Dawson, Moses
William H. Harrison:
p. 134.
that one other is necessary on the Wabash; but I should prefer it to be lower down, as near our boundary line as possible. The Indians would be greatly dissatisfied at our occupying the Wea towns; and the giving up the reservation at that place, would be a great inducement with the Weas to cede the country on which they now live, between this place and the Vermillion river.- There is no part of the Western country so much exposed as this. The tribes in our neighborhood, who were confederated in the war terminated by General Wayne, are numerous, war-like, and well armed, and are more than a match for all the others united, with whom we have intercourse. I believer, however, that they have no idea of again measuring their strength with ours. No other influence but that of the French could induce them to do it. But in the event of a French war, if they could be led to believe that there was even a possibility that their efforts, united to those of the French, would again put the latter in possession of this country, the remembrance of all the calamities which their frequent wars with us have brought upon them, and the justice and benevolence with which they have been treated since the peace, would be insufficient to prevent their taking part against us.
The happiness which they enjoyed from their intercourse with the French, is their perpetual theme- it is their golden age. Those who are old enough to remember it, speak of it with rapture, and the young ones are taught to venerate it as the ancients did the reign of Saturn. "You call us your children," said an old chief to me, "why do you not make us as happy as our fathers, the French, did? They never took from us our lands; indeed, they were in common between us. They planted where they pleased, and they cut wood where they pleased, and so did we; but now, if a poor Indian attempts to take a little bark from a tree to cover him from the rain, up comes a white man and threatens to shoot him, claiming the tree as his own."
When the first information of the cession of Louisiana to France reached them, they could not conceal their joy; and I sincerely believe that the appearance of the first French uniform at St. Louis, would have been the signal for revolt with all the tribes in this quarter, the Delawares excepted.
The present garrison at Fort Knox is too near this town to be of as much advantage as if placed some distance above. A good situation could be found near our present boundary line; but if the further extinguishment of title, which I had the honor to propose, shall be accomplished, it might with more propriety be placed still further up. It appears to me, however, proper to have a company stationed somewhere in this neighborhood.
I can see no advantage in keeping up the garrison of Fort Mossac, excepting as a depository of the stores, &c. destined for
Dawson, Moses
William H. Harrison:
p. 135.
Louisiana. This purpose would as well be answered by a careful non-commissioned officer and six men, as by the present garrison.
A show of force in the neighborhood of St. Louis, would certainly contribute to awe the neighboring tribes; and if a whole regiment of infantry, and one or two companies of artillery, could be spared for the protection of upper Louisiana, and for garrisoning the posts of this and the Illinois territories, the field and staff officers of the regiment, with the remainder of the companies, might with propriety be placed there. An arrangement of this kind would have a great tendency to preserve discipline and subordination. Permit me to recommend that, in the forts which are far advanced in the Indian country, beside the deposite of six months provisions by the contractor, there should constantly be kept two or three hundred bushels of kiln dried corn, to be annually renewed. No loss could arise from this measure, as the old deposite could be sold to the traders or the Indians when the new should arrive.
Contractors are so often negligent, and convoys of provisions, for a considerable distance through a wilderness, are subject to so many accidents, that I have known more than one instance where a garrison was upon the point of being forced to abandon its charge for want of food.*
Should my recommendation to place a company on the Wabash, near this place, be adopted, I should be much gratified to have lieutenant Whitlock, who at present commands Fort Knox, and is the paymaster of the district, continued. He served under my immediate command for several years; and I will venture to pronounce, that there is no a more zealous or attentive officer, or one possessed of better qualifications, in the service. He is now the oldest lieutenant of his regiment, if there be not already a vacancy for him. There is also a surgeon's mate to whom it would be very convenient to remain, as his connexions reside in this neighborhood.
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I have the honor to be,
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Previous to the Governor's entering into treaty with the Indians for the further extinguishment of title, which has been mentioned in page 129, it occurred to him that the county of Dearborn, in the territory of Indiana, was left in an awkward predicament, and that, to make all things straight and correct, an extinguishment of title to a tract of land as hereafter described, was absolutely necessary. This tract he had introduced into
*If this recommendation had been attended to, it would have been the salvation of the important post of Chicago and its garrison, which yielded to the Indians for no other cause but want of provision; and hence the massacre which ensued, which will be more particularly noticed in the history of the war.- Ed.
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William H. Harrison:
p. 136.
the treaty of 1805, but in consequence of some of the chiefs refusing to sign it upon other terms, the article which related to it was expunged. The tract in question is thus described in the Governor's letter to the secretary at war, previous to the conclusion of the treaty: "It consists of three or four hundred thousand acres, adjoining Dearborn county on the west, the line running from the mouth of the Kentucky river so far south, as the line which was to form the north boundary of the other purchase made by the treaty of Grousland, and south by the said line."
Impressed with the great value of this tract under present circumstances, the Governor proceeded to Fort Wayne to meet the chiefs, and there to have it included in the treaty about to be made with them for the extinguishment of title to lands in another quarter. In the whole of this very important business he was completely successful, having, on the 30th of September, 1809, concluded with the Miami, Eel river, Delaware, and Potawatamie tribes, a treaty, in which was ceded all that tract of country which shall be included between the boundary line established by the treaty of Fort Wayne, the Wabash, and a line to be drawn from the mouth of Rackoon creek, emptying into the Wabash on the southeast side, about twelve miles below the Vermillion river, so as to strike the boundary line established by the treaty of Grousland, at such a distance from its commencement at the northeast corner of the Vincennes tract, as would leave the tract, then ceded, thirty miles wide at the narrowest place; and, also, all that tract included between the following boundaries, viz: beginning at Fort Recovery, thence southwardly along the boundary line established by the treaty of Greenville to the intersection of the line established by the treaty of Grousland; thence with said line to a point, from which a line, drawn parallel to the first mentioned line, will be twelve miles distant from the same, and along the said parallel line to its intersection with a line to be drawn from Fort Recovery parallel to the line established by the treaty of Grousland, and along the said parallel line to the place of beginning.
With the Kickapoos a separate treaty was made, by which they not only confirmed and gave their sanction to the above treaty, but also ceded another tract of land, which lies between the tract above ceded, the Wabash, the Vermillion river, and a line drawn from the north corner of the said ceded tract, so as to strike the Vermillion river at the distance of twenty miles from its mouth.
In the forming these treaties, the consent and sanction of all the tribes who had any claim, or the shadow of claim, was obtained, and the following sums, in good and annuities, were agreed to be given, in compensation for the land ceded: To the
Dawson, Moses
William H. Harrison:
p. 137.
Delawares, a permanent annuity of 500 dollars; to the Miamis, a like annuity of $700; to the Eel river tribe, a like annuity of $350; to the Potawatamies, a like annuity of $500; to the Weas, $500, and a present sum of $1500 dollars; to the Kickapoos, a like annuity of $500, and a present sum of $1500; to the Miamis, domestic animals to the amount of $500, for that and the two following years; and to the Miamis, Eel rivers, Delawares, and Potawatamies, goods to the amount of $5,200. The number of acres contained in those cessions, was 2,900,000.
With respect to the compensation, the Governor sounded them on the score of taking a present sum instead of an annuity; but he found that they were generally more inclined to have the long annuity than one for a shorter period, though larger, or to having the whole paid down. Thus far, they had departed from the usual policy of savages, to provide for the present moment, without caring for the future. This, however, was a principle inculcated on them by Mr. Jefferson himself, who told them that he considered it the duty of the United States to purchase their lands from them in this manner, when they wished to sell, even if the United States had no immediate use for the land.
Pending this treaty, a mischievous report had been made to the Indians that the President of the United States did not want their lands, and that Governor Harrison was about to purchase them on his own account. This evil insinuation was likely to be productive of much injury, which could not be got over otherwise than by the Governor's proposing to them to make a visit to the President, and have it from his own mouth, that he sanctioned the bargain. Of this they readily accepted, and he was obliged to send them forward at the expense of government, under the care and guidance of Mr. John Conner, one of the interpreters, to whom he gave strict charges as to the economy which he ought to use in his journey.
Dawson, Moses
William H. Harrison:
p. 152.
evasions, calculated to deceive, that he entertained the most rancorous hatred towards our citizens, and that he had serious intentions of commencing hostilities the moment he had it in his power, to take the Governor by surprise, and to strike an effectual blow.
On the 4th of July, four canoes passed the Wea village of Terre Haute, with four or five men of the prophet's followers in each. They were supposed to be going to Vincennes.- Having received this information on Saturday, by a Wea chief, who came to Vincennes by land, and, seeing nothing of them in the course of that day, the Governor despatched a sergeant of militia and six men to see what had become of them. At a settlement about sixteen miles above Vincennes, they learned that one canoe had come down so low as that place, with four Kickapoos- that they had left their canoe there, and had gone to a meeting of the Shakers on Sunday. They returned late in the evening of that day, and went up the Wabash about half a mile, where they left the canoe, after cutting a hole in her, and in the night stole five horses. They were completely armed, had no skins to trade with, nor did they profess to have any other business than to visit the Shakers. That they were spies from a larger party, there can be little doubt; and the manner in which the horses were stolen, was the strongest indication of a hostile disposition that they had ever before discovered. Far from wishing to disguise the transaction, their canoe paddles, and a small fish gig, were left on the shore, within a short distance of the place whence they stole the horses. The people in that neighborhood were so much alarmed, that they immediately assembled together for mutual defence. The Governor, however, forbid them to pursue the thieves, conceiving that, from the little pains taken to conceal the tracks of the horses, the pursuit was desired by the Indians, and having no doubt but the large party were lying in ambush, for the purpose of taking off any of the pursuers. The Governor had been informed, some time before, that one of their plans to ...
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