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Chapter VII: pp. |
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324. |
Drs. Erminie Wheeler-Voegelin
Emily J. Blasingham
Dorothy R. Libby:
An Anthropological Report on the
History of the Miamis, Weas, and
Eel River Indians, Vol. 2.
Chapter 7, pp. 316-324.
316 |
"as joint owners of all the country on the Wabash and its waters, above the Vincennes tract, and which has not been ceded to the United States, by this or any former treaty" (7 Stat. 91:92). The area involved included the western portion of Royce Area 71. At the Treaty of Grouseland, so Harrison wrote, the "Miami chiefs" tried very hard to make him include the Piankashaw as joint owners. However he had adamantly refused to do so, because he thought he could get the Piankashaws to sell their lands in a short time.221 This would seem to have been a tacit recognition on the Miamis' part, of Piankashaw interest in lands along the Wabash, including those of Royce Area 71.
In the Treaty of Grouseland it was also mentioned that Kickapoos were then living in the country on the Vermilion River (7 Stat. 91:92).
Harrison, writing in March of 1805, stated that the Weas had occupied the country along the Wabash above Pointe Coupee after their towns at Ouiatanon were destroyed by Scott and Wilkinson in 1791.222 While there is no contemporary confirming evidence for the earlier years included in this statement, it seems probable that Harrison would report accurately from about 1800 when he was actively involved with
221. Idem.
222. National Archives, R.G. 107. Old Army H-346(2). William Henry Harrison to Henry Dearborn, Vincennes, March 3, 1805; Dft. Ex. 119.
Drs. Erminie Wheeler-Voegelin
Emily J. Blasingham
Dorothy R. Libby:
An Anthropological Report on the
History of the Miamis, Weas, and
Eel River Indians, Vol. 2.
Chapter 7, pp. 316-324.
317 |
the Indians of the Wabash. His statement would establish the Weas on both sides of the Wabash River from about 1800 to 1805, and thus within Royce Area 71 for this time period.
Summary of Native Locations in Royce Area 71 from 1796 to 1805. From the paucity of precise references to the location of Indian groups in or near Royce Area 71 during the period 1796-1805 we conclude that there was little shifting of locations of Indians to, or within this area in this period. If such shifts had occurred they would, in all probability, have been noted in the correspondence of Government officials, especially after the organization of Indiana Territory in 1800. It was however assumed, in such correspondence, that the locations of Indians referred to was common knowledge.
In 1801 the Piankashaws, Weas, and Eel River Indians were the three tribes closest to Vincennes.
Kickapoos were located on Vermilion River just north of Royce Area 71, beginning sometime after 1795, and at the latest, prior to 1803.
Delawares in 1803 and 1804 were recognized by the United States as claiming the lands lying between the Ohio and White Rivers. They were settled on lands along White River chiefly in the upper parts of the River to the east of Royce Area 71. In 1805 the Miamis withdrew their agreed recognition of Delaware land claims to lands along the upper White River.
By 1805 we know with certainty that the Weas were living in the western part of Royce Area 71, "in the country
Drs. Erminie Wheeler-Voegelin
Emily J. Blasingham
Dorothy R. Libby:
An Anthropological Report on the
History of the Miamis, Weas, and
Eel River Indians, Vol. 2.
Chapter 7, pp. 316-324.
318 |
above Point Coupee" on the Wabash. They had moved into Royce Area 71 from the upper Wabash region some time after the Treaty of Greenville of August 3, 1795; their residence on the middle Wabash above Point Coupee probably dated from 1800 at least.
In 1805 the Weas, Miamis and Eel Rivers arrived at an agreement whereby they were to be considered as joint owners of the western part of Royce Area 71. The Piankashaws, then much diminished in numbers, were living in the vicinity of Vincennes at this time; whether they were living, as they had been in 1788, within Royce Area 71, or whether they were living south of the southern boundary of Royce Area 71 is not certainly known. However the Miamis had tried, unsuccessfully, to have these Piankashaws included as joint owners of the western part of Area 71 in 1805, which leads us to conclude that the Piankashaws as well as the Weas were living and using the western part of Royce Area 71 in 1805.
Two groups who in 1805 were living close to the boundaries of Royce Area 71 were 1) some Kickapoos, located on Vermilion River north of Royce Area 7, and 2) some Potawatomis, located between Vincennes and Ouiatanon.
Our conclusions as to native use and occupancy of Royce Area 71 during the years 1796-1805 are as follows. A dwindling number of Piankashaws used and occupied the western part of Royce Area 71 during the period 1796-1805; from 1800 onward they shared use and occupancy of Area 71 with the Weas. The eastern two-thirds of Royce Area 71 was unused and unoccupied during the period 1796-1805. No
Drs. Erminie Wheeler-Voegelin
Emily J. Blasingham
Dorothy R. Libby:
An Anthropological Report on the
History of the Miamis, Weas, and
Eel River Indians, Vol. 2.
Chapter 7, pp. 316-324.
319 |
Miamis or Eel Rivers used or occupied any part of Royce Area 71 during this period.
Native Locations in Royce Area 71 from 1806 to 1809. There are, again, for the period 1806-1809, few specific references to locations of native groups in the vicinity of Royce Area 71. In July or August of 1806 Harrison sent William Prince, an Indian sub-agent, with a message of peace to the Vermilion Kickapoos. Provided it was not too dangerous, Prince was also to go to the Kickapoos who had villages on the prairies further west, and, if he had time, to the Potawatomi villages higher up on the Wabash. In the latter event Prince was to be sure to go to the Delaware towns on White River above the Potawatomi villages. Some Miamis and Eel River Indians were also established at this time on upper White River and on Sugar Creek, just north of Royce Area 71.223
In 1807 Harrison mentioned having sent a message to "the Chiefs of the Illinois Kickapoos through the Chief of that Nation who resides on the Vermilion,"224 warning the Illinois Kickapoo chiefs not to molest the Kaskaskia Indians of Illinois, to whom the United States had guaranteed protection. We see from this that some Kickapoos were in 1807 well established a short distance north and west of Royce Area 71.
223. Dawson, A Historical Narrative, p. 87; Dft. Ex. 125.
224. Indiana University Library. William Henry Harrison mss. collections. William Henry Harrison to Pierre Menard. Vincennes, May 18, 1807; Dft. Ex. 150 [sic- 152].
Drs. Erminie Wheeler-Voegelin
Emily J. Blasingham
Dorothy R. Libby:
An Anthropological Report on the
History of the Miamis, Weas, and
Eel River Indians, Vol. 2.
Chapter 7, pp. 316-324.
320 |
In 1808 the Shawnee Prophet moved his village from Greenville, Ohio to a site at the mouth of the Tippecanoe River on the Wabash.225 Here the Prophet remained with Indians from all the tribal groups who were persuaded to his cause, until his defeat in battle in the War of 1812.
On July 5, 1809 Harrison, in discussing the proposed treaty of Fort Wayne of September 30, 1809 (7 Stat. 113) suggested that the United States might give up its rights, acquired in the Treaty of Greenville in 1795 (7 Stat. 49) to a reservation at Ouiatanon. He remarked that
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 [Vincennes] and
the Vermillion River.226
This places the Weas definitely within Royce Area 71, but does not give a precise location for them. Their village may have been at Terre Haute, since we know there was a Wea village there in 1810.227
The Delaware Indians, around 1809, continued to have settlements in Indiana on the upper parts of White River, where they maintained agricultural villages.228 Supporting
225. Carter, Territorial Papers, vol. 7, pp. 557-558; Dft. Ex. 69. National Archives, R.G. 107. John Conner. Statement. Fort Wayne, June 18, 1808; Dft. Ex. 119.
226. Letters Received by the Secretary of War (National Archives, Record Group 107). William Henry Harrison to the Secretary of War. Vincennes, July 5, 1809; Dft. Ex. 119.
227. Dawson, A Historical Narrative, p. 152; Dft. Ex. 125.
228. See, for example, Indiana Historical Collections, vol. 23, pp. 103-104, 142, 151-152, 297, 338, 503, 611; Dft. Ex. 97. 7 Stat. 81. Letters Sent by the Secretary of War, Indian Affairs, vol. B, pp. 428-429; Dft. Ex. 100.
Drs. Erminie Wheeler-Voegelin
Emily J. Blasingham
Dorothy R. Libby:
An Anthropological Report on the
History of the Miamis, Weas, and
Eel River Indians, Vol. 2.
Chapter 7, pp. 316-324.
321 |
our surmise that the Delawares of Indiana were located east of Royce Area 71 is the fact that their annuities, at least from 1807-1809, were sent to Fort Wayne to be distributed to them, rather than to Vincennes.229
Summary of Native Locations in Royce Area 71 from 1806 to 1809. For the years between 1805 and 1809 we deduce that there were no notable native movements in Royce Area 71, since no references are made to such in the abundant literature of these years. The move made by the Shawnee Prophet and his followers, from Greenville, Ohio to the mouth of the Tippecanoe River was the only native movement noted.
Kickapoos during this period were on lands at the Vermilion River, to the north of Royce Area 71. Delawares were located on White River, mainly to the east of Royce Area 71. Weas were living within Royce Area 71, possibly at Terre Haute, and certainly used Area 71. Some Piankashaws and Potawatomis, although not specifically mentioned, may also have used Royce Area 71.
General Conclusions on Native Use and Occupancy of Royce Area 71 from 1725 to 1809. Our conclusions on native use and occupancy of Royce Area 71 throughout the period 1725 to 1809 are as follows:
229. Letters Sent by the Secretary of War, Indian Affairs, vol. B, pp. 310, 379, 435, Dft. Ex. 100.
Drs. Erminie Wheeler-Voegelin
Emily J. Blasingham
Dorothy R. Libby:
An Anthropological Report on the
History of the Miamis, Weas, and
Eel River Indians, Vol. 2.
Chapter 7, pp. 316-324.
322 |
During the first 28 years of this period, from 1725 up to 1753, the Piankashaws used the western one-third of Area 71, for hunting. Piankashaw villages, during this 35-year period, were located on or near the Wabash, at short distances (ca. 16 and 25 miles, respectively) north and south of Royce Area 71. The only other Indians beside the Piankashaws who used the western part of Royce Area 71 within the period 1725 up to 1753 were some Mascoutens and Kickapoos who, we know, had villages at Terre Haute, on the western boundary of Area 71, between 1744 and 1752. The Kickapoos and Mascoutens had established themselves at Terre Haute by permission of the French.
The documentary sources for the years 1725 up to 1753 give us no clues as to any Indian use and occupancy of the eastern two-thirds of Royce Area 71 during this period. From the utter silence in the sources, we conclude that this part of Royce Area 71 was certainly unoccupied, and probably unused, by any Indians from 1725 up to 1753.
After 1752, for a 37-year period extending from 1753 to 1790, the Piankashaws used and occupied, exclusively, the western third of Royce Area 71. Up to ca. 1784 they used this region for hunting only, but after 1784 they had a village on the Wabash some 25-30 miles south of Terre Haute, in Royce Area 71.
The eastern two-thirds of Royce Area 71 may have had a Delaware village in it by 1778, but this is by no means certain. Claims to control of the eastern two-thirds of Area 71, both implicit and explicit, were made by both the Piankashaws and the Delawares during the period 1753-1790, but since no clear evidence for any Indian use and occupancy of the eastern two-
Drs. Erminie Wheeler-Voegelin
Emily J. Blasingham
Dorothy R. Libby:
An Anthropological Report on the
History of the Miamis, Weas, and
Eel River Indians, Vol. 2.
Chapter 7, pp. 316-324.
323 |
thirds of Royce Area 71 exists for this period we conclude that the region continued to be, from 1753-1790, unused and unoccupied by any Indian groups.
After 1790 exclusive use and occupancy of the western third of Royce Area 71 by the Piankashaws became first of all questionable and by 1800 had, we know certainly, ended. As early as 1790 some Weas and Potawatomis, as well as a dwindling number of Piankashaws, may have been using the western part of Area 71; by 1800 we know that the Weas, as well as the Piankashaws, were living in and using the western third of Royce Area 71. Use of this region by the Weas and possibly also by the Piankashaws continued at least up to 1809, the end of the period under consideration here.
The eastern two-thirds of Royce Area 71, although claimed by various Indians within the period 1790-1809, continued to be unused and unoccupied by any Indian groups.
In summary, our conclusions as to Indian use and occupancy of Royce Area 71 may be stated as follows:
From earliest known date (1725) up to 1790 the Piankashaws used and occupied the western third of Royce Area 71. Between 1753 and 1790 Piankashaw use and occupancy of this region was exclusive use and occupancy.
From 1790-1800 the Piankashaws continued to use and occupy the western third of Royce Area 71, but may have shared use and occupancy of this region with Weas and also, possibly, with some Potawatomis.
From 1800 to 1809 the Weas and a few Piankashaws used and occupied the western third of Royce Area 71.
Drs. Erminie Wheeler-Voegelin
Emily J. Blasingham
Dorothy R. Libby:
An Anthropological Report on the
History of the Miamis, Weas, and
Eel River Indians, Vol. 2.
Chapter 7, pp. 316-324.
324 |
Throughout the period 1725-1809 the eastern two-thirds of Royce Area 71, although claimed by several Indian groups at various dates, was unused and unoccupied by any Indian groups.
No Miamis used or occupied Royce Area 71 during the period 1725-1809.
Go to Map 9, facing p. 325 (beg. of Ch. VIII): Royce Area 72
Go to Chapter VIII
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