USA > Ohio > Auglaize County > Wapakoneta > History of Auglaize County, Ohio : with the Indian history of Wapakoneta, and the first settlement of the county > Part 4
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Thus, until the concentration of the troops in the work, for
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HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY, OHIO.
the advance on Canada, a base line of supplies extended from St. Marys by the Auglaize to the Rapids, while the former place, under the protection of Fort Barbee, was an important storehouse during all the preliminary preparations for the march against Malden.
The last commander of Fort Barbee was Captain John Whistler. He was a soldier from his youth, came to America with Burgoyne's army, and was taken prisoner at Saratoga. He remained in the United States after the war closed, entered the Western army under St. Clair, and survived the defeat of Nov. 1791, at which time he acted as sergeant. In 1793, an order came from the War Office, purporting that any non-com- missioned officer who would raise twenty-five recruits would receive the commission of ensign. He succeeded in this way in obtaining the office, from which he rose to a captaincy, and commanded in succession Forts Barbee, Wayne, and Dear- born, at Chicago.
Nothing occurred within the limits of Auglaize County after the treaty of peace with Great Britain, which was made in 1815, until the making of the treaty with the Indians in 1818, at St. Marys. Gen. Cass and Gen. McArthur were the com- missioners upon the part of the United States. These nego- tiations commenced on the 17th of September, 1818, and con- tinned until the 6th of October. The treaty ground extended from old Fort Barbee west on the north side of the west branch of the St. Mary's River, up as far as where the cemetery now is. There was a large force of Indians present. The Shawnees, the most warlike and hostile, were numerous. Such famous chiefs as Tecumseh, Black Hoof, Logan, Blue Jacket, and Capt. Johnny belonged to this tribe. In the treaties by Wayne, in 1795 and 1818, the St. Marys River was a conspic- uous feature, as a leading boundary line.
In the treaty of 1818 all the grants to Indians are called reservations. The Shawnees had their reservation around Wa- pakoneta, the Ottawas farther down the Auglaize. These Indians seemed to have a strong prepossession for locations upon the St. Marys River, partly on account of the excellent quality of the land, but chiefly on account of its being between the settlements of the whites and their chief town, on the Maumee, now Fort Wayne. They always selected the first lands, having reference to springs, water courses, and richness of soil. They all bounded on the St. Marys and Auglaize Rivers. This treaty of 1818 extinguished the Indian title to all the lands in Ohio except such as were reserved.
The following incident touching this occasion was related by Judge McCulloch :-
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HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY, OHIO.
The Governors of Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, with many leading citizens from these States and Kentucky, were present. Among the Indians was Kalositah, who was over six feet high, and weighed about 200 pounds. He was further described by the Judge " as the most perfect specimen of physical man- hood" he had " ever looked upon," and was confident he could out-jump or throw down any man in the Northwest. Pending the negotiations a grand hopping match occurred, and Kalosital distanced all competitors by clearing fifty feet at two hops and a jump. A match was then arranged with Tom Wilson, a noted wrestler, and the Indian. Kalositah offered to bet the Judge lie could throw Wilson, and the Judge finally staked a silk necktie against a wrought silk belt worn by the Indian. The contestants took holds, and Kalositah allowed his antagonist to exert his utmost before himself taking the aggressive. Wilson employed every art and energy, but all in vain ; the Indian ap- peared planted and could not be moved. At length Kalosital said, " Now me," and lifting Wilson, laid him upon the ground as he would a child. A second trial ended with the same re- snlt, and Wilson gave up the contest. Kalosital, thinking perhaps the contest was too easy, magnanimously returned the necktie to the Judge. Again, a stalwart negro from Ken- tucky was pitted against the Indian. This negro was believed able to throw almost any man he might meet. On this orca- sion the contest was sharp but decisive. for the " Now me" of the Indian was sooner heard, and was the same signal of his success. Stung to the quick, the negro arose in a passion, only to be again hurled to the ground. On rising the third time, he threatened to whip the Indian, but fighting was not allowed. It will not be considered amiss to relate another incident of the brave, although it occurred at West Liberty. In 1832 he wrestled with John Norris, a saddler of that town. The Indian probably came on a challenge from Norris, who appears to have possessed considerable conceit. If so, the latter made a grave mistake, for he is said to have been "no more a match for Kalositah than a poodle for a mastiff." The contest was scarcely worth the name, being brief and decisive. With his irresistible "grapevine twist," Kalositah snapped a leg of his antagonist as if it had been a pipe-stem. The friends of Norris interposed, crying, " You have broken his leg, Kalositah; you have broken his leg." The imperturbable Indian only replied, "Leg must be rotten," and left Norris to be borne from the field.
The old Fort Barbee stood a little north of the old gravel pit, and in the southeast corner of the Lutheran Cemetery. One of the gate-posts was to be seen until late years. There 4*
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HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY, OHIO.
was a block-house near. Old "Charley Murray," of whom we shall speak hereafter, had his cabin where the gravel pits are now. The boarding-house tents for the accommodation of the commissioners, their secretaries, agents, and officers, were put up along where the little brick house stands, south of Main Street. This boarding-house was built and kept by the Ed- salls, who afterward removed to Shane's Prairie, and then to Fort Wayne. The Indians were encamped by tribes. The timber had all been cut off by the Indians who constituted Girty's Town. Afterwards it was cleared off during the oc- cupation of the army of Harrison in the winter of 1812-13. This leads me to speak of those who were present. The Edsalls had lived at Fort Greenville, where they had kept boarding-house. Having knowledge of the approaching treaty, they came up from Greenville together with John Armstrong, afterwards Judge Armstrong. He came June, 1818, about a month before the negotiations commenced. He built his cabin near the sand-bank of Squire Dowty's, and cleared a patch a little farther up the creek. These were the first white settlers in this part of the county except old Charley Murray, who was at the time of the treaty in jail in Troy, O., awaiting his trial for the murder of Thracker. Two sisters of Thracker lived in the old block-house. Murray had some grudge against him and waylaid him between the two crossings of Loramie, at a deep hollow, ever since known as Thracker's Run, and caused a hired man of his, one Meyers, to shoot him. Murray was afterwards tried at Troy, but was acquitted upon the plea that Meyers was simple minded and fired without his orders. He used to say, however, that " nothing went right with him afterwards." Murray, with William A. Houston, in 1820 en- tered a large amount of land here, and soon afterwards laid out the town plat of St. Marys.
When Murray came, is not now very certain. It has been stated that Girty, being afraid to stay so near the white set- tlements, sold out his interests and stock in trade to Murray in 1795, and went down to the Maumee.
Judge Burnet, in his Notes, p. 70, says, "that the judges and lawyers who attended the General Court at Detroit, under the Territorial Government, took the ronte by Dayton, Piqua, Loramie's, St. Marys, and the Ottawa town on the Auglaize, and from thence down that river to Defiance; thence to the foot of the Rapids, and thence down the river Raisin to Detroit. But once they crossed the Maumee at Rock De Bœuff, and passed through a succession of wet prairies, and after two and a half days of incessant toil and difficulty they arrived at the Ottawa village. To their great mortification and disappointment, they
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HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY, OHIO.
were informed that 'Blue Jacket' had returned from Cincin- nati a day or two ago with a large quantity of whiskey, and that his people were in a high frolic. They could not remain in the village, and had a wet, swampy path of twelve miles to pass over to the St. Marys, through a valley swarming with gnats and mosquitos. They started. Night overtook them in the middle of the swamp; there was no moon, and the forest very dense; they could not keep the path, nor see to avoid the quagmires on every side. After remaining in that uncomfort- able condition five or six hours, expecting every moment that their horses would break away, daylight made its appearance. About sunrise they arrived at the old Fort St. Marys at the crossing of St. Marys, then occupied by Charles Murray and his squad, where they got breakfast, and proceeded on their way to Cincinnati."
Nothing more is known of Murray until he is found at St. Marys, in 1818.
THE SHAWNEES.
The Shawnees have always been a restless people, and their history, even after the settlement of America, is wrapped in obscurity. They moved about so incessantly, and were so often divided in their migrations, that we are unable to track the various divisions. It is inferred that the Shawnees were present at that first beneficent treaty of peace and friendship negotiated by Wm. Penn in 1682. But there is no assurance of this fact, for to Penn and his associates but just arrived, all Indians were simply Indians, and the treaty makes no men- tion of their nation or names. The presence of the Shawnees is inferred from the fact that in Penn's later council with the Indians in 1701, we find' Wapatha, a chief of the Shawnees, expressly mentioned as representing his people; and in 1722, in conference with the whites, the Shawnees are said to have exhibited a copy of the first treaty, though the two treaties of Penn may have been confounded, As early as 1684 there were Shawnees in the west, allied with the Miamis, and yet we afterward hear of southern Shawnees expelled from Georgia emigrating to the west and building a village at the mouth of the Wabash.
When the war between England and France broke out in 1754 it involved the English colonies in America in a struggle with the French in Canada and the west; and the Shawnees on the Ohio took part with the French.
The Shawnees were at one time divided into twelve bands or tribes, but the number gradually declined to four. The
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HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY, OHIO.
present remnant of the once powerful Shawnees is very small, many of them having become absorbed by intermarriage with other Indian tribes; but the strength of this once powerful people has been wasted in the almost ceaseless wars in which they have been engaged, against the whites and other Indian nations. They have ever been eager to take the sword, and they have perished by the sword. The Shawnees were accus- tomed to boast of their superiority to the other tribes, and their haughty pride has had much to do with their conflicts and their destruction. This arrogant pride and warlike ferocity made them one of the most formidable of all the tribes with which the white settlers had to contend in the Ohio valley. They slew old and young, male and female, without pity and without remorse. They rejoiced in battle and carnage, in de- ception, stratagem, and faithlessness. But in judging them we must not forget that they were savage. Their whole edu- cation made them what they were; and in too many instances the white men, in the bitter struggles of "the dark and bloody ground," easily forgot their civilization, and fell into the cru- elty, bad faith, and revengefulness of savages.
The Miamis, Wyandots, Shawnees, and Delawares possessed this region as a hunting-ground at an early period. The Miamis claimed to have been the original proprietors of all the forests and hunting-grounds along the Great Miami and Mad Rivers, and the other streams that flowed into them. It is not known with entire certainty when the Wyandots located in northwest- ern Ohio, but it was probably as early as 1700, and by permis- sion of the Miamis. The Shawnees settled along the Mad and Miami Rivers about the year 1750.
The next noticeable event in the history of this territory is the settlement of the Shawnees at Wapakoneta and Ottawa towns in 1782, and the forests of Auglaize, Allen, Mercer, and Van Wert became their favorite hunting-grounds, and continued so until after the invasion of Harmar, St. Clair, and Wayne. At the treaty of Greenville in 1795, the various tribes engaged in repelling invasion by General Wayne, entered into a treaty and ceded to the United States a vast territory, covering most of the present States of Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana. The line known as "the Greenville treaty line" passed some distance south of Auglaize County, leaving all this region still in the possession of the Shawnees and Wyandots. When the earliest settlers entered Auglaize County it was densely covered by timber, while vast numbers of deer and other game roamed through the forests. From the undulating surface of the coun- try the red hunters of the Shawnees made it a favorite resort during the hunting season. The MeKees, Girtys, and other
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HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY, OHIO.
fur traders had many stations for the purchase of peltry. In those days a great number of wolves thronged the forests, making night hideous by their discordant serenades.
In September, 1818, the commissioners on the part of the United States made a treaty at St. Marys with the Shawnees, when they released all rights to land in Ohio except the Shaw- nee Reservation at Wapakoneta, twelve miles square. In August, 1831, a treaty was negotiated with the Shawnees of Wapakoneta by James Gardiner and Col. John McElvain, special commissioners appointed by the general government for this purpose, and Willipie, head chief, the aged Black Hoof, Harvey Clay, Pusheta, and others of the Shawnees. The terms offered were so liberal that the Indians consented to give up the lands of their reservation in what is now part of Duchou- quet, Union, Clay, Pusheta, Washington, Moulton, and Logan, townships mostly in this county, and remove beyond the Mis- sissippi, to the Indian territory on the Kansas River, in the Far West, in September, 1832, D. M. Workman and David Robb being the agents for their removal. The Shawnees who emigrated numbered about 800 souls.
They waste us-ay-like April snow In the warm noon, we shrink away And fast they follow as we go Towards the setting day- Till they shall fill the land, and we Are driven into the western sea. - BRYANT.
THE INDIANS.
The territory comprised within the purpose of our review was occupied by a band of the historic Shawnees at the advent of the whites. Belonging to the great Northwest, this section was the central point amidst various famous Indian tribes. The Shawnees never failed to make their influence felt, for they were a nation of warriors and orators, and possessed a spirit of adventure, wild enough to transfer its seat from the extreme north to the extreme south, for the Algonquins occupied New York, but were found in their descendants in Florida, and even here transmitted that tribe's unrest which urged the band to the Mad and Miami, and finally to the Auglaize River in Ohio. In all their migrations they preserved their peculiari- ties, for their asserted superiority was a shield against con- tamination. Tribal traits, customs, and beliefs were fostered with all the tenacity of heredity. Their home was wherever unrest might lead them, for was not the unbounded wilderness their possession ? At home in New York, at home in Georgia, a last remnant entered Ohio, and here too they were at home.
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HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY, OHIO.
From Florida they migrated to the Mad River of Ohio, under the leadership of Blackhoof, whose life was spent in this adopted country. They were ever the same restless, brave, nomadic Shawnees of tradition, whether viewed in the East, the South, or the West.
It cannot be determined with precision when they located at Wapakoneta, but it probably arose through the indulgence of some native tribes, as it appears by the various treaties to which they were parties that they had been entirely disin- herited of lands. Still, the tribe or band which participated in the Kentucky wars, occupied villages on the Mad and Miami Rivers, and it is probable that from these points came the band which settled on the Auglaize and founded the Indian village Wapakoneta, about the year 1782. Here they estab- lished their council house, which became the Indian capital of the northwest, as will be seen hereafter. This building was still used at the advent of the whites, but was finally removed, and some of the timber used in the construction of other build- ings. One of the logs, after having served over thirty years under water as a sill in an old mill, was recently removed, and has been divided and largely distributed throughout the com- munity. A block from this sill found its way to the writer's desk, through the courtesy of J. C. Edmiston.
The first land-title given by the government to this tribe which possessed any clearness, was granted by the treaty of 1817. The conference was held and the treaty entered into at the foot of the Maumee Rapids, near Lake Erie, by Lewis Cass and Duncan McArthur, commissioners for the United States, and several Indian tribes, among which were the Shawnees. In this treaty no provision was made for the band of Tecumseh, as no names of that band are found in the schedule specifying the receivers of grants at Wapakoneta. This treaty is a novelty in comparison with most of the Indian treaties of modern times, as it sets out in an entirely different strain. The commissioners say, "That in consideration of the faithful services of the Shawness in the late war with England, and for divers other considerations, the government of the United States settle on the Shawnees an annuity of three thousand dollars, to be paid annually, forever, to them. at Wapaughkonnetta.
"'The United States also agree to grant, in fee simple, to Blackhoof and other chiefs of the Shawnee tribe, for the use of the persons mentioned in the annexed schedule, a tract of land, ten miles square, the centre of which shall be the council house at Wapaughkonnetta.
"The United States also agree to grant, in fee simple, to
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HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY, OIIIO.
Peaitchthia and other chiefs of the Shawnee tribe residing on Hog Creek, for the use of tlie tribe there, to the persons men- tioned in the annexed schedule, a tract of land containing twenty-five square miles, which is to join the tract granted at Wapaughkonnetta, and to be laid off in a square form."
It may be interesting to many, and particularly to young persons, to have the entire schedule of names inserted here. These were probably written by Gen. Cass or the agent, John Johnston, either of whom well understood the Indian orthogra- phy. Among these may be found the names of great men, such as Blackhoof and Wayweleapy, great as speakers, and Peaitchtha, great as leader in the agricultural arts. Several others on this list were men of strong minds and remarkable for honest, upright integrity.
SCHEDULE .- " The tracts at Wapaughkonnetta to be equally divided among the following persons, namely: Blackhoof, Pamthe, or Walker; Weaseca, or Wolf; Shemanita, or Snake; Athelwakesecah, or Yellow Clouds; Pemthewtew, or Perry; Cacalawa, or End of the Tail ; Quelawee, War Chief, Sacachewa, Werewela, Wasawetah, or Bright-Horn; Otharasa, or Yellow ; Tepeteseca, Newahetucca, Caawaricho, Thacatchewa, Silocha- heca, Tapea, Mesherawah, Toleapea, Pochecaw, Alawemeta- huck, Lollaway, or John Perry ; Wawelame, Nemecashe, Neru- penesliquah, or Cornstalk, Shi She, Shealawhe, Naruskaka, Thacaska, or David McNair; Shapukoha, Quacowawnee, Ne- coshecu, Thucuscu, or Jim Blue Jacket ; Chowelaseca, Quhaho, Kayketchheka, or William Perry; Sewapen, Peetah, or Davy Baker; Skapoawah, or George MeDougal; Chepocuru, Shema, or Sam; Cheahaska, or Captain Tommy; General Wayne, Thaway, Othawee, Wearecah, Captain Reed, Lawaytuchel, or John Wolf; Tecutie, or George; Skekacumpskekaw, Wishe- maw, Muywaymanotreka, Quaskee, Thoswa, Baptiste, May- wealinpe Perea Cumne, Chochkelake, or Dam; Kewapca, Egatacumshequa, Walupe, Aquashequah, Pemata, Nepaho, Tapesheka, Lathowaynoma, Sawacota, Memhisheka, Ashelu- kah, Ohipwah, Thapaeca, Capawah, Ethewacase, Qualethu, Chucatuh, Nekakeka, Thithueculu, Pelaculle, Pelaske, She- sholou, Quanako, Halkoota, Laughshena, Capia, Thucatvouwah, or the Man going up Hill; Magathu, Tecumtequa, Teteco- patha, Kekusthe, Sheatwah, Shealewarron, Haghkela, Akapee, Lamatothe, Kesha, Panhoar, Peaitchthamtah, Peter Cornstalk, Metchepeta, Capea, Shuagunme, Wawalepeshecco, Calequa, Tetotu, Tashishee, Nawebesheco, or White Feather; Sheper- kiscoshe, Notekah, Shemakih, Pesheto, Theatsheta, Milhamet- che, Chacoa, Lawathska, Pachetah, Awaybariskecaw, Hato- cumo, Thomasheshawkah, Pepacoshe, Oshashe, Quelaoshu,
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HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY, OHIO.
Mewithaquiu, Aguepeh, Quellime, Peartchtha, Onawaskine, Pamathawah, Wapeskeka, Lethew, Pahawesu, Shinagawmashe, Nequakabuchka, Peliska, Ketuchepa, Lawetcheto, Epaunnee, Kanakhih, Joseph Parks, Lawnoetuchu, Shawnaha, Waymat- alhaway, Ketoawsa, Sheshecopea, Locuseh, Quedaska.
The above contains the names of all the males belonging to the Shawnees who resided at Wapakoneta, over the age of twenty-one years, in 1817.
In order to avoid repetition as much as possible, we intro- duce biographical sketeles of the prominent Indian chiefs of this and other tribes, since the history of a chief is in a signifi- cant measure the history of his band. Thus the sketch of a warrior will exhibit the warlike actions, while a sketch of an orator will reveal the belief and diplomatic character of the whole tribe. The warrior was the representative in battle, as the orator was the spokesman in council, and through these agencies we are enabled to view the life, manners, traditions, and characteristics of the nations they represent. In this list of chiefs, men of diverse character are presented which serve to show the many-sided life of the Indian race. Thus is pre- sented Blackhoof, of lofty honor; the Turtle, "the gentleman of his race ;" Tecumseh, the ambitious zealot; the Prophet, a frenzied fanatic; Logan, a man of fidelity; Captain Johnny, a friend of the Americans; and Blue Jacket, of rash and violent character.
BLACK-HOOF.
INDIAN NAME "CATAHECASA AND QUASKEY."
In 1810 when Tecumseh was attempting the consolidation of the Indian tribes from the Mississippi River eastward into Ohio, his first object was to secure the co-operation of the Wyandots, who were celebrated for their talents and valor. With them had been entrusted the "great belt," the symbol of union in previous wars, and the original copy of the treaty of Greenville. The Prophet's influence was here exerted, and by flattery he secured the sympathy of this warlike tribe. These on their journey to the Prophet's town solicited the Miamis, who, in turn, induced the Weas to accompany them. Thus Tecumseh's dream of carrying into execution the plans of the great Pontiac promised to be fairly realized. In June the Prophet refused the supply of salt from Vincennes by the government, which was the first act of defiance. At this time Tecumseh was with the Shawnees on the Auglaize, using his influence to estrange them from the treaty of Greenville, and secure their assistance to carry out his plans. In this, how-
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HISTORY OF AUGLAIZE COUNTY, OHIO.
ever, he had been anticipated by Gov. Harrison, who had written these tribes and secured their lasting friendship. The new leader found his own people the first to frown upon his scheme of confederation, refusing even to enter into council with him. His failure here is largely attributable to the conn- ter influence of the great Shawnee chief, Black-Hoof. This chief was born in Florida, had been present at Braddock's defeat in 1755, and participated in all the Ohio wars until the treaty of Greenville. He had led the Shawnees in the allied attack upon Ft. Piqua during the French war, and afterwards told Col. Johnston that, "after the battle the ground was so strewn with bullets that basketsful might have been gathered."
He had been the great orator of his tribe, had fought bravely against the western progress of the whites, until disaster dic- tated the treaty of Wayne, and experience taught the hopeless- ness of the struggle. After this, as the head chief of his nation, he preserved the influence of his office, and the ascend- ency in council, and that influence was exerted in favor of peace. Even the eloquence of a Tecumseh was powerless to influence him, and during the following war he remained true to the American cause. Of such weight was his influence with his own nation that, when brought face to face with Tecumseh, he still called forth the loyalty of his people.
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