Winnebago County, Wisconsin - Chapter 19, 1880

j^/j^pBPC FTP^R Pontiac 's war, no very import- "^ , ant events occurred in the North- _j west, until after the Revolution. m^^ The little French settlements at pi Michilimackinac, Prairie du Chien and Green Bay, cut off from associaion with the mother country, were left like )ut-casts or abandoned waifs in the midst of he wilderness. Among this isolated people vere a number of the descendants of noble rench families, like the De Langlades and irignons, the latter lineal descendants of Govrnor Grignon, of Bretagne, France.

Judge Advocate Storrow, of the American army, in his interesting narrative of Explorations in the Northwest in 1817, in speaking of the little settlement at the Bay, says: "In conversation with this outcast people, I was surprised at their devotion to the land of their fathers; although the memory of no man living reached to the period of the connection."

The lapse of half a century which has made them the property of two different nations, affords nothing to obliterate the traditionary remembrance of France, their primitive country. "

There is something peculiarly attractive and fascinating in the history of this old place and its romantic associations, more ancient than many of the renowned revolutionary towns.

Its whole history is interwoven with the leading events of American civilization from its remote beginnings, and is contemporaneous with the rule of three distinct goverments.

Two hundred years ago it was the advanced outpost of French colonization, and for a century was the local point of the explorations, trade and travel of the Mississippi valley; while around it clustered all those ambitious hopes and aspirations of F" rench empire in the West. By the treaty of Paris it was abandoned to English domination, and its inhabitants made the subjects of a foreign power, but the English conciliated them by practically leaving local control in the hands of the inhabitants, and by wise forbearance made them firm allies.

After the American revolution, the officers stationed at the fort and their families, and the families of the American traders and settlers introduced a new social element. But the new comers found many of the old French families to be people of elegant manners, some of whom had received a liberal education, and whose homes had many evidences of taste and refinement. Many of the American settlers, too, of that place were men of culture and talent - enterprising professional and business men, who came to lay the foundation of a state; and Green Bay soon came to be noted for its genial social manners, gaieties and warm hearted hospitality; and it is said still bears the impress of the social eclat of its ancient times.

It is a pleasure to call to remembrance the warm friendships, kindly intercourse and generous hospitality of pioneer days in Wisconsin, where in the midst of the wilderness were found little communities comprised largely of men and women of cultured minds and courteous manners, and warm hearts full of kindness and earnest purpose.

pioneers and a resident of Green Bay in 1822, in his published recollections, in State Historical Collections, gives a glimpse of the pleasant social life of the times. He says, speaking of the old P"rench settlers:

" The residents on the River, e.\cepl some half a dozen Americans, were retired French voyageurs, and half-breed French and Menominees ; they had without let or hindrance, taken up the whole shore of the River above the fort, for six miles; divided it off into little strips of one or two French arpents in width, which they called their farms; they claimed back at right angles from the River eighty arpents, about two and three-fourths miles in depth. They had reduced most of the fronts for an acre, or two, or three, soine more, some less deep, to a state of cultivation ; and had growing at the time of our arrivab the first of September, very fair crops of potatoes, maize, oats, peas, spring wheat, pumpkins, melons, cabbages, onions, and other common garden vegetables. Most of them had teams of native oxen, and a kind of implement claimed to be a plow, with which they broke the soil. This plow went on wheels, one of which was twice the size of the other, the larger one going in the furrow, the smaller one going on the land. The plow beam was fourteen feet in length ; the chip, on which the share was fastened, was four feet long, and altogether, when in motion was drawn by six or eight bulls, it was a formidable object, and answered well the end of its construction. The furrows were nearly two feet in width, but quite shallow. The style of plowing was what is known as -' back furrowing," and only two each way, to a land, forming ridges eight feet wide, with a dead furrow between, which insured thorough drainage. The breaking was commonly done in June ; then leaving it till Ihe next spring, when as soon as the farmer could get at it, even before the frost was fairly out of the ground, it was thoroughly harrowed, and if for wheat, the seed put in without waiting for warm weather.

" These bull-teams were a curiosity to a raw American. The animals were unblemished - the yoke was a straight piece of hickory, worked off smooth and bound to the bulls' necks just back of the horns, with a strip of raw hide, to which stick was fastened the pole of the cart, on which rested the plow beam. Besides these bull-teams for plowing, these settlers had ponies of a hardy kind, with which they managed to propel a rude cart in summer ; and a kind of sled, called a train, or another called a cariole, in winter; the ponies were always worked singly - no two were ever harnessed abreast. With these trains, loaded with ten to fourteen hundred pounds, they w'ould undertake journeys in winter to the Rocky Mountains, if required. It was the common mode of moving merchandise long distances in winter - taking the place of boat in summer. Mi. Daniel Whitney usually employed a caravan of these ponies and trains with their French drivers every winter to transport supplies from Green Bay to St. Peters.

" These native settlers of Green Bay lived in primeval simplicity ; of all people, they seemed the most innocent, honest, truthful and unsuspecting. They had, moreover, a most perfect immunity from want; their little fields were productive; the River was alive with fish and fowl; summer and winter 'heir food was of the best, and in greatest abundance, and only required the taking. A narrator would not dare state the truth of the abundance of wild fowl, fish and game, with which the country abounded, on pain of being held by the listener, an unmitigated Munchausen. Their habiliments were obtained with equal facility. Both se.xes, for the most part, arrayed themselves in garments procured from the chase ; those of the male were almost entirely of deer skin, while the females indulged in a few cotton stufifs obtained from the traders. All wore the moccasin ; not a boot or shoe was to be seen among them.

"These simple people inherited their lnanner^ from their forefathers, the French of Lower Canada ; and politeness and strict "good-breeding" was the rule, from the highest to the lowest. It gave them ease and gracefulness of deportment, often a surprise and reproach to the brusque, abrupt Yankee, rendering their company acceptable and engaging with the most cultivated and polite, and insuring, in their intercourse with each other, the preservation of friendly feeling and good will. They had been sought out by the Catholic mini.-.ters, their children were all baptised Christians, hnd been taught the creed and commandments, and grew up simple hearted, trusting people. They were strict observers of the seasons of festivals and feasts. From Christmas to Ash-Wednesday, the whole settlement was rife with feasting, dancing, and merry-making; but, on the approach of Lent, it was suddenly suspended till Easter.

The Easter festival was the most joyous of the calendar ; with the most of them it was celebrated in the deep forests; where they had before repaired, for one of their chief industries, the making of maple sugar; which requires a little more special notice. It was a source of the greatest amusement, as well as profit, occupying two or three months of every year, and engaged nearly the whole population, male and female, children and all. They probably got the art froiji the Indians, and greatly improved on the savage mode. About the first to the fifteenth of February, preparations were made throughout the settlement for repairing to the sucrerie, ox sugar- bush - for moving from their home cabins on the River bank, into the deep wood, often many miles distant ; taking generally most of their household treasures, even to their chickens ; and they made the business worthy of their preparations. Some of them had as many as (we hundred, eight hundred, and some one - thousand trees tapped- A few of their sugar-houses were quite ; large, and as good as those at the River, well furnished, with' buckets, store troughs, kettles, etc. The ground was neatly cleared of underbrush, and roads made to every part of it. The first busine.ss of the season, after arriving at the sucrerie, was to provide a good store of fuel for purposes of boiling; next to overhaul and repair the buckets, which had been carefully stored in the sugar-house the spring before. These buckets were made from the birch bark - nothing else would suflice. This bark, it may be added, is taken from the tree by the Indians in June, and made an object of merchandise; like peltries, by traders These v.arious preparations would consume perhaps a month before ihe commencement of the sap-runniug season.

'- As before stated, the E.asler festival was generally observed at those siicreries ; for this reason, those who had the chickens, and could do it, took them into the woods, made houses for them, and saved a store of eggs for this festival. Then it was that their friends at the settlement, the Americans and army officers, were invited to visit them, and the invitations were rarely declined. The American citizens, the gentlemen and ladies of the army, found no greater enjoyment than one of these spring festivals, celebrated among their French and half-breed entertainers in the depth of the great maple woods, in their commodious sugar-houses. There was neverfailing good cheer, somewhat enlarged, perhaps, by their visitors in a pic-nic style ; which was followed with strains of the merry violin and the dance, and at length the guests retired with pleasing, vivid recollections of the Easter festival among the French, at the sucreries. These frolics were often enlivened by an old fashioned " candy-pull, " when the French girls presented their sweet-hearts, on parting, with a cake of candy^ folded in a strip of birch bark, which they called their 'billet dou«.'

"Augustine Grignon was notedforhis almost princely hospitality. No man, woman or child ever met a frown at his door, or went away hungry. His home was indeed one to the weary wayfarer; and we would invariably say, "Only let us reach Augustine's and we shall be _ happy," and so, indeed, we were. His house was often crowded at night to the great inconvenience of himself and family; but the cordial welcome, the bland smile and the bountiful good cheer, never failed, and all without fee or reward except that rich one felt by every good man, conscious of a generous action.

* * * He was well-born, of the French nobility, and received corresponding advantages in his youth. A very few moments in his company assured you of the presence of a man of culture and fine taste. His possession of these was acknowledged by all. On -his appearance in the social circle - and none, either French or American, was considered complete without him, all mirth and impertinence subsided, and the company - the highest in it - deferred to, and awarded him the post of honor. He was verygentle in his manner; and his conversation remarkable for the purity and elegance of his language, and not less so for the high moral tone of his sentiment. The regard awarded him by his French neighbors was universal and sincere. He commanded the same admiration from the American citizens, -as well as gentlemen of the army, all of whom tendered Judge Porlier every evidence of esteem and respect."

"Pierre Grignon had the manners of a courtier, was not wanting in intelligence, and was liberal, free-hearted and generous; of a tall, commanding figure, and open and ingenuous countenance, he was calculated to command the respect and good will of a stranger. To Williams, he was very attentive, and through his Indian retainers kept his table bountifully supplied with game - venison, fish and fowl.

measures fot securing educational advantages for his family and neighbors, and several of his children finished their schooling in Montreal."

wife among the fair damsels of Green Bay; for only a few days before, he had laid himself, his fortune and his fame at the feet of one of the daughters of Louis Grignon, a young lady of great personal charins, good education in the French language, obtained at Montreal, and irreproachable manners and character. The lady, her father and friends had a correct appreciation of the distinguished suitor; and in a manner as inoffensive as possible, declined the alliance. "

Miss Grignon was the grand-daughter of Charles De Langlade, the first settler in Wisconsin; and the personal sketches above given are interesting exhibits of the character of the leading French families, who constituted the first settlers in the State.

Most of the ancient land marks of Green Bay are swept away by that remorseless progress that obliterates all but the record of the past, and the old straggling French settlement along the mouth of the river has been transformed into three thriving modern cities - Green Bay, Fort Howard and Depere, marts of trade, commerce and manufacture; with stately buildings and shipping, and with railroads stretching away in every direction.

At the close of the Revolutionary War, the territory of the Northwest was to have been surrendered to the United States; but the formal delivery of the forts was not made for many years after, and the posts continued to be occupied with English officials and fur traders, conjointly with the French and Indians.

By the treaty of peace of 1783, and by Jay's treaty of 1795, it was stipulated that the Northwestern Territory, with its forts and trading posts, should be transferred to the authorities of the United States. The English, however, remained in actual possession of the country until after the war of 1812. During that war the greater portion of the Northwest was under the control of the British.

After the conquest of New France by the English, the French inhabitants and the Indians considered themselves subjects of the English government. They had no associations with the Americans, and being under the control of English influence, they adhered to that power in the war of 18 12.

The Americans had built a fort on Mackinaw Island. This was attacked and taken by the English, under command of Col. Robert Dickson, aided by a party of Winnebagoes and Menominces. Oshkosh was in this expedition.

In 1813, Souligny, a Menominee war-chief, and fifty of his braves, participated in the hard fighting under Tecumseh, at Fort Meigs. Tomah, who had started later with the chiefs Grizzly Bear, lometah and Oshkosh, went under Proctor, and joined in the attack on the fort at Sandusky, which was so gallantly defended by young Crogan. The Winnebagoes also, took part in this campaign under the lead of Pesheu, or the Wild Cat, and Black Wolf, De Kaury and others.

"The Menominees were always friendly to the whites, and gained the confidence and friendship of the latter. It is true, that during the war of 181 2, this tribe, together with all the Northern and Western tribes, joined the British and fought under their standard; but this must be attributed to the fact, that the whole of this portion of the Northwest was at that period in subjection to that power, rather than the inclination of the Menominees, who were induced to believe that the Government of the United States was entirely unable to keep possession of the country and protect them in their rights."

It ought to be remembered too, that the Menominees regarded themselves as one people with theFrench, andthatthey considered themselves with the French the subjects of the new power, (the English) whose King had become their new father. They also began to perceive the dangers to them of the encroachments of the Americans, who, unlike the French and English traders, were occupying the land and absorbing the Indian territory.

"But," says Henr)' S. Baird, "the descendants of some of the old American settlers, well know that their families were not only rescued from the scalping knife, but subsequently protected by different individuals of the I Menominee tribe. '

'^ - The Wisconsin Indians, with the exception of the Sauks and Foxes, and a few of the Winnebagoes, never made war on the whites - except as allies in war between the whites, waged by the whites themselves.

After the capture of Mackinaw, an expedition went under the command of Lieut. Col. Wm. McKay, for the purpose of taking the American fort at Prairie du Chien. McKaj''s forces arriving at Green Bay, were joined by a military company, of which Pierre Grignon was captain, and Augustin Grignon and Peter Powell, Lieutenants.

James B. Porlier, now a resident of Buttes des Morts, and then a \-outh of eighteen, was commissioned as lieutenant of a company of regulars. They proceeded by the Fo.x Rivers, Lake Winnebago and the Wisconsin in barges and canoes.

It was Sunday when the expedition reached Prairie du Chien, and as it was a pleasant day, the officers were intending to go on a pleasure excursion.

Nicholas Boilvan was American Indian agent at that place; he had sent his man out to drive up his cattle, when the man, discovering the enemy, hastened back and told Boilvan of their presence. Boilvan and all the citizens now fled from the town, some taking refuge in the fort, others going into the country.

A si.x pounder was now got in position \vhich fired upon the American gun-boat lying in the river. The boat returned the fire, but as both fired at long range, it was for some time ineffectual. At last the gun-boat was struck so as to cause leakage, when she was compelled to drop down stream. As she was starting, the inmates of the fort called to her to remain; but as she moved off despite of the summons, they fired on her. She was struck twice afterward by the shot of the English, and was leaking badly before she got out of harm's wa}-.

The siege lasted four days without any veryj decisive occurrence, when McKay resolved onj more efiectual measures. While these were ir preparation, the garrison raised a white flagJ and its surrender was agreed upon. Itl seems it had a scanty supply of ammunition] - its chief stores being in the magazine of the! gun -boat.

When the beleaguered garrison marched ou< to deli\'er up their small arms, some of the Indians made hostile demonstrations, but theyl were promptly suppressed, as McKay had given the strictest orders to his men and the Menominees to guard the Americans from an)- assault that the Indians might meditate. One of them, a Winnebago, who was loitering b)' the palisades, induced a soldier to put out his hand through a port hole to shake hands, when as quick as thought he whipped out his knife and cut ofif one of the man's fingers and fled.

After the surrender, the Winnebagoes made an attempt to plunder the citizens; when McKay resolutely told them, that if they did not immediately go to their homes he would turn his troops upon them. After they left, he and his forces departed for Green Bay. The contest was a bloodless one. After the close of the war, Col. McKay went to Montreal. Col. Robert Dickson remained for some time in this country. He had been an English trader, and had a Sioux wife, and four children by her. He was highly esteemed by the Americans for his humanity to prisoners during the war.

The fort was situated on the south bank of the river, at a point where the old river, before the harbor was built, made a sharp curve before entering the lake On the north shore of the river, right opposite the fort, was Mr. Kinzie's residence and trading post. The writer, when a small child, often played on the old place. There were only two other residences on the river within a distance of two miles. These, with the fort, and a few families of discharged soldiers and half-breeds, living just outside its palisades, constituted all there was of Chicago at that day.

On the seventh of April, 181 2, while Mr. Kinzie's children were dancing to the music of his violin, Mrs. Kinzie rushed into the house breathless, e.Kclaiming that the Indians were at Lee's place, killing and scalping. The family now immediately repaired to the fort; and as another family was in peril - the Burn? - no time was to be lost in going to their rescue. A gallant officer, with a party, started in a small scow. They reached the place in time, and moving Mrs. Burns, with her infant, only a day old, on a bed, placed it on the scow and brought her and her family safely to the fort. A party of soldiers who were out fishing, hearing the report of a cannon which was fired to warn them of danger, stopped at the Lee place on their return, and found the mutilated bodies of two men. It was afterwards learned that the act was committed by a party of Winnebagoes. '*-

On the seventh of August, a Pottawattamie chief arrived at the fort, with despatches from Gen. Hull, informing them that war was declared; that Mackinaw was taken by the British; and with orders to Captain Heald to evacuate the fort and distribute the goods to the Indians. The Pottawattamie chief, who knew the nature of the instructions, obtained an interview with Mr. Kenzie, and advised against such a measure, as one fraught with the greatest danger; that it would be better to remain until reinforcements could be sent to the relief of the garrison. Mr. Kinzie and the officers of the garrison urged the same course; but Captain Heald determined to evacuate and distribute the stores.

A council was held with the Indians, at which the commandant informed them, that he intended to distribute among them the goods and munitions in the fort. He then asked them for an escort of safety to Fort Wayne. This they promised with the greatest professions of friendship.

Mr. Kinzie and the officers protested against giving them the ammunition, arms and liquor, and Captain Heald perceiving the impolicy of it himself, determined to destroy all of the ammunition, except the amount required by his own force.

The goods were delivered to the Indians, and in the evening the liquor was poured into the river, and the ammunition destroyed. Notwithstanding the greatest secrecy had been observed, the Indians became aware of the destruction of what they coveted, and manifested their indignation.

The day fixed fo^fcacuation - the fifteenth - arrived. In j^^M morning, Mr. Kinzie received informati^Hfrom a friendly Indian, that mischief waP^ptended, and urging him to accompany MrjWKinzie and the children in the boat that jV to carry them to St. Joseph's. He dj^Bined, thinking his presence would protect fl^doomed band, so highly was he esteemed wihe Indians.

The troops left the fort, the band playing the dead march. Mr. Kinzie and his eldest son accompanying them, while Mrs. Kinzie and her four children were in the boat.

Captain Wells, who had come from St. Joseph's with a band of fifteen friendly Indians to aid in their protection, blackened his face before leaving the garrison, in anticipation of impending doom.

The procession mournfully filed along the shore of the lake. After proceeding a short distance, Capt. Wells suddenly announced, "They are about to attack us. Form and charge upon them." The words were hardly uttered, before a shower of lead was poured into their ranks. The carnage was frightful. The troops fought with desperation, but encumbered with women and children and contending against such vast odds, there was no hope. Still they fought in desperation and despair; several of the women making a heroic resistance. The terrible scenes that were enacted are almost too horrible to be related. Mr Kinzie and the members of his family were saved; also, Lieut. Helm, and his wife, a step-daughter of Mr. Kinzie. The following is a part of her narrative of the massacre: - »***#

" At this moment a young Indian raised his tomahawk at me. By springing aside, I avoided the blow which was intended for my skull, but which alighted on my shoulder. I seized him around the neck, and while exerting my utmost efforts to get possession of his scalping-knife, which hung in a scabbard over his breast, I was dragged from his grasp by another and an older Indian.

" The latter bore me struggling and resisting to the lake. Notwithstanding the rapidity with which I was hurried along, I recognized as I pissed them, the lifeless remains of the unfortunate surgeon. Some murderous tomahawk had stretched him upon the very spot where I had last seen him.

" I was immediately plunged into the water and held there with a forcible hand, notwithstanding my resistance. I soon preceived, however, that the object of my captor was not to drown me; for he held me firmly in such a position as to place my head above water. This reassured me, and regarding him attentively, I soon recognized, in spite of the paint with which he was disguised. The Black Palridge.

" When the firing had nearly subsided, my preserver bore me from the water and conducted me up the sandbanks. It was a burning August morning, and walking through the sand in my drenched condition was inexpressibly painful and fatiguing. I stooped and took off my shoes to free them from the sand with which they were nearly filled, when a squaw seized and carried them off, and I was obliged to proceed without them.

*' When we had gained the prairie, I was met by my father, who told me that my husband was safe and but slightly wounded. They led me gently back towards the Chicago River, along the southern bank of which was the Pottawattamie encampment. At one time I was placed upon a horse without a saddle, but finding the motion insupportable, I sprang off. Supported partly by my kind conductor. Black Palridge, and partly by another Indian, Pee-so-tum, who held dangling in his hand a scalp, which by the black ribbon around the queue I recognized as that of Captain Wells, I dragged my fainting steps to one of the wigwams.

" The wife of Wau-bee-nee-mah, a chief from the Illinois River was standing near, and seeing my exhausted condition she seized a kettle, dipped up some water from a stream that flowed near, threw into it some maple sugar, and stirring it up with her hand gave it me to drink. This act of kindness, in the midst of so many horrors, touched me most sensibly, but my attention was soon diverted to other objects.

.shot down as they ran at large, and lay dead or dying around. This work of butchery had commenced just as we were leaving the fort. I well remembered a remark of Ensign Ronan, as the firing began : ' Such, ' turning to me, ' is to be our fate - to be shot down like brutes ! '

" ' No, ' replied the high-spirited young man, ' I can march up to the enemy where you dare not show your face;' and his subsequent gallant behavior showed this to be no idle boast. '

" As the noise of the firing grew gradually less and the stragglers from the victorious party came dropping in, I received confirmation of what my father had hurriedly communicated in our rencontre on the lake shore ; namely, that the whites had surrendered after the loss of about two-thirds of their number. They had stipulated, through the interpreter, Peresh Leclerc, for the preservation of their lives, and those of the remaining women and children, and for their delivery at some of the British posts, unless ransomed by traders in the Indian country. It appears that the wounded prisoners were not considered as included in the stipulation, and a horrible scene ensued upon their being brought into camp.

" An old squaw infuriated by the loss of friends, or excited by the sanguinary scenes around her, seemed possessed by a demoniac ferocity. She seized a stable-fork and assaulted one miserable victim, who lay groaning and writhing in the agony of his wounds, aggravated bv the scorching beams of the sun. With a delicacy of feeling scarcely to have been expected under such circumstances, Wau-bee-nee-nah stretched a mat across two poles, between me and this dreadful scene. ) was thus spared in some degree a view of its horrors, although I could not entirely close my ears to the cries of the sufferer. The following night five more of the wounded prinsoners were tomahawked.

" The Americans, after their first attack by the Indians, charged upon those who had concealed themselves in a sort of ravine, intervening between the sand-banks and the prairie. The latter gathered themselves into a body, and after some hard fighting, in which the number of whites was reduced to twenty-eight, this little band succeeded in breaking through the enemy, and gaining a rising ground not far from the Oak Woods. The contest now seemed hopeless, and Lieutenant Helm sent Peresh Lecerc, a half-breed boy in the service of Mr. Kinzie, who had accompanied the detachment and fought manfully on their side, to propose terms of capitulation. It was stipulated that the lives of all the survivors should be spared and a ransom permitted as snon as practicable.

" But, in the mean time, a horrible scene had been enacted One young savage, climbing into the baggage-wagon containing the children of the white families, twelve in number, tomahawked the children of the entire group. This was during the engagement near the Sand-hills. When Captain Wells.wbo was fighting near, beheld it, he exclaimed :

"Several Indians pursued him as he galloped along. He laid hirasell flat on the neck of his horse, loading and firing in that position, as he would occasionally turn on his pursuers. At length their balls took effect, killing his horse, and severely wounding himself. At this moment he was met by Winnetneg and Wau-ban-see, who endeavored to save him from the s-avages who had now overtaken him. As they supported him along, after having disengaged him from his horse, he received his death-blow from another Indian, Pee solum, who stabbed him in the back.

" The heroic resolution of one of the soldier's wives deserves to be recorded, She was a Mrs. Corbin, and had, from the first expressed the determination never to fall into the hands of the savages, believing their prisoners were always subjected to tortures worse than death.

"When, iherefore, a parly came upon her, to make her a prisonei, she fought with desperation, refusing to surrender, although assured, by signs, of safety and kind treatment, and suffered herself to be cut m pieces, rather than become their captive.

" There was a Sergeant Holt, who, early in the engagement, received a ball in the neck. Finding himself badly wounded, he gave his sword to his wife, who was on horseback near him telling her to defend herself - he then made for the lake to keep out of the way of the balls. Mrs. Holt rode a very fine horse, which the Indians were desirous of possessing, and they therefore attacked her, in hopes of dismounting her.

" They fought only with the butt-ends of their guns, fortheir object was not to kill her. She hacked and hewed at their pieces as they were thrust again-t her, now on this side, now on that. Finally, she broke loose from them and dashed out into the prairie. The Indians pursued her, shouting and laughing, and now and then^calling out:

" At length they overtook her ugain, and while she was engaged with two or three in front, one succeeded in seizing her by the neck behind, and dragging her, although a large and powerful woman, from her horse. Notwithstanding that their guns had been so hacked and injured, and even themselves cut severely, they seemed to regard her only with admiration. They took her to a trader on the Illinois River, by whom she was restore(l to her friends, after having received every kindness during her captivity.

"Those of the family of Mr. Kinzie, who had remained in the boat, near the mouth of the river, were carefully guarded by Kee-potah and another Indian. They had seen the smoke - then the blaze - and immediatelj' after the report of the tremendous discharge sounded in their ears. Then all was confusion. They realized nothing until they saw an Indian come towards then from the battle-ground, leading a horse on which sat a lady, apparently wounded.

"'That is Mrs. Heald,' cried Mrs. Kinzie. ' That Indian will kill her. Run, Chandonnai,' to one of I\lr. Kinzie's clerks, ' take the mule that is tied there, and offer it to him to release her. '

"Her cap'.or, by this time, was in the act of disengaging her bonnetfrom her head, in order to scalp her. Chandonnai ran up, offered the mule as a ransom, with the promise of ten bottles of whiskey, as soon as they should

"Chandonnai promised that he would and the bargain was concluded. The savage placed the lady's bonnet on his own head, and after an ineffectual effort on the part of some squaws to rob her of her shoes and stockings, she was brought on board the boat, where she lay moaning with pain from the many bullet wounds she had received in both arms. # * * * * *

"When the boat was at length permitted to return to the mansion of Mr. Kinzie, and Mrs. Heald was removed to the house, it became necessary to dress her wounds.

"Mr. Kinzie applied to an old chief who stood by, and who, like most of his tribe, possessed some skill in surgery, to extract a ball from the arm of the sufferer.

"At their own mansion the family of Mr. Kinzie were closely guarded by their Indian friends, whose intention it was to carry them to Detroit for sectirity. The rest of the prisoners remained at the wigwams of their captors. "

The family of Mr. Kinzie was subsequently taken to Detroit. An Indian released Captain Heald, that he might accompany Mrs. Heald to St. Joseph ; but this Indian's intended kindness was thwarted, and they were sent to Mackinaw and delivered up as prisoners of war to the British. The soldiers and their wives and children who had survived the massacre, were held as prisoners in the Indian villages on the Illinois, Wabash and Rock rivers, until spring, when they were carried to Detroit, where they were ransomed.

In 1816, after the close of the war, Mr. Kinzie and family returned to Chicago. P"ort Dearborn was constructed that year on the site, of the old fort, and the tract of land now occupied by Chicago was ceded to the government by the Pottawattamies.

The story of Mrs, Kinzie's life, as related by her daughter-in-law, Mrs. John H. Kinzie, is a most romantic one. Her father, Mr. Lytle, and family, lived on a tributary of the Alleghany. In 1779, a party of Iroquois came to their house, during the absence of Mr. Lytle, and took her and her mother and two of the other children, captives. Two of the younger escaped by hiding in the bushes. The captives were taken by the Indians to a Seneca village near Lake Ontario. Mrs. Lytle discovered, on their arrival, that her captor was the head chief. They were taken to the principal lodge, occupied by the chief's mother, where, taking the eldest girl, a child of nine years of age (afterwards Mrs. Kinzie), by the hand, he presented her to his mother, saying: " My mother, I bring you a child to supply the place of my brother, who was killed by the Lenape, six moons ago. She shall dwell in my lodge and be to me a sister. Take the white woman and her children and treat them kindly; our father will give us many horses and guns to buy them back again. "

When the father returned to his house and found what had occurred, he was frantic with grief, and summoning his neighbors went in pursuit. He soon found the two children who had escaped from the Indians ; but they could give no tidings of the mother and the others.

He now applied to the commander of Fort Pitt, who furnished him with a detachment of soldiers to aid him in recovering his family. With these he proceeded to the Seneca villages, when he found his loved ones. An arrangement was readily entered into for the restoration of Mrs. Lytle and the children except little Eleanor the eldest girl. The chief said " she was his sister, she was dear to him and he would not part with her. "

Every offer was unavailing to obtain her release, and the grieved parents were obliged to give up their darling child, and to taketheir departure without her, trusting that some means might be yet devised for obtaining her release.

Having placed his faiiiil}- in safety at Pittsburg, he again went to the Seneca village, accompanied by the British Agent, Colonel Johnson, who offered valuable presents for her ransom; but nothing could induce the chief to give her up.

, Years passed, and she became more and more endeared to her Indian brother and his tribe. She Vi'as so petted, and treated with such affectionate consideration, that she became attached to them, and, getting accustomed to her new mode of life, was comparatively happy. " From her activity and energy of character, qualities for which she was remarkable to the latest period of her life, the name was given her of ' The Ship under Full Sail. '

" Four years had now passed since the capture of little Nelly. Her heart was by nature warm and affectionate, so that the unbounded tenderness of those she dwelt among had called forth a corresponding feeling of affection in her heart. She regarded the chief and his mother with love and reverence, and had so completely learned their language and customs as almost to have forgotten her own.

" So identified had she become with the tribe that the remembrance of her home and family had nearly faded from her memory; all but her mother - her mother whom she had loved with a strength of affection natural to her warm heart and ardent character, and to whom her heart clung with a fondness that no time or change could destroy. "

"The peace of 1783 between Great Britain and the United States now took place. A general pacification of the Indian tribes was the consequence, and fresh hopes were renewed in the bosoms of Mr. and Mrs. Lytle.

"They removed with their family to Fort Niagara, near which, on the American side, was the great Coiiiicil Fire of the Senecas. Colonel Johnson readily undertook a fresh negotiation with the Chief, but in order to ensure every chance of success, he again proceeded in person to the village of the Big-White-Man.

"His visit was most opportune. It was the " Feast of the Green Corn," when he arri\ed among them. This observance which corresponds so strikingly with the Jewish feast of Tabernacles that, together with other customs, it has led many to believe the Indians the descendants of the lost ten tribes of Israel, made it a season of general joy and festi\ity. All other occupations were suspended to give place to social enjo\-ment in the open air, or in arbors formed of the green branches of the trees. Every one appeared in his gala dress. That of the little adopted child consisted of a petticoatof blue broadcloth, boidereti with gaycolored ribbons; a sack or upper garment of black silk, ornamented with three rows of silver brooches, the centre ones from the throat to the hem being of large size, and those from the shoulders down being no larger than a shilling piece, and set as closely as possible. Around her neck were innumerable strings of white and purple wampum, an Indian ornament manufactured from the inner surface of the muscle-shell. Her hair was clubbed behind, and loaded with beads of various colors. Leggings of scarlet cloth, and moccasins of deer-

"Colonel Johnson was received with all the consideration due to his position, and to the long friendship that had subsisted between him and the tribe.

"Observing that the hilarit)- of the festival had warmed and opened all hearts, he took occasion in an interview with the chief to expatiate upon the parental affection which had led the father and mother of his little sister to give up their friends and home, and come hundreds of miles away, in the single hope of sometimes looking upon and embracing her. The heart of the chief softened as he listened to this representation, and he was induced to promise that at the Grand Council soon to be held at Fort Niagara he would attend, bringing his little sister with him.

"He exacted a promise, however, from Colonel Johnson, that not onh' no effort should be made to reclaim the child, but that even no proposition to part with her should be offered him.

"The time at length arrived when, her heart bounding with joy, little Nelly, was placed on horseback to accompany her Indian brother to the Great Council of the Senecas. She had promised him that she would never leave him without his permission, and he relied confidently on her word thus gi\'en.

"As the chiefs and warriors arrived in successive bands to meet their father, the agent, at the council-fire, how did the anxious hearts of the parents beat with alternate hope and fear! The officers of the fort had kindly given them quarters for the time being, and the ladies, whose sympathies were strongly excited, had accompanied the mother to the place of council, and joined in her longing watch for the first appearance of the boat from the Alleghany ri\er.

"At length the\' were discerned, emerging from the forest on the opposite or American side. Boats were sent across by the Commanding Officer, to bring the chief and his party. The father and mother, attended by all the officers and ladies, stood upon the grassy bank awaiting their approach. They had seen at a glance that the little captive was with them.

" With one silent gesture of farewell, he turned and stepped on board the boat. No arguments or entreaties could induce him to remain at the council, but, having gained the other side of the Niagara, he mounted his horse, and, with his young men, was soon lost in the depths of the forest.

"After a sojourn of a few weeks at Niagaia, Mr. Lytle, dreading lest the resolution of the Big- White-Man should give way, and measures be taken to deprive him once more of his child, came to the determination of again changing his place of abode. He therefore took the first opportunity of crossing Lake Erie with his family, and settled himself in the neighborhood of Detroit, where he continued afterward to reside.

"Little Nelly saw her friend, the Chief, no more, but she never forgot him. To the day of her death she remembered with tenderness and gratitude her brother, the Big- White-Man, and her friends and playfellows among the Senecas. "