(pg. 74-80)
Political Organization (pg. 76-79)
Population (pg. 79-80)
French capitulation at Montreal in 1760, as well as elsewhere in the Northwest, marks this date as the beginning of British domination over the region though diplomatic negotiation regarding the fate of the area continued until 1763. The replacement of French by British, so far as control of forts and fur trading establishments, made but little difference to the native inhabitants of the region. It was the subsequent years, marked by conflict between British and Americans, that did markedly affect them. Then they again became desirable allies and were assiduously courted, with warfare being encouraged rather than discouraged. As a pawn in the battle between the Whites they were either forced out of some regions or encouraged to enter others as war parties. Potawatomi expansion into new areas is indicated by the appearance of new settlements in the contemporary accounts, and in the increasing importance in terms of size of the more southerly settlements.
This expansion in territory is suggested, for example, in a letter from Neyon de Villiers to d'Abbadie, dated Fort Chartres, December 1, 1763, in which he states:
"The sieru Debeaujeu, who was charged with sending the messages, calumets and collars to all the northern tribes, decided to winter sixty leagues away, on the Illinois river, with a party of the Pouteouatims and to send his messages further" (Wisconsin Historical Collections, XVIII: 259).
This is the first mention of Potawatomi on this river to the south of their range as previously described. Their presence on at least the upper reaches of the Illinois in this period would appear to be confirmed by a report of Francisco Rui, Spanish commandant of the Illinois, to Sr. Piernas who replaced him, the report dealing with the tribes under his jurisdiction. The report, dated 1769, lists the Poutuatami, Sauteaux and Ouaoua as being "of the river of San Joseph and of that of Ilinneses" (Wisconsin Historical Collections, XVIII: 299-305). However, a subsequent description of the Potawatomi, a manuscript in the General Archives of the Indies, Seville with a date of 1777 only speaks of the Potawatomi of the Saint Joseph River with no indication that they were also to be found on the Illinois.
The Pu Tribe
"This tribe is composed of one hundred and fifty warriors. The Name of the
principal chief of this tribe is Unan Guise. they are located two hundred
leagues from this post, on a river called San Joseph which rises in a lake
called Michigan located at a distance of sixty or seventy leagues from the Mississippi.
This tribe has been well affected to the French, but they are somewhat in
revolt at present, and are evilly inclined, and cause many thefts in this
district" (Ibid., 367).
Some indication of village locations can be obtained from British sources during this same period. A report from Lieut. Bennett to Major De Peyster dated September 1, 1779 states:
"The Potawatomies of St. Joseph's, of the Petit Coeur de Cerf, and the Terre Coupee were the first who visited us. They declared their Intentions to be to assist us in every thing, that lay in their powers, and promised that they would always look upon the enemies of their Father the King of England as theirs" (Ibid., 398).
The basic problem in connection with such sources as this is, of course, the identification of the village locations. The first village is obviously that located on the St. Joseph River. Reuben Gold Thwaites indicates that the Terre Coupee village was located on what is now known as Terre Coupee prairie, in the northwestern corner of the present St. Joseph County, Indiana (Ibid.) Presumably the third village was also in the St. Joseph River country. The report is of considerable value in indicating the presence of three villages in an area where previously only one had been reported.
The wider range of the Potawatomi in the form of war parties is indicated by a report that the Potawatomi had killed and scalped two people at Cahokia (Lawrence Kinnaird, ed., Spain in the Mississippi Valley, 1765-1794, Vol. III, Pt. II, 1946, p. 174). While this broader range is to be expected, the actual villages of the Potawatomi are not clearly shown beyond the limits indicated above.
In view of loose statements that have been made, not only in regard to the tribal organization of the Potawatomi, but also of a broader "confederacy" uniting the Potawatomi, with other tribes, it is interesting to observe how the Potawatomi actually behaved as a political unit during this period. It is quite clear that each village or band acted independently of the others. Further, since all of the Indians were subjected to varying pressures, not all of the Potawatomi behaved in a similar fashion. Some supported the British, and these were primarily those in intimate contact with the strong British posts. It was, for example, the Potawatomi of Detroit who brought two American scalps to the Sauk and Fox to induce them too to take up arms against the Americans (Wisconsin Hisotrical Collections, XVIII: 404).
But perhaps the clearest example of division and lack of unity among the Potawatomi is to be seen in the raid in 1781 when Spanish forces operating from a headquarters at St. Louis captured by means of a swift overland raid the British fort on the St. Joseph river in southern Michigan. During this activity the Spanish were aided by the Potawatomi from the Milwaukee village. Nominally, at least, the Potawatomi on the St. Joseph were allies of the British and during this episode they at least remained neutral. Details of the raid are given in a letter from Francisco Cruzat to Don Esteban Miro, dated August 6, 1781. The party was led by Don Eugenion Purre and was joined by sixty Indians "of the Ottawa, Sotu (Chippewa), and Potawatomi nations" on the Illinois river. When they finally reached a point about two leagues from St. Joseph, the commander sent a young Potawatomi Indian called Lajes to the camp.
"He was instructed to notify the Indians of this nation who might be in that post in the pay of the English to whom they were much attached, to guard the merchants there and to remain neutral and quiet in their cabins. No harm would come to them, although they were our enemies and it was not yet three months since they had sided our enemies in the destruction of a detachment of Illinois, and taken ten Frenchmen prisoners from the village of Cao, as I have already written to the governor."
"Our envoy assured the aforementioned savages of the humans treatment, gentleness, and kind manner in which the Spaniards always act. Moreover, he promised that half the booty which would be taken would be given to them. This contributed more than anything else to induce them to promise whatever was desired since material profit is their primary motive. The Indian envoy returned that same night to render an account of his negotiation to the aforementioned commander, who immediately made preparations to resist the 200 Indians who were at St. Joseph should they fail to carry out their promises and become traitors" (Lawrence Kinnaird, ed. Spain in the Mississippi Valley, 1765-1794. Vol. II, Pt. I, 1949, p. 433).
The promise of profit was enough to shift the loyalty of the St. Joseph band to the extent that they did nothing to prevent the attack and the Spaniards were able to take the fort. The merchandise promised was distributed among them.
We get a further insight into internal political structure in this:
"The Indian Lajes, of the Potawatomi nation who so excellently undertook the negotiation with the savages at St. Joseph and during the entire march of the detachment, I have made a great chief both to reward him for his merit and to stimulate the other Indians, by his example, to be loyal and useful whenever we employ them" (Ibid., p. 434).
The loyalty of the Milwaukee Indians to the American cause, despite the fact that other Potawatomi were equally ardent British supporters, was an important factor in the campaigns of the western frontier.
Further documentation of the lack of political unity among the Potawatomi is given in a letter from Louis Chevallier to General Haldimand under the date of February 28, 1779.
"It does not seem to me, however, impossible to keep this nation in dependence, if they were united under the same chief, but divided it is into six villages distant fifteen or twenty miles from each other it is very difficult to impose this yoke. Each village has its own chief who disposes his young men according to his private ideas..." (Haldimand Papers. Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, XIX (1891), p. 375).
The scanty information available regarding population in the period from 1760 to 1795 show a slight increase in numbers on the St. Joseph River and a slight decrease at Detroit. It is possible that he decrease at Detroit reflects the impact of disease. In a letter of M. de Longueuil to M. de Rouille in 1752, for example, we find that:
"Before the small pox broke out at Detroit, 40 persons died, belonging to the village of the StaSois, and almost as many at the Poute'atomis" (Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York, Albany, 1858, Vol. X, p. 249).
The available population statistics are summarized in Table 4, page 80. It will be noted that again no figures are available for some villages, such as the one at Milwaukee, known to be in existence during this period.
Information on Potawatomi Population , 1760-1795
According to (Documents Relative to the Colonial History of State New York)Albany,
1856, Vol. VII, p. 582. there were 200 Pottawatomi on the St. Joseph river in
1763, and 150 in Detroit during that same year.
In 1777 there were 150 Potawatomi warriors in Detroit, according to Wisconsin Historical Collections,Vol. XVIII, p. 367, and none on the St. Joseph River.
In 1789, Michigan Historical Collections (Vol. XX, pp. 305-7) finds 300 (men) on the St. Joseph River and 150 (men) in Detroit.
Finally, in 1793, 350 Potawatomis are counted between the St. Joseph River and Detroit according to Michigan Historical Collections (Vol. Xvii, pp. 586-88).