Boone County, Indiana - Chapter 2: Mound Builders Indian Occupancy Territory Acquired by White Man, 1914

Chapter 2: Mound Builders Indian Occupancy Territory Acquired by White Man

Before entering upon the history of Boone county, it may be well for us to pass a word in regard to who may have occupied this country before real history begins to record the events, of what we term as the history of this country. There are evidences of a prehistoric civilization, a vanished race. These evidences point to a race of people that must have inhabited this continent before the Indian; the race of men found here when the continent was discovered by Columbus. There is plenty of room here for speculation and the sweep of the imagination, but this is not our purpose in this article. We simply wish to call attention to the fact that the ethnologist claims that there are evidences that there was a race of people here prior to the Indian race. They must have dwelt here a long time ago. Perhaps thousands of years before the red man. There are evidences east of the Mississippi river and in the Ohio river valley.

The peculiar shape of the mounds that remain in various places over this section of our country, indicate that they must have been constructed for military fortifications, burial places and outlooks. Their curious forms furnish a fruitful field for speculation and give an inspiration to many imaginative writers. There is much interesting literature in our libraries touching the questions as to who the mound builders were, where they came from and whither they went and when. These questions will never be solved except in the imagination of the writers. If they had a written language there is none of it in existence. There is nothing to tell the story of their being except the remains of the mounds they built, and the human bones that have been found in various places, that are classed as belonging to a race that lived before the Indian. Some think that they were giants because there have been skeletons exhumed of unusual size. They have been pictured with certain heroic attributes and a nobility of character, which it is very doubtful if they ever possessed. Their progress in civilization has also been over-estimated. Yet in spite of all this coloring there is enough known to make it full of human interest. They were not advanced far enough in civilization to have a language. No hieroglyphics or picture writing to convey written or recorded intelligence of their existence. All that is known of them must be gleaned from a few relics of flint, stone and metal implements, crude, though sometimes highly ornamented pottery, simple domestic utensils, and their own decaying bones.

Evidence has accumulated in recent years to support the belief that at some earlier date there must have existed in this country a primitive race of men. How long ago it is not known. At the time of the exploration of this country three hundred years ago there were trees growing upon these abandoned mounds and earth works estimated to be eight hundred or a thousand years of age. Some even think that they may have preceded the glacial period. The time of the flood of ice is placed at all the way from fifteen to twenty-five thousand years ago, and if these people lived before that time they must have existed according to this hypothesis some thirty or forty-thousand years ago. Be this as it may, we are forced to the conclusion that at some time before the Indian there must have been in this land a race of men. There are in Indiana, mounds built by men, not by nature. They are found in nearly all sections of the state but are most abundant in the south. They are common objects marking the landscape in Knox, Sullivan, Owen, Clark and many other counties. In Knox county south of Vincennes stands Pyramid-mound towering upwards forty-seven feet with a length of three hundred feet and a width of one hundred and fifty feet. On its top is a level area of fifteen by fifty feet. This mound is very small when compared with those found elsewhere which vary in shape as well as in size. There are square, circular, conical-like truncated mounds, like Cahokia in Illinois, which measures five hundred by seven hundred feet at the base and is ninety feet high. There are terraced mounds and mounds built in imitation of various kinds of animals, including man. The best examples of this latter class are to be found in Wisconsin. One of the most remarkable is found in Adams county, Ohio, constructed in imitation of an enormous serpent, twelve hundred feet in length. The natives declare that it has an egg in its mouth.

We know nothing of the manners of this strange people except as conjectured from what is left to us of their existence in the mounds and crude implements that are occasionally found. They may have been valiant in war; we conclude this from their extensive military works. These seem to have been built with reference to definite plans. They displayed engineering skill. There is a chain of fortifications that can be traced from the southern part of New York diagonally across the country to the Wabash river. Another chain commencing at a point on the Ohio river in Clark county, Indiana, running northward into Madison county thence eastward into central Ohio, and thence southward to Kentucky to Tennessee. Fort Ancient, one of the most noted, situated on the Little Miami river in Ohio enclosed one hundred acres of ground, and would have held a garrison of sixty thousand men with their families and provisions. Interesting examples of ancient military fortifications in Indiana are to be found in Clark, Jefferson, Madison, Sullivan and Randolph counties. Fort Azatlan in Sullivan, near the town of Merom, and a remarkable stone fort at the mouth of Fourteen-Mile creek, in Clark county, are especially worthy of mention.

Valiant as they seem to have been in war, they must have met enemies worthy of their valor and were overcome in battle. How hard a struggle they endured is not recorded. There is not a line on record telling us of the origin, the duration of the struggle of their destruction. The entire race has become extinct and no trace to mark its life except these mounds. The only record we have is a traditional story by the Iroquois Indians. They state that when the Lenni Lenape, common ancestors of the Iroquois and other tribes, advanced from the northwest to the Mississippi, they found on the eastern bank of that stream a great nation of people, more civilized than the Indians, living in towns and cultivating the soil. Having given the Lenni Lenape permission to pass through to seek an eastward settlement this people treacherously attacked them while they were crossing the river. This provoked a long and bloody war of extermination. The red men conquered and took possession of their country and the mound builders sank into oblivion, making the first race of men on this continent to pass away.

There are no evidences of this race of men having ever lived in Boone county. At the time that they lived in this country, this portion of it must have been uninhabitable. If they existed before the glacial period, at that time this must have been the bottom of the sea. Drift to the depth of hundreds of feet must have been carried in by the tide of ice and filled up the low places. It must have been a long time afterwards before it was fit for the residence of man. The Indian must have been the first human inhabitant. There is no record when he came here. We know that he was here when our fathers came and that they have passed away. Some of their bones still rest here but the entire race has passed from us and there is no history of their existence except as it has been compiled by the white man. This great change has been wrought in less than one hundred years. It seems marvelous that it should go so soon and be almost forgotten.

We can not think of a complete history of Boone county, without dwelling upon the story of the Indian who preceded the white man. This was his home, here he lived and died. He must have had all the attachments for his home that are common to the heart of man. There is something sad in the story of his life. He is of special interest to us, because he set up a reserved home among us. It did not last long; he could not dwell in peace with us, so his second title passed away with him. The story of his existence in our land and especially in our county, is of double interest to us. In tracing our title to the land, we will have to tell what became of the Indian and his right to this land. It will be necessary for us to trace the history of the treaties and wars by which our fathers became possessors of this goodly land. If there were mound-builders, a distinct race before the Indian, it is a matter of serious reflection that two races have preceded us in the history of this country. Two, almost sunk into oblivion, and we the third generation, and know so little about either .of them. How forcible is the thought that nations and peoples rise and fall in the same land and yet so little is known. Volumes have been written on this theme. We will only collate a little of it in these pages, that we may realize how we are connected with the great unknown that is past, to say nothing of that which is to come.

The Indians doubtless were the successors of the mound builders. Whether this is correct or not, we know nothing about them except what is told by the curious earthworks that they left, and the mass of what is written about them is a conjecture, rather than history. There are no mounds in Boone county. How much time elapsed between them is not known. There is no way to prove that the Indians are less ancient than the mound builders. It

One-Half Natural Size

-PPER TART: EFFIGY ARTEFACTS REPRESENTING BUFFALO SKULLS, WOLF AND FOX HEADS, TADPOLES, FISH, ETC. LOWER PART: JASPER IMPLEMENTS WITH BEVELED BASE. ABOUT ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE.

Rated Knives Found In Boone County. About One-Half Natural Size

is just as difficult to account for their presence on the American continent as to account for the existence of the mound builders. They were here when the European explorers first landed on our shores; and beyond the stretch of the memory of those then living, and a few untrustworthy traditions, nothing is known of their history previous to that time. They were here when the white man came ; they had no written language, simply a crude picture and sign writing which they used in time of war. They had a spoken language which they used in communicating with each other and in their war songs. They had made but little progress towards civilization. To those of us that question the existence of a prehistoric man, and that there are races of men that do not belong to the common brotherhood springing from Adam and Eve, our first parents, the Indian is a perplexing question. If they are descendants of the sons of Noah how did they come to this country? Upon this question there is much speculation yet no positive proof of any hypothesis that may be taken. The most plausible is, that they may have come over the Aleutian Islands in Bering strait. We will not take up this discussion here but leave our readers to take it up at their pleasure by other authors. We will confine our record mostly to the tribes that largely concern this section of our country. Most of the Indian tribes of Indiana belong to the Algonquin family. A majority of them, among whom were the Twightwees, Weas, Piankashaws and Shockneys, were members of the formidable Miami confederacy. These tribes were frequently at war, one with another and migrated from place to place. Aside from the Twightwees or Miamis, the Delawares, Shawnees, Wyandottes and Pottawattomies were the strongest of the tribes in Indiana. Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet, were of the fierce Shawnee tribe. Little Turtle, one of the greatest of the Indian warriors, was a Miami.

Our Title To Indiana

As we are nearing the close of the first century of our existence as a state, it might be well for us to stop and trace our title to our possessions. It was then a vast wilderness occupied and claimed by the Indians. It was covered with a dense forest, thick undergrowth of spice and hazel brush, with a few spots of prairies in the northwestern part and interlaced with shimmering lakes and flowing rivers. It was the hunting ground of the red man, his home and burial place. He was known among the white men as the Indian, misnamed by Columbus. His only road was called a trail and his home a wigwam. There are only a few descendants of families lingering in our borders. The site of Thorntown was once a landmark of the red man. Just to the north of us were their corn fields, and where our streets run were their burial grounds and this place was their center of trade. A few of their dead lie buried a little east of us where they will sleep till the trumpet sounds. It may be interesting to our readers to know how this change was brought about. We may be able to gather a few landmarks to show the trend of events.

The first white man to claim a title to this land was from the colony of Virginia. Her right was disputed by the French, who had established a settlement at Vincennes, also a settlement in Clark county. By the Ordinance of 1787, Virginia ceded all her rights to the United States. It was not long until the government closed out all other claims except with the Indians. There was a little deal with them in 1783 that settled the Knox and the Clark county claims. The first treaty of any note that settled the land question with the Indians, to western Ohio and a part of Indiana, was made August 3, 1795, at Greenville, Ohio. It is called in eastern Indiana, The Old Indian Boundary Line. It starts from the mouth of Blue river, Kentucky, thence north, bearing east to Fort Recovery, Ohio. The treaty gave to the Indians all the land west of this said line except the following: (1) One tract of land six miles square at the confluence of the rivers St. Mary's and St. Joseph, where the city of Ft. Wayne now stands; (2) one tract two miles square on the Little Wabash river (near the head of the Maumee) about eight or ten miles southwest of Ft. Wayne; (3) a tract six miles square at Ouiatenon, on the Wabash; (4) a tract of one hundred and fifty thousand acres near the falls of the Ohio, being the lands granted to General George Rogers Clark by the Indians soon after the conquest of Vincennes; (5) the site of Vincennes and the lands adjacent, to which Indian titles had been extinguished, and all similar lands at other places in possession of White settlers; (6) the strip of land lying east of the line running directly from Ft. Recovery to the mouth of the Kentucky river above described. By the terms of this treaty the Indians still owned all the lands in Indiana as its present boundaries indicate except the above reservations.

Northwest territory set in from the eastern states and the impetus to growth in population was not again checked until the new Indian outbreaks immediately preceding the War of 1812.

The second treaty made with the Indians for lands in Indiana, bears date of June 7, 1803, at Ft. Wayne, with the Piankeshaws and Weas. At the time when these treaties were made there were no divisions into counties as it is now, neither did the Indians indicate direction by points of the compass or townships as we do at this date, but beginning at a place they would run towards the sun or with its shadow, at such an hour of the day upon the given date. Thus in this treaty on the seventh day of June, 1803, they would say: Begin at the mouth of White river thence east with the shadow at 6 P. M. or towards the sun at 9 A. M. to a given point, thence north with the shadow at 1 P. M. and so on until you enclose the land wished to be conveyed. The boundaries of this treaty would be on our map today as follows. Begin at the mouth of White river, thence east, bearing south to a point near the center of Clark township, Perry county, thence north, bearing east to Orleans, Orange county, thence west bearing north to the mouth of Great Turtle creek in the southwest corner of Sullivan county. This last line has a jog in it in the northeast corner of Knox county to include lands belonging to the Vincennes exception in a former treaty.

The third treaty at Vincennes, August 18-27, 1804, was with the Piankeshaws, Miamis and Delawares. It includes all the counties on the Wabash river from the mouth of White river to the Ohio river and up the latter river to the rapids at New Albany, thence with the shadow of the 9. A. M. sun until it meets the line from Orleans to Perry county in the treaty of 1803. You will observe that this treaty includes eight whole counties and parts of several others. It conveys all the rights of the Indians to territory bordering on the Ohio in our state except, from Westport, the east point in Clark county, to the mouth of the Blue river, the southern extremity of the Old Indian boundary line established in 1795. Also all the lands on the lower Wabash river. This must have been to the Indians the most important treaty made in regard to their possessions in this beautiful land. There was much pow-wowing, - you will observe that the negotiations lasted nine days. Doubtless there were many eloquent speeches made by the chiefs of these three tribes, for human eyes had never beheld a more beautiful panorama than these dense forests, crystal rivers winding among beauteous val- leys, over whose broad bosoms they had often skimmed in their canoes, in search of deer and buffalo which roamed in immense herds in the fertile valleys. It was to them the giving up of the great river. Its beautiful waters were their great fishing grounds, where they caught the Mas-ke-no-zha (the pike), Ke-no-zha (the pickerel), Mish-e-nah-ma (the great sturgeon), U-gudwash (the sun fish), and various kinds of Keego. Upon whose banks they shot with swift arrows the Wa-wa (the wild goose), the Shesh-eb-wug (the duck). No doubt but what the white man with sophistries replied, why, you have left the great Wabash and all its tributaries that are full of fish, and all the beautiful lakes in the north where ducks and geese swarm like Ome-ne (the pigeon), and upon whose shores all kinds of game are abundant. They could out-talk the Indian and prevailed in the treaty ; the rights of the red man are passing from him. Give your imagination full wing and paint the feelings and their talks with each other around their camp fires as their homes and hunting grounds were passing away forever.

The fourth treaty took place at Grouseland near Vincennes August 21, 1805. With the Delawares, Miamis, Weas and Pottawattomies who met at the Harrison House at Vincennes, to settle the matter as to who should have entire control of the great river. Their agreement was as follows: Begin at Orleans in Orange county, thence with the three o'clock sun of that day continue a line until it intersects the old Indian boundary line of 1795 near Brookville, the oldest town in eastern Indiana. This makes a continuous line from the mouth of Great Turtle creek across the state to the White Water at the above mentioned place. Doubtless the martial spirit of the Delawares which they had brought with them across the Alleghanies, from their old home among their native hills, burst into flame when they were called upon to extinguish their camp fires once again at the onward march of civilization, and they gave the war whoop, put on the paint and brandished aloft their Pug-ga-wau-guns. But the old sachem of the Gens counciled peace; so, mournfully they dismantled their wigwams, rolled up their deer-skins, broke the camp fires; took a last longing, lingering look at the broad, rich valleys of the Ohio, from the hill-tops about Madison, turned their sad faces toward the swamp lands and plains of the interior, and bid farewell to their old hunting grounds forever.

In 1809 we have no less than three treaties with the Indians. The first is known as the Harrison Purchase, concluded September 30, 1809, at Ft.

Wayne, with the chiefs of the Miamis, Eel Rivers, Pottawattomies and Delawares. It includes all the land in our state, lying south of a line beginning three miles west of Seymour on the three o'clock line running from Orleans to Brookville in the treaty of 1805, thence with the shadow of the ten o'clock sun of that day until it crosses the Wabash river at the mouth of Big Raccoon creek in Parke county and the state line near Quaker. The second is known as the twelve-mile purchase, made October, 1809, at Ft. Wayne, with the Delawares and the Miamis. It includes a strip of land twelve miles wide west of the Old Indian Boundary Line of 1795. Beginning at a point on the three o'clock line of 1805 near the southwest corner of Franklin county, thence with the shadow of the one o'clock sun of that day parallel with the line of 1795 to a point in the north part of Randolph county on the Mississinewa, near Ridgeville, thence with the three o'clock line to the state boundary where the old line crosses.

The third treaty of that year was with the Kickapoos and Weas, December 9th, at Vincennes. It includes a small portion of land marked by a line, beginning at a point on the three o'clock line of 1809 near Catlin in Parke county, thence north, northwest until it meets the Wabash river, thence up said river to the mouth of Vermillion river, thence up the windings of said river to the state line. You will notice that these three treaties, made the same year encroached rapidly upon the lands of the Indians. They viewed these encroachments with hostilities. They began to make preparations to unite their tribes along lines of resistance. They were on the outlook for a suitable leader to guide them in their struggle against the aggressions of the white man. They soon found their leader and we will here give a brief outline of the last battle of the race in Indiana.

Since the three treaties of 1809 it has been a sorry time with the Indians. We must remember that there had been formed an Indian confederacy for mutual protection, and now they were at sword's points with each other because all the tribes were not consulted in the treaties that had been made. Tecumseh claimed that they were not binding because all the tribes had not agreed to them. The Indians had made war after Indian fashion on the settlers and the whites had retaliated upon the Indians and there was terror all along the frontier line. Governor General Harrison had tried to maintain peace without avail. The Indians demanded that the land southwest of the Wabash including what is now Boone county, that was ceded to the gov- eminent by the treaty of Ft. Wayne in 1809 should be ceded back to the Indians. Pem-squa-ta-wah the "Prophet" preached that these lands were owned in common by all the tribes, and no one of them individually had a right to sell; that the consent of all should be procured to make any cession valid. The controversy arose over the treaty of Ft. Wayne of 1809 giving the cession of over eighteen million acres of lands lying southwest of the Wabash, and including what is now Boone county. The first conference was held at Vincennes, August, 1810. It began on the 12th of the month and lasted ten days. There was much interesting history connected with this. This conference did not settle the difficulty and another was called in July, 181 1, at the same place. Great alarm was created on both sides but nothing was determined. At its close Tecumseh went south to purpose his program of forming a great Indian confederacy. Harrison saw that further efforts to win back the Indians were in vain. In September, 181 1, General Harrison placed himself at the head of a small army of over seven hundred men, and marching from Vincennes to a stop not far from where the city of Terre Haute now stands, erected and completed Ft. Harrison. Leaving a small garrison in charge, General Harrison resumed his march, and arrived in sight of Prophet's town on the 6th day of November. Meanwhile he had received reinforcements sufficient to bring his command up to a strength of nine hundred men, two hundred and fifty of whom were regulars. Of the remainder, about six hundred were Indiana militia, and the balance volunteers from Kentucky. Refraining from an attack on the town that evening, as the Indians met him with loud protestations of their peaceable intentions, General Harrison marched his men a short distance beyond and went into camp for the night, arranging to have a conference with the Prophet the next morning. Unfortunately the camping site chosen was not an ideal one for defense. It was on high ground, fringed with trees and dense undergrowth, affording excellent facilities for the stealthy approach and treacherous attack of the lurking Indians of Prophet's town. The men were instructed to sleep with their clothes and accoutrements on, and with bayonets fixed and fire arms loaded. These precautions proved timely, for on the morning of the 7th, before it was day, the Indians attacked the camp. The onslaught was sudden and fierce, the main attack being shrewdly directed against that part of the camp occupied by the militia, and for a time consternation and confusion reigned, the guard breaking at the first fire. The troops were gradually formed into line, and the battle raged angrily in the darkness. The Americans defended themselves in their positions until it became light enough to see, when they charged with such spirit and gallantry that their assailants were sent flying from the field. The victory was decisive and complete, and of the greatest importance in its moral effect upon the Indians. The loss to the Americans was thirty-seven killed and one hundred and fifty-two wounded, of whom twenty-five afterwards died of their injuries. The Indians suffered an equal loss. Their strength in the battle was variously estimated at five hundred to seven hundred and fifty warriors. Prophet's town was destroyed next day with all its stores.

The battle took place about seven miles from where the city of Lafayette now stands, and is known to history as the battle of Tippecanoe. As a result of it the Indians were completely dispirited and offered no further trouble until the breaking out of the war of 1812.

The Tippecanoe battleground is now owned by the state, and in the year 1908, almost a century after the battle was fought, an appropriate monument was erected on the site to commemorate the heroic deeds of her early citizen soldiery. Tecumseh was not present but in the south. He rebuked his brother the Prophet, for his untimely attack and in his absence. This was really the last purely Indian battle in Indiana and forever ended the controversy between the red and white man as far as the land of Indiana is concerned.

Before proceeding farther in this matter, it will be well 'to give a brief statement in regard to the early settlement of Chicago, as it is connected with the early treaties concerning the northern part of our state. Chicago is situated on the southwest shore of Lake Michigan, on the Wild Onion river of the Indians. The first white man to visit this section, of whom we have record, was a Frenchman by the name of Perrot in 1671. In 1803, Fort Dearborn was established. In the war of 1812 it was abandoned and destroyed by the Indians. In 1816 it was rebuilt and ever afterwards maintained as an outpost. Chicago was laid out in 1833. The Indians were beginning to see in the Americans a force before which their people must recede into oblivion. Several council fires were convened. The first one affecting lands in the north of Indiana was held October 29, 1821. The Pottawattomies and Ottawas involving lands on the west shore of Lake Erie mostly in the state of Michigan, but also including a strip in Indiana twelve miles wide, beginning at the Ohio State line thence west until it reaches the

St. Joseph river; thence down the said river until it passes into the State of Michigan. The most of the lands involved in this treaty are in the State of Michigan, but it is the first treaty that surrenders the right of the Indians to the northern portion of our state. At the time that this was going on in the north the Indians were in the final struggle in the south. The Creeks and General Jackson had met in battle at Ft. Mims and other points which ended their rights in Georgia and Alabama and moved them to the west of the Mississippi.

In the year of 1826 there were three treaties with the Indians. The first was made October 16th at the mouth of the Mississinewa river with the Pottawattomies, and included a narrow strip of land twelve miles wide west of the St. Joseph river extending westward to Lake Michigan. The second treaty was made at the same place on the same day, with the Pottawattomies, including the lands beginning on Tippecanoe river at the mouth of Indian creek, thence with the shadow of the five o'clock sun of that day until you reach Eel river, where Richland now stands, thence up the Eel river to Columbia City in the northeast of Whitley county, thence west to the north bend of the Tippecanoe river, thence down said river to the place of beginning at the mouth of Indian creek. The third treaty was made on the 23rd day of October the same year at the same place with the Pottawattomies and Miamis. The lands ceded by the Miamis lay between the Tippecanoe river, the Wabash and Eel rivers and south of the line that runs from this land to the mouth of Indian creek. The lands of the Pottawattomies lay between the Eel and Wabash rivers and a line that runs northeast from Huntington on the Wabash, until it reaches the mouth of St. Joseph river that forms the Maumee at Ft. Wayne and up St. Joseph to near the middle of township 1 north, range 13 east, thence towards the four o'clock sun of that day until it meets Eel river near Columbia City and down said river until its junction with the Wabash. It will be observed that the metes and bounds of these lands are very irregular. Our system of survey was in use at this time and while it was familiar to the white man and the entire state was mapped out in congressional townships, yet the Indian knew nothing about it, but preferred to mark out his lands by rivers and the shadow of the sun.

After the war of 1812 the tide of immigration poured into Ohio and Indiana so there was a constant pressure upon the Indians for more land. One treaty was no sooner completed until another was begun. The most intense pressure was in the northern portion of the state. All the rivers in the south part and the Wabash and its tributaries were in the possession of the white man and opened for settlement. Negotiations were opened with the Pottawattomies on September the 20th, 1828, at Carey's Mission on the St. Joseph river. It was concluded, and conveyed all the rights of this tribe to all the lands in the northeast part of the state, east and north of a line beginning at or near Columbia City, in Whitley county; thence, with the shadow of the 9:30 A. M. sun of that day to a point near Wilmot, in the southwest corner of Noble county; thence, with the shadow of the 7 130 A. M. sun to a point in the southern part of St. Joseph county, near Lakeville; thence north to the line established by the treaty of October 16, 1826, to the mouth of Mississinewa. This treaty includes a wide scope of lands in the northeast part of the state, and is fast crowding the Indians into the central part of the state.

Once again the peace pipe was called into requisition, for there yet remained in the northwest of our state, a most desirable portion of land bordering on Lake Michigan ; rich in prairies and well watered by sparkling lakes and flowing rivers. It was nearing the close of the moon of ripe nuts, October 23, 1832, that the Pottawattomies were assembled around their council fires in sad and solemn conclave, for the Star of Destiny was against them. Immigration came pouring in upon them like an overwhelming tide, and they were helpless to resist it. Nothing remained but for them to follow the trail of the deer and buffalo, so the counsel of the wise Sachem prevailed, and another treaty was signed by the Pottawattomies at the mouth of the Tippecanoe river. It included all the lands in the northwest part of Indiana, drained by the Kankakee and its tributaries, lying north of a line beginning at Columbia City on Eel river; thence, west to the north bend of the Tippecanoe river; thence toward the three P. M. sun or that day until it passes out of the state, near the southwest corner of Benton county. It will be observed that with this treaty the Indians have now parted with all the great rivers of Indiana, and the beautiful large lakes which border it upon the north. The few remaining tribes which remain are hemmed in the center, pressed on all sides by the aggressive pale faces. The entire borders of the state are now in the hands of the white man. No wonder this occasion was a mournful one to the Pottawattomies. Each (4) dreaded yet none dared to refuse the Calumet, as it was passed silently down the line. Deep drawn were the whiffs and melancholy were their reflections, for they realized what it meant to them to give up the burying places of their fathers and pursue a lonely track through the pathless prairie and untrodden wilderness. At last, as White Cloud passed the Calumet to a straight-backed warrior, Twenty-Canoes, he arose and with a deep puff and twenty foot leap plunged into the stream near by, which not only peacefully bore him onward to his grave, but ever after carried the name Calumet, and gave it to the flourishing city of the same name near Lake Michigan.

During the progress of the treaties with the Indians, there were many reserves made from time to time, in order to pacify them for giving up their rights to the lands. The first among these was the reserve at Thorntown of one hundred square miles for the Eel-river Tribe, made at St. Mary's, October 6, 1818, which continued for ten years. The following is the Act, showing its dissolution:

The Chiefs, Head Men, and Warriors agree to cede and by these presents do cede and relinquish to the United States all their rights, title and claim, to a reservation of land about ten miles square, at the village on Sugar Tree creek (Sa-nah-min-dji), in Indiana, which was reserved to said party by the second article of a treaty between the commissioners of the United States and the Miami Nation of Indians; made and entered into at St. Mary's, in the State of Ohio, on the 6th day of October, 1818. The Indians agreed not to burn any house or fence, and leave them in good condition as now; and move to the five-mile reservation on Eel river, that empties into the Wabash, by the 15th day of October, 1828. The United States gave them $2,000 in merchandise and when ratified $8,000 more in merchandise and was to build for them twelve log houses, clear and fence forty acres; was to furnish one wagon, two yoke of oxen and two hands to

The Wyandottes had a reserve on the Wabash, and there were numbers of reserves along the Wabash, and in the northern part of the state, finally closing up with the last and largest reserve between the Wabash and the Mississinewa, and south of the latter river embracing a large tract of land, which was closed out by the treaties of October 23, 1834; November 6, 1838, and November 28, 1840, all ceded to the United States by the Miami reserves and forever closed the title of the Indians to lands in the state of Indiana and the last of them slowly folded their tents, like the Arabs, and silently went westward beyond the Great River never to return. They left no records, no monuments. All we know of them is in regard to their connection with the white man in their dealings and wars. They had a number of villages and trading points over the state, one of which was located on the banks of Sugar Tree creek (Sa-nah-min-dji), and the name of the village was Ka-we-ah-ke-oon-gi.

The Village

When the white man first came to this country, early in the eighteenth century, he found an Indian village on the banks of Sugar creek at the confluence of Prairie creek. As far back as we know, it was the home of the Eel river tribe of the Miami Nation. When the French came it became an Indian trading-point. When the Jesuit Missionaries came it must have been a religious center for this section. This is why the reserve was located here, and it became an Indian historic point; and around it can be woven a lively story of the red man and his tragic end. Here just north of town were the cornfields where the squaw scraped up the little hillocks year after year for the Indian maize. In the east part of town, along Front street, was their burying ground, where they laid away their loved onus. In digging for our water mains and sewers we exhume their remains and the trinkets and treasures that were deposited with them in their last resting place.

Indian Skeleton Unearthed

The Thornton Argus-Enterprise says: "If we may judge from the number of skeletons recently disinterred in the vicinity of north Front street that portion of the town was evidently the burying ground years ago when Thorntown was an Indian center of note. While laying the water main at the junction of Front and Bow streets, workmen partially uncovered the remains of another human last Tuesday. As the body was not directly in the line of digging, only the skull was disclosed. Among the several curious trinkets also found were two large Catholic crosses made of very thin silver. One of these bore the word 'Montreal,' and the other 'Detro.' Another curio was an earring of peculiar design bearing the letters 'C. D.' On the bone of the forearm were several silver bracelets but being very thin and much deteriorated they crumbled to pieces. These had been tied together with a piece of whang which was still quite strong. The character of the trinkets and absence of all weapons led the workmen to believe that the remains were those of an Indian squaw." (May, 1914).

East of the town, across Prairie creek, is another burying ground, where, according to story fell two chieftains. It is stated that the Miami Indians were very much dissatisfied with their chief, Chap-a-do-sia, for selling this reserve, so much so, that it led to a battle between Chapadosia and another chief named Dixon; they met, and each at the same moment plunged a huge butcher knife into the other's naked bosom, both dying on the bloody ground, and with fast glazing eyes glaring with hate and defiance fixed on each other. They were buried in a sitting posture in a pen in the burving ground over Prairie creek about one-half mile east of Thorntown, one at each end of the pen, with their feet nearly touching each other, together with their butcher knives, tomahawks ( Pug-ga-wa-guns ) , rifles and other weapons of offense and defense ; also, their hunting dogs and favorite horses were slain at the same time, that their spirits might accompany their masters' souls to that far off happy hunting ground of the faithful braves. The Indians daily carried food to their silent home for thirty days, that their souls might not faint by the way.

These thrilling stories about the Indian could be extended indefinitely, some as facts, others legendary, but we have given a few of the most reliable in order that we' may have an insight of a race of people who preceded us and are now nearly extinct. For many years after they had disposed of all their lands a remnant of them lived on their lands on the Mississinewa with Chief Godfroy at their head.

After the battle of Tippecanoe, Tecumseh returned to the north and joined his fortunes with the English against the United States. At the very beginning of this struggle, a treaty was made with the Wyandottes at Fort Wayne, September, 1812, that ceded all the lands in the northeast part of our state included between the rivers St. Joseph's and St. Mary's that form the Maumee at Fort Wayne and the lands for a distance around the Fort.

Death Of Tecumseh

Tecumseh the Brave, called the King of the Woods, who met General Harrison in pow-wow and in battle, was the noblest of all red men that fought for his people upon the soil of Indiana. He was born at the old Shawnee town of Piqua on Mad river, Ohio, in 1768. We can only stop to introduce him here, it will pay you well to search history and find out its record of this great statesman and warrior. In the first treaty named in this history - that of Greenville, Ohio, in 1795 - Tecumseh took the position that it was not binding because, an injustice had been done, that, while the Indiana and Illinois Indians had shared equally in the compensation of the terms of the treaty, it was clear that the Shawnees, and other Ohio Indian tribes had been shut out entirely, and when the last three treaties of 1809 were made by which three million acres were added to the cessions, Tecumseh became defiant and said these treaties should not be carried into effect. It was then that he sought a dramatic interview with General Harrison at Vincennes, where it was charged and generally believed by the whites that he contemplated treachery. There is no question but that he warned the governor in private interviews that the surveyors would not be permitted to run the boundary lines under the treaties of 1809 without bloodshed. Tecumseh nursed his wrath and said, "we will have to fight it out." and he became the implacable enemy of the pale-skin Americans. Tecumseh went south to other tribes and, with fiery harangues, urged the Creeks to accept his bundle of red-sticks, which was the emblem of their union for a bloody war; claiming that their cause was righteous - that the Indian lands belonged to all the Indians in common, and that no one tribe could dispose of any part of it without the consent of all the tribes. This had been done, he now called a halt. In the meantime the effort of the Shawnee chief was seconded by his brother the Prophet who was acquiring great influence among the adjacent nations. He had fixed his headquarters at the mouth of the Tippecanoe, where he had built a town for his followers. So alarming were the accounts of Tecumseh's movements - for border warfare had begun in the south - that the government finally instructed General Harrison to march against this Prophet's town and destroy it, unless a satisfactory treaty was formed. In hazarding a battle during Tecumseh's absence, the Prophet disobeyed his direct commands and was defeated ; and the Prophet's town was destroyed. The loss of Tippecanoe was a severe blow to Tecumseh. He turned his steps northward, called his warriors to the field, and joined the British army, where he was made a general in the war of 18 12. At Fort Meigs on the Maumee, he again confronted General Harrison, and the words of his prophecy uttered at Vincennes - "You and I will have to fight it out" - came true; for, here on the first of May, 1813, Proctor, with his British and Tecumseh with 600 warriors from the Wabash, appeared before the Fort. The Indians fired into the Fort from trees which they climbed for that purpose; and harassed in every possible way, but General Clay of Kentucky re-enforced Harrison and the siege was raised. One can easily imagine the chagrin with which this intrepid warrior saw the British driven back by the Americans, but he held on to his life-long dream as he begged Proctor to turn his arms and ammunition over to the Indians, and let them stay and fight it out. The last struggle is as fine a bit of American history as books can record. On the 5th of October, 1813, our hero entered his last battle, on the banks of the Thames in Canada. He must have felt it was his last, he said, "My body will remain on the battle-field," handing his sword to a comrade: "Give it to the son of Tecumseh." In the heat of the conflict Tecumseh was struck in the breast by a bullet, supposed to have been fired by Colonel Johnson, at the time he also was wounded. Shouting his last word of command, this intrepid statesman and warrior calmly stepped forward, sunk at the foot of an oak and expired. A sudden terror seized the red men, who fled through the wilderness; and thus was established, with blood and steel, the white man's theory versus the Indian's contention, for the soil of Indiana. Had Mad Anthony at Fort Wayne treated the Ohio Indians justly no disturbance would have been raised. Under that treaty a number of tribes were made absolutely homeless except as they might be tolerated by other tribes. In looking back and contemplating such a life as Tecumseh's we are led to say, neither Greece, Switzerland, Germany, France, England nor Scotland can show a prouder record. Tecumseh was a matchless leader of a race that stood, fought and died for home and principle rather than surrender, though the whole world was poured in upon them. The name of Tecumseh is inseparably linked with Indiana.

The first pow-pow after the war was held at St. Mary's near the Ohio state line October 2, 1812. The Miamis, Pottawattomies and Weas surrendered all their rights to the lands bordering on the Wabash river in the west part of the state. It includes all the lands on the west and north of the river up to the mouth of the Tippecanoe river; thence up the said river to the northeastern part of Pulaski county, thence toward the three o'clock sun of that day until it passes into Illinois. It includes all the lands on the south and east of the Wabash river indefinitely defined from the mouth of the Tippecanoe river until you reach the mouth of Big Turtle creek named in the treaty of the Kickapoos in 1809.

Treaty At St. Mary'S

The treaty made and concluded with the Indians at St. Mary's in the state of Ohio, October 6, 1818, between Jonathan Jennings, Lewis Cass and

Benjamin Parke, commissioners of the United States, and the Miami nation of Indians. Begin at the boundary line of the state of Indiana on the Wabash river, at the mouth of Raccoon creek; thence, up the river to the reserve at its head near Ft. Wayne; thence to the reserve at Ft. Wayne; thence with the line thereof to St. Mary's river; thence up the St. Mary's to the reservation at the Portage ; thence with the cession made by the Wyandottes to the United States, at the foot of the rapids of the Maumee of Lake Erie, September 29, 1817; thence to Ft. Recovery; thence west to the place of beginning at the mouth of Raccoon creek. Several reservations were made along the Wabash river, and among these was the reservation of ten miles square at the Indian village Ka-we-ah-ke-un-gi, on Sugar Tree creek (Sa-nah-min-dji). Numerous cessions were made to chiefs and families, and the United States agreed to pay a perpetual annuity of $15,000 in silver. The United States also agreed to build one sawmill, one grist-mill, one blacksmith-shop and one gunsmith-shop and to furnish 160 bushels of salt. This is one of the most important treaties ever made in regard to lands within the bounds of Indiana, and one that had more to do with the history of Boone county than all others. This treaty embraced all the land on the south side of the Wabash river in Indiana, not heretofore ceded by the Indians to the United States. The Thorntown Reserve was the only exception south and east of the Wabash river.

The Close Of The Reserve

In an act of Congress, February n, 1828, the chiefs, headmen and warriors of the Eel river tribe of the Miami nation of Indians, agree to cede, and by these presents do cede and relinquish to the United States, all their right, title and claim to a reservation of lands about ten miles square at the village on Sugar creek in Indiana, which was reserved to said party by the second article of a treaty, between the Commissioners of the United States and the Miami nation of Indians, made and entered into at St. Mary's in the state of Ohio on the 6th day of October, 18 18. The Indians hereby agree not to burn any house or any of the fences; and to leave the premises in as good condition as at present, and to remove to the reserve on Eel river by the 15th day of October, 1828. The United States agrees to pay down two thousand dollars in merchandise and when the treaty is ratified by next summer, pay the balance, eight thousand dollars, in merchandise. Also the United States agrees to build twelve log houses, clear forty acres of land, and furnish one wagon, two yoke of oxen, two hands to work three months for two years; and to give five hundred dollars in provisions, five horses, five saddles and five bridles.

Signed by John Tipton, Commissioner of the United States, and by the following Indian chiefs : Ne-go-ta-kaup-wa, Shaw-po-to-seaw, Na-tah-kohe-aw, Aw-waw-no-zaw, Kaw-koaw-ma-hau-to-aw, Aw-sown-zou-gaw, Shingo-aw-zaw, Ah-zou-ke-at-tau, Waw-paw-ko-se-aw, Mack-kan-zaw, and ten others. This treaty ended the right of the Indians to all the lands in Boone county, and they quietly folded their tents and departed forever. They left their hunting grounds, their homes where they had resided for generations and their burying grounds. It was the blotting out of a race. A few of them lingered for a few years, clinging to the affections of the heart, and some at later dates made visits to the resting place of their loved ones. Eightyfour years have rolled away, a new generation has come that knew nothing of those that have passed away, and will know nothing except from the history of the past.

The Indian Controversy

The great controversy of the natives of this country was over the land. It was not over the price of the land, although they received but a trifle for it, and that in goods of various descriptions and at a high price. The first deal within the boundary of Indiana was by a land company in 1.775 f°r three million acres along the Wabash river. They paid for this land at the rate of one and one-half cents per acre in trade, blankets, beads, ribbons, powder, lead, guns, earrings, bracelets and crosses. The Indian would know nothing about the market value of these articles, but he never complained of this but stuck to his bargain.

The great Miami Nation that owned all this country before the intrusion of the white man, was composed of many different tribes and families. Some of these tribes without the knowledge of others would make a land deal with the whites and bargain away a portion of the land. The unconsulted tribes would contend for their right in the land as common owners.

They knew nothing about the idea of conveying land in fee simple, but would acknowledge the principle of quit-claim. This trouble arose in Georgia early in the last century, and the government had much trouble with the Creek Indians ; finally had to buy them out and move them to the west side of the Mississippi. Tecumseh raised the same question in Indiana and stirred up the different tribes to insist upon their rights to the lands that had been conveyed to the whites without their knowledge or consent. This was the contention between Tecumseh and Harrison in all their pow-wows for settlement. Harrison would not acknowledge the right and the brave chief replied that "we will have to fight it out," and fight it out they did until the chief went down in the battle. All the trouble over Indian lands were brought about over this question. The Indians were in the right but tht white man had the might, and we got the land. From the days of King Philip, the government has had trouble with the Indians because the latter would not acknowledge that another could sell his inherent right. The Indian was right in the matter and his claim was just.

Indian Wars

There was a cause. Speak as we may about the Indian and his characteristics, his temperament and disposition, he was provoked to battle for his home, his hunting-ground and his burial-place. The white man, from the time he landed on our Atlantic slope, was pressing westward. He had crossed the Alleghany mountains came down on the inland slope. He ascended the rivers and explored the lakes and the large streams. On many of these he established homes and forts and was pressing on into the forest everywhere. We say that the Indian was cruel and treacherous because he fought for his home the best he knew how. He could see that his lands were disappearing. Sometimes they were sold by the chiefs without consulting with the people, sometimes they were taken by treaty, that the Indian knew nothing about and could not understand; and that other times they were taken by violence. He saw his game driven from the forests and his hunting grounds transformed into fields. When the civilized man fights for home and native land he is called a patriot, and highly honored in his deeds of valor. When the Indian puts on the war paint actuated by the same motives, and fights for the same sentiments crude as his war methods may be, he is con- demned and killed. When he uses the best implements for defense that he has, the white man terms them cruel, and becomes even more heartless towards the Indian and seeks his destruction. The Indian is not only driven to fight for his life, but also for his home and his property. In the face of facts it is doubtful whether the means used by the white man were not as cruel and barbarous as those of the red man. If accounts and conditions were fairly balanced between man and man, the white man would not have room to boast of his humanity and the justness of his course over the red man. The cruelties of war were on both sides, and the white man was the aggressor. He justified himself on the ground that the Indian was not improving the land. This is a question of moral ethics, that we will not consider here but leave each to settle it with his own conscience. The Indian regarded Kentucky as common hunting ground, and they resisted the occupancy of it by the white man. They guarded the beautiful Ohio river day and night, and many hand to hand conflicts were had between the natives and immigrants and tradesmen on the banks and placid bosom of that great river. The tales of suffering and daring will never be told. General George Rogers Clark's foothold in southern Indiana aggravated them. His last explorations to the Wabash in 1786 provoked the Indians; and they began preparations to resist the onward march of the white man. The British influence was used to the utmost to fan the disaffection into angry flames of war. The white man wanted the great woods northwest of the Ohio river to develop into farms. The red man wanted it for his hunting grounds and claimed title to the lands. The Indian tribes confederated together for selfdefense and the situation grew rapidly worse. General Arthur St. Clair was Governor of the northwest territory. In a few years it was necessary to send an armed force to take care of the white settlements in Kentucky and along the frontier of Indiana. St. Clair was ordered to prepare a large force.

In 1790 things became desperate, and General Joseph Harmar was sent with four hundred regulars and one thousand fifty militia to the Indian village, Kekionga, near where the city of Ft. Wayne now stands. When he reached the village October 15, 1790, he found that it was deserted. On the 1 6th he sent out a force under Colonel John Hardin of thirty regulars and two hundred militia. Three days after on the 19th they met a large body of Miamis under command of Chief Little Turtle (Mi-ci-ki-noq-kwa) and were badly whipped. The battle occurred at the headwaters of Eel river, near the northwest corner of what is now Allen county. Hardin's loss was twenty regulars and six militia killed and many wounded. He rejoined Harmar and a hasty retreat was begun towards Ft. Washington (Cincinnati) on the 2 1 st. Hardin had claimed to be an Indian fighter, and he was so chagrined by his defeat that he prevailed on Gen. Harmar to let him try again. His plea was granted and on the morning of the 21st of October, at the head of sixty regulars and three hundred militia under Major Wyllys, he set back with a defiant air toward the seat of defeat. The little army reached the Maumee near Kekionga early on the morning of the 22nd. The militia was sent to pursue a party of Indians that seemed to be on the retreat ; but they were drawn into an ambush and attacked by a superior number. Little Turtle at the same time furiously assailed the regulars. It was a disastrous defeat. Several officers were killed, including Major Wyllys. Over one hundred and fifty men were killed. Hardin led the retreat. The Indians suffered an equal loss, and did not attempt to pursue the fleeing remnant. General Harmar gathered the fragments of his army, and began their march October 23rd for Ft. Washington. The expedition had suffered a loss of one hundred and eighty-three men killed and thirty-one wounded. While the disaster was going on at the Maumee, Major Hamtramck at Vincennes, led a small force against the Indians on Vermilion river, and destroyed several of their villages without serious loss. General Scott, in May, 1 79 1, crossed the Ohio river and marched to the Wabash, destroying the Ouiatenon and surrounding villages. In July, 1791, Governor St. Clair sent out General Wilkinson against the Indians on the upper Wabash. The chief towns of the Ouiatenon on the Eel river and the Kickapoo village were destroyed. General St. Clair takes the field. The Indians were jubilant over their victories on the Maumee and the war spirit grew intense. Depredations became frequent and all settlements insecure. Something had to be done quickly or all would be lost. A force of three thousand was raised and put under the command of General St. Clair. He had orders to march to the Maumee and establish a post at Kekionga and garrison it. Meanwhile the Pottawattomies, Kickapoos, Delawares, Ottawas, Wyandottes and Shawnees had federated together and gathered an army of one thousand four hundred warriors, by joining with the Miamis in their coming great struggle for the expulsion of the whites. General St. Clair on the 3rd of November, 1791, reached the point where Ft. Recovery was afterward erected. On the morn- ing of the 4th before daylight he was surprised by the Indians in full force. It was a terrible disaster. Fully one-half of the army was destroyed, and the rest were thrown in a helpless panic. Thirty officers and five hundred and ninety-three men were slain. One hundred women that had accompanied the army were destroyed. The Harmar defeat spread alarm, this spread terror over the territory. The battle occurred near the southwest comer of what is now Mercer county and near the state line. The Indians were led by Little Turtle, assisted by Tecumseh, Blue Jacket, Buck-ong-a-helas of the Delawares. General Wayne assumed command, at the head of three thousand soldiers most of whom were regulars, started out from Ft. Washington, October, 1793, arriving at the scene of St. Clair's defeat, he erected a fort and called it Ft. Recovery. He received re-enforcements of one thousand six hundred mounted volunteers under General Scott. The Indians on the 20th of August launched their attack. A decisive battle occurred at Fallen Timbers, the Indians and their allies being defeated with frightful loss. With this defeat the power of the Indians was effectually broken. Fort Wayne, in honor of the successful general, was completed, and well garrisoned November 22nd, 1794. This brings the struggle to the beginning of the treaties, that we have listed elsewhere 1795, and the establishing of the first line from Ft. Recovery near the southwest corner of Mercer county, Ohio, to the mouth of Blue river on the Ohio river.

Huntington, Ind., March 5, 1912. - Joseph Engleman, last blood chief of the Miamis, is dead at the ancestral home of the royal Indian family on the old Lafontaine reservation two miles west of Huntington. Chief Joseph had been head of the Miami tribe since the death of Chief Gabriel Godfrey several years ago. Francis Lafontaine, his grandfather, one of the most noted of the Miami chieftains, succeeded Chief Richardville in 1840.

Lafontaine left no male heirs, and leadership of the once famous tribe reverted to another branch of the royal family. This daughter of Lafontaine in time married Christian Engleman, a German farmer, and they lived on the old Lafontaine grant west of Huntington. Joseph was the oldest son, and on the death of Chief Godf roy several years ago, Joseph was elected chief.

As no male heir is living, the post of chief may again revert to the Godfrey family, the honor going to George Godfrey of Peru, or to White Loon, son of Princess Kilsoquar of Huntington county. The new chief will be named by election at the next gathering of the tribe remnants.