Chief Tarhe

Tarhe, (pronounced Tar-Hay) Grand Sachem of the Wyandotte Nation was 6'4" tall in an era when few men of the day were even 6'. Chief Tarhe's Indian name is supposed to mean crane or tall fowl, but this is a mistake according to the Wyandots.

Crane is merely a nickname given him by the French because of his height and slender build. Chief Tarhe had no English name, but the Americans adopted the French nickname. It is thought that the Wyandottetranslation of his name meant the tree.

Although Tarhe lived at various locations in Ohio including present day Lancaster, Columbus, Solomonstown, Zanesfield, an area northeast of Upper Sandusky is where Tarhe is most associated and where he died. The flat land and his village became known as Cranetown and was located a few miles west of the small village of Smithville on Township Highway 37A

Tarhe's Early Years

Tarhe was born near present-day Detroit in 1742 and he belonged to the Porcupine tribe of the Wyandottes. Like many Native peoples, Tarhe opposed white settlement of the Ohio Country. He fought to prevent the invasion of American settlers onto the land they had used for a number of years.

It has been suggested that perhaps a young Tarhe was present along with other Wyandotte's at a battle against General Braddock in western Pennsylvania in 1755 during the French and Indian War. During this battle General Braddock was killed. Also present at this battle was a young George Washington.

In 1763, the British made a proclamation in an effort to appease growing tension between the British and Native Americans that prohibited white settlers from the land west of the Appalachian Mountains. This proclamation was actually nothing more than empty promises and few pioneers obeyed the edict.

With the increasing number of white settlers encroaching on lands north of the Ohio River, conflicts between Native Americans and these settlers were also increasing. Even those Native Americans that viewed the settlers as interesting contacts were not safe. Several early encounters between friendly Indians and unfriendly pioneers last life-long scars that spread throughout the Native peoples that the whites could not be trusted.

Tarhe and Chief Logan

In one incident, a friendly village of Mingo's, that welcomed early pioneers into their village, was attacked by British colonists when they misunderstood their gestures. The attack resulted in the death of 11 Mingo Indians. Most of those killed were part of Chief Logan's family. Chief Logan who was away from the village at the time, begged Chief Cornstalk of the Shawnee, to seek revenge against those who had committed this atrocity. Cornstalk, though reluctant to do so, sent 24 warriors into western Pennsylvania where they killed 13 settlers in revenge.

In response to this attack the governor of Virginia, John Murray, the 4th Earl of Dunmore, sent more troops to settle the conflicts. As word spread among the Native Americans of the advancing military force, more than 1200 Shawnee warriors gathered near where Point Pleasant is located today. The 32 year old Tarhe accompanied Chief Cornstalk to this battle. This conflict was referred to as "Lord Dunmore's War."

Lord Dunmore's War

At first, the Native American coalition encountered Colonel Lewis' brigade. There were heavy casualties on both sides. Then Lord Dunmore's men arrived and joined the battle. This forced a retreat by the indians. Realizing that the situation could only get worse, Chief Cornstalk asked for a peace. Under the terms of this treaty, the Indians gave up all their prisoners and promised not to go south of the Ohio River. Likewise, the English colonists would not go north of the Ohio River.

Tarhe the Grand Sachem

Tarhe helped negotiate many treaties during the time he was Grand Sachem. He repeatedly attempted to hold his tribe together and to serve other tribes in the area as well.

During his lifetime, he fought against Rogers Clark, Boupuet, Marmar, St. Clair and Anthony Wayne. Although Tarhe was eventually defeated, both his enemies and friends knew he was dedicated first and last to the welfare of his people.

It is believed the last battle Tarhe fought in personally was in 1794 at Fallen Timbers. That action was a brief but devastating one for the allied tribes. The only tribe to fight with distinction that day was the Wyandottes. They were pinned down near the river and suffered heavy casualties. The Wyandotte chiefs were decimated. Of the 13 chiefs who entered the battle, only Tarhe survived and he suffered a severe wound in the right elbow. After the battle word was sent to the Wyandotte women and children to flee from their camp along the Upper Sandusky north to Lower Sandusky and Sandusky Bay. They feared that the Americans would attack the village and kill all of them. Although severely wounded, Tarhe left the battlefield and went to Sandusky Bay where he recuperated. General Wayne, rather than pursue Tarhe, temporarily suspended hostilities and later withdrew from the Maumee River south for a winter camp at Greenville.

It took a number of months for Tarhe to recover from his wounds, but having done so, he left Sandusky to meet with General Wayne and discuss the terms of the treaty in January 1795. Once the those terms were agreed to by those present, they had to be agreed to by the leaders of each side. That took a little over six months, and they finally returned to Greenville for the signing. As all the parties came together, Tarhe gave an impassioned speech to his fellow people. The following is a translation of that speech recorded at the time.

Tarhe and Tecumseh

After the signing of the Treaty of Greenville, Tecumseh tried to unite all of the Native Americans against a common foe: the Americans. He traveled throughout the country trying to persuade the individual nations that if they did not unite, they would surely perish. Having traveled great distances from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, Tecumseh found himself running out of time. In 1809, William Henry Harrison signed another treaty with a large group of Native Americans that gave away even more land to the Americans. Tecumseh decided there was no time left. He had to start taking drastic steps to complete the alliance he so wanted.

By 1810 Tecumseh saw there were 2 notable exceptions that stood in his way for for unification: Chief Leather Lips and Chief Tarhe. Both of these Wyandotte chiefs had signed the treaty in 1795 and encouraged all of the Wyandottes to live peacefully among the Americans. Tecumseh found it increasingly difficult to convince the other nations to join him, when these 2 Chiefs from his own land refused.

Tecumseh then hatched a plan to remove both of these men. With the help of his brother, The Prophet, Tecumseh formulated a scheme to legally execute the 2 chiefs that would then improve his chances for uniting the nations. The charges would be witchcraft. All he had to do was convince some of the Wyandotte warriors that bad things that had happened to them were the result of a spell put on them by one of the chiefs. The problem was in finding those warriors who would not only believe these charges, but who would follow them through and carry out the execution.

In 1810, with the help of Chief Roundhead, he found 6 men who were willing to confront Chief Leather Lips of the charges. This was made possible because the Chief no longer lived in a large village. The 6 warriors quickly found him, conducted a mock trial and executed him on the spot.

It was not so easy to do the same for Chief Tarhe. Tarhe was a widely popular chief surrounded by a large village. Before Tecumseh and his brother were able to infiltrate the village, The Prophet led an ill conceived attack on a small garrison of troops located at Tippecanoe and shortly following this attack the War of 1812 broke out that eventually ended Tecumseh's unification plan. They never found the right opportunity to execute Tarhe who died of natural causes 6 years later.

Tarhe Memorial Marker

Tarhe lived to be about 76 when he died of natural causes in 1818 in Cranetown (named after him). His funeral was, to that date, the largest ever held for a sachem. Peers among other tribes traveled from vast distances to attend. Today there is a marker at the site on Township Highway 37A about 1/2 mile west of SR67.

Chief Tarhe

Chief Tarhe died in November 1816, at Cranetown near Upper Sandusky Ohio. The funeral for this 76 year old man was the largest ever known for an Indian Chief. Among the Indians coming from great distances was Red Jacket, the noted leader and orator from Buffalo New York. The mourners were without paint or decorations of any kind and their countenance showed the deepest sorrow. John Johnson gives a vivid description of the Ceremony of Mourning in his “Recollections.” The grave of this noble and honored chief is unknown.

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