History of Atchison County Kansas
by Sheffield Ingalls
CHAPTER III.
________
INDIAN HISTORY.________
HARAHEY, AN INDIAN PROVINCE OF CORONADO'S TIME——THE KANSA NATION
——BOURGMONT'S VISIT IN 1/24——COUNCIL ON COW ISLAND IN 1819——THE
KICKAPOO INDIANS.
There is nothing- definite to show that Coronado ever reached the con-
fines of what is now Atchison county in 1541, as some historical writers have
seen fit to state, but there is a probability that the Indian province of Harahey,
which the natives thereof told him was just beyond Quivira, embraced our
present county and most of the region of northeastern Kansas. Mark E.
Zimmerman, an intelligent and painstaking student of Kansas archaeology
and Indian history, has given this matter much consideration,. and is confi-
dent that the Harahey chieftain, Tatarrax, immortalized in Coronado's chron-
icles, ruled over this territory nearly four centuries ago. Until this fact is
established, however, it remains that the Indian history of what is now Atch-
ison county begins with the Kansa Indians in the early part of the eighteenth
century. At the time of the Bourgmont expedition in 1724, and for some
time before, this nation owned all of what is now northeastern Kansas, and
• maintained several villages along- the Missouri river, the principal one being
near the mouth of Independence creek, or at the present site of Doniphan.
Here they had a large town. The writer made a careful examination and
fully identified the site of this old town in 1904. The results of this explora-
tion are given in a pamphlet entitled "An Old Kansas Indian Town on the
Missouri," published by the writer in 1914. Another important village of
the Kansa was located at the mouth of what is now Salt creek, in Leaven-
v/orth county. Both of these historic villages were situated right near and at
about the same distance from the present borders of Atchison county. There
were several old Indian villages within the confines of Atchison county, as
25
26 HISTORY OF ATCHISON COUNTY
already stated in the preceding pages, but whether they belonged to the
Kansa or to the Harahey (Pawnee) is yet a matter of conjecture.
One of these old Kansa towns, evidently the one at Salt creek, was the
site of an important French post. Bougainville on French Posts in 1757,
says: "Kanses. In ascending this stream (the Missouri river) we meet the
village of the Kanses. We have there a garrison with a commandant, ap-
pointed as in the case with Pimiteoui and Fort Chartres, by New Orleans.
This post produces one hundred bundles of furs." Lewis and dark, in 1804,
noted the ruins of this old post and Kansa village. They were just outside
of the southern borders of Atchison county, near the present site of Kick-
apoo.
The Independence creek town, or what is generally referred to by the
early French as "Grand village des Canzes," seems to have been a Jesuit Mis-
sionary station as early as 1727, according to Hon. George P. Morehouse,
the historian of the Kansa Indians, who recently found in some old French-
Canadian records of the province of Ontario an interesting fact not before
recognized in Kansas history, that the name "Kansas" was a well known
geographical term to designate a place on the Missouri river, within the pres-
ent borders of our State, where (the French government and its official church,
nearly 200 years ago, had an important missionary center. Mr. Morehouse
says: "It is significant -as to the standing of this Mission station of the Jes-
uits at Kanzas, away out in the heart of" the continent, that in this document
it was classed along with their other important Indian Missions, such as the
Iroquois, Abenaquis, and Tadoussac, and that the same amount per mission-
ary was expended. It was 'Kansas' a mission charge on the rolls of the Jes-
uit Fathers, for which annual appropriations of money were made as early as
1727. Here some of the saintly, self-sacrificing missionary pioneers of the
Cross must have come from distant Quebec and Montreal, or from the far-
away cloisters of sunny France. What zeal and sacrifice for others! Is it
any wonder that the Kansa Indians always spoke reverently of the black
robes,' who were the first to labor for their welfare in that long period in
the wilderness."
Just when the Kansa Indians established themselves at the "Grand Vil-
lage" at Doniphan, or at "Fort Village" at Kickapoo, is not known. The
first recorded mention of a Kansa village along this section of the Missouri
river is by Bourgmont in 1724. Onate met the Kansa on a hunting expedi-
rion on the prairies of Kansas in 1601, but does not state where their villages
were located. The "Grand Village" was an old one, however, at the time of
HISTORY OF ATCHISON COUNTY 27
Bourgmont's visit. Bourgmont does not mention the "Fort Village" at Salt
creek, as he surely would had it been in existence at that time, and it is be-
lieved that it was established later, as it was in existence in 1757, as stated by
Rourgainville.
As is a well known historical fact the Spanish attempted to invade and
colonize the Missouri valley early in the eighteenth century. The French
had come into possession of this region in 1682, and M. de Bourgmont was
commissioned military commander on the Missouri in 1720, the French gov-
ernment becoming alarmed at the attempted Spanish invasion. Establish-
ing friendly relations with the Indians of this region in order to have
their assistance in repelling any further Spanish advance was the object of
the Bourgmont expedition to the Kansa and Padouca Indians in 1724. Bourg-
mont's party, consisting of himself, M. Bellerive, Sieur Renaudiere, two sol-
diers and five other Frenchmen, besides 177 Missouri and Osage Indians in
' charge of their own chiefs, marched overland from Fort Orleans, on the lower
Missouri, and arrived at the "Grand village des Cansez" on July 7, 1724.
Here they held a celebration of two weeks, consisting of pow-wows, councils,
trading horses or merchandise, and making presents to the Indians, several
boat loads of the latter, in charge of Lieutenant Saint Ange, having arrived
by river route. On July 24 they "put themselves in battle array on the village
height, the drum began to beat, and they marched away" on their journey
to the Padoucas. The incidents of their march across what is now Atchison
county, and other facts pertaining to this expedition will be found in the
chapter on early explorations in this volume.
According to a tradition handed down from prehistoric times the Kansa,
Osage, Omaha, Ponca and Kwapa were originally one people and lived along
the Wabash and Ohio rivers. In their migrations they arrived at the mouth
of the Ohio where there was a separation. Those who went down the Mis-
sissippi became known as the Kwapa, or "down stream people," while those
going up were called Omaha, or "up stream people." At the mouth of the
Missouri another division took place, the Omaha and Ponka proceeding far
up that stream. The Osage located on the stream which bears their name,
and the Kansa at the mouth of what is now7 the Kansas river. Later they
moved on up the Missouri and established several villages, the most northern
of which was at Independence Creek. At about the close of the Revolution-
ary war they were driven away from the Missouri by the Iowa and Sank
tribes, and they took up a permanent residence on the Kansas river, where
Major Long's expedition visited them in 1819. They continued to make
28 HISTORY OF ATCHISON COUNTY
predatory visits to the Missouri, however. They committed many depreda-
tions on traders and explorers passing up the river and even fired on the
United States troops encamped at Cow Island. It was to prevent the recur-
rence. of such outrages that Major 0'Fallen arranged a council with the
Kansa Nation. This council was held on Cow Island August 24, 1819, under
an arbor built for the occasion. Major CVFallon made a speech in which
he set forth the cause of complaint which the Kansa had given by their re-
peated insults and depredations, giving them notice of the approach of a mili-
tary force sufficient to chastise their insolence, and advising them to seize
the present opportunity of averting the vengeance they deserved, by proper
concessions, and by their future good behavior to conciliate those whose
friendship they would have so much occasion to desire. The replies of the
chiefs were simple and short, expressive of their conviction of the justice of
the complaints against - them, and of their acquiescence in the terms of the
reconciliation proposed by the agent.
There were present at this council 161 Kansa Indians, including chiefs
and warriors, and thirteen Osages. It was afterwards learned that the dele-
gation would have been larger but for a quarrel that arose among the chiefs
after they had started, in regard to precedence in rank, in consequence of
which ten or twelve returned to the village on the Kansas river. Among
those at the council were Na-he-da-ba, or Long Neck, one of the principal
chiefs of the Kansas; Ka-he-ga-wa-to-ning-ga, or Little Chief, second in
rank; Shen-ga-ne-ga, an ex-principal chief; Wa-ha-che-ra, or Big Knife, a
war chief, and Wam-pa-wa-ra, or White Plume, afterwards a noted chief.
Major CVFallon had with him the officers of the garrison of Cow Island,
or Contonment Martin, and a few of those connected with Major Long's ex-
ploring party. "The ceremonies," says one account, "were enlivened by a
military display, such as the firing of cannon, hoisting of flags, and an exhibi-
tion of rockets and shells, the latter evidently making a deeper impression on
the Indians than the eloquence of Major O'Fallon." A description of Major
Long's steamboat, built to impress the Indians on this occasion, will be found
in the following chapter _on early explorations.
From the Kansa Indians our State derived its name. For more than
300 years they dwelt upon our soil. At their very advent in this
region what is now Atchison county became a part of their heritage and for
generations it was a part of their imperial home.
By the treaty of Castor Hill, Mo., October 24, 1832, the Kickapoo
Indians were assigned to a reservation in northeastern Kansas, which in-
HISTORY OF ATCHISON COUNTY 29
Wards of the State of Kansas, State Orphans' Home, Atchison, Kan.
eluded most of what is now Atchison county. They settled on their new.
lands shortly after the treaty was made. Their principal settlement at that
time was at the present site of Kickapoo, in Leavenworth county, where a
Methodist mission was established among them by Rev. Jerome C. Berry-
man, in 1833. There is said to have been a mission station among the Kick-
apoos where Oak Mills, in Atchison county, now stands, at an early day, but
nothing definite is known regarding its history, except that we have it from
early settlers that an Indian known as Jim Corn seemed to be the head
man of the band of Kickapoos that lived there, and that the white pioneers
frequently attended services in the old mission house which stood in the hol-
low a short distance southwest of the present site of Oak Mills.
During the time that the Kickapoos owned and occupied what is now
Atchison county, they were ruled over by two very distinguished chieftains—
Keannakuk, the Prophet, and Masheena, or the Elk Horns. Both of these
30 HISTORY OF ATCHISON COUNTY
Indians were noted in Illinois long- before they migrated westward and were
prominently mentioned by Washington Irving, George Catlin, Charles Augus-
tus Murray and other distinguished travelers and authors. Catlin painted
their pictures in 1831, and these are included in the famous Catlin gallery in
Washington. Keannakuk was both a noted chief and prophet of the tribe. He
was a professed preacher of an order which he claimed to have originated at
a very early day and his influence was very great among his people. He died
at Kickapoo in 1852 and was buried there. Masheena was a really noted
Indian. He led a band of Kickapoos at the battle of Tippecanoe. He died
and was buried in Atchison county, near the old town of Kennekuk, in 1857.
He was born in Illinois about 1770.
Important seats of Kickapoo occupancy in Atchison county in the early
days were Kapioma, Muscotah and Kennekuk. Kapioma was named for a
chief of that name who lived there. The present township of Kapioma gets
its name from this source. Father John Baptiste Duerinck, a Jesuit, was a
missionary among the Kickapoos at Kapioma in 1855-57. Muscotah was for
a long time the seat of the Kickapoo agency. It is a Kickapoo name meaning
"Beautiful Prairie," or "Prairie of Fire." Kennekuk was named for John
Kennekuk, a Kickapoo chief, and son of Keannakuk, the Prophet.
By treaty of 1854 the Kickapoo reservation was diminished and the tribe
was assigned to lands along the Grasshopper or Delaware river. Still later it
was again diminished and they were given their present territory within the
confines of Brown county.
The Kickapoos are a tribe of the central Algonquian group, forming a
division with the Sauk and Foxes, with whom they have close ethnic and lin-
guistic connection. The first definite appearance of this tribe in history was
about 1667-70, when they were found by Allouez near the portage between
Fox and Wisconsin rivers, in Wisconsin. About 1765 they moved down into
the Illinois country, and later to Missouri and Kansas.
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