RUFUS PUTNAM rr TBWEST. 15V Kev. SIDNEY CKAWFORD, RUTLAND. MASSACHUSETTS. 4760 O ''^c^- ^Xr ^^^ ^^t^ RUFUS PUTNAM PIONEER LIFE IN THE NORTHWEST. BY Rev. SIDNEY (CRAWFORD, RUTLAND, MASSACHUSETTS. From Pkoceedings of the Amekican Antiquarian Society, at the Anni al Meeting in Worcester, October 21, 1898. Wovcfsitcv, |Ha^^., \\, ^. %, PKESS OF CHARLES HAMILTON. 3 11 Main Street. 1899. RUFUS PUTNAM, AND HIS PIONEER LIFE IN THE NORTHWEST. The life of General Rufus Putnam is so intimately con- nected with the history of the first century of oui- country that all the facts concernino- it are of interest. It is a most commendable effort which has been put forth, therefore, during the more recent years, to give his name the place it deserves among the founders of our republic. We boast, and rightly, of our national independence, and associate with it the names of Washington and Jefferson, which have become household words throughout the land ; but, when we come to look more closely into the problem of our national life from the beginning of it down to the present time, we find that one of the most essential factors in its solution was the work of Rufus Putnam. Although a man of humble birth, and never enjoying many of the advan- tages of most of those who were associated with him in the movements of his time, yet, in point of all the sturdy qualities of patriotism, sound judgment and far-sighted- ness, he was the peer of them all. To him, it may be safely said, without detracting from the fame of any one else, the country owes its })resent escape from the bondage of African slavery more than to any other man. Had it not been for his providential leadership, and all that it involved, as is so tersely written on the tablet in the Putnam Memorial at Rutland, "The United States of America would now be a great slavehold- ing empire." He was the originator of the colonj^ to make the first settlement in the territory northwest of the Ohio. River wlien it was yet a wilderness, and that settlement carried with it the famous Ordinance of 1787, by which slavery was forever to be excluded from all that region. Now that section is occupied by the great States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. Had slavery once crossed the river, it is not difficult to see what would have been its bearing upon our national destiny. Hon. Thomas Ewing of Ohio, in his address at the centennial celebration at Marietta in 1888, said, " The Marietta colony were in a large sense the emancipators of the slaves and the architects of the republic." Putnam has been called the " Father of Ohio," blithe was also really the Father of the Northwest, for the Ohio Company, of Avhich he was the prime mover, originally bought of the government all that immense tract of land (a million and a half acres), which was afterwards divided up into Ohio and the other States already named. The principles which went into and dominated one practically gave character to all. Prof. James D. Butler, LL.D., one of the oldest and most respected members of the faculty of the University of Wisconsin, has expressed it in thiswise: "Wisconsin is largely of the same Eastern stock with her four older sis- ters. No middle wall of partition divides our quintette." " ' We grew together, Like to a five-fold cherry, seeming parted, But yet "with union in partition : Five lovely berries molded on one stem, So with five seeming bodies, but one heart.' " In his recent address at Rutland, on the occasion of placing a memorial tablet in the old Putnam House by the Massachusetts Sons of the Revolution, Hon. George F. Hoar of the United States Senate has given a very clear and complete outline of the life, character and work of this remarkable man. Nothing which is essential to an intelligent understanding of that life could be added ; but there are incidents and reminiscences connected with it which arc not so generally well known which may be of interest. It was the privilege of the writer some years ago, when on an historical mission to Marietta, where the greater part of Putnam's memorable life was led, to have access to a large collection of his un[)ul)lished letters nud journals, now yellow with age, and to make (juite copious notes from them. The puri)ose of this paper is, by the use of this and other material of the same sort, to l)ring out some features of Rufus Putnam's life which may ser\-e as a kind of supplement to what has already been pub- lished. His service for his country dates from the time when, from North Brookfield, he enlisted in the French and Indian war, in 1757. He tells us in a journal which he kept in those days that he went out in the company of Capt. Ebenezer Learned, a very religious man, who " prayed regularly night and morning with his men, and on the Sabbath read a sermon in addition." It is an interest- ing coincidence that when young Putnam, then only nine- teen years of age, and others of the noble pioneers of Ohio shouldered their muskets and made those wearisome marches to Canada, and endured such privations in the old French war, they were really fighting for the region which was to be their future home, and where, some years later, they were to lay the foundations of many rich and prosperous States. The very men who had helped England wrest the Northwest country from France in the French and Indian war, and who afterward, with the aid of France, reconquered it from England, now go out to make it their home, ready, if the necessity should occur, as it did, to take up arms once more to defend it from the Indians, who had been their foes in both the previous wars. After the war of the Revolution, in which he distin- guished himself as military engineer and officer, we tind Putnam returning to his farm, which a few years before he had purchased in Rutland, and there devoting himself to all the employments and duties of an ordinary citizen. 6 From the following abstracts from the town records we see the part which he took in toAvn affairs. His name generally appears without the military title, and as simpl}^ Rufus Putnam, Esq., save in one instance, where he is desig- nated as Col. Rufus Putnam. In the town warrant for May 13, 1782, an article appears : " To remit to Abraham Wheeler, late constable, part of Col, Rufus Putnam's taxes, dated Sept. 15, 1781, for hiring men to serve in the army, 5 pounds 11 shillings." Sept. 14, 1783. "Voted that Isaac Wheeler, Simeon Heald, Rufus Putnam, Es(i. (and others) be a committee to view the road to Asa Adams to see whether a road can l)e made any other way to ])etter advantage and report to the town at the adjournment of this meeting." Nov. 17, 1783, there is an article "To see whether the town will grant mone}^ to repair any of the school houses in the town or act anything thereon." " Voted, that C'ai)t. David Bent, Rufus Putnam, Esq. (and others) l)e a com- mittee to make necessar}' repairs on the school houses now built in this town, and report the expense to the town at some future meeting for allowance and })ayment." Another article : " To see whether the town will cmpoAver any per- son or persons to settle with Jabez Fairbanks respecting his suit against the town, or act anything thereon." " Voted, that Dea. Jonas How (and others) be a committee to make a settlement." At an adjourned meeting, Dec. 1, " Voted, that Rufus Putnam, Esq., lie added to the committee." March 5, 1784, an article appears: "That the town choose collector to collect the taxes in the same the present year." "Voted, that the collection of the said taxes be let at auction and struck off to the lowest bidder who shall procure sufficient bonds for the faithful discharge of said office to the acceptance of the town." "Then Rufus Putnam, Esq., appeared and offered to undertake the col- lection of said taxes for 30 shillings on each one hundred pounds," Miircli 1"), 17(S4. "'I'lic lowii Ikmiiu' met jiccordiiii:- to adjourniiuMit acted furtlicr on the second ai'ticlc. Ilufus Putnam, Es(i., was chosen collector. Sworn. Voted to accept of Cai)t. Tlios. Read and John Stone as bondsmen for the said collector's faithful discharge of said office. Rufus Putnam, Es(j., chosen constable. Sworn." In the records from this date there are several notifica- tions for town meetings, of which the following is a s})eci- men : Rutland, Nov. 22, 1784. In obedience to the warrant I have notified the inhal)i- tants of Rutland to meet at the time and place for the purpose therein stated, (Signed) Rurus Putnam, Constable. Nov. 2, 1784. Voted to Rufus Putnam, Esq., for repair- ing school house in the middle school jolot the sum of B })ounds 14 shillings and 2 pence. April 4, 1785, the town gave him 2 votes for State senator ; April 3, 178(), 21 votes ; and April 2, 1787, 29 votes. May 8, 1786. "Voted Rufus Putnam, Esq., for sur- veying a road and carrying Beulah Collar to Leicester, 17 shillings and 10 pence. Voted also that Rufus Putnam, Esq. (and 8 others) be a committee to report a proper number and arrangement of school plots in the town at the adjournment of this meeting, and report each plot's bounds." The committee reported June 12, 178(i. Jan. 17, 1787. At a town meeting called by Hezekiah Ward, Justice of Peace, "The question was i)ut whether the town should dismiss their member of the convention or not. Rufus Putnam, Esc]., claimed a right to protest against the vote. Capt. Phinehas Walker was chosen a ■member of the convention." At the same meeting there was an article "To see whether the town will act on a letter from a committee of the body of the people that assembled at Worcester on the 8 7th of Dec. la.st passed, or act anything thereon." "Voted to take the letter mentioned in the article into considera- tion. Dea. Jonas How claimed a right to protest against the vote." "Voted to choose a connnittee to petition the Gen- eral Court agreeable to the letter. Rufus Putnam, Es(]., claimed a right to protest for himself and all others who should choose to sign." (These last minutes are supposed to refer to Avhat is known in history as the Shaj's rebellion.) March 5, 1787. Chosen chairman of selectmen; also surveyor of hig-hwavs and collector of hiffhway taxes. March 18, 1787. Chosen moderator of Town Meeting. The original i)lot which he made for the division of the town into school districts, in accordance with the vote taken June 12, 1786, may now be seen in the Putnam Memorial at Rutland. It was during his residence in Rutland that his famous corres})ondence with Washington as to the best way to secure the un})aid dues to the Soldiers of the Revolution took place, and many of the letters which passed between them on this suliject may now be seen among the Putnam papers at Marietta, Ohio. A simple allusion to this link in his life may be all that is necessary in this connection, a more complete account of which may be found in the able address of Senator Hoar, to which reference has already l)een made. Congress failing to adoi)t his suggestions, eiulorsed by Washington, that public lands belonging to the government west of the Ohio River be assigned to the soldiers in lieu of money unpaid, he originated the idea and was largely instrumental in the organization of what is known in history as the Ohio Company, the object of which was to purchase' outright those lands, })rovided a projjcr guarantee against the introduction of slavery into that territory' could be secured, paying for them in most i)art with government scri}), which the soldiers held in large sums. 9 When the Ohio ('oiiipaiiv was ioriucd (Jcii. Piitiiaiii was chosi'ii its suj)ei"iiiteii(l('iit. His coinniission, signed l)y JauR's M. \^ainum, is still })re.served in the archives of the college at Marietta, a.s also are many of his letters. Among those associated with him in this ( V)m])any were some of the brightest men of his time. Washington said of them, "They were men to whom education, religion, freedom, private and public faith, which they incorporated in the fundamental compact of Ohio, were the primal neces- sities of life." Rev. Manasseh Cutler, D.D., of Ipswich, Massachusetts, his princi})al coadjutor, stands out in bold relief from all the rest. His part in securing the passage of the Ordinance of 17(S7, and afterward in purchasing of Congress the lands in the northwestern territory, entitles him to favorable mention always with the name of Rufus Putnam. His biographer saj's of him: "He had a versa- tile talent and l)road learning, and was possessed of wonderful tact, both in si^eech and conduct ; of elegant bearing ; a favorite in the drawing room and in the camp ; and, withal, a most noted naturalist, known almost ecjually well in scientific circles in Europe and America." The Ordinance passed July 11th, 1787. On the 27th of the same month Congress passed an act authorizing the sale to the Ohio Company of 1,500,000 acres of land on the Ohio, about the mouth of the ^luskingum, for $1.00 per acre, Avith an allowance for bad lands not to exceed one-third of a dollar per acre. The contract was closed Oct. 27th of the same year, and signed l)v Samuel Osgood and Arthur Lee for the Board of Treasury, and by Manasseh Cutler and Winthro}) Sargent for the Ohio Company. It is the only case in history, with a single exception, when the Laws and Constitution have been projected into a terri- tory prior to its occupation by its future inhabitants. Congress appointed as officers of the new territory Gen. Arthur St. Clair governor, Maj. Winthrop Sargent secre- tary, and Gen. Samuel H. Parsons and James M. Varnum 10 judii'cs. After the purchase was made, and Cutler had returned to his home, there arose a lively discussion on the merits of the transaction and the wisdom of the i)ro- posed migration to the far west. Dr. Cutler Avrote a pamphlet, in which he set forth in glowing colors the won- derful attractions of the western country for emigration. Others looked upon the scheme with ridicule. A penny anti-moving-to-Ohio })a])er caricatured the whole thing by a rude wood-cut, in which a stout, ruddy, well-dressed man, on a sleek, fat horse, with a legend appended, " I'm going to Ohio," was represented as meet- ing a pale and ghasth' skeleton-like looking figure, clad in tatters, astride an almost inanimate animal, and underneath the label, " I've been to Ohio." In three of the December 1787 issues and in one of the flanuary issues of 17S8 of Tlie Worcester Magazine appears the following advertise- ment : OHIO COMPANY. Adventurers in the Ohio Company who subscriljed with Ruri'S Putnam are requested to meet at Mr. John Stowers's, innholder, in Worcester, on Tuesday, the 18th instant, at two o'clock in tlie afternoon, to choose an A^ent or Aj^ents, agreeably to the Articles of Association, as the said Putnam is very soon to set out for the Ohio Country, and can serve his friends as Agent no longer. RuFus Putnam. Rutland, Dec. 3J, 1787. Only a day or two l)efore this notice Avas first pub- lished one party of men for the west had started from Danvers, Massachusetts, under Maj. Hafiield White, and about a month later (Jan. 1, 1788,) another company, under Col. Ebenezer Sproat, left New Haven, Connec- ticut, for the same destination. Putnam wrote his ne})hew John Matthews, who seems to have been with the first company, as follows : " You and Mr. Tupper are appointed surveyors under me, and you maj^ expect to see mc at Monongohela, or perhaps Wheeling Creek, by the tenth of February. ]Maj. White comes on Avith a party desio-ned for buildino- the l)oats. He has my orders to contract for supplies of jn-ovisions for the Avhole party till Aug. next. I am not coming with a view only to do the 11 work of the company, but I intend to remove my family as soon as I have provided a place to put them in." The men makina- up the two parties numbered in all foi'ty- eio-ht, and represented the various trades of carpentering, Itoat l)uildini>-, enoineerino-, etc. It has been disparaging-ly said of them that they were merely hirelings, and of Putnam himself that he was a land speculator, and therefore not worthy the honor Avhich is being heaped upon him. True, they were in one sense "hired men." Thej were sent ahead to prepare the way. Not able to go at their own expense, they were paid the nominal sum of four dollars a month till discharged. But they were men of most })atri- otic motiyes, and men also of superior culture and charac- ter. A third of them, it is said, were college graduates. It was no doubt Putnam's plan in the first place to provide good homes for his former comrades in arms. He maA^ not haye seen much farther ahead than that. Probably he built better than he knew. Rut we might say the same of Columbus and of the Pilgrim Fathers. No human eye can see the end from the beginning. But this is certain, had it not been for Gen. liufus Putnam and his wise leadership into the wilds of the great northwest, American history would haye l)een written far differently from what it is now. Their journey across the continent in the dead of winter was no holiday excursion. We find this entr}' in Putnam's journal : "I joined the party at Ijincoln's inn, near a creek which was hard frozen, but not sufficient to l)ear the wagon, and a whole day was spent in cutting a passage. So great a quantity of snow fell that day and the following night as to (juite block up the road. Our only resource; was to l)uild sleds and harness our horses one before the other, and in this manner, with four sleds and the men in front, to break the track. We set forward and reached the youghiogheny, a tri])utary of the Ohio, Fel). 14, where we found Maj. AYliite, who had arrived Jan. 3d." In a letter written to Dr. Cutler he says ; "It would 12 give you pain and me no pleasure to detail our march over the mountains or our (lela3^s afterwards on account of the bad weather and other misfortunes." There were some rather humorous features to their trip. CV)1. Sproat, in command of the second party, was a thorouahiioing Yankee, 6 feet 4 inches tall, good natured, and exceed- ingly fond of animals. One Sunday they stopped over Avith a well-to-do German farmer in Pennsyl\ania, who treated them with the utmost hos})itality. During the halt some one, thinking to play a good joke on the colonel, hid the Dutchman's pet dog in one of the wagons, which was not discovered till they were well on their way the next day, when a messenger came riding up to the colonel in hot haste with this note from his German friend. "Meester Colonel Sproat, I dinks I use you well. Den for what you steal my little tog?" It liardly need he said that the dog was soon on his way back to its owner. After reaching a place called Sumrill's Ferr}^, for about six weeks they were busy building a good sized boat and sev- eral smaller ones for their voyage down the Ohio. The large boat they named " Adventure Galley," but afterward changed it to what they considered a more appropriate name, "The Mayflower," as a sort of second edition of the good ship in which the Pilgrim Fathers years l)efore had come over to this new country to lay the foundations of a Christian commonwealth. Rufus Putnam and his brave company were, in fact, going out to sow in the wilderness of the Northwest seed from which a rich harvest of the Pilgrim ideas would be gathered in the years to come. They reached their destination at the junction of the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers the 7th day of April, 1788, about noon. The voyage down the river is described as delightful. It was during the opening days of spring. Representatives of the various tribes of Indians in that reo;ion were on hand to <»:ive them a o-racious welcome. There is now a ])ainting in one of the halls at Marietta, made in 184U by a local artist of some repute, Avhich 13 represents the landing scene. It is said to ho tolerably true to facts so far as they could l)e lilcancd from letters and journals written by the persons who were nienil)ers of the iii'oup itself. It is laid on the lcftl)aid< of the ^luskin- i>uni, a(|uarter of a mile or so above its mouth. A i^roup of white men has just ascended the bank from the boats, among whom Gen. Putnam and Col. Sproat are especially prominent. Corn Planter, the chief of the Senecas, in full dress, is shaking hands with the General, and wel- eoniing him to the country. Capt. Pipes, chief of the Delawares, is close by his side, while the squaw or wife of Corn Planter, in a rich mantle of broadcloth decorated with five hundred silver brooches, and a head-dress of richly colored silk handkerchiefs, stands in a modest atti- tude looking pleasantly on the new comers. Grou})s of Indians are seen advancing, Avliile others are seated on the trunk of a newh' fallen tree. Sixt}'^ or seventy Indians from various tribes have been here some weeks for the purpose of making a treaty. The l)ackground takes in Fort Harmer, a frontier military post on the op})osite bank of the river, and the low range of l)luffs which skirt the horizon from north to south. The next day after their arrival the surveyors began to lay out the new town, Gen. Putnam himself takino- charoe of the work. The plan of the city as he originally drew it with his own hands is today among his papers in JNIarietta College lil)rarv. A clearing was soon made in the forest, and, although the season was far advanced, the first 3'ear one hundred and thirty acres were })hinted with corn after a rude fashion, from which they harvested in the fall thirt}- bushels to the acre. The rivers furnished an al)undance of fish, and the forests game, so the}' did not lack a sufBciency of food for that year. In a letter to Dr. Cutler, Gen. Putnam wrote as follows : " The men are generally in good health, and I believe nnicli pleased with the eountry. 'i'hat I am so myself you may be assured. 1 can onh' add, the situation of the c'lt^j 14 plot is the most delightful of any I ever saw." June 15th a hundred new recruits, or al)out fifteen families, joined the colony, from the east, coming- by way of the river on "The Mayflower," wliich now made occasional trips l)etwoen the settlement and Sumrill's Ferry on the upper Ohio. The name of the new town was called Marietta, in honor of Marie Antoinette, the queen of France, in acknowledgment of her courtesy to Benjamin Franklin, at that time the United States minister to France. As General St. Clair, the newly appointed terri- torial governor, had not yet arrived, the jieople very soon met and that they might live in an orderly way enacted some temporar}^ laws, and posted them on the trees where all could see them. It is not strange that a body of men like these should want to celebrate the anniversary of their national inde- pendence, nor is it to be wondered at that Gen. Putnam should take the lead in such a movement. The original subscription paper, drawn in his own handwriting, to raise money for a celebration the first year, is still in good state of preservation as the property of Hon. George Woodbridge of Marietta. It reads as follows : "The sul)scril)ers hereby agree to celebrate the anniver- sary of the Independence of the United States upon the Fourth of July next. They will provide a })ublic diimer for themselves, his excellency the governor and his suite, the officials of the government, and such others as may occasionally be invited. The expenses shall be equally borne and paid to Mr. flonas Backus, who is desired to provide the entertainment. RuFUS Putnam & 47 others." A large bower was erected near the river, and every preparation was made to carry out the plan, l)ut, as the gov- ernor for some reason did not put in an a})pearance, one of their own number, James M. Varnum, an accomplished orator, delivered the address, and the da}' was pronounced 15 a success. One of the first structures to he huilt was a fort, to secure them against possihle invasion from the Indians. Althouiih they aave every assurance of friendliness, (ien. Putnam, from liis })revi()iis exix'rienee with Indian charac- ter, knew too well that it would not do to put too nuich confidence in their professions. Subsequent developments })roved his wisdom in this respect. Under his direction a stockade, occupvino- some eight acres, laid out in the form of a s(|uare, was inclosed by a palisade of strong posts driven into the ground and pointed at the top. Inside this was built a substantial two- story building of timl)er, around an open court, 180 ievt on each side, and defended at each corner by a blockhouse, which was higher than the rest, and pierced with portholes. This buildino' was lare'e enouo'h to furnish accommodation in case of necessity for about fifty families. It was in one of these l)lockhouses that the first court of the territory was held, and the same place was used for religious services for a number of } ears. This structure for defence bore the somewhat pretentious name of Campus Martins. As Gen. Putnam was the superintendent of the colony, e\ery one looked to him for the management of all affairs and the adjustment of all difficulties. Among his papers at Marietta one finds relics of both the serious and the amusinji" features of those times. Here is ou-e which seems to combine a little of both. It would seem that an Indian had l)een killed by a white man in revenge for some injury, and the wife of the nnu'dered Indian was in want. Gen. Putnam gives an order on a store for her relief, as follows : "Marietta, May 17th, 17i>7. Sir :— Pleze to Deliver the Dellancrane woman, widow of the murdered Indian Such goods as she shall chuze to wipe away her Tears to the amount of Five Dollars. . ■ Krrrs Pitnam. lo Gnfrin Green es' of our starting; for Ohio. Mr. Burlingame's family, of Avhich I was a member, \v(>nt to Gen. Putnam's the evening before. The next morn- ing after famih' praj-ers and breakfast the}' Ijegan to tackle up the teams. . . . Putnam's family consisted of himself and wife, two sons and five single daughters. . . . Gen. Putnam had two hired men who were his teamsters. . . . There were twentj-six of us in alL It seemed to the old folks a vast enterprise to go eight hundred miles into a savage countr}', as it was then called. There were three ox wagons, with two yoke of oxen to each, and Gen. Putnam's two-horse carriage, and one saddle horse. My mother had one cow, and Putnam had three or foiu' neat cattle, includino- a bull of a choice breed. AVe were eifflit weeks on the journey. 1 think we did not travel on the Sabbath, for I distinctly remember that we tarried at Beth- lehem, Pennsylvania, and attended public worship. . . . Among other pre})arations for the journe}' nn' mother and sister had knit up a large quantity of socks and stockings. They were packed in a bag, and that bag was used by the boys who lodged in the Avagon for a bolster. By some means the bag was lost out of the wagon or stolen. The boys missed it of course the first night. That morning my brother went back the whole distance of the previous day's journey, and inquired and advertised it without success. I do not remember how many pairs of stockings there were in it, but from the size of the bag I judge there were at least one hiuidred. ... Our ox teams were (juite a curi- osity to the Yorkers and Pennsjdvanians. They called them the cow teams. ... I remember the steep rough roads in the mountains. Sometimes they would take the foremost pair of oxen and chain them to the hind end of 17 the waii'on when yoing down a steep place, where they woukl uaturalh' hold back, and so make it easier for the other })air to hold back. . . . Gen. Putnam had travelled the road three or four times l)cf()re, and he had a list of all the houses that he meant to put up at, and ever}- morn i no- lle would sdy to the teamsters, ' So many miles to such a place tonight.' He would generally go forward horseback and make arrangements for the night. . . . Two nights in all the journey did we fail of reaching the a})p<)inted })lace, though sometimes it was at a late hour, owing to the badness of the roads on rainy days. We had but little rainy weather until we reached the headwaters of the Youghiogheny at Sumrill's Ferry. We waited a few days at the house of Mr. C^rnahan till the boats were finished which the General had engaged the summer previous when he was returning from Ohio to New England. . . . We observed the western line of Pennsylvania where it crossed the Ohio. It had been marked by cutting down all the trees a space of three or four rods wide. . . . " It was slow% tedious work on the ri^'er, often getting aground, when all the men from both boats had to unite to shove the boat over the shoal })laces. Some of our part}' writing to their friends in liutland informed them of our getting aground on the fish dams above Pittsburgh, but carelessly left out the word dams, so it read ' got aground on the Jish.' The answer came back, 'You must have very large Jish in the Ohio.' At length we arrived at Marietta al)out nine o'clock in the morning. I cannot tell the day. . . . All the settlers gave us a hearty welcome. It can scarcel}' be realized now by persons born and brought up here with what feelings the first settlers welcomed every accession to their number. Thej^ had just passed through a time of great scarcity of provisions. Corn was now ri})e. Providence had favored them with a good crop. It was a time of peace, and they Avere full of hopes that soon they would be relieved from all the privations incident to a neAV settlement so far l)eyond the abodes of civilized man. . . . This was in November, ITDO. . . . Within a few days the massacre of the settlement at Big Bottom took place, which carried dismay to every mind in the infant settle- ment." The Indian war dates from Jan. 1 7th, 1 7i,> 1 . The cx[)eri- 18 ence of the next four years was one of great hardship and danger, (len. Putnam in those trj^ing times showed his good judgment and genius for leadership, and practically .saved the colony from destruction. Many of the Ohio Company who had clung to him as long as there was pros- pect of success and plenty now withdrew when the dark days came. But he was made of different fil)re from that. His experience in the French and Indian war had taught him some things which now came in play. Governor St. Clair, who was officialh' his superior, undertook to quell the outl)reak hy marching against the invaders with the mili- tary force at his command, but proved wholly incompetent to cope with the savage foe. Putnam, realizing the danger which threatened, appealed to Washington for help, writing : " Our situation is truly distressing, and I do most earnestly therefore im})lore the protection of government for myself and friends inhabitino- the wilds of America. To this we consider ourselves justly entitled." But for some reason no help came. His friend Fisher Ames, then a representative in Congress, wrote to him that he Avas glad the country sj^mpathized with them and was not indisposed to give effectual protection although it would cost money, but that circumstances, too often threw cold water on the natural emotions of the public towards their distressed brethren. So Putnam took the matter into his own hands and organized a company of scouts selected with reference to their courage and skill in reading the movements of the enemy, and gathered his little colony within the walls of the fortification Avhich he had prepared against such an emergency as this. During these })erilous times the men would cultivate the fields near by as best they could, but never went so far away that they could not retire within the walls of the stockade in case of an attack by the enemy. And so they lived in constant fear and danger through those long and cb-ear}^ years, knowing not what a da}' might brino- forth. There were some rather 19 aiiiusiiio- iiu'idciits iiiinoled with those iiioic soIxt days. The thrifty ha])its of the New Eiit>hiiid house-wife were eontinualh' ero})pini>- out. One night when danger was threatening, undercover of darkness (^ol. Sproat eanu^ into the blockhouse with a box of })a])ers for safe-keeping. There folh)wed some young men with their firearms. Next a Avoman with her bed and children. After them an old man with his leathern a})ron full of goldsmith's tools and tobacco. His daughter brought the china teapot aiul saucers. Another brought the great Bible. But when all Avere in, mother Avas missing. Where Avas mother? One said "She must be killed by the Indians." "Oh no," said another ; " mother said she Avould not leaAe the house looking so, and so she remained to i)ut things a little to rights." After a Avhile the old lady came bringing the looking-glass, kniA'cs, forks, etc. At last the government oi'dered Gen. Anthony Wayne, more commonly knoAvn as " Mad Anthony," Avith a bod}^ of troops to go to the relief of the settlers. Why Gen. Put- nam AA'^as not put in command is not quite clear, unless Gen. Wayne Avas higher in rank as an officer during the Avar of the Revolution. This is true, hoAvever, Gen. Putnam Avas of o;i"eat service to Wayne in bringino- the Indian Avar to a close and negotiating terms of peace. Among some official papers at Marietta relating to this period is an address Avhich he made at an Indian council convened for the purpose of arranging a treaty, some parts of Avhich are Avorthy to rank high in our American })atriotic literature. It begins as folloAvs : " Brothers : Let us smoke a pipe of friendshi})." When this preliminary part of tho proceeding Avas over he jn'oceeded. " Brothers : I conoratulate a'ou on our first meetimr toi>-ether this daA'. Ma' speeches which I sent you sixty days ago have reached you, and you are now come to hear what 1 have to say to you. We meet one another for a good })urpose, and the Great Spirit, who has preserved our lives to this day Avhere 20 we see one another face to face and shake hands together, will l)e witness to all our transactions. We meet together on no strange ground. It is the ground on which your ancestors have kindled a council fire, and where vou since have often met and smoked the pipe of i)eace. This fire must always be kept burning l)right so that you and your allies may see it and meet one another at all times without difficulty or fear there to smoke the pipe of peace, friend- ship and love. Brothers : I rose from the Great Council Fire of the United States four months ago. There I saAv the chiefs of the Five Fires and the chiefs of the Cheroke'e Nation smoke the pipe of peace with the great Chief of the United States, George Washington. The fire was burning bright, and all that were around it felt ha})i)y. The great Chief wished this happiness to extend to all nations. His council fire is kindled for the benefit of all nations. He loves to see his brothers ; to talk and smoke with them. Brethren : While the great Chief, George Washington, was thus joyful Avith his l)rothers that were Avith him he looked around and saw with sorrow that some of his distant brothers could not enjoy this happiness with him at present. He ol)served that a dark cloud had sprung up between them and the United States some time ago, and that this cloud had darkened the sky so much that his brothers and the people of the United States could not distinguish one another, but stuml)led against each other and struck the tomahawk in each other's heads. Brothers : The "reat Chief, wishing to have this dark cloud removed and dis- ]:)ersed, to see the tomahawk drawn out of the heads of each other and buried in the deep, to take each other by the hand anew and establish a new and lasting friendshij) between all his l)rothers and the United States, has appointed me his agent for this i)urpose. I am therefore come to you in confidence that Ave shall l)e al)le to accom- plish this great Avork, and I may then return again to the great Chief Avitli assurance of friendship and peace. 21 Brothers: I told you in my speech which 1 sent you th;it when I came I sliouhl hrin<>- your Avoiiien and chlla.\'e to Leicester Academy, of which he was a trustee, $500. He w^as also a trustee of the University of Ohio at Athens. On account of his m-eat natural cfifts he always held a piominent position even aniona" men of greater education. President Israel N. Andrews, for many years the honored head of Marietta College, and authority on all matters of local history, said of him : " In a community of al)le men, many of them highly educated. Gen. Putnam was from the first a leading man." He was as we might expect, a man of profound relig- ious convictions. He was among the first in securing religious privileges for the new colony. The first ten years, services Avere held in the blockhouse on the north- west corner of Campus Martins and, after that, in the l)uilding of the Muskingum Academy. A church was organized in 1796, Gen. Putnam and his friend Gen. Tup- per being the leaders in the movement. The articles of faith and the covenant written out l^y himself may still be seen among the Congregational Church records of Mari- etta. His name is first on the list of the charter members and next to it the name of Persis, his wife. The present house of worshi}), and the oldest building now used for church purposes west of the Ohio River, is said to have been planned by him and Avas erected in 1809. The sub- scription list, wdiich is still preserved, is a curiosity of its kind. Among the articles given, l:)esides money, Avere pork, castor, brown and felt hats, lum])er, labor and mer- chandise of all kinds. Putnam himself subscribed $400 in labor and lumber, to be paid by Aug. 1st, and $400 in cash, to be paid Oct. 1st. He AA^as one of the original trustees of what Avas knoAvn as " The First Religious Soci- ety of Marietta." The peAvs, as Avas the custom in those days, Avere sold by auction. He appears on the books of the church as the owner of thirty of them, which he probably bought for 3 24 the f^nkv of hol})ing out the cause. He advanced also (juite an amount from his own i)rivate funds, as is seen by his Avill, dated July 8th, 1813, in which he says : "I give and bequeath and hereby appropriate $3,000 out of the money due me from the First Religious Society of Marietta as a permanent fund, the annual interest of which sluill be applied to the following objects b}" trustees hereinafter named : one-third part to the sui)port of the minister of the First Religious Society of Marietta ; one-third part to the support of a school for the education of poor children in Marietta ; one-third i)art for the support of missionaries to })reach the gospel to places destitute of a stated ministry or among Indian tribes." All through his long and greatly resi)ected life he was a conspicuous figure among the people of Marietta, and his influence was very marked throughout the State. He held many important offices of trust in his lifetime in both the general and the local govern- ments. In addition to those ah'eady named, he was one of the first territorial judges and also a memljcr of the convention to draw up a constitution for organizing the State of Ohio in 1802. In his best days he is descril)ed as being a man of splendid physiijue, six feet in height, erect, well proportioned and of a soldierly bearing. He was quick and decisive in all his movements and sometimes almost al)rupt in manners. By his kind-heartedness, hoAv- ever, he never failed to l)e conciliatory when the occasion warranted. He was cheery and ini})rcssive in conversation, and possessed a fund of anecdote and ready information on all topics. His declining years were ])eautiful in the def- erence i)aid him by a people Avho OAved him so much for all that he liad been to them in dark and bright days alike. When in Marietta in 1894 the Avriter of this pai)er Avas fortunate in olitaining from Mrs. Sarah Cutler Dawes of that city, a granddaughter of the Rev. Manasseh Cutler, D.D., an aged lady of 85 years, who has since died, the followiuii" reminiscences of Gen. Rufus Putnam, Avhich 25 she recalled from her early liirUiood. These are her words. " r was attendiiio- school in Marietta in lrS22-8. Miss So})hia Tapper was my seat mate and particular friend. Her mother was a daughter of Gen. Rufus Put- nam. She lived at Putnam, Ohio, now a part of Zanes- ville. She lived at Gen. Putnanrs here. Gen. Putnam's daughter Miss Betsey kept house for him in the old build- ing, which Avas a i^art of Campus Martins. I was often at the house with Sophia, and I rememl)er staying there once all night. I often saw Gen. Putnam and talked with him. Once Miss Betsey introduced me as Ephraim Cutler's daughter. He shook my hand a long time and said, ' And you are Ephraim Cutler's daughter ! ' He shook my hand a long time. He Avas quite deaf. He seemed to me a very large looking man, but feeble with age. He was very erect in his carriage and dignified in manner, and I thought he walked like a soldier. He asked a bless- ing at table, standing himself at the head of the table while we all stood up l)y the side of our chairs. At night he had family prayers. We all stood up during the ser- vice, which was conducted by the General. He ai)peared old and his hand trembled. Once at the table he dropped a tumbler of water and broke a glass, when Miss Betsey said, ' Oh, father has broken a glass ! ' and she brought a silver cup for him. His house was well furnished, but not better than others of the same class. I saw him at church. He Avould Avalk up the aisle with great dignity, and all the i)eople seemed to pay him deference. I attended his funeral. There was a large crowd in attend- ance. The exercises Avere held in the Congregational Church. INIiss Betsey was a very gracious lad}-, kind to all, and she })resided over the house Avith dignity and graceful manners. A great niauA' jjcople A^isited them. There Avere liquors used at Gen. Putnam's, as Avas the case everA'Avhere else. But Kufus BroAvning told me that he once took a drink, and his 2:randfather, Rufus Putnam, 20 saw him and said, ' Do not ever touch another drop of liquor,' and that this had great influence over him and he never did." The house in which he lived for the greater part of his life after the Indian war is still standing. It was recon- structed from the old l)lockhou.se on the southeast corner of Campus Martins, and is a plain tAvo-storv liuilding, some- what smaller than the one in which he lived in Rutland. In one of the rooms may still be seen relics of the early colonial days, such as a powder-magazine and an ample closet for guns and military accoutrements. A large cham- l)er in the second story, in which Gen. Putnam died May 4th, 1824, at the advanced age of 87 years, is still in a good state of repair. In the old Mound Cemetery, back on the bluffs which overlook the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers, is a plain but substantial granite monument which marks his last resting-}) lace, having on its face this inscription : GEN. RUFUS PUTNAM, A revolutionary officer and leader of the colony which made the first settlement in the territory of the North West at Marietta, Apr. 7, 1788. Born Apr. 9th, 1738. Died May 4th, 1824. " The memory of the just is blessed." Gen. Putnam had a lunnerous family of children. Five sons and two daughters survived him. His descendants are widely scattered throughout the West, and are among its leading and influential citizens. All of his papers and letters relating to his pul)lic life descended to his grandson, C'ol. Rufus Putnam of Marietta, who at his death be- queathed them to Marietta College, in whose archives they are now safely deposited. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 574 368 •