catholic church - Indiana Catholic History

32 TRADITION AND HISTORY.
St. Joseph rivers form the Maumee, was the ancient
capital of the somewhat celebrated family of
. Indians of the Algonquin nation-the Miamis.
Around this spot for many years, perhaps for centuries,
the Miami chiefs assembled in council to
deliberate upon the affairs of their confederacy, or
to decide for war or peace. How often have the
echoes of the Indian oratory sounded along the
valley of the Maumee, and the St. Joseph and St.
Mary's rivers! It has broken the silence of the
forests many times in defense of justice; it has excited
'the savages to war to repel an Indian enemy;
it has eloquently pleaded the cause of the red man
against the oppressions of the whites.
" Kekionga was to the patriotic Miami the dearest
of all places in his broad domain. There was
an eloquence in the scenery around the place that
won high admiration in his savage heart. To the
simple Indian mind, there was something supernatural,
something unspeakably grand in the quiet
of this fertile valley. I t was here that they buried
their illustrious dead; it was in this valley, and
particularly at the head of the Maumee, where all
their important ceremonies were commemorated.
Returning from the chase, these Indians would assemble
in the beautiful groves along the banks of
these rivers and pass the time -in their usual sports.
Games of chance, feats of strength and agility, and
the feast, were all enacted here with native enthusiam.
But at length, say in 1776, the white man
found his way to the Miami capital. He was not
a warrior, not a trader, but a simple, pious, yet