A twentieth century history of Marshall County, Indiana, Volume I, Part 8

Author: McDonald, Daniel, 1833-1916
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 380


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"And here the government made a second mistake on the same line by letting the job to unscrupulous men to remove us by force, if necessary, for which they were to be paid fifty dollars per head. Packed within the little church our people were tied and handcuffed. The stoutest braves, those who had never known fear, when they thought of the cruelties and injustice that was being dealt out to them, gave up in despair and wept like children. In vain they begged and prayed not to be forced from the home of their childhood. Some were packed into wagons like sheep for market, while others were chained as criminals together and marched off on double quick, not even being permitted to see friends or relatives left at home.


"As they were marched across the plains, under the hot, blazing sun,


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wolves in the distance followed in the rear, like carrion crows, to feed upon the fallen. Some of you must remember from well authenticated reports how, on the long and weary march towards the setting sun, from fatigue and want of water, children, old men and women expiring fell; how infants untimely born, clasped in their mother's arms, together with them died and were left half buried on the plains, the prey of vultures and of wolves.


"Let us look away from the blood-stained trails our fathers and mothers trod as they were shamefully pushed into banishment, and consider the broken families who were here left behind-robbed, in the house of God, of sons, husbands and fathers. These, on hearing the sad news, as affrighted young partridges hid themselves in thickets and in swamps until all seemed quiet, when in the night time, as deer before dogs, they fled from the homes of their childhood, beyond the land of freedom, unto the king's land beyond the great lakes. Oh, how the hearts of these exiles from kindred homes and native land wept as they went forth from the lovely land of game to a place they knew not, to return no more! Think of it! And all of this was done by a people who had declared to the world to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuits of happiness is the God-given right of every human being. I won- dered in my boyhood days how a Christian people could do such acts of cruelty and yet teach that all men are brothers, and that God is the Father of all. But in after years I learned that all misunderstanding made in contracts made between the two races, and all the wrongs suffered in conse- quence, had their origin almost entirely in that accursed drink more to be dreaded than a mad dog's and a rattlesnake's bite. In fact, its sting is death ; yes, moral death to the red man. I will repeat it : its bite is death to the white man too.


"And now, farewell. Remember the words I have spoken in weakness and in soberness and truth, and that, by reason of old age, envy, malice, hatred and revenge have long since faded from my heart, and my words should be received with as much weight as the confession of a dying man : for already with one hand I have pulled the latchstring of time and one foot is now passing over the threshold of the open door of the wigwam of life into that better land beyond. Soon I will stand in the presence of the Great Spirit and shall there plead with Him in heaven as I have pleaded with him on earth that he will lead those by the hand who have so bravely fought against that old dragon, the destroyer of your children and ours, and lead them on to glorious victory."


IX. ARROW POINTS, INDIAN RELICS, ETC.


There are many traces of the Indian race that once inhabited this county still remaining, and many objects of curious workmanship once belonging to them are still picked up, although of late years the numbers have grown perceptibly "smaller by degrees and beautifully less." Several residents of the county have collections of calumets, stone axes, bows and arrows ; stone arrow points of every conceivable shape and make ; wampum, wampum belts, stones on which hieroglyphics of various kinds are drawn; stone tablets, scrapers, fishline sinkers, totems, and other Indian trinkets too numerous to


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mention. Some of these archæological specimens are very curious and afford an ample theme for the delectation of minds directed in that channel. There is in the collection of the public schools of Plymouth a totem found near Fort Wayne which probably belonged to the Pottawattomie or the Miami tribe of Indians. It is worked out of a solid blue and white stone. Its head is the shape of a dog's head, and its back like that of a shell turtle. Underneath holes are drilled for the purpose of securing it to the "big Indian" wearing it. The Indians believed every animal to have had a great original, or father. The first buffalo, the first bear, the first beaver, the first eagle, and so on, was the manatau of the whole race of the different creatures. They chose some one of these originals as their special manatau, or guardian, and hence arose the custom of having the figure of some animal for the arms or symbols of a tribe, called a totem. Hence the buffalo, the bear and the beaver tribes each had their totems, which were represented by rude figures of these animals. When they signed treaties with the white men, they sometimes sketched outlines of their totems. Wampum, which was in universal use among the different tribes of Indians prior to the settlement of the whites among them, is yet in use as money among some of the western tribes. It is made of various material, that most common being the clear parts of the common clam shell. This part being split off, a hole is drilled in it, and the form is pro- duced by friction. They are about half an inch long, and valued, when they become a circulating medium, at about 2 cents for three of the black beads, or 6 of the white. They were strung in parcels to represent a penny, three- pence, a shilling, and 5 shillings of white, and double that amount in black. A fathom of white was worth about $2.50, and black about $5.


The most common souvenirs of the Indian race, or more properly the Mound Builders, that once inhabited this region, are the flint arrow points. They are of every conceivable size and quality of stone, and many of them are artistically and elegantly made. Arrow heads are picked up in this vicinity in considerable numbers, but how


The ancient arrowmaker Made his arrowheads of sandstone, Arrowheads of chalcedony, Arrowheads of flint and jasper, Smooth and sharpened at the edges, Hard and polished, keen and costly,


is as much a mystery as it was when our ancestors discovered America. Mr. Aaron Greenwalt, of Plymouth, is something of an archæologist, and has some five or six hundred stone arrow points and other Mound Builder and Indian trinkets. He has for a long time been studying and experimenting for the purpose of discovering the modus operandi of making stone implements, and has succeeded in making from flintstone in the rough, several fine speci- mens of arrow points, stone awls and the like. From the many researches made by antiquarians in the Stone Age it has been definitely ascertained that these implements were made by a process unknown to the present gener- ation. There were no iron or other metal tools in that age by which stone implements could be carved out, and the art of making them has been the study of thousands, time out of mind. These stone implements were undoubtedly made by a race of people known to us as the Mound Builders,


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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.


who inhabited this country long prior to its occupancy by the Indian race found here when America was discovered by Columbus. Of what race of people the Mound Builders were, whence they came, and whither they went, is as much of a mystery now as it was in the beginning of the many investiga- tions that have been made down to the present time. In and about all the mounds that have been opened and explored, more or less of these implements have been found. The Indians found them when they came on to this continent, and made use of many of them for such purposes as suited their fancy-for use in battle, in securing game for food, for ornament, etc. But how they were originally made has been considered one of the "lost arts." Mr. Greenwalt thinks, however, he has solved the problem; at least the manner in which he worked out the specimens referred to is as near a satisfactory solution as any that has yet been reported. He uses a piece of leather sufficiently large to cover the inside of the left hand, in which a hole is made large enough to insert the thumb. He then lays a piece of obsidian, or flintstone in the rough, out of which the arrow point is to be worked. He then takes a piece of wire ( he thinks a sharpened deer's horn was used by those who made the arrow points) about the size of a small lead pencil, the end of which is sharpened. Holding the piece of stone firmly in the hand, between the thumb and forefinger, he commences chipping of the stone by pressing downward. He turns the stone over and reverses it as the work progresses until it is completed. This is all there is of it. Whether this was the original manner of working out these arrow points or not of course cannot be definitely determined, but it is novel, to say the least, and is worthy the attention of those whose aesthetic taste runs in that direction. Several residents of Marshall county have during the past few years made consider- able headway in collecting relics of the Indian race in this locality, and as the years go by these collections will become more and more interesting as marking the starting point in our civilization three-quarters of a century ago.


X. A MONUMENT TO THE POTTAWATTOMIE INDIANS.


In 1904 the writer of this history was elected a member of the Indiana legislature from Marshall county, and in the session of 1905 introduced a bill appropriating $2,500 for the erection of a monument to Menominee and his band of 859 Pottawattomie Indians who were driven away by the state of Indiana west of the Missouri river in 1838, and for the rebuilding of the old Indian chapel at Twin lakes, in Marshall county. The bill-House Bill No. 37-was referred to the committee on ways and means, who, in a spasm of reform, recommended it, with five other monument bills, for indefinite post- ponement. When the bill came up before the house for action, Mr. McDonald delivered an address fully explaining why the provisions of the bill should be adopted. As a matter of history, the house of representatives deemed it of sufficient importance to order two hundred copies of it printed for the use of the house, which was done. Notwithstanding the eloquent appeal made, the bill was indefinitely postponed. In noticing this address the "Indiana Quar- terly Magazine of History," published by W. E. Henry, state librarian, and C. W. Cottman, spoke of it as follows :


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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.


"This address, written and delivered in support of a bill before our last legislature, failed in its immediate object, as the bill did not pass, but as a monograph on the Pottawattomie Indians of northern Indiana it is of such interest and value as to merit a place in any historical collection. MIr. McDonald is regarded as perhaps our best authority on this particular subject. He has long been deeply interested, a conscientious and a sympa- thetic student of the vanished aboriginees as presented by the records and traditions of the locality where he was reared. And a study of this tribe in its passing is a study of the Indian question in little. The story has in it much that was pathetic and tragic, particularly to a large band located on Twin lakes (Marshall county) under a chief called Menominee. Menominee was an Indian of unusual character, a friend to the whites, a convert to Chris- tianity, and a zealous promoter of good among his people. By a treaty of 1832 twenty-two sections of land had been reserved to him and three other chiefs. When the whites came for the reserved remnants (as they always did) Menominee declined to be tractable and sign away his land. As the other chiefs signed it, however, that was held to be sufficient, and at the end of the time stipulated by the treaty the recalcitrant chief and his people were unceremoniously ousted ; their cabins were torn down, their mission chapel dismantled and the whole band, numbering nearly a thousand, put under a strong military escort commanded by Gen. John Tipton, to be conveyed to a reservation beyond the Mississippi river. Amid tears and lamentations they took their departure. It was in September, the weather hot, the season dry and sickly. Suffering from the swelter, dust and thirst the hapless Indians sickened like sheep and the long route was marked with their graves. Par- ticularly was there mortality among the small children; the ailing, jostled along under the burning sun in rude army wagons, suffering for water and with no relief from the hard ordeal, stood little chance, and almost every day some wronged mother surrendered her offsprings to earth."


In 1906 Mr. McDonald was reëlected a member of the legislature, and early in the session of 1907 he again introduced the bill, which, having met with many obstructions on its way through the lower house of the general assembly, finally passed that body by a vote of 73 to 13. The bill was then sent over to the senate, where it also met with delays and obstructions. In that body Senator John W. Parks, of Marshall county, introduced and secured the passage of the following amendment :


"Provided, That money herein appropriated shall not be paid until an agreement shall be entered into by the board of commissioners of Marshall county with the state of Indiana to the satisfaction of the governor, making provisions for the control and repair of said monument and chapel."


On the last day that bills could be passed, the bill finally passed the senate with this amendment, which was afterward concurred in by the house, and was finally signed by J. Frank Hanly, governor, and became a law March 12, 1907.


The following is the bill as enacted into a law:


AN ACT entitled an act providing for the purchase of suitable grounds at Menominee Village, Marshall County, the erection of a monument thereon, the rebuilding of the old Indian chapel, making appropriations for the same, and providing for the appointment of three trustees.


[H. 37. Approved March 12, 1907.]


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Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, That there is hereby appropriated out of any funds in the State treasury not otherwise dis- posed of, the sum of two thousand five hundred dollars for the purpose of purchasing suitable grounds at Menominee Village, in Marshall County, the erection of a monu- ment thereon, and the rebuilding of the old Indian chapel.


Sec. 2. That there shall be three trustees appointed by the Governor, who shall serve without compensation, whose duties it shall be to carry out the provisions of this act : Provided, That any sums raised by donations for the purposes herein specified may be used in addition to the above appropriation: Provided, That money herein appropriated shall not be paid until an agreement shall be entered into by the Board of Commissioners of Marshall County with the State of Indiana to the satisfaction of the Governor, making provision for the control and repair of said monument and chapel; or that some other satisfactory method shall be provided for the control and repair of said monument and chapel when completed.


Sec. 3. That said trustees shall keep an accurate account of all disbursements, and make a full report thereof and of the execution of this trust to the Governor not later than the fifteenth day of December, 1909.


The amendment was presented to the board of commissioners of Marshall county by the author of the act at its April term, 1907, which after a brief consideration was postponed until the May term, when the proposition was again postponed until the June term. At this term the board of commissioners entered into the agreement as provided in the amendment to the bill, ordered it recorded on their records, and a certified copy sent to the governor, which was done by the auditor under seal of his office. Omitting the preamble, the following is the agreement which the commissioners entered upon their records at the June term, 1907 :


"It is hereby agreed by the board of commissioners of Marshall county' with the state of Indiana, that when said state of Indiana completes said monument and chapel, as provided for in said act, and fully pays all expenses connected therewith, the board of commissioners as aforesaid hereby agree with the state of Indiana to make provision for the control and repair of the same as provided in said act."


Shortly after this agreement the governor appointed three trustees to erect the monument provided for in the act, thereby indicating that he was "satisfied" with the agreement entered into by the Marshall county board of commissioners. J. S. Kumler, of Peru, one of the trustees appointed by the governor, declined to serve. The trustees as finally appointed by the governor are as follows:


Charles T. Mattingly, capitalist, Plymouth.


Col. A. F. Fleet, superintendent Culver Military Academy, Culver.


Col. William Hoynes, dean of the Law School, Notre Dame University.


Not long after the appointment of the trustees Gov. J. Frank Hanly concluded that the agreement filed with him by the commissioners of Mar- shall county was not "satisfactory" and sent to Trustee Mattingly an agreement written by his attorney-general to be presented to the members of the board with a request that each sign it personally. This document differed from the original only in phraseology and the manner of executing it. Mr. Mattingly presented it to the board at the September term, when it was postponed until the October term, then until the November term, then until the December term, and then until the January term, 1908, when the board, having been reorganized, took the matter under consideration and signed the agreement as prepared by the governor. The members of the


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board who signed the contract which insures the building of the monument are William H. Troup, Joel Anglin and James B. Severns.


Up to the time of closing this sketch nothing has been done toward the erection of the monument, but it is thought by the trustees having the matter in hand that it will be completed some time during the year 1908 or early in 1909.


XI. NORTHERN. INDIANA IN 1829.


"A Traveler," writing to the Indiana Republican, Madison, January 7, 1829, has the following showing the condition of this part of northern Indiana, particularly Yellow river, Mix-in-kuk-kee lake, as called, he says, by the Pottawattomie Indians, and the Michigan road. His article is well worth preserving here as showing the condition of the country in this part of the state three score and ten years ago. He says:


"Mr. Editor : The writer of this has spent some days of the last month examining the country on the St. Joseph of Lake Michigan, the Wabash and Kankikee. This country, except the Kankikee, is embraced in the pur- chase made this fall from the Pottawatamies.


"We set out from Fort Wayne a northwesterly direction for the St. Joseph of the lake. The first twenty miles after leaving the fort the country is mostly covered with a heavy forest of timber, but a small portion of the soil is of good quality for farming. After passing Blue-grass creek, we passed a few miles of country, the land of an inferior quality, thinly timbered with oak and hickory, interspersed with a number of small lakes, from which flows to the southwest the head branch of the Tippecanoe river; we then entered the Elk-heart bottom; this bottom is about eight miles wide, soil and timber of the best quality. Elk-heart creek is a fine, boatable stream, running northwest, and the depth of the water (above the knees of our horses) affording a sufficiency at the dryest season for all kinds of ma- chinery. After crossing this creek we entered the Elk-heart prairie, about six miles long and from two to four wide, soil of the best quality. Along the southwest margin of this beautiful prairie flows the Elk-heart creek, on the north bank of which, and in the prairie, is the site of Five Medals village, well known to our soldiers of the late war as the residence of the Pottawatamie war chief, Five Medals. This creek unites with the St. Joseph a few miles south of the line dividing Indiana and Michigan terri- tory, and near this point is also the entrance from the north of a large creek, which flows from Pleasant lake in Michigan territory; at the junction of these waters is a fine town site, possessing the advantages of being sur- rounded by a fine country of good land, and on the bank of the St. Joseph river, which is a deep, boatable stream, affording plenty of water for keel- boat navigation from this point to the lake at all seasons of the year- distance 75 to 100 miles by the river. Twenty miles below the mouth of Elk-heart is the southern bend of the St. Joseph. At this place the American Fur Company have an establishment to carry on trade with the Indians; it is situated on a high, dry plain, affording a very handsome and extensive site for a village; through this place, the road, as lately laid off from Lake Michigan to Indianapolis, passes, affording it the advantage of a road south


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to the Wabash, as well as the river northwest to the lake, at all times navigable, with a good harbor for the largest lake vessels, and a safe bay at its entrance into the lake, and also a high and beautiful site for a town on the margin of the lake at the mouth of the river.


"From the southern bend of the St. Joseph we traveled west to Lake Michigan ; the country is dry and beautiful until we arrive within three or four miles of the lake, part rich barrens, and part first-rate timber land, with a large portion of prairie. We traveled part of the distance on the United States road, from Detroit to Chicago, this road which crosses the northern boundary of Indiana, about thirty miles east of Lake Michigan, and continues parallel with and near the north line of Indiana to the southern point of Lake Michigan. The tract of land through which this road passes was purchased from the Indians at the treaty of the Wabash, called the ten mile purchase, and as embraced between the north line of Indiana and the Kankikee river and ponds. This tract of land is perhaps surpassed by no other for beauty and fertility of soil. There may be a scarcity of timber after it is settled. It is watered with some spring rivulets, and has many beautiful lakes from one-fourth to one and one-half miles in circumference, with dry banks, sand bottoms, clear, sweet water, that abound with fish of various kinds.


"We traveled from Lake Michigan a southeasterly course, and de- scended a hill of more than one hundred feet, and soon found ourselves in the neighborhood of these celebrated Kankikee ponds. The river of that name rises near the center of Indiana, from east to west, and flows west through a low valley, which is from four to eleven miles wide, and in the spring is covered with water. After the summer season sets in the quantity of water decreases, but there remains a marsh or swamp which is said to be sixty miles in length from east to west, and impossible at most places for man or horse to pass; the river crosses the line dividing Indiana and Illinois about thirty-five miles south of Lake Michigan and uniting the River Aux- plaines from the Illinois river. The ponds above mentioned extend along the north side of the river beyond the state line. Most of the land on this river within Indiana is exceedingly poor. We crossed the Kankikee, which from its appearance we believed sufficiently large for boats to pass down it, from a point thirty or forty miles within the state of Indiana, part of the year. The trace on which we traveled led us southeast to Yellow river, a large branch of the Kankikee, within the country now owned by the Potta- wattomies, and the whole distance between these rivers we saw no land suitable for farming, it being mostly wet prairie, or if timbered, with low black oak, and the soil of the most inferior quality. After crossing Yellow river and traveling about four miles we passed a beautiful lake from seven to ten miles in circumference, called by the Pottawattomie Indians Mix-in- kuk-kee. It is surrounded with rolling land of good quality and is formed from springs, and seems to occupy the highest summit between the Tippe- canoe and Kankikee rivers. From it flows to the south a large creek, forming one of the principal of the former river, and distant from it about five miles. The lake will probably some day supply a feeder for a canal to connect the Wabash and Illinois rivers. From this lake we proceeded a short distance east and found the line of the Michigan road, on which we traveled to the Wabash at the mouth of Eel river. Most of that country is good and




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