Vigo County, Indiana - Chapter 7: The March of Empire, 1891

Virginia Extended Its Dominion Over the Northwest and Estab¬ lished Civil Government - Cession by the States and the Ordi¬ nance of 1787 - Rapid Settlement of the Miami - Indiana Terri¬ tory Formed - Harrison Appointed Governor - His Treaties and Wars - Fort Harrison - Battle of Tippecanoe - Captain John Tipton - Tecumseh Attacks Fort Harrison - Zachary Taylor, etc.

AS related in a preceding chapter, this part of the world became a part of the territory of Virginia, and was made Illinois county in 1778, and a civil government under the direction of the military, was authorized by the general assembly of Virginia, yet, owing to the invasion and capture by the British General Hamilton, of Vin¬ cennes, the new government was not in fact, until 1779, after Gen. Clarke had recaptured Vincennes and made prisoners of war of the garrison. In the spring of 1779, Virginia extended its authority over its northwest possessions, and appointed Col. Tod governor of Illi¬ nois county, with headquarters at Kaskaskia. This was a good appointment, and the new governor at once proceeded to organize the needful government machinery.

While this was the end of the dispute as to the soil of this part of the world, it was by no means the permanent settlement of the land question in the form that we now know it, and, although the Indi¬ ans had by treaty several times ceded the country to the whites, yet stubborn claimants from time to time appeared. These troubles, however, will be mentioned in their proper order of time.

Soon after the Revolution the northwest territory became a source of trouble to the general Government. Besides the claims of Virginia, which had been apparently so well established during the war, the States of New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut asserted title to portions of it by virtue of their respective ancient charters. As already mentioned, these defined the north and south lines of the grant, but as no one then knew what lay west, they simply took as their boundaries in this direction the boy's idea " of all out doors," and as Virginia's claim ran both west and northwest, it was liable to cross on to the claims of its sister States to the north. Congress, on September 6, 1780, requested the several States " having claims to waste and unappropriated lands in the western country to cede a portion thereof to the United States." January 2, 1781, Virginia released her claim to the northwest territory, reserving 150,000 acres near the falls of the Ohio, which was promised by her to Gen. Clarke and the officers and soldiers of his command who marched with him; and also reserving to the French and Canadians of Kaskaskia, Vincennes and neighboring villages their titles to the lands claimed by them. But these just and rea¬ sonable conditions caused delay in accepting the cession. They made other or additional legislation necessary, and for this reason the final act of Virginia making the cession was not completed until March 1, 1784. New York following the first movement of Vir¬ ginia, ceded her claim March 1, 1781; Massachusetts April 18, 1785, and Connecticut made her final cession September 14, 1786.

The ordinance of 1787 contains this provision: "That there shall be formed in said territory no less than three nor more than four States; the western State to be bounded by the Mississippi, the Ohio and the Wabash rivers; a direct line drawn from the Wabash and Post St. Vincent due north to the territorial line between the United States and Canada, and [west] by said terri¬ torial line to the Lake of the Woods and Mississippi. The middle State shall be bounded by the said direct line, the Wabash from Post St. Vincent to the Ohio; by the Ohio and by a direct line due north from the mouth of the Great Miama to said territorial line. The eastern State shall be bounded by the last mentioned direct line, the Ohio, Pennsylvania. and the said territorial line. * *

The boundaries of these three States shall be subject to alteration if Congress shall find it expedient," with " authority to form one or two States in that part of the territory lying north of an east and west line drawn through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan." The wording of the proviso led to considerable con¬ tention as to the true meaning thereof, in adjusting the boundaries of the two additional States. This again was the result of the want of that geographical knowledge of the country necessary to a more accurate describing of metes and bounds.

This was the first act of congress, placing the country without white inhabitants, but simply reckoned by the square mile as un¬ occupied territory belonging to the United States, in the start toward a completed territorial and State formation in the common sisterhood. They had learned enough in their military movements over the northwest to know that some time here would be a popula¬ tion demanding all the civil requirements of the original States. But they must have had a most imperfect idea of when this neces¬ sity would come about. And to those men permitted to live a few years and see the movement of population they no doubt saw crowded into decades what they had supposed would require cent¬ uries to accomplish.

But when peace with all its blessings came to the colonies, so rapidly did emigration pour into the Great Miami that in the early part of the year 1800 the population was already sufficient to en¬ title the territory to be advanced to the second grade of govern¬ ment. Accordingly, May 7, of that year, congress passed an act for a division of the territory to take effect July 4, following.

By this act all that part of the northwest territory lying " to the westward of a line beginning at the Ohio, opposite the mouth of Kentucky river, and running thence to Fort Recovery, and thence north until it shall intersect the territorial line between the United States and Canada, shall, for the purposes of temporary government, constitute a separate territory to be called the Indiana territory."

Gen. William H. Harrison was appointed governor. He reached Vincennes early in the year 1801. The secretary having reached that place the July previous acted as governor until his arrival.

The first important work for Gov. Harrison lay in the direction of dealing with the Indians in order to maintain peace and settle questions that might arise as to the extinguishment of claims they might make to any of the lands in the territory. He at once entered into negotiations with them. The Indian character, like that of any barbarous people, was much like that of young chil¬ dren, that are apt to consider trades or treaties but temporary af¬ fairs to be annulled or changed at convenience. The French, Eng¬ lish and Americans each in turn had treaties conferring all these lands, but there were still important questions to settle.

By the close of 1805 Gov. Harrison had extinguished the In¬ dian title to more than 46,000 square miles of territory. But still the Miamis and their allies held on to their claims to the Wabash valley. They wanted the fish in the streams and the abundant game everywhere. This fed their families, and all were warm and happy in the winters in the deep woods of the valleys and they vowed they would not part with the good country.

Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet, headed a great con¬ spiracy, based upon their title to these lands, and determined to drive out the whites north of the Ohio from its source to its mouth. The Shawnees were the principal tribe in this movement, but this chief and his brother traveled among all the tribes and enlisted in the cause all who were opposed to giving up the territory.

During the summer of 1809, Tecumseh and forty of his war¬ riors went to Vincennes and protested against the cession of the land. The following September, however, Gov. Harrison met some of the chiefs at Fort Wayne, and on the 30th concluded a treaty for all the land south of a line which should run from the corner of the old reservation on White river " from the ten o'clock sun to the south of Pishewaw (Raccoon) creek," etc. This was called the " Ten O'clock Line," that the Indians might understand its course, as it started in a southeast direction from the mouth of Raccoon creek, now in Parke county. It passed diagonally through the southwest part of Parke, the northeast of Clay, Owen and Monroe counties, the southwest of Brown county and struck the north branch of White river in Jackson county. The next month, Octo¬ ber, the Weas, the heads of the original village of Terre Haute, went to Vincennes and confirmed this cession; soon after, the Kickapoos gave their consent. These were surely the last tribes having any shadow of claim to the disputed territory.

But all this only made Tecumseh more vehement and bitter in his opposition, and he openly declared that the line should not be run. His opposition delayed the settlement of this part of Indiana. In July, 1810, he sent a marauding expedition to the south, to steal horses and do other acts to provoke a war with the whites, but the Weas of Terre Haute sent word to Vincennes of the expedition, and it was thwarted. The next month, August, Tecumseh met Har¬ rison at Vincennes and again angrily declared he would not allow the surveyors to run the line, nor any settlement to be made by the whites near it. He concluded his grandiloquent and warlike speech with the fine sarcasm that "the white man had land enough, for he had sent spies as far as the Ohio and the whites did not tend half the land they had."

However, in the face of these threats and boasts, the governor sent John McDonald, in October, 1810, who ran the northern line of the new purchase from a point on White river nearly east of Vin¬ cennes to the mouth of Big Raccoon; thence to the State line. This line struck the Wabash near the center of now Parke county, and in law all south of this was open to settlement. Thus for some years Vigo and the lower part of Parke county were open to settlers be¬ fore the land north of it and in the reservation.

The report of this line survey was filed in Vincennes November 14, 1810, and in it McDonald makes no mention of any trouble in the work from Indians, but the Weas - the Terre Hauters - were very friendly. March 17, 1811, Gov. Harrison contracted with A. J. Holmes to lay out the purchase for settlement, but here the work stopped, as Tecumseh' s scouts were traversing the country as far down as White river, and the survey was postponed.

It soon became evident that the conduct of the Weas and Piankeshaws was to be doubted, and that they were probably taking sides with Tecumseh. In the meantime Tecumseh's force had grown very large, and Gov. Harrison, after exhausting every means possi- ble to pacify or satisfy these people, determined upon breaking up that chiefs organization effectually and compelling a settlement of all disputed questions. With an army, therefore, of 900 effective men, he marched up the Wabash, on the east side thereof, and sent his supplies by boats up the river. He moved out from Vincennes September 26, 1811, and reached the Wea village of We-au-ta-no, " The Risen Sun," " The Old Orchard " or Terre Haute, as at times it had been known by all these names, October 3.

Here the governor halted, according to instructions, and built Fort Harrison, while awaiting the return of the messengers he had sent to Tecum seh at Prophetstown. These messengers were to de¬ mand of that chief that he surrender the murderers and stolen horses, and require that the Shawn ees, Winnebagoes, Pottawatomies and Kickapoos collected there should disperse and return to their own tribes. He also sent forward men under Ensign John Tipton to explore the routes through now Parke and Vermillion counties. Tipton scouted along the bottom and terrace, " second bottom," on the east side of the Wabash to near Waterman, and then dropped down the river, crossed and examined the other side and selected a point for the army to cross.

Ensign John Tipton deserves more than a passing notice in the history of Vigo county. He was Gen. Harrison's right-hand man. On his clear eye and quick good sense to observe, the commander safely relied in matters of vast importance. He was a fine proto¬ type of those men who gave the world those people who formed and fashioned the western character. He was self-made, and better still, self-reliant. His nature was strong and robust. As a parlor man or a dancing-master his failure would have been signal and com¬ plete, but among and of strong men he was a man, with all the term implies, and was as resolute as he was unlettered or deficient in spelling. He was the scout and chronicler of Harrison's army. As little as he knew about the art of writing, his reports to his com¬ mander contained exactly what that man wanted, and he could readily understand it. As a specimen of what he did in the line of writing and spelling, and the observations he made on this then new country, a few extracts are given literally:

"friday 4th a fine day I went to hunt came to camp at three found thirty men commanded by Lieut mcmahon was to guard a boat going to the Vermillian river for coal I went with them went five miles Part Prarie & Part Timbered crosst a fine creek came to another & campt.

" Saturday 5th we moovd early through good land. Crosst a fine larg creek went through a fine prairie found a Bee tree and stopped to Dine and cut it this morning one of our mess took a swoling in his face and went Back. All the forepart of this day we had a ridg on our right and good land good springs on the left in the Evening we marched hard crosst four creeks Broken land high timber and came up with our spies as a larg creek I found land that is the best I have seen in this Day we crosst the Purchace Line (Big Raccoon creek) we traveled 30 miles N. N. West.

" Sunday 6th we mooved early one mile came to the river at the Coal bank (Thomas') Found it was Below the Vermillian half a mile we took coffee mooved after the bote started down, the coal Bank is on the east side of Wabash, we went through a small Prai¬ rie crosst the river to the west side went in on the head of a barr and came out on the lower end of another on the west side went through a small Prairie then came to a big Prairie where the oald Vermillian town was. we crosst the wabash half a mile above the mouth of vermillian river Before we came to the above town crosst vermillian river took a south course throug timber then throng a Prairie with a good spring and an oald Indian liutt then throug a beautiful timbered ground to a small creek and stopt to let our horses graze then went through good land with a ridg on our right out of which came four sprigs and for two miles nothing but large sugar and walnut.

" The hill and the river came close together we found a good coal Bank 14 mile below Vermillian we then crosst to the east side went three mile and campt with the Boat after coming 20 m and finding 2 Bee trees left them.

"Monday the 7th we mooved early three miles and crosst Rac¬ coon Creek in the Purchace line thence fifteen mile to the garrison " [that is back to Fort. Harrison.]

October 30 the General mustered his forces, told them that they were going out to fight Indians and marched out of Fort Harrison. He had learned of the country through Tipton and the messengers he had sent to Prophetstown ; had completed the fort and drilled and organized his army. The march at first was straight north and went into camp at night at one of the springs mentioned by Tipton, having marched seventeen miles the first day. The next day as per Tipton's journal : "We mooved early too of the oxen missing three of our men sent to hunt them we crosst Racoon creek saw our men went to guard the Boats on the 29th came to the river where we camped on our return from Vermillian we halted till the army came up then Rode to the river which was verry deep then campt our Boat Guard and the army took a north cours up the East side of the Wabash and Crosst to the west with orders to Kill all the Indians we saw fine news. The Governor's wagon Being left this morning in Consiquins of the oxen being last came up now and all the armey crosst in 3 hours. We Dr awed Corn."

Big Vermilion, and hastily erected a block-house partly jutting over the river twenty-five feet square. It was on the edge of a small prairie. This was garrisoned with a sergeant and eight men, and they had charge of the boats. On the 3d the army left the block-house, crossed the Vermilion and entered the prairies, the route passing just east of the State line.

On the morning of the 5th the army encamped within nine miles of the Prophet's town. The night of the 6th was spent a short distance south of it, but the governor determined not to hurry in the attack until he had the enemy's exact position.

However, early on the morning of October 7, 1811, the Indians under Tecumseh and the Prophet stealthily came out and surprised and attacked Harrison's army. A bloody battle was fought the most of the day, in which, inch by inch, the ground was stubbornly contested by both sides. The Indians rushed to the attack with reckless daring. They had been told by the Prophet that the white man's bullets could not hurt them. But they were repulsed with heavy losses and retreated to a swamp where the army could not follow.

This was a historical day for the northwest and especially Indi¬ ana. It was the practical final solution of the question as to whether the white man or the Indian was to be master in the new country - whether civilization should advance or stop on the line of the Ohio and Wabash, and what is now the great garden and gran¬ ary of the world should yield its rich stores to mankind or remain a savage wilderness. It gave the watchword to the nation in the general election of 1840 of "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" - the log cabins and the coons and the hard cider that made the old hero, Harrison, President. The people of the country could understand these political battle cries, because they understood the incalculable service Harrison had rendered the world.

Capt. Spier Spencer and Lieut. McMahan of the same company of the above mentioned Ensign Tipton's company, were killed, and immediately after the battle, by unanimous vote of the company, the gallant Ensign was made captain, Prophet's town was destroyed, and Gen. Harrison then returned with his army to the fort. This ended the famous campaign of 1811.

It opened this portion of Indiana to the eager coming settlers when was at once begun that stream of white faces that has never stopped. Harrison left his army at their winter quarters in the fort, but Tecumseh had his roving bands at times marauding through the country, and during the winter and following spring settlers were shot sometimes within sight of the fort.

couraged by the British in every possible way in hostilities against the whites. Between Fort Harrison and Vincennes there were but few white men. The Indians formed a new confederacy, and before Harrison could prepare and go out and attack them they swooped down, and September 4, 1812, made a desperate attack on Fort Har¬ rison. The fort was now under the command of Capt. Zachary Taylor, that grim old soldier, who knew all about fighting and noth¬ ing about surrendering. The enemy attacked with desperate valor. They fired the fort, and hand to hand the fight raged. The Indians were beaten off, the fort saved, and the dispirited assailants re¬ turned to the north, on their way committing the awful atrocities on the Pidgeon Boost settlement. Soon after, the great chief, Tecumseh, was killed at the battle of the Thames, and then the Indi¬ ans at once repaired to Vincennes and made peace with Gov. Har¬ rison.

In October, 1812, Gen. Samuel Hopkins passed up the Wabash with his army, but his men became insubordinate and the expedi¬ tion failed. In 1813 he raised another force and followed Gov. Harrison's route. He laid out a new road through the northern part of Vigo and through Parke county. In this last mentioned expedition was Col. Zach Taylor.

These final tragedies in the ending of the Indian wars in this portion of the country resulted in spreading through the older set¬ tlements a true knowledge of the great natural beauties and incom¬ parable wealth of this part of the world; it opened the country to the pioneers to come and possess forever; it resulted in the death of the great conspirator against the whites - Tecumseli ; it was the means resulting in making the wilderness the seat of unequaled empire; it gave our country two Whig Presidents and one Vice- President. Taylor followed Harrison here and co-operated with him, and then followed him into the presidential office, and by a singulai coincidence both of these men died soon after they were inaugurated and were serving in the most exalted office in the world.