The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1874-07-23

Ulair's force survived to narrats the dis
aster.
Other defeats OF the troops followed.
J. until the Iadians were met and routed IN
August Of 1874 by an army Of 5000 men
under General Wayne, who had assumed
b command after the defeat Of Generals st.
Clair and Harmer In this war, which
was very costly one, great many lives
were lost; but its successful conclusion by
treaty in 1875 secured Che peace OF the
Northwest for many years.
Among those who had participated IN
Little Turtles compaigns was young
Shawnes Indian, then about twenty-five
years of age, who was destined, latter, al
though unconsciously, to do much toward
making General Harrison President of the
United States. This young warrior was
the celebrated Tecumseh, afterwaIns chief
of the ShaTnees, who With hIs brother
ElkswataWa. commonly called "The
Prophet" succeeded shout the year 1911
in unitisg most Of the tribes of the North
west il an alliance against the whites.
Together they went slong the Indians
living IN the Mississippi Valley and urged
them 10 war. BefJre the plan was fully
matured, however, G5neral Harrisol, at
that time Governor of Indiana Territory,
marched against the Indian force at Tip
pecanoe on the Wabash River. The In
dians, several hundred strong, were led
by "The Prophet" The battle was fought
on November Z, 1911, and resulted, after
a long and stubborn fight in the defeat of
the Shawnees and the ruin Of Tecumseh's
combination. Tecumseh, however, ioined
the English against the Americans in the
the war Of 1872, and as brigadier-general
| commanded the right wing of the English
army at the battle on the Thames in Octo- |
| Der, 1878. The Americans we're comman- |
| ded By Harrison. At a critical moment !
when Tecumseh's command Of mingled |!
fnd ans and English were retreating, the
| Shawnee chief hastened forward to rally |
them, and was shot down under hot fire !
Colonel Richard NJ. johnson, who was af- |
| forwards Vice President of the United |
| States, for long time enjoyed the repu- |
tation Of having killed him, circumstance |
| which probably assisted him to his eleva- |
ted Office. Previous to this engagement |
fecumseh, whose military ability was IN |
questioned, had defeated S0QGovernment |
troops under Colonel Dudley, inficiing |
great loss on them.
The sequel of Tecumseh's effort in the |
Northwest VAS the great war with the |
Greek nation in the South, in which Gen.
erel jackson first gained military distinc-
ton, and which was the expiring endeay-
or of the Indians TO combine against the
growing strength of the whites Wheath.
erford, the Greek leader, had entered into
Tecumseh's scheme, and but for the PEE
mature discontinue of the latter's plans
the forces of the two confederseies might
have gained control of the entire Missis-
sippi Valley. The Creek war Of 1913 be-
gan on August 80 of that year, when q
force of Creeks, numbering / 400, under
Wheatherford, captured Fort Mimms and
massacred it's garrison. The fort contain.
ed 275 people, of whom l60 were soldiers
and the remainder refugees who had fed
before the approach of the Creeks A
dreadful hand to hand fight, carried on
with tomahswks, swords, bayonets and
knives, took place within the fort. For
q quarter of an hour the slaughter con-
tinued, and at the. end of that time the
fort was in the hands Of the Indians. Of
the garrison only seventeen escaped. A
vigorous war was prosecuted against the
Creeks at once, and several Thousand SOL
diers-regulars, militia (mainly from Ten
nessee) and friendly IEdians-were soon
in Georgia under command of General |
Jackson, Coffee and others. The Creeks
were pursued to their own country, and
many bloody battles ensueds They fought |
with great bravery and s 600 OF their war
riors perished in the field. After cam
paign of four months they made q final
stand at Tohopeka, or the Tallapoosa |
River, and were completely defeated by
General Jackson, whose army consisted of
1000 men. OF the 900 Creeks who were !
engaged, 700 were either killed by bullets
or were drowned.
The war known as the Black Hawk
was originated in 1882. The celebrated
Black Hawk Was the chief Of the Sacs
and Foxes, whose territory lay originally :
for 700 miles along the east bank of the :
Upper Mississippi. When in 1928 most !
Of the tribes Of that region, according to
the agreement with the Government made
in 1904, went West of the Mississippi to :
their new reservations, Black Hawk deci-
ded to remain on his old hunting grounds ;;
with his people, then numbering 1000.
The natural consequence of this was that ! !
they eventusllY became embroiled with | .. .
the settlers Of Illinois, and these embroil-
ments finally resulted in war. Generals
Scott, Dodge, and Atkinson commanded
the regulars and the militia engaged in
the campaign, which ended in Black
Hawks being driven to the Wisconsin !
River. General Dodge defeated the In +,
dians on July q, 1882. and they were
again defeated by General Atkinson on
August g. Black Hawk, who was asSixty
four years old, was made prisoner, and :
there are many now living who remem-
Der the old chiefs visit to the Eastern
cities after his capture, accompanied by /:
his two sons and seven of his warriors, the :
whole party having been kept as hostages.
The Sacs and Foxes were ultimately re-
moved 10 their new home on The Des )
Moines River.
The Seminoles, branch of the Creeks,
were the next Indians with whom the
United States had war. In 1878 General :
Jackson had already entered their terri !
tory in Florida with a military force in
consequences of difficulties that had occur
red between them and the whites, had ,
put stop to their depredations, and had !
practically taken possession OF the country
which was then held by the Spaniards. =.
Florida was regularly oeded to the United !
States, however, in 1928.
In 1885 the famous Seminole war, in !
which Osceola and Billy Bowlegs figured, +,
began. For seven years handful Of Sem
inoles resisted all the efforts Of half a doZ-
en- generals Of the regular army, amply
provided with troops. to capture them. !
They took refuge in the dense swamps and
thIckets of Lake Okechobee. Issuing
thence at their leisure they would fight ..
the eoldiers and then would retire into !
the everglades. General Zachary Taylor
gained his frat laurels in this war in |
severe battle which he fought on Deeem-
Der 10, 1887, near the lake named. Osce-
ola had been made prisoner a month or
two previously by General Jesup and had
died in prison, the victim OF treachery. In
1912 the government induced the Semin-
oles, through treaty, to leave their retreat
and the remnants of the tribe emerged
from the everglades under command of
Billy Bowlezs. presenting sorry specta-
Gle. This war cost the lives Of J, ,466 SOL
diers, and with it disappeared what might
be termed the heroic age of Indian warfare
in this country.
The Western counties Of Minnesota were
the scene in 1862 Of series Of bloody
events arising from the outbreak of Little
Crows band of Sioux. 1t is supposed
that the trouble among the Indians at that
time was due to q plot that had been