-1- Authority: Flood Control Act, 3 July 1958 Length: 8,069

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1 Mississinewa Reservoir and Dam Miami S.R.A. Campgrounds The Mississinewa Reservoir is on the Mississinewa river, a tributary of the Wabash River, and lies in Wabash, Miami and Grant counties. The Dam site is 7.1 stream miles above the confluence of the two rivers. It is accessible by Indiana highway 513, 13 and 15. Authority: Flood Control Act, 3 July 1958 Length: 8,069 Dam Type: Rolled-earth fill Top Width: 36 feet Maximum Height: 140 feet Top Elevation: feet There are camping facilities for every taste at Mississinewa Reservoir. The modern campground has showers and flush toilets. Some sites are reservable on holiday weekends. All sites are first come-first served at all times. Primitive campgrounds have pit toilets and do not have electricity. The primitive and modern campgrounds both have access to water. The water is turned on around mid-april and shut off around the end of October. Several primitive sites are located along the lake. There is a charge for camping throughout the year. If you have further questions about the property, please contact: Mississinewa Reservoir R.R. 1, Box 194 Peru, IN (765)

2 There is a gate fee between the months of mid-april and mid-september. To enter the Miami S.R.A., however, there in no actual trail fee. Trail awards are purchased on a voluntary basis. Cost of Awards: See current trial application. To order awards send completed applications to: Pokagon-Kekionga Trails, Inc. P.O. Box 192 Angola, IN (260) (260) Please contact the above address if you have interest in other trials. Service Project of Boy Scout Troop 125 Pleasant Lake Boy Scout Troop 303 Fort Wayne Mississinewa Reservoir Trails Miami State Recreation Area The three goals of a reservoir property are, flood control, management of our natural resources and recreation. The Mississinewa Reservoir property is owned by the Federal Government and they lease it to the State of Indiana, Department of Natural Resources to be managed. The property manager is responsible for the day to day operations of the property. Mississinewa Reservoir like other Indiana State Reservoirs are managed for different species of native wildlife and for the public s recreational enjoyment. While hiking on these three trails, be aware that most of what you see would not have been possible without the construction of the reservoir. Notice the wildlife management practices being implemented throughout the area. About the Trails You will start your hiking adventure on the Blue Heron Trail, hike to the Moswa Trail and finish up on the Shepoconah Trail. Make sure you hike all the loops on each trail. Each trail will reveal how this property manages for native wildlife and plants. The total length of trails is around 10 miles. The terrain is relatively level with few sloping inclines. Many different species of wildlife can be seen on each of the trails, if you walk quietly through them. There are a variety of species of plant life as well. Trail Markers All three trails are well marked with property signs. These signs are a flat plastic post with a figure of a hiker and an arrow giving the direction of the trail. By using the MAP and watching closely for the trail markers, we feel you will have no trouble hiking this trail. Safety Precautions Mississinewa reservoir is a multiple use property. Hunting, camping, fishing and recreational activities are allowed in designated areas. Parts of the Shepoconah Trail are routed through areas designated for hunting. While walking this trail in the fall and winter seasons, we strongly recommend wearing hunter orange. Conduct Unit Leader, it is your responsibility to keep your unit under control. It is essential that hikers maintain a high standard of conduct, courtesy and consideration toward this public property. Acts of vandalism along the trails could result in the trails being closed. Keep them clean and help maintain their beauty and our good relationship with the property management, so that those who hike the trails after you will have a chance to enjoy them also. The property manager is in charge of Mississinewa reservoir. His job is to manage the property and follow the policies and practices set by the Indiana

3 Department of Natural Resources and the State of Indiana. You will find him helpful and ready to assist your unit in any way he can. However, do not expect him to bend rules for you. He will appreciate your cooperation and will make every effort to cooperate with you. Keep your Scouts together. The following trail requirements must be read to your group before hiking the trails. Trail Requirements 1. The trails are opened to the public. Boy and Girl Scouts and other groups may hike the trails to receive the trail awards consisting of a four inch patch and a medal. 2. Axes and sheath knives are NOT permitted on the trails. (High Adventure Training EXCLUDED.) 3. All property rules must be observed. 4. The full length of the three trails must be hiked to receive the trail awards. 5. NO fires are permitted on the trails. Smokers: be aware of dry seasons throughout the trails. 6. Each hiker must hike the trails as members of a unit. There must be at least one adult (21 years of age or older) for every ten youth hikers. All members of the unit must hike together. 7. An anti-litter project must be completed to receive trail awards. 8. Remember this is a State Reservoir property, treat it with respect. Do not disturb other people using this multi-use property. Scouts, leave only footprints on the property and take only memories. 9. There will be a gate fee charged during the recreation season (mid-april through mid-september) 10. Have the Scouts read the History of the Mississinewa area that you find in this brochure. Anti-Litter Project Litter is unsightly. It is a health and safety hazard and contributes to pollution. The Trail Committee is making an anti-litter project part of the requirements for these trails. Each unit is to pick up litter (paper, cans, etc.) as they hike each trail. If the trails are clean, take time to clean up litter around the parking lots, campgrounds or areas close to the trails. Litter is everywhere. If your unit is camping overnight, have one of the property employees sign your application. If your unit is just hiking for the day, the unit leader may sign the application. We think that you will agree, that this requirement is in keeping with the Boy Scouts of America Program, Project S.O.A.R. We suggest each unit carry with them a large plastic bag while hiking these trails. lost sister. Joseph told the Indian woman, Ma-Con-A-Qah, through an interpreter, that there was one way he could be certain that this woman was his sister. He explained that when they were children they had been playing in their Father s blacksmith shop. Swinging a hammer, he accidently had struck Frances little finger, and had cut off the end. Sure enough, the Indian woman had the end of one finger missing. But still she was not convinced of their relationship. They then asked if her name was Frances, and she smiled at them for the first time, saying, Franca, Franca. This was her first sign of friendliness, and from then on she was more congenial. When the two brothers took Frances back to Peru with them, they introduced her to her sister Mary, and it was indeed a happy reunion, after more than 60 years of separation. Many other family reunions were staged before Frances Slocum s death, and a nephew, George Slocum, brought his family to live in Indiana and settled very near Deaf Man s Village. Frances Slocum died in March 1847, at the age of 74. She was given a Christian funeral and was buried, as she had requested beside her husband and two sons, on a knoll across from her old cabin on what is now called the Frances Slocum Trail. At the time of her death, nothing but a white flag was used to mark her grave. When Mississinewa Reservoir was built, her grave was moved and a monument erected on County Road 650 W. in Wabash County, across the river and upstream from her original burial site. Camping Supplies Bait, snacks, firewood and marine supplies are available at the store located across from the Miami S.R.A. entrance (seasonal) at Woody s in Peoria. Groceries and miscellaneous camping supplies can be purchased at one of the may grocery, hardware and department stores in nearby Peru. Churches Various denominational churches are located in the communities of Peru, Wabash and Marion. Trail Awards Those who hike the trails are entitled to wear the Mississinewa Trails medal and patch, which are pictured on the front of this folder. The medal depicts the Mississinewa Dam as well as a picture of Frances Slocum on an arrowhead. The patch depicts Frances Slocum, the memorial to Frances Slocum and a full view of the Dam. For hikers that hike the trail additional times, there is a repeat pin available. Please state the number of times you have hiked the trail

4 brimmed black hat, and that his name was Slocum. She said that she could remember very little else about her own family, but she recalled the happy days of her youth with the Indians. She said that a Delaware couple had taken her in and reared her as their own child, treating her kindly and teaching her their way of life. When she was very young, she had married a Delaware Indian who proved to be worthless and she later married a Miami Chief who had been a wonderful husband and a good Father to her children. She told Mr. Ewing that she was happy there and asked that he keep her story in confidence. She did not want everyone to know this tale, but said that she thought someone should know of it before her death. Mr. Ewing, returning to Logansport, could not put the story out of his mind. He decided to write and see if he could locate some of her relatives who might still be living. He wrote to a post office in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and asked if the Postmaster there had ever known a Quaker family by the name of Slocum living in that vicinity. He then proceeded to relate, by letter, the story he had learned from the old woman. The Postmaster at Lancaster at that time was an elderly woman who was so confused by the story that she laid the letter aside and forgot about it. Two years later, John Forney became Postmaster and he found the letter. Mr. Forney had the letter published in the local newspaper. Friends of the Slocum family in Lancaster read the account and mailed the paper to the family of Joseph Slocum, who still lived in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. They read the story with incredulity, wondering if this woman could possibly be their lost sister. Joseph immediately wrote to Mr. Ewing, to learn whether Ma- Con-A-Qah was still living, as it had been two years since the letter had been written. Ewing replied at once that the woman was still living and that he would be happy to arrange a reunion if the family desired to make the trip to Deaf Man s Village. Since there were no railroads or automobiles at that time, several weeks of preparation were necessary and at last Joseph, Isaac and Mary Slocum were ready to make the westward trip to visit the woman they hoped would be their lost sister. They make the trip by carriage and horseback, and after many weeks arrived at Peru, Indiana. By the time they had arrived there, Mary, the sister, then seventy years of age, was so exhausted that she asked to remain in Peru, and sent her brothers on to Deaf Man s Village. Since he spoke the tongue of the Miami nation, he was able to converse with the members of the household. In talking with the oldest woman in the house, who apparently was head of the family group, he pieced together a strange and wonderful story. The woman was short and stocky build, with features, habits and characteristics of an Indian, and yet her skin that had not been tanned by the sun was white. Mr. Ewing discovered through his talk with Ma-con-a-quah (Litter Bear Woman), that she had been taken from her home, along the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, as a child, and her years since that time had been spent with the Indians. The Indian trader deduced, too, that her parents must have been Quakers for she recalled that her Father had worn a large -4- When Joseph and Isaac Slocum entered Frances cabin, they saw the clean and well-kept orderliness that they remembered in their Mother s home at Wilkes- Barre. They felt at home at once, but the Indian woman who greeted them was very formal and not too cordial. Long years among the Indians had made Frances suspicious of the white men, and at first she treated her brothers coldly. The brothers were overjoyed at seeing her and were confident that she was their -5- Area History Frances Slocum / Her Life in Indiana One of the most thrilling and colorful stories ever told of pioneer days in the Midwest if the story of Frances Slocum and her life among the Miami Indians here in Indiana. Often called the Lost Sister of the Wyoming, Frances was taken from home in the Wyoming Valley, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, when she was only five years old. This gripping tale began in November of 1778, when angry Delaware Indians seeking revenge, swooped down upon the farm house of Jonathon Slocum. After ransacking the house, they carried away his daughter, tiny auburnhaired Frances. The Slocums were Quakers and refused to join military attacks against the Delaware and therefore were never bothered. But, one of Frances brothers joined other white settlers in tracking the Indians after a raid. Thinking they had been betrayed, the Indians decided to avenge themselves by attacking the household and capturing Frances and a neighbor boy, Wareham Kingsley. The Slocums and soldiers from a nearby fort searched for several days, but were unable to locate the two children. Later the Indians returned and killed Frances Father and Grandfather. Although this brought great sorrow to Mrs. Slocum, she could not reconcile herself to the loss of her daughter, for she was certain that Frances would be tortured or mistreated by the angry Indians. The Kingsley boy was released by the Indians and returned home within a few years. He told the Slocums that he and Frances had been treated kindly by the Indians, but that they had been separated shortly after the capture. He did not know what had become of the little girl. Through the years, thousands of dollars and much time were spent by the Slocum brothers as they searched for their lost sister. Fifty-eight years later, a trader from Logansport, Indiana named George Washington Ewing, was traveling along the Mississinewa River. One day, while trading, he found himself nearly seven miles from Peru, the nearest town of any size, when night fell. Coming upon a Miami village, he asked if he might spend the night with a family there.

5 MISSISSINEWA TRAIL POKAGON - KEKIONGA TRAILS NOTICE Send to: This form must be filed with the Trail Committee Pokagon - Kekionga Trails Inc. at least five (5) days in advance of hike. P.O. Box 192 or call: (260) Angola, IN Phone: (260) or (260) The following scout group under the proper adult leadership will be hiking the Mississinewa Trail. UNIT NUMBER Date of hike We will will not camp Estimated time of arrival Estimated departure time Leader s Name Age Phone Address: City, State, Zip In consideration of the benefits to be derived, and in view of the fact that the BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA is an educational institution, membership in which is voluntary, and having full confidence that every precaution will be taken to insure the safety and well being of this unit on this activity, I hereby agree to our participation and waiver all claim against the Pokagon-Kekionga Trail Committee Officers, Agents, Property Owners and Representatives of the Boy Scouts of America. August 2005

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