SHAWNEES, DELAWARES LEFT AREA TO HEAD WEST

Louis Lorimier died June 26, 1812 and was buried in Old Lorimier Cemetery beside his wife, Charlotte. Indians, relatives and friends from the entire district came to honor him. That night the Indians built a huge bonfire and conducted a funeral service according to their custom.

After Lorimier's death, the Indians were unsettled and seemed unsure of what they were to do. They had looked to Lorimier for guidance and some of them decided to sell their land and move west. In order to leave, they sold their land very cheaply.

The Indian agents knew of the dissatisfaction and arranged with the government to give each of the Shawnees 200 acres of land. A family with a mother, father and three children then had a farm of 1,000 acres. The stipulation was they were to tend the land for eight years before selling to new settlers coming into Missouri. This the Indians did. By 1825 the Shawnees were ready to make a change. The sale of land gave them a nest egg to start west. Each family had a good size cart and from five to six oxen. All heavy rock implements were left behind. This is why Indian rock pieces may be found in this area.

The Shawnees lived as far south in Cape Girardeau County as Flora Creek and north to Old Appleton.

The Shawnee Prophet, Tecumseh, went west first and visited the Cherokees who had previously been in Kansas Territory. These Cherokees are not to be confused with the Cherokees from the Southeast and Georgia who were moved west in 1838, over the Trail of Tears. The Cherokees invited the Shawnees to come live on their land, but this the Shawnees did not do. The map included with this article shows where they settled in Kansas after they left Missouri. Later, they would move again and go to Oklahoma and a government reservation.

The United States government kept a reserve of Indian funds in the treasury and the Shawnees had 100,000 acres of well watered land in Kansas, some of the best available with the exception of that obtained by the Delawares immediately north of the Shawnees. The Delawares who were good agriculturists did not make the change to Kansas until 1829. They and the Shawnees were very friendly and often intermarried.

After the Indians moved west, mission schools were started for the children and they learned quickly. Their lessons were the same as those taught in public schools.

The missions dressed the children and in a short time conditions on the reservation were quite changed.

The Delawares had $1 million and upward in their treasury at 5 percent interest. At certain times of the year Payment Day arrived, and government soldiers and Indian agents came to distribute checks to the Indians.

White traders were permitted to go with the soldiers and set up stores stocked with fancy clothes, especially silk dresses for the women, and fancy coats, top hats, boots and coats with lace for the men. One item the men always purchased was leather riding saddles especially those made at Westport, Mo., with the high pommel and wooden stirrups because they were easier to ride a long distance. They sold for $15 to $50. The Indians came to Payment Day dressed in their best clothes and they conducted themselves well. The agents were always surprised at the way the Indians dressed, and acted. There was never any trouble. It seemed clear that living in Missouri had taught the Shawnees and Delawares things they seemed to enjoy learning.

Payment Day was always enjoyed by everyone who attended. At the end of the day, the soldiers and tradesmen packed up the things and moved on to the next reservation.

After the Indians left Southeast Missouri, some of the residents in Cape Girardeau began to look back on those first years of the city and those that could made some notes. The Indians were very strict about marriage. No Indian could marry anyone closer than a fourth cousin. The Shawnees believed in a Great Spirit, and a bad and evil Spirit. They began to bury their dead in wood coffins. No parents named their children. Naming children was done by persons higher in the clan than parents. The celebrations they observed several times a year were interesting, beautiful and enjoyed by the entire clan. If an Indian couple could not get along together, they became divorced.

The Bread Dance in the spring was one of the Shawnee celebrations, and the Corn Dance in the fall. It lasted for seven days and nights, with much singing, dancing and attractive Indian costumes. It is hard to believe that at one time these celebrations took place here in Cape Girardeau, but current history books only mention the names of the Indian clans, never anything about their customs, or what they did while living in Southeast Missouri.

The Shawnees and Delawares were extremely interesting and very different from some of the other clans.

Anyone interested in learning about Indians in Missouri is encouraged to join the Missouri Archaeological Society, P.O. Box 959, Columbia, Mo., 65205.