
iiounted to about fifteen killed. 
The Indian camp was located near 
^e fort, north of where the Marshall 
Leld store stands. The fort was north 
there, near the Eush street bridge, 
ad a tablet is setjnto the wall of the 
M. Hoyt building there recording 
le fact. The fort was burned by the 
iidians but was rebuilt In 1816. 
At the foot of 18th street, near the 
ike shore, a granite monument sur- 



mounted by a bronze statuary group 
that is among the notable monuments 
of the city, was erected by George M. 
Pullman, to mark the site of the mass- 
acre. 

On the 16th day of August, 1812, 
the town of Detroit, and the territory 
of Michigan were surrendered by Gen. 
Hull, without firing a gun, to the 
British forces under the command of 
General Brock. These successive, but 
temporary triumphs, of the British 
and Indian forces in the northwest 
combined with other causes, induced 
the Kickapoos, Potawatamies, Winne- 
bagoes and other northwestern tribes 
to take up arms against the United 
States, and to send war parties to at- 
tack the white settlements in the Ind- 
iana territory. 

In the early part of the month of 
September, parties of hostile Indians 
began to assemble, in considerable num- 
bers, in the vicinity of Fort Wayne. 
About the same time, a strong party 
of warriors made an unsuccessful at- 
tack on Fort Harrison (now Terre 
Haute). Other bands of Indians pene- 
trated the territory southeasterly as 
far as the frontiers of Clark and Jef- 
ferson counties, and massacred twenty- 
four persons, at a place which was 
called "the Pigeon Boost settlement," 
and which was situated within the 
present limits of Scott county. 

On the evening of the 3d of Septem- 
ber, two men, who were making hay in 
the vicinity of Fort Harrison, were sur- 
prised, killed and scalped by a scout- 
ing party of Indians; and on the 4th 
of September, about eleven o'clock at 
night, a considerable body of Indians, 
composed of Winnebagoes, Kickapoos, 
Shawnees, Potawtamies and a few Mi- 
amis, commenced an attack on the fort, 



40 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



by setting fire to one of the block- 
houses attacht to it. Captain Zachary 
Taylor (who afterwards t»eeame presi- 
dent of the U. S.) and a small number 
of the men under his command, bravely 
resisted the attack, which continued 
without intermission until about six 
'clock on the 5th of September, when 
the Indians abandoned the assault and 
retired beyond the guns of the fort. 
In an official account of this action, 
written on the 10th of September, 1812, 
and addressed to Governor Harrison, 
Captain Taylor said — "About eleven 
o'clock I was awakened by the firing 
of one of the sentinels. I sprang up, 
ran out, and ordered the men to their 
posts — when my orderly sergeant, who 
had charge of the upper blockhouse, 
called out that the Indians had fired 
the lower blockhouse. * * * The guns 
had begun to fire pretty smartly from 
both sides. I directed the buckets to 
be got ready, and water brought from 
the well, and the fire extinguished im- 
mediately, as it was perceivable at that 
time; but from debility, or some other 
cause, the men were very slow in exe- 
cuting my orders. The word "Fire!" 
appeared to throw the whole of them 
into confusion, and by the time they 
had got the water and broken open the 
door, the fire had, unfortunately, com- 
municated to a quantity of whiskey, 
and, in spite of every exertion we 
could make use of, in less than a mo- 
ment it ascended to the roof, and baffled 
every effort we could make to extin- 
guish it. As the blockhouse adjoined 
the barracks that make part of the 
fortifications, most of the men immedi- 
ately gave themselves up for lost, and I 
had the greatest difficulty in getting my 
orders executed. And, sir, what from 
the raging of the fire — the yelling and 



! 



howling of several hundred Indians-^ 
the cries of nine women and children, 
(a part soldiers' and part citizens' 
wives, who had taken shelter in the ( 
fort,) and the desponding of so manyji 
of the men, which was worse than all — 
I can assure you that my feelings werfl 
unpleasant. And, indeed, there were ( 
not more than ten or fifteen men able^ 
to do a good deal; the others being sick I 
or convalscent; and, to add to our 
other misfortunes, two of the strongest 
men of the fort, and that I had every;] 
confidence in, jumped the pickets and ( 
left us. But my presence of mind did ' 
not for a moment forsake me. I saw, f 
by throwing off a part of the roof, that 
joined the blockhouse that was on fire, 
and keeping the end perfectly wet, the i 
whole row of buildings might be saved, I 
and leave only an entrance of eighteen ( 
or twenty feet for the entrance of the ' 
Indians, after the house was consumed; 
and that a temporary breastwork might 
be erected to prevent their even enter- 
ing there. I convincd the men that this' 
might be accomplished, and it appeared 
to inspire them with new life; and never 
did men act wdth more firmness and des- 
peration. Those who were able (while 
the others kept up a constant fire from 
the other blockhouses and the two bas- 
tions) mounted the roofs of the houses, 
with Dr. Clark at their head, (who act. 
ed with the greatest presence of mind* 
the whole time the attack lasted, which 
was about seven hours, under a shower 
of bullets and in less than a moment 
threw off as much of the roof as was 
necessary. * * * * Altho the barracks 
were several times ablaze, and an im- 
mense quantity of fire against them, the 
men used such exertions that they kept 
it under, and, before day, raised a tem»j 
porary breastwork as high as a man 'a 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



41 



head, altho the Indians continued to 
pour in a heavy fire of ball, and an im- 
mense quantity of arrows during the 
whole time the attack lasted. * * * Af- 
ter keeping up a constant fire until 
ibout six o 'clock the next morning, 
lA^hich we began to return with some ef- 
fect after daylight, they removed out 
)f the reach of our guns.. A party of 
i;hem drove up the horses that belonged 
50 the citizens here, and, as they could 
aot catch them very readily, shot the 
■vhole of them in our sight, as well as 
I number of their hogs. They drove 
)ff the whole of the cattle, which 
Amounted to sixty-five head, as well as 
jhe public oxen." 

: One of the men who jumped over the 
)iekets, when the fort was attacked, 
vas killed by the Indians. The other, 
laviug received a severe wound, return- 
d to the fort and begged for admission, 
,ifter lying "close to the pickets, be- 
hind an empty barrel," until daylight, 
ie was permitted to enter the fort. Of 
ihe men who remained in the fort, dur- 
ing the attack, two were killed, and 
iwo were wounded. The loss of the 
Indians, which was very small, can not 
)e stated with certainty. 

When information of the attack of 
:i^ort Harrison was received at Vin- 
ennes, about twelve hundred men, un- 
ler the command of Colonel William 
jlussell, of the 7th regiment U. S. In- 



fantry, marched from that place, for 
the purpose of punishing the Indians, 
and carrying relief to the besieged fort. 
The force under the command of Col- 
onel Eussell was composed of Colonel 
Wilcox's regiment of Kentucky volun- 
teers, three companies of rangers, and 
two regiments of Indiana militia, com- 
manded, respectfully, by Colonel Jor- 
dan and Colonel Evans. When the 
troops, without meeting with any oppo- 
sition on their march, reacht Fort Har- 
rison, on the 16th day of September, 
the Indians had retired from the neigh- 
borhood of that place. On the 15th 
day of September, however, a small de. 
taehment composed of eleven men,u n- 
der the command of Lieutenant Rich- 
ardson, and acting as an escort of pro- 
visions sent from Vincinnes, to be de- 
livered to Fort Harrison, was attackt 
by a party of Indians, at a place which 
was then called "the Narrows," and 
which lies within the present limits 
of Sullivan county. It was reported 
that seven men of the escort were kill- 
ed, and one wounded. The provisions 
fell into the hands of the Indians. 

The regiment of Kentucky volunteers 
under the command of Colonel Wilcox, 
remained at Fort Harrison. The two 
regiments of Indiana militia, and three 
companies of rangers, which marcht 
to the relief of the fort, returned to 
Vincennes. 



The Second Battle of Tippecanoe 



So much has been written of the Bat- 
le of Tippecanoe and its importance 
lecause it disrupted the confederacy 
Vhich Tecumseh was forming among 
he Indians for the purpose of retain- 



ing their lands, that there are few per- 
sons, even in this vicinity, who are 
aware that there was a second battle 
near Tippecanoe or The Prophet's 
Town in which the Indians were really 



42 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASPI VALLEY 



the victors. Like the first battle it 
marked the climax of an expedition 
sent up the Wabash which included 
more men than accompanied General 
Harrison the year before. The ex- 
pedition was like the first one too in 
that it included a man who afterwards 
became president of the United States. 

About the first of November, 1812, 
General Samuel Hopkins began to or- 
ganize a military force composed main- 
ly of infantry for the purpose of pene- 
trating the Indian country as far as 
The Prophet's Town, marching from 
Vincennes to Fort Harrison (Terre 
Haute), then up the river to The 
Prophet's Town, destroying the Indian 
villages along the river and any vil- 
lages that they might find at or near 
The Prophet 's Town. The troops which 
were employed in this exploration by 
General Hopkins consisted of three reg- 
iments of Kentucky militia, command- 
ed by Colonels Barbour, Miller and 
Wilcox, a small company of regulars 
commanded by Captain Zaehariah Tay- 
lor, (afterwards president of the 
United States), and a company of 
scouts or spies under command of Cap- 
tain Washburn. Among the spies of 
Captain Washburn was Peter Weaver, 
who afterwards became one of the 
first settlers of Fountain county and 
the first settler in Tippecanoe county. 

This army started at once from Vin- 
cennes, arrived at Fort Harrison on the 
5th day of November, and on the 11th 
day of November left Fort Harrison 
following the road made by Governor 
Harrison's army the year previous and 
the boats set out at the same time. On 
account of the danger it was necessary 
to guard the army very carefully. There 
had been a heavy rain and the waters 
were high in the Wabash but it was 



not out of its banks altho the creek* 
were so high that they could be crosst 
only with difficulty, danger and em- 
barrassment. They reached the mouth 
of Sugar creek on the 14th day of No- 
vember. From there the entire army, 
with the exception of those in the boats, 
marched on the east side of the Wa- 
bash river because the Vermillion river 
and Pine creek and other impediments 
on the west side led them to believe 
that they could make the trip easier 
on the east side of the river. They 
had their provisions, rations, and mili- 
tary stores in the boats. Their line 
of march was near the river so as to 
cover and protect the boats carrying 
their provisions. Lieut. Col. Barbour 
with one batallion of his regiment had 
command of the seven boats, but campt 
at nights on the bank of the river with 
the rest of the army. On account of 
the boats they moved slowly and 
reacht The Prophet's Town on the 
19th of November 1812. On the morn- 
ing of the 19th three hundred men 
were detached to surprise the Winne- 
bago town on Wild Cat creek, aboui 
one mile from the Wabash river ani 
four miles below The Prophet's To 
This party was under the command o; 
General Butler. They surrounded thi 
Winnebago town about daybreak bu' 
found it evacuated. They found in thi 
town about forty shacks, many of the 
being from thirty to fifty feet 
length, besides many temporary huti 
in the surrounding prairie where thi 
Indians had cultivated a good deal o: 
corn. On the 20th, 21st and 22d, thii 
army completely destroyed The Prop 
et's Town, which had about fort; 
cabins and huts. Below it was a larg|; 
Kickapoo village, on the west side 
the river, consisting of about 16i 



ijiave 



irclt 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



43 



iabins and huts. They also destroyed 
;his town. These Kickapoos had corn 
;tored for the winter and this also was 
lestroyed. Seven miles east of the 
^'rophet's Town on Wild Cat creek, a 
)arty of Indians fired on a detachment 
)f this army, on the 21st day of No- 
vember and killed a man by the name 
iif Dunn. On the 22d of November 
i,bout sixty men, under the command 
:f Lieutenant Colonels Miller and Wil- 
lox started on horseback to bury Dunn 
\nd get a more complete knowledge of 
he ground. They marcht to a point 
ear the Indian encampment, fell in- 
an ambuscade and 19 of the party 
ere reported killed, wounded and 
ussing. 

{ On the return of the party it \vas 

earned that a large assemblage of In- 

dana, encouraged by the strength of 

jieir camp and this victory were wait- 

g the approach of Hopkins' army, and 

is army at once made every prepara- 

on for an early march to engage the 

}iemy in battle at any risk. There 

rose a violent storm with a heavy fall 

f snow and the coldest weather that 

iese soldiers from the South had ever 

en or felt at that season of the year. 

his delayed any further action until 

e 24th of November, 

When Hopkins' army reacht the In- 

an camp they found it deserted, the 

Idians having crossed Wild Cat creek. 

Mr. Hopkins says in his report, "I 

ave no doubt but that the ground the 

idians had taken was the strongest I 

ive ever seen. The deep, rapid creek 

las in their rear, running in a semi- 

ircle and fronted by a bluff one hund- 

)d feet high, almost perpendicular, 

jid could only be penetrated by three 

eep' ravines. After reconnoitering 

ffieiently we returned to camp and 



found the ice so accumulated as to 
alarm us for the return of the boats. 
I had fully intended to have spent one 
more week in endeavoring to find the 
Indian camp but the shoeless, shirtless 
state of the troops now clad in the 
remnants of their summer dress, a river 
full of ice, the hills covered with snow, 
a rigid climate, and no certain point 
to which we could further direct our 
operations, under the influence and ad- 
vice of every staff and field ofi&cer, 
orders were given and measures pur- 
sued for our return on the 25th." 

General Hopkins writes later, "We 
are now progressing to Fort Harrison 
(down the Wabash river, thru ice and 
snow, where we expect to arrive on the 
last day of this month. Before I close 
this I cannot forbear expressing the 
merits of the officers and the soldiers 
of this command. After leaving Fort 
Harrison, all unfit for duty, we had, in 
privates of every count, about one 
thousand, in the total twelve hundred' 
and fifty men. At The Prophet's Town 
upwards of one hundred of these were 
on the sick report. Yet, sire, have we 
progressed in such order as to menace 
our enemy free from annoyance, and 
seven large keel boats have been cover- 
ed and protected to a point heretofore 
unknown in Indian expeditions. Three 
large Indian establishments have been 
burnt and destroyed with near three 
miles of fence and all the corn and food 
that we could find. The enemy have 
been sought in their strongholds and 
every opportunity afforded them to at- 
tack or alarm us. We marcht on the 
east side of the Wabash, without roads, 
or cognizance of the country fully one 
hundred miles and this has been done 
with a naked army of infantry aided 
by only about fifty rangers and spies. 



f 



44 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



All this was done in twenty days; no 
sigh, no murmur, no complaint." 

The detachment which fell into the 
ambuscade on the 25th of November 
was composed of Capt. Beck's company 
of rangers, several ofl&eers of the army 
and a small number of mounted militia. 
Before starting out that morning, each 
man drew a pint of whiskey. They 
had not drawn whiskey for some time 
before this and perhaps this whiskey 
did not help matters much. Capt. Lit- 
tle says, in speaking of this battle, ' ' We 
rode on rapidly about a mile and a 
quarter when we found ourselves among 
and surrounded by Indians in hundreds, 
they fired on us in all directions as 
thick • as hail. We immediately found 
that we were not able to fight them, I 
was shot in the body near the hip bone. 



We retreated in every kind of disorder 
the best way we could. I was still able 
to ride and got out to camp where we 
found that we had lost sixteen killed 
and three wounded." 

On the 18th day of December, 181S 
General Samuel Hopkins announced, ii 
general orders issued at Vincennes, his 
determination to retire from military 
life, and, while in his reports he com- 
mends all the officers, including Zach- 
ariah Taylor, his resignation upon the 
return of the army to Vincennes is evi- 
dence that he did not consider it an 
expedition that had added any great 
amount of honor to the American arms. 
And this was the last of the battles 
that the fading red men of the forest 
had with the white men in the Wabash 
Valley. 

i 

I 



The Wabash Valley 1 00 Years Ago 



After General Hopkins, and the 
twelve hundred and fifty men, who 
were with him when he made his march 
up the Wabash river and destroyed 
The Prophet's Town (Tippecanoe) and 
the villages about it, had their un- 
pleasant experiences and discomfort 
from the cold November storm, the 
sickness among the men. The loss of 
life discouraged the Hoosier militia 
and Kentucky Indian fighters, and no 
more raids were made against the In- 
dians of this locality. The Prophet, 
and most of his Shawnee warriors went 
to Detroit or northern Indiana. Te- 
cumseh was killed that year and there 
remained in this locality the Kicka- 
poos, Delawares, Wyandottes, Pota- 
watomies and Miamis. After the 
Treaty of Peace, which followed the 



war of 1812, the British left Detroi|i|8l 

and the Northwest Territory and theii ' " 
emissaries left the Wabash Valley, and 
rewards were no longer paid for theiMi 
scalps of white women and childreiif|(ii 
The United States government har 
previously obtained most of the lane 
by treaty and the hope of a confeder 
aey died with Tecumseh. Yet, thess . 
tribes of Indians lingered in the lanflji M 
of their fathers, a land rich in futurt' fcl 
possibilities, flowing more richly witi! Tl 
milk and honey, and more to be desirefi' sai 
than the promised land of the Iser^i k 
ites. Occasionally, a venturesonfr h 
traveler from the settlements sout)' lill 
and east wandered into the upper W^'ipai 
bash Valley in his restless search f^' 
brighter prospects, better and cheap? 
lands and more promising possibilitiji 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



45 



for himself, his family and his poster- 
fity. 

[ This interval covers a period of ten 
tyears or more from the Hopkins' 
march in 1812 to the survey and open- 
ing of this part of the country for set- 
itlement. During this ten years the re- 
imaining Indians were undisturbed. 
Theirs was a race in its childhood and 
they should have been treated as child- 
■ren. They did not know the value of 
(their lands, or what their treaties real- 
ty meant. Perhaps they knew they 
would soon have to leave this beautiful 
valley forever and somewhere beneath 
the inverted bowl of heaven decorated 
rat night with sparkling diamonds, find 
a bunting-ground. But there was still 
game here and they could still enjoy 
the chase. They burned the underbrush 
land grass of woodland and prairie ev- 
ery fall or spring. The blue grass and 
grass of all kinds flourished everwhere. 
The prophet Isaiah has said; "The 
voice said. Cry. And he said, What 
Ighall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all 
the goodliness thereof is as the flower 
of the field." And Senator John G. 
llngalls said "Grass is the forgiveness 
of nature." And here in the Wabash 
A'^alley, grass grew everywhere. 
J In the springtime the air was filled 
with the perfume of blossom of shrub 
and vine and tree. Nature, the master 
mechanic and landscape gardener, had 
full sway in prairie, hill and valley. 
The hawthorn, the dogwood and the 
3arvis berry bloomed on the crest of 
the hills and higher grounds, the red- 
bud trees blazed forth on the sloping 
liillside and the somber brown of the 
pawpaws' bloom in the valleys, were 
all entwined in the loving embrace of 
the wild grapevine. The brown thrush 
5ang his sweet and varied notes learned 



from birds in a distant land, as he 
perched in a clump of hazel brush; 
while from the midst of a bower of 
crab-apple blossoms, alive with insects 
and bees gathering their wealth of nec- 
tar from the flowers, the blue-jay 
sounded his defiance. And from the 
woods about mingled the song of many 
birds, rivalled in its charm only by the 
beauty of their plumage. And the red 
man could exclaim with Solomon in his 
song "For, lo, the winter is past, the 
rain is over and gone. The flowers ap- 
pear on earth; the time of the singing 
of birds is come and the voice of the 
dove is heard in our land; the fruit 
tree putteth forth her green fruit, and 
the vines with the tender grape 
give a good smell." 

And then the summer came and the 
green leaves were full in size and 
growth and the young deer and buffalo 
went forth in their growing strength 
thru the forests and grass of the prairie 
and their strength and speed increast 
with age, and many a wild beast 
quencht its thirst in the refreshing cool- 
ness of the flowing streams of clear 
water. The young birds flew among 
the branches of the forest, and the 
seeds of berries were ripe, the grass- 
hopper and the cricket called and 
everywhere insects swarmed, some in 
deep hued colors, and the butterflies, 
gorgeous in their dress, lazily floated 
in air and sought for a place of safety 
to deposit their larvae. 

Autumn came and the huckleberry 
was ripe on the bush, a few raspberries 
and blackberries lingered yet on the 
vine and the wild gooseberry blusht 
in the thicket; the pawpaws were fall- 
ing from the trees, and many varieties 
of wild plums could be gathered. Many 
a deserted bird's nest yet hung in the 



46 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASPI VALLEY 



leatherwood, water beech and kinnikin- 
nick, and a large hornet's nest would 
swing occasionally from a limb of the 
sassafras or ironwood. And the hickory 
nuts would fall; and the hazel nut 
could be gathered in its brown shell; 
the walnuts wexe steadily drooping 
while the butternut lingered for a more 
telling frost; the golden-rod and the 
purple ironweed were profuse in their 
growth; the black-birds and wild 
pigeons and waterfowl came in such 
droves that they would obscure the sun; 
the clatter of the industrious wood- 
pecker working on a dead limb of a 
distant tree; and the call of the hermit 
thrush in the timber could be heard 
while the wild goose honkt high at the 
apex of his living triangle; and the 
quack of the mallard as he floated to 
the deeper waters in pristine beauty 
gave the danger signal to his com- 
panions. And then Jack Frost came 
and breathed on the leaf of tree and 
shrub and vine, spreading his enchant- 
ment over woods and hill and valley, 
enriching it all with a variation of col- 
or and artistic beauty, the envy of a 
Eaphael or an Corot, yet a secret in 
the chemistry of art which Jack refuses 
to reveal, a beauty in richness and col- 
or that we may yet enjoy as well as did 
the red man when he was here. 

Then soon the leaves fell and the 
limbs of the trees were bare and the 
winds piled the fallen leaves in the 
hollows in the woods. The snows came 
and the streams and ponds froze over 
and the migrating birds with their 
beauty of feathered plumage and sweet- 
ness of song had taken their trackless 
flight to a more congenial clime in the 
sun-kist land of the South. Yet the 
game birds and the wild game of the 
forest lingered and had grown fat on 



grass and fruits and nuts; the pondi 
and the streams were full of fish; th 
corn had been pluckt in the roasting ^( 
ear and stored for winter use, and i 
now the braves could go to the chaseo 
for flesh for food and skins for cloth- -t n 
ing and winter tents. The women and I 
children were in the camps and all 
were happy; the crow would caw by day 
and the owl would hoot at night; the l 
timber wolf would bark, and the pan- 
the scream in the woods and all this 
was a part of life to the red men of i;^ 
the Wabash. |1 

Beneath the spreading branches of a " 
linden tree, a dusky maid of the forest 
stood and listened to the music of the 
divine orchestra of insects, bees and 
birds; a squirrel sprang gracefully from 
a limb and barked with delight at her 
presence; the earth beneath her feet 
was carpeted in green and decorated 
with the various colors of the spring 
flowers; the clear water of a spring 
from the lips of mother earth in a 
stream nearby rippled and bubbled as 
it flowed over boulder, rock and pebble, 
and joined its voice in harmonious ap- 
proval in the expression of the sweet- 
ness of life and the beauty of the earth 
and the scene that environed the maid- 
en, the gentle zephyrs of the spring 
time played among the leaves of xhe 
trees and forests, and the sunshine 
fell between them. The maiden wai 
alarmed by the plaintive cry of a doBj 
awakened from its restful sleep, and shcj' 
moved noislessly toward it when a larg^i 
buck sounded the alarm of danger anc|( 
it and the mother deer and the little 
one bounded away and disappeared inli 
the forest. Then a young brave, perfect' 
in form and feature, with cap and* liel 
feather, bow and arrow, joined th«( jet 
maiden. And love was then abroad irii injf 



mil 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



47 



!e Valley of tlie Wabash. And they 
ighted their troth and loved, and 
Doed, and married. 

'In after years, in another clime, on 
i western plain, ended the delightful 
kchantment of pleasant memories of 
[eir youthful romance. Ever they pon- 
ured on the beauty of the land of their 
lildhood where they had wandered to- 
fither beneath the trees of the forest 
tid together they often journeyed thru 
te land of memory back to the Valley 
j: the Wabash where they had joined 

I eir fortunes and their hands beneath 

II sky where the stars sang together, 
[here the grass grew green and the 
kter was clear; where the air was fill- 
i with the sweet perfume of flowers 
lid the birds sang a joyous song. 
liCaptain Schuyler LaTourette recent- 
|| said: "When my mother and father 
pre married in the state of New Jer- 
ly they arranged to start at once for 
*;e Wabash Valley, to take up land 
ad make a permanent home. My 
: other bade farewell to her mother and 
:.ther, her sisters and brothers, forever, 
;id never expected to see them again, 
;id, yet, they did not part with tear- 
lained eyes. She sparkled with young 
'.:e, and was aglow with youth and joy, 

id gladly faced the future before her, 
'king her place as a helpmate to her 



husband and life companion. And to- 
gether they came to the Wabash Valley 
to take their part and bear their share 
of the toil, the patience, the love and 
the hope that comes in rearing a fam- 
ily. And together my father and 
mother did their part in winning the 
West and building an empire. They 
need no monument to beg memory to 
them for by their devotion, their friend- 
ships and the service, happily and glad- 
ly done by them in their day and gene- 
ration, they have erected a monument 
to themselves in the hearts of their 
neighbors and their children more last- 
ing than metal, more enduring than 
stone. And my parents were only one 
couple among the many who left a dis- 
tant state or distant country to come to 
the Wabash Valley and the State of 
Indiana to take their part and their 
place as good useful citizens among the 
common folks in building a state and 
making a nation." 

As the dusky sweethearts left the 
land of their youth forever, the pale- 
face and his bride came to clear the 
forest, cultivate the land, build homes 
and schools, make townships, counties, 
cities and states, and lay the foundation 
for the civilization and culture that 
have made the state of Indiana and the 
Wabash Valley known the world over. 



The Jesuit Priests and Father Gibault 



It was my intention to write some- 
ling of the French Jesuit priests 
nong the first articles in these 
ketches but I found it rather hard to 
et the correct information and I am 
.debted to my friend, Ameil Weber, 



who furnisht me with much of the 
material that I have been trying to get. 
Mr. Weber is a resident of Attica and 
a Wabash operator at Buck Creek; he 
was born and raised in Attica and is 
well posted on the history of the Catho- 



48 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



lie church. And, whether one be a 
Protestant or a Catholic (or a monistic 
rationalist and unbeliever like myself) 
if fair-minded, he will hate bigotry, 
which not only destroys mutual friend- 
ly relations but undermines the very 
peace and tranquility of every com- 
munity. Most bigotry in the world 
comes from ignorance and misunder- 
standing. Errors may be corrected, 
ignorance dispelled, and truth con- 
vincingly proven, and I know enough 
of the Protestant and the Catholic to 
know that if they understood each 
other better they would be less preju- 
diced toward each other. 

The history of the Wabash Valley 
cannot be truthfully and accurately 
written without paying respect to the 
black-robed Jesuit priest. 

Before the Northwest Territory was 
so designated, or even described or 
known the Catholic missionary was 
here and there were log chapels, sur- 
mounted by the cross, among the Indian 
villages in the Valley of the Wabash. 
Fifty years before Indiana was admit- 
ted into the Union as a state there 
were Catholic congregations, with 
priests who both preaeht and establisht 
pioneer schools, and they were first 
among the pioneers and among the 
principal actors in the great deeds of 
early history which gave the Wabash 
territory to the American republic. 
Perhaps the black-robed Jesuit priests 
were among the first white men to come 
into the Wabash Valley, and in this 
section they were active participants in 
the events preceding the Eevolution- 
ary war. To the fact that the Catho- 
lic missionaries and the pioneer Catho- 
lic laymen were here General George 
Eogers Clark was enabled to take the 
Northwest Territory from the British 



and add to the domain of the Unite 
States what are now the great frfiiop' 
commonwealths of Indiana, Ohio, Miefciwe 
igan, Illinois, Minnesota and Wiscoi 
sin, so the Catholics of the Wabaa 
Valley naturally have intense intere 
in the celebration of Indiana's Cente 
nial. In an early history of Indiar 
written by Goodrich and Tuttle, t| 
following paragraph appears: "TMllre( 
first white man who visited the teriji iei 
tory, now Indiana, was a Jesuit missioii m 
ary, who came from the old Frenffli 
mission of St. Joseph, on the shore 
of Lake Michigan, which was the oldest 
Jesuit Mission in the Lake region; thi 
missionary came to the Miami Indian 
in 1675." There are those who elain 
and I believe correctly, that the Jesiii 
fathers were visitors at Ouiatenon aiii 
Vineennes as early tk.s 1666. The firsi n; 
record of a baptism at Vineennes wai nv 
on June 25, 1749; and this reeorc ir 
Bishop Alerding, in his book, declare,' , 
is the earliest Catholic record in the si' 
state. It was signed by Sebastian Mer, 
rin, doubtless one of the early Jesuit 
missionaries. According to Jacob P ; 
Dunn, in his history of Indiana, th( • 
countrymen of LaSalle and Joliet hai; 
penetrated the wilds of Indiana and , i, 
the Wabash Valley as early as 1670. jji 
Doubtless there were many of thtfm 
Jesuit missionaries wearing their robesiinS 
of black, and with nothing but the f'- 
open hand of friendship ready to clasp . 
the hand of the red man and kindly ad-^ip 
minister to his needs in the Wabash ;,; 
Valley, whose deeds have been forgot- .' 
ten, and whose service is not recorded ' 
in its annals. I shall quote only a littli 
from the voyage of Joliet and Mar- fal 
quette to show the motive that lead^tij, 
them and the sentiment that inspire' ■ 
them. Marquette wrote: 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



49 



"Our joy at being chosen for this 
^pedition aroused our courage and 
w^eetened the labor of rowing from 
'orning to night, as we were going to 
sek unknown countries. We took all 
recaution that if our enterprise was 
lazardous it should not be foolhardy. 
jor this reason we gathered all possible 
^formation from the Indians, who had 
J'equented those parts, and even from 
iieir accounts traced a map of all the 
ew countries, marking down the 
rvers on which we were to sail, the 
ames of the nations, and the places 
iru which we were to pass, the course 
the river and what direction we 
^ould take when we got to it." And 
>'ain he says, in speaking of M. Joliet 
lid M. Tallon, joining him in the voy- 
^e to make discoveries, "I was more 
iraptured at this good news as I saw 
y designs on the point of being ac- 

implisht and myself in the happy 

!cessity of exposing my life for the 

Ivation of all these nations. * * * * 
fe were not long in preparing our out- 
i, altho we were embarking on a 
byage, the duration of which we could 
bt foresee. Indian corn, with some 
i-ied meats, was our whole stock of 

ovisions. With this we set out in our 
Vo bark canoes, M. Joliet, myself and 
Ive men, firmly resolved to do all and 
Iffer all for so glorious an enterprise. ' ' 

lis is the spirit with which the 
^suit father carried his tidings of 

eat joy to the untutored red men 
the Wabash Valley. 

A chief of the Fox Indians, speaking 
! the Franciscian missionaries, (who 

ore gray coats, while the Jesuit 
Withers wore black gowns as the dia- 
iactivemark of their sect), said: 

These graycoats we value very much, 

ey go barefooted as well as we; they 



scorn our beaver gowns, and decline all 
other presents, they do not carry arms 
to kill, they flatter and make much of 
our children, and give them knives and 
other toys, without expecting any re- 
ward. * * * * The fathers of the gown 
have given up all to come to see us, 
therefore you, who are captain over 
all these men, be pleased to leave with 
us one of these graycoats, whom we 
will conduct to our village, when we 
have killed what we desire of the buf- 
falo." And this shows conclusively 
that the red men of the forest ap- 
preciated the kindness of the early 
Catholic priests. 

The coming of Father Pierre Gibault 
from Quebec to the Wabash, in 1770, 
was not only an auspisious event for 
the extension of the faith of Catholi- 
cism but a fortunate circumstance for 
the young requblic of the United States 
of America which was then not yet con- 
ceived even in the mind of Thomas 
Paine. 

Pierre Gibault, the honored and be- 
loved pastor of St. Francis Xavier 
Catholic churchjVincennes, Indiana, 
from the year 1785 to 1789, was born 
in the City of Montreal, Canada, on the 
7th day of April, 1737, son of Peter 
Gibault and Mary St. Jean Gibault. 
In his early childhood he studied for 
the priesthood and became a missiion- 
ary among the Indians and Canadians 
of the Northwest. As soon as he was 
ordained a priest at Quebec Seminary 
he started without delay for the Miss- 
issippi, Ohio and Wabash valleys. He 
arrived on Lake Michigan in July, 1768, 
stayed but one week and proceeded at 
once to Kaskaska, Illinois, arriving 
there in the fall. There he was wel- 
comed by all classes and out of what- 
ever chaos existed before his arrival 



50 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



under his service soon union and har- 
mony prevailed. In 1769 he reacht 
Vincennes where the inhabitants re- 
ceived him with tears of joy. 

Rev. Devernai had been kidnapt in 
the fall of 1763, and, to use Gibault's 
own language in his letter to the Bis- 
hop of Quebec, dated June 15, 1770, 
"On their knees they said 'Father save 
us, we are almost in hell.' " He stay- 
ed there almost two months. There 
were between 700 and 800 people in 
Vincennes at that time. He was a man 
of refinement and culture, very precise 
and exact in the discharge of the duties 
devolving upon him. 

In the year 1808, a resolution was 
adopted by the legislature of Virginia 
whereby the service of Rev. Pierre Gi- 
bault to General George Rogers Clark 
was acknowledged. Next to Clark and 
Vigo the Wabash Valley, the State of 
Indiana and the United States, are in- 
debted to Father Gibault, for the 
acquisition of the states comprised in 
what was the original Northwest Terri- 
tory, and Father Gibault should share 
honors with Clark since the fact that 
Clark was successful in this enterprise, 
was largely due to the exertions and in- 
fluence of this patriotic priest. 

Before the coming of Clark, Father 
Gibault had spoken to large audiences 
in Vincennes, in the old fort, and set 
forth the possibilities of the new re- 
public in such glowing terms that the 
natives were all ready to swear al- 
legiance to the American cause. He 
himself administered the oath of al- 
legiance for the first time in the Wa- 
bash Valley, and thru his influence the 
American flag was hoisted over the old 
fort in Vincennes in February, 1778. 
The English soldiers were not present 
when this happened and when the news 



reacht them a force under Gov. Hamil- 
ton was sent to take possession of the 
fort, which they did without opposi- 
tion. On account of this action, having 
incurred the displeasure of the English, 
Father Gibault was forced to leave Vin- 
cennes and returned to Kaskaskia, 
which ultimately proved a great ad- 
vantage to the American cause and waa 
the means of wresting from England 
the entire northwest. It was fortunate 
indeed that Father Gibault was in 
charge of Kaskaskia when Clark ap- 
proacht that place on his expedition 
of conquest in July, 1778. Surrounding 
the town Clark met with no opposition 
and on the morning of July 5, 1778, 
according to Clark's memoirs, a few 
of the principal men were arrested. 
Soon afterwards however. Father Gi- 
bault and five or six citizens waited on 
Clark and askt permission to assemble 
in the church. Clark told the priest 
that he had nothing to say against his 
religion, that it was a matter that 
Americans left for every man to settle 
with his God. This pleased Father Gi- 
bault and nearly the whole population 
gathered at the church and selected 
their noble pastor to make all arrange- 
ments with Clark as to his intentions. 
The priest askt the favor of allowing 
the wives and children of the men to 
remain with one another and he was 
told by Clark that it was to prevent 
the horrors of Indian butchery upon 
women and children that he had 
taken up arms and penetrated into this; 
remote stronghold of British and Indian J 
barbarity. 

Clark was not sufficiently strong toll^tli 
reach Kaskaskia and lead an expedition i 
against Vincennes, and after a long} 
conference with Gibault, it was decid-i 
ed that Father Gibault would visit Vin- 



ftar 



lliv( 



ieoi 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



51 



ennes himself, which was agreeable 
f) all interested. Arriving in Vin- 
r3nnes he explained the American 
^use and all swore allegiance to the 
mited States. Gov. Hamilton then set 
iit from Detroit with a large force 
lid once more occupied the fort at 
ineennes. Again Pierre Gibault, the 
itriotic priest, was ready to sacrifice, 
ad with his love of liberty and un- 
^unted courage he furnisht Clark with 
wo companies of Illinois troops, all 
atholics and members of his church; 
lie under command of McKay and the 
ther under the command of Francis 
[hareville. Francis Vigo, who was at 
I'lat time a devout Catholic, was also 
ilisted by his pastor. Clark himself 
lew nothing concerning Vincennes, 
3ither did any of his men, but Gi- 
lult, the patriotic priest, possest the 
quisite knowledge and influence, and 
hile it was winter and the streams 
ere out of their banks the priest ad- 
sed Clark to proceed at once. Ac- 
iirdingly, after the soldiers had listen- 
1 to an address and received the bless- 
g of the priest, in February 1779, 
ark and his army of about 170 men 
'arted for Vincennes. When the ex- 
;dition arrived there Gibault had pro- 
ded for their crossing the Wabash 
ilver and also planned to have pro- 
sions furnisht when the expedition 
rived exhausted, weary and hungry. 
P successful was this expedition that 

orge Eogers Clark captured the fort 
ithout the loss of a life. 

Eegardless of the splendid and valu- 
)le service rendered to the country by 
ither Gibault, he was never rewarded 



in any manner by the government, and 
in 1790, after a life of toil and struggle, 
he resided in poverty and destitution 
at Kahokia, Illinois. In that year he 
petitioned Gov. St. Claire for the grant 
of ia few acres of land near that place 
for a home to shelter him in his old 
age; unfortunately Father Gibault was 
refused even this slight recognition of 
his valuable services and the records 
are at variance as to when and where 
he died. The place of his burial is un- 
known. Thus ended the career of one 
of America 's noble-hearted, zealous and 
patriotic heroes. His achievements 
may never be fully appreciated, his 
glory may go unsung, yet it is to be 
hoped that this patriotic priest of the 
Wabash Valley will be given this year 
the glory, the honor and the place in 
the history and conquest of the north- 
west, that is so justly his. 

If I should leave out of these sketches 
a tribute to this gentle, untiring Catho- 
lic priest; if I should fail to recall his 
sainted memory, and link it with that 
of George Eogers Clark and the other 
noble and heroic souls whose labors 
were united on that victorious march 
to Vincennes, my story would be lack- 
ing in the truth, beauty and influence 
that makes history valuable. 

Like a golden chain, linking the 
past to the present in the rosary of 
years, is the record of the pioneer mis- 
sionary, the glory of whose labors rest 
like a benediction on every hill and 
stream along the Wabash Valley and 
vv'hose names, like incense, are redolent 
with deeds of kindness, chivalry and 
valor. 



52 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



Indiana's Admission to Statehood 



The war of 1812 was concluded by 
the Treaty of Peace signed at Ghent, 
on the 24th day of December, 1814, 
and ratified by the President of the 
United States with the consent of the 
Senate on the 17th day of December, 
1814. And on the first Monday of 
December in 1815 the General Assem- 
bly of Indiana Territory met at Cory- 
don. The sickness of Gov. Posey, who 
resided at Jeffersonville, prevented his 
attendance at the seat of govrrnment 
on the opening of the session and he 
sent his message to the two houses by 
his private secretary. Col. Allen D. 
Thon. In this message, which was very 
brief, the Governor congratulated the 
members of the legislature on the ter- 
mination of the war by an honorable 
peace. He alluded to the tide of im- 
migration, which was then flowing into 
the territory, and advised the levying 
of taxes as light as might be compat- 
ible with the public interests. He in- 
vited the legislature to turn its atten- 
tion to the promotion of education and 
the state roads and highways, and he 
recommended a revision of the territor- 
ial laws and an amendment of the mili- 
itia system. The legislature, during the 
course of its session, which lasted about 
a month, passed thirty-rne laws and 
seven joint resolutions. These acts 
were not, however, designed to make 
any material change in the existing 
laws of the territory. The attention of 
the members of the General Assembly 
was, indeed, engaged chiefly in the 
making of public and private efforts to 
change their territorial institutions for 
those of a state government. 



A memorial, which was adopted bj j "■ 
the legislature of Indiana territory oi i f 
the 14th of December, 1815, and lai^ 
before Congress by Jonathan Jennings, 
the territorial delegate in Congress, on 
the 28th day of the same month, con- 
tains the following pasages: "Where-s 
as, the ordinance of Congress for the 
government of this territory (Indiana) > 
has provided that whenever there shall 
be sixty thousand free inhabitants 
there this territory shall be admitted 
into the Union on an equal footing with 
the original states. And whereas, by 
census, taken by the authority of the 's 
legislature of this territory, it appears ' 
from the returns that the number of 
free white inhabitants exceed sixty.; w 
thousand, we, therefore, pray the hon-i Hii 
orable Senate and House of Eepresentai '^ 
tives, in Congress assembled, to ordeffil k 
an election to be conducted agreeabld* lis 
to the existing laws of this territoryi^ M 
to be held in the several counties o^ito 
this territory on the first Monday ofi' Jaj 
May, 1816, for representatives to meet? tie 
in convention at the seat of governmenti 

of this territory the day of.. 

1816, who when assembled shall deter«i|oiii 
mine by majority of the votes of a. 
the members elected whether it willlff 
b expedient, or inexpedient, to go into 
a state government, and, if it be deter-r 
mined expedient, the convention thuafjsiij 
assembled shall have the power tojf 
form a constitution and frame govern 
ment, or, if it be deemed inexpedientjH fi 
to provide for the election of represent-ti Piai 
atives to meet in convention at some' i,lj 
future period to form a constitutionji % 
* * * And whereas, the inhabitants oip 



H 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



53 



kis territory are principally composed 
f emigrants from every part of the 
Tnion and as various in their customs 
nd sentiments as in their persons, we 
hink it prudent, at this time, to ex- 
res to the general government our at- 
ichment to the fundamental principles 
if legislation prescribed by Congress in 
lieir ordinance for the government of 
liis territory, particularly as respects 
personal freedom and involuntary ser- 
iitude, and hope they may be continued 
■s the basis of the constitution. 
The memorial was referred by Con- 
ress to a committee of which Mr. Jen- 
ings was chairman, and on the 5th of 
anuary, 1816, these gentlemen reported 
3 the House of Eepresentatives of the 
.'nited States a bill to enable the people 
jif Indiana territory to form a eonsti- 
iiition and state government and for 
:ie admission of such state into the 
nion on an equal footing with the orig- 
lial states. This bill, after having 
jeen amended in some of its partic- 
ijlars, was passed by Congress and be- 
^me a law by the approval of the Pres- 
cient of the United States on the 19th 
ia,y of April, 1816. In conformity with 
';\e provisions of this law an election 
ijr members of a convention, to form a 
■snstitution, was held in the several 
bunties of the territory on Monday, the 
bth day of May, 1816. The members 
if the convention were elected accord- 
jjig to an apportionment which had 
!:een made by the territorial legislature 
snd confirmed by an Act of Congress. 
; At this time there were thirteen coun- 
\.es in the State of Indiana, and their 
ppulation was as follows: Knox 8,068, 
Iranklin 7,370, Washington 7,317, Clark 
!,150, Hai-rison 6,795, Wayne 6,407, 
jibson 5,330, Dearborn 4,424, Jefferson 
(270, Switzerland 1,382, Perry 1,720, 



Posey 1,619, Warrick 1,415. Total 63,- 
897. 

The Act of Congress of the 19th of 
April, 1816, to enable the people of In- 
diana Territory to form a constitution 
and state government contained certain 
conditions and propositions with respect 
to boundaries, jurisdiction, school lands, 
salt springs, and lands for seat of gov- 
ernment. All of these conditions and 
propositions were ratified and accepted 
by an ordinance which was passed by 
the territorial convention at Corydon 
on the 28th day of June, 1816. 

The convention that formed the first 
constitution of the state of Indiana was 
composed mainly of clear-minded, un- 
pretending men of common sense, whose 
patriotism was unquestioned and whose 
morals were fair. Their familiarity 
with the theories of the Declaration of 
American Independence, their territor- 
ial experiences under the provision of 
Ordinances of 1787, and their know- 
ledge of the principles of the Constitu- 
tion of the United States was sufficient 
when combined to lighten materially 
their labors in the great work of form- 
ing a constitution for a new state. With 
such landmarks in view the labors of 
similar conventions in other states and 
territories have been rendered compar- 
atively light, in the clearness and con- 
scientiousness of its style, in the com- 
prehensive and just provisions which it 
made for the maintainance of civil and 
religious liberty, in its mandates, which 
were designed to protect the rights of 
the people, collectively and individu- 
ally, and provide for the public wel- 
fare, the constitution that was formed 
for Indiana in 1816 was not inferior to 
any of the state constitutions which 
were in existence at that time. 

The officers of the territorial govern- 



54 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



ment of Indiana, including the govern- 
or, secretary, judges and all other offi- 
cers, civil and military, were required 
by the provision of the state constitu- 
tion to continue in the exercise of the 
duties of their respective offices until 
they should be superseded by officers 
elected under the authority of the state 
government. The president of the con- 
vention that formed the constitution 
was required to issue writs of election, 
directed to the several sheriffs of the 
several counties, requiring them to 
cause an election to be held for gover- 
nor, lieutenant governor, representative 
to the congress of the United States, 
members of the General Assembly, sher- 
iffs and coroners, at the respective elec- 
tion districts in each county on the first 
Monday in August, 1816. At the gener- 
al election which was held at this time 
in the several counties of the territory 
Jonathan Jennings was elected governor 
of Indiana. He received 5,211 votes, 
and his competitor, Thomas Posey, who 
was then governor of the territory, re- 
ceived 3,934 votes. Christopher Har- 
rison, of Washington county, was elect- 
ed lieutenant governor, and William 
Hendrix was elected to represent In- 
diana in the Congress of the United 
States. 

The first General Assembly, elected 
under the authority of the state con- 



stitution, commenced its session 
Corydon, on Monday, the 4th of Nov- 
ember, 1816. John Paul was called to 
the chair of the senate pro tempore, andfltn 



ad* it II 
oi } jes 



Isaac Blackford was elected speaker 
the House of Eepresentatives. On ajiali 
Thursday, November 7th, the oath oj 
office was administered to Governo] 
Jennings and to Lieutenant Governo] lA 
Harrison in the presence of both housesi « il 
Immediately after which Governor Jean i li 
nings delivered his first message to th« f |iii 
General Assembly. 

The territorial governnient of Indi- 
ana was thus superceded by a state gov< i lisl 
erument on the 7th day of November ' 
1816, and the State of Indiana was for 
mally admitted to the Union by a join1 
resolution of Congress approved on thf «|ii 
11th of December, in the same year, 
On the 8th of November, 1816, the gert -fei 
eral assembly, by a joint vote of botl iM 
houses, elected James Noble and Wallei 
Taylor to represent Indiana in i 
the Senate of the United States. Sub 
sequent joint balloting resulted in th( ik 
election of Eobert A. New, Secretary oi I 
State; William H. Lilley, Auditor oil™ 
Public Accounts, and Daniel C. Lane, i, T 
Treasurer of State. The session of tM ^'"" 
first General Assembly of the State oj l| 
Indiana was closed by final adjourn- 
ment on the 3rd of January, 1817. 



\i 



led 



I ies 



|5 

The First White Settler of Fountain County^" 



A hundred years ago the star of em- 
pire was moving westward with great 
rapidity and the new state of Indiana 
was being filled with the younger gen- 
eration of the best families from the 
eastern states. As word came back 



from those who had penetrated int( 
the new country telling of the wondep li 
fully fertile soil and the magnificeni 
forests, the plentiful game and the rap 
idly growing settlements, others were 
fired with zeal and followed, so that f oi 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



55 



l.any years the ox-trains of settlers 
t)ntinued to come. As the tide of set- 
^ement had started with the Ohio river 
. moved slowly but steadily north and 
lest, and thus it was that the southern 
alf of the state was settled first. At 
lie time Indiana was admitted as a 
)ate, in 1816, there were 63,897 white 
[habitants and not one of them lived 
J Fountain county; in fact, this county 
id not been laid out and was still vir- 
n wilderness awaiting the coming of 
e settler. 

1:1 have determined beyond question 
at the first white man to take up his 
irmanent residence in Fountain, War- 
n and Tippecanoe counties was Peter 
eaver, whose descendants still live 

the vicinity where he settled. His 
eat-great-grandaughter. Miss Flora 
eaver of West Point, furnished me 
ith much of the following which she 
Ld used as a graduation thesis: 
j Peter Weaver came from Germany 

Culpepper county, Virginia, before 
e war of the Eevolution. He mar- 

d in Virginia and most of his chil- 
en were born there. 

The Weavers were well-to-do, of aris- 
eratic lineage, and brought consid- 
able wealth from the iFatherland. 
iter had wealth enough for himself 
d family to live in comparative lux- 
y and to associate with the first fam- 
es in that section of old Virginia, 
lb married Martha Walker in Culpep- 
r county. Martha Walker's mother 
is a sister of Patrick Henry, the or- 
3r of Eevolutionary fame. Her fath- 

was a full-blooded Miami Indian, 
d a good education and held posi- 
)ns of trust in the Colony of Virginia, 

appointment from the Crown. The 
ion of the houses of Walker and 



Weaver was considered promising for 
both the contracting families. 

Peter Weaver was 6 feet, 4 inches 
tall and stood head and shoulders 
above the young men with whom he 
associated. He weighed 240 pounds, 
but was not fleshy, had blue eyes and 
was of a light complexion. His wif, 
Martha Walker Weaver, was of a dark 
complexion with dark eyes and showed 
her Indian descent. 

In 1S06 they sold their property in 
Virginia and moved to Wayne county, 
Indiana, in 1807, settling 3 miles south 
of Eichmond. He was one of the 
wealthiest men in his community and 
had a good and well improved farm. 

While in Virginia he had formed the 
acquaintance of William Henry Har- 
rison and perhaps Harrison had some- 
thing to do with his coming to Indiana. 

In September, 1809, when Gov. Har- 
rison left Vincennes for the Council 
House at Ft. Wayne to meet the Indians 
he traveled eastward to the western 
border of Dearborn county and from 
there he went to the home of Peter 
Weaver in Wayne county, arriving in 
the afternoon and staying all night. On 
this trip Gov. Harrison, afterwards 
president, gave to Patrick Weaver, the 
son of Peter Weaver, the first money 
he had ever owned, which was a silver 
50c piece. Harrison arrived at Ft. 
Wayne September 15, 1809. After the 
battle of Tippejcanoe, in November, 
1811, Gov. Harrison again stayed over 
night with Peter Weaver in Wayne 
county and gave him an account of the 
march up the Wabash and the battle. 
Being naturally of an adventurous dis- 
position, Peter Weaver became much 
interested in the Wabash Valley and 
the Tippecanoe battlefield. 



56 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



He was a good shot and liked to hunt 
and when Gen. Samuel Hopkins began 
to raise an army of 1250 soldiers to 
march up the Wabash river to The 
Prophets Town, (Tippecanoe), Peter 
Weaver joined the expedition and was 
first lieutenant in Capt. Washburn's 
company of spies and sharpshooters. 
He went immediately to Vincennes and 
from there he marched with the Hop- 
kin's army, in November, 1812, to The 
Prophet's Town. He was so delighted 
with the Wea plains that he decided if 
ever an opportunity presented itself, 
he would make his home on this beauti- 
ful prairie. 

After he returned home he went on 
the bond of a friend who had been 
elected sheriff of Wayne county. This 
friend was a defaulter for a large sum. 
Peter Weaver was the only bondsman 
with property and it fell to him to 
make good the sheriff's defalcation. 
It took his farm and all his personal 
property. He had always been used 
to comparative wealth and luxury, and 
now to find himselfapproaching old age 
in poverty was to him a great embarras- 
ment. He decided not to wait any 
longer, but to go at once to the Wabash 
Valley and the Wea plains which had 
appealed to him so strongly when he 
had crossed it in the war of 1812, so he 
and his son Patrick H., left the rest 
of the family to raise the crop on the 
farm he had sacrificed for his friend, 
the defaulting sheriff, and set forth on 
their quest for a new home in the Wa- 
bash Valley. They arrived at Vincen- 
nes in the spring of 1822 and built a 
skiff with two pairs of oars. This boat 
was large enough to carry their clothing 
and food, so they started up the Wa- 
bash. 

Some of the Indians who were re- 



ol 



lated to Peter Weaver's wife lived 
what is known now as Flint Bar in '«' 
Fountain county. They reached thfti * 
Flint Bar with their boat the last ot^ ™ 
June or the first of July. Patrick It^ '!« 
was the first out of the boat, and wit^i is' 
one of his oars killed a blacksnake ^i i" 
feet in length. They spent a montlt *' 
in hunting, fishing and visiting witl! !"' 
their Indian relatives, and then begail: ' 
to select a place for a home altho tht' t™ 
land was not yet open for entry. Htf 'i 
built his log cabin across the road norti fl' 
of where Mr. Lewis Clement now livesjs I*' 
he commenced the building in AugusfalS" 
1822, and finished it that winter, bu t » 
during the time that they were conliw 
structing their cabin they lived on th ii ^ 
Flint Bar in Fountain county witl I U" 
their Indian relatives, and stayed ther ^ Hi' 
from July, 1822, until April, 1823. !«! 

Some time in the early spring Pete ii «li 
Weaver floated down the river to Vin i iW 
cennes and went from there to Eich S ^ 
mond and got his family, leaving Pat I J 
rick H. to look after the claim and th i' fi 
cabin, while he himself would bring hi i! in 
family out to their new home. In IS^i ll ''' 
the land he had taken up was grant® ij fd 
by the United States government t ;! !>' 
the Burnetts, the French-Indian f ani i m 
ily of which I have already writteii i ^i 
He bought two sections of the reservi 't Ws 
allotted to the Burnetts, one of then i A 
being the section on which the cabii I k 
was located. The other was the sectiod <i w 
in which the Patrick H. Weaver f arU i Pt 
was located. "if 

In 1823, when he came to make hi i 1 
permanent home on his claim, a Frencn'ri 
trader stopped at his home and had j' 
with him some oats which he fed to his 'i» 
horse. In consideration of a few bush- ^ 
els of corn, he traded Peter Weaver a ^'i 
portion of this cereal. The oats thus '« 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



57 



procured were sown and in due time 
leaped, but in the following season all 
i/ere surprised to see several different 
arieties of wheat spring forth from 
;tie stubble previously occupied by the 
jats. It was regarded as very myster- 
pus, so Peter "Weaver raised the first 
j/heat as well as the first oats in the 
punty. 

\ In after years he had a grain eleva- 
pr constructed on the east bank of the 
Wabash river at the Flint Bar, This 
llevator was put up in 1825, and was 
lerhaps the first building for handling 
jrain in Fountain, Warren or Tippeca- 
noe counties. Afterwards Peter Weav- 
If turned the elevator over to Wm. 
[herry, his son-in-law. At one time 
jiere were four families living near 
(lis elevator and the place was known 
is Fulton. It was almost opposite the 
jland of the same name and was prob- 
ibly the oldest village in either Foun- 
^in, Warren or Tippecanoe counties, 
Peter Weaver brought with him from 
irginia two negro slaves named Ben 
.nd Ean, Mr, Weaver believed in 
lavery and considered the negroes his 
personal property. Soon after they 
#me to Tippecanoe county there was 
a effort to steal the negroes. Mr, 
/eaver grew very angry and protected 
is property rights in the negro boys, 
ith his musket if necessary. One of 
jiem died in Tippecanoe county and 
fas buried in the Weaver graveyard. 
he other was taken to Missouri about 
le time the Civil War commenced. 
Peter Weaver was very pronounced 
|i his political views. He cast his first 
ote in Indiana for Jackson in 1828, 
ad for years was identified with the 
emocratic party. During the Civil 
TsLT he was so much in sympathy with 
le South that his son, Patrick H, 



Weaver, considered it unsafe for him 
to stay in Tippecanoe county any long- 
er, and had him go to the home of his 
son, Mose Weaver, in Missouri and stay 
the entire winter. 

At that time he was almost 90 years 
of age, yet he walked from his home in 
Missouri to the home of his son in Tip- 
pecanoe county and from there he walk- 
ed to Culpepper county, Virginia, where 
he remained over winter with his twin 
brother. From Culpepper county, Vir- 
ginia, he walked back to Tippecanoe 
county. These long walks, in spite of 
the fact that he enjoyed them, so weak- 
ened him that he never entirely recov- 
ered from the effects, and died at the 
home of Patrick H. Weaver, in 1863, at 
the age of 96. He was buried in the 
Weaver graveyard in Wayne township, 
near the home of Mr. Lewis Clement. 

Peter Weaver was not only the first 
settler in Fountain and Tippecanoe 
counties, but was perhaps more widely 
and favorably known among the early 
inhabitants than any man of the upper 
Wabash, He served several years as 
county commissioner and was at the 
front in all movements to bring about 
a betterment of conditions. He killed 
more deer, more rattlesnakes, more 
wolves and more bears and caught more 
fish and found more bee trees, and en- 
tertained in a hospitable manner more 
land-hunters, trappers and traders than 
any private citizen between Vincennea 
and the mouth of the Salmonie river. 

Patrick H, Weaver, the eldest son 
of Peter Weaver, was born in Culpepper 
county, Virginia, in 1803, and came 
with his father to the Wabash Valley in 
1822. He was a stout, muscular man, 6 
feet, 4 inches, in his boots, and weighed 
over 200 pounds, January 26, 1829, he 
married Elsie Dimmitt, whose parents 



58 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



came from Tennessee and settled in 
Wayne county, Indiana, in the early 
part of the last century. During his 
early life he took an active part in pol- 
itics and like his father, was a great 
hunter. While hunting he traveled 
over a large part of Illinois, Michigan, 
Wisconsin and Minnesota, going as far 
north as Minneapolis and St. Paul. For 
many years he received as much money 
from his trapping and the chase as he 
did from the farm. He raised a com- 
pany of 100 men to take part in the 
Black Hawk war, and was made cap- 
tain of the company. Gen. Walker was 
in command. Col. Davis and Captain 
Brown of the artillery, and Captain 
Weaver with his volunteers, mounted 
their war steeds and proceeded to join 
the army. A public meeting was held 
at the court house in Lafayette and 300 
volunteeers, mostly mounted men who 
had furnished their own horses, left 
Lafayette and started for the Grand 
Prairie. Capt. Weaver with his troops 
marched to Sugar creek, Benton county, 
and stayed a few days, but finding no 
Indians they returned by order of Gen. 
Walker. Some of the men, however, 
proceeded farther on. Capt. Weaver 
took his horse and marched on to Chi- 
cago where he joined Gen. Scott and 
his troops. Some of these troops died 
of cholera, but Patrick H. was not af- 
fected. He took part in the battle of 
Blue Mound, where Black Hawk was 
defeated, and also in the battle on the 
banks of the Mississippi, nearly op- 
posite Upland, Iowa, where Black Hawk 
was again defeated. 

Capt. Weaver conducted a militia 
muster and drilled the young men on 
the south side of the Wea prairie. His 
uniform was a blue wool shirt with a 



dii 



red sash, and he wore epaulets. H 
large sword was fastened by his side/tiMi 
and on his hat a tall plume was waving 
in the wind. His company consisted 
of about 70 men who had reluetantl; 
turned out to muster to avoid paying 
fine. Some had corn stalks, some stickSj 
and a few had guns. The captain haV' 
ing had some experience in the Blac 
Hawk war, understood his business bet- 
ter than his men supposed. He gave 
his commands in a clear, ringing voice 
and showed his men the maneuvers of 
war. He located on a tract of 162 acres 
in Burnett's Reserve, and eventually 
owned 500 acres. He died October 16, 
1890, after completing his 87th year, 
his wife having died Jan. 28, 1884. 

Virgil and Samuel Weaver, well 
known farmers of Wayne township, Tip- 
pecanoe county, are great-grandsons of 
Peter Weaver, as are also Mark Whick- 
er, of Attica, J. C. and Chester Whick- -'A 
er, of Lafayette, Wm. Whicker, of ' 
Iowa, and Mrs. Ella Andrews, of West 
Point, Ind. There are numerous other 
descendants of this worthy pioneer 
still living. 

Altho I have here given credit to ■ 
Peter Weaver as the first white set- '«if 
tier to locate permanently in Warren, i»gl 
Fountain or Tippecanoe counties, it I'JHi 
should not be forgotten that Zaehar- m 
iah Cicot's father was a white man e 
of pure French blood, and that he lived <i\' 
for many years and died where Inde-. tji 
pendence, Warren county, is now loe£»Jieii 
ted. Abraham Burnett, another French- -^^ 
man, also settled in Wabash township, * 
Fountain county, and lived there for 
many years, having been killed, accord- 
ing to tradition, in one of the fights in 
this vicinity at the time of Gen. Chas. ^ 
Scott 's raid and the destruction of the 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



59 



adian town of Ouiatenon in 1791, long 
afore Peter Weaver came. These men 
pwever, cast their lot with the In- 



dians, intermarried with them and held 
their land as Indians, so that their place 
in history is really with the Eed Man. 



The Government Land Survey 



In the first Congress of the United 
.ates, a committee of three was ap- 
linted to devise a method of laying off 
e public lands for settlement. Thom- 
; Jefferson was the chairman of this 
fmmittee and for this reason it is 
I'lown as the Jefferson system of land 
[irveying. 

'In all the new states and territories 
e land owned by the general govern- 
I'Bnt is surveyed and sold under this 
iiieral system. In the state of Indi- 
a, several offices, each under the dir- 
;tion of a surveyor general, were estab- 
l;hed by acts of Congress and districts 
signed them. The general office for 
e surveys of all public lands in Ohio, 
diana, Michigan and Wisconsin was 
bated at Cincinnati. In the surveys 
aridian lines were first established 
nning north from some prominent 
ace. These are intersected at right 
gles with lines running east and west 
illed base lines. There are five prin- 
oal meridians in the land surveys of 
West. The first and second of 
iiich are connected with the land sur- 
ys of Indiana. The first principal 
eridian is a line due north on the east- 
n boundary of the state from the 
juth of the Great Miami river. The 
^ond principal meridian line is a line 
e north from a point on the Ohio 
^er nine degrees and twenty-nine see- 
ds west from Washington, From 
ese principal meridians with their 
rresponding base lines the country is 



divided into townships of six miles 
square, which are subdivided into sec- 
tions of one mile square or 640 acres 
each; and these are again subdivided 
into quarter sections of 160 acres each. 
These divisions are designated by the 
surveyor by appropriate marks which 
can easily be distinguished from each 
other. If near timber, trees are mark- 
ed and numbered with the section, town- 
ship and range, near each section corner. 
If in a prairie, a mound is raised to des- 
ignate the corner; and a billet of char- 
red wood buried if no rock is near. 
Eanges are townships counted as east 
or west from principal meridians. Town- 
ships are counted either north or south 
from their respective base lines, as 
township 22 north, range 7 west. Sec- 
tions or square miles are numbered be- 
ginning in the northeast corner of the 
township with No. 1, progressively west 
to the range line, numbered 6, and then 
below 7 progressively east to the range 
line is 12 and so on alternately, termin- 
ating at the southeast corner of the 
township with 36. 

In the state of Indiana there were 
seven land districts with offices attached 
to each open for sale and entry of pub- 
lic lands as follows: The Cincinnati dis- 
trict embraced all lands east of the old 
Indian boundaries, viz.: beginning 
v/here the old Indian line strikes the 
Ohio river in range 13 east, thence 
with it N. N. E. to where it intersects 
the other Indian line in section 23 



60 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



T-ll E-13 east, thence S.W. with anoth- 
er line in section 33, T-10, E-11, E., 
thence with the line N. N. NE. to its 
bend in section 11, T-21, E-13, E., and 
thence N. E. towards Fort Eecovery to 
where it intersects the Ohio state line 
is section 36, T-23, E-15, E. 

The Jeffersonville district, commen- 
cing on the Ohio river is bounded on 
the west by the second principal merid- 
ian as far north as the line between 
townships 9 and 10 north, thence east 
with the line between townships 9 and 
10 until it makes the Indian boundary 
line on the south side of section 33, 
T-10, E-11, E., thence being the Cincin- 
nati line with the Indian line north- 
westerly to the junction of the Indian 
line, thence to a line in range 13 on the 
Ohio river, thence with the river to 
the beginning. 

Then came the Vincennes district, 
which embraced all the lands west and 
south of the following line, beginning 
on the Ohio where the second meridian 
first leaves the same thence north 
with the meridian line until it is inter- 
sected in section 1, T-9, E-1, W., by the 
old Indian line, thence with the old In- 
dian boundary northwesterly until it 
intersects the Illinois state line and 
township 16 north. 

The Indianapolis district, then the 
Ft. Wayne district and then the La 
Porte district, and then the lands in 
the Crawfordsville district. In the 
body of the old deeds for land in this 
locality used to be written, "in that 
body of land offered for entry at the 
land office in Crawfordsville," and we 
are more directly interested in this than 
any other. It was included in the lines 
beginning on the Illinois state line 
where the Indiana line strikes it in 
township 16, thence southeast with the 



Vincennes line on the Indian boundary* .»[] 
to intersect with the meridian lines ia ije,i 
section 1, township 9, range 1 west, 
thence north with the meridian line n 
to the corner of townships 9 and 10;f,i[, 



Thence east with the line between town- 



^Wi 



ships 9 and 10 to the southeast corner 
of township 10, range 1 east, thence jL 
north with the line between ranges lil[" 
and 2 east of the northeast angle of eT 
township 26, range 1 east, thence west ' 
between townships 26 and 27 to the 111- 
inois state line and thence with thft, 
Illinois line to the beginning. 

To get the entry of the lands within \L 
this line one had to refer to the books ^^ 
then in Crawfordsville. The entry o^l 
the land in this district made Crawfords- 
ville the center not only of population 
but of everything pertaining to the iL 
early settlement of the country. The , 

counties of Parke and Vermilion were'i. 

. lies 
surveyed and open to entry much earh- •!»„, 

er than Fountain and Warren counties. i,j 

For some cause the first lands open for i 

entry in Fountain and Warren countieal!| 

were in ranges 6 and 7. The first set- /' 

tiers came up the river and old Mays- i" 

ville was on the range line numbered T^ 

6, so was Newtown and Wallace, and^'iis 

Hillsboro was very close to it. WaHwv 

lace, Hillsboro, Newtown and Mays- 1 1 fi 

ville were built on this line because of ^| 

its being open to settlement first. And 

strange as it may seem, the land taken)!,,^ 

up six miles west from the Fountai 

county line or three miles west anJi 

three miles east of range 6 west, cleai|i 

across Fountain and Warren countii 

and for quite a little distance up intoTc 

Benton county was entered by peopl#^iQ 

of Quaker descent who were all related| 

by blood or marriage. Many of theiii 

descendants still live along the line oljl,jj 

the land their grandparents and great! 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



61 



grandparents took up from the gov- 
rnnient. 

As the tide of emigrants flowed into 
'ountain county they came in two ways, 
lany came up the Wabash as did Peter 
Veaver and his son, but there were 
lany others that came by wagons 
cross the state, some of them having 
ome the entire distance from their old 
omes in the eastern states in this man- 
er following the old trail thru Straw- 
own and Thorntown, thence to Craw- 
ordsville and on to this vicinity. The 
ecord of land entries for all this sec- 
ion was made at Crawf ordsville and 
ne records are still preserved there, 
'he entries indicate that the land was 
pened up by ranges or strips six miles 
dde and extending at least the length 
f two counties. The land comprising 
'hat is now Fountain and Warren coun- 
ies was taken up rapidly. It began in 
823 and within ten years all the best 
md was taken, altho occasional entries 

;l 

I'ere made as late as 1840. Peter Weav- 
r, it will be recalled, bought his land 
lora the Burnetts, who had received 

as an Indian grant. It was only by 
[lis means that he got in ahead of the 
jirvey. 

The land survey in Fountain and War- 
3n counties was a very poor one and 
as resulted in much trouble and in- 
bnvenience to land owners and survey- 



ors. The government surveyor who 
surveyed most of this section thot the 
land would never be taken up and there 
is a story that has been handed down 
for nearly a hundred years to the effect 
that he and his crew were drunk most 
of the time while making the survey. 
Possibly they kept their hides full of 
whiskey as a protection against the 
Wabash ague so prevalent in those days, 
but whether this was true or not the 
fact remains that their work was very 
carelessly and inaccurately done. 

It was in this first land rush that 
Maysville sprung into being and reach- 
its greatest importance. Cicott's ti'ad- 
ing post at Independence was naturally 
the headquarters for the first settlers 
who came to the vicinity but the pres- 
ence of so many lazy pilfering Indians, 
who when drunk made life about the 
place miserable, resulted in the erec- 
tion of Maysville about a mile up the 
river and on the opposite side. With- 
in a short time there were stores, a 
hotel, and a bank — the first to be open- 
ed in Fountain county. I shall tell of 
this in more detail later in a separate 
article. Maysville was located just 
east of where Eiverside now is and all 
that remains to mark the site is a few 
stunted cedar and apple trees and 
some of the niggerheads which were 
used as foundation stones under the 
houses. 



The Creation of Fountain County 



On the 30th day of December, 1825, 
:ie Act of the Legislature of the State 
t Indiana, creating Fountain county 
as approved. It is in the following 
nguage: 



"An Act for the formation of a new 
county out of the counties of Montgom- 
ery and Wabash. 

Sec. I. Be it enacted by the General 
Assembly of Indiana that from and af- 



62 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



ter the first day of April, next, all that 
tract of country included within the 
following boundaries shall form and 
constitute a new county, to be known 
and designated by the name of the 
County of Fountain, to- wit: Begin- 
ning where the line dividing townships 
17 and 18 crosses the channel of the 
Wabash river; thence east to the line 
running thru the center of range 6, 
west of the second principal meridian; 
thence north to where said line strikes 
the main channel of the Wabash river; 
thence running down with the mean- 
derings of said river to the place of be- 
ginning. 

Sec. II. The said new county of 
Fountain shall, from and after the 
said first day of April, next, enjoy all 
the rights, privileges and jurisdictions 
which to separate and independent 
counties do, or may, properly belong or 
appertain. 

Sec. III. That Lucius H. Scott, of 
Parke county, William Clarke, of Vigo 
county, Daniel C. Hults, of Hendricks 
county, Daniel Sigler, of Putnam coun- 
ty, and John Porter, of Vermilion coun- 
ty, be, and they are hereby, appointed 
commissioners agreeable to the Act en- 
titled "An Act for Fixing the Seats of 
Justice in all New Counties Hereafter 
to be Laid Off." The said commission- 
ers shall meet at the house of William 
White, in the said county of Fountain, 
on the first Monday in May, next, and 
shall immediately proceed to discharge 
the duties assigned them by law. It 
is hereby made the duty of the sheriff 
of Parke county to notify said com- 
missioners, either in person or in writ- 
ing, of their appointment, on or before 
the third Monday in April, next; and 
for such service he shall receive such 
compensation out of the County of 



I 



'. j 
of Justices oi 

new county shall within twelve l 



Fountain as the Board of Justices there- ij 
of may deem just and reasonable, to be a 
allowed and paid as other county clainu I 
are paid. 

Sec. IV. The Board 
said 

months fix the location of the permau- li 
ent seat of justice therein and proceec J 
to erect the necessary public buildingsHi 

Sec. V. That all suits, pleas, plaints, 
prosecutions, and proceedings, hereto- > 
fore commenced and pending within the i , 
limits of said County of Fountain shall 
be prosecuted to final issue in the same 
manner, and the state and county taxes, 
which may be due on the first day of 
April, next, within the bounds of the ' 
said County of Fountain, shall be col- 
lected and paid in the same manner, 
and by the same officers, as if this Act • 
had not been passed. 

Sec. VI. At the time and place of 
electing the county officers for the 
County of Fountain, under the writ of 
election from the executive department, 
the electors of said county shall elect 
five justices of the peace, in and for 
said county, who shall meet as a board 
at the house of Eobert Hatfield, in said I 
county, on the first Monday in Mayijl ' 
next, or as soon thereafter as they ma}i;|| 
be enabled to do after being commiss '" 
ioned, and then and there proceed tc 
transact all the business and discharge;* '" 
the duties heretofore devolving or)' 
county commissioners at the organiza; '' 
tion of a new county, as well as all the '" 
duties required of boards of justices olc *' 
such sessions. The circuit and others '^'' 
courts of said County of Fountain shal ^' 
meet and be holden at the house of sai( '« 
Eobert Hetfield until more suitabl « 
accommodations can be had at somi Jt 
other place in the said county. 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



63 



I Sec. VII. All that part of the coun- 
y of Wabash lying north and west of 
lid County of Fountain shall be, and 
ii hereby, attached to the said county 
[or the purpose of civil and criminal 
arisdiction. This Act is to take effect 
nd be in force from and after its pub- 
cation in the Indiana Journal." 
, These boundaries have never been 
hanged. They have remained the 
fame as they were fixed by that far- 
way legislature on the 30th day of 
>ecember, 1825, Tippecanoe county 
/as created that same year but it was 
^ot until 1829 that Warren was brought 
.ito existence. 

' It has been said that Fountain eoun- 
y was so named because of the many 
prings that bubbled forth from the 
ips of Mother Earth — fountains of 
'ure water — along the hills and ter- 
aces of the Wabash river and the 
mailer streams of the county. And 
nother legend is that it was named 
jOr a Major Fountaine, who at that 
ime lived in the State of Kentucky 
nd afterwards moved to Terre Haute. 
f It is not my purpose in these articles 
[o write a history of Fountain county. 
j am only aiming to write sketches of 
jhis part of the Wabash Valley, and in 
hese sketches I will necessarily include 
iacidents in which the adjoining coun- 
ies to Fountain have as much interest 
\s Fountain county itself. And for 
^hose sketches I am much indebted to 
t'atrick Henry Weaver, of Tippecanoe 
[ounty, Thomas Atkinson, of Benton 
lounty, John Pugh, of Warren county, 
"esse Marvin, of Fountain county, and 
' EeeoUections of the Early Settlement 



of the Wabash Valley" by Sanford C. 
Cox, and to Newlin H. Yount, who did 
more to preserve the local history of 
this locality than anyone who has ever 
lived in it. Judge Thomas F. David- 
son, in his history of Fountain county, 
says: "The limits to which the writer 
is confined, as well as the press of other 
affairs, are such as to make it possible 
only to give a brief outline of the set- 
tlement and growth of Fountain county. 
It has for some years been the design 
of the author of these sketches to gath- 
er up the threads of personal history 
of the pioneer men and women of this 
county and weave them into a memorial 
that would do justice to their sterling 
worth and perpetuate the story of their 
toils, their perils and their virtues. 
This design cannot be carried out now, 
if ever it can be done. The hardships 
endured by the men and women who 
made the first openings in the forest 
and the courage and fortitude display- 
ed in meeting them deserve to be per- 
manently recorded." Judge Davidson 
wrote the best history that has ever 
been written of Fountain county and 
he was able to gather up the threads 
of personal history of the pioneer men 
and women of the county, more ably 
than any man who has ever lived in the 
county. We may thank him for the 
splendid work he did. But what a 
splendid gift to posterity had this 
scholarly jurist have taken the time to 
write a complete history of Fountain 
county! It is unfortunate that he 
failed to do this, and, as he himself 
says, "it will be still more unfortunate 
if it is not done before the few who are 
left to tell the story should pass away." 



64 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



Taking Up the Homesteads 



While it is pretty well settled that 
Peter Weaver and his son, Patrick Hen- 
ry, were the first white men to come 
into this locality for the purpose of 
making their permanent home and that 
Peter Weaver raised the first crop of 
oats and the first crop of wheat that 
was raised in this vicinity, within a 
short time after his arrival other set- 
tlers began coming in to take up land 
and build cabins and make their per- 
manent homes. Those settlers came 
very close together and located in pret- 
ty nearly every township in the county. 
Among them was William Forbes and 
James Graham, who settled in Wabash 
township. A little later came James 
Carlyle and Louis Phebus. Some of 
the descendants of these families are 
still living in that part of the county. 
Andrew Lopp settled on Lopp's Prairie 
and Jesse Osborn settled at Osborn's 
Prairie. Lucas Nebeker and George 
Steeley settled in Troy township near 
Covington, and the Duncans, Hemp- 
hills, Eoberts, Chisums and Browns 
came into Davis township in the early 
twenties. After Peter Weaver, George 
Worthington was perhaps the first set- 
tler in Davis township. In Logan town- 
ship the Milfords, Hintons, Stephen- 
sons, Campbells, Turmans and Peacocks 
settled in the early twenties. I am of 
the opinion that Casey Emmons was 
the first white man to make a perman- 
ent home in Logan township. In Van 
Buren township the Cochrans, Colverts, 
and Burchs were among the first settlers 
in the county, while in Wabash town- 
ship was William White. He was a 
captain in the war of 1812, and the 



,!|i8t( 



first meeting for the organization of, '" 
the county was held at his house. He 
was born in Tennessee and was a miller r™" 
by trade. He built the Union Mills. Jf ' 
This mill was sort of a combinationi r 
It had an up-and-down saw which saw^ ' 
ed the lumber for many miles around ( 
and also a set of millstones that ground (' 
the grain for the early residents of 1 
that locality. It was built on Coan' 
creek, was known as the Union Milfi I*® 
and afterwards owned by one Bishop, i' 
afterwards by Vandorn and still later 
by Samuel Cade. Abong the first seW! 
tiers in Cain township were McBrooma, i|^|" 
Mendenhalls, Petros and Campbells. It f " 
is not my purpose to write the history f ^ 
oi any af these townships at this timfc^'' 
and there were many old settlers whose iif ' 
descendants are still living in thes^i^™ 
townships whose names I have not men- 1| 
tioned. I have not left them out by.;!™' 
any design but of necessity. I aflfll™ 
writing these articles in my own way^jT^P 
and I have not made the selections witli' IM^ 
the care perhaps that I should. And <'""' 
if Fountain county should make an eF*' '" 
fort to preserve its early history some 
one can be selected in each of thes? 
townships who can write a history of 
the township, giving credit where cred^ 
it belongs as to who was the actual firsli 
settler of the township and where hifi 
settled. Outside of Peter Weaver | 
have not tried to determine the exacfrr" ' 
time of the settlement of any one 1 
dividual. I hope that the rivalry o|i| 
the school children in each townshij 
as to which township is entitled 
first place will lead them this year 
make investigations for themselv 



h 



'OE 



latj 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



65 



d find who was the first settler in 
eh township and when the settlement 
Ls made. By this means we might be 
le to secure a good history of the 
ttlement of every township in the 
iinty. Believing it to be the duty 
each township to preserve its own 
jtory for posterity, I shall leave this 
irk to others. 

When the first settlers came into 
untain county there were no high- 
lys and until 1830 all the roads of 
9 county that were traveled to any 
3at extent run to some good ford 
I the river. Most of these roads 
p east and west because the 
abash river was the only means of 
msportation for their products and 
?ir furs. The first steamboat made 
, appearance on the Mississippi, as I 
ye stated in a previous article, in 
11, just in time to get caught in the 
;-thquake that did so much damage in 
Ijkansas and Tennessee. 
Soon after 1812 other steamboats 
ire built for navigation on the Mis- 
sippi and Ohio and the Wabash river 
•far as Terre Haute. From 1824 to 
put 1826 there were some products 
I this locality taken down the river 
I flatboats to New Orleans. About 
^8 a few small steamboats came be- 
ad Terre Haute and if the river was 
rh went as far north as Maysville 
j Lafayette. The early settlers of 
jS locality continued to ship their 
)duce on flatboats until the construc- 
p of the Wabash and Erie Canal. 
3m 1828 until about 1845 almost 
iry spring the water was high enough 
the Wabash river that small steam- 
ts would come as far north as La- 
ette and carry the produce of this 
ility south to New Orleans. But 
early settlers did not always wait 



for the steamboat, several of them 
would quite often join together, build 
a flat-boat and take their produce down 
the river, so wherever there was a good 
ford and a good landing place for a 
flat-boat roads would lead from both 
sides of the river to the ford. The re- 
mains of many of these roads are plain 
in this locality yet. They have been 
deserted long ago but the loads hauled 
over the soft ground cut so deep that 
the marks of these highways still re- 
main. 

After the Wabash & Erie Canal was 
built the main roads of our county be- 
gan to be marked out north and south, 
but from the early settlement of the 
county until 1845 there were very few 
north and south roads in Fountain 
county. In fact, there were no roads 
in the county anywhere that we would 
consider of any value today. They 
simply followed the highest and driest 
ground to a ford or boat landing on the 
Wabash river. And the steamboats 
which plied upon the Wabash did not 
only carry away the products of the 
locality and bring in some of the ne- 
cessities of life but there was on board 
almost every boat that came up the 
river some pioneer with his wife and 
family in search of a home in the 
Wabash valley. Not only did the Wa- 
bash river furnish a means of trans- 
portation but it was full of fish and in 
the winter the wild game came to its 
sheltering hills and for this reason 
many of the first settlers in our county 
located in the hills along the Wabash 
river. 

Sandford C. Cox, who was the first 
schoolmaster to come to this part of 
Indiana, left to posterity some of the 
most intimate sketches of the incidents 
of those early days. At the time Foun- 



66 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



tain county was opened for settlement 
he was teaching school in Crawfords- 
ville and with an appreciation of the 
fact that history was then in the mak- 
ing he observed with great interest the 
things going on about him. These im- 
pressions he wrote in his diary and 
years later — in 1859 — expanded them 
into a series of articles such as these 
I am writing, which were published 
serially in the Lafayette Courier. They 
aroused so much interest that he was 
persuaded to issue them in book form 
the next year, and one of these books is 
a prized volume in my library. Mr. 
Cox came to Crawf ordsville while it was 
a small village, in 1824, and in the book 
he reproduces from his diary the fol- 
lowing description of the land sales 
at Crawfordsville, soon after his ar- 
rival there. Hundreds of acres of 
Fountain county land were bought in 
this sale and for that reason this ac- 
count is of special interest: 

Dec. 24, 1824. 

Crawfordsville is the only town be- 
tween Terre Haute and Ft. Wayne. The 
land office is here. Major Whitlock is 
receiver and Judge Dunn register. 
Major Eistine keeps a tavern in a 
two-story log house and Jonathan Pow- 
ers has a little grocery. There are two 
stores — Smith's, near the land office, 
and Isaac C. Elston's near the tavern. 

The land sales commenced here to- 
day, and the town is full of strangers. 
The eastern and southern portions of 
the state are strongly represented, as 
well as Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and 
Pennsylvania. 

There is but little bidding against 
each other. The settlers, or "squat- 
ters" as they are called by speculators 
have arranged matters among them- 
selves to their igeneral satisfaction. 



If, upon comparing numbers, it appears f i 
that two are after the same tract of » ( 
land, one asks the other what he will 
take not to bid against him. If neither- 
will consent to be bought off, they then 
retire and cast lots, and the lucky one 
enters the tract at Congress price — -^1^ 
$1.25 per acre — and the other entera 
the second choice on his list. ' 

If a speculator makes a bid, or showslls 
a disposition to take a settler's claim ij 
from him, he soon sees a score of whito <[J 
eyes snapping at him, and at the first' *'« 
opportunity he crawfishes out of the 
crowd. 

The settlers tell foreign capitalists 
to hold on till they enter the tracts of 
land they have settled upon, and that 
they may then pitch in — that there will 
be land enough — more than enough, for 
them all. 

The land is sold in tiers of townships, 
beginning at the southern part of the 
district and continuing north until all 
has been offered at public sale. Then 
private entries can be made at $1.25 
per acre, of any that has been thus 
publicly offered. This rule, adopted by 
the officers, insures great regularity iiu. 
the sale; but it will keep many here foi i 
several days, who desire to purchase « 
land in the northern part of the disfr '/ 
rict. 

A few days of public sale have suf- 
ficed to relieve hundreds of their eashji 
but they secured their land, which wi 
serve as a basis for their future wealtKNme 
and prosperity, if they and their fam-iwt 
ilies use proper industry and economj^rfjji 
sure as "time's gentle progress makeS't'lio 
a calf an ox." ,w 

Peter Weaver, Isaac Shelby and JehllWf 
Stanley stopped with us two or thref 
nights during the sale. We were g 
to see and entertain these old Whitl 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



67 



iter neighbors, altho we live in 
cabin twelve by sixteen, and there 
3 seven of us in the family, yet we 
Lde room for them by covering the 
or with beds — no uncommon occur- 
ice in backwoods life. They all suc- 
3ded in getting the land they wanted 
thout opposition. Weaver purchased 
the lower end of the Wea prairie, 
elby west of the river opposite, Stan- 
' on the north side of the Wabash, 
r father on the north side of the 
ea prairie. 

It is a stirring, crowding time here, 
ily and men are busy hunting up 
usins and old acquaintances whom 
ey have not seen for many long 
jars. If men have ever been to the 
[toe mill, or voted at the same elec- 
lin precinct, tho at different times, 
[is sufficient for them to scrape an ac- 
laintanee upon. But after all, there 
a genuine backwoods, log-cabin hos- 
tality, which is free from the affected 
tut and polished deception of con- 
Intional life. 

^Society here at present seems almost 
tirely free from the taint of aris- 



tocracy — the only premonitory symp- 
toms of that disease, most prevalent 
generally in old settled communities, 
were manifested last week, when John 
I. Foster bought a new pair of silver- 
plated spurs, and T. N. Catterlin was 
seen walking up the street with a pair 
of curiously embroidered gloves on 
his hands. 

After the public sales, the accessions 
to the population of Crawf ordsville and 
the surrounding country were constant 
and rapid. 

Fresh arrivals of movers were the 
chief topic of conversation. New log 
cabins widened the limits of the town, 
and spread over the circumjacent 
country. 

We read of a land of "corn and 
wine, ' ' and another ' ' flowing with milk 
and honey;" but I rather think, in a 
temporal point of view taking into 
account the richness of soil, timber, 
stone, wild game and other advantages, 
that the Sugar creek country would 
come up to, if not surpass, any of them. 



The Rise and Decline of Maysville 



[Among those who bought land at the 
tst land sale at Crawfordsville in this 
imediate locality was my maternal 
eat-grandfather, George Worthington. 
e was a son of Thomas Worthington, 
to was the first United States sen- 
or and the third governor of the 
ate of Ohio. He and his father had 
sagreed and it was impossible for 
em to make up their differences; his 
,ther paid him in cash the portion of 



his estate that he considered coming 
to him and with that George left the 
state of Ohio and his father's family. 
Learning of the land offered for sale 
at Crawfordsville he with Eobert Mil- 
ford, the Hemphills and a party of five 
or six others, came to the Wabash val- 
ley. He purchased four thousand acres 
of land in what is now Warren county; 
a portion of it is the old VanEeed land, 
and a part of it the Hiram Bright land. 



68 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



He bought two sections of land right 
near where the town of Linden stands, 
another section near Hillsboro, and 
eighty acres for his home place. The 
latter is now owned by John T. Nixon 
and known as the old James Beasley 
place. Worthington had been in the 
hotel business in Ohio and southeastern 
Indiana and thot he saw the possibility 
of a hotel someplace in this locality. 
The party of landseekers that he was 
with stopt for a while with Zachariah 
Cicott but there were so many Indians 
around Cicott 's place that it made it 
very unpleasant for the settlers. Wor- 
thington talked the matter over with 
Cicott and his companions and it was 
decided to build his hotel across the 
river from Cicott 's trading post, and 
this hotel was the first building erected 
in Maysville. 

Soon hundreds of settlers, with their 
families, came across the country, over 
the Indian trail to Strawtown and from 
Strawtown to Thorntown, from Thorn- 
town to Crawfordsville and from Craw- 
fordsville to Maysville, while others 
came up the river, the majority of 
them stopping at Worthington 's hotel 
in Maysville. Worthington did not 
take up the land upon which he built 
his hotel. He ran the hotel from 1825 
until about 1830. 

In the Spring of 1829 Judge Samuel 
B. Clark, (Orrie S. Clark's grandfather) 
operated a ferryboat between Mays- 
ville and Cicott 's Landing. One of the 
Youngs had a very sick child, and Dr. 
Simon Yandes practiced medicine part 
of the time in Maysville and part of 
the time across the river, but was then 
at Cicott 's Landing. Mr. Young and 
Clark went to Cicott 's place after Dr. 
Yandes; the river was very high and 
all three started across in a skiff to- 



I 



gether. They got about the middle o 
the stream when the skiff upset and 
Mr. Clark was the only man who could 
swim. He placed Dr. Yandes and Mr. 
Young on the boat and told them to 
stay there and drift with it in the 
center of the stream and he would 
swim to the shore and get a boat and 
come after them; he left them, swam to 
shore, got the boat and other help and 
rowed back, but when he found the 
boat Young and Yandes had fallen off. 
A few days afterward their bodies 
were found along the edge of the water, 
and they were buried in the same grave 
in the southeast corner of Lars Ander- 
son's farm, where a cemetery was 
then located. There were about two 
hundred persons buried there. A fam- 
ily by the name of Schlosser owned 
this land, and it was known as the 
Schlosser graveyard, and there were at 
one time many tombstones marking the 
graves. But there is not a tombstone 
left now and this graveyard is a part 
of a field. 

When George Worthington left Mays- 
ville he built the house that now stands 
on the Beasley place, and this too was 
built for a tavern. After he died Dr. 
Worthington, his son, came into poss- 
ession of this hotel and ran it for a 
while, selling the hotel at Maysville^je 
to a man by the name of Mortimorej Jim 
who was the grandfather of Mrs. Alberl li m 
McDermond, of this city. 

The settlers who came to Maysvill* 
saw the possibility of a city there, / mi 
and the first exclusive grocery storSj , 29 
the first dry goods store, the first bankj 
the first hotel, and the first saloons op- 
erated in Fountain county were in Maya njar 
ville. There were soon eight hundred I tei 
people living there, and the water power t i 
of Possum Hollow, then known aflSiitl 



itl 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



69 



!iuiig 's Eun and HempMU 's Eun, was 
:lized for a saw mill, a grist-mill aud 
distillery, all operated by the Hemp- 
Js. The Hemphill distillery was op- 
iited by James Hemphill and eontin- 
d in operation until after the Civil 
i,r. Many loads of flour were taken 
^m the Hemphill grist-mills to Chi- 
go, and to White Pigeon, Michigan. 
[e Duncans and Youngs packed pork 
I Maysville, and the town became 
b most flourishing center of commerce 
1st of Crawfordsville. Many flatboats 
ire built there, loaded with flour, 
dsky and pork and sent down the 
er to New Orleans, while many fai- 
rs would take their ox-teams, and 
er getting their corn and wheat 
mud or their hogs butchered, hauled 
) products overland to White Pigeon, 
ichigan, and Chicago, Illinois, and it 
ked very much like Maysville would 
l-the center of commerce in this local- 
It was the largest town on this 
ie of the river north of Terre Haute 
many years, almost to the time that 
h Wabash & Erie canal was built, but 
was evident that Maysville, Williams- 
t, Independence, Attica and Port- 
d could not all flourish, and when the 
'Irace was constructed into Attica, to 
iug the water from the Stone Cut to 
woolen mill which stood where F. K. 
piper's house now stands, Attica be- 
ne the industrial center of this lo- 
ity. 

fesse Marvin settled near Maysville 
ping into Davis township, January 1, 
^9. He stopt with Mr. Sparr and 
hibald Eoberts, Mr. Eoberts having 
ne into the township in 1828. Mr. 
Tvin was a cooper by trade and soon 
er he came into Davis township mar- 
i a Miss Clark, who lived at the 
th end of the township, and bought 



from the government the one hundred 
and sixty acres of land known as the 
Marvin Stock Farm upon which C. 
Alfred Carlson now lives. There he be- 
gan working at his trade, making bar- 
rels — flour barrels for the grist-mills, 
pork barrels for the packing houses and 
whiskey barrels for the distillery, and 
his was a flourishing business. In ad- 
dition to his cooper shop he would oc- 
casionally take over flour, whisky and 
pork in payment for his barrels. He 
built the first flatboat that was ever 
built at Maysville and took the first 
load of products from Maysville to New 
Orleans; after that he took a flatboat 
load of products to New Orleans al- 
most every year for many years. I 
have often talked to Mr. Marvin of 
the early days in Maysville and the 
locality. His wife was a very good 
housekeeper, saving and careful, and 
she handled the finances of the family. 
Jesse Marvin soon became a wealthy 
man for that time. He bought land in 
Illinois and owned sevexal hundred 
acres in Davis township; he was very 
pronounced in his religious views, be- 
ing at that time an infidel, relying en- 
tirely upon reason for his religious be- 
liefs and discarding the superstitions 
and prejudices of the early churches of 
that locality. Jesse Marvin was one 
of the best citizens this county has 
ever possessed and one time was com- 
missioner and at another time repre- 
sented Fountain county in the legisla- 
ture. When he went to the legislature 
his election was a surprise to him and 
everyone else. He employed some of 
the best attorneys in this section, 
(among them Judge McCabe of Wil- 
liamsport), before he went to Indian- 
apolis, to help him prepare a bill to 
make the railroads responsible for the 



70 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



stock they killed, to make them fence 
their tracks and put in cattleguards 
across the public highways and to 
make the engines sound the whistle 
when they approached the crossings to 
protect the travelers on the highways. 
He traded with everyone that he con- 
scientiously could, voting for their bills 
with the understanding that they were 
to vote for his when it was presented, 
and at the very last of the legislature 
he tacked his bill onto some insignifi- 
cant bill, gave those whose bills he had 
supported to understand that now was 
their time to pay their debt to him, and 
without knowing what his bill was, it 
passed the legislature almost unani- 
mously and was immediately signed by 
the governor. A few weeks later it 
dawned on the railroad companies what 
had happened, and they called Marvin 
the "Whistling Eepresentative/ ' and 
that the "Whistling Legislature." 
Whenever Wabash engines reaeht the 
line of Davis township they began to 
whistle and whistled clear across the 
township which ever way they were 
going, hoping that they could annoy 
Marvin. Arrangements were made to de- 
feat Marvin if he ran for the legisla- 
ture the second time, but Marvin, hav- 
ing gotten his pet bill thru, dropt out 
of politics, and I feel perfectly safe in 
saying that he made the best record for 
himself of any man who ever represent- 
ed Fountain county in the legislature. 
He would attend church, listen to the 
sermons of the reverend gentlemen and 
challenge them to a debate. When 
they would have him fined for disturb- 
ing their meetings, he would pay his 
fine and be on hands to disturb the 
next meeting. When an old woman 
donated $25.00 to the Baptist church 
at Salem and found she could not pay 



1 

am 



it he learned of the debt, went to he: 
and gave her the $25.00 and $10.0i 
extra with the understanding that she 
was not to let the preachers know 
where she got the money. He proposed 
building the Eoberts chapel without any 
expense whatever to the congregation, 
provided they would put a scaffold in 
one corner of the church and hang the 
converts as quick as they "got relig- 
ion." He wanted them hanged while 
"saved" so as to take no chance on 
their backsliding. 

Teddy Layton and Mike Hullihan 
lived at Maysville and were young men 
when my Uncle James Whicker was the 
agent of the Wabash railroad at Eiver- 
side; I used often to see them at his 
store. These three men were all neat 
dressers and each tried to out-do the 
other in the value of their clothes aa^'L 
neatness of their dress. Teddy Layton 
is now living at Cheneyville, Hlinois, 
and is a very wealthy man. 

Mike Hullihan bought cattle, was a 
good trader and never worked. He had 
three brothers who worked for the Wan 
bash railroad. John was a section hstn^ 
Jim and Tom watched bridges. Alt' 
their earnings went into a common fund 
and was handled by Mike. From the 
profits of his trades and the earnings of 
his brothers Mike would buy pieces of 
land around Maysville, and by this 
means purchased between two and three 
hundred acres upon which he pastured 
the stock that he bought. He was very 
witty, careful in his trading and honest 
in his dealings. Tho still a young man 
when he died he had saved a very neat 
little estate for his family, and if he 
had lived would perhaps have become 
one of the wealthiest men in Davifi: 
township. 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



71 



' ' Scar Face ' ' Murphy owned eighty 
pres of land near Flint, but spent most 
f his time with his Irish friends at 
[aysville. He had a black horse that 
;»uld run. The horse-racing took place 
1 Sunday afternoons. A negro, Bill 
pott, and an Irish boy, Tim Haniford, 
iOuld occasionally get a horse and put 
p a race with "Scar Face" Murphy, 
at Murphy always won. There would 
ften be a scrap and once in a while 
1 Irish fight. They may have left 
le horse-racing full but they always 
ift in good humor. I used to go to 
anday school with Uncle Steven Con- 
3ll at the Olive Branch church, and 
ith one or two of the other boys 
ip out of the church, across the canal, 
id go up the tow-path to Maysville to 
itend the horse races. A horse race on 
ISunday afternoon suited me much bet- 
!r as a boy than a Sunday school, 
bere would be a large crowd gathered 
I watch the race, money would be bet 
\ to the horse that would win the race, 



and usually Murphy came out with a 
portion of the stakes. The racing would 
be on a strip of road wide enough for 
the horses to run side by side, turn 
quickly and come back; sometimes there 
would be two tracks, side by side, for 
a half mile used for the racing. In 
the fall of the year this racing went on 
every Sunday afternoon. We finally 
learned that in Newton county there 
was a horse that could be purchased 
cheaply with a record as a running an- 
imal. Several of us boys chipt in, 
bought the horse, challenged "Scar 
Face" Murphy for a race, got a good 
rider who was light in weight and knew 
how to handle the horse. The stakes 
were the horses and a gallon of whiskey. 
Our new horse won the race and "Scar 
Face" Murphy gave us the running 
horse and a gallon of whiskey, and 
went to the county poor house where 
he lived for many years afterwards. 
This was the last horse race in Mays- 
ville. 



The Beginning of Attica 



In December 1824, when the land sale 
as made at Crawfordsville, George 
ollingsworth and David and J. Stump 
-tended the sale and purchased the 
ver front for a half a mile where 
ttica is now located. The Stumps 
id HoUingsworth had come down the 
ver in a canoe and stopped at the 
fcamore ford, just above where the 
'abash railroad bridge now is, and 
)ticed what a splendid landing there 
as for boats. Here the banks were 
gh at the river front and the hill 
oped gradually back. At that time 
lere was but one person living in this 



locality and that was Casey Emmons. 
His cabin was just in front of Mrs. 
Amanda Eeed's house, east of the city. 
HoUingsworth and the Stumps followed 
the road back from the ford to Casey 
Emmons ' home and saw that the prairie 
came almost to the river here, and when 
they saw this ford, the splendid boat 
landing below it and Shawnee Prairie 
coming almost to the river with easy 
access to the prairie, they considered it 
a good location for a town, so they 
bought the land next to the river for 
that purpose. 

Attica was laid out in 1825, the first 



72 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALIJilY 



plat being filed by David Stump. Soon 
afterward an addition was platted by 
Plollingsworth. The original plat and 
this addition extended from the corner 
of Brady and Washington streets west 
on Washington street to the river front, 
thence north to Ferry street, thence 
east to the alley running west of the 
Hotel Attica. The first store was built 
and kept by Wm. Crumpton, first in a 
log house neat the river, and afterwards 
in a one story frame house near the 
corner of Mill and Perry streets. Mr. 
Crumpton was postmaster and the mail 
was carried on horse-back from Indian- 
apolis to Covington and from Covington 
to Attica, Attica having but one mail 
a week. The first tavern was kept by 
Harmon Webb in a log house, facing 
the river, at the western terminus of 
Main street. The house had additions 
built to it and remained standing until 
after the Civil war. At the close of 
1825 Attica had four general stores, 
three saloons and one hotel. In 1826 a 
combined still-house and grist-mill was 
erected in "the ravine," now Eavine 
Park, just above where the high bridge 
is located. The burrs were large nig- 
ger-head stones. A cabinet shop and a 
tan-yard were added in 1826, and in 
1827 Orin Arms manufactured fanning 
mills at his place, east of town, which 
he had bought of Casey Emmons. Jos- 
eph Peacock operated a blacksmith 
shop. 

Soon after Attica was laid out Lafay- 
ette,Covington,Portland(nowFountain)j, 
Maysville, Independence, Williamsport 
and Eob Eoy were platted, and there 
was quite a rivalry as to which would 
become the trading point of this sec- 
tion. As told in the sketch preced- 
ing this, Maysville and Cicott's Land- 
ing grew up as squatter towns before 
the land was surveyed. 



In 1830 another hotel, known as the 
Indiana House, was built on Main 
street. This was larger and more com- 
modious than the log cabin and for five 
years was the only hotel, all the stagey 
lines making it their headquarters. In 
1835 Delavan «ratt put up a two-story 
frame hotel where the Hotel Attica now 
stands and called it the Attica House. ' 
It was run by William Farmer first and 
afterward by Avey Tuttle. It finally 
came into the possession of a man} 
named Thornburg and was destroyed by^ 
fire in 1846. The Indiana House stood |. 
until 1915, when it was razed to make^ 
way for an addition to the Thornton 
Garage. ^ 

Attica moved along slowly until about 
1844, when John and Dan Yount, two 
brothers, (cousins of the late Newlin 
H. Yount), built a water race for milljH 
power. They were men of large means 
and understood the woolen business 
fully. Their mill race caught all the 
water from the creek that runs thru 'I 
Stone Cut and brought it to Attica. 
With the industries that were already^! 
here this mill race and the woolen mil! 
which they erected and operated de-.^ 
termined the race between Maysville, 
Independence, Williamsport and Eob 
Eoy in favor of Attica. In the boom 
that followed several of the pork-pack- 
ing and other industries of these rival'f 
towns moved to Attica. Ed Hemphill, 
the father of Thomas Hemphill, who 
was in the dry goods business here for 
many years, built the stone house, now;^ 
Moran's blacksmith shop, for a dry 
goods store about this time. The mill 
race ran right in front of this house. 
Tom Hemphill told me that it was so 
near that as a boy he sat in the door-" 
way and caught sunfish in the mill J; 
race. These Younts sold their woole 



Wt 



J 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



73 



tiills here and later went to Montgom- 
T county where they founded the town 
f Yountsville and erected the famous 
rountsville Woolen Mills, which have 
iieen in operation ever since. 

In 1846 the Wabash & Erie Canal was 
onstructed to Attica and stopt here 
or almost two years on account of the 
/ater wasting thru the gravel beds 
elow town. The steamboats could 
ome up the Wabash when the river 
/as high and with the splendid landing 
ere, this being at the time the end of 
avigation on the canal, Attica became 

boom town, forging ahead so fast that 
he threw dust in the faces of Mays- 
ille, Eob Eoy, Independence and Wil- 
amsport. In a few years most of the 
adustries of these places had moved to 
ittica. Their hotels lost their guests; 
iheir store rooms were stript of their 
merchandise; their manufactories of 
machinery; and their streets grew green 
>ith grass and weeds. Williamsport, 
pth green-eyed envy, constructed at 
arge expense the ' ' side cut ' ' across the 
river bottoms just below Attica, to con- 
ect them with the canal and open a 
/atery • highway to the outside world. 
Vlien this "side cut" was finished 
here was great rejoicing over that en- 
erprise in Williamsport. A big stall- 
ed ox was roasted whole and the resi- 
ents of the country for miles around 
/ere invited to partake of the feast 
nd listen to the congratulatory speech- 
s on that occasion. The "side cut" 
ave Williamsport shipping facilities, 
ut the superior advantages of Attica, 
eing on the main line of the old canal, 
till continued to draw the trade, 
^hen too, the water wasted so, at the 
iver and in the gravel deposits below 
fie "Wide-water," where the "side 
jut" entered the canal, that the "side 



cut" could not carry boats. The cit- 
izens of Williamsport brought suit in 
the Fountain circuit court against the 
canal company to force it to furnish 
water enough for floating boats in the 
"side cut." For answer the canal 
company showed that the supply of 
water for the canal itself was not suf- 
ficient and that they could not maintain 
the water for the "side cut." The 
canal company won the suit, the "side 
cut" got out of repair, the locks rot- 
ted down and were not rebuilt and it 
looked as tho the star of destiny was 
dropping below the horizon for Wil- 
liamsport. 

When the canal was completed to At- 
tica, in 1847, ware-houses, docks, and 
landings were built along it, and the 
hum of traffic was heard. All the news 
came by packet boat and when a boat 
pulled up to the landing, it was greeted 
by a large percent of the inhabitants. 
The landing was at the foot of Main 
street, where there was a stone stair- 
way leading to the wharf. Inasmuch 
as the boats could not get beyond At- 
tica, competition soon began to arise 
with the people of Covington who got 
the idea into their heads that Attica 
wanted to keep the water from reaching 
that place. They could not understand 
the leakage of water in the gravel beds 
below Attica. Perhaps Williamsport en- 
couraged them some and they took coun- 
sel from Maysville, Independence and 
Eob Eoy. Anyway, after nursing their 
wrath for some time, they concluded 
that in the love of God and the kind- 
ness of their hearts they would visit At- 
tica, take matters into their own hands, 
destroy the locks which were located 
here, and let the water flow down the 
big ditch to the town that had been 
blest with the county seat. 



74 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



Like Austria, they demanded an in- 
vestigation of the records and secret 
archives of the Athenians. To this 
investigation the noble Greeks of the 
north objected. Some diplomatic re- 
lations were carried on between the two 
contending towns. Covington sent her 
last note. The answer was not satis- 
factory and Covington delared war on 
Attica. Then, as now, Covington was 
Democratic. She stood not upon the 
order of going to war, neither did she 
parley as Mr. Wilson with Mexico, but 
called at once for volunteers. Three 
hundred mighty men of valor answered 
the call. They started up the tow-path 
under the leadership of Edward Han- 
nigan — the eloquent ' ' Ned ' ' Hannigan 
who was afterward United States sen- 
ator and later minister to the court of 
Prussia. Word reached Attica that her 
territory was being invaded by this hos- 
tile army from the south. Jehu Wams- 
ley lived on the bluff across the river 
and from his elevated position and 
splendid view of the canal was the first 
person to see the invading forces. He 
hastily grabbed a couple of shot-guns 
and one or two pistols, jumped on his 
horse, rode as fast as his horse could 
run right into and across the river, 
yelling like an Indian to alarm the 
town. A crowd soon gathered about 
Jehu Wamsley — Attica soon learned the 
value of Preparedness and hastily 
gathered an army of defense. Ezekiel 
McDonald took command and the Ath- 
enians started out to do battle for their 
homes and their water-way. The Cov- 
ington army besides being armed to the 
teeth with rifles, shot-guns and pistols, 
had an old cannon. The Atticans 
were well armed but had no artillery. 
The battle started at once. Ezekiel Mc- 
Donald was knocked into the canal, and 



tradition says "General" Hannigan 
also measured its depths. Henry Schlos- 
ser, John Leslie and others were slightlj naii 
injured. A few of the persons from Jt ' 
Covington had black eyes. The cannoL 
was spiked early in the game; the boat- 
men, hearing the racket, came down the 
canal, well armed and swearing like 
pirates, to take a hand in the scramble.' 
But the superior numbers of the invad- 1 
ing army prevented them from shutting 
the gates of the lock and they were com- 
pelled to resort to strategy. Several ofj 
them slipped away and commenced haul 
ing straw and pitching it into the canal 
above the locks. This soon had the A 
effect of choking up the gates of the 
locks and the water ceased to flow. /; 
The canal war was carried on in threats tijie 
for some time afterward but no open ":» 
hostilities occurred. For a few year^ 
afterward there would be an occasioual Md 
scrap between participants in the battl? iL 
and even tho that scrap took place ifi ; egii 
1847, the feeling still crops out in poli^tltati 
ical contests, regardless of party affill'li In 
ation. The two cities have ever sine 
gotten along without physical collisioil 
altho many red-hot controversies migl 
be related. .^*e( 

But the growth of Attica was not per- 
manent. The boom lasted only six oi 
seven years and then things came to »i»iiri 
standstill. Ten years later, in 1857, thiiy 
Wabash railroad was built from iyto 
Wayne to State Line. Its promoteifntate 
proposed going to Covington and erosai' (jotei 
ing the river. They wanted a bonus of jjliel 
$5,000 to aid in the construction of Mfa 
bridge across the Wabash at that placeKJta 
Covington proposed to charge them $5, 
000 for the right-of-way thru the to'Wfi 
but a small appropriation was raisi 
at Attica and they crossed the riv( 
here. The Wabash railroad soon begi 



I 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



75 



affect the traffic on the canal, altho 
acre was an occasional boat plied lo- 
ally along the canal until about 1875. 
i can remember very well when the 
i7abash railroad had no gravel ballast 
ind the ties were very wide apart. The 



rails were light and the road had little 
striped engines and it was very hard for 
them to pull a load of any size up-grade. 
These engines burned wood. My father 
owned a canal boat and I was born and 
raised right near the canal. 



The Wabash and Erie Canal 



As early as 1822 Indiana and Illinois 
»intly began to adopt measures, which 
(ere intended to make provisions for 
ae improvement of the grand rapids of 
le Eiver Wabash; and by 1823 the 
jibject of connecting the Maumee river 
|id the Wabash river, by canal naviga- 
on, had attracted the attention of the 
jgislative authorities of these two 
tates. 

i In a message addressed to the General 
Issembly of Indiana, in December 1822, 
governor Hendricks said: "We ought 
> have free and unshackled as far as 
e can our resources for improvement 
arposes, which the interests of the 
late may hereafter require, if not at 
iir hand at the hands of those who suc- 
eed us. Let us not lose sight of those 
>reat objects to which the means of the 
iate should at some future day be de- 
oted. The navigation of the falls of 
ie Ohio river, the improvement of the 
[[abash and White rivers, and other 
^reams, and the construction of the 
llitional and other roads thruout the 
iate." 

Governor Eay in a message, deliver- 
l before the legislature in 1836, said: 

On the construction of the roads and 



canals, then we must rely as the safest 
and most certain state policy to relieve 
our situation, place us among the first 
states in the Union and change the cry 
of hard times into an open acknowledge- 
ment of contentedness. We must strike 
at the internal improvements of the 
state or form our minds to remain poor 
and unacquainted with each other" — 
A fine compliment to our railroads, in- 
terurbans, public highways and auto- 
mobiles! 

Governor Noble in his inaugural ad- 
dress before the General Assembly, in 
1831, said: "It is obvious then that 
while the general government is pre- 
paring the great national thorofares 
and creating consumption by fostering 
manufactories, it is our interest and 
duty faithfully and economically to ap- 
ply the means placed at our control by 
the national government to their legi- 
timate objects and to exert ourselves 
to call into request the latent resources 
and energies of the state, to improve 
our rivers and by making lateral roads 
and canals, to facilitate the conveyance 
of the various commodities of our 
state." And the construction of that 
part of the Wabash and Erie canal 



76 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



which lies within the borders of India- 
na was commenced in 1832. 

In 1836 the financial affairs of the 
country seemed to be in sound condi- 
tion, and the minds of the people of 
Indiana were fully prepared to regard 
with favor the commencement of an 
extensive system of state and internal 
improvements. The adjustment of the 
details of the system was, however, a 
matter of great difficulty and the leg- 
islature was, in some instances, forced 
to make special provisions for the con- 
struction of needless and costly works, 
in order to prevent the defeat of the 
general system. Ten millions of dollars 
was appropriated to carry on the sys- 
tem. In fixing the mode of organiz- 
ing a state board of internal improve- 
ment and defining the duties and pow- 
ers of this board, the General Assem- 
bly of 1836 committed several material 
errors. On account of the errors and 
for other reasons the internal improve- 
ment law of 1836 encountered strong 
opposition among the people of those 
counties thru which the lines of the 
proposed public work did not pass. 
These public improvements continued, 
however,, until the summer of 1839 
when a period of financial embarrass- 
ment thruout the United States caused 
the contractors on public works in the 
state of Indiana generally to suspend 
operations and soon afterwards to aban- 
don their contracts. And the State 
bonds could not be sold. 

In December 1839 Governor Wallace 
in his annual message to the legislature 
said: "The failure to procure funds, 
as we had a right to expect from exten- 
sive sale of state bonds effected in the 
early part of the season, has lead to 
great and unusual embarrassments, not 
only among the contractors and labor- 



ers but also among the people. Whi 
shall be done with the public worki 
Shall they be abandoned altogether? 
hope not. In my opinion, the poli( 
of the state in the present emergeni 
should be first to provide against the 
dilapidation of those portions of th( 
public works left in an unfinishei. 
state; and, secondly, as means can bi 
procured, to finish some entirely an. 
complete others at least to points whei, 
they may be rendered available or usr 
ful to the country." 

In order to provide means for th- 
payment of the contractors and othe 
public creditors, the legislature author 
ized an issue of state treasury note 
to the amount of one million five hun 
dred thousand dollars. These note 
formed a circulating medium, which 
for a brief period, passed at its noiraiia 
value. But early in the summer of 184: 
when there was about one million o 
dollars of this currency in circulatioi 
among the people, it suddenly depre 
eiated in value from forty to fift; 
cents. 

At the close of 1^41 the total Icngt 
of the railroads, turnpike roads an 
canals embraced in the internal systei 
of 1836 amounted to 1,289 miles, o 
which 281 miles had been completed 
One million seven hundred and twenty 
seven thousand dollars had been speii 
for the construction of the Wabash an 
Erie canal. 

In January 1847, during the admii 
stration of Gov. Whitcomb, provision 
were made for the adjustment of tli 
debt due to the holders of Indiana stat 
bonds and for the completion of tli 
Wabash and Erie canal to Evansvilli 

Work was immediately begun an 
contracts were let, surveys were mad 
along the entire length of the cana 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



77 



s work was pushed rapidly from Ft. 
jrne to Lafayette and from Lafay- 

to Attiea. The building of the 
al was let out in sections and a sec- 
f of from five to ten miles would be 
^n by contract. The contractors 
ployed thousands of men to excavate 
\ channel for the great waterway. 
\t of the men, who were employed 
ithis work, came from the green 
\ of Erin. 

iie canal was finished to Attica in 
I. In the spring of that year Asia- 
aholera appeared among the laborers 
I they died like flies in a trap. These 
(rers lived in camps along the vyater- 
i. There was a large camp at old 
jion, where Flint now is. Among 
je Irishmen there was a sturdy 
(ig blacksmith, named Hugh Martin, 

sharpened the plows and shod the 
es for the contractors. A Mrs. 
pelly had the contract for cook- 
(for all the camps from the county 
i to Attica and among her most 
Ited aides was a handsome young 
i lassie, Ann Crouch. The camp 
w Fulton was Maysville and Ann 
ach did the cooking for her country- 

in the camp at Maysville. Their 
3 were taken up the river to Hugh 
tin's forge to be sharpened, their 
es were taken there to be shod and 
% Crouch went with them to get 
isel from her mistress, Mrs. Don- 
And Cupid was there, with 
ibow and quiver; and when Hugh 
(tin, from the county of Cork, and 

Crouch, from the county of Killar- 

met, Cupid sharpened the point of 
irrow at Martin 's forge. This Irish 
ie and lassie loved and wooed and 
ded, and lived their lives in Davis 
aship. Mrs. Martin lived there 
I 1847 until she died, June 16, 1911, 



and was one of the most interesting 
women that I hav6 ever known. Her 
daughter, Mrs. Nels Lowry, still lives 
there. Mrs. Martin told me there were 
not nearly so many persons died from 
the cholera at Maysville and Fulton as 
there were further down the canal. 
As I have stated in a former article, 
many of those Irish made their per- 
manent homes at Maysville. 

There was another camp very near 
where the Fix schoolhouse now stands. 
There were about six hundred men, 
women, and children in this camp^ 
about four hundred of whom died of 
cholera. About two hundred of them 
were buried in the old graveyard at At- 
tica, and then a long trench was dug 
in a marl bed near the camp and the 
rest were thrown into this trench as 
they died and covered with a soft lime 
or marl. 

By the fall of 1848, in spite of the 
cholera and other misfortunes that be- 
fell them, the contractors finished the 
canal and boats began to ply upon it, 
— packet boats, carrying passengers, 
gaudily decorated, and pulled by horses 
with some speed, also tug boats and 
heavy boats for mercantile purposes, 
pulled by mulies and heavy horses. 
Soon this waterway was lined with hun- 
dreds of boats carrying all kinds of 
merchandise, freight and passengers. 
Warehouses, mills, packing houses and 
many other houses of commerce were 
built along its banks. Some of these 
old structures are still standing and in 
use yet today, the Jones elevator and 
the Staiford elevator being notable ex- 
amples. The old Martin elevator, torn 
down three of four years ago, was 
another, and the foundation outlines 
of another can be traced in the sod 
across the street from the ofSce of the 



78 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



Fountain Produce Co. It was, indeed, 
a waterway of much importance and 
served a splendid purpose. When it 
would freeze over in the winter it 
would be as smooth as glass and hun- 
dreds of young people would gather 
along this waterway to skate. In the 
winter time skating parties were very 
common. There was an elopement that 
attracted considerable attention at 
Maysville — a young couple gliding 
away one night on their skates from a 
skating party, down the canal to Terra 
Haute, where they were married be- 
fore the irate father of the bride could 
overtake them, 

I recall a little incident that will il- 
lustrate the attitude of the people to- 
ward these imported laborers, and as it 
happened just below Attica it will be 
of local interest. The greatest diffi- 
culty which the builders of the canal 
encountered in this vicinity was getting 
thru the great gravel beds south of 
town, where the Carmichael and other 
pits are now located. The difficulty 
was to get the canal to hold water as 
it w-asted thru the gravel very 'rapidly. 
In order to overcome this a feeder 
dam was built at Shawnee creek and 
the entire volume of water from that 
stream turned into the canal. The re- 
mains of this earthwork can yet be 
seen there. The contract for building 
that . portion of the canal from the 
gravel beds to Portland, (now Foun- ; 
tain), and for building the feeder dam 
on Shawnee was taken -by Col. Me- 
Manomy of Covington; and Douglas 
Trott, father of John Trott now of 
Williamsport, worked for him. While 
completing the approaches of the feed- 
er dam and the waterway from the 
dam into the canal, one Monday morn- 
ing they found their Irish laborers 



coming late to work. Mr. Trott m 
proved them and a dispute arose. Sti 
arrogant from the effects of their Sun- 
day carousal, a big Irishman took a do 
position on a gangway scaffold across tal 
which they had been wheeling dirt and ;o 
disputed Mr. Trott 's right to pass. :.r: 
Without arguing the case Mr. Trott: sts 
struck the fellow with his fist and 
knocked him off. When he landed at I! 
the bottom he failed to arise and when ivi 
Mr. McManomy and Mr. Trott went At 
to help him imagine their surprise to 
find that his neck was broken and that 
he was dead. 

Word was sent to the camp, where 
the dead man's wife was one of the 
cooks. She came down and at once 
set up a great lamentation. But the 
burden of her grief was not in the loss 
of her husband but in the fact that he 
had nothing but an old dirty shirt in 
which to be buriedl Mr. McManomj 
had on a new shirt — just put on that 
morning — and without hesitation he 
pulled it off, gave it to the weeping 
widow and with the aid of some of tha 
Irishmen it soon graced the dead man^ 
form, A grave was dug and he ani i 
the boss' new white shirt were buries 
near the canal. His wife went OJ 
cooking for the workmen and doubtles i 
eventually acquired another husband, I 

This story came to me from the li 
of a gentleman to whom it was relatde 
by Mr, McManomy himself, so then — 
is no doubt of its authenticity, ThI 
death of the Irishman was never iili 
vestigated by the coroner nor the gran^ftt 
jury. 

The Wabash & Erie canal was fouupj 
a much more convenient and rapifHn 
means of conveyance of the product 
of the farm and the output of the faoi 
tories within its reach than were, tl^l 4 



tav 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



79 



iver and the wagon roads which had 
receded it. 

In 1850, after it had been in opera- 
ion' two years, there was a census 
aken of the town of Attica, now in the 
ossession of Charles Haller, on the 
rst page of which is the following 
tatement: 

! "CENSUS OF THE TOWN OF AT- 
flCA — An enumeration of all the males 
iver 20 years of age in the Town of 
.ttica. Also, the number of married 



males and females, the number of un- 
married males and females over the age 
of 18, and the number, in-so-mueh of 
each school district as lies within the 
limits of the town, of children of both 
sexes, between the ages of 5 and 21 
years. Taken by W. McK. Scott under 
authority of the Town Council, March 
20, 1850." 

This record finished with the follow- 
ing statement in regard to the canal and 
river: 



Shipments by Canal and Biver up to March 20, 1850^ 



Ey Canal 

'E. Hemphill Wilson & Co, 

JP. S. Veeder 

'Coleman & Lundy 

Wm'. Worthington 

jMcDonald Spears & Co....: 



Corn 
Bu. 

77,664 
80,000 
63,724 
20,000 
20,000 



Wheat 
Bu. 
5,000 
7,100 
5,431 



9,000 



Oats 
Bu. 

2,317 
549 



By Biver 

Coleman & Lundy 

McDonald Spears & Co. 



Pork 
Bbls. 
946 
1,383 



Flour 
Bbls. 
202 
13 
507 
1500 
140 
Lard 
Bbls. 
724 
234 



Pork 
Bbls. 

1,^00 

558 

20 

1,345 

Grease 

Kegs 



Wool 
Bbls. 

30,000 

6,000 

Flour 
Bbls. 
70 



Lard 
Bbls. 

410 

227 

15 

4451/2 



In addition to the above, Coleman & Lundy shipt 178,437 pounds of hams 
and shoulders, 10 barrels of tallow and 95 pounds of cured beef. 

packed by McDonald, Spears Co 4,800 

" " J. & J. Hemphill & Co '. 1,800 

" " Kife & Co 2,800 



Total - 9,400 

Whisky manufactured at Standart & Co. 's distillery 3,000 bbls. yearly 

Whisky shipt from Standart & Co.'s distillery 2,500 bbls. yearly 



Thia statement of Mr. Scott shows 
()nclusively that the canal met the ex- 
pctations of its most sanguine support- 
s as a means of increasing production 
iid facilitating transportation. For 
in years it had no competition in the 
ay of transportation; it was ten years 
jfore the Wabash Eailroad was built 
^d. during these ten years the canal 



prospered. The exact population at that 
time, according to this census, was 1,006. 
On the side of the canal next to the 
river was the tow-path, and the other 
side was known as the heel path. The 
horses and mules which drew the boats 
walked the tow-path. The packet 
boats were usually two stories, had a 
captain who looked after the fares and 



80 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



general interests of the passengers of 
the boat and the welfare of the boat, 
and a pilot whose business it was to 
stand on the top of the second story 
and operate the steering gear, which 
was on the back part of the boat. Many 
a householder, with his family, who had 
left the eastern country, came over the 
lakes to Toledo or down the Ohio to 
Evansville and took passage on the 
canal bpat for some point in the Wabash 
Valley where they would make their 
home. 

Lottie Wolfe and Gus Lief came 
with their father from Sweden to New 
York, and from New York to Toledo by 
rail, and from Toledo to old Granville, 
in Tippecanoe county, on the canal boat. 
They had tomatoes on the canal boat as 
an ornament, which the children called 
love apples. The children of this Swed- 
ish family became interested in those 
tomatoes and were going to taste them 
but were told by the ofl&cials of the 
boat that they were poison. Many of 
the first Swedish and German families 
who came to Attica came in a canal 
boat. After the railroad came the pas- 
senger traffic first left the canal, and 
many a packet boat stood tied up along 
its bank going down into decay. 

I remember one very well that was 
attached for some reason and pulled 
ashore near where Ignatz Ptitscher 
lived, about three miles above Attica, 
and stood there until it finally rotted 
away. 

The freight boats lasted until about 
1875 or 1876, and an occasional scow 
was in use up to that time. I remem- 
ber my uncle, George C. Worthington, 
and John McKnight, who died recently, 
at Veedersburg, built a scow on land 
that was afterwards owned by my 
father. I was very much interested in 



the construction of this boat and when 
they finished it they called in the 
neighbors to turn it up-side-down to 
calk the bottom; I watched the process 
with great interest. They calked it 
with hot tar and some kind of lint, dip- 
ping the lint into the hot tar and 
driving it into the cracks of the bottom. 
I was present when this boat was 
launched and watched them lay down 
the plank and slide the boat into the 
canal. Mr. McKnight had a daughter 
by the name of Aetney, who now lives 
somewhere in Minnesota, and this boat 
was named the "Aetney" for Mr. Mc- 
Knight 's daughter. So far as I know, 
this was the last boat built for use on 
the old Wabash & Erie canal. 

The merchant boats were much larger 
than the scows and were built with a 
cabin on the back and a place on the 
back of the cabin for the pilot to 
stand as he worked the steering gear. 
My father purchased a boat of Douglas 
Trott; it was called the "Hoosier Boy." 
In the spring of 1883, the men of the 
neighborhood east of Attica hitched a 
team to this boat and went to Coving- 
to to pay their taxes, and I went wdth 
them. This was my first trip to the 
county seat. I remember that my fath- 
er talked with three men on this trip, 
one of whom was Homer Sewell. John 
Glascock was teaching in The Bend 
school near the Nebeker place, and 
Frank Glascock, a relative of his, was 
with us. We stopt for a short time and 
Mr. Glascock went to the schoolhouse 
to visit with his relative. The other 
man was Mr. Haupt. John Glascock is 
still living and each of these men 
looked exactly the same to me the last 
time I saw them as they did the first 
time. 

Homer Sewell, after I came to man- 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



81 



od, became one of my best friends, 
d we often talked of our first meeting, 
was not yet ten years of age and 
13 frail in health, and my family and 
B doctors had concluded that I could 
t weather the storm. However, owing 
the truthfulness of the old adage 
at the good die young, even then I 
IS assured of a ripe old age. 
In the fall of that year I made two 
ps to Lafayette with my father on 
3 "Hoosier Boy." On the first trip 
t took cordwood and the entire neigh- 
rhood had cordwood on that boat. It 
.s body hickory and brot $7.50 a eord 
Lafayette. A few weeks later I took 
other trip and we took potatoes. The 
lather was cold. We covered the 
batoes with straw and reached Lafay- 
;e all right, about six o'clock in the 
ening. That night it froze and the 
xt morning I helpt in gathering the 
I)zen potatoes off the top of the cargo. 
le men worked very rapidly to get the 
tatoes out of the boat before night, 
'•out five o'clock they finished unload- 
l and we started back home at once 
\: fear that the canal would freeze 
ler. We got as far as Eiverside, aim- 
:j to take the boat to near where 
(latz Pritscher lived, but there was so 
ich ice in the canal that we left the 
at in the "widewater" at Eiverside, 
Out where the Independence road now 
•sses the canal. So far as I know 
' s was the last trip taken by a canal 

I at to Lafayette. Soon after this the 
iial went down and my father's boat 
nod for many years in the "wide- 
l.ter" at Eiverside. We finally tore 
fto pieces and used it in making cribs 
li bins about the barn. 

[t is recorded in a history of Foun- 
n county publisht in 1883 that the 

I I boat to clear from Covington for 



Lafayette was the "Goodman," on 
Nov. 13, 1875. The last boat that 
cleared thru from Lodi to Toledo was 
the Eocky Mountain, under command 
of David Webb, which toucht at Attica 
October 26, 1872. 

Near Flint there was what was called 
' ' The Aqueduct ' ' where Flint creek ran 
under the canal and then there were 
locks at Flint and at Atticaj in going to 
Covington we went thru the locks at 
Attica, and in going to Lafayette we 
went thru the locks at Flint. The At- 
tica lock was located just back of 
where the old handle factory building 
now stands. 

I remember very well of the boat 
being pulled into these locks and the 
gates shut back of them, and the water 
being turned in from above, until the 
boats were raised from the level of the 
water below the lock to the level of the 
water above the lock. In coming the 
other way they would let the gates down 
first, fill the locks with water, run the 
boat in, raise the lower gates and let 
the boats go down to the lower level. 
The canal was level from one lock to 
another and the fall of the canal was all 
taken up in the locks. 

I would stand at the back of the 
boat and watch the fish swim from un- 
der it, and then there was a green moss 
that grew in the canal in Jong ropy 
strings, and as a boy I enjoyed very 
much watching those strings floating 
behind the boat. 

The town of Eiverside was named for 
the Eiverside schoolhouse, now known 
as the Fix schoolhouse. They used to 
have subscription school there in the 
summer, and when the boats would come 
up or down the canal the teacher would 
let us children go to the canal and watch 
them pass. This was a great treat for 



82 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



us and we kept a sharp look-out for 
the boats. 

The farmers along the water-way 
would have rafts made of two logs fast- 
ened together, and with a pole one could 
get on these logs and push across the 
canal. Every farm had a raft. 

In summer the canal would be full of 
frogs and turtles and always full of 
mudcat and sunfish, with a few other 
varieties. Of an evening one could 
easily catch in a few hours a large string 
of fish. I used to nearly keep the fam- 
ily in fish in the spring and fall. The 
canal ran close to the Eiverside school 
and our principal sport in winter was 
skating on its glassy surface. As quick 
as school was dismissed for recess or 
noon every pupil gathered his skates 
and with the teacher made for the canal 
to skate during the short period of rest. 
In the summer we boys would hunt the 
gravelly fords and bathe and swim. 

While the canal had its uses and its 
pleasures it had its faults too. The 
mosquitoes were a great pest along this 
waterway, and every fall one shook with 
ague. We were not as well acquainted 
with the mosquito and his habits then 
as now, and did not attribute the ma- 
laria to his bite, but with the passing 
of the canal the malaria and ague 
passed from the Wabash Valley. 

The canal company kept a dredge 
and a gang of men with it, who worked 
continually dredging the canal to keep 
it deep enough so that the boats could 
travel on it. I became well acquaint- 
ed with the family that operated the 
dredge and spent many a pleasant day 
with the other boys on the dredge, 
watching it dip mud from the bottom of 
the canal. The good lady whose hus- 
band was the boss of the dredge cooked 
for the hands and when we boys wanted 



if 



to spend the day watching the work she f 
was very kind to us. Often she would eJ 
have a soft shell turtle out of which n 
she would make soup and we were very aa 
fond of this. With fish and turtle soup ■ 
she won the affection of every boy ia 
along the canal. 

As the Wabash railroad improved th^ 
canal grew less and less of service ui 
til at last the bond-holders closed thei 
mortgage and the canal was sold in tl 
United States Circuit Court. The Foui 
tain county right-of-way was purchase 
by Nebeker & McManomy and they sol I, 
it to the Wabash Eailroad compan; yj 
from the towpath to the low watc y 
mark of the canal. That portion of i 
below the low water mark was sold t Ijiiie 
the farmers along the way, who finall \ ^ 
cut the banks and let the water on ii,,!, 
and it eventually reverted to farm lan( ( ^ 
When they cut the ' ' widewater ' ' nea ^ jfj 
the Pritscher place, the farmers iijim 
that locality took out tons of fish. if 

Had man known of the gasoline ei i j 
gine the canal could have been mail \ ]oi( 
tained and made profitable for boal iijj 
propelled by gas engines, and the mo » i^ 
quito pest could have been overcom i( mj 
with oil. I believe that this waterwajs* lani 
would have been of value enough to tbl upi 
commonwealth in different ways t|'a(ii 
have justified its maintenance. jiutii 

The flint from the flint bar was hadiiinij 
ed to Lafayette for the improvement <l«ift 
that city 's streets on canal boats f roi) are 
the opening of the canal until it wen; k\ 
out of use. They would often gathe kt 
boat loads of boulders and haul them t jiieiit 
Lafayette and Attica to make guttewliet 
for the streets. jpj 

There was a very dense undergrowt 
in a swamp near Flint; Henry Butit 
was driving the horse on the tow-pat 
that pulled a boat for my uncle, Jam< 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



83 



thicker. One evening when they pass- 
id this swamp they heard a panther 
ereaming. Henry's hair stood on end 
,nd he ordered a halt, but my uncle 
3ld him to drive right on as no one was 
1 danger but Henry himself, as the an- 



imal would either have to fly or swim 
to get the rest of them. Henry obeyed 
and as the panther probably was scared 
as badly as he was he is still with us 
today to verify this incident. 



The Wabash Railroad 



At the same time that the legislature 
f the State of Indiana and the State of 
linois began legislating for the inter- 
5ts of canals and waterways they be 
an legislating for railroads. Among 
le improvements of 1836 in Indiana 
as the National Eoad — a wagon road, 
mning clear across the state which 
■akes the principal street of Eichmond, 
T^ashington street in Indianapolis, goes 
iru Greencastle and makes Main street 
- Terre Haute. 

' There were several railroads under 
instruction which were, each and all, 
part of this general improvement, and 
iveral canals, other than the Wabash 
id Erie canal. The Wabash and Erie 
inal was only a part of the general 
iiprovement in Indiana intended to 
'tcilitate transportation. Along its 
itire length in the state the Wabash 
id Erie canal was the principal means 
: transportation and principal thoro- 
Lre for about ten years, and during 
tat time it was adequate to the needs, 
ut soon after its completion arrange- 
ents began to be put in operation for 
le building of a railroad and the rail- 
iad in which Attica and this locality 
jas most interested at this time was 
ie Wabash railroad which paralleled 
le canal from the state line east of Ft. 
Tayne to Attica. And I shall only deal 



with that portion of it which extended 
thru Indiana. The Wabash railroad as 
we know it now was built and for a 
number of years operated by three sep- 
arate companies and was really three 
roads instead of one. One corporation 
operated between Toledo and Ft. 
Wayne, another between Ft. Wayne 
and State Line City, and the third 
across Illinois. The road was built 
under the name Toledo, Wabash and 
Western. 

There was some question as to wheth- 
er the road would cross the Wabash 
river at Attica or Covington. The 
promoters preferred Covington, but 
asked a donation of $5000 or more from 
Covington if they crossed there. Cov- 
ington refused to give them anything 
and proposed making them pay at least 
$2,000 for going thru the corporation. 
They tried by argument to show the 
town officials the value the railroad 
would be to them but argued without 
avail. The citizens of Covington gave 
them emphatically to understand that 
no railroad could enter their sacred 
precincts from the north without first 
making peace with them with a sub- 
stantial donation. Finally the commit- 
tee from the city of Covington passed 
beyond the argumentative and reason- 
ing period and grew angry and told the 



84 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



Wabash officials who had met to confer 
with them that they could go straight to 
hell. 

J. D. McDonald met the railroad of- 
ficials on their return to Attica; asked 
them how much they would want to 
cross the river here, and they told him 
they would want $1,000. He told them 
he would give them $1,000 to come thru 
Attica and cross the river where they 
pleased; that he had some little interest 
in Williamsport yet and perhaps would 
be personally benefitted if they passed 
thru that town. But whether they 
passed thru Williamsport or Covington 
he would give $1,000 to the railroad. 
The residents of both Williamsport and 
Covington knew that J. D. McDonald 
was the wildest man who had ever set- 
tled in the Wabash Valley and he was 
very severely criticized for his interest 
in this railroad by the inhabitants of 
both these places. On account of the 
attitude at Williamsport the railroad 
went north of the town. It crossed 
the river, however, at Attica, at the 
most convenient place. J.D. McDonald 
proposed giving $1,000 more to cross a 
mile further down the river, and tried 
to get Williamsport to donate toward 
this proposition. But the people who 
lived in Williamsport gave Mr. McDon- 
ald to distinctly understand that they 
did not care where the railroad crossed 
the river, and that if it ran thru their 
corporation, they would also expect it 
to pay for such willful intrusion. As a 
result of this perverseness the next gen- 
eration was forced to move the town, 
courthouse and all, to the railroad, thus 
expending many thousands of dollars 
which might have been saved had it 
not been for the attitude taken when 
the railroad was built. 



The Wabash railroad was complete®) ft( 



P 



fil 



pla 



in 1858, thru the State of Indianalj 
When the first engine passed Attica a 
great demonstration was held and thousrt; 
ands of people came to take part in it^iiii 
That was not the Wabash railroad of t(V i) di 
day. The engines were small, striped j us 
engines; the body of the engine wat ( till 
the color of engines of today, but bands t i 
of brass ran around the boiler and these f to 
brass bands looked like harness on th< ( ph 
engines. And this was the style of al Ij h 
the locomotives. These engines burne( ij |i 
wood, beech being preferred. The ett i| m 
gineers claimed that beech made th< { ibi 
best fire for steam heat, and for thii \ ^ 
reason they were very much interested 
in getting beech wood to fire the en-, 
gines. The fact that these engines *|)f 
burned wood gave a new source of dis- 
tress to many persons who feared thati 
these engines would soon use up theij\tc! 
timber and that our country would b© 
cursed with drouth and wind. It wai| la 
several years before they began burningj ] 
coal in the engines. 

The railroad rails were small an^^ j 
fastened together diffently from thJ^i ^ 
way they fasten them now. The tie* 
were all made from large trees and only, 
the very best of large white oak an^ij 
burr oak were used, and only ties tha^ ^^ 
were split in two, and these ties were" 
placed very far apart sometimes two 
and three feet. There was no ballast 
on the road, and the engines ran very.Jjjj 
slowly as they pulled their train o^ 
cars up the grades. There was a steef i jj 
grade from the ' ' Stone Cut ' ' east and a 
steep grade at Maysville, east of Eiver-i 
side. I have seen many trains of cars* ^ 
stall on those grades, and they would 
have to send for extra engines or cui 
the train in two, taking half of it ali 
a time when they went east; bai 



III 



m 



SKETCHES OR THE WABASH VALLEY 



85 



hey would run very fast down these 
■•rades going west. 

i Alf Boots, a blind man, lived on my 
ather's place, near the railroad tracks 
>a a log cabin. He raised tobacco and 
■lade cigars, raised broom corn and 
bade brooms on about two acres of land 
hat the railroad cut off from the rest 
^f thp farm. I have known the trains 
'0 stop, and the trainmen go to his 
lace and buy cigars and brooms from 
Ir. Boots as they went east. In fact 
hey were his best customers and there 
'as enough of them that they took just 
bout all the cigars and brooms that he 
buld make. There was no stop at this 
lace but the front brakeman could get 
ff, run over to his cabin, get his supply 
E cigars and brooms, pay for them and 
lake the caboose as the train passed if 
lie train was loaded. So the train crew 
■ ould chip in at Attica with their 
jinds, buy the stock Mr. Boots had on 
i^nds and make the train easily. 
1 The passenger trains ran much faster. 
|lhey run fast enough that they soon 
lit the Wabash & Erie Canal out of 
'jmmission and let the packets stand 
lie and decay. But the freight traffic 
!i the canal continued for several years 
i a desultory way. But as the grades 
fere cut down and the road ballasted 
\e Wabash fast became a much more 
i^nvenient and rapid means of trans- 
rtation than the canal. Many of the 
ishmen who had helped to construct 
He canal were yet living when the 
abash railroad came thru and the 
isli at old Maysville worked as in- 
istriously to construct the Wabash 
^ilroad, to dig its cuts and make its 
Is as they had worked in the years 
^fore on the construction of the Wa- 
ksh & Erie Canal. And many of their 
Ascendants are still with us. 



Uncle Neddie Harty helped construct 
the Wabash railroad, to dig the cuts 
and make the fills, and continued in the 
employ of the Wabash Eailroad Co, 
here in Attica from the time the first 
shovel full of dirt was thrown in the 
state for the construction of this road 
until he was too old to work. He was 
a very interesting man and a good cit- 
izen. Among the pleasant memories of 
my early life is my association with the 
old section man from the Emerald Isle, 
Ned Harty, of Lafayette, Steve Harty, 
and the indomitable Mike who plays 
the keys at the C. & E. I. depot, are his 
sons. Mike Layton's children of Tip- 
pecanoe county are his grand-children. 
The story of the Wabash railroad could 
not be written well with Ned Harty 
out. 

When they were putting the railroad 
thru and after it was finished there 
was a young Irish boy who began hia 
labors on this road; first he carried 
water to the section hands. Then he 
wielded the shovel with the grace of an 
older hand, and one did not have to 
look at his face for a map to tell what 
country he had come from if they 
watched him ply the pick and bar. He 
may have grown tired for a while of 
the Wabash railroad but he never grew 
tired of work. He sold cigars for a 
while, driving a wagon for Dick Bros, 
and then in the early sixties, out in 
Central Illinois, he raised a company of 
soldiers and served our country well. 
When the war was over, with the well- 
earned title of general, he returned 
back to Bloomington, 111., and read and 
practiced law, and a few years later, 
when the Wabash railroad needed an 
attorney there, he was given the ap- 
pointment and they found him as cap- 
able in this capacity as they had found 



86 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



him with the water bucket in Attica. 
And when financial troubles came for 
the railroad the Irish laddie who 
had been a water boy on the section at 
Attica was made the receiver of the 
"Wabash system. There was hardly any 
one who lived in this vicinity twenty 
years ago who did not know Gen. Mc- 
Nulty, of Bloomington, 111., well enough 
to call him John, and a few of the cit- 
izens of Attica yet living have many 
pleasant recollections of the industri- 
ous, witty Irish boy who carried water 
and worked on the section of the Wa- 
bash railroad in ante bellum days. 

The terminus of this division of the 
Wabash railroad was at the state line 
and as this ended the holdings of two 
companies, plans were made to build a 
city at State Line Not only was it 
the division point of both the railroads 
but their roundhouses were placed 
there. It looked for a while like State 
Line would become a city, but Danville 
was the countyseat of a splendid county 
and coal was discovered near that city 
in paying quantities. In spite of all 
that both companies could do Danville 
showed a tendency to grow beyond the 
most sanguine hopes of its friends. In 
spite of the railroads and not with their 
help Danville was able to gather to 



itself the glory and fame that was 
tended for State Line City. 

In Davis township there was a switch 
called Nebraska right near Grindsto: 
creek. This station was put in for t! 
purpose of an elevator and with the in' 
tent of making a town, and all the 
horses, hogs and cattle shipped from 
the West were stopped at Nebraska anil' 
watered and fed. But in spite of all 
the railroad company's efforts to build 
a town Nebraska refused to grow, and 
when Jesse Marvin, who lived near Ne 
braska, got thru the legislature an ac 
to compel them to pay for the stock 
that they killed, to fence their right of 
way and to put in cattle guards, the; 
pulled up the switch and abandoned the 
last vain hope of a town there. 

It is useless to say that the coming 
of the Wabash Wabash railroad markei 
a new era in transportation for this 
portion of the Valley; that it is now 
and always has been of great value to 
us. Poorly managed perhaps a gooil 
deal of the time; its profits have beei 
taken to maintain in luxury some Euro 
pean prince and silly girl, born oi' 
wealthy parnts. If the company cat' 
succeed in ridding itself of these leecle 
es, of these European barnacles, it car 
easily become one of the best and mos 
useful railroads in the country. 



In Fountain County in 1 826 



For the benefit of some of my friends 
in the central part of the county 
who have been reading these articles 
with interest, I shall include among 
them a letter written from the forks 



of Coal Creek in 1862 by Sanford ( 
Cox, the first school master of thi 
vicinity, to whom I have already r( 
ferred and from whose book (1 
collections of the Wabash Valle 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



87 



1860) I have already quoted. The 
Letter was written to his cousin at 
Richmond and the young school master 
aad the faculty of description so well 
developed that he gives us a very 
:.nteresting account of the vicinity 
iround Veedersburg at that day. 
Following is his letter: 

Forks of Coal Creek, Fountain Co., 
I April 13, 1826 

j Dear Cousin Bob: In my last letter 
crom Crawfordsville, I promised to 
^ive you a description of this region 
i)f country, shortly after our arrival 
iere. I shall now attempt to redeem 
!ny promise, tho I confess that there 
p but little to write about here, except 
^he country, which is in general in a 
vild, unreclaimed state, just as it came 
from the hands of God, and the Indi- 
ans. 

You recollect seeing, while on your 
risit to our house in Montgomery 
■ounty last Spring, how the outside 
vails of the settlers' cabins were cov- 
red with stretched coon skins, musk- 
at, and mink skins, and the eaves 
tf the houses were surmounted with 
mek horns, and other trophies of the 
phase. The same can be seen here on 
li more extended scale, and as fast 
is they become dry the skins are taken 
own to make room for more. 
1 We have in this neighborhood a 
[ilacksmith named John Simpson, a 
taost excellent man, who is a perfect 
Hmrod in the hunting line. He kills 
aore deer and turkeys in a week with 
is old gun "Betty," than your fav- 
rite hunter, Phin. Thomas, would in 

month with his yager. But it may 
1 e because game is more plenty here 
'han in Montgomery county, where 
fhin did his hunting. 

It is a heavy timbered country here. 



and some of the settlers have a few 
acres apiece cleared, and under culti- 
vation. I want father to move to 
the Wea prairie, on the Wabash river, 
where he owns prairie lands, which are 
much the easiest improved, but he 
thinks the country there entirely too 
new to move to, for a year of two to 
come. I don 't see for my part how it 
could be much harder to get along any 
place than it is here; for after we are 
thru with our day's work — clear- 
ing, making rails, or grubbing — we 
have to put in a good part of our 
evenings pounding hominy, or turning 
the hand mill. But it gives us a relish 
for our hoecake, and there is no 
dyspepsia amongst us. 

It is very thinly settled around the 
Forks of Coal Creek, and, indeed, 
throughout this new county of Foun- 
tain. I believe I know every family 
around us, and as it will take but 
three or four lines of my letter, I 
will give you their names and locali- 
ties: 

East of the Forks live Wm. Cochran, 
Hiram Jones, Benjamin Kepner, and 
the Browns. Further up the south 
Fork of Coal, lives Hester, Esq. 
Mendenhall, Wade, Peter Eastwood, 
Ball and Gardner. Below the Forks, 
in our neighborhood, live Abner Eush, 
Samuel Eush, John Simpson, John 
Fugate, Jacob Strayer, Bond, Wm. 
Eobe, Barney Eistine, Evans, and 
Leonard Lloyd, a bachelor, who lives in 
his cabin alone, "monarch of all he 
surveys, and lord of the fowl and the 
brute," on his own premises, at least. 

On the south side of the creek there 
are four families, namely: Dempsey 
Glasscock, Joseph Glasscock, John 
Blair and Patton. Down the creek is 
another settlement, composed of 



88 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



Whites, Bryants, Forbes, Medsekers, 
and a few more families. Up the 
north Fork of Coal Creek, in the vicin- 
ity of the Dotyite Mills, live Osborn, 
Loppe, Helms, Jonathan Birch, and 
Snow. 

There is quite an excitement about 
the location of the county seat. The 
lower end of the county is in favor of 
Covington; but folks around here pre- 
fer a more central point. The Forks 
here are near the geographical center 
of the county, but the argiiments in 
favor of a county seat on a navigable 
river, may pi?event our getting the 
county seat located at this place. 

Lest you might think there was 
danger of us becoming semi-barbarous 
in this wild region, I will here state 
that we have circuit preaching every 
four weeks, by old Father Emmett, a 
veteran minister of the Methodist de- 
nomination, who has been a faithful 
watchman on the walls of Zion for 
more than forty years. He is beloved 
by all who know him — old and young, 
saint and sinner. His preaching is of 
the plain, practical, but effective kind, 
that reaches the hearts of hearers. He 
has three preaching places within reach 
of us, viz: at John Simpson's, Kepner's 
school house above the Forks of Coal 
creek, and in White 's neighborhood 
in the direction of Covington. 

I have found two species of birds 
here, different from any I ever saw on 
White Water — the sand hill crane and 
parroquet. This new species of crane 
is quite different from the common blue 
crane, being much larger, and of a 
sandy, gray color. They go in large 
flocks like wild geese, but fly much 
higher, and their croaking notes can 
be distinctly heard when they are so 
high in the air that they cannot be 



tc 



!( 



seen. Parroquets are beautiful bird 
and fly in flocks of from twenty 
fifty in a flight. In size they ai 
some larger than a common quail, ait 
resemble small parrots, from whi 
they derive their name. When ft 
grown their plumage is green, exce^ 
the neck, which is yellow, and tti 
head red. The heads of the young on^ 
continue yellow until they are a yed 
old. When flying, this bird utters i 
shrill, but cheerful and pleasant not 
and the flash of their golden and gree 
plumage in the sunlight, has a mo< 
bewitching effect upon the beholdet 
who, for a moment, deems he is on tltj 
verge of a brighter sphere, where tit 
birds wear richer plumage, and utter 
sweeter song. 

As time hung heavy on his hano 
Schoolmaster Cox kept a very intere? 
ing diary and from it I shall reprodut* 
another incident that is of interest 
residents of all this vicinity, as 
shows how the fear of the Indian 
was hanging over the settlers at i 
times. The following is verbatim froi 
his diary, written at the time: 

July 14, 1827? 

A report reached here yesterday \ 
a messenger despatched from Osborni 
prairie, that the Pottawatomie, Mian 
and Kickapoo Indians were massacr 
ing the white population on Tippecanii 
river near the Pretty prairie, and < 
Wild Cat and Wea creeks, and thJi 
they were hourly expected at Shawnd 
prairie, where the inhabitants we;f 
gathering into forts, and making ppj 
parations to repel their murderoi; 
attack. 

We were advised that prudence diii 
tated that our neighborhood shoull 
also fortify forthwith. 

A general panic seized the peop l 



D 



ii 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



89 



ereabouts, a minority of whom were 
I favor of gathering into a fort as 
flick as possible; but others, more 
3ed to frontier life and Indian alarms^ 
id among them my father, thought 
best to first send out a few scouts 
) reconnoitre and report the actual 
;ate of things. Accordingly my fath- 

r, eldest brother and Mr, E. , 

jcompanied the messenger on his re- 
irn to Osborn's neighborhood. 
Without assembling together, the 
feighborhood awaited their return. 

Lother, thinking that Mrs. E. , 

who was left at home with two little 
dldren during her husband's ab- 
l)nee,) would be alarmed for her and 
:;r children's safety, sent her word to 
ime down and bring her two little 
pys, and stay with us until her hus- 

find returned. But Mrs. E. re- 

rned in answer to mother's kind in- 
Itation, that "she had made up her 
ind to stay at home and defend her 
buse to the last extremity — that she 
puld fight in blood shoe-mouth deep, 
lifore shej would leave her cabin to 
1: burned by the red-skins." 

I thought if Mrs. E. possessed 

|ich true grit, that I certainly had 

luck enough to go into the watermelon 

tch and get some melons. So I told 

;e family that I would slip out thru 

e corn field and bring in a few mel- 

s for us to eat. Mother at first re- 

onstrated against my going, but fin- 

ly consented, on condition that I 

prudent, and keep among the grow- 

g corn, going and returning. Just as 

reached the patch and was stooping 

i pull a melon, bang! went a rifle 

i out thirty yards distant in the corn. 

] straightened up — clear miss, thought 

] a stupid, bewildered sensation crept 

ter me for a moment. But the 



thought that the enemy would soon 
be upon me with tomahawk and scalp- 
ing-knife, dispelled the stupor that 
momentarily bound me, and I instant- 
ly sprang out into the growing corn 
and made for home with all possible 
speed, meeting mother about half way; 
she had heard the rifle, and run to the 
rescue without any weapon to screen 
me except a mother's impulsive heart. 

Mrs. E. also heard the gun, 

and supposed that the work of death 
had already commenced in the neigh- 
borhood. But her intrepid spirit was 
rather intensifie|d than depressed by 
the proximity of danger; and her hus- 
band's axe, which she had brought 
in from the wood-pile, looked as tho 
it was ready and veiling to be sunk 
to the helve in the skulls of half a 
dozen Indians. 

During the afternoon it was ascer- 
tained that one of our neighbors had 
discharged his gun at a squirrel in the 
field, and that he knew nothing of my 
being in the melon patch at the time, 
nor of the panic produced by the 
sound of his gun. 

This morning our scouts returned, 
and brought the news that it was a 
false alarm; that the Indians were 
peaceable; that no depredations had 
been committed, and that the story 
and alarm originated in the following 
manner: A man who owned a claim on 
Tippecanoe river near Pretty prairie, 
fearing that some one of the num- 
erous land hunters that were constant- 
ly scouring the country, might enter 
the land he had settled upon before he 
could raise the money to buy it, see- 
ing one day a cavalcade of land hunt- 
ers riding in the direction of his claim, 
mounted his horse and darted off at 
full speed to meet them, swinging his 



90 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



hat and shouting at the top of his 
voice, "Indians I Indians I The woods 
are full of Indians, murdering and 
scalping all before them!" — They 
paused a moment, but as the terrified 
horseman still urged his jaded animal 
and cried, "Help, Longlois — Cicots, 
help;" they turned and fled like a 
troop of retreating cavalry, hastening 
to the thickest settlements and giving 
the alarm, which spread like fire among 
stubble, until the whole frontier reg- 
ion was shocked with the startling 
cry. 

The squatter, who fabricated the 
story and perpetrated the false alarm, 
took a circuitous route and returned 
home that evening; and while others 
were busy building temporary block 
houses, and rubbing up their guns to 
meet the Indians, he was quietly gath- 
ering up money, and slipped down to 
Crawfordsville and entered his land, 
to which he returned again, chuckling 
in his sleeve and mentally soliloquiz- 



ing — There is a Yankee trick for you-f 
done by a Hoosier. 

This incident as narrated by Mr. Coi'"? 
was a favorite story of the late Newli: 
H. Yount, who was the last survivinj 
participant in the panic described 
At the time he was one year old anii, 
his parents lived on what is now thr 
Ignatz Pritscher farm, and they flee, 
to the cabin of a family named Hui 
shaw, on what is now the Will C. Clapi 
ham farm, and this cabin stood Hk 
what is now the farmhouse yard. JohnH 
E. Latta, sr., who is remembered ORP 
one of Attica's most important men o: 
his day, was notified but he reeeivec™ 
the warning too late to go. He spent ow 
the night in anticipation of an at Tl 
tack upon his home, and was undeilia 
such a strain that when he saw hift'i 
own shadow behind him on the wal "J 
he whirled and struck it so hard h( 't 
hurt his hand and bore the sears oi * 
the injury long afterward. ^t 



Williamsport in 1 829 



In his journeyings up and down the 
Wabash valley as a district schoolmaster 
during the decade following 1825 Sand- 
ford C. Cox, to whom I have referred 
before, visited Montgomery, Fountain, 
Clinton, Tippecanoe and Warren coun- 
tise. The schools in those days being 
purely private affairs organized by the 
teacher among the patrons, who erected 
a cabin for a schoolhouse and paid the 
teacher's salary. Schoolmaster Cox 
traveled about considerably looking for 
the most thickly populated communi- 
ties. Often it took three of the largest 



neighborhoods to furnish enough ' * schol ij 
ars" for one good school. From Cox's 
" Eeeollections of the Early Settlement n 
of the Wabash Valley, ' ' I shall quot« ■ , 
his description of early Williamsport ^j. 
Eeaders should remember that the Wil 
liamsport which he describes was lo ^ 
cated down near the river — the section ^^ 

now known as "Old Town." Maid 

lit 

street, to which he refers, is the one ,,^ 
which runs east and west past E. F 
McCabe's residence, and the date of hit . 
first visit is about 1829. He wrote as ^ 

fellows: i;' 



11 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



91 



"On my first visit to Williamsport, 
e county seat of Warren county, I 
opped with William Search, who kept 
boarding house on Main street, near 
dere the Warren Eepublican, an ex- 
Uent newspaper, is now (1859) print- 
[ and published by my old friend, £nos 
mutt, Esq. 

James Cunningham, the clerk and re- 
rder of the county, boarded and kept 
9 office in Search's house; and as the 
&st of his time was occupied in build- 
g a couple of flatboats to carry corn 
; the New Orleans market the next 
iring, he employed me to write in his 
&ce of nights and on Saturdays, which 
buld not interfere with my school 
urs. 

iThe town then consisted of five fam- 
jes, viz: William Harrison, the proprie- 
jr of the village, who kept the ferry, 
Ijd a little tavern and grocery at the 
bt of Main street; Dr. Jas. H. Buell, 
jlery, Search and a man called Wild 
,t Wilson. Two only (Harrison and 
ilson) of the families above named 
d children large enough to go to 
lool. The rest of my patrons lived 
the country, some two or three miles 
jm town, and consisted of John Se- 
ins, sheriff of the county, Wesley 
irk, Eobb, Hickenbotham, and one or 
o more. 

A.t this time Warren county was but 
nly settled. Perrin Kent, county sur- 
yor, Tillotson, Clinton, and a few 
lier families lived down towards Bal- 
^ore and Mound prairie. 
t)n Eedwood, and sprinkled thru 
J woods, and on the edge of the 
and prairie, lived John B. King, 
anklin, Jameson, Hall, Butterfield, 
rviance and a few other. On Kicka- 
I, a small stream lying north of Big 
le creek, was a settlement composed 



of Boggs, Enoch Farmer, Samuel En- 
sley, John and Joseph Cox, Seavers, 
the widow Mickle, McMahan, the wid- 
ow Cox, Hollingsworth, Solomon Mun- 
roe, Isaac Waymire and Zachariah 
Cicot, the French-and-Indian trader. 

Up Pine creek, in the Eainsville 
neighborhood, lived James Gooden and 
Benjamin Crow, county commissioners, 
William and Jonathan Ehode, Dickson 
Cobb, Eidenour, Seymour Ehode, Wil- 
liam Bailsback, Isaac Metsker, Esq. 
Kearns, McCords, and a few others. 
Above Cicot 's were Judge Samuel B. 
Clark, Fenton, Magee, Edward Mace 
(father of the Hon. Dan Mace), Jerry 
Davis, John and Gabriel Eeed, Thomas 
Johnson, Dawsons, Orrin Munson, Sino 
Munson, James Stewart, Moores, Bow- 
yer and John Stevenson, alias "Jack 
Stinson, " who in his earlier and palm- 
ier days, taught school in the Eeed and 
Davis neighborhood, and perpetrated 
none of the eccentricities which filled 
the last twenty years of his life. 

The natural scenery around the town 
of Williamsport is romantic and beau- 
tiful, well worthy the pencil of the 
painter or the pen of the poet. A range 
of hills surrounded the original town, 
on the north and west, crowned with 
amphitheatre ranges of trees, whose 
tops rose above each other in such reg- 
ular gradations that in the spring time 
when robed in green, or when attired 
in their variegated hues of autumn, they 
reminded one of a good comely mother, 
surrounded with her bevy of lovely 
daughters, bedecked with green, scarlet 
or yellow, according to the age, taste 
or caprice of the wearer. A few clumps 
of tall evergreen pines are intermixed 
with these trees, along the steep cliffs 
that overhang the south bank of Fall 
branch, a small- stream that meanders 



92 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



thru a narrow and fertile valley which 
lies on the north side of town. This 
little stream takes its name from a 
cataract, where its pellucid waters are 
precipitated over falls some eighty or 
one hundred feet high, into a deep 
chasm, resembling the deep, narrow bed 
of the Niagara river. Near the falls 
is a deep chasm, or fissure in the earth, 
produced no doubt by an earthquake, 
or some great convulsion of nature, 
along which pedestrians can walk single 
file, from the top of the hill thru this 
subterranean passage to the foot of the 
falls. Any person fond of the marvel- 
ous, or desirous of being reminded of 
the dark valley of the shadow of the 
valley of death, can gratify their cur- 
iosity by taking a lonely ramble down 
this dark, deep descent. The interest 
of this little Niagara is greatly en- 
hanced during the spring and winter 
freshets, when the accumulated waters 
of Fall branch leap and thunder over 
the rocks, throwing up foam and spray 
that form a mimic rainbow above the 



iie 



heads of the shrubs and bushes thaii 
line the banks of the noisy streamlell jie? 
which laughs and leaps along in thJijleti 
sunlight a few hundred yards until it iji 
lost in the placid bosom of the Wabas|)i 
river, which rolls its broad, clear curji!' 
rent along the eastern margin of th<i 
town. At the Falls, and in the hilll|: 
around the town is to be found some oi 
the best sand and free stone in thA 
state. A few huge specimens, aboilj} 
the size of the ordinary courthouse 
can be seen lying around on the surface 
of the ground in several places near th(ji,j, 
town as if nature had placed them theri 
to direct the attention of man to tW 
rich quarries that lie imbedded beneatM 
About half a mile below town, surround]' 
ed by a broken and romantic landscape!^ ,{ 
is a large mineral spring, whose chily<) 
beate waters are but little inferior ti 
the celebrated artesian well at Lafa; 
ette, which is fast becoming a populi 
watering place for invalids and excuij 
sionists. ' ' \ 



vli( 



if 



"Underground Railroad" Station at Bethel 



Among the very first settlements 
made in Fountain County was that of 
Bethel. The majority of the first set- 
tlers, of this neighborhood were Quak- 
ers, who had come from North and 
South Carolina to Ohio and from Ohio 
to Indiana. On the account of their 
religion they were bitterly opposed to 
the institution of slavery and almost 
as soon as land was opened for entry 
at Crawfordsville, (December 1824), 
they had selected their lands and 



taken their claims in the Bethe 
neighborhood. A quarter of a mili 
north of the Bethel church, in tht 
north-east quarter of section 35, wa^ 
very dense timber and some three oi 
four very large buttonwood swamps 
These swamps covered five to ten acre- 
of ground, water stood from knee-dee] 
to waist-deep in them the year arouml 
and they were full of tussocks. Thi 
buttonwood brush grew so thick on thi 
tussocks that its shade covered the en 



II 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



93 



re surface of the water. The brush 
few about eight feet high and was so 
ense that the sun could not shine 
aru it. In addition to the buttonwood 
fush, there grew on the tussocks a 
iant fern. The leaves often grew six 
^et long and four feet wide and com- 
letely covered the space below the 
rush and limbs of the buttonwood. 
, The Quakers soon conceived the idea 
<-. making use of these swamps and 
lej located in those woods one of 
ie "stations" for the negro slaves, 
jho could flee the Southern states and 
^ake their way up the Wabash river 
iward Canada, even that early. Al- 
ost immediately after the entry of 
le land in that locality there were 

few negro cabins built at the edge 
: these ponds, perhaps twenty or 
l^enty-five, and hundreds of negroes 
ho had stolen away from their mas- 

rs in the South were hidden in the 
push and ponds during the days of 
i'the underground railroad. ' ' When 
lie negroes got into these ponds the 
iioodhounds could trace them no 
trther and the Quaker settlement 
I the south furnished them food and 
othing and started them on their way 
)r the next "station." 

There were at one time as many as 
le hundred negroes living in these 
oods and they continued to come from 
le Southern states to this settlement 

om about 1826 until the breaking out 

' the Civil war in 1860; some of 

1 

lem continuing to live there until 

jout twenty years ago. "Jim" 

Lckson, Dan C. Eeed 's trusty chauffeur 

id handy man, is the last remaining 

spresentative of this community of 

)lored families that lived about these 

vamps. All have vanished and he 



alone is left — like the last of the 
Mohicans! His grandfather's name 
was Alec Simpson, a man of great 
physical strength, and his Grandmother 
Simpson was a preacher. I have heard 
Mrs. Simpson preach a few sermons 
to the negroes of that settlement when 
I was a bare-foot boy. She would 
preach Sunday afternoons in some of 
the cabins. 

Then there was a negro called Billy 
Jefferson. He and Simpson, and some 
eight or ten other negro families, were 
among the very first to settle in that 
community and they stayed there and 
religiously protected their colored 
brothers and sisters who had escaped 
from the slave states and were on their 
road to Canada. If a negro could 
reach one of their cabins in this great 
wood, he was safe. While hundreds 
of them were pursued and chased, not 
one was ever taken captive in that 
negro settlement. Al Edwards came 
into that locality about the close of the 
war and the Seotts probably ten years 
later, but the negroes who first settled 
in the woods back of the Bethel church, 
and who came in with the Quaker 
families, moved out of that neighbor- 
hood after the Civil war. They did 
not care to live there only so long 
as they could be of service to their 
race. 

Billy Jefferson, while hunting in 
Davis township, let his gun slip, so 
it went off and the load went thru his 
hand mangling it so that he had the 
hand amputated. At the close of the 
Civil war his son killed a negro by the 
name of Cy Adams. Billy Jefferson 
felt so bad about this that he moved 
away, going to Danville, Illinois. 

Not only did the negroes have 



94 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



preaching and revival meetings of 
their own but they had dances and 
picnics, and it was nothing uncommon 
for them to have a campmeeting that 
would last for three or four weeks. 
The campmeeting would be interspers- 
ed with dances and the music would 
be made with violins, banjos and tam- 
bourines. There were very few but 
what could play some kind of musical 
instrument. When a boy, I attended 
all their entertainments that my par- 
ents would permit and enjoyed them 
very much. 

Among those negroes was one worthy 
of particular note. His name was Ben 
Moore. He was one of the most per- 
fect specimens of physical manhood 
who has ever lived in this county. 
He was 6 feet 4 inches tall, weighed 
316 pounds, and was raw-boned; with- 
out an ounce of surplus flesh. He got 
boisterous in Attica one day and 
Eeuben Beamer, who was then marshal, 
attempted to arrest him. He enlisted 
four or five deputies; a general fight 
ensued and Beamer testifies today that 
Moore was the most powerful man who 
ever walked the streets of Attica. 

At the siege of the Alamo, when the 
massacre of March 6, 1836, occurred in 
the war for Texas independence, the 
fort was held by about 140 men, un- 
der William B. Travis. On February 
23d it was infested by a Mexican army, 
of probably four thousand, under Gen. 
Santa Anna, who at once began a 
bombardment which scarcely inter- 
mitted for the next ten days. The 
little garrison, compelled to man the 
defenses day and night and too few 
to relieve each other, sent desperate 
appeals to their outside comrades for 
help. But to break thru the dense 



lai 



ij( 



Mexican forces was so diflQcult that the; 
only re-inf orcement received was 32, \ ide 
men on the first of March. At last at 
breach was made in the walls, and^lstil 
shortly after daylight, March 6th, the; ti 
general assault was ordered. Twice ii icti 
the storming party was repulsed with ( let 
petty loss of life. The third time ilali 
gained the parapet and entered the^ 
enclosure. No surrender was offered 
and the result showed that the Texansjs 
knew their foes too well to expect?! 
quarter. Worn with fatigue and pri- 
vation, they fought to a finish until 
only five were left. And among the 
splendid men who died there was Dav- 
id Crockett. And of the 180 inmates 
three women, two white children and 
one negro boy were the sole survivors 
of this historic siege. That one negro 
boy was Benjamin Moore, who was a 
body servant of Crockett. When he 
got away from the Mexicans he went 
back to Tennessee and Keutuclcy and 
lived thero until just before the Civil iJut 
war broke out, when he started with (v 
his family to Canada. When he reach- jm 
ed the negro settlement in the woods L 
north of the Bethel church he conclud- |ip( 
ed to go no farther and lived iu Davis 'Ito 
township and Tippecanoe county and e 
near this settlement the rest of his r> 
life. 

He had four sons, all powerful men. ''^' 
Two of them died of consumption in ^ 
the community north of Bethel. One 
of them worked for Azariah Leath and 
was a good hand. His youngest boy 
was the strongest man who was ever 
an inmate of the reformatory at Jef- 
fersonville. He was placed in jail at 
Covington, accused of stealing $20 of 
Gid. Leak along with William Scott. 
Judge Milford and myself defended 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



95 



se negroes in this trial. Moore con- 
ied one day when an election was 
in Covington to bid farewell to the 
tile. Eobt. Miller, the sheriff, lock- 
him in the cell to take part in tho 
ition. About 2:00 o'clock in the 
3rnoon, when he knew all the poli- 
ans of Covington (every man in 
ington is a politican) were en- 
ed in the election, he took hold of 
iron door of his cell, easily broke 

powerful lock, then with tho 
sngth of a Sampson he broke both 
ges to the doors, took the heavy 
fr of solid iron and smashed thru 
i stone floor. He loosed the prison- 
I to follow him, dropt into the cel- 
|of the jail, pulled out the cellar win- 
d's more easily than Sampson broke 
j"n the pillars of the Philistine 
le, and he and all of the prisoners, 

the exception of William Scott, 
|ped and crossed the river on the 
I Four railroad bridge into Warren 
|ity. When it was discovered that 
r had broken jail, a large posse of 
f. followed and recaptured all the es- 
!.ng prisoners. If you should ever 
pen to step into the jail at Cov- 
on, you may still see the heavy 

slab covering the hole Moore 
te thru the stone floor with the 

door, 
ear the negro community was a 
Qg known as the "Poison spring." 



There was a great deal of milksick in 
these woods and the cattle and sheep 
and horses, which got away from the 
farmers and wandered into the woods, 
would get this peculiar disease and 
go to this spring or the stream that ran 
from it for water. Its banks were con- 
tinually lined with dead and dying 
stock and on account of this it was 
known far and wide as the "Poison 
spring." It is now the spring near 
Marion Morgan's house and since the 
timber has been cut off and the swamps 
drained it is considered a spring of 
fine water. 

The forest of which this quarter sec- 
tion was a part was about three miles 
in width and about nine miles long 
and contained the largest deciduous 
trees that I ever saw growing in Am- 
erica. A few white oak and burr oak 
trees in these woods grew as much 
as six and a half feet thru at the 
stumpj while the yellow poplar, or 
northern tulip, would grow seven feet 
six inches thru at the stump. They 
would grow tall and hold their bodies 
well. This forest is about all gone and 
much of the garden truck with which 
Attica is supplied is grown near the 
"Poison spring" and the site of the 
negro village. The milksick and the 
negroes have been gone from that lo- 
cality more than twenty years. 



Bethel Church 



1826, when Fountain county was 
Inized, Davis township extended 

miles further west than it does 
, a two-mile slice being taken off 



in 1833 and added to a portion of 
Shawnee township to make Logan town- 
ship. 

In 1825 there was a Methodist class, 



96 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



with a few members, scattered over 
Davis township. One of the active 
members in this class was a man by 
the name of Linn. Mr. Linn owned ten 
acres of land where Bethel church now 
stands and was a member of the 
Methodist organization. In 1827 a log 
church was built in what would now 
be the Bethel graveyard, and a class 
was organized, known as the Davis 
Township Methodist Association. Linn's 
cabin stood where Bethel graveyard is 
and this location was selected because 
it was near the center of Davis town- 
ship. This class ran along in a desul- 
tory way for about two years when the 
Campbells, Pearsons, Parnells, Wal- 
drips, who were Quakers, received re- 
cruits enough to share half the time 
with the Methodist Association. 

In 1828 an United Brethren preacher 
held a revival meeting in the Bethel 
church. He did not try to get joiners; 
he simply tried to make converts, and 
succeeded in getting nearly every fami- 
ly for miles around interested in his 
work. At the close of this meeting 
he advised that they have but one de- 
nomination. The United Brethren and 
Methodists were ready to vote on this 
but the Quakers, who seemed to be in 
the minority, refused to leave their 
faith. They continued to have their 
Quaker meetings every two weeks, and 
ran along for probably three months 
after the revival had closed. It was 
the custom of the Quakers in their 
meetings to have two class-leaders, and 
the members spoke only when the spirit 
moved them. When the spirit moved 
both of the class-leaders to dismiss at 
the same time they arose and shook 
hands, and this closed the service. 
John Campbell and Jonathan Campbell, 



two brothers, were the class-leaders i 
the Quaker congregation. Once a fl 
weeks after the evangelistic servic 
closed John felt moved to dismiss eai 
in the meeting. He arose and extend 
his hand to his brother Jonathan, l\ 
the spirit had not yet moved Jonathii 
and John took his seat. About 1 
minutes later Jonathan arose and ■ 
tended his hand to John but the spi 
did not move John then so Jonathi 
sat down and waited. After abu 
fifteen minutes had passed he concluOj 
that the spirit was not going to mo 
his younger brother to close the m€ 
ing that evening. Then he arose E 
announced to the congregation tl 
he would cast his vote to unite w 
the Methodists as soon as he got 
opportunity. Jacob Turman, a pioni 
Methodist preacher, who had been 
of the first preachers to move into 
Bethel neighborhood, was in the c 
gregation. He immediately arose i 
announced that there would be sue 
meeting the Sunday following, and 
vote was taken as between the Qual 
and the Methodists. In the meant 
John canvassed the community for 
Quakers, while Jonathan canvassed 
the Methodists and when the vote 
taken, with the United Brethren vo 
with the Methodists, they carried e| 
election in favor of all uniting 
Methodists by only one vote. A'.| 
the Methodists won all the Qua 
joined the Methodist church. This J<ij 
Campbell was the grandfather of 
Ed Purviance and his brother Jonat 
was the grandfather of Tom Camj 
and Mrs. Connell. They had an diei 
brother by the name of Henry C£ | 
bell, who lived in the Bethel neighlji 
hood and Mrs. Waldrip was a s: e 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



97 



nd my Grandmother Whicker a niece 
'f these Campbells. They are all buried 
^i the Bethel graveyard. 
' After tJiis community, decided to or- 
'anize and maintain a Methodist church 
'le church throve for a few years like 
f green bay tree, and by 1829 was one 
'P the largest Methodist congregations 
|i the state. Some of the best preach- 
[•s in the state were sent to this class. 
Ihey built a parsonage in which the 
inisters who were in charge lived for 
any years. As soon as the question 
". what denomination would have con- 
ol of the religious matters of the 
nnmuuity was settled, they purchased 
le ten-acre tract of Mr. Linn, and 
ne acres of it was laid off for a 
aveyard, one acre being reserved for 
t.e church and the schoolhouse. Eeally 
e township has no interest what- 
er in the land as it was purchased 
V' the people, nine acres of it for a 
aveyard and one acre set apart on 
hich to build the church. The people 
' the neighborhood by common consent 
lilt the first schoolhouse on this lot 
id it came into control of the town- 
ip wheJi the subscription schools 
ased. Under the present law it would 
) the duty of the township trustee 

take care of the Bethel graveyard, 
ul in-as-much as the people who have 
sen interested in that ten acres of land 
Ive given the township a place for a 
hoolhouse, without expense nearly 90 
ars, the township could afford to take 
Ire of this graveyard and take care 

it well. 

The schoolhouse erected there years 
fo burned down last summer and a 
indsome new one, of bungalow de- 
ifin, was built on the old site. 
Jacob Turman, the pioneer Methodist 



preacher, who took advantage of the 
disagreement of the Campbell brothers, 
was a grandfather of Samuel Turman 
and a great-grandfather of the Eoss 
Brothers who edit The Ledger. His 
father settled in a very early day on 
Turman was born near there. He 
Sullivan county, Indiana, and Jacob 
Turman was born was born there. He 
joined the Methodist church when about 
twenty years of age and went to Illinois 
as a missionary, among the Indians, 
traveling and preaching among them 
for four years. Jacob Turman went 
home to visit his father while preach- 
ing among the Indians in Illinois, and 
there were still numerous Indians in 
Sullivan county. The Indians had plan- 
ned to murder the elder Turman, drive 
away his stock and rob him of his 
property, but on the first night of 
Jacob 's return his father invited him 
to conduct family devotions. While 
Jacob was praying the Indians sur- 
rounded his home and looking thru 
the windows saw the family at prayer. 
On account of their superstitions they 
felt that it would be an offense to 
the Great Spirit to disturb them at 
that time and they withdrew, crossed 
the Wabash river and attacked a house 
in which there was a woman, with two 
or three children, alone for the night, 
and brutally murdered them. It was 
not Jacob's prayer but the Indians' 
superstition that saved the Turmans. 
The old pastor used often to relate 
this incident in his sermons, and give 
it as an instance of the power of prayer. 
Jacob Turman 's wife, before her mar- 
riage, was Susan Eollins of Lexington, 
Ky., a distant relative of Henry Clay, 
and the mother of the Eoss Brothers 
was named for her. They settled in 



98 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



the Bethel neighborhood in October, 
1824, making one of the very first set- 
tlements in what is now Logan town- 
ships. The Campbells, Pearsons, Wal- 
drips, Burches and Eobert Clapham 
came the next spring. 

Jacob Turman died in the Bethel 
neighborhood in 1840. He was a very- 
devout Methodist all his life and felt 
that his greatest achievement was in 
establishing the Methodist class at 
Bethel. This Methodist class furnished 
forty-six preachers to the Methodist 
Church. I shall give the names of 
a few of them: Pierce Ehodes, who 
founded the college at Onarga, 111., and 
also the Methodist college at Baldwin, 
Kansas; Zenas Turman, of Nebraska; 
John Spray, of Oregon; William Camp- 
bell, James Campbell Jerry Campbell, 
Samuel Campbell, Wilson Campbell, 
Mary Ward, Augusta Tullis, (who did 
effective work as a missionary in 
Africa), Henry Benson of California, 
Eobert Clapham, two brothers who 
pneaehed in Iowa by the name of 
Williams, Wiley Jones, and Edgar 
Tullis. Some of these preached for the 
United Brethren Church and some for 
the Free Methodists, but out of the 
forty at least thirty of them begun their 
work early in life in the Methodist 
church and were of great value to 
that denomination. William Campbell, 
Pierce Ehodes, Samuel Campbell, Henry 
Benson and Augusta Tullis-Kelly are 
deserving of special notice because of 
theifr accomplishments in after years. 

In 1825 a campmeeting was held by 
the Methodists at a large spring known 
as the Campbell Spring, near the Bethel 
Church. These campmeetings were held 
annually for many years. They lasted 
about four weeks, usually began about 



^ 



the first of September and thousands 
people attended. For perhaps fifteti 
or twenty years many Indians campfi' 
with the Methodists and took part ar 
it was a boast of the church that mai 
Indians were converted at these meei 
ings from 1826 to 1836. The last cami 
meeting held at this spring was a tw.\', 
days meeting. I was a boy about niil 
years of age, but remember quite wf 
attending the meeting. Eichard Ha: 
grave was the preacher; he stood ver 
high, not only among the Methodis: 
but among all classes. Not only wv 
Eichard Hargrave a good preacher bl 
he was a splendid man and all w' 
knew him loved him. The splend 
personality of Hargrave made hi 
more than a local character. He wa: 
the father of Carrie Campbell, the wi 
of Jonathan Campbell, and grandfathi ( 
of Mrs. Ed Purvianee, Will Campbei' I 
Ora Grant, Mrs. G. Parnell, Jot 
Eichard and Grant Campbell. 

The Bethel neighborhood furnished 
few good singers, among them bei 
William Waldrip. I listened with gre 
pleasure to Jonathan Campbell as 
sang in the choir at Bethel with cle 
voice when he was near eighty years 3 
age. Jonathan Campbell's sweet voi 
on this occasion, I remember as I 
member the voice of my mother, who 
I believe, without prejudice, can 
clafesed as one of the rare voices whi 
our county has produced. 

I perhaps am a little prejudiced 1 
cause of the interest of our fans 
there, and yet in its late days 
Bethel community developed too mr'c 
of caste and I would prefer now, » 
I did in my boyhood, the associate i F 
of the Swedish community, east 
Attica; of the Germans, with their h' ' i 



I'l 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



99 



irties; or of the Irish at Maysville. 
took part in all of them. I was in 
) way related to the Germans, the 
ish or the Swedes and I speak only 
ith the experience of years in con- 
iding t,hat^ had the Methodist church 
Bethel become a part of the great 
merican Melting Pot and tried to as- 
mulate the German, the Swede and 
e Irishman, and to direct and culti- 
ite their course in life away from 
e clannish ideas of Europe instead of 
icoming a clan itself with a caste 
most as iron-clad as those of India, 



the Bethel church could and would 
have been one of the greatest factors 
for good and real Americanism in this 
locality. They lost this opportunity, 
and losing it lost the blessing of the 
Angel with whom they had wrestled. 

Altho the old church still stands the 
congregation and the community is now 
but a memory, but indeed, it is a 
pleasant memory. Not only has its 
touch been of value to the Methodist 
church, it has been of value to this 
community, of value to all who have 
come in contact with it. 



The Mills on Shawnee Creek 



The first settlers in Fountain county 
alized the value of water power, 
rticularly the water power of Coal 
3ek and Shawnee creek. 
Bloomer- White built the first mill 
Coal creek south of Veedersburg and 
an after this the Mallerys built a 
11 near the lime crushing plant on 
ilawnee creek. This was the first 
iist mill built on Shawnee. It was 
I good mill and prospered for many 
(ars. Afterwards the McMillens, 
siokwalters, Greenwoods and Bur- 
lidges had grist mills on this stream. 
|e proprietor of the McMillen mill 
jtS the grandfather of Mark and Dan 
iney and great-great-grandfather of 
'8. Fred S. Purnell. The Mallery 
•jtll was run by water power gathered 
)m. two large springs on the hill just 
i(ove the lime plant. This mill was a 
ry well built small mill and was 
3rated by the Mallerys for perhaps 
rty years when the mill and dwelling 
iises about it burned. These mills 



were all of them of advantage to Eob 
Roy. 

Eob Eoy was laid out in 1826 by 
John Foster and he and Mr. Lopp 
operated a saw mill on Shawnee creek, 
near the town. Hiram Jones afterward 
platted an addition to the town. It 
is said that Mr. Foster was an admirer 
of the writings of Sir Walter Scott and 
named his town in honor of the Scotch 
outlaw Eob Eoy, who figured in one 
of Scott's tales. Mr. Foster after- 
wards moved to Iowa and Eob Eoy 
became a prosperous place and finally 
the largest town in Fountain county. 
At one time it had a row of brick 
business buildings and peoplei went 
from Attica and Covington to Eob Eoy 
to trade; in fact, it became the center 
of the merchandising in the county. 
The town at that time (about 1836) 
had five dry goods stores, four grocer- 
ies, a hotel, three doctors, and was the 
center of a very active community. 
Some fine horse shows were held there 



100 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



in those days and Eob Eoy was a 
very promising town. When it was 
laid out a public square was platted 
with avenues running diagonally from 
each corner — really the best plat of 
any of the towns of Fountain county. 
But "the best laid plans of mice and 
men, gang aft agley" and now there 
remains no trace of the square or the 
avenues. Even the business houses are 
gone and there remains on the old site 
only a few residences. Like Maysville, 
Eob Eoy met its Waterloo when the 
Wabash and Erie canal was built and 
Attica had its first boom. 

The mills along Shawnee did a 
flourishing business. There were no 
more than four of them in operation at 
one time. At the mouth of Shawnee 
a man by the name of Smith erected 
a wharf for loading boats on the Wab- 
ash river and the products of the mills 
along Shawnee were hauled to this 
wharf and loaded on the flatboats and 
steam boats and sent to New Orleans, 
while many loads of flour were taken 
overland to White Pigeon, Michigan, 
and Chicago, Illinois. In connection 
with this wharf Mr. Smith had a store- 
house or elevator and bought all kinds 
of grain. About 1830, he built a dis- 
tillery near the Trott bridge and a 
packing house further down the creek 
near the river. About this packing 
house were a few buildings and they 
called the place Table Eock; this name 
was in honor of the large table rock 
on Will Young's place south of Attica. 
Near the distillery Mr. Smith laid oflP 
another town, which he christened 
Jamestown but the community insisted 
on referring to it as "Tankeetown; " 
"Yankeetown" really included both 
Table Eock and Jamestown. In addi- 



tion to his distillery at "Yanke 
town ' ' Mr. Smith also built a paekii 
house and the packing house, distiller 
and grain elevator operated at tli, 
mouth of Shawnee made "Yanke 
town ' ' a flourishing place. They hi 
a hotel, dry goods store, grocery, , 
saloon and a general store, and i , 
the industries at the mouth of Shawni 
prospered, particularly the packli 
house and distillery. Many hogs, catt 
and sheep were slaughtered and shi 
down the river to New Orleans, j 
hauled overland to the lake frr 
' ' Yankeetown ' ' at the mouth of Sha 
nee. They would throw the offal fr( 
the packing house in the brush ne 
where the Wabash gravel pits now aaj 
and the wolves would cross the ri\ 
when it was frozen over, from i 
Warren county side, by the hundrc 
to feed upon the offal from this pan 
ing house. Their mournful howls con 
be heard at night at Eob Eoy a; 
Attica and it was not considered sja' 
to travel the road from Attica 
' ' Yankeetown ' ' after sundown. 

The distillery burned and Mr. S 
closed his packing house and movedl) 
Auburn, N. Y. He had made a comfc • 
able fortune at the mouth of Shawi 3 
and went to Auburn to educate 3 
children. He died there a wealt:, 
respected man. 

It was thru Mr. Smith that Jacc, 
Griffith and William Town came 1 3 
Attica. Jacob Town was the grat- 
father of Theodore and Horace Brit 
and Griffith Town was the father-f^ 
Mrs. Draper and grandfather of ]\(. 
David Benson Sr., of Independei i. 
Smith bought 240 acres of land, i- 
eluding the Gus and Ed Leaf place : 
the Vester place, for the Town broth i 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



101 



The latter divided it, each taking 80 
acres. As long as Jacob Town and 
Smith lived there was nothing but a 
getter sex^t by Smith to Town to show 
Town's title to the land; and this letter 
',Nas h:s only evidence of title for 20 
rears. Both he and Smith died near 
^he same time. The children of Town 
jA^rote the children of Smith, stating 
rihe condition of their title; and, know- 
ing all the facts of the transaction the 
[?mith heirs aided the Town heirs in 
jivery way they could to perfect their 
pitle, feeling in honor bound to make 
j;ood their father's obligation, Lewis 
(Pown, a son of Jacob Town, platted 
(?own's Addition to the City of Attica. 
j: It was in the waters of Shawnee, 
hat the late John W. Bookwalter, 
vho at his death was probably the 
wealthiest citizen Fountain county ever 
produced, conducted the experiments 
^at afterword won him fame and 
i^ealth. His father was a progressive 
lan and his mill was equipt with the 
est machinery of the time. When 
man named Lefel in Springfield, Ohio, 
ut out a turbine wheel Mr. Bookwalter 
i them in his mill. Young John 
V. was of an inventive turn and after 
iimerous experiments devised a very 
nportant improvement. With his fa- 
her's approval he went to Springfield 
nd laid his plans before the manufac- 
urer. The latter recognized the value 
f the improvement and took the young 
|ian into his factory where the inven- 
ion was utilized. Later Lefel took 
im into partnership and Bookwalter 
parried his only daughter. It was 
hus that the experiments in the waters 
f Shawnee creek were the foundation 
iPon which was built the fortune of 
purteen million dollars, which Mr. 



Bookwalter left at his death. 

The Bookwalters built the old stO'ue 
house below Eob Eoy and south of the 
house a little way the Bookwalter boys 
built a large telescope and many people 
came from miles around to the Book- 
waiter place to look thru the telescope 
at the moon and the moving planets. 

I remember well going to the Book- 
waiter mill when a boy with my father, 
and going with some of the Bookwalter 
boys to the telescope to take a look 
at the moon. And I remember going 
with my father to the Burbridge mill 
and his talking with Wilson Claypool, 
one of the first settlers in the county, 
on the road to the mill. After I was 
grown I took a grist of wheat for flour 
to the Bookwalter mill on Shawnee 
and it was then operated by Lon 
Swank, our illustrious drayman, and 
Ab Donovan, now druggist to his honor, 
the citizen of Williamsport. Frank 
Hatton had charge of the mill the day 
I took the grist to be ground and while 
the miller watched the wheel roll 
'round grinding out his wealth, Frank 
and myself pitched knives into the door 
of the office. I was poor at knife 
pitching but Frank could stick the 
knife in the door every time. 

We went down early in the morning 
and the roads were frozen, but thru 
the day the roads thawed and it was 
almost impossible to get thru the Nave 
lane from Frank Nave's to George 
Stafford's on our return. This was the 
worst piece of road I ever traveled over 
in my life. I cannot describe it; first 
one horse and then the other would go 
down in the mire and I am sure I 
was two hours in driving that distance. 
This was my last trip to Shawnee creek 
with a grist for the mills. 



102 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



The Greenwood mill was at first only 
a corncracker but when Harley Green- 
wood purchased it he built additions 
and made it a flouring mill. 

r. W. Macoughtry, now postmaster 
of Attica, and A. A. Greenwood op- 
erated the Greenwood mill at one time 
and it prospered under their manage- 
ment, the demands upon them being 
so great that they had to run day and 
night. Frank Simmons, father of 
Rural Carrier Charles Simmons, was 
their miller. Harley Greenwood, the 
builder and owner of the mill, was not 
only a good miller but a good citizen. 
At the present time we call Tom Leif 
"king of the Swedes," and Paul 
Hoste "king of the Hollanders," and 
in his day and generation Harley 
Greenwood was called "The king of 
Shawnee." "The king's highway," 
leading south from Attica past Eiver- 
side cemetery to Eob Roy, was so 
called in honor of Mr. Greenwood. 

Postmaster Macoughtry recalls that 
in 1870 he and Mr, Greenwood made 
a trip to the Shenandoah Valley for 
a visit with his wife's folks and from 
there to Maine, where his own people 
were. When they left Rob Roy Mr. 
Greenwood took with him $8,000 in 



currency and distributed this amo 
his relatives and those of his wii 
When they reached Toledo, Ohio, 
the return trip he had to borrow ^ 
from Mr. Macoughtry to have enou 
to get back home. While in New Tc 
on this trip Mr. Macoughtry and 1 
old gentleman saw "The Black Croo] 
a noted play which was then havi ; 
its first run, and which created a sen 
tion thi'uout the country. 

The grist mills on Shawnee were i 
important industry until about thiir' 
years ago. Some of the old fraEt! 
are still standing but there has boi 
no flour made on Shawnee for ms;' 
years and the water power which \ s 
considered so valuable in the ea;i/ 
settlement of our country is no lonnf 
of any use; in fact, the flow of wa r 1 
has diminished so that it would 3 
longer afford the necessary power e 
greater part of the year. The mis 
have gone the way of all the eaii, 
yet occasionally there lingers withrsf 
one of the millers who watched e 
turning of the stone that ground e 
grist in the old water mills. ' e 
small mills have been caught betw\n^ 
the upper and the nether stones s 
modern commerce. 



R 



avme 



Park 



Kavine Park in Attica has always 
bpen an interesting place and to it 
and its springs is partly due the loca- 
tion of the city. The earliest settlers 
found it a favorite camping ground of 
the Indians owing to the fine springs 
and the shelter which it afforded in 
winter. Fresh water was always a 



consideration not only with the Ind; 
but with the white man as well i' 
so we find that the trail from le 
Shawnee Prairie led past these spr:|;9 
to the old Sycamore ford, near wl re 
the Wabash railroad bridge now s] is 
the river. It was the presen'^.e of i- 
ford and the trail leading up f n 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



103 



; that first attracted the attention of 
[oUingsworth and Stump to the pos- 
ibilities which this location offered for 
town site. 

The springs were much used by the 
arly settlers and Joseph Peacock, one 
f the city's pioneers, spent the first 
•inter after he came to Attica in a log 
ibin which he found vacant near the 
ig spring where the old reservoir is 
|icated. 

The grounds where the Chautauqua is 

Bid, was a brickyard in the early 

istory of the city and the brick for 

le first brick building in the town — 

small store building located where 

orst Bros, meat market is now — ^was 

iirned there. The old brick house 

ist south of the chautauqua grounds 

so contains brick burned there. The 

irds and kilns of this plant were 

jcated just south of the automobile 

itrance to the chautauqua grounds, 

iar the old orchard there, and the 

•esence of half-buried brickbats still 

istifies to the fact. The clay was 

otained in the ravine where the ehau- 

;uqua pavilion is located and later 

; e yard was operated there. The 

llocks about the building are monu- 

ents to this pioneer industry. M. V. 

lapman, who afterward operated a 

iotograph gallery in this city, burned 

ick on this site for many years in 

s younger days. Nearly all the brick 

r the older buildings in the city were 

ade there. 

Very early in the history of Attica, 

bout 1830), a stillhouse or distillery 

[ijas erected by Joseph CoUyer just 

iiljove the springs, about where the 

;tle log cabin used as a park tool- 

|use is now located. The distillery 

f]3.s also a rude mill, two large nigger- 



head stones being used as millstones. 
Eemnants of the foundations of this 
old building can still be seen. This 
stillhouse and mill was operated at 
one time by a man named Hickson. 
Later Armsby Green, the grandfather 
of A. P. Green, ran the plant and the 
latter 's father lost the sight of an 
eye while playing there as a boy. It 
is interesting as measuring the growth 
of changing conditions in the communi- 
ty that C. Lewis Green this year man- 
aged a chautauqua in the same park 
where his great-grandfather managed 
a distillery. The distillery in those 
days was considered almost as necessary 
as the mill and whisky, it must be 
remembered, was sold as freely in those 
days as is vinegar today. In fact, it 
was sold in much the same way, every 
grocery having a barrel of whisky on 
tap, just as they have vinegar today, 
and nearly every family kept a jug of 
it in the house. 

Not far from where the chautauqua 
pavilion stands was once located an- 
other factory where all kinds of wood- 
enware were made. The man who ran 
this industry selected his woods very 
carefully and turned out some very 
fine wooden bowls, ladles, butter prints 
and other articles of that character. 
There was no aluminum or granite- 
ware in those days, even crockery was 
scarce, and these wooden utensils were 
much in favor with the pioneer women 
of Attica. 

Another interesting industry now 
long since forgotten except by a few 
of the oldest Atticans, was a lime kiln 
operated at a point where the high 
bridge at Canada street is now located. 
The sides of the hill there contain large 
deposits of marl which can be seen 



104 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



cropping out about the springs just 
above the old reservoir, while below 
the bridge are two large chunks of it 
at the side of the drive. These are 
probably fragments excavated while the 
plant was in operation and thus remain 
as a monument to a dead industry. 
From this marl the lime was obtained 
by burning in kilns located in the hill- 
side. Many of the older brick houses 
in the city were built with lime obtain- 
ed from this place. It was used too in 
plastering the walls of the first frame 
houses and in building the chimneys 
and daubing the chinks of the log 
cabins of the earliest settlers. For a 
time this was quite an industry. 

Soon after J. D. McDonald came to 
Attica from Williamsport he acquired 
possession of the ravine and other 
adjacent land and owned it for many 
years. He erected the large residence 
opposite the high school building where 
James Scribner now lives. In 1835 
Levy Hollovy leased the springs of 
McDonald and undertook to establish 
a waterworks system for the town. He 
built a dam in the lower part of the 
park, near where Marshal Beamer's 
barn now stands, and there he water- 
seasoned logs, which he later bored by 
hand and used as pipes. He brought 
the water down as far as McDermond's 
corner in this way and served a num- 
ber of patrons, with the clear cold 
spring water. After a few years Hollovy 
sold Jiis lease to a stock company which 
extended the lines thru the main streets 
of town and this served until 1858. 
A part of these pipes were above ground 
and rested on wooden supports a couple 
of feet high. The faucets were simply 
holes in the pipes stopt with a wooden 
plug, and one could pull out a plug 



and get a refreshing drink or fill t 
pitcher from these holes. Thus we see 
that the principle of the new-fangled 
bubble fountains is an old one after. 
all. The system of log pipes soon fell 
into bad repair. As they began to 
rot they were neglected and were 
never replaced and the enterprise wa« 
allowed to fall thru. Marshall MiLford, 
Luke Whicker and a few other citizens, 
at their own expense, bought and laie 
iron pipes from the spring to the toj, 
of the hill in order to keep the watei 
flowing and thus preserve the lease foi 
the city. 

In 1873 the City Council took up the 
matter and laid iron pipes from thi 
Milford house down town and located 
a number of hydrants for the use of 
the public. This stimulated the desire 
for a real waterworks system and twit 
years later the city bought the springs 
The two stone reservoirs were built 
one at the bottom and the other on top 
of the hill, and a pumping station wa 
created near the lower one. Thf 
foundations of this old pumping plan! 
still stand beside the driveway juBtfc e i; 
east of the lower reservoir. Pipes wer i 
extended over the principal part 
the city and many of the pipes the 
laid are still in use today. This systett 
served until 1901 when the City bough' 
the electric light plant and move( 
the pumping station to the river front !|re ; 
where the two were combined. Deep 
wells were driven for the water sup 
ply and the water from them was pumj jitii 
ed into a new and larger reservoir coil 
structed on higher ground at the east 
ern edge of the city. The fine spring 
which had quenched the thirst of iJi 
people of Attica for nearly sevent 
years were abandoned to the bullfrog 



I 



iisej 



l[ti 



SKETCHES OE THE WABASH VALLEY 



105 



The old dam built by Hollovy en- 
red for many years and in spite of 
3 coolness of the water it rivaled the 
aal as a swimming place for the boys 
that generation, some of whom are 
11 living. Samuel Mentzer, who had 
3 contract for sprinkling the streets 
those days, filled his tank there 
d kept up the dam for that purpose. 
! rigged up a simple bathouse there, 
th a showerbath, towels, soap etc. 
d realized quite a revenue from it, 
3 bathers being charged 25c each, 
irshal Beamer in his youth was a 
tron of this establishment, and re- 
imbers it well. 

Some of the most interesting history 
connection with Eavine park relates 
[the fairs which were held there for 
Inumber of years. The fairground 
^Aipied the same site which the chau- 
iiqua does now and the old race- 
tirse can still be traced as it circles 
!)und the grounds. It was only a 
Zh of a mile around but some good 
|es were put on there. There was 
grandstand but nature had provided 
b in the hillside at the south side 
! the grounds and on big days its 
Lssy side was covered with an inter- 
ed crowd of spectators, and many 
jthe older men and women of Attica 
all the happy days they spent there 
Iboys and girls. Four fairs, I think. 
Ire all that were held there. 
The first bicycle ever seen in Attica 
(3 exhibited at the fair and it created 
ich interest. The machine was of the 
fie with a wheel four or five feet 
ih in front and a little one behind 
Hh the saddle directly over the big 
feel. The rider was a Miss Lottie 
I Clair. She rode about halfway 
bnd the ring when she met with a 



mishap of some sort and took a header, 
which ended the exhibition. I recall 
seeing an ' ' appaloosey ' ' pacing horse 
belonging to Ed Schlosser, of Warren 
county, stumble and fall in a race on 
this track. Mr. Schlosser was riding 
the animal and was caught under him 
and injured when he fell. 

William Clapham Sr. raised fine, Eed 
Durham or Shorthorn cattle, having 
the finest herd in the state and one 
of the finest in America. He took 
great pride in his cattle and great in- 
terest in the fair, and carried away 
many prizes. His neighbor and friend, 
John C. Campbell, raised white Durham 
cattle, and he took pride in his cattle, 
he and Campbell being strong compet- 
itors at all the fairs. This contention 
was entered into by Mr. Clapham and 
Mr. Campbell with enthusiasm and 
earnestness but always in good humor. 
They would take their stock to the 
fairs together, and if one of them had 
to leave the other would take care 
of all the stock. Both were really in- 
terested in having better stock in this 
country, and no one has done more to 
improve the stock in this locality than 
Mr. Clapham. In one contest for sweep- 
stakes Clapham won as to the best 
male and Campbell won as to the best 
cow. Will Clapham was a boy then but 
recalls as well as tho it were yesterday 
how he helped show off the stock. 

James Cassell and James Tullis, of 
the Bethel neighborhood, contested at 
these fairs for first honors on hogs and 
sheep; they were as enthusiastic in 
improving the stock of this locality 
as Clapman and Campbell and added 
their mite to getting rid of the razor- 
backs, while Campbell and Clapham 
were driving out the pennyroyal. 



106 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



Thomas Bireh and William Waldrip 
were usually at the gate to take in the 
tickets and the fairs proved a success 
for several years. They became as 
widely patronized as is the chautauqua 
and many of the grandparents of those 
who attend the chautauqua attended 
these fairs. They were looked forward 
to for family reunions, a week of re- 
creation and renewal of old acquaint- 
ances with as much enthusiasm as is 
the chautauqua. The fair flourished 
and things moved nicely until the 
management decided in their great wis- 
dom and kindness to have a balloon 
ascension and charge 25c extra. Nearly 
every one would buy a badge for the 
entire family and go every day, with 
the understanding that these entitled 
them to all the privileges and entertain- 
ments on the grounds, so the 25c extra 
charge for the balloon ascension caused 
a tempest in a teapot. The farmers 
who came from Tountain, Warren and 
Benton counties rebelled and refused 
to pay. H. J. Green was one of the 
directors and he opposed the increase 
so strongly that he took up a position 
at the gate and paid the extra quarter 
for those that objected until he had 
paid out over $300 from his own pocket. 
The crowd finally got too big for him 
and he gave up. The 25c extra was 
resented with a stubbornness that 
amazed the fair management. 

About the time that the contention 
had reached its height and hundreds 
of farmers were arguing with the 
management while their families wait- 
ed in their wagons and buggies, our 
illustrious "Please God" Jacky Bethel 
drove up in a one-horse shay, with two 
smiling damsels, dressed in their best 
bib and tucker. Jacky drove proudly 



past the crowd to the entrance all un- 
conscious of the dispute. When the 
gatemen insisted on charging him 75c 
extra he regarded it a personal insult 
and expostulated volubly with Bureh 
and Waldrip. The dispute continued 
while the crowd outside increased in 
size and impatience. 

To prevent blocking the gate Jacky 
finally told the gateman to pass his 
girls on in and he would fix it with 
the ticket-sellers. When the rig and 
the ladies were safely inside he went 
to the ticket office, took off his coat, 
hat and watch, and declared his i 
tention of licking the gateman. I 
sailed in and in spite of the fact th 
the gateman had a cane Jack soon h; 
him bested. Waldrip called the polic 
men but Jack had his fighting bio 
up by that time and as the policem 
came running up he backed up to t 
fence and knocked down several of th( 
as they attempted to arrest him. Fin 
ly Howard Glassock, a big strappi 
fellow who was in the crowd oi 
side, shouted "Come on boys, we 
have to see Jacky thru in this. ' ' ? 
this time the crowd was ready for ai 
thing and scores of men eagerly f 
lowed Glassock 's lead. Charging up 
the gates the farmers tore them off th 
hinges but not content with that tc 
down sections of the fence and piled 
in a heap. Rallying around Jacky th 
defied the management to arrest h 
and Glasscock advised Burch and Wal- 
drip not to attempt it. They were 1 ''O 
old, he told them, and the atmosphe** 
wasn't calculated to sweeten the dis- 
position of good Methodist deacons. 

No further resistance was made, the 
gates were not replaced and no more 
entrance fees were collected. Jacky 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



107 



found himself an unintentional hero. 
This was the last day of the fair and it 



proved to be the last fair in Attica. The 
balloon went up — and so did the fair. 



Early Land Prospecting on the Wabash 



This story is rather out of place in 

the series at this time and should have 

been WTitten in connection with articles 

telling of the sale and settlement of the 

lands in this vicinity, but as it contains 

ma,9y points of interest to some of 

older families and gives a glimpse 

hings as they were at that time I 

going to include it here. 

was thoroly advertised over the 

ern states that the land in the 

vf ordsville District would be opened 

ntry on the 24th day of December, 

t. The various expeditions that 

-ions of the United States army had 

■ e into the Wabash Valley had given 

soldiers an opportunity to see some- 

•g of the country which was to be 

ted for settlement. Some of the 

.ters had marched with General 

t, some had marched with "Wilkin- 

some had come with Hamtramck, 

some had come with Harrison and 

kins and all gave glowing accounts 

le rich soil and splendid possibilities 

iting the settler in the Wabash 

ey. These accounts inspired many 

ons who intended to take up or 

b j^ land from the Government to make 

i'Mnevs into the new territory to 

ilf^'"*te their claims or the land they 

would purchase. In one instance at 

least quite a large company of men from 

Warren and adjoining counties in Ohio, 

left Lebanon, Warren county, Ohio as 

eoon as their harvest was over, the 



grain stacked and corn laid up, and 
came to look over the lands for entry 
in the Crawfordsville district. This 
was in the autumn of 1824. 

Henry Campbell, Steven Covert 
Berry Whicker, Alfred Fisher and 
several others came into this vicinity 
landing in what is now Fountain coun- 
ty about the last of August. They 
made their headquarters with Enoch 
Farmer with whom they were acquaint- 
ed and who had squatted on land that 
is now the Eobert Milligan place. 
When Warren county was afterward 
organized the first court was held at 
the home of Enoch Farmer. He had 
the county named Warren for Warren 
county, Ohio, from which he had come, 
and tried to have the county seat 
located on his farm. He laid out a 
town which he called Warrenton for 
the county seat of Warren county. 
While he was privileged to christen the 
county he could not overcome the op- 
position from Williamsport and the 
county seat got away from him. War- 
renton never amounted to anything and 
the plat was vacated in after years. 

This colony of land-seekers had 
known Mr. Farmer in Ohio. The four 
men that I have named went from Mr. 
Farmer's place with a band of Potawa- 
tami Indians, Topenibee being the 
chief of this tribe at that time. 
Among those Indians were some who 
were cousins to Alfred Fisher and 



108 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



Berry WMcker. These Indians were 
really Shavvnees or Miamis, and when 
the Potawatamies came down from the 
north they hunted with them, so the 
land-seekers joined the Indians' hunt- 
ing party and marched from Kickapoo 
thru what is now Warren and Benton 
counties, making their first stop at 
Beaver lake. The blue stem grass grew 
so high in Benton county that one of 
the party rode out a few feet into the 
blue stem from the party on the Indian 
trail and the rest of the party passed 
without seeing him. My grandfather 
(Berry "Whicker) was riding a large, 
strong horse and he could tie the blue 
stem over his head, sitting on his 
horse, so tall was it in Benton county. 
There were a few buffalo, many deer 
and a great many wolves in the prairies 
of Benton county, and the white men 
in this party thought that the prairie 
would never be taken up. Alfred Fisher 
took up his claim near where Pine 
Village is and Henry Campbell took 
his claim in the Bethel neighborhood 
east of Attica. My grandfather after- 
wards came back and settled in the 
Bethel neighborhood but did not take 
up land at that time. 

When they left Beaver lake they went 
to Chicago and stayed around Chicago 
for a week or more and from Chicago 
they started on their home trip, stop- 
ping at South Bend. Steven Covert 
took land from the government ad- 
joining the town of South Bend; soon 
afterwards he moved onto this land 
and raised his family there. 

The woods about Mr. Farmer's place 
were filled with "timber wolves, panth- 
ers and bears. There were a great many 
wild turkeys and deer in this locality 
and the Wabash river was full of fish. 



i 



Henry Campbell and Alfred Fishei: 
came back in December to Crawfords-j 
ville and registered their claims and 
soon afterward moved on to them. Mr. 
Covert moved on to his claim neai 
South Bend about the same time 

I am of the opinion that Topenibee 
and the Indians who were related tc 
Mr. Covert's wife had something tc 
do with their locating at this time on 
the St. Joseph river, as Topenibee 'f 
home was Topinabee, on the St. Joseph 
river in Michigan. The Sha\vnee prairie 
attracted their attention on account oi 
its beauty. It was interspersed with 
timber, small tracts of prairie and \vith 
a great many ponds of water. 

This party spent most of their timei 
with Mr. Farmer because of the fishingi 
along the Wabash and the splendid op 
portunity to hunt while they were i: 
this locality. Mr. Farmer was enthusl 
astic as to the future of the west side 
of the Wabash and he thought that 
some day the vast prairies of Bento 
county would be settled and that theiiii 
l)roducts would come to some towni 
along the Wabash to be shipt. 

Soon after Henry Campbell settled 
in the Bethel neighborhood east of At-I 
tica many of his friends and relatives 
came into that locality. Isaac Waldrip, 
a brother-in-law, and later his brother 
Jonathan Campbell settled in this neigh 
borhood. John Campbell, another 
brother, settled in Jackson township, 
but his wife and some of his stock died 
there of milksick, and he moved to the 
Bethel neighborhood where his brothe 
and sister had settled. There were only] 
a few of the party that made the trip 
to Chicago and back thru South Bend 
Some of the Birchs and Colverts were' 
in this party, having come into the 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



109 



county the year before. Jesse Bireh 
took up the land where Watt Morgan 
now lives, and his brother took up the 
Clayton Todd farm land near Bethel. 
The prospectors who made the trip 
to Chicago saw no land that they con- 
sidered as valuable or desirable as the 
Wabash Valley, with the exception of 
Covert. On the trip to Chicago there 
were a hundred Indians or more in the 
party and only a few of the white 
people, and the Indians killed what 
game they used for food until they 
reached Beaver lake. Beaver lake was 
at this time a beautiful body of water, 
very clear and rather shallow, a deligh- 
ful place for the Indians to hunt, fish 
and bath. It was one of the principal 
camping grounds of the Potawatami 
Indians, and with the exception of the 
visit with their friends along the Wa- 



bash the white men who were with this 
party enjoyed the stay at Beaver lake 
better than all the rest of the trip. 
The Wabash Valley was considered a 
long, long way from eastern Ohio, 
whether they came down the Ohio to 
the Wabash or whether they drove thru 
the dense woods and mirey swamps 
where they could see the shy deer by 
day and hear the scream of the panther 
by night. It was a long journey but 
the pioneers who had come to take a 
look at this promised land went back 
with accounts as promising and delight- 
ful as did the spies of old, who had 
gone into the land of Canaan. They 
could tell the story of the wild grape 
growing in profusion, of the wild plums 
and berries and the Wabash Valley 
impressed all who saw it as a land 
flowing with milk and honey. 



The Redwood Bandits 



Among the first settlers of Warren 
county were certain brothers by the 
name of High, who came from Penn- 
sylvania and were thrifty, industrious 
]ieople. One of the brothers, Henry 
High, went the farthest out on the 
prairie of any settler of his time and 
made his home just across the road 
east from where the Soul Sleepers 
church in Jordan township was after- 
ward built. Another brother settled 
on Eedwood creek and Isaac lived at 
Redwood Point in front of where stands 
the house now belonging to John Hunt 
on the south side of Redwood. Still 
another brother lived farther down 
the creek. 

The Highs came into Warren county 



between 1826 and 1830, took up their 
claims from the government and became 
well acquainted with all the govern- 
ment lands on the prairies north of 
Redwood so their homes soon became 
the centers for the home-seekers who 
came into Warren county from the 
East. They were very hospitable and 
accommodating and very valuable to 
the home-seekers in finding locations 
for them, and on account of their 
hospitality they soon drew about them 
a very extensive acquaintance. Ap- 
parently it was not their aim or object 
to become interested in any way in 
lawlessness. 

Isaac High 's oldest son was George 
High. He had black eyes, was fully 



no 



SKETCHES OF TPIE WABASH VALLEY 



six feet tall with a fine physique, and 
was an entertaining talker, every way 
an interesting individual and leader 
of men. Soon among the many settlers 
who had learned of the hospitality of 
the Highs there came many persons 
from the East and the South, who were 
criminals running away from the law 
of the eastern and southern states. 
George High became acquainted with 
many of those persons. Some of them 
as they came thru would steal horses 
in Ohio, Kentucky and other states 
and bring them into the Redwood 
neighborhood. Soon George High and 
his brothers and sisters became not 
only interested in protecting these horse 
thieves but George became the leader 
of an organized band of horse thieves 
and counterfeiters. They would bring 
their horses to near Portland, and cross 
the river in the neighborhood of Hang- 
ing Eock at the mouth of Eedwood. 
Eedwood was bordered by a dense 
thicket from where it empties into the 
Wabash river to the prairie, and if a 
horse once got across the river into 
the brush of Redwood the High organi- 
zation was able to so secrete him that 
he would never be found. This organi- 
zation grew until it had ramifications 
in almost every state in the East and 
South. Some of their members were 
on almost every boat that went down 
the Ohio or Mississippi rivers. They 
had a rendezvous on the Salt Fork of 
the Vermilion river and one at Bogus 
Island in what is knov^m as the Gifford 
swamps in Jasper county. All the 
horses were first brought to Eedwood 
Point. Some of them were taken from 
there to the Salt Fork of Vermilion 
and some were taken to Bogus Island. 
If they were taken to the Salt Fork 



of the Vermilion river they were then 
taken to Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska 
and sold; if taken to Bogus Island 
they were taken to Chicago, Wisconsin 
or Michigan and disposed of. All of 
the organization carried and dealt in 
counterfeit money. 

Many farmers in Fountain county 
and Montgomery county began early to 
deal in fine stock, and among the very 
first stock to be improved in this local- 
ity was horses. My grandfather, Berry 
Whicker, and his wife's uncle, Henry 
Campbell, who lived on the John Kerr 
place in the Bethel neighborhood, went 
to Ohio in 1837 and purchased two 
Cleveland bay mares each and a stal- 
lion. This horse was a fine animal and 
after the death of Henry Campbell this 
property passed to his son Henry D. 
Campbell. My grandfather and his 
uncle, Henry Campbell, employed a 
relative of the Campbells by the name 
of Owen to take care of their horse. 
This horse was kept part of the time, 
at Henry D. Campbell's, a part of the 
time at Williamsport and a part of the 
time at Eedwood Point. Mr. Owen 
came over one time and informed Mr. 
Campbell and my grandfather that 
the horse was stolen. Henry D. Camp- 
bell immediately called together about 
one hundred men, rode over to Redwood 
Point, taking Owen along, and demand- 
ed the return of this horse. The Highs 
saw that the followers of Henry Camp- 
bell were in earnest and told him that 
on a certain day in the following week 
the horse would be in the stable 
at Williamsport. Henry D. Campbell 
went over to the Williamsport stable 
on that day and the horse was there. 
Owen soon after took charge of the 
Bogus Island rendezvous and he and 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



111 



George High became the sworn enemies 
; of Campbell. 

I It was several years before they had 
further trouble but after the death of 
I his father and my grandfather Henry 
D. Campbell took over all the horses 
that both of them had owned; among 
them a fine matched gray team of which 
Henry became very proud. One night 
one of his nephews ran away from 
home and stopt at the Campbell home. 
He was induced to stay over night and 
ji^ about 11:00 o'clock, after everyone 
1 else was in bed, Mr. Campbell arose 
i with the intention of going to the boy 's 
1 home and informing his parents where 
^ he was so that they would not b« 
worried about him. As he started to 
the barn he saw a light thru the cracks 
of the stall where the gray team was 
'if kept. At first he thought the building 
was on fire but when he saw the light 
. move about he knew that thieves were 
; after the team. Hurrying back to the 
(L-house he grabbed up a rifle which he 
had borrowed from a neighbor a few 
days before to kill a beef, and ran 
back to the barn. He had on a white 
hat but threw this ofE as he neared the 
barn, so that he could not be seen 
in the darkness. He demanded to 
know what the men were doing in the 
barn and for answer one of them fired 
a revolver at him. The man who fired 
had on a white shirt and taking aim 
at this Mr. Campbell brought the rifle 
into play and the fellow fell to the 
ground. Campbell then retreated to the 
y house from where he watched the other 
two men carry the man he had shot 
to a buggy waiting in the road and 
drive off. The next morning it waa 
I found that they had taken a shovel 
from the barn, the general supposition 



being that the man was killed and that 
they took this along to bury him in 
some secluded spot. The barn where 
this occurred still stands, on John 
Kerr's place, four miles east of Attica. 
This occured about 1856. 

Owen was never seen or heard of after 
this incident but many times after 
that shots were fired thru the house 
of Campbell. Finally a letter was 
pushed under his door informing him 
that he would be given six months in 
which to leave the state of Indiana; 
that during that six months he would 
not be bothered, but that if he was 
still at the place where he then lived 
he would be killed. They did not care 
how far he went or how near, he must 
leave the state. Having had all the 
trouble he cared to have, Campbell sold 
his farm to a Mr. Pyle, father of 
Marion Pyle, and moved in 1861 to 
Eossville, Illinois, where one of his 
daughters still lives. He was sure that 
the letter received had come from 
George High. 

George High owned a very fine black 
stallion which he called Truxon, which 
was probably the finest horse ever own- 
ed by any one in Warren county. He 
was very fond of this horse and like 
the horses of Arabia this splendid 
animal returned his affection. He 
would ride Truxon across the prairie 
to Bogus Island and over to the ren- 
dezvous on the Salt Fork at Vermilion. 

Many thousands of dollars of count- 
erfeit money was circulated from Eed- 
wood Point, the Salt Fork and Bogus 
Island; it has even been suspicioned 
that some members of this organized 
band lived in Attica, and that much 
of "the queer" was disposed of here. 
Many of the horses too were secreted 



112 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



in Attica before being taken to Eed- 
wood Point. 

Finally Sant Gray, of near Wesley, in 
Montgomery County, organized the 
Horse Thief Detective Association 
whose object and aim was to break 
up the horse thieves and counterfeiters 
of Eedwood. He kept steadily at work 
until he had organizations all over 
Fountain, Warren and Montgomery 
counties. A store was broken into not 
far from Chicago in the spring of the 
year, a light snow fell and the trail of 
the thieves could be easily followed. 
They were trailed to the home of 
George High at Eedwood Point, and 
some of the goods were found. The 
Horse Thief Detective Association was 
immediately notified, Mr. Gray took 
charge, assisted by Novel Stephenson, (a 
brother of Harry Stephenson) who lived 
on the Barnhart place on the Bethel 
road just east of Attica, Mr. Helms and 
some of the Cronkhites of Warren 
county. They arrested George High, 
tied him on a horse and started to 
Williamsport with him. When they 
came to the steep bluff near the Sul- 
phur Springs below Williamsport, 
George High, by some ruse, managed 
to get free from his bonds, leaped off 
his horse down the embankment where 
a confederate had his splendid stallion, 
Truxon, waiting for him, and mounting 
his horse he started west. The mem- 
bers of the association followed and 
the chase was a thrilling one. Out 
past his headquarters at Eedwood 
High went but did not stop there. 
Heading straight for the state line he 
soon crossed it. Undaunted his pursuers 
followed and clear across the state of 
Illinois the chase continued, with 
scarcely a stop for rest. When High 



reached the Mississippi river he was 
five hours ahead of his pursuers and 
Truxon was still so strong that hia 
master did not hesitate to attempt to 
swim him across the great river. He 
was seen to enter the river near 
Nauvoo, HI., but nobody knows 
whether he ever reacht the opposite 
shore. This was the last ever seen 
or heard of George High. 

Upon their return the members of 
the Detective Association went to Eed- 
wood, called together Dan Claflin, the 
brother-iui'law of George High, and 
some of his brothers and sisters, and 
gave them notice to no longer harbor 
the horse thieves or counterfeiters.! 
After this however counterfeit money* 
continued to be passed and finally minor 
depredations were traced to Claflin. 
The detective who Vv^as pursuing himij ^ 
shot him thru the hips. Some of the 
Pligh family were sent to state 's prison. 
Claflin and one of the High girls moved] 
to Attica and afterwards Claflin moved! 
on to a farm near Independence wherei 
he lived for many years. Claflin 'si 
wife was a beautiful girl, with blacldl fa 
eyes and fine features and soon afterjl » 
they were married they made their homei sar 
on the prairies where the town of]} sto 
Pence now stands. ' " 

This organization of counterfeiters i 
and horse thieves was a great menace). /„ii 
in Fountain, Warren and Montgomery' o 
counties for many years. It was per-; 'r 
haps not the intent of the Highs at ■ 
first to become a part of the organiza- 
tion of outlaws but as the profits from 
the proceeds of the horses stolen and 
the counterfeit money came into theii 
hands they by degrees became more anc 
more involved until at last they had tv 
built up an organization of outlaws !!e|| 






SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



113 



that had its ramifications in many of 
the Eastern and Southern states, and 
its operations were almost colossal. Some 
of the best fortunes now enjoyed in 
Fountain and Warren counties had their 
foundation in this organization of out- 
laws. It has even been suspicioned 
that it had never entirely been 
broken up but after the capture and 
escape of George High and the penal 
sentence of his brothers and sisters 



there was never the continued opera- 
tion of an organization. The breaking 
up of this organization is due entirely 
to the Horse Thief Detective Associa- 
tion and was its first and perhaps 
greatest accomplishment. It has since 
that time become a national organiza- 
tion of great value and has become 
so active that lawlessness as known to 
our fathers is practically a thing of 
the past. 



iThe Stone Quarries, a Local Industry That 
Flourished and Died. 



The first settlers in this locality were 
satisfied with the log cabin but it 
was not many years until they began 
to have desires for more substantial 
dwellings. With the advent of the 
up-and-down sawmill operated by water 
power, the settlers began building more 
substantial houses and barns and their 
frame houses and brick houses made 
more substantial foundations neces- 
sary. Soon they began operating 
stone quarries in the various parts of 
Fountain, Warren, Tippecanoe and ad- 
joining counties to secure stone for 
foundations. 

One of the first quarries in the vicin- 
ity of Attica was about a mile west 
of Eiverside on the Wabash railroad 
on land now belonging to Lars Ander- 
son, but for many years the home of 
Jacob Fix. The site of this stone 
quarry is about a mile east of Fix 
schoolhouse and it was operated by 
Rev. James Killen. Killen was a 
Methodist exhorter, and he operated the 



stone quarry on a large scale, but his 
particular business was making tomb- 
stones. In almost every cemetery in 
western or northern Indiana there are 
tombstones that were made in this 
quarry and many of the young men in 
the Bethel neighborhood learned to be 
stonecutters in Killen 's quarry. 

My uncle, Luke Whicker, who was 
in the tombstone business in this city 
for many years with Harry Brant, 
learned his trade in Killen 's quarry, 
and became a fine workman. Jonathan 
Campbell, who for years had a tomb- 
stone shop where Horace Brant's store 
now stands, learned his trade in the 
same quarry. 

Cy Grovenor, who worked at the 
various shops in this city before the 
Civil war and who died during the war 
at Sringfield, Illinois, on his way home, 
learned his trade in the Killen quarry, 
and Hutchinson Barnett, Mahlon Hall 
Pearson and Newlin H. Yount all 
worked in this quarry, cutting and 



114 



SKETCHES OF THE AVABASH VALLEY 



polishing stone. After the advent of 
the canal marble eame into use as tomb- 
stones and the Killen quarry no longer 
could be worked profitably. I helpt my 
father to quarry the last stone that 
was ever taken out of this quarry for 
the foundation of a brick house which 
he built about three miles east of 
Attica near the Fix schoolhouse. About 
the time my uncle, Luke Whicker, 
finished his trade Harry Brant and his 
brother Theodore began cutting stone 
from across the river for tombstones. 
They got out their rock near where 
the wagon road intersects with the Wil- 
liamsport road at the top of the hill 
across the river from Attica. 

Killen sold his land and quarry to 
Dr. Doublebee of West Point and Ed 
Mullen, Dr. Doublebee 's son-in-law, 
took over the property. After that 
the quarry was no longer operated. 

My uncle, Luke Whicker, and Hutch- 
inson Barnett, began working a stone 
quarry on Pine creek near the Shideler 
mill and they worked there for many 
years until Hutchinson Barnett died. 
Newlin Yount worked in this quarry 
as long as it was operated, overseeing 
the men who took the stone from the 
quarry. After the death of Barnett 
my uncle formed a partnership with 
Harry Brant and then all the Whick- 
ers and all the Brants worked for 
many years together, making tomb- 
stones in the city of Attica. The firm 
was then known as Whicker & Brant 
and was a partnership, with Harry 
Brant and Luke Whicker owning the 
shop. It was located in the room now 
occupied by Minniear's barber shop. 

When the Wabash and Erie Canal 
was built the stone for the aqueducts 
and locks and other purposes was quar- 



ried in the river bottoms near Gus 
Leaf 's place on land belonging now to 
Adolph Johnson. The stone taken out 
of this quarry was very good quality 
of sandstone; in fact, the best sand-; 
stone that has ever been taken out of 
any quarry in this locality. When f oundij 
along the canal now it is in as good 
state of preservation as when taken 
out. 

The Wabash railroad for a while used 
stone taken from this quarry and later 
from a quarry of freestone near Eiver-: 
side, but the company finally purchased 
forty acres of land now popularly 
known as Stone Cut and opened up a 
large stone quarry. They ran a switch 
up the hollow to the quarry and erected 
a large boarding house. Lewis Town 
was the foreman in taking the stone 
out of this quarry and his wife ran 
the boarding house which stood just 
across the railroad tracks from the 
house on the old Town place. 

They employed at one time from 
seventy-five to one hundred men in 
this quarry and all the stone work oe; 
the Wabash railroad for many yeart] 
came from this quarry. It was super 
seded by Stinas Barnhart, who firs' 
began contracting in a small way witt 
the company, and whose honesty anc 
splendid work won for him a reputa 
tion so that finally the Wabash rail 
road, recognizing his work and hid 
knowledge of the business, turned theiiij lai 
contracts over to him. He opened uj 
a stone quarry on the Barnhart plact 
across the river along the C. & E. I 
tracks. This stone was a sandstone 
not first-class but better than that tak 
en out of Stone Cut, altho not so gooc 
as the stone in the river bottom neai 
Stone Cut. Mr. Barnhart 's quarrj 



i 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



115 



was operated until the stone quarry 
at Williamsport was opened and op- 
erated by W. P. Carmichael and others, 
and the Wabash railroad transferred 
its business to them. Mr. Carmichael 
continued to operate the Williamsport 
quarry until the use of stone was 
superseded by cement, when he turned 
his attention to it and in that connec- 
tion took the lead in developing the 
gravel business that at this time oc- 
cupies the important place among At- 
tica industries once held by the stone 
quarries. 

In 1890 contractors of Lafayette, 
realizing the quality of the stone in the 
Wabash canal locks that had come from 
the quarry in the river bottoms near 
Stone Cut, concluded to find that 
quarry and operate it. When they 
found the quarry they were afraid of 
the river, considered the place almost 
inaccessible, and began taking out 
stone near Eiverside. Many buildings 
in Danville and Lafayette were con- 
structed of this stone. Two companies 
operated it, and one of them made 
money very fast for a while. There 
was one layer of bad stone in its 
quarry. Had this stone been thrown 
out the company would have continued 
in business but on account of using this 
stone, which did not last, its managers 
ruined the business in this locality. 
Of course, cement coming into use would 
have affected it and probably put 
many of the stone quarries out of bus- 
iness but it would still have been used 
had the men who operated the quarries 
used always the best stone in their 
quarries. 

In Warren county, north of Black- 
rock, was a stone quarry of red sand- 
stone. Samuel Martindale built a 



residence of this sandstone many years 
ago which still stands near Mound 
cemetery, six miles northeast of Attica. 
The house has been a landmark for 
many years, and the stone in it has a 
very beautiful color. 

There were two stone quarries opened 
on Shawnee creek, one of them a red 
sandstone and the other a white sand- 
stone; the trimmings of the Farmers 
& Merchants State Bank building came 
from Will Young's place, then known 
as Table Eock, and is very beautiful 
white sandstone; this was used quite 
extensively for a while. 

Southwest of Portland (now Foun- 
tain) was a quarry of red sandstone 
and there were several minor quarries 
operated in and around Attica. It 
looked for a while as tho the stone 
industry would become one of the lead- 
ing industries of this locality, and it 
may be that the valuable stone of 
this locality will yet be utilized. The 
last effort made has been to crush 
this stone for sand for various pur- 
poses where sand is used. There are 
large deposits of it along the river, 
Pine creek and Big Shawnee. In the 
early settlement of the country a stone 
quarry was considered a valuable asset 
to a piece of land, but in the last few 
years it is considered a detriment. 

At one time quarrying stone was 
the most valuable industry in this lo- 
cality and the Killen quarry perhaps 
brought more money into this vicinity 
than any other one industry up until 
the Wabash & Erie Canal was construct- 
ed. This canal ruined the Killen 
quarry. Perhaps the tombstones made 
in the Killen quarry, were distributed 
over a larger territory than any other 
one product that has ever been taken 



116 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



from the soil of this locality excepting 
that of the Poston brick plant. 

There are some very nice window- 
sills, lintels and doorsills in some of 
the old buildings of Attica, and in the 
old graveyard some fine old monuments 
that were chiseled by skilled hands who 
learned to hold the chisel and strike 
the mallet with touch exact in the 
old stone quarries that were operated 
in this locality. 

I think perhaps Attica possessed 
some of the most skilled men in letter- 
ing and designing markers for graves 
that there were in the state. In most 
of the old graveyards all over Indiana 
one can find gravestones that were 
made in Attica by the deft hands of 
these craftsmen. 

I can tell at once who has lettered 
the stones that were taken from the 
native quarries. I can tell the letter- 
ing of the Brants from that of Jonathan 
Campbell, and I can tell the lettering 
of any stone that my uncle chiseled. 
The making of monuments was quite 



an industry in Attica for many years. 
Brant & Whicker prospered and people 
came for many miles to get monuments 
from their shop on account of the 
artistic sculpture work which surpassed 
that of the workmen elsewhere. 

Stop some day when you are in the 
grave yard and look at some of the 
old sandstone monuments and read the 
epitaphs. As you read notice the let- 
tering and if you have an eye for art 
and for sculpture you will perhaps see 
what I see in them, the touch of true 
craftsmanship and a beauty that sur- 
passes most of the lettering on that 
granite stones of later years. If wC' 
have gained in durability from the usei 
of granite we have lost the beauty of 
the sculpture in the lettering of thei 
sandstone. 

The stone is still here, it has hardly ' 
been touched, but the men who operated 
the quarries have long since gone to 
that undiscovered country from whose 
bourne no traveler e 're returns. 



Ci 



"■]l 



Social Communit}/ Experiments 



About the beginning of the 19th cen- 
tury both Europe and America began 
dealing philosophically with social 
problems. Eobert Owen was England's 
first socialist, and Frederick Rapp who 
had emigrated from Wittenburg, Ger- 
many, to Pennsylvania was the first so- 
cialist in the United States of America. 
The majority of Rapp 's followers were 
German Lutherans, and located at New 
Harmony, Indiana in the year 1814. 
Many persons over widely distributed 



territory in the United States became 
interested in the socialistic movement 
of Owen in Scotland and Rapj) on the 
banks of the Wabash in Indiana;! 
Among them was a group in Warren 
county, Ohio, who concluded to estab 
lish a community. They began theiil 
organization about 1820 and finally de; 
cided to locate near Stone BlufE, iii| 
Fountain county. They adopted a con^ 
stitution for their government anc 
named their organization * ' The Coa' 



SKETCHES OP THE WABASH VALLEY 



117 



Creek Community and Church of God." 
In Deed Eecord number 1, page 121, in 
the office of the recorder of Fountain 
county, Indiana, can be found a copy 
of their constitution, but for the pur- 
pose of this article, I am interested now 
in article 27 thereof, which is as fol- 
lows: "This constitution by unani- 
mous consent and agreement of every 
member who signed the Original Mani- 
fest of the Church of God is by unani- 
mous consent adopted in lieu of said 
Manifest, and all rights, immunities 
and benefits held by any member in 
the former Church of God, concerning 
property of any kind and the means to 
promote happiness is and shall be held 
by every member as in the principles 
contained in this constitution, and the 
society formerly known as the 'Church 
of God' shall hereafter be known by 
the name of the 'Coal Creek Commu- 
nity and Church of God.' In Witness 
Whereof we hereunto set our hands 
and seals this fifteenth day of Decem- 
ber, eighteen hundred and twenty-five. 
Signed: 

JONATHAN CEANE (Seal) 

OLIVEE OSBOEN (Seal) 

■ HAZIAH CEANE (Seal) 

MATHIAS DEAN (Seal) 

ISAAC EOMINE (Seal) 

WILLIAM LUDLOW (Seal) 

ELIZABETH EOMINE (Seal) 

ANN LUDLOW (Seal)" 

The following were also members of 
the community: Kaziah Crane, Hulda 
Crane, Euth Crane, Hannah Chadwick, 
Phoebe Crane, Harry Crane, Chester 
Chadwick; Hulda Osborn, Jacob Crane 
and Enoch Boling. 

On the fourth of February 1832 
William Ludlow, one of the members of 



the society, filed a complaint in the 
Fountain Circuit court in which he says 
that sometime in 1823, in the County of 
Warren and State of Ohio, he entered 
into an agreement with Jonathan 
Crane, Mathias Dean, and Enoch Bol- 
ing, who were all of them residing in 
Warren County, State of Ohio, in which 
a constitution was agreed upon to form 
a society which was known as "Church 
of God" and "Coal Creek Commu- 
nity." That their object in forming 
such a constitution was to ameliorate 
the condition of men by destroying in- 
dividual aspirations for wealth, and 
establishing a system of equal rights 
and privileges upon the principle of the 
golden rule; to hold all property, both 
real and personal, in common; in short, 
to inculcate and foster every principle 
calculated to increase the sum of hu- 
man happiness, in this world of strife 
and conflicting wants. He further 
declares that in order to more effectu- 
ally increase the operation of the soci- 
ety it was agreed that each individual 
should furnish whatever money he 
could raise for the purpose of purchas- 
ing land, which land should never be 
held or descended individually. It was 
expressed in said constitution, he says, 
that not only those who were but those 
who might become members, might en- 
joy ownership of the property, both 
real and personal. 

That an application was made to the 
United States government for the entry 
of land with the request that patents 
should be issued according to the mem- 
bership and all who should become 
members of the society, which was re- 
fused by the officers of the land office 
on the ground that no corporation 
existed and the land must be entered 



118 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



in the name of one or more persons. 
Individual entry was made of fourteen 
tracts of land in the name of Jonathan 
Crane, Isaac Komine, Enoch Boling, 
Olive Osborn, and Mathias Dean, on 
behalf of said society. The lands thus 
entered were situated on Bear and Coal 
creeks, in Fountain county. State of 
Indiana, in all 1182 acres. Immed- 
iately after purchasing the land the 
members of said society expressed their 
determination to remove to the lands 
entered in Fountain county for the pur- 
pose of going into practical operation, 
in giving their children practical infor- 
mation according to agreement. That 
the constitution, on account of some 
omission was rescinded and a new con- 
stitution by unanimous consent adopted, 
not changing in the slightest the orig- 
inal design of the society but contain- 
ing clauses calculated to carry the de- 
signs more completely into effect. 

Mr. Ludlow further says that he 
moved with his family to said lands 
with the firm conviction that the orig- 
inal agreement would be carried out, 
and that his family would be provided 
with a comfortable home in which he 
could spend a comfortable life, secure 
from the buffetings of adversity and 
removed from the reach of avarice and 
strife. 

March 31, 1832, Jonathan Crane and 
Olive Osborn filed an answer to this 
complaint in which they say that an 
association was formed in 1823 as de- 
scribed in the complaint, and that the 
agreement under which such society 
was formed in writing and signed by 
the members was called ''The Mani- 
fest of the Church of God." They set 
out the names of some of the signers 
and say J "It was expressed in said 



manifest that no person should be 
considered a member whose debts ex- 
ceeded the amount of stock brought by 
him into the community, altho he 
signed the manifest, and further say 
that they do not admit that all mem-t 
bers of the society were to be entitled 
to equal ownership of property, real 
and personal, that it was the true in 
tent of the society and so expressed 
by the members that members shouldJ 
while they continue such, be entitled to 
an equal participation of comforts and 
benefits with a right when anyonei 
ceased to be a member to receive backi 
the property by him advanced in kind, 
quantity and quality of its value, and 
nothing more unless gratuitously given 
by the society, of all property or money 
brought into the society by each mem-i 
ber, which was so kept and the mem-i 
bers who lived upon the community's 
land were to contribute labor and skill 
for the common benefit. But it was 
contrary to every understanding, prin- 
ciple or agreement of the society that 
these services should form the basis of 
a claim upon any member upon his 
withdrawal. ' ' They admit the purchase 
of the fourteen tracts of land men-i 
tioned. The entry was made variously 
in the names of some or all of the mem-; 
bers not individually, as charged buVi 
as trustees or members of the saidil 
community, and the answer states thai* 
on January 18, 1830, the complainant;^! 
William Ludlow, pursuant to the pro-i! 
visions in said constitution to that! 
effect, broke off his connection wittj 
said society and moved to New Har 
mony, with all the male members oi 
his family, where he remained nearly s 
year. The female part of his family ir 
the meantime were supported out oi 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



119 



the funds or property of the society 
pursuant to the philanthropy upon 
which the constitution was based. On 
the return of the complainant, at his 
urgent request, it was granted to him 
out of pure charity and not as yielding 
to any right of his that he might go 
upon a portion of the lands of the com- 
munity, that since his said withdrawal 
he has never according to the constitu- 
tion been received as a full member and 
has never brought any money or 
added stock into the common fund; and 
that on October 9, 1830, said Ludlow 
by act and decision of community, 
being no longer a member, in effect 
had tendered to him the amount of 
funds by him contributed, which had 
not been entirely repaid to him before 
concluding his interest; and shows 
further that the fifth article of the con- 
stitution providing a person ceasing 
to be a member should be paid what 
he has contributed in kind, quantity, 
and value within a certain time after 
it is demanded, and they deny that it 
is not now nor never was their inten- 
tion to enrich themselves by getting 
into their hands property of any other 
person and deny departure in their 
behalf from the true ends of the asso- 
ciation and all fraud or conspiracy 
among the society or among other per- 
sons but show that on the contrary 
several members have withdrawn since 
the association has been formed, and 
have been reimbursed pursuant to the 
constitution: That on April 24, 1824, 
shortly after the formation of the 
society and before the new constitution 
and indenture was entered upon the 
records of the society signed and sealed 
by all the members thereof expression 
of a relinquishment of any apparent 



individual interest, or title which they 
might have in. lands by fructuary in- 
terest which all the members were in- 
tended to have under the manifest and 
which deed or indenture was made in 
accordance with said manifest and its 
true intent explained by the constitu- 
tion afterwards adopted. The community 
and equality of interests in the property 
of the members and not the ownership, 
the economy and mode of operation of 
the labor, and thereafter it was ex- 
pressly provided what each should be 
entitled to upon his withdrawal. 

A separate answer made by Enoch 
Boling on same day sets up the same 
facts and further says that on the 15th 
of June 1827 he formally withdrew 
from said community and received what 
he had advanced to his satisfaction, 
and that he received the north-east 
quarter of section 26, town 20 N. range 
8 west and has no further connection 
with said society. He states further 
that to some of the defendants the con- 
stitution has been a continual expense, 
while others derived more than their 
share of benefits from the society. 

In 1850 Isaac Eomine, who had been 
a member of the society, associated 
himself with John Wattles, Esther 
Wattles, A. L. Childs, Alvin High, 
Thomas Scott, George Brier, John Gass, 
Washington Waltz, Lucy Waltz, Leroy 
Templeton and Edgar Eyan and organ- 
ized the Grand Prairie Harmonial As- 
sociation. Mr. Eomine had been a 
member of the Coal Creek Community 
and Church of God in Fountain county, 
and still thinking that such a commun- 
ity might be successfully conducted 
to the advantage of- its members and 
to society in general donated two thous- 
and dollars in trust for the use of this 



120 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



association an(J placed it jn the hands 
of John Wattles to be by him expended 
in the purchase of real estate, and in 
the erection of buildings, and after such 
purposes and labor the whole to be 
deeded to the trustees to be held in 
trust by them for the uses specified in 
the constitution and by-laws; and it 
was provided that all property like that 
of the Fountain County Community of 
which Mr. Eomine had been a member, 
should be held in common, controlled 
by a board of trustees, and that conduct 
and labor should be regulated by con- 
stitution and by-laws. 

The following is a copy of the deed 
of the trustees of the Warren county 
society: 

Know all men by these presents, that 
we, John O. Wattles and Esther Wat- 
tles his wife, of Tippecanoe county, 
State of Indiana, in consideration of 
the premises and one dollar to them in 
hand paid, the receipt whereof is here- 
by acknowledged, do hereby give, 
grant, convey, bargain and sel!^, to 
Horace Greeley, of New York, Thomas 
Trusdale, of Brooklyn, N. Y., Edgar 
Eyan, Charles High and James E. N. 
Bryant, of Warren county, Indiana, 
trustees, and to their heirs and assigns 
the following real estate to-wit: The 
north-east quarter of section 5, town- 
ship 23 north, range 9 west, contain- 
ing one hundred sixty acres more or 
less; also the north-west quarter of the 
south-east quarter of said section, con- 
taining forty acres more or less, also 
the east three-fourths of the south-west 
quarter of the south-east quarter of 
the same section, containing thirty 
acres more or lesSj.; alsp the north-east 
quarter of the south-east quarter and 
the east half of the south-west quarter 



and the east half of the north-west 
quarter of the north-east quarter of 
section 8, in the aforesaid township and 
range, containing 120 acres more or 
less, amounting in all to 350 acres more 
or less, together with all the privileges 
and appurtenances thereunto belonging,; 
to have and to hold unto the said 
Greeley, Trusdale, Eyan, High and Bry- 
ant and their heirs and assigns forever 
in trust to and for the uses named viz.: 
For the occupation of an association 
for educational and social reform pur-j||i 
poses. 

In a short history of Warren county; 
it is said that among the promoters of^ 
this scheme were Carpenter Morey,- 
who donated two thousand dollars, and 
Isaac Eomine, who also aided with a 
considerable gift, giving two thousand 
dollars or more. Two buildings were ffl 
erected, fences and other improvements i»i 
made and at one time it seemed that| (i 
the question of cooperative education 
and labor would be fairly tested. The 
land was open prairie and lumber tc 
erect the buildings was hauled from a 
saw-mill near West Point. The plan wasj 
countenanced and its projectors encoun 
aged by such men as Eobert Dale Oweri fc; 
Eobert Brisban, and other advancec w 
thinkers. Dr. Childs, a finely educatec i 
and talented man, was brought fron 
the East and placed in charge of th* :,. 
school, but the people in the vicinitjlue] 
looked upon the whole plan with disiij 
trust, and after a few years the school lie 
was abandoned for lack of money am 
pupils. The enterprise is more notabl' 
for the character of the men that wer^ 
engaged in it however than the succes 
or failure which followed the effort. I 
had its inception during the perioc 
when social reforms were agitating pec 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



121 



pie to a very considerable degree. 

Harry Evans, superintendent of the 
Warren county schools, had an article 
^on the Grand Prairie Harmonial In- 
stitute in the Indiana Magazine of 
History for December 1916 which I 
give here in full: 

' ' In 1851 a company of people who 
[felt that their best interests could be 
better served by a community form of 
living, organized ' The Grand Prairie 
iHarmonial Institute or, as it was gen- 
terally known ' The Community Farm. ' 
This was located in Prairie township, 
Warren county, Indiana, where Wil- 
liam Goodaere now lives. This farm at 
one time comprised about three hun- 
dred fifty acres. It was the intention 
of the founders of the institution to 
teach handicraft, especially black- 
smithing, carpentry and allied trades, 
and to allow students to work their 
way thru school. 

' ' The country was entirely new, 
Ipiuch of the soil was still covered with 
|;he native verdure; game was' plenti- 
ful, deer, geese, ducks, cranes and 
prairie chickens could be seen in great 
numbers at almost any season of the 
ij^ear. Their attempt at this distance, 
■eeems unique. An unimproved country 
Iwhere there was little need of skilled 
ilabor was to become the seat of an in- 
istitution of learning where the pupils 
were to be taught various trades. To 
fus it seems that such an attempt was 
)the limit of the visionary. The Trans- 
cendentalists at the Brook Farm in 
Massachusetts and the Owen experi- 
iment at New Harmony seem now to 
ihave been as vague as this little colony 
set down in the midst of a vast prairie 
country with no neighbors and no de- 
mand for their work. 



"The first president and one of the 
moving spirits in the enterprise was 
John O. Wattles, a man who had a 
more than ordinary education and who 
had spent some time at New Harmony, 
where he may have imbided some of 
the communistic ideas of the Owens. 
The Wattles family consisted of Mr. 
and Mrs. Wattles and their three 
daughters, Lucretia, Harmonia, and 
Pheano (or Theanna as it was spelled 
in a deed) . Lucretia was born at ' Fry- 
back Hall' an institution similar to the^' 
Harmonial Institute and located in Pine 
township, a few miles east of the 
'Community Farm.' She had a right 
to such a name, for her mother had 
traveled all day in the rough convey- 
ance of that time, and had reached 
'Fryback Hall' in the evening. That 
night (during a most severe storm, the 
little one made her entrance into the 
world about two o 'clock. 

"Horace Greeley was said to have 
been a silent member of that Grand 
Prairie Harmonial Institute company, 
one deed showing him to be a trustee. 
John Gass, father of Will Gass, formerly 
of Attica, was another prominent 
member and at one time the treasurer. 
Alvin High, Cyrus Eomine and a num- 
ber of others were connected with the 
movement. The school was managed 
by a board of trustees, of whom Ida 
Greeley, Thomas Truesdale, Alvin High 
and John Gass were the last to hold 
office. For a time a number of families 
seemed to have lived a communal 
life, but, like all such experiments, it 
failed. While the race is gregarious, 
there must be a certain amount of riv- 
alry to make life a success. We seem 
to need the stimulus of competition to 
spur us on to do the best that is in 



t 



122 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



us. Whatever the cause of failure in 
this experiment of community living, 
it lasted little more than a year. 

* ' The property remained in the hands 
of the trustees for nearly twenty years, 
when an order from the United States 
Dictrict Court for Indiana gave posses- 
sion of the land to Mrs. Wattles. The 
family had been away for some time, 
going to Kansas, where Mr. Wattles 
had again tried to carry out his favorite 
idea of communial living. After his 
death, which occurred about the begin- 
ning of the Civil war, his widow, de- 
siring to educate her children, moved 
to Oberlin^ Ohio, where she placed 
them in the college at that place. La- 
ter she sold to Isaac C. Anderson and 
James McDaniel the land that the court 
had decreed to her and thus ended 
another altruistic experiment. 

"For years the 'Community House' 
was a noted landmark. Its site on the 
top of what was the highest ridge of 
land anywhere near made it conspic- 
uous. Then there is always a sort of 
charm and at least a little air of mys- 
tery about such a place. Fancy may 
build golden dreams of higher forms of 
life where competition shall be forever 
banished, rivalry unknown and the 
Golden Eule the measure of our ac- 
tions." 

As a matter of fact the leading per- 
son in the founding of the Grand 
Prairie Harmonial Institute was Isaac 
Eomine, who had been a member of the 
Fountain county association. His 
friend, Eobert Dale Owen, of New Har- 
mony, was perhaps instrumental in in- 
teresting John O. Wattles, of Tippeca- 
noe county, (with whom he had be- 
come acquainted while Mr. Wattles was 
living in New Harmony), Col. James E. 



Bryant, of Williamsport, and Horace 
Greeley, of New York. William Lud- 
low, of the Fountain county association, 
and the male members of his family 
had spent a whole year at New Har- 
mony with the Owen community, and 
Eobert Dale Owen was an occasional 
visitor at the homes of the Eomines 
and Cranes in Stone Bluff as well as at 
the home of Bryant, Park Hunter, Drj 
Clark and Mr. Gass in Warren county, 
so that there was a bond of friendshij 
which united the New Harmony colonj 
of socialists with the socialistic move< 
ment in Fountain and Warren counties 
which I have been more interested in 
showing in this article than anything 
else. 

When in 1851 Indiana as a state hac 
decided to adopt a new constitution 
those people with socialistic views fro 
Fountain and Warren counties wluj, 
would be favorable to the cause anc 
who would support Eobert Dale Owen ai 
a leader in the convention backed th<i 
candidacy of Colonel James 
Bryant as the delegate from this dis 
trict, to which position he was elected 
That Mr. Bryant was a man of mor< 
than ordinary ability and local repui 
tation is shown clearly in the fact 
that he was held in high esteem h} 
Judge David Davis and Abraham Lin 
coin. Whitney says in his life o3 
Lincoln: 

"Judge Davis often delegated hi 
judicial functions to others. I hav' 
known of his getting Moon, of Clinton' 
to hold court for him in Bloomingoi; 
for whole days; Lincoln to hold an ei]|^i« 
tire term, and frequently to sit fo 
short times; and I even knew of Co! 
Bryant of Indiana, to hold court foi 
him at Danville." 



Kit 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



123 



It was perhaps due more to tlie lib- 
eral views of Col. Bryant and Eobert 
Dale Owen than to any other cause 
that our state constitution has endured 
so long. It is a significant fact that 
Eobert Dale Owen and the New Har- 
mony colony became spiritualists, as 
did the founders of the socialist com- 
munity in Fountain county and the 
"Community Farm" in Warren county. 
The Church of Progressive Friends in 
Shawnee township and the "Free Hall" 
at Carbondale in Warren county were 
built by the same people with the same 
community interest. The old sawmill 
and gristmill at Stone Bluff, as well 
as many of the old barns and houses 
in that portion of Shawnee township, 
were constructed by the communistic 
society in Fountain county. 

After Eobert Owen, the father of 
Robert Dale Owen, purchased the inter- 
est of the Eappites of New Harmony 
for one hundred fifty thousand dollars 
the Eappites moved out and the Owen- 
ites moved in. Mr. Owen went back to 
England and sent back three hundred 
of his people, including Eobert Dale 
Owen, then twenty-five years old. He 
was a philosopher and not an econo- 
mist, and did not inherit the business 
qualifications of his father. Elbert 
Hubbard wrote of the New Harmony 
colony: 

"For the first few weeks, all entered 
into the new system with a will. Ser- 
vice was the order of the day. Men 
who seldom or never before labored 
with their hands, devoted themselves 
to agriculture and the mechanical arts 
with a zeal which was at least commen- 
dable, tho not always well directed. 
Ministers of the gospel, guided the plow 
and called swine to their corn instead 



of sinners to repentance, and let pa- 
tience have her perfect work over an 
unruly yoke of oxen. Merchants ex- 
changed the yardstick for the rake or 
pitchfork, and all appeared to labor 
cheerfully for the common weal. Among 
the women there was even more appar- 
ent self-sacrifice. Those who had sel- 
dom seen inside of their kitchens went 
into that of the common eating house 
and made themselves useful among pots 
and kettles. Eefined young ladies who 
had been waited upon all their lives 
took turns waiting upon others at the 
table. And several times a week all 
those who chose mingled in the social 
dance in the great dining hall. 

"But notwithstanding the apparent 
heartiness and cordiality of this aus- 
picious opening, it was in the social 
atmosphere of the community that the 
first cloud arose. Self-love was a spirit 
which could not be exorcised. It whis- 
pered to the lowly maidens, whose form- 
er position in society had cultivated the 
spirit of meekness — 'you are as good as 
the formerly rich and fortunate, insist 
upon your equality.' It reminded the 
former favorites of society of their 
lost superiority, and despite all rules 
tinctured their words and actions with 
'airs' and conceit. Similar thoughts 
and feelings soon arose among the men; 
and tho not so soon exhibited they were 
never-the-less deep and strong. Suffice 
it to say, that at the end of three 
months the leading minds of the com- 
munity were compelled to acknowledge 
to each other that the social life of the 
community could not be bounded by a 
single circle. They therefore acquiesed, 
tho reluctantly, in its division into 
many. But they hoped, and many of 
them no doubt believed, that tho social 



124 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



(quality was a failure, community of 
)roperty was not. Whether the law of 
nine and thine is natural or incidental 
n human character, it soon began to 
ievelope its sway. The industrious, the 
skillful and the strong saw the prod- 
act of their labor enjoyed by the in- 
lolent, the unskilled and the improvi- 
lent and self love rose against benevol- 
>nce. A band of musicians thought 
heir brassy harmony was as necessary 
the common happiness as bread and 
neat, and declined to enter the harvest 
ield or the work-shop. A lecturer upon 
latural science insisted upon talking 
vhile the others worked. Mechanics, 
vhose single day's labor brought two 
lollars in the common stock, insisted 
hat they should only work half as long 
LS the agriculturist whose day's work 
)rought but one. 

"Of course for awhile, these jealous- 
es were concealed, but soon they began 
;o be expressed. It was useless to re- 
nind all parties that the common labor 
)f all ministered to the prosperity of 
;he community. Individual happiness 
vas the law of nature and it could not 
be obliterated. And before a single 
^ear had passed, this law had scattered 
;he members of that society which had 
;ome together so earnestly and under 
;uch favorable circumstances and driven 
;hem back into the selfish world from 
^/hich they came." 

The writer of this sketch has since 
leard the history of that eventful year 
'eviewed with honesty and earnestness 
Dy the best men and most intelligent 
3arties of that unfortunate social ex- 
Deriment. They admitted the favorable 
jircumstances which surrounded the 
commencement; the intelligence, devo- 
tion and earnestness that was brought 



to the cause by its projectors and its 
final total failure. And they rested 
ever after in the belief that man tho 
disposed to philanthropy, is essentially 
selfish and a community of social equal- 
ity and common property an impossi- 
bility. 

Eobert Dale Owen became a natural- 
ized citizen of the United States and for 
several years was a member of Congress. 
At the time of the death of his father 
he was minister to Italy, having been 
appointed by President Pierce. At the 
time he was in Wales, and announced 
the passing of Eobert Owen to the fam- 
ily at New Harmony, Indiana, in a let- 
ler dated Nov. 17, 1858. 

The Eappites located in New Har- 
mony in 1814 and sold to Eobert Owen 
in 1825 so they remained in Indiana 
eleven years. The Coal Creek Commun- 
ity in Fountain county bought its land 
and came to this county in 1823 and 
continued as a socialistic community 
about ten years. The Owen community 
lasted only about one year in New Har- 
mony when Eobert Owen divided his 
holdings among his children and im- 
mediate relatives and, as he said, a 
few of his ' ' staunch friends who have 
such a lavish and unwise faith in my 
wisdom. ' ' 

The ' ' Community Farm ' ' in Warren 
county also was short lived, lasting less 
than two years. Those reformers failed 
to see that the second generation of 
communists did not coalesce and as a 
result that thirty-three years was the 
age limit for even a successful commun- 
ity; and that if it still survived it was 
because it was organized under a strong 
and dominant leadership. All of these 
socialistic communities are made up of 
two classes, those who wish to give, 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



125 



i 



and those wlio wish to get, and in-as- 
much as they have usually been com- 
posed of about seventy-five percent of 



those who wish to get and a very 
small percent of those who wish to 
give they have failed. 



A Mormon Visitation 



In a preceding sketch of this series 
I have told at some length of the un- 
usual religious spirit in the territory 
east of Attica, of the important part 
it had in the growth of this section, 
and of the numerous men of ability 
that it produced. Because of its strong 
religious character it was frequently 
the scene of efforts at proselyting. One 
of these is notable because of the prom- 
inence of the leader, who was no less 
than Joseph Smith, the founder of 
Mormonism itself. His visitation to 
this section occurred in the thirties, 
when the church was but a few years 
old, and it is a fact, tho not generally 
known, that many men that afterwards 
became prominent in the organization 
were gathered from the Wabash Valley. 

The Mormon Church — or, as it is of- 
ficially known, The Church of Jesus 
Christ of Latter-Day Saints — was in 
stituted by Joseph Smith, Jr. at Fay- 
ette, Seneca county, N. Y., in 1830. On 
account of persecution in that vicinity 
the Mormons began to move westward 
and within the year they began to lo- 
cate in Jackson county, Missouri. That 
county was extremely Democratic and 
the Mormons did not believe in human 
slavery. The Democracy of Missouri 
would not tolerate any religion that 
would not openly advocate the cause of 
negro slavery, and in 1833, for no other 
reason, they drove these new immigrants 
from their midst. Some of them stopt 



in Clay county for awhile but in 1838 
Governor Boggs of Missouri, a very 
earnest advocate of negro slavery, is- 
sued an order of expulsion against 
them. 

During this troublous period Smith 
made numerous missionary journeys in- 
to the older settled district and on one 
of these came into this section. He was 
accompanied by Sidney Eigdon, one of 
his influential followers, and they held 
meetings in many sections of Fountain 
and Vermilion counties. On this jour- 
ney they got many converts, some of 
them from among the best of those 
sturdy old pioneer families. They made 
many converts in Troy, Wabash and 
Fulton townships and in Davis town- 
ship. It was in the meetings in Davis 
that Joseph Smith made his strongest 
efforts. 

This series of meetings was held in 
a schoolhouse that stood just back of 
where Salem church now stands in what 
is now the Salem cemetery. There 
Smith and Eigdon held forth for some 
time and lined up about fifty followers, 
about thirty of whom went with them 
to Missouri. Andrew Wilson was one 
of these converts but he did not leave 
Fountain county. Samuel Trollinger 
was another. The latter owned about 
a thousand acres of land comprising 
the old James Williams farm, and the 
Washburn farm now belonging to John 
T. Nixon and counted among the best 



^'i^ 



126 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



tracts of land in the county. Others 
were Simeon and Joseph Curtis, and 
two families of Harriers, all of them 
respectable citizens and well-to-do. 
Three young men named Lancaster 
were also among those who espoused 
the Mormon faith. Samuel TroUinger 
and Simeon Curtis became Mormon eld- 
ers and engaged in the ministry, and 
went thru all the persecutions visited 
upon the sect in Missouri and Illinois. 

"While the Davis township meetings 
were in progress an incident occurred 
that caused much comment thruout the 
vicinity and possibly had some effect 
in weakening the influence of the new 
sect. A man named Dolyhide lived 
about a mile from the place where the 
meetings were being held. He was 
badly crippled with rheumatism, his 
limbs being drawn and twisted from 
the effects of the disease. The Mormons 
preacht faith healing by the laying on 
of hands, the gift of tongues, the unc- 
tion of the Holy Spirit and other things 
preacht and practised by the early 
Christian church, just as many other 
Christian denominations still do. Doly- 
hide was taken to the meeting, pro- 
fessed convertion and was baptised as 
a Mormon. The preachers laid hands 
on him and held a prayer service for 
him but Dolyhide was not cured, per- 
haps not much benefited. Those who 
were opposed to Mormonism seized up- 
on this incident and it has been handed 
down in local history as the principal 
reason why the Mormon influence waned 
in that community. This is hardly just 
to the Mormons for if they are to be 
condemned for failure to receive an- 
swer to their prayers surely the same 
rule should be applied to every other 
denomination. 



After the Mormons were expelled 
from Missouri they crossed back into 
Illinois and founded the city of Nau- 
voo, over which Smith had extraordin- 
ary civil and ecclesiastical authority, 
very much like that a Fountain 
county man, Wilbur Glenn Voliva, now 
exercises over Zion City in northern 
Illinois. It was to Nauvoo that the 
converts from this vicinity went and 
by 1840 it is said that in the neighbor- 
hood of three hundred from the Wabash 
Valley had joined the colony, at least 
fifty of these being from Davis town- 
ship. 

The city of Nauvoo flourished and 
soon there were more than two thous- 
and houses and there was undet con-| 
struction a beautiful temple built along! 
the plans that Smith claimed had beeni 
given him in a vision in 1844. A diS' 
contented member of the church issued! 
a newspaper at Nauvoo assailing the| 
prophet and threatening to expose al-' 
leged immoralities and misdeeds. Th^j 
City Council passed an ordinance de^ 
daring the printing of&ce a nuisance 
and it was destroyed by ofl&cers of the 
law. Smith was blamed for this and a 
warrant was issued for his arrest. H 
was taken to Carthage and on June 27 
1844 a mob, including members oJ| 
other Christian denominations, attackec 
the jail, over-powered the guards, killec 
Smith and his brother Hiram anc 
wounded several others. So-calle(] 
Christians for nineteen hundred yeart 
have put to death and tortured b^i 
every known means those who did no^ 
believe as they believed even tho the 
all professed to be following the teachi 
ings of the same Christ. 

After the death of Smith Brighan 
Young became the head of the Mor 



oft 



City 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



127 



mons and he was a man of great ex- 
ecutive ability. 

In the winter of 1846 Nauvoo was 
again attackt by those who loved the 
Lord more than their fellow men and 
the Mormons were driven out. Even 
women and children were driven from 
their homes in the dead of winter and 
were forced to cross the Mississippi 
river on the ice. Many of the men were 
killed in defense of their families. They 
went from Nauvoo to Council Bluffs, 
Iowa and from there to Salt Lake City. 

Wilford Woodruff, fourth president 
of the Mormon church and the man 
whose manifesto abolisht polygamy 
among the Saints, was related to the 
Woodruffs in Davis township. The 
three Lancaster brothers and many 
others that joined the church in Davis 
township, became prominent in the 
work and extension of the Mormon 
church. 

After they reached Salt Lake many 

j missionaries were sent to various parts 

of the world and their growth has been 

steady. When they moved to Salt Lake 

City they moved out of the United 



States and into old Mexico and they 
adopted polygamy under the Mexican 
government. After the Mexican war 
the border lines of the United States 
were extended southward and they 
found themselves again residents of the 
United States. The church claims a 
membership of over three hundred 
thousand and has flourishing communi- 
ties in other countries besides the Unit- 
ed States. Among their missionaries 
and most active members often appear 
the names of families who joined them 
while Joseph Smith was proselyting in 
Vermilion and Fountain counties in +.he 
Wabash Valley. 

I am not a Mormon, neither do I be- 
lieve in polygamy, but I do believe that 
we should all be tolerant. The story of 
the Mormons, no difference how black 
it may be, cannot be lookt at from any 
angle that it is not more beautiful than 
the story of the persecutions that were 
inflicted on those people by those who 
disagreed with them in religion in ev- 
ery community in which they have 
lived. 



The Clark Family 



About the year 1700 Samuel Clark of 
Scotch-Irish descent, emigrated from 
England or Scotland to America, and 
settled on the eastern coast of the 
northern part of the Carolinas. He 
had six sons — Samuel, Thomas, Wil- 
liam, James, John and Henry. The 
youngest son, Henry, was born in 1713, 
died March 30, 1797 and was buried in 
the family cemetery near Page's Mills, 
Dillon county. South Carolina. He was 



the only member of the family that re- 
mained in the county where his father 
settled. This Henry Clark was an un- 
cle of George Eogers Clark of Eevolu- 
tionary fame, and of William Clark, 
who with Captain Merriweather Lewis, 
explored the North-west Territory, 
lying between the Mississippi river and 
the Pacific ocean. Henry Clark had a 
family of four sons and five daughters. 
His daughter Hester married John C. 



128 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



Campbell, whose children settled in the 
Bethel neighborhood, and around Pine 
Village. One of the daughters married 
a Benson, the common ancestor of the 
Bensons in Warren and Fountain 
counties, and one of the girls married a 
Birch, whose decendents also settled in 
Fountain and Warren counties. One 
of Henry Clark's sons settled in War- 
ren county, Ohio, and one at Clarks- 
burg, Ross county, Ohio. 

One of Henry Clark's brothers set- 
tled in Pennsylvania and moved from 
there to Clarksburg, Ohio. In 1824, 
when the land was being taken up in 
this part of Indiana, many of the de- 
scendents of these two brothers came 
into Fountain and Warren counties, 
and about twenty years ago, the fami- 
lies in these three counties related to 
the Clarks comprised perhaps the 
largest relationship in western Indiana. 

I shall now present the history of 
Judge Samuel B. Clark, as compiled by 
his son, Samuel Clark, and grandson, 
Orrie S. Clark, of Attica. 

Samuel B. Clark was the son of John 
and Mary Blair Clark, the fifth of a 
family of ten brothers and one sister, 
and was born in Bedford county, Pa., 
April 27, 1794. He married Elizabeth 
Bready on June 5, 1813. 

To this union was born four sons and 
five daughters — Mary Ann, born April 
18, 1819; Saraline, Sept. 22, 1820; 
Elizabeth, Sept., 22, 1821; John Wesley, 
Aug. 27, 1824; Mariah, Nov. 31, 1828; 
Samuel, Dec. 6, 1830; Thos. A., June 5, 
1834; Miranda, Feb. 5, 1837 and An- 
drew Jackson, June 25, 1842. 

The following extracts were taken 
from a book of Old Settler's Eeminis- 
cences published by Sanford Cox in 
1860. This work is considered reliable 



and at the outset gives a good idea of 
the conditions in Warren, Fountain and 
other counties. These extracts wdll 
have to do with brief mentionings con- 
cerning Samuel B. Clark. 

Mr. Cox, in writing of Peter Weaver, 
the first settler of Fountain county, 
who located near Flint on the east 
side of the Wabash river, says that 
"near Weaver lived Lewis Thomas et 
al — they all owned and worked land 
on the lower end of the beautiful 
and fertile Wea Plains. Southwest of 
this neighborhood near Clark's Point, 
now Pin Hook, resided Samuel Clark." 

It was thought by early investigation 
that Clark's Point and Clark's Prairie 
was the first place that Samuel B. Clark 
resided and that these places were 
named for him but later investigation 
leads to the belief that there were two 
Samuel Clarks in this part of the 
country and that the one at Clark's 
Point came a little before Samuel B. 
There is no question now but what Sam- 
uel B. Clark located at a south point of 
the Wea Plains, on or near the Wabash 
river on the east side, first. This place 
is situated in Tippecanoe county, the 
south-west portion. This last fact is 
borne out by a statement lately by John 
C. Goodwine and referred to hereafter, 
wherein he says that the place where 
Samuel B. Clark lived was pointed out 
to him from the train on what is now 
the Wabash railway. This site is easily 
seen from the train while Clark 's Point 
is a considerable distance from the rail- 
road and can not be seen. After resid- 
ing at this place for some time he was 
attacked by a yearning for city life. At 
that time there was considerable rivalry 
among the towns starting up and he was 
solicited to cast his lot with Indepen- 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



129 



dence, Maysville and others, but the ad- 
vantages of LaGrange appealed to him 
the most. This town was started at a 
point opposite where he was at that 

'Y .ime living and was located on the west 
bank of the Wabash river, so he did not 
have far to move. When he was com- 
fortably located he built a ferry boat 

i id engaged in the ferrying business. 

■ Here was where all of his children were 

born except the three that he brought 

from Ohio with him and this is the 

^ ^lace called ' ' Whitelick ' ' by Mary 
isoggs, his daughter. 

Cox says again: "At this time a Po- 
lemic society was organized, which was 

'■i "' ongly attended by debaters from 

\ vT javer 's neighborhood, east of the riv- 
er. Judge Samuel B. Clark's neighbor- 
hood on the river below, and the Mace, 

', Davis and Fenton neighborhoods in 
^JVarren county," Cox also says: "At 
this time Warren county was thinly set- 
tled. Zachariah Cicott, a French trnder, 
was born at the place where he lived 
(near where the town of Independence 
now stands) more than forty years be- 
fore the organization of the county. 
Above Cicott 's was Judge Samuel B. 
1, Clark, Fentons et al, together with Ed 
Mace (father of Dan Mace, who after- 
wards was congressman from this dis- 
trict)." 

The records show that Samuel B. 
lark entered some land in Fountain 
county before he went across the river 
to LaGrange to live but the facts show 
that he did not prove up on the right 
.land and that when he found that he 
was settling on the wrong land he im- 
mediately moved across the river to 
LaGrange, and dissipitated in the giddy 
whirl of city life. 
A most interesting part of Samuel B. 



Clark's life is gleaned from notes as 
made by his son Samuel Clark, and re- 
lates to doings from the time of his em- 
igration from Ohio, and his residence 
at Independence, to his last place of 
residence. He writes: "The Centen- 
nial year (1876) is passing away with 
the rapidity of time and as I have 
not heard or read of the histories of 
any old settlers yet, it occurred to me 
that a short sketch of my family, which 
was one of the first to settle on the Wa- 
bash river, might not only be appro- 
priate but interesting to the younger 
generation who have little idea of the 
hardships their ancestors had to endure 
while developing the western country. 
Fifty years ago the writer's parents 
(Samuel B. and Elizabeth Bready Clark) 
settled in Indiana. They moved from 
Eoss county, Ohio, in the year 1826. My 
parents were poor, they had no property 
at their command but they started for 
the West. They had two horses, one 
blind, and one wagon. They had three 
children, very small, but they loaded up 
their traps and started for Indiana, the 
land said to be flowing with milk and 
honey, full of hope, happiness and con- 
tentment. The country being new of 
course the roads were very bad at times 
and that made traveling tedious and 
slow, with but very few settlers along 
the road to cheer them up. Arriving at 
the White Water Swamps, about seven- 
ty-five miles from their destination, the 
horse with the good eyes died. They 
were away from any settlements and 
were surrounded with mud and water. 
Such a calamity can hardly be realized 
or understood. It necessitated the 
abandoning of the wagon and all of 
their household goods and bedding, the 
former consisting of a few pans and 



130 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



kettles. How to carry the three child- 
ren on one horse was the problem to 
consider. Necessity generally solves the 
problem and they decided to sew up the 
bed tick and put a baby in each end, 
with its head sticking up thru a hole. 
The mother was placed on the horse and 
the other baby on her lap, Father lead- 
ing the old blind horse. With this val- 
uable load they again started for the 
Wabash Valley. After many days of 
rough riding they finally arrived above 
Independence, on the east side of the 
Wabash river. Father, while living at 
Independence, (he does not mention any 
part of their life while living on the 
east side of the river or at LaGrange) 
after building his cabin, traded with 
the Indians and paddled up and down 
the river, trading with settlers. The 
only provision for some time was wild 
honey, a little grain and hominy. Many 
times the cabin would have dozens of 
Indians in it, when there would be no 
one there but Mother and the children. 
They were friendly in a way, but not 
very desirable guests. Mary, my oldest 
sister, has told me she and the other 
children had understood that Indians 
did not like red-haired children and for 
that reason she and the other children 
went under the bed when the Indians 
came. Mary told me also that when 
I was a very small baby I drank some 
lye and one of the Indians went into 
the woods and presently returned with 
some kind of root herb and give it to 
me as an antidote. It cured me very 
quickly. She also told me that while 
the Indians were friendly enough there 
were times when they got very insistent 
for food and Mother had to fre- 
quently give them almost everything 
that was in the house to keep them 



peaceable. Father started a small stol 
in Independence, his customers beis 
mostly Indians. While thus engaged 1 
was elected to the legislature in tl 
year 1836 and voted for the bill crea 
ing an improvement fund for buildii 
the Wabash and Erie Canal and oth 
improvements. He was one of the fir 
Associate Judges of Warren county, ai 
he set the stakes for the second cou 
house in Williamsport, the county se£ 

"In 1838 Father bundled us toget 
er on a keel-boat and we floated doV 
the Wabash river, finally locating ; 
Arkansas. He bought property ther 
I think some place on the Ked rive 
built a grist mill on a dry creek, b 
found out after it was too late, th 
it was not a grain country, and cons 
quently there was no grain to grind. I 
sold out at considerable loss and in 18' 
started back for old Indiana. Mar 
my sister, has told me that she and h' 
brother John walked most of the wa 
At last we landed in Warren coun i 
with two yokes of oxen, a wagon, an i 
a little money. Here, by common co 
sent, we settled down for life, as \ 
thought. Father bought a farm of 2:| 1 1 
acres for $1500 located near Free Hai f 
in later years known as Carbondale. | a 

This land is included in the Georiii j s 
Butler estate and the Clark resident i 
lies about a quarter of a mile direct;., 
east of the Butler home. This land w|^» 
underlaid with coal along Fall cree , 
and from reliable information it 
mentioned that the boys would at tim 
dig coal and sell it, and upon a disci 
sion as to the advisability of renti: 
the coal lands to some operator it w 
decided best not to do so, altho it w 
possible that by opening it up on i ., ,; 
extensive scale, it might make tlfua 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



131 



lands worth more money in case of 
sale. Since that early time there have 
been one or two fairly good mines in 
operation and drilling shows rather a 
large territory in that vicinity under- 
laid with a good vein of block coal. 

"By this time our family consisted of 
nine children, five girls and four boys. 
Father getting along in years had us 
boys take the farm and make what we 
could ofE of it. The farm had about 
100 acres of tillable land, and we rr^n 
it a few years, with all the energy we 
possessed and succeeded in raising only 
enough grain to bread the family, while 
our sisters earned enough by weaving 
to buy the groceries, butter, lard etc. 
We were a manufacturing family; that 
is, the girls were. They made the 
cloth, carpets and flannels for people 
for twenty-five miles around. They 
ran the looms steadily, the younger 
children preparing the yarn. This vast 
amount of weaving was taken up in 
butter, lard and meat and our family 
furnished a ready market for all the 
surplus provisions in the neighborhood. 

"In 1850 my older brother John, and 
myself, had one horse apiece to show 
for our several years' work on the farm 
and we decided to rent the place to 
someone else and start for the gold 
fields of California. ' ' 

Mr. Clark does not mention who 
were in this party but from letters and 
other information it is known that his 
father, Samuel B. Clark, his brother 
John, his brother-in-law, Samuel Hunt- 
er, and E. C. Moore comprised this 
party. From letters and other evi- 
dence it is shown that Samuel Hunter 
became homesick after getting to the 
mines and as soon as he had enough 
saved to undertake the journey, started 



home by way of New Orleans. When 
he got up into Louisiana he took sick 
with what they thought was the chol- 
era and died December 31, 1850, among 
strangers. His grand-daughter, Edna 
Hunter, was born in Attica, Ind., and 
has become a noted motion picture 
actress. 

' ' We went overland to California and 
endured many hardships. The Indians 
were very bad and we had several 
brushes with them. We remained in 
the mines for a time at a place that 
is now known as Sacramento, at the 
forks of the American river. After 
having gathered quite a little gold 
dust we returned home, my brother 
and myself having about $1,000 each in 
dust. After we got home we were 
considered in the wealthy class. Hav- 
ing that amount of gold, we were 
placed, financially, ahead of any of 
the other young men of the vicinity. 
The family had done as well without 
us as with us, in our absence and in 
the course of events some married 
and some died. Four died shortly after, 
including Father and Mother. It oc- 
curs to me that there are or were few 
families that had the varied exper- 
iences and saw as much of this great 
county of ours as did the family of 
my father, Samuel B. Clark." 

In verification of his traveling na- 
ture it has been told in a letter found 
among Samuel Clark's papers that 
Judge Samuel B. Clark, living in In- 
diana at that time, after his brother 
Thomas B. Clark emigrated to Texas, 
concluded to pay him a visit, and he 
and his wife started for Grimes county, 
that state. How they went or what 
year they started is not stated — pre- 
sumably they went on horseback. Af- 



132 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



ter they finished their visit they re- 
turned with just one horse, so the ac- 
count says. This must have been a 
difficult and hazardous journey, going 
thru vast wildernesses and encounter- 
ing many wild tribes of Indians. As 
another illustration of his adventurous 
spirit, Abe Clawson, who is still living 
(1917) at Independence, Indiana, tells 
of his trip to the gold fields of Pike's 
Peak in 1859 and while on the way 
overtook a party from Indiana at Coun- 
cil Bluffs, Iowa. Among the party he 
tells of an old man being present and 
who was a stalwart and strong in- 
dividual and he observed that he al- 
ways went around with his sleeves 
rolled up, which would indicate an ag- 
gressive natureV He learned after- 
wards that this was Judge Samuel B. 
Clark, from his own county, Warren. 
Sylvester Hall was with the party also. 
He was a brother of Eosetta Hall who 
married Samuel Clark, a son of Judge 
Samuel B. Clark. Sylvester Hall was 
killed at Vicksburg in the CivO war. 
These difficult journeys seemed to please 
Judge Clark very much as he had a 
strong traveling nature, as is evidenced 
by his first emigration from Ohio, with- 
out being half prepared, his trip to 
Texas as above related, his disastrous 
journey to Arkansas, his trip to Pike's 
Peak and finally his overland trip to 
the gold fields of California in 1850. 
All this shows that he was some trav- 
eler and certainly enjoyed scenes and 
changes that were new; in fact he 
must be classed as a genuine type of 
the pioneer, enjoying all of the pleas- 
ures and not complaining of the hard- 
ships of such a life. 

Samuel B. Clark was a great Bible 
student, and the facts indicate that he 



must have been an "unbeliever." H 
family bible is completely covered wit 
marginal notes, and in many plae( 
are strange drawings of figures, the si< 
nificance of which is hard to deciphe 
The two evidences seem, however, t 
make an attempt to show apparent coi 
tradietions between some passages i 
the Bible. There are many stories c 
Mr. Clark's exploits, among them on 
that will no doubt survive for man 
years. While living at Independenc 
and while he was operating his stor 
and ferry at that place there was 
Doctor Yandes also living there. Yar 
des was prominent in medical circle 
and had a large practice. The doctC| 
had a call from a Mr. Young from thl 
Fountain county side of the river. Thei 
engaged Clark to take them across thl 
river in a canoe. The river at tha, 
time was very high, the wind wa 
blowing very strong, and when pai 
way across, the canoe upset. Clar 
managed to get the other two on th 
upturned boat and instructed them t 
remain there until he swam ashor 
and obtained another boat. He reaehe 
shore safely and securing it started ou, , 
in pursuit of the other boat. When M. 
finally reacht it the men were gone 
Being exhausted they could not hoi 
on any longer and so drowned. Thei 
bodies were recovered and buried i 
the same grave. During Mr. Clark' 
early life there were few inventions o 
innovations that he came in contac 
with and when one was called to hi 
attention he was prone to take a skej ' 
tical attitude toward it. As an illus 
tration it is told by his son, Samuel 
that after they returned from Califoi 
nia, bringing their gold dust with then 
they started negotiations for the sal 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



133 



of it. There were but few markets in 
those days and Sam, the son, remarked 
to his father that he would telegraph 
to Chicago for quotations. Samuel 
B. looked at him in rather a blank way 
and asked him what he meant. Sam 
said that an operator at Attica would 
manipulate some wires on an instru- 
ment and that would send words to Chi- 
cago. The old gentleman was very 
much astonished and also skeptical and 
said "Well you have traveled a good 
deal and seen a good many things, and 
so have I, but you can't stuff any such 
foolery down me. ' ' 

In a statement made by John C. 
Goodwine, a grandson of Elizabeth 
Baird (this is the proper spelling, so 
he says) who is still living (1917) 
he says positively that five sons 
of John Clark, of which Samuel B. Clark 
was the youngest, were in the war of 
1812. There is no positive evidence that 
this IS true except that all of the older 
Clarks now living agree that Stephen 
Clark, brother of Samuel B., was in 
this war and was killed after he came 
home by being thrown from a horse. 
Some later records show that in the 
muster rolls of the War of 1812 from 
Eoss county, Ohio there is mentioned 
and recorded the following: 

CLAEK, SAMUEL, private; Captain 
John McArthur, Eoss county, July 28, 
1813— August 27, 1813. John C. Good- 
wine says the captain's name was Ed 
Hoffman. 

The records of the births of these 
five sons, to which Mr. Goodwine 
refers, taking the eldest — William, born 
1784, Thomas born 1786, John born 
1788, Stephen born 1792, and Samuel B. 
born 1794 — would indicate that they 
were all eligible altho Samuel B. would 



have been only eighteen years old at 
that time., Goodwine says further: 
"Judge Samuel B. Clark, late of War- 
ren county, was the most active fron- 
tier settler of all the Clarks that I ever 
knew. He was certainly the fifth in 
age of one half of the ten brothers, 
sons of John Clark of Clarksburg, Ohio, 
Eoss county. I have heard his sister 
(Elizabeth Baird) state many times 
that he was the fifth of age of the 
soldiers and his red-headed children got 
their complexion from the Braedy side. 
Judge Samuel B. Clark was a mover and 
occupied some fine and valuable land. 
He was a regular lexicon of informa- 
tion of localities, qualities of lands, 
etc. His first location that I have 
knowledge of was near the Wabash 
river on the east side below Lafay- 
ette." (This no doubt is correct and 
the exact place is about two miles 
above what is now known as Flint 
creek.) "This location was point- 
ed out to me," continues Mr. Good- 
wine, while I was on the first excur- 
sion given by the Erie, Wabash and 
Western Eailroad, while we were pass- 
ing thru Wea plains in 1856. He had 
something to do with locating the coun- 
ty seats in both Warren and Tippecanoe 
counties. Judge Clark was a man that 
did things worth recording. He with 
very crude implements or tools could 
engrave, print or mold tokens in re- 
cords. If any one will examine a cer- 
tain hill-side near Fall creek on what is 
known as the George Butler place they 
will find the grave of Mary Blair Clark, 
his mother, marked with a chiseled 
sand-stone marker at the grave, placed 
there by the hands of the fifth son, 
Samuel B., and the tenth son Wesley 
Clark." 



134 



SKETCHES OP THE WABASH VALLEY 



The oldest history of Warren county, 
published in 1883, mentions Judge 
Samuel B. Clark quite prominently and 
it is shown that he must have taken 
a very active part in the organization 
of the county and he v^^as honored at 
different times by being appointed and 
elected to several offices, the principal 
one of which was Associate Judge. No 
part of his history shows that he ever 
studied law or that he ever had a very 
acute legal mind, but he no doubt had 
a great deal of the old-fashioned com- 
mon sense and was stamped as a man of 
honor and uprightness and for that 
reason was trusted and placed in many 
places of prominence and responsibility. 
The earliest mention of him in this 
history is made during the preliminar- 
ies of the organization of the county, 
June 23, 1827, which was the date for 
election of clerk, recorder, two asso- 
ciate judges etc. It is shown that 
Samuel B. Clark and three others were 
candidates for associate judges. He 
received the highest vote of any, Na- 
thaniel Butterfield being next highest. 
As they two received the largest vote 
they were declared elected as first 
judges of the county. On the 28th day 
of September 1828, the first circuit 
court held in Warren county was con- 
vened at the house of Enoch Farmer, 
present John E. Porter, of Vermilion 
county presiding, Samuel B. Clark and 
Nathaniel Butterfield, associate judges. 
The second term began May 7, 1829, 
the presiding judge not being present. 
There was admitted to the bar for the 
practice of law Moses Cox and Ed- 
ward A. Hannegan. The latter after- 
wards became a very distinguished U. 
S. Senator and famous criminal lawyer, 
and served also as ambassador to the 



court of Prussia. In the election o 
November 1828 the list of voters, voti 
ing in Medina township included Zach 
ariah Cicott, the famous Indian tradei 
Edward Mace, Samuel B. Clark am 
twenty-three others. 

In 1830 Samuel B. Clark was appoint 
ed county agent. What kind of an of 
fic9 this was the history does not state 
Later investigation shows that the du 
ties of a county agent in those timei 
were as custodian of the school funds 
with power to loan the funds and col 
lect the interest and he probably hac 
the power also to convey title of schoo 
lands in case of sale. Eegarding th( 
very earliest history of Warren county 
it is mentioned that Cicott was the 
first white man to reside permanentlj 
within the present limits of the county 
Probably no other came until about th( 
year 1824 at which time a few came anc 
for two or three years the settlemeni 
was quite slow. Mention is made oJ 
several families located in the differ 
ent parts of the county and it is statec 
that north-east of the central part 
above Pine creek resided Cicott, the 
Maces, the Farmers and Samuel B 
Clark and others. In a description ol 
the Mary Chatterlie Eeservation ir 
Warren county it is mentioned thai 
this land was granted to the said Marj 
Chatterlie, a daughter of a Pottawato- 
mi chief. About 1839 a considerable 
part was sold by the consent of Mr 
Finch of Lafayette and Samuel B. 
Clark of Warren county, who had beei] 
appointed by the Indian Agent for thai 
purpose. A great-grandson of Samuel 
B. Clark (Eobert S. Clark) now owns a 
part of the above reservation. 

Samuel B. Clark served in the 16th 
and 18th Indiana legislatures in 1831 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



135 



and 1,833 and was one of those that 
supported the bill for public improve- 
ments. 

According to the records Samuel B. 
Clark entered land in township 22, 
range 6 and in 1826 also entered land 
in township 23, range 6. He died Jan- 
uary 14, 1860, and was buried in the 
uarbondale cemetery. Thus there lived 
and died a strong individual, a rugged 
sharacter, a progressive citizen, a man 
if honor, and unflinching integrity, a 
T\an essential to the growth and devel- 
)pement of his country, a staunch friend 
md a loyal neighbor, a man prominent 



in his immediate territory, in his own 
country and well known in wider cir- 
cles as a patriot and a soldier. Mer- 
edith Nicholson might well have had 
him in mind when he wrote: 

Across the world the ceaseless march 
of man has been thru smoldering 
fires left by the bold; 

Who first beyond the guarded outposts 
ran and saw wdth wondering eyes 
new lands unrolled; 

Who built the hut in which a home be- 
gan and 'round a campfire's ashes 
broke the mold. 



Edward A. Hannegan 



About 1825 a man named John 
Bodely moved with his family to Shaw- 
163 township and settled on what is 
iow known as the Bodely branch. His 
vife's name before her marriage was 
lannegan, and her brother, Edward A. 
lannegan, the subject of this sketch, 
aoved into Shawnee township, Foun- 
ain county, about 1825. In 1825 and 
826 he worked for the farmers in 
outh Davis and north Eichlaiid town- 
hips and went from there to Williams- 
lort where he was admitted to the bar 
practice law at the second term of 
curt held in Warren county. This 
egan May 7, 1829 and Judge Samuel 
>. Clark was one of the associate judges 
the time. After practicirg in 
^illiamsport a short time under the 
Id circuits, traveling over a large dis- 
rict following the court on horseback 
dth all the attorneys and their saddle- 
ags, Hannegan formed a partnership 
1 ith Eufus A. Lockwood of Lafayette. 



This partnership lasted only two or 
three years and during that time Han- 
negan was continually on the circuit 
with the court while Lockwood re- 
mained in the office. About 1832 Han- 
negan settled at Covington and mar- 
ried a Miss Duncan. He became the 
most noted criminal lawyer in Indiana; 
excepting, perhaps, his partner, Eufus 
A. Lockwood. 

In 1832 Hannegan defeated Albert S. 
White of Tippecanoe county for Con- 
gress and soon became prominent. Har- 
riet Martineau, the famous English 
writer, who visited Washington 
while he was there, thought him 
the most eloquent man in Con- 
gress, preferring him to Webster; 
and Webster himself said of Hannegan, 
"Had he entered before I entered Con- 
gress I fear I should never have been 
known for my eloquence." Hannegan 
remained in Congress until 1840 when 
he was defeated by Henry S. Lane of 



136 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



Crawfordsville. Hannegan was elected 
United States Senator and served until 
1849. At the expiration of his term he 
was appointed, on March 29, 1849, by 
President Polk as minister to the court 
of Prussia. He was not a diplomat, he 
could not keep state secrets and drank 
too much whiskey. The queen of Prus- 
sia became so infatuated with the elo- 
quent representative from the Hoosier 
State that the king grew jealous, and 
when upon a state occasion Hannegan 
kissed the hand of the queen the king 
askt that he be recalled. 

Logan Esarey, in his splendid new 
history of Indiana, mentions Hannegan 
first as a member of the International 
Improvement party, and says: 

"In local politics the Internal Im- 
provement party controlled the State 
by an overwhelming majority. The 
party was not unevenly divided between 
Jackson and Adams men. * * * National 
politics did not control State elections 
as at present. In organizing the General 
Assembly in 1829, J. F. D. Lanier, later 
the distinguisht Whig banker of Madi- 
ison, was made principal clerk unanim- 
ously, while Edward A. Hannegan, later 
the eloquent Democratic senator, was 
chosen enrolling clerk. After the elec- 
tion of 1834 it seemed that Indiana was 
safely Whig. The state officers and a 
large majority of the General Assem- 
bly belonged to that party, while the 
regular Democratic organization was 
almost broken up. Tipton, Hannegan, 
Sullivan, Judah, Milroy, Drake and Dr. 
Canby, had either quit the party or 
were temporarily opposing it. 

August 5, 1838, Hannegan was a col- 
onel in the State Militia and stationed 
at the fort at Plymouth, Indiana, on 
account of trouble with the Indians. 



e (Old 
J ^ 



* 



Esarey says "Councils were heldip 
Plymouth and Dixie Lake, but the |d 
men were obdurate. Then Col. Edw 
A. Hannegan, later a United St£ 
senator from Indiana, came from 
post with a company of militia, to i 
what effect that would have. It 
none." 

An incident in Hannegan 's elect 
to the United States Senate, showig 
the possibility of one vote, is q^je 
often referred to: Hannegan was cald 
to defend a man for murder in Swk" 
erland county. When he went to [s 
client he was informed that his cli^t 
had no money, but without price \i 
prospect of pay Hannegan took the c le 
and cleared his client, accepting as ]y| 
the pledge that if it ever became JM 
sible for his client to do so he woijd; 
use whatever means he could to furtiiF 
the interest of Hannegan politica K td jj 
The man whom Hannegan defenop 
died but pledged his son that he wocp 
fulfill his promise to aid HamlT 
gan. When the opportunity came jft 
son was confined to his bed a hopelijs 
victim of tuberculosis, but he told je 
candidate for the legislature in his 
trict, Daniel Kelso, that if he 
take him to the polls and pledge hij- 
self to vote for Edward A. Hannegiji 
and do all he could to elect him Urj- 
ed States Senator, he would go to i|b 
polls and vote. The candidate for fenit 
legislature took him to the polls a:& djj, 
he voted. A few days later he died, ai| kj,( 
it developed that Kelso was elect! |(,j 
state senator by one vote. After ymn 
close hard-fought race Hannegan vi^ijojj 
elected U.S. Senator by one vote. Aft ^^ 
he entered the senate, the question I [, 
the Mexican war had passed the lovilc o, 
house, and was a tie in the senate. T 



lis (j- 

WO"D 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



137 



vote of Edward A. Hannegan determin- 
* f ed the attitude of the United States and 
brought the war with Mexico with the 
result that much splendid territory was 
added to the United Sttites. All this 
could be traced to the one vote of the 
'I dying man. 

Esarey tells of this election as fol- 
ect| lows: 'The opening battle of the new 
era in Indiana politics was the elec- 
tion of the United States senator to 
succeed O. H. Smith, whose term ex- 
pired in 1843. The two parties were 
almost evenly matched in the General 
Assembly, so evenly that one or two 
votes would determine the contest. On 
the first ballot O. H. Smith, the Whig 
candidate, received 72 votes, Tilghman 
A. Howard, the Democratic candidate, 
74 and Joseph G. Marshall, a whig, 1. 
On the second ballot O, H. Smith receiv- 
ed 75, Howard 74. Daniel Kelso, a 
Whig senator from Switzerland county, 
voted for Hannegan. On the sixth bal- 
lot the democrats dropt Howard, and 
supported Hannegan who then received 
76 votes and was elected. Kelso was 
openly charged with selling his vote 
and the whigs, by public resolution, de- 
nounced him. ' ' 

In 1848 the democrats controlled the 
General Assembly. A spirited contest 
at once began for Hannegan 's seat in 
the United States senate. Governor 
Whitcomb, Eobert Dale Owen, E. M. 
Chamberlain and Senator Hannegan 
were the Democratic aspirants. There 
were 82 of the 87 members present. 
Whitcomb received 49, Owen 12, Han- 
negan 10, Chamberlain 6, and Whitcomb 
ifttwas elected. 

In 1851 Covington had four illustri- 
ous men living there. Hannegan was 
e, Tl admitted as a Mason, May 26, 1850; 



lical 



net 



Daniel W. Voorhees was raised a Mason 
December 13, 1850 and Lew Wallace 
was made a Mason January 15, 1851, so 
at the time Edward A. Hannegan, Dan- 
iel W. Voorhees, Lew Wallace and 
Isaac A. Eice were all of them resi- 
dents of Covington. 

A trivial incident, but worth the tell- 
ing as a means of injecting a lighter 
vein into a story that is all too sad, 
has been handed down among the old 
men of Covington. Hannegan had a 
younger brother, George by name,- an 
awkward youth who during his teens 
made his home with Edward. As no 
man is a hero to his valet so George 
failed to appreciate the brilliance and 
greatness of his brother. Often when 
the latter was engaged in the prepara- 
tion of an important speech or a brief 
the lad would come lounging into his 
office and break in upon his work with 
unnecessary noise and conversation. 
Finally Edward told George one day 
that he wanted him to show some re- 
spect for him, that when he came into 
the office he was to take a seat quietly 
and without speaking wait until the 
older brother was ready to talk to him. 

It was but a few days later that 
George came into the office and sat 
down in a chair. He did not speak but 
clapped his hands in an effort to attract 
the attention of Edward from his desk 
but the latter, thinking that it was 
good discipline for the youngster, kept 
him waiting for some time before he 
finally lookt up and askt what was 
wanted. "You told me not to speak to 
you when I came in," he exclaimed, 
"so I didn't — ^but your house is on 
fire! " And it was. 

Julia Henderson Levering, who was 
born in Covington, says in her History 



138 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



of Indiana in speaking of the part 
Fountain county took in the constitu- 
tional convention of 1851: 

' ' Covington was a very thriving town 
in those days, with the lively commerce 
of the new canal and river and eclipsed 
the capital of the state in business pros- 
pects. In the village there was a bril- 
liant coterie of young men, who had 
settled there because of the flattering 
business outlook. Many of them be- 
came famous afterwards in state and 
national politics. Such men as Senator 
Edward Hannegan, Judge Eistine, Dan- 
iel Voorhees, David Briar, and Lew 
Wallace resided in the town." Again 
she says: "There was also much bluster 
thruout the west during President 
Polk's campaign over the claims of 
Great Britan regarding Oregon. With 
the other states west of the Alleghanies, 
Indiana joined in the cry of her own 
United States Senator, Edward Hanne- 
gan, of 'Fifty-four forty or fight.' " 

In the county election in August, 
1851, there were three candidates for 
representative from Fountain County. 
Jacob Dice received 1165 votes, Hanne- 
gan 997 and William Piatt 80. Piatt 
lived in Covington and built the house 
that is now the home of Judge I. E, 
Schoonover. Piatt county, Illinois, was 
named for him. Perhaps in this elec- 
tion Lew Wallace was elected prosecu- 
ting attorney, as a democrat. Daniel 
W. Voorhees was then a young attor- 
ney, with splendid prospects before him, 
and a whig, Isaac A. Eice, was a prac- 
ticing attorney and editor of The Foun- 
tain Ledger at Covington. 

After the election was over Edward 
A. Hannegan entered the race for the 
presidency and secured possibly nine 
states so it lookt as tho nothing would 



prevent his being the Democratic ca 
didate for president in the electic 
which would follow. Had he been tl 
nominee he would have been the pre 
ident of the United States instead ' 
Franklin Pierce, for Pierce was th< 
unknown. 

It happened that under the strei 
of the canvass he was drinking mor 
whiskey than usual and it was gettii 
the best of him to an extent that alarri 
ed his friends. He came home for 
rest and his brother-in-law, Capt. Jol 
E. Duncan, who had won his title 
the Mexican war, upbraided him f 
his drunkenness. Duncan was great 
interested in the welfare of his briLi 
ant brother-in-law and saw that Lli 
own conduct was jeopardizing h 
chances. A bitter quarrel followed ai 
finally Mrs. Hannegan prevailed upcl 
her husband to go ^pstairs. Cap' 
Duncan is said to have called HannegJ 
a coward and slapt his face. This wi 
more than the whiskey-fired brain >' 
Hannegan could stand and snatchii 
a dagger from a mantel in the roc 
he drove it to the hilt in the captain 
body. Duncan died the next day b 
before his death declared that no blan 
should be attacht to Hannegan. L 
was buried in the old cemetery i| 
Covington where his grave can st: 
be seen. Hannegan was heartbrokc 
over the affair and never again ent€ 
ed the cemetery, even refusing to j 
there when his wife was buried. Th 
incident occurred in the house no 
occupied by David Ferguson as a rt 
idence, opposite the Methodist churc 
on May 6, 1852. 

The killing naturally created a se 
sation, not only locally but thruo 
the nation for Hannegan, be it remei 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



139 



bered, was a national figure and the 
leading candidate for the presidency. 
Lew Wallace, the prosecuting attor- 
ney, refused to prosecute Hannegan 
and tendered his resignation, soon af- 
terward moving from Covington to 
Crawfordsville. A charge of man- 
slaughter was lodged against Hannegan 
but the grand jury failed to indict 
him. Isaac A. Eice criticized severely 
the grand jury and court for this find- 
ing but that it appears to have met 
popular approval is evidenced by the 
fact that the democrats of the commun- 
ity made it so warm for Rice that he 
was forced to leave and he moved his 
paper to Attica, where it became The 
iAttica Ledger and endures to this day. 
i The only official record that is left 
lof the Duncan tragedy is the following 
in the Order Book among the records 
in the clerk's office at Covington: 
"Sixth Judicial Day, of the September 
Term of Court, 1852. State of Indiana 
(VS. E. A. Hannegan, on a charge of 
naanslaughter. Comes now the said 
defendant and no bill of indictment 
having been found by the grand jury 
it is ordered by the court that the said 
defendant be discharged and go hence 
[[without day. Signed, September 18, 
11852 by J. Naylor, Judge." 
. Hannegan was never the same man 
■after the tragedy. He abandoned his 
presidential and all other political as- 
ipirations and for a few years continued 
:to practice law at Covington in a des- 
mltory way, but spending much time 
11 in the saloons thus gradually lost his 
ilprestige. 

Daniel Voorhees was appointed to 
iijdll the unexpired term of Lew Wallace 
tas prosecuting attorney but soon after- 
DA'ards Voorhees, partially on account of 



criticism in this case, left Covington 
and went to Terre Haute. 

It is useless for me to tell the story 
of the life of Lew Wallace. The his- 
tory of the state in which he lived 
could not be written without his deeds 
being recorded. Daniel W. Voorhees 
became United States senator and the 
most eloquent criminal lawyer in the 
United States of America. Isaac A. 
Eice was elected to the State senate 
from 1856 to 1860 and died in 1860 at 
Delphi while making a political speech. 
He was then the nominee for congress 
from this dictrict and would have been 
elected had he not met this untimely 
end. It is said that Hennegan discov- 
ered Lew Wallace and Daniel W. Voor- 
hees. He was a great admirer of Bish- 
op Simpson, one of the early presidents 
of Asbury University (now DePauw 
University), and did much to aid Simp- 
son to get recognition in the eastern 
states as a public speaker, interesting 
the members of the United States Sen- 
ate and Congress in the bishop's ora- 
tory. 

The late Judge James McCabe of 
Williamsport was a great admirer of 
Hannegan and named his son Edward 
after him. Judge McCabe has told 
me that Hennegan was very graceful 
in his personal appearance, with a mu- 
sical voice and the most eloquent man 
he ever heard speak. 

Hannegan was very fond of the Wa- 
bash Valley and the Wabash river. 
Often he would leave Washington dur- 
ing a session of Congress to go home 
and fish and hunt and regain his health 
along the banks of the Wabash. Once 
he said to a friend, "Come go 
home with me and let me show you the 
lovely valley of the Wabash." Again, 



140 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



on a hot day in Washington, ' ' I can en- 
dure these hot and crowded halls no 
longer, I must have free air and space 
in which to roam, I would like to fish 
and hunt where I pleased and when I 
pleased; come go home with me, and 
see how I live in Indiana, and the 
beauty of the Wabash river and the 
Wabash Valley." 

In 1857 some of Hannegan's politi- 
cal friends in St.Louis prevailed upon 
him to move to that city (where his 
only son had previously located,) with 
the idea of rehabilitating his political 
fortunes. He opened a law oflS.ce there 
and for two years his friends did all 
they could to aid in gaining prominence 
for him politically. Possibly their zeal 
was not unselfish and some of them at 
least hoped to profit by his return to 
popularity. They met with some suc- 
cess, altho the edge of Hannegan's 
ambition was dulled by the tragedy at 
Covington and by the death of his wife, 
which had occurred in the meantime. 
The whiskey habit still remained with 
him and he had also become addicted 
to morphine. In spite of these handi- 
caps he and his friends were making 
headway. 

Finally in January, 1859, his friends 
concluded that it was time for a master 
stroke and arranged for a great meet- 
ing at which the chief address was to 
be made by Hannegan. This address, 
it was expected, would attract nation- 
wide attention and again bring the 
speaker into national prominence as 
presidential timber. The meeting was 
carefully arranged and widely adver- 
tised. A huge crowd responded and 
the plans were working fine so the 
promoters were elated. But the mills 
of the gods are relentless. Hannegan 



had worshipt at the shrine of Bacc 
and Bacchus claimed his toll. Re? 
ing that ujjon the success of this spe 
depended his success or failure Hai 
gan resorted to both whiskey and r 
phine for stimulant. The man ■' 
made the speech of introduction 
long-winded. He reviewed the pu 
career of Hannegan at length and tilk 
ed too long. When it came time prj 
Hannegan to speak the drug and a 
hoi had passed the stage of stimi 
tion and were beginning to have thetp 
posite effect. He made the add:lps( 
but it was lacking in the brilliance 
power of oratory which his hearers 
been led to expect, and fell flat. 

His friends upbraided him for 
indulgence at such a critical time. N"* 
of them realized more clearly than 
how completely he had failed. He w.! 
to his room that night stung by 
criticism of his friends and deprest 
the sense of his own humiliation. N 
of them ever saw him alive afterwf! 
The next morning his dead body i 
found in his bed, death having come 
the result of an overdose of morph 
Whether the drug was taken with 
cidal intent or merely to induce si 
and rest from his thoughts will ne(ii 
be known. His death occurred Jas 
ary 25, 1859. His body was takeniijo 
Terre Haute for burial altho his wk 
was buried at Covington. 

So ends the life of Edward A. H 
negan, the most brilliant orator 
Wabash Valley ever produced; an 
more than that, the most brilliant c 
tor that ever graced the halls of 
American Congress. His meteoric 
reer furnishes ample room for morak- 
ing on the evil of indulgence in alcoll- 
ic liquor but perhaps it were better t 



SKETCHES OP THE WABASH VALLEY 



141 



draw about his shortcomings the mantle 
of charity and close this sketch with 
these words from the finish of a speech 
he delivered in Congress: "For the 
singleness and sincerity of my motives 
I appeal to Heaven; by them I am 
willing to be judged now and hereafter 
when prostrate at Thy feet, O, God, I 
falter forth my last brief prayer for 
mercy on an erring life." 

Hannegan was a man of strong sen- 
timental interests. Before he left Cov- 
ington he gave to Colonel McManomy, 
of that city, who happened to be 
the local Democratic leader at the time, 
a photograph of himself, with the in- 
junction that it be kept as a Demo- 
cratic talisman. Years afterward when 
McManomy came to his death bed he 



sent for Hannibal Yount, upon whose 
shoulders the cloak of leadership then 
rested, and placed the portrait in his 
hands as a sacred trust to be passed on 
at his death. Yount kept the picture 
all his life and just two weeks 
before his death summoned Leroy 
Sanders, at that time county clerk and 
leader of the county Democracy, and 
turned the talisman over to him. Mr. 
Sanders moved to Indianapolis in 1915 
but took the picture with him and still 
holds it altho he recognizes the obliga- 
tion that rests upon him to pass it on 
and expects to return it to Covington 
when he feels that the proper time has 
come. It is the only photograph of 
Hannegan known to be in existence. 



The Western Emigration 



"Westward the course of empire 
takes its flight." 

"Westward, Ho, Westward" has 
been the cry from the landing of the 
Pilgrims on Plymouth Eock until this 
I day. 

Two things in human nature have 
had to do with the western trend of 
emigration: one, the desire to better 
and make easier the conditions of life 
for posterity; the other, adventure. 
And so the settler, buoyant with hope 
to better the condition of his children, 
joined hands with the venturesome 
spirit and together they have slowly 
/wended their way across the continent. 

The entire story of America from the 
Cavalier of the South and the Pilgrim 
of New England has been one contin- 



uous story of the life of the pioneer. 
As this stream of emigration has poured 
slowly across the continent it has driven 
before it the stolid red man. In the 
Eastern Middle States it has hewn from 
the forest the prosperous and beautiful 
farms and builded towns and cities; 
it has broken the sod of the prairies of 
the Middle West and made them blossom 
and bloom as the rose and has wrenched 
from the miserly grasp of rock in the 
mountains of the West the rich deposits 
of ore. Those pioneers who left the Wa- 
bash Valley to make their future homes 
on the Pacific coast have added their 
mite to the building of an empire. 

What a delightful task our fathers 
have performed I What a magnificent 
empire they have builded! What a 



142 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



splendid heritage they have left to 
posterity I Most of them have finished 
their journey on earth, and gone the 
way of all the world and we noyv reap 
the fruits of their labor. 

The turning spindles and flying shut- 
tles in the factories sing Labor's sweet 
song, while the earth answers in abund- 
ance to those who till the soil or herd 
the cattle on a thousand hills. Even the 
tropical fruits of the sunny South, the 
forests in all their pristine beauty, and 
the broad wheatfields of the western 
plains and the great Northwest are all, 
all of them but answering notes of the 
labor of the generations that have pre- 
ceded us. 

From 1842 to 1849 there was a great 
influx of emigration from the eastern 
states into Indiana and Illinois, the 
emigrants coming in from almost every 
direction, and in all kinds of convey- 
ances used in that day. Many came up 
the river or down the river and later 
many came over the national road, leav- 
ing it to go further north. Many of 
their descendants, having the pioneer 
spirit, crowded into the states of Iowa 
and Missouri. "When gold was discover- 
ed in California in 1847 this furnished 
the opportunity for the venturesome 
spirits that had come early into the 
Wabash Valley and many of them, like 
Judge Samuel Clark, fitted out ox wag- 
ons and started for the gold mining 
districts of the Pacific coast. There 
was one colony of about twenty wagons 
that left Attica and Williamsport to go 
overland to California. This colony 
was taken thru by a man named Davis. 
John L. Foster,, the father of George 
and Daniel Foster, went into this colony 
when quite a boy with some two or 
three neighbors from Shawnee town- 



ship. Many of those who started eair 
on the long, long journey across t> 
plains to the Pacific coast died on ts 
road and a very small percent of thtji 
ever returned. Hundreds of famil;|i| 
left the Wabash Valley to cross t; 
plains in search of gold and it may j 
said that the majority of them ths' 
reached the Promised Land prosperec ; 

In 1850 to 1852 a great many went 
Oregon over the Oregon trail. A 1!^ 
Waymire, of Independence, left In(- 
pendence with about five hundred mti 
women and children to go to Oregc 
When his colony reached the Piatt ri-v 
not a great distance from Ft.Kearnt 
they became afiiicted with cholera a: 
many of them died. The rest of t 
colony became so discouraged that thf 
returned to Missouri, only two wagC'' 
and five people of the five hundred th 
started ever reaching Oregon. A f( 
years later Mr. Longmyer started f re 
near where Frank Martin now lives 
Logan township, with a colony of abo 
three hundred persons; this colony we 
thru without any mishaps. Longmy 
himself settled at the foot of Mt. R; 
nier and his family still live there a: 
run a hotel at what is known as Lob 
myer Springs, at the foot of the mon 
tain. Those that came back and tc 
the story of the plains saw the pos] 
bilities of what was then called ti 
Great American Desert, and many Ci 
onies were made up to go to Colorac 
Kansas and Nebraska in the fiftiii 
There was a very large emigration frc 
Davis township to Nebraska. The en: 
grants met in a schoolhouse near t, 
mouth of Grindstone creek and start 
from that point after which this schoi 
house, and sometimes also the cree. 
was called Nebraska. When the W 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



143 



bash railroad a few years later was built 
thru there it made a siding near the 
school which was called Nebraska 
Switch. All the horses, cattle and hogs 
shipt cast were fed at this point. Fol- 
lowing this emigration started to Kan- 
sas and Colorado and for many years 
there was hardly a day during the spring 
ithat one could not see a covered wagon 
:on the road with emigrants on their way 
iWest. The majority of those people 



who left the Wabash Valley and the 
eastern states to make their homes in 
the West fared very well in later years, 
altho many of them suffered all the 
hardships of the pioneer. 

Within the past twenty-five years 
travel has become so cheap and con- 
venient on the railroads that the cov- 
ered wagons pulled by horses with emi- 
grants bound for the West have entire- 
ly disappeared. 



Early Judges of Warren County 



I Charles V. McAdams, for twenty 
years a well known and successful at- 
torney at Williamsport but now of La- 
fayette, made a very interesting and 
valuable contribution to local history 
bhis year when he presented to the War- 
ten Circuit court ■ large framed por- 
traits of eleven of the men who have 
served that county as judge. The list 
Includes Isaac Naylor, Eleazer Purvi- 
ance, Wm. Perkins Bryant, William E. 
Boyer, John M. Cowan, James Park, 
John M. LaEue, James MeCabe, Joseph 
M. Eabb and James T. Saunderson. 
This, of course, is not a complete list 
t)f the judges of the county but it in- 
cludes .all those of whom photographs 
lare in existence. 

I Mr. McAdams prefaced his remarks 
'.with the statement that he had begun 
i:he study of law in Williamsport in 
11879 in the office of Judge Eabb. In 
liis legal work as the years went by 
(le had often run across the names of 
(men who served the county in a judi- 
ikial capacity during its early history 
'ind was imprest by the fact that an 



unusual number of them afterwards 
became prominent in state and national 
affairs. A few weeks before he noticed 
in the papers a story that the oldest 
living alumnus of Indiana university 
was John M. Cowan, now 94 years old 
and a resident of Missouri. In the 
story it was related that he had been a 
judge in Indiana, and Mr. McAdams 
recalled that a man by the same name 
had been circuit judge of Warren coun- 
ty during the Civil war. He wrote to 
Judge Cowan and verified this and la- 
ter secured from him a photograph 
which formed the nucleus of the col- 
lection. This discovery led to others. 
By delving into old court records he 
secured names of the other judges and 
after locating their descendants wher- 
ever possible secured from them photo- 
graphs, daguerrotypes, or tintypes from 
which he had the larger portraits made. 
The first judge that dispensed jus- 
tice in Warren county was John Por- 
ter, a ' ' president judge, ' ' who was 
assisted by two associate judges. Judge 
Porter was born at Pittsfield, Mass. In 



144 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



1822 he came to Indiana, settled at 
Paoli, and was soon afterward elected 
judge. To be nearer the center of his 
district he moved to Vermillion county, 
locating near the town of Eugene, 
which at that time was one of the 
most thriving in western Indiana. He 
served as president judge until 1838 
and was widely noted for his judicial 
ability. No picture of Judge Porter 
was obtainable. 

Next was Isaac Naylor, who succeed- 
ed Judge Porter in 1838 and retained 
the position until 1852 when the office 
of president judge was abolisht by the 
new constitution. Later (1863 to 1867) 
he was judge of the common pleas 
court, making 21 years that he was a 
judge of Warren county. His home was 
at Crawfordsville. He was a native 
of Eockingham, Va., and came from 
there to Kentucky, thence to Charles- 
ton, Ind., later removing to Vevay and 
finding his final home at Crawfords- 
ville. He was admitted to the Warren 
county bar in 1833. His son is now 
professor in English in a well known 
university, but strangely enough, knows 
practically nothing about his father's 
judicial record. He was one of the 
band of Hoosier settlers that pursued 
the Indians after the Pigeon Boost 
massacre, and was a private, in the bat- 
tle of Tippecanoe. In the great rally 
held on the Tippecanoe battlefield in 
1840 he was one of the principal speak- 
ers. 

The new constitution adopted in 1851 
abolisht the president judges and creat- 
ed circuit judges in their stead. The 
first circuit judge was Wm. P. Bryant, 
whose circuit included Warren, Vermil- 
lion, Parke, Fountain, Montgomery, 
Clinton and Tippecanoe counties. He 



was a native of Lexington, Ky., bijo'i' 
in 1806, married there in 1832 and!i>-^ 
cated at Eockville, where he forD|i« 
a law partnership with Tighlman L./' 
Howard, later U. S. senator. Bry 
served as state senator from 18323 
'33, prosecutor from 1834 to '38, st 
senator from 1838 to '39, and later rfe" 
was appointed chief justice of Ore^ai* 
territory, which position he filled r"'' 
four years. On his return to Indisiial'' 



he was elected circuit judge in 1. 



2<f< 



and filled the position until 1858, wl^ 
he was succeeded by Judge Cowan, 
whom reference has already been ma(^ 

The later circuit judges were Thor 
P. Davidson, 1870-1882, Joseph 
Eabb, 11882-1906, James T. Saunders^ 
1906-1912, and Burton B. Berry, 
present incumbent. 

From 1852 to 1873 there was alsdg 
court of common pleas in addition lol" 
the circuit court, which had juriscs-p 
tion only in the county. Its first jui e 
was Daniel Mills, and then followed v 
order, Wm. E. Boyer, (an uncle of \e^ 
late W. B. Durborow), Isaac Nay'r,"* 
James Park, (who built the house li 
Williamsport in which E. F. McCiiej ' 
now lives). He was provost mars:|ii* 
of this district during the Civil ^:r'^' 
and served as judge only from Mali 
to October 1867. Later he was bf 
pointed consul to Aix la Chapeip 
France. John M. LaEue was the lU 
judge of the court of common pleas; 

As first organized the circuit coi ;s 
of Indiana had three judges, the 
cuit or president judge, and two 
sociate judges in each county, who i] 1 
cupied the bench with the presidB? 
judge and sometimes held court on im 
tain cases without him being prestt/fc 
These, associate judges were iseldnlii 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



145 



lawyers but men of sound common sense 
and judgement. Nathaniel Butterfield 
and Samuel Clark, grandfather of O. 
S. Clark, of Attica, were the first of 
these associate judges in Warren coun- 
ty. They were followed by Isaac 
^Rains, James Crawford, David McCon- 
aell, Hugh M. King, Wm. Allen, Thom- 
ras Collins, Levi Jennings, William Cal- 
idron, Eleazer Purvianee, Josiah Thorpe 
land Silas Hooker. Judge Purvianee 
iiwas a grandfather of Dr. E. D. Purvi- 
lanee of Attica. 

Prom 1829 to 1852 the matter of 
looking after wills and the settlement 
[of estates was handled by a special 
?ourt maintained for that purpose and 
iknown as the probate court. There 
t^ere only four probate judges. Wm. 
Willmuth served from 1829 to 1836, 
fTohn B. King from 1836 to 1840, Ed- 
ward Mace from 1840 to 1846, and 
jPeter Schoonover from 1846 till the 
j court was abolisht with the adoption 
of the new constitution in 1852. The 
|iast named was the father of I. A. 
Schoonover, present judge of the Foun- 
tain Circuit court. 

It seems a little remarkable, but is 
doubtless true, no other county in the 
state has had such a number of noted 
^men connected with its courts. In ad- 
,dition to the mention that has already 



been made of the honors achieved by 
some of them there is Judge James 
McCabe, of the Warren county bar, 
who served as justice of the supreme 
court. Judge J. M. Rabb served on the 
Appellate bench. The list of men who 
served as, prosecuting attorney also 
contains a number that afterwards be- 
came known to fame. Edward A. Han- 
negan, was state senator. United States 
senator, minister to Prussia and a can- 
didate for the presidency. J. E. Mc- 
Donald, James Bingham and Ele Stans- 
bury have been attorney general, Mr. 
McDonald being the first to fill that 
office' after it was created and Mr. 
Stansbury being the present incumbent. 
McDonald also served as United States 
senator. Samuel C. Wilson and Robert 
B. F. Pierce became congressmen, the 
former being a friend and supporter of 
Lincoln. Lew Wallace made a notable 
military record in the Civil war and is 
known thruout the world as an author. 
He also served with credit as minister 
to Mexico and to Turkey. Joseph A. 
Wright served twice as governor. J. 
Frank Hanly, who began his legal ca- 
reer in the Warren bar, also served as 
state senator, congressman and gover- 
nor, and later was a candidate for the 
presidency on the Prohibition ticket. 



Early Courts of Fountain County 



The first court held in Fountain coun- 

l|ty was held at the home of Robert Het- 

field on the 14th day of July, 1826, not 

far from Aylesworth on the Strader 

j|farm in Shawnee township. This court 



was presided over by Judge Lucas Neb- 
eker, with Evans Hinton as associate 
judge. Lucas Nebeker was the father 
of George Nebeker and the grandfather 
of Lucas Nebeker, the well known at- 



146 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



torney at Covington and one of tlie best 
lawyers in the State of Indiana, and 
of Enos Nebeker, who at one time was 
United States treasurer. Evans Hinton 
lived east of Attica near where Harry 
Stephenson now lives. He was an un- 
cle of Mrs. Wilson Claypool and of Dr. 
John Evans, the most illustrious citi- 
zen who ever resided in Attica. Neither 
Nebeker nor Hinton were lawyers but 
were both farmers. In this first court 
held by them there was not much bus- 
iness transacted. 

In September of the same year and 
at the same place the second court was 
held with John R. Porter as president 
judge, and Lucas Nebeker and Evans 
Hinton as associate judges. This term 
of court lasted but one day, no case 
coming up for trial. However, at this 
term of court John Law, Thomas H. 
Blake, Joseph VanMeter, John B. Chap- 
man, Andrew Ingram and James Har- 
rington, coming from all parts of the 
county, were admitted to the bar for 
the practice of law. 

John E. Porter, president judge, was 
born at Pittsfield, Mass. He first set- 
tled at Paoli when coming to Indiana 
in 1822 and soon afterwards was elect- 
ed judge. His circuit extended from the 
Ohio river to Lake Michigan, and in 
order to be near the center of his dis- 
trict he moved to Vermilion county, tak- 
ing up land from the government near 
what was then known as the Buffalo 
Springs just a little below Cayuga and 
now known locally as Portertown. A 
grandaughter of Judge Porter now 
lives on the site of his home there. 
It was on this land that General Wil- 
liam Henry Harrison located his fort 
for reserve supplies and the logs for 
this fort are still in good preservation 



as they lie in the Wabash river on thijjfl'' 
farm. It was from this point thjj 1 18 ' 
General Harrison left the river with hlj il ^ 
army to make their journey skirtir''"'"' 
the prairie in November, 1811, as the 
marched to Prophetstown where thefiw 
fought the Battle of Tippecanoe. M» ' 

Eugene at that time (1824) was tl 
most thriving town in western Indianti 
Across the Vermilion river from Eugei|| 
had been the Kickapoo town which w: 
destroyed by Major General John 
Ilamtramck in one of the most cru 
and heartless slaughters of innoee: 
women and children ever recorded ar 
to which reference has been made i|| 
some of the early sketches of thi 
series. 

The court met in Fountain counii! 
again in 1828. At this meeting Edwaij 
A. Hannegan and Daniel Rodgers we:tiii 
admitted to the bar to practice law ii 
Fountain county. In March, 1830, tH be 
first indictment for murder was ri i t 
turned by a grand jury of Fountain 
county. The grand jury was compo( 
ed of William Cockran, who lived ne? 
Chambersburg. Samuel Trullinger, ( 
Davis township, who afterwards wes! 
to Utah with the Mormons; Alex. Lj 
gan, Benjamin Wade, Jacob Bever arlilSj 
Robert Miller of Cain township; Dav'j leBa 
Sewell, of Troy township; Jesse 0| Ifi 
born of Shawnee township; Caleb Aw 
ernathy, of Fulton township; Jam 
Stewart, of Troy township; Stephtfc 
Harper, Samuel Garber, Conrad Wal !33, 
ters, John Ralston and Bennett Seibiri t{ 
At this time Edward A. Hannegan m ; 
prosecuting attorney. The petit jui 
that had the ease consisted of Jotl 
Miller, of Cain township; Joshua She: a Hi 
rill, of Logan township: James Orr, ( 
Shawnee township; Henry Campbel' 



kk 



lifted 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



147 



lif Davis township, John Helms and 
aLsa Smith, of Cain township, Eli- 
liih Ferguson and Ehodes Smith, of 
ulton township, Abraham Gabriel and 
ames Shaw, of Jackson township; Job 
rahood, of Wabash township and Hi- 
im Funk, of Davis township. The 
nan accused of murder was James 
i^ichardson. The case was tried in the 
all of 1830. Richardson was found 
ajuilty as charged in the indictment and 
ntenced to be hung, which sentence 
Kfas duly executed, the man being hung 
efore a great crowd at Covington. At 
lis trial Judge John R. Porter pre- 
ded and the associate judges were 
ucas Nebeker, of Troy Township, and 
vans Hinton, of Logan township. Lu- 
itjis Nebeker, in his trial gave orally a 
ssenting opinion on the theory that 
ichardson was insane and on account 
c his insanity was not responsible for 
le act committed. This is perhaps the 
tfrst time that this defense was ever 
liiised by any one on any occasion in a 
o|ial for murder. 
Judge John R. Porter served as pres- 
ent judge in Fountain county from 
!ni?26 to 1838 when he was succeeded by 
jcidge Isaac M. Naylor who served un- 
1 1852. Judge Naylor had fought in 
iie Battle of Tippecanoe with William 
liienry Harrison and wrote the best ac- 
Upunt of the battle ever written, 
Lucas Nebeker served as associate 
idge from July 8, 1826 until July 8, 
a:?33. Evans Hinton served as associ- 
rce judge from July 8, 1826 until July 
1833. 

August 28, 1832 Robert Milford was 

ih ected associate judge in place of Ev- 

Hinton, his term beginning July 8, 

i33 and ending in seven years. John 

ellbrse was elected at the same election 



with Mr. Milford on August 28, 1832 
and served until August 28, 1834, when 
he resigned and Benedict Morris was 
elected to serve Corse's unexpired 
term. The term of Morris began on 
July 25, 1840. At the expiration of 
the term of Judge Milford, (who was 
the great-grandfather of Judge Charles 
R. Milford, of Lafayette, and the 
grandfather of Robert Milford of At- 
tica), James Orr, the father of B. S. 
Orr and E. E. Orr, was elected in his 
stead for seven years and served until 
July 25, 1847. The associate judge 
who was elected to serve this seven 
years with Judge James Orr was Steph- 
en Reed, the father of Worth Reed of 
Covington, and the grandfather of Dan 
C. Reed, of Attica. He also served 
from July 25, 1840 until July 25, 1847. 

By an act of the Legislature ap- 
proved January 20, 1830 the first judi- 
cial circuit was comprised of Vermilion, 
Warren, Parke, Montgomery, Fountain, 
Tippecanoe, Carroll, Cass, Clinton and 
St. Joseph counties. John R. Porter 
was the president judge of all these 
counties until 1838 and much other 
territory not then organized into coun- 
ties was attached to these counties for 
judicial purposes. 

It was the custom of the attorneys 
when John R. Porter and Isaac N. Nay- 
lor were president judges of their large 
circuits to ride the circuit with the 
judges, so all the attorneys in all the 
counties presided over by these judges 
followed them on horseback from one 
county seat to another. The litigants 
awaited the arrival of the court and 
attorneys and often selected the par- 
ticular attorney that they wished to 
handle their case after their arrival. 

Edward A. Hannegan was elected 



148 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



prosecuting attorney for the district 
in 1830. This judicial district was 
composed of about the same counties 
that made the congressional district, 
and thru the acquaintance that he 
formed while prosecuting attorney he 
was elected to congress. 

Samuel Fletcher Wood was one of the 
last prosecutors to travel a large cir- 
cuit with the judge. He was a good 
prosecutor, and an orator of more than 
local reputation. He was elected pros- 
ecuting attorney in 1862 and served 
thru the Civil war, and until 1868. He 
had a fine education, secured at Asbury 
(now DePauw) University and Hlinois 
Wesleyan, was naturally brilliant, and 
gave much time to study, both legal 
and general. He read Greek and Latin 
classics in the original and was known 
for his culture. At the close of his term 
as prosecutor, urged by his friends, he 
thought some of running for congress. 
A meeting was arranged for him at Pos- 
sum Hollow, in Davis township, Foun- 
tain county, an out-of-the-way place, off 
main traveled roads, but a convenient 
juncture of Warren, Fountain and Tip- 
pecanoe counties. Some of his friends 
thought it a mistake to have the meet- 
ing in this isolated spot, but such was 
Wood 's reputation as a speaker that be- 
tween three and four thousand people 
from the three counties attended. He 
stirred the enthusiasm of his followers 
by his speech, but his congressional as- 
pirations seem to have ceased with his 
address. Whenever he appeared in a 
trial the court room was sure to be 
crowded, but he was too diffident to 
political preferment to make an effort 



for it, or to lend the required assistan . 
He was mentioned for foreign posts a 1 
for a senatorship, and the result v i 
the same. He served in the state sen; i 
and in the Hathaway murder trial i 
proved himself quite the equal of Dan 1 ' 
W. Voorhees in an appeal to the ju , 
He won the case from Voorhees, 1 
the advantages were on the side of 1 
latter. His speech in this trial added 
his fame and the older residents of 1 
county remember it today. 

Wood read law with David Davis, i-, 
Bloomington, Illinois, who was judgeefls' 
the circuit court over which Linci i " 
traveled. When Davis was made a T 
ited States supreme judge by Linccifi i 
he would often write to Wood :#^ 
points on constitutional law, in parti iW*' 
lar, and would discuss points of l'?** 
with him. Wood knew Lincoln, and t 
many interesting stories of him and a } 
of his own law practice in the distr f '? 
over which he traveled while prosec •'' 
ing attorney. Wood was regarded # 
the successor in oratorical ability to >! "i 
S. Senator Edward Hannegan. W( i^ 
told me that when Dice defeated HI *' 
negan for representative in the str ' 
legislature, after Hannegan 's notewf' 
thy public life, the former political gi ' "" 
said to him in the dusk of the even.i: 
when the news came to them in 
court house yard ' ' The gloom of ti ™ 
night is the winding sheet of my 
litieal career." Mr. Wood came fr 
Southern Cavalier stock. Like msl • 
men of his stock, he had convivial hi 
its and was not ambitious, or he mii 
have attained to almost any positionj"'' 
desired. 



:i) 



SKETCPIES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



149 



The "Dolly Varden" Railroad 



Soon after tlie Civil war some for- 
ard looker evolved the dream of a 
^rth and south railroad thru the lower 
abash Valley, to Attica and thenee 
trth across the prairies to Chicago, 
le Toledo and Western (now the Wa- 
ish Eailway) had been in operation 
ly a few years but was prospering and 
i building had meant a great devel- 
fement along that part of the Wabash 
alley lying above Attica. The route 
I planned for the north and south 
ad began at Newburg, on the Ohio 
t^er, in Warrick county, and extended 
imost straight northward thru the 
fazil coal fields, Eockville and Attica, 
; 1871 and '72 the plans took definite 
jape, and an organization was effected. 
E. B. Thomas, of Cincinnati, an ear- 
ist temperance advocate and wealthy 
an, was the president of the railroad, 
d James D. McDonald, of Attica, was 
e vice-president. They started build- 
g the road in sections. They began 

Newburg and graded fifteen miles 
frthward. This part of the road was 
ver used and neither ties nor rails 
3re ever laid. They then built the 
'ade from Bowling Green in Clay 
unty to within a mile of Eockville, 
iiich I think is in use, and also built 
e road from Attica to Veedersburg. 
The building of this road from Attica 

Veedersburg was a very interesting 
riod for Attica. Atticans thought 
ith the completion of this road that 
ttica would become the metropolis of 
)untain and Warren counties and vot- 
. a heavy tax for the construction of 



the railroad. The railroad did not 
meet the requirements and the tax was 
never paid. The promoters succeeded 
in making the grade and laying the 
rails from Attica to Veedersburg and 
had one engine and two trains a day. 
A man by the name of Dunlap was 
engineer and Frank Mahan was the 
conductor on the train and various 
young men from around Attica and 
Veedersburg served as brakemen and 
firemen. The people in the center of 
the county had as much hope of this 
railroad as did the people of Attica, 
and the question was where it would 
cross the Indianapolis, Bloomington and 
Western railroad (now the Indianapo- 
lis-Peoria division of the Big Four sys- 
tem), which had gone into operation 
that year. Chambersburg was a flour- 
ishing little town and Mr. Lucas, a man 
of considerable means, was a flourish- 
ing merchant of that place, owning 
nearly all the surrounding land. Peter 
Veeder, a grain merchant of Attica, an 
uncle of John T. Nixon and one of the 
leading figures and heavy stockholders 
in the new road, decided to promote a 
town at the crossing of the roads to 
bear his own name. He went to Mr. 
Lucas and tried to purchase land 
enough of Mr. Lucas and to secure his 
assistance in making the town at Cham- 
bersburg. But Mr. Lucas felt that the 
railroad would come there anyway, be- 
lieving the land too hilly west of Coal 
creek for a town to be built there, and 
declined to assist. Mr. Veeder was in 
every way fair with Mr. Lucas and told 



150 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



him that if he could not arrange to 
build the town at Chambersburg he 
would build it across the creek. Mr. 
Veeder then went to Mr. Keeling, who 
owned the land across the creek, and as 
the land was hilly and not valuable 
for farming, Mr. Keeling was glad of 
the opportunity to let it go for a town 
site. Mr. Veeder took over the greater 
portion of the Keeling holdings, built 
an elevator and a hotel which he called 
the Keeling House, and a flour mill. 
This old hotel still stands and was in 
the limelight this year as the scene of 
the Goddard murder. When he selected 
the site for the town his nephew, John 
T. Nixon, was with him. The site chos- 
en was a corn field, and Mr. Veeder 
began operations immediately, giving 
his town the name of Veedersburg. 

Peter Veeder came to Attica on a 
canal boat about 1850 from Schenec- 
tady, N. Y., and engaged in the grain 
business. Soon after his arrival he 
built an elevator on the canal for hand- 
ling grain, this being the old elevator 
torn down a few years ago, where the 
Waterman lumber yard is located. He 
was a bachelor and a very successful 
business man, and it was largely thru 
the influence of Mr. Veeder and James 
D. McDonald that the north and south 
railroad was built. 

George P. N. Sadler of this city was 
the chief engineer in the construction 
of the railroad from Attica to Veeders- 
burg. One of Sadler's assistants was 
a young engineer by the name of Myers 
who was quite popular with the girls 
in Attica. When he went "sparking" 



he had a custom of taking a Ian- r 
with him to be sure he could find ij 
way home, having some doubt as to [i| 
efficiency of the street lights. Doj^lj 
less some of the middle aged girldD 
Attica remember Mr. Myers and 3) 
lantern. 

The project of the road from N.. 
burg to Chicago failed and afterwjp',, 
Henry Crawford, a prominent lawyeif 
Chicago, took over the "Dolly Varde 
It was thru his efforts and the as; 
ance he received from many per! 
along the right-of-way that the Ch!!^' 
go and Indiana Coal railroad from il 
Brazil coal fields to Chicago was ' 
structed. 

Crawford had a good deal of Is il ' 
trouble. He agreed to build roifl" 
houses at Attica and make Attica a li"'' 
vision point, and for this considera if 
a sum of money was voted by LoV"' 
township for the construction of (i* 
railroad. He did not carry out his il" 
tract in building the round-housesl|!" 
making this a division point and 
appropriation was never paid, 
road was put into operation in ] 
but it was heavily handicapped by c 
and a few years later was leased '^o 
Chicago & Eastern Illinois raih; 
which still operates it as the Brazil j " 
ision of that system. It has na 
achieved the prominence that sti 
other roads have but it has served ' "" 
section of the Wabash Valley well ' * 
has been of great value in its deveil P 
ment, repaying many times over 
years of anxiety and " effort put f < 
by our citizens. 



III 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



151 



Attica's Most Illustrious Citizen 



The tombstones in the old cemetery 
in the southern part of Attica are sil- 
3nt messengers of many forgotten in- 
jidents of interest to the community 
ind many others as well. Visitors to the 
leglected graveyard "where the rude 
forefathers of the hamlet sleep" will 
jiote near the northern side a dilapi- 
;ated iron fence enclosing a tangle of 
veeds and briars amid which rise four 
narbles stones, one an imposing shaft 
;hat is the largest in the cemetery. 
On this stone is chiseled the following 
ihort inscription: "Hannah E., wife 
)f Doctor John Evans, born at Leban- 
^n, Ohio, June 9, 1813. Died at 
Chicago, 111., Oct. 9, 1850. Perhaps the 
jhree sons buried beside the larger 
jrave died in Attica but it is recalled 
)y old residents that the body of Mrs. 
f]vans was brought overland by wagon 
(Tom Chicago to Attica for burial. 

The Evans family was at one time 
imong the leading families of this com- 
munity. The woman's husband, Dr. 
fohn Evans, came to Attica from War- 
en county, Ohio, about 1840 with a 
(erj extensive colony of acquaintances 
pd friends, who settled in Fountain 
md Warren counties. He had a good 
practice in his profession here and built 
he building now occupied as a grocery 
i)y Horace Brant, for an ofS.ce. He 
irected a house on South Perry street 
vhich was removed in 1879 to make 
vay for the brick residence built by 
yharles F. Eobinson and now occupied 
>y his son. 

There being no railroads or water- 



ways northward some of the farmers 
of this vicinity made occasional trips 
to Chicago with a load of products, re- 
turning with manufactured goods, pre- 
ferring this to the more arduous and 
longer trip to New Orleans by flatboat. 
These products included packed pork, 
whiskey from local distilleries and flour 
from local mills. On one of these 
trips Dr. Evans joined some of his 
farmer friends and was imprest at 
once with the possibilities of the grow- 
ing city on the lake. His friends con- 
sidered him somewhat of a dreamer 
when he told them of the great future 
in store for Chicago, and listened in- 
dulgently to his predictions. He was 
indeed a dreamer but he was more 
than that. Not content with sitting 
around and dreaming he started out 
to make his dreams come true. One 
day when the spirit of prophecy was 
upon him he declared to a group of 
his fellow townsmen that before he 
died he intended to build a city, found 
a college, be governor of a state, 
go to the United States senate, make 
himself famous and amass a fortune. 
We can imagine the loud guffaws with 
which this announcement was greeted, 
with perhaps a solemn shake of the 
head on the part of some who feared 
that the bright young doctor was be- 
coming mentally unbalanced. 

Yet John Evans not only made good 
on those very things but accomplisht 
many others that brought him wealth 
and renown. He it was that launcht 
the movement that resulted in the es- 



152 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



tablishment of the state hospital for 
the insane at Indianapolis and he was 
its first superintendent. In the winter 
of 1842-3 Dr. Evans got up a petition 
asking the state legislature to establish 
such an institution. He interested Dr. 
Fisher, another Attica physician, and 
after they had secured a large number 
of signatures they sent it to the legis- 
lature. Nothing resulting they renew- 
ed the petition at the next session and 
placed it in the hands of Dr. C. V. 
Jones, of Covington, who had been 
elected to the state senate. He intro- 
duced it in that body where it was 
referred to the committee on education, 
where after consideration, a favorable 
report was made and the legislature 
made an assessment to create a fund 
for the purpose. The next year an ap- 
propriation was made for money to 
create a building and upon its com- 
pletion Dr. Evans was made superin- 
tendent. He retained the superinten- 
dency until 1848, retiring to move to 
Chicago to accept a professorship in 
Eush Medical College. 

While engaged in teaching young 
medicos at Eush he began to look about 
for something else to find vent for his 
active mind and executive ability. Go- 
ing up along the north shore twelve 
miles from the Chicago river he bought 
a body of land and laid out the town 
of Evanston, (named for himself), be- 
lieving that it would prove a popular 
residence place. His judgement was 
vindicated by the fact that Evanston 
itself has grown to a city of 25,000 and 



that Chicago has spread out until 
covers the miles of territory that jy 
between them. He made a i 
tune in this and other enterprises ii. 
with part of it establisht Northwestta 
University in Evanston and endov 
two chairs in it with $50,000 each, 
took an active part in politics and i 
a delegate to the convention that no{ 
nated Lincoln for president. Haw, 
become acquainted with him at JX\ 
ville. 111., while living at Attica 
Evans was a strong Lincoln man 
voted for him, first, last and all 
time. In 1862 Lincoln appointed ]||n 
territorial governor of Colorado 
he moved to Denver. Ther"e he ib- 
tablisht the University of Denver, jj^' 
ing toward its erection the sum of $2: 
000 and afterward settling upon 
large endowment. He built a railrufdi 
in Colorado and was its president 
a number of years. He was reeognii 
as the foremost citizen of the state ; 
was honored by election to the Uni 
States senate. He practically erec d 
Grace Methodist church in Denver i!di 
aided many educational institutions 
Methodist churches thruout the st*lB, 
He died in Denver July 3, 1897 i 
was buried there far from the negled 
plot where rests the dust of his Ijit. 
wife and their three sons. Anot 
son is still living and is a well knc 
citizen of Denver. 

Judged by his achievements Dr. J]|iiii 
Evans is undoubtedly the greatest i .n 
who ever made his home in Attica. 



a* 



1'^ 



1 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



153 



The Religious Philosophy of the Red Men 



The early missionary among the In- 
dians had much more intelligent men to 
leal with than we usually credit the 
Indian with being. The Indian had his 
ideas of religion. In a previous article 
[ quoted from ' ' The Prophet, ' ' brother 
l)f Tecumseh, in which he condemned 
i;he use of whiskey among the Indians, 
ind insisted that they should fol- 
ow the religion of their fathers. Such 
was the advice of nearly all the chiefs 
)f importance, in all the various tribes, 
md some of their philosophy, from 
Ivhatever source it may have been gath- 
^■ed, was far better than that of 
Ohe missionary, or the preacher on the 
frontier. This sketch more properly 
should have been included vath those 
[•elating to the Indians, early in the 
ies, but as it gives such a clear in- 
sight into the religious philosophy of 
,:he early inhabitants of the Wabash 
^Valley I have thought it of enough 
/alue to include here. 

In defense of my opening statement 
't shall submit the eloquent words of 
ober truth, addrest to a missionary, 
A'ho desired to convert "Eed Jacket," 
i celebrated Seneca chief, who was born 
ibout 1752, near Geneva, New York. 
Sis Indian name was ' ' Sogoyewap- 
tia, the name of "Eed Jacket" being 
^jiven him because of an embroidered 
icarf and jacket presented to him by a 
British officer during the Eevolution- 
iry war. During the war of 1812, "Eed 
racket" served on the American side, 
md gave good account of himself. 

This untutored red man delivered his 



remarkable discourse on religion, at a 
council of the chiefs of Six Nations, 
in the summer of 1805 in answer to 
a missionary named Cram who was en- 
deavoring to cram his religion down the 
throats of the unwilling savages. ' ' Eed 
Jacket" said: 

"It is the will of the Great Spirit 
that we should meet this day. He or- 
ders all things and has given us a fine 
day for our council. He has taken his 
garments from before the sun and has 
caused it to shine with brightness up- 
on us. Our eyes are opened that we are 
see clerly; our ears have been unstopt 
that we have been able to hear dis- 
tinctly the words you have spoken. 
For all of the favors we thank the 
great spirit and Him only. 

' ' Brother, this council fire was kin- 
dled by you. It was at your request 
that we came together at this time. 
We have listened with attention to 
what you have said. You requested us 
to speak our minds freely. This gives 
us joy; for we now consider that we 
stand upright before you and can speak 
what we think. All have heard your 
voice and all speak to you as one man. 
Our minds are agreed. 

' ' Brother you say you want answer 
to your talk before you leave this 
place. It is right you should have one, 
as you are a great distance from your 
home and we do not wish to detain you. 
But first we will look back a little and 
tell you what our fathers have told us 
and what we have heard from the white 
people. 



154 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



"Brother, listen to what we say. 
There was a time when our forefathers 
owned this great island. Their seats 
extended from the rising to the setting 
sun. The Great Spirit had made it for 
the use of the Indians. He had created 
the buffalo, the deer and other animals 
for food. He had made the bear and 
the beaver. Their skins served us for 
clothing. He had scattered them over 
the country and had taught us how to 
use them. He had caused the earth to 
produce corn for us. All this had he 
done for his red children because he 
loved them. If we had some disputes 
about our hunting grounds they were 
generally settled without the shedd- 
ing of blood. 

' ' But an evil day came upon us. 
Your forefathers crossed the great wat- 
er and landed on this island. Their 
numbers were small but they found 
friends. They called us brothers. We 
believed them and gave them a larger 
seat. At length their numbers had 
greatly increased. They wanted more 
land; they wanted our country. Our 
eyes were opened and our minds be- 
came uneasy. Wars took place. Indi- 
ans were hired to fight against Indians 
and many of our people were destroyed. 
They also brought liquor among us. It 
was strong and powerful and has slain 
thousands. 

' ' Brother, our seats were once large 
and yours small. You have now be- 
come a great people and we have scar- 
cely a place left to spread our blank- 
ets. You have gotten our country, but 
are not satisfied; you want to force 
your religion upon us. 

"Brother, continue to listen. You 
are sent to instruct us how to wor- 
ship the Great Spirit agreeable to His 



mind; and if we do not take holdjt* 
the religion which you white pe^ i' 
teach we shall be unhappy hereal 
You say that you are right and we r 
lost. How do we know that this iittf 
be true? We understand that } 
religion is written in a book. If it 
intended for us as well as you, why 
not the Great Spirit given it to us, 
not only to us, but why did he not < 
our forefathers the knowledge of i 3' 
book, with the means of understanc ift 
it rightly? We only know what you !);; 
about it. How shall we know whei tf;- 
believe, being so often deceived by lU 
white people? 

"Brother, you say there is but 
way to worship and serve the G i 
Spirit. If there is but one relig i s 
why do you white people differ so ni ft 
about it? Why not all agree, as » 
can all read the book? 

' ' Brother we do not understand tlj '!' 
things. We are told that your relif! 
was given to your forefathers i iif' 
handed down from father to son. 
also have a religion which was givej||ii 
our forefathers and has been harj is 
down to us, their children. We ■'I lit 
ship in that way. It teaches us tc 
thankful for all the favors we reee 
to love each other and to be uniifi 
We never quarrel about religion 

' ' Brother the Great Spirit has nr 
us all, but he has made a differs 
between his white children. He ' Ijl 
given us different complexions i *i 
different customs. To you he ilii 
given the arts. To these he has notfUi 
ened our eyes. We know these th 
to be true. Since he has made so gfai 
a difference between us in other th 
why may we not conclude that he 
given us a different religion accor- 



i(( 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



155 



I our understanding? The Great Spirit 
oes right. He knows what is best for 
ts children: we are satisfied. 

"Brother, we do not wish to destroy 
3ur religion or take it from you. We 
aly want to enjoy our own. You say 
ou have not come to get our land or 
IT money, but to enlighten our minds. 
; will now tell you that I have been 
; your meetings and saw you collect 
oney from the meeting. I cannot tell 
hat this money was intended for, but 
xppose it was for the minister; and if 
e should conform to your way of think- 
Lg you may want some from us. 

"Brother, we are told that you have 
een preaching to the white people in 
lis place. These people are our neigh- 
i)rs. We are acquainted with them. 
fe will wait a little while and see what 
[feet your preaching has upon them. 
-. we find it does them good, makes 
^em honest and less disposed to cheat 
Idians, we will then consider what you 
ave said. 

"Brother, you have heard our an- 
jver to the talk, and this is all we have 
) say at present. As we are going to 
art, we will come and take you by 
le hand, and hope the Great Spirit 
ill protect you on your journey and re- 
ivn you safe to your friends. ' ' 

While "Eed Jacket" was giving ser- 
ice to the American cause during 1852, 
lack Hawk, whose Indian name was 
[akataineshekiakish, and Tecumseh 
ad his brother "The Prophet," were 
iking an active part with the British, 
.nd it was he who led the Black Hawk 
'ar in 1832, During this war Black 
[awk with Jiis Indians made a raid on 
le frontier settlements almost as far 
ast as Chicago, and gave the settlers 
1 Warren, Fountain and Tippecanoe 



counties quite a scare. Several hundred 
of them gathered at a log house on 
what is now the Wm. Clapham farm 
east of Attica, 

They came from all parts of Warren 
and Fountain counties to the cabin on 
the Clapham place, and remained there 
until the scare was over. After the war 
Black Hawk was taken on a journey 
thru the Eastern states and dictated a 
history of his own life from which I 
shall give some quotations as to his 
religious views. Black Hawk says: 

"For my part, I am of the opinion 
that so far as we have reason we have 
a right to use it in determining what is 
right or wrong and should pursue that 
path which we believe to be right. And 
believing that whatever is, is right, if 
the Great and Good Spirit wished us to 
believe and do as the whites, he could 
easily change our opinions so that we 
would see and think and act as they 
do. 

' ' We are nothing as compared to his 
power and we feel and know it. We 
have among us, like the whites, those 
who pretend to know the right path 
but will not consent to show it with- 
out pay. I have no faith in their paths, 
but believe that every man must make 
his own path. 

"We thank the Great Spirit for all 
the benefits he has conferred upon us. 
For myself I never take a drink of wa- 
ter from a spring that I am not mindful 
of his goodness. 

' ' I have used all my influence to pre- 
vent drunkenness among my people but 
without effect, and as the settlements 
progrest toward us we became worse 
and more unhappy. Many of our peo- 
ple instead of going to their old hunt- 
ing grounds where game was plentiful 



156 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



would go nearer the settlements to hunt. 
And instead of saving their skins to 
pay the trader for goods furnisht them 
in the fall, would sell them to the set- 
tlers for whiskey and return in the 
spring with their families almost naked, 
and without the means for getting any- 
thing for them. 

"My reason teaches me that the land 
cannot be sold. The Great Spirit gave 
it to his children to live upon and to 
cultivate as far as is necessary for 
their substance, and so long as they 
occupy and cultivate it they have a 
right to the soil, but if they voluntarily 
leave it, then any other people have a 
right to settle upon it. Nothing can 
be sold but such things as can be car- 
ried away. 

"The whites brought whiskey into 
our villages, made our people drunk, 
and cheated them out of their horses, 
guns and traps. This fraudulent sys- 
tem was carried to such an extent that 
I apprehended serious difficulties might 
take place unless a stop was put to it, 
consequently I visited all the whites 
and begged them not to sell whiskey 
to my people. One of them continued 
the practice openly and I took a party 
of my young men, went to his house, 
took out his barrel and broke in the 
head and poured out the whiskey. I 
did this for fear some of the whites 
might be killed by my people when 
drunk. 

' ' Ten men took possession of our 
corn fields, prevented us from planting 
corn, burned our lodges, ill-treated our 
women, and beat to death some of our 
men, and this is a lesson for the white 
men to learn from us — that our forbear- 
ance to injury was such that we did 
not offer resistance to this barbarous 



cruelty. How smooth must be the 
guage of the whites when they 
make right look like wrong and wi 
look like right. ' ' 

And in speaking of marriage am! 
the Indians Black Hawk says: "W. 
our young people have been mated, 
first year is devoted to the purpos 
ascertaining whether or not they 
agree with each other and be haj 
if not, they part and each looks 
again for a congenial companion, 
we were to live together and disaal 
we should be as foolish as the whl 
no indescretion can banish a woi 
from her parental lodge among 
Indians, and no difference how m 
children she may bring home, she 
her children are always welcome 
the kettle is on the fire to feed the 

And in speaking of his wife he s 
"It is not customary for us to say " 
much about our women as they ge 
ally perform their part cheerfully 
never interfere with business belon; 
to the men. This is the only wi: 
ever had or ever will have. She 
good woman, and teaches my boy 
be brave." 

And I shall conclude my quotat 
from Black Hawk with this sumr 
up of religious thought: "We can 
judge what is proper and right, by 
standard of right and wrong, w 
differs widely from the whites, 
have been correctly informed the wl 
may do bad all their lives and the 
they are sorry for it when abou' 
die, all is well. With us it is differ 
We must continue thruout our live 
do what we conceive to be good, an 
we have corn and meat and know 
family that have none we divide '' 
them, and if we have more blan 



11 



SKETCHES OP THE WABASH VALLEY 



157 



lan sufl&cient and others have not 
lOugh we must give to them that 
ant. ' ' 

Now Black Hawk was far from being 
3 great a man as "Red Jacket," Te- 
imseh, Brant, or Logan. It was the 
order struggle between the United 
tates and Great Britain that made his 
luse possible. He and his followers 
ade the last effort of armed resistance 



to the establishment of American sov- 
ereignty over the Northwest territory 
and the Black Hawk war in which Win- 
field 'Scott, Jefferson Davis, Albert 
Sydney Johnson, and Abraham Lincoln 
took a part, had some influence in shap- 
ing the issues of the later and greater 
conflict in which Jefferson Davis and 
Abraham Lincoln became the chief 
actors. 



A Mighty Man of Valor 



; In order to perserve it for future 
iference for myself and those of my 
imily who may be interested I am in- 
uding in this bound volume the fol- 
iwing incidents. They do not properly 
elong here because they occurred in 
■irginia and can be of value in their 
ilation to the Wabash Valley only as 
Ending to show from what stock came 
le families that settled here and 
irved out of the primeval wilderness 
le glorious country which we now en- 
)y. They concern a Virginia pioneer 
amed Bingaman, a daughter of whom 
as my great-grandmother, and they 
rst came down to me as family leg- 
ads. Recently I found them in an 
id volume by Col. Triplett entitled, 
Pioneer Heroes and Heroines," and 
e quotes an older Virginia historian 
amed Kercheval: 

' When a child about IB years old, 
ingaman had been taken a prisoner 
y the savages and treated with their 
sual unkindness and brutality. He 
hd an older companion had been out 
1 a canoe, and returning to the shore. 



they were dragging the canoe up on the 
sand, when two savages rushed out of 
the bushes. These quickly tomahawked 
and scalped the young man. Then, one 
leading and one driving the thirteen- 
year-old boy, with threats and blows, 
they struck out into the forest, and 
rapidly pushed on toward their villages. 
By night they had made a distance of 
some twenty-five miles, and the boy, 
who had been terribly abused on the 
march, was utterly worn out. 

Even at that age he possessed a de- 
termined courage, and while the Ind- 
ians were making their preparations to 
camp, he was endeavoring to form some 
feasible plan of escape. Halting about 
half an hour before sunset, one of the 
savages had immediately started out in 
quest of game, while the other, having 
made a fire, lay down upon his blanket, 
leaving his rifle standing against a tree 
near-by. Seeing that his captor antic- 
ipated no danger, young Bingaman at 
first determined to possess himself of 
the rifle, slay the Indian and flee, but 
reflecting that, even if the absent one 



158 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



did not hear the report of the rifle and 
hasten back, it would be but a short 
time until the savage would be upon 
his trail, and feeling his inability to 
cope with this warrior, he gave up the 
idea, and determined to wait until they 
had fallen to sleep before attempting 
anything. 

He knew he must kill both of them, 
if he hoped to make good his escape. 
On his return to camp, the hunter was 
equally as unsuspecting as his compan- 
ion, but after supper he proceeded to 
bind the lad tightly, and then pass one 
end of the cord under the boy's body 
and tied it to his own wrist. Thus se- 
cured, and with an Indian on each side 
of him, the lad almost regretted not 
having carried out his first intention. 
After awhile both of the savages were 
sound asleep, and Bingaman began tug- 
ging at his bonds It seemed to hirn 
that he had been thus engaged for two 
or three hours, and had just succeeded 
in freeing one hand, when the hunter 
awoke. Feigning the soundest sleep, 
the boy held the cord tightly in his 
hand, and the Indian satisfied by the 
groans of the lad, as he jerked the cord, 
that his captive was still firmly bound, 
turned over and was soon once more 
snoring away. 

Releasing his other hand, the boy 
arose, and after rubbing his arms and 
wrists to restore their circulation, he 
matured his plan. Fearing that if he 
used a tomahawk its blow upon one 
might awaken the other, he secured 
the two rifles, and aiming one at each 
of the sleepers, he secured them in rest 
with the pieces of rotten wood lying 
around. Taking a final sight over the 
guns, he laid a tomahawk near at hand 
and touched the trigger of each rifle. 



Just as the explosion occurred on«:( 
the savages turned, and the load 1| 
tended for his head took effect in i 
shoulder, while the other was instai 
killed. 

The wounded one promptly comi 
heuded the situation, and seizing 
boy endeavored to draw him to III 
The prudence of young BingamanuP' 
providing the tomahawk was now 
warded, for, seizing it, the lad laid bl 
after blow ujjon the yelling Indian, tlfnf^' 
revenging the kicks and cuffs of I n'l 
latter, for this one had been extreniJ i^ 
cruel in goading the youthful eapttptf 
The savage was at last dispatcht, ; 
taking a tomahawk, one of their ri 
and all of their ammunition, the 
scalpt his enemies as well as he ' 
able, and made his way home in saf( 

Another incident of the prowess ^ 
Bingaman is given: A party of 
whites were pursuing a number of i 
rauding savages, and had come U]i 
them just as they were going into ca; 
for the night. It was hurriedly del 
mined not to attack until the sava 
had gone to sleep, as by that means 
was hoped that all of them might : 
killed. The whites dismounted, i 
Bingaman was ordered by the capt 
to hold the horses, while the othl|i8 
went ahead to reconnoiter the cai 
Disregarding these orders, Bingan 
pushed on with the rest. The act 
was prematurely brought on by an 
petuous young man firing at an Ind 
who was approaching him rather clc 

All was now confusion. The sava 
started to flee, and Bingaman, dropp 
his rifle, dashed forward in the pursi 
Singling out a gigantic Indian, 
passed unnoticed several smaller or 



atf 



SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY 



159 



i reaching his victim, split his skull 

;h a well-aimed blow. As the others 

jaii to reach him, he cut them down 

n by one, and the other whites hav- 

closely followed the flying enemy, 

?re were none left, and the combat 

tsed. At this point, the captain of 

company, an enemy of Bingaman, 

ne up to him and thundered out 

Vhy are you not with the horses, 

I ordered you to stay with the 

;|rses. " "I know you did," said the 

Itnt, scowling upon him with his ter- 

le eyes; "and I knew your object 

s to disgrace me, and if I hear one 

re word of your insolence, I'll serv'e 

1 like that Indian there," and he 

l^nted to one of his victims. 

itn the year 1758, this gigantic Vir- 

lian, Bingaman, was the actor in a 

/age combat, without a parallel in 

\i annals of border warfare. At this 

jfie he was living with his family in 

detached cabin, on the present site of 

ip flourishing little city of Petersburg. 

s cabin was at some distance from 

3 nearest settlement, and Bingaman 

IS often warned by his neighbors of 

e great peril to which his family was 

posed. He was, however, a man of 

e greatest strength and activity, and 

(s absolutely without fear. He 

erred that he was perfectly able to 

pel any number of the savages that 

re likely to assail him, and that he 

tended to remain where he was at 

hazards. 
His ability to defend himself was put 
its full test that fall, for one night 
party of Indians made a desperate 
fort, and forced the door of the cabin, 
fore Bingaman was aware of their 
mce. The cabin consisted of but 



two rooms, one on the first floor and 
the other upstairs. In the lower room 
slept Bingaman, his wife, little son, 
and his aged parents; the upper room 
was occupied by a hired man. When the 
savages entered, they fired a volley 
into the room, wounding Mrs. Binga- 
man slightly in the left breast, but the 
heroic woman would not cry out or com- 
plain, for fear it might disconcert her 
husband. Calling to his family to get 
under the beds, and the hired man to 
come to his aid, the former promptly 
obeyed, but the latter did not stir. 

Discharging his gun at random, for 
the room was very dark, he stript off 
his only garment, so that the Indians 
might not be able to hold him, and club- 
bing his gun, began to use it with terri- 
ble effect. Certain that his family had 
obeyed his command, he struck savagely 
at every moving form, and so powerful 
were his blows and so great his activity, 
that out of the eight assailants, seven 
were soon stretched dead, or dying, up- 
on the floor of the cabin, which now 
looked like a slaughter house, piled 
with its bloody victims. Several times 
the Indians grappled with him during 
his terrific struggles, but, owing to his 
precaution in removing his shirt, were 
unable to hold him. The eighth Indian, 
glad to escape from the blows of the 
giant borderer, fled howling from the 
scene. 

When morning came, Bingaman dis- 
covered that his wife had been wound- 
ed, and so great was his anger at the 
craven part played by the hired man, 
that it was with the greatest difficulty 
he could be prevailed on, by his wife, 
not to shoot him. 



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