Randolph County, Indiana - Biographical sketches (1 of 3 so headed), 1882

Biographical sketches

BIOGRAPHIES. Mr. Hawkins says: (Joseph Hawkins, of Jay County, Ind.) "T was well acquainted with Johnny Green, the old Indian warrior mentioned by Jere Smith.

"The Indian chiefs were Cornstalk, Blue Jacket, Split Log and Capt. Johnny, Shawnees or Delawares; Kichardville and the two Godfroys, Francois and Lewis, Miamis.

'This Cornstalk was not the chief who led the Indians in the battle of the Kanawha, 1774. That Cornstalk (as also his son) was basely shot while in a fort by the soldiers therein, into which he and his son had gone in a peaceable and friendly manner."

Mr. Hawkins was intimate when a boy with the Godfroy chiefs and their families. He gives the following incident concerning Poqua Godfroy (son of Chief Francois):

'** Poqua Godfroy (son of Chief Francois) got into an affray at Hamilton. He was about twenty-one years old. He was frightened, and thought the white folks were going to kill him, and so he tried to be beforehand with them, and slashed away right and left himself. He was arrested for assault and battery, but was at length released on bail, and suffered to depart. On his way home, the first man he saw whom he knew was my brother, Samuel Hawkins, at Winchester, after the mail. The boy was wild with joy ; he cried out, 'O, you my friend; you shall go home with me. They try to kill me, but you my friend! '

"And Samuel took his mail that way, and went home with Poqua and stayed overnight at the house of the old chief, much to the delight of the frightened Indian boy and his aged father also." Chief Godfroy afterward moved to the mouth of the Mississenewa, and died there not far from 1840. His stately monument is still to be seen on the north side of the river near the mouth.

Godfroy was the home chief, and Richeville was the war chief of the Miamis. Godfroy was an honest, upright, reliable man, esteemed by the whites and beloved by the Indians.

Black Hoof (Cat-ahe-kasa], a Shawnee chief, was born in Florida, while his tribe sojourned in the South. They returned to Ohio and he with them.

The time of his birth is not known, but he was a leading chief at Braddock's defeat, in 1755, and in all the Indian wars for forty years afterward.

He felt keenly the encroachments of the whites, and fought them with the bitterness of desperation. But, seeing at last the utter hopelessness of the struggle, he yielded, and ever afterward he stood for peace. Tecumseh tried to draw the old chief into his conspiracy, but tried in vain. Black Hoof had fought the whites long enough, and bade the fierce Tecumseh go his way. He opposed polygamy, living forty years with a single wife and rearing a large family of children. He died at Wapokonetta, aged one hundred and ten years.

Blue Jacket [Wey-a-pier-sen-wah], a Shawnee chief, was the Indian leader at their defeat by Gen. Wayne in 1794. In the council held before the battle, the decision would have been for peace, but his voice changed the day, and they made the attack and were routed.

Cornstalk (the elder) was a Shawnee chief of bravery and distinction, and one of the leaders of his tribe at the battle of the Kanawha (Point Pleasant), Va., in 1776. He had tried before that disastrous engagement to induce his people to bury the hatchet, but in vain. After that, however, his efforts were crowned with success. Hesubmittetl in good faith to the whites, joined in the treaty and observed it faithfully, and lived quietly and at peace. Some of the Indians, however, remained hostile, and such was the temper of the times and so ready were the whites to commit atrocities against the helpless '"'red men,'' that, in 1777, when Cornstalk and his son, Enilipsco, both of excellent character, of kindly disposition, and entirely and sincerely friendly and peaceable, entered, in amity and good will, the American fort at Point Pleasant, they were murdered in cold blood. Cornstalk himself fell pierced by seven or eight bullets. His grave is said yet to be visible at Point Pleasant near the site of the ancient fortress.

Some of the descendants of the old chief are thought to be still living, residing on the Kansas River. One of his sons lived to a greatly advanced age.

"Johnny Green"' was a chief who dwelt in the region of Randolph, and was well known to many of the settlers of that time. Several mention him in their '' Reminiscences."" He was somewhat noted in the Indian wars, being present at '' Wayne's victory'' in 1794. He is supposed to have been concerned in the killing of Morgan in Wayne County. He had much provocation to the deed, since Morgan was a bitter '' Indian hater,"' and had, not very long before, undertaken treacherously to procure the murder of the old Indian. At Brookville (perhaps), "Johnny '"' had obtained leave to accompany some whites in a trip they were making. Soon after they started, Morgan, among others, tried to induce the crowd to kill Green, and succeeded in getting a vote to that effect. One of the party took Johnny under his protection, and got him safely away.

A white man was burned at the stake by the Indians somewhere east of Muncie, but the particulars of the fact, whether as to reasons, time or parties engaged, we have never learned.

[Norz. - Whether this "' Johnny Green's tribe" (mentioned below) belonged to the "Johnny Green" already named, we are not able to state. There may have been more than one "' Johnny Green," as there were two '' Cornstalks'' and two ' Killbucks."'

Johnny Green's Tribe. - They emigrated to the West and settled in Iowa, and they now live in Story County, near Marshalltown, on the Iowa River, above lowa Rapids.

Johnny Green, the old chief, is dead, and his son, '' Buck Green,' is now chief. The number of the tribe is about 350. They own a reserve of land; have good houses and dress mostly like whites, though the women go bareheaded and wear blankets and moccasins, Indian-fashion.

The men spend most of their time in hunting; the women make baskets and beadwork and other curious things. The tribe is harmless and peaceable. The squaws may often be seen riding by on ponies, with pannier baskets laden with trinkets for sale, and having, besides, a child in each basket, the whole cavalcade presenting a sight comical to behold. ['This account is given by a friend of the author's, who resides in Iowa in the vicinity of the tribe in question].

Francis La Fontaine, Miami Chief. - His Indian name was To-pe-ah. His father was French and his mother a Miami woman, and he was born near Ft. Wayne, in 1810. In 1832, hemarried Catharine (Po-con-go-qua), daughter of Chief Richardville, and upon the old chief's death was chosen principal chief. He moved to the forks of the Wabash, and lived there till the removal of his tribe west of the Mississippi, in 1846.

He spent the Winter with his people, but returned in the spring ; was taken ill on the journey, and died at La Fayette, April 18, 1847, aged thirty-seven years. In person, he was tall, corpulent and robust, a man of wonderful size and strength, his usual weight being 350 pounds. He presented, when dressed in Indian costume, a splendid specimen of manly dignity.

Edward Edger, long time a dealer in furs, etc., with the Indians, says that one chief La Fontaine, was living there ten or twelve years ago, on the Indian Reserve, that he visited that chief at that time, at his house in that region.

John B. Richardville (Pe-che-wa), was the son of the sister of Little Turtle, Taucumwah, by a French trader, Joseph Drouet de Richeville, born about 1761. Pe-che-wa became the recognized chief by a daring act of humane valor when but a young man. He waspresent at Harmar's defeat in 1790; signed the treaty of Greenville in 1795, of Ft. Wayne and of Vincennes in 1809, and of St. Mary's in 1818.

lishment in Ft. Wayne, but moving, in 1836, to the Forks of the Wabash, he died at his house at St. Mary's, August 13 ,1841, aged about eighty-one years. He was of middling height and weight, quiet, modest and retiring, but genteel and manly in his: deportment with the whites, and having a large influence over his people and, moreover, highly respected and confided in by the white settlers. His daughters erected a marble monument over his remains.

Captain Logan (Spemica Lawba - High Horn), a Shawnee chief, was born on Mad River, Ohio, in 1778. He was captured when a lad by Capt. Benjamin Logan, of Kentucky, in 1786; was adopted by him, and afterward returned to his tribe, continuing, however, to be the friend of the whites. This friendship he showed in a most remarkable manner, finally sealing his fidelity with his blood.

He was one of Gen. Hull's guides to Detroit in 1812. Afterward he conducted twenty-five women and children from Ft. Wayne to Piqua, through the wilderness, with signal kindness and humanity, making the entire journey without sleep, and treating his helpless charge with the utmost gentleness and the most delicate attention.

During the siege of Ft. Wayne by the Indians, after the surrender of Detroit by Hull in August, 1812, it was determined to send relief from Piqua, and it became necessary to convey the information to the beleaguered fort. Two white men with Capt. Logan and some friendly and faithful Shawnees undertook the perilous task. They passed the besiegers and reached the fort in safety, and Capt. Logan, with Capt. Johnny and Bright Horn, two of his Indian companions, retraced their steps to their comrades, who were waiting outside the besiegers' lines. The re-enforcements reached tlie fort, and the Indians finally withdrew and abandoned the siege. Subsequently he met his death in a most affecting manner, which can be best related by quoting (substantially) from '' Kingman Bros.' History of Allen County, Ind."

On the morning of November 22, 1812, a subordinate officer charged him. with unfaithfulness. Stung by this charge and to prove its falsity, he started with Capt. Johnny and Bright Horn down the Maumee to reconnoiter. Suddenly they were surprised and captured by a company under Winamac, a Pottawatomie chief, -nd Hjliot, a half-breed in the British employ. Seizing the opportunity, they attacked their captors, killing two and wounding three more. Logan, however, received a fatal wound, and Bright Horn wasalso wounded. Capt. Johnny mounted the two wounded men, each upon one of the enemy's horses, and started them toward the camp, which they reached about midnight. He stayed long enough to secure Winamac's scalp, and came in on foot, reaching camp by daylight. Capt. Logan lingered two days in intense suffering. and died. He was buried with the honors of war, but his death cast a glooin over the entire army, and especially caused great grief to him whose bitter words had impelled Capt. Logan to the act by which he met his untimely death at the early age of thirty-four.

Metea, a Pottawatomie chief, was a brave, skillful and zthletic warrior, reaching the acme of his power during the war of 1812. He undertook to ambush Gen. Harrison's army as they were marching to the relief of Ft. Wayne.

He might perhaps have succeeded, but hizs party were discovered by Capt. Mann of the American forces. Metea was behind a tree, but his left arm was exposed. Capt. Mann instantly took aim, crippled the arm, and rushed forward in hot pursuit. Metea fled and escaped.

The chief's arm never recovered, and Metea often recounted the incident, giving Capt. Mann great praise for his bravery. He was remarkably intelligent, a fine orator, and an acute reasoner. He died in 1827 from poison by some hostile Indians.

the treaty of Lancaster, Penn., in 1748. Little Turtle was born in 1748. His mother was a Mohegan, and a superior woman. They lived at the Turtle village on Eel River, sixteen miles northwest of Fort Wayne. He showed remarkable power and skill chief of his tribe. He proved the wisdom of the choice by his wonderful prowess. He led the savages at Harmar's and St. Clair's defeats; he was at the attack on Fort St. Clair, near Eaton, Ohio, in November, 1792, as also at the action at Fort Recovery, Ohio, in June, 1794. He took part in the fight at Wayne's victory in the fall of 1794, though he protested against attacking Gen. Wayne and advocated peace with the whites.

The Government built him a house.on his reservation at Kel River in consideration of his efforts for peace, and he lived likea white man. In 1802 (or 1803), he appealed to the Legislature of Kentucky to stop the sale of liquors to the Indians, and likewise to that of Ohio, but without success. He said: '"' They [the traders] strip the poor Indian of skins, guns, blankets, everything, while the squaws and children lie shivering and starving in his wigwam,'' - a picture true to the life, and a burning shame to the white race.

He firmly oppose? in his schemes for a general war, and, January 25, 1812, wrote to Gen. Harrison pledging himself to do all in his power to preserve peace. But shortly afterward he died. He had the gout and went to Fort Wayne to obtain medical aid, but without avail, for he died July 14, 1812, at the '"'Old Orchard," in his tent. He was buried with the honors of war, and his Indian ornaments and accouterments, including a sword, given him by Gen. Washington, and a medal having upon it Gen. W.'s likeness, were buried with him.

Some years'afterward Coesse, his nephew, who was himself a chief, came to Fort Wayne and pronounced a most eloquent and pathetic oration over the grave of his uncle, which was listened to with deep interest by many of the citizens of Fort Wayne.

Waubunsee, Pottowatamie, was a cruel and vindictive savage. He often became drunk, and was then more of a devil than a man; yet he was reckoned a brave and daring chief. He was one who added to the awful savagery of the terrible massacre after the surrender at Fort Dearborn by his ferocious brutality.

Francois Godfroy was a Miami chief; he lived on the "Godfroy Reserve'' till about 1839, when he sold out and moved to the mouth of the Mississinewa, where he died about 1840, and where his monument is still to be seen on the nerth side of the river, near the mouth. He had three sons - Francis, Poqua and James.

There were several Indian villages in that region - White Woman's Village, Deaf Man's Village, Blind Man's Village, and Cote Sippon's Village. Meshomingia's Village was farther up the Wabash.

Godfroy was a fine specimen of Indian character, as were also several of the other chiefs of the region - Cornstalk, Richardville, La Fontaine. ete.

Tecumseh, Shawnee chief, was born near the Indian town of Piqua, on Mad River, Ohio, in 1768. His parents moved from Florida about 1750. His father was killed in tive famous battle at Point Pleasant, on the Kanawha in Western Virginia. Tecumseh became leader of the tribe, being declared chief some time before 1795, living then near Deer Creek, Urbana, Ohio. In 1798, the is supposed to have changed his residence to White River, Indiana. Judge Wharry, of Greenville, whose memory extends back to those times, says that Tecumseh and his brother came tc Mud Creek, near Greenville, and took up their residence there not far from 1799. He says that their tribe had driven them away, and that they were still living. near Greenville at the first settlement of Darke County, and that the place where they had their dwelling is still called Tecumseh Point. If this be so, and Judge Wharry would seem to have the means of knowing the facts, the statement explains their whereabouts between 1798 and 1809. His brother, Lau-le-wa-si-kau, announced himself as a

" Prophet" by the name of Pems-quat'a-wah (Open Door.) Tecumseh was five feet ten inches high, stoutly built, and of great endurance, of superior shrewdness and skill, and large intelligence for an Indian. He is stated to have been able to read and write. He is said also to have occupied the first dwelling on the site of Chicago. Tecumseh, in 1809, was at Harrison's treaty at Fort Wayne, and would not sign that treaty, severely denouncing also those who did so. In 1810, he traversed the Southern regions, stirring up the Indians of the wliole eastern Mississippi Valley to vengeance and a war of extermination ; and with much success, though many, especially in the Northwest, refused to join him.

He traveled incessantly, haranguing his dusky countrymen with wonderful eloquence, and amazing power and effect. He opposed land grants by the Indian tribes, declaring that they should give no more foothold to the white intruders. The excitement among the Indians was very great, though Tecumseh failed to carry the whole body of his race to his views and plans. If he had been able to do so, the disastrous results would have indeed been terrible beyond conception. Even as it was, they were fearful enough. Tecumseh was greatly enraged at his brother the Prophet, because he had precipitated the conflict between the Indians and the whites before he (Tecumseh) was ready. The result of the battle at Tippecanoe (Prophet's Town), so disastrous to the Indians, disconcerted their plans, and greatly discouraged the haughty leaders and their wild and savage followers ; but the contest was still kept up for some two years, till the death of Tecumseh at the battle of the Thames, in Canada, in 1818, crushed the hopes of the warriors, and a lasting peace was made.

He marched at length to Tippecanoe, and November 7, 1811, resisting a terrible night attack of seven hundred Indians, routed them in the morning, burned the Prophet's Town, and marched back to Vincennes triumphant.

Tecumseh was in the south at the time, and on his return, finding the Indian power broken, attached himself to the British, betaking himself and the braves who still clung to him to Canada for the purpose.

Tecumseh, though stern and savage, had yet some noble traits. He was less cruel than some of the British officers. Like the Mohawk chief, Thayandanega [Brant], in the Revolution, who was far less cruel than Col. Walter Butler, the Tory partisan, and many times saved prisoners when Butler would have slain them, so Tecumseh, though fierce and furious, yet interfered in behalf of mercy against the relentless Proctor, the British commander.

Tecumseh was active with the English in Canada after he joined them till he was killed at the battle of the Thames, October 5, 1818. His death utterly crushed the hopes of the native confederacy. A large portion of the Indians had held out against all the efforts of Tecumseh and his brother, and now the " hostiles' submitted, and for this region Indian war was forever at an end.

In several battles soon after, in the south, the Indian power in that region also was demolished. At Emuckfau, January 22, 1814, the Creeks were defeated by Gen. Jackson. March 27, 1814, at Tohopeka [Horseshoe Bend], a bend in the Tallapoosa, the Creeks, a thousand strong, besides their women and children, in a strong fortification awaited the final onset of the whites. Gen. Jackson led his men to the attack, storming the breastworks and killing the whole number. The chiefs who were not at the battle submitted, and the power of the nation was at an end.

Maj. Adams, who was in Harmar's defeat, and who was in later years Judge of Darke County Court, had five balls shot into him in that terrible battle, which he carried to the end of his days, as a continual reminder of Indian prowess.

expedition into the wilderness against fierce and unruly savages. He was bed-ridden and helpless with the gout. He could neither mount nor dismount his horse without help, and his second in command, Brig. Gen. Richard Butler, was killed in the fatal battle resulting in St. Clair's defeat.

Harmar's army is said to have been in a wretched condition, lacking supplies and almost in mutiny. St. Clair's men, it is stated, were much in the same condition, the troops worn out with forced marches, and half starved with great lack of rations. Both armies were badly supplied, badly fed, badly led, badly handled ; and bad, shameful, disgraceful defeats were the wretched result. The efforts of the Indian braves at various times since the intrusion of the European invaders to rid the country of their hated presence have indeed been heroic; and, in any other race of men, would have challenged and commanded the admiration of mankind. Opecancanough, Philip of Po-kan-o-ket, Pontiac, Tecumseh, Osceola, Capt. Jack, and others like them, struggled bravely, as much so, perhaps, considering the fearful odds against them, as any people under the sun, but ever in vain. They saw the wave of invasion rolling fiercely and ceaselessly over the land, and put forth herculean and sometimes frantic attempts to check its progress and destroy its power, but their cunning and their fury were alike for naught.

Tecumseh was an orator of wonderful power, and his speech in reply to Gov. Harrison, at Vincennes, was one of the most remarkable ever delivered. The chief was straight, athletic, manly, dignified; and in a most im passioned appeal he described the wrongs of his race by the white man, and declared his unconquerable determination to submit no longer, but to stand to the death, and crush the white man's power or be crushed thereby.

That interview between the two chieftains, Gov. Harrison and Tecumseh, is historic. It was the stern defiance of the red man, and his bitter challenge to a grand, final and exterminating conflict.

Tecumseh was bold, intrepid, arrogant. As the Governor was speaking, 'Tell him he lies," broke from the Indian warrior, which ended the interview. The next day, at the final conference, Tecumseh said, '' The whites must not cross the ' old boundary.' Replied Gen. Harrison, '' The United States will enforce the treaty, by the sword, if need be.'"' '"'So be it,"' was the reply of the warrior, and they parted, to meet in person during life no more.

Tecumseh hasted southward, and, by heroic and almost superhuman exertions, he undertook to arouse the native tribes to relentless hostility. While he was absent, the battle of Tippecanoe had occurred, contrary to his express orders, and frustrating all his plans. Still, however, he kept a bold front, striving constantly to maintain the conflict against the United States. In 1812 or 1813, he joined Gen. Proctor at Malden, and took part in the battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813, in which the famous chieftain was killed. By whom the act was done has been reckoned uncertain. Most have supposed that Col. R. M. Johnson, of Kentucky, was the fortunate personage, but a statement is made in a '" History of Indiana and of Elkhart County," Charles C. Chapman & Co., Chicago, 1881, as follows, page 108:

" Tecumseh was killed at the battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813, by a Mr. Wheatly, as we are positively informed by Mr. A. J. James, now a resident of La Harpe Township, Hancock Co., Ill., whose father-in-law, John Pigman, of Coshocton County, Ohio, was an eye witness.'' Ool. Johnson never positively claimed the honor of having killed Tecumseh, but his simple statement of the circumstances of that battle seemed to render it probable that he had done so, and most people have thought he did.

er of the celebrated Tecumseh ; was a good orator, and ingratiated himself with the tribes by denouncing witchcraft, the use of liquor, mingling with white men in marriage, dress, ete. He pretended to cure all diseases and to make his tribes victorious. He leagued with his brother, Tecumseh, establishing himself at a town near La Fayette.

In the battle of Tippecanoe, he stood on a hill singing a favorite war song, assuring them of an easy victory. Their defeat broke their faith in the Prophet and crushed the confederacy.

At the close of the war he retired to Canada, returning afterward to the Shawnee settlement in Ohio, and still again emigrating westward beyond the Mississippi, where he died in 1834. The British Government allowed him a pension till his death. Judge Wharry (often mentioned in these sketches) says that he, when a lad, saw the '" Prophet," in 1818, at Franklinton, near Columbus, Ohio.

He seems to have been far inferior to his brother, the famous chieftain, in the elements of greatness; and to his incompetence as a leader, Tecumseh always charged the defeat of his plans and the crushing failure of all his schemes for the conquest of the whites ; although it is, of course, true, that no possible combination among the Indians could have achieved success against the superior intelligence and power of the redoubtable white race.

Black Hawk, Sac chief, was a famous. warrior and chieftain (born at the mouth of Rock River, 1767), who led his nation in the struggle of the savages against the whites about 1832. After a few months of conflict he was taken prisoner and carried to Washington and elsewhere, to let him realize by veritable eyesight the actual and wondrous superiority of the whites over his own people. He saw, and was convinced, and submitted to terms of peace and amity.

He died about 1837 or 1838, on the banks of the Des Moines, in Iowa, in what is now the county of Davis, where his remains were deposited above ground in Indian style. [Another account says he was buried in a grave six feet deep.] 'They were stolen and carried away, but were recovered by the Governor of Jowa, and placed in the museum of the historical society at Burlington, Iowa, where they were finally destroyed by fire.

David Connor, Indian trader and chief [white man], came to Greenville in 1811 or 1812, and opened a small store and trading house, from which he dispensed blankets, calico, powder, lead, flints, tobacco, whisky and what not, to the '"'noble red men." He was married, but his wife remained in Greenville, refusing to accompany him in his wild life among the Indians. Although a rough, hard man in many respects, yet he had some good traits. He wielded a great influence over the Indians, which he sometimes employed for good purposes. In about 1824 (so says Judge Wharry, of Greenville, Ohio, who knew Connor all his life) some New York Indians, traveling to Green Bay, were murdered by some white villains in Indiana. Connor succeeded in securing justice and keeping the peace, and the Miamis on that account made him a ''chief" of their tribe, with all due-ceremony. He established himself at Fort Recovery soon after the war of 1812 had closed in the West, probably in 1814. He had used his influence in securing the treaty of peace, and had made some enemies thereby. Several Indians came to his store one day, and told him they had cometo kill him. " All right,' said he "' give me a few minutes to fix things up." They granted his request and sat down. Suddenly he took a keg of powder, poured it on a deer skin, and seizing a fire brand, swore in strong, rough Miami, that he and they "should go to h - Il together.' They '"'got"' in a "heap hurry.'' The Indians never molested him again. One of them told Judge Wharry: '' Connor one devil of a man; he care no more for Indians than he care for himself."

He next built a shanty above Deerfield (1820-21). After a few years he moved down the river to three miles below Wheeling and twenty miles above Marion. Still again he moved three miles below Marion, bought land, built mills, grew rich, and died some years ago.

[Notr. Some will have it that he had a station at Mississinewa crossing, near Allensville, and also one at Ridgeville, but the residents along the river do not understand the matter thus. |

At Greenville, the understanding was that he hada wife and two boys, and that she would not go with him in his wild, roving border life, and he 'took up"' with Polly Voorhees, by whom he raised a large family. He was a very rough, outbreaking man, so passionate that few dared to cross him. R. H. Sumption taught school near him, and six of his children attended the school. He did not call for his pay till the middle of the second term. The bill was large, and Mr. S. feared he might not take the matter kindly. Connor happened to be in good humor and paid the bill without a word. At one of his ' posts," the Indians got "ahead '"' of him. He had ashed at the side of his cabin, and a log out on the side next the store-room, and as he bought bundles of skins, he would toss them through the "crack '' into the shed. By some means the Indians made or found a hole from the outside into the shed, through which they got out parcels of skins. First one would get out a parcel and take it in and sell it to Connor, then another, and so on, till Connor began to wonder where they got so many coon skins. Polly had noticed the said he. '"' Because,'' said she, "' those tarnal Ingins have been stealing your coon skins and selling them to you over and over." What he did then and there is not told, but we may easily guess that there was a ''rumpus,"' or danger of one about that time. [Burgett Pierce and others mention Connor in their recitals. | The '"'Jay County History" says ''thata pioneer family lived for a considerable time in a cabin built at Fort Recovery, Ohio, by David Connor, for a trading house at that point. So that most probably Mr. Connor traded at one period with the Indians near Fort Recovery. Judge Wharry, of Greenville, who knew Connor well, states that he went from Greenville to Fort Recovery in 1814, and stayed and traded at that location for several years.

Death Of Fleming

We subjoin an account of the death of 'Fleming,' an Indian (not indeed a chief), which occurred near Ridgeville, soon after the settlement of that vicinity, given by Joseph Hawkins, Esq., of Jay County, Ind., as told him by parties acquainted with the transaction. Some account of the same tragedy may be found in the reminiscences of Thomas Ward, George Thomas, and perhaps others. One Smith, a mulatto, had a white wife. She told the Indian, Fleming, that if he would kill Smith she would marry him. The Indian shot Smith through the body, but did not kill him. Outof this in some way grew the fact that some half-drunk Indians (Fleming and others) made an attack on Joab Ward. He was at breakfast, and they came in armed with butcher knives. He arose, seized a gun from the hooks, and sprang backward to the outer door, and into the back yard, pointing his loaded gun at one and another of the gang. Elias Kizer managed to get another loaded gun, and joined Ward in the yard. Then Fleming began to run, and Ward told Kizer to shoot him, which he did, the bullet striking his foot, as it was raised in running, passing in at his heel and up his leg to his knee. The other Indians begged so hard that they were let go. Fleming got across the river and lay down in the bushes, remaining there some time. Jesse Gray, the famous 'Indian hunter,'' hearing the fact, came with his brother John (a lad of sixteen), to shoot the Indian. He told his brother to shoot him. The Indian lay on his belly, and as the boy went to shoot, he bent his body upward from the ground; and as the boy shot, he drew himself suddenly down, hugging close to the ground, and the bullet only grazed his

Pe. | game of the "' red skins,'' and at last she said, '' Connor, you fool, how long are you going to buy your own coon skins? "' "* Why?"' back. But he acted as though he had received a fatal shot, and they thought him killed and went off. After the poor fellow had been wounded (in all) three days, Lewallyn, from pity, took him in. Some days after, Jesse Gray and Smith came to Lewallyn's and shot Fleming in the bed as he lay, and killed him. The Indian saw them come, and turned over to the wall and wrapped his head in the blanket, and Smith put his gun against Fleming's back and shot him through the heart as he lay there in bed.

"A white man brought whisky and sold it to the Indians. That white man fell out with my father, Joab Ward, one morning, and told him he should 'smell h - 1' in less than an hour. Within an hour's time three Indians, Fleming, Killbuck and another, came to father's house as they were eating breakfast, armed with big knives and partly drunk. Elias Kizer and Thomas Andrew were there. All three managed to get their guns. Fleming tried hard to kill father; but when the men got the guns, Fleming ran, and the other Indians began to beg. Elias Kizer shot Fleming as he ran, the ball striking his heel when his foot was raised, and running up his leg to his knee. He managed to cross the river, but fell in the weeds on the north bank, and lay there several days. Jesse Gray and his brother came and undertook to kill him as he lay in the weeds, and thought they had done so. They, however, did not injure him. Lewallyn, who lived near, took him in out of pity, but Smith, the mulatto whom Fleming had shot through but had not killed; came with Jesse Gray to Lewallyn's house and shot him dead in his bed, as he lay upon a pallet of deer skins. Before Fleming was killed, he kept on threatening to kill Joab Ward and my father."'

It seems that the Indians were not much offended at the death of Fleming. He was vicious, and they had turned him off, and he skulked around, getting his living from place to place among the whites as he could. They came and buried him, but said, '"" He no good - Fleming bad Indian."'

Jesse Gray, however, was afraid of the vangeance both of the Indians and the whites, and he fled the State, taking up his abode in Ohio, near Hill Grove, Darke County, and resided at that place several years.

Tyre T. Puckett, residing west of Winchester, relates, concerning the poor Indian, that Fleming lay wounded on a deerskin at Lewallyn's cabin. The Indians, though they had banished him from their tribes, nevertheless took pity on him. In particular, '"' Aunt Sally," wife of '"'Uncle Jake,"' and mother of "Indian Jim," came and doctored him, and said he would get well. Gray and Smith came to the cabin. Gray undertook to get Mrs. Lewallyn out of the house; she resisted, and he pulled her out, she crying out meanwhile, "Don't do any murder here."" Almost instantly she heard the shot, and, struggling back, she saw Fleming lay dead upon his pallet.

The grand jury (of which Mr. Puckett's father was a member) indicted Jesse Gray (and probably Smith) for the homicide, and a "true bill" was foundagainst them. They fled the county everybody was glad the " vicious Indian"' was out of the way. Mrs. Lewallyn was the witness, of course, for the State, because she was the one (and the only one, perhaps) who saw the ''deed,"' except indeed Smith and Gray themselves.

Other Chiefs

In the " History of Delaware County," by Kingman Brothers, may be pound sketches of several other chiefs of the Delaware Indians, viz.: Tamanend, Capt. White Eyes, Capt. Pipe, Buckongahelas and Killbuck, Jr., for whose history we have no room. A brief mention must suffice. Tamanend was a mighty chief, brave, illustrious, patriotic and virtuous. The scene of his exploits was on the eastern seaboard, near Philadelphia, and he died about 1685.

Capt. White Eyes [ Ko-gue-tha-gech-ton] was a distinguished Delaware Chieftain, and a firm friend of the Americans. During the Revolution, he steadfastly refused to be drawn into the strug- He died at Philadelphia in 1780, supposed to be 120 years old.

Capt. Pipe [Hop-o-can, tobacco-pipe, and Ko-giesch-qua-nohei, maker of daylight], was a noted war-chief of the Wolf tribe of the Delawares. He was an active partisan of the British, dying about 1818.

Buckongahelas was a more famous chief than Logan. He favored the English, but after Wayne's defeat he disdained their favor, and was firm in his friendship to the Americans. On his death-bed he adjured his people to desert the British, and remain steadfast to the United States. He was brave and truthful. His death occurred in 1804.

Killbuck, Jr. [Gelelemend] was the son of the elder Killbuck ; was firmly attached to the United States, and was specially protected by them in a treaty made with his nation. -He died in 1811, aged about eighty years.

Delawares. - Kithawenund, or Capt. Anderson, Pee-kec-lund, Magh-pi-way, or Red Feather, Pit-che-ke-ka-pou, The Beaver, Hock-ing-pom-skow, Lah-pah-ni-hi, or Big Bear, James Nanticope, Ne-te-ho-pun-a, Capt. Tu-nis, Capt. Ketch-um, The Cat, Ben Beaver, The War Mallet, Capt. Cagh-Koo, The Buck, Petche-nau-a-las, John Quake, Que-nagh-to-oth-mait, Little Jack.

"Uncle Jake" resided at the Indian town near Muncie long after the rest of the natives had emigrated westward, and till his death, as did also his wife ''Sallie,' and his son "Jim." '¢ Aunt Sally " died first; she was buried in the old Indian graveyard near their town, and her husband, ' Uncle Jake," watched over her grave, keeping his lonely vigil for two weary days and nights, and when he died, '' Indian Jim," their son, did the same for him; but when ''Jim," poor fellow, died, he was the last of his race, and none was at hand to perform the solemn, sacred watch over his lonely grave. ''Jake'' was well known to the early settlers, a fine specimen of his nation; 'tall, straight and stout, clever and nice when sober, but vicious when drunk, - " much like white people in that. 'Sally' was very small, but active and sprightly ; she, too, loved the bottle, and, like her. husband, got drunk. "Jim" lived with the white settlers and became civilized, working and earning his livelihood in a friendly, peaceable manner. It is not many years since his death took place. (See History of Delaware County, 1881.) This family seem to have been dwellers in Randolph County in the early time, since Ira Swain, coming to the region When a small lad, used to know them, and used also to play with the Indian boy "Jim." (See Account of Ira Swain.)

Cornstalk, the younger, was a chief in later times after the war of 1812. He was friendly, and a fine, stately, noble Indian. He used to come to Randolph County to hunt, spending more or less time among the settlers. A striking incident is related of Cornstalk and his wife by Squire Bowen, which occurred soon after the settlement of his father, Ephraim Bowen, in the county. We have no detailed statement of the life of this chief at our command.

Pontiac, Ottawa chief, was in 1761, a great friend of the French. He was tall in person and dignified and stately in demeanor, fifty years of age, and civil and military ruler of the Ottawas, Ojibways and Pottawatomies.

brated conspiracy suddenly in 1763. Many tribes were joined in that movement; Chippewas, Ottawas, Wyandots, Miamis, Delawares, Mingoes, etc. Nine British posts fell; Detroit was saved ;

Statement of Mrs. Henry Horn, of Arba, Indiana: 'I trayeled during the summer of 1880 in Northern Michigan. There are Indian Reserves in that region, and I became acquainted, among other persons, with an educated and talented Indian dj of the Ottawa tribe. long and difficult Indian name, Oqabegijiqokwe). She was educated when young, by the Catholics, they intending her for a missionary; she now liyes near Petoskey, Northern Michigan; is seventy-two years old, and supports herself, in Indian fashion, by making various curious and useful articles for sale, baskets, moccasins, pin cushions, slippers, etc., of most exquisite workmanship and surpassing artistic skill. One of her brothers (Maccoteybinassee, Black Bird) went to Rome for education as a Catholic priest. An Indian comrade was the companion of his journey and was to remain with him while at Rome; but alas! erelong her poor, lonely brother sickened and died in that faroff foreign land, alone, except that one faithful comrade and friend. She commemorated her brother's death by composing a poem in English, of rare beauty and exquisite pathos, a copy of which is here given:

Death Of William Maccoteybinassee

The morning breaks! See how the glorious sun, Slow wheeling from the East, new luster sheds O'er the soft climes of Italy. The flower That kept its perfume through the dewy night Now breathes it forth again.

Hill, vale and grove, Clad in rich verdure bloom, and from the rock The joyful waters leap! O meet it is That thou, Imperial Rome, shouldst lift thy head Decked with thy triple crown, where cloudless skies, And lands rejoicing in the summer sun Rich blessings yield.

But there is grief to-day! A voice is heard within thy marble walls, A voice lamenting for the youthful dead, For o'er the relics of her forest boy The mother of dead empires weeps, and lo! Clad in white robes, the long procession moves. Youths throng around the bier, and high in front, Star of our hopes, the glorious cross is reared, Triumphant sign! The low, sweet voice of prayer, Flowing spontaneous from the spirit's depths Pours its rich tones, aud now the requiem swells - Now dies upon the ear.

But there is one Who stands beside my brother's grave, and though no tear Dims his dark eye, yet doth his spirit weep. With throbbing heart he gazes on the spot, Where his young comrade shall forever rest; For they, together, left their forest home, Led by the man who to their fathers preached Glad tidings of great joy. My brother dear Who sleeps beneath the sod his labors blessed. How must his spirit mourn, the bosom heave Of the lone Indian boy! No tongue can speak The accents of his tribes, and as he bends In melancholy mood above the dead. Imagination clothes his tearful thoughts In rude and plaintive cadences of woe!

The dewy night shall weep; And he, the lonely youth, my cousin sad, O, he shall come to shade with moss the grave; To plant above his head the mystic cross; To hope, to pray, to mourn in silent grief! No marble here shall grand and stately rise,

The woman who wrote the foregoing lines is now living at Little Traverse City, in Northern Michigan, with a remnant of the Ottawa tribe, to which she belongs. Mrs. Horn visited her at her own home, had with the Indian lady a most interesting and instructive interview, and brought away several beautiful and curious ornaments wrought by the skillful hand of the worthy poetess. Some of the articles were a basket, a paper-receiver and lamp mat, all made of birch bark, wrought with porcupine quills; a pin-cushion made of velvet, ornamented with beads in a unique manner, and other things besides. Mrs. H. had also a mat purchased of Petoskey's son, who is a merchant in the village of the same name. All the specimens are wonderfully rich and nice.

Chief Petoskey lives there still among his tribe, near the town. He is ninety-eight years old, but strong and hearty, standing straight, tall and vigorous, like' a tree in their forests. He was at the door chopping wood when they called for a friendly visit; he led them into his dwelling, and entertained his guests like a prince, as he is. He is an Ottawa chief, living with his tribe upon their reservation. :

Mr. Henry W. Horn has a photo of the old chief, which he says is a most striking likeness. The picture looks like that of a white man of striking appearance; yet Petoskey is a full-blood Ottawa Indian. They brought also the photo of Minonquet, an aged Indian woman (108 years), living at the old Mission Farm, some miles from Petoskey. She is bowed with years, but vigorous still, remarkably so considering her wonderful age.

At Petoskey, in the suburbs of the town, is a natural park of two acres, covered with a young growth of sugar trees, inclosed with a plain fence. Through the park runs a narrow path between the trees, and at the head of the path stands a post with a board put up, and on the board this inscription:

Marquette Avenue

Original Trail between Grand Traverse Bay and Mackinac. Traveled for hundreds of years by the Indians. and more than two hundred years ago by Father Marquette, the famous missionary and explorer.

Indian Troubles

As aspecimen of treatment of Indians by white men, and as the '' spark which set the magazine on fire'' in this region at the beginning of the war of 1811-13, we give the following from the history of Darke County:

'"* A squaw, with her husband and son, was coming to Greenville to purchase supplies at David Connor's. They camped over night by Irvin's Spring, a mile out of Greenville. A white man, who had traveled with them, went on into town and told that at the time. He went out and killed the Indian and his wife, and wounded the boy. The lad fled like the wind, and, in an incredibly short space of time, Fort Meigs, 100 miles distant, was besieged by 2,000 savages bent on revenge for wrongs that were past, and for the utter extermination of the cruel white men."

David Connor came to Greenville in 1811, or early in 1812, and with him came a man by the name of David Thomson, who had been a soldier with "' Mad Anthony" in the Indian wars of twenty years before, being with Gen. Wayne at Rouge de Bout and elsewhere.

Shortridge was killed and scalped by the Indians near where Cambridge City now stands. Shortridge had on clothes belonging to an 'Indian hater,"' and the Indians thought he was the other man.

Charles Morgan and his two brothers were killed by the savages at a sugar camp in the northern part of Wayne County, where they were boiling sugar water. Morgan resisted powerfully, but was overcome' and tomahawked. One boy was killed by the tomahawk and the other was shot as he started to run. All three were scalped. This took place before 1811. Morgan was a leader in the band that tried to murder Johnny Green, an Indian warrior residing in the region, and many thought at the time that Morgan's death was uccomplished by Green in revenge for his bitterness against the Indians.

A settlement was formed in 1809, five or six miles from any other white residents, on about a square mile of land. Jeremiah Payne and Mr. Coffman, two of the settlers, were hunting on the afternoon of September 8, 1812, two miles north of the Pigeon Roost settlement, and they were surprised and killed by a party of Indians. The savages then attacked the settlement (about sunset), and in one hour had killed one man, five women and sixteen children, also burning the cabins with some of the dead bodies of the victims. Those slain were as follows :

Henry Collins and wife, Mrs. Jeremiah Payne and eight children, Mrs. Richard Collins and seven children, Mrs. John Morrill and one child and her mother; Mrs. Jane Biggs and three children slipped away, and, before daylight, got to Zebulon Collins's, six miles distant.

William Collins, an old man of sixty years, with Capt. John Norris, defended themselves against the Indians for three-quarters of an hour; and, after dark, escaped with two children, and arrived at Zebulon Collins's the next morning. The militia gathered and went to the settlement, and found the smoking ruins with some of the charred bodies of their slaughtered friends.

Burning At The Stake

In the Indian village of Old Town, five miles above Muncie, many victims were tortured to death by a slow fire. They were tied to a stake, which was of oak, and ten or twelve feet high. A ring of ashes was round the stake, and the dancing in a circle by the Indians had tramped the ground as hard asa brick. The stake remained for many years to be seen and shuddered at by the passing traveler.

Mr. Thomas S. Neely, of Muncie, Ind., and a pioneer of that region (in history of Delaware County also elsewhere quoted from), says: 'On the farm of Samuel Cecil, in Section 25, Center Township, in 1839, was a piece of ground near the then Richmond State road, now the Burlington Pike, on which tradidition says one Col. Winchester was burned by the Indians. The stake was visible when I came, and was charred. Around it for about fifty feet the ground was level and smooth, and the spot was round like a circus ring, only not thrown up on the circle. This tradition had gained considerable credence at the time, and all believed it to be true."

Who this Col. Winchester was, when the act was done, or why in particular they subjected this prisoner to that fate we have no information. This method of putting to death was but common among the Indians, and many wretched captives both of Indians and whites perished in7that way.

Indians always traveled in single file. Hundreds of them in a company would move in this way, and the line would extend perhaps for miles. They would approach a house by stealth. The first one would know, adozen Indians, all armed and painted, would be standing at the door, with guns, tomahawks and scalping knives, looking frightful enough.

Mr. W. C: Smith says: "Killbuck, a noted Indian, came to father's cabin when the family were all abed and demanded admittance. Father gave no answer. He struck the door several sharp blows with his tomahawk, declaring he would split the door down if it were not opened. Father said to him, 'I'll put a rifle ball through you if you don't clear out.' Killbuck said he was cold and hungry, and wished to warm himself and get something to eat.

'"* Father being afraid he was drunk, would not let him in, but told him 'go up to ' Sal's"" wigwam (a squaw who had lived not far off), and come back in the morning.' He went and came back in the morning, saying, 'white man heap brave, he no coward.' "

Another incident. Some Indians came to a cabin to purchase provisions. The man was absent. The woman went to the smoke-house to get them some bacon. One squaw seized a large piece and went to carry it off. The white woman wrenched it from her, striking the squaw to make her let go of the flitch of bacon.

The other Indians were greatly pleased at her boldness, patting her on the shoulder, saying, '' white squaw heap much brave, heap much fight."

The white traders used to practice all sorts of tricks upon the natives. One trader told the Indians that the needle-maker was dead, and that after hissupply on hand was gone, there would be no more. He sold his needles for a coon-skin apiece, worth fifty to seventy-five cents.

He was shot by young Lewallyn as related in Burgett Pierce's reminiscences. The Indians were greatly excited by his murder, and were with difficulty pacified by promises of a fair trial, and assurances that the guilty one should be punished. Mr. Lewallyn the elder, is related to have walked all the way to Muncie to tell the Indians that his son should be given up for the proper course of justice. But he was tried and acquitted, and the Indians were more dissatisfied than before. It is said that '* Christmas's '' horse ran all night saddled and bridled, reaching the home of his owner at Muncietown early next morning. The body of the Indian was buried on the bluff just west of the crossing below Deerfield, between the road and the river, perhaps 100 yards west of the crossing. Skeletons were so much in demand in early times that a certain physician is stated to have dug up his bones for an "' anatomy."

Armfield Thornburg, of Windsor, says that the three Indians who killed Morgan and the two lads were 'trailed,' and were killed on the banks of Stony Creek, three miles south of Windsor, just in Delaware County.

"Jay County History' mentions the killing of Christmas thus: '' One day one of the men shot an Indian whom he caught stealing cabbage from his garden. 'This aroused the anger of the Indians, and the settlement were very much alarmed lest they should all be murdered. They made a fort of Lewallyn's house,

Burgett Pierce says of this same Indian that they came in a large company to bury their murdered comrade, and that they performed over his remains a most affecting ceremony, one aged chief making a feeling oration, the tears streaming down his cheeks as he did so.

Our understanding is that Burgett Pierce himself witnessed the burial rites, and beheld the tears coursing down the cheeks of the dusky orator, while he stood recounting in mournful eloquence the virtues of their deceased comrade.

Special Accounts Of Indians, Etc

"Johnny Green," spoken of by Jere Smith; '"' Charles Morgan,'' by Jesse Parker; '' Fleming," by Hawkins, Ward, Thomas, ete.; '' Cornstalk'"' (elder), J. Hawkins; '' Cornstalk'' (later), Squire Bowen; " Killbuck,'' by Burgett Pierce.

Indian "'traile'' were from Muncie to Greenville, passing south of Winchester and. of Mount Zion Methodist Episcopal Church on White River, and also not far from Spartansburg. From Muncie to Fort Wayne; from Godfroy's to Fort Wayne ; from Muncie to Godfroy's; along the Mississinewa River ; along the White River, etc.

A prominent Indian trader and fur dealer was Edward Edger, of Deerfield, Randolph County, who is living ina cheerful old age at Winchester, Ind.

Forts were built by setting upright split timbers, eighteen or twenty feet high, fast in the ground and close together, with large gates, strong, thick and heavy, made of hewn timber from three to six inches thick. In each fort was at least one block-house, two stories high, with the upper story pi 'ecting two or three feet over beyond the lower, and having port holes to shoot down from. The Indians could make no headway against a blockhouse, except, indeed, by setting it on fire. At the beginning of the war of 1812, a fort was built at the cabin of George Smith, near Richmond.

One day when the men were out at work, the dogs barked and the women thought the Indians had come. They formed a troop, made one of their number captain and marched out, leaving one to care for the children, and to open the gate for their return. Each woman took her husband's gun as bold as a warrior. 'The alarm proved false, the dogs were barking at some stray ponies ; but the women had proved their bravery, and came back almost sorry that they had found no Indians.

Indian Wars, Treaties, Etc

In 1747-48, a deep conspiracy was laid, under Nicholas, a famous Huron (Wyanidot) chief, for the destruction of Detroit and other posts, and to crush the French. 'The attempt failed, and Chief Nicholas abandoned his home near Sandusky. having burned his villages and his fort. and 'sought a resting-place farther west. On the 8th of April, 1748, he departed for White River, indiana. Ile is thought to have died in the White River Valley, near the Wabash, in 1748, aged fifty-eight years.

Fort George, near the head-waters of the Savannah, and Fort Loudoun, near the sources of the 'I'ennessee, we' built bv English, for defense against the Indians in that quorter

Pontiac, a famous Ottawa chief, in 1763, formed a >. ~>>fu! confederacy, consisting of the Ottawas, the Chippewas, the tawatomies, the Sacs and Foxes, the Menomonees, the Miamis, the Wyandots. the Shawnees, and still other tribes, which were crushed in 1763-64.

Bryant says: '' Pontiac was chief of the Ottawas, whom he is said to have led at Braddock's defeat. * * * His mother was an Ojibway. * * * He was now fifty years of age, unusually dark in complexion, of medium height, of powerful frame ordinary capacity. He possessed all of the few good qualities of his race, and most of their bad ones. He incited a rising of the Indian tribes from the Lakes to the Lower Mississippi."

Pontiac submitted at length, attended the grand Indian Council held at Oswego, 1766, made his great '"' peace speech," and returned laden with presents to his Westera home, living on the Miami like an ordinary hunter.

At the battle of the Kanawha, in 1774, the Indians were led by Cornstalk, a Shawnee chief; Red Hawk, a Delaware chief; and Logan, the celebrated Cayuga or Mingo chief and orator.

The battle resulting in ''Wayne's Victory' was fought in November, 1794. The number of Indians engaged in that fight has been thus stated: Delawares, 450; Wyandots, 275 ; Shawnees, 275; Miamis, 175; Ottawas, 225; and of the Senecas, Pottawatomies and Chippewas from 200 to 300. There were also perhaps 100 Canadians.

The battle was fought against the advice of Little Turtle, who told his people that they would better make peace, for, said he, 'The Americans are led by a General who never sleeps.'' Blue Jacket overruled Little Turtle in the Council, and the battle was fought and lost. Little Turtle and Blue Jacket both were ready for peace after this defeat, and they continued faithful to the treaty, resisting the whole force of T'ecumseh's power and eloquence, and holding many of their people from joining in his scheme of extermination against the whites.

The famous Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet, who jointly incited the tribes, from the Lakes to the Gulf, to relentless hostility, were Shawnees. Tecumseh was born on Mad River, Ohio, 1768. The Prophet fixed his headquarters at the mouth of Tippecanoe, on the Wabash, and for several years (1811-13) a terrible Indian war was waged, which was ended by the battle of the Thames, in 1813. 'Tecumseh was killed in that battle, and the hope of the savage confederacy was crushed.

In May, 1812, a great Indian Council was held on Mississinewa River, at which the Wyandots, Chippewas, Ottawas, Pottawatomies, Delawares, Hel Rivers, Weas, Miamis, Piankeshaws, Winnebagoes, Shawnees and Kickapoo3 were present. The council seemed for peace, but Tecumseh was furious for war, and many joined him.

Fort Wayne was besieged by Tecumseh in the summer of 1812, but he failed. The massacre at Fort Dearborn took place August 15, 1812. Mackinaw was surrendered to the British July 17, 1812. Detroit was given up to the British in 1812.

The treaty of Fort Harmar (Marietta) was made January 9, 1789, and agreed to by the Wyandots, Delawares, Ottawas, Chippewas, Pottawatomies and Iroquois (under Governor St. Clair).

Wayne's Treaty, made at Greenville in 1795, was signed by the Chippewas, Ottawas, Pottawatomies, Wyandots, Delawares, Shawnees, Miamis, Eel River Indians, Weas, Kickapoos and Kaskaskias.

Gen. Harrison's treaty at Fort Wayne, in 1809, was entered into by the Delaware, Hel River, Pottawatomie and Miami tribes, and was sanctioned by the Weas at Vincennes, October 26, 1809, and by the Kickapoos, about the same time, ceding the 12-mile strip, ete. Gen. Harrison concluded a treaty at Fort Wayne in 1803, with the Delawares, Shawnees, Pottawatomies and Kickapoos, and the Kel Rivers, Weas, Piankeshaws and Kaskaskias.

In 1818, Messrs. Jennings, Cass and Parke, as United States Comn issioners, made a treaty at St. Mary's, Ohio, with the Miamis, who ceded all their land in Indiana, with reservations.

Other treaties besides the ones mentioned above have been entere] into by different tribes, till, at present, but a single band remains (nea Peru, Miami County).

Indian Reserves

Asa specimen of reservations and exceptions, those made by the United States in the Indian country, in the treaty of Greenville, 1795, are here stated, to wit:

A tract of land at Loramie's store, six miles square; Girty's Town, two miles squire; head of Auglaize, six miles square ; Fort Defiance, six miles square ; Fort Wayne, six miles square ; eight miles west of Fort Wayne, two miles square ; Ouatenon, six miles square; Maumee, foot of Rapids - old British fort - twelve miles square; mouth of Maumee, six miles square; Sandusky Lake (old fort), six miles square; Lower Rapids, Sandusky, two miles square; Detroit, irregular tract; Mackinaw, mainland and island and Isle Bois du Blanc; Fort Dearborn, six miles square; mouth of Illinois, twelve miles square; Peoria, fort and village, six miles square; Clark grant, 150,000 acres; Post Vincennes and French lands; Fort Massac and lands adjacent near mouth of the Ohio River.

Ten miles square, opposite the mouth of the River A. Bouette [Aboite]; three sections to Jean B. Richardville ; two sections to the same ; to Joseph Richardville and son Joseph, two sections ; two sections to Francis La Fontaine and his son ; onesection to the son of George Hunt; one section to Little Turtle; one section to Josette Beaubien. ;

In the different treaties made in later times, certain tracts were reserved for Indian occupation by various tribes, as the Pottawatomies, the Wyandots, the Miamis, the Shawnees, etc.

On these '' reserves "' the Indians dwelt for a longer or shorter time. The tribes sold out, however, by and by, one by one, until none are now left in this region, except a single band (Me-shingo-me-sia). The rest of the Miamis ceded their lands about 1840, and left about 1846. Francois Godfroy, a Miami chief, hada "' reserve"' partly in Jay County. He died between 1837 and 1840, at the mouth of Mississinewa.

Meshingomesia Band

When the Miamis made their final cession [1840], the band above named refused to leave, and they were allowed to remain and hold their lands.

The territory was held in common till 1873, in which yeara distribution was made (by United States law) among the members of the band. Each person received an equal amount in value (of unimproved land). The division was made by Commissioners appointed by the United States, of whom one was Jonas Votaw, Esq., of Jay County, who furnished the information here given.

The transaction excited much interest. The commission met on the Indian land, and sat from day to day till the work was completed. The basis of the award was the tribe as it existed in (about) 1840, (including those who had intermarried into the tribe since that time), and the descendants of such. It was for the interest of the tribe to have the number of shares as small as possible, of course, since the fewer the shares, the more each one would get.

The greatest dispute arose as to an Indian named Waukoon. He was a Pottawatomie lad who would not go with his tribe, but hid himself till his people were gone, and then lived with the Miamis, and with this band, and in the family of the chief, Meshingomesia. Upon these facts he claimed membership in the band. He had a wife and seven children, besides which he had cleared out a large farm.

Meshingomesia died a very old man in 1878; Waukoon is living yet (1880). There is still quite a settlement of that band living chiefly as farmers, having churches, schools, etc. The preaching and teaching are done mostly by members of the band.

thirty miles square, between Eel and Salamonie Rivers. That Reserve lay in Howard, Tipton and Grant Counties. The Indians left in (about) 1846, and it was opened to settlers in 1847. Filling rapidly with eager emigrants, it has become a flourishing and populous region. Sixty-six persons were recognized by the Commission as members of that ' Indian band," and the division was made among those sixty-six persons, averaging about eighty acres to each. Waukoon and his family got over 600 acres (with his improvements thrown in).

These shares were to be exempt from taxes for five years, as also to be entirely free from any previous claim on the owners of the land, and moreover incapable of alienation for the same period.

Indian Towns, Etc

Kekionga, at the head of the Maumee, as already stated, was a celebrated Miami town at the time of the first French exploration. Later, there were several more in that vicinity, belonging to different tribes. An article in the Philadelphia Regzster in 1791 states as follows :

'There were at that time [it does not say when, though probably not long before that date] seven towns near the confluence of the three rivers - St. Joseph's, St. Mary's and Maumee: The principal village of the Miamis, called Omie Town, containing also several French traders. It stood on the east bank of the St. Joseph, or on the north side of the Maumee, directly opposite the mouth of the St. Mary's. Another village (Miami) of thirty houses, stood on the opposite bank, across the river from the Omie Town.

The Delawares had three villages, two on the St. Mary's, three miles from its mouth, of forty-five houses. There was one also on the east bank of the St. Joseph's, two or three miles from its mouth, with thirty-six houses.

The Shawanves [Shawnees] had two villages, two miles down the Maumee: one was Chillicothe, on the north bank (fifty-eight houses); another was on the south bank, opposite Chillicothe, having sixteen houses."'

The army demolished all these towns and burned 20,000 bushels of corn, so that it would seem that the troops, though defeated, had destroyed the villages and the property of the Indians.

Ouatenon was a large and important Wea town, eight miles below Lafayette. [Note - A town on White River above Muncie was called Ouat-i-nink. |

. As late as 1820, and also since that time, Indian towns were to be fuund scattered along White River in Delaware County and below. Old Town, Montzee Town, Yorktown, Bucktown, Strawtown, Andersontown, etc., were Indian villages on the banks of White River. No towns are known to have existed in Randolph County. They hunted here, their trails passed thréugh this region, they had wigwams and huts and cabins scattered here and there through the woods, but their villages, so far as are now known, were located elsewhere.

Many, perhaps most, of the towns belonging to the Indians have at one time or another been destroyed by the whites. Whenever, since the first white settlement, hostilities would arise, the villages of the savages would be the first and chief objects of attack.

Gen. Harmar, in 1790, undertook to demolish a Shawnee town near Chillicothe, and also a Pickaway town in the same region, and Kickapoo and Miami towns in Indiana were burned the same year.

carried the same fate to Kickapoo towns on Eel and Wabash Rivers. In the same year, Gen. Harmar, though badly defeated, burned all the towns (seven in number) near the junction of the St. Joseph's and the St. Mary's.

In 1812, the Miami villages on the Mississinewa (near its mouth) were taken and burned by Lieut Campbell. They marched from Dayton December 4, 1812, and came early on the morning of December 17 upon a town of Delawares and Miamis on the Mississinewa. In taking it by surprise, eight warriors were killed, and forty-two persons taken prisoners. The place was burned outright, as were also three other villages, and the soldiers returned, hungry and frost-bitten, to Greenville, Ohio. Their route in returning, and probably in going, passed through Jackson Township, in the northeast part of Randolph County. As they were going to Greenville, they camped on Army Branch, in the west part of that township, near land afterward settled by James Simmons. 'They were detained upon the expedition longer than they had expected, and were, moreover, incumbered with prisoners, and the troops were at the point of starvation. Runners were sent ahead to the settlements near Katon, and provisons were sent forthwith for their instant relief. Joseph Hawkins, now of Collett, Jay Co., Ind., whose father was one of the band of young men who went to the relief of the suffering army, gives the following account :

"* When Lieut. Campbell was coming back with the expedition which had gone against the Indians on the Lower Mississinewa, they had been detained so long and had so many prisoners that they were nearly worn out, and well-nigh starving, their provisions being gone. Runners were sent ahead to inform the settlements, and to ask for instant succor. The people were aroused at once, and young, light-footed men (soldiers at Fort Nesbitt) took biscuits hastily baked by the women, and went forward at full speed to find and feed their starving countrymen. They found the soldiers camped on Army Branch, Jackson Township, Randolph Co. It was an affecting sight, and many cried for joy. The older men went on later with pack-horses laden with provisions. One man sold his load, and when he got back to Fort Nesbitt, the soldiers there ' rode him on a rail.'

Mr. Hawkins further says: '' There was a line of forts along the frontier. Forts Jefferson, Black, Nesbitt, Greenville, Recovery, Auglaize, Defiance, Loramie, Wayne, St. Clair, ete., were erected for the defense of the pioneer settlers."

Indian Burying Grounds

Mr. Neely (of Muncie) says: '' When I came here, an Indian graveyard was in a good state of preservation, located on the north bank of the river, and about three hundred yards west of the Greenville road. A great many graves were visible, and some had been and were then being exhumed by the curious relichunters and others. This was the principal burial-ground of the Delaware Indians at this point."'

Mr. William Jackson (in the same history) says: '"' The old Indian village and graveyard stood on the north bank of White River, a little west of the bridge on the Muncie & Greenville Pike. When I came (1835), many distinct features were still visible. The graves, in many instances, were surrounded with pens of poles piled round them. Many skeletons were exhumed, and several skulls have been preserved which were taken from this burial-ground."'

Retrospect

From the beginning of European occupation the savages were so treated by the whites for the most part as to provoke bitter and relentless hostility. Cruelty was returned for kindness, and treachery for generous confidence. The history of European intercourse with the Aborigines is crowded with ac- counts of uncalled for severity and needless cruelty. It is small wonder, therefore, that the American natives should be hostile. For ages they beheld a strong and cruel race of men invading their country, taking possession of their lands, encroaching upon their hunting-grounds, destroying their dwellings, laying waste their corn- fields, and burning their villages; and with the genuine instinct of universal humanity, they strove to defend agin homes, and to beat back and destroy the fierce invading hordes. It has been indeed a gallant, though a fruitless struggle, which the Indians have waged. It has been weakness against strength, poverty against wealth, bows and arrows and hand-inissiles against firearms, tomahawks against cannon, footmen against horsemen, untutored cunning against cultivated skill, savagery against civilization. They fought with a bravery and resolution worthy of a less hapless destiny, but the struggle has been ever in vain.

Nearly four hundred years have fled since Columbus landed at Guanahani, and what a conflict has the world beheld on these Western shores during the ages that have passed since that momentous era! The struggle 'has been long and fierce and bitter, cruel and remorseless alike on the one side and on the other, but ending ever in defeat, utter and hopeless to the poor, untutored red man.

Destiny

From the moment when the haughty Spaniard under the leadership of the Genoese navigator set foot on the shores of Guanahani up to this very hour, a conflict, stern, bitter, relentless, has been going on. Now activeand wild, now lulled and hushed for a time, now bursting into an awful explosion of massacre and conflagration, followed by fierce retaliation, and blank extermination of the particular tribes then engaged, and now given up as if in utter and hopeless despair; quieted for brief spaces as in case of the Quakers and of the French Catholic missionaries, but breaking forth anew with each succeeding generation. Well nigh 400 years have witnessed this fearful spectacle, and even yet in some remote regions it is taking place.

But through the whole cycle of centuries, the aborigines of the American Continent, whether gentle Mexicans, civilized Peruvians, or more savage North Americans, have been alike, a doomed race. And for most of the descendants of the ancient dwellers - the hapless offspring of the native races on these Western shores - that doom has come to be an accomplished fact !

Yet they were verily worthy of a gentler fate. And had they been met from the outset with the kind and faithful spirit of justice and mercy and truth, the history of the new world need not have been as now it has been, and must be, written in blood!

There were fifty years of peace between the noble old chief, Massasoit, with his braves, and the Massachusetts colonies. The Indians and Quakers, under the mild and just treatment set on foot by William Penn, walked on the broad pathway of love and good will for seventy long and happy years. The French, for the most part, had peace and friendship, because, in the main, their treatment of the savages was fair, kindly and humane.

Mr. White And The Chief

Just after the Revolutionary war had come to an end, a gentleman, Mr. White, the founder of Whitestown, Oneida Co., N. Y., moved with his family into the forest a few miles from where Utica now stands. He built a cabin and moved into it. A Mohawk chief, who during the war had been an ally of the British, lived not far off. Mr. White sent for the chief, and he came. Said Mr. White, '' The war is over, let us be friends.'' The red man scarcely spoke, and was non-committal. But, spying with his eagle eye a boy, the son of a widowed daughter of his host, he said to Mr. White: '' That boy, me take him - three days." The mother sprang to her child, wild with affright ; but her father hushed his daughter, and said calmly, '''Take him." The chief ing into the tree-tops, a whoop was heard, and as they looked, they saw the chief and the child - both dressed in royal style, the boy dancing with glee as he eame - emerge from the shadow of the woods. They entered the cabin, the chicf gave the boy to his mother, and said, '' There, white man trust Indian; now Indian trust white man."' And he did; and ever after there was friendship between the two.

Peace Coming

For ages long, since the coming of the European across the mighty deep with his winged ships and his weapons of fire, war had been between the incoming strangers and the natives of the soil. But for these regions that war was at length well-nigh over. Indian conflict had ceased in these parts before the first dweller had touched the soil of Randolph. fought with these Indians, and final and hopeless defeat had crushed the fierce and bitter spirit of the savage foe.

Tecumseh, perhaps the ablest and the bravest chieftain that ever roused the warriors of his race to conflict, had formed his league and rallied his dusky hosts, and, after weary and bloody years of mortal warfare, had been slain on the banks of the Thames, not one short year before (1813). ful and cruel, but not noble nor brave, had, upon the death of his heroic brother, sunk into his native nothingness; nearly all the other great chiefs had, even before Tccumseh's career, despaired of any hope of success against the omnipotent white men, and were, though sullen and morose, yet disposed for peace. There had been war, and massacre, and battles, and destruction of cornfields, and burning of towns and villages, through the sad, eventful years of 1811, 1812 and 1813. But the Indians were crushed; and they gave up the struggle in hopeless despair. Great numbers indeed had stood aloof, and refused to join Tecumseh's league, convinced that success against the whites would be impossible. Little Turtle, the famous Miami chief, even before Wayne's victory in 1794, advised peace. Said he. '' We @annot succeed; the foe have now a chieftain that never sleeps."' He fought in that battle, but ever after, he was on the side of peace. Yet Tecumseh's influence was great, and he drew away many into the war. But his eloquent voice was hushed in death; his famous league was broken, and the tribes sued for peace.

TECUMSEH'S WAR. The pioneers of Dearborn and Wayne, of Clark and Harrison, and of Knox and Jefferson Counties, on the eastern border of Indiana Territory, and along the valleys of the Ohio and the

1793 and 1811, lived for two eventful years in mortal apprehension. Says one aged lady, a resident of Wayne County in writing some '' Reminiscences" of that fearful time: '' After the battle of Tippecanoe (181i) we lived in constant fear, and passed many sleepless nights. Well do I recoilect how I kept my head raised from my pillow to listen for the Indians to come and take our scalps. They were often seen scouting round, but harmed none that were peaceable; still we feared and trembled."' Another says (after the Pigeon Roost Massacre September 3, 1812, in Scott County, Kentucky, by some Shawnees): 'The way I lived was this: On all occasions I carried my rifle, tomahawk and butcher knife, and a Joaded pistol at my belt. When I went to plow I laid my gun on the ground, and stuck up a stick by it for a mark, that [ might get it quick if I needed it. I had two good dogs; at night (or by day either) I kept one outside to bark and give the alarm, and one inside to bark and waken us (if in the night), to be ready if there was any danger.

were always loaded and ready to my hand. I kept my horses in a stable close to the house with a port hole so made that I could shoot from inside the house to the stable door. During two years I never went from home with any certainty of ever returning, not knowing the day nor the hour nor the minute that I might reccive « fatal bullet from some unknown, hostile hand; but by Divine mercy I was preserved, and am now alive to tell the tale."' And yet, through all this fear and peril, candor compels the statement that, throughout this region at least (to quote from the narrative again), the Indians ''harmed none who were peaceabie." The pioneers in general seem to agree to that fact that the Indians molested only hostile white men.

bitter 'Indian hater."' It seems that Johnny Green, an Indian warrior, but at peace with the whites, was at an Indian town on Blue River, also at peace. He asked leave to go with some whites to the settlements; they let him go with them, and agreed not to harm him; as soon as they had him fairly among them, however, the party bound him, and many of them wished to take his life. He was conveyed to Esquire Hunt's, seven miles south of Centerville, where a vote was taken, and a large majority called for his immediate death. Morgan was present, and was very eager for the death of Green. It came to pass, however, that Thomas McCoy, a stout Irishman, cut the ropes, took him on the horse behind him, and carried him away from danger. Green was fierce and revengeful, and, for this dastardly attempt upon his life by Morgan and others, Green is thought to have killed Morgan.

Shortridge also had on clothes belonging to George Ish, another violent 'Indian hater," and the Indians thought they were killing Ish. Thus stood the times while the fierce Tecumseh and his cruel, but cowardly brother, were gathering their warrior clans, and cheering them to the bitter, deadly conflict.

The End

But in 1813 these scenes were forever ended, and the settlers of Randolph, after their coming hither, saw no Indian war. The men who came and pitched their camps, and reared their cabins, and made their homes within these borders from and after 1814, had the Indians only for quiet, friendly neighbors, who would bring them deer, and turkeys and squirrels, and help at raisings and log-rollings, and whose pappooses would gambol and play with the children .of the white pioneers.

But even this was not to be of long duration. In a few years the red men forsook their huts, and left their wigwams tenantless, and passed on gradually, and ere a long time had the old time-beaten trail from north to south, or east to west, or the opposite. For a few years the humble remnants of these once haughty and powerful forest tribes would pass meekly and peaceably by, bring buckskins, and baskets, and moccasins and paltry trinkets, and timidly ask an exchange for corn, and salt, and meal, and powder and whisky.

And the trader, or mayhaps the settler would take their "truck," and give them in return what they wished, but especially the whisky. And that curse of human kind, that foe of the universal human race, would do its devilish work upon these poor red men, and they would get drunk and fight, and stab and kill, or lie helpless and besotted till the horrid debauch was over, and then - they would "seek it yet again!'' And now this whole drama is past, and it has become to us like the fitful changes of a forgotten dream. Perhaps not one in a hundred of the dwellers of Randolph County ever set eyes upon an Indian. Be it so! Beit so! Two such races as the fierce, ambitious, domineering, insatiable European, and the savage, bold, wily, revengeful Indian could never dwell together in the same land ; and since the European came to stay, there was nothing left for the Indian but to go; and from these regions, for the most part, HE HAS GONE!