Interview with Aunt Polly Kellogg, Crawford County, Illinois Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives Copyright 2000 Sue Jones From the Mattoon Daily Journal Gazette Mary 17, 1915, an interview written and published by J. K. Rardin in 1886 I bought this old piece of typed paper along with several others pertaining to early Crawford Co. History at a local auction in 1997. Charleston, Illinois - March 17 The interview following was written and published in his paper the Saturday Evening Harold June 19, 1886: Aunt Polly has been dead these many years. The North Fork of the Ambraw and the Indian meeting named was southwest of Westfield as we understand, and it must have been in 1832, when the Kickapoos were removed by the government. [I came across a story saying the Indians had a big powwow before they left this area.] The Kickapoos also owned the west side of the Wabash in Crawford County about Fort LaMotte. The Kellogg’s came to Coles County with the Parkers, (see county histories covering that) and she was the widow of Samuel Kellogg, deceased, and mother of George W. Kellogg, now living in Charleston. She said, I was born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1801. I came with my father in 1807 to the wild Wabash territory. For seven long years I was in the fort surrounded by the wild Indians, and I tell you I would rather live there today than in the city of Charleston among the saloons. After we lived in the fort that long, we moved out to the prairie the Grand Prairie now. I am all twisted around so that I cannot for the life of me say which direction the Grand Prairie is from here. The Fort was named LaMotte. It was right at the foot of the town, on the South of it. My poor man helped lay off the streets of Charleston. John Easton did too. You know him. I had but two brothers and one was killed by the Indians. We thought the Indians had quieted down and were going to behave themselves. So we all went out of the fort and took up claims. My father took up a claim a few miles away on the prairie. Major Hutson didn’t live far. One day a man, a Cooper in the fort, went up the river and saw a green cedar tree in the river and an empty Indian canoe. He came back and told about it. My father told them that was an Indian trap to toll us up the river and kill us: but there was a little young captain and he would not listen to anybody, but took some men and started u the river. They went up Sugar Creek to a big pond, and the Indians raised and fired and killed one of my brothers-in-law and a cousin. They killed another man named Lotshaw, and Isaac Price was in the canoe with my brothers. They shot my brother and he fell out. Price didn’t want the Indians to get his guns, so he turned over the canoe and tried to swim to the fort. When my father found price, he had been dead sixteen days. He had floated around and around and his foot had gotten fast in a stick. He had on his scabbard with his tomahawk and knife, and the fish had eaten his face almost up. Well when we thought the Indians had quieted down and were going to behave, we all went out from the fort and took up claims. My father took up claims a few miles away on grand Prairie. Major Hutson lived right across the prairie from us. No sir, that was before Harrisons time. He made a treaty with them a long time afterwards. The Indians stole all our horses but one. He was a hard horse to catch on the prairie, and I remember seeing the Indians trying to catch him, but he would wait until they got close, and then he would kick up his heels and run away. Oh! I wish I could write; I could tell some strange stories. Father and Major Hutson went to mill one day. They ground corn in a horse mill a way off. The Indians went to a man who was making rails in the timber. His name was Dickson, and they killed him, cut off his head, and stuck it up on a stick. Us children looked out upon the prairie toward Major Hutsons house and we saw the beautiful fire from what we thought was a haystack, but bless you, my boy, it was Major Hutsons house, and in it were Mrs. Hutson and their seven children... all being burned by the Indians! ‘When father came, I went out to meet him and told him we had seen a haystack burning on the prairie, but he said: No, my child, you are mistaken. It’s Hutsons house and I bet they all burned up. So it was. Father turned old Jack, the horse, out on the prairie, and came in. He said to my aunt, ‘Sister, run some bullets, the Indians will be coming here before morning, and I am going to fight my way.’ Well, she went to running bullets and when it got so dark you could not see your hand between you and the sky, we heard somebody coming. He rode up and said, ‘Joe, you must go to the fort. The Indians have burned up Hutsons’ family alive, and they are killing everybody. They will kill you!”’ it was a settler. Father told him we couldn’t catch old Jack. Never could catch him unless we got him into some kind of an enclosure. The man took a couple of ears of corn, and went out, and don't you think old Jack came right up and let them put the bridle on! We hitched him to a sled and poor mother was down sick in bed with consumption. She died on consumption afterwards. We carried her out on the bed and put it on the sled and drove to the fort that night. Yes sir, there we went like a terrapin, with everything we owned on our backs! Well the Indians came to our house that night. The house was made of Jack Oak poles, just large enough for a man to carry. The floor was the ground and green grass was yet growing upon it. The poles were green and wouldn’t burn very well, but lans sake! They had burned a great big hole in it, big enough to drive a calf into it. I think they were Delawares but they may have been Kickappos. ‘The last time I saw the Indians there were about 2,000 of them gathered together on the north fork of the Embarras. They had two Indians preachers talking. They would point up and down, and then a Frenchman would tell us what they said. It was so long ago, but they went away with the Frenchman. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb Archivist with proof of this consent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Sue Jones