USA > Indiana > Wabash County > History of Wabash County, Indiana, Volume I > Part 10
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" Locally the treaty which you will be most interested in, is the one which resulted in the last Indian Reservation in this part of the country, and this was the treaty of November 6, 1838. This marks the last stand of the Indians here, and by it the Miamis ceeded to the United States the remainder of their lands, but reserved for the band of Metosina, a tract of land supposed to contain ten square miles and located in the southern part of Wabash County, along the Mississinewa River. In addition to the land the Indians were to receive certain sums of money to be given annually to them. This question of the annuities due the Indians afterward became a much vexed question and resulted in several amendments to said treaty, or enactments of Congress, the annuities continuing over a great many years, the last of which was paid, I be- lieve, about 1890.
"In the treaty of 1838, the balance of the tribe were promised lands west of the Mississippi River, to remove to and settle upon; said lands to be near those occupied by tribes which had emigrated from the states of Ohio and Indiana. Six of the chiefs or headmen of the tribe were sent West to choose these lands.
"Afterwards under an act of Congress approved June 1, 1872,
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authority was granted the secretary of the interior to make partition of this last reservation which had in the meantime been conveyed by the United States to Meshingomesia, a Miami Indian and the son of Me- tosina, in trust for said band. Under this act, Jonas Votaw, W. R. Irvin and Sidney Heith were appointed commissioners to set apart and allot to the persons found entitled to share in said partition. This land commission held their meeting on the reservation and heard the proof of the claimants to said land.
"You will remember the reserve was deeded to Metosina and his band, there was a great controversy over the same owing to the claim of Chapendoceah, who was a brother of Meshingomesia, that the land should be divided among the family of Metosina, and not among his band. However, the division was finally made among the members of the band of Metinsina. and made on the basis of an equal share to every man, woman and child, there being sixty-three persons in this county entitled to shares. In this connection I might say that the commission, after hearing all the proof offered as to the number of persons and only a few minutes before they were ready to sign up their finding and judg- ment in the matter, were interrupted by the arrival of Indians, who in a very hasty and excited manner notified them of the birth of a son in the family of Wecacoonah. This necessitated the readjustment of the whole division, as it was now necessary to include this new member of the band of Metosina.
"After the allotment of these lands the Indians were given patents of deeds of conveyance from the United States, signed by the President, with the provision that they could not sell, lease, ineumber or otherwise dispose of their holdings until January 1st, 1881.
"This marked the last step taken by the Goverment in its protec- tion of the band of Metosina. From this date the Indians began to manage or mismanage their own affairs, and, in the language of a later tinte 'to hit the toboggon.' Today there remains but a few of the descend ants of this once powerful tribe, and the entire ownership of land among the followers of Meshingomesia, this morning, consists of but eight acres, ont of the hundreds given them so short a time ago.
"I have talked with many members of the Miami tribe, remembering well the Indians pay days, which were always a frolic for the Indian and a chance for gain to the white man. No sooner had the Indians received their money, than the men were on the lookout for firewater, and the women for a chance to buy a gaudy piece of wearing apparel or a glittering trifle of some sort.
"These Miamis generally adopted the dress, language and habits of the whites. Although never becoming truly Anglo-Saxon, in so far as
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invention and the higher sense of civilization were manifest-although never losing their tawny skins, nor ceasing to entertain an affection for the forest and its wildest haunts, the stream and bank canoe, the bow and arrow or their trusty rifle-yet some of the band of Meshingomesia became living examples of the power and influence of civilization.
"I call to mind now. one young man who had succeeded as an attor- ney, one who had gained an enviable position in the community where he was living. when he met with an accident that resulted in death. Many learned to till the soil in a creditable manner.
" However in the process of trying to civilize them we surely over- los ked some essential, as the births in the race became less frequent than the deaths; and, as a race, they are now almost a thing of the past and live only in the songs of their exterminators. "
Of Meshingomesia, it is said : "He was the last chief of the Miamis, all tribal authority ceasing upon his death. Although he never mas- tered the Indian language, he was frequently the ambassador of his tribe at Washington and received marked attention. His grandfather was Pecongeoh, and was doubtless the person meant in General Harrison's letter of instructions to Colonel Campbell, in which he says that if he 'save the life of Pecon and his family, it would be extremely gratify- ing to me and no doubt to the President.' A medal presented to Pecon- goh by General Washington was for a long time in the possession of Meshingomesia, but his descendants have lost it. Meshingomesia, the meaning of which was Fire Destroyer, was for many years a member of the Baptist Church, and died in the faith of that body."
THE VILLAGE AND CHIEF, LA GRO
Wabash County itself retains numerous evidences of Indian ocen- paney. An Indian village at the month of the Salamonie was familiar to the French voyageurs and missionaries, and later to the English traders. It was the village chief La Gros, or La Gro, whose Indian name was Mechekeletah, who stamped the place with his personality, and fin- ally left his name to a white settlement and the present township. La Gro was one of the Miami delegates to the famous Greenville treaty of 1795, and so retained the respect and good will of the Goverment that at the treaty of 1826 it was stipulated, among other matters, that a substantial brick house should be built for the old chief. This was accord- ingly done in 1828, the brick for the purpose having been burned on the ground. The house was unplastered and contained two rooms and a fireplace, and here La Gro lived comfortably for the few years which remained to him, his death occurring about 1831. His remains were Vol. J-5
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buried in a valley to the north of his residence. Soon afterward an Indian trader moved into the house, which he used both as a store and a residence, and the building stood for many years in a good state of preservation.
LA FONTAINE
The Village of La Fontaine, in the southern part of Liberty Town- ship, is named after Francis La Fontaine, for several years before his death principal chief of the Miamis. His Indian name was Topeah, suc- ceeding the famous chief, Jean B. Richeville, and he himself was a lineal descendant of that family, by a French father and a Miami mother. Ile was born near Fort Wayne and spent most of his life near that place. When about twenty-one years of age he was married to one of the daugh- ters of Chief Richeville, and at the death of his father-in-law, in 1841, was elected head of the tribe. Subsequently he moved to the Forks of the Wabash, near Huntington, and resided in a frame building which his wife had inherited from her father. He accompanied various mem- bers of his tribe to their western reservation in the fall of 1846, and remained there during the succeeding winter. In the following spring he started homeward. At that time the route of travel was from the Kansas Landing (now Kansas City) down the Missouri and Mississippi to the mouth of the Ohio, up the Ohio to the mouth of the Wabash and thence to Lafayette, at the head of steamboat navigation. At St. Louis he was taken siek, and his disease had made sueh progress that he was unable to proceed beyond Lafayette, where he died April 13, 1847, at the age of thirty-seven years. He was buried at Huntington.
From all accounts La Fontaine was a man of striking appearanee. He was tall, robust and corpulent in his later years, weighing usually about three hundred pounds and generally dressed in the Indian cos- tume. In his younger days he was noted for his great strength and activity, and was accounted the most fleet of foot of any man in his tribe -a trait highly appreciated by his race. ITis mental qualities also made him very popular with his race, in whose welfare he showed intelligent and deep interest up to the time of his death. Both the early white settlers and the Miamis of Wabash County were gratified to have his memory preserved as it was.
THE NAMING OF SILVER CREEK
The legend of Silver Creek, a little stream which passes through the northeastern part of La Gro Township into Huntington County, is thus
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given : Many years ago when Indian payments were common and the money with which the annuities were paid was silver coin, a party of officials was on its way to the Payment Grounds at the Forks of the Wabash near Huntington. In the custody of this party were several large boxes filled with silver coin. A close guard was kept over the money which was destined for Poor Lo. About noon one day, when the party had halted for refreshments, the treasure was left unguarded for a time -long enough for a hanger-on to seize one of the boxes, hide it in the bed of the creek near by and cover it with a stone. The box was imme- diately missed and Thief Ferguson charged with its misappropriation. Then rapidly followed denial by the culprit. Credulity on the part of the guardians of the treasure, proposed drowning of the suspected, and the final recovery of the mislaid silver under the direction of Ferguson. The latter was permitted to escape dire punishment on condition that he promptly vacate the country. Thus the stream became Silver Creek.
INDIAN PONIES AT A PREMIUM
Pony Creek is the popular name of a branch of Eel River which empties into the main stream near North Manchester. In the very early period of white settlement the Miamis of the region owned many Indian ponies. In the central part of Chester Township was a strip of land south of the creek, and extending through three or four sections, which was known as the Wind Brake. Some years before white settlement com- menced, a tornado had cleared the forest from this strip, later growths of young timber and luxuriant pasturage making it an ideal grazing ground for the Indian ponies. When turned loose they always headed for the Wind Brake region, where they collected by the hundreds.
As the country was infested with bands of horse thieves, this circum- stance could hardly be overlooked; especially as the stealing of ponies from the Miamis was supposed to be attended with much less danger than the theft of horses from white settlers. Indian ponies in those days were worth from fifteen to twenty dollars each. Though much too light for farm work, they were very tough and hardy, and from the scarcity of better animals were often utilized by the whites.
Taking advantage of these vorious circumstances, a band of horse thieves constructed a pound, with a converging lane leading to it, which was so placed as to intercept the trail taken by the ponies on their way to the Wind Brake. Entering the lane, it was an easy matter for them to find their way into the enclosure through the narrow opening, but once inside they could not easily escape. As they were corraled, the thieves ran them off to the creek half a mile north. They then drove the
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ponies down the bed of the stream to "break the trail, " and so elude pur- suit. Keeping the stream for about a mile and a half, they secreted their stolen property in a pen in Section 19 near the county line. This en- closure was nearly two acres in extent, being formed by a strong fence eighteen rails high. When a sufficient number of ponies had thus been collected, and a favorable opportunity occurred, they were run off to some remote locality and sold at the market price.
Stealing horses, however, while it may have been profitable under such circumstances, was attended by its risks and dangers even when the ventures were with the subdued red men. The Miamis learned to keep a closer watch over their ponies and, though it is doubted by some whether they ever discovered the exact nature of the plan by which their property was "run off," the gang on several occasions was closely pursued and narrowly escaped. One of them, Wieks by name, had lived among the Indians a large part of his life, and having adopted their dress and habits was hardly distinguishable from one of the tribe. About 1840 he mysteriously disappeared, and it has always been supposed that the Indians were his judges and executioners.
The Indians and ponies, together with the men who stole them, have long since passed away, but Pony Creek remains on the map of Wabash County.
TREATY AND JOSINA CREEKS
Treaty Creek, which flows into the Wabash opposite the city, takes its name from the fact that the treaty of 1826 was held at a point ou the north side of the river directly opposite the stream in question. Some of the Indian reserves were on its banks, especially Maisshilgummizah's and Allolah's.
Josina Creek, which flows through the southeast corner of Liberty Township into Grant County, is named from the Indian Chief Meto- cenyah, or Metocena, father of Meshingomesia, the samewhat famous Miami chief and leader of the band who remained upon their reservation in Wabash and Grant counties when the body of the tribe left for the Indian Territory in 1845. The name Josina is a corruption of Metocenyah.
LITTLE TURTLE
We cannot close this chapter on the Indians of the Wabash country without taking a more formal farewell of the last two great war chiefs of the Miamis, who, though not directly identified with the history of Wabash County, impressed themselves on the entire country of the Upper
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Wabash-one of them, at least, being a great man of his day, whether white or red. We refer, of course, to Little Turtle. Francis Godfroy, or Godfrey, of a later period, had a fame more circumscribed, but none the less enviable. Of these remarkable men William Henry Smith thus speaks in his "History of Indiana :" "The Miamis produced one of the most remarkable chiefs and warriors known to American aboriginal his- tory, if not the most remarkable. Me-che-can-noch-qua, or Little Turtle, was a warrior who could well take rank with the greatest of civilized na- tions. Ile was a man of extraordinary courage, sagacity and talents, and a physical frame which equaled his courage. There was a great dignity in his bearing, which impressed whites and Indians alike. He reached the head of his nation at an early age, and from that time until his death exercised an influence over his tribe never equaled by any other of its great chiefs. Ile it was who met and defeated the forces of Gen- eral Harmar. His two battles with that commander displayed his pow- ers as a general. He commanded the allied forces of Indians who ad- ministered to St. Clair such a terrible punishment, thereby setting the continent in a blaze. Ile also fought General Anthony Wayne, and came near defeating that great soldier.
"After the treaty at Greenville, Little Turtle visited Philadelphia, where he met and was entertained by Volney and Kosciusko. While there his portrait was painted by one of the most distinguished artists of the time. Ile was also presented with a sword by President Wash- ington. He made two other visits to the East, one in 1801 and the last in 1807. He was everywhere received with the greatest consideration. Ile had warred against the Americans, but when peace was made he accepted it as final, and ever afterward remained a steadfast friend of the whites. He opposed the attempt of Tecumseh to form a con- federacy against the Americans. Ile died in 1812, and was buried with great honors at Fort Wayne."
PA-LONZ-WA (GODFREY )
The last great war chief was Pa-lonz-wa, or Franeis Godfrey, as he was better known among the whites. Pa-lonz-wa was a man of daring courage, of magnificent physique and immense size. He was the son of a Frenchman, and next to Little Turtle was the most noted chief the Miamis ever had. Through nearly all the time of his chieftainship he was a firm friend of the whites. As early as 1822 he employed some workmen from Fort Wayne to build for him, on the banks of the Wabash, a large house after the manner and style of the white man of wealth. In this house he dispensed the most generous hospitality, and
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Indian and white man alike were welcome to his board. When his tribe made the final treaty with the Government and ceded possession of their lands in Indiana, four sections on the Mississinewa were reserved for Pa-lonz-wa. On this reservation he erected a trading post and became, for those days, a noted merchant. Reckless and careless of money and having more land than he knew what to do with, he scattered his favors, with a prodigal hand. It is told of him that being at Lafayette on one occasion when a steamer arrived at that point from the Ohio River, he offered the captain a half section of land if he would convey him and his party to their homes, some three miles above where Peru now stands. The offer was accepted and the trip up the Wabash was made, but on the return to Lafayette the steamer was lost. Pa-lonz-wa made the deed to the promised half seetion.
Hle died in 1840 and was buried on a high knoll which overlooks the Wabash (near Peru). On his grave a marble shaft has been erected bearing on one side his white name. and date of his birth and death. On the other is the following tribute to his memory: "Late principal chief of the Miami Nation of Indians. Distinguished for courage, hu- manity, benevolence and honor, he lived in his native forests an illustra- tion of the nobleness of his race, enjoying the confidence of his tribe and beloved by his American neighbors. He died, as he lived, 'without fear or reproach.' Some of Godfrey's descendants yet live on the Missis- sinewa.
Gabriel Godfrey, son of Francis Godfrey, was born in Blackford County, Indiana, January 1, 1834. He died at his home near the mouth of the Mississinewa River in Miami County, August 14, 1910, and is buried in the Indian Cemetery near his home. He was generally chosen to act as interpreter in all Government dealings, as well as in important cases connected with his tribe of Indians.
CHAPTER VI
FIRST WHITE SETTLERS AND SETTLEMENTS
"HEADQUARTERS FOR NEW COMERS"-FIRST SETTLER, SAMUEL MC- CLURE, SR .- FIRST MERCANTILE ESTABLISHMENT-THE MCCLURE WE KNOW BEST-THE FATHIERS OF WABASH TOWN-KINTNER BROS., SADDLE AND IIARNESS MAKERS-LAND SURVEYS IN THE COUNTY- FIRST LAND PURCHASE-FIRST WAGON ROADS-INDIAN MILL, FIRST INDUSTRY-POSTMASTER BURR AND THE MAILS -- COLONEL HUGH IIANNA-PIONEER TOWN MERCHANTS-THREE BRICK HOUSES !!- THIE THREE POPULAR COLONELS-FIRST VILLAGE TAVERN-COUNTY OR- GANIZED CIVILLY-MAJOR STEARNS FISHER-THE GRANTS AND GRANT CREEK-TOWN OF LA GRO-THE KELLER SETTLEMENT-LAKETON- FIRST TOWN OUTSIDE OF WABASHI-COLONEL RICHARD HELVY-JAMES ABBOTT COMES-THE OGANS AND OGAN CREEK-NORTHI MANCHESTER PLATTED-JAMES ABBOTT, NOTABLE CHARACTER-JUDGE COMSTOCK AND LIBERTY MILLS-TOWN OF AMERICA-THE GARRISONS-GRANT PLATS ASIILAND-COLONEL JOHN ANDERSON-FIRST ROADS ALONG EEL RIVER-A GREAT LITTLE CORN CRACKER-WALTZ TOWNSHIP LAST SETTLED-THE FIRST OF SOMERSET -- MOUNT VERNON.
As the Pottawatomies had all left the State of Indiana by 1840, and the Miamis had agreed to do so within five years from that time, the year.named marks the distinet beginning of the White Man's era in Wabash County. The fourteen years of settlement prior to that time may be called the real Pioneer Period; for just as long as the Red Man remained upon the soil, and claimed any part of it as his own, the times were truly primitive.
"HEADQUARTERS FOR NEW COMERS"
The first settlements in Wabash County soon followed the treaty of October, 1826, and it was not long before the Treaty Grounds were rechristened "Headquarters for New Comers." When the commissioners and the Indians vacated, the buildings remained as places of shelter and,
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as the locality had been so well advertised, before the Indian lands north of the Wabash in Wabash County had been surveyed, squatters com- meneed to occupy them.
FIRST SETTLER, SAMUEL MCCLURE, SR.
In January, 1827, Samuel MeClure, Sr., a native of North Carolina, who had lived for some years in Ohio, brought his family to the Head- quarters for New Comers. With the help of his son, Samuel MeClure, Jr., then about twenty years of age, he built a log cabin for his house- hold, cleared off fifteen acres of ground near the house and in the spring planted it to corn. Subsequently ascertaining that the field thus im- proved was included in the section of land reserved by the treaty to Little Charley, the Miami chief, on the 10th of June, 1827, they com- meneed to build another cabin on the north bank of the Wabash about three miles below the treaty grounds. This was the first permanent settler's cabin erected in Wabash County, and the family lived therein several years prior to their going to Grant County. There the elder MeClure died on the 22d of September, 1838.
FIRST MERCANTILE ESTABLISHMENT
Before he had reached his majority, Samuel MeClure, Jr., became an employee of W. G. and G. W. Ewing, the Fort Wayne Indian traders, and in their interest erected a small trading house adjacent to his father's residence on the north bank of the Wabash below the treaty grounds in Wabash County. It has been stated upon apparently good authority that the young man opened his store for the sale of goods to the Indians and others on the 28th of August, 1827.
THE MCCLURE WE KNOW BEST
In 1833 Samuel MeClure, Jr., and his brother, Robert, cut out the first state road that ran through Wabash County. This road commenced at the "twenty-mile stake" in Wabash County, running thence to Wabash and thence to Eel River, near North Manchester. Their com- pensation was $7.58 per mile.
The family of Samuel MeClure is generally considered to represent the first permanent settlers in Wabash County.
Among the first of those who stopped temporarily at the Headquarters for New Comers, while seeking homes in the new country were Benjamin Hurst and Robert Wilson, who arrived in May, 1827. Of these Mr. Wil-
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son was not long afterward employed as Government blacksmith 'at the Indian Mills.
About the same time Joel and Champion Helvie came to the treaty grounds to take their bearings. After a short season of investigation, Champion settled on the Wabash opposite the mouth of the Salamonie River, while Joel located further up the river. Subsequently Champion moved to Huntington County, serving as its temporary sheriff pending a permanent civil organization.
THE FATHERS OF WABASH TOWN
The next arrival, also in the spring of 1827, was David Burr. Ilis visit became a permanent residence, and he, with Col. Hugh Hanna, after- ward secured the site for the original Town of Wabash, which they platted. Colonel Burr occupied the buildings remaining on the treaty grounds, and afterward opened a "kind of a" hotel; so that the locality became more than ever Headquarters for New Comers. On the 11th of October, 1830, he made the first land entry in Noble Township, of the fractional southeast quarter of Section 1, 155.21 acres; the north frac- tion of the southeast quarter of Section 12, 49.60 aeres, and the fractional northwest quarter of Section 12, 101.80 acres.
On the same day John Tipton, the Indian agent, entered the frac- tional southwest quarter of Section 10, containing 42.29 acres, and the north fraction of Section 15, 73.66 acres.
KINTNER BROS., SADDLE AND HARNESS MAKERS
It will be remembered that Frederick R. Kintner was in command of of the company of soldiers which was sent from Fort Wayne to protect those engaged in the making of the 1826 treaty. His brother, James II., was with him, and the country pleased them so much that they decided to stay and take up lands in the vicinity when they should become accessible. In the fall of 1827 they therefore located on the north side of the Wabash River near the mouth of the small stream since known as Kint- ner's Creek, which joins the former in Section 18. There the brothers established themselves in their business of making saddles and harnesses, chiefly for the Indian trade. In that line they were the undoubted pioneers of the Upper Wabash country. They continued the manufacture of those articles until the transfer of the Indian ageney from Fort Wayne to Logansport in March, 1828, when they relocated at that point.
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