Indian Tribe Story - Putnam

Mr. Rissler homesteaded a farm in Washington township south of where Mort lives, about the year 1830--as soon, in fact, as land could be entered in that vicinity, it lying north of the Ten O'Clock Indian Boundary line.

That early settler in Washington township put up his log cabin while the Indians were yet in the neighborhood, just as James Athey and John M. Coleman had done, south of that boundary line, a couple of years before.

Mr. Rissler's land was between two towns of redskins, who were Miamis.  One of the Indian towns was that on the present Huffman farm, on which James Athey had homesteaded a year or so before Mr. Rissler moved in, and the other redskin settlement was east of where the Rissler cabin was erected.

The Rissler family had the same sort of experience with the Indians that was experienced by Edward Newgent, who settled about that same year in Russell township, near another tribe of Miamis.  Those redskins had a belief that the land and everything it produced yet belonged to them, and while they divided Mr. Newent's crops on a 50-50 basis, they divided with Mr. Rissler on about a 90-10 basis, they taking the big end.  That was the procedure of the Indians that were friendly to him, and they in a measure recompensed him for his losses by fighting for him against the tribe from the Athey town, who seemed disposed to take everything Rissler had.

The friendly bunch were accustomed to enter the Rissler cabin, look over the stock of supplies, decide how much the Risslers would really need before they could get more laid in, and they would take with them what they decided was a surplus.  This applied to every sort of food on the Rissler place.

But there never was trouble between the Rissler's and his friendly bunch of redmen.  

Smiles,

Mary Lou (you rock, girl, thanks for sharing)