History of Van Wert and Mercer counties, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 22

Author: Sutton, R., & Co., Wapakoneta, Ohio, pub
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Wapakoneta, Ohio : R. Sutton
Number of Pages: 878

USA > Ohio > Mercer County > History of Van Wert and Mercer counties, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 22
USA > Ohio > Van Wert County > History of Van Wert and Mercer counties, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 22

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On the 9th September, a party of Shawances, consisting of between sixty and seventy warriors, who had hitherto provedl refractory and hos- tile, arrived at Greenville, with four prisoners,-three of whom they cap- tured on the 13th July, 1795, in Randolph County, Virginia. On the 11th, the General gave them audience, when Puck-se-kaw (or Jumper), one of their chiefs, spoke as follows :-

My father! I bave been in the woods a long time ; I wis not acquainted with the good works which were transacting at this place, by you and all our great chiefs.

Last spring, when we were bunting peaceably, our camp on the Scioto was robbed; we are very poor, and the mischief that has since been done, was in retaliation for the Injuries we then sustained.

As soon as I received this belt, which you sent me by Blue Jacket, one of our great chiefs, and as soon as I was informed by him that the good work of peace was finished, I arose to come and see you, and brought with me these four prisoners. I now surren- der them up to you, my father, nod promise, sincerely, that we will do no more mischief.

I hope, that for the future, we shall be permitted to live and hunt, in peace and quiet- ness. We were poor ignorant children, astray in the woods, who knew not that our nation, nod all the other tribes of Indians, had come in and made peace with you. I thank the Great Spirit for at length opening our eyes.

Father! We beg you will forgive, and receive your repeutant children. These people. wtom I now deliver to you, must plead our forgiveness, andI vouch for our sincere loten- tion to alter our conduct for the future. [A white string. ]

At the close of this speech, the Indians retired from Greenville, and returned to their respective homes.

BURRENDER OF POSTS BY THE BRITISH IN 1796-DEATH OF GENERAL, WAYNE.

Early in 1796, the British government surrendered the northern posts, Including Fort Miami, built in 1794, by Governor Simcoe, at the foot of the Rapids of the Mamnee, together with the town of Detroit, and the military works, both there and on the island of Mackinaw, in pursuance of the treaty negotiated by Chief Justice Jay, in 1793.

The posts were delivered to General Wayne, who had been authorized to receive them, by the President of the United States. As soon as he had performed that duty, and had made the necessary arrangements to have the works properly garrisoned and supplied, he embarked for Eric, on his way to the seat of government, very late in the season. Unfortu- nately, he was seized, on the passage, with a violent attack of gout in the stomach, which terminated his life, before the vessel reached the port of her destination. He was buried at Erie. When the body was disin- terred by his son, many years afterwards, for the purpose of being re- moved to the place of his nativity, the skin and flesh were sound, and exhibited no signs of decay. . As the body had been committed to its mother earth without embalming, and without any other process in- tended to preserve it from decay, the condition in which it was found by his son, must have been the result of some antiseptic influence, exerted by the surrounding earth, which, in process of time, might have con- verted it into a mummy.

General Wayne was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, in January, 1745, and was just completing the fifty-second year of his active life, when he was prematurely stricken from existence.

His father was a farmer, highly esteemed for the excellence of his private character, and for many useful services rendered the Common- wealth of Pennsylvania, particularly in the Provincial Legislature, and in several expeditions against the Indians. He had taken great pains to educate his son, at the Philadelphia academy, where he made very con- siderable proficiency in mathematics, in astronomy, and in other branches of useful science. The life and public services of this brave, accom- plished officer, are so fully stated, by the historians of his day, that it does not seem necessary, interesting as they are, to transfer them to this narrative. It may suffice, therefore, to say, that there was scarcely an important battle, or hazardous enterprise, from the beginning to the end of the Revolutionary struggle, in which he was not, more or less, dis- tinguished.

Before the Revolutionary war began, he was a deputy in the Provincial Congress of his native State; which assembled in 1774. In the same year, he was a member of the Provincial Legislature. In the year follow- ing, he was a member of the Committee of Public Safety. In the fall of the same year, he raised a corps of volunteers, who unanimously elected him their Colonel. He was in the unsuccessful attack on the British at Three Rivers, in Canada; where he was woundedl. At the battle of Brandywine he was distinguished; in the succeeding battle of German. town he led his division into the thickest of the fight, received two wounds, and had his horse killed under him. For his gallantry in the subsequent battle of Monmouth, General Washington mentioned him in his official letter, with great approbation.

His desperate and successful attack on Stony Point, which gave him the name of " Mad-Anthony," and procured for him a gold medal from Congress, can never be forgotten. After distinguishing himself at the capture of Lord Cornwallis, he was sent by General Washington, to take the command of the troops in Georgia, where the enemy were making great headway. After some severe battles, he defeated, routed, and drove them from the State. For his bravery and important services on that occasion, he received the thanks of the Legislature, and was pre- sented with a valuable farm. His next military achievements were those in which he was employed in the Northwestern Territory, when death terminated his career.

It would be a pleasing task, and an easy one, to collect materials enough to form a volume of brilliant and useful deeds, achieved by that distinguished warrior, who shared largely in the confidence and friend- ship of Washington, from the commencement of the Revolution, to the close of his life; but the historians of his day have superseded the necessity of such a labor.

The Governor of the Northwestern Territory, who had accompanied the General to Detroit, and was present when the possession of the posts was delivered, proceeded immediately to establish a new county on the strait, to which he gave the name of Wayne; in compliment to the chief, whose victory at the foot of the Rapids, two years before, had hastencil the execution of the treaty of 1735, by the British government. The seat of justice for the new county was established at Detroit, a garrison town, compactly built on very narrow streets, most of them not exceed.

IHISTORY OF VAN WERT AND MERCER COUNTIES, OHIO.

ing one rod in width, and completely inclo-ed by strong pickets. It was defended by a fort on the north, and by batteries on the margin of the strait. The citadel, for the accommodation of the commandant and his suite, was erected within the pickets, and was a spacious edifice, with an esplanade in front of sufficient dimensions to manœuvre a regiment of troops. The town was the most ancient on the upper lakes, having been settled by the French, as early as 1683; and it was the capital of Upper Canada, till it fell into the hands of the United States.

The old town which was surrendered to the United States was entirely burnt down, in 1805, and was afterwards rebuilt on a new and more con- venient plan. It had been, for many years, the principia depot of the fur trade of the northwest, and the residence of a large munber of Eng- lish and Scotch merchants, who were engaged in it, and was of course a place of great business. The greater part of the merchants engaged in the fur trade, both Scotch and English, had their domiciles at Detroit; and the nature of the trade was such as to require large amounts of cap- ital, in order to be profitable; because the great distance, and the im- mense extent of country, over which their furs and peltry were collected, rendered it impossible to turn the capital employed more than once in a year, and sometimes once in two years. The business was also extremely laborious and precarious. In some seasons their profits were enormously large; in others, they were small; and occasionally they were subjected to heavy losses.

During a large portion of the year they had to endure the fatigues and privations of the wilderness; and as often as they returned from those laborious excursions to their families and comfortable homes, they in- dulged most freely in the delicacies and luxuries of high living. Scarcely a day passed without a dinner party, given by some one of them, at which the best of wine and of other liquors, and the richest viands furnished ' - the country, and by commerce, were served up in great profusion, and in fine taste. Genteel strangers who visited the place, were generally invited to the houses, and their sumptuous tables; and although at this day, such a practice would be considered a breach of moral duty, as well as of good breeding, they competed with each other for the honor of drinking the most, as well as the best wine, without being intoxicated themselves, and of having at their parties the greatest number of intoxicated guests. This revel was kept up in a greater or less degree, during the season they remained at home, as an offset to the privations and suffering of their excursions into the wilderness.

Soon after the town of Detroit came into the hands of the Americans, most of those merchants removed, and established themselves at Sand- wich, in Upper Canada, where it was the universal custom to celebrate the birthday of the king. The General Court of the Territory being in session at Detroit, on the 4th of June, 1800, which was the birthday of his majesty, George III., the judges and the bar, and also the officers of the American garrison, with many of the principal citizens of Detroit, were invited to be present, and partake in the festivities of the occasion. The invitation was accepted, and about a hundred Americans joined in the festival. A spacious building, crected for a warehouse, was so ar- ranged as to accommodate between four and five hundred persons, with seats at the tables, at the same time. The entertainment was splendid ; the tables were richly and abundantly supplied with everything which appetite or taste could desire.

The loyalty of his majesty's subjects was evinced by every expedient in their power; and if a moiety of their prayers in behalf of their royal master had been granted, he must have lived a thousand years, and his shadow never have grown less.

During the evening much deference was paid, by the managers, to the feelings of their American guests. Next to the King, the President of the United States was drank; and among the residue of the toasts, there were several complimentary to our country and her distinguished states- men. By pursuing that liberal, respectful course, no bad feeling was excited; and although much wine was drunk, in proportion to numbers, yet the party, late in the night, separated in harmony and mutual good feeling. The American garrison, at Detroit, consisted of two regiments, commanded by Colonel Strong, who, in consideration of his great respon- sibility, and to relieve from duty as many of his officers as practicable, declined to be a guest, and remained at his post in the citadel.

At one party the court and bar became acquainted with the British

officers stationed at Fort Malden, and received a pressing invitation to visit them and spend a night at their quarters in the garrison. At the same time Captain Currie, of the John Adams, an armed vessel of the United States, politely offered to convey the party to Malden, and from thence to Maumee Bay. These invitations were accepted, and, as soon as the court had finished the business of the term, they and the bar sent their horses by land to the foot of the Rapids, and embarked for the British garrison. They were received by Captain MeMullin, the com- mandant, and entertained with great hospitality. He gave them a fine supper, good wine, and excellent beds ; which were seldom met with, by western travelers, in those early days of territorial improvement. In the morning, the party took leave, and returned to the vessel.

At that time the fort was in a very unfinished state, and no material or preparation was discovered for completing it. It was said, however, by the officers, that preparations were in progress for that purpose, and that it was the intention of government to put the works in a complete state for defence, without delay. Early in the afternoon, the brig cast anchor in the Maumee Bay, and the barge was let down and manned. Having taken leave of the officers, the party took their seats, and in a few hours were landed at the foot of the Rapids. The passage was pleasant, and the misery of wading through the deep mud of the Black Swamp was escaped.

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 migra- tions, 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 William 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 mention 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 Sbawnees in the west, allied with the Miamis, and yet we after- ward 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 Amerien 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 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 accustomed to boast of their superiority to the other tribes, and their haughty pride has had much to do with their confliets 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 deception, stratagem, and faithlessness, But in judging them we must not forget that they were savage. Their whole education 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 cruelty, bad faith, and revengefulness of, savages.

The Miamis, Wyandots, Shawnees, and Delawares possessed this re- gion as a hunting-ground at an early period. The Miamis claimed to have been the original proprietors of all the forests and hunting grounds

HISTORY OF VAN WERT AND MERCER COUNTIES, OHIO.

along the Great Miami and Mad Rivers, and the other streams that flowed into them. It is not known with entire certainty when the Wyan- dots located in northwestern Ohio, but it was probably as early as 1700, and by permission 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 set- tlement of the Shawnces at Wapakoneta and Ottawa towns in 1792, and the forests of Shelby, Auglaize, Allen, Mercer, and Van Wert became their favorite hunting-grounds, and continued so until after the invasions 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 Shelby 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 country the red hunters of the Shawnees made it a favorite resort during the hunting season. The MeKees, Girtys, and other 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 Shawnee Reservation at Wapa- koneta, twelve miles square. In August, 1831, a treaty was negotiated with the Shawnees of Wapakoneta by James Gardiner : 1 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 reserva- tion in what is now part of Duchouquet, Union, Clay, Pusheta, Washi- ington, Moulton, and Logan, townships mostly in Auglaize County, and remove beyond the Mississippi, 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 till the land, and we Are driven into the western sea. - BRYANT.

The territory then 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 aud orators, and possessed a spirit of adventure, wild enough to transfer its seat from the extreme north to the extreme south, for the Algonquins occu- pied 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 peculiarities, for their asserted superiority was a shield against contamination. 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 wil- derness their possession ?. At home in New York, at home in Georgia, a last remnant entered Ohio, and here too they were at home.

From Florida they migrated to the Mad River of Ohio, under the leadership of Black-Hoof, whose life was spent in this adopted country. They were ever the same restless, brave, nomadic Shawnees of tradi- tion, whether viewed in the East, the South, or the West.

It cannot be determined with precision when they located at Wapa- koncta, 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 disinherited 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 established their council house, which became the Indian capital of the northwest. This build- ing was still used at the advent of the whites, but was finally removed, and some of the timber used in the construction of other buildings. 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 community. A block from this sill found its way to the writer's desk, through the courtesy of J. C. Ed- wiston.

The first land-title given by the government to this tribe which pos- sessed any clearness, was granted by the treaty of 1817. The confer- enee was held and the treaty entered into at the foot of the Maumee Rapids, near Lake Erie, by Lewis Cass and Duncan MeArthur, com- missioners 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 gov- ernment of the United States settle on the Shawnees an annuity of three thousand dollars, to be paid annually, forever, to them at Wapaugh- konnetts.

" The United States also agree to grant, in fee simple, to Black Hoof and other chiefs of the Shawnee tribe, for the use of the persons men- tioned 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 Peaitehtha and other chiefs of the Shawnee tribe residing on Hog Creek, for the use of the tribe there, to the persons mentioned 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 forin."

It may be interesting to many, and particularly to young persons, to have the entire schedule of names inserted here. These were prol- ably written by Gen. Cass or the agent, John Johnston, either of whom well understood the Indian orthography. Among these may be found the names of great men, such as Black-Hoof and Wayweleapy, great as speakers, and Penitchtha, great as leader in the agricultural arts. Seve- ral 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 : Black-Hoof, Pamthe, or Walker : Weaseca, or Wolf; Shemanita, or Suake; Athelwakeseeah, or Yellow Clouds; Pemthewtew, or Perry; Cacalawa, or End of the Tail; Quela- wee, War Chief, Sacachewa, Werewela, Wasawetah, or Bright-Horn : Otharasa, or Yellow; Tepetescea, Newaletuces, Caawaricho, Thacat- chewa, Silochaheea, Tapea, Mesherawah, Toleapea, Pochecaw, Alawe- metahuck, Lollaway, or John Perry; Wawelame, Nemecashe, Nerupe- neshquah, or Cornstalk, Shi She, Shealawhe, Naruskaka, Thaca-ka, or David McNair; Shapukoha, Quacowawnee, Necosheeu, Thucuscu, or Jim Blue Jacket; Chowelaseca, Quhaho. Kayketelheka, or William Perry ; Sewapeu, Peetah, or Davy Baker; Skapoawah, or George MeDougal; Chepocuru, Shema, or Sam; Cheahaska, or Captain Tommy ; Genera! Wayne, Thaway, Othawee, Weareeah, Captain Reed. Lawaytuchch, or Jolin Wolf; Teentie, or George; Skekacumpskekaw, Wishemaw. Muy- waymanotreka, Quaskee, Thoswa, Baptiste, Maywealinpe Perea Cumne. Chochkelake, or Dam ; Kewapea, Egataeumshequa, Walupe, Aquashe- quah, Pemata, Nepaho, Tapesheka, Lathowaynoma, Sawacota, Memhi- sheka, Ashelukah, Ohipwah, Thapacea. Capawab, Ethewacase, Quahethu, Chucatuh, Nekakoka, Thithueculu, Pelacuthe, Pelaske, Shesholou, Qua- nako, Halkoota, Laughshena, Capia, Thueatvouwah, or the Man going up Hill; Magathu, Tecumtequa, Tetecopatha, Kekusthe, Sheatwal, Shealewarron, Haglkela, Akapec, Lamatothe, Kesha, Panhoar, Peritch thamtah, Peter Cornstalk, Metchepeta, Capea, Shuagunme, Wawale. peshecco, Calequa, Tetotu, Tashishee, Nawebesheco, or White Feather; Sbeperkiscoshe, Notekah, Shemakili, Pesheto, Theatsheta, Milhametehe,

HISTORY OF VAN WERT AND MERCER COUNTIES, OHIO.

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History of Van Wert and Mercer counties, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 22

Author: Sutton, R., & Co., Wapakoneta, Ohio, pub Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Wapakoneta, Ohio : R. Sutton Number of Pages: 878

Author: Sutton, R., & Co., Wapakoneta, Ohio, pub
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Wapakoneta, Ohio : R. Sutton
Number of Pages: 878