USA > Indiana > Allen County > Fort Wayne > History of Fort Wayne, from the earliest known accounts of this point, to the present period. Embracing an extended view of the aboriginal tribes of the Northwest, including, more especially, the Miamies with a sketch of the life of General Anthony Wyane; including also a lengthy biography of pioneer settlers of Fort Wayne. Also an account of the manufacturing, mercantile, and railroad interests of Fort Wayne and vicinity > Part 13
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The account of his death, as derived from the most reliable sources, is, that he was killed by an Illinois Indian, of the Kaskas- kia tribe; that he had been to a feast with some of the French Creoles of Cahokia, opposite the present site of the city of St. Louis, and became drunk. Leaving the place of carousal, and entering an adjacent forest, the murderer stole quickly upon him and dis- patched him with his tomahawk, striking him on the head; that the assassin had been instigated to the act by an Englishman of the name of Williamson, who had agreed to give him a barrel of whisky, with a promise of something besides, if he would kill the Ottawa chieftain, which he readily accepted. Says Gonin's ac- count :
" From Miami (here) Pontiac went to Fort Chartres, on the Illi- nois. In a few years, the English, who had possession of the fort, procured an Indian of the Peoria nation to kill him. The news spread like lightning through the country. The Indians assembled in great numbers, attacked and destroyed all the Peorias, except about thirty families, which were received into the fort." And the death of Pontiac was revenged. His spirit could rest in peace. Such was Indian usage. And thus closed the career of one of Na- ture's most singular and resolute types of aboriginal character; of whom Croghan wrote in his journal and sent to Gen. Gage in 1765: "Pontiac is a shrewd, sensible Indian, of few words, and com- mands more respect among his own nation than any Indian I ever saw could do among his own tribe."
#It was in this year that a definitive cession of the province of Louisiana,-which had formerly extended over the entire territory now known as the State of Indiana, --- was terminated (because of the great losses sustained at various times in its mainten- ance by the French government) between France and Spain, the latter becoming,-by secret treaty, made some years prior, (1764) between Louis 14th, and the King of Spain,-sote possessor of the province. And the surrender of St. Louis, by St. Ange, with the English already in possession of all Louisiana east of the Mississippi, closed forever the dominion of the French in the New World.
CHAPTER VIII.
" A sound like a sound of thunder rolled, And the heart of a nation stirred- For the bell of Freedom at midnight tolled, Through a mighty land was heard, * *
* * It was heard by the fettered and the brave- It was heard in the cottage, and in the hall- And its chime gave a glorious summons to all." WM. ROSS WALLACE.
The struggle for Independence-Causes that led to the Revolution-The men of '76- Triumph over old conditions-Final treaty of peace-Foreshadowings of former ages realized in the founding of the New Republic.
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S the great earth upon which we live swings with a lighter air in its orbit as the many inharmonious conditions and the great forests upon its surface are cleared away and reduced to ashes by the necessities of improvement, so the advancing tide of human civilization brings to the circumambient air of human relations a less rarefied and more brilliant atmosphere of intellectual strength and love of Freedom.
But the great soul of nature is never still-never ceases to act, to push forward, as with some imponderable impulse, to work out and develop a great and beautiful Future; and scarcely had the French and Indian war of 1759 and 1760 ceased its action, when the colonial settlements of the New World began to exhibit a spirit of dissatisfaction, produced by the acts of the English par- liament, and King, that foreshadowed in the (then) not far distant future a momentous and long-protracted struggle; and the heroic James Otis, then advocate-general of the province of Massachusetts, replying to Gridley, advocate for the crown, readily gave new strength and vigor to the foreshadowing. Said he, with great em- phasis, on the occasion in question : " To my dying day, I will op- pose, with all the power and faculties God has given me, all such instruments (Writs of Assistance for the collection of revenue from the colonists) of slavery on one hand, and villainy on the other."
The same formidable power, with colonial aid, that had crushed
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BEGINNING OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
and despoiled the French in Canada, and, for a time, mainly sub- dued the Indians of the northwest, had now (1761) begun to pre- sent a rigorous front towards the colonists ; and though this point, a few years subsequent to the formidable effort of Pontiac, against the English, had remained in comparative quiet, in so far, at least, as the historic accounts run, yet, as step by step the struggle for Independence continued, and at length the strengthened voice of civilization on the new continent, echoing along the ridges of the Alleghanies and through the massive gloom of forest towards the setting sun, startling the little English garrisons at Detroit and other points into momentary activity, and awakening again the aboriginal tribes to a new consideration of their future, this again readily became a point of the greatest importance in both a civil and military point of view ; and dearly was it bought by the efforts of the American army, as will be seen in subsequent pages.
The first struggle on the new continent had readily scattered the seed that was to bring forth a second, a third, and a fourth revolu- tion. And, as the accelerated action of the globe becomes less com- motionate and easier in its rotative movement, as the refining pro- cess of its surface advances, and its internal heat and compressed air are reduced and evolved through volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and fissury expansion, so the new colonial settlements were des- tined only to enjoy a wider range of social and governmental Free- dom in proportion as they removed the barriers of the forest, and became earnest, efficient, and resolute in action against the further aggression and power of the British Crown on the new continent ; and, as this germ of glorious determination and advancement in the establishment of free institutions seemed only destined to ex- pand to a fair expression of vital force and activity through the ag- gressive movements of the English Government; so the latter be- gan to exercise an undue control over the colonies of the New World, by a gradual disturbance, in various ways, of their colonial relations-at one time interfering with the charter of Connecticut ; at another, levying heavy duties upon certain articles of importa- tion into America ; and the adoption, soon after, of strenuous meas- ures for the collection thereof-insisting that the colonists should defray the expenses of the French andIndian war, upon the ground that it had been waged in defence of the colonies.
Intense discord and excitement rapidly arose among the colon- ists. The people gathered at different points. Declamation met declamation. Protest followed protest; and the agitation was still increased by the passage of the famous "Stamp Act," by the English Parliament of 1765, which imposed heavy stamp duties upon all newspapers, almanacs, bonds, notes, etc., issued in Amer- ica. And again determination followed determination. Resis- tance became universal and uncontrollable. The spirit of Free- dom had found a place in every true colonial heart ; and resistence, even to the sword and bayonet, if need be, became at length a fixed
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HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
and unalterable determination throughout the colonies. Patrick Henry, amid the cries of " Treason !" " Treason !? in the House of Burgesses, in Virginia, thrilled the masses with a magnetic fire of determination that gave new impetus to colonial resentment. And "treason !" " treason !"-as the yellow leaf of autumn, fluttering for a moment upon the passing breeze, falls gently to the earth, was as soon drowned by the eloquent voice of Henry; and "give me liberty, or give me death !" rapidly arose upon the tumultuous air of the colonial settlements.
English soldiers soon making their appearance in Boston, (Sept. 27, 1768,) harsh treatment and imperious demands soon awakened resentment. A collision between the citizens and soldiers, in which three Americans were killed, was the result. Determining neither to use, nor to pay tax upon tea, three ships laden with this article, arriving in Boston harbor, were boarded at night by a party of disguised Bostonians, and the tea was hurled into the water.
Parliament still sternly demanding to be regarded in her claims, and finding it out of the question either to bribe or buy the patriotic colonists, soon began more strenuous measures of control. The colonists rapidly formed into bodies of militia. "Minute men," ready for action at a moment's notice, sprang up at every hand. The English Parliament had declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion, and more troops came over. "Boston Neck" was fortified by the English, and the Patriots, concealing their can- nons in loads of manure, and their ammunition and cartridges in market baskets and candle-boxes, gradually passed the guards to a point beyond Boston, unmolested. Concord, N. H., became a prominent point, whither the patriots gathered their stores and ammunition, etc. General Gage, then commanding the English forces, thought to route the colonists from this point, and one night secretly dispatched an army of eight hundred men towards Con- cord for the purpose. The Patriots heard of their coming. The bells of the place were rung; guns were fired, and the minute men were in arms. "Disperse, ye rebels," cried Gage, confronting the colonists and discharging his horse-pistols. The English soldiery followed with a discharge of musketry. A number fell on the colonial side, and, giving way, the British passed on to Concord. A few hours later, the English, starting on their return to Boston, the colonists having gathered in large numbers from different points, and posted themselves behind barns, trees, houses, and fences, opened a terrible fire upon them from every side, and before reach- ing Boston, the former were well-nigh destroyed.
The first blood was now spilled, and the account of the battle of Lexington aroused, at every point, the whole colonial population of America. "The farmer left his plow, and the mechanic his work-shop. Even old men and boys," says the records, " hastened to arm themselves"-the wife girding " the sword about her hus- band; " the mother blessing her son, and bidding him " go strike
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THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
a blow for his country." The colonists were ripe for the struggle, A new era was to dawn upon the world ; and Freedom was destined to triumph.
As demand calls for supply ; as necessities superinduce and de- velope the requisites of any great movement, so there soon ap- peared upon the colonial stage a Franklin, a Washington, a Jay, a Jefferson, a Hancock, an Adams, a Monroc, a Randolph, a Thompson, a Lee, an Otis, a Wayne, a Henry, a Hamilton, a Knox. a Clinton, a Mifflin, a Pickens, a Morgan, a Green, a Morris, a Lin- coln, a Marion, a Sumpter, a Tarleton, a Sullivan, a Jones, a Hop- kins, a Rutledge, a Gates, a Putnam, a Trumbull, a Wm. Washing- ton, a Bainbridge, a Schuyler, a Warren, etc.
Ticonderoga, had now, (May 10th, 1765,) fallen into the hands of the Americans ; the Continential Congress, for the second time, was in session at Philadelphia ; GEORGE WASHINGTON became com- mander-in-chief of the colonial army ; great quantities of paper currency were issued ; the great battle of Bunker Hill was soon fought; and the war for American Independence had begun with an earnestness and determination only equalled by the glorious spirit that gave birth and impetus to the struggle.
At length the 4th of July, 1776, came. The Continental Con- gress had received, considered, and, on this hallowed and ever- memorable day, adopted a DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. The great old bell of Independence Hall soon rang ont upon the still air the glorious consummation ; and every where the heart of the colonist thrilled with joy. In the midst of discord, and under heavy travail, the new continent had given birth to a rare and beautiful child of Freedom and Progress, destined to live and be- come more glorious, happy, free, and beautiful as time rolled on.
As before this eventful and happy hour,-with now a victory ; now retreat and momentary defeat ; now suffering with cold and hunger ; annon encountering the savages of the forest, pushed on by British influence, for seven years the war continued ; during which period, the American forces had been joined by many brave and patriotic men from the Old World, whose souls had caught the spirit of the hour, and whose great love of Freedom brought them to the rescue of the struggling cause on the new continent; amoug whom were Lafayette, Kosciusko, De Kalb, Pulaski, Baron Sten- ben, and France herself, but a few years before defeated by the British in Canada, and at other points, also became an ally of the Americans, and rendered valuable aid in the cause of Freedom.
Effecting a final treaty of peace with the British September 3, 1783; and from that time forward rapidly gaining strength and recovering from the great pressure so long hanging over them, on the 4th of March the old Continental Congress ceased to be, and the main elements of the present FEDERAL CONSTITUTION, under which our Republic has for so many years existed, and, under every adversity, maintained its primitive spirit of independence, became
,
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HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
the organic basis of the new governmental superstructure of America. A glorious era in the World's History had now begun.
A month and two days later, (April 6th, 1789,) by the unani- mous voice of the electors, the surveyor, the hero, and the sol- dier; the statesman and the philanthropist; the lover of Truth and Goodness ; the successful leader of the colonial army, and the man of Progress in Governmental Freedom " and the pursuit of HAPPI- NESS"-GEORGE WASHINGTON, of Virginia, became first President, and the good and patriotic JOHN ADAMS, of Massachusetts, first Vice-President of the United States.
The beautiful germ of the Ideal Republic of Plato, cast upon the soil of the World's necessities more than two thousand years before ; the great principles of civil and religious liberty, involv- ing at once " the inalienable rights of man " and the fundamental truths and necessities of continued progression in all that pertained to his welfare in mental and physical growth, as the only safe and sure road to ultimate happiness and good government, seen, acknowledged, and declared years prior to the departure of Col- umbus on his great voyage of discovery ; and which " had shaken thrones and overturned dynasties " long before the regicidal fate of Charles the First, had now, within the wild domain of the New World, begun to bear their first fruits, and to give promise of a continued and still more glorious fruitage in the years to come.
CHAPTER IX.
" Where are the hardy yeomen Who battled for this land, And trode these hoar old forests, A brave and gallant bard ? * * *
* They knew no dread of danger, When rose the Indian's yell ; Right gallantly they struggled, Right gallantly they fell."-CHARLES A. JONES.
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Peaceful attitude of affairs at the close of the great council at Oswego-A desire for more room-Movements of small parties westward-How they lived-Their dis- like of extensive settlements-The English colonists-Habits and vicissitudes of the early pioneers-Their appearance, houses, furniture, etc .- "Tomahawk rights" -- The cabins often too "eluss"-Dangers and hardships-Efforts of Patrick Henry-Appointment of George Rogers Clark-His movement down the Ohio- Reaches Lonisville, Ky .- Starts for Kaskaskia-Takes the place by storm -- The " Long Knives"-The stratagem-Fright of the villagers-Father Gibault and others visit Clark-The inhabitants permitted to attend church-Expect to be separated -- Revisit of Father Gibault and party-Clark's response-Joy of the villagers-An expedition against Cahokia-Capture of that place and Vineennes -Appointments by Clark-" Big Door "-A "talk "-Big Door declares for the Long Knives -- Clark organizes a company of French-Moves against the Indians -Brings them to terms-His movements reach the English at Detroit-Hamilton, the English Governor, moves against Vineennes, with a view to re-capture the lost posts-Vincennes retaken by the British-Clark hears of the event, and soon captures the fort again-Hamilton and others sent to Virginia-No further troubles from the English-La Balme's expedition to this point-Flight of the In- dians-La Balme withdraws-Pursued by the Indians, under Little Turtle, and the whole party destroyed.
G T THE CLOSE of the great treaty of Sir William Johnson with the different tribes of the north-west, at Oswego, in the spring of 1766, at which Pontiac himself appeared and con- cluded a final reconciliation in behalf of all the tribes formerly banded under his leadership, it was generally thought by the colonists and those settlements along the Alleghenies and at other points westward, that further danger from the tribes was at an end. The English flag was now waving over all the posts from Niagara to the Mississippi ; and while the settlements along the borders* and beyond were yet sparse and scattering, there arose a strong * Which, at that period, extended but little westward of the Alleghany mountains.
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HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
desire for more room among the settlers, and hundreds of resolute men were soon on the march seeking new homes in the wilderness of the west. After so much warfare, the peaceful quietudes of the border and more easterly settlements were more than they could abide, and the wild scenes of the distant forest afforded a fair in- terchange for the former excitement and vicissitudes of war:
Starting out in small parties, the adventurous settlers would move westward far interiorward, then separating, they would trav- erse large extents of country, and at length, each selecting a site for himself, would settle down in the primeval forest, far from any scenes of civilization or civilized associates, and living much like the Indians, they soon became as reckless and indifferent as the inost savage of the red men around them. It is related of those early times that one of those pioneer settlers left his clearing and started for the forests of the west, for, the reason that another had settled so near to him that he could hear the report of his rifle ; while yet another, seeing from the Valley of his location, smoke curling in the distance, is said to have gone fifteen miles to dis- cover its emanation, and finding new-comers there, " quit the coun- try in disgust." More " elbow-room" was wanted. Such were at least some of the extreme expressions of the time.
The English colonists were hardy, daring, self-reliant men. Un- like former periods in the old world, when one nation was often suddenly overrun by another, both in their military and migratory movements, they pushed gradually forward ; and while many were destroyed, they yet, on the one hand, succeeded in reducing the Indians to a state of submission, through fear of extermination, while, on the other, the pioneer, relying entirely on his own bravery and prowess, with what aid each could render the other, in times of attack upon the settlements, &c., long held possession of a large region of country, and thus aided in laying the basic structure of future greatness. Long accustomed to the exposure and the vicis- situdes of a life on the frontier and in the wilderness, it is not sur- prising that these hardy men became daring and implacable, often restless for the achievement of some momentary victory or re- venge. -
Adventurous men now soon began to crowd upon the Indians ; their lands were being overrun by the colonists ; and while the Indians were disposed to present, for the most part, a friendly front towards the British, they yet cut down the settlers, and, through the Eng- lish, readily made war upon the colonial settlements during the Revolution. Born and bred amid scenes of hardship, these early pioneers were naturally hardy and active, often caring but little for the common comforts of life or the roughest weather. "Wild as untamed nature, they could scream with the panther, howl with the wolf, whoop with the Indian, and fight all creation." It is re- lated of one of these strangely rough adventurers in the history of the west, that, having " been tomahawked, and his scalp started,
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. EARLY PIONEERS-THEIR HABITS, APPEARANCE, ETC.
he might yet be killed sometime, as the lightning had tried him on once, and would have done the business up for him, if he hadn't dodged." Constantly associating with the Indians, many of them not only became demi-savage in appearance, but "frequently as- sumed the whole savage character;"
A little description of their appearance, ordinary costumes, hab- its of life, houses, etc., will be of interest to the present generation. A coonskin cap, with the tail dangling at the back of the neck, and the snout drooping upon the forehead ; long buckskin leggins, sewed with a wide, fringed welt, down the outside of the legs; a long, narrow strip of coarse cloth, passing around the hips and be- tween the thighs, was brought up before and behind under the belt, and hung down flapping as they walked; a loose deerskin frock, open in front, and lapping once and a half round the body, was belted at the middle, forming convenient wallets on each side for chunks of hoecake, tow, jerked venison, screw-driver, and other fixings ; and a pair of Indian moccasins completed the primi- tive hunter's most unique apparel. Over the whole was slung a bullet-pouch and powder-horn. From behind the left hip dangled a scalping-knife ; from the right protruded the handle of a hatchet ; both weapons stuck in leathern cases. Every hunter carried an awl, a roll ot buckshin, and strings of hide, called "whangs," for thread. In the winter loose deer-hair was stuffed into the mocca- sins to keep the feet warm. The pioneers lived in rude log-houses, covered, generally, with pieces of timber, about three feet in length and six inches in width, called " shakes," and laid over the roof instead of shingles. They had neither nails, glass, saws; nor brick. The houses had huge slab doors, pinned together with wooden pins. The light came down the chimney, or through a hole in the logs, covered with a greased cloth. A seraggy hemlock sap- ling, the knots left a foot long, served for a stairway to the upper story. Their furniture consisted of tamarack bedsteads, framed into the walls, and a few shelves supported on long wooden pins ; sometimes a chair or two, but more often, a piece split off a tree, and so trimmed, that the branches served for legs. Their utensils were very simple; generally nothing but a skillet, which served for baking, boiling, roasting, washing dishes, making mush, scald- ing turkeys, cooking sassafras tea, and making soap. A Johny- cake board, instead of a dripping-pan, hung on a peg in every house. The corn was cracked into s coarse meal, by pounding it in a wooden mortar. As soon as swine could be kept away from the bears, or, rather, the bears away from them, the pioneers in- dulged in a dish of pork and corn, boiled together, and known among them as " hog and hominy." Fried pork they called " Old Ned."*
Quite the opposite of the early French settlers, who formed themselves into small communities, and tended their fields in com- "" States and Territories of the Great. West," pages 142. 143, 144, 145.
1
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HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
mon, the yankee pioneer "went the whole length for individual property,"'each settler claiming for himself three hundred acres of land, and the privilege of taking a thousand more, contiguous to his clearing ; each running out his own lines for himself, chipping the bark off the trees, and cutting his name in the wood ; which claims, thus loosely asserted, were then called " tomahawk rights," and were readily regarded by each emigrant. The first work that claimed the attention of the settler was that of felling the trees about him in order to make an opening and to prepare his house- logs, for the erection of a cabin, "sleeping, meanwhile, under a bark cover, raised on crotches, or under a tree." A story is related of one of these pioneers, that, after the completion of his cabin, " he could hardly stomach it." The logs were unchinked, the door- way open, the chimney gaping widely above him, but he com- plained that the air was yet too " cluss," and that he was compelled to sleep ontside for a night or so in order " to get used to it."
Such, runs the record, "were the people, and such their modes of living, that began to spread themselves throughout the west, between the close of Pontiac's war and the commencement of the Revolution. Then, when that struggle came on, new difficulties gathered thickly around the scattered settlements. The reduction of the wilderness was a huge task of itself, even with every encour- agement, and without opposition of any sort. But the Anglo Saxon seemed to have had everything arrayed against him. Not only the forest, and the wild beasts, and untold privations, stood in the way of his progress, but the French first tried to crowd him out ; then the Indians sought to kill him; and, lastly, the British turned against their own flesh and blood, and bribed the savages to take his life. While the armies of England were roving over and wast- ing the whole Atlantic coast, from Massachusetts to Georgia, the British Governor at Detroit, and his agents at the forts on the Wa- bash, and Maumee rivers, (including the fort at this point,) and at Kaskaskia, were busily engaged in inciting the Indians to deeds of rapine and murder on the western frontier. The terrible scenes of the old French war, and of Pontiac's war, were often re-enacted. The pioneers, however, were a different class of men from those who had previously suffered in Virginia and Pennsylvania, and who frequently precipitately fled from their burning dwellings. There was an iron will and temper in these later settlers that pre- sented a front far different from those who, some years before, had fled before the combined forces of the savages and French. Not waiting to be smoked or burnt out, or have their skulls opened with the tomahawk; their throats cnt or scalps taken, the yankee pio- neers met their assailants and took a ready hand in the game of fight; and no sooner was it understood that the British were en- gaged in inciting the Indians against the American settlers, than it was resolved to push the war into the very forest itself-to the very threshold of the enemy. Patrick Henry, then Governor of Vir-
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