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 23
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Hearing, sometime before its occurrence, that an eclipse of the sun was to take place at a certain time, during the year 1806, the Prophet announced to his people that, on a certain day, the sun would hide his face, and the earth be veiled in darkness for a time. Coming to pass, as he had told them, the occurrence of this phe- nomenon had the effect to greatly strengthen his influence again over the tribes. Nothing of special note, however, occurred until the spring of 1807, when it was made known that Tecumseh and * The seventeen States then composing the Union.
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his brother, the Prophet, had assembled several hundred of their people at Greenville, where, through their harangues, they had succeeded in working them up to the highest state of excitement, with a view to make their control the stronger, and to prepare the way for a confederacy of the Indian tribes of the northwest. At these demonstrations, the people of the west became alarmed, and soon began to make strenuous efforts to ascertain the meaning of such movement on the part of Tecumseh and the Prophet, but. without success for a time.
Some time subsequent to the capture of this point by Wayne and the treaty of Greenville, Capt. Wells, with whom the reader is al- ready acquainted, as having bid his old friend, Little Turtle, good bye, and left his old home here to join Wayne's army, then on its march thitherward, received the appointment by the government as Indian agent here, in which capacity he acted for several years after.
Having received a letter from the President, through the Secre- tary of War, addressed to the Indians, and reminding them that they were assembled within the government purchase, and desiring them to remove to some o her point, where the government would render them all the aid they needed in settling anew upon territory not held by the government, Captain Wells sent one Anthony Shane, a half-breed Shawanoe, with a message to Tecumseh, invit- ing the latter, with his brother and two other chiefs, to visit him at Fort Wayne.
. Shane had long been intimately acquainted with the Shawanoes, and they of course knew him well, but seem not to have regarded Shane very highly. Having made known the substance of the communication, Shane was met by Tecumseh with this reply : " Go back," said he, " to Fort Wayne, and tell Captain Wells that my fire is kindled on the spot appointed by the Great Spirit alone ; and if he has anything to communicate to me, he must come here ; and I shall expect him six days from this time."
But Wells did not comply with Tecumseh's request. He sent Shane again, instead, at the appointed time, with the letter of the President, through the Secretary of War, which was readily com- municated to Tecumseh, who was by no means pleased that Wells himself had not complied with his desire in waiting upon him in person. Having delivered an eloquent and glowing speech to the council, he told Shane to return to Captain Wells and tell him he would hold no further communication with him; and further, that if the President of the Seventeen Fires had anything else to say to him, he must send it by a man of more importance than Shane. And thus, instead of dispersing, the Indians continued to assemble at Greenville. Fully fifteen hundred had passed and repassed Fort Wayne, in their visits to the Prophet, before the summer of this year (1807) had fairly set in. Messengers and runners passed from tribe to tribe, and were greatly aided by British agents in carrying
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COMMISSIONERS SENT TO GREENVILLE.
out their plans, which were always carefully concealed from such as were known to be friendly to the United States.
At the close of summer, reliable witnesses bore testimony that about a thousand Indians, in possession of new rifles, were at Fort Wayne and Greenville, all under the control of the Prophet.
The alarm had now become so general, that the governor of Ohio, in the month of September, sent a deputation to Greenville to ascertain the meaning of the movement. Arriving at Greenville, the commissioners were well received by the Indians-a council was called, and the governor's message read to the assemblage; at the close of which, one of the commissioners addressed them in explanation of their relationship to the United States government, urging them to desist from all aggressions and remain neutral, should a war with England ensue. Having heard the commis- sioner attentively, according to Indian usage, they asked to be per- mitted to meditate upon the matter until the next day. In the meantime the famous chief, Blue Jacket, had been appointed to deliver to the commissioners the sentiments of the council; and at its re-assembling, Blue Jacket, through the interpreter, said :
" BRETHREN :- We are seated who heard you yesterday. You will get a true relation, so far as our connections can give it, who are as follows : Shawnees, Wyandots, Pottawatamies, Tawas, Chip- pewas, Winnepaus, Malominese, Malockese, Lecawgoes, and one more from the north of the Chippewas. Brethren, you see all these men sitting before you, who now speak to you.
".About eleven days ago we had a council, at which the tribe of Wyandots, (the elder brother of the red people) spoke and said God had kindled a fire, and all sat around it. . In this council we talked over the treaties with the French and the Americans. The Wyandot said, the French formerly marked a line along the Alle- ghany mountains, southerly, to Charleston, (S. C.) No man was to pass it from either side. When the Americans came to settle over the line, the English told the Indians to unite and drive off the French, until the war came on between the British and the Ameri- cans, when it was told them that king George, by his officers, di- rected them to unite and drive the Americans back.
" After the treaty of peace between the English and the Ameri- cans, the summer before Wayne's army came out, the English held a council with the Indians, and told them if they would turn out and unite as one man, they might surround the Americans like deer in a ring of fire, and destroy them all. The Wyandot spoke further in the council. We see, said he, there is like to be war be- tween the English and our white brethren, the Americans. Let us unite and consider the sufferings we have undergone, from inter- fereing in the wars of the English. They have often promised to help us, and at last, when we could not withstand the army that came against us, and went to the English fort for refuge, the Eng- lish told us, ' I can not let you in ; you are painted too much, my
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children.' It was then we saw the British deal treacherously with us. We now see them going to war again. We do not know what they are going to fight for. Let us, my brethren, not interfere, was the speech of the Wyandot.
"Further, the Wyandot said, I speak to you, my little brother, the Shawanoes at Greenville, and to you our little brothers all around. You appear to be at Greenville to serve the Supreme Ru- ler of the universe. Now send forth your speeches to all our breth- ren far around us, and let us unite to seek for that which shall be for our eternal welfare, and unite ourselves in a band of perpetual brotherhood. These, brethren, are the sentiments of all the men who sit around you ; they all adhere to what the elder brother, the Wyandot, has said, and these are their sentiments. It is not that they are afraid of their white brothers, but that they desire peace and harmony, and not that their white brethren could put them to great necessity, for their former arms were bows and arrows, by which they get their living."
At the conclusion of this speech, the Commissioners made some explanation, whereupon the Prophet, who seemed determined to · make every occasion advance his own importance, took upon him- self the duty of informing the whites why his people had settled upon Greenville.
" About nine years since," said he, "I became convinced of the errors of my ways, and that I would be destroyed from the face of the earth if I did not amend them. Soon after I was told what I must do to be right. From that time I have continually preached to my red brethren, telling them the miserable situation they are in by nature, and striving to convince them that they must change their lives, live honestly and be just in all their dealings, kind to one other and also to their white brethren ; affectionate in their fami- lies, put away lying and slandering, and serve the Great Spirit in the way I have pointed out ; they must never think of war again ; the tomahawk was not given them to go at war with one another. The Shawnees at Tawa town could not listen to me, but persecuted me. This made a division in the nation ; those who adhered to me removed to this place, where I have constantly preached to them. They did not select this place because it looked fine or was valu- able, for it was neither ; but because it was revealed to me that this is the proper place where I must establish my doctrines. I mean to adhere to them while I live, for they are not mine but those of the Great Ruler of the world, and my future life shall prove to the whites the sincerity of my professions. In conclusion, my breth- ren, our six chiefs shall go with you to Chilicothe."
Tecumseh, Roundhead, Blue Jacket and Panther, returned with the Commissioners to Chilicothe, where a conncil was called, and in which they gave the governor positive assurances that they en- tertained none but peaceful intentions toward the whites. A speech which Tecumseh delivered at the time occupied between three and
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ALARM AMONG THE SETTLEMENTS-COUNCIL AT SPRINGFIELD.
four hours in its delivery. It was eloquent and masterly, and showed that he possessed a thorough knowledge of all the treaties which had been made for years. While he expressed his pacific intentions if fairly treated, he told the governor to his face that every aggression or settlement upon their lands would be resisted, and that no pretended treaties would insure the squatter's safety. Stephen Ruddell (who, with Anthony Shane, has given to the world nearly all that has been learned of Tecumseh) acted as interpreter upon the occasion. Other of the chiefs spoke, but Tecumsch, it was evident, was the leader, and every word that he uttered was received with attention and its full importance attached to it.
The council terminated pleasantly, and the governor, convinced that no instant danger was threatened from the gatherings of the Indians at Greenville and Fort Wayne, disbanded the militia which he had called into service. The chiefs returned to their people, and for a short time the settlers were free from alarm and appre- hension .*
Not long after this event the settlements were again thrown into still greater excitement by the murder of a man by the name of Myers, who was killed by the Indians, near where is now the town of Urbana, Ohio; and many of the settlers returned to Kentucky, where they had previously lived, where the alarm arose to such a height as to make it necessary to call into action a large body of militia. Being demanded to deliver up the murderers, Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet, disclaimed any knowledge of them- said they were not of their people. A council being finally held at Springfield, Tecumseh, Blackfish, and other chiefs, with two sepa- rate and distinct parties of Indians, one from the North, the other from Fort Wayne, under Tecumseh, were in attendance. Being embittered against each other, each were quite anxious that the other should receive the blame for the murder. Says Drake, the party from the North, at the request of the Commissioners, left their arms a few miles behind them, but Tecumseh would not consent to attend unless his followers were allowed to keep theirs about them, adding that his tomahawk was his pipe, and he might wish to use it. At this a tall, lank-sided Pensylvanian, who was standing among the spectators, and who, perhaps, had no love for the glittering tomahawk of the self-willed chief, cautiously stepped up, and handed him a greasy, long-stemmed clay pipe, respectfully intima- ting that if he would only deliver up his dreadful tomahawk, he might use that article. The chief took it between his thumb and finger, held it up, looked at it a few seconds, then at the owner, who all the time was gradually backing away from him, and in- stantly threw it, with a contemptuous sneer, over his head into the bushes. The commissioners being compelled to wave the point, the council proceeded ; and the result was, that the murder was an individual affair, sanctioned by neither party-which brought the * Life of Tecumseh.
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council to a close, with a reconciliation of both parties, and to the acceptance of the settlers.
But the air was still rife with trouble. The' protestations of Te- cumseh and the Prophet could not allay the uneasiness of the set- tlements ; and before the end of the fall months of this year, (1807) Governor Harrison sent the following speech, by an Indian agent, to the Shawanoes:
" MY CHILDREN :- Listen to me; I speak in the name of your father, the great chief of the Seventeen Fires.
" My children, it is now twelve years since the tomahawk, which you had seized by the advice of your father, the king of Great Britain, was buried at Greenville, in the presence of that great war- rior, General Wayne.
" My children, you then promised, and the Great Spirit heard it, that you would in future live in peace and friendship with your brothers, the Americans. You made a treaty with your father, and one that contained a number of good things, equally beneficial to all the tribes of the red people, who were parties to it.
" My children, you promised in that treaty to acknowledge no other father than the chief of the Seventeen Fires; and never to listen to the proposition of any foreign nation. You promised never to lift up the tomahawk against any of your father's children, and to give him notice of any other tribe that intended it; your father also promised to do something for you, particulary to deliver to you every year a certain quantity of goods ; to prevent any white man from settling on your lands without your consent, or to do you any personal injury. He promised to run a line between your land and his, so that you might know your own; and you were to be per- mitted to live and hunt upon your father's land, as long as you be- haved yourselves well. My children, which of these articles has your father broken ? You know that he has observed them all with the utmost good faith. But, my children, have you done so ? Have you not always had your ears open to receive bad advice from the white people beyond the lakes ?
" My children, let us look back to times that are past. It has been a long time since you called the king of Great Britain father. You know that it is the duty of a father to watch over his children, to give them good advice, and to do every thing in his power to make them happy. What has this father of yours done for you, during the long time that you have looked up to him for protection and advice? Are you wiser and happier than you were before you knew him, or is your nation stronger or more respectable? No, my children, he took you by the hand when you were a powerful tribe; you held him fast, supposing he was your friend, and he conducted you through paths filled with thorns and briers, which tore your flesh and shed your blood. Your strength was exhausted, and you could no longer follow him. Did he stay by you in your distress, and assist and comfort you? No, he led you into danger and then
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TECUMSEH AND THE PROPHET AT TIPPECANOE.
abandoned you. He saw your blood flowing and he would give you no bandage to tie up your wounds. This was the conduct of the man who called himself your father. The Great Spirit opened your eyes ; you heard the voice of the chief of the Seventeen Fires speaking the words of peace. He called you to follow him; you came to him, and he once more put you on the right way, on the broad, smooth road that would have led to happiness. But the voice of your deceiver is again heard ; and, forgetful of your former sufferings, you are again listening to him. My children, shut your ears and mind him not, or he will lead you to ruin and misery.
" My children, I have heard bad news. The sacred spot where the great council-fire was kindled, around which the Seventeen Fires and ten tribes of their children smoked the pipe of peace- that very spot where the Great Spirit saw his red and white child- ren encircle themselves with the chain of friendship-that place has been selected for dark and bloody councils. My children, this business must be stopped. You have called in a number of men from the most distant tribes, to listen to a fool, who spake not the words of the Great Spirit, but those of the devil, and of the British agents. My children, your conduct has much alarmed the white settlers near you. They desire that you will send away those peo- ple, and if they wish to have the impostor with them, they can carry him. Let him go to the lakes ; he can hear the British more distinctly."
The Prophet's reply was, that evil birds had sung in the Govern- or's ears ; and he denied any correspondence with the British, pro- testing that he had no intentions whatever of disturbing the adjoin- ing settlements. It soon became evident, however, that the assem- blages of the Prophet could not be dispersed without a resort to arms on the part of the government; and Gov. Harrison, strongly disposed to think that no harm was intended by the Indians towards the settlements, let the matter rest, and the assemblages continued, large bodies of Indians coming down from the lakes in the early part of the following year (1808), where, as their supply of provis- ions became reduced or exhausted, they received fresh supplies from Fort Wayne.
But a change of base was contemplated, and the Pottawattamies having granted them a portion of land, Tecumseh and the Prophet, in the spring of this year, removed with the tribe to Tippecanoe, where large bodies were soon collected, and, among other exer- cises, war-like sports became frequent among them. Again the settlements were in a high state of uneasiness, and many were ready to declare that they knew from the first that the Indians were but preparing for the consummation of some treacherous scheme. Many of the Indians among them were from the north. The Miam- ies and Delawares, being friendly to the whites, were greatly op- posed to their coming, and even sent a delegation to the Prophet
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to stop them. But Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet, in re - ceiving them, said they were not to be thwarted in their purposes to ameliorate the condition of their brethren; and the Miami and Delaware delegation returned fully of the belief that the settlements were not without the strongest grounds for the apprehensions they had so long manifested.
August had come. The Prophet, accompanied by several of his followers, had visited Governor Harrison, at Vincennes, protesting, as formerly, that his purposes ivere peaceable. Said he, to Gov. Harrison :
" FATHER :- It is three years since I first began with that system of religion which I now practice. The white people and some of the Indians were against me ; but I had no other intention but to introduce among the Indians, those good principles of religion which the white people profess. I was spoken badly of by the white people, who reproached me with misleading the Indians ; but I defy them to say I did anything amiss.
"Father, I was told that you intended to hang me. When I heard this, I intended to remember it, and tell my father, when I went to see him, and relate the truthi.
" I heard, when I settled on the Wabash, that my father, the Gov- ernor, had declared that all the land between Vincennes and Fort Wayne, was the property of the Seventeen Fires. I also heard that you wanted to know, my father, whether I was God or man; and that you said if I was the former, I should not steal horses. Í heard this from Mr. Wells, but I believed it originated with himself.
" The Great Spirit told me to tell the Indians that he had made them, and made the world-that he had placed them on it to do good and not evil.
" I told all the red-skins, that the way they were in was not good, and that they ought to abandon it.
" That we ought to consider ourselves as one man ; but we ought to live agreeably to our several customs, the red people after their mode, and the white people after theirs ; particularly, that they should not drink whiskey ; that it was not made for them, but the white people, who alone knew how to use it; and that it is the cause of all the mischiefs which the Indians suffer ; and that they must al- ways follow the directions of the Great Spirit, and we must listen to him, as it was He that made us ; determine to listen to nothing that is bad ; do not take up the tomahawk, should it be offered by the British, or by the Long-Knives ; do not meddle with any thing that does not belong to you, but mind your own business, and culti- vate the ground, that your women and your children may have enough to live on.
" I now inform you that it is our intention to live in peace with our father and his people forever.
" My father, I have informed you what we mean to do, and I call the Great Spirit to witness the truth of my declaration. The religion
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which I have established for the last three years, has been attended to by the different tribes of Indians in this part of the world. These Indians were once different people ; they are now but one; they are all determined to practice what I have communicated to them, that has come immediately from the Great Spirit through me.
" Brother, I speak to you as a warrior. You are one. But let us lay aside this character, and attend to the care of our children, that they may live in comfort and peace. We desire that you will join us for the preservation of both red and white people. Formerly, when we lived in ignorance, we were foolish; but now, since we listen to the voice of the Great Spirit, we are happy.
" I have listened to what you have said to us. You have prom- ised to assist us. I now request you, in behalf of all the red peo- ple, to use your exertions to prevent the sale of liquor to us. We are all well pleased to hear you say that you will endeavor to pro- mote our happiness. We give you every assurance that we will follow the dictates of the Great Spirit.
" We are all well pleased with the attention you have showed us ; also with the good intentions of our father, the President. If you give us a few articles, such as needles, flints, hoes, powder, etc., we will take the animals that afford us meat, with powder and ball."
Says Drake, to test the influence of the Prophet over his follow- ers, Gov. Harrison held conversations with and offered them spir- its, but they always refused, and he became almost convinced that he was really sincere in his professions, and had no higher ambi- tion than to ameliorate the condition of his race.
Thus matters rested or rather continned ; and during the follow- ing year Tecumseh and the Prophet sought quietly to add strength to their movement. Both were engaged in a deep game ; and while the Prophet seemed the leading spirit, Tecumseh was yet the prime mover ; and the Prophet attempted but little without first getting the advice of the former, if in reach, though it is evi- dent he was most headstrong in much that he undertook.
In the spring of 1809, reports having reached the ear of Gov. Harrison that many of the Indians were leaving the Prophet be- cause of his persistency in requiring them to become party to a scheme he had in view for the massacre of the inhabitants of Vin- cennes, he began the organization of two companies of volunteer militia, with a view to garrisoning a post some two miles from Vin- cennes. But the Prophet's followers having dispersed before the elose of the summer, the alarm among the settlements became placid again, and so continued until the early part of 1810.
Up to 1809 Governof Harrison continued his efforts in the extin- guishment of Indian claims to lands within the Indiana Territory ; and on the 30th of September of that year conended another treaty at Fort Wayne, in which the chiefs and head men of the Delaware, Pottawattamie, Miami, and Eel River tribes participated. Accord- ing to the report of this treaty, the Indians sold and ceded to the
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United States about two million nine hundred thousand acres of land, principally situated on the southeastern side of the river Wa- bash, and below the mouth of Raccoon Creek, a little stream which empties into the Wabash, near what is now the boundaries of Parke county, in this State. The chiefs and head men of the Wea tribe, in the following month, (26th of October) having met Gov. Harrison at Vincennes, acknowledged the legality of this treaty; and by a treaty held at Vincennes on the 9th of December following, the sachems and war-chiefs of the Kickapoo tribe also confirmed the treaty of Fort Wayne. Up to this time, the whole amount of land ceded to the United States by treaty stipulations between Governor Harrison and the different tribes of the Indiana Territory, accord- ing to the records, was 29,719,530 acres.
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