USA > Ohio > The Ohio country between the years 1783 and 1815 : including military operations that twice saved to the United States the country west of the Alleghany Mountains after the revolutionary war > Part 10
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O N January 27, 1807, Henry Dearborn, Secre- tary of War, sent a commission to William Hull, Governor of Michigan Territory, and Super- intendent of Aborigine Affairs there, with instruc- tions to hold a treaty council with the Aborigines, who were becoming very restless and aggressive. Governor Hull issued a call to the different tribes for a council at Detroit; but the Aborigines did not attend. Two other calls were sent to them, and President Jefferson directed him to com-
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municate to them the continued friendly inten- tions and offices of the United States. The sequel proved that their desires to respond to the invita- tions to council had been thwarted by Captain Alexander McKee, the British agent. Finally, they evaded McKee and his aids, and went to Detroit for council, in which they proclaimed the intrigue of the British to again more closely ally them to their aid "for the war likely to ensue with the United States."
Between seven and eight hundred Aborigines had been invited to Malden, now Amherstburg, where intoxicating beverages and promises pre- vailed. During October and November many hundreds of these Aborigines were unavoidably fed at Detroit by Governor Hull, while on their way to and from the British Fort Malden in- fluence, and also during the council, notwith- standing the direction of the Secretary of War, that from fifty to one hundred was as great a number as ought to be allowed to attend.
A prominent feature of this council with Gover- nor Hull, and one that was remembered and repeated by the Aborigines, was the expression of President Jefferson that the Aborigines should remain quiet spectators and not participate in the quarrels of others, particularly those of the
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white people; and that the United States was strong enough to fight its own battles; and that it was evidence of weakness on the part of any people to want the aid of the Aborigines.
Finally, at Detroit, November 17, 1807, a treaty was effected with the Chippewa, Ottawa, Pottawotami, and Wyandot tribes in which they deeded to the United States all their claims to the country north of the middle of the Maumee River, from its mouth in Maumee Bay and Lake Erie, to the mouth of the Auglaize River; thence extending north to the latitude of the south part of Lake Huron, thence east to and southward along the Canadian boundary. For their claim to this territory, as in all former treaties and transfers, they were well paid, receiving ten thousand dollars in money and goods as first pay- ment, and were to receive an annuity of two thousand and four hundred dollars. They were given, also, the option of money, goods, imple- ments of husbandry, and domestic animals, from which to choose. Of these sums the Chippewas received one third, the Ottawas one third, and the Pottawotamis and Wyandots each one sixth. This treaty further informed them that
"the United States, to manifest their liberality, and disposition to encourage the said Aborigines in agri-
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culture, further stipulate to furnish the said Aborig- ines with two blacksmiths during the term of ten years, one to reside with the Chippewas at Saginaw, and the other to reside with the Ottawas at the Maumee [presumably at the mouth of the Auglaize]. Said blacksmiths are to do such work for the said nations as shall be most useful to them."
The principal object of this treaty and purchase was to keep the Aborigines as far from the British as possible. As in former treaties, however, the Aborigines were to have the privilege of hunting for game animals on the ceded lands as long as the lands remained the distinctive property of the United States, and during the good behavior of the Aborigines.
Certain tracts of this land were also reserved for the exclusive use of certain prominent Aborig- ines, viz .: Six miles square on the north bank of the Maumee above Roche de Bout "to include the village where Tondagame [Tontogany], or the dog, now lives" (probably near the present Grand Rapids, Ohio). Another reservation for them was
"three miles square above the twelve miles square ceded to the United States at the Treaty of Green- ville, including what is called Presque Isle [on left bank of Maumee River below the present Waterville]; also four miles square on the Miami [Maumee] Bay,
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including the villages where Meshkemau and Waugau now live. . It is further understood and agreed, that whenever the reservations cannot conveniently be laid out in squares, they shall be laid out in parallel- ograms or other figures as found most practicable and convenient, so as to obtain the area specified in miles; and in all cases they are to be located in such manner and in such situations as not to interfere with any improvements of the French or other white people, or any former cession."
American settlers continued to gather in Ohio, and some took residence on these United States Reservations at the Foot of the Rapids of the Maumee. The necessity for roads to connect the settlements in Ohio with those in Michigan be- coming more apparent, Governor Hull was directed to secure cession of lands for such roads from the Aborigines. Accordingly, at Brownstown, Michi- gan, November 25, 1808, a treaty was held with the sachems, chiefs, and warriors of the Chippewa, Ottawa, Pottawotami, Shawnee, and Wyandot tribes, in which they quit-claimed a tract of land, one hundred and twenty feet in width, for a road from the foot of the lowest rapids of the Maumee River eastward to the western line of the Con- necticut Reserve; also all the land within one mile of each side of this roadway for the settlement of white people:
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"Also a tract of land for road only, of one hundred and twenty feet in width to run southwardly from what is called Lower Sandusky [now Fremont, Ohio] to the boundary line established by the Treaty of Greenville; with the privilege of taking, at all times, such timber and other materials from the adjacent lands as may be necessary for making and keeping in repair the said road, with the bridges that may be required along the same."
No compensation was given the Aborigines in money or merchandise for these roadways, as "they were desirable and beneficial to the Abo- rigine nations as well as to the United States," reads a clause in the deed of quit-claim.
Indiana Territory, from its organization in 1802, had extended to the Mississippi River. The settlements had increased to such numbers, however, that the "Illinois Country" was or- ganized into Illinois Territory, February 3, 1809.
For several years, the Aborigines had mani- fested an increasing restlessness, which was attributed by Captain Dunham and other Ameri- can officers to the influence of the British who were trading among them, and those at Fort Malden where they received supplies.
The idea first taught to the Savages by the early French, in opposition to the British, first exploited by Pontiac in 1763 against the British,
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and then amplified with greater force by the British among the Savages against the Americans from the beginning of the Revolutionary War- of a confederation of all the tribes, and that all lands should be claimed by them collectively, and that no claims should be disposed of, nor any advance of the Americans upon the lands be permitted-was being revived, and again urged before the Aborigines by the British and a few Frenchmen in their interest. In 1805 Tecumseh, an energetic Shawnee brave, began therefrom to repeat the history of Pontiac, the Americans being the people conspired against.
The increasing purchases of claims by the United States were for the purpose of getting the Aborigines farther from British influence, and getting American settlers between them and the British. The object of getting the Aborigines on small tracts of land was that they might be led away from their roaming, hunting habits, and thereby be easier led to agricultural pursuits, and into closer sympathy with Americans; but these worthy objects and acts in their interests were reacting against the Americans.
With the rapid increase of settlers on the lands purchased, and their beginning to clear away the forest; the organization of territories, states, and
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counties, with their courts and closer govern- ment, came the exciting of apprehension among the lawless traders, agents, and loungers in the camps of the Aborigines, the chronically meddle- some British, from trade interests at least, inciting them to renewed intrigues.
Tecumseh's reputed brother Elskwatawa had recently removed with other Shawnees from the Scioto River, Ohio, to the Tippecanoe River, Indiana, where he soon gained something of a notoriety as a sorcerer. He began to tell of his dreams and visions, and to claim the knowledge and power of a prophet inspired and commissioned by the Great Spirit to lead the Aborigines back to the condition of their ancestors before the coming of the Americans. All of this chicanery forcibly appealed to the younger Aborigines and warriors, who were ever ready to embrace any superstition or act offering exploitation. The remarkable pretensions of Elskwatawa spread from the Shawnee town by the Tippecanoe River to other and distant tribes, being carried by runners, including Tecumseh, who travelled rapidly from tribe to tribe between Lake Erie and the Mississippi River, and from the upper lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.
These actions of Tecumseh, the "Prophet,"
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and many of the younger Aborigines who were anxious for any new movement promising excite- ment, were understood by Governor Harrison as a concerted effort to marshal the Aborigines as British allies again against the United States.
Since the campaign of General Wayne a new generation of young Aborigines, fed from the rations supplied to their parents by the United States, had developed into warriors anxious for excitement and ready at short notice to follow any leader whose project appeared probable to gratify their savage impulses.
Letters were soon received by the Secretary of War, from the several military posts throughout the western country, regarding the increasing hostility of the Aborigines, and their threatenings to exterminate Americans, also of their being aided by the British.
General William Clark wrote from St. Louis, April 5, 1809, that the "Prophet's emissaries" had been industriously employed, during the latter part of the winter and spring, privately councilling with, and attempting to seduce to war against the frontier settlements, the Kickapoos, Saukeys, and other bands by the Mississippi and Illinois rivers.
Captain William Wells wrote from Fort Wayne,
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the 8th of April, that the Aborigines appeared to be agitated respecting the conduct, and as they said the intentions, of the Shawnee Prophet.
"The Chippewas, Ottawas, and Pottawotamis are hurrying away from him, and say that their reason for so doing is because he has told them to receive the tomahawk from him and destroy all the white people at Vincennes and Ohio, as low down as the mouth of the Ohio and as high up as Cincinnati; that the Great Spirit had directed that they should do so, at the same time threatening them with destruction if they re- fused to comply with what he proposed."
General Clark wrote from St. Louis, April 30th :
"I have the honor to enclose you a copy of a letter which confirms my suspicions of the British inter- ference with our Indian affairs in this country. The following is an extract from the letter from Boilvin: . . . I am at present in the fire receiving Aborigine news every day. A chief of the Puant nation appears to be employed by the British to get all the nations of Aborigines to Malden to see their fathers the British, who tell them that they pity them in their situation with the Americans, because the Amer- icans had taken their lands and their game; that they must join and send them off from their lands. They said they had but one father that had helped them in their misfortunes, and that they should assemble, defend their father, and keep their lands.' It appears that four English subjects have been at Riviere a la Roche this winter in disguise; they have
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been there to get the nations together and send them on the American frontiers."
Governor Harrison wrote from Vincennes, May 3, 1809, of his "decided opinion that the Prophet will attack our settlements. About eight days ago he had with him about three hundred and fifty warriors well armed with rifles; they have also bows and arrows, war clubs, and a kind of spear."
The Factor (Agent) of the American Trading Post at Sandusky, S. Tupper, wrote, June 7th, that, "the conduct of the British traders in intro- ducing spirituous liquors among the Aborigines in this part of the country, and their determined hostility to the measures of our Government, have long been subjects of complaint; and their infamous stories have embarrassed our opera- tions."
Governor Hull wrote from Detroit, June 16th, that, "the influence of the Prophet has been great, and his advice to the Aborigines injurious to them and to the United States. We have the fullest evidence that his object has been to form a combination of them in hostility to the United States. The powerful influence of the British has been exerted in a way alluring to the savage character."
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Complaints also came to the Secretary of War that British agents were inciting the Aborigines along the western shore of Lake Michigan, and supplying them with guns and ammunition.
General Harrison wrote from Vincennes, July 5th, that
"The Shawnee Prophet and about forty followers arrived here about a week ago. He denies most strenuously any participation in the late combination to attack our settlements. ... I must confess that my suspicions of his guilt have been rather strength- ened than diminished at each interview I have had with him since his arrival. He acknowledged that he received an invitation to war against us from the British last fall, and that he was apprised of the intention of the Sacs, Foxes, etc., early in the spring, and was warmly solicited to join in their league. . . . The result of all my enquiries on the subject is, that the late combination was produced by British in- trigue and influence in anticipation of war between them and the United States. It was, however, premature and ill-judged."
Governor Harrison, in council with Aborigines at Fort Wayne, September 30, 1809, succeeded, however, in further purchasing their claims to two tracts of land in Indiana Territory west of the Greenville treaty line and adjoining former purchases, the stipulated price being permanent annuities of five hundred dollars to the Delawares,
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five hundred dollars to the Miamis, two hundred and fifty dollars to the Eel River Miamis, and five hundred to the Pottawotamis. The Miamis, by separate article of same date, as additional compensation, were promised that at Fort Wayne the next spring, they would receive domestic animals to the value of five hundred dollars, and a like number for the two following years; and that an armorer should be also main- tained at Fort Wayne for the use of the Aborigines as heretofore. In treaty with the Kickapoos at Vincennes, December 9th, Governor Harrison purchased claims to land northwest of the Wabash River, adjoining the Vincennes tract, the con- sideration being a permanent annuity of four hundred dollars, and goods to the amount of eight hundred dollars. By this last treaty the Miamis were to receive a further annuity of two hundred dollars, and the Eel River tribes or bands one hundred dollars each.
CHAPTER XV
RESULTS OF FURTHER REMISSNESS OF THE GOVERNMENT
Regarding Trading Posts or Agencies-Conspiracy of the British and Tecumseh Deepens-Reports from Military Posts-Battle of Tippecanoe-Continued Organization and Depredations by the Allied Enemies of the United States-Missouri Territory Organized-More Cannibal- ism by the Savages.
T RADING Agencies had been established among the Aborigine tribes several years after, and according to, the suggestions of General Wayne, after the treaty of Greenville in 1795. The report to the Secretary of War, December 3I, 1809, of J. Mason, Superintendent of these Agencies, styled Factories, possesses features of interest in this connection. There were at this date twelve establishments of this character, eight of which were in the South and Southwest, viz .: Fort Hawkins, Georgia; Chickasaw Bluffs, Mississippi Territory; Fort St. Stephens by the
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Mobile River; Fort Osage by the Missouri River; Fort Madison by the upper Mississippi River; Natchitoches by the Red River of the South; Fort Wayne at the head of the Maumee River; Chicago at the southwestern part of Lake Michigan, established in 1805; Sandusky, Ohio, established in 1806; Detroit, established in 1802, and dis- continued in 1805 on account of its nearness to the British supply house at Fort Malden; and the Agency at Michilimackinac, established in I808.
The net assets of these Agencies or Factories at the close of the year 1809 was $235,461.64. The amount of appropriations at the close of I8II was $300,000 exclusive of officers' salaries, which then amounted to about $35,000 annually. From 1807 to 1811 inclusive, the profit was $14,17I. The southern Factories reported losses, principally on account of the greater difficulty of communication.
Details of but one of these Factories will be given. The principal one, at Fort Wayne, was organized in 1802. Colonel John Johnston was the Factor in 1809, with salary of $1000 per year, and subsistence allowance of $365. Wil- liam Oliver, his clerk, received salary of $250 a year and $150 for subsistence. The inventory
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of October 5th showed: Merchandise, Peltries, etc., on hand, $5,020.75; Accounts Receivable, per return of March, $2,112.72; Buildings, esti- mated at about one half of cost, $500. Mer- chandise forwarded by the government to Fort Wayne, July 28th, and not included in the above amounted to $4,686.87.
The peltries taken in exchange for merchandise at these Trading Houses were: beaver, first quality, two dollars each, second quality, one dollar; dressed deer skins, one dollar and fifty cents; wolf skins, one dollar; muskrat, raccoon, wildcat, and fox skins, twenty-five cents each; otter, two dollars and fifty cents; bear, first quality, one dollar and fifty cents, second quality, one dollar. Tallow, twelve and a half cents a pound, and beeswax at twenty cents also entered into the accounts.
The British continued, however, to command most of the beaver and other of the best fur trade.
Tecumseh and the Prophet continued active. The additional councils and purchases of claims to land at Fort Wayne and Vincennes were alleged as new incentives. General Harrison wrote to the Secretary of War, June 14, 1810, that :
"I have received information from various sources which has produced entire conviction in my mind,
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that the Prophet is organizing a most extensive combination against the United States." Another letter, dated the 26th of June, informs that: "Winemac [a friendly Aborigine] assured me that the Prophet not long since proposed to the young men to murder the principal chiefs of all the tribes; observing that their hands would never be untied until this was effected; that these were the men who had sold their lands, and who would prevent opposing the encroach- ments of the white people. An Iowa Indian informs me that two years ago this summer an agent from the British arrived at the Prophet's town and, in his presence, delivered a message with which he was charged, the substance of which was to urge the Prophet to unite as many tribes as he could against the United States, but not to commence hostilities until they gave the signal. " 1
On July II, 1810, General Harrison again wrote that:
"I have received a letter from Fort Wayne which confirms the information of the hostile designs and combination of the Indians. The people in the
1 The reader will bear in mind in this connection the strained relations of the United States and Great Britain which had existed since the Revolutionary War, and which frequently received fresh incentives from the impressment of American seamen, the searchings of American ships, the unjust discriminations in trade, as well as overt acts in this western country. The continued arrogance and aggressive- ness of the British in Canada, with their efforts to control the Savages throughout the United States, show that the British ulterior designs on this western country remained unabated.
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neighborhood where the horses were stolen are so much alarmed that they are collecting together for their defense."
Again on July 18th:
"From the Iowas I learn that the Sacs and Foxes have actually received the tomahawk and are ready to strike whenever the Prophet gives the signal. A considerable number of Sacs went some time since to see the British Superintendent and, on the first instant, fifty more passed Chicago for the same destination. A Miami chief who has just returned from his annual visit to Malden, after having re- ceived the accustomed donation of goods was thus addressed by the British agent: 'My son keep your eyes fixed on me; my tomahawk is now up; be you ready, but do not strike until I give the signal.'"
General Clark wrote from St. Louis, July 20th, that:
"A few weeks ago the post-rider on his way from Vincennes to this place was killed, and the mail lost; since that time we have had no communication with Vincennes. A part of the Sacs and the greatest part of the Kickapoos who reside east of the Mississippi have been absent some time on a visit to the Indian Prophet. One hundred and fifty Sacs are on a visit to the British Agent by invitation, and a smaller party on a visit to the Island of St. Joseph in Lake Huron."
On July 25th, General Harrison again wrote in part as follows:
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"There can be no doubt of the designs of the Prophet and the British Agent of Indian Affairs [Alexander McKee?] to do us injury. This agent is a refugee from the neighborhood of- -[Pitts- burg] and his implacable hatred of his native country prompted him to take part with the Aborigines in the battle between them and General Wayne's army. [See ante.] He has, ever since his appointment to the principal agency, used his utmost endeavors to excite hostilities, and the lavish manner in which he is allowed to scatter presents amongst them, shews that his government participates in his enmity and authorizes his measures."
Governor Hull wrote from Detroit, July 27th, in part as follows:
"Large bodies of Indians from the westward and southward continue to visit the British post at Am- herstburg [Malden] and are supplied with provisions, arms, ammunition, etc. Much more attention is paid to them than usual."
On August 7th, Captain John Johnston, Agent of the Fort Wayne Trading Post, wrote:
"Since writing you on the 25th ultimo, about one hundred Sawkeys [Sacs] have returned from the British Agent who supplied them liberally with everything they stood in want of. The party re- ceived forty-seven rifles and a number of fusils [flintlock muskets] with plenty of powder and lead. This is sending firebrands into the Mississippi country inasmuch as it will draw numbers of our Aborigines
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to the British side in the hope of being treated with the same liberality."
On August 1, 1810, General Harrison reported that a number of the inhabitants of the northern frontier of the Jeffersonville district had been driven away by the Aborigines, and much of their property destroyed.
The Secretary of War received many other letters from the widely separated posts, evidencing the continued preparations of the Savages for war, under the incitements of the British. But few additional excerpts will be here given. Feb- ruary 6, 1811, Captain Johnston reported from Fort Wayne:
"_ has been at this place. The information derived from him is the same I have been in possession of for several years, to wit: the intrigues of the British agents and partisans in creating an influence hostile to our people and government, within our territory. I do not know whether a garrison [fort] is to be erected on the Wabash or not; but every consideration of sound policy urges the early estab- lishment of a post somewhere contiguous to the Prophet's residence."
It is well to bear in mind in this connection the continued echoes of the remnant of the Federalists of New England, who yet desired to
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ignore the western country, and who had done much toward the ignoring of the aggressions of the British in the Ohio Country, and, finally, opposed the War of 1812 to correct these abuses. January 14, 18II, Josiah Quincy, Representative from Massachusetts, spoke in the House in part as follows:
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