USA > Indiana > A popular history of Indiana : with an introduction > Part 4
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friendly council and to smoke the pipe of peace, but hidden beneath their blankets they were to carry shotguns and at a signal from Pontiac were to fall upon the soldiers, kill the officers and take the fort. Being foiled in this plot, Pontiac and his warriors began a long and determined siege of Detroit which, however, failed.
Fort Miami was treacherously taken on May 27, when a young squaw, in whom Ensign Holmes had perfect confi- dence, called on him and asked him to visit a sick woman in a hut not far from the fort. Holmes followed without sus- picion of evil, but was soon shot down by Indians concealed near by. The sergeant, thoughtlessly going out of the fort to see the cause of the shots, was captured by the savages. A Canadian then came forth from among them and told the soldiers still in the fort that, if they would at once surrender, their lives should be saved; if not, all would be killed without merey. It was useless for them to resist, so they opened the gates of the garrison to the Indians, who took possession, and English control was lost for a time.
It was the intention of the Indians to surprise Fort Ouia- tanon and kill the garrison on the night of May 31, but two Canadian fur traders persuaded them to use milder measures. So the commander, Lieutenant Jenkins, on the next morning being asked to call at one of the cabins, did so, without think- ing of danger, and was at once made a prisoner. The fort was taken and all the soldiers captured, but, so the account runs, were kindly treated by the Indians. For the two follow- ing years the entire Ohio valley was under the rule of Pontiac.
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But after his vamn attempts to capture Fort Detroit, and after being told that he need no longer expect aid from the French father, a treaty of peace having been signed between France and England, Pontiac withdrew, with many of his chiefs, to the bank of the Maumee river.
In the spring of 1765 Colonel Crogham was sent to effect, if possible, a treaty of peace between the English and the hostile tribes. He came down the Ohio river in May, but had scarcely reached the mouth of the Wabash when he and his party were attacked by the Kickapoo Indians. Several were killed in the encounter, and Crogham, with the others remaining, were made prisoners. They were carried to Vin- cennes, where friendly Indians secured for them freedom and kind treatment. Crogham then went to Fort Ouiatanon where he arranged for a council of peace and started for Fort Chartres in the Illinois country. But soon meeting Pontiac, with many of his chiefs and warriors, they all returned to Ouiatanon, where a great council was held and arrangements were made for the treaty of peace which was afterward con- summated at Detroit. At the council held at Ouiatanon, Pontiac "complained that the French had deceived him" and said that he would war against the English no longer. The great chieftain kept his promise, gave up fighting for hunting, and finally left his old home on the banks of the Maumee, a few miles from Fort Miami, and lived in the Illinois country. There, opposite the present city of St. Louis, in 1769 he was treacherously murdered by an Indian of the Kaskaskia tribe. . Some accounts say that the assassin was hired to kill Pontiac
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by an Englishman, who agreed to give him a barrel of whisky and something else for the bloody deed.
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DEATH OF PONTIAC.
St. Ange, whom we remember to have last met as com- mander of the post of Vincennes, was at this time the com- mandant at St. Louis. When he heard of the death of
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Pontiac he sent across the river for the body "and buried it with honors of war at St. Louis." Parkman says of this great Ottawa chieftain: "The American forest never produced a man more shrewd, politic and ambitious."
CHAPTER IX.
GEORGE ROGERS CLARK, THE " HANNIBAL OF THE WEST."
EASTERN PIONEERS SETTLE IN INDIANA-INDIANS BECOME JEALOUS, BLOOD- THIRSTY, CRUEL-PATHETIC STORIES-GEORGE ROGERS CLARK-PATRICK HENRY'S ORDER-THE BRITISH FORT AT KASKASKIA-FORCED MARCHES IN BITTER, CRUEL WEATHER-CLARK'S LETTER TO GOVERNOR HAMILTON- SAD END OF A BRAVE CAREER.
After the close of Pontiac's war, the treaty of peace having been made between England and the tribes of the north- west, the forts were again garrisoned by British soldiers.
Many adventurous settlers now began crossing the Alle- ghanies and seeking homes in the western wilderness. They would leave the eastern settlements in small bands, then after
going into the interior would separate from each other and settle far apart. A story is told of one pioneer who left his clearing and started farther west because another had settled so near him that he could hear the report of his rifle; and of another, that on noticing, through the valley around him, "smoke curling in the distance, he went fifteen miles to dis- cover its source and, finding newcomers there, quit the country in disgust." Deprived of all the restraining and helpful influences of civilized life, surrounded only by wild animals and Indians, it is not strange that it has been said of these hardy men, "wild as untamed nature, they could scream with the
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panther, howl with the wolf, whoop with the Indian and fight all creation."
Of an entirely different nature from the Frenchmen, these pioneers from the colonial settlements could not readily make friends of the red men, but came into the wilderness prepared to fight their way, despising alike privation, hardship and savage cruelty. " Each settler claimed for himself 300 acres of ground and the privilege of taking r,ooo more contiguous to his clearing."
But while there were men who thus dwelt as far apart as possible, there were others who brought their families and, building their cabins near each other, formed little settlements. These settlements were in constant danger of being destroyed by bands of Indians, who prowled through the forests and came stealthily upon them. Often most terrible massacres would occur. Sometimes whole families would be driven out into the cold, while all that they had struggled so hard to obtain would be destroyed by fire; some would be killed, others narrowly es- cape the tomahawk and scalping knife and still others, perhaps of the same family, taken as prisoners, would be led through long, wearisome marches to Indian villages. Many touching stories have been told of scenes that occurred when families we're reunited, perhaps after years of separation, during which time their fate was unknown to each other.
During General Boquet's campaign against the Indians many white prisoners were brought or escaped to his camp. An old woman who, nine years before, during the French and Indian war, had lost her grandchild, thought perhaps here she
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would find her. "All her other relatives had died under the knife." So she came to the camp, "and, searching with
THE OLD SONG.
trembling eagerness each face, she at last recognized the altered features of her child. But the girl had forgotten her
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native tongue, and returned no answer and made no sign." The old woman groaned and complained bitterly that the daughter she had so often sung to sleep on her knees had for- gotten her in her old age. Soldiers and officers were alike overcome. "Sing," said Boquet to the old lady; "sing the song you used to sing." As the low trembling tones began to ascend the wild girl gave one sudden start, then listening for a moment longer, her frame shaking like an ague, she burst into a flood of passionate tears. She was indeed the lost child. All else had been effaced from her memory save the recollection of that sweet song of her infancy. She had heard it in her dreams. Even the Indians who witnessed the scene, though "their temperament was iron," and they were said "to have held such expressions of the heart in contempt," were overcome with emotion.
But after the great war with England had begun and the young colonies on the east were making their bold stand for independence, the lot of the western frontiersmen became even more perilous than before. British troops were overrunning the Atlantic coast and British troops stationed at the frontier posts in the west, on the Wabash, the Maumee and at Kas- kaskia, were "inciting the Indians to deeds of rapine and murder." From these posts arms and ammunition were distributed to the savages and the attacks on the settlements became more frequent and terrible.
For the conquests of these western posts and deliverance in these. troublous times from British rule and for the sav- ing to the United States of all the vast region of country
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afterward known as the Northwest Territory, not only is In- diana but the whole entire country indebted to General George Rogers Clark more than to any other one man. He has been called the "Hannibal of the West" and in his bold, daring and determined persever- ance he most certainly bore a strong resemblance to the great Carthaginian. Neither recognized any obstacle that could not be overcome, be they the Alps of Italy or the swamps of the wilder- GENERAL. GEORGE ROGERS CLARK. ness.
Clark was a Virginian by birth, but had lived many years in Kentucky and spent much time among the western tribes. He "felt sure that if the British could be successfully driven from the northwest there would be very little trouble with the Indians." Patrick Henry was governor of Virginia and to him Clark went with a plan for capturing the British frontier posts. To this plan the governor readily assented, as he himself had felt greatly concerned over the hazardous position of these frontiersmen.
On January 2, 1778, Governor Henry directed Clark, then lieutenant-colonel, "to proceed with all convenient speed to
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DOWN THE ONIO RIVER .
V
GENERAL CLARK'S EXPEDITION.
raise seven companies of soldiers, to consist of fifty men each, officered in the usual manner and armed most properly for the en- terprise, and with that force to attack the British fort at Kas- kaskia." Clark was also in- structed to treat the French set- tlers living around the post kindly, as they were thought to feel friendly toward the Ameri- cans. And such was afterward found to be the case. Clark did
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not succeed in raising more than 170 men, but with them he floated in boats down the Ohio river to the mouth of the Tennessee, where he sank the boats to prevent discovery and marched with his men through the swamp and forests, 150 miles, until on the night of July 4, 1778, he reached Kaskas- kia. Here, through strategy and diplomacy, Clark won a bloodless victory. The inhabitants of the village as well as the Indians had been told most horrible stories of the cruelty and brutality of the "Long Knives," as the American soldiers were called by them. And when they found that they were not only to be left unharmed but also to be received and pro- tected as citizens of the United States, their surprise and joy were unbounded. " They adorned the streets with flowers and pavilions of different colors, completing their happiness by singing," etc.
Detroit, Kaskaskia and Vincennes were considered the three most important posts then held by the British on the frontier.
Kaskaskia was taken and Clark resolved that Vincennes must next be captured. This was accomplished through the aid of M. Gibault, the priest of Kaskaskia, and Dr. LaFonte, who, fearing for the welfare of their French friends in Vin- cennes, if Clark and his army attacked the post, offered to go and persuade the garrison to yield without resistance. This was done, another bloodless victory was achieved and the American flag was unfurled for the first time above Indiana soil. The fort, after its capture, was called Patrick Henry and Captain Helm was placed in command and made superintendent
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of Indian affairs on the Wabash. Friendly relations were soon established with the surrounding tribes of Indians and not long afterward the settlements of the Wabash and upper Mississippi were organized with the " County of Illinois " and were subject to American control, Colonel John Todd being appointed civil commander.
However, Vincennes was not destined to long remain in possession of the Americans. The British governor at Detroit, Henry Hamilton, hearing of its capture, immediately deter- mined upon its recovery, so with a mixed army of Canadians, British regulars and Indians he left Detroit and, by way of Fort Miami, reached the Wabash and on December 15 attacked the fort, intending to destroy the entire American garrison. But Captain Helm stood heroically at his post and, with match in hand beside a loaded cannon, threatened "to blow to atoms" the first who dared to approach. At this the Indians fled to the woods and Hamilton, supposing from Helm's defiant manner that the post must be well garrisoned, thought best to concede to it the honors of war if it would surrender. What must have been the astonishment of Hamilton and his force of 4So men when Captain Helm and one private marched out of the fort!
It was impossible for Clark to rest with Vincennes again in British hands. The following February he leaves Kas- kaskia, having previously started a boat by river laden with cannon and provisions and with his little band, so true and tried, begins the toilsome march. It is in the dead of winter, but instead of snow and frost there is rain, and the swamps
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are almost impassable. Many nights they cannot find dry ground on which to camp. The streams are swollen, the boat fails to meet them at the appointed time and place and their provisions become exhausted. But on they march, faint and weary but resolute, through "water that is at places deep as to their necks," and, carrying their rifles above their heads, they at last camp on a little knoll, but before them stretches a marshy plain which they must cross before Vin- cennes can be reached. The weather turns cold and their clothes freeze on them, and the plain is covered with water, but into it Clark plunges, breaking the ice over the surface, and the men, inspired by his spirit, follow. "Many would reach the shore," says Clark, "and fall with their bodies half in the water, not being able to support themselves without it." Finally, reaching an eminence, they build fires, capture food from some Indians and, thus made comparatively com- fortable, are ready for an attack upon the post. Clark realizes the many disadvantages of his position, but determines to capture the post by means of pure bravado. He accord- ingly, after a little skirmish has taken place between the troops, sends the following note to Governor Hamilton, the commander of the post:
"SIR: In order to save yourself from the impending storm that now threatens you, I order you immediately to surrender yourself with all your garrison, stores, etc., etc., for, if I am obliged to storm, you may depend on such treat- ment as is justly due a murderer. Beware of destroying stores of any kind, or any papers or letters that are in your posses-
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sion, or hurting one house in town, for, by heavens! if you do there shall be no mercy shown you. G. R. CLARK. " To Governor Hamilton."
This was answered by Hamilton and the battle was renewed, but Clark soon had the satisfaction of dictating to the British commander and Vincennes again passed into American hands. Governor Hamilton, Major Hay and several others were sent as prisoners to Virginia, where they were kept in confinement for a time as punishment for having instigated, as was believed, Indian massacres, but were finally released on Washington's recommendation.
Clark's brilliant and invaluable services were never properly requited nor even acknowledged, as they should have been, by the government. During a temporary season of peace on the frontier he was dismissed from the military service. Disheartened and dejected, he fell a victim to drink. HIis health became shattered and he was a sufferer many years, dying at the home of his sister near Louisville in Feb- ruary, ISIS. He was a man of real genius and lofty patriotism and merited a better fate.
CHAPTER X.
GENERAL WAYNE AND THE INDIANS.
THE TERRIBLE YEAR 1782-COLONEL CRAWFORD BURNED AT THE STAKE -- INCREASE OF SETTLERS AROUSES THE ANGER OF THE INDIANS-TROOPS SENT OUT "CHIEF-WHO-NEVER-SLEEPS" SENDS A MESSAGE TO THE INDIANS-BATTLE OF AUGUST 20, 1794-GREAT COUNCIL OF 1795-LITTLE TURTLE'S ELOQUENCE-FORT WAYNE NAMED IN HONOR OF THE GREAT GENERAL.
After Vincennes had been recaptured by General Clark,
FORT WAYNE IN 1794.
the British made no further attempt to take any of the western
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posts. And after the close of the Revolutionary war, when the treaty of peace was signed between England and the new nation, the United States, in 1783, all of the territory lying northwest of the Ohio river was ceded to the United States by Virginia. The British retained the post at Detroit for several
COLONEL CRAWFORD BURNED AT THE STAKE.
years, where they continued to give the Indians more or less encouragement in their resistance to the coming of American settlers.
During the period of the Revolutionary war the village of Kekionga was held by the British and Indians. It was the
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
seat of an official for Indian affairs and was held as an im- portant trading post. After Clark had recaptured Vincennes he made plans to possess both this point and Detroit, but was not able to carry them out. An expedition was formed, how- ever. by one LaBalme, who, inspired by Clark's wonderful success, thought to accomplish a similar achievement in the capture of Kekionga and Detroit. With a small force, which he succeeded in raising at Kaskaskia, LaBalme took the village of Kekionga by surprise in the summer of 17So. The inhabitants fled in dismay, but as soon as they discovered the paucity of LaBalme's following, the Indian warriors of the
vicinity, led by their chief, Little Turtle, fell upon them and mas- sacred the entire party.
The year 1782, it is said, was the "most terrible ever known on the western frontier." It was during this year that some of the most shocking massacres oc- curred. Colonel Crawford with a force of 480 men was defeated, the colonel taken prisoner, and, after being tortured in ways too revolting to even describe, was burned at the stake. It was also SIMON GIRTY. during this year that Girty, more fiend than man, led an army of Indians to victory. But fol- lowing these bloody events came a season of comparative
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freedom from Indian hostilities, during which every effort was made by the government to conclude treaties with the tribes of the northwest. But as the Indian saw the tide of immigra- tion from the east increasing, new forts being established and substantial towns building within his domains, he became more determined than ever not to yield his claims and refused to enter into negotiations for the surrender of his lands or the security of the white settlers.
In consequence of this unsettled and unsafe condition of affairs the government, in 1790, decided to send a detachment of regular troops under General Harmar to the northwest, with instructions to march against the Indian villages and inflict upon them such chastisement as would protect the settlements from further depredations. This campaign ended in utter defeat, the final desperate engagement being fought with the Indians at their village of Omi on the banks of the Maumee river, about twelve miles west of Fort Wayne, in October, 1790.
It is said that "as early as 1785 Washington had been impressed with the superior advantages of the Miami villages at the confluence of the St. Mary's and St. Joseph's rivers for the erection of a fort, and' it now became the paramount pur- pose, during 1791, to build this fort and establish a chain of military posts from Fort Washington, located near the present site of Cincinnati, to the head of the Maumee." With this object in view, General St. Clair was placed in command of the forces in the west after Harmar's defeat, and with large rein- forcements it was hoped he would be able to repress the
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
savages and protect the white settlements. Before entering into any private warfare with the tribes Generals Scott and Wilkinson conducted a successful campaign against the Indians in the southern portion of the state, destroying many fields of corn and burning a number of villages, among them the Quiatanon towns.
St. Clair's campaign, however, proved more disastrou ; than Harmar's, and left the Indian problem in very much the same condition in which the government to-day finds it-per- plexing and hard to solve. But it was necessary to afford relief and protection to the western settlements, so as soon as practicable the forces were reorganized and placed under command of General Anthony Wayne. This valiant soldier' had won great distinction in the Revolutionary war by his many deeds of valor and his wise man- agement of troops at critical times. He was given the sobri- quet of "Mad Anthony" on ac- count of his daring spirit, but he had great sagacity and prudence, and, during his campaigns against the Indians, always endeavored to enter into reasonable and generous treaties with them be- fore giving them battle. The Indians called him "Black Snake" on account of his watchfulness; also the "Chief-who- never sleeps." In June of 1792 General Wayne organized his
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army at Pittsburg, but thought it wise to devote several months to drilling and disciplining it before moving into the Indian country, so that it was not until Christmas of 1793 that he reached the spot where St. Clair had met such a ter-
SCENE OF ST. CLAIR'S DEFEAT.
rible defeat. Here a stockade post was built and aptly named Fort Recovery. Six hundred skulls were found on this spot, a ghastly testimony to the carnage enacted there two years before.
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
General Wayne continued his march into the heart of the Indian country, but before attempting to capture the point where the Miami villages were located, he thought best to offer the tribes a last opportunity to enter into a treaty of peace. In a report to the secretary of war General Wayne, after stating that he had given the Indians such opportunity, said: "But, should war be their choice, their blood be upon their own heads. America shall no longer be insulted with impunity. To an all-powerful and just God I therefore com. mit myself and gallant army." In the address he sent to the tribes General Wayne kindly entreated them to lay down their arms and "experience the kindness and friendship of the United States of America and the invaluable blessings of peace and tranquility."
In a council of the confederate tribes, Little Turtle made every effort to induce them to accept General Wayne's offers of peace, but some of the chiefs accusing him of cowardice he said no more, but sorrowfully led his warriors forth to battle. On August 20, 1794, on the bank of the Maumee, near Presque Isle, about two miles south of the site of Maumee City, the two armies met. The engagement was quick and decisive, General Wayne gaining a complete victory over the savages, who wildly fled in every direction. Not only were the armies of the two races led by notable warriors in this engagement- Wayne and Little Turtle-but they were assisted by those who, in after years, became conspicuous figures in the history of the northwest. William Henry Harrison, at that time a lieutenant, was General Wayne's aid-de-camp and Tecumseh,
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the famous Shawnee chief, fought bravely in Little Turtle's band.
A few days after the victory General Wayne proceeded with his troops to the Miami villages, where he built the fort so long projected. This important post was completed Octo- ber 22, 1794, and placed under the command of Lieutenant- Colonel Hamtramck, who, after firing fifteen rounds of cannon, named it Fort Wayne, in honor of the great soldier. On the ninety-third anniversary of this victory, which had given Americans the final and complete control of the Indians in this disputed portion of the country, a suitable celebration was held in the city built on the same site and bearing the same name as the post. A worthy citizen, Henry M. Williams, inclosed the grounds with an iron fence and erected a lofty ship's mast, from which floats the stars and stripes.
In the year following Gen- eral Wayne's important victory over the Indians, 1795, a coun- cil of all the tribes of the northwest was held at Green- ville and a final treaty of peace agreed upon. There it was that Little Turtle, who "was the master spirit on the part of the Indians," made his elo- LITTLE TURTLE. quent appeal for the privilege of still holding the glorious gate at Fort Wayne. He had been the leader of the savage warriors when Harmar and St.
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