The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1859-09-05
EVANSVILLE, IND. MONDAY MORNING. SEPTEMBER 5

craft, the Progue, with portage OF only
seven miles. The place of embarkation on
I the Wabash side of the summit even down
to the period of commencing the canal, bore
marks unmistakable, of long usage as a
camping ground, in the destruction of all
+, timber over large area. A gentleman { G..
". Ewing, Esq.) who has since acquired
distinction and wealth in the pioneer walks
OF commercial enterprise, stretching his OPP
erations from Fort Wayne to the sources of
the Mississippi and Missouri, recently in
| formed the writer that i'm his youth, as late
asin 1922, he superintendent his father teams
In drawing upon wagons, across this por-
tage, both the pirogues and their valuable
| cargOes of furs, under contract with the
French traders. The eastern end Of the
portage-the head of the Maumee-for long
ages in the past had been place of rendez-
vous for the Indians for which, in their
canoes, the junction of the rivers afforded
facilities. The Indian name was Kekiogue,
as pronounced by the Miamis, or Kekiounge,
in the POttawatomie dialect. For miles in
extent, along the banks of these beautiful
rivers, the original heavy forest had long
before given place to the Indian villages and
cornfelds.
1t was in the retreat from the perilous at
tack upon one of these Indian towns, on the
east bank of the st. Joseph, near its mouth
in October, 1890, tina; me army of General
Harmar, in re-cr0Ssing the Maumee river,
was subjected to slaughter so terrific, as
to give rise to the tradition that the river
for time ran blood. For ages this has
been battle ground, not merely between
the Indians and the whites, but, anterior to
| this, between the different tribes of Indians,
as their feuds have arisen out of the contests
for hunting grounds, or from the murder Of
their braves. The place of burning prison.
ers was pointed out near the junction of the
rivers, by Chief Richardville, during his
life.
1t Is probable that attempts at ascertain
ing the height of this summit above the
Maumee, with such leveling instruments as
could be had, may have been made at an
early period by surveyors of the public
lands or others This fact, however, was
indicated with sufficient accuracy by the
high water mark of the st. Mary's. Du-
ring extreme high water about the year
1924, Gen. Upton, the Indian Agent at Fort
Wayne, and George w. Ewing, pushed
canoe nearly across to the waters of the
Wabash.
In the treaty of 1926, between the Miami
tribe of Indians and the Government of the
United States, through its commissioners,
Lewis Cass, John Upton, afterwards United
States Senator, and James B. Ray, then
Governor of the State, by which the Indian
title, in all this section of the State, with
the exception of certain reserves was ex-
tinguisbed, the idea of this Canal found its
first official and authoritative recognition
The treaty contained the following clause,
referring TO the extensive districts reserved
by the Indians along the line of the propos-
ed Weland and Erie Canal:
"And it is agreed, that the State of Indi-
ana may lay out n canal or road through any
of these reservations and for the use of a
canal, six chains along the same are hereby
appropriated"
The next step in the Lrogress of events
was the procurement, through the agency of
the members of Congress from Indiana, of q
survey of the Canal by a corps of United
States Typographical Engineers. The liberal
theory of John Quincy Adams Administra-
tion on the question of internal improve
ments, whether sound or unsound as gene
raj policy, favored this application. A corps
of engineers under the command of Col.
! james Shrive-, was detailed for this survey
| by order of the War Department. After a
tedious journey through the wilderness, the
| survey was commenced at Fort Wayne in
! May or June, 1926. But little progress had
been made, when the whole party were
prostrated 10y sickness, and Col Shriyer died
soon after in the Old Fort. He was sue
ceeded in com nand by Col. Asa Moore, his
assistant, under whose direction the survey
was continued during 1926 and 1927, down
\ the Wabash to the mouth of Tippecanoe,
then considered the head of navigation
| The survey was continued along the Maui
NEE in 1927 and 1928, until Col. Moore also
fell victim to disease, so prevalent at that
time in these forest-cOyered vallies dying in
his tent ut the head of the Maumee rapids, on
the 4th of October, 1923. This survey was
completed to the Maumee Bay by Col. How
ard Stansbury, who, from the beginning,
had been of the party, and who, at later
period, gained distinction by his pioneer ex-
pedition to Salt Lake, under the orders OF
the War Department.
Following this survey, was the grant oil
land i'm aid to the construction of the work
obtained mainly through the efforts of the
delegation from Indiana BY this act, ap.
proved March I'd, 1927. Congress granted
to the State of Indiana, one-half of five
miles in width of the public lands OH each
side of the proposed canal, from Lake Erie
to the navigable waters of the Wabash,
amounting To $500 acres to the mile. The
terminus of the Canal, and therefore of the
grant, was at that time established at the
mouth of Tippecanoe river, distance from
the lake of 2l3 miles. At the session oi
the Legislature of 1927 and 1928, the grant
was accepted by the State, and a board Of
canal commissioners appointed, consisting Of
three members to-wit: Samuel Hanna, Da
vid Burr, and Robert John.
The commissioners were directed TO re-Sur-
vey the summit division in 1928, and for
this purpose employed as engineer Mr.. -
Smyt Sickness again interrupted the
progress of this work. Mr.. Smythe accom-.
plsled no more, after arriving at Fort
Wayne than to guage the river and adjns'
his instruments, when he was laid aside for
the season. In this emergency, the COM
missioners themselves, though not engineers
took hold of the instruments, and with the
aid of competent surveyor, completed the
survey of this division OF thirty-two miles
The munificent grant of the public do.
main before alluded to, was the first of any
mag nitude made for the promotion of pub.
lie works, and may, therefore, he viewed as
initiatory to the policy afterwards so exten.