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i§l§

A DISCOURSE

on the

ABORIGINES OF THE OHIO VALLEY

IN which the OPINIONS of its

Conquest in the Seventeenth Century

by the

\

IROQUOIS OR SIX NATIONS,

supported by

Cadwallader Colden of New York, Gov. Thomas Pownall of
Massachusetts, Dr. Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylva-
nia, Hon. DeWitt Clinton of New York, and
Judge John Haywood of Tennessee,

ARE EXAMINED AND CONTESTED;

to which are prefixed

SOME REMARKS ON THE STUDY OF HISTORY.
Prepared at the request of the Historical Society of Ohio,

By William Henry Harrison of North Bend.

Major-General U. S. A., President of the United States, etc.

Ne incognita pro cognitis habeamus.—Cicero.

REPRINTED	Y

' t

from the	.

Transactions of the Historical and Philosophical Soc'ty of Ohio.

Vol. I, Part Second, Cincinnati, 1839.

with

NOTES AND AN APPENDIX.

FERGUS

CHICAGO:
PRINTING COMPANY.
1883.w

\\z*cL

A DISCOURSE* >

f	o n t iie

ABORIGINES OF THE OHIO VALLEY

Gentlemen of the Historical Society of Ohio :

No opinion has been more generally entertained in every civil-
ized community, than that which asserts the importance of the
study of history, as a branch of education. And although there
ar,e few, if any, who would controvert this proposition, it will
scarcely be denied, that there is no study at this day, so much
neglected. We everywhere meet with men possessed of much
intelligence, great scientific attainments, high standing in those
professions which require profound study and deep research, who
have neglected to inform themselves, not only of the circum-
stances which influenced the rise and progress, the decline and
fall of the most celebrated nations of antiquity, but who are ex-
trejriely deficient in the knowledge of the history of their own
country. If we search for the causes which have produced this
state of things, one, perhaps the most efficient, will be found in

* This pamphlet discusses several important topics in the history of the
native tribes of our continent, with spirit and ability. * * * We
have no doubt, that they will be generally interested in learning the views of
one, whose long official connexion with the Indian tribes, in peace and in
war, and whose familiarity with the topography of the region in question,
give to his opinions the authority of observation and experience, as far as they,
are applicable to the matter in hapd. -It is a source of real satisfaction, and
affords relief under the disgust with which a well-regulated mind contemplates
the ferocity of our party contests, to find an individual, situated like the
^uthor of this essay, devoting a portion of his time and his pen to the calm
consideration of a subject, whose interest is purely historical. There are cer*
tainly but few individuals, whose life, from early youth, has been passed in
the arduous active service of the field, and in maturer years amidst the labors
and cares of high and responsible official station, who could sustain with more
credit a discussion like that contained in the pages under review.—E. Everett,
jn Arorth-American Reviezu, July, 1840.

70321(54

HARRISON'S HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.

the great increase of works of fiction, and the fascinating charac-
ter -with which they have been clothed, by the great geniuses who
have been employed upon them. It is the perusal of these which
occupies the attention of the wealthy and fills the«leisure moments
of the man of business.

I am loathe to give another reason for this decline in the taste
for historical reading, because.it indicates, also, a decline in patri
otism. I allude to the inordinate desire for the accumulation of
riches, which has so rapidly increased in our country, and which,
if not arrested, will ere long effect a deplorable change in the
character of our countrymen. This basest of" passions, this
"meanest of amors," could not exhibit itself in a way to be more
destructive of republican principles, than by exerting an influence
"on .the xourse of education adopted for our youth. The effects
Upon the moral condition of the nation would be like those which
would be produced upon the verdant valley of our State, if some
quality inimical to vegetable life, wrere to be imparted to the
sources of the magnificent river by which it is adorned and fer-
tilized.	*

It is in youth, and in early youth, that the seeds of that patri-
otism must be sown, which is to continue to bloom through life.
No one ever began to be a patriot in advanced age; that holy
fire must be lighted up when the mind is best suited to receive,
with enthusiasm, generous and disinterested impressions. If it is
not«then "the ruling passion" of the bosom, it will never be at
an age when every action is the result of cool calculation, and
the basis of that calculation too often the interest of the individ-
ual. This has been the prevailing opinion with e.very free people
throughout every stage of civilization, from the roving savage
tribe to the numerous and polished nation, from the barbarous
Pelasgi to the glorious era, of Miltiades and Citnon, or the more
refined and luxurious age of Pericles and Xenophon. By all, the
same means'were adopted. With all, it was the custom to pres-
ent to their youth the examples of the heroic achievements of
their ancestors, to inspire them with the same ardor of devotion
to the welfare of their country. As it regards the argument, it
matters not whether the history was written or unwritten, whether
in verse or prose, or how communicated; whether by national
annals, to which all had access; by recitations in solemn assem-
blies, as at the Olympic and other games of Greece ; in the songs
of bards, as amongst the Celts' and Scandinavians; or in the
speeches of the aged warriors, as was practised by the Wyandots,
Delawares, Shawanees, and other tribes of our own country.
Much fiction was, no doubt, passed off on these pccasions asABORIGINES OF THE OHIO VALLEY.

5

real history; but, as it was believed to be true, that was sufficient
to kindle the spirit of emulation in the cause of patriotism among
those to whom these recitations, songs, and; speeches were ad-
dressed.	\ .

In the remarks I have made, it is by no means my intention
to deny the good effects which have been derived from some of
the works of fiction, and that they have greatly assisted

" To raise the genius, and to <mend the heart."

But this result is better effected by authentic history. Amongst
the former of these, the Telemachus of Fenelon stands almost
unrivalled for the beauty of the narrative, the purity of the morals
it inculcates, the soundness of many of the principles of govern-
ment it advances, and the masterly manner in which the passions
of youth are subdued and brought under the control of wisdom
and virtue. But I think it will not be contended that these
lessons, excellent as they are, can have as beneficial an effect as
many of the narratives to" be found in real history. The reason,
is obvious. The youth, for instance, for whose special benefit the
book I have mentioned was written, knowing that it was a fic-
tion, might very readily persuade himself that the task of forming
his conduct upon that attributed to the son of Ulysses was too
much for him or any one else to accomplish, the character being
drawn, not from nature, but from the imagination of the author.
On the contrary, how many thousands of youth have been encour-
aged to pursue a career of usefulness and true glory by the exam-
ples to be found in the history of Greece and Rome.

The manner in which Telemachus is made to sacrifice his love
for EuCharis, for the accomplishment of the pious object of his
travels, formsN a beautiful lesson; and his deep contrition and
regret for having given way to the violence of his passions in his
contest with Hippias, is still a better one. But authentic history
furnishes examples of forbearance, in matters of this kind, which
are infinitely preferable.

In relation to the first, the cases of Scipio Africanus and Alex-
ander the Great, may be quoted. And as it regards the control
of the temper, where its unrestrained violence might produce
great mischief, Grecian history furnishes lis with one of more
value than all of a similar character which are to be found in all
the works of fiction, from the origin of letters to the present day. I
refer to the well-known anecdote recorded of Themistocles in his
difference with Eurybiades, the Spartan admiral and commander-
in-chief of the allied fleet, immediately preceding the battle of
Salamis, The imagination of no writer can conceive an effect so6	HARRISON'S HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.

great, to be produced by dignified forbearance, under gross insult,
as that of Themistocles on this occasion/*

Take from the anecdote the intended blow which the superior
refinement of modern manners would not tolerate, and how often
might it prove a useful example to men holding inferior stations
in a republic, to meet the passionate violence vof those in power,
with moderation and firmness, and thus avert from their country
an impending calamity, having its origin either in mistaken policy
or designed usurpation of power.

The works of fiction which have had the greatest effect in fixing
the love of country in the youthful bosom, are unquestionably
those in .which the characters and the leading features are taken
from real history. This is the case with most of the ancient tra-
gedies, as well as- most of those of Shakspeare ; and it is doubtless
from this circumstance that the beneficial effects upon mankind,
attributed to them by Mr. Pope, in his prologue to the tragedy
of Cato, have been produced. That beautiful production (the
tragedy) would itself lose the greater portion of the interest which
is felt in its perusal, if we did not know from undoubted history,
that the sentiments and feelings of Cato were such as he is there
made to utter, and his actions such as are there. described. All
well calculated to

"Make mankind in conscious virtue bold."

The effect, however, which Mr. Pope attributes to# tragedy in
changing the ""savage natures" of tyrants, is not so apparent.

Miserable indeed,, would be the situation of mankind if that were

' f?

their reliance to escape oppression. But I conceive that the
operation, as welt of tragedy as history itself, is more direct. In-
stead of palliating and lessening the evil when it shall have exist-
ence, their great object is (and such is certainly their effect) to
prevent its occurrence. Instead of softening the hearts of tyrants,,
to harden those of the people against all tyrants and usurpers,
whatever may be the degree of usurpation or the character of the
tyranny, and to warn them of the ihsiduous means by which their
confidence is obtained, for the purpose of being betrayed.

If I truly estimate the value of a knowledge of history, gentle-
men, by the citizens of a republic, you will unite with me inJ"de-
ploring the existence of any circumstances which would have a
tendency to supersede or lessen the attention which was once
paid to it in our seminaries of learning, and more especially if
one of the causes should be found in the increasing love of riches,

* See note A, in the Appendix.ABORIGINES OF THE OHIO VALLEY.

7

rendering oar youth impatient of studies which are not essential
to enable them to enter upon the professional career which they
have chosen, as the means of obtaining that wealth which is so
universally sought after.

As your association, gentlemen, was formed for the purpose of
procuring and preserving materials for the history of our own
State, rather than to encourage attention to that of other'coun-
tries, these remarks may be considered.a digression; I shall, there-
fore, add' nothing more on that subject, but pro'ceed to present
to you. some notices and remarks more in accordance with the
^wishes expressed in your invitation to prepare this paper. 1

It is somewhat-remarkable that Ohio, admitted into the Union
before either of the otlier northwestern States, so far ahead of
either in point of population, and having its position precisely
intermediate between them and the European colonies^, from
whence the emigration to all of them came, should have been the
last that was settled.

Fifty-five years ago, there was not a Christian inhabitant within
the bounds which now compose the State of Ohio. And .if, a
few years anterior to that period, a traveler had been passing
down the magnificent river, which forms our southern boundary,
he might not have seen, in its whole course of eleven hundred
miles, a single human being,—certainly not a habitation, nor the
vestige of one, calculated for the residence of man. He might,
indeed, have seen indications that it was not always thus. His
eye might have rested upon some stupendous mound, or length-
ened lines of ramparts, and traverses of earth still of considerable
elevation, which proved that the country had once been possessed
by a numerous and laborious people. But he would have seen,
also, indubitable evidences that centuries had passed away, since
these remains had been occupied by those for whose use, they
had been reared. Whilst ruminating upon the causes which had
occasioned their removal, he would not fail .to arrive at the con-
clusion, that their departure (if they did depart) must have been
a matter of necessity. For no people, in any stage of civilization,
would willingly have abandoned such a country, endeared to them
as it must have been, by long residence and the labor they had
bestowed upon it, unless, like the descendants of Abraham, they
had fled from the face of a tyrant, and the oppressions of unfeel-
ing task-masters. If they liad been made to yield to a more
numerous or more gallant people, what country had received the
fugitives? and what has become of the conquerors? Had they,
too, been forced to fly before a new swarm from some northern
or southern hive? Still would the question recur, What had been8

HARRISON'S HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.

their fate? And why had so large a portion of a country, so beau-
tiful and inviting, so abounding in all that is desirable in the
rudest as well as the most advanced state of society, been left as
a haunt for the beasts of the forest, or as an occasional arena for
distant tribes of savages to mingle in mortal conflicts ? To aid us
in coming to any thing like a satisfactory conclusion in answer to
those questions, we possess only a solitary recorded fact.* For
every thing else, we must search amidst the remains which are
still before us, for all that we wish to know of the history and
character of this ancient and nameless people.

And although the result of such an examination may be far from
satisfactory, it will not be entirely barren of information. We-
learn first, from the extensive country covered by their remains,,
that they were a numerous people. Secondly, that they were
congregated in considerable cities, from the extensive works with
which several favorite situations are covered. Thirdly, that they
were essentially an agricultural people; because, collected as they
were in great numbers, they could have depended upon the chase

* The "recorded fact," to which allusion is here made, is the migration of
the Aztecs from the North, the memory of which is preserved in the pictorial
annal£ of the Mexican race; and this fact unquestionably suggests a possible
connexion of the extraordinary works, that are found in the region northwest
of the Ohio, with a known race of men, who had attained a degree of civiliza-
tion competent to the execution of such structures. All beyond this belongs-
to the region of conjecture.

It is generally admitted, that the mounds, terraces, and other works, of
which visible remains exist in many portions of this region, evince a degree of
skill, not known to have been possessed by native tribes, which occupied the
present Territory of the United States of America, at the time of its discovery
by the Europeans.* None of the works in question bore the appearance at
that time, of being of recent structure. None of the tribes, ^ince their man-
ners and customs began to be noticed by travelers or colonists, have been
observed to be in the habit of erecting any similar \\forks, for the purposes of
sepujture, castrametation, or agriculture. At the present day, there is riot
knoWn to be any tribe1 of the native population of the continent possessed of
the numbers, to say nothing of the skill, implied in the construction of these
extensive and remarkable works. Nature has borne an unequivocal testi-
mony to their antiquity, in the size and evident age of the forest trees, that
are found growing on the summits of these mounds, and within the enclosure
and on the sides of t&ese ramparts or terraces.

* Mr. Gallatn expresses himself with rather less positiveness on this point, than most
other writers have thought it necessary to employ. "There is nothing in their construction,""
he remarks, "nor in the remnants which they contain, indicative of a much more advanced
state of civilization, than that of the present inhabitants. But it may be inferred, from their
number and size, that they were the work of a more populous nation than any now existing;
and, if this inference is correct, it would necessarily imply a state of society, in which greater
progress had been made in agriculture."—Transactions of the American Antiquarian
Society, Vol. II, p. 147.

This brings us to the same conclusion as to the diversity of the race, by which the mounds*
were erected, from that which is now fast hastening to extinction.ABORIGINES OF THE OHIO VALLEY.

9

but\for a small portion of their subsistence; and there is no reason
to believe that they were in the possession of domestic animals,,
as the only one known to the American continent before the arri-
val of the Europeans (the lama of Peru) was unsuited by nature
to endure the rigors of a winter in this latitude. The impossibility
of assigning any other purpose to which the greater number, and
many of the largest of these remains could be applied, together
with other appearances scarcely to be misunderstood, confirm the
fact that they possessed a national religion; in the celebration of
which, all that was pompous, gorgeous, and imposing, that a semi-
barbarous nation could devise, was brought into occasional dis-
play. That there were a numerous priesthood, and altars often,
smoking with hepatoinbs of victims. These same circumstances^
also indicate, that they had made no inconsiderable progress in
the art of building, and that their habitations had been ample
and convenient, if not neat or splendid. Man in every age and
and nation has provided for his own defence against the elements;,
before he even designates any peculiar spot for the worship of his

There are three suppositions by some one of which their existence must be
accounted for. They were either constructed by some race of men sufficiently
civilized for this purpose, but of whom no historical memorial, nor any other
trace remains, and who, by causes of which we are entirely-ignorant, have
wholly perished; or they were the works of the Aztecs sojourning in this-
region, before their migration southward to the elevated plains of Anahuacs
or, lastly, they were erected by the ancestors of some of the tribes found by
the European colonists in- this part of the continent,—in which case those-
tribes are to be regarded as the degenerate and broken-down remains of more-
improved ancient races.

Of the first supposition nothing more can be said, than that it is a theory by
which we give a rational explanation of existing facts; the principal strength
of which theory dwells in the assumed impossibility, that these works could
have been erected by tribes no more advanced in civilization than the Indi-
ans, found in the continent two centuries and a-half ago, and in the supposed
want of any historical indication pointing to a different origin. It is saying,
in other words, that they were made by the art and labor of men, but we
know not of what men. Their memory is buried in the depth and silence of.
the venerable forests, which cover these works of their hands.

The innate propensity of the mind to generalize its ideas has given greater
currency to the second supposition. The universal current of the Mexicans,,
and the express testimony of their hiej-oglyphical annals (if the interpretation
can be depended on, which was given in the age of the Spanish conquest, by
those who must have been well acquainted with their symbolic characters),
point to a descent of the Aztecs from the north, and ascribe to them a pro-
gress sufficiently gradual, to admit of the erection of permanant structures by
the way. These facts have led the majority of writers to assume the second*
as the more probable account of the origin of these works. Such is General
JIarrison's opinion. In conformity with this View of the subject, the name of
Aztalan has been appropriated to the remarkable works, which exist in the
territory of Wisconsin.-—E. Everett, in N.-A. Rev., July, 1840.IO	HARRISON'S HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.,

God.- In rigorous climates the hut will always precede the uncov-
ered altar of earth or stone, and the well-built city before the
temple is made to shoot its spires to the skies.

Thus much do these ancient remains furnish us, as to the con-
ation and character of the people who erected them. I have
persuaded myself that I have gleaned from them, also, some inter-
esting facts in their history. It may, however, be proper first to
remark, that the solitary recorded fact to which I have alluded, to
•enable us to determine their ultimate fate, is that which has been
furnished to us by the historians of Mexico.

^The pictural records of that nation, ascribe their origin to the
Aztecs, a. people who are said to haye arrived first in Mexico
about the middle of the seventh century. An American author,
the Rt. Rev. Bishop Madison, of Virginia, having with much
labor investigated this subject, declares his conviction that these
Aztecs are one and the same people with those who once inhab-
ited the valley .of the Ohio. The probabilities are certainly in
favor of this opinion. Adopting it, therefore, and knowing by it
the date of their arrival on the northwest frontier of Mexico, we
refer again to the works they have left us, to gain what knowledge
we can of the cause and manner of their leaving the Ohio valley.
For the reasons formerly s ated, I assume the fact that they were
compelled- to fly from a more numerous or more gallant people.

No doubt the contest was long and bloody, and that the coun-
try, so long their residence, .was not abandoned to their rivals
until their numbers were too much reduced to continue the coo-
test. Taking into consideration all the circumstances which can
be collected from the works they have left on the ground, I have
come to the conclusion that these people were assailed, both from
their northern and southern frontier; made to secede from both
directions, and that their last effort at resistance, was- made on
the banks of the Ohio. I have adopted this opinion, from the
different character of their works, which are there found, from
those in the interior. Great as some^of the latter are, and labo-
rious &s was the construction, particularly those of Circleville and
Newark, I am pursuaded they were never intended for military
defences. On the contrary, those upon the Ohio River were
evidently, designed for that purpose. The -three that T have
examined, those of Marietta:, Cincinnati, and the mouth of the
Great Miami," particularly the latter, have a military character
stamped upon them which can not be mistaken. The latter work,
arid that at Circleville, nev^r could have'been erected by the
same people/if intended for military purposes. The square, at
the latter place, has such a number of gateways, as seem intendedABORIGINES OF THE OHIO VALLEY. x I I
) . ■ ' . ^ ..■■■■

to facilitate the entrance of those who would attack it. And both
•it and' the circle were completely commanded by the mound,
rendering it an easier matter to take, than defend it. The engi-
neers, on the contrary, who directed the execution of #the
Miami works, appear to have knowh the importance of flank
defences. And if their bastions are not as perfect, as to form, as
those which are in use in modern engineering, their position .as
;well as that of the long lines of curtains,.are precisely as they
should be. I have another conjecture as to this Miami fortress.
If the people of whom we have been speaking were really the
Aztecs, the direct course of their journey to Mexico, and the
facilities which that mode of retreat would afford, seems to point
out the descent of the Ohio as the line of that retreat.

This position, then, (the lowest which they appear to have for-
tified on the Ohio,) strong by nature, and improved by the expen-
diture of great labor, directed by no inconsiderable degree of. skill,
would be the last hold they would occupy -and the scene of their
last efforts to retain possession of the country they had so long
inhabited. The interest which every one feels, whc^ visits this
beautiful and commanding spot, would be greatly heightened if
he could persuade himself of the reasonableness of my deductions,
from the facts I have stated. That this elevated ridge, from
which are now to be seen flourishing villages, and plains*of unri-
valled fertiiily, possessed by a people in the full enjoyment of
peace and liberty, and all that peace and liberty can give, whose
matrons, like those of Sparta, have never seen the smoke of an
enemy's fire, once presented a scene of war, and war in its most
liorrid form, where blood is the object, and the deficiencies of
the field made up by the slaughter of innocence and imbecility.
■That.it was here that a feeble band was collected "remnant pf
mighty^battles fought in vain," to make a last effort for the coun-
try of their birth, the ashes of their ancestors, and the altars of
their gods. .That the crisis was met with fortitude, and sustained
with valor, need not be doubt^cL The ancestors of Quitlavaca
and Gautimosin, and their devoted followers, could not be'cow-*
ards. But their efforts were vain, and flight or death were the
sad alternatives. t Whatever might "be their object in adopting
the former, whether, like the Trojan remnant, to seek,another
country, "and happier walls," orfike that of Ithome, to procure
present .safety and renovated strength, for a distant day of ven-
geance, we have no means of ascertaining. But 'there is every
reason to believe, that they were the founders of a great empire,,
and that ages before they assumed the'more modern and distinr
guished name of Mexicans, the Aztecs had lost in the more mild12

HARRISON'S HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.

and uniform climate of Anahuac, all remembrance of the banks of
the Ohio. But whatever may have been their fate, our peculiar
interest in them ceases after their departure from the Miami.*
In relation to their conquerors, I have little to say, and perhaps,,
that little not very satisfactory. Although I deny the occupation
of the banks of the Ohio/for centuries before its discovery by the
Europeans, I think that there are indubitable marks of its being
thickly inhabited by a race of men, inferior to the authors of the
great works we have been considering, after the departure of the
latter. Upon many places, remains of pottery, pipes, stone
hatchets, and other articles, are found in great abundance, which
are evidently of inferior workmanship to those ot the former
people. But I have one other fact to offer, which furnishes still
better evidence of my opinion. «I have before mentioned Cin-
cinnati as one of the positions occupied by the more civilized
people. When I first fcaw the upper plain on which that city
stands, it was literally covered with low lines of embankments.
I had the honor to attend General Wayne, two years afterward,,
in an excursion "to examine them. We were- employed the
greater part of a. day,,in August, 17.93, *n doing so. The number
and variety, of figures in which these lines were drawn was almost
endless, and, as I have Wiid. almost covered the plain. Many so
faint, indeed, as scarcely to be followed, and often for a consider-
able distance entirely obliterated, but by careful examination,
and following the direction, they could be again found. Now, if
these lines were ever of the height of the others made by the
same people, (and they# must have been, to have answered any
valuable purpose,) or unless their erection was many ages anterior
to the others, there must have been some other cause than the
attrition of the rain (for it is a dead level) to bring them dow^t to
their then state. That cause I take to have been continued cul-
tivation. And as the people who erected them, would not them-
selves destroy works which had cost them so much' labor, the
solution of the question can only be found in the long occupancy,
and cultivation of another people, and the probability is, that
that people were the conquerors of the original possessors. To
the question of the fate of the former, and the cause of no recent
vestige of settlements being foiind on the Ohio, I can offer only
a conjecture; but one which appears to me to be far from im-
probable. Since, the first settlement of the Ohio by the whites,
they have been visited by, two unsually destructive freshets, one
in 1793, and the other in 1832. The latter was from five to seven

* See note B, in the Appendix.ABORIGINES OF THE OHIO VALLEY.

13

feet higher than the former. The latter was produced by a simul-
taneous fell of rain, upon an unusually extensive frozen surface.
The learned Dr. Locke, of Cincinnati, calculated the number of
inches of rain that fell, and as far as it could be ascertained, the
extent of surface which was subject to it, and his conclusion was,
that the height of the water at Cincinnati, did not account, after
allowing for evaporation, etc., for all the water that fell. In
other words, that with the same fall of rain, other circumstances
concurring, the freshet might have been some feet higher. Now
these causes might have combined at another time to jlour the
waters of the tributary streams into the main trunk more nearly
together, and thus produce a height of water equal to that de-
scribed by an Indian chief, (to which he said, he was an eye-wit-
ness,) to General Wilkinson, at Cincinnati, in the fall of 1792.
And which, if true, must have been several feet, (eight or ten,)
at least, higher than that of 1832. The occurrence' of such a
flood, when the banks of the Ohio were occupied by numerous
Indian towns and villages, nearly all wNhich must have been swept
off, was well calculated to determine them to a removal, not only
from actual suffering, but from the suggestions of superstition; an
occurrence so unsual, being construed into a warning from heaven,
to seek a residence upon the smaller streams. Before the remem-
brance of these events had been obliterated by time, the aban-
doned region would become an unusual resort for game, and a
common hunting ground for the hostile tribes of the north and
south, and, of course, an arena for battle. Thus it remained
when it was first visited by the whites.*

* A new species of evidence, of a very peculiar and satisfactory character,
has, since the publication of General Harrison's Discourse, been brought for-
ward, to establish the identity of the races of the mounds, with those which
had made such advances in civilization, in the more southern portions of the
continent. We allude to the resemblance of the skulls, which have been
found in the mounds in the ^northwestern region, to those which have been
■discovered in similar ancient works in Mexico, and Peru. This important
comparison was first instituted by Dr. JVC. Warren of Boston. The result
of his observations was communicated to the British Association for the ad-
vancement of science, at their meeting in Liverpool, in 1837. Dr. Warren
stated that he had for some time been a collector of crania from the mounds,
and found them to differ from the skulls of the present races of North Amer-
ican Indians. On returning home one day, he found some skulls upon his
table^ which had been sent to him in his absence, and which he perceived at a
glance to bear a strong resemblance to the mound skulls. As such, he sup-
posed them to have been sent him, by some friend in the Western States.
He soon discovered, that they were ancient Peruvian skulls, which had been
procured for him in South America. Further comparisons satisfied-Dr. War-
ren, of the identity of the tribes that reared the mounds with the Peruvian
•race.	-14

HARRISON'S HISTORICAL 'DISCOURSE.

Having given all the facts which 1 could collect, and some of
the conjectures I, have formed in relation to the most ancient
people who have inhabited our State, I next proceed to make
some remarks upon the tribes who were our immediate predeces-
sors.

From'our long acquaintance with these tribes, extending con-
siderably beyond the commencement of our revolutionary war, and

Mr. Delafield, in his recent " Inquiry into the Origin of the Antiquities of
America," referring to these statements of Dr. Warren, observes, that they
are fully confirmed by the examinations made by himself. * Dr. Morton, in
his recent splendid work on the American skulls, concludes from his extensive
comparison of crania; "that the cranial remains, discovered in the mounds
from Peru to Wisconsin, belong to the same race, and probably to the Tolte-
can family." +

The third opinion above alluded to is, that the Indian tribes, found by the
Europeans on our continent, are to be regarded as the degenerate and broken-
down remains of more improved races; the descendants of ancestors more-
civilized than themselves.

We are not prepared to express a preference of this theory over the others^.
—on the contrary, in the present state of our knowledge on the subject, we
are inclined to hold our minds free for the adoption of any view of the subject,
which a larger accumulation of facts may render probable. We will only say,
that this last supposition is in no degree inconsistent with probability. A x
degeneracy of this kind, even on the part of races much further advanced in
civilization, than it is necessary to suppose the authors of the American
mounds and ramparts to have been, is not an uncommon occurrence in the
history of the world. A considerable part of Asia, including Egypt, is inhab-
ited by the degenerate descendants of highly cultivated ancestors. Even
Greece,—that_country, in which physical civilization was carried hii>hef than
it has ever been in any other,—has been in after times occupied by a poster-
ity, certainly as little able to conceive or execute the works of Ictinus and
Phidias, as the Wyandots or Miamis to contrust the mounds of the Muskin-
gum orvScioto. And yet we must suppose that, for the last eighteen centu-
ries, the civilized population of every part of Europe has been far less exposed
to all the causes of degeneracy* than the aboriginal*population of this conti-
nent, destitute as it was of the art of writing, the great preserver of all other
arts. We behold the descendants of that very Mexican or Peruvian popula-
tion, which is generally supposed to be the race by whom these works were
originally constructed,* and who are known to have been competent, at the
time of the conquest and for several preceding ages, to the erection of struct-
ures, more permanant than any of which remains are found in the North-
western States and Territories of our Union, reduced at the present day to a
condition, in which they are equally incapable to plan or execute any such
works;—a curious specimen of a native civilization not furthered and im- *
proved, but crushed and destroyed, by a n^ore advanced supervening foreign
civilization.

xIn fact, the entire question as-to the original settlement of our continent
seems destined to baffle the resources of human investigation. To say noth-
ing of the inference fairly to be deduced from the Scriptures, that sound phi-
losophy, which teaches us to prefer the simplest explanations of existing

* Delafield's Inquiry, p. 16.	. t Morton's Crania Americana, p. 260.ABORIGINES OF THfe OHIO VALLEY.

*5

from the intimate connection which has subsisted between them
and us, since the treaty of Greenville, .in 1795, it may -,be pre-
sumed that we are as well acquainted with their history as we
could be, when our reliance must be placed on their statements,,
and traditions, or by comparing those with the few facts %which:
could be collected from other sources.

The tribes resident within the bounds of this State, when the

phenomena, bids us look to an emigration from northeastern Asia, as the
source of the population of this continent; and the most judicious writers are
disposed, with Humboldt, to date that emigration from the fifth'or sixth cen-
tury of our era; a period at which it is known* that the nations of north-
eastern Asia were in extensive agitation and movement. But this solution of
the great difficulty is met at the threshold by popular and pretty obvious
objection, that although a lapse of twelve or thirteen centuries is by no means
sufficient to destroy all affinity of language between races descended from the
skme stock, we find no resemblance whatever, beyond that which may -be
ascribed to casual coincidence, between , the vocabularly of any of the native
languages of America and that of any of the languages of the elder continent
Wherever in Europe or Asia we have the means of instituting the comparison,
we find the tribes of men exceedingly tenacious of th.§ radical and substantial
parts of a language. There is probably no instance in which a vocabulary
has wholly disappeared, except where the race speaking it has been wholly
destroyed.

We shall, however, by no means escape this difficulty by assuming, with
some of the. French philosophers of the last century and their disciples, a
primitive plurality of the races of man. Apart from the objections to this
assumption, which arise from the cosmogony'of the Scriptures, and other
difficulties which might be stated, this very difficulty of language exists in an'
unmitigated form. Ths dialects of the native tribes of North and South
America are exceedingly numerous, but are probably capable of being reduced
to.a small number of families. Of these families, however, Mr. Gallatin, in
his masterly treatise on the Indian tribes of North America, has enumerated
twenty-nine. Although, in the opinion of Mr. Du Ponceau, which is adopted
by Mr. Gallati;i, there is a general poly synthetic structure, in all the American
languages which have been examined, in which they resemble each other and
differ from, the ancient and modern languages of the elder continent, there is
yet a large number of families of languages On o\ir continent, which appear to
be utterly destitute of resemblance with each other, as far as the vocabularly
is concerned. This is even not unfrequently the case with tribes, who were
found by the first settlers adjacent to each other. It is evident that-, on the
theory above alluded to, of an original plurality of the races of human family,
this difficulty would present itself in undiminished force; and thaf it is no
more difficult, on the theory of a common origin, to conceive of an entire
dissimilarity, between the languages respectively of the American and Asiatic
continent, as produced by a non-intercourse and geographical separation of
ten or twelve centuries, than to conceive of a like dissimilarity, between the
different families of languages of the. American tribes,:which has disclosed
itself on the examination of their vocabularies, as the effect of a similar cause.
This difficulty, therefore, if deemed decisive against an Asiatic origin of the
American races, would go the slength Of requiring an original creation for
every family of languages \ a proposition too extravagant to be discussed. —E.-
Everett, in N.-A\ Rev,< July, 1840.X6	HARRISON'S HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.,

first white settlement commenced, were the Wyandots, Miamis,
Shawanees, Delaware^, a remnant of the Moheigans, (who had
united themselves with the Delawares,) and a band of the Ottawas.
There may also h^ve been, at this time, some bands from the
Seneca and Tuscaroras tribes of the Iroquois or Six Nations,
remaining in the northern part of the State. But whether resi-
dent or not, the country for some distance west of the Penn-
sylvania line, certainly belonged to them.. From this, their
western boundary, (wherever it might be, but certainly east of
the Scioto,) the claims of the Miamis and Wyandots commenced.
The claims of the latter were very limited, and can not well be
admitted to extend further south than the dividing ridge between
the waters of the Scioto and Sandusky Rivers, nor further west
than the Auglaise; whilst the Miamis and their kindred tribes'
.are conceived to be the just proprietors of all the remaining
part of the country northwest of the Ohio, and south of the
southerly bend of Lake Michigan and the Illinois River. I am
aware that this is not the commonly received opinion, and that a
contrary one was promulgated more than eighty years ago, and
sustained by the efforts of some of the most distinguished men of
our country. A subject which has engaged the attention of our
immortal Franklin, and into the discussion of which, we are told,
*"the late DeWitt Clinton, of New York, entered with much
ardor," will certainly not be deemed unworthy our attention on
this occasion; even if it did not form a part of the history of the
country which we,have embraced in our plan. The proposition
against which I contend, asserts the-right, at the period of \vhich
I am speaking, oj^ all the country watered by the Ohio, to the
Iroquois, or Six Nations, in consideration of their having con-
quered the tribes which originally possessed it. This confederacy,
it is said, possessed "at once the ambition of the Romans for con-
quest, and their martial talents for securing it." Like that celebrated
ancient people, too, they manifested,' in the hour of victory, "a
moderation equal to the valor which they displayed in it;" the
conquered nations being always spared,, &nd either incorporated
in,their confederacy, or subjected to so small a tribute as to
amount merely to an acknowledgment of the supremacy of their
conquerors. That under the guidance of this spirit, and this
policy, they had extended their conquest westward to the Missis-
sippi; and south to the Carolinas, and the confines of Georgia, a
space embracing more than half o/ the whole territory of the
Union, before the acquisition of Louisiana and Florida. I have
npthing to do, at this time, with the conquests in other directions,
but I shall endeavor to prove that their alleged subjug^ticp ofABORIGINES OF THE OHIO VALLEY.	17

the northwestern tribes, rests upon no competent authority; and
that the favored region which we now call our own, as well as
that possessed by our immediate contiguous western sisters, has
been for many centuries as it now is,

"The larid. of the free and the home of the brave."

I neither deny the martial spirit of the Iroquois, nor the mag-
nanimity of their policy to some of the tribes whom they subdued;
both are well established. But I contend, that whilst they had a
fair field for the exercise of all that they possessed of the former,
in a \far with an ancient tribe of Ohio, they had no opportunity
for the display of the latter, from the indomitable valor of the
comparatively small nation which had dared to oppose itself to
the extension of their power. That a portion of the country was
subdued, both parties admit; as they do, also, that if the termi-
nation of this war enabled the Iroquois somewhat to extend the
limits of their empire, they found it a desert, without a warrior to
adopt into their nation, or a female to exhibit in their triumphant
returns to their villages.

I will now proceed to state grounds upon which rest the claims
of the Iroquois, to be considered the conquerors of the country
to the Mississippi, and between the Ohio and the lakes.

The history of the Iroquois, of Six Nations, was written by
Cadwallader Colden, Esq., of New York, who was a member of
the king's council, and surveyor-general of the province, twenty-
five or thirty years before the revolutionary war. I have never
seen this work, and shall be obliged to use the account of its con-
tents, as far as relates to the claims of conquests made by the
Iroquois, given by Mann Butler, in his recent history of Kentucky.
According to the authorities quoted by this gentleman, the posi-
tion occupied by the Iroquois, when the French settlement was
made in Canada, was "on the banks of the St/ Lawrence, above
Quebec, and that from thence they extended their conquests on
both sides of the Lakes Ontario, Erie, and Huron. In this career
of conquest, with a magnanimity and sagacious spirit, worthy of
the ancient Romans, and superior to all their contemporary tribes,
they successively incorporated the victims of their arms with their
own confederacy." He goes 011 to say, condensing the account
given in a work printed by Dodsley, in 1755, entitled "Present
State of North America," as follows:—"In 1673, these tribes are
represented as having conquered the Ollinois, or Illinois, residing
on the Illinois River, and they are, likewise, at the same time
said to have conquered and incorporated the Satanas, Chawanons
or Shawanons, whom they had formerly. driven from the lakes.

218	HARRISON'S HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.

To these conquests they are said, by the same high authority, to*
have added the Twightwas, (Tewietewes), as they are called in
the journal of Major Washington. About the same time, they
carried their victorious arms to the Illinois and Mississippi west-
ward; and to Georgia, southward. About the year 1711, they
incorporated the Tuscaroras, when driven from Carolina." "The
tribe in question," says Governor Pownal in his administration
of the British colonies, "about the year 1664, carried their arms
as far south as Carolina, and as far west as the Mississippi, over
a vast country which extended twelve hundred miles in length,
and about six hundred in breadth, when they destroyed whole
nations, of whom there are no accounts remaining among the
British. The rights of these tribes to the hunting lands of Ohio,
meaning the river of that name, may be fairly proved by the
conquest they made in subduing the Shawonoes, Delawares,
Tiwictewees, and Ollinois, as th£y stood possessed therof at the
peace of Ryswick, in 1697." In support of these pretensions, he
further quotes a paper from the pen of Dr. Franklin, who, upon
the authority of Lewis Evans, a gentleman who was said by the
Doctor to be possessed of great American knowledge, asserting
that "the Shawonoes, who were formerly one of the most cotisid-
able nations of these parts of America; whose seat extended from
Kentucky southwestward to the Mississippi, have been subdued
by the confederate, or Six Nations, and the country since became
their property." But it seems that, notwithstanding the bold
assertions of the above-named authors, it became necessary, at a
council held in the year 1744, to apply to the Six Nations them-
selves, to know the extent of their claims. That it was favorable
enough, may be reasonably supposed. Their particular answer
will be quoted below. At another treaty with the Six Nations,
held at Fort Stanwix, in New York, in 1768, the Indians were
again called upon to state the extent of their claims upon the
Ohio. This they are said to have done in the following words,
addressed to their agent, Sir William Johnson:—"You, who
know all our affairs, must be sensible that our rights go much
further south than the Kenhawa, and that we have a very good
and clear title, as far south as the Cherokee River, which we can
not allow to be the right of any other Indians, without doing
wrong to our posterity, and acting unworthy of those warriors
who fought and conquered it." Upon the strength of this declara-
tion, the title of the Iroquois to the valley of the Ohio was pur-
chased for 10,476 13s. 6d. sterling, for the crown. *

* The French authorities now accessible to us make it quite certain thatABORIGINES OF THE OHIO VALLEY.

19

It will at once be perceived, that the mass of testimony in
favor of the extensive conquests of the Iroquois, rests upon their
own assertions. A fair offset to them will be found in the account
which the northwestern Indians have given of their own history.
But before I have recourse to this, I will endeavor to clear the
way by examining the only two authorities which have been
adduced in support of the pretensions of the Iroquois. The first
and most important is to be found in Colden's History of the Six
Nations. That author, upon the authority, he says, of certain
ancient French authors, declares, that in 1672, the Iroquois had
conquered the Ollinois, or Illinois, the Chowetans, or Shawanees,
whom they had formally driven from the lakes, and in 1685, thir-
teen years after, the Tiwictewees, or Miamis. Mr. Butler, in the
introduction to his history, gives an account of the early voyages,
of discovery, to the west of Lake Michigan, made under the
governor of Canada. The first of these was made by Father
Marquette. His principal object was to find the great river of the
west, of which they had often heard, but by accounts so uncertain,
that it was a matter of dispute, whether it poured its mighty
mass of water into the Gulf of California, that of Mexico, or into
the Atlantic Ocean, on the coast of Virginia. This father pro-
ceeded with a party, in two canoes, in the year 1673, to the west
side of Lake Michigan; and coasting it southwardly to the Bay
des Puans, (Green Bay,) ascended to the Fox River the Portage,
communicating with the Wisconsin, and down the latter to the
Mississippi. Pursuing their voyage on that river as low down as
the Arkansas, whence they returned up the river, and, by a fort-
unate circumstance, under the guidance of some of the natives,
entered the Illinois River; (of the existence of which they had
no previous knowledge,) and ascending it, reached the southerly
bend of Lake Michigan, and returned to Green Bay by a better
and shorter route. It was on this voyage that the French of
Canada appear to have first heard of the Illinois River or the
Illinois Indians. And yet it is asserted, that previously to this
year, their near neighbors, with whom they had an intimate and

the Iroquois conquered the Illinois as early as 1680; and probably made
incursions into the territory inhabited by the latter prior to that date. La-
Salle, in that year, found the Indians between Lakes Michigan and Erie,
living in daily dread of the fierce Iroquois, who evidently had already visited
that region. And Tonty, in September, 1680, was among the Illinois when
an Iroquois army utterly defeated them, and ravaged all their settlements
along the Illinois River, even to the Mississippi. See authorities cited in
Parkman's LaSalle. Chaps, xiv, xv, and xvi.—Edw. G. Mason.20	HARRISON'S HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.

every-day intercourse, had penetrated to the great river, to search
for which, was the principal object of the voyage, and upon its
banks had subdued a powerful nation; which, from information I
received from a credible eye-witness many years afterward, were
estimated to possess four thousand warriors. There were two
other routes than that taken by Marquette, by which the Iroquois
might have reached the Illinois. By descending the Alleghany
River, which flowed through their own country, and then by the
Ohio to the Mississippi. But one more direct and easier was fur-
nished by the ascent of the Miami of the Lake, and the descent
of the Wabash to the mouth of Tippecanoe, the head navigation
of which is not very distant either from Lake Michigan or the
Illinois River. If any expedition of this kind had taken place, it
must have been known to the French of Canada, and that route
would have been taken by Father Marquette, rather than the
comparatively difficult and circuitous one of Lake Michigan, the
Fox and Ouisconsin Rivers, The above account of the conquests
of the Iroquois, fixes that of the Tiwictewees, a tribe of the
Miamis, in the year 1685; that is, thirteen years after the con-
quest of the Illinois tribes of the same nation. This story would
have been more credible if the periods of these conquests had
been reversed, and that of the Tiwictewees, assigned to the earlier
era, as it is well known that that tribe of the Miamis was always
the most easterly of their nation, and hence they must have been
put out of the way before their brothers of the Illinois could be
struck.* In the above quotation, the conquest of the Shawanoes
is said to have happened simultaneously with that of the Tiwicte-
wees. But there is nothing said of their location at that period.
From the construction of the sentence in the narrative, it seems
to be intended to convey the idea that it was upon the same
expedition that it was effected, and that the tribes were contigu-
ous or rather upon the same line of operation, (one of them
being first conquered, and then the other.) And such was pre-
cisely the fact as to the position of these tribes at another period
—but that period was one hundred years after that which is given
by the supposed French writer. The other authority to which I
referred, as sustaining the Iroquois pretensions, is the admission
made by the Cherokees, who attended the treaty of Stanwix, in
1766. These chiefs are represented to have laid some skins at

* The Iroquois did not find it necessary to put the Miamis out of the way
before they attacked the Illinois, because with masterly diplomacy they per-
suaded the Miamis to join in their invasion of the territory of the Illinois.
See Parkman's LaSalle, chap, xvi, page 205.—Edw. G. Mason.ABORIGINES OF THE OHIO VALLEY.

21

the feet of the head men of the Iroquois, saying, "that they were
theirs, as they had killed the animals from which they were taken,
on this side of the big river " This "big river," the author who
records the anecdote, (Judge Haywood, in his History of Ten-
nessee,) asserts to be the Tennessee, "as that was the way in
which the Cherokees were accustomed to designate it." Now, if
all the statements here made be true, and I doubt not that they
are, so far from admitting the inference to be correct, I think the
very reverse would be the construction put upon what they said,
by every person who is acquainted with the method of speaking
peculiar to the Indians. It was a remarkable peculiarity of these
people, before their manners and mode of expression were some-
what modified by their intercourse with the whites, that they were
always averse to refer to either men or things by their appropriate
names, even if they were acquainted with them. They preferred
to describe a man, or a river, or a town, by some quality or remark-
able feature, rather than designate the object by a name. When
alluding to one of their own nation, in his presence, they would
say, instead of his name, "that man with a pipe in his mouth,"—
"that man with a lame leg," etc., etc. If a hunter, encamped
upon a branch of the Scioto, had killed a deer upon that river,
he would say, upon being asked, that he had killed it upon the
"big river." And the same phrase would be used if the question
was asked on the Scioto, near to its mouth, if the deer had been
killed on the banks of the Ohio. When, therefore, a big river
was referred to, for the purpose of marking the spot where any
particular event occurred, it must be always understood to mean
the largest river near to them. Having crossed the Ohio on their
route to Fort Stanwix, they never could have intended to refer to
the Tennessee as the "big river," when they must have well
known that it was a tributary to the former.

I will now proceed, gentlemen, to give you a condensed
account of the information I received, in the course of a long
intercourse with the northwestern tribes, commencing at the
treaty of Greenville, in 1795, and which constitutes one of the
grounds upon which I restrict the conquest of the Iroquois in the
valley of the Ohio, to a line, at any rate, east of the Scioto. No
better opportunity could be afforded than that which I possessed,
to obtain correct information in relation to the ancient history,
and the territorial claims of the several tribes and nations, because
it was derived from discussions in councils, where conflicting par-
ties were represented, and encouragement given to elicit a full
exposure of all the facts and circumstances which could have any
influence in support of their respective pretensions. I will add,22	HARRISON'S HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.

too, that there was no motive that could influence an agent of
the Government to countenance the unjust pretensions of any
tribe, and reject those which were better founded. All of them
had placed themselves under the exclusive protection of the
United States, and all had bound themselves to make no sale of
any part of their lands to any other civilized power.

Rejecting, then, the accounts which have been given by the
pens of a few individuals, (more intent upon exalting the fame of
a particular nation, than upon giving a true history,) who assert
the early conquest of the half-civilized nation which once inhab-
ited Ohio, by the united efforts of the Leni Lenapes, or Dela-
:wares, and Mingwe or Iroquois, on their passage from the north-
west part of our continent, to the shores of the Atlantic; I com-
mence my narrative at the time when the position of all the great
tribes or nations which have ever advanced any claim to the fair
and fertile country between the lakes, the Ohio, and Mississippi,
was as follows:—The chronology I can not precisely fix, but it was
at a period, centuries after the possession of the country by the
authors of the ancient works which we have mentioned, or those
who conquered them, as the then possessors had not the least
knowledge or tradition relative to the one or the other. There are
circumstances, however, which induce me to fix the time some-
what about the middle of the seventeenth century. At that time,
then, the Mingwe, or far-famed Iroquois, remained in their origi-
nal seats, compressed between the inhospitable region of Labrador
and the great Lenape (or, as we call them, Delaware) nation,
which confined them on the south. Westwardly, they had made
some conquest, and with the sagacity, which has caused them to
be compared to the conquerors of the world; in the commence-
ment of their progress, they adopted the conquered tribes into
their confederacy. I am ignorant of the northern boundary of
the Lenapes at this period. It is probable that it had been con-
siderably pressed in by the Iroquois. They still, however, pos-
sessed the greater part of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsyl-
vania.

Ascending the lakes and leaving the Iroquois territory, the
Wyandots or Hurons, presented themselves. A large portion of
this nation were, at that time, north of Lake Erie; but the greater
part occupied the country from the Miami Bay eastwardly, along
what is now denominated the Western Reserve, and extending
across the country southwardly, to the Ohio. Westward of this
territory commenced that of the Miami Nation, or rather confed-
eracy, possessing a larger number of warriors, at that period, than
could be furnished by any of the aboriginal nations of North%'h

ABORIGINES OF THE OHIO VALLEY.	0

America, before or since. Their territory embraced all of Ohio,
west of the Scioto,—all of Indiana, and that part of Illinois, south
of the Fox River and Wisconsin, on which frontier they were
intermingled with the Kickapoos and some other small tribes.
Of this immense territory, the most beautiful portion was unoccu-
pied. Numerous villages were to be found on the Scioto and the
head waters of the two Miamis, of the Ohio. On the Miami of
the Lake, and its southern tributaries, and throughout the whole
course of the Wabash, at least as low as Chippecoke, (the town
of Brush Wood,) now Vincennes. But the beautiful Ohio rolled
its "amber tide" until it paid its tribute to the Father of Waters,
through an unbroken solitude. At that time, before, and for a
century after, its banks wrere without a town or village, or even a
single cottage, the curling smoke of whose chimney would give
the promise of comfort and refreshment to a weary traveler.

If such an appearance should have presented itself to one who
was awrare of his situation, it would have been the signal of flight,
well knowing that it must proceed from some sequestered dell,
and that the fire from which it proceeded had been lighted by a
party of warriors, who, having interposed the river between them-
selves and those who might have commenced a pursuit on the
line of their retreat, might 'consider themselves safe in indulging
in the luxury of a cooked meal, and a dry couch, after a laborious
and protracted march, in which privations of every description,
consistent with their success and safety, were enjoined by the
rigid rules of their discipline. No traveler, acquainted with the
Indian character, would seek the hospitalities of such a fire-side.
Whatever might have been the result of their expedition, the
interview would prove fatal to him. If it had been successful,
the appetite for blood would be inflamed, rather than satisfied,
and if otherwise, the scalp of an unfortunate stranger might be
substituted for the similar trophy which their bad fortune or bad
management had not permitted them to tear from the head of
their acknowledged enemy.

We left the Mingwe, or Iroquois, strengthened by the incorpora-
tion, into their confederacy, of some conquered tribes, but not
yet able to burst through the impediments which opposed their
progress to the west and south. Their success, however, in the
latter direction, was soon equal to their utmost hopes. We pos-
sess none of the details of the war waged with the Lenapes, but
we know that it resulted in the entire submission of the latter,
and that to prevent any further interruption from them in their ex-
tensive schemes o conquest, they adopted a plan to humble and
degrade them, as novel as it was effectual. To those who are24

HARRISON'S HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.

acquainted with the general character of the American Indian
and to those particularly who know the conduct of the Delawares,.,
when under the command of the renowned Bocanghelas, in their
wars against the United States, and that of the gallant Nicoming^
who commanded a band of forty of his countrymen in our service
in the war of 1813, it will seem almost impossible that the fact
which I am about to relate, can be supported upon good author-
ity. But the best authority can be adduced in support of it, since
it is acknowledged by all the parties who were concerned in it.
Singular as it may seem, then, it is nevertheless true, that the
Lenapes, upon the dictation of the Iroquois, agreed to lay aside-
the character of warriors, and to assume that of women. This,
fact is undisputed, but nothing can be more different than the
account which is given of the manner in which it was brought
about, and the motives for adopting it, on the part of the Lenapes.
The latter assert that they were cajoled into it by the artifices of
the Iroquois, who descanted largely upon the honor which was to
be acquired by their assuming the part of peace-makers between
belligerent tribes, and which could never be so effectual as when
done in the character of the sex which never make war. The
Lenapes consented, and agreed that their chiefs and warriors
from thenceforth should be considered as women. The version
of this transaction, as given by the Iroquois, is, that they de-
manded, and the Lenapes were made to yield to this humiliating
concession, as the only means of averting impending destruction.
The Rev. Mr. Heckwelder, in a communication to the Historical
Society of Pennsylvania, labored, with more zeal than success, to
establish the Delaware account. But even if he had succeeded
in making his readers believe that the Delawares, when they sub-
mitted to the degradation proposed to them by their enemies,
were influenced, not by fear, but by the benevolent desire to put
a stop to the calamities of war, he has established for them the
reputation of being the most egregious dupes and fools that the*
world has ever seen. This is not often the case with Indian
sachexns. They are rarely cowards, but still more rarely are they
deficient in sagacity and discernment to detect any attempt to-
impose upon them. I sincerely wish I could unite with the
worthy German, in removing this stigma upon the Delawares.
A long and intimate knowledge of them, in peace and war, as
enemies and friends, has left upon my mind the most favorable
impressions of their character for bravery, generosity, and fidelity
to their engagements.

The Iroquois being thus freed from any apprehension of an
attack, from their ancient enemies, upon their southern border*ABORIGINES OF THE OHIO VALLEY.

25

prepared to force the barrier which had so long opposed their
westward progress. This was not a barrier of mountains—not a
rampart of earth or stone, but one similar to that which protected
for ages, the open streets and avenues of Sparta—a rampart of
warriors' bosoms, equal in bravery, and in the love of their coun-
try, to any which that far-famed State, or either of her distin-
guished rivals, ever sent to the field. From the position which I
have ascribed to the Hurons, or Wyandots, it will be perceived
that I allude to that celebrated tribe. There is much difficulty
in fixing the chronology of many of the most important events ia
the history of the Indians, at the period to which I now refer.

There are no means by which we can ascertain when the war
between the Iroquois and the Hurons commenced, or how long
it lasted. Whether it was carried on before they were both fur-
nished with European arms, or after they had become acquainted
with the use of them, and both had been supplied by the Euro-
pean nation, to which they severally adhered, can not be correctly
ascertained. There are circumstances, however, which induce
me to believe that they had long fought with weapons of their
own manufacture; but that the great battle which terminated the
contest, was made more bloody and disastrous from the use of
firearms. If that was the case, it must have been after the year
1701, which was the epoch of the alliance between the British
and the Iroquois. Previously to that event, the French had been
extremely cautious in placing the destructive arms of the Euro-
peans, in the hands of the Indians. But, as by means of the
British, the Iroquois had, in a few years, become completely
armed, the French authorities were obliged to change their policy
in this respect, and it was through them that the Hurons were
enabled to meet the Iroquois upon terms equal as to arms,
although the disparity of numbers was greatly in favor of the
latter. The Wyandots assert that the last great battle was fought
in canoes upon Lake Erie, ^nd that all, or nearly all, the warriors
of both nations perished. Although the actual loss of the two
nations, in this battle, is said to have been equal, the conse-
quences-were far from being so. The smaller and weaker party,
were unable again to bring into the field a force, which in point
of numbers, could bear any reasonable proportion to their ene-
mies. After standing at bay for some time, they yielded to the
storm which they had not the physical force to resist, and retired
to the shores of Lake Michigan. The history of this remarkable
tribe is not ended with this change of situation. They returned
after some years, to their original seats, and in all the subsequent
wars of this country, continued to manifest their superiority over26

HARRISON'S HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.

the other tribes, who, upon every occasion, yielded to them the
palm of bravery.

The display of martial courage and high patriotic feeling, on
the part of the youth of a nation, has frequently been the result
of fortuitous causes, which, ceasing to operate, their effect is soon
dissipated, and the national character again sinks to its former
level. Such was the case with Thebes. By the example and
precepts of Epaminondas and Pelopidas, the bosoms of the
Theban youth were lighted with unwonted fires, which rendered
them invincible. But with the death of these great men, the
spirit of the nation again sank, and the presence of the sacred
band was no longer the signal of victory. With Sparta it was
otherwise. That unbending spirit, that proud superiority, which
the Spartan youth displayed in every situation, and which induced
him to seek a death in the service of his country, as the most
-enviable distinction, was the result of impressions fixed upon the
mind in the earliest periods of life, and continued through the
stages of minority. Other lessons might occasionally be taught,
but this being always present to the mind of the youth, the
love of country, and the obligation to die whenever her service
required the sacrifice, suppressed or weakened every other pas-
sion of the soul, ancl it reigned triumphant. This accounts for
the uniform character of the Spartan warriors, through a long
lapse of ages. And this, too, was the source of the bravery
which I have assigned to the Wyandots, in the commencement of
the eighteenth century, and which I knew them to possess at its
•close. To die for the interest or honor of his tribe, and to con-
sider submission to an enemy the lowest degradation, were daily
lessons impressed upon the dawning reason of the child, and
continued through all the stages of youth. Facts, in support of
what is here asserted, will be given in a subsequent part of the
narrative.

The departure of the Wyandots gave the long-wished-for op-
portunity to the Iroquois to advance into Ohio. And that they
did advance as far as the Sandusky, either at that period or some
time after, is admitted. But there is no evidence whatever, to
•show that they made a conquest of the Miamis; other than their
own assertions, and that of the British agents, residing among
them, who obtained their information from the Indians them-
selves. Whilst the want of such acknowledgments on the part
of the Miamis, a number of facts, susceptible of proof, and with
all the inconsistencies and, indeed, palpable absurdities, with
which the Iroquois accounts abound, form such a mass of testi-
mony, positive, negative, and circumstantial, as should, I think,ABORIGINES OF THE OHIO VALLEY.

2/

leave no reasonable doubt that the pretensions of the latter, to
the conquest of the country from the Scioto to the Mississippi,
are entirely groundless. In the accounts which the Miamis gave
of themselves, there was never any reference to a war with the
Iroquois, whilst they declared that they had been fighting with
the southern Indians, (Cherokees and Chickasaws,) for so many
ages, that they had no account of any period when there was
peace with them. At the treaty of Greenville, and at all the sub-
sequent treaties, made for the extinguishment of their title to the
extensive tract which I have assigned to them above, no sugges-
tion was made of any claim of the Iroquois to any part; and
there were, upon most of those occasions, those present, who
would have eagerly embraced the opportunity to disparage the
character of the Miamis, by exhibiting these as a conquered and
degraded people. The Iroquois were not represented, at the
treaty of Greenville, but previously to its being held, they took
care to inform General Wayne, that the Delawares were their
subjects—that they had conquered them and put petticoats upon
them. But neither claimed to have conquered the Miamis, nor
to have any title to any part of the country in the occupancy of
the latter."'

* In the Discourse of DeWitt Clinton before the New York Historical Soci-
ety, where the extensive conquests of the Five Nations are painted in strong
colors, after stating that the date of these conquests is uncertain, he says,
"The Illinois fled to the westward, after being attacked by the confederates,
and did not return until a general peace; and were permitted, in 1760, by
the confederates, to settle in the country between the Wabash and the Scioto
Rivers.* Pownall's "Topographical Description" is given as the authority
for this statement; and, on turning to Pownall,*!* we find he asserts it on the
authority of "Captain Gordon's Journal," who, instead of 1760, uses the ex-
pression "sixteen years ago." Whether Captain Gordon's Journal was writ-
ten m 1774, we do not know. We rather suppose, that Governor Clinton
inadvertently took the statement to be that of Pownall himself, whose " Topo-
graphical Description" was written in 1775. But it is incredible, that the
Five Nations claimed a right to dispose of the territory between the Wabash
and Scioto as late as the middle of the last century, and that the tribes of the
great western league were settled there, at so recent a period, by their per-
mission. As the Indians of the Five Nations were careful to inform General
Wayne of their ancient conquest of the Delawares, and as any claim adverse
to the Miamis was likely to be viewed with favor by the United States at the
treaty of Greenville, great importance is justly attached by General Harrison
to the circumstance, that no such claim was then alluded to. Though the
Five Nations were not a party to the treaty of Greenville, there were those
present who would gladly have revived such a tradition, to the disadvantage
of the Miamis, had any such tradition then existed. We regard this consid-
eration as of a decisive character.—E. Everett, in N.-A. RevJuly, 1840.

* DeWitt Clinton's Historical Discourse, p. 28.

t Ibid., p. 42.28	HARRISON'S HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.

The French had establishments in the Illinois country in the
latter part of the seventeenth century, and, upon the authority of
the learned and Rev. Dr. Brute, present bishop of Vincennes, Mr.
Butler, in his recent History of Kentucky,* asserts that Vincennes
was a missionary post, so early as the year 1700. At that period
the Miami Nation is represented by all French accounts as very
numerous, and in the undisputed possession of all the country I
have claimed for them. I have myself seen a very old and
respectable citizen of St. Louis, who recollected when five tribes
of the nation, who went under the appellation of Illinois tribes,
could bring into the field four thousand warriors; and yet they
did not compose the strength of the nation, which was to be found
strung along the banks of the Wabash and its tributary streams,
and no doubt far into Ohio. In the year 1734, M. de Vincennes,,
a captain in the French army, found them in possession of the
whole of the Wabash, and their principal town occupying the site
of Fort Wayne, which was actually the key of the country below.
This officer was the first Frenchman who followed the route of
the Miami of the Lake, and the Wabash, in passing from Canada
to their western settlements; and, in doing so at this time, throws
some light upon the chronology of some of the events to which I
have referred. Long before this period, the French must have
known of the shorter and easier route, and no reason can be
assigned for their never having used it, but from its being the
seat of war, on some portion of it, which rendered it unsafe.
This war I suppose to be that between the Wyandots and Iro-
quois; and, although I would fix its termination earlier by some
years than the expedition of Vincennes, yet, being an experi-
ment, it is probable that it required some time to ascertain its
entire safety; nor is it at all impossible, that the Tiwictewees
(always the most eastern of the Miami tribes) were not upon the
most friendly terms with the Iroquois. Indeed, the probability
is, that there was war between them, but not of a decisive charac-
ter, and if any conquests were made, or any part of the territory
of the Miamis conquered, it must have been of trifling extent; if
victories had been gained, their effects were evanescent, and of
no use to the conquerors. Vincennes, in 1734, found them
(the Miamis) in the possession of the entire Wabash; and, in
1751, the Tiwictewees wsre visited at their towns, on the Scioto,
one hundred and fifty miles from the mouth, by Mr. Gist, of
Virginia, whose Journal has been lately published by Mr. Sparks,

* A History of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. By Mann Butler, A.M.
Louisville, Ky., 1834.ABORIGINES OF THE OHIO VALLEY.	29

amongst the Washington papers. Mr. Gist remarks, that they
were there "in amity with the Six Nations," and adds, that they
"appeared to him to be a very superior people" to their supposed
conquerors. Amongst the inconsistencies to be found in the
declaration of those who support the pretension of the Iroquois
on this side of the Ohio, I shall at this time mention but one.
After broadly asserting the claim of conquest to the Mississippi,
it seems, that, in 1781, Colonel Croghan, who is represented to
have been an agent with the Iroquois for the thirty years preced-
ing, limited their right "on the southeast side of the Ohio, to the
Cherokee (Tennessee) River, and to the Big Miami, a stony river
on the northwest side." Even this reduced claim to the territory
within one State, will not be admitted; as it has been shown,
that the Tiwictewees were in full possession of the Scioto, upward
of one hundred miles above the Miami, where they were visited
by Mr. Gist, and presented nothing to indicate a conquered
people. I have no doubt that their pretensions to extensive
conquests on the southeast side of the Ohio, are also untenable.
Dr. Franklin asserts, that at a treaty held in 1744, the chiefs of
the Six Nations, upon being questioned as to their title, made
this reply, "that all the world knew that they had conquered the
nations living on the Susquehanna, the Cohongoranto, (now
Potomac,) and back of the Virginia mountains." The Doctor
further asserts, upon the authority of Mitchell, the author of a
work which had been published at the solicitation of the British
board of trade and plantations, "that the Six Nations had extend-
ed their territories ever since the year 1672, when they subdued
and were incorporated with the Shawanoes, the native proprietors
of those countries." Besides which "they claim a right of con-
quest over the Illinois and all the Mississippi, as far as they
extend." I have already disposed of the Illinois portion of these
pretended conquests, and I will now show that the whole account
of the subjugation of the Shawanoes by the Iroquois, is still more
clearly destitute of foundation. No fact, in relation to the Indian
tribes, who have resided on our northwest frontiers for a century
past, is better known, than that the Shawanees came from Florida
and Georgia about the middle of the eighteenth century. They
passed through Kentucky (along the Cumberland River) on their
way to the Ohio. But that their passage was rather a rapid one,
is proved from these circumstances. Black Hoof, their late prin-
cipal chief, (with whom I had been acquainted since the treaty
of Greenville,) was born in Florida, before the removal of his
tribe. He died at Wapocconata, in this State,*only three or four
years ago. As I do not know his age, at the time of his leaving30	HARRISON'S HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.

Florida, nor at his death, I am not able to fix with precision the
date of the emigration. But it is well known that they were at
the town which still bears their names on the Ohio, a few miles
below the mouth of the Wabash, sometime before the commence-
ment of the revoluntary war; that they remained there some
years before they removed to the Scioto, when they were found
by Governor Dunmore in the year 1774. That their removal
from Florida, was a matter of necessity, and their progress from
thence, a flight, rather than a deliberate march, is evident from
their appearance, when they presented themselves upon the Ohio,
and claimed the protection of the Miamis. They are represented
by the chiefs of the latter, as well as those of the Delawares, as
supplicants for protection, not against the Iroquois, but against
the Creeks and Seminoles, or some other southern tribe, who
had driven them from Florida, and they are said to have been
literally sans provat et sans culottes. As during this rapid flight,
was the first and only time that the Shawanees had ever been in
Kentucky, the story of their having been conquered, and their
right to the country obtained by the Six Nations, in consequence
of that conquest, nearly a century before, must be considered an
entire fabrication. This history of the Shawanees was brought
forward at a council held at Vincennes, in the year 1810, to
resist the pretensions advanced by the far-famed Tecumthey to
an interference with the Miamis in the disposal of their lands.
However galling to this chief, the reference to these facts might
have been, he was unable to deny them, as will be seen by an
examination of the proceedings of this council, preserved in
McAffee's history of the western war. These facts prove most
clearly, that the Six Nations never did acquire a title to the
country between the Kentucky River and the Tennessee, by the
subjugation of the Shawanees, unless it was when that tribe was
passing through it nearly a century subsequent to the period in
which it is said to have taken place. If it should be asserted
that the Shawanees might have occupied the country in question
before the year 1674, and have been then driven off by the Iro-
quois, and sought refuge in Florida, from whence they again
returned after a lapse of seventy or eighty years, the answer is,
that they give no such account of themselves, nor are there any
traces in the country itself, to show that it had been occupied
either by the Shawanees or any other tribe, for some ages at least
before the period fixed for its conquest by the Iroquois. All the
early voyagers on the Ohio, and all the first emigrants to Ken-
tucky, represent the country as being totally destitute of any
recent vestigages of settlement. Mr. Butler, in his History ofABORIGINES OF THE OHIO VALLEY.	31

Kentucky, remarks in the text, that "no Indian towns, within
recent times, were known to exist within this territory, either in
Kentucky or the lower Tennessee;" but in a note he says, "there
are vestiges of Indian towns near Harrodsburg, on Salt River,
and at other points, but they are of no recent date." The same
author, and all others assert, "that this interjacent country,
between the Indians of the south, and those northwest of the
Ohio, was kept a common hunting ground or field of battle as
the resentments or inclinations of the adjoining tribes prompted
to the one or the other." The total absence of all vestiges of set-
tlement, of a date as late as the period of the alleged conquest,
is conclusive testimony against it, the process by which nature
restores the forest to its original state, after being once cleared^,
is extremely slow. In our rich lands, it is, indeed, soon covered
again with timber, but the character of growtn is entirely different,
and continues so, through many generations of men. In several
places on the Ohio, particularly upon the farm which I occupy,
clearings were made in the first settlement, abandoned, and suffer-
ing to grow up. Some of them, now to be seen, of nearly fifty
years' growth, have made so little progress towards attaining the
appearance of the immediately contiguous forest, as to induce
any man of reflection, to determine, that at least ten times fifty
years would be necessary before its complete assimilation could
be effected. The sites of the ancient works on the Ohio, pre-
sent precisely the same appearance as the circumjacent forest.
You find on them, all that beautiful variety of trees, which gives
such unrivaled richness to our forests. This is particularly the
case, on the fifteen acres included within the walls of the work,
at the mouth of the Great Miami, and the relative proportions of
the different kinds of timber, are about the same. The first
growth on the same kind of land, once cleared, and then aban-
doned to nature, on the contrary, is more homogeneous—often
stinted to one, or two, or at most three kinds of timber. If the
ground had been cultivated, yellow locust, in many places, will
spring up as thick as garden peas. If it has not been cultivated,
the black and white walnut will be the prevailing growth. The
rapidity with which these trees grow for a time, smothers the
attempt of other kinds to vegetate and grow in their shade. The
more thrifty individuals soon overtop the weaker of their own
kind, which sicken and die. In this way, there are soon only as
many left as the earth will well support to maturity. All this
time the squirrels may plant the seed of those trees which serve
them for food, and by neglect suffer them to remain,—it will be
in vain; the birds may drop the kernels, the external pulp of32	HARRISON'S HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.

which have contributed to their nourishment, and divested of
which they are in the best state for germinating, still it will be of
no avail; the winds of heaven may waft the winged seeds of the
sycamore, cotton-wood and maple, and a friendly shower may
bury them to the necessary depth in the loose and fertile soil—
but still without success. The roots below rob them of moisture,
and the canopy of limbs and leaves above intercepts the rays of
the sun, and the dews of heaven: the young giants in possession,
like another kind of aristocracy, absorb the whole means of sub-
sistence, and leave the mass to perish at their feet. This state,
of things will not, however, always continue. If the process of
nature is slow and circuitous, in putting down usurpation and
establishing the equality which she loves, and which is the great
characteristic of her principles, it is sure and effectual. The pre-
ference of the soil for the first growth, ceases with its maturity.
It admits of no succession, upon the principles of legitimacy.
The long undisputed masters of the forest may be thinned by
lightning, the tempest, or by diseases peculiar to themselves; and
whenever this is the case, one of the oft-rejected of another
family, will find between its decaying roots, shelter and appropri-
ate food; and springing into vigorous growth, will soon push its
green foliage to the skies, through the decayed and withering
limbs of its blasted and dying adversary—the soil itself, yielding
it a more liberal support than any scion from the former occu-
pant. It will easily be conceived what a length of time it will
require for a denuded tract of land, by a process so slow, again
to clothe itself with the amazing variety of foliage which is the
characteristic of the forests of this region. Of what immense age,
then, must be those works, so often ♦ referred to, covered, as has
been supposed by those who have the best opportunity of exam-
ining them, with the second growth after the ancient forest state
had been regained?

But, setting aside all that has been advanced adverse to the
claims of the Six Nations to be the extensive conquerors that
they have so long been considered, there are, I think, insuperable
arguments to be found against it, drawn from the nature of man
in every age, and from the state in which they were at that period.
They have been compared to the Romans,—but in what did the
resemblance consist? Like that celebrated people they might
have been ambitious of extending their influence, and, like them,
constant in adhering to a course of policy adapted to secure it.
But there the parallel must end. The ingredient in the composi-
tion of a Roman army, to which all their conquests are justly
attributed, they did not, and in the state of society to which theyABORIGINES OF THE OHIO VALLEY.

33

were advanced, they could not possess. I allude to that bond
by which an army of many thousands are brought to a harmony
and unity of action, as if they were possessed of but one spirit
and one mind. Without this, no distant foreign conquests ever
have been or ever can be made. In every considerable collec-
tion of men in arms in every state of society, the elements of fac-
tion, disunion, and final dissolution are always to be found. If
the warriors of the Iroquois did not possess this spirit in a
superior degree, they greatly differ from the kindred tribes of this
country, with whom I have been acquainted. To have conquered
the numerous tribes between their frontier and the Mississippi,
in the short period assigned, an army of many thousands would
have been requisite. How would an army of that size be sup-
ported? The game of the forest flies before the march of an
army, and the state in which these Indians were at that time,
being without beasts of burden (and having a natural horr r of
exercising that quality of the Roman soldiers themselves), they
would be unable to apply the superabundance of one day to the
wants of another. The power to move men in masses, to be
efficient, is one of the highest evidences of civilization. The
manner of making war amongst the North American Indians
was totally different. They endeavored to wear away their
enemy, by surprising and butchering, now a family, less frequently
a hunting camp, but rarely a village. If the hostile parties were
in juxtaposition, as the Sacs and Foxes and the Illinois Miamis,
a few years would determine the contest. But if they were sepa-
rated by a large tract of unoccupied territory, as the northwest
and southern Indians, ages might pass over without any thing
decisive being effected.

An erroneous opinion has prevailed in relation to the character
of the Indians of North America. By many, they are supposed
to be stoics, who willingly encounter deprivations. " The very
reverse is the fact; if they belong to either of the classes of phi-
losophers which prevailed in the declining ages of Greece and
Rome, it is to that of Epicureans. For no Indian will forego
an enjoyment or suffer an inconvenience, if he can avoid it,
but under peculiar circumstances: when, for instance, he is stim-
ulated by some strong passion —but even the gratification of this,
he is ever ready to postpone, whenever its accomplishment is
attended with unlooked for danger, or unexpected hardships.
Hence their military operations were always feeble—their expedi-
tions few and far between, and much the greater number aban-
doned without an efficient stroke, from whim, caprice, or an aver-
sion to encounter difficulties.

334

HARRISON'S HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.

But if the Indian will not, like Cato, throw from him "the
pomps and pleasures," with which his good fortune furnishes him
—when evils come which he cannot avoid, when "the stings and
arrows of outrageous fortune" fall thick upon him, then will he
call up all the spirit of the man into his bosom, and meet his
fate, however hard, like "the best Roman of them all." With
all these facts before me, I can not persuade myself, that the Six
Nations ever extended their conquests in the manner that has
been stated. Their attempts to conquer the numerous and war-
like tribes on the Mississippi, would have been rendered abortive
in one of the two ways mentioned in the apothegm of Henry the
IV., in relation to Spain:—"If a small army should be sent, they
would be defeated: if a larger one, it would starve." The exten-
sive conquests made by the shepherds of Scythia, during the mid-
dle ages, both in Asia and Europe, oppose no argument against the
theory I have attempted to establish. There is no point of com-
parison in the situation of a people who, to an abundance and
variety of the domestic animals which furnish food and clothing,
add the possession of the horse, superior to any of them, and
equally useful in peace as in war, and those who have none of
these aids.

At the general peace of Utrecht, in 1712, the French were
made to acknowledge the Iroquois as being under the exclusive
protection of Great Britain. As a counterpoise to the strength
which the alliance with these tribes brought to their rival, the
former power soon employed themselves in securing the friend-
ship of the more western tribes. But although these great rival
powers became parties in the war which was kindled in Europe,
upon the death of the Emperor Charles the VI., their subjects in
the interior of the American continent, as well as the Indian
tribes, were suffered to remain in quiet. But in that which was
commenced in 1755, both parties claimed the assistance of their
respective Indian allies. The Six Nations gave their powerful
aid to the British, whilst the northwestern Indians ranged them-
selves on the side of the French, and contributed largely, by their
assistance, to the defeat of General Braddock, and to procrasti-
nate the fall of Fort Du Quesne, and other western posts. The
peace of Paris, in 1763, terminated the war between France and
Britain, and the entire cession of all the French dominions in
North America, to the latter power, seemed to promise a lasting
peace with the Indians. Such, however, was not the case. One
year of bloody war, after the British had gained possession of all
the western posts, desolated the frontiers, and the important for-
tress of IvIIchillimackinac was taken, and Detroit, Fort Pitt, and.ABORIGINES OF THE OHIO VALLEY.

35

Niagara, had nearly suffered a like fate. In these enterprises,
the Indians of Ohio, the Wyandots, Delawares, and Shawanees,
acted a conspicuous part. A treaty of peace was at length
effected, through the instrumentality of the Six Nations.

It was not, however, kept with go6d faith by the Indians, who
continued to commit occasional depredations upon the frontiers
of Pennsylvania and Virginia, throughout the ten following years.

In the year 1774, a grand expedition under the command of
the titled Governor of Virginia (Lord Dunmore) against the Indi-
ans of Ohio, resulted in the celebrated battle of Kenhawa by the
left wing of the army, whilst that under the immediate orders of
the Governor penetrated to within a short distance of the Shawa-
nees towns on the Scioto, where a precipitate treaty was con-
cluded, and the Governor hastened to his capital, to provide
against a storm of a different character; of the approach of which
he had seen evidences not to be misapprehended.

In the year 1775, Great Britain (determined to compel her
colonies to submit to her arbitrary mandates, with that reckless-
ness of means for which she has ever been remarkable, whenever
a purpose of aggrandizement, or vengeance, was to be secured,)
by the influence of the traders, by large donations, and larger
promises, engaged all the northwestern Indians i^i her cause, with
a view to the devastation of the frontiers. Attempts were made
by Congress to avert this calamity, by convincing the Indians,
that they had 110 interest in the quarrel, and that the wiser path
was to observe a perfect neutrality. Nothing can show the
anxiety of Congress to effect this object in stronger colors, than
the agreement entered into with the Delaware tribes, at a treaty
concluded at Pittsburg, in 1778. By an article in that treaty,
the United States proposed that a State should Be formed, to be
composed of the Delawares and other tribes, and contracted to
admit them, when so formed, as one of the members of the
Union. But this, as it might perhaps have been Afterward con-
sidered, enviable distinction, weighed but little in the eyes of the
Indians, compared to the present advantages of arms and equip-
ments, clothing and trinkets, which were profusely distributed by
the agents of Great Britain.

* With the breaking out of the Revolution, in 1775, commenced an Indian
war, which outlasted that with the mother country by twelve years, and for
all that period not only obstructed the settlement of the territory northwest of
the Ohio, but inflicted on the,frontiers the heart-sickening cruelties of a sav-
age warfare. Such was the fruit of the detention of the western posts ; and
of the insidious policy of the Canadian Government, in preventing an accom-
modation between the United States and the northwestern tribes. Much36	HARRISON'S HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.

It is not my design to detain you with any of the details of
this war, or that which immediately followed the war of the Revo-
lution, and which continued to the peace of Greenville, in 1795,
-—the latter either belongs to the history of the adjacent States,
or to the general history of the United States'—but to give a gen-
eral idea of the Indian tribes who have been once the residents
and proprietors of our State, abstracted as much as possible from
our own history. No doubt can be entertained, that, although
constrained to acknowledge the independence of the United
States, the Government of Great Britain still indulged the hope,
that at some distant period it would be able again to reduce them
to subjection. No other reason can be assigned for the close
connection which they continued to keep up with the tribes
within our territorial boundary, and their constant and liberal
supply to them of the means of committing depredations upon
our settlements. For the first few years, the military equipments

light has been thrown on this important and not well-understood chapter of
our history, in the late valuable " Life of Thayendanegea," by Colonel Stone.
The papers of this celebrated Mohawk chieftain, placed at the disposition of
his industrious biographer, have cleared up several doubtful points. With
the other documents submitted to Colonel Stone's inspection, among the
papers of Brant, is a certified copy of the celebrated answer of Lord Dor-
chester to a speech of the Indians of the seven villages of Lower Canada,
assembled at Quebec, as deputies from all the nations who attended the great
council of the Miamis in the year 1793. This speech, at the time, was
believed to be authentic by General Washington and by Governor Clinton of
New York, to whom a copy was sent by Washington, in order to the settle-
ment of that point. Chief Justice Marshall pronounced it spurious, without
stating the grounds of his judgment; and in this opinion he is followed by
Mr. Sparks. Its authenticity, however, was admitted at the time by the
British minister, in a letter to the Secretary of State, who had made it the
subject of a remonstrance. Colonel Stone seems to put the matter beyond
doubt. "I have myself," says he, "transcribed the preceding extracts from a
certified manuscript copy, discovered among the papers of Joseph Brant, in
my possession." *

Few events in the history of the country have exercised a more powerful
influence on its progress, than the victory of General Wayne over the com-
bined forces of the northwestern confederacy, on the 20th of August, 1794.
This event, followed as it was by the treaty of Greenville, threw open the
floodgates of emigration into the territory beyond the Ohio. The modesty
of General Harrison has not only led him to suppress all mention of the fact,
that he was himself, as an aid of the commander-in-chief, among the foremost
in the dangers of that decisive conflict;—that he was even present in the
battle could not be gathered from his brief allusion to it. He confines him-
self exclusively to a tribute of well-deserved commendation of the command-
ing General.—E. Everett, in N.-4- Rev., July, 1840.

* Stone's Life of Thayendanegea, Vol. II. p. 369.—Marshall's Life of Washington, Vol.
V. p. 535.—Sparks' WrUingz of Washington, Vol. X. p. 394.—Wait's American State
Papers, Vol. III. p. 60, 3d edition.ABORIGINES OF THE OHIO VALLEY.

37

were more cautiously supplied. But after the failure of the expe-
dition under General Harmar, and the total defeat of our army,
in November, 1791, under the command of General St. Clair, the
Government of Great Britain believed the propitious moment had
arrived, so ardently wished for, to wipe off the stain which had
been fixed upon their military renown, in the former war with
America, and again to replace in the diadem of their sovereign,
what was denominated by the greatest of her statesmen, "the
brightest jewel that it had contained." The mask was not, how-
ever, entirely thrown off. For, in the spring of 1793, Great
Britain tendered her services as a mediator of peace with the hos-
tile tribes. The offer was accepted, and three of our most distin-
guished citizens were commissioned, under the guarantee of
safety, by the British, to meet the Indians at the rapids of the
Miami of the Lake. This conference resulted in a conviction of
the insincerity of the British, and that there was no hope of
effecting a peace upon any honorable terms, but by first convinc-
ing the Indians of our military superiority.'" A lesson of this
sort was in preparation for their use, under the auspices of one of
the heroes of the revolution. The delay of a second summer,
produced by the abortive negotiation, was employed by him to
make its success more certain. On the 20th of August, 1794,
within the bounds of our own State, and within view of the scene
of the council, of the previous year, the eyes of the Indians were
opened to the fallacies of British promises, and to their entire
inability to resist an American army, when properly directed.
The aid furnished them by the British, being open and palpable,
fully sufficed to show their entire disregard of the principles of
neutrality, but was still behind their promises, and the expecta-
tions of the Indians. In despite of the opposition of the British
agents, the Indian chiefs applied to the commanding general for
an armistice. This being granted, was followed, in the succeed-
ing year, by a general peace. The tribes which had been united
in the war against the United States, were the Wyandots, Dela-
wares, Shawanees, Chippewas, Ottawas, Potawatomies, Miamis,
Eel River tribes, and Weas. The three last constitute, indeed,
but one tribe, but in consideration of the country which was
ceeded by the treaty, being really their property, this division of
their nation was admitted by General Wayne, the commissioner,
in order to give them a larger share of the annuities which were
stipulated to be paid by the United States.

The above-mentioned tribes, could not have brought into the

* See note C, in the Appendix.38	garrison's historical discourse.

field more than three thousand warriors at any time, during the
ten years preceding the treaty of Greenville; although, a few
years before, the Miamis alone could have furnished more than
that number. The constant war with our frontier, had deprived
them of many of their warriors; but the ravages of the small-pox
were the principal cause of this great decrease of their numbers.
They composed, however, a body of the finest light-troops in
the world. And, had they been under an efficient system of dis-
cipline, or possessed enterprise equal to their valor, the settle-
ment of the country would have been attended with much
greater difficulty than was encountered in accomplishing it, and
their final subjugation delayed for some years. The Wyandots,
the leading tribe of the confederacy, and that to whose custody
the great calumet, the symbol of their union, was intrusted, had
authority to call a council of the chiefs of the several tribes, to
consult upon their affairs. But there was no mode of enforcing
their decision, and the execution of any plan of operations, that
might have been determined on, depended entirely upon the
good pleasure of those who were to execute it. At one time it
was thought, indeed, that they had adopted the very judicious
plan of cutting off the convoys of the army, by a constant suc-
cession of detachments. This was, however, soon abandoned.
And under the influence of the confidence which they had ac-
quired, as well in their valor as their tactics, from their repeated
success, they again determined to commit the fate of themselves
and their country to the issue of a general battle. This was all
that was wanted by the American commander. By this fatal
determination, they had already prepared the wreath of laurels
which was to adorn his brow by their complete and total discom-
fiture. The tactics which had been adopted for the American
Legion, had been devised with a reference to all the suhtilties,.
which those of the Indians were well known to possess. It
united with the apparently opposite qualities of compactness
and flexibility, and a facility of expansion under any circum-
stances, and in any situation, which rendered utterly abortive the
peculiar tact of the Indians in assailing the flanks of their adver-
saries. The correctness of the theory, which dictated this plan,
was proved in the trial, and confirmed the truth of the senten-
tious motto of a military society, even where Indians are the
enemies:—" Scientia in bello, pax J'

It may be proper that I should say some thing more as to the
character of the now scattered and almost extinct tribes which so
long and so successfully resisted our arms, and who for many
years after, stood in the relation of dependants, acknowledgingABORIGINES OF THE OHIO VALLEY.

39

themselves under our exclusive protection. Their character as
warriors, has been already remarked upon. Their bravery has
never been questioned, although there was certainly a consider-
able difference between the several tribes, in this respect. With
all but the Wyandots, flight in battle, when meeting with unex-
pected resistence, or obstacle, brought with it no disgrace. It
was considered rather as a principle of tactics. And I think it
rmay be fairly considered as having its source in that peculiar
temperament of mind, which they often manifested, of not press-
ing fortune under any sinister circumstances, but patiently wait-
ing until the chances of a successful issue appeared to be favorable.
With the Wyandots it was otherwise. Their youth were taught
to consider any thing that had the appearance of an acknowledg-
ment of the superiority of an enemy, as disgraceful. In the
battle of the Miami Rapids, of thirteen chiefs of that tribe who
were present, one only survived, and he badly wounded. *

As it regards their moral and intellectual qualities, the differ-
ence between the tribes was still greater. The Shawanees, Dela-
wares, and Miamis, were much superior to the other members of
the confederacy. I have known individuals among them of very
high order of talents, but these were not generally to be relied
upon for sincerity. The Little Turtle, of the Miami tribe, was
one of this description, as was the Blue Jacket, a Shawanee chief.
I think it probable that Tecumthey possessed more integrity than
any other of the chiefs, who attained to much distinction; bat he
violated a solemn engagement, which he had freely contracted,
and there are strong suspicions of his having formed a treacher-
ous design, which an accident only prevented him from accom-
plishing. • Sinister instances are, however, to be found in the
conduct of great men, in the history of almost all civilized nations.
But these instances are more than counterbalanced by the num-
ber of individuals of high moral character, which were to be
found amongst the principal, and secondary chiefs, of the four
tribes above mentioned. This was particularly the case with
Tarhe, or the Crane, the grand sachem of the Wyandots, and
Black Hoof, the chief of the Shawanees. Many instances might
be adduced, to show the possession on the part of these men, of
an uncommon degree of disinterestedness and magnanimity, and
strict performance of their engagements, under circumstances
which would be considered by many as justifying evasion. But
one of the brightest parts of the character of those Indians, is
their sound regard to the obligations of friendship. A pledge of

* See note D, in the Appendix.40	HARRISON'S HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.

\ :

this kind, once given by an Indian of any character, becomes the
ruling passion of his soul, to which every other was made to yield.
He regards it as superior to every other obligation. And the life
of his friend would be required at the hands of him, (or his tribe,)
who had taken it,' even if it had occurred in a fair field of battle,
and in the performance of his duty as a warrior. An event might
have occurred in the late war with Great Britain, and their allies,
in which a most striking exemplification of this principle would
have been exhibited. In the autunm of 1793, the chief, Stiff
Knee, of the Seneca tribe, who had been the friend of General
Richard Butler, who had fallen on the fatal 4th of November,
I79I, joined the army of General Wayne, for the purpose of
avenging his death. The advance upon the enemy having been
arrested, from the lateness of the season, and th^ troops placed
in cantonments for the winter, impatient of delay, the chief ear-
nestly solicited the General to be permitted to go with a detach-
ment to attack one of the positions of the enemy. This request
was, of course, refused. To satisfy him, and to prevent his going
alone, the General informed him that an ample opportunity of
vengeance would be offered in the spring. But the soul of the
warrior could not brook this delay. To the officer with whom
he lodged, he expatiated upon the unsupportable weight by
which his mind was oppressed, at the postponement of the day
of retribution for the death of his brother, whose spirit was con-
stantly calling 011 him for vengeance. Upon one of these occa-
sions, he said, that, denied an opportunity of performing this
sacred obligation, nothing remained but to convince his friend
how readily he would have died for him, and before his arm
could be caught, he plunged a poignard in his bosom.

I am satisfied that this is not the proper time to enquire how
far the United Stales have fulfilled the obligations imposed upon
them by their assuming, at the treaty of Greenville, the character
of sole protectors of the tribes who were parties to it, a stipula-
tion often repeated in subsequent treaties. But I will take this-
opportunity of declaring, that if the duties it imposed, were not
faithfully executed, during the administration of Mr. Jefferson,
and Mr. Madison, as far as the power vested by the laws in the
Executive would permit, the immediate agents of the Government
are responsible, as the directions given to them were clear and
explicit, not only to fulfill with scrupulous fidelity, all the treaty
obligations, but upon all occasions, to promote the happiness of
these dependant people, as far as attention and expenditure of
money could effect these objects.ABORIGINES OF THE OHIO VALLEY.

41

(From the North American Review,	1840.)

We are left by our author to learn the last important chapter
in the history of most of the Indian tribes, once conspicuous m
the valley of the Ohio, from other pens than his own. Beyond a
brief allusion, in the concluding paragraphs of the Discourse, to
the conduct of the celebrated chieftain Tecum the, at the council
of Vincennes, in 1810, there is 110 reference to those momentous-
events and struggles, in which General Harrison himself performed
the most conspicuous part. This celebrated Indian chieftain, wha
may with propriety be placed by the historians on the same page
with King Philip, Pontiac, and Brant, was the son of a Shawanoe
father and Cherokee mother, a descent which admirably adapted
him to achieve that project, which, to some extent, is supposed
to have been contemplated by the other eminent Indian chief-
tains whom we have named, that of bringing all the Indian tribes
into one grand confederacy. This policy, as far as it extended,,
was the secret of the strength of the Five Nations. It is even,
affecting to hear these poor children of nature, by their speaker
Canassatego, at the council of Lancaster, in 1744, recommending
Union to the American colonies. At the session of the fourth
of july of that year, the eloquent Onondago warrior used this-
remarkable language:

• "We have one thing further to say, and that is, we heartily
recommend union and good agreement between you and your
brethren. Never disagree, but preserve a strict friendship for
each other, and thereby you, as well as we, will become the
stronger.

"Our wise forefathers established union and amity between the
Five Nations; this has made us formidable; this has given us
weight and authority with our neighboring nations.

"We are a powerful confederacy; and, by your observing the
same methods which our wise forefathers have taken, you will
acquire fresh strength and power; therefore, whatsoever befalls
you, never fall out with each other."'1'

If this is the language of barbarism, what is civilization!

* Colden's History of the Five Nations; in the Papers annexed, p. 149.42

HARRISON'S HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.

While we write these lines, the intelligence reaches us, that, in
virtue, rather let us say by force, of one of those monstrous impo-
sitions called Indian treaties, negotiated, in the present instance,
against the wishes of fourteen-fifteenths of those whose lands it
cedes, the last remnant of those sagacious and formidable tribes,
whose representative, in 1744, uttered these counsels of friend-
ship and wisdom, are^about to be driven from their last foothold
in New York, and transported to a "new home" west of the
States ,of Arkansas and Missouri. Whatever doubts may rest on
the question discussed in the address before us, whether the vic-
torious arms of the Five Nations were ever pushed to the Missis-
sippi, no doubt, unhappily, will be left to the future historian, that
they are now to be driven across that river, by their civilized,
humane, and Christian neighbors; and this by force of a treaty,
of which the President of the United States remarks, in commu-
nicating it to Congress, "that improper means have been em-
ployed to obtain the assent of the Seneca chiefs, there is too
much reason to believe." That their condition will be improved
by the rempval is an opinion, we know, entertained by persons
of integrity and honor, and we devoutly hope that it may be real-
ized. But this opinion, however confidently entertained, and
however likely to be justified by the result, furnishes no apology,
so long as their right to occupy their reservations is admitted, for
forcing them to quit their homes, under the forms of a mock
treaty, concluded against the wishes, however unenlighted or mis-
guided, of a great majority of the tribe.—Edward Everett.APPENDIX.

, NOTE A.

The object of Themistocles was to induce the council of war
to adopt his opinion of fighting the Persians, in the narrow strait
which separates the island of Salamis from the main, which would
prevent them from being surrounded by the immensely superior
fleet of the latter. The commander of the Spartan squadron,
and those of the other states within the Isthmus of Corinth, were
desirous to retreat to the shores of Peloponnesus, in the vicinity
of which the army of the Peloponnesian Greeks had been assem-
bled, for the purpose of guarding the isthmus, which afforded the
only land entrance to that portion of the country. Themistocles
endeavored to convince the council, that if they abandoned the
favorable position which the straits of Salamis afforded, and
attempted a retreat to the coast of Peloponnesus, they would be
pursued by the Persians, and obliged to fight in the open sea,
which would enable the enemy to surround their comparatively
small force, and that defeat would be inevitable. The Grecian
fleet being destroyed, the Persians would be enabled to turn the
position of the army, which would be deprived of all the advan-
tages in defending it. He was, also, afraid that the fleet would
separate, each squadron repairing to the harbor of the state to
which it belonged, preferring (as is the case in all confederacies,
where there is no con men head in the government, with power
to enforce obedience to its decrees,) the interest of the individual
member to which it belonged, to the common good. The debate
became warm; and the Spartan commander losing his self-com-
mand, raised his staff to strike his opponent. The noble Athe-
nian, full of confidence in the measures he had recommended,
for the destruction of their common enemy, and of enthusiasm in
the cause of liberty and civilization, attempted neither to avert
the blow, or resent the indignity. His remark, " strike, but
hear me," seemed rather to invite it, as the price of the attention
of his enraged commander, to arguments which he knew could
not be answered.

Eurybiades, awed by the indomitable firmness of the Athenian,
calmed his passion, submitted himself to the mighty genius of his
rival, and Greece was saved.44

APPENDIX.

NOTE B.

The circumstances which militate most against the supposition
of the identity of the Aztecs, with the authors of extensive ancient
works in Ohio, is the admitted fact, that the latter entered the
valley of Anahuac, from the Northwest, that is, from California,
which is much out of the direct route from the Ohio to Mexico.
A strong argument in favor of it, is the similarity of the remains
which are found in that region (California), as well as in Mexico
itself, with those in the valley of the Ohio. I am not informed
whether there are any such in the intermediate country between
the lower Mississippi and California. But if there are none, it
will serve rather to confirm and strengthen my opinion, that the
fugitives from the Ohio, were, like those from Troy, a mere rem-
nant, whose numbers were too small to erect works pf so much
labor, as those they had left behind had required; but, after their
strength had been increased, by a residence for some time in
California, the passion for such works returned with the ability to
erect them.

The similarity, in point of form and mode of construction^
between the works now to be seen in all the countries I have
mentioned, (Ohio, Mexico, and California,) proves that they
must have been erected by the same, or a kindred people, derived
from the same stock, and if the latter, the separation took place
after the custom of such erections had commenced.

If the opinion is adopted, that the Aztecs were never in Ohio^
but had pursued the direct route from Asia (whence it is believed
they all came) to California, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean,
and that the authors of the Ohio erections, were from the same
continent and stock, the question may be asked, Where did the
separation take place? Was it before they left Asia, or after their
arrival upon the American continent? Are there any works simi-
lar to those in Ohio, Mexico, and California, to be found in the
northeast of Asia, or between the Pacific and the Rocky Mountains,
or on the route which that branch of the nation would have pur-
sued, which bent their course towards the valley of the Ohio? If
these questions are answered in the negative, it will thus go far
to prove that the practice of constructing such works originated
in the latter, and that those who erected them were the same
people who afterwards sojourned in California, and finally settled
in the valley of Anahuac, or Mexico. If we adopt the opinion,
that they were totally a distinct people, or were different branches
of the same original Asiatic stock, we must believe also that they
each fell into the practice of erecting extensive works, of the sameAPPENDIX.

45

form, and of the same materials, (in a manner not known to be
practised by any other people,) without any previous knowledge
to guide them, and without any intercourse. This, to say the
least of it, is very improbable.

If 'the Aztecs were not the authors of the Ohio works, we can
only account for the ultimate fate of those who were, by supposing
that they were entirely extirpated, preferring, like the devoted
Numantians, to be buried under the ruins of their own walls, to
seeking safety by an ignominious flight.

I find no difficulty, from the facts mentioned in the text, in
adopting the opinion, that these people were conquered by those
who were less civilized than themselves. An. enlightened nation,
whose military institutions are founded upon scientific principles,
and which relies upon its own citizens for protection, will never
be subdued by savages, nor by those who have made little progress
in civilization. They may be beaten in a battle, indeed in many
battles, as was the case with the barbarians of Gaul and Germany,
who first broke through the boundaries of the Roman Republic;
and in our day and nation, when the northwestern Indians defeated
our armies in two successive campaigns, as they had previously
done those of Great Britain. But their triumphs will be termi-
nated as soon as the causes which produce them are ascertained,
and a change is effected in the plan of operations, or in the mode
of forming the troops to meet the exigency, as was the case in the
former under the direction of Caius Marius, and in our own under
the direction of Anthony Wayne. But it is quite otherwise, with
those who have made such small progress in civilization, as to be
unable to make war upon fixed and scientific principles. I have
assigned to the nameless nation of our valley the character of an
agricultural people, and this is precisely the state (without military
institutions) in which a nation is most weak, and most easily con-
quered, by those who still depend upon the chase for food, or
who have advanced still further, and draw their subsistence from
flocks and herds of their own rearing. The labors of agriculture
serve to form the body to endure the toils and hardships incident
to a military life. There is something, too, in that kind of employ-
ment, which serves to kindle a spirit of independence in the
bosom, and nurture the feelings of patriotism. Hence, it has
happened, that agricultural nations, which had engrafted a system
of military instruction upon the ordinary education of youth, have
always been the most renowned in war, and most difficult to be
conquered.

" Hanc olim veteres vitam coluere Sabini,

Hanc Remus et frater; sic Fortis Etruria crevit,46

APPENDIX.

Scilicet et rerum facta est pulcherrima Roma,

Septemque una sibi muro circumdedit arfces."

2d. Georgics, 532.

But whilst the occupation of the husbandman furnishes the best
materials for making good soldiers, as well from the qualities it
imparts to the mind, as the strength and activity which the body
receives from constant exercise and nutritive aliment, it teaches
nothing of the military art. The hunter, on the contrary, is already
a soldier, as far, at least, as individual qualities can make him so.
But the pastoral life (not that which the poets have furnished, the
pictures drawn from their own imaginations, but that which
authentic history describes,) furnishes, not only men suited to
war, by their personal qualities, but armies which have acquired,
from their congregated mode of life, a degree of discipline, and a
knowledge of the most important operations of war. There is
nothing in the employment of the agriculturist, or artisan, which
bears any resemblance to military duty. The citizens employed
in such labor (exclusively) cease to be soldiers, and the agricult-
ural or manufacturing nation, which adopts no system of military
instruction for its youth, must depend upon the employment of
mercenaries for its protection, or it will become a prey to the
first invader. The German or Scythian hordes, which obtained
from the fears, or the weakness, of the Roman emperors, settle-
ments within their borders, were unable, after a few years, to
resist the new swarms from the same hives, which pressed upon
them, and which adhered to their original mode of life and man-
ners. But the most extraordinary instance of the superiority of
savages, in war, to an agricultural people who neglect military
institutions, is furnished by the history of our own parent Isle, in
the application of the Britons for assistance to a Roman emperor,
after the abandonment of their Island by troops of the latter. It
is impossible for language to convey, at once, a more dastardly
spirit, and consciousness of extreme imbecility, than that used by
the British deputies, on this occasion. "The Caledonian sav-
ages," say they, "drive us to the ocean, and the ocean again
repels us back upon our enemies."

The fate of our predecessors, in the occupancy of our fine
country, was, no doubt, long procrastinated by their patience of
labor, and knowledge in the art of fortification. By similar
means, and by the application of a chemical discovery, to the
purposes of their defence, the tottering fabric of the lower Roman
Empire, was for many ages sustained, and long after the* "naked
and trembling legions" had declined to meet their barbarous

* Their defensive armor was laid aside in the reign of the Emperor Gratian.APPENDIX.

47

adversaries in an equal field. The Ohio fortresses were not
erected for defence against a casual invasion. The size of their
walls, and the solidity of their contraction, shows that the danger
which they were intended to avert, was of constant recurrence.
But whilst their persons were safe, behind bulwarks impregnable
to savages, they might behold, from their summits, the devastation
of their ripened fields. The seed time, indeed, as well as that of
the harvest, might be marked by a crafty foe; and thus the hopes
of reaping even a portion of the gifts of autumn, be destroyed by
want of opportunity to perform the indispensible labors of spring.

It appears, however, that no exertion was omitted to avert
their impending fate. The work to which I have referred, at the
mouth of the Great Miami, was a citadel, more elevated than the
Acropolis of Athens, although easier of access, as it is not like
the latter, a solid rock, but on three sides as nearly perpendicular
as could be, to be composed of earth. A large space of the
lower ground, was, however, enclosed by walls, uniting it with the
Ohio. The foundation of that, (being of stone, as ^ell as those
of the citadel,) that forms the western defence, is still very visible
where it crosses the Miami, which, at the period of its erection,
must have discharged itself into the Ohio much lower down than
it now does. I have never been able to discover the eastern
wall of this enclosure, but if its direction from the citadel to the
Ohio, was such as it should have been, to embrace the largest
space, with the least labor, there could not have been less than
three hundred acres enclosed. The same land, at this day, will
produce under the best cultivation, from seventy to one hundred
bushels of corn per acre. Under such as was then, probably,
bestowed upon it, there would be much less, but still contribute
much to the support of a considerable settlement of people,,
remarkable beyond all others, for abstemiousness in their diet.*

If we had the means of investing closely the causes which led
to the disasters of this nation, one, not the least in effect, would, I
think, be found in their abominable religion, which taught the pro-
pitiation of the Deity, not by the sacrifice of the firstlings of flocks
and herds, which, being the gift of God to man, he might again
offer to his Maker, in gratitude for blessings received, or to
obtain others which he sought, but by the immolation by man of
his fellow man; that only creature of all that were created, whom
the Creator reserved for himself, to fulfill his purposes, and min-
ister his glory.

* When the Spaniards, under Cortes, were subsisted by the hospitality of
the Mexicans, and other South American Indians, they complained that one
Spaniard would consume more in one day, than would suffice ten Indians.48

APPENDIX.

- It is a little remarkable, that whilst the savages (those in the
liunter state) throughout the American continent, should acknowl-
edge the superintendence of the world by one God, and that a
God of mercy and love; those who were a little farther advanced
in civilization, who congregated'together in cities and villages,
and who drew their subsistence from the fruits of the earth, pro-
duced by their own patient labor, should clothe the god or gods
whom they worship, with attributes and passions, which are only
to be appeased by a sacrifice of blood, and that blood poured
out from the bosoms of their fellow men.

It would seem, then, that the first advances in civilization,
were equally unfavorable to liberty, and to the proper understand-
ing of the obligations due from man to his Maker.. In the first
stages of society, the political institutions are few and inefficient,
and whatever force they may possess, is applicable, rather to
their foreign, than their domestic transaction. Each individual is
the guardian of his own rights, and acquiring from it a high idea
of his personal independence, is willing to respect the equal
claims of others. If the social ties are few, they are proportion-
ally strong: and the scene of attachment to the tribe or nation to
which he belongs, is never felt in greater force in any future stage
of civilization. An injury offered to any individual belonging to
it, from one of another tribe, would be considered his own, and
Ms life would be willingly risked to redress or avenge it. His
ideas of religion are derived from the spark which God has fur-
nished to every bosom, and from the great book of nature, which
is constantly spread before him. As these lights are in possession
of all, he is willing that all should form their opinions from them,
to suit themselves. But these feelings and sentiments, so univerr
sal in the hunter state, seem soon to disappear, when men begin
to congregate in towns, and especially when the idea of individ-
ual property is established. In such a state of society, disputes
and collisions will constantly ^rise, and it becomes necessary that
the hitherto independent individual, should surrender some por-
tion of his rights, the more certainly to secure those which he
reserves. But in his inexperience, the guards with which, he
attempts to protect the latter, are too feeble to resist the assaults
which are made upon them. By one set of his former equals,
whom he has contributed to elevate to power, the whole of his
political rights are usurped, and he becomes a slave; by another,
his conscience is taken into keeping, and he is a monster.
Strange, but true as strange, that as men progress in the arts,
which enable them to live with more ease and comfort, they
should lose the dignity of character and independence which had- APPENDIX.	'	49

distinguished them in the earlier stagfes of society. That they,
who were once jealous of their liberties, should become .the will-
ing instruments for enslaving others; who had seeft, in the opera-
tion of nature's god, nothing but love to mankind, and the grant
of equal power to all, should admit the pretensions of men like
themselves, to speak in the name of the Creator, to claim the
right to punish supposed breaches of his will; and worse than
all, to clothe him with the forms,-the cruelty,'and ferocity of the
most savage monsters of the desert. But such was the conation
of the Mexicans, when first visited by the Europeans, and such,
no doubt, was that of the Aztecs in the valley of the Ohio. The
temples of Circleville, Grave Creek, and Newark, no doubt, annu-
ally streamed with the blood (if not of thousands, like those of
Cholula and Mexico,) of hundreds of human beings.

At the period of the arrival of the Spaniards in Mexico, the
profusion of victims demanded for sacrifice, was supplied by pris-
oners taken in war. Dr. Robertson objects to the account given
by all the early Spanish historians, as to the number of these vic-
tims, upon Jh©-g$D^n4-of* the-effect it would have upon popula-
tion. He adopts the opinion of Las Casas, that if there had
been such a waste of the human species, the country never could
have attained that degree of populousness for which it was
remarkable.* This reasoning is hot, however, sufficient to over-
throw the positive assertion of so many coternporary historians.
For many years before the arrival of the Spaniards, the Mexicans
had been engaged in successful wars; and as it was the inviolable
practice to sacrifice every prisoner, the number might have reached,
for several years preceeding the arrival of Cortes, even the highest
number which the historians referred to, have mentioned, without
conflicting with their assertions, as to the populousness of'the
country. For, in relation to the latter, these writers must have
referred not to the conquered nations, but to the conquerors, or
those, the Tlascalans for instance, who had not submitted to the
Mexican power. It is asserted by Captain Cook, in his. third
voyage, that the practice of sacrificing human victims pervaded
all the islands of the Pacific Ocean; and that it produced a very
decided effect upon the population.t The want of prisoners of
was, was supplied from their own people. When this distin-
guished navigator was last at Otaheite, a civil war was raging.
The party attached to the head chief or king, had been unsuccess-
ful. After each* disaster, sacrifices of this kind were offered to
their god, to obtain more favorable results. One of the chiefs,

* Vol. iii., page 198-9.	5 + Cook's Voyage, vol. i., page 348.

4	'■ . : 'APPENDIX.

upon being questioned upon the subject, defended the propriety
of the practice, because, as he said, it propitiated the deity, who
"fed upon the souls of the sacrificed," and repelled the charge of
inhumanity, "because the victim was selected from the poorest of
the people," the very class which forms the strength of every
nation; which fights its battles, and protects its independence.
But for the indisputable evidence which we have upon this sub-
ject, it could scarcely be believed, that the rulers of any people,
could ever adopt a practice, at once so cruel, and so destructive
in its consequences—producing the necessity of a double draft
upon their population, to supply the losses of the battle field, and
the demands of their own priesthood. Such, no doubt, was the
practise with the Mexicans, and the nation of whose history I
have attempted to present some gleanings, and it will serve to*
strengthen my conjecture, that the fate of the latter was hastened
by their laboring under the double curse of an arbitrary govern-
ment, and a cruel, bigoted, and bloody religion.

NOTE C.

The ultimatum of the Indians, was to make the Ohio the boun-
dary between the United States and themselves.

NOTE D.

When General Wayne assumed the position of Greenville, in
1793, he sent for Captain Wells, who commanded a company of
scouts, and told him, that "he wished him to go to Sandusky and
take a prisoner, for the purpose of obtaining information." Wells
(who, having been taken from Kentucky when a boy, and brought
up amongst the Indians, was perfectly acquainted with their char-
acter) answered, that "he could take a prisoner, but not from
Sandusky." "And why not from Sandusky?" said the General.
"Because," answered the Captain, "there are only Wyandots
there." "Well, why will not Wyandots do?" "For the best
of reasons," said Wells, "because Wyandots will not be taken
alive."WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.

On the banks of the James River, in Charles City County, Va.,
is a plain mansion, around which is spread the beautiful estate of
Be7-keley, the birthplace of a signer of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, and of one of the Presidents of the United States.
The former was Benjamin Harrison, and the latter was his son,
William Henry Harrison, who was born on the 9th of February,
1773. At a suitable age he was placed in Hampden Sydney
College, where he was graduated; and then, under the supervision
of his guardian (Robert Morris), in Philadelphia, prepared him-
self for the practice of the medical art. At about that time, an
army was gathering, to chastise the hostile Indians in the North-
west. Young Harrison's military genius was stirred within him,
and having obtained an ensign's commission from President
Washington, he joined the army at the age of nineteen years.
Hewas promoted to a lieutenancy in 1792; and, in 1794, he fol-
lowed Wayne to conflicts with the North-western tribes, where he
greatly distinguished himself, He was appointed secretary of the
North-western Territory in 1797, and resigned his military com-
mission. Two years afterward, when only twenty-six years of
age, he was elected the first delegate to Congress from the Terri-
tory.* On the erection of Indiana into a separate territorial
government in 1801, Harrison was appointed its chief magistrate,
and he was continued in that office, by consecutive reappoint-
ments, until 1813,t when the war with Great Britain called him
to a more important sphere of action. He had already exhibited
his military skill in the battle with the Indians at Tippecanoe, in
the autumn of 1811. He was commissioned a major-general in
the Kentucky militia, by brevet, early in 1812. After the surren-
der of General Hull, at Detroit, he was appointed major-general
in the army of the United States, and intrusted with the command
of the North-western division. He was one of the best officers
in that war; but, after achieving the battle of the Thames, and
other victories in the lake country, his military services were con-
cluded. He resigned his commission, in 1814, in consequence
of a misunderstanding with the Secretary of War, and retired to
his farm at North Bend, Ohio. . He served as commissioner in
negotiating Indian treaties; and the voice of a grateful people

* It included the present States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan.. Gen-
eral St. Clair was then governor of the Territory.

+ He had also held the office of commissioner of Indian affairs, in that
Territory, and had concluded no less than thirteen important treaties with the
different tribes.52

WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.

afterward called him to represent them in the legislature of Ohio,
and of the nation. He was elected to the Senate of the United
States, in 1824. In 1828, he was appointed minister to Colom-
bia, one of the South American Republics. He was recalled, by
President Jackson, on account of some differences of opinion
respecting diplomatic events in that region, when he returned
home, and again sought the repose of private life. There he
remained about ten .years, when he was called forth to receive
from the American people the highest honor in their gift—the
chief magistracy of the Republic. He was elected President of
the United States by an immense majority, and was inaugurated
on the 4th of March, 1841. For more than twenty days he bore
the unceasing clamors for office, with which the ears of a new
president are always assailed; and then his slender constitution,
pressed by the weight of almost threescore and ten years, sud-
denly gave way. The excitements of his new station increased
a slight disease caused by a cold, and on the 4th of April, just
one month after the inauguration pageant at the presidential
mansion, the honored occupant was a corpse. He was succeeded
in office by the vice-president, John Tyler.

William Henry Harrison (born 9 Feb., 1773, Charles City
County, Virginia), Ensign 1. infy, 16 Aug., 1791; Lieut. 1. sub-
legion, rank from June, 1792, Aid-de-camp to Maj.-Gen. Wayne,
and distinguished in his victory on the Miami, 20 Aug., 1794;'—
in 1. infy, Nov., 1796; Capt, May, 1797; resigned 1 June, 1798.
[Secretary of North-west Territory, June, 1798; Representative
in Congress from Ohio,'1799 t0 1800; Governor of Indiana Ter-
ritory, 13 May, 1800 to 1813]; commanded as Governor of Indi-
ana Territory in battle of Tippecanoe, 7 Nov., 1811;—Brigadier
General, 22 Aug., 1812; Major-General, 2 March, 1813, and com-
manded Western army; commanded in defence of Fort Meigs,
April and May,. 1813, and commanded in battle of the Thames,
U.C., 5 Oct., 1813; resigned 31 May, 1814. Received the "thanks
of Congress," of April 4, 1818, for "gallantry and good conduct in
defeating the combined British and Indian forces under Maj.-Gen.
Proctor, on the Thames, in Up. Canada, on the 5 Oct., 1813, cap-
turing the British army, with their baggage, camp equipage, and
artillery," and the presentation of a gold medal "emblematical of
this triumph." [Repr. in Congress, 1816 to 1819;—U. S. Senator
from Ohio, 1825 to 1828; Env. Extr. and Min. Plenipo. to Colum-
bia, 24 May, 1828; President of the United States, 4 March, 1841,
and died at Washington, D.C., 4 April, 1841.—Dictionary of the
Army of the United States-. By Chas. K. Gardner. New York, 1853.THE FORT-WAYNE MANUSCRIPT:

an old writing (lately found) containing

Indian Speeches

and a

Treatise on the Western Indians.

Edited and Annotated

BY HIRAM W. BECKWITH, Danville, III.INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

The Fort Wayne manuscript, or rather that part of it contain-
ing the Indian Speeches delivered in the two Councils held Sept.
4th and Oct. 2d, 1811, at Ft. Wayne, Ind., and hitherto unpub-
lished, is a missing link of much interest and value in the border
history of the Northwest. To illustrate the place it occupies in
the chain of events and explain the relations it sustains to them,
it becomes necessary to recur briefly to the condition which the
Indian affairs in the Indiana and Illinois Territories were in,
shortly before and at the time when these Ft. Wayne conferences
were held.

About the year 1805, the peaceful relations, established by the
treaty of Greenville in 1795, between the white and the red
-people became seriously disturbed through the conduct of two
Shawnee brothers, "Te-cum-thea"* and "Lo-la-wa-chi-ca"—"The
Loud Voice", otherwise and better known as " The Prophet

* It is stated by Gov. Harrison in his Memoirs, edited by Moses Dawson,
that "Te-cum-the" is the Indian pronunciation of the name; while Judge
James Hall, in his "Memoir" of Gov. Harrison, and Dr. Benjamin Drake, in
his "Life of Tecumshe", as he spells the name, state its meaning to be the
M Crouching Panther". The latter author says, " that on assuming the sacred
office of Prophet, ' Lau-le-was-i-kaw' changed his name to 'Lens-kwau-ta-wau,'
meaning the open door, because he had undertaken to point out to the Indians
the new life which they should pursue." In the text we have followed the
orthography and the interpretation of the name as given by Gov. Harrison at
a time when he was directly referring to it, in connection with a speech deliv-
ered by the Prophet on the occasion of his two weeks' visit with the Governor
at Vincennes, in August, 1808. The Prophet and Te-cum-the—for whom
the former was merely the mouth-piece—avowed that his voice should be
heard, as in time it was, among all the tribes, from the gulf to the most
northern lakes and westward to the mountains. Hence the significance of the
name Loud Voice.56

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

The Prophet claimed a mission from the Great Spirit to reform
the manners of the red people, and to revive all those customs,
that had been discontinued by their two common and frequent
intercourse with the white people. All the innovations in dress,,
food, arms, and manners derived from the whites were to be
discarded; in reward for which they were promised a restoration
of all the comfort and happiness enjoyed by their ancestors, of
which they had so often heard their old sages speak, on condition,,
however, of an implicit obedience to the will and orders of the
Prophet. He pretended to foretell future events, declared him-
self invulnerable to the weapons of his enemies, and promised,
like immunity to those of his proselytes who would devote them-
selves wholly to his services.

Roving for a while among the surrounding tribes, making a
convert here and there, the brothers took quarters at Gen. Wayne's
old cantonment at Greenville, Ohio, and soon gathered with them
about one hundred Shawnee warriors from the several bands of
that nation, living in scattered villages on the head-waters of the
Au Glaize, White River, the Mississinewa, and elsewhere, together
with a few followers recruited from other tribes. Within a few-
months the number of Shawnees were reduced by desertions to
about forty or fifty, and the residue of the Prophet's followers
were chiefly composed of the riff-raff of other tribes, many of
whom had fled for their crimes.

The Prophet's band remained at Greenville through the years.
1806 and 7, increasing, the while, in its number of excited, relig-
ious fanatics, ready, it was feared, for any enterprise on which
the Prophet or his brother might be inclined to lead them, and
great fears were entertained by the' inhabitants of the border
white settlements for their own safety. Complaints were accord-
ingly made, in response to which Capt. Wm. Wells, then Indiara
agent at Fort Wayne, sent Anthony Shane, a half-blood Shawnee*
to Greenville with a copy the President's letter contained in a
communication from the secretary of war; the substance, of which
was that Te-cum-the and his party, being upon grounds lately
purchased by Gov. Harrison from its rightful owners, should
remove to some point beyond the general boundaries stipulate^INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.	5/

in the treaty of Greenville in 1795. The counciT-fire being lighted,
Shane stated the object of his mission, and invited the brothers
to a conference at Fort Wayne. Whereupon Tecumthe, without
consulting the opinions of those around him, arose and said to
the messenger: "Go back to Fort Wayne, and tell Capt. Wells
that my-fi.re is kindled on the spot appointed by the Great Spirit
above; and if he has any communication to make to me, he must
come here"

The excitement increased, and in a letter from Capt. Wells to
Gov. Harrison, of date May 25, 1807, it was stated that, within a
short time then past, not less than fifteen hundred Indians had
gone or returned through Ft. Wayne in their visitations to the
Prophet and Tecumthe at Greenville. And, in the month of
August of that year, persons living in the north and western parts
of the Indiana Territory, and familiar with the state of Indian
affairs, estimated the number of Indians at Ft. Wayne and Green-
ville, who were supposed to be under the. influence of these
Shawnee brothers, at seven or eight hundred men, most of whom
were armed with new rifles, and well provided with ammunition,
supplied from Canada. The governor of Ohio, being officially
advised of these facts, took measures to rid his State of such a
dangerous assemblage. Gov. Harrison, of the Indiana Territory,,
also took an active and efficient part in the common purpose to
disperse the Prophet and his adherents. The result of these
combined efforts was, that early in the year 1808 the Prophet and
his partisans moved from Greenville, and, to the future and very
great annoyance of Gov. Harrison, as well as to all the inhabitants
claiming his protection, took Up their residence in the Indiana
Territory, on the west bank of the Wabash, a short distance
below the mouth of the Tippecanoe River, where they established
the village known to fame as " The Prophet's town".

Tecumthe and the Prophet claimed that the new grounds upon
which they thus settled had been granted to them by the Potta-
watomies and Kickapoos; these latter, however, had no title at
all, being only squatters themselves, having years before, and by
sheer force of superior numbers, intruded themselves into the
domain of the Miamies, to whom all that part of the Wabash
country rightfully belonged.58

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

The Prophet had little influence among the immediately-adjoin-
ing tribes such as the Miamies, Delawares, Shawnees, and some
of the Pottawatomies, whose chiefs and elder men knew he was
an impostor, and would have nothing to do with his plans, in the
execution of which they only foresaw harm to themselves and
their families. It was with the remote tribes that his fame was
blazoned, and to whom his miracles without number were com-
municated. . The party attached to him, relying on his promises
of food and raiment by divine interposition, neglected to hunt or
plant, and were often starving for want of subsistence, while
reports were spread abroad that they were enjoying every luxury
and ease. Thus were the upper-lake Indians, and those between
Lake Michigan and the Mississippi, and especially the Winneba-
goes and the Kickapoos of the Illinois Prairies, deluded by fabu-
lous reports, industriously circulated among them by Tecumthe
and other emissaries of the Prophet. Tecumthe combined in
his character great subtility, cunning, and an indomitable perse-
verance; and while his brother remained at home he was itiner-
ating among the most distant tribes, and making proselytes to his
and his brother's schemes. Keeping himself and his ulterior aims
in the background, it is now known that he was the principal
means by which the extravagant stories of his brother's super-
natural powers were propagated.

The general discontent among the Indians, caused by the
scarcity of game, the rapidly-advancing skirmish line of white
settlements—the sure forerunner of ,a denser population—upon
their hunting-grounds, and, perhaps, more than all, the threatened
war with Great Britain, were eagerly seized upon by Tecumthe,
and hastened the time when he thought he might come out from
under the shadow of the Prophet, and declare his long-kept pur-
pose of forming a confederation of all the Indian tribes; abrogate
all treaties previously made with the United States relative to the
cessidn of lands; drive the whites eastward and south beyond
the Ohio River, and ever after hold the conquested territory as
the common property of the victors, with no right of a disposal
of any part of it, except with the given consent of alL It was a
revival of the plan ilndert^ken by Pontiac at the conclusion ofINTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

59

the French-Colonial War; and |tgain espoused by the confederated
Northwestern tribes soon after th€ establishment of peace between
the United States and Great Britain in 1784.*

Matters grew daily worse at the Prophet's .fown, which had
now become the common refuge of all the Indian vagabonds in
the country; horse-thieves and pilferers of other property; wild
blades who would, every now and then, surprise a pioneer's cabin,
standing remotely out beyond the well-defined lines of white
settlements, and cowardly murder the indwelling women and chil-
dren, found welcome shelter at the Prophet's town, and a ready
friend and paliator for their crimes in the person of either Tecum-
the or bis brother. Gov. Ninian Edwards, of the Illinois Terri-
tory, made frequent complaints of depredations committed upon
his settlements along the Mississippi, incited from or by perpe-
trators harbored at this plague-spot on the Wabash. Inhabitants
of the lower Embarrass and "in the neighborhood of Vincennes
could only go about their work with their rifles always in hand;
and the town itself was, time and again, threatened with destruc-
tion. Indeed, several peaceful Indians of the Delaware and
Piankeshaw tribes warned the Governor of the great danger to
themselves as well as to the whites, and said they intended to flee
beyond the Mississippi to escape the storm that was threatening
from the Prophet's town.	*

In the meantime, Gov. Harrison—in whom the people of the
Indiana and Illinois Territories had unbounded confidence—con-
tinued his unremitting efforts to secure their peace and safety.
His correspondence with heads of the departments at Washing-
ton abundantly shows that during the whole period covered by
the events under consideration he kept the Government fully
advised of the movements of the Prophet and Tecumthe, and as
often suggested the necessity .of active measures to arrest the
mischief they were doing. He labored with a zeal then little
understood, though now fully appreciated, and largely succeeded
in keeping the bulk of the surrounding tribes from the contamina-
tions of the Shawnee brothers, and in this way did much to save

* " He boasted [through his medium, the Prophet] that he would follow the
footsteps of the great Pontiac;" vide Gov. Harrison's Memoirs.6o

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

the settlements intrusted to his care from the terrible consequences
that otherwise woujd have followed. He sent frequent messen-
gers to the Miamis and Pottawatomies, demanding that they
should drive the Prophet and his horde away from the domain
claimed by these two tribes; but they, in their ignorance and
terror at the threats of the Prophet, did not dare to resort to
force. They could only look on silently and abide. the result of
events. No threats or persuasions would induce the Prophet to
leave, who, with his brother, now additionally stimulated with
words of encouragement of British-Canadian agents, threatened
open war. The Governor again sent a messenger to the Prophet's
town, to whom Tecumthe denied an intention of making war,
but most solemnly declared that it was not possible to remain
friends of the United States, unless they would abandon all idea
of making settlements further to the north and westward. " The
Great Spirit," said he, "gave this great island to his red children;
he placed the whites on the other side of the big water; they
were not contented with their own, but came to take ours from
us. They have driven us from the sea to the lakes; we can go*
no further. They have taken upon themselves to say this tract
belongs to the Miamis, this to the Delawares, etc.; but the Great
Spirit intended it as the common property of all. Our Father
[Gov. Harrison] tells us that we have no business upon the
Wabash, that the land belongs to other tribes; but the Great
Spirit ordered us to come here, and here we will stay."

Seemingly the general government did not comprehend the
situation, or was indifferent to the results that would follow from
the course to which affairs in the western territories were rapidly
drifting. At last matters culminated, on the 31st of July, 1811,
when a public meeting was called at Vincennes, at which it was
resolved, in substance, that no security to life and property could
be had other than by breaking up the combination of the Shawnee
Prophet on the Wabash; that it was impolitic and injurious to
the inhabitants of the United States as to those of the Indiana
Territory to permit a formidable banditti, constantly increasing in
numbers, to occupy a position which enables them to strike the
border settlements without the least warning; that the combina-INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

61

tion headed by the Shawnee Prophet was a British scheme, and
that the latter's agents constantly inciting the Indians to hostili-
ties against the United States. A committee, consisting of lead-
ing citizens, among whom was the venerable Francis Vigo, was
selected to prepare an address to President James Madison,
embodying the resolutions passed at the meeting. The address
was forwarded. The Government, it appears, had anticipated
the request; .for the secretary of war, in two letters addressed,
July 17th and July 20th, 1811, respectively, to Gov. Harrison,
advised him that the 4th Regiment, U. S. Infantry, with a com-
pany of riflemen, making in all five hundred men, under command
of Col. John P. Boyd,* had been ordered forward from Pittsburg,
and were to be at the disposal of the Governor, with the precau-
tionary restriction, however, that the force was not to be used in
the suppression of the banditti under the Prophet, "unless such
a course should be rendered absolutely necessary, as circumstances
at that juncture rendered it especially desirable to the President
that hostilities (of any kind, or to any degree not indispensably
required) should be avoided."

The Governor, having his plans matured, his militia and other
troops in hand, once more prepared a speech, addressed to the
several Indian tribes, calling upon them to disperse the Prophet's
band, and calling upon its members to immediately return to their
respective tribes; requiring from the Miamis an absolute disavowal
of all connection with the Prophet, and, they being the owners of
the land he occupied, to prevail upon them to express to him
their disapproval of the Prophet and his adherents from longer
remaining there. One of these speeches was taken to Fort
Wayne by Capt. Tousant Dubois, and its explanation to the tribes
assembled there in council called out the speeches of September

* John P. Boyd, born in 1768; appointed from Massachusetts [was in the
Mahratta service in the East Indies; rose to the rank of commander of 10,000
cavalry] colonel 4th Infantry, 7 Oct., 1808; commanded a brigade in Battle
of Tippecanoe and distinguished himself, 7 Nov., 1811; brigadier-general,
26 Aug., 1812; led his brigade in the capture of Ft. George. U. C., 27 May,
1813; disbanded, 15 June, 1815. Afterward naval officer of Port of Boston.
Died at Boston, Mass., 4 Oct., 1830.—Gardner.62

INTRODUCTORY" CHAPTER.

4th and October 2d, 1811, found in the Ft. Wayne manuscript.*

The prelude of the war of 1812 was fairly upon us, although
the formal declaration of it was made in the following June.

The portion of the Ft. Wayne manuscript following the Indian
speeches shows the author of it to have been a well-informed and
candid writer. His statements of facts, dates, names, etc., har-
monize in the main with creditable works since in print—the most
notable variance from them being his account as to the number
of Indians engaged at the battle of Tippecanoe. He must have
had an intimate and long acquaintance with the Indians; and the
information preserved in his manuscript as coming to his knowl-
edge from them as to their military engagements with the whites^
is, for the most part, not only new, but valuable historical matter.

Among the authorities consulted or drawn upon in the colla-
tion of the preface and notes, as well, also, the foot-notes running
through the printed text of the Ft. Wayne manuscripj;, the follow-
ing may be named: ."The American State Papers"; "U. S.
Treaties with the Indian Tribes"; "Life of Tecumshe", by Dr.
Benj. Drake; Harvey's "Shawnee Indians"; Hall & McKinney's
"History N. A. Indians"; "History of Ohio", by Caleb Atwater;
Howe's "Ohio Historical Collections"; "History of Indiana",
by the late John B. Dillon; "Historical Notes of the Northwest",

* It may be added that these missives had no more effect in arresting the
climax than if the paper on which they were scribed had been thrown upon
the sea. The frenzied mob at the mouth of the Tippecanoe could hardly
await the advancing tread of Gov. Harrison's army. The Governor, although
complained of by some of his officers for not assaulting the town upon sight,
the soldiers being eager for battle, kept rigidly within the letter and spirit of
his instructions, and declined a resort to force until every effort toward a peace-
ful solution of difficulties had been exhausted. With the power to compel an
obedience to his orders, he again demanded the occupants of the village to
disperse. It being nearly night, a suspension of hostilities was agreed to,
with a view to a friendly conference on the following morning. The Prophet,
fearing the issue, or supposing he couid effect a surprise, set his maddened
warriors upon the Governor's encampment, under cover of darkness, made
more dense by a drizzling rain, that fell dank and chill upon the silent though
wakeful army, on the morning of November 7, 1811. A terrible defeat, the
burning of the village, and the loss of the Prophet's power, was the result of
his rash act.INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER,

63

by the same author—both works being of the highest historical
value for their accuracy of statement; Judge John Law's "History
of Vincennes"; Mann Butler's "History of Kentucky"; "History
of the War [of 1812], and Views of the Campaigns of the North-
western Army", by Samuel R. Brown; "History of the Late War
in the Western Country", by Capt. Robt. M'Affe; "Memoirs of
Gen. Harrison", by Moses Dawson; "Memoir of Gen. Harrison",
by Judge James Hall; "Life of Gov. Ninian Edwards" [of Illi-
nois]; The Indian Vocabularies respectively of Col. John John-
son; Prof. Edwin James; Thos. L. McKenney (of the Indian
Department); Henry R. Schoolcraft; Capt. John Carver; Alex-
ander McKenzie^ David Zeisberger's and Edward F. Wilson's
several Grammars and Dictionaries of the Delaware and O'Jebway
languages; Albert Gallatin's "Synopsis of the Indian Tribes of
North America". All which are acknowledged as sources of
original and reliable information.The manuscript from which the following pages
were set was received in April, 1882, from S. A. Gibson,
superintendent of the Kalamazoo Paper Company, Kala-
mazoo, Mich., and was written in the same hand at
different times, on twenty-eight pages of foolscap paper,
apparently as old as the dates thereon. Each page has
an anchor water-mark. Mr. Gibson took these pages,
evidently torn from a book, from a large bundle of simi-
lar papers that had been recently received at the mills
from Fort Wayne, Ind.—F.Speeches delivered in General Council, at Fort Wayne,

on the 4th day of September, 1811, by the different Chiefs of
the Miamie Tribe of Indians, in Answer to a Speech from his
Excellency, Wm. H. Harrison, Governor of Indiana Territory.

SPEECH OF LAPRUSIEUR,* ORATOR FOR THE WEAS, A
BRANCH OF THE MIAMIE TRIBE OF INDIANS.

William H. Harrison, Governor of Indiana Territory, Listen to

what I have to' SAY:

You now tell us that we are on a wrong road, a road that will
lead us to destruction. You are deceived. When I was walking
along, I heard you speak respecting the Shawanoe (Prophet).
You said we were of his party. I hold you and the Shawanoe
both by the hand; I hold him slack. You have both told me
one thing: that if I would adhere to you, that my people (the
women and children) would be happy. The hearts of the Mia-
mies are good. The Great Spirit has placed them on the choicest
spot of ground; and we are now ankiously waiting to see which
of you tells the 'truth.

Now, Father, for the first time your eyes are open. When you

* LePousser [French], A-she-non-qua in the Miami dialect, signifying the
Speech Maker, the Persuader, or Talker. At the Treaty, held October 26,
1809, at Vincennes, this chiefs name is signed Lapousier [the article La and
the word Pousser run together as in the Ft. Wayne manuscript], while at the
"Treaty of Peace and Friendship," between the U. S. and the Miamis and
other hostile tribes in the war of 1812, executed at Greenville, Ohio, July 22,
1814, his name appears thus, "La-passiere or A-she-non-qua." Vide11 His-
tory of the War" [of 1812], by Sam'l R. Browfi; vol. ii; Appendix, where
the text of the Treaty is supplemented with the signers' names interpreted and
carefully spaced so as to preserve the correct sound in their pronunciation.

The Weas, for whom A-she-non-qua was a leading orator, were a band of
"the Miami tribe having tlieir principal village on the east bank of the Wabash,
below Lafayette, and above Attica, Indiana, and known in early history as
Ouitanon, or the Wea-town. The name is yet preserved, and the identity of
the neighborhood retained, in its bestowal upon "Wea-Prairie" and "Wea-
Creek." Vide Chamberlain's Indiana Gazetteer.

566

INDIAN SPEECHES AT FORT WAYNE.

cast them on your children you see they are poor; some of them
are ev?n destitute of the necessaries of life. We want ammuni-
tion to support our women and children; this has compelled us
to undertake our present journey.

Father, we have not let you go; we yet hold you by the hand;
nor do we hold the hand of the Prophet with a view to injure
you. I therefore tell you that you are not correct when you
supposed we joined hands with the Prophet to injure you.
Father, I listened to you a few days ago, when you pointed out
to me the depredations of murder committed by the Indians on-
the Mississippi. I' told you that I and my people had no wish
to join in acts of that kind. I told you that we both loved our
people, and that it gives us pleasure when we see them standing
around us; that we should deprive ourselves of this pleasure if
we commenced a war with each other, as a war would be the
destruction of both parties. You always *told me that our great
Father, the President of the United States, has placed you here
for good purposes; that his heart is good toward his red children !
How then does it happen that our Father's heart is changed
toward his red children.

Father, you have called upon us to fulfil the Treaty of Green-
ville.* In that treaty it is stipulated that we should give informa-
tion if we knew of any hostile design of a foreign power against
each other. I now tell- you that no information from any quarter
hfks reached our ears to injure any of your people (except from
yourself). . You have told us that the thunder begins to roll.

Father, your speech has overtaken us here. We have heard it,
it has not scared us; we are not afraid of what you say. We are
going on to that country which has been frequented by Tecumseh,
and we shall be able to know, in the course of our journey,

* The Treaty of Greenville, concluded August 3d, 1795, at Fort Greenville
[upon the site of Greenville, County-seat of Darke Co., Ohio], was the finale
of a bitter warfare waged by the Indians against the encroaching advances of
civilized society upon their hunting-grounds. The struggle began before the
Revolutionary War had ended, and closed with the memorable victory of
Gen. Wayne over the confederated tribes of the [then] Northwest Territory,
at the foot of Maumee Rapids [near South Toledo, Ohio], upon the 20th of
August, 1784. No longer able to contend, the Sachams and war-chiefs of
the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawanees, Ottawas, Chippewas, Pottawatomies,
Miamis, Kickapoos, etc., etc., met Gen. Wayne in council at Greenville, and
executed the Treaty; containing, among other matters, in its 9th article, the
stipulation to which A-she-non-qua here refers in reply to Gov. Harrison's
complaints that it had not been enforced against the malcontents assembled at,
or gathering from every direction to, the "Prophet's Town."SPEECH OF LAPRUSIEUR.

6;

whether he has told us lies or not: that all the Indians are of the
same opinion that he is; but when we return, we shall be able
inform you whether what Tecumseh has told us be true or not. ■<

Now, Father, you hare heard what I have to say; you will
hear it well what comes from me.

Father, you have told me twice you were angry with rtie. I
went to see you with my warriors with me when we were sitting
face to face, and toes to toes; you told me that the Indians on
the Mississippi had struck your people, and I said nothing to you.
You tell us that you sent a messenger after us; that we insulted
your messenger, yourself, and our great Father. This is twice
you have said you were angry with us! We have looked for the
cause, but can find none.

Father, we, the Miamies, are not a people that are passionate:
we are not so easily made angry as it appears you are! Our
hearts are as heavy as the earth! Our minds are not easily irri-
tated. We don't tell people we are angry with them for light
causes; 'we are afraid if we did fly in a passion for no cause we
should make ourselves contemptible'in the eyes of others. We
therefore hope you will no more say you are angry with us, lest
you should make yourself contemptible to others. We have told
you we would not get angry for light causes. We have our eyes
on our lands on the Wabash, with a strong determination to
defend our rights, let them be invaded from what quarter they
may. When our best interests are invaded, we will defend them
to a man, and be angry but once.

Father, now consider what your children, the Miamies, have
said to you. You have offered the war-club to us; you have laid
at our feet and told us we might pick it up, if we chosed. We
have refused to do so; and we hope that this circumstance will
prove to you that we are people of good hearts. We hope,
Father, you will not be angry any more with us, we will not be
angry with you. This is all I have to say to you at present.*

* When considered with reference to the guarded manner in which the
Indian is accustomed to avow hostile purposes, A-she-non-qua's speech is a
notable specimen of defiant oratory. Firy and bold, it reflects the feelings
and desperate purposes of Te-cum-the and his deluded followers, and is in
singular contrast with the utterances of Little Turtle and other speakers, who,
with cooler heads, foresaw the calamity that would come upon their people in
the end, if the threatened war was precipitated. Gov. 'Harrison, in an official
letter dated from Vincennes, September 17, 1811, referring to this council,
says: " * * * succeeded in getting the chiefs together at Fort Wayne,
though he found them all preparing to go to Maiden. [Amherstburgh, Canada,68 * . INDIAN SPEECHES AT FORT WAYNE.

SPEECH OF SILVER HEELS, A MASSASSINWAY CHIEF.*

He informed his people that he conceived it greatly to the
interest of his nation that a decisive answer should be given to
their great Father's speech; that he had asked for it, and he was
entitled to receive it; that for himself he had always detested the
Prophet and his party; and that the interest of their nation
required that the Miamies should have no connexion witbhim;
that in case a'misunderstanding should take place between the
United States and the Prophet, it is the interest of our nation to
remain neutral, and hold our Father by the hand. My chiefs and
warriors now present, I hope this will be the answer that you will
send to our great Father, the President of the United States.

near the mouth of Detroit River, in the upper part of which village was Fort
Maiden, under whose protecting guns most of the vessels for the British
Upper-lake service were built, and the principal depot from which supplies for
the fur-trade and presents to the Indians were distributed.] The result of the
council discovered that the whole tribes—including the Weas and Eel Rivers,
for they are all Miamis—were about equally divided in favor of the Prophet
and the United States." "La-pousier, the Wea chief, whom I before men-
tioned to you as being seduced by the Prophet, was repeatedly asked by * * *
[Capt. Dubois] what land it was that he determined to defend with his blood;
whether it was,that which was ceeded by the late treaty [of September 30,
1809, whereby the Indians had yielded their claim 10 three several large bodies
of land in Indiana and Eastern Illinois] or not, but he would give no answer.
* * * reports that all the Indians of the Wabash have been, or now are, on
a visit to the British agents at Maiden. He has never known one-fourth as
many goods given to the Indians as they are now " receiving, etc.

* On the Miss-iss-sin-e-wa River, commencing at its mouth near Peru,
Indiana, and extending up the stream a number of miles, were, at intervals,
several Miami villages, over one of which Silver Heels was a presiding chief.
On the 14th of December, 1812, a mounted expedition of 600 men, commanded
by Col. John B. Campbell, of the 19th Regiment, U. S. Infantry, left Day-
ton, Ohio, to destroy these towns; three of which he burned, and destroyed
a large amount of other property, including many horses and cattle. Eight
warriors were killed, and forty-two prisoners, counting >vomen and children
taken. The emergency of the hour fully justified G(Jv. Harrison in ordering
this movement. He especially requested Col. Campbell to spare the lives pf
Silver Heels, the White Loon (and other chiefs whom he names), "who had
undeviatingly exerted themselves to keep their warriors quiet and to preserve
their friendly relations with us." Vide Gov. Harrison's instructions to Col. C.
and the latter's official report to the former.ADDRESSES OF OSEEMIT AND CHARLEY.

69

ADDRESS OF OSEEMIT, A PUTTAWATAMIE CHIEF.*

I do not want what I am now going to say to be written down;
but I think it is the interest of my nation that I should make
some few observations. It appears to me that some of nvy
younger brothers, residing on the Wabash, have got in a wrong
road; that our Father has told them of it, and it is not too late
for them to return. We, the Puttawatamie chiefs, have told our
young men not to listen to the Prophet, but, notwithstanding,
some of them were foolish enough to believe what he said.

ADDRESS OF CHARLEY, AN EEL-RIVER CHIEF.f

Laprusieure has come forward and made a speech, without
consulting or knowiug the opinion of the Indians, which I con-
ceive to be very improper.

. * At the Treaty of Fort Wayne, concluded September 30, 1809, this chief
is designated as "Ossemeet, brother to Five Medals"; while his name appears
to the great Treaty signed at Chicago, August 29, 1821, as "Os-see-meet."
The name is probably derived from, or is a corruption of, the word " Osh-e-
may-un", />., younger brother, and expressive of the idea that his claims tp
consideration were because of this relationship to the " Five Medals", who
was a noted sacham and warrior. See note to the latter's speech, p. 73.

+ A chief of that subdivision of the Miamis who were called Eel-Rivers
(and Eel-Creeks), for the reason that their ancient and principal village—
known by the Indians as Ke-na-pa-com-a-qua, to the early French writers as
L'Anguille [the Eel], and to the Americans as the "Eel-River Town"—was
situated on this stream, some six miles above its confluence with the Wabash
at Logansport, Ind. However, it is evident, from Gov. Harrison's instruc-
tions to Col. Campbell, already referred to, that Charley lived in one of the
villages on the Miss-iss-sin-e-wa, which Col. Campbell was ordered to destroy;
for among those wh.ose lives were to be saved is named that of " Charley, the
principal of the Eel-River Tribe." This chief figures at several of the treaties,
on behalf of his tribe, both before and after the war of 1812, as " Ka-Tun-ga",
aKe-tan-ga" (with the addition of "Charley"); and, in some instances, as
simply Charley. His aboriginal name—the signification of which is nowhere
given—appears distilled through uneducated French or American interpreters,
or written down by careless secretaries, and is neither Indian, French, or
English, but savors of the corruption of all.

His people were swept over to the British by the current of events imme-
diately following Gen. Hull's surrender of Detroit, and which carried with it
nearly all the other Northwestern tribes. The failure of the attack upon Fort
Harrison, near Terre Haute, Ind., September 4, 1812, and upon Fort Wayne
€arly in this month, together with the energy Gov. Harrison displayed in7°

INDIAN SPEECHES AT FORT WAYNE.

SPEECH OF LITTLE TURTLE, A MIAMIE CHIEF.f

Governor Harrison :

Father, your speech by Mr. Dubois was communicated to us

organizing the militia of Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky, all ablaze with enthu-
siasm, to recover the prestige and territory lost by the unexplainable conduct
of Gen. Hull at Detroit, thoroughly alarmed those of the Miamis who had
taken sides with Te-cum-the and the British. Accordingly we learn, from an
official letter of Gov. Harrison, dated Franklinton, O., October 13, 1812,
that: "Before I left St. Mary's for Defiance, some Miamis had arrived, via
Fort Wayne, with a flag and a message from their chiefs, begging for peace.
I had no time then to listen to their speech, and, on my return hete, I found
the Owl [a distinguished chief, who had long been a confidential friend of the
Governor], Charley, the Eel-River chief, the Turtle's son, and several others
who had joined them. They came prepared to palliate or deny the hostility
of their tribe, as one or the other might best suit their purpose. * * * "

Charley survived the war, and was living as late as October 6, 1818, when
he, with other "chiefs and warriors of the Miami nation of Indians", executed
the Treaty of St. Mary's; and he was dead before October 23, 1826, when, at
the treaty held at the mouth of the Miss-iss-sin-e-wa, a reservation of "five
sections of land, above the old village on the north side of Eel River," was
made in favor of his son "Little Charley". Vide Indian Treaties with the
United States.

* Misch-e-can-o-quoh, or the Little Turtle, agreeably to the best received
authorities, "was of mixed origin"—his mother being a Mohegan woman and
his father a Miami chief—born about the year 1747, at the latter's village on
the upper waters of Eel River, some twenty miles west of Ft. Wayne. He
planned and won decisive victories in the two engagements against detachments
of Gen. 11 ai mer's army, near Ft. Wayne, in October, 1790; was conspicuous
as the leader in the attack, on the morning of November 4, 1791, upon the
forces of Gov. St. "Clair, that resulted in the terrible disaster known in history
as " St. Clair's Defea> and which was without.a parallel in Indian warfare
until the disastrous engagement of Gen. Custer, on the Little Big-Ilorn River
of the Upper Missouri. He was also in the action of June 30, 1794, in the
severe attack upon Major McMahori's escort of ninety riflemen and fifty
dragoons, under the walls of "Fort Recovery" a military post erected in
December, 1793, upon the ground where St. Clair had been defeated. Satis-
fied that the Indian confederation could not successfully contend with Gen.
Wayne, he advised them to listen to the latter's overtures for peace. Over-
ruled in this, lead his own warriors in the battle of August 20, I794> known
as the "Battle of the Fallen Timbers", in which Gen. Wayne achieved a
decisive victory. From this time forward, the Little Turtle was the open and
abiding friend of the United States. He would before this have broken awaySPEECH OF LITTLE TURTLE.

71

yesterday.* Father, your children, the Miamies of the Wabash,
are all glad of what you say. These are the sentiments of the
Indians:

Father, you have asked us whether we are prepared to take
part with the Prophet, or still hold you fast by the hand. This
question causes us to believe that a misunderstanding has taken
place between you and some of our people that have visited you
lately; it also appears that you have made known your intentions
to the Puttawatamies, respecting the Prophet. You have told the
Puttawatamies and other Indians residing on the Wabash to

from the malign influence operating from Canada through its agents and traders>
but he was powerless to carry his people with him until after they had suffered
serious reverses.

At the Treaty of Greenville, he shone as the brightest light in the assembled
orators, gathered at this great council-fire from the entire Northwest, to plead
the cause of their tribes and of their starving women and children.

After the conclusion of peace, Little Turtle resided at his village,- where the
Government had built him a comfortable house. " He took," says Gov. Har-
rison, "great interest in everything that appertained to civilized life, and pos-
sessed a mind capable of understanding their advantages, in a degree far
superior to any other Indian." In his character he combined, in an eminent
degree, the qualities of the military strategist, the wily diplomat, the orator,
and the philosopher, winning distinction in all.

He died of gout, July 14, 1812, on the side of the St. Marys River, opposite
Ft. Wayne, in the orchard yard of his son-in-law, Capt. Wm. Wells, from
whose house, at his own request, he had been removed to the open air. Her
was buried upon the spot with military honors, by the troops of the garrison,
and with his remains were deposited the sword and large silver medal pre-
sented by President Washington, and his other war implements and ornaments.
Vide "History of the War"; "Memoirs of Gen. Harrison"; Brice's%Fort
Wayne; etc., etc.

* Capt. Toussant Dubois, of an ancient family of Vincennes, near which he
also resided. An Indian trader, and for many years a confidential messenger
and spy for Gov. Harrison, who reposed great confidence in his energy, fidelity,
and intelligence. As captain of a company of spies and guides, he rendered
conspicuous services in the Tippecanoe campaign of October and November,
1811. He became a large owner of lands on the Embarrass River, within the
present limits of Lawrence County, Illinois, as assignee of original claimants
under grants reserved to the ancient inhabitants of Vincennes. Vide Harri-
son's Memoirs; Dillon's Indiana; American State Papers, etc. The late Jesse
K. Dubois, long State treasurer of Illinois, and well known throughout the
State for his genial and sterling qualities, was a descendant of the subject of
this note.72	INDIAN SPEECHES AT FORT WAYNE.

leave him; you have told the Miamies the same; these are things
that surprise us. The transactions which took place between the
Indians and white people at Greenville are yet fresh in our minds.
At that place, we told each other that we would in future be
friends, doing all the good we could to each other, and raise our
children in peace and quietness. These are yet the sentiments
of your children, the Miamies.

Father, you have told us you would draw a line; that your
children should stand on one side and the Prophet on the other.
We, the Miamies, wish to be considered in the same light by
you, as we were at the treaty of G?eenville, holding fast to that
treaty which united us, Miamies and Puttawatamies, to the United
States.	#	«

Father, listen to what I have to say; it is our request that you
pay particular attention to it: We pray you not to bloody our
ground, if you can avoid it. In the first instance, let%the Prophet
be requested, in mild .terms, to comply with your wishes; and
avoid, if possible, the spilling of blood. The lands on the
Wabash are ours. We have not placed the Prophet there; but,
on the contrary, have endeavoured to stop his going there. He
must be considered as settling there without our leave.

Father, I must again repeat that you said you should draw a
line between your children and the Prophet. We are not pleased
at this, because we think you have no reason to doubt our friend-
ship toward you. I have not said much to you, but I think I
have said enough for the present; my words are few, but my
meaning great. I shall close by requesting you will pay particu-
lar attention to what I have said. This is all, Father, I have to
say; I have said it in the presence of your messenger, the com-
manding officer, your people, and all mine.

SPEECH OF OSEEMIT, A PUTTAWATAMIE CHIEF.

I have said that I am here alone; I have come to attend to the
interest of my women and children; I have thought it my duty
to do so, as the other chiefs of my nation are absent.

When I heard the words of my Father, we, the Puttawatamiesr
inhabiting the Lakes, from Chicago around to the east, are of the
same opinion as those of the Miamies, just delivered by the
Little Turtle; notwithstanding some of our foolish young men
have killed some of the whites. We, the chiefs of our nation,,
have told our young men not to listen to any bad birds that are
flying in the air; but some of them have been led astray, inas-
much as they have not followed our advice, and have imprudently
involved themselves in difficulties. We, the chiefs of the Putta-ADDRESSES OF WHITE LOON AND LITTLE TURTLE. 73

watamies, are determined that their faults shall not be charged to
our nation. We, the Puttawatamies and Miamies, have been
friends from our infancy. We shall continue to be so; their sen-
timents are ours, and ours theirs.

Father, what we said to each other at the treaty of Greenville
is fresh in our memories. We there told each other that improper
conduct of individuals should not reinvolve us in difficulties; this
must also be fresh in your memories, as you wrote it down, and
I hope it will long be remembered Hy both of us. I have noth-
ing further to say.*

ADDRESS OF WHITE LOON, A WABASH CHIEF.f

You have heard what my uncle, the Little Turtle,-has said;
and my opinion is the same.

LITTLE TURTLE ADDRESSED THE MIAMIES.

I told my people, when they were going to see the Governor,
not to say anything respecting the land; that they had signed the
paper closing the sales of the land, and that the treaty for that
land was a fair and honorable one. I also told them to have
nothing to do with the Prophet, that the Prophet was an enemy
of Governor Harrison's, and Harrison of his; that if they formed
any kind of connexion with the Prophet, it would make Governor
Harrison an enemy of theirs. .

Fort Wayne, 2d October, 1811.

SPEECH OF FIVE MEDALS, A PUTTAWATAMIE CHIEF..!
Addressed to his Excellency, William H. Harrison, Governor of

* Os-see-meet here protests that he is delegated with no authority; th.at hty
had only come to town to make purchases for his family; and that, inasmuch
as the other chiefs having the right to represent his aation in council were
absent, he deemed it his duty to communicate his and their views.

t Wap-a [White] Man-gua [Loon], and by this name he signed the Treaty
of Greenville. His village was one of the three burned on the Miss-iss-sin-e»
wa by Col. Campbell.

X A celebrated war-chief of the River St. Joseph of Lake Michigan, whose
village was upon the Elkhart Tributary of that stream, in Northern Indiana.
He is recognized under various names, viz.: at the Treaty of Greenville as
" Wau-gshe"—from " IVau-gese the Odjibwa name for a favorite silver orna-
ment in the shape of and called a "Half-Moon"—at the second Treaty of
Peace executed at Greenville, July 22, 1814, he is written down as uO-nox-a,
or Five Medals"; while, at the Treaty of Spring Wells, near Detroit, in
1815, his name is affixed to the parchment as " Noun-geesia, or Five M«dals*74

INDIAN SPEECHES AT FORT WAYNE.

Indiana Territory ; delivered in the presence of Topenapa,*
the Head Chief of the Puttawatamie Tribe of Indians, and

also in the presence of the mlami chief, little turtle, and
others.

Father and friend: We your children, the Puttawatamies and
Miamies, now take you by the hand as friends, and thank the
Great Spirit above in enabling us to do so.

Father, you have spoke to my brothers, the Miamies, and also
to the Puttawatamies. Your words reached my place of residence
during my absence, consequently I was not able to understand
what you said as well as I wished, therefore I came to Fort
Wayne.

Father, on my arrival at this place, I sent for my friend, the
Little Turtle, in order that I ♦might know to a certainty what you
had said; I have seen him, and he has given me the information
I asked for, and further states that he has himself already answered
you; and it only remains for me now to answer you.

Father, I now tell you the opinion of your children, the Putta-
watamies and Miamies; we are but one people, and we speak
with but one voice, therefore, 1 now request you to pay particu-
lar attention to what I say, as I now speak the sentiments of
them all.

When our chiefs arise in the morning and see the clear sky;
when they see the beautiful streams of water that are running,
which is to be used by their women and children in peace and
quietness; when they see the beautiful green woods around them,
which was made for their use, and their women and children
enjoying these blessings in peace and quietness, they thank the
Great Spirit fo.r his goodness toward them, and pray to him that
he may continue these blessings forever.

Father* the words which you are now listening to are the senti-
ments of your children. We wish to live in peace with all the
world; and request of you to have pity on our younger brothers
that reside on the Wabash.

Father, after I heard your words, I looked down the Wabash,

The two are synonomous,'the first being compounded from "Noun", Five,
and "Gee-sia", medals or ornaments, in the Pottawatomie dialect, allowing
for a somewhat defective spelling, that fails to fully preserve the sound of the
word as the Indian would pronounce it. He wore upon his person medals
presented to him by both British and American authorities, with other orna-
ments, from which he came to be designated as " The Five Medals ".

* To-pen-ne-bee, principal chief of the Pottawatomie nation, the protector
of Mr. Kinzie's family at the Chicago massacre, narrated in Mrs. Kinzie's
4<Wau-Bun".SPEECH OF FIVE MEDALS.

75

and saw that the Shawanoe Prophet had led some of our younger
people, Puttawatamies and Miamies, astray. I have understood,
Father, that you wished to see me; whether to believe or disbe-
lieve this information I know not; yet, if it is your wish to see
me, you should have given me information of it in writing, and
that by the way of Fort Wayne.

Father, if you should want to say anything, to us, speak to us
through our old friend, Capt. William Wells,1* in whom we all have
entire confidence, and then your words will be attended to imme-
diately.

Father, I do not know that I have much more to say to you at
present, after observing that your knowledge of the Indians en-
ables you to know that the Puttawatamies and Miamies are one
people, and as our brothers, the chiefs of the Miamies, are pres-
ent, perhaps they may have something to say to you.t

* Killed at the Chicago Massacre, August 15, 1812. In the employ of the
United States as interpreter, scoi^or agent, from July, 1792, to the time of
his death, and for many years a resident at Ft. Wayne; and well known to
all the Indians visiting that post, to receive their annuities or for other pur-
poses, by many of whom he was held in high esteem and by others as thor-
oughly hated for his unswerving devotion to the United States.

t Soon after the surrender of Detroit, Fort Wayne was besieged. With
plenty of provisions and water, four small field-pieces, and seventy men, the
fort was well prepared to resist a siege by the Indians; the latter, therefore,
undertook to gain its possession by strategem. The Five Medals and other
chiefs, in their conferences with the garrison under flags of truce, had observed
that the commandant, Capt. Rhea, who was well advanced in years and much
addicted to drunkenness, betrayed a spirit of timidity, which justified them in
believing they could use him in their purposes if they once had him in their
power. Acting on this idea, it was arranged that, under pretence of holding
a friendly conference, Five Medals, Win-ne-mac, and three other hostile chiefs
were to gain admission into the council room, within the fort, with their
scalping-knives and pistols secreted under their blankets. Then, upon an
understood signal being given, they were to dssassinate the two subordinate
officers, seize Capt. Rhea, and with threats of instant death if he did not
comply, and promises of personal safety if he did, compel him to order the
gates of the fort to be thrown open for the admission of their warriors, lying
in ambush without. The plan was put in execution, but was balked by a cir-
cumstance, seemingly, almost miraculous. Wm. Oliver, a young man of Ft.
Wayne, though absent at Cincinnati when the siege began, who, learning on
his way home that the Indians had invested the fort, hurried back toward the
settlements to give the alarm and secure assistance, after which he again set
out for Fort Wayne, in advance of the forces marching to its relief, for the76

INDIAN SPEECHES AT FQRT WAYNE.

SPEECH OF LITTLE TURTLE, A MIAMIE CHIEF.

Addressed to his Excellency, William H. Harrison, Governor of
Indiana Territory.

Friend and Brother, you have listened to our -chiefs, the Put-
tawatamies. You see that their sentiments and ours are the
same, as respects the welfare of our people. It is true that some
of our foolish young men have , been deluded by the Shawanoe
Prophet, and made to follow a path that is filled with thorns and
briers. We pray you to have pity on these foolish people, and
forgive them the crimes they have committed.

My friend, I could not say anything more to you than what our
great chief, the Five Medals, has said. He has told you to for-
give those foolish people that have been led astray by the Prophet.
Tell them the impropriety of their conduct, and request them to
do better; and we hope they will do better.

purpose of encouraging the garrison to persevere in its defence until their
arrival. Luckily, the Indians had been withdrawn from the direction by
which Oliver, in company with two friendly Shawnees, were approaching the
fort, and were massed upon the opposite side. Win-ne-mac, the Five Medals,
and their three confederates, with their flag of truce, were in the act of carry-
ing their plan into execution as Oliver and his Shawnees reached the gate.
The attacking and the relieving party, each unknowing of the purposes or near
presence of the other, coming by different directions, and screened by the
angles of the fort, were not seen by each other until this moment. Win-ne-
mac, much chagrined at the unexpected, turn of affairs, uttered an ejaculation
of disappointment, and with the others returned to their waiting warriors
with the word that the attempted surprise of the fort had failed. The account
of the above, jnot generally known, incident connected with Jhe investment of
Fort W^ne, is condensed from Dr. Drake's "Tecumthe".

O^i the 12th of September, 1812, Gov. Harrison, with two thousand Ken-
tuckians and several hundred citizen militia of Ohio, by severe and forced
marches, arrived at Fort Wayne; the troops were broken up into several
detachments and sent out southwest, west, and northwest on retaliative mis-
sions. On the morning of September 16, the detachment commanded by
Col. Samuel Wells struck the Five Medal's Town, burned it to.the ground—
the inhabitants having fled two days before—captured a large quantity of corn,
in process of drying upon scaffolds, and an abundance of beans, potatoes, and
other provisions, besides which they totally destroyed seventy acres of corn.
In the village were several coarse bags, appearing to have contained shot;
pieces of gun and ammunition boxes with London and Maiden printed upon
them, and abundant other evidence that, since his friendly speech of the pre-
vious October, the Five Medals, like all the rest of his nation, had gone over
to the British.SPEECH OF LITTLE TURTLE.

77

My friend, these are the sentiments of our hearts; to live in
peace with all people, is our first wish; and we have entire con-
fidence that* the Treaty of Greenville is fresh in the mind of our
Father, the President of the United States. * I have nothing more
to say at present.

» Father, we all now take you by the hand and request the Great
Spirit to incline your heart to be kind to your Red brothers.

Fort Wayne, 25th, January, 1812.

A LETTER FROM THE CELEBRATED MIAMIE CHIEF,
LITTLE TURTLE.

To his Excellency, William H. Harrison, Governor of Indiana
Territory.

My friend: I have been requested by my nation to speak to
you, and I obey their request with pleasure, because I believe
their situation requires all the aid I can afford them. When your
speech by Mr. Dubois was received by the Miamies, they answered
it, and I made known to you their opinion at that time. Your
letter to William Wells, of the 23d November last, has been
explained to the Miamie and Eel-River tribes of Indians.

My friend, altho7 neither of these tribes have had anything
to do with the late unfortunate affair which happened on the
Wabash, still they all rejoice to hear you say that if those foolish
Indians, which were engaged in that action, would return to their
several homes and remain quiet, that they would be pardoned and
again received by the President as his children. Wre%believe
there are none of them that will be so foolish as not to accept of
this friendly offer; while at the same time I assure you that noth-
ing shall be wanting on my part to prevail on them to accept it.

All the Prophet's followers have left him (with the exception of
two camps of his own tribe). Tecumseh* has just joined him,
with eight men only. No danger can be apprehended from them
at present. Our eyes will be constantly kept on them, and should
they attempt to gather strength again, we ,will do all in our power

* In this "Talk"—the last ever made by the Little Turtle—he here refers to
the battle of Tippecanoe, fought on the morning of the 7th of the previous
November. The original address will be found in Gen. Harrison's Memoirs,
of which that in the Ft. Wayne manuscript above is a literal copy, except
that the two words, in the closing line, " hurt our" are substituted for u burst
onn in the original; which* reads " * * * the storm that threatens to burst
on our nations." The copy above varies a little in the address and omits the
certificate of authentication, which is as follows in the original:78

INDIAN SPEECHES AT FORT WAYNE.

to prevent it, and at the same time give you immediate informa-
tion of their intentions.	'

We are sorry that that peace and friendship, which has so long
existed between the red and the white people, could not be pre-
served without the loss of so many good men as fell on both
sides in the late action on the Wabash; but we are satisfied that
it will be the means of making that peace which ought to exist
between us more respected, both by the red and the white
people.	*

We have lately been told, by different 'Indians from that quar-
ter, that you wished the Indians from this country to visit you;
this they will do with pleasure, when you give them information
of it in writing.

My friend, the clouds appear to be rising in a different quarter,
which threatens to turn our light into darkness. To prevent this,
it may require the united efforts of us all.

We hope that none of us will be found to shrink from the
storm that threatens to hurt our nations.

Your friend,

Mishecanocquah or Little Turtle. X
For the Miamie and Eel-River tribes of Indians.

" Ft. Wayne, 25 January, 1812.

"Governor Harrison:—My friend:"

here follows the Talk, ending with Little Turtle's name, as above, all which
is verified thus:

u Witness. Wm. Turner, S.-Mate, U. S. Army.

"I certify that the above is a true translation. W. Wells.*

Mr. Dawson, the compiler of the Memoirs quoted, in introducing this
address, says, "The Talk received from the Little Turtle, which so feelingly
deplores the consequences of the late action, also appears to allude to the
gathering storm that broke out in the June following [when the United States
made a formal declaration of war against Great Britain]. This information
the Little Turtle must have had from some communication, by himself or
others, with British agents. The speech is given as a relic of that extraordi-
nary genius who was fated not long to survive it."

A more extended sketch of Capt. Wells and the Little Turtle is now well
advanced for the press by the author of these notes.MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

79

The Manners and Customs of the North-Western

Indians.	[Historical.]

The French were the first white people that were ever known
among the NOrth-Western Indians.

When the British and French commenced a war against each
other in North America, the North-Western Indians joined the
French, and some of the Six Nations of Indians joined the British.

After the British had gotten possession of this country from the
French, a Tawa chief, by the name of Pontioch, renewed the war
against the British, and took all the posts that were occupied by
the latter, on the Lakes and their waters, in one day, (Detroit
excepted) where Pontioch himself was. This wonderful achieve-
ment of military skill was performed by stratagem.

After this, in 1774, the first war commenced between the
Americans and the North-Western Indians. The principal -action
that took place between the parties was at the mouth of the Big
Canawa.* The Indian army consisted of about three hundred
Shawanoes and Delewares, and a few Miamies, Mingoes, and
Wyandotts, all of whom were commanded by the celebrated
Shawanoe chief, Cornstalk.

This, was the war that ended at the Treaty of Greenville, in
1795, altho' at different times, individual Indians would treat or
pretend to do so with the Americans, while at the same timey
other Indians would be destroying soifie of the very people that
their chiefs were treating with.

The Indians that opposed General Sullivan,t in 1779, were the
combined forces of the Six Nations. Their number, and by whom
commanded, I do not know.

The Indians that defeated Colonel CrawfordJ at Sandusky were
the Wyandotts, Delewares, Shawanoes, Cherokees, Puttawatamies,

* Battle of Point Pleasant, October 10, 1774.

+ John Sullivan, born in Maine, February 17, 1740; was appointed in
the Continental army from New Hampshire; promoted to major-general,
August 9, 1776; resigned, November 30, 1779; and died in New Hampshire,
January 23, 1795.—Gardner.

£ William Crawford, an old pioneer, Washington's business agent in the
West, who, under protest, commanded this expedition of nearly five hundred
men, organized to destroy the inhabitants and towns of the Moravian Dela-
wares and Wyandots upon the Sandusky, was taken prisoner by the Indians
and afterward, March 11, 1782, tortured to death in a most horrible manner
near Sandusky.—Annals of the West.So

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

Ottaways, and a few of the Six Nations, said to be eight hundred
in all. I never heard who commanded them, as the Indians
always keep the number of their killed and wounded as secret as
possible. I shall not undertake to Say what number were killed
and wounded in either of the actions above mentioned.

Bowman's campaign was against the Shawanoes,* on the Little
Miamie River. I am not acquainted with any of the particulars
of the action that took place between him and the Indians.
My knowledge of the campaign carried on by General Clarkt

* Col. Joseph Bowman's command in July, 1779, destroyed their town,
capturing some booty, including 160 horses.—Annals of the West, 217.

+ Geo. Rogers Clark, born Albemarle Co., Va., Nov. 19, 1752; died near
Louisville, Ky., Feb. 13, 1818. Originally a land-surveyor, he commanded
a company in Dunmore's army in 1774. In 1775, he went to Kentucky, and
took command of the armed settlers. In the spring of 1778, Maj. Clark was
intrusted by Gov. Henry of Virginia with the command of an expedition
against the British at Kaskaskia, which he surprised and captured. He suc-
ceeded, also, in reducing other posts in this region, including that at Vincennes,
which were organized into county, under the jurisdiction of Virginia, and*
named Illinois. Promoted to colonel by he Virginia authorities, he applied
himself successfully to the pacification of the Indiar tribes. While thus
engaged, he learned that Gov. Hamilton of Detroit had captured Vincennes,
and that further blows were to be struck against American posts. Anticipat-
ing the enemy, Col. Clark commenced his march against Vincennes, February
7, 1779, with 175 |nen, traversing a wilderness and the drowned lands of Illi-
nois, suffering every privation from wet, cold, and hunger. The place was
besieged on the morning of the 19th, and was'surrendered the next day. lie
intercepted a convoy of goods worth $10,000, and built Fort Jefferson on the
west bank of the Mississippi. In retaliation for'the inroads of the British and
Indians into Kentucky, in June, 1780, he led a force against the Shawnees on
the Great Miami, defeating them with heavy loss, at Pickawa. During
Arnold's invasion, Clark took temporary command under Baron Stuben. He
afterward succeeded in raising a considerable force for an expedition against
Detroit, and was made a brigadier; but the progress of Cornwallis, and the
poverty of the country, restricted the frontiersmen to the defensive. In Sep-
tember, 1782, Gen. Clark, at the head of more than 1000 mounted riflemen,
assembled at the mouth of the Licking, invaded the Indian towns on the
Scioto, burned five of their villages, and laid waste their plantations, produc-
ing a salutary effect, and so awing the savages that no formidable Indian war-
party ever after invaded Kentucky. In 1786, Clark commanded an expedition
of 1000 men against the Indians on the Wabash. It was a failure. His
great services to his country were passed over, and he died in poverty and
obscurity. "A Sketch of his Campaign in Illinois in 1778-9," by H. Pirtle,MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

8x

against the Shawanoes, on Mad River and the Big Miamie, is not
to be depended on.

When General Harmar* arrived at the Miamie Town, he sent
Col. John Hardint with a party of men in search of the Indians.

was published. 8vo., Cincinnati, 1869.—Drake. A county in Illinois and
other western States, as well as many towns, and <5ne of the principal streets
of Chicago are named for him.

, * Josiah Harmar, bora in Philadelphia, 1753; died there, August 20, 1813.
Educated chiefly at Robert Proud's Quaker School, Philadelphia. Made
captain 1st Pennsylvania regiment in October, 1776; was its lieut.-colonel in
1777, and until the close of the Revolution. He was in Washington's army
in the campaigns of 1778-80; served under Gen. Greene, in the South, in
1781-2; and was made brevet-colonel 1st U.-S. regiment, September 30, 1^83.
In 1784, he took to France the ratification of the definitive treaty. As Indian-
agent for the Northwest Territory, Ke was present, January 20, 1785, at the
treaty at Fort Mcintosh. Lieut.-colonel of infantry under the Confederation,
August 12, 1784; brevet-brigadier-general (by resolve of Congress, July 31,
1787,) and general-in-chief of the army (September 29, 1789); commanded an
expedition against the Miami Indians, September 30, 1790, and partially
defeated, October 22, 1790; resigned January 1, 1792; adjutant-general of
Pennsylvania, 1793-9; and active in preparing and furnishing the Pennsylvania
troops for Wayne's Indian campaign, 1793-4.—A. T. Goodman's Memoir.

+ John Hardin, born in Fauquier Co., Va., Oct. 1, 1753, died 1792. He
early became an excellent*marksman; served with distinction in the Indian
wars of Virginia, and as a lieutenant in Morgan's Rifle Corps in the Revolu-
tion; settled in Washington Co., Ky., in 1786. He commanded a detach-
ment of Kentucky and Pennsylvania militia under Gen. Harmar at his defeat,
Oct. 19 and 22, 1790; commanded Brig.-Gen. Chas. Scott's advance, and distin-
guished in his successful expedition against the Indians on the Wabash; in May,
1791. Murdered by the Indians while bearing a flag of truce, near Shawnee-
town, O., for his horse and equipments, which were very fine; was the father of
Martin D. Hardin, lawyer, born on the Monongahela River, Pa., June 21, 1780;
died Oct. 8, 1823, educated at Transylvania Academy; studied law; several
years a member of the Kentucky legislature; secretary of state 1812; a major
under Maj.-Gen. Harrison in the N.-W. army in Lt.-Col. John Allen's Rifle
Reg't of Aug., 1812; U.-S. senator 1816-7. He published reports of Laws in
Kentucky Court of Appeals 1805-8, Frankfort, 8vo., 1810. His son-, John J.
Hardin, born in Frankfort, Kentucky, 1810; educated at Transylvania Uni-
versity; practised law at Jacksonville, 111.; was prosecuting-attorney; member
of the 111. legislature, 1836-42; representative in Congress from 111., 1843-5;
Col. 1st Reg't 12-month volunteers in Mexican war; June 30, 1846; killed,
February 23, 1847, in battle of Buena Vista, while leading his regiment in a
682

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

Col. Hardin met three hundred Miamies at the head of Eel
River who were commanded by the celebrated Miamie chief,.
Little Turtle. An ac|ion ensued, and the whites were defeated.*
The Indians had one man killed and two wounded. The Indians
that fought the troops under the command of Col. Harmar in
the Miamie Town, were the party above mentioned, and com-
manded by the same chief; also a body of five hundred more,
consisting of Shawanoes, Delewares, Puttawatamies, Chippaways,
and Ottaways. The Shawanoes were commanded by their own
chief, Blue-Jacket; the Delewares by Buckingehelas; and the
Ottaways and Chippeways by Agaskawak, an Ottaway chief. The
Indians say they had fifteen killed and twenty-five .wounded.

General ScottJst campaign was against the Weeas' Town on the

charge at the latest conflict. His son, Gen. Martin D. Hardin, great-grandson
of John Hardin, born at Jacksonville, 111., June 26, 1837; graduate of West
Point; brevet 2d lieut. 3d Artillery, July 1, 1859; 2d lieut., January 2, i860;
1st lieut., May 14, 1861; lieut.-colonel 12th Pennsylvania Reserve Veteran
Corps, July 8, 1862; brevet-captain, August 29, 1862, for gallant and merito-
rious service in battle of Groveton, Va.; brevet-major, August 30, 1862, for
gal., and mer. service in battle of Bull Run (2d), Va.; colonel 12th Veteran
Reserve Corps, Sept. 1, 1862; brevet lieut.-colonel, Dec. 14, 1863, for gal.
and mer. service in an encounter with band of guerillas; brevet-colonel, May
23, 1864, for gal. and mer. service in battle of N. Anna River, Va.; mustered
out of Volunteer service, June 11, 1864; brig.-gener|l of Volunteers, July 2,
1864; brevet brig.-general, March 13, 1865, for gal. and mer. service in the
field during the war; mustered out of Volunteer service, Jan. 15, 1866; major
43d Infantry, July 28, 1866; transferred to 1st Infantry, March 15, 1869*
Retired with rank of brig.-general, Dec. 15, 1870; loss of left arm and
wounds in line of duty (under Acts of Congress, August 3, 1861, and July 28,.,
1866).—Gardner, Drake, Hamersly.

* 1790, Oct. 19 and 22. Battle on the Miami River, Ohio, fought by the
U. S. Artillery, Pennsylvania and Kentucky miljtia, under Brig.-Gen. Josiah
Harmar; and who were defeated by bands of Indian warriors. Our* troops
engaged on the 19th were 30 regulars and 180 militia; and on the 22d 60 reg-
ulars and 340 militia. Our loss was 183 killed and 31 wounded.—Gardner.

+ Charles Scott, soldier and governor of Kentucky, 1808—Sept., 1812, born
in Cumberland Co., Va., 1733; died Oct. 22, 1820. A non-com. officer of
Virginia militia at Braddock's defeat in 1755; raised and commanded the first
company south of the James for the Revolutionary army; was appointed
colonel of 3d Virginia Batt, Aug. 12, 1776; was distinguished at Trenton;
made a brig.-gen., April 2, 1777; was with Gen. Wayne at the storming of
Stony Point in 1779; was made prisoner at Charleston, S.C., in 1780, andMANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

;&3

Wabash, where he met with little or no opposition, as the warriors
of the Weeas expected that General Scott was going against the
Miamie Town, and had nearly all left their own village to meet
him there. Eight men and two women were killed by the troops
under General Scott at the Weeas' Town. The number of women
and children that were taken prisoners, I do not recollect

Gen. Wilkinson's* campaign was against the Eel-River Tewn.t
He met with no opposition, as there were but ten old men, three
young ones, and a few women and children. Four men were
killed, and one woman. The number of prisoners taken, I do
not recollect.

In 1790, an army of Indians, composed of Miamies, Dele-
wares, Shawanoes, and a few Puttawatamies, three hundred in
number, who were commanded by the Little Turtle, attacked
Dunlop's Station, on the Big Miamie River. This Post was com-
manded by Lieut. Jacbb Kingsbury. J The Indians had ten killed
and the same number wounded.

was not exchanged until near the close of the war. At Monmouth, where he
was the last to teave the field, he was particularly distinguished. In 1785,
he settled in Woodford Co., Ky.; as brig.-gen. of Kentucky levies, was with
Gen. St. Clair at his defeat in 1791; commanded a successful expedition to the
Wabash, a,nd in actions with the Indians in May and June, 1791; maj.-gen.
of division of 1600 Kentucky mounted volunteers under Gen. Wayne, July 2,
1793; and distinguished in his victory Aug. 20, 1794, when he commanded a
portion of WTayne's arm^at the battle of Fallen Timbers. Served from May
11 to Oct. 26, 1794. The shiretown of Powhatan Co. was named for him,,
also a county in Kentucky.—Drake.

* James Wilkinson, born in Maryland, 1757. Adjutant-general in Gates7
army at Saratoga, 1777; lieut.-colonel commandant 2d Infantry, Nov. 7, 1791;
commanded expedition on the Wabash in 1791 and Feb., 1792; brig.-general,
March 5, 1792; commanded right wing of Wayne's army in his victory of
Aug. 20, 1794, at the Maumee Rapids, and was distinguished; governor of
Louisiana Terr'y, Dec., 1805-7; general-in-chief of the army from Dec., 1796,
to July, 1798; and from June, '1805, to Jan., 1812; brevet major-general, July
10, 1812; major-general, March 2, 1813; disbanded June 15, 1815. Died near
Mexico, Dec. 28, 1825; buried in the parish of San Miguel.—Gardner.

+ August 7, 1791.

J Jacob Kingsbury, born in Norwich, Conn., 1755? was 42 years in the
U.-S. service, having risen from the ranks—which he joined at Roxbury, in
1755—to be an officer in the Revolutionary arm^. Served in Wayne's Indian
Campaigns. Lieut, of Inf'y regiment, Sept. 29, 1789; Capt., Dec., 1791; in
1 sub-legion Dec., 1792; in 1st Inf'y, Nov., 1796; major 2d Inf'y, May 15,84	MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

•

There was an army of Indians composed of Miamies, Putta-
watamies, Ottaways, Chippaways, Wyandotts, Delewares, Shawa-
noes, and a few Mingoes and Cherokees, amounting in all to
eleven hundred and thirty-three, that attacked and defeated Gen-
eral St. Clair on the 4th November, 1791.* Each nation was com-
manded by their own chiefs, all of whom were governed by the
Little Turtle, who made the arrangement for the action and com-
menced the attack with the Miamies, who were under his imme-
diate command. The Indians had thirty killed and died with
their wounds the day of. the action, and fifty wounded.

In the autumn of 1792,+ an army of three hundred Indians,
composed of Miamies, Delewares, Shawanoes, and a few Putta-
watamies, who were commanded by the Little Turtle, attacked
Col. John Adair, J under the walls of Fort St. Clair, where they had
two men killed.

1797; Lt.-Col. 1st Inf'y, April 11, 1803; Colonel 1st Inf'y, Aug. 18; 1808;
Inspector-Gen. (rank of colonel), April 28, 1813; disbanded June, 1815; died
at Franklin, Mo., July 1, 1837. His son, Col. Thomas H. C. Kingsbury,
born in New Orleans, Dec. 23, 1807, was Col. of nth Conn, volunteers, and
was killed at Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862.—Gardner, Drake.

* 1791, Nov. 4. Battle near the sources of the Maumee of the Lakes,
fought by a battalion of the 2d infantry and jlevies from Kentucky, North
Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, about 1400 effectives under Maj.-
Gen. Arthur St. Clair; defeated by some 1500 Indian warriors. Our loss was
632 killed and 264 wounded.—Gardner.

+ 1792, Nov. 6. Conflict in sight of Fort St. Clair, fought by Kentucky
mounted men, about 50, under Maj. John Adair, against Indian warriors.
Our loss, 6 killed, 5 wounded; the Indian loss greater.—Ibid.

J John Adair, born Chester Co., S.C., August 16, 1759; died Harrisburg,
Ky., May 19, 1840. Received a public-school education; served in the Revo-
lutionary army; removed to Kentucky in , 1787; was a major of Kentucky
mounted "levies" under Gen. St. Clair and Gen. Wilkinson in expeditions
against the Northwestern Indians in 1791; was attacked by the Miami chief,
Little Turtle, in camp near Fort St. Clair, November 6, 1792, and forced to
retreat; was lieut.-colonel commandant in Gen. Charles Scott's division in
July, 1793. He was a volunteer aide to Gen. Shelby at the battle of the
Thames, October 5, 1813; made brigadier and adjutant-general to Maj.-Gen.
Thomas' division of Kentucky, 6-months' militia, November 10,*1814; and
commanded the Kentucky Rifle-Brigade (centre of Gen. Jackson's line, January
8, 1815) with distinction at New Orleans in 1814-5. He was several years a
member of the Kentucky Legislature, of which body he was* also speaker;
was a member of the Kentucky Constitutional Convention in 1799; and Regis-MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

85

The 30th June, 1794, an army of fourteen hundred and fifty
Indians, composed of Miamies, Puttawatamies, Delewares, Sha-
wanoes, Ottawas, Chippaways, and Wyandotts, with a number of
French and other white men in the British employ, attacked Fort
Recovery. * The Indians were commanded by the Bear chief, an
Ottaway. The white men attached to the Indian army were com-
manded by Elliott and McKee, both British officers. The garri-
son was commanded by Capt. Gibson,+ of the 4 sub-legion. The
Indians have repeatedly told me that they had between forty and
fifty men killed, and upward of a hundred wounded, a number
of whom died of their wounds. This was the severest blow I
ever knew the Indians to receive from the whites.

The Indians that fought General Wayne, i the 20th of August,
1794>§ was an army of eight hundred men, consisting of Miamies,
Shawanoes, Puttawatamies, Delewares, Ottaways, Chippaways,
and Wyandotts, with a number of white men from Detroit. The
Indians were governed by British influence, and consequently
made but little resistance. The Indians had twenty-four killed
and fifteen wounded.

The Indians that fought the troops under the command of

ter of the U.-S. Land-Office; U.-S. senator in 1805-6; governor of Kentucky,
1820-4; and a Democratic Member of Congress, in place of John Breckin-
ridge, resigned, in 1805, and in 1831-3, serving on the Committee on Military
Affairs.—Gardner, Drake.

* 1794, June 30. Defence of Fort Recovery by its garrison of riflemen and
voluntary cavalry, under Maj. Wm. McMahon of the 4th sub-legion (who was
killed), against a vastly superior force of Miami Indians. Our loss was 22
killed and 30 wounded.—Gardner.

+ Alexander Gibson, Virginia; captain Infantry, Nov. 21, 1782; in 4 sub-
legion, Dec., 1792; distinguished in command of garrison of Fort Recovery,
in victorious repulse of Indians, Nov. 30, 1794; in 4th Infantry, Nov., 1796;
resigned Nov. 15, r8oo.—Ibid.

+ Anthony Wayne, born Jan. I, 1745, in Chester Co., Pennsylvania. Brig.-
general in Revolutionary army, Feb. 21, 1877; representative in Congress from
Georgia, 1791-2. Major-general and general-in-chief of the army, March 5,
1792; commanded in the victory over the Indians in the battle of the Maumee
Rapids, Aug. 20, 1794. Died, Dec. 15, 1796, on the shore of Lake Erie in
Pennsylvania. —Ibid.

§ 1794, Aug. 20. Battle of the Maumee Rapids, at the "Fallen Timbers,"
fought by the army under Maj.-Gen. Anthony Wayne, against 2000 Indians,
who were defeated and completely routed. Our loss was 33 killed and 100
wounded. —Ibid.86

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

Governor Harrison,* on the 7th of November, 181 1,+ were com-
posed of Shawanoes, Puttawatamies, Kickapgos, Wynebagoes,
Taways, and a few Muscoes, amounting in all to one hundred
and fifty, agreeable to the most correct information that could be
procured from the Indians that were in the action. The Indians
lost twenty-five men killed in the action. The number of wounded
has not been ascertained. This is the last action that was fought
between the Indians and the whites.

The Indians and whites lived in peace and friendship from the
treaty of Greenville, which was held in 1795, until the first raising
of the Shawanoe Prophet, which was in 1807, from that time
until the 7th November, 1811, the time that the Prophet's fol-
lowers fought the troops under the command of Governor Harri-
son; that treacherous and nefarious scoundrel has been fostered
by the British Government, and caused a considerable number of
the North-Western Indians to be unfriendly toward the United
States, and occasionally committed depredations of murder on
our Western frontiers.

There appears to have been no separate cause for each cam-
paign of the Indians against the whites. The war that began in
1774, which was the first that took place between the Indians
and the Americans, and which was caused by the repeated ill-
treatment the Indians received from the frontier settlements of
the whites, was kept up by the Indians, owing to the great influ-
ence the British had among them. This influence was kept up
by the annual supply of arms and ammunition, which the Indians
received from the British Government.

From this it is evident that if the United States had got pos-
session of the Military Posts on the Lakes, which the British
Government was to deliver up to them in 1783, there would have
been no Indian war after that time.

THE EMIGRATION OF THE NORTH-WESTERN INDIANS,
AND THEIR GENERAL CONDUCT.

The Miamie Nation are the oldest inhabitants of this country.

* For record of Gen. Harrison, see page 52.

+ 1811, Nov. 7. Battle of Tippecanoe River, near its confluence with the
Wabash, fought by Battalion of the 4th infancy, 200 strong, Kentucky and
Indiana militia, about 450, under Gov. Wm. H. Harrison of Indiana Terri-
tory against over 600 Indian warriors under "The Prophet." Our loss was
62 killed, 126 wounded; the Indian loss exceeded 150 killed,—leaving from
36 to 40 dead on the field.—Gardner,MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

87

From whence they emigrated is not known. The Eel Rivers,
Weeas, Piankeshaws, and Kaskaskees are all branches of the
Miamie tribe, and all speak the same tongue.

The Delewares emigrated to this country from the East, and
are called by other Indians, JElanabah, or people from the sunrise.

The Shawanoes emigrated to this country from West Florida.

The Wyandotts, Chippaways, Ottaways, Puttawatamies, and
Kickapoos emigrated from the North and North West.

The Wynebagoes and Melomenees, who at present inhabit the
west side of Lake Michigan, emigrated from the West.

The Socks, Foxes, Johwees, and Nottawessies also emigrated
from the North West.

There is a material difference in the language of the different
nations of Indians; yet there is but little or no difference in their
customs and manners; they are warm friends, but most inveterate
enemies. The men are trained up to hunting and going to war,
whilst all the laborious work is left for the women to do.

Each nation is divided into villages, and each village has one
or more chiefs attached to it, according to its size, who keep their
subjects in order by persecution, as arbitrary power is never made
use of by them (except in cases of murder). The influence of
a chief seldom extends further than his own village.

Both the male and female children are nurtured in such a man-
ner as is best calculated to endure the greatest hardships. They
are compelled to bathe their bodies in cold water every day, and
fast for a certain length of time. The length of time a child has
to fast is regulated by its age. A child that is eight years old
will fast half a day, and one that is twelve or sixteen will fast a
day. The person that is fasting has its face blacked, and is not
permitted to wash it until the time of fasting is out. The face of
the male is blacked all over; that of the female on the cheeks
only. The male quits this practice at the age of eighteen, it is
then said by the parents , that his education is complete, and he is
then old enough to be a man. His face is then bilked for the
last time, and he is taken a mile or two from any house, where he
has a small hut built for him out of bushes or weeds. After this,
he is addressed by his father or guardian in the following words:

My son, it has pleased all the Great Spirits that live above the
clouds, and all those that live on the earth, that you should live
to see this.day; they have all witnessed'your conduct ever since
I first blacked your face; they know whether you have at all
times strictly adhered to the advice I have given you; and I hope
they will reward you accordingly. You must now remain here,
until myself or some of your friends come to you.88

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

The man then returns home, takes his gun and goes a huntings
while his son is left five or six days, and sometimes eight days,,
without anything to eat or drink. When the father or guardian
has procured meat enough for a feast, he invites some of his-
neighbors to come and partake of what he has. They accom-
pany him to where his son has been staying for several days; the
boy is then taken home, where he is immersed in cold water, his
head shaved all over except a small spot on the top; victuals are
then given hirn, which have been prepared in a separate vessel
for that purpose. After he is done eating, a looking-glass is given
him, and a bag of vermilion or paint; he is then told by the
company that he is a man. After this, he is considered as such
by the people of the village. They frequently go to war before
being declared men in this manner, and they are respected
according to their merit.

Immediately after a boy's face is blacked, which generally takes
place at daybreak, he takes his bow and arrows and goes to the
wood, from whence he does not return until the usual time of
washing his face and eating comes on. I have accompanied boys
for several years at different times, when their faces were blacked,
and I never knew a single instance of their eating or drinking
while in this situation, of without the knowledge of their parents.

Their minds are operated on by fears, as they are made to
believe that if they eat or drink while their face is black, such an
offence would be followed by immediate punishment from the
Great Spirit, who watched strictly over all their actions.

. When an Indian girl arrives at the age of puberty, and her
monthly discharges or catamenia comes on, she is separated from
the family, and a small hut is built for her, some distance from
the house where her parents reside. She is put in the hut pre-
pared for that purpose, where she remains until the menstrual
discharge ceases; during which time no person is allowed to visit
or keep company with her. Victuals are cooked in a separate
kettle at a fire built out of doors for that purpose. All her cook-
ing utensils and clothing are considered unclean until they are
washed and purified for the purpose of using herself and being
made use of by others. When this disease leaves her, she is
directed to bathe herself in cold water; after which, a sweat-house
is built, and she is taken into it by her mother, or some other
female friend, and is scarified on her legs and arms with a piece
of sharp flint; after this, she is sweated and purified for an hour
or two, and then admitted into the family.

This practise prevails among all ages of the women, when their
systems are in the condition above mentioned. It is in this man-MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

89

ner that the systems of the Indians are prepared to bear hunger
and all inclemencies of the different seasons.

If a woman is pregnant when traveling, and her time of parturi-
tion should come on, she will stop at the first convenient stream
of water, where she will be delivered of her child. She will then
wash the child all over in the cold water, and wrap it up in her
blanket or any old clothing she may have along; she will then
wash herself, and jn two hours be ready to proceed on her journey.

Polygamy is universally admitted among the Indians. A man
may have as many wives as he pleases, and can change them as
often as it may suit his own views. Young men are instructed
by their parents to get as many wives as they can, but never to
have connexion with a married woman, and by no means to
involve himself or his friends in a quarrel with their neighbors.

Marriages are performed in three different ways. 1st. If the
male and female agree, they may cohabit with each other without
any further ceremony. 2d. When a young man loves a girl, and
she will not consent to have him without he first obtains the con-
sent of her parents, which must be done with a present adequate
to the character of the girl. If his present is received by the girl's
friends, the marriage is fixed; if the present is returned, it is
understood that they are not willing for the match. 3d. This is
considered by much the most honorable and binding on the par-
ties concerned. When an Indian has a son that he wishes to be
married to a good and a virtuous woman, he assembles his friends
and relations, and consults with them what woman his son shall
marry. When a choice is made, the relations of the young man
collect what presents they think are sufficient for the occasion, and
take them to the parents of the girl or intended bride; they make
known their business, leave the articles, and return home without
an answer. The relations of the girl then assemble together, and
consult each other on the subject. If they agree to the match,
they collect suitable presents, dress the girl in her best clothing,
and take her to the persons that made application for the match,
where she and the presents are left. The marriage is then con-
sidered complete, as all the ceremony for the occasion has been
regularly.gone through. But if the friends of the girl or herself
do not approve of the proposals, the presents that were given
by the young man's relations are returned, which is considered a
refusal.

MILITARY DISCIPLINE.

When a warrior wishes to go to war, he informs one or two of
his most intimate friends o'f his intentions and asks them to join9°

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

him. The war party is then formed by their inviting as many
men as they wish the party to consist of. Their intentions are
kept secret from all the rest, as the person that is to command
the party wishes such men only as will at all times obey his orders.
After the party is completely organized, they leave the village
secretly in the night. When they encamp, the captain or com-
mander places the oldest men in front of the camp, and the
youngest in the rear; the former do all the hunting for the
party and keeps out a strict watch for the enemy* the latter do
all the cooking, making of fires, mending moccasins, etc. Each
party has a small budget, wrhich they call the war budget, which
contains something belonging to each person in the party, that
represents some wild animal, (that is to say,) a snake's skin, a buf-
falo's tail, a wolfs head, a mink's skin, or the feathers of some
extraordinary bird. This budget is considered sacred, and is
always carried by some person chosen for that purpose, who
always marches in front and leads the party to the enemy. He
is never passed on the march by any of the company while he
has the budget on his* back. When the party halts, the budget is
laid on the ground in front of them, and no person is permitted
to pass it without orders from the property authority. No person
is allowed to sit or lay his pack on a log, neither is any one
allowed to talk of women while they are going toward the enemy.
When a four-legged animal is killed by the party, the heart is care-
fully preserved by a person appointed for that purpose. When
they encamp, a fire is built alongside of the war budget, and the
heart cut in small pieces and burned in it. The sticks or spits
upon which they roast their meat is split half down the middle,
and then the meat is placed in the split; the stick is to be sharp-
ened at but one end, which is to be stuck in the ground. No
person is allowed to step across the fire, or walk round it in any
other way than that in which the sun traverses.

It will readily be imagined that the order observed among the
Indians when going to war is completely calculated to prevent
accident or surprises, and keep up good discipline. When the
enemy is to be attacked, the war budget is opened, and each man
takes out his skin, or corpenyomer, or war bag, and ties it on
that part of his body which he was directed to do by his ances-
tors in such like cases.

When an Indian attacks his enemy, he is generally stripped
naked (except what is called his breech-cloth and moccasins).
His body is painted in different colors, though generally red.
After the action is over, each person returns his war bag to the
commander of the party, who takes the same skin or cloth thatMANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

91

they were formerly wrapped in, and carefully wraps them up
again, and gives the budget to the man that took the first prisoner
or scalp, who leads the party home in triumph. This is considered
as a record of his bravery in the nation, and consequently great
honor is attached to it. Should there be more than one of the
enemy killed or taken prisoner, the person that gets the first scalp
or takes the first prisoner is entitled to the first honor.

When the party returns home, the war budget is hung in front
of the door of the person that carried it on the march against the
enemy. It is suffered to remain there thirty or forty days, and
some One of the party goes every night and sings and dances
where it hangs; particularly those that have taken a prisoner or
scalp.

When the person that commanded the party thinks proper, he
assembles the party, and a feast is prepared by them for all the
people of the village. They sing and dance all night. Those of
the party that did the enemy most damage serves out the feast
to the assembly. After this is over, the war budget is opened by
the commander, and'each person of the party takes out his cor-
penyomer or war bag, and the p£rty is dissolved.

THEIR RELIGION AND MODE OF WORSHIP.

Every Indian family has one or more of the skins or images
above mentioned, which is called in the Miamie language Corpe-
nohor Corpenyomer. It is those instruments that they consider
sacred, and accordingly worship them. They say when the Great
Spirit formed them, that he placed those things in their posses-
sion and told them if they would worship them that they would
live to an immense age, and always remain happy; consequently,
some one member of each respective family pays reverence to
those divine images monthly. After singing all night such songs
as he has been instructed to do on such occasions by his ances-
tors, which may be called religious songs; he then prepares a
kettle Of victuals and a few pipes of tobacco, and invites his
neighbors to come and partake of v^hat he has prepared for the
occasion. When the company has collected, he tells them the
cause of his calling them together. The company then proceeds
to eating, with a great deal of ceremony too tedious to mention.
Each person will throw a small piece of the victuals in the fire
before he puts any in his mouth.

There are but few Indians that will give an opinion respecting
a future state. They say that those things are only enquired after
by fools and the' white people. Some of them have told me that92

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

they believed there were two other worlds. One was intended as
the place of residence for the spirits of the good people on this
earth; and the other for the spirits of those that were bad, and
that the bad ones were always assisting the evil spirit to do ill,
while the good ones resided with the good spirit, and remained
in peace and quietness.

I once asked a very distinguished chief what he supposed was
necessary to constitute a good and a great man. He replied,
that a good father, a good husband, a good neighbor, a good
warrior, and a lover of his nation, was all in his opinion that was
necessary for a man to possess, to fulfil the expectations of the
Great Spirit, who placed us on this earth; though, the Indians
generally appear to care but little about a future state. They are
only anxious to live to an old age, in this world.

CEREMONIES AMONG THE INDIANS WHEN ONE OF
THEM DIE.

When an Indian dies, his relations black their faces and fast fpr
a certain time, which time is regulated by the head of the family.
When it is known that an Indian has died, the neighbors assem-
ble and bury the dead, after which the heads'of such families that
are friendly disposed toward the deceased person and their sur-
viving friends, take some article of clothing, and address the
friends of the deceased in the following words:

Friends: We are sorry that it has pleased the Great Spirit to
call one of your family from you, though this is not uncommon
among us people of this world. Our friend has only gone on the
journey, a few days before us, which we shall all have to travel;
we have therefore come to invite you to mourn no longer, and to
cover the body of our departed friend.

After this, they all return home. The articles of clothing are
left and preserved for the person that may be adopted in place of
the deceased.	•

THEIR MODE OF ADOPTING A LIVING PERSON IN PLACE
OF ONE THAT HAS DIED.

When an Indian loses one of his relations, he believes that if
his place is not filled by adoption, that more of his friends will die.

If the deceased is a male, one of his most intimate male friends
is chosen to fill the vacancy. If a female, one of her most inti-
mate female friends is also chosen to fill the vacancy. If the
deceased is a person of respectability, it frequently happens thatMANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

93

two persons are chosen to fill the vacancy. After everything is
prepared, the person, or persons, to be adopted is sent for, wher^
the ceremony begins. If the deceased was a warrior, the adop-
tion is exhibited by the warriors of the village, who assemble at
the house of the deceased.

They commence by dancing the war-dance and singing the war-
song in rotation. The warriors go through all the different ma-
noeuvres that is customary when engaged with an enemy; after
which, each one reports to the assembly the number of actions he
has been in, and the number of scalps and prisoners he has taken.

During the time the warriors are dancing, they occasionally give
the same yells and repeat the same words they did when they
were in battle. All the while there is a constant yelling kept up
by the assembly. When a warrior has gone through such of his
exploits as he thinks proper, he hands the war-club to some other
warrior, and sits down. The other rises up and repeats as many
of his war exploits as he thinks proper. In this way the dance
is continued until each warrior of the village is called on to relate
his war exploits. Some are called on two or three times during
the dance. The assembly is then dismissed by the speaker of
the friend of the deceased, telling them that the hearts of the
relations of the dead are glad.

The person or persons adopted sits among the relations of the
deceased during the dance. After the dance is over, they are
invited by their new relations to a private place, wliere they
receive everything that belonged to the deceased, also the articles
that were given by neighbors by way of a donation in adoption.
They are then told that they are one of the family, and must con-
sider themselves as such, and that they are entitled to the same
authority and respect in the nation that the person was when
living, whose place they fill.

When a common man or woman or child dies, the adoption is
Exhibited by a few persons of both sexes, by playing at some
favorite game of the deceased. If it was a man that died, by
shooting at a mark, running a foot-race, or some other game. If
a woman, by playing some game she was fondest of.

THEIR CUSTOM WHEN VISITING THE GRAVE OR GRAVES
OF THEIR DECEASED RELATIONS.

When an Indian goes to the grave of his deceased friend or
relation, he addresses himself to the grave, as though the corpse
in it was living. He relates every misfortune that has happened
in the family since the death of the person whom he supposes he94 «	MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

is speaking to; after* which he leaves a piece of tobacco, some
victuals, or spirituous liquor, if he has any, and departs.

The , Indians are an indolent race of beings, consequently they
are fond of any kind of amusement that will serve pass away
their time and make them merry. They are very fond of gam-
bling and dancing. They have a variety of games to play at, too
tedious to mention, though the game at Moccasin is most gener-
ally practised among them. They are remarkably honorable in
their gambling debts, and will strip the shirt off their backs to
pay a debt incurred by gambling. They also have a variety of
dances. The morning dance commences in the evening and con-
tinues until the following morning, at which time there is a feast
prepared for the company. The outward dance is performed by
a certain sect of Indians, which is supposed to possess super-
natural powers, so that they can destroy their neighbor's property
or life at any time they please, without being discovered by the
person to whom the injury is done or any one else. All persons
that enter this society are admitted with the strictest ceremony.

It is common for each person who dances to have an otter skin.
The eldest members of the society place themselves in the mid-
dle of the floor, and the dance is then opened by their singing
the songs of the society. A circle is instantly formed around
those that are singing, and each person has an otter skin in his
hand when he commences dancing. After a few minutes has
elapsed, some one of the company makes a noise like an otter,
shakes his skin, and walks or dances around on the inside of the
circle. He then, with a sudden motion, points his skin at some
one of the company, who screams out, and falls down as though
he had been shot *vith a ball; in a few minutes he recovers, and
handles his skin in turn, pretending to laugh up the ball he was
shot with, when it appears that the bullet is in his mouth; he
then puts the nose of the otter skin to his mouth, when it is# sup-
posed that his peace is loaded; he then goes around the circle as
before, and shoots at who he pleases. In this way, the dance is
continued until the managers of the society think proper to break
it up. No member can quit the dance until the whole company
is dismissed.

The members of this society were formerly treated with great
respect by their neighbors; but on the contrary, they are at pres-
ent treated.with as much disrepect as they formerly were respected.

The begging dance is generally performed by the young men
and boys, who dress like warriors and go about through the vil-
lages singing war songs. It is customary for the head of every
family, whose house they dance at, to give them something. This-MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

95

is the dance that is generally performed when they visit a white
person. There are a number 0f * * * * *
the whites do, though they are not so tenacious of it S.s the
whites. They are much more hospitable to their friends, neigh-
bors, and visitors than the whites.

The Indians' have little or no laws, no coercive power, nor any
kind of government. Their most important combats are the
internal sensation of right and wrong. When an Indian commits
a crime which is not punishable by death, he is treated with con-
tempt and excluded from society.

The Indians believe that thunder, lightning, and all other natu-
ral disturbances of this world, are distinct and independent powers
or beings, and consequently worship them accordingly.

The Pow-wowers or Priests were formerly in high estimation
amongst the Indians, as it was believed that they were the agents
of the different great powers or spirits that govern the universe,
and that they had power to kill or save, as they pleased.

Those supposed inspired beings generally act as doctors, and
it is not uncommon for them to extract a hair ball on the whisker
of a bear, a wTolf, or a panther, from the body or joint of their
patients (or at least make them believe so). They go through
the village early in the morning, preaching and telling the people
what appears most advisable for them to employ themselves at
during the day.% Those Pow-wowers, Priests, or Doctors are not
"so much respected at present as they were formerly.
' The present mode of burying the dead among the Indians
appears to have existed through all ages, tribes, and conditions.
Some lay the dead body on the top of the earth and make a crib
or pen over, them with logs, and cover it with bark; others dig
graves as white people do, they then lay the corpse in the grave,
cover it with bark, and then all over with earth; others again will
make a coffin out of strong boards, in which they will place the
corpse, and hang it up in the top of a tree. It is customary for
them to bury as much of the deceased's property with the dead
body as can conveniently be placed in the grave or coffin with
them. They frequently put a piece of bread or meat and a carrot
of tobacco under the head of the person to be interred, as they
believe they will be in need of some refreshment on their journey.
They generally celebrate the death of a distinguished chief or
warrior by drinking, feasting, dancing, and singing.

The Indians are subject to all the different diseases that the
whites are (the gout not excepted).THE MOUND BUILDERS.

Ferdinand de Soto and his army were the first to discover the
mounds. Mention is frequently made of them by the historians
of the expedition. This mention is incidental, and so connected
with the account of the people and the various incidents of the
expedition as to escape notice, yet the descriptions correspond
closely with the works as they were found. Some of the villages
were surrounded by stockades, and were so situated as to be
used for defenses or for fortifications, but a large number of them
are also described as having elevated mounds which were used
by the caciques for their residences and as observatories from
which they could overlook the villages. It is not unlikely that
some of the more prominent of these mounds may be identified.
There are many of such mounds described in the narratives.
One such is mentioned in Georgia, one in Alabama, and one in
Mississippi. One mound is described around which there was a
terrace wide enough to accommodate twelve horsemen. On an-
other mound the platform was large enough to accommodate
twelve or thirteen large houses, which were used for the residence
of the family and the tenants of the cacique. This was not far
from New Madrid, in Arkansas. It was upon tjie terrace of one
of these mounds that De Soto stood when he uttered his re-
proaches against his followers, having found out the dissatisfaction
and revolt which had arisen among them. This was after he had
passed the Mississippi River, and about the time when he be-
came discouraged in his fruitless expedition. The narrative
shows that these prominent earthworks were associated univer-
sally with village life. Sometimes the dwelling of the cacique
would be on the high mound which served as a fortress, the only
ascent to it being by ladders. At other times, mention is made
of the fact that fj-om the summit of these mounds extensive pros-
pects could be had, and many* native villages could be brought
to view. The villages are described as seated "in a plain, be-
tween two streams; as nearly encircled by a deep moat, fifty
paces in breadth, and where the moat did not extend was
defended by a strong wall of timber/' ''near a wide and rapid
river, the largest they discovered in Florida"—this was the Mis-
sissippi. "On a high artificial mound on one side of the village
stood the dwelling of the cacique, which served as a fortress."
Thus throughout this whole region, from the seaboard at Tampa
Bay, in the States of Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama,
Mississippi, Arkansas, these ancient villages appeared, occupied
by the various tribes, such as Creeks, Catawbas, Cherokees,
Choctaws, Chickasaws, Quapaws, Kansas, and possibly Shawnees.
They were situated on all the larger streams in the more favor-
able localities, and the sites of many of them can be identified at
the present time.—American Antiquarian.SOME ACCOUNT

OF THE

INDIAN TRIBES

FORMERLY INHABITING

INDIANA AND ILLINOIS.

Bv HIRAM W. BECKWITH, Danville, III.THE ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS*

THE ILLINOIS.

THE several Indian tribes, which from time to time occupied
parts of Illinois, so far as we have written accounts of'them,
were the Miamis, Illinois, Winnebagos, Sacs and Foxes, Kicka-
poos, Pottawatomies, and, at short intervals, the Winnebagoes
and Shawnees. They, with the exception of the Winnebagoes,
who were of the Dakota or Sioux stock, were classed among
the Algonquin-Lenape nations on account of the similarity, of
their dialects and to distinguish them from the Iroquois tribes on
the east, the Choctaws, Cherokees, Chickasaws, and others south
of the Ohio River, and the Dakotas west of the Mississippi. The
different tribes living in Illinois will be referred to in the order of
priority of time in which written accounts refer to their respective
names.

The Illinois Indians were composed of five subdivisions: Kas-
kaskias, Cahokias, Tamaroas, Peorias, and Metchigamis, the last
being a foreign tribe residing west of the Mississippi River, who
being reduced to small numbers by wars with their neighbors,
abandoned their former hunting-grounds and became incorporated
with the Illinois. The first historical mention of this tribe is
found in the "Jesuit Relations for the year 1670-1," prepared by
Father Claude Dablon, from the letters of priests stationed at
LaPointe on the southwest of Lake Superior.t At this place,

* A more detailed account of these tribes, together with a narration of their
manners, customs, and implements (illustrated) will be found in Beckwith's
"Historic Notes on the Northwest."

+ " The point" of land extending out into Lake Superior and beyond which
are the Apostle Islands, so named by the early Jesuits, because there are or
were twelve of them in number. The construction of the mission chapel of
the "Holy Ghost" was begun at the Pointe by Father Claudius Allouez in
1665; and the place was afterward known by the Jesuits as "Lapoint du SaintIOO

ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS.

prior to 1670, the French had a trading-post, to which the Indians
came for many miles, to barter their peltries for knives, hatchets,
kettles, guns, ammunition, clothes, paints, trinkets, and other
articles of European manufacture; and as the Indians that first
came to LaPointe from the south called themselves Illinois, the
French called them ever afterward by this name. Father Dablon
states in the "Relations for the year 1670": "As we have given
the name of Ottawas to all the savages of these countries, although
of different nations, because the first who have appeared among
the French were Ottawas, so also it is with the name Illinois,
very numerous, and dwelling toward the south, because the first
who came to the Pointe of the Holy Ghost for commerce, called
themselves Illinois." In the Jesuit Relations and in the writings
of other French authors, the name Illinois is variously spelled as
" Illi-mouek", "Ill-i-no-u-es", " Dl-i-ne-wek'', "Allini-wek'', and "Lin-
i-wek". The terminations ones, 7vek, ois, and ouek were almost
identical in pronunciation. Lewis Evans, the great geographer in
colonial days, spelled the name Will-i-nis. Major Thomas For-
syth, for many years trader and Indian-agent in the Illinois Terri-
tory, and stationed at the then French village of Peoria, says the
"Illinois confederation call themselves Linni-wek, and by others
they were called Min-ne-way." Father James Marquette, who,
with Louis Joliet, came up the Illinois River in 1673, and Father
Louis Hennepin, who descended the same stream in 1679, and
both coming in direct contact with the natives dwelling upon the
borders of its waters, giving them opportunities of knowing where-
of they wrote, in their journals of their respective voyages spell
the name Illinois.* Father Marquette, as well as Father Henne-
pin, give in their journals the signification that the Illinois Indians
gave to their name. The former in his narrative journal observes:
"To say Illinois is, in their language, to say 'the men', as if other
Indians compared to them were mere beasts." "The word Illi-
nois/' says Father Hennepin, "signifies a man of full age in the
vigor of his strength. This word Illinois comes, as has already
been observed, from Illini, which in that language signifies a

Esprit" [the point of the Holy Ghost], By the Algonquin tribes and the
ungodly fur-traders, who seriously interfered with the good father's mission
work, the locality was called " Che-goi-me-gon or [the place of] " The Sandy
Point", which, as is usual with aboriginal names, is highly descriptive, and
characterizes its physical features in contrast with prevailing rugged shores of
Lake Superior. Upon this tongue of land, in modern atlases, is shown the
City of Bayfield, county-seat of Bayfield County, Wisconsin.

* Pronounced Ill-i-noi, the terminal s being silent.THE ILLINOIS.

perfect and accomplished man." Originally the word Illinewek, or
Linnewek, had only a general meaning, and was a word used boast-
ingly by other tribes of the great Algonquin family when speaking
of themselves. The Delawares, considered the oldest branch of
this family, called themselves " 'Lenno-Lenape', which," says
Albert Gallatin, in his synopsis of Indians tribes of North
America, "means original or 'unmixed men'; perhaps, originally,
'manly men'." In the Delaware language Lenno means a man and
Nape means a male. Again, the tribes that occupied the country
about the southern extremity of Hudson Bay, and who belonged
to this same family of aboriginals, says Dr. Robertson: "call
themselves, as many other Indian tribes do, 'men', 'E-ith-i?i-yook\
or 'In-ir-i-wrik', prefixing occasionally the name of their especial
tribes. Thus the true name of the ' Mon-so-nies' or Swamp
Indians who inhabited Moose River is 'Mon-so-a-Eith-yu-yook',
or 'Moose-deer-men;." Later, and, as' it were, by the uniform
concurrence of nearly all writers, when referring to the original
occupants of this country, the name Ul-i-mouek, Ill-i-ne-wek, Len-
i-wek, and Il!-i-ni was applied only to the Illinois Confederation.

From the earliest accounts wTe have, the principal stream of
this State was called "The River of the Illinois"; and a wide
region of country, lying north of the mouth of the Ohio and upon
both sides of the Mississippi, was called "The Country of the
Illinois", and "The Illinois". These designations appear in the
records and official letters under the administrations and owner-
ship of this region under both the French and Spanish Govern-
ments. Fox example, letters, deeds, and other official documents
bore date at "Kaskaskia of the Illinois", "St. Louis of the Illi-
nois", "Chicago of the Illinois", "Vincennes of the Illinois", etc.

While the Revolutionary war was in progress, Gen. Geo. Rogers
Clark df Virginia (though a resident of Kentucky, which was
then a county of that colony) wrested the territory, now em-
braced within the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and
Wisconsin, from the British Government. Afterward and in the
spring of 1779, Col. John Todd, commissioned by Virginia as its
lieutenant, went to Vincennes and Kaskaskia and organized Gen.
Clark's conquest into a county of Virginia, to which was given
the name of "Illinois County". Later this domain became the
property, by cession of the several states claiming interest, of
the United States. On the 4th of July, 1801, the Act of Con-
gress for the division of the Northwest Territory went into effect,
by the terms of which all that part lying to the westward of the
west boundary line of the State of Ohio was constituted a sepa-
rate territory, under name of "Indiana Territory",- and so remained102	ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS.

until when by Act of Congress, February 3, 1809, all that part
of it lying west of the Wabash River, and a line drawn due north
from Vincennes to the British possessions, was organized into a
separate territory, tp be called the "Illinois Territory". Still later,
October 5, 1818, was passed an Act for the admission of the
Illinois Territory as a state into the Federal Union, to be desig-
nated as the "State of Illinois". Such, agreeably to approved
authorities, is the origin of the word Illinois; and such are the
various uses it has served. A great State perpetuates the name,
in memory of a populous and powerful race of redmen, once
living in its borders, but now utterly perished from the earth.

From all accounts, it seems the Illinois Confederation claimed
the extensive county bounded on the east by the ridge that divides
the waters flowing into the Illinois from the streams that drain
into the Wabash, between the headwaters of Saline Creek and a
point as far north on the Illinois as the Desplaines, reaching still
northward to the debatable ground between themselves, the Win-
nebagoes, the Sacs and Foxes, and the Kickapoos; and extending
westward of the Mississippi. Their favorite and most populous
villages were upon the Illinois and its two principal branches, the
Desplaines and the Kankakee.

The area of the original country of the Illinois was soon reduced
by continuous wars with their neighbors. The Sioux (Da-ko-ta)
pressed them from the west; the Sacs and Foxes and Kickapoos,
confederates, encroached upon their territory from the north;
while war parties of the fierce Iroquois, coming from the east,
rapidly decimated their numbers. These destructive influences
were doing their fatal work, and the power of the Illinois was
waning when they first came in contact with the French. Their
sufferings rendered them pliable to the voice of the missionary;
and, in t^eir weakness, they hailed with delight the coming of the
Frenchmen, with his promise of protection assured with gifts of
guns and powder. The Illinois drew so kindly to the priests, the
coureurs des bois, and soldiers that the friendship between the two
races never abated; and when, in the order of events, the sons of
France had departed from Illinois, the love of the natives for the
departed Gaul was handed down as a precious memory to their
children.

The military establishments at Detroit, Mich., and at Starved
Rock, 111.,* for a while checked the incursions of the Iroquois

* Under his letters patent, granted by the king of France to the seigniory
of "The Country of the Illinois," LaSalle [so called after the name of the
landed estate, near Rouen, France, belonging to his family, but whose primalTHE ILLINOIS.

103

and stayed the calamity that was to befall the Illinois. We give
a condensed account of some of these campaigns of the Iroquois
into the Illinois country, as embraced in extracts which are
taken from a Memoir 011 Western Indians, by M. DuChesneau,
Intendent of Canada, and successor to Jean Tallon, dated at
Quebec, September 13, 1681: "To convey a correct idea," says
this French officer, " of the present state of all those Indian
nations it is necessary to explain the cause of the cruel war waged
by the Iroquois for these three years past against the Illinois.
The former are great warriors, can not remain idle, and pretend
to subject all other nations to themselves, and never want a pre-
text for commencing hostilities. The following is their assumed
excuse for the present war: going about twenty years ago to
attack the Foxes, they met the Illinois, and killed a considerable
number of them. This continued during the succeeding years,
and finally having destroyed a great many,, they forced them to
abandon their country and seek refuge in very distant parts. The
Iroquois, having got rid of the Illinois, took no more trouble with
them, but went to war against another nation called the ' An-dosr,
tagues/ [the Eries or Cats, so-called, and who were entirely des-
troyed, by the Iroquois]. Pending this war, the Illinois returned
to their country, and the Iroquois complained that they had killed
forty of their people while on their way to hunt beaver in the
Illinois country. To obtain satisfaction, the Iroquois resolved
to make war upon them. Their true motive, however, was to
gratify the British at 'Ma-nat-te? [New York] and 'Orange'
(Albany], of whom they are too near neighbors, and who, by
means of presents, engaged the Iroquois in this expedition, the
object of which was to force the Illinois to bring their beaver to
them, so that they may go and trade it afterward to the British;
also to intimidate the other Indians, and constrain them to do the
same thing.

name was Rene—Robert Cavelire] erected a fort and trading-post on the
eminence of this rocky height, situated on the south side of, and overlooking,
the Illinois River, some eight miles below Ottawa. The fort was called "Fort
St. Louisin honor of his patron Louis IV, and the place Le Rocher [the
Rock]. The now generally received name of "Starved Rock" is derived from
an alleged starving to death of a party of Indians corraled there by a remorse-
less enemy of besiegers. The occurrence is without authority to support it,
other than several vague (though charming) traditions drawn from the "won-
der-stories " of as many different tribes. One of the most interesting of these,
both in matter and the manner of treating it, is preserved in a paper on " The
Last of the Illinois," from the able pen of Hon. Judge Caton, and published
in Number Three of Fergus' Historical Series.104	ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS.

4'The improper conduct of Sieur de La Salle, governor of Ft,
Frpntenac, has contributed considerably to cause the latter to*
adopt this proceeding; for after he had obtained permission to
d^cover the great river Mississippi, and had, as he alleged, the
grant of the [country of the] Illinois, he no longer observed any
terms with the Iroquois, and avowed that he would convey arms
and ammunition to the Illinois, and would die assisting them.;r
We break the thread of Chesneau's official letter to say to the
reader that it must be remembered that LaSalle was not exempt
from the attacks of that jealousy and envy which is inspired in
the souls of little men toward those who plan and execute great
undertakings. We see this spirit manifested in this letter. La
Salle could not have done otherwise than supply fire-arms to the
Illinois Indians; they were his friends and the owners of the
country, the trade of which he had opened up at great hardship
and expense to himself.

Proceeding with Chesneau's letter: "The Iroquois despatched!
in the month of April, of last year, an army consisting of between
five and six hundred men, who approached an Illinois village
[near the present site of Utica, LaSalle Co., 111.], where Sieur
Henry de Tonty, LaSalle's principal officer, happened to be with
some Frenchmen and two Recollect Fathers [the catholic priests,
Fathers Gabriel Ribourde and Zenobe Membre, whom the Iro-
quois left unharmed]. One of these, a most holy man [Father
Ribourde] has since been killed by the Indians. But they would
listen to no terms.of peace proposed to them by Tonty, who was
slightly wounded at the beginning of the attack; the Illinois,
having fled a hundred leagues, were pursued by the Iroquois, who
killed and captured as many as twelve hundred of them, includ-
ing women and children, having lost only thirty men.* The victory
achieved by the Iroquois rendered them so insolent that they
have continued ever since that time to send out divers war parties.
The success of the last is not yet known, but it is not doubted
they have been successful, because they are very warlike, while
the Illinois are but indifferently so. Indeed, there is no doubt,
and it is the universal-opinion, that if the Iroquois are allowed to-
proceed, they will subdue the Illinois, and in a short time render
themselves masters of all the Ottawa tribes, and direct the trade
to the British, so that it is absolutely essential to make them our
friends or to destroy them."

The building of Fort St. Louis upon the heights of Starved
Rock by LaSalle, in 1682, gave" confidence to the Illinois and.

* In this foray, the Iroquois drove the fugitive Illinois beyond the Mississippi.THE ILLINOIS.	lOf

their scattered remnants who had again returned to their favorite
village. They were followed by bands of Weas, Pi-an-ke-shasj;
and Mi-am-ies, near kinsmen of the Illinois, and by the Shaw-
nees and other tribes of remoter affinity; and soon a cordon of
populous towns arose about the fort. The military forces of
these villages at the colony of LaSalle, in 1684, was estimated
at three thousand six hundred and eighty fighting men, the Illinois
furnishing more than one-third of this number. Thus were the
Iroquois barred out of the country of the Illinois, who, for a season,
enjoyed a respite from their old enemies. The abandonment of
Fort St. Louis as a military post, in 1702, was followed by a dis-
persion of the tribes and fragments of tribes, except at the Illinois
village, where a straggling population retained possession. The
Kaskaskias learning, in the year 1700, that France was making a
military establishment and colony near the mouth of the Missis-
sippi, started thither. They were intercepted on the way, and
persuaded to halt above the mouth of the Ohio, and soon there-
after made themselves a permanent home 011 the banks of a stream
which since then has borne their name, the Kaskaskia.

The Iroquois came no more, having war enough on their hands
nearer home; but the Illinois were constantly harrassed by other
enemies, the Sacs and Foxes, the Kickapoos, and the Pottawato-
mies. Their villages at Starved Rock and at Peoria L&ke were
besieged by the*Foxes in 1722, and a detachment of a hundred
men, commanded by Chevalier de Artaguiette and Sieur de Tisne,
was sent from Fort Chartres to their assistance. The Foxes hav-
ing lost more than a hundred of their men, abandoned the siege
before the reinforcements arrived. "This success [says Charle-
voix, the great French historian] did not, however, prevent the
Illinois, although they had lost only twenty men, with some
women and children, from leaving the Rock and Pim-i-toey
[Peoria Lake] where they were kept in constant alarm, and to
proceeding to unite with those of their brethren [the Kaskaskias]
who had settled upon the Mississippi. This was a stroke of
grace for most of them, the small number of missionaries prevent-
ing their supplying so many towns scattered far apart; but, on
the other side, as there was nothing to check the raids of the
Foxes along the Illinois River, communication between Louisiana
and New France [Canada] became much less practicable."

The next fifteen years show a further decline in their numbers.
In an enumeration of the Indian tribes connected with the Gov-
ernment of Canada, prepared in the year 1736, the name, loca-
tion, and number of fighting-men of the Illinois are set down as
follows: "Mitchigamias, near Fort Chartres, two hundred andIO6	ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS.

fifty; Kaskaskies, six leagues below, one hundred; Peorias,
and the Rock, fifty; the Cahokias and Tamarois, two hun-
dred;" making a total of six hundred warriors. The killing
of Pontiac, some thirty years later, at Cahokia, whither he had
retired after the failure of his bold efforts to rescue the country
from the British, was laid upon the Illinois, a charge which,
whether true or false, hastened their destruction. In an official
letter to the secretary of war, of date March 22, 1814, Gen. Wm.
H. Harrison says, "When I was first appointed governor of the
Indiana Territory [May, 1800}, these once powerful tribes were
reduced to about thirty warriors, of whom twenty-five were Kas-
kaskias, four Peorias, and a single Mitchigamian. A furious war
between them and the Sacs and Kickapoos reduced them to that
miserable remnant which had taken refuge among the white peo-
ple in the towns of Kaskaskia and St. Genieve." Since 1800, by
successive treaties, they ceded their lands to the United States,
and were removed to reservations, lying southwest of Kansas
City, where, in 1872, they had dwindled to forty persons—men,
women, and children, all told.

Thus have wasted away the original occupants of the larger
part of Illinois, and portions of Iowa and Missouri. In their
single village near Starved Rock, says Father Membre, who was
there in 1680, "there were seven or eight thousand souls;" and,
in 1684, their warriors were set down at twelve hundred. In the
days of their power, they nearly exterminated the Win-ne-ba-goes.
Their war-parties penetrated the towns of the Iroquois in the
valleys of the Mohawk and the Genesee. They took the Mitchi-
gamies under their protection, giving them security against ene-
mies with whom they were unable to contend. They assisted
the French in their wars against the Cherokees and the Chicka-
saws; and in the bitter struggle between the American colonies
and the mother country on the one side, and Canada and France
on the other, the Illinois tribes gave bountifully of their braves,
who fought heroicly and to the last in the loosing cause of their
Father O-ni-to [the king], across the great water.

This people who had dominated over surrounding tribes, claim-
ing for themselves the name of Illini or Linneway, to distinguish
their superior manhood, have disappeared from the earth; another
race, representing a higher civilization, occupy their former do-
mains; and, already, even the origin of their name and the places
of their villages have become the subjects of antiquarian research.THE MIAMIS.

IO7

THE MIAMIS.

THE people known to us as the Miamis formerly lived beyond
the Mississippi. Their migration from thence eastward
through Wisconsin, Northern Illinois, around the southern bend
of Lake Michigan to Detroit, thence up the Maumee, and down
the Wabash, and eastward through Indiana into Ohio, as far as
the Great Miami, can be followed through the writings of officers,
missionaries, and travelers connected with the French. Referring
to the mixed village of Mascoutins and others upon Fox River,
near its mouth, in Wisconsin, Father Claude Dablon, who was
there in 1670, says the village "is joined in the circle of the same
barriers of another people named Ou-mi-a-mi, which is one of the
Illinois nations, which is, as it were, dismembered from the others,
in order to dwell in these quarters." "It is beyond this great
river [the Mississippi, of which the father had been speaking in
the paragraph preceding that quoted] that are placed the Illinois
of whom we speak, and from whom are detached those who dwell
here with the Five Nations [Mascoutins, or Kickapoos] to form
here a transplanted colony."

From these quotations, there remains little doubt but that the
Miamis were a branch of the great Ill-i-ni. This theory is not
only declared by all French authorities, but is sustained by many
British and American writers, among the latter of whom may be
named Gen. Wm. H. Harrison, whose long acquaintance and
official relations with the Northwestern Indians, especially the sev-
eral sub-divisions of the Miami and Illinois tribes, gave him
opportunities of which he availed himself to acquire an intimate
knowledge concerning them. He says, "Although the language,
manners, and customs of the Kaskaskias make it sufficiently cer-
tain that they derive their origin from the same source with the
Miamis; the connection had been dissolved before the French
had penetrated from Canada to the Mississippi." This assertion
of Gen. Harrison that the tribal relations between the Illinois and
Miamis had been. broken prior to the exploration of the Missis-
sippi Valley is sustained with great unanimity by all other authori-
ties, and is illustrated in the long and disastrous wars waged upon
the Illinois by the Iroquois, Sacs and Foxes, Kickapoos, and other
enemies, in which there is no instance given where the Miamis
ever offered assistance to their ancient kinsmen; on the contrary,
they often lifted the bloody hatchet against them.

The Miami confederation was subdivided into four principal
bands, since known under the name of Miamis, Eel-Rivers, Weas,ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS.

and Piankeshaws. French writers, and some of the colonial
traders, have given names of two or three other subdivisions ot
the bands named; their identity, however, can not be clearly
traced, and they figure so little in the accounts which we have of
the Miamis that it is not necessary to specify their obsolete names,
The Miamis, proper, have by different writers been called "Ou-
mi-a-mi", "Ou-mi-am~wek", "Mau-mees", "Au-mi-am-i'7 (which
has been contracted to Au-mi and to "O-mee"), and "Min-e-
am-i". The Weas, whose name more properly is "We-we-hah",
is called "8y-a-ta-nous", "Oui-at-a-nons", and "Ou-i-as" by the
French, and in whose orthography the "8y" and "Ou" are equiv-
alent in sound nearly to the letter of the English W. The British
and colonial officers and traders spelled the word "Oui-ca-ta-non;;,
" Way-ough-ta-nies", " Waw i-ach-tens'', and "We-hahs". The
name Piankeshaws, in early accounts, figure as "Pou-an-ke-ki-as",
"Pe-an-gui-chias", "Pi-an-gui-shaws", "Py-an-ke-shaws", and "Pi-
an-qui-shawsThe Miami tribes were known to the Iroquois of
New York as the Twigh-twees, a name generally used by the
British as well as by the American colonists when referring to any
of the Miami tribes.

In the year 1684, at LaSalle's Colony, at Starved Rock, the
Miamis had populous villages, where the Miamis, proper, counted
thirteen hundred warriors, the Weas five hundred, and the Pian-
keshaw band one hundred and fifty. At a later day,. 1718, the
Weas had a village "at Chicago, but, being afraid of the canoe-
people [the Chippeways and Pottawatomies], left it, and passing
around the head of Lake Michigan to be nearer their brethren'
farther to the east/'5 Father Charlevoix, writing from this vicinity,
in 1721, says: '4Fifty years ago, the Miamis [/. e. the Wea band]
were settled on the southern extremity of Lake Michigan, in a
place called Chicago, from the name of a small river which runs
into the lake, the source of which is not far distant from that of
the river of the Illinois [meaning the Desplaines, which is the
name by which it was often called in French authorities]. They
are at present divided into three villages, one of which stands on
.River St. Joseph, the second on another river [the Maumee] which
bears their name and runs into Lake Erie, and a third upon the
River Ouabache, which empties its w|f|$rs into the Mississippi.
The last are better known by the appellation of Ouyatanons." In
1694, the governor of New France, in a conference with the
Western Indians, requested the Miamis of the Pe-pe-ko-kia band
who resided upon the Maramek [Kalamazoo River, in Michigan]
to remove and join their tribe located on the St. Joseph of Lake
Michigan; the governor giving it as his reason that he wished theTHE MIAMIS.

109

several Miami bands to unite, "so as to be able to execute with
greater facility the commands which he might issue."- At that
time the Iroquois were making war upon Canada, and the French
were trying to induce the western tribes to take up the tomahawk
in their behalf. The Miamis promised to comply with the gov-
ernor's wishes; and "late in August, 1696, they started to join
their brethren on the St. Joseph. On their way they were attacked
by the Sioux, and lost several men. The Miamis of the St. Joseph
learning this hostility, resolved to avenge their slaughter. They
pursued the Sioux to their own country, and found them entrenched
in a fort with some Frenchmen of the. class known as conreurs des
bois [bush-lopers.] They nevertheless attacked them repeatedly,
but were repulsed and were compelled to retire after losing several
of their braves. On their way home, meeting other Frenchmen
carrying arms and ammunition to the Sioux, they seized all they
had, but did them no harm."

The Miamis were greatly enraged with the French for supply-
ing the 'Sioux with fire-arms. It took all the address of Gov.
Frontenac to persuade them from joining the Iroquois. Indeed,
they seized Nicolas Perrot, the French trader, who had been com-
missioned to lead the Maramek band to the River St. Joseph, and
would have burned him alive had it not been for the intercession
of the Foxes in his behalf. This was the beginning of an aliena-
tion of kindly feeling of the Miamis toward the French, which
was never restored; and from this period, the movements of the
tribe were observed by the French with jealous suspicion.

The country of the Miamis extended west to the watershed
between the Illinois and Wabash Rivers, which separated their
possessions from those of their brethren, the Illinois. On the
north were the Pottawatomies, who were slowly but persistently
pushing their line southward through Wisconsin and around the
west shore of Lake Michigan, as we shall see when coming to
treat of them in a subsequent chapter.

Unlike the Illinois, the Miamis held their own until placed on
an equal footing with tribes eastward of them, by obtaining pos-
session of fire-arms. Their superior numbers and bravery enabled
them to extend the limits of their hunting-grounds eastward into
Ohio, far within the territory claimed by the Iroquois; and says
Gov. Harrison, they "were the undoubted proprietors of all that
beautiful country watered by the Wabash and its tributaries, and
there remains as little doubt that their claim extended as far east
as the Scioto." With implements of civilized warfare in their
hands, they maintained their tribal integrity and independence;
and they traded with and fought against the French, British, and110

ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS.

Americans by turns, as their interests or passions inclined; and
madp peace with or declared war against other nations of their
own race as policy or caprice moved them. More than once they
compelled the arrogant Iroquois to beg from the governors of the
American colonies that protection which they themselves had
failed to secure by their own prowess. Bold, independent, and
flushed with success, the Miamis afforded a poor field for mission-
ary work, and the Jesuit Relations and pastoral letters of the
French priesthood have less to say of the Miamis than of any
other westward tribe, the Kickapoos alone excepted. Referring
to their military powers, Gen. Harrison says of them that, "saving
the ten years preceding the Treaty of Greenville [1795], the
Miamis alone could have brought more than three thousand war-
riors in the field: that they composed a body of the finest light
troops in the world, and had they been under an efficient system
of discipline, or possessed enterprise equal to their valor, the
settlement of the country would have been attended with much
more difficulty than was encountered in accomplishing it and their
final subjugation would have for years been delayed. But con-
stant wars with our frontier had deprived them of many of their
warriors, the ravages of the small-pox, however, was the principal
cause of the great decrease in their numbers."

It was only the Piankeshaw band of the Miamis, however, that
occupied portions of Illinois subsequent to the dispersion of La
Salle's colony about Starved Rock. The principal villages of the
latter were upon the Vermilion River, and at and in the vicinity
of Vincennes, Ind.

Their territory extended eastward to the Ohio River and west-
ward to the ridge that divides the waters flowing respectively into
the Kaskaskia and the Wabash. They were found by French
officers in populous towns upon the Vermilion as early as 1718;
later, they pushed the degenerating Illinois band's to the vicinity
of Kaskaskia and neighboring villages, and hunted and dominated
over the territory to the Mississippi, as high up, nearly, as the
mouth of the Illinois.

After the conquest of the Northwest Territory by the colonies
and the mother country, and the subsequent overthrow of Pontiac,
the British Government sent out George Croghan to obtain the
consent of the Indians to the occupation of Kaskaskia and other
forts erected by the French in the western country. Croghan was
captured by a war-party of Kickapoos, near the mouth of the
Wabash, and taken prisoner to Vincennes; from thence he came
overland, following the Great Trail leading to Detroit, through
the prairies, along the crest of the dividing ridge before named,.THE MIAMIS.

Ill

crossing the Vermilion River west of Danville. He describes
that part of the hunting-ground of the Piankeshaws between Vin-
cennes and the Vermilion of the Wabash. That the reader may-
know how the Illinois country appeared to an .eye-witness in 1765.
who wrote down his observations at the time, we quote the fol-
lowing extracts from Col. Croghan's daily journal, of June 18th to
the 22d, inclusive:

"We traveled through a prodigious large meadow [prairie] called
the Piankeshaw's hunting-ground. Here is no wood to be seen,
and the country appears like an ocean. The ground is exceed-
ingly rich and partially overgrown with wild hemp. The land is
well watered and full of buffalo, deer, bears, and all kinds of wild
game. * * * We passed through some very large meadows,
part of which belongs to the Piankeshaws on the Vermilion River.
The country and soil were much the same as that we traveled over
for these three days past. Wild hemp grows here in abundance.
Game is very plenty. At any time, in a half an hour, we could
kill as much as we wanted.* * * We passed through a part
of the same meadow mentioned yesterday; then came to a high
woodland, and arrived at Vermilion River, so called from a fine
red earth found there by the Indians, with which they paint them-
selves. About a half of a mile from where we crossed this river is
a village of Piankeshaws, distinguished by the addition of name
of the river." ?

Next to the Illinois, the Piankeshaws were the most peacefully
inclined toward the whites. Early intermarriages of their daugh-
ters with French traders, at Vincennes, and elsewhere, and with
whom this tribe lived on terms of social equality, begat a genera-
tion that united them all in a common interest. It was, therefore,
that General Clark, in his conquest of the Illinois country, found
little trouble in. transferring this friendliness of the Piankeshaws
at Vincennes and the Vermilion towns to the American cause,
the same as he had previously done at Kaskaskia and the neigh-
boring mixed French and Indian villages upon the Mississippi.
The Piankeshaws, barring individual exceptions, took no part in
those bloody wars against the whites that followed the Revolution-
ary struggle. It was not they, but war-parties of the Kickapoos,
Pottawatomies, and other northwestern tribes that terrorized over

* There must have been more than one hundred persons in this cortege to
provide food for; as the party alone by whom Croghan and his associates
were captured, numbered eighty warriors. Hence, it would require a good
deal of meat, doubtless their only means of sustinance, to supply their daily
wants.112

ILLINOIS, AND INDIANA INDIANS.

the white settlements, crystalizing along the Ohio, the Wabash,
and their tributaries, and in southwestern Illinois. In the retalia-
tory raids of the Americans into the Indian territory, the innocent
Piankeshaws often suffered avenging blows that should have fallen
upon the guilty ones. The pioneer, burning with a sense of his
wrongs, only considered that all redskins were Indians, and,
without stopping to inquire whether they were of a friendly tribe
or not, remorselessly slew upon sight any one of them whom he
discovered. This state of affairs grew so bad that the Pianke-
shaws appealed. to the Government, and General Washington
issued his proclamation, especially forbidding the Piankeshaws
from being harmed by the white people.

The capital of the Miami tribe, from earliest times, was at Ft.
Wayne. As far back as the year 1700 they were there, and shortly
before had assisted Canadians in making the "Portage"—the land
carriage from the St. Marys across to Little River, a tributary of
the Wabash. The near proximity of the headwaters of the Mau-
mee, flowing eastwardly into Lake Erie, and Little River and the
Wabash, flowing westward and south into the Mississippi, gave
great importance to this Portage, making it the key to and giving
it control of the communication between the vast area of country
lying upon either side. The Miamis well knew this, and held
possession until forced, at last, to yield it to the United States, in
1795,' by the terms of the treaty at Greenville. At that treaty,
Little Turtle, the great orator of the Miamis, protesting against
its surrender, said: "-Elder brother [meaning Gen. Wayne], when
our forefathers saw the French and the English at the Miami vil-
lage [as Ft. Wayne was then known], that glorious gate which your
younger brothers [the Miamis] had the happiness to own, and
through which all the good words of our chiefs had to pass [that
is, messages between the several tribes], from north to south, and
east to west, the French and the English never told us they wished
to purchase our lands from us." "The next place you pointed
out to us was the Little River, and said you wanted two miles
square at that place. This is a request that our fathers, the French
or British, never made of us; it was always ours. This carrying
place has heretofore proved, in a great degree, the subsistence of
your brothers. That place has brought us, in the course of one
day, the amount of twelve hundred dollars. Let us both own
this place, and enjoy in common the advantages it affords." Gen.
Wayne was inexorable; ancj, by the terms of the treaty, a piece
of land six miles square, near the confluence of the Rivers St.
Marys and St. Joseph, at Ft. Wayne, and a piece two miles square
at the confluence of Little River with the Wabash, was ceded to
the United States.THE MIAMIS.

113

The Miamis at Ft. Wayne were regarded as the senior band of
the tribe, from their superior intelligence and numbers;9and to
whom the other bands, except the Piankeshaws, at a later day,
deferred in all matters of peace or war or affairs affecting the
common interests of the tribe. The other branches of the great
Miami family had extensive villages and cultivated fields on the
Mississineway, near and above Peru, Indiana; along Eel River,
near Logansport and above; upon the Wea plains, below Lafay-
ette; upon Sugar Creek; and upon the beautiful prairie strip in
the neighborhood of Terre Haute.

Subsequent to the Treaty of Greenville, their demoralization
was rapid in its progress and terrible in its consequences. So
much so, that when the Baptist missionary, the Rev. Isaac McCoy,
was among them between the years 1817 and 1822, and drawing
his conclusions from his own observation, he declared that the
Miamis were not a warlike people. At the villages on Sugar
Creek, Eel River, and the Mississineway, and particularly at Ft.
Wayne, it was a continuous round of drunken debauchery when-
ever whisky could be obtained, of which men, women, and chil-
dren partook alike; and life was often sacrificed in personal broils,
or by exposure of the debauchees to the inclemency of the
weather.

By treaties, entered into at various times from 1795 to 1845,
the Miamis ceded their lands in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and
removed west of the Mississippi; going in villages or by detach-
ments from time to time. In 1838, at a single cession, they sold
the U. S. Government 177,000 acres of land in Indiana, which
was only a fragment of their former possessions, still retaining
large tracts. Thus they alienated their heritage piece by piece to
make room for the incoming white population, while they gradu-
ally disappeared from the valleys of the Wabash and Maumee.
Few of them clung to their reservations, adapted themselves to
the ways of the Americans, and their descendants are now to be
met with in or about the cities that have sprung up in the locali-
ties named. The money received from the sales of their lands
proved a calamity, as the proceeds were wasted for whisky.

The* last of the Miamis to go westward was the Mississineway
band. This remnant, comprising in all about 350 persons, in
charge of Christmas Dazney,* left their old homes, where many of

* His name was also spelled Dazney, DaShney, and Daynett, the latter
being the French orthography. He was born Dec. 25, I799> at the so-called
"Lower Wea Village", or "Old Orchard Town", or "We-au-ta-no[The
Rising Sun], within the southern suburbs of the present City of Terre Haute,
8114

ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS.

them had farm houses and had made considerable progress in
agriculture, in the. fall of 1846, going to Cincinnati. Here they
were placed on a steamboat, taken down the Ohio, up the Missis-
sippi and Missouri, and landed, late in the season, at Westport,,
near Kansas City. Ragged men and nearly naked women and

Ind. His father, Ambroise Dagney, was a native Frenchman, of Kaskaskia,
and servpd throughout the Tippecanoe campaign, in Capt. Scott's Company
of Militia, raised at Vincennes. He received a severe flesh wound at the
battle near the Prophet's T(jwn; lived for many years with his daughter,.
Mary Cott, formerly Mary Shields, on a reservation secured to her by the
Treaty of St. Mary's, Oct. 2, 1818, and situated at the ancient Indian village
near the "Vermilion Salines", some four miles west of Danville, 111., where
he died and was buried, in 1848. He was well known to the early citizens
of Danville, and of the Wabash Valley from Danville to Vincennes. Upon
all convivial occasions, which were by no means infrequent, he. indulged his.
fondness for telling over the many thrilling incidents and dangerous experi-
ences of his wild nomadic life, as hunter, trapper, boatsman, guide, and
soldier. He boasted the fact of a personal acquaintance with Gov. Harrison,
whose memory he held in the highest esteem; and anathematized with volu-
at>le profanity, all " bad Ingunsas he called those who were unfriendly to
the whites.

Ambroise Dagney's wife—the only one he ever had, and the mother of
Christmas Dagney and Mary Cott, was Me-chin-quam-e-sha, [The Beautiful
Shade Tree], a sister of Jocco, or Jack-ke-kee-kah, [The Tall Oak], head
chief of the Wea Band of Miamis, whose old and principal village was
the one we have named near Terre Haute. Later, this band went higher
up the Wabash to a secondary village near the mouth of Sugar Creek.

Under the instruction of Catholic teachers, the son, Christmas Dagnay re-
ceived a good education. He spoke the English and French languages with
great fluency, and was master of the dialects of the several Indiana and Illi-
nois Indians. He served for many years at Fort Harrison [on the east bank
of the Wabash, near and above Terre H^ute], and elsewhere, as Government
'interpreter and Indian agent, filling these various (positions of confidence and
trust efficiently and honestly.* Feb. 16, 181^ he was married to Mary Ann
Isaacs, an educated Christian woman, of the Brothertown, N.Y. [Mohegan]
Indians, whose acquaintance he had made while she was spending a few
weeks on a visit at the Mission House of Rev. Isaac McCcy, then situated on
Raccoon Creek, near Rosedale, Park Co., Ind. Mr. McCoy performed the
marriage ceremony, as he says, "in the presence of our Indian neighbors,
who were invited to attend; and we had the happiness to have twenty-three
of the natives partake of a meal prepared for the occasion.w

Christmas Dagney died in 1848, at Cold Water Grove, Kansas, and his
widow subsequently married] Baptiste Peoria, mentioned *in a note further on.THE MIAMIS.

115

children, forming a motley group, were huddled upon the shore
of a strange land, without food or friends to relieve their wants
and exposed to the bitter December winds that blew from the
chilly plains of Kansas.

From Westport the Mississineways were conducted to a place
near the present village of Lewisburg, Kansas, in the county since
named Miami. They suffered greatly and nearly one-third of
their number died the first year. Mrs. Mary Babtiste Peoria, then
wife of Christmas Dazney, the agent having these unfortunate
people in charge, and who accompanied her husband in this work,
stated to the writer "that strong men would actually cry when
they thought about their old homes in Indiana, to which many of
them would make journeys bare-footed, begging their way and
submitting to the imprecations hurled upon them from the door
of the white man as they asked for a crust of bread. I saw
fathers and mothers give their little children away to others of the
tribe for adoption, and then singing their funeral songs and join-
ing in the solemn dance of death. Afterward go calmly away
from the assemblage, never again to be seen alive."

In 1670, the Jesuit father, Claude Dablon, introduces to our
notice the Miamis at the village of Maskoutench; where, as we
have already shown, the chief was surrounded by his officers of
state in all the routine of barbaric display, to whom the natives
of other tribes paid the greatest deference. Advancing eastward,
in the rear line of their valorous warriors, the Miamis pushed
their villages through Illinois into Michigan and Indiana, and as
far into Ohio as the river still bearing their name. Coming in
collision with the French, the British, and the Americans; reduced
by constant wars; and decimated, more than all, by vices con-
tracted by intercourse with a superior race, whose virtues they
failed to emulate, they make a westward turn; and having in the
progress of time described the round of a most singular journey,
we at last behold the miserable remnant on the same side of the
Mississippi from whence their warlike progenitors had come nearly
two centuries before.

The Wea and Piankeshaw band had preceded the Mississine-
way to the westward; they too had become reduced to about two
hundred and fifty persons. They, with the Miamis and remain-
ing fragments of the Kaskaskias, the latter containing under that
name what yet remained of the several subdivisions of the old
Illini confederacy, were collected by Baptiste Peoria and consoli-
dated under the title of The Confederated Tribes.* This little

* This remarkable man was the son of a daughter of a sub-chief of the116	ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS.

confederation sold out their reservations in Miami County, Kan-
sas, and retired to a tract of reduced dimensions within the Indian

Peoria Tribe, and was born, according to the best information, in 1793, near
the confluence of the Kankakee and Maple, as the DesPlaines River was
called by the Illinois Indians. His reputed father's name was Baptiste, a
French Canadian and trader, among the Peoria Band. Young Peoria was
called Batticy, by his mother; later in life, he was known as Baptise "the
Peoria", and finally, as Baptiste Peoria. The people of his tribe gave the
name a liquid sound, pronouncing the name as if it were spelled Paola. The
county-seat of Miami Co., Kansas, is named after him. He was a man of
large stature, and possessed of great strength, activity, and courage; and, like
Keokuk, the great chief of the Sac-and-Fox Indians, a fearless and expert
horseman. Having a ready command of the French and English languages,
and being familiar, as well, with the several dialects of the Pottawatomies,
Shawnees, Delawares, Miamis, Illinois, and Kickapoos; these qualifications
as a linguist soon brought him into prominence among the Indians, while his
known integrity as readily commended his services to the United States.
From the year 1821 to 1838, he was employed in assisting the removal of the
above tribes from Indiana and Illinois to their respective reservations west-
ward of the Missouri. His duties in these relations brought him in contact
with many of the early settlers on the Illinois, the Kaskaskia, and the Wa-
bash Rivers and their constituent streams. He represented his tribe at the
Treaty of Edwardsville, 111., September 25, 1818. By this treaty, at which
there were present representatives from each of the five Tribes comprising the
Illinois or Illini nation, it appears that for a period of years anterior to that
time, the Peoria band had lived and were then living separate and apart from
the others.

Baptiste Peoria was in the service of the General Government for nearly
thirty years, in the Indian Department; and in 1867, became head chief of
the consolidated Miami and Illinois tribes, and went with them to their newly-
assigned reservation in the north-east part of the Indian Territory, where he
died at an advanced age, Sept. 13, 1873. Some years before, he married
Mrs. Mary Dagney, widow of Christmas Dagney, and to this lady is the author
indebted for copies of the "Western Spirit", and the "Fort Scott Monitor",
newspapers published at Paola and Ft. Scott, Kansas, respectively, containing
biographical sketches and obituary notices of her late husband, from which
this note has, in the main, been collated.

It may well be said that Baptiste was "The Last of the Peorias". By
precept and example he spent the better portion of a busy life in persistent,
efforts to save the fragment of the Illinois and Miamis by encouraging them
to adopt the ways of civilized life. His widow, Mary Baptiste, nee Dagney,
survives,-and is living in her elegant homestead at Paoli, Kansas, in com-
ortable circumstances.THE MIAMIS.

117

Territory. Since this last change of location, in 1867, they have
made but little progress toward a- higher civilization. Those that
remain of the once numerous Illini and Miami tribes are now
reduced to less than two hundred persons, and for the most part
are a listless, idle people, possessing none of the spirit that had
inspired the breasts of their ancestors.

THE KICKAPOOS.

The Kickapoos and Mascoutins are treated here as but one
tribe, for the difference between them was only nominal at best.'
The name is found written in French authorities as "Kic-a-
poux", "Kick-a-pous"Kik-a-poux", "Kik-a-bou", "Quick-a-
pous", and "Kick-a-pous". Some authors claim the name to
have been derived from the Algonquin word Nee-gig [the otter,
or the spirit of an otter]. Prof. Henry R. Schoolcraft, a recog-
nized authority on the ethnology of the northwestern tribes,
alluding to the Kickapoos,..says, they are "an erratic race, who,
under various names, in connection with the Sacs and Foxes,
have, ill good keeping with one of their many names, which is
said, by one interpretation, to mean 'Rabbits-Ghost' [Wah-
boos, with little variation in dialect, being the word for rabbit],
skipped over half the continent, to the manifest discomfort of
both German and American philologists and ethnographers, who,
in searching for the so-called 'Mascontens', have followed, so far
as their results are concerned, an ignis fatuns

This tribe has been long connected with the history of the
Northwest, in which they acquired great notoriety, as well for
the wrars in which they were engaged with other tribes, as for
their presistent hostility to the white race throughout a period of
nearly one hundred and fifty years. They are first noticed by
the French explorer, Samuel Champlain, who, in 1612, discovered
the "Mascoutins residing near the place called Sak-in-am",—-.or,
rather, Sac-e-nong, meaning, in Chippeway, the country of the
Sacs, which, at this time, comprised that part of the State of
Michigan, lying between the head of Lake Erie and Saginaw
Bay, on Lake Huron. In 1669-70, as seen in an extract from
Father Allouez, quoted in the chapter relating to the Miamis,
the Kickapoos and Mascoutins were found in connection with
the Miamis, near the mouth of Fox River, Wisconsin. In the
same letter, Father Allouez says that "four leagues from thisI 18	ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS.

mixed village are the Kickabou, who speak the same language
with the Mascoutench".*

This people were not pliant material in the hands of the mis-
sionaries. In fact, they appear to have acquired early notoriety
in history by seizing Father Gabriel Ribourde as he was walking
near the banks of the Illinois River, absorbed in religious medi-
tation, and whom they "carried away, and broke his head", as
Henry de Tonti quaintly expresses it, in referring to this ruthless
murder. Again, in 1728, as Father Ignatius Guignas, compelled
to abandon his mission among the Sioux, 011 account of a victory
which the Foxes had obtained over the French, was attempting
to reach the Illinois, he, too, fell into the hands of the Kicka-
poos and Mascoutens, and for five months was held a captive,
and constantly exposed to death. During this time he was con-
demned to be burned, and was only saved through the kindly
intervention of an old man in the tribe, who adopted him as a
son. While a prisoner, his brother missionaries of the Illinois
relieved his necessities by sending timely supplies, which/Father

* The Mascoutins, in the works of French authors, appear as "Mascou-
tench", "Mackkoutench", " Machkouteng", " Masqutins", and "Maskou-
teins ". English and American called them " Masquattimies ", " Mascoutins
"Musquitons", "Musquitos", a corruption used by American colonial traders,
and "Meaows", which was the English synonym for the French word prairie,
before the latter had become naturalized into the English language.

The derivation of the name was a subject of discussion among the early
French missionaries. Father Marquette, with some others who followed the
Huron Indian rendition of it, says, "Maskoutens in Algonquin may mean
Fire Nation", and this is the "name given them"; while Fathers Allouez
and Charlevoix (whose opportunities to know were better), together with the
still more recent American authors, claims that the word signifies a prairie or
"a land bare of trees". The Ojebway word for prairie is " Mush-koo-da".
Bands of the same tribe on the upper Mississippi, on the authority of Dr.
James, call it Mtis-ko-tici. Its derivitive or root is Ish-koo-ta, skoutay, or
scote (ethnologists differ as to its orthography), and which is the algonquin
word for fire. The great plains westward of the Wabash and the lakes, was
truly " a land barren of trees", kept so by the annually recurring fires that
swept over through the tall grass in billows of flame and smoke; and this dis-
tinguishing feature is aptly preserved in the name the Indians gave it. Major
Forsyth, long a trader at Peoria, in his manuscript account of the Indian
tribes of his acquaintance, quoted by Dr. Drake in his Life of Black Hawk,
says, "The Mascos or Mascoutins were, by French traders of a more recent
day, called gens des prairies [men of the prairie], and lived and hunted on
the great prairies between the Wabash and Illinois Rivers".THE KICKAPOOS.

119

Guignas used to gain over the good will of his captors. Having
induced them to.make peace, he was taken to one of the Illinois
missions, where he was suffered to remain or parole until Nov.,
1729, when his captors returned and took him back to their own
country; since which it seems nothing has ever been heard of
him.

The Kickapoos early incurred the displeasure of the French
by depredations south of Detroit. In 1712, a band of them,
living in a village near the mouth of the Maumee River, in com-
pany with about thirty Mascoutens, were about to make war
upon the French Post at Detroit. They took prisoner one Lang-
lois, a messenger, on his return from the Miami country, whither
lie was bringing many letters from the Jesuit fathers of the se'v-
eral Illinois villages, as well, also, despatches from Louisiana.
The mauraders destroyed the letters and despatches, which gave
much uneasiness to M. Du Boisson, commandant at Detroit.
As a result of this act, a canoe, laden with Kickapoos on their
way to the villages near Detroit, was captured by the Hufbns
and Ottawas, residing near by, and who were allies of the French.
Among the slain was the principal Kickapoo chief, whose head,
with three others of the same tribe, were brought to Du Boisson,
who informs us "that the Hurons and Ottawas committed this
act for the alleged reason, that the previous winter the Kicka-
poos had taken some of the Hurons and Iroquois prisoners, and
also because they had considered the Kickapoo chief a "true
Outtagamis"; that is, they regarded him as one of the Fox nation.

From the village of .Machkoutench, on Fox River, Wis., the
Kickapoos seemed to have passed to the south, extending their
right flank in the direction of Rock River, and their left toward
the southern trend of Lake Michigan. Prior to 1718, they had
villages on Rock River and in the vicinity of Chicago. Indeed,
Rock River appears as Kickapoo River on cotemporaneous
French maps.

In 1712, the Mascoutins entered the plot formed for the cap-
ture of the post of Detroit; their associates repaired to the
neighborhood, and, whereas they were awaiting the arrival of the
Kickapoos, they were attacked by a confederation of Indians,
who were friendly to the French and had hastened to the relief
of the garrison. The destruction that followed this attempt
against Detroit, was, perhaps, one of the most remorseless, in
which white men fcfok a part, #of which we have an account in
the annals of Indian warfare. The French '.nd Indian forces,
after protracted efforts, compelled the enemy/to abandon their
position and flee to Presque Isle, opposite Hog Island, near120	ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS.

Lake St. Clair, some distance above the fort. Here they held
out for four days; their women and children, in the meantime,,
actually starving, numbers of whom were dying every day from
hunger. Messengers were sent to the French commander, beg-
ging for quarter, and offering to surrender at discretion, only
craving that the remaining survivors might be spared the horrors
of a general massacre. Perpetual servitude as the slaves of vic-
tors; anything rather than a wholesale destruction. The Indian
allies of the French would listen to no terms. "At the end of
fourth day", says the French commander, "after fighting with
much courage, and not being able to resist further the Muscotins
surrendered at discretion to our people, who gave them no quar-
ter. Our Indians lost sixty men, killed and wounded. The
enemy lost a thousand souls—-men, women, and children. All
our allies returned to our fort [at Detroit] with their slaves [cap-
tives], and their amusement was to shoot four or five of them
every day. The Hurons did not spare a single one of theirs".

From references given, it is apparent that this people, like the
Miamis and Pottawatomies, were progressing south and eastward.
This movement was probably caused by the Sioux, whose fierce
warriors were pressing them from the northwest. As early as
1695, the Foxes, with the Kickapoos and ]V^scoutins, were
meditating a migratioij toward the Wabash as a place of security.
From an official document sent from Quebec, relating to the
occurrences in Canada during that year, the department at Paris
is advised "that the Sioux, who have mustered some two thou-
sand warriors for the purpose, would come in large numbers and
seize their village. This has caused the Outagamies to quit their
country and disperse themselves for a season, and afterward to
return and save their harvest. They are then to retire toward
the Wabash and form a settlement so much the more permanent,
as they will be removed from the incursions of the Sioux, &nd in
a position to easily effect a junction with the Iroquois and Eng-
lish, without the French being able to present it. Should this
project be realized, it is very apparent that the Mascotins and
the Kickapoos will be of the party, and that the three tribes,
forming a new village of fourteen or fifteen hundred men, would
experience no difficulty in considerably increasing it by attracting
other nations thither, which would be of most pernicious con-
sequences7* That the Mascoutins, at least, did go soon after
this toward the lower Wabash, is shown by the fact of their
presence about Juchereau's trading-post, which erected near the
mouth of the Ohio, in the year 1700. It is questionable, how-
ever, if either the Foxes or Kickapoos followed the MuscoutinsTHE KICKAPOOS.

121

to the Wabash country, and it is evident that the Mascoutins, Wild
survived the epidemic that broke out among them while at
Juchereau's post, returned to the north. The French having
effected a conciliation with the Sioux, we find that, for a number
of years subsequent to 1705, the Mascoutins were again back
among their affinities, the Foxes and Kickapoos upon their com-
mon hunting grounds in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.

Later, and by progressive approaches, the Kickapoos worked
further southward, and established themselves in the territory
lying between the Illinois and Wabash Rivers, and south of the
Kankakee. This migration was not accomplished without oppo-
sition and blood shed in punishing the Piankeshaws east and
south to the Wabash, and the Illinois tribes south and west upon
the lower waters of the Kaskaskia. We are without authentic
data as to the period of the time when this conquest was con-
sumated. At the treaty, ocncluded at .Edwardsville, 111., July 30,
1819, between- Augusta Chouteau and Benjamin Stephenson,
commissioners on the part of the United States, and the prin-
cipal chiefs and warriers of the Kickapoo tribe, the latter ceded
the following lands, residue of their domain until then undis-
posed of, viz.: "Beginning on the Wabash, at the upper point of
their cession made by the second Article of their Treaty at Vin-
cennes, on the 9th day of December, 1809;* running thence
northwestwardly to the dividing line between the State of Illinois
and Indiana; thence north along said line to the Kankakee;
thence with said river to the Illinois River; thence down the
latter to its mouth; thence with a direct line to the northwest cor-
ner of the Vincennes tract, as recognized in the Treaty with the
Piankashaw tribe of Indians at Vincennes, on the 30th day of
December, 1805;+ and thence with the western and northern

* The beginning point here referred to is "on the Wabash", at the mouth
of the Big Vermilion River. By previous cessions it appears that the
acknowledged territory of the Kickapoos extended down the Wabash nearly
as far as Vincennes. Vide 9th Article of the Treaty of September 30, 1809,
concluded at Ft. Wayne, between the United States and the Delewares, Pot-
tawatomies, Miamis, and Eel River tribes; Treaty of Vincennes of Dec. 9,
1809, between the United States and the Kickapoos.

+ The boundaries of "the Vincennes tract" were settled by the terms of the
treaty at Ft. Wayne, July 7^ 1803, between Gov. Harrison of the Indiana
Territory (which, at that time, embraced all of the present States of Michigan,
Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin), and the several Deleware, Shawnee, Pot-
tawatomie, Miami, Eel River, Wea, Piankeshaw, Kickapoo, and Kaskaskia
tribes within his jurisdiction. The first Article of this treaty also explains122

ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS.

boundaries of the cessions heretofore made by the said Kickapoo
tribe of Indians,* to the beginning. Of which last described tract
of land, the said Kickapoo tribe claim a large portion by descent
from their ancestors, and the balance by conquest from the Illinois
nation, and uninterrupted possession for more than half a century
The claim of the Kickapoos to the country referred to does not
rest alone upon the assertion of the Kickapoos, but is supported
by officers of the French, English, and American governments,
when they respectively asserted dominion over it. Under date
of April 21st, 1752, M. de Longueil, commandant at Detroit,
incorporates in an official report upon the condition of Indian
affairs in his department, that he had received advices from
"M. de Lingeris, commandant at the Oy-a-ta-nons,+ who believes
that great reliance is not to be placed on the Mascoutens, and

the reasons that led to its consumation. It is as follows: " Whereas, it is
declared by the 4th Article of the Treaty of Greenville, that the United
States reserve for their use the post of Vincennes, and all the lands adjacent,
to which the Indian titles have been extinguished. And, whereas, it has been
found difficult to, determine the precise limits of said tract as held by the
French and British Governments; it is hereby agreed, that the boundaries of
said tract shall be as follows: Beginning at Point Coupee. [" cut-off" or noted
hend in the river some eighteen miles above Vincennes], on the Wabash, and
tunning thence, by a north seventy-eight degrees west, twelve miles [into Illi-
nois]; thence [south by west] by a line parallel to the general course of the
Wabash, until it shall be intersected by a line at right angles to the same,
passing through the mouth of White River [about eighteen miles below Vin-
cennes]; thence, by the last mentioned line [east by south], across the Wabash
and toward the Ohio River, seventy-two miles; thence by a line north twelve
degrees west, until it shall be intersected by a line at right angles with the
same, passing through Point Coupee, and, by the last mentioned line, to the
place of beginning." The boundaries of "th.e Vincennes tract", as thus
defined, appear on many of the early maps, and displays a tract of land in
the shape of a parallelogram, some thirty-six miles wide, by seventy-two
long, lying, for the most part, on the east side of the Wabash and in Indiana,
an average width of about ten miles, only, off of the west end of it being in
Illinois, the northwest corner of which, referred to in the text, is about
twenty miles north, and some ten miles west of Vincennes.

* By previous treaties, the Kickapoos had ceded to the United States their
claims to the territory from "the Vincennes tract" as high up the Wabash as
the mouth of Pine Creek, Warren Co., Ind., and extending west of the same
stream an average width of thirty miles.

+ Fort Ouiatanon situated on the west bank of the Wabash River, a.few
miles above Attica, Ind.THE KICKAPOOS.

,123

that their remaining neutral is all that is to be expected from
them and the Kickapoos." Later, and after the northwest terri-
tory had been lost to France and ceded to Great Britain as the
fruit of the French colonial war, and after the failure of the
Indian confederation under Pontiac to reconquer the same terri-
tory, Sir William Johnson, having in charge the Indian affairs of
the western nations, sent his deputy, George Croghan, to the
Illinois to pacify the Indians "to soften their antipathy to the
English, to expose the falsehood of the French, to distribute
presents, and prepare a way for the passage of troops "* who
were preceding westward to take possession of Fort Chartes and
other military establishments within the ceded territory. Croghan
left Fort Pitt on May t7th, 1765, starting down the Ohio in two
batteaux, having with him several white persons, and a number
of Deleware, Iroquois, and Shawnee Indians, as deputies of
tribes inhabiting the upper waters of the Ohio, with whom
Croghan had already concluded treaties of reconciliation toward
the British. On the evening of the 6th of June, Croghan
reached the mouth of the Wabash. They dropped down the
river six miles, "and came to a place called the, old Shawnee
village, some of that nation having previously lived there". He
remained here the next day, occupying his time in preparing and
sending despatches to Fort Chartes. We quote from his journal:
"On the 8th, at daybreak, we were attacked by a party of Indi-
ans, consisting of eighty warriors of the Kickapoos and Musqua-
timies, who killed two of my men and three Indians, wounded
myself and all the rest of my party, except two white men and
one Indian; then made myself and all the white men prisoners,
plundering us of everything we had. A deputy of the Shawnees,
who was shot through the thigh, having concealed himself in the
woods for a few minutes after he was shot—not knowing but that
they were southern Indians, who were always at war with the
northward Indians—after discovering what nation they were,
came up to them and made a very bold speech, telling them that
the whole northward Indians would join in taking revenge for
the insult and murder of their people. This alarmed those sav-
ages very much, who began to excuse themselves, saying, their
fathers, the French, had spirited them up, telling them that the
Indians were coming with a large body of southern Indians to
take their country from them and enslave them; that it was this
that induced them to commit this outrage. After dividing the
plunder (they left a great part of the heaviest effects behind), they
set o£f with us to their village of Ou-at-to-7ion in a great hurry,

* Vide Parkman's History Conspiracy of Pontiac.124

ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS.

being in dread of a large party of Indians, which they suspected
were coming after me. Our course was through a thick woody
country, crossing a great many swamps, morrasses, and beaver
ponds."* From the data given, taken with the well-established
historical fact that the Kickapoos approached the Wabash from
the northwest, it is evident that, prior to 1752, they had driven
the Illinois tribes from the hunting grounds lying eastward and
south of the Illinois River. In this conquest they were assisted

* The war party continued up the river the 9th, 10th, nth, 12th, 13th, and
14th; and on the 15th reached Vincennes. "On my arrival there", says
Croghan, "I found a village of eighty or ninety French families, seated on
the east side of the river, being the one of the finest situations that can be
found. The country is level and clear, the soil very rich, producing wheat
and tobacco. I think the latter preferable to that of Maryland or Virginia.
The French inhabitants hereabouts are an idle, lazy people, a parcel of rene-
gades from Canada, and much worse than the Indians. They took a secret
pleasure at our misfortunes, and the moment we arrived they came to the
Indians, exchanging trifles for their valuable plunder. As the savages took
from me a considerable quantity of gold and silver, the French traders ex-
torted ten half Johnies from them for one pound of Vermilion. Here is
likewise an Indian village of t^ie Pyan-ke-shaws [in their language called
4 Chip-kaw-kay5, rendered the town of Brushwood. Dillon's History of Indi-
ana,] who were much displeased with the party that took me, telling them
that 4 our and your chiefs are gone to make peace, and you have begun a war
for which our women and children will have reason to cry.' * * * Port
Vincent is a place of great consequence for trade, being a fine hunting coun-
try along the Wabash, and too far for the Indians, which reside hereabouts,
to go enter to the Illinois, or elsewhere, to fetch their necessaries." On the
17th, Croghan and his captors crossed the Wabash, and came up through the
prairies referred to in the chapter on the Miamis, and on the 23d entered a
large bottom on the Wabash, within six miles of Fort Oui-a-ta-non, Croghan
further says: " The Kickapoos and Musquatamies, whose warriors had taken
us live nigh the fort, on the same side of the river, where they have two vil-
lages." Croghan's Journal continues a daily account of his movements np
the Wabash to Ft. Wayne, down the Maumee, and up the lakes to Detroit,
and from thence to Niagara Falls; and gives a fair insight into the appear-
ance and topography of the extensive country he traversed as it then appeared,
and illustrates the temper of the Indians who inhabited it. The original
manuscript diary was obtained by Mr. Featherstonhough, and first published
in his "American Journal of Geology", and in December, 1831, a reprint of
100 copies was issued in pamphlet form. It may also be found in the appen-
dix of Mann Butler's valuable History of Kentucky, in either of the editions
of 1834 or 1836.THE KICKAPOOS.

125

by the Sacs and Foxes, and Pottawatomies, who made a common
cause of warfare upon the Illinois tribes. " Tradition (says the
Pioneer Historian of Illinois, the Rev. John M. Peck) tells us of
many a hard fought battle between the original owners of the
country and these intruders. Battle Ground Creek is well-known
on the road from Kaskaskia to Shawneetown, twenty five miles
from the former place, where the Kaskaskias and their allies
were dreadfully slaughtered by the united forces of the Kicka-
poos and Pottawatomies."*

Within the limits of the territory defined by the treaty at
Edwardsville in 1819, the Kickapoos, for generations before that
time, had many villages. The principal of these were Kickapo-
go-oui, on the west bank of the Wabash, near Hudsonville, Craw-
ford Co., 111., and known, in the early days of the Northwest
Territory, as Musquiton [Mascoutine]; another on both sides of
the Vermilion River, at its confluence with the Wabash. This
last village was destroyed by Maj. John F. Hamtramck, in Oct.,
1790, whose military forces moved up the river from Vincennes
to create a diversion in favor of Gen. Harmer, then leading the
main attact against the Miami town at Fort Wayne and other
Indian villages in that vicinity. Higher up the Vermilion were
other Kickapoo towns, particularly the one some four miles west
of Danville, and near the mouth of the Middle Fork. The
remains of one of the most extensive burial-grounds in the
Wabash Valley, still attest the magnitude of this once populous
Indian city; and, although the village site has been in cultivation
for over fifty years, every recurring year the ploughshare turns up
flint arrow-points, stone-axes, gun-flints, gun-locks, knives, silver
brooches, or other mementoes of its former inhabitants. These
people were greatly attached to the country watered by the Ver-
milion and its tributaries; and Gov. Harrison found a difficult
task to reconcile them to ceding it away. In his letter to the
secretary of war, of Dec. 10, 1809, referring to his efforts to in-
duce the Kickapoos to part with it, the governor says he "was
extremely anxious that the extinguishment of title should extend
as high up as the Vermilion River, but it was objected to because

* " An Historical Sketch of the early American settlements in Illinois, from
1780 to 1800. Read before the Illinois State Lyceum, at its Anniversary,
August 16, 1832. By J. M. Peck." Published in No. 2 of Vol. 1, of The
Western Monthly Magazine for February, 1833. Other accounts fix the date
of this last great battle about the year 1800, and ascribe its planing and exe-
cution to the great Pottawatomie warrior and medicine man known as Wah-
bun-ou We-ne-ne or " The Juggler126

ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS.

it would include a Kickapoo village. This small tract of about
twenty miles square* is one of the most beautiful that can be
conceived, and is, moreover, believed to contain a very rich cop-
per mine. I have myself frequently seen specimens of the cop-
per; one of which I sent to Mr. Jefferson in 1802. The Indians
were so extremely jealous of any search being made for this
mine, that traders were always cautioned not to approach the
hills which were supposed to contain the mine." +

The Kickapoos had other villages on the Embarras, some
miles west of Charlestowg, and still others about the headwaters
of the Kaskaskia. During the period when the territory west of
the Mississippi belonged to Spain, her subjects residing at St.
Louis "carried on a considerable trade among the Indians east-
ward of the Mississippi, particularly the Kickapoos near the head-
waters of the Kaskaskia." J Further northward they had still
other villages, among them one toward the headwaters of Sugar
Creek, a tributary of the Sangamon River, near the southwest
corner of McLean County. § The Kickapoos had, besides, vil-
lages west of Logansport and Lafayette, in the groves upon the
prairies, and finally, a great or capital village near what is well-
known as " Old Town" timber, in West Township, McLean Co.,
111. These last were especially obnoxious to the pioneer settlers,
of Kentucky, because the Indians living or finding a refuge in
them, made frequent and exasperating raids across the Ohio,
where they would murder men and women, and carry off captive
children, to say nothing of the lesser crimes of burning houses,
and stealing horses. So annoying did these offences become,
that several expeditions were sent out in retaliation. That, com-

* It extended up the Vermilion River a distance of twenty miles in a direct
line from its mouth.

+ The specimens referred to were doubtless "drift copper", now supposed to
have drifted in from their native beds in the neighborhood of Lake Superior.
Since the settlement of the Vermilion county by the whites, many similar
specimens have been found. Only within the present year, 1883, some work-
men, while engaged in digging a cellar in Danville, unearthed, from near the
surface of the ground, a piece of pure copper, weighing eighty-seven pounds.
It was secured by Dr. J. C. Winslow of Danville, for Prof. John Collett,
state geologist of Indiana, who has deposited it in the State Cabinet at Indi-
anapolis.

X Sketches of Louisiana, by Maj. Amos Stodard.

§ This village was burned in the fall of 1812, by a part of Gov.* Edwards'
forces, while on their march from Camp Russell to Peoria Lake. Vide Gov.
Reynolds' My Own Times.THE KICKAPOOS.

127

manded by Gen. Chas. Scott, in the month of May, 1791, de-
stroyed the Kickapoo town near Oui-a-ta-non [referred to in con-
nection with the capture of Croghan]. In the month of August of
the same year, a second expedition, lead by Gen. Jas. Wilkinson,
left Kentucky on a similar mission. In the instructions given by
Gov. St. Clair (then the executive head of the military as well as
of the civil affairs of the Northwest Territory) to Gen. Wilkinson,
we find the following: "Should the success attend you at
L'Anguile,* which I wish and hope, you may find yourself equal
to the attacking the Kickapoo town situated in the prairie not
far from Sangamon River, which empties itself into the Illinois
River. By information, that town is not distant from L'Anguile
more than three easy days' marches. A visit to that place will
be totally unexpected, and most probably attended with decided
good consequences; neither wrill it* be hazardous,Tor the men, at
this season, are generally out hunting beyond the Illinois country.
Should it seem feasible from circumstances, I recommend the
attempt in preference to the towns higher up the Wabash, and
success there would be followed by great eclat." The general
did not reach the great Kickapoo town. His troops,.jaded by
forced marches, and the effectual destruction of the Eel River
village, and encumbered with prisoners,t "launched westward
through the boundless prairies", only to become "environed on
all sides with morasses, which forbade his advancing". They
were compelled, toward the end of the day, to return. - On their
way back, however, they struck the Kickapoo town west of
Lafayette, and destroyed it.

The people of Kentucky were not the only sufferers from
depredations of this tribe. From their towns near the Wabashr
the Kickapoo war parties lurked upon the skirts of the settle-
ments on the American Bottom from Kaskaskia to Cahokia, bent
on the murder or capture of any unprotected person that fell in
their way, excepting alone those of French blood, who, with their
property, were, with rare exceptions, exempt from molestation.
So strong was the regard of the Kickapoos, in common with all
other Algonquin tribes, for the Frenchman.

* The Eel River town on Eel River, some six miles above Logansportr
Ind., and which was to be attacked.

+ His prisoners consisted mostly of women and children, and numbered
thirty-four in all. His instructions, like those issued to Gen. Scdtt, required
him to take all women and children they could, and turn them over to the
officer in command at Ft. Washington (now Gincinnati), in the hope that by
thus paying the Indians back in kind, they would cease their cruel forays-
upon helpless and unoffending non-combatants.128 •	ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS.

Mr. Peck's historical sketch of the early American settlements
in Illinois, before quoted, is largely taken up with narrations of
the killing and capture of white settlers in the neighborhoods
named, and the destruction or the plunder of their property.
We summarize a few paragraphs from his address, by way of
illustration:

"The Kickapoos were numerous and warlike, and had their
principal towns on the Illinois and the Vermilion of the Wabash.
They were the most formidable and dangerous neighbors to the
whites, and, for a number of years, kept the settlements [on the
American Bottom] in continual alarm." The address then takes
up a narration of yearly events from 1783 to 1795, showing the
sufferings and dangers to which the white population was ex-
posed on account of Indian depredations, inflicted in the main
by Kickapoos.

Among the most notable captures was that of Wm. Biggs, in
1788. On the morning of March 28 of that year, while he, in
company with young John Vallis, was going from Bellefountaine
to Kahokia, they were surprised by a war party of sixteen Kicka-
poo Indians. Vallis was wounded ih the thigh, and, being
mounted on a fine horse, was soon. beyond reach of the flying
bails, and made his escape only to die, however, of his wounds.
Four bullets were shot into Biggs' horse; and the animal became
so frantic with pain, and frightened, more than all, with the yells
of the savages, that it became unmanageable; Biggs' "gun was
thrown from his shoulder, and twisted out of his hands"; in try-
ing to recover his gun, and being incumbered "with a large
bag of beaver fur, which prevented him from recovering his
saddle, which had neither 4girth or crupper', it turned and fell
off of the horse, and Biggs 'fell with-it'." The rider held on to
the horse's mane, and was soon upon his feet, making ineffectual
attempts to remount, as his terrified horse dragged him along for
some "twenty or thirty yards", when his "hold broke, and he fell
on his hands and knees, and stumbled along four or five steps
before he could recover himself." "By the time I got fairly on
my feet", continues the narrator, "the Indians were about eight
or ten yards off me. I saw there was no other way to make my
escape but by fast running, and I was determined to try it, and
had but little hopes at first of being able to escape, I ran about
one hundred yards before I looked back—I thought almost every
step I could feel the scalping-knife catting my scalp off. I found
that I was gaining ground on them, I felt encouraged, and ran
about three hundred yards further, and looking back, saw that I
had gained about one hundred yards, and considered myselffHE KICKAPOOS.

120

tjuite out of danger." MggS' hopes, however, were not well
grounded. The morning	afid before setting out from

home on his journey, he had	himself in a heavy under-

coat, over which was a greatcoat, securely tied about the waist
With a large, well-worn silk handkerchief, tied, in the hurry of the
foment, in a double hard knot. Anticipating a long race, he
•endeavored to divest himself of all surplus garments; the knotted
handkerchief would not untie; he pulled his arms out of the
sleeves of his greatcoat, which, trailing on the ground, would
^wrap around his legs and throw him down", so that he "made
no headway at running". His pursuers, seeing his predicament,
renewed the chase with more vigor, and soon overtook and secured
him. His captor, says Biggs, "took the handle of his tomahawk,
and rubbed it on my shoulder and down my arm, which was a
$0ifceji that he would not kill me, and that I was his prisoner."

At the risk of "traveling further out of the record" of the gen-
eral scope of this chapter, we quote a few more extracts from Mr.
Biggs' Narrative, as they admirably illustrate some of the caprices
and traits of Indian character. At the first evening's encamp-
ment, and the Indians having finished their eating, one of them
:sat, "with his back against a tree, with his knife between his legs.
I, says Biggs, was sitting facing him with my feet nearly touching
liis. He began to inquire of me what nation I belonged to. I
was determined to pretend that I was ignorant and could not
understand him. I did not wish them to know that I could
speak some Indian languages, and understood them better than I
could speak. He first asked me, in Indian, if I was Mat-to-cush
{that is, in Indian, a Frenchman); I told him no. He then
asked me if I wras a Sag-e-nash (an Englishman); I told him no.
He again asked if I was a, She-mol-sea (that is, a long knife or
Virginian); I told him no. He then asked me if I was a Bos-
tonely* (that is an American); I told him no. About a minute
afterward, he asked me the same questions over again, and I
answered him yes I He then spoke English, and catched up his
knife, and said, 4 You are one d— son of a b——\ I really
thought he intended stabbing me with his knife. I knew it would
not clo to show cowardice. I, being pretty well acquainted with
their manners and ways, jumped up on my feet, and spoke in
Indian, and said, 'Man-e-t-wa, Kien-de-pa-way' (in English it is,
•'No! I am very good'); and clapped my hands on my breast

* Mr. Biggs' interpretation is a little too broad. Boston-e-ly an epithet
.obtained by the Indians from the Canadian French, who applied it to the New
Englanders or Yankies.

9IJO	ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS.

when I spoke, and looked very bold. The cither Indians all set
up such a ha! ha! and laughter, that it made him look very fool-
ish,, and he sat still .and became quite sulky."

The Kickapoos took their prisoner across the prairies of Illi-
nois, reaching their village on the west bank of the Wabash, near
old: Fort Weaoatanon (which, at the time of this occurrence, was
merely a trading-post), on the tenth day of his capture. Remain-
ing several weeks with the Kickapoos and at the trading-post,
Mr. Biggs effected his release through the kindly interference of
the traders at the latter place, prominent among whom was an
Englishman, Mr. McCauslin, and Mr. Bazedone, a Spaniard, with
whom Biggs "had an acquaintance in the Illinois country", and
who paid the Indians iii trade an equivalent of $260 for his ran-
some, for which sum Biggs "gave his note, payable in the Illinois
country." Later, he passed down the Wabash and the Ohio,
and up the Mississippi, in a pirogue or large canoe, and safely
reached his family.

Mr. Biggs was greatly liked by his captors and their kinsmen,
who complimented for his bravery, his fleetness of foot, his
shapely limbs, long and beautiful hair, and handsome physique.
They adopted him into their tribe, giving him the name of Moh-
cos-se-a, after the name of a chief who had been killed by the
whites the year before. After which he "was to be considered
one of that Kickapoo family, in place of their [slain] father." He
was also offered, in marriage, a handsome Indian girl, a relation
of the same family, who, encouraged by her parents, exhausted
her arts, in a manner of becoming modesty, to win his consent;
Mr. Biggs protesting that he was already a married man, the
father of three children, whose mother was his wife, and that it
was against the laws of his country for a man to have more than
one wife at a time. This Indian girl had prepared his first regu-
lar meal after his arrival at the Wabash. Says Biggs, "it was
hominy, beat in a mortar, as white as snow, and handsome as I
ever saw, and very well cooked. She fried some dried meat,
pounded very fine in a mortar, in oil, and sprinkled it with sugar.
She prepared a very good bed for me, with bear-skins and blank-
ets." She brought him aJhot water in a tin cup, and shaving
soap, and more clean water in a basin", and a cloth to wipe his
hands and face after the process of shaving was done with.
"She then told me to sit down 011 a bench. I did so. She got
two very good combs-—a coarse and a fine one. It was then
the fashion to wear long hair. Mine was very long and thick,
and much tangled and matted—I traveled without any hat or
anything else on my head, and that was the tenth day it had notTHE KICKAPOOS,

been combed. She combed out my hair very tenderly, and then
took the fine one and combed and looked my head nearly one
hour. She went to a trunk and got a ribbon, and greased my
hair very nicely. The old chief [father of the girl, as we learn
elsewhere] gave me a fine regimental blue cloth coat, faced with
yellow buff cloth; the son-in-law gave me a very good beaver
Mackinaw hat. These they had taken from some officers they
had killed. Then the widow squaw took me into her cabin and
gave me a new ruffled shirt and a very good blanket." All these
he put on, and, at the request of the donors, he walked the floor
to their delight. The girl followed him to the abode of the
widowed and orphaned family to whom he had been given, and
which was in another neighborhood, where she took her place at
his cabin door, silently waiting, in the hope he would relent and
invite her in. "She-stood by my door for sometime after dark—I
did not know when she went away. She stayed two days and
three nights before she returned home. I never spoke to* her
while she was there. She was a very handsome girl, about 18
years of age, a beautiful full figure, and handsomely featured, and
very white for a squaw. She was almost as white as dark com-
plexioned women generally are; and her father and mother were
very white skinned Indians." *

To resume. In the desperate plans of Tecumthe, the Kicka-
poos took an active part. This trib$ caught the infection at an
early day of those troubles; and in 1806, Gov. Harrison sent
Capt. Wm. Prince to the Vermilion towns with a speech addressed
to all the warriors and chiefs of the Kickapoo tribe; giving Capt.
Prince further instructions to proceed to the villages of the prai-

* Mr. Biggs had been one of Gen. Clark's soldiers in the conquest of the
Illinois, and liking the country, early after the close of the Revolutionary
War, he returned and settled at the Bellefountaine, the name of an early set-
tlement in Monroe Co., 111., ten miles north of Kaskaskia. He held several
territorial and state offices, and filled them with honor and ability. In 1826,
shortly before his death, he published " a narrative " of his capture by and his
experience while with the Kickapoos. It is a pamphlet of twenty-three
pages, printed with poor type on very common paper. But few copies were
issued, and scarcely any of these seem to have been preserved. It was only
after a search of several years that the writer ^Vas so fortunate as to get sight
of one. Gov. Reynolds, in his Pioneer History of Illinois, gives a fair sketch
of Mr. Biggs. That given in the text is condensed or quoted directly from
the "Narrative", and' differs from J. M. Peck's, as it makes no mention,
whatever, of the Ogle Brothers being in company with Biggs and Vallis at the
time of the capture.132	ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS.

rie bands, if, after having delivered the speech at the Vermilion
towns, he discovered there would be no danger to himself in pro-
ceeding beyond. The speech, which was full of good words and
precautionary advice, had little effect; and "shortly after the
mission of Capt. Prince, the Prophet found means to bring the
whole of the Kickapoos entirely under his influence." [Vide
Memoirs of Gen. Harrison. We produce extracts of Gov. Har-
rison's "talkVreferred to, to show the style of such addresses.
Gen. Harrison, being an adept in this kind of literature, could
suit such papers to the occasion, and draft them within the range
and to the understanding of the people for whom they were in-
tended, better, perhaps, than any other agent the Government
ever had in the troublesome field of Indian diplomacy. "Wm. H.
Harrison, Gov., etc., Supt. of Indian affairs, etc., etc., to his chil-
dren, the chiefs and warriors of the Kickapoo tribe." My chil-
dren : I lately sent you a message by one of your warriors, but
I have not yet received an answer. The head chief of the We-as
has, however, been with me, and has assured me that you still
keep hold of the chain of friendship, which has bound you to
your father since the treaty made with Gen. Wayne [referring to
the Treaty of Greenville, of 1795].

"My children, this information has given me great pleasure,
because I had heard that you had suffered bad thoughts to get
possession of your minds.

"My children, what is it you wish for? Have I not often told
you that you should inform me of all your grievances, and that
?you should never apply to your father in vain.

"My children: Be wise, do not follow the advise of those who
would lead you to destruction; what is it they would persuade
you to?—to make war upon your fathers, the Seventeen Fires?
[The United States, then seventeen in number.]—What injury
has your father done you?—If he has done any, why do you not
complain to him and ask redress?—Will he turn a deaf ear to
your complaints? He has always listened to you, and will listen
to you still; you will certainly not raise your arm against him.

"My children, you have a number of young warriors, but when
compared to the warriors of the United States, you know they
are but as a handful. My children, can you count the leaves
on the trees, or the grains of sand in the river banks? So numer-
ous are the warriors pf the Seventeen Fires.

"My children, it would grieve your father to let loose his war-
riors upon his red children; nor will he do it, unless you compell
him; he had rather that they would stay at home and make corn
for their women and children; but he is not afraid to make war;
he knows that they are brave.THE KICKAPOOS.

133

"My children, he has men armed with all kinds of weapons;
those who live on the big waters [the sea coast] and in the big
towns, understand the use of muskets and bayonets [of which
last the Indians had become very much afraid since their disas-
trous encounter with Gen. Wayne in the engagement on the
Maumee, in 1794, where the bayonet was used with terrible
effect], and those who live on this side the mountains [the Alle-
ghanies] use the same arms that you do [long range rifles].

"My children: The Great Spirit has taught your fathers to
make all the arms and ammunition which they use; but you do
not understand this art; if you should go to war with your fathers,
who would supply you with those things? The British can not;
we have driven them beyond the la&es, and they can not send a
trader to you without our permission.

"My children, open your eyes to your true interest; your father
wishes you to be happy. If you wish to have your minds set at
ease, come and speak to him. My children, the young man
[Capt. Prince] who carries this is my friend, and he will speak to
you in my name; listen to him as if I were to address you, and
treat him with kindness and hospitality.''

The Kickapoos fought in great numbers and with frenzied
courage at the battle of Tippecanoe. They early sided with the
British in the war that was declared between that power and the
United States the following Ju#e; and sent out many war parties,
that kept the settlements in Indiana and Illinois in constant
pefil; while other warriors of their tribe participated in almost
every battle fought during this war along the western frontier.

As a military people, the Kickapoos were inferior to the Mia-
mis, Delawares, and Shawnees, in movements requiring large
bodies of men; but they were preeminent in predatory warfare.
Small parties, consisting of from five to twenty or more, were the
usual number comprising their war parties. These would push
out hundreds of miles from their villages, and swoop down upon
a feeble settlement, or an isolated pioneer cabin, and burn the
property, kill the cattle, steal the horses, capture the women and
children, and be off again before an alarm could be giv^n.

While the Pottawatomies and other tribes, in alliance with the
British, laid siege to Ft. Wayne, the Kickapoos, assisted by the
Winnebagoes, were assigned to the capture of Ft. Harrison.*

* Finished Oct. 28, 1811, and situated on the east bank of the Wabash,
about two miles above the lower Wea Town of " Wa-au-ta-no", and a mile
or more above the present City of Terre Haute, Ind. It was erected by the
forces under Gov. Harrison, while 011 their way from Vincennes to the Proph-134	ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS.

They nearly succeeded, and would have taken it but for the most
heroic and determined defence, that gave its commander, Capt.
Zachary Taylor, a national renown.

The plan of the attack was matured by the Kickapoo war chief,
Pa-koi-shee-can,* who, in person, undertook the execution of the
most difficult and dangerous part of it. First the Indians loi-
tered about the fort, having a few of their women and children
with them, to induce a belief that their presence was friendly,
while the main-body of warriors were secreted at a distance wait-
ing for favorable developments. Pretending they were in want
of provisions, the men and women were allowed to approach
near the fort, and were thus given opportunity to inspect the fort
and its defences. A dark night, giving the appearance of rain,
favored the plan which was at once executed. The warriors were
brought to the front, and women and children sent to the rear.
Pa-koi-shee-can, with a large butcher knife in each hand, threw
himself at length upon the ground. He drove a knife, held in
one hand,, into the ground, and drew his body up against it;
then reached forward with the knife in the other hand, and driv-
ing that into the ground, again drew himself along. In this way,
like a snake in the grass, he approached the lower block-house.
He heard the -sentinels on their rounds on the inside of the pali-
sade. As the guards advanced toward that part of the works
where the lower block-house was situated, Pa-koi-shee-can would
lie still; and when tha guards made the turn and moved in the
opposite direction, he again crawled nearer. In this way the
crafty savage gained the very walls of the block-house. There
was a crack between the logs of the block-house,t and through
this opening th*e Kickapoo placed a quantity of dry grass, bits of
wood, and other combustibles, brought for the purpose in a
blanket, tied pouch fashion upon his back. While the prepara-
tion for this incendiarism was in progress, the sentinels, in their

et's Town, during the memorable Tippecanoe campaign; and, by unanimous
request of all the officers, christened after the name of their commander. It
was enclosed with palisades, and officers and soldiers barracks, and defended
at two angles with two block-houses, similar to that seen in illustrations of
old Forts Wayne and Dearborn.

* The Blackbury Flower, abreviated by the French to La Farine [The
Flower], the name by which he was generally known among the white people.

f Gen. Harrison also mentions this fact, and adds that this building was
used for the storage of whisky and salt; that, the cattle had licked the chink-
ing out to get at the salt, and that the opening between the logs was made in
^lis way. ,THE KICKAPOOS.

135

rounds on the opposite side of the block-house, passed within a
few feet of the place where the fire was about to be lighted. All
being in readiness, and the sentinels at the further side of the
enclosure, Pa-koi-shee-can struck a fire with his flint, and thrust
it within, and threw his blanket quickly over the opening, to pre-
vent the blaze from flashing outside, alarming the garrison before
the building was well on fire. When assured that the fire was
well under way, he fell back and gave the signal, when the attack
was immediately begun by the Indians at the opposite extremity
of the fort with great fury. The lower block-house burned down
in spite of all the efforts of the garrison to prevent it; and, for a
while, tfye Indians were exultant, feeling assured of a complete
victory. Capt. Taylor constructed a barricade with material taken
from another building; and, by the time the block-house had
consumed, the Indians, to their great disappointment, discovered
a new line of defence, closing the breach through which they had
expected to effect an entrance. [The Indian account of the
attack 011 Ft. Harrison, as above given, was first published in
1879, in the writer's "Historic Notes", etc. It is in harmony
with official reports, except that the latter, for want of information
011 the part of those who wrote them, contain nothing as to plans
of the Indians, nor how the block-house was fired. The account
given in the text was narrated to the writer by Mrs. Mary A.
Baptiste, as it was told to her by Pa-koi-shee-can himself. This
lady, with Christmas Dagney, her first husband, were at Ft. Har-
rison in 1821, where the latter was assisting in the disbursement
of annuities to the Indians then assembled there to receive them.
The business and spree that followed, occupied two or three days.
Pa-koi-shee-can was present with some of his people, to receive
their share of the annuities; and the old chief, having leisure,
edified Mr. Dagney and his wife with a minute account of his
attempt to take the fort, pointing out the positions and move-
ments of himself and his warriors. As he related the story, he
warmed up, and indulged in a great deal of pantomime, which
gave force to, as it heightened the effect of, the narration. The
particulars are given substantially as Mrs. Baptiste repeated them
to the writer. She had never read an account of the engagement.]
We find no instance in which the Kickapoos were allied with
either the French or the British, in any of the intrigues or wars
for the control of the fur trade, or the acquisition of disputed
territory, in the Northwest. They did not mix or mingle their
blood with French or other white people; and, as compared in
this regard with other tribes, in the voluminous treaties with the
Federal Government, there is a singular absence of land reserva-Ijd'	ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS,

'tionS in favor of half-breed Kickapoos. Unlike, the Illinois, the
Miamis, and other tribes living upon the lines of the early com-
merce of the country, or whose villages were marts of the fur
trade, the Kickapoos kept at a distance, and escaped the demor-
alization which this trade, and a contact with its unscrupulous-
emissaries, inflicted upon the tribes coming within their baneful!
influence/" As compared with other Indians, the Kickapoos
were industrious, intelligent, and cleanly in their habits, and were
better armed and clothed. As a rule, the men were tall, sinewy,
and active; the women lithe, and many of them by no means
lacking in beauty.t Their dialect is soft and liquid when con-
trasted with rough, guttural language of the Pottawatomies.

With the close of the war of 1812, the Kickapoos ceased their
hostilities toward the whites, and a few years later, disposed of
the residue of their lands in Illinois and Indiana, and, with the
exception of a few bands, emigrated west of the Mississippi.
Gov. Reynolds says of them, "They disliked the United States'
so much, that they decided when they left Illinois, that they
would not reside within the limits of our Government, but would
settle in Texas.J;t A large body of did go to Texas; and
when the Lone Star Republic became a member of the Federal
Union, these Kickapoos retired to New Mexico; and later, some
of them went even to old Mexico. Here, on these frontier bor-
ders, ;these wild bands have, for years, maintained the reputation
of their sires, and enterprising race. Col. R. B. Marcy, in 1854,
found one of their bands upon the Chocktaw reservation, near
the Witchita River. He says of the A, *4 They, like the Dela-
wares and Shawnees, are well armed with good rifles, in the use
of which they are very expert, and there are no better hunters
or warriors upon the borders. They hunt together on horseback,
and after a party of them have passed through a section of coun-
try, it is seldom that any game is left in their trace. They are
intelligent, active, and brave, and frequently visit and traffic with

* Says Maj. Stoddard, in his Sketches of Louisiana, "There is a striking
difference between those Indians who live in the neighborhood of the whites
and those who reside at a distance from them. The former, especially if
accustomed to a long intercourse, have wonderfully degenerated. They have
gradually imbibed all the vices of the whites, and forgotten their own virtues.
They are drunkard^Mid thieves, and act on all occasions with the most con-
sumate duplicity." ' The observations of Maj. Stoddard are corroborated by
Gov. Harrison, Judge Jacob Burnett, and other eminent men, speaking from
their own experience.	»

t Gov. Reynolds' Pioneer History of Illinois.THE KICKAPOOS.

137

the prairie Indians, and have no fear of meeting those people in
battle, providing the odds are not more than six to one against
them."*

* The Kickapoos of the Vermilion, comprising the bands of
Mac-ca-naw, or Mash-e-naw (The Elk-Horn), Ka-an-a-kuck, and
Pa^koi-shee-can, were the last to emigrate. They lingered in
Illinois upon the waters of the Embarrass, the Vermilion, and
its northwest tributaries, until 1832 and 1833; when they joined
a body of their people upon a reservation set apart for their use
west of Fort Leavenworth, and within the limits of Brown and
Jackson Counties, Kansas, where the survivors and the descen-
dants* of those who have died now reside upon their farms.
Their good conduct, comfortable homes, and well - cultivated
fields, attest their steady progress in the ways of civilized life.
The wild bands have always been troublesome along the south-
western borders; every now and then their depredations form
the subject of some item of current newspaper notices. For
years the Government failed in its efforts to induce these bands
to remove to some place within the Indian Territory, where they
might be restrained from annoying the border settlements of Texas
and New Mexico. Some years ago, a part of the semi-civilized
Kickapoos in Kansas, preferring their old, wild life, left their
reservations, and joined the bands to the Southwest. After years'
wanderings in quest of plunder, they were persuaded to return,
and in 1875, settled in the Indian Territory, and supplied \V\th
the necessary implements and provisions, to enable them to go
to work and earn an honest living. In this effort toward reform,
they are now making commendable progress.t In 1875,
civilized Kickapoos in the Kansas Agency numbered 385; while
the wild or Mexican band numbered 420, as appears from the
official report on Indian affairs for that year. Their numbers
were never great, as compared with the Miamis, or Pottawato-
mies; however, they made up for this deficiency by the energy
of their movements. In language, manners, and customs, the
Kickapoos bear a very close resemblance to the Sac and Fox
Indians, whose allies they generally were, and with whom they
have, by some writers, been confounded. %

* Marcy's "Thirty Years of Army Life on the Border."

+ Report of Commrs. on Indian Affairs.

X Corroborative of this, Geo. Catlin, in his admirable work on the North
American Indians, says, "The Kickapoos had long lived in alliance with
Sacs and Foxes, and their language Was so similar, that the two seemed to be
almost one family.n Dr. Jediah Morse, Albert Gallatin, and other American
authorities could be cited to the same effect, were it at all necessary.*138

ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS.

THE W1NNEBAGOS.

In, "The Jesuit Relations", for the years 1653 to 1670, inclu-
sive, this tribe are alluded to under various names, as Ouimbe-
goue, Ouimpegouec, and Ouinibegout%—the French "Ou" being
nearly synonymous in the sound of its pronunciation with the
English letter W,—and was a name given them by the Algon-
quins, with whom the meaning was Fetid, translated by the French
as Puants. The Algonquin tribes called the Winnebagoes, say
the missionary fathers, by this name because the latter came from
the westward ocean, or salt water, which the Indians designated
as the "Fetid Water".* The Winnebagoes called themselves
Hochungara [O-chun-ga-ra], or Ochungarand, which is to say,
011 the authority of Dr. Schoolcraft, "the trout nation, or Horoji
[fish eaters]." They were of the Dacota, or Sioux stock, to
whose language their own assimilated as nearly as it differed
radically from-that of their Algonquin neighbors. Their incur-
sion into the ancient territory of the Illinois was strenuously
opposed by the latter; and the disputed boundary line between
the two shifted north or south, as the fortune of war favored the
one or flie other. The final chances, however, were with the
Illinois, whose greater numbers and equal bravery were more
than a match for their adversaries, who, for the most part, were
driven well back within the present limits of Wisconsin, and
where, in more modern times, they have been regarded as a tribe

* The Winnebagoes were first met with by the Jesuit fathers, near the
mouth of Fox River—originally called the Kan-kan-lin—at the head of Green
Bay, Wis. Their presence here gave to the waters of Green Bay the first
name, by which it was designated in the Jesuit Relations, and the early maps,
" Lac-des-Puants", and "Z<? Baye des PuantsAs early as 1647 and 1648,
it is referrecTto in "The Relations" as follows: A peninsula, or strip of land,
quite small, seperates this Superior Lake [referring to Lake Superior] from
another third lake, called by us 'the lake of the Puants\ which also discharges
itself into our fresh-water sed, about ten leagues more toward the west than
the Sault,"—i. e., the Sault de Ste. Marie, connecting Lake Superior with
Lake Huron. "On its shores", continues this "Relation", "dwell a different
people, of an unknown language;.that is to say, a language that is neither
Algonquin nor Huron. These people are called Puants [stinkards], not' on
account of any unpleasant odor that is peculiar to them, but because they say
they came from the shores of a sea far distant toward the West, the waters of
which being salt,' they call themselves 'the people of the sea\"THE WINNEBAGOES.

139

of that State. Still, the territorial claims of the contestants was
not finally settled until 1825,^when, after a nearly continuous
warfare of almost two centuries with the Illinois or their succes-
sors, it was agreed at a treaty, held at Prairie du Chien, between
the United States, the Winnebagoes, the Sacs and Foxes, the
Pottawatomies, and other attending tribes, that "the Winnebago
country should be bounded as follows: Southeasterly, by Rock
River, from its source* near the Wiifhebago Lake [in Central-
eastern Wisconsin], to the Winnebago Village, about forty miles
above its mouth," etc., etc.; [near the mouth of the Peck-a-ton-
o-kea, Jo Daviess Co., 111.] A map will indicate what portion of
Illinois this boundary describes.

As compared with the Algonquin tribes, history records but
few complaints against the Winnebagoes in the predatory war-
fare upon the white settlements. The bravery of their warriors
is fully attested, however, in the several engagements with the
forces of Gov. St. Clair and Gen. Wayne, in which they fought
with conspicuous courage. The whole tribe were fairly carried
by Tecumthe and his brother, the Prophet, and gave hearty sup-
port to all the nefarious schemes of these agitators. Naw-kaw,
the principle chief of their nation, and Hoo-tshoop-kaw, of lesser
note, were two of Tecumthe's personal attendants, and followed
him in all his extended missions of proselytism among the nations
of the Mississippi Valley. In the war of 1812, these two Win-
nebagoes were members of the sacred band, that guarded
Tecumthe's person; they were near him when he fell, with mor-
tal wounds, at the battle of the Thames, and assisted in bearing
his dead body from the field to a place of secure interment.*

* At the Treaty of Prairie du Chien, concluded Aug. 1, 1829, at which the
Winnebagoes ceded their lands in Illinois and Wisconsin to the United
States, Caleb Atwater, Esq., one of the commissioners acting on the part of
the latter, there met Naw-kaw, who, he says, "complained to me that, in all
of our accounts of Tecumthe, we had only said of him that, * Winnebago, who
always accompanies Tecumthe', without calling the Winnebago by his name,
Naw-kaw Caromaine."—"Atwater's Tour to Prairie du Chien." The same
author, in his "History of Ohio", says, in this connection, while at Prairie
du Chien, in 1829, "Naw-caw [Wood] and Hoo-tshoop-kaw [Four legs] were
with him; and that, from statements of these constant companions of Tecum-
the, during nearly twenty years of his life, we proceed to state, that Tecun%ihe
lay with his warriors in a thick underbrush, on the left of the American army;
that these Indians were at no period of the battle out of their thick under-
brush; that Naw-caw saw no officer between them and the American army;
that Tecumthe fell [at] the very first fire of the Kentucky dragoons, pierced by143	ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS.

At the engagement at Tippecanoe, the conduct of the Winne-
bago braves was a matter of especial mention. We quote from
Gen. Harrison's Memoirs: "A Winnebago chief approached the
exterior [camp] fire of Capt. Barton's company, where the lines
had been considerably drawn in, and pushing up the brands to
make a light, squatted down to peck his [gun] flint, or to do
something with his gun. He was, however, immediately fired at
from Capt. Cook's company, which was not more than twenty
yards from him, and fell dead into the fire. One of the men
asked the captain's permission to go and scalp him; and, as no
attack had been made on that part of the line for some time, he
was allowed to go. The Yankee, however, being inexperienced
in the business, it took him some time to effect it; he was fired
at, and returned to his company with the scalp in his hand,
indeed, but with a ball through his body, which caused his death
in a few hours after. In the course of the battle, the Indian was
taken off, without being observed by Captain Cook, and conveyed
to the [Prophet's] town, where his body was found and known
by its having been scalped and much burned. The body had
been taken away without Capt. Cook's perceiving it, and is an
instance of the care with which the Indians remove the dead
bodies of their friends in action. At Tippecanoe, they rushed
up to the bayonets of our men, and in one instance, related by
Capt. Snelling, an Indian adroitly put the bayonet of a soldier
aside, and clove his head with a war-club—an instrument on
which there is fixed a triangular piece of iron, broad enough to
project several inches from the wood." "Their conduct on this
occasion, so different from what it usually is, was attributed to a
confidence of success, with which their Prophet had inspired
them, and to the distinguished bravery of the Winnebago warriors "

The only disturbances with which this people seem to have
been connected, subsequent to the war of 1812, was that of the
so-called Winnebago War [or scare] of 1827. Several acts of
reciprocal hostility had been committed between individual Win-
nebagoes and whites along the upper Mississippi, which soon
defected the whole tribe, and, for a while, threatened the peace
of the entire northwestern frontier. Gov. Reynolds, in his "My
Own Times", gives the following account of the cause that pro-
voked the breach of the peace: "About the last of July,

thirty bullets, and was carried four or five miles into the thick woods, and
there buried by the warriors, who told the story of his fate. This account
was repeated to me three several times word for word, and neither of the
relaters ever knew the fictions to which Tecumthe's death has given use."THE WINNEBAGOES.

141

1827,* the Winnebago War occurred in the country around and
north of Galena, in this State. The cause of this small speck of
of war was a great outrage committed by the whites on the
Indians, which was of such brutality, that it is painful to record.
Two keel-boats, of the contractor to furnish provisions for the
troops at the Falls of St. Anthony, stopped at a large camp of
the Winnebago Indians, on the river not far above Prairie da
Chien. The boatman made the Indians drunk—and, no doubt,
were so themselves—when they captured some six or seven
squaws, who were also drunk. These squaws were forced on the
boat for corrupt and brutal purposes " [The words are put in
Italics by the Governor.] "But not satisfied with this outrage on
female virtue, the boatmen took the squaws with them in the
boats to Fort Snelling, and returned with them. When the Indi-
ans became sober, and knew the injury done, them in this delicate
point, they mustered all their forces, amounting to several hun-
dreds, and attacked the boats in which the squaws were confined.
The boats were forced to approach. near the shore in a narrow
pass of the river, t and thus the infuriated savages assailed one
boat, and permitted the other to pass down in the night. The
boatmen were not entirely prepared for the attack, although to
some extent they were guarded against it. They had procured
some arms, and were on the alert to some degree. The Indians
laid down in their canoes, and tried to paddle them to the boat;
but the whites, seeing this, fired their muskets on those in the
canoes. It was a desperate and furious*fight, for a few moments,
between a good many Indians exposed in open canoes, and only
a few boatmen, protected to some extent by their boats. One
boatman, a sailor by profession on the lakes and ocean, who had
been in many battles with the British during the war of 1812,
saved the boat and those of the crew who were, not killed. The
man was large and strong, and possessed the courage of an
African lion. He seized a part of the setting-pole of the boat,,
which was about four feet long, and having on the end a piece of
iron, which made it weighty, and a powerful weapon in the hands
of Saucy Jack, as this champion is called. It is stated that when

* Gov. Reynolds errs as to the time. The attack on the keel-boat, men-
tioned a little further on, was on the evening of June 26; and the grievances
which induced the assault, occurred some days before that. Vide a valuable
paper on the "Early Times in Wisconsin", contributed by Hon. James H.
Lockwood, of Prairie du Chien, and published in Vol. 2, Wis. Hist. Col.

t The place was near the mouth of Bad-Ax River; and the attack was
made near sunset. Judge Lockwood's paper, before quoted.1-42

ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS.

the Indians attempted to board the boat, Jack would knock
them back into the river as fast as they approached. The boat
got fast on the ground, and the whites seemed doomed, but with
great exertion, courage, and hard fighting, the Indians were
repelled. The savages killed several white men and wounded
many more, leaving barely enough to navigate the boat. It is
said that Jack had four Indian scalps, which he took from the
same number of Indians that he killed himself. In the'battle
the squaws escaped to their husbands, and, no doubt, the whites
did not try to prevent it. Thus commenced, and thus ended the
bloodshed of the Winnebago War."	,

The effusion of blood would not have ended here, but for the
prompt measures taken by Gen. Lewis Cass to prevent it. The
latter, with Gol. Thos. L. McKenney, as commissioners on behalf
of the United States, were at Butte des Morts* on a day fixed
for a treaty to be held, in part, to settle some matters as to boun-
daries that were "left undefined by the treaty of Aug. 19, 1825,
at Prairie du Chien",'and to establish the boundaries of "the
tract claimed by the former French and British' Governments" at
Green Bay. We quote the following from an article on " Early
Times in Wisconsin", written by Hon. H. A. Tenney:t "On the
day fixed for the council, n.ot an Indian appeared. Alarmed at
this and other hostile signs, Gen. Cass rapidly descended the
river [Wisconsin] to Prairie du Chien, where the people had all
taken shelter in the garrison, J and where he heard of the attack
on the government boat. Hastening to Galena, he notified the
citizens there of their danger, and advised them to build a block-
house for their protection. From Galena Gen. Cass proceeded
to Jefferson Barracks [a few miles below St. Louis]. A large
force, under Gen. [Henry] Atkinson, immediately came up the

* The "Butte des Morts"—hill of the dead—near the banks of Fox River,
in Winnebago Co., Wis.; a large and apparently artificial mound, said to>
contain the remains of Indian warriors, killed in ancient battles. Its notoriety
dates back of all written history, however early, of this part of the Northwest,
and gathers about it the charms of many traditions.

t Published in Vol. 1, of the "Wisconsin Historical Collections."

X Fort Crawford, Wis., on the left bank of the Mississippi, just above the-
the mouth of the Wisconsin, and so named in honor of Wm. H. Crawford,
Secretary of War. Previous to this, June, 1814, during the war of 1812,
Prairie du Chien was captured, from emissaries of the British, by an expedi-
tion sent up the Mississippi by Gov. Wm. Clark of Missouri, under command
of Capt. Z. Taylor; and sixty of the latter's men, in charge of Liei^ Perkins,,
remained there ar^d erected a fort, which they named Fort Shelby.THE WINNEBAGOES.

river in boats as far as the portage at Fort Winnebago,* Generals
•Dodge and Whitesides, with companies of volunteers, following
along each side on land, and scouring out the lurking savages,
A force from Green Bay concentrated on the same spot; and the
Indians beheld, with dismay, a formidable army in the midst of
their country. The result was a' treaty of peace, and the giving
up of Red Bird [a Winnebago chief], who had, a year previous*
massacred a family near Prairie du Chien."

While these events were taking place on the -Mississippi and*
in Wisconsin, then a part of the Territory of Michigan, matters"
were by no means quiet in northern Illinois. The inhabitants at*
Foft Dearborn, alarmed at the quite apparent unfriendly demeanor*
of the Indians frequenting that Post, and from which the United
States military forces had been withdrawn, dispatched messengers
to the Pottawatomie village of Big-Foot, at Geneva Lake, to learn
the purposes of the Winnebagoes, and ascertain if Big-Foot's
band intended joining "them. The Report brought back was not
favorable, and the excited citizens, at the suggestion of Gurdon
S. Hubbard, looked toward the Wabash for assistance. Accord-
ingly, Mr. Hubbard, leaving Chicago about four o'clock in the
evening, following an Indian .trail, a distance of a hundred and
twenty-seven miles, through an uninhabited country, reaching
the settlements two miles soyth of Danville in the early afternoon
of the next day. Within the next twenty-four hours, the Vermil-
ion-County Battalion, as the inhabitants capable of bearing arms

* Erected near the head of Fox River, at the Portage, or land carriage,
between it and the Wisconsin, which, at t;he time referred to, was right in
the heart of the "Winnebago country". This "carrying place" is a noted
spot in the discovery and exploration of the Northwest. Here Father Mar-
quette and Louis Joliet, on the loth day of June, 1673, with the assistance of
their two friendly Miami guides, transported their canoes a distance of "twenty-
seven hundred paces" from the scarcely-discernible channel of Fox River,
choked as it was with a rank and tangled growth of wild oats, to the broad
current of the Wisconsin; down which they voyaged, says the good father,
"alone in an unknown country, in the hands of Providence"; and we may
add, on a journey Jrhat immortalized him an unsought fame, and first gave the
Mississippi River the name it bears, and (to that part of the stream above the
mouth of the Arkansas) a place in geography. Mrs. John H. Kinzie, in her
"Wau-Bun"—a volume replete with valuable historical matter entertainingly
arranged, relating to "The Early Day in the Northwest "—gives a beautiful
sketch of Fort Winnebago, drawn by her own pencil, as it appeared in 1831,
while she resided there, her husband having charge of the Indian agency at
that station.-	'144

ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INDIANS.

were called, were assembled at Butler's Point, the then county-
seat; and a volunteer force oPfifty men organized; and on the
next day—having dispersed, in the meantime, to their homes to
cook up five-days' rations—were on their way to Fort Dearborn,
where they and Mr. liubbard arrived on the seventh day after
his departure. Several days later, word was received of the suc-
cess of Gen. Cass' movements, and the termination of hostilities.*

In the so-called Black-Hawk War, in Illinois and Wisconsin in
183?, "it was feared", say Judge Jas. Hall and Col. Thos. L.
McKenney, in their History of the Indian Tribes of North
America, "that the Winnebagoes, inhabiting the country immedi-
ately north of the hostile Indians, would unite with them, and,
forming a powerful combination, would devastate the defenceless
before our Government could adopt measures for its relief. The
opportunity was a tempting one to a savage tribe naturally dis-
posed to war, and always* prepared for its most sudden exigen-
cies; and many of the Winnebagoes were eager to rush into the
contest. But the policy of Naw-caw was decidedly pacific, and
his conduct was consistant with his judgment and his professions.
To keep his followers from temptation, as well as fo pl^ce them
under tne eye of an agent of our Government, he encamped with
them near the agency, under the charge of Mr. [John H.] Kinzie,
expressing on all occasions his, disapprobation of the war, and
his determination to avoid all connection with those engaged in
it The Indian tribes are often divided into parties, having their
respective leaders, who alone can control their partisans in times
of excitement. So among the Winnebagoes; a few restless and
unprincipled individuals, giving loose to their propensity for blood
and plunder by joining the war parties, while the great body of
the tribe remained at peace, under the influence of their vener-
able chief."

Immediately on the close of the Black-Hawk War, by a treaty
concluded Sept. 15, 1832, at Ft. Armstrong, at Rock Island, 111.,
the Winnebagoes ceded to the United States all of their lands
lying south and east of the Wisconsin River and* the Fox River
of Green Bay; and, by a subsequent treaty concluded Nov, 1,
1837, they parted with the residue of their lands lying east of
the Mississippi. By the terms of this last treaty, they were to
remove beyond the river named within eight months thereafter,
an engagement they did not comply with until some three years

* A more detailed account of the Winnebago War, as it manifested itself
in the vicinity of Chicago, will be found in Number Ten of Fergus' Historical
Series.x	THE WINNEBAGOES.	\ I45

after. After being unceremoniously changed about from one
reservation to another, by the United States Government, with
little regard for its solemn stipulations, to suit caprices and avarice
,of the ever-encroaching white immigration, we find the Winneba-
goes, in 1865, settled (let us trust permanently) 011 the Omaha
Reservation in Nebraska, where the superintendent of Indian
affairs, in his report for that year, says of them: "This tribe K
characterized by frugality, thrift, and industry to xan extent
unequaled by any other tribe of Indians in the Northwest.
Loyal to the Government, and peaceful toward their neighbors,
they are entitled to the fostering care of the General Govern-
ment" It seems that the shifting of them about for a number
of preceding years had .their means of education and religious
instruction; for, in December^ 1864, we fin<3 they addressed the.
President as follows: "It is our sincere desire to have agairr
established among us such schools as we see in operation among
5^unr^rnahic~children. Fathei^ as soon as you find a permanent
home for us, will you-not do this for us? And, father, as we
would like our children taught the Christian religion as before,
we would like our schools placed under the care of the Presby-
terian Board of Foreign Missions. And last, father, to show you
our sincerity, we desire to have set apart for its establishment,
erection, and support, all of our school funds, and whatever more
is necessary."

Again; the Government agent, in his report for 1866, says,
concerning the Winnebagoes: "There has returned to the tribe,
within the few past weeks, about one hundred soldiers, who have
served, with credit to themselves and to their tribe, in defence of
their county. I consider the Winnebagoes one of the best tribes
of Indians in the country, and, with proper treatment, they will
soon become a self-sustaining, prosperous people." In 1863, their
fighting men were estimated at three hundred and sixty. The
census report of their numbers in 1865 gave them nineteen hun-
dred, omitting those still remaining in-Wisconsin. "They are a
vigorous, athletic race, and received from the Sioux the name of
O-ton-ka, which is said to mean 'the large and strong people'."*
They have given a name to a lake, a fort, a town, and county in
Wisconsin, and to a county in northern Illinois.

* Geo. Gale's "Upper Mississippi."This book is a preservation facsimile produced for
the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
It is made in compliance with copyright law
and produced on acid-free archival

60# book weight paper
which meets the requirements of
ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (permanence of paper).

Preservation facsimile printing and binding
by

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Brookhaven Bindery
La Crosse, Wisconsin
2014