662 



KASKASKIA 



[b. a. e 



they yet resided on the Mississippi, it is 

 probable that the references to them in 

 the Jesuit Relations of 1670 and 1671. 

 from the reports of Father Allouez, apply 

 to the Kaskaskia on upper Illinois r. 

 and possibly to some minor tribes or 

 bands connected therewith whose names 

 have not been preserved. Although it 

 has been asserted that earlier visits than 

 that of Marquette in 1673 were made to 

 this people by the whites, there is no sat- 

 isfactory evidence to justify this conclu- 

 sion. Their chief village, which had the 

 same name as that of the tribe, is sup- 

 posed to have been situated about the 

 present site of Utica, La Salle co., 111. 

 Marquette states that at the time of his 

 first visit the village was composed of 74 

 cabins. He returned again in the spring 

 of 1674 and established the mission of 

 Immaculate Conception among them. It 

 appears that by this time the village had 

 increased to somewhat more than a hun- 

 dred cabins. Allouez, who followed as 

 the next missionary, states that when he 

 came to the place in 1677 the village con- 

 tained 351 cabins, and that while the vil- 

 lage formerly consisted of but one nation 

 (tribe), at the time of his visit it was com- 

 posed of 8 tribes or peoples, the addi- 

 tional ones having come up from the 

 neighborhood of the Mississippi. Al- 

 though the known Peoria village was 

 some distance away, it may be that at 

 this time this tribe and the Moingwena 

 resided at the Kaskaskia village. This is 

 implied in an expression by Gravier, who 

 speaks of the Mugulasha "forming a vil- 

 lage with the Baiougoula [Bayogoula] as 

 the Pioiiaroiia [Peoria] do with the Kas- 

 kaskia." This, however, would lead to 

 the supposition, if the statement by Al- 

 louez be accepted as correct, that there 

 were other bands or tribes collected here 

 at the time of his mission whose names 

 have not survived. Possibly they may 

 have been bands of the Mascoutin or the 

 Miami. Kaskaskia was the village of the 

 Illinois which La Salle reached about the 

 close of Dec, 1679, on his first visit south- 

 ward from the lakes. He found it unoc- 

 cupied, however, the inhabitants being 

 on a hunting expedition. The French 

 mission was maintained at this place un- 

 der Fathers Rasles, Gravier, Binneteau, 

 Pinet, and Marest, until about the close 

 of 1700. At that time the Kaskaskia, in- 

 fluenced by a desire to join the French in 

 Louisiana, resolved to separate from their 

 brethren and migrate to the lower Missis- 

 sippi. Gravier was much opposed to this 

 movement, and although he arrived on 

 the ground too late to prevent their depar- 

 ture, he was successful in checking the 

 blow which the indignant Peoria and 

 Moingwena were about to inflict on them. 

 It was also through his influence that 



they were induced to halt at the mouth 

 of Kaskaskia r. , where they made their 

 home, on or near the site of the present 

 town of Kaskaskia, Randolph co., 111., 

 until their removal w. of the Mississippi 

 under the treaty of Oct. 27, ]'8.i2. Ac- 

 cordingtoHutchins, inl764the Kaskaskia 

 numbered 600, but he gives the number in 

 1778 as 210 individuals, including bO war- 

 riors. They were then in a village about 

 3 m. N. of the present town of Kaskaskia, 

 greatly degenerated and debauciied. 

 The tribe participated in the treaties of 

 Greenville, Ohio, Aug. 3, 1795, and Ft 

 Wayne, Ind., June 7, 1803, made by the 

 tribes of the n. w. with Anthony Wayne 

 and William H. Harrison. In tifie treaty 

 of Aug. 13, 1803, at Vincennes, Ind., it is 

 stated that the tribe constitutes "the re- 

 mains of and rightfully represents all the 

 tribes of the Illinois Indians, originally 

 called the Kaskaskia, Mitchigamia, Ca- 

 hokia, and Tamaroi." By this treaty 

 they were taken under the immediate care 

 and patronage of the United States and 

 promised protection against the other In- 

 dians. By treaty made at Castor Hill, 

 Mo. , Oct. 27, 1 832, they ceded to tl e United 

 States all their lands e. of the Mississippi 

 except a single tract reserved to Ellen 

 Ducoigne, the daughter of their late chief. 

 Previous to this, however, the remnants 

 of the various tribes of the Illinois con- 

 federacy had consolidated with the Kas- 

 kaskia and Peoria. By the treaty of 

 Washington, May 30, 1854, the consoli- 

 dated tribes ceded to the United States 

 part of the tracts held by them under the 

 treaty of 1832, above mentioned, and un- 

 der the treaty with the Piankashaw and 

 Wea, Oct. 29, 1832, reserving 160 acres for 

 each member of the tribe and 10 sections 

 as a tribal reserve. By the treaty of 

 Washington, Feb. 23, 1867, land was as- 

 signed them in the n. e. corner of Indian 

 Ter. 



The consolidated bands, including also 

 the remnant of the Wea and Piankashaw 

 and now known officially as Peoria, num- 

 bered altogether in 1905 only 195, hardly 

 one of whom was of pure Indian blood. 



Their totem or crest was an arrow- 

 notched at the feather, or two arrows 

 supporting each other like a St Andrew's 

 cross. (.1. M. c T. ) 



Cacachias.— La Salle (1682) in Margry. Dec, II, 96, 

 1877. Carcarilica. — Hennepin, New Discov., 310, 

 169S (?an Illinois division about 1680). Cas.— Mar- 

 ain (17r)3) in Margrv. Dec., vi, 654, 1886. Casca- 

 chias.— Memoir of 1718 in N. Y. Doc. Col. Hist., 

 IX, 891, 1855. Cascacia.— La Salle (168-') in Margry. 

 Die, I, 508, 1875. Cascai?ias.— La Harpe (1719), 

 ibid., VI, 310, 1886. Cascaqu as.— Giis^efeld, map, 

 1784. Cascaschia.— La Salle ( 1681 ) in Margry, Dec, 

 II, 134, 1877. Ca'caskias.— Perkins and P(>ck, An- 

 nalsoftheWest, 55,1850. Cascasquia.— Joutel(1687) 

 in Margry, Dec, in, 4711, 1878. Caskae;uias. — De 

 I'lsle map (m. 1710) in Neill, Minn., is.58. Caska- 

 quias.— Doc of 174S in N. Y. Doc Col. Hist., x. 142, 

 18.58. Cas^auasauia. — .lontel (1687) in Margry, Dec, 

 111,481,1878. Casquiars.— Writer In Smith, Bou- 



