USA > Indiana > Elkhart County > A standard history of Elkhart County, Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development, Volume I > Part 4
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CLARK AS FATHER OF AMERICAN NORTHWEST
So disastrous in their consequences and distracting in their influ- ence were these attacks, that Colonel George Rogers Clark early set about procuring the means to effectually check them. Recog- nizing the British posts at Kaskaskia and Vincennes as the source of the Indians' supplies and inspiration, he directed his efforts toward the capture of these points, and, enlisting the interests of Patrick Henry, governor of Virginia, securing such help as he could give, Clark was able on June 24, 1778, to start from the falls of the Ohio with 153 men for Lower Illinois. So skillfully did he manage his movements that he caught the garrison napping, and captured, on the 5th of July, both force and fort without the spilling of a drop of blood. Cahokia fell in like manner without a blow.
COUNTY OF ILLINOIS ERECTED
Clark's original plan contemplated the attack of Vincennes as the first object of his campaign, but on reaching the Falls of the
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
Ohio, his force being so much smaller than he had expected, he found it necessary to change his plan of operations. In his journal, Clark gives his reasons for the change as follows: "As Post Vin- cennes, at this time, was a town of considerable force, consisting of nearly 400 militia, with an Indian town adjoining, and great num- bers continually in the neighborhood, and, in the scale of Indian. affairs, of more importance than any other, I had thought of attack- ing it first ; but now found that I could by no means venture near it. I resolved to begin my career in the Illinois, where there were more inhabitants, but scattered in different villages, and less danger of being immediately overpowered by the Indians ; in case of necessity, we could probably make our retreat to the Spanish side of the Mississippi ; but if successful, we might pave our way to the pos- session of Post Vincennes." This shrewd forecast of the situation was abundantly confirmed by the issue of events. His sagacity in dealing with the conquered posts of Kaskaskia and Cahokia was reenforced by the announcement of the treaty entered into between France and the Colonies, and in August the delegation of French citizens, which had been sent from Kaskaskia to Vincennes, re- turned bearing the joyful news that the whole population had sworn public allegiance to the United States, and had displayed the American flag. On the receipt of this intelligence from Clark, the Virginia Assembly in October erected the whole territory thus conquered into the County of Illinois and provided for its govern- ment. This first attempt to organize the county west of the Ohio was thwarted, however, by the descent of the British from Detroit in the following December.
The French population had garrisoned the fort at the suggestion of Clark, who subsequently sent Captain Helm as a representative of the American government and an agent to the Indians. On the approach of the British, Captain Helm and one private alone occu- pied the fort, who, by putting on a bold front, obtained from the besiegers the honors of war. This sudden change in the situation boded serious evil to the Kentucky frontier, and necessitated prompt action upon the part of Colonel Clark. Learning in December, 1779, that the English commandant, Henry Hamilton, had greatly weak- ened his force by sending detachments elsewhere, Clark determined to attack the enemy at once with what troops he could collect. After enduring almost incredible hardships and overcoming obstacles that would have been insurmountable to any less determined officer,
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Clark found himself once more before the enemy. Here his skillful dispositions and unparalleled audacity were again crowned with success, and on February 24th he received the capitulation of the English garrison.
The temporary success of the English did not long defer the plans of the Virginia commonwealth, and the conquered territory was at once placed under control of civil authority, John Todd rep- resenting the sovereignty of Virginia as county lieutenant. This was the forerunner of the Northwest Territory and the birth of civil government in the Northwest. Todd's instructions were broad enough to meet the whole case; he was to conciliate the French and Indians : to inculcate on the people the value of liberty, and to remove the grievances that obstruct the happiness, and increase the prosperity of that country. These certainly were the great ends to be achieved if possible, but in the nature of things their accomplish- ment was not possible. The French population was easily con- ciliated, but the education of a life-time, and the hereditary char- acteristics of the race rendered them incapable of appreciating the value of liberty. They had grown up under the enervating influ- ence of the most arbitrary manifestations of monarchical govern- ment, and self-government involved too great a risk for this simple folk. The result was a lack of sympathy with the new order of things, more decided, perhaps, than under British rule. To this was added a business competition, to which they were unaccustomed ; more frequent hostile incursions of the Indians in which the sav- ages gradually forgot the old-time love for the French, and the repeated losses by the inundations of the river, made up a sum of discouragements which gradually depleted this country of the French inhabitants. This loss was but imperfectly repaired, notwithstand- ing the fertility of the soil had been widely published, and a con- siderable number had already found much better advantages there than the older colonies afforded; yet the Indian depredations that followed the Revolutionary war deterred others from following until the general pacification at Greenville in 1795.
ORGANIZATION OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
On the 13th of July, 1787, Congress passed an ordinance for the government of the territory northwest of the Ohio River, which had been ceded to the United States by Virginia three years before,
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
and in October following Maj .- Gen. Arthur St. Clair was elected by Congress as governor. In July, 1788, the governor arrived at Fort Harmar (now Marietta ), Ohio, where, during that year, the tem- porary government of the territory was organized. During the first two years of his administration, St. Clair was busily engaged with the details of governmental organization and negotiating with the Indian tribes, who found it difficult to understand the principles upon which the whites made war. On the 8th of January, 1790, the governor found leisure to proceed to Kaskaskia to organize the government in that quarter. In August, 1788, Congress had pro- vided for the adjustment of land disputes among the settlers at Kaskaskia and Vincennes, and on the arrival of St. Clair early in 1790 this matter engrossed the larger part of his attention. Among the earliest acts of his administration was the erection of the first county, including all the present State of Illinois, extending as far north as the mouth of Little Mackinaw Creek, and named St. Clair after the governor. The general situation is described by the governor in his report to the Secretary of War as follows: "The Illinois country, as well as that upon the Wabash, has been involved in great distress ever since it fell under the American dominion. The people with great cheerfulness supplied the troops under George Rogers Clark and the Illinois regiment with everything they could spare, and often with much more than they could spare with any convenience to themselves. Most of the certificates for these sup- plies are still in their hands unliquidated, and in many instances, when application has been made to the State of Virginia, under whose authority the certificates were granted, payment has been refused. The Illinois regiment being disbanded, a set of men, pretending to the authority of Virginia, embodied themselves, and a scene of general depredation ensued. To this succeeded three suc- cessive and extraordinary inundations of the Mississippi, which either swept away their crops or prevented their being planted. The loss of the greater part of their trade with the Indians, as well as the hostile incursions of some of the tribes which had ever before been in friendship with them, and to these was added the loss of the whole of their last crops of corn by an untimely frost. Extreme misery could not fail to be the consequence of such accumulated misfortunes.
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DIVISIONS OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
On the 7th of May, 1800, the President of the United States approved an act of Congress, entitled "An Act to Divide the Territory Northwest of the Ohio into Two Separate Governments." The one retaining the former name was composed of the present State of Ohio, a small part of Michigan, and a small part of Indiana, being that part in the southeast corner which had been ceded to the United States by the Indians, in the treaty of Greenville. The other district was denominated the Indiana Territory, and embraced all the region east of the Mississippi, and between the lakes and the Ohio. The population of all this tract of country, by the census of 1800 was 4.875, of which a small portion in Clark's grant was of English descent; the remainder, mostly of French extraction, re- sided at or near Kaskaskia, Vincennes and Detroit. William Henry Harrison was appointed governor of Indiana Territory, and during his administration he discovered and thwarted the reckless specula- tion in public lands, which was greatly interfering with the pros- perity of the new territory. Governor Harrison thus describes the situation in a letter from Vincennes to Mr. Madison: "The court established at this place, under the authority of the State of Vir- ginia, in the year 1780, assumed to themselves the right of granting lands to every applicant. Having exercised this power for some time, without opposition, they began to conclude that their right over the land was supreme, and that they could, with as much propriety, grant to themselves as to others. Accordingly an ar- rangement was made by which the whole country, to which the Indian title was supposed to be extinguished, was divided between the members of the court, and orders to that effect were entered on their journal, each member absenting himself from court on the day the order was to be made in his favor, so that it might appear to be the act of his fellows only. The authors of this ridiculous transaction soon found that no advantage could be derived from it, as they could find no purchasers, and the idea of holding any part of the land was by the greater part of them abandoned. A few years ago, however, the claim was discovered, and a part of it purchased by some of those speculators who infest our country, and through these people a number of others, in different parts of the United States, have become concerned, some of whom are actually preparing to make settlements. The price at which the
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
land is sold enables anybody to become a purchaser, one thousand acres being frequently given for an indifferent horse or rifle gun." By the treaty of 1795, the whole of the Indian Territory was re- served to the Indians, and, during his administration, Governor Harrison was engaged in negotiating with the natives for further cessions of their lands.
INDIANA TERRITORY DIVIDED
In 1805, Michigan was made a separate territory, and the same year the first Legislature for Indiana Territory was assembled at Vincennes. There were then five counties in the territory-Knox, Dearborn and Clark within the present bounds of Indiana, and St. Clair and Randolph within those of Illinois. At the session of 1808, the County of Harrison was formed, and an apportionment of the representatives to the Legislature was made, by which three members were to be elected from the County of Knox, one from Harrison, two from Clark and three from Dearborn-nine in all. The Territory of Indiana was divided in 1809, and the western part denominated Illinois. The boundary then, as now, was the Lower Wabash, and the line running north from Vincennes, where it last leaves the Wabash. In 1810, the counties of Gibson, Warwick, Washington, Perry, Switzerland and Posey were added, and in 1815 the law creating Jackson and Orange was passed. Governor Harrison having been appointed, in the fall of 1812, to command the Northwestern army, Thomas Posey was appointed governor of the territory, and in the following year the seat of government was moved from Vincennes to Corydon.
THE LORDS OF THE SOIL DISPOSSESSED
It will be observed that when the colonies had achieved their independence, and as a nation, through the cession of Virginia, became heir to the vast territory northwest of the Ohio, there existed a prior claim to that country, and one that was not likely to be easily extinguished. Notwithstanding the repeated attempts of the national government to obtain a peaceable possession and its partial success in securing favorable treaties with the various tribes, it required the campaigns of Harmar, St. Clair and Wayne, before the Greenville treaty of 1795 gave to the whites the undisputed
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
possession of what is now the State of Ohio. But the boundaries established by this treaty gave the Indian nations all the territory within the present State of Indiana, except the following tracts :
I-One tract six miles square, where the City of Ft. Wayne is now situated.
2-One tract two miles square, on the Wabash River, at the end of the portage from the Maumee River, about eight miles westward from Ft. Wayne.
3-One tract six miles square, at the old Wea towns on the Wabash.
4-The tract called the "Illinois Grant," made to Gen. George Rogers Clark, near the falls of the Ohio, consisting of 150,000 acres.
5-The Town of Vincennes and adjacent lands, to which the Indian title had been extinguished, and all similar lands at other places in possession of the French and other settlers.
6-The strip of land east of the boundary line, running directly from the site of Fort Recovery, so as to intersect the Ohio River at a point opposite the mouth of the Kentucky.
When General Harrison became governor of Indiana Territory, he was invested with authority by the general government to make such further treaties as would best extinguish the claims on the Indians. Accordingly at Vincennes, September 17, 1802, a meeting of certain chiefs and head men of the Pottawattamie, Eel River, Kickapoo, Piankeshaw and Kaskaskia and Wea tribes, appointed the Pottawattamie chiefs, Winamac and Topinepik, and the Miami chiefs, Little Turtle and Richardville, to settle a treaty for the extinguishment of Indian claims to certain lands on the borders of the Wabash, in the vicinity of Vincennes. On June 7, 1803, at Fort Wayne, certain chiefs and head men of the Delaware, Shawnee, Pottawattamie, Eel River, Kickapoo, Piankeshaw and Kaskaskia tribes ceded to the United States about 1,600,000 acres of land. Again at Vincennes, on the 18th day of August of the following year, the Delawares ceded their claim to the tract of land lying between the Wabash and the Ohio rivers, and south of the road which led from Vincennes to the falls of the Ohio, the Piankeshaws relinquishing their claims to the same tract a few days later. By a treaty concluded near Vincennes, August 21, 1805, the governor secured from certain chiefs and warriors of the Delaware, Pot-
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
tawattamie, Miami, Eel River and Wea tribes the cession of their lands lying southeast of the line running northeasterly from a point about fifty-seven miles due east from Vincennes, so as to strike the general boundary line (running from a point opposite the mouth of the Kentucky River to Fort Recovery), at the distance of fifty miles from the commencement on the Ohio. On the 30th of Decem- ber, this year, at Vincennes, the Piankeshaw tribe ceded about two million six hundred thousand acres of land lying west of the Wabash, and at Fort Wayne, September 30, 1809, the chiefs of the Delaware, Eel River, Pottawattamie and Miami tribes ceded to the United States about two million nine hundred thousand acres of land lying principally on the southeastern side of the Wabash, below the mouth of the Raccoon Creek. The chiefs of the Wea tribe in the following month met Governor Harrison at Vincennes and acknowledged the validity of this treaty, which was also con- firmed by the sachems and war chiefs of the Kickapoos December 9, 1809, besides ceding a further tract of about one hundred and thirteen thousand acres of land.
FOUNDING OF PROPHET'S TOWN
Thus far the Indians had maintained amicable relations with the whites, though it was becoming evident that there was a dis- turbing element among them brewing discontent. In 1805, Tecum- seh and his brother, La-le-was-i-kaw (Loud Voice) resided at one of the Delaware villages on the west fork of the White River, within the present limits of the County of Delaware. Some time during that year "Loud Voice" took upon himself the character of prophet and reformer, and earnestly inveighed against the use of whisky, the practice of Indian women marrying white men, and the selling of lands, pointing out the deterioration of the natives by their contact with the whites and the tendency of the policy adopted. His crusade against their evils attracted quite a band of Shawnees about him, who about the end of 1805 moved to Green- ville, Ohio. The increase of their numbers and the knowledge of their sentiments with reference to the whites, aroused considerable alarm among the settlers, until the spring of 1808, when the band removed to the Wabash near the mouth of Tippecanoe Creek, where they established the famous Prophet's Town. These proceedings had not escaped the watchful eye of Governor Harrison, who sent Fol. 1-2
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repeated remonstrances and warnings to the band. The only result was to call forth from the Prophet a deprecatory reply and a profession of friendship for the whites. The matter proceeded until in 1810 a rupture seemed likely to occur at any moment.
HARRISON AND TECUMSEH TO "FIGHT IT OUT"
In August, Tecumseh, accompanied by seventy-five warriors, came to Vincennes to have an interview with Governor Harrison. From the 12th to the 22d there was a series of conferences which developed the grievances and determinations of the natives. In one of these conferences Tecumseh said: "Since the treaty of Greenville you have killed some Shawnees, Winnebagoes, Delawares and Miamis, and you have taken our land from us ; and I do not see how we can remain at peace with you if you continue to do so. If the land is not restored to us, you will see, when we return to our homes, how it will be settled. We shall have a great council, at which all the tribes shall be present, when we shall show to those who sold that they had no right to the claim they set up; and we shall see what will be done with those chiefs that did sell the land to you. I am not alone in this determination. It is the determination of all the warriors and red people that listen to me." At a subsequent talk Governor Harrison asked Tecumseh, explicitly, if the Indians would forcibly resist an attempt to survey the lands ceded at Fort Wayne, and was answered in substance, that they would resist. Said he: "We do not wish you to take the lands." Governor Harrison replied that his "claims and pretentions would not be acknowledge by the President of the United States." "Well," said Tecumseh, "as the great chief is to determine the matter, I hope the Great Spirit will put sense enough into his head to induce him to direct you to give up the land. It is true he is so far off that he will not be injured by the war. He may sit still in his town and drink his wine while you and I will have to fight it out."
In the meantime, this disaffection among the Indians was in- creased by the action of the British authorities in Canada, though 110 positive hostilities occurred until the middle of 1811. During the summer of this year, depredations were committed by straggling parties upon the property of the settlers. Several surveying parties were driven away, and others killed. During this period Governor Harrison was striving by peaceful means to break up the confedera-
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
tion of the tribes, and preparing to erect a fort on the Wabash for the protection of the settlers in that vicinity. In the latter part of June, Harrison sent an address to Tecumseh, and the prophet, to which the chiefs made a lengthy reply, and proposed to visit the governor again in person. In pursuance of this project, Tecumseh came to Vincennes in the latter part of July with about three hun- dred attendants; but, being met by a formidable array of troops, repeated his assurance of amicable intentions, and immediately left to draw the Southern tribes into the confederation.
BATTLE AT PROPHET'S TOWN
During these negotiations, the governor had suspected the de- signs of the Indians, and, though at one time partially convinced that the chiefs would allow matters to be adjusted without an appeal to arms, had finally become impressed that the confederation at the Prophet's Town must be suppressed by force. To this end, acting under the authority of the general government, a force of some nine hundred men set out in September from Vincennes under com- mand of Harrison. The little army moved up the Wabash, and erected Fort Harrison on the east bank of the Wabash, above where the City of Terre Haute now stands. Leaving a small garrison here, the remainder of the army moved in the direction of Prophet's Town, encamping on the 2d of November two miles below the mouth of the Big Vermillion River, where a small block-house was erected on the west bank of the Wabash. Leaving a sergeant with eight men to garrison it, with orders to protect the boats employed in transporting supplies to the army. the rest of the force proceeded to the Indian village, arriving at this point on the 6th of November. The Indians, showing no disposition to give battle, the little army selected a site for encampment on the banks of Burnett Creek, seven miles northeast of the present City of Lafayette. The troops en- camped in order of battle, with clothes and accoutrements on, fire arms loaded, and their bayonets fixed. The Indians began the attack at a quarter past four in the morning, immediately after the governor had risen to prepare for the business of the day. But a single gun was fired by the sentinels, or by the guard, in the direction of the attack, as they retreated precipitately to the camp. As the troops were asleep on their arms, they were soon at their stations, though the war-whoop and the attack so soon followed the first
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
alarm that the lines were broken in several places, and one of the companies was driven from its position in the line toward the center of the camp. The want of concert among the Indians, and their irregular mode of warfare, did not allow them to take full advantage of their success, or of the blunders of their opponents, so that as the resistance was very obstinate along the line, they were in the end obliged to retreat in great haste. The loss of General Harrison's force amounted to 37 killed and 151 wounded, of which latter number 25 afterward died of their wounds. The Indians engaged in the battle of Tippecanoe were probably between six and seven hundred, and their loss was about equal to that of the whites. After burning the Indian town, which had been aban- doned by the savages, the army returned to Vincennes on the 17th of November. The result of the expedition was favorable to the peace of the frontiers. Immediately after their defeat, the sur- viving Indians, having lost faith in their leader, returned to their respective tribes, the Prophet taking up his residence among a small band of Wyandots.
THE WAR OF 1812
The rupture of the peaceful relations between the United States and Great Britain by the declaration of war by the former in June, 1812, was foreshadowed for some time previous, and the Canadian authorities taking advantage of the Indian disturbance of the pre- ceding year found no difficulty in securing the support of the North- western tribes. Accordingly, the culmination of the international differences was preceded by various acts of hostility on the part of the defeated Indians. The American Government had not been unmindful of the situation, and during the spring and summer of 1812 had caused the erection of blockhouses, and picketed forts throughout the Indiana settlements which were exposed to Indian depredations. Notwithstanding these precautions, on the 11th of April preceding the declaration of war, an attack was made on a settlement on the west side of the Wabash, about thirty-five miles above Vincennes. The wife of Mr. Hutson, his four children and his hired man were murdered in his absence, and on the 22d Mr. Harryman, with his wife and five children, was killed on the same side of the Wabash, at the mouth of Embarrass Creek, about five miles from Vincennes. About the middle of the May following, a
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