The Shawnees or Shawano are an erratic tribe of Algonkin stock, supposed to have been one primarily with the Kickapoo. Were first discovered in Wisconsin, but moved east ward, and, coming in contact with the Iroquois south of Lake Erie, were driven to the banks of the Cumberland. Some passed thence into South Carolina and Florida, and, by the early part of the eighteenth century, had spread into Pennsylvania and New York. At the close of the Spanish and English war those in Florida emigrated and joined the northern bands, and, again coming into contact with the Iroquois, were driven westward into Ohio. Joined in Pontiac’s uprising in 1763, and rallied under the English flag during the Revolution. In 1795 the main body of the tribe were on the Scioto, but some had already crossed the Mississippi and others south. Those in Missouri ceded their lands to the Government in 1825, and those in Ohio in 1831, for new homes in the’ Indian Territory. In 1854 the main body in the Indian Territory disbanded their tribal organization and divided their lands in severalty.
The Eastern Shawnees are those who emigrated direct from Ohio to the Indian Territory, where they now are. They number 97, and are successful agriculturists.
The Absentee Shawnees are those who, thirty-five years since, seceded from the main portion of the tribe in Kansas and located in the northern part of the Indian Territory, where they have received no aid from Government, but are now in a highly prosperous condition. They number 563 at the present time.
List of illustrations
711. Wa-Wa-Si-Si-Mo.
712. F. A. Rogers.
713. Charles Tucker.
716. Bertram.