The History of Peoria County, Illinois. Containing a history of the Northwest-history of Illinois-history of the county, its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc., etc., Part 6

Author: Johnson & co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : Johnson & Company
Number of Pages: 932

USA > Illinois > Peoria County > The History of Peoria County, Illinois. Containing a history of the Northwest-history of Illinois-history of the county, its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc., etc. > Part 6

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On the 20th of May the party reached the mouth of the Muscleshell, a river of eon- siderable size, from the south. They were then 2,270 miles above the mouth of the Mississippi, in latitude 17 deg .. 24 min. Mention is made of what the French traders called Cote Noire, or Black Hills. On the 26th of May they had the first view of the Rocky Mountains, " the object," as the journalist remarks, "of all our hopes, and the reward of all our ambition." The view was obtained from what they ealled one of the last ridges of the Black Mountains. On the 30th they had reached that part of the river which passes through between walls of rocks, presenting every form of sculptured ruins. and having the appearance of being the productions of art. Of these objeets of natural scenery they give a most glowing description.

On the 3d of June the expedition reached a junction of two branches of the river. when they were at a loss to determine which was the true Missouri river. Parties, one under Captain Lewis and the other under Captain Clarke, proceeded to explore both branches by land. The party under Captain Lewis, on the 13th, renched the Great Falls of the Missouri on the southern branch, which determined the question. One of the men was sent to inform Captain Clarke of the discovery. The explorers give a vivid description of the wonderful and beautiful scenery which is here presented. In the vicinity of the falls they saw a herd of at least a thousand buffalo. one of which they shot. Here Captain Lewis himself had an encounter with a large brown bear, from which he escaped by plunging into the river. Mention is made of grasshoppers at the month of Medicine river, about twelve miles above the Great Falls, in such multitudes that the herbage on the plains was in part destroyed by them. At that point the Missouri is described as being three hundred yards wide, and Medicine river one hundred and thirty-seven yards wide. The party remained here until the 15th of July, examining the surrounding country, constructing canoes, and making general preparations for continuing the journey. On that day they again embarked with eight heavily loaded

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canoes, encountering many difficult places for navigating, owing to the rapids. Toward the latter part of July they reached a point where the Missouri is formed of three branches, one of which they called Jefferson, one Madison, and one Gallatin. Here the party divide and explore the several branches, partly for the purpose of finding the Shoshones, the Indians that were known to inhabit that region. On the 11th of August they encountered a single Indian on horseback, who proved to be one of that tribe or nation. Captain Lewis, who had continued his course up the Jefferson, or principal branch forming the sources of the Missouri, reached a point where it had so diminished in width that one of his men in a fit of enthusiasm, with one foot on each side of the rivulet, thanked God that he had lived to bestride the Missouri. A few miles further on they reached a point where issues the remotest water - the hitherto hidden sources of that river, which had never before been seen by civilized man. They sat down by the brink of the little rivulet, and quenched their thirst at the chaste and icy fountain, which sends its modest tribute down to the great ocean thousands of miles away. Crossing over the dividing line between the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, at a distance of three-quarters of a mile, they stopped to taste for the first time the waters of the Columbia, here a stream of clear, cold water flowing westward. On the same day Captain Lewis succeeded in gaining a friendly interview with the Shoshones. Captain Clarke, with a part of the expedition, was at this time at the junction of the three branches of the Missouri, and Captain Lewis engaged a number of the Indians, with about thirty of their horses, to transport their merchandise and outfit to the Shoshone camp.

The Shoshones are described as being a small tribe of the nation called the Snake Indians, an appellation which embraces the inhabitants of the southern parts of the Rocky Mountains and of the plains on either side. During the Summer the Shoshones resided about the headwaters of the Columbia, where they lived chiefly on salmon. In their journal the explorers give a long and interesting account of the habits, traditions, and manner of life of this people. They found them honest, friendly, and ready to render them all the assistance in their power.

After purchasing twenty - nine horses from the Shoshones, the party, on the 30th of August, resumed their journey toward the Pacific. On the 4th of September, after many difficulties in finding a practicable route, they came to a large encampment of Indians who received them with great cordiality. The pipe of peace was introduced and a council held. They represented themselves as a band of a nation called Tushepaws, a numerous people then residing on the headwaters of the Missouri and Columbia rivers. The Indians shared their berries and roots with the strangers and received some presents. Several horses were purchased from them. On the 6th they reached a stream to which they gave the name of Clarke river, Captain Clarke being the first white man who ever visited its waters. The route was a rugged one, and in many places almost impracti- cable, and to add to the difficulties of the situation, snow had been falling, so that on the 16th it was six or eight inches deep. The difficulty of procuring game or other subsistence made it necessary for them to kill several of their horses on this part of their journey for food. They had a little of what was called portable soup which they used by melting some snow. This, and about twenty pounds of bear's oil, was their only remaining subsistence. They were now in a region where their guns were of little service, for there was scarcely a living creature to be seen in those mountains. Captain Clarke and six hunters searched the mountains all day for game but found none, and at night encamped on a small stream to which they gave the name of Hungry Creek. Their only refreshment during the day was a little of the portable soup. On the 26th, Captain Clarke and his hunting party encountered three Indian boys, and sent them forward to the village with some presents. An Indian came out to meet them, and conducted them to a large tent in the village, which was the residence of the great chief. After some

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introductory ceremonies by signs, the Indians set before the strangers some buffalo meat. dried salmon, berries and several kinds of roots. This, after their long abstinence, was a sumptuous treat. One of the chiefs conducted them to another village, two miles away, where they were received with great kindness and passed the night. These Indians called themselves Chopunish, or Pierced - Nose (Nez Perces). With a few articles Captain Clarke chanced to have in his pockets he purchased some dried salmon, roots and berries and sent them by one of his men and a hired Indian back to Captain Lewis. The main body with Captain Lewis had been so fortunate as to kill a few pheasants and a prairie wolf. As soon as it was known in the villages that the wonderful strangers had arrived the people crowded in to see them. Twisted Hair, the chief, drew a chart or map of the country and streams on a white elk-skin, which was of great service in guiding them on their course. From these Indians as many provisions were purchased as could be carried on their horses. After proceeding down the river some distance, they determined to continue their journey in canoes, which they set about constructing. By the 7th of October the canoes were launched and loaded. The horses were branded and left with the Indians to be kept until their return. Accompanied by some of the Indians down Lewis river, the expedition finally reached the Columbia on the 16th, having stopped at a number of villages on the way. The Columbia at the mouth of Lewis river they found to be 960 yards wide, and Lewis river 575 yards wide. Here they found themselves among a nation who called themselves Sokulks, a people of a mild and peaceable disposition. Fish was their principal article of food. On the 18th they resumed their journey down the Columbia in the presence of many of the Sokulks who came to witness their departure. They passed many different tribes who inhabited the borders of the Columbia, all of whom they visited in their villages and encampments. learning their condition, habits, history and mode of living. Wherever they halted large numbers of Indians gathered to see them, and generally manifested the greatest kindness and hospitality. All of them had pierced noses.

On the 22d of October the party reached the Great Falls of the Columbia. Many Indians inhabited this portion of the country, and some of them assisted the party in un- loading the canoes, transporting the goods around the falls, and in bringing down the canoes. At one place it was necessary to haul the canoes over a point of land to avoid a perpendicular fall of seventy feet. Some distance below the falls they came to a village of another tribe, or nation, called the Echeloots. Here they found the first wooden houses they had seen after leaving the settlements near the Mississippi. They were made of logs and poles, with poles for rafters and covered with white cedar, kept on by strands of cedar fibers. The inhabitants received the strangers with great kindness, in- vited them to their houses, and came in great numbers to see them. They were sur- prised to find that these Indians spoke a language quite different from that of the tribes above the Great Falls. Some of their customs, however, were the same. Like the tribes they had recently visited, they flattened the heads of their children, and in nearly the same manner. Among the mountain tribes, however, this custom was confined to the females almost exclusively, whereas the Echeloots subjected both sexes to the operation. Ou the 18th they came to another tribe where they saw a British musket and several brass tea- kettles, which the Indians prized very highly. In the interview with the chief he di- rected his wife to hand him his medicine-bag, from which he drew out fourteen forefin- gers, which he said had belonged to the same number of his enemies whom he had killed in battle. These fingers were shown with great exultation, after which they were carefully replaced among the other valuable contents of the medicine-bag. This was the first in- stance in which the explorers had observed that any other trophy than the scalp was ever carried from the field in Indian warfare.

On the 2d of November the party passed the rapids which form the last descent of the Columbia, where tide-water commences. On this part of the Columbia they began

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to meet with tribes who had some knowledge of the whites, and from articles in their possession it was observed that they had maintained some sort of trade or barter with the whites. The Indians here also began to be troublesome and were disposed to pilfer when- ever an opportunity offered, showing that in their intercourse with the whites they had contracted some vices of which they are free in the absence of such intercourse.

On the 16th of November, 1805, the expedition encamped in full view of the Pacific Ocean, at Haley's Bay, as laid down by Vancouver. Their long, tedious, eventful jour- ney to the Pacific having ended, they made preparations to go into Winter quarters. Some distance below the mouth of the Columbia, three miles above the mouth of a little river that empties into the bay, in a thick grove of lofty pines, they formed their Winter encampment. Game was exceedingly plentiful, and during the Winter they were visited by a large number of Indians inhabiting the coast region. They called the place Fort Clatsop, from the tribe of Indians inhabiting the immediate vicinity. Here they remained until the 23d of March, 1806, when they commenced their return, by the same route.

Before leaving, Captains Lewis and Clarke posted up in the fort a note to the follow- ing effect :

" The object of this is, that through the medium of some civilized person, who may see the same, it may be made known to the world that the party consisting of the persons whose names are hereto annexed. and who were sent out by the government of the United States to explore the interior of the continent of North America, did cross the same by the way of the Missouri and Columbia rivers, to the discharge of the latter into the Pacific Ocean, where they arrived on the 14th day of November, 1805, and departed the 23d day of March, 1806, on their return to the United States, by the same route by which they came out."

It is somewhat singular that this note a short time after fell into the hands of a Cap- tain Hill, while on the coast near the mouth of the Columbia river. It was delivered to him by some Indians, and taken to Canton, China, from whence it was brought to the United States in January, 1807. On the 23d of September, 1806, the party reached the mouth of the Missouri, and descended the Mississippi to St. Louis, arriving at 12 o'clock. Having fired a salute, they went on shore, where they "received a most hearty and hos- pitable welcome from the whole village."

This is but a very partial and hasty review of that romantic and extraordinary ex- pedition - the first exploration by authority of the government of the United States, of that wonderful region which of late years has attracted so much attention. It gave to the world the first authentic account of the upper Missouri and its tributaries, and of the rivers that flow from the western slope of the Rocky Mountains and seek the Pacific Ocean through the great Columbia. It imparted to civilized man some definite knowl- edge of the strange tribes whose homes were on the borders of those rivers ; of their habits, traditions, and modes of life ; of the fauna and flora of a region hitherto unknown, and of natural scenery not surpassed in grandeur and sublimity by that of any other part of the world. Other explorers have since revealed a portion of the hidden treasures of that part of our national domain, but the pioneer expedition of Lewis and Clarke, so successfully accomplished, will always possess a peculiar and thrilling interest.

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CHAPTER VI.

INDIAN WARS.

Gen. Harmar's Defeat - Gen. St. Clair - Ilis Defeat-Gen. Wayne - His Victory - Ilis Treaties with the In- dians - British Posts Surrendered - Death of Wayne - Gen. Harrison - Tecumseh -The Prophet - Battle of Tippecanoe - Tecumseh's Alliance With the British - llarrison Appointed Brigadier-General - Perry's Victory - Gen. McArthur - Battle of the Thames - Tecumseh Killed - Peace with the Indians - Indian Titles Extinguished - Military Posts Established at Belle Point, Council Bluffs, and St. Peters - The Ricarees - Gen. Cass - Treaty at Fort Dearborn - Fort Atkinson - Grand Council at Prairie du Chien - Indian Out- rages - The Militia Called Out -Gen. Atkinson - Policy of Removing the Indians West - Treaty with the Sacs and Foxes - Black Hawk - IIe Refuses to Comply with Treaties- Black Hawk War - Battle of Bad Axe - Gen. Ilenry Dodge - Black Hawk Captured - Taken to Washington - Keokuk - Black Hawk l'ur- chase - Gen. Winfield Scott - Treaties at Davenport - Antoine Le Claire - Removal of Sacs and Foxes to Iowa - Gen. Street - Wapello - Maj. Beach - Sac and Fox Villages on the Des Moines - Gov. Lucas - Gov. Chambers - Visit of Hard-Fish to Burlington - An Incident - Speech of Keokuk.

Almost every advance of civilization on the American continent has been made at the expense of more or less conflict and bloodshed at the hands of the savage tribes who were the occupants and owners of the soil prior to the advent of the white man. Pass- ing over the conflicts of the colonists in the early settlements of the East, the later struggles of the pioneers of the " Dark and Bloody Ground," and the Indian wars of the South, we shall briefly refer to some of the troubles with the aborigines in the Northwest. With the opening of the new country to white settlers it was necessary to establish mili- tary posts for the protection of the pioneers against the attacks of the Indians. In 1790, all pacific means having failed with the tribes north of the Ohio, President Washington sent Gen. Harmar with a military force against them. After destroying several of their villages, he was defeated in two battles near the confluence of the St. Joseph's and St. Mary's rivers, and not far from the present city of Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 1781 Gen. Arthur St. Clair was promoted to the rank of major general, and was entrusted with a command against the hostile Miamis. On assuming his command, the last admonition of Washington was, " Beware of surprise." Gen. St. Clair marched with his troops to the vicinity of the Miami villages on the Maumee. On the 4th of November, 1791, he was surprised in camp on the St. Mary's river, and his force of 1,400 ill disciplined men was ent to pieces. He soon after resigned his commission. In this defeat St. Clair's loss was about 600 men. The savages were greatly emboldened hy their successes, and it was soon found that more vigorous measures were necessary. The Indians continued to commit outrages against the infant settlements. In some cases, doubtless, the whites were the aggressors, for Washington in his annual message of November 6, 1792, recommended more adequate measures " for restraining the commission of outrages upon the Indians, without which all pacifie plans must prove nugatory." Attempts were made to treat with the Indians, but the attempted negotiations proved unsuccessful.

After the unsuccessful and disastrous campaigns of Generals Harmar and St. Clair, General Anthony Wayne, who had won distinguished laurels in the war of the Revolu- tion, was, in April, 1792, promoted to the rank of major general, and made commander- in - chief in the war against the western Indians. In August, 1794, he gained a signal victory over the Miamis, near the rapids of the Maumee, and compelled them to sue for peace. In the same year a fort was erected by his order on the site of the old " Twight- wee Village" of the Miami tribe, where the city of Fort Wayne is now located. It continued to be a military post until 1819.

After his successful campaign of 1794, Gen. Wuyne was appointed sole commis-

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sioner to treat with the Indians, and also to take possession of the forts still held by the British in the Northwest. He negotiated the treaty of Greenville which was signed by all the principal chiefs of the Northwest. By this treaty the Indians relinquished their title to a large tract of country. That characteristic determination which, during the war of the Revolution, had gained him the sobriquet of " Mad Anthony," impressed the hostile tribes with a dread of him which operated as a wholesome restraint. Gen. Wayne also took possession of the British posts in the Northwest, which were peaceably sur- rendered, in accordance with Jay's treaty, and from this time there was assurance of peace on the frontier. He died in the garrison at Presque Isle (Erie), Pa., December 14, 1796.

From the date of Wayne's victory up to 1809 the whites maintained comparatively peaceable relations with the Indians. During this year, Gen. Harrison, then Governor of Indiana Territory, entered into a treaty with the Delawares, Kickapoos, Pottawat- tamies, Miamis, Eel River Indians and Weas, in which these tribes relinquished their title to certain lands on the Wabash river. About this time the noted chief Tecumseh comes into prominence as the bitter opponent of any more grants of land being made to the whites.

Tecumseh was a chief of the Shawnees, born on the Scioto river near Chillicothe, about the year 1770. It was said that he was one of three brothers who were triplets. The other two brothers were named Kumshaka and Elskwatawa. Kumshaka is believed to have died while young, but Elskwatawa became the Prophet who co-operated with the chief in all his plans. His father, Puckeshinwa, had risen to the rank of chief, but was killed at the battle of Point Pleasant, in 1774. In 1795 Tecumseh was declared chief at or near where Urbana, Ohio, is now located. In 1798 he went to White river, Indiana, and his brother, the Prophet, to a tract of land on the Wabash. Tecumseh, by reason of his oratory, had great influence over the savage tribes, and his plan was to unite all of them against the whites in a conspiracy, similar to that of Pontiac nearly half a century before. For this purpose he visited all the tribes west to the Mississippi, and upon Lakes Superior, Huron, and Michigan. At the same time his brother, the Prophet, pretended to be directed by the Great Spirit to preach against the influence and encroachments of the white men. Their efforts to incite the Indians to hostilities were successful, and they gathered a large force of warriors, making their headquarters at a stream they called Tippecanoe, near the Wabash river.

Meantime Gov. Harrison was watching the movements of the Indians, and being convinced of the existence of Tecumseh's grand conspiracy, had prepared to defend the settlements. In August, 1810, Tecumseh went to Vincennes to confer with the Gover- nor in relation to the grievances of the Indians, but demeaned himself in such an angry manner that he was dismissed from the village. He returned to complete his plans for the conflict. Tecumseh delayed his intended attack, but in the meantime he was gather- ing strength to this cause, and by the Autumn of 1811 had a force of several hundred warriors at his encampment on the little river called by the Indians Keth-tip-pe-ce-nunk, or Tippecanoe. Harrison, with a force of eight hundred men, partly regulars and partly volunteers, determined to move upon the Prophet's town, as it was called. He encamped near the village early in October, and on the night of the 5th of November his camp was furiously but unsuccessfully attacked. On the morning of the 7th he was again attacked by a large body of the Indians, but Tecumseh's warriors were completely routed, but not without a severe and hotly contested battle, and the loss of about 200 of Harrison's men.

President Madison, in a special message to Congress of December 12, 1811, speaking of this engagement, says:

" While it is deeply lamented that so many valuable lives have been lost in the action which took place on the seventh ultimo, Congress will see with satisfaction the

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dauntless spirit and fortitude victoriously displayed by every description of the troops engaged, as well as the collected firmness which distinguished their commander on an occasion requiring the utmost exertions of valor and discipline. It may reasonably be expected that the good effects of this critical defeat and dispersion of a combination of savages, which appears to have been spreading to a greater extent, will be experienced, not only in the cessation of murders and depredations committed on our frontier, but in the prevention of any hostile excursions otherwise to have been apprehended."

The result of the battle of Tippecanoe utterly ruined the plans of Tecumseh, for his arrangements with the different tribes were not yet matured. He was greatly exasperated toward the Prophet for precipitating the war. Had Tecumseh himself been present it is likely the attack would not have been made. The defeated Indians were at first inclined to sue for peace, but Tecumseh was not yet conquered. The breaking out of the war with Great Britain at this time inspired him with new hope, and his next endeavor was to form an alliance with the English. In this he succeeded, and was appointed a briga- dier general. He was entrusted with the command of all the Indians who co-operated with the English in the campaigns of 1812-13, and was in several important engage- ments.

After the surrender of Detroit by Gen. Hull, August 18. 1812. Harrison was ap- pointed to the command of the Northwestern frontier, with a commission as brigadier general. As this was in September, too late in the season for a campaign, he did not assume active operations until the next year, by which time he was promoted to the rank of major general. After Commodore Perry won his signal victory on Lake Erie in Sep- tember, 1813, Harrison hastened with his command to capture Malden. On arriving there late in September he found that Proctor, the British general. had retreated. About the same time Gen. McArthur took possession of Detroit and the Territory of Michigan. Pursuing the British army into the interior of Canada West, Harrison overtook Proctor at the Moravian settlements, on the river Thames, on the 5th of October. The British general had an auxiliary force of two thousand Indians under the command of Tecumseh. The battle was opened by the American cavalry under the command of Col. Richard M. Johnson, afterward vice-president of the United States. Early in the engagement Tecumseh was killed at the head of his column of Indians, who, no longer hearing the voice of their chief, fled in confusion. It has been claimed by some authorities that this celebrated chief was killed by Col. Johnson, who fired at him with a pistol. This, how- ever, will remain one of the unsolved problems of history. The result of the battle was a complete victory for the Americans, with the capture of 600 prisoners, six pieces of cannon, and a large quantity of army stores.

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The History of Peoria County, Illinois. Containing a history of the Northwest-history of Illinois-history of the county, its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc., etc., Part 6

Author: Johnson & co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago : Johnson & Company Number of Pages: 932

Author: Johnson & co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : Johnson & Company
Number of Pages: 932