USA > Wisconsin > Winnebago County > History of Winnebago County, Wisconsin, and early history of the Northwest > Part 15
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Mr Kinzie and the members of his family were saved; also, Lieut. Helm, and his wife, a step-daughter of Mr. Kinzie. The following is a part of her narrative of the massacre: * * * * * *
" At this moment a young Indian raised his tomahawk at me. By springing aside, I avoided the blow which was intended for my skull, but which alighted on my shoulder. I seized him around the neck, and while exerting my utmost efforts to get possession of his scalping-knife, which hung in a scabbard over his breast, I was dragged from his grasp by another and an older Indian.
" The latter bore me struggling and resisting to the lake. Notwithstanding the rapidity with which I was hurried along, I recognized as I passed them, the lifeless remains of the unfortunate surgeon. Some murderous tomahawk had stretched him upon the very spot where I had last seen him.
" I was immediately plunged into the water and held there with a forcible hand, notwithstanding my resistance. I soon preceived, however, that the object of my captor was not to drown me; for he held me firmly in such a position as to place my head above water. This reassured me, and regarding him attentively, I soon recognized, in spite of the paint with which he was disguised, The Black Patridge.
" When the firing had nearly subsided, my preserver bore me from the water and conducted me up the sandbanks. It was a burning August morning, and walking through the sand in my drenched condition was inexpressibly painful and fatiguing. I stooped and took off my shoes to free them from the sand with which they were nearly filled, when a squaw seized and carried them off, and I was obliged to proceed without them.
" When we had gained the prairie, I was met by my father, who told me that my hushand was safe and but slightly wounded. They led me gently back towards the Chicago River, along the southern bank of which was the Pottawattamie encampment. At one time I was placed upon a horse without a saddle, but finding the motion insupportable, I sprang off. Supported partly by my kind conductor, Black Patridge, and partly by another Indian, Pee-so-tum, who held dangling in his hand a scalp, which by the black ribbon around the quene I recognized as that of Captain Wells, I dragged my fainting steps to one of the wigwams.
" The wife of Wan-hee-nee-mah, a chief from the Illinois River was standing near, and seeing my exhausted condition she seized a kettle, dipped up some water from a stream that flowed near, threw into it some maple sugar, and stirring it up with her hand gave it mne to drink. This act of kindness, in the midst of so many horrors, touched me most sensibly, but my attention was soon diverted to other objects.
" The fort had become a scene of plunder to such as remained after the troops marched out. The cattle had been
shot down as they ran at large, and lay dead or dying around. This work of hutchery had commenced just as we were leaving the fort. I well remembered a remark of Ensign Ronan, as the firing began : ' Such, ' turning to me, ' is to be our fate - to be shot down like brutes ! '
"' Well, sir,' said the Commanding Officer who overheard him, 'are you afraid ? '
"'No,' replied the high-spirited young man, ' I can march up to the enemy where you dare not show your face ; ' and his subsequent gallant behavior showed this to be no idle boast. '
" As the noise of the firing grew gradually less and the stragglers from the victorious party came dropping in, I received confirmation of what my father had hurriedly com- municated in our rencontre on the lake shore ; namely, that the whites had surrendered after the loss of about two-thirds of their number. They had stipulated, through the interpreter, Peresh Leclerc, for the preservation of their lives, and those of the remaining women and children, and for their delivery at some of the British posts, unless ransomed by traders in the Indian country. It appears that the wounded prisoners were not considered as included in the stipulation, and a horrible scene ensued upon their being brought into camp.
" An old squaw infuriated by the loss of friends, or excited by the sanguinary scenes around her, seemed possessed by a demoniac ferocity. She seized a stable-fork and assaulted one miserable victim, who lay groaning and writhing in the agony of his wounds, aggravated by the scorching beams of the sun. With a delicacy of feeling scarcely to have been expected under such circumstances, Wau-bee-nee-nah stretched a mat across two poles, between me and this dreadful scene. ) was thus spared in some degree a view of its horrors, although I could not entirely close my ears to the cries of the sufferer. The following night five more of the wounded prinsoners were tomahawked.
" The Americans, after their first attack by the Indians, charged upon those who had concealed themselves in a sort of ravine, intervening between the sand-banks and the prairie. The latter gathered themselves into a body, and after some hard fighting, in which the number of whites was reduced to twenty-eight, this little band succeeded in breaking through the enemy, and gaining a rising ground not far from the Oak Woods. The contest now seemed hopeless, and Lieutenant Helm sent Peresh Lecerc, a half-breed boy in the service of Mr. Kinzie, who had accompanied the detachment and fought manfully on their side, to propose terms of capitulation. It was stipulated that the lives of all the survivors should be spared and a ransom permitted as soon as practicable.
" But, in the mean time, a horrible scene had been enacted One young savage, climbing into the baggage-wagon containing the children of the white families, twelve in number, toma- hawked the children of the entire group. This was during the engagement near the Sand-hills. When Captain Wells,who was fighting near, beheld it, he exclaimed :
"' Is that their game, butchering the women and children ? Then I will kill too !'
" So saying, he turned his horse's head, and started for the Indian camp, near the fort, where had been left their squaws and children.
"Several Indians pursued him as he galloped along. He laid himself flat on the neck of his horse, loading and firing in that position, as he would occasionally turn on his pursuers. At length their balls took effect, killing his horse, and severely
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EARLY HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST.
1712.]
wounding himself. At this moment he was met by Winnemeg and Wau-ban-see, who endeavored to save him from the savages who had now overtaken him. As they supported him along, after having disengaged him from his horse, he received his death-blow from another Indian, Pee so-tum, who stabbed him in the back.
" The heroic resolution of one of the soldier's wives deserves to be recorded. She was a Mrs. Corbin, and had, from the first expressed the determination never to fall into the hands of the savages, believing their prisoners were always subjected to tortures worse than death.
" When, therefore, a party came upon her, to make her a prisoner, she fought with desperation, refusing to surrender, although assured, by signs, of safety and kind treatment, and suffered herself to be cut to pieces, rather than become their captive.
" There was a Sergeant Holt, who, early in the engagement, received a ball in the neck. Finding himself badly wounded, he gave his sword to his wife, who was on horseback near him, telling her to defend herself -he then made for the lake to keep out of the way of the balls. Mrs. Holt rode a very fine horse, which the Indians were desirous of possessing, and they therefore attacked her, in hopes of dismounting her.
" They fought only with the butt-ends of their guns, for their object was not to kill her. She hacked and hewed at their pieces as they were thrust again-I her, now on this side, now on that. Finally, she broke loose from them and dashed out into the prairie. The Indians pursued her, shouting and laugh- ing, and now and then calling out :
" ' The brave woman ! do not hurt her ! '
" At length they overtook her again, and while she was engaged with Iwo or three in front, one succeeded in seizing her by the neck behind, and dragging her, although a large and powerful woman, from her horse. Notwithstanding that their guns had been so hacked and injured, and even themselves cut severely, they scemed to regard her only with admiration. They look her to a trader on the Illinois River, by whom she was restored lo her friends, after having received every kind- ness during her captivity.
"Those of the family of Mr. Kinzie, who had remained in the boat, near the mouth of the river, were carefully guarded by Kee-po- tah and another Indian. They had seen the smoke - then the blaze - and immediately after the report of the tremendous discharge sounded in their ears. Then all was confusion. They realized nothing until they saw an Indian come towards then from the battle-ground, leading a horse on which sat a lady, appar- ently wounded.
'That is Mrs. Heald,' cried Mrs. Kinzie. ' That Indian will kill her. Run, Chandonnai,' to one of Mr. Kinzie's clerks, 'take the mule that is tied there, and offer it to him to release her.
"Her captor, by this time, was in the act of disengaging her bonnet from her head, in order to scalp her. Chandonnai ran up, offered the mule as a ransom, with the promise of ten bottles of whiskey, as soon as they should
reach his village. The latter was a strong temptation.
",'But,' said the Indian, 'she is badly wounded - she will die. Will you give me the whiskey, at all events ?'
"Chandonnai promised that he would and the bargain was concluded. The savage placed the lady's bonnet on his own head, and after an ineffectual effort on the part of some squaws to rob her of her shoes and stockings, she was brought on board the boat, where she lay moaning with pain from the many bullet wounds she had received in both arms. * * *
"When the boat was at length permitted to return to the mansion of Mr. Kinzie, and Mrs. Heald was removed to the house, it became necessary to dress her wounds.
"Mr. Kinzie applied to an old chief who stood by, and who, like most of his tribe, pos- sessed some skill in surgery, to extract a ball from the arm of the sufferer.
" 'No, father,' replied he, ' I cannot do it-it makes me sick here ' - (placing his hand to his heart. )
"Mr. Kinzie then performed the operation himself with his penknife.
"At their own mansion the family of Mr. Kinzie were closely guarded by their Indian friends, whose intention it was to carry them to Detroit for security. The rest of the prisoners remained at the wigwams of their captors."
The family of Mr. Kinzie was subsequently taken to Detroit. An Indian released Captain Heald, that he might accompany Mrs. Heald to St. Joseph ; but this Indian's intended kindness was thwarted, and they were sent to Mackinaw and delivered up as prisoners of war to the British. The soldiers and their wives and children who had survived the massacre, were held as prisoners in the Indian villages on the Illinois, Wabash and Rock rivers, until spring, when they were carried to Detroit, where they were ransomed.
In 1816, after the close of the war, Mr. Kinzie and family returned to Chicago. Fort Dearborn was constructed that year on the site. of the old fort, and the tract of land now occupied by Chicago was ceded to the govern- ment by the Pottawattamies.
The story of Mrs. Kinzie's life, as related by her daughter-in-law, Mrs. John H. Kinzie, is a most romantic one. Her father, Mr. Lytle, and family, lived on a tributary of the Alle- ghany. In 1779, a party of Iroquois came to their house, during the absence of Mr. Lytle, and took her and her mother and two of the other children, captives. Two of the younger escaped by hiding in the bushes. The captives
72
EARLY HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST.
[1783.
were taken by the Indians to a Seneca village near Lake Ontario. Mrs. Lytle discovered, on their arrival, that her captor was the head chief. They were taken to the principal lodge, occupied by the chief's mother, where, taking the eldest girl, a child of nine years of age (afterwards Mrs. Kinzie), by the hand, he presented her to his mother, saying: "My mother, I bring you a child to supply the place of my brother, who was killed by the Lenape, six moons ago. She shall dwell in my lodge and be to me a sister. Take the white woman and her children and treat them kindly; our father will give us many horses and guns to buy them back again."
The captives were accordingly treated with the greatest kindness and consideration,
When the father returned to his house and found what had occurred, he was frantic with grief, and summoning his neighbors went in pursuit. He soon found the two children who had escaped from the Indians ; but they could give no tidings of the mother and the others.
He now applied to the commander of Fort Pitt, who furnished him with a detachment of soldiers to aid him in recovering his family. With these he proceeded to the Seneca vil- lages, when he found his loved ones. An arrangement was readily entered into for the restoration of Mrs. Lytle and the children except little Eleanor the eldest girl. The chief said " she was his sister, she was dear to him and he would not part with her."
Every offer was unavailing to obtain her release, and the grieved parents were obliged to give up their darling child, and to take their departure without her, trusting that some means might be yet devised for obtaining her release.
Having placed his family in safety at Pitts- burg, he again went to the Seneca village, accompanied by the British Agent, Colonel Johnson, who offered valuable presents for her ransom; but nothing could induce the chief to give her up.
Years passed, and she became more and more endeared to her Indian brother and his tribe. She was so petted, and treated with such affectionate consideration, that she became attached to them, and, getting accustomed to her new mode of life, was comparatively happy. " From her activity and energy of character, qualities for which she was remarkable to the latest period of her life, the name was given her of ' The Ship under Full Sail. '
" The principal seat and choicest food were always reserved for her, and no efforts were spared to promote her happiness and render
her forgetful of her former home and kin- dred.
" Four years had now passed since the cap- ture of little Nelly. Her heart was by nature warm and affectionate, so that the unbounded tenderness of those she dwelt among had called forth a corresponding feeling of affection in her heart. She regarded the chief and his mother with love and reverence, and had so completely learned their language and customs as almost to have forgotten her own.
" So identified had she become with the tribe that the remembrance of her home and family had nearly faded from her memory; all but her mother -her mother whom she had loved with a strength of affection natural to her warm heart and ardent character, and to whom her heart clung with a fondness that no time or change could destroy."
"The peace of 1783 between Great Britain and the United States now took place. A general pacification of the Indian tribes was the consequence, and fresh hopes were renewed in the bosoms of Mr. and Mrs. Lytle.
"They removed with their family to Fort Niag- ara, near which, on the American side, was the great Council Fire of the Senecas. Colonel Johnson readily undertook a fresh negotiation with the Chief, but in order to ensure every chance of success, he again proceeded in person to the village of the Big -White-Man.
"His visit was most opportune. It was the "Feast of the Green Corn," when he arrived among them. This observance which corres- ponds so strikingly with the Jewish feast of Tabernacles that, together with other customs, it has led many to believe the Indians the descendants of the lost ten tribes of Israel,
made it a season of general joy and festivity. All other occupations were suspended to give place to social enjoyment in the open air, or in arbors formed of the green branches of the trees. Every one appeared in his gala dress. That of the little adopted child consisted of a petticoat of blue broadcloth, bordered with gay- colored ribbons; a sack or upper garment of black silk, ornamented with three rows of sil- ver brooches, the centre ones from the throat to the hem being of large size, and those from the shoulders down being no larger than a shilling piece, and set as closely as possible. Around her neck were innumerable strings of white and purple wampum, an Indian orna- ment manufactured from the inner surface of the muscle-shell. Her hair was clubbed behind, and loaded with beads of various colors. Leg- gings of scarlet cloth, and moccasins of deer-
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EARLY HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST.
1712-16.]
skin embroidered with porcupine quills, com- pleted her costume.
"Colonel Johnson was received with all the consideration due to his position, and to the long friendship that had subsisted between him and the tribe.
· "Observing that the hilarity of the festival had warmed and opened all hearts, he took occasion in an interview with the chief to expatiate upon the parental affection which had led the father and mother of his little sister to give up their friends and home, and come hundreds of miles away, in the single hope of sometimes looking upon and embracing her. The heart of the chief softened as he listened to this representation, and he was induced to promise that at the Grand Council soon to be held at Fort Niagara he would attend, bringing his little sister with him.
· "He exacted a promise, however, from Col- onel Johnson, that not only no effort should be made to reclaim the child, but that even no proposition to part with her should be offered him.
"The time at length arrived when, her heart bounding with joy, little Nelly, was placed on horseback to accompany her Indian brother to the Great Council of the Senecas. She had promised him that she would never leave him without his permission, and he relied confi- dently on her word thus given.
"As the chiefs and warriors arrived in suc- cessive bands to meet their father, the agent, at the council-fire, how did the anxious hearts of the parents beat with alternate hope and fear! The officers of the fort had kindly given them quarters for the time being, and the ladies, whose sympathies were strongly excited, had accompanied the mother to the place of council, and joined in her longing watch for the first appearance of the boat from the Alle- ghany river.
"At length they were discerned, emerging from the forest on the opposite or American side. Boats were sent across by the Command- ing Officer, to bring the chief and his party. The father and mother, attended by all the officers and ladies, stood upon the grassy bank awaiting their approach. They had seen at a glance that the little captive was with them.
"When' about to enter the boat, the chief said to some of his young men, 'stand here with the horses, and wait until { return.'
"He was told that the horses should be fer- ried across and taken care of.
" 'No,"' said he, "' let them wait.'
" He held his darling by the hand until the river was passed-until the boat touched the
bank-until the child sprang forward into the arms of the mother, from whom she had been so long separated.
" When the Chief witnessed that outburst of affection, he could withstand no longer.
" ' She shall go,"' said he. " 'The mother must have her child again. I will go back alone.'
" With one silent gesture of farewell, he turned and stepped on board the boat. No arguments or entreaties could induce him to remain at the council, but, having gained the other side of the Niagara, he mounted his horse, and, with his young men, was soon lost in the depths of the forest.
"After a sojourn of a few weeks at Niagara, Mr. Lytle, dreading lest the resolution of the Big-White-Man should give way, and meas- tires be taken to deprive him once more of his child, came to the determination of again chang- ing his place of abode. He therefore took the first opportunity of crossing Lake Erie with his family, and settled himself in the neighbor- hood of Detroit, where he continued after- ward to reside.
"Little Nelly saw her friend, the Chief, no more, but she never forgot him. To the day of her death she remembered with tenderness and gratitude her brother, the Big-White-Man, ' and her friends and playfellows among the Senecas."
CHAPTER XX.
The White Settlements in the Northwest at the Close of the War of 1812 - The Americans first take Possession - First American Vessel at Green Bay-The Settlement of the Northwest by the Americans Virtually Commenced with the Working of the Lead Mines - The Winnebago Out- break in 1827,
FTER the close of the war, 1816, the only white settlements in the North- west, at this period, were those of Detroit, Mackinaw, old Michilimack- inac, La Pointe, Green Bay, Prairie du Chien, Chicago, Kaskaskia and Vin- cennes, with two or three trading posts on the Mississippi.
The population of these consisted principally of French and half breeds; the few Americans were generally connected with the American Fur Company, at its agencies, or with the mil- itary forces, in occupation of the forts.
This enumeration, of course, does not include the more southern settlements of the West.
After the termination of the war, formal possession was taken of the Northwest by the
10
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EARLY HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST.
[1820-27.
American troops. In August, 1816, the first vessels flying the American flag arrived at Green Bay, laden with troops and supplies. The troops were under the command of Col- onel John Miller, who immediately, on, his arrival, visited Tomah, the chief of the Menomi- nees, and asked him to consent to the erection of a fort; when Tomah replied:
" My brother! how can we oppose your locating a council fire among us? You are too strong for us. Even if we wanted to oppose you, we have seareely got powder and shot enough to make the attempt. One favor we ask is that our French brothers shall not be disturbed, or in any way molested. You can choose any place you please for your fort, and we shall not object. "
The colonel thanked Tomah and his people for their friendly compliance, and presented them with some flour and pork. Some of the Indians then requested Tomah to ask their new father for a little broth to use with the pork and flour. This was also given in small quantities.
A stockade fort was then built, about four miles above the mouth of the river, and gar- risoned. Fort Howard was afterward erected, in 1820, on the site of the city now bearing its name.
The settlement of the Northwest, by the so- called American settlers, virtually commenced with the discovery of the lead mines.
For many years the Indians had worked the lead mines, unknown to the whites. At last, the rich treasures were discovered by the lat- ter, and the most glowing accounts were given of the Fevre River Mines, (Galena) which were discovered and worked by an Indian called ()ld Buck.
The Government having determined to lease the mines, sent a detachment of troops to accompany a number of miners employed by Colonel Johnson to work them. The men belonging to the mining company, and the troops arrived at Fevre River in July, 1822. The Sacs and Foxes were then in occu- pation of the lead region in northern Illinois. They having driven off the Kaskaskias, had been for a long time in possession of the Fevre River and Rock River country. They must have possessed themselves of this tract shortly after their expulsion from the Fox Valley, for the distinguished chief, Black Hawk, was born on Rock Island, the site of one of their princi- pal villages. At the time of the arrival of the miners, they had been the occupants of this beautiful country for at least two or three gen- erations; and having been routed by the French from the Fox River valley, and after their
removal to the Lower Wisconsin fought by the Sioux, they felt very jealous of any intrusion on their new domain. They, therefore, deter- mined to resist the landing of these miners. whom they regarded as the pioneers of a migra- tion of whites, who would dispossess them of their homes. The sequel proved that their fears were not unfounded.
When the troops arrived, the Indians were awed by their formidable appearance, and, abandoning their opposition, concluded to make a virtue of necessity by allowing the whites to work the mines with them.
In the course of a few years a large settle- ment sprung up in the lead region. In 1823 there were twenty-four persons, exclusive of the Indians; of these, there were about five hundred who worked the mines with the whites. or rather, the squaws did. The squaws were considered the most industrious and successful miners. In some places they had made drifts forty or fifty feet deep.
"While Colonel Johnson's men were sink- ing their holes or shafts, in some instances, the squaws would drift under them and take out all the mineral ore they could find. When the men got down into the drift made by the women, the latter would have a hearty laugh at the white men's expense."
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