Clinton Township (part 6 of 18)

Listen I all you nations present I have hitherto addressed you as brothers; I now adopt you all, in the name of the President and Fifteen Great Fires of America, as their children, and you are so accordingly. The medals, which I shall have the honor to deliver you, you will consider as presented by the hands of your father, the Fifteen Fires of America. These you will hand down to your children's children, in commemoration of this day - a day in which the United States of America gives peace to you, and all your nations, and reoeives you and them under the protecting wings of her eagle.

Father 1 I now speak to acquaint you, and all present, that I am perfectly satisfied with all that has been done in this oouncil. Tou have told us to bring in our prisoners without delay. I have not one in my village - I never took any. Tou further told us if any of your people injured us you would punish them, and enjoined on us a similar oonduct as it respected our offenders. '

Father I I have not the same authority over my people that you exercise over yours. They live dispersed, and it is difficult to reach them on all occasions. As you have now become our father, we are no longer objects of pity ; as your children, we shall be happy, while you oontinue to protect us. When the British adopted us as children, they made false promises, and left us to the mercy of the traders who took advantage of and much abused our ignorance and weakness. Too have promised to send traders among us by whom we will not be abused ; and we have promised to protect their lives and property. We are happy, father, and thank you for your kindness to your children. I now ask you to send a trader to my village, which is a day's walk below the Wea towns, on the Wabash. Tou said that you would send one of your officers, to command at those towns. Wo would wish you to send Captain Ouiatanon (Prior), and should any meditated mischief come to my knowledge I will immediately acquaint him of it agreeably to our compact. All you children present have the articles of the treaty fully and indelibly impressed on their hearts, and should bad birds attempt to misconstrue or pervert them, we promise, sincerely, not to listen to their designing, artful songs.

Father! We, the Pottawattamies present, are in three classes: One from the river Huron, one from St. Joseph's, and that to which I belong, from the Wabash ; and as you intend to give the goods designed for us, in bulk, to that nation, I am afraid the division amongst ourselves will be attended with difficulty and discontent. I pray you, father, to make the division among us, and thas preserve proportion and harmony. [A belt.]

My friend, when I first came here, I took you by the hand. Tou welcomed me, and asked me for my great war chiefs. I told you they were killed, and that none remained but me, who have the vanity to think myself a brave man and a great warrior. The Great Spirit has made me. a great chief and endowed me with great powers. The heavens and earth are my heart, the rising sun my mouth, and thus favored, I propagate my own species. [This is the Nestor of the wilderness, possessed of all the garrulity of age.] I know the people who have made and violated former treaties. I am too honorable and too brave a man to be guilty of such conduct. I love and fear the Great Spirit. He now hears what I say. I dare not tell a lie.

Now, my friend, the Great Wind, do not deceive us in the manner that the French, the British, and Spaniards have heretofore done. The English have abused us much ; they have made us promises which they never fulfilled ; they have proved to us how little they have ever had our happiness at heart; and we have severely suffered for placing our dependence on so faithless a people. Be you strong, and preserve your word inviolate; and reward those Frenchmen who have come so great a distance to assist us. My friend, I am old, but I shall never die ; I shall always live in my children, and children's ohildren. [A string.]

Father 1 The good work being now completed, we are left without a subject to employ our conversation. Tou see your children, the Ottawas, Chippeways, and Pottawattamies, around you. Those at home will rejoice, when we inform them, that, for the future, they will enjoy the protection of a new father. Our happiness is great in being permitted to address you by that endearing appellation. Father, since we have been here, some mischief has been done. We are entirely ignorant of the perpetrators. It grieves me much and excites our anger and indignation. Time will discover to you, and to us, those wicked disturbers who richly merit punishment. I have to request you to license a trader to reside with your children at Ei-ka-na-ma-sung, where we shall pass the ensuing winter. I have never been guilty of stealing horses; nor shall I now commence the practice. But as I am an old man I would ask you for one to carry me home.

Father 1 Listen to a few words from the Delawares. This is the speech you gave us when you first came into this oountry ; and when we first met together in oouncil. In this, you told us, we should live in peaoe and friendship with each other and join our hands firmly together. It seems they were badly bound ; for the ties were Boon broken. We know not exactly how, or when, they were destroyed. We will now renew them, in so strong a manner that they will last forever, and bury in oblivion all past misfortunes. Be strong in this good work and it will never fail. This belt was presented to us from brothers ; and our king now shows it to you that you may recognize it.

Father! 1 come from the river Huron, near Detroit. My fathers have long possessed that country. The other Pottawattamies present live on the St. Joseph's, and in that direction. All my old chiefs are dead ; you therefore see young ohiefs only from my towns who are unaccustomed to speak in council. Tou told us you would deliver the presents in bulk to the Pottawattamie nation. In this case 1 am afraid my people will not get a due proportion, and I am too proud to complain to you, should they be unfairly distributed ; therefore, as I live detached from the others and intend to return home with the Chippeways, by the way of Fort Defiance, I beg my father would let me have my proportion separately ; for we have many young women and children at home to whom I shall be very happy to deliver the presents of their father. I wish much to carry with me a cop; of the treaty to show my peop'.e. Living so far from the rest of my name I ean derive no advantage from the one you hare given to our nation generally ; and I should be ashamed and mortified to return without one. I would request a trader for my village, and would wish for Mr. La Chambre, with whom we are long acquainted. [A belt.]

Father! Ton have in your prison aman (Newman) who oame in to ns a year ago, and proved the preservation of many of our women and children, by the information he gave ns: for this we oannot help feeling grateful. Now, your children, the Delawares, all beg of you to spare the life of this man as he has been instrumental in saving many of ns from destruction. We hope, father, yon will grant this first request of your children, the Delawares. [A string.]

My children, the Pottawattamies ! I wish you to endeavor to make among yourselves an amicable and fair division of the goods intended for you. It would be a very difficult task for me to perform with justice. Tou are acquainted with your own people and their numbers. I am not well enough informed on this head to make a true apportionment. I wish all the other nations to act in a similar manner, and to make a distribution to the satisfaction of their respective people. I wish each nation to appoint two confidential people from among themselves to receive the goods, and to give reoeipts to the store* keeper, who will thereby oonvinoe me of his having justly delivered them.

You, my uncles, the Wyandots ; my grandfathers the Delawares, and all you nations present; you see, we are now here from all parts of this great island. Tou happily accomplished the good work before we the Shawanees arrived : I thank you all for it. I now present to your view the wampum given to me by our elder brother, now become our father. He gave it to us from his heart, and I hope you will, for the future, view him as our true father. We must, for the future, live in harmony with him, and one another. The Great Spirit gave us this land in common ; he has not given the right to any one nation to say to another, this land is not yours, it belongs to me.

Father! I have heard everything which has been here transacted. Peace is firmly established. It affords me satisfaction and happiness that the hatchet is cast away forever. I have reason to believe that the mischief which has been lately done has been committed by a small party of Shawanees, who have been in the woods a long time hunting. It grieves us much that while we are here accomplishing the good work of peace, some of our own people are yet deaf to our advioe. And to convince you that we will never permit such practices, I now offer to leave with you, my aged father, as a hostage, and proceed immediately, myself, to call home those people, and take measures to prevent their future misconduct I have just returned from an absence of two years, to the southward, and in that period, my young men, uncontrolled by their other chiefs, have fallen into bad practices; - but they shall have an immediate end.

All my brothers present! As the peace is now entirely completed, and as our father; of the Fifteen Fires, has adopted us, as his children, and called us by that name ; l now tell him, in presence of you all, that we, the Shawanees, do acknowledge the Fifteen Fires as our father ; and that henoeforth we will always regard him as such. [A white string.]

Ton, my uncles, and grandfather, have settled with our father, the boundary line, in a manner which meets my entire approbation. I am perfectly satisfied with it; and it appears you had our common interest in view.

Father 1 As all the nations are now present, they can never hereafter deny their own work, nor say, that other people aoted for them, without authority. 1, therefore, recommend to them to fulfil, strictly, their agreements, and adhere religiously to their engagements. [A belt.]

Children, all you nations, listen 1 By the seventh article of this treaty, all the lands now oeded to the United States, are free for all the tribes now present, to hunt upon, so ong as they continue to be peaceable and do no injury to the people thereof. It is therefore, the common interest of you all, to prevent any mischief being done upon those hunting grounds. Those people who have committed the last outrage on our peaceable inhabitants, had been hunting on those grounds, and, after finishing their hunt, proceeded to the commission of the bad actions of which I have complained. These practices for the reasons I have already given you, must have an immediate end.

The Red Pole has behaved like a candid, honest man, in acknowledging the errors of his people, and in promising to restrain them immediately. He has done more ; he has offered to leave his own father as a hostage, until he can inform me of his having called them home. But I will not separate him from his old father ; I will depend upon his honor for the performance of his promise. [A white string to the Red Pole.]

All you, my children, listen to me! The great business of peace so long and ardently wished for by your great and good father, General Washington, and the Fifteen Fires, and I am sure, by every good man among you, being now accomplished ; nothing remains but to give you a few words of advice from a father, anxious for the peace and happiness of bis children. Let me earnestly exhort you, to restrain your young people from injuring, in any degree, the people of the United States. Impress upon their minds the spirit and meaning of the treaty now before us. Convince them how much their future welfare will depend upon their faithful and striot observance of it Restore to me, as soon as possible, all my flesh and blood which may be among you, without distinction or exception; and reoeive now from my bands the ten hostages stipulated by the seoond article to be left with me, as a security for their delivery. This unequivocal proof of the confidence that I place in your honor, and in the solemn promises you have made me, must satisfy you of my full persuasion of your sincerity. Send those ten young men to collect your prisoners ; let them bring them to me, and they shall be well rewarded for their trouble. I have here a particular aocount of the number remaining among you, and Bhall know when they are all restored.

I now fervently pray to the Great Spirit, that the peace now established may be permanent; and that it may hold us together in the bonds of friendship until time shall be no more. I also pray, that the Great Spirit above, may enlighten your minds, and open your eyes to your true happiness, that your children may learn to cultivate the earth and enjoy the fruits of peace and industry. [A white string.]

As it is probable, my children, that we shall not soon meet again in publio council, I take this opportunity of bidding you all an affectionate farewell ; and of wishing you a safe and happy return to your respective homes and families. [A string.]

Father! Your children all well understand the sense of the treaty whioh is now concluded. We experience, daily, proofs of your increasing kindness. I hope we may all have sense enough to enjoy our dawning happiness. Many of your people are yet among us ; I trust they will be immediately restored. Last winter our king came forward to you, with two, and when he returned with your speech to us we immediately prepared to come forward with the remainder. All who know me, know me to be a man and warrior ; and I now declare, that I will, for the future, be as strong and steady a friend to the United States, as I have heretofore been an active enemy. We have one bad young man among us, who, a few days ago, stole three of your horses. Two of them shall this day be returned to you ; and I hope I shall be able to prevent that young man from doing any more mischief, to our father, the Fifteen Fires.

Father! I have heard, and understood all that you have said. I am perfectly satisfied with every part of it; my heart will never ohange. No prisoners remain in our hands, in the neighborhood of Miohilimackinac. Those two Frenchmen present (Messieurs Sans Crainte and Pepin) oan witness to the truth of this assertion.

I have heard all the proceedings relating to this treaty. I express my perfect satisfaction at its happy conclusion. When I relate at home, the important event, my people will stretch out their arms towards you; and when I shall have informed them that you have promised to cherish them as your obildren, they will rejoioe at having acquired a new, and so good a father.

It appears from a " return of the numbers of the different nations of Indians present at, and parties to, the treaty of Greenville," that there were one hundred and eighty Wyandots, three hundred and cighty-one Delawares, one hundred and forty-three Shawanees, forty-five Ottawas, forty-six Chippeways, two hundred and forty Pottawattamies, seventythree Miamies and Eel Rivers, twelve Weas and Piankeshaws, and ten Kickapoos and Kaskaskias - making a total of eleven hundred and thirty.

Whereas, I, Anthony Wayne, Major-General, commanding the army of the United 8tates, and sole Commissioner for settling a permanent peace with all the Indian tribes northwest of the river Ohio, having accomplished that great and good work, and having this day signed and exchanged articles of a permanent peace, with the Chippeways, Ottawas, Pottawattamies, Wyandots, Delawares, Shawanees, Miamies, Eel River, Weas, and Kickapoo nations of Indians :

Do, hereby, once more invite you, the Cherokees, residing on the waters of the Scioto, to come forward, immediately, to this place, and enter into similar articles of peace ; for whioh purpose, I now send Captain Longhair, a principal Cherokee ohief, to conduct you to headquarters, where you shall be received in friendship, and treated with kindness and hospitality. Captain Longhair will give you the particulars respecting this treaty, as also those of a treaty of peace lately made between the United States and the Cherokee natiou, so that you now stand alone and unprotected, unless you comply with this last invitation.

nied him home, to their nation. The remainder promised to hunt peaceably on the Scioto, until their corn was fit to gather, when they would quit this side of the Ohio forever, and return to their own country.

At a private conference on the 12th August with the Miamies, Eel River, and Kiekapoo Indians, the Little Turtle, in the name of the others, observed, that as they intended soon to depart and return to their respective homes, he took this opportunity of repeating to the General, that he, himself, and the Indians with him, were perfectly acquainted with every article of the treaty ; that no part of it had escaped their serious and anxious deliberation ; that, in the early stage of the negotiation, he had not comprehended the moderation and liberality with which he was now convinced, it is dictated ; that to this cause, and to a duty which he conceived he owed his country, must be attributed the opposition he exhibited on sundry occasions ; that he was persuaded his father would not think unkindly of him for it, for he had heard him, with much pleasure, approve of the freedom with which he delivered his sentiments; that he was a man who spoke as he thought, and a man of sincerity ; and that he embraced this last occasion, to declare, that as he was fully convinced that the treaty was wisely and benevolently calculated to promote the mutual interest and insure the permanent happiness of the Indians, and their father the Americans, so it was his determined resolution to adhere, religiously, to its stipulations.

He asked for traders to reside at their different villages, and mentioned the names of some, who, from the confidence they had in their integrity, they wished might be licensed and continued by the United States, as traders among them ; he hoped (for the Weas particularly) that a fort would be immediately established at Ouiatanon, and promised every assistance they could afford, to the establishment ; that he, himself, would reside near Fort Wayne, where daily experience should convince his father of his sincere friendship ; and that, as he intended to rekindle the Grand Council Fire at that place, by means of which, the different nations might communicate with each other as usual, he requested his father to give orders to the commandant of Fort Wayne, to inform him from time to time, of any measures which the Great Council of the Fifteen Fires might adopt, in which the interest of their children should be concerned ; and he asked, that Mr. Wells might be placed there as a resident interpreter, as he possessed their confidence, as fully as he did that of their father.

On the 9th September, a party of Shawanees, consisting of between sixty and seventy warriors, who had hitherto proved refractory and hostile, arrived at Greenville, with four prisoners, - three of whom they captured on the 13th July, 1795, in Randolph County, Virginia. On the 11th, the General gave them audience, when Puck-se-kaw (or Jumper), one of their chiefs, spoke as follows : -

My father! I have been in the woods a long time; I was not acquainted with the good works which were transacting at this place, by yon and all onr great chiefs.

Last spring, when we were hnnting peaceably, our camp on the Scioto was robbed ; we are very poor, and the mischief that has since been done, was in retaliation for the injuries we then sustained.

As soon as I received this belt, which you sent me by Bine Jacket, one of our great chiefs, and as soon as I was informed by him that the good work of peace was finished, I arose to come and see you, and brought with me these four prisoners. I now surrender them up to you, my father, and promise, sincerely, that we will do no more mischief.

I hope, that for the future, we shall be permitted to live and hunt, in peace and quietness. We were poor ignorant children, astray in the woods, who knew not that our nation, and all the other tribes of Indians, had come in and made peaoe with you. I thank the Great Spirit for at length opening our eyes.

Father! We beg you will forgive, and receive your repentant children. These people, whom I now deliver to you, must plead our forgiveness, and vouch for our sincere intention to alter our conduct for the future. [A white string.]

General Wayne

Early in 1796, the British government surrendered the northern posts, including Fort Miami, built in 1794, by Governor Simcoe, at the foot of the Rapids of the Maumee, together with the town of Detroit, and the military works, both there and on the island of Mackinaw, in pursuance of the treaty negotiated by Chief Justice Jay, in 1793.

The posts were delivered to General Wayne, who had been authorized to receive them, by the President of the United States. As soon as he had performed that duty, and had made the necessary arrangements to have the works properly garrisoned and supplied, he embarked for Erie, on his way to the seat of government, very late in the season. Unfortunately, he was seized, on the passage, with a violent attack of gout in the stomach, which terminated his life, before the vessel reached the port of her destination. He was buried at Erie. When the body was disinterred by his son, many years afterwards, for the purpose of being removed to the place of his nativity, the skin and flesh were sound, and exhibited no signs of decay. As the body had been committed to its mother earth without embalming, and without any other process intended to preserve it from decay, the condition in which it was found by his son, must have been the result of some antiseptic influence, exerted by the surrounding earth, which, in process of time, might have converted it into a mummy.

General Wayne was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, in January, 1745, and was just completing the fifty-second year of his active life, when he was prematurely stricken from existence.

His father was a farmer, highly esteemed for the excellence of his private character, and for many useful services rendered the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, particularly in the Provincial Legislature, and in several expeditions against the Indians. He had taken great pains to educate his son, at the Philadelphia academy, where he made very considerable proficiency in mathematics, in astronomy, and in other branches of useful science. The life and public services of this brave, accomplished officer, are so fully stated, by the historians of his day, that it docs not seem necessary, interesting as they are, to transfer them to this narrative. It may suffice, therefore, to say, that there was scarcely an important battle, or hazardous enterprise, from the beginning to the end of the Revolutionary struggle, in which he was not, more or less, distinguished.

Before the Revolutionary war began, he was a deputy in the Provincial Congress of his native State; which assembled in 1774. In the same year, he was a member of the Provincial Legislature. In the year following, he was a member of the Committee of Public Safety. In the fall of the same year, he raised a corps of volunteers, who unanimously elected him their Colonel. He was in the unsuccessful attack on the British at Three Rivers, in Canada; where he was wounded. At the battle of Brandywine he was distinguished ; in the succeeding battle of Germantown he led his division into the thickest of the fight, received two wounds, and had his horse killed under him. For his gallantry in the subsequent battle of Monmouth, General Washington mentioned him in his official letter, with great approbation.

His desperate and successful attack on Stony Point, which gave him the name of " Mad-Anthony," and procured for him a gold medal from Congress, can never be forgotten. After distinguishing himself at the capture of Lord Cornwallis, he was sent by General Washington, to take the command of the troops in Georgia, where the enemy were making great headway. After some severe battles, he defeated, routed, and drove them from the State. For his bravery and important services on that occasion, he received the thanks of the Legislature, and was presented with a valuable farm. His next military achievements were those in which he was employed in the Northwestern Territory, when death terminated his career.

It would be a pleasing task, and an easy one, to collect materials enough to form a volume of brilliant and useful deeds, achieved by that distinguished warrior, who shared largely in the confidence and friendship of Washington, from the commencement of the Revolution, to the close of his life; but the historians of his day have superseded the necessity of such a labor.

The Governor of the Northwestern Territory, who had accompanied the General to Detroit, and was present when the possession of the posts was delivered, proceeded immediately to establish a new county on the strait, to which he gave the name of Wayne; in compliment to the chief, whose victory at the foot of the Rapids, two years before, had hastened the execution of the treaty of 1793, by the British government. The seat of justice for the new county was established at Detroit, a garrison town, compactly built on very narrow streets, most of them not exceed- ing one rod in width, and completely inclosed by strong pickets. It was defended by a fort on the north, and by batteries on the margin of the strait. The citadel, for the accommodation of the commandant and his suite, was erected within the pickets, and was a spacious edifice, with an esplanade in front of sufficient dimensions to manoeuvre a regiment of troops. The town was the most ancient on the upper lakes, having been settled by the French, as early as 1683; and it was the capital of Upper Canada, till it fell into the hands of the United States.

The old town which was surrendered to the United States was entirely burnt down, in 1805, and was afterwards rebuilt on a new and more convenient plan. It had been, for many years, the principal depot of the far trade of the northwest, and the residence of a large number of English and Scotch merchants, who were engaged in it, and was of course a place of great business. The greater part of the merchants engaged in the fur trade, both Scotch and English, had their domiciles at Detroit; and the nature of the trade was such as to require large amounts of*capital, in order to be profitable ; because the great distance, and the immense extent of country, over which their furs and peltry were collected, rendered it impossible to turn the capital employed more than once in a year, and sometimes once in two years. The business was also extremely laborious and precarious. In some seasons their profits were enormously large ; in others, they were small ; and occasionally they were subjected to heavy losses.

During a large portion of the year they had to endure the fatigues and privations of the wilderness; and as often as they returned from those laborious excursions to their families and comfortable homes, they indulged most freely in the delicacies and luxuries of high living. Scarcely a day passed without a dinner party, given by some one of them, at which the best of wine and of other liquors, and the richest viands furnished by the country, and by commerce, were served up in great profusion, and in fine taste. Genteel strangers who visited the place, were generally invited to the houses, and their sumptuous tables; and although at this day, such a practice would be considered a breach of moral duty, as well as of good breeding, they competed with each other for the honor of drinking the most, as well as the best wine, without being intoxicated themselves, and of having at their parties the greatest number of intoxicated guests. This revel was kept up in a greater or less degree, during the season they remained at home, as an offset to the privations and suffering of their excursions into the wilderness.

Soon after the town of Detroit came into the hands of the Americans, most of those merchants removed, and established themselves at Sandwich, in Upper Canada, where it was the universal custom to celebrate the birthday of the king. The General Court of the Territory being in session at Detroit, on the 4th of June, 1800, wh'ich was the birthday of his majesty, George III., the judges and the bar, and also the officers of the American garrison, with many of the principal citizens of Detroit, were invited to be present, and partake in the festivities of the occasion. The invitation was accepted, and about a hundred Americans joined in the festival. A spacious building, erected for a warehouse, was so arranged as to accommodate between four and five hundred persons, with seats at the tables, at the same time. The entertainment was splendid ; the tables were richly and abundantly supplied with everything which appetite or taste could desire.

The loyalty of his majesty's subjects was evinced by every expedient in their power; and if a moiety of their prayers in behalf of their royal master had been granted, he must have lived a thousand years, and his shadow never have grown less.

During the evening much deference was paid, by the managers, to the feelings of their American guests. Next to the King, the President of the United States was drank; and among the residue of the toasts, there were several complimentary to our country and her distinguished statesmen. By pursuing that liberal, respectful course, no bad feeling was excited; and although much wine was drunk, in proportion to numbers, yet the party, late in the night, separated in harmony and mutual good feeling. The American garrison, at Detroit, consisted of two regiments, commanded by Colonel Strong, who, in consideration of his great responsibility, and to relieve from duty as many of his officers as practicable, declined to be a guest, and remained at his post in the citadel.

officers stationed at Fort Malden, and received a pressing invitation to visit them and spend a night at their quarters in the garrison. At the same time Captain Currie, of the John Adams, an armed vessel of the United States, politely offered to convey the party to Malden, and from thence to Maumee Bay. These invitations were accepted, and, as soon as the court had finished the business of the term, they and the bar sent their horses by land to the foot of the Rapids, and embarked for the British garrison. They were received by Captain McMullin, the commandant, and entertained with great hospitality. He gave them a fine supper, good wine, and excellent beds ; which were seldom met with, by western travelers, in those early days of territorial improvement. In the morning, the party took leave, and returned to the vessel.

At that time the fort was in a very unfinished state, and no material or preparation was discovered for completing it. It was said, however, by the officers, that preparations were in progress for that purpose, and that it was the intention of government to put the works in a complete state for defence, without delay. Early in the afternoon, the brig cast anchor in the Maumee Bay, and the barge was let down and manned. Having taken leave of the officers, the party took their seats, and in a few hours were landed at the foot of the Rapids. The passage was pleasant, and the misery of wading through the deep mud of the Black Swamp was escaped.

The Shawnees

The Shawnees have always been a restless people, and their history, even after the settlement of America, is wrapped in obscurity. They moved about so incessantly, and were so often divided in their migrations, that we are unable to track the various divisions. It is inferred that the Shawnees were present at that first beneficent treaty of peace and friendship negotiated by William Penn in 1682. But there is no assurance of this fact, for to Penn and his associates but just arrived, all Indians were simply Indians, and the treaty makes no mention of their nation or names. The presence of the Shawnees is inferred from the fact that in Penn's later council with the Indians in 1701, we find Wapatha, a chief of the Shawnees, expressly mentioned as representing his people; and in 1722, in conference with the whites, the Shawnees are said to have exhibited a copy of the first treaty, though the two treaties of Penn may have been confounded. As early as 1684 there were Shawnees in the west, allied with the Miamis, and yet we afterward hear of southern Shawnees expelled from Georgia emigrating to the west and building a village at the mouth of the Wabash.

When the war between England and France broke out in 1754 it involved the English colonies in America in a struggle with the French in Canada and the west; and the Shawnees on the Ohio took part with the French.

The Shawnees were at one time divided into twelve bands or tribes, but the number gradually declined to four. The present remnant of the once powerful Shawnees is very small, many of them having become absorbed by intermarriage with other Indian tribes ; but the strength of this once powerful people has been wasted in the almost ceaseless wars in which they have been engaged, against the whites and other Indian nations. They have ever been eager to take the sword, and they have perished by the sword. The Shawnees were accustomed to boast of their superiority to the other tribes, and their haughty pride has had much to do with their conflicts and their destruction. This arrogant pride and warlike ferocity made them one of the most formidable of all the tribes with which the white settlers had to contend in the Ohio valley. They slew old and young, male and female, without pity and without remorse. They rejoiced in battle and carnage, in deception, stratagem, and faithlessness. But in judging them we must not forget that they were savage. Their whole education made them what they were ; and in too many instances the white men, in the bitter struggles of "the dark and bloody ground," easily forgot their civilization, and fell into the cruelty, bad faith, and revengefulness of savages.

The Miamis, Wyandots, Shawnees, and Delawares possessed this region as a hunting-ground at an early period. The Miamis claimed to have been the original proprietors of all the forests and hunting-grounds along the Great Miami and Mad Rivers, and the other streams that flowed into them. It is not known with entire certainty when the Wyandots located in northwestern Ohio, but it was probably as early as 1700, and by permission of the Miamis. The Shawnees settled along the Mad and Miami Rivers about the year 1750.

The next noticeable event in the history of this territory is the settlement of the Shawnees at Wapakoneta and Ottawa towns in 1782, and the forests of Shelby, Auglaize, Alien, Mercer, and Yan Wert became their favorite hunting-grounds, and continued so until after the invasions of Harmar, St. Clair, and Wayne. At the treaty of Greenville in 1795, the various tribes engaged in repelling invasion by General Wayne, entered into a treaty and ceded to the United States a vast territory, covering most of the present States of Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana. The line known as " the Greenville treaty line" passed some distance south of Auglaize County, leaving all this region still in the possession of the Shawnees and Wyandots. When the earliest settlers entered Shelby County, it was densely covered by timber, while vast numbers of deer and other game roamed through the forests. From the undulating surface of the country the red hunters of the Shawnees made it a favorite resort during the hunting season. The McKees, Girtys, and other fur traders had many stations for the purchase of peltry. In those days a great number of wolves thronged the forests, making night hideous by their discordant serenades.

In September, 1818, the commissioners on the part of the United States made a treaty at St. Marys with the Shawnees, when they released all rights to land in Ohio except the Shawnee Reservation at Wapakoneta, twelve miles square. In August, 1831, a treaty was negotiated with the Shawnees of Wapakoneta by James Gardiner and Col. John McElvain, special commissioners appointed by the general government for this purpose, and Willipie, head chief, the aged Black-Hoof, Harvey Clay, Pusheta, and others of the Shawnees. The terms offered were so liberal that the Indians consented to give up the lands of their reservation in what is now part of Duchouquet, Union, Clay, Pusheta, Washington, Moulton, and Logan, townships mostly in Auglaize County, and remove beyond the Mississippi, to the Indian territory on the Kansas River, in the Far West, in September, 1832, D. M. Workman and David Robb being the agents for their removal. The Shawnees who emigrated numbered about 800 souls.

The territory then comprised within the purpose of our review was occupied by a band of the historic Shawnees at the advent of the whites. Belonging to the great Northwest, this section was the central point amidst various famous Indian tribes. The Shawnees never failed to make their influence felt, for they were a nation of warriors and orators, and possessed a spirit of adventure, wild enough to transfer its seat from the extreme north.to the extreme south, for the Algonquins occupied New York, but were found in their descendants in Florida, and even here transmitted that tribe's unrest which urged the band to the Mad and Miami, and finally to the Auglaize River in Ohio. In all their migrations they preserved their peculiarities, for their asserted superiority was a shield against contamination. Tribal traits, customs, and beliefs were fostered with all the tenacity of heredity. Their home was wherever unrest might lead them, for was not the unbounded wilderness their possession ? At home in New York, at home in Georgia, a last remnant entered Ohio, and here too they were at home.

From Florida they migrated to the Mad River of Ohio, under the leadership of Black-Hoof, whose life was spent in this adopted country. They were ever the same restless, brave, nomadic Shawnees of tradition, whether viewed in the East, the South, or the West.

It cannot be determined with precision when they located at Wapakoneta, but it probably arose through the indulgence of some native tribes, as it appears by the various treaties to which they were parties that they had been entirely disinherited of lands. Still, the tribe or band which participated in the Kentucky wars, occupied villages on the

Mad and Miami Rivers, and it is probable that from these points came the band which settled on the Auglaize and founded the Indian village Wapakoneta, about the year 1782. Here they established their council house, which became the Indian capital of the northwest. This building was still used at the advent of the whites, but was finally removed, and some of the timber used in the construction of other buildings. One of the logs, after having served over thirty years under water as a sill in an old mill, was recently removed, and has been divided and largely distributed throughout the community. A block from this sill found its way to the writer's desk, through the courtesy of J. C. Edmiston.

The first land-title given by the government to this tribe which possessed any clearness, was granted by the treaty of 1817. The conference was held and the treaty entered into at the foot of the Maumee Rapids, near Lake Erie, by Lewis Cass and Duncan McArthur, commissioners for the United States, and several Indian tribes, among which were the Shawnees. In this treaty no provision was made for the band of Tecumseh, as no names of that band are found in the schedule specifying the receivers of grants at Wapakoneta. This treaty is a novelty in comparison with most of the Indian treaties of modern times, as it sets out in an entirely different strain. The commissioners say, " That in consideration of the faithful services of the Shawness in the late war with England, and for divers other considerations, the government of the United States settle on the Shawnees an annuity of three thousand dollars, to be paid annually, forever, to them at Wapaughkonnetta.

" The United States also agree to grant, in fee simple, to Black Hoof and other chiefs of the Shawnee tribe, for the use of the persons mentioned in the annexed schedule, a tract of land, ten miles square, the centre of which shall be the council house at Wapaughkonnetta.

" The United States also agree to grant, in fee simple, to Peaitchtha and other chiefs of the Shawnee tribe residing on Hog Creek, for the use of the tribe there, to the persons mentioned in the annexed schedule, a tract of land containing twenty-five square miles, which is to join the tract granted at Wapaughkonnetta, and to be laid off in a square form."

It may be interesting to many, and particularly to young persons, to have the entire schedule of names inserted here. These were probably written by Gen. Cass or the agent, John Johnston, either of whom well understood the Indian orthography. Among these may be found the names of great men, such as Black-Hoof and Wayweleapy, great as speakers, and Peaitchtha, great as leader in the agricultural arts. Several others on this list were men of strong minds and remarkable for honest, upright integrity.

Schedule. - "The tracts at Wapaughkonnetta to be equally divided among the following persons, namely : Black-Hoof, Pamthe, or Walker ; Weaseca, or Wolf; Shemanita, or Snake; Athelwakesecah, or Yellow Clouds; Pemthewtew, or Perry; Cacalawa, or End of the Tail; Quelawee, War Chief, Sacachewa, Werewela, Wasawetah, or Bright-Horn; Otharasa, or Yellow; Tepeteseca, Newahetucca, Caawaricho, Thacatchewa, Silochaheca, Tapea, Mesherawah, Toleapea, Pochecaw, Alawemetakuck, Lollaway, or John Perry; Wawelame, Nemecashe, Nerupeneshquah, or Cornstalk, Shi She, Shealawhe, Naruskaka, Thacaska, or David McNair; Shapukoha, Quacowawnee, Necoshecu, Thucuscu, or Jim Blue Jacket; Chowelaseca, Quhaho, Kay ketch lieka, or William Perry; Sewapeu, Peetah, or Davy Baker; Skapoawah, or George McDougal; Chepocuru, Shema, or Sam ; Cheahaska, or Captain Tommy ; General Wayne, Thaway, Othawee, Wearecah, Captain Reed, Lawaytucheh, or John, Wolf ; Tecutie, or George; Skekacumpskekaw, Wishemaw, Muywaymanotreka, Quaskec, Thoswa, Baptiste, Maywealinpe Perea Cumne, Chochkelake, or Dam ; Kewapea, Egatacumshequa, Walupe, Aquashequah, Pemata, Nepaho, Tapesheka, Lathowaynoraa, Sawacota, Memhisheka, Ashelukah, Ohipwah, Thapaeca, Capawah, Ethewacase, Quahetbu, Chucatuh, Nekakeka, Thithueculu, Pelaculhe, Pelaske, Shesholou, Quanako, Halkoota, Laughshena, Capia, Thucatvouwali, or the Man going up Hill; Magathu, Tecumtequa, Tetccopatha, Kekusthe, Sheatwah, Shealewarron, Haghkela, Akapee, Lamatothe, Kesha, Panhoar, Peaitehthamtah, Peter Cornstalk, Metchepeta, Capea, Shuagunme, Wawalepcsheeco, Calequa, Tetotu, Tashisliee, Nawebeshceo, or White Feather; Sheperkiscoshe, Notekah, Shemakih, Pesheto, Tkeatsketa, Milhametche,

The above contains the names of all the males belonging to the Shawnees who resided at Wapakoneta, over the age of twenty-one years, in 1817.

Sketch Op Prominent Indians

In order to avoid repetition as much as possible, we introduce biographical sketches of the prominent Indian chiefs of this and other tribes, since the history of a chief is in a significant measure the history of his band. Thus the sketch of a warrior will exhibit the warlike actions, while a sketch of an orator will reveal the belief and diplomatic character of the whole tribe. The warrior was the representative in battle, as the orator was the spokesman in council, and through these agencies we are enabled to view the life, manners, traditions, and characteristics of the nations they represent. In this list of chiefs, men of diverse character are presented which serve to show the many-sided life of the Indian race. Thus is presented Blackhoof, of lofty honor; the Turtle, "the gentleman of his race;" Tecutnseh, the ambitious zealot; the Prophet, a frenzied fanatic; Logan, a man of fidelity; Captain Johnny, a friend of the Americans; and Blue Jacket, of rash and violent character. '

In 1810 when Tccnmseh was attempting the consolidation of the Indian tribes from the Mississippi River eastward into Ohio, his first object was to secure the co-operation of the Wyandots, who were celebrated for their talents and valor. With them had been entrusted the "great belt," the symbol of union in previous wars, and the original copy of the treaty of Greenville. The Prophet's influence was here exerted, and by flattery he secured the sympathy of this warlike tribe. These on their journey to the Prophet's town solicited the Miamis, who, in turn, induced the Weas to accompany them. Thus Tccumseh's dream of carrying into execution the plans of the great Pontiac promised to be fairly realized. In June the Prophet refused the supply of salt from Vincennes by the government, which was the first act of defiance. At this time Tecumseh was with the Shawnees on the Auglaize, using his influence to estrange them from the treaty of Greenville, and secure their assistance to carry out his plans. In this, however, he had been anticipated by Gov. Harrison, who had written these tribes and secured their lasting friendship. The new leader found his own people the first to frown upon his scheme of confederation, refusing even to enter into council with him. His failure here is largely attributable to the counter influence of the great Shawnee chief, Black-Hoof. This chief was born in Florida, had been present at Braddock's defeat in 1755, and participated in all the Ohio wars until the treaty of Greenville. He had led the Shawnees in the allied attack upon Ft. Piqua during the French war, and afterwards told Col. Johnston that, "after the battle the ground was so strewn with bullets that basketsful might have been gathered."

He had been the great orator of his tribe, had fought bravely against the western progress of the whites, until disaster dictated the treaty of Wayne, and experience taught the hopelessness of the struggle. After this, as the head chief of his nation, he preserved the influence of his office, and the ascendency in council, and that influence was exerted in favor of peace. Even the eloquence of a Tecumseh was powerless to influence him, and during the following war he remained true to the American cause. Of such weight was his influence with his own nation that, when brought face to face with Tecumseh, he still called forth the loyalty of his people.

He signed the treaty of 1795, and visited Ft McArthur in 1813, where he was shot by some miscreant, who could not be discovered. The ball struck the check, but glanced to the neck, making a very serious wound, by which hd was disabled for some weeks. He also visited Washington and Philadelphia, and was the bearer of the celebrated letter of Thomas

Jefferson, written to the Shawnees in 1802. In 1831 a proposition was made by the Government to purchase the land of the Shawnees about Wapakoneta. The Indians accordingly held a council, and prepared a petition to Congress, setting forth their grievances and asking additional compensation. A committee was appointed, consisting of Black- Hoof, John Perry, Wayweleap 3 ',' and Spybuck, to present the petition to the Government. Francis Duchouquet and Joseph Parks were to act as interpreters. The deputation set forth on this mission about December, 1831. These negotiations resulted in the surrender of the Ohio lands held by the Shawnee nation. An anecdote is told of the celebrated chief, touching this sale of land.

"Whj-," he replied, "because the United States Government wanted to buy and possess our lands, and remove us out of the way. I consented because I could not help mj'self, for I never knew them to undertake anything without accomplishing it. 1 knew that I might as well give up first as last, for they were determined to have our lands."

By long experience the aged chief knew the whites too well, and when he saw the futility of further resistance he resigned himself to the philosophy of reconciliation with his environment by yielding gracefully to the inevitable. At a council, held at Upper Sandusky in 1818, on the occasion of the death of Tarhe, or the "Crane," the Shawnees, W'ynndots, Delawares, Senecas, Ottawas, and Mohawks were present. The business related to the lands of the various nations represented.

Each accused the other of being the first to sell their land to the government. The Shawnees were particularly alluded to as the last to come into the country and the first to sell to the whites. The personalities and vituperation of the intemperate but able Red Jacket became odious, and the Shawnees only waited an opportunity to be beard. They whose tradition taught them that the Great Spirit first created them from his own brain, and thus gave them all the wisdom, as all other tribes and colors were created from the inferior parts of the body, could not sit idly by and have their great name and fame traduced. The opportunity having occurred, the representative of the proud nation appeared in Black-IIoof, who, tracing the history of the various tribes, treaties, and alliances, retorted against the Wyandots and Senecas with bitter sarcasm and pointed severity. The discussion was thus opened by the two greatest orators, after which all the other orators of note spoke for their respective tribes. Bitter personalities and taunting national reproaches were freely indulged, and the council broke up in confusion. At its close, when the wampum belt, the emblem of amity, was passed, some of the chiefs would not permit it to touch their hands. No greater indignity could be offered, and unusual anxiety and despondency prevailed until the next day. During the night all acknowledged the blunder of the occasion, but looked about wondering who would be equal to the embarrassment under which they labored. The council convened with a full attendance; silence prevailed until it was oppressive even to savages. At length the suspense was dissipated by Black Hoof, he of commanding influence, of unsurpassed ability, and of celebrated oratory. He rose, possessing the key to the situation; he had lost nothing in the contest of yesterday ; he had everything to win in this council of to-day. With the wampum in his hand, he rehearsed the proceedings of the preceding day, and declared " they acted like children and not like men; that they had driven him to the defence of his nation; he was driven to meet them with their own weapons; but regretted the occasion which called forth his speech, and so regretted the speech itself. He had not feared to meet them in their own field, and that being unsatisfactory, he now proposed a new field which he believed they all would enter. He therefore appeared to recall those foolish words, and by consent of all his people who were present, he did regret and recall them." At the close his wampum was accepted by all, and the other chiefs hastily followed his example until all had presented and accepted the emblem of peace. The difficulty was settled, the council concluded in harmony, and the whole affair was forgotten.

He is closely identified with our history, as his village, " Black-Hoof Town," his old home, is the present site of St. Johns. Of his character it may be said that, like many other great Indians, he possessed a high sense of honor, and during his whole career evinced the noble characteristics of a lofty and humane mind. He loathed polygamy, and abhorred the practice of burning prisoners. Against these he brought the force of his teaching and practice. He was of a cheerful disposition, mild in manners, and vivacious in conversation. He was said to have been rather small, not exceeding five feet eight inches in height. True to his public acts, after treaties of peace to which he was a party, he could not be induced to violate fidelity or compromise honor, and although urged to join against the whites by other tribes, he remained true to terms of peace at his own village, where he died in 1831, at the advanced age of 1 1 0 years.

Being an old chief he was buried with the ancient Indian ceremonies. On this occasion the whole tribe, realizing the loss sustained in the death of their honored chief, wore an appearance of solemnity and sadness. At his lodge, the body of the chief was wrapped in a new Indian blanket, surrounded by a large quantity of calico, belts, and ribbons. The corpse was upon a new slab, and his gun, tomahawk, knife, and pipe at his side. The Indians wore a very desolated appearance with their garments loose about them, their hair hanging as loosely as their garments, and many of their faces painted in ancient style. The men were all seated and smoking near the corpse. They looked upon him in tearful silence for several hours, and resembled a largq family of children mourning the loss of an only parent. In front of the cabin was a large quantity of meat, the spoils of a two days' hunt by young men selected for that purpose. Twenty deer, besides turkeys and other game were killed, as no tame meat was permitted to be eaten. This food was simply stacked in the yard, and guarded by small boys. The very presence of dogs was forbidden. When about to proceed to the grave, a few of the choice young men, arranged the clothing about the body, placed four large straps beneath it, and bore it to the place of its long rest.

No children were permitted to be taken in the procession, in order to prevent all noise, as the ceremonies were to be as noiseless as the grave they approached. The order of march was taken up, with the family of the dead chief at the head, followed by his successor and the other chiefs, and then the whole company in succession.

On reaching the grave they formed about it in a group. The grave was about three and one-half feet deep, with a split puncheon at the bottom and sides. The corpse was lowered, the clothing last worn placed upon his body, and his old moccasins cut in pieces and placed with the clothing. This done, another slab was laid over all. At this moment John Perry, head chief, took some seeds, and, beginning at the head, walked around the grave, sprinkling them as he moved. He then went directly to the house, followed by all present, except three men, who remained to close the grave. On leaving the grave they proceeded in single file, none looking back. They then commenced conversation, and, after smoking once around the company, they opened the feast. It was now late, and the remainder of the day was devoted to feasting and dancing according to the primitive Indian custom.

Way-Wel-Ea-Py

was the principal speaker of the Shawnees, and delivered the opinions of his tribe at all treaties and in public assemblies. He was an eloquent orator, grave, gaj', or humorous, as occasion required. At times his manner is said to have been quite fascinating, his countenance so full of varied expressions, and his voice so musical, that surveyors and other strangers passing through the country listened to him with delight, although the words fell upon their ears in an unknown language.

During the negotiations for the sale of their reserve he addressed his people and Gardner several times, extracts of which will be found elsewhere in this volume.

Col. Johnston says he often met this chief at his trading post in Wapakoneta: that he was a fine looking Indian, and was always ready to cultivate the friendship of the pioneers. He went west with his tribe, where he lived many years.

head chief of the Shawnees, often traded at the store of Col. Johnston, And was known by ail the earlier settlers. He could converse fluently in

English, and was a man of good habits and influence with his tribe. He signed the treaty of 1831 at Wapakoneta, and when he learned that the tribe had been deceived, he went to Washington, with others of his tribe, to see if the President would change the treaty. A bill was presented to Congress, but it was many years before any action was taken in the matter. He went west with the tribe.

Little Turtle

Michikinagwa, or Little Turtle, was the son of a Miami chief and Mohican woman. As the Indian custom gives to offspring the condition of the mother, he had to earn whatever rank he might attain. His extraordinary talents secured him rank at an early age, and his first services were those of a warrior. His history is closely interwoven with that of the expeditions of Gen. Harmer, who was defeated by the braves of the Turtle, and that of St. Clair in his expedition against the Miami Villages in December, 1791. The Turtle was chief commander of the Wyandots, Shawnees, Delawares, and Senecas in that memorable engagement in which St. Clair was compelled to retreat upon Ft. Jefferson in carnage and disaster. This slaughter is said to have but one parallel, which is the defeat of Braddock. The subsequent victory of Gen. Scott served only to exasperate the Turtle and his followers. Again he*was brought to face Gen.- Wayne (" the Black Snake") when he marched against Presque Isle in 1792. During the night preceding this battle some of the chiefs favored attacking Wayne that night, but it was at length determined to wait until the next day, and then attack Presque Isle. This proposition was favored by Blue Jacket, but opposed by the Turtle. The latter even felt the hopelessness of the cause, and was inclined to peace. He urged: "We have beaten the enemy twice under separate commanders, and cannot expect the same continued good fortune. The Americans are now led by a chief who never sleeps. Tire day and night are alike to him, and during all his marches upon our villages, notwithstanding the watchfulness of our j'oung men, we have been utterly unable to surprise him. Think well of this; there is something whispers to me, it will be prudent to listen to offers of peace." Charged w'ith cowardice by other chiefs, he took his position in battle, but the success of Wayne only confirmed the wisdom of his position. After the conclusion of peace he settled about twenty miles from Ft. Waj'ne on Eel River, where the government erected him a comfortable house. He visited Washington and Philadelphia on several occasions. Although he would not attend the councils of 1802 and 1803, yet he was chosen one of four referees by the chiefs of the other tribes, the duty of these four being "to finally. settle and adjust a treaty" with the agents of the United States. The Turtle was the head of this commission. He had many opposers all along among the chiefs, which would, perhaps, explain his sometimes vacillating conduct, as he had to sacrifice his own judgment at times to palliate an opposing majority, and thus sustain his position. He even opposed Tccumseh and the Prophet in all their designs, which probably accounted in a measure for their tardiness of preparation. Of his character it may be said he looked with horror upon intemperance and human sacrifice. Brave as the bravest, he could not look upon the torture of any, and so gave his great influence against the crime. Whether his motives were of a pure or sinister character, it is certain he condemned the intemperance of his people, and took active measures against the wrong. While in the east he was a keen observer of the manners of civilized life and the working of our institutions, making inquiries pertaining to everything which came under his observation. During his visit to Philadelphia in 1797 he met and became personally acquainted with Kosciusko, in whose story of the great crime against Poland he was interested to deep emotion. On his return he visited Capt. Harrison (Governor), and made further inquiries concerning the great European murder of human rights. When the Capt. gave him a description of the last defeat of Kosciusko, he rose and pacing the floor, exclaimed in agitation: " Let that woman (the Empress of Russia) take care; this may yet be a dangerous man" (Kosciusko). During this visit he also became acquainted with the renowned French philosopher, C. F. Yolney, who took great interest in the savage, as the author was then preparing his " Travels in America." The Turtle had just communicated with Gov. Harrison touching the approaching war of 1812, and announced his sympathy for the American cause, when he

The weight of authority fixes the birth of this mighty warrior at the Indian town Piqua, on Mad River, in 1768. His father's name was Puckesninwau, of the Kiscopoke band, and his mother's name Mcthontaske, of the Turtle tribe, of the Shawnee nation. The parents with others of the tribe came from the south to the Ohio valley, under the leadership of the great chief Black-Hoof, about the middle of the eighteenth century, and first stopped on the Scioto, but finally removed to the Mad River Y alley.

Puckeshinwau was killed in the battle of Kanawha, in 1774, and Methoastaske returned to the south, and lived to an advanced age among the Cherokee Indians. Tecumseh is said to have been carefully educated by his brother Cheeseekau, which education was presumably in the arts of hunting and fighting. True, it is related he was taught a love for truth, and contempt for falsehood. There is littlo doubt he was taught a love for those cardinal virtues, courage in battle and fortitude in hardship. In all these his instructor seems to have been eminently qualified, according to the savage idea, for his pupil ever after gave evidence of the development of these Indian virtues in a very marked degree. He boasted of his truth and fidelity, which as an individual he sustained throughout his checkered career.

The events of the period in which he was ushered into life and action undoubtedly did much to mould his character. All enter an arena under conditions which shape and mould their plastic conduct. He was young during the period of the Revolutionary War, and its influence was felt by the savages, even in the remote Ohio. The fierce and bloody border war, too, had its vitiating effects, for the whites here even vied with the savages in the commission of fiendish barbarities. Rocked in this cradle of carnage, to the lullaby of the war-whoop, he developed a love for war and a hate for Americans. In 1786 he was a participant in the defence of the Machachac villages against Gen. Logan. The conduct of the whites on this occasion was calculated to teach anything but justice or humanity, and if Tecumseh in this, his first battle, did flee from the field, we would call it the result of horror at the cruelty of the whites, rather than cowardice on the part of the warrior. In his next engagement, against some flat boats which were descending the Ohio River, he signalized his bravery in his rash lead according to the Indian idea; but to us he exhibited more genuine courage when he looked with abhorrence on the burning of the single prisoner of the fight, and denounced the fiendish practice in such unmeasured and forcible terms that the horrid rite was abandoned by his immediate followers. The great victories are ever on the side of moral courage, rather than in the field of physical desperation. In 1787, in true harmony with the Shawnee character, he and his brother with a small party of Kiscopokes started westward on an adventurous expedition. They halted for a while on the Mississinewa, but afterwards moved to the Mississippi, and encamped at the mouth of Apple Creek. At the expiration of about nine months they proceeded south to the Ohio, and engaged in a buffalo hunt, in which Tecumseh was thrown from his horse, sustaining such injuries that the party was delayed several weeks opposite Ft. Massac. From here they went south and engaged with the Cherokees in their war with the whites. Here Cheeseekau lost his life, and his younger brother and pupil, Tecumseh, assumed the command during the two following years spent in the south. After a wild career of adventure, in company with eight warriors, he started for the north, crossed the Ohio near the mouth of the Scioto, visited the Machachac villages, and came to the Auglaize in 1790, after an absence from Ohio of about three years. At the time of St. Clair's defeat Tecumseh was acting as a scout, and so did not take part in the battle.

In 1792 he was met in a skirmish by a small party under Simon Kenton, and again the following year he was defeated by a party under the same famous scout.

In the battle of Presque Isle, Tecumseh led a party of Shawnees, where he was opposed by Capt. Harrison, who afterward became his chief antagonist. In 1795 he appears on Deer Creek, simply as a hunter. During the year he undertook the formation of a band of which he was to be chief. The following year they moved to the great Miami, where they remained until 1798, when they joined the Delawares upon White River. Here he continued several years, until some difficulties arose calling forth the council of Urbana in 1799. Here Tecumseh appeared as an orator, whose style was said by the interpreter to be so lofty and his words so eloquent, that his speech was interpreted with great difficulty. At the time of an excitement consequent upon the commission of some border murders, he frankly disavowed and denounced such conduct, and eloquently spoke of the peaceful relations of the whites and Indians. About this time the Prophet Brother arose, who acted in concert with Tecumseh, although his personal meahs were of a more questionable character. His early and later life is enshrouded in mystery perhaps as deep as that by which he practised upon the credulity of his converts.

In 1805 the Tawa Shawnees, at the head of the Auglaize, sent a deputation of visitors to Tecumseh and other chiefs to invite them to the Tawa villages. The invitation was accepted, but on the way Tecumseh and Laulewusikaw met at Greenville, where they concluded to remain. The latter had gathered hints enough from the missionaries to be crafty and cunning. He did not mutter from dark lodges, nor tell fortunes in the sand. He could not be a sorcerer nor impostor, because he was a preacher and a prophet. In November, 1805, he addressed an assembly at Wap'akoncta, setting forth his new mission, and declaring some tenets he had received from the Great Spirit. He it was who had visited the clouds and entered the dwelling place of the devil, where he 6aw all who had died drunkards with flames issuing from their mouths. Consequently, he denounced drunkenness and many other evils, and closed by assuring them that the Great Spirit had given him power to confound his enemies, to cure diseases, and prevent death. These claims were calculated to impress the superstitious minds of the Indians. President Jefferson wrote of the Prophet: -

" He is more rogue than fool, if to be a rogue is not the greatest of all follies. * * * His followers increased until the British thought him worth corrupting and found him corruptible." He burned his victims for witchcraft when no more plausible pretext could be invented; was cruel and heartless, even fiendish in his ambitious designs, and did not scruple to employ diabolical methods when they promised success.

The first check he received was on the occasion of the execution of the sentence of death for witchcraft passed upon the wife and nephew of Teteboxti. The nephew died at the hands of relentless fanaticism and heartless ambition, but when the time for the burning of the woman arrived, her brother, a young roan of twenty, humane and brave enough to be noble, started up and led the condemned sister from the house, exclaiming, "The Devil (the prophet) has come amongst us, and we are killing each other." It penetrated the uncouth exterior of the savages and touched the hearts of the assembly till their response was sympathetic. It is enough for our general purpose to say of the Prophet that he used all the seductive arts of which he was master in tho interest of his brother's cause, and in his devotion to that cause did not scruple to adopt means nor hesitate to practise arts on which the higher nature of that brother must have looked with abhorrence and contempt. He made himself powerful as an ally, being able to command and willing to endure. We turn then to the nobler character, and behold in Tecumseh a picture of more refreshing tint and a life of higher symmetry.

We speak of the individual virtues of Tecumseh as' standing in contrast to the sordid character of the Prophet, but we remember all the sordid measures of the vicious character were employed by the agent, and with the knowledge of Tecumseh. When he had not the desire to act, he stood behind the curtain and gave his sympathy to those actors who played for his glory. Ambition at times seized and controlled the man like the evil spirits of olden legend. Where his manhood benumbed his tongue, he spoke through the Prophet as a medium, and where his heart paralyzed his hand he commanded agents who were devoid of hearts.

While his inmost nature must have revolted at the fiendishness of his brother, that brother was his agent, and ambition saw no misery and knew no right. Ambition like a fiend seized victim after victim among the chiefs and destroyed them by the Prophet for witchcraft. True, Tecumseh was behind the curtain, but the Council of 1807 discovered him behind his mask of falsehood and his methods behind the curtain of pretence. Deaf Chief asked of the Governor why he was not called to confront Tecumseh, as he was desirous of asserting the truth to his brethren. When this became known to Tecumseh, he sent an order to have the aged chief killed on his return. A friend of the latter warned him, but the intrepid chief returned to his family, put on the war paint and dress, seized his rifle and other weapons, and went over to the camp of Tecumseh. Mr. Baron, the Governor's interpreter, was present. As soon as the chief advanced, he upbraided Tecumseh for having given the order to assassinate him as cowardly and unworthy of a warrior. But rising, the personation of right and exponent of honor, he exclaimed, "But here I am now; come and kill me." Tecumseh quailed before the man he would assassinate, but dared not meet on equal terms. " Then," exclaimed the enraged warrior, "you and your men can kill the white people's hogs and call them bears, but you dare not face a warrior." Tecumseh was still silent when the chief heaped upon him every insult which might provoke a duel, told him that he was the slave of the red-coats, and at length applied that term of reproach which an Indian never forgets nor forgives. Disgusted with what he called the cowardice of Tecumseh, the chief raised the war-whoop of defiance, and left the place. That the cowardly order of Tecumseh was executed is evidenced by our authority, who states: "The Deaf Chief was no more seen at Vincennes." Ambition has chilled the nature and calloused the heart of brighter lights than Tecumseh ; it has surrounded once noble, generous natures by icy atmospheres of repulsion and stifled the nobler promptings and holier emotions of naturally more sensitive organizations than that of the savage. It destroys the temple of manhood, and erects upon its ruins impostors, murderers, and assassins. Of Tecumseh it first made a pretender, and his life, thus becoming a falsehood and discord, could not approach nearer harmony than the role of a masked assassin. True, the arm was too humane to strike the ignoble blow, hut diabolical agents abound who know no humanity and know no heart. Pitiless at first, they are remorseless at last.

At the time of the peace negotiations, Tecumseh was one of a deputation who returned to the seat of government with the commissioners. Ou this visit to the Governor he attempted to prove the nullity of all treaties, as he claimed the lands could not be sold by any tribe, as they were the inheritance of the whole red race.

In 1807 we find him in council at Springfield, where his ambition stultified his prudence and manifested a course of rash defiance rather than his usual pacific role as peacemaker. He at length revealed his plans, turned the Prophet's fame and power to his purpose, and that purpose was the confederation of all the Indians for the repulsion of the whites and their ultimate repression beyond the Alleghenies. Pontiac was his model, and so it required no genius to plan the scheme, for the model had planned it years before. It did require genius of a peculiar character to execute the borrowed design. The originality of Tecumseh is manifest in his adoption of the means placed in his hands by his unscrupulous brother. If the brother was a fanatic, he was heartless; if Tecumseh was a despot, he was noble. Glory was his ruling passion, and this passion sometimes governed his nobler instincts and higher impulses. He had witnessed the union of the " Seventeen Fires," and sought the union of the more numerous tribes.

In 1809 he attempted to secure the co-operation of the Wyandots and Senecas, but was opposed by the Crane, who "feared Tecumseh was working for no good purpose at Tippecanoe, and preferred to wait a few years, and if tiiey found their red brethren then contented and happy, they would probably join them." In 1810 the conviction prevailed that the plans of Tecumseh were hostile to the United States. The imprudence of the Prophet exposed the scheme, for he had boasted he " would follow the footsteps of the great Pontiac." An overt act, the refusal to accept an annuity sent from Vincennes, gave not only a hostile but defiant air to his purpose. Tecumseh was then with the Shawnees at Wapakoneta seeking their assistance, but met here in Black-Hoof that opposition and repudiation he had previously encountered in the Crane among the Wyandots and Senecas. Failing in a few instances of this character, his work was delayed, and the Prophet interposed to remove some of the opposition engendered by destroying Leather Lips and others for witchcraft, when he could not impose upon them by superstition. At this juncture he appeared to consider the case of that desperate character which demands desperate methods. The second overt act was the seizure of annuities in transit for other tribes. Again Tecumseh was absent, having gone south after telling General Harrison he would be absent about a year. This was evidently not his intention ; at all events he had accomplished his mission and returned in much less time; but he returned to witness the ruins of his whole ideal government, to see the frustration of his life plan, and become a victim of that disappointment which stings to desperation.

He had warned his brother against exposure, and told him to avoid trouble at all hazards. The Prophet failed because his insolence overcame his judgment, and General Harrison moved against the Tippecanoe confederacy. On October 7, he fully saw and appreciated the designs of the Prophet, moved upon his village, met him, defeated him, and the confederacy was lost. Tecumseh- returned in a few da3's to behold the ruins of his cause, and the disgrace of the Prophet. So deep was his mortification, that he reproached his brother, and even threatened to kill him. Deeply humiliated as he was, he was yet denounced as a murderer, and sank into obscurity. Tecumseh now spent some time in minor changes, until at last he was refused ammunition by the government agents, when he went to Malden and joined the British.

Subsequently he participated in all the sieges and battles of the western forts, until his death at the battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813. The bloodthirstiness of his warriors was only checked by his presence. The British officers either could not or would not curb their ferocity ; hence the distressing and horrid massacres of the Raisin and Fort Meigs were committed in the absence of Tecumseh. In the latter instance, General Proctor is said to have permitted the Indians to select their victims and massacre them in whatever manner they saw fit ; he is even represented to have witnessed this operation during the period of two hours, which, if it be true, would make the very earth blush with shame, and the cold forts rain tears of pity. If true, it is to the shame, not of a nation or day alone, but of the race and age, and if false, it is to the credit of the nation and race. At all events Tecumseh rode up as fast as his horse could carry him to a spot where two Indians were killing a prisoner. He sprang from his horse, caught one Indian by the throat and the other by the breast, and threw them to the ground ; then, drawing his knife and hatchet, and running between the Indians and prisoners, brandished his weapons wildly and dared the attack on another prisoner. Maddened by the barbarity which he loathed, he sought General Proctor, and demanded why this massacre was allowed.

" Begone!" answered the chief with a sarcastic sneer, " you are unfit to command ; go, you are not a man." Let the rebuke be the reproach of a savage ; it is worthy of recognition to-day, for in the humanity of manhood is the philosophy of life. Let the gem be found among the debris, it is just as lustrous as if found in the ocean depth ; let a truth rise out of the depth, it is just as beautiful as if it had descended from the azure heights on a sunbeam; let the lesson be taught by savage or civilized agent, it loses none of its intrinsic worth. The whites did not monopolize the higher traits of character. After his reproach upon General Proctor his attention was directed to a group of Indians with something in their midst. Pointing to this group, Colonel Elliott said, " Yonder are four of your nation who have been taken prisoners, you may do with them as you think proper." The chief walked up to the company and found four Shawnee Indians, Big Jim, Soldier, and the Perry Brothers. Addressing them he said, " Friends, Colonel Elliott has placed you under my charge ; I will send you back to your nation with a talk to our people." This he did, discharging them on parole, which stands in contrast against the part of Proctor, as the sunbeam with the night cloud.

His life as an individual, throughout exhibits deeds of fidelity, prompted by his noble nature when not influenced by his sordid ambition. As an individual he was brave and generous, but led warriors of hyena-like propensities. To keep these in check sometimes demanded an iron hand.

As intimated, he continued in the service of the British until the bat tle of the Thames, in 1813, when he fell, shot by a revolver in the hands of a cavalry man, by many believed to be Colonel Johnson, who commanded the cavalry. This is the account of Shaubena and others who claimed that Colonel J. shot him with a pistol at the moment the chief aimed his tomahawk at the Colonel. The battle was a desperate hand to hand encounter after the dash upon the Indians by the cavalry. This body was almost cut to pieces, but dismounting, although their Colonel was wounded, they saved the field. In a conflict of this kind it would be nest to impossible to distinguish who shot this or that particular individual. At his fall the Indians became demoralized and fled to the swamps.

He was buried by the Indians after the return of the Americans, and there on the border of a marsh adjoining the battle ground, the willow and wild rose decorate the grave where rest the remains of the " Indian Bonaparte."

Logan, Or Captain Logan

Logan, whose Indian name was Spenica Lawbe, i.e., the High Horn, was taken prisoner when a youth, by Gen. Logan in his expedition against the Mack-a-chack towns of Logan County in 1786. This youth was named Logan by the whites in Kentucky, to which name the title of captain was afterward prefixed. His appearance was commanding, as he was about six feet high, weighed two hundred pounds, and possessed the lofty bearing of the true savage. His intimacy with the whites ripened into friendship, and became of great service to the Americans, for whom he fought with constancy until he offered up his life in their cause in 1812. After the fall of Detroit, the commander at Ft. Wayne, Col. Johnson, became solicitous about the safety of the women and children under his charge, and desired their removal to some safer point in Ohio. He, therefore, called for volunteers to escort them to Ft. Piqua. Captain Logan responded at once, and so was given charge of a few other mounted volunteers who acted as escort. So solicitous was he on this mission, that it is said he never slept during the trip from Ft. Wayne to Piqua. Again, in September, while the troops lay at Piqua awaiting flints, agent Johnson, at the instance of Gen. Harrison, secured the services of Logan as a spy. In this capacity he proceeded undiscovered, entered Fort Wayne, and returned safely with the intelligence of the siege of the fort and the death of Stephen Johnston, the agent's brother, who was shot while attempting to escape with the news of the siege. This information was of great importance to Gen. Harrison, who at once pushed the army forward to the relief of the besieged garrison. In November, 1812, he was placed in charge of a small party of scouts by Gen. Harrison, with instructions to reconnoitre in the direction of the Maumee Rapids. When near this point they met a superior force of the enemy, and were compelled to retreat. Logan, in company with his favorite companions, Captain Johnny and Bright Horn, escaped to the left wing of the army under command of Gen. Winchester, who was informed of their adventure. A subordinate officer without provocation charged Logan with infidelity to the Americans and sympathy for the enemy. Stung with indignation, the chief called a friend to witness that he would refute the foul charge the next day, by cither leaving his body to bleach in the woods, or returning with the warrior's trophy of victory. Accordingly, on the 22d of November, in company with his faithful friends, Captain Johnny and Bright Horn, he started down the Maumee. About noon, while resting, they were surprised by seven savages, among whom were the Pottawatomie Chief Winnemac and young Elliott, bearing a British commission. Outnumbered, as he was, Logan met Winnemac with open hand, told him they were tired of the American cause, and just then deserting to join the English. The suspicions of Winnemac caused him to disarm his prisoners, and then proceed toward the British camp at the rapids. These three, however, had no idea of remaining prisoners, and at once commenced planning an escape. Their prudence inspired that confidence in their captors which caused their guns to be restored, and, while marching along, they contrived to place bullets in their mouths to have in readiness for reloading when the opportunity presented. Captain Johnny, to remove the suspicion which might attach to this movement, remarked, "me chaw heap tobac." In the evening they encamped on Turkey Foot creek, about twenty miles from the American camp. Here, believing the prisoners to be deserters as represented, the captors rambled about in search of black haws. Some were out of sight when Logan signalled the attack upon those who remained.

At the first fire two of the enemy fell dead, and a third mortally wounded. At this onset all parties came in reach, fired, and "treed." There were now four of the enemy, which gave such an advantage that, while Logan watched the front, the fourth passed around until the great warrior was exposed, and shot him through the body. Two of the surviving four were at this moment wounded, and compelled to fall back. At this juncture Captain Johnny mounted Logan, mortally wounded, and Bright Horn, also wounded, upon two of the enemy's horses, when they left the field and reached Winchester's camp about midnight. Captain Johnny secured the scalp of Winnemac, and, proceeding on foot, reached camp about daylight. Of the seven captors, five were either killed or mortally wounded by Logan and companions. This event produced a mournful sensation in camp, as all regretted the accusation which produced such unhappy results. Logan died two or three days later, after requesting Col. Johnson to send his two sons to Kentucky to be educated by Major Hardin. Col. Johnson did all he could to carry out the wishes of the dead chief, but was frustrated in his efforts by the Indians, and especially by the mother of the boys, who prevented the execution of the colonel's plans. The children accompanied their mother to the west, and became as wild as any of the race. Of Logan it may be said he was popularly esteemed for bravery, fidelity, and magnanimity. He was closely identified with this section, as his home was at Wapakoneta, where his remains were brought for burial. In consideration of his fidelity ho was granted a section of land within the county, still known as the " Logan Section," in the township bearing his name. His last acts exhibit that high sense of honor which preferred death to a dastard's or traitor's name. On these qualities is built the immortality of his fame.

Captain Johnny

Captain Johnny and his braves are understood to have lived on the west bank of the Pusheta Creek, just north of the bridge. This chief, in the capacity of a scout, did great service to the American cause. He was with his old comrade Logan, who was mortally wounded near the Maumee Rapids, in November, 1812, while serving General Harrison. The earlier history of Captain Johnny is referred to by Francis Dunlevy, a member of Capt. Craig Ritchie's Company in "Crawford's Expedition." During an engagement by these forces, Dunlevy had been engaged with an Indian of huge proportions. Later in the evening this Indian crept cautiously and stealthily through the top of a tree lately fallen, until supposing himself close enough to Dunlevy, he threw his tomahawk, but his aim missed and he fled. This Indian, Dunlevy believed ho afterward recognized as " Big Captain Johnny," who during the war of 1812-13 was with the friendly Shawnees of Wapakoneta. Dunlevy further says: "I frequently saw this Indian; he must have been seven feet in height, and as frightfully ugly as he was unusually large."

That he was courageous and magnanimous is attested by his warm personal friendship and association with Logan. When that chief sought companions for his last perilous and fatal expedition, he sought Captain Johnny and Bright Horn, and when he and Bright Horn were wounded, Captain Johnny found horses for their safe retreat to camp, while he undertook the trip alone and on foot, nis fidelity to a cause is attested to by his connection with the American army, and his fidelity to individuals by his career with Logan and Bright Horn.

was one of the three noted chiefs whom Col. Johnston selected as scouts for Gen. Harrison in the war of 1812. He was present when Logan was mortally wounded in the contest with Winnemac, and was severely wounded in the thigh in the same fight, but recovered. He lived at Wapakoneta, and was a large, commanding Indian in appearance, with good influence with his tribe. He was a brave man, and fought like a hero for our cause in the war of 1812. He is said to have died at Wapakoneta in 1825 or '26.

a Shawnee of some note, and was well known to Col. John Johnston, ns he often accompanied him on his trips through the forest among the different tribes. His son Henry Clay was named after Henry Clay of

Kentucky, and was educated at Upper Piqua, under the supervision of CoL Johnston, at the expense of the Quaker friends. He afterwards became a leading chief, and was a man of considerable talent. He went to Kansas with his tribe, and lived many years after their removal.

Peter Cornstalk

was a chief of some distinction. He is believed to have been a son of the celebrated chief Cornstalk of Chillicothe, who was assassinated at Point Pleasant, Va. He was a large, fine looking Indian, a man of honor, and a true friend of the whites. It is said he often visited the trading posts, and was known to a good many of the pioneers.

In 1790 Blue Jacket was associated with Little Turtle in command of the Indian forces opposing Gen. Harmar, and was chief commander of the allied Indians who were defeated by Gen. Wayne in 1794. On the night preceding the battle a council was held in which the nations of Miamis, Pottawatomies, Delawares, Shawnees, Chippewas, Ottawas, and Senecas were represented. The council decided to postpone action for the night. The expediency of attacking Wayne at Presque Isle was then considered. Blue Jacket warmly favored this proposition, and Little Turtle as seriously and more ably opposed it. The advice of Blue Jacket, however, prevailed over the wiser counsel of the Turtle. The battle was fought with desperation, and the Indians were disastrously defeated. In the following October Blue Jacket concurred iu the expediency of suing for peace, and accordingly, at the head of a deputation of chiefs, was about to visit Gen. Wayne, when lie was intercepted by Gov. Simcoe, Col. McKee, and the chief, John Brant, who, with about 150 warriors, arrived at the rapids and invited Blue Jacket and his allies to meet them at the rapids of the Detroit on the tenth of the month. Blue Jacket assented to hear the proposition of the British agents, and Gov. Simcoe urged the chiefs to continue their hostile attitude toward the Americans. He roused their fiery passions by speaking of the encroachments of the whites, told them the Ohio lands were theirs by right, and that he had given orders to the commandant at Port Miami to fire upon the Americans whenever opportunity presented. He further advised them to obtain a cessation of hostilities until the following season, when the English would be ready to attack the Americans, drive them over the Ohio, and restore to the Indians all this body of land. This action delayed the conclusion of peace until the next summer. When the council met at Greenville in 1795 to form a treaty

Blue Jacket was present, and acted with moderation and dignity. He appeared as a Shawnee speaker, although his rank was that of a war. rior. When he met Gen. Wayne he apologized for his tardiness, and gave the most solemn assurance of his sincerity. On the second day he explained the relationship of the tribes and justified the position he had taken, as follows: " Brothers, I hope you will not take amiss my change of seat in this council. You all know the Wyandots are our uncles, the Delawares the grandfathers, and the Shawnees the elder brothers of the other nations represented. It is therefore fitting that I sit next my uncles and grandfathers."

Toward the close of the council he rose in the capacity of a warrior and delivered a speech which exhibits the temporary and changing character and relationship of a war chief. He said: "Elder brothers, and you other brothers present, you see me now appear as a war chief to lay down that commission, and place myself subject to the village (civil) chiefs who will hereafter command me."