Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1895-02-09
"liTTLE TURTLE"
Surpassed by None Of His Trite for
Bravery and Intelligence.

pur passed by None of His Trite for
Bravery aud Intelligence.
The Miamis or Twightwccs. as they
were originally called. were once one Of
the most numerous and powerful abor.
iginal nations on the North American
continent. Physically and intellectual.
ly they were far above the average of
the aborgines of this country. 1ndivid.
ual instances of great mental superior
ity were frequent. A marked instance
of this was found In the person of the
distinguished war chief. Mc-chc-kan-
nah.quah little Turtlc). surpassed for
bravery and intelligence perhaps by
none of his race. lie held the position
of war chief of the Miamis for Il period
of forty years. being only In his twenty
nth year when the title was conferred
upon him. lie held absolute sway over
the tribe and its warriors. His great
popularity grew out Of the fact that he
was never defeated In any of the great
battles he engaged in when he held
command. lie defeated both st. Clair
and TIarmer In the fight with Gen. ~.
Clair the Indians lost only 100 killed
and wounded, while st. Glars loss was
30 officers AMI SOB men killed. and -
officers and 2l2 men wounded. In his
fight with Gen. Harmer the results
were In about the same proportion to
the numbers engaged. In the engage.
mcnt with st. Clair lie was supported
by Blue Jacket. Buck ong-a.hc-las ana
several minor chiefs belonging to the
various tribes engaged. But Little Tur.
tic led them all. These victories added
much to his already great popularity.
But he wore his honors easily ana with.
out vanity. The only defeat he ever
suffered was mt the battle Of the Rap
Ids. fighting against Gen. Wayne. This
In reality cannot DC considered a dcfent
to him. lie saw that defeat was newt
able. and tried hard to induce his war;
rlors to stay out of the fight, as will DC
seen by the following speech, which he
delivered to the Indians tho night be-
fore the battle:
1--WE have beaten the enemy twice tin-
der separate commanders. We cannot
expect the same good fortune to attend
us always. The Americans IRE now
led by chief who never sleeps. The
night and the day are alike to him.
And all the time hc has been marching
upon our villages, Notwithstanding the
watchfulncss of our young men. we
never have been able to surprise HIM.
Think well of It. There Is something
that whispers to me It would be pru.
dent to listen to his offers of peace"
But his impetuous warriors. In this
instance dlsregnrding his advice, dc.
cided to so with the majority. He led
them, and the Miamis fought with dcs.
peration. Blue jacket, of the Shaw.
nces, was the ommandcr.in.chicf. Tho
result was an ignomlnious defeat Of tho
lndinns-a complete rout. This deciS.
I've victory soon brought peace.
During the following winter C704,
Gen. Wayne. while occupying the fort
Of Grecnvillc. invited the various In.
dian tribes Of the Northwest to meet
him rs carly rs practicable the follow.
Ing summer. for the purpose Of conclud.
Ing a definite treaty Of peace with the
United States.
Early In the month Of June strong
Populations from these tribes arrived
ut Grccnville. Among the number were
many Sachems and men of prominence
including Little Turtle. Of the Miam!s
Massas, a noted Chippewa chief; Blue
| Jacket, n distinguished Shawnee chief
Tarke (thc crnne). u WyandOt chief Of
great ability; Bucl;.Ong.a.he.las, Of the
Della wares. and many other representa-
tive Indians. But Little Turtle was the
most conspicuous figure present; all lis
tened closely when he spoke. He wa,
chosen as the spokesman for n lars,
number Of the tribes In attendance.
The deliberations continued from tho
10th of June until the 10th OF August
when. at the suggestion of Little Turtle
the stlpulations of the great treaty
were unanimously adopted and signed
The Indians all expressed themsclvc,
we'll pleased with the treaty. ana prom
ised Gen. Wayne that they would keel
good faith ana friendship with tn,
United States.
The following speech was delivered
by Little Turtle during the dcllbera
tons of the Greenville treaty, In whicl
he defined the boundary lines Of the ter
ritory Of the Miamis, II matter of mucl
Importance at that time. Addressin,
Gen. Wayne he said:
~ hope you will pay attention to villa
now say to you. ! wish to inform 70,
where your younger brothers, the MI
amis. live. You have pointed out to II
the boundary line between the Indian
and the United States; but l now TAX
the liberty to inform you that the lin
cuts Off from the Indians large pOr
ton of country which has been on
joyed by my fOrcfathers from time I'M
memorial, without molestatiOn or dis
pute The print of my ancestors house
Is everywhere to be seen In this portion
1t Is well known by all my brother
present that my fOrefathers klndled tn
first fires ut Detroit; from thence he on
tended his lines to the headwaters O
the Scioto; from thence to its mouth
from thence, down the Ohio to til
mouth of the Wabash, and from theme
to Chicago, on Lake Michigan. At thi
place first saw my elder brothers, tn
Shawnecs. ! have now Informed 70
of the boundaries of the Miami nation
where the Great Spirit placed my for,
father long time ago, and charge
him not to sell or part with his lands
hut preserve them for his DOsterit,