THE INDIAN IN OHIO
With a Map of the
Ohio Country
BY H. C. SHETRONE, ASSISTANT CURATOR,
Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society.
FOREWORD.
The accompanying narrative is offered in
response to an
apparent demand for a briefly
comprehensive account of the
aboriginal inhabitants of the territory
comprised within the State
of Ohio.
The need of such an addition to the
already extensive litera-
ture on the subject is suggested by
frequent inquiry on the part
of visitors to the Museum of the Ohio
State Archaeological and
Historical Society. This inquiry, representing all ages and
classes of visitors, but more
particularly pupils and teachers of
the public schools, may be fairly
summarized in a representative
query: "Where can I find 'a book'
that will give me the facts
about the Indian and the Mound Builder
?"
The difficulty of meeting this inquiry
would seem to indicate
that the wealth of research and
investigation along the line of
Ohio aboriginal history has not been
presented in a form fully
meeting the requirements of the average
reader. It is a simple
matter to meet the demands of the
special student, with time and
inclination for study; but apparently
the numerous productions
pertinent to the subject either are not
readily available to the
average reader, are not comprehensive of
all its phases, or in
some other way are unsuited to his
purpose.
While many important questions relative
to the Indian and
the so-called Mound Builder remain as
yet unanswered, the re-
sults of recent historic research and
archaeological exploration
make possible a fairly accurate sketch
of the aboriginal race in
Ohio, both before and since the advent
of white men. The pur-
pose, then, of this brief outline is to
supplement the Society's
(274)
The Indian in Ohio. 275
Publications and Museum exhibits, to the
end that visitors and
students may learn, insofar as known,
the more important facts
relevant to these "First
Ohioans", their activities, and the dis-
tinction and relationship between the
several great cultures of the
native American race which, successively
or contemporaneously,
made their homes on Ohio soil.
To accomplish this it has been deemed
necessary to unify,
under one cover, three aspects of the
subject usually presented
separately; namely, the American race as
a whole; the Indian in
Ohio (historic period) ; and the
prehistoric or archaeological
period in the same territory. Each of
these topics has been ex-
haustively presented by masters of thought
and expression; and
but for the desirability of combining
the three as component parts
of the story of the American aborigine
in Ohio, this compilation
would be highly presumptuous and without
justification. The
result is the more confidently
submitted, in that it follows closely
the writings of the acknowledged
authorities from which it is
compiled.
In the pages touching upon the American
aborigine in the
broader sense, the publications of the
Bureau of American Eth-
nology, the reports of the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, and the
works of a few of the standard authors
have been consulted.
The story of the Indian in Ohio, within
the historic period, has
been taken mainly from the masterly
presentation of Mr. E. O.
Randall in the "History of Ohio -
The Rise and Progress of an
American State," by Randall and
Ryan. Mr. Randall's treatment
of the Ohio Indian and his activities is
most exhaustive, and is
the last word in authenticity and
literary style, besides being the
most recent of the several standard
productions relating to the
subject. The brief summary of the
prehistoric period in Ohio is
based upon the researches and
investigations of Professor Wil-
liam C. Mills, Curator of the Ohio State
Archaeological and His-
torical Museum, and the acknowledged
"foremost exponent of
Mound Exploration in America". The
writer has had the honor
of being actively associated with
Professor Mills in field explora-
tions in Ohio during the past five
years, and through this has
been enabled to form first-hand
impressions of the prehistoric
period of Ohio occupancy.
276 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
In preparing the map of the Ohio
country, the sole aim has
been to serve the convenience of the
student of the period of
historic Indian occupancy. The Ohio
river and Lake Erie, with
their principal tributary streams, will
serve to acquaint the reader
with the physical geography of the
country, while these, together
with a few of the more important
aboriginal trails will indicate
the travel thoroughfares thereof.
Several modern cities have
been introduced to assist in determining
more easily the relative
locations of the Indian villages, and
the forts and battlefields of
the period.
In connection with the Indian towns it
has been thought
desirable, where not otherwise obvious,
to indicate the tribes to
which they pertained. The dates
accompanying these villages do
not purport to show the time of
settlement or origin, often un-
known, disputed or unimportant, but
rather that of first prominent
mention or of greatest historic
interest. The same reservation ap-
plies to the indicated territories of
the several tribes, which,
owing to constant change in their
boundaries and the fact that
they often overlapped one another cannot
be definitely outlined.
Sufficient of the territory adjacent to
Ohio proper is shown to
include occurrences inseparable from its
Indian history.
If this brief outline of Ohio Indian
history serves to supply
the average reader with desired
information and, through encour-
agement to those who may have
opportunity and inclination for
further study of the early history of
Ohio, tends to make "two
readers, where but one read
before", its object shall have been
attained.
THE NATIVE AMERICAN RACE
THE INDIAN AND THE PERIOD OF DISCOVERY.
In order properly to understand the
Indians and Mound
Builders who made their homes in what is
now Ohio, it is neces-
sary to consider briefly the native
American race as a whole, to
which these early inhabitants of our
state belonged. Just as it
would be impossible to write a complete
history of the present
inhabitants of Ohio, without referring
to persons and events in
other states, so it would be very
difficult to tell the story of these
"first Ohioans" entirely apart
from others of their race.
It is well known that when Columbus
discovered America
he entertained the mistaken idea that he
had touched upon the
shores of India, and that it was in this
belief that he named the
natives "Indians". Later, when
the New World was christened
America, the natives, for some reason,
continued to be known as
Indians. Within recent years numerous
attempts have been made
to adopt a more suitable name, but the
term Indian has become
so thoroughly incorporated into language
and literature that it
still prevails, and with the prefix
"American", is generally used
and recognized as designating in a broad
sense the native abo-
rigines of the Western hemisphere.
With the possible exception of the
Eskimo all the native
tribes of the Americas of both historic
and prehistoric times,
despite marked variation in culture and
physical type, are classed
as belonging to one great race --the
American, or Red race.
The Eskimo are classified by some scientists
as a distinct sub-
race, believed to be directly descended
from the Mongolians of
Asia; but most authorities now agree
that they really belong to
the American race and consider them
merely as a variant phys-
ical type, with decided Mongolian
traits, and as possibly suggest-
ing a connecting link between the
American and the Asiatic
peoples. In a certain sense the Indians
are, or were, the real
Americans; but the name American was
reserved for the com-
ing great nation of white settlers, who
were to explore, colonize
(277)
278 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
and develop the country; and the Indian,
in name as in more
material respects, was forced to make
way for the advance of
civilization.
It would be interesting indeed if we of
today could roll
back the years and view the native
inhabitants of the newly dis-
covered world as they appeared to
Columbus and others of his
time. In this age of the trained
explorer and ready press the
minutest details of a hitherto unknown
people would be quickly
made known, but at that remote period it
is not surprising to
find that often only the more apparent
facts were recorded. The
men who were so bold as to navigate
unknown and uncharted
seas, in sailing vessels which today
would be considered unsafe
even on our inland waters, and who
ventured for thousands of
miles from their native shores under
conditions which made
their return very uncertain, could not
be expected to pay much
attention to minor details. Their
purpose, indeed, was as im-
portant as their risk was great. The
demand of western Europe
for a new sea route to the Orient
usually is considered as the
prime incentive to Columbus' voyages of
discovery. The desire
to prove or disprove the sphericity of
the earth, a theory just
then attracting marked attention, and
the spirit of adventure,
with the prospect of discovering new and
strange lands where
treasure might be had for the taking,
were of themselves suffi-
cient incentive to lure the hardy
mariner into strange waters.
In the fact that the early explorer was
enabled to see and
observe the natives before contact with
Europeans had influenced
and changed their natural condition,
lies the greatest importance
of his records. The study of an
uncivilized people before con-
tact with other peoples has modified
their habits and customs is
very important, it their true history is
to be learned. After
such contact the change is often rapid,
and the legibility of the
story decreases in direct ratio as
opportunity for its study in-
creases. The early explorers were not
handicapped in this re-
spect, although their records, while
invaluable, are not always
as satisfactory as might be desired.
Often the very things we
most wish to know are left untold, while
again descriptions evi-
dently are fanciful and not infrequently
conflicting. The latter
is not to be wondered at, since the vast
extent of the newly dis-
The Indian in Ohio. 279
covered territory, with its extremes in
climate and other natural
conditions, meant corresponding extremes
of culture, or progress,
among the inhabitants; so that
explorers, touching at different
localities, would form different
impressions of the natives. De-
spite these imperfections, the several
records of early explora-
tion comprise quite an extensive
literature and furnish the basis
upon which all our knowledge of the
native inhabitants is
founded.
Touching first at the Bahama Islands and
later upon the
South American continent, Columbus had
his introduction to,
and received his first impression of the
natives. Then followed
the Cabots, Magellan, de Leon, Balboa,
Cortez, De Soto, Cartier,
and many others, all within the period
of discovery, and all
viewing the native inhabitants in their
primitive condition. Had
these men found everywhere the same
degree of culture, or de-
velopment, their stories in the main
would have been very much
alike, and much less time would have
been required in arriving
at a correct understanding of the native
race as a whole. But
in view of the diversity in climate,
topography and other condi-
tions having an important bearing upon
human welfare, it is
but natural that the inhabitants of the
several sections of so large
a country should have been unlike in
many respects.
As time passed and the new country
became better known,
opportunity was afforded for more
careful observation and com-
parison, with the result that many
discrepancies in the records
of discoverers and explorers were
reconciled. These records,
together with those of later and
present-day investigators, give
to the historic American Indian an
intelligible entity; while the
sum total of this knowledge,
supplemented by the work of the
archaeologist, has given us a fairly
clear insight into the life of
the race in prehistoric times.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.
In the study of the human race, science
leaves no stone
unturned. Everything is considered that
holds a possibility of
throwing light upon the subject, past,
present or future. The
means employed are grouped under three
general heads; anthro-
pology, the science which deals with man
as a physical being,
280 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
that is, with the natural history of the
species; ethnology, which
treats of the activities of man, such as
language, art, industry,
religion, social and political
organization, manners and customs;
and archeology, which has to do with man
before history began
to record his story. The term
anthropology is used also in a
broader sense, as meaning the science of
man, and including
everything in any way pertaining to his
existence.
Anthropology, in this outline of the
American Indian, is
used purely in a physical sense.
Physical characteristics usually
are the first to attract attention in
the study of a people, and
probably are the most stable and
unchanging of the many items
pertaining to such an inquiry. By the
color of the skin and
hair, the cast of features and other
physical attributes, is deter-
mined the race to which a people
belongs. In the case of the
American Indian, science has found that,
with the exception
already noted, they pertain to one great
race, distinct from any
other.
The type is characterized by a swarthy
complexion, reddish-
brown to dark-brown in color; hair,
straight and black, with a
bluish luster; eyes brown; face medium
to broad, with high
cheek bones. In stature, the Indian
compares favorably with
the white inhabitant of today, although
the average varies among
different tribes and localities. The
term "red-skin" as popu-
larly applied to the Indian is
misleading, for while the com-
plexion is often highly colored from sun
and exposure due to
an outdoor mode of life, it is far from
being red in color, as that
term is generally used. Stories of
giants and pigmies among
the American natives likewise are
untrue, except that there have
been occasional very tall and very short
individuals, their occur-
rence, however, being no more frequent
than among other peo-
ples. Rather marked exceptions to this
rule are the Eskimos,
who as a people are much undersized, and
the Patagonians, of
the extreme southern extension of South
America, who are un-
usually tall. The head of the Indian is
a trifle smaller than that
of the white man, and the forehead is
often low and receding;
the hands and feet are not so large, but
the chest and back are
particularly strong and well developed,
indicating an active life
in the open. The male Indian naturally
has a sparse beard on
The Indian in Ohio. 281
the face which, however, seldom is
allowed to grow. On the
whole, the Indian as a race occupies a
position, anatomically,
between that of the white man and the
negro.
MENTALITY AND MORALITY.
In considering the mentality, or mind of
the Indian, we
should remember that "what the
father is the child will be."
The mind of the Indian child is moulded
by what he sees and
hears, and he grows up to be like those
around him. A child
of civilized parents placed in a similar
position would come to be
very like his foster-parents, and the
same is almost equally true
of an Indian child reared under the
influences and guidance of
a civilized home. The innate, or natural
mental capacity of the
Indian, therefore, may be said to be but
little inferior to that of
an individual of a civilized people. One
distinction, however,
should be kept in mind; namely, that on
the part of the unciv-
ilized individual the tendency to revert
to his former condition
is particularly strong, and a factor
always to be considered.
Many Indians who have attended the
higher institutions of learn-
ing, after having shown marked mental
capacity and achieve-
ment, have yielded to this strange
influence and have returned
to the life of their people.
In the matter of morals and morality the
Indian again is the
product of custom and association. What
is moral or immoral,
right or wrong, is largely a matter of
time and place, since stand-
ards vary so greatly among peoples. In
his native state the In-
dian knew and recognized many of the
cardinal virtues, such as
truth, honesty and the sanctity of human
life. Public opinion,
rather than law and the fear of
punishment was the motive
which compelled obedience to social
decree, although in many
tribes executive councils, having powers
of enforcement, were
recognized. In his own clan or tribe the
Indian respected the
rights of others and their property. It
was only against hostile
tribes with whom he might be at war that
depredations were
committed, as during such times pillage
and other forms of re-
prisal were considered proper. On the
whole there was much
to be commended in the character of the
Indian, and many in-
282 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
stances are recorded where he displayed
generosity, faithfulness
and courage of a high order.
SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION.
Aside from a few fundamentals common
alike to the great
number of culture planes represented
among the American
aborigines, it is impossible to present,
in a brief outline, a plan
of social and political organization
that will apply to all. Why
this should be so is readily apparent,
since we have seen that in
the course of their racial career the
Indians became separated
into numerous tribes and nations, each
developing its several
institutions in accordance with the
influence of environment and
other natural causes. In general, it may
be said that aboriginal
social and political organization,
always very closely associated,
were based upon kinship, or
consanguinity, rather than upon
territorial or geographical districts.
As perhaps the most representative of
the several units com-
posing the social and governmental
fabric, as well as the most
widely known, we may consider what is
designated as the tribe.
A tribe as constituted among the
American Indians is, or was,
a body of persons bound together by
blood ties or assumed re-
lationship resulting from the almost
universal custom of adop-
tion; by the possession of a common
language, and by certain
definite ideas as to social, political
and religious observances.
While kinship remained the basis of
tribal organization and
government, the tribe was more or less
fixed as to territorial
district and as to residence, thus
uniting the personal and the
geographical idea. The tribe, as such,
constituted an independent
state; but when united with other tribes
for mutual benefit, it
became part of a confederation. The
confederation was the
most highly developed unit of
organization, and whereas the
tribe corresponded to the state, the
confederation might be likened
to the nation.
Among the more primitive of the Indians,
the tribe was
loosely organized, its subdivisions
consisting of families and
bands; but in its higher development, it
was made up of divi-
sions known as clans or gentes. These
consisted of groups of
persons, actually or theoretically
related, organized to promote
The Indian in Ohio. 283
their social and political welfare.
Members of a clan or gens
often assumed a common class name, or a
totem, derived from
some animal or object, by which they
were distinguished from
members of another clan. Each tribe
might have a number of
clans, which in turn were organized into
phratries, or brother-
hoods. These phratries, usually but two
to a tribe, were really
social in their province, having to do
with ceremonial and re-
ligious assemblies, festivals, and so
forth. The members of a
phratry, or rather of the clans
composing it, considered them-
selves as brothers, while those of the
other phratry they addressed
as cousins.
The clan or gens was composed of the
family groups, the
first and simplest of the units of
organization. The family cor-
responded rudely to the household or
fireside, but varied greatly
in its significance among the different
tribes. Thus we have the
family, organized into clans or gentes;
these units united to form
phratries; the phratries combining to
form the tribe; and occa-
sionally, the tribe uniting with others
to form a confederacy.
But the tribal form of government
remains the prevailing type,
in which the most noticeable feature is
the sharp line drawn
between the social and civil functions,
and the military func-
tions. The former were lodged in a
tribal chief or chiefs, who
in turn were organized into a council
exercising legislative, judi-
cial and executive functions. These
civil chiefs were not per-
mitted to exercise authority in military
affairs, which usually
were left to captains, or war chiefs,
and to the grand council of
the tribe. These captains were men
chosen on account of their
fitness for the position and were
retained or dismissed according
to their success or failure in
prosecuting warfare.
RELIGION OF THE INDIAN.
The religion of the Indian, as with
other uncivilized peoples,
was based largely upon the supernatural,
or what appeared to
him as supernatural. What he could see
and understand, that
is, what could be explained by perfectly
obvious standards, he
accepted as natural; everything beyond
this was to him something
mysterious and a part of the spiritual.
With his limited knowl-
edge of the laws of nature and their
causes and effects, it is
284 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
apparent that many of the phenomena
which he observed about
him would partake of the supernatural.
The essence of the Indian's religion was
what might be
termed magic power. This power he
believed to be vested in
various objects, animals, men, spirits
and deities, and to be able
either to injure or benefit him. It was
supposed to be some-
thing stronger than the same power or
powers within himself,
and to be capable of influencing, or
subject to influence by,
human activity. Thus his whole endeavor
was to the end that
he might gain and retain the good will
of those powers which
were friendly, and control those which
were inclined to be hos-
tile. Many methods of accomplishing this
were practiced by
the different tribes, among them being
charms, prayer, incanta-
tions, fasting, taboos, - the avoidance
of certain foods and acts
supposed to be displeasing to the
powers,--and offerings of
various kinds. The last named probably
never, or very seldom
at least, took the form of human
sacrifice, but consisted in offer-
ings of food, ornaments, weapons and
other minor objects.
The Indian believed himself possessed of
a spirit, or spirits,
which live in the hereafter; that the
world has always existed,
rather than that it was specially
created; and in some instances
the belief in magic power was carried so
far as to suggest in
an indefinite way the idea of deity.
Contrary to the general
belief, however, the Indian in his
natural state did not conceive
of a definite God, or Creator, but
rather of a mystic something
without definite form or attributes. By
the Algonquins this
power was called "Manito" -the
Gitche Manito of Longfellow's
Hiawatha - while the Iroquois expressed
the same idea by the
word Orenda. The Indian conception, as
expressed by these
terms, is often referred to by the
writers of fiction and Indian
tales as the Great Spirit.
The religious instinct in the Indian is
highly developed, and
his inclination toward religious
excitement is strong. As in
other creeds, there have been many
so-called prophets who from
time to time have introduced new
religious beliefs among them.
Among the foremost of these was
Tenskwatawa, the Shawnee
prophet, whose teachings stirred the
entire Indian population
east of the Mississippi just prior to
the War of 1812. Other
The Indian in Ohio. 285
noted prophets were Wovoka, originator
of the Ghost Dance
religion or Messiah craze, which swept
the Western states in
1888, resulting in serious Indian
disturbances; the Delaware
prophet of Pontiac's conspiracy, 1762;
and Smohalla, the
"dreamer of the Columbia."
Almost from the beginning European
settlers in America
were active in spreading among the
Indians their several religious
creeds, with the result that
Christianity was widely disseminated
among them. This work was carried on
mainly through the
establishment of missions, through which
were combined the
teaching of industry, morality and
religious belief. Many of the
heads of these missions were men of
force and character, who
dedicated their lives to the welfare of
the Indians and underwent
almost unbelievable deprivations and
hardships in carrying out
their undertakings. To these men we owe
much of our knowl-
edge of the early Indian tribes,
particularly as regards language,
customs and religion.
THE INDIAN LANGUAGES.
Under the head of ethnology, language
has been a very im-
portant factor in the study of the
American Indian. While con-
sidered from the physical viewpoint we
find that the natives
belong to a single great race, language
has shown that this race is
divided into a large number of
linguistic, or language, groups or
families. Language is one of the
scientist's most powerful aids
in the study of a people. By tracing the
history of words and
their meanings it is sometimes possible
to follow the migrations
and trace the origins and relationships
of peoples apparently
widely separated. In this way, within
the territory comprised
within the United States alone upward of
sixty different lin-
guistic families have been noted; that
is to say, the various tribes
are apportioned among that number of
distinct languages. In
turn the various languages, or stocks,
are divided into numerous
dialects, just as is true with other and
more highly developed
languages.
Of the fifty-six stock languages
recognized, a few are of
great extent and importance, while
others are comparatively
286 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
unimportant. Most of the latter are
confined to the Pacific coast,
at least twenty-five of them being
represented in the three states
of Washington, Oregon and California.
The most important of
the language groups was the great
Algonquin family, which em-
braced the New England and the East
coast, all of south-eastern
Canada and the country surrounding lakes
Superior, Huron and
Michigan, and extended southward into
the United States over
Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois,
Indiana, south-western Ohio,
and Kentucky. This great family
comprised most of the Indians
with whom the early Colonists came into
contact, and who figure
so largely in our early Indian
literature.
The second best known language family,
insofar as early
settlement is concerned, were the
Iroquois, whose principal terri-
tory encircled lakes Huron and Erie, and
extended on both sides
of the St. Lawrence river from these
lakes to its mouth. Most
of the territory within the states of
New York and Pennsylvania,
and a part of Ohio, was included in this
area, which in turn was
almost completely surrounded by the
great Algonquin territory.
West of the Mississippi river the
principal families were the
Sioux, the Athapascans and the
Shoshones. Of these the Sioux
were particularly prominent, figuring
conspicuously in the Indian
troubles which attended the opening of
the great western country.
The remaining families ranged in
importance from a few mem-
bers or a single tribe, to the extensive
Mushogean family, com-
prising the Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws
and Seminoles of the
south-eastern states; and the Caddoan
family, farther west,
whose chief tribes were the Caddos,
Pawnees and Wichitas.
One unacquainted with the character of
language, as used
by uncivilized peoples, might very
naturally have some curiosity
to know something of the language of the
American Indian. It
would be correctly surmised that the
language of a barbarian
people would not be so highly developed
as that of a civilized
community. In fact, language is a
growth, having its inception
at the time when man begins to realize
the need of a means of
expressing thought, and its development
is exactly in proportion
to the development of mentality. This
growth and development
of language is progressing today just as
it has done through all
time. When a new discovery or invention
is made, a new word
The Indian in Ohio. 287
usually is created or "coined"
to name or describe it. No known
people is so low in intelligence as to
be devoid of some sort of
language, yet in the case of many
savages the means of orally
expressing thought are very limited and
crude.
While in many respects the languages
used by the American
Indians are distinct and different one
from another, there are
certain traits which are common to
practically all of them. For
example, in most cases where in English
we use separate words
to convey different shades and
modifications of meaning, the same
thing, in the Indian languages, is
effected by what grammarians
term "grammatical processes";
that is, by changes in the stem
words or by adding or subtracting
prefixes and suffixes and by
certain gestures and movements
supplementing the spoken words.
In this way such forms of speech as
prepositions, adverbs and
conjunctions often are almost entirely
ignored. Many sounds
unfamiliar to English-speaking persons
are met with, and a
number of the languages, particularly
those of the north-west, are
considered as harsh and unpleasing to
the ear. Those of the
central and eastern families, however,
are more euphonic. So it
is readily seen that to the student of
modern English grammar
the construction and use of the native
American languages would
appear strange and difficult indeed.
Naturally the mental process of the
Indian is not so delicate
and discriminating as that of highly civilized
man, and therefore
his ideas are more likely to be concrete
than highly abstract in
form. His language, while possessing a
good grammatical basis
and fairly extensive vocabularies, is
better adapted to descriptive
expression than to generalized
statements. After a manner the
Indian is a fluent speaker, and the race
has produced a number of
eloquent and forceful orators, not alone
in the present generation
but among those of earlier times.
ARTS AND INDUSTRIES.
The degree of advancement to which a
people has attained
is reflected very clearly in their arts
and industries, and these,
coming under the head of ethnology,
claim an important place in
the study of the American Indian. By
arts and industries is
288 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
meant the manner in which natural
products of the earth were
utilized in the service of man.
In his most primitive state, man depends
for subsistence al-
most entirely on what he can reach out
and take from nature's
bounty, such as fruits, nuts, roots,
plants and game. In this stage
of development--the lowest grade of
savagery--an equable
climate is essential to human existence;
hence very little in the
way of shelter or clothing is required.
Natural caves or crevices
in the rocks, or at best rudely
constructed artificial shelters, suffice
for protection and warmth. A
supply of water, of course,
is pre-supposed, and usually is readily
accessible. Thus savage
man finds ready prepared for him in
nature and her spontaneous
products the requisites for satisfying
the three necessary require-
ments of human life - food, water and
shelter.
The growth and development of the human
race has been
likened to the changes through which the
individual passes in
his progress from infancy to adult life.
The savage state cor-
responds to the infant, the barbarian
stage to youth, and civiliza-
tion to adult life. In the first of
these human intelligence is little
more than instinct and, as in the case
of the infant, serves merely
to prompt the individual to reach out
and take whatever appeals
to his needs. Beginning with practically
nothing in the way of
artificial aids to living, the savage
gradually takes advantage of
natural objects suggesting aid or
usefulness. One of his first dis-
coveries is that a stone, of proper size
and shape to be grasped in
the hand, is useful for pounding; and
thus originated the stone
hammer, which has been characterized as
the father of all civiliza-
tions. From its first use can be traced
directly the development
of all tools arid machinery, and through
these the evolution of the
human race to its present high estate.
Quite early in his development the
savage learns to modify
the shape and size of his stone hammer,
and even to mount it in
a handle; for in striking one stone
against another he observes
the principles of cleavage and breakage,
which in turn lead to
the art of chipping or flaking stone.
This, the most important of
the early accomplishments of man,
furnishes him with edged im-
plements for cutting and pointed
instruments for perforating.
The Indian in Ohio. 289
A hollow stone, a shell or a gourd would
first serve him as a
container for water or food and would
lead to the modification ot
natural objects to more suitable forms.
The flexibility of a stick
or twig would suggest to him a latent
power which, after a time.
would evolve into the bow and arrow.
Through friction and per-
cussion he learns to produce fire,
although in this art, as in the
chipping of stone and flint, it would
seem that special instinct
came to his aid, so generally and early
were they known to savage
man.
Within the United States proper it is
not known whether the
lowest stage of human development was
represented, as all the
tribes at the time of discovery or of
first observation were at least
in the upper stages of savagery. The
least advanced of these
probably were some of the tribes of the
territory within our
north-western states.
The second stage of development, or
barbarism, is char-
acterized by an advanced use of
artificial aids to existence and
by a well defined social status; that
is, definite ideas as to social
organization, religion, morality and so
forth. This state, as
before mentioned, corresponds to the
period of youth in the indi-
vidual. A more or less sedentary or
settled life, occupational de-
velopment, and a certain amount of
agriculture render man of the
barbaric stage much less dependent upon
chance for a livelihood.
The simple lessons learned in the savage
state are elaborated and,
through the use of his natural ingenuity
and awakening mentality,
he improves upon old methods of
utilizing the resources at his
command. The rudely chipped implements
and utensils of stone
give place to those of more careful
finish and form; the shell and
gourd as containers are replaced by
vessels of potteryware;
natural shelters are modified to suit
his convenience or are alto-
gether replaced by specially erected
dwellings; he learns the art
of weaving fabric for clothing and
blankets and the making of
baskets for use as containers; and art,
in its finer sense - deco-
rative, ornamental and
pictorial--assumes a more important
place in his life. He has added to the
list of natural substances
and materials available for his use and
now employs metals in
the arts, at first, however, treating
these merely as malleable
stone, which he pounds or cold-forges
into shape. When he dis-
Vol XXVII-19
290 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
covers the art of smelting the metals
and of casting them into
form, he will be well on the way toward
the beginnings of the
civilized stage of development.
PLACE IN CIVILIZATION.
Within the United States proper the
natives were still in the
Stone Age period of culture, but in
Mexico, Central America and
Peru, certain tribes had discovered the
art of smelting and cast-
ing, and through the use of copper and
alloys produced a sort of
bronze, thus passing into the beginning
of the Metal Age.
Though the new discovery had not
attained to any great degree
of usefulness it was significant of the
general advancement of
these peoples, who, it has been
remarked, were in many respects
almost as enlightened as were their
discoverers.
Among the tribes of the territory within
the United States,
the Mound Builders of the Ohio and
Mississippi valleys and the
Pueblo or cliff-dwelling Indians of the
south-western states, had
attained to the greatest degree of
advancement. The mound
building Indians erected great
earthworks of complex and geo-
metric design as adjuncts to their
religious observances, as
fortifications for defense and as sites
for dwellings and villages.
Huge mounds of earth, from which these
people take the name
Mound Builders, were erected as
monuments over the resting
places of their dead. They erected
structures of timber and were
skilled in the arts, such as the weaving
of cloth, the making of
potteryware, the working of copper and
mica, and particularly
in the carving of stone and other hard
substances into artistic
forms. The Pueblo Indians, who in great
part occupied the well-
known Cliff-Dwellings of Arizona and New
Mexico, were skillful
artisans and had developed agriculture
to the point where they
constructed great irrigation canals to
convey water to their grow-
ing crops. Intermediate between these
highly developed tribes
were the Plains Indians, who in the
absence of timber or stone
for the construction of dwellings lived
in tents or wigwams of
skins and mats; and the village Indians
of the country farther
east.
Thus it is seen that the native
inhabitants of the New World
were greatly diversified as to culture
and that while it is possible
The Indian in Ohio. 291
to assign a place in the cultural scale
to a given tribe or com-
munity, it is difficult to do so when
speaking of the country as a
whole. Man is a creature of environment;
that is to say, climate
and conditions surrounding him play an
important part in his
development and determine to a great
extent his status at a given
time. This accounts in part for the fact
that certain tribes ex-
hibited an advanced stage of culture
while others were very
primitive, the extremes ranging from
savagery to the upper
grades of barbarism.
THEORIES AS TO ORIGIN.
The origin and antiquity of the native
American race are
questions which have engaged the study
of many minds since
first the subject came to the attention
of thinkers and writers.
A sufficient number of books to fill a
library have been written
on these subjects, and yet the problems
await definite solution.
As to origin, the simplest suggestion
offered is that the natives
were indigenous to the country; that is,
that they originated
here, just as did the buffalo and other
animals peculiar to
America. Adherents of this theory point
out that since the
Indian had to originate somewhere it is
just as probable that the
race had its birth on this continent as
elsewhere; that other con-
tinents had their indigenous peoples,
animals and plants, and
that America is no exception.
Others, however, attribute the origin of
the American ab-
origines to a foreign source, believing
that evidences of the con-
trary are lacking. Almost every country
and people on earth
has been suggested as the source of this
origin. Among these,
the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel were a
favorite with very early
writers; others have professed to trace
this origin to the ancient
Egyptians, the Chinese, Japanese and
other Mongolian peoples,
and so on, not to mention most peoples
of the white race, and
even the negro. It is true, as
previously stated, that the Indian
possesses physical characteristics of
both the white man and the
negro. Likewise there are certain things
suggesting relationship
with the Mongolian or yellow race, and
this theory of origin has
many ardent supporters.
292 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Just how the Mongolian tribes reached
America is a point
in dispute, even among those who
consider that race as the
origin of the American natives.
Originally it was pretty gener-
ally believed that they crossed over
Behring Straits, either in
boats or on the ice, as has been done
frequently within historic
times. The close proximity of
northeastern Asia and northwest-
ern America, with the narrow straits
intervening, would make
passage easy. Yet it is pointed out by
some writers that a peo-
ple native to a cold climate never
migrate southward, and seldom
migrate at all, as the natural increase
in population is not suf-
ficient to stimulate migration. These
same thinkers prefer to
trace the Mongolians across the Pacific
ocean and to place their
landing somewhere in northwestern South
America. From this
point they believe that migration
extended in all directions until
both continents were populated. The
development and distribu-
tion of maize or Indian corn, which is
traced back to a tropical
seed-bearing grass, and various
ethnological considerations, speak
strongly in favor of this theory.
Whichever may be correct, it
is pretty generally conceded that if
America received her first
inhabitants from Asia they landed
somewhere upon the western
coast of the continent, and from thence
gradually extended into
the interior and eastward.
Regardless of the question as to the
place of landing of the
first arrivals on American soil, let us consider
as at least plausible
and worthy of entertainment the theory
of the Asiastic origin
of the American aborigines, mainly for
the purpose of illustrating
the migrations and development of a
primitive people. Sup-
posing, then, the newly arrived adventurers
safely implanted
upon the western coast of the continent,
anywhere from Alaska
to central South America, ready to take
advantage of every
favorable condition and to meet every
obstacle which imposed
itself in the new and strange land. The
greater part of this
coast line would afford a congenial
climate and conditions
favorable to human existence, while the
ocean itself offered a
never-failing larder. Here the wanderers
gradually would in-
crease in strength and numbers and after
a time, as is natural
to the human family, the instinct to
branch off and seek new
homes would assert itself. This
migratory instinct in the human
The Indian in Ohio. 293
race is very marked and is represented
today in almost all parts
of the world, a good example being the
recent steady stream of
immigration into the United States from
Europe and Asia. But
in the case of the people under
consideration there were the
great mountain ranges running parallel
with the Pacific coast,
almost the entire length of the
continents, barring their way to
the eastward. We can imagine them
contemplating the passage
of these obstructions, perhaps for
centuries, meanwhile pushing
to the north or south where no obstacle
intervened. It will
be remembered that the comparatively low
Alleghenies held back
the colonists - a
civilized people -for a hundred years before
they finally passed over and into our
own state of Ohio. But
once accross the mountains the Indians,
as we shall now call
them, paused to take their bearings,
drew a long breath of in-
spiration and took up their march into
the unknown country.
This surmise of what may have happened
affords an illustra-
tion of the evolution of different
cultures from a common
beginning. We can readily picture this
great prehistoric "cross-
ing the divide", and imagine the
difference of opinion which
doubtless existed as to which of several
directions offered the
best advantages to the aboriginal
adventurers. With particular
attention to the country within the
United States, let us follow
one band which decided let us say, upon
a course that ultimately
brought it into that great square of
territory comprised within
the states of Utah, Colorado, Arizona
and New Mexico. Al-
though the climate of this section is
very mild, shelter of some
sort is always grateful to man, both as
a refuge from inclement
weather and for purposes of protection.
There being but little
timber at hand for the construction of
houses, they took advan-
tage of the natural openings in the
cliffs and became what later
were known as the Cliff Dwellers, or
Pueblo Indians - in time a
distinct culture group. A second band of
adventurers, pushing
farther eastward, arrived on the Great
Plains. There, finding
neither wood nor stone with which to
build, they became dwellers
in tents or wigwams of skins and mats
-our Plains Indians. A
third band, journeying still further
eastward and arriving in
the rich and fertile valleys of the
Mississippi and Ohio rivers,
met still another kind of environment,
which was destined to pro-
294 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
duce yet another distinct culture-the
Mound Builders, or
Mound-building Indians.
QUESTION OF ANTIQUITY.
The length of time which has elapsed
since man first made
his appearance in America, like the
question as to his origin, is
uncertain. Speaking in general terms,
however, his advent is
comparatively recent, when we take into
consideration the record
of human life in other parts of the
globe. In England, Belgium,
France, Germany and other old-world
countries, scientists have
demonstrated the existence of human life
for more than half
a million years. In Java the bones of a
very primitive type of
man have been fouund, which make it
probable that the human
race has been in existence nearly double
that length of
time. In many sections of France and
adjacent countries, the
anthropologist has been able to lay bare
a complete record of
occupancy of the same site by several
different and successive
cultures. These evidences show, almost
as clearly as though
written in a book, the progress of the
human race from the
crudest stages of development up to the
present time. In France
early man made use of the many large
caves and caverns which
occur in the rocky terraces bordering
the rivers. On the floors
of some of these caves are found many
feet of soil, the result
of countless years of accumulating
refuse from the peoples who
used them as places of shelter and
refuge. Beginning at the
bottom of this artificial floor will be
found a stratum representing
its earliest inhabitants, and containing
their rude stone and bone
implements and other objects. Next above this deposit will
occur another layer, corresponding to
the inhabitants who came
second in its use. The record is
continued in this way until
perhaps half a dozen distinct
habitations are disclosed, each
showing some advancement and improvement
over the preceding
ones. By taking into consideration the
geological changes which
have occurred since the deposits were
made, something ap-
proximating the time elapsed can be
reckoned and the age of the
habitations thereby estimated.
In America no such marked series or
successions of cultures
is found, which would seem to indicate
that human occupation
The Indian in Ohio. 295
of the western hemisphere began much
more recently than in the
Old World. The apparent absence of these
evidences of very
early and prolonged occupation, and of
skeletal remains of other
than the more modern type of man, is the
strongest argument
of those who believe that America
received her inhabitants
at a comparatively recent time from
another part of the world.
On the other hand, there are those who
contend that the
course of human existence in the Old and
the New worlds has
been very nearly the same. These men
point to the fact that the
American natives have developed an
absolutely distinct physical
type, characterizing them as a race
apart from all others; that
they have developed numerous distinct
languages and dialects
thereof and that important changes and
modifications in
geological conditions and animal life
have taken place, all of
which would require a very considerable
period of time for their
accomplishment. At the very least, these
facts considered, the
sojourn of the native peoples of America
must have covered
several thousands of years, but just how
long, even in
approximate terms, remains to be
answered.
REMOVAL OF THE INDIAN.
The story of the struggle of the Indian
against the en-
croachment of the white man, covering a
period of more than
three centuries and ultimately ending in
his complete subjugation,
is too complex for more than casual
reference. Taken as a whole,
it affords the student and reader one of
the most tragic and
stirring romances ever written. From the
moment of landing
of the Virginia colonists and the
Pilgrim Fathers the crowding
back of the Indian and the appropriating
of his lands have been
in progress. Beginning with the first
friction between the Col-
onists and the Red Men, the struggle
soon resolved itself into
open hostilities. At first efforts were
made to preserve friendly
relations with the Indians, particularly
on the part of English
settlers, as at Jamestown and in the New
England colonies.
The friendship between Powhatan and
Captain John Smith,
the treaty between Massasoit and the
Plymouth colonists, and the
justice of Roger Williams are bright
spots in the early history of
the Colonies. But these peaceful years
were only the calm before
296 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
the storm that was to follow, as shown
by Indian uprisings in
Virginia and King Philip's War in New
England. From this
time on, through the French and Indian
war and the war of the
Revolution, the Indian figured largely
in Colonial affairs.
After the close of the Revolution,
however, one of the first
acts of the new United States was the
effecting of a treaty with
the Delawares and the Iroquois, which
practically ended Indian
hostilities in the Colonial states. The
theatre of the struggle
then moved westward into Ohio and the
Northwest territory.
These treaties, and the Indian policy
adopted under President
Jefferson's administration, practically
established a permanent
basis for dealing with the Indians and
laid the foundation for
our present Indian policy.
In the more southerly of the states,
however, the Indian
troubles were not so early settled.
During the War of 1812
the Indians of Georgia and adjacent
states, particularly the
Creeks, began depredations which ended
only when General
Jackson, leading the volunteer troops of
those states, practically
decimated their army of fighting men.
Although President
Monroe, in 1825, through Congress
provided for the removal
of all Indians to lands beyond the
Mississippi, it was not until
some years later that this was
effected. The Creeks and
Cherokees were successfully removed but
the Seminoles, under
Osceola, taking up their stand in the
wilderness of Florida,
offered desperate resistance and it was
only after a long and
costly warfare that, in 1842, they were
conquered. The year
1842 likewise witnessed the removal of
the last of the Ohio
tribes. The Winnebagos, Sacs and Foxes
of Illinois and adjacent
states, alter a spirited struggle, had
been removed in 1832 Thus
the country east of the Mississippi was
practically cleared of
hostile Indians before the middle of the
last century, leaving
this great expanse of former Indian
territory entirely in the
hands of white men.
A few tribes and bands, particularly
those which evinced
a tendency toward peaceful pursuits,
were never removed to
the western reservations. The principal
ones of these are the
Five Nations of Iroquois, in the state
of New York; 7,500 Chip-
pewas in Michigan; an equal number of
Cherokees in North
The Indian in Ohio. 297
Carolina with a scattering of the same
tribes in Georgia, Ten-
nessee and Louisiana; a few hundreds of
the New England In-
dians in Maine and Massachusetts, and
about 600 Seminoles
in Florida. With the exception of the
latter, who constitute
a remnant of the rebellious Seminoles
who successfully resisted
removal, the Indians mentioned are
civilized, living much as do
their white neighbors.
One of the most spectacular of all the
wars with the
Indians, and the last really great
struggle, was that of the year
which marked a centennial of American
Independence - 1876.
In June of that year, a detachment of
regular army troops
under General Custer engaged the
rebellious Sioux on the
little Bighorn river, in Montana. This
famous campaign, in
which Custer and every man in his
command were killed by
the followers of Sitting Bull and Crazy
Horse, is familiar to all.
It was made necessary by the unrest and
excitement created
among the Indians by the introduction
among them of the
spectacular Ghost Dance religion, or
Messiah Craze, previously
referred to. The campaign against the
Sioux was vigorously
pushed and within a year they were
completely subdued.
POPULATION, PAST AND PRESENT.
An estimate of the Indian population
within the United
States proper at the time of discovery,
doubtless will be a sur-
prise to many. The great size of the
territory and the popular
conception of Indian life would lead the
uninformed to place
the early population far too high. It
must not be forgotten
that a given area which under civilized
conditions will support,
let us say, a million inhabitants would,
under barbaric or savage
tenancy, supply the needs of perhaps not
more than one-tenth
that number. While opinion is divided it
seems probable that
the population at the time of discovery
did not exceed one mil-
lion, and more than likely was less than
this number. The
present Indian population according to
the report of the Com-
mission of Indian Affairs for the year
1915, is slightly more
than 330,000. This marked decrease from
the estimated num-
ber of inhabitants at the time of
discovery is due mostly to
298 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
adverse influences attending the marked
change in the life of
the Indians since the coming of white
men.
Disease, intoxicating liquors, hardships
resulting from en-
forced removals from one location to
another, warfare, and to
some extent, the conditions attending
upon reservation life are
the main factors in the decrease. The
hardships and persecu-
tions to which the Indians were
subjected during the first three
centuries following discovery resulted
in the complete annihila-
tion of some tribes and the
demoralization of many others.
Within recent years, under the more
humane government sys-
tem of caring for the Indians their
numbers, in some instances
at least, have increased. The greater
part of this increase, how-
ever, is of mixed blood, the result of
intermarriage of Indians
with whites and negroes. The Navahos
appear to be the only
pure-blood tribe of importance to
augment its numbers within
recent years.
THE INDIAN AND THE RESERVATION.
With the exception of some scattering
bands which still
roam at large over the public domain of
the far west, and of
those, already mentioned, who remained
in the east and south,
the Indians now reside mostly upon
reservations, set apart by
the government for their use. There are
about 160 of these
reservations, located mostly west of the
Mississippi river, and
comprising some 52,000,000 acres of
land. To a great extent
the Indians have abandoned their tribal
organizations and in
many instances have been accorded the
status of citizenship,
either in full, or restricted, as their
qualifications have seemed
to warrant. According to latest
available figures, -some 166,000
Indians now enjoy citizenship, although
a considerable percent-
age of these are in the restricted
classes. The policy of the
government is to prepare the Indians for
citizenship as rapidly
as possible and to confer the same
whenever such procedure is
justifiable. The laws provide that
Indians who sever their tribal
relations and adopt the habits and
customs of civilized life,
those who select allotments, and receive
patents-in-fee, thereby
become citizens of the United States;
those who fail to meet
these requirements remain as wards of
the general government
and are confined to the reservations
under certain restrictions.
The Indian in Ohio. 299
Of the total number of Indians within
the United States,
almost one-third are comprised within
what are known as the
Five Civilized tribes, of Oklahoma.
Those five tribes, number-
ing slightly more than 100,000, consist
of the Creeks, Cherokees,
Seminoles, Choctaws and Chickasaws, who
were removed to
their present reservations early in the
past century from their
former locations in the south-eastern
states. They are mainly
farmers, stock-raisers, artisans and
laborers, and live very much
the same as white people, patricularly
those of rural com-
munities. They have churches and
schools, participate actively
in their own government, and enjoy many
social advantages
In the present war with Germany, these
Indians have made an
excellent showing, not alone in the
matter of financial contribu-
tions to war bonds and other expedients,
but in the number
of men which they have furnished as
volunteers in the military
service.
The distribution of the remaining Indian
tribes, by states,
shows Arizona with approximately 41,000,
consisting of Apache,
Mohave, Navaho, Pima and Hopi, New
Mexico with 21,000,
mainly Pueblo and Apache; South Dakota,
20,000 Sioux;
California, 16,000, composed of numerous
small tribes and
bands; Wisconsin 10,000, Chippewas;
North Dakota, 8,000,
Sioux, Mandan and Chippewa; Michigan,
7,500, Chippewa;
Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon,
Utah and Wyoming,
from 2,000 to 8,000 each; and those in
the more eastern states,
already mentioned.
OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS.
In order to administer supervision over
its wards among
the Indians, the government maintains an
important and highly
organized bureau, known as the Office of
Indian Affairs, operat-
ing under the Department of the
Interior. The head of this
bureau is known as the Commissioner of
Indian Affairs, and
associated with him are a corps of
trained assistants and work-
ers, whose time and energy are given to
the interest of the In-
dians. The bureau proper is composed of
several distinct divi-
sions, the more important of which are
the Land Division, the
Finance Division, the Accounts Division
and the Education Divi-
300 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
sion, the last named being headed by a
Superintendent of Indian
Schools.
Aside from regular reservation schools,
several special train-
ing and vocational schools have been
established by the govern-
ment for Indian students. Among these
are the great Carlisle
school at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and
the Chilocco Industrial
school, at Chilocco, Oklahoma. These
schools, each with up-
ward of 1,000 students, aim to afford a
"practical, productive
education" to their pupils. They
aim to further preparation for
citizenship among the body of Indians,
and in the individual
to pave the way for educational
advantages of the higher in-
stitutions of learning. A number of
their students, of both
sexes, have availed themselves of the
opportunities offered,
often with gratifying results. The
natural ability of the Indian,
as exemplified in such men as Sitting
Bull, Brant, Tecumseh, Red
Cloud and a score of others of the
earlier period, is reflected in
the success of present-day Indians under
modern educational
advantages. As examples of the latter
there may be cited, Dr.
Charles A. Eastman, physician and
author; Hon. Gabe A. Parker,
registrar of the United States treasury;
Henry Roe Cloud, edu-
cator; Arthur C. Parker, archaeologist
for the State of New
York; Charles D. Carter and Robert L.
Owen, United States con-
gressman and senator, respectively; Mrs.
M. L. Baldwin, lawyer;
Dr. Sherman Coolidge, D. D., and many
others. For physical
excellence, we have as examples James
Thorpe, world-famous
Olympian athlete; Tom Longboat and Lewis
Tewanima, the lat-
ter probably America's greatest
long-distance runner; and the
well-known football players of Carlisle
Indian school.
FUTURE OF THE INDIAN.
Despite these encouraging examples, the
Indian labors under
many handicaps and his future welfare
seems by no means
secure. Health and disease are matters
of grave concern at
the present time, particularly in view
of the inroads made by
tuberculosis, trachoma- a disease which
attacks the eyes and
often results in blindness - and some
others. The pulmonary
diseases are due in part to the change
in manner of living, par-
ticularly as regards housing. It is
difficult to impress upon the
The Indian in Ohio. 301
Indian the principles and importance of ventilation and sanita- tion, the result being that the abandonment of his former life in the open and the substituting of modern houses with artificial heat for the accustomed tent or tepee, has worked too sudden a change. Intemperance, especially in the use of alcoholic drinks, has been another source of detriment. Like other uncivilized peoples the Indian has been more ready to assimilate the vices |
|
of the white man than to accept his virtues, with the inevitable result. The Indian and his friends among the whites find many objections to the government reservation system, in which they see insurmountable barriers to the desired improvement in the native race. There seems to be no doubt that many drawbacks exist, as claimed, which in the past at least, often have amounted to abuse; but those best acquainted with the Indian problem |
302 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
and its solution seem so far to have
been unable to reconcile
the differences between the Indian
department and its wards.
The encouraging aspect of the situation
is an awakened
interest in the welfare of the Indian,
fostered not alone by the
government but by private individuals
and societies, both of his
own race and of whites. Several
organizations exist for the
purpose of carrying on the work, among
which are the Indian
Rights association, the Indian
Industries league, the National
Indian association and the Society of
American Indians. The
latter is composed entirely of members
of the Indian race, and
comprises among its associates the
leading Indian men and
women of the country. It is worthy of
note that Ohio, which
of all the individual states has given
most attention to the pre-
historic inhabitants of its territory,
through scientific exploration
and the upbuilding of a great
archaeological museum, furnished
the impetus for the organization of the
Society of American
Indians. In 191, Professor A. W.
McKenzie, for many years
an ardent friend of the American Indian,
brought about a con-
ference of the leading men and women of
the race. This con-
ference, held in Columbus, resulted in
the formation of the
Society, the efforts of which promise to
be the most potent
factor in the future welfare of the
Indian. The organization
"seeks to promote the highest
interests of the race through
every legitimate channel," basing
its appeal on the latent power
of the Indian to do for himself rather
than to depend upon
others. The Society maintains a
Washington office, lends its
surveillance to national legislation
affecting the race, holds an
annual conference of country-wide interest,
and publishes as its
official organ the American Indian
Magazine, which is managed
and edited entirely by Indians.
In view of this earnest activity, there
is hope that the native
American race may yet emerge from the
unhappy state which
has been its lot for four hundred years,
and through its own
efforts and those of its friends among
the whites, eventually
succeed in reviving from the ashes of
misfortune a flame of
progress, which will burn all the
brighter for having been so
nearly quenched.
304 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
wholly in the past while others still
obtain; as a rule, however,
it is considered advisable to treat the
native race as of the past,
except where the use of the present
tense obviously is required.
In this, and in minor particulars, which
need not be specified,
the reader's indulgence is asked.
The story of the Indian in Ohio falls
naturally into two
distinct periods with respect to time -the
Historic and the Pre-
historic. The two will be considered in
the order named, in
the belief that an understanding of the
latter will be facilitated
by using the more definite knowledge of
the Historic period as
a basis.
For the sake of convenience, the
Historic period will be
considered under several more or less
arbitrary sub-periods or
divisions. The first of these, "The
Ohio Country - The Land
and Its People" - will serve as an
introduction to those which
follow, by discussing briefly the
territory involved and the In-
dian tribes identified with its history.
The second division,
"The Indians, the French and the
English", will embrace the
time of French-English activity in its
bearing upon the Ohio
country; that is, from the first
historic occurrences to the pass-
ing of French sovereignty and influence,
at the close of the
French and Indian war, of which
Pontiac's conspiracy is taken
to be an after-part.
The third division, "The Indian and
the Revolutionary
Period", is made to include the
events subsequent to the last-
named, up to and including the peace
conference held at Detroit,
July 4, 1783. This conference, between
representatives of the
United States government and the Indians
of the Ohio country,
may be taken as marking the close of the
Revolutionary war,
about which this assumed division
centers.
The fourth assumed division of the
Historical period-
"The Indian and the Ohio
Commonwealth"-has been made
to include the so-called post-revolution
campaigns, the events
of the War of 1812, and the close of
Indian occupancy of the
state, which followed. These divisions,
centering in the three
great wars, while by no means well
defined in themselves, will
serve to furnish convenient stations
from which the reader
may the more easily follow the events of
the narrative.
The Indian in Ohio. 305
GEOGRAPHY OF THE TERRITORY.
In the drama enacted by the Ohio
Indians, the stage was
not the prescribed platform of the
conventional playhouse, but
a great open-air amphitheatre, covering
hundreds of square
miles of territory. This territory,
known in the early days as
the Ohio Country, was not comprised
entirely in what is now
the State of Ohio, for it must be
remembered that in pre-
historic and early historic times there
were no political
boundaries such as we now recognize.
Instead, they were those
of nature, rather than of man's
convenience, and consisted of
rivers, lakes, mountains, and other
natural barriers and bound-
aries. Thus it is seen that topography,
rather than imaginary
lines was the important factor in
outlining the territory and
determining the settlement of a given
tribe or nation.
A glance at the map of the United States
shows that the
territory comprised therein naturally
falls into several divisions
or areas, with respect to topography.
The country lying east
of the Allegheny mountains and bordering
the Atlantic ocean,
is a natural division in itself from
which, as we have seen, the
colonists were practically a century in
making their way across
the mountains into the country beyond;
bordering the Gulf of
Mexico we have another distinct area,
comprising what are
known as the Gulf States; while
extending westward from the
Alleghenies with Lake Erie on the north
and bordering the
Ohio river on the south, lies the great Ohio
Country, where
during the latter half of the Eighteenth
and the first quarter of
the Nineteenth centuries, was staged the
stirring drama of human
life which we are considering.
Perhaps no region on the continent was
better adapted to
human habitation than this Ohio Country,
which fact may have
had much to do with the keen competition
among the native
tribes for its possession. The climate
was most favorable since
man, whether savage, barbarian or
civilized, is at his best in a
temperate clime. The geography of the
region was ideal. There
were mountainous sections and level
plateaus; broad valleys and
extensive plains; rich forest and open
prairies, each with its own
peculiar products of animal, vegetable
and mineral wealth.
Vol. XXVII-20.
306 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. Two great drainage systems - the Ohio river on the south and the Great Lakes on the north - afforded the best of facilities for travel and transportation. Both systems were extensively used in east and west travel by the Indians, and later by white men; while the numerous rivers tributary thereto, - particularly the Miamis, the Scioto and the Muskingum, flowing into the Ohio; and the Maumee, the Sandusky and the Cuyahoga, dis- charging their waters into the lake-the headwaters of which were separated only by short portages, furnished natural high- |
|
ways for travel north and south. Both the Ohio river and the Lakes seem to have been looked upon by the Indian as natural boundary lines, and the territory enclosed between them as a distinct section from that to the north or south. In connection with the water highways of the country, there should be mentioned the numerous Indian trails which either supplemented or replaced them. These trails, while not natural highways in the sense that the lakes and rivers were, did follow |
The Indian in Ohio. 307
natural lines of travel, and many of
them doubtless were as old
as the human occupation of the country
itself. They not only
traversed those districts devoid of
waterways and crossed the
portages between the headwaters of the
navigable streams, but
often followed the course of the water
routes throughout their
entire extent. The reason for this is
obvious. The streams
were not navigable in seasons of extreme
drought, while in
winter they often were frozen. Besides,
some of the tribes pre-
ferred land travel, while all of them
found it more convenient
at times than that by boat or canoe.
The Indian trails often followed the
high ground through
which they passed, later becoming what
are known as the "ridge
roads" of the present time. The
importance of the trails as fac-
tors in the settlement and development
of the State of Ohio
cannot be over-estimated. In many
instances they determined
the location of white settlements, forts
and military roads, some
of them later becoming public highways.
Along these aboriginal
trails the native tribes passed to and
fro from one location to an-
other, whether engaged in warfare, the
chase, trade or migration.
Later, together with the navigable
streams, they served as the
means of entrance to the white traders
and settlers who pushed
their way into the country north and
west of the Ohio river.
Among the more important of these
aboriginal highways
was the so-called Great Trail, which was
the western extension
of the great highway between the Indian
country around Dela-
ware and Chesapeake Bays, and the Forks
of the Ohio. Pass-
ing westward from Pittsburg this trail
traversed northeastern
Ohio to Sandusky Bay, from whence it led
around the west end
of Lake Erie and northward to Detroit.
Later it was the im-
portant military highway connecting Fort
Pitt, Fort Laurens,
Fort Sandusky and Fort Detroit.
The most important of the north and
south trails of the
state was the Scioto trail, between
Sandusky Bay on the north
and the Ohio river at the mouth of the
Scioto on the south.
Ascending the Sandusky river from its
mouth, crossing the
portage and descending the Scioto, it
crossed the Ohio and
joined the famous "Warriors'
Trail" leading far away into the
Indian country of the southland. Other
important trails con-
308 Ohio Arch and Hist. Society Publications. nected the Muskingum towns of the Delawares, the Shawnee towns on the Scioto and the Shawnee and Miami towns on the Miamis. Many trails of lesser importance traversed the country in all directions. Toward the west, the Ohio Country extended till it merged with the Mississippi valley, while its eastern boundary was the |
|
Allegheny mountains. At the "forks of the Ohio", where Pitts- burg now stands, was its eastern gateway, through which the native tribes passed in either direction, and which not only served the European explorer and settler for the same purpose but was the scene of many of the early activities which characterized the struggle between the French and the English for possession of the rich prize lying to the westward. |
The Indian in Ohio. 309
THE DAWN OF OHIO INDIAN HISTORY.
Intervening between historic and
prehistoric times in Ohio,
serving as a connecting link between the
two, and belonging
almost equally to each, is a period of
perhaps a century's dura-
tion. Looking back through the dim vista
of these years, the
student of Ohio may discern the shadowy
forms of its primitive
inhabitants and may even glimpse the
outline of important events
which transpired in this "forest
primeval" before white men had
set foot upon its soil. The characters
and actions are not clearly
defined, and it is only with the advent
of European actors upon
the stage that we can follow the lines
of the drama with exacti-
tude. However, in the same manner that
by reading the latter
chapters of a book, we are able to gain
a more or less exact
knowledge of its story, we can formulate
a fairly intelligent
conception of the life of the Ohio
aborigines before the arrival
of white men. A few scattered pages of
the story here, a sentence
or a word there, have been preserved to
us, partly through the
records and traditions of the Indians
themselves and in part
through the mounds and earthworks, the
relics of stone and
flint, and other remains left behind.
The earlier or more remote
parts of this period will be accredited
to the chapter on archeol-
ogy, while those events which appear to
belong more properly
to the historic period will be referred
to briefly at this point.
THE IROQUOIAN CONQUEST.
Just previous to exploration by
Europeans, the Ohio terri-
tory seems to have been occupied by
tribes and representatives
both of the Algonquian and the Iroquoian
families. The dawn
of recorded history, however, finds the
powerful Iroquois federa-
tion, living mostly south of Lake Erie
in the present state of
New York, waging a determined warfare
for its possession,
even to the exclusion and annihilation
of other tribes of their
own family. Having effected the most
admirable confederation
ever known among the American Indians,
and profiting by the
advantages accruing to them through the
possesion of firearms
secured from the colonists, the
Iroquois, at the height of their
power, had become a source of terror to
other tribes and
310 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
nations within reach of their relentless
persecutions. About the
year 1650 they had almost exterminated
the Hurons, themselves
an Iroquoian people living north of Lake
Erie, and had driven
the remnant of those tribes from their
settlements. The sur-
vivors took refuge with the Huron de
Petun, or Tobacco nation,
and with the Neutral nation, Iroquoian
peoples living to the
westward of their territory. After being
persecuted for many
years and driven from place to place the
surviving refugees
from the Huron and Tobacco tribes, about
1745, found their
way from the vicinity of the Detroit
river into northern Ohio.
Here they were destined to retrieve
their former prowess and
to become one of the leading nations of
the Ohio country, under
the name of Wyandots. Of their career on
Ohio soil we shall
learn later.
THE EARLY HISTORIC TRIBES.
One of the earliest of the Ohio nations
of which we have
record was the Erie or Cat nation, whose
territory lay south
of Lake Erie and probably extended over
the northern half
of the state. The Eries, an Iroquoian
people, are said to have
taken their name from the abundance of
wildcats in their coun-
try, the fighting qualities of this
animal apparently having been
accepted as a symbol of the courage of
the people who bore its
name. The Eries are believed to have
been a populous nation,
with more or less fixed habits of life
and occupying numerous
towns and villages. They were powerful
fighters, using almost
exclusively the bow and arrow, the
latter fitted with poisoned
points.
The Cat nation, along with the Hurons
and other adjacent
tribes, apparently had been at war with
the Iroquois proper for
many years preceding 1650, always giving
a good account of
themselves. But the acquisition by the
eastern Iroquois of fire-
arms and the effecting of their powerful
federation gave them
a decided advantage over tribes not
possessing these, and in
1653 the Eries succumbed to their more
powerful adversaries.
The story of their defeat, which
virtually meant the extermina-
tion of the great Erie nation, is
strikingly told in the Jesuit Rela-
tion for 1655-6. At the time immediately
preceding the final
struggle it would seem that the two
peoples had been at peace
The Indian in Ohio. 311
for a considerable period. The Eries had
despatched to the
capital of the Iroquois a delegation of
thirty men for the pur-
pose of renewing the existing peace, but
the overture was des-
tined to defeat its own purpose. Through
an accident a mem-
ber of the Seneca tribe of the federated
Iroquois was killed by
the Erie ambassadors, and in revenge the
Senecas put to death
all but five of the visiting
delegation. The latter nation
retaliated by sacking and burning a
Seneca town, defeating a
war party, and taking captive one of its
leading war captains.
Thoroughly aroused, the Iroquois began
recruiting men for a
gigantic thrust at the Eries, which
culminated in an attack by
1800 picked warriors of the Onondaga
tribe upon Rique, one
of the principal towns of the Eries,
located about where Erie,
Pennsylvania, now stands. Although
defended by more than
3,000 fighting men, the palisade was
carried and the defendants
either were massacred or carried into
captivity.
This defeat, together with minor ones at
about the same
time completely obliterated the Eries,
and thus passed one of
the greatest of the Ohio nations of
which we have record. Noth-
ing remains as a monument to their
erstwhile greatness except
their name, as given to the great lake
along which their country
lay, to the Ohio county of Erie, and to
the city and county
of the same name in Pennsylvania.
The Shawnee.
The mere mention of the name Shawnee is
suggestive of
aggressiveness, hostility, restlessness
and fearlessness - charac-
teristics of this most typical of the
Ohio Indian tribes. The
Shawnee, whose tribal territory in Ohio
lay principally in the
valley of the Scioto, may well be taken
as the best type, or rep-
resentative, of the aborigines of the
state, as they were the most
warlike, persistent and consistently
hostile of the natives. Per-
haps no tribe or nation was the source
of more anxiety and per-
plexity to the whites than were the
Shawnee, partly owing to
their unremitting hostility and partly
to their propensity for
migrating from place to place and the
consequent uncertainty
as to their whereabouts and their
affinity and relationship to
other tribes. These "aboriginal Arabs of America" appear
312 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
originally to have had their home in the
Cumberland basin of
Tennessee, extending thence into South
Carolina and adjacent
territory. According to the Delawares,
they and the Shawnee,
together with the Nanticoke, originally
formed a single nation
of the Algonquian family.
Just when the Shawnee made their
appearance in Ohio is
not known, for although it is generally
conceded that the main
body of the tribe from the Cumberland
valley crossed over into
Ohio about 1730, and were joined
by their kinsmen from South
Carolina several years later, it is
certain that the Shawnee were
by no means an inconsiderable factor in
this territory long before
that time. As early as 1669, LaSalle,
then preparing to descend
the Ohio on his historic tour of
exploration, was cautioned by
the Iroquois to beware of the hostile
Shawnee along the upper
reaches of that stream. Further, it is
recorded that the Iroquois
federation, returning from their
victorious conquest of the Illinois
in 1690, attacked the Miamis giving as
their reason that the
latter had invited the Shawnee into Ohio
to make war upon
the Iroquois.
At any rate, by 1750, we find the two
divisions of the Shaw-
nee- that of the
Cumberland valley driven northward through
conflict with enemies of their own race,
and that from Carolina,
crowded northward into the Susquehanna
valley through con-
flict with English settlers and their
Indian allies - uniting on
Ohio soil and taking unto themselves new
strength and prestige.
From this time on, through the French
and Indian war, the
Revolutionary war and the War of 1812, we find them
a source
of great enmity and concern to the
Colonists and the settlers
of Ohio.
During the French and Indian war,
particularly in the
operations about the forks of the Ohio,
the Shawnee, together
with the Delawares were extremely
hostile to the English and
friendly to the French. Throughout the
Revolutionary war and
during the spectacular
post-Revolutionary period, they continued
to maintain their reputation for
irreconcilable hostility against
those of the whites whom they regarded
as coveting their lands.
As in the earlier war in which they had
looked upon the Eng-
lish colonists as the more aggressive in
this respect, and as a
The Indian in Ohio. 313
result had lent their support to the
French cause, so now, scent-
ing danger from the American quarter,
they sided with the
British as the less threatening of the
two. Aided and encouraged
by the latter, they waged a continual
campaign of harassment
against the border settlements of the
Colonists, particularly those
of Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Virginia,
just across the Ohio
river from their own zealously guarded
domain. As a result
of expeditions sent against them in
retaliation for these raids
upon the border, a number of the Shawnee
were dislodged from
their towns upon the Scioto and for a
time took up their abode
about the headwaters of the Miami.
Although General Wayne's victory over the
Ohio tribes at
the battle of Fallen Timbers, in 1794,
went far toward terminat-
ing the depredations of the Shawnee,
they were again in evidence
as detached bands and individuals, under
the leadership of the
great Tecumseh, in the War of 1812.
The principal chiefs of the Shawnee who
figure prominently
in the Ohio history of the tribe, were
Black Hoof, Cornstalk,
Black Fish, Blue Jacket, and Tecumseh.
The first named we
shall meet as early as the defeat of
General Braddock at the
forks of the Ohio, in 1755, in which, as
a mere youth, he took
an active part; again, at the Battle of
Point Pleasant, and thence
through the post-Revolutionary campaigns
and the Treaty of
Greenville. Cornstalk we shall encounter
as the leader of the
allied Indians at the Battle of Point
Pleasant, while Black Fish
will figure most prominently in the
raids of the Shawnee against
the Kentucky settlements which
characterized the closing years
of the Revolution, and in connection
with the captivity of Daniel
Boone. Bluejacket will appear as the
leading spirit in the Indian
aggression to the campaigns of Generals
Harmar, St. Clair, and
Wayne, while Tecumseh will hold the
center of the stage in con-
nection with Indian participation in the
war of 1812.
The Delawares.
In the Delawares we have an example of a
people who could,
and did, "come back." Although
originally the most important
confederacy of the great Iroquoian
family, they fell prey to the
consuming conquest of the Iroquois and
were, about the year
314 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
1720, reduced by their conquerors to a state of abject
humility.
This consisted in assigning to their men
and warriors the rank
of women, or as the Iroquois expressed
it "putting petticoats on
the men." This, from the Indian
point of view was the most
humiliating treatment that could be
accorded, and carried with
it the depriving of the victims of all
rights usually accredited
to equals.
The Delawares, prior to their subjection
to the Iroquois,
held sway in eastern Pennsylvania,
south-eastern New York, and
in Delaware and New Jersey. On account
of their central loca-
tion in the Algonquian territory and
their position as the nucleus
from which the cognate tribes had
sprung, they were addressed
by others of the Algonquins as
"Grandfather," in acknowledg-
ment of their high rank and standing.
The name they gave
themselves was Lenape, meaning
"real men," or native, genuine
men - in other words, as a prominent
writer has phrased it,
"the real thing." One of their
best known chiefs of the early
period was Temenend, from which the
noted Tammany political
society takes its name.
In common with other tribes of the
eastern country the
Delawares early felt the pressure
brought against them by the
whites, and yielding to a force they
could not successfully resist
began slowly to push their way to the
westward. About the
year 1750 they began to cross the river
into the Ohio country,
and within a few years most of them were
located upon the
Muskingum and other eastern Ohio
streams. At this point in
their history, being strengthened by the
acquisition into their
ranks of bands of Munsee, Mohican and
Tuscarawas, and
through proximity to the friendly
French, the Delawares not
only succeeded in throwing off the
dominance of the Iroquois
but became one of the strongest
opponents of the advance of
English settlers into Ohio. With the
exception of the Shawnee,
with whom they were in close sympathy,
they proved to be the
most unruly and troublesome of the
resident tribes during the
French and Indian war and subsequent
campaigns
The history of the Delawares in Ohio
centers about two im-
portant localities--the forks of the
Muskingum, and the San-
dusky river, the latter in what
is now Wyandot county - where
The Indian in Ohio. 315
occurred the most stirring events of
their career upon Ohio soil.
As early as 1750 the Moravian
missionaries had been active in
their solicitude for the Delawares and
had established several
mission villages among them during the
time of their migration
from their early home to Ohio. In 1772
these missionaries es-
tablished a mission at the site of the
present town of Gnaden-
hutten, Tuscarawas county, where
Zeisberger, Heckewelder and
other noted missionaries succeeded in
winning many converts
among the natives. In 1782 these mission
Indians were for a
time absent at Sandusky, and upon
returning to harvest their
corn were massacred by irresponsible
whites in a most brutal
manner. This event, as we shall see, was
one of the darkest
blots on the pages of Ohio history, and
a blunder which was
destined to be in no small way
responsible for another atrocity,
the burning of Crawford, the scene of
which was laid further
north on the Sandusky river.
The chiefs of the Delawares who figure
most prominently
in the Ohio history of the tribe were
Captain White Eyes, the
faithful friend of the Moravian
missionaries and of the Ameri-
can colonists; Killbuck, who in later
life became a faithful
Moravian convert; Captain Wingenund,
noted war chief and
prominently connected with the events
attending the campaign
and burning of Col. William Crawford;
Hopacan, or Captain
Pipe, who led the hostile factions of
his tribes in the interest of
the British, and Buckongahelas, head
chief of the western
Delawares during the Revolution and the
Ohio campaigns which
followed. Buckongahelas, although generally favoring the
British as against the Americans, was
noted for his honorable
and humane conduct. He was prominent at
the Battle of Fallen
Timbers, was a signer of the Greenville
treaty, and thereafter
a staunch friend of the Ohio settlers.
The Miamis.
The Miami Indians, while not native to
Ohio soil, at least
held the distinction of having been
tenants thereof longer than
any other of the historic tribes with
which settlers of the state
came in contact. Like the Shawnee,
Delawares, Wyandots and
others, the Miamis found their way into
the Ohio Country as
316 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
a result of unsettled conditions
following the advent of Euro-
peans into America, with the consequent
thrusting back from
the frontiers of the native inhabitants.
While the Miamis were
not dislodged from their earlier home in
Wisconsin directly by
the whites, but rather by other Indian
tribes of the northwest,
their change of location was indirectly
a part of the same great
unsettlement which began immediately
following the founding
of European colonies on the Atlantic
coast and the St. Lawrence
river.
When first noted, about the year 1660,
the Miamis were
resident mainly in Wisconsin, northern
Illinois and Indiana,
one of their principal towns being at
the present site of Chicago.
From there they soon extended into
Western Ohio, probably
reaching as far east as the Scioto
river. At the beginning of
the Eighteenth century their territory
was described as lying
mainly on the St. Joseph, Wabash and
Maumee, with one of
their most important towns at the head
of the latter river. Their
principal town on Ohio soil was
Pickawillanee, at the juncture
of the St. Marys and the Miami rivers,
near the present city of
Piqua. In all treaty negotiations
between the whites and the
Indians the Miamis were considered as
the original owners of
the western Ohio and the Wabash
countries.
In tracing the migrations of the Miamis
it is interesting to
note the declaration of Little Turtle,
the Miami chief, in which
he said: "My fathers kindled the
first fire at Detroit; thence
they extended their lines to the
headwaters of the Scioto; thence
to its mouth; thence down the Ohio to
the Wabash, and thence
to Chicago over Lake Michigan."
This doubtless is intended to
cover the wanderings of the tribe prior
to the historic period.
The Miamis originally consisted of six
bands, of which the
Piankashaw and the Wea were the best
known. Among their
totems were the elk, the crane and the
turtle. According to the
early explorers the Miamis were
physically above the average
of their race and in manners were mild,
courteous and affable.
They lived in huts covered with rush
thatches, were industrious
and had a considerable agriculture,
particularly in maize or Indian
corn. Although living on and adjacent to
some of the larger
The Indian in Ohio. 317
streams of the state, they were land
travelers rather than canoe-
men.
The early history of the Miamis centers
about their chief
town, Pickawillanee. This town, which
has been styled "the
Ohio capital of the western
savages," was the scene of picturesque
events during the years when the French
and English each were
endeavoring to secure for themselves the
rich country lying west
of the Scioto. An important trail
center, it early became a trad-
ing post of no mean pretensions. The
resident Miami chief was
LaDamoiselle, so called by the French on
account of his pro-
clivities for fancy dress and ornament,
and known to the Eng-
lish as "Old Britain," in
acknowledgment of his loyalty to the
British. The Miamis were prominent in
all the early Indian
wars with the whites. Little Turtle,
their most noted chief, will
appear frequently and prominently in the
pages which follow.
The Wyandots.
In glimpsing the great Iroquoian
conquest, we have seen
how the tribes of. the Huron
confederacy, living around Lake
Simcoe and Georgian Bay, in Ontario,
were driven from their
homes and almost annihilated. Of the
several Huron tribes
close kinsmen of the devastating
Iroquois, the only one escaping
complete demoralization was the
Tionontati, or Tobacco tribe,
called by the French the Huron de Petun.
The fact that they
suffered less severely than their
associated tribes was due to
their location, which was at the extreme
west of the territory
occupied by the confederacy, and
therefore not so easily acces-
sible to their enemies. With the Tobacco
tribe, the remnant of
the Hurons proper took refuge; but they
were not permitted
long to enjoy surcease from persecution,
for the invading hosts
soon sought them out and succeeded in
dislodging them. To-
gether the survivors of the Tobacco
tribe and their refugees
fled, first to the Island of St. Joseph
and thence from place to
place, until in 1670 they reached
Mackinac straits. From
Mackinac they gradually pushed their way
southward, a portion
of them sojourning at Detroit and others
passing into Ohio,
where they settled along the south shore
of Lake Erie, mainly
318 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
on and around Sandusky bay and westward
to the Maumee
river. After a time bands of the Hurons
who had tarried at
Detroit joined their kinsmen at
Sandusky, and here we find them
in 1745, under Chief Nicolas, or
Orontony, who was destined
to figure largely in the early relations
between the Indians and
the white men. We shall speak presently
of the conspiracy,
launched by Nicolas, which marked the
first conflict between the
French and English interests in their
contest to establish them-
selves on Ohio soil, and which, but for
an unforeseen event,
might have resulted very seriously,
particularly for the French.
The Hurons were to find the Ohio country
a most grateful
contrast to their years of wandering and
persecution to the
north of Lake Erie, for once firmly
established they not only
found themselves possessed of new
vitality and stamina, but
likewise of a new name. The appellation,
Huron, first given
them by the French as a term of
derogation, signified ruffians
or uncouth people. In their own
language, the Hurons called
themselves Wendat, from which is derived
the English form
Wyandot. Shortly after their arrival in
Ohio, they began to
be known as Wyandots, which name soon
supplanted entirely
that of Hurons.
From their humble beginnings at
settlements on the Sandusky
and Maumee, the Wyandots gradually
extended their influence
and territory until they occupied the
greater part of northern
Ohio, corresponding to the country
formerly inhabited by the
extinct Eries. On the west, they touched
hands with the Miamis,
and found their way to and even beyond
the Muskingum on
the east. They extended their activities
far down the Scioto
valley and as far south as the valley of
the Hocking. In short,
they were to become the dominant tribe
of the country between
the Ohio river and the lakes, and while
at no time able to
muster more than a few hundred fighting
men, their counsel,
advice and cooperation was held
paramount to that of any other
tribe among the Indians of the Northwest
territory. The
presence of the Delawares and Shawnee in
Ohio was entirely
with their consent, as most of the
territory occupied by these
was considered as belonging to the
Wyandots.
The Indian in Ohio. 319
From the Wyandot tribe came one of the
greatest of the
Ohio chieftains, Tarhe, or as he was
called by the English, the
Crane, Although for the most part the
Wyandots were fa-
vorable to the British as against the
Americans in the Indian
wars, it is a matter of history that
after the signing of the Treaty
of Greenville, in 1795, Tarhe bent every
effort toward securing
for the Americans the good will and
support of the Indian
tribes - his own as well as others. Up
to the time of the treaty
referred to, no braver warrior ever
opposed the advance of
white men than Tarhe.
The Mingoes (Senecas).
Of less general importance and fewer in
numbers than
any of the tribes previously described,
the Mingoes nevertheless,
in their brief career upon Ohio soil,
left a most interesting and
spectacular history. They were a
detached band of the Iroquois
-mainly Senecas-who just prior to the
Revolutionary war
had taken up their abode on the Ohio
river, their settlement,
near the present city of Steubenville,
and consisting of about
sixty families, being known as the Mingo
town. From there they
later found their way westward and
settled in the Wyandot
country, upon the headwaters of the
Scioto and Sandusky rivers.
Here, about the year 1800 they were
joined by stragglers from
the Cayuga tribe of Iroquois, the
affiliated bands thereafter being
generally known as the Senecas of the
Sandusky. Although
few in numbers, these Senecas made
themselves widely known
in the early wars. Their sojourn in Ohio
is commemorated in
their name, as given to Seneca county,
Ohio. A small band of
these Senecas incorporated themselves
with a band of Shawnee,
at Lewistown, Logan county, from 1817 until 1831.
These
affiliated bands were known as the
"Mixed Senecas and Shaw-
nee," as distinguished from the
Senecas of the Sandusky.
In addition to the settlements on the
Sandusky and at
Lewistown the Mingoes had several
villages farther south along
the Scioto. One of these is recorded as being located in
Delaware county, while three are
described as existing at the site
of Columbus. The late Col. E. L. Taylor,
in his "Ohio Indians,"
mentions these Mingo towns, one of which
he says was located
320 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
just south from where the Ohio
penitentiary now stands, while
a second stood on the west bank of the
river at the site of the
city work-house, and the third on the
east side of the river south
of Greenlawn Avenue. These three towns
met a most tragic
fate, being destroyed by the whites
under Col. William Craw-
ford, in 1774, as a part of the campaign
of Lord Dunmore
against the Shawnee and Mingoes. The
destruction of these
Mingo towns which will be referred to in
connection with the
Dunmore war, apparently put an end to
Mingo communities in
the central Scioto valley. It is through
Chief Logan, the great-
est of the Mingoes, that the tribe is
best known. We shall hear
also of Logan in considering the Dunmore
war.
The Ottawas and Others.
But for the purpose of introducing their
great chief, Pon-
tiac, one of the most renowned men of
his race, it would
scarcely be necessary to dwell upon the
Ottawa tribe of Indians,
in so far as Ohio is concerned. Although
a great and powerful
people, dwelling principally around
Georgian Bay and on Mani-
toulin Island in Lake Huron, but few of
them chose to make
their homes on Ohio soil. Although an
Algonquin people, the
Ottawas were firm friends and allies of
the Wyandots, and like
these latter had been ousted from their
tribal home in Ontario.
Those who entered Ohio, later known as
the Ottawas of Blan-
chard Fork of Auglaize river, and the
Roche de Boeuf, living on
the Maumee, fraternized closely with the
Wyandots, the vil-
lages of the two tribes often being
contiguous. The Ottawas
took an active part in the early Indian
wars in the Ohio coun-
try. They were originally, according to
the early French writers,
a very uncouth and barbarous people but
improved greatly after
contact with the Wyandots. They were
noted as skilful canoe-
men and were foremost among the Indian
tribes in the matter
of trade and barter, whence the name
Ottawa, carrying this
meaning, bestowed upon them by the
French. They gave their
name to two rivers-the Ottawa of Canada,
and the Ottawa
of Ohio, the latter more generally known
as the Auglaize. Ot-
tawa county, Ohio, likewise took its
name from the tribe.
The Indian in Ohio. 321
Like the Mingoes, and some other tribes,
chief interest in
the Ohio Ottawas centers about one
man--Pontiac. He was
born about 1715 near where Defiance now stands, at the juncture
of the Maumee and Auglaize rivers. The
first historic notice
of importance of Pontiac is that
contained in the diary of Major
Robert Rogers, commander of Rogers
Rangers, who in 1760 had
been commissioned by the English to
proceed by way of Ohio to
Detroit, there to take possession of
that fort, surrendered by
the French. At the mouth of the Cuyahoga
river, according to
Major Rogers, he encountered a band of
Ottawas, in command
of Pontiac, who was inclined to resent
the intrusion of the
Rangers into his country. On learning
its import, however,
Pontiac permitted the British force to
proceed, he himself ac-
companying them and lending every
assistance in his power.
Pontiac is described by Rogers as the
"King or Emperor of the
greatest authority and the largest
empire of any Indian chief on
the continent since our acquaintance
with it." He proceeds to
describe the air of haughty dignity and
"princely grandeur" of
the Ottawa chieftain.
Pontiac is best known as a result of the
gigantic and
disastrous conspiracy which he headed
against the British in
1760, and which will be referred to
presently. After the close
of the French and Indian war Pontiac
continued hostile for a
time against the British, but finally
made peace with them in
1765. His death, as was the case with
several important Ohio
chiefs, was a tragic one. He was
murdered by an Indian dur-
ing a drinking bout at Cahokia,
Illinois, in 1769.
In addition to the tribes specified,
there were bands of
Tuscarawas (Iroquoian) in the eastern
part of the state, prin-
cipally on the Muskingum and the river
bearing their name.
They were of little importance and few
in numbers. Other
representatives of the Iroquois were at
various times present in
northeastern Ohio, mainly on hunting
expeditions. They played
no important part in the Indian history
of the Ohio Country.
Vol. XXVII-21.
IIl
THE INDIANS, THE FRENCH AND THE ENGLISH
THE IMPENDING CONFLICT
French and English Covet Ohio
It will be recalled that in the early
settlement of America,
the English established their first
colonies in Virginia and New
England, gradually absorbed the
territory intervening between
the two, and came to occupy all the
country along the Atlantic
seaboard from Nova Scotia to Florida.
The French, on the
other hand, chose to settle the region
adjacent to the St. Law-
rence river and, through right of
discovery, quite early laid
claim to all the country within the
basin of the St. Lawrence,
the Great Lakes and the Mississippi
river, with the Appalachian
mountains as its eastern boundary. The
English, however, under
their charter grants, contended that
their territory extended from
sea to sea, and from the first evinced
no intention of permitting
the French to retain control of the land
west of the Alleghenies.
In the absence of exact knowledge as to
the size and extent
of the new continent and uncertainty as
to political boundaries
and charter grants, it is not strange
that almost from the be-
ginning there was dispute and conflict
between the French and
English as to ownership of territory
outside their immediate
settlements. The French, pushing
southward and westward from
Lake Erie into the Ohio country, were
met by the English mak-
ing their way westward into the same
region, and the natural
rivalry for so rich a prize, fanned by
bitter enmity between the
two nations in the Old World, soon took
the form of open hos-
tilities.
Position of the Indian
The culmination of this unhappy
situation was the so-called
French and Indian war, which terminated
in the defeat of the
French and the accruing to the English
of all French territory
east of the Mississippi and north of the
Ohio rivers. In this
(322)
The Indian in Ohio. 323
gigantic struggle, accredited to the
years 1755-1763, but having
its inception as early as 1724 in disputes
regarding title to parts
of the New England coast, the Indian
played an important,
though pathetic part. The situation, in
a word, was this: the
French colonies, through right of
discovery, laid claim to the
vast territory of which the Ohio country
was the heart; the
English colonies, through their charter
grants, emphatically af-
firmed their title to the same
territory; while the Indian, as the
native race, and the original owner,
felt constrained to dispute
the claims of both newcomers and to
retain his ancestral heritage
for himself. The solution to this
triangular controversy was
to be worked out under
"The simple plan,
That they should take who have the power
And they should keep who can."
While the French were building a great
chain of forts from
the St. Lawrence to the mouth of the
Mississippi, the English
were quietly edging westward, making
sure of their ground as
they advanced. Meantime both were
bidding heavily for the
favor of the Indian, in anticipation of
successfully separating
him from his hunting grounds - a
proceeding in which the red
man was to be asked to furnish the means
for his own undoing.
Succeeding events have justified this
displacement of the Indian
race by the whites; for the interests of
human advancement de-
manded that so vast a country as that
comprised within the
United States should serve a better
purpose than that of sup-
porting less than one million savages-or
but one person to
three square miles of territory, as
compared with approximately
one hundred times that number, as at
present. While the fact
of the supplanting of the native race by
the European is beyond
question of propriety, unfortunately so
much cannot be said of
the manner in which it was effected. In
many instances where
the Indian has been dispossessed or
otherwise coerced, it has
been at the hands of individuals, rather
than by action of organ-
ized government, and attended with
unnecessary hardship and
even abuse.
324 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
The efforts expended by the Indians in
resisting the relent-
less tide of white settlement are by no
means to be despised.
In fact, in many instances they
displayed the stubbornness, dar-
ing and courage of desperation. But in
the absence of centralized
governing power, so necessary to
concerted action, they were in
the end futile. Even with his limited
powers of judgment and
lacking all precedent, the Indian could
not but realize in a degree
that the great wave of European settlers
was inimical to his in-
terests. While in any event the Indian
ultimately must have
yielded to the human readjustment, but
for the lack of two
things--precedent, and centralized
authority- the struggle
must have been greatly prolonged.
The position of the Indian in the
conflict with the whites
has been described in many appropriate
phrases, as for example,
in the words of an Ohio chief: "The
Indians are like a piece of
cloth between the blades of a pair of
scissors, of which the Eng-
lish are one blade and the French the
other". Nevertheless, the
red man held the balance of power as
between the French and
the English in their struggle for
possession of his country. Just
how true this is we shall see in
connection with the deciding
event in the western theatre of the
war--the capture by the
British of Fort DuQuesne-when the
defection of the Indians
from their allegiance to the French
swayed the balance in favor
of the English.
Having taken brief notice of the Ohio
country, its native
inhabitants and their attitude, on the
one hand; and of the
French and English colonists and their
motives on the other,
we should be able at this point to draw
a mental picture of
existing conditions, let us say, about
the year 1740. Previous
to that time there had been, of course,
considerable activity on
the part of both the French and the
English, looking to ultimate
exploitation of the section under
consideration. But these ac-
tivities for the most part were
tentative, as both sides were well
occupied in making certain their
foothold upon the American
continent-"digging themselves
in" preparatory to the forth-
coming struggle -and had but little time
to give to affairs very
far removed from their immediate
colonies.
The Indian in Ohio. 325
Intimate contact between the Indians of
the Ohio country
and the whites very naturally came with
the advent into their
territory of French and English traders.
Preceding these were
numerous adventurers and explorers, but
the relationship be-
tween these and the Indians was of
passing importance; and,
too, we must not forget that most of the
Ohio tribes already
had met the whites, since, with one or
two exceptions, their
presence in this territory was due to
their having been dis-
lodged from previously occupied
localities.
Traders and Missionaries.
The ubiquitous trader, then, may be
regarded as the first
bona fide representative of white men
among the Indians in
their Ohio homes. Following closely upon
the trader came the
missionary; and to these two advance
guards of civilization fell
the task of breaking the path over which
should march the hosts
who were to follow them. "The
merchants and missionaries
vied with each other in their
indefatigable efforts to penetrate
every nook and corner of the
undiscovered country and estab-
lish therein trading posts and
proselyting stations".
In the matter of traders and trading
posts the French
and English were equally energetic; with
respect to missions,
however, the French were especially
zealous, particularly among
the Iroquois in New York and the Hurons
in Michigan and
Canada. Their labors in the Ohio field
were not destined to be
of importance, owing to the unsettled
condition of the Ohio
tribes and to the comparatively late
date at which that terri-
tory was explored and settled. Their
sole effort at establishing
a mission was at the site of Sandusky,
where for some time a
branch of the Wyandot mission at Detroit
was maintained.
Thus the only religious influence of
importance brought to bear
by the French was that which they had
exerted upon the Indians
entering Ohio from the north. While the Catholic religion
was not destined to play an important
part with the Ohio In-
dians, Protestantism, on the other hand,
succeeded in sowing
fertile seeds among the Delawares
residing upon the Muskin-
gum. This was accomplished through the
zeal and ardor of
326 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
the Moravian Brethren, of whose
activities we shall learn
presently.
"Coureurs-des-Bois are they, and
famous hunters and trappers."
But to revert to the trader-The
Coureur-du-Bois of the
French, the bushwhacker and woodsranger
of the English. At
the start these traders were hardy,
venturesome men, fitted for
the dangerous lives they led, and as a
rule not too conscientious
or scrupulous in their moral codes.
However, this hardy type
was very necessary to the reconnoissance
of the wilderness and
their part in its conquest was highly
important. At first they
operated entirely upon their own
initiative, with no very definite
end in view, spurred on by the element
of novelty and danger
that offered. In time, the trader became
a very well defined
institution with fixed posts where the
trinkets and commodities
of the white man were to be had by the
Indian in exchange for
furs and other products. With a keen eye
for business and
profit, the trader soon learned to know
just what would appeal
most strongly to the needs and fancy of
the Indian. Bright
colored cloth, necklaces and beads of
glass, bracelets, buckles,
brooches and ornaments of silver,
kettles and containers of cop-
per, knives, tomahawks and spears of
iron, to say nothing of
firearms and ammunition were a few of
the things from his
stock in trade. For these the red man
displayed the fascina-
tion of a child over a new toy, and
gladly paid in exchange
whatever price might be asked, which
often was limited only
by what he possessed. These trading
posts became the outworks
of the white settlement, and definitely
influenced the location
of forts and towns.
The year 1745 found these traders, both
English and French,
but particularly the former, stubbornly
pushing their way into
the Ohio wilderness and establishing
more or less permanent
trading posts among the Indians.
Activities centered about the
western extension of Lake Erie,
particularly in the Maumee
valley and around Sandusky bay, the
English trader coming
from Pennsylvania and the French from
the neighborhood of
Detroit. The importance of this location
was due to its being
directly in the path of travel east and
west, by way of the lakes
The Indian in Ohio. 327
and the Maumee, across the portage to
the Wabash, and thence
down the Ohio to the Mississippi.
Nicolas' Conspiracy.
We already have learned how the Hurons,
thenceforward
to be known as the Wyandots, had
descended from Detroit into
northern Ohio, under the guidance of
Chief Nicolas. Nicolas,
unscrupulous, energetic and ambitious,
had incurred the dis-
pleasure of the French and as a part of
his scheme for revenge
cultivated the friendship of the
English. In 1745 he went so
far as to allow English traders from
Pennsylvania to erect a
trading post on Sandusky bay, near the
site of Port Clinton,
in Ottawa county. The seriousness of
this offense, from the
French viewpoint, will be understood
when it is remembered
that the latter claimed, and zealously
resented any interference
in the country in question. The English
erected also at this
point, a blockhouse, and this, known as
Fort Sandoski, in addi-
tion to being the first real military
stronghold erected by white
men on Ohio soil, was to become the
scene of opening hostilities
attendant upon the rivalry of the French
and English for the
possession of Ohio. Nicolas - Orontony,
in his own tongue-
now thoroughly embittered against the
French and strengthened
by his friendship with the English,
conceived a bold plan for the
extermination of the French from Ohio
and the country to the
northward. This plan was nothing less
than a widespread con-
spiracy, in which he enlisted the
cooperation of Miamis, Ottawas,
Shawnee and several western tribes.
Nicolas' plans were care-
fully laid and a date was set for
carrying out attacks on the
various French posts. These attacks were
to be made simul-
taneously and were apportioned among the
allies. The Wyan-
dots themselves were to attack the
French on the Maumee while
to the Miamis fell the lot of destroying
those in their imme-
diate territory. Detroit, the
headquarters of the French and
their strongest western post, was to be
the object of an espe-
cially directed blow to be delivered by
chosen men from the
Hurons. But with all his precautions Nicolas' plans were
doomed to failure, and his conspiracy
was short-lived. Certain
premature indiscretions on the part of
his allies excited the
328 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
suspicion of the French and put them
upon their guard; while
just in time to prevent the consummation
of the massacres, an
Indian squaw, of Nicolas' own people,
betrayed the secret to a
French missionary.
First Mission to Ohio Indians.
During the five years following Nicolas'
conspiracy events
crowded upon one another thick and fast,
until, in 1754, the
first real action of the French and
Indian war occurred at the
Forks of the Ohio. These intervening
years were filled by a
series of constant thrusts and parries
between the English and
the French for an opening in the
decisive contest which was
drawing close to hand.
The French were made keenly aware of the
necessity of
circumventing the rapid encroachments of
the English if their
claim to Ohio was to be maintained,
while the English colonies,
with redoubled determination, set
themselves to the task of
securing what they wanted. The friendly
overtures of the Ohio
tribes offered a good opening for
negotiations, and of this hos-
pitable attitude of the natives the
colonists determined to take
advantage. Besides, during the summer of
1748, there had been
consummated at Lancaster, Pa., a treaty
between the Miamis,
Delawares and Shawnee of Ohio and the
six Nations of Iroquois.
on the one side, and the commissioners
of Pennsylvania and
Virginia, on the other, which encouraged
the colonists to hope
for the support of the Indians as
against the French. At this
treaty the Miamis, in particular, were
outspoken in their pledges
of friendship and allegiance to the
English.
In order doubly to assure themselves of
the favor of the
tribesmen the English colonists decided
to send a special em-
bassy, bearing with it substantial
tokens of the affection and
solicitude of the white men for the
savages. The Pennsylvania
council, therefore, late in 1748,
dispatched Conrad Weiser, of-
ficial Indian interpreter, with messages
of good will and presents
aggregating in value more than $5,000.
Weiser was accom-
panied by George Croghan, "king of
the traders," who already
had established trading posts on the
Muskingum and at the
mouth of the Cuyahoga river, and by
Andrew Montour, inter-
The Indian in Ohio. 329
preter and go-between, of mixed Indian
and French blood.
While Weiser and his embassy did not
enter Ohio proper all the
important Ohio tribes, by appointment,
were present at the
meeting place, which was at Logstown on
the Ohio river, a few
miles across the Ohio line in
Pennsylvania. Logstown was one
of the most important of the Indian
towns west of the Al-
leghenies, and "being on the
borderline between the red and the
white peoples, was the common center for
commercial activity
and political intrigue." Here, amid scenes of feasting and
merrymaking, during which the Indians
were liberally supplied
with rum and tobacco, the spokesmen for
the assembled tribes
aired their grievances and made known
their demands, while
the English emissaries forcefully
presented the advantages to
the Indians of an alliance with their
colonies. Thus was suc-
cessfully consummated "the first
mission of the English to the
Ohio Indians."
Pickawillany, the Ohio Indian
Capital.
It was now the move of the French in
this gigantic game
of chess, "in which Ohio was the
stake and the Indians were
the pawns." They responded by
sending Captain Bienville de
Celoron on his historic mission through
the Ohio country, for
the purpose of preempting that territory
to themselves, and of
erecting "no trespass" signs
of warning against the English.
Celoron's mission, aimed to counteract
the effect of the Logs-
town conference and the activities of
the Ohio Company, was
most spectacular and dramatic. With a
party of about 270 men.
consisting of Canadians and Indians,
Celoron started for the
Ohio country by way of Lakes Ontario and
Erie, thence south-
ward to the Allegheny, which they
reached at the site of War-
ren, Pa. The company traveled in
birchbark canoes and bore
with them all necessary paraphernalia
for "staking their claims"
to the exclusion of all squatters. A
series of lead plates,
bearing appropriate legends of
preemption had been sup-
plied, and these were buried at
strategic points en route,
the first at Warren, Penn., the second
at the junction of
French creek with the Ohio, a third near
the mouth of
Wheeling Creek, and the others at the
mouths of the Musk-
330 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
ingum, the Great Kanawha, the Scioto and
the Great Miami
rivers. Arriving at the last named
place, Celoron and his
party ascended the Miami, arriving at
Pickawillany, the
wilderness capital of the Piankashaw
tribe of Miamis. Here
he was received by Old Britain, whom he
endeavored to in-
fluence in behalf of the French, but
with small success.
The following summer, 1760, the French at
Montreal sent
their agent, Joncaire, with gifts for
the Ohio Indians. The
Pennsylvania council, learning of
Joncaire's mission, dispatched
George Croghan and Andrew Montour to the
same Indians to
remind them of their recent promises of
friendship. Croghan
and Montour, bearing presents with them,
reached Wyandot
Town, on the site of Coshocton, where
they succeeded in fav-
orably influencing the vacillating
sentiment of the Wyandots
and Mingoes on the Muskingum.
Gist Visits the Ohio Tribes.
Later in the same year "Old
Britain" again entertained im-
portant visitors at Pickawillany. The
Ohio company, recently
organized by a number of Virginia
colonists for the purpose
of securing and settling lands in the
Ohio valley, secured the
services of Christopher Gist, a surveyor
and trader, to examine
and report upon the Ohio country and its
inhabitants, with a
view to selecting the most promising
location for the new enter-
prise. Gist, after visiting the Indian
towns on the Muskingum
and passing westward over the state,
arrived at Pickawillany,
where his reception by La Damoiselle was
most cordial. As
a result of two weeks' feasting during
which Gist's party be-
stowed upon the Miami chieftain presents
to the value of $500,
an alliance between the Miamis and the
colony of Pennsylvania
was effected. In addition the Indians
expressed their intention
to be present at Logstown the next year,
where they promised
to enter into a treaty with the Virginia
colony. The results of
this visit materially strengthened the
cause of the colonists and
of the Ohio company with the western
Indians.
An incident which illustrates the
friendship of Old Britain
for the English occurred during Gist's
stay at Pickawillany.
While the old chief and his English
guests were making merry
The Indian in Ohio. 331
there arrived from Detroit a delegation
of Ottawa Indians in
the interest of the French. The chief
accorded them an im-
partial hearing, along with Gist and
Croghan, but in the end
waived acceptance of the presents which
the Ottawas had
brought with them and dismissed them
with the following
speech: "We have been taken by the
hand by our brothers,
the English * * *
and we assure you that in that road we
will go; and as you threaten us with war
in the spring, we
tell you if you are angry, we are ready
to receive you, and re-
solve to die here before we will go with
you; and that you may
know that this is our mind, we give you-
this string of black
wampum." The reference to war was
in reply to threats of
the French, through the Ottawas, to that
effect.
Gist and his party were the first
Englishmen to travel ex-
tensively through Ohio. The journey, faithfully and fully
recorded in Gist's journal, is most
interesting and valuable.
Indian Treaty at Logstown.
With a keen knowledge of the Indiar
temperament and his
proneness to change allegiance whenever
and as often as his
personal interests seemed to indicate,
the governor of Pennsyl-
vania determined not to lose the
advantage already gained in
the contest for favor of the tribesmen.
Accordingly the ser-
vices of Croghan and Montour were
enlisted for two important
conferences with the Indians at
Logstown, one in the spring
of 1752 and the other one year later. At
both meetings the
Ohio tribes-Delawares, Shawnee, Miamis
and Wyandots-
were present in force to strengthen the
chain of friendship be-
tween themselves and the English-and to
share in the rich
gifts provided for them. At the first conference, presents
amounting in value to $3,500 were
distributed among the tribes.
At the second meeting delegates from
Virginia also were present,
and succeeded in securing a ratification
of the rather doubtful
concessions made by the Indians at the
Lancaster treaty of 1744,
by which Virginia was authorized to
effect settlements south of
the Ohio river, and to erect a fort at
the forks of the Ohio.
The results of this conference were of
very great importance,
since the securing of the site at the
forks of the Ohio was to
332
Ohio Arch. and list. Society
Publications.
mean much to the English in the
forthcoming struggle with the
French, while the Ohio company, out of
which was to be born
the new state of Ohio, was greatly
benefited.
Destruction of Pickawillany.
Scarcely had the Logstown conference
come to a close
when the French, determined to rid the
Miami country of Eng-
lish traders, struck a blow which was
destined to precipitate the
actual hostilities of the French and
Indian war. Pickawillany,
as we have seen, was not only the
capital of the Ohio Miamis,
but the most important trading center in
western Ohio. Many
trails converged here and the town
became the center of an
important inter-racial commerce. At the
time of Gist's visit
it consisted of about 400 families,
among whom were a con-
siderable number of white traders.
In the late spring of 1752 the French in
Canada sent an
expedition under Charles Langlade, of
Indian and French ex-
traction, to destroy Pickawillany and to
expel the English
traders. Langlade and his force,
consisting of 250 Ottawa and
Chippewa Indians and a few French
soldiers, reached Picka-
willany in June, 1752. The Indians,
their ferocity spurred to
violence by their commander, Langlade,
swooped down upon
the Miami village with all the fury of
their savage natures.
Most of the men of the village were
absent, either engaged in
the hunt, or not yet having returned
from Logstown. Old Brit-
ain, with 14 others of the tribe was
killed, while of eight English
traders in the town five were carried
prisoners to Detroit, one
was killed and two escaped.
The old King, who had played so
important a part in the
dealings of the Indians and whites and
who had entertained
so many notable guests, furnished the
"piece de resistance" at
the savage feast which followed. His
body, it is said, was
cooked and eaten by the infuriated
Ottawas, who, as Mr. Ran-
dall suggests, doubtless had not
forgotten the repulse the Ottawa
embassadors had received in the council
house of the Pianka-
shaw king, Old Britain, at the time of
their visit, while Gist
and his party were guests at his
"royal" house.
The Indian in Ohio. 333
The success of the French in this
enterprise, "which might
be called the preliminary bloodshed, if
not the first battle of
the French and Indian war," so
emboldened the French that
they soon began the construction of
armed posts from Lake
Erie to the headwaters of the Ohio, and
so on down the Ohio
valley. It was this action which finally
provoked armed ag-
gression on the part of the English.
THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.
Beginning of Hostilities.
The battles about the forks of the Ohio,
where occurred
most of the hostilities of the French
and Indian war, in so far
as the Ohio country was concerned, are
familiar to all. Wash-
ington's mission to the French--a final
but unsuccessful at-
tempt on the part of Virginia to avert
armed aggression; the
erection of the fort at the Ohio forks,
and its seizure by the
French before completion; Washington's
encounter with and
defeat of LaForce at Great Meadows, and
his evacuation of
Fort Necessity; the disgraceful defeat
by the French of General
Braddock and his English and colonial
troops; and, marking
the close of the war on the western
frontier, the occupation of
Fort Duquesne by Washington and his
soldiers, comprise a
chapter of American history which is
indelibly impressed upon
the mind of every school boy, and need
not be recounted here.
We have but to consider the connection
of the Indian with these
momentous occurrences, and our purpose
will be served.
Tanacharison, the Seneca Half King.
As we have seen, the Ohio Indians were
inclined to be
friendly to the English, and this
inclination had been strength-
ened by every possible attention on the
part of the colonies.
As indicative of this amicable sentiment
on the part of the
tribesmen, the friendship of
Tanacharison, the Seneca chief,
for the English may be cited.
Tanacharison, known familiarly
as the Half King, (thus called, because
while chief of his own
tribe he was still subject to the
authority of the Iroquoian Six
334
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
Nations,) may be taken as representative
of the best intelligence
and loyalty, on the part of the natives.
Residing at or near
Logstown, on the Ohio, he early made the
acquaintance of the
English officials passing to and fro
between the colonies and the
Ohio country, and through his
trustworthiness and ability soon
gained from them a remarkable degree of
confidence. We first
meet him in 1753, when W ashington, on
his memorable mission
to the French stopped at Logstown. On
this occasion the Half
King greatly assisted Washington by
supplying information re-
garding the country and its people, both
Indians and French, and
by accompanying him to Venango, where
Joncaire, the French
commander was located. A few months
later we find the Half
King present with the English at the
building of the fort at the
Ohio forks, and upon the arrival of the
French under Contre-
coeur and their demand for the surrender
of the unfinished
stockade, lending his advice and
assistance to Ensign Ward, in
charge of its erection. Following the
temporary set-back to the
English through the loss of this
strategic site, we again find
Tanacharison "on hand" at the
arrival of Washington at Great
Meadows, doing scout duty and, with his
faithful followers,
fighting side by side with Washington
against LaForce and
his French and Indians. This great
chief, together with Scar-
ouady, Oneida half king, and others,
thus participated with
Washington in his "baptism of
fire", in the "skirmish which set
the world on fire", and which was
to lead the English to victory
over the French for the possession of
the Ohio country and
to instill into the colonists the
self-reliance and training which
enabled them to break away from England
and to become a
free and separate nation. But with all
his loyalty and merit,
Tanacharison perhaps displayed a
prominent characteristic of
the Indian temperament when after
Washington's evacuation
of Fort Necessity, he severely
criticized the Colonial commander
for his methods of fighting. Like most
of his nationality, he
was not a good loser, although doubtless
altogether convinced
in his own mind that Washington's
tactics as against the French
and Indians were not the most conducive
to success. The Half
King declared that the "French were
cowards; the English
fools" and that neither knew how to
fight. He believed that
The Indian in Ohio. 335
had Washington taken the advice of his
Indian associates, ex-
perienced in methods of Indian warfare,
the English might
easily have prevailed over the French at
Fort Necessity, de-
spite the fact that the latter more than
twice outnumbered the
Colonial forces. Tanacharison died shortly afterwards near
Harrisburg, where with his family he had
retired. He had re-
mained a consistent friend to the
English and his services were
greatly missed.
Tanacharison was not alone in his
deprecation of English
methods of fighting and in his opinion
as to their chances of
ultimate victory over the French. From
their attitude of co-
operation and alliance many of the Ohio
tribes began to veer
toward the French, in the belief that
the latter were destined
to be the victors in the ensuing
struggle. Thus in a few short
months the situation, from the English
point of view, had swung
around so that instead of the promise
held forth by a propitious
beginning, they now found themselves on
the defensive, with
their Indian allies forsaking them and
the French in full posses-
sion of the Ohio valley from the lakes
to the Mississippi.
The struggle, thus far confined to the
colonies of France
and England, was now to demand and
secure the attention and
participation of the mother countries
themselves. Troops were
rushed from France and England, and the
result of their meet-
ing on the western frontier at Fort
Duquesne, where General
Braddock was so disastrously defeated,
only added to the serious-
ness of the outlook for the English
cause.
While doubt in the minds of the Indians
as to the strength
and ultimate success of the English over
the French was per-
haps the principal reason for their
wholesale defection to the
latter, there were others scarcely less
potent. The partial change
of fealty on the part of the Iroquois
Nations had a disturbing
effect upon the Ohio tribes, with whom
they were in a measure
allied; while the active propaganda of
the French to turn the
Indians against the English and the
slowness with which the
latter responded to appeals of the
tribesmen for aid, were like-
wise of very decided advantage to the
French; but doubtless
the desire of the Indians to be on the
winning side outweighed
all other considerations.
336
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
Indians Desert the British.
The Delawares and Shawnee were the Ohio
tribes whose
loss was most keenly felt by theEnglish.
At a council held in
Philadelphia in 1755, the Delawares
presented their ultimatum
in the following words: "We, the
Delawares of Ohio, do pro-
claim war against the English. We have
been their friends
many years but now have taken up the
hatchet against them
and we will never make it up with them
whilst there is an Eng-
lish man alive". The following year
a representative of the
Delawares and Shawnee summed up the
situation as follows:
"Last year the French brought a
powerful army into our coun-
try and soon after the English marched
another army, which
appeared to us like two clouds hanging
over us; we looked on
until the battle was over and then we
saw some of the Six Na-
tions with the French hatchets in their
hands killing the English
and as we were in strict alliance with
the Six Nations, we
thought it our duty to do the
same."
The confusion in which the Indians found
themselves at
this period is attested in the numerous
and eloquent speeches
recorded in historic records and
documents of the time. The
conflicting emotions and the various
motives and factors which
governed their actions can be understood
only when we take into
consideration the Indian as a people.
Facing so great, and to
him unprecedented, an event as the
invasion by so vastly su-
perior a people as the Europeans, he was
unable, with his lim-
ited knowledge and perspective, to grasp
its real meaning and
significance. It was like the first
visit of a boy of six years to
a three-ring circus, who could see an
elephant here, a trapeze
performer there and a clown somewhere
else. But aside from
the few superior minds among them it is
doubtful whether the
Indians as a whole ever fully grasped
the fullness of the situa-
tion as it existed. But following
Braddock's defeat he under-
stood well enough that the French were
in the ascendancy, for
the time being, at least, and as between
two evils he chose what
appeared to him the lesser.
The Indian in Ohio. 337
Indians Hold Balance of Power.
Thus we find the situation at the
opening of hostilities in
the year 1756. The French, victorious in
their encounters with
the English, had automatically won over
the Indians. Further,
they had strengthened their hold on the
Ohio country by the
erection of forts along the upper
reaches of the Ohio valley, and
by the construction of Fort Junundat, on
Sandusky Bay. But
the English, having allowed this
advantage to accrue to the
French mainly through slowness in
acting, set about to make
good the loss. To offset the defection
of the tribesmen a great
council was held at Albany in 1754, at
which representatives
of the several colonies succeeded in
temporarily bolster-
ing up the wavering allegiance of the
Six Nations; an Important
accomplishment, since the Iroquois were
in more or less close
sympathy with the Ohio tribes, and were
able greatly to influ-
ence their attitude. But the patched-up
loyalty of the Iroquois
was not to be lasting; for before long
the Six Nations, (with
the exception of the Mohawks, who to the
last remained friendly
to the English) were either openly
espousing the French cause,
or at best were neutral in their
attitude. This change of heart
on the part of the Iroquois was
reflected in the behavior of the
Ohio tribes, who, despite their efforts
to fix the Allegheny
mountains as the western barrier of the
colonies, found the
English, especially the Virginians,
persistent in extending their
charter lines into the Ohio valley. The
Delawares of Ohio and
eastern Pennsylvania, recruiting at the
Delaware town of Kittan-
ing, launched expeditions of destruction
and slaughter against
the Pennsylvania colonists. They were
finally quelled by troops
under Col. John Armstrong, who in the
autumn of 1756 de-
stroyed Kittaning and scattered its
inhabitants. The Shawnee,
in close sympathy with the Delawares,
directed their depreda-
tions mostly to the southward, crossing
the Ohio river and
penetrating the Virginia country along
the eastern slopes of the
Alleghenies. With their well-known
audacity and disregard for
distances they even descended upon the
headwaters of the James,
Shenandoah and Roanoke rivers, and in
1757, from their homes
Vol. XXVII-22.
338
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
on the Scioto and Miami, they devastated
an English settlement
on the last named river. So persistent
were these attacks that
the governor of Virginia sent a force of
Virginia troops, under
Colonel Andrew Lewis, to retaliate upon
the Ohio settlements
of the Shawnee. The expedition, however,
owing to inclement
weather and unfavorable conditions, was
unsuccessful.
The importance of the Indian as a factor
in the contest be-
tween the French and the English now
becomes most apparent,
and it would have been difficult for
either to win without his
assistance. We have seen how Washington
was enabled to rout
LaForce and his command of Frenchmen
through the aid of
the Half King and his Indian followers,
and how, on the other
hand, he was forced to evacuate Fort
Necessity owing to the
superiority of De Villiers' force, many
of whom were Indians,
giving the French the advantage of their
knowledge of border
warfare. At Braddock's defeat the French
force of 900 con-
sisted principally of Indians, and the
battle was conducted by
the French along Indian lines of
warfare. It was indeed an
"Indian army", in which were
prominent Shawnee and Mingoes
from Ohio, Ottawas under the great
Pontiac, and numerous
other tribes to the northward.
We are now to see how, under more
efficient management
of their affairs, the English were to
swing the favor of the In-
dians and to demoralize the French.
Posts Mission Wins Indian Support.
Following two years of warfare with the
French, during
which time the tide of battle flowed
steadily against them, the
English in the spring of 1758 succeeded
in effecting a complete
reorganization of their plans for the
campaign. General John
Forbes was entrusted with the command of
an army which was
to be sent against Fort Duquesne, the
gateway to the Ohio coun-
try. Col. Henry Bouquet, whom we shall
meet at a later date,
was second in command under Forbes,
while General George
Washington was at the head of one of the
two regiments of
Colonial troops raised by Virginia.
It was while Forbes' army was preparing
to move upon
Fort DuQuesne that the council of
Pennsylvania was occupied
The Indian in Ohio. 339
in a quiet way with a plan which was to
prove of as much im-
portance in reducing the French fort at
the forks of the Ohio,
as the army of 7,000 men which soon was
to lay siege thereto.
This plan was nothing more nor less than
the sending of Chris-
tian Frederick Post, noted Moravian
missionary of Pennsyl-
vania, among the Indians in a final
effort to secure their coop-
eration against the French, or at least
the promise of neutrality
on their part.
Equipped with an intimate knowledge of
the Indians with
whom he had to deal, as a result of many
years spent among
the Pennsylvania tribes, as well as with
undaunted courage, tact,
and judgment, Post, with a few
companions, departed upon
what was to be one of the most eventful
missions of the English
to the Indians. The story of his
experiences, surrounded on all
sides by hostile natives, his life
threatened at every turn, is one
to keep the reader's attention at high
pitch throughout. The
meeting place, as arranged, was opposite
Fort DuQuesne, near
the forks of the Ohio, where Post
arrived in midsummer, 1758.
Through the cooperation or rather by the
promise of Teddyus-
kung, king of the Delawares,
representatives of the various tribes
including the Delawares, Shawnee and
Mingoes from Ohio were
present. In the face of great
difficulties Post succeeded in effect-
ing a nominal peace with the assembled
chiefs, among whom
were Captains White Eyes and Killbuck,
from the Muskingum
Delawares. The Indian conferees promised
to abandon their
depredations against the English and to
use their good offices
in persuading other tribes to follow
their example.
October following saw the culmination of
Post's good work,
when at Easton, Pa., an important
conference of the Pennsyl-
vanians with the Iroquois and other
eastern tribes was held.
The Indians agreed to the peace
proposals of the colonists and
voted to send confirmation of this,
through the medium of a
message and a belt of wampum, to their
kindred of Ohio. Post
was selected to carry these to the Ohio
Indians who, upon their
receipt, ratified the terms of peace and
formally declared an
end to hostilities.
340 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
War Ends with English Successful.
It is unnecessary to recount the
circumstances attending the
evacuation of Fort DuQuesne in November
following. After
months of active preparation to meet the
attack of the English
the French, without firing a single
shot, suddenly abandoned
the fort, after setting it in flames.
The work of Post had
accomplished more quickly and more
effectively what the arms
of the English had prepared to do. The
French, all at once
deserted by the Indians who had embraced
their cause, found
themselves unable to meet the English
onslaught soon to come
and fled precipitately, leaving the Ohio
valley definitely and for
all time in the hands of the English.
The English had learned the lesson
pressed upon them by
Tanacharison, the Half King, and his
associates. They had
learned to fight the fight of the
borderland as the Indians them-
selves fought. Washington, in
particular, not only recognized
the importance of the Indian mode of
warfare, declaring that
"in this country we must learn the
art of war from enemy In-
dians, or anybody else who has seen it
carried on here", but
even fitted out his soldiers in Indian
costume. Of the Indians
in his command Washington said, "I
think them indispensable
in our present circumstances."
Thus ended on the western frontier the
French and Indian
war and to the Indians, almost as much
as to General Forbes
and Washington, or to the Pennsylvania
council and Post, is
due the credit, regardless of motive, of
the end of French sov-
ereignty in the Ohio country. One side
of the triangle, repre-
sented by the French, had been
eliminated, and the Indian hence-
forth had to deal only with the English.
Within a few years,
however, there was to be a very
considerable modification of the
English side, in which the English
colonies in America were to
assert their independence of the mother
country, and through
their success therein were, as
Americans, to assume the place
and power until then exercised by
England.
Dilemma of the Indians.
With the long and bitter struggle of the
French and Indian
war ended and the French eliminated from
the contest, it would
The Indian in Ohio. 341
seem that the Indians of the Ohio
country were justified in
expecting an amelioration of the
hardships, trials and tribula-
tions through which they had passed.
Having played an im-
portant part in ending French dominance
over their territory,
they naturally would expect to benefit
through relief from the
pressure and persecution which had borne
upon them from the
north. But apparently there was not room
in all the great ex-
panse of America for both the red man
and the white man, and
one of the two remaining sides of the
triangle was yet to be
eliminated.
The Indian had been invaluable to the
English as long as
they were engaged in contest with the
French; but this contest
ended, the native tribesman no longer
figured as a strategic issue.
Instead of finding his troubles ended,
he soon learned that for
him, in his ancestral home, there was no
such thing as life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Time passed by and the
expected acknowledgment of service to
the English, in the way
of treaties and presents, was not
forthcoming. On the contrary,
the Indians found themselves deprecated,
slighted and even
abused, as venturesome spirits from the
colonies flocked across
the Alleghenies, each one bent on
securing for himself a share
in the great country wrested from the
French. It soon became
the usual thing for white adventurers to
regard the Indian as
little better than the wild beasts of
the forest and it was not
unusual for these precursors of white
settlement to shoot down
the natives without provocation, just
"for sport".
The King of England, in a proclamation
issued in 1763,
had set apart the Northwest Territory as
an Indian reservation,
and had specified that no white settlement
was to be attempted
therein, that all settlers already
located thereupon should at once
take their departure, and that no lands
should be purchased
from the Indians. This famous proclamation, known as the
Quebec Act, was prompted, according to
the English royalty
by "solicitude for the Indians, and
anxiety for the peace and
safety of the colonists." This thoughtfulness for the Indian
apparently was most unselfish, as it
gave to him "as hunting
grounds" the great territory in
question, but it has been surmised
that King George had deeper motives than
the well-being of the
342 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Indians, namely, "restriction of
the growing power and terri-
tory of the colonists, and to placate
the red man and retain
their friendly alliance with him in case
warfare should make
his cooperation desirable." This
indication of the growing real-
ization on the part of England of the
possibility of the Colonists
seeking to establish themselves as an
independent nation, was
thus accompanied by the precaution of
using the Indian as a
check against such a contingency.
Paying little heed to the mandate of the
Quebec Act, plans
for settlement of the Ohio country
proceeded apace, not alone
on the part of individuals but through
organized effort. The
Ohio Company, organized some years
earlier for the purpose of
settling land in the Ohio valley, took
steps to carry out its tem-
porarily quiescent program. These signs
of activity on the part
of English colonists awakened the Indian
to a realization of the
futility of his hopes for readjustment
of his difficulties. Rest-
lessness, distrust and hostility
pervaded the Indian ranks, and it
soon became apparent to the English that
the embers of their
dissatisfaction needed but a breath to
resolve it into a flame
of vengeance.
Some time earlier, following the close
of the war, Sir Wil-
liam Johnson, Indian agent for the
English, had anticipated the
impending conflagration and had
temporarily averted its out-
break through a great council with the
Indians held at Detroit.
Through his intimate understanding of
the Indians and the great
influence which he exerted, Johnson
succeeded for the time in
quieting them. But the truce was of
short duration.
As Randall sums up the situation at this
point, "The dark-
eyed Latin and the blue-eyed Saxon had
fought out their dif-
ferences and divided up the new
continent, but the red-skinned,
raven-haired native savage, who claimed
the territories that had
been the prize of the world's war, was
not represented nor recog-
nized in the family compact of
Fontainebleau, nor the final di-
vision of the spoils at Paris. The
Indian, especially of the Ohio
valley, was yet to be reckoned with and
for a half a century
he bravely and unyieldingly resisted the
right of the civilized
free-booting invaders to despoil him of
land and home. To
him the seven years war had merely
exchanged one 'pale-face'
The Indian in Ohio. 343
conqueror for another. Indeed the last successful invader was less welcome and more dreaded than the first."
PONTIAC'S CONSPIRACY. Indians Resent French Land Cessions. The final provocation which turned the balance and let loose the flood of Indian vengeance against white encroachment was the intelligence, reaching the Ottawas and associated tribes around Detroit in 1763, that the French, at the treaty of Paris, had ceded the Indian lands to the English. These tribes, in common with others, never had been able to appreciate the meaning of ownership of territory as the French and English understood, or intended it. They continued to the last to con- sider the country occupied by the whites as the property of the Indians and looked upon the French and English merely as so- journers through sufferance on the part of the natives. But the meaning of the white occupancy was gradually dawning upon them and this act of the French, to whom the Ottawa confed- eracy had been consistently friendly was, in common parlance, "too much for them". Their indignation resolved itself into fury, and their cause found its champion in the great Pontiac, |
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344 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
for their courage and fortitude, cunning
and sagacity, treachery
and cruelty. Each had as his aim the
destruction of the whites
in his territory, Pontiac striking at
the English and the chain of
forts against which, occupied by the
French, Nicolas had
launched his savage warriors. The tribes
most actively con-
cerned in the uprising were the same,
and in both instances Fort
Detroit was the center of the most
determined attack, Nicolas
choosing the warriors of his own Hurons
for that particular task,
and Pontiac in person leading his
Ottawas against its defenders.
Its capture, in each case, was
frustrated through betrayal of the
Indians by members of their own race.
But while Pontiac's conspiracy in these
respects is almost
a fac simile of the uprising of the
Huron chief, its conception,
execution and results were on a most
gigantic and hitherto un-
dreamed-of scale. Through couriers and
messengers, and by
his own personal exertions and
exhortations, Pontiac had suc-
ceeded in quietly enlisting in his
support practically all the tribes
of the great Algonquin family, as well
as some of the Iroquois,
particularly the Senecas. Again, as in
Nicolas' conspiracy, a
simultaneous attack was planned on all
the forts and garrisons
marked for destruction.
Fort Sandusky is Captured.
The Ohio tribes, particularly the
Wyandots, Miamis, Shaw-
nee and Delawares, had entered the
conspiracy with great avidity
and were assigned their share in the
anticipated destruction.
They did their work well, for of the
dozen or more English
posts selected for destruction, Fort
Sandusky was the first to
fall. This fort, as already mentioned
was the first stockade
erected by white men on Ohio soil,
having been built by the
English in 1745. It had much to do with
Nicolas' conspiracy
and, having been erected with his
permission, against the wishes
of the French, precipitated the opening
of the French and In-
dian war. Several times destroyed and
rebuilt it was, at the
time of which we speak, garrisoned by
Ensign Pauli, in com-
mand of 15 English soldiers. Early in
May, 1763, amid appa-
rent peace and quiet on the part of the
Wyandots living in the
The Indian in Ohio. 345
vicinity of the post, was struck the
first successful blow of the
calamitous movement set on foot by
Pontiac. A party of the
Indians, feigning friendship, called at
the fort, and being known
and trusted by Ensign Pauli were
permitted to enter. But what
purported to be a friendly call was in
reality a hostile ruse, and
no sooner had entrance been accorded the
Indians than they
seized Pauli. overpowered the guard and
murdered the soldiers
of the garrison, as well as all English
traders found at the post.
After burning the stockade the attacking
party carried Pauli
captive to Detroit, which was already
being besieged by Pontiac
and his warriors. There Pauli was listed
to be put to death but
was saved through the whim of an Ottawa
squaw who desired
him for a husband. Having no voice in
the matter of the selec-
tion of his bride, Pauli was forced to
yield and accordingly
he was "plunged into the river that
the white blood might be
washed from his veins" and the
ceremony performed which
made him at once the husband of an
Ottawa woman and a
warrior of the Ottawa tribe. Pauli
subsequently escaped and
joined the besieged soldiers in the
Detroit stockade.
Siege of Fort Detroit.
Meanwhile, Pontiac and his following of
Ottawas, Pot-
tawattomies, Ojibways and Wyandots,
foiled in their attempt
to gain admission to Fort Detroit
through false pretensions of
friendship and thus to overpower the
garrison, as the Wyandots
had done at Sandusky, were laying siege
thereto. They expected
to be able, through the use of Indian
strategy, "flaming arrows"
and firebrands to dislodge the English,
or failing in this to starve
out the defenders. As a last resort,
Pontiac believed that the
French could be prevailed upon to come
to his assistance, once
the siege was well under way and the
prospect favorable for
their reoccupation of the country
wrested from them by the
English.
On the day fixed for the attack Pontiac,
with a few of his
trusted accomplices, called at the fort
where Major Henry
Gladwyn, in command, permitted them to
enter. Pontiac prof-
fered the pipe of peace and professed
the warmest feelings of
friendship toward the English. All this
was of a part with
346 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
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Pontiac's siege of Detroit, the most remarkable in the annals of Indian warfare, must be passed over lightly. Lack of space and the purpose of this outline confine us to occurrences more closely connected with Ohio proper. Suffice it to say that after a siege lasting six months - from May 1 to Novem- ber 1, 1763 - during which the Indians employed every strategy and deception known to their cunning, Pontiac was forced to desist Detroit had proved too strong for him, and he retired from the field to renew his activities elsewhere. Fort Niagara, on Lake Ontario, and Fort Pitt, at the forks of the Ohio, like- |
The Indian in Ohio. 347
wise proved too much for the attackers;
but aside from these
three, all others of the chain of
strongholds which stretched
from the headwaters of the Ohio along
the lakes to the Missis-
sippi, and which the English had so
recently wrested from the
French, fell before the concerted attack
of the red men..
During the remainder of the year 1763
and the early
part of 1764, the Indians concentrated
their efforts on a series
of depredations against the border
settlements, spreading con-
sternation among the inhabitants.
EXPEDITIONS OF BRADSTREET AND BOUQUET.
The spring of 1764 found the Indians of
Pontiac's alliance
continuing their forays and depredations
against the border
settlements of the whites, and the
English planning to crush
their power and bring them to their
knees. To accomplish this
it was decided to send two separate
expeditions against the
Indians of the harassed western country,
the one, under Col.
John Bradstreet, to chastise those
contiguous to Lake Erie,
and the second, under Col. Henry
Bouquet, to conquer and sub-
due the tribes of the interior.
The story of these expeditions, aside
from recording an im-
portant historic event, is an unusual
illustration of native Indian
character and diplomacy. Furthermore, it
furnishes a striking
example of the extent to which success
in dealing with the
American natives depended upon the
character of their op-
ponents.
Starting from Albany and traveling by
way of the Great
Lakes, Col. Bradstreet and his command
of upward of 2,000
men reached Fort Niagara, where the
Niagara river enters Lake
Ontario, in June, 1764. There he found
assembled more than
2,000 members of the various Indian
tribes, who at the sum-
mons of Sir William Johnson, the English
Indian agent, had
come to meet him. At the conclave which
followed, after the
usual ceremonies attending such
occasions, and the distribution
of goods and presents to the amount of
many thousands of
dollars, the assembled Indians concluded
peace with Bradstreet.
But at this parley the Delawares and
Shawnee of Ohio were
not present. Sullen and morose, the
fires of hatred which had
348 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
prompted them to participate in the
great conspiracy of the
preceding summer still glowing, they had
refused to proceed
to the scene of the conference at Fort
Niagara. From their
towns on the Scioto and Muskingum,
however, they sent word
to Bradstreet that they were willing to
make peace - not because
they were in any way fearful of the
English, whom they "re-
garded as old women"-but out of
pity for their (the English)
sufferings. A few days later when
Bradstreet. proceeding west-
ward with his army, arrived at Presque
Isle (Erie, Pa.) he
found awaiting him a deputation of ten
Indians from the
Delawares and Shawnee, who ostensibly
had come to accede to
his demands and to make peace with the
English. This dip-
lomatic ruse, part of a plan to deceive
the English commander,
and by "sidetracking" his
intended plans, to gain time for the
tribesmen in their preparations for
hostilities, was completely
successful. The gullible Bradstreet, completely "taken in",
agreed to the proposal of the delegates
that he desist in further
attempts at chastisement, on condition
that the Indians deliver
at Lower Sandusky, within 25 days, all
white prisoners, abandon
all claim to English posts in their
country, and grant the Eng-
lish the right to erect trading posts
wherever their interests
demanded.
Bradstreet Victim of Indian
Diplomacy.
Felicitating himself upon the ease with
which he had brought
the Ohio tribes to his terms, Bradstreet
proceeded to Sandusky
Bay where he arrived late in August. His
instructions had pro-
vided that from this point he was to
proceed against the Miamis,
Ottawas and Wyandots in that vicinity,
but once more the clever
deceit of the natives effected a
postponement of action. On their
proposal and promise that they should
follow him to Detroit
and there enter into a treaty of peace,
Bradstreet proceeded with
his army to the relief of that post.
Arrived at Detroit he en-
tered into negotiations with the
neighboring tribes, compris-
ing the Ojibways, Sacs, Pottawattomies,
Hurons, as well as
representatives of the Miamis, Wyandots
and Shawnee. Par-
dons were granted to the Indians for
their recent depredations,
and in return the tribesmen pledged
themselves to accept the
sovereignty of the King of England over
their territory, and
to call him "father" in acknowledgment thereof.
The Indian in Ohio. 349
His work at Detroit completed Bradstreet in September returned to Sandusky, where he expected the chiefs of the Delawares and Shawnee to assemble in accordance with the promise made him by the supposed delegates. In order to meet them earlier, he proceeded up the Sandusky river to the site of the city of Fremont, but only straggling individuals and bands of Indians made their appearance. Finally, after a month spent in a futile effort to bring the tribes into a conference, Bradstreet abandoned his plans for proceeding southward where he was to join with the expedition headed by Bouquet, and sailed away toward Albany. Indian cunning and duplicity, taking advantage of Bradstreet's credence, had made of his campaign around Sandusky a veritable farce with little or noth- ing of accomplishment to its credit.
Bouquet's Unqualified Success. The results of the second expedition, fortunately for the English, were very different. Col. Henry Bouquet with an army |
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But the tribesmen had not forgotten how Bouquet, little more than a year previously had, in connection with the attack on Fort Pitt, defeated the Indians at their own game and thus in winning "one of the greatest victories in western Indian warfare", had blasted the hopes of Pontiac's conspiracy. |
350 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
Their wholesome respect for Bouquet,
backed by the material
prestige of his army, fully equipped and
ready for the work
at hand, had the desired effect and the
chiefs, now humble and
contrite, were glad to accede to his
demands. Without mincing
words Bouquet tersely informed the
Indians of his terms and
gave them two weeks' time in which to
deliver to him all white
captives in their possession.
In the meantime Bouquet pushed forward
with his army
to the site of the city of Coshocton,
where "Camp 16" was
established and where he awaited the
compliance of the Indians.
He had not long to wait. From all
sections came the chiefs
with their captives-Wyandots, Ottawas
and Senecas from
northward toward Lake Erie; Shawnee from
the Scioto, and
Delawares from the nearby towns. In all,
more than 200 cap-
tives, mostly Pennsylvanians and
Virginians captured during the
preceding wars and forays, were
surrendered to the English.
The meeting of friends and relatives
thus separated for years,
as portrayed in the historic accounts of
the event, are most
pathetic and dramatic.
After arranging for a council to be held
the following
spring, Bouquet, his mission an
unqualified success, on October
18, 1764, began the return march to Fort
Pitt.
IV
THE INDIAN AND THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.
PRE-REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS.
The Ohio Indian Alliance.
Following the close of the French and
Indian war and its
aftermath, Pontiac's conspiracy, in
1764, the Ohio country passed
through a period of five or six years of
apparent quiet and
peacefulness. This quiet, however, was
like that of a slumber-
ing volcano following a destructive
eruption, during which it
gathers force for a more violent
upheaval. To the Ohio tribes
it served as a breathing spell, during
which they took to them-
selves renewed strength, and laid plans
for an aggressive up-
rising which should overtop anything yet
attempted by their
race. Their plan had for its object the
overwhelming of the
white intruders and the reclaiming for
themselves of the coun-
try so rapidly slipping from their
grasp. This was to be effected
through an unlimited alliance of the
tribes, with the Shawnee
of Ohio as its nucleus and their great
chief, Cornstalk, as its
leader. The tribes to the southward, as
well as those toward
the west were to be aligned while the
Six Nations of Iroquois
to the eastward were either to be won
ever or, failing in this,
to be overawed and subdued.
The encroachments of the whites had
assumed alarming
proportions, and where individual
settlers formerly had been
the rule, surveying parties acting in
the interest of prospective
land companies were now in evidence
along the Ohio river. The
treaty of Stanwix, held at Rome, N. Y.,
in 1764, at which the
Six Nations ceded to the English the
territory of Kentucky,
West Virginia and part of Pennsylvania,
further enraged the
tribes north of the Ohio, who feared
that their own territory,
as yet intact, would be the next to be
assimilated. In their
resentment they were encouraged by
French traders and by
renegade whites from the Colonies, who
were present among
them.
(351)
352 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Formal steps toward consummation of the
gigantic plan
were taken at a congress of the
interested tribes held at the
Shawnee headquarters on the Pickaway
plains in the autumn
of 1770. A second congress followed in
the summer of 1771,
at which the Shawnee, Delawares,
Wyandots, Miamis, Ottawas,
and the Illinois and other western
tribes were present. The
confederacy thus effected promised to be
the greatest in the
history of the native race. The southern
tribes, who were in
complete accord with the plans of the
alliance, were unable,
owing to their geographical location to
participate actively
therein. The Six Nations, for the time
being, were secure to
the English and through the efforts of
Sir William Johnson,
even took some half-hearted steps toward
discouraging the plans
of the allies.
By the year 1775 the clouds of
impending war were thick-
ening rapidly, with every indication
that the storm soon would
envelop the Ohio valley.
Beginning of Hostilities.
The conflict, or series of conflicts,
which were to extend
almost without interruption through the
next twenty years, were
precipitated by events taking place at
the forks of the Ohio,
where Fort Pitt had been recently
dismantled by the English,
partly to quiet the fears of the Indians
and partly owing to its
no longer being a military necessity.
The colony of Virginia had
consistently laid claim to that part of
Pennsylvania, contend-
ing that it was embraced within her
charter limits and that she
unaided, had borne the brunt of its
protection during the French
and Indian war. Thereupon, the governor
of Virginia des-
patched Captain John Connolly with an
armed force to take
possession of Fort Pitt and the adjacent
territory, as the prop-
erty of Virginia. At Fort Pitt, George
Croghan, Pennsylvania's
deputy Indian agent, had in his keeping
several Shawnee chiefs
who were held temporarily as hostages.
The men under Con-
nolly, purporting to be Virginia
militia, and finding their plans
blocked by the Pennsylvanians,
deliberately opened fire on the
cabins of the Shawnee chiefs. Connolly
was arrested and sent
back to the Virginia capital, but
returned later and took posses-
The Indian in Ohio. 353
sion of Fort Pitt, where he constructed
a stockade, known as
Fort Dunmore. The firing upon the huts
of the Shawnee hos-
tages of course created resentment among
the Ohio tribes, al-
ready in a highly excited frame of mind;
but further fagots
were to be added to the kindling fire of
resentment.
For reasons best known to himself, but
apparently with the
intention of fomenting trouble between
the Ohio Indians and
the settlers along the river, Connolly
sent word to the latter that
the Shawnee were about to strike, and
advised them to be pre-
pared to protect themselves and to
retaliate for any depreda-
tions committed against them. The result
of this was the crea-
tion of a feeling of distrust and
suspicion on the part of both
the whites and the Indians. About this
time the Shawnee,
claiming to have had instructions from
George Croghan to attack
any whites found encroaching upon their
territory, began a
series of border raids which reached
across the Ohio river into
Kentucky and Virginia. The settlers were
greatly alarmed and
several surveying parties who were
present along the south side
of the river, in the interest of
prospective settlers, and land
companies, hurriedly joined forces for
mutual protection. They
assembled at the mouth of Wheeling
creek, where, alarmed at
the threatening attitude of the Shawnee,
they decided to follow
Connolly's instructions, and accordingly
assumed the aggressive.
Captain Michael Cresap, a well known and
experienced trader,
who was on the Ohio in the interest of
Virginia landowners,
was chosen as the leader of the party.
Cresap and his men
shot and killed two Indian canoemen on
the Ohio, and a few
days later attacked an encampment of
Shawnee on Captina
creek, killing several of the Indians.
Feeling that they were
not justified in further aggression,
Cresap's party then desisted
and returned to their camp.
Cresap's War.
These attacks by Cresap and his party,
moderate in them-
selves, were the forerunners of and in a
measure responsible
for, a series of atrocities which
immediately followed, and
which were known as "Cresap's
War."
Vol. XXVII-23
354 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
At the mouth of Yellow Creek, about
fifteen miles above
Steubenville, the Mingoes, under Chief
Logan, had established
a hunting camp. Logan himself at the
time of which we speak,
was absent from the camp, having gone
westward into Ohio on
a hunting trip. While it was generally
felt by the white settlers
in the vicinity of the Mingo camp that
the Indians were in a
friendly mood, news of the attacks by
Cresap and his party
led to the fear that the Mingoes might
be aroused to retaliation.
With this fear as an excuse for their
act a party of irresponsible
whites, under the leadership of Daniel
Greathouse, invited the
Indians of the Mingo camp to join him,
as his guests, at Baker's
tavern just across the river at
"Baker's Bottom." Accepting the
apparent hospitality, a canoe load of
the Mingoes crossed the
Ohio, on April 30, 1774, and assembling
at Baker's store, were
repeatedly "treated" to the
drinks by Greathouse and his party.
Under the influence of rum it was not
difficult to provoke the
Indians to afford an excuse for an
attack, and of the party of
seven or eight who were present, all but
one or two were mur-
dered in cold blood.
Logan's Relatives Are Victims.
Among these was a sister of Chief Logan,
who had accom-
panied the party with her babe, but who
had refused to drink.
She was shot and fatally wounded, but
heeding her prayers
for the child, the assassins spared its
life. One of the Indians
who fell a victim to the plot was a
brother of Logan, who thus
lost two of his closest of kin in this
atrocious attack. The
Mingoes who had remained in camp, upon
learning of the at-
tack, crossed the river in canoes to
avenge the murder of their
kinsmen. They were met by the Greathouse
party and repulsed
with the loss of several of their
number, after which they fled
down the Ohio river.
Cresap, as a result of his connection
with the earlier attacks,
was blamed at the time for the killing
of the Mingoes, but in
reality was entirely innocent of the
crime. But Logan, the
Mingo chief, believed Cresap to be the
guilty man, and from
a warm friend of the whites he at once
became their bitterest
enemy, threatening to kill until he had
taken vengeance to the
The Indian in Ohio. 355
number of ten for one. In his own words
Logan declared "The
white people killed my kin at Conestoga,
a great while ago; and
I thought nothing of that. But you
killed my kin on Yellow
Creek, then I thought I must kill,
too." Just how well he carried
out his word he tells in his famous
speech, delivered at Dun-
more's treaty, to be referred to
presently. According to one
writer, Logan himself, during the summer
of 1774, "took 30
scalps and prisoners."
Several additional outrages on the part
of whites against
the Indians aroused the resentment of
the natives, among them
being the murder of an aged Delaware
chief, Bald Eagle, who
was killed and scalped while ascending
the Ohio in his canoe;
and the shooting of Silver Heels, a
Shawnee chief, friendly to
the English. The situation among the
Delawares on the Muskin-
gum was divided, those who had become
converts of the
Moravian missionaries remaining loyal to
the whites, while the
non-Christian tribesmen espoused the
cause of the Shawnee.
The hostile factions of the Delawares,
fortunately for the
whites, were held in check through the
good offices of Captain
White Eyes and Chief Netawatwees, who
stood firmly by the
Moravians and their Indian converts
during the trying times that
followed.
Expedition Against Shawnee Towns.
Thoroughly aroused at the gravity of the
situation in Ohio,
Governor Dunmore of Virginia resolved
upon decisive measures
of repression. In July, Major Angus
McDonald, with 400 men,
was despatched against the Shawnee towns
on the Scioto. From
Wheeling McDonald and his force
penetrated to the Indian
towns on the Muskingum, where they
succeeded in destroying
the Shawnee settlements, driving the
occupants westward to
their towns on the Scioto. Owing to lack
of provisions, Mc-
Donald's expedition was unable to
proceed further and retraced
their march to Wheeling, where they
arrived after a most
hazardous journey, during which the
soldiers suffered greatly
from hunger and exposure.
Meanwhile, learning of the depredations
committed by
white men against the Indians on the
Ohio, the Six Nations of
Iroquois were on the point of revolt.
Many of their near kins-
356 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. men, particularly the Senecas and Cayugas, were among the Ohio tribes, and efforts were not lacking on the part of these to draw the confederacy into the struggle. Through the great influence of Sir William Johnson, the Indian commissioner, their disaffection was temporarily quieted. This was one of the last acts of Sir Johnson, whose death, which followed shortly after- ward, removed one who was greatly beloved and trusted by the Indians, and who was regarded by the British as the most in- fluential factor in dealing with the tribesmen.
DUNMORE'S WAR. Cornstalk Makes Strategic Move. Not content with the results of McDonald's expedition, which had succeeded in driving the Shawnee from the Muskin- gum but left them undisturbed in their main strongholds upon the Scioto, Governor Dunmore decided to dispense with half measures and to send an army against the hostile tribes which |
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should be fully adequate to disperse and humble them. A volun- teer army of upwards of 2500 men was recruited from among the Virginians for the Ohio campaign. This army consisted of two divisions, about equally divided as to numbers. One of these was commanded by Lord Dunmore in person, while the second was headed by General Andrew Lewis. The two divi- sions were to proceed to the mouth of the Kanawha river, on |
The Indian in Ohio. 357
the Ohio, where the forces were to be
joined; but Dunmore,
first to reach the appointed rendezvous,
changed his plans and
proceeding up the Ohio to the mouth of
the Hocking river,
ascended that stream, passing through
the counties of Athens
and Hocking, and arrived at the Pickaway
plains, in southern
Pickaway county, in October, 1774.
Meantime, General Lewis
and his army had arrived at Point
Pleasant at the mouth of the
Kanawha river, a short distance above
the city of Gallipolis,
on the West Virginia side of the river.
Here he had expected
to meet the first division of the army,
but instead received,
through messengers, orders to join
Dunmore on the Pickaway
plains. But before General Lewis could
cross the Ohio and
begin the northward march he was to find
even more important
work than the carrying out of his
superior's orders.
While Governor Dunmore and his
lieutenants were busy
recruiting and marching an army to the
Ohio country, Cornstalk
and his confederates were not idle. They
were not content with
"watchful waiting" for the
arrival of the foe, but through an
intricate and effective system of
espionage were posted as to
every movement of the Virginia troops.
Realizing that the
combined army of Governor Dunmore
presented too great odds
to the allied tribes, Cornstalk decided
to take advantage of the
situation before the two divisions could
be united. Through
his couriers he had informed himself of
all necessary details
as to the location and strength of the
two divisions of Vir-
ginians, and determined to strike at
General Lewis' force on
its arrival at the Ohio. Summoning the
warriors at his com-
mand - Shawnee, Miamis, Wyandots,
Delawares, Ottawa,
Mingoes, and Ohio Iroquois - he hastened
southward, reaching
the Ohio river on October 9. Crossing
the Ohio during the
night, the army of Cornstalk took their
stand at a point about
three miles above Point Pleasant, where
General Lewis' sol-
diers were encamped. The Indian army
consisted of about
1200 men, "practically man for man
as to that of Lewis."
Many noted chiefs were associated under
Cornstalk's command,
among the Shawnee being Elenipsico, the
leader's son; Black
Hoof Bluejacket Red Eagle, Packishenoah
and Chessekau, the
latter two being the father and brother
respectively of Tecumseh.
358 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
Red Hawk was at the head of his Delaware
warriors, while
Scrappathus commanded the Mingoes and
Chiywee the Wyan-
dots. Never before had so efficient a
body of warriors nor
so great a number of able leaders been
assembled by the Ohio
tribes.
Battle of Point Pleasant.
Lewis' army spent the night of October 9
in peaceful slum-
ber, never dreaming that the enemy, whom
they had expected
to encounter far to the northward on the
Pickaway plains, was
within sight of their very campfires. In
fact, the outposts of
the encampment had reported that not an
Indian was within a
distance of 15 miles of the camp. But on
the morning of the
tenth, stragglers from Lewis' camp
discovered the presence of
the Indians, and the battle was on. A
strong picture of the
action which followed is painted in Mr.
Randall's words:
"The hostile lines though a mile
and a quarter in length,
were so close together, being at no
point more than 20 yards
apart, that many of the combatants
grappled in hand-to-hand
fighting, and tomahawked or stabbed each
other to death. The
battle was a succession of single
combats, each man sheltering
himself behind a stump or rock, or
tree-trunk. The superiority
of the backwoodsmen in the use of rifles
- they were dead shots,
those Virginia mountaineers -was offset
by the agility of the
Indians in the art of hiding and dodging
from harm."
Practically all day long the battle
raged, at first favorably
to the Indians; but toward evening, by a
strategic maneuver,
General Lewis succeeded in throwing a
detachment around the
flank of the enemy, in such a position
as to be able to attack
from the rear. The Indians thus taken by
surprise and believ-
ing that white reinforcements had
arrived upon the scene, began
to give way, and even the encouraging
voice of the great Corn-
stalk, calling to his warriors "Be
strong; be strong" could not
stem the tide of defeat for the allies.
Seeing the engagement
lost, Cornstalk hastily withdrew his
men, and under cover of
darkness recrossed the river and
retreated northward to the
Shawnee towns on the Scioto.
The Indian in Ohio. 359
Cornstalk's Plans Defeated. Thus the attainment of the ends for which the great Corn- stalk confederation was organized were anticipated and de- feated, though as a result of Cornstalk's strategy, at great cost to the Virginians. The loss of the latter was seventy-five killed |
|
and one hundred and fifty wounded, among the number being eight officers. The Indians' loss is unknown, but was supposedly less than that of the Virginians. The only leader of importance among the slain was the father of Tecumseh. The latter, being too young to fight, was not present at the battle. |
360 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
The battle of Point Pleasant has been
characterized as "the
most extensive, the most bitterly
contested, and fought with the
most potent results of any Indian battle
in American history."
The leadership and strategy of Cornstalk
on this occasion are
regarded as of a very high order and as
on a par with those
of military tacticians of the day among
the whites. But the
English had learned much of border
warfare since the days of
Braddock's defeat, and the downfall of
the native hosts was
inevitable.
His spirit broken by the failure of his
cherished plans for
overwhelming the English, Cornstalk led
his crestfallen war-
riors back to their towns on the
Pickaway plains. It would ap-
pear that from the first, Cornstalk,
unusually far-sighted and
keen of judgment for one of his race,
had doubted the policy
of engaging so large a force as that
thrown into the field by
Lord Dunmore. But his attack upon Lewis'
army at Point
Pleasant was practically forced by the
blood-lust of his war-
riors, and the Shawnee leader could do
nothing but yield. Now
that they had struck the blow and had
been hurled back by
the superiority of the white foe,
Cornstalk openly advised his
followers to make peace with Dunmore.
The warriors, at first
averse to admitting the hopelessness of
their position, finally
yielded, and runners were despatched to
meet Dunmore's ap-
proaching army, bearing a message to the
effect that the In-
dians were desirous of peace. Dunmore's
army was within
about 15 miles of the Shawnee towns when
this intelligence
reached him. Not to appear in too great
haste to consider these
peace overtures, he continued his march
to a point within a
short distance of Cornstalk's town, and
on October 17, 1774,
encamped on a small stream known as
Scippo creek, a few miles
south of Circleville. At this camp,
known as Camp Charlotte,
on October 19, Dunmore gave audience to the Shawnee leader
and his followers, Cornstalk pleading
the cause of the tribes-
men, citing their wrongs and grievances,
and suing for peace.
One of Dunmore's officers who was
present at the meeting,
wrote thus of Cornstalk: "His
looks, while addressing Dun-
more, were truly grand and majestic, yet
graceful and attrac-
tive. I have heard the first orators of
Virginia * * * but
The Indian in Ohio. 361 never have I heard one whose powers of delivery surpassed those of Cornstalk." Dunmore's Peace Terms. The next day Dunmore made known to the Indians the terms upon which he was willing to grant peace. The Indians |
|
were to restore all white prisoners, horses and property in their possession; they must agree never again to make war upon the Virginia border, nor to cross the Ohio into Virginia for any purpose except that of trading. They were to secure these promises through hostages, who were to be conveyed to Fort |
362 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Dunmore (Pittsburg) and there held until the Virginians were satisfied that the Indian pledges would be fulfilled. On his part, Dunmore agreed that no white men should be permitted to hunt in the Indian country north of the Ohio. There was nothing left to the unfortunate Cornstalk but to accept the terms of his victorious opponent.
Logan and His Famous Speech. But there was one dark-skinned chieftain who did not so readily acquiesce in the terms of Lord Dunmore. Tah-gah-jute, |
|
or Logan, chief of the Mingoes did not personally participate in the battle of Point Pleasant; but he and his tribesmen were considered as members of the Cornstalk confederacy, and Dun- |
The Indian in Ohio. 363
more was insistent that he should
acknowledge the terms and
conditions of the pending peace.
Accordingly when Logan
failed to appear at the council, John
Gibson, as messenger and
interpreter was sent to bring him. Logan
was found nursing
his grievances at his cabin, a few miles
from Camp Charlotte.
In response to Dunmore's summons,
delivered through Gibson,
history records the now famous and
eloquent "Logan's Speech."
This speech, which apparently was
delivered ex tempore by the
Mingo chief, translated into English,
put into writing and de-
livered by Gibson to the council, is as
follows:
"I appeal to any white man to say
if ever he entered Logan's
cabin hungry and he gave him not meat;
if ever he came cold
and naked and he clothed him not? During
the course of the
last long and bloody war, Logan remained
idle in his camp,
an advocate for peace. Such was my love
for the whites that
my countrymen pointed as I passed and
said, 'Logan is the
friend of the white man.' I had even
thought to have lived
with you, but for the injuries of one
man. Colonel Cresap, the
last spring, in cold blood and
unprovoked, murdered all the
relations of Logan, not even sparing my
women and children.
There runs not a drop of my blood in the
veins of any living
creature. This called on me for revenge.
I have sought it. I
have killed many. I have fully glutted
my vengeance. For
my country I rejoice at the beams of
peace; but don't harbor
a thought that mine is the joy of fear.
Logan never felt fear.
He will not turn on his heel to save his
life. Who is there to
mourn for Logan. Not one."
Probably no other example of Indian
eloquence is so well
known or so greatly admired as this
pathetic and forceful ut-
terance of the embittered and ill-fated
Logan.
Destruction of the Mingo Towns.
While the Dunmore treaty was in
progress, the Mingoes,
thinking to evade the consequences of
their connection with the
confederacy, attempted to steal away
from the scene and its
turmoil. Their departure was discovered,
and Dunmore dis-
patched Col. William Crawford with 240
men to overtake and
subdue them. Crawford's men came up with
the Mingoes at
364 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
their towns located where Columbus now
stands, and succeeded
in killing and wounding a number of
their band and in capturing
their supplies. The Mingoes on the
Scioto thereafter appear
but casually in the historic happenings
of Ohio, their tribal
existence apparently having ebbed
rapidly as a result of the
Dunmore campaign and attendant
misfortunes. Logan, their
great chief, met a tragic death six
years later, when, following
an Indian council held at Detroit he was
shot and killed by his
own nephew, an Indian named Todkahdohs.
Like many other
noted men of his race, Logan was
addicted to the use of liquor,
particularly during his later years, and
it was as a result of
this indulgence that he lost his life.
Having drunk too freely,
it is said, he struck his wife, and
fearing that he had killed her,
fled southward from Detroit toward his
old town on the San-
dusky. En route, while passing through
the forest, he met and
became embroiled with a party of Indians
among whom was
Todkahdohs, who fired the fatal shot.
Thus ended the career
of one of the greatest of the Ohio
Indian chiefs -one in whom
generous impulses and actions were
strangely mixed with savage
cruelty and cunning.
Significance of Dunmore's Campaign.
On the last day of October, 1774, Lord
Dunmore, having
affected a reconciliation with the Ohio
tribes and arranged for
a supplemental treaty to be held the
following spring at Fort
Dunmore, began his return march toward
the Ohio, bearing with
him the hostages from the Shawnee and
Delawares.
Thus ended one of the most remarkable
campaigns in
American history. Its culminating
action-the battle of Point
Pleasant - has been designated as the
greatest battle ever fought
between white men and Indians; the
battle which saved the
Northwest territory to the colonies, and
thus to the United States
of America; the first battle of the
Revolutionary war; and the
last battle of the colonists, as English
subjects, with the Indians.
The Indian in Ohio. 365
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
Situation in the Ohio Country.
The decade beginning with the year 1775
witnessed the
American Revolutionary war and the birth
of a new nation on
the American continent. While historic
accounts of the events
attending those most momentous
occurrences mostly are confined
to the struggle between the American
colonists and the mother
country east of the Alleghenies, events
almost if not quite equally
important were transpiring in the Ohio
country. Although not
a single English settlement existed
within the present confines
of Ohio at the time of the Battle of
Lexington (April, 1775)
yet its soil was to be the scene of
contest in which the Americans
(as we shall now call the Colonists) and
the British were to
match diplomacy, strategy, and courage
and in the sanguinary
encounters which were to follow, it is
feared, too often cruelty
and inhumanity. The Indian, as in the
struggle between the
English and the French, once more
assumes his place in the
triangle as the party of the third part,
wields the "balance of
power" and becomes a factor of no
mean importance.
The story of the part played by the Ohio
Indians during
these memorable years is most stirring,
and if fully told, would
require many times the space at our
disposal; so that brief refer-
ence to the "high lights" in
the historic picture will suffice for
the purpose we have in view. Briefly,
these may be summarized
as consisting of a series of depredations
on the part of the
several Indian tribes against the border
settlements of Kentucky
and Pennsylvania, and of retaliatory
expeditions of the American
colonists against the natives, with the
center of activities among
the Shawnee, on the Scioto, the
Delawares on the Muskingum.
and the Wyandots on the Sandusky. In
order that these events,
crowding rapidly upon one another, may
be more intelligible to
the reader, let us refresh our memories
as to the Ohio situation
just prior to their occurrence.
Ownership of the Ohio country at this
point was a matter
of grave dispute. Primarily, the Indian
tribes had succeeded
in retaining possession thereof and in
preventing white settle-
366 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
ment. By the terms of the Quebec Act of
1774, the country,
later known as the Northwest Territory,
of which Ohio proper
was a part, was included within the
Province of Quebec. De-
troit was made the capital of this
northwestern country, and
became the western headquarters of the
British army. From
here were conducted the campaigns and
operations of the British
and their Indian allies, against the
Americans. The city became
the rendezvous and headquarters for the
Indians of the Lake
region and further south who were
aligned with the British.
As we have seen, in connection with the
Dunmore war,
Virginia, through her charter rights,
laid claim to the southern
half of Ohio, and, through her
successful prosecution of the
afore-mentioned war and the treaty
following, felt that she had
gone far toward securing her title
thereto. As a result of the
treaty of Ft. Stanwix, in 1768, the Six
Nations of Iroquois had
ceded to Virginia the lands lying to the
south of the Ohio river;
the Ohio tribes had contested the right
of the Iroquois to enter
into such negotiation, but had waived
their objections at a
treaty at Fort Pitt, to be referred to
presently. With these bar-
riers removed, Virginia colonists,
prominent among whom was
the picturesque and courageous Daniel
Boone, early in 1775,
took steps toward the settlement of what
shortly afterward be-
came the County of Kentucky.
Thus we note that on the north, the Ohio
country was once
again, as in the days of French
competition, subjected to in-
fluence from Canada, through Detroit; on
the east and southeast
were the American colonies of
Pennsylvania and Virginia, while
the south was contiguous to the newly
formed Kentucky settle-
ments. It was against these border
settlements, particularly
those of Kentucky, that Indian
operations, aided and abetted
by the British at Detroit, were directed
during the Revolution-
ary period.
Alignment of the Indians.
The Indians themselves were practically
the same tribes,
in the same locations, as we have
previously met with. The
Shawnee, most hostile and powerful, were
located mainly on
the Scioto and the Miami, where they
dwelt in several towns
known as "Chillicothe" - the
Shawnee name meaning merely
The Indian in Ohio. 367
"place where the people
dwell." The Delawares, part of whom
had been converted to Christianity
through the efforts of the
Moravian missionaries, had their
principal towns on the Muskin-
gum, while the Wyandots, the third of
the more important
tribes of this period, were strongly
intrenched upon the San-
dusky river in the northern part of the
state.
As a result of the Dunmore war and the
treaty which fol-
lowed, the tribesmen were comparatively
quiet during the year
1775 and the early part of 1776. But
their inaction was not due
to friendliness toward the colonists,
but rather to perplexity and
indecision, and underneath it all lay a
sullen resentment of
their defeat at the hands of General
Lewis at Point Pleasant.
The Wyandots for the most part were
consistently British in
their sympathies. The Delawares were
divided--the Chris-
tianized Indians continuing neutral,
inclining to favor the
Americans, while the non-Christian
members of the tribe were
pro-British. The former, under the
leadership of the great war
chief White Eyes, and through the
influence of the Moravian
missionaries, were generally successful
in holding in check the
hostile proclivities of the latter,
under Captain Pipe. The Shaw-
nee, though fostering within their
hearts a hatred of the Vir-
ginians, remained neutral, under the
guidance of chief Cornstalk,
until the death of the latter, when they
again became the most
insatiable enemies of the Americans.
As the import of the Revolution
gradually dawned upon
the intelligence of the Indians, they
became greatly perturbed.
It was difficult for them to understand
the meaning of the
struggle between factions of what they
had known as a united
people, and consequently to decide upon
which side to align
themselves. The Six Nations of Iroquois,
in particular, were
greatly agitated. Realizing the
importance of retaining or se-
curing the friendship of these and other
tribes, the British, as
well as the Americans, early took steps
to that end. Colonel
Guy Johnson, son-in-law and successor to
Sir William Johnson,
as British superintendent of Indian
affairs, assisted by Chief
Joseph Brant, exerted his powerful
influence to good advan-
tage in the interest of the English
cause. The colonists, through
their agents, likewise were active. The
result of the campaign
368 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
for Iroquoian favor was that the
Senecas, Mohawks, Cayugas,
and Onondagas, espoused the cause of the
British, while the
Tuscaroras and the Oneidas cast their
lot with the Americans-
thus breaking the strong chain of the
famous Iroquois federa-
tion, or long-house.
Indian Department Is Created.
Realizing the tremendous influence being
brought upon the
Ohio tribes by the British at Detroit,
the Continental Congress,
in July, 1775, created three Indian
departments, one of which --
known as the Middle Department - should
have to do with the
Ohio Indians through commissioners
appointed to the same.
When Lord Dunmore parted from the
tribesmen of the
Cornstalk confederacy following the
reconciliation on the Pick-
away plains, he promised the Indians a
hearing at Pittsburg
the next spring- 1775. But almost a year
had passed, and
the natives were still waiting the call
for assembly. Realizing
their unrest and its potential danger,
the Virginia house of
Burgesses took steps to convene the
gathering, which accord-
ingly was held in September of 1775.
Representatives of Vir-
ginia, as well as the commissioners of
the newly created Indian
department were present at this
important meeting of which
the Indians made a gala affair. Of the
Ohio Indians, there were
present the Shawnee, in force, with some
twenty of their
chiefs, including Cornstalk, Blue Jacket
and Silver Heels; the
Delawares, with Captains White Eyes,
Pipe, and Chief Cus-
taloga; the Wyandots, with Chief
Dunquod, their half-king;
also representatives of the Mingoes,
Ottawas, and, for the
Moravian Christian Indians, Glikkikan
and others. After more
than a month spent in formal discussion
and debate, the articles
of the preliminary treaty, made at Camp
Charlotte, were adopted,
among the items being the important
Iroquois cession of lands
to the Virginians, previously referred
to.
With the exception of the Delawares,
most of the Indians
present joined in affirming the treaty,
though their allegiance,
in most cases, was to be of short
duration. The attitude of
the Delawares resulted in a split, the
result of which was that
the Monsey clan, under Captain Pipe,
disavowed friendship for
The Indian in Ohio. 369
the Americans, and retiring northward
toward Lake Erie,
placed themselves in close proximity to
the British at Detroit.
The Christian Delawares, however,
reiterated their neutrality,
which they maintained to the last.
Tribesmen Rendezvous at Detroit..
Following this treaty, the Ohio
tribesmen for a time
refrained from extensive depredations
against the border settle-
ments, so that the memorable year of
1776, which witnessed
the Declaration of American Independence
and important
military engagements east of the
Alleghenies, was comparatively
quiet in the western country. But
agencies were at work which
were destined very shortly to
precipitate the full malevolence
of the Indians against the Americans,
just at the time when the
cause of the newly-declared republic
seemed least able to cope
with additional opposition. The British,
through their Detroit
commandant, Henry Hamilton, were bending
every effort to-
ward enlisting the Ohio tribes against
the Americans. In the
interest of this enterprise, Detroit
became a "wide open" town
for the Indians, who were not slow to
avail themselves of the
hospitality, in a very substantial form,
which was offered them.
Rum, tobacco, provisions, and firearms
were theirs for the tak-
ing. provided only they should show
themselves adherents of
the British as against the Americans.
The dark-skinned guests
were always welcome to return-provided
they brought with
them their meal-tickets, in the form of
a few American scalps -
when the good cheer was always awaiting
them, with all extras
thrown in. These Indian allies acted against the American
border either independently, or jointly
with the British. In
either case, they usually were under the
direction of British
officers, or were led by renegade whites
who had been won over
to the British cause.
In the meantime, the colonists were not
deaf to the rum-
blings toward the west, unmistakably
presaging the bloody occur-
rences which were to follow. In June,
1775, the Continental
Congress authorized General Washington
to recruit the friendly
tribesmen of the Six Nations to be used
in the Canadian cam-
paign, and at the same time appropriated
a sum to be expended
Vol. XXVII-24.
370 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
for presents, which were distributed
among the Indians. If
the years 1775-6 had passed without
Indian disturbances of
importance, it was because of the
careful watch kept upon the
Ohio tribes by the Colonists. But the
succeeding year was to
witness hostile demonstrations which
should more than counter-
balance this temporary inaction. With
the opening of spring,
1777, the restraint which had availed to
keep the Indians from
the war-path had reached the breaking
point, and only awaited
excuse for its repudiation. The excuse
was amply forthcoming
in an event which was destined to let
loose the fury of the
red men which, especially in the case of
the Shawnee, was not
to be completely curbed for nearly
twenty years.
Assassination of Cornstalk.
We have seen how Cornstalk, far-sighted,
solicitous for
the welfare of his people, and anxious
to abide by the terms
of the Dunmore treaty, had exerted
himself to restrain the In-
dians from pending incursions against the Americans. De-
spairing of longer averting such a
calamity, early in 1777
Cornstalk proceeded to Point Pleasant,
where, at Fort Randolph,
the site of his defeat at the hands of
General Lewis' army, he
acquainted the commander of the garrison
with the threatened
warfare against the border. True to his
treaty pledge the great
Shawnee leader, as a last resort, had
done his best to avert
what he knew must result in disaster to
his people, and had
placed in the hands of the Americans
information which en-
abled them to anticipate the threatened
upheaval. And for his
pains, Cornstalk was awarded a decree of
death, at the hands
of those whom he had befriended.
Whether designedly or not, a member of
the garrison at
Ft. Randolph, who had wandered from the
post, was shot and
killed by unknown Indians. In their rage
at the death of their
comrade, the soldiers of the garrison,
unable to find the real
culprits, wreaked their vengeance on the
friendly Cornstalk,
whom they attacked and killed while
present in the fort as a
temporary hostage. Red Hawk, a Delaware
chief, who had
accompanied Cornstalk, and Elenipsico,
the latter's son, shared
the fate of their leader.
The Indian in Ohio. 371
Thus ended the career of one of the most
remarkable lead-
ers of his race-just, courageous,
far-seeing, and alike true
to his people and his promises to the
whites; and thus was
sounded "the signal that aroused
the Ohio tribes to take up
the tomahawk and go on the
war-path."
The character of Cornstalk in many ways
suggests the bet-
ter qualities of his white
contemporaries. In place of the im-
petuosity of the Indian, he seems to have
been consistently cool
and calculating, with a depth of vision
and discernment unusual
in his race. His sense of judgment is
shown repeatedly, as
when he counseled restraint on the
occasion of Dunmore's in-
vasion of the Shawnee country, and again
in his reluctance to
be drawn into the struggle pending at
the time of his assassina-
tion. That Cornstalk weighed the (then)
present in its rela-
tion to the future; that he dreamed of a
better destiny for his
race and for mankind at large; in short,
that he surveyed the
situation from a cosmopolitan and
civilized viewpoint, seems to
be indicated in the following remarks,
made by him at Ft. Ran-
dolph a short time preceding his death:
"When I was a young
man and went to war, I thought that
might be the last time;
and I would return no more. Now I am
here among you; you
may kill me if you please; I can die but
once".
Indians Declare for Vengeance.
All efforts on the part of the Governor
of Virginia to ap-
prehend and punish the assassins of
Cornstalk, and to appease
the anger of the tribesmen, failed
signally. The horror of the
atrocity against their leader could only
be atoned for through
blood, and all pretensions of friendship
and amity were at
en end.
Although other tribes were more or less
concerned in the
incursions upon the border settlements
which immediately fol-
lowed the murder of Cornstalk, the
Shawnee for some time
were the principal aggressors. During
the summer of 1777,
aided and accompanied by British Rangers
from Detroit, the
Shawnee, Mingoes, Ottawas, and some
non-Christian Delawares,
proceeded to the Ohio river, where at
the mouth of Wheeling
creek, they attacked Fort Henry, one of
a chain of stockades
372 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
established by the Americans to protect
the Ohio valley settle-
ments. The fort was commanded by Colonel
David Shepherd,
the garrison consisting of some 50
soldiers. Upon the approach
of the Indians, a part of this force
advanced to meet the at-
tack, but falling into an ambuscade
were, with a few exceptions,
killed. The siege of the stockade lasted
throughout the day of
September 1, 1777, during
which the determination and untiring
defense of the little garrison was
matched by the reckless and
persistent attack on the part of the
savages "in the name of
Hamilton and the British
government".
Siege of Fort Henry.
The following day witnessed an event
which is one of the
most spectacular and daring in the
annals of Ohio history.
Learning of the siege of Fort Henry,
Major Samuel McCul-
lough, with 40 men, arrived at the fort
to assist its defenders.
In the face of the Indian attack the
gates were thrown open
to his men, all of whom succeeded in
entering. But McCullough
himself, gallantly permitting his men to
enter first, was cut off
by the besiegers, and seeing his only
chance for escape to be in
flight, spurred his horse toward Van
Meter's stockade, a few
miles away. The trail led along the top
of a hill overlooking
Wheeling Creek, and at a point where the
precipice was steepest,
McCullough was intercepted by a band of
the enemy. Preferring
to choose the manner of his death, he
forced his horse over
the brink--a leap of some 50 feet to the
brush covered slope
below, from whence the declivity
continued sharply for a dis-
tance of more than 200 feet to
the stream at its base. Almost
miraculously, McCullough's horse kept or
regained its feet, and
both steed and rider escaped unhurt, to
the great surprise and
chagrin of the Indians.
The arrival of McCullough's men at the
fort discouraged
Indian hopes of success and they
abandoned the siege and took
their departure northward. Later in the
same month a band
of Wyandots, under the Half King,
returned to Ft. Henry and
succeded in ambuscading and killing
Captain William Foreman
and 25 volunteers, who were proceeding
to the defense of
the fort.
The Indian in Ohio. 373
Events of 1778. The year 1778 witnessed several important events in the Ohio region, which claim our attention. The Shawnee made two spirited raids against the Kentucky settlements, in the first of which they carried into captivity the redoubtable Daniel Boone. In retaliation the Kentuckians, led by Boone, who had escaped, and Simon Kenton, made a dash across the Ohio river against the Shawnee towns on the Scioto, on which occasion Kenton was captured by the enemy. Each of these two pic- turesque characters passed through experiences which in them- selves were most hazardous and romantic. An event which, although not transpiring in Ohio proper, greatly influenced its destiny, was what is known as Clark's conquest of the west. Aside from these events, the year was signalized by the holding of the first treaty between the newly-declared republic, as such, and the Ohio Indians, and by the erection of the first American fort within the present limits of the state.
Daniel Boone Taken Captive. The new year was hardly begun when a band of Shawnee warriors, under chief Black Fish, swooped down from their |
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374 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
reward, and it was to the interest of the Indians to
deliver their captives alive, rather
than to resort to the quicker
and less bothersome method of killing
and scalping them.
Therefore, Black Fish and his warriors,
accompanied by the
Kentucky captives, essayed the march to
Detroit. During the
northward march, the Shawnee chieftain
must have been im-
pressed with the sturdy qualities of his
prisoners, apparently in
the belief that their acquisition as
members of his tribe would
lend added strength and prestige - for
upon reaching his town,
little Chillicothe, three miles north of
the modern Xenia, Boone
and sixteen of his companions were
formally adopted by the
Shawnee.
Boone, who especially commanded the
admiration of Black
Fish, was taken into the family of the
latter as a "son". After
appropriate ceremonies of feasting and
rejoicing over the oc-
casion, the Shawnee proceeded to
Detroit, where they disposed
of the unadopted captives, receiving
therefor the sum of $100
each. Hamilton was particularly desirous
of securing Boone,
but his Indian "father"
steadfastly refused to sell, and together
the two, accompanied by the members of
the tribe and the
retained Kentuckians wended their way
through the winter
snows to little Chillicothe.
As a part of his plan for ultimate
escape, Boone simulated
contentment in his new sphere, entering
actively into the life
of the Indian tribe and leaving nothing
undone that would divert
the suspicion and watchfulness of his
captors. In the meantime,
during the summer months, the Shawnee,
in connection with
the Mingoes, Ottawas, and the hostile
faction of the Delawares,
were preparing for a strong offensive
against Boonesborough,
their captive's home settlement, and
adjacent towns of Kentucky.
It was well along in June when Boone's
chance for escape
presented itself. Successful in eluding
the surveillance of the
tribesmen he made for the Ohio river,
which he reached in four
days' time, and crossing into Kentucky
arrived at Boonesbo-
rough, where he had been mourned as
dead.
The Indian in Ohio. 375
Indians Attack Boonesborough.
Rallying his townsmen, among whom was
Simon Kenton,
Boone hastily prepared for the attack
upon the town, which
he knew would not be long delayed. The
attacking party, con-
sisting of 400 warriors under Black
Fish, and about fifty
Canadians under Captain DuQuesne, made
their appearance in
early September, and in the name of the
king of England
demanded the surrender of the stockade.
The valiant defenders,
numbering not more than one-tenth of the
attacking party,
steadfastly refused to yield and the
attack settled down to a
siege. For ten days the result was in
doubt but finally, after
sustaining heavy losses in killed and
wounded, the Indians and
their Canadian allies abandoned the
attack and returned to
their country across the river.
The capture of Simon Kenton took place
during the same
month in which the Indians laid siege to
Boonesborough. Under
instructions from Colonel John Bowman,
whom we shall meet
presently, Kenton with two companions
undertook a scouting
trip to the Shawnee towns on the Little
Miami. After reaching
their destination and securing the
information desired, Kenton
and his companions rode rapidly back to
the Ohio. Owing to
the swollen waters of the river they
were delayed in crossing,
and the Indians, in pursuit, overtook
them and made Kenton
a prisoner. One of his companions
escaped while the other was
killed and scalped.
Captivity of Simon Kenton.
The captivity of Kenton furnishes one of
the most thrilling
and hair-raising chapters in Ohio
history. He and his com-
panions upon leaving the Shawnee town on
the Little Miami,
had taken advantage of the presence of
some of the Indians'
horses, which they appropriated to their
own use. This naturally
added to the indignation of the Shawnee,
and as a result the
captive was subjected to ill treatment
which would have been
unbearable to other than a man of his
iron nerve and great
endurance. He was tied upon the back of
a wild horse, which
was then released and driven through the
brush and timber,
376 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
the Indians all the while exulting at his discomfiture. At night during the march to the Indian town, he was placed upon his back and his extended feet and hands secured to stakes driven in the ground. Upon reaching the town of Black Fish he was forced several times to run the gantlet, and finally in the Shawnee council-house, was condemned to be burned at the |
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stake. For this final ceremony Kenton was taken to Wapa- tomika, in Logan county, and while passing through the Shaw- nee towns en route, was twice forced to run the gantlet, and on attempting to escape was frightfully mistreated by the In- dians. At Wapatomika, he was temporarily saved from death by the arrival of Simon Girty, the renegade, who from a posi- |
The Indian in Ohio. 377
tion as interpreter in the American
service had deserted to the
British. Girty, recognizing Kenton, and
recalling their former
friendship and association, plead long
and ardently with the
Indians and finally prevailed upon them
to spare his life. After
a few weeks of apparent security during
which Kenton was
treated with kindness and consideration,
he again came under
the displeasure of his captors and once
more was condemned to
die. Girty was unable further to assist
him, and he was borne
away to Upper Sandusky, where he was to
be put to death.
But at Sandusky, through the
intercession of the great Logan,
chief of the Mingoes, with Captain
Druyer, of the British Indian
agency, his life was spared and he was
taken to Detroit where
he remained a prisoner of war until his
escape in the spring
of the following year. Kenton's
captivity, up to the time he
reached Detroit, had covered a period of
two months. He ef-
fected his escape in June, 1779, and
found his way through
the wilderness back to his home at
Harrodsburg, Kentucky, in
July following.
Autumn of 1778 finds the scene of
activities shifted to the
eastward, with the Delawares the
principal Indian actors. As
we have seen, Detroit was the western
headquarters of the
British Army, while Fort Pitt at
Pittsburg was the stronghold
from which the Americans directed their
principal operations
having to do with the western country.
Throughout the Revo-
lution it was the dream of the British
to capture Fort Pitt,
as it was of the Americans to take
Detroit; a dream which
neither was to realize. At the close of
the war, Detroit, of
course, accrued to the Americans.
First United States-Indian Treaty.
With the object of pushing across the
Ohio country in a
raid upon Fort Detroit, General
McIntosh, commanding Fort
Pitt, late in 1778 erected Fort
McIntosh, near the mouth of
Beaver Creek, on the eastern bank of the
Ohio. In order to
secure permission to pass through the
country of the Ohio
tribes the latter were summoned to
appear at Fort Pitt where,
in September, 1778, was consummated the
first treaty ever
made between the United States of
America and an Indian
378 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
tribe. This treaty, with the Delawares,
provided the desired
permission, and although General
McIntosh's original plans for
the march against Detroit were not
carried out, he proceeded,
in November, westward to the Tuscarawas
river, where, near
the site of the town of Bolivar,
Tuscarawas county, he erected
a stockade - Fort Laurens - the first
fort built by Americans
upon Ohio soil. Before passing on to the
siege of Fort Laurens,
which occurred the following spring,
Clark's Conquest of
the West, referred to as an event of the
year, demands brief
attention.
Clark's Conquest of the West.
In the spring of 1778, George Rogers
Clark, a young Vir-
ginian, with a volunteer force of
Virginians and Kentuckians
numbering less than 200 in all,
embarked upon an expedition
which had for its object the capturing
of the British forts in
the Mississippi valley-and as a grand
finale, the coveted De-
troit itself. While Clark did not
succeed in the last-named pro-
ject, he came so near realizing his
ambition as to capture its
commander, Henry Hamilton, instigator
and patron of the atroc-
ities committed against the Americans by
the Ohio tribes..
With the tide of fortune turning against
them in the eastern
theatre of the war, the British by this
time were grounding their
hopes in the great west. As a part of
their plan to secure and
obtain the cooperation of the Indian
tribes, they maintained sev-
eral strongholds extending in an
irregular line east from the
Mississippi to Detroit and Mackinac.
Principal of these were
forts Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Vincennes-and
the two mentioned
above. In July, Colonel Clark and his
force, after a toilsome
march through almost impassable country,
captured Kaskaskia.
Cahokia and Vincennes followed in rapid
succession.
General Hamilton at Detroit, upon
learning of the dashing
successes of the Americans under Clark,
made hasty prepara-
tions to retrieve the loss, particularly
that of Fort Sackville,
at Vincennes, which in importance was
second only to that of
Detroit. In December, at the head of his
British forces and
accompanied by many Indians from Ohio
and the lake region,
Hamilton reached Vincennes, which he
succeeded in retaking.
But Clark was not to be thus easily
deprived of his success.
The Indian in Ohio. 379
Re forming the scattered remnants of his
little army, he pro-
ceeded against the stronghold and in
February, 1779, surprised
and captured the garrison. General
Hamilton was captured and
together with his officers sent as a
prisoner of war to Virginia.
Clark proceeded to subdue and pacify the
Indians of the region,
and succeeded in assuming possession for
America of the vast
territory east of the Mississippi and
north of the Ohio river.
Siege of Fort Laurens.
The principal event in Ohio during the
year 1779, was the
siege of Ft. Laurens, which we have seen
established on the
Tuscarawas by General McIntosh and his
Virginians. After
completion of the stronghold, which, it
was believed, would
materially assist in controlling the
hostile tribes and in protect-
ing the interests of the Colonists
against the depredations of
the British and Indians from the
northwest, General McIntosh
returned to Fort Pitt, leaving the
Tuscarawas stronghold in
charge of Colonel John Gibson and 150 men.
No sooner had the British commander at
Detroit learned
of the establishment of Ft. Laurens than
he determined to punish
the audacity of the Virginians in a way
that should prove a
lasting lesson. A considerable force of
Indians-Mingoes,
Shawnee and Delawares-under the white
renegade, Simon
Girty, repaired to the vicinity of the
fort. Girty and his war-
riors were under the direct command of
Captain Henry Bird,
a British army officer, who had been
sent to organize and direct
the Indians. After surprising and
killing several members of
the garrison the attacking party laid
siege to the fort, which
lasted through the month of March, 1779.
Colonel Gibson and
his handful of men valiantly defended
the stockade and although
on the verge of starvation, outlasted
the besiegers. At this point
General McIntosh arrived at the fort
with fresh troops, who,
under Major Ward Vernon, assumed charge
of Fort Laurens.
But the Indian assailants had likewise
recovered from the ex-
haustion of the siege, and returned to
the charge. The garrison
was reduced to the last extremity of
hunger and exhaustion
before relief finally arrived from Fort
Pitt. Following this
second siege, Ft. Laurens was evacuated,
on orders from the
380 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
commander at Fort Pitt. The site of Fort
Laurens, with its
memories of almost superhuman endurance
and untold hard-
ships and sufferings on the part of its
brave defenders, is now
the property of the State of Ohio, and
will be preserved as a
public park, under the care of the Ohio
State Archaeological
and Historical Society.
Bowman Raids Shawnee Towns.
The remainder of 1779, and the year
1780, were each char-
acterized by an important offensive
movement and counter-
attack. Following up his plans for an
attack upon the Shawnee
towns on the Little Miami, in
anticipation of which we have seen
Simon Kenton sent upon a scouting
expedition, Colonel John
Bowman, of Kentucky, proceeded northward
from the site of
Covington, with about 300 men. This
campaign has been de-
scribed as "the first regular
enterprise to attack, in force, the
Indians beyond the Ohio, ever planned in
Kentucky". The
army reached Chillicothe, three miles
north of the site of
Xenia, the last of May, 1779. It was
here that the noted Black
Fish, who had been so ardent in leading
his warriors against
the Kentucky settlements, had his home.
Owing to a misunderstanding in orders
the Kentucky raid
was but partially successful, although
Black Fish was mortally
wounded and the greater part of his town
burned, before the
frontiersmen turned their course toward
the south. The moral
effect upon the tribesmen, however, who
at the time were pre-
paring for further depredations against
the border settlements,
was decidedly favorable to the
Colonists.
In retaliation for Bowman's raid, the
Shawnee, Mingoes
and Wyandots led by Simon and George
Girty and Matthew
Elliott, engaged in a series of depredations
along the Kentucky
frontier. In October, they intercepted
and attacked a party
of 70 Virginians, under David Rogers,
who at the time were
ascending the Ohio river, with two
flatboats laden with merchan-
dise. More than forty of the party were
killed and scalped, amid
scenes of the greatest barbarity. Rogers
himself was among
the slain.
The Indian in Ohio. 381
In early spring of 1780, the observant
British at Detroit
were fully awake to the tide of
emigration from east of the
Alleghenies, by way of the Ohio river,
to the Kentucky settle-
ments. These settlements, particularly
that at Louisville, were
altogether too thriving and populous to
suit the purpose of the
British. To check the threatened danger
to their cause, the
commandant at Detroit appointed Captain
Henry Bird, whom
we have met with Girty before Fort
Laurens, to undertake the
capture of Louisville. Under Bird were 150 Canadian and
British soldiers, and about 100 Indians from
the Lake region.
The Girty brothers were engaged as
guides. The assemblage
proceeded from Detroit by way of the
Maumee and Miami
rivers to the Ohio, where they were
joined by several hundred
Ohio Indians, under Captain Alexander
McKee.
At the last moment, fearing for their
success in an attack
upon Louisville, the combined forces
ascended the Licking river,
where at its forks was the settlement of
Ruddell's station. The
blockhouse at this place was forced to
surrender, and although
its defenders, under Captain Ruddell,
had been assured of pro-
tection from the Indians, many of them
were killed. Proceed-
ing to Martin's Station, nearby, the
invaders easily effected its
capture. Bird and his Canadians and
Indians, with about 300
captives and much plunder returned to
the Ohio river, where
the Ohio Indians, mostly Shawnee,
dispersed to their homes.
The Canadians and the lake Indians
proceeded to Detroit.
Destruction of Piqua.
And now the Kentuckians, always ready to
go the enemy
"one better", were thoroughly
aroused, and determined to launch
such a counter-attack against the Ohio
tribes as should crush
their power and put an end to the
unbearable depredations of
the past three years. It was the valiant
George Rogers Clark
who undertook to raise the largest body
of men thus far assem-
bled in Kentucky and to lead them
against the Shawnee towns
on the Miami and Mad rivers. With Clark
were such men as
Simon Kenton, Daniel Boone and James
Harrod. The assem-
bling place for the volunteers was at
the mouth of the Licking
382
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
river, and here there gathered upwards
of one thousand sturdy
and determined pioneers, armed and
equipped for the campaign.
Crossing the Ohio, Colonel Clark and his
men erected two block-
houses at the mouth of the Miami river,
on the site of Cincin-
nati, for the storage of supplies and
for use as hospitals, in case
of need. Ascending along the course of
the Miami river, they
reached the Shawnee town, Chillicothe,
on August 6, 1780, but
to their disappointment found that the
Indians, apprised of their
approach, had fired the town and fled.
The following day Clark
pursued the Shawnee to their capital,
known as Piqua, and lo-
cated about five miles south of the site
of Springfield, Clark
county, on the north side of Mad river.
This town is noted as
the birthplace of the great Tecumseh,
who at the time of Clark's
attack was a youth of ten or twelve
years. Tecumseh is said
to have witnessed the destruction of his
home by the Kentucky
raiders. The Indian occupants of Piqua
numbered about 700,
with whom were Simon and James Girty.
The Kentuckians had
brought with them, at great labor, a
small cannon, and this was
mounted and brought to play upon the
Indian stronghold. After
several hours of fighting, the natives,
realizing the superiority
of the besiegers, abandoned their town
and fled to the woods.
Piqua, one of the finest of the Ohio
Indian towns, the capital
of the Shawnee and containing their
tribal council-house, was
burned to the ground and the crops of
growing grain destroyed
to prevent their return. The Kentuckians
had succeeded in
carrying out their plans; they had
inflicted great material loss
upon the Indians, and left a moral
effect which went far to
deter actual hostilities against the
settlements south of the Ohio.
George Rogers Clark was loath to
relinquish his idea of
an attack upon Fort Detroit, and in the
summer of 1781, with
a force of about 400 volunteers,
proceeded from Fort Pitt by
way of the Ohio river. It had been
arranged that Colonel Archi-
bald Lochry, of Pennsylvania, with
additional soldiers, should
join Clark at Fort Henry (Wheeling).
Clark was compelled
to keep moving in order to prevent
desertion by his men, and
as a result Lochry and his party failed
to overtake him. A few
miles below Cincinnati a force of
several hundred Ohio Indians,
learning of the situation and taking
advantage of the separation
The Indian in Ohio. 383
of the American forces, attacked Lochry's command, killing Lochry and forty of his men and taking captive the remainder. His plans thus defeated, Clark took refuge at Louisville, and one more attempt against the British western headquarters had been frustrated by the Ohio tribes. Reluctantly we turn our attention to a chapter in the history of Ohio, the events of which cannot but bring the blush of shame to all who pretend to civilized standards of human con- duct. We refer to the story of the Moravian Indians-the Christianized Delawares-whose career in the Muskingum valley of eastern Ohio, after withstanding prolonged persecution, suffered a forced and cruel exile and terminated in a most bar- barous and inhuman massacre.
The Moravian Delawares. In connection with the exploration of the Ohio country, we have referred briefly to the Moravian missions among the |
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claiming the Catholic faith. Upon their removal to the westward the Delawares were constantly kept in mind by the Moravians, and when the tribes- men took up their abode on the Muskingum river in Ohio, the missionaries of the sect decided to establish a mission in their midst. In 1761, the Rev. Christian Frederick Post, noted In- |
384 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
dian interpreter and one of the most
ardent of the Moravian
missionaries, and John Heckewelder,
afterwards to become
famous for his work among the Indians,
erected the first cabin
of the proposed mission, near the site
of the present town of
Bolivar. Subsequently Post found it
necessary to return to
Pennsylvania, and Heckewelder, left
alone, was unable to cope
with the unfavorable conditions and
growing hostility of the
Indians, and after undergoing untold
hardships and dangers
found his way back to Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania.
But ten years later, (1772) the mission was to be successfully
established when David Zeisberger,
accompanied by Heckewel-
der and a number of Delaware Indian converts,
arrived at the
Tuscarawas town on the Muskingum. Here the Delaware
chieftain, Netawatwees, received them
hospitably and granted
a tract of land for the erection of the
mission. With the Zeis-
berger party was Glikkikan, a prominent
Delaware chieftain,
who had become a convert to the sect,
and who continued until
his death a faithful worker with and
friend to the missionaries.
The mission was named
Schoenbrunn,-beatuiful spring-
from the fine spring of water nearby;
and it was here that were
sown the first seeds of the Protestant
religion in the Ohio
country. Other Moravian settlements soon
sprung up in the
Muskingum valley, among them, in 1772, the town of Gnaden-
hutten, settled by a band of Christian
Mohican Indians, under
the leadership of Joshua, an Indian
convert. A third settlement
of the Moravians was at Salem.
Under the leadership of Zeisberger,
Heckewelder and their
associates, the native converts were to
turn from the ways of
savagery and barbarism to the light of
civilization and humanity.
The wilderness with its precarious
existence, was to give way
to the settled community with its fields
of grain and plenty,
while the tomahawk and scalping knife,
emblems of butchery
and bloodshed, were to be supplanted by
the axe and the hoe,
symbols of industry and prosperity. In
short, residents of the
Moravian settlements, at Schoenbrunn,
Gnadenhutten and Salem
"Dwelt in the love of God and of
man; alike were they free from
Fear, that reigns with the
tyrant, and envy, the vice of republics."
The Indian in Ohio. 385
Difficulties of Their Position.
Throughout all the years of contest
between the Colonists
and the British for possession of the
Ohio country the Mora-
vians, although unfavorably located at
the very meeting point
of conflict, as conducted from Fort Pitt
and Fort Detroit, main-
tained an attitude of strict neutrality.
This very neutrality
made their position a difficult one to
maintain, for while
refraining from actively participating
with either side, their
creed demanded that they protect
non-combatants and prevent
needless suffering and loss of life. The
result of this com-
mendable policy was inevitable suspicion
on the part either of
the Colonists or the British, as
circumstances might seem to sug-
gest; but on the whole, as Colonel
Brodhead, then commandant
at Fort Pitt, declared "These
(Moravian) Indians had con-
ducted themselves from the commencement
of the war, in a
manner that did them honor; that neither
the English nor the
Americans, could with justice reproach
them with improper con-
duct in their situation."
As early as the spring of 1778 British
headquarters at De-
troit, through the Girtys, McKee and
Elliott, connived to win
the Delawares from their neutrality.
These renegades, visiting
the Delawares at their towns on the
Muskingum, particularly
at Goschoschgung, represented to them
that the American
republic already was crushed, and that
the refugees from the
Continental army were pushing their way
westward to attack
the Ohio tribes. Through the efforts of
Heckewelder, aided by
the loyal Captain White Eyes, the
tribesmen were persuaded of
the falsity of these claims, and those
of the Delawares, led by
Captain Pipe, who inclined to the
British and advocated imme-
diate war upon the Americans, were
temporarily quieted.
It was in the autumn of this same year
that the historic
treaty of Fort Pitt, with the Delawares,
was effected - the first
treaty between the United States and the
Indians. This treaty,
as we have seen, paved the way for the
erection of Fort Laurens
-the first fort built by Americans upon
Ohio soil. The siege
of this fort by the British and their Indian allies, which oc-
curred in the following spring (1779)
foreshadowed the begin-
Vol. XXVII-25.
386
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
ning of a defection to the British on
the part of the Delawares.
This defection, which was to cost them
dearly, was in great
part the result of the death of White
Eyes, their erstwhile most
influential leader. Shortly after the
Fort Pitt treaty, in which
he took a great interest and played an
important part, White
Eyes, the staunch friend of the
Moravians and of the Americans,
was stricken with smallpox, and died at
the Tuscarawas capital
of the Muskingum Delawares. In the death
of this "great coun-
sellor and good man," the Moravian
missions and the colonists
lost one of their most ardent
supporters. To these his death
came as a great calamity; but not so to
Captain Pipe, or Hopo-
can, chief of the Monsey clan of
Delawares, nor to the British
themselves. Hopocan, who openly
championed the cause of the
British, in whose pay he was then
acting, seized the opportunity
to widen the scope of his power and to
influence his people
against the Americans. His principal
opponent in the counsels
of the Delawares was Captain Killbuck,
who while generally
favorable to the Americans, lacked the
brilliancy and leadership
which were Hopocan's. In the winter of
1780, throwing off
all pretense, Hopocan, accompanied by
his band of Monseys,
quitted his town on the Walhonding and
removed to the San-
dusky river, where, on the banks of
Tymochtee creek he estab-
lished what became known as Pipe's town.
Thus located, he
was able the more readily to cooperate
with his British employ-
ers, who at this time maintained a sort
of secondary headquar-
ters at the Wyandot towns on the
Sandusky, from which raids
to the south and east were launched.
Brodhead Destroys Delaware Capital.
The opening of spring, 1781-that
eventful year which
was to witness the pathetic exodus of
the Moravians from their
peaceful homes - found the Delaware
nation aligned as follows:
The Moravian Christians maintained their
neutrality, but uncon-
sciously leaned toward the Americans,
owing to the harshness
of the British in attempts at coercing
them to the British cause;
the Monsey clan, under Captain Pipe, had
definitely repudiated
the Americans; while the remainder of
the non-Christian Dela-
wares were veering ominously toward the
British.
The Indian in Ohio. 387
Realizing the seriousness of the
situation, Col. Brodhead,
commandant at Fort Pitt, prepared to
act. In April, with 300
troops consisting of Regulars and
Virginia Militia, he crossed
the Ohio and proceeded to Goschoschgung,
the Delaware head-
quarters, on the site of Coshocton. The
inhabitants, taken by
surprise, were captured, after which the
town was looted, the
newly-planted fields devastated,
live-stock killed or driven off,
and much property damaged or burned. Of
the captured war-
riors sixteen of the leaders, singled
out by Pekillon, a Delaware
who had accompanied the Brodhead
expedition, were con-
demned to die. With the approach of
night they were led to
the outskirts of the town where they
were brutally and in-
humanly tomahawked and scalped. The
remaining captives, in
charge of the militia of the raiding
party, were billeted to
be taken to Fort Pitt. The return march
had not proceeded
far, however, before the militiamen
inaugurated a wanton carni-
val of bloodshed, in which some twenty
warriors were shot
down. Frightened and enraged, the
Delawares hastily with-
drew to the north and west, where they
took their stand upon
the Scioto and the Sandusky; and the
Muskingum valley, ex-
cept for the fortuitous Moravians,
became for the time a
"no-man's-land." Colonel
Brodhead strongly urged the Mis-
sionaries and their converts to
accompany him to Fort Pitt
and thus avert the threatening vengeance
of the non-Christian
Indians, but with a few exceptions the
Moravians chose to re-
main and face their destiny in their
cherished homes.
Exile of the Moravians
The pathetic events which followed might
have furnished
a theme equally as promising as that
upon which Longfellow
based his immortal Evangeline; for while
the Acadian exile
involved a much greater number of
individuals, the extra added
feature of cold-blooded massacre
perpetrated by those whom
they had in every way befriended, gives
to the Moravian atroc-
ity the finishing touch of inhuman
barbarity and the last word
in tragedy and atrocity.
"Bearing a nation, with all its
household gods, into exile,
Exile without an end, and without an
example in history."
388 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
The work of Brodhead had effectively
alienated the non-
Christian Delawares and adjacent tribes,
who immediately
flocked to the standard of the British.
The time was ripe for
the latter to act, and once for all
break up the Moravian settle-
ments, which they believed, under guise
of neutrality, were aid-
ing the American cause. No sooner had
Brodhead finished his
work and returned to Fort Pitt than the
British plan of action
was set moving. A force of approximately
150 men consist-
ing of Wyandots under Dunquad (called by
the Delawares
Pomoacan); Delawares under Captain Pipe
and Wingenund;
small bands of Mingoes and Shawnee; and
a few British and
French from Detroit,- the latter under
Captain Mathew Elliott,
as commander of the expedition-made
their appearance on
the Tuscarawas. Elliott established his headquarters before
Salem, while others of the party
proceeded to Schoenbrunn and
Gnadenhutten. The Moravian missionaries,
as was customary,
extended their hospitality to the
visitors, despite the ominous
import of their presence. They had not
long to await an ex-
planation, if in truth they already had
not surmised it. Elliott,
summoning the leaders from the several
missions to his head-
quarters at Salem, over which floated
the British flag, and hid-
ing the mailed fist under friendly
guise, delivered the inexorable
decree of the British.
"Prisoners now I declare you; for
such is his Majesty's pleasure."
The decision of the British was, in
brief, that the Moravians
either must espouse their cause, or
failing in this, that they
must be forcibly removed from the
Tuscarawas to a part of
the country where possibility of their
collusion with the Amer-
icans would be minimized. The former not
being acceptable to
the Moravians, the alternative was
carried out. The movable
property and personal effects of the
inhabitants of the three
towns were appropriated and divided
among the Indians. The
Wyandots, dressing themselves in the
clothing of their victims,
vainly paraded themselves for the
admiration of their fellows.
As one man, the Indians gave themselves
over to celebration
and feasting, the means for which were
ready at hand in the
bounteous supplies of cattle, poultry,
and products of the soil
The Indian in Ohio. 389
which the Moravians had accumulated. For
days this wild
carnival continued, with "Midnight
shout and revelry, Tipsey
dance and jollity," while the
involuntary hosts of the revelers
were powerless to act.
Finally, on the 11th of September, 1781,
the members of
the three settlements, consisting of
about 100 families, were
forced to assume the march toward the
north, leaving behind
them "a Christian communion never
equalled in the history of
the Indians." The pathetic exodus
from their homes of the
ardent missionaries and their faithful
converts, is eloquently
summarized in the words of Edmund de
Schweinitz, biographer
of David Zeisberger:
"They were turning their back upon
the scenes of more
than eight years industry, and of a
Christian community never
equalled in the history of the Indians.
They were leaving behind
rich plantations, with five thousand
bushels of unharvested corn,
large quantities of it in store,
hundreds of hogs and young
cattle loose in the woods, poultry of
every kind, gardens stocked
with vegetables, three flourishing
towns, each with a commodious
house of worship, all the heavy articles
of furniture and imple-
ments of husbandry-in short, their
entire property, excepting
what could be carried on pack horses or
stowed in canoes."
After a strenuous journey of three
weeks, partly by canoe on
the Tuscarawas and partly by land, the
exiles reached the
Sandusky river, in what is now
south-eastern Wyandot county.
Here they were abandoned by Dunquad and
his Wyandot escort
and allowed to shift for
themselves. Near the juncture of
Broken Sword creek with the Sandusky
river they selected a
site, and with sad hearts began the
almost hopeless task of re--
establishing themselves and their
missions. Log huts for shelter
and a rude structure for religious
services were provided; but
scarcely had this been accomplished
before calamity again over-
took them.
Moravian Pilgrimage to Detroit.
Late in October the Delaware chief Wingenund
appeared
at their village, called Captives' Town,
bearing a summons from
Governor de Peyster demanding that the
Moravians appear at
Detroit "for trial." After a
perilous march through the wilder-
390 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
ness the little party, escorted by the
Indian guides, reached
Detroit and appeared before the
commandant. At their hearing
Captain Pipe was the principal witness,
and to his credit be
it said, testified favorably to the
defendants, declaring that the
Moravians were guiltless of wrong
against the British. This
circumstance throws a favorable light
upon the character of
Pipe, who though in the pay of the
British, had from the first
refused to indulge in any brutality
against the Americans, either
from humane motives or in fear of later
punishment.
The Moravians, thus absolved from blame,
were permitted
to return to their pitiable settlement
on the Sandusky, with the
admonition that they abstain from
friendly intercourse with the
Americans. De Peyster, more humane than
his predecessor,
Henry Hamilton, furnished the pilgrims
with needed clothing
and supplies. Returning to Captives'
town, the refugees, in a
spirit of thankfulness for their
acquittal and safe return, erected
a "temple of worship," a rude
structure of poles supported by
upright stakes, the crevices stopped
with moss.
The winter which followed was one of
intense suffering
for the little band of Christians, and
starvation was with dif-
ficulty staved off. Remembering the
bountiful supplies of un-
harvested corn left behind at their
towns on the Tuscarawas,
they obtained permission from Pomoacan,
the Wyandot half-
king, to avail themselves of the grain.
Accordingly, in late
February, 1782, about 150 of the more
able-bodied of the
inhabitants departed for the Tuscarawas.
But it seemed that
misfortune had marked the Moravians for
its own. No sooner
had they taken their departure than
Simon Girty arrived from
Detroit with a second order summoning
their leaders again to
appear for trial. At this point it would
seem that the unfor-
tunates, buffeted by the hand of fate,
could withstand no more.
Zeisberger, in his bitterness declared
"If we were to be slain,
it would be better, we should then be
relieved of all our troubles;
but now we seem to be reserved for many
deaths."
But with faith and hope sustaining them,
the missionaries
sent out runners summoning their members
to return to the
village. Those who happened to be near
at hand responded and
returned to the town; but from the
relief party who had gone
The Indian in Ohio. 391
to the cornfields on the Tuscarawas,
there was no response. A
second summons was answered by a similar
silence. This silence
was explained when a Delaware Indian
arrived at Captives'
Town with the intelligence that the
relief party had been mas-
sacred at Gnadenhutten! Stunned and
heart-broken, Zeisberger,
Heckewelder and their associate leaders
and families, exhorting
their faithful followers to "stand
fast in the faith and endure
to the end," departed with Girty
for Detroit, to answer once
more to the suspicion that they had had
friendly correspondence
with the Americans.
The Moravian Massacre.
The fate of the Moravian Indians was the
fate that too
often rewards the would-be peacemaker -
ingratitude, distrust
and malevolence on the part both of the
British and the Amer-
icans of the border country, between
whom they strove to
ameliorate hostilities. We have seen
their community harassed
and despoiled by the British-Indian
alliance, which like some
great beast of prey had dragged them
from their home on the
Tuscarawas toward its lair to the
northward; we shall now
witness the completion of the
despoliation-the ruthless tear-
ing apart of the body religious - in a
manner even more brutal,
and by those who by every token should
have been the friends
and protectors of the Moravians. In
fixing the blame for the
inhuman massacre of the Moravian Indians
at Gnadenhutten
on March 8, 1782, the verdict
of the historian finds the frontier
settlers of the border county of
Washington, Pennsylvania,
"guilty, with recommendations for
mercy."
Motives for the Massacre.
The very enormity and perversion of the
crime demand
that the convicted be given the benefit
of the moderating clause
of the verdict; in fact, it is in this
alone that there is to be
found the semblance of a motive for the
massacre. Let us then
inquire more closely into the situation
with regard to the Mora-
vians and the border settlers across the
Ohio, as it existed at
the time under consideration. We have
gathered in a general
392
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
way something of the compromised
position of the missionaries
and their converts, especially with
reference to the British and
the pro-British tribesmen; namely, that
the neutrality of the
Moravians was looked upon as a cloak
under which information
was passed on to the Americans. The
hostile Indians themselves
regarded the Christian natives as
traitors to their race, and lost
no opportunity of embroiling them in the
tangles of perversity
with either side. The Americans, on
their part, in so far as
official and well-informed circles were
concerned, realized that
the Moravians were guiltless of
wrong-doing; but among the
frontiersmen of Pennsylvania and
Virginia-the backwoods-
men along the Ohio river -there
had developed an unfortunate
arid mostly ungrounded suspicion that
the Moravian settlements
on the Tuscarawas had much to do with
the raids of the Ohio
savages on their settlements. It is not
strange, considering the
times and the circumstances, that such
should have been the
case. The means of communication, and
therefore of news dis-
tribution, were limited, and the
frontiersmen were often ignorant
and credulous. Raiding parties from the
hostile Ohio tribes
were at the time very much in vogue; and
as the Moravian towns
were directly on the route of these
forays, and about midway
thereof, they afforded a convenient
stopping place for the
raiders, both on the going and returning
journeys. Their hos-
pitality, extended either as a result of
religious conviction or
through inability on the part of the
inhabitants to withhold the
same, was freely made use of, and even
abused, by the maraud-
ing bands; and it was only natural that
the frontiersmen, in their
ignorance and impulsiveness and
constantly irritated by the
dangers which beset their families and
homes, should judge the
Moravian settlements "by the
company which they kept."
During the winter preceding the
Gnadenhutten massacre,
the Indian raids against the border
settlements had been par-
ticularly alarming. In one instance a
party of Ohio Indians
crossed the river into Pennsylvania,
burned the cabin of John
Wallace and took captive his wife and
three children. On their
return, which took them through the
Moravian towns, the In-
dians cruelly tomahawked the mother and
her infant. It would
appear that the savages while availing
themselves of the friend-
The Indian in Ohio. 393
liness of the Moravians, were all the
while maliciously plotting
to incur upon their hosts the vengeance
of the whites, through
these trails of blood, leading from the
settlements of the one
to the towns of the other. How well
their plan succeeded, we
shall see.
The Pennsylvania backwoodsmen, at last
goaded to despera-
tion and believing that they could not
expect security for them-
selves as long as the Moravian towns
were in existence took
matters into their own hands and without
seeking authority from
council or congress, determined upon
their destruction.
Details of the Massacre.
During the late winter of 1781-2, the work of
raising the
necessary volunteers for the
contemplated enterprise was quietly
carried on in Washington county,
Pennsylvania, and by the first
of March a force of about 100 men had
been secured. Under
the leadership of David Williamson, who
had been elected cap-
tain, the raiding party crossed the Ohio
and on the sixth of
March, 1782, arrived before
Gnadenhutten, their presence being
unknown to the inhabitants. The
following morning, after kill-
ing several of the inhabitants who had
discovered their presence,
Williamson's party entered the town
without opposition.
The inhabitants of Gnadenhutten,
Schoenbrunn and Salem
at this time comprised a few Moravians
who had escaped
removal to the Sandusky river, and the
relief party of 140 who
had returned to their towns from
Captives' Town to obtain corn.
On the arrival of Williamson and his
men, the Indians were
quietly engaged in gathering and making
ready the grain for
the return trip to the Sandusky, where
their families, almost
upon the verge of starvation, anxiously
awaited the promised
supplies. Simulating a friendly attitude
the frontiersmen, sum-
moning the unsuspecting natives from
their work in the fields,
made known what they wished the converts
to believe to be
the purpose of their visit. They had
come, they said, to offer
the protection and friendship of the
Americans, who, in view
of the dangers to which the Moravians
were subjected from the
British and the hostile Indians, wished
to convey them to Fort
Pitt, for their safety and protection.
In their credulity, the In-
394 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
dians surrendered their weapons to
Williamson's men, "to be
returned upon arrival at
Pittsburg." A detachment was sent
forward to Salem, which returned
accompanied by the Mora-
vians at that place; but those at
Schoenbrunn, taking alarm, fled
before the emissaries reached their
town, and thus escaped the
fate which awaited their fellows.
No sooner had the Indians been disarmed
than all pretense
at friendly intentions was thrown aside,
and they were rudely
thrust inside the larger buildings as
prisoners. The question
as to their fate then became a matter
for discussion. A few of
the backwoodsmen, partly recovered from
the first excitement
of the undertaking and realizing the
innocence of the converts,
favored their release; others, not quite
so impetuous as at first
but unwilling to abandon the enterprise,
were in favor of remov-
ing the Indians to Fort Pitt and turning
them over to the com-
mandant there for disposal. Captain
Williamson himself was
inclined to be lenient with the
captives, but his attitude and that
of the more humane of his command were
overruled by the
greater number of those who demanded the
blood of the con-
verts. The question finally resolved
itself into "Whether the
Moravian Indians should be taken
prisoners to Pittsburg, or
put to death." Of the ninety
Pennsylvanians, acting as a council
of war, only one in five favored the
former proposition. These
more humane members of the party,
eighteen in number, then
withdrew from the scene to avoid
witnessing the revolting
procedure on the part of their comrades.
As between two suggestions as to the
carrying out of sen-
tence of death against the captives, -
the one, that they be
burned to death by setting fire to the
buildings in which they
were confined, and, the alternative,
that they be tomahawked and
scalped,--the latter was decided upon as
the most desirable.
Accordingly, the Indians were notified
of their impending fate,
and were given until the following
morning in which to prepare
to die.
The faith which had supported the
Moravians through the
trying times of oppression and
persecution was not to desert
them in their martyrdom. At the hands of
the British-Indian
allies and to a lesser extent from the
Americans, they had suf-
The Indian in Ohio. 395
fered all but death; and now that the day fixed upon for their return to families and friends with the life-saving supplies of corn, was to be, instead, the day of their doom, they bravely and unhesitatingly prepared to meet death. In the words of Dr. Schweinitz, "As the hours wore away, and the night deepened, |
|
and the end drew near, triumphant anticipations of heaven min- gled with their hymns and prayers; converted heathens taught their Christian slayers what it means to die, as more than conquerors." Early on the morning of March 8, 1782, the Moravian In- dian captives signified their readiness for the ordeal. The men |
396
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
and boys were led or dragged, two by
two, to the nearby cooper
shop, where with tomahawks, war clubs,
spears, mallets and
knives, they were quickly dispatched and
scalped. The slaughter
of the women and children followed in
the same gruesome
manner.
We shall not follow in detail the
revolting scenes of the
massacre; suffice it to say that of the
ninety-eight Moravians
held by the Williamson party, all were
killed but two boys, who
made their escape. Among the killed were
Glikkikan, the
Delaware chieftain, who several years
previously had been con-
verted and who was one of the ablest and
most valued of the
Moravian teachers; his wife, who on the
occasion of the attack
on Fort Henry, at Wheeling, rode all
night through the wilder-
ness to inform the military authorities
at Fort McIntosh of the
intended attack; and Captain Johnny, a
Delaware chief and
earnest Moravian teacher.
Their lust for blood being satiated, in
so far as Gnadenhut-
ten was concerned, the raiders proceeded
to Schoenbrunn, where
they expected to repeat their orgies;
but the inhabitants of
Schoenbrunn had learned of their
presence and had hastily de-
parted from the town. After venting
their disappointment by
burning the houses and destroying
property, the frontiersmen
hastened eastward and across the Ohio
into Pennsylvania. As
a grand finale to their bloody foray, a
detachment of Williamson's
men proceeded to Smoky Island, opposite
Fort Pitt, where they
attacked and killed a number of
Delawares residing there. The
Smoky Island settlement consisted of a
band of Ohio Delawares
who, under Killbuck, or Gelelemand, and
Chief Big Cat, at the
invitation of the Fort Pitt officials,
had taken refuge there,
following the defection of a part of the
tribe under Hopocan.
Killbuck managed to escape death in the
attack by Williamson's
men, and later joined the Moravians on
the Sandusky.
Subsequent Career of Moravians.
Before bidding farewell to the
Moravians, it is fitting that
we inquire as to their later career. We
left Zeisberger and his
assistants at the beginning of their
second journey to Detroit,
where they went in answer to a summons
from De Peyster. We
The Indian in Ohio. 397
need not concern ourselves with this
pilgrimage of the great
missionary, nor with the succeeding
years of anxious waiting
and precarious existence. It is
sufficient to know that at the
close of their hearing, the Moravians
were barred from return-
ing to their settlement at Captives'
Town on the Sandusky.
Under De Peyster's orders, either of two
things was left them;
to return to their original settlements
in Pennsylvania, or to
remain in the Michigan country under the
protection of the
British. They chose the latter and
established a settlement
known as New Gnadenhutten among the
friendly Chippewas
on the Huron river.
But the Moravians had left their hearts
in the Ohio country,
and in 1782, peace having been declared between England and
the United States, they found their way
to the Cuyahoga river,
where they sojourned for about one year,
and then took up their
abode on the Huron river near the
present town of Milan. Here
for four years they prospered, and made
many converts, among
them the noted Captain Killbuck, who,
always inclined to be
friendly, now became a lasting and
valued member of the church.
But hostilities between the Ohio Indians
and the American gov-
ernment disturbed their security and in
1789 they returned to
Canada.
In the meantime, in passing the
Ordinance of 1787 and in
conducting the surveys of the lands
thereunder, Congress granted
the Moravian Indians a tract of 12,000
acres of land on the
Tuscarawas river, adjoining and partly
including their former
settlements. To this land the pilgrims
returned in 1789 and
picking up the raveled ends of their
pathetic career set them-
selves to restore the old order of peace
and prosperity. For a
time all went well and their dream
seemed destined to become
reality; but their leaders, Zeisberger
and Heckewelder, had al-
ready left behind them their best years
and strength in the fitful
and checkered existence of their beloved
mission. Zeisberger
founded the little town of Goshen, about
seven miles distant
from Gnadenhutten, where he lived and
labored until his death
in 1808. Heckewelder re-established
Gnadenhutten on the site
of the infamous massacre, where he
resided until 1810, when
398
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
he returned to Pennsylvania. Their
leaders gone, and none
among the converts being of a caliber to
fill their places, the
Moravian Brethren rapidly declined, and,
as with others of
their race, returned to the ways of
their fathers.
CLOSING EVENTS OF THE REVOLUTION.
Conflict Centers in Ohio Country.
Before proceeding with the momentous
events which, in
addition to the Moravian massacre,
characterized the memorable
year of 1782 in the Ohio country, let us
pause long enough to
inquire into the progress of the
Revolutionary war elsewhere.
It will be recalled that in October of
the preceding autumn Gen-
eral Cornwallis had been forced to
surrender to Washington,
at Yorktown, Virginia. This event,
presaging American victory
and the end of the war, was followed in
March, 1782, by a vote
in the British House of Commons,
declaring that "Whoever
should advise a continuance of the war,
was an enemy to the
king and country." Nevertheless,
their hopes of victory blasted
in the eastern front, the British
commanders toward the west
staked their last chance upon success in
the territory north and
west of the Ohio. From Detroit, in
particular, where General
De Peyster commanded, hostile actions
against the Americans
continued for a considerable time, aided
by their Indian allies,
especially the tribes of the lake
region, and the Wyandots,
Delawares, Shawnee and Mingoes of Ohio.
The British, operating from Detroit,
were loath to abandon
their dream of taking Fort Pitt, while
the Americans, at the
latter post, continued to realize the
desirability of sacking De-
troit. In the meantime, the Muskingum
valley having been
transformed into a
"no-man's-land" through the removal of the
Delawares to the Sandusky, the slaughter
of the Moravians, and
the voluntary withdrawal westward of
other tribes, the principal
center of Ohio Indian activity came to
be the Sandusky river
region, the home of the Wyandots,
principal henchmen of the
British in their operations against the
Pennsylvania and Vir-
ginia border. The principal town of the
Wyandots, at this time,
known as Sandusky, or Sandusky Old Town,
was located on the
The Indian in Ohio. 399
west bank of the Sandusky river, about
five miles north of the
modern Upper Sandusky. Here, located on
the great water
route between Lake Erie and the Ohio
river, (via the Sandusky
river, across the portage and down the
Scioto) at what was
an important British trading post, the
latter had established their
supply depot, and recruiting
headquarters for the purpose of
facilitating their campaigns to the east
and south. A few miles
west of the Sandusky town, on Tymochtee
creek, was located
the town of the Delawares under Captain
Pipe, or Hopocan,
while to the eastward, in the present
Crawford county, the
Delaware war chief, Wingenund, with his
following, made his
home. With these numerous allies to draw
upon-including
practically the whole of the Ohio Indian
population, with sev-
eral hundred warriors at their command,
and aided by the
Girtys, Elliott and others of the white
renegades,-De Peyster,
at Detroit, early in 1782 presented a
threatening aspect to the
American colonies bordering the Ohio.
Crawford's Sandusky Campaign.
With this situation confronting them the
Colonists, encour-
aged by the success, however
questionable the methods employed,
of Williamson against the Moravians,
clamored for an expedi-
tion against the Sandusky stronghold.
This public sentiment
found expression in an army of 180
Pennsylvania and Virginia
volunteers, which, on May 25, 1782, crossed the
Ohio and pro-
ceeded toward the Wyandot towns. The expedition
was in
command of Colonel William Crawford,
whom we have met in
company with Dunmore on the Pickaway
plains and elsewhere,
while David Williamson, leader of the
raid against the Mora-
vians, was second in command.
But while Colonel Crawford and his
command were slowly
and cautiously making their way across
the broken country of
eastern Ohio, the British were not idle.
De Peyster, through
the vigilance of Simon Girty, had been
apprised of the pending
raid and laid his plan to meet it. Two
companies of British
Rangers and a band of Lake Indians,
under Captain William
Caldwell were immediately dispatched to
Sandusky. Arriving
there they were joined by the Wyandots
under the half-king
400 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
Dunquod and Simon Girty; the Delawares,
from Pipe's Town
and Wingenund's village under Captain
Pipe and George Girty;
and bands of Shawnee and Mingoes, the
whole of the Indian
force being directly in command of
Captain Mathew Elliott.
Arriving at a point just south of the
Sandusky town, Craw-
ford led his men carefully up the river
and at what is known
as Battle Island, three miles above the
present Upper Sandusky,
was confronted by the enemy. The
Americans succeeded in
gaining possession of the
"island," a small piece of timber in
the midst of the grassland, and with
this advantage were able
successfully to withstand the attack
which followed and con-
tinued throughout the day. The following
morning-June 5-
the British Indian allies were
reinforced by the arrival of up-
ward of 200 Shawnee warriors. Seeing his
force greatly out-
numbered Crawford decided to take
advantage of the first op-
portunity to retreat. This opportunity
came with nightfall of
the fifth, when, after burying their
dead, five in number, the
Americans cautiously abandoned their
friendly grove and under
cover of darkness proceeded to retrace
their course.
Battle of Olentangy.
But their retreat had been discovered
and, with the Indians
in hot pursuit, soon became a rout. The
following afternoon
the retreating force was overtaken and
forced to give battle.
The contest took place a few miles
south-east of Upper San-
dusky, on a fork of the Olentangy creek,
from which the strug-
gle takes its name, the Battle of
Olentangy. Colonel Williamson,
in the absence of Crawford, rallied his
men to the attack with
the result that after an hour's fighting
and the loss of three
men the Americans were completely
successful and the attackers
hastily beat a retreat.
Profiting by this temporary respite the
Americans lost no
time in quitting the Sandusky country,
where such unexpected
resistance had developed, and by June 13
had reached the Ohio
river, which they crossed at Mingo
Bottoms. The unsuccessful
undertaking had cost the Colonists 70
men, in killed, captured
and missing-and among the last named was
Colonel William
Crawford, the commander.
The Indian in Ohio. 401
Capture of Crawford.
In carrying out the retreat from Battle
Island, Colonel
Crawford, in his solicitude for the
safety of his men, and ow-
ing to the darkness, became separated
from the command and
in the confusion which followed was
unable to rejoin them.
With Colonel Crawford was Dr. Knight,
the surgeon of the
command. Knowing that their safety lay
in a direction which
would take them as far as possible from
the hostile Indian camps,
the two pursued their way stealthily but
rapidly to the north-
east. Following a circuitous course they
were able on the
following day to strike the trail of the
retreating army, which
they hoped to overtake and rejoin. But
on the afternoon of
the seventh they suddenly found
themselves face to face with
a party of Delawares who overpowered and
conducted them to
the camp of Chief Wingenund, nearby.
Here they were joined
by nine additional captives, who, like
Crawford and Knight had
become separated from their companions
and taken prisoners
by the Delawares.
Crawford and Knight realized that
nothing short of death
awaited them, and that no ordinary
execution would satisfy the
vengeance of the Delawares. The fact
that the "Big Captain"
of the Americans had fallen into their
hands was a source of
great satisfaction to the Indians and
was celebrated by fiendish
demonstrations of delight. The
opportunity for revenge for
past grievances and for setting a
forceful example to the "Long
Knives," as the Indians called the
frontiersmen, was one they
had hardly dared expect, and nothing
short of burning at the
stake with its accompanying savage
tortures would suffice for
their purpose.
The recent massacre of the Moravian
Indians, who, while
estranged from the Delawares,
nevertheless were their kinsmen,
strengthened the unfavorable sentiment
against the Colonists.
Captain Pipe, tireless in his support of
the British cause and in
his enmity for the Americans, needed no
additional stimulus to
evil-doing, while Dunquod or Pomoacan,
had but recently lost
two sons, killed by frontiersmen on the
Ohio, and while the
Wyandots had abandoned burning as a
means of execution,
Vol. XXVII-26.
402 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
their chief in his bitterness might
easily overlook this fact. The
Shawnee still bore the scar of battle
inflicted in the recent raids
of the Kentuckians against their towns,
while the Mingoes were
not unmindful of the fact that it was
Crawford who had razed
their villages at the forks of the
Scioto. At any rate, Pipe, or
Hopocan had no difficulty in securing
permission from, or at
least acquiescence on the part of the
Half-King, Dunquod, and
his Wyandots for the carrying out of his
fiendish plans, and
the doom of Crawford and his party was
thereby sealed.
Under escort of a party of Delaware
warriors, the eleven
captives, among them Crawford and
Knight, started for the
vicinity of Pipe's town on Tymochtee
creek, which had been
selected as the place of execution. En
route, five of the cap-
tives were brutally tomahawked and
mutilated by the squaws
and boys of the escorting party.
The site selected by Captain Pipe for
the torture and burn-
ing of Crawford was on the east bank of
Tymochtee creek, near
the present village of Crawfordsville,
and within a short distance
of Pipe's town. Here there had assembled about thirty
Delaware warriors, besides some sixty
squaws and Indian boys,
with Captain Pipe, Wingenund and the
renegade Simon Girty.
Crawford appealed repeatedly to the
latter for intercession in
his behalf, but his entreaties were met
with an amused in-
difference.
Burning of Crawford.
After having his face blackened and his
clothing stripped
from him Crawford was tied to a post,
and a huge bonfire which
had been prepared nearby was lighted.
For three hours the
doomed victim was subjected to every
form of torture known
to savage ingenuity, and all the while
his friend and companion,
Dr. Knight, was compelled to sit by and
witness the agonies,
that he might have a foretaste of what
he in turn might expect.
After firing numerous charges of powder
into Crawford's
body, the tormentors cut off his ears.
The squaws, more fiendish
even than their braves, amused
themselves by piercing his body
with burning fagots and poles from the
fire, and by carrying
coals of fire and heaping them upon the
victim's head and limbs.
Crawford displayed marvelous endurance
and fortitude in the
The Indian in Ohio. 403
midst of his tortures, "exceeding
in fiendish, ferocious, devilish
cruelty and barbarity, anything recorded
in savage annals."
Doctor Knight, while being held
preparatory to burning at
the stake, eluded his captors and
escaped, as did also John
Slover, the guide. The experiences of
both were most hazardous,
and their escape little short of
miraculous. To Dr. Knight we
are indebted for knowledge of the
details of Crawford's burn-
ing, published by him after his return
to Pittsburg. The fate
of Colonel Crawford's son, John
Crawford, his nephew, William
Crawford, and William Harrison, his
son-in-law who among
others were separated from the command
and captured, was
never learned.
The Indians and the Renegades.
The closing events of the Revolutionary
War, in the main,
are familiar to our readers. Following
the surrender of Corn-
wallis there was a general cessation of
fighting between the
armies proper, hostilities being
confined to the southern and
western frontiers. Communication and transportation, in so
vast a territory without modern
utilities, such as railroads, the
telegraph and even highways, were
necessarily slow and uncer-
tain, and under such conditions much
time was required to bring
an end to so gigantic a conflict.
Preliminary peace terms be-
tween England and the new-born American
republic were agreed
upon at Versailles, in November, 1782. In April of 1783, Wash-
ington disbanded his army of
Continentals; the final peace was
ratified in September following, and
late in November all British
troops embarked from New York for
England.
But the last-named event did not serve
entirely to put the
Atlantic ocean between the American
republic and the "mother
country"; for by the terms of the
treaty, England retained her
possessions in Canada. Notwithstanding
the provisions of the
treaty for the withdrawal of garrisons
from all posts in American
territory, the British were reluctant to
relinquish possession,
with the result that such important
posts as Fort Niagara, Fort
Detroit, and posts at the mouths of the
Sandusky and the
Maumee rivers, continued in British
possession until 1796.
With the object of protecting their
extensive and lucrative fur
trade and in the belief that the
American republic would prove a
404
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
failure, the British inaugurated a
policy of instigating Indian hos-
tility against the western settlements,
which was to involve the
Ohio country in more or less serious
conflict for a dozen years to
come, and which, in fact ended only with
the War of 1812.
The British excitation of the Indians
against the Americans
was conducted, as previously, mainly
from Detroit. The tribes
of Ohio as we have seen, were strongly
attached to the British,
and following the unsuccessful raid of
Colonel Crawford
against the Sandusky towns, their
elation and confidence knew
no bounds. Scarcely had Crawford's
defeated command re-
turned across the Ohio than the warriors
were clamoring for
further victories over the settlers.
Detroit and the Indian towns
upon the Sandusky and Mad rivers became
veritable bee-hives of
hostile activity. The designs of the
British-Indian allies em-
braced the settlers both of the
Pennsylvania-Virginia border
and those of Kentucky to the southward.
Under leadership of Simon Girty and
Mathew Elliott,
one of the largest Indian armies ever
assembled in Ohio was
brought together at Wapatomika, at the
source of the Mad river,
in Logan county. The warriors, eleven hundred
strong, com-
prised the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawnee,
Mingoes, Ottawas
and others. At the suggestion of Captain
Snake, of the Shaw-
nee, it was decided to direct the first
of a series of raids against
Fort Henry, at the site of Wheeling. De
Peyster accordingly
despatched a company of Rangers under
Captain Bradt, and
these together with the force under
Captain Caldwell, fresh
from their participation in the rout of
Crawford's command,
joined with the Indian forces. But at
this point reports to
the effect that the Kentuckians, under
George Rogers Clark,
were advancing against the Ohio towns
led the assembled army
to change their plans, and accordingly
they marched southward
to meet and intercept Clark's supposed
raid. But the expected
Kentuckians failed to appear; and
disappointed, many of the
warriors abandoned the campaign and
returned to their towns.
Battle of Blue Licks.
With the remaining force, consisting of
300 Indians and 60
white rangers, Captain Caldwell in
August proceeded to the Ohio
The Indian in Ohio. 405
and crossing into Kentucky laid siege to
Bryant's station. The
stockade, however, was so stubbornly
defended by the Ken-
tuckians, among whom was Daniel Boone,
that the siege was
abandoned and Caldwell led his men back
across the Ohio. The
following day the Kentuckians, learning
of the attack gathered
from far and near, and prepared to
pursue the Indians into their
own country. They came up with the enemy
at the Blue Licks
on Licking river, and disregarding the
advice of Daniel Boone,
impetuously charged directly into an
ambuscade prepared for
them by the Indians. The slaughter which
followed was terrific,
and the battle one of the bloodiest
fought on Kentucky soil.
One hundred of the Kentuckians were
killed or captured, among
them being Boone's son, Israel Boone.
Hilarious over their
success, the Indians and Rangers
returned to Wapatomika and
Sandusky.
Kentuckians Strike Retaliatory Blow.
But the spirited Kentuckians, typical
frontiersmen that they
were, refused to acknowledge themselves
defeated or even
humbled. They were made of sterner
stuff, and the incursion of
Caldwell and his warriors only served to
rouse them to a keener
realization of the necessity for
checking the onslaughts of the
Indians, which threatened the very
existence of their settle-
ments. No sooner had Caldwell departed
the scene of his Blue
Licks victory than volunteers began to
assemble from all parts
of the Kentucky country with the avowed
determination of
avenging the catastrophe and of striking
a blow that once for
all would convince the Ohio tribesmen
that the country across
the Ohio was anything but a promising
field for pillage, plunder
and conquest. Leadership of this supreme
effort naturally fell
upon George Rogers Clark, and the man
who had inaugurated
the first formidable blow at British
dominance in the northwest,
was now successfully to strike the final
blow which would end
forever the Indian forays against the
Kentucky settlements.
By the last of October, 1782, volunteers
to the number of
more than one thousand mounted men had
assembled at the
mouth of the Licking river, opposite
Cincinnati, and placed
themselves under the command of Colonel Clark.
The army,
well equipped and provisioned, proceeded
up the Miami river
406
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
and early in November reached the Indian
towns about the
headwaters of that stream. At Lower
Piqua, Clark found "a
peaceful people" whom he did not
molest. Proceeding to Upper
Piqua, he destroyed an Indian fort and
proceeded thence to
Loramie's trading post, on the portage
between the Miami and
Lake Erie, which shared a similar fate.
This post, presided
over by one Pierre Loramie, a Frenchman,
was an important
center of trade between the British and
the Indians.
Ineffectual efforts were made by Clark
to draw the Shawnee
and their allies into battle, but the
Indians, although urged on
by the renegade white leaders, were too
well acquainted with
Clark's prowess and too deeply awed by
the size of his army
to risk an engagement. After burning the
property and cabins
of the Indian towns and destroying their
supplies of corn and
provisions, the Kentuckians marched
triumphantly back to their
settlements, fully vindicated, and, as
time proved, having inflicted
a lesson which would preclude further
forays against their towns.
Second Siege of Fort Henry.
Having chastised the Kentuckians at Blue
Licks, the allies
began preparations for the deferred raid
upon Fort Henry. Cap-
tain Bradt and his company of rangers
and 200 Indians arrived
at Fort Henry early in September, and
began one of the most
spectacular and historic sieges of the
war. Fort Henry, at this
time, was in command of Col. Ebenezer Zane,
and was gar-
risoned by eighteen men, besides the
families of the same, mak-
ing in all some forty or fifty persons,
men, women and children.
Before the departure of Bradt and his
command from Wapa-
tomika, De Peyster, having been informed
of the ending of
hostilities, had despatched a courier
into the Ohio country bear-
ing instructions that further attacks
against the frontiersmen
should cease. The courier, however,
arrived too late to inter-
cept Bradt, who, appearing before Fort
Henry with the British
flag flying at the head of his troops,
demanded its surrender in
the name of the King of England. For two
days and two nights,
the siege of the stockade continued with
a fury perhaps never
equalled in Indian warfare. The
attackers stormed the fort
from every conceivable angle and with
reckless abandon. They
The Indian in Ohio. 407
attempted to set fire to the palisades,
and to shoot flaming ar-
rows and firebrands onto the roof, while
the unremitting crack
of musketry found every crack and
crevice in the walls of the
stockade. The little garrison, in which
the women played a
spectacular part, returned the fire with
a will, and met every
attempt on the part of the attackers
with equal courage and
effect. Despairing of success, the Bradt
party finally withdrew
and returned to their towns.
The siege of Fort Henry greatly aroused
the frontiersmen,
particularly the border settlers of
Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Through the joint action of Congress and
the Pennsylvania
council, a general campaign against the
hostile Indians was
planned. This plan proposed three
separate expeditions, one of
which was to operate from Fort Pitt,
under General Irvine,
against the Ohio tribes on the Sandusky.
However, plans for
these campaigns were countermanded by
General Washington
following a manifesto issued by General
Carleton, commander
of the British forces in America,
ordering a cessation of Indian
incursions against the Americans. But, although Carleton's
order put an end for the time being to
British instigation and
aid of Indian depredations, the Ohio
tribesmen, on their own
incentive, continued to molest the
border settlers of Pennsylvania.
Peace Council at Detroit.
In order to end these forays, Congress,
at the suggestion
of the Pennsylvania Council, in June,
1783, sent Major Ephraim
Douglas with a message to the Sandusky
towns. This message,
delivered by Douglas under a flag of
truce, was to the effect
that, since the war was terminated and
the British had ceded
to the United States "the back
country," together with all forts
therein, the Indians must discontinue
their hostile demonstra-
tions against the Americans, or be
exterminated by the Amer-
ican armies. Douglas and his companion,
Captain George Cully,
were hospitably received at Sandusky by
the Wyandots, under
Dunquod, the Half-King; the Delawares,
under Captain Pipe
and Wingenund, and by the Shawnee. From
Sandusky the emis-
saries and the Indians proceeded to
Detroit, where with De
Peyster's cooperation a great Indian
council was held. Besides
408 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
the Ohio tribes, there were present
representatives of the Indians
of the lake region as well as those from
farther west and north.
Douglas impressed upon the assembled
chiefs the fact that the
war was over, and the necessity that the
Indians conduct them-
selves accordingly, or suffer the
consequences.
V.
THE INDIAN AND THE OHIO COMMONWEALTH.
POST REVOLUTIONARY CAMPAIGNS.
White Settlers Invade Ohio Soil.
We now have traced the story of the
Indian in Ohio from
its historic beginning to the close of
the Revolutionary war.
For a period of nearly half a century we
have seen him, with
varying fortune, engaged in conflict
with European Colonists-
French or English. Sometimes he has
fought the one, and
again the other; but always the main
incentive to hostility has
been the preservation of his land, and
always the principal prov-
ocation thereto the determination of the
white man to preempt
this land. At times the main issue has
been clouded and lost
sight of in the presence of minor
considerations; for in the
campaigns conducted by the French,
English and Americans to
secure his favor, the Indian has found
it often difficult to deter-
mine which most threatened his domain.
Indian cupidity for
gain and desire to be aligned with the
winner are not lost sight
of; but in the end his resistance
resolved itself into an effort
to preserve his territory to himself.
We have witnessed, in the Nicolas
Conspiracy, the resent-
ment to threatened occupation by the
French; in the Conspiracy
of Pontiac, a similar protest against
English encroachment; and
in the later campaigns, a determination
to hold back the tide
of American settlement from east and
south of the Ohio. For
every blow struck at their title to the
Ohio country, the Indians
retaliated in kind.
Up to this point, the enmity of the Ohio
Indian has been
directed against the white man,
non-resident of his territory;
for through all the years of threatened
occupation of his land,
he has succeeded in retaining it intact.
From this time forward,
however, the situation is to assume a
very different aspect. The
long-repelled occupation of the Ohio
country by Americans
(409)
410 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
finally gains a foothold in Ohio, and
henceforth the stand of the
Indian against the enemy, is to be
mainly on his own soil.
With the Revolution at an end and
American Independence
achieved, the time had arrived when the
status of the great
country lying north and west of the Ohio
must be defined. This
Northwest territory, embracing what are
now the states of Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and
Wisconsin, and ceded to the
United States by England, was subject to
charter claims on the
part of the states of Virginia,
Massachusetts, Connecticut and
New York. By a provision of the Articles
of Confederation,
which united the several states as a
commonwealth, the north-
west territory was to be "disposed
of for the common benefit of
all the states, and the territory when
ceded (by the claimant
states) should be divided into new
states and admitted into the
Union as confederated states on equal
footing with the original
thirteen." One by one, though
reluctantly, the several states
waived their claims to the territory in
question, and by the first
of June, 1786, the Northwest territory
had become "the public
domain of the confederated states".
Indian Land Titles Assailed.
While these results were pending, and in
anticipation thereof,
Congress took action looking to the
extinguishment of the Indian
titles to the Northwest territory. A
conference was called to
meet at Fort Stanwix, N. Y., in October,
1784, at which a
treaty was entered into with the
Iroquois, in which the latter
waived all claim to the territory north
and west of the Ohio.
It will be recalled that the Iroquois,
since their great conquest
of the western country, had held a
proprietary claim thereto,
and had continued to look upon the
actual Indian inhabitants
of that country merely as tenants under
suffrage. But the Ohio
tribes took a different view of the
matter. They strongly main-
tained that the territory belonged to
them alone, and denied the
right of the Six Nations to make cession
of their lands to the
Americans. Thus, while the claims of the
several states were
in a fair way to be extinguished and the
Iroquois already had
waived proprietorship, the task of
securing clear title to the Ohio
The Indian in Ohio. 411
country was but half finished. For the
purpose of an attempted
settlement wtih these Ohio tribes, who
had not been represented
at Fort Stanwix and who were highly
angered at the proceed-
ings of that conference, a meeting was
called at Fort McIntosh,
in January, 1785. At this meeting a
treaty was effected with
the Delawares, Wyandots and Ottawas, in
which these tribes
agreed to confine themselves to certain
sections of central-north-
ern Ohio. A year later, at the mouth of
the Great Miami, the
Shawnee entered into a perfunctory
agreement by which they
were to occupy land mainly between the
Great Miami and the
Wabash rivers. Neither the Fort McIntosh
nor the Shawnee
treaty was effective, however, for the
tribesmen, on the ground
that no treaty was binding which was
made without the consent
of all the Ohio tribes, soon entirely
ignored or disregarded them.
Fort Harmar and Marietta.
However, Congress proceeded with plans
for surveying the
lands ceded by the Iroquois, and in
order to facilitate the work
a stockade, known as Fort Harmar, was
established late in 1785
at the mouth of the Muskingum river.
This fort was garrisoned
by Major John Doughty and a detachment
of troops, and under
its protection the work of laying off
the land now comprised
in southeastern Ohio was begun.
The famous Ordinance of 1787 was
the outcome of the
labored attempts to dispose of the
Northwest territory. It pro-
vided that the territory should be
temporarily considered as
one single district, subject to later
division. A governor was
to be appointed by Congress, who should
also be commander-in-
chief of the militia, and should have
power to establish tem-
porary counties and townships as the
Indian titles should be
extinguished. The territory was to have
a general assembly,
composed of a house of representatives
and a legislative council;
and when any one of the prospective
states, the boundaries of
which were designated, should contain
60,000 free inhabitants
it should be entitled to form a
permanent constitution and state
government.
412 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Closely following the passage of the ordinance of 1787, Congress took like action in regard to the so-called ordinance |
|
|
Muskingum river, and founded the city of Marietta. In the early days of July following, General Arthur St. Clair, who had been appointed by Congress as governor, arrived upon the scene, and Marietta became the capital city of the Northwest territory. The tide of western immigration had now assumed irresist- ible proportions and each succeeding month witnessed an in- creasing number of flat-boats laden with settlers en route to the Ohio country. Late in 1789 the town of Losantiville, at the site of Cincinnati, was laid out by John Filson and Robert Patterson, and in the ensuing summer a stockade was erected for its protection. In the following autumn the stockade was occupied by General Harmar, and given the name of Fort Wash- ington. At about the same time Governor St. Clair selected Losantiville as the seat of government for the Northwest terri- tory, changing its name to that of Cincinnati.
The Indian and the Immigrant. The matter of first concern to the governor of the North- west territory was the Indian situation, which once more had grown threatening. Settlement of the Ohio country was now |
The Indian in Ohio. 413
in active progress, and the great
highway of the emigrants en
route to their new homes was the Ohio
river. As far west as
Fort Harmar, at the Muskingum, the route
was comparatively
safe, but beyond this point the voyagers
were subjected to un-
warranted danger from the hostile
tribesmen. Centering their
attacks upon the river traffic, the
Indians would lie in wait for
the appearance of the river boats and
then fall upon them and
their occupants. In this way, from the
mouth of the Muskingum
to the falls of the Ohio, at Louisville,
many voyagers met with
disaster at the hands of the natives.
The force of 500 or 600
troops stationed in the Ohio posts was
entirely insufficient to
cope with this condition, and it was the
concern of Governor
St. Clair to meet the emergency.
The Indians completely ignored the
treaties made with them
at Fort McIntosh and Fort Finney, at the
mouth of the Miami,
and encouraged by the British at Detroit
and the white renegades
in British pay, resumed depredations
with their old-time ardor.
Their excuse for disregarding the
treaties mentioned was, as
we have seen, that the land belonged to
the tribes in severalty,
and that a treaty which was entered into
without the consent
and acceptance of all was necessarily
void. Alarmed at the rapid
progress of white settlement north of
the Ohio despite their
efforts to check it, the Ohio tribes, in
the summer of 1788, met
with representatives of the Six Nations
at Detroit. At this
meeting it developed that the Delawares
and Wyandots and
more northerly tribes were inclined to
leniency toward the set-
tlers along the Ohio, but that the
Shawnee, Miami and western
tribes were defiant in their attitude.
But aside from showing
the sentiment of the tribes, the Detroit
council accomplished
nothing.
General St. Clair, in his capacity as
governor and military
chief of the Territory, inaugurated his
program for Indian con-
trol by calling all the tribes to
assemble at Fort Harmar in the
autumn of 1788. One more attempt at
peaceful negotiations
was to be made before sterner measures
were adopted. As a
result of this conference two treaties
were ratified, in January,
1789, but like those which had preceded
them, they failed in
414 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
their purpose for the reason that the
signers of each represented
only a part of the tribes interested.
One of these treaties was
with the Iroquois, who confirmed the Ft.
Stanwix treaty ces-
sions; but the powerful Mohawk nation
and its chief, Joseph
Brant, who was aligned with the British,
did not participate.
A treaty was effected with the more
northerly tribes, including
the Wyandots, Delawares, Ottawas and
others, who agreed to ob-
serve the provisions of the Ft. McIntosh
treaty and to confine
themselves to the territory along the
lake, extending roughly from
the Maumee to the Cuyahoga, and
southward to the vicinity of
the headwaters of the Scioto.
The tribal situation at this point,
immediately preceding the
important Ohio campaigns, is clearly
reflected in the Ft. Harmar
treaty. The Iroquois nations, with the
exception of the Mo-
hawks and Brant, were favorable to the
Americans. Among
the tribes of the Ohio country, a split
had resulted in two dis-
tinct factions. Of these, the northern
tribes, centering in the
Wyandots, Delawares and Ottawas, and
including the more
northerly Chippewas, Pottawatomies and
Sacs from the Michigan
country, were inclined toward peace. The
western tribes, how-
ever, particularly the Shawnee, the
Miamis and kindred tribes
to the west and north, refused to be
reconciled to the Americans
and showed unmistakably that they were
aligned with the
British. The latter faction refused to
respond to General St.
Clair's call, and were not present at
the Fort Harmar conference.
Governor St. Clair's Indian Policy.
The hostile attitude of the western
tribes-on the Miami
and the Wabash - and their allegiance to
the British, is force-
fully shown in the next step taken by
Governor St. Clair. In
January, 1790, hoping to
conciliate these tribes, he prepared
and sent among them messages explaining
his aims and purposes.
These messages were delivered in person
by Pierre Gamelin,
a French trader favorably and widely
known to the Indians and
trusted by the whites. Gamelin
everywhere was received with
courtesy and hospitality but the tribal
chieftains refused to
commit themselves favorably in reply to
St. Clair's advances.
They unhesitatingly expressed their
distrust of the settlers and
The Indian in Ohio. 415
their motives and made no secret of
their subservience to
the British, whose commandant at Detroit
they recognized as
"father". Gamelin visited the
Shawnee at Miamitown, on the
headwaters of the Maumee, where their
chief, Blue Jacket,
clearly defined the attitude of the
western tribes by declaring
that the Shawnee were "in doubt as
to the sincerity of the Big
Knives, having clearly been deceived by
them; a certain proof
that they intend to encroach upon our
lands in their new settle-
ments on the Ohio". The Miamis and
their kindred tribes on
the Wabash-the Piankeshaws, Weas and the
Kickapoos--
gave similar response, and while
declaring themselves anxious
for peace made it plain that they could
not commit themselves
to action without first conferring with
all other tribes and with
the British commandant at Detroit.
Hoping to intimidate these hostile
tribes and to impress
upon them the folly of further
resistance, several "raids" were
made against them in the early days of
1789. One of these,
under General Harmar, proceeded from
Fort Washington (Cin-
cinnati) to the Paint creek towns, in
Ross county, and thence
down the Scioto; another was launched
from Vincennes, against
the Weas on the Wabash; but in both
instances the Indians fled
before the raiders could attack them.
General Harmar's Defeat.
We now turn our attention to the first
of three successive
campaigns against the Ohio tribes - two
of which were destined
to end in complete failure on the part
of the Americans. Acting
under orders of President Washington, an
army of 1500 men,
mostly Kentucky and Pennsylvania
militia, was assembled at
Fort Washington and, under command of
General Josiah Har-
mar, in the last days of September,
1790, took up the march
toward the Miami center at the
headwaters of the Maumee.
The army, aside from a few regular
troops, was a motley aggre-
gation of untrained men and boys, poorly
equipped and
provisioned, and totally unfit for the
arduous duties they had
assumed.
On the 17th of October, after a weary
march during which
disorder, desertion and threatened
mutiny were in evidence, the
416
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
army reached the principal Miami towns,
at the junction of the
St. Marys and St. Joseph rivers. The
Indians, apprised of their
approach, had deserted and were nowhere
to be seen. Harmar's
men, in default of an encounter, burned
the cabins and wigwams
and destroyed several thousand bushels
of corn, while the sol-
diers appropriated what plunder there
was to be had. On Octo-
ber 20,
Colonel John Hardin, with a force of
militia and regu-
lars, encountered a force of about 100
warriors and in the battle
which followed was badly defeated, his
militia being unmanage-
able and no match for the Indians.
Discouraged at the failure of the
campaign, due to the lack
of morale and training of his men, General
Harmar began the
return march to Fort Washington; but
after proceeding a few
miles he decided upon an attempt to
retrieve the defeat, and
ordered Major John Wyllys and Colonel
Hardin with a force
of 400 regulars and picked militia to
return to the scene of
their reverse and surprise and defeat
the Indians. The latter,
in considerable numbers, were found at
the site of the former
engagement; but the militia,
unmanageable and heedless of com-
mands, allowed themselves to be
ambushed, while the regulars,
going to their rescue, met a similar
fate. General Harmar had
lost more than 200 killed and
wounded, and the discomfited and
defeated army made its way sullenly and
dejectedly back to Fort
Washington.
The Indians, in their resistance to the
Harmar campaign,
were led by the Miami chief, Little
Turtle. The latter was
greatly assisted by his adopted son,
William Wells, a white man
whom he had taken captive while still a
young boy, from his
home in Kentucky. Wells later married
Sweet Breeze, the
daughter of the great Miami chief.
St. Clair's Campaign.
As a result of the humiliating defeat of
General Harmar's
expedition, the Ohio Indians were
greatly emboldened, while
the settlers, Congress and the President
were correspondingly
depressed. The latter situation was due
not alone to the decisive
and continued successes of the Indians,
but as well to the delicate
position in which the government found
itself involved as a
The Indian in Ohio. 417
result of the slightly-veiled collusion
therein by the British in
Canada. The new Republic, not yet
recovered from the debilitat-
ing effects of the Revolutionary
struggle, was in no position
to bring upon itself another conflict
with the British; yet there
was no alternative to a speedy and
successful domination of
the Indian menace.
The necessity for action was made more
imperative when,
during the very first week of 1791, a
party of Delaware and
Wyandot Indians attacked the Big Bottom
settlement, thirty
miles above Marietta on the Muskingum,
and wantonly murdered
fourteen of the inhabitants. Big Bottom,
which was a branch
settlement from Marietta, was occupied
at the time by thirty-six
persons. Only two of the number made
their escape, those who
were not killed outright being taken
captive. To hide the crime
the Indians set fire to the cabins, and,
after placing the bodies
of their victims therein, to the
stockade, in process of building.
Despite the seriousness of the
situation, President Wash-
ington was not dismayed. A gigantic
thrust on a scale and
under conditions to insure its success
was planned. As a
preliminary action to the proposed
expedition, General Charles
Scot, in May, led a force of volunteers
against the Weas on
the Wabash, which succeeded in
destroying several of their
towns, killed many Indians and destroyed
the newly planted
cornfields. In July, Colonel James
Williamson, who had accom-
panied General Scot, proceeded from Fort
Washington with 500
Kentuckians against the Miami and
Kickapoo towns on Eel river,
with similar results. These American
successes only served to
arouse the fury of the Ohio tribes and
the Shawnee, under Blue
Jacket, the Miamis, led by Little
Turtle, and the Delawares, with
their chief, Buckongahelas, formed an
alliance for mutual of-
fense and defense. They were aided and
advised by the rene-
gades, Simon Girty, McKee and Elliott of
the British Indian
department, which hastened to supply the
Indians with arms and
ammunition for the forthcoming contest.
Meantime, General St. Clair was
preparing for his "irresist-
ible" invasion, to be commanded by
himself. The objective
of the expedition was to be the Miami
towns on the Maumee,
against which General Harmar had
unsuccessfully led his army.
Vol. XXVII-27.
418
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
By late September St. Clair's army,
consisting of 2300 militia
and regulars, had arrived at Fort
Hamilton, at the site of the
present city of Hamilton, Butler county.
The fort had been
erected by an advance detachment as a
part of the plan for
a chain of forts at intervals between
the Ohio river and
Lake Erie.
General St. Clair's army, hastily
recruited, was a repetition
of the unfitness and inefficiency of
that of General Harmar, and
the result of his carefully planned
expedition was to be fully
as disastrous. St. Clair himself was in
ill health, as was Gen-
eral Richard Butler, his second in
command. In addition to
these unpropitious facts -the
commander in ill health, the men
untrained, dissipated and disorderly -
the supplies and equip-
ment of the army were entirely
inadequate, particularly in the
matter of food and clothing. But the
army pushed forward
from Fort Hamilton, and by the middle of
October arrived at
a point six miles south of Greenville,
where the second of the
chain of forts - Fort Jefferson - was
erected. On November
3rd the army, now reduced by sickness,
deaths and desertions
to a scant 1400 men, went into camp on
the east fork of the
Wabash, in Mercer county.
The following morning, their presence
all unsuspected by
St. Clair, the Indian hordes burst from
the surrounding forest
and charged the camp, stampeding the
militia and completely
demoralizing the army. The officers were
utterly unable to
bring order out of the chaotic
confusion, and the attack be-
came a slaughter. The Indians, apprised
of every movement of
St. Clair's army, had deliberately
effected an ambuscade and
within a few hours' time had completely
defeated the expedition.
General St. Clair narrowly escaped
death, several bullets passing
through his clothing. General Butler
fell mortally wounded. St.
Clair, in order to save the remnant of
his force, managed to
effect a retreat, the fleeing soldiers
escaping pursuit only be-
cause the great amount of booty left on
the scene of battle was
a greater inducement to the Indians.
This plunder consisted
of artillery, arms and ammunition;
clothing, commissary sup-
plies and wagons; 200 tents, 300
horses and 130 beef cattle.
General St. Clair's loss exceeded 600
officers and men, while the
The Indian in Ohio. 419
Indian loss, out of perhaps 1200 warriors participating, has been
placed at 150 dead.
Little Turtle, at the head of his Miami
warriors, was con-
spicuous in the battle. Simon Girty, at
the head of the Wyan-
dots, played a prominent part while Blue
Jacket, Buckongahelas
and other prominent chiefs aided in the
encounter. In addition,
there was present the famous Mohawk
chief, Brant, with fifty
warriors of that nation, besides a
number of Canadians and half-
breeds. In this encounter we obtain a
first glimpse of the great
Tecumseh, who at the time was a young
man of 23 years of
age. Tecumseh had been selected by the
leaders of the Indian
alliance to act as the head of a party
of spies, whose duty it
was to observe and report the movements
and progress of St.
Clair's army. So well did Tecumseh carry
this out that Little
Turtle and his aides were at all times
aware of St. Clair's
whereabouts, with the result as seen in
his disastrous defeat.
Indian Successes Depress Settlers.
The days which followed the humiliating
defeat of St.
Clair's army- the
second disastrous reverse for American arms
on Ohio soil within as many years-were
filled with gloomy
foreboding to the success of the
prospective state of Ohio. The
settlers who were struggling for a
foothold along the Ohio, par-
ticularly on the Muskingum and the
Miami, were terror-stricken
at the audacity and barbarity of the
Indian attacks, and many
of them sought refuge in the stockades.
Moreover, the national
government found itself in a trying
situation, which was made
the more difficult owing to a lack of
confidence which had de-
veloped in many quarters. The increasing insolence of the
British in Canada, who were now openly
abetting the hostility
of the Indians against the settlers; the
no less alarming hostility
of the Spanish authorities at the south,
who in turn were Inciting
the southern Indians to depredations and
outrages, were added
causes for anxiety to Washington and the
government.
But there was no faltering on the part
of the president, who
upon the resignation in April, 1792, of General
St. Clair as
military commander, appointed as his
successor General "Mad"
Anthony Wayne, of revolutionary fame.
Rufus Putnam, sur-
420 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
veyor-general of the Northwest Territory
and one of the leaders
of the Ohio company settlement, was
appointed to serve under
General Wayne, and was given the title
of brigadier general.
General Wayne was instructed to proceed
with the work of rais-
ing an army for another invasion of the
Indian country, a task
which he carried out quietly but most
thoroughly.
In the meantime, during the year 1792 and well into
1793,
every effort was made to pacify the
hostile tribesmen and to
avert further bloodshed. Several
messengers sent among the
Ohio and the Wabash tribes were murdered
by the Indians.
General Putnam, accompanied by the
Moravian missionary,
Heckewelder, proceeded to Fort Knox,
where they conferred
with the Wabash and Illinois tribes.
They were hospitably re-
ceived, but accomplished little. Other
councils were held with
the Iroquois, at Philadelphia; with the
western tribes at Detroit,
Sandusky, on the Miami, and elsewhere;
but all efforts to ap-
pease the tribesmen were futile. The
Ohio country remained
the unsurmountable obstacle to a
peaceful agreement, for while
the Indians were as determined as ever
that the Ohio river
should be the boundary between their
country and that of the
white settlers, the latter were just as
determined to possess
themselves of the country to the north
and west of the Ohio.
The deadlock thus existing could be
broken only by force of
arms, and both sides hastened to prepare
for the inevitable
conflict.
General Wayne Called to Command.
General Wayne, profiting by the
experiences of Harmar
and St. Clair, well knew that no
haphazard, inefficient and poorly
equipped army could successfully carry
out the purpose for
which his expedition was created. During
the summer of 1792,
at Pittsburg, he organized an army of
2500 men who were
divided into companies of cavalry,
infantry and artillery. The
fall and winter were spent in drilling
and conditioning the men,
who in the following April were
transported down the Ohio to
Cincinnati, where until October they
were further carefully
trained and disciplined. In October, all
being in readiness for
the invasion, Wayne's army began its
northward march toward
The Indian in Ohio. 421 the scenes where were to be enacted some of the most important events in the annals of the Ohio country. Proceeding by the way of Fort Hamilton the invading army met with its first resistance near Fort St. Clair, at the |
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|
and at the site of the city of Greenville, Darke county, he erected Fort Greenville, and went into winter quarters. The winter of 1793-4 was spent in carefully training the soldiers in the art of Indian warfare, every possible contingency of which was impressed upon them. As a measure insuring against sur- prise attacks, a corps of scouts, runners and spies was organized, the latter, seven in number, being led by William Wells, the son-in-law of Chief Little Turtle. Wells, a Kentuckian, taken captive when a boy by Little Turtle, had served the latter most ably in the preceding campaigns under Harmar and St. Clair, but later had returned to his people in Kentucky. His sym- pathies now being with the people of his own race, he had entered the service of General Wayne, whom he served most faithfully throughout the campaign. Christmas day of 1795 was celebrated in a strange manner by a part at least of the army at Fort Greenville. General Wayne despatched a detachment under Captain Alexander Gibson to take possession of and occupy the scene of St. Clair's defeat. There the soldiers must have received a very forceful reminder |
422 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
of what might await them should the
expedition prove a failure.
Hundreds of skulls and skeletons of St.
Clair's men still littered
the ground despite the fact that a
detachment under Colonel
James Wilkinson had been sent, following
the massacre, to inter
the dead. The field of battle was
occupied by the troops from
Wayne's army and a stockade, named Fort
Recovery, was
erected thereon.
Forts Recovery and Defiance.
Upon this fort and its garrison of 150 men under Major
William McMahon, Little Turtle and his
warriors, to the num-
ber of more than one thousand, made a
spirited attack in June,
1794. For two days they besieged the
little stockade with all
their pent-up fury, but under General
Wayne's careful prepara-
tion the site, which had yielded them so
decisive a victory against
St. Clair's expedition, withstood their
every effort at capture.
The fort indeed had justified its
name-Ft. Recovery. The
defending garrison sustained a loss of 22 men killed and
about
30 wounded. The loss of the Indians was
much greater, and
the reverse not only perceptibly
dampened their fighting spirit
but served to check the ardor of the
British, who by this time
were actively aiding the tribesmen with
arms, ammunition and
men. Simon Girty, attached to the
British Indian agency, was
conspicuous among the warriors in their
attack on Fort Recov-
ery, the last battle against the
Americans in which he took an
active part. Alexander McKee, in charge
of the British agency
at the head of the falls of the Maumee,
at the site of the modern
town of Perrysburg, was distributing
arms and provisions to
the Indians; while nearby, at the foot
of the rapids, on the north
side of the river, the British from
Canada had erected a strong-
hold which they named Fort Miami. This
fort, which repre-
sented "an encroachment of nearly
forty miles upon the Amer-
ican soil," was garrisoned by three
companies of British sol-
diers. Thus it is seen that General
Wayne's expedition faced
the menace not only of the tribesmen but
of the British as well.
Near the end of July Wayne's legion of
regulars was joined
by 1600 mounted Kentucky militia, under
General Charles Scott,
and the long-deferred forward movement
against the Indians
was begun. From Fort Greenville, the
army moved slowly for-
The Indian in Ohio. 423
ward, virtually hewing its way through
the forests, constructing
roads across the swamp lands or
improvising bridges across the
streams. On August 8th they reached the
Maumee at the mouth
of the Auglaize, at which highly
important and strategic point
General Wayne proceeded to erect Fort
Defiance. The army now
had arrived on the threshold of the
populous Maumee Indian
country, for from this point northeast
to Lake Erie, the banks
of the Maumee were dotted almost
continuously with Indian
camps and towns. In Wayne's own words,
the region was "the
grand emporium of the hostile Indians of
the west". This rich
valley, famed for its natural beauty and
fertile soil, was at the
time of Wayne's expedition a veritable
garden-spot in the
wilderness. Here the Indians had great
fields of corn, which
extended for miles along the Auglaize
and the Maumee, attest-
ing to the prosperity of the tribes who
were so fortunate as to
occupy so favored a spot. From this
vantage point at Fort
Defiance, Wayne invited the tribesmen to
cease hostilities and
enter into negotiations looking to the
resumption of friendly
relations; but the Indians, confident to
the point of arrogance,
and supported by the British, were
evasive and unresponsive.
Having done all in his power to avert
the now inevitable con-
flict, Wayne and his army advanced from
Fort Defiance and on
the 18th of August reached a point 40
miles farther down the
Maumee, and within a few miles of the
British Fort Miami.
Here, on the north side of the river, he
erected a stockade as
a depot for supplies, which he named
Fort Deposit. Finding
the Indians still defiant, Wayne lost no
further time, but push-
ing rapidly forward arrived on August
20th at a place known
as Fallen Timbers, from the fact that
the ground was strewn
with trees which had been uprooted and
scattered by a tornado
a few years previously.
Battle of Fallen Timbers.
Here, in close proximity to the
encampment of the Indians
and their Canadian allies, and almost
under the guns of the
British fort, General Wayne moved his
army into line, and the
greatest battle of Ohio Indian warfare
was begun. The Indians,
in full force, and numbering perhaps
2,000 warriors, were
424
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
drawn into three lines, extending for
about two miles from and
at right angles to the river. The
densely littered ground, with
its covering of fallen trees, was
exactly suited to the Indian mode
of fighting; but General Wayne had
learned the arts of border
warfare, and his men, perfectly trained
and disciplined, were
the equals of the Indians at their own
game. As was their wont,
the Indians began the battle with a
heavy fusillade of firing, and
then followed with an attempt to turn
the flank of the attackers.
But Wayne's plan of attack was so
carefully calculated that the
Indians quickly found themselves
smothered by the fierceness of
his charge and being completely
outnumbered, took refuge in
flight. They were pursued for several
miles by a part of Wayne's
command, less than one-half their own
number. The stampeded
Indians, in their flight, had expected
to take shelter in the British
fort, but in the moment of their
misfortune they found its gates
closed to them, and as an alternative
fled precipitately into the
surrounding forest, where they scattered
and disappeared.
In the battle of Fallen Timbers the
Americans lost 33 men
killed and 100 wounded. The Indian
losses are unknown, but
the field of battle was strewn with
their dead. The number of
the latter participating has been
estimated at from 1,400 to 2,000
Indians, with an unknown number of
British Rangers and
Canadian volunteers. Of the tribes
participating, the Delawares
numbered about 500 warriors; the Shawnee
150; Wyandots 300;
Ottawas 250; and Miamis 200, beside small
bands and scatter-
ing warriors from other tribes. Previous
to the battle the Miami
chief, Little Turtle, realizing the
hopelessness of success for his
people, had counselled peace rather than
the risk of a battle.
The Indians, he declared, could not
expect to emerge victors
from a contest with General Wayne, whom
he characterized as
"the chief who never sleeps."
But Little Turtle's judgment was
overruled by his fellow chiefs,
particularly by Blue Jacket, the
Shawnee, who is supposed to have been
chief in command at
the battle which followed.
As a finale to his unqualified victory,
Wayne, disregarding
the threats of the British commander of
Fort Miami, laid waste
the surrounding country, burned the
Indian towns and British
trading posts and destroyed the
cornfields of the Indians. He
The Indian in Ohio. 425
then leisurely retraced his march, by
way of Fort Defiance, which
was strenghtened and garrisoned; thence
to the site of the
present city of Fort Wayne, Indiana,
where Fort Wayne was
erected; and thence back to Fort
Greenville, where the army
arrived on November 2, 1796. Here
General Wayne decided
to rest and await developments.
The Greenville Treaty.
The calamitous defeat of the
confederated tribes at Fallen
Timbers and the destruction of their
towns and cornfields which
followed, left them in much the same
state of confusion as that
attending a swarm of bees driven from
its hive and the hive
destroyed. Consequently it was some time
before the tribesmen
were able to "find" themselves
and to assume something like
orderly intercourse and communication
with one another. When
the confusion had somewhat abated,
sentiment was found to
be divided as to the course to be
pursued in repairing their
damaged fortune. Some of the tribes, as
the Wyandots and
the Miamis and their respective chiefs,
were in favor of seeking
peace with General Wayne and his
American army. Others,
however, favored a continuation of the
war, and, being assured
of the further support of the British,
believed they could yet
dislodge Wayne from his stronghold and
force the Americans
back across the Ohio river. Chief Blue
Jacket, of the Shawnee,
encouraged by the British governor of
Canada and the Mohawk
chief, Brant, was insistent on further
hostilities.
But General Wayne, resting on his
laurels at Fort Green-
ville, early saw indications that the
counsel of the peace faction
was to prevail. The Wyandots from the
Sandusky, the first to
openly ask for peace, were followed
shortly by the Ottawas,
Miamis, and the Chippewas, Pottawatomies
and Sacs from the
Michigan country. Meanwhile, General
Wayne had sent forth
the intelligence among the tribesmen
that he was expecting to
hear from them, and the response was
gratifying in the extreme.
By the end of 1794 the desire for peace
had reached a point
where General Wayne felt justified in
entering into negotiations
with the tribes. In January, 1795, he
entered upon preliminary
negotiations with those already
assembled at Greenville, which
426 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. provided for a grand conference in June for the purpose of con- cluding a treaty between all the hostile tribes and the Americans. On June 15, 1795, the chiefs and representatives of the war- ring tribes having assembled at Greenville, the great council was formally opened. For many days the ceremonies incident to In- |
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dian negotiations were carried on. The Indian orators, in their turns, set forth their positions and aired their grievances with all the ardor and eloquence of their race. They cited evidences of bad faith on the part of the Americans in former treaties and indicated their doubts as to the good intentions of their con- querors in the pending one; lamented the encroachments of the |
The Indian in Ohio. 427
whites upon their territory, and the
consequent unfavorable out-
look for their future welfare; in short,
while realizing the hope-
lessness of their position as the
inevitable recipients of a bad
bargain, they strove by every diplomatic
means to save to them-
selves as much as possible from the
wreckage of defeat.
General Wayne, surrounded by his aides
and interpreters,
listened with patience and forbearance,
and met each argument
as it was presented. Interspersed
between the routine proceed-
ings or as a part of them, were the
usual festivities - feasting,
smoking, and the exchange of wampum,
beads and belts. Finally,
after more than six weeks' duration, the
council culminated in
an agreement as to the proposed treaty
of peace, and among
much smoking of the peace-pipe, or
calumet, and attendant
formalities, the ninety-odd chiefs and
representatives of the
Indians affixed their signatures to the
document, after which
General Wayne, his aides and
interpreters as representatives of
the Government, did likewise.
The Indian tribes represented at the
council, and their
respective numbers, were as follows:
Delawares, 381; Pottawa-
tomies, 240; Wyandots, 180; Shawnee,
143; Miamis, including
Eel Rivers, 73; Ottawas, 45; and
Chippewas, Weas, Piankeshaws,
Kickapoos and Kaskaskias, 68; a total of
1,130. Among the
principal chiefs taking an active part
in the council, and whose
names appear on the treaty documents,
were Little Turtle, of
the Miamis, Blue Jacket of the Shawnee;
Tarhe, (The Crane,)
of the Wyandots; and Buckongahelas, of
the Delawares.
Among the more renowned signers for the
Americans were,
besides General Wayne, William Henry
Harrison, of later fame;
William Wells, the son-in-law of Little
Turtle, a white captive
from Kentucky; and Isaac Zane.
Relics of Wayne's Campaign.
In the Museum Building of the Ohio State
Archaeological
and Historical Society the visitor may
look upon some interesting
and cherished relics of the famous
Greenville Treaty, by which
"Indian dominance of the Northwest
Territory was forever
ended, and its soil thrown open to the
advance of civilization".
These relics consist of a photographic
copy of the famous treaty
428 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
itself -showing the
preamble, and the signatures of the rep-
resentatives of both the whites and the
Indians. The latter
make an interesting study, the name of
each signer being written
out in its English form and followed by
the rude totem or clan
symbol of the signer. Of even greater
interest, perhaps, is the
famous Calumet or peace-pipe, smoked by
General Wayne and
the Indian chiefs in solemn witness of
the vow to stand by the
provisions of the treaty. To the Indian,
the calumet ceremony
was the equivalent of the legal oath or
affirmation of the white
man, and represented the most solemn vow
of which the red
man could conceive. Aside from these
reminders of the great
treaty, there are shown personal
mementos of General Wayne,
among them his spurs and gold
watch-chain, worn and used dur-
ing the memorable campaign.. The calumet
and other relics
were given by General Wayne upon his
return to Pennsylvania
and shortly before his death, in 1796,
to Captain Ezra Kendall,
his aide, from whom they have been
handed down as family
heirlooms to his descendant, Alva
Kendall Overturf, of
Columbus.
The Greenville Treaty had for its
purpose "to put an end
to a destructive war, to settle all
controversies and to restore
harmony and friendly intercourse between
the United States
and the Indian tribes." It provided
for the cessation of hos-
tilities, the exchange of prisoners,
establishment of boundary
lines, immediate delivery to the
tribesmen of goods to the value
of $20,000 and the annual payment of $9,500 in goods there-
after. The boundary line, known as the
Greenville treaty line,
as defined, is shown on the accompanying
map.
The Treaty of Greenville stands as one
of the most remark-
able agreements entered into between the
native Indian race and
the European settlers. Aside from the
important results above
referred to, it served greatly to
diminish the British antipathy
toward the Americans, and to clear the
western country of In-
dian warfare for more than fifteen
years. As for the Indians
who signed the document, it is greatly
to their credit that few
or none of them failed to observe its
provisions.
The Indian in Ohio. 429
THE WAR OF 1812.
Tecumseh, the Shawnee.
It has beer remarked that the history of
a people is the
history of its great men. This is
particularly true of the story
of the Indian race in Ohio, and that
part of it subsequent to
the treaty of Greenville we shall permit
to center in the persons
of three great leaders - Tecumseh,
the Shawnee; his brother the
Prophet, and Tarhe, chief of the
Wyandots. Around this trium-
virate of influential leaders,
representative of the best and
greatest of the native race, center the
principal events of the
ultimate period of Indian history in the
state - the period which
embraced the War of 1812, and witnessed
the final struggle of
the Red Man to withstand the
irresistible wave of white settle-
ment in his territory.
Following the Treaty of Greenville, as
we have seen, the
Ohio tribes and their chieftains, almost
with one accord, sub-
mitted to the inevitable and
acknowledged the supremacy of
the Americans. But there was one among
them who had refused
to attend the peace councils and who
consequently was not en-
rolled with his fellow tribesmen upon
the treaty document which
resulted therefrom. This man was the
great Tecumseh, chief
of the Shawnee, who is to hold the stage
in the role of hero,
or as heavy villain, according to the
view of the spectator, dur-
ing the last act of the Ohio Indian
drama.
Up to this point we have had but casual
glimpses of the
man who was to become the recognized
greatest leader of the
Ohio Indians if not of his race. Tecumseh first appears
prominently in history at the defeat of
St. Clair's army, where
we have seen him acting as scout for the
Indian allies. At the
battle of Fallen Timbers we learn that
his abiltiy was rapidly
becoming recognized when we find him
leading a band of his
own tribe into the thickest of the
fight. And now, before pro-
ceeding to consider his subsequent
career, it is desrable that we
iinquire as to the facts and events of
the earlier life of Tecumseh,
and incidentally learn something of
another illustrious member
of his family-Elskwatawa, the Shawnee
Prophet.
430 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
In recounting the expedition of George
Rogers Clark against
the Shawnee towns on the Little Miami
and the Mad Rivers,
in 1780, we witnessed the destruction of
the Shawnee capital,
Piqua, a few miles south of the present
city of Springfield, in
Clark county. Here, in the year 1768 was
born Tecumseh, and
a few years later, probably at the same
place, his brother
Elskwatawa. Tecumseh's father,
Puckshenoah, a chieftain of
note, was killed at the battle of Point
Pleasant, and the youthful
Tecumseh was placed in the keeping of an
older brother,
Cheseekau. The latter was subsequently
killed in a battle with
southern tribes, in which the Shawnee
were engaged; but in
the meantime the future great chieftain
had been carefully
trained to fill the part that was to be
his.
We have already noted the attitude of
Tecumseh toward
the Treaty of Greenville, which he
considered as an agreement
forced upon his people and as without
justice to the Indians'
interests. In this frame of mind he
continued until the time of
his death to denounce it and to
influence others of his people
to disregard its provisions. Needless to
add, his views were
shared by his brother, the Prophet.
After General Wayne's victory at Fallen
Timbers the Shaw-
nee left their Miami settlements and
took up their residence
about the headwaters of the Auglaize,
and upon the White river,
in Indiana. In the early years of the
Nineteenth century, the
scattered bands began to congregate at
the site of Greenville,
where General Wayne had effected his
notable treaty in 1795.
From this point, operating in
conjunction but along entirely dif-
ferent lines, the gifted brothers
inaugurated a campaign which
in spectacular interest excels anything
in Ohio Indian annals.
Briefly, the joint plan of action
contemplated that while the
Prophet, through the medium of a
religious mania should en-
gender the desired sentiment among the
Ohio and adjacent tribes,
Tecumseh should endeavor, by personal
solicitation, to bring
the nations to the south and west into a
proposed offensive
alliance. Through this federation of
tribes the brothers hoped
to abrogate the treaty of Greenville and
to effect the repulse of
the Americans from the Ohio country.
The Indian in Ohio. 431
Elskwatawa, the Prophet.
It was at this point that the Prophet,
whose original name
was Laulewasikau, or "Loud
Voice", assumed the name of
Elskwatawa, the "Open Door",
as significant of his mission as
a means of restitution of his people. In
order to inaugurate
his religious doctrines and to establish
his sacred character and
supernatural claims, he fell into a
trance so closely simulating
death that it was only when the would-be
mourners had assem-
bled for the funeral that the supposed
corpse returned to life.
On emerging from his trance, the Prophet
explained to his peo-
ple that he had visited the Spirit
World, where he had been
permitted to "lift the veil of the
past and the future" and that
as a result he returned to them bearing
revelations from the
Master of Life. The burden of the
Prophet's message was that
the misfortunes of his people were the
result of certain practices
of witchcraft and medicine juggleries
among the tribes, and of
too close association with the
pale-faced invaders. The result
of his preachings against the supposed
practice of witchcraft,
we shall observe shortly in the pathetic
death of Leatherlips.
Elskwatawa's impeachment of white
influence upon the
Indian tribes was in many respects of
peculiar force and truth-
fulness. He condemned the firewater of
the whites as "poison
and accursed", and to its use he
rightly attributed much of the
misfortune which had befallen the
tribesmen. He earnestly ex-
horted his followers to define sharply
the line between the two
races, patricularly with respect to the
intermarriage of Indian
women with white men. Everything adapted
from the white
man, - his dress,
implements, and even his customs - must be
strictly discarded, and the tribes must
return to the ways of
their fathers. To those who would so do,
the Prophet promised
a return to divine favor and a
restitution of former happiness
and prosperity; but for those who
continued to pattern after
the white man, he could promise nothing
better than continued
misery and punishment after death.
The new religion found many adherents,
and the Prophet
continued to dream and receive revelations. The uncanny
knowledge of the white man, so evident
in the Prophet's meth-
ods, is strikingly shown by his
prediction of an eclipse of the
432 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
sun, which occurred in the summer of
1806. Clearly the Prophet
had taken advantage of advance notice of
the event, secured
from some white person, and that he
turned the information to
good account, is shown by the acclaim
with which he was hailed
as the true prophet and messenger of the
Master of Life, fol-
lowing so evident a verification of
claims to supernatural powers.
Under the impetus of this seeming
miracle, and others equally
spectacular, the new religion spread
rapidly, reaching the tribes
of the north, west and south. Its
teachings, or rather the ex-
citement engendered thereby was later
largely responsible for
the so-called Creek war of 1813, which
we have mentioned
previously; and it was at this point
that Tecumseh, seeing the
advantages offered by the prevailing
enthusiasm and excitement
among the tribesmen, availed himself of
the opportunity for
effecting his ambitious scheme of
federation.
In the meantime, the State of Ohio, from
its capital at
Chillicothe, was keeping close watch
upon the "inscrutable
ceremonies, half religious, half
martial", which were being car-
ried out at Greenville. Suspicion as to
their real intent resulted
in Tecumseh, Blue Jacket and others
prominent in the movement
being summoned to Chillicothe where, in
1807, they were called
upon to explain their position.
Tecumseh, in a speech of sur-
passing eloquence, disclaimed any
hostile significance for the
Greenville revival, and succeeded in
allaying the uneasiness
which was appearing among the settlers.
The following year,
(1808) Tecumseh and the Prophet removed
their headquarters
from Greenville to the Tippecanoe river,
in Indiana, where their
settlement, at the junction of that
stream with the Wabash, was
known as Prophet's town.
Tragic Death of Leatherlips.
We have referred to Leatherlips, a chief
of the Wyandots,
as one of the principal characters
identified in the history of
Indian activities during the period of
the second war with Eng-
land. In the pages immediately
preceding, in which are dis-
cussed the religious teachings of the
Shawnee Prophet, we learn
that among certain practices of the
tribesmen which they tabooed
was that of witchcraft. It is not
strange that the Indian, even
The Indian in Ohio. 433
so intelligent a representative of the race as was the Prophet, should have believed in the existence of this imaginary power or influence. Witchcraft and the supernatural were a very part of the Indian mind, as they are of any uncivilized people; and it had not been so long since a similar belief had held sway among the New England Colonists. At any rate, we find the edict of the Prophet against the practice of witchcraft being carried out as vigorously as in the days of Roger Williams; and that it "covered a multitude of sins" and was used politically to further the plans of the Prophet and Tecumseh, is very evident. The Ohio Wyandots, and particularly their chieftains, Tarhe and Leatherlips, did not look with favor upon the Shawnee en- terprise. They had finished once and for all with intrigue against the settlers, and had so recorded themselves in the treaty of Greenville Leatherlips especially was outspoken in his opposi- tion, and as a result incurred the particular enmity of the Shaw- nee leaders. Accordingly, it was decreed that his adverse in- fluence must be removed, and to accomplish this, a charge of witchcraft was placed against him. On the first day of June 1810, a band of Wyandot warriors, who had been bribed to the traitorous act, arrived at the camp of Leatherlips, at the time temporarily located about twelve miles north of Columbus. on the Scioto river. After taking the aged chief captive and |
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434 Ohio Arch and Hist.
Society Publications.
Leatherlips was prominent at the Treaty
of Greenville,
where he signed the treaty in behalf of
his tribe. His honorable
character and friendship for the whites
made him one of the
most popular and trusted of his race.
The spot where Leatherlips was killed is
located a short
distance north of the town of Dublin,
Franklin county, on the
east bank of the Scioto river. It is
marked by an appropriate
monument, erected in 1888 by the Wyandot
Club of Columbus.
Tecumseh's Proposed Confederacy.
At Prophet's Town, at the junction of
the Tippecanoe and
Wabash rivers, the religious
"outbreak" reached its culmination;
but the element of hostility and danger
to the settlers had
reached such menacing proportions that
in August, 181O, Te-
cumseh and 300 of his warriors were
called by Governor Harri-
son of Indiana to Vincennes to explain
their actions. Tecumseh's
wonderful oratory succeeded only in part
in allaying suspicion,
and the feeling persisted, on the part
both of the Indians and
the whites, that hostilities were
imminent. While Tecumseh
again disavowed any purpose of making
war upon the United
States, he was outspoken and unequivocal
as to his position.
This position Tecumseh defined by openly
admitting that it was
his purpose to effect a gigantic
confederacy which should include
every tribe and nation on the continent,
if such were possible.
The object of this confederacy, he
declared, was to put a stop
to the encroachment of the whites upon
the territory north and
west of the Ohio river, which he stoutly
maintained was the
natural and proper boundary line between
the territory of the
two races, and the only boundary which
he would consent to
acknowledge. Tecumseh once more presented
the grievances
of his people, and justified his course
by declaring that the policy
of the United States in purchasing land
from the separate tribes
was "a mighty water, ready to
overflow his people", and that
the confederacy which he was planning
had for its purpose the
prevntion of the sale of land by
individual tribes without the
consent of all, which, he believed would
be the dam that would
resist the mighty flood of waters
represented by white encroach-
ment. The Americans, he declared, had
driven the Indians from
The Indian in Ohio. 435
the sea and now were threatening to push
them into the lakes;
and although he should prefer to enlist
his warriors on the side
of the Americans in the forthcoming war
with England, he
could not do so unless the Ohio river
should be fixed upon as
the boundary line between the Indian and
the white countries.
General Harrison in reply informed
Tecumseh that it was very
unlikely that the President, from whom
such a decision must
come, would consent to such a
concession. Apparently the two
great leaders, Tecumseh and General
Wayne, parted "more in
sorrow than in anger", for the
Shawnee chieftain readily
promised the governor that in event of
hostilities he would en-
deavor to restrain his warriors from
cruelty toward women and
children and torture of prisoners. Thus
the humane trait for
which Tecumseh is justly so renowned,
was displayed even in
the great bitterness which he felt
toward the whites at this tme.
Following his conference with General
Harrison, Tecumseh
lost no time in his efforts to perfect
the fabric of his con-
federacy. True to his name, the Indian
translation of which
signified "one who passes across
intervening space, from one
point to another", as a meteor, or
shooting star, he began a
series of most remarkable and speedy
journeys, which took him
among the tribes from the headwaters of
the Mississippi river
to the Gulf of Mexico and the
southeastern Atlantic seaboard.
In Florida he visited and incited the
Seminoles, and then turned
his attention to the Creeks in Alabama.
The result of the latter
visit was manifested in the bloody Creek
war of 1813, of which
we have spoken previously.
The Battle of Tippecanoe.
While Tecumseh was engaged in this
campaign of amal-
gamation, affairs around the Tippecanoe
headquarters, where
he felt that his plans had been safely
matured, were going badly.
The settlers on the Ohio and Indiana
border, frightened at the
aspect of the Indian activities and
seeing therein the hand of
the British in exciting the Indians to
hostilities against the
Americans, petitioned the President for
the dispersal of the
Prophet's followers. Pursuant to this
Governor Harrison, of
Indiana, sought to restrain the highly
frenzied tribesmen in their
436 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. warlike manifestations, but receiving a direct challenge from the Prophet, who openly announced himself as at war with the United States, he determined to resort to the force of arms. On the fifth of November, 1811, with an army of 900 men, General Harrison marched from Vincennes and encamped a |
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the attack, utterly regardless of loss of life, and by the alacrity and spirit with which the Americans met the onslaught. The Prophet had assured his warriors that in the forth- coming fray his supernatural powers would insure them victory. The Great Spirit, he had told them, would render the arms of the enemy unavailing, and that while the latter would fight in darkness, the Indians would have an abundance of light. But while the Indians, spurred on to superhuman effort by the as- surances of their leader, fought with an abandon perhaps unequalled in their race, the havoc wrought by the deadly fire of the Americans could not long be withstood, and with the appearance of daylight, the baffled warriors, disillusioned and defeated, took refuge in flight. Denouncing the Prophet as an impostor, they departed from the Tippecanoe town and returned to their several tribes. As a result of this premature and ill- timed beginning of hostilities the glory that was the Prophet's disappeared forever, and the cherished plans of the great Te- cumseh were sadly impaired. |
The Indian in Ohio. 437
In justice to the name of Elskwatawa, it
should be stated
that the remarkable religious revival
which he inaugurated was
not, to begin with, at least, a military
movement. It had its
origin rather in a realization of the
inimical effects which con-
tact with white men was exerting upon
the Indian, and in a
desire to restore his former prowess and
efficiency by a return
to primitive ways. Looked upon as such,
the Prophet's scheme
contained much that was admirable and
remarkable, marking
its originator as a man not only of keen
perception and penetra-
tion, but as one of true patriotism and
solicitude for his people.
The fact that the Prophet himself made
use of his prestige to
the discomfiture of his personal
opponents, and that Tecumseh
early took advantage of the situation to
further his plans for
a great federation of tribes as an
offensive against the Amer-
icans, can hardly be considered as
detracting from the worth-
iness of the movement, at least from the
Indian viewpoint.
Tecumseh Espouses British Cause.
Tecumseh, returning to the Tippecanoe,
was greatly dis-
mayed but not altogether disheartened.
Early the following
year we find him once more disclaiming
any intention of war-
fare against the United States but very
bitter against General
Harrison whom, he claimed, had unjustly
proceeded to the at-
tack against the Prophet's Town during
his absence. Tecumseh
proposed to Harrison a visit to the
President in the interest
of a settlement of the difficulties, but
General Harrison ob-
jected to the conditions under which the
Shawnee chieftain de-
sired to conduct his pilgrimage.
Following a declaration of war between
the United States
and England, and despairing of
reconciling his views with those
of the Americans and of realizing his
hopes for a successful
federation of the tribes, Tecumseh
proceeded to Canada where,
at Malden, opposite the site of Fort
Detroit, he joined the British
cause. With him were scattered bands of
his followers and
individual Indians from the Ohio country
who chose to share
the fortunes of their leader. Under the
British standard Tecum-
seh hoped to accomplish, in part at
least, the purpose for which
438 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
his memorable attempt at a country-wide
confederation was
made.
His first efforts under the British
commander, General
Brock, gave promise of a realization of
his dreams. On August
5, in command of a force of Indians
fighting with the British,
Tecumseh intercepted and attacked near
Brownstown, a detach-
ment of General Hull's American army,
then occupying Detroit,
and inflicted upon them a severe defeat.
Thus the disappointed
Tecumseh had the satisfaction of
commanding the victors of
the first batty of the War of 1812. But a few days
later, at
Magauga, a few miles from Detroit, the
valiant Tecumseh and
his warriors were not so successful. A
second detachment had
been sent by General Hull from Detroit,
and in a battle with
these Tecumseh was wounded and his
command badly defeated.
At the historic surrender of Detroit to
the British, in August
following, Tecumseh was in command of
the allied Indians
fighting with General Brock. While no
opportunity offered for
further gratification of his enmity
toward the Americans, since
the surrender took place without
fighting, he took great satis-
faction in the humiliation of General
Hull and his army.
With the exception of his reverse at
Maguaga, Tecumseh's
success as a leader of the Indian
warriors fighting with the
British had been most gratifying. With
the surrender of De-
troit and the capture of Hull's army,
the British-Indian allies
were greatly encouraged. Tribesmen from
far and near flocked
to Tecumseh's standard, and it appeared
that his dream of
federation and conquest might yet be
realized. By personal
visits to the tribes of the country
north and west of Ohio, he
succeeded in augmenting his forces until
several thousand In-
dians were at his command.
To counteract the danger of the Indian
excitement follow-
ing the failure of General Hull's
campaign, and to continue the
work of meeting the British aggression
in the western theatre
of the war a new army was recruited,
which consisted of volun-
teers from Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania and the
country to the westward. William Henry
Harrison, governor
of Indiana and hero of Tippecanoe, was
commissioned as its
commander.
The Indian in Ohio. 439
In preparation for his campaign General Harrison, early in 1813, erected a stronghold at the rapids of the Maumee, near the scene of the memorable battle of Fallen Timbers. This re- doubt was named Fort Meigs, in honor of the governor of Ohio.
Siege of Fort Meigs. The commander of the Northwest army had not long to wait; for hardly had Fort Meigs been completed when, in April, |
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1813, General Proctor, who had succeeded Brock as commander of the British, and Tecumseh, with an army of about 1500 Canadians and an equal number of Indians, made their appear- |
440 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
ance across the Maumee from the fort. Here they erected
earthworks and having posted a force of
Indians on the south
side of the river, in the rear of the
fort, began a siege which ter-
minated only after two weeks of
desperate attack and defense.
General Harrison at first had but 600
troops, but the garrison
was augmented by the arrival of General
Clay with 1500 Kentuck-
ians. Of Clay's force, General Harrison
ordered 800 under Col-
onel Dudley to cross to the north side
of the river and there en-
gage the British and Indians under
Proctor and Tecumseh. Dud-
ley's detachment succeeded in storming
and taking the British
batteries, but fell into an ambuscade
prepared by Tecumseh. In
their attempt to escape, Dudley and 600
of his men were
mercilessly slain and scalped. At the
same time, the remaining
700 troops of Clay's command, under
Colonel Miller, were sent
against the British and Indian force
back of the fort, but were
driven from the field with heavy losses
in dead and wounded.
But the Americans in their stronghold
had the advantage, and
Proctor was forced to a realization of
his inability to capture
the fort. Reluctantly he raised the
siege and with his Canadians
and Indians returned to his headquarters
on the Canadian side.
During the siege of Fort Meigs
Tecumseh's bravery, gen-
eralship and ability as a leader were
impressively displayed.
His generosity and humanity were no less
in evidence. Coming
upon the scene of Dudley's defeat and
ensuing massacre, he
threw himself between the infuriated
Indians and their victims
and in thundering tones commanded a
cessation of cruelties, at
the same time denouncing Proctor for his
acquiescence in the
slaughter.
In July following, having reorganized
their commands,
Proctor and Tecumseh returned to Fort
Meigs. With an aug-
mented army of 5,000 men of whom 3,000
were Indians, they
again laid siege to the fort, now
commanded by General Clay.
But Clay refused to emerge from the
security of the fort, and
thus defeated Tecumseh's hopes of
drawing the defenders into
an ambuscade such as had resulted so
disastrously to Dudley's
detachment. Countered at every turn the
besiegers, after many
days of maneuvering, withdrew their
forces.
The Indian in Ohio. 441
Proctor's failure to encompass the downfall of Fort Meigs, after one of the bloodiest and fiercest contests in the annals of |
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return to their homes. With his army somewhat reduced but still practically intact, Proctor turned his attention to another quarter-the American stronghold on the Sandusky, known as Fort Stephenson. But before following the British-Indian allies to that place, let us revert a few weeks to an event which was transpiring at Franklinton (Columbus) during the interim between the first and second siege of Fort Meigs.
Peace Council at Franklinton. After successfully withstanding the first siege of Fort Meigs, General Harrison, leaving the fort in command of Gen- eral Clay, returned to Franklinton (Columbus) where he pro- ceeded to dismiss the Ohio militia which had been hastily recruited by Governor Meigs for the purpose of relieving Fort Meigs. The danger in that quarter having been eliminated by |
442 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
the raising of the siege, it was decided
that the militia was not
needed and that only regular troops
should be employed in the
continuance of the war. The decision to
decline the services
of the volunteer militia caused great
disappointment, not only
among the Ohio settlers, who were
anxious to assist in combat-
ting the British, but among the friendly
Indian tribesmen as well.
These latter could not understand why
they should not be per-
mitted to fight with General Harrison,
especially since a large
percentage of the British army under
Proctor were Indians.
While it was the policy of the
government in its contest
with the British to hold the Ohio tribes
to a strict neutrality,
General Harrison realized that it was
entirely foreign to their
natures not to participate on one side
or the other and that the
influence being brought to bear by
Tecumseh threatened to enlist
many of them on the side of the British.
For the purpose of
averting such an unfavorable occurrence
and that he might in-
form himself as to the exact attitude of
the Ohio tribes, he
summoned their leaders to attend a
council, which was held at
Franklinton on the 21st of June, 1813.
At this historic meeting
we find Tarhe, the Crane, head chief of
the Wyandots, as the
dominant figure on the part of the
Indians. There were present
at the council, as participating tribes,
the Shawnee, Wyandots,
Delawares and Senecas. Of the fifty
chiefs and sachems rep-
resenting these, Tarhe acted as
spokesman.
In his address explaining why they had
been called together,
General Harrison informed the Indians
that the time had ar-
rived for an understanding as to the
intentions of the tribes. He
referred to the attempts of the British
to align them in the
interest of that side, and declared that
nothing short of a definite
avowal of their position would satisfy
his purposes. If the
tribesmen were disposed to be friends of
the Americans, they
must show this either by moving with
their families into the
settlements, or that their warriors
should accompany him in the
ensuing campaign, and fight for the
United States.
Tarhe, the Wyandot Chief.
To this, Tarhe, speaking for the
assembled representatives,
replied that the Indians continued to
maintain the most indis-
The Indian in Ohio. 443
soluble attachment for the American government, and a deter- mination to adhere to the Treaty of Greenville. The warriors, he declared, wanted just such an opportunity to prove their allegiance to the President, and would gladly accompany General Harrison's army against the British. In this council we have a forceful example of General Har- rison's understanding of the Indian character and his consequent success in his dealings with them. Likewise, his humanity |
|
as contrasted with the cruelty of the British commander is manifested. It will be recalled that Proctor had promised that in the event of the capture of Fort Meigs he would turn over to Tecumseh, to do with as he pleased, the person of General Harrison. Recalling this fact to the Indians present at the Franklinton council, Harrison insisted that the warriors who should accompany him should conform to humane methods and abstain from cruelty to women, children, prisoners and the aged and infirm. As to Proctor, he told them that in case he should be captured that he would be turned over to them provided they |
444 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
would promise to avenge themselves by
"putting a petticoat on
him". This treatment, as we have
seen in connection with the
Delaware nation, was supposed to reduce
the recipient to the
rank of a squaw, and to be the most
humiliating treatment pos-
sible to accord. In imposing this
condition, General Harrison
remarked that "none but a coward or
a squaw would kill a
prisoner".
While the Ohio tribes were not called,
as such, to par-
ticipate in the war, many of them as
individuals and detached
bands associated themselves with
Harrison's army and rendered
good service in the remainder of the
campaign. Among these
was Tarhe.
Tarhe, the Crane, was born at Detroit in
1742, and evi-
dently came into Ohio with the Huron
bands from that loca-
tion, joining the Wyandots already
settled in northern Ohio.
Previous to the Greenville treaty, he
lived at Solomonstown,
Logan county. After the treaty he
established a town near
Lancaster, Fairfield county, called
Tarhe's town, later removing
with his tribe to Cranetown, near Upper
Sandusky, in Wyandot
county. Here he resided until his death
in 1818.
Tarhe was greatly respected and esteemed
by those of his
wide acquaintance among white people.
General Harrison, at
the close of the War of 1812, eulogized
him as a "venerable,
intelligent and upright man", and
of the many Indian chiefs
whom he had met, he designated Chief
Crane as the noblest
of them all. Tarhe was keeper of the
calumet for the confedera-
tion of tribes north of the Ohio river,
this office being vested
in him as chief of his tribe, which
tribe in turn was the dominant
one of the several participating in the
federation for mutual
protection.
The Crane was conspicuous at the Battle
of Point Pleasant,
in 1774, and of thirteen Wyandot chiefs
who opposed General
Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers,
in 1794, he is said to
have been the only one who escaped,
although he was among
the foremost of the fighters, and was
severely wounded in the
engagement. Tarhe is given credit for
using his great influence
in bringing about the Treaty of
Greenville in the following year.
He was the first signer of the treaty
document, and from that
The Indian in Ohio. 445
time until his death, more than 30 years later, he continued to look upon that act as binding him in unquestioned loyalty to the American cause. In this attitude, he strenuously opposed the policy of Tecumseh in siding with the British in the War of 1812, and bore out his convictions by accompanying General Harrison in his campaign against the British in Canada.
Attack on Ft. Stephenson. At the site of the city of Fremont, Sandusky county, was located Fort Stephenson. It had been erected by a detachment of General Harrison's army at the time that Fort Meigs was |
|
built, and was the most northerly of the American northwestern outposts. Following their failure to reduce Fort Meigs, Proc- tor and Tecumseh, with their armies, proceeded to Fort Stephen- son where they expected an easy victory, in partial reparation for their previous failures. Fort Stephenson at the time was |
446 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
in command of Lieut. George Croghan and
a garrison of 160
militiamen. The fort, little more than a
stockade, was supplied
with one mounted gun. But so
courageously and tirelessly did
the little band of frontiersmen defend
the fort that their besiegers,
outnumbering them 25 to one, found
themselves completely out-
fought and demoralized. By dextrously
maneuvering the one
small cannon from port-hole to port-hole
of their "forest
Gibraltar", Croghan's men so
devastated the ranks of the on-
rushing attack that the Canadians and
Indians fell back in dis-
order and dismay. Croghan had made good
his reply to Har-
rison's suggestion that he abandon the
stockade: "We have
determined to maintain this place, and
by heavens, we can".
The British attacking force, numbering
2,000 Canadians
and an
equal number of Indians, departed the
scenes of their failures
and defeats, and took up the march
toward their base at Malden,
Canada.
Tecumseh Foresees the End.
The last chapter in the life of Tecumseh
leads us to Cana-
dian soil, whither we shall follow him
briefly. The unfavorable
outcome of the campaigns against Fort
Meigs and Fort Stephen-
son had served completely to disillusion
the great Shawnee
leader, and he now realized that the
cause for which he was
so valiantly striving was hopeless of
success. In fact for some
time previous to the repulse of the
British and Indians at Fort
Stephenson, Tecumseh, in his keenly
discerning mind had fore-
seen inevitable defeat and following the
failure to reduce Fort
Meigs had despaired of success against
the "Long Knives". He
had urged upon Proctor the idea of a
bold offensive against the
Americans in their territory south of
the Maumee, but the timid
British commander dared not risk such a
campaign; and when
instead the latter informed him of his
purpose to retire to the
Thames and from there conduct future
operations, Tecumseh
no longer could contain his bitter
disappointment. To the war-
riors under his command he expressed his
unwillingness longer
to continue in a cause which was costing
the lives of his people
without the least hope of success, and
proposed a withdrawal of
Indian participation in the struggle.
His immediate followers,
The Indian in Ohio. 447
the Shawnee, Wyandots and Ottawas,
favored his proposition;
but many of the tribesmen from the
western country, particu-
larly the Sioux and the Chippewas,
insisted that since he had
induced them to enter the contest he
continue in its prosecution.
Feeling that their claim upon him was a
matter of honor, he
acquiesced and prepared for what he knew
must be the beginning
of the end.
It was now the early autumn of 1813.
Proctor, under pro-
test from Tecumseh, continued his
dis-spirited retreat toward
the Thames, while at the head of his
Northwestern army Gen-
eral Harrison was pushing his way
northward in pursuit. Te-
cumseh, realizing the folly of further
retreat, finally prevailed
upon Proctor to make a stand against the
pursuingAmericans,
and on October 5, 1813, on the north
side of the Thames river,
near the town of Chatham, Ontario, was
fought the historic Bat-
tle of the Thames.
By this time the Canadians, as well as
the Indian warriors,
fully realized the weakness and
inefficiency of Proctor; and it
was to Tecumseh, who already had won for
himself the rank
of brigadier general in the British
army, that they looked for
leadership in the pending conflict.
Tecumseh, in full realization
of its tragic ending, accepted the
responsibility for the plan of
battle, while Proctor, solicitous only
for his own safety, took
himself to a position of safety some
distance away.
Battle of the Thames.
Tecumseh's prevision of the result of
the battle is shown
in these words, addressed to his
followers: "Brother War-
riors, we are now about to enter an
engagement from which I
shall never come out; my body will
remain on the battlefield".
He then unbuckled his sword and handed
it to one of his sub-
ordinates, saying: When my son becomes a
noted warrior,
give him this". Removing his
British uniform, Tecumseh then
assumed his place at the head of his
warriors, clad only in the
usual buckskin costume of his tribesmen.
The explanation of
this act is found in the following
words, from Mr. Randall's
"Tecumseh, the Shawnee Chief":
"The sentiment of the true
448 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
patriot dominated the soul of this
savage in the face of impend-
ing fate; to the ignominy of death in a
failing cause on a foreign
field, afar from the forest of his
beloved native soil, he would
not add the disgrace of wearing as his
shroud the insignia of a
nation professedly his friend, but
really his treacherous foe".
We need not dwell upon the details of
the battle which
followed. General Harrison, with his
army of 2,500 men so
completely overwhelmed the British and
Indians that General
Proctor and his "red coats"
fled precipitately, leaving the defense
entirely in the hands of the one
thousand warriors under Tecum-
seh. These, so greatly outnumbered,
fought as perhaps Indians
had never before fought, cheered on by
the voice of their leader.
But of a sudden the sustaining "Be
brave, be brave" was heard
no more; the voice of their leader had
been silenced by death,
and there was none to take his place.
The warriors fled from
overwhelming odds, and the arms of the
white man had
triumphed.
In taking leave of Tecumseh, we quote
the following from
the eloquent tribute of Mr. Randall:
"The tongue that for years
had called aloud at the council fires
and 'neath the forest boughs,
ever for justice to his people, was
stilled forever, nor was there
to be other voice to renew the summons
to rise and repel the
invading whites. For fifty years, a full
half century, from the
conspiracy of Pontiac to the confederacy
of Tecumseh, the war
for the possession of the Ohio country
had been waged; the
battle of the Thames was the culmination
of that contest and
with the death of the heroic Shawnee
there vanished the last
hope of the tribesmen that they might
regain the lost lands of
their wigwams and hunting grounds. From
now on the irresist-
ible tide of civilization was to sweep
the savages across the
Father of Waters and yet far beyond
where they were to be-
come the helpless wards of the
conquering nation".
PASSING OF THE OHIO TRIBES.
The Last of the Miamis.
The victory of General Harrison at the
Battle of the
Thames ended the War of 1812 and
restored to the United
The Indian in Ohio. 449
States possession of Detroit and the
Michigan peninsula. With
the consequent passing of British
influence and support, there
remained to the Indian tribes of the
Ohio country the choice
of peaceful acceptance of conditions
imposed by the state and
nation or, as an alternative withdrawal
to more congenial terri-
tory. The tribes which had favored the
British, particularly
the Shawnee and the Miamis, chose the
latter while the friendly
Wyandots, Ottawas and Delawares chose to
remain for the time
as they had been; but it was only a
matter of a short time until
they too yielded to the pressure of
advancing civilization and
passed westward and southward beyond the
border of settle-
ment. The career of the Indians as a
race had terminated,
in so far as Ohio was concerned; and it
remains only to note
briefly the final disappearance from
the.state of the tribes and
their leaders whom we have followed as
year by year they con-
tinued valiantly and courageously to
play the losing game.
The Miamis, earliest of the historic
tribes to make their
appearance on Ohio soil, were the first
to take their departure
therefrom. At the close of the French
and Indian war, as a
result of the peace of 1763, the Miamis,
as a tribe, removed
from Ohio to Indiana, the Shawnee then
occupying their lands.
By 1827 they had sold most of their
lands in Indiana and had
moved to Kansas and thence to Indian
territory, where the
remnant of the tribe continues to live.
One band however, con-
tinued in Wabash county, Indiana, until
1872, when their land
was divided and apportioned among the
individual representa-
tives. The Miamis at the present time
number about 400 in all,
as compared with perhaps 1,500 persons at an
earlier date. De-
spite their early disappearance as a
tribe from Ohio, the Miamis
figured in the last treaty concerning
Ohio lands held by the
Indians under the claim of original
possession. By this treaty,
held at St. Marys in October, 1818, the
Miamis ceded to the
state of Ohio a small tract on the St.
Mary's river, in Mercer
county. The remaining Indian lands were
in the nature of
reservations which they were permitted
to occupy after the
territory in which they were located had
been relinquished
Vol. XXVII-29.
450 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. by cession. They were gradually ceded to the United States. the last being the Wyandot reservation at Upper Sandusky, |
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The Delawares and the Senecas. The Delawares, whose tempestuous career we have fol- lowed from the time they left their earlier home east of the Alleghenies, were next in point of time to relinquish their Ohio lands. As a people they disappeared from the state compara- tively early, so of the many Delawares participating at the treaty of Greenville we find but few representatives of the tribe from Ohio. Their noted chief, Hopocan or Captain Pipe, had died a year previous to that event, at his town near Upper Sandusky, and the tribe, destined to continue a career perhaps more check- ered than that of any other of the Ohio Indians, had become scattered and divided. The little reservation of nine square miles-the last of the Delaware lands in Ohio-was ceded to the United States in August, 1829. This reservation was lo- cated directly to the south of and adjoining that of the Wyan- dots at Upper Sandusky, and contained the town of Captain Pipe. Just prior to the Revolutionary war the greater part of the Delawares removed to the country lying between the Ohio and the White rivers, in Indiana. From that place, after wandering through the country to the south, they arrived in Indian territory |
The Indian in Ohio. 451
and Oklahoma. Other bands found their
way to Canada where
they are known as the Moravians of the
Thames, Munsees of the
Thames, and so forth. At the present
time the Delawares num-
ber close to 2,000, scattered throughout
Indian territory (Okla-
homa), Wisconsin, Kansas, and in
Ontario, Canada.
The Senecas of the Sandusky, who
occupied a reservation
of 30,000 acres on the east side of the
Sandusky river, in the
county which bears their name, ceded
their lands to the gov-
ernment early in 1831 as did also the
so-called "mixed Senecas,"
affiliated with the Shawnee on the
reservation at Lewistown, in
Logan county. The two bands removed
first to Kansas and in
1867 to Indian territory, where they now
live. Their number
at the present time is perhaps 400.
Within the Seneca reservation on the
Sandusky, referred
to above, was located Seneca town. This
town was occupied
principally by the remnant of Chief
Logan's band of Mingoes,
who, following the Dunmore war, fled
from the middle Scioto
and joined their kinsmen on the
Sandusky. As we have seen,
the Senecas and the Mingoes were the
same people under dif-
ferent names. They were detached bands
of Iroquois, mostly
Senecas and Cayugas, who entered Ohio
shortly before the
Revolution. The Mingoes, as the bands on
the middle Scioto
were known, were not much in evidence
after the Dunmore War
and the death of Logan, which occurred
in 1780.
The Shawnee and Ottawas.
Following the Battle of Tippecanoe the
Shawnee, defeated
and scattered, mostly departed from
Ohio, some of them seek-
ing less fortuitous existence in the
south and others passing to
the westward. The remnant of the tribe
in August, 1831, ceded
their remaining lands consisting of a
tract ten miles square at
Wapakoneta, and a smaller reserve of 25
square miles adjoining
it on Hog Creek. They removed first to
Kansas and thence to
Indian Territory, where the descendants
of the several bands,
numbering about 1,400, continue to live.
Of their great chiefs,
Tecumseh and Cornstalk, we have spoken.
Black Hoof, hardly
less worthy, merits a parting word. He
was a brilliant aide to
Cornstalk at the Battle of Point
Pleasant, and later an active
452 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
leader of his people in their campaigns
against Generals Har-
mar and St. Clair. After the victory of
General Wayne, Black
Hoof realized the hopelessness of the
Indian cause and became
an ardent advocate of peace and harmony
between the two races.
He died at Wapakoneta in 1831, his long
life having spanned
the entire period of the struggle
between his people and the
white man. He was present at the defeat
of General Braddock
in 1755, participated in all the active
campaigns which followed,
and passed away just as his tribe was
quitting forever their
Ohio hunting grounds.
In August, 1831, the Ottawas ceded to
the government a
reservation five miles square on the
Blanchard fork of the Aug-
laize, in Putnam county, and a smaller
tract, a few miles far-
ther west, on the Auglaize. In February,
1833, their remaining
reservation, a tract of 34 square miles
including the site of East
Toledo and Presque Isle at the mouth of
the Maumee, was
ceded, and the tribe withdrew from the
state. A remnant of
the Ohio Ottawas now lives in Oklahoma,
but the Ottawa tribe
proper remained in Michigan, where they
still reside.
Wyandots Last to Leave Ohio.
The Wyandots, entering the Ohio country
as refugees from
the Iroquois conquest, were to be the
last to take their departure
from its soil. They contributed to
Indian history one of its
most spectacular events, Nicolas'
Conspiracy, and one of its
greatest leaders, Tarhe, the Crane. The
Wyandots, in March,
1842,
ceded their large reservation of twelve
miles square, of
which Upper Sandusky was the center, and
removed first to
Wyandot county, Kansas, and then to
Oklahoma, where they
now are. The last of their great chiefs
was the famous Half
King, Pomoacan, or Dunquad, who died
subsequent to the War
of 1812.
The historic Wyandot reservation existed
within the
memory of men yet living, and from its
size and the fact that
it was the last to be relinquished is
the best known of the In-
dian reservations of the state. In the
Museum of the Ohio
Archaeological and Historical Society
there are preserved a
The Indian in Ohio. 453
number of relics found on the site of
the towns at Upper
Sandusky.
It will be understood that the foregoing
reservations were
merely tracts reserved by the Indians
within areas ceded to the
United States. The treaties by which the
areas themselves,
comprising the great bulk of the land,
were ceded, were as
follows:
Indian Land Cessions.
The Greenville Treaty, 1795, by which
the Indians ceded
all land lying south and east of the
Greenville Treaty line
(shown on the map) and comprising
practically two-thirds of
the state.
A treaty at Fort Industry, (Toledo) in
1805, by which
was ceded practically one-third of the
remaining Indian lands,
comprising the eastern portion thereof.
A treaty at Detroit, in November, 1807,
by which was ceded
the land lying north of the Maumee as
far westward as the
mouth of the Auglaize.
A treaty held at the Rapids of the
Maumee, September,
1817, at which the Wyandots, and the
Pottawatomies, Ottawas
and Chippewas, ceded the remainder of
the Ohio lands.
The cession by the Miamis of the small
tract in Mercer
county, already cited, completed the
extinguishment of Indian
title to all Ohio lands. There remained
to the tribesmen only
the reservations, from which we have
seen them, one by one,
take their departure.
The Indian as a people had now
disappeared from Ohio.
In all the wide expanse of their
ancestral hunting grounds there
remained only a few stragglers to
represent the race which once
had held undisputed sway.
Opinions as to Indian Character.
From the preceding pages the reader, it
is hoped, will have
obtained something approaching a
concrete estimate of the In-
dian. We have touched upon the native
race from the physical,
mental and religious standpoints, and
have learned something
of his habits, customs, and arts. From
these we are enabled to
454
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
form an intelligent conception as to
what manner of man he
was; but as between the two extremes of
those who see in the
Indian nothing more than a brutal savage
and those to whom
he appeals as "the noble Red
Man", how shall we decide?
With this thought in mind, it seems
appropriate before bid-
ding farewell to the Indian of the
historic period, to cite the
opinions of a few of those who, through
intimate contact with
and knowledge of the Indian are best
qualified to speak.
Judged from results obtained, no one
better understood the
Indian nor knew better how to deal with
him than William
Penn, the Quaker governor of
Pennsylvania. Following his
famous first treaty with the Indians at Shackamaxon,
in 1683,
he tersely characterized them as "a
careless, merry people, yet
in affairs of property strict in their
dealings. In council they
are deliberate, in speech short, grave
and eloquent. I have
never seen in Europe anything more wise,
cautious and dex-
trous". This opinion, of course,
was formed very early in
Penn's acquaintance with the red man,
and may have been some-
what modified later. However, the policy
of the Quakers to-
ward the natives was so just and humane
that it was declared
that "not a drop of Quaker blood
was ever shed by an Indian".
Christian Frederick Post, the Moravian
missionary, in re-
porting his historic mission to the Ohio
Indians, in 1758, said:
"There is not a prouder, or more
high minded people, in
themselves than the Indians. They think
themselves the wisest
and prudentest men in the world; and
that they can overpower
the French and English when they please.
They are a very
distrustful people. Through their
imagination and reason they
think themselves a thousand times
stronger than all other people".
Zeisberger's Summary.
The opinions of David Zeisberger, of
Moravian Indian
renown, must bear much weight, for
having spent many years
as one of them he was eminently
qualified to judge of the char-
acter of the Indians. In his history of
the Indians, he says:
The * * * Indians * * * are by nature (I
speak of savages)
lazy as far as work is concerned. If
they are at home and not
engaged in the chase they lie all day on
their britchen and
The Indian in Ohio. 455
sleep; when night comes they go to the
dance or wander about
in disorderly fashion. * * * They are
proud and haughty, even
a miserable Indian, capable in no
respect, imagines himself to
be a great lord. They hold themselves in
high regard as if they
were capable of great and wonderful
things. * * * They are
masters in the art of deceit and at the
same time are very
credulous; they are given over to
cheating and stealing and are
not put to shame when caught. * * * They
are capable of hid-
ing their anger readily, but await an
opportunity to avenge
themselves * * * and this generally
occurs secretly and quietly.
* * * They are courageous where no
danger is to be found,
but in the face of danger or resistance
they are fearful and the
worst cowards. * * *
"Yet there are Indians, even among
the savages, who main-
tain peaceful and orderly family life.
The Indians have both
capacity and skill for work, if they
only had the inclination."
Zeisberger, it will be noted, in thus
speaking refers to the
"savage" Indians and their
natural attributes, which he uses to
some extent as a contrast to the better
nature of the natives
as brought out under Christian
teachings. Under the latter
conditions he finds many good qualities,
as set forth in his
history.
We now turn to one whose fitness for
judging the charac-
ter of the Indian is most happy--William
Henry Harrison.
His career as a participant in the
post-Revolution campaigns
in the Ohio country, as governor of
Indiana territory, superin-
tendent of Indian affairs, commander of
the Army of the
Northwest in the War of 1812, and as
president of the United
States, afforded him a knowledge and
understanding of the native
race possessed by but few.
General Harrison's Comment.
From a discourse delivered at Cincinnati
in 1839, by Gen-
eral Harrison we quote these excerpts:
"An erroneous opinion has prevailed
in relation to the
character of the Indians of North
America. By many, they are
supposed to be stoics, who willingly
encounter deprivations.
The very reverse is the fact; * * * For
no Indian will forego
456 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
an enjoyment or suffer an inconvenience,
if he can avoid it.
But under peculiar circumstances; when
for instance, he is
stimulated by some strong passion - but
even the gratification
of this he is ever ready to postpone,
whenever its accomplish-
ment is attended with unlooked for
danger, or unexpected hard-
ships. Hence, their military operations
were always feeble-
their expeditions few and far between,
and much the greater
number abandoned without an efficient
stroke, from whim,
caprice, or an aversion to encounter
difficulties. * * *
"Their bravery has never been
questioned, although there
was certainly a considerable difference
between the several tribes,
in this respect. With all but the
Wyandots, flight in battle,
when meeting with unexpected resistance,
or obstacle, brought
with it no disgrace. * * * With the
Wyandots it was other-
wise. Their youth were taught to
consider anything that had
the appearance of an acknowledgement of
the superiority of
an enemy, as disgraceful. * * *
"As it regards their moral and
intellectual qualities, the dif-
ference between the tribes was still
greater. The Shawnee, Dela-
wares, and Miamis, were much superior to
the other members
of the confederacy. I have known
individuals among them of
very high order of talents, but these
were not generally to be
relied upon for sincerity. The Little
Turtle, of the Miami tribe,
was one of this description, as was the
Blue Jacket, a Shawnee
chief. I think it probable that Tecumseh
possessed more in-
tegrity than any other of the chiefs,
who attained to much
distinction; but he violated a solemn
engagement, which he had
freely contracted, * * * but these
instances are more than
counterbalanced by the number of
individuals of high moral
character, which were to be found
amongst the principal, and
secondary chiefs, of the four tribes
above mentioned. This was
particularly the case with Tarhe, or the
Crane, the grand sachem
of the Wyandots, and Black Hoof, the
chief of the Shawnee."
These instances are sufficient to show
the liberal admixture
of good and bad in the Indian character.
To expect anything
else would be unreasonable, since they
were typically human
judged by the standards of any time or
people. "That he was
a child of nature, none can deny. That
he was a son-of-man,
The Indian in Ohio. 457
linked to the human family by all the
bonds of ethnologic law
is patent to the superficial
observer". The character of the
average Indian might be summarized in
the words of Mr. Ran-
dall, as applied to the career of an
Ohio chief, as one of "crime,
passion and occasional
humanity". A transposition of the
phraseology to read "humanity,
passion and occasional crime"
might perhaps describe that element of
the native race, rep-
resented by such individuals as Tarhe,
the Wyandot, and Te-
cumseh the Shawnee.
It is difficult to resist the desire to
speak of many interest-
ing and important details of Ohio Indian
annals, necessarily
slighted or altogether ignored in a
sketch of this nature. The
history of the State of Ohio weaves many
fascinating and thrill-
ing stories around the persons of the
early frontiersmen, scouts
and Indian fighters; the heroes and
heroines of both the red and
white race; the captive white men and
women among the Indian
tribes; the picturesque white renegades,
and so forth. But
having followed the Ohio tribes through
the historic period
of their career, we must now turn to
their predecessors, the In-
dians and Mound Builders of the
pre-historic Ohio.
VI
THE PRE-HISTORIC OHIO INDIAN
HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY
The history of a people may be defined
as the story of its
activities. If it has arrived at that
point in human progress
where the importance of preserving a
record thereof becomes
apparent, and has attained to the use of
written language, it
records its own history; or, this
lacking, another people, obser-
vant of its existence and qualified for
the task, may chronicle
the events of its career. In the absence
of these requirements
its annals remain unwritten, at best but
partially and unsatis-
factorily preserved in tradition and
folklore, awaiting the ap-
pearance of a historian competent to
glean some facts therefrom.
We may summarize the achievements of the
historian by
saying that he has recorded the
activities of his own people, and
of others who have come to his
attention, since first he became
cognizant of the importance of the task
and capable of its execu-
tion. As a result of his exertions the
annals of civilized men,
and to a great extent of contemporaneous
uncivilized peoples,
have been voluntarily recorded.
Written history carries the story of the
human race back-
ward to a very considerable antiquity.
Through it we are ap-
prised of such ancient civilizations as
that of China, India, Egypt,
Assyria, Greece and Rome, and others of
the Levantine and
Mediterranean countries. But beyond this
point, history, in its
generally accepted sense, fails to
enlighten us. Its records be-
come dim and uncertain, and finally altogether
wanting. This
is true (I) of all peoples of the earth
preceding the advent of
the historian; (2) of those eras
in the lives of peoples which,
while lying within the historic period,
have escaped his attention;
and (3) of the entire careers of certain
peoples who have existed
and disappeared without finding a
chronicler of their activities.
In those remote periods preceding the
historic beginnings of
human activities, we surmise that there
were races, peoples and
(458)
The Indian in Ohio. 459
nations, and that at least some of them
had attained to a con-
siderable degree of advancement; and to
meet our inquiry, his-
tory broadens her scope and summons the
aid of her sister-
science, archaeology.
Archaeology, the science of antiquities,
is a very important
part of history in its broader sense. It
has been termed the
"hand-maiden of history", and
together with kindred sciences-
geology, anthropology, ethnology and
anatomy-has played an
important part in extending the story of
mankind backward be-
yond the so-called historic period.
It is the province of archaeology to
consider the material
relics strewn along the pathway of
prehistoric human progress,
to interpret their meaning, and to add
the information so ob-
tained to existing knowledge of past
facts recorded in history.
A people may exist without a written
history, or even may dis-
appear without leaving a voluntary
record of its activities; but
always there remain certain incidental
evidences of its existence.
Practically every habitable portion of
the globe yields some
evidence of habitation earlier than that
recorded in history, or
of later habitation which has remained
unrecorded. Many cities
and towns of the present, particularly
in the Old World, are
built upon the ruins of towns and
villages of the past, which
in turn not infrequently rest upon the
debris of still earlier
human habitations. Scattered over the countries of both
hemispheres are structures of earth and
stone, erected by peo-
ples of prehistoric times as monuments
to their dead, as ad-
juncts to their religious and social
observances, and for
domiciliary purposes. Wherever men live
today, the existence
of prehistoric inhabitants is
demonstrated by the presence of
ancient sites, marking the location of
camp, village or town.
On and about these are found innumerable
objects of their arts
and industries-implements, utensils and
ornaments of stone,
bone, metal, and other decay-resisting
materials.
The archaeologist readily recognizes
even the least con-
spicuous of these relics as being
artificial in origin and character,
and as pertaining to the handiwork of
man. The smallest chip
of flint or stone, the fragment of shell
or bone, oftentimes fur-
nishes a clue to the habitation site of
a people whose existence
460 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
has escaped record in history. By
following out this clue and
studying the developments to which it
leads, it often is possible
to trace the story of a family, a tribe,
or a people which other-
wise never would have been preserved.
The evidence offered
by these "foot-prints of the
past" is not always voluminous nor
easily interpreted, but once extracted,
it is at least truthful,
unbiased and unprejudiced.
The prehistoric inhabitants of Ohio may
be said to have
been a people without a recorded
history. While European ad-
venturers and explorers found tribes of
the native American
race dwelling upon Ohio soil, and wrote
much concerning them,
it will be recalled that these tribes
were not native to the terri-
tory, but were merely sojourners,
recently arrived from other
localities. The Shawnee, Miamis,
Wyandots, Delawares and
others of the historic period all had
entered Ohio as a result
of unsettlement resulting from European
colonization of the
country to the east and north. Their
knowledge of the native
Ohio tribes was little more than vague
and indefinite tradition,
of doubtful value from a historical
viewpoint.
The nearest approach to definite
knowledge of a native
Ohio tribe was with respect to the
Eries, or Cat Nation, formerly
inhabiting the northern portion of the
state, and extending along
Lake Erie into Pennsylvaia and New York.
The claim of the
Iroquois confederation that, about the
year 1650, they had con-
quered and annihilated the Eries, is
borne out in part by his-
toric record; but of the Eries as a
people, their habits, customs
and culture, little is known. In brief,
the tribes native to Ohio
soil had disappeared before the arrival
of the historian, and
none could say how or whither they had
gone.
The logical inference was that, in
common with other sec-
tions of the continent, the Ohio of
prehistoric times had been
inhabited by tribes closely related to
the Indians whom the
Europeans observed everywhere about
them. The wide distribu-
tion of these tribes and the unique
character of their physical
type and cultural attainments, bespoke a
comparatively long
residence in America, and it would have
been unreasonable to
suppose that during their prehistoric career
they should have
avoided so inviting a locality as Ohio -
than which no spot on
The Indian in Ohio. 461
earth was better adapted, by climate,
geography and natural
resources, to maintain a primitive
population.
But perplexing evidence followed shortly
upon a closer
acquaintance with the territory in
question. Early settlers, and
even explorers before them, were made
aware of the existence
of numerous and extensive artificial
structures of earth and
stone. Many of these, judging from the
fact that they were
covered by mature forest trees, already
were centuries old; and
yet the existing tribes neither erected
such structures, nor offered
an explanation of their origin. These
facts seemed to indicate
that, in addition to the Indian tribes,
Ohio once had been the
home of another people who, after
achieving a comparatively
high degree of civilization, had
mysteriously and completely
disappeared. This strange vanished
people, supposedly distinct
in race and culture, was given the name
Mound Builders, in
recognition of the most apparent and
impressive evidence of
their existence. The task of unraveling
the mystery-of dis-
covering the identity of the Mound
Builder, and his rela-
tionship to, or distinction from, the
Indian--rested with the
archaeologist.
OHIO EARTHWORKS AND EARLY EXPLORATION
The first serious attention given the
Ohio mounds and other
earthworks was in 1820, when the
observations of Caleb Atwater
were published by the American
Antiquarian society. The
author, who has been styled "Ohio's
first historian", made sur-
veys of a number of important works,
principally in the Scioto
valley, described their external
features, and in several instances
conducted examinations thereof.
Following upon the work of
Atwater, Col. Charles Whittlesey, of
Cleveland, made important
surveys of a number of the more
prominent works of the state.
It was not until 1847, however, that any
pretentious explora-
tion of the Ohio tumuli was attempted.
In that year, E. G.
Squier and E. H. Davis, then residing in
Chillicothe, carried
out extensive surveys and explorations,
the results of which
were published by the Smithsonian
Institution. In their volume,
they availed themselves of the efforts
of Colonel Whittlesey.
462 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
The efforts of Atwater, Whittlesey, and
Squier and Davis
are noteworthy, especially since they
labored under limitations
imposed by lack of precedent and the
general dearth of knowl-
edge of the native race, both in its
historic and prehistoric
aspects.
Following these pioneers in Ohio
archaeology, representa-
tives of the Smithsonian Institution did
a considerable amount
of rather perfunctory work in the state,
which netted them
many interesting specimens. Professor
Frederick W. Putnam,
of Peabody Museum, Harvard University, a
few years later con-
ducted extensive explorations,
principally in the southern and
southern-western portions of the state.
Professor Putnam's
work was based upon scientific
principles and added appreciably
to the knowledge of the earthworks and
their builders.
Acting in the interest of the
commissioners of the World's
Columbian exposition, Warren K.
Moorehead, in 1893, con-
ducted explorations at what are known as
the Hopewell group
of earthworks, in Ross county. The great
number of artis-
tically executed specimens secured by
Mr. Moorehead awakened
the archaeological world to a
realization that the Ohio Mound
Builders occupied a place in the human
cultural scale hitherto
unsuspected.
In the meantime, an organization which
was to become the
most potent factor in developing
archaeological and historical re-
search in Ohio was awakening to the
importance of the task. For
the purpose of making an Ohio
archaeological exhibit at the Phila-
delphia centennial, in 1875, a state
Archaeological Association
was organized. Out of this, in 1885,
grew the present Ohio
State Archaeological and Historical
Society, the aims and pur-
poses of which are expressed in its
name. During the first
decade of its existence, the Society
published much valuable
information relating to the aborigines
of the State, both his-
toric and pre-historic; but owing to
lack of funds, explorations
of the earthworks, while gratifying in
results, were on a limited
scale. Subsequent to the year 1900,
however, the investigations
of the Society were to assume an
importance unequalled by
those of any other of the states, and to
develop a field by far
The Indian in Ohio. 463
the most interesting and responsive of
any equal area within
the United States.
In the interim between the explorations
of Squier and
Davis and the close of the century, the
Mound Builders were
the subject of very general and
widespread consideration. With
the settlement and development of the
country, it became ap-
parent that the area of habitation of
this interesting people was
by no means confined to the state of
Ohio. Broadly speaking,
they were found to have populated the
Ohio and the Mississippi
valleys, or such portions thereof as
suited their purpose, and
to have extended eastward from the
Mississippi, south of the
Alleghenies, over the Gulf states. But the center of their
greatest activities and highest
development was shown to have
been in Ohio, particularly in the
valleys of the Miamis, the Scioto
and the Muskingum, tributary to the Ohio
river.
As a result of consideration accorded
the subject prior to
1900
by such agencies as the Smithsonian
Institution, the
Bureau of American Ethnology, the
Peabody Museum of Har-
vard University, various state
institutions and museums and
by individuals, a basic knowledge of the
prehistoric earthworks
of Ohio and their contents had been attained.
Progress in the
direction of determining the racial
status of the people them-
selves, however, was not so rapid. From
an early date certain
scientists had maintained that, racially
considered, the Mound
Builder and the historic Indian were a
unit, basing their opinion
mainly upon a comparison of skeletal
remains and of relics
found in the mounds, with those of
existing or known tribes.
Many students of the subject, unable to
justify this view in their
own minds, continued to argue separate
and distinct racial af-
finities for the two peoples. In brief,
the progress of Ohio
archaeological research at the close of
the first century of
statehood may be summarized as follows:
The presence in Ohio during prehistoric
times of earlier
tribes of the American Indians, was
accepted as an obvious fact.
The existence, within the territory
comprising the state, of
a prehistoric people who erected
pretentious and numerous
earthworks, presumably as monuments to
their dead, as works
464 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
of defense, and as adjuncts to
ceremonial and religious obser-
vances was fully recognized.
The principal ones of the earthworks had
been located and
described, many of them surveyed, and a
sufficient number ex-
plored to afford a general understanding
of their character and
to show that at least two distinct
culture groups had been re-
sponsible for their construction.
The relationship or distinction between
the so-called Mound
Builders and the hitsoric Indians
remained a matter of dis-
agreement.
The activities of the Ohio State
Archaeological and His-
torical Society are inseparably
identified with the unraveling of
the life-story of the prehistoric inhabitants
of America, particu-
larly as regards the great
mound-building cultures of the Ohio
and Mississippi valleys. Early realizing
the importance of the
study of the Mound Builders and the fact
that the key to their
mysterious career lay within the
confines of its home state, the
Society dedicated itself to the
preservation and study of the
ancient monuments which they had left
behind them, and,
through scientific exploration of these
to the work of determin-
ing the facts pertaining to their life
career.
The task of exploring the ruins and
interpreting their mute
records, to the end that data might be
supplied for the history
of a people who had vanished without
leaving a voluntary record
of its career, was assigned by the
Society to its curator, Profes-
sor William C. Mills. Availing himself
of the labors of the
pathfinders in Ohio archaeological
research and of those who
preceded him in the field, Professor
Mills began a series of ex-
plorations which have extended over a
period of 18 years. The
importance of the results obtained
thereby will be obvious in
the brief outline of the work as set
forth in subsequent pages.
PROBLEMS OF THE MOUNDS
In the meantime, various agencies
-national, state and in-
dividual-were engaged with the larger
aspect of the problem
of prehistoric man in America. It was
early realized that the
task was too great for any one person or
institution to attempt,
and that its successful prosecution
depended upon specialization
The Indian in Ohio. 465
of scientists in limited areas and the
ultimate summing up of
their several findings. The questions
most urgently demanding
answers were as follows:
Were the various cultures of prehistoric
inhabitants-
Mound Builders, Cliff Dwellers, Pueblos,
and others of the
United States, and the several groups in
Mexico, Central and
South America - representatives of
several separate and dis-
tinct races, or were they merely
diversified groups of a single
great race? In either case, what was
their relation to one an-
other and to the modern or historic
Indian?
Were the prehistoric inhabitants of
America indigenous, or
native, to the country? If not, from
whence did they come, and
how?
What of the antiquity, comparative or
approximate, of the
native race, or races?
From the introductory pages, in which is
discussed the native
American race as a whole, the reader
will have noted the present
status of scientific opinion regarding
these problems. They are
cited at this point merely as indicating
the lines of investigation
to be followed in the Ohio field,
wherein lay the solution to the
life-story of one of the great
prehistoric culture groups-the
Mound Builders of the Ohio and
Mississippi valleys.
In Ohio, the problem of cultures and
cultural distinctions
had received considerable attention, but
as yet remained unsolved.
The work of earlier explorers, including
that of Squier and
Davis, Charles Whittlesey, Professor
Putnam, Warren K. Moore-
head and others, had shown a decided
dissimilarity between cer-
tain mounds and their contents as
compared with others of the
Ohio tumuli. In the Mounds of Ross
county and elsewhere,
the first-mentioned explorers had
unearthed many objects of a
high order of workmanship, and
exhibiting evidence of a far-
reaching inter-tribal commerce.
Professor Putnam, at the so-
called Turner group of earthworks, in
the lower valley of the
Little Miami river, had duplicated
these; while Moorehead, in
examining the Hopewell group of Ross
county, in 1893, had
brought to light what up to that time
represented the highest
development of prehistoric man in Ohio.
It was clearly evident
that, while differing in minor and
unimportant details, the ob-
Vol. XXVII-30.
466 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
jects found in these mounds might have
been the products of
a common workmanship and that the
builders of the several
works were of a common culture. But this
analogy did not ex-
tend to the Ohio mounds and sites as a
whole.
At the great Madisonville site, near
Cincinnati, Professor
Putnam found a very different culture,
in which the relics of
its occupants were distinct in character
and workmanship..
Moorehead, in his extensive explorations
at Fort Ancient, War-
ren county, 1888-91, found the
inhabitants of this great prehis-
toric site to have been members of the
same group, with only
minor and local deviations to be
expected in the several com-
munities of a primitive people. Other
sites examined prior to
1900,
with a few interesting exceptions, exhibited the same rather
sharply defined characteristics of one
or the other of these two
distinctive prehistoric culture groups.
But it was by no means
certain that still another culture of
mound-building peoples had
not existed in Ohio. Certain instances
of incomplete or unsatis-
factory examination seemed to indicate
that possibly a third
group, or even two additional groups,
conforming to neither of
those recognized, were yet to be
determined, while the question
as to whether or not there had existed a
prehistoric culture, or
cultures, which were not mound-builders,
presented itself to the
inquiring mind.
A detailed description of the Society's
explorations through-
out the period under consideration is
aside from the purpose
of this review. Reference to the more
important examinations
and descriptions of a few typical
instances, will serve to illus-
trate the manner in which certain
conclusions have been reached.
For complete and exhaustive details of
field-work, the reader
is referred to "Certain Mounds and
Village Sites," published
by the Society.
The more important of the Society's
explorations, since the
year 1900, are as follows:
The Adena mound, in central Ross county,
in 1901; the
Baum village site, western Ross county,
1902-03; the Gartner
mound and village site, northern Ross
county, 1904; the Edwin
Harness mound, southern Ross county, 1906; the Seip
mound,
western Ross county, 1908; the
Westenhaver mound, southern
The Indian in Ohio. 467
Pickaway county, 1915; the Tremper
mound, Scioto county,
1915; and the Feurt
mounds and village site, Scioto county, 1916.
Of these, the Baum, Gartner and Feurt
sites were found
to be attributable to the low-culture
peoples, as represented by
the builders of Fort Ancient, Warren
county, and the inhabitants
of the Madisonville site, near
Cincinnati; the Harness, Seip and
Tremper mounds proved to have been
erected by the high-cul-
ture group, as represented at
Hopewell's, in Ross county; while
the Adena and Westenhaver mounds
apparently represented a
group, or sub-culture intermediary
between these two.
In recognition of the early exploration
of Fort Ancient and
Hopewells, and in view of the fact that
they were the most
nearly typical of their respective
classes examined up to the
time, Professor Mills has bestowed their
names upon the two
great aboriginal cultures which they
represent. The intermediary
group may be designated as the Adena,
since the mound of that
name was the first really typical site
of its kind to be fully
explored.
DISTRIBUTION AND CHARACTER OF THE MOUNDS
The accompanying map, taken from the
Archaeological Atlas
of Ohio, shows the distribution of the
mounds and other earth-
works of the state. The mounds are
designated by dots, and the
enclosures, fortifications and other
major works by the charac-
ter X. It will be noted that, for
obvious reasons, the principal
centers of habitation are located upon
the more important
streams. A few isolated sections owe
their comparative im-
portance to special conditions, as that
of Jackson county, where
the abundant supply of salt invited
aboriginal visitors, and Lick-
ing county, where the great deposits of
flint were drawn upon
by tribes from far and near.
Perhaps no equal area in the world
contains so many pre-
historic earthworks as the territory
comprised within the state
of Ohio. The Ohio State Archaeological
and Historical society,
in its recently published Archaeological
Atlas of Ohio, locates
a total of 5396 prehistoric sites of the
various classes. Of these,
3513 are mounds proper, 587 enclosures
and fortifications, 354
village sites, 39 cemeteries, 5 effigy
mounds, 17 petroglyphs, or
468 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. pictured rocks, and 35 rock shelters, or shelter caves. Besides these, 109 flint quarries, and many individual burials, stone graves, and other sites, are located. |
|
A brief explanation of the uses and purposes of the various classes of prehistoric remains may be of value to the reader. The mounds, so-called, are the most abundant and the best known. |
The Indian in Ohio. 469
In form they are usually low, broad, flat-topped cones, some shapely and others irregular. In size, they vary from almost im- perceptible elevations to imposing structures, 60 feet or more in height. Formerly the mounds were attributed to various uses, as look-out mounds, signal mounds, altar mounds, and burial mounds, but recent exploration has determined that almost with- out exception they served the last named purpose solely. In other words, the mounds are for the most part simply great tomb-stones or monuments erected over the resting-places of |
|
the dead. The largest mound in Ohio is the Miamisburg mound, in Montgomery county, which is 67 feet in height. The enclosures, so-called, are much less numerous than the mounds, and served more or less evident purposes. In form they are circular, crescent, rectangular or irregular, and vary in size from a few yards in diameter to those enclosing more than one hundred acres. With respect to purpose and location, the enclosures may be defined as follows: "Hill-top" enclosures, of irregular form, conforming to the topography of the ground on |
470 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
which they are situated and from the
natural strategic advantages
of their positions, suggesting a
military, or defensive use; en-
closures, of geometric forms, as the
square, circle, crescent, or
combinations of two or more of these,
located on low or level
ground, and probably partly defensive
and partly social or
religious in their origin; and
enclosures partaking somewhat of
the characteristics of each of the
foregoing, but usually small
and irregular in form, and located on
high or low land, appar-
ently with little regard to topography.
Of the first-named class of enclosures,
the best example is
Fort Ancient, in Warren county, which
has been called the
greatest prehistoric fortification in
the world. As before noted,
this impressive earthwork is
attributable to the low-culture
aborigines of Ohio, to whom it gives its
name. Other examples
of fortifications are Fort Hill, in
Highland county; the Glenford
Fort, Perry county, Spruce Hill, Ross
county; Fortified Hill,
Hamilton county, and numerous others. In
connection with
them there often occur village-sites and
burial mounds, as at
Fort Ancient.
Earthworks or enclosures of the second
class are attributed
mostly to the Hopewell culture of Mound
Builders. They con-
stitute the most impressive of the
prehistoric monuments of the
state, both on account of their size and
the apparent geometric
precision with which they are laid out.
While many of them
approximate true circles, squares, and
other figures, it has been
found that no exact system of
measurement was responsible for
their form. The purpose of these complex
enclosures is unde-
termined, but apparently they had their
origin in social and
religious observances of their builders.
Burial mounds, as at
Hopewell's, Seip's, Tremper's and
elsewhere, often occur in con-
nection with the enclosures. Among the
important enclosures
of this class are the great earthworks
at Newark, Licking county;
the Marietta works; the Mound City
group, on the land occupied
by Camp Sherman, at Chillicothe; the
Hopewell group, on the
north fork of Paint Creek, Ross county;
works formerly lo-
cated at Circleville, from which the
city takes its name; the Seip
and the Harness groups, of Ross county,
and the Portsmouth
works, of Scioto county.
The Indian in Ohio. 471
Enclosures of the third class are rather abundant but com- paratively unimportant. They occur generally over the state, good examples being those near Norwalk, Huron county, and those of Ashland county. They probably pertain to the low- culture inhabitants. Of the effigy mounds, the greatest is the Serpent Mound, of Adams county. This impressive work is attributable to the Fort Ancient culture, and like Fort Ancient, is the greatest monu- ment of its kind in the world. Both of these masterpieces of the Ohio Mound Builders are now preserved as state parks, in the keeping of the Archaeological and Historical society. Near |
|
Granville, Licking county, is the so-called Opossum Mound which is second in importance only to the Serpent mound as a representative of the effigy mounds of Ohio, while in Warren county, a few miles south of Fort Ancient, is another Serpent mound, resembling that of Adams county. In the matter of areas inhabited by the several mound- building cultures, it can be said that perhaps nine-tenths of those appearing upon the map are attributable to the Fort Ancient culture. These Spartans of the Mound Builders, while much more primitive than either the Hopewell or the Adena group, insofar as artistic and esthetic attainments are concerned, were clearly the dominant prehistoric inhabitants. The evidence in- |
472 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
dicates that they were greatly superior
to other cultures in num-
ber, eminently practical, and fitted to
hold their own with their
more highly civilized neighbors. Such
monumental works as
Fort Ancient, the Serpent Mound and
numerous others scarcely
less impressive, attest to their
greatness.
The Hopewell culture appears to have
confined its habita-
tion to the central southern valleys of
the Miamis, the Scioto and
the Muskingum. Ross county, with its
many mounds and pre-
tentious and complicated earthworks, was
the center of activity
of this, Ohio's most highly civilized
prehistoric people.
The Adena group appears principally in
the central valleys
of the Miami and the Scioto rivers. The
great Miamisburg
mound, the largest in Ohio, apparently
is attributable to this
group.
THE FORT ANCIENT PREHISTORIC CULTURE.
A brief review of the exploration of
some typical sites of
each class will acquaint the reader with
the character of the
several cultures.
The extensive occupation of prehistoric
Ohio by the low-
culture, or Fort Ancient people, is
attested by the numerous
mounds and village sites attributable to
them. As is true in
general of the aboriginal population of
the state, they appear
to have favored the southern portion,
particularly the valleys
of rivers tributary to the Ohio, but
their mounds, village and
camp sites are not wanting in other
sections. An extensive area
in northwestern Ohio was, in prehistoric
times, too low and
swampy to accommodate human habitation,
while the hill lands
of the southeastern and southern
portions were avoided for
obvious reasons. On the whole the
favored areas, as will be
seen on the map, were the valleys of the
Miamis, the Scioto and
the Muskingum, with their tributary
streams.
In studying the Fort Ancient culture, it
at once becomes ap-
parent that they were essentially a
village people. Within the
area most favored by them, there is
scarcely a square mile of
territory that does not disclose to the
interested observer some
trace of their habitations. Many of
these are of considerable
extent, and evident long occupation.
This fact indicates an agri-
cultural people, with a comparatively
high development of the
The Indian in Ohio. 473
domestic arts, since a primitive people cannot long subsist in one location without these artificial aids to existence. While wild game, fruits and nuts - the sole subsistence of the hunter- fisher, or purely nomadic state- would continue to be an im- portant and perhaps the chief source of food supply, they would soon cease to be adequate for an even moderately populous com- munity, and their successful pursuit would be at ever-increasing distances from the base of consumption. To offset this, some degree of agriculture, or artificial propagation of food supplies, would be necessary. That this condition obtained with the Fort |
|
Ancient peoples will be shown in reviewing the explorations of their sites. The Feurt mounds and village, of Scioto county, may be taken as a typical habitation site of the Fort Ancient culture. This site was explored for the Society in 1916 by Professor William C. Mills, assisted by the writer. It is situated five miles north of the city of Portsmouth, on the east side of the Scioto river, and occupies a picturesque and strategic location on the second terrace projecting promontory-like into the low ground comprising the river bottom. The Scioto bottoms at this point |
474 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
are very broad, and the second terrace, extremely narrow, is ter- minated immediately on the east by the high hills characteristic of the county. The site of this prehistoric village, comprising some four acres, had long been under cultivation. Its soil, of apparently inexhaustible fertility from the accumulated debris of human oc- cupation, was filled with numerous bones of animals, occasional human skeletons turned up by the plow, broken potteryware, |
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and implements, utensils and ornaments of flint, stone, bone and shell. Several excellent collections of these prehistoric relics had been gathered from the soil within the "plow line" by local col- lectors, aside from hundreds of specimens in the hands of in- dividual finders, and to the casual observer nothing of interest remained to be found on the site. Little did the plowman dream that beneath the few inches of soil disturbed in the yearly routine of cultivation there reposed the life-story of a prehistoric Ohio people. But to the trained explorer, a certain primitive custom, |
The Indian in Ohio. 475
which will be referred to presently,
encouraged the hope that
this perfunctory disturbance of the
surface had not obliterated
the records of the human drama, as
enacted by this aboriginal
Ohio community.
In exploring the Feurt site, the
Society's expedition had as
its purpose the removal and examination
of the soil and debris
of human occupation and the securing of
whatever artificial ob-
jects it might contain; the uncovering
of the original surface
level, as it was when first occupied,
and of any sub-surface
burials or deposits underlying it; and
the examination of the
three accompanying earthen mounds, with
the object of ascer-
taining their purpose, contents, and
relation to the village proper.
The work of uncovering, step by step,
the site of this once
populous village of a prehistoric Ohio
people, afforded repeated
glimpses of their intimate, every-day
life and made possible a
very accurate and detailed understanding
of their customs, arts
and industries. A force of workmen, with
picks, shovels and
trowels, was employed for several weeks
in cutting down the
accumulated soil, from its surface to
the original level of the
ground, or until all trace of human
habitation disappeared. As
this soil was removed it was closely
examined, and everything
of artificial origin carefully
scrutinized for any possible infor-
mation it might contain.
The reader perhaps might find a detailed
account of this
process somewhat tiresome, although
every step thereof, to the
explorers at least, proved fascinating
and instructive. As of
possibly greater interest, it is
proposed to invite the reader to
pay a visit to the village and its
inhabitants, as they were at
the time of their greatest prosperity,
as seen through the eyes
of the explorer, followinghis
examination of their long-deserted
village and interpretation of the
evidence found therein. Such
an imaginary visit, or let us say,
sojourn--for it should be
sufficiently prolonged to include the
various activities of the
inhabitants as influenced by the several
seasons of the year-
should be both interesting and
instructive. The Fort Ancient
aboriginal culture, besides being the
most extensive and rep-
resentative of the several which
occupied the state, is also the
best known; and a satisfactory
impression of the Feurt village
476 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
and its inhabitants will afford an
understanding of the great
culture as a whole.
From the foregoing reference to its
location, the reader
can readily picture the site selected
for the village and appre-
ciate the natural advantages which it
possessed. Thus happily
situated, this capital of our Scioto
county hosts has at its back
door the extensive hill country with its
forest products of game,
fruit and nuts; in front and on either
side of the promontory
on which it lies are the great river
bottoms, or Scioto flood-
plain, furnishing an ideal hunting
ground and unsurpassed soil
for the cultivation of corn and other
products; while within easy
access is the river itself, with its
never-failing supply of water
and its offerings of fish, mussels and
waterfowl.
The Feurt Pre-historic Village.
Approaching the village, by way of the
trail which flanks
the high hills along the eastern side of
the narrow second ter-
race on which it is located, we first
note that it comprises a
community of several hundred persons.
These-men, women and
children -are seen to be of average size
and physique, and in
all physical respects similar to the
well-known Indian of his-
toric times. Before giving attention to
their costumes and other
personal details, we are impatient to
satisfy our curiosity as
to their village, at which we now have
arrived. It appears to
be rather carelessly and unevenly laid
out, yet with a semblance
of streets or passageways. On either
side of these are ranged
tepees of skins and bark and rude huts,
built of poles and bark,
and apparently, in some instances
"chinked" with clay and grass,
forming a sort of wattlework. Within
these domiciles, or im-
mediately adjacent thereto, are the
family fire-places, made basin-
shaped, of puddled clay. They serve both
for cooking and for
supplying warmth. Everywhere, in and
about these rude homes,
are the residents of the village,
variously occupied in their
respective pursuits.
The costumes of the inhabitants are made
from skins of
wild animals, feathers, and coarse
fabric or cloth, woven from
vegetable fiber, grass and hair. The
amount of clothing worn
varies from practically nothing in hot
weather to heavy gar-
The Indian in Ohio. 477
ments, made principally from the furs of native wild animals, in the colder seasons. As ornaments, men, women and children alike are profusely adorned with necklaces, bracelets and arm- bands of beads, made from shell, bone or stone. As in the case of other primitive peoples, we find that the arts and industries of the Feurt village inhabitants center about three distinct purposes, or usages; namely, the securing of food, the preparation of food for consumption, and amusement or recreation. As we turn with interest to observe how these are |
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effected under such primitive conditions, we are quickly im- pressed with the fact that with these people the three most ser- viceable materials in the manufacture of implements, utensils and ornaments are wood, stone, and bone. The first-named serves a wide range of usefulness, from the construction of tepees and the kindling of fires for warmth and cooking, to the manufacture of bows and arrows, spears, and innumerable other objects. In various kinds of stone, they find their nearest ap- |
478 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. proach to metal for the manufacture of cutting, scraping, pound- ing and perforating implements, and in its disintegrated product -clay -the material for their potteryware. Bone of differing kinds (including antler and shell) is employed in making fish- hooks, awls, perforators, needles, arrow and spear points, scrap- ers, hoes, chisels, and ornaments, as beads, pendants and so forth. We are not surprised to note the extensive use of wood, |
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but the employment of stone and bone draws our attention to the work of certain individuals, who appear to be especially engaged in the manufacture of articles from these materials. On the one hand, we pause to observe a workman who is fashioning various tools and implements from granite, sandstone and other hard stones. The most abundant type of implement from the workshop of this particular artisan is a wedge-shaped, or |
The Indian in Ohio. 479
thick chisel-like tool shaped something
after the manner of an
axe-blade. These are mounted in wooden
handles, and used as
axes, hatchets, or tomahawks, serving
the purposes of those
implements, not only in the chase and
the domestic routine, but
in warfare, if such should prevail; or,
held in the hand, as a
chisel, they serve for skinning game and
dressing hides. Other
implements are the hand hammer, usually
a natural water-worn
stone, of convenient size and shape to
be held readily in the
hand, and sometimes modified to conform
to that purpose, used
in cracking nuts, in pounding grain, in
breaking bones, and in
the multiplicity of purposes which the
hammer serves in civilized
communities; mortars, or metates, made
from a convenient slab
of sandstone, one face of which is
ground out, basin-shaped,
to be used in grinding corn into meal;
and gaming stones, made
usually of sandstone, fashioned into
disks, from the size of a
silver dollar to that of a biscuit.
These latter often bear designs,
graved upon their surfaces, and are used
in a pitching game,
somewhat resembling our game of
horseshoes, or quoits, and
also in gambling or gaming, after the
fashion of dominoes
and chess.
While all the material used in the
manufacture of the ob-
jects described is obtained on the site
or from the nearby river
banks, we find that for the manufacture
of certain articles, the
inhabitants find it necessary to resort
to a distant source of
supply. This is true of flint, which is
obtained to some degree
locally but mostly from the flint
deposits across the Ohio river
in Kentucky and from Flint Ridge, in
Licking and Muskingum
counties. As we turn our attention to
the flint-chipper, we find
that his is one of the most highly
developed arts of the village.
We find him seated on the ground beside
a supply of flint, in
rough blocks, secured at considerable
cost of time and labor
through special journeys to the source
of supply. With a stone
hammer, the workman fractures the block
of flint in such a
way that he obtains large and
comparatively thin and regular
flakes therefrom. Then, by means of
simple pencil-shaped im-
plements of bone and antler, he
skillfully forces off secondary
flakes, or chips, by means of
concentrated pressure, applied at
the edges of the flake, and in such a
way as to take advantage
480 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
of the grain or cleavage of the flint. Among his finished prod- ucts are beautifully wrought arrow and spear points, triangular in outline; blades used as knives and scrapers, and drills, for boring wood, stone, bone and other materials. Nearby sits the pipe-maker of the community, likewise sup- plied with material suitable to his purpose. Much of this is a variety of pipe-stone, of fine grain and texture, and varying in color from almost white, through the various subdued grays, |
|
tans and browns, to flesh, pink and even red. This material is secured on the crest of the high hills to the east of the village. The workman, using first his stone hammer, then a tough stone or flint, for pecking, and finally the ever-present whetstone of gritty sandstone for rubbing and polishing, turns out his finished products. These are usually plainly oval in shape, but some- times L-shaped or otherwise, and not infrequently decorated with pleasing conventional carvings or the images of animals, birds, or the human face. |
The Indian in Ohio. 481
Perhaps as important as any other of the village industries, is that of pottery-making. Selecting a supply of tough clean clay, the potter first tempers it by liberal admixture with pow- dered mussel shells. It is deftly formed into vessels, often dec- orated with incised designs, and then is baked in the fireplaces. The vessels are used for containing water, for storing food and in cooking. We note at a glance that the inhabitants of the Feurt vil- lage are in the so-called stone age of human development; and yet, from the extensive use of bone as a material for fashioning implements and ornaments, the designation of a bone-age peo- ple would not be far amiss. At various places throughout the village workmen are en- gaged in the manufacture of objects of bone in great profusion. Principal of these are awl-like implements, or perforators, made mostly from the leg-bones of the deer and the wild turkey, al- though suitable bones of other animals and birds are not slighted. These leg-bones are first cut or broken in two at the center, and the inner end then ground to a sharp point, by rubbing upon or with a grinding stone of gritty sandstone. These awls are used in perforating hides and leather in making clothing and moccasins, and for other similar purposes. They likewise play an important part in eating, by serving as forks for removing meat and other foods from the common dinner kettle, and in |
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Vol. XXVII-31. |
482 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
signs, worn in the hair as ornaments or
hair-pins. From
deer antler, they fashion small
cylindrical instruments for chip-
ping flint, and from the hollow wing
bones of the eagle, owl,
and other birds, they cut tubular
sections to be worn as beads.
Certain close-grained sections of bone
are selected and made
into fish-hooks, much the same in size
and shape as those with
which we are acquainted, except that
their makers have not
learned the importance of the barb, or
retaining point.
In working bone, the artisan resorts to
numerous expedients,
such as breaking, by means of his
hand-hammer; cutting, with
a flint knife; burning, until the action
of the fire has so weak-
ened the material that it can be broken;
and finally, by grinding
and polishing on the whetstones or
grindstones of gritty rock.
Primitive Agriculture and Food
Sources.
Below the terrace on which the village
stands is a busy
group of workers, mostly women and
girls. They are "tending"
their gardens, or truck-patches, in
which have been planted their
staple cereal, Indian corn, or maize.
Besides corn, there is a
variety of beans, a sort of squash or
pumpkin, and perhaps a few
other vegetables. Second only in
importance to corn is the crop
of tobacco, a very important adjunct to
the life of the village.
The loose rich soil selected for the
growing crops needs but
little cultivation. Rude hoes, made from
mussel-shells or shoul-
der-blades of the deer, supplied with
wooden handles, and sharp-
ened sticks, are the tools used in
working the soil. The prod-
ucts of the garden are consumed as they
become available, and
any surplus is dried and preserved for
winter use. For the
storage of these supplies of corn and
other products, pits are
dug in the ground and lined with bark.
Having satisfied our curiosity as to the
manner in which
food supplies are obtained by artificial
propagation or cultiva-
tion, we are glad to have the opportunity
of observing how the
natural or spontaneous products of
nature are utilized. A party
of hunters has just returned from the
chase. They are armed
with bows and arrows, spears, and
various traps and weapons.
They bring with them a bear, a deer, wild
turkey, and numerous
smaller animals and birds, as well as
fish and mussels, taken
The Indian in Ohio. 483
from the river. Wild fruits and nuts, in
season, are also a
part of the bounty. Arrived in the
village, the successful hunt-
ers turn over their supplies to the
women, who dress and prepare
the game for food.
The repast ready, the hungry hunters and
their families
squat upon the ground around the common
kettle in which has
been cooked a mixture of whatever may
have been available.
With their bone forks, used spear-like,
they help themselves to
its contents.
After the feast there is much smoking of
tobacco, and al-
though the weed, as produced in the
village gardens, and smoked
in the rude pipes of wood or stone,
would hardly meet the re-
quirements of civilized taste in
tobacco, evidently it quite satis-
fies our hosts. Recreation is provided
in the way of games, in
which the stone disks which we have seen
manufactured are
used. Some are engaged in pitching
these, quoits-like, white
others are engrossed in a game of
chance, in which the disks,
bearing marks signifying their relative
import or value, are used
as counters.
We of course are properly sympathetic
when we learn that
a member of the community has died, but
are not averse to
learning the use of the heaps of earth,
or mounds, in connection
with the village, which, we already have
guessed, hold some
relationship to burial. After the usual
ceremonies incident to
such occasions, which, in the case of
uncivilized peoples usually
are very marked and pretentious, the
body of the deceased is
conveyed to one of the mounds. There it
is laid on the ground,
hurriedly covered with bark, grass and
roughly woven fabric,
and then with earth, carried from the
surface of the village
wherever conveniently obtainable. No
regard is paid to direc-
tion in placing the body, which is
deposited in the position it
assumed when life became extinct.
On inquiry, we learn that others already
have been similarly
buried in or on the mound, and that
still others will find their
last resting-place in the same manner. While burials are
sometimes made in ordinary graves
elsewhere throughout the
village, not infrequently within the
very teepees where the de-
parted had lived, the mounds are the
designated and usual
484 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. places of burial, and their sole function lies in providing a rest- ing-place for and a monument to the departed dead. From the modern, or civilized point of view, we are inclined to wonder- ment that the usual method of burial in graves dug beneath the surface is not generally practiced, especially since we learn that the Feurt inhabitants knew and used this method to a consider- able extent. But upon further reflection, we conclude that after all the mound burial has its advantages, since it not only results in interring the bodies beneath the ground but at the same time |
|
also provides for them a fitting and a lasting monument. The mound burial, apparently so different from the usual grave burial, but really very similar, consists in reversing the operation of excavating a receptacle beneath the surface level, by heaping the covering of earth above the surface. Thus, the mound burial of the Feurt inhabitants, we conclude, may be termed an "inverted" burial. While the Feurt residents are loath to acquaint us with the details of their social and religious customs and rites, we |
The Indian in Ohio. 485
are able to gather sufficient evidence
to convince us that they
bear out the rule of marked similarity
as among various uncivil-
ized peoples of a similar degree of
advancement. This assumes
a considerable degree of social order,
in which the family and
the tribe exert a restraining influence;
a conception of right and
wrong, and therefore of morality; and
government of the limited
sort necessary for so primitive a
community. Their religion
consists mainly in a reverence for, or
fear of, natural objects and
phenomena, in which they vest magic
powers for good and evil,
and in propitiating which they indulge
the usual ceremonies and
superstitious rites.
A feature of the life of these primitive
villagers which per-
haps is the least pleasing of any we
have observed, is the method
employed in maintaining a semblance of
public sanitation. While
the accumulation of debris and garbage
from the chase, the
kitchen and other domestic activities,
in and around their
domiciles, is to be expected in an
uncivilized people, it would
seem that the Feurt villagers are
determined to outdo all others
in this respect. Instead of collecting
and removing this garbage,
they prefer the much more laborious
method, when the accumu-
lation becomes so great as to be
unbearably obnoxious, of carry-
ing earth and covering over or burying
the debris where it lies
scattered about. As a result of this, it
is apparent that the level
of the village already has been raised
at some points as much
as several feet above the original
surface of the ground.
The only apparent justification that
occurs to us, as we
contemplate this peculiar proceeding, is
that, should the
archaeologist, at some far distant date,
chance upon the site
where this village once had stood, and
choose to explore its
ruins, what a gratifying record of its
erstwhile activities he
would find!
THE HOPEWELL CULTURE.
With this brief visit to the Fort
Ancient culture at the
Feurt village, let us turn our attention
to the people of the
Hopewell culture, passing, for the time
being, the intermediary
or Adena group. We have but to proceed
westward from the
Feurt site, immediately across the
Scioto river, to locate a site
which is typical in every essential
respect of this remarkable
486 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. culture of Ohio aborigines. This site is the Tremper mound, so named from the owner of the land on which it is located- Senator William D. Tremper, of Portsmouth. The geographical description of the Feurt site applies equally to the Tremper mound, with the difference that the two are situated upon op- posite sides of the river. The Tremper Mound. The Tremper mound, as a result of its peculiar form, for many years was considered as an effigy mound, and was sup- |
|
posed to represent in outline the image of an animal. It was variously called the Elephant Mound, the Tapir Mound, and otherwise, according to the individual impressions of observers and writers. By Squier and Davis, the first to describe the mound, it was accredited to the so-called effigy mounds, found abundantly in Wisconsin and adjacent states of the northwest, |
The Indian in Ohio. 487
and in origin and purpose attributable
to religous observance
on the part of their builders. A few
similar mounds, to be
referred to presently, occur in Ohio,
and in the light of knowl-
edge obtaining at the time, it is not
strange that early writers
should have identified the Tremper mound
as one of that class.
Subsequent exploration, however,
disclosed much that was
new respecting the prehistoric
earthworks of the state. Among
other things demonstrated was that
exploration of the so-called
effigy mounds is barren of results in so
far as relics of their
builders are concerned. From this fact,
it is obvious that ex-
ploration of the Tremper mound, provided
it were of the effigy
class, would not be justified; but after
careful examination, the
curator of the Society decided, on
evidence which will appear
shortly, that it was not effigy in
character, but in reality was a
great sepulchral mound which would yield
valuable information
respecting the Hopewell group of Ohio
aborigines. Accordingly,
in 1915,
he undertook the work of its exploration,
assisted by
the writer and a force of workmen.
As is characteristic of mounds of this
culture, as shown in
the Hopewell, the Seip, the Edwin Harness
and others previously
explored, the Tremper mound was found to
cover the site of
a building or structure of a sacred
nature. This building, which
might be termed the temple of those
responsible for its construc-
tion, clearly served as a place wherein
were celebrated the
sacred rites and ceremonies which enter
so largely into the
lives of primitive peoples. It requires
no stretch of imagination
to picture the observance of
religious--and perhaps social-
functions of this prehistoric tribe or
community living in the
fertile and picturesque valley of the
Scioto. Given some previous
knowledge of the culture, the
examination of this, their sacred
edifice, is almost as illuminating as
though actors and play were
projected upon the screen of the modern
picture theatre. Chiefs
and councils; priests and portents; and
medicine men and
magic, appear noiselessly upon the
scene, not sharply defined,
it is true, but none the less realistic
and life-like. Visualized in
this light, the sacred structure of the
Hopewell people strongly
suggests the council-house and the
long-house of the Iroquois
Nations of historic fame. But it was
much more. In addition
488 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
to staging the religious and probably
the social functions of the
tribe or community, it served as a place
for cremation of the
dead, deposition of their ashes in
prepared receptacles or de-
positories, and observance of the
obsequies incident thereto.
In this respect, it might be likened to
the church and its
accompanying graveyard of present-day
rural communities.
With the disposal of the dead and the
holding of the accompany-
ing ceremonies an important function of
each, the Tremper site
differed mainly in that instead of
burial in conventional graves,
the dead usually were cremated.
The building, over the site of which the
Tremper mound
had been erected, originally had been in
the form of an oval
enclosure, to which additions had been
made from time to time.
It had consisted of a framework of
upright posts set into the
ground with the interstices filled by
wattlework and clay, thus
forming the walls. Portions of the
structure apparently had
been roofed or thatched, while interior
partitions had divided
it into several distinct compartments.
The floor had been pre-
pared by levelling and firming the
natural surface, and strewing
it with fine sand. Several doors gave
entrance from without and
between the various compartments or
rooms.
Considering for the moment the Tremper
mound from the
view-point of early writers, that is, as
representing the figure
of an animal, it will be noted that it
faces to the southeast, to-
ward the junction of the Scioto and the
Ohio river. Description
of the floor-plan of the structure will
readily explain its pur-
poses and use, its resemblance to the
figure of an animal, and
why the Society's representatives
decided that this resemblance
was purely unintentional in so far as
its builders were concerned.
The main portion of the mound,
comprising the supposed
body of the animal, represented the
original structure-an
oblong oval building or apartment,
approximately 200 feet long
and 100 feet wide. Previous examination
of mounds of this
culture had shown that in almost every
instance the original
structure, after prolonged usage, became
inadequate for the
continuation of the rites to which it
was consecrated. The only
alternative to abandonment, in such an
event, was the building
of supplemental apartments or additions,
which in the Tremper
The Indian in Ohio. 489
mound as in most others of its class, had been done, not once but successively. It was found that three large additions had been erected at the south-east end of the main structure, and at right angles thereto, and that these compartments corre- sponded to the head and trunk of the elephant or tapir. Smaller additions, along the north side of the main building, occupied the places of the feet and tail respectively. The reader thus will readily perceive how, in erecting the mound over the site of this compound structure, and desiring to cover all portions thereof with a minimum of effort, the completed earthwork would result in a figure suggesting the outline of an animal. |
|
In addition to the post-molds and their charred remains of posts, by which the outline or walls of the structure and its compartments and partitions were traced, there were found the mutely eloquent evidences of human activities of centuries past. These consisted of crematories, or basin-shaped depressions on the earthen floor, in which the bodies of the dead were cremated; depositories, or trough-like receptacles, formed of puddled clay, hardened by burning, in which the ashes from the crematories were deposited; an extensive deposit or offering, of various ob- jects, placed on or about a shrine, and apparently comprising the |
490 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. personal possessions of the dead; and minor evidences of the activities of the occupants, scattered throughout the structure and the mound overlying it. While these various evidences, particularly the crematories and the depositories, were not confined to any one portion of the structure, their arrangement and position was such as to suggest special usages for its several compartments. From its great size, the principal compartment might be designated as the audience room, and it was here, judging from the prepon- derance of crematories, that cremation and the ceremonies at- |
|
tending it were observed. In a smaller compartment, which might be considered as the principal vault, there was located a great communal depository, more than ten feet in length, in which were human ashes representing probably several hundred cremations. This receptacle in appearance might be compared to a great trough of cement, with its rounded edges projecting several inches above the surface of the floor upon and below which it rested. A third compartment, the shrine room, contained a remark- able collection of articles which plainly had been cherished per- |
The Indian in Ohio. 491
sonal possessions of those whose remains reposed in the nearby depositories, or objects placed there by friends as offerings to their departed companions. These comprised a great number of stone tobacco pipes, some of plain design, but mostly made in the images of birds and animals native to the locality. In addition to the pipes, there were many ornaments and imple- ments of stone, flint, bone, copper, mica, pearl and other mate- rials, all displaying the same ingenious skill. |
|
Another compartment plainly had served as a kitchen and workroom. The bones of various animals and birds, used for food, and fragments of burned clay vessels, were strewn about the floor, while the presence of mica, flint and other materials suggested the manufacture of implements and ornaments. Within the compartments dedicated to the great depository for ashes and the offering of personal artifacts, were located highly specialized fire-places, built basin-shaped upon the floor, |
492 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
from carefully puddled and troweled
clay. These were filled
with ashes and charred wood, and the
ground beneath them was
burned to a considerable depth. Their
location and appearance
suggested that they were used for
perpetual sacred fires, which
play so important a part in the
ceremonial observances of
primitive peoples, and which often are
kept burning continuously.
The sculptural art displayed in the
pipes taken from the
Tremper mound represents the highest
esthetic attainment of
the Hopewell culture, and probably never
has been surpassed
by any people in the stone-age period of
its existence. The
technique displayed in the portrayal of
life forms is not more
admirable than the faculty of the artist
for observing and ap-
preciating the habits and peculiar
characteristics of the birds and
animals with which he was familiar. The
forms depicted in the
pipes represent more than thirty
varieties of birds and animals.
Examination of the Tremper mound showed
that, as is
true of others of its kind, it had been
in use by its builders for
many years, and that, when it no longer
sufficed for its purpose
or when for some reason it was
abandoned, it was intentionally
burned to the ground and the great mound
of earth heaped up
over its site, to serve as a lasting and
impressive monument to
those whose ashes it covered and
protected.
The Cultures Contrasted.
The casual student hardly would expect
to find two prehis-
toric cultures, separated by less than
two miles, so radically dif-
ferent in degree of civilization; and
his surprise would increase
on learning that they actually were
co-existent in their habitation.
That this is true, nevertheless, was
demonstrated by the finding
in the site of each of certain objects
pertaining unmistakably
to the other, and evidently obtained in
the course of common
contact, either through barter,
exchange, or conquest. In the
Feurt site were found several ornaments
of copper-a metal
which they, as a people did not possess
- of forms typical of
the Hopewell culture, while from the
Tremper mound there
were taken implements of stone foreign
to its builders but com-
mon to the Fort Ancient peoples. The
same evidence has been
noted in other sites, particularly at
Fort Ancient, where a great
The Indian in Ohio. 493
cache of highly specialized ornaments of copper, typically Hope- well, was found. Thus it is shown that for a time, at least, the occupation of the common territory was contemporaneous by the two cul- tures; but whether this was for an extended time, or whether one or the other was more remote or more recent in its occupa- tion, is unknown. We cannot so readily visualize the Hopewell peoples, par- |
|
ticularly as regards their every-day home life, as we have done the Fort Ancient inhabitants at the Feurt village. Notwithstand- ing that their high development indicates a sedentary mode of life, strangely enough no well-defined village sites of the culture have been located, with the possible exception of that at Hope- well's, the extent and importance of which has not been fully determined. Future exploration doubtless will discover the |
494 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Hopewell culture sites and acquaint us
with the intimate details
of their life-stories. In the meantime,
we may be assured that
they possessed everything enjoyed by the
Fort Ancient peoples,
and in many respects had out-distanced
the latter to a surprising
degree. Fortunately, the custom of
placing with the remains
of the dead a great profusoin of
personal possessions of the
more artistic and esthetic phases of
their activities, more than
atones for the lack of the homelier
relics of domestic life which
the absence of village sites entails. We
may look upon the Fort
Ancient culture as confining its source
of raw materials, used
in the arts and industries, to its
immediate vicinity, or to nearby
localities within easy distance from
their habitations. These ma-
terials consisted of various kinds of
clay and earths, stone, flint,
and pipe-stone; wood, bark, and fibers;
plants and their prod-
ucts; animals, birds and fish, and their
bones, skins and other
products, all from the immediate or
nearby localities. In addi-
tion to these we find from the deposits
within the great sacred
structures, unearthed from beneath the
mounds covering them,
that the Hopewell peoples enjoyed many
materials secured from
afar, obtained either through special
journeys or through trade
and barter with other tribes. Principal
of these substances was
copper, of which they made extensive
use. This metal they
obtained from the Lake Superior copper
district, where it oc-
curred abundantly in nugget form, and
almost free from ad-
mixture. Although they never learned to
melt and cast copper,
using it rather as a malleable stone,
which they cold-forged into
thin sheets and other desired forms, the
Hopewell peoples be-
came extremely skilfull in its use. In
the Tremper mound, and
in those formerly explored were found
many objects of copper,
such as thin plates worn on the chest
and head, often worked
into artistically curved forms;
spool-shaped ear-ornaments;
necklaces of beads; axes and chisels,
bracelets, fingers rings and
other forms.
Another material profusely employed was
mica, secured
from the south-eastern seaboard, and
used for decoration, orna-
mentation, mirrors, and other purposes.
They obtained great
numbers of pearls from the fresh-water
clam, which were per-
forated and used as beads in necklaces.
But the art in which
The Indian in Ohio. 495
the Hopewell culture excelled was that of sculpture and carv- ing. Their depiction of life forms, as displayed in the tobacco pipes of stone, and the carvings of conventional and emblematic designs on bone, shell, and cut from sheet mica, are remarkable examples of artistic conception and execution, and would not be unworthy of the efforts of the modern artist. Their superior skill is further evinced in the finely made pottery vessels, textiles and cloths, found in their ruins. This high artistic development, |
|
together with the custom of erecting sacred structures and cremating the dead, will convince the reader that the Hopewell and the Fort Ancient peoples were widely separated in point of cultural development and advancement. In the preceding pages we have referred to local deviations obtaining among the various communities of a given culture group. In connection with the Hopewell people, an instance of this is of so great importance as to demand particular mention. In connection with the Tremper mound, we have seen that its |
496 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
builders had developed the communal idea
to a point where,
instead of constructing individual
graves for the ashes of their
dead, a single common depository
sufficed for all. The same
condition, in so far as can be
determined from its rather per-
functory examination, obtained in one of
the mounds of the
Mound City group, of Ross county,
explored by Squier and
Davis.
In other mounds of this culture,
however, which have been
explored by the Society, this highly
developed communal custom
did not prevail. Instead of the common
depository, such mounds
as the Seip and the Edwin Harness showed
that their builders
had employed separate graves for the
ashes of their individual
dead. As a result of this procedure, the
floor space of the
sacred structures was exhausted much
sooner than under the
plan as used at the Tremper and the
Mound City works. The
advantage of the latter plan is readily
apparent, in that much
less space would be required for burial
purposes, and conse-
quently, the usefulness of the structure
greatly prolonged.
THE ADENA GROUP -ADENA
MOUND
In considering the Adena type of mounds
and their builders,
it should be understood that they have
not authoritatively been
assigned a place as a separate culture
group of the Ohio Mound
Builders. Future exploration may
demonstrate that the are but
variations of the Hopewell culture; but
the evidence up to the
present time seems to justify their
classification as a sub-culture,
at the very least, since those examined
have shown such marked
individual characteristics. The more
important mounds of this
class explored by the Society are the
Adena mound, of Ross
county, which may be accepted as the
type, and the Westenhaver
mound, of Pickaway county. A brief
review of the examina-
tion of the Adena mound will illustrate
the characteristic features
of the group, and serve as a comparison
thereof with the works
of the Fort Ancient and the Hopewell
peoples.
The Adena mound was located upon the
estate of Thomas
Worthington, one of Ohio's early
governors, just north of the
city of Chillicothe, and was explored by
the Society in 19O1.
It stood some 26 feet in height, measured
140 feet
in diameter
The Indian in Ohio. 497
at the base, and was unusually shapely in form. While the mounds of the Hopewell culture often are irregular in shape, those of the Adena type usually are distinguished by their sym- metry, often approaching as nearly to the figure of a cone as is practical to construct from loose earth. In this respect the mounds of the Fort Ancient peoples are intermediate, their form being conical, but as a rule they are not so carefully constructed as the Adena mounds. From its graves and their contents, examination of the Adena mound showed that its builders in many respects resem- bled the peoples of the Hopewell group, yet with many distinc- |
|
tive characteristics of their own. The abundant possession and use of copper, mica, and other materials procured from a dis- tance, and their skill in weaving fabrics and in carving stone, bone, and so forth, indicates that they were but little inferior to the latter. On the other hand, the absence of the sacred structures and of the practice of cremation suggest affinity with the Fort Ancient peoples; yet, while their graves were not the carefully prepared receptacles of puddled clay, they were far more distinctive than the crude and careless methods of the low culture inhabitants. In fact, very pretentious graves were the rule. These were constructed of logs, laid up in log-cabin Vol. XXVII-32. |
498 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. fashion to form vaults or sepulchers. Within these the bodies were placed, usually enveloped in wrappings of woven cloth and accompanied by personal ornaments and implements. A tier of logs was then placed over the grave as a covering, after which the earth was heaped above it. Objects found with burials of the Adena mound comprised many finely wrought ornaments and implements of copper, such |
|
|
mediary between the Fort Ancient and the Hopewell group, but inclining strongly toward the latter. |
The Indian in Ohio. 499
MINOR CULTURES OR GROUPS
In addition to these sharply-defined
groups of mound-
building peoples, it seems possible if
not probable that several
minor and less important ones existed
within the state. Whether
or not these are distinctive, or merely
variations of the recognized
cultures will be determined only by
future exploration.
It would be a mistaken idea to imagine
that all prehistoric
inhabitants of Ohio were mound-building
peoples. While the
custom apparently was widespread and
natural among the
aborigines of the state, its practice
doubtless ranged from those
tribes and communities which had most
highly developed the
art, to those which, as with the tribes
of historic times, seldom
or never erected such structures. That
there were extensive
cultures throughout the territory which
were only occasionally,
if at all, given to erecting mounds, is
indicated by the great
abundance of relics of certain types,
found scattered over the
surface of the soil, but very rarely
found in the mounds or
upon the village sites of the
mound-building peoples. These
relics, comprising such objects as
grooved stone axes, certain
forms of flint arrow and spear-points,
and bell-shaped pestles,
apparently pertained to the nomadic
tribes inhabiting the Ohio
country just prior to its exploration,
and corresponding to the
historic Indian tribes. They no doubt
were closely related to,
if not actually descended from, the
builders of the mounds and
earthworks.
ORIGIN, ANTIQUITY AND DISAPPEARANCE
With this hasty survey of the Ohio
earthworks and their
builders, we turn for a moment to the
significance of exploration
and study thereof with respect to the
questions of origin, anti-
quity, disappearance and race. The first
of these resolves Itself
into the broader question of the origin
of the American Indian,
or the native American race, of which,
as will be shown, the
Ohio aborigines were a part. When it is
recalled that the origin
of any particular race, and its history,
beyond a certain period,
are matters mostly of conjecture, we
should not be surprised
to find that the same is true of the
native American race. The
reader thus is permitted to choose
between two theories; that
500 Ohio Arch. and, Hist.
Society Publications.
the American race is indigenous, or
native, in its strict sense, to
America; or, as the alternative, that it
originated elsewhere and
eventually found its way into America.
The latter theory, from
the evidence obtaining, seems the more
tenable.
Again, the antiquity of the Ohio
aborigines may be said
to be merged in the question of the
antiquity of the aborigines
of the country as a whole. As in many
others of the states,
certain evidence has been adduced
pointing to the existence of
human beings in Ohio, during or
preceding the great glacial
epoch, estimated to have obtained some
ten thousand years ago.
This evidence, however, in the nature of
rude stone implements,
found in apparently undisturbed glacial
drift, is considered as
too meager and uncertain to be accepted
as proof. Conditions
prevailing in the mounds and village
sites of the state indicate
that many of them were constructed or
used to within a very
short time preceding exploration and
settlement. Their evidence
is to the effect that prehistoric
occupation extended from a
period of perhaps two thousand or three
thousand years ago
and that the custom of building mounds,
in some instances, pre-
vailed until and possibly after the
discovery of America.
Taking into consideration the histories
of human races,
nations and peoples, the disappearance
of the Mound Builders
should not present a particularly
strange nor incomprehensible
phenomenon. When the stories of the
nations of the world
are considered, it is found that many,
if not most of them
reached certain stages of development
and then as such, ceased
to exist. The causes leading to their
downfall are many and
varied, but when set forth in recorded
history are plainly ap-
parent. The stories of some of these are
plainly told, while
those of others, which lie beyond the
historic horizon, are but
dimly discernible.
In all the pages of history, there are
but few nations that
survive from great antiquity. Under this
law, those best fitted
to cope with untoward conditions imposed
both by nature and
by their fellow men, survive and
continue their careers, while
the weaker or less resistent nations
succumb and make way for
their stronger competitors. Unsuccessful
warfare, followed by
annihilation, subjugation and
assimilation by victorious op-
The Indian in Ohio. 501
ponents; decadence following social and
moral depravity; and
other lesser causes contribute to the
downfall of nations.
In the case of the Ohio Mound Builders,
any of these
causes may have played its part. Again,
they may have gradually
retrograded until the practice of
building mounds was abandoned
with the loss of their erstwhile
cultural ascendancy; or they
may have voluntarily and gradually
migrated to other parts of
the country. Many authorities however,
see in the mound-build-
ing peoples the direct ancestors of the
historic Indians who
occupied in general the country included
within the mound-
building area. They believe that the
Mound Builders, as a
class, were not so superior to some of
the historic tribes -for
example, the Iroquois Nations, the
Cherokee and others - and
that they were merely the earlier
representatives of the same
peoples of which the modern tribes were
the historic descendants.
THE QUESTION OF RACE
The question of race, as applying to the
Ohio Mound
Builders and Indians, is of particular
interest, not alone from
the fact that it has been definitely
answered, but in that the long
period of discussion and disagreement in
regard thereto ap-
pears to have rested upon nothing more
substantial than a trivial
misunderstanding or oversight.
Before examining the evidence leading to
the solution of
the problem, let us consider the meaning
of the word race, and
of kindred terms used in connection
therewith. Race, strictly
defined, means those persons descended
from a common an-
cestor, and thus construed may embrace
many tribes, peoples
or nations of widely differing degrees
of civilization. As an
illustration, the Caucasian, or White
race, has embraced such
varied peoples as the ancient Egyptians
and Ethiopians, of the
Hamitic family; the Babylonians, the
Hebrews and the Arabs,
of the Semitic family, and the Greeks,
Romans, Britons, Scan-
dinavians, Poles and others, from which
the modern Europeans
mostly have descended. The peoples of
the world formerly
were classified under five distinct
divisions with regard to
ancestry and origin -the White, the
Black, the Brown, the
Yellow and the Red races. Later
authorities comprised all hu-
502 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
man-kind under three divisions - the
White, the Black and the
Yellow races, the American aborigines
being classified with the
last-named. Thus it is seen that the
term race, while limited
and exclusive in its use, is very broad
and comprehensive in
its application. The term people, on the
other hand, refers to
the body of persons composing a nation,
tribe, or community
irrespective of race, ancestry or
origin, and is usually inter-
changeable with those terms.
With these distinctions in mind, it will
be readily seen that
those who maintain that the Mound
Builders and the historic
Indians were distinct and different
peoples, nations or tribes.
are manifestly in the right; but what
shall we say of those who
have maintained that the two represented
distinct and separate
racial entities? It appears to the
writer that the disagreement is
due in great part to careless
interpretation or loose construing
of the word race on the one hand, and of
people and its kindred
terms, on the other, rather than to
actual disparity of opinion
Those who hold the latter view, while in
error on the basis of
strict interpretation of the word race,
probably for the most
part really hold to the correct view -
namely, that the Ohio
aborigines, while comprising many
distinct peoples, nations and
tribes, were of a single distinctive
race.
Significance of Mound-building
In the assumption of this theory of a
single race, compris-
ing alike the various mound-building
cultures and the so-called
Indians, the reader naturally will
demand the evidence adduced
from the earthworks and their contents.
In the first place, then,
it may be asked, does the fact that a
people built mounds prove
or even indicate that it was of a race
distinct from others? This
query necessitates a further inquiry as
to the practice and extent
of mound-building as a human custom. If
we find that this
custom was limited to the Ohio
aborigines or to territory which
they may have populated, then it will
bear appreciable evidence in
the assumption of a distinct racial
affinity. Unfortunately for
this theory, we find that the practice
of mound-building not only
obtained throughout the Ohio and
Mississippi valleys, but that,
generally speaking, it was world-wide in
its extent. Investiga-
The Indian in Ohio. 503
tion discloses that the practice, in
some form, has obtained in
practically every country on earth and
in almost every stage of
human development it appears to be instinctive with the hu-
man family to erect some sort of
monument to its dead, and in
the less advanced stages of human
progress the most natural
and most easily constructed memorial is
a simple mound of
earth or stones Nothing so readily suggests itself to the
savage
mind, is easier of accomplishment or
more enduring. As their
builders advance in the scale of
progress, the simple heaps of
earth or stone become more elaborate and
of greater size, and,
passing through corresponding stages of
development, eventually
evolve into the pretentious and artistic
monuments of granite
and marble- the present-day
representatives of the primitive
mounds of the savage.
Aside from the great pyramids of Egypt--themselves
highly developed sepulchral mounds - and
their almost equally
impressive structures of Central and
South America, practically
every country of Europe and Asia is
dotted with the monuments
of its earlier inhabitants, constructed
either as memorials to the
dead or as adjuncts to religious
observances. Thus it is appar-
ent that, as proof of separate
race-hood, the building of mounds
is not even indicative.
Furthermore, we must take into account
the fact that in-
stances of mound-building have been
noted within historic times,
and that in certain instances objects of
white men's manufac-
ture have been found in the tumuli. Several of the early ex-
plorers recorded the use and erection of
mounds by the historic
tribes. De Soto, in his journey through
the Gulf states in 1540-41
found this to be true of the Creeks,
Chickasaws, Natchez, and
the Indians of Arkansas. There is also
evidence that the Texas
Indians, the Shawnee and the Cherokee
were mound-builders,
and it is held as not improbable that
the latter two may have
been the authors of some of the Ohio
mounds.
An instance which came to the personal
attention of the
writer may be significant in this
connection. While engaged in
field-work in the Little Miami valley, a
certain mound not far
distant from Fort Ancient became the subject
of inquiry. An
aged resident vouched the information
that his father, a pioneer
504 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
of the vicinity, often had related the
fact that at certain seasons
of the year, usually about corn-planting
time, the squaws of
the Shawnee Indians resident in the
district would repair to the
mound and indulge in certain ceremonies.
These consisted, in
so far as the witness could ascertain or
understand, in carrying
earth either in baskets or in their
apron-like buckskin skirts, and
to the accompanyment of much wailing and
other evidences of
mourning, in heaping it upon the top and
sides of the mound.
These visits, according to the narrator,
occurred annually or
oftener and were continued until the
departure of the Indians
from the vicinity.
Again, we have observed that among the
mound-building
peoples of Ohio, there existed at least
two distinct culture
groups. Granting that between the
highest of these and the
historic Indian there existed a very
marked difference, it will
hardly be denied, after consideration of
the evidence, that the
difference was not greater than that
between the highest and
the lowest of the Mound Builders. Then,
if we persist in iden-
tifying the high-culture Mound Builders
with a race distinct
from the Indian, shall we assume that
the remaining mound-
building cultures and sub-cultures
represented still other races,
or that they were of the same rame, yet
exhibiting even greater
differences than that between the
Hopewell culture and the
modern Indian? And what of the Pueblos,
the Cliff Dwellers,
the Aztec, the Toltec, the Inca and
numerous others of North
and South America?
To complete the solution of the problem,
we turn to further
evidence of the contents of the mounds
and village sites. Com-
parison of the human skeletons taken
from sites of the several
mound-building cultures, with those of
the modern Indian, show
all to belong to a single race- the
native American race, the
Red race, or the American Indian, as one
may choose to de-
nominate it.
Conclusions as to Race
In brief, while it might be interesting
to find that the
aborignal population of Ohio and of
America pertained to
several distinct races of mankind, we
are forced to conclude
that in truth they pertained solely to a
single great race, which
The Indian in Ohio. 505
in itself is distinct from any other.
The deviation in cultural
attainments was not greater than
naturally would occur, all con-
ditions considered, nor than has
occurred in the development of
other races.
The Mound Builder- as
with others, as the Pueblo, and
the comparatively highly advanced
peoples of Mexico, Central
and South America -must be regarded
merely as a stock of
the native race, which, under favorable
environment and en-
joyment of a period of peace and plenty,
found time to develop
its arts, industries; and social,
governmental and religious insti-
tutions. The innate instinct of human
kind to erect mounds
of earth as monuments to their dead and
as expressions of
religious sentiment was developed in a
correspondingly high
degree.
THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF ARCHAEOLOGY
Passing from this hasty survey of the
Ohio earthworks and
their builders, let us summarize the
results of archaeological re-
search in the state and the conclusions
to be drawn therefrom.
That the reader may appreciate the
importance of these,
it should be borne in mind that less
than a century ago the
problem of the aboriginal inhabitants of
the state had not even
been considered, much less solved. It
was surmised-if any
took the trouble to accord it a thought-
that the Ohio country
had sheltered a prehistoric
population. The only material
evidence supporting this supposition
were the earthworks and
minor relics which at the time were just
beginning to attract at-
tention. Such a thing as definite
knowledge regarding their
builders and users was entirely
non-existent, and their story as
yet lay wholly within the pale of
speculation.
Beginning with no records other than
these mute and ap-
parently unresponsive relics of a
vanished people, archaeology
has written a history of the prehistoric
inhabitants of Ohio,
which, in most essential respects, is as
complete as that of many
another early people whose annals appear
in the pages of his-
tory. From this story we learn that the
Ohio of prehistoric
times supported an extensive and active
population, and that,
while its territory was occupied as a
whole, certain sections were
particularly favored. We know just where
these favored sec-
506 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
tions are located, and why they were
more densely populated
than others. It has been shown that
these primitive peoples
had developed the custom of erecting
earthen mounds as monu-
ments to their dead, earthworks as
places of defense, and com-
plicated earthen structures as
accessories to their social and
religous observances. The examination of
these sites has dis-
closed the fact that their builders
pertained to at least two, and
possibly three distinct culture groups,
showing marked differences
one from another, and to several
sub-groups, of minor im-
portance. We have been enabled to
picture these denizens of
the Ohio wilderness with respect to
physical appearance, cloth-
ing and ornamentation, arts and
industries, social and religious
customs, village and domestic life, and
agriculture and food
resources.
Ordinarily, this array of facts would be
considered as com-
prising an adequate description of a
people lying wholly beyond
the dawn of historic record, and few
readers would demand
more. Certainly they comprise the more
important information;
but in the case of the Ohio Mound
Builders, it has become cus-
tomary to be more exacting. The
essential facts are accepted
as a matter of course, and then follow
the usual questions as
to origin, antiquity, disappearance and
race. The first-named of
these is a part of the question as to
the origin of the race as
a whole, and as yet has not been
definitely answered; the sec-
ond and third queries have been
satisfied in a general way, and
in the only way in which questions
relating to the remote past
can be answered, since specific dates
and statements are not
to be expected; while the matter of race
has been definitely set
at rest.
The importance of archaeological
research and of the
archaeological museum as educational
factors long has been
recognized throughout Europe and in the
older established com-
munities of this country. In the more
recently settled states,
however, there is a tendency to question
the value of their
services. This is a perfectly natural
attitude of mind, in newly
settled communities, where time and
energy are fully utilized
in establishing and fostering the arts
and industries necessary
to human comfort; but with increasing
prosperity and conse-
The Indian in Ohio. 507
quent opportunity, the public mind
arrives at a keener appre-
ciation of educational institutions,
and, therefore, of the museum
and the research which makes it
possible. The more enlight-
ened the community, the greater is the
realization that civilized
man is justified in expecting more from
life than the mere
requisites of existence. The lower
animals, and savage man, as
we have seen, demand from nature but
three things-food,
water and shelter; and with nothing more
than these, man would
have remained forever a savage.
It is doubtful whether any agency has
produced so much
new knowledge, from original sources, at
so small an outlay
in money, time and effort, as that given
to the world through
archaeological research as conducted in
the State of Ohio. Fur-
thermore, the material so secured, in
the form of relics of
prehistoric man, has made possible a
great museum, which for
all time will serve as a source of
information and entertainment
for untold thousands of interested
spectators.
Why do we leave our quest for daily
bread
To seek for relics of the savage dead?
Some sense of common comradery and kin
For human life, wherever it has been-
There lies the answer; and therein we
find
Enlargement for the human heart and
mind.
THE OHIO SOCIETY AND ITS MUSEUM
The story of the Indian in Ohio would be
incomplete with-
out some further reference to the Ohio
State Archaeological
and Historical Society, and its Museum.
The origin and early
accomplishments of the Society have been
noted in the preceding
pages. Its annual Publications, dealing
exhaustively and in the
minutest detail with Ohio archaeology
and history, and allied
subjects, now number 26 volumes. Aside
from these, a num-
ber of separate books have been
published, among which are
an "Archaeological History of
Ohio", by Gerard Fowke; "Ohio
Centennial Celebration," by E. O.
Randall; "History of the
Northern American Indians", by
David Zeisberger; a History of
the Ohio Canals; the "Archaeological
Atlas of Ohio", by William
508 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
C. Mills, and "Certain Mounds and
Village Sites in Ohio", in
3 Volumes, which comprise the field
explorations of William C.
Mills, as curator of the Society.
The Publications of the Society, under
the able editorship
of Professor E. O. Randall, its
secretary-editor, hold a high
place in the literary world, while the
Museum, for many years
in direct charge of Professor William C.
Mills, its curator, is
the greatest of its kind to be found
anywhere.
The Society is a membership
organization, fostered by the
State. Membership, available at a
nominal sum, is either Annual
or Life. The former entitles the holder
thereof to the current
publications of the Society, and the
latter to the complete set.
A number of important historic and
prehistoric sites,
which have come into the keeping of the
State of Ohio,
have been placed in the custody of the
Society. Among
these are Spiegel Grove, Fremont, the
home of President Ruther-
ford B. Hayes, where an impressive
Memorial Building has
been erected; the old Campus Martius, at
Marietta; the site of
Ft. Laurens, Tuscarawas county; the
famous Logan Elm, in
Pickaway county; and the site of the Big
Bottom Massacre,
Morgan county. Fort Ancient, in Warren
county, and the Ser-
pent Mound Adams county, have been
converted into State
parks, and thus will be preserved to the
people of Ohio for
all time.
The Museum of the Society occupies a
stately edifice lo-
cated on the grounds of the Ohio State
University, at Columbus.
The structure, which is shown as the
frontispiece of this volume,
was erected in 1915, through funds
appropriated for the purpose
by the Ohio legislature. It contains the
finest display of ma-
terial pertaining to the great
mound-building cultures in existence,
with the result that scientists and
students who wish to study
these prehistoric aborigines must come
to Ohio for information.
These unequalled exhibits are free to
the public every day in
the year.
Aside from its archaeological exhibits,
the Museum contains
important and interesting pioneer and
historical displays, and
an excellent reference library of some
ten thousand volumes,
based upon history, archaeology and
allied subjects.
The Indian in Ohio.509
Officers and Trustees of the Society
The officers of the Society are:
G. Frederick Wright, President.
George F. Bareis, First Vice President.
Daniel J. Ryan, Second Vice President.
Emilius O. Randall, Secretary and
Editor.
Edwin F. Wood, Treasurer.
William C. Mills, Curator and Librarian.
Henry C. Shetrone, Assistant Curator.
Trustees elected by the Society:
George F. Bareis, Canal Winchester.
Edwin F. Wood, Columbus.
Henri E. Buck, Delaware.
Lewis P. Schaus, Columbus.
Daniel J. Ryan, Columbus.
Francis W. Treadway, Cleveland.
G. Frederick Wright, Oberlin.
William O. Thompson, Columbus.
Webb C. Hayes, Fremont.
Trustees appointed by the Governor:
Emilius O. Randall, Columbus.
Benjamin F. Prince, Springfield.
Waldo C. Moore, Lewisburg.
William H. Cole, Sabina.
William P. Palmer, Cleveland.
James E. Campbell, Columbus.
510 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The following list comprises a few of
the many books
concerning the native American race, the
historic Indian period
in Ohio, and the prehistoric period, or
archaeology, of the state.
These, and others relative to the
subject, may be found in the
Library of the Ohio State Archaeological
and Historical Society,
and many, if not all, of them in other libraries available to
the reader and student. Those enumerated
will furnish a fairly
broad and comprehensive course of
reading, and will suggest
further lines of study, if desired.
BOOKS DEALING WITH THE NATIVE RACE, IN
WHOLE OR IN PART:
Publications of the Bureau of American
Ethnology.
Handbook of American Indians- Bureau of
American Ethnology.
The North American Indians - Catlin.
The North Americans of
Yesterday--Dellenbaugh.
Indian Tribes of the United States -
Schoolcraft.
Prehistoric America - Nadaillac.
The Aboriginal Races of North
America--Drake.
Antiquity of the Red Race in
America--Wilson.
BOOKS TREATING WHOLLY, OR IN PART, OF
THE OHIO INDIANS:
Ohio Archaeological and Historical
Publications.
History of Ohio-Randall and Ryan.
History of the Northern American
Indians--Zeisberger.
The Conspiracy of Pontiac-Parkman.
Life of Tecumseh -Drake.
History of the Shawnee Indians-Harvey.
History of the Girtys - Butterfield.
The Wilderness Trail-Hanna.
Indian Thoroughfares- Hulbert.
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGY (MOUND BUILDERS-PRE-HISTORIC INDIANS):
Certain Mounds and Village Sites in Ohio
- Mills.
Archaeological History of Ohio-Fowke.
Archaeological Atlas of Ohio-Mills.
Ohio Archaeological and Historical
Publications.