Auglaize County, Ohio - The whole text, 1880 (part 2 of 5)

In order to avoid repetition as much as possible, we introduce biographical sketches of the prominent Indian chiefs of this and other tribes, since the history of a chief is in a significant measure the history of his band. Thus the sketch of a warrior- will exhibit the warlike actions, while a sketch of an orator will reveal the belief and diplomatic character of the whole tribe. The warrior was the representative in battle, as the orator was the spokesman in council, and through these agencies we are enabled to view the life, manners, traditions, and characteristics of the nations the}' represent. In this list of chiefs, men of diverse character are presented which serve to show the many-sided life of the Indian race. Thus is presented Blackhoof, of lofty honor; the Turtle, "the gentleman of his race;" Tecumseh, the ambitious zealot; the Prophet, a frenzied fanatic; Logan, a man of fidelity; Captain Johnny, a friend of the Americans; and Blue Jacket, of rash and violent character.

Black-Hoof

In 1810 when Tecumseh was attempting the consolidation of the Indian tribes from the Mississippi River eastward into Ohio, his first object was to secure the co-operation of the Wyandots, who were celebrated for their talents and valor. With them had been entrusted the "great belt," the symbol of union in previous wars, and the original copy of the treaty of Greenville. The Prophet's influence was here exerted, and by flatter}7 he secured the sympathy of this warlike tribe. These on their journey to the Prophet's town solicited the Miamis, who, in turn, induced the Weas to accompany them. Thus Tecumseh's dream of carrying into execution the plans of the great Pontiac promised to be fairly realized. In June the Prophet refused the supply of salt from Vincennes by the government, which was the first act of defiance. At this time Tecumseh was with the Shawnees on the Auglaize, using his influence to estrange them from the treaty of Greenville, and secure their assistance to carry out his plans. In this, how- ever, he had been anticipated by Gov. Harrison, who had written these tribes and secured their lasting friendship. The new leader found his own people the first to frown upon his scheme of confederation, refusing even to enter into council with him. His failure here is largely attributable to the counter influence of the great Shawnee chief, Black- Hoof. This chief was born in Florida, had been present at Braddock's defeat in 1755, and participated in all the Ohio wars until the treaty of Greenville. He had led the Shawnees in the allied attack upon Ft. Piqua during the French war, and afterwards told Col. Johnston that, "after the battle the ground was so strewn with bullets that basketsful might have been gathered."

He had been the great orator of his tribe, had fought bravely against the western progress of the whites, until disaster dictated the treaty of Wayne, and experience taught the hopelessness of the struggle. After this, as the head chief of his nation, he preserved the influence of his office, and the ascendency in council, and that influence was exerted in favor of peace. Even the eloquence of a Tecumseh was powerless to influence him, and during the following war he remained true to the American cause. Of such weight was his influence with his own nation that, when brought face to face with Tecumseh, he still called forth the loyalty of his people.

He signed the treaty of 1795, and visited Ft. Mc Arthur in 1813, where he was shot by some miscreant, who could not be discovered. The ball struck the cheek, but glanced to the neck, making a very serious wound, by which he was disabled for some weeks. He also visited Washington and Philadelphia, and was the bearer of the celebrated letter of Thomas Jefferson, written to the Shawnees in 1802. In 1831 a proposition was made by the Government to purchase the land of the Shawnees about Wapakoneta. The Indians accordingly held a council, and prepared a petition to Congress, setting forth their grievances and asking additional compensation. A committee was appointed, consisting of Black-Hoof, John Perry, Wayweleapy, and Spybuck, to present the petition to the Government. Francis Duchouquet and Joseph Parks were to act as interpreters. The deputation set forth on this mission about December, 1831. These negotiations resulted in the surrender of the Ohio lands held by the Shawnee nation. An anecdote is told of the celebrated chief, touching this sale of land.

wanted to buy and possess our lands, and remove us out of the way. I consented because I could not help myself, for I never knew them to undertake anything without accomplishing it. I knew that I might as well give up first as last, for they were determined to have our lands."

By long experience the aged chief knew the whites too well, and when lie saw the futility of further resistance he resigned himself to the philosophy of reconciliation with his environment by yielding gracefully to the inevitable. At a council, held at Upper Sandusky in 1818, on the occasion of the death of Tarhe, or the "Crane," the Shawnees, Wyandots, Delawares, Senecas, Ottawas, and Mohawks were present. The business related to the lands of the various nations represented.

Each accused the other of being the first to sell their land to the government. The Shawnees were particularly alluded to as the last to come into the country and the first to sell to the whites. The personalities and vituperation of the intemperate but able Red Jacket became odious, and the Shawnees only waited an opportunity to be heard. They whose tradition taught them that the Great Spirit first created them from his own brain, and thus gave them all the wisdom, as all other tribes and colors were created from the inferior parts of the body, could not sit idly by and have their great name and fame traduced. The opportunity having occurred, the representative of the proud nation appeared in Black-Hoof, who, tracing the history of the various tribes, treaties, and alliances, retorted against the Wyandots and Senecas with bitter sarcasm and pointed severit}'. The discussion was thus opened by the two greatest orators, after which all the other orators of note spoke for their respective tribes. Bitter personalities and taunting national reproaches were freely indulged, and the council broke up in confusion. At its close, when the wampum belt, the emblem of amit}', was passed, some of the chiefs would not permit it to touch their hands. No greater indignity could be offered, and unusual anxiety and despondency prevailed until the next day. During the night all acknowledged the blunder of the occasion, but looked about wondering who would be equal to the embarrassment under which they labored.. The council convened with a full attendance; silence prevailed until it was oppressive even to savages. At length the suspense was dissipated by Black-Hoof, he of commanding influence, of unsurpassed ability, and of celebrated oratory. He rose, possessing the key to the situation ; he had lost nothing in the contest of yesterday ; he had everything to win in this council of to-day. With the wampum in his hand, ho rehearsed the proceedings of the preceding day, and declared "they acted like children and not like men; that they had driven him to the defence of his nation; he was driven to meet them with their own weapons; but regretted the occasion which called forth his speech, and so regretted the speech itself. He had not feared to meet them in their own field, and that being unsatisfactory, he now proposed a new field which he believed they all would enter. He therefore appeared to recall those foolish words, and by consent of all his people who were present, he did regret and recall them." At the close his wampum was accepted by all, and the other chiefs hastily followed his example until all had presented and accepted the emblem of peace. The difficulty was settled, the council concluded in harmony, and the whole affair was forgotten

He is closely identified with our history, as his village, " Black-Hoof Town," his old home, is the present site of St. Johns. Of his character it may be said that, like many other great Indians, he possessed a high sense of honor, and during his whole career evinced the noble characteristics of a lofty and humane mind. He loathed polygamy, and abhorred the practice of burning prisoners. Against these he brought the force of his teaching and practice. He was of a cheerful disposition, mild in manners, and vivacious in conversation. He was said to have been rather small, not exceeding five feet eight inches in height. True to his public acts, after treaties of peace to which he was a party, he could not be induced to violate fidelity or compromise honor, and although urged to join against the whites by other tribes, he remained true to terms of peace at his own village, where he died in 1831, at the advanced age of 110 years.

Being an old chief he was buried with the Ancient Indian ceremonies. On this occasion the whole tribe, realizing the loss sustained in the death of their honored chief, wore an appearance of solemnity and sadness. At his lodge, the body of the chief was wrapped in a new Indian blanket, surrounded by a large quantity of calico, belts, and ribbons. The corpse was upon a new slab, and his gun, tomahawk, knife, and pi pe at his side. The Indians wore a very desolated appearance with their garments loose about them, their hair hanging as loosely as their garments, and many of their faces painted in ancient style. The men were all seated and smoking near the corpse. They looked upon him in tearful silence for several hours, and resembled a large family of children mourning the loss of an only parent. In front of the cabin was a large quantity of meat, the spoils of a two days' hunt by young men selected for that purpose. Twenty deer, besides turkeys and other game were killed, as no tame meat was permitted to lie eaten. This food was simply stacked in the yard, and guarded by small boys. The very presence of dogs wras forbidden. When about to proceed to the grave, a few of the choice young men, arranged the clothing about the body, placed four large straps beneath it, and bore it to the -place of its long rest.

No children were permitted to be taken in the procession, in oi'der to prevent all noise, as the ceremonies were to be as noiseless as the grave they approached. The order of march was taken up, with the family of the dead chief at the head, followed by his successor and the other chiefs, and then the whole company in succession.

On reaching the grave they formed about it in a group. The grave was about three and one-half feet deep, with a split puncheon at the bottom and sides. The corpse was lowered, the clothing last worn placed upon his body, and his old moccasins cut in pieces and placed with the clothing. This done, another slab was laid over all. At this moment John Perry, head chief, took some seeds, and, beginning at the head, walked around the grave, sprinkling them as he moved. He then went directly to the house, followed by all present, except three men, Who remained to close the grave. On leaving the grave they proceeded in- single file, none looking back. They then commenced conversation, and, after smoking once around the company, the}' opened the feast. It was now late, and the remainder of the day was devoted to feasting and dancing according to the primitive Indian custom.

Way-Wel-Ea-Py

was the principal speaker of the Shawnees, and delivered the opinions of his tribe at all treaties and in public assemblies. He was an eloquent orator, grave, gay, or humerous, as occasion required. At times his manner is said to have been quite fascinating, his countenance so full of varied expressions, and his voice so musical, that surveyors and other strangers passing through the country listened to him with delight, although the words fell upon their ears in an unknown language.

During the negotiations for the sale of their reserve he addressed his people and Gardner several times, extracts of which will be found elsewhere in this volume.

Col. Johnston says he often met this chief at his trading post in Wapakoneta: that he was a fine looking Indian, and was always ready to cultivate the friendship of the pioneers. He went west with his tribe, where he lived many years.

head chief of the Shawnees, often traded at the store of Col. Johnston, and was known by all the early settlers. He conld converse fluently in English, and was a man of good habits and influence with his tribe. He signed the treaty of 1831 at Wapakoneta, and when he learned that the tribe had been deceived, he went to Washington, with others of his tribe, to see if the President would change the treaty. A bill was presented to Congress, but it was many years before any action was taken in the matter. He went west with the tribe.

Little Turtle

Michikinagwa, or Little Turtle, was the son of a Miami chief and Mohican woman. As the Indian custom gives to offspring the condition of the mother, he had to earn whatever rank he might attain. His extraordinary talents secured him rank at an early age, and his first services were those of a warrior. His history is closely interwoven with that of the expeditions of Gen. Harmar, who was defeated by the braves of the Turtle, and that of St. Clair in his expedition against the Miami Valleys in December, 1791. The Turtle was chief commander of the Wyandots, Shawnees, Delawares, and Senecas in that memorable engagement in which St. Clair was compelled to retreat upon Ft. Jefferson in carnage and disaster. This slaughter is said to have but one parallel, which is the defeat of Braddock. The subsequent victory of Gen. Scott served only to exasperate the Turtle and his followers. Again he was brought to face Gen. Wayne ("the Black Snake") when he marched against Presque Isle in 1792. During the night oreceding this battle some of the chiefs favored attacking Wayne that night, but it was at length determined to wait until the next day, and then attack Presque Isle. This proposition was favored by Blue Jacket, but opposed by the Turtle. The latter even felt the hopelessness of the cause, and was inclined to peace. He urged : " We have beaten the enemy twice under separate commanders, and cannot expect the same continued good fortune. The Americans are now led by a chief who never sleeps. The day and night are alike to him, and during all his marches upon our villages, notwithstanding the watchfulness of our young men, we have been utterly unable to surprise him. Think well of this; there is something whispers to me, it will be prudent to listen to offers of peace." Charged with cowardice by other chiefs, he took his position in battle, but the success of Wayne only confirmed the wisdom of his position. After the conclusion of peace lie settled about twenty miles from Ft. Wayne on Eel River, where the government erected him a comfortable house. He visited Washington and Philadelphia on several occasions. Although he would not attend the councils of 1802 and 1803, yet he was chosen one of four referees by the chiefs of the other tribes, the duty of these four being "to finally settle and adjust a treaty" with the agents of the United States. The Turtle was the head of this commission. He had many opposers all along among the chiefs, which would, perhaps, explain his sometimes vacillating conduct, as he had to sacrifice his own judgment at times to palliate an opposing majority, and thus sustain his position. He even opposed Tecuinseh and the Prophet in all their designs, which probably accounted in a measure for their tardiness of preparation. Of his character it may be said he looked with horror upon intemperance and human sacrifice. Brave as the bravest, he could not look upon the torture of any, and so gave his great influence against the crime. Whether his motives were of a pure or sinister character, it is certain he condemned the intemperance of his people, and took active measures against the wrong. While in the east he was a keen observer of the manners of civilized life and the working of our institutions, making inquiries pertaining to everything which came under his observation. During his visit to Philadelphia in 1797 he met and became personally acquainted with Kosciusco, in whose story of the great crime against Poland he was interested to deep emotion. On his return he visited Oapt. Harrison (Governor), and made further inquiries concerning the great European murder of human rights. When the Capt. gave him a description of the last defeat of Kosciusko, he rose and pacing the floor, exclaimed in agitation: "Let that woman (the Empress of Russia) take care; this may yet be a dangerous man" (Kosciusko). During this visit he also became acquainted with the renowned French philosopher, C. F. Volney, who took great interest in the savage, as the author was then preparing his "Travels in America." The Turtle had just communicated with Gov. Harrison touching the approaching war. of 1812, and announced his sympathy for the American cause, when he died at Ft. Wayne, July 14, 1812, and was buried by the commander with the honors of war.

A Shooting Star

The weight of authority fixes the birth of this mighty warrior at the Indian town Piqua, on Mad River, in 1768. His father's name was Puckesninwau, of the Kiscopoke band, and his mother's name Methoataske, of the Turtle tribe, of the Shawnee nation. The parents with others of the tribe came from the south to the Ohio valley, under the leadership of the great chief Blackhoof, about the middle of the eighteenth century, and first stopped on the Scioto, but finally removed to the Mad River Valley.

Puckeshinwau was killed in the battle of Kahawha, in 1714, and Methoastaske returned to the south, and lived to an advanced age anions: the Cherokee Indians. Tecumseh is said to have been carefully educated by his brother Cheeseekau, which education was presumably in the arts of hunting and fighting. True, it is related he was taught a love for truth, and contempt for falsehood. There is little doubt he was taught a love for those cardinal virtues, courage in battle and fortitude in hardship. In all these his instructor seems to have been eminently qualified, according to the savage idea, for his pupil ever after gave evidence of the development of these Indian virtues in a very marked degree. He boasted of his truth and fidelity, which as individual he sustained throughout his checkered career.

The events of the period in which he was ushered into life and action undoubtedly did much to mould his character. All enter an arena under conditions which shape and mould their plastic conduct. He was young during the period of the Revolutionary War, and its influence was felt by the savages, even in the remote Ohio. The fierce and bloocby border war, too, had its vitiating effects, for the whites here even vied with the savages in the commission of fiendish barbarities. Rocked in this cradle of carnage, to the lullaby of the war-whoop, he developed a love for war and a hate for Americans. In 1780 he was a participant in the defence of the Machachac villages against Gen. Logan. The conduct of the whites on this occasion was calculated to teach anything but justice or humanity, and if Tecumseh in this, his first battle, did flee from the field, we would call it the result of horror at the cruelt}- of the whites, rather than cowardice on the part of the warrior. In lus next en<>a<jement, against some flat boats which were descending the Ohio River, he signalized his bravery in his rash lead according to the Indian idea; but to us he exhibited more genuine courage when he looked with abhorrence on the burning of the single prisoner of the fight, and denounced the fiendish practice in such unmeasured and forcible terms that the horrid rite was abandoned by his immediate followers. The great victories are ever on the side of moral courage, rather than in the field of physical desperation. In 1787, in true harmony with the Shawnee character, he and his brother with a small party of Kiscopokes started westward on an adventurous expedition. They halted for a. while on the Mississinewa,, but afterwards moved to the Mississippi, and encamped at the mouth of Apple Creek. At the expiration of about nine months they proceeded south to the Ohio, and engaged in a buffalo hunt, in which Tecumseh was thrown from his horse, sustaining such injuries that the party was delayed several weeks opposite Ft. Massac. From here they went south and engaged with the Cherokees in their war with the whites. Here Cheeseekau lost his life, and his younger brother and pupil, Tecumseh, assumed the command during the two following years spent in the south. After a wild career of adventure, in company with eight warriors, he started for the north, crossed the Ohio near the mouth of the Scioto, visited the Machachac villages, and came to the Auglaize in 1790, after an absence from Ohio of about three years. At the time of St. Clair's defeat Tecumseh was acting as a scout, and so did not take part in the battle.

In 1792 he was met in a skirmish by a small party under Simon Kenton, and again the following year he was defeated by a party under the same famous scout.

In the battle of Presque Isle, Tecumseh led a party of Shawnees, where he was opposed by Capt. Harrison, who afterward became his chief antagonist. In 1795 he appears on Deer Creek, simply as a hunter. During the year he undertook the formation of a band of which he was to be chief. The following year thej' moved to the great Miami, where they remained until 1798, when they joined the Delawares upon White River. Here he continued several years, until some difficulties arose calling forth the council of Urbana in 1799. Here Tecumseh appeared as an orator, whose style was said by the interpreter to be so loft}' and his words so eloquent, that his speech was interpreted with great difficulty. At the time of an excitement consequent upon the commission of some border murders, he frankly disavowed and denounced such conduct, and eloquently spoke of the peaceful relations of the whites and Indians. About this time the Prophet Brother arose, who acted in concert with Tecumseh, although his personal means were of a more questionable character. His early and later life is enshrouded in mystery perhaps as deep as that by which he practised upon the credulity of his converts.

In 1805 the Tawa Shawnees, at the head of the Auglaize, sent a deputation of visitors to Tecumseh and other chiefs to invite them to the Tawa villages. The invitation was accepted, but on the way Tecumseh and Laulewusikaw met at Greenville, where they concluded to remain. The latter had gathered hints enough from the missionaries to be crafty and cun- ning. He did not mutter from dark ledges, nor tell fortunes in the sand. He could not be a sorcerer nor impostor, because he was a preacher and a prophet. In November, 1805, he addressed an assembly at Wapakoneta. setting forth his new mission, and declaring some tenets he had received from the Great Spirit. He it was who had visited the clouds and entered the dwelling place of the devil, where he saw all who had died drunkards with flames issuing from their mouths. Consequently, he denounced drunkenness and many other evils, and closed by assuring them that the Great Spirit had given him power to confound his enemies, to cure diseases, and prevent death. These claims were calculated to impress the superstitious minds of the Indians. President Jefferson wrote of the Prophet: -

"He is more rogue than fool, if to be a rogue is not the greatest of all follies. * * * His followers increased until the British thought him worth corrupting and found him corruptible." . He burned his victims for witchcraft when no more plausible pretext could be invented ; was cruel and heartless, even fiendish in his ambitious designs, and did not scruple to employ diabolical methods when they promised success.

The first check he received was on the occasion of the execution of the sentence of death for witchcraft passed upon the wife and nephew of Teteboxti. The nephew died at the hands of relentless fanaticism and heartless ambition, but when the time for the burning of the woman arrived, her brother, a young man of twenty, humane and brave enough to be noble, started up and led the condemned sister from the house, exclaiming, "The Devil (the prophet) has come amongst us, and we are killing each other." It penetrated the uncouth exterior of the savages and touched the hearts of the assembly till their . response was s}Tmpathetic. It is enough for our general purpose to say of the Prophet that he used all the seductive arts of which he was master in the interest of his brother's cause, and in his devotion to that cause did not scruple to adopt means nor hesitate to practise arts on which the higher nature of that brother must have looked with abhorrence and contempt. He made himself powerful as an ally, being able to command and willing to endure. We turn then to the nobler character, and behold in Tecumseh a picture of more refreshingtint and a life of higher symmetry.

We speak of the individual virtues of Tecumseh as standing in contrast to the sordid character of the Prophet, but we remember all the sordid measures of the vicious character were emploj'ed by the agent, and with the knowledge of Tecumseh. When he had not the desire to act, he stood be- hind the curtain and gave his sympathy to those actors who played for his glory. Ambition at times seized and controlled the man like the evil spirits of olden legend. Where his manhood benumbed his tongue, he spoke through the Prophet as a medium, and where his heart paralyzed his hand he commanded agents who were devoid of hearts.

While his inmost nature must have revolted at the fiendishness of his brother, that brother was his agent, and ambition saw no misery and knew no right. Ambition like a fiend seized victim after victim among the chiefs and destroyed them by the Prophet for witchcraft. True, Tecumseh was behind the curtain, but the Council of 1807 discovered him behind his mask of falsehood and his methods behind the curtain of pretence. Deaf Chief asked of the Governor why he was not called to confront Tecumseh, as he was desirous of asserting the truth to his brethren. When this became known to Tecumseh, he sent an order to have the aged chief killed on his return. A friend of the latter warned him, but the intrepid chief returned to his family, put on the war paint and dress, seized his rifle and other weapons, and went over to the camp of Tecumseh. Mr. Baron, the Governor's interpreter, was present. As soon as the chief advanced, he upbraided Tecumseh for having given the order to assassinate him as cowardly and unworthy of a warrior. But rising, the personation of right and exponent of honor, he exclaimed, " but here I am now; come and kill me." Tecumseh quailed before the man he would assassinate, but dared not meet on equal terms. " Then," exclaimed the enraged warrior, "you and 3'our men can kill the white people's hogs and call them bears, but you dare not lace a warrior." Tecumseh was still silent when the chief heaped upon him every insult which might provoke a duel, told him that he was the slave of the red-coats, and at length applied that term of reproach which an Indian never forgets nor forgives. Disgusted with what he called the cowardice of Tecumseh, the chief raised the war-whoop of defiance, and left the place. That the cowardly order of Tecumseh was executed is evidenced by our authority, who states: "The Deaf Chief was no more seen at Vincennes." Ambition has chilled the nature and calloused the heart of brighter lights than Tecumseh ; it has surrounded once noble, generous natures by icy atmospheres of repulsion and stifled the nobler promptings and holier emotions of naturally more sensitive organizations than that of the savage. It destroys the temple of manhood, and erects upon its ruins impostors, murderers, and assassins. Of Tecumseh it first made a pretender, and his life, thus becoming a falsehood and discord, could not approach nearer harmony than the role of a masked assassin. True, the arm was too humnne to strike the ignoble blow, Imt diabolical agents abound who know no humanity and know no heart. Pitiless at first, they are remorseless at last.

At the time of the peace negotations, Tecumseh was one of a deputation who returned to the seat of government with the commissioners. On this visit to the Governor he attempted to prove the nullity of all treaties, as he claimed the lands could not be sold by any tribe, as they were the inheritance of the whole red race.

In 1807 we find him in council at Springfield, where his ambition stultified his prudence and manifested a course of rash defiance rather than his usual pacific role as peacemaker. He at length revealed his plans, turned the Prophet's fame and power to his purpose, and that purpose was the confederation of all the Indians for the repulsion of the whites and their ultimate repression beyond the Alleghenies. Pontiac was his model, and so it required no genius to plan the scheme, for the model had planned it years before. It did require genius of a peculiar character to execute the borrowed design. The originality of Tecumseh is manifest in his adoption of the means placed in his hands by his unscrupulous brother. If the brother was a fanatic, he was heartless; if Tecumseh was a despot, he was noble. Glory was his ruling passion, and this passion sometimes governed his nobler instincts and higher impulses. He had witnessed the union of the " Seventeen Fires," and sought the union of the more numerous tribes.

In 1809 he attempted to secure the co-operation of the Wyandots and Senecas, but was opposed by the Crane, who "feared Tecumseh was working for no good purpose at Tippecanoe, and preferred to wait a few j'ears, and if they found their red brethren then contented and happy, they would probably join them." In 1810 the conviction prevailed that the plans of Tecumseh were hostile to the United States. The imprudence of the Prophet exposed the scheme, for he had boasted he "would follow the footsteps of the great Pontiac." An overt act, the refusal to accept an annuity sent from Vincennes, gave not only a hostile but defiant air to his purpose. Tecumseh was then with the Shawnees at Wapakoneta seeking their assistance, but met here in Blackhoof that opposition and repudiation he had previously encountered in the Crane among the Wyandots and Senecas. Failing in a few instances of this character, his work was delayed, and the Prophet interposed to remove some of the opposition engendered by destroying Leather Lips and others for witchcraft, when he could not impose upon them by superstition. At this juncture he appeared to consider the case of that desperate character which demands desperate methods. The second overt act was the seizure of annuities in transit for other tribes. Again Tecumseh was absent, having gone south after telling General Harrison he would be absent about a year. This was evidently not his intention ; at all events he had accomplished his mission and returned in much less time; but he returned to witness the ruins of his whole ideal government, to see the frustration of his life plan, and become a victim of that disappointment which stings to desperation.

He had warned his brother against exposure, and told him to avoid trouble at all hazards. The Prophet failed because his insolence overcame his judgment, and General Harrison moved against the Tippecanoe confederacy. On October 7, he fully saw and appreciated the designs of the Prophet, moved upon his village, met him, defeated him, and the confederacy was lost. Tecumseh returned in a few days to behold the ruins of his cause, and the disgrace of the Prophet. So deep was his mortification, that he reproached his brother, and even threatened to kill him. Deeply humiliated as he was, he was }'et denounced as a murderer, and sank into obscurity. Tecumseh now spent, some time in minor changes, until at last he was refused ammunition by the government agents, when he went to Maiden and joined the British.

Subsequently he participated in all the sieges and battles of the western forts, until his death at the battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813. The bloodthirstiness of his warriors was only checked by his presence. The British officers either could not or would not curb their ferocitj- ; hence the distressing and horrid massacres of the Raisin and Fort Meigs were committed in the absence of Tecumseh. In the latter instance, General Proctor is said to have permitted the Indians to select their victims and massacre them in whatever manner they saw fit ; he is even represented to have witnessed this operation during the period of two hours, which, if it be true, would make the veiy earth blush with shame, and the cold forts rain tears of pity. If true, it is to the shame, not of a nation or day alone, but of the race and age, and if false, it is to the credit of the nation and race. At all events Tecumseh rode up as fast as his horse could carry him to a spot where two Indians were killing a prisoner. He sprang from his horse, caught one Indian by the throat and the other by the breast, and threw them to the ground; then, drawing his knife and hatchet, and running between the Indians and prisoners, brandished his weapons wildly and dared the attack on another prisoner. Maddened by the barbarity which he loathed, he

" Begone !" answered the chief with a sarcastic sneer, "you are unfit to command; go, you are not a man." Let the rebuke be the reproach of a savage; it is worthy of recognition to-da}r, for in the humanity of manhood is the philosophy of life. Let the gem be found among the debris, it is just as lustrous as if found in the ocean depth ; let a truth rise out of the depth, it is just as beautiful as if it had descended from the azure heights on a sunbeam ; let the lesson be taught by savage or civilized agent, it loses none of its intrinsic worth. The whites did not monopolize the higher traits of character. After his reproach upon General Proctor his attention was directed to a group of Indians with something in their midst. Pointing to this group, Colonel Elliott said, " Yonder are four of your nation who have been taken prisoners, you may do with them as you think proper." The chief walked up to the company and found four Shawnee Indians, Big Jim, Soldier, and the Perry Brothers. Addressing them he said, " Friends, Colonel Elliott has placed you under my charge; I will send you back to your nation with a talk to our people." This he did, discharging them on parole, which stands in contrast against the part of Proctor, as the sunbeam with the night cloud.

His life as an individual, throughout exhibits deeds of fidelity, prompted by his noble nature when not influenced by his sordid ambition. As an individual he was brave and generous, but led warriors of hj-ena-like propensities. To keep these in check sometimes demanded an iron hand.

As intimated, he continued in the service of the British until the battle of the Thames, in 1813, when he fell, shot by a revolver in the hands of a cavalry man, by many believed to be Colonel Johnson, who commanded the cavalry. This is the account of Shaubena and others who claimed that Colonel J. shot him with a pistol at the moment the chief aimed his tomahawk at the Colonel. The battle was a desperate hand to hand encounter after the dash upon the Indians by the cavalry. This body was almost cut to pieces, but dismounting, although their Colonel was wounded, they saved the field. In a conflict of this kind it would be next to impossible to distinguish who shot this or that particular individual. At his fall the Indians became demoralized and fled to the swamps.

Logan, Or Captain Logan

Logan, whose Indian name was Spenica Lawbe, i.e., the High Horn, was taken prisoner when a youth, l>3r Gen. Logan in his expedition against the Mack-a-ehack town of Logan County in 1786. This youth was named Logan by the whites in Kentucky, to which name the title of captain was afterward prefixed. His appearance was commanding, as he was about six feet high, weighed two hundred pounds, and possessed the lofty bearing of the true savage. His intimacy with the whites ripened into friendship, and became of great service to the Americans, for whom he fought with constancy until he offered up his life in their cause in 1812. After the fall of Detroit, the commander at Ft. Wayne, Col. Johnson, became solicitous about the safety of the women and children under Ins charge, and desired their removal to some safer point in Ohio. He, therefore, called for volunteers to escort them to Ft. Piqua. Captain Logan responded at once, and so was given charge of a few other mounted volunteers who acted as escort. So solicitous was he on this mission, that it is said he never slept during the trip from Ft. Wayne to Piqua. Again, in September, while the troops lay at Piqua awaiting flints, agent Johnson, at the instance of Gen. Harrison, secured the services of Logan as a spy. In this capacity he proceeded undiscovered, entered Fort Wayne, and returned safely with the intelligence of the siege of the fort and the death of Stephen Johnston, the agent's brother, who was shot while attempting to escape with the news of the siege. This information was of great importance to Gen. Harrison, who at once pushed the army forward to the relief of the besieged garrison. In November, 1812, he was placed in charge of a small party of scouts by Gen. Harrison, with instructions to reconnoitre in the direction of the Maumee Rapids. When near this point they met a superior force of the enemy, and were compelled to retreat. Logan, in company with his favorite companions, Captain Johnny and Bright Horn, escaped to the left wing of the army under command of Gen. Winchester, who was informed of their adventure. A subordinate officer without provocation charged Logan with infidelity to the Americans and sympathy for the enemy. Stung with indignation, the chief called a friend to witness that he would refute the foul charge the next day, by either leaving his body to bleach in the woods, or returning with the warrior's trophy of victory. Accordingly, on the 22d of Novera- ber, in compare with his faithful friends, Captain Johnny and Bright Horn, he started down the Maumee. About noon, while resting, they were surprised by seven savages, among whom were the Pottawatomie Chief Winnemac and young Elliott, bearing a British commission. Outnumbered, as he was, Logan met Winnemac with open hand, told him they were tired of the American cause, and just then deserting to join the English. The suspicions of Winnemac caused him to disarm his prisoners, and then proceed toward the British camp at the rapids. These three, however, had no idea of remaining prisoners, and at once commenced planning an escape. Their prudence inspired that confidence in their captors which caused their guns to be restored, and, while marching along, they contrived to place bullets in their mouths to have in readiness for reloading when the opportunity presented. Captain Johnny, to remove the suspicion which might attach to this movement, remarked, "me chaw heap tobac." In the evening they encamped on Turkey Foot creek, about twenty miles from the American camp. Here, believing the prisoners to be deserters as represented, the captors rambled about in search of black haws. Some were out of sight when Logan signalled the attack upon those who remained. At the first fire two of the enem}' fell dead, and a third mortally wounded. At this onset all parties came in reach, fired, and "treed." There were now four of the enemy, which gave such an advantage that, while Logan watched the front, the fourth passed around until the great warrior was exposed, and shot him through the body. Two of the surviving four were at this moment wounded, and compelled to fall back. At this juncture Captain Johnny mounted Logan, mortally wounded, and Bright Horn, also wounded, upon two of the enemy's horses, when they left the field and reached Winchester's camp about midnight. Captain Johnny secured the scalp of Winnemac, and, proceeding on foot, reached camp about daylight. Of the seven captors, five were either killed or mortally wounded by Logan and companions. This event produced a mournful sensation in camp, as all regretted the accusation which produced such unhappy results. Logan died two or three days later, after requesting Col. Johnson to send his two sons to Kentucky to be educated by Major Hardin. Col. Johnson did all he could to carry out the wishes of the dead chief, but was frustrated in his efforts by the Indians, and especial^ by the mother of the bo3*s, who prevented the execution of the colonel's plans. The children accompanied their mother to the west, and became as wild as any of the race. Of Logan it may be said he was popularly esteemed for bravely, fidelity, and magnanimity. He was closely identified with this county, as his home was at Wapakoneta, where his remains were brought for burial. In consideration of his fidelity he was granted a section of land within the county, still known as the u Logan Section," in the township bearing his name. His last acts exhibit that high sense of honor which [(referred death to a dastard's or traitor's name. On these qualities is built the immortality of his fame.

Captain Johnny

Captain Johnny and his braves are understood to have lived on the west bank of the Pusheta Creek, just north of the bridge. This chief, in the capacity of a scout, did great service to the American cause. He was with his old comrade Logan, who was mortally wounded near the Maumee Rapids, in November, 1812, while serving General Harrison. The earlier history of Captain Johnny is referred to by Prancis Dunlevy, a member of Capt. Craig Ritchie's Company in "Crawford's Expedition." During an engagement by these forces, Dunlev3' had been engaged with an Indian of huge proportions. Later in the evening this Indian crept cautiously and stealthily through the top of a tree lately fallen, until supposing himself close enough to Dunlevy, he threw his tomahawk, but his aim missed and he fled. This Indian, Dunlevy believed he afterward recognized as "Big Captain Johnny," who during the war of 1812-13 was with the friendly Shawnees of Wapakoneta. Dunlevy further says: "I frequently saw this Indian; he must have been seven feet in height, and as frightfully ugly as he was unusually large."

That he was courageous and magnanimous is attested by his warm personal friendship and association with Logan. When that chief sought companions for his last perilous and fatal expedition, he sought Captain Johnny and Bright Horn, and when he and Bright Horn were wounded, Captain Johnny found horses for their safe retreat to camp, while he undertook the trip alone and on foot. His fidelity to a cause is attested to by his connection with the American army, and his fidelity to individuals by his career with Logan and Bright Horn.

was one of the three noted chiefs whom Col. Johnston selected as scouts for Gen. Harrison in the war of 1812. He was present when Logan was mortally wounded in the contest with Winemac, and was severely wounded in the thigh in the same fight, but recovered. He lived at Wapakoneta, and was a large, commanding Indian in appearance, with good influence with his tribe. He was a brave man, and fought like a hero for our cause in the war of 1812. He is said to have died at Wapakoneta in 1825 or '26.

a Shawnee of some note, and was well known to Col. John Johnston, as he often accompanied him on his trips through the forest among the different tribes. His son Henry Clay was named after Henry Clay of Kentucky, and was educated at Upper Piqua, under the supervision of Col. Johnston, at the expense of the Quaker friends. He afterwards became a leading chief, and was a man of considerable talent. He went to Kansas with his tribe, and lived many years after their removal.

Peter Cornstalk

was a chief of some distinction. He is believed to have been a son of the celebrated chief Cornstalk of Chillicothe, who was assassinated at Point Pleasant, Ya. He was a large, fine looking Indian, a man of honor, and a true friend of the whites. It is said he often visited the trading posts, and was known to a good many of the pioneers.

In 1790 Blue Jacket was associated with Little Turtle in command of the Indian forces opposing Gen. Harmar, and was chief commander of the allied Indians who were defeated by Gen. Wayne in 1794. On the night preceding the battle a council was held in which the nations of Miamis, Pottawatomies, Delawares, Shawnees, Chippewas, Ottawas, and Senecas were represented. The council decided to postpone action for the night. The expediency of attacking Wayne at Presque Isle was then considered. Blue Jacket warmly favored this proposition, and Little Turtle as seriously and more ably opposed it. The advice of Blue Jacket, however, prevailed over the wiser counsel of the Turtle. The battle was fought with desperation, and the Indians were disastrously defeated. In the following October Blue Jacket concurred in the expediency of suing for peace, and accordingly, at the head of a deputation of chiefs, was about to visit Gen. Wayne, when he was intercepted by Gov. Simcoe, Col. McKee, and the chief, John Brant, who, with about 150 warriors, arrived at the rapids and invited Blue Jacket and his allies to meet them at the rapids of the Detroit on the tenth of the month. Bine Jacket assented to hear the proposition of the British agents, and Gov. Simcoe urged the chiefs to continue their hostile attitude toward the Americans. He roused their fiery passions by speaking of the encroachments of the whites, told them the Ohio lands were theirs by right, and that he had given orders to the commandant at Fort Miami to fire upon the Americans whenever opportunity presented. He further advised them to obtain a cessation of hostilities until the following season, when the English would be ready to attack the Americans, drive them over the Ohio, and restore to the Indians all this body of land. This action delayed the conclusion of peace until the next summer. When the council met at Greenville in 1*195 to form a treaty Blue Jacket was present, and acted with moderation and dignity. He appeared as a Shawnee speaker, although his rank was that of a warrior. When he met Gen. Wayne he apologized for his tardiness, and gave the most solemn assurance of his sincerity. On the second day he explained the relationship of the tribes and justified the position he had taken, as follows: "Brothers, I hope you will not take amiss my change of seat in this council. You all know the Wyandots are our uncles, the Delawares the grandfathers, and the Shawnees the elder brothers of the other nations represented. It is therefore fitting that I sit next my uncles and grandfathers."

Toward the close of the council he rose in the capacity of a warrior and delivered a speech which exhibits the temporary and changing character and relationship of a war chief. He said: "Elder brothers, and you other brothers present, .you see me now appear as a war chief to lay down that commission and place myself subject to the village (civil) chiefs who will hereafter command me."

Although his protestations of peace and friendship were positive and assuring, he was afterward found implicated with the visionary but exterminating scheme of the pretenders, Tecumseh and his fanatical brother. Touching his duplicity, a single incident will serve our purpose. In 1800 he agreed to discover to a company a valuable mine on the Kentucky River. His demands for rewards increased with the eagerness of the company. As he was sustained at their expense, he was in no haste to conclude the negotiations. When at length terms were closed, the horses, goods, and moneys delivered, Blue Jacket and an associate chief, and their families, were escorted to Kentucky in great pomp. They were treated in a very flattering manner, their every want being anticipated. When the fabled region was reached the chief spent some time in fasting, praying, and powwowing to obtain the Groat Spirit's consent to reveal the hiding-place of the secret wealth. The answer, obtained in a dream, was about as satisfactory as the usual dream revelation, and many days were spent in fruitless search. Failing to find the promised treasure, he threw the responsibility upon his eyes, which were bedimined by age, and promised to send his son, who was young and knew the exact spot for which they sought. The son, of course, came not, and the Blue Jacket Mining Association, like many others of later date, abandoned the project to enter bankruptcy. Prior to the war of 1812 he lived upon the Auglaize, engaged in the sale of liquor at Wapakoneta, but after the disastrous results of that war he became dissatisfied and discouraged, went West, and is believed to have died in Illinois, at the present site of Peoria.

The Friends At Wapakoneta

About 1794 the Society of Friends became interested in the welfare of the Indians and frontiersmen of the Northwest Territory. A fresh war had broken out, drenching the frontier with blood, until deeply moved by this horror the "Yearly Meeting of Friends" appointed a large committee to use its influence against these desolating hostilities. This committee prepared and presented to Congress a memorial recommending the adoption of such just and pacific, measures as appeared calculated to arrest further bloodshed, and establish a lasting peace. In 1795, Gen. Wayne held the Greenville Council, which was attended by the Shawnees, Delawares, Wyandots, Ottawas, Chippewas, Pottawatoinies, Eel River, Weas, Kickapoos, and Kaskaskias. At the opening Gen. Wayne read the address of the " Friends Yearly Meeting" at Philadelphia, and delivered some presents, which had been sent to the Indians. He then spoke of this letter in very commendatory terms, and also of the grent solicitude of the Quakers, touching the welfare of the Indians. For an indefinite period antecedent to the war of 1812 the Friends had labored with the Shawnees at Wapakoneta, but during that war the mission was suspended. Resuming then, they by the consent of the government, and at their own expenses, erected a grist- and saw-mill on the Auglaize, at Wapakoneta, and made various other improvements for the benefit of the Indians.

Among other things of this class they erected a residence for the superintendent and his family, Isaac Harvey, who were placed in charge of the mission, the object of which was to encourage the Indians in the improvement and cultivation of their lands and otherwise contribute to the amelioration of their condition. Under the instruction thus imparted the Indians soon acquired some proficiency in agriculture, the products being corn, beans, and pumpkins. The corn was ground at the mission mill free of toll, and the Indians were thus provided means superior to the old method of pounding the grain into hominy. The Society of Friends bore all the expense incident to the erection and maintenance of these mills. The expense, too, was enormous for those days, as Wapakoneta was a remote point thirty miles from white settlements, from which supplies were to be obtained. This distance was rendered terrible by the unfavorable condition of the country for any transfer of goods, as the whole route was through a vast wilderness. The Shawnees were very ignorant about building, and so the Society furnished young men to assist them in the erection of cabins and fences. About this time the Society received a handsome present from a lady Friend in England, which was used in the purchase of farming utensils for the better encouragement of agricultural pursuits.

By this assistance they made rapid progress in civilization, and the acquisition of property. Domestic animals were now introduced to the great advantage and comfort of the Indians, as the horse came to relieve the women of the labor of plowing and carrying burdens. While the men thus learned to provide for their families, the women acquired a better knowledge of their proper sphere and duties until at length a kindhearted but savage and abused people began to realize better days, and look forward with brighter and higher hope. They had by two treaties secured an annuity of $3000, to be paid forever at Wapakoneta, Ohio, for the benefit of the whole tribe. This was promptly paid for a number of years, but at length it was neglected, and the Indians suffered. They had many obstacles to surmount, many doubts to undergo, and many difficulties to encounter in changing the character of their whole lives. It was a single-step transition from savage to civilized life, and this by a proud and independent race was as great a task of reconciliation as ever devolved upon a rude people. Their habits, manners, customs, and language; their very life itself, with its wild unrest, eager pursuits, and burning desires, all to be cast aside like the child's discarded toy. They had from time immemorial been the undisputed lords of the forest, for a continent had been theirs for ages.

The unbounded forest was their home, and destiny had yielded it to them and theirs forever. They knew no superior but the Great Spirit, and they were that Spirit's special care. For them the forest produced its game ; the earth its fruit, and the waters their fishes. Their music was the songs of their mother Nature from whom they sprang, by whom they subsisted, and to whose bosom they woidd return. For generations a world was theirs, and the beneficent Spirit would never disinherit his favorite children. Blind superstitious faith, there approaches jour world a pale-faced child of the Great Spirit who will teach you equity and rob you of your all; who will teach you philanthropy and exterminate your nice. He has now demanded that you change in all save color, and become like him of the pale face, trespassing feet, and grasping avaricious hands. With this status this brave and generous people, yielding to the inevitable, undertook to forget the past, embrace the present, and build a future on the views and manners of the whites. In 1810 they received a letter from their agent, John Johnston, on the subject of their improvement. He urged them earnestly to improve the opportunities offered, and embrace the course recommended by the Friends. This letter is still preserved by the Shawnees, and held in reverence on account of its author, who never deceived them in all his dealings. These Indians were acknowledged to be well acquainted with human nature, and in order to judge a man only asked to look him in the face, and their judgment was generally correct. It was not difficult to persuade them to engage in agricultural pursuits, but it required years to overcome their aversion to the education of their children by the whites. Finally they agreed to this, and the pupils evinced a susceptibility beyond all expectation. The schools were conducted on the manual labor system, and the friends of the Indians expressed great gratification in finding this restless people advancing so rapidly in those pursuits which promised to rescue them from their late deplorable condition. Thus they progressed until 1830, when it was intimated the government wished to purchase their lands. As this period marks a new era in their record by the introduction of a new superintendent, Henry Harvey, and the unsettled condition of affairs occasioned by the laird negotiations, we pause a moment to consider their manners and mode of life prior to the improvements we have reviewed. They then occupied villages along the Auglaize River, where they remained during the summer cultivating their crops of corn and beans - the labor being performed by the women and children. The men would louno-e about during the warm weather, as furs were not fit for market. If hunger drove them from the shade of repose, they only sought a shady stream and caught a few fish or plunged deeper into the forest and shot a deer. They never made any provision for the future, and so by winter their whole crop of corn would be exhausted.

At this season they made preparation for the annual hunt. When leaving they took their families, ponies, and as much furniture as possible with them. This latter outfit consisted chiefly of brass kettles, wooden ladles, large bowls, some spoons, a tomahawk and butcher-knife. Even in cold weather might be seen the silver-haired grandmother, the care-worn mother, and the half-clothed children - even the infant carried in a blanket - on the march to the hunting grounds. Arrived at their destination, they erected a tent of sufficient size to accommodate a whole family. This lodge was made by placing in the ground poles lashed together at the top, and covered with skins of animals. These were so adjusted that the upper ones over-lapped the lower, and rendered the lodge water- and snow-proof. The fire was built in the middle of this tent, and the smoke escaped at an opening at the top provided for the purpose. In the tent, skins were spread on which they reposed, while the blanket served for covering. These blankets were an indispensable article; if anything was to be carried it was enfolded in these; if not thus used it was worn upon the person until it became so inseparably associated with the Indian as to become almost a part of his person. If hunting, they are worn ; if sleeping, they are worn, and if attending a party, they are still worn. True, on the latter occasions, they were ornamented with beads and other trinkets, but the ubiquitous blanket was still there. An Indian was poor, indeed, if he did not possess a pony, gun, tomahawk, dog, butcher-knife, and blanket. These were his outfit, and were well nigh indispensable. Settled upon the hunting grounds, the men went in search of game, and if any was killed it was suspended to a tree, beyond reach of wolves, while the hunter pushed on sometimes for days before returning. On his return he carried back as much game as he could, and feasted at home one night in order to rest and refresh after the toil of the hunt. He then took his pony to gather the game he had already secured. Thus many might have game throughout the timber, and yet their honor never permitted one Indian to take from a tree the game of another.

When they returned to camp the game was placed in the hands of the women and children, who took care of the furs, and sliced the venison for drying purposes, except the hams, which were fire-dried for market. After a feast the hunters resumed the chase, and so continued until about the first of February, when the furs became worthless and the chase was abandoned. They then returned home, but, as the close of the deer season marked the opening of the trapping season, the Indian again soon took to the forest. Here again their honesty would not permit one to rob the traps of another, but, on the contrary, if one found an animal in the trap of another, he removed the game, suspended it near by, and reset the trap. Such were the habits of these people in their struggle to survive. Without homes worth the name, they were dependent upon the shelter and bounty of a watery or icy wilderness. Exposed to the rigors of the climate, they were ever in hearing of the howl of the wolf and the scream of the panther. In the midst of those incongruous surroundings and inhospitable elements, from the frozen earth, if the discord of clashing elements ceased for a moment, could be heard the weak and pitiful cry of the infant starving and freezing in its mother's arms, while the very elements and wild beasts, more in " pity than wrath," conspired to drown its saddening cry.

Such was the condition and habits of the Shawnees at the advent of the Friends. Let us look to the events of later years. Turn, then, to the year 1819, when a member of the Society of Friends, Isaac Harvey, removed, with part of his family, to superintend the mills erected for the benefit of the Shawnees.

These mills were located on the river just in the rear of the grocery store of H. W. Taeusch. where part of the building still remains. Mr. Harvey had visited the place on previous occasions, and so was acquainted with a number of the chiefs as well as with John Johnston, the Indian Agent of the Northwest.

Shortly afterward we get a glimpse of the Prophet, more fully treated elsewhere in this volume. One of the Indians became very much enfeebled, and the Friend visited him often, canning him medicine and nourishment. On one of these visits he found the door fastened, but, after a time, it was opened, and he found the sick man lying upon his face, his back bare, and his whole body so lacerated that he was in a state of exhaustion from the loss of blood.

In the house was the Prophet, the brother of Tecumseh. He was asked the reason for this curious and brutal treatment of the patient, and answered that the sick man was bewitched, and these incisions were made to enable him to extract the combustible matter the witch had deposited. The good Quaker drove the Prophet out of the house, and dressed the sick man's wounds. On the following night the friendly superintendent was awakened by some one at ins door seeking admittance. He heard a woman's voice crying in broken English, " They kill ee me ! they kill-ee me!" It was an Indian woman with her little girl. Mr. Harvey took her to the house of Francis Duchouquet, the interpreter, where she explained that a little messenger had brought her word that the chiefs were in coun- oil, and that she had certainly been condemned to die on a charge of having bewitched the poor consumptive on whom the Prophet had operated with knives. She begged the " Quake-lee" to protect her, and said that she would do all that he commanded. The shrewd Quaker, not relying on the friendliness of the interpreter, answered the woman coldly, but, having secured another interpreter in the person of Thomas Elliott, the blacksmith's son, he talked with her again, and -finally hid her and her daughter between two beds on a bedstead in the upper room of his house. He also killed with his own hands a small dog that had followed her. The life of Harvey's family depended, perhaps, quite as much as that of the Indian woman's, on the success of his keeping her hid. Every part of the Quaker's house was searched, even this upper room, where there stood nothing but an innocent looking bed with all the covers spread. In the middle of that anxious day there came to the house of Isaac Harvej\ his friend, the chief Weasecah, often called Captain Wolf. He told the superintendent what had happened among them, as though he did not at all suspect that his friend had taken any part in the matter. The Quaker earnestly remonstrated against the Indian belief in witches and witchcraft, and expostulated with him on the cruelty of putting people to death on an unproved charge of this kind. This disturbed the mind of Weasecah ; he was surprised to find that the Qua-ke-lee did not agree with him on so important a matter. He then departed, and, in about an hour afterwards, he returned and expressed his belief that Harvey knew more about the matter than he professed to know. As the Quaker tried to evade, Weasecah urged him to tell what he knew, promising that instead of betraying him, he would defend him to the utmost of his power. It was a desperate resort, but Harvey felt that the case was a desperate one. Without confessing all that he knew about the matter, he admitted that he believed the condemned woman to be out of reach of the Indians who were seeking her destruction, and that they would never see her face again unless they abandoned the idea of executing her. This was a shrewd way of putting the case, but the Quaker added, what startled the chief still more, that he had made up his mind to close up the mission and take his family and go home. After some thought, the chief pioposed to Harvey that he should go with him direct to the council house, where the chiefs were then in session. He thought, if the " Qua kedee" would promise the chiefs that he would be answerable to them for the condemned woman, that he could prevail on them to pardon her. Harve}' resolved to go, though it was like going into a den of wild beasts, thus to brave the angry chiefs in council. He asked John Elliott the blacksmith, whose son had been his second interpreter the night before, and who had himself offered assistance, to let his boy go with him now. Elliott consented, and said he would also go. Accordingly these four entered into the council house. " Be still and hear," said Weasecah. He then told them of his interview with his friend the Quaker, and of the occasion of their cominsf. The Indians, some of whom were painted and armed in a way that made them quite appalling to the Quaker, now moved around talking one to another. Isaac Harvey then addressed them by means of his interpreter, telling them, with great composure, that he had come with Weasecah and Simneta (the blacksmith) to intercede for the woman ; but seeing that they had resolved to follow their own course, he had prepared to offer himself in her stead ; that he had no weapons, and was at their mercy - they might do with him as they thought best. At this the noble chief Weasecah took hold of Harve3r's arm and said, "Me Qua-kedee friend." He begged the chiefs not to suffer their friend the Quaker to be harmed, but they were still determined not to submit to the proposition; he offered his life instead of his friend's.

This heroic attitude of the Quaker, with the loyal and brave act of the noble chief, checked the tide of hostile feeling, and for a minute all were in suspense. Then chief after chief, to the number of six or eight, stepped up to Harvey, each offering his hand, and saying, "Me Qua-kedee friend." Weasecah then argued with them eloquently, and at last the whole council offered their hands in friendship, Tenskwatawa, the prophet, only excepted, who sullenly left the council house in defeat. It was hard for Harvey and Weasecah to prevail on the poor woman to leave her place of concealment. She remained in the Quaker's house for several days, and then returned to her people and lived in peace.

In 1825 Mr. Harvey removed to the Friends' school establishment, five miles south of Wapakoneta, on the present farm of A. Scott. This school had been suspended, because of the unsettled condition of the Indians, and was now to be resumed. Shortly after the reopening of the school, the Indian agent visited his old friend, the Quaker, and spent the day in discussing the Indian situation and outlook. Dunns: the conversation, the Friend observed that he had found discontent and a desire to sell their lands among the Indians ; that it appeared almost impossible to accomplish anything, and should they remove to the west at that juncture, and come in contact with the wild savages of that region, he feared all the labor of the Friends would be lost. To this the exultant agent replied that, if the Friends had done nothing but save the life of Polly Butler, the3r had thereby broken up the heathenish practice of putting people to death for witchcraft, which was a sufficient reward for all their labor and expense. As we have already related the case of Polly Butler, and alluded to the same - as viewed by the agent, Mr. Johnston - we deem a letter by the same agent, written years after the incidents occurred of which it speaks, of sufficient importance to justify its insertion in full. Jt serves at the same time to identify this unfortunate woman, and is as follows : -

" Polly Butler, charged with being a witch in the Shawnee nation, and who was saved from a violent death bj- the timely, firm, and persevering efforts of Isaac Harvey, who then had charge over the Friends' Shawnee Mission at Wapakoneta, Ohio, was the daughter of Gen. Richard Butler, by a Shawnee woman. A son, also, was an offspring of the same union, who became a distinguished chief in peace and war among the Shawnees, being in authority during the whole of my agency over this nation, a period of almost thirty years. Gen. Butler was an Indian trader before the Revolutionary war, and spoke the language of thenatives, and as was customary with persons of those pursuits, he married an Indian woman. His son and daughter bear a striking resemblance to the Butler family, man}- of whom I knew in early life. The General was second in command in the army under St. Clair, and was killed on the 4th of Nov. 1191, in battle with the combined Indians of the northwest, on the ground on which Fort Recovery was afterward built, distant from Greenville fourteen miles. Witchcraft was universally believed in by all the Indian tribes, and the incident related of Polly Butler is substantially true."

To Mr. Harvey, then, we attribute the first successful effort to arrest the monstrous practice of destroying life on charges of witchcraft among these Indians.

Resuming, we find the Shawnees advancing in civilized pursuits, and educating their children at the Wapakoneta schools, until some miscreants persuaded the young men that, if the Quakers were permitted to improve their lands, the whites would finally seize them for their own use. When this suspicion became known to the Friends, they entered a large tract of land at the expense of the Society, erected buildings, cleared a farm, and established the school at the mission south of Wapakoneta, which was conducted until the removal of the Shawnees to the distant west. In 1830, the mission schools came under the charge of Henry Harvey, when he found the Indians of a pleasant and lively disposition. During his residence here, the aged chief Black Hoof died, the incidents of whose life and character are elsewhere noted in this volume. . In 1831 a message was received from the Indian agent, conveying the desire of the government to purchase the lands of the Shawnees. This was so unsuspected, that it produced great confusion. The chiefs at once visited the superintendent, to consult upon the subject. The Friend scarcely credited the report, and so told the chiefs, if they would refuse to sell, the government would abandon its desire.

They however pursued a different course, and forbade all approaches upon the subject, as no commissioners would be met. Shortly after this they encountered traders, who told them they wanted money, and must have it, and the lands must be sold that they could be paid, and then bribed certain chiefs to favor the sale. A few days later the commissioner notified the chiefs he would be at Wapakoneta on a certain day, and asked a meeting. Gardner came on the appointed day, and occupied the first two days of the council in a speech of misrepresentations.

He was answered by W^weleap}', who informed him that he was little known, as he had only addressed them two days, and in that time had said many good, but more bad things ; had talked a great deal about the Great Spirit, without knowing anything about the Spirit, as his ideas were all wrong. He had claimed that the Spirit made three classes of men: the white man, with a white skin, and a great deal of sense ; the Indian, with a red skin, and a little less sense ; and the black man, with a black skin, and very little sense. His own idea was different, as he believed all men were created alike, and any other conception was curious and false. In a day or two a treaty was closed, and it immediately became rumored that the Indians had been deceived and cheated. This alarmed the Indians, and John Perry visited the Friend, and when told they had been really robbed of their lands, he wept like a child, and exclaimed they were a ruined people, unless the Quakers would interpose in their behalf. The Friend assured him he had kept a record of the proceedings of the council, and would act as a witness for the Indians, and do everything in his power for them. Accordingly, he called the attention of the Richmond Yearly Meeting to the matter, and a committee was appointed to visit Wapakoneta and investigate the whole proceedings touching that treaty. This committee, on its arrival, called about twenty of the principal men of the nation, with competent interpreters, and took evidence during three or four days at the mission buildings. At the opening of the council, this committee informed the Indians that, at their yearly meeting, they had learned with sorrow from Mr. Harvey that the Indians had been wronged, and assured them they would do all they could in their behalf. They then awaited a statement ot* the chief, setting fouth their wrongs. The Indians thereupon held an all-night council, and early the next morning informed the visitors of their readiness to be heard. When the council had been seated a few moments, the chiefs rose, shook hands with each visitor, and resumed their seats, without saying a word.

The pipe was then passed, and each chief smoked. They now presented a very grave and dignified appearance, as they sat in silence, with eyes fixed upon Wayweleapy, the orator of the day. At length the speaker rose with black, keen, but tearful e3"es, looked about on each of his brethren, and then fixed his gaze upon the committee. He addressed the assembly, but paused to control his feeling. Again he proceeded, but in a moment faltered ; tears washed his cheek, emotion overcame him, and he sank to his seat. A struggle ensued with his feelings; he mastered his agitation, regained self-control, and, rising, delivered a pathetic statement of the perfidy of the negotiators, and appealed to the Quakers to befriend them now, when ruin stared them in the face. The result of this investigation was a petition to Congress, embodying a statement of facts, and asking additional compensation for the Shawnee lands. A deputation of chiefs was appointed, consisting of John Perry, Wayweleapy, Black Hoof, and Spybuck, with Francis Duchouquet, and Joseph Parks, as interpreters. At the same time a memorial was prepared in behalf of the Friends, asking relief for the Shawnees, and a committee, consisting of Henry Harvey and David Baily, authorized to present it to Congress. They were further instructed to give such information as they could touching the late treat}', and urge the claim of the Indians before Congress and the President.

Henry Harvey, being a witness to the treaty, was competent to show the fraud by which it was obtained. The expense of these proceedings was borne by the Society. The joint deputation left the mission Dec. 1, 1831, and went via Mt. Pleasant, where the Quakers joined in the memorial, and did much for the further comfort of the deputation. Again, at Baltimore, the Quakers joined the appeal to Congress, so that by this time the memorial represented the societies of Ohio, Indiana, and Maryland. At Cumberland, Francis Duchouquet was taken sick, and had to be left by the company. It was believed he could live but a short time, and his parting with the chiefs was very affecting. The latter were touched to tears as the old interpreter told them he was an old man, must soon die, and they would never meet him again. He had been an honest and useful man who, in the capacity of government interpreter, had been of great service to the whites, and even saved many from the stake. He died a few da3Ts after his companions left Cumberland. (See reference elsewhere.) On reaching Washington, and making known their mission, they were furnished a copy of the fraudulent treaty, and requested by Sec. Cass to examine it carefully, and find what difference, if any, existed in the amount therein stipulated and that represented and promised by Gardner. After due examination, this deficiency was shown to amount to $115,000, and the delegation thereupon asked that said treaty be annulled, and another be formed with the delegation, who were authorized to act for the Indians. The Secretary approved the plan, after satisfying himself that the calculation was correct, and added that, in his opinion the Indians would not receive a single dollar by the Gardner treaty. He further appealed to the President, but as he would take no action in the premises, an appeal was made to Congress, through the assistance of Joseph Vance, a representative from Ohio. After considerable delay, a bill was reported by Geo. McDuffy, of S. O, granting $30,000, instead of the $100,000 asked in the petition. After the transaction of the business of the delegation, Secretary Cass paid all expenses incurred in Washington, and those necessary on their return home, amounting in all to $640 ; and, further, presented each of the chiefs with $50. At the making of the treaty, the Indians were promised to be removed early in the spring, and were advised to sell everything they could spare during the winter. In accordance with this advice, they sold about 200 head of cattle, 1200 hogs, and many other things, and with the proceeds purchased clothing, wagons, and guns, in anticipation of their early removal.

Moreover, they were to receive $3000 at the time of their departure, so that they had no uneasiness about the future. These promises were all violated, and resulted in absolute want, and almost starvation, to a whole nation. Again Mr. Harvey appealed to Secretary Cass, and at the same time went to the Miami mission, distant about eighty miles, to buy a load of provisions for the starving tribe. In this he wras successful, and a few days later supplies were received from Piqua, on the order of the Secretary. On the arrival of these provisions, the Indians repaired to Wapakoueta, where a distribution was made which supplied their needs until their removal. Gardner arrived about the first of September, and, wretchedly equipped, they took up their march of 800 miles for their sunset home. All ages and classes ; all ranks and conditions, the remnant of a proud free people, not even demanding justice - for they knew they had no riglits, but rather supplicating that sympathy which they dared not expect - they went forth, fearing to look back, and the mock pageant of the commissioner was to the Indian a mere show, signifying nothing but his undone condition. Gardner accompanied them to the Mississippi River, and then returned. They pressed on across the prairie after traversing the wilderness, and reached their destination about Christmas. They were joined the next spring by the Hog Creek tribe, who were under the direction of Joseph Parks, and fared much better than the Wapakoneta band, as they had the advantage of season, and a leader of heart. The next season Harvey and two others visited them, and obtained permission to erect schools, and continue the work of the mission. This work progressed until 1839, when it was suspended, on account of sickness. Mr. H. and familj7 took charge the next year, and remained until 1842, when they returned home. When he was about to leave, the Indians took a very affectionate leave of his family.

George Williams was appointed to extend the farewell of the whole tribe, and in doing so, he spoke as follows: "My brother and my sister, I am about to speak for all our young men and for all our women and children, and in their name bid you farewell. They could not all come, and it would be too much trouble for you to have them all here at once, so I have been sent with their message. I was directed to tell you that all their hearts are full of sorrow, because you are going to leave them and return to your home. Ever since 3-011 have lived with us we can all see how the Quakers and our fathers lived together in peace.

" You have treated our children well, and your doors have always been open to us. When we were in distress, you relieved us ; and when our people were hungry, }tou gave them food. For j^our kindness, we love you. Your children and our children lived together in peace, and at school learned together, and loved one another. We will always remember you, and teach our children to never forget your children. And now, my brother and sister, I bid you farewell, and Caleb and his sisters, and the little boys and their sisters, farewell !" He then took Mr. Harvey by the hand, saying " Farewell, ray brother," and then taking the hand of Mrs. Harvey said, " Farewell, ray good sister." He then bade the children an individual farewell, and went away in sadness. The next day about twenty chiefs spent the day with the Friends, and towards evening took leave of the family in a manner similar to that of the representative chief on the preceding day, and then left the house in the manner of leaving a grave, without looking back, or speaking a word. The mission was still sustained after Harvey's return, until it became supplemented by several district missions of different denominations. It may here be added that, in 1853, Congress appropriated $66,000 as additional compensation to the Wapakoneta and Hog Creek Shawnees, and their claims were thereby extinguished.

Our purpose is now accomplished, and we cast a lingering farewell look upon that people whose history we have reviewed. We thus traced the connection with this territory of the disinherited offspring of the Algonquin nation, which knew no superiors, and acknowledged no equals. Springing from the head of the Great Spirit, all other tribes and nationalities were inferior, because they sprang from the inferior body. Endowed by superior wisdom, all other tribal or national wisdom was obtained through them, as the terrestrial fountain head. Brave, generous, and strong, they possessed a nomadic nature which makes their history almost coextensive with a continent. From the Atlantic to the Father of Waters they left their footprints, and from the great cold lakes to the broad warm gulf, the forests echoed their voices, and the streams reflected their images. Proud and arrogant in the knowledge of their strength, if that strength waned they substituted prudence for arrogance, but never compromised their superiority nor sacrificed their dignity. More than other tribes, they appreciated nature, and there found their storehouse of eloquence, for their imagery was the reflection of nature's heart. Their language was thus limited, but rich, and better calculated for loft}' oratory than trivial conversation. Single "words adorned whole ideas in poetic beauty.

They were in harmon}' with nature till the mutual sympathy caused the "very leaves of the forests to weep tears of pity" at the suffering produced by the pale-face intruder, whose contact, like a whirl wind, swept forest and savage alike before him in his destructive career. Such were the Shawnees at the advent of the whites, and although driven about and wronged, they still hoped to find a spot they could call their own, and from which they never would be driven. Destiny reserved no such boon for them as yet, and when they settled on the Auglaize and the lands were u guaranteed to them forever," the promises were false, and the hopes delusive. Contented if here they could remain, they were willing to even forsake their fathers' graves, relinquish their claims to their tribal lands, renounce their ancestral lives, and adopt the habits of civilized men. The Auglaize is a witness to the transformation, while Wapakoneta is a monument to the progress of the same race. Here they abandoned their wild past, and embraced the teaching of the whites. Instead of warring, they cultivated the soil; instead of the chase, they gathered harvests. For tradition, they accepted education, and for barbarity they accepted humanity. It was enough, and they were happy; but again they must leave all they love; all the associations of their new condition, and all the incentives to the new life they embraced.

Their hope was crushed, for the hand that plays with the heart-strings of association and affection is cruel and relentless. So in their case ; the tender cords snapped asunder, and warriors, who knew not how to flinch before a tomahawk, nor yet to weep before the stake, were touched to galling tears. It was a night of gloom on which Destiny looked in pity, and provided in the Quakers a star of promise, until, in humanity, the sun of reality could rise. Let the dark past, with its suffering and its wrongs, be forever dissipated by the golden light of humanity which beams justice and happiness, not for the whites alone, but for the whole brotherhood of man.

This county was erected in 1848 from portions of Allen, Logan, Shelby, Darke, Mercer, and Van Wert Counties. Its geographical position is in the Black Swamp district of the "Northwest," and occupies the great dividing ridge which forms the separation of drainage between the northern lakes and southern rivers. The county contains four hundred and four square miles, comprised in fourteen townships, as follows: Wayne, Moulton, and Logan twenty-seven; Union and St. Marys thirty-six; Goshen and German eighteen; Pusheta, Noble, Washington, and Clay thirty; Jackson twenty; Duchouquet forty-two; and Salem twenty-four square miles.

Bodies Of Water

The Mercer County reservoir, a great artificial lake with an area of 17,600 acres and an average depth of ten feet, extends two miles into St. Marys township, the greater portion being within Mercer County. This reservoir abounds with fish, ducks, and geese.

The Auglaize River traverses Union, Duchouquet, Moulton, and Logan townships, when it leaves the county on its general northwestern course to the Maumee River.

Both these streams pursue a serpentine course within the county, and were formerly considered permanently navigable, the former to Wapakoneta, and the latter to St. Marys; but cleared and cultivated lands, with attendant evaporation and absorption, have served to diminish the volume of water below any navigable consideration.

Blackhoof, Wrestle, and Pusheta Creeks and Quaker Run are all tributaries of the Auglaize within the county, while the St. Marys has several branches of minor importance.

The Miami and Erie Canal, constructed in 1838, crosses the western part «f the county from north to south a distance of twenty-one miles, and contributed largely to the development of the county, but more especially of St. Marys, which was afforded means of commerce long before the period of railroads.

In 1858 the Dayton and Michigan Railroad crossed the centre of the county from north to south, passing through Wapakoneta, the county seat. Upon its line sprang up Cridersville, a small village near the Allen County boundary.

In 1877 the Lake Erie and Western extended its line to Minster via St. Marys and New Bremen. This road also extends westward from St. Marys into Indiana. Upon the road within the county have sprung up the villages of Buckland in Logan and Glynn wood in Moulton township.

At this writing the prospect of securing the New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio Railroad across the county from east to west via Wapakoneta and St. Marys is very promising, and by a little effort it appears the citizens may secure this road in the very near future.

Wagon Roads

Although much labor and expense have been bestowed upon the thoroughfares, they may still be said to be in an infantile condition. Roads are located and opened all over the territory, but gravel is necessary to render them passable at all seasons. The present year is remarkably active in this direction, and in the course of two more years the county will undoubtedly be supplied with many miles of gravel pikes.

At this writing there are three main pikes completed, one leading from Wapakoneta to Belle Centre, Logan County; another from Wapakoneta to the northeast via Uniopolis and Waynestield, while the third leads from Wapakoneta to Sidney, Shelby County. The Wapakoneta and St. Marys Plankroad leads between these towns, but is destined to yield to the pike movement. In the south part of the county New Bremen and Minster have the benefit of some short local pikes as well as main outlets to the railroad in Shelby County. St. Marys and New Knoxville are also connected by a gravel road.

Topography

Belonofino- to the Blackswamp region the surface features are generally level, broken only by the different natural watercourses, which resolve the surface into bottom lands, second bottom lands, and uplands. The soil of the bottoms, including both river and swamp basins, is an alluvial, deposit usually about three feet in depth. The second bottom soil is, perhaps, shallower and contains a greater admixture of clay, while the uplands consist largely of clay drift with croppings of sand and gravel in different localities. The soil is all very productive, and as yet has yielded abundantly without any fertilizing worth the name.

Timber

The principal varieties of the uplands are beech, lime, ash, elm, hickory, white and red oak, while those of the flats take in addition to the above black and white walnut and burr oak.

Wapakoneta, the county-seat, on the Auglaize River and D. & M. R. R., in Duchouquet township; St. Marys, on the St. Marys River, M. & E. Canal, and L. E. & W. R. R., St. Marys township; New Bremen, on canal and L. E. & W. R. R., German township; Minster, similarly situated in Jackson township, present terminus of the road; St. Johns, Clay township; New Hampshire, in Goshen; New Knoxville, in Washington; Waynesfield, in Wayne; Uniopolis, in Union; Cridersville, in Duchouquet; Buckland, on L. E. & W., in Logan; Kossuth, on canal, in Salem; and Moulton and Glynnwood, in Moulton; the latter a station on L. E. & W. R. R., comprise the villages of the county.

buildiflgs, which present themselves to view on every hand, attest the value placed upon education by the people. These may not have reached the highest degree of efficiency, but the solicitude and jealousy of the people is a guarantee of the advancement and higher usefulness of the schools.

The different denominations are represented throughout this field, and are all generally supplied with comfortable buildings. The English portion of the population, with the Germans of New Bremen and largely of Wapakoneta, are Protestant by education; the German of Minster and Freyburg, with some of Wapakoneta and St. Marys, and the Irish element of Moulton township, are largely of Roman Catholic faith.

As foreshadowed above, the territory now comprised in German, Jackson, Washington, and Pusheta townships was settled principally by Germans, while Wapakoneta and St. Marys contain a significant per cent, of the same nationality, but now largely by descent. Moulton township contains an Irish settlement, while the same nationality is represented to greater or less extent in other sections. The other portions of the county were settled chiefly by immigrants from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New England, and are still occupied by their descendants. The settlers were all industrious laborers in the improvement of the lands by clearing and drainage, until many waste tracts have been reclaimed and rendered tillable. Drainage, with its miles of buried tile, has contributed largely to the material development of the community, as the flat surfaces of certain localities of a few years since bear testimony by the productive fields into which they have grown, and the golden harvests which they yield.

Material Wealth

Manufacture stock .... Moneys on deposit subject to order . All other personals .... Credits minus bona fide debts . Money in bonds, stocks, and otherwise Bonds not listed by requirement Bank and other corporation property Grand total . . . ,

General valuation : - Number acres of land Real estate in villages Chattel property Total value State school fund State tax . County tax Township tax Village tax County debt Tillage debt School debt

At the organization of the county a strife arose between St. Marys and Wapakoneta for the location of the seat of justice. The former, as the oldest town located in the more populous portion of the county, urged these facts as grounds for priority. The latter urged geographical advantages, being more centrally located, and thus entitled to priority. The claims of both were well founded, and with this status the question was submitted to the people. There was little doubt of the ascendancy of St. Marys, as the populous settlement in the south was favorable to her interests, while Wapakoneta was largely dependent on the more sparsely populated section of the east.