Читать книгу Centennial History of Columbus and Franklin County - William Alexander Taylor - Страница 14

CHAPTER III. FROM TOWN TO BOROUGH; FROM BOROUGH TO CITY.

Village Sidelights—Contemporaneous Incidents.

There is something akin to classic glamour hanging over the near-village and village days of Columbus, and during its evolution; and some of the incidents in connection with its early and village history had much to do with the making of history, not only for the state, but the Ohio and lower Mississippi valleys.

How great their influence it is not easy to estimate, since the things prevented, as well as the things accomplished, are not readily differentiated and estimated. The accomplished things may be readily compared, analyzed and weighed, but the things that did not occur, because of these almost primal negotiations between two opposing civilizations carried on here, on the verge of the unbroken wilderness itself, may neither be analyzed nor weighed, save in the delicate balance of an optimistic philosophy which has faith in mankind regardless of race, tradition, civilization or so-called education.

One of these belongs to the opening of this chapter. The first and direct record is from the pen of James B. Gardiner, the pioneer editor and newspaper publisher of Columbus, and which, when the time came, was analyzed and estimated by the brilliant mind of Colonel Edward L. Taylor. This was

The Harrison-Tarhe Peace Conference.

On the 28th of June, 1904, the Columbus Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution did themselves and their organization great honor by placing in Martin Park, in the, western part of the city of Columbus, a large boulder, of igneous origin, bearing a very handsomely designed tablet in commemoration of the important council or conference which General William Henry Harrison had with the chiefs of certain Indian tribes near that spot, beginning on June 20th, 1813. By this act the Daughters rescued from the very brink of oblivion and gave a permanent place in the history of the war of 1812 to one of the important and controlling incidents of that war.

But for this action on the part of this organization that event would probably have soon passed into entire forgetfulness, as there was but one contemporary report of the proceedings ever published of that conference or council, and that was in a weekly paper then published at Franklinton, called The Freeman's Chronicle, which was edited and owned by James B. Gardiner. It was the first weekly paper, or paper of any kind, ever published in what is now the city of Columbus. The first number of this paper was dated June 24, 1812, and the publication continued for more than two years, covering the entire period of the war of 1812. Mr. Gardiner was present at the council, and in the issue of his paper of June 25, 1813, he published an account of it.

Mr. William Domigan, at that time a resident of the town of Franklinton, had the thoughtfulness to preserve a full file of that paper as it was issued, and had the same bound in substantial form, which sole copy has been preserved to this time and presents the best picture of the condition and life of the young village that is in existence today.

Mrs. Orton Presides.

Mrs. Edward Orton, Jr., regent of the Columbus Chapter of the organization before mentioned in her very appropriate address in presenting the memorial tablet to the city of Columbus, said: "We are assembled here today to commemorate an event more than local in character, far-reaching in its results and of the greatest importance to the state as well as to the capital of Ohio."

Hon. Robert H. Jeffrey, mayor of Columbus, in his remarks accepting the tablet on behalf of the city of Columbus, said: "The value of this boulder lies in recalling to our memory the high patriotism of our forefathers.

In its ruggedness, its strength and its power to defy all time it typifies the immutable principles of the great union of stars which these ancestors fought, bled and died for."

General Benjamin R. Cowen then delivered an historical address concerning the events the monument and the tablet were intended to commemorate. This address as well as all the proceedings of the day have been published in booklet form by the regent, Mrs. Orton, for private circulation.

In order to give further permanency to the record of this important event we give in full the account of Mr. Gardiner, as it appears in the issue of The Freeman's Chronicle of June 25, 1813:

A Pioneer Newspaper Account.

"On Monday last General Harrison held a council in this place with the chiefs of the Delaware, Shawanee, Wyandot and Seneca tribes of Indians, to the amount of about fifty. In the General's talk he observed that he had been induced to call them together from certain circumstances having come to his knowledge which led him to suspect the fidelity of some of the tribes, who had manifested signs of a disposition to join the enemy, in case they had succeeded in capturing Fort Meigs. That a crisis had arrived which demanded that all the tribes, who had heretofore remained neutral, should take a decided stand, either for us or against us. That the president wished no false friends, and that it was only in adversity that real friends could be distinguished. That the proposal of General Proctor to exchange the Kentucky prisoners for the friendly tribes within our borders indicated that he had been given to understand that those tribes were willing to raise the tomahawk against us. And that in order to give the United States a guarantee of their good dispositions the friendly tribes should either move, with their families, into the settlements or their warriors should accompany him in the ensuing campaign and fight for the United States. To this proposal the chiefs and warriors present unanimously agreed, and observed that they had long been anxious for an opportunity to fight for the Americans.

"We cannot recall the precise remarks that were made by the chiefs who spoke, but Tarhe (The Crane), who is the principal chief of the Wyandota and the oldest Indian in the western wilds, appeared to represent the whole assembly and professed, in the name of the friendly tribes, the most indissoluble attachment for the American government and a determination to adhere to the Treaty of Greenville.

"The General promised to let the several tribes know when he should want their services, and further cautioned them that all who went with him must conform to his mode of warfare; not to kill or injure old men. women, children nor prisoners. That by this means we should be able to ascertain whether the British tell the truth when they say that they are not able to prevent Indians from such acts of horrid cruelty; for if Indians under him (Gen. H.) would obey his commands and refrain from acts of barbarism, it would be very evident that the hostile Indians could be as easily restrained by their commanders. The General then informed the chiefs of the agreement made by Proctor to deliver him to Tecumseh in case the British succeeded in taking Fort Meigs, and promised them that if he should be successful he would deliver Proctor into their hands—on condition that they should do him no other harm than to put a petticoat on him; 'for' said he, 'none but a coward or a squaw would kill a prisoner.' The council broke up in the afternoon and the Indians departed next day for their respective towns.'' In order to understand and appreciate the importance and full significance of this conference, it is necessary to recall some of the chief events of the times relating to the war.