Conclusions on Piankashaw Locations (ca. 1783 -ca. 1795)(pp. 175-177)
Piankashaws continued to reside in the Vincennes and Vermilion River areas for the first part of this time period, and to hunt along both sides of the Wabash River and up the Vermilion River, for an indefinite extent into western Indiana and eastern Illinois. As the United States took control of the area and relatively large numbers of White settlers began to pour into the Vincennes area the Piankashaws began to leave the eastern side of the Wabash. By 1786 they
/pg. 176/
sold their village lands inside the town of Vincennes, and some became established in the vicinity of Kaskaskia and Cape Girardeau. To judge from sporadic references to them, a number of Piankashaws apparently remained around Kaskaskia and on the western side of the Mississippi River in the vicinity of St. Louis and Cape Girardeau for the remainder of the time considered in this section. Sporadic references, however, also continue to be made to Piankashaws living and hunting along the lower part of the Wabash River and its tributary streams.
Piankashaws continued to reside in the Vermilion area until some time in the fall of 1792 after Putnam's treaty, when they left rather suddenly. There is no evidence to indicate whether this movement was permanent or whether the Piankashaws did return to live at the Vermilion village.
During the whole period of time covered by this section, Piankashaws from both the Vincennes and Vermilion areas frequently visited the White and Indian settlements in the Illinois country for trade, hunting, and other purposes.
Piankashaw chiefs did not attend the general Indian treaty held at Greenville in August of 1795 where the Indians agreed that an indefinite area at Vincennes had belonged to the British and French and now belonged to the United States.
Population figures remain unsatisfactory for this time period. The earliest American estimates of Piankashaws were made in 1791 for those living along the Wabash River. Up to 135 warriors were estimated for this tribe which would make the general population of the Piankashaws about 540 persons. About 310 Piankashaws attended the 1792 Putnam treaty, it is not known how many did not attend. These figures do not include any
/pg. 177/
of the Piankashaws who were living in the west at this time. No figures have been found for this period for Piankashaws living in the Illinois country and near the Mississippi River.
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