History of the city of Toledo and Lucas County, Ohio, Part 114

Author: Waggoner, Clark, 1820-1903
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: New York and Toledo : Munsell & Company
Number of Pages: 1408

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PART VIII.

RELIGIOUS AND BENEVOLENT.

CHAPTER I.

EARLY MISSION WORK ON THE MAUMEE RIVER.

PROTESTANT Missionary Work in the Maumee Valley, without doubt. was in- angurated in 1802, when Rev. D. Bacon, under the auspices of the Connecticut Missionary So- ciety, visited the West. April 29th, of that year, he left Detroit with two companions in a canoe for the Maumee River, and was five days in making the trip. He found here a good in- terpreter, William Dragoo, who had been with the Indians since his 10th year. Upon arrival at the mouth of the River he found most of the Chiefs drunk at a trading post above, and con- cluded to pass on to Fort Miami, where he stored his things. The next day he returned to the mouth of the River, where most of the Chiefs were yet drunk, although Little Otter. the Head-Chief, was in a better condition, to whom his mission was made known, when he replied in friendly terms, promising that at an early date Mr. Bacon should have a bearing with the tribe. When they had in a measure sobered, a child died, which led to another drunken time. Tired of waiting, Mr. B. started up the River for provisions, and that night camped about five miles from the mouth of the River, near the Indian dancing ground, which was probably between what are now Elm and Buffalo Streets, Toledo, which at that time was a favorite resort of the Indians for racing and sports of various sorts .* Mr. Bacon was invited within these grounds, which he " found upon a beautiful bluff on the bank of the River." The turf had been removed from the dancing ground, which was about 20x40 feet in size. In the middle stood a red post, with a white feather on the top, around which the conjurers took their stand, they seeming to be the musi- eians for the dancers whirling about them. On each side were bark roofs, under which the fatigued Indians rested and smoked their pipes. This was the annual Spring "conjuration dance," celebrated on return from the Winter's hunting. This practice, in connection with whisky, was having a very demoralizing in- fluence on the Indians. The leaders of the dance, or conjurers, were called " Doctors," whose power for evil with the Indians was very strong, inasmuch as they claimed to be able to propitiate the Evil Spirit. The Indians, as a rule, recognize both a Good Spirit and a Bad Spirit, but their attention is chiefly directed to the bad one, for the reason that, unless propitiated

he will injure them ; whereas, they are safe from harm from the Good Spirit. On the 14th of May Mr. Bacon finally got a hearing by the Indians at the mouth of the River, when he laid before them the object of his visit. In do- ing this he said :

Before I began the address. I marked out on the ground a map of Lake Erie, the States of New York and Connecticut-divided the latter into Towns, and described a great house in the middle of each, where our people met to worship God, and bear his minis- ters-described another at Hartford for the General Association ; and, for convenience, another at New Haven for the Legislature, and a still greater one at the City of Washington for Congress. This excited their curiosity, and served to give them an idea of Connecticut, the number of our ministers, and the regularity of our Towns; and it helped them to un- derstand those parts of the address which spake of the General Association, the Missionary Society, and the Legislature. And it helped me, likewise, to give them a more just idea of the importance of the differ- ent characters which compose the honorable Board of Trustees, as I could point them to the great houses to which the different civilians belonged ; and tell them what important stations they held in them. I informed them that the other six were as great in the ministry. I had taken care before this to let them know that I had a written recommendation from one of the great Chief Warriors of the United States. I was the more particular with respect to such characters, as they feel the most dependent on these, and have the greatest respect for them. At the conclusion of the address, I observed to them, that if their patience was not exhausted, I should be glad if they would hear what I had to say to them. And as they readily complied, and seemed to pay better attention, I de- livered them a pretty lengthy speech, in which I carefully noticed every thing of importance that ap- peared to me to be to the purpose. Supposing that they might want to know why we had not sent them a minister before, since we were so urgent to have them receive one then, I informed them we had been prevented by wars, by a want of ministers, and by their living at such a great distance from us, but that we had sent ministers to the other Indian Nations who lived nearer to us.

Having heard of four objections which Isupposed they stood ready to offer, I brought them up and an- swered tbem. The first objection was, that our re- ligion was not designed for Indians. In answering this, I availed myself of the declarations and promises of Scripture to the contrary, and the command of Christ. to preach it to every creature (which I told them I could show them) and the success which he had given to the ministry.

The second objection that I noticed was, that our religion was not good for them. In reply to this. I showed them what effects it would have on their children-on their young men, who, it was said, did not mind the Chiefs as they used to-and on society in general ; how it would fit them for Heaven, and give them a sure title to it ; that it must be good for them if God had designed it for them; that other

* A view of the locality referred to is given else- where in this volume, as " Toledo in 1800."

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HISTORY OF TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY.

Indian Nations to whom he had sent ministers, tried it, and found it to be good, and that they would do wrong to condemn it, or reject it without trying it.

The third objection was, that by listening to me they would expose themselves to the fate of the poor Moravians, who were destroyed by our people, in consequence of their embracing our religion. In an- swering this, I observed to them, that they could have nothing to fear from having me among them, or from listening to me, because that our bad men would not be allowed to hurt them now, as our people were at peace with them, and their great fathers in Con- gress were disposed to treat them as their children.

The fourth objection 1 thought to be much the most important, and the most difficult to answer. It was this : That they could not live together so as to re- ceive any instructions on account of their fighting and killing one another when intoxicated. Two had been killed but a few days before at the trader's above ; and I found that they seldom got together without killing some; that their villages there were little more than places of residence for Fall and Spring, as they were obliged to be absent in the Winter on ae- count of hunting, and as they found it necessary to live apart in the Summer on account of liquor; and that the most of them were going to disperse in a few days for planting, when they would be from 10 to 15 miles apart, and not more than two or three families in a place. To remove this objection, Iacknowledged the difficulty of their living together while they made such free use of spirituous liquor ; and proposed to them to begin and build a new village upon this con- dition, that no one should be allowed to get drunk in it ; that if they would drink, they should go off and stay till they had it over, and that if any would not comply with this law, they should be obliged to leave the village.

I then showed the advantages of adopting the plan-that they would live in peace, as they never quarreled when they were sober; that with my as- sistance they would be able to give their children an education ; for want of which they were going on blindfold in their business with white people, who frequently imposed upon them ; but who would not have it in their power, if they once had eyes of their own, to see for themselves ; as would be the case if their young Chiefs and others should get an eduea- tion and learn to speak English ; and that then they might have books printed in their own language for them to read ; that I would show them and assist them what I could about making carts and ploughs, and about ploughing their ground, so that they might employ their horses, which were then almost useless to them ; and raise a plenty of corn and wheat, pota- toes, squashes and tobacco, horses and cattle, sheep, hogs and poultry ; that I would show them and assist them what I could about building a mill, building houses, and making furniture for their houses; that I would make them wheels and show them about making looms ; and that my wife would learn their young women how to make their own eloth ; that our good people would send them on School-masters enough to School all their children for nothing ; that I would try to have them send on a blacksmith, who was a good man, and would mend their guns, and do all their work for them in the best manner, and at a much more reasonable price than what they had to give for it then, besides saving them the trouble of going a great distance for it. I told them that, as their land was excellent, if they would adopt this plan, and their young men would assist their women and chil- dren, they might enjoy all these privileges within a few years, without working hard, and that then they would have a comfortable home for their old people, and for those who were siek, where they could re- main through the winter whilst the others were gone to their hunting grounds; and, what was infinitely

more than all the rest, they might then enjoy the re- ligion of God's word, which, if they would rightly attend to it, would make them unspeakably happy forever. I then brought into view the consequences that would follow if they did not listen to this pro- posal. I told tbem that game was growing searee, and that, as the white people were settling round them, it would soon be too scaree for them to live by hunting; that if they did not teach their children to cultivate the land and raise their living ont of it as we did, that they would soon be so poor and hungry that they would not know what to do; that at best they would sell their excellent land for little or noth- ing, and be obliged to leave that pleasant River and delightful country and seek a home in some distant and unknown wilderness. And I observed to them that, since it was thus, Ihoped they would listen to my advice, and that they would not only prevent liquor from being brought into the proposed Village, but that they would entirely desist from drinking it ; that I would have them more afraid of those who brought it among them than those who came against them with fire-guns. To convince them of this, I as- sured them that the country between them and the Atlantic, which was once thiekly inhabited with In- dians, had become almost entirely depopulated, prin- eipally by means of this destroying liquor. And I added that this universal drunkenness was very dis- pleasing in the sight of God, and provoked Him to give them up to die, as it were, by their own hands; and that if they continued to go on as others had done, they must expeet ere long to be universally swept from the earth in like manner. I told them that they might think that they could not keep from drinking, but that if would strive against it, and pray to the Great Spirit to help them, that He would ena- ble them to keep from it ; that if they had any regard to their welfare, the least they could think of doing would be to accept of my assistance, and follow my adviee with respect to the Village I had proposed, and not suffer any liquor to come into that. I told them that I might have lived much happier at home among my dear friends and acquaintances, where we had everything that was comfortable around us; but knowing how much they needed my assistance, and having a great love for them, and being commanded by God, I had forsaken all, and had come a great dis- tanee to spend my days with them, in order to make them happy in this world and in the world to come ; that I had come by the desire of God's ministers and good people, who tenderly loved them, who had al- ways been their best and only true friends, both in time of war and in time of peace, and had always been praying to God for them, that they might enjoy those great privileges which they had now been at so mueb pains and expense to help them to; that I had not come merely of my own accord, or by the desire of those good people, but that 1 was sent there by God himself, who commanded them to listen to me ; that since it was thus, if they did not receive me, and attend to the good things which I was sent to teach them, they would make me very sorrowful, exceed- ingly grieve the hearts of (tod's ministers and people, and, what was inconceivable worse, they would dreadfully offend the God who had sent me, and make Him very angry with them. To conelude my speech to them, I told them that they were not to blame for not having this good religion sent to them before, but that if they rejected it now it was sent, rejected the goodness of God in sending it to them, and all our kind offers to them, which had eost us so much trouble and expense, they would certainly be inexcusable, and that I therefore hoped they would give me a favorable answer.

I was thus urgent with them, because I suspected that the most of them were determined not to receive me. They heard me with the more patience on ae-

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count of my having furnished them, in the first place, with as much tobacco as they could smoke. As the Trustees' address took up so much time, I should have been glad to have been much shorter ; but as I thought the ease doubtful, I was unwilling to omit anything which might be to the purpose. The most of the Chiefs remained together that night.

- They assembled on the grass the next day, at about 12 o'clock, and sent for me. Little Otter was well enough to attend and he delivered me the fol- lowing speech, with several of the ideas often re- peated :

" Brother, we listened to you yesterday, and beard all you had to say to us. Since that, we have been thinking of what you said to us, and have been talk- ing it over among ourselves and have made up our minds. Now, brother, if you will listen to us. we will give you an answer. But it is our way to be very short. Our white brothers, when they make speeches, are very lengthy. They read and write so much, that they get in a great many little things. But it is not so with your red brothers. When we go on any great business, and have any great things to say, we say them in a few words. Brother, we understand that you are sent out here by the Great Spirit, and by his good people, who live in one of the 16 fires. Brother, we believe you have not come alone, or of your own accord, but that you are sent out here, as you say, by the Great Spirit, and by some of His great black-gowns and great men who make laws. And we thank those great Fathers for being so kind to us. Brother, we like what you have said to us. We know that it is all true, and all very good. When you was talking, you kept looking up, and said a great deal to us about the Great Spirit. We believe that there is a Great Spirit, who has made the world, the sun, the moon, the stars, the ground, the water, the trees, and all the men, ereatures and things that are in the world. Brother, we understand that you have come to teach us and our children how to worship the Great Spirit, and what we must do to please Him, and be happy in this world and in the world to come. We understand that you want to have us raise a plenty of corn and wheat, horses and cattle, and all the other things and creatures that you raise ; and that you want us to live like the people that wear hats. And we believe that you and our great fathers that sent you, wish to do us all the good you can; that you want to make us happy, not only here, but in the world to come. Brother, we know that you spoke true, when you told us that our game was grow- ing scarce, and that it would soon be so that we could not live by hunting as we used to. We feel very poor, and we do not know how we are going to live or what we shall do. Now, brother, if you and your great black-gowns and Chiefs want to help us and make us happy, why don't you stop your people from settling so near us ? If you would do this, we might have game enough and do very well. Brother, we know that it is all true what you say to us about the stuff the white people make, which we like so well. We know that it makes us foolish and quarrelsome, and poor, and that it destroys us, and has greatly dimin- ished our number; that we used to be much bappier before it came among us, and that it would be much better for us to be entirely without it. You do know how to make it ; Indians don't know how to make it, and have nothing to make it of. If your people did not make it and bring it to us, we should not have it. And if we did not see it, we should not eare anything about it. But when we get a taste of it, we love it so well we do not know how to stop drinking. Brother, since it is so, why do you not stop your people from bringing it among us? If you would do this, then perhaps you might get us to come and live together in one Village, so that you might have an opportu- nity to instruct us and do us good. But until this

liquor is stopped, we shall quarrel so among ourselves when we get it, that we cannot many of us live to- gether in the same Village, and you will not be able to do anything with us.

" Brother, what you have said to us is all true, but we would not wish to steal the good words or keep them to ourselves. We understand that you was sent out to travel around and visit the Indians in order to find out their minds respecting this business. You have seen but a few Indians yet. There are a great many that live away back of us. If you was to go and see them all, it would take you two or three years. We think you had better go and talk with them all, and see what they think of it; and if they will agree to have black-gowns, we will agree to have one too. This is all the Red Brothers have to say to you."

Such was Little Otter's answer to the Chris- tian Missionary on the banks of the Maumee, 85 years ago. It was sadly confounding to Mr. Bacon, but it did not avail to avert the terrible doom which whisky so rapidly brought to Little Otter's people. Within 35 years of that time, but a miserable remnant of them had escaped the drunkard's end, and these were gathered up for. transportation beyond the Mississippi, surrendering their once proud pos- sessions in this Valley to the race who had plied them with the agency which caused their sad decay. Convinced that any further attempt he then might make in behalf of the poor aborigines would be fruitless of good, Mr. Bacon soon abandoned the field and passed on to Mackinaw. Of his trip and the situation there, he wrote :

I set sail on the 2d of June, with my family, in a convenient Schooner, for this place. Our accommo- dations were good, our Captain all kindness and at- tention, and were gently wafted to this place in seven days. The Indians are vastly more numerous here than at Detroit. I see none here but Ottawas and Chippewas. I believe that the Ottawas are much the most numerous just about here. They are accounted by both Nations to be the fathers of the Chippewas. I find, as I had been informed, that there is a good deal of difference between the language of these Indians, and those of the same Nations about Detroit. Some words seem wholly unlike; but the difference in general appears to be in the pronunciation, which is not so drawling, but much more agreeable to the English pronunciation. These Indians appear to be much more sprightly, eleanty, industrious and agree- able than those. I have not been able to talk with them much yet, for the want of an interpreter.

From what I can learn, I fear that it is not much better with the Indians at Arborerosh [Mackinaw ], on account of drinking and fighting, than it is with those at the Maumee. Hearing that they were mostly drunk, and not having an interpreter, I have not vis- ited them yet. Or, if it had not been for these diffi- enlties I do not know but I should have waited for the assistance of Colonel Hunt [Colonel Thomas Hunt, father of General John E. IIunt], as he is now expected every day, to take the command of this Post. Knowing that he was to be here so soon, I rather wished not to see them till he came. For it is said there are no Indians who pay so great respect to the commanding officer as these do; and he told me he would use all his influence in my favor. With all the forbidding circumstances in view, which I see attending my mission to these Indians, as I am not to look for miracles, I considered it a matter of the ut-

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most importance to avail myself of every circum- stanee in my favor, at my first introdnetion. With all these, I think it is very doubtful whether I shall be received by the Chiefs. There are two circum- stances against me which I have not mentioned. One is, that these Indians at Arborerosh have formerly had Roman Catholic Priests with them, to whom they adhered as strictly as could have been expected. Another circumstance not mentioned is, the Indians in general have an idea that Ministers have a power to send distempers or sickness among people, like their conjurers. And if any mortal disease breaks out among them while they are with them, they are supposed to be the authors of it. The Indians to this day tell that the Priests whom they had with them at Arborerosh, sent siekness among them. So that though they would be more likely to prefer the Roman Catholic than us, yet it does not seem very likely that they would wish for either to come among them. But if I cannot prevail on the Chiefs to re- ceive me, I mean to insist hard on their letting me have a number of their sons to educate here on the island, whilst 1 am learning their language, and I shall require them to find them food and clothes.

My present determination is to remain about here till in one way or another 1 get the language; and if I can get a good interpreter at a moderate expense, be preaching through the Summer to all the Indians who will hear me. As they are always absent through the Winter, I must try in that part of the time to be doing something to help support myself, either by a School;(which must be small) or by some kind of labor.

The editor of the Magazine appends the fol- lowing comments upon the report of Mr. Bacon :

The reader will perceive from Mr. Bacon's account of the Indians that one of the greatest obstacles in the way of propagating the gospel among them is the influence of the conjurers. These conjurers are the same as the powows spoken of in the history of the New England Indians. But the failure of this first attempt of Mr. Bacon ought not to discourage the friends of the Missionary cause; it should rather stimulate them to more vigorous exertions. The Indians on the Miami, from their proximity to the white people, have more free access to spirituous liquors, and are much more opposed to everything good than the tribes which live more remote. There is still reason to hope that to some of the tribes God will give a listening ear, and that he will prosper the labors of the Missionaries that may be sent among them.

About 1863, an aged gentleman, a Minister of the Gospel ( whose name is not remembered), called on Rev. W. W. Williams, Pastor of First Congregational Church, Toledo, and in conver- sation stated that his first visit to that locality was made in 1802, in company with the pioneer Missionary, Mr. Bacon, whose nephew he was. The gentleman said that at that time he was 16 years old, and well remembered what was the condition of things where Toledo now is, as also his uncle's experience with the Indians, the sole occupants of this region. He said that after remaining here for a short time, he started in a canoe for Dartmouth College, Massachusetts, with an Indian as his compan- ion, carrying his craft around the Falls of Niagara, and passing down Lake Ontario to the St. Lawrence, and on toward his destina- tion as far as water connection could be found ;

and finishing his journey on foot. Entering College, he pursned a course of study, and be- came a Clergyman, which profession had been his ealling. As a rule, students now do their boating after entering College.

Reverend JOSEPH BADGER. The connection of this gentleman with events in the early his- tory of this section, makes proper brief ref- erence to his active and useful life. He was born at Windham, Massachusetts, in 1757 ; grad- uated at Yale College in 1785. previous to which time he had served in the Revolutionary Army. In 1787 he was ordained to preach the Gospel. his first charge being a Church at Bland- ford, Mass., where he spent 14 years, to the satisfaction of the Church. The first Christian Minister who came to labor in Northern Ohio, he arrived in 1800, having been sent by a Con- nectient Missionary Society. Without religious organizations of any sort, and with no places for holding meeting except the cabins of the scattered pioneers, with here and there a log School-house, his field was one involving severe labor and great privation. But all these were not sufficient to repress the earnest zeal and devotion of his unreserved consecration to his work.

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History of the city of Toledo and Lucas County, Ohio, Part 114

Author: Waggoner, Clark, 1820-1903 Publication date: 1888 Publisher: New York and Toledo : Munsell & Company Number of Pages: 1408

Author: Waggoner, Clark, 1820-1903
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: New York and Toledo : Munsell & Company
Number of Pages: 1408