Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. I, Pt. 1, Part 11

Author: Greve, Charles Theodore, b. 1863. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1020

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At this town there was a scries, of conferences and powwows, which as reported by Gist give as good an idea of Indian character and eloquence as we have preserved. During the negotiations somc Ottawa representatives of the French ar- rived, and Gist and his party had the chance to test the Miamis' friendship. The result was satisfactory and the French envoys were com- pletely discomfited.

The French Indians marched in under French colors and .were conducted into the long house, whereupon the Indian chief of the Twigtwees insisted on having the English colors set up as well as the French. Thereupon the speaker for the French stood up "and laid his Hands upon two small Caggs of Brandy that held about seven Quarts each, and a Roll of Tobacco of. about ten Pounds Weight, then taking two strings of Wampum in his Hand, He said, 'What he had to deliver Them was from their Father, and then he desired they would hear what he was about to say to them;' then he layed them two Strings of Wampum down upon the Caggs, and taking up four other Strings of black and white Wampum, he said, 'that their Father re- membering his Children, had sent them two Caggs of Milk, and some Tobacco, and that lie now had made a clear Road for them, to come to see Him and his Officers; and pressed them very much to come,'"

The Twightwee king replied that it was true, that "the road was clear, but He understood it was made foul and bloody, and by Them-" and said that tlicy had cleared a road for the English, and that the French had taken some of the Eng- lish prisoners, "which We look upon as done

to Us, and he turned short about and went out of the Council"-"After the French Embassador had delivered his Message He went into one of the private Houses and endeavored much to prevail on some Indians, and was seen to cry and lament (as he said for the loss of that Nation)."

Two days later, the Twightwees delivered the final answer to the French Indians. "The Cap- tain of the Warriors stood up and taking some Strings of Wampum in his Hand he spoke with a fierce Tone and very warlike Air-'Brothers the Ottaways, You are always differing with the French Yourselves, and yet you listen to what they say, but we will let you know by these four strings of Wampum, that we will not hear any Thing they say to Us, nor do any Thing they bid us.' Directing his speech to the French, he said, 'we have made a road as far as the Sca . to the Sun-rising, and have been taken by the Hand by our Brothers the English, and the Six Nations, and the Delawares, Shannoahs and Wyendotts, and We assure You it is the Road we shall go; and as You threaten Us with War in the Spring, We tell You if You are angry we are ready to receive You, and resolve to die here before we will go to You; And that You may know that this our Mind, We send You this. String of black Wampum.' After a short Pause the same Speaker spoke again thus-'Brothers the Ottaways, You hear what I say, tell that to your Fathers the French, for that is our Mind, and We speak it from our Hearts.'"

The following day the four French Indians left for the French fort, that is Fort Miami, the present site of Fort Wayne. Gist records an exhibition of dancing as follows :

"The Crier of the Town came by the King's Order and invited us to the long House to see the Warriors Feather Dance; it was performed by three Dancing-Masters, who were painted all over with various Colours, with long Sticks in their Hands upon the Ends of which were fas- tened long Feathers of Swans, and other Birds, neatly woven in the Shape of a Fowl's Wing : in this Disguise they performed many antick Tricks, waving their Sticks and Feathers about with great Skill to imitate the flying and flutter- ing of Birds, keeping exact time with their Mu- sick ; while they are dancing some of the War- riors strike a Post, upon which the Musick and Dancers cease, and the Warrior gives an Account of his Achievenichts in War, and when he has clone, throws down some Goods as a Recompence to the Performers and Musicians; after which they proceed in thicir Dance as before till an-

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other Warrior strikes ye Post, and so on as long as the Company think fit."

After receiving the promise of the Indians to join them at the conference at Logs Town in the spring, the English party took their leave. They traveled together to Mad creek near the pres- ent town of Springfield, the site of the town of Piqua, destroyed by Clark in 1780. At this point they separated, Croghan and his party go- ing to Hockhockin, and Gist to the Shannoah Town, "and as I was quite alone and kneav that the French Indians had threatened Us, I left the Path, and went to the South Westward down the little Miamee River or Creek, where I had fine traveling thro rich Land and beautiful Meadows, in which I coud sometimes see forty or fifty Buffaloes feeding at once-The little Miamec River or Creek continued to run the Middle of a fine Meadow, about a Mile wide very Clear like an old Field, and not a Bush in it, I coud see the Buffaloes in it above two Miles off."

He apparently reached the Shannoah town in safety and was told that there was a party of French Indians hunting at the falls, and that if he went there would certainly be killed or carried away prisoner. Despite this warning he crossed the river and proceeded to the south- west. On this part of his journey he heard of the finding of some teeth of a large beast near the falls of the Ohio, one of which he brought in and delivered to the Ohio Company. "He assured me that the Rib Bones of the largest ot these Beasts were eleven Feet long, and the Skull Bone six Feet wide, across the Forchead, & the other Bones in Proportion ; and that there were several Teeth there, some of which he called Horns, and said they were upwards of five Feet long, and as much as a Man could well carry : that he had hid one in a Branch at some Distance from the Place, lest the French Indians should carry it away-The Tooth which I brought in for the Ohio Company, was a Jaw Tooth of better than four Pounds Weight; it appeared to be the furthest Tooth in the Jaw, and looked like fine Ivory when the outside was scraped off."

When near the falls he was persuaded from going any farther by the news of the hostile In- dians and returned through Kentucky to Vir- ginia.

Arrived on the 18th of May, at his own house on the Yadkin. . "When I came there I found all my family gone, for the Indians had killed five People in the Winter near that Place, which

frightened my Wife and Family away to Roanoke about 35 M nearer in among the Inhabitants, which I was informed by an old Man I met near the Place." Next day fortunately he found his family well.

Gist's journey was published in Pownall's "Topographical Description of North America," London 1776, and his route is pricked on the English map of Mitchell and Evans. The text followed here is that of Col. J. Stoddard John- ston's edition, in Volume XIII, Filson Club Pub- lications.

Immediately upon Gist's return, he was sent upon another expedition, to course the south bank of the Ohio to the Big Kanawha, for good lands. Upon his return in March, 1752, a new grant was obtained by his company, of lands south of the Ohio, and in the spring of that year he went among the Indians again to induce them to take land within the company's grant and by living among the white settlers to add strength to the barrier against the French.

In June, 1752, the proposed conference at Logs Town was held. Gist, Colonel Trent, and others were present on behalf of the Vir- ginians. The purpose of this conference was to get the tribes to confirm the cessions which the Indians had made at Lancaster, in 1744. The Indians did not dispute the author- ity of the Six Nations to make that treaty, but they declined at first to have anything to do with it, but finally after the intercession of Croghan and Montour, representing the inter- ests of Pennsylvania, the disaffected tribes, the Shawanees and Mingoes, yielded, and an agree- ment was reached. The Indians agreed not to molest Virginia settlers on the south side of the Ohio, and asked that an English fort be built at the forks of the Ohio. As a result of this conference, settlers began to push down the Monongahela, and Gist was instructed to lay out a town and a fort just below the forks. Trent was sent to the Miami country with messages and gifts; here he found a sad state of affairs.

Celoron, who was now the commandant of Detroit, had become more alarmed than ever by the English encroachments, especially in view of the feeling which he had found to exist among the. Indians on his trip three years before. He felt the necessity of driving the English traders from the Miami villages, and for that purpose sent an expedition under Charles Landglade, a half-breed, to attack the fort at Pickawillany. Crossing the corner of Lake Erie, the fleet ascended the Miami of the Lake, and on June

CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF CINCINNATI

2Ist completely surprised the Miami town. But eight English traders and a few Indians were there. Fourteen Miamis and one trader were killed and the old chief La Demoiselle, or Old Britain, was boiled and caten. This victory for a time cleared the valleys of the Maumee and the Miami of the objectionable English traders and gave the French sufficient confidence to carry out their scheme of establishing armed posts throughout the Ohio Valley. In the spring of the next year, Presqu' Isle, at the site of the city of Erie, Le Boeuf on French creek at the site of Waterford, and Venango at the mouth of French creek on the Allegheny were built.

GEORGE - WASHINGTON.

It was now apparent that the time had come for the fight for the control of the Ohio Valley. Franklin and a number of others met a deputa- tion of Indians in council at Carlisle, Pennsyl- vania, in September, 1753. The Indians com- plained that the English made no effort to protect them against the French. They had protested against the erection of the forts and their pro- test had been disregarded. The Indians urged that the English, if they desired to retain their trade must fortify the trading posts at Logs Town, at the mouth of the Kanawha and the forks. It was concluded to send a messenger to ascertain the numbers and force of the French and to deliver to their commanding officer the demand of Virginia, that all French troops be withdrawn from her territory. The messenger selected was a young man of twenty-one, who had held the position of adjutant-general in the Virginia militia since he was nineteen years of age,-Major-General Washington. Accompanied by Gist and five others he first visited Logs Town to get information from the half-breed king with regard to the French. From this point he went to Venango, where he was most. hospitably en- tertained by Joncaire. He was the son of a French officer and a Seneca squaw, and acted as scout in Celoron's expedition. He was a man of great influence among the Indians and he tried very hard to win over Washington's Indian companions. In this he was unsuccessful, but on the other hand, Washington succeeded in ob- taining much information as to the plans of the French. He was received at Le Boeuf with great politeness, but soon learned that the French were most determined in their purposes. On his journey home, he came near to losing his life at the hands of a treacherous Indian; he was saved however by Gist.

Washington's "Journal" of this expedition, promptly published in England, aroused both that country and the Colonies to the necessity of some immediate steps to protect the Ohio Company against the French. In the spring of 1754, Captain Trent began to build a fort on the site of the present city of Pittsburg, but on April 17th, Contrecoeur, with one thousand men appeared before the fort and demanded sur- render, which had to be conceded. Thus began the French and Indian War, which waged for nine years on both sides of the ocean. This news was communicated to Washington, who was on the way with a relief party too late for him to be of any assistance. Shortly afterwards he fell in with a French party under Jumonville, and in a quarter of an hour's fighting, the French commander and nine others were killed. At Gist's settlement, which had been built about ten miles from the Monongahela, on what is now Mount Braddock, as a result of the explorations for the Ohio Company, Washington received informa- tion of a French force marching against him. He fell back to Fort Necessity, some thirteen miles away, where his party, three hundred in all, were attacked on July 3rd, by a party of Frenchmen and on the next day, July 4, 1754, he was obliged to surrender. This surrender in- volved the practical abandonment by the Eng- lish of the Mississippi Valley. In 1755 came the ill fated expedition of Braddock, which for a time confirmed the hold of France on the Great Valley. The defeat of Braddock brought down upon the settlers along the Ohio the relentless savages, although the Six Nations who claimed to own the land favored the English in the war that followed. The actual occupants of this ter- ritory, the Delawares and the Shawances and the Miamis, took the part of the French and soon throughout the Indian towns were to be found the wives and children of the English backwoodsmen who had been murdered.

THE ENGLISH SUPREMACY.

It was not until 1758, that Fort Duquesne fell into the hands of the English under Forbes and became known as Fort Pitt, and in 1760, the Northwest from the St. Lawrence to the Mis- sissippi was yielded by the French to the Eng- lish. The principal action of the war had taken place cast of the Ohio region and the Indians of the West who had been for so long a time faithful to France, knew little of the successive French defeats. . Great was their surprise there-

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fore, when little bodies of English soldiers came into the West without any opposition and took possession of the little French forts which the Indians had regarded as impregnable: The fact that these possessions were given up to the new comers without a struggle was beyond the com- prehension of these simple warriors, and when they were told that the French armies had been entirely defeated and that the French rule in America was at an end, they could scarcely be- lieve it. So far as they knew no battle had been fought for eight years and the last one had been a great victory. Ignorance naturally re- sulted in suspicion and the feeling that they had been betrayed by the French grew very strong. The French after all from the Indian standpoint never owned the land. Their policy had been very different from that of the English. When they built a fort it was not to establish a claim to territory but to protect their friends the In- dians and provide trading posts. The idea that the defeat of the French involved the surrender of their land to the English was one that they could not bear. The English policy of settle- ment they were familiar with. As soon as a few Englishmen came to the Indian country and settled themselves they began clearing the land and cultivating it and to exercise acts of domin- ion over all the surrounding territory. The occupation of the English ever meant the exclu- sion of the Indians. "You are ignorant," said Duquesne to the Indians, "of the difference be- tween the King of France and the English. Look at the forts which the King had built ; you will find that under their very walls the beasts of the forests are hunted and slain; that they are in fact fixed in places most frequented by you, merely to gratify more conveniently your necessities. The English on the contrary no sooner occupy a post than the woods fall before their hands-the earth is subjected to cultivation -the game disappears-and your people are steadily reduced to combat with starvation."

A Mohawk Indian at one of the conferences with Sir William Johnson, is reported to have said: "F must now say it is not with our con- sent that the French have committed any hos- tilities at the Ohio. We don't know what you Christians, English and French together, in- tend; we are so hemmed in by both that we have hardly a hunting place left. In a little while if we find a bear in a tree there will immediately appear an owner of the land to challenge the property and liinder us from killing it, which

is our livelihood. We are so perplexed between both that we hardly know what to say or think."

Horace Walpole in his sarcastic manner re- marked of the French and English methods : "They ensiaved or assisted the wretched nations to butcher one another, instructed them in the use of fire arms, brandy and the New Testament, and at last by scattered extension of forts and colonies, they have met to quarrel for the bound- aries of empires, of which they can neither use nor occupy a twentieth part of the included ter- ritory ; "but," says he again, "we do not mas- sacre; we are such good Christians as only to cheat." A Delaware sachem asked the question, "the French claim all the lands on one side of the Ohio and the English on the other; now where do the Indian lands lie?" Another ex- presses the fear that "between their fathers, the French, and their brothers, the English, they were in a fair way of being lovingly shared out of the whole country."

Much of this reasoning was indulged in by the savages. At this time when they saw the land which they inhabited slipping from under their feet, the French traders, who still lingered among them, did much to feed their . wrath. The apparently helpless condition of the Eng- lish settlements and forts gave them an idea of their opportunities. The Treaty of Paris guaran- teed to the King of England, Canada and all the rights of France east of the Mississippi River. Religious freedom was granted to the inhabitants as well as the right to sell their es- tates and quit the country within eighteen months. By an order in council of October 7, 1763, three new divisions were erected, one of which, Quebec, included the Ohio country. To protect the Indians in their hunting grounds, grants of any lands beyond the heads and sources of any of the rivers which fall into the Atlantic from the West or Northwest or of any lands whatever preserved to the Indians were forbidden. All lands lying westward of these limits were to be reserved for the use of the Indians and purchasers or settlements without special leave and license were forbidden under heavy penalties. Settlers in the Indian country were ordered to remove forthwith. No private persons were allowed to make purchases of the Indians ; even the King was to receive cessions at public councils of the Indians. Fair as these provisions appeared they clearly indicated that the territory was regarded as an acquisition by conquest.

CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF CINCINNATI

PONTIAC'S CONSPIRACY.

Pontiac, the chieftain of the Ottawas, one of the most remarkable men of his race, was also among the first to divine the change in affairs. He felt that the Indians had been weakened by their contact with the civilization of Europe. A period of decadence had set in. The implements, arms and arts of the red men had given place to the more convenient and more luxurious ones of the whites. As a result he felt that the time would soon come when the Indian would be ab- solutely dependent upon the foreigner.

Already before the conclusion of the war, he had gone to Fort Pitt to make inquiries as to how the Indians were likely to fare under the new order of things. He was assured that the rivers would run with rum, that presents from the great King of England would be without limit and the markets the cheapest ever known. When Maj. Robert Rogers was sent out with a company of two hundred and fifty British rangers to take possession of Detroit and the other posts to the North and West in September, 1760, he was met by Pontiac who inquired his business. Pontiac was told the news of the French defeat and of the intended English oc- cupation. Fair promises were made to him and for a time he pretended acquiescence. He noted however, the weakness of the British garrisons, as recorded by Sir William Johnson, there were about one hundred and fifty British at Detroit, thirty at Mackinac, twenty at Fort Miami, thirty at St. Joseph, thirty at Ouiatanon, twelve at Sandusky, and thirty each at Presqu' Isle, Le Boeuf and Venango.

At Detroit, Capt. Donald Campbell was in command. The life of the garrison was full of gayety, and the conclusion of the war left the inhabitants apparently without any care or thought except pleasure. Rumors came how- ever, of disaffection among the Indians.

Sir William Johnson supposed that the Ohio Indians were instigators and he himself went to Detroit to endeavor to make a treaty. At the same time Major Gladwyn was sent with three hundred infantry to strengthen the posts. Sir William's visit was a great social event. Balls beginning at eight o'clock in the evening and lasting until five in the morning, to which the French maidens of the settlement were especial- ly invited, were given by Captain Campbell and a return ball lasting eleven hours, by Sir Wil- liam. Dinners and calls at which were refresh- ments of every variety and kind followed. Pres-

ents were given to the Indians and finally John- son returned home satisfied that all was well.

The real instigator however of the mischief was not one of the Ohio Indians but Pontiac. The war had become a matter of religious con- viction with him. At a great convention of the Indians, not far from Detroit, on April 27, 1763, he delivered a most impressive harangue, that is commonly reported as one of the most remarkable specimens of Indian elo- quence. At this time he was about fifty years of age. He was not above the middle height but very muscular and very symmetrical. He was unusually dark and very stern featured with a most imperious bearing. He ordinarily dressed with the utmost simplicity but on an occasion such as this he stood forth in all the pomp and glory of a costume of war. In his address, delivered with great fierceness, he attacked the English for their arrogance and injustice, their 'contemptuous treatment and abuse of the In- dians. The supremacy of the English meant the destruction of the Indians. The French were about to return and reap vengeance on their ene- mies. Then he told an allegory to illustrate the degeneracy of his race and to call them back to the simple habits of their ancestors. He warned them that the guns, knives, kettles and blankets of the white men, and worse than all their rum, were instruments about to bring about their destruction and must be discarded. They must expel the English and return to the cus- toms and traditions of their forefathers. As a result all present were eager to join in the con- spiracy and it was arranged that Pontiac with a party of warriors should gain admittance to the garrison to ascertain its strength.

On the Ist of May, he and thirty of his war- riors were admitted to the fort, where they danced the calumet dance for the edification of the garrison. Ten others of the Indians in the meantime strolled about the fort making notes of its condition. On the night of the 7th, an Indian girl, a favorite of Major Gladwyn, is said to have revealed the plot to him. Whether this story be true or the less romantic one related by other authorities, matters not. When Pontiac and his chiefs entered the council chamber the next morning, where they intended treacherous- lv to massacre the garrison, the troops were drawn up on parade. As Pontiac saw theni he realized that his plot had been discovered and asked the reason for such conduct. When hc was told that it was simply for the purposes of discipline, he arose and began to protest his

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friendship. When he raised the belt of wampum, which according to his agreement was to be tlie signal for his chiefs to fire, at a signal from Gladwyn "a sudden clash of arms sounded from the passage without and a drum rolling the charge filled the council room with its stunning din."

According to one story, Gladwyn drew aside Pontiac's blanket, discovering his concealed weapon. According to another and a more prob- able one, Gladwyn, who did not desire an open rupture offered the Chief friendship and pro- tection so long as he continued to deserve it. Pontiac and his chiefs retired baffled for the moment.

On the 9th of May open warfare began and the town was besieged. Fort Sandusky was sur- rounded on the 16th of May, by Indians who appeared to be friendly. The fort was taken by treachery and the garrison was slaughtered. Fort Miami was surrendered after its commander had been shot, while on an errand of mercy to an Indian servant outside the stockade. At Fort St. Joseph, seventeen Indians treacherous- ly gained admission, seized the commander and killed ten of the. garrison. Fort Ouiatanon on the Wabash was surrendered after its commander had been treacherously captured. At Fort Michillimackinac, the Indians gathered on June 2nd, to play a game of lacrosse. They played from morning until noon while the officers stood by to watch the sport. Suddenly the ball was thrown over the palisade and a number of In- dians rushed through the gate to get it, but be- fore the sentries could recover, the officers were seized and fifteen soldiers, one officer and a trader were killed outright, and the rest were taken prisoners. All would have been killed but for the intervention of Charles Langlade. Fort Le Boeuf was attacked, but the garrison es- caped in the night time to Fort Pitt, passing

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Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. I, Pt. 1, Part 11

Author: Greve, Charles Theodore, b. 1863. cn Publication date: 1904 Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1020

Author: Greve, Charles Theodore, b. 1863. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1020