Wabash County, Indiana - Chapter 4: The ^nssis>sixewa Expedition, 1914

Important Step in Recaptcrixo Detroit - Harrison's Army of Investment - ^loviNG Against the Miami Villages - Burn Villages in AVabasii County - Battle of the ]\Iississine\va - Captain Pierce Killed - The Killed and Wounded - Hard jMarch Toward GreenviLi,E - What I^ecame of the Indians - ]\Iississine\va Battle Field in 1S:;(; - The \'i>-it of 18(il - Site of the Ixdian ^'lLLAGE - First

The first (-aiii])ai,LCiis in the war of 1812 all et'iitercd in the recaptni'L' of Dfti-oit from the; British, after it had l)ec'U turned over to the (-nniiy with such un-Ameriean celerity hy the pauie-striekeu Hull. It was not oidy the key to the invasion of Canada, hut it was even more important that it should he taken to revive tlu' uational conHdeuee and militai-y spirit. In the invi'stment of Detroit notliino- was more necessary than that the I'car of the Aiiu^rican army should he safe from the attacks o\' those Indian trihes which, throu,u:h the generations, were cvcr^l\ing in wait to push on to disaster tlie weaker of the white factions which hapix'Ued to he at war.

Although the iMiamis professed to he neutral in the War of 1S12, yet fi-om their partici))ation in the attacks upon Fort AVayne and Fort Harrison and other acts of hostility, their fair words were douhted. The natural avenue along which they would i)ass to engage in attacks upon the I'ear of an American force would he that of the Wahash Valley. That must he jji-evented as the first impoi'tant step in the advance upon Detroit.

son iis coimiiaiHU'r-iii-cliicf of the nortliwrstci'ii army, and his k'ttcr of instrurtion contained the followiiifr, wliidi explains the short, sharp, and <leeisive caiiipai^^ii aj^'ainst the Miainis in (Ifant and Wahash counties: ''Jlavint^ provided for the j)i'()tect ion (jf the western fi'ontier, you will I'etake Detroit and, with a view to the; con(iuest of Upper Canada you will penetrate that country as far as the force under your conunand will, in your judgment, justify."

Till' plan foi' the raising of Harrison's arm.\- hail lieeii earefull\' M'(n-ked out. It was to consist of regulai' ti'oops, I'angers, the volunti'cr militia of the states of Jventucky and Ohio, and 3,(H)() fi'om \'irginia and Pennsylvania - a force cstimatt'd at 10,000 men. The Kentucky volunteeis iTSponded so enthusiastically that nniny had to he rejected, and soon after ricneral Harrison assumed connnand ovei- 2,000 moiuited men had assemhled at Vinccinies to he led into the Indian country along the Wahash and Illinois rivers - the "western frontier" of the United States which was to he made safe before the American forces delivered their assault against Detroit. Brietly, the Kentuckiaus were untler command of (ieiiei'al Samuel Hopkins. They rehelled against his authority and were sent home. The gcnei'al then or'ganized another force and desti'oyeil the Ui'ophet's Town, on the Tijiijccaime, the headquartei's of Tecumseh's hrothei', which had Iuh-u al)an(lone<l by the FiKlians. ]5ut it is not this wing of tln' Hari'ison army, which was sweei)ing Indiana of treachei-ous savages, that is of si)ecial interest to the writers or i-eaders of the history of AVabasli County.

Diiriiig the latter part of 1812 Ceneral Harrison was engaged in establishing a depot of sup])lies at the ra])ids of the ^laumee, with a view of moving an important detachment of his army and making a demonstration towai'd Detroit aiul, b\- a sudden passage of the strait ui>on the ice, a.n actual in vesture of .Maiden, Canada. But before cari'>'ing out that plan it became necessary to desti'oy the .Miami settlements on the j\Iississinewa River. This duty was assigneil to a detachment of about six hundred mounted men commanded by Lieutenant .John B. Campbell of the Xineteentli Kegiment. U. S. Infanti-y. The troo])s consisted chietly of a regiment of Kentucky dragoons, comprising Captain Elliott's company of the Nineteenth United States Regiment, Butler's Pittsburgh lilues and Alexander's Peinisylvania Riflemen, with a small company of spies and guides.

The battle tliat msued, just over the line in (ii'ant County, is thus desci-ibcd by the commander: "'Idle attack coiiuiieiiccd upon that aiigle of the camp formed b\- the hd't of Captain Hopkins' troops and the right of Captain (iirrai'd 's, l)Ut in a few seconds became general from the eiitram-e to the right of Ball's scpuulron. The enemy boldly advanced to within a few yards of the lines and seemed determined to rush in. The guaids posted at the different redoubts retreated to camp and dispersed among their several I'ompanies, thus lea\ing me without a disposal)le force.

"(_'ai)tain South of tht' Kentucky Light Dragoons, who connnanded OJie of the redoubts in a handsouu' and military nunnier, l<e])t his position, although abandoned by half his guards, until ordert-d to lill up the space in the n^ai' line between the I'egiuuuit and scpiadron. The redoubt at which Captain Pierce connnanded was lirst attacked. Tlie Captain maintained his position until it was too late to get within tlu- line, lie I'ec ived two balls thi'ough his body and was tomahawked. lie died bravel}" and much lanu'utei,!.

"Tile encm_\- then took ixi.ssession of Captain Pierce's I'cdoubt, and poured a tremcii(h)iis lire upon the angle to the right and left of which -were posted Hopkins' and Girrard's troops. But the lire was warmly

"The enemy's fire hecame warm on the left of the squadron at which Captain Markle's trooj) was posted, and the right of Elliott's company - which, with ^Nlarkle's, formed an angle of the camp - was severely ainioycd l)y the enemy's fire.

"I had assisfed in forming the infantry, composed of J"]lliott's company of the Nineteenth IL S. Regiment, Butler's Pittsburgh lUues and Alexander's iN.-nnsylvania Riflemen, and ordered tliem to advance to the hi'ink of a declivity, from whicli tlu'\' could the more eU'ectually defend themselves and hai'ass the enemy, if they should attempt an attack ui)on that line.

"While [ was thus engaged Major Ball rode up to me and observed that he was hard pressed and must be relieved. I galloped immediately to the left wing with the intention of ordering Captain Trotter's troops to I'ciuforce the sc^uadron, l)Ut was there informed that the enemy was seen approaching in that direction; and believing it improi)er, on second thougiit, to detacli a lai'ge ti-oop from the line whicti also covered an angh' of the camp, I di'termined to give tlu' relief from the infantry. I wheeled my horse and met .Majo)- .McDowell, who observed that the si)ies and guides under comunind of Captain Patterson Bain, consisting of ten men, were unem])loyed. We rode to them together and ordered Captain Bain to the support of the sciuadron. I then ordered Captain JUitler, with the IMttsburgh Blues, to imnu'diately reinforce the squadron, and directed Caj)tains Elliott aiul Alexander to extend to the riglit and left and fill tlie spac" occasioned b\- the withdrawal of the JUues. Captain Butlei', in a most gallant manner and highly woilhy of the name he bears, formetl his men immtMliately and in excelh'Ut order, and marched them to the point to which they were ordered. The alacrity with which they were formed and moved was never exceeded by any troops on earth. Hopkins made room foi' them by extending his troops to the right. 'I'he Blues were scarcely at tiie jmst assigned them wlien I discovered the effects tlu'y pi-odiU'cd. A well-directetl fire from them, and Hopkins' dragoons nearly sih'uced the enemy in that quarter. They (the enemy) then moved in force to the left of the squadron and the I'ight of the infantry, at which point Captains ^larlde's and Elliott's companies were posted. Here, again, they were warmly received.

"At this time daylight began to dawn. I then ordered Captain Trotter, whose troops had l)een ordered by Colonel Simi'all to mount for the i)Ui'pose, to mak(! a charge. The Captain cried out to his men to follow him, and they tilted off at full gallop. Major M(d)owell, with a small l)ai'ty, rushed into the midst of the enemy and exposed himself

"Fearing that Captain Trotter might bo too hard i^ressed. I oi-dered Captain Johnson, of the Kentneky Light Dragoons, to advance with his troops to supi)oi't him. I found Johnson ready, and ("olonel Simrall i-eports to me lliat all his other cai)taiiis - I'dmorc, ^^)ung and Siidth - wei'e an.xidus 1o join the charge; but [ called for only one troop. Tiie ColoiKd had the whole in excellent order. Ca])tain Johnsou did not join Trotter till the enemy were out of reach, lie, however. ])icked up a straggler or two that Ti-otter had passetl over. The cavalry returned an<l iid'ormed nu' that the enemy had tied pi'ecipitalely.

'"1 have, on this occasion, to lament the loss of several brave men, and many wounded. Among the former were Cai)tain I'ierce, of the Ohio \'oluiiteers, and Lieutenant Waltz, of .Markle's troop."

Dillon, in his "Ilistoiw of Indiana," says: -'In this engagement, which lasted about one hour, the loss of the troojjs under conunand of Lieutenant Colon(d (Campbell amounted to eight killed and foi'ty-two wounded, and several afterwards died of their wounds. 'The numljer of horses k'iiled, (K'T),' sa>-s the commanding oftieer, 'was considerable; and 1 have no douitt they saved the lives of a gi'eat many men.' Fifteen Lidians were found dead on the battle ground, and it is probable that an eiiual numbei- were cari'ied away from the field, dead or mortally wounded, b(d'ore the close of the action. The Indian foi-ce engaged in the battle was inf.-rior in nundiers to that engaged under Lieutenant Colonel Campbell, who, in his official rejjort says: '1 am pei'suaded that there coidd not have been h'ss than ;i()U of the enemy.' A nephew of the great -\liami chief. Little Turth\ was in the engagement. Ills name was Little Thunder, and he distinguished himself by his etforts to inspii'c the Indians with coui'age a.nd confidence.

".Xcarly all the Indians who were taken prisonei's at this time wt'i'e .Muncies and were included among those who composed Silver lU'el's band. Tile villages which were di-stroyed were situated on tlie banks of the river at j^oints from tifteen to twenty miles distant from its junction with the AVabash, where the principal Mississincwa village stood.

'The number of men rendered unfit for duty by being frost-bitten on their arrival at Greenville were: In Major Ball's squadron, 107- in Colone Simrall s regiment of dragoons, 138; in the corps of infantrv and ritlemen, 58." ^ j

To continue the story from the Indian standpoint : "But a portion ot the Miamis as a tribe were engaged in the battle, another faction being friendly to the United States. The hostile and defeated members ot the tribe lelt for the nortli and joined their fortunes with Great Britani during the war which ensued. Toward the close of the following year, liouever, they were again permitted to occupv their former hunting grounds upon giving assurance of future good behavior."

No person ever lived in AVabasli County who did more to preserve its early instory than Hon. Elijah Hackleman, a Hoosier by birth and particularly identilied with tlie development of Central Indiana and the valley of the Upper Wabash. Born at Cedar Grove, Franklin County, in the bor.ler-land of Ohio, he was educated in that section ot the state and l)ecame prominent in the public aH'airs of the adjoin mg County of Kusli. while still a young man and previous to settling at \\ abash. There he beca-ne still more prominent as a lawver and a man of affairs which vitally concerned the city, countv and state But before fixing his residence tliere, as early as 183G (then in his nineteenth year), he took a trip tlirougli the Upper Wabash countrv

I'caclK'd tlic site of the battle ali'ciady descrilx'd they made a casual examination of the site, which was then readily pointed out by those who had settled in the' vicinity. At that time the adjacent lands wt.Te almost in a state of nature, with only liefe and there a snudl i)atch of ground clearetl of the tiud)er antl underbrush in the vicinity of the Indian villages. ' - . .r ;

Twi'iity-tive years afterward, when Dillon was preparing a new edition of his well known "History of Indiana," desiring to give a more comi)lcte account of the battle, as well as the location and surroundings of tiie battle-field, he requested Mr. Hackleman, undoubtedly the best jjcrson qualified to assist him historically, to carefully examine tlie grounds, nudcc such measui-ements as were necessary and send him the details. Accordingly on the 16th of Jiuie, ISbl, :\Ir. Hackleman, accomi)anied by Xaaman Fletcher, Alauson P. Feri-y and Oapt. William -Morse, i-evisited the site of the old battle ground and the Indian village destroyed by Captain Campbell.

During the visit careful measurements were made.' of the situation, tlie gi'ounds occui)ied l)y the encami)ment am! the plan of tlie engagement. .Many of the facts i)ertaining to the relative positions of the different conunands under Colonel Campbell were ol)tained from Mesliin-go-me-sia, tlie Indian chief, and William H. Kichards, both of whom fought in the battle.

]\Ir. Hackleman himself gives a moi'e detailed account of his visit:: stai'ted from Wabash on a day's excursion to the Indian Lands, and, on approaching its borders we procured a guide - lohn I\a\', long a resident of the neighborhood.

"Oui- first objective ])oint was the site of the old Indian village at th<' mouth of Josina Creek that had been desi roved l)y Colonel Camplxdl on the ITlh of Decemlx'i', 1S12. The village has never l)een rebuilt, but remains as a commons, or rather a i)aradise for the Indian i)Ouies, on which can be seen large iiunil)ers of tlu-m grazing on the hue blue grass that covei'S fifty or a hundred acres surrounded and interspei'sed with clumps of plum thickets. A sliort distan(;e furthei' up we visited the (jhl Indiana cemetei'\- in which (|uietl\' slee]) many of tlie old Indian warrioi's. In sotiu' places the ])Ui-ials iuuj been so shallow that numbers-, of the Indian bones were pi'otruding from the ground.

"Tlk'nee \w proceeded up the right bank of tlie river a mile or more, when we eame to tlie side of tlie Battle Ground, it is situated on a level plain on the second bottom of the i\Iississinewa Kiver about lUO rods south of Me-shin-go-me-sia's village, the lines of encampment forming a hollow square of about 500 feet to the side fronting to the south, and being witliin a few rods of a steep hill or declivity some forty feet above the first bottom. About one-half of the battle-ground had I)een cleared and inclosed for agricidtural ])urposes by the cluef, and oidy the day Ijcfore had been plowed for the first time by a white man (Samuel Gilpen), who was very much astonisiied at his day's laboi's, having i)lowed up some eiglit or ten dozt-n horse-shoes. Each of our party took a few of these horse-shoes as mementoes of the Ijattlelicld.

"A diagi-am of the ground was nuide at this visi^ to accompan>' a second edition of 'Dillon's History of huliana." then in contemplation of publication. ^Ir. Dillon subsiMiuently died, and his second edition was iie\-er piiblislicd. , ., , ,., ^

'"At a later date, Septeml)er 14, ISS;], I again, in company \vitli ffudge Tlionuis 1>. Helm, of Logansport, ami Capt. l^lias S. Stone, of La l"'ontaine, visited this i)lace, in ordt-i- to make some corrections in the diagraiu. We fo\;nd. the whole battle-tiehl covered with a luxuriant growth of corn, completely oliliterating all traces of the deadly conflict that was once cnaeteil thei'c.

now given, somewhat ini])ei'fcetly, some of my recollections of the three visits to this battletield - the first one fo]-t.\'-seven years ago (written in ISs;^ when the wimle country was a wilderness; the second, twt'nty-t\vo \('ars ago, when the country was partially cleared; and the third, oidy a few days ago, wlu'ii we found the landmarks almost obliterated - I admit that I feel a strong desire to snatch this sacred I)lace from the ruin that seems inevitable, before the mantle of oblivion sliall hide all traces of its existence.

"AVhen T visited this place in ISdl, I had in my possession all the pid)lic docmnents reUiting to this battlefield, and was so fortunate as to arrive at a time \vhen the ground M'as (ir.st being jdowed, revealing the location where the cavalry horst-s suil'ered most. This location is about twenty-five rods iiortli of the hluff and ahoiit hve rods east of the ohi Indian I'oad K-adin<; to tlie -Me shin--n-iiie-sia villa'^v, and will tliend'oi'e locate the noilheru an<^le of the cani]).

"It is said hy the citizens of that vitduity that William H. Ixichards, one of the soldiers of Colonel Campbell 's regiment, who moved to Liberty township aljout the year 1840, but who is now deceased, often pointed out the exact location of the battle gi-ound ; also stating that a large majority id' the horses were killed at the noi'thwcst angle of the camp; in fact, that the dead horses literall\' co\ered that part of the camj), so much, so that the conuuanding officer ordei'ed the dead soldiers to be buried near the southeast corner of the camp, which is probably the best authority we have for suggesting that lo<-ation on our diagram as the ' burial place. '

shouhl be much gratified if I were able to give a biogra])hy of ^Ir. Iiichards, as he was the oidy soldier of Colonel Camiibell's command that lived in the vicinity of the battle ti(dd. He was a Pennsylvainan by liirth and a mend)er of Captain Alexander's company of Peinis\dvania I'iflcmen. !!(' located in this vi(dnity, as bi-fore noted, about the year 1S4(), and spent the I'cmaindei- of his days not many miles distant from this scene of his early military exploits, dying at thti residence of his son-in-law, r^lr. Presler, in Huntington County, about the year ISlid. He was the father of Samuel IJichards, of Liberty township, and of Ceoi'ge Iiichards, of Chester township, AVabash County.

"I am of opiinon that the importanci- of this battle has never been fully ajjpreciati'd by the peojde of this country. Having no enemy in the i-ear, Ciiieral Hai'i'ison was enabled to jjush his camjjaign to a favorablt' conclusion without unnecessary delay. I would suggest, therefoi-i', that it would be an act of patriotism on the part of the people of Wabash and (Jrant counties to take immediately some measures to perpetuate, becomingly, the identity of (Jolomd CampbelLs battle field on the Mississinewa."

AVhile on the visit to the battle field made September 14, 1883. at which were ])rescnt, as stated, Messi's. Elijah Hackleman, Thonuis P>. Helm and Capt. Mlias S. Stone, the fii'st formal measures were taken to preserve the Mississinewa battle lieUl as historic ground, having a I'eal

The object of the meeting being stated to be for the purjiose of snggesting to tlie citi/.eiis of Wabash and Oi-ant connties the j)i-opriety of taking some measures whereliy the identity- of this battle field may not be lost.

"Whereas, so far as the meeting is aih'ised thei'e has heretofore never been any effort made by the citizens of this counnunity, or by the state, to p.-rpetuate the itlentity of Col. John 15. Campbell's battle field, whieh battle was fought on this ground on the liStli of December, 1S12: aiKl

we consider it stM'ond in imi)ortance only to the battle of Tipjiecanoe, the location and idintit_\- of which have long since been presrrved by the action of the Legislature of the State of Indiana; and

"Whei-eas. tlie patriotism of the citizens of Wjdjash and (irant counties, on whose borders the battle was fought, should prompt them to such measui't's as \vill I'escue its location from that obli\ ion that inevitably awaits it : Thei-efore

"Resolved that a conunittee of five ])e api)ointed by this meeting with full jjower to take iido consideration such nu'asiu'cs as may be ]iecessai'y to preserve the identit\- of this battle field, by making the sanie a public i)ark, either by the contribution of the citizens of the two counties, or by the action of the legislatuiH', or by any other legitimate measures; and that said committee keep a i-ecord of its proceedings and ha\'e full power to call a meeting of the citizens of the two counties at any time and ]dace it may think ])i-opei' to take action in tlie nuitter herein set forth."

iiisli the pajHTs of ]\Iai-ioii and Waltasli with its procftnliDgs, with a re- {[lU'st for puMicalioti, and that all other pajxTS |)iiljlisluMl in the two counties be re({uested to copy.

Since 'iSS'.i vaiious efforts have been made, wlneh can hardly be dignified as movements, to erect a memorial on the battlefield in Grant County. Finally, in 1909, these repeated, if fitful attempts, bore substantial fruit. How, is well told in the Lewis Company's "History of (ii-ant Count\-," ])ublisheil in 1914, the extract in i)oint lieing as follows: '"In 1909 there was an innnense concourse of people assembled at Battle Gi-ound l<'ai-iii in Pleasant Township, the jnirpose being to arouse an intei'est in the ])attle and its dii'ect iiitluenci; on tlie great Northwest Territory then open for settlement. W. R. Brock, owner of the farm, did much to proviile for the comfort of the visitors that day and, with wigwams scattered about, it was a realistic picture of 'almost one hundred yeai's ago on this very sjjot.'

memorial jjicnic was held on Sunday, August 29th, that year, and the visitors were from surrounding counfies, as well as from all parts of Grant Count\'. An organization was effected known as the .Mississinewa Battle Ground Association, with .Major G. W. Steele as its ju'csident and Senator J. T. Strange, of Grant County, vice president. I\liami, A\'abash, Huntington, Blackford, Howard and Cass, have similar ]epresentation in the organization. Because it \vas Tei'ritorial Government when the iJattle of the Mississinewa occurred, December 17 and 18, 1812, surrounding counties have ecpial interest in commemorating this im- ])Oi-taiit militar\' engagement, it meant just as much to tlnMU, and it was an enthu.siastic meeting at I)attle Ground h'arm.

Steele, Senator Strange and othei's had outlined the supposed jxjsition of the army under Colonel John ii. Campbell and the Indians whom they defeated, thus opening up the country for settlement, b>- planting small American flags on the hillside, and foi' fhe first time many \isitors familial- with the locality had some definite understanding of the military engagement there. It had been popularly understood that file fight occuri-ed within the timl)er on Battle (iround Farm, and many other citizens who had similar traditions did not wholly agree Avith tlie outline of flags that day. There was an impromptu program from a platform erected in the woods, all the orators saying, 'Almost one hundred years ago,' then deci-ying the neglect - a century almost cycled by, and no monument marking the site of this important ])attle! In 1912 certificates of membership were placed on the market at $1 each, and a fund was started for the purchase of ground. If th(^ purpose of the association is accomplished, there will hv. a Govenunent Reservation in the neighborhood of the battlefield."

Since tlie organization of the last Mississinewa Battle Ground Association snl)stantial progress has Ijcen made in the foruiidation of plans lor a suitable nioiuunent, and in the raising of funds not only for a .site, but for adjacent grounds to be set off as a ( Jovernnient Reservation. .Major Steele, commander of the National IMilitary Home, JMarion, has been succeeded in tlie presidency by Hon. J. Wood Wilson, of Clarion, and E. H. Johnson, Marion, by Hiram Beshore, of IMarion, as secretary. The representatives from Waliasli Coiuity are: Capt. Beiijannn F. Williams, Fred J. Kijig and J)r. T. R. Bradv.

Captain Charley, tiih FAiTiiFn. Miami - The ^Tiamis Completely SriiDrED - Ijig Miami Kesekve (1818; - The Indl\x .Mill on xMill Creek - Wanted: Indian Lands - Pottawatomies Nainie Governor Ray - -'AVAP-sA-Aroii, AVjiisk Whisk" - Native Dances for the Commissioners - 1\E\'. ^McCoy's Mission - Signing oi'^ the Treaty - DoriniTi. Stoi{y of Rich ardniele - Giu:at .March of the P(/rTAwatomifs - Last of Miamis, as a Tribe - The Very Last of the Miasms - ^L;shingomesia's 1)AND - The \'^ii,lage and ('hief, La Oro - La 1<'o.\taine - Thic Naming of Silver Creek - Indian Ponies at a pREMii'M - Treaty and Josina Creeks - Little Titrtle - Pa-lonz-wa

The result of the liattle of tlic Mississinewa was what Ociu'ral Harrison wislird it to 1)0. l^otli the Hritisli and tlieir Tiulian allies were massed before him, rather than dividi'd. i\Iost of llie liostih; .Miamis joined the British at Detroit while a few moved to Ohio with the Delawares and there sought the protection of the United States.

AVlien the P)i'itish 1)ui-ned and e\-aeiiated Deti-oit, at the approach of Ilari-ison in Isi:}, the starving and misei'ahle .Miamis found themselves deserted and ohliged to sue the vietoi'ious Americans for peace. In Oetohei' of that yeai-, an armistice was entered into at Detroit, and in tile following -January both the ^liamis and the Pottawatoniies who had been in arms against tlie Lnited States assend)ied at Foi't Wayne. There were about a thousand of the ^liainis, seven hundred of whom were women and children, and perhaps half as man\' Pottawatoniies. All were in extreme destitution. As a preliminary to more cordial feelings, the Covernment sup])lied the warriors with suflicient ammunition for their hunting parties, witii half rations of meat and flour, while the women

Tlie Second Treaty of Greenville was held in the following July. One of th(! most conspicuous figures in its deliberations was the principal chief of the Kcl River tribes of .Miamis, Captain Charley. From the first he had b(.'en a firm friend and supporter of the American cause and at the (jlreenville assemblage refused to ])ind himself to remain neutral in the war against Great Britain. So, although peace was made with other members of the old Miami confederation upon that basis, he refused to renounce his allegiance to the United States. With a large number of his warriors, Captain Charley set out with General Cass for Detroit in the following August, leaving the women and children at Greenville to be supported at Government expense.

As a tribe, the Miamis never violated the Second Treaty of Greenville. The decisive affair of the Mississinewa, their desertion by the British at Detroit and their subsequent relief by the Americans, coupled perhaps with their weakness as a fighting force, seem to have completely subdued them.

The Eel River formed the natural boundary between the Miamis and Pottawatomies. North of that stream the Pottawatomies held sway as late as 1826 and were, in later years, superior to the Miamis in numbers, and respected accordingly. The Pottawatomies frequently evinced a longing to exterminate the ?^Iiamis, even after the last Greenville treaty, but the interference of the Government prevented open hostilities.

Undoubtedly it was their fear of the Pottawatomies which induced the few remaining chiefs of the INIiamis to request the United States Government to fix the bounds of their lands. A treaty was concluded with the Pottawatomies on the 2nd of October, 1818, and four days later Gov. Jonathan Jennings of Ohio, Gen. Lewis Cass and Judge Benjamin Parke, U. S. Commissioners, met the chiefs and head men of the Miamis at the headwaters of the St. Mary's River in Ohio. There was coiicluiU'd the Ti-caty. of St. Mary's which created the Thirty ]\lile Keserve for the protection of the Miainis. The hauls were located south of tile Wahasli liivcr, the northern houndary or hase being a line drawn between tiie mouths of the Salanioide Jiiver, in Wyljash County, and tlie Eel Kiver, in Cass County - a distance of about thirty miles. This was to deternnne the three other sides of tht; reservation, whicli was therefore nearly nine huiulred miles stiuare. Jt will thus be seen that a con>siderable portion of what is now Wabash County was the northeastern cornel- of the ?kliami Kcserve. Opposite its northeastern point, at the mouth of the Salamonie, \\as the old Indian town of La (iro, called after an Indian chief l)y the name of La Gros, who resided there for many years.

The seeoiid clause of the fifth article of the 1818 treaty reads thus: '"The Cnited States will cause to be built for the Miamis one grist mill and one saw mill, at such sites as the chiefs of the nation nuiy select and will pro\ide ami support one blacksmith and one gunsmith for them, and provide them with sucli implements of agriculture as the proper agent ma\- think necessary."

says llackleman, "that there were as fine mill streams within the limits of this reservation as any in the state of Indiana, yet, strange to say, these Indian chiefs chose a site for the proposed mill on a little wet-weather creek, which now bears the name of Mill Creek, some four miles southwest of the present city of Wal)ash. And the mill was built on this site in the year 1819 or 18'20, under the agency of Benjamin Level. The main building was primitive, being made of hewed logs. Lewis Davis was appointed the fir.st miller and contjnued in that capacity for five or six years."

After the treaty of October 6, 1818, the ]Mamis remained in the uninterruj)ted jiossession of this largi; reservation for a period of twenty years, excepting a small strip of land on the west end which was sold to* the United States Government at the treaty held at the forks of the Wabash October 23, 188-1.

But the first steps had already been taken toward the settlement by whites of the undisputed Indian country, occupied chiefiy by the Miamis and Pottawatomies, which embraced the territory within the present limits of Wabash County. Altliough the mill was primarily established for the benefit of the Indians, it was the first fixed evidence of civilization marking the advance of the white race in the county.

Within a t\'\v years it hecaiiu- cviileiit to the (Joverument tiiat the Mhuni Reservation was too large and select a ti'aet of land to be denied industrions, ambitious, intelligent white men who were i)ressing westward through all the country northwest of the Ohio toward the Alissis- -sipl'i- Tith' also must be ac(|uii-eil to tlie more northei'ii lands of the Pottawatomies.

Prei)aratory to a conference with these tribes, early in the month of Octobi'r, ]b'26, (ien. John Tipton, Indian agent, residi'iit of Kort Wa.Niie, with Joseph Barron, inteipreter on behalf of tlie United States. James II. Kintnei- and others, ma(U' a tour of inspection through the reserve with a view of (K'ciding ujion some suitable place at which to confer with the Indians for the i)urchase of their lands. The residt of this inspection was the selection of the spot near Paratlise Springs, on the banks of tlie Wabash in the eastt-i'n i)art of what is now the city. The prosaic, but ver\- useful sho])s of the l)ig Poui' Railroad, now cover the site of what wei'c so long known as the Treaty Grounds.

(leneral Tiploii appears to have been s|)ecially delegated to select the site and erect the ne('essai'\- building for holding the conference. His linal decision was determined b\' the pi'csence of Paradise Springs, which spouted out of a hillside for sevei'al feet, furnishing an al)undance of l)ure water I'ov all the p()ssible negotiators.

Vov some time, thercfori', the general was busy pi'ejjaring for the accommotlatioii of those who were to ])art icipate in the treaties. A plot of ground was surveyed at the foot of the hill, probably IT)!) feet scpiare, witli a little rivulet from the s])ring running through tlie eastern ])art. Three log cal)ins were built on the noi'th side of the scpuire for tlu' conunissioners - the most easterly one for Governor Ray, the mjddle one for (ieni^ral (,'ass, and that on the west for (leneral Tipton himself. These buildings \\ere probably thirty feet ai)art. One cabin wa.s built on the west line of the square for the accommodation of the soldiers, and three or four on the south line foi- the storage and trading of goods. The (H)ok liouse stood near the I'avine in the nortlieast corner and the council liouse near the middle of the east side of the square. Thus the scenery was set for the treaties of October, 182(i.

and .Miaiiiis, to the iiuiiihcr of several hiuulrcd, wi'i'c encamped on botli .sitles of 111.' Wabasli. The soldiers kei)t guai-d around the scjuat'e at the Treaty (i rounds. A iunul)er of i-onfen-nces were heKl between the comiiiissioners aiul ri'presentatives of the two tribes before tlie final siynlu'j; of U\c treaties - by tile Pottawatoiuies ()ctol)er 16th, and tlie ]\Iiamis, Oetobei- 2:}rd. To shorten a long story of trading, and dickering, and - general scheming for advantages, whicli have always accompanied all '" s\i( h gatherings, the treaty of ]<S2ti opened to white setth^rs the eastern pai-t of Wabasli County south of the Wabash IJivei- and all land lying between the Wabash and Kel rivers. The .Miaiins were still to occupy the terr!tor\' south of tlie Wabash and east of a line drawn south from * thi' mouth of the Salamonie Iiivrf, and the Pottawatoiuies, that north ' of Kel River.

The best and, so far as we know, the only complete account of tlu' iSL'ti treaties, -was \vritten by James ^I. Ray, of Tndianajiolis, more than lifty years after its occurrence. He tells the stoi'y thus gi'aphically : "At the ti'caty held near the town of Wabash, at the site aft<'rward i;allfd the Treaty (i round, with the Pottawatomii- and Miami Indians, in the fall of ISl'ti, (ioveruor Lewis Cass of ^Michigan, (iovcriior damrs P.. Kay of Indiana, and (Jeiieral dohn Tii)ton of Fort Wayne, United '^ States Indian agmit, were tln' Fiiited States Commissioiii'rs. Coloii(d '' .Marshall of Lawrence County, Indiana, had bcmi selected as secretary of the t-ommission. but as his health disalth-d him from attending 1 was apitoinled assistant secretary, and discharucd the duties rd' his position in his stead. William Coiuiei' of Indiana, and his brother, Henry Conner ol' Dcti'oit, and others, were sworn as Ciiited States intei-preters.

"The Pottawatoiuies were present in numbers of several hundred from the nortli i)art of the state toward Lake .Alichigan, >vliile the ^liamis living along and beyond tlu^ AVal)ash under tlieir chief, Richardvilli', Were more limiteil in numliei's, althoiigli mueh more familiar with the j)rogress of the whites than the former tidl)e, who manifested much more of the wild and savage Indian temper. lOarly in the gathering, the ofticers of the commission were invited to meet the chi(d's of the northern tribe at their eam[t for mutu.al introduction. AVIieii seated around the council fire the chiefs iiKpni'cd as to the names of the members of the commission. The recogiii/.ed Indian titles previously given to (iovernor ('ass and General Tipton were kmiwii, and when to their inrpiiry as to tlie name of (lo\-ernoi- Kay of Indiana, they were told it was Kay, thi'>' shook their heads, intiituiting that thev could attach no meaning to it.

William Conner, one of the interpreters, explained that it signified the first dawn of the morning, when the chiefs, conferring, gave him the title of Wau-sa-augh, after which a pipe of peaee wa.s hlled, lighted and pa.s.S(Hl aronnd suce-essivfly for a pulf from each one present.

"Tile session of the treaty (preceding the actual signing of articles) lasted for weeks, during wliieli, on several oerasions a large puhlic council of all the Indians of eaeli trihe were pi-esent, and various tliscussions occurred between some of the chiefs and the c(jmmissioners, thi'ough the interpi'eters, at the coun(-il house which had Iteen ei'ecled for that ])urpose. I observed, however, that Cliief Kichardville, of the .Mianus, was seldom present at the councils, or, if there, made few speeches, the real progress of tlu' ti'caty depending upon pi'ivate conferences between him and the other leading child's and the conunissioners. .Much jealousy existed between the tribes as to the i-idative proportion and value of the lands pro])osed to be pui'chased. and their title thereto by each of them, (ireat fears were ajiprehended of the tlanger of collision between the tribes.

--Liberal rations were supi)lied for the Indians during the period of the ti'eaty, of \vhich whiskex' formed a limite(i portion, until an incident occui-red giving warning of the conse([uences of such indulgence. On one night, not satisfied with their dail\' portion of licjuor, several Indians tore oif the stick chimney of the counnissary cabin and, reaching the whiskey barrels, soon became in their phrase 'heap drunk,' after whieh liquor passed freely through the tribi's, the Indians armed with clubs and tomahawks ranging freely through tlu- eamp, yelling and shouting for liquor, especially pounding on Governor Kay's cabin door crying 'Wau-sa-augh, whisk, whi.sk!' The interpreters and others, well armed, passed quietly through the camp, and no difiiculty occurred.

'"On the next morning after the riot, \vhicli was not calmed until near daylight, the commissioners ordered the remaiinng barrels of whiskey to be rolled on the edge of the hillside, ami the heads were l)roken in with an ax, while the Indians, in their thirst, running ahead and nuddng dams with their hands to hold the liquor, scooped up the sti-eam for a morning dram. They ever afterward kept an eye on the stalwai't Iloosier who wielded the ax so effectively.

<lani:inf,' was prcparctl with soft leavt-s fur tlit- moccasins. It Ix-iiig night, the limbs of the trees around \\ere lightetl witli eandirs furiiishci_l by our eommissioiiei's. In a h'adiug (hincc a i)i-omiiicut bra\c, brightly paintt;d (as most of the tlancei's were), whirled into the lialh, keei)ing time to the music of a rough drum and beating time as he ])asse(l around the circle, instantly followed singing behind him by the l)right girls, making him thus their favorite. A)id soon after, as otiier liraves joined the dance, spaci' was left for their sweethearts that chose them as partiiei-s, to follow them in the dance. Loud shouting and yelling followed in the choice made I)y the girls after their fa\'orite warriors, some of wiiom would have grou})s of followers, while othei-s would be left to dance abnost, if not (ptile alone, Ihus ri'ceiving the mitten with the jcei's of the crowd. With other N'arictics, the dance was continuing in the bt'st of humor and life when we hd't them near midnight.

"On another oc(_-asi<)n leading child's, teri-ifically paintt'd, and braves uniteel in a war-tlaiu'e in an open grouuil near the camp around a central li-ee, varietl b\- a cessation of the dance and music foi' a time, wliih," a brave, yelling and shouting and l)randishing his touuduiwk, would boast of tlie scal[)s lie had taken, closing by throwing his tomahawk, with a \"ell, into the tree, in this he was succeetled singly by ditferent warriors, and it was observed that while roaring applause was given by claj)ping and yells of assent to sonu' of the speakers, others were heard (}uietly and some even jei-red with groans. This occasion was closed with a beggai- dance b\' an Indian, who burst into the circle with a yell, naked as he was born and covcihhI from head to foot with the thickest mud, in \vhich lie had just buried himself in the near AVabash, so that his Very eyelids were clottt'd.

"4^n the cabin )iext to ours, the Rev. Air. AlcCoy had a large num- 1)er of Tiulian scholars from the Baptist mission on the St. Joseph's, manifesting the results of his faithful labor for several years. The contrast between the.se in their fixed attention to their books, while the wild natives of the tribe were yelling, grinning and laughing at them between the cracks of the cabin, but wholly failing to divert them, had tile eU'ect of securing the grant of a good reservation of land in the treaty for the support of the mission.

"The ])atienee of the comndssioners was tlioroughly exhausted when, long after one o'clork of that night, aft.'r all other signing chiefs had departed, a light tap was heard ;d the hack door and Chi.d' Ricliar.lville, of the .Aliamis, sneaked in t(^ add his signature, (iovernor Cass st<'rid\ rehuked him as a pitiable cowai'd unlit to I)e chi(d', failing to advocate the treaty in the council and now creeping in to sign it for fear the reservation secui-ed to him would be left out of the treaty, which the eomiidssionei's felt his duplicity deserved. To tliis he replied oidy that the goN'ernor did not know these people as well as he did."

-Mr. Ray's account of the pr(dindnary stages of the treaty leading up to its actual signature has been accejjted as a valual)U" contribution to the histoi'y of those times, but it is pi'obabh' that his memory failed him in thi- statement of the unworth\- jjai't boi'iie by Child' Richardville in the ch)sing act whieh gave force to the ]\liami agreement. It was certainly not in keeping with the character which he had always borne f(M- biavei'y and sti-aightforward dealings. Neither is the statement boi'iie out I)y the face of the documeid which n'co)-ds the treaty, as JJichardville's name stands well u]) in the list of signatures to it.

The treaty of IS'JG was the lirst nuignet whii-li drew settlers to AVabash County, and the Treaty (irounds became the headquarters for all new comers. Hut it was not until ]S;J8 that the last of the Indian huuls in Wabash County were thrown oj)en to public sale.

old Indian villa^'c at the iiioutli of dosiiia (^'rcck', i'i'(iiicstc(l that a reservation he made to liiiii at that phiec, so that he coiihl spend the reMiiainder of Ids da\s in peace and (pnet. His reqiu-st was aceeth-d to and fourteen sections of land were reserved to hiiii.

In the nifantinie the Pottawatomies had eomnieneed tlieir migration to the lan^ls allotted to theni southwest of the ^Missouri Kiver. Their final treaty \vith the Governnu'iit was eoneluded at Wasliington, February 11, iSoT. ]\y its {provisions they agreed to move to their ri'ser\e " in the far West witldn Iwoyeais thereafter.

Among the tirst to leave were those of the I'jjper \Val)ash Valley. Several small pai'ties started for the West under the guidance of Government agents in tln' summer of l.^oT, but the bulk of them left in the following year, and by the fall of 1S;5S tliei'e were few i'ottawatomies left in Wabash County, or in their oUl encampments along the Eel and Tippecanoe rivers. An eye-witness to their greatest march towartl the setting sun of their i-ace thus descriln-s it: "The regular migration of the Pottawatomies took place under Colonel Abel ('. i'epi)er and General Tipton in the suimner of 1S:!S. Hearing that this large emigration, which consisted of about one thousand of all ages and both sexes, \\-oidd pass within eight oi- ten miles Avest of Lafa\-ette, a few of us proeured horses and rode ovei- to see the rt'tiring l)and as the\- reluctantly wended theii- way towai'd the settini;' sun. It was a sad and mournful spectacle to witness these children (jf thi; foi'est slowly retiring from the home of their childhood. .\s they cast iiU)urnful glanees back toward these loved scenes that wei'e fading in the distance tears fell from the (dieek of the downcast warrior, old men trendjled, nuitroiis wei)t, the swai'tliy maiden's cheek tui'ned pale, and sighs and half-suppressed sobs escajx^d fi'om the motley groups as they i>asse(l along, some on foot, some on horseback, and others in wagons - sad as a funei'al iirocession. I saw several of the aged casting glances toward the sky, as if they wen- imi)]oi-ing aid from the spiidts of their dejiarted heroes who weri' looking down upon them fi'om the (douds. or from the (Ireat Sj)irit who would ultinuitidy redress the wrongs of tlie red man, whose broken bow luid fallen from his hand and whose sad hi-art was bleeding within him.

"Ever and anon one of the party would start out into the ))rush, and break back to the old encampments on lOel Pivei- and the Tippecanoe - <ieclaring that he would i-athcr die than be baidshed from his country. Thus scores of discontented emigrants relurned from dilTei-ent points

It was not until se\'eral years after the Pottawatomies had vacated their lands in the I'ppcr Wahash country that the i\lianiis as a ti'ihe left for theii- homes beyond the Mississi])pi.

Soon after th(' ti'caty of ]S;!H it became evident that they were dis- I)Osed to I'eliniiuish all their lands and mierate to the ^rcat Indian country to the west. Accoi'diii^ly, the (iovei'iniient of the Tnitt-d States, throu^U'h its comiiiissionej-s, held a ti-eaty at the Forks of the Wabash on the 28th of November, ]S4U, by which all that remained of the xAliami Iveserve was thrown open to settlement.

The lirst article of this treat\- I'l-ads: '"The .Miami trilx' of fndians do heivby cede to the riiited States all that tract of land on the south sidi-' of the Wabash IJiver, not heretofore ceded, and comiiionlx' known as the i-csidue of the W]'^ Itcserve, bcin^' all theii' remaining lands in Indiana." At this treaty the time of moving the Miamis to the \\Hvst was extended live years.

Since the ti'eaty of 1S;5,S the old Indian elii(d\ .Metosina, had died and had been sueceeded b>' his sou, Meshiiigoiiicsia. The treaty of IS-IO thertd'orc changed the title to the lauds graided to the father in favor of the son.

In the fall of ISdf) the Miaiins of Wabash County, who had so long lived along the Wabash and .Al ississiuewa. I'ivers. to the number of about live hundred, h I't tlieir ancient hunting <;'roniids and, under the dii-ection of one Ale.xis Coqnillard, the ( Joveiauiioit ageut, nu)ve(l across the praii-ics toward their honu's in Kansas. Thirty-five years afterwai-d a foi'jiier trader at Fort Wayne who had witnessed that exodus (Saninel .McClurc) said: "Of the live hundred Miamis who were sent West in FS4r) not ten are alive, a:id the western Miami ti'ibc residing in Quapaw Indian agency (aftei-ward Xortheast Oklahoimi) undei- the care of Col. D. 1>. Dyer does not lunnber fifty. Taken by foi'ce from their forests and transplanted to the wild ])rairies of the AVest, heart-sick and weary they never became I'econciled to their lot, and many met tleath gladly. A few ]'eturne(l to Indiana, despite tlh^ Oovei-mnent, and these were, in 18r)8, [)ei'mitti'd by act of Congress to I'cmain here."

Even on the country to which they were transplanted, the Miamis hav(! made little impression. Iil the extreme northeast of the present State of Oklahoma is the little Town of Miami, and there is a place of the same name in the northern j)art of New Mexieo ; but one of the most

Houfisliiiiu: count ifs in Okhilioina is Pottawatomie, with Tccumsch as its ra])ital, and tlic Ottawas, Dclawarcs, and otlu'i- trihcs arc also perpetuated in tile ^^Mi^rapliy of the old Indian country of the Southwest, to which the eastern ti-il)es were at lirst transi)ortetl, wliih' the .Miami Nation, at one time one of the most i)Owerful of the Indian confederations, has almost faded from the I'ccords of the white man.

The last of tile ]Miamis and the last of tlu' Indians to or-eupy lands in Wahash County weiv the iiieinhers of the .Meshin--omcsia hand. Mesliin^^omesia, tlieii- last chief, had inherited lands fiom his fathei-, Aletosina, under the treaty of 1S4(). At his own death on the L';5rd of I)ecend)er, ISTi). at till' a<;v of ninety-eicht yeai's, the fourteen .sections of land oi-i!.:inall\- I'eserved lor his father were partitioned between the different memliei's of his band (sixty-four).

b.ut this last chapter in the Indian history cd' Wabash County has been well told by Claude Stitt, of a well known pioneer family, and is I'cproduced with the comment that it is taken fi'om an address delivei-ed by him in F.^bruarN-. 1!I14:

the treaty which }-ou will be most interested in, is tlu; one which I'csulled in the last Indian IJi'Servation in this ])art of the eountiw, and this was the tivatv of .\ovember (i, ls;5S. 4diis marks the last stand of the Indians lieiv, an.l by it the .Aliamis ceeded to the Cnited Slates the i-cmainder of theii- lands, but resei'Ved for the band of .Metosina. a tract of land supposed to contain ten scjuare miles and located in the southern ])ai't of Wabash County, aloni^' the Mississiiiewa Ifivei". In additfoii to the land the Indians wei'e to receive certain sums of money to be uiveii annuall\- to them. This (pnstion of the annuities due the Indians afteiAvard became a much ve.xed question and resulted in several amendments to said treaty, or enactments of Congress, tlie annuities continuing' over a i^'reat many yeai's. the last of which was paid, I believe, about bSflO.

'-In the treaty of ISlJS. the balance of the tribi- were promised lands west of the ?ilississii)pi Rivei-, to I'cmove lo and settle u])on ; said lands to be near those occupied by ti'ibes which luid emigrated from the states of Ohio and Indiana. Six of the chiefs or headm.'U of the tribe were sent West to choose these lands.

"V.Mi will I'enieiidier the re.sei-ve was deeded to .Metosiiui and his hand, there was a great eontroversy over the same owing to the claim of ( 'hai)end(>ccah, wIkj was a hi'othei- of xMeshingomesia, that the land should he divided among the family of .Metosina, and not among his hand. Ilowevei-, thr ilivision was finally made among the memhers of the band of ]\Ietinsina, ami made on the basis of an eciual share to every man, \voman and child, thei-e being si.\t\'-tlnn'e jx'rsons in this county entitled to shares. In tins connection 1 might sa\- that the comnussion, after hearing all the pi'oof offei'ed as to the nund)er of jjcrsons and only a few ndnutes bid'ore they \vei'e ready to sign up their finding and .jiulgment in the matter, were interrujjted by the ari'i\'al of Indians, who in a \r\-y hasty and exeited nuinner notilied them of the bii'th of a son in the fanuls- of Wecacoonah. Tins necessitated the readjustment of the whole (li\isii)n, as it was now necessary to include this new mend)ei' of the band of .M dosina.

"After the allotmeid of these lands the Indians wei'e given ])atents of deeds of conveyanec from the Tinted States, signed by the Pi'esident, with tlu' prox'ision that they could not sidl, lease, incundier or otherwise <lispose of their holdings until January 1st, 1881.

"This niai'ked the last step taken by the Government in its protection of the baml of ^letosina. From this date the Indians began to manage oi- mismanage their own affaii's, and, in the language of a later tinte 'to hit the tohoggon.' Today thei'e I'cmains hut a few of the descend ants of this oiu-r powerful tribe, and the entire ownershij) of land among the i'ollowers of Ab'shingomesia, this morinng, consists of but eight acres, out of the hiMidreds given them so shoi't a lime ago.

"I have talk'ed with many meiid)ei's of the Miami tribe, remcMnbering well the Indians i)ay days, which were always a frolic for the Indian and a eham-e foi- gain to the white man. Xo sooner had the Indians received their money, than the men wt-re on the lookout for fii'ewater, and the women for a chance to bu\' a gaudy i)it'ce of wearing apparel or a glittei'ing trille of some sort.

<>f .Meshine-oiiM-sia, it is said: "He was the last chief of the .Miaiius, , all ti'ihal authority upon his death. Althouj^li lie never masten (1 the Indian lanuua<,^\ he was fre(jUently the amliassador of his trihe .-.1, at Washine-ton and recei\-ed marked attention. His .grandfather was -:''. I'econ^eoh. and was doiditless the person meant in (ieneral Harrison's letter of inst iMictions to ( 'olontd Camplxdl, in which he says that if he "save tlio life of i\M-on and his fannl\-, it woidd be extremely li-ratifyin^- to me and no dotdit to the President.' A medad i^rL'Sented to l*eeone-eoh hy (ieneral W'ashiiiLiton was for a lon,u- time in the jjossrssion of .Aleshin^^omcsia, hut his descrndants have h)st it. Aleshingomesia, the nieanin*;: of which was Fin- Destroyer, was for many years a mendjer of the Uaptist (diurcli, and died in the faith of that body."

Wabash Couid.\- itself retains mnnei'ons evidences of Indian o<'('iipancw An Indian vilhmv at the moiUh of the Salamoine was familiar to the J"h-eticli voya.ueurs and ndssionai'ies. and later to the khiii'lisli traders. It was the villa.ii'e chi(d" La (ii'os, or La Cro. whose Indian name was Meehekeletali, wlio stamped the place with his personality, and hnally hd't his name to a wdnte setth'meiit and the prt'seiit township. J. a <;r() was one of the :\lianu deh'^'-ates to the famous Creenville ti'eaty of ITllo, and so indained the respect and uood will of the (ioN'ernment that at the treaty of ISiHi it was stipulated, amonii- otliei' matters, that a suhstaidial hi'ick house should be built for the old chief. This was aceordinuly done in LS-JS, the brick for the i)uri)0.se havinj^- been burned o.u the ffrouniL Tlu' house was nnplastered and contained two i-ooms and a tiivplace, and hei'e La (ii'o lived comfortably for the few >-ears whii-li reimnned to him, his death oeeurrin*^ about \S'A\ . His remains w»'re buried in a valley to the north of his residence. Soon afterward an Indian trader moved into the house, which he used Ijoth as a store and a I'csidence, and the building stood for many years in a good state of preservation. " " ' "

Tlie Village of La Fontaine, in the southern pai't of Liberty Township, is iiaiued after Fi-aiicis La Fontaine, for several yeai-s before his (.leath principal cldef of the .Mianiis. His Indian name was Topeah, succeeding the famous chief, Jean B. Richeville, and he himself was a lineal descendant of that family, by a French father and a I\liami mother. He was born near Fort Wayne and spent most of his life near that place. When about twt'uty-one years of age he was married to one of the daughters of Chief Riclieville, and at the death of his father-in-law, in 1841, was elected head of the tribe. Subsequently he moved to the Forks of the AVabash, near Huntington, and resided in a frame building which his wife had inherited from her father. He accompanied various members of his tribe to their western reservation in the fall of 1846, and renunned there during the succeeding winter. In the following spring he started homeward. At that time the route of travel Was from tiie Kansas Landing (now Kansas City) down the ^Missouri and j\Iississippi to the mouth of the Ohio, up the Ohio to the mouth of the Wabash and thence to Lafayette, at the head of steamboat navigation. At St. Louis he was taken sick, and his disease had made such progress that he was unable to proceed beyond Lafayette, where he died April 13, 1847, at the age of thirty-seven years. He was buried at Huntington.

From all accounts La Fontaine was a man of striking appearance. He was tall, robust and corpulent in his later years, weighing usually aljout three hundred pounds and generally dressed in the Indian costume. In his younger days he was noted for his great strength and activity, and was accounted the most fleet of foot of any man in his tribe - a trait highly api)reciated by his race. His mental qualities also made him very po})ular with his race, in whose welfare he showed intelligent and deep interest up to the time of his death. Both the early white settlers and the ]\Iiamis of Wabash County were gratified to have his memory preserved as it was.

givL'ii: .Many years ago when Indian payments were common anil the moiiey with whieli the annuities were paid was silver eoin, a party of ol'lirials was on its way to the Payment (irounds at the Forks of the Wal>ash near Huntington. Jn the custody of tliis party were several large boxes tilled with silver eoin. A close guard was kept over the money which was destined for Poor Lo. Ahout noon one day, when the party had halted for I'efreshments, the treasure was left luiguarded for a time - long enough for a hangei'-on to seize one of the bo.Kes, hide it in tlie bed of the creek near hy and cover it with a stone. The ho.x; was immediately missed and Thief Ferguson charged with its misai)propriation. Then rapidly followed denial hy tlie culprit. Credulity on the part of the guardians of the treasui'e, i)roposed drowning of the suspected, and the iinal recovery of the nuslaid silver under the direction of Ferguson. The latter was permitted to escape dire punishment on condition that he promptly vacate the country. Thus the stream became Silver Creek.

Pony Creek is the popular name of a branch of Eel River which empties into the main stream near North Manchester. In the very early pt'i'iod ojt" white settlement the i\Iiamis of the region owned uuiny Indian ponies. In tlie central part of Chester Townshij) was a strip of laiul south of the creek, and extending through three oi- four sections, which was known as the Wind Brake. Some years befoi-e white settlement commenced, a tornado had cleared the forest from this sti-ij), later growths of young timber and luxuriant pasturage making it an itieal grazing ground for the Indian ponies. AVhen turned loose they always headed for the Wind Brake region, where they collected by the hundreds.

As the country was infested with bands of horse thieves, this circumstance could hardly be overlooked ; especially as the stealing of ponies from* the jMiamis was supposed to be atteniled with inuch less danger than the theft of horses from white settlers. Indian ponies in those days weri- worth from fifteen to twenty (h)llars each. Though much too light for farm work, they wen^ very tough and hardy, and from the scai'city of better animals were often utilized by the whites.

Taking advantage of these vorious circumstances, a band of horse thieves constructed a pound, with a converging lane leading to it, which was so placed as to intercept the trail taken by the ponies on their way to the Wind Brake. Entering the lane, it was an easy matter for them to find their way into tlu; enclosure through tlie narrow opening, but once inside they could not easily escape. As \hcy were corraled, the thieves ran them oil' to the creek half a mile north. Tlu-y then drove the

Stealing horses, liowe\-er, while it ma\- lia\-e been profitable under such cii'ciunstances, was attended by its risks and dangei's even when the veiitin'cs were with the subdued red men. The .Miamis leai'iied to keep a closer watch o\-er theii- ponies and, though it is doubted by some whether the\- ever discovered the exact nature of the plan by wliicli their proj)erty was "run off," the gang on .several occasions was idosely pursued and nai'rowly escaiu-d. ()ne of them. Wicks by nanu-, had lived among the Indians a lai'ge i);irt of his life, and having ailopted their dress and habits was hardly distinguishal)le fi'om one of the tribe. About 1>!4() he mysteriously (li.sai)pi'are(l, and it has always been supposed that the Indians wei'e his judges and executioners.

The Indians and ponies, togetlier with the men who stole theni. have long since pas.sed away, but Pony Creek reuuiins on the map of Wabash Connty.

Treaty Creek, which flows into the Wabash opposite th(> city, takes its name fi'om tlie fact that the ti'eaty of lS2(i was held at a point on the nortli side of the ri\-er dii-ecily oppositi' tlu> sti'cam in (piestion. Some of the Indian reservi-s were on its l)aid<s, es])eeially Maisshilgnuuuizairs and Allolahs.

Josina Creek, which flows thi'ough the southeast corner of Liberty Township into (irant Comity, is luimed from the Indian Chief ]\Ietocenyali, or .Metoceiia, fathei- of .Meshingomesia, the samewhat famous Miann chief and leader of the band who remained upon their reservatio)i in Waliasli and (Ji-ant counties when the body of the ti'ibe left for the Indian Territory in IS-b'). The name Josina is a corruption of ]\Ietocenyah.

AVe cannot close this cliaptei' on the Indians of the Wabash cotnitry without taking a more foi'uial fai-ewell of the last two great war chiefs of the !Mianiis, wlio, though not directly id<'ntilied with the history of Wabash County, impressed themselves on the entire country of the rpi>er

Waliasli - oiir of lliciii. at least, l)ciii^' a ^n-cat man of liis day, wlictlicr white or red. We refer, of course, to Little Turtle. Fi-aneis Oodfro}^ or (iodfrey, of a later i)eriod, had a fame more eireumserihed, hut none the less enviahle. Of these i-emarkahle men William Henry Smith thus speaks in his "Ili.story of Indiana :" "The ]Miainis i)rodueed one of the most remarkable chiefs and wai-riors known to Amei'iean aboriginal history, if not the most remarkable. ^le-clie-can-nocli-(|ua, or Ijiltle Tui'th', was a wai'rioi' who c-ould well take rank' with the nr,.;itest of civilized nations. He was a man of extraordinary eouratre, sagacity ami talents, and a phxsical frame which ecpialed his courage. There was a great digint\- in his bearing, which impressed whites and Indians alike. lie I'eached the head of his nation at an early a-v, and from that time until his death exercised an inliueiice o\-er his tribe nevei' ecpialed by an\' other of its gi'cat chiefs. lie it was who met and (hd'eated the fort-es of (^ieneral Ilai'iiuir. Ilis two liattles with that conunander tlisplayed bis powei's as a gi'iiei'al. He commanded the allied forces of Indians who aduduistei-ed to St. Clair such a terrible puiushment, thereby setting the continent in a blaze. He also fought (ieiieral Anthony Wayne, and came near defeating that great soldier.

"After the treaty at (ireenville, Little Turtle visited Philadelphia, where he met and ^\-as entertained by \"olney and Kosciusko. While there his ])orti'ait was painted by one of the most distinguished ai'tists of the time. He was also presoited with a sword by President Washington. He made two other visits to tbe Ha.st, one in 1801 and the last in IMIT. He was ever^'where received with the greatest consideration. He had warred against the Americans, but when peace was made he accepted it as final, and ever aftei'ward I'emained a steadfast friend of the whites. He opjjosed the attempt of Teeuniseh to form a confedei-acy against the Americans. He died in 1812, and was buried with gr^-at honors at Fort AVaynt^"

The last gi'cat war chief was Pa-lonz-wa, or Francis (lodfre.y, as he was better known among the whites. Pa-lonz-wa was a man of daring conrage, of magniticent physique and immense size. He was the son of a Frenchman, and next to Little Turtle was the most noted chief the Miamis ever had. Through neai'ly all the time of his chieftainship he was a firm friend of tin; whites. As early as 1822 he employed some workmen from Fort Wayne to Inuld for him, on the banks of the W^ibash, a large house aftei- the maniu'r and styh' of the white man of wealth. In this house he dispen.sed the most generous hospitality, ami

Indian ami wliit.- iiuin alike wcr'c wclf-oiiu' to liis l^oard. When liis tribe made the tinal treaty witli tlie < iovefiimeiit and ceded jxjssession of tluir lands in Indiana, four sections on the Mississinewa were reserved for Pa-lonz-\va. On this reservation he erected a trading ])ost and hccaiiie, for tliose (hiys, a noted merchant. liecldess and careless of money and having more land than he knew what to do with, he scattei'ed his favors, with a prodigal hantl. It is told of him that heing at Lafa\'ette on one occasion when a steamer arrived at tiiat j)oint from the Ohio liiver, he otFered the cai)tain a half section of land if he would convey him and his party to their homes, some three miles above where Peru now stands. The offer was accepted and the trip up the Wabash was made, but on the return to Lafayette the steamer was lost. Padonz-wa made the d(^ed to the pronnsed half section.

lie died in 1840 and was buried on a high knoll which overlooks the Wabash (near Peru). On his grave a marble shaft has been erected bearing on one side his white name, and date of his liirth and death. On the other is the following tribute to liis memory: "Late principal chief of the ]Miaud Nation of Indians. Distinguished for courage, liunuiinty, benevolem-e and honor, he lived in his native forests an illustration of the nobleness of Ins race, enjoying tlu; confidence of his tribe and beloved by his American neighbors. He died, as he lived, 'without fear or reproach.' Some of Godfrey's descendants yet live on the ]Mississinewa.

Gabriel Godfrey, son of Francis Godfrey, was born in Blackford County, Indiana, January 1, 1834. He died at his home near the mouth of the INli.ssi.ssinewa River in ISIiann County, August 14, 1910, and is buried in the Indian Cemetery near his home. He was generally chosen to act as interpreter in all Government dealings, as well as in imi)ortant cases connected with bis tribe of Indians.