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 24
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Having received, through what he believed a reliable source, certain facts regarding the conduct of Tecumseh and the Prophet in an effort to ineite the Indians against the settlements of the west ; and that those who had previously left the ranks of the Prophet had again returned to his support ; and further, that the British had their agents quietly at work among the tribes thus banded ; that the Indians were boasting to American traders that they were getting their ammunition-powder and balls-without cost; Gov. Harrison, through instructions from the Secretary of War, in July, 1810, be- . gan at once to prepare for the better safety of the frontier settle- ments.
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CHAPTER XIV.
" At length Discord, the Fury, came, Waving her murderous torch of flame, And kindled that intestine fire,
* * * * * Which, like the lightning-flame burns on, More fierce for being rained upon."
Further movements of Tecumseh and the Prophet-The "Doomed Warrior "-Letter of Gov. Harrison-Death of Tarhe-Discovery of the plot to massacre Fort Wayne, &c .- Efforts of Tecumseh to obtain the aid of the tribes along the Mississippi-In- fluence of British agents-Agents are dispatched to Tecumseh and the Prophet- The Prophet complains that the Indians had been cheated-Gov. Harrison writes to the Secretary of War-He also sends an address to Tecumseh and the Prophet- Tecumseh's visit to Vincennes-The conference-Eloquence of Tecumseh-His contempt for the proffer of the government-Personal appearance of Tecumseh- His objections to the treaty of Fort Wayne-Sends wampum belts to the different tribes-Gov. Harrison's address to the legislature-Statement of a Kickapoo chief -Assurances of the Gov. of Missouri-Seizure of salt by the Prophet-Governor Harrison demands further aid from the government-Vincennes to be the first place of attaek-Tecumseh again visits Gov. Harrison -- His departure for the South- His efforts among the Creek Indians-His return north ward-His charges to the Prophet-alarm of the settlers-Arrival of aid-Gov. Harrison determins to bring matters to a crisis-Peaceful protestations of the Prophet-Gov. Harrison grows inore determined-Prepares for a march upon the Prophet's town-The army met by a deputation from the Prophet-A conference agreed upon-The army en- camps for the night-An attack expected-The night dark and clondy-Indians on the alert-Discovered by the sentry-An attack-The Prophet tells the Indians the bullets of the white men will not hurt them -- Fierce struggle -- Indians routed- The battle of Tippecanoe a success for the American arms-Anger of Tecumseh- He visits Fort Wayne ; and the Prophet retires to the Missessinewa.
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S THE summer of 1810 advanced it became more and more evident to Gov. Harrison that the true purposes of Tecumseh and the Prophet were war upon the whites. Having accused a Wyandott chief, by the name of Leatherlips, known as the " Doomed Warrior," with witchcraft, it was thought that the Prophet and Tecumseh were instrumental in his subsequent mur- der ; though it was asserted by a Mr. Thatcher that a Wyandott chief, of the Porcupine clan, known as Tarhe or Crane, was the principal agent in the deed. But Gov. Harrison, in a letter ad- dressed to the editor of the "Hesperian," 1838, said of Tarhe : "I have often said I never knew a better man, and am confident he
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HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
would not have been concerned in such a transaction as is ascribed to him. In support of this opinion I offer the following reasons : The execution of the ' Doomed Wyandott Chief' is attributed, and no doubt correctly, to the Shawnee Prophet and his brother Tecum- seh. To my knowledge, Tarhe was always the opponent of these men, and could not have been their agent in the matter. The ac- . ensation of witchcraft was brought by these Shawnee brothers, and the accused were exclusively those who were friendly to the United States, and who had been parties to treaties by which the Indian titles to lands had been extinguished. In both these respects, Tarhe bad rendered himself obnoxious to the former. Tarhe was not only the Grand Sachem of his tribe, but the acknowledged head of all the tribes who were engaged in the war with the United States, which was terminated by the treaty of Greenville; and in that character the duplicate of the original treaty, engrossed on parchment, was committed to his custody, as had been the grand calumet which was the symbol of peace. Tarhe united with his friend, Black-Hoof, the head chief of the Shawnees, in denying the rank of chief either to the Prophet or Tecumseh ; and, of course, he would not have received it of them. If the 'Doomed Warrior ' had been snetenced by a council of his own nation, Tarhe would not have directed the execution, but, as was invariably the custom, it would have been committed to one of the war-chiefs. The party sent to put the old chief to death, no doubt, came immediately from Tippecanoe ; and if it was commanded by a Wyandot, the proba- bility is that it was Round-Head, who was a Captain of the band of Wyandots who resided with the Prophet, and was, to a great extent, under his influence."
Rev. J. B. Finley, a missionary to the tribe of Tarhe, and for some years most intimately acquainted with Tarhe, said that Mr. Thatcher and his informant were wholly mistaken in the conclusions regard- ing the accusation against Tarhe ; and added that a better and truer Indian than he never lived.
Finding the " Doomed Warrior " at his home, some twelve miles north of Columbus, he was made acquainted with the sentence passed upon him, and calmly prepareu to meet the fate which he felt inevitable. A number of white men present, sought to inter- fere in his behalf, but without success; and when the fatal hour came, he is said to have " turned from his wigwam, and, with a voice of surpassing strength and melody, commenced the chant of his death-song. He was followed slowly by the Wyandott warriors, all timing, with their slow and measured march, the music of his wild and melancholy dirge. The whites were likewise all silent followers in that strange procession."
Having been led to his own grave, he knelt calmly, resolutely down, and offered a prayer to the Great Spirit, at the conclusion of which, still in a kneeling posture, one of the Wyandotts gave him a heavy blow upon the head with a tomahawk, breaking his skull.
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MOVEMENTS OF TECUMSEH AND THE PROPHET-BRITISH AID.
After a few moments more, ceasing to stir, the unfortunate victim of the Shawanoe conspirators and revolutioners, with all his ap- parel and decorations, was consigned to the earth and hidden from view.
A few weeks later, and Gov. Harrison was made acquainted with a plot that was maturing for the surprise and massacre of Fort Wayne, Detroit, Chicago, Vincennes, and St. Louis. Tecumseh and the Prophet were moving as with the slow bat sure action of a volcanoe; and the internal heat of their efforts was continually made the more apparent by the rising cinders cast up in the endeavor here and there secretly to draw the different tribes of the west and south within their circle, and by other means, equally wily and sereptitious, to bring their plans to bear for the overthrow of the whites of the northwest.
At the conclusion of the struggle for Independence, the opinion is said to have prevailed with many in England that the American colonies were not wholly lost to the mother country ; and the hope was entertained by such, that, at some favorable hour the English government would be able to regain its former hold npon the coun- try ; in which anticipations, it was thought the British Ministry most earnestly and hopefully united. From anticipations and de- sires of this nature, together with the discomfiture felt at the failure of their arms, may have arisen the many hostile acts of interferance on the part of English agents, commandants, and others in their employ along the interior frontiers of the northwest, and also the bestowal of frequent large supplies of ammunition upon the various tribes within range of the Canadas.
After the discovery of the plot to massacre the forts, it was as- certained that strong efforts were being made to persuade the tribes along the Mississippi to unite with Tecumseh and the Prophet in their efforts, but up to the period in question, had met with no great degree of success ; while the most influential chiefs among the Dela- wares, Miamies, and Shawanoes were much opposed to the reck- less schemes and efforts of Tecumseh and the Prophet. Besides these facts, about this period, Governor Harrison- learned from a friendly Indian that a British agent had recently visited the Prophet, who had encouraged the latter to continue in his efforts to unite the tribes, and to await a signal from the British authorities before carrying out their designs against the Americans.
Finding now that the most constant watchfulness was necessary, and being determined to obtain all the information possible regard- ing their plans, Governor Harrison dispatched two agents to Te- cumseh and his brother with a view of ascertaining more fully and certainly, if possible, their real designs and plans. Receiving the agents very courteously, in reply to the inquiries made, the Prophet told the agents that the assembling of the Indians upon that spot was by the explicit command of the Great Spirit.
Having heard the Prophet, the agents told him that his move-
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HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
ments had excited so much alarm that the troops of Kentucky and Indiana were being called out, and strong preparations were being made in anticipation of trouble with the tribes.
In answer to the questions of the agents as to the cause of his complaints against the United States, the Prophet replied that his people had been cheated of their lands. Insisting that his com- plaints would readily be listened to by laying them before Gov. Harrison, at Vincennes, the Prophet refused to go, saying that, while there, upon a former occasion, he was badly treated.
Receiving this information, the Governor at once wrote to the Secretary, stating the cause, and telling him that all this caviling was merely a pretext on the part of Tecumseh and the Prophet to gather strength in the furtherance of their designs ; that he had been as liberal in the conclusion of treaties as his understanding of the views and opinions of the government would permit, and that none of the tribes had just cause for complaint.
Having heard, in the month of July, that the Sacs and Foxes had formed an alliance with the Prophet, and were ready and willing to strike the Americans at any time, Governor Harrison set about the preparation of the following address, which he forwarded to the Prophet by a confidential interpreter :
" William Henry Harrison, Governor and Commander-in-chief of the Territory of Indiana, to the Shawanoc chief and the Indians as- sembled at Tippecanoe:
" Nothwithstanding the improper language which you have used toward me, I will endeavor to open your eyes to your true interests. Notwithstanding what bad white men have told you, I am not your personal enemy. You ought to know this from the manner in which I received and treated you on your visit to this place.
" Although I must say, that you are an enemy to the Seventeen Fires, and that you have used the greatest exertions with other tribes to lead them astray. In this, you have been in some measure suc- cessful ; as I am told they are ready to raise the tomahawk against their father ; yet their father, notwithstanding his anger at their folly, is full of goodness, and is always ready to receive into his arms those of his children who are willing to repent, acknowledge their fault, and ask for his forgiveness.
" There is yet but little harm done, which may easily be repaired. The chain of friendship which united the whites with the Indians may be renewed, and be as strong as ever. A great deal of that work depends upon you-the destiny of those who are under you, depends upon the choice you may make of the two roads which are before you. The one is laige, open and pleasant, and leads to peace, security and happiness ; the other, on the contrary, is narrow and crooked, and leads to misery and ruin. Don't deceive yourselves ; do not believe that all the nations of Indians united are able to re- sist the force of the Seventeen Fires. I know your warriors are brave, but ours are not less so ; but what can a few brave warriors
185
TECUMSEH'S VISIT TO VINCENNES.
do against the innumerable warriors of the Seventeen Fires? Our blue-coats are more numerous than you can count ; our hunters are like. the leaves of the forest, or the grains of sand on the Wabash.
" Do not think that the red-coats can protect you; they are not able to protect themselves. They do not think of going to war with us. If they did, you would, in a few months, see our fiag wave over all the forts of Canada.
" What reason have you to complain of the Seventeen Fires? Have they taken any thing from you? Have they ever violated the treat- ies made with the red-men? You say that they have purchased lands from them who had no right to sell them: show that this is true, and the land will be instantly restored. Show us the rightful owners of those lands which have been purchased-let them pre- sent themselves. The ears of your father will be opened to your complaints, and if the lands have been purchased of those who did not own them, they will be restored to their rightful owners. I have full power to arrange this business ; but if you would rather carry your complaints before your great father, the President, you shall be indulged. I will immediately take means to send you, with those chiefs which you may choose, to the city where your father lives. Every thing necessary shall be prepared for your journey, and means taken for your safe return."
After hearing this speech, the Prophet told the interpreter that, as his brother intended to pay Governor Harrison a visit in a few weeks, he would let him carry the reply to the Governor's message. Receiving this information, Governor Harrison sent a message to Tecumseh, requesting him to bring but a small body of his follow- ers, as it was inconvenient for him to receive many; to which 'Te- cumseh paid little or no regard, and on the 12th of August, 1810, with four hundred warriors, all armed with tomahawks, war-clubs, and "painted in the most terrific manner," he began to descend the Wabash for Vincennes. Arriving near Vincennes, and encamping on the Wabash, on the morning of the 15th, attended by about fif- teen or twenty of his warriors, Tecumseh approached the house of the Governor, who, in company with the judges of the Supreme Court, several army officers, a sergeant and a dozen men, besides a large number of citizens, waited upon the portico of his own house to receive the chief and his followers .*
During the milder season of the year, to hold a council other than in a grove or woody place, with logs or a clear, grassy spot of ground to set upon, was to invite the Indian to do an act very much to his distaste; and to the invitation to come forward and take seats upon the portico, he objected, signifying that it was not a fit place to hold a council, and expressed a desire that the meeting might be held beneath a grove of trees near, which was readily as- sented to, and soon the Governor, with his attendants was seated be- neath a grove of trees in the open lawn, before the house.
* Ellis' Life of Tecumseh.
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HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
" With a firm and elastic step," says Judge Law,* and "with a prond and somewhat defiant look, he advanced to the place where the Governor and those who had been invited to attend the confer- ance were sitting. This place had been fenced in, with a view of preventing the crowd from encroaching upon the council during its deliberations. As he stepped forward, he seemed to scan the pre- parations which had been made for his reception, particularly the military part of it, with an eye of suspicion-by no means, how- ever, with fear. As he came in front of the dias, an elevated por- tion of the place upon which the Governor and the officers of the Territory were seated, the Governor invited him, through the inter- preter, to come forward and take a seat with him and his counsellors, premising the invitation by saying: That it was the wish of their 'GREAT FATHER,' the President of the United States, that he should do so." Pausing for a moment, at the utterance of these words by the interpreter, and extending his tall figure to its greatest height, he looked scanningly upon the troops and then upon the crowd about him. Thus, for a moment, with keen, piercing eyes fixed upon Governor Harrison, and then upward to the sky, and " his sin- ewy arm pointing towards the heaven," with a tone and gesture ex- pressive of " supreme contempt for the paternity assigned him," in a clear, loud, full voice, which reverberated again upon the mo- mentary stillness that his stolid demeanor had produced, with all eyes fixed upon him, he exclaimed :
" My Father ?- The sun is my father-the earth is my mother- and on her bosom I will recline." Having finished, says Judge Law, he stretched himself with his warriors on the green sward ; and the effect is said to have been electrical-for some moments there was a perfect silence throughout the assembly.
Governor Harrison having now begun to refer to the subject of the council, said to Tecumseh, through the interpreter, " that he had understood he had complaints to make, and redress to ask for cer- tain wrongs which he, Tecumseh, supposed had been done his tribe, as well as the others ; that he felt disposed to listen to the one, and make satisfaction for the other, if it was proper he should do so. That in all his intercourse and negotiations with the Indians, he had endeavored to act justly and honorably with them, and believed he had done so, and had heard of no complaint of his conduct until he learned that Tecumseh was endeavoring to create dissatisfaction towards the Government, not only among the Shawanoes, but among the other tribes dwelling on the Wabash and Illinois; and had, in so doing, produced a great deal of mischief and trouble be- tween them and the whites, by averring that the tribes, whose land the Government had lately purchased, had no right ro sell, nor their chiefs any authority to convey. That he, the Governor, had invited him to attend the Council, with a view of learning from his own lips, whether there was any truth in the reports which he had heard *Judge Law's Address, page 83.
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TECUNSER'S OBJECTIONS TO THE TREATY OF FORT WAYNE. 187
and to learn from himself whether he, or his tribe, had any cause of complaint against the whites ; and if so, as a man and a warrior, openly and boldly to avow it. That, as between himself and as great a warrior as Tecumseh, there should be no concealment-all should be done by them under a clear sky, and in an open path, and with these feelings on his own part, he was glad to meet him in council."
In appearance, Tecumseh was accounted " one of the most splen- did specimens of his tribe-celebrated for their physical propor- tions and fine forms, even among the nations surrounding the Shaw- anoes. Tall, athletic, and manly, dignified but graceful, he seemed the beau ideal of an Indian chieftain. In a voice, at first low, but with all its indistinctness,"* Tecumseh replied by " stating, at length, his objections to the treaty of Fort Wayne, made by Gov. Harrison in the previous year; and in the course of of his speech," says Ben- jamin Drake, " boldly avowed the principle of his party to be, that of resistance to every cession of land, unless made by all the tribes, who, he contended, formed but one nation. He admitted that he threatened to kill the chiefs who signed the treaty of Fort Wayne; and that it was his fixed determination not to permit the village chiefs, in future, to manage their affairs, but to place the power with which they had been heretofore invested, in the hands of the war- chiefs. The Americans, he said, had driven the Indians from the sea-coast, and would soon push them into the lakes; and, while he disclaimed all intention of making war upon the United States, he declared it to be his unalterable resolution to take a stand, and reso- lutely oppose the further intrusion of the whites upon the Indian lands. He concluded, by making a brief but impassioned recital of the various wrongs and aggressions inflicted upon the Indians by the white men, from the commencement of the Revolutionary war down to the period of that conncil ; all of which was calcula- ted to arouse and influence the minds of such of his followers as were present.
" The Governor rose in reply, and in examining the right of Te- cumseh and his party to make objections to the treaty of Fort Wayne, took occasion to say, that the Indians were not one nation, having a common property in the lands. The Miamis, he contended, were the real owners of the tract on the Wabash, ceded by the late treaty, and the Shawnees had no right to interfere in the case; that upon the arrival of the whites on this continent, they had found the Mi- amis in possession of this land, the Shawnees being then residents of Georgia, from which they had been driven by the Creeks, and that it was ridiculous to assert that the red men constituted but one nation ; for, if such had been the intention of the Great Spirit, he would not have put different tongues in their heads, but have taught them all to speak the same language.
" The Governor having taken his seat, the interpreter commenced * Judge Law's Address, page ≥5.
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HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
explaining the speech to Tecumseh, who, after listening to a por- tion of it, sprung to his feet, and began to speak with great vehem- ence of manner.
" The Governor was surprised at his violent gestures, but as he did not understand him, thought he was making some explanation, and suffered his attention to be drawn toward Winnemac, a friendly Indian lying on the grass before him, who was renewing the prim- ing of his pistol, which he had kept concealed from the other In- dians, but in full view of the Governor. His attention, however, was again attracted toward Tecumseh, by hearing General Gibson, who was intimately acquainted with the Shawnee language, say to Lieutenant Jennings, ' Those fellows intend mischief; you had bet- ter bring up the guard.' At that moment, the followers of Tecum- seh seized their tomahawks and war-clubs, and sprang upon their feet, their eyes turned upon the Governor. As soon as he could disengage himself from the arm-chair in which he sat, he rose, drew a small sword which he had by his side, and stood on the defensive. Captain G. R. Floyd, of the army, who stood near him, drew a dirk, and the chief Winnemac cocked his pistol. The citizens present were more numerous than the Indians, but were unarmed; some of them procured clubs and brick-bats, and also stood on the defen- sive. The Rev. Mr. Winans, of the Methodist church, ran to the Governor's house, got a gun, and posted himself at the door to de- fend the family. During this singular scene, no one spoke, until the guard came running up, and appearing to be in the act of fir- ing, the Governor ordered them not to do so. He then demanded of the interpreter an explanation of what had happened, who re- plied that Tecumseh had interrupted him, declaring that all the Governor had said was false; and that he and the Seventeen Fires had cheated and imposed on the Indians.
" The Governor then told Tecumseh that he was a bad man, and that he would hold no further communication with him ; that as he had come to Vincennes under the protection of a council-fire, he might return in safety, but he must immediately leave the village. Here the council terminated. During the night, two companies of militia were brought in from the country, and that belonging to the town was also embodied. Next morning Tecumseh requsted the Governor to afford him an opportunity of explaining his conduct on the previous day-declaring that he did not intend to attack the Governor, and that he had acted under the advice of some of the white people. The Governor consented to have another interview, it being understood that each party should have the same armed force as on the previous day. On this occasion the deportment of Tecumseh was respectful and dignified. He again denied having any intention to make an attack upon the Governor, and declared that he had been stimulated to the course he had taken, by two white men, who assured him that one half the citizens were op- posed to the Governor, and willing to restore the land in question ;
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CONFERENCE AT VINCENNES.
that the Governor would soon be put out of office, and a good man sent to fill his place, who would give up the land to the Indians. When asked by the Governor whether he intended to resist the sur- vey of these lands, Tecumseh replied that he and his followers were resolutely determined to insist upon the old boundary. When he had taken his seat, chiefs from the Wyandots, Kickapoos, Pottawat- amies, Ottawas and Winnebagoes, spoke in succession, and dis- tinctly avowed that they had entered into the Shawnee confederacy, and were determined to support the principles laid down by their leader. The Governor, in conclusion, stated that he would make known to the President the claims of Tecumseh and his party, to the land in question ; but that he was satisfied the Government would never admit that the lands on the Wabash were the property of any other tribes than those who occupied them when the white people first arrived in America; and, as the title to these lands had been derived by purchase from those tribes, he might rest assured that the right of the United States would be sustained by the sword. Here the council adjourned.
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