Chief Paschal Fish and Eudora Statue

The Native American tribe known as the Shawnee were a Northeastern Woodland tribe that relied on hunting wild game and grew some crops as added subsistence to their diet. The Shawnee benefitted greatly from the tribal community where there was little value of personal property, and everyone was required to do their fair share of work for the tribe (Abing 2001). In the late 18th century, most Shawnees lived in Ohio, where slavery was not widespread like the southeastern portions of America. Interestingly, this shared sense of benefitting the group extended into the Shawnee’s acceptance of African American captives into their tribes (Abing 2001). However, the Shawnee soon faced the increasing impediment of the battles between the British and American settlers during The War of 1812.

The Shawnee received severe punishment from the United States government due to their leader Tecumseh becoming allies with the British during The War of 1812. Tecumseh was the leader of the Shawnee tribe and was known as the leader of the First Nations, which was made up of different tribes who came together to fight against the white settlers. Tecumseh led hundreds of soldiers against American outposts, including Fort Detroit, and many battles such as the Battle of the Thames. Tecumseh’s leadership was valiant, but he was killed during his Battle of the Thames, and the alliance between the British and Native Americans was forgotten (Anderson 2019). The British and American soldiers soon withdrew from the battles. President Andrew Jackson began pushing the Indian Removal act of 1830, which forced Native Americans to give up their valuable land in exchange for unsettled land. Over 46,000 Native Americans were then forced from their homes, and over 4,000 died from disease and starvation (Sue 2014). As white settlers pushed the Shawnee from their hunting grounds in the early 19th century, the Shawnee began to have issues with their usual way of life, and the First Nations began to fracture. They could no longer use the same means of hunting to gather the required food and were forced to live and use “civilized” white ways of life. The federal government began supplying Native Americans with European-American tools to teach the Native Americans their way of farming (Abing 2001). The members of the tribe soon found themselves hungry and scared, with their only options being to start conforming to the American ways to become civilized. Many Native Americans suffered during this transition, but some found a way to create success out of a dire situation.

In the middle of the 19th century, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed, which allowed for the Kansas and Nebraska settlers to decide the fate of slavery in the new territories. This caused a flood of people to enter the new land to fight for their beliefs in slavery. This form of popular sovereignty caused blood to be shed across these states between pro-slavery southerners and anti-slavery northerners. The Kansas-Nebraska act was the final straw and prelude to the American Civil War (Drexler 2020). The danger was high in these territories for not only the American settlers but for the Native Americans as well. With large amounts of settlers coming in, Native Americans saw increased violence against them and were subject to the disease brought in.

Chief Paschal Fish took hold of the land that is now Eudora, Kansas, after a treaty between the United States Government and the Shawnee tribes on May 10, 1854. The treaty reduced the land previously given to the Shawnee from 1.6 million acres to about 200,000 acres divided into 200-acre allotments per member of the tribe. This left Paschal Fish with 1,200 acres of land for him, his wife, and their four children by the names of Obediah, Eudora, Leander, and Mary Ann (Historical Marker Project 2014). Paschal Fish made quick work of his land and built a ferry and the Fish hotel used by many, including the United States military base in Leavenworth, Kansas. The ferry itself was used to cross the Kansas River or better known as the Kaw River. The Kansas River was named after the Kanza tribe, also known as the Kaw (American Rivers 2019). The Fish Hotel laid its foundation upon the Freemont and Westport Trails that connected the Oregon, Santa Fe, and California Trails and paved a direct route between Lawrence and Kansas City. The hotel served as a hotspot for hospitality and as a safe haven for important political members of the north who were hiding from the Southern bushwhackers who were trying to end the radical ideals of the anti-slavery movement. For example, in 1855, territorial governor Andrew Reeder stayed at the Fish hotel, and Chief Paschal helped to hide Reeder’s horse from the possible southern bushwhackers looking for trouble. Andrew Reeder served as the first governor of Kansas in 1854. Reeder was originally a Democrat who was in full support of the South but soon changed after seeing the fraudulence of Missourians crossing the state line and voting in a Kansas election. Reeder took the side of Free-Staters and called for reelection in all Kansas districts. Eventually, he was fired from being the governor of Kansas due to his lack of support for slavery. (Kansas Historical Society 2009). As Chief Paschal’s settlement began growing in size due to the major trade routes he had built infrastructure around, recognition was gained by a German Stockholder Group located in Chicago. German Stockholders were sent to Chief Paschal’s settlement in 1857, and soon a deal was struck. 

Little is known about where Chief Paschal Fish and his family went after he sold the land, but the chief has left a lasting impression by establishing a town that thousands of citizens call home. Along with other native nations, the Shawnee were rounded up and sent out to die in the elements after their great leader Tecumseh had been killed in battle. Many suffered greatly, but some were able to make do with the terrible circumstances thrown upon them. In remembrance of the great leaders that once loved this land, many monuments such as The Early Years Markers were created. These statues serve as a gateway into history that is often forgotten in our growing society.

Abing, Kevin. “Before Bleeding Kansas.” Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains, Kansas History, 2001, www.kshs.org/publicat/history/2001spring_abing.pdf.

American Rivers. “Kansas River.” American Rivers, General Counsel, 15 May 2019, www.americanrivers.org/river/kansas-river/.

Anderson, William. “The Shawnee Tribe & War of 1812.” SchoolWorkHelper, SchoolWorkHelper, 2019, schoolworkhelper.net/the-shawnee-tribe-war-of-1812/.

Cleland, Nora. “Lawrence Journal-World.” Google News Archive Search, Google, news.google.com/newspapers?id=iT8yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pOUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6845%2C5701303.

Drexler, Ken. “Kansas-Nebraska Act: Primary Documents in American History: Introduction.” Research Guides: Kansas-Nebraska Act, Library of Congress, 22 June 2020, guides.loc.gov/kansas-nebraska-act.

Fischer, William. “Shawnee Tribal Leader Paschal Fish and His Daughter, Eudora Historical Marker.” Historical Marker, 1 Sept. 2014, www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=76491. 

Higgins, Cindy. “Where the Wakarusa Meets the Kaw.” Home Page, Eudora Kansas History, 2013, www.eudorakshistory.com/. 

Historical Marker Project. “City of Eudora - The Early Years - Eudora - KS - US.” Historical Marker Project, Historical Marker Project, 9 Oct. 2014, historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HM1G5Q_city-of-eudora-the-early-years_Eudora-KS.html. 

Kansas Historical Society. Andrew Horatio Reeder, Kansas Historical Society, Apr. 2009, www.kshs.org/kansapedia/andrew-horatio-reeder/12181. 

Sue, Caryl. Indian Removal Act, National Geographic Society, 29 Apr. 2014, www.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/may28/indian-removal-act/.