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 6
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2S
HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
This is a request that our fathers, the French and British, never made us ; it was always ours. This carrying place has heretofore proved, in a great degree, the subsistence of your younger broth- ers. That place has brought to us, in the course of one day, the amount of one hundred dollars. Let us both own this place, and enjoy in common the advantages it affords. You told us, at Chicago, the French possessed a fort: we have never heard of it. We thank you for the trade you promised to open in our country ; and permit us to remark, that we hope our former traders may be continued, and mixed with yours. Elder brother: On the subject of hostages, I have only to observe, that I trust all my brothers are of my opin- ion with regard to peace and our future happiness. I expect to be with you every day when you settle on your reservations ; and it will be impossible for me or my people to withhold from you a single prisoner ; therefore we don't know why any of us should remain here. These are the sentiments of your younger brothers present, on these particulars."
And again, at a council, in the valley of the Muskingum, in 1764, hear the cloquent words of a Shawanoe chief, as he addresses the English commander, Col. Bouquet, then marching against the west- ern tribes:
"Brother," said the chief, "with this belt of wampum, I dispel the black cloud that has so long hung over our heads, that the sunshine of peace may once more descend to warm and gladden us. I wipe the tears from your eyes, and condole with you on the loss of your brethren who have perished in this war. I gather their bones together, and cover them deep in the earth, that the sight of them may no longer bring sorrow to your heart; and I scatter dry leaves over the spot, that it may depart forever from memory.
" The path of peace, which once ran between your dwellings and mine, has of late been choked with thorns, and briars, so that no one could pass that way ; and we have both almost forgotten that such a path had ever been. I now clear away all these obstructions, and make a broad, smooth road, so that you and I may freely visit each other, as our fathers used to do. I kindle a great council-fire whose smoke shall rise to heaven, in view of all the nations, while you and I shall sit together and smoke the peace-pipe at its blaze."*
* An Indian eouneil, on solemn occasions, was always opened with preliminary forms, sufficiently wearisome and tedious, but made indispensible by immemorial custom ; for this people are as much bound by their conventional usages as the most artificial children of civilization. The forms were varied, to some extent, according to the imagination of the speaker; but in all essential respects they were elosely similar. throughout the tribes of the Algonquin and Iroquois lineage. They run somewhat as follows, each sentence being pronounced with great solemnity, and confirmed by the delivery of a wampum belt Brothers, with this belt I open your ears that you may hear-I remove grief and sorrow from your hearts-I draw from your feet the thorns that pierced them as you journeyed thither-I clean the seats of the council-house, that you may sit at ease-I wash your head and body, that your spirits may be refreshed-I condole with you on the Joys of the friends who have died since we last met-I wipe out any blood which
29
AFFECTION OF THE INDIAN MOTHIER.
Again, in 1762, at the famous council of Lancaster, Pa., a dis- tinguished chief of the Oneidas, with singular emphasis, said :
" In the country of the Oncidas there is a great pine-tree, so huge and old that half its branches are dead with time. I tear it up by the roots, and, looking down into the hole, I see a dark stream of water, flowing with a strong current, deep under ground. Into this stream I fling the hatchet, and the current sweeps it away, no man knows whither: Then I plant the tree again where it stood before, and thus this war will be ended forever."
The love of the Indian mother for her child was most intense: Though seldom expressed by fond caresses, yet it was ever ardent, free, and unextinguishable ; and to have entrusted her babe to the care of another to perform the part of mother or nurse, except in cases of death, would indeed, to her, have been a wild, barbarous act. The cradle of the Indian child was usually constructed of bark and small sticks of wood; and was commonly adorned with gaudy feathers, beads, and other attractive objects, of a similar nature. A buffalo or other warm furry skin usually served as a bed and covering for the little nursling .*
When journeying, the Indian mother would wrap her child in furs; or in a blanket, and, placing its back to her own, would travel steadily on to her journey's end, regardless, often, of the wailings of her in- fant, on the way. When at work in the field or patch, she would often hang her tawny bud, "as spring does its blossoms, on the boughs of a tree, that it might be rocked by the breezes from the land of souls, and soothed to sleep by the lullaby of the birds." And it often occurred, through a peculiar sense of compassion among the aboriginal tribes, that when the mother died, her infant, if very young and feeble, shared the grave with her.
may have been spilt between us. This ceremony, which, by the delivery of so many belts of wampum, entailed no small expense, was never used except on the most impor- tant oceasions ; and at the councils with Col. Bouquet, the angry warriors seem wholly to have dispensed with it.
An Indian orator was provided with a stock of metaphors, which he always made nse of for the expression of certain ideas. Thus, to make war was to raise the hatchet ; to make peace was to take hold of the chain of friendship; to deliberate was to kindle the council- fire ; to cover the bones of the dead was to make reparation and gain forgiveness for the act of killing them. A state of war and disaster was typified by a black cloud ; a state of pence by bright sunshine, or by an open path between the two nations.
The orator seldom spoke without careful premeditation of what he was about to say ; and his memory was refreshed by belts of wampum, which he delivered after every clause in his harangue, as a pledge of the sineerity and truth of his words. These belts were carefully preserved by the hearers, as a substitute for written records ; a use for which they were the better adapted, as they were often worked in hieroglyphics expressing the meaning they were designed to preserve. Thus, at a treaty of peace, the principal belt often pore the figure of an Indian and a white man holding a chain between them. -[Parkman.
*Recollections of Mrs. Griswold( formerly Mrs. Peltier) who, with her grandfather and grandmother, Batis Maloch and wife, (deeeased) came from Detroit to Fort Wayne as early as 1807. Mr. James Peltier, her husband, who had, for some years previons, and so continued for some years after, been a trader at this point, and early becoming warmly attached to the American cause, and being much liked by the Indians, was long most useful to the government as an interpreter and messenger, carrying messages often at great risk of life, but always with snecess.
30
HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
Many years ago, one of the carly mothers of Fort Wayne; with her husband, took up their residence in a little hut at the base of the hill, just west of the bend of the Maumee, nearly under the guns of the old fort. Near their dwelling was another hnt, used by her husband for purposes of trade with the Indians. Both, because of their many acts of attention and kindness, had early won the savage heart, and being able to speak freely with the Indians in their native tongue, were often visited and protected by the red children of the region. They seemed indeed to have regarded her as a kind of god- dess, and often looked up to her as a spiritual helper. Often, she says, has she joined with them in the wild dance and merry Indian jubilee-all regarding her with special favor on such occasions. A little 'incident will strikingly illustrate her relationship to them, and serve to exhibit the tender regard of the Indian mother for her off- spring. It was a pleasant period of the year, when an Indian woman, approaching the edge of the river, not far from the little hats in question, with a child in her arms, seemingly in great distress, suddenly observing our pioneer mother, then but a girl of some sixteen or seventeen summers, cried most piteously to Mrs. P .* to come to her aid. Anxious to know the cause of the woman's dis- tress, and feeling, as well, a desire to render her what aid she could, Mrs. P. soon stood by the side of the anxious woman in the water. The Indian woman's story was quickly told. She had, but a little while before, observed that her child was dying, and bad at once hastened to the river to afford it baptism before its little spirit should take its flight. "Ifthe little papposa die," said she, with much anxiety, " before it is put in the water, it can only see the spirits about it-it can't go up where the Great Spirit is." Readily afford- ing the woman the desired aid, the child was speedily baptised, and the mother's heart set at ease. A few moments more, and the spirit of the little pappoose was gone. The great Manito of the red man would now afford it a place in his joyful household.
One of the prime objects of the Indian mother, as, the child ad- vaneed, was to enure it to the weather, that it might be strong and active. With this view, soon after being taken from the cradle, with but little covering upon their bodies, the children were permit- ted to rollick and amuse themselves abont the cabin, that they might acquire, as well, a knowledge of the use of their limbs. Free- don of will being the highest idea of governmental excellence with the Indian, there were no special restraints of family government among the Miamies. The children were permitted to do just as they wished, seldom if ever being reproved or chastised ; and yet, were unaccustomed, as a general rule, to acts of special incivility
*Mrs. Peltier, (now Griswold), who informed the writer that, in those early times' now some fifty-eight years ago, she was often called upon to aid the Indians in this way. It is most probable that this religious rite came originally from the carly missionaries visiting and sojourning here ; for the primitive Indian mother seems ever to have entertained the belief that the Great Spirit had placed near her child a guar- dian angel or spirit that could enable it to surmount all' obstacles. here and hereafter.
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31
TRAINING OF THE YOUNG WARRIOR.
toward any of the older members of the tribe, or the stranger when visiting them in times of peace .* All were alike attached to their young, and could not, under any circumstances, permit a sep- aration, long at a time, while living. Their own native aspirations led the young Indian carly to acquire a knowledge of the bow and arrow, the tomahawk, and the gun, and to use their limbs with dex- terity in running and swimming. From oft-repeated stories of the prowess and daring of their ancestors, related to them by the older members of the tribes, as they sat about the fire of the wig- wam, the young Indian early became imbued with heroic feelings, and longed to become famous by some special act of bravery and valorous exploit.{ As with " the birth of an offspring, or the appear- ance of a first tooth," there was merry-making in the Indian cabin, so also the wigwam was made a scene of festivity upon the achieve- ment of a first success in hunting. Being thus early schooled, dwelling in, and subsisting upon the wilds of nature, it was not surprising that the young Indian soon became a " brave," longing for war, and to adorn his person, by the most wily means and acts of ferocity, if need be, with the scalps of his red foeman and the pale face. Nothing was so joyous to his soul-nothing made him more eager for the charge, and filled his heart with greater determin- ation to excel as a warrior, or to defeat and put to rout and to death the enemy he was to meet at a special time and place, than to chant beforehand the wild war song, and dance the war-dance around the midnight camp-fires or through the streets of his villages. Painted and blackened ; with the feathers of the eagle, hawk, or other bird, as a crown about their heads, or, long, black, coarse hair streaming wildly back over their shoulders, or cut close to tlieir skulls, leaving only a top-lock, standing forth in all their native ardor and self- excellence-brave, resolute, determined -knowing all the country around-every point of possible retreat for an army-every hollow, or special ravine-every deep thicket and clump of trees-every fording-place along the rivers, -- the swamps of the woods-every point where the fallen timber was most abundant, or lay the open spaces and prairies-it was not to be wondered the Miamies were often so successful in their efforts against the early pioneers and the armies of Harmar, St. Clair, and others, in the latter part of the past century. , Still powerful at that period, commanding at any moment, a numerous alli, with the memory and prowess of their ancestors, and many marks of success to inspire and urge them on, they were not easily to be subdued or driven from the home of their fathers.
*Recollections of J. P. Hedges, Esq., who speaks the Miami tongue quite fluently.
+It was always a common complaint with the chiefs and head men of the different. tribes throughout the country, from an early period, that " they could not restrain their young men, " and when their early teachings are taken into view, it was not surprising that the young men of the tribes were so often unrestrainable.
.
CHAPTER IfI.
1; " Through the woodland, through the meadow, As in silence oft I walk, Softly whispering on the breezes, - Seems to come the red man's talk."-Benj. S. Parker.
Indian mode of reckoning time- Hospitality and Etiquette-The Stranger -- The " Green corn dance," as witnessed in 1833 -- Curative powers of the Indian-Dress of the warrior-Pride of adornment-Restraint-Revenge-Emblems served for names -An incident-The Miamies and Pottawattanties-French settlements among the Miamies-Suggestions of Dr. Franklin-Chiefs and Sachems-Their power- Records of treaties -- Force of elogonence-Indian Democracy-The Natchez In- dians -- The Peaee-pipe-Assemblies --. Messengers of peace -- Councils at the Miami villages-An incident-Indian disregard of death-Declarations of war-Dances -- Religious nature of the Indian -- The medicine men-Life in the north-west 150 years ago-Civilization here 150 years henec.
HE MIAMIES, like all other tribes of the primitive wilds of America, knew nothing of days, as called after the Saxon gods-took no note of time, save as presented by " the return of snow or the springing of the flowers." The flight of the birds told them of the passage of summer; and the approach of the hunting season. The active instinct of the animal world about them, the appearance of the sky, &c., ever served, by some peculiar ex- pression, to remind them of the approach of storms ; and the time of the day was traced by the shadows of the trees, and other objects, as reflected by the sun.
In times of peace, ever hospitable, the stranger,-and, especially those to whom they were attached,-were always welcome, and feasted with the best his cabin afforded. The Indian has often, indeed, been known to go without food himself to appease the hun- ger of the traveler or those sojourning with them. And when he visited the white man, or was invited by him to a seat at his table; the jed mah carried with him his own peculiar custom, and ate heartily of all that was set before him. He was most sensitive, too, at such times; and, for any member of the family with whom he was a guest, to have begun to sweep the floor before the departure of his Indian visitor, would have been to lead the red man to infer that you wished to sweep him out also .*
* A fact well known to many of the old citizens of Fort Wayne.
33
HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
.
At a late period in the history of the Indians of this region, it was an ordinary thing for the white man to enter the cabin of the red man uninvited. And the same was true of the savage. Nor was it a custom of the Indian to question those who came to see him as to their business there, or how long they intended to remain. Fond of dancing, their festivals were many ; at which it was a custom to eat heartily of everything prepared for such occasions. And it was at such times that they were most prodigal, and often greatly exhaust- ed their supplies for the winter.
To show how closely allied to ancient customs were the modern habits and festivities of the Miamies, the reader can now look in upon a gay crowd of dancers at one of their " Green-Corn " dances, at a payment of the Miamics in 1833, at the junction of the Wabash and Little River. "There, upon our arrival," runs the account,* " at a little after dark, we found a party of Indians-consisting of between two and three hundred -- assembled for the purpose of participating in or witnessing the dance. A ring was formed, surrounded by a large number of Indian spectators, and about fifty whites-in which were placed the male portion of the dancers, headed by the leaders. At a signal from the music, which consisted of a tap on the drum, of a dull, heavy tone, by one Indian, and a clatter of a set of deer hoofs by another, the leaders broke forth in a wild song of a few ejaculatory notes responded to by the party, and the danc- ing and singing commenced. The women then fell in one by one ; and, selecting their partners as they .danced along, the party was completed. The dancers all appeared in their very 'best,' and had attached to their ankles a profusion of small tinkling bells. The music consisted simply of the repeated single taps of the said drum, accompanied with the continuous clatter of the deer-hoofs; while the ' figure' was composed only of three short, rapid leaps upon the balls of the feet, scarcely raising them from the ground, and slight- ly advancing at the same time. Occasionally, however, an ' extra tonch' would be given by the dancers, in some antic or other, which it would be impossible to describe. In this way the dancing, sing- ing, tapping of the drum, clattering of deer-hoofs, tinkling of bells, and an occasional yell, forming a wild and singular medley, which continued for about half an hour, when the party, hav- ing danced around the circle some half dozen times, and having gone through the first 'set,' the leader stopped and raised the yel !--- the men of the party responded in the same way; and the out- siders raised a most furious din of yells, as congratulatory to the performance of the dancers. Here a 'recess' of about a quarter of an hour took place ; and a confused scene of congratulations, talk- ing, laughing and yelling, ensued. It may be that, during the interval, many gallant things were said by the grotesque and gaudy beaux, or many witticisms and tender sentiments expressed by the fair Miami damsels; but of this we were not apprised. It is cer- # An witnessed and demeriber by irhas, D. Laselle, Kaq. (3)
34
THE MEDICINE MEN.
tain, however, that the men behaved with a great deal of gallantry ; and that no drinking or rowdying whatever occurred upon the occasion. After the conclusion of the recess, the parties resumed their positions, and re-commenced the dance. The same music, dancing, singing, tinkling of bells, and yelling was repeated, as in the first instance ; and thus continuing till about 12 o'clock at night, the party then breaking up in one long and loud round of yells."
With the red man, disease was the result of some natural derange- ment, and the Medicine Man, often strangely skilled in an under- standing of the kind, quality; and quantity of some peculiar natural remedial, by the aid of his manipulative powers, at once set about a cure on natural principles ; and was seldom-in part because of the great faith of his patient-baffled in his efforts of relief. Among these, the Miamies, at different periods, as known to many early settlers, had several Medicine Men of remarkable ability:
The apparel and address of the warrior ever stood as a history of his achievements in war-his body variously tattooed-often with objects representing different animals, &c., and frequently with the most brilliant dyes. It was a custom in their ordinary adornments to paint the end of the nose, and around the eyes, and the eye brows, with black or some bright colors, and the other portions of the face with vermilion, with perhaps stripes running from one point of the face to the other. Especially-not altogether unlike many of the present civilization,-when visiting, or assembling in council, they resorted to great pains in the arrangement of their dress, decora- tion and painting of their persons ; and, what Marest wrote, years ago, of the Illinois* Indians; was equally true of the Miamies- they were "absolute masters of themselves, subject to no law." Each seemed to have been in a great degree, at least, his own pro- tector-and as often their own avengers. With the Indian, when violence had resulted in the death of a kindred, at the hands of another and different race or tribe, it was a steadfast belief that the spirit of the deceased could not rest in peace or feel appeased until a retaliation was consummated.t To accomplish this, it is a noted fact that an Indian would go a thousand miles for the purpose of revenge, over hills and mountains; through swamps and briars ; over broad lakes, rapid rivers, and deep creeks ; and all the way endangered by poisonous snakes, exposed to the extremeties of heat and cold, to hunger and thirst. In the carrying out of this spirit; nationsį and families carried their feuds often to great lengths,
* The Miamies called the Illinois their cousins.
It is well known here to many old s-ttlers that. an Indian, many years ago, follow- ed a white man, who had killed his brother, from point to point, for two years, before he succeeded in avenging the death of his relative, by killing the man he had so long and so assiduously followed and watched.
# There had long existed a spirit of animosity between the Miamies and the Potta- wattamies ; and the latter were very sure to quit the neighborhood of the former if in liquor. This may have arisen in part from the fact that, in the'" early part of the 18th century, the Pottawattamies had crowded the Miamies from their dwellings at Chica- go," -- Schoolcraft.
35
HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
from which a reconciliation was only attainable through gifts of sufficient quantity " to cover up the graves of the dead." The pres- ents once accepted served both to pacify the living and the dead .* In the relationship of families, emblems served for names. The figure of a crow, the hawk, the turtle, &c., &c., would serve as a distinction or name-as, among the civilized, one is known as the Brown, another the Smith family, and so on; which, to the Indian, was as rational and comprehensive, as to us of to-day is our style of distinction in this relation ; and in many instances, in so far, at least, as real beauty, simplicity, and convenience was wont to be mani- fest, was quite as intelligible and serviceable as tlie present system of civilization in this particular.
1143263
" The rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
At a late period in their history, however, the Miamies, through their intercourse with the French and others, often adopted other names-as, in the case of their chiefs, Le Gris, Richardville, La Fontaine, Godfri, George Hunt, &c.,-the first four being related to families then of distinction in France. t
The quiet, persevering, determined nature of the Miamies was ever a matter of singular interest. If the death of a brother was to be revenged, they proceeded quietly, about the work. Patience, at such a time, was called actively into play ; and, if need be, months might roll away before a blow was struck. As illustrative of this fact, a few years prior to the war of 1812, a man of rather reckless character, and who hated the Indian with a rancor only equalled by his unyielding persistence in what he believed or surmised to be false or true, regardless of contradiction or premonition by those best able to give them, moved to this point, and built himself a hut a few miles from Fort Wayne, near Cedar Creek .¿ From the first, he is said never to have lost an opportunity to speak his mind as to the "rascally red skins; " and often used very severe language to * Parkman.
+ In 1754 Gov. Morris, addressing the Pennsylvania Assembly, said the French were "making a settlement of three hundred families in the country of the Twightwees," (Miamies.) It was also in this year, that Benjamin Franklin proposed the establish- ment of strong English colonies in the territory north-west of the Ohio, as a means of preventing "the dreaded junetion of the French settlements in Canada with those of Louisana,"-the Doctor proposing to plant one colony in the valley, of the Scioto; to establish small garrisons at Buffalo Creek, on the Ohio; at the mouth of Tioga, south side of Lake Erie; at Hoekhocking; and at or near the mouth of the Wabash. He presented also the expediency of capturing "Sandusky, a French fort neai. Lake Erie," and also suggested that " all the little French forts south and west of the lakes, quite to the Mississippi, be removed or taken and garrisoned by the English." " Every fort," said he, " should have a small settlement around it; as the fort would protect the settlers, and the settlers defend the fort, and supply it with provisions." The propositions thus presented by Dr. Franklin were but foreshadowings, in part, at least, of the results that followed but a few years later, when the English became the temporary masters of about " all the little French forts south and west of the lakes." Providence had not then enabled the Doetor to see the great future that was before hitu, iwhen the illuminations of '76 were to begin a new era in fortifications and free institu- tions.
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