218 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
THE TREATY OF GREENVILLE.
ADDRESS OF HON. SAMUEL F. HUNT,
DELIVERED ON THE
OCCASION OF THE CENTENNIAL OF THE TREATY
OF
GREENVILLE, AUG. 3, 1895, AT GREENVILLE,
O.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen
of Darke County, Fellow
Citizens:
One hundred years have passed since that
eventful day in
August when the treaty of Greenville was
signed. The different
nations of Indians present and parties
to the treaty consisted of
one hundred and eight Wyandots, three
hundred and eighty Del-
awares, one hundred and forty-three
Shawanese, forty-five Otta-
was, forty-six Chippewas, two hundred
and forty Pottawattomies,
seventy-three Miamies and Eel Rivers,
twelve Weas and Pianki-
shaws, and ten Kickapoos and Kaskaskias
- making a total of
eleven hundred and thirty chiefs and
warriors.
The Indians active in the Council were
Little Turtle, chief
of the Miamies, Blue Jacket and Massas,
chiefs of the Shawanese,
Te-ta-bosksh-ke, king of the Delawares
and Buck-on-ge-he-las
and Pe-ke-te-le-mund, chiefs of the
Delawares, Sun and New
Corn and Asi-me-the, chiefs of the
Pottawattomies, Mash-i-pi-
nash-i-wish, or Bad Bird, chief of the
Chippewas, Kick-a-poo
and Kee-a-hah, chiefs of the Kickapoos,
Little Brave, chief of
the Weas, Tar-ke, or Crane, chief of the
Wyandots, Black Hoof
and Ah-goosh-a-way, chiefs of the
Ottawas. Every chief and
warrior who participated in that Council
has passed to the land
of the Great Spirit. General Wayne died
on Lake Erie; and,
doubtless, the dying hero saw in its
turbulent waters, at times,
something of his own unconquerable will,
and, at others, that
quiet which would come at last to his
restless soul.
The influence of the Treaty still
remains. It saved defense-
less settlements from the tomahawk and
scalping knife of the In-
dian, and opened up to immigration and
settlement the limitless
West. It is the testimony of history
that the Confederate tribes
kept the faith pledged at Greenville,
and never violated the limits
The Treaty of Greenville. 219
established by the Treaty. The writer of
the article on Ohio in
the American Commonwealth says that it
was a grand tribute to
General Wayne that no chief or warrior
who gave him the hand
at Greenville ever after lifted the
hatchet against the United
States. There were malcontents on the
Wabash and Lake Mich-
igan who took side's with Tecumseh and
the Prophet in the war
of 1812, perhaps for good
cause, but the tribes and their chiefs
sat still. Tecumseh himself, with his
brother, the prophet, re-
sided at Greenville from 1805 to 1808,
and the Shawanese, when
moving from their reservation on the
Auglaize in 1832, encamped
on Tecumseh Point and remained a day or
two to take a last
farewell.
We have gathered to-day on this historic
ground, and under
the genial skies of this delightful
summer afternoon, to com-
memorate the most important civic event
- next to the adoption
of the ordinance of 1787 - in the
history of the Northwestern
territory. It was the beginning of an
era of prosperity, and the
tide of immigration at once set in for
new homes and new settle-
ments. The future now lay in the
direction of peace and the
cultivation of the arts of peace. The
pioneers began to come
to the valleys of the Miamies, the
Scioto and the Muskingum.
The population of the Northwest at the
close of the year follow-
ing the Treaty of Greenville has been
estimated at five thousand
souls. The stillness of the forest was
now broken by the sound
of the woodman's axe.
EARLY NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE WITH THE
INDIANS.
In October, 1792, a great Council of all
the tribes of the
Northwest was held at Au-Glaise - now
the city of Defiance.
It was the largest Indian Council of the
time. The Confederated
Tribes of the Northwestern territory
were represented in the
Council at the confluence of Au-Glaise
and the Miami of the
Lakes. Even the representatives of the
Seven Nations of Can-
ada were present. Corn Planter and
forty-eight chiefs of the
Six Nations of New York were present.
"Besides these," said
Corn Planter, "there were so many
nations that we cannot tell
the names of them. There were three men
from the Gora Na-
tion; it took them a whole season to
come; and twenty-seven
220
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
nations from beyond Canada." The
question of peace or war
was earnestly discussed. The chiefs of
the Shawanese insisted
upon war, while Red Jacket, the chief of
the Senecas, declared
for peace.
It is interesting to follow the report
of their mission made
by the chiefs of the Six Nations to the
Indian agent at Buffalo.
The Indians had been informed that
"the President of the United
States thinks himself the greatest man
on this island, but they
wished it understood that they had this
country long in peace
before they saw a person with a white
skin; and that when Gen-
eral Washington sent out an army into
their country, with orders
to proceed as far as the Miami towns and
on to the Glaize, it fell
into their hands." This referred to
the defeat of General St.
Clair on the site of Fort Recovery, then
a part of Darke county,
on November the 4th, 1791.
If, however, the white man wished
to hold a council - General Washington
being the head man -
they would treat with him at the Rapids
of the Miami "at the
time when the leaves are fully
out."
The armistice, however, which the
hostile Indians promised
to observe "until the leaves were
fully out," was not faithfully
kept, for on the sixth of November
following, the Kentucky
Mounted Infantry, under Major Adair, was
attacked by a body
of Indians, in the neighborhood of St.
Clair, a post recently es-
tablished about twenty-five miles north
of Fort Hamilton, and
near the present site of the neighboring
town of Eaton.
THE APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSIONERS TO TREAT WITH
THE INDIANS.
The President of the United States, on
the first of March,
1793, appointed Benjamin Lincoln,
Beverly Randolph and Tim-
othy Pickering as commissioners to
attend the proposed meeting
at the Rapids of the Miami (Maumee)
"when the leaves were
fully out." The place of conference
was afterwards changed to
Sandusky.
The commissioners received their
instructions on the 26th
of April of the same year, and on the
27th General Lincoln left
Philadelphia for Niagara by way of New
York. Pickering and
Randolph left on the 30th by the route
through Pennsylvania
The Treaty of Greenville. 221
which led up the valleys of the
Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Lycom-
ing and Coshocton across to Genessee.
The commissioners on
reaching Niagara, about May 17th, were
invited at once by Lieu-
tenant Governor Simcoe to take up their
residence at his seat,
Navy Hall, with which invitation they
complied. The commis-
sioners, on the 7th of June, addressed a
communication to Gov-
ernor Simcoe that reports had been
spread among the Indians
by which their prejudices had been
excited. As an instance of
such unfounded reports, the
commissioners had noticed the dec-
larations of a Mohawk, from Grand River,
that Governor Sim-
coe advised the Indians to make peace,
but not to give up their
lands. The commissioners called the
attention of the Governor
to the fact that the sales and
settlements of the lands over the
Ohio, founded on the treaties of Forts
McIntosh and Harmar
would render it impossible to make that
river the boundary.
The reply of Governor Simcoe was to the
effect that ever
since the conquest of Canada it had been
the principle of the
British Government to unite the American
Indians so that all
petty jealousies might be fully
extinguished and the real wishes
of tile Confederated tribes find full
expression. This was desired
to the end that all the treaties made
with them might have the
most complete ratification and universal
concurrence, but
a suspicion of a contrary conduct on the
part of the agents of
the United States had been deeply
impressed upon the minds of
the Confederacy.
ASSURANCES AGAINST HOSTILE DEPREDATIONS
BY THE
PRESIDENT AND THE GOVERNORS OF PENN-
SYLVANIA AND VIRGINIA.
It was now the 26th of June and no news
had been received
from Sandusky. The commissioners
themselves prepared to
embark for the mouth of the Detroit
river, but on July 15th,
while still detained by head winds,
Colonel Butler, the com-
mander of the Tories at Wyoming, with
Captain Brandt and
some fifty warriors, arrived from the
mouth of the Maumee, and
two days afterwards, in the presence of
the Governor, Brandt
declared that the Indian nations who
owned the lands north of
222 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
the Ohio river as their common property
were all of one mind
and one heart on that subject.
They wished to say that the warriors of
the white men in
their neighborhood prevented the meeting
at the appointed place,
and to know whether the commisioners had
authority to run a
new boundary line between the lands of
the United States and
the Indian nations?
The Indians were assured that there need
be no apprehen-
sion of hostile incursions into the
Indian country, north of the
Ohio river, during the treaty of
Sandusky. The Great Chief,
General Washington, was so anxious to
prevent anything which
could obstruct the treaty and prolong
the war that he had given
orders of that character to the Head
Warrior, General Wayne,
and had informed the governors of the
several states adjoining
Ohio of the treaty to be held at
Sandusky. They had been re-
quested to unite with the Federal power
to prevent any hostile
attempts against the Indians north of
the Ohio until the result
of the conference should be made known.
The governor of
Pennsylvania and Virginia had
accordingly issued their orders,
and if, after all these precautions, any
hostilities should be com-
mitted north of the Ohio, they must
proceed from a few disor-
derly people, whom no considerations of
justice or public good
can restrain.
GENERAL WAYNE AT FORT WASHINGTON.
In April, 1792, General Wayne was
appointed by President
Washington Commander-in-chief of the
army of the United
States. The troops under General St.
Clair had been almost
annihilated in the famous defeat and
were completely demoral-
ized. Indeed the Secretary of War, at
parting with General
Wayne in May, 1792, expressly enjoined
upon him "that another
defeat would be inexpressibly ruinous to
the reputation of the
government."
General Wayne reached Fort Washington -
now Cincin-
nati- in April 1793, and
commenced at once the organization
of the army, and to forward supplies to
Fort Jefferson and to cut
military roads through the Indian
country. These movements
of a military character awakened a
distrust among the Indians
The Treaty of Greenville. 223
on the borders of the Maumee, and
certainly were regarded by
the commissioners as calculated to
endanger the success of the
negotiations. When negotiations for
peace are conducted by
the Indians the whole body of the
nations assemble, and not a
few counsellors. The negotiations must
necessarily be delayed
if the warriors are called to watch the
movements of their ene-
mies. The Mohawk chief referred to the
movements of General
Wayne.
"The Indians have
information," write the commissioners
to the Secretary of War under date of
July 12, 1793, "confirmed
by repeated scouts that General
Washington has cut and cleared
a road straight from Fort Washington
into the Indian country,
in a direction that would have missed
Fort Jefferson, but that
meeting with a large swamp, it was of
necessity turned toward
that Fort, and then continued six miles
beyond it; that large
quantities of provisions are accumulated
at the forts, far exceed-
ing the wants of the garrison, and that
numerous herds of horses
are assembled beyond Fort Jefferson,
guarded by considerable
bodies of troops. With these
preparations for war in their
neighborhood, for it is but three days'
journey from thence to
the Glaize, they say their minds cannot
rest easy. The distance
here mentioned is from Captain Brandt's
information, and is, no
doubt, exact. We suppose that from
twenty to twenty-five miles
may be deemed a day's journey."
The declaration of Corn Planter made to
General Wayne in
his tent at Legionsville, on his way
from Pittsburg to Fort
Washington, in 1793, that the Ohio river
must be the boundary
between the Indians and the white
people, impressed that officer
that any attempt at pacification by
treaty were useless. The Sec-
retary of War advised him that the
sentiment of the citizens of
the United States was adverse to an
Indian war, and that a Com-
mission had been named to treat with the
Indians in the hope
of securing peace. No effort was spared
in the meantime to se-
cure the efficiency of the army, and
Wayne even sent to Ken-
tucky for mounted volunteers. Subsequent
events vindicated the
soundness of his judgment as well as his
knowledge of the people
of the frontier whom he was to defend,
and of the foe whom he
was commissioned to subdue.
224
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
THE TREATY OF FORT STANWIX, FORT
MCINTOSH AND
FORT HARMAR.
The commissioners left Fort Erie on the
14th of July and on
the 21st of July arrived at the
mouth of the Detroit river. The
British authorities prevented any
further advance, and they took
up their quarters at the house of
Matthew Elliott, the famous
renegade, then a subordinate agent in
the British Indian De-
partment. Colonel McKee, the Indian
agent, was in attendance
at the Council, and the commissioners
addressed him a note,
borne by Elliott, to inform the Indians
of their arrival and ask
when they could be received. Elliott
returned on the 29th of
July, bringing with him a deputation of
twenty chiefs from the
Council. On the following day
Sa-waghda-munk, chief of the
Wyandots, submitted the action of the
General Council at the
foot of the Miami Rapids on the 27th of
July, 1793, in behalf of
the whole Confederacy, and signed by the
Wyandots. Delawares,
Shawanese, Miamies, Mingoes,
Pottawattamies, Ottawas, Con-
noys, Chippewas and Munsees, Seven
Nations of Canada, Sen-
ecas of the Glaize, Nanticohees,
Mohicans, Creeks and Cher-
okees.
The Council declared that the boundary
line run by the
white people at Fort Stanwix was the
Ohio river, and if the white
men desired a firm and lasting peace
they must immediately re-
move all their people from this side of
the river.
The Indians were reminded that while at
the treaty of Fort
Stanwix, twenty-five years before, the
river Ohio was agreed on
as the boundary line between them and
the white people of the
British colonies, that seven years after
that boundary was fixed
a quarrel broke out between their
father, the King of Great
Britain, and the people of the Colonies,
who are now the people
of the United States. The quarrel was
ended by the treaty of
peace made by the king, about ten years
ago, by which the Great
Lakes, and the waters which unite them,
were by him declared to
be the boundaries of the United States.
The attention of the Indians was called
to the fact that peace
having thus been made between the king
of Great Britain and
the United States, it remained to make
peace between them and
The Treaty of Greenville. 225
the Indian nations who had taken part
with the king; for this
purpose commissioners were appointed,
who sent messengers to
all those Indian nations, inviting
them to come and make peace.
The first treaty had been held about
nine years before, at Fort
Stanwix, with the Six Nations, which had
stood firm and unvio-
lated. The next treaty was made about
ninety days after at Fort
McIntosh, with the Half-King of the
Wyandots, Captain Pipe,
and other chiefs, in behalf of the
Wyandot, Delaware, Ottawa
and Chippewa nations. Treaties were made
afterward witch di-
vers Indian nations south of the Ohio
river; and the next treaty
was made with Ka-ki-pila-thy, then
present, and other Shawanese
chiefs, in behalf of the Shawanese
nations, at the mouth of the
Great which which runs into the Ohio
river.
The Great Council of the United States
- referring to
Congress - had disposed of large tracts
of land thereby ceded.
and a great number of people had removed
from other parts of
the United States and settled upon them.
Many families of their
ancient fathers, the French, came over
the waters and settled
upon a part of the same lands. This had
reference to the French
settlement at Gallipolis.
When it appeared that a number of the
Indians were dis-
satisfied with the treaties of Fort
McIntosh and Miami, the Great
Council of the United States had
appointed Governor St. Clair
Commissioner, with full powers, for the
purpose of removing all
causes of controversy, regulating trade
and settling boundaries
between the Indian nations in the
northern departments and the
United States. Governor St. Clair sent
messengers to all the
nations concerned to meet him at a
Council fire which he kindled
at the falls of the Muskingum. The fire
was put out and so
another Council fire was kindled at Fort
Harmar, when near
six hundred Indians of different nations
attended. The treaty
of Fort Stanwix was then renewed and
confirmed by the Six
Nations, and the treaty of Fort McIntosh
was renewed and con-
firmed by the Wyandots and Delawares.
Some Ottawas, Chip-
pewas, Pottawattamies and Sacs were also
parties to this treaty
at Fort Harmar.
It was explicitly declared that it would
be impossible to
make the river Ohio the boundary line
between their people and
226 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
the United States. The United States
only wished to have con-
firmed all the lands ceded to them by
the treaty of Fort Harmar,
and also a small tract of land at the
Rapids of Ohio, claimed by
General Clark for the use of himself and
warriors. The United
States offered to give, in consideration
of the same, such a large
sum in money or goods as was never given
at one time for any
quantity of Indian lands since the white
people first set their
foot on this Island.
THE DECREES OF THE INDIAN COUNCIL OF AUG. 13TH, 1793.
The commissioners of the United States
had formerly set
up a claim to their whole country,
southward of the Great Lakes,
as the property of the United States. It
was now conceded that
the right of soil of all this country
from the Great Lakes south-
ward was in the Indian Nations so long
as they desired to occupy
the same. The only claim now made was
that to the particular
tracts and the general right of
preemption, or the right of pur-
chasing of the Indian Nations disposed
to sell their lands - to
the exclusion of white people whatever.
The Indians denied that the treaties of
Fort Stanwix, Beaver
Creek (Fort McIntosh) and other places
were not complete, and
insisted that the Ohio river had been
fixed as the boundary by
Sir William Johnson, and that they would
not give up the land.
It was agreed between those deputed by
the confederated In-
dians and Governor St. Clair that no
bargains or sale of any
part of these Indian lands would be
considered as valid or bind-
ing unless ratified by a general council
of the confederacy, and
yet the treaty for the cession of an
immense country was held
with a few chiefs of two or three
nations, who were in no man-
ner authorized to make any grant or
concession whatever. It
is now expected that since their
independence is acknowledged
they should, in return for the favor
surrender to their country.
The Indians, with surpassing eloquence,
resisted the con-
tention that they had ever made any
agreement with the king,
or with any other nation, to give to
either the exclusive right of
purchasing their lands, and declared
that they were free to make
any bargain or cession of lands whenever
and to whomsoever
they pleased. If the white people made a
treaty that none of them
The Treaty of Greenville. 227
but the king should purchase the land of
the Indians, and had
given the right to the United States, it
is an affair that concerns
the king and the United States. The
power yet remains to be
exercised by the Indians. They would
retreat no further, and
had resolved to leave their bones in the
small space to which
they were confined. Justice alone would
be done by permitting
the boundary line of the Ohio river to
remain between the In-
dians and the whites, and without such
consent no conference
would be held.
THE OHIO RIVER CANNOT BE THE
BOUNDARY.
The commissioners who were still at
Captain Elliott's, at
the mouth of the Detroit river, sent the
word to the chiefs and
warriors of the Indian nations assembled
at the foot of the
Maumee Rapids, on the 16th day of
August, 1793, that since it
was impossible to make the river Ohio
the boundary between
the lands of the Indians and the lands
of the United States the
negotiations were at an end. It was a
matter of much regret
that peace could not be obtained, but
knowing the upright and
liberal views of the United States,
which had been explained so
far as an opportunity had been given,
impartial judges would
not attribute the war to them.
A REVIEW OF THE NEGOTIATIONS.
All negotiations with the Indian tribes
of the Northwest to
secure a permanent and lasting peace
were now terminated.
There was nothing left but the
arbitrament of battle. The con-
federate tribes would not lay down their
arms except on the one
condition that the Ohio river should
forever be the boundary
line between their people and the United
States. No thought-
ful student can read the proceedings and
declarations of these
great councils of the Confederated
tribes without being pro-
foundly moved by the high patriotism and
lofty devotion of these
statesmen of the wilderness. The
Confederacy which the great
Pontiac had formed thirty years before
to protect his race had
perished under an advancing
civilization, and they now deter--
mined to stake their all for the hunting
grounds of their fathers
and for the inheritance of their
children. The wiser policy would
228 Ohio
Arch. and His. Society Publications.
have been to have accepted the liberal
terms offered by the
Federal Government, and to have made
concessions which pru-
dence dictated from the very
circumstances of the respective
treaties. The river Ohio could no more
be fixed as the boun-
dary line between the Indian tribes and
the United States in
August, 1793, than the Ohio river could
be fixed as the boundary
line between the two sections of this
Union in April, 1861. The
hand on the dial plate of progress could
not go backward.
The Indians were doubtless emboldened by
the defeats of
Harmar and Arthur St. Clair, and could
have no adequate idea
of the power and resources of the
Federal Government. It is in
evidence, too, that they had hope of
British as well as Spanish
aid in this struggle with the whites.
This will be found in the
declarations of the Indians themselves,
and in the recorded
speeches and messages of the British and
Spanish emissaries.
Stone, in his life of Brandt, quotes
that warrior as saying that
they were engaged in forming a
confederacy, and these endeav-
ors enabled them to defeat the American
armies. The purpose
of the conference at the Miami (Maumee)
river in the summer
of 1793 was, to first act as
mediator in bringing about an honor-
able peace, and in the event of failure
to join the western breth-
ren in the fortunes of war. The entering
upon a treaty with
the commissioners of the United States
was opposed by those
acting under the British Government, and
hopes of further as-
sistance were given to encourage them to
insist on the Ohio
river as the boundary line between them
and the United States.
(Stone II, 358.) This confidence in
British aid was excited
among the Indians before the final
refusal of the generous terms
offered by General Washington, and they
realized the helpless-
ness of such aid when they were refused
refuge under the guns
at Fort Miami, and found the gates of
the fort itself closed
against their dusky warriors in their
retreat from the fatal field
of the Fallen Timbers.
GENERAL WAYNE AT FORT GREENVILLE.
The position to which General Wayne was
now called re-
quired military and diplomatic skill of
the highest order. It
seemed that the government was about to
be engaged in an inter-
The Treaty of Greenville. 229
minable war, while hostilities with
Great Britain appeared inevit-
able because of the refusal of the
British to comply with the treaty
of 1783, and especially that part which
provided for the evacuation
of the forts northwest of the Ohio.
There was no other course but
to advance into the Indian country and
bring them into submis-
sion by the strong arm of military
power. In September, 1793,
the Secretary of War wrote to General
Wayne: "Every offer
had been made to obtain peace by milder
terms than the sword.
Every effort had failed, under
circumstances which leave noth-
ing for us to expect but war."
The army of General Wayne, some
twenty-five hundred
strong, began its forward movement in
the wilderness on Octo-
ber the 7th, 1793. The
army marched to Fort Hamilton on the
first day, and finally encamped October
13th, at a post six miles
in advance of Fort Jefferson, which was named Fort Greenville,
in honor of Nathaniel Greene, with whom
he served in the army
of the revolution. General Wayne passed
the winter of 1793-94
at Fort Greenville, and months elapsed
without any communica-
tion with the government at
Philadelphia. He was left to his
own resources. Convoys of provisions for
the camp were fre-
quently intercepted and their escort
murdered by the Indians.
In December, 1793, General Wayne sent
forward a detachment
to the spot of St. Clair's defeat. The
command arrived on the
ground on Christmas day and pitched
their tents on the battle-
field. After the melancholy duty of
burying the bones of the
dead had been performed a fortification
was built called Fort
Recovery, in commemoration of the
recovery of the ground from
the Indians, who had held possession
since the defeat in 1791.
It was the fortune of the speaker to
deliver the centennial oration
ever the bones of the gallant dead,
which had been exhumed for
a final resting place in a cemetery
provided for the purpose.
While the army of General Wayne was
encamped at Fort
Greenville a severe and bloody
engagement took place on the
30th of June, 1794, under the very walls
of Fort Recovery. The
assaulting party was repulsed with a
heavy loss, and was finally
driven away on the next day. It appears
from the official report
of Major Mills, Adjutant-General of the
army, that twenty-two
230
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
officers and non-commissioned officers
were killed in that ac-
tion, including Major McMahon himself.
THE CAMPAIGN OF THE "FALLEN
TIMBERS."
General Wayne, having been reinforced on
July 26th, 1794,
by sixteen hundred mounted men from
Kentucky, under the
command of Major-General Scott, with
whom he had served at
the battle of Monmouth, left the
encampment at Greenville on
July 28th, 1794, and advanced seventy
miles northward into
the very heart of the Indian country. He
wrote to the Secretary
of War on August 14th, 1794, that he had
constructed a fort
which was named Fort Adams, and was
completing a strong
stockade fort with four good
blockhouses, by way of bastions,
at the confluence of the Auglaize and
the Miami, which was
called Fort Defiance. He thought it
proper to offer the Indians
a last overture of peace, but said:
"Should war be their choice,
that blood be upon their own heads.
America should no longer
be insulted with impunity." He
committed himself and his gal-
lant army to an all-powerful and just
God. "The Indians were
driven with a great loss on the morning
of August 20th, 1794,
under the guns of Fort Miami - then
occupied by Major Camp-
bell and a garrison of British soldiers.
The victory was com-
plete, and the military power of the
Indian tribes of the North-
west was broken forever. General Wayne
remained below the
Rapids with his army for three days. The
object of the cam-
paign against the Indians of the
Northwest having been fully
accomplished by the decisive battle of
the Fallen Timbers on
August 20th, 1794, the army of General
Wayne returned to Fort
Defiance, laying waste the villages and
corn fields of the Indians
for many miles. The Indians, defeated
and utterly disheartened,
retired to the borders of the Maumee
Bay. General Wayne, on
the 14th of September, marched toward
the Miami villages, and
just below the confluence of the St.
Mary's and the St. Joseph
rivers built a strong fortification,
which, on October the 22d,
1795, was occupied by Colonel
Hamtranck. After a salute of
fifteen guns, it was named Fort Wayne -
the site of the present
prosperous city of that name. The army
began the march from
Fort Wayne on October the 25th, 1794,
and on the evening of
The Treaty of Greenville. 231
November the 2d, 1794, reached Fort
Greenville, where it was
saluted with thirty-five guns from a
six-pounder. The army had
marched from Fort Greenville for the
campaign of the North-
west on July 28th, 1794, and now
returned to winter quarters"
after an arduous and fatiguing
expedition of ninety-seven days.
It had marched and counter-marched
during that time upwards
of three hundred miles through the
enemy's country, cutting a
wagon road the entire distance, besides
constructing three forti-
fications - Fort Adams, at the St.
Mary's, Fort Defiance, at the
Auglaize, and Fort Wayne, at the Miami
villages. The Indians
of the Northwest had not only been
completely subdued but a
lasting peace had been accomplished. The
arms of the United
States, too, had been vindicated from
the shame of defeat and
disaster.
THE INDIANS DISHEARTENED.
It was reported to General Wayne that
the chiefs and na-
tions were much divided as to peace or
war. The Shawanese,
the Tawas, and Indians near Detroit,
were for war; the Wyan-
dots, of Sandusky, were for peace; the
Delawares and Miamies
were about equally divided; while the
Pottawattamies and the
Chippewas were greatly disheartened over
the battle. It soon
became evident that the Indians desired
peace. Intelligence
came from the West that the Indians were
crossing the Missis-
sippi. A new treaty had been made with
the Iroquois on the
11th of November; while but few Indians
were seen lurking in
the neighborhood of Fort Wayne and Fort
Defiance. They
were impressed with the force of General
Wayne after the en-
gagement at the Fallen Timbers. The
Pottawattamies called
him "The Wind," because, as
they said, "he was exactly like the
hurricane which drives and tears
everything before it." He was
known as "The Blacksnake"
among the other tribes.
OVERTURES FOR PEACE.
While the army was in winter quarters at
Fort Greenville,
General Wayne was constantly receiving
communications from
the chiefs of the tribes - some being of
a friendly and others
of a hostile character. As early as the
28th and 29th of Decem-
ber, 1794, the chiefs of the Chippewas,
Ottawas, Sacs, Pottawat-
232 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
tamies and Miamies, came with messages
of peace to Fort
Wayne; while on January 24th following,
these tribes, together
with the Delawares, Wyandots and
Shawanese entered into a
preliminary article with General Wayne
at Greenville, looking
to a permanent and lasting peace.
Tar-ke, or Crane, chief
Sachem of the Wyandots, entreated the
Americans to listen to
the chiefs and warriors of his tribe,
and referred to the Council
and treaty made with General St. Clair
at Muskingum in 1789.
The Wyandots wrote that they wished for
peace, and had deter-
mined to bury the hatchet and scalping
knife deep in the ground.
General Wayne at once responded to these
appeals, and
sent word to Tar-ke, or Crane, and to
all the chiefs and warriors
of the Wyandots, and to all other tribes
and nations of the In-
dians in the Northwest, that they should
no longer suffer them-
selves to be imposed upon by the bad
advice of unscrupulous
men who had often betrayed them by fair
and plausible, but false
promises of assistance in fighting the
fifteen fires of the United
States. He said to them, that it was
nearly six years since the
Sachems and warriors of the Wyandots,
Delawares, Ottawas,
Chippewas, Pottawattamies and Sacs
concluded a treaty at the
mouth of the Muskingum with General St.
Clair for removing
all causes of controversy, and for
determining the questions of
boundary between the Indian tribes and
the United States. He
contended that that treaty was founded
upon the principles of
equity and justice, and proposed it as a
basis upon which a last-
ing and permanent peace could be
established. They were all
invited to come to Fort Greenville, and
were assured of a cordial
welcome and a safe conduct for all the
chiefs and warriors who
might attend. An ardent desire was
expressed that the Great
Spirit would incline their hearts and
words to peace, and that
they soon might all meet in council.
THE POLICY OF GENERAL WAYNE.
It was the policy of General Wayne to
create a division of
opinion and thus prevent unity of action
among the tribes, at
least until his garrison could be
strengthened. It was said that
many of the Indians, true to the
instincts of pride and ambition,
had determined to remove their families
far beyond the Missis-
The Treaty of Greenville. 233
sippi, rather than submit to the
humiliation of suing for peace
from the white man. Rumor had already
reached General
Wayne that more than one hundred of the
warriors of the Sha-
wanese were then hunting on the
head-waters of the Miamies of
the Ohio, and of the Scioto, who
intended to steal as many horses
as would be necessary to carry them and
their families to the
Mississippi, where several of their
nation and many of the Dela-
wares had already settled, rather than
make peace
BEGINNING OF THE TREATY.
In the beginning of June, 1795, the
Indians began to collect
at Greenville, apparently without any
concert of action, and gave
notice as they arrived that they had
come to negotiate a peace.
On the 16th of June, 1795, a number of
the Delawares, Ottawas,
Pottawattamies, and Eel River Indians
having arrived, General
Wayne caused them to be assembled on
that day, and for the
first time met them in general council.
After they had received
and smoked the calumet of peace, he said
that he took them by
the hands as brothers assembled for
peace; that he had that day
kindled the council fire of the United
States, and then delivered
to each tribe a string of white wampum
as an evidence of the
friendship thus commenced.
General Wayne said: "The Heavens
are high, the woods
are open, we will rest in peace. In the
meantime we will have a
little refreshment to wash the dust from
our throats. We will,
on this happy occasion be merry, but
without passing the bounds
of temperance and sobriety. We will now
cover up the council
fire and keep it alive till the
remainder of the different tribes
assemble and form a full meeting and
representation."
ARRIVAL OF NEW CORN AND
BUCK-ON-GE-HE-LAS.
The next day New Corn, one of the old
chiefs of the Potta-
wattamies, with several warriors
arrived. He said that they had
come from Lake Michigan, and that after
the treaty was over
they would exchange their old medals for
those of General Wash-
ington. They wanted peace.
Buck-on-ge-he-las, with a party of
Delawares came soon
afterward, and also As-i--me-the, with a
party of Pottawattamies.
234 Ohio Arch. and His. Society
Publications.
They were received at the Council House.
The Delaware king
told Wayne that his forefathers used
soft cloth to dry up their
tears, but that they used wampum, and
hoped by its influence to
do away with all past misfortunes. The
Pottawattamie chief said
that they were all there - the remainder
were dead - and as
a proof of their good wishes they had
brought with them two pris-
oners - all in their possession.
General Wayne welcomed them to Greenville;
told them
that the great council fire had been
kindled and the pipe of peace
had been smoked. When the Wyandots from
Sandusky and De-
troit, and the tribes in that quarter
would arrive, fresh wood
would be added to the fire, and business
would be postponed
until then. In the meantime, he would
give them something
which would make their hearts glad, and
also distributed some
wampum.
LITTLE TURTLE, CHIEF OF THE MIAMIES
The celebrated Little Turtle, chief of
the Miamies, came on
the 23rd of June. Little Turtle was the
noblest Roman of them
ali. He commanded at the defeat of
Harmar and St. Clair. He,
like Pontiac, thirty years before him,
was the soul of fire, and
every one who reads of the treaty of
Greenville will be impressed
with his high courage and the manly
stand which he took for his
race and the hunting grounds of his
fathers. It has been said
that the sun of Indian glory set with
him, and when Little Turtle
and Tecumseh passed away the clouds and
shadows which for
two hundred years had gathered around
their race closed in the
starless night of death.
QUARTERS AND PROVISIONS FOR THE
INDIANS.
The Indian chiefs and warriors who had
gathered at Fort
Greenville were all present on the 25th
of June, when General
Wayne addressed them as to the
arrangements he had made for
their comfort during the council. The
exterior redoubts were
given up to accomodate the different
nations with council houses.
He desired them to retire to their
quarters like his own men at
the firing of the evening gun. If any of
his foolish young men
were found troubling their quarters he
wished the Indians to tie
The Treaty of Greenville. 235
them and send them to him, to be dealt
with according to cir-
cumstances of the case.
It seems that there had been an accident
the day before, in
the explosion of some fireworks prepared
for the 4th of July,
and that the soldiers immediately rushed
to their posts, to the
astonishment of the Indians, who feared
an attack. The Gen-
eral assured them, that this was the
order of the camp. They
were present at his invitation and were
not more secure in their
own villages. He humored the Indians by
telling them that
General Washington and his great council
had sent them large
presents which he soon expected; - their
friends, the Quakers,
had also sent them messages and some
small presents. Bad
Bird, a Chippewa chief, thought that was
all very right and very
good.
Little Turtle made a short speech on the
30th of June to the
Chippewas, and said that when brothers
meet they always ex-
perienced pleasure; and as it was a
little cool, he hoped they
would get some drink; and that they
expected to be treated as
warriors. He wanted some fire-water, and
would like to have
some mutton and pork occasionally. New
Corn was most happy
to be in accord with the sentiments of
Little Turtle; but their
hearts were sorry, and it grieved them
to have seen the graves of
their brothers who fell there last
winter.
The Sun, chief of the Pottawattamies,
complained of the
allowance of food. They ate in the
morning and became hungry
at night. The days were long and they
had nothing to do.
They became weary and wished for home.
GENERAL WAYNE AS A DIPLOMAT.
General Wayne was the real diplomat. He
was prudent in
council as well as brave in war.
Warriors from all the Indian
tribes of the Northwest had gathered in
council, and while those
were present who had defied and even
defeated the whole armed
power of the United States, yet they
were as little children. He
explained that they had no pork, and but
few sheep, which were
intended for the use of the sick, and
occasionally for the officers.
He promised that the sick should share
with his own sick in the
comforts of the camp, and that he would
divide with the officers.
236
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
The graves of which New Corn spoke could
not be remedied
and grief was unmanly. He gave each of
the chiefs a sheep for
their own use, and some drink for
themselves and their people,
to make their hearts glad and to dry up
their tears; and then
suggested, by way of parenthesis, that
they all take a glass
together.
General Wayne having now waited as long
as was deemed
expedient called the council together
July 15th, 1795, and un-
covered the council fire, and had the
interpreter sworn. He
presented the Calumet of Peace of the
fifteen fires (fifteen states)
of the United States of America. He
showed the Indians pres-
ent the commission he held from General
Washington and the
Council of the fifteen fires, appointing
him Commander-in-chief
of the American Legion, and then the
commission which he had
received from the same authority on the
4th day of April, 1794,
for settling a peace with all the
Indians northwest of the Ohio.
He impressed the chiefs and warriors
assembled with the
great importance of the interests at
stake, and that they were
now called upon to determine questions
which involved the hap-
piness of the United States and the
Indian nations. He invoked
the blessing of the Great Spirit upon
their deliberations.
THE MUSKINGUM TREATY.
General Wayne then referred to the
treaty which had been
concluded by Governor St. Clair at Fort
Harmar at the mouth
of the Muskingum, which had removed all
controversy for the
time, and had clearly defined the
boundaries between them and
the United States. He urged them to
think coolly of these
matters, and having raked up the council
fire, invited them all
to have some drink.
Little Turtle several days afterward
replied with much
warmth to General Wayne: "We have
heard," said he, "and
considered what you have said to us. You
have shown, and we
have seen, your powers to treat with us.
I came here for the
purpose of hearing you. I suppose it to
be your wish that peace
shall take place throughout the world.
When we hear you say
so we will be prepared to answer you.
You have told me that the
present treaty should be founded upon
that of Muskingum. I
The Treaty of Greenville. 237
beg leave to observe to you that that
treaty was effected alto-
gether by the Six Nations, who seduced
some of our young men
to attend it, together with a few of the
Chippewas, Wyandots, Ot
tawas, Delawares and Pottawattamies. I
beg leave to tell you
that I am entirely ignorant of what was
done at that treaty. I
hope those who held it may give you
their opinion whether or
not is was agreeable to them."
Massas, a celebrated Chippewa chief, arrived
on the 18th
with Blue Jacket of the Shawanese and
participated in the Coun-
cil. The speech of Massas is interesting
in that it gives an ac-
count of the celebrated Muskingum Treaty
from the Indian
standpoint. He was at the Treaty of
Muskingum and held a
copy in his hand. He admitted that the
treaty had not been
faithfully followed, but said in
extenuation that the waters in their
woods were not deep, and that some
foolish young men with
long arms had reached into the bottom
and taken their toma-
hawks.
Little Turtle demanded to know what
lands had been ceded
by the Treaty of Muskingum. "I
expect," said he, "that the
lands on the Wabash and in this country
belong to me and my
people. I now take the opportunity to
inform my brethren of
the United States and others present
that there are men of sense
and understanding among my people as
well as among theirs,
and that these lands were disposed of
without our knowledge
and consent. .... You have pointed out,
he continued, the
boundary line between the Indians and
the United States; but
I now take the liberty to inform you
that that line cuts off from
the Indians a large portion of country
which has been enjoyed
by my forefathers from time immemorial
without molestation or
dispute. The prints of my ancestor's
houses are everywhere to
he seen in this portion. I was a little
astonished at hearing you
and my brethren who are present telling
each other what busi-
ness you had transacted together at
Muskingum concerning this
country. It is well known by all my
brothers present that my
forefather kindled the first fire at
Detroit; from thence he ex-
tended his lines to the head-waters of
the Scioto; from thence
to its mouth; from thence down the Ohio
to the mouth of the
238
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Wabash, and from thence to Lake
Michigan. At this place I
first saw my elder brothers, the
Shawanese. I have now in-
formed you of the boundaries of the
Miami Nation, where the
Great Spirit placed my forefather a long
time ago, and charged
him not to sell or part with his lands,
but to preserve them for
his posterity. This charge has been
handed down to me. I
was much surprised that my brothers
differed so much from me
on this subject; for their conduct would
lead me to suppose that
the Great Spirit and their forefathers
had not given them the
same charge that was given to me, but,
on the contrary, had
directed them to sell their lands to any
who wore a hat as soon
as he should ask it of them."
THE BOUNDARY LINES.
On the 17th day clay of July, 1795,
General Wayne fixed the
general boundary line that should divide
the United States, or
the fifteen great fires of America, from
the lands belonging to
the Indian nations. He explained to them
the several articles
of a treaty upon which a permanent peace
could be established
between the United States and the Indian
tribes northwest of
the Ohio. The third article, which
should define the boundary
reads that "The general boundary
line between the lands of the
United States and the lands of the said
Indian tribes shall begin
at the mouth of the Cuyahoga river, and
run thence up the same
to the portage between that and the
Tuscarawas branch of the
Muskingum; thence down that branch to
the crossing place
near Fort Laurens; thence westwardly to
a fork of that branch
of the great Miami river running into
the Ohio river, at or near
which stood Loramie's Store, and where
commenced the portage
between the Miami of the Ohio and St.
Mary's river, which is
a branch of the Miami which runs into
Lake Erie; thence a wes-
terly course to Fort Recovery, which
stands on the bank of the
Wabash; thence southerly in a direct
line to the Ohio, so as to
intersect that river opposite the mouth
of the Kentucky or Cut-
tawa river."
There were certain reservations granted
to the Indians in
this treaty. The treaty provided for a
lasting peace, and stipu-
lated that all the prisoners then held
should be restored. Little
The Treaty of Greenville. 239
Turtle insisted that the line should run
from Fort Recovery to
Fort Hamilton, on the Great Miami, and
assured the whites of
the free navigation of that river from
thence to its mouth
forever.
THE SIGNING OF THE TREATY.
The treaty was signed by the various
nations, and dated
August the 3d, 1795. It was laid before
the Senate December
9th, 1795, and was ratified December 22d,
1795. This closed
the old Indian wars of the West.
General Wayne in declaring the Council
at an end, said: "I
now fervently pray to the Great Spirit
that the peace now estab-
lished may be permanent; and that it may
hold us together in
the bonds of friendship until time shall
be no more. I also pray
that the Great Spirit above may
enlighten your minds and open
your eyes to your true happiness, that
your children may learn
to cultivate the earth and enjoy the
fruits of peace and industry."
By the treaty the Indians ceded about
25,000 square
miles
of territory to the United States,
besides sixteen separate tracts
including lands and forts. The Indians
received in considera-
tion of these cessions goods of the
value of twenty thousand dol-
lars as presents, and were promised an
annual allowance of
ninety-five hundred dollars to be
equally distributed to the par-
ties to the treaty.
A second treaty was concluded at
Greenville, July 22, 1814,
with the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawanese,
Senecas and Mi-
amies, by General William Henry Harrison
and Governor Lewis
Cass, commissioners on the part of the
United States, by which
the tribes engaged to aid the United
States in the war with
Great Britain and her savage allies.
EARLY RESULTS OF THE TREATY.
General Wayne sent a proclamation to the
Cherokees, then
settled on the head-waters of the
Scioto, of the treaty, and invited
them to come forward and enter into
similar articles of peace.
Most of them promised to hunt peaceably
on the Scioto until
their corn was ripe, and then they would
quit this side of the
Ohio forever and return to their own
country.
240 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Burnet in his Notes, speaks of a party
of Shawanese war-
riors, some sixty or seventy in number,
who had been hostile,
bringing four prisoners to Greenville,
three of whom they had
captured on the 13th of July, 1795, in Randolph
county, Virginia.
Puck-se-saw, or Jumper, one of their
chiefs, said that as soon as
he received the belt which General Wayne
had sent by Blue
Jacket, he concluded to surrender the
prisoners and promised to
do no more mischief.
A MAJESTIC MONUMENT.
The blessings of liberty, law and order
crown the century
which has passed since the signing of
the Treaty of Greenville.
The harvests are peacefully gathered to
their garners, the valleys
rustle with standing corn and the songs
of our homes are unin-
vaded by the cries and terrors of
battle. The soil itself was dedi-
cated to human freedom, and has never
been cursed by the unre-
quited toil of the bondman. The
institutions and laws of five
great Republics are founded on the
imperishable principles of the
Ordinance of 1787. It established a code
of law for an imperial
territory. That great instrument
enjoined the utmost good faith
toward the Indians in their liberty,
their lands and their property,
and in the enactment of laws founded on
justice and humanity.
The treaty of Greenville, following the
spirit of its imperishable
principles, extended the hand of
friendship toward the Indian, re-
spected his liberty, paid full
compensation for his lands and pro-
tected his property. It established a
code of morals for a free
people. When some future Bancroft shall
write the history of
this people he will speak of the great
Ordinance as the first at-
tempt to establish civic government in
the Northwestern States,
and then of the Treaty here proclaimed,
which supplants the
harsher tones of military strife with
the softer syllables of charity
and love. If, too, the victories of
peace are not less renonwned
than those of war, then the day will
surely come when a grateful
people, revering their traditions, and
conscious of the maxims
imperial of their glory, will erect on
this historic ground a majes-
tic monument, having an outstretched
hand rather than a fixed
bayonet, and with the simple yet
immortal inscription, "The
Treaty of Greenville."