Ohio History Journal

OHIO

Archaeological and Historical

PUBLICATIONS.

MONUMENTS TO HISTORICAL INDIAN CHIEFS.

BY EDWARD LIVINGSTON TAYLOR.

[This is the second contribution of Mr. Taylor upon the subject. The

first will be found on page 1, Volume IX, O. A. and H. Society Pub-

lication.-E. 0. R.]

In the July number of the Archaeological and Historical

Quarterly for the year 1900 I gave some account of the history

of the monuments that have been erected by white men to com-

memorate the memories of noted men of the Indian or Red

Race. At that time I had knowledge of but four of such mon-

uments. First, in order of time, was that erected to Chief Keokuk,

at Keokuk, Iowa. The next was that of Leatherlips, near Co-

lumbus, Ohio. The third, was that of Red Jacket, at Buffalo,

New York; and the fourth, was that of Chief Cornstalk, at Point

Pleasant, West Virginia.

Soon after that article was published, I learned of three

monuments which had been omitted and more recently of one

that is proposed and almost surely will be erected. The omitted

ones were that of Chiefs Uncas and Miantonomoh at and near

the town of Norwich, State of Connecticut, and that of Chief

Sealth (Seattle) at Fort Madison on Puget Sound, near the

town of Seattle, in the State of Washington.

The proposed monument is that for Leopold and Simon Po-

Kagon, father and son, who were the last and best known chiefs

of the Pottawattamie tribe. Simon died at Allegan, in the state

2         Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

of Michigan, January 28th, 1899, and was buried with great

honor in Graceland cemetery, Chicago, Illinois. These were all

among the remarkable men of their race and have been given a

prominent place in our history, as well as monuments erected by

white men to mark their last resting places, as we shall more

particularly describe.

CHIEFS UNCAS AND MIANTONOMOH.

Uncas was the most noted chief of the Mohegan tribe and

Miantonomoh of the Narragansetts, of which the early English

settlers in the region of Connecticut and Rhode Island had know-

ledge. The Narragansetts occupied the region of what is now

Rhode Island, and the Mohegans were to the westward of them,

in what is now the state of Connecticut. The Mohegans were a

branch of the Pequot tribe. To the west of the Mohegans

were the Niantics. All of these tribes were of the Algonquin

linguistic family, and spoke substantially the same language.

Still further to the westward of these Algonquins in the state

of New York were the Five Nations of the Iroquois, who were

of an entirely different linguistic family. Although the Mohe-

gans, the Narragansetts and the Niantics were of the same lin-

guistic family, they were often at war with each other and their

wars were of the most cruel and relentless character. They

were really wars of extermination and no quarter was usually

given to fallen foes or expected by them.

When the white settlers came to that region they found

among the Indian tribes a most disturbed condition. The most

bitter hatred and relentless wars obtained between them and this

caused the ablest and best warriors to be selected as their re-

spective chiefs. The traditions which the white people gathered

when they first ventured into that region indicated that wars

and strifes had long obtained between the neighboring tribes and

the hatreds and animosities which such wars necessarily engen-

dered among savage tribes were in bitter and relentless force.

Early in the fifteenth century Lord Say and Lord Brook,

with their associates, became patentees of much of the territory

which is now embraced in the State of Connecticut. They pur-

Monuments to Historical Indian Chiefs.        3

chased such rights as an English patent of those days could

confer from Robert, Earl of Warwick, in 1632. Their rights,

whatever they were, covered the land westward from "the Nar-

ragansett river one hundred and twenty miles in latitude and

breadth to the South Sea." The Earl of Warwick was presi-

dent of the Council of Plymouth incorporated by King James

I, for the settlement of New England "and authorized to dis-

pense grants and patents to others." In so far as the English

government could confer title or patent to Lord Say and Lord

Brook and their associates, their patent was valid. In pur-

suance of this grant, John Winthrop, the younger, acting for

the patentees, in 1635 built a fort at the mouth of the Connecticut

River and called it Fort Saybrook. The name is a combination

of the names of these two principal patentees-Say-Brook. The

place holds its name to this day.

Soon thereafter what is called in history the "Pequot War"

broke out and the infant settlement of Saybrook was in danger

of being destroyed. In 1636 and 1637 the Fort was virtually

besieged by the Pequot Indians, but was bravely and successfully

defended by Lieutenant Lion Gardner, a trusted and faithful

agent of Winthrop. This settlement gradually grew stronger by

accession from the mother country and by the natural increase

of births until it became a center of power and a new element

of strength, which forced recognition by the native tribes in the

surrounding region. The English about or little before that

time had obtained a foothold to the east of Saybrook in the

region of Narragansett Bay in the territory of Rhode Island,

which region was the home of the powerful Narragansett tribe.

Both Uncas and Miantonomoh soon came to recognize this

new element of power and influence and to appreciate the fact

that friendly relations with the new comers might be to their

advantage and both with some success established such rela-

tions with their white neighbors. The English honestly desired

and endeavored to promote peace and harmony among the war-

ring and hostile tribes and did so far succeed that in 1638 a

treaty was made at Hartford by which it was stipulated "that

the hostile Sachems should not make war on each other without

first making an appeal to the English."

4         Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

This treaty agreement was not however long observed by

the Narragansetts and in 1643, a fierce war broke out between

that tribe and the Mohegans. The Narragansetts disregarding

the agreement advanced against the Mohegans with superior

numbers with the purpose and prospect of overwhelming Uncas

and his tribe. Uncas was not prepared for this unexpected in-

vasion, but hurriedly gathered his warriors and prepared as

best he could to resist the invasion. Miantonomoh, the inveterate

enemy of Uncas, was in command as chief of the Narragan-

setts. He had under his command near a thousand warriors

while Uncas could assemble not more than about four hun-

dred warriors to oppose them, and appreciating the disadvan-

tage under which he and his warriors labored, he sought a parley

with the chief of the Narragansetts and proposed that Mianto-

nomoh and himself should engage in single combat to decide

the fortunes of battle between the tribes. The proposition was de-

clined and at a signal from Uncas, which had been pre-arranged,

his warriors being prepared rushed upon the Narragansetts, who

were taken by surprise and routed, and many of them were

slain and their chief was taken prisoner. Miantonomoh was

kindly treated by Uncas, who subsequently surrendered him

to the English, by whose decision he consented to be

governed as to what disposition should be made of him.

The matter was referred to the Commissioners of the United

Colonies, at Boston, who in doubt as to what should be done

in the premises, referred the case to the "Ecclesiastical Counsel-

lors," at Hartford. The five Ecclesiastical Counsellors consulted,

gave their voice in favor of his execution, and it was ordered

that Uncas should carry out the sentence, and a delegation

of white men was appointed to see that the sentence was carried

out. So Miantonomoh was taken back to the spot where he

had been captured and was there executed. The fatal blow

which ended his life was struck with a hatchet in the hands of

a brother of Uncas. He was buried on the spot of his capture

and execution, which is about a mile east from the City of Nor-

wich, to which place members of his tribe made visits for many

years, and at each visit added to a pile of stone over his grave,

until a very considerable monument was in this way raised to

6         Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

Upon learning of the desperate situation of Uncas and

his people and knowing that surrender meant death to all within

the fort, it was determined at all hazards to attempt to relieve

them; so a canoe was loaded with provisions and three brave

and hardy young men (Thomas Leffingwell, Thomas Tracy and

Thomas Minor) volunteered to hazard the undertaking of reach-

ing the fort with these provisions. They followed along the

north shore of Long Island Sound some twenty or more miles

eastward, until they reached the mouth of the Pequot River

into whose waters they turned their canoe and under cover of a

dark night they succeeded in reaching the fort and Uncas and

his people were saved from the annihilation which awaited them

at the hands of their inveterate and exasperated foes.

Uncas and his tribe ever afterwards remembered with grati-

tude this timely deliverance from the dreadful fate which other-

wise would have befallen them. They remained friendly to the

white settlers and in 1659 sold and deeded to the "Town and

Inhabitants of Norwich" nine miles square of land, near the

center of which tract the City of Norwich now stands. That

was the beginning of the occupancy and civilization of that im-

mediate part of Connecticut, which in the two hundred and fifty

years which have since elapsed, has developed great and bene-

ficial results. It is within this tract of land that Uncas and Mian-

tonomoh lie buried and at no great distance from each other.

The date of the execution of Miantonomoh is stated, by Gov-

ernor Winthrop, as September 28th, 1643, and this may be

assumed to be correct and is the date carved on his monument.

The Colonial Commissioners met in Boston September 1₇th

of that year when they affirmed the vote of the Ecclesiastical

Counsellors, which sealed the fate of Miantonomoh. Their pro-

ceedings were kept secret until the members of Hartford and

New Haven returned home. This precaution was necessary,

as they would have to pass through or near the territory of

the Narragansetts, who certainly would have killed them if they

had fallen into their hands. A knowledge of their action was

soon known to the Narragansetts and on October 12th, Pessacus

sent a message to the commissioners at Boston of his intention

to avenge the death of his brother, and in the spring of 1645,

Monuments to Historical Indian Chiefs.        7

at the head of the Narragansetts, he invaded the country of the

Mohegans, as we have before seen.

In the intervening time they had often in various ways and

by various strategies sought the life of Uncas, but his caution

and craftiness was such that he was able to defeat all their

efforts to that end. Miantonomoh was greatly beloved by his

tribe and also by the white people in his territory with whom

he came in contact, and it is recorded of him that "he had shown

many acts of kindness towards the whites; in all his inter-

course with them he evinced a noble and magnanimous spirit;

he had been the uniform friend and assistant of the first white

settlers in Rhode Island; and only seven years before his death

had received into the bosom of his country Major Mason and

his little band of soldiers from Hartford and greatly assisted

them in their conquest of the Pequots."

In view of these qualities and his services to the white race,

it is difficult to understand why these Ecclesiastical Counsellors

voted for his death; but they must be judged by the hard and

cruel times in which they lived, and the stern religion by which

their acts were guided.

We have before related that the pile of loose stone which

had been accumulated over the grave of Miantonomoh by the

people of his tribe, was removed by a white land owner, who

converted them to his own use. Just when this was done is

not now definitely known, but it was long after the execution

and burial.

However, it is gratifying to know that on July 4th, 1841, this

sacrilege was atoned for by more enlightened and less selfish

white people residing in Norwich and vicinity, who placed over

his grave a solid block of granite about eight feet long and five

feet in height and the same in thickness with the single word

cut in large and deep letters and figures thereon:

MIANTONOMOH.

1643.

On that occasion a Mr. Gillman of Norwich delivered an

address and the formal laying of the stone was performed

by Thomas Sterry Hunt, a young man, who afterwards became

8         Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

one of the most eminent of American chemists. This was, so

far as we have knowledge, the first monument actually erected

by white men over the grave of a noted representative of the

Red Race; and nothing could better illustrate our advance in

civilization than this act of rescuing the grave of this noted

chief from neglect and oblivion, who two hundred years before

had been condemned and executed by the decree of representatives

of the early English settlers for no crime or hostile act against

themselves and who was in fact their friend.

UNCAS.

Although the Miantonomoh monument was the first actually

erected, it was not the first to be projected. The people of Nor-

wich had long contemplated a monument to Uncas, but the pro-

ject did not take active form until the summer of 1833, when

General Jackson, then President of the United States, visited

Norwich and other New England cities and his visit to Norwich

was made the occasion of awakening an active interest in the

project of erecting a monument for their "Old Friend," as they

expressed it - the Mohegan Sachem, Uncas.

The President was accompanied on that visit by Vice Presi-

dent Van Buren, Governor Edwards of Connecticut, Major

Donelson, General Lewis Cass, Secretary of War; Mr. Wood-

bury, Secretary of the Navy; and Mr. Poinsett, Secretary of

State. This was a very notable party and their visit naturally

aroused such interest with the citizens of Norwich and the sur-

rounding country, that there was gathered a great assembly

of men, women and children, bands and military and other or-

ganizations. A few Indians were present. Altogether the visit-

ing party received a great ovation.

Hon. N. L. Shipman delivered an address narrating the

history of the Uncas family and the then existing condition of

the Mohegans. President Jackson then formally "moved the

foundation stone to its place." It has been described by the his-

torian, Frances Manwaring Caulkins, as "an interesting, sug-

gestive ceremony; a token of respect from the modern warrior

to the ancient-from the emigrant race to the aborigines."

Monuments to Historical Indian Chiefs.        9

General Cass then delivered an address in which he observed

that "the earth afforded but few more striking spectacles than

that of one hero doing homage at the tomb of another." At the

close of this address the children sang a hymn and the day's

exercises were closed.

But the worthy project languished most singularly and it

was seven years before the work so auspiciously begun received

another impetus. The delay was caused by want of funds, which

with all their enthusiasm they forgot to provide for; nor did

they at that time have any plan or design prepared. It was not

until October 15, 1840, that the next considerable effort was

made to procure means with which to carry out the undertaking.

On that date there was to be held at Norwich a great political

meeting in honor of General Harrison and John Tyler, then can-

didates respectively for President and Vice President of the

United States; and for the purpose of raising funds with which

to complete the monument, the ladies of Norwich arranged for

a refreshment fair. They made most ample provision for re-

freshments and themselves served the customers at the tables

and thus raised the money with which to complete the monument.

On the 4th day of July, 1842, just one year after the Mian-

tonomoh monument had been placed over his grave, the Uncas

monument was erected. It was made a great occasion. The

Hon. William L. Stone, of New York, delivered an historic ad-

dress on the life and times of Uncas, and the monument was

then placed in position. It consisted of a granite obelisk or shaft

about twenty feet in height supported by a large granite block,

on which is cut in large letters, the simple name:

All about the grave of Uncas repose the ashes of many

chiefs and members of his tribe. The place had before been

used and has since been used by the Indians as a burying place,

but little or no evidence now remains to distinguish their re-

spective graves. The death of Uncas is fixed as having occurred

in the fall of 1683. His death was the result of advanced age.

Some harsh reflections have been left by some of the early

Puritan ministers upon the character of Uncas. They may all

Monuments to Historical Indian Chiefs.      11

It is easy now to understand what the Rev. Mr. Fitch failed

to appreciate, that his stern and rigid religion and manner of

life was not suited to the Indian mind and habit of life and

thought. Mr. Fitch was certainly as much at fault in not un-

derstanding the Indian mind and character as Uncas was in not

understanding Mr. Fitch's harsh and arbitrary religion.

It may be accepted as a just estimate of both Uncas and

Miantonomoh that they were neither all good nor all bad; that

they were superior men of their race; that they were brave and

had many virtues and good qualities of character; and that they

performed the duties of life which devolved upon them as best

they could according to their understandings and the conditions

under which they lived. Both rendered valuable aid and assist-

ance to the white settlers and the monuments which the white

race has placed over their graves are most fitting tributes to their

memories.

CHIEF SEATTLE (SEALTH).

The next monument we have to mention is that of Chief

Seattle, as named by the whites, or Sealth, as called by the In-

dians. This monument is at Fort Madison on the Puget Sound

in the State of Washington, about fifteen miles north from the

city of Seattle, which important city bears the name of this

noted chief.

The waters of Puget Sound were visited by the Spaniards

in 1774. A few years later they were visited by Captain Cook,

the celebrated English navigator, and he was followed during the

next few years by several other navigators under English direc-

tions, and these were soon followed by the American ship "Co-

lumbia," in command of Captain Kendrick, of Boston; and he

was followed by other American navigators. The Columbia

River received its name from the ship "Columbia," but it was

given to it by Captain Gray, who was in command of that vessel

on its second voyage to those waters.

The expedition of Lewis and Clark, under commission from

Thomas Jefferson, then President of the United States, which

started from St. Louis in March, 1803, reached the mouth of

the Columbia River on November 15, 1804. This was the first

overland expedition which ever crossed the continent. It was

Monuments to Historical Indian Chiefs.      13

1810, reached the mouth of the Columbia River February 15,

1812, the history of both of which has been graphically told by

Washington Irving in his narrative "Astoria." Many other ex-

peditions followed, but it was not until 1845 that any American

citizen made settlement north of the Columbia River. In August

of that year Colonel M. T. Simmons, George Wauch and seven

others made the first settlement at or near Budd's Inlet on Puget

Sound.

In 1849 the lumber trade was first opened on the shores of

Puget Sound by a single vessel from San Francisco (the brig

"Orbit"), which obtained a load of piles at Budd's Inlet. From

that time on the settlements along the shores and inlet of Puget

Sound rapidly and steadily increased. The lumber and fur trades

had much to do with inducing these early settlements.

The early settlers came in contact with Chief Seattle, who

is described by Samuel F. Coombs, who knew him intimately,

as "the greatest Indian character of the country." He was, as

Mr. Coombs says, "a statesman and a warrior." It was as a

statesman that he ruled his people for the long period of more

than half a century and always exerted over them a potent in-

fluence for good.

Mr. Coombs first saw this chief in 1860 at a council of

chiefs at the then village of Seattle. He was then about seventy

years of age, and was, as Mr. Coombs describes, "of calm and

dignified manners." The council over which he was presiding

was composed of all the principal chiefs of the various tribes

over which he had long ruled, and he received the greatest rev-

erence and respect from all of them.

In the early part of the century and perhaps much farther

back wars and conflicts of every kind obtained between the Moun-

tain Indians from regions about the headwaters of the Green

and White Rivers, and the Salt Water tribes, living along the

shores of Puget Sound. The Mountain tribes were always the

aggressors, and being superior in numbers and ferocity, the Salt

Water tribes were usually vanquished and many of them killed

and others captured and carried away to the mountain regions

and made slaves by their captors.

14        Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

In the early years of the last century the Salt Water tribes

learned of another war expedition coming against them from the

mountain country and a council was called for the purpose of

devising means and plans for resistance. The plan of Seattle was

adopted, although he had not much more than arrived at man-

hood. He was put at the head of the warriors of the Salt Water

tribes and entrusted with the execution of his plans for resistance.

He conducted his warriors up the White River, by which they

had learned their enemies were descending in canoes, to a point

where there is a sharp bend in the stream and where the water

was very swift. He obstructed the river below the bend so that

the descending canoes could not observe these obstructions until

they were near upon them and the strong current at that point

would prevent them from speedily turning back. He then am-

bushed his warriors on each side of the stream, armed with bows

and arrows and other instruments of Indian warfare and awaited

the coming of the enemy. The advance guard of the entire force

consisted of five canoes, carrying about one hundred picked war-

riors. The three canoes most advanced were caught and swamped

as they swept around the bend on the swift water, and their

occupants were either killed or drowned. Two canoes in the

rear got the alarm and retreated up the river and escaped. The

resistance was so unexpected and determined and the disaster so

great that the Mountain warriors abandoned the expedition and

retreated to their own country.

There was great rejoicing among the Salt Water tribes on

the marked victory over their old enemies and a great council of

the tribes was called and Seattle was made chief of them all.

The old chiefs became sub-chiefs under him. Three of the Lake

tribes, which were numbered with those of the Salt Water tribes,

at first refused to join in the consolidation and Seattle made a

visit to each of them well prepared to subdue them if necessary;

but he managed to win them by persuasion and without force

and united them firmly with the other tribes and from that time

until his death (in 1866) he was the acknowledged head and chief

Sachem of all the tribes living on or near Puget Sound and they

were never afterwards seriously troubled by their old enemies

of the mountains.

Monuments to Historical Indian Chiefs.       15

Seattle welcomed the white settlers to the Puget Sound and

was always friendly to them and in turn commanded their respect

and confidence. He was a great peacemaker among his people

and discouraged in every way vice and immorality among them.

Seattle died at what has long been known as the "Old-Man-

House" near Fort Madison, June 7, 1866. He was about eighty

years of age at the time of his death. Mr. Samuel F. Coombs,

who was a friend of Seattle, gives the following account of his

death and funeral:

"After a long illness, during which the old chief was fre-

quently visited by natives and early white settlers from all over

the sound, he died at the Old-Man-House. His funeral was at-

tended by several hundred white people and by more of his own

people. A. G. Meigs, proprietor of the Fort Madison Mill, shut

down his mill and on his steamer took all the employes and others

over to the funeral. A great many also went over from Seattle.

As the old Chief was a Catholic he was buried with the ceremonies

of that church, mingled with which were customs peculiar to

the Indians. The ceremonies were imposing and impressive and

the chanting of the litanies by the Indian singers was very beau-

tiful."

Subsequently in 1890 his friends among the white pioneers

erected a monument to perpetuate his memory. It is of Italian

marble, seven feet high and consists of a substantial base and

pedestal surmounted by a cross, bearing the letters "I. H. S,"

below which appears:

(SEATTLE)

Chief of the

Squamish and Allied

Tribes.

Died June 7, 1866.

On the base in large letters is engraved the Indian name;

SEALTH.

Monuments to Historical Indian Chiefs.       17

Seattle, which bears his name and will perpetuate and keep alive

the story of his deeds and virtues during many future generations.

CHIEFS LEOPOLD AND SIMON POKAGON.

We have now in this and a former article noticed all the

monuments of which we have knowledge, which have to this

time been erected by white men to commemorate the memories

of celebrated men of the Indian race. That there may be others

is quite possible, but if so they have escaped our research. We

have, however, yet to mention two of the most remarkable men

that the red race has produced, namely: Leopold Pokagon and

Simon Pokagon, his son, to whose memory a monument is soon

to be erected in Jackson Park, Chicago. Jackson Park embraces

the ground upon which the great Columbian Exposition was

held in 1893, and has now been restored to its original park con-

ditions of marvelous beauty.

These were successive chiefs and Sachems of the once pow-

erful Pottawattamie tribe, which long occupied the region around

the southern and eastern shores of Lake Michigan in the center

of which now stands the great city of Chicago.

Leopold Pokagon is described as a man of excellent char-

acter and habits, a good warrior and hunter, and as being pos-

sessed of considerable business capacity. He was well known to

the early white settlers in the region about Lake Michigan, and

his people were noted as being the most advanced in civilization

of any of the neighboring tribes. He ruled over his people for

a period of forty-three years. In 1833, he sold for his tribe

to the United States one million acres of land at three cents per

acre, and on the land so conveyed has since been built the city

of Chicago. The purchase also included what is now Jackson

Park, where the wonderful "White City" stood in 1893, and where

a splendid monument will soon be erected to the memory of him-

self and his son, Simon, and other Pottawattamie chiefs.

On the great "Chicago Day" at the Columbian Fair in Oc-

tober, 1893, where 750,000 people were assembled, Simon Pa-

kagon, the son and successor of Leopold, stood at the west plaza

of the Administration building in the presence of the greatest

Vol. XI-2.

18        Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

audience ever collected in one spot in the history of the world,

holding in his hand the parchment duplicate of the deed which

his father, sixty years before, had signed, transferring the land

on which they then stood to the United States. With due cere-

mony the chief presented to Mayor Harrison, then Mayor of

Chicago, the well-worn parchment, the duplicate of which had

been delivered by his father to the United States Commissioners

at the time the sale and transfer of the land was made. On

receiving the parchment, Mayor Harrison spoke as follows:

"This deed comes from the original possessors, - the only

people on earth entitled to it. The Indians had for long ages

come to this place, the portage or carrying-place between the

great rivers of the west and the great inland lakes. They pitched

their tents upon these shores of blue Michigan, and after their

barter was done returned to the Des Plaines River and on to the

Mississippi and its twelve thousand miles of tributaries. Chicago

has thrived as no city ever before. Twenty-two years ago this

city was devastated by a deluge of flame. The story of its suffer-

ing went to all quarters of the globe, and the world supposed

that, like Niobe, it was in tears, and would continue in tears.

But Chicago had Indian blood in its veins. I say this as a de-

scendant of the Indians; for I stand here and tell you that Indian

blood courses through my veins. I go back to Pocahontas, and

Indian blood has wonderfully recuperative powers."

To the disgrace of the United States, the purchase price

of three cents an acre for more than a million acres of land was

not paid according to agreement. The original purchase price

amounted to more than three hundred thousand dollars, and it

was not until 1866, during General Grant's administration, that

Pokagon succeeded in getting by way of partial payment $39,000;

and after further long and disappointing and disheartening efforts

he finally secured in 1896 from the government through the Court

of Claims $150,000 more, which was about one-half of the origi-

nal purchase price, without interest, when with interest a vastly

greater sum was due.

Leopold Pokagon died in 1840 in Cass county, Michigan.

He was a man of noble character and of pure and upright life,

and always labored to elevate and improve his people. He was

Monuments to Historical Indian Chiefs.       19

devoted to the teachings of the Jesuit Fathers and invited and

encouraged their missionaries (the Black-Gowns) to come among

them and teach his people to lead temperate and upright lives.

In his appeal to M. Gabriel Richard, then Vicar-General of a

Catholic church at Detroit, he plead as follows: "Father, father,

I come to beg you to send as a black-gown to teach us the Word

of God. We are ready to give up whisky and all our barbarous

customs. If thou hast no pity on us take pity on our poor chil-

dren, who will live as we have lived, in ignorance and vice."

While the old chief lived he would not allow traders or

others to bring intoxicating liquors among his people and was

always an advocate of temperance and religion, and exemplified

his principles by his own life and conduct. He was present at

Fort Dearborn (Chicago) at the time of the terrible massacre in

1812. This massacre was an incident of the war of 1812, in

which the Indians under Tecumseh were united with the English

under General Proctor, whose united armies were overthrown

and destroyed at the Battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813.

In 1838 an order was issued by Governor David Wallace

(father of General Lew Wallace, author of "Ben Hur"), then

Governor of Indiana, directing that the Pottawattamies remain-

ing in Indiana should be removed by force to lands beyond the

Mississippi, according to treaty conditions before that time made,

but which had not been fulfilled on the part of the United States.

This order, however, was most remorsely carried out by General

Tipton, who, with a military force, surprised and entrapped the

Indians at their villages in a most heartless and dishonorable way.

Spies were sent among the unsuspecting Indians, who informed

them that their Christian priest wished all the tribes to meet

him at their wigwam church, and when such as could do so were

assembled in the church, they were suddenly surrounded by sol-

diers, of whose nearness or approach they had no knowledge

or suspicion. It is related by an eye witness that the soldiers

then tied the Indians so entrapped "together with big strings

like ponies" and detained them as prisoners and the next day

marched them off to the to them unknown region beyond the

Mississippi. In the meantime the military force gathered in many

more men, women and children, which, with their captives at

20       Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

the church, made up a company of about one thousand, whom,

with "broken hearts and tearful eyes" were forced from their

ancient homes and such of their friends and kindred as had

not been captured. Few of them ever again returned. Many

women and children, and in some instances men, escaped into

the woods and swamps and thus avoided capture. Many families

were thus broken up never again to be united. On the hard

journey to the West more than a hundred of them died and a

few escaped into the wilderness, so that there were more than

one hundred and fifty missing when they arrived in the new

territory.

A large part of those so cruelly forced from their homes

and in many instances from their families were of the Menominee

band, whose chief, old Menominee, had steadfastly refused to

sign any treaty, or to sell the lands owned and occupied by his

band, and so had never parted with any rights, titles or interests

which they had therein. This crime against these peaceful and

well-disposed people was, as usual in such cases, the result of

the insidious and nefarious schemes of white land grabbers and

speculators by whom, it is probable, Governor Wallace was de-

ceived and misled.

By a special agreement and contract before that time made,

Leopold Pokagon and his band were to remain in the State of

Michigan, within the region of St. Joseph River, but in the in-

discriminate rounding up of the Indians by the military many of

his band were captured and forced away with others, regardless

of all rights and agreements, and of all the dictates of conscience

and humanity. By this merciless crime Pokagon's band was

much reduced and broken and his spirit wounded unto death.

Two years later he died, after ruling wisely and justly over his

people for the long period of forty-three years, and his son,

Simon, then ten years of age, became the rightful hereditary

chief of the Pottawattamie tribe.

SIMON POKAGON.

In Simon Pokagon we have one of the most remarkable

and worthy characters which the red race has produced. He

was a full-blooded Indian of the Pottawattamie tribe, which tribe

22        Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

and the Ottawa Rivers, and the vast territory as far west as

the eastern shores of Lake Huron. As before stated, he was

but ten years of age when his father, Leopold Pokagon, died.

His mother survived for many years thereafter and until he

had grown to manhood and had become the active chief of the

remnant of his broken band. His fame is not that of a warrior,

as he never had occasion to lead his people to battle or go upon

the warpath.

The long and bloody wars and conflicts between the white

and red race east of the Mississippi ceased with the Battle of

the Thames, October 5, 1813. That decisive battle closed the

dreadful drama which for half a century had been enacted upon

the territory of the great Northwest. The raid of Black Hawk

into northwestern Illinois in 1832 cannot be considered as an

exception, as he and his warriors came from the Fox and Sac

Nations beyond the Mississippi and was opposed by the old

Pottawattamie chief, Shabbona, who assisted the whites against

Black Hawk, and aided greatly in his defeat and capture.

But it is as a scholar and philosopher and wise ruler over

his people that Pokagon's fame consists. Until he was fourteen

years of age he knew not a word of any language but his mother

tongue. At that age he was sent to a Notre Dame School, near

South Bend, Indiana, where he remained for three years. Here

he began to learn the English, Latin and Greek languages, in

which he ultimately became singularly proficient. He had a

marvelous aptitude for acquiring languages. He was especially

zealous in the acquirement of a thorough knowledge of the Eng-

lish language. After three years he returned to visit his mother,

who appreciated his high purposes and added her efforts to his

own to enable him to realize his ambitious desires. He then

spent one year at Oberlin College, Ohio, and then went to Twins-

burg, Summit county, in the same state, where he remained two

years longer. This gave him six years in English teaching and

speaking schools, and laid the foundation of his marvelous Eng-

lish education. No full-blooded Indian ever acquired a more

thorough knowledge of the English language or wrote or spoke

it with more fluency or accuracy. He, however, never neglected

his native tongue, and succeeded in after years in reducing his

Monuments to Historical Indian Chiefs.       23

native language to considerable perfection. His writings indi-

cate not only that he had great respect for his own language, but

in some respects thought it superior to others.

His life was not eventful in the ordinary sense of Indian

chieftains, and his fame rests upon the wonderful example

which he offered of the possibilities of advancement of the Red

race in the lines of civilization. Born at a time when all the

Indian habits of mind and thought and life were still in full

force and vigor, he was able to emerge from these environ-

ments and to turn his face and influence towards a different

form of life and destiny. He was enabled at an early age to

see the great advantage and necessity of laying aside the imple-

ments of war and the chase to turn to the cultivation of the

soil and to the procurement of permanent homes; and it was in

this line that he always directed the minds of his people. Other-

wise he plainly saw the speedy ending of his race.

In the August number of "The Forum," 1897, appeared

an article written by Pokagon, entitled, "The Future of the Red

Man," which for lofty expressions and profound reflections and

sentiments can scarcely be surpassed. The first few sentences

will give an idea of his deep reflections and his lofty plane of

thought. He says:

"Often in the stillness of the night, when all nature seems

asleep about me, there comes a gentle rapping at the door of my

heart. I open it; and a voice inquires, 'Pokagon, what of your

people? What will be their future?' My answer is, 'Mortal

man has not the power to draw aside the veil of unborn time

to tell the future of his race. That gift belongs to the Divine

alone. But it is given to him to closely judge the future by

the present and the past.' "

The article is full of wise and philosophical thoughts and

reflections on the future of his race and concludes as follows:

"The index-finger of the past and present is pointing to

the future, showing most conclusively that by the middle of the

next century all Indian reservations and tribal relations will

have passed away. Then our people will begin to scatter; and

the result will be a general mixing up of the races. Through

intermarriage the blood of our people, like the waters that flow

24        Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

into the great ocean, will be forever lost in the dominant race;

and generations yet unborn will read in history of the red men

of the forest, and inquire, 'Where are they?' "

During the later years of his life, he wrote for many maga-

zines, among them "The Forum," "The Arena," "Harper's,"

"The Chautauquan" and "The American Review of Reviews."

He also made many speeches and addresses, a most notable one

of which was on January ₇th, 1898, at the Gem Opera House,

at Liberty, Indiana, under the auspices of the Orinoco Tribe of

the Independent Order of Red Men. A few extracts from that

address will show his elevation of mind and nobility of soul.

He said:

"My heart is always made glad when I read of the Daughters

of Pocahontas kindling their council fires. *  *  * The names

of Pocahontas and Pokagon (my own name) were derived from

the same Algonquin word-Po-ka-meaning a "shield" or "pro-

tector." And again we are highly complimented by the Order

of Red Men in dating their official business from the time of

the discovery of America. I suppose the reason for fixing that

date was because our forefathers had held for untold ages

before that time the American continent a profound secret from

the white man. Again, the Red Men's Order highly compli-

ments our race by dividing time into suns and moons, as our

forefathers did, all of which goes to show that they under-

stood the fact that we lived close to the Great Heart of Nature,

and that we believed in one Great Spirit who created all things,

and governs all."

"Hence that noble motto, born with our race,-Freedom,

Friendship and Charity,-was wisely chosen for their guiding

star. Yes, Freedom, Friendship, Charity! Those heaven-born

principles shall never, never die! It was by those principles

our fathers cared for the orphan and the unfortunate, without

books, without laws, without judges; for the Great Spirit had

written his law in their hearts, which they obeyed."  *  *  *

"But our camp-fires have all gone out. Our council fires

blaze no more. Our wigwams and they who built them, with

their children, have forever disappeared from this beautiful land,

and I alone of all the chiefs am permitted to behold it again.

Monuments to Historical Indian Chiefs.        25

"But what a change! Where cabins and wigwams once

stood, now stand churches, schoolhouses, cottages and castles.

And where we walked or rode in single file along our winding

trails, now locomotives scream like some beast of prey, rushing

along their iron tracks, drawing after them long rows of palaces

with travelers therein, outstripping the flight of eagles in their

course.

"As I behold this mighty change all over the face of this

broad land, I feel about my heart as I did in childhood when I

saw for the first time the rainbow spanning the cloud of the

departed storm. * * *

"In conclusion, permit me to say, I rejoice with the joy of

childhood that you have granted 'a son of the forest' a right

to speak to you; and the prayer of my heart, as long as I live,

shall ever be that the Great Spirit will bless you and your

children, and that the generations yet unborn may learn to know

that we are all brothers, and that there is but one fold, under

one Shepherd, and the great God is the Father of all."

At the opening of the great World's Fair at Chicago, May

1st, 1893, the old chief was present with other educated repre-

sentatives of his tribe and race, but the occurrences of the

day deeply wounded and humiliated him. There had been great

preparations made for this event. The ceremonies were held

under the dome of the great Administration Building. Presi-

dent Cleveland was to respond to the address of welcome, and

there were present the representatives of many nations. The

Duke of Veragua was there with his suite, especially invited

as the lineal representative of Columbus, usually accredited as

the first discoverer of America. All of these numerous foreign

representatives were provided with seats upon the great plat-

form, where they could observe the ceremonies, while Pokagon

and his Indian associates, who alone represented the original

Americans, were forgotten and compelled to look silently on

from the background, while the representatives of foreign na-

tions took their provided places to participate in the glittering

pageant. This occurrence, on the very ground which his tribe

only a few years before had owned and occupied for centuries,

and where in his youth he had encamped and hunted with his

26        Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

father, and where he had roamed and played with other children

of the forest, wounded his very soul and made a deep and un-

fortunate impression upon his mind. However, this unintentional

neglect was productive of great good, and subsequently most

amply and notably atoned for. It inspired him to write "The

Red Man's Greeting." It was published in booklet form made

from the bark of the white birch tree and was widely circu-

lated and read, and created a marked impression on the public

mind. It was fitly termed by Prof. Swing, "The Red Man's

Book of Lamentations."

The managers of the fair and the people of Chicago soon

took steps to atone for this unintentional but seeming neglect and

arranged so that the old chief should be the central figure of

attraction on the great "Chicago Day," which was appointed

for October 9th, 1893. This was carried out in form and spirit

and no King or Potentate was ever the center of attraction of

so vast an assemblage of people. The pertinent features of this

occasion, as relates to Pokagon, have already been mentioned

and need not here be repeated.

Subsequent to that time he engaged much in literary labors

more or less of a historical character, but in the meantime wrote

the charming story, "Queen of the Woods," founded upon his

own life's experiences. He had finished the work but died sud-

denly before its publication. It is a simple, natural, pure and

pleasing narrative, and has a charm something akin to that

which is experienced in reading "The Vicar of Wakefield." There

is in its pages nothing less pure than the song of birds, the

blooming of wild flowers and the divinely fresh fragrance of the

forest.

Pokagon died on the 28th day of January, 1899, at his old

home in Allegan County, Michigan, at the age of seventy years,

and thus passed away the last and most noted chief of the

once powerful Pottawattamie tribe. As a separately organized

tribe they no longer exist. At the time of his death all the

leading papers of Chicago published notices of the event with

sketches of his life and character and these were widely copied

throughout the press of the country. At once steps were taken

to have his remains buried in Graceland Cemetery, Chicago.

Monuments to Historical Indian Chiefs.       27

That organization donated a lot for that purpose, located near

the grave of John Kinzie, the first white resident of Chicago,

and his remains were there laid to rest.

As to the proposed monument the Chicago Inter-Ocean,

under date of March 16th, 1899, says:

THE POKAGON MONUMENT.

"The last hereditary chief of the Pottawattamies having

died a few weeks ago, an organization has been formed in

Chicago to erect a monument to his memory and to that of

his father, Pokagon I, who was the great chief of the Potta-

wattamies during the days of the second Fort Dearborn and

early Chicago.

The only memory left for coming generations of this race

is the beautiful monument erected by the late Mr. George Pull-

man on the site of the massacre of the first fort's days.

The new Indian monument will be erected in Jackson Park,

where throngs of visitors may become as familiar with its story

as they are with that of the Massacre Monument.

The new monument will be erected in memory of the late

Simon Pokagon, and will have inscribed upon it his own beau-

tiful words to the children of Chicago, that "the red man and

white man are brothers, and God is the Father of all."

Surmounting the pedestal will be a superb statue of the

regal figure of Pokagon I in full chieftain's attire. The four

bas-reliefs on the pedestal will represent events in the history

of Chicago's Indian days, which will be decided upon by a com-

mittee of pioneers. The names, also, of noted Pottawattamie

chiefs who were at the head of bands under Pokagon will be

inscribed upon the base of the monument."

It is not known, and probably never can be definitely known,

what period has elapsed between the passing of the Mound

Builders and the coming of the white man; but it must have

covered several centuries of time. During that period the oc-

cupants of the land left no substantial or material monuments

or marks to indicate their burial places or to evidence an in-

tention to perpetuate the fact of their occupancy of the country.

The continent has now been explored from ocean to ocean

and from the gulf to the Arctic seas, and practically all that

28        Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

we accurately know of the Indian race is what has been learned

of them from contact with them by the white race.

It is true that they have many traditions concerning their

origin and history, but they are too vague and uncertain to be

accepted as in any way reliable, or as shedding any certain light

upon their past history. Through what ages human beings have

lived and roamed and energized over this continent can never

be accurately determined, but enough is known to make it cer-

tain that human life has existed here where we are now for

many thousands of years. All that preceded the period of the

Mound Builders is wrapped in oblivion and can now be only

a matter of speculation or conjecture. But with the Mound

Builders came a race, who marked the surface of the earth

with countless evidences of their once energetic existence, which

are now being industriously examined by scientists to discover

what secrets they may reveal.

Following the Mound Builders came what we know as the

Indian race, who, like the ancient occupants of the country, failed

to leave any records or testimonials concerning themselves from

which we might determine something of their history. They

have now practically passed away as a separate and distinct race,

and within a few years, as suggested by Simon Pokagon, the

remnant which is left will be absorbed and swallowed up in the

blood of the dominant race. That the tincture of their blood

will flow on in that of the white race and possibly for its bet-

terment is reasonably certain; but as a distinct race their end is

comparatively near at hand.

These considerations make it all important that in so far

as possible the history of the Red race should be preserved for

the benefit and study of future generations. The interest in their

history is gradually growing and will ever be increasing. The

number of white men now living, who came in personal contact

with and have had personal knowledge of the Indians of various

tribes east of the Mississippi, is now very small and soon will

have passed away. With them will have passed those who

can testify from personal knowledge as to the nobility and

worth of individual representatives of the Red Race, with whom

they have had contact and companionship. When they are gone,

we will be remitted to the doubtful narratives and incidental

Monuments to Historical Indian Chiefs.      29

references to be found in our histories to form and estimate

of the Red Race and its leading characters. At least most of

our narratives concerning the Indian race and tribes as also of

their individual chiefs, were written at or near the times when

wars and conflicts and race hatreds prevailed and so are strongly

tinctured by prejudices and often narrated without regard to

substantial facts or truths. A new and better era has dawned

upon us, when we can hope to feel the force of the lofty senti-

ments expressed by Simon Pokagon in his address before quoted,

"That we are all brothers and that there is but one fold, under

one Shepherd, and the great God is the Father of all."

The few monuments that have been erected by white men

to commemorate and perpetuate the names and virtues of worthy

representatives of the Red race do not at all satisfy the obli-

gations which rest upon us in that behalf. There are in so far

as we know, but seven such monuments which have been erected

up to the present time, but one of which is on the soil of Ohio

-that of Leatherlips-while the wise and good Chief Crane

of the Wyandots; the great war chief Pontiac of the Ottawas;

Logan of the Mingos; Tecumseh, Black Hoof and Blue Jacket

of the Shawnees; Little Turtle of the Miamies; all of whom

at times lived and energized on the soil of Ohio, remain monu-

mentless and the exact places of their burials unknown.

It would seem not only fitting but just that these chiefs

and tribes, who were the original occupants and possessors of

the soil, should have suitable and enduring monuments to com-

memorate their names placed in public parks, or on grounds

owned and cared for by the State of Ohio, so that our children

and our children's children may have kept before them a recol-

lection of a race of men who contended with us for more than

two centuries for the possession of the country, but who have

been vanquished and almost exterminated by our superior force.

That our government is now using its best endeavors to care for,

educate and elevate the remnant of the Red race is all to our

credit, but this does not lesson the obligation to care for and

keep alive the memories of their great men of the past. It will

be a discredit to our own civilization to neglect this obvious duty.