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Writer's pictureLawrence Lore

Diary Entry about "Indians of Vincennes"

From the diary of Mr. Birbeck of Albion Illinois in 1817 wherein he described the Native Americans in Vincennes.


“Vincennes exhibits a motley assemblage of inhabitants as well as visitors, among whom are the conspicuous English, who are seldom seen in these parts, Americans from various States, and Indians of various nations, Shawnees, Delawares, and Miamis, who live about one hundred miles to the north and who come there to trade. The Indians are encamped in considerable numbers around town and are continually riding into the stores and whisky shops.


“Their horses and accoutrements are generally mean and their person disagreeable. Their faces are painted in various ways, which mostly gives a ferocity to their aspect.  One of them, a Shawnee whom we met with his family a few miles east of Vincennes, had his eyes or rather eye lids and surrounding parts daubed with vermillion, looking hideous enough at the distance but on a nearer view he has good features, and is a fine stout fierce- looking man well remembered at Vincennes for the trouble he gave during the late war.  This man exhibits a respectable beard enough for a Germanized British officer of Dragoon. 


“Some of them are well dressed and good-looking people. One young man in particular of the Miami nation had a clean light blue cotton vest with sleeves and his head ornamented with back feathers.  They all wear pantaloons, or rather long moccasins of buckskin, covering the foot and leg and reaching halfway up the thigh, which is bare, a covering of cloth passing between the thighs and hanging behind like an apron of a foot square.  Their complexion is various, some dark, others not so swarthy as myself; but I saw none of the copper color I had imagined to be their universal distinctive mark.


“They are addicted to spirits and often intoxicated, but even then, generally civil and good humored.  The Indians are said to be partial to the French traders, thinking them fairer than the English or Americans.  They use much action in their discourse and laugh immoderately. Their hair is straight and black and their eyes dark.


“The women are, many of them, decently dressed and good looking; they ride sometimes like the men, but side saddles are not uncommon among them.  Few of them of either sex speak English;


Editor’s Note:  If you are interested in reading more of these diaries, stop by the research library; we have copies.

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