A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 1, Part 13

Author: Howard, Timothy Edward, 1837-1916
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 826

USA > Indiana > St Joseph County > A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 1 > Part 13

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In the southern part of Indiana, the legisla- ture two years ago authorized the erection of a monument to the memory of the pioneers of that section of the state who were massa- cred by the Shawnee Indians during the period of the War of 1812 with England. The massacre was cruel and inhuman and without excuse, but in the history of that most de- plorable event, the Indian side of the question that led up to the culmination of the dispute has never been written. The monument at Pigeon Roost, while it commemorates the mem- ory of the murdered dead, also perpetuates the worst feature in the Indian character.

On the other hand the state, through its legislature, is now asked to authorize the erec- tion of a monument to mark the dawn of civ- ilization in northern Indiana; the rebuilding of the first house of Christian worship in the entire great northwest, east of the Pacific

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPHI COUNTY.

coast, and to perpetuate the memory of the Pottawatomie Indians. the owners and first inhabitants of the country north of the Wa- bash river, and south of the lakes, whose writ- ten history is entirely the work of the white people, the government agents, traders, and schemers who wrote from the white man's selfish and prejudiced standpoint. I stand here to-day, in this magnificent presence, to plead for the Pottawatomie Indians; to give their side of the story which has never before been told. As I stand here to-day I wish you to imagine that the spirit of the good Indian Menominee has come back after nearly three- quarters of a century to tell you the truth in regard to the cruel and inhuman manner in which he and his tribe were treated by the government agents who dispossessed him of his property against his will, without com- pensation, and forced him and his people into captivity beyond the great Missouri, where he was never heard of again and where he un- doubtedly died of a broken heart.

They are now all gone-not one is left to tell the story. But whether the legislature authorizes the erection of this monument or not the Pottawatomie Indians will not be for- gotten. Their memory has been preserved, and will continue to be perpetuated for all time to come in the rivers, lakes and various localities bearing their names. Aubenaube and Kewanna, and Tiosa, in Fulton county, perpetuate the names of noted Indian chiefs ; and the beautiful Tippecanoe, with its rip- pling waters of blue; and the picturesque Manitou, and the lovely Maxinkuckee, the St. Joseph. and especially the famous Wabash, where

" 'Round my Indiana homestead wave the cornfields,

In the distance loom the woodlands clear and cool ;

It was there I spent my days of early child- hood-

It was there I learned the love of nature's school.

I can hear my mother's voice call from the doorway

As she stood there years ago and watched for me; I can hear the birds sing sweetly in the spring-time,

On the banks of the Wabash, far away.

Oh, the moon is fair tonight along the Wa- bash

From the fields there comes the breath of new-mown hay,

Through the sycamores the candle-lights are gleaming

On the banks of the Wabash, far away."

All these names will perpetuate for all time to come the memory of the Pottawatomie Indians, the first owners and inhabitants of all the beautiful country north of the Wabash river and south of the great lakes.

"The Indians all have passed away, That noble race and brave, Their light canoes have vanished From off the crested wave.

Amid the forest where they roamed There rings no hunter's shout- But their name is on your waters- You can not wash it out."

While the house of representatives showed its appreciation of the eloquence of Mr. Mc- Donald by ordering his address published in pamphlet form (the only address of the ses- sion so honored), yet the members were not prepared to pass his bill for the erection of the modest memorial which he requested. It is gratifying, however, to know that Mr. McDonald was returned to the general as- sembly for the session of 1907, and that his bill was re-introduced during that session and became a law by the approval of the gov- ernor, March 12, 1907. The memorial to the great Menominee will be no less a monument to the noble heart and wise head of his advo- cate and defender, the Hon. Daniel McDon- ald.ª

In 1840, Alexis Coquillard, the first white man to establish a trading post on the site of the city of South Bend, was commissioned by the general government to remove certain bands of Pottawatomies who still remained in St. Joseph county. They had agreed to go peaceably with "the Pottawatomie Chief," as Mr. Coquillard was called by the Indians, who had much admiration and affection for this distinguished pioneer. These last Indians were removed by Mr. Coquillard without

a. For the act as passed by the general as- sembly and signed by the governor, see Acts 1907, p. 623.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

trouble, and in a most humane manner. There was in this case none of the sadness and suf- fering so graphically described by Mr. Me- Donald in the former ease,-the Coquillard removal being all in wagons. The only re- grettable circumstance connected with this last Indian emigration is the fact that Alexis Coquillard was defrauded by his partner, a man named Alverson, who appropriated to himself the large sum of money, $40,000 and over. which the general government had ap- propriated and paid for this important serv- ice. The defalcation of his partner, for a time, weighed heavily upon the spirits and fortunes of Mr. Coquillard, but only for a time. The same indomitable energies that

made his fortunes restored them. He was a fine type of those business men that followed him, men who refused to be suppressed by adverse circumstances and who have made the business enterprises of St. Joseph county known to the people of the world.

With this last removal of the primitive inhabitants, but two or three Pottawatomie families were left in St. Joseph county, and now there is not an Indian of full blood where onee the race was in absolute posses- sion. As said by Mr. McDonald, in closing his notable speech in the state house at In- dianapolis : "They are now all gone-not one is left to tell the story."

CHAPTER III.

THIE STATE OF INDIANA.

I. THE FRENCH ERA.

Sec. 1 .-- NATURE OF THE FRENCH OCCU- PANCY .- Not taking into account the nomadic occupancy of the Indians or of others who may have preceded them, the first people to exercise governmental authority within the limits of the territory northwest of the Ohio river were the French. In 1641, just a hun- dred years after Hernando de Soto had pene- trated to the shores of the Mississippi, in the south, the first conference of the French with the Indians of the northwest took place at the Sault Ste. Marie, between Lake Superior and Lake Huron; but it was not until 1660 that a mission was established in that locality. In 1665 Allouez renewed in that region the work of Father Mesnard. In 1668, Fathers Marquette and Dablon were laboring at the same place ; and in 1670, Talon, the intendant, or governor-general, of Canada, sent out Nicholas Perrot, who explored Lake Michigan as far as Chieago. It was in 1671, after the establishment of those missions and the mak- ing of those explorations, that the French took formal possession of the northwest; and in the same year Marquette established the noted mission at St. Ignace, on the main land near the island of Mackinac. Two years afterwards Marquette passed over Lake Michigan and northern Wisconsin, and on June 17. 1673, discovered the Mississippi, down which he sailed to a point below where de Soto had reached the river in 1541.ª During the years

1670, 1671 and 1672, Allonez and Dablon con- tinned their missions to the Indians and made explorations through eastern Wisconsin, northeastern Illinois, northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan.ª It seems well estab- lished also that as early as 1669, La Salle went south from Canada through the eastern part of the northwest territory until he discovered the Ohio river, down which he voyaged as far at least as the mouth of the Wabash, if not to the Mississippi itself. The earliest claims made by France to the country west of the Alleghenies and south to the Spanish posses- sions and the Gulf of Mexico, were based upon these explorations and discoveries of La Salle,? as also those made by Marquette, Allonez and others about the great lakes.

On April 9. 1682, La Salle, after having sailed down the Mississippi and discovered its outlets into the Gulf of Mexico, solemnly took possession, in the name of France, of all the territories drained by the great river and its tributaries, which domain he ealled Louisiana, in honor of Louis XIV, then King of France. Thereafter the territory claimed by the French extended from the Gulf of St. Law- rence, by way of the great lakes and the Mis- sissippi, to the Gulf of Mexico. Following ont La Salle's plan of empire, the government of France established military posts within supporting distance of one another through- out this vast region. Besides Quebec, Mon- treal and Frontenac, there were forts at the Sault Ste. Marie, Michilimackinac (Macki-

a. Perkins' Annals of the West, pp. 28-33. Ban- croft, Hist. U. S., Vol. III.

a. Dillon, Hist. Indiana, pp. 2-3.

b. Dunn, Hist. Indiana, pp. 5-14.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

naw) : Detroit : DuQuesne (Pittsburg) ; Chi- cago : Miamis (at the mouth of the St. Joseph, afterwards abandoned for Fort St. Joseph's, near Niles) : Fort Wayne: Oniatanon (near La Fayette) : Vincennes; Kaskaskia; Fort Chartres ; St. Louis: Natchez; New Orleans : and numerous smaller posts.

Sec. 2 .- CANADA AND LOUISIANA .- The upper part of this great territory of French America, was called Canada, and sometimes New France: the lower part retained the name Louisiana. The boundary between Can- ada and Louisiana was not well defined, nor did it always remain the same. The country west of the Mississippi was always referred to as a part of Louisiana. as was also the country east of that river and south of a line through Terre Haute.a Vincennes. accord- ingly, was at all times included in Louisiana ; while Detroit, Chicago, Fort St. Joseph's, Fort Wayne and other posts situated on waters flowing into the great lakes were re- garded as being within the limits of Canada. As to territory north of Terre Haute, but drained by the Wabash, Illinois and other rivers flowing into the Ohio or Mississippi, there was little uniformity. In the articles of capitulation of Montreal, as we have already seen, when, on September 18, 1760, all Can- ada was surrendered to Great Britain, it was agreed that the limits of Canada included all territory drained into the great lakes.b This statement in the articles left all the territory now embraced in Indiana within the domain of Louisiana, except only a small and irreg- ularly bounded part in the north, drained by the St. Joseph and the Maumee rivers. Ac- cordingly, by the terms of the capitulation so much of St. Joseph county as is embraced within the St. Joseph valley was regarded as a part of Canada and became British territory, while the rest of the county, being within the valley of the Kankakee, remained a part of Louisiana. and continued to be French terri- a. Dillon, Hist. Indiana, pp. 23-25. Dunn, Hist. Indiana, p. 58.

b. See Chapter II., Division V., p. 43.

tory. until, by the treaty of Paris, February 10, 1763, the whole country east of the Miss- issippi passed to Great Britain.

The respective governments of Canada and Louisiana were almost as uncertain as was the boundary between them. At times the governments of the two provinces were quite distinct, but more often Louisiana was subject to the superior rights of Canada, or New France.

While the many posts from Quebec to New Orleans, and from Michilimackinac, on the north. to DuQuesne, on the east, and St. Louis on the west, commanding the waters and the valleys of the St. Lawrence, the great lakes, the Maumee, the St. Joseph. the Illinois, the Wabash, the Ohio and the Mississippi, consti- tuted the framework of a mighty French em- pire. according to the fine scheme of La Salle ; yet when the transfer of Canada and eastern Louisiana was made to Great Britain, in 1763, it was indeed but the framework of an empire. Outside the several forts, and excepting the districts near Quebec and Montreal, the French inhabitants of the immense region were exceedingly few in number. In the ter- ritory northwest of the Ohio the chief of the small centers of population were at Michili- mackinac, Detroit and Chicago, on the great lakes; Kaskaskia and Fort Chartres, on the Mississippi; Vincennes, on the Wabash; and Fort Wayne, on the Maumee.

II. THE BRITISH AND SPANISH ERA.

From the capitulation of Montreal, Septem- ber 8, 1760, and the treaty of Paris, at the con- clusion of the Seven Years' War, February 10. 1763, until the beginning of the American revolution, the country northwest of the Ohio continued to be, nominally at least, a part of the British dominions. In 1778 and 1779, the expedition from Virginia and Kentucky, under George Rogers Clark, resulted in the capture of Kaskaskia and Vincennes and the conquest of the southern part of this terri- tory; and, in 1781. the Spanish expedition from St. Louis resulted in the capture of Fort St. Joseph's. and the claim by the Spaniards

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY,

to the northern part of the territory. It was not, however, until the treaty of peace reeog- nizing the independence of the United States of America. September 3, 1783, that the claims of Great Britain, as well as those of Spain, were altogether finally extinguished.

The fifteen years of uninterrupted British occupancy, from the treaty of Paris to the capture of Kaskaskia, was merely oecupaney, and nothing more. The forts taken over from the French were garrisoned by British troops ; but the population remained practically what it had been under the French rule. The gar- risons, too, with the exception. perhaps, of those at Miehilimaekinae, Detroit. Fort Pitt, were feeble, barely sufficient to hold the coun- try and protect the scattered posts from the Indians.

The Spanish expedition from St. Louis, in 1781, found it an easy matter to capture Fort St. Joseph's, the English garrison being quite insignificant, and not at all prepared to re- sist an attack in foree by regular troops. The Spaniards themselves made no pretense to hold the country ; but were content to destroy the old fort, and so remove all semblance of British authority in the north, while setting up a visionary claim of their own.ª

Indeed, neither British nor Spanish author- ity was ever much more than nominal in northwestern Indiana.

For forty years after the secret treaty of 1763, Louisiana was Spanish. In 1801, by another secret treaty, it passed again to France, but remained outwardly under Span- ish rule until the transfer to the United States by Napoleon, in 1803, during the presidency of Jefferson. Other conditions might have made the eapture of Fort St. Joseph's, in 1781, of national importance. But Clark had taken Kaskaskia and Vincennes, the southern part of the great northwest was in American hands, and the American revolution was suc- eessful. The picturesque Spanish expedition across Illinois and Indiana was but an epi- sode, and left no trace in our history.

a. See Chapt. II., subd. 4.

III. GEORGE ROGERS CLARK.

Sec. 1 .- CLARK IN KENTUCKY .- The history of Indiana. proper, as the state now exists, begins with the expedition of George Rogers Clark, and his capture of Kaskaskia, July 4, 1778. This begining was an auspicious one, occurring two years, to a day, after the sign- ing of the Declaration of Independence. But the infant nation was yet in the struggle for existence; and comparatively few persons then realized, indeed to this day many fail to realize, how important to the nation, and to the world, was this daring enterprise of the young Virginian, "The Hannibal of the West. "'

It is well to keep in mind that the con- quest of the northwest was not made under the authority of the United States, but under that of the state of Virginia. This great com- monwealth was not only the mother of presi- dents, but the mother of states. West Vir- ginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and part of Minnesota were at one time ineluded in the territory of the great state of Virginia, and were all directly subject to her laws and government.

Kentucky, during the period of the Revolu- tion, was occupied by sparse settlements of emigrants from Virginia, surrounded by hos- tile Indians and exposed to attack from the British posts at Detroit, Vincennes, Kaskaskia and other points. The people looked for pro- tection to the home government of Virginia ; but the settlements of Kentucky were far re- moved from their friends in Virginia, and all the forces of the state were strained to the utmost in aiding the other colonies in the dis- tressing war then waged with Great Britain.

Among the Virginians who went to the assistance of their brethren in Kentucky was George Rogers Clark; and he very early made up his mind that the best way to protect the people of that "dark and bloody ground" was to wrest the country north of the Ohio from the English, who were constantly inciting the Indians against the feeble settlements south

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

of the river, and who might at any time send an expedition from Detroit to capture the Kentucky posts and thus also be enabled to attack Virginia, Pennsylvania and the Caro- linas from the west, while other British troops attacked them from the east. The necessity of capturing Vincennes, Kaskaskia and De- troit seemed to Clark to be most urgent, not- withstanding the great difficulty of the enter- prise, and the slender assistance which he could hope to receive. He determined, there- fore, to return to Virginia and present the matter to Patrick Henry, then governor of the state, the man whose eloquence had roused the enthusiasm of the colonists to declare their independence of Great Britain.

Sec. 2 .- HIS APPEAL TO VIRGINIA .- Mr. English, in his History of the Conquest of the Northwest, presents the situation as it took place on Clark's return substantially as fol- lows: Clark's stay in the Kentucky country in 1777, had still further endeared him to the inhabitants, who now looked upon him as the leader upon whom they could rely with great- est safety. They instinctively felt that his active spirit was not likely to remain quiet in these dangerous times; and, Clark says, that when he was about to leave for Virginia, in the fall, every eye seemed to be turned on him in expectation that he was going to under- take some enterprise that would benefit them. There were some, however, who thought he contemplated entering service in the revolu- tionary army of Virginia, in the east, and feared he would never return to the Kentucky frontier. "I left them with reluctance," said he, "promising them that I would certainly return to their assistance, which I had prede- termined." This was on the 1st of October, 1777.

He had carefully looked over the western field and determined that he could best serve his country by leading a foree against the enemy's posts in the Illinois and on the Wa- bash. The authority to do it, and the men and means necessary to make it a success, could only come from the home government of

Virginia. To that he now directed his atten- tion, with his usual caution, good judgment and energy. He went to Williamsburg, still the capital of the state, and there, at first. quietly employed himself in settling the ac- counts of the Kentucky militia, which shows that he had been in military authority in the Kentucky country; but he was, in fact, all the time feeling his way to the development of his great plan of striking the British posts northwest of the Ohio river. Events in the east about this time proved favorable to the adoption of his plans. The capture of the British army under Burgoyne had greatly en- conraged the Americans, and they were feel- ing more as if they might be able to carry the war into the enemy's country. Clark talked confidently upon the subject to a few discreet friends, but it was about two months after his arrival in Virginia before he ventured to lay his plans before the governor of the state.

The eventful day was the 10th of December. 1777, when he first presented the matter to the great governor, Patrick Henry. They were not strangers to each other. The grand old patriot gave eager attention to the youthful Virginian, but the plans now presented were vastly greater in importance then those he had presented the previous year in relation to giv- ing the settlers in Kentucky a government and the stations gunpowder. In Clark's Me- moir, he says : "At first he seemed to be fond of it; but to detach a party at so great a dis- tance, although the service performed might be of great utility, appeared daring and haz- ardous, as nothing but secrecy could give suc- cess to the enterprise. To lay the matter before the assembly, then sitting, would be dangerous, as it would soon be known through- out the frontiers, and probably the first pris- oner taken by the Indians would give the alarm, which would end in the certain destruc- tion of the party." Henry's great mind, no doubt, grasped not only the danger the invad- ing party might be involved in, but the vast benefit it might be to the future of the coun- try if the campaign should prove successful.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

IIe realized that it was a matter of the gravest importance, and required the earnest and careful consideration of the wisest and most disereet men in the state. He invited as his confidential counsellors and advisers upon this memorable occasion three men who fully came up to the requirement, namely Thomas Jefferson, George Wythe and. George Mason. Seldom in the annals of military affairs has a stronger body of men assembled to consider the expediency of a campaign than was assembled on this occasion. Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, George Wythe, George Mason and George Rogers Clark-five men who made an honorable impress upon the age in which they lived, and who may justly be ranked with the first men of their time, indeed, of any time.

These distinguished gentlemen were in eon- sultation upon the subject of the contem- plated campaign for several weeks, and Clark reeords in his Memoir that every enquiry was made into his proposed plan of operations, and particularly that of retreat, in case of misfortune, across the Mississippi into the Spanish territory. Friday, January 2, 1778, seems to have been the day the proposed "expedition against Kaskaskia" was formally communicated by the governor to the council and approved-the same to be set on foot "with as little delay and as much secreey as possible." This action of the governor and privy conneil was under a law of the Virginia legislature, passed by the General Assembly then in session, authorizing the governor, with the advice of the privy council, to organize an expedition, to march against and attack any of our western enemies. and give the neces- sary orders for the expedition. Clark says this law was passed to enable the governor to order the Illinois campaign, but that when it passed but few in the house knew the real intent of it.a

Sec. 3 .- SECRET PREPARATIONS .- On Janu-

a. Conquest of the country northwest of the River Ohio, Vol. 1, pp. 86-93. The text slightly condensed and abbreviated.

ary 4, 1778, Clark, having received his instruc- tions from the governor, together with £1,200 to defray expenses, set ont to collect troops and supplies for the most brilliant enterprise in American history, following the conquest of Mexico by Cortez. On February 1st, he arrived at Red Stone, now Brownsville, Penn- sylvania. Ile tells us in his Memoir that he found much opposition to the enterprise in the Pittsburg country. The Pennsylvanians seemed opposed to the raising of troops for the use of Virginia. "As my real instruc- tions," he continues, "were kept concealed. and only an instrument from the governor was made public, wherein I was authorized to raise men for the defense of Kentucky, many gentlemen of both parties conceived it to be injurious to the public interest to draw off men at so critical a moment for the defense of a few detached inhabitants, who had better be removed, etc." After collecting a part of his troops and leaving instructions for further enlistments, Clark took his stores at Pittsburg and Wheeling and proceeded cantiously down the river. He occupied a small island at the Falls of the Ohio, afterwards called Corn Island, opposite the present city of Louisville. where he arrived May 27, 1788, and here for the first time, he made know to his officers and men the nature of his design and the secret instructions received from the governor of Virginia. "Almost every gentleman," he says, "warmly espoused the enterprise, and plainly saw the utility of it, and supposed they saw the salvation of Kentucky almost in their reach; but some repined that we were not strong enough to put it beyond all doubt. The soldiery, in general, debated on the sub- ject, but determined to follow their officers : some were alarmed at the thought of being taken at so great a distance into the enemy's country, that if they should have success in the first instance they might be attacked in their posts without a possibility of getting sneeor or making their retreat." There were some desertions at this time, but Clark reso- Intely pursued and punished the guilty par-

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A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 1, Part 13

Author: Howard, Timothy Edward, 1837-1916 Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 826

Author: Howard, Timothy Edward, 1837-1916
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 826