The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1909-09-09

|
| By this time General Upton had begun to
understand something of Father Petit's worth,
and treated him with marked respect The
| chiefs who had hitherto been treated as pris-
oners of war released at the Priests re-
quest. and took their places with the rest OF
the tribe First went the flag of the Unit
| ed States borne by dragoon: after which
came the baggage; then the vehicle occupied
hy the native chiefs: next followed the main
| body of the emigrants, men, women and chill
dren. mounted horses. marching in file
after Indian fashion, while all along the TANKS
of the might be dragons and
| volunteers urging on unwilling stragglers, Of
ten with the most violent words and gestures.
| The sick in their wagons under an
awning of canvas. which. however. far from
protecting them from the stiffling heat and
dust, only deprived them of air The interior
| was like an oven. and many consequently
died. Six miles from Danville. there was a
halt for two days 'When we quilted the
spot" Father Petit said. 1--WE left six graves
| under the shadow of the cross"
Order had been so thoroughly restored
| through the presence of the good Priest that
| the troops retired and Father Petit was
left with the civil authorizes to conduct the
| emigrants to their destination. Having seen
| hem safely landed on their reservation on the
Usage river. southwest of the Missouri river,
such as had not died and escaped on the
| way. Father Petit bade them affectionate
| farewell and started on the return trip. At
| St Louis he was taken sick from fatigue
| and maaria fever, and after a lingering i'll
| ness died. His remains were afterward remov-
ed to Notre Dame Indiana where they lie
| buried in the Catholic Cemetery at that place.
| OF the onward journey after leaving San
| dusky Point Illinois, where the caravan was
placed in charge of Judge Poke, we have
| only the general statement that $50 persons
were lost on the whole way by death and de-
| hat Of cf1tfer r. IN q
lot of these poor Indians every day this
| horrible journey tongue tell Hundreds
of them were daily burning with the terrible
maarial feevr so universally prevalent dur.
| ing the part of 1898. These hundreds
were crowded into common rough wagons
and compelled to bear the downpouring rays
| sutry sun. and the only beverage to quench
| the prevailing thirst was dipped from some
mud stream just drying up. The food was
composed of beef and flour cooked might
| be while encamped for the night. No wonder
that their little rgaves marked the daily
| journey,
So far | have confined what I have had to
say to the removal of the Indians and the
causes that lead up to that sad eevnt But
| let us pause a few moments to enquire who
| and what these Pottawattomie Indians were.
who were the first owners and inhabitants OF
| this beautiful country stretched out IN every
| direction from where this monument now
| stands9 The historical information we get in
| regard to them comes entirely from the white
| race and from their interested and selfish
| standpoint. The Indian side, of the question
| has never been heard. His story as told at
| the treaty conferences were not believed, and
| no record has been made of the well found
| ed grievances against his neighbor. The In
| dams exist largely i'll the pubic mind IN the
| guise of savages. When we speak OF Indians
| We conure up visions OF atrocities OF the
IL. hes q q
srses and the like and the deadly strug
| giles winch until recently they engaged with
| the white settlers OF the West but these
are the exception and undoubtedly arose rom
| long series OF outrages perpetrated upon
| them by many white settlers as low and de-
| graded as the Indians who took part IN these
| outrages were themselves.
The Pottawattomies were peacealby inchfi-
| ed when the whites came among them Ia
/ tins part OF the country IN 1888 TO lsSo when
they all practically disappeared. They never
| made any disturbance and instance IS on
| record so tar as have been learned OF any
conduct their part different from the over
age run of the alleged civilized white race.
| They had no school education such as we
| have now. The masses were controlled entire
| ly by the chiefs and those in authority and
| obeyed without question whatever they were
commanded to do. AS rule they lived hap
| ply and contented among each other They
| were migratory and came and went as the,
iet inclined. Their landed possessions were
| held and occupied in common, and they
| owned little personal property of value, ex-
| cept II might be ponies and these were bred
| and ran wild and were generally conceded to
| belong to the Indian expert enough to lasso
| ard break and tame these unruly little am
mails.
| They had no religious belief and, until the
| missionaries came among them knew nothing
| aobut Christianity or religion of any kind.
| They had never heard OF the Bible or New
Testament and only had vague idea that
| after this life there was an existence away OF
somewhere to which they would go when
| their career here was ended and which was
controlled and governed by the Great
Spirit"
They knew nothing about the division of
time into seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks
| months and years, as we have IT now. They
| fixed the passage of time by suns, moons and
the four seasons OF the year, which they kept
| track OF by characters marked on deer and
other skins; the inside OF birch, bark, etc,
| They knew nothing about Sunday. To them
every day was alike. AS rule they had but
| little TO do, and it was not strange that they
were naturally lazy and indolent. They lived
OFF of wild game and hsh and fruits, tina,
nature had provided in great abundance, ano
| an the labor they performed was in procur-
ing and preparing it for use. The Squaw was
usually the laborer II any labor was to be
| done She took care OF the ponies when the
| big Indian, the chief OF the wigwam started
out returned from the hunt; and with her
primitive hoe or sharp stick she cultivated
the corn and Vegetable patch, and prepared
the dead limbs. bark and sticks for the fire
| il was needed They had no schools of
learning of any kind. They knew nothing
cieties. Their lives were spent in hunting ano
| fishing, the chase, and in visiting back and
| forth from settlement to settlement, and from
/ village to village. They were, therefore, natur
| ally, possessed of very low grade OF intel
| ligence, but people were endowed with
| as high a degree OF mortality, If not higher.
| than their white brothers The marriage re
| lation was as sacred under their crude regu-
| iations as il is among the whites in these
days of so-called civilization. A violation of
/ the marriage relation was generally punish
| ed WI Punishment Contrary
what might be naturally expected, owing to
the rude and wild mode of life they lived,
cording to population, there probably
fewer illegitimate children among them than
among the whites. They seemed to have no
drink, and be merry. They did not worry
i about tomorrow. They let tomorrow take care
of itself They had no calculations for the
| futurt lhey MADE the pest oil the SITUATION
| as they found it, and that was all their was
| of life to them.
The Pottawattome Indians once so numer.
Gus here e are now all gon ,l one is lett
the caravan OF those who driven ava,
i II years ago ,oday-not one is living far
as is known-all have passed over to the hap
| py hunting grounds. None OF them have left
| any record any history in themselves TO
perpetuate the fact that they ever had
| existence here. Their villages and Chapel
have all been utterly destroyed; their hunt.
| ing grounds have been transposed into fields
OF waving corn and wheat and the wild deer
| ana other wild animals so numerous then
have also all passed away, leaving only mem
cries of vanished race and a past genera
ton
! A great wrong was perpetrated against
these ignorant and helpless Indians through
/ the influence of dishonerable and dishonest
men in incorporating the facts to Governor
| Wallace and inducing him to authorize the
recruiting of company of soldiers and ap
pointing General John Upton in command
! thereby lobbng them of their lands and de
| stroying their homes, and the monument here
/ unveiled and dedicated "ih memory of Chief
| Menominee and his band of $50 Pottawat.
| tonne Indians removed fiom this Reservation
| September 4, 1888, bv company of soldiers
under command of General John Upton au-
thorized by Governor David Wallace" is
| erected by the great State of Indiana, as an
| acknowledgements of that fact. and to further
| emphasize in the most fcrcible manner that
| Truth crushed to earth shall rise aagin,
The eternal years of God are hers,
! But error wounded wrthes in pain
And dies amidst her worshippers."
DEAFNESS CANNOT BE CURED
by local Applications, as they canno