Miami County, Indiana - Chapter 5: The Period of Preparation, 1914

Chapter 5: The Period of Preparation

Early Explorations ln the New World - French Posts in the Interior - Spanish Claims - Conflicting Interests op France and England - French and Indian War - Indiana Part op the British Possessions - Pontiac - GECtRGE Rogers Clark's Conquest of the Northwest - Indiana a Part of Virginia - The Northwest Territory - Campaigns op Harmar, St. Clair and Wayne - Treaty of Greenville - Indiana Territory Organized - Treaties op Cession - Tecumseh and the Prophet - Battle of Tippecanoe - War op 1812 - Battle of the Mississinewa - Battle Ground Association - Indiana Admitted as a State - Location of the Seat of Government.

Miami county was not called into existence as a separate political division until 1834, but the events leading up to its settlement and organization had their beginning more than a century and a half prior to that date. It is therefore deemed proper to notice the work of the early explorers, particularly those who visited Indiana. Not long after the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus, in 1492, three European nations were busy in their attempts to establish claims to territory' in America. Spain first laid claim to the peninsula of Florida, whence expeditions were sent into the interior; the English based their claims upon the discoveries made by the Cabots, farther northward along the Atlantic coast; and the French claimed Canada by reason of the expeditions of Jacques Cartier in 1534-35.

Spain planted a colony in Florida in 1565 ; the French settled Port Royal, Nova Scotia, in 1605; the English colony at Jamestown, Virginia, was established in 1607, and Quebec was founded by the French in 1608. The French then extended their settlements up the St. Lawrence river and along the shores of Lakes Ontario and Erie. Before the middle of the seventeenth century Jesuit missionaries and fur traders had pushed their way westward into the heart of the Indian country. In 1660 a mission was established by Father ^lesnard at or near Green Bay, Wisconsin, and the same year Father Claude Allouez made his tirst pilgi-image into the iuterior. Upon his returu to Quebec, two years later, he urged the authorities there to encourage the establishment of permanent missions among the Indians, each mission to be accompanied by a colony of French immigrants, but it does not appear that his recommendations were accepted, or that any well defined effort was made to colonize the country he had visited. After a short stay in Quebec, Father Allouez made a second journey into the western wilds and this time he was accompanied by Claude Dablou and James Marquette.

In 1671 Father Marquette founded the Huron mission at Point St. Ignace and the next year the region south of the mission was visited by Allouez and Dablon. In their explorations they met the chiefs and head men of the Indian tribes dwelling near the head of Lake Michigan and are supposed to have traversed that portion of Indiana lying north of the Kankakee river. These Jesuit missionaries were pi-obably the first white men to set foot upon Indiana soil, though some writers state that Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, crossed the northern part of the state on the occasion of his first expedition to the Mississippi river in 1669. This is doubtless an error, as in the Jesuit Relations there i« an appai'entlj- well authenticated account of La Salle's having descended the Ohio river in 1669-70, and in the report of his voyage down that stream mention is made of "a very large river (the Wabash) coming into it from the north."

La Salle did cross the northwest corner of the state, however, in 1671 or 1672, and in 1673 IMarquette and Joliet crossed over from Mackinaw to the Mississippi river, which they descended as far as the Indian village called Akamsea, near the mouth of the Arkansas river, when they returned to Canada. In 1679 La Salle established Fort iliami. - ' at the mouth of the St. Joseph river of Lake Michigan, then called the River Miamis. " This fort was destroyed by deserters in the spring of 1680, but the following January it was rebuilt "on the right bank of the river at its mouth." A year later La Salle succeeded in descending the Mississippi river to its mouth, where on April 9, 1682, he laid claim to all the territory drained by the great river and its tributaries in the name of France, giving to this vast domain the name of Louisiana, in honor of the French king. This claim included the present state of Indiana.

Spain claimed the interior of the continent on account of the discoveries and explorations of Ponce de Leon and Hernando de Soto, and the English laid claim to the same region because of the royal grants of land "extending westward to the South Sea." The claims of both these nations were ignored by the French, who began the work of building a line of posts through the Mississippi valley to connect their Canadian settlements with those near the mouth of the great river. In July, 1701, Cadillac founded the post of Detroit. The next year Sieur Juchereau and

Iiistoky Of .Miami County 69

Father Jlermct wei'e coiiiiiiissioiied to establish a post at or near the mouth of the Oliio river. Some writers have attempted to show that this post was located upon the site now occupied by the city of Vincenues, Indiana, but the known facts do not bear out such a statement.

Historians seem to be somewhat in the dark as to when the first post was established within the present state of Indiana. There is a vague account of a post havin^r been founded as e;ii-ly as 1672. where the city of Fort Wayne is now situated, lint this is probably an error, as old maps of the Wabash valley bearing date of 1684 show no posts within the present limits of the state. (Joodrich & Tuttle's History of Indiana says: "It is certain tliat Post Miami (Fort Wayne) was established in 1705." liut tile aiitliors give no corroborative evidence that such was the case.

Ouiatenou was situated on the Wabash I'iver. eighteen miles below the mouth of the Tippecanoe river and not far from the present city of Lafayette. Says Smith: "The best record is that this was the first post established in what is now Indiana liy the French. No effort was ever made to plant a colony there, but it became in time quite a prominent trading point. There are reasons why this i)oint should have been selected as the best possible place for the establishment of a post. It was the largest village of the Ouiatenon Indians, was in the center of the beaver country, and was easily ae<'essihle. Tt was, also, the head of navigation, so to speak, on the Wabash. That is, it was where the cargoes had to be transferred, owing to the rapids in the river, from the large canoes which were used on the lowei- Wabash, to the smaller ones that were used between Ouiatenon and the portage to the Maumee. For trading purposes no better place on the Wabash could have been selected." (History of Indiana, j). 17.)

X'ineennes is the oklest permanent settlement in the state, but the date when it was founded is veiled in the same uncertainty as that which attaches to other early posts. There is a tradition that .some French traders located there about 1690, married Indian wives and in time iiKhKed othei- Frenchmen to locate there, but La Harpe 's .ioumal, which gives a ratliei' iletailed account of the events that occurred in the Jlississippi and lower Ohio valleys from 1698 to 1722. makes no mention of such a settlement. David Thomas, of New York, visited Vincennes about the time that Indiana was admitted into the Union as a state, and after making investigations wrote: "About the year 1690 the French traders first visited Vincennes, at that time a town of the Piankeshaw Indians, called Cip-pe-kaugh-ke. Of these the former obtained wives and raised families. In the year 1734 several French families emigrated from Canada and

In another place in his manuscript Thomas says that, ' ' About the year 1702, a party of French from Canada descended the Wabash river and established posts in several places on its banks. The party was commanded by Captain St. Vincennes, who made this his principal place of deposit, which went for a long time by no other name than the Post."

The reader will notice the diiference in the name of the founder as given by Thomas. In one place he says it was M. St. Vincent, and in another it is given as Captain St. Vincennes. His real name was Francois Margane (or Morgan) de Vincennes, but the exact date when he first visited the Wabash valley is not definitely settled. Dillon, in his History of Indiana, says: "It is probable that before the year 1719, temporary trading posts were erected at the sites of Fort Wayne, Ouiateuon and Vincennes. These posts had, it is believed, been often visited by traders before the year 1700."

General Ilarmar, who visited Vincennes in 1787, wrote at that time to the secretary of war that the inhabitants informed him the post was established sixtj' years before. This would indicate that the town was founded about 1727, which is probably not far from the correct date. Monette says Vincennes was settled in 1735, and Bancroft agrees that date is ' ' not too earl.v. ' '

The conflicting claims of the English and French culminated in what is known in history as the French and Indian war. In 1759 Quebec was captured by the British and the following year the French government surrendered all the posts in the interior. Soon after the surrender ilajor Rogers, an English officer, took possession of the post at Detroit and sent detachments t© the posts at the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. Mary's rivers (Fort Wayne) and Ouiatenon. By the treaty of Paris, February 10, 1763, all that part of Louisiana lying east of the Mississippi river was ceded to Great Britain and what is now the State of Indiana became thereby subject to British domination.

In April, 1763, a great council of Indians was held near Detroit, at which the wily Ottawa chief, Pontiac, known as "high priest and keeper of the faith," revealed to his fellow chiefs the will of the Great Master of Life, as expounded by the Delaware prophet, and called upon them to join him in a grand uprising for the recovery of their hunting grounds and the preservation of their national life. Along the Atlantic coast the white man held undisputed control, but the broad Ohio vaUey and the region about the Great Lakes were still in the hands of the Indians, Between these two sections the Allegheny mountains formed a natural boundary, behind which Pontiac determined to assert the red man's supremacy. Taught hy the recent defeat of tlie Freuch that he could expect nothing from them in the way of assistance, he depended entirely upon the loyalty of his own race to carry out his plan. Encouraged by other chiefs, when infoi'med that the British were coming to take possession of the po.sts sui-rendcred by the French, he sent back the detiant message : "I stand in the way. ' '

Pontiac's war ended as all contests end in which an inferior race attempts to impede the onward march of a superior one,-and the subjection i]f the Indians was made more complete by Colonel Bouquet's march into the interior of the Indian country, forcing the natives to enter into treaties to keep the peace. Pontiac's warriors captured the posts at Fort Wayne and Ouiatenon, but the post at Vincennes was not molested, as it had not yet been turned over to the British, but was still occupied by a French garrison under command of St. Ange. On October 10, 1765, St. Ange and his garrison was succeeded by a British detachment under Captain Sterling, who immediately issued a proclamation prepai-ed by General (i;ige. formally taking possession of the territory ceded to Great Britain by the Paris treaty.

From that time until the beginning of the Revolution, the English established but few posts in their new possessions, Init those at Fort ]\Iiami (Wayne), Ouiatenon and Vincennes were strengthened, and at the commencement of the Revolutionary war they were occupied by small garrisons, the British depending largely upon the strength and loyalty of their Indian allies to prevent the colonists from encroaching upon their lands in the Ohio valley.

In Decendjcr, 1777, General George Rogers Clark appeared before the legislature of Virginia with a plan to capture the English posts in the Northwest - especially those at Detroit, Vincennes and Kaskaskia. Governor Patrick Ilenrj- approved Clark's plan and the legislature appropriated £1,200 to defray the expenses of the campaign. Early in the spring of 1778. four companies of infantry, commanded by Captains Joseph Bowman, John Montgomery, Leonard Hehn and William Harrod, rendezvoused at Corn island, in the Ohio river opposite the present city of Louisville, Kentucky. On June 24, 1778, the forward movement was begun, the little army drifting down the river to Fort Jlassac, where the boats were concealed and the march overland toward Kaskaskia was eonuneuced. Kaskaskia was captured without a struggle on the 4th of July ;ind Clark sent Captain Bowman to reduce the post at Cahokia, near the present city of East St. Louis. This post was also surrendered without resistance.

assistance iu the capture of the post at Vinceiines. A conference was arranged with the priest, who admitted his loyalty to the American side, but on account of his calling declined to become an active participant in a movement that might subject him to criticism and destroy his usefulness in the church. However, he recommended a Doctor Lafonte, whom he knew to be both capable and reliable, to conduct the negotiations for the surrender of the post, and even promised to direct the affair, provided it could be done ^ythout exposure. Accordingly, Doctor Lafonte explained to the inhabitants of Viucennes that they could break the yoke of British domination by taking the oath of allegiance to the American colonies, which they cheerfully did. and Captain Helm was sent to take command of the post. This proved to be a barren victory, as subsequent events will show.

In October, 1778, the Virginia assembly passed an act providing that all citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia "who are ali-eady settled, or shall hereafter settle, on the northwestern side of the River Ohio, shall be included iu a distinct county, which shall be called Illinois county," etc. Before the provisions of this act could be applied to the newly conquered territory. Henrv Hamilton, the British lieutenant-governor of Detroit, with thirty regulars, fifty volunteers and four hundred Indians, started down the Wabash to reinforce the posts. On December 15, 1778, he took poissession of the fort at Vincennes, the American garrison at that time consisting of Captain Helm and one man. This little garrison of two refused to surrender until promised the honors of war. Immediatel,v after the capture of the fort the French citizens were disarmed and before man.v days had passed a large force of hostile Indians began to gather near the post.

Clark was now in a perilous position. His force was weaker tlian when he set out on his expedition and it was absolutel.v necessary that part of his men should be detailed to guard the posts alread.v captured. It was in the dead of winter, he was far removed from his base of supplies, provisions were scarce, and there were no roads open through the country over which his army must march on foot against Vincennes. Notwithstanding all these difficulties, Clark was not disma,ved. "When he learned, late in January, 1779, that Hamilton had weakened his garrison by sending his Indian allies against the frontier settlements, he resolved to attack the post. Hamilton 's purpose was to collect a large body of Indians and as soon as spring opened drive out the Americans, hence prompt action on Clark's part was imperative. He therefore built a large galley, or bateau, called the "Willing." which left Kaskaskia on February 1, 1779, with a supply of amnniuition and provisions, two four-pounder cannon, four swivel guns and forty-six men, with instructions to drop down the i\Iis- sissippi, ascend the Ohio and Walia.sli to Viiicciuies as (|uickly as i)ossihle. Clark, with the remaining 17Q men, then began the march of 160 miles across the country, overcame all obstacles, his men frequently wading through creeks and marshes whei'e the water came up to their waists, and on the morning of Kehruary 18, 1770, was near enough to Vincennes to hear the i-eport of tlu' sunrise gun at the fort. Three days more were passed in tiu' swami)s iieai- the point where it was expected to meet the Willing, but at daybreak on the morning of the 21st the little arm}'- was ferried across the Wabash in two canoes, with the intention of attacking the fort before reinforcements could arrive. A hunter from the fort was captured and from him Clark learned that Hamilton had but about eighty men in the fort. He then prepared the following proclamation, which he sent by the hunter to the people of the village: "To the inhabitants of Post Vincennes: -

"Gentlemen: Being now within two miles of your village with my army, determined to take your fort this night, and not being ^villing to surprise you, I take tliis method to re(|uest such of .you as are true citizens, and willing to enjoy the liberty I bring you, to remain still in your houses: - and those, if any there be, that are friends to the king, will instantly repair to the fort and join the hair-buyer general and fight like men. And if any such as do not go to the fort shall be discovered afterward, they nuiy depend on severe punishment. On the contrary, those who ai-e true friends to liberty may depend on being well treated ; and I once more request them to keep out of the streets. For every one I find in arms on my arrival, I shall treat him as an enemy."

The allusion to Hamilton as the "hair-buyer general" has reference to that officer's attempt to incite the Indians to greater cruelty by placing a price upon the scalps of the settlers and colonial troops.

Clark says in his rei)ort of the expedition that he had various ideas ou the suppo.sed results of his proclamation. He watched the messenger enter the village ami saw that his arrival there created some stir, but was unable to learn the effects of his communication. A short time before sunset he marched his men out into view. In his report of his movements on this occasion, he says: "In leaving the covert that we were in, we marched and countermarched in such a manner that we appeared numerous." The ruse was further strengthened by the fact that Clark had about a dozen stands of colors, which were now fastened to long poles and carried in such a way that they could be seen above the ridge, behind which his "handful of men" were performing their maneuvers, thus creating the impre.s.sion that he had several regiments of troops. To add to this impression, several horses that had been captured from duck-hunters near the village, were ridden by the officers in all direetions, apparently carrying orders from the commanding general to his subordinates.

These evolutions were kept up until dark, when Clark moved out and took a position in the rear of the village. Lieutenant Bayley, with fourteen men, was ordered to open the attack on the fort. One man in the garrison was killed in the first volley. Some of the citizens came out and joined the besiegers and the fort was surrounded. About nine o'clock on the morning of the 24:th, after a siege of two days and three nights, Clark demanded a surrender, with all the stores and munitions of war, and sent the following message to Hamilton: "If I am obliged to storm, you may depend on such treatment as is .iustly due a murderer. Beware of destroying stores of any kind, or any papers or letters that are in your possession - for, by heavens! if you do, there shall lie no mercy

To this message Hamilton replied that he was "not to be awed into doing anything unworthy of a British soldier," and the firing upon the fort was renewed. Most of Clark's men were skilled in the use of the rifle and their bullets found their way through the smallest cracks in the fort with deadly effect. Some of the soldiers begged for permission to storm the fort, but Clark felt that it was .much safer to continue his present tactics of harassing the enemy until he was ready to surrender. He had not long to wait, for in a little while a flag of truce was displayed and Hamilton asked for an armistice of three days. The request was promptly denied and the British commander then asked Clark to come into the fort for a parley. But the American general was "too old a bird to be caught witli chaff" and refused to place himself thus within his enemy's power. He sent back word that he would meet Hamilton at the church, which was some eighty yards from the fort. As there was nothing else to do, the British oiticer, accompanied by Captain Helm, who was a prisoner, came out to the church and again asked for a truce of three days. Fearing the return of some of Hamilton's Indians, Clark again denied the request and informed Hamilton that the only terms he could offer was "Surrender at discretion." This was a bitter pill for the haughty Briton, but it had to be swallowed. The fort, with all its stores, arms and numitions of war, was then turned over to the Americans, and on the morning of the 25th the inhabitants saw the Stars and Stripes floating from the flagstaff of the post.

On the 27th the Willing arrived and two days later a detachment sent out by Clark captured about $50,000 worth of goods coming down the Wabash to the fort. There was great rejoicing in Virginia and the eastern colonies when it was learned that the western outposts were in the hands of the Americans. Says Levering : "The results of this campaign were far-reaeliiiig in the settlement with Great Britain four years later, when the final treaty of peace was ratified. As a consequence, all the territory between the Ohio river and the Great Lakes became a United States possession."

Through the conquest of the Northwest by General Clark, what is now the state of Indiana became subject to the colony of Virginia and a tide, of emigration followed. On January 2, 1781, the legislature of Virginia passed a resolution to the effect that, on certain conditions, the colony would cede to congress its claim to the territory northwest of the Ohio river. But the Revolutionary war was then in progress and congress took no action on the matter. On January 20, 1783, an armistice was agreed upon, which was proclaimed by congress on the 11th of April following. The treaty of Paris was concluded on September 3, 1783, and ten days later congress figreed to accept the cession tendered by Virginia more than two years before. On December 20, 1783, the Virginia assembly passed a resolution authorizing their delegates in congress to convey to the United States "the title and claims of Virginia to the lands northwest of the river Ohio." The cession was formally made on ilareh 1, 1784. and the present state of Indiana thereby became territory of the United States.

On .May 20, 1785, congress passed "An ordinance for ascertaining the mode of disposing of lands in western territory," and on June loth of the same year a proclamation was issued forbidding settlements northwest of the Ohio until the lands were surveyed. This ordinance and proclamation led the Indians to believe that their lands were about to be taken from them for white settlers and they grew restless. By treaties in 17(38, between the British colonial officials on the one side and the chiefs of the Five Nations and Cherokee on the other, it was agreed that the Ohio and Kanawha rivers should form the boundary between the Indians and the whites, the former relinquishing all claims to their lands along the Atlantic coast and in the Delaware and Sus([U('liaiina valleys, in return for which they were confirmed in their possession of the country lying west of the .Mlegheny mountains. The Indians claimed that the acts of congress relating to the territorj' northwest of the Ohio rivc^r were in violation of the treaties of 1768 - which was true - but during the Revolution most of the tribes in that region had acted in accord with the British, and the new government of the Ignited States repudiated the treaties made by the British provincial authorities. Late in the summer of 178C, some of the tribes grew so threatening in their demonstrations that General Clark inarched against the Indians on the Wabash and General Logan against the Siuiwnees on the Big ^liami river. In October of that year a garrison was established at Vinceunes.

On July 13, 1787, congress passed an act or ordinance "for the goverunient of the territory of the United States northwest of tlie river Ohio," and on the 5th of the following October General Arthiir St. Clair was elected by congress to the position of governor of the Xorthwest Territory. Again the Indians showed signs of becoming hostile and on January 9, 1789, General St. ( "lair concluded a treaty of peace with some of the leading trilies at Fort Ilarmar. on the .Muskingum river. This treaty was not kept by the Indians, and in September, 1790, General Harmar led an expedition into the Indian country. His force of some fifteen hundred men arrived at the :Maumee river on the 17th of October and the work of punishing the Indians was commenced. The bad behavior of the militia prevented the expedition from being an entire success and the army returned to Port "Washington early in November, having lost 183 killed and 31 wounded. About the time Harmar reached the iMaumee, Major Hamtramck marched up the Wabash river from Vincennes, destroying several deserted villages but finding no hostile Indians to oppose him.

The punishment meted out to the Indians by General Harmar kept them comparatively (|uiet for about a year, but in the fall of 1791 General St. Clair found it necessary to organize an expedition against the tribes in northwestern Ohio and about the headwaters of the Waliash. On November 4, 1791. St. Clair's army was signally defeated and almost annihilated by the Indians under command of Me-she-ke-no-quah. or Little Turtle. Soon after his defeat St. Clair resigned his commission as major-general aiid Anthony Wayne was appointed to succeed him. From the spring of 1702 to August, 1793, Wayne was busy in recruiting, organizing and equipping his army. While tliis was going on the government appointed Benjamin Lincoln, Beverly Randolph and Timothy Pickering as commissioners to negotiate treaties with the Indans. Councils were held at various places with the chiefs of the dissatisfied tribes, but nothing was accomplished.

In the spring of 1794 Wayne took the field against the hostile natives and on the 20th of August won a decisive victory at the battle of Fallen Timbers, near Toledo, Ohio. He then returned to the deserted Miami village, at the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. .Mary's rivers, where he arrived on September 17, 1794, and the next day selected a site for "Fort Wayne," which was completed on the 22nd of October. From this fort he sent messengers to the Indian chiefs, inviting them to come to Fort Greenville for the purpose of making a new treaty, but the season was so far advanced that nothing was done until the following summer. During the months of June and July, 1795, councils were held with several of the tribes, and on August 3, 1795, the treaty of Greenville, one of the most important Indian treaties in the history of Ohio and Indiana, was coiu-ludecl. That treaty was signed by eighty-nine chiefs, distrilmted among the several tribes as follows: 24 Pottawatonii, IG Delaware, 11) \Vyandot. 9 Shawnee. 11 Chippewa, -i Jliami, 7 Ottawa, 3 Eel River, S Wea and 3 Kaskaskia. One of the -Miami chiefs was Little Turtle who liad administered such disastrous defeat to General St. Clair nearly four years before. Some of the chiefs represented also the Kickapoo and I'iankesliaw tribes, so that the treaty bound practically all the Indians in Ohio and Indiana to terms of peace.

By the treaty of Greenville the United States were granted several small tracts of land for military stations, two of which - Fort Wayne and Vineennes - were in Indiana. The United States government was also given the right to build or open roads through the Indian country, one of which ran from Fort Wayne to the Wabash river and down that stream to the Ohio. This road passed through what is now JMiami county. For these concessions the United States agreed to give the Indians goods valued at $20,000 and annuity of $9,500, in goods forever. This annuity was to be distributed among the tribes as follows : To the Delawai-e, Pottawatonii, Shawnee. Wyandot, iliami, Ottawa and Chippewa, $1,000 each ; to the Kickapoo, Wea, Piiuikeshaw, Eel River and Kaskaskia, $500 each. The United States further agreed to relinquish claim to all other Indian lands north of the Ohio, east of the ^lississippi and south of the Great Lakes, ceded by Great Britain in the treaty of 1783.

By an act of congress, approved May 7, 1800, the Northwest Territory was divided into three teri'itories - Ohio. Indiana and Illinois - and on tile 13th of the same month Genei-al William IIenr\- Harrison was appointed governor of the Territory of Indiana. At the same time -lohn (iibson. of Pennsylvania, was ajipointed tei'ritorial secretary.

Although, by the treaty of Greenville, the United States had agreed to ixiiiiit the Indians to remain in peaceable possession of their lands north of the Ohio, it was not long until the white man began to look with longing eyes at the fertile valleys and prairies of Indiana, and before a decade had |)assiil |)ressure was brought to bear upon the government to negotiate a treaty with the Indians whereby these lands could b(! acf[uired and opened to settlement. Accordingly, a general council of Indians was called to meet at Fort Wayne on June 7, 1803. The most important acts of that council were the recognition of the rights of the Delaware Indians to certain lands lying between the Ohio and Wabash rivei's, lixing definitely the post boundaries at Vineennes, and the cession of the post tract to the United States by the Delawares. Governor Ilarrisnn was j)resent at the council and made the necessary preliminary arrangements for a treaty afterward concluded at Vineennes on August 18, 1804, by which the Dela- wares, "for the cousiderations hereinafter mentioned, relinquish to the United States forever, all their right and title to the tract of country which lies hetween the Ohio and Wabash rivers and below the tract ceded by the treaty of Fort Wayne, and the road leading from Vincennes to the Falls of the Ohio. ' '

The most northern point of the tract thus ceded is not far from French Lick. For the cession the trilie was to receive an annuity of $800 for ten years, which annuity was "to be appropriated exclusively to the purpose of ameliorating their condition and promoting their civilization."' To accomplish these ends it was further stipulated that "suitable persons shall be employed at the expense of the United States to teach them to make fences, cultivate the earth, and such of the domestic arts as are adapted to their situation; and a further sum of $300 shall l)e appropriated annually for five years to this object. ' '

The Piankeshaws soon showed their dissatisfaction over this cession, claiming the land and refusing to recognize the right of the Delawares to transfer the title to the government. General Harrison met the Piankeshaw chiefs at Vincennes on August 27, 1804, and concluded a treaty by which the tribe relinquished title to the tract for an annuity of $200 for iive years.

Another treaty was concluded at Grouseland, near Viucennes, on August 21, 1805, between General Harrison and the chiefs of several tribes. In this treaty "The Pottawatomies, Miamis, Eel Rivers and Weas explicitly acknowledge the right of the Delawares to sell the tract of land conveyed to the United States by the treaty of the 18th of August, 1804, which tract was given by the Piankeshaws to the Delawares, about thirtyseven years ago. ' '

At the same time the Wea and Eel river tribes agreed to "cede and relinquish to the United States forever, all that tract of country which lies south of a line to be drawn from the northeast corner of the tract ceded by the treaty of Fort Wayne, so as to strike the general boundary line, running from a point opposite to the mouth of the Kentucky river to Fort Recovery, at a distance of fifty miles from its commencement on the Ohio river." The lands thus ceded include all the present counties of Washington, Orange, Jackson, Jennings, Ripley and Jefferson, and small portions of some of the adjoining counties.

About this time some of the Indian chiefs began to see, in the policy of making treaties of cession, the loss of the lands guaranteed to the Indians by the treaty of Greenville. Most of these chiefs had been accustomed to look upon Little Turtle, the great chief of the ^Miami, as one of their wisest men, a leader whose opinions were always entitled to respect. But when he bowed to the inevitable and joined with other chiefs in disposiiitj of tlic lands of his pfoijlc, lie was branded as "an Indian with a white mans heart and a traitor to his race." Consequently many of the chiefs were ready to follow a new leader, when, in November, 1805, a propliet arose among the Sliawnees in the person of La-la-weth-ika, then about thirty years of age. lie went into a trance, saw the spirit world, and came back with a message from the Great Manitou to "let firewater alone, abandon the white man's custom and follow tlir waj-s of our ancestoi's. ' '

After his vision he changed his naiiic to Tensk-wa-ta-wa (sometimes written El.sk-wa-ta-wa). wliieh in the .Shawnee tongue means "The Open Door." This name was selected because he claimed to be the means of opening the way by which the Indians were to regain their lost power and the lands of which they had been dispossessed. He took up his headquarters at Greenville, Ohio, but the Miamis, who still believed in their own leader. Little Turtle, were jealous of his influence. In order to weaken his power among the young braves of that ti-ibe, some of the Jlianii chiefs declared him to be an impostor. Says Jloouey:

"By some means he had learned that an eclipse of the sun was to take place in the summer of 1806. As the time drew near, he called about him the scoffers and boldly announced that on a certain day he would prove to them his supernatural authority by causing the sun to become dark. When the day and hour arrived and the eartlT at midday was enveloped in the gloom of twilight, Tenskawtawa, standing in the midst of the terrified Indians, pointed to the sky and cried : ' Did I not speak the truth ? See, the sun is dark ! ' "

Tenskawatawa then went a step farther in his claim to supernatural power and boldly asserted that he was a reincarnation of Manabozho, the gi-eat "first doer" of the Algonquians. He opposed the intermarriage of Indian squaws with white men and accused the Christian Indians of witchcraft. Upon his accusation the Delaware chief, Tat-e-boek-o-she, thi-ough whose influence the treaty of 1804 had been brought about, was tomahawked as a wizard, and the Indian missionai'v called "Joshua" was Ininied at the stake. His followers increas<:'d in nuiiibci's, but it soon bfcanir ai)parcnt that something more than prophecy and a display of suiicrnatural ability would be necessary to restore to the Indians their birthright.

As Pontiae had taken advantage of the preaching of the Delaware prophet, more than forty ycai's before, to organize a conspiracy, Tecumseli (The Shooting Star), a bi-other of tlic prophet, now came forward as a temporal leader and began the work of cementing the tribes into a confederacy to resist the further encroachments of the i)ale-face race. Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa were sons of the great Shawnee warrior Pukee- sheno, who was killed at the battle of Kanawha, in 1774, when the prophet was an infant. In the spring of 1808 a great many Indians came from the country about the Great Lakes to visit the prophet and his brother at Greenville. The peaceable Miamis and Delawares protested against this incui-sion of their domain and to avoid an open rupture with these tribes, the two brothers removed their headquarters to the Pottawatomi village on the Wabash river, a short distance below the mouth of the Tippecanoe river, which village then became known as "Prophet's Town. ' '

Tecumseh's nest act was to notify General Harrison that he and his followers would never consent to the occupation of the Indian lands by white men until all the tribes should agree, instead of the few who claimed to own the lauds. Having served this notice upon the governor of the Indiana territory, the wily chief began his active propaganda, visiting the chiefs and head men of the different tribes to arouse them to action, or at least secure their cooperation. While he was thus engaged another treaty was concluded at Fort Wayne on September 30, 1809, whereby two large tracts of land in Indiana were ceded to the United States. The first embraced practically all of the present counties of Fayette, WajTie and Randolph, and the second included approximately the counties of Monroe, Lawrence, Greene, Sullivan, Owen, Clay and Vigo. This treaty so incensed the Shawnees and their allies that they commenced a series of raids upon the frontier settlements. To protect the settlers. General Harrison, in the fall of 1811, went up the Wabash and near the site of the present city of Terre Haute built Fort Harrison, which was completed late in October.

Harrison then started for Prophet's Town, but before reaching the village he was met by a delegation on November 6, 1811, and arrangements were made for a "talk" the next day. Harrison distrusted the members of the delegation, and when his army encamped on a piece of high ground near the village he placed a strong guard about the camp and gave orders for the men to "sleep on their arms. ' ' Events proved that his suspicions were well founded. A short time before daylight on the morning of the 7th, the Indians, led by the prophet in person, made their attack, intending to surprise the camp. The precautions taken by Harrison now demonstrated his wisdom as a military commander. His camp fires were suddenly extinguished and his men fought on the defensive until it was Light enough to see clearly, when they charged with such bravery and enthusiasm that the Indians were completely routed. Above the din of battle the voice of the prophet could be heard haranguing his warriors, telling them that through his supernatural power the bullets of the white men would be rendered harmless and that the pale-face cowards would be driven from the Indian Inmting grounds. In this action, known in history as tlie hatth- of Tippecanoe, the wliites lost sixty killed and one hundred wounded. The Indian loss was nuich heavier. It is said that Louis Godt'roy. a war chief of the iliamis. afterward a i)roMnnent figure in Miami county history, gave the signal for the Indians to attack. After the battle, Harrison burned Prophet's Town and returned to Vincennes.

At the time of the battle Tecumseh was in Tennessee. Upon his return it is said that he called the prophet a fool foi- bringing on an engagement prenuiturely. took him by the long hair and .shook him until his teeth rattled, and declared that he ought to be put to deatii for thwarting their plans. \ot long after this Tecumseh went to ("anada. .loined the British army, in which he was made a brigadier-general, and fell at the battle of Thames, October .5. 1813.

In December, 1811. a memorial was sent to congress by the people of Indiana, asking foi- admission into the Union as a state, but, before any action was taken on the memorial, war was declared against Great Britain and for the next three j'ears the attention of the national administration was fully occupied in the conduct of the war. In this conHict some of the tribes in the interior acted in accord with the British and cai'ried the war into Indiana. Under date of October 13, 1812, General Harrison wrote to the war department that the lliamis had "dug up the hatchet" and were engaged in committing depredations upon the frontier settlements; that they had attacked Fort Harrison, besieged Fort Wayne, and that on several occasions his messengers or supply trains had been attacked and captured, although the tribe still claimed to be nrutral.

Tile American post at Detroit had already fallen into the hands of the British, and its commanding position, with the cooperation of the Indian trilies in the interior practically placed the entire Wabash valley undei' the control of the enemy. It was deemed the part of wisdom to overcome the Indians before attempting to recapture Detroit and to this end the government sent Lieut. -Col. John B. Campl>ell, of the Nineteenth United States Infantry, with Captain Elliott's company of that regiment, part of a regiment of Kentucky dragoons, commanded by Colonel Simrail, :\Ia.jor Balls squadron of United States di-agoons. Captain Butler's Pittsburgh Blues. Alexander's Pennsylvania Riflemen and some other troops - six hundred men in all - against the Indian villages on the Mississinewa river. This command, well mounted, was ordered to march from P^'ranklinton, Ohio, on November 25. 1812, and General Harrison, in his instiuctions to Colonel Campbell, advised him to march by the Greenville route, in order to avoid the Delaware villages, as the gov- ernment was pledged for the safey of those peaceable Indians. He also recommended that certain Miami chiefs, among whom were Richardville, Wliite Loon, Silver Heels, and the son and brother of Little Turtle, be left unmolested, as they had endeavored to keep their warriors from joining the hostiles.

Campbell's little army reached the Mississinewa on the morning of Thursday, December 17, when he approached unobserved an Indian village inhabited by Miamis and a few Delawares. His troops rushed into the town, killed eight warriors and took forty-two prisoners, thirty-four of whom were women and children. With the exception of a few cabins, the town was then burned by Campbell "s orders, the prisoners being confined in the houses that were left standing. Campbell then took Ball's and Simrall's dragoons and proceeded down the Mississinewa river practically to its mouth, passing through a part of what is now Butler township, Miami county. On his march he found three deserted villages, which were burned. He then captured several horses, killed a large number of cattle and returned to the town which he had first attacked and destroyed in the morning.

That night he formed his camp iu a square, 500 feet on each side, in order to be ready to resist an attack from any ([uarter, should one be made. At the northwest corner of the S(|uare, across the old trail leading to Meshingomesia's village, was a redoubt commanded by Captain Pierce. Captain Smith, of the Kentucky dragoons, was also stationed in a redoubt, the location of which cannot be ascertained. During the night the Indians, enraged by the destruction of their villages and the killing of their cattle, gathered together a force of some 300 warriors and marched toward Campbell's camp, which was attacked with all the fury of the savage a little while before daybreak on Friday morning, the ISth. Fortunately, Colonel Campbell had caused the reveille to be sounded at four o'clock, and he and his officers were in council when the Indian war-whoop was heard. Although it was bitterly cold and the ground was covered with snow, every man ran immediately to his post and the surprise intended by the Indians did not materialize. Captain Pierce's redoubt was the first point of attack. That officer bravely held his position until it was too late to get within the S(iuare. He fell with two bullets through his body and was also tomahawked. The Indians then took possession of the redoubt, from which a murderous fire was poured into the northwest corner of the square, and a little later the entire west line, consisting of Major Ball's dragoons, was engaged. Captain Smith's redoubt was also attacked, but he maintained his position until ordered to fall back to the scjuare and fill up a gap iu the north line, between Captain Hopkins and Captain Young.

As soou as it was light enough to see clearly, Captain Trotter's company of Sinirall's dragoons was ordered to charge. The movement was brilliantly executed and at the same time Captain Markle's company of Ball's dragoons also charged and the Indians were thrown into confusion. Campbell then followed up the advantage by ordering Captain Jolinson to support the charging troops, but the enemy was completely routed before he could bring his men into actibn.

The battle lasted about an hour and resulted in a loss to Campbell's force of eight killed and forty-eight wounded. Of the wounded, two died within a few days artd seventeen were carried in litters to Fort Greenville. Fifteen Indians were found dead on the field and it was believed by Campbell that a luimber of dead and wounded had been carried away. One of Campbell's officers afterward reported 107 horses killed in the engagement. In his report, Campbell commended his men for their bravery during the battle and for their fortitude during the arduous march back to Fort Greenville. So many horses had been killed that many of the men had to make that march on foot and of those who reached Fort Greenville over 300 were so badly frost-bitten that they were totally unfit for military duty.

Although this battle was fought in what is now Grant county, it is a part of Miami county history, because many of the Indians who participated in the action resided in tiie latter county. Graham says that Francis and Louis Godfroy and Shepoconah were the leaders of the Indians in the battle, but an Indian tradition credits Little Thunder with being the commander. Meshingomesia, then about thirty years of age, so distinguished himself in the fight that he was ever afterward honored by his tribe and on the death of his father was made chief.

Early in the summer of 1909 a movement was started in (irant county to set apart the Mississinewa battle ground as a national park. Some of the citizens of that county, headed by Major George W. Steele, Colonel George Lockwood and State Senator John T. Strange, called into conference a gentleman from Wabash county and Arthur L. Bodurtha, of Peru. Subseciuently, through these representatives, a battle ground committee, consisting of members from the three counties, was appointed. Mr. Bodurtha appointed as the Miami county members of this connnittee Charles A. Cole, Albert C. Bearss, Rawley H. Bouslog, Henry Meinhardt and Walter C. Bailey. The committee made arraugeuients for a meeting to be held on the battle ground on Sunday, August 29, 1909. In the preparations for the picnic Omer Holman, of the Peru Republican, took an active part and was secretary of the Jliami county delegation. It was estimated that from ten thousand to twenty thousand people were at the meeting, which was presided over by Major George W. Steele, governor of the Marion branch of the National Soldiers' Home, and Arthur L. Bodurtha was the principal speaker of the day. Short addresses were also made by Congressman (Jeorge W. Ranch; Xelson G. Hunter, of Wabash; Judge R. T. St. John, of JIarion ; Mayor Joseph Murphy, of \Vabash ; Henry S. Bailey and Albert H. Cole, of Peru, and one or two others, and Gabriel Godfroy spoke in the Miami language.

At the close of the exercises on motion of Walter C. Bailey, of Peru, a permanent Battleground Memorial Association was organized with Major George W. Steele as president ; John T. Strange, of Grant county. Dr. P. G. Moore, of Wabash, and A. N. Dukes, of Miami, vice-presidents ; Arthur L. Bodurtha, secretary; Thomas R. Brady, of Wabash, treasurer.

Senator Strange afterward succeeded in securing the passage of an act by the Indiana legislature, entitled '"An act to perpetuate battlegrounds and other historic sites." This act, which was approved by the governor on March 6. 1911, provides, "That the common council of any city, the board of trustees of any incorporated town, or any incorporation, organized as a voluntary association of this state and not for protit, shall have the power and are hereby authorized to acquire, and to have and hold, battle grounds or other historic sites for the purpose of maintaining and preseiwing or improving the same for historical purposes. That the acquisition of any such property is hereby declared to be for the public use, and title to the same may be taken under the power of eminent domain. That all such property so acquired and preserved shall not be liable to taxation, but the same shall be entirely exempt therefrom."

The association was incorporated on March 1, 1912, and was enlarged to include the counties of Grant, Howard. Miami. Wabash, Huntington, Cass and Blackford. In 1913 the officers of the association were as follows: J. Wood Wilson, president. Major Steele having declined to serve longer on account of his official duties as governor of the Soldiers' Home ; a board of directors consisting of one from each county, to wit : Charles A. Cole, Miami; Conrad Wolf, Howard; John T. Strange, Grant; Israel Heaston, Huntington, who is also the treasurer; E. E. Cox, Blackford; Frederick King, Wabash; Dr. J. Z. Powell, Cass. So far nothing has been done in the way of establishing a park, but the aim of the association is to acquire, by purchase or the exercise of the power of eminent domain, a tract of fifty acres, including the place where the battle was fought and the grove lying between it and the Mississinewa, and set it apart as a reservation, that the valor of Colonel Campbell and his men may not be forgotten, and the historic importance of the battle they fought there in the \rinter of 1812 may be preserved to future generations. The eight men killed in the battle were buried on the field and the asso- ciation mado an effort to find out the exact location of their graves, that a monument might be erected upon the spot. .Many of the Indians knew the location of the graves, but they have steadfastly refused to give the information to the white people. At the picnic was a Mrs. Winter, an old half-breed woman, who admitted that she knew where the men are buried, but as she had been pledged to secrecy by Meshingomesia, no persuasion would induce her to break that pledge.

The memorial of December, 1811, praying for admission into the union as a state, having failed to accomplish its purpose, a second one was addressed to congress by tlie people of Indiana Territory on December 14, 1815. This time their efforts were crowned with success. A bill providing for the admission of Indiana to statehood was signed by President Jladison on April 19, 1816. At that time there were but thirteen organized counties in Indiana and the greater part of the land, including Miami county, was still in the hands of the Indians. On May 13, 1816, delegates to a constitutional convention were elected from the thirteen counties; the convention assembled at Cordydon, the territorial capital, on June 10, 1816, and completed its work on the 29th of the same month. The first election of state officers was on August 1, 1816; the legislature then chosen met on November 4th ; Governor Jonathan Jennings was inaugurated three days later, and on December 11, 1816, congress, by joint resolution, approved the admission of the new state.

When the Territory of Indiana was established in 1800 the seat of government was located at Vincennes and remained there until on ^larch 11, 1813, the legislature passed an act providing that "from and after the first day of May next, the seat of government of this territory shall be located at Corydon, Harrison county." By the act of January 11. 1820, ten commissioners were appointed by the legislature to "select and locate a tract of land, not exceeding four sections, for a permanent capital." The commissioners, after visiting several proposed localities, se]e<'tcd the site on the west fork of the White river, M'here the city of Indiana]K)lis now stands. The selection of this site was confirmed by the legislature on January 6, 1821, but the seat of government was not removed from Corydon until Jamuu-y, 1825. The establishment of the seat of goverinnent so near the geographical center of the state wielded an influence upon the settlement of central and northern Indiana and hastened the negotiation of flic Indi;in ti-eaties descrilied in Chapter III of this work.