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Source:
History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County
with
Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of
Pioneer and Prominent Public Men
by C. W. Williamson
Columbus, Ohio
Press of W. M. Linn & Sons
1905
CHAPTER XII
INDIAN BIOGRAPHIES
Page 291
BLACKHOOF, OR QUASKEY
Of the many distinguished chiefs in Indian
history there are but few, who rank higher in prowess, bravery, and
wisdom in council, than did Blackhoof, chief of the Shawnee
tribes. He was born in Florida, in 1711, and afterward lived in
the Carolinas until the Shawnees emigrated to the Cumberland Valley.
In that valley he grew to manhood. When the tribes afterward
obtained permission to occupy certain portions of the Ohio Territory,
he accompanied them to the Miami Valley.
The cabin in which he lived for many years was located
on the west bank of the Miami River, a short distance south of the
mouth of Loramie creek near a spring, known at the present day as
Blackhoof's spring. There he continued to reside until
General Clark made his celebrated raid on the Mad river and Piqua
towns. After the des444 5445rtruction of their villages, the Shawnees
retreated to localities further north and west. The tribe to
which Blackhoof was attached located at Wapakoneta.
Blackhoof, or Quaskey, was present with
other tribes of Shawnees, at the defeat of General Braddock,
near Pittsburgh in 1755. In that battle and other engagements
that followed soon afterward, he so distinguished himself for his
desperation, and military ability, that he became known far and wide.
It was probably about this time or soon afterward that he was
proclaimed Head Chief of all the Shawnee tribes. "He was the
inveterate foe of the white man, and held that no peace should be made
nor negotiation attempted, except on the condition that the whites
should repass the mountains, and leave the great plains of the West to
the sole occupancy of the red men." He was one of the
ablest orators of all the Indian nations. Tecumseh, no
doubt, acquired much of his inspiration from listening to the oratory
and conversation of Blackhoof. Colonel Johnston is the
authority for the statement that Blackhoof had probably been in
more battles than any living man of his day. As an evidence
[Pg. 292]
of
his prowess, he had a hundred and twenty scalps on his string.
He led war parties in their attacks on boats, descending the Ohio
river from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, in which many lives were lost,
and many captives were led to Shawnee towns, and put to death by
torture. He commanded one hundred and fifty warriors at St.
Clair's defeat, and participated in the battle of the Fallen Timbers.
After the defeat of the allied Indian nations by Wayne,
Blackhoof and his band of Shawnee warriors returned to
Wapakoneta. Later, Blackhoof and his trusted followers
established
themselves at Blackhoof - Town, now the site of the flourishing
village of St. Johns. There, on the summit of a mound that
afforded an extensive view of the surrounding country, he built a
cabin in which he lived until his death, in the summer of 1831.
After their galling defeat by Wayne, followed by a
winter of suffering from the losses they and sustained, Blackhoof
and his adherents decided to sue for peace along with the other
tribes. It was with great reluctance that he made his melancholy
journey to Greenville to sign away the domain of his countrymen.
He did not appear at Greenville until the last days of the treaty.
Having signed it he departed from the meeting with a resolution
[Pg. 293]
never
again to take up arms against the white man. The resolution was
adhered to, although, he was frequently importuned by Tecumseh,
and numerous agents of the British army to join them in the war of
1812.
When General Harrison mobilized six thousand
Indians around the Indian agency at Piqua, Blackhoof erected
his tepee on the bank of the Miami river, near where he had formerly
resided, and during the years of war that followed, gave valuable aid
by his counsel, and by furnishing scouts and spies to the army.
The courtesies extended to Blackhoof by
Colonel Johnston and other governmental officers, did much to
soften the asperities of the final defeat of his nation.
His roving disposition would not permit him to remain
quiet at his encampment. To relieve the monotony he made
frequent visits to the different military posts. On the occasion
of one of his visits to Fort McArthur in 1813, he was shot by some
miscreant who could not be discovered. "The ball struck the
cheek but glanced to the neck, making a very serious wound, by which
he was disabled for several weeks."
At the close of the war Blackhoof returned to
his former residence five miles east of Wapakoneta, and spent the
remainder of his life in cultivating the acquaintance and friendship
of the early pioneer white men, and such tribal duties as his age
would permit him to perform. In his intercourse with the trading
station and Quaker mission at Wapakoneta, a strong attachment was
formed between him and Henry Harvey, that continued until the
death of the old warrior. As their intimacy grew, they
frequently exchanged visits, at which times the Christian religion was
the principal subject of conversation.
Blackhoof is said to have been opposed to
polygamy and the practice of burning prisioners (?) He lived
forty years with one wife, raising a large family of children, who
both loved and respected him. He was small in stature, not more
than five feet eight inches in height. He was favored with good
health and unimpaired eye-sight to the period of his death.
Quaskey, his eldest son, possessed many of the
qualities of his distinguished father. He went west with his
people in 1832, and died about 1869. He, like his father, was a
good speaker.
The following description of the funeral ceremonies at
the
[Pg. 294]
burial of Blackhoof is taken from "Harvey's History of the Shawnees." Harvey and his wife were present by
invitation. He says, "Being present upon that occasion, I was
very much struck with the solemn and disconsolate appearance of all
classes of the Shawnees. They had for many years looked to the
experienced chief, in peace and war. He was of such an age that
recollections carried him back to the men who had, in 1682, made the
great treaty at Philadelphia, and with a clear recollection of these
transactions, encouraged the people of his nation in becoming a
civilized people.
"On arriving at the residence of the deceased chief, on
the day the funeral was to take place, we found the corpse wrapped in
a clean, new blanket, and a large quantity of fine new goods, such as
calico, belts, ribbons, etc., around and about the corpse, which was
laid upon a new, clean slab prepared for the purpose - his gun,
tomahawk, knife, and pipe lying by his side. All the Indians
present, and there was a large number of them, had their clothes
hanging loose around them, their hair also down about their shoulders
in the loosest manner - many of them having their faces painted in the
ancient Indian style. All the men were smoking, all classes were
seated near where their ancient beloved, and faithful chief was laid.
He, who had been their leader and counselor in peace and war, was
lying lifeless there before them. They had their eyes set on him
in solemn silence - not one word was spoken for hours in that large
concourse of people - all felt their bereavement in the loss of him -
tears were to be seen in every eye. No one could distinguish
between his own children (a number of them being present) and others;
all grieved alike the departure of the great chief; no affectation,
but real, heartfelt, grief; as of a group of children for the loss of
an only parent, and no one left to look up to.
"In the yard, in front of the cabin of the deceased,
was a very large quantity of meat from wild animals, such as deer,
turkeys, etc., the spoil of a two days' hunt by young men selected for
that express purpose. Twenty deer were killed; besides a large
number of turkeys and what smaller wild animals they considered fit to
eat - no tame animal or fowl was suffered to be eaten on that
occasion, though there was a large quantity of bread prepared.
All this vast amount of provisions lay in one pile, stacked up
handsomely together, and carefully guarded by some
[Pg. 295]
boys, so nothing
should molest it. Although the Indians, on ordinary occasions,
always have a large number of dogs with them at their gatherings, here
was scarcely one to be seen. At the arrival of the time to
proceed to the grave with the corpse, a few of the choice young men,
provided for deceased, arranged the clothing about the body, took four
large straps, and placing them under it - one taking hold of each end
- started off directly to the place of its final rest. No child
was taken along in the procession; my wife had her babe with her; when
about starting, an Indian woman offered to keep it for her, which she
did, as they feared it might make a noise. The children of the
deceased proceeded next the corpse, then the head chief, who was to
succeed Blackhoof in that office, then the other chiefs in
succession, then ourselves, and after us, came the whole company.
On arriving at the grave they all gathered round in a group. The
grave was about three and a half feet deep - at the bottom a split
puncheon was placed, and one set on edge at each side, about ten
inches wide; the corpse was let down, the clothing of the deceased,
which he last wore when in health, laid on his body, when his old
moccasins were cut in pieces and placed with the rest, but no weapon
was put in; then another puncheon was laid over him. This being
done, John Perry, head chief, took some small seeds from the
cloth, and, commencing at the head of the grave, walked carefully
around it, sprinkling them all over it as he went; this done, he set
off on a path directly to the house, and in this was followed by all
present, except three men, who remained to close the grave.
After this was finished, the men went toward the creek, and in about
half an hour returned to the house. On their return, the smoking
and conversation commenced.
(The Indian cemetery in which the chief
was buried was located on the summit of the gravel-mound, about eighty
rods north-east of the village of St. Johns - Editor.)
"When the company started from the grave, they moved in
single file, one after another, not one looking back. On the
arrival of those who had filled up the grave, I observed them in
commence conversation. I inquired of Henry Clay, one of
them, and also a chief, what they went to the water for. He
replied, "that as I was their friend, he would tell me; it was to
purify themselves by puking, and washing their bodies."
[Pg. 296]
"Soon after they had smoked around the company,
they commenced their feast, but it being now late in the day, they
pleaded with us to remain and partake with them - still we were
compelled to leave for home, which was about ten miles distant.
"We attended on this occasion, at the
particular request of the chiefs, and I can truly say, that this was
altogether the most solemn and orderly funeral I have ever attended;
and was said to be conducted entirely after their ancient Indian
style. We were the only white people present.
TECUMSEH.
The name of this celebrated chief signifies
"shooting star." The place of his birth and date are not known
with certainty. Howe, in this History of Ohio, fixes the
locality at Piqua, an Indian town, on Mad river. "His father's
name was Pukeesheno, which means, I light from flying. He
was killed in the battle of Kanhawa, in 1774. His mother's name
was Meetheetashe, which signifies, a turtle laying her eggs in
the sand. She died among the Cherokees. She had, at one
birth, three sons: Ellskwatawa, which signifies, a door opened,
was called the Prophet; Tecumseh, the orator; and Kumshaka,
a tiger that flies in the air."
Tecumseh, like Napoleon, in
his boyish pastimes exhibited a passion for war; he was the
acknowledged leader among his companions, by whom he was loved and
respected, and over whom he exercised an unbounded influence.
"It is stated that the first battle in which he was engaged, occurred
on the site of Dayton, between a party of Kentuckians under Colonel
Benjamin Logan, and some Shawnees." At the age of seventeen
he accompanied marauding bands of warriors along the Ohio. It is
related of him, that at one time he participated in the capture of a
number of boats near Limestone, when every person on board the vessels
was killed, except one person, who was burnt alive. After
witnessing the horrible torture, he expressed his abhorrence of the
act, and by his eloquence persuaded his party never to burn any more
prisoners." The story, if true, accords to him a humanity that
was not practiced by any tribe or nation in the North West Territory.
If he did succeed in inducing his party to discontinue the practice,
there is an abundance of evidence to show that many captives were
tortured after that time.
[Pg. 297]
Tecumseh was inclined to stoutness,
but possessed, withal, the agility, perseverance and endurance,
peculiar to Indian character. In the early part of his life he
became addicted to intemperance; but when he reached the age of
manhood, he perceived the danger of the habit, and resolved to quit
so vile a practice. "Beyond one or two glasses of wine he
never afterwards indulged." That he was endowed with a genius
that
towered above his contemporary chiefs, there is no doubt. It is
believed by writers that he secretly admired the manhood and customs
of the white people.
All histories agree in the statement that Tecumseh
led a wandering restless life. Drake, in his life of this
celebrated chief, relates that for a time "he was established on Deer
creek., near the site of Urbana, where he engaged in his favorite
amusement of hunting. While residing on this creek, an incident
occurred, which greatly enhanced his reputation as a hunter. A
[Pg. 298]
number of Shawnees of his own age proposed to bet with him, that they
could each kill as many deer, in the space of three days, as he could.
Tecumseh promptly accepted the overture. The parties took
to the woods and at the end of the stipulated time, returned with the
evidences of their success. None of the party, except
Tecumseh, had more than twelve skins; he brought in over thirty -
nearly three times as many as any of his competitors. From this
time he was generally conceded to be the greatest hunter in the
Shawnee nation." At later dates he resided at Greenville, at
Wapakonetta, at the mouth of the Auglaize river, at Fort Wayne, and on
the Wabash river.
Tecumseh became prominent as a warrior about
1804, and would probably have gained distinction in any nation in the
world. The Indians generally regarded him as endowed with
supernatural powers. He was entirely devoted to the interests of
his countrymen, and, in the Indian wars, obtained great celebrity as
one of the bravest and most sagacious of the warriors. He led in
many of the terrible inroads which the savages made into the territory
of Kentucky. And no one could boast of having plundered more
houses, or having intercepted more boats on the Ohio river, than he.
So much has been written in Chapter IX, concerning his military
career, that it will not be necessary to make note of that part of his
history.
The love of gain with the common Indian was the
crowning motive. Tecumseh was an exception. Clothes
and other valuables of spoil had often been his; yet he invariably
wore a deerskin coat and pantaloons. He had frequently levied
subsidies to a comparatively large amount; yet he preserved little or
nothing for himself.
A military man, a Mr. James, in an article
published in a London journal soon after the death of Tecumseh,
states that, "He (Tecumseh) was an excellent judge of position,
and not only knew, but could point out the localities of the whole
country through which he had passed."
"His facility of communicating his information, was
displayed in his description to General Brock of the country
through which his army, after crossing the Detroit river, would
necessarily pass to reach Detroit. Tecumseh, taking a
roll of elm bark, and extending it on the ground, drew forth his
scalping knife, and with the point etched upon the bark a plan of the
country, its hills,
[Pg. 299]
woods, rivers, morasses, and roads; a plan which,
if not as neat, was, for the purpose required, fully as intelligible,
as if it had been drawn by a military draughtsman. Pleased with
this unexpected talent in Tecumseh, General Brock took
off his sash, and placed it around the body of the chief.
Tecumseh received the honor with evident gratification, but was,
the next day, seen without his sash. General Brock,
fearing something had displeased the chief, sent his interpreter for
an explanation. The latter soon returned with an account that
Tecumseh, not wishing to wear such a mark of distinction, when an
older, and, as he said, abler warrior than himself was present, had
transferred the sash to the Wyandot chief, Round-Head."
"The life of Tecumseh, as an individual, at
times exhibits deeds of fidelity, prompted by his noble nature when
not influenced by his sordid ambition. As an individual he was
brave and generous, but led warriors of hyena-like propensities.
To keep these in check sometimes demanded an iron hand."
As a matter of historic fairness, it should be stated
that all the record we have of Tecumseh and his Indians has
come to us from their enemies. The Indians have had no chance to
tell their story. There are many indications that the narratives
which have descended to us respecting the designs of Tecumseh,
have not been given in entire impartiality.
In the death of Tecumseh "the hope of the
prairie and lake tribes became extinct." The danger to the
settlements was over. The calumet was again smoked, and friendly
relations restored between the two races which were never again
seriously interrupted in Ohio.
ELLSKWATAWA, THE PROPHET.
The name EllsKwatawa signifies
a door opened. He is often referred to as the "One Eyed
Prophet," from his being blind in one eye. The brother of
Tecumseh was an orator of great renown, and a religious teacher.
Much has been said and written about this impostor that can not be
relied upon by one, desiring to know the truth. Samuel G. Drake,
in his "Aboriginal Races of North America," quotes from a well
written article in a foreign periodical, (The New Monthly Magazine),
in which the statement is made that, "during the first fifty years
of EllsKwatawa's life he was remarkable for nothing except
his stupidity and intoxication. In his fiftieth year, while in
the act of lighting his pipe, he fell
[Pg. 300]
backward in his cabin, upon his bed; and, continuing for sometime
lifeless, to all appearances, preparations were made for his
interment; and it was not until the tribe was assembled, as usual on
such occasions, and they were the tribe was assembled, as usual on
such occasions, and they were in the act of removing him, that he
revived. His first words were, "Don't be alarmed. I have
seen heaven. Call the nation together, that I may tell them
what has appeared to me." When they were assembled, he told
them that two beautiful young men had been sent from heaven by the
Great Spirit, who spoke thus to him: "The Great Spirit is angry
with you, and will destroy all the red men unless you refrain from
drunkenness, lying and stealing, and turn yourselves to him, you
shall never enter the beautiful place which we will now show you."
He was then conducted to the gates of heaven, from whence he could
behold all its beauties, but was not permitted to enter. After
undergoing several hours' tantalization, from extreme desire of
participating in its indescribable joys and pleasures, he was
dismissed. His conductors told him to tell all the Indians
what he
[Pg. 301]
had seen; to repent of their ways, and they would visit him again.
The same author states that on the Prophet's visiting the
neighboring nations, his mission had a good effect on their morals.
This story is at variance with facts. The
Prophet was born in 1768. If he received the revelation at
the age of fifty years, the important event must have occurred about
1818. The author of the article quoted should have placed the
date of the revelation about the year 1802.
Secondly, it is not true that his preaching had a good
effect on the morals of the nations he addressed; for it is known to
a certainty that none would hear him but the most abandoned young
warriors of the tribes he visited, and their miserable condition in
colonizing themselves upon the Wabash, in 1811, is well known.
It is reported, on the authority of a Mr. Chadbury,
an English gentleman, at one time a resident of Quebec, that the
Prophet, at the age of fifteen, disappeared from his relatives,
and was considered as finally lost. That he strolled to
Quebec, and from thence to Montreal, where he engaged to pilot a
vessel to Halifax, at which point he remained for several years; and
in this period of time received an education that enabled him to act
the part of prophet and medicine man.
In his intercourse with the British he no doubt learned
that a comet would appear in the year 1811, - a fact that he and
Tecumseh used with considerable effect in their prophecies.
After five years of continuous effort, the Prophet,
assisted by Tecumseh, collected a motley horde, of a thousand
warriors, gathered from among the Shawnees, Delawares, Wyandottes,
Pottawottomies, Ottawas, Kickapoos, Chippewas and other nations, and
located themselves on territory that had previously been ceded to
the United States. Tecumseh and the Prophet sent
messages to General Harrison, in which they asserted that the
territory ceded to the United States at the treaty of Fort Wayne,
was made by irresponsible parties - that the chiefs who negotiated
the treaty had no authority to cede the lands of the nations.
Tecumseh and the Prophet finally visited General
Harrison at Vincennes to make known their grievances. The
General received them and consented to discuss the questions at
issue. The Prophet, however, instead of proceeding at
once to set forth his complaints, indulged in many singular antics
with the intention, as he expressed it, of conjuring the white man,
after which strange
[Pg. 302]
exhibition he paused and made an imperious demand that the United
States surrender the lands which had been ceded by treaty with the
several separate tribes. At the conclusion of the Prophet's
harangue, Tecumseh delivered his celebrated philippic, the
substance of which, is given on page 136, of this work.
The alternative being war, General Harrison
accepted the challenge and the council broke up with both parties
resolved upon hostilities. Tecumseh departed to enlist
the nations of the South, and the Prophet betook himself to
Tippecanoe to hold the disputed territory until his brother should
return.
While Tecumseh was in the South, the Indian aggressions
still continuing, Governor Harrison decided to penetrate to
the Prophet's town and bring about some adjustment of
existing difficulties. Accordingly, on the 6th of November,
1811, he encamped with a force of nine hundred men, within a mile of
the Prophet's headquarters. At four o'clock the next
morning, the Indians attacked the American force, in which they
suffered a signal defeat.
The defeated Indians were greatly exasperated with the
Prophet, and reproached him in bitter terms for the calamity
he had brought upon them, and accused him of the murder of their
friends who had fallen in the action. It seems, that after
pronouncing some incantations over a certain composition which he
had prepared on the night preceding the action, he assured his
followers that, by the power of his art, half of the invading army
was already dead, and the other half in a state of distraction; and
that the Indians would have little to do but rush into their camp
and complete the work of destruction with their tomahawks "You are a
liar," said one of the surviving Winnebagoes to him, after the
action, "for you told us the white people were dead, or crazy, when
they were all in their senses, and fought like the devil." The
Prophet appeared dejected, and sought to excuse himself on
the plea that the virtue of his composition had been lost by a
circumstance of which he had no knowledge until after the battle.
His sacred character was so far forfeited that the Indians bound him
with cords, and threatened to put him to death.
With the battle of Tippecanoe the Prophet lost
his popularity and power among the Indians. His magic wand was
broken, and the mysterious charm by means of which he had, for
years, played upon the superstitious minds of this wild people,
scattered through a vast extent of country, was dissipated forever.
[Pg. 303]
The Prophet seems to have passed out of notice
during the remainder of the war of 1812, as no mention is made of
him by writers of those years. Drake, in his "History
of the Aboriginal Races of North America," states, that "after the
termination of the war of 1812, he received a pension from the
government of Great Britain, and resided in Canada. In 1826,
he was prevailed upon to leave that country, and went, with others,
to settle beyond the Mississippi. At the same time also went
the only surviving son of Tecumseh."
The date in the foregoing statement is
incorrect. Henry Harvey in his history of the
conviction of Polly Butler for witchcraft, states that the
Prophet was a resident of Wapakoneta in June, 1823, and that he
was instrumental in having her convicted. It is not known how
long he resided in Wapakoneta. The Shawnees who adhered to
Tecumseh until his defeat and death at the Thames, probably felt
that they were outcasts in their own nation, as they had been barred
from participating in the annuities and land grants bestowed upon
their brethren for neutrality in the war of 1812; as a result of
that feeling, it is probable that the Prophet, Bluejacket,
and Tecumseh's only surviving son, departed for the "Far
West," about 1824 or 1825.
It is not known with any degree of certainty, when or
where the Prophet died.
BLUE JACKET
It has been remarked by writers that the
cruelty and blood-thirsty character of the Indians of the Northwest
Territory, greatly exceeded their practices, prior to 1760.
The intrusions of the English on their territory, and the harsh
measures practiced against them, no doubt intensified an inborn
spirit of retaliation that reached a climax in the Indian wars of
Ohio. The premiums paid for American scalps did much to
cultivate savage cruelty. It is no wonder, therefore, that
wars continued through three generations should produce a race of
Indians, whose bravery and skill in the defense of their rights,
should baffle the efforts of the armies sent against them. And
it is not surprising, that individuals should arise in the different
tribes, noted for their desperate daring and bravery in their
attacks on the common enemy. They had a long list of such
warriors, who became leaders of the tribes.
Many chiefs are known, only, in history, for their
prowess and bravery in the engagements in which they participated.
[Pg. 304]
Nothing is known of the earlier portion of their lives,
and little of the latter part of them. This is especially true
of Blue Jacket. There is nothing known of him with
certainty until the defeats of Harmar and St. Clair.
In those engagements he served as a subordinate officers under
Little Turtle. In those two battles, he so distinguished
himself, that he was made commander-in-chief at the Battle of the
Fallen Timbers.
It is said that on the night preceding that battle a
council was held in which seven Indian nations were represented.
The expediency of attacking Wayne at Presque Isle was then
considered. Blue Jacket warmly favored the proposition,
and Little Turtle in a speech of much ability opposed it. Blue
Jacket's advice and influence, however, prevailed. A
battle was fought with desperation, and the Indians were
disastrously defeated. (The details of the battle are given on
pages 227-8).
The Indians were greatly discouraged after their
defeat, and no one more so, than Blue Jacket. They
were, indeed, in a pitiable condition. Many councils were
held, resulting in a desire to treat for peace. Preparations
were about completed in October, for Blue Jacket, at the head
of a deputation of chiefs, to proceed to Greenville to sue for
peace, when the mission was arrested by the receipt of a message
from Governor Simcoe, inviting him to attend a meeting to be
held at the mouth of the Detroit river, on the 10th of October.
Blue Jacket consented, which caused a delay of the peace
negotiations until the next year.
After the Detroit meeting, he moved to Wapakoneta, and
attended the Greenville meeting the next fall. After moving to
Wapakoneta, he engaged in the liquor traffic, in which business he
continued until about 1825 or 1826, when he and the Prophet,
and a few Shawnees from Indiana, emigrated to the West and joined
the Shawnees in western Missouri. His history, after leaving
Wapakoneta, and date of his death are unknown.
In the treaty made at Maumee Rapids in 1817, provision
was made for his family at Wapakoneta, in which James, George
and Charles Blue Jacket received, each, about one thousand
acres in the reservation. James Blue Jacket engaged in
the sale of whiskey at the time of his father's departure, and
continued in the business until the emigration of the Indians to
Kansas in 1832.
[Pg. 305]
CAPTAIN LOGAN, OR SPEMICA LAWBE.
This distinguished chief and Indian
ally of the Americans, was born in Southern Ohio about the year
1774, and was taken prisoner along with the famed Grenadier Squaw
and others, by Colonel Benjamin Logan, at a Macochee village
in Logan county in 1786. The troops were wrought up to such a
frenzy by the engagement that it was with much difficulty that the
officers were able to save the life of the subject of this sketch.
General William Lytle,
who participated in the engagement, states that "a young man by the
name of Curner had been to one of the springs to drink.
He discovered the young savage by my side, and came running toward
us. The young Indian supposed he was advancing to kill him.
As I turned around in the twinkling of an eye he let fly an arrow at
Curner, for he was armed with a bow. I had just time to
catch his arm, as he discharged the arrow. It passed through
Curner's dress and grazed his side. The jerk I gave his
arm undoubtedly prevented his killing
[Page 306]
Curner on the spot. I took away his arrows, and sternly
reprimanded him."
General Logan took and boy home with him and
sent him to school until "he acquired considerable education, when
he gave him his liberty and his own name." His mother was a
sister of Tecumseh and the Prophet. He was in no
way related to Logan the Mingo chief, but was equally as
great, and in the hands of a Jefferson would have been equally
celebrated.
After the surrender of Detroit in 1812, it soon became
apparent that an attack would be made on Fort Wayne. At that
time there were many women and children in the garrison, who, in
case of an attack, would have been detrimental to its defense, and
it therefore became necessary to have them speedily removed to a
place of safety. By order of the military authorities,
Colonel Johnston of Piqua assembled the Shawnee chiefs, and
stating the case requested volunteers to bring the women and
children from Fort Wayne to Piqua. Logan immediately
arose and offered his services, and soon started with a party of
mounted Indians, all volunteers. They reached the post,
received their interesting and helpless charge, and safely brought
them to the settlement through a country infested with marauding
hands of hostile savages. The women spoke in the highest terms
of the vigilance, care and delicacy of their faithful conductors.
It is said that Logan did not sleep from the time that he
left Piqua until he returned.
When General Harrison reached Piqua, September
5th, 1812, he requested Colonel Johnston to furnish him a
sufficient number of Indian spies to reconnoiter Forts Wayne and
Defiance to ascertain the position and movements of the enemy.
The spies detailed to go to Fort Wayne were placed under the command
of Captain Logan. On the trip to Fort Wayne, he and his
comrades eluded the vigilance of the enemy, got into the fort, and
returned with the information of its being besieged. He also
brought intelligence that Stephen Johnston, a brother of the
Indian agent at Piqua, had been killed in sight of the fort, while
attempting to escape as an express, and the Indians had tried every
stratagem to get possession of the fort.
As soon as General Harrison received the
information that the fort was besieged, he ordered a forced march of
a sufficient number of troops for its relief. Logan and
two other Shawnees
[Pg. 307]
acted as scouts, but before the relief reached the fort, the enemy
beat a hasty retreat.
General Harrison, while at Fort Defiance in
November, 1812, directed Logan to take a small party of his tribe,
and reconnoiter the country in the direction of the rapids of the
Maumee. The chief and his scouts met a body of the enemy, and
were compelled to make a hasty retreat from the superior number of
the enemy. They were so closely pursued that they were obliged
to separate for safety in their retreat. Logan,
Captain Johnny, and Bright-Horn, each succeeded in making
his escape to General Winchester's command. On the
occasion of his interview with General Harrison, concerning
his escape, General Perkins, commander of the Kentucky
troops, without the slightest ground for such a charge, accused
Logan of treachery, and of giving intelligence to the enemy.
Indignant at the unjust accusation, he resolved to distinguish
himself in a manner that would leave no doubt as to his loyalty to
the United States.
He, accordingly, on the 22d, proceeded down the Maumee
in company with his faithful companions, Captain Johnny and
Bright Horn. After going about ten miles down the
river, on the north side, they were surprised by a party of six
Indians and a white man, named Elliott, the eldest son of
Colonel Elliott of infamous memory. The Indians were
commanded by Winnemac, a Potawatamie chief. Logan
made no resistance, but, with great presence of mind, extended his
hand to Winnemac, who was an old acquaintance, and proceeded
to inform him that he (Logan) was going to the Rapids to give
information to the British. That he was tired of the American
service, and was just leaving Winchester's army to join the
British. Winnemac was not satisfied with this
declaration, and Logan and his companions. After
marching several miles, Logan's address was such as to
inspire confidence in his sincerity to a degree that Winnemac
restored to them their arms. After marching a few miles
further, Winnemac became suspicious again, and proposed to
Elliott to seize and tie them. Elliott replied that
it was unnecessary, that if they attempted to escape they would be
shot down, or easily run down with their horses. This
conversation was overheard by Logan, who had previously
intended to go on peaceably till night, and then make his escape;
but he now
[Pg. 308]
decided to make an attack on them at the first favorable
opportunity. As they were marching along Logan
succeeded in communicating his designs to Captain Johnny and
Bright Horn. Their guns being loaded each put a bullet
into his mouth to facilitate the reloading of his gun.
Captain Johnny afterward related that fearing that the man at
his side had observed his movement in putting the bullet into his
mouth, adroitly dispelled the impression by remarking "Me chaw heap
tobac."
toward evening, the suspicions of their captors had
become so far dispelled, that a part of them began to ramble about
the place selected for their encampment in search of haws. As
soon as they were out of sight Logan gave the signal of
attack upon those who remained behind; they fired, and two of the
enemy fell dead - the third being only wounded, required a second
shot to dispatch him. When they had all fired three rounds
apiece, the advantage was in favor of the three; having driven their
adversaries a considerable distance, and cut them off from their
horses. By the first fire, both Winnemac and Elliott
fell; by the second a young Ottawa chief lost his life; and another
of the enemy was morally wounded about the conclusion of the combat,
at which time Logan himself as he was stooping down, received
a ball just below the breast bone, which ranged downward and lodged
under the skin on his back. In the mean time, Bright Horn
was also wounded, by a ball which passed through his thigh. As
soon as Logan was shot, he ordered a retreat; himself and
Bright-Horn, wounded as they were, jumped on the horses of the
enemy and rode to Winchester's camp, a distance of twenty
miles in five hours. Captain Johnny, after taking the
scalp of the Ottawa chief, also retreated in safety and arrived at
the camp on the morning following. It was afterward
ascertained that the two Indians of the British party, who were last
wounded, died of their wounds, making in all five out of the seven
who were slain by Logan and his companions.
It is said that no one more deeply regretted the fatal
catastrophe than the author of the charge upon Logan
integrity.
Logan was universally esteemed for his
unquestioned bravery, his nobility of character, and his fidelity to
the American cause. He lived two days after reaching camp, in
extreme bodily pain. He was buried, with the honors of war,
within the inclos-
[Pg. 309]
ure of Fort Winchester to prevent his enemies from disinterring the
body to obtain his scalp.
Before his death he stated to his friend Mr. Oliver,
that he prized his honor more than his life; and having now
vindicated his reputation from the inputation cast upon it, he died
satisfied. Logan's wife was taken prisoner by
Colonel Hardin in 1789, and remained in his family until the
treaty of Greeneville. Her marriage to Logan occurred
soon after the treaty. After his marriage, Logan formed
a very strong attachment to Colonel Hardin, which
continued unbroken until the time of his death. Logan
upon his arrival at Fort Winchester sent for Colonel Hardin,
whom he requested to see that what was due him for his services
should be paid over to his family, which was done.
Howe, in his History of Ohio, says that
Colonel Johnston, in a communication to him, said that "Logan
left a dying request that his two sons be sent to Kentucky, and
there educated and brought up under the care of Colonel Hardin.
As soon as peace and tranquility were restored among the Indians,
application was made to the chiefs to fulfill the wish of their dead
friend to deliver up the boys, for conveyance to Frankfort, the
residence of Major Hardin. The chiefs were embarrassed,
and manifested an unwillingness to comply, and in this they were
warmly supported by the mother of the children. On no account
would they consent to send them so far away as Kentucky, but agreed
that Colonel Johnston should take them and have them schooled
at Piqua; it being the best that could be done, in compliance with
the dying words of Logan, they were taken to this point, put
to school, and boarded in a religious, respectable family. The
mother of the boys, who was a bad advice, and even, on one or two
occasions, brought whiskey to the school-house and made them drunk.
In this way she continued to annoy the school, and finally took them
altogether to raise with herself among the Shawnees, at Wapakoneta.
I made several other attempts, during my connection with the
Indians, to educate and train up to civilized life many of their
youth, without any encouraging results - all of them proved
failures. The children of Logan, with their mother,
emigrated to the West twenty years ago, and have there become of the
wildest of their race."
[Pg. 310]
BUCKONGAHELAS.
The name of this distinguished Delaware chief
has been variously spelled by different writers. Taylor,
in his History of Ohio, gives the following spelling, taken from
different authorities: Bockengehelas, Bukongehelas,
Shingess, Buckengilla, and Pachgantschihillas. We
have adopted the spelling used by Judge Bennett in his "Notes
on the North-West."
The first information we have of this chief is from
Washington's diary. In his well known trip in 1753 across the
Alleghanies to the forks of the Ohio, he records that "About two
miles from this, on the south-east side of the river, at the place
where the Ohio Company intended to erect a fort, lives Shingess,
king of the Delawares." Washington called upon him to
invite him to council at the Logtown. Shingess at first
attended, but afterward made his wife's sickness an excuse for
absence. He was probably in the French interest.
He was so active in the border war of 1755, that the
Governor of Pennsylvania offered a reward of seven hundred dollars
for his head, and that of Captain Jacobs.
Heckewelder says of Shingess, that he was
"the greatest on record, they would form an interesting document,
though a shocking one. He gives him a good character and adds:
"Passing a day with him in the summer of 1762, at Tuscarora, on the
Muskingum, near by where his two prisoner boys (about twelve years
of age) were amusing themselves with his own boys, and he observing
me looking that way, inquired what I was looking at. On my
replying that I was looking at his prisoners, he said, "When I first
took then they were such, but they are now my children; eat their
victuals out of the same bowl,' which was saying as much as that
they, in all respects, were on an equal footing with his own
children."
Shortly before Bouquet's expedition to the
Muskingum, Shingess, or Buckongahelas moved to the
west, and settled on the Maumee river. Later he moved up the
Auglaize river and located at the Ottawa towns near Fort Amanda.
He and his tribe of warriors participated in the
battles of Harmar, St. Clair, and Wayne.
Buckongahelas was not only a great, but a noble
warrior. He took no delight in shedding blood. He had
been so much
[Pg. 311]
under the influence of the Moravian missionaries that he might he
almost deemed a civilized man. His magnanimity of
character was exhibited in 1792, when Colonel Hardin, Major
Truman and several others, were sent, in May of that year, by
President Washington, with a flag of truce, to the Indian
nations of the west. The commissioners proceeded on their way
to a point about five miles west of Sidney in Shelby county, where
they were taken prisoners by a party of Indians who treated them
well at first and made many professions of friendship, but in the
end took advantage of them, while off their guard, and murdered all
of them, except William Smalley, who was conducted to
Buckongahelas. "The chief told those that committed the
murder he was very sorry they had killed the men. That instead
of so doing, they should have brought them to the Indian towns; and
then, if what they had to say had not been liked, it would have been
time enough to have killed them then." Nothing, he said,
"could justify then for putting them to death, as there was no
chance for them to escape." The truth was, they killed them to
plunder their effects. Buckongahelas took Smalley
into his cabin, and showed him great kindness. While here with
the chief, which was near a month, Mr. Smalley had the chief
would not permit him to go abroad alone, for fear, he said, that the
young Indians would kill him.
It is said that the conduct of the British, at the
battle of the Fallen Timbers, forever changed the mind of this
chief, as it did that of others, in regard to them.
Buckongahelas aid he would trust them no more.
Howe, in his "Historical Collections of Ohio,"
(old edition, page 29,) states that Judge Burnett attended
court regularly at Wapakoneta and Detroit, and that on one of these
occasions, while halting at Wapakoneta, he witnessed a game of ball
among the people. Following the statement, he gives Judge
Burnett's description of the game.
All the statements given in Judge Burnett's
Notes show that Howe is mistaken as to where the game of ball
was played.
Judge Burnett says "they arrive at the Ottawa
town," which by a surveyor's line is about ten miles down the river
from Wapakoneta. He says further, "the party were received by
Buckongahelas." All the authorities agree that
Buckongahelas lived at that point and was buried there.
[Pg. 312]
In the second paragraph, following his
description of the ball game Judge Burnett says, "On
their outward trip they took the route by Dayton, Piqua, Loramie's,
St. Mary's, and the Ottawa town, on the Auglaize, and from thence
down that river to Defiance; then to the foot of the Rapids, and
thence by River Raisin to Detroit.
It is not probable that he ever held court at
Wapakoneta.
Buckongahelas was one of the chiefs who signed
the Greenville treaty in 1795. He also signed all subsequent
treaties up to August 18th, 1804.
Upon his return from Vincennes, he became sick, and
died late in the fall of 1804. He is supposed to have been
over a hundred years old.
JOHN WOLF, OR LAWATUCHEH.
This chief was known to all the early traders
and pioneers as one of the most upright and reliable of the Indians.
He was
often employed by the white people to transport goods from Piqua to
Fort Wayne and other remote points. He frequently accompanied
Colonel Johnston, at the times of his disbursements of
annuities to the different tribes. His son Henry Clay
was named after Henry Clay of Kentucky, and was educated at
Upper Piqua, under the supervision of Colonel Johnston, at
the expense of the Quakers. He afterwards became a leading
chief, and was a man of considerable talent. He went to Kansas
with his tribe, and lived many years after their removal.
Henry Harvey states that the committee of
Friends who made the disbursements to the Indians in payment for
their lands, found that they still had twenty dollars remaining,
which they proposed to give to the chiefs, as they had spent several
days with the committee when they were viewing the improvements.
"The twenty dollars was paid over to the chiefs, but in a short time
they returned, and informed us that they had concluded, as John
Wolf had been sick for a long time, and wished to purchase a
wagon to move west in, and lacked twenty dollars to enable him to
buy the wagon, they wanted us to give him the money we had just paid
to them, if we were willing. We agreed to it at once, of
course, and were much struck with the simple, straightforward
honesty of this much-abused people, and could exclaim, how many of
our own officers, after receiving only about fifty cents per day and
boarding themselves,
[Pg. 313]
would thus take their hard-earned wages and give it to a neighbor,
in order to help him on account of being afflicted! I might
remark that this John Wolf was a very industrious, hard
working man, had good possessions in Ohio, and was very much grieved
at leaving them. he never recovered from his affliction,
but lived and died in Kansas, a poor, disheartened man. He
realized what he told me on leaving Ohio, that he could never do any
more good in this world."
WAYWELEAPY.
A state of barbarism is said to be especially
favorable to the production of sublimity of thought. The
traditions, history, and early philosophy of Scotland, rehearsed
from century to century, by the clan seers, have furnished an
inexhaustible fund for the poet and writer of romance. The
poet and romancer cannot fail to find imaginative themes, in the
rehearsals of the
[Pg. 314]
sachems, and the orations of such chiefs as Pontiac, Logan,
Cornstalk, Brant, Tecumseh, and Wayweleapy.
For depth of reasoning, and sublime
diction, no chief ranked higher in the councils of the Shawnees,
than did Wayweleapy. There was a peculiarity in his
eloquence that was difficult to describe. His graceful
gestures, brilliant metaphors, musical voice, and with all, a
countenance of varied expression, were such, that surveyors and
other strangers passing through the country listened to him with
delight, although the words fell upon their ears in an unknown
language. During the negotiations for the sale of their
reserve at Wapakoneta, he addressed his people and Mr. Gardner
several times. His refutation of Gardner's assumed
superiority over the Indian race was complete, and full of irony.
Henry Harvey, in his history of the Shawnees,
states that "when the time for the removal of the Indians to the
West arrived, Gardner desired to take them by way of
Bellefontaine, Urbana, Xenia, Lebanon, and Lawrenceburgh - one
hundred and fifty miles further than necessary. The chiefs
notified him that they knew the road as well as he did, and would
not go that way; that they would go by way of Greenville, Richmond,
and Indianapolis. After their refusal to comply with
Gardner's request, they were addressed by a disbursing agent, a
young man from West Point, who urged them, in a speech of
considerable length, to take Gardner's advice; that if it was
further it would cost them nothing, as the government would pay all
expense, and that by going this route they would see several fine
towns, farms and many white people.
"At the conclusion of the speech Wayweleapy
arose with great dignity and complimented the young man by saying
that he was pleased with his speech, and now he hoped all would be
done about right, and that they would have no more trouble. He
then turned to Gardner and gravely remarked to him: 'My
friend, we, the chiefs, are old men; have been in council with such
men as Governor Cass and John Johnston: tell the
President we don't do business with boys. Now, my friend, I
have no more to say."
"When the speaker concluded his remarks, one general
burst of laughter arose from the Indians, as well as the whites
[Pg. 315]
At the age of eighty years this grand old chief
accompanied his nation to Kansas, where he died four years later.
PHT. OR FALLEN TIMBERS
so named from his being the sole surviving chief of his tribe at the
battle of Presque Isle. "He was as peculiar in many respects
as his name - which, by the way, is pronounced Pe-aitch-ta.
Under him the old Council House at Shawnee Town was built in 1831,
but was not completed. His cabin stood but a few rods
north-west of the council-house. Here the chief, after a long
sickness, died and was buried a short time before the removal of the
Hog Creek Indians to Kansas. He was buried near his cabin in
his garden. John F. Cole, of Lima, states that he was
present at the burial of the old chief. His grave was dug by
his wife and daughter. Puncheons of proper size and thickness
were split, and these substituted for a coffin. They were
placed on their edges at the bottom of the grave, which was not over
two feet deep, and a third one placed over the corpse, thus forming
a rude coffin. There were many Shawnees present, and many
little trinkets were deposited with the body. All seemed to be
deeply affected. After the burial of the old chief, according
to an old custom, the Shawnees slaughtered a beef, cooked and
prepared the meat, and held a sort of feast. The old
council-house was not fully completed until about 1832.
"Pht had a brother named Little Fox, who was an
irreconcilable. Up to the departure of this Indian for Kansas
he could not believe that he was doomed to leave Ohio."
TU-TAW.
This noted scout and mail carrier, during the
campaigns of Wayne and Harrison was a half-breed Frenchman, a
descendant of one of the early French traders. He did
not accompany the Shawnees when they went West, preferring to live
with more civilized people.
He had many hair-breadth escapes during the time that
he was a carrier of dispatches between Cincinnati and Wayne's
outposts. In one instance he was attacked by a single Indian
in which scalping-knives were the instruments of offense and
defense. In the encounter the Indian attempted to stab Tu-Taw.
He parried the thrust of the Indian, with his left hand, grasp-
[Page 316]
ing the murderous arm at the wrist, and dispatched the would-be
assassin with his right hand. In the scuffle, however, the
Indian succeeded in drawing the knife through his left hand,
severing the tendons of three fingers. when the wound healed
the fingers remained, ever afterward, as stiff as sticks.
When intoxicated, he was quarrelsome - always ready for
a fight. The pugilists of his time feared the stiff fingers of
his left hand more than they did his clenched fist.
After the wars were over, he made his home with
Peter Hammel for a number of years. John Craft
remembers that Tu-Taw assisted in binding wheat in one of the
harvests of the time when he resided with Hammel, and that
the hands were startled by a shriek from Tu-Taw, followed by
an exclamation that he had been bitten by a rattle-snake. Upon
examination it was found that he was bitten between the knee and
ankle. He moved hurriedly to the river, a short distance away,
and cut a section from a crawfish chimney, and placed it over the
wound, the wound being within the ring. He also chewed the
stalk of a weed, growing in abundance around him, and filled the
ring with the masticated vegetable. the narrator states that
he experienced very little inconvenience from the bite.
The latter portion of Tu-Taw's lie was spent in
trapping, hunting, and fishing. When not engaged in those
pursuits, his time was occupied in gardening for his neighbors, a
species of labor in which he was an expert. The old patriot
died in the seventy-eighth year of his age, and was buried in the
old Duchouquet cemetery.
FRANCIS DUCHOUQUET.
This noted Indian interpreter was the son of
a half-blood French trader, who was engaged in trade with the
Indians of northern Ohio and Michigan during the occupancy of that
region by the French. Francis Duchouquet was born near
Presque Isle, in 1751. After reaching manhood, he
engaged in the fur trade, in which business he visited nearly all
the tribes of Ohio and Indiana territories. In his trips to
central Ohio he wooed and married a beautiful Shawnee maiden.
after his marriage he lived on Mad River until the Indians were
driven from that locality by General Clark. When
the Shawnees moved to Wapakoneta, he accompanied them, and erected a
dwelling-house and other buildings, on the north bank of the
Auglaize
[Page 317]
river, near what is known at the present day as the Joseph Neff
residence. Here he continued to reside until his death, which
occurred in the fall of 1831.
His time was so engrossed with business that he did not
participate in the wars of Western Ohio, further than to act as
interpreter on important occasions.
While on a trading expedition among the Delaware
Indians in 1782, he visited a village near the present site of
Crawfordsville, and witnessed the torture and death of Colonel
Crawford. It has been claimed that Duchouquet
joined in the intercession made to save the life of Crawford.
Duchouquet's description of the horrible scene agreed in
every respect with the one given by Dr. Knight. He was
never known, on any occasion, to participate in any of the savage
cruelties practised by the Indians on their captives. Although
so closely related by blood to the Indians, his sympathies were
always with the captive, and where it is possible he rendered him
assistance. As an example of his many noble acts, we cite the
case of Charles Johnston, who was captured on the Ohio river
in 1790, and taken to Upper Sandusky. At Sandusky Johnson
became acquainted with Duchouquet, who was engaged in the
purchase of furs. To him he recounted his adventures, and
earnestly solicited his good offices in delivering him from the
Indians. Duchouquet promptly assured him that every
exertion should be used for that purpose, and lost no time in
redeeming his pledge. That evening he spoke to Chickatommo,
and offered a liberal ransom for the prisoner, but his efforts were
fruitless. The Shawnee chief did not object to the price, but
declared that no sum would induce him to give up the prisoner until
they had first taken him to their towns. Soon afterward the
Shawnee party engaged in a drinking bout. When their hearts
were somewhat mellowed by rum, Duchouquet repeated his offer,
and was again peremptorily refused. Duchouquet then inquired
the name of the town to which he was to be taken, and the fate which
was in reserve for him, upon his arrival there.
To the first question Chickatommo promptly
replied that the prisoner was to be carried to the Miami villages,
but to the second he gave no satisfactory answer. The mention
of the Miami villages extinguished every spark of hope which still
existed in Johnston's breast, as those towns had
heretofore been
[Pg. 318]
the grave of every white prisoner who had visited them. At
this juncture, fortune favored him. A Wyandot trader appeared,
with several horses laden with kegs of rum, and in the course of two
days completely stripped them of every skin, blanket and article of
merchandise possessed by them.
On the morning of the third day, Chickatommo and
his party awoke as from a dream and found themselves destitute,
ragged, and poor. Ashamed of their condition, they appeared,
of their own accord before Duchouquet, and declared that the
scalp of the prisoner could be transported more easily than his
person, but, if he still wished to purchase him, they would forego
the expected entertainment of burning and scalping the prisoner, and
would let him have the prisoner upon good terms. Duchouquet
eagerly accepted the offer, and instantly counted down six
hundred silver brooches, the ordinary price of a prisoner. The
Indians lost no time in delivering him into the trader's hands, and
having taken an affectionate leave of him, they instantly set out
for the Ohio river.
After exposure to numerous dangers Johnston and
Duchouquet succeeded in reaching Lower Sandusky, from which
point, by the aid of traders, Johnston succeeded in making
his escape.
The foregoing is one of many of Duchouquet's
responses to the calls of distress.
When the Indian tribes of Ohio and Indiana began to
assemble at Greenville in the fall of 1795, Duchouquet was
summoned to act as one of the interpreters during the negotiations.
Again, he was called in 1817, to serve as interpreter, in the treaty
made by Duncan McArthur and Lewis Cass at the foot of
the Rapids. The year following (1818) he, for the third time
served as interpreter, at the treaties held at St. Marys. From
the number of times he was employed, and the dependence placed upon
his services, it is inferred that he possessed superior ability as a
translator of Indian languages.
His residence on the north bank of Auglaize river
became a house of entertainment, at an early date, where traveling
traders and explorers of the western wilds were always sure of
accommodations. His store and warehouse were located at the
wharf in front of his residence. At the close of the fur
season, his peltries were deposited on pirouges, and floated down to
the mouth of the Auglaize, where they were either sold to
[Pg. 319]
traders at that point, or re-shipped to Detroit, where they were
sold for cash or exchanged for goods. The goods, if bought at
Detroit, were carried on vessels to the mouth of the Auglaize, from
which point they were transported on pack-horses to Wapakoneta.
Duchouquet, in the early part of his life,
acquired an appetite for intoxicating drink, which grew upon him to
such an extent, that in his latter days he drank to excess.
When under the influence of the liquid, he was talkative, and good
humored. At such times he frequently amused himself by
shooting at a mark. The few citizens in the village generally
game him a wide berth on such occasions.
As stated in the history of the treaty of Wapakoneta,
he became intoxicated at the opening of the negotiations, and did
not serve as interpreter on that important occasion.
When the committee proceeded to Washington to petition
the President to order a new treaty, Duchouquet accompanied
them as far as Cumberland, where he became sick, and was left in
charge of attendants at a hotel, but died and was buried before the
return of the committee.
BRIGHT HORN, OR WA-THE-THE-WE-LA.
The important services rendered by this chief
have been noted in the sketches of other Shawnee Indians. He was
one of the three noted chiefs selected by Colonel Johnston to
act as scouts for General Harrison in the war of 1812. He
was present when Logan was mortally wounded in the contest with
Winnemac, and was severely wounded in the thigh in the same
fight, but recovered. At the close of the war he returned to
Wapakoneta. His cabin stood on the north bank of Quaker Run,
near the site of the Distlerath slaughter-house. He was a
man of large stature and of commanding appearance. His fidelity
to General Harrison and the American army was never questioned.
He is said to have died at Wapakoneta in 1825 or '26.
BIG CAPTAIN JOHNNY.
Captain Johnny was chief of a tribe of
Indians who lived on the west bank of Pushseta Creek at its junction
with the Auglaize. Captain Johnny and his tribe were
living at that point in 1812, and was employed by General
Harrison in the
[Pg. 320]
capacities of scout and spy. He was with his old comrade
Captain Logan at the time was mortally wounded near the Maumee
Rapids, in November, 1812. After the engagement he caught two
of the enemy's horses, and after assisting his two wounded
companions to mount them, he returned some distance to scalp his
fallen enemies. After performing this act, he returned to Fort
Winchester, reaching that point the next morning.
Francis Dunlevy, a member of Captain Craig
Ritchie's company in "Crawford's Expedition," relates that he
had, during the fight, been engaged with an Indian of huge
dimensions. The latter, as evening approached, crept
cautiously toward Dunlevy, through the top of a fallen tree,
which was full of leaves, when getting near enough as he supposed,
he threw his tomahawk, but missed his aim, and then escaped.
This Indian was afterward recognized by Dunlevy, as he
believed, in "Big Captain Johnny," who, in the war of 1812,
was with the friendly Shawnees at Wapakoneta. "In a campaign
in which I served," writes A. H. Dunlevy, "under General
William Henry Harrison, in 1812-13, I frequently saw this
Indian. He must have been seven feet in height. He was
as frightfully ugly as he was large."
There is a tradition extant, that Captain Johnny
died about the year 1819, and was buried in the Indian cemetery,
located on the west bank of Pusheta Creek near the St. Mary's pike.
PETER CORNSTALK.
The Indian chieftain, Peter Cornstalk,
was born at Old Chillicothe about 1751, and was the son of the
celebrated chief of that name who was assassinated at Point Pleasant
in 1774. Like his father, Peter Cornstalk was
commanding in appearance, and had the lofty bearing of the true
savage. He fought in the battles against Harmar, St. Clair and
Wayne, hoping to retain his country; but when finally defeated in
1794, he decided that further resistance was useless, and signed the
Treaty of Greenville in 1795.
"Peter was a man of honor, and a true friend of
the settlers in the Auglaize country."
After the expulsion of the Indians from Piqua, by
General Clark he and his tribe settled on the east bank of the
Auglaize River about two miles below Wapakoneta, where he resided
until
[Pg. 321]
he and his tribe moved to Kansas. Of the dozen or more chiefs
of the Shawnees, Peter Cornstalk and John Wolf were
the only ones who gave their attention to the cultivation of the
soil. The corn, beans, pumpkins, and melons raised on the rich
bottom lands of the Auglaize river yielded an abundant subsistence
to the tribe during their residence in that locality.
At the age of eighty-two years, Cornstalk
accompanied his tribe to Kansas, and settled on the Kansas river.
When the Wyandot Indians of Ohio sold their reservation
to the United States, they demanded that the Shawnees should cede to
them a tract of land containing one hundred and fifty square miles,
lying at the east end of the Shawnee lands, claiming that that
amount of land was due to them, for privileges that they had granted
to the Shawnees in Ohio. The demand was met by violet
opposition from the Shawnees. A meeting of the chiefs was held
to discuss the unjust demand. "Among the most prominent
speakers who opposed the measure was Peter Cornstalk, a very
old man, and son of the celebrated chief Cornstalk, a
conspicuous character in the Governor Dunmar War. He
declared that he was an old a man as the commissioner was and that
he did not believe one word he said about the Wyandots' having done
so much for the Shawnees. He thought it very strange that
government could remember so much the Wyandots had done for them and
he know so little about it.
"Strange," said he, "I must have been asleep a long
time." "Well," he continued, "the Wyandots have given the
United States a great deal of land; the United States have plenty -
more, by far, than the Shawnees have - and he would propose that
they just give the Wyandots a little, and not beg it of the Shawnees
for them." (See Harvey's History of the Shawnee Indians,
page 244.)
A tradition has been in circulation for many years in
the county that Peter Cornstalk died, and was buried on the
east side of the Auglaize river, about two miles below Wapakoneta.
Like many other traditions, it is at variance with well
authenticated facts.
Cornstalk lived until about the year 1845.
He was buried in the Quaker Mission cemetery near the Kansas river.
THIS CHAPTER ENDS ON PAGE 322 |
