History of Madison County, Indiana ; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I, Part 4

Author: Forkner, John La Rue, 1844-1926
Publication date: 1970
Publisher: Evansville Ind. : Unigraphic, Inc.
Number of Pages: 918

USA > Indiana > Madison County > History of Madison County, Indiana ; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 4

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

6. This district includes the middle portion of Mississippi, south- eastern Missouri, northern Arkansas, western Tennessee, western Ken- tueky, southern Illinois and the Wabash valley of Indiana. Here the truncated and terraced pyramid mounds are found in greater numbers than in any of the preceding districts. There are also inclosures, ditehes and canals, and pottery and stone coffins have been found in several of the mounds that have been explored. Near Cahokia, Illinois, is a truncated pyramid mound 500 by 700 feet at the base and 97 feet in height.

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

7. The Lower Mississippi district, which includes the southern half of Arkansas, the greater part of Louisiana and the southern part of Mississippi. The mounds of this district display no marked characteris- tics, being chiefly of the conical type.

8. The Gulf States district, which embraces the southern part of the country east of Mississippi. Here the large flat-topped pyramidal mounds and inclosures or fortifications abound. There are also a number of effigy mounds, the great eagle mound of Georgia being one of the finest specimens of this class in the country.

Concerning the structure and purpose of the mounds, Brinton says : "The mounds or tumuli are of earth, or earth mingled with stones, and are of two general classes, the one with a circular base and conical in shape, the other with a rectangular base and a superstructure in the form of a truncated pyramid. The former are generally found to con- tain human remains and are therefore held to have been barrows or

WHITE RIVER AT MOUNDS PARK

sepulchral monuments raised over the distinguished dead, or, in some instances serving as the communal place of interment for a gens or clan. The truncated pyramids, with their flat surfaces, were evidently the sites for buildings, such as temples or council honses, which being con- structed of perishable material have disappeared."

E. T. Cox, state geologist, in his report for 1878, says: "By far the most unique and well preserved earthworks in this state are on the banks of White river, in Madison county, about three miles from Ander- son, the county seat. The principal work in a group of eight is a circular embankment with a deep ditch on the inside. The central area is one hundred and thirty-eight feet in diameter, and contains a mound in the center four feet high and thirty feet in diameter. There is a slight depression between the mound and the ditch. The gateway is

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

thirty feet wide. Carriages may enter at the gateway and drive around the mound, as the ditch terminates on each side of the gateway. The ditch is sixty feet wide and ten and a half feet deep; the embankment is sixty-three feet wide at the base and nine feet high. and the entire diameter of the circle is three hundred and eighty-four feet.

"When I first visited these works, which go by the name of the 'Mounds,' there were growing upon the embankment a great many large forest trees, from one foot to four feet in diameter. Several large walnut trees have sinee been cut off ; with that exception the work still remains covered with a growth in no respect differing from the adjoin- ing forest, and the embankment and ditch are in as good a state of preservation as when abandoned by the builders."

In the immediate vicinity of this large work are seven smaller ones, four of which are eirenlar in form and two are in the form of links, slightly bent together in the center, while one consists of two embank- ments about two and a half feet high, with a gateway at each end. The largest of these subordinate works is one of the link-shaped forma- tions, situated 325 feet northwest of the main embankment. It is 181 feet in length, 122 feet across the widest part, and 57 feet across the constrieted part. The wall is from one foot to six feet high, with a ditch on the inside, and in the end nearest the large mound is a narrow gateway.

Directly south of this and 475 feet from the large mound is a cirele 126 feet in diameter, with a bank about three feet in height and a slight ditch on the inside. Still further south, in the public road, is another circle, the greater part of which has been obliterated by passing vehicles. The second link mound almost touches the large work on the west side. Its greatest length is 106 feet, the bank is only about two feet high and it has no gateway.

A debt of gratitude is due Frederiek Bronnenberg, late owner of the grounds upon which these mounds are situate. During the many years he owned the property he kept the ancient earthworks from being obliterated by the plowman's share and guarded with jealous eye the handsome woodlands surrounding them. To have stuck an ax into one of the stately elms or sturdy oaks would have been saerilege in his estimation. As long as he was the owner of these grounds, they were open to visitors and he took pride in the ownership of this mysterious and interesting place. Many people eensured Mr. Bronnenberg because he would not part with the grounds and eonvey them to persons who wished to purchase the place and convert it into a resort. But it seems that Providenee has worked out a better way for their preservation and has given to the people a place for rest, amusement and pleasure that will be more lasting than by private ownership. Since the death of Mr. Bronnenberg, his heirs have transferred the property to the Indiana Union Traction Company, which now conducts the grove as a pleasure resort. but in such a way that the mounds shall be preserved and perpetuated. Around the large work is a strong wire fence, with notices posted at frequent intervals forbidding visitors to walk upon the slope or crest of the embankment. This poliey, if continued. will preserve this interesting relic of a bygone race for future generations

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

to admire and study. At the foot of the bluff is the mineral spring mentioned at the close of the preceding chapter. This spring may have had some influence upon the aborigines in the selection of a location for their earthwork, though Professor Cox, in the same report, notes that "On the same section of land, but half a mile farther up the river, and on the same side of the stream, there is another cluster of earth- works that are of nearly equal interest; in fact, the principal work is, in some respects, more remarkable than the large circle (previously described). The outline is of irregular shape-constricted on one end and at the sides; at the other end there is a gateway nine feet wide, protected by two small mounds, now about four feet high. The wall is thirty to thirty-five feet wide at the base and about four feet high; ditch eight feet wide. A central line through the longer way is N. 67º E. and 296 feet long; it is 160 feet across at the widest and 150 feet across at the narrowest part-near the middle. With the exception of the two mounds at the gateway, which lie on the cultivated side of a section fence, and have been cut down by the plow, the remainder of this antiquity is in as good state of preservation as when deserted by its original occupants. Large trees are growing over it, and the under- brush is so thick that it was difficult to obtain accurate measurements ; in fact, there is hardly a stick of timber amiss over the ruins."

Near this work is a plain circle, 150 feet in diameter, which lies in a cultivated field and is fast being obliterated. Southeast of this circle is an oblong work, similar to the one above described by the state geologist. Its longest diameter is 106 feet and the distance across the other way is forty-eight feet at each end, but somewhat less in the center, or constricted part. The wall is about two feet high and the ditch on the inside is fifteen feet in width. At the southeastern end is a gateway fifteen feet wide. This portion is well preserved, but the western part lies in the open field and the plow has almost leveled the walls. In these works the Mound Builders, whoever they were, or at whatever time they inhabited the land, have left their indelible impress upon Madison county. The architects have gone, but the building remains. Who built it, or for what purpose it was erected, will doubt- less remain for generations to come largely a matter of speculation and conjecture.

At the time the Western Hemisphere was first visited by Europeans, the continent of North America was inhabited by several groups or families of Indians, each of which was distinguished by certain charac- teristics and occupied a well defined territory. In the north were the Eskimo, a people who has never played any conspicuous part in history. South of them and west of the Hudson bay were the Athapascans, scattered over a wide expanse of territory. The Algonquian group occupied a great triangle, roughly bounded by the Atlantic coast on the east, a line drawn from the most northern point of Labrador in a southwesterly direction to the Rocky mountains, and a second line from there to the Pamlico sound, on the coast of North Carolina. South of the Algonquian and east of the Mississippi river was the Muskliogean family, including the Creeks, Choctaws, etc. Directly west of this group, across the Mississippi, were the Caddoan tribes. The hardy, restless

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

Siouan tribes occupied the Missouri valley, and in the southwestern part of what is now the United States was the Shoshonean group. Along the St. Lawrence river and the shores of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, in the very heart of the Algonquian country, were the brave, warlike Iroquoian tribes, who were probably the most intel- lectual of all the North American Indians.

Of all these families, the Algonquian was the most numerous, inhab- ited the largest scope of country, and has been the most important in the history of the nation. This group consisted of several hundred tribes, the most prominent of which were the Miami, Pottawatomi, Delaware, Shawnee, Ojibwa and Ottawa. Among the Iroquois the principal tribes were the Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, Mohawk and Cayuga. The Algonquian invasion of Iroquois territory led to a con- federaey being formed by these tribes, which became known as the "Five Nations," and which was a powerful factor in most of the early treaties made between the Indians and whites. Subsequently the Tus- caroras, another Iroquoian tribe, were taken into the arrangement and the confederacy then took the name of the "Six Nations."

THE BIG MOUND AT MOUNDS PARK (Courtesy, Herland Publishing Co. )

When the first white settlements were made in Indiana, the region now comprising the state was inhabited by at least seven different tribes of Indians. The Pottawatomies occupied the entire northern part of the state; the Miamis, or Twightwees, as they were sometimes called, dwelt along the St. Joseph and St. Mary's rivers; along the Wabash were the Weas, their principal village being near the present city of Lafayette; east of the Wabash and north of the Ohio lay the country of the Piankeshaws, extending eastward to what is now Lawrence county and northward to Vigo; the Wyandots occupied the present counties of Harrison, Crawford, Spencer, Perry, Dubois and Orange; east of them were the Shawnees, their country extending eastward into Ohio and northward to Rush and Fayette counties, while between the districts inhabited by the Shawnees and the Miamis were the Delawares, who occupied the present county of Madison.

The Miamis were at one time the most powerful tribe in the West and when the French traders first visited the lake region were in com- Vol. 1-2

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

plete control. They had been moving eastward, when they were met and driven back by the Iroquois, after which they settled in Ohio. One of their leading chiefs, Little Turtle, once said: "My forefather kindled the first fire at Detroit; thence he extended his lines to the headwaters of the Scioto; thence to its mouth; thence down the Ohio river to the mouth of the Wabash, and from there to Chicago over Lake Michigan. These are the boundaries within which the prints of my ancestors' houses are everywhere to be seen."

At some time in the distant past-the exact date is not certain- the Miamis, with their kindred tribes, because of their great power and influence, the wide extent of their domain and their aggressiveness, were known as the "Miami Confederacy." About the middle of the eighteenth century this confederacy numbered about 1,200 warriors, though, according to tribal traditions, it was able to muster at an earlier period a much more formidable force.

Of the Indian tribes above mentioned, the Pottawatomics were prob- ably the strongest at the time the white man began coming into the state, the Shawnees were unquestionably the fiercest and most warlike, and the Delawares claimed to be the oldest. According to their tradi- tions they once possessed all the western portion of North America, when they were known as the Lenni Lenape, which in their language means "men." As they traveled eastward they were met by the Iroquois, with whom they formed an alliance. The combination of these two powerful tribes enabled them to overcome all the smaller and weaker tribes east of the Mississippi, and in time they laid claim to all the territory between the Great River and the Atlantic coast. This vast region they divided, the Delawares taking the country lying between the Hudson and Potomac rivers and the Iroquois assuming dominion over the remainder. It was from the Delawares that William Penn purchased the province of Pennsylvania. A recent writer on this sub- ject says: "In the early days of their known history, especially after their loss of power and caste, the oft-repeated remembrance of their former high position among the numerous tribes occupying the lake region, was a source of proud satisfaction. The relation connecting them with the period of their prosperity was regarded as a golden epoch in their tribal history. It was then that the bravery of their warriors, the wisdom of their counsellors and the brilliancy of their warlike exploits gave them a prestige worthy to be recounted, in after years, among the traditions of their fathers. Then they were allied with the Iroquois, and retained their ancient character for prowess and enter- prise: To recall these was pleasant. When, however, the Five Nations confederated at Onondaga, and were no longer engaged in petty quar- rels among themselves, the former pleasant relations ceased, and the over-confident Delawares were made to feel the effect of the concentrated power and consequent arrogance of their ancient allies. The concen- trated energies of the Five Nations, thirsting for prominence among the North American tribes, soon set them about acquiring and maintaining the supremacy. To do this, aggressions were the order and ultimate conquest the end of the movements thus directed. So the Delawares lost their native independence in the rise of Iroquois power and became

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

a subordinate nation, denied the enjoyment of their ancient rights and territory."

A Delaware tradition says that the Iroquois "made them women" through deceit by inducing them to accept a subordinate position in order to keep peace with the whites. The event was brought about by what is known in history as the "walking purchase," whereby they were ousted from a half a million acres of their lands in the forks of the Delaware, above Easton, Pennsylvania. The Delawares protested and the Iroquois compelled them to retire to the Susquehanna river. This was the beginning of their downfall. The Delawares were always at peaee with the whites until the French and Indian war, when some of them took up arms against the English settlers. At the eonelusion of that contest some of the tribe went to Ohio, where they found a refuge among the Shawnees. The white men continued to encroach upon the Indian lands and in 1768 the Delawares were given permission to settle among the Miamis and Piankeshaws, between the White and Ohio rivers, in Indiana. The main body of the tribe established themselves on the Whitewater river, where they . tried . to rekindle the national council fire under the head chief, Tedpachxit, but in vain. The glory of the once proud tribe had departed.

The Delawares were divided into three subtribes or elans-the Unami, or Turtle; the Unalachto, or Turkey; and the Minsi, or Wolf, the ani- mals having been the emblematie totems of the separate divisions bear- ing their names. The Minsi beeame corrupted into Munsee, sometimes called the "Christian Indians." After the treaty of 1768, they founded the village of Gnadenhutten, on the Muskingum river.

There is one ineident in connection with the history of the Delaware Indians that has never been sufficiently emphasized by historians, and that is the fact that the celebrated Pontiac received his inspiration for his great conspiracy through the preaching of a Delaware prophet. Heckewelder, who was a missionary among the Delawares for fifty years, says: "In the year 1762 there was a famous preacher of the Delaware nation, who resided at Cayahaga, near Lake Erie, and traveled about the country among the Indians endeavoring to persuade them that he had been appointed by the Great Spirit to instruct them in those things that were agreeable to him, and point out them the offenses by which they had drawn his displeasure on themselves, and the means by which they might reeover his favour for the future. He had drawn, as he pretended, by the direction of the Great Spirit, a kind of map on a piece of deerskin, somewhat dressed like parchment, which he ealled 'The Great Book or Writing.' This, he said, he had been ordered to show to the Indians, that they might see the situation in which the Mannitto had originally placed them, the misery which they had brought upon themselves by neglecting their duty, and the only way that was now left to regain what they had lost. This map he held up before him while preaching, frequently pointing to particular marks and spots upon it, and giving explanations as he went along."

The map or ehart was about fifteen inches square, in the. eenter of which was drawn a square about eight inehes on each side, representing the "heavenly regions," or plaee designed by the Great Spirit for Indian

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

habitation in a future life. At the lower right hand corner of this square was an opening or avenue, which he declared to be in possession of the white men, through the shortcomings of the Indians, while another opening, at the upper corner was for the Indians, but was beset by many dangers and obstacles, an evil spirit guarding the entrance, etc. Outside of the square represented a country given to the tribe, in which they had the privilege to hunt, fish and dwell during this life. The inner square, he declared, had been lost through neglect and disobedience; by not making sufficient sacrifices to the Great Spirit; by looking with favor upon a people of a different color and allowing them to occupy part of the hunting grounds, etc. In order to regain that which had been lost, he advised that the tribe must desist from drunkenness, wars among people of their own color and polygamy; give up the medicine song and the customs they had adopted since the coming of the white people.

"Then," he would exclaim with great fervor and enthusiasm, "will the Great Spirit give success to our arms; then he will give us strength to conquer our enemies, to drive them from our hunting grounds, and to recover the passage to the heavenly regions which they have taken from us."

In order to impress his teaching upon his tribesmen, and to refresh the memory, he advised every family to have a copy of the map or Great Book, which he offered to make for them for one buckskin or two doeskins. "In some of those maps," says Heckewelder, "the figure of a deer or turkey, or both, was placed in the heavenly regions, and also in the dreary region of the evil spirit. The former, however, appeared fat and plump, while the latter seemed to have nothing but skin and bones."

The sermons and exhortations of the prophet produced a religious ferment, which soon spread to other tribes, but without concrete effect until the master mind of Pontiac, the celebrated Ottawa chief, who had commanded some of his people at the defeat of General Braddock in 1755, conceived the idea of taking advantage of the spirit of unrest and forming a confederation of all the tribes. The story of Pontiac's war is familiar to every reader of American history, but it may not be generally known that the preaching of the Delaware prophet prepared the minds of the red men to receive his suggestions, if not to furnish Pontiac himself with the idea of a general uprising for the expulsion of the hated palefaces.

Among the great men of the Delawares at various periods in their history, the names of Tamenend, Tedpachxit, Koguethagechton, Hopocan, Buckongahelas, Captain Killbuck, Kikthawenund and James Nanticoke deserve more than passing mention.

Tamenend, one of the chieftains while the tribe occupied the country in the vicinity of Philadelphia, is considered by many as the foremost man of the Delaware nation at any period. He was a statesman as well as a warrior, distinguished in public life for his talents and patriot- ism, and in private life for his virtues. His tribesmen claimed that he was favored by the Great Spirit. Many of his contemporary white friends held him in high esteem and the first day of May was marked in their calendars as "The Festival of Tamenend." That day was

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

given over to festivities and the society of Saint Tammany was named in his honor.

Tedpachxit has already been mentioned as the head chief who in 1768 endeavored to rehabilitate his tribe with some of its former great- ness. Little has been written concerning him, but what has been written shows that he was "wise in counsel, brave in battle, and always alert to promote the welfare of his people."

Koguethagechton, whose English name was Captain White Eyes, was the head chief of the Turtle branch of the Delawares at the begin- ning of the Revolution and resided in Ohio. Upon the death of Neta- watwees, in 1776, he became the chief sachem of the Delaware nation. In this capacity he favored the maintenance of missions among his people and a neutral policy while the colonists were engaged in their struggle for independence. This policy was opposed by some of the younger chiefs and warriors, but the old sachem maintained his position and in the council at Pittsburgh boldly defied some of the Seneca chiefs who were anxious to bring about an alliance between the British and the Delawares. White Eyes died at Philadelphia in 1780, and is said to have been over 100 years of age.

Hopocan, which, according to Heckewelder, means "a tobacco pipe," was generally called Captain Pipe. In his younger days he was one of those who opposed the peace policy of Captain White Eyes and was inclined to favor the British cause during the Revolution. When the commandant of the British post at Detroit ordered the expulsion of the Moravian missionaries, Captain Pipe and his followers joined the Half- King to aid in enforcing the order. In a grand council at Detroit the missionaries established their innocence and Pipe was man enough to acknowledge his error in persecuting them. After this he took very little part in public affairs. His death occurred about 1818.

Buckongahelas rose from the ranks, so to speak, to be the head war chief of the Delawares. Heckewelder mentions him as having been at Tuscarawas as early as 1762, and nineteen years after that he visited the Christian Indians in Ohio. He is described as "fearless, frank and magnanimous," and refused to obey the orders of Captain Pipe when the latter directed that none of the Indians who had been under the instruction of the Moravian missionaries should be permitted to leave the territory. He was a friend to the British when they treated lıim to his liking, but after General Wayne's great victory in 1794 he renounced all allegiance to the English and became the steadfast friend of the United States. He died in 1804 and Dawson says that when on his deathbed he advised his people to desert the cause of the British and rely on the friendship of the United States government.

Captain Killbuck, whose Indian name was Kelelamand, or the Big Cat, was the son of a chief of the same name. He accepted the office of chief during the minority of the regular heir to the position. Through the intrigues of Captain Pipe he was forced to abandon the council house and place himself under the protection of the white men near Pittsburgh. Subsequently he proved to be a faithful friend to those who shielded him and rendered them every service in his power. This so incensed his Indian enemies that they ordered him to be shot on

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Madison County, Indiana ; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I, Part 4

Author: Forkner, John La Rue, 1844-1926 Publication date: 1970 Publisher: Evansville Ind. : Unigraphic, Inc. Number of Pages: 918

Author: Forkner, John La Rue, 1844-1926
Publication date: 1970
Publisher: Evansville Ind. : Unigraphic, Inc.
Number of Pages: 918