EMIGRANT TRIBES.
1854 MAP OF KANSAS.
Map of Eastern Kansas in 1854, showing the location of the Indian lands,
trading posts, Indian missions and schools, and military roads.
THE SHAWANOES OR SHAWNEES.
The Missouri Shawanoes were the first Indians removed to the territory set
apart for emigrant tribes by the treaties of June, 1825, with the Kanzas and
Osages. By treaty made at St. Louis, November 7, 1825, the United States
granted "to the Shawanoe tribe of Indians within the State of Missouri, for
themselves, and for those of the same nation now residing in Ohio who may
hereafter emigrate to the west of the Mississippi, a tract of land equal to
fifty miles square, situated west of the State of Missouri, and within the
purchase lately made from the Osages."
The tract of fifty miles square thus granted, as afterward surveyed and
conveyed to the tribe by deed May 11, 1844, was bounded as follows:
"Beginning at a point in the western boundary of the State of Missouri, three
miles south of where said boundary crosses the mouth of Kansas River, thence
continuing south and coinciding with said boundary for twenty-five miles;
thence due west 120 miles; thence due north until said line shall intersect
the southern boundary of the Kanzas Reservation; thence due east, coinciding
with the southern boundary of said reservation, to the termination thereof;
thence due north, coinciding with the eastern boundary of said reservation, to
the southern shore of the Kansas River; thence along said southern shore of
said river to where a line from the place of beginning, drawn due west, shall
intersect the same."
The Shawanoes had their ancient home in the basin of the Cumberland River.
Their territory was invaded by the Iroquois about the year 1672, and the
vanquished Shawanoes, fleeing to the South, were scattered over various parts
of the country--settling in the Carolinas, at the head-waters of the Mobile
River, in Florida, and it is related that one tribe had "quite gone down to
New Spain." After a short time, several of the tribes re-united and returned
to the vicinity of their old hunting-grounds, forming settlements in the
valley of the Ohio, where Father Marquette relates that they were "in such
numbers that they seem as many as twenty-three villages in one district, and
fifteen in another, lying quite near each other."
Several treaties of peace had been made previous to 1786, with the Shawanoes,
in common with other tribes, but that of January 31, 1786, was the first
concluded with them separately as a nation. By the provisions of this treaty,
which was made at the mouth of the Great Miami River, on the northwest bank of
the Ohio, the United States allotted to the Shawanoes certain lands on the
Miami River, contiguous to the reservations of the Wyandots and Delawares, in
consideration of which the Shawanoes, relinquished "all title, or pretense of
title, they ever had to the lands east, west and south of the east, west and
south lines before described."
The Wyandots protested against this treaty, on the ground that the lands set
apart for the Shawanoes had been previously, by treaty, ceded to themselves.
The Shawanoes remained, however, on the land, sharing the Wyandot hunting and
fishing grounds, and it was in consideration of their forbearance at this time
that the latter tribe requested the Shawanoes to cede to them a portion of
their reservation in the Indian Territory, when they attempted to negotiate
for removal from Sandusky in 1832.
From the time of the treaty of peace which the Shawanoes made with William
Penn in 1682 (the first treaty
with the whites to which they were a party), the Society of Friends took an
intelligent and constant interest in their welfare. Thomas Chalkley, a
minister of the London society of the denomination, who visited them as early
as 1706, mentions among the peculiarities of the nation its custom of admitting
women to its councils. He says: "In the council was a woman who took a part
in the deliberations of this council, as well as upon all important occasions.
"On the interpreter being questioned why they permitted a woman to take so
responsible a part in their councils, he replied that some women were wiser
than some men, and that they had not done anything for years without the
council of this ancient, grave woman, who spoke much in this council."
Philanthropic and religious enterprises were necessarily suspended during the
long-continued French, English and Indian wars, but after the close of the war
of 1812, the Friends again resumed their labors among the Shawanoes,
establishing a school, and building flour and saw mills at their village in
Ohio. Under the prudent and energetic superintendence of Henry Harvey, the
tribe made rapid advance in civilization, and in the year 1831, when their
lands were bought by Government, preparatory to the removal of the tribe to
the West, the Ohio Shawanoes were prosperous in an eminent degree.
January 4, 1793, Baron De Carondelet, a Spanish nobleman, granted to bands of
Shawanoes and Delawares who desired to settle there, a tract of land about
twenty miles square, "lying between the River St. Come and Cape Geredeau, and
bounded on the east by the Mississippi, and westwardly by White Water."
The Delawares removed from the tract in 1815; the Shawanoes removed from their
first location near the cape, and again removed as white settlers encroached
on their lands, until, by the treaty of November 7, 1825, they relinquished
all title to their Missouri lands, and removed to their reservation in what is
now the State of Kansas. In 1831, a treaty was concluded with the Ohio
Shawanoes, giving them a certain sum for their improvements in that State, and
land contiguous to the Missouri Shawanoes in Indian Territory. A portion of
the tribe removed in 1832; the remainder, in the fall of the following year.
The good results of the habits of thrift and industry which these Shawanoes
had acquired, aided and encouraged by the influence of the missionaries, who
soon settled among them in their new location, were, after a few years,
apparent in the comparatively comfortable houses and the well-cultivated
fields which multiplied on their reservation.
An act was passed in 1853, granting the Ohio Shawanoes $66,000 additional
compensation for their improvements in that State--twenty years after their
removal. This sum was paid to the Ohio band at their reservation in Kansas.
On May 10, 1854, the tribe ceded to the United States the entire tract set
apart for them November 7, 1825, and conveyed to the tribe by deed, May 11,
1844, containing about 1,600,000 acres, and by a provision of the same treaty,
the United States retroceded to the tribe "200,000 acres to be selected
between the Missouri State line and a line parallel thereto and west of the
same thirty miles distant, which parallel line shall be drawn from the Kansas
River to the southern boundary line of the country herein ceded."
Three sections of land were to be set apart to the Missionary Society of the
Methodist Church South; 320 acres to the Friends' Shawnee Labor School; 160
acres to the American Baptist Missionary Union; five acres to the Shawnee
Methodist Church; and two acres to the Shawnee Baptist Church--all to be
considered a part of the retroceded 200,000 acres. The residue of the tract
was to be divided, each individual receiving 200 acres, to be deeded in fee
simple, and whatever remained to be set apart for any other Shawnees who might
thereafter unite with the tribe.
The privilege of selecting lands extended to every head of a family who,
though not a Shawnee, had legally married into the nation, according to their
customs, all persons adopted into the tribe, all minor orphan children of
Shawnees, and all incompetent persons, to have selections made adjacent to
their friends and relatives.
Other provisions were as follows: "In the settlement known as Black Bob's
Settlement, in which he has an improvement, whereon he resides, and in that
known as Long Tail's Settlement, in which he has an improvement, whereon he
resides, there are a number of Shawnees who desire to hold their lands in
common; it is therefore agreed that all Shawnees, including the persons
adopted as aforesaid, incompetent persons, and minor children who reside in
said settlements, and all who shall, within sixty days after the approval of
the surveys hereinafter provided for by the United States, signify their
election to join either of said communities and reside with them, shall have a
quantity of land assigned and set off to them in a compact body, at each of
settlements aforesaid, equal to 200 acres to each indvidual in each of said
communities."
Article 4, reads as follows:
"Those of the Shawnees who may elect to live in common, shall hereafter be
permitted, if they so desire, to make separate selections within the bounds of
the tract, which may have been assigned to them in common, and such selections
shall be made in all respects in conformity with the rule herein provided to
govern those who shall in the first instance make separate selections."
By Article 6, the grants of land made to missionary societies and churches
were subject to the following provisions:
The grant to the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church South,
to be confirmed to the society, or to such person or persons as might be
designated by the society, on the allowance by the society of $10,000, to be
applied to the education of the Shawnee youth.
The grants to the societies of the Baptists and Friends to be held by their
respective boards so long as the schools connected therewith should be kept in
operation; whenever the schools were finally suspended, the lands, with the
improvements, to be sold at public sale to the highest bidder--the proceeds to
be applied to the use of the Shawnees--minus the value of the improvements,
which should be given to the respective boards.
Joseph Parks and Black Hoof, principal chiefs, at the request of the tribe,
were allowed to select certain lands--Joseph Parks' being equal to two
sections, including his residence and improvements; and Black Hoof's being
equal to one section, including residence and improvements. The treaty was
signed by Joseph Parks, Black Hoof, George McDougal, Long Tail, George Blue
Jacket, Graham Rogers, Black Bob, Henry Blue Jacket--representing the bands
that were parties to the treaty of November 7, 1825, and August 8, 1831.
For the land ceded by the Shawanoes, they were to be paid the sum of $829,000,
of which $40,000 should be invested for educational purposes, $700,000 paid in
seven equal installments, and the remainder within a month of the time of the
last annual payment. Henry Harvey, their faithful Quaker friend and teacher,
gives the following account of their condition at the time this treaty was
made, in his "History of the Shawnee Indians:"
"The Shawnees, in the year 1854, numbered about nine hundred souls, including
the white men, who have inter-married into the nation, and are thereby adopted
as Indians. This number is perhaps, not more than twenty.
This tribe owns about 1,600,000 acres of land, or about 1,700 acres each.
Many of them have good dwelling houses, well provided with useful and
respectable furniture, which is kept in good order by the females, and they
live in the same manner as the whites do, and live well, too. They have
smoke-houses, stables, corn-cribs and other outbuildings. They have a good
supply of horses, cattle, hogs, and some sheep. They have many farm wagons,
and work oxen--some carriages and buggies, and are generally well supplied
with farming implements, and know how to use them. They raise abundance of
corn and oats, and some wheat. Their houses are generally very neat; built of
hewn logs, with shingled roof, stone chimneys, and the inside work very well
finished off, and mostly done by themselves, as there are a number of very
good mechanics among the younger class. Their fencing is very good, and taken
altogether, their settlements make a very respectable appearance, and would
lose no credit by a comparison with those of their white neighbors in the
State adjoining them, leaving out, now and then, a farm where slaves do the
labor, and thus carry on farming on a large scale.
The Shawnees have a large and commodious meeting-house, where they hold a
religious meeting on the first day of each week. They have also a graveyard
attached to the meeting-house lot. They hold religious meetings often at
their own houses during the week, generally at night. They hold their
camp-meetings and their other large meetings in their meeting house, as well
as their public councils, and also their temperance meetings, for they, in
imitation of their white brethern, and as a means of arresting the worst evil
which ever overtook the Indians, organized a society on this subject and have
their own lectures, in which they are assisted by some of the missionaries.
* * * * * As regards the settlements of the Shawnees, in their present
situation, they are all located on about thirty miles of the east end of their
tract. * * * Along the margin of the timbered lands are the Shawnee"s
settlements, having timber for buildings, rails and firewood on one side, and
on the other side are their farms, and the delightful prairies for grazing,
and for hay for their stock in winter. * * * * *
In passing along the California and Santa Fe roads, which run on the Divide
between the streams of the Blue and Osage Rivers and the Kansas River; in
casting the eye on either side, a handsome view is presented on both hands of
good dwellings, handsome farms bordering on the forest, and fine heads of
cattle and horses grazing in the rich prairies as we pass, and beautiful
fields of grain sown, planted and cultivated by the Indians themselves. The
Shawnees generally sow a large amount of grain, and often spare a large
surplus after supplying their own wants."
The Shawanoes eventually established a form of government, the power being
vested in the principal chiefs and a council elected by a direct vote of the
male adults. This council met semi-monthly, a day constituting a session. At
the election of 1855, the members elected to the council were Henry Blue
Jacket, Dougherty, Tooley, Simon Hill and Tucker. The Clerk was Matthew King;
the Interpreter, Charles Blue Jacket; and the principal chiefs were Joseph
Parks and Graham Rogers.
[Rev. Thomas Johnson, Deceased, "Late Indian Missionary and President of the
first Territorial Council."]
During the war, the Black Bob* band abandoned their reservation, which was in
the southeastern part of Johnson County, and the title to the lands has been a
disputed question for years.
*See Black Bob Reservation, Johnson County.
The Eastern band of Shawanoes, numbering about ninety, was removed to the
Quapaw Reserve, Indian Territory, and the Absentee band, of 688, to the Sac
and Fox Reserve.
The Government Agents in charge of the Shawanoe Indians have been the
following: Maj. R. W. Cummings, from 1828 to 1849; Luke Lee, from 1849 to
1852; Thomas Mosely, from 1852 to 1854; B. F. Robinson, from 1854 to 1855;
R. C. Miller, from 1855 to 1856; Benjamin F. Newsom, from 1856 to 1861; Maj.
J. B. Abbott, from 1861 to 1866; H. L. Taylor, from 1866 to 1868; Reuben L.
Roberts, from 1868 to 1871.
SHAWNEE MISSIONARY ESTABLISHMENTS.
The first mission school among the Shawnees was established by Rev. Thomas
Johnson in 1829, in the present town of Shawnee, Johnson County. The mission
was under the direction of the Missouri Methodist Conference, and was for
several years taught by Rev. and Mrs. Thomas Johnson, assisted by Rev. and
Mrs. William Johnson. In 1835, the scholars numbered twenty-seven, supported
in part by the mission and in part by their parents. The Church congregation
numbered, in the same year, seventy-four Shawnees. In 1839, the school was
removed to a location two miles southwest of Westport, Mo., where a grant of
2,240 acres had been secured. Large and commodious buildings of brick were
erected, and a manual labor school opened, which was in operation until 1862.
The three sections of land granted to the mission by the Shawnees in 1839 were
secured to the society by the terms of the treaty of 1854. The school was a
successful one, averaging about one hundred pupils.
In regard to the early Methodist missions, Mrs. Lucy B. Armstrong of Wyandot,
writes as follows in the Kansas Methodist:
"The history of the missions of the M. E. Church in the Indian Territory
before the General Conference of 1844 has been written by abler pens than
mine, and I will only state that all the mission schools which had been
established in that part of the Indian Territory now included in the State of
Kansas were consolidated in one grand establishment--the Indian Manual Labor
School, on the Shawnee Reserve, a mile or two west of Westport, Mo. There
were about two sections of land inclosed and under cultivation and well
stocked with domestic animals, as well as a few buffalo; two large brick
buildings for the school teachers rooms, Superintendent's rooms, dining-room,
kitchen and rooms for the Missionary to the Shawnees, an excellent
flouring-mill, several mechanics' shops, a store for the mission, and quite a
village of nice frame dwelling- houses for mechanics and other employes.
Bishop Harris, when Missionary Secretary, told the writer that more than
$20,000 of the funds of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal
Church had been used in building up the mission previous to the time when the
M. E. Church South took possession of it. And, in addition to that, the
missionaries had obtained the entire use of the Delaware Indian School Fund of
$4,000 per annum for ten years, and the Shawnee School Fund of $1,500 per
annum. The produce of the fields was quite a help in supporting the school
which did not average as many as 150 pupils per annum, and there was always a
long vacation. Thus there were ample means to erect an additional large brick
building, which was done in 1846 or 1847, and afterward another section of
land was added to it."
The First Baptist Mission was established in 1831, through the efforts and
influence of Rev. Isaac McCoy. Dr. Johnston Lykins and wife were appointed by
the Baptist Missionary Convention teachers and missionaries to the Shawanoes,
and arrived at their post in July, 1831. No appropriation having been made by
the Baptist Board of Missions for the erection of buildings, Mr. Lykins
purchased a small tract of United States land, immediately on the Missouri
State Line, built a small log house at his own expense, and commenced his
labors, serving not only as a minister and teacher, but also as physician. In
April, 1832, an appropriation was made and the necessary buildings erected.
This mission house was the first home of all the early Baptist missionaries.
Rev. and Mrs. Robert Simerwell, Rev. and Mrs. Jotham Meeker and Rev. and Mrs.
Moses Merril, all arrived during the fall of 1833, and had temporary quarters
at the Baptist Shawnee Mission. In the same year, Dr. Lykins, by authority of
Hon. Lewis Cass, Secretary of War, was appointed by the board General
Superintendent of Baptist Affairs in the Indian Territory, and the charge of
the Shawnee Mission fell into the hands of Mr. Meeker. The church numbered at
this time sixteen members, regular meetings being held at the mission house,
and occasional ones at the house of the Indians. A school was also in
operation. Mr. Meeker brought with him to the Shawnee Mission a small
printing press and types, which was put in operation during the winter of
1833-34, and, by the 10th of May, 1834, two books had been printed, according
to a system of phonography invented by Mr. Meeker, and several adults, as well
as children, had learned to read and write.
In the spring of 1839, Rev. Francis Barker was appointed missionary to the
Shawanoes, and removed to the mission. October 23, he was married to Miss
Churchill, a missionary at the same post, and under their efficient
management, the school, which had been temporarily abandoned, was revived. In
1848, comfortable buildings were erected--mission buildings and a pretty frame
church near the old Santa Fe highway. The mission was in successful operation
until the latter part of 1855, Dr. Barker being its faithful teacher, minister
and physician for over sixteen years.
The Friends' Mission was established in the summer of 1834. A family was sent
out by the society to superintend it, a teacher procured and a school
organized, which was kept in successful operation many years. In the spring
of 1840, Henry Harvey took charge of the mission, and remained two years, the
school numbering, when he left, forty children. The mission was supported by
the Society of Friends. A large frame house, with barn and outbuildings, and
200 acres of land under cultivation, constituted the mission property.
Mr. Mendenhall was teacher at this mission six years. The Hadleys--Jeremiah
and his two sons--and Mr. and Mrs. Thayer, with their two daughters, were
also faithful and efficient workers, teachers and Superintendents.
The school was discontinued about the time of the opening of the war. The
mission received no aid from Government, but was supported by the societies of
Friends in Indiana and Ohio.
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