USA > Indiana > Tipton County > History of Tipton County Indiana > Part 2
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History sheds little light upon this race, although the testimonials left bear witness that agriculture was an extensive industry with them, also weav- ing and spinning, and the art of stone-cutting.
THE MIAMIS.
The Indian tribes inhabiting the county of Tipton were the Miamis, Dela- wares and the Pottawatomies. Before describing their life in this county it is well to give a brief history of each of the tribes.
The Miamis were a leading and very powerful branch of the Algonquin family. The tribe was known by various names, of which the initial name was "Twa twas." In history they are referred to frequently as the "Tew twees," and again as the Twightwees, Omees, Omamees, Aumamias, and finally Miamis. Bancroft, the historian, writes that they were the most pow- erful confederacy in the West, excelling the Six Nations, or Iroquois. The Miamis were first known about the year 1669, in the vicinity of Green bay, where they were visited by the French missionaries, Claude Allouez and Claude Dablon. From there they passed south and eastward around the southern shores of Lake Michigan, occupying the regions of Chicago, and afterward establishing a village on the St. Joseph, another on the Miami river, and another on the Wabash. The territory claimed by this confederacy
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TIPTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
is narrated by Chief Little Turtle, in a speech delivered by him at the treaty of Greenville on July 22, 1795. He said in part: "General Wayne, I hope you will pay attention to what I now say to you. I wish to inform you where your younger brothers, the Miamis, live, and also the Pottawatomies of St. Joseph's, together with the Wabash Indians. You have pointed out to us the boundary line between the Indians and the United States, but now I take the liberty to inform you that that line cuts off from the Indians a large portion of country which has been enjoyed by my forefathers from time immemorial, without molestation or dispute. The print of my ancestors' houses are every- where to be seen in this portion. I was a little astonished at hearing you and my brothers who are now present, telling each other what business you had transacted together at Muskingum, concerning this country. It is well known by all my brothers present that my forefather kindled the first fire at Detroit; from thence he extended his lines to the headwaters of the Scioto; from thence, to its mouth; from thence, down the Ohio to the mouth of the Wabash river, and from thence to Chicago on Lake Michigan; at this place I first saw my elder brothers, the Shawnees. I have now informed you of the boundary lines of the Miami nation, where the Great Spirit placed my forefather a long time ago and charged him not to sell or part with his lands, but to preserve them for his posterity."
In 1765 the Miami confederacy was composed of the following branches : The Twightwees, located at the head of the Miami river; the Ouiatenons, in the vicinity of their village of the same name, on the north side of the Wea plains, on the south branch of the Wabash, a short distance below the present city of Lafayette, in Tippecanoe county. The Piankeshaws had about three hundred warriors.
THE POTTAWATOMIES.
The Pottawatomies established themselves in the northwestern portion of the state, had crossed the Wabash and were familiar to the early settlers of Tipton county. At the opening of the seventeenth century they held the lower peninsula of Michigan, in scattered bands, independent of each other. At that time there was no central government of the tribe and its divisions. They were hunters and fishermen, and raised few crops, but were very war- like, and had frequent struggles with neighboring tribes. They were finally driven to the West by the Iroquois. They settled on the islands and shores of Green bay, and the French organized missions among them. Perrot ac- quired great influence with the tribe, who took sides with the French against the Iroquois. Onangnice, their chief, was one of the parties to the Montreal
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TIPTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
treaty in 1701. The tribes gradually spread over southern Michigan and northern Illinois and Indiana, a mission on the St. Joseph acting as sort of central point. They allied with Pontiac and attacked St. Joseph fort, captur- ing the commandant, Schlosser, on May 25, 1763. They were hostile to the Americans in the Revolution and subsequently, but after Wayne's victory joined in the treaty of Greenville, December 22, 1795. The tribes comprising the families of the Golden Carp, Frog, Crab and Tortoise, was then composed of the St. Joseph's, Wabash and Huron river bands, with a large scattering population generally called the Pottawatomies of the Prairie, who were a mixture of many Algonquin tribes. From 1803 to 1809 the various bands sold to the government portions of land claimed by them, receiving money and annuities. Yet in the war of 1812 they again joined the English, influenced by Tecumseh. A new treaty of peace was made in 1815, followed rapidly by others, by which their lands were almost entirely conveyed away. A large tract was assigned to them on the Missouri and in 1838 the St. Joseph's band was carried off by troops, losing one hundred and fifty out of eight hundred on the way by death and desertion. The whole tribe numbered then about four thousand. The St. Joseph, Wabash and Huron bands had made progress in civilization, and were Catholics; while the Pottawatomies of the Prairie were still roving and pagan. A part of the tribe was removed, with some Chippewas and Ottawas, but they eventually joined the others or disappeared. In Kansas the civilized band, with the Jesuit mission founded by DeSmet and Hoecken, advanced rapidly, with good schools for both sexes. A Baptist mission and school was more than once undertaken among the less tractable Prairie band, but was finally abandoned. A treaty, proclaimed April 19, 1862, gave individual .Indians a title to their several tracts of land under cer- tain conditions, and, though delayed by the Civil war, this policy was carried out in the treaty of February 27, 1867. The experiment met with varied suc- cess. Some did well and improved; others squandered their lands and their portions of the funds and became paupers. Many of these scattered, one band even going to Mexico.
THE DELAWARES.
The Delaware tribe was a part of the Algonquin nation, and living, when first becoming known to the white men, in scattered bands. under separate sachems, on the Delaware river, and calling themselves Renappi, meaning a collection of men, sometimes written Lenape or Leno Lenape. The Delawares can be traced as having come from the West, with the Minquas, after having driven from the Ohio the Allequewi. The Minquas soon placed the Delawares
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TIPTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
in a state of vassalage, and when they were beaten by the strong Five Nations, they were named "women," a most odious term to the Indian. They formed three clans, the Turtle, the Turkey and the Wolf. During the early Virginia settlement at Jamestown, supply ships bound for the colony stopped at various places. Upon one of these came Lord De la Warre, who put into the mouth of the river upon which these Indians were settled; hence the name of the river and the tribe. The Dutch settlements traded with these clans, the most important of which was the Saukhicans, at the falls of the Delaware river. These traders bought lands of the Renapi, who had to strike inland to supply game for furs. In 1744, during the progress of the treaty negotiations at Lan- caster, Pennsylvania, the Iroquois refused to recognize the Delawares, and peremptorily ordered them to move to other hunting grounds, which the crest- fallen tribe did shortly. They moved westward and first settled upon White river in Indiana. Here missionary work was attempted among them, but was broken up by the Prophet and Tecumseh. In the war with Great Britain, the Delawares were loyal to the States. In 1818, however, they again moved westward and settled in Missouri and Kansas. They enlisted many of their strongest braves in the Civil war for the preservation of the Union. In 1866 their reservation was cut up by the Pacific railroad, and they sold it to the government. They next settled on lands near the Verdigris and Cane in 1868, and those remaining now are regarded as fairly good citizens.
INDIANS IN TIPTON COUNTY.
The Indians were not removed from Tipton and Howard counties until the year 1846. They went north to Peru, then, by way of Cincinnati, to their western home beyond the Mississippi. Richardville, the Miami chief, for whom Howard county was originally named, was the successor of Little Tur- tle. His other name was Pee-jee-wah. He was one who signed by his "X" at the treaty of Greenville, Indiana,a town now extinct, which existed in the vicinity of Terre Haute, in August, 1795, made with General Wayne by the sachems of the Miamis, Eel Rivers, Wyandots, Delawares, Shawnees, Otta- was, Chippewas, Pottawatomies, Weas, Kickapoos, Piankeshaws and Kaskas- kias. From 1840 to 1845 there were about two hundred Indians along Wild- cat creek.
THE RESERVE.
The Indian reserve was originally thirty-six miles square, running as follows: Commencing near the town of La Gro, on the Wabash, running
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thence through Wabash and Grant counties into Madison county, its south- east corner was about four miles southeast of Independence at the center of section 27; thence running south of west, parallel with the general course of the Wabash river, across Tipton county and through the town of Tipton, and crossing the west line of Tipton county about three miles north of its south- west corner, to where it intersects a line running north and south from Logansport, which is the western boundary of Howard county, one mile west of range line number I east; thence north to Logansport; thence up the Wabash to the mouth of the Salamonie, then embracing parts of the Wabash, Grant, Madison, Tipton, Clinton, Carroll and Cass counties, and all of what was Richardville and is now Howard, and containing about nine hundred and thirty thousand acres. By a treaty, a strip was taken off the north side, five miles wide, to build the Wabash and Erie canal.
Near the year 1837 the Legislature of the state of Indiana passed a law setting aside certain lands to be sold, and to be used for the route of the Wabash and Erie canal. This was done, and in just recent years litigation has resulted from the owners, or descendants of owners, in regard to these land scripts. The exact route of the canal in some places, particularly the above location, is now in doubt, all traces having disappeared.
Within the county of Tipton there was never an Indian village nor battle between them and the whites. In the early part of the present century it constituted the joint hunting grounds of the Miamis, Delawares and Pot- tawatomies. Black bears, deer, wolves and other animals once were thick in the territory now embraced by Tipton county, and the red men were fond of killing these animals for their meat and hides. They would camp for days on the animals' trails.
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CHAPTER II.
GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF COUNTY.
In the thirty-seventh annual report of the Indiana department of geol- ogy, issued under the date of 1912, Lewis A. Hurst, of the United States department of agriculture, and E. J. Grimes, of the Indiana department of geology, have written a very extensive soil survey of Tipton county. To supply the necessities of this chapter this account is used verbatim, some parts of it being extracted and used in another portion of this work, namely, the description of Tipton county agriculture.
Following is this report :
DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA.
Tipton county is situated in the north-central part of Indiana and has an area of one hundred and sixty-six thousand four hundred acres, or two hundred and sixty square miles. The county forms a rectangle about twenty miles long from east to west and thirteen miles wide from north to south. It is bounded on the north and west by Howard and Clinton counties, on the south by Hamilton county, and on the east by Madison and Grant counties. As a whole the surface of the county is a monotonously level and featureless till plain, interrupted in places by morainic knolls and swells. The boldest relief is found along the larger stream courses, especially along the lower course of Cicero creek and in the vicinity of Duck creek, which crosses the extreme southeastern part of the county. A rather prominent moraine in the southwestern section and small morainic areas in the northwest and northeast afford some relief to the generally level topography. The average elevation of the county is between eight hundred and fifty and nine hundred feet above sea level.
The summit of the drainage divide between Wabash and White rivers extend in a general east and west direction across the center of the county.
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TIPTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
The streams north of this divide empty into the Wabash, while those on the southern side lead to the White river. Since almost all of the area is so level that its streams have a very gentle, gradual fall, the entire area might be said to occupy the so-called summit of the watershed. There are no large rivers in the county.
The drainage of the area south of the divide is affected through Cicero, Duck and Pollywog creeks and their tributaries. Cicero creek and its tribu- taries, including Prairie, Wallace, Jericho, Nixon, Wolf and Buck creeks, drain the central and southern parts of the county, emptying into the White river. Pollywog creek receives most of the drainage from the southeastern portion of the area through various minor stream courses, most of which are merely open ditches, and flows into Duck creek.
North of the divide Mud and Turkey creeks form the chief drainage outlets. These streams rise in the western part of the county, and, receiving the waters of various small tributaries, flow in a general northeasterly direc- tion until they reach the northeastern portion of the area. There they unite to form Wild Cat creek, which empties into Wabash river outside the county. Turkey creek receives the drainage of the central portion of the county north of the divide, while Mud creek drains the northern section of the area. Irwin creek, a small tributary of Wild Cat creek, drains a part of the northeast cor- ner of the county. Swamp and Little Wild Cat creeks are minor streams which furnish the drainage for the northwest corner of the county.
CLIMATE.
No official weather records for Tipton county are available, but the gen- eral climatic conditions are shown by the figures in the following table, which are taken from the records of the nearest United States weather bureau sta- tion, located at Marion, Indiana. The table below shows the normal monthly, seasonal and annual temperature and precipitation covering a period of years :
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TIPTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
TEMPERATURE.
PRECIPITATION.
MONTH.
Mean.
Absolute
maximum.
Absolute
minimum.
Mean.
Total amount for
the driest year.
Total amount for
the wettest year.
Snow aver-
age depth.
ºF
ºF
OF Inches. Inches. Inches. Inches.
December
30
66
-12
2.4
3.3
2.4
6.0
January
26
66
-25
1.9
1.8
3.9
9.5
February
26
67
-19
2.6
0.5
1.8
7.6
Winter
27
6.9
5.6
8.1
23.1
=
March
39
81
2
3.3
2.2
6.2
5.0
April
51
89
15
3.5
1.7
2.6
1.0
May
62
96
26
4.7
0.8
8.4
0.2
Spring
51
11.5
4.7
17.2
6.2
June
71
100
35
4.5
1.4
4.3
0.0
July
74
100
37
2.9
0.8
2.1
0.0
August
73
101
40
2.9
1.4
2.1
0.0
Summer
73
10.3
3.6
2.1
0.0
September
67
101
29
2.8
2.5
2.5
0.0
October
54
91
15
1.9
0.9
3.5
T
November
40
75
2
3.6
5.4
3.5
2.9
Fall
54
8.3
8.8
9.5
2.9
Year
51
105
-25
37.0
22.7
43.3
32.2
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TIPTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
It will be noted that the average annual temperature at Marion is 51.º F. and the average annual precipitation 37 inches. An average from the records of the stations located at Indianapolis, Lafayette and Greenfield show the annual temperature for the territory covered by these stations to be 55º F. and the average annual precipitation 44.06 inches. From all these figures an approximate estimate of conditions prevailing over Tipton county may be obtained.
There are no very marked extremes in temperature, with the exception of an occasional extremely cold winter. The maximum and minimum tem- peratures quoted, 105° above and 25° below zero, are usually of short dura- tion. Hot spells rarely last any great length of time except in very dry weather, when they may continue for several weeks, but any excessive heat is usually tempered by winds. The annual mean snowfall for the county is 32.2 inches. Snow sometimes remains several weeks, and even months, but more frequently disappears within a short time. The thermometer occasionally drops to twenty or more degrees below zero, but these temperatures are rare. Even zero temperature is uncommon and when it occurs is of short duration. The depth to which the ground freezes is variable. Ordinarily it remains frozen only a few weeks and thaws in February or March.
The precipitation is fairly well distributed throughout the growing sea- son, so that crops rarely suffer from extreme drought or excessive moisture. As shown in the foregoing table. the greatest amount of rainfall is received during May and June.
The length of the growing season is about five and a half months, the average dates of the last killing frost in the spring and the first in the fall being April 24th and October 2d, respectively. The earliest date recorded of a killing frost in the autumn is September 14th and the last in the spring is May 22d.
SOILS.
A heavy mantle of glacial drift or till was deposited over the entire county during the glacial period by the last invasion of the ice, known as the Wisconsin stage. The drift material consists of a moderately stiff, clay-like mass at the surface, grading downward into a lighter, sandy and gravelly material. Occasionally rock fragments and bowlders occur throughout the till, but nowhere in large quantities. The glacial deposit has a depth of forty to seventy-five feet along the northern and eastern borders of the county and two hundred to three hundred feet along the southern and western boundary.
The underlying geological formations have not contributed to the for-
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TIPTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
mation of the various soil types. The Devonian measures in the western part of the county and the Niagara limestone in the eastern section occur at too great depths to outcrop at the surface or influence the soils.
It is from the upper part of the glacial till that the upland soils of the Miami series have been derived directly through weathering. This series is represented in Tipton county by two types, a silt loam and a loam. The loam member is confined to the more rolling areas along stream courses and the few moraines that were large enough to be indicated on the map.
Two soils of the Clyde series, a silty clay loam and a loam, are developed in numerous enclosed tracts formed by the promiscuous deposition of till material during the recession of the ice sheet at the close of the Wisconsin stage of glaciation. These areas remained in a semi-swampy condition until artificially drained; and this favored the accumulation of organic matter. The Clyde series therefore comprises essentially till material or wash from till soils modified by weathering under conditions of restricted drainage and by the accumulation of large quantities of black organic matter.
The alluvial deposits, consisting of reworked drift material, have been separated into two series on the basis of certain physical differences. princi- pally in color. A dark colored, nearly black, soil has been classed as Wabash silty clay loam, and two types of brown soil are included with the Genesee series.
The narrow strips of unassorted alluvial material developed along some of the smaller streams are mapped as meadow, while in some depressed areas which were formerly swamps or lakes the accumulation of organic matter has resulted in the formation of small bodies of muck.
In the survey of Tipton county nine types of soil, including muck and meadow (Genesee material), have been mapped on the scale of one inch to the mile. These types are distinguished by separate colors.
MIAMI SILT LOAM.
The Miami silt loam includes the greater part of the better drained uplands of the county. It is known locally as "clay land," as distinguished from the "black land." The type is a silt loam, and the term "clay land" probably has reference to the tendency of the soil to clod or run together. This tendency is due to the lack of humus in the soil and to the fact that it is frequently plowed when too wet.
The surface soil to an average depth of about eight inches is a compact silt loam. It is light brown when moderately moist and grayish when dry.
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TIPTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
The subsurface portion of the soil frequently has yellow or a creamy-yellow color when partially dried out.
The subsoil between eight and about twelve to fifteen inches is a grayish- brown or yellowish-brown heavy silt loam or silty clay loam. Below this the material is a yellowish-brown silty clay loam to silty clay, mottled with gray in the upper part, grading below into a darker brown, friable silty to sandy clay, known as "bowlder clay." This is generally encountered at about twenty- four to thirty inches, although along the stream courses and over the sharper knolls and ridges it occurs at a depth of eighteen to twenty inches. Below three to four feet the substratum gradually becomes lighter both in color and texture until at a depth of about eight to ten feet the material is made up largely of sand and gravel.
The surface soil throughout the area is fairly uniform, with occasional local variations. Upon the crests of the ridges and knolls it is sometimes slightly sandy, with a few chert, granite and quartz pebbles upon the surface. Where the type occupies nearly level areas the surface soil often has a leached or ash-colored appearance. This condition is generally found in those sections where the black soils are the predominant types. These areas are naturally poorly drained and artificial drainage must be established if the best results are to be obtained, since the soil is less productive than that of the better drained areas. Where the surface is more undulating and the natural drain- age better developed the soil is darker in color, being more nearly brown. In the level areas the subsoil is more mottled, cold and dense, as if water-logged, while in the better areas it is more open and porous and has a yellowish- brown color. In addition to tiling and draining these level areas, they should also be subsoiled and limed to render the soil and subsoil more open and porous and to correct the acidity which numerous tests have shown to exist.
The Miami silt loam occurs in various areas throughout the county in association with the "black lands" comprising the Clyde soils. Next to the Clyde silty clay loam it is the most extensive soil type in the county. The largest proportionate acreage occurs in the southern and southeastern parts of the county and along the Howard county line. In the nearly level sections it occupies low, flat ridges, as previously described, where the "black lands" pre- dominate. In general, the type is most extensively developed in the vicinity of stream courses.
In the early settlement of the county the Miami silt loam was one of the first soils to be cultivated because of its better natural drainage. When first cleared the soil was darker in color and much more productive than at present. Subsequent cultivation has greatly reduced the natural store of humus.
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This type can generally be distinguished in any particular field from the black soils by the more vigorous growth on the latter in the early develop- ment of the crop, particularly with corn, oats and hay. If the season is favor- able the yields on this soil-the "clay land"-is generally a little more than half that of the associated black Clyde soils except in the case of wheat, which is better adapted to the Miami silt loam. The quality of the hay, corn and oats is generally better upon this type as compared with the darker colored soils.
Tests made with litmus paper show the soil to be distinctly acid in reac- tion. The use of phosphatic manures and liming is strongly recommended. The lime can probably best be applied in the form of finely ground limestone, since the type is already deficient in humus, and lime in the more soluble form might tend to destroy the remaining organic matter. Still, burnt lime could be used, and any lowering of the organic content thereby could be made up by plowing under vegetation or applying barnyard manure. From two to four tons per acre of the ground limestone should be applied, preferably on clover sod in advance of corn. The wheat and clover which follows will be especially benefited. Where barnyard manure is also used the addition of ground phosphate rock or acid phosphate would materially increase the yields of wheat and corn. The application of barnyard manure and phosphate is treated in the chapter on agriculture.
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