In December 1911, Simeon H. West -- a leading citizen of LeRoy -- raised a fifteen-foot tall bronze-casting of Chief Wausaneta of the Kickapoo Indians in the City Square. The official "jubilee" and public dedication of the statue occurred January 1, 1912.
The statue is magnificent and still standing.
One small problem -- there is no historical record of a Chief Wausaneta. More on this later.
Simeon H. West was a spiritualist. The "Age of Aquarius" or "New Age" did not begin in America in the 1960s. A wave of beliefs and practices similar to the former began in the 19th century. Spiritualists believe that the veil that separates the living and dead is very thin and can be be pierced by "mediumship," part of what we call channeling and spirit guides today.
In every city, town and burg, people occupied themselves with table-knocking, seances, automatic-writing, readings, and other forms of mediumship to communicate with and be guided by the dead. We still have the Crumbaugh Spiritualist Church here in LeRoy.
Back to West and Chief Wausaneta. In his remarks, West said that Chief Wausaneta was not a known historical figure, but someone who had come to him in an "impression" -- an altered state of awareness.
He commented -- as recorded by the LeRoy Journal (still published), "I am guided largely by impressions. It is not to me you owe honor but one above me. Her spirit has guided me. I was ready to go, but she said not yet, that my work was not finished." (referring to his spirit guide).
West participated in a service at the Spiritualist Church on January 4 and wrote: "I had a most impressive interview with twenty friends on the spirit side of life....I will refrain from giving a report of what was said and done by my spirit friends, except to say that Wausaneta, the Indian Chief, whose statue adorns the fountain, was the most jubilant being I ever met. He was wild with delight at the way I had honored him and said his name had never been in print, but I had got it right."
Lest you think West crazy, he was a prosperous businessman, a philanthropist and a leading citizen.
But I wonder, is it possible, might there have been, could there have been, just maybe, a Chief Wausaneta?
Copyright 1996, Bud Polk