USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > Discovery and conquests of the Northwest, with the history of Chicago, Vol. I > Part 30
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of
Sand Hills
MAP OF CHICAGO IN 1812.
Haystacks @ 9
344
A Female Equestrian with Her Baby.
to bring around them the social conditions of settled communities.
Mr. John Kinzie himself was then a resident of Detroit, but had determined to make Chicago his future home. His wife was the mother of a daughter by her first husband, which daughter was now a member of his family. The baby, John H. Kinzie, was now about six months old. An Indian trail then led from Detroit through Ypsilanti (then known as Charms trading station), Niles and St. Joseph, around the southern extremity of Lake Michigan, thence one branch led to Chicago and another to Rock Island, on the Mississippi river This was the only way by which Mr. Kinzie could reach the place, and horseback was the only means of transportation.
Accordingly their effects were packed in sacks and lashed to a horse's back, and Mr. and Mrs. Kinzie and the daughter were each mounted on a horse, with Johnny slung in a swaddling pocket from the horn of a saddle, and the journey was begun. Day after day they pursued their wooded trail, camping out each night, till Chicago was reached. Soon after his arrival he purchased a small French trading establishment of a man named LeMai, of whom mention has been made in a previous chapter, and from time to time this hut was improved as the home of Mr. Kinzie, till a com- fortable house took its place, as shown in its picture on another page. This was the first private dwelling ever built in Chicago as an American city. It stood on the north bank of the river, opposite the fort, fronting toward the south. A small boat, chained to the bank, was always in readiness to ferry forward and back between his home and the fort, and this constituted Chicago as it was then, begun by John Kinzie and three French families who then resided there; one of which was LeMai's, and the other two were Ouilmette's and Pettell's families. Ouilmette remained a permanent resident of Chicago, and was ever true to the American interest, which record was rewarded by a large reser- vation of land for him north of Chicago, which still per- petuates his memory. Capt. Whistler's wife was then a
345
Mrs. Whistler.
bride of but sixteen years. Henry W. Hurlbut, Esq., a present citizen of Chicago, visited her in 1875, and thus describes the interview in his pamphlet on Chicago Antiquities, page 24 :
" It was a coveted privilege which we sought, as any one might believe, for it was during the tremendous rain storm of the evening of the 29th of October, 1875, that we sallied out to call on Mrs. Col. R. A. Kinzie for an introduction to that lady's mother, Mrs. Whistler. When we entered the parlor, the venerable woman was engaged at the center table in some game of amusement with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, seemingly as much interested as any of the juveniles.
[We will remark here that five generations of this family have lived in Chicago. ]
"She claimed to enjoy good health, and was appar- ently an unusual specimen of well preserved faculties, both intellectual and physical. She is of a tall form, and her appearance still indicates the truth of the common report, that in her early years she was a per- son of surpassing elegance. A marked trait of her has been a spirit of unyielding energy and determination, which length of years has not yet subdued. Her tenacious memory ministers to a voluble tongue, and we may say briefly, she is an agreeable, intelligent and sprightly lady, numbering only a little over eighty- eight years. 'To-day,' said she, 'I received my first pension on account of my husband's services.' Mrs. Whistler resides in Newport, Kentucky. She has one son and several grandsons in the army. Born in Salem, Mass., July 3, 1787, her maiden name was Julia Fer- son, and her parents were John and Mary LaDuke Ferson. In childhood she removed with her parents to Detroit, where she received most of her education. In the month of May, 1802, she was married to William Whistler (born in Hagerstown, Md., about 1784), a second lieutenant in the company of his father, Capt. John Whistler, U. S. A., then stationed at Detroit.'
He held command of Fort Dearborn, the name given to the new fortification, till 1811, and during this whole time nothing occurred to disturb the peace of the place.
346
The Canadian Voyageurs.
The Indians kept up a trade in furs with "Shaw- neawkee," the name they gave to Mr. Kinzie, which, in their language, meant a silversmith. And during this term of years the even measure of justice, as well as the agreeable demeanor of Mr. Kinzie to them, estab- lished a friendship between themselves and him which proved a precious deliverance to himself and family when the red man again took the war path.
"Mrs. John H. Kinzie, the authoress of that graphic picture of frontier life (Wabun), in speaking of John Kinzie's first days in Chicago, and his experiences in the fur trade, in which he was engaged, says: 'By degrees more remote trading posts were established by him, all contributing to the parent one at Chicago; at Milwaukee, with the Menominees ; at Rock river, with the Winnebagoes and the Pottawattamies; on the Illinois river and Kankakee, with the Pottawattamies of the prairies and with the Kickapoos, in what was called ' Le Large'-being the widely extended district after- ward created into Sangamon county. Each trading post had its superintendent and its complement of en- gagés-its train of pack horses and its equipment of boats and canoes. From most of the stations the furs and peltries were brought to Chicago on pack horses, and the goods necessary for the trade were transported in return by the same method. The vessels which came in the spring and fall (seldom more than two or three annually), to bring the supplies and goods for the trade, took the furs that were already collected to Mackinaw, the depot of the Southwest and American Fur Companies. At other seasons they were sent to the place in boats coasting around the lake.
"Of the Canadian voyageurs, or engagés" (continues Mrs. Kinzie), "a race that has now so nearly passed away, some notice may very properly here be given. They were unlike any other class of men. Like the poet, they seemed born to their vocation. Sturdy, enduring, ingenuous and light hearted, they possessed a spirit capable of adapting itself to any emergency. No difficulties baffled, no hardships discouraged them, while their affectionate nature led them to form attach-
347
Michilimackinac a Trade Center.
ments of the warmest character to their 'bourgeois,' or master, as well as to the native inhabitants among whom their engagements carried them. Montreal, or according to their own pronunciation, Marrialle, was their depot. It was at that place that the agents commissioned to make up the quota for the different companies and traders found material for their selec- tions."
The terms of engagement were usually from four to six hundred livres (ancient Quebec currency) per annum, as wages, with rations of one quart of lyed corn and two ounces of tallow per diem, or its equivalent in what- ever sort of food is to be found in the Indian country. Instances have been found of their submitting cheer- fully to fare upon fresh fish and maple sugar for a whole winter, when cut off from other supplies. It was a common saying, "Keep an engagé to his corn and tallow, and he will serve you well; give him pork and bread, and he soon gets beyond your management."
At this time Michilimackinac was a place of extensive commerce with the Indians. Thither went the distant Sioux and other tribes, both from far and near, to exchange their furs for such necessities as had then become indispensable to the Indians. And there gathered the fearless spirits of the frontier, who gloried in the privations of the wilderness, wilder, if possible, than the natives themselves, and not less hardy. These excitements gave to the place a metropolitan character far above the Chicago portage, which was then only an outpost of old "Mackinaw."
Thus closes a chapter of naive changes in national aspiration, of civil and savage amenities springing into a transitory life, strangely intermingled together, while a young nation, in her fecundity, is giving birth to metropolitan cities. What was then a reality appears, in retrospect, like a dream to us who are rivaling each other in the arts of elegance and luxury, and jostling each other along the paths of life for want of elbow room wherewith to ventilate an ambition more studious in mentality, more psychological, more in accordance with man's nobler nature, but possibly not untarnished
348
Early French Map.
with subtle vices that will be more apparent to the read- ers of our history a hundred years hence than they are to us now.
The aphorism that history repeats itself is true only to a limited extent. The history of the Northwest can never be reproduced any more than middle age can again assume the role of dashing youth.
Mosacoat
Kikapou de 300h
MASCOUTINS
NATION DU FEU Oupacote 200
1250
als Assistageronons
Maramech en
NIE DU SR
COLO
LA
Diatenon
500 h
Ilinois
J.200
pikokia 160™
Fort S! Louis
Miamy 1300h
Chaouenon 200h
Kilatica 300*
DE
R. des Maingoana
SALLE
L. de Pimiteau
E. de Crevecaur
FROM FRANQUELIN'S LARGE MAP, 1684.
Peanghichia.
R. Chekagou
R. Pestekouy
150 EM
R. Chassagaach
Ouabono
.
CHAPTER XV.
Governor Harrison's Efforts to Extinguish Indian Titles to Lands - Indian Discontents- Tecumseh - The Prophet-Tecumseh's Interview with Harrison-Its Threatening Aspect-Tecumseh's Attempt to Form a Confederacy-Harrison Marches into the Indian Country -Encamps at Tippecanoe - The Prophet Attacks Him-Is Defeated-Tecumseh's Plans Frus- trated by the Battle-The Territory of Illinois Organ- ized-Ninian Edwards Appointed Governor.
Under the able administration of Harrison, as gover- nor of the territory of Indiana, and the peaceful appear- ance of the Indians, emigration increased, and as the lands yet ceded by the Indians to the United States were quite inadequate to the demand, the call was for more. To satisfy this call, the Wyandots ceded that portion of Ohio known as the Western Reserve, on July 4, 1805. On the 21st of August, the same year, the: Miamis ceded a tract containing 2,000,000 acres, Governor Harrison being the purchaser ; and on the 30th of December, following, the Piankeshaws ceded a tract eighty miles wide, along the west bank of the Wabash, which included all the land between that stream and a cession which the Kaskaskias had made in 1803. While these tribes were relinquishing the Indian hunting grounds to white settlements by piece- meal, unmindful of the results which might grow out of such an abandonment of the forest, there were a few master minds among them who could clearly forecast the end, if such sales were not prevented.
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350
Tecumseh Attempts to Form a Confederacy.
Prominent among these was Tecumseh, chief of the Shawanese, who may be looked upon as the last representative of the original nobility of his declining race. He beheld the cessions of lands to the United States with alarm, and resolved to make one final effort to stay the progress of the woodman's ax, and preserve the remaining forests of the west inviolable to their native owners-a desperate and foolhardy resolution, unless British aid was expected to his cause. But however certain this might appear in his estimation, he commenced the work before him in a peaceable and statesmanlike manner. The first step to be taken was
Tecumseh's Point
Greenville Crock
Mud Creek
Ice House
Court House
25 Rods
FORT GREENVILLE.
to form an Indian confederacy, by means of a private council, with representative men among the Indians, the principal object of which should be to prevent the further sale of lands to the United States, except by consent of the confederacy, which was intended to unite the entire Indian population of the northwest.
This council was held at Greenville, about the year 1806. Tecumseh and his brother, who was gifted with prophecy, as was supposed, were the leading spirits comprising it. Billy Caldwell, an educated half-breed, * was private secretary to Tecumseh.
* Billy Caldwell soon afterward became principal chief of the Potta- wattamies, and after the war was over made Chicago his residence, till his tribe was removed to the neighborhood of Council Bluffs, in 1835-36. Here he died in 1845. In 1833 Mr. Perkins, who wrote the Western
1
Tecumseh Holds an Interview with Harrison. 351
Tecumseh could read and write, but the book of nature was his most highly prized volume, and the lines of the human face were, in his scrutinizing glance, the plain indexes to the heart. Greenville was from this time his headquarters, where he held his court, and from which place both he and his brother, the prophet, frequently went forth to visit the different tribes of the country, and impress upon them the necessity of a united effort for mutual protection. In this labor the prophet's influence was perhaps greater than that of Tecumseh himself, for it had a leverage from another world wherewith to bear upon life in this, while Tecum- seh's logic was circumscribed to public policy.
The prophet dreamed and saw visions, and his earn- est zeal was soon rewarded with a great awakening among his swarthy brethren. Both he and Tecumseh lent their powerful influence in favor of temperance, as well as many other causes in which they were engaged. But the cause most at heart was the organization of the great Indian confederacy. In the spring of 1808, they moved their headquarters to the banks of a small stream, called Tippecanoe, which emptied into the Wabash, and here immediately sprang up a modern Mecca, to which swarthy pilgrims came, from far and near, to commune with some transcendent power which was to carry their race safely through the wilderness of their griefs. All this time Tecumseh was running from tribe to tribe to propagate his new political prin- ciples, and no evidence exists that he advocated any- thing but peaceful measures to fulfill his laudable designs, as history is compelled to call them. The following August he visited Gov. Harrison, at Vin- cennes. The interview was a pleasant one, and won the confidence of Harrison sufficiently to set at rest any misgivings he might formerly have had, as to direct warlike intentions of the distinguished chief. Still his caution never slept, and he was ever on the watch for
Annals, had an interview with him at Chicago, at which time he had a trunk full of papers pertaining to the war, and particularly Tecum- seh's participation in it; and it was at this interview that Mr. Perkins learned of the private council which Tecumseh held at Greenville. See Western Annals, page 550.
352
Win-a-mac's Influence in Council.
any new phase which might develop between the two antagonistic elements under his territorial charge, at the head of one of which he stood, while Tecumseh ably represented the other.
Two years later, in 1810, the census of Indiana territory showed a population of 24, 520, and there were in the territory 33 grist mills, 14 saw mills, 18 tanner- ies, 28 distilleries, 3 powder mills, 1,256 hand looms and 1, 350 spinning wheels. This showed a quadruple increase in the number of inhabitants, and much more than that in its agricultural and manufacturing interests during the ten years since its first organization as a territory.
That these augmentations to the white settlements had increased the jealousy of Tecumseh and the pro- phet, was well known. The latter was daily increasing in popularity, as was amply shown by the numbers who gathered around him to hear him foretell the good things in store for the Indian race, and tone up their resolution to verify them.
Meantime Harrison deemed it prudent to try if possi- ble to counteract this influence, and to this end sent messengers to the Miamis, Delawares and Pottawatta- mies, whose business it was to assure those tribes of the protection and friendship of the United States, and to warn them against the pretensions of the prophet, whose influence had now extended to the tribes around Lake Michigan, and early in May, 1810, the Potta- wattamies, Chippewas and Ottawas held a council at St. Joseph, to consider the propriety of joining his. standard.
In this council, Win-a-mac, a distinguished Potta- wattamie chief, well known to the early settlers of Chicago, used his influence against the prophet. This friendly intervention in favor of the whites was due to the influence which Mr. Kinzie and the officers of Fort Dearborn had exerted over him. It prevailed in the council, and no encouragement was given to the emis- saries of the prophet. On the contrary, Win-a-mac sent valuable information to Gov. Harrison as to the numbers of hostile tribes.
353
Interview between Harrison and Tecumseh.
No act of hostility had yet been committed, but signs of brooding discontent were on the increase; among the Shawanese, in particular, who, in their honor-clad armor of independence, refused to receive their annuity of salt which the United States government were accustomed to give, and insulted the agents sent to deliver it, by calling them "dogs." This palpable sign of hostility caused Gov. Harrison to send a mes- senger forthwith to Prophetstown* to ascertain the causes of discontent.
At first the prophet laid the blame, as usual, on some of his hasty young men; but when pressed by Mr. Dubois, Harrison's faithful messenger, for the real rea- son, he complained that the Indians had been cheated out of their lands-that no sale was good unless made by all the tribes. In reply to this complaint, Gov. Harrison returned an answer, offering to restore any lands to the Indians that had not been fairly purchased. This message was sent by Mr. Barron, another messen- ger, with two associates, Brouillette and Dubois. Arriving at the place, they were conducted into the presence of the high priest, with no small measure of ceremony. When within a few feet of his majesty, "he looked at me," said Barron, "for several minutes without speaking or making any sign of recognition, although he knew me well. At last he spoke, appar- ently in anger. 'For what purpose do you come here?' said he. He then accused them all of being spies, and pointing to the ground, said: 'There 's your grave ! Look on it.'" Tecumseh, who was present, now inter- fered, to save the lives of the messengers-assured them of their safety, and received their message. No answer was given to it, but Tecumseh said he would visit Harrison, at Vincennes, in a few days, and reply to him. The messengers now withdrew.
On the 12th of August succeeding (1810), true to his word, Tecumseh, attended by seventy-five warriors, paid his respects to Gov. Harrison. He remained in Vincennes twelve days, holding frequent interviews with him, always with an air of hauteur, which only an
* An Indian town, near Tippecanoe Creek, where the prophet lived.
354
Tecumseh's Speech.
Indian can assume with grace. On the 20th, address- ing the governor, he said: "Brother : Since the peace of Greenville, in 1795, was made, you have killed some of the Shawanese, Winnebagoes, Delawares and Miamis, and you have taken our lands from us, and I do not see how we can remain at peace with you if you continue to do so. You try to force the red people to do some injury. It is you that are pushing them on to do mis-
chief. You wish to prevent the Indians to do as we wish them, to unite and let them consider their lands as the common property of the whole. You take tribes aside and advise them not to come into this measure. The reason I tell you this is, you want, by your dis- tinctions of Indian tribes, in allotting to each a particular tract, to make them to war with each other. You never see an Indian endeavor to make the white people do so. You are continually driving the red people, when at last you will drive them onto the great lake, when they can't either stand or work. Since my residence at Tippecanoe, we have endeavored to level all distinc- tions-to destroy village chiefs, by whom all mischief is done. It is they who sell our lands to Americans. Brother, this land that was sold, and the goods that were given for it, was only done by a few. The treaty was afterward brought here and the Weas were induced to give their consent, because of their small numbers. The treaty of Ft. Wayne was made through the threats of Win-a-mac, but in future we are prepared to punish those who may propose to sell land. If you continue to purchase of them, it will make war among the differ- ent tribes, and at last I do not know what will be the consequence among the white people. Brother, I wish you would take pity on the red people and do what I have requested. If you will not give up the land, and do cross the boundary of your present settlement, it will be very hard and produce great trouble among us. How can we have confidence in the white people? When Jesus Christ came upon the earth you killed Him and nailed Him on a cross. You thought He was dead, but you were mistaken. You have Shakers among you, and you laugh and make light of their worship. Every-
-- - .....
-
HOSTILE INTERVIEW BETWEEN HARRISON AND TECUMSEH.
356
Rage of Tecumseh.
thing I have said to you is the truth. The Great Spirit has inspired me. If you think proper to give us any presents, and we can be convinced that they are given through friendship alone, we will accept them." *
To this speech Harrison replied, by contrasting the conduct of the United States toward the Indians with that of other civilized nations toward savages within their jurisdiction, and drawing a comparison favorable to the United States. This stung Tecumseh to the quick, and he leaped to his feet from the ground where he was reposing, and with violent gesticulation declared that both Gov. Harrison and the United States had cheated the Indians. A number of his party, sharing his feelings of resentment, sprang to his side, appar- ently ready to attack the governor and his party on the spot.
General Gibson, who was then secretary of the terri- tory, instantly brought twelve men armed with sabres to the front, while Harrison himself firmly grasped the hilt of his sword, and boldly confronted the angry chief and his party, whose war clubs, tomahawks and spears flashed defiance. No blow was struck, but Harrison reproached Tecumseh for his conduct, and requested him instantly to depart to his camp, saying at the same time, he would send his speech to his tribe in written form. The next morning Tecumseh made apologies for his hasty ebullition of fury, and begged another interview with Harrison. It was granted, and Tecum- seh by his respectful demeanor, made ample amends for his misconduct the day before.
Nothing was settled by the interview, however, but at the close of the council Tecumseh hoped that the Great Spirit would put sense enough into the head of the president to restore the lands in question to the Indians, and took his departure, after saying with emphasis to Harrison : "He may sit in his own town and drink his wine, while you and I will have to fight it out." The next year (1811), on the 24th of June, Gov. Harrison sent Captain Wilson to confer with
* This report of Tecumseh's speech is but an extract embodying his strong points.
Tecumseh Seeks Alliance with Southern Tribes. 357
Tecumseh at Prophetstown, for the purpose of con- ciliating the still dissatisfied chief.
Tecumseh received him with great courtesy, but elo- quently expatiated on the causes of which the Indians complained, and promised to come again to Vincennes to confer with Gov. Harrison in the matter. On the 27th of July following he came, attended by 300 of his men. There were then 750 militia ready for duty in Vincennes, and these were placed under arms ready for an emergency. Of course the interview settled nothing, for it was absurd to suppose the land that had been purchased of single tribes could ever be restored to the Indians, and nothing short of this would satisfy Tecumseh.
Soon after this conference ended, Tecumseh, with twenty attendants, started for the distant country of the Chickasaws, Creeks and Choctaws, for the purpose of securing their alliance to his cause in a conflict which he felt was pending. Meantime, the English agents among the Indians were generous in the distribution of presents among them.
There was a belligerent feeling at that time between the British and American people, not only on account of old scores, but new issues had come between the two nations, brought into being by what was called the con- tinental system in Europe, which will be explained in the next chapter; and its effects were felt wherever the English name was known, even to the extreme limits of the frontiers of civilization, in the forests of America, where the unambitious native, gaunt with hunger and offensive with dirt, but loyal to the ensign of St. George, was ready to take the war path for his British father. The British had everything to hope for in his friendship, and nothing to lose by it, which was the reason for this. The Americans could gain nothing by his friendship, but his enmity would be a pretext by which to deprive him of the soil. Under this duress, the unhappy red men were between two fires, fighting the battles of the British in the front, only to be forsaken in the dis- tribution of victory's spoils, whichever way the cause went. While the issue was maturing between the Brit-
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