October

October in Native American History   
by Phil Konstantin            Copyright © Phil Konstantin (1996-2013)

October 1st
1539: Today, de Soto’s expedition reaches the APALACHEE village of Ivitachuco (also called Ibitachuco), in north eastern Florida. The Spanish will set up camp near the village. Throughout the evening, the Indians will shoot arrows at the Spanish with little effect. The Narvaez Expedition had also visited the village in June 25, 1528, which may somewhat account for the hostile reception de Soto’s Expedition will receive.
1728 (through the 5th): According to some sources, a conference on alliance and land cessions will be held for the next 4 days between the British in New York and the “SIX NATIONS.”
October 2nd
1535: Cartier arrives in the area of what would eventually become Montreal.
1685: According to some sources, an agreement is reached today for the LENAPE Indians to cede some lands to Pennsylvania.
October 3rd
1763: As a part of “Pontiac’s War,” Indians will ambush a force of 5 dozen rangers in western Virginia. Fifteen of the soldiers will be killed in the fighting. After tracking the Indians, a force of 150 Virginia militia and volunteers, led by Charles Lewis, will find them on the South Fork of the Potomac River. The Europeans will kill 21 of the Indians without suffering a single loss.
1786: A group of 30 settlers, organized by the McNitt family, are moving from Virginia to Kentucky. Tonight near present day London, Kentucky, they are attacked by a CHICKAMAUGA war party. Twenty-one of the Europeans will be killed, and 5 will be captured. Of the 4 people who escape, one, a pregnant woman, will hide in a hollow log, where she gives birth.
October 4th
1779: Today, 5 boatloads of ammunition and powder are working their way up the Ohio River. As they reach the Licking River, in Kentucky, Colonel David Rigers sees some Indians on the shore. He sends his four dozen men after the Indians. In wait for Rogers are over 130 DELAWARE (LENAPE) , MINGO, SHAWNEE and WYANDOT warriors, led by Mathew Elliot and Simon Girty (raised by the Lenape). All but a few of the Americans are killed in the ambush. The Indians will lose only 2 men.
1838: Elijah Hicks, and 748 CHEROKEEs will be the second group of CHEROKEEs to leave the Tennessee Cherokee Agency area under their own supervision. They are part of the forced removal of the CHEROKEEs to the Indian Territory. They will arrive on January 4, 1839.
October 5th
1675: As a part of King Philip’s War, Springfield, Massachusetts will be attacked by Indians today. A scout will warn the village, and most of the settlers will make it to fortified dwellings. Two settlers are killed, and 30 buildings will be burned during the fighting.
1731: Today, NATCHEZ warriors, led by Chief Farine, will attack a NATCHITOCHES village at present day Natchitoches, Louisiana. The NATCHEZ will take over the village. The CADDOes and the French, under Louis Juchereau de St. Denis, will retreat to nearby Fort St. Jean. During the subsequent fighting, over the next 8 days, over 6 dozen NATCHEZ will be killed. The NATCHEZ flee into the woods, and would never be a cohesive force again.
October 6th
1539: Today, de Soto will reach the APALACHEE town of Iniahica, near present day Tallahassee. He will pick this town as his winter quarters. He will maintain this camp until March 3, 1540.
1598: Today, Juan de Onate will leave his base in San Juan Pueblo. He is en route to “visit” the PUEBLOs to the west.
October 7th
1672: White Mountain APACHEs raid the ZUNI pueblo of Hawikum, and kill a priest named Pedro de Abila y Ayala today.
1701: In a farewell address to William Penn, SUSQUEHANNAH Chief Oretyagh, along with other SHAWNEE leaders, request, again, that traders be prevented from selling alcohol to the local Indians. Penn assures them that the Pennsylvania assembly is do just that.
October 8th
1541: de Soto fights with CADDO Indians, today, in Tula, Arkansas.
1758: (through October 26): IROQUOIS & DELAWARE (LENAPE) treaty – the Council of Easton begins today in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Eventually peace treaties will be signed, and many of the much-hated treaty of Albany will be abrogated.
October 9th
1776: The Mission at San Francisco is started today.
1804: Lewis & Clark council with RICARA chiefs.
October 10th
1540: Today, de Soto enters a village called athahachi. Here he will meet the village chief, Tascaluca. Tascaluca will be taken as a hostage by de Soto to insure the cooperation of the Chief’s followers.
1615: Champlain fights with the ONONDAGAS today.
October 11th
1736: According to some sources, an agreement covering friendship and land cessions is reached today by representatives of the CAYUGA, ONEIDA, ONONDAGA, SENECA and TUSCARORA Indians and Pennsylvania.
1794: Today, Tennessee Governor William Blount will meet with CHICKAMAUGA Chief John Watts (Young Tassel) in the Tellico blockhouse near the French Broad River in eastern Tennessee. They will agree to have a conference in November to discuss peace between the warring settlers and the CHICKAMAUGAs.
October 12th
1492: According to some sources, Columbus lands in “new world.” According to the TAINO, they were the first Native Americans to greet Columbus on the Island of Guanahani (San Salvador) today.
1676: Mugg was an AROSAGUNTACOOK Chief. At the outbreak of King Philip’s War, he sought out a peace treaty with the English for his, and other, tribes. Rather than listen to him, the English threw him in jail. While he was released soon, his treatment made him an enemy of the English. With 100 warriors, he attacked Black Point, Maine today in retaliation. Most of the settlers would escape, but he would burn many of the structures. Mugg would be killed in Black Point 7 months later.
October 13th
1846: The Winnebago sign a treaty today.
1864: Little Buffalo, with 700 of his fellow Comanches, and Kiowas, launched a series of raids along Elm Creek, ten miles from the Brazos River, in north-western Texas, today. Sixteen Texans and perhaps, twenty Indians will be killed in the fighting with the settlers, and the rangers, in the area.
October 14th
·  1756: Today, Gen. Joseph de Montcalm, leading French and Indian warriors, captures Fort Oswego, in New York. Montcalm would fire upon his Indian allies when they attempted to kill the British forces after they had surrendered.

1768: Today at Hard Labor, South Carolina, British Superintendent of Indian Affairs will meet with Cherokee chiefs. They will make a treaty which will cede 100 square miles of Cherokee lands. The treaty will be renegotiated in two years.
October 15th
1606: Indians attack Champlain’s men at Chatham.
1615: Today, Samuel de Champlain, 12 Frenchmen, and many of his HURON allies, attack the IROQUOIS town of Onondaga. Champlain will be wounded, and several HURONs will be killed. Champlain will give up the attack. Because of Champlain’s actions, the IROQUOIS will fight the French for years to come.
October 16th
1755: Today, a band of DELAWARE (LENAPE) Indians, numbering a little over a dozen, will attack the Penn’s Creek village in Snyder County, Pennsylvania. Depending on the source, 19 to 25 settlers will be killed and a dozen would be taken captive. This would be the first uprising in the area in living memory. The raid will move from settlements around New Berlin to Selinsgrove, according to account given at the time by settlers from the area.
1826: The POTAWATOMI Indians sign a treaty with the United States today. The Americans were represented by Lewis Cass, James Ray and John Tipton.
October 17th
1782: Today, CHEROKEE Indians will sign the “Long Swamp” treaty with General Andrew Pickens in Selacoa, Georgia. They will cede land in Georgia as reparations for the fighting during the Revolutionary War.
1788: Gillespie’s Station is located near Knoxville in Tennessee. It is protected by a small group of local settlers and frontiersmen. Today, a force of CHICKAMAUGAs, led by Bloody Fellow, Categisky, Glass and John Watts, will attack the station. The settlers were able to hold off the attack until their ammunition ran out. The CHICKAMAUGAs then entered the buildings and killed all of the men, and took the women as prisoners. Two warriors claimed the daughter of Colonel Gillespie as a prisoner. To settle the argument, the warriors stabbed her to death. Most of the prisoners would eventually be traded for captured Indians.
October 18th
1540: Today, de Soto arrives at the MOBILE Indian village of Mabila, in present day Clark County, Alabama. When in the village, Tascaluca disappears into a building. The MOBILE Indians, under Chief Tuscaloosa (Tascaluca), attack de Soto’s invading army. In the bloody conflict, as many as 3,000 Indians will be killed by the armored Spaniards. Approximately 20 Spaniards would be killed, and 150 wounded, including de Soto, according to their chroniclers.
1683: According to some sources, representatives of Pennsylvania will purchase several sections of land from the DELAWARE (LENAPE) Indians today.
October 19th
1818: CHICKASAW treaty: Andrew Jackson and Isaac Shelby will represent American interests. The CHICKASAWs will cede their claims to lands in Tennessee. (7 stat.192)
1836: Today, Lt.Col.John Lane, with 690 CREEK warriors, and 90 soldiers, reach Fort Drane northwest of present day Ocala, Florida. They are there to fight the SEMINOLEs.
October 20th
1539: Led by Juan de Ayasco, 30 cavalrymen leave de Soto’s winter quarters in Apalachee, Florida. They will proceed to Tampa to escort the remainder of de Soto’s army to his winter quarters. Enroute, the Spaniards will have many battles with the local natives.
1774: Today, Georgia Governor James Wright signs a treaty with the CREEK Indians in Savannah. They agree to reestablish trade, which the CREEKs want. The CREEKs agree to give up some land along the Ocmulgee and Oconee Rivers, and to execute 2 CREEK warriors accused of killing some settlers. Some sources say this treaty was signed on October 2nd.
October 21st
1763: Pontiac ends the siege of Detroit.
1769: The Spanish arrive in San Francisco Bay.
October 22nd
1784: Richard Butler, Arthur Lee, and Oliver Walcott, representing the United States, and 12 IROQUOIS Indians sign a treaty today ceding much of their lands in New York, Pennsylvania, and west of the Ohio River, and reestablishing peace after the Revolutionary War. The treaty signed at Fort Stanwix, near modern Rome, New York, will be repudiated by most of the IROQUOIS.
1804: Lewis & Clark visit a SIOUX war party today.
October 23rd
1823: Today, according to CHEROKEE records, CREEK Chief William McIntosh, representing United States Indian commissioners, will attempt to bribe CHEROKEE leaders. For $12,000 McIntosh hopes that Chiefs John Ross and Charles Hicks, and Council Clerk Alexander McCoy will try to convince the CHEROKEEs to cede lands to the United States. The CHEROKEE leaders will refuse the offer with a show of indignation.
1826: The MIAMI sign a treaty. The Americans were represented by Lewis Cass, James Ray and John Tipton.
October 24th
1785: U.S. representatives attempt to hold a treaty conference with the CREEK. Few Indians will attend the meeting.
1801: CHICKASAW Natchez Trace Treaty: A treaty will be endorsed today with the CHICKASAW at Chickasaw Bluffs. The United States will get the right to make a road from the Mero District in Tennessee, to Natchez in Mississippi, for a payment of $700 in goods. Seventeen Indians will sign the treaty.
October 25th
1755: After the attack on the Penn’s Creek village in Snyder County, Pennsylvania on October 16th, a group of men go to the area to bury the dead. The DELAWAREs (LENAPE) who attacked the village will also attack this group, killing several people in the process.
1805: The CHEROKEE sign a treaty today with Return Meigs on the Duck River covering land north of the Tennessee River in Kentucky and Middle Tennessee (7 stat. 93).
October 26th
1676: Nathaniel Bacon dies.
1809: The WEA Indians sign a treaty today.
October 27th
1795: San Lorenzo Treaty: Spain will sign a treaty today with the United States. The treaty will allow American boats to use the Mississippi River in Spanish Territory. It also confirms the northern boundary of the Spanish Territories as the 31st parallel. The Spanish will be required to abandon all forts and lands north of that line. Both countries agree to “control” the Indians within their boundaries.
1832: Today the PEORIA, LAHOKIA, MICHIGAMEA, TAMAROA, and KASKASKIA Indians will sign a treaty at Castor Hill, William Clark’s home. They will swap their Illinois lands for land in Kansas.
October 28th
1815: (7 stat.137) The KANSA Indians conclude a treaty today at St. Louis. The United States will be represented by Auguste Chouteau and Ninian Edwards.
1865: The UPPER YANKTONAI SIOUX (14 stat.743) & the OGLALA SIOUX (7 stat.747) sign treaties today with the United States.
October 29th
1712: Settlers in Portsmouth, New Hampshire hold a conference to advise belligerent Indians that “Queen Anne’s War” is over, and the fighting should stop. It would take almost 9 months before a local treaty would be signed.
1832: Today, the PIANKASHAW, and WEA Indians will conclude a treaty at Castor Hill, William Clark’s home. They will receive land in Kansas, in exchange for their lands in Illinois, and Missouri.
October 30th
1763: Today, Pontiac will inform Major Henry Gladwin, Commander at Fort Detroit, that he wants peace, and to end the fighting.
1804: The MANDANs like Lewis & Clark’s men’s dancing.
October 31st
 1755: Today will see the beginning of a raid by almost 100 DELAWAREs (LENAPE) and SHAWNEEs against settlers in Fulton and Franklin Counties, Pennsylvania. Over the next several days, Indian attacks along Conolloway Creek and adjoining areas, will kill or capture half of the 100 settlers in the area. “King” Shingas, of the DELAWAREs, led the raids.
1818: According to the U.S. Army, today marks the end of First SEMINOLE War.