Randolph County, Indiana - Biographical sketches (1 of 2 so headed), 1914

Biographical sketches

Mr. Hawkins says: (Joseph Hawkins, of Jay county, Indiana) "I was well acquainted with Johnny Green, the old Indian warrior mentioned by J ere Smith.

"The Indian chiefs were Cornstalk, Blue Jacket, Split Log and Capt. Johnny, Shawnees or Delawares; Richardville and the two Godfreys, 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

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 clashed 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 over night 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 Mississinewa, 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 Richardville the war chief of the Miamis. Godfroy was an honest, upright, reliable man, esteemed by the whites and beloved by the Indians.

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. He submitted in good faith to the whites, joined in the treaty and observed it faithfully, and lived c[uietly 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.

Fox Heads, Tadpoles, Fishes, Etc

UPPER PART: EFFIGY ARTEFACTS REPRESENTIN(; BUFFALO SKULLS, WOLF AND FOX HEADS, TADPOLES, FISHES, ETC. LOWER PART: JASPER IMPLEMENTS WITH BEVELED BASE. ABOUT ONEHALF NATURAL SIZE.

One-Half Natural Size

Cornstalk, the younger, v^ras 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.

"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.

[Note. - 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 Iowa 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 mav 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 Fort Wayne in 1810. In 1832 he married Catharine ( Po-con-go-qua ) , daughter of C'hief 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; v>'as taken ill on the journey and died at Lafayette, April 13, 1847, aged thirtyseven 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 specinien of manly dignity.

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 was present at Harmar's defeat in 1790; signed the treaty of Greenville in 1795, of Fort Wayne and of V"incennes in 1809, and of St. Mary's in 1818.

In 1827 he built a fine dwelling on his reservation, five miles from Fort Wayne. He was an extensive trader, having an establishment in Fort Wayne, but moving, in 1836, to the 'forks of the Wabash, he died a-t 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, i 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.

"He was one of General Hull's guides to Detroit in 1812. Afterward he conducted twenty-five women and children from Fort 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 Fort 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 Captain Logan and some friendly and faithful Shawnees, undertook the perilous task. They passed the besiegers and reached the fort in safety, and Captain Logan, with Captain 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 the 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, Indiana.

" '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 Captain Johnny and Bright Horn down the Maumee to reconnoiter. Suddenly they were surprised and captured by a company under Winamac, a Potawatarnie chief, and Elliot, 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 was also wounded. Captain Johnny mounted the two wounded . men, each upon one of the enemy's horses, and started them toward the camp, vifhich they reached about midnight. He stayed long enough to secure Winamac's scalp, and came in on foot, reaching camp by daylight. Captain Logan lingered two days in intense suffering, and died. He was buried with the honors of war, but his death cast a gloom over the entire army, and especially caused great grief to him, whose bitter words had impelled Captain Logan to the act by which he met his untimely death at the early age of thirty-four.' "

Interesting reminiscences were given concerning some of the early traders and Indians. The Indian causing the most trouble in this county lived in the Mississinewa country, and was known as Fleming. Fleming created a 'great deal of disturbance and caused the white people a great deal of uneasiness, and it must have been rejoicing when they learned of his death the hand of Jesse Gray, an early settler of that region. Of this event, we take the following from an interview given by Joseph Hawkins, Esq,, of Jay county, and Thomas Ward, of Randolph county : : :

[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, Esc]., of Jay county, Indiana, as toM him by parties acquainted with the transaction. Some account of the same tragedy may be found inthe 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. Out of 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 loade,d 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 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 pityj took him in. Some days, after, Jesse Gray and Smith came to Lewallyn's and shot Flemmg in the bed as he lay, and killed him. The Indian saw them come, and turned oyer to the wall and- wrapped his head in the blanket, and Sniifh put his gun against Fleming's back and shot him through the heacVas he lay there in bed."

-:.- i '[^ote! - Joab AV-ard told- Hawkins "as -to tTie -attack-, arid"- Simi«6ns, an employe of- David Connor, -told him- as to what .Gray- and Smith

"A -whi-te man brought, whisky and sold it to the Indians.. .That white man fell out with my father, Joab Ward, one ifnorning, 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 a.-; they were eating Jareakfast, armed with big knives and partly drunk. Elias. Kizer. and .Thomas Andrews were there. All three, managed to get their guns. iFleming: 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. Xewallyn, 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-vvas vicious, and the}'^ had turned him off, and he skulked around, 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 vengeance 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 deer-skin 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 rnother 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 but 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 found against them. They fled the county and the state, and no special pains were taken to find them, since 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. *

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 accomplished by Green in revenge for his bitterness against the Indians.

Armfield Thornburg, a pioneer of Stoney Creek township, is said to have said that the three Indians who killed Morgan and the two lads were "trailed and were killed on the banks of Stoney creek, three miles south of Windsor, just in Delaware county."

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 trampled the ground as hard as a brick. The stake remained for many years to be seen and shuddered at by the passing traveler.

Mr. Thomas S. Neely, of Muncie, Indiana, 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 tradition says one Colonel 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 Colonel 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 in that way.

Among the early Indian traders of this county were : David Connor, aong the Mississinewa ; Joseph Gess, on the Muncie-Greenville trail, south of Winchester, and Edward Edger, of Deerfield. Of these men, Connor was the best known trader of that time. Of him. Tucker says :

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 dispersed 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 himsef at Fort Recovery soon after the war of 1812 had closed in the West, probably in 18 14. 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 come to 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 - 11 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.

[Note. - 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.]

and that she wbulcl not go with him in his wild, roving border Hfe,' and he "took up" with Polly Voorhees, by whom he raised a large family. . lie was 'a very rough, outbreaking man,>_ so passionate that few dared to cross him. R. H. Surription taught school near him, and six of his. children attended. the school. He -did not call for his iDay. till; the. middle of tjie. second term.^ The bill was large' aad Mr. Sumiition 'feared ti.e might not take the matter kindly. Connor ha:ppened 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 a shed 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 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?" 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 "that a 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.

Connor is said to have been an adept in deceiving the Indians and at the same time commanding their confidence and respect. At one time he went among them with a supply of needles, and gave out the information that the needle makers had all died and that he had the only known supply and emphasized that as soon as this supply was gone, no more needles were to be had. He succeeded in disi>osing of his stock, exchanging one needle for each coon skin, worth, perhaps, from 50 to 75 cents. He is said to have taken tin cups, ^melted' the bottoms out a;nd handles off, and.'traded the rims to the Indians, convincing them that they were silver bands. He also did a thriving business with them in whisky until as one Indian said: "We no

Grooved Axes And Indian Natural Size

COLLECTION OF BLACK CEREMONIAL STONES, TYPES OF GROOVED AXES FOUND IN BEVELED AND SERRATED KNIVES, RANDOLPH COUNTY. ONE-SIXTH GROOVED AXES AND INDIAN NATURAL SIZE.

But, the haughty Indian, erect and defiant, lord of all he saw, was soon to give way to the milder Indian, who lived in subjected peace with his white neighbor; glad of the opportunity to trade hijii pelts, meat, or baskets, moccasins and trinkets for corn, salt, meal, powder, arms and last, but not least, fire-water,' the last of which did more to exterminate the red man than all other forces combined. Through its influence he became indeed a "red devil," ready to fight, stab and kill and then become a helpless, besotted, horrible example of its exterminating force. It was impossible for him to live in civilization, and he was swept west of the Mississippi, never again to be a factor in the settlement of the great Middle West.