The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-10-24
THE OLD POST.
Chipquaw-Kay, of the Miamis-The Romance
of Lost Race

Chipquaw-Kay, of the Miamis-The Romance
of Lost Race.
Vncennes Letter in Chicago News.
Chipquaw-Kay was the name of Miami In
dian village on the banks of the Wabash river
200 years ago. Around about it lay the remains
of a city much older and of civilization much
higher than that of the Miamis-the dwelling
place of people of whom history and tradition
are alike silent. Huge monumental piles bore
enduring testimony to the enterprise of the un
known race Venerable trees grew upon the
mounds, and their rings of annual growth
marked many generations of their antiquity In
the construction of these mounds their builders
displayed no mean comprehensiveness of design
and no inconsiderable engineering skill.
TAe implements left by these builders
are of the stone age They are all of peaceful
character-hoes, spades, avis. axes, knives,
saws, pipes, beads, ETC., symmetrical In shape
and wrought from the hard stone with mature
skill. The absence of instruments of war leads
to the belief that the piles were built by royal
priesthood in honor of their eod--the sun. Two
hundred of these great artificial heaps stood
about the village North of Chipquaw- Kay
were ffty-two of them, ordered like city, with
streets leading directly to the cardinal points.
Two hundred years have worked no changes IN
these piles. Two thousand more will fpd them
as majestic and as placid as we found them yes
terday
There is nothing ordinary about these mounds.
From their bases they tower nearly two hun
dred feet above the surrounding plain. The
sides of their bases slightly greater than their
height Within their bosoms have been found
linnumerable relics of the lost race Three of
the mounds are more majestic than the others,
and on their fiat tops were, doubtless, the affairs
of the priesthood when sacrifice was offered to
the god of bounty. To tho right and left of
these were the sepuchral mounds. Their tombs
have been violated, but they have yielded no Sc
round-bottomed pottery. Yet others of the
mounds were designed for habtations and upon
them are the ruins of walls of stone, the foun-
datons doubtless of structures of some archi-
tectura1 Dretensions.
But Chipquaw- Kay has other claims to inter
est than these monuments of unrecorded time.
Hther, in 1858, came the French voyagers, fol-
lowed in 1902 by the missionaries of the cross,
with their doctrine of "peace and good will"
Sixty years later the lion standard by right of
conquest, courted the breeze above the village
In the heart of the town you may see to-day
where fort Sackville was built and to the north
stood the stone walls of Fort Knox. which gave
its name to the present county. Long years ago
iChipquaw Kay became an almost forgotten
name, and the French occupation became immor-s
taliZed in the name of Vincennes.
When the sword was drawn for the liberation
of the American colonies the "Old Post" as Fort
Knox was called, became of Importance to the
battling patriots, and Gen. George Rogers Clark
was sent to wrest it from England. How he
marched his little band around one of the great
mounds until he magnifed it to the British eyes
and frightened their commander and his superior
force into surrender is part of history. The
mound which thus served the cause of liberty
now bears the name of Bunker Hill
Before the present century was year old the
Territory of Indiana. comprising an underlined
area north of the Ohio river and west of the
Buckeye State, was erected and Vincennes be-
came its capital William Henry Harrison was
made Governor. and in the northern part of
the town the curious may yet see his executive
mansion. It's rough boards were sawed out by
hand and the nails which held them together
were hammered into rude shape upon a black
smiths anvil. Beneath the family room was the
powder magazine placed there. it is said, by the
General for the purpose of blowing up his family
should the post fall into the hands of the In
dams. In the cellar may be seen the cells in
which prisoners were kept
AS one dashes across the bridge which spans
the Wabash, he may see from the car windows
two venerable trees standing near the rivers
bank Until within few years there were
three of them, and beneath their shade General
Harrison held conference with the Indian chiefs.
Hero treaties were made, and here gathered the
pride and wisdom of the red nations and Of the
pioneers of the great West.
stroll through the streets of the old town to-
day is full of reminders of the time when STOUT
st. Louiss golden lilies hoated in the breeze
above it.