USA > Indiana > Miami County > History of Miami County, Indiana : from the earliest time to the present, with biographical sketches, notes, etc., together with an extended history of the Northwest, the Indiana Territory, and the state of Indiana > Part 22
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In payment for this, they received $31,040.53 in goods, $31,- 040.53 in cash. The following year, 1827, they received $61,259 .- 47 in addition; of which $35,000 was annuities, and in 1828, $30,000. After that date, they were to receive a permanent annuity of $25- 000,
Again, in 1834, the Government purchased of them 177,000 acres, including the strip seven miles wide, off the west side of the reserve, in what is now Cass, Howard and Clinton Counties, which was transferred to the state of Indiana, to be used for the comple- tion of the Wabash and Erie Canal from the mouth of the Tippeca- noe River. A strip five miles wide, along the Wabash, had been previously appropriated to the construction of the canal to the mouth of the Tippecanoe. The consideration paid for this was $335,680.
By treaty of November 6, 1838, they made a further cession to the United States of certain lands reserved by former treaties. Finally, on the 28th of November, 1840, they relinquished their right to all the remaining lands in Indiana, except certain specific reservations, for which they received the sum of $550,000 and agreed to vacate these lands within five years. They did not move, however, until 1847.
Pottawatomies-This tribe is also of the Algonquin family, being a branch of the great Chippewa, or, as some write, Ojibway, nation, which, at the time of our first account of them, about the middle of the seventeenth century, occupied and held the country from the mouth of Green Bay, to the head waters of Lake Superior. This nation was visited at an early date by the French at Sault St. Mary and Chegoimegon.
At a later day, they appear to have migrated southward; formi- dable bands of them having gained a footing on the territory of the Miamis near the southern extremity of Lake Michigan, partly by permission and partly by force. Since that time, they have been recognized as occupying the territory to the southward of
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Lake Michigan, on the Tippecanoe River, thence to the borders of the Wabash on the north.
On the 18th of July, 1815, the Pottawatomies, desiring to enter into relations of friendship with the United States and place them- selves in a proper position before the world, concluded a treaty, the first separate one made by them, the chief element of which is set forth in Section 2, in the following words:
"There shall be perpetual peace and friendship between all the people of the United States of America and all the individuals composing the said Pottawatomie Tribe or Nation."
By the provisions of a treaty, made and concluded at St. Mary's, on the 2d day of October, 1818, they ceded to the United States all the country comprehended within the following limits: " Beginning at the mouth of the Tippecanoe River, and running up the same to a point twenty-five miles in a direct line from the Wabash River; thence, on a line as nearly parallel to the general course of the Wabash River as practicable, to a point on the Ver- million River, twenty-five miles from the Wabash River; thence down the Vermillion River to its mouth, and thence up the Wabash River to the place of beginning. The Pottawatomies also cede to- the United States all their claim to the country south of the Wabash River."
The treaty of most importance to the people of this locality, made by this tribe with the United States, was at Paradise Springs,. near the mouth of the Mississinewa, upon the Wabash, on the 16th day of October, 1826, by the provisions of which the United States. acquired the right to all the land within the following limits :: " Beginning on the Tippecanoe River, where the northern bound- ary of the tract ceded by the Pottawatomies to the United States, by the Treaty of St. Mary's, in the year 1818, intersects the same, thence, in a direct line, to a point on Eel River, half-way between the mouth of the said river and Pierish's village; thence up Eel River to Seek's village, near the head thereof; thence, in a. direct line to the mouth of a creek emptying into the St. Joseph's of the Miami, near Metea's village; thence, up the St. Joseph's to the boundary line between the States of Indiana and. and Ohio; thence, south to the Miami; thence up the same to the reservation at Fort Wayne; thence, with the lines of the said reser- vation, to the boundary established by the treaty with the Miamis in 1818; thence, with the said line to the Wabash River; thence,. with the same river to the mouth of the Tippecanoe River, and thence, with the said Tippecanoe River to the place of beginning. And the said tribe also cede to the United States all their right to land within the following limits: Beginning at a point on Lake Michigan, ten miles due north of the southern extreme thereof, run- ning thence due east to the land ceded by the Indians to the United.
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States by the treaty of Chicago; thence south with the boundary thereof, ten miles; thence, west to the southern extreme of Lake Michigan; thence, with the shore thereof, to the place of beginning."
In addition to the treaties already referred to, the Pottawato- mies concluded nineteen other treaties with the United States, ceding certain reserved interests, from time to time withheld, until, by the the provisions of the final treaty concluded by them on the IIth of February, 1837, with John T. Douglass, a Commissioner on the part of the United States, at the City of Washington, they ceded all their remaining interest in the lands in the State of Indiana, and agreed to remove to a country provided for them by the President of the United States, southwest of the Missouri River, within two years from the ratification of said treaty. The treaty was ratified at the end of one week from its consummation, and they were removed westward in the fall of 1838 and 1839 following."
Indian Villages .- The Indian villages in this county were: We-Saws, on the north bank of the Eel River, below Denver, at the mouth of We-Saw Creek; Flower's village, on the south side, opposite Chili; and Squirrel's Village, on the north side, near Stock- dale. The Indians living at Flower's Village were Weas, subse- quently designated on the pay roll of Eel Rivers; at We-Saw's, Pottawatomies, and at Squirrel's, Miamis. After a few years they all became known as Miamis, and signed treaties and participated in annuities as such. The Osage Village, on the west bank of the Mississinewa, one mile above its mouth, was the most important village in the county. This was, doubtless, the largest village of the Miami tribe. It took its name ftom that of its first chief. She-pa-can-nah, or Deaf Man, was the war chief of this village.
Principal Chiefs of the Miamis .- No authentic account of the chiefs of the Miamis can be given prior to the reign of Ague- nack-gue, who signed the first treaty between the English and Miamis on the 23d of July, 1748. He lived in Turtle Village, a few miles northeast of Fort Wayne, and it was at this place in the year 1747, his son, Little Turtle, was born. Upon the death of his father Little Turtle became chief of the tribe. His mother was of the tribe of Mohegans, and transmitted many of her superior quali- ties to her son. His courage, sagacity and extraordinary talent were developed at an early age, and, when but a boy, his influence . with his own tribe, as well as with others of the confederation, was unbounded. His skill in the management of an army was not sur- passed even by those trained and schooled in the profession. He was victorious in many a hotly contested battle, and it was not until he met "the man who never sleeps," as he spoke of General Wayne while addressing a council of war, did he meet his equal. He died at Fort Wayne July 14th, 1812. and was buried by the whites with
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the highest honors. In the grave with him were buried the sword and medal presented him by General Washington.
The successor of Little Turtle was Pe-che-wa, commonly called John B. Richardville. His father was of French extraction, and his mother was the sister of Little Turtle. He was born about the year 1761. His election to chieftaincy was the result of a most daring feat of voluntary heroism. A white captive had been con- demned to be burned at the stake. He had been bound and the faggots placed in position, and the one who had been commissioned to apply the torch began the performance of his duty, and as the flames began to wreathe, the young Richardville, in obedience to a signal from his mother, dashed through the wild crowd and cut the cords that bound the captive and bade him go free. So heroic was the act that he was at once accepted as chief. He was a man of great executive ability and fine business sense. He died in 1841, and was buried by the Catholics at Fort Wayne.
Francis LaFontaine, whose Indian name was To-pe-ah, became principal chief of the Miamis after the death of Richardville. His father was of French descent and his mother a Miami woman. He was born at Fort Wayne in 1820. At the age of twenty-one he married Catharine Po-con-go-qua, daughter of Richardville. He manifested great interest in the welfare of his tribe, and on this account was elected chief. When his tribe was removed to the reservation west of the Mississippi he accompanied them, but after a short stay started to return, and at Lafayette was taken suddenly ill, where he died April 13th, 1847. His remains were taken to Huntington for interment, where one of his daughters, Mrs. Archangel Engleman, still lives.
Me-shin-go-me-sia. His ancestors and descendants .-- No relia- ble account of the ancestors of Me-shin-go-me-sia can be traced further back than the fourth generation, or to the time of Osandiah, who, at the head of one division of the tribe, left Fort Wayne (at what date no one knows) and settled on the Big Miami River, in Ohio. Soon after his settlement at this point he visited Gen. Wash- ington, at that time President, who presented him with tokens of regard. This aroused the jealousy of the other tribes, by whom it is believed he was poisoned.
Upon the death of Osondiah his son, Ataw-ataw, became chief, and he, in turn, was succeeded by his son, Me-to-cin-yah, who re- moved with his tribe to Indiana and settled in what is now Wabash and Grant Counties, and after a successful reign of many years died, and his remains were buried in Wabash County.
He was the father of ten children: Me shin-go-me-sia, Ta-con- saw, Mack-quack-yno-nun-gah, Shop-on-do-sheah, Wa-pe-si-taw, Me-tack-quack-quah, So-lin-jes-yah, Wa-cau-con-aw, Po-kung-e- yah and We-cop-eme-nah.
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Upon the death of Me-to-cin-yah, his eldest son, Me-shin-go- me-sia, succeeded to the chieftaincy. He was born in Wabash County about the beginning of the last quarter of the eighteenth century (the precise date not known). At the age of about thirty he married Tac-ka-quah, a daughter of So-a-nah-ke-kah, and to them were born two sons Po-kung-gah and Ataw-ataw. He was a man of great firmness, though not obstinate. He was ordinarily intelligent and always displayed judgment and good business sense in the management of the affairs of his band. His death occurred December -, 1879.
The following sketch, as well as many other extracts, are taken from the Indian History of the county written by Hon. John A. Graham :
Francis Godfroy-"A great war-chief of the Miamis, called by the Indians, Pa-lons-wa, was the son of Jacques, or James Godfroy, a French trader among the Indians. He and his brother Louis were distinguished men in their tribe from early manhood, and took a leading part in its important affairs. They were prominent in the battles of Fort Wayne, Tippecanoe and the Mississinewa. Their high appreciation in the tribe is evidenced by the fact that, in the treaty of St. Mary's, in 1818, Francis was granted a reservation of six sections of land on the Salamonie, at La Petit Prairie, and Louis six sections on the St. Mary's, above the reservation of Anthony Shaw. The affection of the brothers for each other is shown by an article of agree- ment, made on the 2nd of December, 1824, witnessed by Gen. Tipton and Joseph Barron, in which they agree to exchange one section of these reservations, and bind themselves not to sell or otherwise dispose of the same, unless by mutual consent-the sole object and purpose of the exchange being that 'the broth- ers may live near each other.'
" Francis was a man of splendid physical development, being six feet high and weighing about three hundred pounds. He was genial, generous and dignified; sincere in his friendship, paternal in his rule, and princely in his hospitality, He was known and esteemed by the most distinguished men of his day, and among them those against whom he fought in battle. He was a prompt and liberal contributor on all public calls for money; was gracious and hospitable to white visitors, and, like one of the old barons, always kept about his ' Mount Pleasant' home a large retinue of his own people.
" In the spring of 1840 he was taken sick, and, after a linger- ing illness, died on the first day of May of that year. A numerous concourse of, white citizens, as well as his own people, manifested their respect for the chief by attending his funeral, which took place at his own house, his grave being but a short distance
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from it on the rising ground to the south. Wap-pa-pin-sha, called also Black Raccoon, a chief and noted orator, delivered a funeral discourse on the occasion, from which the following extracts are taken :
" BROTHERS: The Great Spirit has taken to himself another of our once power- ful and happy, but now rapidly declining nation. The time has been when these forests were densely populated by the red man; but the same hand, whose blighting touch withered the majestic frame before us, and caused the noble spirit by which it was animated to seek another home, has dealt in a like manner with his and our fathers; in a like manner will it deal with us. Death, of late, has been common among us-so much so that an occurrence of it scarcely elicits our notice. But when the brave, the generous and the patriotic are blasted by it, then it is that the tears of sorrow freely flow.
"Such is now the case; our brother, who just left us, was brave, generous and patriotic, and as a tribute to his merit, and a reward for goodness, the tears, not only of his own people, but of many white men, who are here assembled to witness the funeral rites, freely flow.
"At this scene the poor of his people weep, because at his_table they were wont to feast and rejoice. The weak mourn his death, because his authority was directed to their protection. But he has left the earth, the place of vexation and contention, and is now participating with Pocahontas and Logan in those joys prepared by the Great Spirit for such as well and faithfully discharge their duties here. Brothers, let us emulate his example and practice his virtues."
"From 1838 until their removal west, the Miamis grew reck- less and dissipated. Their dissipation led to frequent quarrels and homicides, so their number decreased rapidly in the five years preceding their removal. The following are some of the cases which attracted the special notice of the whites: Shoc- cot-wah, a half-brother of Ne-con-zah (Squirrel), was a bad Indian-quarrelsome and treacherous. Old Mother Tap-po, who had several daughters, and Ah-lin-de-ze-quah, who had two daughters and a son named Wa-ca-co-nah, lived in what is now the David Hohn farm, in Butler township. Their cabins were close together, and the Indians resorted there. At the time of the occurrence about to be related, several Weas, among them the brothers of Shap-pan-do-ce-ah and Qua-com-ah-cot-wah and Shoc-cot-wah, Ne-con-zah, ·Shoc-com-wah and Me-ze-quoh, of the Ne-con-zah, or Squirrel party of Miamis, were there drink- ing. They had spent the night in their carousal, in the course of which Shoc-cot-wah caught Mother Tap-po by the hair and struck her in the face with his fist, bruising it and causing the . blood to flow freely. This made the old woman mad for revenge, and she told her daughters to load her pistol heavily for she was going to kill Shoc-cot-wah. They loaded the pistol and gave it to her. This was the next morning after the night's debauch, and the Indians were outside the house sitting and standing, and Shoc-cot-wah was in a half recumbent position resting on his elbow. The old woman came to him, pointing the pistol at him, and told him she was going to shoot him, but just as she was about to pull the trigger Wap-pa-pin-sha, who was gener-
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ally called the Black Raccoon, a man of rank and distinction as an orator among the Indians, came around the house, caught her hand and inquired what she was going to do. She told him how she had been abused, showed her bruised and bloody face, and said she was going to kill Shoc-cot-wah. Wap-pa- pin-sha took the pistol and told Shoc-cot-wah that he was a bad Indian, that he was no man, was a coward to abuse an old woman in that way, and that he must die. Shoc-cot-wah did not move from his position, and his antagonist, standing above, fired downward, the ball passing between the collar-bone and the throat. After being shot, Shoc-cot-wah, spitting blood, got up and walked toward Wap-pa-pin-sha, who had walked away from where Shoc-cot-wah had been lying. As Shoc-cot-wah passed the Indians they thought he wanted a weapon, and Shap- pan-do-ce-ah said. to Wap-pa-pin-sha, who was paralyzed in one arm and unarmed, "He will kill you, take this," handing him a large Bowie knife. He took the knife, upon seeing which Shoc-cot-wah began to plead, saying to Wap-pa-pin-sha, 'Don't kill me my friend; you have done enough; I am your friend.' To which Wap-pa-pin-sha answered, 'No, you are not my friend; you are nobody's friend; you abuse the Indians, and you must die,' and he plunged the knife into Shoc-cot-wah's heart. He drew it out of the breast of Shoc-cot-wah, a stream of blood spouting from the wound, and, after wiping it on the grass, handed it back to Shap-pan-do-ce-ah.
"The squirrel party, to which Shoc-cot-wah belonged, threat- ened revenge, and the whites, who thought substantial justice had been done by Wap-pa-pin-sha, brought him to town and protected him from his enemies.
"Another case, which was regarded by the whites in a dif- ferent light, and aroused their horror and indignation, was the killing, by Peashwa, a Pottawattomie, of two men and a woman of the Flowers or Wea party. He had lived at Wesaw Village and had two wives of the Flowers party. After the removal of the Weas from Eel River to the reserve, south of the Wabash, he and his wives and the two half-brothers of one of these women settled on Pipe Creek, near where the Strawtown road crosses the same. Their names were Ah-lah-loon-dah and Shap-pan-do-ce- ah, and were married and had houses at the same place. Shap- pan-do-ce-ah's wife was named Kil-so-quah, and Ah-lah-loon-dah's, Me-shoc-co-to-quah. These two Weas and their wives went on a hunt some six miles southwest of where they lived, on Little Deer Creek, and camped. The men went hunting and the women remained in camp. The pony of Me-shoc-co-to-quah got loose at the camp and started back toward home. She followed, and did not catch it until it had nearly reached there. When
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she returned near to the camp she approached it Indian-like, cautiously, and seeing Kil-so-quah sitting very quietly and in a curious position, her fears of something being wrong were aroused, and she crept quietly up to the camp. She found her sister-in-law, whom she had left but a few hours before well, sit- ting in a half reclining position, dead, with a wild turkey she had been picking, in her lap. She retreated in terror, got on her pony and went with all haste to the Wea Village, on Deer Creek, to give the alarm. A party at once started for the camp. They soon came upon the trail of the hunters in a swampy thicket. They followed it but a short distance when they found the body of one of the Indians, shot from behind through the back of the head, and his pony shot; following the trail still further, they found the other, shot through the body."
"The Indians were furious and the whites turned out with them to hunt the murderer, but the search was fruitless. It was considered a cruel murder, and if Peashwa had been found, the whites whould have seconded the Indians in taking sum- mary vengeance.
"At his home, on Pipe Creek, he left two children, by a for- mer wife, a Pottawattomie woman. They were kept under strict surveillance by the Weas, as hostages, and it was under- stood that if Peashwa was not caught they would be sacrificed. The boy was got away, and, like his father, found refuge at Ephriam Bearss'; but the girl remained, and shortly afterward disappeared, and the legend is-and it is believed by Pim-wy- oh-tem-ah, a Miami, now living in this neighborhood, to be true- that the old woman of the Flowers party killled the girl by the most cruel method of cutting her to pieces. This she, no doubt, regarded as a sacred duty, to avenge the killing of her own people by the child's father.
"The date of the foregoing murders is not remembered exactly, but it is somewhere about 1841 or 1842."
Among other cases of killing, the following may be men- tioned :
"Wah-puck-co-se-ah was killed by Win-gon-sah, in 1844- Shap-pan-do-ce-ah's wife, a Pottawattomie woman, killed Mah- qua-co-non-gah, in 1845, at the Osage village. Pung-ah-shin-gah killed Man-ce-ah, or Muncie, as he was called by the whites, in 1845. Keel-oh-com-e-ke-ah, who died but a few years ago, at his home, near the Mississinewa-a peaceable, manly Indian, and remarkable for his great weight, some four hun- dred pounds-killed Shoc-co-com-wah, under almost ludicrous. circumstances. They had been in town, drinking, and on their way home, somewhere near the old limekiln, on the road between Peru and the Mississinewa, Shoc-co-com-wah,
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who was quarrelsome, wanted to fight. Keel-oh-com-e-ke-ah said he did not want to fight, was not mad, and had noth- ing to fight about. The other insisted, at least to fight white fashion, with their fists. So, to gratify his friend, Keel- oh-com-e-ke-ah consented, and they got off their horses. They were both under the influence of liquor, and, before commencing, Shoc-co-com-wah took out his bottle, took a drink, and handed it to Keel-o-com-e-ke-ah, inviting him to drink. While the lat- ter had the bottle to his mouth, the other struck at him with a knife, cutting through his coat and inflicting a severe wound in his breast. Keel-o-com-e-ke-ah seized him by the throat, crushed him to the ground, held him there with one hand, while with the other he reached into his vest-pocket, got out a clasp dirk- knife, opened the blade with his teeth, and then struck it into the breast of his treacherous friend. He repeated his blows with the knife until he effectually cured the pugilistic Miami of all further disposition to fight white-man fashion.
"Keel-o-com-e-ke-ah, for years before his death, had been falling away in flesh, until, at the occurrence of that event, he did not weigh more than, perhaps, a hundred pounds. Once, years ago, when he was at his greatest weight, he was arrested in town for being drunk, and perhaps fifty men and boys were engaged in taking him before the mayor. His great strength enabled him to throw them off as though they were children; but, about the time they got him to the office, he was exhausted, and gave up, exclaiming, 'oh, too many-can't.'. The entrance to the Mayor's office was by an outside rickety stairs. The Mayor looked out of the window, and, seeing the elephantine proportions of the prisoner, dismissed the case for want of suf- ficient stairs."
Frances Slocum-Early in the thirties, it was discov- ered by Gen. George W. Ewing, that the widow of one of the distinguished war-chiefs was a white woman, who had been captured by the Delaware Indians when but a child of prob- ably six years. He learned from her, the name of her father and the further fact that the family lived on the Susquehanna in Pennsylvania, and he accordingly addressed a letter to a gen- tleman in Pennsylvania requesting its publication, thinking it might thereby reach some of the relatives. The following is an ex- tract from the letter of Gen. Ewing: "There is now near this place among the Miami tribe of Indians, an aged white woman, who a few days ago, told me, whilst I lodged in the camp with her one night, that she was taken away from her father's home on or near the Susquehanna River, when she was very young, say from five to eight years old; she thinks, by.the Delaware Indians who were then hostile to the whites. She says her
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father's name was Slocum, that he was a Quaker, rather small in stature, and wore a large broad-rimmed hat; was of sandy hair, light complexion and much freckled; that he lived about half a mile from a town where there was a fort; that they lived in a wooden house two stories high, and had a spring near the house. She says three Delawares came to the house in the day time, when all were absent but herself and perhaps two other small children; her father and brothers were absent making hay. The Indians carried her off and she was adopted into a family of Delawares who raised her and treated her as their own child. They died about forty years ago in Ohio. She was then mar- ried to a Miami, by whom she had four children, two of whom are now living, both daughters, and she living with them. She is old and feeble and thinks she will not live long, and these considerations induced her to give the present history of herself which she never would do before, fearing her kindred would come and force her away."
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