The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-01-29
CHIEF POKAGON'S DEATH
INDIAN WHO WAS WELL KNOWN IN
NORTHERN PART OF INDIANA.
Last Ruler of the POttavvatOmies, n
the Knnkakee Region.

Simon Pokagon, the last chief Of the Pot
Mich, last Friday, was we'll known TO the
early settlers of northern Indiana. The Pot
tawatomies at one time were a powerful
tribe of Indians. The region of the Kanka-
kee river and the little lakes of northern
Indiana was their hunting ground, and they
fought many fierce battles with rival tribes
Evidences of their burying grounds can still
be found in Kosciusko, Marshall st. Jo-
seph, Laporte, Starke, Porter, Jasper end
other counties. Kosciusko county has a
bone prairie" between Leesburg and Oswe-
CO. where skulls and thighbones of departed
braves are still plowed up. Three hundred
dead Pottawatomies were buried there-au
victims of smallpox and the quackery of
medicine man." who compelled all his pa
TENTS to jump into the icy waters of a lake
as soon as the disease made it's appearance.
TIE cold bath is said to have been invariably
fatal. One OF the chiefs of the tribe lived in
Kosciusko county, in little shack" long
after the Indians had disposed of their lands
and moved westward. This chief died about
forty years ago.
Pokagon was born in 1895, at place few
miles from South Bend and nearly oppo-
site Bertrand. His father and predeces-
sor was named Leopold Pokagon, who is de-
scribed as a man of medium stature, intelli-
gent, dignifed and extremely religious. He
was considerable of an orator, the leading
spirit in all the councils of his tribe, and is
credited with having persuaded the Potta-
watomies to remain neutral during the Black
Hawk war. The Pottawatomies are branch
of the Chippewa tribe and Inhabited the re-
gion extending from Green bay to the head
of Lake Superior when the first French ex-
plorers visited that region. subsequently
La Sale induced the Miamis, who inhabited
the valley of the St. Joseph, to move 10
Illinois, and the Pottawatomies took their
place.
In 1895. the United States made treaty
with this tribe by which it acquired 25,OOOOU
acres Of land and in 1893 the government,
having adopted the policy of removing the
Indians to reservations west OF the Mlssis-
sippi, bought from the PottaWatomies the re-
naming 5000 acres of their original posses
siOns. But at this time Pokagon and his I'M
mediate followers had become aSSimilated
to the whites in their religion and their bust
ness interests that they sought and obtained
permission to remove to the northern PENN
sula of Michigan instead of going TO Iowa
with the rest of the tribe. At the same time
they retained their interest in the Iowa res
ervation.
torians Of the period of the Misunderstanding
reluctance with which the Indians took their
departure from the St; Joseph valley.
cOmpanied PokagOn when he left his Deau-
tiful hunting grounds, and he describes the
occasion as one Oh the U6tpSSI SOIlOW ~
the Indians. The chiefs had been sacredly
enjoined by their people not to sign away
their rights to the lands. But under the
influence of the government agents whisky
and bribery did their work and all but Polka
gon signed the treaty. A little later Colonel
Taylor induced PokagOn to sign, but as the
old chief took up the pen and walked to the
table to do so hot tears ran down his dusky
cheeks and upon his buckskin jacket, and he
said: Il would rather die than do TINS ms IN
1896 Pokagon and his whole band left their
old home. and the red man was never seen
there again.
The terms on which the Pottawattomies
agreed to give up their homes were these:
They were to receive 100000 acres of land
west of the Mississippi and they We're to
receive 100000 to satisfy sundry creditors,
S15G0O0 to pay certain other claims, $lO,W0
worth of goods. $280,000 in annuities, $l50,0o
houses and blacksmith shops, and $4,000 for
educational purposes. The Pottawatomies
of Michigan received in addition for their
band reserves $4,000 to pay sundry individ-
uals COO to pay certain claims, $2o.0OO
worth of goods and 100000 to be paid IN an
nuities of 81 600 a year for twenty years.
Chief Pokagon's chief employment afor
years has been the looking after the annul-
ties due his people under these treaties, out
withheld on account of disorders among
them which made settlement almost I'M
possible. The amount due was $llS,O90 Whlch
was to be divided among ~ families, ana
not long since this money was received ana
divided. Although he had handled so mucn
land and money Polagon died pennlless ana
homeless He was not, however, friendleSs,
and the physicians and other citizens or
Renton Harbor exerted themselves to the
last to relieve his sufferings and save his