Mascouten — “Fire Nation” on the Wabash

In 1712 they united with the Kickapoo and the Meskwaki (Fox) after nearly being destroyed by the French and the Potawatomi. Historical records last mention them as a band in 1779, living on the Wabash with Piankeshaw and Kickapoo neighbors; Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources says they often shared villages with the Kickapoo and then merged into them.

In June 1791 Kentucky volunteers under Brig. Gen. Charles Scott raided the Wabash country, with Col. John Hardin and Lt. Col. James Wilkinson leading detachments. Scott’s report names a Kickapoo town, Ouiatenon, and Kenapacomaqua on the Eel River, and it does not call any town Mascouten, so the sources cited here do not show the Mascouten as a separate target in 1791 or as siding against Clark’s Illinois campaign.