Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/101

 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 41 remained. Thus we find constant reference in the annals of the time to Creeks and Che- rokees, Pawnees, Peorias and others of the many tribes of the western Indians. Some of these made their residence within the borders of the section, others were only occasional visitors, whose hunting or trading parties came and went as the whim seized them. These, as they traded or hunted or pursued other and less legitimate occupation, entered little into the real life of the people and had but little influence on the development of the country, further than the inducement of set- tlers for their trade. Two other tribes than those mentioned, however, settled within the limits of South- east Missouri in considerable numbers, and they came into closer relations with the peo- ple of this part of the state and probably were more important in its early history than any others of the savages. These two tribes were the Delawares and the Shawnees. Both nees. Both of these are Algonquin Indians and closely related to each other. The Delawares were originally found on both sides of the Delaware river in Pennsyl- vania and Delaware. They were the Indians who were dealt with by "William Penn and others of the early settlers in Pennsylvania. They early came into conflict with the Iro- quois, and were subjugated by them. Dur- ing the period of their subjugation they lost much of their former spirit and courage, and lived in a state of abject fear of their red masters. They finally moved further west into the present state of Ohio. Here they recovered their spirit and their love for war and became among the most formidable of the tribes. Part of them were converted to Christianitv through the efforts of Moravian missionaries and became known as the Chris- tian Indians. Those who refused Christian- ity joined with the French in the French and Indian wars, and with the British during the Revolution. They committed great depreda- tions during the war all along the western borders, until an expedition under ' ' Mad An- thony" Wayne laid waste their country and destroyed their power. They gradually drifted further west into Indiana and Iowa. During the Spanish regime in Missouri they were invited to settle in Missouri, or in Up- per Louisiana as the country west of the river was then called. This invitation to settle under the power of Spain was prompted by two motives. The Spanish wished them to be a bulwark against the constant encroachments of the Osages whose thieving and plundering expeditions harried all of Upper Louisiana and kept its inhabitants in a state of constant alarm. Spain greatly feared for her colonies, too, be- cause of the American desire for the posses- sion of the Mississippi. There was a feeling along our western border at that time that the United States should seize the river, and perhaps some of the territory of the western side, and hold it. To have the help of the savage allies whom she had brought to her colonies was one of the motives which prompted Spain to bring the Delawares to this side. Louis Lorimier. the founder of Cape Girardeau, was one of the principal agents in the Spanish dealing with the In- dians. The Shawnees who came to Missouri at the same time with the Delawares were quite probably an offshoot of the Delawares, who had been for some time separated from them but who again united with them just before their emigration to the west. They resem-