59 |
150 warriors to the Eel River village and 350 to the "Mawmee," exclusive of Shawnees and Delawares who had taken refuge near the Miamis' Maumee village after Col. Benjamin Logan's expedition of 1786.131
In the trader Henry Hay's valuable diary for the winter of 1789-1790 mention is made of two Miami villages located at the head of the Maumee, one on each bank of the river. The village on the same bank as the White settlement belonged to "the Gree" (Le Gris); the other village belonged to
Paccan who's now in Illinois, but in his absence is Commanded by his nephew one Mr. Jean Baptist Richerville. . .- This young man is a Trader here- his Father has wrote for him to go to him which he means [to do] next Spring. His mother is now gone into the Indian Country (dans le Terre as the french term it) to trade; She lives with him when she's here- the young man is so very bashful that he never speaks in council, his mother who is very clever is obliged to do it for him.132
Where Richerville's (var., Richardville) mother traded in winter is not known,
except that she went 25 leagues (ca. 60-70 miles) distant from the Miami
towns.133 In 1789-1790 her son was evidently, from Hay's remarks,
taking an integral part in the social life of the White traders in the
community.134
131. Indiana Historical Society Publication, vol. 19, p. 80;
Dft. Ex.
79. Hamtramck to Sargent, Fort Vincennes, July 2d,
1790; Dft.
Ex. 75.
132. Ibid., vol. 7, pp. 313-314; Dft. Ex. 79. Brackets supplied by Quaife, editor. See also fn. 113, p. 53, this Report.
133. Ibid., vol. 7, pp. 321-322; Dft. Ex. 79.
134. Ibid., vol. 7, pp. 339, 342-343, 346, 352-353; Dft. Ex. 79.
60 |
In a February entry in the diary he is mentioned as a member of a social group known as the ''Most Light Honorable Society of the Monks" or later as the "Friars of St. Andrew." All the other members of this fraternity were White traders at the Miami settlement- George Luth, Henry Hay, J. B. Lassell, Francis Lassell, George Ironside and John Kinzie.135
Despite the fact that Richardville seems to have been more White- than Indian-oriented, he did sign the Treaty of Greenville of August 3, 1795 (7 Stats. 49:54). Another Miami signer of the same Treaty was Le Gris (7 Stats. 49:54), who is also frequently mentioned in Hay's diary. It is evident from Hay's remarks that Le Gris was not acculturated to the extent Richardville was. Le Gris spent the winter of 1789-1790 in his hunting camp, and only occasionally visited the Miami town to present game to some of its residents, to receive presents of liquor, and to confer with various traders about Indian affairs.136
A third Miami signer of the Greenville Treaty, Little Turtle (7 Stats. 49:54) is also mentioned several times by Hay. In 1789-1790 Little Turtle was, apparently, war chief in Le Gris' village. A December 19, 1789 entry by Hay contains the following remark:
|
|
This day arrived here the Little
Turtle |
135. Ibid., vol. 7, pp.
342-343; Dft. Ex. 79.
136. Ibid., vol. 7, pp. 311, 313, 316, 320-321, 323-324, 326 - 333, 335-337, 355; Dft. Ex. 79.
137. Ibid., vol. 7, p. 309; Dft. Ex. 79.
61 |
Le Gris superintended the above-noted return of Little Turtle's war party,138 and considered Little Turtle, who was his brother-in-law, as one of his "faithful warriors."139 It is evident, from Hay's contemporary observations, that Le Gris, not Little Turtle, was the leading power among the Miamis in 1790.140
After 1786, as noted above, some of the Shawnee and Delawares had two towns near the head of the Maumee.141 The Delaware village was four miles and the Shawnee village of Chillicothe was two miles from the Miami towns.142 In 1790 the Miamis upbraided
the Delawares. . .telling them that the Ground they occupied now is not theirs and that upon which the Delawares answered, they [Delawares] were great fools to tight for lands that was not theirs and consequently would not go to war against the Americans any more; but that they will for a certainty leave the Country and go down to the Spaniards. . .143
Later reports indicated that the entire Maumee village of Delawares did not
intend to emigrate; only a few were to go.144
138. Ibid., vol. 7, p. 311;
Dft. Ex.
79.
139. Ibid., vol. 7, pp. 320, 323, 327; Dft. Ex. 79.
140. Ibid., vol. 7, pp. 320, 321 - 337, 355; Dft. Ex. 79.
141. See p. 59 this Report. Also Edgar, Ten Years of Upper Canada, p. 366, Dft. Ex. 116.
142. Indiana Historical Society Publications, vol. 7, p. 317; Dft. Ex. 79. Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, vol. 20, p. 92; Dft. Ex. 141.
143. Indiana Historical Society Publications, vol. 7, p. 317; Dft. Ex. 79.
144. Ibid., vol. 7, pp. 317, 339; Dft. Ex. 79.
62 |
These emigrants may have been the "Loups" (Delaware) who were reported as living west of the Mississippi during the winter of 1793-1794.145
In October, 1789 Arthur St. Clair, Governor of the Northwest Territory, was instructed to ascertain how the Wabash and Miami Indians felt towards the United States, and whether peace could be made with them by treaty or whether it would be necessary to use armed force against them.146 In January, 1790 St. Clair sent a speech to Hamtramck, which was to be forwarded by messenger to "the Indians of the Wabash and to those of the Miami village."147
Hamtramck sent St. Clair's message out in March, 1790 by a trusted French trader, Antoine Gamelin.148 Gamelin visited each of the Wabash Indian villages and the Miami, Shawnee and Delaware towns at the head of the Maumee River.
Only at one Wea village, that of the chief "Kikapouguoi" (Crooked Legs) near present Terre Haute, Indiana,149 was Gamelin able to obtain an affirmative answer to St. Clair's peace message. The Piankashaw and Wea of Ouiatanon claimed
145. Houck, Spanish Regime, vol. 2, pp. 67-68,
71, 73-75, 78-79; Dft. Ex. 88.
146. Smith, St. Clair Papers, vol. 2, pp. 125-126; Dft. Ex. 95.
147. Ibid., vol. 2, pp. 130-131; Dft. Ex. 95.
148. Indiana Historical Society Publications, vol. 19, pp. 223-224; Dft. Ex. 79. Hamtramck to Sargent, February 24, [1790]; Dft. Ex. 75.
149. Historical Collections of the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society; vol. 9, p. 452; Dft. Ex. 82. American State Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. 1, p. 93; Dft. Ex. 96.
63 |
that it would be necessary to "consult the Miami nation, their eldest brethren." The Eel Rivers could not answer because of the absence of their "first" or head chief. At the Maumee villages "the great chief of the Miamies, called Le Gris," stated that the Miami could not give
a positive answer; we must send your speeches to all our neighbors and to the Lake nations; we cannot give a definitive answer without consulting the commandant of Detroit.
Le Gris promised, however, that
in thirty nights, he would send an answer to Post St. Vincennes, by a young man of each nation; he was well pleased with the speeches, and said to be worthy of attention [sic], and should be communicated to all their confederates, having resolved among them not to do any thing without an unanimous consent.150
As a result of what he considered unsatisfactory answers from the several
Indian groups, St. Clair resolved to attack the Indians. One army under the
command of Col. Josiah Harmar was to raid the Maumee villages. A smaller force
under Hamtramck was to attack as many of the Wabash Indian towns as possible.151
In July, 1790 Winthrop Sargent, Secretary of the Northwest Territory, wrote:
|
|
By Intelligence from the
Indian Country |
150. American State Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 93-94; Dft. Ex. 96.
151. Ibid., vol. 1, p. 72; Dft. Ex. 96. Indiana Historical Society Publications, vol. 19, p. 237, Dft. Ex. 79.
64 |
|
|
Warriors in the next month
[August]- |
Sargent did not believe this force was assembling for a concerted offensive
against the American frontier, but rather to protect the Maumee villages.153
At the time of the American attack, however, there were no Wabash Indians
available to assist the Miami on the Maumee; the Wabash Indians were all
engaged in combatting Hamtramck's abortive expedition up the Wabash.
On October 17, 1790 Harmar and his American forces consisting of most of the regular United States Army or about 320 men plus 1,333 Kentucky and Pennsylvania militiamen, arrived at the head of the Maumee River. A few days before Harmar's arrival the Indians had burnt their towns, but the American forces found "a few pretty good gardens with some fruit trees, and vast fields of corn in almost every direction." Two days after arrival at the head of the Maumee River a detachment composed mainly of militia was ordered to "reconnoitre the country and to make some discovery of the enemy." Less than ten miles from the Miami villages approximately 100 Shawnee and Potawatomi warriors met this force and defeated it.
In the four days spent at the Maumee villages the American army pillaged the ruined towns of all useful articles and
152. Carter, Territorial Papers, vol. 3, pp.
320-321; Dft. Ex. 69.
153. Idem.
65 |
destroyed as much food, principally corn, as possible. On October 21, 1790 Harmar ordered his men to retreat southward toward the American settlements. That night, however, he sent a detachment of 400 men back to the Maumee villages "intending to surprise any parties that might be assembled there." Again the American troops were repulsed by the Indians; this time the Indian forces included Shawnee, Miami, Ottawa, and Delaware warriors. After this second defeat the Americans continued their retreat, leaving the Indians in control of the region.154
According to information received and reported by Hamtramck, then at present Vincennes, Indiana, the majority of the Miami, after burning their villages, had retreated to the "Elk River.'' There is no Elk River in northeastern Indiana, but there is an Elkhart River which heads some 25-30 miles northwest of Fort Wayne. In all probability it was this river, the Elkhart, that Hamtramck referred to.155 Apparently the Miami did not stay on the Elkhart very long, because in January, 1791 Hamtramck again reported that it was rumored the Miami had gone to Detroit.156
154. Pennsylvania Historical Society, Memoirs, vol. 7, pp.
345, 348-353; Dft. Ex.
105. Historical Collections of the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society,
vol. 24, pp.
105-108, 133-134; Dft. Ex. 82.
155. Indiana Historical Society Publications, vol. 19, p. 266; Dft. Ex. 79.
156. Ibid., vol. 19, p. 275; Dft. Ex. 79.
66 |
The Maumee River Indians did not lose much time in retaliating against the Americans. In January, 1791 a combined war party of Delawares, Shawnees, Miamis, Hurons, Ottawas, and Chippewas attacked Dunlap's Station, also known as Coleraine, on the lower reaches of the Great Miami River. The Indians were unable to invest this fort and retired, but took "almost all the cattle & corn" belonging to the settlers.157
The Miami returned to their villages at the head of the Maumee the year following Harmar's raid, for in June, 1791 Hamtramck wrote that
the Indians of that place [Maumee River] had been supplyed with corn and flour from Detroit by the merchants of that place, [and]. . .had been informed of an expedition to be against them and had sent to the lakes a number of belts to invite the Indians [of the Lakes] to their support as they were determined to make a stand.158
By June, 1791 a second American expedition against the Wabash and Maumee River
Indians was being planned. On March 21, 1791 the Secretary at War had written
to St. Clair that unless the Indians sued for peace before May 6, 1791, it
would be necessary to again invade their towns. On March 28, 1791 Col. Thomas
Proctor set out from Pennsylvania on a peace mission to the western Indians.
However, Proctor was unable to go beyond the Iroquois towns and consequently
his message to the Miami and other Indians in northern Indiana
157. Ibid., vol. 19, pp. 272,
282;
Dft. Ex.
79.
158. Ibid., vol. 19, p. 284; Dft. Ex. 79.
67 |
and northwestern Ohio was not delivered.159 In November, 1791 St. Clair, who had replaced Harmar as commander of the United States forces, led another expedition aimed at the Maumee towns. St. Clair's army was surprised and defeated near the Miami villages.
In the summer of 1792 attempts were made to hold a treaty with the Miami and other Indians on the Maumee River. However two Americans who were carrying news of the projected treaty to the Indians were murdered, and as a result of this, as well as for other reasons, plans for attempting to treat with the Indians living on the Maumee River, including the Miami, were temporarily dropped. Instead a treaty of peace and friendship was held with the Wabash Indians.160
The next summer the United States sent out three commissioners to Detroit to try and make peace with all the so-called western Indians, including the Miamis. The commissioners never succeeded in meeting with the Indians in council. At one point they learned that "all the nations, except the Wyandots, Delawares , Shawanese, and Miamies" were in favor of making peace on American terms, and "that even of these [hostile] nations, near one half were for peace."161
159. Historical Collections of the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society,
vol. 24, pp.
186-187; Dft. Ex. 82.
American State Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 149
- - 165; Dft. Ex. 96.
160. Buell, The Memoirs of Rufus Putnam, pp. 119-121, 251-260, 273-278, 299-300, 313-314; Dft. Ex. 98. American State Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 319-320, 338; Dft Ex. 96.
161. American State Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. 1, p. 359; Dft. Ex. 96.
68 |
On August 17, 1793 the commissioners realized their mission had failed and left for home.162
One of the points made by the Indians with whom the three United States commissioners had hoped to treat- the Five Nations, Wyandots, Shawnees, Delawares, Munsees, Miamis, Ottawas, Chippewas, Potawatomis, Mingos, Cherokees and Nanticokes- was that all these "Indian nations" owned "the lands north of the Ohio, as their common property, and [were] all of one mind- one heart."164
The resolution of the western Indians not to make peace with the United States resulted in Gen. Anthony Wayne's campaign against them. On August 20, 1794 Wayne defeated the combined Indian forces at the Battle of Fallen Timbers near the British Fort Miamis at the foot of the Maumee rapids. Little Turtle, war chief of one of the two Miami villages, participated in this battle.165
After the Battle of Fallen Timbers and the erection of Fort Wayne near the two Miami villages at the head of the Maumee, the Miami left this region, which they had occupied almost continually for some 90 years. In the summer of 1795 Little Turtle's (Le Gris') village was located on the head of Bean Creek, a tributary of Tiffin River that heads in
162. Idem.
163. Ibid., vol. 1, p. 350; Dft. Ex. 96.
164. Ibid., vol. 1, p. 349; Dft. Ex. 96.
165. Stone, Life of Brant, vol. 2, pp. 387-388; Dft. Ex. 89.
Go to
Continuation of Chapter II
Go to
Map 3, facing page 69: Little Turtle's Claim
Go to
Chapter III
Return
to Anth. Rep. Docket 317 Volume I Table of Contents
Go
to Anth. Rep. Docket 317 Volume II Table of Contents
Return to Ohio Valley -
Great Lakes Ethnohistory Archive Menu
Return to Glenn A. Black
Laboratory of Archaeology List of Publications
Return to Glenn A. Black
Laboratory of Archaeology Home
Last updated: 29
August 2000
Comments: gbl@indiana.edu
Copyright 1997, Glen Black Laboratory of Archaeology and The Trustees of Indiana University.