USA > Ohio > Defiance County > History of Defiance County, Ohio. Containing a history of the county; its townships, towns, etc.; military record; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; farm views, personal reminiscences, etc > Part 11
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78
their cloaks hanging loosely about them, their hair down on their shoulders, and were painted after the ancient manner. The chiefs sat about smoking, look- ing in solemn silence upon the remains of the great chief, who had led the tribe for nearly one hundred years, had been their faithful counselor in peace and war; had been present at Braddock's defeat, seventy- six years before, and for nearly a century had been in all the expeditions against the 'Long Knives.' In front of his wigwam was a large quantity of meat from wild animals, the result of a two days' chase by the young warriors selected for that purpose. It was in a pile, handsomely stacked and guarded. When the time came to proceed to the grave, six young warriors stepped forward and arranged the cloths neatly about the body, then placing large straps be- neath it, took hold of the ends and started directly to the grave. The family of Blackhoof preceded the remains; then came the chiefs who were to succeed him, and then the warriors and others. The grave was about three feet deep, a puncheon being placed in the bottom and one on each side, twelve or four- teen inches wide, constituting a sort of rude coffin. The body was placed in it, and the clothing which had last been worn by him was laid upon the body, and his old moccasins, cut into strips, were thrown down also. No arms or implements were placed in the grave. Another puncheon, some three or four inches thick, was placed over him as a lid to the coffin. John Perry, a venerable and leading chief, took some small seeds or vegetable powder from a cloth, and, beginning at the left shoulder of the corpse and walking carefully around the grave, sprinkled the same as he went until he reached the place of beginning. When this was done, he started on the path leading to the wigwam, and was followed by all present, except those who were left to close the grave. They all moved off in single file, one after another, none looking back. Upon their return, smoking and conversation commenced, after which the feast began. The meats were consumed, and all the warriors returned to the wigwam or cabins. Blackhoof is said to have been opposed to polygamy and the practice of burning prisoners. He lived forty years with one wife, raising a large family of children, who both loved and respected him. He was small in stature-not more than five feet eight inches in height. He was favored with good health and unimpaired eyesight to the period of his death."
Quasky, his eldest son, was the successor to Black- hoof. He possessed many of the qualities of his dis- tinguished father. He went West with his people in 1832, and was living in 1853. He, like his father, was a fine speaker.
Blue Jacket. This chief, it will be remembered,
54
HISTORY OF DEFIANCE COUNTY.
commanded the Indian army at the battle of " Fallen Timber," in 1794, and with much reluctance signed the treaty with Wayne, at Greenville, in 1795. He was very bitter in his feelings toward the " Long Knives," who were rapidly settling upon the lands that former- ly belonged to the red man. His feelings were quite as intense as those of Tecumseh, though he did not possess his abilities for organization. As a matter of prudence, he did not join Tecumseh in the war of 1812. He is supposed to have died at the Ottawa village, down the Auglaize, just prior to the treaty of Maumee Rapids in 1817. It appears that Gens. Cass and McArthur, in that treaty, made provision for his family at Wapakonetta, in which James, George and Charles Blue Jacket received each abont one thousand acres in the reservation.
Bock-ong-a-he-las. This noted old Delaware chief mixed much with the Shawnees. He is sup- posed to have been born near Philadelphia, Penn., a few years after the treaties with Penn, and when he lived on the Auglaize was well advanced in age. In colonial days with Jacobs and other leading Delawares, he resided in Western Pennsylvania, and is believed to have been identified with the " Shingess," who en- tertained Washington, when a young man, in 1753 Shingess was an active warrior when Fort Du Quesne was taken in 1759. Heckewelder speaks of meeting him at the Tuscarora town on the Muskingum as early as 1760. As early as 1764, King Beaver, who was a brother of Bock-ong-a-he-las, was met by Gen. Gibson, at the mouth of Big Beaver. Just what time he settled in Western Ohio is not known. At the capture of Col. Hardin, Maj. Truman and others, in 1792, as bearers of a flag of truce from Washington, after having treacherously murdered Hardin, the In- dians arrived near the Indian town of Auglaize and reported to the old chief, "who was very sorry they had killed the men, and said, instead of so doing they should have brought them along to the Indian towns, and then, if what they had to say had not been liked, it would. have been time enough to have killed them. Nothing could justify them for putting them to death, as there was no chance for them to escape." This chief fought against Harmar, St. Clair and Wayne. He signed the treaty of 1795. He must have been over one hundred years old. He died at the Ottawa village on the Auglaize in 1804.
The next noted chief was Way-wel-ea-py, who was the principal speaker among the Shawnees at the period of their removal. He was an eloquent orator, grave, gay or humorous as occasion required. At times his manner is said to have been quite fascinat- ing, his countenance so full of varied expression, and his voice so musical, that surveyors and other strangers passing through the country listened to him
with delight, although the words fell upon their ears in an unknown language. During the negotiation for the sale of their reserve, he addressed his people and Mr. Gardner several times. His refutation of Gardner's assumed superiority over the Indian race was complete, and full of irony. Col. George C. Johnston often met this chief at his trading post in Wapakonetta, and says he was fine-looking and cul- tivated the friendship of the pioneers. He was the principal speaker of the Shawnees, and delivered the opinions of the tribe at treaties and public assem- blies. He removed West with his tribe, where he died in 1843.
Lollaway, John Perry, head chief of the Shaw- nees, often traded at the station of Col. Johnston. He signed the treaty of 1831, at Wapakonetta. He could converse fluently in English. He was a man of influence with his tribe, and of good habits. He was much grieved when he learned that the Shawnees had been deceived as to the value of their reserva- tions. He went West in 1832, and died in 1843
Wa the-the-we-la, or Bright Horn, was another noted chief, who was present when Logan was mortal- ly wounded in the contest with Winemac in 1812, and was severely wounded in the thigh in the same fight, but recovered, and lived at Wapakonetta. He was, with Blackhoof, the especial friend of Gen. Harrison in the war of 1812. He was a brave man, and of sound integrity. He fought like a hero for our cause in the war of 1812. He was a large and commanding Indian in appearance, and was quite shrewd and in- telligent. He died in 1826, at Wapakonetta.
La-wa-tu-cheh, John Wolf, was a Shawnee of some note. Col. John Johnston hired of him a trad- ing house at Wapakonetta and he often accompanied the Colonel on his trading trips in the forest, among the different tribes. He died at Wapakonetta.
Henry Clay, son of Capt. Wolf, was educated, un- der the supervision of Col. John Johnston, at Upper Piqua, at the expense of the Quaker Friends. He afterward became a leading chief, and married the daughter of Hon. Jeremiah McLain, formerly a mem- ber of Congress from the Columbus district, in 1835. He was named after the Hon. Henry Clay, of Ken- tucky, and was a man of considerable talent, and lived many years after his removal to Kansas.
Peter Cornstalk was a chief of some distinction. He is believed to have been a son of the celebrated chief Cornstalk of Chillicothe, who was assassinated at Point Pleasant, Va. His home was down the Au- glaize. He was a large, fine-looking Indian, and a man of honor. He often visited the trading post, and became a warm friend of the whites. He was married, and went Weat with Elsquatawa, the Proph- et, in 1828. He had a brother named Neru-pen-es-
55
HISTORY OF DEFIANCE COUNTY.
he-quah, who went West in 1832. Died about 1843.
The older stock of Shawnees have nearly all been called to the happy hunting-grounds. They were a brave race.
It is proper to observe that the Hog Creek, or Ottawa hand, did not remove in 1832. They removed in the summer of 1833, and escaped many of the hardships the Wapakonetta and Lewistown bands en- dured the first winter, in erecting cabins and in pre- paring fields for crops in the spring of 1833. Joseph Parks, of Shawneetown, where the old council house yet stands, got the contract for removing this people. The band is given in Shawnee Township. They ar- rived in safety, under his lead, in 1833. The Shaw- nees raised but little in 1833, and suffered much the first winter. The good Quakers were active in their efforts to furnish all necessary aid.
In 1854, the Shawnees numbered about 900 souls; this included the white men who have intermarried with the nation, and are adopted as Indians. The Shawnees own about 1,600,000 acres of land, which gives about 1,700 acres each. They now have good dwelling-houses, provided with good furniture, which is kept in good order by their females. They live in the same manner as the whites, and quite as well. They have stables, corn-cribs, barns and other build- ings; horses, cattle, hogs and sheep; wagons and oxen, carriages and buggies; farm implements, plows, har- rows and hoes. There is abundance of wheat, corn, oats and hay raised, and all are contented and happy.
Still, the white man craves their lands! In 1841, after much intrigue and cunning, they were asked by the Department to part with 1,000,000 acres of their reserve! "Forever," by the pale faces, means until the white inan can again wrong the red man! Treaties last just that long, and no longer.
The home of the Shawnees is in Southern Kansas, along Mill Creek, Bull Creek, Wakarusa and their tributaries. The settlements are along the Blue and Osage Rivers, and are made up of splendid lands, and make very desirable homes. They sow a large amount of grain each year, and spare a large surplus, after supplying their own wants. They raise large numbers of cattle, and are quite successful as farmers. It will be seen, then, that these red men have fully adopted the white man's ideas of civilization. May they ever prosper.
With these reflections, we conclude the history of the Shawnees and their residence in Ohio. In a few years, there will be no more Shawnees, and, we fear, very few red men left on the continent.
" Did we not own this glorious land, Each mountain, lake and river ? Were they not from His sacred hand Our heritage forever ?
Where tombs arise and harvests wave, Our children used to stray ; We cannot find our fathers' graves- Our fathers ! where are they ? Like snow before His fiery glance, Our tribes are swept away."
CHAPTER VI.
BRITISHI EXPEDITION UP THE MAUMEE IN 1780.
D URING the Revolutionary war, an expedition was fitted out at Detroit, under command of Col. Byrd, consisting of 600 men, including Indians and Canadians, with two pieces of artillery, to attack Louisville and drive back the white settlers from Kentucky. The artillery and baggage were trans- ported by water up the Manmee and St. Marys, across the portage, and thence down the Miami to the Ohio. On arriving at the Ohio, the contemplated attack on Louisville was abandoned, and the expedition crossed over into Kentucky, and proceeded up the Licking River, and on the morning of the 22d of June, 1780, appeared before " Ruddle's Station," a stockaded fort, announcing their arrival by discharge of cannon and summons to surrender. The formidable and un- expected force which they presented intimidated the garrison, and it immediately surrendered under the
promises of being protected from the Indians. This promise, however, was shamefully violated, and the prisoners were all massacred. A small stockade, twenty miles distant, called " Bryant's Station," was likewise taken by the same force, and the whole re- gion thrown into the utmost consternation. On ac- count of a disagreement between the British and In- dians, the force disbanded before the summer was over, and each returned their own way to the lakes - the Indians well laden with spoil.
A similar force under command of Gen. Hamilton, passed up the Maumee, and on down the Wabash, the same season, with the design of preventing the French posts on the Lower Wabash and Southern Illi- nois from falling into the hands of the Americans. This force was unlucky, having been surrendered to Gen. Clark, of Kentucky, at Vincennes. The British
56
HISTORY OF DEFIANCE COUNTY.
troops were suffered to return to Detroit, but their commander was placed in irons, and sent to Virginia, charged with having instigated the Indians to the greatest barbarities against the whites.
The British retained their posts and command in Michigan and on the Maumee, disregarding the treaty of 1783, until after Wayne's victory, when they withdrew beyond the lakes.
The transportation business on these streams was, even in that early day. an organized calling, possibly after a rude fashion, and we may suppose that these troops, their munitions and supplies, were passed along the rivers and over portages by contract or ar- rangement with associations or local tribes much as such transactions are accomplished by the Vander- bilts, Fisks and Garretts of our advanced civilization.
At Defiance was then a stockade in the interest of the British, for protection of their traders and as a relay for messengers and places of rest and refresh- ment of troops on the march. The expedition above mentioned while passing out and back, doubtless halted at the " Point " to admire, to rest and partake of the abundance which tradition ever ascribed to this locality.
EARLY INDIAN COUNCILS.
Au Glaize, and Grand Glaize were names given by the French to this place; and it is known by these names in all written and historical accounts relating to it, prior to the erection of Fort Defiance, by An- thony Wayne, in August, 1794.
One of these early historical accounts speaks of a great council of all the Indian tribes being held at Au Glaize, in October, 1792, and says it was the largest Indian council of the times. That the chiefs of all the tribes of the Northwest were here; and rep- resentatives of the Seven Nations of Canada, and of Twenty-seven Nations beyond Canada. That Corn- planter and forty-eight chiefs of the Six Nations of New York repaired thither. That three men of the Gora Nations were in attendance, whom it took a whole season to get there. " Besides these," says Cornplanter, "there were so many nations we cannot tell the names of them."
The question of peace or war was long and ear- nestly discussed, the chiefs of the Shawnees being for war, and Red Jacket, the Seneca chief, for peace.
This convention represented a larger territory than any convention we have an account of before or since, being held on the American Continent. It seems to have been a natural intuition that led the red men of the forest to see that this was the strategic center of North America. And when the " Monroe Doctrine" shall extend our National Domain from the Arctic Circle to the Isthmus of Darien, we will ex- pect a like appreciation by the modern white men of
that generation. In the year 1782, a remnant of the Moravian Christian Indians took refuge at Defiance after the massacre on the Muskingum. The good seeds sown by these Christians at that early day may in part account for the estimable habits and character of those Delawares, with whom young Brickell made his home, whilst in captivity; as well as for the Christian virtues that afterward dis- tinguished so many living in that vicinity.
Blue Jacket, a noted war chief of the Shawnees, who held a commission as Brigadier General in the English Army, with a village of his people, was living on the east side of the Auglaize, and one mile from its mouth, in 1794. But Wayne's triumphal march here and victory, on the 20th of August, 1794, gave the knell to all the villages clustered here, and they soon went to ruin. " The one continued village for miles above and below this place," of which Anthony Wayne writes, in a very few years is all gone, not one stone of its habitations remaining upon the other. Its site and its extensively cleared uplands adjacent are all abandoned to grow up again in forest except the few acres immediately at the point needed for the accommodation of the fort. It is dull times now at Defiance; no extensive fields of growing crops sur- round the town; and the oracles, the feasts, the ath- letic games, and great continental conventions are gone. Its garrison, like all garrisons in times of peace on our frontier towns, becomes wearied for want of business excitement.
DEFIANCE, THE HEART OF THE INDIAN NATIONS.
In an address delivered by William C. Holgate, at Defiance, before the Pioneer and Historical Asso- ciation of the Maumee Valley, he gave the following description of Defiance, while yet in the possession of the Indians:
Defiance occupies the site of the ancient Tu-en. da-wie of the Wyandot and En-sa-woc-sa of the Shawnee. It has a history, unwritten though it be, that reaches back of modern ages when other races and peoples dwelt upon its grounds, and possessed all its pleasant places, whose blackened dust and bones are found near the surface of every beautiful spot. Untutored though they may have been, they appre- ciated natural beauty, and reverenced the hereafter, as is evidenced by their ever selecting the most lovely spot for the burial of their dead. But why was Defiance, though then known by other names, a. great center, where these ancient races came together to live, and trade, and counsel?
The topography of the Maumee Valley proper will answer. This valley is the territory drained by the Maumee River, and its tributaries, which consists of about twelve counties in Ohio, and a portion of Mich-
William Megque
Charles Bronson.
Benny Hardy
57
HISTORY OF DEFIANCE COUNTY.
igan and Indiana-it was the same of old, save coun- ty and State lines were then unknown. The Maumee River proper begins in Indiana, and bearing north- easterly becomes lost in Lake Erie. It traverses a country 100 miles in extent, with Defiance as it cen- ter, and Toledo and Fort Wayne at its terminal points. The chief tributary streams are the Little St. Joseph, the Tiffin, St. Marys, and the Auglaize Rivers. Whilst the two former have their sources in close proximity in Hillsdale County, Mich., about fifty miles north of Defiance, the remaining two have theirs about the same distauce to the south; and it seems a strange freak that the waters of the Little St. Joseph should flow southwesterly to Fort Wayne, whilst those of the Tiffin, originating at nearly the same spot, should flow south to Defiance. But more remarkable still is it that the identical peculiarities governing the flow of these northern waters govern also those coming from the south. Whilst the head- waters of St. Mary pass northwesterly to unite with those of the Little St. Joseph at Fort Wayne, and begin the Maumee, those of the Auglaize, close by, flow northerly to Defiance. Again we find the same summit at the north from which come one half of the waters of the Maumee, originating also the Big St. Joseph and the Kalamazoo of Lake Michigan and the River Rasin, that goes to Lake Erie-and the summit at the south from which come the other half gives rise also to the Wabash, running southwesterly, that forms the boundary line between Illinois and Indiana, to the Great Miami, that goes south, and bounds the southwest corner of our State below Cin- cinnati, and to the Scioto, that runs southeasterly through Columbus and Chillicothe, and like the other two, feeds the Ohio. Here we have the Mau- mee Valley extended 100 miles east and west and 100 miles north and south, with Defiance as its center, a rich, productive territory, with the rivers we name, all navigable to a certain extent, and with numerous smaller streams to water and to drain. It is true there is some " black swamp" in the territory, but this now only means a fertility that cannot be beat. It is also true there is much of the most beautiful dry and rolling land, and numerous and extensive ridges. These ridges, it has been found, are in the main ancient beaches of Lake Erie, and they have governed in a great measure the obliquitous courses of the tributary streams. One of the ancient beaches running imperfectly parallel with the shores of Lake Erie, lies but two miles easterly of Defiance. As we view the indications showing the antiquity of this place as a great center of trade in times long past, in imagination we hear as it were the dashing waves of the great lake, and picture a busy city two miles from the mouth of the same old Maumee, possessing
as now her old tributary streams. This was a long time ago, but long though it was, as true as we live now, a people lived here then, only two miles away from the shores of a great inland sea. These people ate and drank, had their merry makings, married wives, and died, and were born, and as ages on ages rolled on, this sea receded away, and may be the lights of this people went out; but when they died, others came in with new lights and fires and sounds. We know this as our ancestors discovered them here, and saw the lights, and heard the sounds. The first discov- erers were very unwilling ones. Venturing too far from the settlements of friends, they were 'unexpect- edly seized by strong red hands, and forced off and away through dense forests, whither they knew not, for long and weary days. But they came at length to where the smoke of Tu-en-da-wie; and En-sa-woc-sa went up. They saw the beautiful rivers all concen- trating here, and in one grand trunk passing on northeasterly. They saw, too, the extensive fields of growing crops and a numerous people of the red race, never yet vanquished in battle, living here in security and power. Prisoners though our first discoverers were, so sure did their masters feel they had them, and could hold them in their remote but powerful home, they were allowed unrestrained to run at large. Out of the long misty past through the eyes of these poor captives we first behold the place now known as Defiance.
JOHN BRICKELL'S CAPTIVITY.
Though numbers were made prisoners and forced to make this place a home for a season, but two have left a written account of their captivity. These two were boys when captured, but nine and eleven years of age, and represent two of the principal cities of the West-Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, then but small frontier settlements-John Brickell was the Pitts- burgh, and Oliver N. Spencer the Cincinatti boy. The first was captured February 9, 1791, but. it was not till the following May that he reached with his captor the Auglaize and Maumee towns near its mouth, having undergone many and severe trials and hardships. Here he was given to a Delaware Indian into whose family he was adopted, and with whom he lived till 1795. On his return from captivity, Brick- ell settled at Columbus, Ohio, being one of its old and esteemed citizens. Being the first white person that ever lived at Defiance, who has left any written account of its earlier inhabitants, we will in brief give it, interesting as it ought to be to its present peo- ple in exhibiting one of the ancient races here pos- sessing many customs and virtues that reflect honor on any people. In his narrative, he says he was treated very kindly whilst in the family of Whingy
4
58
HISTORY OF DEFIANCE COUNTY.
Pooshies, and every way as one of themselves, and had every opportunity of learning their manners, customs and religion; and thinks he has been influenced to good more from what he learned among these Indians than from what he has learned from amongst people of his own color. Honesty, bravery and hospitality were cardinal virtues with them. When a company of strangers come to a town and encamp, they are not asked if they want anything, but a runner starts out proclaiming " strangers have arrived." Ou this every family provides of the best they have, and take it to the strangers, for which not a thought is had of any- thing being received in return, and when they start out they are helped on their journey. Worshiping the Great Spirit, whom they call Manitou, " never " says Brickell, " even on one occasion, did I know of their using that name irreverently," and they had no term in their language by which they could swear profanely. Their young honor the aged; the first corn that is fit to use is made a feast offering; the first game that is taken on a hunting expedition is dressed whole without the breaking of a bone, with the head, ears and hoofs on, and, being cooked whole, all eat of it, and if any is left it is entirely burnt up; and in respect to things clean and unclean, they follow the Jewish customs. They have no public worship except the feasts, but frequently observe family worship, in which they sing and pray. They believe in a resur- rection after death, and in future rewards and pun- ishments. Their cruel treatment of their enemies in war seems but the acting out of the precepts, " an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and blood for blood."
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.