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Jean
Baptiste Ducoigne, Kaskaskia Indian Chief
Ducoigne, Jean Baptiste. A Kaskaskia chief at the beginning of the
19th century, noted mainly for his firm adherence to the United States and
friendship for the whites. Reynolds (Pion. Hist., III, 22, 1887) describes
him as a cunning half-blood of considerable talent.
In his Memoirs, Gen. W. H. Harrison, who had dealings
with Ducoigne, speaks of him as "a gentlemanly man, by no means addicted
to drink, and possessing a very strong inclination to live like a white
man; indeed has done so as far as his means would allow." Writing to the
Secretary of War, he says: "Ducoigne's long and well-proved friendship for
the United States has gained him the hatred of all the other chiefs and
ought to be an inducement with us to provide as well for his happiness, as
for his safety." According to Reynolds, Ducoigne asserted that neither he
nor his people had sired the blood of white men. He was a signer of the
treaties of Vincennes, Aug. 7 and 13, 1803; by the latter the United
States agreed to build a house and enclose 100 acres of land for him.
He had two sons, Louis and Jefferson, and a daughter,
Ellen, who married a white man and in 1850 was living
in Indian Territory. The name of Louis appears on behalf of the Kaskaskia
in the treaty of Edwardsville, Ill., Sept. 25, 1818. Ducoigne's death
probably occurred shortly before Oct., 1832, as it is stated in the treaty
at Castor Hill, of that date, that there should be reserved "to Ellen
Ducoigne, the daughter of their late chief," a certain tract of land.
The name is perpetuated in that of the town of
Duquoin, Perry County, Ill.
The books presented are for their
historical value only and are not the
opinions of the Webmasters of the site.
Handbook
of American Indians, 1906
Index of Tribes or Nations
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