USA > Indiana > Kosciusko County > A standard history of Kosciusko County, Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development. A chronicle of the people with family lineage and memoirs, Volume I > Part 5
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On July 22, 1795, Little Turtle spoke as follows: "General Wayne-I hope you will pay attention to what I' now say to you. I wish to inform you that where your younger brothers, the Miamis, live, and also the Pottawatomies of St. Joseph's, together with the Wabash Indians, you have pointed out to us the boundary between us and the United States, but now I take the liberty to inform you that that line cuts off from the Indians a large portion of country which has been enjoyed by my forefathers, time immemorial, without molestation or dispute. The prints of my ancestors' house are every- where to be seen in this portion. I was a little astonished at hearing you and my brothers, who are now present, telling each other what business you had transacted together heretofore at Muskingum, con- cerning this country. It is well known by all my brothers present that my father kindled the first fire at Detroit; thence he extended his lines to the headwaters of the Scioto; thence to its mouth, and
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thence to Chicago, on Lake Michigan. At this place I first saw my elder brothers, the Shawnees.
"I have now informed you of the boundaries of the Miami Nation, where the Great Spirit placed my forefather a long time ago, and charged him not to sell or part with his lands, but preserve them for his posterity. This charge has been handed down to me. I was
MAJOR GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE The Indian Fighter and Pacificator (1792-1795)
much surprised to find that my other brothers differed so much from me on this subject, for their conduct would lead me to suppose that the Great Spirit and their forefathers had not given them the same charge that was given to me, but on the contrary had directed them to sell their lands to any white man who wore a hat, as soon as he should ask it of them. Now, elder brother, your younger brothers, the Miamis, have pointed out to you their country, and
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also to other brothers present. When I hear your remarks and pro- posals on this subject, I will be ready to give you an answer. I came with an expectation of hearing you say good things; but I have not yet heard what I expected."
General Wayne's reply to this and other speeches was as follows: "Younger Brothers :- I will inform you who gave us these lands in the first instance. It was your fathers, the British, who did not dis- cover that care for your interest which you ought to have experi- enced. This is the treaty of peace made between the United States of America and Great Britain twelve years ago, at the end of a long and bloody war, when the French and Americans proved too powerful for the British. On these terms they obtained peace. (Here part of the treaty of 1783 was read.) Here you perceive that all the country south of the Great Lakes has been given up to the Americans; but the United States never intended to take that advantage of you which the British placed in their hands; they wish you to enjoy your just rights without interruption, and to promote your happiness. The British stipulated to surrender to us all the posts on their side of the boundary agreed upon. I told you some days ago that the treaties should ever be sacredly fulfilled by those who made them, but the British, on their part, did not find it convenient to relinquish those posts as soon as they should have done. However, they now find it so, and a precise period is therefore fixed for their delivery. I have now in my hand a copy of the treaty made eight months ago, between them and us, of which I will read you a little. (Here he read the first and second articles of Mr. Jay's treaty.) By this solemn agreement they agreed to retire from Michilimachinac, Fort St. Clair, Detroit, Niagara and all other places on this side of the lakes, in ten moons from this period, and leave the same to the full and quiet possession of the United States.
"Brothers-all nations present-listen to me! Having now ex- plained these matters to you and informed you of all things I judged necessary for your information, we have nothing to do but to bury the hatchet and draw a veil over past misfortunes.
"As you have buried our dead with the concern of brothers, so now I collect the bones of your slain warriors, put them into a deep pit which I have dug, and cover them carefully over with this belt, there to remain undisturbed. I also dry the tears from your eyes and wipe the blood from your bodies with this soft, white linen. No bloody traces will ever lead to the grave of your departed heroes; with this I wipe all such entirely away. I deliver it to your uncle, the Wyandot, who will send it round among you. (A large belt with
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a white string attached.) I now take the hatchet out of your hands and with a strong arm throw it into the center of the ocean, where no mortal can ever find it; and now I deliver to you the wide and straight path to the fifteen fires, to be used by you and your posterity forever.
"So long as you continue to follow this road, so long you will continue to be a happy people. You see it is straight and wide, and they will be blind indeed who deviate from it. I place it also in your uncle's hands that he may preserve it for you. (A large road belt.) I will, the day after tomorrow, show you the cessions you have made to the United States, and point out to you the lines which may, for the future, divide their lands from yours; and, as you will have tomorrow to rest, I will order you a double allowance of drink, because you have now buried the hatchet and performed every neces- sary ceremony to render propitious our renovated friendship."
WAYNE DEFINES THE PURPOSES OF INDIAN RESERVATIONS
In council with the Indians, on July 27, General Wayne read the several articles of the proposed treaty, and, in explanation of the third article spoke as follows: "Younger Brother :- I wish you to clearly understand the objects of these reservations. They are not intended to annoy or impose the smallest degree of restraint upon you in the quiet enjoyment and full possession of your lands, but to connect the settlements of the people of the United States by ren- dering a passage from the one to the other more practicable and con- venient, and to supply the necessary wants of those who shall reside at them. They are intended at the same time to prove convenient and advantageous to the different tribes of Indians residing and hunting in their vicinity, as trading posts will be established at them, to the end that you may be furnished with goods in exchange for your skins and furs at a reasonable rate.
"You will consider that the principal part of the now proposed reservations were made and ceded by the Indians at an early period to the French. The French, by the treaty of peace of 1763, ceded them to the British, who, by the treaty of 1783, ceded all the posts and possessions they then held, or to which they had any claims, south of the Great Lakes, to the United States of America. The treaty of Muskingum embraced almost all these reservations, and has been recognized by the representatives of all the nations now present, during the course of last winter, as the basis upon which this treaty should be founded."
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REPLIES OF THE CHIEFS
On the 28th of July the Ottawas, Chippewas and Pottawatomies announced that they had agreed to accept the articles of the treaty proposed by General Wayne. The Sun, a Pottawatomie chief, said to the American commander-in-chief: "I shall now dispose of this belt (a war belt). I live too far from the lakes and my arm is not long enough to throw it into the center of any of them; neither have I strength sufficient to tear up a big tree and bury it beneath its roots; but I will put it from me as effectually by surrendering it into your hands as by doing with it anything else. You may burn it if you please, or transform it into a necklace for some handsome squaw, and thus change its original design. and appearance, and prevent forever its future recognition. It has caused us much misery, and I am happy in parting with it."
At this meeting Little Turtle again spoke, and assured General Wayne that they were well pleased with his words, except that the line of their reservation cut off too much of their hunting grounds. He then told Wayne where he would prefer that the lines should run, and corrected the General as to the identity of a fort on the Great Miami, traces of which had been discovered by an American expedition and ascribed to the French. The great Miami chief spoke on that point as follows: "It was not a French fort, brothers; it was a fort built by me. You perceived another at Leromies. It is true a Frenchman once lived there a year or two. The Miami vil- lages were occupied as you remarked, but it was unknown to your younger brothers until you told them that we had sold land there to the French or English. I was much surprised to hear you say that it was my forefathers who had set the example to the other Indians in selling their lands. I will inform you in what manner the French and English occupied those lands, elder brother.
"These people were seen by our forefathers first at Detroit ; afterward we saw them at the Miami village, that glorious gate which your younger brothers had the happiness to own, and through which all the good words of our chief had to pass from the north to the south and from the east to the west. Brothers, these people never told us they wished to purchase our lands from us."
THE FINAL ADOPTION OF THE TREATY
Finally, General Wayne said: "Brothers, all you nations now present, listen! You now have had the proposed articles of treaty
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read and explained to you. It is now time for the negotiations to draw to a conclusion. I shall therefore ask each nation individually if they approve of, and are prepared to sign these articles in their present form, that they may immediately be engrossed for that pur- pose. I shall begin with the Chippewas, who, with the others who approbate the measure, will signify their assent.
"You, Chippewas, do you approve these articles of treaty, and are you prepared to sign them ?" (A unanimous answer, "Yes!")
"You Ottawas, do you agree?" (A unanimous answer, "Yes!")
"You, Wyandots, do you agree ?" (A unanimous answer, "Yes !") "You, Delawares ?" (A unanimous answer, "Yes!")
"You, Pottawatomies ?" (A unanimous answer, "Yes!")
"You, Shawnees ?" (A unanimous answer, "Yes!")
"You, Miamis-do you agree ?" (A unanimous answer, "Yes!")
"And you, Kickapoos-do you agree?" ("Yes!")
"The treaty shall be engrossed, and as it will require two or three days to do it properly on parchment, we will now part to meet on the second of August. In the interim, we will eat, drink and rejoice, and thank the Great Spirit for the happy stage this good work has arrived at."
On the 3d of August, 1795, the treaty was signed by the sachems, band chiefs and principal men of the Indian nations who occupied the Northwest Territory. To each nation a copy of the treaty on parchment was delivered. A large quantity of goods and many small ornaments were then distributed among the Indians.
On the 10th of August, in council, at the close of a short speech, General Wayne said, in farewell: "I now fervently pray to the Great Spirit that the peace now established may be permanent, and that it may hold us together in bonds of friendship until time shall be no more. I also pray that the Great Spirit may enlighten your minds and open your eyes to your true happiness ; that your children may learn to cultivate the earth, and enjoy the fruits of peace and industry. As it is probable, my children, that we shall not soon meet again in council, I take this opportunity of bidding you all an affec- tionate farewell, and of wishing you a safe and happy return to your respective homes and families."
INDIANS DIVIDED BY WAR OF 1812
The War of 1812 again divided the Northwestern tribes between the British and Americans, despite the treaty of Greenville. Te- cumseh, the powerful Shawnee chief, joined the British ; the Miamis,
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Pottawatomies and Delawares professed neutrality, if not friendship, and in October, 1813, concluded an armistice with the United States. The Miamis, Wyandots, Ottawas and Chippewas were also included in the pact-in fact, all the tribes of the old Northwest Territory. The uneasy savages were held to peace for nearly two years by being relieved of their wants, often destitution, from the public stores, the chief distributing station for the Miamis and Pottawatomies being Fort Wayne. But the machinations of the British made it impossible for the Indian tribes of the Northwest to preserve neutrality, not- withstanding the best efforts of General Harrison and Governor Cass.
In July, 1814, the latter put the matter thus bluntly to a council of Miamis, Pottawatomies and others: "Your Great Father, the President of the United States, has found that you cannot remain neutral; that you cannot, or will not, remain at peace, but must fight on one side or the other, and that if you are not for us, you would be against us." In the following month the tribes which had signed the Greenville treaty became formal allies of the Americans; not- withstanding which, proofs were not wanting that the Pottawatomies subsequently received considerable supplies of powder, lead, flints and other war material from the British, to be used in a foray on the frontier settlements of Indiana. To make security as nearly iron- clad as possible, most of the Northwestern tribes entered into another treaty with the United States (in September, 1815), agreeing to abide by all former stipulations. This last treaty specifically covered the State of Ohio and the Territories of Indiana and Michigan.
In the meantime Tecumseh had been killed at the battle of the Thames (October, 1813). The Shawnee Prophet, who had attended some of the sessions of the councils of the Northwestern Indians before the signing of the September treaty, retired with a few followers across the Detroit River. Not long afterward the Shawnee band, headed by the Prophet, returned to their Ohio settlement and thence removed to the Indian territory west of the Mississippi River. There the renowned leader died in 1834.
HARRISON, GREAT INDIAN TREATY MAKER
When Gen. William Henry Harrison was appointed governor of the Northwest Territory he was invested with general powers to make treaties with the various Indian tribes, and to extinguish by such treaties the titles of the Indians to the lands within the territory. He was very active in this matter and negotiated several treaties, acquir- ing with each large tracts of land. In 1802 he got from the Miamis
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and Pottawatomies large tracts in the vicinity of Vincennes, on the Wabash. In the next year, at a treaty negotiated at Vincennes, he secured about 1,600,000 acres from the head men of the Delaware, Shawness, Pottawatomie, Eel River, Kickapoo, Piankeshaw and Kas- kaskia tribes. During the same year, he negotiated at Vincennes another treaty with the Kaskaskias by which the government secured about 8,600,000 acres lying on the borders of the Mississinewa and Illinois rivers and south of the road which led from Vincennes to the Falls of the Ohio. In 1805 the Delawares, Pottawatomies, Miamis, Eel Rivers and Weas ceded a large tract on the Ohio River, and in December of the same year the Piankeshaws ceded about 2,600,000 acres lying west of the Wabash River.
By these treaties the United States had acquired the title to all the Indian lands along the Ohio River from the mouth of the Wabash to the western line of the State of Ohio. In 1809 Governor Harrison obtained from several of the tribes, by a treaty concluded at Fort Wayne, about 3,000,000 acres, lying principally on the southeastern side of the Wabash River and below the mouth of Raccoon Creek, in what is now Parke County.
By his several treaties, Governor Harrison had acquired for the general government about 29,710,000 acres of land, or an area ex- ceeding by 25 per cent the entire territory of the then present State of Indiana.
Tecumseh and the Prophet rejected the treaty of Fort Wayne. The next important treaty concluded by the governor was that of 1818, when the Delawares ceded all the lands claimed by them within the boundaries of Indiana as we now know it, but they reserved the right to occupy the land for three years after signing the treaty. Between that and the year 1840, when the Indian title to the last of the lands claimed by them in Indiana was extinguished, thirty-three separate treaties were negotiated.
It will thus be seen that the process of extinguishing the Indian titles was a slow one, and that the Indians were not finally dispos- sessed until after Indiana had been a member of the Union for nearly a quarter of a century. In most of these final treaties certain tracts were reserved by the Indians for favorite members of the tribes, and are yet known as "reservations," although nearly all the lands have passed to other persons than the descendants of the original beneficia- ries. A few descendants of the Miamis still live in Wabash and Miami counties.
In 1831 a joint resolution of the Legislature of Indiana, requesting an appropriation by Congress for the extinguishment of the Indian
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title to lands within the state was forwarded to that body, and in compliance with the request the necessary provision was made. Three citizens were designated by the Secretary of War to constitute a com- mission to carry into effect the object of the appropriation. It was considered an object of great importance to extinguish the title of the Miamis to their lands, at that time surrounded on all sides by American settlers, situated almost in the heart of the state, and im- mediately on the line of the canal then under construction. The prompt and cheerful manner in which the chiefs of the tribe obeyed the summons to the treaty induced the belief that negotiations would be successful, but in their response to the propositions of the com- missioners they positively refused to go westward or sell the remains of their lands.
THE POTTAWATOMIES OF NORTHERN INDIANA
The negotiations with the Pottawatomies were more successful, for, as stated, they sold about 6,000,000 acres of the lands they claimed in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan, including their entire claims in the Hoosier state.
In 1830 part of the Pottawatomie nation was in Canada, some in the upper peninsula near Marquette, others in the Miami Valley, a portion in Illinois near Peoria, and small bands in the valleys of the Tippecanoe and St. Joseph rivers. In Indiana the Pottawatomie headquarters was considered the St. Joseph Valley, particularly the Nottawa-seepe Reservation within the Elkhart County of the present. In the fall of 1833, Sau-au-quett and a few of his followers ceded their lands, in return for which they were to receive about $30,000 of goods (calico, beads and other trinkets) and be allotted lands west of the Mississippi.
A few weeks afterward (in December, 1833) the Pottawatomies of Elkhart and Kosciusko counties, and of Northern Indiana generally gathered on the banks of the old St. Joe near the reservation and for a week cast eager looks at the bright-colored calico, blankets and beads so temptingly displayed by the Government agent, but refusing to con- firm the treaty by receiving them. They had consulted among them- selves and had concluded that Sau-au-quett and his followers had no authority to cede their lands.
Governor Porter had issued a proclamation that no liquor should be allowed on or near the reservation, but parties disobeyed the orders and provided the Indians with an abundance of fire-water. At length, his patience tried to the breaking point, Governor Porter ordered the
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heads of the barrels containing the whisky to be removed. This was accordingly done, and the Indians in their desire for the liquor drank it from the ground and eagerly lapped the places where it had been spilled. Subsequently, Mr. Marantette, the Indian agent, was sued for the value of the liquor and forced to pay several hundred dollars, notwithstanding he was obeying the explicit orders of Governor Porter when he broke in the heads of the whisky barrels. The Indians finally accepted the provisions of the treaty and received their money at the earnest solicitation of Sau-au-quett, who said: "I did sell this land, and I would sell it again for two gallons of whisky."
The bad blood thus engendered among the Indians was wiped out by the murder of Sau-au-quett at Coldwater in 1839, by one of his band who opposed the sale.
FIRST MIGRATION OF THE POTTAWATOMIES
In 1835 the period expired, under the treaty of 1833, terminating the residence of the Pottawatomies in Northern Indiana and marking the commencement of their hegira to their western lands, but they refused to move, claiming that the whites had encroached upon their Indiana reservations and had not themselves observed the terms of the treaty. The time was extended by the Government, and in July, 1837, occurred the first Pottawatomie migration to their lands beyond the Mississippi. A few small bands, numbering altogether about one hundred Indians of the tribe, assembled at the village known as Ke- wan-na, Fulton County. They were under the general direction of Abel C. Pepper, United States commissioner, and the special charge of George Proffit, the latter of whom conducted them to their reserva- tion.
GRAND COUNCIL OF AUGUST, 1838
On the 6th of August, 1838, the time stipulated in the several treaties for the Indians to migrate having expired, and Menominee and his band declining to go, a council was held at Menominee village, just north of Twin Lakes, in Marshall County, five miles southwest from Plymouth. Col. Abel C. Pepper, Indian agent for the Govern- ment, was present, and most of the chiefs in that part of the county, also many of the white residents of the surrounding country. The treaty was read wherein it was shown that in ceding their lands the Indians had agreed to remove to the western reservation within the specified time, and that the date was then at hand when they must
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go. It was plain to those present who were familiar with the Indian character that there was great dissatisfaction among them, and a spirit of rebellion growing which if not soon suppressed would proba- bly lead to serious results.
MENOMINEE'S ELOQUENT DEFI
The leader and principal spokesman for the Indians was Me-no-mni- nee. By the treaty of 1832 twenty-two sections of lands had been reserved to him and three other chiefs, viz., Pe-pin-a-waw, Na-ta-ka and Mack-a-taw-ma-ah. This reservation bordered on the west of Plymouth, north as far as the Catholic Cemetery and far enough south to take in Twin Lakes, about half way between Plymouth and Maxinkuckee Lake. The last three named chiefs entered into a treaty with Col. Abel C. Pepper on behalf of the Government August 5, 1836, by which they ceded all their interest in the reservation above described, for which the Government agreed to pay them $14,080 in specie, being $1 an acre, there being in the reservation 14,080 acres of land; and they agreed to remove to the country west of the Mis- souri River provided for them within two years. Chief Menominee refused to sign this or any other treaty, and persistently declined to release to the Government his interest in the reservation. When Colonel Pepper had made his final appeal and all had had their say, Menominee rose to his feet, and, drawing his costly blanket around him, is reported by one who was present to have said in substance :
"Members of the Council: The President does not know the truth. He, like me, has been imposed upon. He does not know that your treaty is a lie, and that I never signed it. He does not know that you made my young chiefs drunk and got their consent and pretended to get mine. He does not know that I have refused to sell my lands and still refuse. He would not by force drive me from my home, the graves of my tribe, and my children who have gone to the Great Spirit, nor allow you to tell me your braves will take me, tied like a dog, if he knew the truth. My brother, the President is just, but he listens to the word of the young chiefs who have lied; and when he knows the truth he will leave me to my own. I have not sold my lands. I will not sell them. I have not signed any treaty, and will not sign any. I am not going to leave my lands, and I don't want to hear anything more about it."
Describing the scene, one who was present said: "Amid the applause of the chiefs he sat down. Spoken in the peculiar style of the Indian orator-although repeated by an interpreter-with an
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eloquence of which Logan would have been proud, his presence, the personification of dignity, it presented one of those rare occasions of which history gives few instances, and on the man of true appre- ciation would have made a most profound impression."
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