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Gc 977.2 C64 1747845
M. L.
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
7
GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02402 2987
Date Due
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/pioneerhistoryof00cock_0
WILLIAM M. COCKRUM
PIONEER History of Indiana
Including
Stories, Incidents and Customs of the Early Settlers
By
COL. WILLIAM M. COCKRUM
BLACK GOLD
Oakland City, Indiana PRESS OF OAKLAND CITY JOURNAL 1907
Entered according to an Act of Congress in the year 1907 By WILLIAM M. COCKRUM in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Wash- ington, D. C. All rights reserved.
-
1.47845
TO MY WIFE,
Who for fifty years has been my faithful partner and true help- mate, this book is affectionately dedicated by THE AUTHOR.
PREFACE.
In this volume many of the early happenings that oc- curred during the settling of Indiana are given for the first time and if this opportunity were not improved, a large amount of interesting history of our state would be lost.
The writer claims no special credit for securing this his- tory as it has been a pleasing task, self assigned. If the reader shall gain as much satisfaction from reading this vol- ume as the author has from gathering the data from which to compile it, he will be amply repaid for the few hours he is so engaged.
It is very gratifying to be able to go back to the settling of Indiana and tell about the brave men and women who first invaded its wildness and from whom sprang the hardy and superior race of people in all stations of life that now live within its confines.
For fifty years the data for this volume has been collect- ing: From personal acquaintance with the pioneers, from a history of incidents transmitted from parents to children and from tradition that is accepted as reliable.
From the above three sources it is believed that the truest history of the people of that early date, their manners and customs, the dangers they encountered from the Indians, the hunting for game and the many terrible encounters with sav- age beasts, has been secured.
In submitting this work to the public the author wishes here to acknowledge his indebtedness to those who aided him in his researches and made the existence of this volume pos- sible. These favors have come from all parts of the country- from historical societies, public libraries and men in official positions. The names of those giving the most valued assist- ance is hereby given.
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PIONEER HISTORY OF INDIANA.
The City Library of Quebec and the librarian of Public Library of Montreal, Canada.
The State Library of Indianapolis and the assistant li- brarian, Miss Jennie M. Elrod.
The Hon. Henry S. Lane, when U. S. Senator from In- diana, for favors shown me in the office of Public Documents in Washington.
The Hon. Oliver P. Morton for his aid in securing a per- mit to examine official papers in the War Department.
The Hon. Daniel S. Lamont, Ex-Secretary of War, for favors shown me in the War Department.
Gen. Lew Wallace for valuable suggestions.
Gen. Russel A. Alger, Ex-Secretary of War, for a copy of official documents.
Hon. Benjamin Harrison, Ex-President of the United States, for the use of his notes on the unpublished history of Gen. William Henry Harrison.
Gen. John I. Nealy for manuscript and data.
Joseph P. McClure for incidents of pioneer history.
David Johnston for the data for many hunting and excit- ing experiences in the early days of Indiana.
Woolsey Pride, Jr., for the history of his father's settling at White Oak Springs, near Petersburg, Indiana.
Captain Graham, of near Corydon, Indiana, for the data for many pioneer incidents.
Hon. Conrad Baker, Ex-Governor of Indiana, for data.
Gen. Joseph Lane, Ex-Governor of Oregon, for interest- ing letters.
Captain A. Miler for many interesting incidents.
Col. James G. Jones and Hon. A. L. Robinson, of Evans- ville, Indiana, for letters corroborating underground railroad incidents.
John T. Hanover, of "Freedmans Bureau," for valuable papers in making underground railroad chapter.
Dr. John W. Posey for data on the kidnapping of free negroes.
Rev. D. B. Montgomery for especial favors in data and manuscripts of the pioneer days of Indiana.
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PIONEER HISTORY OF INDIANA.
Charles C. Waters for manuscript and data.
Jacob W. Hargrove for manuscript.
Delome's unpublished manuscript of his twenty-seven years among various Indian tribes in what is now the State ' of Indiana.
John B. Dillon's "History of Indiana."
John P. Dunn Jr.'s, "History of Indiana."
President Theodore Roosevelt's "Winning of the West."
Goodrich's "History of Indiana."
Mrs. Ella C. Wheatley for valuable assistance in prepar- ing this work.
William McAdams' "Record of Ancient Races.
Dr. J. R. Adams, of Petersburg, Indiana, for valuable data.
Hon. Oliver H. Smith for valuable assistance.
Beard's "Battle of Tippecanoe."
Prof. W. D. Pence, Purdue University.
Dr. George C. Mason for data.
E. C. Farmer for data.
Rev. W. P. Dearing for assistance.
CRAWFORDSVILLE, INDIANA,
April 12, 1902.
COL. W. M. COCKRUM,
Oakland City, Indiana.
My dear Sir and Companion:
Your letter of the 8th inst. is received.
There is no rule in literary work that two want to follow in the same way. Writing on any subject, they might differ in their way of expression; but there is one rule, as you sug- gest, that is safe for all to follow-have your data well pre- pared and follow closely the subject.
I am pleased to learn that you have been securing data for more than fifty years, and intend writing a Pioneer His- tory of Southern Indiana, in which you will give the old heroes that drove the Indians away and blazed the pathway for our greatness, a deserving tribute for their noble work.
Why not extend your boundary and include the State for your field of labor? Your lament that the opportunity for a finished education in your day was so limited that you doubt your ability to give the smooth and pleasing touch to your writing that is needed in a book to be read by the cultured people of this date, is not well taken. Let me suggest that your amanuensis may have all that is required, but good horse sense is not in the market.
Your friend,
LEW WALLACE.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
General Lew Wallace's Letter Page 10
CHAPTER I.
French Colonization of Indiana. Explorations. Settlements.
Trading Stations. Forts. Relations with Indians. Post Vincennes. Treatment of English Explorers. Pontiac. Pages 16-23
CHAPTER II.
GEORGE ROGERS CLARK AND THE ENGLISH. Treatment of Inhabitants of the Northwest by the English and Their Indian Allies. Clark's Resolve to Reduce the Forts. His Alliance With the French Inhabitants. Reduction of Fort Kaskaskia. Reduction of Post Vin- cennes. Vincennes Recaptured by Lieutenant Governor Hamilton. Attempt of Hamilton to Dislodge Clark and Drive Him From the Territory. Capture of Francis Vigo. Clark's March from Kaskaskia to Vincennes. Capture of Vincennes. Regaining the Confidence of the Indians. Later Achievements and Failures of Clark. Pages 24-68
CHAPTER III.
THE TERRITORY CAPTURED BY GENERAL CLARK FROM 1779 TO THE ORGANIZATION OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
General Todd's Proclamation. The Court of Vincennes. Virginia Cedes Northwest . Possessions to the United States. Town of Clarksville Laid Off. Deed of Cession. Ordinance of 1787. Pages 69-75
CHAPTER IV.
The Northwest Territory Organized. Laws Governing It.
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PIONEER HISTORY OF INDIANA.
Governor St. Clair and the Indians. Militia Established. and Civil and Military Officers Appointed. Laws Adopt -- ed at Vincennes. Defeat of St. Clair's Army by the Indians. General Wayne's Victory Near the Maumee. First Territorial Legislature . Pages 76-104
CHAPTER V.
Prisoners Recaptured from the Indians. Terrible Fighting Around the Place Where Owensville, Indiana, Now Stands Pages 105-129
CHAPTER VI.
Organization of Indiana Territory. William Henry Har -- rison, Governor. General Gibson, Secretary. Territor- ial Judges Appointed. Slavery Question. Laws of In- denture. Specimens of Indenture Papers .. Pages 130-148
CHAPTER VII.
Settlement of Southern Indiana. The Cruelty of the French . Pages 149-152
CHAPTER VIII.
The Pioneer. Character. Hardships. Routes Followed.
Settlements. Food. Education. Customs. Thrilling and Amusing Incidents. Weddings. Work. Dress. Crude Manufactures. Pages 153-196
CHAPTER IX.
Land Claims and Territorial Affairs. Indian Depredations .. Letters of Instruction and Orders to Captain William Hargrove. Burning of an Indian Town Near Owens -- ville. Division of Indiana Territory. Elections. Land Offices Pages 197-236.
CHAPTER X.
The Battle of Tippecanoe. Importance of the Victory. Cause of Battle. The Principal Contestants. Negotia- tions for Peace. Collecting Army at Vincennes. Move- ment of Army From Vincennes. Fort Harrison Estab- lished. Advance on Prophet's Town. Encampment. The Battle. Governor Harrison's Report of the Battle.
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PIONEER HISTORY OF INDIANA.
Incidents of the Battle. Resolutions Adopted by Terri- torial Legislature. Roll of the Army that Fought at Tippecanoe . Pages 237-308 CHAPTER XI.
Indiana's Tribute to Kentucky. Pages 309-310
CHAPTER XII,
Further History of Tecumseh and the Prophet. . Pages 311-317
CHAPTER XIII. PIONEER INDUSTRIES.
Crude Farming Implements. Cooking. Milling. Flax In- dustry. Loom. Whipsaw. Shoe Making. Rope Walk. Bee Hunting. Witchcraft. Pages 318-341
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CHAPTER XIV. -
Amusements and Sports of the Early Pioneers. . Pages 343-344 CHAPTER XV. INDIANA DURING THE WAR OF 1812.
Pigeon Roost Massacre. Attack on Fort Harrison. General Disturbance Among the Indians. General Hopkins Re- port to the Governor. Expeditions Against the Indians. Delaware Indians Removed to Ohio. General Gibson's Message to House of Representatives in 1813. Territor- ial Government Moved From Vincennes to Corydon. Miss McMurtrie's Statement. Treaty of Friendship and Alliance With the Indians. General John Gibson. Gov- ernor Thomas Posey. Logan, the Indian Chief. Terri- tory Laid Off Into Five Districts. Judicial System Im- proved. Charters Granted to Banks. Rappites at Har- mony. New Harmony Sold to Robert Owens. Pages 345-387
CHAPTER XVI. INDIANA BECOMES A STATE Constitution Adopted. Officers Selected. Governor Jennings' First Message. Boundary and Area of State. Survey. . Taxes. Internal Improvements. Purchase of Indian
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PIONEER HISTORY OF INDIANA.
Claims. Counties Organized. Ague and other Illness. Failure of State Banks. William Hendrick elected Gov -- ernor. Site of Indianapolis chosen for Capital. Land Sharks. Indianians called "Hoosiers". Counties Organ -- ized. White men executed for Murder of Indians. Let- ter from Oliver H. Smith. Improvements recommended by Governors Hendricks and Ray .... . Pages 388-426.
CHAPTER XVII. ANIMALS OF EARLY INDIANA.
Game Animals. Game Birds. Ferocious Animals. Fur- Bearing Animals. Birds of Prey ...... Pages 427-457. CHAPTER XVIII. SCHOOLS OF EARLY INDIANA.
Houses. Books. Danger from Wild Animals. Opposition to Free Schools. Pages 458-468.
CHAPTER XIX.
The Noble Act of returning soldiers of the Battle of Tippe- canoe. Aaron Burr's Conspiracy and the misfortunes attending it. Difficulty of procuring salt and desperate battle with two Bears. Incidents of Burr's Conspiracy. Governor Jennings' Temperance Lecture. Battle be- tween two bears and two panthers. Panthers killing In- dians. A Hermit. Panthers kill a man and boy. Early days near Petersburg, Indiana. Panthers killing one ' and desperately wounding another man of a surveying party. Wild Hogs. Shooting matches. Early Days in Dubois County, Indiana. Killing of eight Indians. Hunting. Early days near Sprinklesburg, now New- burg, Warrick County, Indiana. A young woman killed by panthers. Hunting Wolves. Hunting Deer. An amusing incident of an Irishman and the hornet's nest Pages 469-507.
CHAPTER XX.
Flat Boating Pages 508-510. CHAPTER XXI.
General Joseph Lane. A Short Biography. Letters
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PIONEER HISTORY OF INDIANA.
Pages 511-516.
CHAPTER XXII.
The State Bank and Other Interesting Matter. Counties
Organized. Michigan's Attempted Theft. Speech of Hon. Isaac Montgomery. Land Sharks. Land Specu- lators. Brave Women . . Pages 517-532
CHAPTER XXIII. INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
Canals. Railroads. State Debt. Turnpike Roads. Wabash Rapids. Pottowattamie and Miami Indians Removed From the State . Pages 533-542
CHAPTER XXIV.
PENAL, BENEVOLENT AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. State Prison. Asylum for Deaf and Dumb. Asylum for Blind. Hospital for the Insane. State Universities. State Library Pages 543-548
CHAPTER XXV. THE MEXICAN WAR.
Indiana in the Mexican War
. Pages 549-554
CHAPTER XXVI.
Indian Barbarity and the Prodigal's Return. This chapter is given to show one of many spies that the Anti-Slavery people had on all strangers during the fifties.
Pages 555-558
CHAPTER XXVII.
The Experience of Two Young Boys With Two Bear Cubs. The Amusing Story of How Hogs Were Induced to Re- turn to Their Own Range. : Pages 559-561
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Kidnapping Free Negroes. Kidnapping of Reube at Prince- ton. Liberating two negroes near Princeton, Indiana. Kidnapping two free negroes three miles west of Prince- ton. Attempt to kidnap a Barber at Petersburg, In-
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PIONEER HISTORY OF INDIANA.
diana. Several attempts to kidnap negroes. Dr. John W. Posey and Rev. Eldridge Hopkins liberating two kid- naped negroes. A slave hunt at Kirk's Mills Bridge in Gibson County. An attempt to catch runaway negroes ending in a desperate battle with wild hogs. Jerry Sul- livan Raid at Dongola Bridge. Kidnapping the Gothard Boys. Rev. Hiram Hunter relieving kidnaped negroes Pages 562-597.
CHAPTER XXIX.
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.
Fugitive Slave Law. Anti-Slavery League. Routes of Fu- gitive Slaves. Interesting Letters. Rev. T. B. McCor- mick . Pages 608-619
CHAPTER XXX.
Indian Religion. Pages 620-622.
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE MOUND BUILDERS.
Age of Mounds. Workmanship of Builders. The Tradition of the Piassa. Remains. Difference between Mound Builders and Indians. Pages 623-632.
CHAPTER I.
FRENCH COLONIZATION IN INDIANA.
EXPLORATIONS -- SETTLEMENTS-TRADING STATIONS-FORTS ---- RELATIONS WITH INDIANS-POST VINCENNES-TREAT- MENT OF ENGLISH EXPLORERS-PONTIAC.
The French, who first settled Canada and founded Que- bec in 1608, were a very restless, energetic people. They were rovers and soon making friends with the Indians, made long journeys with them to the south and west. How far they went on these excursions is not known, but they contin- ually advanced their settlement in these directions.
During the fifty years following the founding of Quebec, they had settled a large section of the country bordering on the Great Lakes. Whether any of these rovers, during their many expeditions, up to 1650, paddled their canoes along the rivers of Indiana is unknown. Who was the first man to ex- plore the wildness of our State or when that date was, are unsolved questions that will remain hidden in the archives of the Great Builder of Worlds. They are questions of no real merit and only interest those who are sticklers for exactness in regard to the minute things which happened more than two and a half centuries ago in the wilds of North America. The data that is known from accepted tradition and written history, carries us back far enough into the dark ages of this country to enable us to give such credit due to those who did explore the rivers, lakes and wooded hills of Indiana as will be of interest to those who are searching for the early history of our State.
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PIONEER HISTORY OF INDIANA.
The probabilities are that at this early date, all the ter- ritory of Indiana was owned and controlled by the Miama Confederation of Indians, which comprised four tribes: The Twightwees, which was the Miami proper, the Weas or Oniatenons, the Shockeys and Pinkashaws. These Indians were of the Algonquin nation. At the junction of the St. Mary and St. Joseph rivers, where the Maumee river is formed and where the city of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, now stands, these Indians had their ancient capital, known in In- dian language as Kekionga, and as early as 1676, the white people (French) had a fort near that place. From that sta- tion the French fur hunters passed up and down the Wabash river and into the Louisiana possessions of France, securing loads of furs. Returning up the Wabash they carried their bundles across the portage, thence down the Maumee to Lake Erie and to their trading stations in Canada where they were sold for such articles as the Indians and French hunters need- ed. In these excursions up and down the Wabash it is reas- onable to conclude that there were trading stations at differ- ent points along their route where the fur was collected by traders. Vincennes, no doubt, was a trading station several years before the commencement of the eighteenth century.
The traders coming on the Wabash connected with those coming on what was afterward known as the Old Vincennes and Clarksville trace. This crossed White river about fifteen miles southeast of Vincennes and crossed the Wabash river at Vincennes, then to Kaskaskia on the Mississippi river. One branch of this old traveled way ran from a point a little west of the place where it crossed the Little Wabash river south to the saline section of southern Illinois. No doubt this old road had been a main traveled way from east to west by the Indians for ages before any white man ever saw America. Along the route where it passed over Orange and Floyd Counties, ledges of rock that it crossed showed evi- dence of much wear, when first traveled over by the Whites. This could not have been possible without having been long used by the Indians, as they wore skin coverings on their feet.
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PIONEER HISTORY OF INDIANA.
That Robert De LaSalle went up and down the Wabash and other Indiana rivers with a few white companions and Indian guides several years before the commencement of the eighteenth century, is an established fact. He was at Kekionga, the capital of the Miamas, about 1680 and no doubt was about the same time at the beautiful site where Vincennes now stands. That there was a rendezvous where these two cities stand for the collecting of furs, as well as at Ouitanon during La Salle's explorations, is generally conced- ed by all who have searched for this early information. Dur- ing the twenty years that La Salle was engaged in his ex- plorations, from 1667 to 1687, he was very active in exploring all the regions where there were fur bearing animals.
In 1698 LaMotte Cadillac, of New France, who was a far-seeing man and worked for his country's interests, re- turned to France. He went to see Count Pontchartrain and placed before him a map that he had made from notes and drawings made by LaSalle before he was assasinated, ex- plaining to the Count the new route that this map described. This route connecting New France and Louisiana by a reli- able waterway, extended from the Lakes up the Maumee to the capital of the Miamis, now Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and thence by an easy portage to the headwaters of the Wabash, thence down that river, through the heart of a most valuable territory. Cadillac recommended to the Count that it was best to locate a chain of forts along that route for defense if needed against any Indians that were or might become hos- tile and against any expedition that the english might send out from their North American possessions east of the Alle- ghany Mountains. He was so convincing in his presentation of the subject, that Count Pontchartrain fell in with his views, granted his request and commissioned him to carry out the enterprise. The next year Detroit was selected as the place most suitable for a depot of military stores and a gen- eral trading post between the French and Indians on the southern borders of the Great Lakes. The next site selected was at the head of the Maumee river, called Fort Miami; then came one near the Wabash on the Wea prairie a few
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PIONEER HISTORY OF INDIANA.
miles below where the city of Lafayette now stands, called Ouiatenon. The next trading post was at the point where the city of Vincennes now stands, afterwards called Post Vincennes. These forts were all completed by the year 1705.
It has always been contended that the French Jesuits had mission stations at each of these places years before they be- came military posts. . The garrisons which were located at each of these stations consisted of a few men, only sufficient in their strong log forts to insure a safe retreat for the fur traders and their families.
In a few years a number of young French hunters gath- ered around these stations and it became common for them to marry the young Indian women, and in a comparatively short time there was a large number of half breeds in all the settled sections where the French lived. These hunters adopted the Indian customs and this intermarrying of the two races was the real reason for the very close alliance that existed be- tween the French and the Indians-"Blood is thicker than water." The two races of people became so closely akin that their interest became the same. The men put in most of their time during the hunting season in the forests hunting for game, or along the streams trapping for fur. These two occupations comprised all there was to be done. Each family would work together and have a small field of corn. The women would plant and tend it. They cured and dried the meat that was killed by the hunters and prepared it for fu- ture use. The indolent habits of these Indians and mongrel French, around their homes were indulged in by all. When they sold their furs they would invest the greater portion of it in villainous whiskey, that would make those drinking it crazy drunk. During the orgies engaged in by these savage woodsmen, there would be many maimed and others dead be- fore the protracted "spree" was over. The traders who sold this injurious stuff, if they ever were honest, lost all thought of such an inconvenience when trading with the Indians and cheated them in every way that was possible.
The Catholic missionaries who helped explore the North- west territory and labored to christianize the Indians, were
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PIONEER HISTORY OF INDIANA.
earnest, devoted men who did all they could to better the condition of the Indians; but the evil effects of the poisonous liquor sold them by the unscrupulous traders buying their furs, neutralized all the good done by the missionaries and kept these poor, unfortunate people in a degraded condition.
The post where Vincennes now is was included in the district of Illinois, in the colony of Louisiana. Fort Chartres was the seat of government of the district, and New Orleans was the seat of government of the province. The post where Vincennes is located had different officials at an early date who acted as commanders of the garrison. Among that num- ber was Francis Morgan De Vincennes, for whom the city of Vincennes was named. He remained its commander until sometime in 1736, when he was killed in battle with the Chickasaw Indians. For a long period before his death he was in command of all the French posts located in the part of Louisiana province that is now Indiana.
In 1736, after the death of Vincennes, St. Ange was placed in command of the district of Illinois with his head- quarters at post Vincennes. This command was held by him until two years after the French had ceded their New France and a part of their Louisiana possession to England in 1763. During the long period that France held control of the Ter- ritory that is now Indiana, the only improvement made by them was the building of a few block-houses and a few crude buildings around these stations. They did not attempt to clear up the country, open any highways or to make any per- manent improvements. Their business was hunting and trapping, and so they did not want the country cleared as it would injure their occupation.
During the one hundred and forty-three years between the time the English planted their colony at Jamestown, Vir- ginia, in 1607 until they attempted a plant a colony on the west side of the Alleghany mountains, in 1750, they developed into thirteen colonies and more than one million people living in the country along the Atlantic from the east side of Flor- ida to one hundred miles east of Boston, Massachusetts.
During that long period of nearly one hundred and fifty
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PIONEER HISTORY OF INDIANA.
years, France and England were busy acquiring territory and planting colonies in their locations in North America. They each established missionary stations to christianize the Ind- ians. There was great rivalry between catholic France and protestant England in their home countries. This feeling was carried to the new world by the missionaries and used to embitter the feelings of the Indians in their respective col- onies against the other nations. Rev. Cotton Mather says, in one of his works published the last of the seventeenth cen- tury, that a noted Indian chief informed a protestant minis- ter of Boston, that the French, when instructing the Indians of his nation about the christian religion, told them that Jesus Christ was a Frenchman and that the English mur- dered him and that he arose from the dead, ascending up to heaven and all who would come into favor with Christ must help them in their war against the English.
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