USA > Indiana > Knox County > Vincennes > History of Old Vincennes and Knox County, Indiana, Volume I > Part 33
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+An appellation that was applied to Evansville a decade ago.
*Evansville Pocket, edition, 1897.
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In the division, by partition, of the Vanderburg estate Mrs. LeRoy be- came the owner of Bellevue which she subsequently sold to William *Patter- son, a nephew of Mrs. Jerome Bonaparte of Baltimore, Maryland. In disposing of the land it was the fervent wish of the family to have the remains of Judge Vanderburg exhumed and removed to the city cemetery, but all trace of the grave had disappeared, and, notwithstanding persistent and vigorous search was made, it was never found. In the touching words of the Evansville Pocket: "Nothing is left to mark even the last of all that is mortal of Judge Henry Vanderburg, but in striking contrast to the mutability of human life is the still surviving grace of his moral force exemplified in the honor which a state still bears him."
In October, 1779, the territorial legislature selected William Henry Harrison a delegate to congress from the Northwest Territory. His op- ponent in the race for that office was Arthur St. Clair, Jr., son of Governor St. Clair, who received ten votes, while Harrison got eleven.
The president of the United States in May, 1800, placed the seal of ap- proval on an act of congress entitled "an act to divide the territory of the United States northwest of the river Ohio into two separate governments." The said act provided that "from and after the 4th day of July next all that part of the territory of the United States northwest of the Ohio river which lies to the westward of a line beginning at the Ohio, opposite the mouth of the Kentucky river, and running thence to Fort Recovery, and thence north until it shall intersect the territorial line between the United States and Canada shall, for the purposes of temporary government, constitute a separate territory and be called the Indiana Territory."
At this stage in the existence of Old Vincennes her historie glory, ad- vantageous location, the beauty of the landscape by which she was sur- rounded, the fertile prairies and exhaustless woodlands, as well as being a seat of government, attracted emigrants from the east and south, and among the newcomers were men who subsequently became noted in the affairs of state and nation. General Harmar, who came to Vincennes in 1787, about a dozen years earlier than the period of which we write says "the town contains near four hundred houses-log and bark-out-houses, barns, etc .; the number of inhabitants about nine hundred souls, French ; and about four hundred souls, Americans." Joseph Buell, an orderly ser- geant in Harmar's regiment, who was, says Mr. Dunn, "a man of excellent character and withal a typical New Englander of the period in his religious and political notions," in his description of the place is as uncomplimentary as Mr. Volney, and there must have been something in his composition deeper than New England prejudice that led him to talk thus about us:
*Patterson was a very eccentric man in many respects. One of his greatest ec- centricities, however, was his love for dogs. He continually surrounded himself with a large pack of canines of the bull terrier species, which earned for him the so- briquet of "Bull Dog Patterson."
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"Post Vincent is a beautiful place was it settled with respectable people; but they are a mixture of all nations. The principal inhabitants are French, and pay little regard to religion or law. They are under guidance of an old Roman Catholic friar, who keeps them in ignorance as much as he can and fills them full of superstition. The people give themselves up to all kinds of vice, and are as indolent and idle a community as ever com- posed one town. They might live in affluence if they were industrious. The town has been settled longer than Philadelphia, and one-half of their dwelling houses are yet covered with bark like Indian wigwams. The in- habitants are quite numerous, and people from all parts of the United States are emigrating to this place." "The scheming friar," says Mr. Dunn, "to whom this Puritan soldier refers is none other than our good friend Father Gibault, and the superstition with which he filled his parishoners does not appear to have been anything worse than Catholicism."
Count Volney, who was in Vincennes in 1796 has written rather volu- minously about the place; and, in rather an interesting vein, says of his mental observations: "The eye is at first presented with an irregular sa- vannah eight miles in length and three in breadth, skirted by eternal forests and sprinkled by a few trees and an abundance of umbelliferous plants three or four feet high. Maize, tobacco, barley, wheat, squashes and some fruits grow in the fields around the village which contains about fifty houses, whose cheerful white relieves the eye after gazing upon the constant dark and green of the woods. The houses are placed along the left bank of the Wabash, which is about two hundred feet wide, and falling so low as to be but a few feet wide below the 'scite' of the town. The bank is sloping towards the savannah which is a few feet lower. Each house, as is custom- ary in Canada, stands alone and is surrounded by a court and garden fenced with poles. I was delighted with sight of peach trees loaded with fruit, but was sorry to see thorn apples, which are to be seen in all cultivated places from Gallipolis. Adjoining the village is a space enclosed by a ditch eight feet wide and sharpened stakes six feet high. This is called the fort and is a sufficient protection against the Indians. I had a letter of introduction to a principal man of the place, a Dutchman by birth, who spoke good French. I was accommodated at his home in the kindest and most hospitable manner for ten days.
"The day after my arrival a court was held to which I repaired to make my remarks on the scene. On entering I was surprised to observe the difference in the races of men. The first has a ruddy complexion, round face and plump body, which indicates health and ease. This set was forcibly contrasted in strength with the emaciated form and meager and tawny visage of the other. I soon discovered that the former were settlers from the neighboring states, whose lands had been reclaimed for five or six years' standing in the district. The latter, with a few exceptions, knew nothing of English, while the former were almost as ignorant of the French. I had acquired in this country a sufficient knowledge of the
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English to converse with them, and was thus enabled to hear the tale of both. The French, in a querulous tone, recountered the losses and hard- ships they had suffered, especially since the Indian war in 1788. Be- fore the peace of 1763, by which England obtained control of this terri- tory and Spain, Louisiana, they enjoyed tranquility and happiness under the protection of Spain, in the heart of the wilderness, unmolested, seques- tered, fifty leagues from the nearest post on the Mississippi, without taxes, and in friendship with the Indians, they passed their lives in hunting and fishing, bartering in furs, and raising a little corn and a few esculents for their familes. They probably numbered three hundred persons, and were free from all taxes till they were visited in 1788 by a detachment, which killed or drove away the greater part of their cattle, their chief source of wealth. They trade their land grants, four hundred acres to each family, for thirty cents an acre, when it is worth two dollars, and this in goods at an exorbitant rate. They have nothing to live on except fruit. maize, and now and then a little game. They complain that they are cheated and robbed in the courts, in which there are five judges, who know little of the law, and three of them know nothing of the language. Their education was entirely neglected tell the arrival of Abb. R., (Father Rive) a patriotic, well educated and liberal-minded man who was exiled by the French Revolution. Out of nine of the French, six only could read or write, while the English could do both. To my surprise they speak pretty good French, intermixed with some foreign phrases, mostly learned from the soldiers.
"Notwithstanding I was at considerable trouble I could not fix the settle- ment earlier than 1757, but by talk with old settlers it may have been as early as 1735. We must allow that they are a kind and hospitable set, but for idleness and ignorance they beat the Indians themselves. They know nothing at all of the arts or domestic affairs; the women neither sew nor spin, nor make butter, but pass their time in gossip and tattle, while at home all is dirt and disorder. The men do nothing but hunt, fish, wan- der about the woods or lie in the sun. They do not lay up stores for a rainy day as we do. They can not cure pork or venison, or make sauer kraut, or spruce beer, or distil spirits from apples or rye, all necessary arts to the farmer. When they trade they try by extortion to make much out of little, and what they get they fool away in beads and baubles upon Indian girls, and spend their time in relating stories of insignificant personal adventures."
The French inhabitants at the Old Post were puzzles to the Ameri- can emigrants. Their habits and social customs were so different from anything ever experienced by the newcomers, who were particularly amused by the names applied by the natives to streams and places which, they subsequently learned from the translation, were given to recall some simple incident. A paragraph appearing in Spark's Expansion of the American People, p. 229, will serve as an illustration : "Vide Poche (empty pocket)
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might signify either an inlet of water or it might commemorate the ad- venture of some impecunious wayfarer. Prairie du Chien (prairie of dogs) recalled the 'dog' tribe of Fox Indians. Some French names were transformed or translated by the incoming Americans. La Riviere au Vase was rendered into Muddy River; Port des Marts became Death's Door ; Roche Jaune was turned into Yellowstone; Bois Brüle (burnt wood) grew into Bob Ruby ; au Post to O'Post; Bonne Passe (good crossing) to Bon- pas, or Bumpas; Wabash to Way-bosh; Terre Haute (high land) into Tar Holt." The primitive methods of agriculture were also a revelation to the new settlers, who had never before seen farmers working oxen to a plow where a wooden stick tied across the horns of the beast was made to answer for a yoke, and where dumb animals pushed instead of hauled their burdens. Rawhide harness and wooden bits for horses, which were generally driven tandem, was another feature of the work about the farm and streets that came under the observation of the new arrivals for the first time; and the calache was a vehicle the likes of which they had never heard. It was constructed with so much originality and ingenuity that it had no counterpart anywhere in the country, and hence instantly became a great novelty. The vulgar term for the calache was a French-cart-a two- wheeled arrangement into the construction of which not a single piece of iron entered. It answered the purpose of a family carriage as well as a vehicle for transporting wood and other products of the farm to market. The French-cart as late as the middle of the nineteenth century was a familiar sight on the streets and until after the establishment of the In- diana territory it was the only kind of conveyance used by the farmers. There are quite a few residents of Vincennes now living who can recall to mind the picture of these primitive vehicles, laden with wood, and the honest farmers, standing beside them, as they were drawn in line around the old market house. The top layers of wood were piled in the cart solid and even, but the sticks on the bottom of the bed were generally placed in such a manner as to give the load the appearance of possessing a quantity which in reality it did not have. The deception along this line got to be a legitimate stock in the wood trade, practiced by all dealers, and the buyer who failed to have delivered to him a smaller load than he bargained for felt disappointed.
The calache was a product of necessity' and was always a home-made affair. Every man who owned a cart was the manufacturer of it. While the body of the cart was not roomy-being about the size of a large dry- goods box and very similar in shape-it always seemed to have sufficient capacity to accommodate the entire family ; and on Sundays and fast days around the primitive church "might be seen the patriarch of his flock, with blanket capot, a blue cotton handkerchief around his head, with pipe in his mouth, and with his family seated in chairs, in his untired cart, which, had never known the use of iron, drawn by a Canadian pony, and con- veying his generation, as his fathers before him had done theirs, to the wor-
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ship of the same God, and in the same manner, and after the same creed as their ancestors for centuries before had worshipped in La Belle France, from whose shores they had been transplanted to those of the St. Lawrence."*
The French habitants of Vincennes in every relation of life were swayed by honest, upright and honorable motives. Their hospitality was unbounded, and they accorded to a stranger within their gates the most cordial and generous treatment, inviting him to their homes to partake of the best the larder afforded, and bidding him remain under the shelter and protection of their thatched roofs as long as he wished. While not strictly in accord with the Puritanical ideas of religion, nor in keeping with the orthodox views of any other religion, the practices they indulged in on the Sabbath after mass were acts of indiscretion merely, more mis- chievous than malicious.
The same social customs prevalent in the settlements of Louisiana back of the Mississippi during Creole supremacy were in vogue at Vincennes during territorial days. But with the passing of the second generation of de- scendants of the French pioneer settlers the old customs have entirely dis- appeared-naught remains of the early social customs among the people but a natural inclination to be hospitable. The Creole fiddler is now only a being which tradition points out and the music of his inspired instrument is heard no more.
The French Creoles were certainly a fun-loving people, and seemed to get more real enjoyment out of life than any other class. The charivari was purely of French origin, and was practiced early in the eighteenth cen- tury. It was an invention originally intended by the French to show dis- approval of the mismating of married people. When the Americans came on the scene, they borrowed the idea, but "charivaried" just for the sake of teasing, or annoying, the newly wedded pair. The French accepted the corruption placed on it by the Americans, and now, while the practice is frequently indulged in today by all classes, it does not follow that the parties who are made the victims of the charivari are looked on with dis- favor by those participating. The wedding feast was always an occasion for pranks and jollity, not alone with the French, but with the pioneers of all nationalities, and in the majority of marriages of territorial days there was no distinction of rank and very little of fortune, and for this reason "love at first sight" marriages were more frequent than any other kind. After the ceremony, after the feast, which was always held at the home of the bride, the order was given "on with the dance," which began immediately at the conclusion of the wedding meal, whether breakfast, dinner or supper, and continued until the following morning. About nine or ten o'clock on the evening of the eventful day, while the dance was in full swing, a deputation of young ladies would steal away the bride and put her to bed, a performance that necessitated the use of a ladder, in order to
*Law's Colonial History of Vincennes, pp. 139-140.
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gain the cock-loft. The upper floor was laid loosely and was generally immediately above the kitchen. Here, in this pioneer bridal chamber the unsophisticated, sweet-tempered and simple-hearted girl was put to bed by her admiring and enthusiastic friends. This feat having been accomplished, a deputation of young men escorted the groom to the same apartment and tenderly laid him by the side of his bride. The dance has not been inter- rupted while these interesting incidents are transpiring, and the boys and girls who enacted them-except two-have joined the merry revelers again. If the assemblage has grown so large there are not sufficient seats for all, the gentlemen who are not dancing occupy the chairs and offer the ladies who are not dancing to sit on their laps, the invitation always being accepted. Fermented spirits were always in evidence on these festive occasions and freely used, but not often to excess.
The favorite dance with the French natives was the King ball, which at first was only an annual occurrence, given on New Year's night, but in later years such affairs took place frequently, during the fortnightly season immediately preceding Lent. At these functions a king and queen were selected, to whom the guests paid pronounced deference, who led the march and with whom it was esteemed a great honor to dance.
On New Year's eve, as well as the day following, every household laid in a goodly supply of edibles and drinkables for visitors, who were wont to come to the cabin door and sing French songs of gladness and cheer for the edification of the inmates, who never allowed the singers to depart with- out furnishing them with plenty of refreshments and bestowing mementos of some character. The custom of making New Year's calls was quite general among the French Canadians.
Another feature of New Year's regulations was masquerading parties, which generally made night calls, at the various houses, where they were cordially received and royally entertained. The custom is followed to some extent to this day. But, the "antideluvians," who many years ago turned out in grotesque costumes, and rode like mad through the streets on horse- back, had their origin in the eighteenth century and ended their existence towards the close of the nineteenth.
Easter Sunday was another occasion when the Creoles made special visits among neighbors and acquaintances and made presents of colored eggs and other articles; and on Christmas, did they not make a general bestowal of gifts and an exchange of presents with relatives, friends and acquaintances, they would deem themselves almost guilty of sacrilege.
But, with all these evidences of a more refined nature, they could not resist the temptation to gamble, sport and carouse, and the cock-pit, race track and card table held ont to them fascinations they could not resist. Yet, with all these weaknesses, they frequently displayed a true nobility of heart. Ignorant of wrong doing, they dwelt in peace and contentment, in a house in architectual design like the accompanying illustration. The dwelling in reality was a log cabin, made more modern looking by an
A TYPICAL FRENCH DWELLING
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addition of weatherboarding. The photograph from which this cut is made is after the "last survivor" of these ancient domiciles, which is fre- quently pointed out as the home of "Alice of Old Vincennes."
A TYPICAL FRENCH DWELLING
Mr. Volney's reference to the nine citizens he met at court is not a sufficient number from which to get a gauge to measure the worth of the average citizen. There were quite a number of respectable French gentle- men having an abiding place in Vincennes at the time the blasé traveler paid his visit, and of one of these it is now the writer's pleasure to speak.
Another distinguished citizen of Vincennes, who came prominently into notice with the establishment of the Indiana territory, was Toussaint Dubois, in honor of whom Dubois county was named. Like quite a num- ber of the French settlers of the Old Post, he was of noble birth, but left his native country at an early age to seek his fortune in the new world. His objective point was Canada, but shortly after his arrival in the dominion he saw brighter prospects beyond, and it was not long until he had invaded the wild regions of the Wabash, locating at Vincennes. Possessed of con- siderable wealth, and having acquired large tracts of land before he was here a great while, he began to enlarge the volume of his worldly goods by trading with the Indians, into whose good graces he had a wonderful faculty of ingratiating himself. The fur trade was to his liking, and he soon familiarized himself with every branch of the business, becoming an adept in drying, compressing, packing and preparing peltries for shipment. Large fortunes were made at that time in the fur trade conducted along the banks of the Wabash, and the shrewdest of traders were engaged in the traffic, resulting in the liveliest competition. Mr. Dubois, who had thoroughly acquainted himself with the Indian character by learning their tastes and habits, as well as their business acumen, generally outclassed his competitors in driving bargains with the dusky denizens of the forest, diplomatically managing to get the pick and choice of the furs and peltries, for which blankets, guns, pistols, powder, bullets and fire-water, especially the latter, were exchanged. Detroit was the receiving depot for furs and peltries, and the quantity of these articles shipped from this localty was something enormous. Boats for the purpose were built of sufficient capacity to carry forty or fifty bales of skins after they had been cured and prepared for shipment, and it required from four to five mnen to man a boat; the route adopted being up the Big Wabash, thence to Little Wabash, to the portage, near Fort Wayne, where the boats and cargo were toted overland to the head waters of the Maumee, thence by that stream to Detroit. Mr. Dubois had frequently made the trip over this route, and, because of his familarity with the country between Vincennes and Detroit, General Harrison con- sidered him a valuable man to aid him in his contemplated attack on the Indians, who were terrorizing the settlements on the Upper Wabash. As Vol. I-18
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a matter of fact, Mr. Dubois volunteered to assist in solving the vexatious Indian problems, and his services subsequently proved of inestimable worth. Later General Harrison appointed him captain of the spies and guides of the Indiana militia, an organization made imperative by the impending battle of Tippecanoe, a commission which he held subsequent to that memorable event, wherein he had distinguished himself as a brave and gallant soldier. Upon that field among the men of his brigade who stood shoulder to shoulder with him were Silas McCulloch, R. G. Sullivan, William Bruce, William Polk, Pierre Andre, Ephriam Jordan, William Hogue, David Wilkins, John Hollingsworth, Thomas Learens, Joseph Arpin, Abraham Decker, Samuel James, David Mills, Stewart Cunning- ham, Bocker Childers, Thomas Jordon.
The military record of Thomas Dubois is a lengthy and honorable one ; and his successful treaties with the Indians, by which large tracts of land were secured for the government and friendly relations between tribes and the United States maintained, are among the noteworthy features of Har- rison's administration as governor of Indiana territory. "Capt. Dubois was the last white man to visit the headstrong prophet" says Mr. Wilson, in his excellent history of Dubois county, "before the tocsin of war sounded the alarm," and the information secured by strategy from the prophet by the captain, relating to war preparations of the Indians pre- ceding the battle of Tippecanoe, no doubt resulted in lessening the loss to the militia in that conflict, if it did not prove the means of gaining a brighter record for Harrison as an Indian fighter than he would have otherwise achieved .*
It has been stated that Toussaint Dubois was disinherited by his father for having left the parental roof to make his adventuresome journey to America in company with General Lafayette, which statement is denied in toto by a descendant of the Duboises, (Mrs. Arthur Huntington) a bright and intelligent woman of Springfield, Ill., who has devoted consider- able time in collecting data pertaining to the Dubois family, and whio cer- tainly knows whereof she speaks. She says Mr. Dubois never came to this country until after Lafayette's arrival. However, Mr. Dubois proved to be a most valuable citizen to Vincennes, and his exemplary life, his patriot- ism, his loyalty to his friends and adopted town are worthy the emulation of every good citizen who has at heart the welfare of the community in which he lives. Through his untiring energy Mr. Dubois, as a merchant in Vincennes, and as a fur trader whose operations extended all over the Wabash country, through honest and square dealing, amassed quite a for- tune in his day, and his landed estates were among the most extensive, as well as the most picturesque, held by any individual in the community at that time. For many years he was the proud possessor of Robeson's Hills -(then called "Dubois Hills")-those minature mountains on the west
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