Biographical and historical record of Jay and Blackford Counties, Indiana : containing portraits and biographies of some of the prominent men of the state : engravings of prominent citizens in Jay and Blackford Counties, with personal histories of many of the leading families and a concise history of Jay and Blackford Counties and their cities and villages., Part 76

Author:
Publication date: 1887
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 922

USA > Indiana > Jay County > Biographical and historical record of Jay and Blackford Counties, Indiana : containing portraits and biographies of some of the prominent men of the state : engravings of prominent citizens in Jay and Blackford Counties, with personal histories of many of the leading families and a concise history of Jay and Blackford Counties and their cities and villages. > Part 76
USA > Indiana > Blackford County > Biographical and historical record of Jay and Blackford Counties, Indiana : containing portraits and biographies of some of the prominent men of the state : engravings of prominent citizens in Jay and Blackford Counties, with personal histories of many of the leading families and a concise history of Jay and Blackford Counties and their cities and villages. > Part 76

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706

HISTORY OF BLACKFORD COUNTY.

hundred feet, thus largely concealing them from view, and extending in general from the Rocky Mountains eastward, and southward to the fortieth parallel of latitude, is found this pe- culiar surface soil or de- posit. It consists of a heterogeneous mixture of clay, sand, gravel, pebbles sub-angular stones of all sizes, unsorted, unsifted, umfossiliferous. The lowest part lying in immediate contact with the subjacent rock is often a stiff clay in- cluding sub-angular stones ; hence this is often called the boulder clay or hard pan. "These included boulders," says Professor Geikie, "are scattered liggledy, pig- gledy, pell-mell, through the clay so as to give the whole deposit a highly con- fused and tumultuous ap- pearance." On examining many of these stones they will be found to be angular in shape, but the sharp corners and edges are in- variably smoothed away, their faces will be smoothed and ferquently grooved with parallel scratches. In- deed in concretionary stones and others having an egg shape often one whole end has been ground off, show- ing conclusively its history. On the other hand, lying all over this drift soil, in

VERTICAL SECTION OF THE ROCKS *

AGES.

OF THE GLOBE. ROCKS.

OF JAY AND BLACKFORD COUNTIES. PERIODS.

ROCKS.

TERTIARY |QUATERNARY,

25 Recent.

24 Champlain.

23 Glacial.

22 Pliocene.

21 Miocene.

20 Alabama.

19 Lignitic.

18 Cretaceous.

REPTILIAN.

17 Jurassic.

16 Triassic.

15 Permian.

CARBONIFEROUS.

14 Carboniferous.

13 Sub. Carboniferous

12 Catskill.

DEVONIAN.

11 Chemung.

10 Hamilton.

Old Red Sand Stone

of Scotland and Wales.

8 Oriskany.

UPPER.

7 Lower Helderberg.

6 Salina.

SILURIAN:

5 Niagara.

4 Trenton

3 Canadian.

* In this region all that lies above the Niagara is "drift," averaging fifty feet in thickness.

LOWER.

9 Corniferous.

707

INTRODUCTORY.

clusters, in isolated rocks, and in belts vary- ing in width from a single line to two or three miles, are found many boulders of all sizes; in some localities they are of huge dimensions and weight hundreds of tous. These unscratched, or erratic, blocks, as they are sometimes called, have attracted the at- tention and excited tlie wonder of those in the humblest walks of life, and since they are composed of materials foreign to tlie local geology were regarded by them as for- eigners which had been brought from a dis- tance and strewed over the surface or perched upon declivities in some incomprehensible way. It is now very appropriate to investi- gate the causes for all this phenomena spread ont before us.

Whenever the underlying rock is of suffi- cient hardness to retain an impression, and for any cause is exposed to view, it is always found to be plowed and planed and grooved with long parallel striæ and ruts. Thus, these scratches, with the superincumbent drift, the boulder-clay, and the surface boulders, furnish for us phenomena, thie ex- act counterpart of which is found on a smaller scale in all the glaciated regions of the world to-day-Alaska, Greenland, Switzerland, tlie Sierra Nevada Mountains, and the Antarctic continent. Given identical phenomena, we must conclude there was an identical cause. Given identical plienomena in the one case on a much larger and grander scale, we must con- clude there was a cause of far greater and grander proportions. There was, then, a time in the past when for hundreds of years tlie winters grew steadily both longer and colder; the equatorial current, being pressed southward at Cape St. Roque, was pouring more and more of its waters into the South Atlantic. The moisture was all precipitated as snow, and these all mutually reacting upon each other so that each effect strengthened

the cause, brought about the period known as the great Ice Age, and formed an immense continental ice-sheet or Polar Ice Cap which extended in general to the fortieth degree of latitude, with local extensions of its icy fingers down river valleys far to the south- ward.

In the beginning of the Archæan Age, at the time of the first known continental emer- gence in the history of the world, there was formed a high mountain range north of the great lakes, extending from Labrador to the Lake of the Woods and thence northward to the Arctic Ocean, the degradation of which has furnished the material for the stratified rocks that surround it, and, being especially active in the glacial period, it also furnished the greater part of our drift material. Thus through the lapse of countless ages down to the present time, all the mountain peaks and chains of this Laurentian continent, as it is frequently called, liave been removed and carried into the sea, and, as a result, there remain only the truncated bases of the vari- ous arches and folds to testify to their former existence and magnitude. Thus we see that these archæan mountains are the means, and the ice cap, together with what follows, the melting of the ice, are the agents in perform- ing the final work in fitting up this part of our earth-home. For with its ponderous mass of ice a mile in thickness and con- stantly increasing as it approaches the pole, moving southward, it ground the softer rocks to powder, bronght hither our soil, scooped out the great lakes and the multitude of smaller ones in their latitude, and by the re- treating of the glacier, the immense floods and the consequent hosts of icebergs, the river valleys were hollowed out, the hills and the gravel beds formed, and the surface boulders were dropped by the river's side and over the fields and plains.

708

HISTORY OF BLACKFORD COUNTY.

The glacier in forming the Erie basin, as is indicated by the furrows made at different points, moved from east to west along tlie line of its way or axis. It plowed up the Huron and Erie shales, in the east end, to a great depth, but moving westward it came upon the hard floor of corniferous limestone and but a shallow basin was formed. Here the many beautiful and fertile islands par- ticularly testify to the unyielding hardness of the rocks. Thence passing southwest to New Haven and Fort Wayne, and from New Haven down the Wabash Valley, it deter- inined the valleys of two rivers which would, in turn, one day, through long periods of time, drain the waters of Lake Erie to the gulf, and convey to itself all the waters of the great Maumee basin.

Now, by a process the exact reverse of that which produced the glacial epoch, there was brought about a period of much warmer climate known as the Champlain Age, which was characterized by melting of ice and snow, a far more extended and higher condition of the great lakes, by multitudes of icebergs floating southward over these inland seas and dropping their loads of earth, sand, gravel and boulders, by numerous floods which broadened and deepened the river valleys and the pell-mell dumping of gravel and stones over hills and valleys, with the stratification of whatever was deposited by the water.

Proceeding from below upward in our in- vestigations, we arrive at last at the thin stratum of vegetable mold covering the drift, which has been formed by the annual coating of leaves for untold years. This, together with the pulverized and partially decomposed granitic rock, the enormous drift covering, furnishes for the farmer a soil that is at once fertile and inexhaustible; for if he will but " plow deep, while sluggards sleep, he will have plenty of corn to sell and keep."

The northern half of this State is covered by a heavy deposit of drift, consisting of clay, sand and gravel, with occasionally large boulders of crystalline or metamorphic rocks. This drift has by a nearly unanimous consent of geologists, been referred to the glacial period, and its transportation and distribution to the combined agencies of ice and water. So far as these conclusions relate to the upper or boulder drift proper, there can scarcely be

any doubt of their correctness; but almost everywhere throughout this region we find an underlying bed of compact clay highly charged with ferric sulphide, which gives it a dark lead color. This clay contains an occasional pebble or sınall boulder of green- stone or other siliceous rock; but no boulders of granite or gneiss like those so comumnon in the surface member of this formation are found in it. This deposit of clay ranges in thickness from twenty or thirty feet on its southern border to more than 200 feet in the vicinity of Lake Michigan. It is forty to fifty feet about Portland, Bluffton, etc. The fine character of the material of which it is formed, and its compact condition, point to its origin in a slow deposition from deep quiet waters rather than the rush of mighty torrents derived from dissolving glaciers.

This clay lies unconformably on the rock in place, with a few feet of small boulders or coarse gravel interposed between them. Near the base of the clay are frequently found the remains of an ancient forest, generally of cypress or other semi-tropical, cone-bearing trees. These are the only fossils yet found in the deposit, and they do not very satisfac- torily indicate its age. Many questions of scientific importance are suggested by the composition, condition and relations of this " lower blue clay," as it is commonly called; but it would be out of place to introduce the discussion of these here.

709

INTRODUCTORY.

In many parts of the State there are found considerable districts where the surface is formed by local deposits, evidently more recent than the boulder drift. Of these we inay mention the terrace or second bottom formations which skirt the larger streams of the State, frequently attaining a width of four or five miles. Below a surface of loanı two or three feet in depth, the formation consists of water-worn pebbles, interspersed with beds of coarse sand, showing very dis- tinct ripple marks and lines of deposition from running water. These terrace forma- tions vary from ten to a hundred feet in thickness, always resting on the lower blue clay, or on the rock in place. Lying between these second bottoms and the present channels of the rivers are often found quite large dis- tricts of recent alluvial deposits, consisting of beds of sand and gravel, often covering large collections of drift-wood, leaves, etc. These bottom lands are generally elevated Unt a few feet above high water, and in many places they are subject to frequent inundations. The northern counties often present ridges of nearly pure sand, strongly suggestive of the dunes of drifted sand which form at present the southern margin of Lake Michigan. These sand hills overlie the boulder drift, and are therefore regarded as more recent. They probably mark the several successive steps of the retiring lake as it slowly subsided into its present bounds.

The rocks underlying the superficial deposits

just described are in their character compara- tively uniform throughout the State, exhibit- ing very slight disturbance since their origin. The dip of the strata in these northern counties is more southerly and at a less inclination than those in the southern portion of the State. Along the Upper Wabash the strata are upheaved in many places, so as to produce local reversals of the dip. Indeed it seems, from the recent gas wells sunk in Eastern Indiana, that the strata are undulating and that the gas and oil belts are confined to one or two of the crests.

The deep drift renders building and lime- stone scarce, but in many places the out- croppings along the banks and in the beds of streams afford an inferior quality of building stone. Along the Salamonia, in this county, very good limestone is quarried, both for plastering lime and building stone.

See chapter, in the Jay County History, entitled " Natural Gas."

Thus, though we are not blessed with mines of precious metals, nor coal, nor iron, nor copper, yet we have in our soil an inex- haustible mine of true wealth, the foundation of a nation's true greatness, at once the basis and the hidden spring that sets in motion the wheels of trade. And the farmer, in his high and time-honored calling, holds in liis hands the electric key by means of which he sends the thrill of life-giving pulsations throughout the world of human industry.

710

HISTORY OF BLACKFORD COUNTY.

INDIANS.

LL that part of Indiana south of the Wabash River was originally possessed by the Mia- mis. They doubtless had some land north of the Wabash, for in 1658 they were found as far north as Green Bay and the Fox River. Thus we see that all the land ein- braced within the borders of Clinton County was at an early day the home of the haughty Miami.

The Miamis were of the Algonquin family -- the tribe which welcomed the Pilgrim Fathers. "Their dialect," says Bancroft, " was heard from the Bay of Gaspe to the Valley of the Des Moines; from Cape Fear, and it may be from the Savannah to the land of the Esquimaux; from the Cumberland

River of Kentucky to the southern banks of the Mississippi. and was spoken," continnes the same writer, " thongli not exclusively, in a territory that extends throngh sixty degrees of longitude and more than twenty degrees of latitude." Thus we see the Miamis were the descendants of renowned warriors and chieftains, and their subsequent history shows that they imbibed the spirit of their illustri- ons ancestors.

A good idea of the territory owned by this tribe after they became a separate and distinct people may be obtained from the speech of their chief, Me-she-kun-nogh-quoh, or Little Turtle, in reply to General Wayne at the treaty of Greenville, Ohio, 1795: " Yon have pointed out to ns the boundary line between the Indians and the United States; but I now 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 ancestors from

711

INDIANS.

time immemorial without molestation or dis- pnte. The print of my father's houses are everywhere to be seen in this portion. It is well known by all my brethren present, that my father kindled the first fire at Detroit; from thence he extended his line to the head waters of the Scioto; from thence to its mouth and from thence to Chicago on Lake Michi- gan."

Says Charles B. Lasselle: " When the Miamis were first invited by the French authorities to Chicago in 1670, they were a leading and very powerful Indian nation. A body of them assembled near that place for war against the powerful Iroquois (Six Na- tions) of the Hudson, and the still more powerful Sioux of the Upper Mississippi. They minbered at least three thousand, and were under the lead of a chief who never sallied forth but with a body guard of not less than forty warriors, He could at any time call into the field an army of from three to five thousand men."

Says Bancroft: "The Miamis were the most powerful confederacy in the West, excelling the Six Nations (Iroquois). Their influence reached to the Mississippi, and they received frequent visits from the tribes beyond that river."

Thus from the earliest period we find the Miamis have been a leading and influential tribe. The impress of the name on so many . of our Western rivers shows its predominance. The two Miamis of Ohio will ever perpetuate it. The Miami of Lake Erie (now Maumee) was likewise named for the tribe. Onr own St. Mary's was marked " Miami " River on the rude skeleton map made to represent the Western country at the time of Colonel Bon- quet's expedition in 1763.

In 1761 we find this tribe designated as the Miami, Eel River and Wea tribe. The Wabash River formed a natural boundary

between the Miamis and the Pottawatomies. Other neighboring tribes were the Kickapoos, Piankeshaws and Kaskaskias. From these tribes the Miamis received much honor, and nothing was undertaken by any tribe without first consulting the Miamis.

The first half of the seventeenth century passed without anything occurring of impor- tance, save an occasional brief struggle be- tween some of the Indian nations.

In 1753 disputes arose between the French and English in regard to their possessions in the New World. Being nnable to settle peacefully, they resorted to arms -- the Indians assisting the French.

Several important expeditions were planned by the English against the French and Indians. The one led by Braddock against Fort Du Quesne was the one directly employing the Miamis.

Braddock, although a brave General, was nnused to Indian warfare, and thoughtlessly allowed himself to be led into an ambnseade. The Indiaus, from their places of conceal- ment, poured a destructive volley of musketry, which ntterly confonnded the English grena- diers, causing dismay and disorder to take possession of their ranks. Out of eighty-six officers, but twenty-three escaped injury. Of the 1,200 who crossed the Monongahela, 700 were cut down and wounded. The work of death contimed for three hours. There was no relief but to retreat and leave the field to the enemy to plunder and scalp.

Until 1758 all the expeditions planned by the English were seemingly unfortunate, and Indian skill and bravery were everywhere triumphant. At that time, however, the English army under Lord Abercrombie, being largely re-inforced, the aspect of affairs began to assume another and different shape. From thenceforward victory crowned the English arms, the climax of which was the complete

712

HISTORY OF BLACKFORD COUNTY.

overthrow of the French and Indians, and the capture of Quebec by the gallant Wolfe, Sep- tember 18, 1759. At the close of the strng- gle, so great had been the havoc among the Indians, that the Miamis could sninmon to the field no more than one thonsand warriors.

The 10th of February, 1763, the treaty of peace was made between the two great powers, France and England, the former surrendering to the latter all claims to the vast regions lying east of the Mississippi. But here let it be remembered, in order that future trouble with the Indians may be understood, that it was the custom of the French to purchase of the Indians but very small tracts of land; accordingly, at the treaty, France had very little land to cede to England.

Following close upon the treaty came the war and final defeat of Pontiac-a war in which the Miamis were actively engaged.

Dunmore's war of 1774 was concluded without any transfer of land to the whites.

The year following, 1775, was commenced the great struggle for independence. In this the Miamis lent their influence to the British, being willing to assist any party that was warring against the inhabitants of their ter- ritory.

At the close of the Revolution, in 1783, when Great Britain transferred her Western claims to the United States, she conveyed nothing but what she had previouly obtained from France, which we have seen was very small, with the exception of some diminutive tracts of land purchased from the Iroquois and Southern tribes. None of the land what- ever belonging to the Miamis and the neigh- boring tribes to the North and West was ceded by this treaty to the United States.

But a different view was taken of the mat- ter by Congress at this period. They con- cluded that the treaty granted to the United States the full right to all territory east of the

Mississippi, and, considering that the Indians had forfeited all right to the land by acts of warfare against the Colonial Government during the struggle for independence, made 110 movement toward the purchase of the land, but began to form treaties of peace and to suggest its own boundary lines. It had been agreed among the varions Indian nations that no treaty should be made with the Gov- ernment withont the consent of all the tribes, assembled in general conncil. The Commis- sioners appointed by the Government to superintend these affairs refused to give any attention to the subject of a general council; but, visiting each tribe separately, induced some of them by intimidation, as was after- ward shown, to make cessions of land.

The Miamis, believing that injustice was being done them, positively refused to enter into a treaty of any kind. Trouble soon arose which resulted in the expedition against the Miamis, in 1790, under the command of General Josiah Harmar. The Indians under their brave Chief, Little Turtle, defeated the forces of Harmar on several battle fields, with heavy loss.

The following year (1791) another expedi- tion was planned against them, under the command of General Arthur St. Clair. On the 4th of November, near the head waters of the Wabash, about fifteen miles from the Miami village-now present site of Fort Wayne-a severe battle took place between the forces of St. Clair and the Indians, which resulted in a complete victory for the latter --- the whites being driven from the field, panic stricken. This was the most severe defeat ever inflicted by the Indians upon the United States, the latter losing in the battle thirty-nine officers killed, and 593 men killed and missing; twenty-two officers and 242 men wounded, with a loss in stores and other valuable property to the amount of $33,000.

713

INDIANS.

The command of the United States troops was next given to General Anthony Wayne. Having perfected his organization August, 1794, found him cautiously approaching the Miami village. The Indians tried, as on former occasions, to surprise him; but the thoughtful Wayne was not to be surprised. The Indians attacking him early on the morn- ing of Angust 28, 1794, a severe battle en- sned, which resulted in a complete victory for Wayne. The haughty spirit of the Miami was broken. He was now ready to listen to terms of peace. Accordingly, in June, 1795, deputations from the Miamis and from the different tribes of the Northwest began to assemble, in accordance with a request from General Wayne, to make a treaty of peace. They were in council several days, when, finally, Angust 3, 1795, the famous treaty of Greenville, Ohio, was completed. By this treaty the Miamis made their first cession of land to the United States, being varions small tracts in Southern and Central Indiana. This was ceded to the Government partly to satisfy it for the heavy expense it had sustained in prosecuting the war against the Indians. However, the Miamis received as a remuner- ation $3,000, with $1,000 to be paid annnally forever.

On the 21st of August, 1805, on the 30th of September, 1809, and on the 26th of Oc- tober, 1809, cessions of land were made by the Miamis, for which they were liberally and satisfactorily rewarded by the Govern- ment, in goods and money.

In 1810 arose the famons Shawnee Prophet, Ells-kwata-wa, brother of the celebrated war- rior, Tecumseh. These men, through a sin- gular and somewhat powerful influence, began to exert a wide control over the tribes of the North, and being encouraged by the English Government, the country was soon deluged in the war of 1812. The Miamis were

earnestly and eloquently sought to render assistance. Although many of the tribe were in favor of war, their brave but honest chief, Little Turtle, remained true to his obliga- tions made at the treaty of Greenville. How- ever, on the 14th of July, 1812, Little Turtle died. He was succeeded by Pe-oon, who listened more favorably to the words of Te- cninseh.

Soon warlike preparations were observed in the Miami villages along the Mississinewa of Grant County. General Harrison at once planned an expedition against them. The de- tachment consisted of about 600 mounted men, Kentucky volunteers, who were armed with rifles and under the command of Lieu- tenant-Colonel John B. Campbell. They left Franklintown on the 25th of November, 1812, by way of Dayton and Greenville, and reached the north bank of the Mississinewa, near the mouth of the Meto-cin-yah Creek, December 17, 1812. In a rapid charge upon the first Indian village, eight warriors were killed and forty-two taken prisoners, consist- ing of men, women and children. The troops then destroyed three other villages further west on the river, and returning, encamped for the night in a level strip of woods just across the river from Jalapa, Grant County. About half an hour before day on the follow- ing morning, December 18, they were sud- denly attacked by the Indians, under the command of John Godfroy and Joseph Rich- ardville, the latter a son of John Richard- ville, who so long and wisely ruled the Miamis. The battle was short, but sharp. The Indians, being unable to resist thic well- directed fire of Campbell's men, soon fled in dismay, leaving some fifteen of their men dead, and forty-eight wounded. The whites lost eight killed, and thirty wounded. To the severity of this contest, though of short duration, many of the early settlers of Grant

714

HISTORY OF BLACKFORD COUNTY.

can testify, as the trees bore the impress of the bullets for many years.

This battle closes the war record of the Miamis. They ever afterward remained friendly toward the United States. It is true an occasional brief struggle took place be- tween the Miamis and some of the neiglibor- ing tribes. These, however, were generally of ininor importance, as the following will illustrate: About 1830 the Pottawatomies, having crossed the Wabash River, the bound- ary line, were proceeding through the con- fines of the Miamis. The latter, deemning this an encroachment upon their hunting grounds, met the Pottawatomies near Jeffer- son, on the farm owned by Mr. Hill, and for- bade them proceeding further. Disputes arising, a battle ensued, fought with knives and clubs, in which a number were severely ent and bruised, but no one seriously injured. The Pottawatomies retired to their own territory.

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Author: Publication date: 1887 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 922

Author:
Publication date: 1887
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 922