History of Hillsdale county. Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers.

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[ISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

his principal foes being the Indians. From them, even
after the British had all fled or surrendered, the riflemen
encountered a fierce resistance. Cheered on by Tecumseh
and the other chiefs, among whom Maipock, a fierce and
implacable Pottawattamie, was one of the most conspicuous, and feeling that this was their last chance, Shawnees, Ottawas, and Pottawattamies all fought with equal
valor and ferocity. The American infantry came up and
engaged in the conflict, yet still the warriors fought with
desperate and useless courage against overwhelming numbers.
But at length Tecumseh fell (no one has ever ascertained
exactly when or where), the remaining braves were outnumbered four to one, and all speedily fled or yielded to the
victors. The Pottawattamies stood by Tecumseh to the
last, and one of their number, a large, fine-looking chief,
who was slain while emulating his great leader, is said to
have been mistaken for him by many of the Americans.
The battle of the Thames completely extinguished the
hopes of victory and independence indulged by the Indians
of the Northwest. The confederacy which had been formed
among them by the genius of Tecumseh at once fell in
pieces after his death, and each tribe thought only of securing its own safety. The Pottawattamies, Ottawas, and
several other tribes immediately sent delegations offering
peace to the successful Americans, and on the 16th of
October Gen. Harrison granted them an armistice, having
first received a number of warriors fionm each tribe as hostages for the peaceable conduct of their comrades. The
latter returned to their villages, and, although the war did
not cease until the beginning of 1815, they were glad to
refrain from taking any part in it.
Henceforth we have to deal with the Pottawattamies,
not as a proud and powerful people, the unquestioned lords
of Southern Michigan, setting at defiance by turns the
governments of England and the United States, but as a
subjugated, disorganized tribe, composed of a few feeble,
scattered bands, roaming over the scenes of their former
greatness, bartering their birthright for whisky, and begging for occasional crusts from the hands of their conquerors.
For these it will not be necessary to continue a separate
record. Their story can be sufficiently told by occasional
mention in the chapters devoted to the progress of the
whites, and by description of the treaties by which the
demoralized nation disposed of its broad domain.
CHAPTER VI.
THE ERA OF PREPARATION.
Recapitulation-Desolation after the War-Gen. Cass GovernorTreaty of 1817-Treaty of 1818-The great Chicago Treaty-An
honest Murderer-" Give us Whisky"-Transfer of Southern Michigan to the United States-Boundary of the deeded Tract-Reservations and Gifts-List of Signers-Baw Beese and his Band-A
Tragedy at Jonesville-Migratory Habits-Settlement of Lenawee
County-Surveying the Chicago Road-Prospecting-Parties-Approach of Settlement.
DESIGNING in this consecutive general history of the

county to adhere as closely as possible to the chronological
order, we have mentioned, in our chapters on the Pottawattamies, the transfer of Michigan from the French t' the

English, in 1703; its conveyance by England to the United
States, at the end of the Revolution; its becoming a part of
the Northwest Territory, in 1787; its transference to Indiana, in 1802; and its separate organization, in 1805. At
the close of the war, in 1815, there was still only a narrow
fringe of settlement along the Detroit River and Lake
Erie, and this was in a most desolate condition. Many had
been driven away by fear of the Indians, the property of
others had been largely destroyed, and all were thoroughly
discouraged by the trouble, terror, and hardships through
which they had passed. As for the exterior of the Territory, it was still in a state of nature.
Gen. Lewis Cass had been appointed Governor immediately after the battle of the Thames, and as soon as the
close of the war gave him an opportunity he devoted himself with great zeal to the development of the resources of
the Territory and the promotion of emigration. Whatever
may be thought of his political course, all the early residents of Michigan agree that as the Governor of a new
Territory he could not have been excelled.
There was a considerable emigration immediately after
the war, but the Territory had obtained so bad a reputation
for dampness of soil and badness of health that the flow of
land-seekers was less than might have been expected, and
did not even approach the borders of Hillsdale County for
many years. In fact, a law which had been passed by Congress in 1812, giving a large tract of Michigan land to surviving soldiers of the Revolution, was repealed after the
war on account of a report made by inspectors sent to examine the ground, that there was not enough good land in
the Territory to satisfy the just claims of the beneficiaries.
Together with the office of Governor of Michigan, Gen.
Cass held that of Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the
Northwest, and immediately after the close of the war turned
his attention to the subject of the extinguishment of the Indian title, so that the Territory might be open to settlement
by the whites. In September, 1817, he and Gen. Duncan
McArthur held a council with the sachems and chiefs of
the Wyandots, Senecas, Delawares, Shawnees, Pottawattamies, Ottawas, and ChIippewas, at the rapids of the Maumee, when those nations ceded to the United States nearly
all their lands in Ohio, and a small area in the southeastern
part of Michigan.
For the cession of these lands, in which the Pottawattamies had but a slight interest, they received thirteen hundred dollars a year annually for fifteen years; the Wyandots
being granted four thousand dollars annually forever; the
Ottawas and Chippewas a thousand dollars each annually
for fifteen years, while the other tribes received smaller
annuities. The treaty was signed by thirty-two Pottawattamie chiefs and warriors, while all the other tribes together
were represented by about fifty. In fact, it was a characteristic of this tribe to have a very large delegation at all
the councils where their interests were brought in question.
Judging from the number of their representatives, they
were the most democratic people in the whole Northwest.
In October, 1818, Gen. Cass and two other commis

sioners held a council with the Pottawattamies alone, by
which the latter ceded to the United States a tract of land
on the Tippecanoe and Wabash Rivers for a perpetual an