The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-08-25
How Its Fine Location Impressed the
white Men Who First Occupied
the Valley Of the hi
INDIANS FOUGHT FOR CONTROL
But WE'RE DEFEATED AND THE
SPOT SEIZED BY GEN. WAYNE.
Lucrative Commerce in Pioneer Days
Meaning Of SUNNI City,

From the lofty tower of the courthouse In
Fort Wayne one has a fine bird's-eye view
not only of the third largest city in In
diana. but of "A much wider sweep OF ter
ritory which circles about with a visible
radius of perhaps ten miles. Down I'm the
town, from the midst Of trees and build
ings, occasional glimpses may be had of
the three rivers-the St. Marys. the st.
Joseph and the Maumee-that find their
union here, by an odd arrangement OF ma
ture, on the summit OF the great water
shed. To north and south and east the eye
may trace their three valleys. Westward
a level. almost ~treeless. depression like the
ancient bed Of yet another river, stretches
TO the blue distance.
To the instructed observer this topog-
raphy tells a nest interesting story. East
ward OF him gently dips the broad Erie
basin, sending its waters 10 the sea by
Lake Erie. Niagara and the 81. Lawrence.
on the other hand, a few miles across the
prairie-like expanse spoken Of. ard almost
within sight, lies a tributary of the beau
tiful Wabash, and beyond il the vast slope
of the Mississippi valley. down which the
lordly rivers merge i'm a general highway
to the far-off Gulf of Mexico.
The near approach to each other here Of
these two great water systems which
thread the land through various attitudes
for perhaps three thousand miles, binding
together the remote parts of a continent.
must be appreciated to understand the pc
culiar interest that attaches TO the spot.
BY referring to a map of this region 1t may
be seen that the st. Marys and St Joseph
rivers, which send their waters to Lake
Erie, do not flow from the west. but toward
the west till they meet; then, by an UNI
usual dip of the surface, they run back
eastward as the Maumee. down a trough
that lies between the two valleys of the
first-named streams. The branches of the
Wabash flow from the same direction as do
the branches of the Maumee. but continue
westward. Moreover. the Maumec and its
two oblique tributaries form a sort of ar
row head, which, intruding among the Wa
bash tributaries. thus make the two sXs-
TENS interlock and approach at their near
est points TO within a few miles of each
other. The important feature of it is that
this interlocking is not Of Insignificant
headwaters. as usually happens. but the
nearest point of approach is where the
streams on both sides are navigable. Back
OF all this lies a fascinating geologic story.
which is too long and too irrelevant TO be
given HeTe- II may DE lOunu III luii IN the
Sixteenth Geological Report of Indiana (see
Charles r. Dryers chapter on Allen
county,
Human history ofttimes has its begin
nings i'm the remote prehistoric ages, and
the earlier happenings. about this spot are
an instance. When the bold French ex-
plorers Of the seventeenth century pushed
westward along the great lakes and south
ward into the Wilderness hevond Seagfno
to add immensely to their national domain,
they found in this curious meeting of the
water systems, built up by ancient glac-
iers. the most direct route to the far-or
father OF waters and the b0undless
country that came to be known as New
France. The missions. the military posts
establishing French supremacy, the trad
ers with their lively traffic followed as a
natural result, and this was the beginning
of the white mans occupancy of the great
Wabash valley. Before his advent the
aborigines recognized the value OF the
portage and the two watery highways
commanded by IL. The Miamis, then one
of the most powerful of the Western
tribes, planted here. on the present site OF
Fort Wayne, their chief village. and were
shrewd enough TO reap profit by exactins
toll for the use OF the portage. thus levyins
a tariff for revenue only" but with no
definite limit as TO the revenue required.
With the growth Of the fur trade this rev.
enue swelled to no mean income-"ons
hundred dollars in the course &C one day.
Little Turtle put Inland the motht- OF the
Miami chief, Richsr svilla who preceded
him as ruler of her tribe. is said to have
amassed a fortune at the business. To
these original holders of the portage sue
ceeded thrifty whites who, with carriers
and pack horses. did a fourishing indus
try, and this continued up to the days OF
the canal.
AN IMPORTANT POINT.
The old Indian town, besides its lucra-
tive control OF the first commerce. seems.
by virtue of its accessibility from various
directions, to have been a central and i'm
portant point with the Indians generally
In their many councils, for Little Turtle
in one Of his speeches at the treaty of
Greenville in 1875 refers to 1t as that
glorious gate through which all
the good words Of our chiefs had TO pass
from the north to the south and from the
east to the west" in defense OF IL and OF
the contiguous country lying on either side
of the divide numerous tribes rallied. and
the fierce Indian wars of the Northwest.
CulUliildliIk III <illnOIg way ~ = reAoA
victory. played about the narrow water
shed and the important rivers that met
here. The conflict was not In the first In
stance for possession OF the territory. but
when Wayne finally brought the tribes
TO his feet he assumed the conqueror's
prerogative and seized for his government
the spot which seemed TO him OF mo-
mentous Importance for future time-one
OF the very keys. i'm fact. OF the North
west country. commanding. as II did. a
vast interior and the meeting place OF tive
great natural sections. To the last the
famous Miami. Little Turtle. pleaded 10
retain possession OF HIS glorious gate"
but Wayne was obdurate; the Maumee-
Wabash portage passed into the undis-
puted possession OF the American govern
ment. and 10 make good the claim against
the powers OF the world a military post
was planted there. supplanting two others
which the French and English each in
their day had erected. dreaming OF perma-
nent possession. The latter were destined
TO ephemeral existence. but old Fort
Wayne generations after its massive tim