USA > Michigan > History of Michigan, civil and topographical, in a compendious form; with a view of the surrounding lakes > Part 15
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The design of the British to confederate the tribes of the north-western Indians was fully demonstrated, although the object was not avowed. To effect this plan, public councils and individual stratagems were used. At one time Alexan- der Mckenzie, an agent of the British Government, was em- ployed to paint himself as an Indian ; and furnishing him- self with pipes and wampum as the credentials of his authori- ty, a grand council was convened at Detroit. The concourse of Indians there assembled was addressed by Elliot and other British agents. It was alleged that Mckenzie was an am- bassador, who had returned from the remote tribes of the Up- per Lakes, and that their bands were armed with the toma- hawk and scalping-knife, and were ready to fall upon the
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HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
Americans ; and that the hordes of savages upon the banks of the Mississippi were preparing to descend that stream, and to attack the settlements of Virginia and Ohio. The fraud thuis practised was made successful by the fact, that Mckenzie preserved his character to the life, as he spoke the Indian lan- guage with perfect precision, and was supported by a portion of the Wyandots and Shawnees, who were acquainted with the secret. By such means the Ottawas, the Miamis, the Potawa- tawvies, the Delawares, the Shawanese, the Chippewas, and the seven nations of Canada were brought into the field against the United States. Many of the French traders from the settlements in Michigan, particularly at Detroit, were induced to take up arms against the United States for the alleged reason, that if they did not embark in the Indian cause, they would not be permitted to trade with the Indians in their own territory.
Early in May, 1794, a new messenger appeared from the Spanish settlements on the banks of the Mississippi, and he was conducted to the Miamis by a deputation from the Dela- wares. He then offered assistance from the Spanish and French settlements in the south-west, who, he said, were pre- paring to come to their aid.
" Children," said the Spaniard, " you see me on my feet grasping the tomahawk to strike them. We will strike toge- ther. I do not desire you to go before me in the front, but to follow me.
" Children : I present you with a war pipe, which has been sent in all our names to the Musquakies, and all those nations who live towards the setting sun, to get upon their feet, and take hold of our tomahawk ; and as soon as they smoked it, they sent it back with a promise to get immediately on their feet and join us, and strike this enemy.
" Children : you hear what these distant nations have said to us, so that we have nothing further to do but put our designs into immediate execution, and to forward this pipe to the three warlike nations who have so long been struggling for their country, and who now sit at the Glaize. Tell them to smoke this pipe, and forward it to all the Lake Indians and their northern brethren. Then nothing will be wanting to complete
155
WESTERN POSTS RETAINED.
our general union from the rising to the setting of the sun, and all nations will be ready to add strength to the blow we are going to make."
The English had not, to any great extent, encouraged the settlement of the country ; and the Indians, who at that time occupied its whole length and breadth, were disposed, as a condition of peace, to demand of the Americans a formal sur- render of the north-western territory into their own hands. The country had, in fact, been ceded to the United States ; but new negotiations were in progress, and it was the policy of Great Britain to encourage the hostility of the savages, in order that they might derive whatever of benefit could be ob- tained by the surrender of the country to Indian dominion.
The Indian influence, as has been before remarked, had gradually strengthened into a confederation of tribes in the western forests ; and a pacific negotiation was attempted with these tribes, but without success. Gen. Harmar was there- fore despatched with a force amounting to about fourteen hundred men, in order to subdue them, or at least bring them
to subjection. Owing to a subdivision of his army, he was unfortunately defeated with great massacre by the Indians, near Chilicothe, Ohio ; not, however, before he had succeed- ed in destroying the villages, and laying waste the fields of many of the savages. Gen. Harmar having failed in the en- terprize, was succeeded in command by Major Gen. St. Clair, the then governor of the north-western territory. Gen. St. Clair, with an army of about two thousand men, hastened to protect the defenceless inhabitants of the frontier from Indian butchery, and in the month of October, 1792, he marched into the wilderness. With a force which had been reduced by de- sertion and detachment to about fourteen hundred, he en- camped within a few miles of the Miami villages, intending to remain there until he was reinforced. Notwithstanding the similar disaster which had befallen his predecessor, Gen. St. Clair was surprised by that savage and desperate warrior, the Little Turtle ; and his troops, which were arrayed in front, were driven back upon the regulars in the utmost confusion. St. Clair endeavored to rally his retreating forces, but without
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HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
success. They poured in like the locusts of Egypt from the surrounding country, and with their destructive rifles heaped the battle-ground with the dying and the dead. After an ac- tion of about three hours, the force of the Americans was so crippled by the savages, that the General deemed it prudent, in order to save them from entire destruction, to order his ar- my to retreat. They were pursued by the conquering sava- ges for about four miles, when they returned to the battle- ground in order to enjoy the spoils of the slaughter. The numbers engaged on both sides were about equal ; but the loss on the side of the Americans was estimated at about six hun- dred and thirty killed and missing, and two hundred and sixty wounded. The loss of the savages is not accurately ascer- tained, but the American camp and artillery fell into the hands of the Indians. Gen. St. Clair, who was disabled by indis- position from performing the active duties of commander, or- dered a retreat to Fort Jefferson, and thence to Fort Wash- ington.
Congress, on hearing of this disastrous conflict, determined to prosecute the war with extraordinary vigor, to increase the army by enlistments, and to place the frontier in a strong posture of defence. In accordance with this determination, Washington, acting under a resolution of Congress, endeavor- ed to raise a powerful force ; but the defeats of Harmar and St. Clair had created such a panic, that a sufficient strength could not be collected to warrant an expedition against the Indians. There was, moreover, a formidable opposition to the war, and it was deemed advisable to undertake another effort for a pacific negotiation with the unfriendly savages, but without success.
Gen. St. Clair, upon his defeat in 1761, resigned his com- mand, and was succeeded by Gen. Anthony Wayne. Gen. Wayne was a chivalrous officer, full of energy and spirit. He was the object of much fear to the Indians, who deemed him possessed of uncommon prowess, and from his supposed cun- ning he was entitled by the Indians the " Black Snake." Near the close of the year 1793 Gen. Wayne built a stockade on the ground which had three years before been made me,
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WESTERN POSTS RETAINED.
morable by the defeat of Gen. St. Clair, and called it Fort Recovery. While employed in the erection of this work, he offered a small reward for every human skull which might be picked up on the battle-ground ; and it is alleged that more than five hundred of these mournful relies were collected on the field of carnage, and entombed in one of the block-houses. Having left a proper garrison at Fort Recovery, Gen. Wayne returned to Fort Jefferson, determined to winter there with the main body of his army. He had before been admonished of the character of his enemy, as his rear-guard was harassed by a band of savages on his way to Fort Jefferson.
A detachment which had left Fort Recovery, where it had been detached in June, 1794, to escort provisions to that place, and before the army of Gen Wayne had left its winter- quarters, were attacked when within about a mile from the fort by the Indians who had laid in ambush, and was driven back into their very gates, where the savages attempted at the same time to enter, but were prevented. On the 4th of July of the same year he followed the Indian track into the depths of the wilderness.
At the crossing of the St. Mary's River, Fort Adams was con- structed ; and while the American army halted at that point, a man deserted to the enemy, and carried to them informa- tion of the progress of the American forces. When, therefore, Gen. Wayne arrived at the confluence of the Au Glaize and Maumee rivers, he found the Indian villages deserted. He remained at that place a few days, in order to wait for the re- turn of certain spies, whom he had despatched under Captain Welles for the purpose of ascertaining the movements of the savages, and while there, he constructed Fort Defiance.
The army soon moved with extraordinary caution down the left bank of the Maumee. Gen. Wayne made one more effort to bring the indians to pacific measures by despatching mes- sengers with terms of peace ; all without success. On the 19th of August he reached the Rapids of the Maumee, about four miles above the British post, and erecting a small work for the protection of his baggage and stores, called Fort De- posite, he advanced upon the enemy. The British post had
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HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
been fortified by a force sent from Detroit the preceding spring, and the Indians were entrenched under the very sha- dow of the English fort. It is clear, from various facts, that the Indians received the secret co-operation of the British, although the particular part which they acted in the Indian war was not apparent. It is equally evident, that had the confederat- ed tribes of the savages. again succeeded against the Ameri- cans, that circumstance would have induced them openly to esponse their cause. This fact induced Gen. Wayne to take his steps with the utmost caution in order to prevent the re- currence of those disastrous defeats which had followed in the track of his predecessors. The British Government had be- fore demanded, as a condition of peace, the independence of the savages who occupied the north-western frontier, in grant- ing their domain to whomsoever they might think proper. The American General, in consequence of the refusal of this demand, had reason to believe that the Indians would receive the immediate protection of the British fort, and this suspi- cion was based on the solid ground that the Indians had plant- ed themselves within a short distance of the British works. He was, however, prepared to act defensively against a civilized or savage foe, as he had received secret instructions, in case of aid from the British to the Indians, to treat them according to the usages of war. The army under Gen. Wayne amounted to about three thousand men ; and the Indian force, embracing a league which extended over the whole north-western fron- tier, is estimated at about the same number. As he advanc- ed toward the entrenchment of the savages, Gen. Wayne sent forward a battalion of mounted riflemen, with the instruction that in case of an attack they should retreat in feigned confu- sion, in order to lure the savages into a more disadvantageous position. This stratagem was successful, and the advancing party having met the enemy, was fired upon, and fell back, being pursned by the Indians, to the main body of the army. The morning of the attack was rainy, and the drums, which were to give the concerted signals, could not be distinctly hexrd ; and accordingly a secret plan to turn the right flank of the enemy was not executed. The success of Gen. Wayne,
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WESTERN POSTS RETAINED.
however, was signal. The Indians, after an obstinate resist- ance, were defeated, and retired in great disorder, having suf- fered a loss of about one hundred killed. Gen. Wayne hav- ing built Fort Recovery where the Americans had been defeat- ed in 1791, and erected Eort Defiance at the confluence of the Au Glaize and Miami, had endeavored to bring the Indians to terms, but without success ; as Col. McKee, the Indian agent, concealed the true import of the letter which was forwarded for that object. The American force consisted of about two thousand regulars and eleven hundred mounted militia under Gen. Scott of Kentucky, and they soon advanced to the Ra- pids of the Maumee. The force of the Indians was command- ed by Meshecunnaqua, or the Little Turtle, and Blue Jacket, a Shawanese warrior. The Indians were themselves posted in dense forests almost under the shadow of the British fort, with their left secured by the rocky bank of the river and a breast-work of fallen trees, and extended in three lines within supporting distance of each other. Wayne's legion had its flank upon the river, a brigade of mounted volunteers under General Todd the left, and Gen. Babee the rear. Major Price, with a select battalion, was ordered to advance to re- connoitre the enemy, and he had scarce advanced five miles before they were attacked ; Wayne's legion advanced in two columns with trailed arms, and with orders to press upon the enemy with the bayonet, to arouse them and give a close fire upon their backs, so as to permit them no opportunity to es- cape. By this manœuvre the Indians were successfully rout- ed, and fled to the very walls of Fort Maumee.
No intercourse appears to have existed between the British garrison and the savages while Gen. Wayne remained in the neighborhood of the fort. During the whole period of the ac- tion the gates were shut, and the English gazed with apparent unconcern upon the surrounding slaughter. After the Indians had retreated, Gen Wayne devastated the fields and burned the buildings, some of which were under the very battlements of the fort. In the general conflagration, the house of Col. McKee, who was believed to have exercised a great influence in stimulating the barbarity of the savages, was destroyed. In
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HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
consequence of these acts of devastation, a belligerent corre- spoudence took place between Major Campbell, the British commandant, and Gen. Wayne ; but owing to the forbearance of the General, who answered by mere remonstrance, no attack was made upon the American forces by the garrison. The hostility of the British, however, was carried so far, that Gene- ral Wayne, in his official report of his victory at the Maumee, alleges that a detachment of militia from Detroit was associat- ed and fought with the Indians. It is also well known that a Mr. Smith, the clerk of the Court at Detroit, was at the head of a company which fought against the Americans, and was killed in the same action .* The Indians, doubtless, regarded the conduct of the English in this matter with dissatisfaction, as they had looked upon the fort, in case of extremity, as the last refuge ; and this fact is deducible from the speech which was made by Tecumseh to Gen. Proctor in 1813, after the vic- tory of Commodore Perry upon Lake Erie.
Gen. Wayne, on the morning before his army made its movement back towards Fort Defiance, having paraded his force so that the enemy might view its strength, advanced with his staff toward the glacis of the British post, and recon- noitred it with the utmost deliberation. As they approached it they beheld the soldiers of the garrison prepared with match- es lighted, and standing armed for any emergency at their guns. The party of Gen. Wayne, while standing near the fort, overheard one of the subordinate officers of the British appealing to the commandant, Major Campbell, for permission to revenge this insulting parade before the British guns by firing upon the American force. The American General was, however, permitted to retire without any attack, and to ad- vance by easy marches toward Fort Defiance. On his way he destroyed the Indian corn-fields which were spread over the fertile bottom lands of the Maumee, presuming that famine would be a powerful argument in the savage mind in procur- ing a pacific termination of the war. Gen. Wayne moved up the Miami River to the old Maumee towns, where he built Fort Wayne, having left Major Hunt in command at Fort De-
* Whiting's Discourse.
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SETTLEMENTS IN MICHIGAN.
fiance. Thence he proceeded to Greenville with the body of his army, Col. Hamtramck remaining at the post which he had last constructed. This campaign had continued about three months, and the Indians were most signally overthrown. The defeat of the Indians also demolished the insidious pro- jects of the British Government, and military posts of great importance were established on the ground which had before been occupied by the Indians.
The social progress of Michigan for a long period is not marked by those exciting facts which give coloring and in- terest to the historic page. The solitary and silent advance of emigration along the rivers of a remote and howling wil- derness exhibits but a dead level of unexciting circumstances. It is well known, that soon after the extinguishment by Great Britain to the French possessions in North America by the treaty of Paris in 1763, the then monarch of England issued a proclamation forbidding further extinguishment of title to Indian lands. Notwithstanding this positive order, the sub- jects of that king continued to make purchases and settle- ments within the prescribed bounds. The substance of the settlements which were made within the territory of Michi- gan for a period of forty years may now be ascertained. In 1765 Patrick Sinclair, a British officer, and commandant of Fort Sinclair, purchased of the Indians about four thousand acres of land lying on that river, called, in honor of the com- mandant, the River Sinclair. Lake St. Clair derived its name from a different officer, who was in the French service. Sin- clair remained in possession about seventeen years, acquiring great advantage from the use of the land as a pinery, and then sold it to a Canadian, whence it was handed down to its pre- sent proprietors, who are in possession of valuable improve- ments. In 1771 seven Canadians made a purchase of about two thousand acres "on the strait called Detroit, below the town of Detroit ;" and Henry Basset, an officer in the British service, and at that time commandant of the post at Detroit, undertook to confirm the purchase. In 1776 Pierre Francois Combe purchased about four thousand acres on La Riviere a
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HISTORY OF MICHIGAN.
l'Ecorce, and soon after established upon it a settlement .*- During the same year William Macomb purchased of the Indians the island at the mouth of the River Detroit, called Grosse Isle. That purchase embraced also an adjacent island, called Limestone Island, from the fact of its possess- ing a valuable limestone quarry. In 1806 there were ten tenants on the first-named island, and it contained more than six thousand acres of land. In 1779 a Canadian purchased from the Pottawatamie, Chebois, and Ottawa tribes about eight thousand acres on Otter Creek ; and in 1780 another Canadian purchased about six thousand acres on Sandy Creek. He conveyed this tract, about twelve years after, to actual settlers, and the second year following this sale settlements were made on the preceding purchase. During the same year three settle- ments were added to the seven which had been made in 1771 upon the strait. During that same year thirty-eight settle- ments were made on the River Rouge, and four at Pointe au Tremble. In 1782 there were nineteen settlers added to the tract of Patrick Sinclair, and in 1783 twenty settlements were made on Lake St. Clair. In 1784 a small body of Canadians settled on the River Raisin, and laid the foundation of French Town. In 1785 four settlers were added to those at Pointe au Tremble. In 1786 Francois Pepin purchased about three thou- sand acres on Rock River, and that tract has since been vastly improved. During the same year William Macomb acquired L'Isle a Cochon, or Hog Island, which lies in the strait, by a purchase from George McDougall. This island had, up to the year 1764, been appended by the French to the Detroit garrison. In 1788 twenty settlements were made on the Huron River, and Gabriel Godfrey purchased the same quan- tity with Francois Pepin on the Rock River. In 1790 a few emigrants were added to the settlements at Pointe au Trem- ble, and in 1792 two settlements were added to those on La Riviere a l'Ecorce, and a body of Canadians settled during the same year upon Sandy Creek. In the year 1793 a considera- ble addition was made to the settlements on the River Huron,
* See Note 6, at the end of this volume.
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SETTLEMENTS IN MICHIGAN.
and in the following year the settlement on the River Ecorce was considerably increased, and a large body of emigrants set- tled on Otter Creek. In the year 1797 a large number of Ca- nadian families established themselves on what is called Milk River, and in the region of country north of that stream ; and during the same and the following year, the settlements along the River Rouge and La Riviere a l'Ecorce were considera- bly aumented. In the year 1800 four settlers were added to the establishments on the river Huron, and during the same and the subsequent year six families were added to the settlements on the River Sinclair. In 1801 claims were also urged to the property of a salt spring in that region. This is the substance of the settlements which were made in the territory of Michi- gan previous to the organization of the Territorial Govern- ment. The subjoined table, exhibiting them in chronologi- cal order, was drawn up by Augustus B. Woodward, Chief Justice of the territory of Michigan, and sets forth the settle- ments in the territory in a more condensed and accurate form. It was contained in a report from the Governor and presiding Judge of the territory of Michigan, made in 1806, relative to the state of that Territory.
A chronological Table, exhibiting the settlements in the Territory of Michigan.
Date of the Set- tlements.
Geographical position of the Settlements.
Whether within the
No. of farms, or distinct American title. Settlements.
1763. Detroit or the Strait,
Within 77.
1765. La Riviere de Sinclair,
Without
1.
1771. Detroit or the Strait,
1776.
La Riviere à l'Ecorce,
Within 10.
La Grosse Isle,
Within 10
1779. La Crique aux Loutres
Without 1.
1780.
La Crique a Sable,
Within
1.
Detroit or the Strait
Within 3.
La Riviere Rouge,
Within 38.
Pointe au Tremblé,
Doubtful
4.
Within 7.
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HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
1782. La Riviere de Sinclair,
Without 19.
1783. Lake St. Clair,
Doubtful 20.
1784. La Riviere aux Raisins,
Both
121.
1785. Pointe au Tremblé,
Doubtful
4.
1786. La Riviere aux Roche,
Within 2.
Within 1.
1788.
La Riviere aux Hurons,
Without
20.
La Riviere aux Roches,
Within
1.
1790. Pointe au Tremblé,
Doubtful
4.
1792. La Riviere a l'Ecorce,
La Crique a Sable,
Within
15.
1793. La Riviere aux Hurons,
Without 10.
1794. La Riviere a l'Ecorce,
Within
3.
1797. La Riviere au Lait,
Doubtful
30.
La Riviere a l'Ecorce,
Within
2.
1798. La Riviere Rouge,
Within
5.
1800.
La Riviere aux Hurons,
Without
4.
1801. La Riviere de Sinclair,
Without
6.
-
The Salt Springs,
Doubtful
1.
442.
In this table the titles and claims in the town or city of De- troit are omitted. The population comprising these settlements were, for the most part, Canadian French, and they spread them- selves along the banks of the more eligible streams, where the inouldering ruins of some of their ancient cottages now re- main. The French, relying on other sources of profit, still gave little attention to the productive and solid pursuits of agriculture, and the exhausted farms of the early emigrants scattered along the banks of the rivers which have been men- tioned exhibit a want of careful and scientific husbandry. The titles to the several tracts enumerated, as well as others, rested on an unsound basis. The grants which constituted their claims, had issued from the French and British Go- vernments, as well as from unauthorized grantors, subjects of these nations, and from the Indians ; and it became a nice
La Crique aux Loutres,
Without 22.
Within 2.
L'Isle a Cochon,
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PROJECT OF RANDALL AND WHITNEY.
legal question how far these grants ought to be confirmed to the occupants by the Government of the United States.
Before the execution of Jay's treaty, a project was devised between two or three adventurers of the states, and a number of merchants and traders of Detroit, which, had it succeeded, would have produced great injury to Michigan. In 1795 Robert Randall of Pennsylvania, and Charles Whitney of Vermont, were taken into custody by the House for an un- warrantable attempt to corrupt the integrity of its members. Randall had visited Detroit in pursuit of some object in which he had failed, and he soon adopted a comprehensive plan to improve his fortune. In connexion with Charles Whitney and another individual, he entered into an agree- ment with seven merchants residing at or near Detroit, through which the parties bound themselves to obtain a pre- emption right from the United States of a certain territory therein defined, which was to be purchased from the Indians. The tract contained, it is supposed, nearly twenty millions of acres, and was embraced by Lakes Erie, Huron, and Michi- gan. It was given in evidence before Congress that Randall and Whitney had unfolded to several members their scheme, and by this it appeared that the territory was to be divided into forty-one shares, five of which were to belong to the traders of Detroit, who were parties to the agreement, six were to be appropriated to Randall and his coadjutors, and the rest were to be divided among the members of Congress who might give their influence to the measure. The amount proposed to be paid for the right to make this purchase was from a half to a million of dollars. These merchants, it was maintained, exercised so great influence over the Indians as to make an advantageous purchase practicable. It was maintained, in opposition to this measure, that there was a bar in the fact that the treaty gave an exclusive pre-emption right to the United States. But it was urged on the other side, that the Indians were dissatisfied with this treaty, and would not be bound by it; and that this plan would, by ap- peasing the savages, restore tranquillity to the country. Hav- ing been brought before the House, Whitney was dis-
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