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 6
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VIEWS ON ELKHART RIVER
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
being covered with thrifty and luxuriant grasses and embellished with flowers of every hue.
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WATERSHED BETWEEN THE BIG AND LITTLE ELKHART
But apart from these few level areas the country in all directions rose and fell in gentle undulations, as though at the crisis of its formation the earth had been rolling in long, smooth billows, and then had been suddenly stayed by the hand of the Creator and hardened and fixed in the manner which all the races of mankind have beheld it. In the northeastern part of the county, following on the south side of the Little Elkhart, nature has left a monument of her original efforts more conspicuous than the ordinary. This is the picturesque ridge, or range of hills, which forms the most prominent feature of the landscape, in this part of the county, forming the barrier between the drainage areas of the Big and Little Elkhart streams. This ridge forms one of the highest points in the county. From the highest point overlooking the village of Middlebury the view extends for many miles, and on a clear day, and when the line of vision is not hindered by foliage, the Town of White Pigeon in Michigan may be clearly seen. This ridge is, no doubt, one of the great moraines left from the glacial period.
THE COUNTY A CHILD OF THE ST. JOSEPH RIVER
The topography of Elkhart County presents several natural divisions formed by its larger water courses. Practically the entire county is in the valley of the rapid-flowing St. Joseph River. But from the northeast corner to the southwest may be discerned three distinct basins, two of them formed by tributaries of the St. Joseph and one by the Kankakee. The valley of the Little Elkhart seems as distinctly partitioned off from the rest of the county as though nature had intended it to be the abode of a different people. But civil boundaries and modern geography makers disregard such seem- ing intents of nature, and civilization in its progress overrides and breaks down every barrier not only between such adjacent localities but also between most dissundered nations and races. Neverthe- less, and notwithstanding that the railroad has burrowed its way over and through the enclosing ridges, this beautiful and fertile region along the Little Elkhart retains its own individuality in the
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
topographic outlines of Elkhart County. The division of the county comprising the area drained by the Elkhart River and its principal tributary, Turkey Creek, is much more extensive, reaching from the prominent ridge southeast of Bristol to the great Valparaiso moraine which we have already described as forming the crest between the watersheds of the great lakes and the Mississippi.
THE ST. JOSEPHI AND ITS TRIBUTARIES
The waters of Elkhart County form no inconspicuous feature in the development and progress of the county. The largest stream in the county is the St. Joseph River, which enters from Michigan about six miles west of the northeast corner of the county and flows, southwesterly, into St. Joseph County. Its principal tribu- taries are the Elkhart, Little Elkhart rivers and Christiana Creek, and these with many other smaller streams and lakes water every part of the county's surface.
The fall of the streams is such that hydraulic power has been easy to obtain in many places, resulting in the building of mills and factories from the years of pioneer history to the present time. Turkey Creek is a considerable stream, and, now that its channel has been straightened by dredging, carries off the drainage of a large area in a current almost as rapid as a mill race. Historic through its surroundings and the advantages it has conferred, is Rock Run, the small but beautiful streamlet that joins the Elkhart west of Goshen. Rock Run afforded power for one of the earliest mills in the county, and along its banks are still located numerous industries.
THE LAKES OF THE COUNTY
Aside from the rivers and streams, the bodies of water in Elkhart County are, with few exceptions, what are known as "dead lakes"; that is, they have no natural, or surface outlet. They are usually dammed by ridges of earth, and it would be difficult to drain them, if it were advantageous from a financial point of view. Many of them are slowly being extinguished by nature, their waters evaporating and their beds filling up with decaying vegetation.
The largest of the lakes of Elkhart County are in Osolo Town- ship. Simonton Lake, several miles north of Elkhart, is about 11/2
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
miles long from east to west, and half a mile wide. Nearby is the cultivated bed of what was once "Mud" Lake, which has been drained. A ridge separates this lake bed from Cooley Lake, which also is approaching extinction. Heaton Lake is another well known body of water in this township. Northeast of Goshen are several small lakes. Wolf Lake being especially picturesque by reason of its mirror-like surface and dense surrounding foliage. In Harrison Township, east of Wakarusa, is an excellent example of a lake in the general features which have been described. Here we see as it were a deep basin set in the ground to a depth of perhaps 100 feet below the general surface ; shut in on all sides, and draining only a limited area of country ; without visible outlet, covered in summer by rank aquatic growth, and, though by almost imperceptible degrees, gradually disappearing into the soil and air. The bog and water have been penetrated to a depth of seventy-five feet, but the unstable muck in places seems without ascertainable depth. When the Wabash Railroad was built through this part of the county the line had to be deflected to the south of the first survey because no piling let down into the quagmire could reach a firm bottom and consequently no trestle be constructed of sufficient strength to uphold a heavy train.
MINERAL SPRINGS, OIL AND GAS
Of never failing interest in the study of the natural history of the county are the mound springs about Wakarusa. In these the water bubbles up from the ground, and from the long-continued precipitation of bog iron about the opening has arisen a mound, from the top of which the water has channeled a course. There are several springs of mineral water in various parts of the county. A late state geological report speaks of the Lambert mineral well of saline-carbonated water in the south part of Elkhart. The well was started many years ago in search of oil or gas. At 290 feet below the surface a strong vein of mineral water was found, which arose to within ten feet of the top. This water is strongly impreg- nated with common salt and when pumped has a temperature of 54°. It is very clear and sparkling with carbonic acid gas which it holds in solution. It is without odor and has a salty but not disagreeable taste.
Hopes have always been entertained that oil or gas might be
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
found in this county, but the discoveries up to date do not justify including gas and oil wells among the natural industries of the county. In the vicinity of Wakarusa much prospecting has been done. In 1902 a bore was made to a depth of 1,200 feet, and a day or so after the drilling had ceased the hole was found to contain about thirty barrels of crude oil. Many bottles of this fluid were carried away by citizens and several bottles may be found in the town today. The St. Joseph Valley Gas, Oil and Mining Company exploited the discovery, leasing about 2,000 acres of land and issuing stock, but nothing has ever come of the enterprise, and the chief evidence of the agitation may be found in the old derrick, a few bottles of oil and some worthless stock certificates. There may be oil and even gas in this county, but it has not been demonstrated to be present in sufficient quantities to pay from a commercial stand- point.
BEASTS AND REPTILES IN PRIMITIVE TIMES
Deer, bear and wolves were quite abundant. In one favorite locality, it is reported, a good hunter, without much fatigue to himself, could supply daily 100 men with meat. Beaver were found in many localities. Especially favorable to them were the more level regions to the northward. Otter were quite common, while the wild cat, Canada porcupine and panther were numerous.
"Of snakes, especially noticeable for their abundance," says one account, "were rattlesnakes and copperheads. The ponds, sloughs and deeper swamps were the homes of many species of fishes, mollusks and crustaceans. The creeks, shaded by the closely crowded trees, contained water all the year round, and in them smaller fishes reared their young. The rivers were clogged and dammed with fallen trees and driftwood, and the water, when the streams were swollen by heavy rains, pouring over these obstruc- tions cut deep holes, which became the homes of great numbers of the larger fishes.
THE FEATHERED TRIBE
"Wild Turkeys were found in large flocks. Bobwhites were so numerous that when they collected in the fall, as many as a hundred were taken in a day with a single net. Ruffled grouse were abundant.
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
Ducks and geese, snipe and plover were found in inestimable num- bers where favorable conditions existed. Paroquets were more or less numerous over the entire region, and in the Lower Wabash and White Water valleys were as abundant as blackbirds now are in the spring and fall. Passenger pigeons bred and roosted in many localities. During the migrations they appeared in such numbers that they obscured the sun and hid the sky for hours; sometimes for days in succession. The strange appearance was made more wonderful by the continuous rumble of the thunders of the oncom- ing clouds-the noise of the strokes of millions upon millions of wings. We can no more appreciate the accounts given of the innumerable hosts of these birds of passage than we can of the incalculable multitudes of the bisons three score years ago. The words of those who saw them, we are assured, do not in any way convey an adequate idea of the wonderful sights and sounds during a flight of pigeons. Some of their roosts covered many miles of forest. There, as they settled at evening, the gunners from near and far began to collect for the slaughter. The loaded trees upon the borders of the wood were first fired upon. Then the shooters passed into the denser forest. Three or four guns fired among the branches of a tree would bring down as many as a two-bushel sack of dead birds, while numbers of cripples fluttered beyond reach.
"Besides these, more rarely, swallow-tailed kites and ivory-billed woodpeckers added their characteristic forms to the wild scenery. The osprey and the bald eagle built their nests beside the streams, and while one fished the other plundered the fisher.
DISAPPEARANCE OF CERTAIN BEASTS AND BIRDS
"The bison, the most characteristic of all the animals of America, was the first to disappear from the region under consideration. Formerly it had ranged east, at least as far as western New York and Pennsylvania, and in states farther south almost to tide water, but about 1808 it was exterminated east of the Wabash River. The elk followed it closely, disappearing from the Whitewater Valley about 1810, and from the state in 1830. The panther followed soon after. Virginia deer, bear, otters, beavers, wolves and other forms were almost exterminated.
"Turkeys and bobwhites, ivory-billed woodpeckers and wood
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
ibises, black vultures and Carolina paroquets have been almost, or in a great measure, exterminated. The paroquets which ranged to the great lakes and were so common a feature in the landscape of the pioneer times, have not only disappeared from Indiana, but from almost all the great range from Texas to New York, over which they spread at the beginning of this century, and are, per- haps, now only found in a restricted area in Florida. The day of their extirpation is near at hand.
"The passenger pigeon survived the beautiful little parrot until a later day. But nets and guns, a short-sighted people, and inef- ficient laws have also swept out of existence this graceful bird.
THE COMING OF NEW BIRDS AND ANIMALS
"To the meadows came such forms as the bay-winged sparrow, field sparrow, grasshopper sparrow, meadow lark, meadow mice, garter snakes, green snakes, bumble bees and grasshoppers-species peculiar to such surroundings. Some parts of this land were wet, and where the drainage was poorest, became swamps and sloughs. There, forms which love such places came. Among them marsh wrens, swamp sparrows and red-winged blackbirds, salamanders, frogs, water snakes, aquatic insects and marsh plants. As the orchard and garden developed, birds well known to us and greatly beloved for their cheery social ways, there made their home and lived upon food brought to the locality by the changing conditions. The number of settlers increased, causing a steady diminution in the numbers of all the larger mammals, especially those used for food, or valuable for fur; of geese, ducks and other water-loving birds. The early settlers had brought with them the black rat. Later another form, the brown rat, which, like the first, was a native of the old world, appeared, following the routes of civiliza- tion. It drove out the other rat and has since occupied its place. The shy gray fox disappeared in advance of the incoming pioneer, and the red fox occupied the field left vacant. The hog, a most valuable factor in the development of the West, proved equally valuable as an ally in the warfare against snakes. Largely, through its efforts, were the rattlesnakes and copperheads destroyed.
"Removing the timber and breaking the ground began to show its effect upon springs and water courses. Many became dry during the warm season. All life, be it salamanders, fishes, mollusks,
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
insects or plants, that found therein a home, died. As time went on drainage became a feature introduced into the new country. With the draining of our sloughs and swamps other changes came. The birds that lived among their reeds and flags, mingled their voices with those of the frogs, disappeared, and the land, reclaimed tells, in its luxuriant growth of corn, no story to the casual passerby of the former population which occupied. it."
CHAPTER III
LORDS OF THE SOIL EXPELLED
ALGONQUINS AND IROQUOIS TRADITIONAL ENEMIES-MIAMI CON- FEDERATION IN INDIANA-THE POTTAWATTAMIES-MIAMIS, MOST POWERFUL WESTERN INDIAN NATION-FRENCH MIS- SIONARIES AMONG THE INDIANA MIAMIS-THE FUR TRADERS- ENTER THE ENGLISH-HARRISON, GREAT INDIAN TREATY MAKER-FINAL TREATIES-ALONG THE PRIMITIVE HIGHWAYS- GREAT INDIAN TRAILS-THE OLD CHICAGO TRAIL-THE POTTA- WATTAMIES OF THE ST. JOSEPHI VALLEY-IN THE '30S-STILL CLINGING TO ST. JOSEPH VALLEY-LAST BAND LEAVES IN 1840- Two FAMOUS POTTAWATTAMIE CHIEFS.
Northern Indiana was never subjected to Indian ravages directed against the whites, as that section of the state was mainly occupied by the Miamis, especially the Pottawattamies. The Jesuit mission- aries established some of their first missions among the latter tribe. The largest of these was at their chief village, Chitchakos, near the Tippecanoe River.
ALGONQUINS AND IROQUOIS TRADITIONAL ENEMIES
At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Algonquin family of Indians occupied a vast region of territory in North America. They occupied all that territory from 37° to 53º north latitude and from the Atlantic to the Mississippi River. Their territory was bounded on the northeast by the Esquimaux, on the northwest by the Athabascan tribes, on the west by the Dacotahs and on the south by the Cherokees and Natchez Indians. This family was made up of numerous tribes, resembling each other in manners, customs and dialects. Within this same territory dwelt some other tribes, differing essentially from the Algonquins. The
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
Algonquins were the hereditary enemies of the Iroquois. Nearly all the tribes found in Indiana were of the Algonquin family.
MIAMI CONFEDERATION IN INDIANA
When the first white man invaded the soil of Indiana he found here several tribes, sometimes living at peace with each other, but more often at war. Indiana was then the seat of the great Miami Confederacy. This Confederacy has been organized as against that of the Iroquois, or Five Nations. When the Iroquois had reached the Atlantic and found that they could go no farther east, and felt the western tribes still pushing them, they formed a Confederacy of five of the largest tribes, for the purpose of protecting them- selves and driving back toward the setting sun those who were following in their wake toward the east. Individual tribes had sought to gain a foothold on the eastern side of the mountains, but had been repulsed by the Iroquois Confederation, and they, too, in turn made a union.
Among the principal tribes which formed this Miami Con- federacy, in Indiana, where the Twightwees, Weas, Piankeshaws, and Shockeyes. They had fought many and bloody battles with the Iroquois, and had been worsted in the contest, and had been greatly reduced in numbers by the time the white man first invaded their territory. They dwelt in small villages along the various water courses, from the lakes to the Ohio River. The Piankeshaws occu- pied the territory east of the Wabash and north of the Ohio, as far east as Lawrence County, and as far north as Vigo. The Wyandots had a little section comprising what is now Harrison, Crawford, Spencer, Perry, Dubois and Orange counties ; the Shaw- nees occupied the land east of the Wyandottes into the present State of Ohio, and as far north as Rush and Fayette counties ; the Weas had their possessions along the Wabash with their principal villages near where Lafayette now stands; the Twightwees were principally located along the St. Joseph and St. Mary rivers; the Pottawattamies held the whole northern part of the state, and the Delawares the central-eastern part. One branch of the Shawnees had villages in the country to the south and east of that occupied by the Weas.
The Delawares, the Wyandots, the Shawnees and Pottawatta- mies were the strongest of these tribes.
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
THP POTTAWATTAMIES
The Pottawattamies were at one time a very powerful and warlike tribe. When any of the tribes made war on the Americans the Pottawattamies were sure to be found taking up the tomahawk. They united with the French as against the British; with other tribes, to fight the British, and with the British as against the Americans. They were at Harmar's defeat, at the overthrow of St. Clair, and were among the fiercest of those who fought Mad Anthony Wayne. Some of them took part in the defeat of Colonel Crawford and danced around his burning body. They joined Pontiac in his conspiracy, and Black Hawk when he opened up the last Indian war east of the Mississippi. They were always among the first to make peace with the whites, and also among the first to take up the tomahawk again. Some of them fought at Tippecanoe and some at the battle of the Thames. They were finally moved west of the Mississippi. They claimed all northern Indiana, and southern Michigan. A few of the tribe still linger in Michigan.
MIAMIS, MOST POWERFUL, WESTERN INDIAN NATION
The Miamis were the most powerful nation or confederation in the West. They had been gradually migrating toward the East, when they met and had to battle with the Iroquois, who were just then being driven westward by the advancing Europeans. They settled in what is now the State of Ohio, and as this was the natural highway to the Mississippi Valley from the East, the Iro- quois made many determined efforts to drive them away. The wars between the two nations were frequent and bloody, and as the Iroquois were the first to receive arms from the white man, they usually had the best of it. The Miamis had a varied migratory experience. They were among the finest of all the race of Indians, and proudly called themselves "Men." In fact, that was their real name. They were "men," warriors, statesmen, men above all the other tribes. They were met everywhere in the West; around Superior, the upper Mississippi, and in Ohio and Indiana. They were heroic, warlike. They had long and bloody contests with the Sioux and Sacs and Foxes, until only the Miamis and Weas were left. The rest had been scattered. In 1669 they were mostly found
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
around Green Bay, Wisconsin. From there most of them soon moved to Chicago, and then to the St. Joseph of the Lake, and then to the head of the Maumee, and there their principal villages were located. In 1680 the Iroquois declared war against the Illinois, who had been the friends and allies of the Miamis, and the wily Iroquois for awhile disarmed the suspicions of the Miamis. In 1682 war again was declared. By this time La Salle was a leading spirit among the Indians of this part of the country, and by his influence the Miamis, Shawnees, Weas, Illinois and Piankeshaws were gathered around his fort on the Illinois River. The Iroquois vainly endeavored to overthrow this formidable confederation. By this effort of La Salle, all the Indians had been drawn away from Indiana, and the Miamis did not return until 1712.
Around the Maumee and the Wabash they thereafter lived until finally they yielded their lands to the whites. A few of their de- scendants still remain in Indiana. The Miamis were not as lazy as most of the tribes, and raised corn, small fruits and vegetables. They had one peculiar feature. Some civilized nations have had their public executioners, whose duty it was to execute all crimi- nals, and this office was a sort of hereditary one. So it was with the Miamis. They frequently condemned their captives to be eaten, and this eating was all done by one family, trained for that purpose, and the office remained in the same family generation after generation. The eating was always done in public, and was surrounded by certain religious rites and ceremonies. The last victim known to have been killed and eaten was a young Kentuckian who was thus disposed of at the Miami village near the present site of Fort Wayne.
In 1765, just after the territory northwest of the Ohio River was ceded to the British by France, Col. George Croghan, an Indian agent of the Province of Pennsylvania, visited the various tribes, and made the following statement in reference to the tribes then found occupying the territory :
"Twightwees ( Miamis), two hundred and fifty fighting men, reside on the Miami (Maumee) River, near Fort Miamis ; hunting grounds where they reside.
"Putawatimes, one hundred and fifty fighting men; Ottawas, one hundred and fifty fighting men ; reside near St. Joseph's ; hunting grounds thereabouts."
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HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
FRENCH MISSIONARIES AMONG THE INDIANA MIAMIS
In 1670, and for many years previous, the fertile region of country now included within the boundaries of the State of Indi- ana, was inhabited by the Miami Confederacy of Indians. This league consisted of several Algonquin tribes, notably the Twight- wees, Weas, Piankeshaws, and the Shockeyes, and was formed at an early period-probably in the early part of the seventeenth century-for the purpose of repelling the invasions of the Iroquois, or Five Nations, at whose hands they had suffered many severe defeats. By the frequent and unsuccessful wars in which they were compelled to engage, in self-defense, their numbers had become greatly reduced, until, at the date mentioned, they could not muster more than 1,500 or 2,000 warriors. They dwelt in small villages on the banks of the various rivers in Indiana, and extended their dominion as far east as the Scioto, north to the great lakes, and west to the country of the Illinois. Their principal settlements were scattered along the headwaters of the Great Miami, the banks of the Maumee, the St. Joseph of Lake Michigan, the Wabash and its tributaries. Although once important among the nations of the lake region, they had become greatly demoralized by repeated defeats in war, and when first visited by the French, their villages presented a very untidy appearance. They were living in constant terror of the Five Nations, practicing only sufficient industry to prevent starvation, and indulging all their vicious passions to the vulgar extreme.
Almost immediately following the discovery and exploration of the Mississippi, by La Salle, in 1682, and a few years later by James Marquette, the government of France began to encourage the policy of connecting its possessions in North America by a chain of fortifications, and trading posts, and missionary stations, extending from New Orleans on the southwest, to Quebec on the northeast. This undertaking was inaugurated by La Motte Cadillac, who established Fort Pontchartrain, on the Detroit River, in 1701.
At this period the zealous Jesuit missionaries, the adventurous French fur traders, with their coarse blue and red cloths, fine scarlet, guns, powder, balls, knives, ribbons, beads, vermillion, to- bacco, and rum; and the careless rangers, or coureurs des bois, whose chief vocation was conducting the canoes of the traders along the lakes and rivers, made their appearance among the Indians
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