USA > Indiana > Madison County > Historical Sketches and Reminiscences of Madison County, Indiana: A Detailed History of the. > Part 52
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"The farm of Harrison Canaday, two miles north of An- derson, was in early times a favorite spot with the Indians for hunting deer. The early settlers thought that a salt well dug by the Indians existed near Killbuck creek by means of which the deer were induced to come to that place ; but if that was really so, the Indians carefully guarded their secret and never revealed it to the white man."
The descendants of the Madison county Delawares are now said to be found in the Indian territory. The above ac- count of our early Indian history is taken from a paper by Fleming T. Luse of the Madison County Historical Society.
A LEGEND.
The following beautiful story was written by Miss Nellie Lovett, the accomplished daughter of the Hon. John W. Lovett, now the wife of Earle Reeve, of Anderson, and is re- produced in these pages by special permission of the writer :
Early in the present century, Indiana territory stretched from the Ohio river to the great lakes, and embraced within
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
its borders what is now the prosperous and populous State. It had never been subdivided by the surveyor's lines, and, with the exception of a few rude settlements of hardy pioneers and trading posts along the principal streams, it was inhabited only by the untutored children of the forest, members of the several tribes of the "Great Algonquin Nation," of which the Delaware formed a conspicuous part. It was a country beautiful to look upon, and lay just as the hand of nature had leftit. There was no monotonous stretch of level prairie to weary the eye, but hill and valley, undulating upland and fertile river bottoms made up an ever changing landscape that was beautiful to behold, always pleasing and diversified. Near the center of the great territory in a bend of the river, then known in the Indian tongue as " Watseca," or White river, was the
VILLAGE OF THE DELAWARES,
ruled over and governed by that noble chieftain, Kik-the-we- nund," or Anderson. At the time our story opens Anderson was a splendid specimen of the Indian race. In the very prime of life, standing six feet in his moccasins, straight as an arrow, of powerful frame and dignified bearing, he seemed a born leader of men, worthy to wave the scepter of authority over the important tribe to which he belonged. He had listened to the Moravian missionary, had heard the wonderful story of the cross, and ever since he had been a steadfast friend of the whites. The hardy hunter, trapper or trader, courageous enough to penetrate the unbroken forest and reach his village, was sure of a welcome at his wigwam. The forests abounded in game of every variety known to the zone. The river teemed with the best of the finny tribe, and in the fertile bottoms grew, in luxuriant abundance, the fields of Indian maize.
Thus in peace and plenty dwelt Anderson and his tribe, keeping inviolate the early treaties with the pale face race. Years before the chieftain's squaw had been stricken by the fatal fever, and had been called by the Great Spirit to the happy hunting grounds, leaving to Anderson a little daughter, "Oneahye, or Dancing Feather." She had grown to early womanhood, the pet of the tribe, tall and lithe of figure, swift of foot as the red deer, vet gentle and loving of disposition ; this Indian maiden graced her father's wigwam, as the
WILD FLOWERS DECKED
the sloping hillside that stretched from its doorway to the margin of the beautiful river. The young braves of her own
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
and neighboring tribes, the Miamis and Pottawattamies, paid tribute to her beauty, and cast the trophies of the chase at her feet ; but thus far her heart remained untouched and her fancy as free as the breeze that sported in the tree tops, or the wild birds that were her daily companions. But one day there came to the village a stalwart young hunter of the pale-face race. Brave and fearless, the wild life of the woods and prairies had a charm for Charley Stanley that had won him from the haunts of civilized life and had caused him to seek as his companions the dusky, untutored children of the for- est. He was accorded a warm welcome at the chieftain's wigwam, and at her father's bidding " Oneahye " spread for him, under the shade of the old oak, a mat of soft and fragrant rushes, woven by her own deft fingers. To the young and susceptible hunter, this Indian princess was a vision of loveli- ness. He had never seen a form so graceful, or a face so ex- pressive. The days glided by, and still he tarried, the guest of the tribe. By day the hunter and maiden wandered through leafy bowers, and at evening under silvery moonbeams, or the silent stars, the two floated on the bosom of the river in the light birch canoe. It was the old, old story ; and when the beautiful Indian summer came and cast its mellow haze over hill and valley, the two were made one after the Indian cus- tom, and thus another tie was formed to bind " Chief Ander- son " to the whites.
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The years grew green and grew brown; the moons waxed and waned, and time rolled on. The splendid country had attracted widespread attention, and each year saw new set- tlements of the ever restless Anglo-Saxons ; saw the hand of civilization leaving its mark on the face of nature, and writing the doom of the red children whose heritage was coveted by the superior race. Already a trading station had been located at the village of the Delawares, and the log-cabin of the pioneer stood within arrow shot of the wigwam of the " Aboriginal." Anderson recognized the hand of fate; saw the writing on the wall, and knew that the red man must soon move toward the setting sun. With the other chieftains of the Algonquin nation he signed the treaty of St. Marys, in 1818, ceding to the United States the remaining interests of the Delawares in the splendid Indian territory, whereby it was agreed that within three years from the signing of the same, his tribe
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
would leave its ancestral territory, removing to a reservation west of the Mississippi. In accordance with the stipulations of the treaty, the 20th day of September, 1821, saw the exodus of the Delawares from the lands of their fathers.
The day was a beautiful one. The woodlands were robed in gorgeous hues of the Frost King and were flying the flaming banners of autumn. Fifty canoes floated on the river, while a herd of ponies and pack horses, bearing the camp equipage of the tribe, stood ready for the journey.
The young braves and squaws were to go overland, while the chiefs and aged members of the band were to travel by water. The white residents turned out to witness their de- parture, and there were many touching scenes at the parting. Charles Stanley and Oneahye, his Indian wife, had decided to remain at the settlement. At a given signal the canoes were filled with their burden of swarthy beings, and the caval- cade took up its line of march. Anderson was the last to move. When all was in readiness he laid his hand on the head of his daughter. A hush fell upon the assembled multi- tude as he spoke in the expressive and figurative language of the Delawares a father's parting blessing and benediction. The eagle feather in his plume quivered slightly, but beyond this there was no outward sign of the deep feeling that stirred the bosom of the noble chief. This simple ceremony over, he stepped into the canoe and stood erect, while the fleet, re- sponsive to the strokes of the paddles, shot out into the cur- rent, and thus the long and tedious journey to the new hunt- ing grounds, was commenced. The people on the river bank stood silently watching the departing canoes until a bend in the river hid them from view.
Twenty years had passed since the departure of the Dela- wares. Hard years they had been on the tribe. Pestilence and war, disease and death had played sad havoc, and but few remained of that goodly band of warriors. Anderson still lived, but broken by age, hardships and disappointments, he felt the future had little in store for him, and his thoughts continually turned back to the days of his early manhood, and a longing, unconquerable desire to see once again with his own eyes his dearly loved daughter, and revisit the old scenes, filled his heart.
Gathering about him a few trusty companions, he turned his face eastward, and by easy stages and frequent rests he made the journey. Charles Stanley had built for himself and
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
family a log cabin, somewhat more pretentious than most of his neighbors, and here the old chieftain received a warm and tender welcome; but the days of rest and enjoyment, which he had anticipated, were not to be. The fever was raging in his veins and pain racked his frame. On the evening after his arrival he became delirious, and from his incoherent words it could easily be told he was living over again the old, old days. At times he was engaged in counsel with the neigh- boring Sachems. Again, he gave the directions for the jour- ney westward, and then he seemed to imagine himself in the old wigwam, and gently stroked the hair of his little grand- daughter as he had her mother's many years before. On the third day he died and was sorrowfully laid to rest under the spreading branches of an old oak not far from the cabin where he died. Fifty years have passed. Where the village of the Delaware stood stands a vigorous growing young city, just feeling the impulse of new life, caused by the wonderful dis- covery of natural gas. On every hand are evidences of rapid growth and substantial prosperity. The place where the old oak stood abutts on one of the leading thoroughfares, is marked for a splendid hostelry, and the work of its construction has commenced. In excavating for the basement and cellars of the building the workmen came upon a human skeleton. It was the remains of " Anderson," the Delaware. By direction of the owners the skeleton was buried in the crypt of the building, where it now rests. Over it was erected the noble structure, and it was eminently right and proper that in honor of the noble chieftain the hotel should be called "The An- derson."
It is said that on the night of the 21st day of September, 1891, the seventieth anniversary of the exodus of the Dela- ware, just as the clock in the tower of the court house struck the hour of midnight, the ghostly form of an Indian, clad in the full habiliments of a Delaware chieftain, might have been seen standing erect on the highest crest of the unfinished building, with folded arms, looking towards the east, just as the chieftain had stood on the morning of his departure, sev- enty years before. It remained thus for a moment and faded out in a cloud of mist.
CHAPTER LXI.
INTERESTING CRIMINAL MATTERS, MYSTERIOUS AND OTHER- WISE, RECALLED.
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A DARING BANK ROBBERY.
At the hour of high noon on Saturday the 10th of August, 1×78, the city of Anderson was thrown into wild excitement over the announcement that the banking house of William Crim & Co. had been robbed of a large sum of money. This was one of the slickest pieces of robbery that was ever perpe- trated in this part of the country.
A well dressed stranger, a few days previously, had regis- tered at the Doxey House under the name of H. F. Tilden, of Mound City, Iowa. He was of very pleasant address, of un- assuming manner, talked but little to anyone but when in con- versation was entertaining and soon ingratiated himself into the good will of several leading citizens about the city, among whom was Joseph R. Cain, the cashier of the Crim Bank. Tilden made several visits to the bank for small accommoda- tions in the way of procuring change, at one time asking the cashier to give him silver for a twenty dollar bill. Mr. Cain took the bag of silver from the vault and counted it out, but just at that moment the stranger seemed to be troubled with a sore finger. He politely requested Mr. Cain to tie it up for him as he could not tie it with his other hand. He had a white rag wrapped around his finger which was also wrapped with a thread which was ready to tie. Mr. Cain, of course, complied with the request but in so doing he was compelled to reach over the counter. Mr. Tilden detained him as long as possible in tying it up by telling him that he had tied it too tight and had him to loosen it and retie it.
While this was going on a couple of sneak thieves, con- federates of Tilden, had slipped in, with cork soles on their shoes, and crawled around the counter and got behind the cashier's department, where the safe was standing with the door open. A large sum of money was exposed, which they
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
grabbed from the vault and made their way out with their booty.
When Mr. Tilden entered the door he had a confederate who stood on the front steps for the purpose of detaining any one that might come in while the robbery was going on. Richard Thornburg, a farmer living a few miles from the city, was just entering the bank to transact some business, when the confederate, who stood on the outside, stopped him and made some inquiry as to where some person lived, or some other unimportant matter, and detained him until the sneak thieves had passed out of the bank and Mr. Tilden had also made his escape.
About this time Norval Crim, the son of William Crim, the president of the bank, arrived to relieve Mr. Cain while he went to his noon meal. Just as Crim entered the bank some customer came in with a large check, which required more money than was usually kept on the counter to pay it. After looking at the check he turned to the safe to take out a package, when, to his astonishment, the packages were gone. He immediately accosted Mr. Cain and asked him what had become of the currency. Mr. Cain was astounded to find that the packages had disappeared, and it immediately dawned upon him that he had been robbed, and at once suspected Tilden of being the guilty party, or at least an accomplice in the affair.
Tilden and his confederates immediately on leaving the bank started for the Pan-Handle train going north at 1 :20 P. M. The alarm was given and pursuit was made. The officers boarding the train placed Tilden under arrest and also three others who were under suspicion as being his accom- plices. The parties arrested with Tilden gave their names as J. C. Curtis, of Cleveland, John Ryan, of Fort Wayne, J. Ash and J. T. Bradley, of Pittsfield. All of these parties had boarded the train with Tilden. When the train arrived at El- wood Ryan endeavored to make his escape and jumped from the train and ran through a stave yard. He was seen holding his coat on entering the yard, but on leaving he had left it behind. This action on the part of Ryan led the officers to believe that he had hidden the money somewhere among the staves, and search was made by parties at Elwood, assisted by the officers, but nothing was found until the next day when Mr. Frank M. Ilunter, Postmaster at Elwood, found $1,790, and another party found a small sum, the amount of which the writer does
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
not remember. The money had been secreted in the stave piles by the flying thief, who was afterward captured.
Ryan and the other participants were returned to Ander- son on the evening train, but waived preliminary examination until Monday morning. They were placed in the Madison county jail. James Hazlett was then Mayor of the city and the case was brought before him for trial, but the parties took a change of venue from His Honor and their cases were sent to William Roach, Esquire, where the preliminary trial took place on the Tuesday and Wednesday following. Ash and Curtis were both released, but the others, Ryan, Bradley and Tilden were held on bail, which they failed to give and were sent back to jail. Hon. Howell D. Thompson and Calvin D. Thompson, Esquire, were employed to defend them. Hon. James W. Sansberry and Hon. Charles L. Henry and A. S. McAllister appeared for the State. Friends of the parties came to the front and put up cash bail for them, which they afterward forfeited and never came to trial. It is said, how- ever, that there were some arrangements with the managers of the bank and the friends of these parties that the greater portion of the money was restored to the bank. How much was taken and how much the bank received in return is known only by those who were intimately connected with the affair. The amount was variously estimated at from $5,000 to $12,000. It will never be known to outside parties what was the true state of affairs in this relation.
It is said that Ryan was afterwards killed in an encoun- ter of some kind when he was in the act of committing an un- lawful deed. Tilden, after being released, was on one or two occasions seen by parties who recognized him at Indianapolis. He was undoubtedly the smoothest rogue who ever planted his foot in Madison county. During the preliminary trial which was held in the court house, Mr. Tilden sat each day with a kid glove on one hand, in which he help the glove for the other. His faultless linen shirt front and the sparkling diamonds that he wore, with his boots shining as brightly as they could be made, were all scenes in his part of the play, and anyone entering the court room during the proceedings whom he had met at any time during his stay in town he sa- luted with a bow and greeted with a smile. He was so polite and kind to the officers, to the prosecuting attorney and the lawyers on the other side that he almost won their favors be- fore the trial ended.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
While many criticised Cashier Cain, it is safe to say that there is not one man out of a thousand placed as he was who would not have done as he did.
The writer has been behind the counter of a bank for many years and is ready to confess that he would in all proba bility have done as Mr. Cain did under similar circumstances
A MYSTERIOUS BURGLARY.
W. S. Shirk, who is well known to almost every one in Anderson, and who kept a jewelry store on the north side, was the victim of two daring robberies within a period of two years. The first time, in the month of November, 1888, some unknown persons entered his store through the back door while the proprietor was at supper, and got away with about $2,000 worth of jewelry, and diamonds, and made good their escape. The trays in which the valuables were kept were all emptied and the show cases left bare, a greeting that met Mr. Shirk's view when he returned from his meal that made him heart-sick. He could scarcely be- lieve his own eyes when he beheld the empty cases.
Mr. Shirk had just begun to recover from the effects of this robbery in a financial way, when he was again, on the night of March 14, 1890, visited with a similar occurrence, only on a larger scale.
Mr. and Mrs. Shirk were boarders at the Hotel Doxey, and had gone to their rooms leaving the store closed, and the safes securely locked. A young man of the name of C. H. Williams was a clerk in the store, and had gone out to call on a lady friend, returning at about 12 o'clock to retire for the night, he having his sleeping apartments in the store. Upon entering the room he was astonished to see the safe door open, and upon examination he ascertained that a robbery had been committed. He at once repaired to the hotel and aroused Mr. Shirk, who hastened to the store, where he was soon con- vinced that he had again been the victim of burglars. The alarm was immediately given to the police and all effort to find a clue was made without success. The entire stock was taken and a large loss was sustained. Detectives were put to work on the case and the whole country was scoured in order to find some evidence of guilt or some trace of the robbers. Suspicion pointed towards the clerk, and the detectives de- cided to cause his arrest, which was accordingly done, but on
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
an investigation he was exonerated from all blame and fully acquitted of the offense.
This was without doubt one of the slickest pieces of thievery ever perpetrated. There was no one in the wide world who had the combination to the safe except Mr. Shirk, and how it was opened is to this day a mystery.
There was but one theory advanced by experts, and that was that some one had gotten possession of the letters on which the combination was set, at some time when Mr. Shirk had inadvertently laid them down, and quietly bided the time until an opportunity offered itself to perfect the job.
The clerk was not allowed to have the combination and was in no way familiar with the inside workings of the safe.
Some people were of the opinion that Shirk was the guilty party of his own robbery, but there was absolutely no foundation or reason for this conclusion, as he was in no one's debt, and could in no wise profit by such a transaction, and besides, he was the personification of honor and would not be guilty of such a crime.
Mr. Shirk was one of the finest workmen in his line in the United States, being a practical watch maker. He left Anderson not long after this occurrence, and moved to Florida on account of his wife's health, where he at this time resides.
Mr. Shirk learned his trade with John Awalt, in Ander- son, and for many years was in his employ.
He was born and reared at Newcastle, Ind. This was a severe blow to him financially, and was the cause of his having to give up business for himself, and is now working as a jour- neyman at his trade.
A DRUGGIST "HELD UP."
On the 13th of August, 1880, about the hour of 12 o'clock at night, when all honest people had sought their peaceful couches and all was serene and quiet, Frank Murphy, a desperate night prowler of the light-fingered fraternity, made his way into the sleeping apartments of Charles A. Hen- derson, the well-known Anderson druggist, by climbing over the veranda from the ground below. He very deliberately went to Mr. Henderson's bed, where he and his wife were sleeping, and took Mr. Henderson's trowsers from under his head and rifled their pockets. This aroused the sleeping vic- tim, who at once made an attempt to get up and give the alarm, but he was promptly stopped by his midnight visitor,
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
'who held a Smith & Wesson's revolver to his face and com- manded him to keep still at the risk of his life. Mr. Hen- derson thought discretion the better part of valor, so he meekly obeyed the command. There was a light in the room, and Mr. Henderson took a good look at the intruder. He satisfied himself that if he should ever meet him again he would know him. The impression made on Henderson's mind was so vivid that he has never lost the full outlines of that man's face. The next day after this occurrence Mr. Hender- son met the robber on the street, and at once recognized him. He quietly gave the alarm to the city marshal, and he started in pursuit of the criminal. The rogue must have suspected that Henderson knew him, for he at once took a straight line for the Bee Line railroad, where a freight train was standing, about to start east. While the marshal was getting his forces ready a friend of Mr. Henderson hurried to the depot and quietly informed the conductor of what was going on, and he held the train until the officers arrived, and in a few minutes Murphy was a prisoner. The Circuit Court was in session at the time, and an indictment was procured against the pris- oner and a hasty trial had, and he was soon on his way to Michigan City to serve time for his crime. He made threats that he would come back when he had served his time and kill Henderson ; but he got over this, as he did come back, but never molested Mr. Henderson in any way.
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CHAPTER LXII.
A NUMBER OF DISASTROUS FIRES IN ANDERSON AND VICINITY REMEMBERED.
AN OLD LANDMARK DESTROYED.
The older inhabitants of Madison county will remember the old Jackson flouring mill that stood on the banks of White river at the ford near the farm of Samuel Myers east of the city. The mere mention of the name of this mill calls to
ANDREW JACKSON.
the minds of the old-timers the times when they "toted " their grists to mill long before there were any turnpikes in Madison county, and when they would have to travel a dis- tance of eight or ten miles, and the trip would often consume two days or more. When they got to the mill they would have to wait for the grinding of their grain and then return home with the grist the next day. This mill was built by David Williams in 1832, and did good work from that time until its destruction. It was an old-fashioned water power, and
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608 HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA.
was the first to be built in this section of the country. It en- joyed the patronage of almost the entire county at one time, and it is said that often persons would have to wait and stand in line a day at a time in order to get their grist ground. An- drew Jackson purchased and operated it for a long time, and in the year 1857 sold it to his son David B. Jackson, who ran it until the day of its destruction. The cause of the conflagra- tion seems to have been as follows : A young man working about the mill had put a fire in the stove in the morning and in building it dropped a piece of coal into a decaying place in one of the floor sills. At noon that day the fire was discov- ered in the foundation timbers. One of the millers was at- tracted to it and saw the smouldering coals which he put out as he thought, and no further attention was paid to it. At 11 o'clock that night the family was aroused by the cry of fire by the neighbors. Upon looking out the building was found to be in a sheet of flames. Nothing could be done to ex- tinguish the fire, and the structure was destroyed. And thus was wiped out one of the old landmarks of Madison county. The dam above the mill remained for several years, but was finally torn away. No sign now remains to mark the spot where the mill once stood except the rippling of the water over the few straggling stones left where the dam once stood.
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