History of Lake, Porter, and LaPorte, 1927County history published by the Historians' Association . . . .
Source Citation:
Cannon, Thomas H., H. H. Loring, and Charles J. Robb. 1927.
History of
the Lake and Calumet Region of Indiana, Embracing the Counties of Lake,
Porter and LaPorte: An Historical Account of Its People and Its Progress
from the Earliest Times to the Present.
Volume I. Indianapolis, Indiana: Historians' Association. 840 p.
HISTORY OF THE LAKE AND CALUMET REGION OF INDIANA
CHAPTER V.
BORDER WARFARE.
WARS BETWEEN FRANCE AND ENGLAND -- FRENCH INFLUENCE WITH INDIANS -- TRANSFER
OF CANADA TO ENGLAND -- CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC -- INDIANS CAPTURE IMPORTANT
FORTS -- ATTACKS ON BORDER SETTLEMENTS -- COLLAPSE F THE CONSPIRACY -- DEATH
OF PONTIAC -- INDIANS SUCCUMB TO BRITISH INFLUENCE -- THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR
-- THE HAIR BUYERS.
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Beginning with the time of La Salle and continuing until the Treaty of Paris, England and France were bitter rivals in Europe and engaged in several wars in which other continental powers were involved and the intervals of peace after Ryswick in 1697, Utrecht in 1713, and Aix la Chapelle in 1748, may be described as periods of armed neutrality. They were but breathing spells in which preparation was made for a new struggle. The territorial rights of Spain, France and England in America became factors of importance and the various nationalities here actively contended with each other in support of the mother countries — in fact at no time during the period mentioned could it be said that there existed a real peace in America.
Both the French and the English used the Indians to further their respective interests and even when the mother countries were not at war, clashes of a minor character were frequent throughout the border region between the rival interests, the huge profits in the fur trade being the prize which caused never-ending friction. The French, through a better understanding of the Indian, always exercised a much stronger influence over him than was obtained by any other Europeans and were in constant alliance with him. The genius of La Salle had made possible their chain of trading posts and forts to the north and west and they were therefore in the rear of the colonies. This strategic position whenever Great Britain and France were at war, enabled the allied French and Indians to quickly carry fire and sword through border villages of the colonists and the full strength of the military power of the colonies had to be exercised many times to the point of exhaustion in their efforts to ward off this constant and never-ceasing danger.
To protect their borders the colonists were obliged to call upon the mother country, England, for cooperation and the help they received naturally generated a good feeling between them and when England
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determined to make one supreme effort to conquer Canada, the fullest cooperation was obtained from the colonies and no greater zeal could possibly be shown than was displayed by the colonists in the conquest of Canada which was accomplished when Quebec fell in 1760.
By agreement at the surrender of Quebec all French forts east of the Mississippi were to be transferred to the English and Fort St. Joseph was occupied in 1761 by a detachment of the Sixtieth Regiment, then known as the Royal Americans. By the close of that year all of the western forts had been transferred, and as there appeared to be no enemy to contend with the new government had less than one thousand soldiers to enforce order in the vast territory bounded by the Alleghenies, the Mississippi and the Great Lakes. But little thought was given to the possibility of trouble with the Indians and the failure to understand Indian character and give them proper consideration at this time was very shortly to reap a harvest in a ravaged and wasted frontier and the death of thousands of settlers and soldiers.
The French had been careful students of Indian character and their sagacity in ingratiating themselves with the Indian tribes was marvelous. They were always particularly careful not to hurt Indian pride and humbled themselves when necessary to carry out their object. Guns, ammunition, and needful supplies of a general character could always be had from the French and their liberality with guns and ammunition made the tribes dependent upon them to a large extent, as many of the Indians had ceased to use the bow and arrow as a weapon of warfare or the chase. Even their garments were the product of civilization and a century of effort on the part of the French had revolutionized the life of the Indian to a considerable degree.
The immediate results of the change in territorial control was indifference and neglect of the Indian by the English, and the want of many sup¬plies upon which the Indian had become dependent on the white man and which he now found difficult to obtain, caused at first, irritation and discontent, but — when want, suffering, and death became the consequence, a violent hatred developed against the English which to the Indian mind called for acts of vengeance. A few wise officials learned of the necessities of some of the tribes, tried to alleviate their wants and sent presents of supplies to them, which on many occasions were sold to the Indians at high prices and the proceeds appropriated for themselves by the government agents.
The English fur traders with whom the Indians now began to do business were of a very low order and they not only plundered the Indians but outraged their families and to add to the general discontent, even officials and soldiers committed acts which aided in exciting a general resentment. The situation thus developed made certain that the Indians would not long
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remain quiet and a leader appeared in Pontiac with courage, resolution, eloquence and a great ambition to take advantage of the opportunity existing to realize his dreams of power.
He had many of the nobler qualities, but nevertheless was a thorough savage and had all the craftiness and was a master of all the tricks and stratagems of his race. While the temper and restlessness of the Indian favored him, nevertheless he must have had wonderful power of persuasion, as in a short time most of the western tribes decided to follow him in one grand effort to destroy the English who had become odious in their eyes by comparison with the French. The Indian mind was never capable of operations on a large scale and only a Pontiac could conceive and bring about the execution of such a masterly plan as to attack all the western forts on the same day, to be followed by a general attack on the entire border. The associated tribes inhabited the territory from New York to Virginia and as far west as the Mississippi and all the Pottawattomies in the Lake and Calumet Region followed their war chief, Pontiac.
So clever were the Indians in dissimulation that although nearly two years were necessary to bring the tribes into active cooperation so they could execute their plans, they cleverly concealed the movement from the whites and in and around the forts and settlements maintained their usual composure and manner of living with an occasional outburst to some government official about their wrongs. Pontiac was the principal chief of the Ottawas, Ojibwas, and Pottawattomies who had long been united into a Confederacy. His power was not confined to the Confederacy as his influence was great among all the Illinois tribes who looked upon him as their leader and he was known and respected as a great chief by all the Algonquins.
He first came into notice at the defeat of General Braddock near Fort Du Quesne, being one of the leaders of the Indians in that battle and he realized that the Indians were doomed unless this effort of his would save them. Their wrath was greatly increased when they learned of the Treaty of Paris in 1763 by which the King of France gave away their lands east of the Mississippi to the English, which lands the Indian could not understand belonged to the King of France to dispose of. In May, 1763, by stratagem or direct attack, the western forts with the exception of a few were in the hands of the Indians and the garrisons and English inhabitants in the nearby settlements were generally massacred. The French population was not disturbed.
Fort St. Joseph suffered the fate of others. It had recently been transferred by the French government and the English commander was Ensign Schlosser who had only fourteen men under him. On the 25th of May he was informed that a large party of the Pottawattomies of Detroit had come to pay a visit to their relatives at St. Joseph. A chief named Washa-
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she came to his quarters apparently to hold a friendly talk. Schlosser did not have the slightest knowledge of any hostile intentions on the part of the Indians and like at many other of the forts, Indians came and went without restriction. While engaged in conversation with Washashe a Canadian informed Schlosser that the fort was surrounded by Indians who were extremely disorderly and had a hostile attitude. Schlosser immediately ordered his men under arms, but before the order could be carried out, the Indians attacked the soldiers. In a few minutes eleven men were killed and Schlosser and three survivors were made prisoners. They were taken to Detroit and exchanged for some Pottawattomies whom Gladwyn were holding as prisoners at the Detroit Fort, which was one of the few not captured by the Indians.
For two years the war continued but the tide soon turned against the Indians and the Confederacy gradually broke up. Pontiac saw his followers dropping from their allegiance and he determined to accept the peace which was about to be offered to him. A great meeting of the Indian tribes in that section was held at Detroit which included a band of Pottawattomies from the Lake and Calumet Region of Indiana, and arrangements for a peace was made there in August, 1764.
Parkman, in his history of the “Conspiracy of Pontiac,” says that the leader of the Pottawattomies, after excusing themselves for their past conduct by the stale plea of the uncontrollable temper of their young men. proceeded as follows: “We are no more than wild creatures to you. Fathers, in understanding; therefore we request you to forgive the past follies of our young people and receive us for your children. Since you have thrown down our former Father (King of France) on his back, we have been wandering in the dark like blind people. Now you have dispersed all this darkness which hung over the heads of the several tribes and have accepted them for your children. We hope you will let us partake with them the light that our women and children may enjoy peace. We beg you to forget all that has passed. By this belt we remove all evil thoughts from your hearts. Fathers, when we formerly came to visit our Fathers, the French, they always sent us home joyful; and we hope you, Fathers, will have pity on our women and young men who are in great want of necessaries, and not let us go home to our towns ashamed.”
When peace was finally concluded Pontiac went to Illinois and in April, 1769, at Cahokia, he was murdered by a member of the Kaskaskia tribe of Illinois, it is claimed through the influence of an English trader named Williamson. The strong hold which Pontiac had on the affections of the tribes with which he was directly associated is shown when his death became known. His warriors snatched their weapons and as the Illinois tribes took the part of their guilty member, Pontiac’s followers laid waste their villages and almost completely destroyed them. When their revenge
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was satisfied but a few members of the Peorias, Kaskaskias and Cahokias were left.
For the purpose of maintaining a permanent peace and as there was no immediate prospect of settlements being made in the then western territory, an effort was made to establish a boundary beyond which there would be no English settlement. There was some differences of opinion between the leaders of the Indian tribes and the English as to just where the line should be located, but in October, 1768, a treaty was made at Fort Stanwix fixing the Indian boundary specifically on the Allegheny and Susquehanna river line.
As had always been the case agreements of this kind could not be maintained. The whites paid but little attention to this boundary and in gradually increasing numbers moved westward. Although the Indians resisted these encroachments and occasional outbreaks took place the progress of the whites was irresistible. The usual traffic and trading which existed under French control was continued until the possibilities of agriculture brought to the territory west of the Allegheny real colonists to develop it. From that moment the pressure upon the Indians on the colonial border became increasingly intolerant. They saw their hunting grounds disappearing and that soon they must move further west where their presence was not always welcome to other tribes, or that they must depend upon the whites for their very existence.
Notwithstanding the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, they were constantly under pressure to part with their lands in recognized Indian territory and the failure of the whites to live up to the boundary agreement on settlements, brought into existence such a feeling of discontent and resentment that when the Revolutionary War opened, they were easily susceptible to the appeals of unscrupulous British agents, who promised to remedy their causes of complaint and give them aid in ravaging the colonial border and looting the settlements. The English, who a few years before they hated with all the power they possessed, now assumed the part which was formerly played by the French and many years of border warfare with the sacrifice of thousands of colonists to Indian ferocity, was the toll exacted by English influence before the British government became a party to an actual peace.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
By the Treaty of Paris, 1763, Canada was transferred to England by France. Spain received that part of Louisiana west of the Mississippi, but all of Louisiana east of the Mississippi was transferred to England and the Lake and Calumet Region thus came under the English flag. This apparently gave England control of North America, as Spain's growing military weakness and England's increasing strength at sea meant the
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inevitable transfer of the remaining Louisiana territory to England as soon as a condition could be created to force Spain to give it up and England’s policy of aggrandizement made certain it would not be long before she would find an excuse to put the required pressure on Spain. But the course of events determined otherwise and hardly had her military forces occupied the leading military posts in Canada when most surprising and unexpected conditions developed which altered the Colonial situation and eventually revolutionized the world’s progress.
There have been periods in the world’s history when a few years have made the most astonishing changes. Mighty governments apparently intrenched with unshaken power have fallen over night never again to rise and almost fade from history. Unknown peoples have suddenly emerged from obscurity to be directors of the world’s destinies. Instances have occurred where the stroke of a pen or the far-reaching power of a single human utterance have changed social and governmental policies with the most far-reaching effect upon society and posterity. But nowhere in history can be found a period where a half century of events — intermingling, interwoven and following each other like a pre-arranged plan of destiny, have made such astounding changes as occurred from 1763 to 1815. The misgovernment of French kings brought the loss of French colonies, the French Revolution and Napoleon. Taxation without representation fired the “shot heard around the world,” brought the Declaration of Independence and a Republic founded on its principles which was to become the mightiest nation of all times. The transfer of the Canadas and Louisiana seemed fatal to the greatness of France and apparently made England the dominant power of the world, but as events determined, this transfer to England was a rock upon which the Divine Right of Kings, taxation without representation, inequality of birth and many other recognized and accepted principles of the established order were to be irretrievably and forever wrecked.
The colonial soldiers who captured Louisburg and who with Wolf climbed the heights of Quebec to victory were in the short space of fifteen years to be mowing down their old comrades at Lexington and Bunker Hill. Hardly was the ink dry on the Treaty of Paris before the colonies were faced with a policy of taxation which almost over night brought about the dismemberment of the British Empire. Heretofore the taxes they paid were for the purpose of defraying their colonial and city or town expenses. Now they were called upon to contribute to the support of the Empire without active participation or representation in the British government. They declined to pay these taxes without colonial representation in Parliament or being placed in a position where they could have something to say about the tax assessment. Their protests went unheeded and the Revolutionary War followed.
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COLONIAL BORDER DURING THE REVOLUTION.
From the British standpoint there were strong military reasons to draw the Indians into the war, as they well knew if the border settlements had to be protected by local military forces and perhaps call on the colonial government for assistance it would greatly weaken the colonists in providing the necessary large forces for the major military operations along the coast. For the above mentioned reasons as well as knowing the Indian character and the excesses which would follow their joining in the conflict, every effort was put forth by colonial leaders to keep the Indians out of the war.
These efforts were only partially successful and in the end they were obliged to enlist friendly tribes on the side of the colonists. Words can not describe the bitter feeling existing in the border settlements against the British who openly permitted the killing and scalping of prisoners and even offered a price for scalps. The “Hair Buyers” became the general term applied to them and it can be truthfully said, British conduct of border warfare not only during the Revolutionary war but later in the war of 1812-1815, will ever remain a lasting disgrace to the British government which no military exigency can ever excuse or condone.
NAVIGATION OF
HISTORY OF THE LAKE AND CALUMET REGION OF INDIANA
FOREWARD
AN APPRECIATION
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I - Geology and Topography
CHAPTER II - The Mound Builders
CHAPTER III - Days of Indian Occupancy
CHAPTER IV - Early Explorations
CHAPTER V - Border Warfare
CHAPTER VI - Lake and Calumet Region Becomes Part of United States
CHAPTER VII - After Wayne and Greenville - Tecumseh and the Prophet
CHAPTER VIII - Indian Peace
CHAPTER IX - Early Settlements and Pioneers - County Organization
CHAPTER X - Townships - Towns - Villages
CHAPTER XI - Pioneer Life
CHAPTER XII - The Lake Michigan Marshes
CHAPTER XIII - Agriculture and Livestock
CHAPTER XIV - Military Annals
CHAPTER XV - The Lake and Calumet Region in the World War
CHAPTER XVI - The Newspapers
CHAPTER XVII - The Medical Profession
CHAPTER XVIII - The Bench and Bar in the Lake and Calumet Region
CHAPTER XIX - Churches
CHAPTER XX - Schools
CHAPTER XXI - Libraries
CHAPTER XXII - Social Life
CHAPTER XXIII - The Dunes of Northwestern Indiana
CHAPTER XXIV - Banks and Banking
CHAPTER XXV - Transportation and Waterways
CHAPTER XXVI - Cities
CHAPTER XXVII - Industrial Development
CHAPTER XXVIII - Chambers of Commerce
Transcribed by Steven R. Shook, December 2022