[Illustration: _Captain William Wells_]




                       THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN WELLS


                      Prepared by the Staff of the
             Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County
                                  1954

    [Illustration: Boards of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen
    County]

One of a historical series, this pamphlet is published under the
direction of the governing Boards of the Public Library of Fort Wayne
and Allen County.

           BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE SCHOOL CITY OF FORT WAYNE

  _B.F. Geyer, President_
  _Joseph E. Kramer, Secretary_
  _W. Page Yarnelle, Treasurer_
  _Mrs. Sadie Fulk Roehrs_
  _Willard Shambaugh_

                 PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD FOR ALLEN COUNTY

The members of this Board include the members of the Board of Trustees
of the School City of Fort Wayne (with the same officers) together with
the following citizens chosen from Allen County outside the corporate
City of Fort Wayne.

  _James E. Graham_
  _Arthur Niemeier_
  _Mrs. Glenn Henderson_
  _Mrs. Charles Reynolds_




                                FOREWORD


The character of William Wells remains an enigma, for his life has long
been obscured by conflicting accounts of his role in Indian affairs. At
one time, William Henry Harrison, governor of the Indiana Territory,
thought him untrustworthy and believed that he should be removed from
his position as Indian agent. Wells often appeared to his contemporaries
as a turncoat and a traitor to his own people because of his sympathy
with the red men. Other accounts, chiefly by his military associates,
are earnest tributes to his strength and valor. Captain Allan H.
Dougall, author of the following article, considered Wells only a
“celebrated Indian fighter.”

Captain Dougall relates the death of Wells at the Massacre of Fort
Dearborn, on the site of the present city of Chicago. His account first
appeared in the FORT WAYNE DAILY GAZETTE, December 18, 1887. The Boards
and the Staff of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County
reprint the item in the hope that it will interest and inform local
readers. Grammar, spelling, and punctuation have been changed to conform
to current usage.


In July, 1812, Captain Nathan Heald, then in command of Fort Dearborn,
notified General William Hull that he was being surrounded by a furious
band of Indians who were in communication with Tecumseh; Heald desired
aid immediately. General Hull sent an express to Fort Wayne to speed the
immediate relief of Captain Heald and his command. Hearing of the
proposed expedition, Captain William Wells volunteered to go to the
relief of Captain Heald and to act as escort for the soldiers. His offer
was accepted; on August 3, 1812, he set out with thirty hand-picked
Miami warriors, who were friendly, fully equipped, and full of hope and
courage.

Wells had been stolen by the Miami when he was a boy of twelve; soon
afterward he was adopted by Little Turtle, their great chief. He served
with the Indians at the outbreak of hostilities in 1790 and was present
at the defeat of St. Clair near Fort Recovery, Ohio. It is said,
however, that he then began to realize that he was fighting against his
own kindred, and he soon resolved to leave the Indians. Therefore, he
asked Little Turtle to accompany him east of Fort Wayne to a point on
the Maumee known as the “Big Elm.” When the two had reached this spot,
Wells said: “Father, we have long been friends; I now leave you to go to
my own people. We will be friends until the sun reaches the midday
height. From that time we will be enemies. If you want to kill me then,
you may. If I want to kill you, I may.” He then crossed the Maumee River
and set out for General Wayne’s army. Sometime after reaching Wayne, he
was made captain of a company of scouts. Later he settled north of the
St. Mary’s River on a farm which is still known as Wells Reserve. At
this time he served as Indian agent and as justice of the peace. Wells
also rendered valuable services to General Harrison, governor of the
territory.

    [Illustration: “...we have long been friends...”]

Nothing unusual occurred on the journey of Captain Wells to Fort
Dearborn with his Miami warriors. He arrived safely on the evening of
August 12, but he was too late to have any influence on the question of
the evacuation of the fort. Captain Heald had already determined to
follow out General Hull’s instructions by agreeing to deliver the fort
and its contents to the Indians. The supplies of muskets, ammunition,
and whisky were very large; and it appears that Captain Heald had
thought of leaving them as they were. On learning this, Captain Wells
told him that it was madness to hand over these supplies, which would
only serve to excite the already infuriated Indians. In this opinion,
Captain Wells was ably supported by John Kinzie and some of the junior
officers, who prevailed on Captain Heald to destroy the supplies.
Accordingly, on the night of the thirteenth, he caused all surplus
ammunition and arms to be destroyed and all the whisky to be thrown into
Lake Michigan. In the afternoon of the fourteenth, a council was held
between the whites and the Indians, at which the Potawatomi professed to
be highly indignant at the destruction of the whisky and ammunition;
they made numerous threats which plainly showed their murderous
intentions.

Black Partridge, who was one of the most influential of the Potawatomi
chiefs, had been friendly to the whites since the Treaty of Greenville
in 1795, when he had received a medal from General Wayne. In the evening
Black Partridge came to the fort and entered Captain Heald’s
headquarters. “Father,” he said, “I come to deliver up to you the medal
I wear. It was given me by the Americans, and I have long worn it as a
token of mutual friendship. But now our young men are resolved to imbrue
their hands with the blood of the whites, and I cannot restrain them. I
will not wear a token of peace when I am compelled to act as an enemy.”

As the number of Indians about the fort was constantly increasing,
Captain Heald at last decided to evacuate the fort, which he should have
done before. On the morning of August 15, 1812, the troops commenced to
move out of the fort; by some strange and weird choice of the drum
major, a dead march was played as they marched.

    [Illustration: to deliver up to you the medal]

They advanced along the lake shore, keeping near the water east of the
sand hills and banks; these elevations partially screened them from
view. The group had not proceeded far, when to their surprise the five
hundred Potawatomi who had volunteered as an escort suddenly filed to
the right and rapidly disappeared among the sand hills. As soon as the
Indians were out of sight on the west side of the hills, they crouched
down to hide their movements and ran ahead some distance to form an
ambuscade. Then they awaited the coming of the troops. Riding ahead,
Captain Wells had observed their movements; with his experience he knew
immediately that the party would be attacked. He returned to the troops,
dismounted, assembled the soldiers, and marched them forward. When the
little band had reached a point about one and a half miles from the
fort, the Indians opened fire on them. The company of soldiers charged
up the bank and over the sand hills, firing as they advanced, while the
Indians returned the fire with deadly effect from their sheltered
position. As soon as the fighting commenced, the friendly Miami who had
come from Fort Wayne and had stood by their adopted brother, Captain
Wells, and their white allies, deserted them and took no part in the
fight. Captains Wells and Heald and their small body of troops, fighting
against fearful odds, succeeded in dislodging the enemy from their
sheltered position; but the Indians were so numerous that part of them
were able to outflank the soldiers and to take possession of their
horses and baggage.

During the fight a young Indian crept up to the baggage wagon, which
contained twelve children, and tomahawked and scalped all of its
occupants. Captain Wells, after fighting desperately, was surrounded and
stabbed in the back. His body was horribly mangled; his head was cut
off, and his heart was cut out and eaten by the savages. They thought
that some of the brave captain’s courage and skill would thus be
imparted to them. He was indeed a fearless officer and a celebrated
Indian fighter, but the odds against him had been too great. Fifty-two
whites were killed, including twenty-six soldiers, twelve militiamen,
two women, and twelve children.

Captain Heald ordered a retreat and withdrew the small remnant of his
command. A parley ensued, and Heald surrendered on the condition that
lives be spared. The soldiers then marched back to the fort, which was
immediately plundered and burned by the Indians.

It is sentimental nonsense to attribute the massacre to the failure of
Captain Heald to act promptly at the time of the evacuation. The
experiences and records of those who lived with and had dealings with
Indians show beyond all doubt that as a race they are treacherous by
nature. The more the government and individuals do for them, the more
treacherous and unreliable they become.

                                                CAPTAIN ALLAN H. DOUGALL


FORT WAYNE DAILY GAZETTE, December 18, 1887




                          Transcriber’s Notes


—Silently corrected a few typos.

—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
  is public-domain in the country of publication.

—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
  _underscores_.