USA > Michigan > St Joseph County > History of St. Joseph County, Michigan; Volume I > Part 3
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PAPER BY MRS. ALICE (MARANTETTE) BOSSET.
At this point, the author can do no better than to fall back upon the pen, and reliable information of Mrs. Alice Marantette
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
Bosset, a granddaughter of Patrick Marantette, the old-time In- dian agent and trader mentioned above. She has furnished the following interesting paper, which is reproduced in full, even though some repetition may be apparent: "At the time of the first settlement of Michigan, the home of various bands of Indians, not- ably those of the Pottawatomie, Ottawa and Chippewa, were in the St. Joseph Valley and they were known as the Nottawa-seepe In- dians. In 1821, at the treaty of Chicago, when the territory of this section was ceded to the United States, there were several sections or reservations exempted from the provisions of the general land laws, among them being the Nottawa-seepe reservation which in- cluded all what is now Mendon township, the western part of Leoni- das, eastern part of Park and the township of Kalamazoo county lying directly north of these lands. On this reservation were the homes of the Nottawa Indians, and their tepees were distributed over its area. One of their villages was in Leonidas, another across the St. Joseph River from the present site of the village of Men- don, called Marantette's old trading post. The lands of this res- ervation were the choicest ones of St. Joseph county, taking in as it did part of the famous Nottawa prairie, the Burr Oak openings of Mendon, Park and Leonidas, and the fine timber land of Wake- shma and Brady. Therefore, it is little wonder that the warrior in his eager quest for domain, cast longing eyes upon these broad acres that only awaited the hand of husbandry to yield bountiful harvests. From 1823 until 1833 the government agent, Patrick Marantette, tried to get the Nottawa-seepe Indians to relinquish to the government the lands that had been so long their fore- fathers' but without much success. This was partially owing to the peculiar conditions of the Pottawatomie nation and the great area of country covered by it, as well as their national customs, laws and usages. To more intelligently understand the situation and the Indian title of the lands of this reservation, a brief re- view of the Pottawatomie nation in 1830 is necessary.
THE POTTAWATOMIES IN 1830.
"Part of this powerful Indian nation was in Canada, some in the Upper Peninsula near Marquette, others in the Miami valley, a portion in Illinois near Peoria, and the small bands on the Notta- wa-seepe reservation. Each of these portions had its head men or tribal chiefs, and no measure of national importance, such as sell-
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
ing their hunting grounds, etc., could be made without the sanc- tion or consent of all the head chiefs. As it was difficult to get them all together, the work of inducing them to relinquish these lands was slow. Nor was this all; the peculiar status of the Notta- was themselves made the question more complex.
"The legitimate Pottawatomie chief at this time was Cush-ee- wees, but he had been supplanted by Pierre Morreau, a native of France and belonging to one of the first families of Canada. Meet- ing with reverses in Detroit in early life, he came to the banks of the beautiful winding St. Joe. Here he wedded a dusky maiden of the forest, and by his superior wisdom and cunning ways soon gained such ascendency over the poor untutored savages that they renounced the sway of Cush-ee-wees, then hereditary sachem, and installed Morreau in his stead. He reigned over them for many years until the oldest son, Sau-au-quett, became of man's estate and took the reins of government from his father, who was now in his dotage. Thus matters stood at the close of the Black Hawk war; when Gush-oo-woo died and was succeeded by Pee-quoit-ah- kissee, a direct descendant of the Pottawatomie sachem. But the tribe, having been under the sway of Morreau and his son a long time, the most of the Indians acknowledged Sau-au-quett as their head man.
SAU-AU-QUETT RELINQUISHES RESERVATION.
"In the fall of 1833, the government having almost despaired of getting the Indians to relinquish the reservation, induced Sau-au- quett and a few others of his followers to cede the lands to the United States. They were to receive about $30,000 and be allotted land west of the Mississippi, whither they were to go by land with their ponies, dogs and other belongings. After two years' peacable possession of their reservation, the first payment of $10,000 worth of calico, beads and other trinkets was made on the reservation near the Marantette homestead, across the river from Mendon village.
"The first December of the same year (1883), for nearly a week the Indians were camping on the bank of the old St. Joe, casting eager looks at the bright colored calico, blankets, beads, etc., so temptingly displayed by the government agent, but refus- ing to confirm the treaty by receiving them, as they had consulted among themselves and had concluded that Sau-au-quett and his followers had no authority to cede their lands.
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
"Governor Porter had issued proclamations that no liquor should be allowed on or near the reservation, but parties disobeyed the orders and provided the Indians with plenty of fire-water, until at length patience ceased to be a virtue, and Governor Porter com- manded his agent, Mr. Marantette, to break in the heads of the barrels containing the whiskey. This was accordingly done and the Indians in their desire for the liquor drank it from the ground and eagerly lapped the place where it was spilled. Subsequently Mr. Marantette was sued for the value of the liquor and forced to pay several hundred dollars, notwithstanding he was obeying ex- plicit orders of Governor Porter when he broke the heads of the barrels; nor was he ever reimbursed for this unjust payment of money. The Indians finally accepted the provisions of the treaty and received their money at the earnest solicitation of Sau-au-quett who said, 'I did sell this land, and I would sell it again for two gallons of whiskey.' The bad blood this engendered among the Indians was only wiped out by the murder of Sau-au-quett. at Coldwater in 1839, by one of his band who opposed the sale.
LANDED IN KANSAS.
"In 1835, which was the time the Indians were to leave the res- ervation, they had refused, claiming that the whites had en- croached upon their lands and had not lived up to the terms of the treaty. Thus matters went on until 1840, when General Brady with a force of troops compelled them to vacate. The remnants of this once powerful tribe were taken to the Mississippi, whence they were to cross to the borders of Kansas. All went by land on their horses which were well packed for their journey. When arriving at their crossing on the Mississippi, Mr. Marantette and his assist- ant observed that some of the tribe were trying to escape. Mr. Marantette immediately sent Governor Porter a message apprising him that the Indians were trying to escape, and that the surest and only way to stop them from escaping would be to confiscate the horses of the leading conspirators. Receiving an approval from Governor Porter, Mr. Marantette and his assistants crossed them all on barges over to the border of Kansas, returning their horses after crossing where they settled; but finally their lands became so valuable that they sold them and many went to the Indian Territory.
"Thus we have seen that the fair land of St. Joseph county has been inhabited by three distinct nations-Mound Builders, In-
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
dians and Caucasians. Two of these races have passed away from this section; one into the darkest oblivion, and the other into a strange land, far from kindred and native hearths. Few of those who now enjoy the benefits of all the institutions of the Land of the Free realize the trials and tribulations of those who prepared the way and laid the foundations of our liberties. The poor sav- age who at first held possession of the land has gone, and we should fully realize the grand opportunities and possibilities which are before those who now till the soil of the Nottawa-seepe Indians."
THE BLACK HAWK WAR.
The crushing of Black Hawk, the great chief of the Sacs and Foxes, as a result of the war which he waged against the United States government, in 1832, led to the cession by most of the Indians of all their lands east of the Mississippi river, and un- doubtedly had a bearing upon the relinquishment of the Nottawa- seepe reservation. As the warlike tribes led by Black Hawk were in the habit of annually passing through St. Joseph county, along the Chicago trail, to receive their annuities from the British Government, the early settlers became well acquainted with the fierce disposition of their leader, and when war actually was de- clared by him, they were naturally thrown into a high state of excitement and alarm. The settlers armed themselves in anticipa- tion of Black Hawk's invasion of St. Joseph county, on his way to Detroit, and for several weeks during the progress of actual hostilities in Illinois "business was almost at a stand-still" in this part of Michigan. As an illustration of what a complete cessation was put to the life of St. Joseph county, it may be stated that the stage lines which had been running for a number of years and been well patronized were entirely abandoned during the "war scare," and as a result the principal line, under the proprietorship of Asahel Savery, was thrown into bankruptcy, or at least sus- pended business; but, as the historian knows, Black Hawk pene- trated the country only a few miles east of the Mississippi river, and St. Joseph county soon resumed its accustomed life.
Not long after the Black Hawk troubles were quieted, Cush- ee-wees, the able chief of the Nottawa-seepe Indians, died of con- sumption and Peequoit-ah-kis-see, the Pottawatomie chief of ancient lineage, succeeded him in name, although in actual authority
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
Sau-au-quett continued to be the master spirit. It was with the latter that Governor Porter treated in September, 1833, when the chiefs of the Nottawa-seepe Indians were induced to sign their reservation over to the United States government.
Although the treaty of cession was made in September 1833, it was not until the spring of 1840 that the Indians really left the reservation. Sau-au-quett had been killed at Coldwater the year before, and it also happens that the last murder committed by an Indian, of which a white man was a victim, occurred in the winter of the same year, so that 1839-40 may be considered the end of Indian occupancy in St. Joseph county. The period cover- ing the six years preceding, in which Sau-au-quett and Marantette appeared to be the central figures, is thus sketched, chiefly on the authority of the Indian agent himself.
THE FIRST PAYMENT.
The treaty signed, a day for the first payment for the cession was appointed in December following, at Marantette's, near Men- don village. In the conditions of the treaty was one that the Indians should retain quiet and peaceable possession of their reservation for two years before they were removed to a new reservation to be set off for them west of the Mississippi, to which they were to be taken by land, with their ponies and dogs, pre- pared to provide for themselves as best they could. The day of the "big payment" came, but in the meantime the Indians had been consulting among themselves, and the Nottawa band re- pudiated the treaty, holding that Sau-au-quett and the men who signed it, had no authority to sell the land, and they would not confirm the sale by receiving the payment offered. Governor Porter had issued his proclamation forbidding the sale of liquors on or near the reservation, but, notwithstanding, parties did bring it, and sold it, thereby getting the Indians drunk.
For some days the negotiations went on without success, and in the midst of them Sau-au-quett came, dressed in his gayest apparel, blue military coat, regulation buttons, an immense chap- eau with tall plumes, sword, sash and pistols, and mounted upon his horse caparisoned in grand style. Swinging his sword above his head, he exclaimed, "I have sold the land! and I would sell it again for two gallons of whiskey."
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
ATTEMPTED MURDER OF SAU-AU-QUETT.
Quau-sett stood by his side, and as the chief uttered his last declaration, he sprang forward, and, seizing one of the pistols, aimed it full at the chief's breast, and pulled the trigger. The weapon missed fire, and before Quau-sett could recover himself, Sau-au-quett aimed a sweeping blow with his sword, which, strik- ing on the shoulder of his foe, cut through the blanket which was around him, but a heavy plug of navy tobacco rolled up inside saved Quau-sett's head. Mr. Marantette, who had great influence with the Indians, immediately took Quau-sett in charge, and kept him out of the way.
After much delay, the Indians were finally induced, largely by Sau-au-quett, to receive their first payment, about ten thou- sand dollars' worth of calicoes, trinkets, blankets, knives, tobacco, pipes, saddles, bridles, guns, hatchets, etc., which were distributed to them under the supervision of Governor Porter, by Messrs. Marantette, La Borde and Navarre. The Indians were dissatisfied at the payment, claiming that partiality was shown, but they finally took what was given them, and, as soon as it was possible to do so, squandered it all for drink, or were robbed of it by unprincipled white men.
During the deliberations of the Indians, certain persons brought their whiskey, not only up to the reservation, but imme- diately on it where the council was being held, and, refusing to withdraw, Governor Porter ordered Mr. Marantette to break in the heads of the barrels, which was accordingly done, the Indians falling down on the ground and drinking as much as they could before the earth swallowed it up. Even the heads of the tribe did this worse than beastly thing, much to the disgust of the governor, who had not been intimately acquainted with the red man on his "native heath."
Mr. Marantette was subsequently sued by the owner of the liquor, and a judgment obtained against him, which went to the circuit court, and, notwithstanding the facts of the case-the orders of Governor Porter-the judgment was affirmed, which, with his attorney's fees, amounted to several hundred dollars; and Mr. Marantette was forced to pay the sum.
In 1835, the time set for the Indians' removal, they showed signs of rebellion and reluctance to remove according to the terms of the treaty, claiming that the same had been violated on
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
the part of the government, in that, though they (the Indians) were to have peaceable and undisturbed possession of their land for two years, yet the settlers had begun locating their lands immediately after the payment, which was true. As soon as it was ascertained that the United States had acquired title to the reservation, the settlers, disregarding the treaty stipulation to the contrary, began at once to make claims of choice locations, and it was but a short time before the better part of the lands were located. This movement closed up the trails of the Indians, cir- cumscribed their hunting privileges, and drove off the game; and the cattle of the settlers trespassed on the fields and gardens of the Indians, which were unfenced. Bad blood was thereby en- gendered on both sides. Negotiations were entered into to get the Indians together and obtain their consent to move, but no master- spirit was now among them to control them, or rouse their pride. Morreau was dead, Isadore had been poisoned, Sau-au-quette warned by the death of his brother and of the chief, Sag-a-mo, of Chicago, was not able to command the people as before, and it was not until the spring of 1840, as stated, that the Indians were finally induced to leave their homes, and then only by the appear- ance on the scene of General Brady and a troop of United States dragoons.
Sau-au-quett, in 1839, had fallen a victim to the never-dying sentiment and desire for revenge which filled the hearts of some of his tribe. Pamp-te-pe and John Maguago were in hiding, and it was only after the appearance of the cavalry that the Indians saw it was useless to resist any longer, and thereupon submitted to the inevitable, and left their ancient home for their new one in the west. The women and children, the infirm and unhorsed, were carried in wagons, while those who had horses rode them; and thus passed this remnant of the Pottawatomie nation, which was once the lord of every foot of territory they traversed, to their halting-place in Holdeman's grove, La Salle county, Illinois. Here Maguago and his family, fearing assassination at the hands of some of his tribe for his acts in securing their removal, secreted themselves until the search for them was given up, when they retraced their way to the reservation, and his descendants lived for many years thereafter in the township of Athens, Calhoun county.
At Peoria the faith of the government agents with the Indians was again broken, and contrary to the agreement that they were
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
to be taken by land to the new reservation, with their ponies and dogs, they were cajoled and driven, at the point of the bayonet, on board of a steamboat, their ponies sold for a trifle, or con- fiscated; then down the Illinois to the Mississippi, thence to the Arkansas, up the Arkansas to the border of Kansas Territory, the powerless and impoverished people were taken, and disembarked under the superintendence of Buel Holcomb, an Athens man, the agents not daring to put in their appearance. Thence, as stated, in after years they migrated to the reservation provided for them in Indian Territory.
DEATH OF MORREAU.
The death of Isadore, or Setone Morreau, has been mentioned. He was poisoned by the squaw of a neighboring family, who offered him a drink of whiskey, which he refused to take after smelling of it; but, on being taunted by her of cowardice, he drank, and soon after died. Isadore was as cruel as a savage could well be. He killed his own sister, who was known to the settlers as Betts- her family calling her Nem-ee-na-os-stabbing her to the heart in a drunken frenzy, about two years after the "big payment" in Colon township.
DETAILS OF SAU-AU-QUETT'S MURDER.
Sau-au-quett had a little squaw, who was quite a favorite with the old chief, who, when everything was pleasant and she was not under the influence of liquor, was comparatively amiable, but at other times was a fiend incarnate. She killed Quau-sett in 1835, the same who attempted to kill Sau-au-quett on the reserva- tion in December, 1833. This murder, however, was condoned by the presentation of a horse, saddle and bridle to the son of the dead man, by Sau-au-quett, in accordance with the Indian custom and laws.
Sau-au-quett was killed at Coldwater, in 1839, by one of the tribe who was opposed to the sale of the lands. The old chief was sleeping in his tent when the murderer crept stealthily into the apartment, and, with one blow, drove his knife through the old man's belt and leather shirt, into his bosom to the handle. The chief sprang to his feet, gave one whoop, and fell to the ground dead. The murderer was arrested by the authorities of the county
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
of Branch, and held in custody. The friends of the murdered chief demanded the murderer, to be dealt with according to their laws and customs, but were refused. After some negotiation they were appeased by the present of blankets, a pony and equipments, whereupon the friends of the prisoner came and demanded his release, the offense having been condoned. But they, too, were refused, unless they would consent to remove, with the tribe, at once from the reservation. This they declined to do; but in the spring of 1840, when the Indians were finally removed, the prisoner was released and went away with them.
CHAPTER III.
ALONG TRAIL AND RESERVATION.
THE OLD CHICAGO TRAIL-BLACK HAWK USED IT-HIS SENSE OF HONOR-SURVEYORS USE THE OLD TRAIL-THE ROAD PUT THROUGH THE COUNTY-FIRST MAIL ROUTE AND STAGES- SURVEYORS ADVERTISE THE COUNTRY-WAYNE COUNTY PIO- NEERS-JUDGE STURGIS COMES-NOTTAWA PRAIRIE SETTLERS- SITES OF CONSTANTINE AND THREE RIVERS-CENTERVILLE AND COLON-FRENCH SETTLERS OF MENDON-FIRST COMERS TO BURR OAK TOWNSHIP-THE WASHTENAW TRAIL-SETTLE- MENTS ABOUT NOTTAWA-SEEPE-GEORGE MATTHEWS-THE DUNKIN BROTHERS-McMILLAN AND SHERMAN-JOSEPH BUT- LER-ROBERT COWAN AND WIFE-ANDREW WATKINS.
Among the most prominent features which project themselves from the details of the first settlements in St. Joseph county is the fact that the incursion of white men into its present area was by way of the old Indian trail from Detroit. It was also near this historic highway that their first homes were made, the spread of settlement later reaching the borders of the Nottawa-seepe reserva- tion to the north.
THE OLD CHICAGO TRAIL.
As the St. Joseph valley is the acknowledged keynote to the settlement and development of the county, so was the old Chicago trail-later, the "military road"-the avenue along which the In- dian tribes and the first white settlers entered this section of south- ern Michigan. From the advent of the first Frenchmen and En- glishmen who penetrated into the central regions of the United States, until the period of Black Hawk's greatest activities, from 1812 to 1832, the Indian trail around the foot of Lake Michigan had been the highway for the red men of northern America trav- eling anywhere by land between the regions of the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi valley. When the country became a battling
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
ground between England and the United States, in 1812, and De- troit and Fort Dearborn were recognized as military keys to the occupancy of interior America, the old Indian trail was still the traveled path between those points and was utilized by both white and red men.
BLACK HAWK USED IT.
In the war of 1812, Black Hawk was the most powerful native ally of the British. He felt that he had good grounds for desert- ing the Americans, but found, after he had joined the British, that they were not as powerful as he had been led to believe, and soon returned to the home of his people (the Sacs and Foxes). During his absence these tribes had been removed by the United States government up the Missouri river, and Black Hawk found that he had been displaced by the more pacific chief, Keokuk. Through the influence of the two, the Sacs and Foxes were divided into war and peace parties, in their relations to the Americans.
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After the war of 1812 Black Hawk was in constant communi- cation with the British government, and every year passed along the Chicago trail, at the head of other less noted warriors of the Sac nation, to receive his annuities from his royal patron repre- sented by the authorities at Fort Malden. When the procession be- gan to approach the settlements, runners were sent out to notify the inhabitants along the trail that the main body of dusky war- riors was coming and to assure them of the pacific intentions of the Indians. It was rarely that any trouble arose; in fact, for many years previous to the outbreak of the Black Hawk war, in 1832, the sole cause of disturbance between the whites and the Indians migrating along the Chicago trail was "fire water," and all the name implies. From the fact that Black Hawk and his representa- tive men and women made these pilgrimages annually through St. Joseph county, the fierce and able chief was well known to several of its first settlers.
BLACK HAWK'S SENSE OF HONOR.
Patrick Marantette, the government Indian agent from 1823 to 1833, was particularly well acquainted with the doughty war- rior and had this story to tell, which well illustrated the honest streak in the Indian's character, but which, from the best accounts, was largely patched with dishonesty and deception. The scene was
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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
laid in the trading post at Coldwater and the time was 1825. Mar- antette was then about twenty-four. Black Hawk and his people had been to Malden and were on their return home with their annu- ity. As Marantette's, at Coldwater, was the last trading post before reaching Chicago, the Indians naturally stopped there. They dis- mouinted from their ponies, and soon the room where the youth sold his goods was crowded by braves and squaws, all eager to buy. Black Hawk, armed with a long lance, was in the thick of the bar- ter.
While the hubbub and the trading were at their height, a squaw offered Marantette a fine deer skin in exchange for some- thing which took her fancy on his shelf. A glance at the skin showed him that it bore his private price mark (sixteen shillings) on one corner, and a closer examination brought the fact to mind that it was one he had bought but a few days before. He therefore seized it and claimed it as his property. But the squaw clung to it, and re- fused to give it up. In the midst of the wrangle, Black Hawk came up, and without examining into the merits of the case laid his spear on the deer skin, thus claiming it as his own. But Marantette re- fused to be imposed upon by the squaw or to be bullied by the great Sac warrior, and taking another skin which he had just bought of the Indians made his price mark on a corner of it, and laid it be- side the skin in dispute. The young trader pointed to the two marks as evidence of his title, Black Hawk could not but "see the point." and the other Indians in the room, who had gathered around loudly grunted "How! How! How!" which is an equivalent to the En- glish exclamation of approval, "Hear! Hear!' The skin was passed over without further protest to Marantette, the deceitful squaw was driven in disgrace from the trading room, and the Indians approved the sturdy conduct of the young merchant by making the almost unprecedented purchase of five or six hundred dollars' worth of goods.
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