USA > Indiana > Pioneer history of Indiana : including stories, incidents, and customs of the early settlers > Part 19
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"In discharging the men, any whom you find who wish to remain in the service, you will enlist for regular soldiers and order them to report to these head-quarters with a copy of their enlistment papers. When you have finished this work, have scouts, FuQuay and Page remain with you and with them visit every portion of your Territory and notify the people at the blockhouses and the set- tlements that they must keep a vigilant lookout,
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as the Rangers will be withdrawn. After having visited all the stations, return to White Oak Springs and discharge all but two of the men and Sergeant Hogue who you will place in command with in- structions to carefully watch the section east of the Mudholes on his patrol; and for him to report by the hand of one of the friendly Indians to these head-quarters once every two weeks. When you have finished this work you will report to this Post, bringing FuQuay and Ben Page with you.
By order of the Governor. JOHN GIBSON, Sec'y. of Indiana Territory."
THE BURNING OF AN INDIAN TOWN NEAR OWENSVILLE.
The last village inhabited by the Indians in the south- western part of Gibson county was located in the northeast corner of section 9, township 3, range 12 and in section 4, township 3, range 12, two miles west of Owensville.
It was a straggling village extending westward from the northeast corner of section 9, for about a mile, composed of wigwams and built along the springs coming out of the foot of the sand hills. .
The Indians were driven away late in the summer or early in the fall of 1807, and the wigwams burned all except a few which were still there in 1809. The village was de- stroyed by Captain Jacob Warrick and others. If there was any fighting done or Indians killed it was never known except by those engaged in it. There were very good reasons for their silence as the Government did not allow such acts when at peace with the Indians.
Captain Warrick settled on the northwest quarter of sec- tion 11, east of the village. Purty Old Tom Montgomery, Capt. Warrick's father-in-law, settled on the southwest quar- ter of section 12, Robert Anderson and sons settled northeast of Owensville and others living in the vicinity of Owensville ten years before the town was laid out. The men who assist- ed Captain Warrick in driving the Indians away and destroy- ing their town were men who had settled west and southwest of Anderson's creek, now Marsh creek, in the neighborhood
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of Owensville and probably others from the neighborhood of Princeton, seven years before Princeton was laid out. The village belonged to the Piankashaws, and the Indians who got away crossed the Wabash river in to southern Illinois, which was then Indiana Territory.
The destruction of the village made the Indians hostile and it came near bringing on war and no doubt would had it not been for the second raid across the Wabash river.
After the destruction of the village, the settlers found the Indians were coming back and prowling around in the neighborhood of nights. They also found that they were go- ing back along the old Indian trace from the bluff to the island their crossing.
The settlers becoming very uneasy for fear they would be attacked and massacred, hastily organized a company about the 1st of October, 1807 all well mounted and armed. They took the old Indian trace early one morning for Coffee. Island ford on the Wabash river. . They rode across the ford to the west bank of the river and there held a council and laid plans for advancing. Captain Warrick was to follow the In- dian trace and the others to deploy on each side of him within hearing distance. The old Indian fighters were placed on the extreme right and left flanks. Robert Anderson and his son, Watt, were on the right and Purty Old Tom Mont- gomery was on the left of the line and the younger men were between Montgomery and Warrick and Anderson and Warrick. The orders were for Warrick to ride down the trace slowly and cautiously. Young Sam. Anderson with Warrick was carrying a large cow's horn instead of a bugle. The signal to retreat if too many Indians were found, was to be two long blasts on the horn and a shot from a rifle. The objective point was the Piankashaw Indian village located on a small stream running in a westerly direction into Bumpas.
They followed the trace to the east end of a small prairie. Captain Warrick and others rode into the edge of the prairie and discovered fifty or sixty Indian warriors advancing east to meet them but out of reach of their guns. They rode back into the timber. Captain Warrick ordered Anderson to
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give the retreat signal on the horn, and they retreated to the ford as rapidly as possible, all reaching there about the same time except Purty Old Tom Montgomery. Captain Warrick ordered them to cross the ford in haste but four or five old Indian fighters,-Old Bob Anderson, his son, Watt, and a few others stayed with Warrick to wait for Montgomery. They waited long as they dared and then crossed the river to the rest of the company. They hadn't been across long when twenty-five or thirty Indians came upon the other side of the river, then Bob Anderson said to Captain Warrick-"Tom's gone this time," but he was wrong; a man who had fought Indians over half of old Virgina, all of Kentucky and south- ern Indiana could not be captured by Piankashaw Indians. In advancing Montgomery had got too far to the left and away in advance of the line. When he heard the signal to retreat he turned his horse and rode into the south edge of the prairie when he saw that the Indians were going into the forest from the east end of the prairie and that he was cut off from the others. He rode back into the timber and rode for the river as fast as his horse would carry him. When he reached the river he swam his horse to the Indiana side and rode up on the bank where he could see over the brush at the point where he crossed the river, knowing the Indians would come on the trail of his horse.
Eight or ten Indians had followed him to the edge of the water, and he shot at them across the river. When the com- pany at the Island heard the shot, old Robert Anderson said -"Boys, that's Tom's gun" and they answered him from the Island. They did not have to wait long until Purty Old Tom came riding up to the company as unconcernedly as if he had been on a deer hunt.
The little creek that the Piankashaw village was on, drained a low, wet prairie, that since that time was named Village creek and the prairie named Compton Prairie.
The Montgomery referred to in this story was the first of the family to locate in southwestern Indiana. From him has decended the large influential family of Montgomerys and their descendants in southwestern Indiana and Illinois.
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DIVISON OF INDIANA TERRITORY.
There was a strong party in the Indiana Territory dur- ing the period from 1806, '07 and '08 that was continually petitioning Congress for a division of the Territory. The reason mostly assigned were the vast extent of the Territory and the small population that was in any portion of it, except that bordering on the Wabash, Mississippi, and Ohio rivers. The Illinois country at that time only had settlements border- ing on the Mississippi river and very distant from the head- quarters of the Territory. It was almost impossible at cer- tain seasons of the year to reach these remote sections and at all times dangerous from the attacks of the Indians. The subject was disposed of by Congress on the 3d of February, 1809. The said act declared that after the 1st day of March, 1809, all that part of Indiana Territory lying west of the Wa- bash river in a direct line drawn from the said Wabash river and Post Vincennes, due north, to the territorial line between the United States and Canada, should constitute a separate Territory and be called Illinois. This reduced Indiana to its present limits.
The Territorial Legislature of 1808 elected their Speaker of the House of Representatives, Jesse B. Thomas to the office of delegate in Congress in place of Benjamin Park, who was appointed to the Supreme Bench in the Territorial Court.
There was much difficulty about the organization of the first legislature after the division of Indiana Territory. In 1809 a petition for the General Assembly of the Territory was laid before Congress. This petition contained the state- ment-"In the year 1805 there was a legislature organized under a law dividing the Territory northwest of the River Ohio; that on the 26th day of October, 1808, the Governor dissolved the said legislatnre. On the 3d day of February, 1809, the law of Congress passed dividing the Indiana Ter- ritory and on the 4th of April, 1809, the Governor of this Territory issued his proclamation for the election of the ad- ditional members of the House of Representatives. Also on
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the 27th of February, 1809, the law passed extending the right of suffrage to the citizens of Indiana, declaring how the legislature shall be formed. After the passage of said law the General Assembly should apportion the members of the House of Representatives to consist of not less than nine nor more than twelve. This law was predicated on the prin- nciple that there was a legislature at the time of its passage or that the legislature might convene by the authority of the Governor, but the truth was, the old legislature was dissolved by the Governor, as before stated and at the division of the Territory lessened the number of members by three in the House of Representatives and two in the council. The fact was, there was no legislature in existence. The principal thing that existed in the minds of the petitioners were how the old legislature could be brought into life so that it could organize a new legislature, in accordance with the acts of Congress. On the first Monday in April, 1809, the Governor, by proclamation, directed that an election be held for mem- bers of the House of Representatives. At this election there were four members elected; two from Knox county, one from Dearborn and one from Clark. On the 4th of April, 1809, (six days before the above laws of Congress arrived here) the Governor issued a proclamation for election to be held on the 22d of May, for five councilmen and four more represen- tatives; one for Knox county. one for Dearbonr, one for Clark and one for Harrison.
"Notwithstanding the uncertainty of the proceedings, the governor issued a proclamation convening the Legislative Council above elected and the members of the House of Rep- resentatives to meet on the 16th of June, 1809. The repre- sentatives of the Legislative Council convened and the Leg- islature, doubting the legality of its actions, agreed to post- pone any action of a Legislative capacity, except apportion- ing one other member to make up the nine, agreeable to the act of Congress, extending the right of suffrage to the cit- izens of this Territory."
On the 21st of October, 1809, at the request of the two Houses, the Legislature was dissolved by Governor Harrison.
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The members of the Legislative Council thus disolved were Solomon Manwaring, of Dearborn county; Thomas Down, of Clark county; Harvey Heath, of Harrison county; William Prince and Luke Decker, of Knox county. The members of the House of Representatives were Richard Rue, Ephriam Overman, Dearborn county, James Beggs and John Work, of Clark county; Moses Hoggit, of Harrison county; General W. Johnson, John Johnson and John Hadden, of Knox county.
On the 22d of May, 1809, an election for delegates to Con- gress was held in the Territory of Indiana. At this time the only coumies were Knox, Dearborn, Clark and Harrison. At this election Johnathan Jennings received four hundred and twenty-eight votes; Thomas Randolph received four hundred and two vo.es; John Johnson received eighty-one votes; Jen- nings received a pluraity and was declared elected.
During the year of 1810 a great many settlers came into the Territory. The militia throughout the Territory was organized, properly officered and thoroughly drilled. On ac- count of the continued disturbance raised by Tecumseh and the Prophet and a large band of discontented Indians they had gathered about them, it was feared there would be an outbreak as it was continually asserted by Indians, who were known to be in constant communication with the British, that the Americans would be driven south of the Ohio river; Wi ramac, a Pottawattamie chief, told two of Harrison's friendly Indians, that in less than twenty moons there would be no Long Knives this side of the great River Ohio and that they intended to maintain that line as a division between the two races or leave their bodies on the northern shore.
The land offices, by an act of Congress in 1804 were opened for the sale of lands in Indiana Territory at Detroit, Vincennes, Kaskaskia and in 1807 there was a land office opened at Jeffersonville. The one at Vincennes did more business than the one at Jeffersonville, for several years. The land situated in Clark's grant was located and set off by a commission appointed for that purpose. In this country there was but little money, as most of the emigrants coming
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here had passed through the scourge of the Revolution and the only means of getting money at that time was by hunt- ing and trapping. Venison hams, and the skins of fur bear- ing animals were all that the early settlers of this country could realize money for and those at very low prices. It was considered a good price if one got twenty-five cents a pair for venison hams, and fifteen to twenty cents for large deer skin; coon skins fifteen and twenty cents and other skins at about the same proportion Notwithstanding the difficulty of secur- ing money at these low prices, many thousands of acres of the rich lands of Indiana were purchased by the money se- cured in this way.
These early settlers had made but few improvements as they had but little time for any work outside of the chase. On this, their very existence depended. The small fields that were planted in corn were very hard to protect from the depredations of the wild animals so numerous in the country at that time. When the corn was in the milk, there was nothing except honey that the bears so dearly loved, and it has been known that ten acres of corn were ruined in a very few nights by a number of bears congregating there and rid- ing the corn down to secure the milk from the ears. The coons were another great cause of destruction of corn. Squirrels were as plentiful then as birds and when the corn was suitable for "roasting ears" the squirrels would destroy acres of it. Many kinds of birds in that day were very destructive to corn fields and it was impossible to raise hogs as the bears and panthers would destroy them.
At the time that Harrison was having so much trouble to keep the Indians in subjection and planning for the defense of the territory, there were those who were continually find- ing fault with his administration, claiming that his persist- ency in securing land concessions was the cause of the Ind- ians' continual grumbling and threatening to drive the Amer- icans away. This was, as it always has been, the outgrowth of political venom and envy. No doubt the continued loud mouthing of the disgruntled aspirants was understood by the Indians who had spies, pretended friendly Indians, all the
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time at Post Vincennes. A chief, Waytheah or Long Shark, said to Captain Wilson at one time when he was among the Shawnees, that the Indians did not need to fight the Amer- icans; if let alone they (the Americans) would fight and de- stroy each other; that Governor Harrison was more deter- minedly hated by half of his own people than he was by the Indians. With this continual opposition from his own peo- ple and the threatening attitude of Tecumseh and the Proph- et, Harrison was perplexed how best to manage to steer clear of the political caldron at home and keep the Indians in sub- jection.
Fortunately the Congress of the United States made no. mistake when it elected William Henry Harrison Governor . and Commander-in-Chief of Indiana Territory, for he was wise, patient, and far-seeing and had good grit all the way through. When it became evident that the Indians on the Wabash had to be chastised, he soon put himself in position to be thoroughly prepared for the fray. He selected some of the most outspoken of those who so bitterly opposed him as members of his staff and gave them important positions re- quiring skill and accomplishment; he even surrounded his person with two of the most bitter ones as his personal aids and in this way stopped their mutterings and made them efficient and loyal supporters of the government. One of these men was mortally wounded in the battle of Tippecanoe: and breathed his last in Harrison's arms.
CHAPTER X.
THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE-IMPORTANCE OF THE VICTORY CAUSE OF BATTLE-THE PRINCIPAL CONTESTANTS - NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE-COLLECTING ARMY AT VIN- CENNES-MOVEMENT OF ARMY FROM VINCENNES-FORT HARRISON ESTABLISHED-ADVANCE ON PROPHET'S TOWN -ENCAMPMENT-THE BATTLE-GOVERNOR HARRISON'S REPORT OF THE BATTLE -- INCIDENTS OF THE BATTLE- RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE- ROLL OF THE ARMY THAT FOUGHT AT TIPPECANOE.
In this chapter commences a history of the trouble be- tween Harrison and the two great Indian leaders, Tecumseh and the Prophet.
There has been so much recrimination and controversy about the battle of Tippecanoe, the action of General Harri- son in that battle and so many statements of political oppon- ents that were at variance with the truth that it is thought best as an introduction to this chapter to give a full explana- tion of the cause of that battle being fought on the morning of the 7th of November, when the evening before the Indian Chiefs had so solemnly arranged for a treaty of peace to be held on the morning the battle was fought. After this a short sketch of the birth and nativity of Harrison and the two Indian chiefs will be given.
The battle of Tippecanoe was the only battle fought on Indiana soil in which the militia of Indiana in any great number took part and they acquitted themselves so creditably in that engagement that it is a great pleasure to note their heroism.
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It is not too much to say with only the fringe of settle- ments that was on the southern borders of Indiana in 1811, that had General Harrison been defeated at that battle, most terrible and distressing results would have followed. The Indians who had been held in subjection and who were ap- parently friendly would nearly all have joined Tecumseh and the Prophet's confederation and turned against the defeated whites; just as the pretended friendly Indians on the northern borders of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio did, when Hull so cow- ardly surrendered the army at Detroit in 1812. The perman- ent settlement of this country would have been retarded for several years and the military career of one of the most use- ful men of this nation would have come to an end and in- stead of the War of 1812, commencing on the northern bord- ers of the Northwest Territory, as it did, it would have com- menced on or near the Ohio river, with results that are hard to guess at owing to the incompetency that was shown by so 1 many of the leaders in that war.
In the make-up of an army there are some who are al- ways ready to run unnecessary risks if they are not held in subjection. This was the case at Tippecanoe when the army arrived at the Prophet's town in the afternoon of the sixth of November, 1811. Some of the subordinate commanders who were panting for a chance to distinguish themselves and to receive military renown, were very loud in their declaration that Governor Harrison should attack the Indians at once. Long years after the battle was fought many military critics were severe in their denunciation of the want of military tact shown by the Governor, but this was all uncalled for and came from those who would not have been able to command properly a corporal's guard.
Governor Harrison's orders, from Secretary of War was to break up the confederation of Indians and to have those that belonged to other tribes, go back to their homes; to have the Prophet make proper restitution for the annuity salt that he. had taken from a boat that was being conveyed to other In- dians; to restore a lot of stolen horses and to deliver up a number of murderers who were being harbored in his town.
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To accomplish this, he was directed to use peaceful means.
The Indians met him with overtures of peace and the ar- rangements were made to have the meeting the next morn- ing. The army went into camp and arranged themselves as. comfortably as men could who were situated as they were. No one in camp expected a battle that night, though every precaution was taken to prepare the army for battle if it should come. Those who have studied the history of that battle nearly all agree that on the evening of the sixth of November, when Harrison and the chiefs were making ar- rangements for a camp and for the conference to be held the next morning, the Indians had no intention of bringing on the battle that night.
Tradition has it that White Loon, one of the three chiefs in the immediate command of the Indians in the battle, said to a party of white prisoners who had been in the bat- tle of Tippecanoe and were afterward captured at Hull's sur- render at Detroit, that the Prophet and the chiefs in town had no thought of bringing on the battle, but during the first part of the night, Winnamac, a Pottawattamie chief, arrived in town and as soon as he learned the condition of things, went to the Prophet and told him that it was now or never; that if he would have-the forces organized and ready for battle by the early hours of the morning, they would slip up on the Americans and murder them in their camp. A council was convened and after a long conference at which most of the chiefs were assembled, it was found that a large majority of them opposed the attack. At this, Winnamac, who was a fearless dare-devil, called them cowards and said that if they were going to submit like whipped dogs to the Americans he would take his people (who formed one-third of the town) and go back to his nation. This had the de- sired effect and it was agreed that the attack should be made. The night was spent in organizing the forces (something less, White Loon claimed, than nine hundred and fifty war- riors). Several Indians were sent to locate particularly the position of the troops. Stone Eater, White Loon and Win- namac were put in immediate command of the Indians.
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The Prophet, after it was agreed to bring on the fight, made a speech that roused the Indians to a high pitch. He made them believe that they would have as easy a victory as the Indians did over Braddock and St. Clair and that all the whites would be driven back across the Ohio river. He as- sured them that the bullets of the Americans would not huit them.
GOVERNOR WM. H. HARRISON, TECUMSEH AND THE PROPHET.
In the state of Ohio, near where the city of Springfield now stands, Tecumseh, his brother, the Prophet, and another brother were all born at one birth. If tradition is right this was in 1769. Tecumseh, at Taladega, September 1811, in a speech before an assembly of Creek Indians and their great chief Rutherford, in part said-"I have seen twice twenty and two springs come and go again, and during all that time, the want of confederation has brought disaster and ruin to many Indian tribes." Their father was a Shawnee warrior of prominence. Their mother was a Creek woman named Methataska, who had been captured by the Shawnees. The name "Tecumseh" stood for wild cat springing on its prey; . the Prophet's name "Elkswatawa," for "loud voice." There is no historical or traditional record of the third brother ex- cept his name which was "Kamskaka."
William Henry Harrison was born in Charles county, Virginia, February 9, 1773. His father, Benjmian Harrison, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Young Harrison, on coming to manhood, joined the regular army with the rank of an Ensign, and was soon promoted to a Lieutenant. He served with General Anthony Wayne in his campaign against the Indians in 1794 and was with him in the battle of Maumee. Tradition has it that Tecumseh was a very active partisan in the campaign that terminated in the defeat of the Confederate bands of Indians at the bat- tle of Maumee. William Henry Harrison was in 1797 pro- moted to the rank of Captain. Soon thereafter he resigned and was appointed Secretary of the North-west Territory.
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