Potowatomi Brawl at the Strong Cabin



It takes thousands and thousands of dead animals before one of them dies in such a way that will produce a fossil. In the same way, much more has come and gone than will ever be recorded by documents or archeology. Be that as it may, there is occasionally a moment captured in time, often carelessly or haphazardly, that despite the odds against it are recorded for us for reflection.

Such a thing happened in my home town of Wheeling. It contributed little to the larger history of the region nor did it create a stir at the time. Nevertheless it was one of the few times that a violent encounter between the Potawatomi and the early settlers occurred and it happened at the intersection of Dundee Road and Route 21, near the bank of the Des Plaines River in the early 1830s.

The American man from whom this story was passed down did not record these words himself, but told his friends and family verbally. Within a couple generations it finally made its way to print in the History of Cook County, published in 1880, about 45 years after it happened. As such, there is no way to know if he warped the story to make himself look good, or if the people who recounted it in the next generation warped it. Certainly the story bears enough historical accuracy that it rings of truth.

Strong Family Grave, Wheeling Cemetery. Photo by the author.

The story goes that there was a man named Mr. Sweet (they don’t know his first name) who was the first settler in what is now Wheeling. He lived there for some months, apparently without trouble with the Potawatomi, but moved away, selling the tract (even though it was in tribal land) to George Strong. At the time the lands were all owned by the Potawatomi, and this may have been the point at which the Potawatomi were tired of encroachments on them, banishing all white men south of the boundary line.

Strong was eager to seat “his” new land, and asked the local Indian agent at Fort Dearborn about the propriety of moving onto it. His was met with stern warning, that it was a fool’s errand to do so, and that if the Potawatomi retaliated against him, he would have to assist the Potawatomi in such a conflict.

 

Undeterred, Strong made his way to the plot and began setting up his cabin and fields. This would have been on the western bank of the river, where the prairie began, currently under the concrete of a strip mall. It was not long before a large body of Potawatomi warriors, fully armed and painted for battle came upon him and demanded his departure. In what may have been a fabricated part of the story, he remained true to his name and held his ground, even knocking one of them down. After they saw that he wouldn’t be intimidated, they stormed off and he kept his land. It is difficult to say which elements of this story are true or false, but he certainly did remain there as he was a town official in Wheeling years later. The Potawatomi were likely bluffing, trying to scare him off without true violence, because they knew if they actually harmed him, it might be interpreted as an act of war and the whole of the Potawatomi people would suffer. George Strong may have known that too.

In exploring this site I took along all my children. Seeing  the strip mall parking lot where this all went down is both something I pass by every day and is frankly rather unexciting. However, by going to the Dam No. 1 woods across the river, one can see the site from the opposite bank, giving a more rewarding experience.

We parked as near as we could but it was still a bit of a hike since there weren’t any paths. Much of it was open forest but much else was also thick brambles. I have tough kids. Before too long we made our way along the riverbank to the Dundee Road bridge and gazed across the water to the other side. In all, there isn’t much to see if you don’t know the history. It looked like any other riverbank I had seen on the Des Plaines. But knowing the story, it was much easier to imagine the Strong cabin, smoke rising from a cook fire, and the sound of chopping woods being suddenly interrupted by a war cry meant to startle. The scuffle was brief, but clearly showed how fiercely our predecessors cherished their land here. There are many Indian people in Chicago today, the Potawatomi among them, who still do.



 Bank of Des Plaines River below Dundee Road, opposite original site of the Strong Cabin. Photo by the author.

Exploring Chicagou

     All my life, I've lived in the northern suburbs of one of the biggest cities in the world: Chicago. And I've hated most of it. I admit, I'm a country boy at heart. I need the fresh air, green trees, and mountains. I need a place with history from before it was a concrete jungle. My impression of the Chicago region has always been that it was an uninhabitable swamp, and then it was a bustling metropolis, with little in between. Little ancient history, and an obliterated environment. It has architecture. That's about it.

     As I've grown into adulthood and fatherhood I've expanded my interests in the historical and environmental realm, and within these interests my knowledge of ancient Chicago and its recovering ecological environment has been increasing. I was all wrong about my city.

     It was an ancient sea before it was the stomping ground of mastadons before it was the home of the earliest Americans 12,000 years ago. It was home of the ancient moundbuilding Hopewell people before it was the site of a  full fledged Missippian Pyramid before it was home of the historical Miami and Potowatomi. These people lived here, died here, and their descendants live here still.

    Since becoming a father I've taken my children all over this place, particularly in the northside, to explore the numerous and continuously improving forest preserves and historical sites of this city. Most of them are not marked, or even known about. This blog will take you on the journeys I take my family on, past and present. Hopefully you too can retrace our steps, or find new paths of your own. This place is more than concrete. Its more than sirens, apartment buildings and high taxes. Its our home, and our predecessor's home. Lets explore together and find out what really happened here.