USA > Ohio > Allen County > A standard history of Allen county, Ohio : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development > Part 5
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It was in Northwestern Ohio that two of the most noted conspiracies against the encroachments of the invading races were formulated and inaugurated. One of these, directed against the French, was led by
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INDIANS IN CANOES
Chief Nicholas ; the other was the more noted conspiracy of Pontiac, which had for its object the annihilation of British power. In the third great Indian conspiracy, that of Tecumseh and the Prophet, the same region was the theater of much of the conspiracy and many of the lead- ing events. This one was directed against the Americans who had suc- ceeded both French and British.
Orontony was a noted Wyandot chief, who had been baptized under the name of Nicholas. He devised a plan for the general extermination of the French power in the West. Nicholas was "a wily fellow, full of savage cunning," who had his stronghold and villages on some islands lying just above the mouth of the Sandusky River. It was he who granted permission to erect Fort "Sandoski" at his principal town, in order to secure the aid of the British. The crafty Nicholas conceived the idea of a great conspiracy which should have for its object the capture of Detroit and all other French outposts, and the massacre of all the write inhabitants. He succeeded in rallying to his aid the Ottawas, Chippewas, Pottawattomis and Shawnees, as well as some more distant
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
tribes. The Miamis and Wyandots were to exterminate the French from the Maumee country ; to the Pottawattomis were assigned the Bois Blanc Island, while the Foxes were to attack the settlement at Green Bay. Nicholas reserved to himself and his followers the fort and settlement at Detroit. Premature acts of violence aroused the suspicions of the French, and reinforcements were hurriedly brought in. Like the later one of Pontiac, it failed because of a woman. While they were in coun- cil, one of their squaws, going into the garret of the house in search of Indian corn, overheard the details of the conspiracy. She at once hastened to a Jesuit priest, and revealed the plans of the savages. Eight Frenchmen were seized at Fort Miami (Fort Wayne) which was destroyed, and a French trader was killed along the Maumee. In 1748, Nicholas and his followers, numbering in all 119 warriors, departed for the West after destroying all their villages along the Sandusky, and located in the Illinois country.
The activities of the British in the western country thoroughly aroused the French authorities. Under the direction of the Governor of Canada an expedition under the command of Capt. Bienville de Celeron proceeded to the Ohio in the spring of 1749, and descended it, pre-empting the ter- ritory for France by suitable formalities, in order to forestall the English. It was conducted with all the French regard for theatrical ceremonials. He took possession of the country in the name of his sovereign and buried leaden plates at intervals asserting the sovereignty of France. It was a picturesque flotilla of twenty birch-bark canoes that left Montreal in that year. The passengers were equally as picturesque, including as they did soldiers in armor and dusky savages with their primitive weapons. They successfully accomplished their journey and buried their last plate at the mouth of the Great Miami River. Each plate proclaimed the "renewal of the possession we have taken of the said River Ohio, and of all those which empty into it, and of all lands on both sides as far as the sources of the said rivers." As a "clincher" a tin sheet was also tacked to a tree certifying that a plate had been so buried.
Changing his course, Celeron turned the prows of his canoes north- ward, and in a few days the party reached Pickawillany (Pkwileni), near Piqua. During the week's stay they endeavored to win the Miamis to their cause, but were not very successful, even with a plentiful use of brandy. There was much feasting and revelry, but the cause of France was not advanced. From here they portaged to the French post called Fort Miami (Fort Wayne). Celeron himself proceeded overland to Detroit, while the majority of his followers descended the Maumee. The expedition traveled "over 1,200 leagues," but added little to French prestige or dominion.
As soon as the British heard of Celeron's journey George Crogan was dispatched to undo any prestige that the French had gained. From now on they busied themselves with this great trans-Allegheny country. In order to gain a better knowledge of the country, Christopher Gist was dispatched to the Ohio country in 1750. Being a practical surveyor, he was ordered to draw plans of the country he traversed and to keep a complete journal of his travels. His journal is unusually explicit and most entertaining. He was well received everywhere by the Indians, whose sympathy seemed to be with the English. He conducted religious services at times among them and possibly conducted the first Protestant service within the state. The nearest approach that Gist made to this section was Pickawillany of which he writes: "This town consists of about 400 families and daily increasing, it is accounted one of the strong- est Indian towns upon this part of the continent." He was kindly
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
received and from here he began his return journey. He added much to the geographical knowledge of the Ohio country. In the following year Christopher Gist accomplished his memorable journey through Ohio, and at Pickawillany entered into treaty relations with the Miamis or Twight- wees, as the English called them. At the same time French emissaries were dismissed and their presents refused. The chief of the Piankashaws was known as "Old Britian" by the English, as "La Demoiselle" by the French because of his gaudy dress.
During the long wars between the French and the British and their Indian allies, which extended over a period of half a century or more, and only ended in 1760, there were no battles of any consequence between these two contending forces in Northwest Ohio. There were, however, many isolated tragedies that occurred. The expedition of French and Indians under Charles Langlade, a half-breed, which captured and destroyed Pickawillany, came from Detroit and ascended the Maumee and the Auglaize on their jounrey. It was composed of a considerable force of greased and painted Indians, together with a small party of French and Canadians. It was on a June morning, in 1752, that the peaceful village was aroused by the frightful war whoop, as the painted horde bore down upon the inhabitants. Most of the warriors were absent, and the squaws were at work in the fields. Only eight English traders were in town. It was the work of only a few hours until Pick- awillany was destroyed and set on fire. This was one of the many tragic incidents in the French and Indian war. "Old Britain" himself was killed, his body being boiled and eaten by the victors. The Turtle, of whom we are to hear much, succeeded him as chief.
The English began to arrive in increasing numbers, following the French along the water courses to greater and greater distances. They paid increased rates for furs, and they sold their goods at lower prices. They sold rum much cheaper than the French sold brandy, and the Indian learned by experience that it took less rum to provide the delectable state of intoxication that he delighted in. They paid as much for a mink's skin as the French did for that of a beaver, and the mink were much more plentiful. In this the English traders began to undermine the French prestige. But the poor Indian was in a quandary. At an old sachem meeting Christopher Gist is reported to have said: "The French claim all the land on our side of the Ohio, the English claim all the land on the other side-now where does the Indian's land lie?" Between the French, their good-fathers, and the English, their benevolent brothers, the aborigine seemed likely to be left without land enough for even a wigwam, leaving out of consideration the necessary hunting grounds.
The English were at first loath to offer any premium for the scalps of their white enemies, but their repugnance to this was eventually over- come. The authorities had evidently profited by the reports of their emissaries, concerning the success of the French in placing a bonus upon scalps, for we discover them engaged in the same nefarious business at a little later date. If the British inflicted less injury than they experi- enced by this horrible mode of warfare, it was less from their desire than from limited success in enlisting the savages as their allies. Governor George Clinton, in a letter dated at New York, April 25, 1747, wrote to Col. William Johnson as follows: "In the bill I am going to pass, the council did not think proper to put rewards for scalping, or taking poor women or children prisoners, in it; but the assembly has assured me the money shall be paid when it so happens, if the natives insist upon it." On May 30th, Colonel Johnson wrote to the Governor: "I am quite pestered every day with parties returning with prisoners and scalps, and
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
without a penny to pay them with. It comes very hard upon me, and is displeasing to them I can assure you, for they expect their pay and demand it of me as soon as they return."
Governor Clinton reported to the Duke of Newcastle, under date of July 23, 1747, the following: "Colonel Johnson who I have employ'd as Chief Manager of the Aborigines War and Colonel over all the natives, by their own approbation, has sent several parties of natives into Canada & brought back at several times prisoners & scalps, but they being laid aside last year, the natives were discouraged and began to entertain jealousies by which a new expense became necessary to remove these jealousies & to bring them back to their former tempers ; but unless some enterprise, which may keep up their spirits, we may again lose them. I intend to propose something to our Assembly for this purpose that they may give what is necessary for the expense of it, but I almost despair of any success with them when money is demanded."
It would be a tedious task, and is entirely unnecessary, to follow all the events in the desperate efforts of the Indians to adapt themselves to the new situation. The French were far more aggressive, and many complaints came to the British authorities because of their delay in heed- . ing the appeals of the savages. These delays afforded the time to the French authorities to erect new forts and rebuild others. With Brad- dock's defeat in 1755 it seemed to the Indian mind that the English cause was weakening, and many of the tribes, heretofore British in sym- pathy, began to waver in their allegiance. William Johnson wrote: "The unhappy defeat of General Braddock has brought an Indian war upon this and the neighboring provinces and from a quarter where it was least expectant, I mean the Delawares and Shawnees." The English indeed began to think that "the Indians are a most inconsistent and unfixed set of mortals." It was just such events that made possible a federation of the Ohio tribes, together with others farther west and north, to drive the English from the western country.
In making a study of the history of Northwest Ohio, we learn that this most remarkable section of our state has produced many great and notable white men; men who have enlivened the pages of our national history and helped to establish her destiny. But we must not forget that this same territory has produced at least two of the greatest chiefs of Indian annals, Pontiac and Tecumseh. The greatest of these was born near the banks of the Maumee, on or near the site of the City of Defiance, the county seat of Williams County, before it was diminished by the creation of Defiance and Fulton counties. This makes his career of unusual interest to our readers. The Maumee Valley was his home and stronghold. It was here that he planned his treacherous campaign, and it was here that he sought asylum when overwhelmed by defeat.
Pontiac was the son of an Ottawa chief while his mother was an Ojibway (Chippewa), or Miami, squaw. The date of his birth is vari- ously stated from 1712 to 1720. He was unusually dark in complexion, of medium height, with a powerful frame, and carried himself with a haughty mien. Judged by the primitive standard of the savages, Pontiac was one of the greatest chiefs of which we have any record. His intellect was broad, powerful and penetrating. He possessed far more than the ordinary intelligence, ambition, eloquence, decision of character, power of combination and energy. In subtlety and craft he was unsurpassed. He was not only one of the greatest of his race but one of the regnant figures in Indian history. In him were combined the qualities of an astute leader, a remarkable warrior, and a broad-minded statesman. His ambi- tions seemed to have no limit, such as was usually the case with the sav-
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
age. His understanding reached to higher generalizations and broader comprehensions than the Indian mind usually attained. Judged from the Indian standpoint he was a true patriot-having only the good of his people at heart. He sought to shield them from the inevitable destruc- tion which threatened if the white men were not checked before it became too late.
Although Pontiac had become a commanding personage among the savages some years earlier, and is believed to have taken a part in Braddock's defeat, the first place that we read of him is in an account
PONTIAC.
of Rogers' Rangers, in the fall of 1760. Rogers himself writes of his encounter with this Indian chief : "We met a party of Ottawa Indians at the mouth of the Chogaga (Cuyahoga) River, and that they were under 'Pontaeck,' who is their present King or Emperor. * He puts on an air of majesty and princely grandeur, and is greatly honored and revered by his subjects." Pontiac forbade his proceeding for a day or two, but finally smoked the pipe of peace with Rogers and permitted the expedition to proceed through his country to Detroit, for the purpose of superseding the French garrison there. This was the first assertion of British authority over this immediate region. His object was accom- plished without any sanguinary conflict. He has left a journal of his expedition which affords most interesting descriptions of the lake region. He recounts the wonderful profusion and variety of game.
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
It was the fierce contest between the French and the English forces that afforded Pontiac the opportunity which always seems necessary to develop the great mind. It was with sorrow and anger that the red man saw the Fleur-des-lis disappear and the Cross of St. George take its place. Toward the new intruders the Indians generally maintained a stubborn resentment and even hostility. The French, who had been the idols of the Indian heart, had begun to lose their grip on this territory. The English, who were succeeding them in many places, followed an entirely different policy in treating with the aborigines. The abundant supplies of rifles, blankets, and gunpowder, and even brandy, which had been for so many years dispensed from the French forts with lavish hand, were abruptly stopped, or were doled out with a niggardly and reluctant hand. The sudden withholding of supplies to which they had become accustomed was a grievous calamity. When the Indians visited the forts, they were frequently received rather gruffly, instead of being treated with polite attention, and sometimes they were subjected to genuine indignities. Whereas they received gaudy presents, accompanies with honeyed words from the French, they were not infrequently helped out of the fort with a butt of a sentry's musket or a vigorous kick from an officer by their successors. These marks of contempt were utterly humiliating to the proud and haughy red men.
The fact that French competition in trade had practically ended doubtless influenced English officials and unscrupulous tradesmen in their treatment of the Indians. Added to these official acts was the steady encroachment of white settlers following the end of the French and Indian war, which was at all times a fruitful source of Indian hostility. By this time the more venturesome pioneers were escaping from the con- fines of the Alleghenies and beginning to spread through the western forests. It was with fear and trembling that the Indian "beheld the westward marches of the unknown crowded nations." Lashed almost into a frenzy by these agencies, still another disturbing influence appeared in a great Indian prophet, who arose among the Delawares. He advocated the wresting of the Indian's hunting grounds from the white man, claim- ing, to have received a revelation from the Great Spirit. Vast throngs were spellbound and his malicious statement aroused the fierce passions of the red men to fury. The common Indian brave simply struck in revenge for fancied or actual wrongs. But the vision of the great Pon- tiac assumed a wider scope, for he saw farther. If he did not orig- inally instigate the uprising that immediately arose, he at least directed and personally commanded the movement which became almost uni- versal among the tribes of the Middle West. Recognizing the increasing power of the British, he realized that unless France retained her foot- hold on the continent the destruction of his race was inevitable. It therefore became his ambition to replace British control with that of France. The result was that far-reaching movement in history known as Pontiac's Conspiracy. It was in the same year that the Seven Years' war was officially ended by the peace concluded at Fontainebleau, which probably surpasses all other treaties in the transfer of territory, including our own section. By it the Lily of France was officially displaced by the Lion of Great Britain in the Maumee basin. The war belt of wampum was sent to the farthest shores of Lake Superior, and the most distant delta of the Mississippi. The bugle call of this mighty leader Pontiac aroused the remotest tribes to aggressive action.
"Why do you suffer these dogs in red clothing to enter your country and take the land the Great Spirit has given you? Drive them from it! Drive them! When you are in distress I will help you." These words
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were the substance of the message from Pontiac. That voice was heard, but not by the whites. "The unsuspecting traders journeyed from village to village; the soldiers in the forts shrunk from the sun of the early summer and dozed away the day; the frontier settler, resting in fancied security, sowed his crops, or, watching the sunset through the girdled trees, mused upon one more peaceful harvest, and told his children of the horrors of the ten years' war. now, thank God, over. From the Alle- ghenies to the Mississippi the trees had leaved and all was calm life and joy. But through the great country, even then, bands of sullen red men were journeying from the central valleys to the lakes and the eastern hills. Ottawas filled the woods near Detroit. The Maumee Post, Presque Isle, Niagara, Fort Pitt, Ligonier, and every English fort, was hemmed in by Indian tribes, who felt that the great battle drew nigh which was to determine their fate and the possession of their noble lands."
The chiefs and sachems everywhere joined the conspiracy, sending lofty messages to Pontiac of the deeds they would perform. The ordi- nary pursuits of life were practically abandoned. Although the fair haired Anglo-Saxons and darker Latins had concluded peace, the war- riors, who had not been represented at the great European conclave danced their war dance for weeks at a time. Squaws were set to' work sharpening knives, moulding bullets and mixing war paint. Even the children imbibed the fever and incessantly practiced with bows and arrows. While ambassadors in Europe were coldly and unfeelingly dis- posing of the lands of the red men, the savages themselves were planning for the destruction of the Europeans residing among them. For once in the history of the American aborigines thousands of wild and restless Indians, of a score of different tribes, were animated by a single inspira- tion and purpose. The attack was to be made in the month of May, 1763.
"Hang the peace pipe on the wall- Rouse the nations one and all ! Tell them quickly to prepare For the bloody rites of War. Now begin the fatal dance, Raise the club and shake the lance, Now prepare the bow and dart- 'Tis our fathers' ancient art ; Let each heart be strong and bold As our fathers were of old. Warriors, up !- prepare-attack- 'Tis the voice of Pontiack !"
The conspiracy was months in maturing. Pontiac kept two secre- taries, the "one to write for him, the other to read the letters he received and he manages them so as to keep each of them ignorant of what is transacted by the other." It was also carried on with great secrecy, in order to avoid its being communicated to the British. Pontiac reserved to himself the beginning of the war. With the opening of spring he dispatched his fleet-footed messengers through the forests bearing their belts of wampum and gifts of tobacco. They visited not only the pop- ulous villages, but also many a lonely tepee in the Northern woods. The appointed spot was on the banks of the little river Ecorces, not far from Detroit. To this great council went Pontiac, together with his squaws and children. When all the delegates had arrived, the meadow was thickly dotted with the slender wigwams.
In accordance with the summons, "they came issuing from their cabins-the tall, naked figures of the wild Ojibwas, with quivers slung
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
at their backs, and light war-clubs resting in the hollow of their arms; Ottawas, wrapped close in their gaudy blankets; Wyandots, fluttering in painted shirts, their heads adorned with feathers, and their leggings garnished with bells. All were seated in a wide circle upon the grass, row within row, a grave and silent assembly. Each savage countenance seemed carved in wood, and none could have detected the deep and fiery passions hidden beneath that immovable exterior. Pipes with ornamented stems were lighted and passed from hand to hand." Pontiac inveighed against the arrogance, injustice, and contemptuous conduct of the English. He expanded upon the trouble that would follow their supremacy. He exhibited a belt of wampum that he had received from their great father, the King of France, as a token that he had heard the voices of his red children, and said that the French and the Indians would once more fight side by side as they had done many moons ago.
The plan that had been agreed upon was to attack all the British out- posts on the same day, and thus drive the "dogs in red" from the country. The first intimation that the British had was in March, 1763, when Ensign Holmes, commandant of Fort Miami at the head of the Maumee, was informed by a friendly Miami that the Indians in the near villages had lately received a war belt with urgent request that they destroy him and his garrison, and that they were even then preparing to do so. This information was communicated to his superior at Detroit, in the following letter to Major Gladwyn :
"Fort Miami, "March 30th, 1763.
"Since my Last Letter to You, where I Acquainted You of the Bloody Belt being in this Village, I have made all the search I could about it, and have found it out to be true. Whereon I Assembled all the Chiefs of this Nation, & after a long and troublesome Spell with them, I obtained the Belt. with a Speech, as You will Receive Enclosed. This Affair is very timely Stopt, and I hope the News' of a Peace will put a stop to any further Troubles with these Indians, who are the Principal Ones of Setting Mischief on Foot. I send you the belt with this Packet, which I hope You will Forward to the General."
One morning an Indian girl, a favorite of Ensign Holmes, the com- manding officer of the Fort Miami mentioned above, appeared at the fort. She told him that an old squaw was lying sick in a wigwam, a short distance away, and beseeched Holmes to come and see if he could do anything for her. Although Holmes was suspicious of the Indians, he never doubted the loyalty of the girl, and readily yielded to her request. A number of Indian lodges stood at the edge of a meadow not far removed from the fort, but hidden from it by a strip of woodland. The treacherous girl pointed out the hut where the sick woman lay. As Holmes entered the lodge, a dozen rifles were discharged and he fell dead. A sergeant, hearing the shots, ran out of the fort to see what was the matter, and encountered a similar fate. The panic-stricken garrison, no longer possessing a leader, threw open the gates and surrendered without resistance.
On the 16th day of May, Ensign Pauli, who was in command at Fort Sandusky, near the present city of that name, which had been rebuilt and reoccupied, was informed that seven Indians were waiting at the gate to speak with him. Several of these were known to him, as they were Wyandots of his neighborhood, so that they were readily admitted. When the visitors reached his headquarters, an Indian seated himself on either side of the ensign. Pipes were lighted, and all seemed peaceful. Suddenly an Indian standing in the doorway made a signal by raising his
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