The Land of the Miamis - An Account of the Struggle to Secure Possession of the North-West from the End of the Revolution until 1812

Elmore Barce

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• Publié par: iftyo
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 32
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

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The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Land of the Miamis, by Elmore Barce This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: The Land of the Miamis An Account of the Struggle to Secure Possession of the North-West from the End of the Revolution until 1812 Author: Elmore Barce Release Date: October 13, 2009 [EBook #30244] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAND OF THE MIAMIS *** Produced by David Garcia, Barbara Kosker and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Kentuckiana Digital Library) The house of General Harrison at Vincennes, Ind., as it now appears. ToList THE LAND OF THE MIAMIS By Elmore Barce Member of the State and National Bar Associations Member Indiana State Historical Society Author "Land of the Potawatomi" An Account of the Struggle to Secure Possession of the North-West from the End of the Revolution until 1812. Fowler, Indiana THE BENTON REVIEW SHOP 1922 Copyrighted, 1922, by the Benton Review Shop, Fowler, Ind. Photos and Maps by Lieut. Don Heaton Dedicated to CARRIE MAY BARCE My Wife. [Pg v] TABLE OF CONTENTS A BRIEF RETROSPECT—A general view of the Indian Wars of the Early Northwest WHAT THE VIRGINIANS GAVE US—A topographical description of the country north of the Ohio at the close of Revolutionary War THE BEAVER TRADE—A description of the wealth in furs of this section at the close of the Revolutionary War and the reasons underlying the struggle for its control THE PRAIRIE AND THE BUFFALO—The buffalo as the main food supply of the Indians THE WABASH AND THE MAUMEE—Chief line of communication with the tribes of the Early Northwest. The heart of the Miami country THE TRIBES OF THE NORTHWEST—A description of the seven tribes of savages who opposed the advance of settlement in the Northwest. Their location. Kekionga, the seat of Miami power REAL SAVAGES—The Savage painted in his true 1 6 12 20 34 44 colors from the standpoint of the frontiersman OUR INDIAN POLICY—The Indian right of occupancy recognized through the liberal policy of Washington and Jefferson THE KENTUCKIANS—The first men to break through the mountain barriers to face the British and the Indians THE BRITISH POLICIES—The British reluctant to surrender the control of the Northwest—Their tampering with the Indian tribes JOSIAH HARMAR—The first military invasion of the Northwest by the Federal Government after the Revolution SCOTT AND WILKINSON—The Kentucky raids on the Miami country along the Wabash in 1791 ST. CLAIR'S DEFEAT—The first great disaster to the Federal armies brought about by the Miamis WAYNE AND FALLEN TIMBERS—Final triumph of the Government over Indians and British THE TREATY OF GREENVILLE—The surrender of the Ohio lands of the Miamis and their final submission to the government GOVERNOR HARRISON AND THE TREATY —Purchase of the Miami lands known as the New Purchase which led to the strengthening of Tecumseh's Confederacy—the final struggle at Tippecanoe RESULTS OF THE TREATY—Harrison's political enemies at Vincennes rally against him in the open, and are defeated in the courts THE SHAWNEE BROTHERS—The Prophet as an Indian priest and Tecumseh as a political organizer —The episode of the eclipse of 1806 —Tecumseh's personal appearance described PROPHET'S TOWN—The capital of the Shawnee Confederacy in the heart of the Miami Country HARRISON'S VIGILANCE—His political courage and activities save the frontier capital THE COUNCIL AT VINCENNES—The dramatic meeting between Harrison and Tecumseh— Tecumseh announces his doctrine of the common ownership of the Indian lands THE SECOND AND LAST COUNCIL—The last meeting between the two leaders before Harrison marched into the Indian country THE MUSTER AND THE MARCH—The rally of the Kentuckians and their clansmen in southern 68 80 112 [Pg vi] 126 145 173 195 207 238 245 271 280 295 305 [Pg vii] 316 332 Indiana to Harrison's support—The coming of the Fourth United States Regiment—The march to the Tippecanoe battlefield THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE—The night attack on Harrison's forces—The destruction of Tecumseh's Confederacy NAYLOR'S NARRATIVE—A description of the battle by one of the volunteers 352 371 381 [Pg viii] [Pg ix] LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. P AGE 1. The Home of General William Henry Harrison, at Vincennes, as it now appears Frontispiece 2. A Section of the Grand Prairie in Benton County, Indiana, which extends West to Peoria, Illinois 3. A Typical Buffalo Wallow on the Donaldson Farm, in Benton County, Indiana 4. The Wabash River at Merom Bluff, Sullivan County, Indiana—LaMotte Prairie beyond 5. Location of the Indian Tribes of the Northwest 6. Shaubena, the best of the Potawatomi Chiefs, and a follower of Tecumseh 7. Thomas Jefferson, Third President of the United States 8. Map of the Harmar, St. Clair and Wayne Campaigns 9. Map showing the Wea Plains, and the Line of Scott's March. Tippecanoe County, Indiana 10. Indian Hills on the Wabash River, just below the old site of Fort Ouiatenon 11. General Anthony Wayne and Little Turtle, at Greenville. From an old painting by one of Wayne's staff 12. Governor William Henry Harrison 13. Another View of the Wabash. A land of great beauty 14. Raccoon Creek, Parke County, Indiana. The North Line of the New Purchase 25 33 41 57 73 97 161 185 193 241 257 [Pg x] 291 323 15. The Line of Harrison's March to Tippecanoe and the New Purchase of 1809 16. Pine Creek, in Warren County, Indiana, near the place where Harrison crossed 17. Judge Isaac Naylor. From an old portrait in the Court Room at Williamsport, Indiana 363 371 387 [Pg xi] PREFACE In presenting this book to the general public, it is the intention of the author to present a connected story of the winning of the Northwest, including the Indian wars during the presidency of General Washington, following this with an account of the Harrison-Tecumseh conflict in the early part of the nineteenth century, ending with the Battle of Tippecanoe. The story embraces all of the early efforts of the Republic of the United States to take possession of the Northwest Territory, acquired from Great Britain by the Treaty of 1783 closing the Revolutionary War. The whole western country was a wilderness filled with savage tribes of great ferocity, and they resisted every effort of the government to advance its outposts. Back of them stood the agents of England who had retained the western posts of Detroit, Niagara, Oswego, Michillimacinac and other places in order to command the lucrative fur trade, and who looked upon the advance of the American traders and settlers with jealousy and alarm. They encouraged the savages in their resistance, furnished them with arms and ammunition, and at times covertly aided them with troops and armed forces. In other words, this is a part of that great tale of the winning of the west. We are well aware that there is a very respectable school of historians who insist that the British took no part in opposing the American advance, but the cold and indisputable facts of history, the words of Washington himself, contradict this view. England never gave up the idea of retrieving her lost possessions in the western country until the close of the War of 1812. An attempt has also been made in this work to present some of the great natural advantages of the Northwest; its wealth of furs and peltries, and its easy means of communication with the British posts. The leading tribes inhabiting its vast domain, the Indian leaders controlling the movements of the warriors, and the respective schemes of Brant and Tecumseh to form an Indian confederacy to drive the white man back across the Ohio, are all dwelt upon. The writer is confessedly partial to the western frontiersmen. The part that the Kentuckians played in the conquest of the Northwest is set forth at some length. The foresight of Washington and Jefferson, the heroism of Logan, Kenton, Boone and Scott and their followers, play a conspicuous part. The people of the [Pg xii] eastern states looked with some disdain upon the struggles of the western world. They gave but scanty support to the government in its attempts to subdue the Indian tribes, voted arms and supplies with great reluctance, and condemned the borderers as savages and barbarians. There is no attempt to condemn the eastern people for their shortsightedness in this regard, but after all, that is the term exactly applicable. The West was won despite their discouragement, and the empire beyond the mountains was conquered notwithstanding their opposition. William Henry Harrison has been condemned without mercy. Much of this hostile criticism has proceeded from his political enemies. They have distorted the plain facts of history in order to present the arguments of faction. Harrison was the greatest man in the western world after George Rogers Clark. The revelations of history justify his suspicion of the British. The people of the West were alone undeceived. The General was always popular west of the Alleghenies and justly so. Tecumseh and the Prophet were, after all is said, the paid agents of the English government, and received their inspiration from Detroit. Jefferson knew all these facts well, and so wrote to John Adams. Jefferson's heart beat for the western people, and throughout the whole conflict he stood stoutly on the side of Harrison. We recognize the fact that we have done but poorly. Out of the great mass of broken and disconnected material, however, we have attempted to arrange a connected whole. We submit the volume with many misgivings and pra