History of Kent County, Michigan, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 15

Author: Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.); Chapman, Charles C., & Co. (Chicago)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : C.C. Chapman & Co.
Number of Pages: 1434

USA > Michigan > Kent County > History of Kent County, Michigan, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 15

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So-na-go, one of the Coldwater Indians and the last sexton of the Indian cemetery, was a savage singularly romantic and eccentric, vet chivalrous and conscientious. After brooding over his rude

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ideas of the philosophy of nature, he waited for the happy time when he could commune more closely with those good Indians of his tribe who had passed to the spirit land. In later years, when the old camp ground at the mouth of the Coldwater had passed into the hands of the whites, So-na-go, the Indian chief, was accus- tomed to visit the mounds, under which the bones of his people rested, and there was seen to offer up a prayer to the Great Spirit, brush away his tears, and leave the scene of his griefs by some un- frequented path.

Wabasis, well known to the first pioneers of the valley as the treaty-making half-breed, was engaged in the negotiation of the treaty of 1826, and incurred all the displeasure of the tribe. He was exiled, as it were, to live out his years within the boundaries of a small garden on the shore of Lake Wabasis. Neogamah, the newly elected chief, induced him to participate in the corn feast at Plainfield; they got him drunk, and killed him with a fire-brand. They buried him with his head above the ground; built a crib round his grave, and in it they daily placed food and tobacco for the nourishment and comfort of the dead in the land of the hereafter. His grave was located 20 rods south of Plainfield bridge.

The story of Wabasis is told by Mrs. Kutts, of Oakfield. From it the following lines are taken :

Oh, pitiless the hand to slay Where vengeance lured its baffled prey, While Wabasis defenseless stood, And dared the throng, athirst for blood. But, when his voice in death was still, Memories thronged, the heart to thrill;

And many feet with silent tread, Moved slow, in honor of the dead. In regal state the chief was laid,

With death-dance to appease his shade.

But not forgot-for white man's gold,

Their pleasant hunting grounds were sold ; And when the dark night-shadows came, With many a torch-light's glaring flame, They bore the big chief to his rest Upon the highland's lifted crest. They placed him sitting on the hill, That he might see the white man till

The broad plains, where his fathers sleep, When gone were all his people's feet. They placed him sitting in his grave, Where he could see the gleaming wave ; And watch the white man's big canoe, When faded were the forms he knew. They placed him by the white man's trail,

That he might see the stranger pale ; And where his passing feet should be A long rebuke to treachery.

They roofed him o'er with little trees, And bade him wait, and watch through these. But wofully the red man rued The day their hands in blood were brued-

For, ever at the feast of corn

Was heard his voice in taunting scorn ;

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HISTORY OF KENT COUNTY.

And here and there his vengeful soul Led on the hunt for hidden gold ; Then in some lone and tangled fell Would ring his wild, unearthly yell. Each new moon on his grave they laid Tobacco, to appease his shade. But still the chief, who laid him low,

Grew nerveless as an unstrung bow; And when the white Swan's drooping head

Told Indian that his soul had fled,

He went not on the death-trail, lone- The red chief, too, had with him gone.

Kewaycooshcum, known to the old settlers of Grand Rapids and of the valley generally, fell at the hands of the executioner of the Indians' Secret Tribunal in August, 1839. He was among the most noted chiefs of the Flat River Indians, a celebrated warrior, and a great admirer of Gen. Lewis Cass. He was present at the negotiation of the treaties of Chicago, again at Saginaw, at Flint, and at Detroit, at each of which places he represented the inter- ests of the Ottawa nation. Indian jealousy envied his growing popularity among the traders of Michigan, looked on the courtesies extended to him by the white settlers with a suspicious eye, charged him ultimately with perfidy in agreeing to the sale of their Indian soil, and capped tribal malice by inflicting the great penalty of death.

This chief was prevailed upon, in 1821, to enter into a treaty with the United States Government ceding all the lands west of Grand river. To accomplish this treaty he made a journey to Washington in company with Rix Robinson and others, where he was entertained by the President, who made him many presents and won his warmest friendship. By the stipulations of this treaty all the Indians in the vicinity of Owashtenong were to re- move to a reservation west of the Mississippi.

When Kewaycooshcum returned and laid the plan of the treaty before a council of the chiefs of the villages it was received with great disapproval. Many of the savage councilmen delivered long and eloquent speeches setting forth the disadvantage of leaving their homes, which had become dear to Indian hearts by many fond recollections. "Here we have buried our dead," said one of the chiefs, "and here we should remain to protect their graves. This is our home-the home of our youth. Here we were reared on the banks of the beloved Owashtenong, whose beauty has be- come our pride and boast. Here our fathers died and were laid to rest. Here we have held our councils, prosecuted our trade, and preserved peace and friendship with all nations. Why go to a strange land to mingle with strange people? Why forsake the graves of our ancestors? Have we become unpleasant to our brothers, the whites, that we must hide ourselves from their pres- ence? What evil have we committed? Why thus sacrifice that which is most dear to the heart of every chief and warrior? ? Has our chief tasted the fire-water of the pale faces and been blinded to the welfare of his people? Let him answer!"

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HISTORY OF KENT COUNTY.

Kewaycooshcum replied in an eloquent speech, representing the advantages of the treaty and urging his subject to extend a cheer- ful acquiescence, but to all his pleadings he received a prompt and indignant rebuke. They claimed that he had sold their homes and their liberties and had therefore become their enemy.

This council was held in 1836 at the village of the Ottawas and Chippewas, on the west side of the river, and resulted in the ruin of Kewaycooshcum.

The unfortunate "payment day" had gathered the tribe at Grand Rapids, the bounty was paid out in usual form, and the various bands left for their reserves. "Long Nose, or Kewicoosh- cum, Ka-she-wa, old Wasogenaw, Wapoos, with a boy and girl, remained behind, the seniors carousing, the youths sitting in a canoe anchored close by the mouth of Cold brook. The supply of whisky was growing very small, when Ka-she-wa and Wapoos proposed going to the village to replenish it. While they were gone old Wasogenaw sought quarrel with his chief, and . coolly meted out the measure of Indian vengeance. Some years after this tragic affair, Seth Robinson became interested in obtaining all the facts connected with the death of "Long Nose." He found among the Flat River band the boy who witnessed the bloody scene, and elicited from him the particulars which he was desirous of obtaining. The Indian boy related the murder scene as fol- lows:

" I sat on the stern of the canoe, tied to the bank of Grand river, near the mouth of Cold brook. I had a knife in my hand, peeling a turnip. The two old men, Wasogenaw and Kewicooshcum, sat on the bank by the fire. I heard Wasogenaw say, 'You old fool! did you not know better than to sell this whole territory and im- poverish your nation? I am going to take your life!' Kewicoosh- cum, pulling out and flourishing his knife, said, ' You can't do that! Do you see this?' The other man bent down to me and said, 'Do

you see that man ? He is what has impoverished you. Let me

Then I take that knife you have got; I am going to kill him. want you to help me put him in this canoe, and we will take him to the middle of the river, and throw him in.' I dropped my knife into the river, and said, ' I have no knife.' The old man said, 'I thought I saw you peeling a turnip with a knife.' Showing him a sliver of wood, I said, 'No, I had only this.' The old man became very furious; and raving about, went to the bank of the river, and pulled out a maple club about two feet long, with a knot at one end. He brandished it around frantically, capering the while and saying to me, ' This is the way when you kill something.' Then, rushing up to Kewicooshcum, and saying, with frantic gestures, 'This is tlie way when you kill something,' struck him on the head. The old man threw up his hands and feet, dropped his knife and begged. The other kept on striking, and repeating the same expression. I jumped out of the canoe, and ran toward the village. Wasogenaw called to me to stop. I ran faster, he following. Jumping across

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HISTORY OF KENT COUNTY.

Cold brook, I got into the mud and fell down. Looking back, the old man was over me with a club. I evaded him, ran, and met the party returning with the whisky. I said to them, 'The old men are killing each other.' A son of Wasogenaw said to me, 'I will go and pacify him' (his father). He walked up to his father, and patting his cheek, said, 'You fool! can't you be satisfied with committing one murder, without taking the life of the boy?' The old man then fell on the ground and cried. All the men then went to the camp, and found Kewicooshcum dead. They put him in a canoe and carried him to Plainfield."

It is not stated definitely that Indian dissatisfaction with the course taken by the deceased Indian was general. The circum- stances surrounding the death of the big-nosed chief points out his end to be due to whisky rather than to any other cause.

Okemos. This influential Pottawatomie chief, who dwelt with his band on the Huron, visited the Grand Rapids with his uncle, the great Pontiac. Even in later years he came hither from his home in Washtenaw to witness the advance of the village and congratulate the white settlers. He was accustomed to travel after the style of an oriental nabob; he took especial pride in his eques- trian accomplishments. At the close of the hunting and sugar-mak- ing seasons, he would assemble all his men, women and pappooses, arrange them in Indian file, and lead their advance to distant trad- ing posts. The old chief was a strict observer of his word, and never neglected the laws of gratitude. Withal, he was a fierce warrior; bis cloven skull and the marks of a hundred wounds told of his prowess. He visited the Indians of the Grand river for the last time in June, 1857, and died about two years later. See page 56.

Astoquet, chief of the Indian village at Grandville, is stated to have been a centenarian at the time of his death, in 1840. Though bent with the weight of age, he was dignified in manner, genial, and a true friend of the early settlers.

Nonoquahezich, or Namequoggevhih, chief of the Ottawas, or rather a band of 500, that made their camp on the west side of the rapids in 1819, died in 1840 at Gull Prairie, aged 100 years. "Noon-day," as his name implies, was always a friendly Indian, inclined to be industrious. He possessed numerous wives, each of whom he treated with a respect inimitable by the Indian or white man of the present time.

Meccissininni, or the " wampum man," married the daughter of Namequoggevhih, and was given the title of Young Chief. He be- longed to the Ottawa band on the west side of the river, and had the reputation of being the youngest and most subtile philosopher of the tribe. He was present at all the treaties, always slow to pro- pose any overtures to the commissioners, and among the last to accept the proposals of others. He removed first to Oceana county, thence northward, and is now at rest forever. He died with the honors of chief, as the successor of the unfortunate Keywaycoosh- cum. The history of this interesting savage, as related by Louis

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HISTORY OF KENT COUNTY.

Campan, and published in the directory of Grand Rapids, is as follows:

Meccissininni, the successor of Kewaycooshcum as a chief of the Ottawa village, also entered into the treaty for the sale of lands on which the village was located, but was more successful than his predecessors in securing the hearty cooperation of his subjects.

He was an eloquent orator, a very proud, haughty Indian, and manifested a strong desire to secure an education. He always dressed like a white man. He was one of the chiefs who accompanied Louis Campan, Rix Robinson and Rev. Mr. Slater to Washington to make a treaty relative to selling their lands, in 1835-'6. This was the same treaty which caused the ruin, and, finally, the murder of Kewaycooshcum. While in Washington, President Jackson wished to make Meccissininni a present of a new suit of clothes, and asked him what kind he would prefer. He said, as General Jackson was chief of his people, and he was chief of the red men, he thought it would be appropriate if he had a suit like his. The President ordered the suit. It was a black frock coat, black satin vest, black pantaloons, silk stockings, and pumps; but the best of the affair was, Gen. Jackson wore, at that time, a white bell-crowned hat, with a weed on it, being in mourning for his wife. The un-

suspecting Indian, not knowing that the weed was a badge of mourn- ing, had one on his hat, also, which pleased the President and his cabinet not a little. The chief was much delighted with the warm reception he received in the different cities on his return home. After he returned a council met to hear the nature of the treaty, when Meccissininni distinguished himself as an orator in his por- trayal of the treaty. He sold their lands, and the treaty provided for their removal west of the Mississippi in a certain number of years. The chiefs and councilmen were opposed to the treaty and spoke violently against it, but this cunning Indian won them over to a reluctant acceptance of it. He said that for himself he would rather remain here, and be buried where his forefathers were; but on his people's account he had rather go west of the Mississippi, as his people would become debased by their association with the pale- faces.

Meccissininni distinguished himself among the Grand Rapids Indians as well as among the white inhabitants, for his generosity, gentlemanly bearing, great foresight and capacious intellect. He was, as far as possible, a civilized red man, and appeared to appre- ciate civilization to a very high degree. In 1841 he was invited to a Fourth of July celebration. The dinner was served up near the site of Ball's foundry, where, after the oration and refreshments, the cloth was removed and regular toasts drank. £ Meccissininni was called upon for a toast, and responded as follows: "The pale faces and the red men-the former a great nation, and the latter a remnant of a great people-may they ever meet in unity together, and cele- brate this great day as a band of brothers."

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HISTORY OF KENT COUNTY.

At one time this chief wanted to get trusted for some provisions and said he would pay at the next Indian payment. When he re- turned from the annual payment he was asked to settle his bill. He told the dealer to put it on paper and send it to his house and he would pay it, and remarked further, that he wished to do busi- ness like white people. So the dealer made out his bill, repaired to the chief's house, and was ushered in with all the politeness imaginable. He promptly paid the bill, and signified his wish to have it receipted.

About the year 1843, he was attacked with a disease which, after a short illness, terminated his existence, at the age of 50 years. He lived and died a professor of the Catholic faith, under the spiritual guidance of the Rev. Father Vizoiskey. His remains were followed to the grave by a large number of the most respectable citizens of Grand Rapids, and by nearly all the Indians of his tribe. Not- withstanding the treaty articles, those Indians never moved to the Mississippi, but had to be provided with a reservation in another part of the State, where their children still dwell.

Moccottiocquit, or " Black Cloud," was chief of the Indians of the Grand River up to the close of the war of 1812, when he resigned to become chief of the Maple River band. He was a tall, full- blood Indian in the days when Robinson and Campau first entered this valley. Up to the period of removal to the northern reserves he retained all those high physical and moral characteristics which were peculiarly his own; but under the spell of grief at losing his well-known, well-loved home of years, he became a confirmed hyp- ochondriac, and remained one until his death in 1847 or '48. He was present at Grand Rapids to receive his bounty at the "Pay- ment of 1846." Even on that day he was bowed down to the earth,-the once proud chief was sunk in imbecility.

Makkotioska, or " Black Skin," was an actual hostile savage as late as 1812. In his earlier years he was an incorrigible vagrant, fearing neither God nor man, and consequently was a most efficient auxiliary of the British troops in Michigan previous to their last and final defeat. Black Skin is said to have been the first of the British incendiaries to set the village of Buffalo ablaze. He was the leader of a squad of British sharpshooters told off to prey upon the rear guard of the Federal forces, and never failed to apply the scalplng knife and fagot to the Americans who had the misfort- une to fall into the hands of that barbarous band. He died in 1868, having reached the years of a centenarian. In earlier years he was chief of a band. numbering 300 souls, holding their en- campment on the land subsequently known as the "Bemis farm."

Canote, a type of Indian manhood, was a warrior of the Plain- field band. What discredit the unfortunate sub-chief of the Long Nose brought upon the Indian village of that district was fully compensated for by the manly beauty of this Canote. The old set- tlers who remember him all bear testimony to his high character, to the savage majesty of his person, his generosity, and desire to

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accomplish good everywhere at every time. In 1838 he went far away from his old home and was never heard of since.

Wobwindego, the "White Giant," known to the Indians of the Saginaw as Wobskindip, was the chief of the Flat River or Lowell Indians up to 1827, when he was succeeded by his son, Shogwogeno, who acted as sub-chief until the death of his father in 1836.

Pegu, a tall, athletic Indian, fond of a little tobacco to mix with his kinnikinnick, belonged to a small band of Indians that settled in the southwestern portion of the county after the war of 1812, and rendered much valuable assistance to the settlers of 1836.

Pokanomino was a Chippewa of the Saginaw tribe, who came to this county in 1815, and made it his home. He, too, was an im- portant factor in the settlement of the southwest townships of Kent.

Neegake, the " Renegade," was a savage among the Indians of Grand River. He is supposed to have been cast out by one of the Onondaga bands, and, emigrating, found a home among the Potta- watomies. In 1819, one of the United States surveyors, then en- gaged in the survey of the Peninsula south of latitude 43 degrees., was killed. Suspicion pointed itself on this infamous Neegake, and almost brought him to punishment; but there was no positive proof of his guilt, and so he escaped. After this period, and until the name of Alanson Snow, of Washtenaw, was whispered among the bands at the rapids, this disgrace of the natives caused much trouble to the whites both directly and indirectly. Unable to carry out malevolent designs himself, he would urge the duty on some young warriors, and thus for years he acted the serpent among the flock. His death in the north was as tragic as his life was vicious.

The genial Casua, his frugal squaw, and a host of children and friends, had their village within three-quarters of a mile of Whit- ney's tavern. This Mrs. Casua was much in advance of the squaw species, and acted more like a civilized woman. Whenever whisky crept into their village she was their peacemaker, and to her was due in a great measure, the happy good feeling which existed among the settlers and the aborigines.

Jean Boshaw, a half-breed, and de facto chief of the bands of Ada, was a very estimable man, and conferred many favors upon the settlers of that and adjoining townships. This was a purely Catholic settlement; the Indians were said to be good farmers, re- ligions, and to have become comparatively civilized. Upon the removal of the band to Pentwater, Boshaw accompanied his friends, and is said to accompany them still in their wanderings.

All have passed to their reward, the good as well as bad. Each took his part in serving the ends of the mysterions economy of the universe. Each one conferred certain benefits upon the earlier set- tlers, and for these reasons their names are handed down to a people who can fully appreciate all the Indian has done for them, and par - don the terrible excesses of his virtue.

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HISTORY OF KENT COUNTY.

Francis Bailey, an English half-breed, who married an Ottawa woman, settled at Grand Rapids about the year 1829. He was an Indian doctor, and much esteemed by both the traders and Indians. He built a cabin on the west bank of the river, and claimed a tract of forty acres as his own. One of the articles of the Treaty of Washington dealt very summarily with such squatters. He was evicted. Then he essayed to obtain an Indian's claim, as provided in the treaty; but this was refused him on the ground of his not being an Indian. Subsequently, he tried to pre-empt a tract of land ; but this privilege was denied him also, as he was not a white man. Failing in his efforts, he left for Muskegon, where he still lives. Meeting Albert Baxter a few years ago, he referred to those early times, and remarked laconically that then it was bad to be neither a white man nor an Indian.

CHAPTER IV.

TREATIES WITH THE INDIANS.

The cause is good when the intent is just. The savages found here, even within the memory of the pioneers, could never be brought within the fold of civilization. Their occupation of the entire Peninsula, at a time when the American cultivators of the soil required it for development, was an outrage on the advance- ment of that day, almost approaching that existing scandal which renders helpless the European agriculturist of the present time. The United States, acting on the strict principles of just govern- ment, determined that he who would cultivate the land should possess it. To carry out this laudable determination, the Indians were informed of the intention of Uncle Samuel, and of the magnificent basis on which that intention was formed. They, of course, like the European aristocracy, wished to hold the people's domain, though their own special title to it was founded, not exactly on the rights of conquest, but rather on that of some dis- honorable coup de guerre which resulted in the total annihila- tion of the original occupiers. Their logic failed. The sons and grandsons of the Revolution could not see precisely where the claims of the red men were founded, and consequently were doubly determined to win for the people that which pertained to them by the laws of right. Lest republican justice should not be observed in every particular, and to prevent the shedding of human blood, the power of moral suasion was brought to bear, an equitable arrangement for the purchase of the lands proposed, and every effort made to deal honestly with the savages.

The Ottawas and Chippewas of Grand river were not neg- lected. Even before the celebrated treaty of Saginaw was nego- tiated the attention of the Government was directed to the valley of the Owashtenong. The favorite old Governor Cass and his efficient associate, Solomon Sibley, were commissioned in 1821 to enter a treaty with the Ottawas, Chippewas, and Pottawatomies, and to perfect its negotiation in the fall of that year. This im- portant event in the history of the United States, and particularly in that of the Grand River Valley, took place at Chicago, Aug. 29, 1821. That its provisions may be the better known, and for the purpose of completing this section of the county history, the articles of that treaty are given as follows:

The Ottawa, Chippewa and Pottawatomie nations of Indians cede to the United States 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

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line drawn due east from the southern extreme of Lake Michigan; thence with the said line east to the tract ceded by the Pottawatomies 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.

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History of Kent County, Michigan, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 15

Author: Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.); Chapman, Charles C., & Co. (Chicago) Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago : C.C. Chapman & Co. Number of Pages: 1434

Author: Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.); Chapman, Charles C., & Co. (Chicago)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : C.C. Chapman & Co.
Number of Pages: 1434