USA > Ohio > Auglaize County > History of western Ohio and Auglaize County, with illustrations and biographical sketches of pioneers and prominent public men > Part 25
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ner. When he had ended he sat down and another took his place, until all had recited their warlike deeds.
"The Shawnees worshipped only the Great Spirit, and be- lieve that all those who do right will go to Him when they take their departure from their hunting grounds below.
"Mr. Johnston used to tell an amusing story of what occur- red to him once when he visited Washington in 1835, on business. While there, he met his old friend Sur-wan-nock, the head chief of the Delawares, who was accompanied by fourteen warriors. An actor by the name of Ward was playing at Carousie's Theatre, 'The Merry Wives of Windsor.' The old chief proposed to Mr. Johnston to accompany him to the theatre, and he agreed to do so if Sur-wan-nock would furnish him a complete Indian dress. The old chief took him to his room, painted him carefully, did up his hair in Indian fashion, and furnished him a complete suit of buckskin, including leggings, moccasins, tomahawk, scalp- ing knife and belt, and a head dress ornamented with buffalo horns, which gave him quite a ferocious appearance. In due time they appeared at the theater and the play went on - the Indians attracting much attention. Mr. Johnston proposed to Sur-wan- nock that just before the curtain fell, at the last act, that they would rise and give the Indian war-whoop. They did so and produced a great sensation. After that the Indians had free tickets, and the old theater drew large crowds.
"Mr. Johnston lived to a hale old age and shot birds on the wing like a youth of twenty. As clear as a photograph to me is the remembrance of him dressed in his buck-skin hunting suit with his capacious game bag slung across his shoulders, and carrying his trusty gun. He would start from his home in the early morning, and when he returned, the game bag was over- flowing, for he was a successful Nimrod.
"He lived happily until his death with his good wife, whom every one loved as well as he. He used to tell with a chuckle how several of the Indian chiefs offered him their daughters in marriage - a proposition he respectfully declined. Few men had such opportunities to study the character of the red men of the forest as Mr. Johnston, and few were better acquainted with their characteristics."
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ORGANIZATION OF COUNTIES AND THE PURCHASE OF THE SHAWNEE RESERVATION.
Within three years, dating from 1817, the counties of Allen, Hardin, Shelby, Dark, Mercer and Van Wert were organized. An inspection of the location of these counties shows that the Indian reservation at Wapakoneta was entirely surrounded by them. The sale of public lands in these counties was so rapid and .the volume of immigration so great in the next five or six years, that it became apparent to the government agents that it would become necessary, ere long, to remove the Indian tribes of Ohio, to localities remote from civilization. As early as 1828, petitions were presented to Congress, importuning that body to purchase the Indian reservations of Ohio, and to transport the red men to territories beyond the Mississippi. The agitation of the purchase was pressed with so much energy that James Gard- ner, of Columbus, was appointed by the Government in 1831, to confer with the Shawnee Indians at Wapakoneta, and submit proposals to them for the purchase of their lands. Accordingly, in the summer of 1831, James Gardner, then residing in Colum- bus, sent a message to the chiefs at Wapakoneta, that he would visit them in a few days to make proposals to them for the pur- chase of their lands.
This was the first intimation received by the chiefs from the Government since the lands were ceded to them, that such a proposal was contemplated. As may be imagined the Indians were thrown into a state of great excitement by the message. A council was called by the chiefs to consider the message. Henry Harvey, the Quaker missionary and historian, was present at the meeting by invitation and has given a very full account of the negotiations that followed. A lengthy discussion ensued at the council, in which, by the advice of Harvey, they refused to sell their lands, and sent a reply to Gardner, not to come to Wapakoneta with any such proposals, as they would not meet him.
Their reply availed them little. In the years that were past, many of the Indians had bought goods on credit from the traders. These same white traders were now employed by Gardner in car- rying forward his designs. They approached their creditors with demands that were greatly in excess of what was justly due.
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They offered the chiefs large bribes to use their influence in inducing the nation to sell.
It did not require a great length of time for the traders to induce certain unsophisticated chiefs to accept their promised bribes. Whilst the agents were engaged in their work of bribery and intimidation, the chiefs received a second communication from Gardner, informing them that he would be at Wapakoneta on a certain day, and desired the chiefs to meet him there, at the time proposed. At the time appointed the commissioner arrived.
Before calling the chiefs together, however, he decided to dispense with the services of every person who might be an impedi- ment in carrying out his designs. Francis Duchouquet, an aged Frenchman, who had been the interpreter in many treaties under Governor Cass and John Johnston, was first made drunk by the traders, and then removed by the commissioner. It is needless to say that a man was appointed, who was capable of interpreting the negotiations to suit the desires of the commissioner.
Henry Harvey states that "on the opening of the council, the commissioner first read a part of his instructions from the President through the Secretary of War, but not all. He then commenced his speech about noon, and continued it until even- ing, without coming to a close, and finished the next morning. In his speech he told the Indians that they were in a deplorable condition, surrounded by. bad white people, and likely soon to be in a much worse condition; that the white people were now selling them whiskey which was ruining them; that the game was nearly gone; that worse than all this, the State of Ohio would soon extend her laws over them, and, in order that they might know the real condition they would be in, he could tell what those laws would be. He said the laws would compel them to pay tax for the benefit of the white people, and allow them no advantages under those laws, or from the money thus paid by them; that the laws would compel them to work on the public roads in each year; that the laws would be so made that the white people might swear to debts against the Indians and col- lect them, but that none of them would be allowed to collect a debt by law, unless they could prove it by a white man; that white men might turn horses and cattle in their grain fields and destroy it all, but unless they could prove the facts by a white per- ·son, they would have no remedy; that they might be beaten or
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killed by white men- no matter how many Indians were injured - unless they could prove it by a white man, they had, or would have, no remedy. And many other things he said to them in order, no doubt, to induce them to sell on almost any terms he might wish to offer to them, which, when through with these things, he declared that just in that way Georgia had treated the Cherokees; and again assured them that, as sure as they remained here, that the State of Ohio would do as Georgia had done; that it was a right which was guaranteed to them by the Constitution of the United States, and that Congress would not interfere but leave to the State the right to regulate their own: affairs as they might see proper, etc.
"After he had thus alarmed them in regard to their present and future condition, in case they concluded to adhere to their former resolution of remaining in Ohio, he said he would now tell them that, in case they would now sell their land and go west, that their great father, General Jackson, would make them rich. He told them that there was a good rich country laid off for all the Indians to move to, west of the State of Missouri, purposely for them, which never would be within any state or territory of the United States; where there was plenty of buffalo, elk, deer ; where they could live well without working at all.
"He told them that if they would sell their land in Ohio, that the Government would give them in exchange, for the land they held in Ohio, one hundred thousand acres of good land, which should be laid off adjoining the tract of fifty miles square, which was ceded to their brethren, the Shawnees, of Missouri,. by Governor Clark, at St. Louis, in the year 1825, and on which they were living. That if they should agree now to sell, that Government would send a surveyor out with them when they removed there, and that they might select the land he now offered them near the Shawnees, who are already there; that the surveyor would at once survey and mark it out for them, and that Government would make them a good warranty deed for it, so they should hold it forever.
"That the United States (said he,) wanted their land, they were willing that the Shawnees should have all it could be sold for, over and above the cost of surveying and selling it and the cost of removing and feeding them at their new homes, for one year after their arrival in that country ; that as their friends the
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Quakers, had erected a grist-mill and saw-mill at Wapakoneta for them, free of cost to the Government, the United States would build, at its own expense, good mills in their new country, in lieu of those they have in Ohio, and pay the Indians in cash, the amount of what good men may adjudge their improvements to be worth, in order to enable them to make improvements at their new homes, and that the Government would give them guns, to kill the game in the prairies ; also tools of every description to work with, and all their lands being over seventy cents per acre the Indians should have, which should be placed in the United States treasury, and five per cent. interest paid them annually, until they may wish to draw the whole sum.
"He concluded by declaring that the Indians never had been honestly treated with, by any man in the United States; though, said he, he knew that the Indians and whites, too, generally made one exception, and that was, William Penn; but Gardner declared that Penn had basely cheated the Indians out of their lands, and acted no better than a horse-thief. He declared, in conclusion, that if they would now sell their land, that the Gov- ernment would make them rich; he then told them that he would leave them and return in about four weeks, when they could return their answer.
"The Shawnees were much divided about selling; those who had made the greatest advancement in improvement were all opposed to the idea of leaving their homes; but such as were idle, dissipated fellows urged the measure - and those, backed by the traders with bribes, outnumbered the others, and word was con- veyed, by a few of the chiefs to the commissioner to come on and close the contract. He accordingly attended, and on the chiefs again assembling, he renewed the same offer/as before, and urged them strongly to sell. He told them among other things, that they ought always to listen to the advice of white people, because they were wiser than the red people, as the red people were wiser than the blacks. He said the Great Spirit created them so, as their complexion plainly showed, and more of the like; after again talking the whole day, he concluded in the evening.
"On the day following the close of Gardner's address, Way- weleapy, the Shawnee orator replied to him. Addressing the commissioner, he remarked that in the two days' speech to which
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they had listened, some things had been said which were very good, but that there had also been things said that were not very good. Now, for his own part, he said he did not pretend to know much about so great a Being, neither did he intend to make a long speech like the commissioner had done ; but he did not think his friend knew much about the Great Spirit, from the notions he had about him. Now, said Wayweleapy, I believe that the Great Spirit made all men alike; but my friend thinks He made three distinct classes of men. He says, to the white man Hè gave a white skin and a great deal of sense; to the Indian, a red skin, and a little less sense; and to the negro a black skin, and a very little sense. Now, said he, is not this a very curious idea about our great Creator ? Continuing, he said he did not believe the statement. He believed that the Great Spirit cre- ated all men alike, of the same blood, but if he did, as his friend had said, create them so very different that one race was so much superior to the others, how had he found out that it was his own race that was so much wiser than the others were? For his part he did not believe it; but, if true, it was very likely that it was the Indians who had the most sense given them. But for this part, he believed, as he said before, that all men were created alike, but they became very wicked and very dark for a long time, but at length God placed a great ball of fire in the east (pointing in that direction), which rose higher and higher, and dispelled the darkness, and when it arrived at the highest point in the heavens, burst and entered every one's heart - and from that time, every one is enlightened, and we are still all on the same equality. These, he said, were his notions about the matter. .
"He then told the commissioner that the Shawnees had agreed to sell their land, if he would give them for it what he had offered them, and in addition, would pay their debts, which was common in Indian treaties.
"The commissioner informed the Indians that he would have a clause in the treaty binding the Government to pay all their debts; that he would not say what amount was due from them, that was not his business, but he would leave that to the chiefs, and all the debts which they should acknowledge to be just, the Government would pay out of its own money, and not take one cent from the Shawnees.
"He then told the chiefs that he had the treaty all drawn
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up in order, that it was very long, and as it was then late in the day, there would not be time to read it over, but he declared that it did contain what he had offered them in every particular. He asked them to come forward and sign it, but they hesitated for a long time, and appeared to fear that all was not right, or he would have read to them the treaty before asking them to sign it, but at length they signed the instrument; but to the last, they were very obstinate relative to the payment of their debts."
The treaty, following, taken from the Public Records of Indian Treaties, recorded at Washington, shows how well Gard- ner complied with his promises :
SALE OF INDIAN RESERVATION AT WAPAKONETA.
Articles of agreement and convention made and concluded at Wapaghkonnetta, in the county of Allen, and State of Ohio, on the eighth day of August, in the year of our Lord one thou- sand eight hundred and thirty-one, by and between James B. Gar- diner, especially appointed commissioner on the part of the. United States, and John McElvain, Indian agent for the Wyan- dots, Senecas, and Shawnees residing in the State of Ohio, on the one part and the undersigned principal chiefs, head-men, and' warriors of the tribe of Shawnee Indians residing at Wapagh- konnetta and Hog Creek, within the territorial limits of the organized county of Allen, in the State of Ohio.
Whereas the President of the United States, under the authority of the act of Congress approved May 28, 1830, has appointed a special commissioner to confer with the different Indian tribes residing within the constitutional limits of the State of Ohio, and to offer for their acceptance the provisions of the before-recited act ; and
Whereas the tribe or band of Shawnee Indians residing at Wapaghkonnetta and on Hog Creek, in the said State, have expressed their perfect assent to the conditions of the said act, and their willingness and anxiety to remove west of the Missis- sippi River, in order to obtain a more permanent and advan- tageous home for themselves and their posterity: Therefore,
In order to carry into effect the aforesaid objects, the fol- lowing articles of convention have been agreed upon by the afore- said contracting parties, which, when ratified by the President
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of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, shall be mutually binding upon the United States and the said Shawnee Indians :
ARTICLE I. The tribe or band of Shawnee Indians residing at Wapaghkonnetta and on Hog Creek, in the State of Ohio, in consideration of the stipulations herein made on the part of the United States, do forever cede, release, and quit-claim to the United States the lands granted to them by patent in fee-simple by the sixth section of the treaty made at the foot of the rapids of the Miami River of Lake Erie, on the 29th day of September, in the year of our Lord 1817, (proclaimed January 4, 1819,) containing one hundred and twenty-five sections or square miles, and granted in two reservations, and described in said sixth section of the aforesaid treaty as follows: "A tract of land ten miles square, the center of which shall be the council-house at Wa- paghkonnetta," and "a tract of land containing twenty-five square miles, which is to join the tract granted at Wapaghkonnetta, and to include the Shawnee settlement on Hog Creek, and to be laid off as nearly as possible in a square form, "which said two tracts or reservations of land were granted as aforesaid to the said Shawnee Indians by the patents signed by the Commissioner of the General Land-Office and certified by the Secretary of War, dated the twentieth day of April, 1821. Also, one other tract of land, granted to the said Shawnees by the second article of the treaty made at St. Mary's, in the State of Ohio, on the 17th day of September, (proclaimed January 4, 1819,) in the year 1818, and described therein as follows: "Twelve thousand eight hun- dred acres of land, to be laid off adjoining the east line of their reserve of ten miles square at Wapaghkonnetta," making, in the whole of the aforesaid cessions to the United States by the afore- said Shawnees, one hundred and forty-five sections or square miles, which includes all the land now owned or claimed by the said band or tribe of Shawnees in the State of Ohio.
ARTICLE 2. In consideration of the cessions stipulated in the foregoing article, the United States agree to cause the said tribe or band of Shawnees, consisting of about four hundred souls, to be removed, in a convenient and suitable manner, to the western side of the Mississippi River, and will grant by patent in fee-simple to them and their heirs forever, as long as they shall exist as a nation and remain upon the same, a tract of land to
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contain one hundred thousand acres, to be located, under the direction of the President of the United States, within the tract of land equal to fifty miles square, which was granted to the Shawnee Indians of the State of Missouri by the second article of a treaty made at the city of Saint Louis, in said State, with the said Shawnees of Missouri, by William Clark, superintendent of Indian affairs, on the 7th day of November, in the year 1825, and in which it is provided that the grant aforesaid shall be for the Shawnee tribe of Indians within the State of Missouri, "and for those of the same nation now residing in Ohio who may here- after emigrate to the west of the Mississippi"; but if there should not be a sufficiency of good land unoccupied by the Shawnee Indians who have already settled on the tract granted as afore- said by the said treaty of Saint Louis, then the tract of one hundred thousand acres hereby granted to the said Shawnees of Ohio, parties to this compact, shall be located under the direc- tion of the President of the United States on lands contiguous to the said Shawnees of Missouri, or on any other unappropriated lands within the district of country designed for the emigrating Indians of the United States.
ARTICLE 3. The United States will defray the expenses of the removal of the said band or tribe of Shawnees, and will, moreover, supply them with a sufficiency of good and wholesome · provisions to support them for one year after their arrival at their new residence.
ARTICLE 4. Out of the first sales to be made of the lands herein ceded by the said Shawnees, the United States will cause a good and substantial saw-mill and a grist-mill, built in the best manner, and to contain two pair of stones and a good bolting cloth, to be erected on the lands granted to the said Shawnees west of the Mississippi, and said mills shall be solely for their use and benefit. The United States will, out of the sales of the ceded lands, as aforesaid, cause a blacksmith-shop (to contain all the necessary tools) to be built for the said Shawnees at their intended residence, and a blacksmith shall be employed by the United States, as long as the President thereof may deem proper, to execute all necessary and useful work for said Indians.
ARTICLE 5. In lieu of the improvements which have been made on the lands herein ceded, it is agreed that the United States shall advance to the said Shawnees, (for the purpose of
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enabling them to erect houses and open farms at their intended. residence,) the sum of thirteen thousand dollars, to be re- imbursed from the sales of the lands herein ceded by them to the United States. A fair and equitable distribution of this sum shall be made by the chiefs of the said Shawnees, with the consent of the people, in general council assembled, to such indi- viduals of their tribe who have made improvements on the lands herein ceded, and may be properly entitled to the same.
ARTICLE 6. The farming utensils, live-stock, and other chat- tel property which the said Shawnees now own, and may not be able to carry with them, shall be sold, under the superintend- ence of some suitable person, appointed by the Secretary of War for that purpose, and the proceeds paid over to the owners of such property respectively.
ARTICLE 7. The United States will expose to public sale, to the highest bidder, in the manner of selling the public lands, the tracts of land herein ceded by the said Shawnees. And after deducting from the proceeds of such sales the sum of seventy cents per acre, exclusive of the cost of surveying, the cost of the grist-mill, saw-mill, and blacksmith-shop, and the aforesaid sum of thirteen thousand dollars, to be advanced in lieu of improvements, it is agreed that any balance which may remain of the avails of the lands after sale, as aforesaid, shall consti- tute a fund for the future necessities of said tribe, parties to this .
compact, on which the United States agree to pay to the chiefs, for the use and general benefit of their people, annually, five per centum on the amount of said balance, as an annuity, said fund to be continued during the pleasure of Congress, unless the chiefs of the said tribe or band, by and with the consent of their people, in general council assembled, should desire that the fund thus to be created should be dissolved and paid over to them, in which case the President shall cause the same to be so paid, if, in his discretion, he shall believe the happiness and prosperity of said tribe would be promoted thereby.
ARTICLE 8. It is agreed that any annuities accruing to the said band or tribe of Shawnees by former treaties shall be paid to them at their intended residence west of the Mississippi, under the direction of the President.
ARTICLE 9. In consideration of the good conduct and friendly dispositions of the said band of Shawnees towards the
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American Government, and as an earnest of the kind feelings and good wishes of the people of the United States for the future welfare and happiness of the said Shawnees, it is agreed that the United States will give them as presents the following articles, to be fairly divided by the chiefs among their people according to their several necessities, to wit: two hundred blank- ets, forty ploughs, forty sets of horse-gears, one hundred and fifty hoes, fifty axes, and Russia sheeting sufficient for fifty tents ; the whole to be delivered to them as soon as practicable after their arrival at their new residence, except the blankets and Russia . sheeting, which shall be given previously to their removal.
ARTICLE IO. The lands granted by this agreement and con- vention to the said band or tribe of Shawnees shall not be sold nor ceded by them, except to the United States. And the United States guarantee that said lands shall never be within the bounds of any State or Territory, nor subject to the laws thereof; and further, that the President of the United States will cause said tribe to be protected at their intended residence against all inter- ruption or disturbance from any other tribe or nation of Indians, or from any other person or persons whatever, and he shall have the same care and superintendence over them in the country to which they are to remove that he has heretofore had over them at their present place of residence.
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