Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1893-05-12
LAST OF A GREAT RACE
THE ONCE MIGHTY PoTTAwAToMIE
TRIBE ALMOST GONE.
Reduced to a Remnant Of $50 Souls
Tine Government Grants Them a
Claim of S150,OOO.

''There is no good Indian but
dead one, will hardly apply
truthfully to the remnant of
the Pottawatomie tribe of Indians who
are now domiciled ON their early hunt
ing grounds III southwestern Michigan.
They are the descendants of the band
that drove the eighty Illinois Indians
on STARVED Rock, sat down aboutits
base and calmly waited until the last of
their victims had persisted. They are
pretty good Indians now from force OF
circumstances. They work as much M
they must, wear the clothes of civiliza-
ton, drink firewatrr, cling to their old
language and confess their sins to the
good priests, for the Pottawatomics
have been within the fold of the church
since Father Marquette established II
mission among them. For the rest,
they preserve the purity of their race,
and have sociablc habit of not under
standing English when II suits them.
Just now these crstWhile children of
the forest are i'll high glee over the fact
that their long-pcnding claim against
the Government has been allowed, and
that the sum of Sl5G, 600 will SOON hc
distributed among the tribe.
The remnants of this once powerful
and warIke tribe, who for over cen
turv dominated southwestern Michigan
and around whose cumptircs thousands
Of braves clustered, now aggregate
about 240 souls This number is yearly
growing less, So rapidly III fact that II
few years will witness their entire cN-
tinction.
Chief Pokngon is the last OF the
Puttawatomic chiefs. When he goes
to the happy hunting grounds, whittier
have countless numbers of his anccs-
try, there ends all that is left OF old
tribal customs. chiefs. warriors and
their succession of authority. The mi
grafton of the Puttuwntomics from the
| northwestern L. the southeastern shore
Of Lake Michigan took place during
/ the first decade of the Eighteenth Cen.
! fury. Twenty wears later the Potta.
| watumics were, found to have di-pos-
scsscd the Mlumis and spread them.
selves over vast area of additional
| territory, reaching from the vicinity OF
| Chicago around the lake northward to
! the Grand River and eastward tp III.
! cmdc the valleys of that stream and the
kunmnzo6. This region they held III
undisputrd possession for century
and Il qrartyr, "'tung themselves
mixed up III all the trouble that WAS
= brewing They were the implacHh"
| cu.mir, Of the ENGLISH and tn" loynl
! lovers Of the French. In the French
and Indinn war they fought hrayc Y .or
/ the French md were not DISPOSED 10
/ give their territory over t. English
| rulr after peace was declared. Their
| hatred Of tn" English domination made
! them Wiling and eager To enter the
conspiracy originated by POINTING, and
| the final details of tn" plot were NJ.
| ranged in II ce.np OF tins tribe. The
slaughter OF the garrison AT ST Joseph,
which they performed III the mostthor-
uugh and savage manner, was the prln.
cipal exploit Of the PottawatomIys in
tins series oi hostiit!es. In 1874
this tribe was represented among
tine Indian hOrlcs VINO opposed "Mnd
n t'''i'''.r " },,,a'il.ianI
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a,1 Cns', Connt;as wb.rntbev orcn now
"lu I IS .La,n hny;ra small farms snJ
'oi'', ~ hn ,I roh;1s AWAY from ths
" nand. "'''''''7
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iiIL ;ntoll;a;hiv and in mo household