Fairfield County, Ohio - Chapter 3: Indian Occupation, 1912 (part 1 of 2)

Chapter 3: Indian Occupation

The Life Story of Simon Kenton - Simon Girty, the Renegade - Gen. Anthony Wayne, the "Chief Who Never Sleeps" - Celebrated Treaty of Greenville - General Arthur St. Clair - St. Clair's Defeat - Tecitmseh, the Most Gifted American Indian - Tecumseh's Death - Tecmnseh's High Ideals of Justice - Capt. Joseph Brant, Chief of the Mohazvks and Head of the Iroquois Confederation - Cornstalk, Sachem of the Shawnees and King of the Northern Confederation - Gcronimo, the Worst Indian that ever Lived, Apache Chief - Tarhe, Chief of the Wyandots - The Indian of Today - Haskell Institute - Carlisle Indian School - Logan's Speech - Villainy of the Government's Indian Agents - Sprague's View of the Indian and His Destiny.

It is not a difficult task to imagine Fairfield county and all of Ohio, the home and happy hunting grounds of the red man of the forest. The time is not so far back on the page of history. This county abounded in game of all kinds and the means of easily acquired subsistence. Over what are now the clean farms, the villages and the city, "the Indian hunter pursued the panting deer" and "the council fire glared on the wise and the daring."

The men who fought their way to civilization in the wilderness of Ohio have a lasting place in our hearts. All honor to the scout, the Indian fighter and the pioneer! They blazed the way through the forest, brake and fen; they crossed the stream, and fixed the mountain path, and their sons and daughters live to bless the soil today.

The Indian is gone from our county, pushed aside by that relentless tide of ever-advancing civilization. "It is an edict issued from the Court of Progress, that ferocious Titan who strides from East to West, that

Simon Kenton

Among those who sacrificed a lifetime to the cause of civilization, none stands out so plainly upon the horizon of liberty and law as Simon Kenton, the intrepid scout and friend of the white man. In the early days of Indian occupation it was very necessary that some brave spirit protect and guide the lonely settler. Simon Kenton was born to this duty, and no man in any avenue of life ever performed his part with greater fidelity.

Leaving his early boyhood home in Virginia, April 6, 1 77 1, after an unfortunate quarrel with a rival for the hand of a worthy young woman, Simon Kenton traveled to Kentucky. Here he became interested in all that aided the settlers in their struggles with wild nature and the still wilder red man of the forest. Through the long fight of the pioneers for possession of the soil, Kenton was ever the leader, and his services as scout and spy, at the head of every force sent against the cruel savages, were never fully recognized or rewarded. True, a tardy acknowledgment of his services to the country came in 1824, when the Government granted him a pension of $20 per month. He was then 69 years old and was living quietly on his little farm in Logan county, Ohio, near Zanesfield.

In his various expeditions against the Indians, Kenton passed much time in Fairfield county, Ohio, then an unorganized part of the State. He was often sent on secret missions by officers of the army to learn the location and strength of Indian tribes and Indian villages. On one occasion, being sent by Col. Bowman to learn the strength of a town on the Little Miami, he was captured, thrown prone upon the ground and made to stretch his arms to their full length. The Indians then placer! a strong pole across his breast, extending to either hand, and another at right angles from head to foot. His wrists and ankles were fastened with thongs to these poles, and then he was fastened to a sapling near by. So tight were these fastenings made that he could not move hand or foot. The Indian boys and women slapped, cuffed and kicked him all the while. After many hours of suffering he was tied to the back of a fine young colt, and, Mazeppa-like, turned loose in the forest. The colt ran through bushes and underbrush, then quieted down and traveled along with the other horses.

After three days of this kind of travel, the band arrived at Chillicothe. now Old Town, on the Little Miami in Green county, where he was made to run the gauntlet. This was a most trying ordeal, as the line of warriors.

men, women and children, armed with knives, clubs and tomahawks, extended a quarter of a mile. But he reached the goal without a fatal blow.

A council of war was then held to decide whether they would burn bun at the stake or carry him to the other villages. After the speeches were made the vote was taken. It was done by means of a war club, which was passed from one to the other in solemn council, and those who voted to burn him hit the ground a violent blow with the club, and those who voted to carry him to the next village simply passed the club to the next warrior. A teller was appointed to count the votes. He was no to be burned at the stake then, but carried on to another village on the Mad river.

On another occasion his life was saved by that renegade, Simon Girty, who in 1775, left the people of his own race and took up his abode with the Indians. That was the noblest act of Girty, whom all nations despised as a traitor and distrusted as a man. Girty and Kenton had been companion scouts in the Dunmore expedition, and thus they had become warm friends. (See "Dunmore's War," Chap. II.)

On leaving Virginia after the unfortunate event referred to, Kenton had changed his name to Butler. When Girty was told by his captive that his name was Simon Butler, at once recognized his old friend, and at great peril to himself, saved Kenton from a terrible death by fire.

Kenton w as now allowed to go free, though not to leave the tribe. Subsequently he was again placed in thongs and by a vote of the war council he was. in spite of all Girty could do, condemned to die at the stake. He was at once seized and hurried off to the northward. On this march he was struck with an ax by an Indian and his arm broken. At a village on the Scioto, where they halted, Kenton saw the celebrated Mingo chief, Logan, the murder of whose relatives had caused Dunmore's war. Logan was an eloquent speaker and his speech on the death of his friends has become common property of all who love justice and liberty.

Logan treated Kenton kindly and told him that it was the plan to carry him to Sandusky and burn him there. But Logan really secured his safe conduct to Detroit where, it was argued, the British commander wanted to talk to him about Kentucky, information of which the latter greatly desired. After a short time he secured his release from Detroit, and in company with two other men, made his way back to Louisville in safety. This journey through the unbroken forest re- ' quired 30 days, and it was fraught with constant danger. Only the consummate skill of a backwoodsman like Kenton could have accomplished it.

From this time on he took part in many campaigns and was a most valuable aid to Wayne's army, always leading the scouting party in front of the army. He was made a major by General Wayne and commanded a troop of 150 cavalrymen. He fought in all of Wayne's great battles, except in the battle of the Fallen Timber. In 1805 Kenton was made general of militia. He was in the thickest of the fight of the Battle of the Thames, in Canada, where Proctor was overcoine, and in which Tecumseh fell, shot by Johnson.

Kenton in 42 years, since he came to Ohio and Kentucky from Virginia, had run the gauntlet, according to the historian Marshall, 13 times, and three times had been tied to the stake to be burned.

sketch of Kenton, closes thus : "And in these 42 years the battles, sieges, skirmishes, raids, marauding excursions, alone, or in company with others, are numbered by the score not to say by the hundred, and most probably his career has never had a parallel on this continent or on any other. 'His like we ne'er shall see again.' "

The great scout died April 29, 1836, on his farm at Wapatomica, in Logan county, Ohio, and was there buried. After 50 years his remains were taken to Urbana, Ohio, and there he sleeps today, amid the scenes of his earlier and e\entful life.

"Personal characteristics. - In Collin's "History of Kentucky,' edition of 1847, p. 393, we find this: 'The following is a description of the appearance and character of this remarkable man, by one (McDonald), who often shared with him in the dangers of the forest and the fight. General Kenton was of fair complexion, six feet, one inch in height. He stood and walked very erect ; and in the prime of life weighed about 190 pounds. He never was inclined to be corpulent, although of sufficient fullness to form a graceful person. He had a soft tremulous voice, very pleasing to the hearer. He had laughing gray eyes, which appeared to fascinate the beholder, and dark auburn hair. He was a pleasant, good humored and obliging companion. When excited, or provoked to anger (which was seldom the case), the fiery glance of his eye would almost curdle the blood of those with whom he came in contact. His rage, when roused, was a tornado.

"Tiie correctness of this description could be affirmed by all who knew the man ; and in addition to this description, he had a sense of justice and fair play, which nothing could turn aside. In the course of the war of 1812 some friendly Indians came to the vicinity of Urbana on legitimate business, and some men, inexperienced in the matter of Indian warfare, proposed to kill these men, considering all Indians bad. Kenton attempted to dissuade the men from so high handed a measure, but his words apparently not having the desired effect on them, he grasped his rifle and took his position in front of the Indians, and in his impressive and emphatic manner declared that whoever attacked the Indians would do it over his dead body. It is sufficient to say that the Indians were not further molested.

"As before stated, his long contest with the Indians had taught him the value of quick decision and instantaneous action ; and these things he had so long practiced that they became a part of his nature. I will give one instance outside of the domain of war. In the spring of 1807 my father and eight or ten other men, with their families, left the counties of Bourbon and Harrison, Kentucky, for homes in the Mad River Valley. Simon Kenton was employed by the company to pilot them to their destination and to procure them a supply of fresh meat daily from the fqfest. He gave his instructions for the day each morning, before he started out for the bunt. One morning, with gun on shoulder, he started, and by some inadvertence stumbled over a wagon tongue and fell sprawling to the ground. One of the party broke into a hearty laugh. This enraged Kenton, and quick as lightning he pointed his gun and pulled the trigger, but the fall had knocked the powder out of the pan and the gun was not discharged. Kenton immediately begged pardon for his hasty action, and asked the man never to do so again, lest in a moment of anger he might do what everybody would regret. My father was a witness to this incident and told me of it years before Simon's death.

"Monument - This is a substantial structure, seven or eight feet high and over four feet square at the base ; and in every way is a most befitting memorial of the dead. In the forests of Ohio Kenton had confronted Indians, bears, wolves and panthers. On the south face of the monument is carved, life-size, the head of an Indian chief, decked out in regular savage style ; on the west face is the head of a bear, as life-like as stone can be, and appearing as if the head has just been thrust through the face of stone; on the north side is the head of a wolf similarly carved; and on the east side is the head of a panther. The design is by J. Q. A. Ward, the celebrated sculptor, now of New York, but a native of Urbana. His grandfather originally owned the land on which Urbana is built, and for many years the elder Ward and Kenton were intimate friends.

Simon Girty

The world hates a renegade. It despises the man who turns against his own flesh and blood, and stands ready to slay the mother who gave him birth. Such a man, or friend, was Simon Girty, once the friend of the white man. I'roni his own people he turned and took up his lot with the Indian. His bloody work was done in Ohio, and especially in southwestern Ohio. Doubtless in many parts of this county of Fairfield Girty tracked to death his white victims, or danced with his

Simon Girty was born in 1741, in northwestern Pennsylvania, of an intemperate father and an unworthy mother. He had three brothers, one older than himself. The three younger boys had been taken captive by the Indians and thus became possessed of the savagery of the Indian himself. Simon was the most wicked of the three thus reared in the midst of the wild life of the forest. He preferred to live with the savages rather than with his own people. He took an active part in Dunmore's war in 1774, and here he met Simon Kenton and the two young men soon became fast friends. On February 22, 1775, at Fort Pitt (Pittsburg) Girty was commissioned a captain in the militia. But his real sympathies were all the while with the Indians. Finally in company with about 14 others, Girty deserted Fort Pitt, where the militia was stationed, and started out for a reign of terror among the settlers of the wild frontier. They spread false news of the defeat of the Americans and the death of Washington. After much injury and suffering which he inflicted upon the helpless pioneers, Girty started for Detroit. On the way he was captured by the Wyandottes. The Senecas demanded that he be given up to them because he was an adopted son of their race and had now taken up arms against them. But the Wyandottes held him and finally allowed him to go on to Detroit, where General Hamilton, the commandant, gave him a royal welcome. Girty was now given a kind of work which suited his nature exactly, - he was paid a regular salary to incite the Indians to bloody deeds among the unprotected settlers. His name became a household word for terror all along the Ohio, from Pittsburg to Louisville. He often came up into Ohio and here, in Fairfield county, he did his deeds of darkness. At the Indian village of W apatumica, in Logan county, Girty found his old friend and companion scout in Dunmore's war, Simon Kenton, tied to the stake and condemned to death. Girty recognized Kenton, and, after much parley and a personal appeal to his Indian friends, saved Kenton's life. This appears to be the one bright spot on Girty's dark career. Kenton afterward bought a small farm near this scene of his deliverance, and lived here until his death. But Girty's numberless acts of torture and even of murder cling to his name and his one good act is almost forgotten. He persecuted the settlers of the valley and the missionaries, who had worked so zealously among the Christian Indians of the Moravian settlements.

His conduct toward Col. Crawford could only have been inspired by a monstrosity in human form, and when the Indians of the great West combined in one last effort, 1790- 94, to repel the ever-increasing tide of immigration, Simon Girty was found among the Indians fighting against the whites. He assisted them at the battle of St. Clair's defeat, and having captured a white woman, refused to give her up to the Wyandotte squaw who demanded her, according to the Indian custom. But the warriors p-athered around, and actually forced tiie white savage to give her over to the more humane Indian squaw.

He was present at the famous battle of the Fallen Timber, 1794, and did bloody work against Wayne's heroes. After this he is found in a trading-house for a short time at St. Mary's, Mercer county, Ohio. He then removed to Maiden. Canada. Here he lived until his death, which occurred February 18, 1 818 (Butterfield). He was totally blind for many years before his death and a perfect sot. He had many defeats in his old age and suffered very greatly; in fact he was a complete

In a general summing up of Girty's character, by the author of "Girty, the White Indian," it is said that no estimate can be iilhcr correct or just which does not take into account the influence which caijtivity and savage training had upon it. This is true, but it is certain also that too much stress is here put on the effect of that influence. "How powerful it was," says that writer, "is shown by the significant facts that it not only effaced the natural antipathy for the destroyers of his parents, but so perverted his normal instinct of race that he was never again in full sympathy with his own people, while, as far as known, he was always true to the Indians, and retained their confidence and friendship to the end of his days."

"The early settlers," continues the same author, "knowing that he was a white man by birth, but ignorant of his captivity and its effects, very naturally hated and despised him as a renegade. The term, however, does not apply to him in its infamous sense as it applies to Elliott and McKee, who had nothing whatever in common with the Indians, while Girty was one of them in almost everything but complexion. He was more of a savage than a renegade ; more of a Brandt than an Elliott ; and took part in the forays and outrages against the whites, not with the cowardice and mean malice of an outcast, but as a leader of his adopted people, and with the bravery and open hatred of an Indian. He was substantially an Indian ; was neither better nor worse than an Indian and should in the main be judged as such."

Gen. Anthony Wayne

1745. Much of his history has already been narrated in other chapters. Like Washington he early accepted work as a surveyor, then a public oftice. He was made a member of the State Legislature and of the Committee of Public Safety. He commanded a regiment in the Canadian invasion of 1775-76. At a inost critical time he had full charge of the Ticonderoga forts, and he manned them with great skill. For this and other meritorious work he was appointed brigadier general, and was in charge of a division of the army at Brandywine. Here it was that his skill and bravery saved the lives of so many by the successful retreat which he conducted. It is sometimes a mark of greater skill to handle men in a retreat, when excited and repulsed, than to make a successful attack.

Because of his supreme caution and watchfulness, the Indians called him "The Chief who Never Sleeps." But he was surprised at Paoli, and the lesson there learned he never forgot. It will be remembered that he commanded the right wing at Germantown. where General Agnew fell. He was also a valiant fighter at the Battle of Monmouth Court House, noted as the only battle of the Revolution in which every one of the thirteen colonies had representatives fighting on the American side. The name of Mollie Pitcher will never be forgotten in connection with this battle. But the most famous exploit of his earlier career was the consummate plan and its execution in the storming and capture of Stony Point, July 15, 1779. Only a general of high order could have accomplished such a hazardous task. But he planned and then executed. Wayne was ever a man of action ; the doing was with him the highest essential. He further showed his remarkable ability in handling men in putting down the mutiny of troops at Morristown ; and he had a most hon- orable part in the war in Virginia in 1781, the same year in which he quieted the mutiny. He served with distinction in Georgia in 1782, and was made a member of the ratifying convention of Pennsylvania in 1787.

The Indians thus far had been keeping in hiding and had not risked a battle. But Wayne soon learned that they had selected a place lower down the Maumee, at the Fallen Timber, and here it was that he inflicted upon them a most crushing blow, August 20, 1794. (See Chapter II.)

Flat Boat On The Ohio

Clair, Washington at once selected General Wayne to lead the forces of the young republic against the crafty fighters of the Western forests. He was made major general in 1792, and in the autunm of 1793 he entered the Indian country with a strong force. He marched from Fort Washington (Cincinnati) to the present site of Greenville, where he built a strong stockade. The next summer he advanced to Defiance on the Maumee, where, as related in Chapter II. he built Fort Defiance. He built a second fort on the St. Mary's river.

General \Vayne sent a message to the British at the nearest station that their turn came next; all he wanted was an opening. But the British declined the honor and kept quiet.

Treaty Of Greenville

He then took up his winter quarters at Greenville and. in the following summer, 1795, the Indians, now subdued and humble, came to Greenville and entered into the celebrated treaty ^\ ith General Wayne and commissioners of the United States. Twelve tribes with

1,200 warriors and sachems were present, and they ceded to the government 25,000 square mlies of territory in Michigan and Indiana, besides a large number of special tracts. For this land they received $20,000 in presents, and were promised an annual allowance of $10,000. This treaty ended the serious Indian troubles until 1812. General Wayne's name has been given to the fort he erected at the head waters of the Maumee, and to the growing and prosperous city of Fort Wayne, and to numerous places in the country. He died in 1796.

Gen. Arthur St. Clair

This distinguished general was born in Scotland in 1734. His education was by no means neglected, and after a long course of instruction he graduated from the University of Edinburgh. After his graduation he joined the British army as an ensign and came to America in 1758 with Admiral Boscawen. His service in the United States was very marked, especially at Louisburg and at Quebec. In 1762 he resigned his position, and two years later took up his residence in Pennsylvania. He was prominent in the civil affairs of his home, and was greatly beloved by his neighbors.

When the Revolutionary War broke out his inclination toward the common people caused him to join the Colonial army and he was given the rank of colonel. The student of history well remembers his gallant services at Three rivers, Trenton and Princeton, for which services he was raised to the rank of major general in 1777, and was at once placed in command at Saratoga. Burgoyne finally drove him from that stronghold, and although he was court-martialed for losing that position, he was acquitted of any blame. Nevertheless he lost his command. He was too patriotic to give up the work of a soldier, so he remained in the army as a volunteer, and gradually rose to other important positions. He distinguished himself in the plans which ended with the surrender of Cornwallis. His broad scholarship and statesmanlike qualities made him a member of the Continental Congress. 1785-87.

A still greater honor awaited him, viz: he was made president of that noted Congress in 1787. He was president also of the Pennsylvania State Society of the Cincinnati and was the man who gave the name of that society to the great city on the Ohio river, viz: Cincinnati.

In 1789 he was made the first governor of the Northwest Territory, and in 1791, as the Commander-in-Chief of the United States army, he led his forces against the Miami Indians, and met witli the most disastrous defeat in all the story of the early Indian warfare, at Fort Recovery, Mercer county, Ohio, November 4, 1791.

Washington had commanded General St. Clair not to risk an open engagement with the Indians until he was perfectly sure of his ground. It would seem that St. Clair disobeyed these orders and rushed into the fight without proper precautions. The defeat resulted in a most humiliating loss of power and the complete overthrow of his own military renown.

General Washington was said to have l)ecome greatly enraged at the news of St. Clair's defeat, and flying into a passion, he used very strong language against the unfortunate general who had disobeyed his orders; but when St. Clair, disheartened, defeated and suffering from rheumatism, appeared before Washington, it is said that the great general relented and forgave him.

vestigate the defeat, exhonerated him, but St. Clair's heart was broken, and with great disappointment to himself and his friends, he resigned his command in May, 1792, and in 1802 President Jefferson removed him from the governorship of the Northwest Territory.

The last years of many a great man have been spent in poverty and neglect, and the life of St. Clair is no exception to this statement. There was no sustaining hand to lighten the burden of his rapidly increasing age; there was no fortune at his command. Friends did not come at his beck and call, and after long years of suffering and unwarranted neglect on the part of the government, he died in 1818.

The schoolboy, as well as the adult reader, will ever remember "St. Clair's defeat," rather than St. Clair's many victories, and splendid services.

Or "The Shooting Star," Famous War Chief of the Shawnees, Organizer of the Second Great Indian Confederation and General in the British Army in the War of 181 2

He was born, says tradition, near the present site of Springfield, Ohio, in 1768. The tribe from which he sprang was a branch of the very powerful and widely distributed Lenni Lenape, or Delaware race. Long ago this branch had settled in the South, whence their name, Shawnees, or "Southerners."

These Shawnees became involved in bitter war with the Creeks and Yamosees of Georgia and Florida. In consequence they drifted north to the rich valleys of the Ohio, - the Miamis, the Hocking, and the Wabash and the

Maumee. They had many large villages in these valleys, and in one of these villages Tecumseh was born. His mother was a Cherokee woman, and it is said gave birth to triplets - Tecumseh, his celebrated brother, the Prophet, and a third brother of whom nothing definite is known. The father was killed at the battle of Kanawha, October 10, 1774, when Lord Dunmore defeated Chiefs Cornstalk and Logan.

Tecumseh believed that the whites were wrongfully encroaching upon the Indians' lands, and like Pontiac, he sought to organize all the western Indians into a confederacy against the white settlers. To protect these settlers. General Harrison, governor of the Northwest Territory, who had ordered the Indians to go west, marched an army against them, and at the village of the Prophet, at the mouth of the Tippecanoe, he defeated the Indians with great loss. Tecumseh was not in the battle. He had gone south and when he returned and had learned what his brother, the Prophet, had done, he became very angry. He had expressly urged the Indians not to risk a battle then, but the Prophet, who had great influence, had planned the night attack upon Harrison, after asking Harrison to meet him in a "talk" the next day. This conduct of his brother so enraged Tecumseh that he "seized him by his long hair and shook him till his teeth rattled, declaring that he had destroyed all his schemes and that he ought to be killed." This battle was fought November 7, 181 1.

The War of 181 2 now broke out and Tecumseh and his faithful band of Shawnees allied themselves with the British. He rendered most valuable service in the battles of Raisin river and Maguaga; also at Fort Maiden and Fort Meigs. For valiant service the British raised him to the rank of brigadier general. On the 5th of October, 1813, this warrior

Tecumseh was the most gifted American Indian. He would have been a great man in any age and in any country. He had the rare gift of natural eloquence and such a high ideal of manly noble conduct that he would never torture a prisoner or permit it to be done. He put to shame the conduct of his superior officer, General Proctor, when he dashed into a party of his warriors at the siege of Fort Meigs, who were torturing some white prisoners, and, hurling them right and left, he turned to General Proctor and demanded why he allowed such murderous conduct. Proctor replied, "I cannot restrain your warriors." Tecumseh then thundered back, "You are not fit to command; go home and put on petticoats."

He had great powers as an artist and could draw a map in relief on bark, which the best English engineers pronounced equal to their own best work. He was born to command and had far more ability as a general than Proctor. His lofty ideas of honesty and honor have endeared him to the American people, and they have placed his name all over the country, and it was one of the given names of the great general who led the march "from Atlanta to the Sea," Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, whose life and deeds have brought such signal honor to Fairfield county.

While it is not really known who killed the great warrior, the following, taken from Knapp's "History of the Maumee Valley," will be of marked interest :

James Knaggs deposeth and saith, as follows : I was attached to a company of mounted men called Rangers, at the Battle of the Thames in Upper Canada, in the year 1813. During the battle we charged into the swamp, where several of our horses mired down, and an order was given to retire to the hard ground in our rear, which we did. The Indians in front, believing that we were retreating, immediately advanced upon us with Tecumseh at their head. I distinctly heard his voice, with which I was perfectly familiar. He yelled like a tiger and urged on his braves to the attack. We were then but a few yards apart. We halted on the hard ground and continued our fire. After a few minutes of very severe fighting, I discovered Colonel Johnson lying near, on the groiuid, with one leg confined by the body of his white mare, which had been killed and fallen on him. My friend Medard Labadie was with me. We went up to the Colonel, with whom we were previously acquainted, and found him badly wounded, lying on his side, with one of his pistols lying in his hand. I saw Tecumseh at the same time, lying on his face, dead, and about fifteen or twenty feet from the Colonel. He was stretched at full length, and was shot through the body, I think near the heart. The ball went out through his back. He held his tomahawk in his right hand (it had a brass pipe on the head of it), his arm was extended as if in striking, and the edge of the tomahawk was stuck in the ground. Tecumseh was dressed in red speckled leggings, and a fringed hunting shirt ; he lay stretched directly toward Colonel Johnson. When we went up to the Colonel we offered to help him. He replied with great animation, "Knaggs, let me lay here and push on and take Proctor." However, we liberated him from his dead horse, took his blanket from his saddle, placed him in it, and bore him off the field. I had known Tecumseh from my boyhood ; we were boys together. Tliere was no other Indian killed immediately around where Colonel Johnson or Tecumseh lay, though there were many near the creek, a few rods back of where Tecumseh fell. I had no doubt then, and have none now. that Tecumseh fell by the hand of Colonel Johnson. j^j^^ Knaggs.

'Colonel Johnson was invariably modest about claiming the honor of having slain Tecuniseh. When I paid him a visit, at his residence at the Great Crossings, in Kentucky, in 1844, while collecting facts and materials illustrative of the career of Clark, Boone, Kenton, and other Western pioneers, he exhibited to me the horse pistols he used in the battle of the Thames, and modestly remarked, "that with them he shot the chief who had confronted and wounded him in the engagement.' "

"Alluding to Captain Knaggs' statement, the Louisville Journal remarked : 'A new witness has appeared in the newspapers testifying to facts which tend to show that Col. R. M. Johnson killed Tecumseh. The colonel was certainly brave enough to meet and kill a dozen Indians, and if he didn't kill Tecumseh. he no doubt would have done it if he had had a chance. He himself was often interrogated on the subject and his reply upon at least one occasion was cai^ital : 'They say I killed him ; how could I tell ? I was in too much of a hurry, when he was advancing upon me, to ask him for his name, or inquire after the health of his family. I fired as quick as convenient, and he fell. If it had been Tecumseh or the Prophet, it would ha\'e been all the same." ' "

" 'Captain Knaggs, who is spoken of in that communication, is a highly respectable citizen of Monroe, and was one of the most active and useful partisans in service during the War of i<Sr2. .\lmost innumerable and miraculous

Character Of Tecumseh

"He related to me when I last saw him, several anecdotes of Tecumseh, which will illustrate his character. Among others, he states that while the enemy was in full possession of the country, Tecumseh, with a large band of his warriors, visited the Raisin. The inhabitants along that river had been stripped of nearly every means of subsistence. Old Mr. Rivard, who was lame and unable to labor to procure a living for himself and family, had contrived to keep out of sight of the wandering bands of savages a pair of oxen, with which his son was al)le to procure a scanty support for the family. It so happened that, while at labor with the oxen, Tecumseh, who had come over from Maiden, met him in the road, and walking up to him said. "My friend, I must have those oxen."

" 'Well,' said Tecumseh, 'we are the con- (juerors, and everything we want is ours. I must have the oxen ; my people must not starve ; but I will not be so mean as to rob you of them. I will pay you one hundred dollars for them and that is far more than they are worth ; but we must have them."

" "Tecumseh got a white man to write an order on the British Indian agent. Colonel Elliott, who was on the river some distance below, for the money. The oxen were killed, large fires built, and the forest warriors were soon feasting on their flesh. Young Rivard took the order to Colonel Elliott, who promptly refused to pay it. The young man, with a sorrowful heart, returned with the answer to Tecumseh. wlio said, "He won't pay it.

will he? Stay all night and tomorrow we will go and see." On the next morning he took young Rivard and went down to see the Colonel. On meeting him he said. "Do you refuse to pay for the oxen I hought?" "Yes," said the Colonel, and he reiterated the reason came to fight the battles of the great King, they had enough to eat, for which they had only to thank the Master of Life and their good rifles. Their hunting grounds supplied them w ith food enough, to them they can return." This threat produced a change in the for the refusal. "1 ])ou;;lit them," said the chief, "for my young men were very hungry. I promised to pay for them, and they shall he paid for. I have always heard that white nations went to war with each otliL-r, and not with peaceful individuals: that they did not rob and plunder poor people. I will not." "Well," said the Colonel. "T will not pay for them." "\\>u can do as you i)lease," said the chief, "hut before Tecumseh and his warriors

Culunel's mind. The defection of the great chief, he well knew, would immediately withdraw all the nations of the red men from the r.ritish service, and without them they were nearlv powerless on the frontier. "Well," .said the Colonel, "if I must pay, I will." "Give me hard money," said Tecumseh. "not rag money" (army bills). The Colonel then counted out a hundred dollars in coin and gave them to him. The chief handed the money to young Rivard, and then said to the Colonel, "Give me one dollar more." It was given; and handing that also to Rivard, he said, "Take that; it will pay for the time you have lost in getting your money."

" 'Before the commencement of the war, when his hunting parties approached the white settlements, horses and cattle were occasionally stolen; but notice to the chief failed not to procure instant redress.

" 'The character of Tecumseh was that of a gallant and intrepid warrior, an honest and honorable man, and his memory is respected by all our old citizens who personally knew him.'

"The following letter from the venerable General Combs, of Kentucky, who bore so gallant a part in the defenses of the Ohio and the Maumee valley, has both local and general interest :

You ask me for a description of the celebrated Indian warrior, Tecumseh, from my personal observation. I answer that I never saw the great chief but once, and then under rather exciting circumstances, but I have a vivid recollection of him from his appearance, and from intercourse with his personal friends, I am possessed of accurate knowledge of his character.

I was, as you know, one of the pioneers taken at what is known as Dudley's defeat on the banks of the Maumee river, opposite Fort Meigs, early in May, 1813. Tecumseh had fallen upon our rear, and we were compelled to surrender. We were marched down to the old Fort Miami or Maumee, in squads, where a terrible scene awaited us.

The Indians, fully anned with guns, war clubs and tomahawks - to say nothing of scalping knives - had formed themselves into two lines in front of the gateway between which all of us were bound to pass. Many were killed or wounded in running the gauntlet. Shortly after the prisoners had entered the Indians rushed over the walls and again surrounded us, and raised the war whoop, at the same time making unmistakable demonstrations of violence. We all expected to be massacred and the small British guard around us were utterly unable to afford protection. They called loudly for General Proctor and Colonel Elliott to come to our relief. At this critical moment Tecumseh came rushing in, deeply excited, and denounced the murderers of prisoners as cowards. Thus our lives were spared and we went down to the fleet at the mouth of Swan creek (now Toledo), and from that place across the end of the lake to Huron and paroled.

I shall never forget the noble countenance, gallant bearing and sonorous voice of that remarkable man, while addressing his warriors in our behalf.

He was then between forty and forty-five years of age. His frame was vigorous and robust, but he was not fat, weighing about 170 pounds. Five feet, ten inches was his height. He had a high projecting forehead, and broad, open countenance, and there was something noble and commanding in all his actions. He was brave, humane and generous, and never allowed a prisoner to be massacred, if he could prevent it. At Fort Miami he saved the lives of all of us who had survived running the gauntlet. He afterwards released seven Shawnees belonging to my command and sent them home on parole. Tecumseh was a Shawnee. His name signified in their language. Shooting Star. At the time when I saw him he held the commission of a brigadier general in the British army. I am satisfied that he deserved all that was said of him by General Cass and Governor Harrison, previous to his death.

Capt. Joseph Brant

and in his early years was frequently in Ohio and the Hocking Valley, though his mature life was spent largely in Pennsylvania and New York. He was one of the Mohawk tribe, and one of the strongest of his race.

"Long ago when the river was broader, and the falls more lofty, a feud arose between two young chiefs of the respective clans of the Mohawk nation, the Wolf and the Tortoise." The cause of the trouble was an Indian maiden of the Bear totem, to whom each was attentive, and each thought himself beloved in return. Her father was a stern old warrior and loved his child tenderly. Wolf, by his more earnest wooing, obtained the hand and the heart of the forest maiden. Her decision became known to Tortoise and his heart burned with jealous rage. He resolved to prevent their union and, feigning friendship, held the confidence of the young girl and of her affianced. In this way the two rambled in the forest and along the streams until the day came when Wolf was to carry the prize to his wigwam. On that day Tortoise was with her alone upon the brink of a river and in a secluded nook. Tortoise proposed a ride in his light canoe, which was near at hand, to a beautiful little island in the stream, "where the fireflies sparkled and the whippoorwill chanted its evening serenade." They started, but Tortoise turned his prow toward the cataract and the strong arm of the chief directed the little bark to the mouth of a cave on the opposite of the river, just above the falls. Here he imprisoned the maiden, for she could not reach the opening far above her which led to the sunlight. This retreat was known only to the Tortoise. For her comfort the young Indian chief made her bed of softest mosses and aromatic twigs and covered them with rare skins of deer, beaver and otter. For her food he brought her the choicest venison, fowl and

While hunting in the lovely springtime on the southern slope of a hill. Wolf saw the canoe at tne mouth of the cave and at once solved the problem. He guided his own canoe to the mouth of the cave, entered and there dealt a terrible blow on the perfidious Tortoise, slumbering by the side of his unwilling bride. The stroke, made in the dim light of the cavern, was not fatal, and Tortoise escaped through the upper opening, closed it with a huge stone and made good his escape.

The lovers were now themselves imprisoned; it was death to remain, and it seemed sure death to go over the cataract, for they could not row up that swift running stream. They resolved to die by the falls, and, with a prayer to the great Spirit, they dashed over the crest in their light canoe. The frail vessel struck propitiously upon the boiling waters of the gulf. Down the stream and on they glided, and lived and loved for two generations. "In the line of their descent, tradition says, came Brant, the Mohawk sachem, the strong Wolf of this nation."

Brant had two brothers, and a beautiful sister, who became the wife of Colonel Johnson, an Englishman of great wealth and power. Brant's own father died and his mother married an Indian who was called by the English, Brant, and thus the stepson was called by his father's name. His sister, Mollie Brant, used influence with her husband. Col. Johnson, to further the interests of her brother Joseph, who was sent by Col. Johnson to school at Lebanon, Conn., where he was placed under an excellent teacher, Rev. Eleazer \\'heelock. Young Joseph Brant ad- vanced very rapidly, mastering the English readily. Aaron Burr, one of Brant's close friends, said he spoke and wrote the English perfectly and without an accent. He was of great value as an Indian interpreter and was often sent on long and dangerous journeys to the wild tribes of the West.

He soon became the leader of the Mohawks and directed them in many bloody and successful combats. He visited England in 1775 and was greatly impressed by the number and kindness of the English. He was won over completely to the side of the English in the approaching contest with the colonists. The distinguished poet, Campbell, in his noted work, "Gertrude of Wyoming," alludes to him as "the monster Brant." He was not, however, a member of the murderous band of Indians at Wyoming. He had many good traits and often saved his helpless victims from harm. He was an enthusiastic Freemason and in the very midst of an Indian massacre, he rescued Major Wood, who had given him the Masonic sign of distress. It is generally supposed that he was present as the leader of 150 Mohawks, at St. Clair's defeat, though this is not fully proven. He had many powerful friends, among them Aaron Burr, and Theodosia Burr, who received him kindly and gave a large dinner party for him in New York City. He died in 1807 at the age of sixty- four years. He was faithful to the Mohawk people and to the English, from whom he obtained funds for the erection of a schoolhouse and a church. This latter was built at Grand River and was the first church in Upper Canada. He sleeps today by the side of that church under a monument said to have cost $50,000. The monument bears this inscription : "This monument is erected to the memory of Thay-en-da-ne-gea, or Capt. Joseph Brant, principal chief and warrior of the Six

Cornstalk

A brief account of Dunmore's war has been given in Chapter II. It will be remembered that one dixision of that army was at Point Pleasant, at the mouth of the Great Kanawha under General Andrew Lewis. On the morning of Octoljer 10, 1774, the brave and heroic Cornstalk led his liand of a thousand warriors against the wing of the army, and a "Greek meet Greek" contest raged all day, and into the night. It was like a series of duals, a "man-to-man" contest. This battle was purely an American affair - the American white man against the American red man. Cornstalk was a masterful man. His presence encouraged the warriors ; his shrill voice called out in his native tongue, "Be Strong! Be Strong!" Thej^ fought for twelve hours, when darkness put an end to the fight. The Indians made a safe retreat across the Ohio, and the white men were too much exhausted to follow them. Cornstalk conducted the battle so skillfully that not a single chief of importance was killed, and their total loss was not more than half as many as that of the whites.

After this battle Cornstalk led his chief warriors to Lord Dunmore's camp in Pickaway county, and, being unable to get his warriors to continue the fight, he said he would be their leader in peace. Cornstalk was the spokesman in the council with Lord Dunmore. His great eloquence, dignity and unbroken courage presented a scene of proud defiance. Logan remained away from this meeting, saying he was a warrior and not a counselor. Cornstalk made a manly effort lor better terms, but gracefull)' accepted the conclusions of tiie treaty, viz : that the Indians were to surrender all the white prisoners and stolen horses in their possession, to release all claims to lands south of the Ohio, and to give hostages for their good faith. This chieftain, Cornstalk, so impressed the Virginians that they ranked his eloquence with that of their own great orators, Richard Henry Lee and Patrick Henry.

He came into the garrison at Point Pleasant, in the summer of 1777, to tell them that he had urged his people to keep the terms of the treaty, but his young men insisted upon going to war again, and then he added, in an open and honest way, that, if they did, he would go with them. Thereupon he and three others, including his son, Ellinipsico, were held as hostages in the fort. While thus held the Indians killed a member of a company of rangers near this fort. Under their Captain, John Hall, an attack upon the Indians in the fort was led, and Cornstalk, drawing his blanket about him, calmly awaited death, saying to his son, "The Great Spirit has seen fit that we should die together, and has sent you to that end. It is well and let us submit." Like the Romans of old he then faced his assassins and fell dead with seven bullets in his body. There was no excuse for this murder and it remains to this day a lasting shame to the American troops. Had he lived, he would undoubtedly have been friendly with the Americans, for his visit to Point Pleasant was to inform the garrison that the Indians were planning an attack upon them and that they

The final resting-place of Cornstalk - whose name was conferred upon him by the consent of his nation as their great strength and support, may be seen today at Point Pleasant, where an enduring monument was reared in his memory 120 years after the great battle - one of the greatest in all Indian warfare - and where he was infamously murdered by the whites three years later. "There never has been and never can be, any excuse or palliation for his murder." "Thus perished the mighty Cornstalk, a sachem of the Shawnees, and King of the Northern Confederacy, in 1774, a chief remarkable for many great and good qualities. He was disposed to be at all times a friend of the white man, as he was ever the advocate of honorable peace. But when his country's wrongs "called aloud for battle." be became the thunderbolt of war. and made her oppressors feel the might of his uplifted arm. His noble bearing, his generous and disinterested attachment to the colonies when the thunder of British cannon was reverberating through the land, his anxiety to preserve the frontier of Ohio and \'irginia from desolation and death, the object of his visit to Point Pleasant - all conspired to win for him the esteem and respect of others while the untimely and perfidious manner of his death caused a deep and lasting regret to pervade the bosoms, even of the enemies of his race and excited the just indi,gnation of all toward his inhuman and barbarous murderers."

Of all the mighty chiefs who recently led their bands of warriors unmolested over the plains and fertile \alleys of North America, not one remains alive. The last to die was Geronimo, the "Human Tiger." Of all chiefs he was the most treacherous and fiendish. His was the last of his race, this old war chief of the White Mountain Apaches. Many thousands of our people have seen him at one of the World's Fairs.

After Victoria, the Warm Springs chief was killed, in 1881, Geronimo became a leader and in Mexico and Arizona he kept more than 2,000 United States troops at bay for over a year. He was finally captured and lived a life of indolence and assumed piety. It is well that this type of the red man is passing. When Geronimo was at the height of his power he constantly sought human life and taught his people to love only the war path. It is said he never forgave and never forgot.

Geronimo was called "The Worst Indian that ever Lived." The famous Apache chief, Geronimo, was finally captured by death February 17, 1909. He was born in 1829, being eighty years old at the time of his death. When a young man, some strolling bands of Mexicans murdered one of his wives and his children, while he was away on a hunting expedition. Thereupon he gave up his peaceful pursuit of farming in the mountain valleys and went upon the war path declaring ever after that he hated all white men. He cost the United States government a million dollars to capture him, which capture was finally made by General Miles, in 1886. It cost the lives of 500 American soldiers, and no one will ever know how many lives he took in writing his blood-red page of history. A civil engineer, Herman Ehreenberg, kept accurate count of his murders for a time, and he says 425 victims fell before the scalping knives of Geronimo's braves from 1856 to and including 1862.

For more than 25 years Geronimo was held a pensioner, rather thin a prisoner, around various forts in Alabama, Florida and Arizona, drawing $35 per month as a "government scout." He was frequently loaned out to

"World's Fairs," "Wild. West Shows," and other exhibitions, as a leading card. The Editor saw him at the "Pan-American Fair," at Buffalo, and remembers distinctly the effort put forth when he wrote his name on a card, which was bought for a shilling. The effort was so great that the great chief thrust his tongue out as he printed each letter of the word G-e-r-o-n-i-m-o. His last days were spent in puttering around Fort Sill, in Oklahoma and adding to his income by selling his autograph.

In 1905 Prof. S. M. Barrett, superintendent of education of Lawton, Oklahoma, assisted by superintendent J. M. Greenwood, of Kansas City, secured the promise of Geronimo - then 76 years old - to tell the story of his own life, and his consent to allow the same to be published. This was only obtained by promise of pay to Geronimo. As Geronimo was a prisoner of war, it was necessary to get the consent of the U. S. Government to allow him to tell the story of his life. This consent was quickly granted by President Roosevelt, who read the book in manuscript and to whom Geronimo dedicated it. The work was begun and finished at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where Geronimo was held a prisoner of war for many years. The book was sent from the press September, 1906, and is a most absorbing autobiography of the last of the great Indian chiefs, having 216 pages under the title, "Geronimo's Story of His Life." It is the other side - the Indian's side - of a long and bloody contest of more than twenty years between red man and white man - a story of carnage and of heroism, of love and of hate.

He was once a i;nan of wonderful energy and determination. General Miles thus describes him. "He rode into our camp and dismounted, a prisoner. He was one of the brightest, most resolute, determined men I ever met, with the sharpest, clearest dark eyes. Every movement showed power and energy." He once, in his prime, ran forty miles in a single day, rode 500 miles on one stretch, as fast as he could change horses, and wore out the columns that finally captured him, until three sets of officers were needed to finish the chase, and not more than one-third of the troopers that started were in at the finish. He harried the Southwest for 25 years from his retreat in the Gila country, with his band of Chiracahua Apaches." General Miles said he was the worst Indian that ever lived, and many a white man is living today who would have gladly leveled Geronimo to earth for the evil he wrought.

He embraced Christianity and became a Methodist, but his sincerity was seriously questioned by the people of Arizona. However, he paid no attention to the scofifers but jogged along the trail into the next world, confident that he had been forgiven for the sins of his youth. He died of pneumonia, while a prisoner at Ft. Sill. The other great chiefs have all gone to the "happy hunting ground."

Chief Joseph, the "Napoleon of the Nez Perces," died in peace a few years ago. He was the greatest general of his race, and was deserving of far better treatment than he received at the hands of the United States Government. He may be compared with Tecumseh, the great Shawnee chief of 100 years before.

The Mexican troops killed old Victoria in a desperate fight in the Beratcha (Drunken) Mountains in Mexico. Sitting Bull, the hero of the terrible Custer massacre, was killed by the Indian police. Sitting Bull was not in the battle of the Little Big Horn at all, but he got all the notoriety for it. He was only a Sioux

Red Cloud died peacefully at Pine Ridge Agency about eight years ago, and the friendly Sioux Chieftain, Spotted Tail, spent his last years in peace with the whites. The kindness of the people at l'"ort Laramie during the sickness and after the death of his daughter, so softened the heart of the old chief against the whites that he became very friendly and helpful. He aided Custer in his fight in 1876 against the hostile Sioux, who were led by Sitting Bull.

Thus have the great Indian leaders passed to the council of their forefathers, and thus will they all leave us, unless they can adapt themselves to civilized ways of living and of work. This they seem to be doing.

Tarhe, Chief Oe The Wv.Vndottes

The inhabitants of Fairfield county today are, perhaps, more interested in the Wyandottes than in any other Indian trilje. These fierce and warlike Indians were the original owners of the soil that is now l-'airfield county. At the coming of the first white man from Marietta, about 1789, there were not less than 500 members of this tribe living in Fairfield county. Their great chief was Tarhe, a inan of power and of many noble qualities, whose name was given to the chief town of the Wyandotte tribe, Tarhe. This town had, in 1790, at least one hundred wigwams and was located on the north branch of the Hocking, to the southeast of the Lancaster of today, and occupying the grounds now owned by the Hocking Valley and Pennsylvania Railroad companies. This Indian town was well governed and the chief Tarhe ("The Crane" in English), was highly respected by his tribe, and, as the years went on, by the white inhab- itants as well. He seems to have had many of the qualities of the noble Tecumseh and much of his ability. He had a rare sense of reverence, and, according to the Quakers, or "Friends," who knew and loved him well. He put all his hope and confidence in the Great Spirit. "I hope the Great Spirit," said Chief Tarhe, to the Friends from Baltimore, Md., "will have compassion on us; it is He who made this world and all of us who live in it. that we might dwell together as friends and brethren. He is the master of the world He has made ; we cannot resist His power ; and when it is His will that our existence should terminate, it becomes our duty to submit with resignation." W^io. among the white race ever expressed a simple faith in the Supreme Being more beautifully?

The Wyandottes had the most friendly relations with tlie Quakers, or Society of Friends, and the latter often gave them most efficient aid, sending missionaries to them from Baltimore, Md., a distance of almost 600 miles. These Wyandottes welcomed the Quakers and opened to them tiieir w igwams anil their firesides.

It affords the Editor great pleasure to offer here the speech of Tarhe, made in 1798, and sent to the Friends at Baltimore. This speech, like that of Logan, is pathetic ; yet it offers an interesting picture of tlie heart and soul of this deeply injured people, as well as the power of Indian oratory.

Tion Of Indians In Behalf Of The Whole Of Said Nation, The

Brethren ! \'ou told us at that time, you not only took us by the hand, but that you held us fast 1)y the arm, that you then formed a chain of friendship; you said it was not a chain of iron, but tliat it was a chain of precious metal - a chain of silver that would ne\er get rusty, and that this chain would bind us in brotherly affection forever.

Brethren ! You told us that this chain of friendship would bind us together so fast, that we should never part: - it is our sincere wish that this chain may never be broken ; no. not ever by the efforts of the Evil Spirit himself.

Brethren ! These are only a few words that I recollect of a great many that were said at that time. We iiave no records or place of security for our speeches, as you have, nor can we write as you do ; our belts of wampum are our only records. But if you examine your old books and papers, you will there find written all that passed between your forefathers and ours (The chief is Itelieved to refer to the treaties between William Penn and the Indians. Editor).

Brethren, Listen ! The Wyandotte nation, your brethren, are hajjpy to hear that you ha\e not forgotten what our grandfathers agreed on at that time. A\'e have often heard that you are a good and faithful people, ever ready to do justice, and to do good to all men. whether they be white or black : therefore, we love you the more sincerely, because of the goodness of your hearts, which has t)een talked of among our nations long since.

Brethren, My Brethren ! The Wyandottes are happy to be informefl that some of you e.xpress a wish to pay us a visit; when you do come forward for that iiurposc. we will then show you a belt of wampum, with a piece of written parclinicnl affixed tliereto. When you sec tliat belt of wampum and shall have read the writing on the parchment, you no doubt will then perfectly know us and will consider us brethren, united bj' a chain which can never be broken while memory lasts.

Krethren, Listen ! As I have mentioned before, so let us proceed; we are much pleased to hear that you still hold in rememl)rance our nephews, the Delaware nation. The promises and obligations made l)etween your grandfathers and ours, included our two nations, the Wyandottes and Delawares, in the chain of friendship and brotherly love, considering us as one and the same people; which chain we pray the (ireat .Spirit will never permit to be divitled.

Brethren, Listen ! By strictly adhering to the treaty of brotherly lo\e. which our grandfathers, who now exist no more, formed for us and our future generations, we will the more peacefully and quietly w^ander upon the earth, on which the Great Sjiirit. the master of life and of all tilings, was pleased to plant us: our women and children will also walk the longer, as well as our young men and old people upon the earth.

Brethren, listen! You have informed us that you intend to visit us, that even in our tents and cabins you will take us by the hand. You, brethren, cannot admit a doubt that we would be very happy to see you ; but it will be necessary to acquaint you that, as the season is now far advanced and the cold weather approaching fast, it would be a difficult task for our brethren to find our places of aI)ode, as during the winter we will all be scattered abroad for the purposes of hunting in the wilderness ; but in the beginning of June you will find us all at home in our cabins and tents ready to see you.

Brethren, listen ! It is but proper to propose to you at this time, that when you do come forward to see us, you will pass by my place of residence at Sandusky. I will then take you not only by the hand, but by the arm, and will conduct you safe to the grand council tire of our great Sasteretsy, where all good things are transacted, and where nothing bad is permitted to appear.

When in the grand council of our Sasteretsy, we will then sit down together in peace and friendship, as brethren are accustomed to do, after a long absence and remind each other and talk of those times and things that were done between our good granil fathers, when they first met uikmi our lands on this great Island.

Brethren I May the Great Spirit, the master of light and life, so dispose the hearts and minds of all our nations and people, that the calamities of war may never be felt or known by any of them - that our roads and paths may never be stained with the blood of our young warriors, and that our lieli)less women and children may live in peace anrl happiness.

Very near the present site of Royalton, the W^-andottes had another town, presided over by a chief called Tobey. in whose honor the town was called Tobeytown. Tobey was an inferior chief, and was ruled by Tarhe. who was at that time (about 1790) the principal chief of the Wyandottes, as stated above.

described by Jefferson: - "A kind of patriarchal confederacy, every town or settlement has a chief; the several towns that compose a tribe have a chief who presides over them, and the several tribes composing a nation or confederacy, have a chief who presides over the whole nation. Their chiefs are generally men advanced in years, and distinguished by their prudence and abilities in council. The matters which merely regard a town or family are settled by the chief and principal men of the town; those which regard a tribe, such as the appointment of military chiefs, and settling of differences between different towns and families, are regulated at a meeting or council of the chiefs from the several towns ; and those matters which regard a whole nation, such as making war, concluding peace, or forming alliance with the neighboring nations, are deliberated on and determined in a national council composed of the chiefs of the different tribes, attended by the head warriors and chiefs of the town."

The Wyandottes have a long and noble history. Our earliest record of them is by the French who, in 1535, found them living along the St. Lawrence. Back of that date all is oblivion. We know, however, that at some period during the first quarter of the sixteenth century, a separation, following a quarrel, took place between the Wyandottes and the Senecas, along the St. Lawrence, and the Wyandottes moved westward to the Niagara. Here they stopped, in all probability awed by the mighty cataract. Later on part of the tribe went to the north, and Lake Huron, around which they made their home, was named from them, for by some the Wyandottes were called Hurons, but their proper name was Wyandotte. Later in the seventh century, they moved to the Detroit river, and settled on the Canadian side. Here they learned that the Senecas were planning to renew their hostilities against them, and, being fewer in number, the Wyandottes scattered, and ventured southward through the vast wilderness of the Ohio, and even beyond. This was between 1710 and 1721. In this way they came into what is now Fairfield county, and here they made their home, until about 1795, when they began to migrate again, but this time northward toward the Sandusky country. Chief Tarhe (often spelt Tarhie) must have gone to this part of Ohio (Upper Sandusky) about that time, for Philip Evan Thomas, and his party of Quakers, sent out from Baltimore in 1799, found Chief Tarhe, the Crane, as the head of the Wyandottes, at his chief town, now Upper Sandusky, extending nine or ten miles on both sides of the Sandusky river, and containing about one thousand people. The visit of Mr. Thomas and his party of seven was in response to the invitation contained in the famous speech of Tarhe printed above.

Tarhe continued to rule his people, now united under "The Wyandotte Confederacy of Indians," consisting of seven tribes, speaking five different languages, until old age took him as a rare prize, in 181 8. A great funeral service was held in his honor after his death, chiefs from many tribes being present. There were Delawares, Senecas, Ottawas, Shawnees, Mohawks and Wyandottes present in large numbers. The principal orator and most noted chief present, was Red Jacket, from Buffalo. Col. John Johnson, U. S. Indian agent, was present, and tells us it was a most impressive ceremony. After this was concluded the chiefs present held a council lasting several days. This funeral ceremony and council following, was held at "Crane Town," the residence of Tarhe, about four miles northeast from the present court house in Upper Sandusky.

lands to the Government by treaty, made at Upper Sandusky, March 17, 184J, left for the far West, being the last Indians to leave Ohio. It was a sad sight - the leaving of their once happy homes on the fertile plains of the Sandusky, the graves of their ancestors, and the traditions of their people. The old Wyandotte Mission Church and the Indian graveyard at Upper Sandusky are a shrine to which many hundreds of people journey each year.

The VVyandottes were the bravest of the Indian tribes. They had a language that was coarse, harsh and gutteral, but as a race they had many noble qualities, and among their chiefs were men of high moral attributes. General William Henry Harrison, in "Collections of the Historical Society of Ohio," pays the following tribute to the Wyandottes :

"With all other tribes but the Wyandottes, flight in battle, when meeting with unexpected resistance or obstacle, brought with it no disgrace. With them it was otherwise. Their youth were taught to consider anything that had the appearance of an acknowledgment of the superiority of the enemy, as disgraceful. In the battle of the Miami rapids, of thirteen chiefs of that tribe who were present, one only survived, and he badly wounded. Some time before this action General Wayne sent for Captain Wells and requested him to go to Sandusky and take a prisoner, for the purpose of obtaining information. Wells, who had been bred with the Indians, and was perfectly acquainted with their character, answered that he could take a prisoner, but not from Sandusky, because Wyandottes would not be taken alive." (Howe.)

The Government is doing a good work in educating the Indian of today, and there maj' be found at Haskell Institute, Lawrence, Kansas, about 600 Indian boys and girls. They are niakin^ ra|)id and substantial adancement.

1 he Indian loves music and can learn very readily to produce it. The bands of the Carlisle Indian School and Haskell Institute are famous, and they are widely known in foreign countries. The Haskell Institute band has visited Europe. Their music is of high grade.

The Indian learns rapidly and he has taken a high place in athletics. Soxalexis, the Indian, was one of the world's greatest baseball players, and as a sprinter he never had an equal. He was "wined and dined" by society until the Indian's innate love of "fire-water" cau.sed his ruin. On the gridiron the Indian holds a high place. His playing is marked by intelligence and high speed. In fact the Indian is naturally an athlete, but education does not change him in this respect. Education only gives the Indian greater confidence and skill in his work. Graduates of these Indian schools are holding good positions, such as bank cashiers, state librarians and teachers of art.

An Incident

A most interesting incident relating to the educated Indian comes to us from the far West. An educated gentleman was hunting in the Rocky Mountains when suddenly he found himself face to face with an Indian in full war paint and arms, seated on a log in an open spot in a densely wooded ravine. The hunter fully expected an immediate attack, but was greatly surprised as well as relieved, when the painted monarch of the forest addressed him in elegant Engli.sh, bidding him accept a seat by his side. The Indian held an open book in his hand, a copy of Homer, which he had been reading while resting himself from the fatigue of the chase. He proved to be a graduate of the Carlisle Indian School, and had donned the old attire "just to see how it felt."

The fame of the speech of Logan, the Mingo chief, is world-wide. It elevated the character of the native of the forest throughout the world, and it will be remembered "so long as touching eloquence is admired by men."

"I appeal to any white man to say, if ever he entered Logan's cabin hungry, and I gave him not meat ; i f e\er he came cold or naked and I gave him not clothing.

"During the course of the last long and bloody war, Logan remained in his tent, an advocate of peace. Nay, such was my love for the white, that those of my own country pointed at me as they passed by and said, "Logan is the friend of the white men.' I had even thought to live with you, but for the injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, the last spring, in cold blood, and unprovoked, cut off all the relatives of Logan; not sparing even my women and children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any human creature. This called on me for revenge. I have sought it. I have killed many. I have fully glutted my \engeance. For my country, I rejoice at the beams of peace; yet do not harbor the thought that mine is the joy of fear Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to sa\e his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan? Not one."

This noted piece of eloquence, pride and courage was delivertd liy Logan, the murder of whose family caused the Dunmore war, under the "Logan Elm," in Pickaway county, Ohio, six miles .south of Circlevillc.

Trom Jacob S Life Of Capt. Cresap Second Edition

(The publisher deems it proper to introduce here, as bearing directly upon the subject-matter of this book, the following letter from Gen. George Rogers Clark, in vindication of Capt. Cresap. It was addressed to Samuel Brown, Esq., and dated June 17, 1798.)

"The conduct of Cresap I am perfectly acquainted with. He was not the author of that murder (of Logan's family), but a family by the name of Great-house. This country was explored in 1773. A resolution was formed to make a settlement the spring following, and the mouth of the Little Kanawha appointed the place of general rendezvous, in order to descend the river from there in a body. Early in the spring the Indians had done some mischief. Reports from their towns were alarming, whicli deterred many. About eighty or ninety men only met at the appointed rendezvous, where we lay some days.

"A small party of hunters that lay about ten miles below us were fired upon by the Indians, whom the hunters beat back, and returned to camp. This and many other circumstances led us to believe that the Indians were determined on war. The whole party was enrolled, and determined to execute their project of forming a .settlement in Kentucky, as we had every necessary store that could be thought of. An Indian town called the Horsehead Bottom, on the Scioto and near its mouth, lay nearly in our way. The determination was to cross the country' and surprise it. Who was to command, was the question. There were but few among us \\ho had experience in Indian warfare, and thev were such that we did not care to be commanded by. We knew of Capt. Cresap being on the river about fifteen miles above us, with some hands, setthng a plantation, and that he had concluded to follow us to Kentucky as soon as he had fixed there his people. We also knew that he had been experienced in a former war. He was proposed, and it was unanimously agreed to send for him to command the party. Messengers were dispatched, and in half an hour returned with Cresap. He had heard of our resolution by some of his hunters that had fallen in with ours, and had set out to come to us.

"We now thought our army, as we called it, complete, and the destruction of the Indians sure. A council was called, and to our astonishment our intended commander-in-chief was the person that dissuaded us from the enterprise. He said that appearances were very suspicious, but there was no certainty of a war: that if we made the attempt proposed he had no doubt of our success, but a war would at any rate be the result, and that we should be blamed for it, and perhaps justly; but if we were determined to proceed, he would lay aside all considerations, send to his camp for his people, and share our fortunes. He was then asked what he would advise. His answer was, that we should return to Wheeling, as a convenient post, to hear what was going forward ; that a few weeks would determine ; as it was early in the spring, if we found the Indians were not disposed for war, we should have full time to return and make our establishment in Kentucky. This was adopted, and in two hours the whole were under way. As we ascended the river we met Killbuch, an Indian chief, with a small party. We had a long conference with him, but reecived little satisfaction as to the disposition of the Indians. It was observed that Cresap did not come to this conference, but kept on the opposite side of the river. He said that he was afraid to trust himself with the Indians; that Killbuch had frequently tried to waylay his father, to kill him; that if he crossed that perhaps his fortitude- might fail him, and that he might put Killbuch to death. On our arrival at Wheeling (the country being pretty well settled thereabouts) the whole of the inhabitants appeared to be alarmed. They flocked to our camp from every direction, and all that we could say could not keep them from under our wings. We offered to cover their neighborhood with our scouts until further information, if they would return to their plantations: but nothing would prevail. By this time we had got to be a formidable party. All the hunters, men without families, etc., in that quarter, had joined our party. Our arrival, at Wheeling was soon known as Pittsburg. The whole of that country at that time being under the jurisdiction of Virginia, Dr. Connoly had been appointed by Dunmore captain commandant of the district, which was called West Augusta. He, learning of us, sent a message addressed to the party, letting us know that war was to be apprehended, and requesting that we would keep our position for a few days, as messages had been sent to the Indians, and a few days would determine the doubt. The answer he got was, that we had no inclination to quit our quarters for some time : that during our stay we should be careful that the enem}' should not harrass the neighborhood that we lay in. But before this answer could reach Pittsburg he sent a second express, addressed to Capt. Cresap, as the most influential man among us, informing him that the messenger had returned from the Indians, that the war was inevitable, and begging him to use his influence with the party to get them to cover the country by scouts until the inhab- itants could fortify themselves. The reception of this letter was the epoch of open hostilities with the Indians. A new post was planted, a council was called, and the letter read by Cresap, all the Indian traders being summoned on so important an occasion. Action was had, and war declared in the most solemn manner : and the same evening two scalps were brought into camp.

"The next day some canoes of Indians were discovered on the river, keeping the adventage of an island to cover themselves from our view. They were chased fifteen miles down the river, and driven ashore. A battle ensued - a few were wounded on both sides - one Indian only taken prisoner. On examining their canoes we found a considerable quantity of ammunition and other warlike stores. On our return to camp a resolution was adopted to march the next day and attack Logan's camp on the Ohio, about thirty miles above us. We did march about five miles, and then halted_to take some refreshment. Here the impropriety of executing the projected enterprise was argued. The conversation was brought forward by Cresap himself. It was generally agreed that those Indians had no hostile intentions, as they were hunting, and their party was composed of men, women and children, with all their stuff with them. This we knew, as I myself and others present had been in their camp about four weeks past, on our descending the river from Pittsburg. In short, every person seemed to detest the resolution we had set out with. We returned in the evening, decamped and took the road to Redstone.

"It was two days after this that Logan's family was killed. And from the manner in which it was done, it was viewed as a horrid murder. From Logan's hearing of Cresap being at the head of this party on the river, it is no wonder that he supposed he had a hand in the destruction of his family.

"Since the reception of your letter I have procured the Notes on Virginia. They are now before me. The act was more barbarous than there related by Mr. Jefferson. Those Indians used to visit and to return visits with the neighboring whites, on the opposite side of the river. They were on a visit to a family of the name of Greathouse, at the time they were murdered by them and their associates.

"The war now raged in all its savage fury until the fall, when a treaty of peace was held at Camp Charlotte, within four miles of Chillicothe, the Indian capital of Ohio. Logan did not appear. I was acquainted with him, and wished to know the reason. The answer was, that he was like a mad dog; his bristles had been up, and were not yet quite fallen, but the good talk now going forward might allay them. Logan's speech to Dunmore now came forward, as related by Mr. Jefferson. It was thought to be clever, though the army knew it to be wrong as to Cresap ; but it only produced a laugh in camp. I saw it displeased Capt. Cresap, and I told him he must be a very great man that the Indians palmed everything that happened on his shoulders. He smiled and said he had an inclination to tomahawk Greathouse for the murder.

"What I have related is fact. I was intimate with Cresap. Logan, I was better acquainted with, at that time, than any other Indian in the Western country.

"I was perfectly acquainted with the conduct of both parties. Logan was the author of the speech, as altered by Mr. Jefferson, and Cresap's conduct was as I have here related it."

The Indian Of Today

Are the American Indians decreasing in number? By no means. Statistics from the twenty-five Indian reservations in the United States show a constant and healthy increase.

In former years the Indians killed each other in tribal warfare, and doubtless many were swept away by famine and pestilence. Today they are cared for by the U. S. Government - protected by the strong arm of the law. The expenditures of the United States on account of the Indians in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1909, were $9,253,347, and the total expenditures from 1789 to 1909 inclusive have been $474,163,917.

The cost to the United States Government of Indian schools for 1909 was $4,008,825. The Government supports 109 boarding schools and 194 day schools and 59 mission schools supported by churches and religious societies.

The five civilized tribes of today - the Oklahoma, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminoles - number 101,469, and their numbers are increasing rapidly.

Our government has made in the past many bad conditions for the Indians. The late General Sherman is quoted as saying that the U. S. Government never kept a single treaty it ever made with the Indians, and he was very near the truth. But today conditions are far different, and justice is more nearly granted to these original owners of the soil. The educated Indian is slowly but surely winning for his race a high place among the nations of the earth. In the names of such Indians as Dr. Charles Alexander Eastman, the noted Sioux lecturer and writer; Dr. Carlos Montezuma, a full-blooded Apache, distinguished physician and surgeon of Chicago; General Ely S. Parker, a full-blooded Seneca, the friend and supporter as well as military secretary of General

Grant ; Simon Pokagon, son of the Potawatomie chief who owned the lantl on which Chicago now stands and for whom Chicago citizens have erected a monument in Jackson Park - in these and many more the world recognizes power and real worth.

The recent national congress of American Indians, held in Columbus, Ohio, October, 191 1, gave every evidence the most critical could wish, that education is not by any means a failure when obtained by that once wild member of the human family.

"Down the rivers, o'er the prairies, Came the warriors of the nations. Came the Delawares and Mohawks, Came the Choctaws and Comanches, Came the Mandans and Dacotahs, Came the Wyandottes and Ojibways, All the warriors drawn together By the signal of the peace pipe."

This meeting of "high brow" Indians at Columbus was the first of its kind, and the most representative body of American Indians that ever met. The Congress was called for the purpose of organizing an

American Indian Association

The addresses, discussions and reports all contained arguments for the uplift of the Indian - and not the least among them were the Indian women - many of whom are graduates from our own very best American colleges. No better argument for the education of the Indian can be given than a comparison of the face of the Bloodthirsty Geronimo and that of Rev. Sherman Coolidge, "Des-Che-Wah," a full-blooded Arapahoe, but educated, refined and a Christian.

the study of English at fourteen, and he mastered it and also became very proficient in Latin and Greek. It is said no full blooded Indian ever acquired a more thorough knowledge of the English tongue. Read his noted article in a New York magazine, written in 1897 on the topic, "The Future of the Red Man," in which he said: "Often in the stillness of the night, when all nature seems asleep about me, there comes a gentle rapping at the door of my heart. I open it and a voice inquires, 'Pokagon, what of your people? What will be their future?' My answer is: 'Mortal man has not the power to draw aside the veil of unborn time to tell the future of his race. That gift belongs to the Divine alone. But it is given to him to closely judge the future by the present and the past." Have we any finer passage from our best English writers? Had our Government pursued the right, the just, the humane course with the Indian years ago. we might have had ten thousand other educated Christian men and women among the Indians of today.*

One of the most noted Indian schools in the world is the famous Carlisle Indian School, located at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. This school was organized, and opened November I, 1879, and has had a steady growth each year until it has at the present time 800 students coming from 55 different tribes, scattered all over the United States.

The Government has spent on the Haskell Institute more than half a million dollars, for buildings and grounds, and it willingly expends $200,000 each year in maintaining the school. The Department of the Interior, through a regularly appointed agent, looks

*The story of the brave scouts under the intrepid Lewis Wetzel, Cold Spring Rescue, and the Wyandottes is told in a separate chapter of this work. (Editor.)

after the educational interests of the Indian, and the work is well done. A large number of unselfish and devoted teachers have given their lives to the service of the Indian youth, and not a few of these teachers are of Ohio birth, among whom might be named Mr. and Mrs. George G. Davis, who for a number of years have so successfully conducted the school at the Rosebud Agency, South Dakota. It will be remembered that it was at this place, in 1881, that Crow Dog shot and killed the great Sioux chieftain. Spotted Tail, who was at peace with the whites, and who had befriended them, and especially Custer, when engaged in the bloody contest with Sitting Bull.

These schools have long since demonstrated the fact that the Indian youth, properly trained, will become a valuable American citizen, and we should be ever willing to make the necessary expenditures.

The Government in past years has done \ery poorly in its treatment of these aborigines. The rascally Indian agents have cheated and robbed them again and again. Often for personal gain have these agents recommended to the Government that whole tribes be removed from the hunting grounds of their fathers, fertile as the valley of the Po, into some torrid, arid desert. Of course they would fight; who would not under the same conditions? Then the Government would send a \astly superior force against these "rebellious" tribes and the red man was doomed.

This is exactly what was done with old Victoria, chief of the \\^irm Spring Indians. He had been living as a farmer chief in the fertile valley at the foot of the San Mateo Mountains, in New Mexico, raising cattle, hogs and sheep and learning from Duncan, the farmer, how to culti\ate the soil.

Arizona, wanted this tribe sent to him that he might rob them as he was robbing those tribes already under his control. Acting on his urgent advice, the Government had twice sent this peaceful tribe from their beautiful and fertile home into Arizona, to a hot and barren land.

Twice they had gone back to their old home, and on being again ordered to return to Arizona, old Victoria and his little band of 85 warriors took to the mountains. "Andy" Kelly, an interpreter and trader, was sent to Victoria to ask him to wait until the officer in charge of the troops sent against him could get an answer by telegraph from Washington. The old leader, burning with indignation at the treatment he was receiving, gave the following reply to Kelly: "Me wait. Me no want fight. Big Chief make long tongue (the telegraph) say me stay reservation, me no fight. Me want stay my old home. If Great Father make long tongue say all right, me come in. But if long tongue say me go San Carlos, me fight all time, and you no more come back with white flag. You come back, me kill you too." (Capt. Jack Crawford.)

When the scout, who had been sent 100 miles to the nearest telegraph station, was seen by Victoria, returning on his jaded pony, and no answer came from "long tongue" saying "me stay here," Victoria began to fight for his rights. For two long years he successfully fought the United States troops, and in that time he and his little band of warriors killed more than 600 men, women and children. He was finally entrapped in the Beratcha (Drunken) Mountains, Mexico, and was slain by Mexican .soldiers, fighting manfully for his rights.

This chapter cannot be more fittingly closed than to quote in full Ciiarles Sprague's masterpiece, so often read by our fathers and grandfathers, the prophecy of which, however, has not been fulfilled, as we have seen.

The North American Indian

"Not many generations ago, where you now sit, encircled with all that exalts and embellishes civilized life, the rank thistle nodded in the wind, and the wild fox dug his hole unscared. Here lived and loved another race of beings. Beneath the same sun that rolls over your head, the Indian hunter pursued the panting deer; gazing the same moon that smiles on you, the Indian lover wooed his dusky mate. Here the wigwam-blaze beamed on the tender and the helpless; the council fire glared on the wise and the daring.

"Now they dipped their noble limbs in the sedgy lakes, and now they paddled their light canoe along your rocky shores. Here they warred; the echoing whoop, the bloody grapple, the defying death song, all were here ; and when the tiger strife was over, here curled the smoke of peace. Here, too, they worshipped ; and from many a dark bosom went up a pure prayer to the Great Spirit. He had not written his laws for them on tables of stone, but he had traced them on the table of their hearts.