USA > Illinois > Ogle County > Sketches of the history of Ogle County, Ill., and the early settlement of the Northwest > Part 3
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As speedily as possible, a force was sent to the West under Maj. George Rogers. Clark, and with him Pontiac signed a treaty of peace, which, however, on his part, was- only an act of deception. Despite his tricks and traps, the three most promi- nent forts of the West werc unconquered
16
HISTORY OF OGLE COUNTY.
"The Indians sue for Peace-Pontiac killed at the " Great Council"-Wis Son's Address to the Authorities of Virginia.
in the fall of 2763 ; old animosities among the Indians revived ; gradually their ranks became disjointed and broken, and Pou- tiac, with a few followers, was incapable of completing the task so courageously began. The British government, having taken conciliatory steps towards those whom she acknowledged, had, in many cases been defrauded of their rights, a treaty of peace was concluded at Detroit, on the 21st of August, 1764, when more than twenty tribes were present, all of whom sued for peace. Subsequently very little of importance was effected by hostile Indians under the great Chief, while treaties were being made through the whole Northwest by which peace was being secured.
Pontiac was killed by a Kaskaskian Indian while in the act of rallying his dismembered army at a "Great Council." At the beginning of the difficulties be- tween the Colonies and the mother coun- try, Shegenata, the son of Pontiac, who in his youth had saved the life of a young Virginian who had wandered in the woods, and had lost his way, notwith- standing the endeavors of Hamilton, the Governor of Detroit, to frighten him from his purpose by telling him that only assassination would await him, appeared before the Virginia deputies, where, after reciving many presents and warm pro- fessions of friendship, he addresssed them as follows :
"Fathers, after the insinuations of the Com_ mandent of Detroit, I accepted your invitation with distrust, and measured my route with trembling feet towards this 'Council of Fire'*
Your reception proves his falsehood, and that my fears were groundless. Truth and him have been a long time enemies. My father and many of my chiefs kave lately tasted the bitterness of death.
The memory of this misfortune almost de- stroys my quality of man in filling my eyes with tears. Your sensible compassion has re- lieved my heart of this heavy burden, and the remembrance will be transmitted to the re- motest posterity. Fathers, I rejoice at what I have just now heard, and I shall faithfully re late it to my nation. If for the future you wish to speak with me, I shall return with pleasure, and I thank you for my present invi- tation. The particular friendship which you expressed toward me, and the gun which you have given me for the care I took of your young friend Field, exact my most heartfelt gratitude. I feel that I did nothing but my duty. He who simply does his duty merits no praise. If any one of your nation should visit mine, either from curiosity or on business, or should be involuntarily thrust among us by the strong hand of the conqueror. he will ever meet the same reception which your brother received. You have assured me that if my nations hould visit yours, they 'will be welcome. My fears have ceased. I have no longer any doubts. I will recommend our young men to visit yours and make their ac- quaintanee. Fathers, what has passed this day is too profoundly engraved on my heart for time over to efface it. I predict that the sun's cays of this day of peace will warm the chil- dren of our children, and will protect them against the the tempests of misfortune. As a guarantee of what I say, I present you my right hand-this hand, which has never been given without the heart consented, which has never shed human blood in peace, nor spared an enemy in war; and I assure you of my friend- ship with a tongue which has never jested with truth, since I have been of that age to know that falsehood is a crime."
*A Council where he had come to light the calumnet of peace.
17
HISTORY OF OGLE COUNTY.
Progress of the Settlements -French Machinations among the Indians-Beginning of the Revolution.
With that spirit of progress which has ever characterized the English pioneers of carly history, bold men were continu- ally pressing forward to the Ohio and Mississippi, and making practical dis- coveries in the West. Among the earlier of these are the names of Geo. Croghan, whose expedition terminated in 1765, Ebenezer, Silas and John Zanes of 1769, and somewhat later, of Boone, Henderson, Lowther, Finley, Bullitt and McAfees; while, notwithstanding the many treaties of peace, single and combined tribes of Indians were holding in terror of the tomahawk, the whole power of advan- cing civilization. Drops of ink on parch- ment and paper might coneiliate the ex- ecutive of governments, but could not heal the sores that were made at Quebec and Pittsburg, or render an equivalent for the wounded pride of the French in- habitants from the "seven years' war." These were continually instigating the natives against the pioneers, and many a life was taken to satisfy their malice. It was not, however, French instigation that led to the memorable battle at the june- ture of the Kanawha with the Ohio,so much as injustice on the part of the colonists to- ward those Indians with whom they were in a state of professed peace. In this battle, which took place on the 10th of October, 1774, there were no less than 215 killed and wounded of the colonial army, including among the killed three Colonels, five Captains, three Lieuten- ants and several subalterns. The loss of the Indians could not be estimated, as the bodies of their dead were immedi- ately thrown into the Ohio. It must, at 3
all events, have been much greater than that of the whites, as they were at length compelled to seek safety in flight, which they would have been the last to do. had not their numbers been reduced to a hopeless extremity.
Peace was effected by Lord Dunmore, the traitor governor of Virginia, who was smoothing the way, that he might sue- ceed in the plot of uniting the Indians with Great Britain against the Colonies.
CHAPTER V.
The first echo of the Revolutionary War had no sooner been heard from the hights of Bunker Hill, than British emissaries filled the West, and by pres- ents, fair promises, stratagems, and what not, endeavored to persuade the Indians to join them in their unholy cause. At first, the answer they met was:
"Look, the flames of war are ,kindled be- tween men of the same nation. They are dis- puting among themselves for the hunting grounds which they have taken from us. Why should we embrace their quarrels? And what friend, what enemy shall we choose? When the red men carry on war, do the white men come among us to take part with one or the other? No, they allow our tribes to become weakened, and one to be destroyed by the oth- er. They wait until the earth, bedewed with our blood, may lose its people, and become their inheritance. Let them, in their turn, ex- haust their strength, and destroy themselves ; we shall then recover, when they shall cease to exist, the forests, the mountains and lakes which belonged to our ancestors."
But not thus easily to be defeated in
18
HISTORY OF OGLE COUNTY.
The Treaty of Peace-Formation of Illinois County-First Newspaper-Purchase of Louisiana.
their project, the tools of Britain per- sisted, and finally succeeded with the Iroquois, or "six nations," as well as with other tribes of the Northwest. The battle of Fort Stanwix, the rout of Ben- nington, the sad story of the almost en- tire extermination of the "Six Nations," the inhuman butchery of the peaceable Moravians, the murder of Cornstalk and its terrible results, the siege of Fort Hen- ry, in which Captain Ogle rendered his bravery and coolness so conspicuous, when his numerous company fell around him, in the long and bloody conflict ; Clark's march across this State, and his novel mode of reducing Kaskaskia, the capture of Cahokia, the changing for- tunes of Fort Vincennes, and many other movements of this nature, connect in their narration the wily intrigues and savage inhumanity of Indian warfare, and examples of the most skillful generalship that the world has ever known, with the self-sacrificing bravery characteristic of the heroes of the Revolution. This bravery was not unrewarded; for on the 19th of April, 1784, a treaty of peace was concluded, and the red lion sent home to his den beyond the Atlantic. By this treaty, the line of division on the west ran through the center of the Mississippi, from its source to its mouth. Now, that this was effected, immigration began to pour into the country west of the Al- leganies at a much more rapid rate than ever before, although single tribes of Indians continued to harass the fron- tiers, and every advancement must, as it were, be made in the face of death.
After Clark's successful march into the
West, at which time many formerly hos- tile tribes became voluntarily the warm- est friends, disavowing all connection with the British power, this country was formed into a county by the House of Burgesses of Virginia, and called Illinois, a name derived from a powerful tribe of Indians which inhabited her boundless prairies, October, 1778. A company, consisting of a few families from Vir- ginia, made a settlement near Bellefon- taine, in Monroe county, in 1784. This was the first settlement made in the coun- try by people of the United States. St. Clair County may boast of the next American settlements, two of which were made previous to the year 1800. Speak- ing of pioneers, it may be pertinent to mention the Pittsburg Gazette, which was published in July 1788, being the first newspaper ever printed in the North- west, and just eleven months later, the Kentucky Gazette was issued at Lexing- ton. Let posterity remember the name of John Baptiste Trudeau, the west- ern schoolmaster, who flourished at St. Louis as early as 1800. The honey-bee appeared on the banks of the Mississippi as early as 1792. In 1794, all the coun- try cast of the Mississippi and south of Canada was ceded by England to the United States. In 1800 Spain re-ceded Louisiana, and all the country on the west bank of the Mississippi, to the French Government, and the Emperor Napoleon, in 1803, disposed of it to the United States for $11,250,000. At the ceding of the Northwestern territory by Virgin a to the United States in 1784, that coun- try was placed under territorial gov-
19
HISTORY OF OGLE COUNTY.
General Arthur St. Clair appointed Governor of Indiana-Treaty with the Indians-Its Provisions.
ernment, and General Arthur St. Clair was appointed Governor of Indiana Ter- ritory, with which Illinois was connected for nine years.
It is impossible for us to give in detail a history of the depredations of the In- dians on the frontier settlements, from the close of the Revolutionary War to the beginning of t! e War of 1812, although it embodies a tale of tragedy and ro- mance, interesting but painful; yet the most prominent of these we propose to notice.
In the year 1804, was made the treaty . between the United States and the united tribes of the Sacs and Foxes, and as the memorable Black Hawk War of 1832 was a violation of this treaty, we will give some of its conditions.
By Article Ist "the United States re- ceive the Sacs and Fox tribes into their friendship and protection, and the said tribes agree to consider themselves un- der the protection of the United States, and no other power whatever."
By Article 2d, "the general boundary line between the lands of the United States and of the said Indian tribes, shall be as follows, viz : Beginning at a point on the Missouri River, opposite to the mouth of the Gasconade River; thence in a direct course, so as to strike the River Jefferson, to the Mississippi; thence up the Mississippi to the mouth of the Ouis- consin River, and up the same to a point which shall be thirty-six miles in a direct line from the mouth of said river; thence by a dircet line to a point where the Fox River (a branch of the Illinois) leaves the small lake called the Sackaegan ;
thence down the Fox River to the Mis- sissippi. And the said tribes, for and in consideration of the friendship of the United States, which is now extended to them, of the goods (to the value of two thousand two hundred and thirty-four dollars and fifty cents) which are now de- livered, and of the annuity hereinafter stipulated to be paid, do hereby cede and relinquish forever to the United States all the lands included in the above described boundaries."
By Article 3d, "the United State agree to pay to these tribes $1,6v- yearly in goods suitable to their wants, four hundred of which is to be delivered to the Foxes and six hundred to the Sacs."
By Article 4th, "the United States agree never to interrupt the said tribes in their peaceable possessions, but to protect them in their enjoyment of the same. In turn, these tribes agree not to sell their lands to any sovereign power but the Uni- ted States, nor to the citizens or subjects of any sovereign power, nor to the citi- zens of the United States."
By Article 5th, "it is provided that for misconduct, on the part of individuals, there shall be no retaliation on the part of said individuals, but all difficulties shall be referred to the proper authorities, viz : the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, or his Deputy, and the Chiefs of the said tribes, whose duty it shall be to inflict the necessary punishments, for the proper fulfilment of which, the said Superin- tendent, or Chiefs, were personally re- sponsible."
Article 6th prohibits the settlement of any white man upon the Indian territo-
20
HISTORY OF OGLE COUNTY.
Provisions of the Treaty-"Additional Article"-Temporary Peace-Tecumseh's Scheme.
ry, and provides for the speedy removal of any who might do so.
Article 7th insures the right of the Indians to reside on the lands ceded to the United States, as long as those lands re- main the property of the United States.
In Article 8th, the Indians promise not to allow any trader to reside among them without a license from the Superinten- dent of Indian Affairs, and also from time to time to give account, to the Superin- tendent or his Deputy, of such traders as may be among them.
By Article 9th, "the Government pro- mises to establish a trading-house, where the individuals of said tribes may be sup- plied with goods at a reasonable rate, and thus be secured against the impositions of traders."
In Article 10th, "the Indians promise that a meeting of the representative Chiefs of the Osages and of the Sacs and Foxes shall take place to bury the tomahawk and renew friendly inter- course, and thus to establish peace on a firm and lasting basis between those na- tions which have so long been at war."
Article 11th provides for the building of military posts at the mouth of the Mississippi, or on the right bank of the Mississippi, and also secures the right of persons traveling through their country, to do so without molestation or taxation.
Article 12th states that this treaty shall be obligatory when ratified by the President and Senate of the United States.
Signed at St. Louis, Nov. 3d, 1804, by William Henry Harrison, and the Chiefs and head men of the said Sac and Fox tribes.
To these there is an "Additional Arti- cle," which reads as follows : "It is agreed that nothing in this treaty contained shall affect the claim of any individual, or in- dividuals, who may have obtained grants of land from the Spanish Government, and who are not included within the gen- eral boundary line laid down in this trea- ty; provided that such grants have at any time been made known to the said tribes, and recognized by them."
Such is a summary of the treaty of 1804, which we have given thus at length, in or- der that it may be useful for reference.
A temporary peace having thus been secured, the inhabitants of Illinois were little molested until the outbreak of the War of 1812, when the West again be- came the theater of exciting action. Te- cumseh, a man far famed in history, see- ing the foundation of existence for his countrymen crumbling beneath them, aware of the terrible results to the com- mon foe of united effort, as effected under Pontiac and other renowned chiefs before him, laid the foundation of a scheme, which, if it had been successful in its ex- ecution, would have lengthened out the being of that strange race, whose last feeble remnants arc fast sinking away up- on the borders of the Pacific. His plan was, to unite in one grand compact all those tribes which had any intercourse whatever with the United States; and his object was, by this compact to prevent any sale of lands belonging to these tribes to the United States, and to introduce among the savages the arts of civilized nations, and thus to obtain the security derived from civilization.
21
HISTORY OF OGLE COUNTY.
Tecumseh begins his Work-His Character and Labors-The Prophet-British Tampering with the Indians.
"Tecumseh entered upon the great work he had in contemplation, in the year 1805 or 1806. He was then about thirty-eight years of age. To unite the several Indian tribes, many of whom were hostile to, and had often been at war with each other, in this great and impor- tant undertaking, prejudices were to be over- come, their original customs and manners to be re-established, the use of ardent spirits to be abandoned, and all intercourse with the whites to be suspended. The task was herculean in its character, and beset with difficulties on ev- ery side. Here was a field for a display of the highest moral and intellectual powers. He had already gained the reputation of a brave and sagacious warrior, and a cool headed, up- right, wise and efficient counselor. He was neither a war nor peace Chief, and yet he wielded the power and influence of both. The time having arrived for action, and knowing full well that, to win savage attention, some bold and striking movement was necessary, he imparted his plan to his brother, the Prophet, who adroitly, and without a moment's delay, prepared himself for the part he was appointed to play in the great drama of savage life. Te- cumseh well knew that excessive superstition was everywhere a prominent trait in the Indian character, and, therefore, with the skill of another Cromwell, brought superstition to his aid
"Suddenly, his brother began to dream dreams and see visions ; he became afterwards an in- spired prophet favored with a divine commis- sion from the Great Spirit-the power of life and death was placed in his hands-he was ap- pointed Agent for preserving the property and lands of the Indians, and for restoring them to their original happy condition. He thereup- on commenced his sacred work. The public mind was aroused, unbelief gradually gave way; credulity and wild fanaticism began to to spread its circles, widening and deepening, until the fame of the prophet, and the divine character of his mission, had reached the fro- zen shores of the lakes, and overrun the broad
plains which streteh far beyond the great Fa- ther of Waters. Pilgrims from remote tribes sought, with fear and trembling, the head- quarters of the prophet and the sage. Prose- lytes were multiplied, and his followers in- creased beyond all former examples. Even Tecumseh became a believer; and seizing upon the golden opportunity, he mingled with the pilgrims, won them by his address, and on their return. sent a knowledge of his plan of concert and union to the most distant tribes. " The bodily and mental labors of Tecumseh now commenced. His persuasive voice was one day listened to by the Wyandots, on the plains of Sandusky; on the next, his com- mands were issued on the banks of the Wabash. He was anon seen paddling his canoe across the Mississippi; then boldly confronting the Governor of Indiana in the Council House at Vincennes: now carrying his banner of union among the Creeks and Cherokees of the South, and from thence to the cold and inhospitable regions of the North, neither intoxicated by success nor discouraged by failure."*
As the clouds of war again began to gather upon the political horizon of our country, the old measures of Great Bri- tain, which in the days of '76 covered her noblest conquests with the foulest stains, began again to be put into opera- tion, and three years before the opening of hostilities, British officers were again stirring up to deeds of deep resentment the red men on the frontiers, and instil- ing into their minds the belief that the sovereignty over all the country not ceded in the treaty of Greenville, ought to be theirs. The minds of Tecumseh and the Prophet were ripe for lessons of this na- ture, for through them was opening up a seeming foundation to justify the prose-
*Brown's History of Illinois.
22
HISTORY OF OGLE COUNTY.
Treaties Made-Battle of Tippecanoe-Formation of Illinois Territory-Government of Illinois.
cution of their daring project. Awake to the kindling fame, Governor Harrison, in an address to these two brothers, says:
"Brothers, I am myself of the Long Knife fire; as soon as they hear my voice, you will see them pouring forth their swarms of 'hunt- ing shirt men,' as numerous as the musquitoes on the shores of the Wabash. Brothers, take care of their sting."
Treaties were effected and purchases made so that our claims to the western territory might be founded on principles of equity. Of those from whom land was bought were the Chippewas, Ottawas, Pottawatomies, Wyandots, Shawnees, Del- awares, Miamis, Eel River Indians, Weas and Kickapoos.
The first battle, of very great imper- tance, which occurred as the fruit of the schemes of Tecumseh and the Prophet, was that of Tippecanoe, on the upper waters of the Wabash. The particulars of this disastrous engagement are given at length in almost every American History, so that we need not recapitulate.
Tecumseh and his friends united with the British in the War of 1812; and fought and died with the bravery of des- peration, for with the memorable defeat of his army at the battle of Tippecanoe, his hope of success in his magnificent enterprise seemed to have died within him, and we have good reason to believe that the sequel would have proved far more disastrous to the whites, had he been present in person to superintend the events of that period.
That country lying to the west of In- diana, and known by the name of Illi- nois, was in 1809 formed into the "Illi-
nois Territory,"and Hon. Ninian Edwards, then Chief Justice of Kentucky, was ap- pointed Governor, and Nathaniel Pope, Esq. of Kaskaskia, Secretary of the Ter- ritory.
The history of the government of Il- linois, up to 1809, runs as follows : Origin- ally, and under French control, Illinois was a portion of ancient New-France. About the year 1715 or 1720, it was made a part of the colony of Louisiana. By the treaty of 1763, in connection with Canada, this country was ceded to British authority. By authority of this power, Captain S erling established the Provi- sional Government at Fort Chartres, in 1765. The following year, by virtue of the Quebec Bill, Illinois, and the whole Northwestern territory, was placed under the local supervision of Canada. Thusit remained two years, when the conquest of the country, by General Clark, placed it under the jurisdiction of Virginia, which, in October, 1778, organized the county of Illinois. The country was ceded to the Continental Congress in 1784, but the ordinance providing for a Territorial Government was not passed until 1787, and its provisions were not acted upon until 1788; and in 1789 Governor St. Clair organized the county that now bears his name. This had been a part of Indiana Territory from 1800, at which time the government was of two grades; the first constituting the law making power, and consisting of the Governor and Judges; the second grade was the Territorial Legislature, consisting of a House of Representatives elected by the people, and a Council appointed by.
23
HISTORY OF OGLE COUNTY.
First Steamboats on the Western Rivers-Counties Organized-First Territorial Legislature-Earthquakes.
the President and Senate. Previous to 1812, the Territorial Government of Illi- nois was of the first grade.
The year 1311 is distinguished as the one in which was built the New- Orleans, the first steamboat over built beyond the Alleganies. In 1817 the General Pike was built. This steamboat, which was the first to navigate the upper waters of the Mississippi, arrived at St. Louis in the year above mentioned ; and in 1819 the Independence was built to ply on the Missouri, and ascended as far as Frank- lin and Chariton.
On the 28th of April, 1809, Nathaniel Pope, acting Governor, issued his procla- mation dividing the Territory of Illinois into two counties-Randolph and St. Clair. These were the only counties in the Territory for the three years preceding 1812.
On the 14th , of February, 1812, Gov- ernor Edwards ordered an election to be held in each county, on the second Mon- day of April, that the people might de- cide whether they would enter upon the second grade cf government. It was in the power of the Governor to advance the territory to the second degree, but he chose to be guided by the popular will. The people, by a very large majority, de- cided the question in the affirmative.
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