OHIO STATEWIDE FILES OH-FOOTSTEPS Mailing List Issue 153 *********************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization 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. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ *********************************************************************** OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 00 : Issue 153 Today's Topics: #1 Fw: Bio History -- Know Your Ohio ["Maggie Stewart" To: OH-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <15c301bfb58b$6b59ebc0$0300a8c0@local.net> Subject: Fw: Bio History -- Know Your Ohio -- Tucumseh, Son of Pucksinwah. [9] Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit ----- Original Message ----- Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Darlene E. Kelley ****************************************************** Historical Collections of Ohio Know your Ohio by Darlene E. Kelley ****************************************************** Tecumseh, son of Pucksinwah, " The Shawnee War Chief,"--- The prediction--the Matchemento and Death.-- Tecumseh had just uttered the prediction of his own death on the marrow. He continued looking into the fire until the concerned voices around him dwindled away into uneasy silence and then he finally looked up at them again. " You are my friends, my people," he said, his voice still as low as when he made the shattering announcement a few moments ago. " I love you too well to see you sacrificed in an unequal contest from which no good can result. I would dissuade you from fighting this fight, encourage you to leave now, this night, for there is no victory ahead, only sorrow. Yet time after tme, even until tonight, you have made known to me that it is your desire to fight the Americans here and so I am willing to go with my people and be guided by their wishes." Tecumseh than began to remove every sign of rank that he wore; a large medal bearing the likeness of King George lll. a par of bracelets. a necklace of downcurved bear claws separated by silver cylinders and, finally, even his two-feathered headband. These he set to one side where his personal weapons were colected beside his balnket and mat. There, one by one he took up the weapons that he had previously laid out; the fine sword that had been presented to him by General Brock on that Officer's departure from Amherstburg for Niagara, the tomahawk that Chiksika had so long ago given him, the pair of Mortimer pistols given to him by John Kinzie before the Battle of Fallen Timbers. He passed them out in turn, first shaking the man's hand and then giving him the item he wished him to have--- the sword to Chaubenee, telling him with a faint smile, " Wield it well; it brings death to enemes!"; the tomahawk to Black Hawk; one of the pistols to Sauganas, the other to Stiahta, and finally, the rifle to Wasegoboah. Each accepted his gift with gratitude but equally with great sorrow, for it underlined the reality of the predication Tecumseh had just made. Turning again to Wasegoboah, who was still holding the flintlock most reverently, Tecumseh reached out and slid the ramrod from its shaft below the barrel. He extended it to Wasegoboah who, puzzled, accepted it with his free hand. ' Wasegoboah," Tecumseh said. " if it is possible for you to do so, keep close to me when we engage in our battle tomarrow. When you see me fall, fight your way to my side and strike my body four times with this rod. If you will do so, I will then arise and, with my life renewed and charmed against further harm, will lead you to victory. But should I fall," and now his eyes left Wasegoboah and passed to the others, " and this cannot be done, then retreat at once, for further fighting will be useless." With a sense of awe in his voice, Wasegoboah promised he would stay close and that when Tecumseh should fall, he would come to his side at once and strike the four blows as directed. Not one of the Indians present had any doubt that if Tecumseh did fall and his body was struck with the rod, he would arise as he had indicated. They had long ago learned to accept the mysterious predictions from their leader without question. After all, had they not always come true ? " As for me," Tecumseh concluded, his hand upon the war club in his belt, " I keep only my war club, which my brother Chksika gave me when I was a boy and with which I have slain many enemies. " October 5, 1813-- Shortly after dawn Tecumseh called to his warriors to prepare to move out of thier overnight camp. He wore plain, smoked buckskin trousers an a simple knee-lenth blouse of simular soft leather snugged at the waist with a narrow but very fine and intricately beaded belt, in which his war club was wedged. On his feet were low-cut sturdy buffalo-hide moccasins, and he also wore a narrow headband of a dark red cloth knotted at the rear. There was nothing abot him, except his demeanor, to suggest that he was anything but just another warrior-- as he had always considered himself to be. Within mere minutes he put his warriors into movement after the British wo were waiting for him, so messengers had said last night, at the Moravian town. Always cautious, Tecumseh led his men in a curious route, well away from the road and far out into the woods, lest the Americans had somehow slipped past them in the night and set a trap for them to fall into along the road. After a briefing by Proctor, Tecumseh inspected the two lines of troops and soon came back after he shook the hands of each officer, murmuring words of encouragement. His favorites were seated on logs awaiting the American advance and were calmly smoking when Tecumseh rejoined them. Sauganash immediately came to him and spoke worriedly, addressing him with respectful term which he often used, even though at the age thirty-five he was only ten years younger then Tecumseh. " My father,what are we to do? Shall we fight the Americans?" Tecumseh nodded. " Yes, my son, very soon we will be in their smoke." He pause reflectively and then made a decision he knew would save his friend's life. " But right now you are wanted by the General. You are to wait with him and bring any message he has for me. Go." Sauganash nodded and sprinted away. Tecumseh and his fellows continued smoking their pipes and chatting. Then a very strange thing occurred. Though there was no sound of a shot, all heard the buzzing whine of a bullet and Tecumseh standing, grunted and grabbed the left side of his chest and staggered. Instantly Chaubenee was on his feet and came to him with great concern. " Tecumseh, are you hit?" Tecumseh took his hand away. There was no sign of any injury and in a moment he straightened, the sudden pain having entirely left him. He shook his head, " it is 'Matchemento' and a bad sign." The others were as shaken by the occurrence as Tecumseh and urged him at once to leave and they would remain behind and do the fighting, but again Tecumseh shook his head and said." No, I can't think of such and act." By this time it was approaching midafternoon and the indication of the approaching of the Americans were upon them by the hearing of the blaring of distant tin bugles sounding the charge for the battle in the direction of the British lines. Then there were a lot of muted rifle fire and shouting. It lasted for only a few minutes and the Indians immediately sprang into their positions and got ready.----- It was a sad day-- Tecumseh and his Indians kept losng ground--losing his war club, he immediately snatched up the rifle and tomahawk of a dead warrior who had been killed beside him. Dodging from tree to tree, he leveled his gun and at that instant another soldier more to his right stepped into a full view and shrieked a warning. " Look out ! An Indian is aiming at you! Tecumseh spun in a quarter-turn and pointed his rifle at the fully exposed man and as he did so the soldier to his left fired. The range was short and the two heavy lead balls slammed ito Tecumseh's left side about an inch apart and a half inch below the left nipple and angled through his heart, slamming him motionless to the ground on his stomach. Tecumseh was dead--Chaubenee rushed to where Tecumseh lay and checked him. There was no doubt-- Chaubenee threw back his head and shrieked the far-carrying death cry, following with it the booming words---- " Tecumseh is dead! Retreat! Retreat!" The words were picked up and relayed over and over throughout the whole body of Indians. All the warriors had been instructed that if the cry was lifted, they were to instantly break off all fighting and see to their own personal safety and flee at top speed and they did so. Within mere minutes the Indians had melted away and a weird stillness settled over the battlefield. They had lost the war. They had lost their homelands. They had lost their cause. They had lost ' TECUMSEH'--- *************************************************** ______________________________ ------------------------------ X-Message: #2 Date: Thu, 4 May 2000 02:34:40 -0400 From: "Maggie Stewart" To: OH-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <188201bfb594$088feae0$0300a8c0@local.net> Subject: Fw: Bio History -- Know Your Ohio --" The Cat Nation"--Ohio's ErieIndians Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit ----- Original Message ----- Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Darlene E. Kelley ****************************************************** Historical Collections of Ohio Know Your Ohio by Darlene E. Kelley ****************************************************** " The Cat Nation " -- Ohio's Erie Indians The location of the Erie Indians was along the Southern shores of Lake Erie, beginning near Buffalo, New York and then west to the vicinity of Sandusky, Ohio. Their homeland may also have extended far inland to include large parts of the upper Ohio River Valley and its branches in northern Ohio, western Pennsylania and west Virginia. The exact count of the Erie population is only a wild estimation. The French had only one meeting with the Erie but never learned how many villages there were or the exact extent of their territory. Estimates have varied from 4,000 to 15,000, but the ability of the Erie to defy the Iroquois ( without benefit of European firearms) seems to favor the higher numbers. Probably at least 10,000. There appears t have been a sudden surge in their population prior to 1653. The wide range in their population estimates could be explained by a large number ofHuron and Neutral refugees who joined the Erie in 1651. Erie is a short form of the Iroquian word "Erielhonan" meaning literally " long tail"" and referring to the panther, couger, or mountain lion. Hence their French name was Nation du Chat or Cat Nation. Their other Iroquoian names--- Awenrehronon and Rhilerrhonon-- having the same meaning, although the Huron confused the situation by using -- Yenresh ( Panther people ) for both the Erie and Neutrals. Other names which seems to have been used for the Erie were; Atirhagenret, Chat ( French ), Gaquagaono, Kahqua ( Kahkwa) ( Seneca), Rhagenratka, and Black Mingua ( Dutch). The language was considered Iroquian or simular to one of the Huron dialects. Their sub-tribes are believed to have many villages and several divisions, but only three have been preserved. Kentaientonga, Honniasont, and Rigue. One clue as to the number of Erie villages came years later, when the Iroquios told the French they had destroyed 19 Kentaientonga villages in the Ohio by 1650. With French contact limited to one brief meeting very little is known for certain about the Erie except they were important, and they were there. The Dutch and the Swedes also heard about them through their trade with the Susquehannock, but never acually met the Erie. All information about their social and political organization has come from early Jesuit accounts of what they had bee told by the Huron. Although questionable because of the lack of first hand observation, this information seems reasonable enough. The Erie had a large population, several divisions and lived in permanent, stockaded towns. Like the Iroquian peoples in the area, they were an agricultural people. They were traditional enemies of the Iroquois, and there had been many wars between them befre the Europeans. The Iroquois, who always mentioned the Eries were great warriors, have verified the long term hostility, and also add that the Erie frequently used poisoned arrows in war. History-- In 1615, Etienne Brule, met a group of Erie near Niagara Falls. So far as is known, this was their only encounter with Europeans. At the time the Erie were members of a three way alliance ( Neutrals and Wenro ) against the Iroquois. Although it is not known for certain, it is quite possible some of the Erie were allied with the Susquehannock and supported their wars with Iroquois. In any event, the Erie often traded wih the Susquehannock and received European goods from them at an early date. It also appears that the Susquehannock were very careful to ensure the Erie did not get any firearms and only a limited suppy of metal weapons. Huron and Neutral traders apparently took simular precautions. The Erie needed beaver for this trade and probably encroached on other tribal territories to get it. The result was a war with an unknown Algonquin enemy in 1635 that forced the Erie to abandon some of their western villages. In 1639 the Erie and Neutrals withdrew their protection from the Wenro leaving them to fend for themselves. The Iroquois attacked, and the Wenro were quickly defeated. Most fled to the Huron and Neutrals, although one group remained east of the Niagara River and resisted until 1643. The alliance between the Erie and Neutrals continued until 1648, when it ended after the Erie failed to support the Neutrals during a short war with the Iroquios.The failure of this alliance occurred just as the war between the Huron Confederacy and Iroquois League was reaching its final stage, and its timing could hardly have been worse. Huronia was overrun in the winter of 1648-49; the Tionontati met the same fate later that year; and in 1650 the Iroquois turned on the Neutrals Defeated by 1651, large numbers of Neutral and Huron ( several thousand ) escaped and fled to the Erie. The Erie accepted these refugees but did not treat them well. Apparently, there were still bad feelings from the break-up of the past allience. They were allowed to stay in the Erie villages but only in a condition of subjugation. Meanwhile, the Iroquios League demanded the Erie surrender the refugees, but with hundreds of new warriors, the Erie refused. The dispute simmered for two years of strained diplomacy. The western Iroquois ( Seneca, Cayuga, and Ononndaga ) continued to view the refugees as a threat and were not willing to let the matter drop. The Erie were just as determined not to be intimidated by Iroquois threats. Their position, however, was becoming precarious, since the Mohawk and Oneda in 1651 had begun a long war against the Susquehannock (Pennsylvania) isolating the Erie from their only possible ally. The violence grew, and an Erie raid into the Seneca homeland killed the Seneca sachem Annencraos in 1653. In an attempt to avoid open warfare, both sides agreed to a peace conference. However, in the course of a heated argument, one of the Erie warriors killed an Ononndaga. The enraged Iroquois killed all 30 of the Erie representatives, and after this peace was impossible. Although they had the advantage of firearms, the Iroquois considered the Erie as dangerous opponents, so they took the precaution of first making peace wth the French before beginning the war. With their native allies and trading partners either dead or scattered by the Iroquios, the French did not need much encouragement to sign. Assured the French would not intervene, the westren Iroquois attacked and destroyed two Erie fortified villages in 1654. However, the Erie inflicted heavy losses on the Iroquois during these battles. It took the Seneca, Cayuga, and Onondaga until 1656 before the Erie were defeated. Many survivors were incorporated into the Seneca to replace their losses in the war, and the Erie ceased to exist as a separate tribe. The Erie, however, did not entirely disappear at this time. French map-makers during the next 50 years continued to place the Nation du Chat on their maps as occupying a large area south and west of the Iroquois. Unfortunately, no European explored the Ohio Valley until the 1670's, and they did not find any Erie ( or anyone else for that matter). Some of the Eries, Neutrals, Tionontati, and Huron escaped ( the Wyandot are the best example) . Most of these were small groups, but some may have been fairly large. It took the Iroquois many years to track these people down, an the last group of Erie ( southern Pennsylvania ) did not surrender to the Iroquois until 1680. Where they had been hiding during the intervening 24 years is a mystery. Some say they buried themselves into the Lake Erie Islands, under the Iroquois noses.However. since there were a large group still free in 1662, they were gone by 1679. Many of the descendants of the Erie were adopted by the Seneca and in 1720 returned to Ohio, Known as the Mingo ( Ohio Iroquois ) and were removed to the Indian Territory during 1840's. It is likely that many of the Seneca in Oklahoma today have Erie ancestors that roamed Ohio. ****************************************************** ______________________________ ------------------------------ X-Message: #3 Date: Thu, 4 May 2000 02:54:28 -0400 From: "Maggie Stewart" To: OH-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <18ab01bfb598$43b42880$0300a8c0@local.net> Subject: Fw: Bio History -- Know Your Ohio -- Ohio's American Natives --Pt 2 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit ----- Original Message ----- Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Darlene E. Kelley ****************************************************** Historical Collections of Ohio Know Your Ohio by Darlene E. Kelley ****************************************************** Ohio's American Natives -- Part 2 About 1000 B.C. we can mark the beginning of a new period for man in North America. This period, which lasted until about 700 A.D., is called the Woodland Period. It is during this time that a new culture emerged and made significant settlements in what is now known as west Virginia. These people are known to us today by the term as Mound Builders. They were so named for their practice of creating earthern burial mounds and other earthworks. The Mound Builders lived over a wide range from the Atlantic, the Midwest and the Ohio Valley to the Mississippi Valley. The term Mound Builders refers to several cultures that span a period of about 20 centuries. The first group of people to develop ths unique way of life were the Adena people. From about 1000 B.C. to appoximately 1 A.D. a later group of Mound Builders, the Hopewell, lived about 1 A.D. to 700 A.D. and represented a greater refinement over the Adena culture. Other cultures extended the Mound Builders to about 1300 A.D. Adena Mound Detail-- Built on a natural ground surface, the original mound is built with a covered passageway. The lower vault is 12x8 feet. There is a secondary mound surface built over the original mound with an 8x16 foot upper vault. In the center is a vertical shaft of approximate 10 foot in diameter. This is a burial Vault. The Adena built mounds range generally in size from 20 to 300 feet in diameter. The Adena lived in a wide area including much of the present day Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, and parts of Pennsylvania and New York. They had well organized societies since the consruction of the Mounds took a great deal of effort. The labor of many people must have been required since the Adena had not yet developed more sophisticated means of construction. The large amounts of earth had to be moved by the basket load. Perhaps for this reason, the mounds were often used more than once. We find in many mounds there are multiple burials at different levels. Over a period of time, the mounds gradually increased in size. A majority of the people were cremated after death, placed in small log tombs and covered with earth. More important people were ofen buried in the flesh and laid to rest with a variety of artifacts such as flints, beads, pipes, and mica and copper ornaments. The largest of these sites is the Grave Creek Mound. This site is of the late Adena Period and was built in successive stages over a period of 100 years or more. We do not know why the Adena chose to build this particular mound on such a large scale compared to other burial mounds in the area. The Adena people were extensive traders as evidenced by the types of material found in the mounds they constructed. Copper from the western Great Lakes region, mica from the Carolinas and shells from the Gulf of Mexico, all attest to the economic activity. In addition, the culture also practiced agriculture, hunting and fishing. An typical Adena house was built in a circular form from 15 to 45 feet in diameter. The walls were made of paired posts tilted outward, joined to other wood to form a conical shaped roof. The roof was covered with bark and the walls may have been bark, wickerwork or some combination. By about 500 B.C., the Adena culture began to slowly give way to a more sophisticated culture, the Hopwell. Although little remains of their villages, the Adena left great monuments to mark their passing, and one of the greatest of these is the Grave Creek Mound. Grave Creek Mound is probably the most famous of the Adena burial mounds, and certainly the most impressive. Not only is it the largest mound, but it is the largest conical type of any of the mound builder structures. In 1838, road engineers measured the height of the mound at 69 feet and the diameter at the base as 295 feet. Originally a moat of about 40 feet in width and five feet in depth with one causeway encircled the mond. Construction of the mound took place in sucessive stages from about 250-150 B.C., as indicated by the multiple burials, at different levels within the structure. The building of the mound and moat must have been a massive undertaking, since the total effort required the movement of over 60,000 tons of earth. ****************************************************** Timeline of Native Occupations of Ohio-- Paleo-Indians -- 10,000 to 8000 B.C. The first small groups of Native Americans known as the Paleo-Indians, enter Ohio in search of game animals in the newly ice-free lands of the Great Lakes. Archaic -- 8000 to 1000 B.C. People of the Archaic period hunt and gather modern forms of forest plants and animals in a seasonal cycle of movement between the river valleys, the Lake Erie shoreline, and interior forests and wetlands. Woodland -- 1000 B.C. to A.D. 1000. Woodland period inhabitants of northern Ohio begin the use of pottery. They also construct burial mounds and cultivate squash, gourds, and native seed plants in small gardens. Whittlesey -- A.D. 1000 to 1600. The latest prehistoric peoples of Northwest Ohio known as Whittlesey, live in settled villages. They fashioned elborate pottery, grow corn, beans, and squash; and use the bow and arrow for hunting and warfare. A, D. 1650 to 1740. Native peoples appear to have abandoned northern Ohio after A.D. 1650. Early Historic after A.D. 1740. The region is reoccupied by Wyandot, Ottawa and other native groups after 1740. Direct contact with Euro-Americans brings brass and iron trade goods and glass beads into widespread use. These quickly replace native pottery and stone tools. Epidemics of introduced diseases change tribal cultures forever. ****************************************************** to be continued in part 3 -- The Whittlesey People. -------------------------------- End of OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest V00 Issue #153 *******************************************