USA > Illinois > Bureau County > Reminiscences of Bureau county [Illinois] in two parts > Part 12
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band of followers, lived part of each year at the Big Sugar Camp, on Main Bureau, (now in the town of Dover), where he and his ancestors had made sugar for forty-two years in succession. Wasseaw was a chief of some note. and was known by a few of the early settlers. He is described as being tall and slim, pre- possessing in appearance, and he claimed to be a son of Senachwine.
The Indians of Bureau, were low and filthy in their habits, possessing ( with few exceptions), but few of those noble traits which sometimes elevate the savage character, and make their history worthy of record. But they were peaceable and quiet, living on friendly terms with the settlers, and frequently visiting their cabins to exchange commodities. As the settle- ment increased in numbers, the Indians became dis- satisfied with their situation, and left at different times from 1832 to '36, to occupy lands assigned them by the government in Western Kansas.
Many incidents are given by old settlers. illustrative of the peculiar habits of these Indians, and a short account of some of them may interest the reader. Amos Leonard one day met an Indian, with a deer which he had shot, tied to the tail of his pony, and in that way was dragging it into camp. The pony was puffing and sweating with fatigue, while the Indian sat quietly on his back smoking his pipe. At another time, Mr. Leonard saw an Indian dragging a canoe across the prairie, in the direction of Green river. A
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buckskin string was tied to the canoe, with the other end around the Indian's waist; then leaning forward and holding on to the pony's mane, the canoe was drawn along on the grass.
Many Indian feasts and war dances were witnessed by old settlers, the most remarkable of which took place at Indiantown, in the fall of 1830. Black Hawk, with many of his warriors, were on their return from Canada, where they had been to receive their annual annuities from the British government. Leaving the great Sacs and Fox trail, near the crossing of the Galena road, Black Hawk and his warriors went to Indiantown. stopping and conversing with Mr. Epperson, as they passed his cabin. It is said that about one thousand warriors were present at this great war dance, and the performance is described by an eye witness, John L. Ament, as exceeding anything of the kind ever witnessed by the Indians of this county. This dance lasted three days, and the velling of the Indians could be heard for miles away.
Among the many curious customs of the Indians, the medical dance is probably the most remarkable. With the Pottawatamie Indians, a doctor and a priest is one and the same person, and when his skill in roots and herbs fail, he appeals to a higher power for assistance. The friends of the patient are called together to assist in invoking the Great Spirit to expel the demon from the sick person. If the patient is a chief, or a person of importance, the warriors of the
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whole band collect to take part in the ceremony. Nicholas Smith, of the town of Bureau, was present at one of these dances, which took place on Green river, and he describes it as follows: A large number of warriors were formed into a circle, and commenced dancing to the music of drums, and rattling gourds. In the center of the circle stood the priest, or medicine man, with the skins of different animals stuffed, so as to appear life-like. When the music and dancing stopped, the priest took an otter skin in his hand and passed around the circle, until he came to one possessed of a devil, when he ran the nose of the otter against his breast, yelling "hoa" at the top of his voice. The victim fell to the ground, and to all appearance remained lifeless. Again the music and dancing commenced, as before, and as the dancers marched around the circle, they would flourish their tomahawks and war clubs over their fallen comrade, in order to drive the devil out of him. When the dancing again stopped, the medicine man took the skin of a large rattle snake, with the rattles singing as though alive, passing around the circle until he came to another victim, and brought him also lifeless to the ground. This performance was continued until every warrior, having a demon in his breast, was made pure by the skin of a certain animal. Then the dance broke up, and the patients pronounced safe.
Indians generally bury their dead in a shallow grave, and deposit with the corpse, knives, tomahawks, and
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such articles as the deceased would be likely to need in the happy hunting ground to which it is believed he has gone. Many of the graves were covered over with poles, to prevent wolves from digging up and devouring the corpses. Early settlers had noticed in Black Walnut Grove, an Indian grave surmounted with a wooden monument, curiously constructed. intended to prevent the wolves from digging up the corpse, as well as to perpetuate the memory of the deceased. Nothing was ever known of the person buried here, but it was supposed to have been a chief, or great warrior. On one occasion, about thirty Indians were seen to visit this grave, and with their faces painted black, they weeped and wailed over this departed loved one.
On Green river, about two miles above New Bed- ford, was an old Indian camping ground, where Win nebago Indians, from Rock river, lived during the winter hunts. In the winter of 1831, a chief of some note died here, and out of respect for the remains it was sepulchered above ground. On a sandy knoll, a short distance from camp, the corpse, in a setting posi- tion, was tied to a tree, and by the side of which was placed a rifle, knife, tomahawk, pipe, tobacco, de. Around the corpse high palisades were erected to prevent the wolves from devouring it, and in this position it was left to decay.
Children, who died in infancy, were sometimes de- posited on trees, the corpse being placed in a trough, and fastened by withes to a limb, where they were left to
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decay, or until the trough containing the bones would fall to the ground. As late as 1835, two of these sepulchers were found among the branches of trees on Green river, which attracted much attention among trappers and hunters.
Marriage rites among the Indians are held sacred, and the squaw who violates them is subjected to corporeal punishment. Among the males, no odium appears to be attached to improprieties, but a female is sometimes publicly whipped, and disgraced in society, by cutting off her hair or branded on the check. Young maidens, for this offence, are made to do penance until they are purified, and the evil spirit driven out of them, after which they are restored to favor. Early settlers say north of Indiantown, in the thick bottom timber, once stood a very large cottonwood tree, which was fenced around with poles. When a maid had transgressed the laws of propriety, she was compelled to remain in this pen two days and nights, without food or water, in order to drive the demon out of her; when this was accomplished, she was again restored to friends and society.
Young maidens were bought and sold for wives, the same as a pony or rifle; a handsome one would be equal in value to a number of ponies. The first year George Hinsdale spent on Bureau, he raised a fine crop of potatoes, which were at that time in great demand. and could be sold to the Indians at a good price, in exchange for furs, pelts, &e. One day a party of
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Indians came to him, and proposed to swap a handsome young squaw for his potatoes. Mr. Hinsdale, being at that time a single man, and in need of a wife. declined the offer: as he could not think of exchanging his potatoes, which cost him a hard summer's work, for one.
FIRST SETTLER OF BUREAU, AND OLD UNCLE PETER.
On the 5th of May, 1828, Henry Thomas, with his family and scanty household goods, in an ox wagon. arrived on Bureau, and made a claim four miles north of the present site of Wyanet, on a farm now occupied by Thomas Vaughan. His cabin was built near a small branch, at that time skirted with timber. Near the cabin was a spring, and by its side passed the great Galena road, which had been opened the year before. At the time Thomas settled here, there was not a permanent resident within thirty miles of him, being alone in a wild, uninhabited country. then in the pos- session of Indians. A year or two previous, a few families had settled on the Ox Bow Prairie, east of the river as well as on the La Salle prairie north of Peoria, and a few miners about Galena; with these exceptions, all of the State lying north of Peoria, was an unbroken wilderness. Mr. Thomas built a shanty with cotton wood poles, and covered it with bark, in which his family found shelter, until a cabin could be built. His cabin was constructed with small logs, so that himself and a hired man could raise it, as no assistance from neighbors could be obtained. While
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they were engaged in building this cabin, a party of Indians came to them, none of whom could speak or understand English, and by signs and motions, they gave Thomas to understand that his building was not wanted in that locality. These Indians, with angry looks and threatening gestures, left, but soon returned with an interpreter, to ascertain the object of this building. Mr. Thomas told the interpreter that he was not building a fort, as they had supposed, but a wigwam for his squaw and pappooses to live in, and he intended to be their friend and neighbor. The Indians appeared satisfied with this explanation, and some of them went to work and assisted them in handling the logs of the cabin. Before the cabin was completed, Mr. Thomas commenced breaking prairie, which was the first sod broke within the limits of Bureau county. In the fall, his wife, being in a delicate situation, went to visit her friends, in Tazewell county, and returned soon after- wards, with her niece, Miss Elizabeth Baggs, now Mrs. Geo. Hinsdale; who is the oldest settler now living in this county .*
Soon after Mr. Thomas came to Bureau, an Indian chief of some uote came to his house, and proposed to buy his niece, Miss Elizabeth Baggs, a handsome young Miss of fourteen summers, to make a wife for his son. Mr. Thomas, who was always fond of a joke, agreed to swap the girl for the chief's favorite pony. Next day
* Mr. Thomas' second daughter, Mary, now Mrs. Sells, was the first white child born within the limits of Bureau county.
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the chief, with some of his friends, and accompanied by his son, who was along to claim his bride, called on Mr Thomas to carry out the conditions of the trade. Mr. Thomas then told him that the girl did not belong to him, and he could not exchange her for a pony without her parent's consent. But the chief insisted on the swap, and when he found it would not be carried out. he became angry, saving, as he left, that there was no reliance in the promise of a white man.
Soon after Mr. Thomas came to Bureau, he and his family were sitting before a blazing fire, one dark. rainy night, when a stranger called at the door, asking admittance. He did not ring the bell, nor rap on the door, for the cabin contained neither, but with his ramrod he struck a bed quilt which supplied the place of a door. Thomas asked who was there. and the reply was, a friend: as the voice was recognized, he replied, "Come in Unele Peter. as long as I have a home I will share it with you." Peter Demott, for it was he, was an old pioneer hunter, who had spent much of his life in the wilds of the west. Mr. Thomas had made his acquaintance the year before, while ex- ploring the country, and now regarded him as an old friend. For twelve years. Demott, made his home with Thomas, and occupied his time in hunting and trapping. With his gun and blanket, he would spend weeks at a time hunting on Green river, or at groves in the west part of the county, camping out at night. sometimes, sleeping in a hollow log, or bunking with
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Indians. Uncle Peter, as he was generally called, was a man of fine education, a surveyor by profession, but in his youthful days was crossed in love, when he left the abode of civilization to live the life of a hermit. away from kindred and friends. Uncle Peter spent much of his time with Indians, speaking their language, and learning much of their history. He was a man of general intelligence, a close observer of nature, and to him the writer is indebted for many things relating to the Indians of this county, as well as other matters connected with the early settlement.
CHAPTER III.
ARRIVAL OF EMIGRANTS.
In the spring of May, 1828, a covered wagon, drawn by four yoke of cattle, was seen on Kellogg's trail. going northwards, in the direction of the lead mines. This wagon belonged to a family by the name of Ament, and consisted of six brothers-three of whom were men grown, and the other three were boys. ranging in age from twelve to seventeen. At Boyd's Grove they found John Dixon, with some of his friends from Peoria, engaged in building a cabin, which cabin was occupied some weeks later by his family. At a little point of timber, which extended out from West Bureau, they came across Henry Thomas, with his family, living in a tent, having arrived there only a few days before. By the road side, at the east end of Red Oak Grove, where O. Denham now lives, the Aments pitched their tent, with the intention of making this place their future home. At that time no cabin had been built north of La Salle prairie, and from there to
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the lead mines, a distance of one hundred and forty miles, no marks of civilization could be seen except the tents of Dixon and Thomas, above referred to. The timber and prairie of Bureau county had not yet been explored by the enterprising pioneers, and the proba- bilities are, with the exception of surveyors and fur traders, no white man had ever crossed the Princeton prairie.
For two years the Aments kept a house of entertain- ment-the small boys doing the housework, while the larger ones were engaged in making a farm. They also traded much with the Indians, buying of them furs and pelts, and sending them south to sell. When the Galena road left Aments' cabin, they became dissatisfied with their location. Justus and John L. went south for wives, and settled on Main Bureau, while Edward, with his younger brother, went to the Fox river country, and made it their permanent home.
In the spring of 1829, Sylvester Brigham and War- ren Sherley, two young men from Massachusetts, arrived at Henry Thomas', after having traveled on foot from Detroit, with knapsacks on their backs. After spending a few days in looking at the country, Mr. Brigham made a claim on the west side of West Bureau timber. on a farm now occupied by George Hinsdale, and Mr. Sherley made a claim at the head of the grove, which place was afterwards known as Heaton's Point. After working a few months on their claims, they returned east again, where Mr. Sherley remained.
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Next spring Mr. Brigham returned to his claim, accompanied by James G. Forristall, whose jolly, good- natured face was, for the first time, seen in the Bureau settlement. The travelers had descended the Ohio river, and up the Illinois as far as Peoria, on a steamboat. and the boat on which they came was the first one that ever reached that place. This was the steamer Volun- teer, and her arrival at Peoria, in April, 1830, astonished both whites and Indians, many of whom had never seen a steamboat before. The arrival of the Volunteer caused much rejoicing among the people; many swung their hats and shouted, while Bogardus, one of the leading men of the place, brought out an old blunder- buss, planted it in the sand, and fired a salute in honor of her arrival.
On the arrival of Brigham and Forristall, they made claims on the east side of main Bureau timber, (now in the town of Dover) ; here they built cabins, and occupied them for some years alone, both being single men. Mr. Brigham lived on his claim twenty-five years, then went west, and is at present living in Kansas. Mr. Forristall still lives near where he took his first claim, being one among the few left of the early settlers of Bureau.
The portraits of Mr. Brigham and Mr. Forristall will be found in this book, and they will be recognized by many of the old citizens of Bureau.
In the summer of 1829, Abram Stratton, then a young man, in company with a friend by the name of
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Burrell, traveled from the State of New York to Bureau on foot, with knapsacks on their backs. After exploring the country further south, Mr. Stratton made a claim on West Bureau, where he now lives, and consequently he is one of the first settlers of this county. About one year after coming here, Mr. Stratton returned east to make preparations for a permanent settlement in the west. While east, he selected farming utensils, such as plow irons, hoes, spades, &c., for himself and two of his neighbors; having boxed them up, he shipped them west, by the way of the lakes. Late in the fall the boxes containing the goods were landed from a schooner at the mouth of St. Joseph river, and about the same time Mr. Stratton arrived there on foot. Being late in the fall, no vessel would be likely to cross the lake before spring, so Mr. Stratton employed two Frenchmen, with a pirogue, to take him and his goods around the head of the lake to Chicago, one hundred and twenty miles distant. Winter was now close at hand-the lake so rough that their frail craft could scarcely buffet the waves, and many times they were compelled to land, unload their goods on the beach, and wait for the water to calm. After nine days spent in making this perilous voyage, they at last came in sight of the stars and stripes that floated over Fort Dearborn. On arriving at Chicago, Mr. Stratton had his boxes conveyed to Plainfield, thirty miles southwest. Here he bought a yoke of cattle, made a sled, on which his boxes were placed, and proceeded on his journey
-
ABRAM STRATTON.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDA INES.
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ARRIVAL OF EMIGRANTS.
westward. The snow at the time was very deep, the weather cold, and' part of the way no road could be seen, and the course was taken from grove to grove. On arriving at Hartzell's trading house, on the Illinois river, Mr. Hartzell proposed to show him the way across the river and through the timber of the bottom; but when about to start, a large number of Indians came in to trade, and he could not leave. Mr. Stratton. on receiving directions concerning the route, went on alone. Being directed to cross the river above the point of Hennepin Island, then go up stream on the ice, until he came to a blazed tree, from which he could find a road through the timber, cut out a few weeks before, by Timothy Perkins and others. After going a short distance up the river, the ice cracked from the weight of the cattle and sled, and being fearful of breaking in, he left it for the shore, but here he was without a road, and was obliged to cut one through the timber; in doing so he lost his reckoning, and the day was spent in finding his way out of the river timber.
It was a cold, windy day, the thermometer belon zero, the snow three feet deep, and drifted in places so that a road had to be made with a shovel before the oxen could get through. When Stratton arrived on the Princeton prairie, in vain he searched along the timber for Epperson's residence, sometimes going north. then south along the margin of the grove. Night came on, and his cattle gave out, so he encamped in the edge of the grove, near where John H. Bryant now 5
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lives. Shoveling away the snow, a place was made to camp, into which the cattle and sled was brought. Stratton cut down a dry tree, and as it fell it buried itself in the snow. With flint and tinder, ( matches not being in use in those days ), he built a fire, by the side of which he remained until morning. Next morning, after cutting down a small tree for his cattle to browse, he started on foot, in search of Epperson's cabin, which he succeeded in finding; and next day he reached his claim on West Bureau, after spending two weeks in making a trip from Plainfield. For many years Mr. Stratton kept this yoke of cattle and sled- with them he frequently went to church or a visiting, and with them he fled from the country at the commence ment of the Black Hawk war.
In the fall of 1831, Mr. Stratton married Miss Sarah Baggs, a niece of Henry Thomas, and their wedding was the second one celebrated within the limits of this county.
It is a fact worthy of note -- Abram Stratton, Ezekiel Thomas, and Michael Kitterman, are the only persons in this county, who continue to live on claims, which they made previous to the Black Hawk war.
About the first of March, 1830, Elijah Epperson, with his family, arrived on Bureau, in search of a place to make his future home. Leaving the Galena road, at Boyd's Grove, they crossed the prairie, near the mouth of Bureau creek, and stayed over night with Timothy Perkins. Next day they went in search of a claim.
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and by their wagon, the first track was made across the Princeton prairie. Mr. Epperson, and his son Hezekiah, followed up Bureau timber, in search of a spring, until they came to the present residence of James G. Forristall, and here they were surprised to find John L. and Justus Ament, engaged in building a cabin. Retracing their steps, they found in the timber. where F. Stoner now lives, a good spring, and by the side of which they built a cabin. Here Mr. Epperson settled, and here lived until his death, and he will long be remembered as one of the early pioneers of Bureau county.
Probably there is no one among the pioneers of Bureau county, whose life has been so eventful, and who became so extensively known throughout the country. as Dad Joe. In the spring of 1825, he moved from Kentucky to Peoria, was one of the first commis- sioners of Peoria county, and assisted in its organization. A few years afterwards, Dad Joe moved to the lead mines, but left it on the breaking out of the Win- nebago war, and settled at Rock Island. He had made a claim near Black Hawk's village, and was engaged in making a farm, when difficulty arose between the settlers and Indians, which caused many of the former to flee from the country.
One day while Dad Joe was absent, a party of drunken Indians attacked his family, probably with the intention of murdering them. While his wife was in the door yard, an Indian struck her on the head with
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his tomahawk, knocking her down, and cutting her head in a shocking manner; as he was about to repeat the blow, Young Joe, then a lad of twelve years of age. rode his horse on the Indian, and thereby thwarted the fatal stroke. Nicholas, an older son, ran to the rescue of his mother, and was about to shoot the Indian, but prudence dictated otherwise, knowing, in that event. the whole family, with all the settlers about Rock Island, would be massacred. It was after dark when Dad Joe returned to his home, to learn of an attempt to murder his wife, and it was with difficulty that he was restrained from taking revenge on the Indians.
Dad Joe, knowing that the life of himself and family would be insecure at Rock Island, left it, and in the spring of 1830 he settled at a grove which still bears his name.
It was a cold, windy day, in early spring when Dad Joe, with his family and all his household goods in a two horse wagon, arrived at the grove. Having been twice driven from his home on account of Indians, he concluded to make this grove his permanent residence, although off from a public road, and only two families living within twenty miles of him. On the east side of the grove a tent was pitched, in which the family found shelter until a cabin could be built. Soon after settling at the grove, Dad Joe conceived a plan of changing the Galena road, which passed by Red Oak Grove, so as to go by his cabin. Accordingly he staked out the new road, built a bridge across the Inlet, and in a few weeks
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it became a beaten track. For six years Dad Joe lived at the grove keeping a house of entertainment, and on leaving there he settled four miles north of Princeton. when he died in 1852.
HAMPSHIRE COLONY.
On the 23d of March, 1831, a colony was formed at Northampton, Massachusetts, for the purpose of settling in the west. This colony organized a religious society. which was called the " Hampshire Colony Congrega- tional Church," and consisted of eighteen members. and it formed the nucleus of the present Congregational Church, of Princeton. By agreement, the members of the colony met at Albany, New York, on the 5th of May, for the purpose of continuing their journey westward. From here they went on a canal boat to Buffalo, and from there on a steamer to Detroit. At this place they expected to obtain passage on a schooner for Chicago; no steamboat had at that time passed around the lake, and all the commerce was carried on by sail vessels only. The schooner on which they expected passage, was already loaded, and could not take them on board, consequently they were left on shore. On learning that it would be about three months before another schooner would leave for Chicago. they hired teams and pursued their journey by land. On arriving at Mottsville, on the St. Joseph river. Michigan, two of the horses belonging to the teams
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