History of Coshocton County, Ohio, its past and present, 1740-1881, Part 33

Author: Hill, Norman Newell, jr., [from old catalog] comp; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-; Graham, A. A., & co., Newark, O., pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Newark, Ohio, A. A. Graham & co.
Number of Pages: 854

USA > Ohio > Coshocton County > History of Coshocton County, Ohio, its past and present, 1740-1881 > Part 33

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CHAPTER XIX

INDIANS.

Geographical Location of the Various Tribes-The Dela- wares-Their Towns in this Connty-Brief History of the Tribes in Ohio-Captain Pipe-White Eyes-Wingenund and Killbuck-Netawatwees-Manners, Customs, Feasts, etc .- Cabins, Wigwams, Food, etc .- Amusements and Hunting-Removal Beyond the Mississippi.

THE next inhabitants in the form of a human being to occupy the territory now embraced in Coshocton county, after the Mound Builders, were the American Indians. At least such is the generally received opinion, though whether the Indians and Mound Builders were not cotem- poraneous is, perhaps, an open question. The Indian history, as well as that of the Mound Builders, is a good deal involved in obscurity, and much of it largely dependent on tradition, yet much of it is authentic and reliable. The Indians themselves, however, can be allowed very little, if any, credit for this preservation of their history; it is almost, or entirely, owing to white occupation that they have any history at all.

The day is not far distant when the Indian race, as a race, will become extinct. Supposing this extinction had occurred before white occu- pation of this country, what would the world know of the Indian race? Where are their monuments ? Where the works that would perpetuate their memory ? In what particular spot on this great earth have they left a single indellible footprint or imperishable mark to tell

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HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

of their existence ? Not so with the Mound Builders. They left works of an imperishable nature, and from these something of their his- tory may be learned, even though personally they do not appear to exist anywhere. They were evidently workers, and much superior to the Indian, viewed from a civilized standpoint.

It is not an casy matter to define the bound- aries of the territory of the various tribes occu- pying the Northwest Territory at the date of the advent of the whites. Nearly all the tribes were more or less migratory in their disposition, and doubtless during long ages in the dark past they all moved about from place to place, continually at war with each other; conquering and possess. ing cach other's territory; driving out and being in turn driven out; doubtless occasionally exter- minating a weak tribe; occasionally becoming friendly and intermingling and intermarrying, thus, perhaps, occasionally consolidating and losing their tribal individuality, and during all changes in all ages leaving no written record of the history they must have made.

Several tribes were found occupying the terri- tory now embraced in Ohio, at the beginning of the present century ; among them the Delawares, Wyandots, Shawanees, Ottawas, Miamis and some others. These tribes were generally leagued to- gether for self-protection and self-defense, all de- termined to resist the encroahments of the all- powerful white race. They were generally on friendly terms with each other and, although cach tribe occupied permanent camps or homes in some particular part of the territory, and hunted in particular localities, the exact bound- aries of the domain of each was not probably known or defined. Each tribe was generally camped upon some stream and claimed for a hunting ground all the territory drained by that stream. Nevertheless they were a good deal mixed, and hunted much upon cach other's territory, often establishing temporary and even permanent camps upon grounds outside of the domain of their tribe.

The Muskingum valley was generally claimed by the Delawares, though the Shawanese and Wy- andots were also found here in considerable numbers, camping and roaming over the Dela- ware grounds with great freedom.

During the latter half of the last century the Shawnees occupied the Scioto country, and some- times spread themselves more or less over this section; but the Wyandots (also called the Hurons) and the Delawares mainly occupied the country between the Muskingum and Scioto rivers.

In 1785, by the treaty of Fort McIntosh, it was stipulated that the boundary line between the United States and the Delaware and Wyandot nations should "begin at the mouth of the Cuya- hoga river and run thence up said river to the portage between that and the Tuscarawas branch of Muskingum, thence down said branch to the forks (at the present town of Bolivar), thence westerly to the portage of the Big Miami, thence along said portage to the great Miami of the lakes (Maumee river), and down said river to its mouth; thence along the southern shore of Lake Erie to the mouth of the Cuyahoga, the place of beginning." By this treaty, as will be seen, they ceded a large territory, including Coshocton county, to the United States. It is certain, how- ever, that many of them continued to occupy this territory many years after the date of the above treaty, which they found little difficulty in doing, as there were then no white settlers to dispute the possession with them.

To the Shawnees was assigned, by the treaty of Fort Finney, in 1786, the country between the Big Miami and Wabash rivers. They also relin- quished all claims to whatever territory they had in Ohio, but some of them also lingered here, even within the limits of this county, until the close of the century, or later.

When the English-speaking white man first came into the territory now embraced in Co- shocton county, it was occupied by the Dela- wares. It is quite certain that just before them the Shawnee Indians were in the land, retiring as the Delawares came in, to the more westerly and southerly regions. The French were then claim- ing dominion of all the Mississippi valley, and the head of the Muskingum, as an interesting and favored locality, was not unknown to their soldiers, traders and missionaries.

The Delawares, crowded out by the white set- tlers about the Delaware river and in eastern Pennsylvania, found a home to their taste in the

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beautiful and fertile Tuscarawas, Walhonding, and Muskingum valleys.

Their language at least will abide in the land as long as the names just mentioned, and also those of White Eyes, Mohican, and Killbuck continue to be accepted as the designations of the rivers and crecks to which they are now attached. Within the limits of the county as now bounded, there were, a hundred years ago, at least six considerable Indian towns, the houses being built of bark and limbs and logs, and arranged in lines or on streets. One of these towns was called White Eyes (Koguethagachton), and was in the neighborhood of Lafayette. Two other towns were located-one three and the other ten miles up the Walhonding-and were called the Monsey towns, the more distant being occupied by a faction of the Delawares under control of Captain Pipe, who became disgusted with the generally peaceful and Christian policy of the nation, and seceded from it, desiring more indulgence for his base and bloody passions. The lower town was Wengenunds'. The fourth town was Goschachgunk, occupying that part of the present town of Coshocton (a name said to be a modification of the name of the old Indian town) between Third street and the river. This was much the largest town, and for many years was the capital of the Delaware nation, where the grand councils were held and whither the tribes assembled. It was the residence of Neta- watwees, their great chief, and was often visited by the famous councilors, White Eyes and Kill- buck, as well as the big captains and braves of numerous tribes. The fifth town was situated about two miles below Coshocton on the cast side of the Muskingum river (on the farms since in the possession of Samuel Moore and the Tingle heirs), and was called Lichtenau ("Pasture of Light "). It was occupied by Christian Indians under the direction of Rev. David Zeisberger (and afterward Rev. Wm. Edwards in conjunction with him), the famous Moravian missionary. In addition to these there was also a small Shawnee town in Washington township on the Waka- tomica, and perhaps, at various times many others, either temporary or permanent, in ditfer- ent parts of the county. One called Muskingum was said to be located five miles above Coshocton,

on the Tuscarawas. A brief history of the prin- cipal tribes occupying the soil of Ohio, and of their habits and customs, may be of interest here.

Speaking of the Shawancese or Shawanoes, Col- onel Johnston, a most excellent authority on such subjects, says :

" We can tracc their history to the time of their residence on the tide-waters of Florida, and, as well as the Delawares, they aver that they origin- ally came from west of the Mississippi. Black- hoof, who died at Wapaghkonnetta, at the ad- vanced age of 105 years, and who, in his day, was a very influential chief among the Indians, told me that he remembered, when a boy, bathing in the salt waters of Florida; also that his people firmly believed white, or civilized, people had been in the country before them, having found in many instances the marks of iron tools upon the trees and stumps."

Shawanoesc means " the south," or the " people from the south." * After the peace of 1763, the Miumis removed from the big Miami river and a body of Shawnees established themselves at Lower and Upper Piqua, which became their principal headquarters in Ohio. They remained here un- til driven off' by the Kentuckians, when they crossed over to the St. Mary's and to Wapaghkon- netta. The Upper Piqua is said to have con- tained at one period over 4,000 Shawnees. They were very warlike and brave, and often were quite formidable enemies.

In the French war, which ended in 1763, a bloody battle was fought near the site of Colonel Johnson's residence, at Upper Piqua. At that time the Miamis had their towns here, which on ancient maps are marked as "Tewightewce towns." The Miamis, Ottawas, W'yandots, and other northern tribes adhering to the French, made a stand here, assisted by the French. The Dela- wares, Shawnces, Munseys, parts of the Senceas, re- siding in Pennsylvania; Cherokees, Catawbas, and other tribes, adhering to the English, with English traders, attacked the French and Indians. The latter had built a fort in which to protect and de- fend themselves, and were able to withstand the seige, which lasted more than a week. Not long after this contest, the Miamis left the country, retiring to the Miamies of the Lake (Maumee river and tributaries), at and near Fort Wayne,

#Ilowe's Collections.

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HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

and never returned. The Shawnees took their place, and gave names to many towns in this part of Ohio.

The northern part of Ohio belonged in ancient times to the Eries, who were exterminated by the Five. Nations in some of their wars. The N'yandets, who, at the time the French missionaries came to America were dwelling in the peninsula of Michigan, were allowed by the Five Nations to occupy the land of the Eries, and thus came to dwell in Ohio. From Howe's Historical Collee- tions, it is ascertained that the Wyandots onee oc- cupied the north side of the St. Lawrence river, down to Coon lake, and from thenee up the Uti- was. The Senecas owned the opposite side of the river, and the island upon which Montreal now stands. Both were large tribes, consisting of many thousands, and were blood relations, claim- ing each other as cousins.

A war originated between the two tribes in the following manner: A Wyandot brave wanted a certain woman for his wife; she objected; said he was no warrior, as he had never taken any scalps. Ile then raised a party of warriors and they fell upon a small party of Senecas, killing and scalping a number of them. It is presumed the Wyandot brave secured his wife, but this created a war between the tribes which lasted more than a hundred years, and until both nations were much weakened, and the Wyandots nearly exterminated. The latter were compelled to leave the country, and took up their residence on the peninsula of Michigan, as before stated. They were often compelled to fight their old ene- mies even in this far off region, as war parties of Senecas frequently went there for that purpose. A peace was finally arranged, and the remnan- of Wyandots came to reside in Ohio. The Ottat was, another conquered tribe, and one allowed existence only by paying a kind of tribute to their conquerors, the Iroquis, were also part occupants of this same part of Ohio. This nation produced the renowned chief, Pontiac, who was the cause of such wide-spread desolation in the West. The Ottawas were often known as "Canada Indians" among the early settlers, Their prin- cipal settlements were on the Maumee, along the lake shore, on the Huron and Black rivers, and on the streams flowing into them. These Indians

were distinguished for their cunning and artifice, and were devoid of the attributes of a true war- rior. They were often employed as emissaries, their known diplomacy and artifice being well adapted for such business. The Wyandots, on the other hand, were a bold, warlike people. General Harrison says of them : "They were true warriors, and neither fatigue, famine, loss, or any of the ills of war could daunt their courage. They were our most formidable and stubborn enemies among the aborigines in the war of 1812." They, like all tribes in the West, were often influenced by British rum and British gold, and found, in the end, as their chiefs so aptly expressed it, that they were "only tools in the hands of a superior power, who cared nothing for them, only to further their own selfish ends."

Of the Delawares, who were the principal oc- cupants of the Muskingum valley and Coshocton county upon the advent of the first white settlers, Col. John Johnson says: "The true name of this once powerful tribe is Wa-be-nugh-ka, that is, ' the people from the east,' or 'the sun rising.' The tradition among themselves is, that they originally, at some very remote period, emigrated from the west, crossed the Mississippi, and as- cending the Ohio river, fought their way cast- ward until they reached the Delaware river (so named from Lord Delaware), near where Phila- delphia now stands, in which region of country they became fixed.

" About this time they were so numerous that no enumeration could be made of them. They welcomed to the shores of the new world that great law-giver, William Penn, and his peaceful followers; and ever since, this people have enter- tained a kind and grateful recollection of them ; even to this day, in speaking of good men, they would say, ' wa-she-a E-le-ne' -- such a man is a Quaker; i. e., all good men are Quakers." Col. Johnson says : " In 1823, I removed to the west of the Mississippi persons of this tribe who were born and raised within thirty miles of Philadel- phia. These were the most squalid, wretched and degraded of their race, and often furnished chiefs with a subject of reproach against the whites, pointing to these of their people and say- ing to us, 'see how you have spoiled them,'- meaning they had acquired all the bad habits of

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HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

the white people, and were ignorant of hunting and incapable of making a livelihood as were other Indians."

In 1819, there were belonging to Col. Johnson's agency in Ohio eighty Delawares, who were sta- tioned near the village of Upper Sandusky, in Wyandot county, and 2,300 of the same tribe in Indiana. They had been driven gradually back through Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Boekinghelas was, for many years after the ad- vent of the whites, the principal chief of the Del- awares. He was a distinguished warrior in his day. Killbuek, another Delaware chief, whose name is fortunately preserved for all time in the little stream in this county, was one of the prin- cipal chiefs in this valley. He was educated at Princeton college, and was prominent among the converts of the Moravian missionaries.

Captain Pipe was a prominent chief of the Wolf tribe, the most warlike of all the tribes of the Delaware nation. He was a very artful, de- signing man, and a chief of considerable ability and influence. Captain Pipe was ambitious, bold, and noted for schemes and strategy. He was engaged at one time in plotting for a division of his nation. His ambitious spirit would brook no rival, and he was ever intriguing or engaged in plotting some nefarious scheme. He was one of the many warriors present at Fort Pitt, in July, 1759, at a conference between George Cro- ghan (Sir William Johnson's deputy Indian agent), Hugh Mercer (Commandant), and the Indians of the Six Nations, Shawnese and Delawares. In September, 1764, he appeared at Fort Pitt, with other warriors, manifestly with hostile purposes, and he and two of his warriors were detained as hostages, and were not released until after the re- turn of Col. Bouquet, with his army from the Muskingum in the latter part of November.

In 1765, Captain Pipe was at Fort Pitt, as one of the chief warriors of the Delawares, attending the conference held with the Senecas. Shawnese, Delawares and other tribes. He was also present at the great conference held at Fort Pitt in April, 1768, under the direction of George Crog- han, with the chief warriors of the Six Nations, Delawares. Shawnese, Monsies, Mohicans and Wyandots. In 1771, Captain Pipe (as a chief ), sent "a speech" to Governor John Penn, which 3

is printed in the fourth volume of the Pennsyl- vania Archives.

In May, 1774, Pipe, with other chiefs, went to Fort Pitt, to confer with Captain John Connolly (Governor Dunmore's deputy), George Croghan, and other inhabitants of Pittsburgh, in reference to recent aggressions-the murder of Logan's family, and other outrages; the object of the conference being to avert the impending Indian war, which soon followed.

When the revolutionary war broke out and hostilities had commenced, the Delawares divided ; a portion of them under the lead of White Eyes and Killbuck (two influential chiefs), making common cause with the Colonies against the mother country, and Pipe, who espoused the cause of the British. Netawatwes, White Eyes, Killbuck and Big Cat labored to preserve peace and to avert war, but in all their endeavors they were always frustrated by the restless, intriguing Pipe, who was ever warlike and vengeful, always brooding over old resentments. Captain Pipe, at this time (1775-6), had his residence fifteen miles up the Walhonding, from the " Forks of the Mus- kingum (now Coshocton), near or at the point of confluence of the Mohican and Owl creek (now Vernon river), where, in 1751, was situated an Indian town, known as Tullihas, and where was located the Indian village named " Owl Town," on Hutchin's map, in Smith's history of the Bouquet expedition of 1764, issued the next year. Pipe's residence could not have been remote from the point above designated, now in Newcastle town- ship, this county, if it was not immediately at the junction of those streams. There was an Indian chief who figured somewhat conspicuously as " The Owl," in early-time western history, but the impression that he built "Owl Town," or that it was named by him, or that he ever lived there, is not well authenticated. The Indian name of Owl creek, or Vernon river, was, according to Zeisber- ger, Heckewelder, and Loskiel, Gok-ho-sing, the meaning or interpretation being " habitation of owls," and it is more likely that "Owl Town " was so called because of the great abundance of owls found at that point than from the prob- lematical connection of the Indian chief known to history as " The Owl," with that town, or even with that locality.

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HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

Captain Pipe, in 1780, removed to Crane's Town, an Indian village, situated about two miles above the present town of Upper Sandusky. He was a prominent leader at the defeat of Colonel Crawford in 1782, and at the torturing anff burn- ing of that officer by the Indians, which was done within a mile of his house, on the southeast bank of Tymocktee creek, in what is now Crawford township, Wyandot county. The town in which he lived was sometimes called " Pipe's Town."

Butterfield, in " Crawford's Expedition against Sandusky, in 1782,“ characterizes Captain Pipe as a famous war-chief of the Delawares, and as one of the most implacable of all the savage enemies of the Americans in the western wilderness during the revolution, He was also a bitter enemy of the Moravian missionaries before he removed from the Muskingum valley, although it is said that he defended Zeisberger, Hecke- welder and others that were tried at Detroit in 1781, on the charge of being spies, and of being inimical to the interests of the British, His enmity towards the Moravian missionaries, it is said, was not on personal grounds, but because "he was hostile to all attempts, come from what source they might, having a tendency to make the Delawares a civilized and an agricultural people." That a large majority of the Delaware nation, in 1780, took up the hatchet against the Americans, forming a close alliance with the British, says Butterfield, was almost wholly due to the influence and machinations of Captain Pipe.

Captain Pipe was present and signed the treaty of Fort McIntosh, in 1785, He was also at the treaty of Fort Finney (mouth of the Great Miami), with the Shawanese, in 1786, signing that treaty as one of the witnesses,

Captain Pipe fought against Gen. Harmar in 1790, and participated actively in 1791, against General St. Clair. In 1792, a grand council of nearly all the Northwestern tribes assembled at the confluence of the Auglaize and Maumee riv- ers, (now Defiance,) to take into consideration the condition of allairs with the United States, at which it was agreed to hold a treaty with the Americans during the next summer. Pipe was there next summer, an advocate for peace, but the Indians declared for war. The result was that a large army was sent against them, com-

manded by General Wayne, who met the confed- cracy of Indians on the Maumee, in August, 1794, and there fought and won the battle of the " Fallen Timbers."

The death of Captain Pipe occurred a few days before the battle of the " Fallen Timbers" was fought. His record is most unsavory-his con- duct was seldom commendable-his perlidious- ness and treachery were conspicuous-and his barbarity and infamous conduct at the burning of Col. Crawford, will attach infamy to his name wherever and whenever it is uttered.

Captain White Eyes was a mighty chief of the Delawares, who was once prominently identified with the territory that now constitutes Coshocton county. He had his residence in " White Eyes Town," which was situated near White Eyes Plains, on the Tuscarawas river, in what is now Oxford township, Coshocton county. "White Eyes Town" was probably situated at or near to the month of White Eyes creek, a small stream that enters the Tuscarawas river from the north, about eight miles cast of Coshocton. Captain White Eyes undoubtedly gave name to the town. He was a warm friend of the Colonies in their contest for independence, and antagonized Captain Pipe, on all occasions, and labored hard to counteract his influence. He also heartily and zealously favored the efforts made by the Moravian Mis- sionaries to enlighten and christianize the Dela- ware Indians.

Captain White Eyes steadily and uniformly advocated peace measures, and attended a con- ference held at Fort Pitt, in 1774, with a view of averting the war that was then threatened be- tween the whites and Indians, known in history as the " Dunmore war."

On the breaking out of the war of the Revolu- tion, the next year, the Delawares of. the Mus- kingum valley divided into peace and war parties -White Eyes and Killbuck heading the former, and Captain Pipe the latter, or British party. White Eyes attended a conference held at Fort Pitt, in October, 1775, where he avowed himself the continued and unflinching friend of peace. The record made by White Eyes shows him to have been "a man of high character and clear mind, of courage such as became the leader of a race whose most common virtues were those of

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the wild man, and of a forbearance and kindness as unusual as fearlessness was frequent among his people." His achievements had given glory to the Delaware nation, and wherever the fires of their lodges burned, his fame was rehearsed. It was the all-absorbing purpose of his life to re- claim the Indian from barbarism and elevate him to an equality with the white man. Hence he readily and carnestly seconded the efforts and labors of the Moravian missionaries made in be- half of the red man.

Captain White Eyes was one of the chiefs of the Delawares who, in 1778, advocated the scheme of admitting the Delaware nation, or at least all that had been friendly to the American cause, to a perpetual alliance and confederation with the United States.

Gen. McIntosh, during the year 1778, made a requisition upon the Delaware council for two captains and sixty warriors, and White Eyes joined his command. McIntosh, with a small force, encamped at Tuscarawas, an old Indian town on the river of that name, and built Fort Lansing, named in honor of the President of Congress. Tuscarawas, the old Indian village, was situated on the west bank of the Tuscarawas river, at or near the crossing-place of the trail from Fort Pitt, and on the line, or very near it, that separates Tuscarawas and Stark counties, Ohio. And it was here, at Tuscarawas-that ancient seat of the aborigines where their old men had, for generations, rehearsed their deeds of glory-that White Eyes, one of the greatest and best of the later Indians, finished his career, in the midst of an army of white men to whom he had ever remained true.

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History of Coshocton County, Ohio, its past and present, 1740-1881, Part 33

Author: Hill, Norman Newell, jr., [from old catalog] comp; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-; Graham, A. A., & co., Newark, O., pub. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Newark, Ohio, A. A. Graham & co. Number of Pages: 854

Author: Hill, Norman Newell, jr., [from old catalog] comp; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-; Graham, A. A., & co., Newark, O., pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Newark, Ohio, A. A. Graham & co.
Number of Pages: 854