OHIO STATEWIDE FILES - Know your Ohio: Tahre of the Wyandots
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by
Darlene E. Kelley
http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00026.html#0006374
June 3, 2000
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Historical Collections of Ohio
Diaries of S. J. Kelly
Plains Dealer
Know Your Ohio
by Darlene E. Kelley
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TARHE--

Tarhe died in November 1816, at Cranetown, near Upper Sandusky, Ohio. He
was 76 years old and it was the largest funeral ever known of an Indian
Chief. The mourners were without paint or decorations of any kind and
their countenace showed the deepest sorrow. Indian leaders of great
distances attended.

During the period 1789-1818 many famous Indians lived in the Old
Northwest Territory. Such men as Tecumseh, Little Turtle, Captain Pipe,
Black Hoof, Buckongehelas, Walk-in -the-water and Round head helped to
shape the history of the region. But none was more distinguished than
Tarhe, who became the Grand Sachern of the Wyandot Nation.

Tarhe was born very near Detroit, the son of a women of the Porcupine
Clan. The name Myeerah, belonged to one of the turtle clans. His
grandmother may have been named Myeerah. It was certain that his mother
was not of that name. However Zane Grey, in his book entitled " Betty
Zane "  told of a young boy who was captured and raised by the Indians
and subsequently married the Chiefs daughter. Much of the story was
true.

The story Mr. Grey wrote about was Isaac Zane, a member of the famous
Zane family of Wheeling that helped lay out the National Road and for
whom Zanesville, Ohio is named. Since Zane Grey himself was related to
that family, it all bore the stamp of some truth.

Isaac Zane ( 1753-1816 ) married Princess Myeerah, daughter of Huron (
Wyandotte) Chief Tarhe. Myeerah was half French, her mother having been
captured by Indians when she was a child. Isaac was captured along with
his brother Jonathan ( called Jack). Jonathan was eleven and was
ransomed 2 years after his capture. Isaac was not ransomed. He lived
with the Indians 10 years, escaped several times, and would be brought
back by the tribe. He married Myeerah. Isacc became the founder of
Zanesville, Ohio, in Logan County.

Chief Tarhe, married the daughter of Chevalier Durante, a French
Canadian, and they had a daughter whom they called Myeerah, [ White
Crane] who evenually married Isaac Zane.  

Tarhe's own name is intriguing. The English meaning is unknown. The name
is not believed to be a clan name and it apparenty died with him. Many
believe it meant the Crane, however, Old-time Wyandots said the name
meant " at him" or " at the tree " or was perhaps the personification of
" the tree." Tarhe's great height leads credence to the latter theory.
He was six feet four inches tall in an era when few men reached six feet
tall.

Little is known of his early years. It is thought he served in all of
his nation's battles, Some references are made to his going on war
parties against the Cherokees as a young man, The first explicit mention
of Tarhe as a warrior, is in the account of Dunmore's war. He was at the
Battle of Point Pleasant where he served under the Wyandot Chief,
Chiyawee, and under the great Shawnee Chief, Cornstalk.

The Shawnee, Pucksinwah, father of Tecumseh, was killed at this battle
on the Kanwha. Forty years later Tarhe was in the immediate vicinity
during the battle of the Thames, where Tecumseh himself was killed.
The careers of Tarhe and Tecumseh ran somewhat parallel but there was
often serious disagreement between the two men.

The Wyandots were prominent in the defeat of Braddock in 1755. A
Huron/Wyandot from Lorette, near Quebec, commanded all of the Indians in
battle. Although there was French support, not enough has been said of
the fact that it was in truth and Indian Victory.

Pontiac depended heavily on the Wyandots in 1763. The Chieftain Tarhe
went along with some reluctance. The victories at the Battle of Bloody
Bridge, at Fort Sandusky, at Presque Isle and elsewhere could hardly
have been won without Wyandot contribution.

By 1763, when barely twenty, Tarhe was regarded as a leading warrior,
but not have become even a minor Chief at that point.  The war chief
carried the title of Ron-Tun-Dee. or Warpole. There is no record of
Tarhe's ever having become Ron-Tun-Dee. Although regarded as a very
brave man, he was not considered a truly great warrior by his own tribe.
The Wyandots loved and respected hm but they believed Round Head,
Zhaus-Sho-Toh, Khun, Slitlog and others to be supperior warriors. In a
nation of warriors excellence was commonplace.

The Sachem was the titular head of the Wyandot Nation and held the title
of Sastaretsi.
There was no royal family as such, among the Wyandots, but since the
title of Sastaretsi was an actual practice often inherited, there
developed something of a hereditary line of Chiefs. If Sastaretsi died
without a suitable heir, the tribal council selected a sucessor.

Such an occasion arose in 1788 when Too-Dah-Reh-Zhooh died. He was
better known by his many other names, such as Half-King, Pomoacan,
Dunquid, Daunghuat, and Petawontakas. Care should be taken to avoid
confusion with the Oneida Half-King and the Seneca Half-King and with
another Wyandot of lesser statue named Dunquad, who was chief some years
later.

Tarhe was choosen to be the successor of Too-Doh-Reh-Zhooh. There is no
record of any other member of the Porcupine Clan having become
Sastaretsi up until this time. Sastaretsi had always come from the Deer,
Bear, and Turtle Clans. But Tarhe, a Porcupine, because of his unique
abilities was selected by general concensus to guide the Wyandots in
those desperate days. Although he assumed the duties and powers of
Sachem it is not believed that Tarhe ever assumed the title Sastarets.

He had already gained respect of the various tribes and of the French,
British, and Americans long before this time. In 1786, Tarhe and his
son-in-law, Isaac Zane, were listed among the witnesses to a United
States Treaty signing with the Shawnee. Both before and after this time,
Wyandots were often invited to sit in on negotiations between Government
and various tribes.

Isaac Zane had come a long way since his capture at the age of nine. The
tribe treated him very well and Tarhe took him into his own household to
live. When he reached manhood, Isaac married Myeerah, Tarhe.s only
daughter.
Isacc visited his Zane relatives many times. However, he always returned
to the Wyandots. He acted as interpreter on many important occasions. He
served under Anthony Wayne for a time and, upon his return, was welcomed
into the Wyandot lodges where he was respected for having done his duty
as he saw it.

A bit of mystery surrounds Tarhe's first wife, the mother of Myeerah. It
is generally believed that she was French of the Durante family. Some
say she was capiuredas a child, raised by the Wyandots and subsequenty
married o Tarhe. One story claims that she was recognized by her blood
father while at Detroit and that Tarhe took her away from the area and
never permitted her to go back, fearing that he would lose her. This
would be the Romantic version of the story and remains to be fiction.
She may have very well been French and a Durante, but it was almost a
certainty she was not a captive because the Wyandots were on excellant
terms with the French during those years and such a sizure would be
unthinkable.

Whatever the truth of the matter, Myeerah's mother is rarely. if ever,
mentoned again n writing. She may have died at an early age, or Tarhe
may have been divorced from her. He married at least once more, and that
marriage too remained a mystery. He probably married Sally Sharpe. They
had one son who was severely disabled and died at the age of
twenty-five.

Sally Sharpe subsequently married another Wyandot, Between-the-Logs. She
moved west with the tribe in 1843 and at some point married a man named
Frost. She is said to have been captured at Greenbriar, Virginia in
1782, at the age of one or two.

Another story of an Indian captive that concerns Tarhe tells something
of his personal character.
Peggy Fleming, a white girl, was brought as a captive to Upper Sandusky,
a Wyandot town, by a small group of Cherokees in 1789. The party camped
about one-quarter mile from Tarhe's village.Word soon came that there
was 
a white captive nearby.

A white man named Whitaker who himself had been captured and raised by
Wyandots went to visit Peggy. Whitaker had by this time achieved a
position of influence in the tribe. He had frequently gone on trading
missions to Pittsburgh where he had often stayed at a tavern owned by
Peggy's father. Whitaker recognized the girl immediately and she begged
him to help her escape.

He returned to Upper Sandusky and told Tarhe the prisioner was his
sister. Tarhe believing Whitaker went to the Cherokee camp asking for
Peggy's release. The Cherokee's refused. Tarhe then offered to purchase
the girl and again they refused his request. He was determined to secure
her release and returning to the Wyandot town, telling Whitaker to raise
a fair sum of money or a quantitiy of silver brooches. Early the next
morning Tarhe and eight or ten of the warriors returned to the Cherokee
camp and found them asleep. Peggy was naked and painted black, an
indication that she was to be killed. Tarhe cut her bonds, secured her
clothing and then awakened the Cherokees. He told them Peggy was now his
prisoner and tossed the money and brooches at their feet. The Wyandots
took Peggy to Upper Sandusky and delivered her to Whitaker. After a few
days she was escorted back to Pittsburgh.
Whether Tarhe ever learned Peggy was not related to Whitaker is not
known.

Among the close friends of Tarhe was the great Mingo Chief, Logan. They
lived near each other for a time and the Mingo felt very close to the
Wyandot Nation. It is believed the Wyandots buried this famous Chief
when he died.

Tarhe lived at various locations in Ohio including present day
Lancaster, Columbus, Solomonstown, Zanesfield, Upper Sandusky and
Cranetown, named for him.

Tarhe helped negotiate many treaties during the time he was Grand
Sachem. Throughout this time he attempted to hold his tribe together, to
serve the other tribes in the area and to relinquish each parcel of land
only after pressures had become unbearable.

He fought against Clark, Boupuet, Marmar, St Clair and Wayne. Although
Tarhe was eventually defeated, both his enemies and his friends knew he
was dedicated first to the welfare of his people.

It is believed the last battle Tarhe fought in personally was in 1794 at
Fallen Timbers. That action was a brief but devastating one for the
allied tribes. Th only tribe to fight with distinction that day was the
Wyandots. They were pinned down near the River and lost heavily. Of the
thirteen chiefs who enterd the battle, only Tarhe survived and he was
severly wounded in the right elbow.

Most Indians realized their cause was lost after 
Fallen Timbers. The British had failed to support them and the tribes
could assemble no force capable of opposing Wayne, When he summoned the
ribes to Greenville,almost all of the Indian leaders in the Midwest
responded. A notable exception was Tecumseh.

In July 1795, nearly  year after Fallen Timbers, a great assemblage of
Indians met with Wayne at Greenville, Ohio. This acknowledged leader of
the Indians was Tarhe, and the principal interpreter was Isaac Zane.
During the lengthy negotiations Tarhe made several eloquent speeches, as
you will find in my text regarding the Treaty of Greenville.
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