History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 8

Author: D.W. Ensign & Co. pub; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Johnson, Crisfield
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, D. W. Ensign & Co.
Number of Pages: 821

USA > Michigan > Van Buren County > History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 8
USA > Michigan > Berrien County > History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 8

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Moccasin, or " Porcupine-Moccasin," as he is called by McCoy, was a Pottawattamie, whose village was situated on the west bank of the St. Joseph, at a place which is still known as " Moccasin Bluff," something more than a mile north of Buchanan village. The missionary, so frequently quoted in preceding pages, makes the following mention of this chief: "On the morning of July 4, 1824, I took Noaquett, alias Luther Rice, one of our Indian boys, who had acquired some knowledge of English, and rode five. miles to an Indian village [evidently Moccasin's]. At the house where we halted we found the Indians at their usual occupations. One woman was pounding corn in a mortar, two were making moccasins, one was preparing bark for making sacks, some of the men were idle, and four of them were playing at cards. We were received with the usual expressions of friendship, though the men with cards were too much interested in their game to take much notice of us. I entered into conversation with others, but could not thereby divert the attention of the gamblers from their cards. At length I told the owner of the house that I had come to talk to them about religion. They replied that they would be glad to hear me. .. . They were informed

# It appears, however, that the proposition received no favor or countenance from any of the Pottawattamies.

HISTORY OF BERRIEN AND VAN BUREN COUNTIES, MICHIGAN.

that if it would be agreeable to them such visits would be frequently repeated. 'Yes,' said Porcupine-Moccasin, who had just been at cards, 'nobody will be sorry for that. We will be glad when you come, and will listen to you.'" It appears from this that gambling as well as intoxication had, even at that early day, taken root among these remote Pot- tawattamies, and that the chief Moccasin was addicted to the former vice, as he probably was also to the latter, though that is not particularly mentioned.

Besides the villages to which allusion is made above, Mr. McCoy, in his narrative, speaks of the villages of Pcheekos and Menominee, and also of " Rum's village," but he does not describe their location, nor does he say whether these three Indians were chiefs or only common warriors. A village was located within the present city limits of Niles, on the west side of the river; and at a somewhat later time there were two villages situated on what is known as the Dr. Wells farm, on the west side of the river, below Niles. The villages last named were those of Weesemo and Matchkee.

The object of Mr. McCoy and his assistant missionaries in coming among the Indians of the St. Joseph Valley, was not alone to acquaint them with the truths of the gospel, but also to improve their temporal condition by inducing them to abandon their indolent and improvident manner of life; to cultivate their lands ; to become sober and industrious ; and by these means to surround themselves with comforts which they had never yet possessed ; and to assume by degrees a condition approaching civilization. We have seen that this was partially effected with Pokagon and Chebass, and their example appears to have influenced a considerable number of others-not only chiefs, but many of lower de- gree-to move in the same direction. Judge John C. Leib, a government agent, made a second official visit to these Indians in the summer of 1826, and in his report made to Governor Cass he spoke of their improved condition as fol- lows : " Numerous Indian families have, since my last visit, settled themselves around, and have, from the encourage- ment, countenance, and assistance of the missionary family, made considerable progress in agriculture. Indeed, a whole village has been formed within six miles of it, under its benevolent auspices and fostering care. I visited them to witness myself the change in their condition. To good fences, with which many of their grounds are inclosed, succeed domestic animals. You now see oxen, cows, and swine grazing around their dwellings, without the danger of destroying their crops. . . . Occupancy now seems conse- crated by the labor which these new exertions cost, and results in giving birth in the mind of the Indian to a strong sense of individual property." He also mentioned that near the mouth of the St. Joseph "the most surprising changes have taken place. Strong and effective inclosures are made and making, and stock has been acquired ;" and that the general condition of the tribe was greatly improved in many respects since his previous visit to them.

But on this occasion Judge Leib probably saw the St. Joseph Pottawattamies in the most advanced condition which they ever attained, for from about that time the num- ber of white whisky traders among them was largely and rap- idly increased, and the effect of their traffic upon the Indian

was ruinous. They had not sufficient strength of mind to resist the temptation to drunkenness, and to this baneful in- fluence they surrendered all their, prospects of advance- ment. There were a few individual exceptions, but this was the case with nearly all of them. Soon after this they seemed to have reached a condition in which they aban- doned all attempts at improvement, and thought of nothing but the indulgence of their appetite for whisky, to obtain which they were willing to part with everything they pos- sessed : articles of comfort and utility, furs, game, and even their scanty clothing. One of the missionary assistants- Mr. Simerwell-wrote about this time, and in reference to this state of affairs, as follows: "Our white neighbors [meaning the white men who had come among them with the sole purpose of furnishing them with ardent spirits] deal out whisky to the Indians plentifully, with which they purchase anything which the Indians are willing to part with. A silver-mounted rifle, worth twenty or twenty-five dollars, has been purchased of them for seventy-five cents' worth of whisky. The clothing of the Indians, and farm- ing and cooking utensils, are purchased for liquor ; and these articles are sometimes again sold to the Indians for furs."

The demoralization of the Indians from this cause was so rapid and complete that the missionaries finally abandoned all hope of their ultimate civilization, and Mr. Lykins, Mr. McCoy's assistant, wrote to the latter (who was then at De- troit, in conference with Governor Cass and others), " I tell you every hope, every prospect, for the welfare of the In- dians around us is prostrate, is entirely cut off. I entreat you to plead for their removal." The condition to which the Indians had sunk is further referred to in the mission journal, under date of April 6, 1828, as follows : " Our prospects of usefulness in this country are completely blighted; the wretched Indians around us, without the hope of better condition from any improvements which they may make, daily grow more stupid and indifferent to everything like improvement of circumstances in life or in mind. From intemperance and other evils resulting from the proximity of white settlements they are rapidly wasting away."

Several other missionaries were engaged with Mr. McCoy among the Pottawattamies of the St. Joseph, but the rapid demoralization of the Indians caused them to despair of accomplishing any good, and in 1832 the last of them de- parted in complete discouragement. After their departure the Indians gradually grew more and more degraded and abject. Judge Leib, who annually visited them for the government, relates, in one of his reports to Governor Cass, that he had frequently expostulated with some of the more respectable chiefs of the Pottawattamies, urging them to make greater efforts to surround themselves with the advan- tages of comparative civilization, and, in particular, as a means to this end, to abandon the use of intoxicating liquor. " I shall never forget," he says, " the answer made on one of these occasions by a venerable and interesting chief. . .. After a considerable pause he commenced by stating that what I said was very true; that they were all sen- sible of the deleterious effects of whisky, and of the ravages it had made and was still making among them ; that they

CESSIONS OF INDIAN TERRITORY.

did not seek it, but it was brought to them; that they could not prevent it, nor could they possibly forbear from drinking it when it was within their reach ; that they had lost all their manhood with their independence; that they were a degraded and disgraced race; that they now looked upon the whites as so much their superiors that they would not attempt to resist anything they did or should do. 'But,' continued the chief, elevating his dignified person, 'if our Great Father feels such an interest to preserve us as you mention. all-powerful as he is, why does he not command his people to abstain from seeking our destruction ? He has but to will it and his will will be done. He can punish, -he can save us from the ruin which surrounds us.'" Words could not better have described the utterly abject and hopeless condition to which the tribe had fallen, and in which (with a few exceptions) they remained until the time of their emigration (or rather exile) to the lands be- yond the Mississippi, which occurred a few years after the departure of their would-be benefactors, the missionaries.

The chiefs of the tribe had ceded to the United States, by the Chicago Treaty of 1821, a vast scope of country, which may be described as including all of their ancient domain lying east of the St. Joseph River. Again, in 1828, they ceded to the government all of their possessions in Michigan between the St. Joseph River and Lake Mich- igan, except a tribal reservation of nearly fifty square miles area, which embraced the southeastern part of the present township of Buchanan, including Buchanan village, all of the township of Bertrand except its northwest corner, and all that part of Niles township which lies west of the St. Joseph River. On this reservation nearly all their villages were located, and here was the home of the tribe during the later years of their occupancy. Finally, in September, 1833, this reservation-their last foothold-was ceded by them to the government, and they at the same time agreed to evacuate and remove from their lands within three years from that time. Long before the expiration of the time named in the treaty for their departure, however, they had bitterly repented of their promise to remove to the land of the setting sun, and prayed the Great Father that they might be permitted to remain on the poor remnant of their ancient hunting-grounds, and to be buried near the graves of their fathers. Their request to remain was not granted, but their expulsion (for such it really was) was delayed until the fall of 1838, when the remnant of the once powerful tribe, now reduced to one hundred and fifty in number,* were called together at the McCoy Mission grounds, near Niles, for a " talk," which was understood as a preliminary to their final departure. At this convocation many protested earnestly against their banishment, but it all resulted in a peremptory order from the government agents (Godfroy and Kercheval) to prepare for removal on a certain day. On that day they were gathered (but not all of them), and in charge of the agents, and escorted by two companies of United States troops, detailed for this duty by order of Gen. Brady, they moved out on the Chicago road, some on foot, but many of the more helpless

ones loaded in wagons, and in this way, dejected and sorrow- ful, they commenced their weary journey to new homes and hunting-grounds in Kansas. Not a few of them, however, escaped while on the way, and returned to the St. Joseph. These, with others who by some means had avoided being mustered for removal in 1838, were finally collected in the following year by Alexis Coquillard, and under his charge were removed to Kansas, where they joined those who had gone forward in the previous year.

But Pokagon was not among those who emigrated to the West. He and a number of others of his band had em- braced the Catholic faith, and they were apprehensive that a removal to the wilderness beyond the Mississippi might in some way deprive them of the enjoyment of their re- ligion, as well as of the benefits of the partial civilization which they had acquired. They were therefore very deter- mined in their opposition to the removal, and Pokagon re- fused to sign or consent to the treaty by which the reserva- tion was relinquished until he and his fellow-Catholics had received guarantees that they should be allowed to remain in Michigan. After the departure of the tribe, Pokagon removed from his old home to Silver Creek, in Cass County, as has already been mentioned. His death occurred at that place in 1841. Some of the Catholic descendants of the Pottawattamies are still living at Silver Creek, and a few have their homes in the western part of Van Buren County.

CHAPTER V.

CESSIONS OF INDIAN TERRITORY-ERECTION OF COUNTIES AND TOWNS UPON IT.

Indian Proprietorship of Lands recognized by the United States- Treaty of Greenville, 1795-Treaty of Detroit, 1807-Treaties of Springwells, 1815, and Saginaw, 1819-Treaty of Chicago, 1821- Extensive Cession of Lands in Berrien and Van Buren Counties- Reservations-Carey Mission Tract Ceded-Treaty of Carey Mis- sion, 1827-Treaty of 1828, at Carey Mission-Cession of Lands west of St. Joseph River-Treaty of Chicago, 1833-Cession of the Last of the Indian Possessions on the St. Joseph-Erection of Counties and Towns on the Ceded Lands-Erection of Wayne County-Territory of Berrien and Van Buren Counties attached to Monroe-Same attached to Lenawee-The Old Township of St. Joseph-Erection of Berrien and Van Buren Counties-Niles and Penn Townships.

THE possessory title of the Indian tribes to the lands of which they were found in occupation has always been recog- nized by the United States government from the time of its formation, and the principle has been established that this title can only be acquired by the government, or with its consent, and can only be alienated from the native In- dians by their own voluntary act, done in public and open council, where the tribes are represented by their chiefs and head men, and the government by its accredited agent or commissioner. This principle has always been acted on and this method observed by the government in its treaties with Indians for the acquisition of their possessory rights in the public domain.

TREATY OF GREENVILLE, 1795.

The first Indian treaty by which the aboriginal title to lands now within the State of Michigan was extinguished

* As per pay-roll of 1837, based upon an estimate of Indian popu- lation of Michigan, made by Henry R. Schoolcraft, United States Indian agent.

HISTORY OF BERRIEN AND VAN BUREN COUNTIES, MICHIGAN.

was that which was concluded at Greenville, Ohio, Aug. 3, 1795, by Gen. Anthony Wayne, on behalf of the United States, with representatives of the Pottawattamie, Wyan- dot, Shawanoe, Ottawa, Chippewa, and several other tribes. This treaty ceded to the United States a strip of land six miles in width, on and adjoining the west bank of the De- troit River, and extending from Lake St. Clair on the north to the river Raisin (the present city of Monroe) on the south, including, of course, the post of Detroit. On this treaty, heading the list of chiefs of the "Pottawattamies of the St. Joseph," appears the name of Thu-pe-ne-ba (Topinabé), whose name continued to head the list of chiefs of his tribe, in treaties, from this time until 1833.

TREATY OF DETROIT, 1807.

The entire southeastern part of Michigan was ceded to the government by the treaty of Detroit, made and con- cluded Nov. 17, 1807, between Governor William Hull, commissioner and superintendent of Indian affairs, and the chiefs of the Pottawattamie, Ottawa, Chippewa, and Wyan- dot tribes. The territory here ceded extended westward to the line which afterwards became the principal meridian of the State, and northward on that line to the centre of the present county of Shiawassee, from which point the north boundary of the ceded territory was drawn in a straight line to White Rock, on the west shore of Lake Huron.

TREATIES OF SPRINGWELLS, 1815, AND OF SAGINAW, 1819.

The three principal Indian nations of Michigan,-the Pottawattamies, Chippewas, and Ottawas,-by the offen- sive alliance which they made with the British in the war of 1812-15, and their general conduct through that strug- gle, were regarded as having justly forfeited the lands reserved to them. The government, however, was not disposed to enforce the forfeiture, but rather to adopt a conciliatory and friendly policy towards them ; and in Sep- tember, 1815, Gen. William H. Harrison, Gen. McArthur, and John Graham, Esq., on the part of the United States, held a council with them at Springwells, near Detroit, where, on the 8th of that month, a treaty was concluded, by which it was agreed that " the United States give peace to the Chippewa, Ottawa, and Pottawattamie tribes. They also agree to restore to the said Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potta- wattamie tribes all the possessions, rights, and privileges which they enjoyed or were entitled to, in the year 1811, prior to the commencement of the late war with Great Britain ; and the said tribes upon their part agree to place themselves under the protection of the United States, and of no other power whatsoever." And, at the same time, the treaty made at Greenville in 1795, and subsequent treaties between these tribes and the United States, were confirmed and ratified.

The treaty of Saginaw, concluded Sept. 24, 1819, ceded an immense territory in Michigan, lying to the north and east of a boundary line drawn due west from the " Indian boundary" (the principal meridian) to a point two or three miles northeast of the village of Kalamazoo, and thence northward to the Thunder Bay River. At this treaty the Pottawattamies were not represented, for the reason that they claimed no ownership in the lands there ceded.

TREATY OF CHICAGO, 1821.

In August, 1821, Gen. Lewis Cass and Solomon Sibley, commissioners of the United States, met the sachems, chiefs, and warriors of the Pottawattamie, Ottawa, and Chippewa tribes of Indians in council, at Chicago, and there, on the 29th of that month, was made and concluded a treaty, by which those tribes ceded to the United States (excepting certain reservations) " all the land comprehended within the following boundaries : Beginning at a point on the south bank of the river St. Joseph, of Lake Michigan, near the Parc aux Vaches, due north from Rum's village, and running thence south to a line drawn due east from the southern extreme of Lake Michigan, thence with the said line east to the tract ceded by the Pottawattamies to the United States by the treaty of Fort Meigs, in 1817, if the said line should strike the said tract,* but if the said line should pass north of the said tract, then such line shall be continued until it strikes the western boundary of the tract ceded to the United States by the treaty of Detroit, in 1807; and from the termination of the said line, following the boundaries of former cessions, to the main branch of the Grand River, of Lake Michigan, should any of the said lines cross the said river, but if none of the said lines should cross the said river, then to a point due east of the source of the said main branch of the said river, and from such point, due west to the source of the said principal branch ; and from the crossing of the said river, or from the source thereof, as the case may be, down the said river, on the north bank thereof, to the mouth; thence following the shore of Lake Michigan to the south bank of the said river St. Joseph, at the mouth thereof, and thence with the said south bank to the place of beginning."

To this treaty of cession were signed the names of Com- missioners Cass and Sibley and the totemic signatures of Topinabe, Wecsaw, and fifty-three other Pottawattamie chiefs and head men, affixed in presence of John R. Williams, adjutant-general of Michigan militia, Alexander Wolcott, Jr., G. Godfrey, and Whitmore Knaggs, Indian agents, John Kenzie, sub-agent, H. Phillips, paymaster United States army, Jacob Visger, Henry I. Hunt, R. Montgomery, John B. Beaubien, Conrad Ten Eyck, J. Whippley, George Miles, Jr., Henry Conner, James Ber- nard, and Jacob B. Varnum, United States factor.

The territory to which the Indian title was extinguished by this treaty included all of the present county of Van Buren and all that part of Berrien which lies east and north of the St. Joseph River (except nine individual reservations named below), with a tract one mile square on the west side of that river. Besides these, it embraced nine entire counties, and parts of five other counties, all in the southwest part of Michigan, and a strip ten miles wide south of the Indiana line.

All the southern portion of the territory (about four- fifths of the whole) ceded at this treaty belonged to the country of the Pottawattamies ; and in consideration of the cession the United States agreed to pay five thousand

* It did not, however, strike the line named, but passed north of it ; the territory ceded at Fort Meigs, in 1817, lying entirely south of the south line of Michigan.

CESSIONS OF INDIAN TERRITORY.

dollars in specie,* yearly, to that tribe, for the term of twenty years, and also to appropriate annually, for the term of fifteen years, the sum of one thousand dollars, to be ex- pended under direction of the President for the support of a blacksmith and a teacher among the Indians. The cession of one square mile of land on the west side of the St. Joseph was designated as the residence of the teacher and the blacksmith of the tribe, and it was to be selected and lo- cated under direction of the President of the United States.

The selection so made was nearly on the western bound- ary of the present city of Niles, and the tract became the seat of the " Carey Mission," which is mentioned more fully in the history of Niles.

The individual reservations from the tract ceded by this treaty, within the county of Berrien, were described as follows :

" To John Burnett, two sections of land.

"To James Burnett, Abraham Burnett, Rebecca Bur- nett, and Nancy Burnett, each one section of land ; which said John, James, Abraham, Rebecca, and Nancy are chil- dren of Kawkeemee, sister of Topinabe, principal chief of the Pottawattamie nation.

" To John B. La Lime, son of Nokenoqua, one-half of a section of land adjoining the tract before granted, and on the upper side thereof.

" To Jean B. Chandonai, son of Chippewaqua, two sec- tions of land on the river St. Joseph, above and adjoining the tract granted to J. B. La Lime.

"To Joseph Dazé, son of Chippewaqua, one section of land adjoining the tract granted to Jean B. Chandonai."

The above-named reservations were to be laid out on the north bank of the St. Joseph, commencing "about two miles from the mouth," and to be laid out in succession up along the bank of the stream. The ninth and last of the individual reservations, within the present county of Ber- rien, was " To Madeline Bertrand, wife of Joseph Bertrand, a Pottawattamie woman, one section of land at the Parc aux Vaches, on the northeast side of the river St. Joseph."

The treaty provided for a number of other individual reservations, none of which were within the present county of Berrien, but farther up the river. Among these, there were reservations " to Joseph Bertrand, Jr., Benjamin Ber- trand, Laurent Bertrand, Theresa Bertrand, and Amable Bertrand, children of the said Madeline Bertrand, each one-half of a section of land at the portage of the Kanka- kee River." These were the half-breed children of the trader Bertrand, who located on the upper St. Joseph soon after the Revolution, and whose name was given to one of the townships of Berrien County.

TREATY AT CAREY MISSION, 1827.

A treaty was held by Governor Cass at the Carey Mis- siont on the 19th of September, 1827, at which time and

place a number of small reservations were ceded to the United States, " in order to consolidate some of the dispersed bands of the Pottawattamie tribe in the territory of Michi- gan, at a point removed from the road leading from Detroit to Chicago, and as far as practicable from the settlements of the whites." A number of the reservations ceded at that time were situated on the upper St. Joseph, in the present county of St. Joseph, but none of them were lo- cated in Berrien or Van Buren.

CAREY MISSION TREATY, 1828.

A treaty council was held and a treaty concluded on the 20th of September, 1828, "at the Missionary Establish- ments upon the St. Joseph, of Lake Michigan" (meaning the Carey Mission, near Niles), between Lewis Cass and Pierre Menard, on the part of the United States, and the chiefs and head men of the St. Joseph Pottawattamies, on the part of their tribe. By this treaty, signed by Topi- nabé, Pokagon, and sixty-seven other Pottawattamie chiefs and head men, there was ceded to the United States a tract of land described as " Beginning at the mouth of the St. Joseph, of Lake Michigan, and thence running up said river to a point on the same river, half-way between La- vache-qui-pisse and Macousin village; thence in a direct line to the nineteenth-mile tree, on the northern boundary line of the State of Indiana ; thence with the same west to Lake Michigan ; and thence with the shore of the said lake to the place of beginning."

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History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 8

Author: D.W. Ensign & Co. pub; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Johnson, Crisfield Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia, D. W. Ensign & Co. Number of Pages: 821

Author: D.W. Ensign & Co. pub; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Johnson, Crisfield
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, D. W. Ensign & Co.
Number of Pages: 821