The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1873-07-26

ncctcd FORM series Of exceedingly in,rlc,,
ing tradition, and Wei authenticated fact
as he has been able to collect in the last fort,
years, in reference to Indian history in thi
= locality, drawn from personal interview, Will
: the early pioneers Of thi, country Il, well a.
with many Of the retiring red men and othc
reliable sources The sketches bear evidence
Of hasty preparation, but give many interest
inE facts which we have nowhere else seen il
print After skctching the bloody war be
tween thcOnce mighty tribe of the Illinion tn,
one side, and the Miamis, Pottawattamies anl
ChcerokceS on the othcr-the war which end
ed in the determination of the lllini at STARVED
Rock,-a story with which most of our read
ers are familiar,-Mr. Armstrong brings til,
Iconquerng tribes together the following
spring on Indian Creek, in thi, county, whcr,
they met to have jollidcatlon over their vic
tory, and then proceeds;
! On this occasion weeks were spent in feast
| ing, dancing and merchandising Week,
| traught with the most dircfu consequence,
to the peace and harmony of the allies; tOl
at this feast each and every warrior is allowed
and expected to rccitc in the most exaggerated
manner his prowess As Il warrior-the scalpS
! he has taken-the dangers encountered and
SWtcrlngs endured, commencing in all in
stances with Big Indian me" Jealousies AT
once sprung up as each candidate applied for
| applause-thc squaws and papoooses natural
| y siding with the warriors of their respective
tribcs-a feeling of dstrust, if not hate, was
soon cngcndcrcd, which daily increased, so
that when the chief, came to talk about the
division Of the territory they had acquired,
! each tribe claimed the lions share. OF the
territory west Of the Illinois river they knew
nothing, and they al desired that territory
watcrcd by the Illinois river and its tributa,
| ricS. An amiCablC division or adjustment
could not be made The Miamis were by far
| more numerous than either Of the other tribes,
! and were much better armed as they had
IQuitc a number of muSkCtS while the other
tribes had none This rendered the Miamis
very dOmineCring and naughty. They de
mandcd all or nearly ali of the newly aCQuir-
Cd territory, which of course the other two
tribes resisted, hence an open rupture was
made and a desperate battle cnSucd upon the
very grounds they had used in teasting. The
PO,taWatamics and KickapooS uniting their
forces against the Namis Many were slain
on both sides, and after fighting from morn
ng until night, the MiamiS took advantage
=
possession of the battle field. But this battle
although heavy one, was 10y no means de.
Clsivc one The losses on both sides were
heavy and neither were in Il condition to re
new the fight for several months. us they were
out Of provisions, short of clothing and i'm
plcmCntS of war The balance of the summer
and following winter were spent in preparing
for renewal of the contest the following
spring. The Miami> went down the river and
thence south to kaskaskia,-thc PottaWatta-
mics ana kickapOOS remained near their pre-
viOuS winter quarters collecting provisions
and clothing, and constructing bows and ar
rows and other implements of Indian warfare.
Early in the spring following G1iW the Mi
amiS returned northward to give battle to their
late allies, but now bitter enemies and were
met near Peoria, where another terrible battle
was fought which, like the former one, was
not deCi>ivc-waS indeed Il drawn battle, and
each party buried their own dead, The evil
dCnCCS OF these two great battles are still Vis-|
mounds where they buried
their dead are still there to mark the spot, ar
row llnts, and other implements of Indian
warfare have been found in the ncighbOrhood
by the bushcl.
a thousand glorious actions, that might claim
Triumphant laurclS and immortal fame.
Confused tn crowds of glorious action, lie.
And troop, OF hcrOc, mdstinguishcd die
The war lasted, with Indifferent success 10 F.
either party. for about five years, and many a /
hard fought battle attc,tcd the bravery Of /
these unfortunately paSSion.bindcd SavagcS, |
who left their dead buried in many places |
the coveted territory. In the year
l1i they had worked around and nearly |
back to the place where their first battle had !
occurred with the Him lIarraSScd and worn |
al,
and ,anguinary battles, both armies were we'll .
nigh exhausted.
.Or this sad work when each begin, to tire.
They set themselves down just where They came
before
\ proposition was then made on the part of
topiCll three hundred warriors from
each side and let them commence TO fight Mt
sunrise and continue the fight uni either the
one side or the other should conquer This
was at once accepted bv the Pot.
awatamicS and kickapoo> upon the condi-
ion that the weapons on both sides should be
he bow and arrow, tOmahaWk. knife and
spear, or >uch implements OF warfare is were
peculiarly Indian, and that the remnant of
each army should cross 10 the east side ot
he Wabash river, 80 that no assistance or in.
difference could nosSibly be- made by either
side. This agreement was entered into with
ri the Npicmnlty oil the nigh councils of these
tribes, and OOpickcd warriors were
ecdtcd from each side who crossed over TO
he bloody ground and cncampcd upon Su-
gar Creek, which cmpticS into the Wabash
liver The place selected for this terrible
lucl was heavy timber about % miles from
he Wabash The battle was To commence at
sunrise the following morning The iatcd
came calm, cool, bright Scptcm-
Der morn, and with the coming OF the morn.
NJ sun the battle commenced SIX hundred
talwan warrior, engaging in - strife for
.jctory cor death I.
They pragjirpd every pa>, aud word
Iu thrust, ir strike, tu icint, to guard"
Here were The deeds of ThcImopvlT rccn
,ctcd. Quaric. Wa, neither asked nor given 4
death was The watchWord and reply" |,
Now shielding behind some giant oak-cvcry /
use Was rcSortcd To- in the hope of inducing
he enemy 10 expose his pcr>un-nuw crap \
bling i'm q death struggle The cumh1iant> tell !.