One Township's Yesterdays Chapter VIII  

THE DAYS OF THE REDSKINS

Now we shall hear of the Redskin braves Of the great Potawatomi race, Paddling canoes o'er Maxinkuckee's waves, And ranging the country in the chase. ... Random Rhymes.

THE REDSKIN ENTERS THE PICTURE.

He dwelt in this land a long, long time before the white man came, and just a little while after he arrived, to settle permanently. When that happened, the Redskin found that his days in this neighborhood were numbered, and very soon he packed up and moved west, leaving Maxinkuckee to the summer cottagers and the fishermen and huntsmen, the boatmen and crewmen, the bathers and a few others.

At the time this story a told, the white man has enjoyed the lakes and streams, and the land between, in this township, for nearly a century, but the Indian did better than that; he had the whole business all to himself for ... well, no one seems to know just how 'long, but it must have been at least several times the white man's century. And what a wonderful piece of land, including of course the lakes and streams thereon, the Indian relinquished to the incoming Paleface, in order to "go West, young man" - and maybe cash in on a good fat oil lease! To put the story in a nutshell, the Redskin came, stayed as long as he could, then went. May he rest in peace and plenty on his royalties, for he surely got a "raw deal" when he was dragged or had to drag himself out of the Union Township picture!

The first of the copper-skinned race to enter the picture were the Miamis, originally known as the Twightwees. They occupied the territory now included within the boundaries of Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana, in the early days; they were the original owners of the land, who held it "by right of discovery." The Miami Indians: permitted. the Potawatomis (spelled variously), who were gradually gaining a foothold in this region, to occupy their lands and hunting grounds. Finally, by the "treaty of Tippecanoe" made October 26, 1832, about four years before the coming of the first permanent white settlers to this township, the Potawatomi tribe was recognized by the government as the owners of the territory they occupied, the country north of the, Wabash river and south of Lake Michigan. The possession of the territory by the United States dates back to the ordinance of 1787. The government made a succession of treaties with the Indians from that date onward, and took a succession of slices of land from the original owners in these parts until at length they had neither rock nor blade of grass they could call their own. Up to 1834, a hundred years ago, this immediate region had a population composed entirely of these Indians, of whom there were estimated to be around 1,500, located in villages along the lakes and rivers of the county.

Conquered by Indians.

Whether the Indians immediately succeeded the Mound-Builders or whether a period of time elapsed between the going of one race and the coming of the other, it is hard to tell. It is more than probable that the succession was immediate, and the Mound-Builders were conquered and destroyed by the Indians, who took possession of the lands. A single battle could not have settled the affair; no doubt it was a warfare of ages, or of decades, that ended in victory to the Indians. There is no way to prove, however, that the Mound-Builders were of more ancient origin than the Indians.

Most of the Indian tribes of Indiana were of the Algonquian relationship. The Twightwees or Miamis, the Foxes, Potawatomis, Kickapoos, and the Ouiatanons, to mention those who were once here or very close by, were among the various members of the formidable Miami Confederacy. The Potawatomis were among the strongest of the tribes of Indiana. The Confederacy had some valiant fighters. LITTLE TURTLE, one of the greatest of Redskin warriors, was a Miami.

The Indian tribes of the great Algonquin race that roamed old Indiana Territory long ago were allied into families within the race, and while often warring among themselves, they united their strength in terror of their bitter enemies located on either side of them, the cruel Iroquois to the east and the bloodthirsty Sioux to the west. This territory, reserved as a hunting-ground, became a series -of perpetual battle-fields. Things settled down in time so that the whites could begin to settle down. It is said that the Miami tribes were a degraded lot, much given to drink and gambling. They "raised old Ned." It is even rumored that they practiced cannibalism in revolting forms, and in the midst of an overproduction of game. There is no accounting for tastes, even among the aborigines.

The Potawatomis, who were said to be a rather peaceful tribe, had a family tree that took root elsewhere than in this neighborhood. They were people from up North. They had ties of blood relationship connecting them with the Ojibways, Chippewas and Ottawas, other northern stock. The first trace we have of the Potawatomi people locates their old territory in the Lake Superior region on the islands near the entrance to Green Bay, from which point they held the country all the way to the headwaters of the Great Lakes.

Left Wisconsin.
Why they left the Green Bay country, now known as a part of Wisconsin (also Michigan), is not quite definite, maybe because of too many cold winters, scarcity of game, Or the "lure of the wandering foot" and a desire for new worlds to conquer. Anyway, and it is historically correct, they left a beautiful country to the Ole Olsens, the Lars Larsens and the Jens Jensens, and came to another land of equal (claimed to be greater) beauty. Migrating southward, they finally camped in this lower region, later located permanently, and were recognized as the rightful owners - of the territory. They came, they like it, they stayed!

SAMUEL R. BROWN, an early traveler, writing in 1817, tells one reason why the Indians liked it here. He declares that the best proof of the excellence of the land in certain parts, especially around the headwaters of the rivers, was the existence there of a numerous Indian population. "These sagacious children of nature," according to BROWN, "are good judges of land. Indeed, they are rarely, if ever, found on a barren soil." He found the Potawatomi to be the most numerous tribe in the State.

Not only were the Potawatomi Indians a numerous tribe, but they were also formerly a powerful force for foes to reckon with. They were rather widely distributed, likewise, for they inhabited the northern part of Indiana, the southern part of Michigan and the northeastern part of Illinois. In the early history of Indiana, they were for several years hostile to the whites. They favored the French in the early wars and later were unfriendly to the United States.

Fox Tribe Once Here.

The territory of Marshall County, it is said, was originally in the Possession of the Fox Indians and another friendly tribe. The Potawatomis claimed right of possession. In consequence, a feud sprang up between them, resulting in many hard-fought battles, the last of which, it is stated, occurred in an open space of ground north and east of Wolf Creek mills, on what later became the HUGH BROWNLEE land. An Indian village was there before the whites settled in the neighborhood.

The majority of the Redskin difficulties had been smoothed over, however, by the time the first permanent white settlers came to the Union Township area, establishing their original homes not far from that old Indian battle-ground of the Wolf Creek vicinity. The vanguard of white civilization found the red man hereabouts -hunting and fishing, loafing and enjoying the country, with no encroaching whites to mar the picture of natural splendor, and primitive ease and contentment. The Indian was having his day. And those Redskin days in this neighborhood, as the Englishman might remark, must have been "jolly well spent."