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"Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" Samet a Tr ~-- a -- ITN NCS 0 1 AM WS, rps Em Po PEA a, Cie Se Sketches of Scugog is a historical column written by local resident and historian Paul Arculus and published in the Port Perry Star the first issue of each month. Update on Bigelow One of the many pleasures of writing these articles on the history of the Lake Scugog region is that so many readers have taken time to express their interest. Many people have phoned, written or stopped me on the street to pass on worthwhile com- ments. A few days ago I received a phone call from Queen's University in Kingston, from former area resident, Bob Carnegie. Bob Carnegie I had first come across Bob's name when compiling information for my book on the history of Port Perry High School. Bob was an outstanding athlete and was a track and field champion at PP.H.S. every year during his attendance at the school until his graduation in 1958. I had the pleasure of meeting Bob during the P.P.H.S. Reunion in 1987. Bob is now Director of Interschool Athletics at Queen's University. Bob expressed particular interest in the first and third articles in this series. The Carnegie and Bigelow families played a Hiram Bigelow born in Newmarket 1803, was the son of Joel Bigelow and Cynthia (Fisk) Bigelow. He was the father of Joseph and Joel Bigelow who came to Port Perry in 1851. significant role in the early development of Port Perry. Bob, and his relatives who still live here in Port Perry, are direct descend- ants of the Bigelows. In December's article, I mentioned that in 1844, Hiram Bigelow bought the mills and the dam at Lindsay from the Purdy family who had built them. The Bigelow family have subsequently spread out all across North America. Many members of the family have been involved in preserving and researching the Bigelow family history. Their family records are indeed extensive and enviable. When Bob called he passed on some fascinating infor- mation which added to the incredible mos- aic which we find in Ontario's short history. Readers will recall that in the first arti- cle in this series I referred to the first recorded murder in this region. John Sharp, a trader had been found murdered on Washburn Island in August 1804. The alleged murderer was an Ojibway named Ogetonicut. The accused was arrested, charged and ordered to stand trial. All the principals in the trial boarded the vessel "Speedy" at York. It set sail for Presqu'isle where the trial was to be held. The ship sank in Lake Ontario during a storm on the night of Oct. 7, 1804 and all on board perished. Cynthia Fish and Joel Bigelow The High Constable of Upper Canada at that time was John Fisk. He escorted Ogetonicut to the trial and perished along with his prisoner. Bob Carnegie pointed out to me that John Fisk's daughter, Cynthia married Joel Bigelow. Their first child, Hiram was involved in the Lindsay enterprises, and was the father of Joseph Bigelow who came to Port Perry in 1851. Widow Cynthia The Bigelow family records, which are now a part of the Carnegie heritage, show the tragedy of the times. The Bigelows and the Fisks were Loyalists who had lived in Vermont. They were among the many thou- sands who lost all their possessions when they fled to Canada after the American War of Independence. Hiram was the first child of Joel and Cynthia Bigelow, born in Newmarket in 1803. Sadly, Joel died at the age of 27 when Cynthia was expecting their 2nd child, Levine or Levinia. Cynthia became a widow at only 23 years of age! When Hiram grew up and later married, he named his first son Joel, in honor of the father whom he barely knew. His father had died when the lad was a mere three years of age. Later articles will focus on the Bigelow family, particularly on the young Joel's twin brother Joseph who began his business ventures here in Port Perry in 1851 and played such a significant role in the growth of this community. My thanks to Bob for filling in another piece of the colorful mosiac of the history of the Lake Scugog region. The Mississaugas Algonkian Language Group Among the native peoples of what is now Canada there are 11 major language groups. The most extensive language, used from the Atlantic to the prairies, was the Algonkian group of languages. It was spo- ken by many nations including the Cree, Ottawa, Micmac, Shawnee and the Ojibwa or Chippewa (Ojibwa and Chippewa are different spellings of the same term). The Mississauga are a group of the Ojibwa. This language group even extended into the far west to include the Blood and Blackfeet of Montana and Alberta and the Cheyenne of Montana and Oklahoma. The "other major language group in what is now Canada was the Iroquoian, to be found around the shores of Lake Ontario and spo- ken by the Huron, Tobacco, Neutral and the six nations of the Iroquois. The Algon- kian and Iroquoian languages differed in vocabulary and grammatical structure. There were many forms of the Algonkian linguistic group, much as French, English and Spanish have a common base. As a part of the Algonkian linguistic group, the Ojibwa language had various dialects, just as the Scots, the Cockneys of London, the residents of Georgia, Australia and Ontario all speak dialects of the language we call English. The Mississauga was a dialect of the Ojibwa language. Seventeenth Century Mississaugas The Mississaugas were first encountered by the French in 1634, living on Manitoulin Island and the region directly to the north, specifically in the area around the mouth of the Mississagi River. This riv- er flows into the North Channel of Georgian Bay between Manitoulin Island and the mainland. At the time of Champlain they occupied a vast area from the shores of Lake Superior to the Lake Huron region. Initially, a few of the Ojibwa befriended the French in their opposition to the British and Dutch, but more tried to main- tain a neutral position, playing a middle- man role in the fur trade. This appears to be as a result of their attitude toward their traditional enemy, the Iroquois Confederacy. Native Groups in European Conflict As the wars among the Europeans in North America became more cruel and intense, the Native groups were forced to become involved in the European conflict if they wanted to survive. At the height of the conflicts, the Ojibwa increasingly allied themselves with the French and the Huron. The Iroquois allied themselves with the British. The Ojibwa were far more effective in survival techniques because of their ability to live off the land as hunters and fishermen. The Huron, and their ene- mies the Iroquois, were much more dependent on farming. The Huron were effectively wiped out as a result of the European rival. Ojibwas Drive Out Iroquois During the 1680s the Ojibwa tribes unit- ed and rose up against the Iroquois. In a series of battles, they drove the Iroquois from the Georgian Bay region. By 1701, the Ojibwa had succeeded in driving the Iroquois out of Ontario entirely and con- tinued to be courted for their loyalty and trading potential by both the French and the British. When New France fell in 1759, the British still sought their trade and loyalty in spite of the previous alliance bet- ween the French and Ojibwa. Americans Drive Out Indians As was pointed out in the previous arti- cle the attitude of the new United States of America towards the Indians was one of complete and utter contempt. The indi- genous people presented an obstacle to free land. As the new republic expanded west, it destroyed anyone in its way. This atti- tude stemmed, in part, from resentment toward British policies. Cowboys and Indians The Quebec Act of 1774 established the Ohio Valley as part of Quebec and thus prevented any western expansion of the Thirteen Colonies into Indian Lands. After the 1776 War of Independence, the British relinquished control of the lands south of the Great Lakes. This opened up the west to absolute lawlessness, a condition which continued through the era of the "Wild West," when the gun was law, well into this century. This was the time when the "Cow- boys and Indians" philosophy became para- mount. The Indian was a creature to be killed or driven off so that the settler could take any land he chose. Americans Destroy Indians Since the Iroquois had fought along side the British against the Americans, they became as much a victim of revenge as did the Loyalists. In 1779, an American expe- dition under General John Sullivan Sullivan's victorious troops committed ; appalling attrocities including skin- ning the Indian corpses to make leg- i gings. Colonel David Williamson 7 led a group of Americans against a group of Moravian Delaware Indians. These Indians were not only devout Christians and pacifists but had also vigorously maintained a £ neutral position during the war. Nearly a hundred, including 34 children were senselessly slaugh- tered and then mutilat- ed by Williamson and his troops. Similar events followed. Tecumseh Closer to home, the story of Tecumseh is a tragic E example. Tecumseh was a # Shawnee Chief, born in the Ohio Valley, who tried to organize an Indian Confederacy in order to prevent fur- ther encroachment on their lands in the new republic of the United States. Tecumseh want- ed to maintain land for his people in the area of what 1S now Tecumseh's father and his two older brothers were killed by American frontiersmen as the westward expansion moved into the Ohio Valley. The Shawnee were killed or chased off their land after the battle of Tippecanoe in Indiana. The leader of the American forces at this battle was William Harrison who later became President of the United States. He used this victory over the Shawnee and the fact that he had killed Shawnee and driven them out of Indiana as a cornerstone of his successful presidential campaign in 1840. Tecumseh Killed At Thames In 1812, Tecumseh led his warriors along with General Isaac Brock's small force in a humiliating defeat of the American forces at Detroit. The next year, an American attempted to exterminate the Iroquois. _ a, force, largely composed of Kentucky fron- tiersmen, set out to recapture the fort. On Oct. 12, 1813, at the Battle of the Thames River, Tecumseh was shot and killed. The American troops flayed his corpse in order to produce razor-strop souvenirs from his hide! The leader of the American troops in this expedition and the man who condoned the mutilation was Col. Richard M. Johnson. 'Rumsey dumsey, rumsey dumsey, Colonel Johnson killed Tecumseh!" This slogan became a campaign theme for Johnson as he sought the vice-presiden- cy of the United States 23 years later. He was successful and took that office in 1836! Americans Destroy York The Americans continued their 1813 march eastward destroying Newark (now Niagara on the Lake) and York (Toronto). Admittedly the British and their Indian allies were not above committing what today would be classified as war crimes. However it should be pointed out that there is some evidence to show that the idea of scalping was probably introduced to North America by the Europeans. During the seventeenth century, the French took control of the shores of Newfoundland, driving the original inhabitants, the Beothuk, inland so that the newcomers could have full control of the fishing. They then placed a bounty on the heads of the Beothuk Indians. It was much easier to take a scalp to the authorities rather than a corpse when claiming a bounty. The Beothuk nation became totally extinct as a result of this policy. Kentucky Frontiersmen The Kentucky frontiersmen had, for - ~~, decades, been aggressively trying to get all the Indians out of the frontier territories. They had long rejected any of the trappings of European traditions of war and of the treatment of prisoners. They killed all Indian pri- soners and took scalps as a matter of policy. #%, The Indians, at first #& horrified by this 8 behavior of their foes, eventually copied them as they attempt- ed unsuccess- 8 fully to hold on to their lands. The roun- dup of the Cherokees, the "Trail of Tears" 8% referred to in last month's article, under instruction from President Jackson in 1838 was a con- iF tinuation of this dia- E88 bolical policy of rr Reeliminating the Fi TA ndian in order to 1 prove free territory i EES for settlers. Indians Seek Refuge Canada offered a haven from the horrors which accompanied the policies of the govern- ment of the new Republic. Indians fled to the British border settlements bringing with them the trauma of murder, destruction and vic- 'e, timisation. With this came the intense mistrust of the white man. Five thousand Iroquois sought refuge at Niagara. This massive influx of indigenous peoples soon led to the establishment of the Reservation on the Grand River. Unfortunately the Treaty of Versailles which ended the War of Independence did not change the American attitude toward the Indian. Next month: The Mississauga settlement on Scugog Island and the meanings of such words as "Scugog" and "Nonquon." --