Chapter VII: Part 7

The year 1779, which was distinguished by the war of the Western Indians, and the Shawanese and Delawares in the remote parts of Virginia, was also marked by the project of Brant for a combined attack on the friendly Oneidas. This led to an expedition to Onondaga, by the Americans, against that hostile tribe. The Indians abandoned their villages on the approach of the enemy, yet thirty-three of them were taken prisoners, and a few slain. Three villages, consisting of nearly fifty houses, were burned to the ground; a large amount of provisions was destroyed; a hundred muskets and rifles, with a considerable quantity of ammunition, constituted part of the booty.

The Onondagas now breathed vengeance, and 300 of their warriors poured down on the valley of the Schoharie, where they plundered and burnt Cobelskill, which had been settled by some twenty families, since its destruction a year or two previous. The Mohawks also burst suddenly on the town of Minisink, and laid waste the settlement, burning, killing, and plundering on every hand. A battle was fought between them and a force sent from Goshen and its vicinity. It lasted from 11 o’clock, A. M. till nightfall. The Americans, though superior in numbers, were defeated, and forced to retreat, owing to a successful ambuscade formed by the Indians, and the failure of ammunition.

A vigorous effort was now made by the Americans against the Senecas, the most numerous and ferocious of the Six Nations. General Sullivan, at the head of a large force, penetrated into their country, and destroyed forty towns and villages, some of them having fifty or a hundred houses, and one as many as a hundred and twenty-eight. He also destroyed 160,000 bushels of corn, and many extensive fields and beautiful orchards of fruit, some of them containing 1,500 trees. The lovely valley of the Genesee was thus transformed into a scene of desolation, and the nation was left houseless and destitute to encounter the severe winter of 1780. Previous to his reaching the Seneca country, however, a severe battle took place at Chemung, in which the Indians fought with determined bravery, though they were defeated, and lost many of their warriors. In another engagement at Newtown the whole force of the Senecas and the other Indians, variously computed at from 800 to 1,500, was routed with great slaughter. A tragic scene occurred at this period in the cruel death of Lieutenant Boyd, belonging to General Sullivan’s army, who, with a small party of men, was sent out on a scouting expedition. They were cut off by some Indians, and, being captured, the lieutenant was put to death with tortures too horrible to relate.

The destruction of the Seneca towns was not, however, suffered to pass without retaliation. The hostile Indians, aided by the British, in 1780, invaded the villages of the Oneidas, and entirely destroyed their castle, church, and dwellings; the Oneidas were thus driven, in their state of desolation, upon the white settlements for protection and aid. The American government gave them support, fixing them, till the close of the war, at Schenectady and its vicinity.

Numerous incursions were made, in the same year, by the Indians, led on by Brant, who burned Canajoharie, and took fifty-two prisoners, besides killing seventeen persons. One hundred and forty houses and barns were burned; twenty-four people killed, and seventy-three made prisoners.

The towns of Johnstown and Caughnawaga had recently been visited with the vengeance of the Indians, in connection with Sir John Johnson’s invasion of the seat of his ancient residence. The Senecas, however, were still unsated with revenge. Under Cornplanter, a famous chief of that nation, joined by Brant and some British troops, they again made their appearance in the valley of the Schoharie, with the intention of completing the work of destruction there. Some severe skirmishes ensued, but their purpose was in a great degree effected, and the whole region was left desolate. The Mohawk valley became the scene of a similar incursion. Here, however, the enemy was overtaken and defeated, in the battle of Klock’s Farm, and compelled to seek safety in flight.

In 1781, the Indians assisted at the battle of Durlagh, where, after a spirited attack and resistance, they were routed, leaving nearly forty dead on the field. In October, they were also present at the battle of Johnstown, and fought from noon till sunset, when they were finally forced to retreat; in the pursuit, Butler, the notorious leader in the Cherry Valley massacre, was killed. This was the last expedition in which they were engaged previous to the close of the American war.

In the articles of peace between the mother country and her former colonies, no provision had been made for the Indian allies of the English. The Mohawks, who had left their own country, were invited by the Senecas to take a tract of their territory; but they declined it, choosing, as they said, to sink or swim with the English. The latter then assigned them a domain on the north side of Lake Ontario, upon the Bay of Quinte. Not satisfied, however, with this, another, by their request, six miles on each side of the Grand River, from the mouth to its source, about forty miles above the Falls of Niagara, was bestowed on them.

In the mean time, the sachems and warriors of the Six Nations held a conference, in 1784, with the agents of the United States. There were present representatives from the Mohawks, Senecas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Oneidas, and Tuscaroras, and Seneca Abeal, or the Senecas of Cornplanter’s clan, on the Alleghany. In the treaty that was concluded, the Six Nations relinquished a portion of their territory, and were to be secured in possession of that which they then occupied. The treaty, however, did not satisfy the Indians, and both Red Jacket,[11] the noted Seneca orator, and Brant, the Mohawk chief, were highly displeased with its terms. A plan was laid by the latter for obtaining assistance from the English, in the event of a general Indian war with the United States, which he evidently had in contemplation.

Questions of boundary originated further difficulties between the new republic and the Indians. In December, 1786, a grand council was held at Huron village, attended by the Six Nations, the Hurons, Ottawas, Miamis, Shawanese, Chippewas, Cherokees, Delawares, Potawatomies, and Wabash confederates. An address to the United States was agreed upon, pacific in its character, but it closed by suggesting, that, in case their views were not concurred in, they should take the field to assert their claim by arms. Another council was held in 1788, at which Brant succeeded in making further advances toward hostilities; but the purpose of the Mohawk chief was, for the present, defeated by the treaties of General St. Clair with the Western Indians, at Fort Huron, in 1789.

In 1791, the Six Nations, after the defeat of General Harmar by the Western Indians, joined with them in sending a deputation to the British governor at Quebec, to inquire if British aid could be hoped for in the further prosecution of the war. They received, however, but little encouragement from him, and Cornplanter used his efforts to prevent the warriors of the Six Nations from taking part in the contest, and to persuade the Miamis to peace. These, and other efforts, were but partially successful; for, in the battle which soon after took place, resulting in the defeat of General St. Clair, it is said one hundred and fifty Mohawks, with their leader, were engaged.

Negotiations were carried on, however, during the early part of the year 1792; and in the autumn, Cornplanter, with forty-eight chiefs of the Six Nations, thirty chiefs and warriors of the Mohawks and Canada Indians, with others from tribes beyond the Canadian territory, visited the Miamis and held a council with a view to dissuade them from war. They succeeded only so far as to make them agree to suspend hostilities till spring, and then meet the United States in council for further deliberation.

The account of the transactions in Ohio, connected with these events, will be found in the history given of the Western Indians. The Six Nations desired, if possible, to bring about peace, and a number of councils were held, at which they were present; but their efforts were vain. In consequence of a claim being set up by Pennsylvania on Presque Isle, the Six Nations were induced to assume a hostile attitude toward the United States in 1794, and, probably, but for the interposition of Washington, withholding Pennsylvania from prosecuting her design, a collision would have been inevitable. The defeat of the Western Indians by General Wayne effectually quieted the Six Nations, and Jay’s treaty with Great Britain was soon followed by a general peace.

The Six Nations continued to reside in their respective territories. Missionaries were received among them, the Bible was translated into their language, and numbers were converted to Christianity. The pacific feelings of this period are indicated by the fact, that the Mohawks and Senecas met by mutual challenge for athletic exercises, especially for matches of ball and cricket, which they had learned from the whites, and in which they had become remarkably expert.

When the war between the United States and England broke out, in 1812, the Mohawks, led by John Brant, youngest son of the great chief, took part with the latter, and were present at a number of battles fought on the frontiers. The Senecas, and other tribes residing in the State of New York, were on the side of the Americans. More recently, numbers of them have removed to the West. But a feeble remnant of the once mighty confederacy is now to be found. They have, also, by repeated transfers, become so intermingled with other tribes, that it is difficult to trace them. By a recent report of the Indian Department, it appears, that, west of the Mississippi, there are about 251 Senecas from Sandusky, and 211 Senecas and Shawanese; the whole number of the New York Indians is estimated at 3,293. These probably include the Oneidas, Onondagas, and Cayugas, with such relics of other tribes as may be found within the limits of the State of New York. By repeated cessions and sales of former reservations, they are dispossessing themselves of their ancient abodes; and the time is not far distant when scarcely a solitary Indian will be found where they once spread terror by their numbers and valor, and excited admiration for their heroism and sagacity.

FOOTNOTES:

[9] For an account of Brant, see “Lives of Famous American Indians.”

[10] See Life of Brant, in “Lives of Famous American Indians.”

[11] See “Lives of Famous Indians.”

WESTERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI.

The Shawanese, who were joined with the Delawares and other nations in the Indian wars by which the western section of the United States was disturbed, about the close of the Revolution, seem to have been a Southern nation, and are said to have once resided on the River Suwaney, in Florida. They have a tradition that their ancestors crossed the sea. The Delawares were once numerous and powerful. Yet, as has been mentioned, they were conquered by the great confederacy of the Five Nations; so that, for a considerable period afterwards, they make no great figure in history.

At the grand council held at Philadelphia in 1742, by the chiefs and warriors of the Six Nations and the Delawares, on the one part, and the English, on the other, the governor of Pennsylvania alleged, that William Penn, in his purchases, had bought certain lands of the Delawares, which they still retained in their possession, while, at the same time, the Six Nations claimed the ownership. He reminded the chiefs of the Six Nations, that, as they required him to remove the whites who intruded on their lands, the Six Nations were under a similar obligation to remove the Indians from the lands of which the English had acquired the right by purchase.

The old chief, Canassatego, after rebuking the Delawares sharply for their dishonesty and duplicity, in selling land they did not own and still retaining it in their possession, taunted them for their degradation in being conquered and made women of by the Six Nations; and then pronounced it as the decision of the chiefs and warriors, that they should leave the disputed territory, and remove to Wyoming or Shamokin. The Delawares did not dare to disobey, and at once retired to Wyoming.

The Shawanese were already settled there; but, as they were in friendship with the Six Nations, they made no attempt to molest them. The Shawanese occupied, therefore, the west side of the river, while the Delawares planted themselves on the eastern side, and built their town. It was not long, however, before mutual jealousies arose, and, on the breaking out of the old French War, the Shawanese favored the French, while the Delawares, like the Six Nations, continued faithful to the English.

At first, there were no actual hostilities, but the following incident is said to have brought on a desperate fight between these rival neighbours. While the Delaware chiefs were one day engaged in the chase, on the mountains, their women and children were occupied in gathering fruit on the margin of the river below the town. Some Shawanese women and children, seeing them thus employed, paddled across the river, and joined them. They all engaged in sports; but, in the course of the morning, a Shawanese child having caught a large grasshopper, a quarrel arose as to the right of possession. The fight among the young ones brought up the squaws, who took part with their children respectively. From words they came to blows; the Delawares said, the Shawanese had no right to cross the river, and come upon their premises; and being the stronger party, after several had been killed on both sides, they drove off the Shawanese, and compelled them to recross the river to their homes.

On the return of the warriors, they also entered into the contest. The Shawanese invaded the territory of the Delawares, who met them on the river’s brink, and fought them as they landed from their canoes. Still, the Shawanese, after a smart struggle, were enabled to land, when a fierce and bloody battle took place, in which several hundreds were killed on both sides. The Shawanese were routed, and, after having lost half their number, were compelled to return. They, therefore, immediately left Wyoming, and joined the main body of their nation, already settled on the Ohio. The Delawares remained.

In 1761, a conference was held between several American governors and the Six Nations, at which the Delawares, also, were present. Here a warm dispute arose respecting some lands, of which the Delaware chief complained that the English had taken possession, in consequence of a fraudulent conveyance. The Indians being thus dissatisfied, the French took care, by emissaries, to foment disturbances. The resentment of the Shawanese and Delawares was further roused by the suspicion that the English had concerted a plan for their extirpation. They therefore united with the other tribes upon the Ohio, and the nations about Detroit and along the Mississippi, for the purpose of making a sudden and general attack on the frontiers, and at one blow to cut off the inhabitants and their means of subsistence. This plot, in which the celebrated Pontiac[12] was one of the master spirits, was matured with great art and secrecy.

In 1763, the storm, which had been long gathering, and of which the low muttering had been heard, burst forth in its fury. The savages broke in upon the settlements, massacred the inhabitants, and all the frontier country of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland, for twenty miles back, was abandoned. The travelling merchants, who were among the Indians, were murdered and plundered, and property to the amount of hundreds of thousands of pounds was lost. So fierce and unexpected was the onset, that several forts, as those of Le Bœuf, Venango, and Presque Isle, were captured by the enemy. They next attempted Fort Pitt, Detroit, and Niagara. The two former were invested at the same time, though about three hundred miles apart.

A strong detachment was despatched by the English to relieve these posts. On reaching the neighbourhood of Fort Detroit, an attack on the Indian camp, about three miles off, was determined on. But, before the English approached, the Indians themselves began the attack, with the utmost fury, and the troops were compelled to retreat to the fort, with the loss of seventy killed and forty wounded. The Indians, however, soon despairing of success in their scheme of reducing the garrison, gave it up and withdrew.

The war still waged with fury along the whole western frontier. The siege of Fort Pitt was long continued, but after severe fighting, in which the loss of the Indians was great, they were beaten. Fort Niagara was also sharply assailed, but the enemy were finally driven back. At last the savages began to feel the necessity of peace, which was accordingly concluded in September, 1764, though the terms, being dictated by the English, were unfavorable to the Indians.

In the summer of 1774, hostilities again broke out. This war had its immediate origin in the incursions and outrages of the whites. The earlier stage of it is known in history as “Cresap’s War,” from the murder, by one Cresap, of the family of Logan, the Mingo chief,[13] who had settled among the Shawanese in Ohio. This base act of treachery and cruelty, which occurred in the spring of 1774, was followed by another atrocity, committed by a man named Greathouse, who invited a large number of Indians to drink with him and his men, and, when in a state of intoxication, fell upon them and massacred them. These and other outrages had the effect to combine several tribes in a war, which resulted in the desolation of many of the remote settlements. The governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore, sent a large body of troops under General Andrew Lewis, who marched towards the junction of the Kenhawa with the Ohio. Here, on the morning of the 10th of October, just at sunrise, he was attacked by a body of Indians, estimated at from eight to fifteen hundred, consisting of Shawanese, Delawares, Mingoes, Wyandots, Cayugas, and other tribes, led on by Logan, aided by Cornstalk, his son, and the Red Eagle.

The Indians are said to have had the advantage of position, and in the early part of the battle they compelled the Virginia regiments to give way. But other troops being brought up, the Indians were, in turn, forced to retreat, and fall back behind a breastwork of logs and brushwood which they had erected. Here they made a valiant stand, and defended themselves till night had nearly set in. Cornstalk cheered on his men, crying out, “Be strong, be strong!” and he is said also to have buried his tomahawk in the head of one who was seeking safety in flight. The Indians, however, were at last outflanked by an unperceived movement of a body of troops, who passed to their rear, and drove them from their lines. Supposing that the Virginians had now received reinforcements, they fled across the Ohio, and retreated to the Scioto.

Pressed with difficulties and dangers, the inquiry arose among the Indians, what was to be done. Cornstalk, who had been opposed to the battle, but who had been overruled in the council, now spoke. “What shall we do? The Long Knives are coming upon us by two routes. Shall we turn out and fight them?” As no one answered, he next inquired, “Shall we kill our squaws and children, and then fight until we are all killed ourselves?” Every one was silent,--and Cornstalk struck his tomahawk into the war-post, exclaiming, with stern emphasis, “Since you are not for fight, I will go and make peace.” He accordingly repaired to the English camp, where negotiations were opened, and a treaty concluded.

Logan was not present at the council, but a special messenger was despatched to gain his assent. Cornstalk, as it appears, was even his superior as an orator. An American officer, who was present at the interview between this chief and Lord Dunmore, says, “I have heard the first orators in Virginia, Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee, but never have I heard one whose powers of delivery surpassed those of Cornstalk.”

On the breaking out of the Revolutionary War, the Delawares took part with the colonists, owing greatly, it is said, to the influence of the chief, White Eyes, who was a firm friend to the colonists, in opposition to another chief, named Pipe. At a council held in Pittsburg to deliberate on the question, he boldly declared that he would not join in a war the object of which was to destroy a people born on the same soil with himself. The Americans, he said, were his friends and brothers, and no nation should dictate to him, or his tribe, the course they should pursue. In the course of the war which followed, he also sent a message to the Shawanese, with whom he had been allied, warning them against taking part in it. The language is characteristic of the Indian. “Grandchildren,” says he, “some days ago, a flock of birds, that had come on from the east, lit at Goschochking, imposing a song of theirs upon us, which song had well-nigh proved our ruin. Should these birds, which, on leaving us, took their flight towards Scioto, endeavour to impose a song on you likewise, do not listen to them, for they lie.”

Notwithstanding all the efforts of this chief, however, the Delawares, as well as other Western Indians, eventually became hostile in their feelings towards the Americans. In the spring of 1778, Pipe nearly succeeded in involving them in the contest. Instigated by the loyalists, he assembled a great number of warriors, and proclaimed every one an enemy to his country, who should endeavour to persuade them against fighting the Americans, and declared that all such ought to be put to death. But White Eyes also collected his people, and addressed them with great earnestness and pathos. Seeing that some of them were preparing to take up the hatchet, he told them that such a course was fraught with destruction to themselves. If, however, they disbelieved him, and were resolved to go forth to the war, he would go with them. “But,” he added, “it shall not be as when the hunter sets his dogs on the bear to be torn in pieces by his paws, while he keeps at a safe distance. No; I will lead you on to the thickest of the fight; I will myself be in the front rank, and the first to fall. You have now but to decide on your course. For my part, I am determined not to survive my slaughtered and ruined nation. I will not spend the last lingering of life in mourning over the doom of my people.”

The chief was now seconded by the arrival of a message of peace from the Americans, and the Indians determined to follow his advice. This state of things, however, did not long continue. The Shawanese had been for some time carrying on a warfare with Colonel Daniel Boone and the pioneers of the western settlements, and various skirmishes took place. In February, 1778, Boone was taken prisoner, and adopted into one of the Shawanese families as a son. But shortly after, he found means to escape, and returned home.

During the summer of this year, Colonel Clarke and Captain Bowman performed some brilliant exploits against the Indians at Kaskaskia and St. Philip’s, in the territory of Illinois. In 1779, the Indians, having suffered severe defeats, held a conference with Colonel Brodhead at Fort Pitt. The chiefs of the Delawares, Wyandots, and Hurons, with the king of the Maquichees, a branch of the Shawanese, were present. A partial treaty was formed, but hostilities were still continued along the frontier. In 1780, the Indians were severely chastised, and portions of them were overawed for a time. In 1782, under the vigorous operations of General Clarke, the war on the western border was brought to a close. During this protracted struggle, most of the tribes, from Michilimackinac to the mouth of the Ohio, were engaged against us, and many events of deep interest occurred. The war was marked with those acts of daring and atrocity which we might expect from exasperated savages and woodsmen, little accustomed to emotions of fear or pity.

A troubled and dubious peace continued for a time; but questions of boundary, about which the Indians were always dull and confused, soon became the occasion of irritation. Hostilities followed in the western parts of the Ohio territory, and the Indians, being wrought upon by English emissaries, were not appeased by all the efforts of General Washington at negotiation. Strong measures became necessary, and General Harmar was sent against them in September, 1790, with a force of 1,450 men. On his approach, the Indians abandoned their principal town, after setting it on fire, but, rallying again, made an attack on a detachment of two hundred and ten men, thirty of whom were regulars. The militia fled, and all but seven of the regulars were slain. The next day, another bloody battle was fought, between three hundred and sixty men and a large party of Indians, which resulted in the defeat of the Americans, with the loss of several officers and one hundred and eighty-three men. The Indians are said to have lost one hundred and twenty warriors. The victory was claimed by the Americans, though they retreated, and the consequences were, that the Indians became more bold in their incursions on the frontier settlements.

Various efforts were now made to effect a general peace, but, though several councils were held, and the British governor and other officers lent their influence to secure this object, the Indians still continued hostile.

In 1791, therefore, General St. Clair marched towards the country of the Miamis. His army consisted of about two thousand men. The Indians hung continually on his path, and, as he advanced, the militia began to desert, till his whole force was reduced to about fifteen hundred. Having approached within about fifteen miles of the Miami villages, the army halted and encamped for the night beside a creek, the militia passing over to encamp on the other side. Here the intention was to throw up a temporary defence and await the return of a detachment which had been sent back to guard the supplies. But the Indians had no idea of permitting this junction; and about half an hour before sunrise they attacked the militia, who were a quarter of a mile in advance. These troops made no stand, but ran in the greatest confusion to the camp, where they threw the whole force into disorder. The Indians fought with the utmost fury, charging the artillery on all sides, and, though driven back by the regulars at the point of the bayonet, they succeeded in surrounding the Americans. By a furious charge our troops forced a passage in the rear, and thus effected their retreat. Yet so great was the terror inspired among the men, that many of them, in their flight, threw away their arms and accoutrements, even after the pursuit had ceased.

In this famous engagement the Indians lost about one hundred and fifty killed, besides the wounded; while of the Americans above five hundred, including officers and men, were killed, and two hundred and sixty wounded. They also lost their camp equipage and baggage, six or eight field-pieces, and four hundred horses. The number of the Indians engaged is differently estimated at from 1,000 to 1,500. Their commander is said to have been Meshecunaqua, or the Little Turtle, a chief of the Miamis. It is also asserted, that Brant, with about one hundred and fifty Mohawks, had a large share in the action.

For twelve months subsequent to this dreadful defeat, the frontiers were exposed to more ferocious assaults than before. Numerous instances are related of the boldness of the Indians in attacking the settlers, and also of the bravery of those hardy pioneers of the West in repelling the foe. In one case, a party attacked a dwelling-house and wounded severely the husband, so that the defence devolved on the wife and daughter. These succeeded in closing the door, so that the Indians had to cut an opening by which to enter. On one of them thrusting in his head, the valiant woman despatched him with an axe, and drew in the body. Four others, one after another, supposing that the warriors thus killed had made an entrance, suffered the same fate. Abandoning this mode of attack, they next mounted the roof, and attempted to come down the chimney; but the two heroines casting the contents of a feather-bed on the fire, the enemy, descending, became suffocated, fell down, and were beaten to death by the maimed husband with a billet of wood. Another Indian still, on attempting the door again, was severely wounded, and the party, discouraged at so obstinate a resistance, and doubtless imagining the force within to be greater than it was, withdrew.

After some ineffectual attempts at negotiation, in various councils, General Wayne, who had been appointed to succeed General St. Clair, advanced into the Miami country. A sharp engagement took place at Fort Recovery, which had been thrown up on the field of St. Clair’s defeat. The Indians were led on by Little Turtle, who, having surprised a detachment of the Americans, drove them into the fort. Pressing on, in the hope of entering the fort in the pursuit, a heavy fire was opened on the Indians, who were forced to retreat. They renewed the assault, however, the next day, but were again driven off.

On the 8th of August, 1794, General Wayne reached the confluence of the Au Glaize and Miami of the Lakes, where were the principal Indian villages. Thirty miles from this place, the Indian force, amounting to nearly two thousand, was gathered close by the British fort. Notwithstanding Wayne’s precautions, the Indian leader was aware of his approach, and prepared for battle. An attempt at negotiation was once more made by the American officers, but it proved unsuccessful. The Indians were formed in three lines near the fort, within suitable distance of each other. The attack commenced, and they attempted to turn the left flank of the American army. Wayne’s disposition of his forces was happily so made as to counteract the plans of the enemy. The fight was severe, but the Indian forces were soon driven from their position, leaving to the Americans a complete victory.

Seven nations are said to have been engaged in this action,--the Miamis, Wyandots, Potawatomies, Delawares, Shawanese, Chippewas, and Ottawas. Every Wyandot chief present was killed, and many others also fell. Little Turtle, it is said, was averse to fighting, believing that Wayne was a more vigilant officer than those with whom they had before contended. But Blue Jacket, a great warrior among the Shawanese, prevailed in the council, and the engagement we have described, with the consequent defeat, was the result.

The whole Indian country, which was thickly peopled, was laid waste for twenty miles around. “The margins of the rivers,” says Wayne, in his despatches, “appeared like one continued village, and the fields of corn were immense.” Yet these were made a scene of desolation. The year after this, all hope of succour from the English being removed by Jay’s treaty, the Indians became desirous of peace, and terms were proposed and accepted on the 3d of August, 1795.

FOOTNOTES:

[12] For the particulars of Pontiac’s life, see “Lives of Famous American Indians.”

[13] See “Lives of Famous American Indians.”

WESTERN AND SOUTHERN INDIANS.

The peace, noticed at the close of the last chapter, continued till near the opening of the last war with England. At that period, the famous Tecumseh entered upon his design of embodying the Western Indians in a grand effort to check the advance of the American settlements. A plan so extensive had never before been attempted by an Indian chief. His brother, the Prophet, in his sacred character, visited the distant tribes, even those beyond the Mississippi, and poured out his stirring eloquence upon the warriors as far as the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Had the confederacy been actually perfected, the history of events had been written in bloodier lines than those which portray the reality.

While the Prophet was marshalling the West, Tecumseh, with burning words, was rousing the fiery passions of the Southern Indians. Without much difficulty, he succeeded in inspiring the Creek warriors with a portion of his own fire, and the buried hatchet was once more lifted in a fierce attack on the settlements within their reach. But a part of the Creek nation, however, were engaged in these transactions; some of them still remaining friendly to our people. The principal chiefs bore the names of Weatherford, Big Warrior, and Little Warrior. The great argument which Tecumseh held out to them was the prospect of an approaching war between the United States and Great Britain, which, he said, would afford to the Indians the opportunity of avenging their wrongs and regaining their rights.

The first onset was the well known attack and capture of Fort Mimms. This was commanded by Major Beasley, with one hundred volunteers; besides whom, a large number of the inhabitants, foreseeing the storm, had gathered there for safety. Though warned of the contemplated attack, the fort was surprised, about noon, on the 30th of August, 1812. The sentinel had scarcely time to announce the approach of the Indians, when they rushed, with a terrific yell, towards the open gate. The garrison was instantly under arms, and the commander, with some of his men, flew towards the entrance to close it, and drive out the enemy; but he fell mortally wounded. The conflict was desperate. The gate, however, was at last closed, and the Indians, who had taken possession of a blockhouse near, were finally expelled, after much bloodshed. The assault continued for an hour, on the outside of the pickets, and the portholes were several times carried by the assailants, and retaken by the garrison.

The Indians, for a short time, withdrew, apparently disheartened; but, being urged on by their fiery leader, Weatherford, they returned to the attack, cut away the gate with their axes, forced the pickets, and got possession of the open space within, compelling the garrison to retreat to the buildings. Here they met a gallant resistance, but the Indians at length succeeded in setting fire to the roofs, and a scene of carnage ensued. Women and children, the old and the young, were all crowded together in these dwellings, and, in the spirit of savage warfare, all were sacrificed. Scarcely a soul escaped from the terrific scene, and nearly two hundred and sixty persons are said to have perished.

This catastrophe taught the inhabitants what they had to expect in the contest thus opening upon them, and produced immediate efforts, both in Tennessee and Georgia, to prepare for the crisis. It was determined to carry the war at once into the enemy’s country. The command of the expedition from Tennessee was committed to a man of prompt decision, firm and unflinching purpose,--a conqueror in his nature,--General Andrew Jackson. On marching to the Coosa, he despatched a detachment to attack the Indian village of Littafutchee, on a branch of the above-named river. The place was captured, with a number of prisoners.

The Creeks now concentrated their forces at Tallushatches, also on the Coosa. General Coffee was despatched, by General Jackson, with nine hundred cavalry and mounted riflemen, against them. The Coosa was forded, and, as he advanced, the Creeks struck their war-drum, sung their war-songs, and, with terrific yells, sallied forth from their village, boldly charging the troops. A fearful struggle followed, and the Indians, in their fury, disdaining to receive quarter, were slaughtered in great numbers. Two hundred of their warriors fell, and the women and children were taken prisoners. In his official account, General Coffee says that the enemy fought as long as they could stand or sit, using chiefly the bow and arrow after the first fire, though occasionally loading and discharging their guns.

This bloody engagement was the first of a series bearing the same general character. General Jackson soon moved forward to the relief of the fort at Talladega, which was menaced with the fate of Fort Mimms. The Creeks were found encamped within a quarter of a mile of that place, and, as the lines of the American troops advanced, they were attacked by the Indians, who were, however, compelled to retreat, with the loss of two hundred and ninety left dead on the field, and many more wounded.

About the same time, General Floyd, with nine hundred and fifty of the Georgia militia, and three or four hundred friendly Indians, met the hostile Creeks of that region on the banks of the Tallapoosa River. An engagement followed, in which the Indians presented themselves at every point, and fought with desperate bravery. After a firm resistance, they were beaten and driven from the plain, and the houses of their two towns were wrapped in flames.

Notwithstanding their ill success, the Indians were not yet prepared for submission, and another battle was fought with the forces under General Claiborne, on the Alabama. Their stronghold was taken, thirty or forty warriors were slain, and two hundred dwellings burned. Another town, also, of sixty houses, eight miles above, was destroyed, with several distinguished chiefs, and all the boats owned by the Indians in that vicinity.

While these transactions were taking place on the Georgia side, General Jackson was advancing from the west. Several fierce encounters took place, but the great battle which broke the strength of the Indians occurred at the Horseshoe, a bend in the Tallapoosa. Here a thousand or more of the Creeks were gathered from their towns, and had strongly fortified themselves. General Jackson, with a force of three or four thousand men, attacked their position, having stationed a portion of his troops so that the escape of the enemy might be cut off. The fort was taken by storm, and the Indians were entirely defeated. Five hundred and fifty-seven were left dead on the field, and a great number were killed by the cavalry in attempting to cross the river.

This was, indeed, a dreadful battle. The fighting continued to rage for five hours. The Indians refused to surrender, answering the propositions made them to this effect by volleys of fire-arms. Their numbers were now greatly reduced, and the prophets, by whom they had been urged on, had nearly all fallen. The humbled savages, at last, felt it to be hopeless to continue the contest, and accordingly sued for peace. A treaty was, therefore, concluded on the 10th of August, 1814, by which their territories were once more limited within such boundaries as might prevent their disturbing the people of the United States.

The chief, Weatherford, who had led on some of the most daring attacks, spoke on this occasion with great feeling. “I am in your power,” said he to General Jackson, who had been appointed to treat with them; “do with me as you please. I am a soldier. I have done the white people all the harm I could. I fought them bravely. If I had an army, I would yet fight, and contend to the last, but I have none; my people are gone. I can now do no more than weep over the misfortunes of my nation. Once I could animate my warriors to battle; but I cannot rouse the dead. My warriors can no longer hear my voice. Their bones are at Talladega, Tallushatches, Emuckfaw, and Tohopeka. I have not surrendered myself thoughtlessly. Whilst there were chances of success, I never left my post, nor supplicated for peace. But my people are weakened, and I now ask it for my nation and myself. On the miseries and misfortunes suffered by my country I look back with the deepest sorrow, and wish to avert still greater calamities. If I had been left to contend with the Georgia troops alone, I would have raised my corn on one bank of the river, and fought them on the other; but you have destroyed my nation. You are a brave man; I rely on your generosity. You will exact no terms from a conquered people but such as they should accept. Whatever they may be, it would now be madness and folly to resist. You have told us where we might go and be safe. This is a good talk; my nation ought to listen, and they shall listen.”

After this speech, Big Warrior made an address, promising to abide by the treaty. Since this time, the Creeks, as well as the Cherokees and Choctaws, have remained at peace. A portion of this nation, who bear the name of Seminoles, having driven out part of the Uchees from Florida, incorporated the remnants of that tribe with themselves. Here, in the Everglades and deep fastnesses, they have maintained a long and bloody warfare with the United States, during which the Americans expended millions of money, and lost great numbers of their soldiers, either by battle or disease. The principal leaders of the Seminoles were Micanopy, Philip, Creek Bill, and Osceola. The latter, a half-breed, was the master spirit; but, being captured, he died a prisoner to the Americans, at Fort Moultrie, in Charleston, South Carolina, in the year 1838. After a protracted contest, the Seminoles have been subdued, and the greater part of them, as well as of the other Southern Indians, have been removed to the west side of the Mississippi. Agriculture has advanced among the Creeks, and they yet number some twenty thousand, or more, in the various divisions of their nation.

The war of the United States with Black Hawk,[14] and the Sacs, Foxes, and Winnebagoes, in 1832, need not be detailed here. It is sufficient to say, that it disturbed the northwestern frontier for a time, but resulted in the entire defeat of the savages, and the surrender of the chief.

The red man is fast disappearing from the settled portions of the United States; here and there a small community of Indians is found east of the Mississippi. Every year has witnessed new aggressions on their territory by the whites, who have continued to despoil them of their property, and rob them of their lands. No one can doubt that great injustice has often been done, and that they have frequently been forced to yield to the arm of might rather than to the sense of right. Yet there is one compensation;--the mild spirit of the gospel has exerted itself among them, and Christian communities, with devoted and faithful leaders, are found planted in the midst of them. We shall advert more fully to some facts on this score in a subsequent page, and now only observe, that the success which has recently attended the benevolent efforts of the missionaries justifies the hope that some remnants of these tribes may yet be preserved, and be able, hereafter, to testify to a more humane policy on the part of their conquerors.

FOOTNOTE:

[14] See “Lives of Famous American Indians.”

VARIOUS TRIBES OF NORTHERN AND WESTERN INDIANS.

The vast territory, which lies outspread north of the great chain of lakes which separate the British provinces from the United States, and far in the west beyond the sources of the Missouri and Columbia Rivers, is inhabited by numerous tribes of Indians. Among these, in the British provinces, are the Chippewas, the Assinniboins, the Snake, Stone, Beaver, Copper, and Hare Indians. These are wandering tribes, who have no history deserving the name; though they are more or less involved, from time to time, in wars with each other. The regions in which many of them dwell are cold and barren, and they subsist almost entirely by hunting and fishing, furnishing the traders with furs, and receiving in exchange such articles as they need. Some of them are pensioners on British bounty, on account of services rendered in former wars.

Still further to the north, on the coasts of Labrador, we meet with the Esquimaux, a singular race, who live, during the long winter which reigns around them, shut up in their huts, and, at the opening of their brief summer, go forth to provide the means of subsistence by fishing and hunting. They seem to be a different race from the red Indian, as they are generally low in stature, and of a complexion approaching to white. In the interior, however, they are said to be taller. They possess great skill in the management of their canoes or boats, and the training of their dogs in sledges, which serve them as the reindeer does its Lapland master. Their history is principally comprised in the benevolent and successful efforts of the Moravians to extend to them the blessings of the Christian religion. Some of them, especially those in Labrador, have thus been civilized and Christianized. The progress of missionary exertion among them has been most interesting, and is fully recorded in the history of Moravian missions. For a long period, these self-denying men toiled amid hardships which might have discouraged others actuated by less exalted motives. Year after year rolled by, and still the frigid hearts, like the icy rocks of their native land, responded not to the warm appeals of the Christian missionary; but at last the heart was melted, and they were found anxious to learn yet more of the spiritual tidings which had been brought to their frozen zone.

The adventurous explorer of the far northern regions, by land or by sea, occasionally meets the Esquimaux roaming over the ice-clad plains; but there has been little, in that land of wintry barrenness, to tempt the invasions of cupidity; and thus they have remained comparatively at peace, except that some prowling bands of the northern tribes of Indians have, now and then, assaulted them while on their hunting expeditions.

In the travels of Mackenzie, Hearne, Franklin, Back, and the voyages of Ross and Parry, we find occasional notices of the different tribes which roam over the extended territory towards the north pole. But as they are mostly descriptions of individuals or families, they scarcely claim a place in these pages.

The Chippewas, who were formerly called Algonquins, are an extensive though scattered band, and have heretofore been engaged in bloody wars with other tribes, particularly the Otagamies and Saukies. These were once much inferior to their adversaries both in numbers and strength; but on a particular occasion, as related by Carver, they gained a great advantage in war, which resulted, at last, in an enduring friendship between the rival nations.

Bordering on the Esquimaux on the west, and also near the Chippewas, are the Knistenaux, or Cree Indians, who inhabit a wide space of country. They are a well formed race, and their women are the handsomest of the Indian females. They are said to be hospitable, generous, and mild; not very careful of speaking the truth, but otherwise honest, so that they are permitted to go about the trading posts without restraint. They have carried on long and bloody wars with the Blackfeet. These are more powerful in frame, as well as more numerous; and though the Knistenaux warriors have been much reduced, they have often proved themselves, by their superior agility, a full match for their warlike foes. They are probably a portion of the Chippewas, whom they are said much to resemble both in appearance and language.

The Assinniboins, or Stone Indians, though their appearance is prepossessing, are represented as great thieves, stealing whatever they can lay their hands on, especially horses. They are at perpetual war with the Slave Indians, who live further west, and whom they resemble. They are desperate and daring. The Assinniboins are supposed to have belonged originally to the Sioux, as they are very much like them both in their features and manners.

The Chippewayans, being the same as the Chippewas in the United States, are divided into many tribes. They differ from the Crees as to hospitality, for they never give or receive with a good grace. Their disputes are generally settled by wrestling, and the victor of the match may carry off the wife of the vanquished as his prize.

The powerful nation of the Sioux, or Dahcotahs, occupy in part the region west of the Mississippi, near the Falls of St. Anthony, though the main body of them are found on the Upper Missouri. These are the same Indians whom Carver calls the Naudowessies, and have always been great warriors. They are divided into numerous bands, each called after the name of its chief, as the Black Dog’s band, the Red Wing’s band, &c. They have ever been at war with the Chippewas, and are the mortal foes of the Osages, whom they have greatly reduced, and who hold them in great dread. They occupy a wide extent of country, and the main object of their contention with the Chippewas, for two hundred years, is stated to have been the territory from Rum River to the Rivière de Corbeau, both parties claiming it as their own. They have conquered and destroyed vast numbers of their red brethren, and have swept the whole region extending from the banks of the Mississippi to the mouth of the Great Platte, together with the plains that lie to the north, between the Mississippi and the Black Hills. They form six distinct tribes, comprising about 28,000 souls, subsisting chiefly on buffalo’s meat and the wild fruits of the forest. They also use the native rice, of which they gather many thousand bushels. A revolted band of this nation, called the Osinpoilles, said to consist of 8,000 persons, live near the Rocky Mountains.

Catlin divides the Sioux nation into the Mississippi Sioux and the Missouri Sioux. He says that they are separated into forty-two bands, or families, each having a chief; these acknowledge a head chief, to whom they are subordinate.

The Mississippi branch, being near to the white settlements, are somewhat advanced in civilization, yet form but an imperfect sample of the nobler warriors who live on the banks of the Missouri, and roam over the plains between that river and the Rocky Mountains. At the time Catlin visited them, the head chief of the Sioux was Hawanjetah, greatly renowned for his prowess in war and the chase. Of him we are furnished with the following story.

Hawanjetah had, in some way, been the accidental cause of the death of his only son, a very fine youth; and so great was the anguish of his mind, at times, that he became frantic and insane. In one of these moods he mounted his favorite war-horse, with his bow and arrows in his hand, and dashed off at full speed upon the prairies, repeating the most solemn oath, “that he would slay the first living thing that fell in his way, be it man or beast, friend or foe.” No one dared to follow him, and after he had been absent an hour or two, his horse came back to the village with two arrows in his body, and covered with blood! Fears of the most serious kind were now entertained for the fate of the chief, and a party of warriors immediately mounted their horses, and retraced the animal’s tracks to the scene of the tragedy, where they found the body of their chief horribly mangled and gored by a buffalo bull, whose carcase was stretched by his side.

A close examination of the ground was then made by the Indians, who ascertained by the tracks, that their unfortunate chief, under his unlucky resolve, had met a buffalo bull, in the season when the animal is stubborn, and unwilling to run from any one, and had incensed the creature by shooting a number of arrows into him, which thus brought him into furious combat. The chief had then dismounted, and, turning his horse loose, shot a couple of arrows into his body, which sent him home at full speed. He had then thrown away his bow and quiver, encountering the infuriated buffalo with his knife alone,--the desperate battle resulting in the death of both. Many of the bones of the chief were broken, as he was gored and stamped to death; and his huge antagonist had laid his body by the side of him, weltering in blood from a hundred wounds, made by the chief’s long and two-edged knife.