USA > Indiana > Posey County > History of Posey County, Indiana > Part 3
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Open Door was a gifted orator. He began by preaching a crusade against witchcraft, the drinking of intoxicating liquors, the intermar- riage of Indian women with white men, the dress and customs of the white race and the practice of selling Indian lands to the United States. He said that the Great Spirit required them to punish with death those who practiced the arts of witchcraft and magic, and declared that he had been given power to discover all such persons; to cure all dis- eases ; to confound his enemies, and to stay the arm of death in sick- ness and on the battlefield. Through the excitement caused by his preaching an old Delaware named Tate-e-bock-o-she, through whose influence the treaty with the Delawares had been made in 1804, was accused of witchcraft and upon his conviction was tomahawked and his body burned. His wife, nephew, and another aged Indian were then accused, tried and condemned. The two men were executed but the
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woman was saved by her brother, who led her out of the council house and, returning, rebuked the proceedings in an effective manner. When the news reached Governor Harrison he sent word to the Indians, plead- ing with them to renounce the prophet and return to reasonable ways of thinking. This had some effect but, in 1808, the Open Door, with a large following, settled near the mouth of the Tippecanoe river at a place which was afterward known as Prophet's Town.
Meantime, Tecumseh, following up the advantage of his brother's influence, as well as of his own popularity, began the organization of the various tribes into a confederacy. He declared the treaties hitherto entered into in reference to the lands beyond the Ohio river as null and void for the reason that, according to his idea, no single tribe had a right to cede any lands without the consent of the others, as the land belonged to all of them in common. He declared that he and his brother, the Prophet, would oppose any future attempts on the part of the white people to extend their territory. Early in 1808 Governor Harrison sent a speech to the Shawnees in which he accused Open Door of being in league with the British and asked the people to send him away to the lake region. In August of that year the Prophet visited Vincennes and spent several weeks there for the purpose of holding interviews with the governor. He was so smooth and talked so earnestly about his mission as a religious teacher that Harrison was led for the time being to believe him a man of honest motives. But he soon dis- covered his double nature and learned that he and his brother, Tecumseh, were enemies of the United States and in league with the British, whom they would induce the tribes to join in case of war between the two nations. In face of all these difficulties Harrison continued to extinguish Indian titles in Indiana and to secure lands for settlement, prosecuting this work in direct opposition to the two Shawnee brothers.
In the year 1810 the movements of Tecumseh and Open Door caused so much alarm among prospective immigrants as to materially retard settlement. Under the guise of forming a confederacy to prevent fur- ther sale of lands, Tecumseh, at the instigation of the English, was or- ganizing a force to oppose the American government. Governor Har- rison understood this and used all means he was able to contrive to prevent further progress of the scheme and break up the plot peace- fully. In the spring the officials who offered the followers of the Prophet their annuity were insulted and the provisions were refused. In the months that followed the governor made repeated efforts to con- ciliate the Prophet, but without avail. Finally, on August 10 of that year, Tecumseh with twenty of his principal warriors came in state to Vincennes to interview the governor. For twelve days Governor Harrison met them in a grove near his house in daily council. Tecumseh said that he wanted the lands which had been ceded to the white men
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northwest of the Ohio and gave the governor the alternative of return- ing them or engaging in war with the confederacy.
At this time some of the most fertile sections of Indiana were still the property of the Indians, and the eastern and western settlements were separated by the hunting grounds of the savages. It was not satis- factory to either white men or Indians, as the lands still held by the red men were now scarce of game and of little real use, while the fact that they were still the property of the Indians was a detriment to set- tlement anywhere in the State. Governor Harrison continued to per- suade different tribes of Indians to give up the lands which afforded them such scanty sustenance and accept the provisions from the gov- ernment, which were ample for all needs. This policy was vigorously opposed by the warriors, who would not agree to give up their habits until compelled to do so.
In the year 1811 the British Indian agent adopted measures for the support of the savages in the war which then seemed inevitable. To the last Harrison endeavored to destroy the influence of Tecumseh and the Prophet, but without avail. It was now coming to a point where it was with great difficulty that peace was maintained between the whites and Indians. An Indian would be killed and a white man scalped in return, neighborhood raids and depredations were a constant occur- rence and property was being destroyed on both sides. Finally the governor sent a message to Tecumseh and the Prophet telling them that for three years they had threatened the white people with war and that through reliable sources he had the information that it was their intention to murder him and then begin war upon the settlers. He warned them that they were about to undertake a very rash act, as the white men were prepared to defend themselves and that they far outnumbered the strongest force the Indians could muster. He told them that it was not the wish of the white men to hurt them, that it was the desire of the government that they should live long and happily beside the white people, but that they must desist from their hostile preparations and from seizing the salt which belonged to other tribes. He offered them the means to go to Washington for a conference with the President, should they desire to lay their wrongs before him. Te- cumseh received the messenger politely and send word to Harrison that he would visit Vincennes in a few days. He came on July 27, 18II, and brought with him a considerable force, against the specific instruc- tions of the governor, who told him he would not allow him to come into the settlements with an armed force. On the day of the arrival of Tecumseh Governor Harrison reviewed the militia of the county-about 750 well armed men-and stationed two companies of militia and a detachment of dragoons on the borders of the town. Tecumseh made his usual conciliatory talk, claiming that it was not his intention to make
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war, but merely to protect the Indian lands from encroachments. He asked forgiveness for the Indians who had killed white people and said the white people who had killed Indians were forgiven. He promised to send letters among the tribes to stop the depredations and murders and to go south as he wished to unite all the tribes, and upon his return would visit the President of the United States and settle all matters of difficulty. In the meantime he hoped that there would be no attempt to settle the lands ceded at the treaty of Fort Wayne, as he said the Indians needed those lands for themselves. Tecumseh took twenty war- riors and went south for the purpose of inducing the southern tribes to join his confederacy.
After realizing that peace could not be maintained with the Prophet and his followers, Harrison determined to resort to arms. The President gave him instructions to break up the Prophet's town and to that end he established a new fort on the Wabash. Colonel Boyd's regiment was ordered from the falls of the Ohio to Vincennes and soon Governor Har- rison had a powerful military expedition ready to march on Prophet's Town. On September 25, the day they were ready to start a number of chiefs arrived in Vincennes from their objective point and offered to disperse the Indians. This did not check the expedition, which started the next day under the personal command of Harrison. On October 3 the army camped on the site of Fort Harrison, where the city of Terre Haute now stands. On October II a few hostile Indians approached the camp, wounding one of the sentinels. Harrison sent a message to Prophet's Town requiring the Shawnees, the Winnebagoes, the Potta- watomies and the Kickapoos who were at that place to return to their respective tribes. The Prophet was required to give up all stolen horses and all murderers of white people. There was no reply made and Har- rison pursued the work of erecting the new fort on the Wabash, which by unanimous request of all subordinate officers was called Fort Har- rison. It was finished on October 28 and Lieutenant-Colonel Miller was left in charge with a small garrison. The next day Harrison, with a force of about 900 efficient men who could be called into action, moved toward the mouth of the Tippecanoe. About 270 men were mounted and there were in the army only 250 regular army men under Colonel Boyd, while the rest were citizens of Indiana to the number of 600, and sixty militia men from Kentucky. When within half a mile of Prophet's Town a conference was held with the Prophet, who ex- pressed surprise at the approach of an armed force. Harrison replied that he would hold an interview with him in the morning and hoped that things might end peacefully. They encamped on a spot of dry oak land which rose about ten feet above the marshy prairie in front of Prophet's Town. As the place was easily accessible to the enemy the order of encampment was the order of battle and each man slept
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immediately opposite his post. The single file formation of troops was adopted in order to extend the lines as far as possible. Here they re- mained without action until November 7, when about 4 in the morning, when the governor had just arisen, the left flank was charged by the Indians. The first notice that the troops had that the flank was in dan- ger was the yells of the savages a short distance from the line. How- ever, they met the situation with much courage. Those who were quick enough seized their arms and took their posts and those who were slower had to contend with the enemy in their tent doors. The storm center at the beginning was in Captain Barton's company of the Fourth United States regiment and in Captain Geiger's company of mounted riflemen, which formed the left angle of the rear line. As soon as the governor could mount he rode to the angle that was attacked and found that Barton's company had suffered severely and that Geiger's had been cut to pieces. Some of the Indians had passed into the encampment near the angle and two had penetrated the line before they were killed. Harrison ordered Cook's and Wentworth's companies to march up to the center of the rear line and form an angle in support. A heavy fire upon the left of the front line then attracted Governor Harrison's atten- tion and he rode up to where the companies of Bean, Snelling and Pres- cott and a small company of United States riflemen were stationed. Here Major Davies was forming the dragoons at the rear of these com- panies for support. Finding that the heaviest fire proceeded from be- hind some trees about twenty paces away, Harrison ordered Major Davies to dislodge the Indians from that position with his dragoons. The Major undertook this enterprise with fewer men than were required for the work and the enemy was thus enabled to avoid his front and attack his flanks. The dragoons were driven back and Major Davies was mortally wounded. Captain Snelling, however, immediately dis- lodged the Indians from their position. The work was being done under cover of darkness, as it was a cloudy morning and the few fires of the camp gave more aid to the enemy than to the soldiers and were extinguished shortly after the attack began. Within a few moments the firing extended along the left flank, the whole of the front, the right flank and part of the rear line. The Prophet stood on an elevation near by encouraging his men to battle by singing a favorite war song. The fire upon Spencer's mounted riflemen in the rear was exceedingly severe. Captain Spencer and his two lieutenants, first and second, were killed and Captain Warwick was mortally wounded. The companies stood bravely by their posts, but the attack was so severe on Spencer's command and they suffered so greatly in loss of numbers that Har- rison reënforced them with a company of riflemen that had been driven from their position on the left flank. The object of the governor was to keep the line intact and prevent the Indians entering the camp until
1139180
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the coming of daylight should give him an opportunity to charge. Ac- cordingly, he had reënforced every part of the line that was suffering very greatly from the attack, and as morning approached he withdrew several companies from the front and rear lines in order to reënforce the right and left flanks, knowing that the enemy would make their last stand against these points. When it was light enough to take the offensive Major Wells, who commanded the left flank, charged upon the enemy with the bayonet, driving them into the marsh where they could not be followed. In the meantime Captain Cook and Lieutenant Barabes marched their companies to the rear flank and, forming under fire, were joined by a company of riflemen and made a charge upon the enemy, killing a number of the Indians and putting the rest to disor- derly flight. This ended the famous battle of Tippecanoe, which meant so much to the peace and future development of the State of Indiana and Posey county, which we have now under consideration. The loss on the American side was thirty-seven killed on the field, twenty-five mortally wounded and 126 wounded. There were forty Indians killed on the field and the number wounded was unknown. On November 8 Prophet's Town was totally · destroyed, and on the eighteenth, after having cared for their wounded, the army under General Harrison re- turned to Vincennes, where the men were honorably discharged and allowed to go back to their homes. The surviving Indians lost their faith in the Prophet and in his ability to call upon the Great Spirit to render the bullets of the enemy ineffective. Those who had come from distant tribes returned to their homes and the confederacy was broken up. The Prophet left without a following and took up his residence with a small band of Wyandottes on Wildcat creek. Resolutions of appreci- ation and congratulation were extended to Governor Harrison by the territorial legislature. This would have ended Indian depredations in this section of the country had it not been for the War of 1812, which gave the hostile bands another opportunity.
Upon the defeat of his brother, the Prophet, Tecumseh went to On- tario to his friends, the English, and from there incited the Indians to an uprising. War between the United States and Great Britain was de- clared in June, 1812, and in September of the same year the Indians began to assemble in warlike numbers around Fort Wayne. A large force attacked Fort Harrison, while at the same time other bands made an extensive raid through the State, particularly in Clark and Jefferson counties, and massacred twenty-four persons at a colony called "Pigeon Roost Settlement." The attack upon Fort Harrison was made early in the morning, which is the Indian custom. There were but fifteen men there able for duty, the others being sick or convalescent, and it was with difficulty that Captain Zachary Taylor, the famous old hero who was in command, succeeded in saving the fort. The Indians set fire
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to the barracks in several places, and when daylight came so that they could be seen and fired upon they retired, killing the horses belonging to the citizens and driving away the cattle and oxen. Relief was imme- diately sent from Vincennes to the fort, but the Indians had withdrawn from the neighborhood.
Meantime, the little garrison at Fort Wayne was in a desperate situ- ation. A dispatch was sent to General Harrison requesting volunteers, but before they could arrive the Indians, learning that Harrison was coming to the relief, began a furious attack upon the little band de- fending the stronghold. However, they repelled the attack day after day until General Harrison with 3,500 men came to their relief. He arrived there on the tenth of September and the Indians retreated east and north. The town in the vicinity had been totally destroyed by the savages and as soon as General Harrison had made his camp he sent out two detachments and destroyed all the Indian villages in the whole region. This was the last struggle with the Indians in the State and Fort Wayne was permanently evacuated in 1819.
The process of extinguishing Indian titles inaugurated by General Harrison while governor of the territory was carried on until in 1830 there were only two tribes within the boundaries of the State. These were in a degenerate condition, ignorant, indolent, intemperate, depend- ent upon their neighbors for sustenance. Without prospects of living by the chase they gave themselves over to acts of reprisal from the nearby white settlements, committing murders and other outrages and display- ing their savage customs before the children of the white people. These things made it very desirable to be rid of them entirely and in 1831 the legislature in a joint resolution requested Congress to appropriate enough funds to extinguish the Indian titles within the State. The request was granted and the appropriation was made and the secretary of war designated three citizens to carry the transfer of the lands into effect. The Miami lands were surrounded entirely by white settle- ments and it was thought of greatest importance that their lands should be bought. A summons to the treaty was sent to this tribe and, although the chiefs obeyed promptly and cheerfully, they absolutely refused to sell their lands and go west. The negotiations with the Pottawatomies, however, were successful and they disposed of their entire claims in this State.
In July, 1837, the time arrived when, according to the treaty, the Pottawatomie nation had to give up their homeland and remove be- yond the Mississippi. It was a sad and solemn affair as they bade a last farewell to their hunting grounds, battle fields and play grounds of their childhood, realizing that they must soon be desecrated by the ploughshare of the white man. In the fall of the year about eighty or ninety of the leading men were taken across the Mississippi to select a
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new home for their people and the main exodus of about 1,000 people took place in the summer of 1838 under the direction of Colonel Pepper and General Tipton. It was a mournful procession of all sizes and ages of Indians, some in wagons, some on horseback and others on foot. Some seemed to pray, others to weep, and occasionally one of them would break from the line and return to their old camps, declaring that they would die in their native haunts. In this way scores of discontented emigrants returned home from different points in the journey and it was several years before all of them were induced to quit the land for the new home of their kinsmen across the Mississippi. Several years after the Pottawatomies had relinquished their lands in Indiana the Miamis, who were more obstinate, were conducted by coercive methods to the west by an escort of United States troops. Once a powerful nation, the Miamis had deteriorated in numbers and capabilities until at the time of their removal they were fewer than the Pottawatomies, who had for so long enjoyed their hospitality after being driven from their original homes in the lake region.
A striking example of Indian savagery is contained in "Recollections of the Wabash Valley," by Cox. On February II, 1781, a wagoner by the name of Irvin Hinton, accompanied by two young men, Richard Rue and George Holman, aged respectively nineteen and sixteen years, were sent from the block house at Louisville, Kentucky, to Harrodsburg for a load of provisions. Soon after their start a severe snow storm came up and they fired their guns off, intending to reload as soon as the storm ceased so that the melting snow would not dampen the powder in their rifles. Hinton drove, while Rue walked a few rods ahead and Holman about the same distance behind. They were waylaid by Simon Girty, a renegade white man, with thirteen Indians. Being so near the two forts, they made all possible speed to join the rest of the tribe at the vil- lage of Wa-puc-ca-nat-ta, which was several days' journey away. There the prisoners were compelled to run the gantlet and in this way were severely beaten. Hinton tried to escape but was brought back to camp and burned at the stake amid horrible orgies. The fire was slow and he was roasted for several hours before death relieved him. After three more days' march the other two prisoners were compelled to run the gantlet again and were nearly killed. It was decided that both should be burned at the stake that night. However, when the preparations were in progress a tall, noble looking Indian who had been opposed to this act of savagery took Holman by the hand and adopted him as his son in place of one he had lately lost. This Indian was Logan, who after- ward proved such a staunch friend to General Harrison in his cam- paigns for the peace of the Wabash country. The preparations for the burning of Rue went on. The two young men bade each other a touch- ing farewell, but just as the faggots had been lighted a young Shawnee
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came to the rescue of the poor fellow and adopted him as his brother. They were in captivity three and one-half years and spent most of this time in the Wabash country. A few days before their escape the two prisoners decided to question the tribal prophet concerning their fam- ilies at home. The Indian seer astonished them with correct descrip- tions of their loved ones and told them they were soon to go home to them. He described the perilous journey ahead of them, but said that just when they would give up all hope succor would come to them when least expected. He said the first game Rue would succeed in taking would be a male of some kind and after that he would have plenty of game and reach home safely. Strangely enough the prophet kept these things secret from the rest of the tribe, and a few days later the young man succeeded in getting away and, after just such experiences as the prophet had foretold, he reached home completely worn out from three weeks of exposure and walking through the rough country.
Holman's party returned to the village of Wa-puc-ca-nat-ta and he was once more put on trial for his life, but was saved by a small vote. In the time of his captivity he saw many brutal scenes enacted, one of them being the burning of a Kentuckian by the name of Richard Hoag- land, who was taken prisoner at the defeat of Colonel Crawford. They roasted him more than twelve hours before he died. The torture was excruciating and upon his begging to be killed they cut gashes in his flesh and heaped burning ashes into the wounds. When he was dead they scalped him, cut his body to pieces, burned it to ashes and scat- tered these through the village to ward off the evil spirits.
After three years and a half in captivity Holman saw an opportunity of going on a mission for destitute Indians. This took him to Harrods- ville, Ky., where he had a rich uncle who paid a ransom for him and he was released.
Such were the customs of the race of people who were driven out of Posey county to give place to the civilization now in evidence, and when we consider the improvements which the white men made in the course of a hundred years, having no more at their command than the savages had, namely, the earth and the fullness thereof, it does not seem so much of an injustice that the Indians were deprived of that which they could not or would not use.
CHAPTER II.
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GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY.
DRAINAGE - SOIL - STRATA - FOSSILS-MINERALS-EMINENT SCIENTISTS- EARLY HEADQUARTERS AT NEW HARMONY.
Posey county, Indiana, is bounded on the north by Gibson county, on the east by Gibson and Vanderburg, on the south by the Ohio river, and on the west by the Wabash river and the State of Illinois. The Ohio and Wabash rivers meet at its extreme southwestern point and it is crossed by Black river, Big creek and a number of smaller streams. The surface is flat bottom land with the exception of a small area of bluffs commencing at Mt. Vernon and extending four miles below. The land is very low and formerly was subject to yearly overflows. This condi- tion has been remedied since the land has been brought under cultiva- tion. The interior is undulating or rolling prairie, with the eastern part somewhat hilly. The bottom lands comprise about one-sixth of the area of the whole county and that formerly covered with forest com- prises three-fifths. There are no barrens or waste lands in the county. The bottom lands are a rich loam formed by the deposits of the rivers. It is more or less sandy. The soil in the interior formed by vegetation is a dark, rich loam resting upon a substantial yellow clay sub-soil.
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