William Wells the Miami Apekonit

by Tom Castaldi

Wells

William Wells was one of the most extraordinary figures ever associated with the Fort Wayne region.  Known along the frontier as a “white Indian,” he led a life that was the product of two cultures.  Unable ultimately to choose one or the other, he consequently was never fully accepted by either.  In the end, he died in battle dressed and painted as a Miami warrior while defending whites.

Born in 1770, Wells had been captured as a sixteen year-old boy by Miami warriors raiding in Kentucky.  He was adopted by Chief Graviahatte – or the Porcupine – taught Indian ways and was given the name “Apekonit.”  An old tale has it that the name means Wild Carrot and had to do with his red hair, however, wild carrots are white in color.  Another more probable story says that Wells was famished after the long journey to reach to the Three Rivers region where his captors offered him food to eat.  He devoured a great quantity with such gusto that he was then and there given the name of a soup he ate, which was made from the wild carrot.

He proved himself an able young warrior in raids against pioneer settlements.  So attached did Wells become to his new Indian family that no attempt to lure him back to Kentucky succeeded.  Wells married a Wea woman and together they produced a son. Later he participated in the early battles led by Miami War Chief Little Turtle against the United States forces.  In return, U.S. soldiers raiding in the lower Wabash River valley captured Well’s wife and child and took them as hostages to Fort Washington which is present-day Cincinnati.  This was one reason Wells abandoned the Indian cause and joined the U.S. military camp.

William Wells subsequently was wedded to Manwangopath – Sweet Breeze – the daughter of Little Turtle.  In 1794, Wells served Major General Anthony Wayne as his “chief of spies,” or head scout, in the general’s campaign against Indian resistance. He, along with other “white Indians,” led the scouts in daring spying raids on the camps of the Shawnee War Chief Blue Jacket and his allies, bringing Anthony Wayne valuable information that helped the Americans win the Battle of Fallen Timbers on August 20, 1794.

Wells had a stormy career as Indian Agent and Interpreter in the many negotiations between the Indians and the government. A staunch supporter of Indian rights, William Wells, along with his friend and father-in-law, Little Turtle, struggled to help the Miami keep as much of their land as they could in the treaty settlements that followed the wars.  Between 1796 and 1809, he accompanied Chief Little Turtle on his four trips to the nation’s capital.

A tract of 320 acres of land extending west of the St. Joseph River – known as Wells’ Preemption, the modern Bloomingdale and Spy Run neighborhoods – was set aside by an act of Congress in 1808 for Wells in recognition of his many services to the U.S. Government.  This established Wells’ right to occupy and develop the land with an option to buy it at $1.25 an acre – rather than having to bid for the land, as was usually the case – when the area was opened for land sales by the U.S. Land Office.  Wells created on these lands a farm that was worked by twelve African-Americans, who were held as slaves through lifetime indentures, contrary to the prohibition of slavery declared in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.  Present-day Spy Run Avenue and Spy Run Creek, which run through Wells’ Preemption, are named for William Wells in remembrance of his role as Anthony Wayne’s “Chief of Spies.”

As a result of aggressive United States treaty demands between 1803 and 1809, new Indian resistance developed under the leadership of the Shawnee Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet.  In 1812, William Wells volunteered to go to Fort Dearborn – present-day Chicago – to provide safe passage for the small garrison there back to the stronger Fort Wayne.  Through sensing the great danger, Wells obeyed orders and led the small troop of soldiers, women, and children back toward Fort Wayne in August 1812.  After traveling only a short distance from the fort, the wagon train was attacked by a large band of Potawatomi.  Defending a wagon full of children, William Wells was cut down by musket fire. The Indians cut off his head and, as a show of honor for a great warrior, ate his heart on the spot.

 This article originally appeared in Fort Wayne Magazine “Along the Heritage Trail with Tom Castaldi” – Oct 2006 No. 27.

Allen County Historian Tom Castaldi is author of the Wabash & Erie Canal Notebook series; hosts “On the Heritage Trail,” which is broadcast at 6:35 a.m., 8:35 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Mondays on WBOI, 89.1 FM; and “Historia Nostra” heard on WLYV-1450 AM and WRRO 89.9 FM. Enjoy his previously published columns on the History Center’s blog, “Our Stories,” at history centerfw.blogspot.com

Massacre at Fort Dearborn

by Carmen Doyle

The battle at Fort Dearborn wouldn’t seem to have much to do with Fort Wayne. After all, the battle took place in what is now Chicago! But there IS a connection that leads us to share with you this interesting bit of history.

William Wells had been kidnapped by Miami Indians in Kentucky when he was an adolescent. He adapted to the Indian way of life, becoming Little Turtle’s son-in-law and fighting on the Miami side in the defeat of St. Clair in Ohio. Shortly after that, Wells decided to stop fighting on the side of the Indians. He became a scout and interpreter for General Anthony Wayne. Wells also served as the first Indian agent for Fort Wayne.

When the War of 1812 was declared, the British attacked Fort Detroit. The Commander of  the U.S. Army of the Northwest, William Hull, surrendered. Fearing that Fort Dearborn could no longer be adequately supplied, Hull ordered the commander at Fort Dearborn to evacuate and retreat with all the soldiers and residents to Fort Wayne.

Wells had a niece, Rebekah, from his Kentucky family. Rebekah had married Nathan Heald, who was the Commander at Fort Dearborn.

(An interesting fact is that Fort Dearborn was designed by John Whistler, who also designed Fort Wayne. John Whistler’s grandson painted the now famous “Whistler’s Mother”.)

Fort Dearborn was in an area held by the Potawatomi Indians, who were hostile to the Americans. On August 9, 1812, Heald received orders from Hull to distribute all provisions from Fort Dearborn to the Potawatomi in hopes of the Potawatomi providing a safe passage to Fort Wayne.  However, all spare weapons and ammo, along with the whiskey, was to be destroyed. Heald worried that the Indians would make “bad use of it if in their possession”.

On August 12, William Wells arrived at Fort Dearborn with 30 friendly Miami to provide an escort for the evacuees back to Fort Wayne. The next day, a meeting between Captain Heald and the Potawatomi was held and Heald told the Potawatomi that he intended to leave the fort. The Potawatomi believed that this meant that all the guns, ammo, provisions and whiskey would be given to them. They also believed that if they escorted the evacuees to Fort Wayne, they would get money.

On August 14, a friendly Potawatomi chief, Black Partridge, warned Heald that there would likely be an attack, as he could no longer hold back the young men of the tribe.

On August 15, the garrison left Fort Dearborn on their way to Fort Wayne. There were 93 people in the party, including noncombatants (mostly women and children). William Wells (his face painted black in the Miami tradition of a warrior willing to fight to the death) along with some of the friendly Miami, led the evacuation.

Less than two miles after leaving the Fort, the garrison was attacked by a large number of Potawatomis.

According to Heald’s report, when the company was attacked, they marched to the top of a nearby sand dune and attempted to charge the Indians. However, this had the effect of separating the cavalry from the wagons carrying provisions and the noncombatants. The Potawatomis charged the gap and began to tomahawk and scalp the people in the wagons, according to an account published later in the Fort Wayne Daily Gazette.

When Wells saw what was happening, he tried to ride to help those in the wagons. Before he could make it, however, he was surrounded by Potawatomis. He fought back and killed many of the Indians who were fighting him, but there were so many that he was shot and killed. When he was dead, the Potawatomis cut out his heart and ate it in the belief that William Wells’ courage would be passed on to them.

The battle lasted just 15 minutes.  Over half the garrison--52 Americans--were killed.

There are two different versions of what happened to the Miami escort that William Wells had brought with him. They either fought alongside the Americans or turned and ran when the fighting started.  The differing accounts led William Henry Harrison to claim that the Miami fought AGAINST the Americans and used the massacre as an excuse to attack Miami villages. The attack on Miami villages made Chief Richardville and Pacanne side with the British in the War of 1812- but the Americans still won the war.

Here are some books available at the History Center on William Wells:

• Blacksnake’s Path by William Heath

• Heart of a Warrior by Joe Krom (fiction)

• Miami Indians of Indiana by Stewart Rafert

• Outpost in the Wilderness: Fort Wayne, 1706-1828 by Charles Poinsette

• On the Heritage Trail- Bicentennial Heritage Trail Committee

• Land of the Indians: Indiana by Karl A. Kieper

Our Stories = Our Treasures

How many Hoosiers remember studying Indiana History in the 4th grade? If you're like me, you have fond memories, but don’t quite remember the details. (Living Indiana History is the best elementary textbook EVER, but I don't think we even took a cool history field trip or anything).

When I first joined the History Center’s board in 2007, one of the things that struck me was the wealth of stories from Fort Wayne’s history—the thrilling, scary, inspiring or complicated kind that I certainly didn’t learn in school.

I can remember meeting Jim DeVinney for lunch—he was the marketing director at the time, and had an Irishman’s gift for weaving a spellbinding story, honed by the discipline of years of TV and film writing and production. Plus several Emmys to boot. He started telling me about his research into William Wells.

Now, I knew the basics about Wells (a white boy captured and raised by the Indians…plus…um…Wells Street and Wells County) but I was enthralled as Jim painted a broader picture of Wells’ life (which ended tragically at the Fort Dearborn massacre. Did you know it is actually a mark of great respect for your courage to have your heart eaten? It’s true. Didn’t learn that in 4th grade.)

The story of our founding is just as riveting as, say, Last of the Mohicans, but I bet most people aren’t familiar with anything deeper than the Old Fort, or the copper dude on the copper horse in Freimann Square.

The marketing committee’s major project for the year was to create new brand standards for The History Center. As we worked on a message that would best reflect the essence of things like Old City Hall, the Chief Richardville House, and the amazing items in our collection, this is the description we came up with:

The History Center has been collecting and telling the story of Fort Wayne and Allen County for nearly a century. As an institution with a distinguished heritage and fascinating history, it has naturally accumulated some dust over the years, but it holds a repository of artifacts and stories that can still spark a fire in the imaginations of visitors and schoolchildren in the years to come. At first glance, a visitor to the Old City Hall might see a forbidding fortress. Look more closely, and the graceful arches invite visitors to come and join the story.

…The stories we tell have stood the test of time, and it is our duty to ensure they continue to be told with passion, precision, and the diligent craftsmanship that ensures they will continue to be shared in the centuries to come. At the same time, we must speak to new audiences, in a manner that is clear, fresh and compelling.

Thus, the guiding light to all we do at The History Center is to bring out and polish till they shine our treasures—“Our Stories.” It’s my hope that this blog can help bring some of those stories to life, now that we are no longer in 4th grade, and are free to soak up knowledge, seek out our own books, and plan our own field trips.