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ï~~LIFE AND ADVENTURES

OF
LEWIS WETZEL,
THE VIRGINIA RANGER;
TO WHICH ARE ADDED
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF
GENERAL SIMON KENTON, GENERAL BENJAMIN
LOGAN, CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY,
GOVERNOR ISAAC SHELBY,
AND OTHER HEROES
OF THE WEST.
BY CECIL B. IARTLEY.
ILLUSTRATED WITH ENGRAVINGS FROM ORIGINAL DESIGNS,
BY G. G. WHITE.
PHILADELPHIA:
PUBLISHED BY G. G. EVANS,
NO. 439 CHESTNUT STREET.
1859.




ï~~Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by
GI. G. EVANS,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of
Penn sylvinia..
STEREOTYPED BY JESPER SIARDING & SONT PHILADOELPHIA,




ï~~PREFACE.
THE biographies in this volume have been compiled
with great care, from the best authorities. They present
to the reader's view the actions of some of the most remarkable men who took part in the great work of laying
a secure and solid foundation for the unbounded prosperity of the Great West. These men, too, were prominent leaders in those splendid military actions which
broke down the power, not only of the aborigines, but
of the British in the western and north-western states
of the Union; and in their several biographies as given
in this volume, will be found records of the great battles by which the British and Indians were finally driven
from the soil of the western country.
The characters and actions of these men will form a
(3)




ï~~4                     PREFACE.
profitable study for the patriotic young men, who may
hereafter be called upon to defend the homes and firesides of our country; and they will not fail to inspire
that noble and generous emulation, which has always
formed a striking trait in the American character.




ï~~CONTENTS.
LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.
CHAPTER I,
PAGE
Lewis Wetzel's great fame as an Indian fighter-The estimation in
which he was held by his cotemporaries-The great defender of the
Virginia frontier-Little known of his personal history-John Wetzel, the father of Lewis-His settlement near Wheeling-Settlement
of Wheeling-Erection of Fort Henry-Dangerous situation of John
Wetzel's residence-His family, of five sons and two daughters--His
frequent excursions from home-Dangers, difficulties, and privations
of the early settlers-Loss of horses and cows-Cares of the mother
-Clothing and education of the family-Comparison of past and the
present  tim es.........................................................................  13
CHAPTER II.
Birth of Lewis Wetzel-His birth-place uncertain-Major Fowler's account of the family-Lewis and Martin captured by the IndiansDeath of their father-The boys escape from the Indians and return
home-The oath of vengeance-Mr. De IHaas's statement respecting
the death of John Wetzel, and the adventure of Lewis and Martin
W etzel.......................................................................  21
CHAPTER III.
Peculiar character of the period when Lewis Wetzel was a youth-Turbulent times favorable to the formation of a bold and independent
character-Martin Wetzel joins Col. Brodhead's expedition to destroy
the Indian towns on the Coshocton-Its success-Treatment of the
prisoners-Martin Wetzel's implacable conduct-He kills a messenger-He assists in killing the Indian prisoners-His capture by
the Indians-His apparent contentedness with them-He kills his
captors and escapes to the settlements.......................... 27
(5)




ï~~6                           CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
PAGE
Lewis Wetzel engaged in Crawford's campaign-Notice of the preceding
campaign of Williamson-The Moravian settlements-Some of the
people taken to Fort Pitt--Prejudices against them-Warned by
Delaware chief-Moravian settlements on Muskingum broken upRemoval to Sandusky-False charges-Williamson's expeditionTreacherous conduct towards the Christian Indians-They are made
prisoners-They are slaughtered in cold blood-Escape of the Indians  of  Shoenbrunn..............................................................  37
CHAPTER V.
Crawford's campaign-Its objects-The soldiers equip themselves-All
volunteers- Colonel Crawford chosen commander-The marchEarly symptoms of want of discipline-Indians well informed of
their movements-Attacked by the Indians-The battle-Retreat
ordered and commenced-Dreadfully harassed on the retreat-Dr.
Knight's account of his own and Colonel Crawford's retreat-They
are captured by the Indians-Colonel Crawford seeks aid of Simon
Girty, who makes fair promises to Crawford, and insults Dr. Knight
-The Colonel stripped and beaten-Girty now threatens to burn the
Colonel-Horrid circumstances attending the burning-Escape of
Dr. Knight-End of the campaign-Remarks-Lewis Wetzel mneets
with Mills in the retreat, and goes with him after his horse-They
are attacked by Indians, and Mills is killed-Lewis escapes, after
killing two Indians and wounding a third in his retreat................. 49
CHAPTER VI.
Erection of Fort Harmar- General Harmar attempts to conciliate the
Indians-Lewis Wetzel goes to Fort Ilarmar, in hopes to kill an Indian-He waylays and shoots one-Captain Kingsbury sent to arrest
him-He returns without effecting his object-Lewis Wetzel goes on
a visit to Hamilton Carr-He is made prisoner in Carr's house, and
loaded with irons-He makes a singular proposition to General Harmar, which is not accepted-Wetzel escapes from his captivity-By
the aid of a friend he reaches Virginia, and then goes to KentuckyGeneral Harmar goes to Fort Washington, and issues a proclamation,
offering a reward for the apprehension of Lewis Wetzel................. 67
CHAPTER VII.
Lewis Wetzel joins Major M'Mahan's expedition against the IndiansThey meet a strong party of Indians-The party retreats, leaving
Wetzel-He comes to an Indian camp-Kills an Indian, and returns
home with his scalp-He kills an Indian who imitates the turkey
call, as a decoy to the people in the fort at Wheeling................... 70
CHAPTER        VIII.
Lewis Wetzel goes down the Ohio towards the Kanawha-Meets Lieutenant Kingsbury, who does not arrest him-Lewis goes to Limestone




ï~~CONTENTS.                             7
PAGE
and Washington-Goes on hunting excursions-Goes to MaysvilleIs arrested and put in irons by Lieutenant Lawler-Delivered to
General Harmar-Great excitement in the neighborhood on account
of Wetzel's detention in prison-Wetzel tried and discharged-His
personal appearance at this time...............................................  82
CHAPTER IX.
Lewis Wetzel goes on an Indian hunt-He finds a camp with four Indians-Watches them-Attacks them in the night-Kills three of
them-The fourth escapes-Wetzel's characteristic remark on his
return home-Lewis's adventure with six Indians in a cabin-He
kills one of them and makes his escape unhurt............................ 86
CHAPTER X.
Lewis Wetzel's popularity not diminished by his imprisonment-He
makes a visit to a friend on Dunkard's Creek-They find the house
of his friend in ruins, and his intended wife is missing, having been
captured by the Indians-Wetzel and his friend set off in pursuit of
the Indians-A long march through the woods-They come upon the
camp of the Indians at night-They watch them till morning-They
attack the Indians-They recover the captive and kill all the Indians 9?
CHAPTER XI.
Adventure of John Wetzel-He goes with six others to an Indian town
to steal horses-They cross the Ohio and reach the town, where they
obtain fifteen horses-They are detained at Wells Creek-An alarm
-The party encamp for the night-The Indians attack them and
kill three of their number-John Wetzel and the other three survivors make good their retreat-John Wetzel goes on a scout with
Veach Dickerson-They meet two Indians-Wetzel kills and scalps
one, and they capture the other-He refuses to go with them-They
beat him with hickory sticks, but he still refuses to accompany them,
and they finally tomahawk and scalp him................................... 94
CHAPTER XII.
Adventure of Lewis Wetzel's brother, Jacob, and General Simon Kenton-They go on a fall hunt and fall upon an Indian trail-They
seek and discover the Indian camp at night-They wait till morning,
and then make the attack-Two Indians fall at the first fire-Wetzel
kills a third-They then leave their ambush and rush on the remaining Indians, who take to flight-They pursue, and finally kill and
scalp  both  of the other Indians............................................... 102
CHAPTER XIII.
Lewis Wetzel starts for New Orleans-He is imprisoned there-Charge
unknown-He is released by the intervention of the government, and
goes to Philadelphia-Great change in his appearance-He returns
to Wheeling Creek-He returns to the South to revenge himself on




ï~~8                           CONTENTS.
PAGE
the enemy who had caused his imprisonment-He returns to Wheeling-Goes to the woods to hunt-Encounters an Indian-Singular
stratagem-Kills the Indian-Lewis Wetzel goes on a land survey
with the brother of President Madison-Madison killed-Wetzel
engaged in the famous expedition of Lewis and Clarke-He quits the
expedition and returns home-He goes to the neighborhood of
Natchez-His death-His personal appearance and character.......... 105
BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
CHAPTER I.
Birth and early life of Kenton-No school education-Unfortunate adventure-Kenton flogs a rival, and leaving him for dead, flies from
his home-Falls in with Johnson-Kenton takes the name of Simon
Butler-Joins an exploring expedition-Meets Yager and StraderGoes down the Ohio-They hunt for two years on the Kanawha...... 113
CHAPTER II.
Kenton's party attacked by Indians-Kenton and Yager escape-Sufferings in the woods-Relieved by traders-Joins Dr. Wood's party
-Adventure-The party breaks up-Kenton serves in Dunmore's
war-Expedition to the Lower and Upper Blue Licks-Meeting with
Fitzpatrick and Hendricks-Terrible fate of Hendricks................. 119
CHAPTER III.
Kenton at Boonesborough-He goes on an expedition with Boone-Adventure with Indians-Kenton and Montgomery steal horses, and go
to Logan's Fort-Kenton sent on a scouting expedition by Colonel
Bowman-Horse stealing-Flight-Capture of Kenton-Tied to a
horse, Mazeppa fashion-Taken to Chillicothe-At the stake-Runs
the gauntlet-Attempt to escape-Council on Kenton's fate-Recognized and saved by Simon Girty-Lives with Girty-Another council-Kenton condemned-Sent off with a guard-Meets Logan, who
intercedes for him in vain--He is sent to Detroit.......................... 126
CHAPTER IV.
Kenton works for the garrison at Detroit-Escapes from captivity by
the aid of Mrs. Harvey-Goes to Vincennes and Harrod's StationCommands a company in Clark's expedition-Fights at ChillicotheHears joyful news from home-Agaiin commands a company under
Clark-Fifty years' anniversary appointed-Account of the anniversary- K enton's letter..............................................................  152
CHAPTER V.
Kenton returns to Harrod's Station-Builds houses and plants cornDeath of his father-Kenton removes the family to Kentucky-Set



ï~~CONTENTS.                              9
PAGE
tles near Maysville-Parts with some land-Commands a company
in Logan's expedition, and in Todd's-Last incursion of the Indians. 160
CHAPTER VI.
Kenton a Major under General Wayne-Kenton's wealth-How it was
lost-Settles at Urbana-His magnanimity--Moves to Mad riverHe applies to the Legislature for aid-General Floyd's kindness to
him-His lands are released, and a pension granted to him-His
death-Personal appearance and character.................................. 165
GENERAL BENJAMIN LOGAN.
CHAPTER I.
Parentage of General Logan-Relinquishes his paternal property to his
mother, brothers, and sisters-Removes to the Holston-Engages in
Dunmore's war-Removes to Kentucky-His education imperfectSettles at Logan's Fort-Removes to Harrodsburgh-Returns to
Logan's Fort-Attack on the fort-Logan rescues Harrison from the
Indians-Siege of the fort-Logan goes for a supply of ammunition
and returns safely to the fort-Fort relieved by Colonel Bowman's
party...................................................................................  173
CHAPTER II.
Incursidns of the Indians-Logan serves as second in command under
Colonel Bowman, in the expedition against Chillicothe-Logan attacks the town-Bowman fails to support him, and orders a retreatLogan rejoins Bowman-Disorder-Bowman's strange conductSecond action with the Indians, who are defuted and dispersedLogan conducts an expedition against the Norh-western IndiansAffair of Moluntha-Logan returns to his farm-Assists in convention for framing constitution of Kentucky-Member of the Legislature- Death  of  Logan.............................................................  178
CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.
CHAPTER I.
Birth and parentage of Brady-His father moves to the West Branch
of the Susquehanna-Samuel Brady's gallantry at the siege of Boston-Appointed First Lieutenant-His father a Captain-Samuel
hears of his father's death-Vows vengeance against all IndiansAt battle of Princeton-At Paoli massacre................................. 191




ï~~10                          CONTENTS.
CHAPTER II.
PAGE
Captain Brady sent on a scout to the Indian country-Arrives at Sandusky-Makes his reconnoissance-Sufferings on his return-Singular
adventure-Brady kills an Indian, and saves the squaw and childBrady returns to Pittsburg-Anecdote of his retreat through the
w oods........".......................................................................... 196
CHAPTER III.
Captain Brady sent with a party to catch Indians-Watches an Indian
camp-Surprise and destruction of the Indians............................ 204
CHAPTER IV.
Captain Brady commands the advance guard under General Brodhead
-Battle-Insolent Indian punished-Brady's vow of vengeance...... 209
CHAPTER V.
Some details respecting Captain Brady's father-Fort Augusta garrisoned-Treaty with the Seneca and Muncy tribes attempted-A rum
affair at Derr's  trading  house................................................... 214
CHAPTER VI.
Fort Freelyng a rallying point-Alarm of Indian hostilities-Captain
Dougherty in command-Attack of the Indians-They force the
works and massacre the garrison-Escape of Brady and Dougherty.. 218
CHAPTER VII.
Effects of the massacre of Fort Freelyng-Retreat of the IndiansCaptain John Brady commands the fort at the Muncy Hills-James
Brady commands a small party of men-Attacked by IndiansScalped-His narrative and death-New war with the IndiansParticular account of the death of Captain John Brady-Captain
Samuel Brady  kills the Bald  Eagle............................................ 222
CHAPTER        VIII.
Captain Samuel Brady proposes to a Dutchman, Phouts, to go on a
scouting expedition-Phouts accepts the proposition, and they set
out-Discover an Indian camp-Capture an Indian, who is left with
Phouts-His treachery and its punishment-Captain Brady reports
to  the  General....................................................:................  228
CHAPTER        IX.
Captain Brady acts as leader of a scouting party in the French Creek
country-Falls on a trail-Attacks the Indians in front and rearPeril and flight-Brady's famous leap-Return to Pittsburg-Amusing instance of Indian superstition-Brady's marriage and familyH is  character........................................................................  235




ï~~CONTENTS,                             11
GOVERNOR ISAAC SHELBY.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
Birth and parentage of Isaac Shelby-The old French war-Evan
Shelby, Isaac's father, serves in it as a Captain of Rangers-Isaac
Shelby's education-Appointed deputy sheriff-Removal of the family
to the West-Dunmore's war-Isaac and Evan Shelby at the battle
of  Point Pleasant................................................................. 245
CHAPTER II.
Shelby in favor of the Revolution-Appointed commissary of supplies
-Ferguson's riflemen-Shelby raises a force and marches into the
Carolinas-Shelby, Clark, and Sevier, capture the British garrison
at Pacolet--The march towards King's Mountain-Affair at Cedar
Spring-Affair on the Enoree river-News of the battle of CamdenRetreat to the mountains-A force raised and marched to attack
Ferguson-Arrival at King's Mountain-The battle of King's Mountain-Total defeat of Ferguson-Shelby's important services........... 249
CHAPTER III.
Shelby sent on special service by General Greene-Shelby at Monk's
Corner-Shelby a member of the North Carolina Assembly-His
services there-His marriage-Settles in Kentucky-Civil servicesElected first governor of Kentucky-Services in the war of 1812 -Governor Shelby raises an army and marches to Canada-Governor
Shelby at the battle of the Thames-Testimonies of General Harrison
and President Madison to Shelby's merit-He retires to private life
-Declines to be Secretary of War-Assists at the Chickasaw treaty
-His death........................................................................ 256
JESSE HUGHES AND ELIAS HUGHES.
CHAPTER I.
Jesse Hughes and his brother, Elias, among the frontier heroes of
Western Virginia-Elias the last survivor of the battle of Point Pleasant-Thomas Hughes settled at Clarksburg-Jesse and Elias in a
company of Rangers-Surprise and escape-Affair with the Indians
at West's Fort-Jesse Hughes appointed Captain, to succeed Captain
Booth-Relieves the garrison at West's Fort-Surprise of the party
at Leading Creek--Chastisement of the Indians-A party of horsestealing Indians punished-Elias Hughes's contest with an IndianCapture and ransom of Jesse Hughes's daughter.......................... 263
CHAPTER II.
Jesse Hughes in a party of drovers attacked by the Indians-Narrow
escape-Story of the boy saved from an Indian by Hughes-The
turkey call-Jesse joins a party in pursuit of Indian marauders



ï~~12                          CONTENTS.
PAGE
Advises a change of course to avoid ambush-His advice disregarded,
and two men shot in consequence-They come upon the Indian trail,
and all refuse to go on except Hughes, who follows the Indian party
-Kills one of them and brings off his scalp-Recent death of Jesse
Hughes-Elias Hughes settles on the Licking river-He goes in pursuit of Indian marauders-Singular stratagem-Last days and death
of  Elias  H ughes....................................................................  271
ISAAC WILLIAMS.
CHAPTER I.
Early reminiscences should be preserved-Isaac Williams' birth and
adventures-A distressing occurrence-Settlement and explorationsLand entries-Marries Rebecca Martin-Her prowess-Her medical
skill-Their wedding-Indian troubles....................................... 281
CHAPTER II.
Capture of John Wetzel-His release-Williams settles opposite Fort
Harmar-New settlements-Great famine among the settlers-The
benevolence of our hero-Famine ends-Beaver trapping-Peculiarities in Mr. Williams' character-His death................................ 290
COLONEL ROBERT PATTERSON.
CHAPTER I.
Birth of Colonel Patterson-His father a Ranger-Robert emigrates to
Kentucky-Helps to build a house at Georgetown-Settles at Lexington-Settling of McLelland's Station-Patterson assists in defending the fort--Starts for Pittsburg-Attacked by Indians on the
way-Subsequent adventures................................................... 307
CHAPTER II.
Patterson joins Clark's expedition to Illinois-Taking of KaskaskiaPatterson settles at Harrodsburg-He lays out the town of Lexington
-Joins Bowman's expedition-Serves as Captain under Colonel
Clark against the Shawanees-Battle of Pickaway-Destruction of
Indian settlements and crops-Colonel Patterson second to Colonel
Boone in the battle of Blue Licks-His peril-His life saved by
Aaron Reynolds-His gift of land to Reynolds-Colonel Patterson
serves as Colonel in Clark's expedition to the Miami-Serves under
General Logan in an expedition against the Shawanese townsSeverely wounded-Settles near Dayton-Death of Colonel Patterson..................................................................................  312
ANECDOTES............................................................  316




ï~~LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.
CHAPTER I.
Lewis Wetzel's great fame as an Indian fighter- The estimation in
which he was held by his cotemporaries-The great defender of the
Virginia frontier-Little known of his personal history-John
Wetzel, the father of Lewis-His settlement near Wheeling-Settlement of Wheeling-Erection of Fort Henry-Dangerous situation of John Wetzel's residence-His family, of five sons and two
daughters-His frequent excursions from home--Dangers, difficulties, and privations of the early settlers-Loss of horses and cows
-Cares of the mother-Clothing and education of the familyComparison of past and the present times.
LEWIS WETZEL was one of the renowned among the
heroes who signalized their valor in the Indian wars of
of the western country.     HIe was not among the earliest
settlers of the western wilderness.    When Daniel Boone
was engaged in exploring the beautiful, but wild hills,
vales, and forests of Kentucky, Lewis Wetzel was a
child; and his great feats of war did not take place till
after the Revolution. But his life was, nevertheless, passed
for the most part in the frontier country, where Indian
(13)




ï~~14

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

wars were almost continually raging, from the close of
the Revolution till the successful expedition of General
Wayne brought a temporary peace to the western and
north-western frontiers, to be succeeded by other wars
at a later period. While hostilities continued, however,
his services were of the utmost importance. One of his
recent biographers* says:
Within the recollection of many of our readers, Lewis
Wetzel was regarded, by many of the settlers in the
neighborhood of Wheeling, as the right arm of their defence. His presence was considered as a tower of
strength to the infant settlements, and an object of terror to the fierce and restless savages who prowled about
and depredated upon our frontier homes. The memory
of Wetzel should be embalmed in the hearts of the people of Western Virginia, for his efforts in defence of
their forefathers are without a parallel in border warfare. Among the foremost and most devoted, he plunged
into the fearful strife which a bloody and relentless foe
waged against the feeble colonists. He threw into the
common treasury, a soul as heroic, as adventurous, as
full of energy, and exhaustless of resources, as ever animated the human breast. Bold, wary, and active, he
stood without an equal in the pursuit to which he had
committed himself, mind and body.      No man on the
western frontier was more dreaded by the enemy, and
none did more to beat him back into the heart of the
forest, and reclaim the expanseless domain which we now
enjoy.
* De Haas. History of the Early Settlement and Indian Wars of
Western Virginia.




ï~~PERSONAL HISTORY.

15

Unfortunately for the memory of Wetzel, no reliable
account of him has ever been published. The present
generation know little of his personal history, save as
gathered from the exaggerated pages of romance, or the
scarcely less painted traditions of the day. With many,
he is regarded as having been very little better than a
semi-savage; a man whose disposition was that of the
enraged tiger, and whose only propensity was for blood.
Our information warrants us in stating that these conceptions are all false. Lewis Wetzel was never known
to inflict unwonted cruelty upon women and children, as
has been charged upon him; and he never was found to
torture or mutilate his victim, as many of the traditions
would indicate. He was revengeful, because he had suffered deep injury at the hands of that race, and woe to
the Indian warrior who crossed his path. Lewis Wetzel
was literally a man without fear. He was brave as a
lion, cunning as a fox-" daring, where daring was the
wiser part-prudent, when discretion was valor's better
self." He seemed to possess, in a remarkable degree,
that intuitive knowledge which can alone constitute a
good and efficient hunter; added to which, he was sagacious, prompt to act, and always aiming to render his
actions efficient. Such was Lewis Wetzel, the celebrated
Indian hunter of Western Virginia.
John Wetzel, the father of Lewis, was a German by
birth, and one of the earliest settlers on Wheeling Creek.
The town of Wheeling was settled by Ebenezer Silas and
Jonathan Zane, in 1769.    Fort Henry, so called in
honor of Patrick Henry, was afterwards erected on the
left bank of the Ohio, about a quarter of a mile above




ï~~16

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

Wheeling Creek. John Wetzel, in opposition to the advice of his friends, chose a spot on Big Wheeling, about
fourteen miles from the river, in a situation exposed to
attacks from the Indians, and out of the reach of prompt
aid or protection from the main settlement, and fort at
Wheeling. He was a man of the most daring courage.
a quality which seems to have been hereditary in the
family.
At his residence on the Big Wheeling, John Wetzel
reared a family of five sons, Martin, Lewis, Jacob, John,
and George, and two daughters, Susan and Christina.
The father of this numerous family spent much of his
time in locating lands, hunting, and fishing. These pursuits led him to long excursions in the woods, infested
often with hostile Indians, and thus exposed himself to
great risk of his life. His neighbors expostulated with
him for this hardihood, as well as for leaving his wife
and growing family exposed to danger; but he disregarded their advice, and ultimately fell a victim to his
rash valor, as we shall relate in the sequel.
The families of settlers had many hardships, dangers,
and privations to encounter in those times.
Besides their exposure to Indian depredations and
massacres, they had other trials to endure, which at the
present day cannot be appreciated. One of the most
vexatious was, the running away of their horses. As
soon as the fly season commenced, the horses seemed resolved on leaving the country, and recrossing the mountains. The river was no barrier. They swam the Monongahela, and often proceeded one hundred and fifty
miles before they were taken up. During the husband's




ï~~EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

17

absence in pursuit of his horses, his wife was necessarily
left alone with her children in their unfinished cabin,
surrounded by forests, in which the howl of the wolf was
heard from every hill. If want of provisions, or other
causes, made a visit to a neighbor's necessary, she must
either take her children with her through the woods, or
leave them unprotected, under the most fearful apprehension that some mischief might befall them before her
return.
As bread and meat were scarce, milk was the principal dependence for the support of the family. One cow
of each family was provided with a bell, which, if good,
could be heard from half a mile to a mile. The woman
left alone, on getting up in the morning, instead of lacing up her corsets, and adjusting her curls, placed herself in the most favorable position for listening to her
cow-bell, which she knew as well as she did the voice of
her child, and considered it fortunate if she heard it
even at a distance. By her nice and never-failing discrimination of sounds, she could detect her own, even
among a clamor of many other bells; thus manifesting
a nicety of ear which, with cultivation, might have been
envied by the best musicians of the present day. If her
children were small, she tied them in bed, to prevent
their wandering, and to guard them from danger from
fire and snakes, and, guided by the tinkling of the bell,
made her way through the tall weeds, and across the ravines until she found the object of her search. Happy
on her return to find her children unharmed, and regardless of a thorough wetting from the dew, she hastened
to prepare their breakfast of milk boiled with a little
2




ï~~18

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

meal or homminy, or in the protracted absence of her
husband, it was often reduced to milk alone.  Occasionally venison and turkeys were obtained from hunters.
Those settlers who were provided with rifles could, with
little loss of time, supply their families with fresh meat,
but with the new settlers rifles were scarce. They were
more accustomed to the musket.
The labor of all the settlers was greatly interrupted
by the Indian wars. Although the older settlers had
some sheep, yet their increase was slow, as the country
abounded in wolves. It was therefore the work of time
to secure a supply of wool. Deerskin was a substitute
for cloth for men and boys, but not for women and girls,
although they were sometimes compelled to resort to it.
The women had to spin, and generally to weave all the
cloth for their families, and when the wife was feeble,
and had a large family, her utmost efforts could not
enable her to provide them with anything like comfortable clothing. The wonder is, and I shall never cease
to wonder, that they did not sink under their burthens.
Their patient endurance of these accumulated hardships
did not arise from a slavish servility, or insensibility to
their rights and comforts. They justly appreciated their
situation, and nobly encountered the difficulties which
could not be avoided. Possessing all the affections of
the;wife, the tenderness of the mother, and the sympathies of the woman, their tears flowed freely for other
griefs, while they bore their own with a fortitude which
none but a woman could exercise. The entire education
of her children devolved on the mother, and notwithstanding the difficulties to be encountered, she did not




ï~~EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

19

allow them to grow up wholly without instruction; but
amidst all her numerous cares taught them to read, and
instructed them in the principles of Christianity. To accomplish this, under the circumstances, was no easy task.
The exciting influences which surrounded them, made the
boys restless under restraint. Familiarized as they were
to hardships from the cradle, and daily listening to
stories of Indian massacres and depredations, and to the
heroic exploits of some neighboring pioneer, who had
taken an Indian scalp, or by some daring effort had
saved his own, ignorant of the sports and toys with which
children in other circumstances are wont to be amused,
no wonder they desired to emulate the soldier, or engage
in the scarcely less exciting adventures of the hunter.
Yet even many of these boys were subdued by the faithfulness of the mother, who labored to bring them up in
the fear of God.
If the reader would reflect upon the difference between
the difficulties of emigration at that early day, and those
of the present, he must cast his eyes upon the rugged
mountain steeps, then an almost unbroken and trackless
wilderness, haunted by all sorts of wild and fierce beasts,
and poisonous reptiles-he must then observe that the
hand of civilization has since crossed them by the smooth
waters of canals, or the gentle and even ascents of turnpikes and railroads, and strewed them thick with "the
comforts of life; he may then have a faint idea of the
difference of the journey; and as to the difference of
living after removal then and now, let him consider that
then almost every article of convenience and subsistence
must be brought with them, or rather could neither be




ï~~20

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

brought nor procured, and must necessarily be erased
from the vocabulary of house-keeping; let him think
what has since been done by the power of steam in ascending almost to the very sources of the many ramifications of our various rivers, carrying all the necessaries
and many of the luxuries of life, and depositing them at
points easy of access to almost every new settler, and
he will see that if settling is now difficult, it was distressing then. When he further reflects upon the abundant
and overflowing products of the West, compared with
the absence of agriculture, arts, and manufactures, in
those early days, and now that not only our largest rivers and gigantic lakes, but the ocean itself, by the
power of increased science, are all converted into mere
ferries, he will at once conclude that the emigrants to
Liberia, New Holland, Oregon, or California can know
nothing of privation compared with the pioneers of the
West. Our country now abounds in every thing, and
commerce extends over the world. If poverty or suffering exist, benevolence seeks it out, and relieves it, whether it be far off or near, whether in Greece or the islands of the sea.*
* S. Wilkeson, American Pioneer.




ï~~LEWIS WETZEL'S BIRTH.

21

CHAPTER           II.
Birth of Lewis Wetzel--His Birth-place Uncertain-Major Fowler'd
Account of the Family-Lewis and Martin Captured by the Indians-Death of their Father-The Boys Escape from the Indians
and Return Home-The Oath of Vengeance-Mr. De Haas's
Statement Respecting the Death of John Wetzel, and the Adventure of Lewis and Martin Wetzel
THnE precise day of Lewis Wetzel's birth is not on
record.   By comparison of dates of the age at which his
various exploits were performed, with the dates of the
years when these exploits are known to have taken
place, it appears that he was born in the year 1764.
His father appears to have moved to his residence on
the Big Wheeling, from Maryland or Pennsylvania; but
as the precise date of this removal is not known, the
place of the birth of his sons is somewhat uncertain.
But the birth of Lewis must have taken place before the
removal.   He consequently was not born in Virginia;
but, probably, in either Maryland or Pennsylvania.
A writer in Cist's Cincinnati Miscellany, who appears
to have paid much attention to the subject, gives the
following particulars respecting the family, as well as
the first known adventure, of Lewis:
Among the early settlers who have figured in the pioneer history of the west, one entire family, that of the




ï~~22

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

Wetzels, figures conspicuously. I have devoted some
time to the comparison of various notices of the four
brothers, who constituted that family, and re-writing
many incidents in their history, to correspond with the
corrections of Major Jacob Fowler, still surviving, and a
resident of Covington, Kentucky, who was in early days
an associate of Lewis and Jacob, two of these brothers.
Some of the existing accounts represent old Wetzel,
with his wife and small children, to have been killed,
tomahawked, and scalped by the Indians. This was
true only as respects the old man, but the wife survived
and married again, and the children escaped by being
providentially absent.
Major Fowler states that the family lived on a farm
on the road to Catfishtown, now Washington, Pennsylvania, and Wheeling, Virginia, so close to the line that
it was a matter of doubt in those days, which Wetzel
belonged to, Pennsylvania or Virginia. Old Wetzel was
a Maryland or Pennsylvania German, but had been one
of the earliest settlers on the frontiers, and disdaining
the usual precaution of placing his family on one of the
stations or forts, which were to be found at convenient
distances throughout that region of the country, had
erected a cabin on his plantation, and occupied it while
cultivating the farm.
The family consisted of himself and wife, with his
sons, Martin, Lewis, Jacob, and John, respectively 15,
13, 11, and 9 years of age. There were three or four
small children besides, who had been left with some
friends, that day, in the adjacent fort, to which John
had also been despatched on an errand, when a party




ï~~ESCAPE OF THE BOYS.

23

of savages surrounded the house, forced open the temporary defences, killing and scalping the old man, and
carrying off as prisoners, according to their custom with
children of that age, the boys Lewis and Jacob.
The mother made her escape in the confusion of the
scene. Martin, the oldest son, had been out hunting at
the time. All three of these boys were stout and active
for their age, the training on the frontiers at that date,
being such as to call out boys to do much of men's work,
as soon as they were able to handle an axe, or steady a
rifle.
In the attack on their house, Lewis received a slight
wound from a bullet, which carried away a small piece
of the breast bone. The second night after their capture, the Indians encamped at the Biglick, twenty miles
from the river, in what is now Ohio, and upon the waters
of McMahon's Creek.
The extreme youth of the boys induced the savages
to neglect their usual precaution of tying their prisoners at night. After the Indians had fallen asleep, Lewis
whispered to his brother to get up, and they would make
their way home. They started, and after going a few
hundred yards, sat down on a log. " Well," said Lewis,
we can't go home barefooted. You stay here, and I will
go back and get a pair of moccasins for each of us."
He did so, and returned. After sitting a little longer;
" Now," said he, " I will go back and get one of their
guns and we will then start."   This was accordingly
done.
Young as they were, the boys were sufficiently expert
with tracking paths in the woods, to trace their course




ï~~24

4         LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

home, the moon enabling them, by her occasional
glimpses, to find the trail which they had followed from
the river.
The Indians soon discovered their escape, and were
heard by them hard on their heels. When the party in
pursuit had almost overtaken them, they stepped aside
in the bushes and let them pass, then fell into the rear
and traveled on. On the return of their pursuers, they
did the same. They were then followed by two Indians
on horseback, whom they eluded in the same manner.
The next day they reached Wheeling in safety, crossing the river on a raft of their own making; Lewis,
by this time, being nearly exhausted by his wound.
When they got to the Virginia side, and ascertained
their father's death, they vowed to shoot every Indian
that fell in their way, as long as they lived; and fearfully was this vow kept, as might be expected from the
energy and activity displayed at so early an age.
Mr. De Haas, in his memoir of Lewis Wetzel, gives
a totally different account of the death of his father,
John Wetzel, which carries forward the date of that event
to a period some ten years later; and this account of
Mr. De Haas is corroborated by the statements of other
writers. Mr. De Haas's statement is as follows:
" He was killed near Captina, in 1787, on his return
from Middle Island Creek, under the following circumstances. Himself and companion were in a canoe, paddling slowly near the shore, when they were hailed by a
party of Indians, and ordered to land. This they of
course refused, when immediately they were fired upon,
and Wetzel shot through the body.    Feeling himself




ï~~THE DATE OF JOHN WETZELM'S DEATH.

25

mortally wounded, he directed his companion to lie
down   in the canoe, while he (Wetzel), so   long  as
strength remained, would paddle the frail vessel beyond
reach of the savages. In this way he saved the life of
his friend, while his own was ebbing fast. He died soon
after reaching the shore, at Baker's station, and his
humble grave can still be seen near the site of that
primitive fortress.
" The author, anxious to ascertain with undoubted certainty, the date of Wetzel's death, and learning from a
reliable source that the place of his burial was indicated
by a stone inscribed with the initials and year, visited
the spot in the summer of 1849. With great difficulty
he found the place, and identified the grave of the elder
Wetzel. A rough stone marks the spot, bearing in
rude, but perfectly distinct characters, ' J. W., 1787.'"
Mr. De Haas's statement appears to settle the question as to the time and manner of John Wetzel's death.
Of the early adventure of Lewis, which took place, he
says,,hen he was fourteen years old, (others say thirteen,)
he varies the account as follows
" The first event worthy of record in the life of our
hero, occurred when he was about fourteen years of age.
The Indians had not been very troublesome in the immediate vicinity of his father's, house and no great apprehensions were felt, as it was during a season of comparative
quietude. On the occasion above referred to, Lewis had
just stepped from his father's door, and was looking at
his brother Jacob playing, when suddenly turning toward the corn-crib, he saw a gun pointed around the
corner. Quick as thought, he jumped back, but not in




ï~~26             LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.
time to escape the ball; it took effect upon the breast
bone, carrying away a small portion, and cutting a fearful wound athwart the chest. In an instant two athletic
warriors sprang from behind the crib, and quietly making
prisoners of the lads, bore them off without being discovered."
Mr. De Haas's account of the circumstances which
followed are nearly the same as in that which we have
given above; but he dates the famous oath of vengeance,
of course, ten years later, as having been occasioned by
the murder of the father.




ï~~LEWIS'S YOUTH.

27

CHAPTER III.
Peculiar character of the period when Lewis Wetzel was a youthTurbulent times favorable to the formation of a bold and independent character-Martin Wetzel joins Colonel Brodhead's expedition to destroy the Indian towns on the Coshocton--Its successTreatment of the prisoners-Martin Wetzel's implacable conductHe kills a messenger-He assists in killing the Indian prisonersHis capture by the Indians-His apparent contentedness with them
-He kills his captors and escapes to the settlements.
THE period of Lewis Wetzel's youth was one of peculiar unquiet and turbulence. It was the period of the
American Revolution. At that time, the frontier region
in which he resided was exposed to frequent inroads of
the savage foes, who were always stimulated to acts of
cruelty by the British and the Tories, who not unfrequently accompanied the Indians in their plundering and
murdering expeditions, and fought by their side in many
a battle and siege. Simon Girty and the renegade Butler, so infamous for his deeds of cruelty at Wyoming,
had many imitators in those days; and the general state
of society on the frontier was such, that every man was
obliged to become a soldier in his own defence, and to
depend on his own right arm for protection and safety.
Trained in this stern school, Lewis Wetzel and his
brothers were all warriors, and deeds of daring achieved




ï~~28

28          Iif 0 OPLEAVIS WMTEIJS

by each of them have been handed down by traditioT.
But the disturbed state of the country, for a long period,
and the carelessness of those who knew these men, has
occasioned the loss of nearly all written record of their
actions.
The period in which they lived, however, was highly
favorable to the development of a bold, manly, and independed character.
Mr. Macpherson, in his remarks on the poems of Ossian, says, " The nobler passions of the mind never shoot
forth more free and unrestrained, than in the times we
call barbarous. That irregular manner of life, and those
manly pursuits, from which barbarity takes its name, are
highly favorable to strength of mind unknown in polished
times. In advanced society the characters of men are
more uniform and disguised. The human passions lie in
some degree confined behind forms and artificial manners; and the powers of the soul, without an opportunity
of exerting them, lose their vigor."'
From our first acquaintance with the history of man
to the present time, the art of war has been held in more
veneration than any other profession.  Were the accounts of destroying life, by murders, by persecutions,
by private and public wars, blotted from our books, our
libraries could be stowed away in small book-cases. The
history of man appears to be a history of revolution,
blood, and carnage. Were it not for wars, how many
names, which now shine with peculiar lustre, would have
been lost in oblivion? War has rendered conspicuous
the names of Joshua, David, Cyrus, Alexander, Romulus, Marius, Cesar, Scipio, Hannibal, Constantine, Crom



ï~~REMARKS ON WAR.

29

well, Washington, and last, though not least, Napoleon;
with a host of others, all of whom are rendered illustrious, by marching boldly to the temple of fame through
rivers of blood.
It is a natural impulse of the human mind to be informed of the condition and doings of man in every age,
circumstance, and situation in which he appears to have
been placed by Providence. In no situation can   appear more interesting than in the first settling of empires.
Those philanthropists who have, by their studi6s and
labor, either in the retirement of the closet, the workshop, or in the cultivation of the earth, richly merited
the gratitude of mankind, have been generally passed by
as plodding grovelers, unworthy of distinction. If men
are careless in commemorating the names of philosophers,
chemists, and mechanics, who have brought to such perfection the arts and sciences, by which the condition of
man in all the walks of public and private life have been
so much improved; the warrior, at least, has no cause
of complaint, as mankind appears anxious, as if by common consent, to place in the front pages of history the
fiery, impetuous soldier. Then, as the whole world cannot be supposed to be in error, and to the military profession has been awarded the most dignified station, we
will even let it be so; as a disregard to custom, and a
long settled public opinion always betrays a stubborn, or
a weak, or an ill-regulated mind. While the historians
who have gone before, have recorded the achievements
of those generals who have commanded the strength of
empires in the battle-field, we will endeavor to give a true
narrative of the brilliant exploits of some of the old




ï~~30

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

pioneers, who fought, frequently, single-handed, without
pay or the prospect of emolument, but merely for the
sake of fighting.
As the aborigines of our country held peaceable possession of it from time immemorial, it would almost appear unjust to dispossess them. But the practice of the
world from the earliest times, appears to have established
the principle, that the most powerful have a right to
govern; the right of conquest, then, appears to be a
legitimate right, sanctioned by the laws of God and
man.
Our border war was of a distressing, destructive character-it was a war of extermination. When our frontier men went on scouts or campaigns, their services
were wholly voluntary, and their supplies were furnished
by themselves. " Campaigns begun and ended without
even a newspaper notice, as a printing-press was then
unknown in the country."
" Let the imagination of the reader pursue the track
of the adventurer into the solitary wilderness, bending
his course towards the setting sun; over undulating
hills, under the shade of large forest trees, and wading
through rank weeds and grass which covered the earth;
now viewing from the top of a hill the winding course of
a creek, he ascertained the cardinal points of north and
south by the thickness of the moss and bark on the north
side of the ancient trees; now descending into a valley, and
perceiving his approach to a river, by seeing the large
ash, sycamore, or sugar tree, beautifully festooned with
grape vines. Watchful as Argus, his restless eye catches
everything around him. In an unknown region, and




ï~~CAPTURE OF AN INDIAN TOWN.

31

surrounded with danger, he is the sentinel of his own
safety, and relies on himself alone for protection. The
toilsome march of the day being ended, at the fall of
night he seeks for safety some narrow, sequestered hollow: and by the side of a log builds a fire, and after eating his coarse and scanty meal, wraps himself up in his
blanket, and lays him down on his bed of leaves, with his
feet to the fire, for repose."*
Of Lewis Wetzel no remarkable action is recorded
from the time of his escape from captivity with the Indians till the year 1782, when he was eighteen years old;
but in the meantime, his elder brother, Martin, had signalized his daring courage as well as his hatred of the
Indians.
SIn the year 1780, an expedition was set on foot, to
proceed against and destroy the Indian towns situated
on the Coshocton, a branch of the Muskingum river.
The place of rendezvous for the troops was Wheeling.
The command of the expedition was conferred on Col.
Brodhead, a soldier of some distinction in those days.
Martin Wetzel was a volunteer in this campaign. The
officers of the frontier armies were only nominally such;
every soldier acted as seemed right in his own judgment.
This little army, of four hundred men, went forward
rapidly, in order to fall upon the Indian towns by surprise. They were secretly and actively pushed forward,
till they surrounded one of their towns before the enemy
was apprised of their danger.   " Every man, woman,
and child were made prisoners, without the firing of a
gun."
* Pritt's Border Life.




ï~~32

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

"Among the prisoners were sixteen warriors."  "A
little after dark a council of war was held, to determine
on the fate of the warriors in custody. They were
doomed to death, and by the order of the commander
were bound, taken a little distance below the town, and
despatched with tomahawks and spears, and then
scalped." In this work of death, Martin Wetzel, with
a kind of fiendish pleasure, sunk his tomahawk into the
heads of the unresisting Indians.
" Early the next morning, an Indian presented himself on the opposite bank of the river, and asked for
the  'Big Captain.' Colonel Brodhead presented himself, and asked the Indian what he wanted. To which
he replied, L'I want peace.' ' Send over some of your
chiefs,' said Brodhead. IMay be you kill,' said the
Indian. He was answered, I'They shall not be killed.'
One of the chiefs, a well-looking man, came over the
river, and entered into conversation with the commander
in the street; but while engaged in conversation, Martin
Wetzel came up behind him with a tomahawk concealed
in the bosom of his hunting-shirt, and struck him on
the back of the head. The poor Indian fell, and immediately expired."  This act of perfidy and reckless
revenge the commander had no power, if he had the
disposition, to punish, as probably two-thirds of the
army approved the vindictive deed.
" The next day the army commenced its retreat from
Coshocton. Col. Brodhead committed the prisoners to
the militia. They were about twenty in number. After
they had marched about half a mile, the men commenced
killing them." Martin Wetzel's tomahawk upon this




ï~~MARTIN WETZEL TAKEN PRISONER.

88

occasion was crimsoned with the blood and brains of the
unresisting Indians. Such was his indomitable spirit of
revenge, that no place nor circumstance was sacred
enough to preserve the life of an Indian, when within
his vindictive grasp. " In a short time they were all
despatched except a few women and children, who were
spared and taken to Fort Pitt, and after some time, exchanged for an equal number of their prisoners."
Some years after the foregoing action took place,
Martin Wetzel was surprised and taken prisoner by the
Indians, and remained with them a considerable length
of time; till by his cheerful disposition, and apparent
satisfaction with their mode and manner of life, he disarmed their suspicion, acquired their confidence, and
was adopted into one of their families. How much his
duplicity overreached the credulity of those sons of the
forest, the sequel will show. He was free; he hunted
around the town, returned, danced and frolicked with
the young Indians, and appeared perfectly satisfied with
his change of life.
But all this time, although he showed a cheerful face,
his heart was brooding on an escape, which he wished
to render memorable by some tragic act of revenge
upon his confiding enemies. In the fall of the year,
Martin and three Indians set off to make a fall hunt.
They pitched their camp, near the head of Sandusky
river. When the hunt commenced, he was very careful
to return first in the evening to the camp, prepare wood
for the night, and do all other little offices of camp duty
to render them comfortable. By this means he lulled




ï~~34

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

any lurking suspicion which they might entertain towards him.
While hunting one evening, some distance from the
camp, he came across one of his Indian camp mates.
The Indian not being apprised that revenge was rampant in Wetzel's heart, was not the least alarmed at the
approach of his friend, the white man. Martin watched
for a favorable moment, and as the Indian's attention
was called in a different direction, he shot him down,
scalped him, and threw his body into a deep hole, which
had been made by a large tree torn up by the roots, and
covered his body with logs and brush, over which he
strewed leaves to conceal the body. He then hurried
to the camp to prepare, as usual, wood for the night.
When night came, one of the Indians was missing,
and Martin expressed great concern on account of the
absence of their comrade. The other Indians did not
appear to be the least concerned at the absence of their
companion; they all alleged that he might have taken a
large circle, looking for new hunting ground, or that he
might have pursued some wounded game till it was too
late to return to camp.
In this mood the subject was dismissed for the night;
they ate their supper, and lay down to sleep. Martin's
mind was so full of the thoughts of home, and of taking
signal vengeance of his enemies, that he could not sleep;
he had gone too far to retreat, and whatever he did,
must be done quickly.
Being now determined to effect his escape at all
hazards, the question he had to decide was, whether he
should make an attack on the two sleeping Indians, or




ï~~MARTIN'S ESCAPE.

watch for a favorable opportunity of despatching them
one at a time. The latter plan appeared to him to be
less subject to risk or failure.
The next morning he prepared to put his determination into execution. When the two Indians set out on
their hunt the next morning, he determined to follow
one of them (like a true hunting dog on a slow trail)
till a fair opportunity should present itself of despatching him without alarming his fellow. He cautiously
pursued him till near evening, when he openly walked
to him, and commenced a conversation about their day's
hunt.
The Indian being completely off his guard, suspecting
no danger, Martin watched for a favorable moments
when the Indian's attention was drawn to a different
direction, and with one sweep of his vengeful tomahawk
laid him lifeless on the ground, scalped him, tumbled
his body into a sink-hole, and covered it with brush and
logs; and then made his way for the camp, with a firm
determination of closing the bloody tragedy by killing
the third Indian. He went out, and composedly waited
at the camp for the return of the Indian.
About sunset he saw him coming with a load of game
that he had killed, swung on his back. Martin went
forward under the pretence of aiding to disencumber him
of his load. When the Indian stooped down to be detached of his load, Martin, with one fell swoop of his
tomahawk, laid him in death's eternal sleep. Being now
in no danger of pursuit, he leisurely packed np what
plunder he could conveniently carry with him, and made
his way for the white, settlements, where he safely ar



ï~~36             LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.
rived with the three Indian scalps, after an absence of
nearly a year.
The frontier men of that day could not anticipate any
end to the Indian war, till one of the parties should be
exterminated. Martin Wetzel's conduct upon this, as
well as on every similar occasion, met with the decided
approbation of his countrymen.    Successful military
achievements, which displayed unusual boldness and intrepidity in the execution, not only met the approbation
of the men, but also, what was more grateful and soulcheering to the soldier's feelings after returning from a
successful Indian tour, he was sure of receiving the animating smiles of the fair sex. The soldier's arm was
considered the life-guard of the country, and such were
the Wetzels in an eminent degree.




ï~~CRAWFORD'S CAMPAIGN.

37

CHAPTER IV.
Lewis Wetzel engaged in Crawford's campaign-Notice of the preceding campaign of Williamson-The Moravian settlements-Some
of the people taken to Fort Pitt-Prejudices against themWarned by Delaware Chief-Moravian settlements on Muskingum
broken up-Removal to Sandusky-False charges-Williamson's
expedition-Treacherous conduct towards the Christian IndiansThey are made prisoners-They are slaughtered in cold blood--
Escape of the Indians of Shoenbrunn.
LEWIS WETZEL was one of the soldiers who served in
the disastrous campaign of Colonel Crawford in 1782,
when our hero was eighteen years of age. As a preliminary to the narrative of this campaign, we give from the
early history of Western Pennsylvania an account of
Williamson's campaign, and the massacre of the Moravian Indians. This led to Crawford's campaign, in
which the Moravian Indians were terribly revenged.
About the year 1772, some missionaries of the order
of Moravian brethren succeeded in establishing a community of Indians, who embraced their faith, and who
were collected into three villages on the Muskingum.
These villages were called Salem, Gnadenhuetten, and
Shoenbrunn. Here they were induced to live in peace,
and to engage in the cultivation of the soil, and had increased their numbers to four hundred people.




ï~~38

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

Occupying a position midway between the advanced
settlements of the whites and the villages of some of the
hostile Indians, and practising a pacific demeanor, which
both parties alike despised, they were suspected by each
alternately of secretly favoring the other.*
In the latter end of the year 1781, the militia of the
frontier came to a determination to break up the Moravian villages on the Muskingum.      They were called
" The- Half-way House of the Warriors;" and this phrase
began to be used in fierce derision, by the stern and lawless men on the frontier, who despised the peaceable Indians, who opened their doors alike to all comers. A
detachment of men went out under the command of Colonel
Daniel Williamson, for the purpose of inducing the Indians with their teachers to move farther off, or bring
them prisoners to Fort Pitt. When they arrived at the
villages they found but few Indians, the greater number
of them having removed to Sandusky. Those few were
well treated, taken to Fort Pitt, and delivered to the
commandant of that station, who, after a short detention,
sent them home again.
This procedure gave great offence to the people of the
country, who thought the Indians ought to have been
killed. Colonel Williamson, who, before this little camnpaign, had been very popular on account of his activity
and bravery in war, now became the subject of severe
animadversions on account of his lenity to the Moravian
Indians.t
On the other hand, these peaceable Indians fell under
* Hall's Sketches of the West, p. 208-'9.
t Doddridge's Notes, p. 262.




ï~~ATTACK ON THE MORAVIAN SETTLEMENTS.           89
the suspicion of the Indian warriors who were in the service of the British, and also of the English commandant
at Detroit, to whom it was reported that their teachers
were in close confederacy with the American Congress,
for preventing, not only their own people, but also the
Delawares, and some other nations, from entering into
war against the American colonies.*
The frequent failures of the war expeditions of the Indians against the white settlements, were attributed to
the Moravians, who often sent runners to Fort Pitt to
give notice of their approach, and this charge was certainly true.
In the spring of 1781, the War Chief of the Delawares
fully apprized the missionaries and their followers of
their danger, both from the whites and hostile Indians,
and requested them to remove to a place of safety from
both. This request was not complied with, and the almost prophetic predictions of this chief were literally
fulfilled.t
In the fall of 1781, the settlements of the Moravians
upon the Muskingum, were broken up by upwards of
three hundred Indian warriors, their villages destroyed,
their fields desolated, and these unhappy converts to
Christianity turned into the wilderness upon the plains
of Sandusky, where many of them perished by famine
during the ensuing winter. The missionaries were taken
prisoners, robbed of almost everything, and sent to Detroit, where, after being strictly examined by a Council
of British officers, they were permitted to return to their
* Doddridge's Notes, p. 260.  t Doddridge's Notes, p. 259.




ï~~40

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

people at Sandusky.*    This removal of the Moravians,
by the hostile Indians, from  their happy homes on the
Muskingum to Sandusky, was at the instigation of three
white men-Alexander McKee, Matthew Elliott, and
Simon Girty.    These three men, whose hostility to the
American colonies was unbounded, were continually plotting the destruction of the Christian Indian settlements,
as the only means of drawing the Delaware nation, and
with these, the Christian Indians, into a war with the
Americans. A plot was laid at Sandusky to take off the
missionary Zeisberger, or bring in his scalp; and Simon
Girty conducted a murdering party to Sandusky for the
purpose; the discovery of which prevented it.t
In the latter part of February following, the famishing state of the Moravian Indians at Sandusky, compelled about one hundred and fifty to return to their
deserted villages on the Muskingum, to seek among the
desolated hearth-stones, some remnants of their once
plentiful stores T of food, for their perishing families.
Here, while peaceably gathering their corn, without any
provocation, and without the least resistance, more than
ninety of these unoffending creatures were barbarously
and deliberately murdered, not by hostile Indians, but
by worse than savage white men!!! Â~
It appears that some murders had been committed by
the hostile Indians, near the Ohio river, in the month of
SHall's Sketches of the West, I., p. 211.
SHeckewelder's Narrative, pp. 170, 205, 230.: Hall's Sketches of the West, I., p. 211.
SHeckewelder, p.---Loskiel, p--Hall, I., p. 211.  Doddridge,
p. 252.




ï~~WILLIAMSON'S CAMPAIGN.

41

February. The early period of these fatal visits by the
Indians, created a pretext for charging the Moravians
with being the murderers, or affording winter quarters to
the hostile warriors. But it is more than probable that
motives of plunder and a desire for innocent blood was,
with many, the cause of the charge.
Accordingly, between eighty and ninety men were
hastily collected together, for the purpose of destroying
the Christian Indians, and were commanded by Colonel
John Williamson. They encamped the first night on
the Mingo bottom, on the west side of the Ohio river,
about sixty miles below Fort Pitt. The second day's
march brought them to within one mile of the middle
Moravian town, where they encamped for the night. In
the morning the men were divided into two equal parties, one of which was to cross the river about a mile
above the town. The other party was divided into three
divisions, one of which was to take a circuit in the woods,
and reach the river a little distance below the town, on
the east side; and another division was to fall into the
middle of the town, and a third was to enter at its upper
end.
When sixteen of the party, designed to make the attack, had crossed the river, their two sentinels discovered
an Indian whose name was Shabosh. One of them broke
one of his arms by a shot; the other sentinel fired, and
killed him. These heroes then scalped and tomahawked
him. Fearing that the firing of the guns which killed
3habosh would lead to an instant discovery, they sent
word to the party designed to attack the town to move
on instantly, which they did. In the mean time, the




ï~~42

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

small party which had crossed the river, marched to the
main town, on the west side.
Here they found a large company of the Christian
Indians gathering the corn which they had left in their
fields the preceding fall, when driven away by the British
Indians, to Sandusky. On the arrival of the murderers
at the town, they professed peace and good will to the
Christian Indians, and informed them that they had
come to take them to Fort Pitt, for their safety.* Th.e
Christian Indians, not doubting their sincerity in the
least, walked up to them and thanked them for being so
kind,t delivered up their arms, and appeared highly
delighted with the prospect of their removal, and began
with all speed to prepare victuals for the white men, and
for themselves on their journey.1
A party of white men and Indians was immediately
dispatched to Salem, a short distance from     Gnadenhuetten, where the Indians were also gathering in their
corn, to bring them to Gnadenhuetten.Â~
The language of the white people being the same at
Salem as at Gnadenhuetten, the brethren and sisters
were easily persuaded to go with them, especially as
many of them professed to be very religious, admiring
their fine and spacious place of worship, and discoursing
constantly on religion, both here and on their way to
Gnadenhuetten, frequently saying to the Indians: "You
are indeed good Christians!" and made use of the same
language to one another, in their hearing. Some of
them, on leaving Salem, set fire to the houses and
* Doddridge's Notes, p. 250.  t Heckewelder's Narrative, p. 314.
' Doddridge's Notes, p. 251.    Heckewelder's Narrative, p. 316.




ï~~COUNCIL OF WAR.

43

church, which was disapproved of by the Christian
Indians; they, however, pretended that they meant no
harm, but had merely done it to deprive the enemy of a
harboring place.*
On arriving at the bank of the river, opposite Gnadenhuetten, their eyes began to open; but it was now too
late. They saw where one had been murdered. They
had given up their arms, like their brethren on the
opposite side of the river, to those who had solemnly
promised, that on their arrival at Pittsburg, they should
be returned to them   again.   But had they been in
possession of their arms, they could not conscientiously,
and probably would not, have attempted to resort to
them for defence.
They were then taken over to the town, where the
murderers threw off the masks, divided the men from the
women and children, and shut them up in two houses
some distance apart, where their friends of Gnadenhuetten had before been divided and confined, and placed
under guards. These they called slaughter-houses.
The prisoners being thus secured, a council of war was
held to decide on their fate. The officers, unwilling to
take on themselves the whole responsibility of the awful
decision, agreed to refer the question to the whole
number of the men. The men were accordingly drawn
up in a line. The commandant of the party, Col. Daniel
Williamson, then put the question to them in form,
"Whether the Moravian      Indians should be taken
prisoners to Pittsburg, or put to death?"-and requested
that all those who were in favor of saving their lives,
* Doddridge's Notes, p. 251.




ï~~44

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

should step out of the line, and form a second rank. On
this, sixteen, some say eighteen, stepped out of the rank,
and formed themselves into a second line; but alas! this
line of mercy was far too short for that of vengeance.
The fate of the Moravians was thus decided, and they
were told to prepare for death.
The prisoners, from the time they were placed in the
guard-houses, foresaw their fate, and began their devotions by singing hymns, praying and exhorting each
other to place a firm reliance in the mercy of the
Saviour of men.* On being accused of having aided
the hostile Indians, they declared their innocence. They
were told that they had the property of the white people
in their possession. They were prepared to render a
satisfactory account of every article where, or from
what trader, they had purchased it. But the number of
horses, and other property which the Christian Indians
possessed, was an object with these murderers, who
concluded that   c" when they killed the Indians, the
country would be theirs; and the sooner this was done,
the better!" Accordingly, they told the poor creatures
that they must die.t
"Finding that all entreaties to save their lives were to
no purpose-and that some, more bloodthirsty than their
companions, were anxious to commence the slaughter,
they united in begging a short delay, that they might
prepare themselves for death-which request, at length,
was granted. Then asking pardon for whatever offence
they had given, or grief they had occasioned to each
other, they kneeled down, offering fervent prayers to
* Doddridge's Notes, p. 252. t Heckewelder's Narrative, p. 318;




ï~~MASSACRE OF THE PRISONERS.

45

God their Saviour - and kissing one another, under a
flood of tears, fully resigned to his wvill, they sang praises
unto him, in the joyful hope that they would soon be
relieved from all pains, and join their Redeemer in
everlasting bliss."
" During the time of their devotion, the murderers
were consulting on the manner in which they should put
them to death. Some were for setting fire to the houses
they were in, and burning them alive.  Others wanted to
take their scalps home with them, as a signal of victory;
while others remonstrated against either of these plans,
declaring that they never would be guilty of murdering a
people, whose innocence was so satisfactorily evinced;
and these proposed to set them at liberty, or, if they
would not do that, at least to take them as prisoners and
deliver them up to the proper authority; but finding that
they could not prevail on these monsters to spare their
lives, they wrung their hands - and calling God to
witness that they were innocent of the blood of these
harmless Christian Indians, they withdrew to some
distance from the scene of slaughter."
"The murderers, impatient to make a beginning, came
again to them, while they were singing, and inquiring
whether they were now ready for dying, they answered
in the affirmative, adding, I'that they had commended
their immortal souls to God, who had given them the
assurance in their hearts, that He would receive their
souls.' One of the party, now taking up a cooper's
mallet, saying, ' How exactly this will do for the business!' he began with Abraham, and continued knocking
down one after another, until he had counted fourteen




ï~~46

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

that he had killed with his own hands. He now handed
the instrument to one of his fellow-murderers, saying,
'My arm fails me!    Go on in the same way! I think I
have done pretty well!' In the other house, where
mostly women and children were confined, Judith, a
remarkably pious aged widow, was the first victim.*
Christina, who had formerly lived with the sisters in
Bethlehem, and spoke English and German well, fell on
her knees, and begged for life in vain.'f Only two lads
escaped, each between fifteen and sixteen years of ageone, hiding himself in the cellar of the house where the
women and children were murdered, beheld the blood
run in streams into the cellar, and waiting until night,
escaped through the window. The other, receiving but
one blow, and not being scalped, recovered his senses;
but seeing the murderers return and kill a man by the
name of Abel, who was endeavoring to raise himself up,
he lay still until evening, when the doors being open, he
escaped into the woods." I
The particulars of this dreadful catastrophe are too
horrid to relate. In addition to what is narrated, it is
sufficient to say, that in a few minutes these two slaughter
houses, as they were called, exhibited in their ghastly
interior the mangled, bleeding remains of these poor
unfortunate people, of all ages and sexes, from the aged
gray-headed parents down to the helpless infant at its
mother's Â~ breast, dishonored by the fatal wounds pf the
tomahawk, mallet, war-club, spear, and scalping-knife.
* Heckewelder's Narrative, pp. 318, 319, 320.
t Loskiel's History of Missions of U. B. P., ch. X, p. 180.
$ Loskiel, Part III, Chap. X, p. 321.
Doddridge's Notes, p. 252.




ï~~TOWN SET ON FIRE.

47

"Thus! 0 Brainerd and Zeisberger! faithful missionaries, who devoted your whole lives to incessant toil and
sufferings, in your endeavors to make the wilderness of
paganism 'rejoice and blossom as the rose,' in faith and
piety to God!-thus perished your faithful followers, by
the murderous hands of more than savage white men.
Faithful pastors! Your spirits are again associated with
those of your flocks,-' where the wicked cease from
troubling, and the weary are at rest!' " *
The number of the slain was ninety-six: forty-one
men, twenty-one women, and thirty-four children.
The Indians in the upper town, Shoenbrunn, ten miles
further up the river, were apprised of their danger, and
providentially made their escape, just in time to avoid
the fate of their brethren below. A division of murderers
arrived at Shoenbrunn just after the Indians left, but
finding the place deserted, took what plunder they could
find, and returned to their companions.
After the work of death was finished and the plunder
secured, all the buildings in the town were set on fire,
and the slaughter-houses among the rest. The dead
bodies were thus consumed to ashes. They then returned
to the settlements, and proceeded to Pittsburg; where,
on the opposite side of the Ohio river, they attacked the
camps of the peaceable Delaware chiefs, with a number of
friendly families, all under the protection of the government; killed a number, and among them        a promising
young chief, and went off. Fortunately, the chief Gellelmend and others saved their lives by taking to the river,
and reaching the town.t
* HIeckewelder, p. 325.    t Loskiel, Part III, p. 183.




ï~~48             LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.
Such are the principal events of this horrid affair. A
massacre of innocent, unoffending people, dishonorable
not only to our country, but to human nature itself.
There may have been some brave men who composed
this campaign, but those who controlled them were far
from being such. For it cannot be supposed for a
moment, that any white man who can harbor a thought
of using his arms for killing women and children, in any
case, can be a brave man. No! I-ie is a murderer.




ï~~CRAWFORD'S CAMPAIGN.

49

CHAPTER V.
Crawford's campaign-Its objects-The soldiers equip themselvesAll volunteers-Colonel Crawford chosen commander-The march
-Early symptoms of want of discipline-Indians well informed
of their movements-Attacked by the Indians-The battle-Retreat ordered and commenced-Dreadfully harassed on the retreat
-Dr. Knight's account of his own and Colonel Crawford's retreat
-They are captured by the Indians-Colonel Crawford seeks aid
of Simon Girty who makes fair promises to Crawford and insults
Dr. Knight-The Colonel stripped and beaten-Girty now threatens to burn the Colonel-Horrid circumstances attending the burning-Escape of Dr. Knight-End of the campaign-RemarksLewis Wetzel meets with Mills in the retreat and goes with him
after his horse-They are attacked by Indians and Mills is killed
-Lewis escapes after killing two Indians and wounding a third in
his retreat.
WE now come to Crawford's campaign, in which
Lewis Wetzel, and most probably one or more of his
brothers were engaged as partisan         soldiers.   Crawford's campaign, says Doddridge, in        his "Notes," in
one point of view at least, is to be considered as a
second Moravian campaign, as one of its objects was
that of finishing the work of murder and plunder with
the Christian Indians at their new establishment on
the Sandusky. The next object was that of destroying
4




ï~~50

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

the Wyandot towns on the same river. It was the resolution of all those concerned in this expedition not to
spare the life of any Indian that might fall into their
hands, whether friends or foes. It will be seen in the
sequel that the result of this campaign was widely different from that of the Moravian campaign the preceding
March.
It should seem that the long continuance of the Indian
war had debased a considerable portion of our population
to the savage state of our nature. Having lost so many
relatives by the Indians, and witnessed their horrid murders and other depredations on so extensive a scale, they
became subjects of that indiscriminating thirst for revenge
which is such a prominent feature in the savage character, and having had a taste of blood and plunder without
risk or loss on their part, they resolved to go on and
kill every Indian they could find, whether friend or foe.
Preparations for this campaign commenced soon after
the return of the Moravian campaign in the month of
March, and as it was intended to make what was called
at that time "a dash," that is an enterprise conducted
with secresy and dispatch, the men were all mounted on
the best horses they could procure.   They furnished
themselves with all their outfits except some ammunition,
which was furnished by the Lieutenant Colonel of Washington county, [Pennsylvania.]
On the 25th of May, 1782, 480 men mustered at the
old Mingo towns, on the western side of the Ohio river.
They were all volunteers from the immediate neighborhood of the Ohio, with the exception of one company
from Ten Mile in Washington county. Here an election




ï~~DISCOVERY OF INDIANS.

51

was held for the office of commander-in-chief for the expedition. The candidates were Col. Williams and Col.
Crawford; the latter was the successful candidate. When
notified of his appointment it is said that he accepted it
with apparent reluctance.*
The army marched along "Williamson's trail" as it
was then called, until they arrived at the upper Moravian
town, in the fields belonging to which there was still
plenty of corn on the stalks, with which their horses
were plentifully fed during the night of their encampment there.
Shortly after the army halted at this place, two Indians were discovered by three men, who had walked
some distance out of the camp. Three shots were fired
at one of them, but without hurting him. As soon as
the news of the discovery of Indians had reached the
camp, more than one half of the men rushed out, without
command, and in the most tumultuous manner, to see
what had happened. From that time, Col. Crawford
felt a presentiment of the defeat which followed.
The truth is, that notwithstanding the secresy and
dispatch of the enterprise, the Indians were beforehand
with our people. They saw the rendezvous on the Min* Col. William Crawford was born in Virginia, in 1732, the same
year with Washington. In 1758, he was a captain in Forbes' expedition, which took possession of Fort Duquesne, on the site of Pittsbnrg. Washington was the friend of Crawford, and often in his
visits to the then west, was an inmate of his humble dwelling, in
Fayette county. He was a brave and energetic man, and, at the
commencement of the revolution, raised a regiment by his own exertions, and received the commission of Colonel of Continentals. He
often led parties against the Indians across the Ohio.




ï~~52

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

go bottom, knew their number and destination. They
visited every encampment immediately on their leaving
it, and saw from the writing on the trees and scraps of
paper that "no quarter was to be given to any Indian,
whether man, woman, or child."
Nothing material happened during their march until
the sixth of June, when their guides conducted them to
the site of the Moravian villages, on one of the upper
branches of the Sandusky river; but here, instead of
meeting with Indians and plunder, they met with nothing but vestiges of desolation. The place was covered
with high grass, and the remains of a few huts alone
announced that the place had been the residence of the
people whom they intended to destroy, but who had
moved off to Scioto some time before.
In this dilemma what was to be done? The officers
held a council, in which it was determined to march one
day longer in the direction of Upper Sandusky, and if
they should not reach the town in the course of the day,
to make a retreat with all speed.
The march was commenced the next morning through
the plains of Sandusky, and continued until about two
o'clock, when the advance guard was attacked and driven
in by the Indians, who were discovered in large numbers,
in the high grass, with which the place was covered.
The Indian army was at that moment about entering a
piece of woods, almost entirely surrounded by plains;
but in this they were disappointed by a rapid movement
of our men. The battle then commenced by a heavy
fire from both sides. From a partial possession of the
woods which they had gained at the onset of the battle,




ï~~RESOLVE TO RETREAT.

53

the Indians were soon dislodged. They then attempted
to gain a small skirt of wood on our right flank, but
were prevented from doing so by the vigilance and bravery of Major Leet, who commanded the right wing of the
army at that time. The firing was incessant and heavy
until dark, when it ceased. Both armies lay on their
arms during the night. Both adopted the policy of
kindling large fires along the line of battle, and then retiring some distance in the rear of them to prevent being
surprised by a night attack. During the conflict of the
afternoon, three of our men were killed and several
wounded.
In the morning our army occupied the battle ground
of the preceding day. The Indians made no attack during the day, until late in the evening, but were seen in
large bodies traversing the plains in various directions.
Some of them appeared to be employed in carrying off
their dead and wounded.
In the morning of this day a council of the officers
was held, in which a retreat was resolved on, as the only
means of saving their army. The Indians appeared to
increase in number every hour. During the sitting of
this council, Col. Williamson proposed taking one hundred and fifty volunteers, and marching directly to Upper Sandusky. This proposition the commander-in-chief
prudently rejected, saying, "I have no doubt but that
you would reach the town, but you would find nothing
there but empty wigwams, and having taken off so many
of our best men, you would leave the rest to be destroyed
by the host of Indians with which we are now surrounded,
and on your return they would attack and destroy you.




ï~~54

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

They care nothing about defending their towns; they
are worth nothing.   Their squaws, children, and property, have been removed from them long since. Our
lives and baggage are what they want, and if they can
get us divided they will soon have them. We must stay
together and do the best we can."
During this day preparations were made for a retreat
by burying the dead, burning fires over their graves to
prevent discovery, and preparing means for carrying off
the wounded.    The retreat was to commence in the
course of the night.   The Indians, however, became
apprized of the intended retreat, and about sundown
attacked the army with great force and fury, in every
direction excepting that of Sandusky.
When the line of march was formed by the commander-in-chief, and the retreat commenced, our guides prudently took the direction of Sandusky, which afforded
the only opening in the Indian lines and the only chance
of concealment. After marching about a mile in this
direction, the army wheeled about to the left, and by a
circuitous route gained the trail by which they came,
before day. They continued their march the whole of
the next day, with a trifling annoyance from the Indians,
who fired a few distant shots at the rear guard, which
slightly wounded two or three men.    At night they
built fires, took their suppers, secured the horses and resigned themselves to repose, without placing a single
sentinel or vidette for safety. In this careless situation,
they might have been surprised and cut off by the Indians, who, however, gave them no disturbance during
the night, nor afterwards during the whole of their re



ï~~INDIAN PURSUIT.

55

treat. The number of those composing the main body
in the retreat was supposed to be about three hundred.
Most unfortunately, when a retreat was resolved on, a
difference of opinion prevailed concerning the best mode
of effecting it.  The greater number thought best
to keep in a body and retreat as fast as possible, while a
considerable number thought it safest to break off in
small parties and make their way home in different directions, avoiding the route by which they came. Accordingly many attempted to do so, calculating that the
whole body of the Indians would follow the main army;
in this they were entirely mistaken. The Indians paid
but little attention to the main body of the army, but
pursued the small parties with such activity that but
very few of those who composed them made their escape.
The only successful party who were detached from the
main army was that of about forty men under the command of a Captain Williamson, who, pretty late in the
night of the retreat, broke through the Indian lines
under a severe fire, and with some loss, and overtook the
main army on the morning of the second day of the retreat.
For several days after the retreat of our army, the
Indians were spread over the whole country, from Sandusky to the Muskingum, in pursuit of the straggling
parties, most of whom were killed on the spot. They
even pursued them almost to the banks of the Ohio. A
man of the name of Mills was killed, two miles to the
eastward of the site of St. Clairsville, in the direction of




ï~~56

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

Wheeling from that place.* The number killed in this
way must have been very great, the precise amount, however, was never fairly ascertained.
At the commencement of the retreat Colonel Crawford placed himself at the head of the army. It was in
the night, and they hoped that their movement would escape the notice of the enemy. But in this calculation
they were wofully deceived. Doctor Knight, the companion of Colonel Crawford in his captivity, thus relates
the incidents which followed:
"We had not got a quarter of a mile from the field
of action, when I heard Col. Crawford calling for his son
John, his son-in-law Major Harrison, Major Rise and
William Crawford, his nephews, upon which I came up
and told him I believed they were before us. He asked,
'Is that the doctor?' I told him it was. He then replied that they were not in front, and begged of me not
to leave him; I promised him I would not.
"We then waited, and continued calling for these
men till the troops had passed us. The Colonel told me
his horse had almost given out, that he could not keep
up with the troops, and wished some of his best friends
to remain with him: he then exclaimed against the militia for riding off in such an irregular manner, and leaving some of the wounded behind, contrary to his orders.
Presently there came two men riding after us, one of
them an old man, the other a lad. We inquired if they
had seen any of the above persons, and they answered
they had not.
* This took place in the presence of Lewis Wetzel, as will be hereafter related.




ï~~INCIDENTS OF RETREAT.

"About day break, Colonel Crawford's and the young
man's horses gave out, and they left them. We pursued
our journey eastward, and about two o'clock fell in with
Captain Biggs, who had carried Lieutenant Ashly from
the field of action who had been dangerously wounded.
"We then went on about the space of an hour, when
a heavy rain came up; we concluded it was best to encamp, as we were encumbered with the wounded officer.
We then barked four or five trees, made an encampment
and a fire, and remained there all hight.
"Next morning we again prosecuted our journey, and
having gone about three miles, found a deer which had
been recently killed.  The meat was sliced from the
bones, and bundled up in the skin with a tomahawk lying by it. We carried all with us, and in advancing
about one mile further, espied the smoke of a fire. We
then gave the wounded officer into the charge of the
young man, desiring him to stay behind, whilst the colonel, the captain, and myself, walked up as cautiously as
we could toward the fire. When we came to it, we concluded, from several circumstances, some of our people
had encamped there the preceding night. We then went
about roasting the venison, and when just about to march,
observed one of our men coming upon our tracks. Ie
seemed at first very shy, but having called to him, he
came up and told us he was the person who had killed
the deer; but upon hearing us come up, was afraid of
Indians, hid in a thicket and made off. Upon this, we
gave him some bread and roasted venison, proceeded together on our journey, and about two o'clock came upon
the paths by which we had gone out. Captain Biggs




ï~~58

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

and myself did not think it safe to keep the road, but the
colonel said the Indians would not follow the troops farther than the plains, which we were then considerably
past. As the wounded officer rode Captain Biggs' horse,
I lent the captain mine; the colonel and myself went
about one hundred yards in front, the captain and the
wounded officer in the centre, and the two young men
behind. After we had travelled about one mile and a
half, several Indians started up within fifteen or twenty
steps of the colonel and I. As we at first discovered
only three, I immediately got behind a large black oak,
made ready my piece and raised it up to take sight, when
the colonel called to me twice not to fire; upon that,
one of the Indians ran up to the colonel and took him by
the hand. The colonel then told me to put down my
gun, which I did. At that instant, one of them came
up to me, whom I had formerly seen very often, calling
me doctor, and took me by the hand.
' They were Delaware Indians, of the Wingenim tribe.
Captain Biggs fired amongst them, but did no execution.
They then told us to call those people, and make them
come there, else they would go and kill them, which the
colonel did, but they four got off and escaped for that
time. The colonel and I were then taken to the Indian
camp, which was about half a mile from the place where
we were captured. On Sunday evening, five Delawares,
who had posted themselves at some distance further on
the road, brought back to the camp where we lay, Captain Biggs' and Lieutenant Ashly's scalps, with an Indian scalp which Captain Biggs had taken in the field of




ï~~COLONEL CRAWFORD A PRISONER.

59

action; they also brought in Biggs's horse and mine;
they told us the two other men got away from them.
" Monday morning, the 10th of June, we were prepared to march to Sandusky, about thirty-three miles
distant; they had eleven prisoners of us, and four scalps,
the Indians being seventeen in number.
" Colonel Crawford was very desirous to see a certain
Simon Girty, who lived among the Indians, and was on
this account permitted to go to town the same night, with
two warriors to guard him, having orders at the same
time to pass by the place where the colonel had turned
out his horse, that they might, if possible, find him.
The rest of us were taken as far as the old town, which
was within eight miles of the new.
" Tuesday morning, the 11th, Colonel Crawford was
brought out to us on purpose to be marched in with the
other prisoners. I asked the colonel if he had seen Mr.
Girty? He told me he had, and that Girty had promised to do everything in his power for him, but that the
Indians were very much enraged against the prisoners,
particularly Captain Pipe, one of the chiefs; he likewise
told me that Girty had informed him that his son-in-law,
Colonel Harrison, and his nephew, William Crawford,
were made prisoners by the Shawanese, but had been
pardoned. This Captain Pipe had come from the towns
about an hour before Colonel Crawford, and had painted
all the prisoners' faces black.
" As he was painting me, he told me I should go to the
Shawanese towns and see my friends. When the colonel
arrived, he painted him black also, told him he was glad
to see him, and that hlie would have him shaved when he




ï~~60

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

came to see his friends at the Wyandot town. When we
marched, the colonel and I were kept between Pipe and
Wyngenim, the two Delaware chiefs; the other nine
prisoners were sent forward with a party of Indians. As
we went along we saw four of the prisoners lying by the
path, tomahawked and scalped; some of them were at
the distance of half a mile from each other. When we
arrived within half a mile of the place where the colonel
was executed, we overtook the five prisoners that remained alive; the Indians had caused them to sit down
on the ground, as they did, also, the colonel and myself,
at some distance from them; I was then given in
charge to an Indian fellow to be taken to the Shawanese
towns.
"In the place where we were now made to sit down,
there was a number of squaws and boys, who fell on the
five prisoners and tomahawked them. There was a certain John McKinley amongst the prisoners, formerly an
officer in the 13th Virginia Regiment, whose head an old
squaw cut off, and the Indians kicked it about upon the
ground. The young Indian fellows came often where
the colonel and I were, and dashed the scalps in our
faces. We were then conducted along toward the place
where the colonel was afterwards executed. When we
came within half a mile of it, Simon Girty met us, with
several Indians on horseback. He spoke to the colonel,
but as I was about one hundred and fifty yards behind,
I could not hear what passed between them.
" Almost every Indian we met struck us either with
sticks or their fists. Girty waited till I was brought up,
and then asked, Was that the doctor? I answered him




ï~~CRAWFORD'S EXECUTION.

61

Yes, and went towards him, and reached out my hand;
but he bid me begone, and called me a damned rascal;
upon which the fellow who had me in charge pulled me
along. Girty rode up after me and told me that I was
to go to the Shawanese towns.
" When we came to the fire, the colonel was stripped
naked, ordered to sit down by the fire, and then they
beat him with sticks and their fists. Presently after, I
was treated in the same manner. They then tied a rope
to the foot of a post about fifteen feet high, bound the
colonel's hands behind his back, and fastened the rope
to the ligature between his wrists.  The rope was long
enough for him to sit down or to walk around the post
once or twice, and return the same way. The colonel
then called to Girty, and asked if they intended to burn
him?   Girty answered, Yes. The colonel said he would
take it all patiently. Upon this, Captain Pipe, a Delaware chief, made a speech to the Indians, consisting of
about thirty or forty men, and sixty or seventy squaws
and boys.
"When the speech was finished, they all yelled a
hideous and hearty assent to what had been said. The
Indian men then took up their guns and shot powder
into the colonel's body, from his feet as far as his neck.
I think not less than seventy loads were discharged
upon his naked body. They then crowded about him,
and to the best of my observations cut off his ears: when
the throng had dispersed a little, I saw the blood
running from both sides of his head, in consequence
thereof.
" The fire was about six or seven yards from the post




ï~~62

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

to which the colonel was tied; it was made of small
hickory poles, burnt quite through in the middle, each
end of the poles remaining about six feet in length.
Three or four Indians, by turns, would take up individually, one of these burning pieces of wood, and apply it
to his naked body, already burned black with powder.
These tormentors presented themselves on every side of
him, so that which ever way he ran round the post they
met him with the burning fagots and poles. Some of
the squaws took broad boards, upon which they would
put a quantity of burning coals and hot embers, and
throw them on him, so that in a short time he had nothing but coals of fire and hot ashes to walk upon.
"In the midst of these extreme tortures, he called to
Simon Girty, and begged of him to shoot him: Girty
then, by way of derision, told the colonel he had no gun,
at the same time turning about to an Indian who was
behind him, laughed heartily, and by all his gestures
seemed delighted at the horrid scene.
" Girty then came up to me and bade me prepare for
death. He said, however, I was not to die at that place,
but to be burnt at the Shawanese towns. He swore by
G--d I need not expect to escape death, but should suffer it in all its extremities.
" Colonel Crawford, at this period of his suffering,
besought the Almnighty to have mercy on his soul, spoke
very low, and bore his torments with the most manly
fortitude. He continued in all the extremities of pain
for an hour and three quarters or two hours longer, as
near as I can judge, when at last being almost spent, he
lay down on his belly; they then scalped him and re



ï~~DR. KNIGHT'S ESCAPE.

63

peatedly threw the scalp in my face, telling me 'That
was my great captain's.' An old squaw (whose appearance every way answered the ideas people entertain of the
devil) got a board, took a parcel of coals and ashes, and
laid them on his back and head after he had been
scalped; he then raised himself upon his feet and began
to walk round the post; they next put a burning stick
to him as usual, but he seemed more insensible to pain
than before."
Colonel Crawford was about fifty years of age when
he suffered at the stake. His son-in-law and nephew
were executed about the same time; John escaped.
What became of the other members of his family cannot
satisfactorily be ascertained.*
Dr. Knight was doomed to be burned at a town about
forty miles distant from Sandusky, and committed to
the care of a young Indian to be taken there. The first
day they traveled about twenty-five miles, and encamped
for the night. In the morning the gnats being very
troublesome, the doctor requested the Indian to untie
him that he might help him to make a fire to keep them
off. With this request the Indian complied. While the
Indian was on his knees and elbows, blowing the fire,
the doctor caught up a piece of a tent pole which had
been burned in two, about eighteen inches long, with
which he struck the Indian on his head with all his
might, so as to knock him forward into the fire. The
stick, however, broke, so that the Indian, although severely hurt, was not killed, but immediately sprang up;
* De Haas. History of the Early Settlement and Indian Wars of
Western Virginia.




ï~~64

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

on this the doctor caught up the Indian's gun to shoot
him, but drew back the cock with so much violence, that
he broke the main spring. The Indian ran off with a
hideous yelling. Doctor Knight then made the best of
his way home, which he reached in twenty-one days,
almost famished to death. The gun being of no use,
after carrying it a day or two, he left it behind. On
his journey he subsisted on roots, a few young birds and
berries.
Thus ended this disastrous campaign. It was the
last one which took place in this section of the country
during the revolutionary contest of the Americans with
the mother country. It was undertaken with the very
worst of views, those of plunder and murder; it was
conducted without sufficient means to encounter, with
any prospect of success, the large force of Indians opposed to ours in the plains of Sandusky. It was conducted without that subordination and discipline so
requisite to insure success in any hazardous enterprise,
and it ended in a total discomfiture. Never did an enterprise more completely fail of attaining its object.
Never, on any occasion, had the ferocious savages more
ample revenge for the murder of their pacific friends,
than that which they obtained on this occasion.
Should it be asked what considerations led so great a
number of people into this desperate enterprise?  Why
with so small a force and such slender means they pushed
on so far as the plains of Sandusky?
The answer is, that many believed that the Moravian
Indians, taking no part in the war, and having given
offence to the warriors on several occasions, their belli



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ï~~DEATH OF MILLS.

65

gerent friends would not take up arms in their behalf.
In this conjecture they were sadly mistaken. They did
defend them with all the force at their command, and
no wonder, for notwithstanding their Christian and pacific principles, the warriors still regarded the Moravians
as their relations, whom it was their duty to defend.*
On the scattered retreat of the troops which followed
Crawford's defeat, a man named Thomas Mills, who had
been engaged in that unfortunate expedition, reached the
Indian Spring, about nine miles from Wheeling, on the
present National road, where he was compelled to leave
his horse and proceed to Wheeling on foot. Thence he
went to Van Metre's Fort, and after a day or two's rest
he fell in with Lewis Wetzel, and induced him to go
with him to the Spring for his horse. Lewis cautioned
him against the danger, but Mills was determined, and
the two started. Approaching the Spring, they discocovered the horse tied to a tree, and Wetzel at once
comprehended their danger. Mills walked up to unfasten the animal, when instantly a discharge of rifles
followed, and the unfortunate man fell, mortally wounded.
Wetzel now turned, and knowing his only escape was in
flight, plunged through the enemy and bounded off at
the, very extent of his speed. Four fleet Indians followed in rapid pursuit, whooping in proud exultation of
soon overhauling their intended victim. After a chase
of half a mile, one of the most active savages approached
so close that Wetzel was afraid he might throw his tomahawk; and instantly wheeling, shot the fellow dead in
his tracks. In his early youth, Lewis had acquired the
* Doddridge's " Notes."




ï~~66

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

habit of loading his gun while at a full run, and now he
felt the great advantage of it. Keeping in advance of
his pursuers during another half mile, a second Indian
came up, and turning to fire, the savage caught the end
of his gun, and for a time the contest was doubtful. At
one moment the Indian, by his great strength and dexterity, brought Wetzel to his knee, and nearly wrenched
the rifle from the hands of his antagonist, when Lewis, by
a renewed effort, drew the weapon from the grasp of the
savage, and thrusting the muzzle against the side of his
neck, pulled the trigger, killing him instantly.  The
two other Indians by this time had nearly overtaken
him, but leaping forward, he kept ahead until his unerring rifle was a third time loaded. Anxious to have
done with that kind of sport, he slackened his pace, and
even stopped once or twice to give his pursuers an opportunity to face him. Every time, however, he looked round,
the Indians tree'd, unwilling any longer to encounter
his destructive weapon. After running a mile or two
further in this manner, he reached an open piece of
ground, and wheeling suddenly, the foremost Indian
jumped behind a tree, but which not screening his
body, Wetzel fired, and dangerously wounded him. The
remaining Indian made an immediate retreat, yelling as
he went, "1 No catch dat man, him gun always loaded."




ï~~ERECTION OF FORT IHARMAR.

67

CHAPTER VI.
Erection of Fort Harmar-General Harmar attempts to conciliate
the Indians-Lewis Wetzel goes to Fort Harmar, in hopes to kill
an Indian-He waylays and shoots one-Captain Kingsbury sent
to arrest him-He returns, without effecting his object-Lewis
Wetzel goes on a visit to Hamilton Carr---He is made prisoner in
Carr's house, and loaded with irons-He makes a singular proposition to General Harmar, which is not accepted-Wetzel escapes
from his captivity-By the aid of a friend, he reaches Virginia,
and then goes to Kentucky- General Harmar goes to Fort
Washington, and issues a proclamation, offering a reward for the
apprehension of Lewis Wetzel.
IN the autumn of 1785, Major Doughty descended
the Ohio to the mouth of the ]Iuskingum, and upon the
point north of the former, and west of the latter, began
the erection of Fort Harmar.*        The completion of this
work appears to have been made by General Harmar,t
* Perkins' Annals of the West.
t Brigadier-General Josiah Harmar died in August, 1813. He, in
1784, conveyed to France the ratification of the definite treaty. In
1785, he was appointed Colonel, and commander of the forces on the
northwestern frontier. In the war against the Indians, he marched,
Sept. 30, 1790, from Fort Washington, and had an army of 1453
men. His detachment had several engagements with Indians. In the
last, Col. Harding was defeated, near Chillicothe, with the loss of




ï~~68

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

who was appointed commander of the forces on the
northwestern frontier the same year. Soon after this,
he employed some white men to go with a flag among
the nearest Indian tribes, to prevail with them to come
to the fort, and there to conclude a treaty of peace. A
large number of Indians came on the general invitation,
and encamped on the Muskingum river, a few miles
above its mouth. General Harmar issued a proclamation,
giving notice that a cessation of arms was mutually agreed
upon between the white and red men, till an effort for a
treaty of peace should be concluded.
As treaties of peace with Indians had been so
frequently violated, but little faith was placed in the
stability of such engagements by the frontiersmen; notwithstanding that they were as frequently the aggressors
as were the Indians.    Half the backwoodsmen of that
day had been born in a fort, and grew to manhood, as it
were, in a siege. The Indian war had continued so long,
and was so bloody, that they believed war with them was
to continue as long as both survived to fight.
With these impressions, as they considered the Indians
faithless, it was difficult to inspire confidence in the
stability of treaties.
While General Harmar was diligently engaged with
the Indians, endeavoring to make peace,, Lewis Wetzel
Maj. Fontaine, aid to the General, and Maj. Wyllys, and upwards
of 180 men. The Indians lost 120 warriors, and 300 wigwams burnt.
After this defeat, called Harmar's defeat, he returned to Fort
Washington. St. Clair was in command the next year. He died on
the Schuylkill, near Philadelphia.-Allen's American Biographical
Dictionary.




ï~~LEWIS SHOOTS AN INDIAN.

69

concluded to go to Fort Hiarmar, and as the Indians
would be passing and repassing between their camp
and the fort, would have a fair opportunity of killing
one. He associated with himself in this enterprise, a
man by the name of Veach Dickerson, who was only a
small grade below him in restless daring. As soon as
the enterprise was resolved on, they were impatient to
put it in execution. The more danger, the more excited
and impatient they were to execute their plan. They
set off without delay, and arrived at the desired point,
and sat themselves down in ambush, near the path
leading from the fort to the Indian camp.
Shortly after they had concealed themselves by the
wayside, they saw an Indian approaching on horseback,
running his horse at full speed. They called to him, but
owing to the clatter of the horse's feet, he did not hear
or heed their call, but kept on at a sweeping gallop.
When the Indian had nearly passed, they concluded to
give him a shot as he rode. They fired; but as the
Indian did not fall, they thought they had missed him.
As the alarm would soon be spread that an Indian had
been shot at, and as large numbers of them were near
at hand, they commenced an immediate retreat to their
home.
As their neighbors knew the object of their expedition,
as soon as they returned, they were asked what luck.
Wetzel answered, that they had bad luck-they had seen
but one Indian, and he on horseback-that they fired at
him as he rode, but he did not fall, but went off scratching
his back, as if he had been stung by a yellowjacket. The
truth was, they had shot him through the hips and lower




ï~~70

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

part of the belly. He rode to the fort, and that night
expired of his wound.
It was soon rumored to General Harmar, that Lewis
Wetzel was the murderer.    General Harmar sent a
Captain Kingsbury, with a company of men, to the
Mingo Bottom, with orders to take Wetzel, alive or
dead-a useless and impotent order. A company of
men could as easily have drawn Beelzebub out of the
bottomless pit, as take Lewis Wetzel by force from the
Mingo Bottom settlement.
On the day that Captain Kingsbury arrived, there
was a shooting match in the neighborhood, and Lewis
was there. As soon as the object of Captain Kingsbury
was ascertained, it was resolved to ambush the Captain's
barge, and kill him and his company.
Happily, Major M'Mahan was present to prevent this
catastrophe, who prevailed on Wetzel and his friends to
suspend the attack, till he would pay Captain Kingsbury
a visit, perhaps he would induce him to return, without
making an attempt to take Wetzel. With a great deal
of reluctance, they agreed to suspend the attack till
Major M'Mahan should return.
The resentment and fury of Wetzel and his friends,
were boiling and blowing, like the steam from a scapepipe of a steamboat. "A pretty affair, this," said they,
"to hang a man for killing an Indian, when they are
killing some of our men almost every day."
Major M'Mahan informed Captain Kingsbury of the
force and fury of the people, and assured him that if he
persisted in the attempt to seize Wetzel, he would have
all the settlers in the country upon him; that nothing




ï~~LEWIS TAKEN PRISONER.

could save him and his company from massacre, but a
speedy return. The Captain took his advice, and forthwith returned to Fort Harmar. Wetzel considered the
affair now as finally adjusted.
As Lewis was never long stationary, but ranged at
will along the river from Fort Pitt to the falls of the
Ohio, and was a welcome guest, and perfectly at home
wherever he went, shortly after the attempt to seize him
by Captain Kingsbury, he got into a canoe, with the
intention of proceeding down the Ohio to Kentucky.
He had a friend by the name of Hamilton Carr, who had
lately settled on the island, near Fort Harmar.
Here he stopped, with the view of lodging for the
night.  By some means, which never were explained,
General Harmar was advised of his being on the island.
A guard was sent, who crossed to the island, surrounded
Mr. Carr's house, went in, and as Wetzel lay asleep, he
was seized by numbers; his hands and feet securely
bound, and he was hurried into a boat, and from thence
placed in a guard-room, where he was loaded with
irons.
The ignominy of wearing iron handcuffs and hobbles,
and being chained down, to a man of his independent
and resolute spirit, was more painful than death. Shortly
after he was confined, he sent for General Harmar, and
requested a visit. The General went. Wetzel admitted
without hesitation " that he had shot the Indian."
As he did not wish to be hung like a dog, he requested
the General to give him up to the Indians, there being a
large number of them present. "He might place them
all in a circle, with their scalping knives and tomahawks




ï~~72

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

-and give him a tomahawk, and place him in the midst
of the circle, and then let him and the Indians fight it
out the best way they could."
The General told him, "that he was an officer appointed by the law, by which he must be governed. As
the law did not authorize him to make such a compromise, he could not grant his request." After a few days
longer confinement, he again sent for the General to
come and see him; and he did so. Wetzel said "he had
never been confined, and could not live much longer, if
he was not permitted some room to walk about in."
The General ordered the officer on guard to knock off
his iron fetters, but to leave on his handcuffs, and permit
him to walk about on the point at the mouth of the
Muskingum; but to be sure and keep a close watch upon
him. As soon as they were outside the fort gate, Lewis
began to caper about like a wild colt broke loose from
the stall.
He would start and run a few yards, as if he was
about to make an escape, then turn round and join the
guards. The next start, he would run farther, and then
stop. In this way he amused the guard for some time,
at every start running a little farther. At length, he
called forth all his strength, resolution, and activity, and
determined on freedom or an early grave. He gave a
sudden spring forward, and bounded off at the top of his
speed for the shelter of his beloved woods.
His movement was so quick, and so unexpected, that
the guard were taken by surprise, and he got nearly a
hundred yards, before they recovered from their astonishment.   They fired, but all missed; they followed in




ï~~ESCAPE AND PURSUIT.

pursuit; but he soon left them out of sight. As he was
well acquainted with the country, he made for a dense
thicket, about two or three miles from the fort. In the
midst of this thicket, he found a tree which had fallen
across a log, where the brush was very close.   Under
this tree he squeezed his body. The brush was so thick,
that he could not be discovered, unless his pursuers
examined very closely.
As soon as his escape was announced, General Harmar started the soldiers and Indians in pursuit. After
he laid about two hours in his place of concealment, two
Indians came into the thicket, and stood on the same log
under which he lay concealed; his heart beat so violently,
he was afraid they would hear it thumping. He could
hear them hallooing in every direction, as they hunted
through the brush.
At length, as the evening wore away the day, he found
himself alone in the friendly thicket. But what should
he do? His hands were fastened with iron cuffs and
bolts, and he knew of no friend on the same side of the
Ohio to whom he could apply for assistance.
He had a friend who had recently put up a cabin on
the Virginia side of the Ohio, who, he had no doubt,
would lend him every assistance in his power. But to
cross the river, was the difficulty. He could not make a
raft, with his hands bound, and though an excellent
swimmer, it would be risking too much to trust himself
to the stream in that disabled condition.
With the most gloomy forebodings of the future, he
left the thicket as soon as the shades of night began to




ï~~LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

gather, and directed his way to the Ohio by a circuitous
route, which brought him to a lonely spot, three or four
miles below the fort.  He made to this place, as he
expected guards would be set at every point where he
could find a canoe.
On the opposite shore, he saw an acquaintance, Isaac
Wiseman by name, fishing in a canoe.    Not daring to
call to him, as he could not know whether his enemies
were not within sound of his voice, he waved his hat for
some time, to attract the notice of his friend, having
previously induced him to direct his eye that course by a
gentle splashing in the water. This brought Wiseman to
his assistance, who readily aided his escape.
Once on the Virginia shore, he had nothing to fear, as
he had well wishers all through the country, who would
have shed blood, if necessary, for his defence. It was
not, however, until years had elapsed, and General
Harmar returned to Philadelphia, that it became safe
for Wiseman to avow the act, such was the weakness of
civil authority, and the absolute supremacy of military
rule on the frontier. A file and hammer soon released
him from the heavy handcuffs.
After the night's rest had recruited his energies, he
set out for fresh adventures; his friend having supplied
him with a rifle, ammunition, and blanket. f He took a
canoe, and went down the river for Kentucky, where he
should feel safe from the grasp of Harmar and his
myrmidons.
Subsequently to Wetzel's escape, General Harmar
removed his headquarters to Fort Washington, Cincin



ï~~FAILURE TO RECAPTURE LEWIS.              75
nati. One of his first official acts there was to issue a
proclamation, offering  considerable rewards   for the
apprehension and delivery of Lewis, at the garrison
there. No man,' however, was found base or daring
enough to attempt this service.




ï~~76

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

CHAPTER VII.
Lewis Wetzel joins Major M'Mahan's expedition against the Indians
-They meet a strong party of Indians-The party retreats, leaving Wetzel--He comes to an Indian camp-Kills an Indian, and
returns home with his scalp-He kills an Indian who imitates the
turkey call, as a decoy to the people in the fort at Wheeling.
THE next incident in the history of Lewis was his
attaching himself to a body of scouts, which set out in
pursuit of Indians. A party of the savages in the
spring of 1787 * had crossed the Ohio river at what was
called the Mingo Bottom, three miles below the present
town of Steubenville. Here they killed a family, but
as they did not penetrate into the country, and retreated
for some reason or other immediately, they made their
escape with impunity. This inroad took the settlers by
surprise; the Indians not having crossed the Ohio in
that neighborhood for the previous twelve or eighteen
months, and filled them in their unprotected state with
fearful apprehensions.
A subscription was drawn up, headed by those who
were in easy circumstances, for the purpose of stimulating the young and active, which pledged more than
one hundred dollars as a bounty to the scout who would
* Mr. De Haas dates this adventure in 1786.




ï~~RETREAT OF MAJOR M'MAHAN.

77

bring in the first Indian scalp. Major M'Mahan, who
frequently led the hardy frontier men in those perilous
times, soon raised a company of about twenty men,
among whom was Lewis Wetzel. They crossed the
Ohio, and pursued the Indian trail with unerring tact,
till they came to the Muskingum river. There the advance, or spies, discovered a party of Indians far superior to their own in number, encamped on the bank of
the river.
As the Indians had not yet discovered the white men,
Major M'Mahan retreated with his party to the top of
the hill, where they might consult about their future
operations. The conclusion of the conference was,
" that discretion was the better part of valor;" and a
hasty retreat was prudently resolved on.
While the party were consulting on the propriety of
attacking the Indians, Lewis Wetzel sat on a log, with
his gun laid across his lap, and his tomahawk in his
hand; he took no part in the council.
As soon as the resolution was adopted to retreat, it
was without delay put in execution, and the party set
off, leaving Lewis sitting on a log. Major M'Mahan
called to him, and inquired if he was going with them.
Lewis answered, " that he was not; that he came out to
hunt Indians; they were now found, and he was not
going home like a fool, with his finger in his mouth.
He would take an Indian scalp or lose his own before
he went home."
Arguments were without avail. His stubborn, unyielding disposition being such, that he never submitted
himself to the control or advice of others, they were




ï~~78

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

compelled to leave him, a solitary being, in the midst of
the thick forest, surrounded by vigilant enemies. Notwithstanding that this solitary individual appeared to
rush into danger with the fury of a madman, in his disposition was displayed the cunning of a fox, as well as
the boldness of a lion.
As soon as his friends had left him, he picked'up his
blanket, shouldered his rifle, and struck off into a different part of the country, in hope that fortune would
place in his way some lone Indian. He kept aloof from
the large streams, where large parties of the enemy
generally encamped. He prowled through the woods
with a noiseless tread, and the keen glance of the eagle,
that day and the next evening, when he discovered a
smoke curling up from among the bushes. He crept
softly to the fire, and found two blankets and a small
copper kettle in the camp. He instantly concluded that
this was the camp of only two Indians, and that he could
kill them both. He concealed himself in the thick
brush, but in such a position that he could see the number and motions of the enemy.
About sunset, one of the Indians came in and made
up the fire, and went to cooking his supper. Shortly
after, the other came in, they ate their supper; after
which they began to sing, and amuse themselves by
telling comic stories, at which they would burst into a
roar of laughter. Singing, and telling amusing stories,
was the common practice of the white and red men when
lying in their hunting camps.
These poor fellows, when enjoying themselves in the
utmost glee, little dreamed that the grim monster, death,




ï~~KILLS AN INDIAN.

79

in the shape of Lewis Wetzel, was about stealing a
march upon them. Lewis kept a keen watch on their
movements. About 9 or 10 o'clock at night, one of the
Indians wrapped his blanket around him, shouldered his
rifle, took a chunk of fire in his hand, and left the camp,
doubtless with the intention of going to watch a deer
lick. The fire and smoke would serve to keep off the
gnats and musketoes.
It is a remarkable fact, that deer are not alarmed at
seeing fire, from the circumstance of seeing it so frequently in the fall and winter seasons, when the leaves
and grass are dry, and the woods on fire. The absence
of the Indian was the cause of vexation and disappointment to our hero, whose trap was so happily set,
that he considered his game secure. He still indulged
the hope, that the Indian might return to camp before
day.
In this he was disappointed. There were birds in the
woods who chirped and chattered just before break of
day; and like the cock, gave notice to the woodsman
that day would soon appear. Lewis heard the wooded
songsters begin their morning carol, and determined to
delay no longer the work of death for the return of the
Indian. He walked to the camp with a noiseless step,
and found his victim buried in profound slumber, lying
upon his side. He drew his butcher knife, and with all
his force, impelled by revenge, he sent the blade through
his heart. He said the Indian gave a short quiver, and
a convulsive motion, and laid still in his final sleep. He
then scalped him, and set off for home. He arrived at




ï~~80

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

the Mingo Bottom only one day after his unsuccessful
companions.
He claimed, and, as he deserved, received the promised reward.*
A most fatal decoy on the frontier, was the turkey
call. On several different occasions, men from the fort
at Wheeling had gone across the hill in quest of a turkey, whose painful cries had elicited their attention, and
on more than one occasion the men never returned.
Wetzel suspected the cause, and determined to satisfy
himself. On the east side of the Creek hill, and at a
point elevated at least sixty feet above the water, there
is a capacious cavern, the entrance to which at that time
was almost obscured by a heavy growth of vines and
foliage. Into this the alluring savage would crawl, and
could there have an extensive view of the hill front on
the opposite side. From that cavern issued the decoy
of death to more than one incautious soldier and settler.
Wetzel knew of the existence and exact locality of the
cave, and accordingly started out before day, and by a
circuitous route, reached the spot from the rear. Posting so as to command a view of the opening, he waited
patiently for the expected cry. Directly the twisted
tuft of an Indian warrior slowly rose in the mouth of the
cave, and looking cautiously about, sent forth the long,
shrill, peculiar cry, and immediately sunk back out of
view. Lewis screened himself in his position, cocked
his gun, and anxiously waited for a reappearance of
the head. In a few minutes up rose the tuft, Lewis

* Cincinnati Miscellany.




ï~~KILLS ANOTHER INDIAN.                 81
drew a fine aim at the polished head, and the next
instant the brains of the savage were scattered about
the cave.   That turkey troubled the inhabitants no
longer, and tradition does not say whether the place
was ever after similarly occupied.*
* De Haas. Cincinnati Miscellany. Pritt's Border Life.
6




ï~~LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

CHAPTER VIII.
Lewis Wetzel goes down the Ohio towards the Kanawha-Meets
Lieutenant Kingsbury, who does not arrest him-Lewis goes to
Limestone and Washington-Goes on hunting excursions-Goes to
Maysville-Is arrested and put in irons by Lieutenant LawlerDelivered to General Harmar-Great excitement in the neighborhood on account of Wetzel's detention in prison-Wetzel tried and
discharged-His personal appearance at this time.
GENERAL HARMAR'S pursuit of Lewis Wetzel had not
yet ceased. His officers had standing orders to arrest him
wherever they might find hin. It appears that after
having received his reward for taking the Indian scalp,
after the inglorious termination of Major McMahan's
expedition, he proceeded down the Ohio river towards
the Kanawha.*
On his way down, Wetzel landed at Point Pleasant,
and following his usual humor, when he had no work
among Indians on the carpet, ranged the town for a few
days with as much unconcern as if he were on his own
farm. Lieutenant Kingsbury, attached to IHarmer's own
command, happened to be at the mouth of Kanawha at
the time, and scouting about, while ignorant of Wetzel's
presence, met him,-unexpectedly to both parties.
Lewis, being generally on the qui vive, saw Kingsbury
* Cincinnati Miscellany.




ï~~ARREST OF LEWIS WETZEL.

83

first, and halted with great firmness in the path, leaving
to the Lieutenant to decide his own course of procedure,
feeling himself prepared and ready, whatever that might
be. Kingsbury, a brave man himself, had too much
good feeling towards such a gallant spirit as Wetzel, to
attempt his injury, if it were even safe to do so. He
contented himself with saying, " Get out of my sight, you
Indian killer!" And Lewis, who was implacable to the
savage only, retired slowly and watchfully, as a lion
draws off, measuring his steps in the presence of the
hunters, being as willing to avoid unnecessary danger
as to seek it, when duty called him to act.
He regained his canoe and put off for Limestone, at
which place,,and Washington the county town, he established his head quarters for some time. Here he engaged on hunting parties, or went out with the scouts
after Indians. When not actually engaged in such service, he filled up his leisure hours at shooting matches,
foot racing, or wrestling with other hunters. Major
Fowler, who knew him well during this period, described
him as a general favorite, no less from his personal qualities than for his services.
While engaged in these occupations at Maysville, Lieutenant Lawler of the regular army, who was going down
the Ohio to Fort Washington, in what was called a Kentucky boat, full of soldiers, landed at Maysville, and
found Wetzel sitting in one of the taverns. Returning
to the boat, he ordered out a file of soldiers, seized Wetzel and dragged him on board of the boat, and without a
moment's delay pushed off, and that same night delivered
him to General Harmar at Cincinnati, by whom the pri



ï~~84

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

soner was again put in irons, preparatory to his trial,
and consequent condemnation, for what Lewis disdained
to deny or conceal, the killing of the Indian at Marietta.
But Harmar, like St. Clair, although acquainted with
the routine of military service, was destitute of the practical good sense, always indispensable in frontier settlements, in which such severe measures were more likely
to rouse the settlers to flame, than to intimidate them,
and soon found the country around him in arms.
The story of Wetzel's captivity, captured and liable
to punishment for shooting an Indian merely-spread
through the settlements like-wild fire, kindling the passions of the frontier men to a high pitch of fury. Petitions for the release of Wetzel came into General Harmar from  all quarters, and all classes of society.  To
these at first, he paid little attention.
At length the settlements along the Ohio, and some
even of the back counties, began to embody in military
array to release the prisoner vi et armis. Representations were made to Judge Symmes, which induced him
to issue a writ of habeas corpus in the case. John Clawson and other hunters of Columbia, who had gone down
to attend his trial, went security for Wetzel's good behavior; and being discharged, he was escorted with
great triumph to Columbia, and treated at that place to
his supper, &c. Judge Foster who gave these last particulars, described him at this period-August 26th,
1789-as about 26 years of age, about 5 feet 9 inches
high. He was full breasted, very broad across the
shoulders, his arms were large, skin darker than the
other brothers, his face heavily pitted with the small pox




ï~~PERSONAL IDESCRIPTION.             85
-his hair, of which he was very careful, reached when
combed out, to the calves of the legs; his eyes remarkably black, and when excited, sparkling with such a
vindictive glance as to indicate plainly it was hardly safe
to provoke him to wrath. He was taciturn in mixed
company, although the fiddle of the party among his
social friends and acquaintances. His morals and habits
compared with those of his general associates, and the
tone of society in the west of that day, were quite exemplary.




ï~~86

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

CHAPTER IX.
Lewis Wetzel goes on an Indian hunt-He finds a camp with four
Indians-Watches them-Attacks them in the night-Kills three
of them-The fourth escapes-Wetzel's characteristic remark on
his return home-Lewis's adventure with six Indians in a cabinHe kills one of them and makes his escape unhurt.
IT appears to have been a custom of Lewis Wetzel to
go out in the woods at certain seasons, and hunt for
Indians as other men in those days were accustomed to
hunt for buffaloes or deer; and to shoot them down,
wherever he might meet with them, with as little compunction as he would have shot a deer or a panther.
Of one of his excursions we find the following record.*
He set off alone, (as was frequently his custom,) on an
Indian hunt. It was late in the fall of the year, when
the Indians were generally scattered in small parties on
their hunting grounds. He proceeded somewhere on
the waters of the Muskingum river, and found a camp
where four Indians had fixed their quarters for a winter
hunt. The Indians, unsuspicious of any enemies prowling about them so late in the season, were completely
off their guard, keeping neither watch nor sentinels.
Wetzel at first hesitated about the propriety of attacking such overwhelming numbers. After some reflection,
* Cincinnati Miscellany.




ï~~MEDITATES AN ATTACK.

87

he concluded to trust to his usual good fortune, and began to meditate upon his plan of attack. He concluded
their first sleep would be the fittest time for him to commence the work of death. About midnight, he thought
their senses would be most profoundedly wrapped in
sleep. He determined to walk to the camp, with his
rifle in one hand, and his tomahawk in the other. If
any of them should happen to be awake, he could shoot
one, and then run off in the darkness of the night, and
make his escape; should they be all asleep, he would
make the onset with his trusty scalping-knife and tomahawk.
Now, reader, imagine that you see him gliding through
the darkness with the silent, noiseless motion of an unearthly spirit, seeking mischief, and the keen glance of
the fabled Argus, and then you can imagine to your
mind Wetzel's silent and stealthy approach upon his
sleeping victims.
With calm intrepidity he stood a moment, reflecting
on the best plan to make the desperate assault. He set
his rifle against a tree, determined to use only his knife
and tomahawk; as these would not miss their aim, if
properly handled with a well strung arm.
What a thrilling, horrible sight! See him leaning
forward, with cool self-possession, and eager vengeance,
as if he had been the minister of death; he stands a
moment, then wielding his tomahawk, with the first
blow leaves one of them in death's eternal sleep. As
quick as lightning, and with tremendous yells, he applies
the tomahawk to the second Indian's head, and sent
him off to the land of spirit. As the third was rising




ï~~88

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

confounded and confused with the unexpected attack, at
two blows he fell lifeless to the ground. The fourth
darted off, naked as hie was, into the woods.
Wetzel pursued him some distance, but he finally
made his escape. This successful enterprise places our
hero, for " deeds of noble daring" without a rival.
From the pursuit he returned to the camp, scalped the
three Indians, and then returned home. What Ossian
said of some of his heroes, might with equal propriety
be said of Wetzel-the western " clouds were hung
around with ghosts."   When he came home, he was
asked what luck he had on his expedition? He replied,
" Not very good; that he had treed four Indians, and
one got away from him; that he had taken but three
scalps, after all his pains and fatigue."
During another of his scouts in the neighborhood of
Wheeling, our hero took shelter, on a stormy evening, in
a deserted cabin on the bottom, not far from the present
residence of Mr. Hamilton Woods. Gathering a few
broken boards he prepared a place on the loft to sleep.
Scarcely had he got himself adjusted for a nap, when
six Indians entered, and striking a fire, commenced preparing their homely meal. Wetzel watched their movements closely, with drawn knife, determined, the moment
he was discovered, to leap into their midst, and in the
confusion endeavor to escape. Fortunately they did not
see him, and soon after supper, the whole six fell asleep.
Wetzel now crawled noiselessly, and hid himself behind
a log, at a convenient distance from the door of the
cabin. At early dawn, a tall savage stepped from the
door, and stretching up both hands in a long, hearty




ï~~KILLS ANOTHER INDIAN.              89
yawn, seemed to draw in new life from the pure invigorating atmosphere. In an instant Wetzel had his finger
upon the trigger, and the next moment the Indian fell
heavily to the ground, his life's blood gushing upon the
young grass brilliant with the morning dew drops. The
report of his rifle had not ceased echoing through the
valley ere the daring borderer was far away, secure from
all pursuit.




ï~~90

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

CHAPTER X.
Lewis Wetzel's popularity not diminished by his imprisonment-He
makes a visit to a friend on Dunkard's Creek-They find the house
of his friend in ruins, and his intended wife is missing, having been
captuwd by the Indians-Wetzel and his friend set off in pursuit
of the Indians-A long march through the woods-They come
upon the camp of the Indians at night-They watch them till morning-They attack the Indians-They recover the captive, and kill
all the Indians.
LEWIs WETZEL'S imprisonment by General Harmar,
had by no means diminished his popularity among the
hardy denizens of the western frontier. When he had
been discharged home, after his detention at Fort Washington,* he was received by his compatriots with open
arms, and was caressed by young and old, with undiminished respect.t "The vast number of scalps which he had
taken, proved his invincible courage, as well as his prowess in war; the sufferings and persecutions by which he
had been pursued by General Harmar, secured for him
the sympathy of the frontier men.      The higher he was
esteemed, the lower sank the character of General Harmar with the fiery spirits of the frontier."
* Fort Washington was situated on the present site of Cincinnati.
t De Haas.




ï~~CAPTURE OF A WOMAN.

91

Had Harmar possessed a tithe of the courage, skill,.
and indomitable energy of Wetzel, the gallant soldiers
under his command, in the memorable and disastrous
campaign against the Miamis, might have shared a different fate.*
Shortly after his return from Kentucky, a relative
from Dunkard Creek invited Lewis home with him.
The invitation was accepted, and the two leisurely
wended their way along, hunting and sporting as they
traveled.  On their reaching the home of the young
man, what should they see, instead of the hospitable
roof, a pile of smoking ruins! Wetzel instantly examined the trail, and found that the marauders were three
Indians, and one white man, and that they had taken
one prisoner. That captive proved to be the betrothed
of the young man, whom nothing could restrain from
pushing on in immediate pursuit. Placing himself under
the direction of Wetzel, the two strode on, hoping to
overhaul the enemy before they had crossed the Ohio.
It was found, after proceeding a short distance, that the
savages had taken great care to obliterate their trail;
but the keen discernment of Wetzel, once on the track,
and there need not be much difficulty.
He knew they would make for the river by the most
expeditious route, and therefore, disregarding the trail,
he pushed on so as to head them at the crossing-place.
After an hour's hard travel, they struck a path which
the deer had made, and which their sagacity had taught
them to carry over knolls in order to avoid the great
curves of ravines. Wetzel followed the path because he
I De Haas,




ï~~92

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

knew it was almost a direct line to the point at which he
was aiming. Night coming on, the tireless and determined hunters partook of a hurried meal, then again
pushed forward, guided by the lamps hung in the heavens above them, until, towards midnight, a heavy cloud
shut out their light and obscured the path. Early on
the following morning, they resumed the chase, and descending from the elevated ridge along which they had
been passing for an hour or two, found themselves in a
deep and quiet valley, which looked as though human
steps had never before pressed its virgin soil.* Traveling a short distance, they discovered fresh footsteps in
the soft sands, and upon close examination, the eye of
Wetzel's companion detected the impress of a small shoe
with nail-heads around the heel, which he at once recognized as belonging to his affianced. Hour after hour the
pursuit was kept up; now tracing the trail across hills,
over alluvion, and often detecting it where the wily captors had taken to the beds of streams. Late in the afternoon, they found themselves approaching the Ohio,
and shortly after dark, discovered, as they struck the
river, the camp of the enemy on the opposite side, and
just below the mouth of Captina. Swimming the river,
the two reconnoitered the position of the camp, and discovered the locality of the captive. Wetzel proposed
waiting until daylight, before making the attack; but the
almost frantic lover was for immediate action. Wetzel,
however, would listen to no suggestion, and thus they
awaited the break of day. At early dawn the savages
were up preparing to leave, when Wetzel directed his
* De Haas.




ï~~RELEASE OF THE CAPTIVE.

93

companion to take good aim at the white renegade, while
he would make sure work of one of the Indians. They
fired at the same moment, and with fatal effect. Instantly, the young man rushed forward to release the
captive; and Wetzel reloading, pursued the two Indians
who had taken to the woods, to ascertain the strength of
the attacking party. Wetzel pursued a short distance,
and then fired his rifle at random, to draw the Indians
from their retreat. The trick succeeded, and they made
after him with uplifted tomahawks, yelling at the height
of their voices. The adroit hunter soon had his rifle
loaded, and wheeling suddenly, discharged its contents
through the body of his nearest pursuer. The other Indian now rushed impetuously forward, thinking to despatch his enemy in a moment. Wetzel, however, kept
dodging from tree to tree, and, being more fleet than the
Indian, managed to keep ahead until his unerring gun
was again loaded, when, turning, he fired, and the last
of the party lay dead before him.




ï~~94

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

CHAPTER XI.
Adventure of John Wetzel-He goes with six others to an Indian
town to steal horses-They cross the Ohio and reach the town,
where they obtain fifteen horses-They are detained at Wells' Creek
-An alarm-The party encamp for the night-The Indians attack
them and kill three of their number-John Wetzel and the other
three survivors make good their retreat-John Wetzel goes on a
scout with Yeach Dickerson-They meet two Indians-Wetzel
kills and scalps one, and they capture the other-He refuses to go
with them-They beat him with hickory sticks, but he still refuses
to accompany them, and they finally tomahawk and scalp him.
THE reader will now permit us to turn aside from the
straightforward course of our narrative for the purpose
of giving some adventures of Lewis Wetzel's brothers.*
In the year 1791 or '92, the Indians having made
frequent incursions into the settlements, along the river
Ohio, between Wheeling and the Mingo Bottom, sometimes killing or capturing whole families, at other times
stealing all the horses belonging to a station or fort, a
company, consisting of seven men, rendezvoused at a
place called the Beech Bottom, on the Ohio river, a few
miles below where Wellsburg has been erected.
This company were John Wetzel, William M'Cullough,
John Hough, Thomas Biggs, Joseph Hedges, Kinzie
* Border Life.




ï~~HORSE-STEALING EXPEDITION.

95

Dickerson, and a Mr. Linn. Their avowed object was
to go to the Indian town to steal horses. This was then
considered a legal, honorable business, as we were then
at open war with the Indians. It would only be retaliating upont  emn in their own way.
These seven men were all trained to Indian warfare,
and a life in the woods from their youth. Perhaps the
western frontier, at no time, could furnish seven men
whose souls were better fitted, and whose nerves and
sinews were better strung to perform any enterprise
which required resolution and firmness.
They crossed the Ohio, and proceeded with cautious
steps, and vigilant glances, on their way through the
cheerless, dark, and almost impenetrable forest, in the
Indian country, till they came to an Indian town, near
where the head waters of the Sandusky and Muskingum
rivers interlock. Here they made a fine haul, and set
off homeward with about fifteen horses. They traveled
rapidly, only making a short halt, to let their horses
graze, and breathe a short time, to recruit their strength
and activity.
In the evening of the second day of their rapid retreat, they arrived at Wells Creek, not far from where
the town of Cambridge has been since erected. Here
Mr. Linn was taken violently sick, and they must stop
their march, or leave him alone, to perish in the dark
and lonely woods.   Our frontier men, notwithstanding
their rough and unpolished manners, had too much of
my Uncle Toby's "sympathy for suffering humanity,"
to forsake a comrade in distress. They halted, and
placed sentinels on their back trail, who remained there




ï~~96

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

till late in the night, without seeing any signs of being
pursued.
The sentinels on the back trail returned to the camp,
Mr. Linn still lying in excruciating pain. All the simple remedies in their power were administered to the
sick man, without producing any effect. Being late in
the night, they all lay down to rest, except one, who
was placed as guard. Their camp was on the bank of a
small branch.
Just before daybreak the guard took a small bucket,
and dipped some water out of the stream; on carrying
it to the fire he discovered the water to be muddy. The
muddy water waked his suspicion that the enemy might
be approaching them, and were walking down in the
stream, as their footsteps would be noiseless in the water.
He waked his companions, and communicated his suspicion. They arose, examined the branch a little distance, and listened attentively for some time; but neither
saw nor heard anything, and then concluded it must
have been raccoons, or some other animals, puddling in
the stream.
After this conclusion the company all lay down to
rest, except the sentinel, who was stationed just outside
of the light. Happily for them, the fire had burned
down, and only a few coals afforded a dim light to point
out where they lay. The enemy had come silently down
the creek, as the sentinel suspected, to within ten or
twelve feet of the place where they lay, and fired several
guns over the bank. Mr. Linn, the sick man, was lying
with his side towards the bank, and received nearly all
the balls which were at first fired. The Indians then,




ï~~SURPRISED BY THE INDIANS.

97

with tremendous yells, mounted the bank with loaded
rifles, war clubs, and tomahawks, and rushed upon our
men, who fled barefooted, and without arms.
Mr. Linn, Thomas Biggs, and Joseph Hedges, were
killed in or near the camp. William M'Cullough had
run but a short distance when he was fired at by the
enemy. At the instant the firing was given, he jumped
into a quagmire and fell; the Indians supposing that
they had killed him, ran past in pursuit of others. He
soon extricated himself out of the mire, and so made his
escape. He fell in with John Hough, and came into
Wheeling.
John Wetzel and Kinzie Dickerson met in their retreat, and returned together. Those who made their
escape were without arms, without clothing or provision.
Their sufferings were great; but this they bore with
stoical indifference, as it was the fortune of war.
Whether the Indians who defeated our heroes followed
in pursuit from their towns, or were a party of warriors,
who accidentally happened to fall in with them, has
never been ascertained.
From the place they had stolen the horses, they had
traveled two nights and almost two entire days, without
halting, except just a few minutes at a time, to let the
horses graze. From the circumstance of their rapid
retreat with the horses, it was supposed that no pursuit
could possibly have overtaken them, but that fate had
decreed that this party of Indians should meet and
defeat them.
As soon as the stragglers arrived at Wheeling, Captain John M'Cullough collected a party of men, and
7




ï~~98

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

went to Wells Creek, and buried the unfortunate men
who fell in and near the camp. The Indians had mangled the dead bodies at a most barbarous rate. Thus
was closed the horse-stealing tragedy.
Of the four who survived this tragedy, none are now
living to tell the story of their suffering. They continued to hunt and to fight as long as the war lasted.
John Wetzel and Dickerson died in the country near
Wheeling. John Hough died a few years since, near
Columbia, Hamilton county, Ohio. The brave Captain
William  M' Cullough fell in 1812, in the battle of
Brownstown, in the campaign with General Hull.
John Wetzel and Veach Dickerson associated to go
on an Indian scout. They crossed the Ohio at the
Mingo Bottom, three miles below where the town of
Steubenville has since been constructed. They set off
with the avowed intention of bringing an Indian prisoner. They painted and dressed in complete Indian
style, and could talk some in their language. What
induced them to undertake this hazardous enterprise is
now unknown; perhaps the novelty and danger of the
undertaking prompted them to action. No reward was
given for either prisoners or scalps; nor were they employed or paid by government. Every man fought on
his own hook, furnished his own arms and ammunition,
and carried his own baggage.
This was, to all intents, a democratic war, as every
one fought as often and as long as he pleased; either by
himself, or with such company as he could confide in.
As the white men on the frontier took but few prisoners,
Wetzel and Dickerson concluded to change the practice,




ï~~CAPTURE OF AN INDIAN.

99

and bring in an Indian to make a pet. Whatever whim
may have induced them, they set off with the avowed
intention of bringing in a prisoner, or losing their own
scalps in the attempt.
They pushed through the Indian country with silent
tread and a keen look out, till they went near the head
of the Sandusky river, where they came near to a small
Indian village. They concealed themselves near to a
path which appeared to be considerably traveled.
In the course of the first day of their ambush, they
saw several small companies of Indians pass them. As
it was not their wish to raise an alarm among the enemy,
they permitted them   to pass undisturbed. In the
evening of the next day, they saw two Indians coming
sauntering along the road in quite a merry mood. They
immediately stepped into the road, and with a confident
air, as if they were meeting friends, went forward until
they came within reach of the enemy.
Wetzel drew his tomahawk, and with one sweep
knocked an Indian down; at the same instant Dickerson grasped the other in his arms, and threw him on the
ground. By this time Wetzel had killed the other, and
turned his hand to aid in fastening the prisoner. This
completed, they scalped the dead Indian, and set off
with the prisoner for home. They traveled all that
night on the war-path leading towards Wheeling. In
the morning they struck off from the path, and making
diverse courses, and keeping on the hardest ground,
where their feet would made the least impression, as
this would render their trail more difficult to follow in




ï~~100

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

case they should be pursued. They pushed along till
they had crossed the Muskingum some distance, when
their prisoner began to show a restive, stubborn disposition; he finally threw himself on the ground and refused to rise. He held down his head, and told them
they might tomahawk him as soon as they pleased, for
he was determined to go no farther. They used every
argument they could think of to induce him to proceed,
but without any effect. He said " he would prefer
dying in his native woods, than to preserve his life a
little longer, and at last be tortured by fire, and his
body mangled for sport, when they took him to their
towns."
They assured him his life would be spared, and that
he would be well used and treated with plenty. But all
their efforts would not induce him to rise to his feet.
The idea that he would be put to death for sport, or in
revenge, in presence of a large number of spectators,
who would enjoy with raptures the scenes of his torture
and death, had taken such a strong hold of his mind,
that he determined to disappoint the possibility of
their being gratified at his expense. As it was not
their wish to kill him, from coaxing, they concluded to
try if a hickory well applied would not bend his stubborn soul.
This, too, failed to have any effect. He appeared to
be as callous and indifferent to the lash, as if he had
been a cooper's horse. What invincible resolution and
fortitude was evinced by this son of the forest! Finding all their efforts to urge him -forward ineffectual, they




ï~~TOMAHAWKING AND SCALPING THE INDIAN..101
determined to put him to death. They then tomahawked and scalped him, and left his body a prey to the
wild beasts of the forest, and to the birds of the air.
Our heroes then returned home with their two scalps;
but vexed and disappointed that they could not bring
with them the prisoner.




ï~~102

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

CHAPTER XII.
Adventure of Lewis WetzeFl's brother, Jacob, and General Simon
Kenton-They go on a fall hunt and fall upon an Indian trailThey seek and discover the Indian camp at night-They wait till
morning, and then make the attack-Two Indians fall at the first
fire-Wetzel kills a third-They then leave their ambush and rush
on the remaining Indians who take to flight-They pursue, and
finally kill and scalp both of the other Indians.
THE following incident, in which that illustrious patriot General Simon Kenton appears as the companion
of Lewis Wetzel's brother, Jacob, is given by Mr. Pritts,
in his "Border Life."
Kenton and Wetzel made arrangements to make a fall
hunt together; and for that purpose they went into the
hilly country, near the mouth of the Kentucky river.
When they arrived in that part of the country in which
they intended to make their hunt, they discovered some
signs of Indians having pre-occupied the ground. It
woud have been out of character in a Kenton and a
Wetzel to retreat, without first ascertaining the description and number of the enemy. They determined to find
the Indian camp, which they believed was at no great
distance from them, as they had heard reports of guns
late in the evening, and early the next morning, in the




ï~~THEY ATTACK THE INDIANS..103

same direction. This convinced them that the camp was
at no great distance from the firing.
Our heroes moved cautiously about, making as little
sign as possible, that they might not be discovered by
the enemy. Towards evening of the second day after
their arrival on the ground, they discovered the Indian
camp. They kept themselves concealed, determined as
soon as night approached to reconnoitre the situation and
number of the enemy, and then govern their future operations as prudence might dictate. They found five Indians in the camp.
Having confidence in themselves, and in their usual
good fortune, they concluded to attack them boldly.
Contrary to military rules, they agreed to defer the attack till light. In military affairs it is a general rule to
avoid night fights, except where small numbers intend to
assault a larger force. The night is then chosen, as in
the darkness, the number of the assailants being uncertain, may produce panics and confusion, which may give
the victory to far inferior numbers.
Our heroes chose daylight and an open field for the
fight. There was a large fallen tree lying near the
camp; this would serve as a rampart for defence, and
would also serve to conceal them from observation till the
battle commenced. They took their station behind the
log, and there they lay till broad day light, when they
were able to draw a clear bead.
Jacob Wetzel had a double-barrelled rifle. Their guns
were cocked-they took aim, and gave the preconcerted
signal-fired, and two Indians fell. As quick as thought,
Wetzel fired his second load, and down fell the third In



ï~~104           LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.
dian. Their number was now equal, and they bounded
over the log, screaming and yelling at the highest pitch of
their voices, to strike terror into their remaining enemies;
and were among them before they recovered from the
sudden surprise. The two remaining Indians, without
arms, took to their heels, and ran in different directions.
Kenton pursued one, whom he soon overhauled, tomahawked, and scalped, and then returned with the bloody
trophy to the camp. Shortly after, Wetzel returned
with the scalp of the fifth Indian. This was a wholesale
slaughter, that but few except such men as a Kenton and
a Wetzel would have attempted.




ï~~LEWIS IMPRISONED.

105

CHAPTER XIII.
Lewis Wetzel starts for New Orleans-Hle is imprisoned thereCharge unknown-He is released by the intervention of the government, and goes to Philadelphia-Great change in his appearance-He returns to Wheeling Creek-He returns to the South to
revenge himself on the enemy who had caused his imprisonmentHe returns to Wheeling-Goes to the woods to hunt---Encounters
an Indian-Singular stratagem-Kills the Indian-Lewis Wetzel
goes on a land survey with the brother of President MadisonMadison killed-Wetzel engaged in the famous expedition of Lewis
and Clarke-He quits the expedition and returns home-He goes to
the neighborhood of Natchez-His death-His personal appearance and character.
" SOON after the occurrence just narrated, Lewis Wetzel determined to visit the extreme South; and for that
purpose, engaged on a flat-boat about leaving for New
Orleans.*     Many    months elapsed before his friends
heard anything of his whereabouts, and then it was to
learn that he was in close confinement at New Orleans,
under some weighty charge. What the exact nature of
this charge was, has never been fully ascertained, but it
is very certain he was imprisoned, and treated like a felon
for nearly two years. The charge is supposed to have
been of some trivial character, and has been justly re
* De Haas.




ï~~106

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

garded as a great outrage. It was alleged, at the time
of his arrest, to have been for uttering counterfeit coin;
but this being disproved, it was then charged that hlie had
been guilty of illicit connection with the wife of a Spaniard.
Of the nature of these charges, however, we know but
little, and it may, therefore, be unsafe to say more. He
was finally released by the intervention of our government, and reached home by way of Philadelphia, to
which city he had been sent from New Orleans.
" Mr. Rodefer says he saw him immediately after his
return, and that his personal appearance had undergone
great change from his long confinement. He remained
but two days on Wheeling Creek after his return, one at
his mother's, and the other at Captain Bennet's, (the
father of Mrs. Rodefer.) Many of the older citizens
have told us,* that they saw him during his brief visit,
and conversed freely with him about the infamous manner he had been treated.
" Jacob Keller, Esq., who now owns the old Bennett
farm, says he saw him, and gathered many particulars
of his imprisonment. From the settlement, he went to
Wheeling, where he remained a few days, and then left
again for the South, vowing vengeance against the person whom he believed to have been accessory to his imprisonment, and degrading his person with the vile rust
of a felon's chain.
" During his visit to Wheeling, he remained with
George Cookis, a relative. Our informant says she met
him there, and heard Mrs. Cookis plague him about getting married, and jocularly asked whether he ever in* De Haas.




ï~~SAGACITY OF LEWIS.

tended to take a wife?  " No," he replied, " there is no
woman in this world for me, but I expect there is one in
heaven."
"After an absence of many months, he again returned
to the neighborhood of Wheeling; but whether he
avenged his real or imaginary wrongs upon the person
of the Spaniard alluded to, the biographers at this time
have not the means of saying. His propensity to roam
the woods was still as great as ever, and soon after his
return, an incident occurred which showed that he had
lost none of his cunning while undergoing incarceration
at New Orleans.
" Returning home from a hunt, north of the Ohio,
somewhat fatigued, and a little careless of his movements,
he suddenly espied an Indian in the very act of raising
his gun to fire.
" Both immediately sprung to trees, and there they
stood for an hour, each afraid of the other. What was
to be done? To remain there during the whole day, for
it was then early in the morning, was out of the question. Now it was that the sagacity of Wetzel displayed
itself over the childlike simplicity of the savage. Cautiously adjusting his bear-skin cap to the end of his ramrod with the slightest, most dubious, and hesitating movement, as though afraid to venture a glance, the cap
protruded. An instant, a crack, and off was torn the
fatal cap by the sure ball of the ever vigilant savage.
Leaping from his retreat, our hero rapidly advanced
upon the astonished Indian, and ere the tomahawk could
be brought to its work of death, the tawny foe sprang




ï~~108

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

convulsively into the air, and straightening as he descended, fell upon his face quite dead.."Wetzel was universally regarded as one of the most
efficient scouts and most practiced woodmen of his day.
He was frequently engaged by parties who desired to
hunt up and locate lands, but were afraid of the Indians.
Under the protection of Lewis Wetzel, however, they
felt safe, and thus he was often engaged for months at a
time. Of those who became largely interested in western
lands, was John Madison, brother of James, afterwards
President Madison. He employed Lewis Wetzel to go
with him through the Kanawha region. During their
expedition they came upon a deserted hunter's camp, in
which were concealed some goods.      Each of them
helped himself to a blanket, and that day in crossing
Little Kanawha, they were fired upon by a concealed
party of Indians, and Madison killed.
" General Clarke, the companion of Lewis in the celebrated tour across the Rocky Mountains, had heard
much of Lewis Wetzel in Kentucky, and determined to
secure his services in the perilous enterprise. A messenger was according sent for him, but he was reluctant
to go. However, he finally consented, and accompanied
the party during the first three months' travel, but then
declined going any further, and returned home.
" Shortly after this, he left again on a flat boat, and
never returned. He visited a relative named Philip
Sikes, living about twenty miles in the interior from
Natchez, and there made his home until the summer of
1808, when he died.
" The personal appearance of this distinguished bor



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ï~~


ï~~HIIS PERSONAL APPEARANCE.

109

derer was, says Mr. De Haas, very remarkable. He
was five feet ten inches in height, very erect, broad
across the shoulders, an expansive chest, and limbs denoting great muscular strength. His complexion was
very dark, and eyes of the most intense blackness, wild,
rolling, and 'piercing as the dagger's point;' emitting,
when excited, such fierce and withering glances, as to
cause the stoutest adversary to quail beneath their
power. His hair was of raven jetness, and very luxuriant, reaching, when combed out, below his knees. This
would have been a rare scalp for the savages, and one
for which they would at any time have given a dozen of
their best warriors.
" When Lewis Wetzel professed friendship, he was as
true as the needle to the pole. He loved his friends,
and hated their enemies. He was a rude, blunt man,
of few words before company; but with his friends, not
only sociable, but an agreeable companion. Such was
Lewis Wetzel; his name and fame will long survive,
when the achievments of men vastly superior in rank and
intellect, will slumber with the forgotten past.*"
* De Haas.




ï~~


ï~~BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
( 111)




ï~~


ï~~BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
CHAPTER I.
Birth and early life of Kenton-No school education-Unfortunate
adventure-Kenton flogs a rival, and leaving him for dead flies from
his home-Falls in with Johnson-Kenton takes the name of
Simon Butler-Joins an exploring expedition-Meets Yager and
Strader-Goes down the Ohio-They hunt for two years on the
Kenawha.
SIMON KENTON was born in Fauquier county, Virginia,
on the 15th of May, 1755, the ever memorable year of
Braddock's defeat. Of his early years nothing is known.
His parents were poor, and until the age of sixteen, his
days seem to have passed away in the obscure and laborious drudgery of a farm. He was never taught to read
or write, and to this early negligence or inability on the
part of his parents, is the poverty and desolation of his
old age, in a great measure, to be attributed. At the age
of sixteen, by an unfortunate adventure, he was launched
into life with no other fortune, than a stout heart, and a
robust set of limbs. It seems, that young as he was, his
8                                      (113)




ï~~114      BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KiENTON.
heart had become entangled in the snares of a young coquette in the neighborhood, who was grievously perplexed by the necessity of choosing one husband out of
many lovers.
Young Kenton, and a robust farmer by the name of
Leitchman, seem to have been the most favored suitors,
and the young lady not being able to decide upon their
respective merits, they took the matter into their own
hands, and, in consequence of foul play on the part of
Leitchman's friends, young Kenton was beaten with great
severity. He submitted to his fate, for the time, in silence,
but internally vowed, that as soon as he had obtained his
full growth, he would take ample vengeance upon his rival, for the disgrace which he had sustained at his hands.
He waited patiently until the following spring, when finding himself six feet high, and full of health and action,
he determined to delay the hour of retribution no longer.*
He accordingly walked over to Leitchman's house one
morning, and finding him busily engaged in carrying shingles from the woods to hiis own house, he stopped him,
told him his object, and desired him to adjourn to a spot
more convenient for the purpose. Leitchman., confident
in his superior age and strength, was not backward in
testifying his willingness to indulge him in so amiable a
pastime, and having reached a solitary spot in the wood,
they both stripped and prepared for the encounter. The
battle was fought with all the fury, which mutual hate,
* Collins, in his Historical Sketches of Kentucky, says that Kenton's rival was William Veach, and that the contest took place a few
days after the wedding. Our account is from McCheyn's Western
Adventures.




ï~~THE STRUGGLE.

115

jealousy, and herculean power on both sides, could supply, and after a severe round, in which considerable
damage was done and received, Kenton was brought to
the ground.
Leitchman (as usual in Virginia) sprung upon him without the least scruple, and added the most bitter taunts
to the kicks with which he saluted him, from his head to
his heels, reminding him of his former defeat, and rubbing salt into the raw wounds of jealousy by triumphant
allusions to his own superiority both in love and in war.
During these active operations on the part of Leitchman,
Kenton lay perfectly still, eyeing attentively a small bush
which grew near them. It instantly occurred to him,
that if he could wind Leitchman's hair (which was remarkably long) round this bush, he would be able to return those kicks which were now bestowed upon him in
such profusion. The difficulty was to get his antagonist
near enough.
This he at length effected in the good old Virginia style,
viz: by biting him en arriere, and compelling him, by
short springs, to approach the bush, much as a bullock is
goaded on to approach the fatal ring, where all his struggles are useless. When near enough, Kenton suddenly
exerted himself violently, and succeeded in wrapping the
long hair of his rival around the sapling. He then
sprung to his feet, and inflicted a terrible revenge for all
his past injuries. In a few seconds Leitchman was gasping, apparently in the agonies of death. Kenton instantly fled, without even returning for an additional
supply of clothing, and directed his steps westward.
During the first day of his journey, he traveled in




ï~~116     BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
much agitation. He supposed that Leitbchman was dead,
and that the hue and cry would instantly be raised after
himself as the murderer. The constant apprehension of a
gallows lent wings to his flight, and he scarcely allowed
himself a moment for refreshment, until he had reached
the neighborhood of the Warm Springs, where the settlements were thin, and the immediate danger of pursuit
was over. Here he fortunately fell in with an exile from
the state of New Jersey, of the name of Johnson, who
was traveling westward on foot, and driving a single
pack horse, laden with a few necessaries, before him.
They soon became acquainted, related their adventures
to each other, and agreed to travel together.
They plunged boldly into the wilderness of the Alleghany mountains, and subsisting upon wild game and a
small quantity of flour, which Johnson had brought with
him, they made no halt until they arrived at a small settlement on Cheat river, one of the prongs of the Monongahela. Here the two friends separated, and Kenton
(who had assumed the name of Simon Butler) attached
himself to a small company headed by John Mahon and
Jacob Greathouse, who had united for the purpose of
exploring the country. They quickly built a large
canoe, and descended the river as far as the Province's
settlement. Thera Kenton became acquainted with two
young adventurers, Yager and Strader, the former of
whom had been taken by the Indians when a child, and
had spent many years in their village.
He informed Benton that there was a country below,
which the Indians called Kan-tuck-ee, which was a perfect Elysium; that the ground was not only the richest,




ï~~EL DORADO OF THE WEST.

117

and the vegetation the most luxuriant in the world; but,
that the immense herds of buffalo and elk, which ranged
at large through its forests, would appear incredible to
one who had never witnessed such a spectacle. He added that it was entirely uninhabited, and was open to all
who chose to hunt there; that he himself had often accompanied the Indians in their grand hunting parties
through the country, and was confident that he could
conduct him to the same ground, if he was willing to
venture.
Kenton eagerly closed with the proposal, and announced his readiness to accompany him immediately.
A canoe was speedily procured, and the three young men
committed themselves to the waters of the Ohio, in
search of the enchanted hunting ground, which Yager
had visited in his youth, while a captive among the Indians.  Yager had no idea of its exact distance from
Province's settlement. He recollected only that he had
crossed the Ohio in order to reach it, and declared that,
by sailing down the river for a few days, they would
come to the spot where the Indians were accustomed to
cross, and assured Kenton that there would be no difficulty in recognizing it, that its appearance was different
from all the rest of the world, &c. &c.
Fired by Yager's glowing description of its beauty,
and eager to reach this new El Dorado of the west, the
young men rowed hard for several days, confidently expecting that every bend of the river would usher them
into the land of promise. No such country, however,
appeared; and at length Kenton and Strader became
rather sceptical as to its existence at all. They rallied




ï~~118      BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
Yager freely upon the subject, who still declared positively that they would soon witness the confirmation of
all that he had said. After descending, however, as
low as the spot where Manchester now stands, and seeing nothing which resembled Yager's country, they held
a council, in which it was determined to return, and survey the country more carefully; Yager still insisting,
that they must have passed it in the night. They, accordingly, retraced their steps, and successively explored
the land about Salt Lick, Little and Big Sandy, and Guyandotte. At length, being totally wearied out in searching for what had no existence, they turned their attention entirely to hunting and trapping, and spent nearly
two years upon the great Kenawha, in this agreeable
and profitable occupation. They obtained clothing in
exchange for their furs, from the traders of Fort Pitt,
and the forest supplied them abundantly with wild game
for food.




ï~~ATTACK BY INDIANS.

119

CHAPTER II.
Kenton's party attacked by Indians-Kenton and Yager escapeSufferings in the woods-Relieved by traders--Joins Dr. Wood's party-Adventure-The party breaks up-Kenton serves in Dunmore's
war-Expedition to the Lower and Upper Blue Licks-Meeting
with Fitzpatrick and Hendricks--Terrible fate of Hendricks.
WHiLE Kenton and his party were leading the agreeable lives of huntsmen in the forest, Indian hostilities
were beginning on the borders of Virginia and the Carolinas, and to this cause we are to attribute the sudden
interruption of their hunting sports.
In March, 1773, while reposing in their tent, after the
labors of the day, they were suddenly attacked by a
party of Indians. Strader was killed at the first fire, and
Kenton and Yager with difficulty effected their escape,
being compelled to abandon their guns, blankets, and
provisions, and commit themselves to the wilderness, without the means of sheltering themselves from the cold, procuring a morsel of food, or even kindling a fire.   They
were far removed from any white settlement, and had no
other prospect than that of perishing by famine, or falling a sacrifice to the fury of such Indians as might chance
to meet them. Reflecting, however, that it was never too
late for men to be utterly lost, they determined to strike




ï~~120     BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
through the woods for the Ohio river, and take such fortune as it should please heaven to bestow.
Directing their route by the barks of trees, they
pressed forward in a straight direction for the Ohio, and
during the two first days allayed the piercing pangs of
hunger by chewing such roots as they could find on their
way. On the third day, their strength began to fail,
and the keen appetite which, at first, had constantly tortured them, was succeeded by a nausea, accompanied
with dizziness and a sinking of the heart, bordering on
despair.  On the fourth day, they often threw themselves upon the ground, determined to await the approach
of death, and as often were stimulated, by the instinctive love of life, to arise and resume their journey. On
the fifth, they were completely exhausted, and were able
only to crawl at intervals.  In this manner, they traveled about a mile during the day, and succeeded, by
sunset, in reaching the banks of the Ohio. Here, to
their inexpressible joy, they encountered a party of
traders, from whom they obtained a comfortable supply
of provisions.
The traders were so much startled at the idea of being exposed to perils, such as those which Kenton and
Yager had just escaped, that they lost no time in removing
from such a dangerous vicinity, and instantly returned
to the mouth of the Little Kenawha, where they met
with Dr. Briscoe at the head of another exploring party.
From him, Kenton obtained a rifle and some ammunition,
with which he again plunged alone into the forest, and
hunted with success until the summer of 1773 was far advanced. Returning, then, to the Little Kenawha, he found




ï~~ALARMED BY INDIANS.

121

a party of fourteen men under the direction of Dr. Wood
and Hancock Lee, who were descending the Ohio with
the view of joining Captain Bullitt, who was supposed to
be at the mouth of the Scioto, with a large party.
Kenton instantly joined them, and they descended the
river in canoes, as far as the Three Islands, landing frequently and examining the country on each side of the
river. At the Three Islands they were alarmed by the
approach of a large party of Indians, by whom they
were compelled to abandon their canoes and strike diagonally through the wilderness for Greenbriar county,
Virginia. They suffered much during this journey from
fatigue and famine, and were compelled at one time, (notwithstanding the danger of their situation,) to halt for
fourteen days and wait upon Dr. Wood, who had unfortunately been bitten by a copper-head snake, and rendered incapable of moving for that length of time. Upon reaching the settlements the party separated.
Kenton, not wishing to venture to Virginia, (having
heard nothing of Leitchman's recovery,) built a canoe
on the banks of the Monongahela, and returned to the
mouth of the great Kenawha, hunted with success until
the spring of 1774, when a war broke out between the
Indian tribes and the colonies, occasioned, in a great
measure, by the murder of the celebrated chief, Logan's
family, by Captain Cressup. Kenton was not in the
great battle near the mouth of the Kenawha, but acted
as a spy throughout the whole of the campaign, in the
course of which, he traversed the country around Fort
Pitt, and a large part of the present state of Ohio.
When Dunmore's forces were disbanded, Kenton, in




ï~~122

BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.

company with two others, determined on making a second effort to discover the rich lands bordering on the
Ohio, of which Yager had spoken. Having built a canoe, and provided themselves abundantly with ammunition, they descended the river as far as the mouth of
Big Bone Creek, upon which the celebrated Lick of that
name is situated. They there disembarked, and explored
the country for several days; but not finding the land
equal to their expectations, they reascended the river as
far as the mouth of Cabin Creek, a few miles above
Maysville.
From this point, they set out with a determination
to examine the country carefully, until they could find
land answering, in some degree, to Yager's description.
In a short time, they reached the neighborhood of May's
Lick, and for the first time were struck with the uncommon beauty of the country and fertility of the soil.
Here they fell in with the great buffalo trace, which, in
a few hours, brought them to the Lower Blue Lick. The
flats upon each side of the river were crowded with immense herds of buffalo, that had come down from the interior for the sake of the salt; and a number of elk were
seen upon the bare ridges which surrounded the springs.
Their great object was now achieved. They had discovered a country far more rich than any which they had
yet beheld, and where the game seemed as abundant as
the grass of the plain.
After remaining a few days at the Lick, and killing an
immense number of deer and buffalo, they crossed the
Licking, and passed through the present counties of
Scott, Fayette, Woodford, Clarke, Montgomery, and




ï~~RETURN TO WASHINGTON.

123

Bath; when, falling in with another buffalo trace, it
conducted them to the Upper Blue Lick, where they
again beheld elk and buffalo in immense numbers. Highly gratified at the success of their expedition, they quickly returned to their canoe, and ascended the river as far
as Green Bottom, where they had left their skins, some
ammunition, and a few hoes, which they had procured
at Kenawha, with the view of cultivating the rich ground,
which they expected to find.
Returning as quickly as possible, they built a cabin on
the spot where the town of Washington now stands, and
having cleared an acre of ground in the centre of a large
canebrake, they planted it with Indian corn. Strolling
about the country in various directions, they one day fell
in with two white men, near the Lower Blue Lick, who
had lost their guns, blankets, and ammunition, and were
much distressed for provisions and the means of extricating themselves from the wilderness. They informed
them that their names were Fitzpatrick and Hendricks;
that, in descending the Ohio, their canoe had been overset
by a sudden squall; and that they were compelled to
swim ashore, without being able to save anything from
the wreck; that they had wandered thus far through the
woods, in the effort to penetrate through the country, to
the settlements above, but must infallibly perish, unless
they could be furnished with guns and ammunition.
Kenton informed them of the small settlement which
he had opened at Washington, and invited them to join
him and share such fortune as Providence might bestow.
Hendricks consented to remain, but Fitzpatrick, being
heartily sick of the woods, insisted upon returning to the




ï~~124      BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
Monongahela. Kenton and his two friends accompanied
Fitzpatrick to "the point," as it was then called, being
the spot where Maysville now stands, and having given
him a gun, &c., assisted him in crossing the river, and
took leave of him on the other side.
In the meantime, Hendricks had been left at the Blue
Lick, without a gun, but with a good supply of provisions,
until the party could return from the river. As soon
as Fitzpatrick had gone, Kenton and his two friends
hastened to return to the Lick, not doubting for a
moment that they would find Hendricks in camp as they
had left him. Upon arriving at the point where the tent
had stood, however, they were alarmed at finding it
deserted, with evident marks of violence around it.
Several bullet-holes were to be seen in the poles of which
it was constructed, and various articles belonging to
Hendricks were tossed about in too negligent a manner
to warrant the belief that it had been done by him.
At a little distance from the camp, in a low ravine,
they observed a thick smoke, as if from a fire just
beginning to burn. They did not doubt for a moment
that Hendricks had fallen into the hands of the Indians,
and believing that a party of them were then assembled
around the fire which was about to be kindled, they
betook themselves to their heels, and fled faster and
farther, than true chivalry perhaps would justify. They
remained at a distance until the evening of the next day,
when they ventured cautiously to return to camp. The
fire was still burning, although faintly, and after carefully reconnoitering the adjacent ground, they ventured




ï~~HENDRICKS MURDERED.              125
at length to approach the spot, and there beheld the
skull and bones of their unfortunate friend!
He had evidently been roasted to death by a party of
Indians, and must have been alive at the time when
Kenton and his companions approached on the preceding
day. It was a subject of deep regret to the party, that
they had not reconnoitered the spot more closely, as it
was probable that their friend might have been rescued.
The number of Indians might have been small, and a
brisk and unexpected attack might have dispersed them.
Regret, however, was now unavailing, and they sadly
retraced their steps to their camp at Washington, pondering upon the uncertainty of their own condition, and
upon the danger to which they were hourly exposed from
the numerous bands of hostile Indians, who were prowling
around them in every direction.




ï~~126    BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.

CHAPTER III.
Kenton at Boonesborough-He goes on an expedition with BooneAdventure with Indians-Kenton and Montgomery steal horses,
and go to Logan's Fort-Kenton sent on a scouting expedition, by
Colonel Bowman-Horse stealing-Flight-Capture of KentonTied to a horse, Mazeppa fashion-Taken to Chillicothe-At the
stake-Runs the gauntlet-Attempt to escape-Council on Kenton's fate-Recognized and saved by Simon Girty-Lives with
Girty-Another council-Kenton condemned-Sent off with a
Guard-Meets Logan, who intercedes for him in vain-He is sent
to Detroit.
KENTON was now to form the acquaintance of no less
a personage than the celebrated pioneer, Daniel Boone.
We left him, at the close of the last chapter, at the camp
at Washington, with his hunting companions.
They remained at Washington, entirely undisturbed,
until the month of September, when again visiting the
Lick, they saw a white man, who informed them that
the interior of the country was already occupied by the
whites, and that there was a thriving settlement at
Boonesborough. Highly gratified at this intelligence,
and anxious once more to enjoy the society of men, they
broke up their encampment at Washington, and visited
the different stations which had been formed in the
country. Kenton sustained two sieges in Boonesborough,




ï~~KENTON SHOOTS TWO INDIANS.

127

and served as a spy, with equal diligence and success,
until the summer of 1778, when Boone, returning from
captivity, as has already been mentioned, concerted an
expedition against the small Indian town on Paint
Creek.
Kenton acted as a spy on this expedition, and after
crossing the Ohio, being some distance in advance of the
rest, he was suddenly startled by hearing a loud laugh
from an adjoining thicket, which he was just about to
enter.  Instantly halting, he took his station behind a
tree, and waited anxiously for a repetition of the noise.
In a few minutes, two Indians approached the spot where
he lay, both mounted upon a small pony, and chatting
and laughing in high good humor. Having permitted
them to approach within good rifle distance, he raised
his gun, and aiming at the breast of the foremost, pulled
the trigger. Both Indians fell one shot dead, the other
severely wounded.
Their frightened pony galloped back into the cane,
giving the alarm to the rest of the party who were some
distance in the rear. Kenton instantly ran up to scalp
the dead man, and to tomahawk his wounded companion,
according to the usual rule of western warfare; but when
about to put an end to the struggles of the wounded
Indian, who did not seem disposed to submit very quietly
to the operation, his attention was attracted by a rustling
of the cane on his right, and turning rapidly in that
direction, hlie beheld two Indians within twenty steps of
him, very deliberately taking aim  at his person.  A
quick spring to one side, on his part, was instantly
followed by the flash and report of their rifles; the balls




ï~~128      BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
whistled close to his ears, causing him involuntarily to
duck his head, but doing him no injury.
Not liking so hot a neighborhood, and ignorant of the
number which might yet be behind, he lost no time in
regaining the shelter of the wood, leaving the dead
Indian unscalped, and the wounded man to the care of
his friends.  Scarcely had he treed, when a dozen
Indians appeared on the edge of the canebrake, and
seemed disposed to press upon him with more vigor than
was consistent with the safety of his present position.
His fears, however, were instantly relieved by the appearance of Boone and his party, who came running up as
rapidly as a due regard to the shelter of their persons
would permit, and opening a brisk fire upon the Indians,
quickly compelled them to regain the shelter of the
canebrake, with the loss of several wounded, who, as
usual, were carried off. The dead Indian, in the hurry
of the retreat, was abandoned, and Kenton at last had
the gratification of taking his scalp!
Boone, as has already been mentioned, instantly retraced his steps to Boonesborough; but Kenton and his
friend Montgomery determined to proceed alone to the
Indian town, and at least obtain some recompense for
the trouble of their journey. Approaching the village
with the cautious and stealthy pace of the cat or panther,
they took their stations upon the edge of the cornfield,
supposing that the Indians would enter it as usual to
gather roasting-ears. They remained here patiently all
day, but did not see a single Indian, and heard only the
voices of some children who were playing near them.
Being disappointed in the hope of getting a shot, they




ï~~HORSE STEALING.

129

entered the Indian town in the night, and stealing four
good horses, made a rapid night's march for the Ohio,
which they crossed in safety, and on the second day
afterwards, reached Logan's fort with their booty.
Scarcely had he returned, when Colonel Bowman
ordered him to take his friend Montgomery, and another
young man named Clark, and go on a secret expedition
to an Indian town on the Little Miami, against which
the Colonel meditated an expedition, and of the exact
condition of which he wished to have certain information.
They instantly set out, in obedience to their orders, and
reached the neighborhood of the town, without being
discovered. They examined it attentively, and walked
around the houses during the night with perfect impunity.
Thus far all had gone well; and had they been contented
to return after the due execution of their orders, they
would have avoided the heavy calamity which awaited
them.
But, unfortunately, during their nightly promenade,
they stumbled upon a pound in which were a number of
Indian horses. The temptation was not to be resisted.
They each mounted a horse, but not satisfied with that,
they could not find it in their hearts to leave a single
animal behind them; and as some of the horses seemed
indisposed to change masters, the affair was attended
with so much fracas, that at last they were discovered.
The cry ran through the village at once, that the Long
Knives were stealing their horses right before the doors
of their wigwams, and old and young, squaws, boys, and
warriors, all sallied out with loud screams to save their
property from these greedy spoilers. Kenton and his
9




ï~~180     BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
friends quickly discovered that they had overshot the
mark, and that they must ride for their lives; but even
in this extremity, they could not bring themselves to
give up a single horse which they had haltered, and while
two of them rode in front and led I know not how many
horses, the other brought up the rear, and plying his
whip from right to left, did not permit a single animal to
lag behind.
In this manner they dashed through the woods at a
furious rate with the hue-and-cry after them, until their
course was suddenly stopped by an impenetrable swamp.
Here, from necessity, they paused for a few moments and
listened attentively. Hearing no sounds of pursuit, they
resumed their course, and skirting the swamp for some
distance, in the vain hope of crossing it, they bent their
course in a straight direction towards the Ohio. They
rode during the whole night without resting a momentand halting for a few minutes at daylight, they continued their journey throughout the day, and the whole of
the following night, and by this uncommon expedition,
on the morning of the second day they reached the northern bank of the Ohio.
Crossing the river would now ensure their safety, but
this was likely to prove a difficult undertaking, and the
close pursuit which they had reason to expect, rendered
it necessary to lose as little time as possible. The wind
was high, and the river rough and boisterous. It was
determined that Kenton should cross with the horses,
while Clark and Montgomery should construct a raft in
order to transport their guns, baggage, and ammunition,
to the opposite shore. The necessary preparations were




ï~~TRY TO CROSS TIHE 01110HIO.

131

soon made, and Kenton, after forcing his horses into the
river, plunged in himself and swam by their side. In a
very few minutes the high waves completely overwhelmed him and forced him considerably below the
horses, that stemmed the current much more vigorously
than himself.
The horses being thus left to themselves, turned about,
and swam again to the Ohio shore, where Kenton was
compelled to follow them. Again he forced them into
the water, and again they returned to the same spot, until Kenton became so exhausted by repeated efforts, as
to be unable to swim. A council was then held, and the
question proposed " what was to be done?"  That the
Indians would pursue them, was certain; that the horses
would not, and could not be made to cross the river in
its present state, was equally certain.  Should they
abandon their horses and cross on the raft, or remain
with their horses, and take such fortune as heaven should
send them?   The latter alternative was unanimously
adopted. Death or captivity might be tolerated   but
the loss of so beautiful a lot of horses, after having
worked so hard for them, was not to be thought of for a
moment.
As soon as it was determined that themselves and
horses were to share the same fate, it again became necessary to fix upon some probable plan of saving them.
Should they move up or down the river, or remain where
they were?   The latter course was adopted. It was
supposed that the wind would fall at sunset, and the
river become sufficiently calm to admit of their passage;
and as it was supposed probable that the Indians might




ï~~132     BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
be upon them before night, it was determined to conceal
the horses in a neighboring ravine, while they should
take their stations in the adjoining wood. A more miserable plan could not have been adopted. If they could
not consent to sacrifice their horses in order to save
their own lives, they should have moved either up or
down the river, and thus have preserved the distance
from the Indians which their rapidity of movement had
gained.
The Indians would have followed their trail, and being
twenty-four hours' march behind them, could never have
overtaken them. But neglecting this obvious consideration, they stupidly sat down until sunset, expecting that
the river would become more calm. The day passed
away in tranquility, but at night the wind blew harder
than ever, and the water became so rough, that even
their raft would have been scarcely able to cross. Not
an instant more should have been lost in moving from so
dangerous a post; but, as if totally infatuated, they remained where they were until morning; thus wasting
twenty-four hours of most precious time in total idleness. In the morning, the wind abated, and the river
became calm-but it was now too late. Their horses,
recollecting the difficulty of the passage on the preceding day, had become as obstinate and heedless as
their masters, and positively and repeatedly refused to
take the water.
Finding every effort to compel them entirely unavailing, their masters at length determined to do what
ought to have been done at first. Each resolved to
mount a horse, and make the best of his way down the




ï~~KENTON CAPTURED.

133

river to Louisville. Had even this resolution, however
tardily adopted, been executed with decision, the party
would probably have been saved; but after they were
mounted, instead of leaving the ground instantly, they
went back upon their own trail, in the vain effort to regain possession of the rest of their horses, which
had broken from them, in the last effort to drive
them  into the water.   They wearied out their good
genius, and literally fell victims to their love for horseflesh.
They had scarcely ridden one hundred yards, (Kenton in the centre, the others upon the flanks, with an
interval of two hundred - yards between them,) when
Kenton heard a loud halloo, apparently coming from
the spot which they had just left. Instead of getting
out of the way as fast as possible, and trusting to the
speed of his horse and the thickness of the woods for
safety, he put the last capping stone to his imprudence,
and dismounting, walked leisurely back to meet his
pursuers, and thus give them as little trouble as possible. He quickly beheld three Indians, and one white
man, all well mounted. Wishing to give the alarm to
his companions, he raised his rifle to his shoulder, took
a steady aim at the breast of the foremost Indian, and
drew the trigger. His gun had become wet on the raft,
and flashed.
The enemy were instantly alarmed, and dashed at
him. Now, at last, when flight could be of no service,
Kenton betook himself to his heels, and was pursued
by four horsemen at full speed. He instantly directed
his steps to the thickest part of the wood, where thero




ï~~184     BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
was much fallen timber, and a rank growth of underwood, and had succeeded, as he thought, in baffling
his pursuers, when, just as he was leaving the falling
timber and entering the open wood, an Indian on
horseback galloped round the corner of the wood, and
approached him so rapidly, as to render flight useless. The horseman rode up, holding out his hand
and calling out, " Brother! brother!" in a tone of great
affection. Kenton observes that if his gun would have*
made fire, he would have " brothered " him to his
heart's content; but being totally unarmed, he called
out that he would surrender if they would give him quarter and good treatment.
Promises were cheap with the Indian, and he showered them out by the dozen, continuing all the while to
advance with extended hands and a writhing grin upon
his countenance, which was intended for a smile of courtesy. Seizing Kenton's hand, he grasped it with violence. Kenton, not liking the manner of his captor,
raised his gun to knock him down, when an Indian who
had followed him closely through the brushwood, instantly sprung upon his back and pinioned his arms to his
side.  The one who had just approached him, then
seized him by the hair, and shook him until his teeth
rattled; while the rest of the party coming up, they all
fell upon Kenton with their tongues and ramrods, until
he thought they would scold or beat him to death. They
were the owners of the horses which he had carried off,
and now took ample revenge for the loss of their property. At every stroke of their ramrods over his head,
(and they were neither few nor far between,) they would




ï~~DEATH OF MONTGOMERY.

repeat, in a tone of strong indignation, "Steal Indian
boss!! hey!!"
Their attention, however, was soon directed to Montgomery, who, having heard the noise attending Kenton's
capture, very gallantly hastened up to his assistance;
while Clark very prudently consulted his own safety in
betaking himself to his heels, leaving his unfortunate
companions to shift for themselves. Montgomery halted
within gunshot, and appeared busy with the pan of his
gun, as if preparing to fire. Two Indians instantly
sprung off in pursuit of him, while the rest attended to
Kenton. In a few minutes Kenton heard the crack of
two rifles in quick succession, followed by a halloo, which
announced the fate of his friend. The Indians quickly
returned, waving the bloody scalp of Montgomery, and
with countenances and gestures which menaced him with
a similar fate.
They then proceeded to secure their prisoner. They
first compelled him to lie upon his back, and stretched
out his arms to their full length. They then passed a
stout stick at right angles across his breast, to each extremity of which his wrists were fastened by thongs
made of buffalo's hide. Stakes were then driven into
the earth, near his feet, to which they were fastened in
a similar manner. A halter was then tied around his
neck, and fastened to a sapling which grew near, and
finally a strong rope was passed under his belly, lashed
strongly to the pole which lay transversely upon his
breast, and finally wrapped around his arms at the
elbows, in such a manner as to pinion them to the pole
with a painful violence, and render him literally mna



ï~~136     BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
pable of moving hand, foot, or head, in the slightest
manner.
During the whole of this severe operation, neither
their tongues nor hands were by any means idle. They
cuffed him from time to time with great heartiness, until
his ears rung again, and abused him for a j.tief!-a hoss
steal!-a rascal!" and finally, for a "' d-d white man!"
I may here observe, that all the western Indians had
picked up a good many English words, particularly our
oaths, which, from the frequency with which they were
used by our hunters and traders, they probably looked
upon as the very root and foundation of the English
language. Kenton remained in this painful attitude
throughout the night, looking forward to certain death,
and most probably torture, as soon as he should reach
their towns. Their rage against him seemed to increase
rather than abate, from indulgence, and in the morning
it displayed itself in a form at once ludicrous and cruel.
Among the horses which Kenton had taken, and which
their original owners had now recovered, was a fine, but
wild young colt, totally unbroken, and with all his
honors of mane and tail undocked. Upon him Kenton
was mounted, without saddle or bridle, with his hands
tied behind him, and his feet fastened under the horse's
belly. The country was rough and bushy, and Kenton
had no means of protecting his face from the brambles,
through which it was expected that the colt would dash.
As soon as the rider was firmly fastened to his back,
the colt was turned loose with a sudden lash, but after
executing a few curvetts and caprioles, to the great distress of his rider, but to the infinite amusement of the




ï~~ARRIVAL AT CHILLICOTHE.

1 37

Indians, he appeared to take compassion on his rider,
and falling into a line with the other horses, avoided the
brambles entirely, and went on very well. In this
manner he rode through the day. At night he was taken
from the horse and confined as before.
On the third day, they came within a few miles of
Chillicothe. Here the party halted, and despatched a
messenger to inform the village of their arrival, in order,
I suppose, to give them time to prepare for his reception.
In a short time Blackfish, one of their chiefs, arrived,
and regarding Kenton with a stern countenance, thundered out, in very good English, "You have been stealing horses?"  "Yes, sir."  "Did Captain Boone tell
you to steal -our horses?"  "No, sir; I did it of my
own accord." This frank confession was too irritating
to be borne. Blackfish made no reply, but brandishing
a hickory switch, which he held in his hand, he applied
it so briskly to Kenton's naked back and shoulders, as
to bring the blood freely, and occasion acute pain.
Thus, alternately beaten and scolded, he marched on
to the village. At the distance of a mile from Chillicothe, he saw every inhabitant of the town, men, women,
and children, running out to feast their eyes with a view
of the prisoner. Every individual, down to the smallest
child, appeared in a paroxysm of rage. They whooped,
they yelled, they hooted, they clapped their hands, and
poured upon him a flood of abuse to which all that he
had yet received, was gentleness and civility. With
loud cries, they demanded that their prisoner should
be tied to the stake. The hint was instantly complied
with.




ï~~138     BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
A stake was quickly fastened into the ground. The
remnant of Kenton's shirt and breeches were torn from
his person, (the squaws officiating with great dexterity
in both operations,) and his hands being tied together,
and raised above his head, were fastened to the top of
the stake. The whole party then danced around him
until midnight, yelling and screaming in their usual
frantic manner, striking him with switches, and slapping
him with the palms of their hands. He expected every
moment to undergo the torture of fire, but that was reserved for another time. They wished to prolong the
pleasure of tormenting him as much as possible, and
after having caused him to anticipate the bitterness of
death, until a late hour of the night, they released him
from the stake and conveyed him to the village.
Early in the morning he beheld the scalp of Montgomery stretched upon a hoop, and drying in the air,
before the door of one of their principal houses. He
was quickly led out and ordered to run the gauntlet. A
row of boys, women, and men, extended to the distance
of a quarter of a mile. At the starting-place stood two
grim-looking warriors, with butcher knives in their
hands; at the extremity of the line, was an Indian
beating a drum; and a few paces beyond the drum, was
the door of the council house. Clubs, switches, hoe
handles, and tomahawks, were brandished along the
whole line, causing the sweat involuntarily to stream
from his pores, at the idea of the discipline which his
naked skin was to receive during the race.
The moment for starting arrived; the great drum at
the door of the council house was struck; and Kenton




ï~~RUNNING THE GAUNTLET.

189

rprung forward in the race. A scene, precisely resembling a splendid picture in the Last of the Mohicans,
now took place. Kenton avoided the row of his enemies, and turning to the east, drew the whole party in
pursuit of him. He doubled several times with great
activity, and at length observing an opening, he darted
through it, and pressed forward to the council house
with a rapidity which left his pursuers far behind. One
or two of the Indians succeeded in throwing themselves
between him and the goal, and from these alone he received a few blows, but was much less injured than he
could at first have supposed possible.
As soon as the race was over, a council was held, in
order to determine whether he should be burnt to death
on the spot, or carried round to the other villages, and
exhibited to every tribe. The arbiters of his fate sat in
a circle on the floor of the council house, while the unhappy prisoner, naked and bound, was committed to the
care of a guard in the open air. The deliberation commenced. Each warrior sat in silence, while a large war
club was passed round the circle. Those who were opposed to burning the prisoner on the spot, were to pass
the club in silence to the next warrior, those in favor of
burning, were to strike the earth violently with the club
before passing it.
A teller was appointed to count the votes. This dignitary quickly reported that the opposition had prevailed; that his execution was suspended for the present;
and that it was determined to take him to an Indian
town on Mad river, called Waughcotomoco. His fate
was quickly announced to him by a renegade white




ï~~140     BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
man, who acted as interpreter. Kenton felt rejoiced a
the issue-but naturally became anxious to know what
was in reserve for him at Waughcotomoco. He accordingly asked the white man, "what the Indians intended
to do with him, upon reaching the appointed place?"
"BURN You! G-d d-n you!!!" was the ferocious
reply. He asked no farther question, and the scowling
interpreter walked away.
Instantly preparations were made for his departure,
and to his great joy, as well as astonishment, his clothes
were restored to him, and he was permitted to remain
unbound. Thanks to the ferocious intimation of the
interpreter, he was aware of the fate in reserve for him,
and secretly determined that he would never reach
Waughcotomoco alive, if it was possible to avoid it.
Their route lay through an unpruned forest, abounding
in thickets and undergrowth. Unbound as he was, it
would not be impossible to escape from the handp of his
conductors; and if he could once enter the thickets, he
thought that he might be enabled to baffle his pursuers.
At the worst, he could only be retaken--and the fire
would burn no hotter after an attempt to escape, than
before. During the whole of their march, he remained
abstracted and silent; often meditating an effort for
liberty, and as often shrinking from the peril of the
attempt.
At length he was aroused from his reverie, by the Indians firing off their guns, and raising their shrill scalp
halloo. The signal was soon answered, and the deep
roll of a drum was heard far in front, announcing to the
unhappy prisoner, that they were approaching an Indian




ï~~ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE

141

town, where the gauntlet, certainly, and perhaps the
stake, awaited him. The idea of a repetition of the
dreadful scenes which he had already encountered, completely banished the indecision which had hitherto withheld him, and with a sudden and startling cry, he sprung
into the bushes and fled with the speed of a wild deer.
The pursuit was instant and keen, some on foot, some on
horseback. But he was flying for his life; the stake
and the hot iron, and the burning splinters, were before
his eyes, and he soon distanced the swiftest hunter that
pursued him.
But fate was against him at every turn. Thinking
only of the enemy behind, he forgot that there might
also be enemies before; and before he was aware of what
he had done, he found that he had plunged into the centre of a fresh party of hiorsemen, who had sallied from
the town at the firing of the guns, and happened unfortunately to stumble upon the poor prisoner, now making
a last effort for freedom. His heart sunk at once from
the ardor of hope, to the very pit of despair, and he was
again haltered and driven before them to town like an
ox to the slaughter-house.
Upon reaching the village, (Pickaway,) he was fastened to a stake near the door of the council house, and
the warriors again assembled in debate. In a short time
they issued from the council house, and surrounding him,
they danced, yelled, &c., for several hours, giving him
once more a foretaste of the bitterness of death. On
the following morning, their journey was continued, but
the Indians had now become watchful, and gave him no
opportunity of even attempting an escape. On the so



ï~~142     BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
cond day, he arrived at Waughcotomoco. Here he was
again compelled to run the gauntlet, in which he was
severely hurt;. and immediately after this ceremony, lihe
was taken to the council house, and all the warriors
once more assembled to determine his fate.
He sat silent and dejected upon the floor of the cabin,
awaiting the moment which was to deliver him to the
stake, when the door of the council house opened,
and Simon Girty, James Girty, John Ward, and an Indian, came in with a woman (Mrs. Mary Kennedy) as a
prisoner, together with seven children and seven scalps.
Kenton was instantly removed from the council house,
and the deliberations of the assembly were protracted to
a very late hour, in consequence of the arrival of the
last named party with a fresh drove of prisoners.
At length he was again summoned to attend the council house, being informed that his fate was decided. Regarding the mandate as a mere prelude to the stake and
fire, which he knew was intended for him, he obeyed it
with the calm despair which had now succeeded the burning anxiety of the last few days. Upon entering the
council house, he was greeted with a savage scowl,
which, if he had still cherished a spark of hope, would
have completely extinguished it. Simon Girty threw a
blanket upon the floor, and harshly ordered him to take
a seat upon it. The order was not immediately complied
with, and Girty impatiently seizing his arm, jerked
him roughly upon the blanket, and pulled him down
upon it.
In the same rough and menacing tone, Girty then interrogated him as to the condition of Kentucky. "How




ï~~GIRTY ENDEAVORS TO SAVE HIM.

143

many men are there in Kentucky?" " It is impossible
for me to answer that question," replied Kenton, "but
I can tell you the number of officers and their respective
ranks; you can then judge for yourself."   "Do you
know William Stewart?"  " Perfectly well; he is an old
and intimate acquaintance." " What is your own name?"
" Simon Butler!" replied Kenton. Never did the annunciation of a name produce a more powerful effect. Girty and
Kenton, (then bearing the name of Butler,) had served as
spies together, in Dunmore's expedition. The former had
not then abandoned the society of the whites for that of
the savages, and had become warmly attached to Kenton
during the short period of their services together. As
soon as he heard the name he became strongly agitated;
and, springing from his seat, he threw his arms around
Kenton's neck, and embraced him with much emotion.
Then turning to the assembled warriors, who remained
astonished spectators of this extraordinary scene, he addressed them in a short speech, which the deep earnestness of his tone, and the energy of his gesture, rendered
eloquent. He informed them that the prisoner, whom
they had just condemned to the stake, was his ancient
comrade and bosom friend: that they had traveled the
same war path, slept upon the same blanket, and dwelt
in the same wigwam. He entreated them to have compassion upon his feelings; to spare him the agony of witnessing the torture of an old friend, by the hands of his
adopted brothers; and not to refuse so trifling a favor
as the life of a white man, to the earnest intercession of
one who had proved by three years' faithful service, that




ï~~144      B3RIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
he was sincerely and zealously devoted to the cause of
the Indians.
The speech was listened to in unbroken silence. As
soon as he had finished, several chiefs expressed their
approbation by a deep guttural interjection, while others
were equally as forward in making known their objections to the proposal. They urged that his fate had
already been determined in a large and solemn council,
and that they would be acting like squaws to change
their minds every hour. They insisted on the flagrant
misdemeanors of Kenton; that he had not only stolen
their horses, but had flashed his gun at one of their
young men; that it was in vain to suppose that so bad a
man could ever become an Indian at heart, like their
brother Girty; that the Kentuckians were all alike, very
bad people, and ought to be killed as fast as they were
taken; and, finally, they observed that many of their
people had come from a distance, solely to assist at the
torture of the prisoner, and pathetically painted the disappointment and chagrin with which they would hear
that all their trouble had been for nothing.
Girty listened with obvious impatience to the young
warriors, who had so ably argued against a reprieveand starting to his feet, as soon as the others had concluded, he urged his former request with greater earnestness. Hie briefly, but strongly, recapitulated his own
services, and the many and weighty instances of attachment which he had given. Hle asked if he could be
suspected of partiality to the whites? When had he
ever before interceded for any of that hated race? Had
he not brought seven scalps home with him from the last




ï~~GIRTY SAVES KENTON.

145

expedition? and had he not submitted seven white prisoners that very evening to their discretion? Had he
expressed a wish that a single one of the captives should
be saved? This was his first, and should be his last request: for if they refused to him, what was never refused
to the intercession of one of their natural chiefs, he
would look upon himself as disgraced in their eyes, and
considered as unworthy of confidence. Which of their
own natural warriors had been more zealous than himself?
From what expedition had he ever shrunk? What white
man had ever seen his back?     Whose tomahawk had
been bloodier than his?   He would say no more. He
asked it as a first and last favor; as an evidence that
they approved of his zeal and fidelity, that the life of
his bosom friend might be spared. Fresh speakers arose
upon each side, and the debate was carried on for an
hour and a half with great heat and energy.
During the whole of this time, Kenton's feelings may
readily be imagined. He could not understand a syllable of what was said. He saw that Girty spoke with
deep earnestness, and that the eyes of the assembly were
often turned upon himself with various expressions. He
felt satisfied that his friend was pleading for his life, and
that he was violently opposed by a large part of the
council. At length the war club was produced and the
final vote taken. Kenton watched its progress with
thrilling emotion, which yielded to the most rapturous
delight, as he perceived, that those who struck the floor
of the council house, were decidedly inferior in number
to those who passed it in silence. Having thus succeeded in his benevolent purpose, Girty lost no time in
10




ï~~146      BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
attending to the comfort of his friend. He led him into
his own wigwam, and from his own store gave him a pair
of moccasins and leggings, a breech-cloth, a hat, a
coat, a handkerchief for his neck, and another for his
head.
The whole of this remarkable scene is in the highest
degree honorable to Girty, and is in striking contrast to
most of his conduct after his union with the Indians. No
man can be completely hardened, and no character is at
all times the same. Girty had been deeply offended with
the whites; and knowing that his desertion to the Indians
had been universally and severely reprobated, and that
he himself was regarded with detestation by his former
countrymen, he seems to have raged against them from
these causes, with a fury which resembled rather the
paroxysm of a maniac, than the deliberate cruelty of a
naturally ferocious temper. Fierce censure never reclaims, but rather drives to still greater extremities; and
this is the reason that renegadoes are so much fiercer
than natural foes-and that when females fall, they fall
irretrievably.
For the space of three weeks, Kenton lived in perfect
tranquillity. Girty's kindness was uniform and indefatigable. He introduced Kenton to his own family, and accompanied him to the wigwams of the principal chiefs,
who seemed all at once to have turned from the extremity
of rage to the utmost kindness and cordiality. Fortune,
however, seemed to have selected him for her foot ball,
and to have snatched him from the frying pan only to
throw him into the fire. About twenty days after his
most providential deliverance from the stake, he was




ï~~KENTON IN ANOTHER TROUBLE.

147

walking in company with Girty and an Indian named Redpole, when another Indian came from the village towards
them, uttering repeatedly a whoop of peculiar intonation.
Girty instantly told Kenton that it was the distress
halloo, and that they must all go instantly to the council
house. Kenton's heart involuntarily fluttered at the intelligence, for he dreaded all whoops, and hated all council houses, firmly believing that neither boded him any
good. Nothing, however, could be done to avoid whatever fate awaited him, and he sadly accompanied Girty
and Redpole back to the village.
Upon approaching the Indian who had hallood, Girty
and, Redpole shook hands with him. Kenton likewise
offered his hand, but the Indian refused to take it, at the
same time scowling upon him ominously. This took
place within a few paces of the door of the council house.
Upon entering, they saw that the house was unusually
full. Many chiefs and warriors from the distant towns
were present; and their countenances were grave, severe,
and forbidding. Girty, Redpole, and Kenton, walked
around, offering their hands successively to each warrior.
The hands of the two first were cordially received; but
when poor Kenton anxiously offered his hand to the first
warrior, it was rejected with the same scowling eye as
before. He passed on to the second, but was still rejected: he persevered, however, until his hand had been
refused by the first six; when, sinking into despondence,
he turned off and stood apart from the rest.
The debate quickly commenced. Kenton looked eagerly towards Girty, as his last and only hope. His
friend looked anxious and distressed. The chiefs from




ï~~148     BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
a distance arose one after another, and spoke in a firm
and indignant tone, often looking at Kenton with an eye
of death. Girty did not desert him, but his eloquence
appeared wasted upon the distant chiefs. After a warm
debate, he turned to Kenton and said, " Well! my friend;
you must die!" One of the stranger chiefs instantly
seized him by the collar, and the others surrounding him,
he was strongly pinioned, committed to a guard, and instantly marched off.
His guard were on horseback, while the prisoner was
driven before them on foot, with a long rope round his,neck, the other end of which was held by one of the
guard. In this manner they had marched about two and
a half miles, when Girty passed them on horseback, informing Kenton that he had friends at the next village,
with whose aid he hoped to be able to do something for
him. Girty passed on to the town, but finding that nothing could be done, he would not see his friend again,
but returned to Waughcotomoco by a different route.
They passed through the village without halting, and
at the distance of two and a half miles beyond it, Kenton
had again an opportunity of witnessing the fierce hate
with which these children of nature regard an enemy.
At the distance of a few paces from the road, a squaw
was busily engaged in chopping wood, while her lord and
master was sitting on a log, smoking his pipe and directing her labors, with the indolent indifference common to the natives, when not under the influence of some
exciting passion. The sight of Kenton, however, seemed
to rouse him to fury. He hastily sprung up with a sudden yell, snatched the axe from the squaw, and rushing




ï~~LOGAN'S KINDNESS.

149

upon the prisoner so rapidly as to give him no opportunity of escape, dealt him a blow with the axe, which cut
through his shoulder, breaking the bone and almost severing the arm from his body. He would instantly have
repeated the blow, had not Kenton's conductors interfered and protected him, severely reprimanding the Indian for attempting to rob them of the amusement of
torturing the prisoner.
They soon reached a large village upon the head waters of Scioto, where Kenton, for the first time, beheld
the celebrated Mingo Chief, Logan, so honorably mentioned in Mr. Jefferson's Notes on Virginia. Logan
walked gravely up to the place where Kenton stood, and
the following short conversation ensued: "Well, young
man, these young men seem very mad at you?"   "Yes,
sir, they certainly are."  " Well, don't be disheartened,
I am a great chief; you are to go to Sandusky; they
speak of burning you there, but I will send two runners
to-morrow, to speak good for you." Logan's form was
striking and manly, his countenance calm and noble, and
he spoke the English language with fluency and correctness. Kenton's spirits instantly rose at the address of
the benevolent chief, and he once more looked upon
himself as providentially rescued from the stake.
On the following morning, two runners were despatched
to Sandusky, as the chief had promised, and until their
return, Kenton was kindly treated, being permitted to
spend much of his time with Logan, who conversed with
him freely, and in the most friendly manner. In the
evening, the two runners returned, and were closeted
with Logan. Kenton felt the most burning anxiety to




ï~~150      BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
know what was the result of their mission, but Logan did
not visit him again until the next morning. He then
walked up to him, accompanied by Kenton's guards, and
giving him a piece of bread, told him that he was instantly to be carried to Sandusky; and without uttering
another word, turned upon his heel and left him.
Again, Kenton's spirits sunk. From Logan's mhnner, he supposed that his intercession had been unavailing, and that Sandusky was destined to be the scene of
his final suffering. This appears to have been the truth.
But fortune, who, to use Lord Lovat's expression, had
been playing at cat and mouse with him for the last
month, had selected Sandusky for the display of her
strange and capricious power. He was driven into the
town, as usual, and was to have been burnt on the following morning, when an Indian agent, named Drewyer,
interposed, and once more rescued him from the stake.
He was anxious to obtain intelligence for the British
commandant at Detroit, and so earnestly insisted upon
Kenton's being delivered up to him, that the Indians at
length consented upon the express condition that, after
the required information had been obtained, he should
again be placed at their discretion. To this Drewyer
consented, and without further difficulty, Kenton was
transferred to his hands. Drewyer lost no time in removing him to Detroit.
On the road, he informed Kenton of the condition upon
which he had obtained possession of his person, assuring
him, however, that no consideration should induce him
to abandon a prisoner to the mercy of such wretches.
Having dwelt at some length upon the generosity of his




ï~~GOES TO DETROIT.               151
own disposition, and having sufficiently magnified the
service which he had just rendered him, he began, at
length, to cross-question Kenton as to the force and condition of Kentucky, and particularly as to the number
of men at Fort McIntosh. Kenton very candidly declared his inability to answer either question, observing,
that he was merely a private, and by no means acSquainted with matters of an enlarged and general import; that his great business had heretofore been, to endeavor to take care of himself, which he had found a
work of no small difficulty. Drewyer replied that he
believed him, and from that time Kenton was troubled
with no more questions.




ï~~152    BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.

CHAPTER IV.
Kenton works for the garrison at Detroit-Escapes from captivity by
the aid of Mrs. Harvey-Goes to Vincennes and Harrod's Station
-Commands a company in Clark's expedition-Fights at Chillicothe-Hears joyful news from home-Again commands a company under Clark-Fifty years' anniversary appointed-Account
of the anniversary-Kenton's letter.
KENTON was now a prisoner at Detroit.* Here he
remained working for the garrison on half pay, until the
summer of 1779, when he effected his escape, by the assistance of Mrs. Harvey, the wife of an Indian trader.
Kenton was at this time but twenty-four years of age,
according to one who served with him, " was fine looking,
with a dignified and manly deportment, and a soft, pleasing voice, and was wherever he went a favorite among
the ladies." This lady had become interested in him,
and upon his solicitation, promised to assist him and two
other Kentuckians, prisoners with him, to procure rifles,
ammunition, &c., without which a journey through the
wilderness could not be performed. Engaging in their
cause with all the enthusiasm of her sex, she only awaited
an opportunity to perform her promise.      She had not
long to wait.
On the 3rd of June, 1779, a large concourse of Indians
* Collins's Historical Sketches of Kentucky.




ï~~KENTON'S ESCAPE.

153

assembled at Detroit to take " a spree."  Preparatory to
getting drunk, they stacked their guns near Mrs. Harvey's house, who, as soon as it was dark, stole silently
out to the guns, selected three of the best looking, and
quickly hid them in her garden in a patch of peas.
Avoiding all observation, she hastened to Kenton's lodgings and informed him of her success. She told him at
midnight to come to the back of her garden, where he
would find a ladder, by means of which he could climb
over and get the guns. She had previously collected
such articles of food, clothing, ammunition, &c., as would
be necessary in their adventure. These she had hid in
a hollow tree well known to Kenton, some distance out
of town. No time was now to be lost, and the prisoners
at once set about getting things in order for their flight.
At the appointed hour Kenton with his companions
appeared at the designated place, discovered the ladder,
and climbed into the garden, where he found Mrs. Harvey sitting by the guns awaiting his arrival. To the
eyes of the grateful young hunter, no woman ever looked
so beautiful. There was little time however for compliments, for all around could be heard the yells of the
drunken savages, the night was far advanced, and in the
morning both guns and prisoners would be missed.
Taking an affectionate leave of him, with many tender
wishes for his safety, she now urged him to be gone.
Heaping thanks and blessings on her, he left her and
rejoined his companions.
Kenton never saw her afterwards, but he never forgot
her; for more than half a century afterwards, when the
wilderness and the savages who peopled it, were alike




ï~~154      3 BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
exterminated before the civilizing march of the AngloSaxon, the old pioneer, in words that glowed with gratitude and admiration, delighted to dwell on the kindness,
and expatiate on the courage and virtue of his benefactress, the fur trader's wife. In his reveries, he said he
had seen her "a thousand times sitting by the guns in
the garden."
After leaving Detroit, the fugitives, departing from
the usual line of travel, struck out in a western direction
towards the prairies of the Wabash.   At the end of
thirty-three days, having suffered incredible hardships,
the three adventurers, Kenton, Bullit, and Copper, safely arrived at Louisville some time in July 1779.
Here he stayed but a short time to recruit his strength.
He had been long a prisoner and thirsted for action and
adventure. Shouldering his rifle he set out through the
unbroken wilderness to visit his old companion in arms,
Major Clark, then at Vincennes. This post he found entirely quiet, too much so for him. He had been treading
the wilderness and fighting the savages since his sixteenth
year, and was yet too young and strong to be contented
with a life of inaction. He had no family or connection
to bind him to a particular spot in the West, and
by a deed utterly repugnant to his generous nature, he
was exiled, as he yet believed, from his home and friends
in the East; it was therefore his destiny, as it was his
wish, to rove. Striking again into the pathless wilderness, then lying between Vincennes and the Falls of the
Ohio, he soon reached the latter place, whence he immediately proceeded to Harrod's station, where he was joyfully welcomed by his old companions.




ï~~CLARK'S CAMPAIGN.

155

The winter 1779-80 was a peaceful one to the Kentuckians; but in the spring the Indians and British invaded the country, under Captain Byrd, with two pieces of
cannon, by means of which two stations, Martin's and Ruddell's, fell into their hands; whereupon the allied savages immediately retreated. When General Clark heard
of the disaster, he hastened from Vincennes to concert
measures for present retaliation and the future safety of
the settlements. Clark was no doubt one of the greatest
men ever furnished by the West, in military capacity. He
believed, with Washington, that the best way to prevent the
depredations of the Indians, was to carry the war into their
own country, burning down their villages and destroying
their corn, and thus give them sufficient employment to prevent their incursions among the settlements. Accordingly
an expedition consisting of 1100 of the most courageous
men that the most adventurous age of history could furnish, inured to hardships and accustomed to the Indian
mode of fighting, assembled at the mouth of the Licking.
Kenton commanded a company of volunteers from
Harrod's Station, and shared in all the dangers and success of this little army. Commanded by Clark, and piloted by one of the most expert woodsmen and the
greatest spy of the West, Simon Kenton, the Kentuckians assailed the savages in their dens with complete
success. Chillicothe, Pickaway, and many other towns
were burnt, and the crops around them destroyed. At
Pickaway, the Indians were brought to stand.   Here
where he had run the gauntlet and afforded the Indian
squaws and warriors so much fun, two years before,




ï~~156      BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
Kenton, now at the head of his gallant company, had the
satisfaction of dashing into the thickest of the fight and repaying with usury the blows he had received at their hands.
After an obstinate resistance the savages were defeated
and fled in all directions, leaving their killed and wounded
on the field.
This was the first invasion of Ohio by the Kentuckians
in any force, and the red men long remembered it. For
two years the stations enjoyed comparative peace, and
Kenton passed away his time as a hunter, or spy, or
with surveying parties, heavily enough until the fall of
1782. Then for the first time he heard that his old father lived, and learned the joyful intelligence that he
had not killed his old playmate and friend Leitchman. It is impossible to describe his feelings upon
hearing this news. For eleven years he had wandered
in the wilderness filled with remorse for his rash though
unpremeditated crime, the brand of murder upon his
heart if not upon his brow, isolated from his home and
friends, about whom he dared not even inquire, and his
very name forbidden to him. At length after expiating
his crime by these long sufferings, unexpectedly the
weight of murder is removed from his mind-his banishment from home and family revoked and his long abandoned name restored. Kenton was Simon Butler now
no longer, and he felt like a new man.
In the fall of 1782, General Clark, to revenge the
disaster of the Blue Licks, led another army, 1500
strong, against the Indian towns, which spread destruction far and wide through the country.




ï~~ROMANTIC ENGAGEMENT.

157

Kenton again commanded a company on this occasion, and was again the pilot for the army, as his knowledge of the country was unsurpassed, and his skill in
woodcraft unequalled. It was upon the return of the
expedition, opposite the mouth of the Licking, Nov. 4th,
1782, that the pioneers composing it, entered into
the romantic engagement, that fifty years thereafter,
the survivors "should meet and talk over the affairs
of the campaign," and the dangers and hardships of
the past. It was first suggested by Captain McCracken,
of the Kentucky light horse, who was then dying from
the mortification of a slight wound received in the
arm while fighting, immediately by the side of Kenton, in the attack on Piqua town. To carry out the
request of the dying soldier, Colonel Floyd, from the
Falls of the Ohio, brought forward a resolution, and the
semi-centennial meeting was determined upon.     All
around was the unbroken wilderness; but as they bore
the dying McCracken down the hill above Cincinnati,
the future stood revealed to his fast closing eyes, the
cities and villas peopled with tens of thousands, crowning
the valleys and the hill tops, the noise of abounding
commerce in the streets and on the rivers-building
rising upon building-palace and temple, and all the
magnificent panorama of fifty years, passed in review
before him. The desire to link one's name with all this
greatness was pardonable in him who had shed his blood
in the struggle to achieve it. The interesting day that
was to witness the reunion of the surviving heroes of '82,
fell upon the 4th of November, 1832. At that time




ï~~158      BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
many were still surviving, among the rest was General
Simon Kenton.*
As the day drew near, the old hero was deeply affected at the prospect of meeting his old brothers in
arms, as well as solicitous to keep the solemn appointment. To encourage a large attendance, he published
an interesting and feeling " address to the citizens of the
western country." It is a fair type of his kind heart,
dictated to a friend who wrote it for him, and signed
with his own hand. The following is the only extract
the limits of this work will permit us to make:*
" FELLOW CITIZENS!-Being one of the first, after
Colonel Daniel Boone, who aided in the conquest of
Kentucky, and the West, I am called upon to address
you. My heart melts on such an occasion; I look forward to the contemplated meeting with melancholy
pleasure; it has caused tears to flow in copious showers.
I wish to see, once more before I die, my few surviving
friends. My solemn promise, made fifty years ago, binds
me to meet them. I ask not for myself; but you may
find in our assembly some who have never received any
pay or pension, who have sustained the cause of their
country equal to any other service; who, in the decline
of life, are poor. Then, you prosperous sons of the
West, forget not those old and gray-headed veterans on
this occasion; let them return to their families with some
little manifestations of your kindness to cheer their
hearts. I add my prayer: May kind heaven grant us
a clear sky, fair and pleasant weather, a safe journey,
and a happy meeting, and a smile upon us and our fami* Collins.




ï~~SEMI-CENTENNIAL MEETING.           159
lies, and bless us and our nation on the approaching
occasion.
SIMON KENTON.
URBANA, Ohio, 1832.
The day at last came, so long looked for by our " old
fathers of the West," and the terrible cholera, more barbarous than the savages, who fifty years before battled
the pioneers, spread death far and wide over the west,
sparing neither age nor sex. Cincinnati was wrapt in
gloom, yet many of the veteran patriots assembled, and
the corporation voted them a dinner. General Kenton,
in spite of his ardent desire, was unablefrom sickness and
old age, to attend. He met his beloved companions no
more until he met them in the spirit land.*
* Collins.




ï~~160    BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.

CHAPTER V.
Kenton returns to Harrod's Station-Builds houses and plants corn
-Death of his father-Kenton removes the family to KentuckySettles near Maysville - Parts with some land - Commands a
company in Logan's expedition,and in Todd's-Last incursion of the
Indians.
AFTER the volunteers disbanded at the mouth of
Licking,* Kenton returned to Harrod's Station. He
had acquired many valuable tracts of land, now becoming of importance, as population began to flow into the
country with a rapid increase, as the sounds of savage
warfare grew fainter in the distance. He settled on his
lands on Salt river, and being joined by a few families
in 1782-83, he built some rude block houses, cleared
land, and planted corn.   His settlement thrived wonderfully. In the fall, having gathered his corn, he determined to visit his father, ascertain his circumstances, and
bring him to Kentucky.     He had not seen his family for
thirteen years, a period to him full of dangers, sufferings,
and triumphs. Who can paint the joy of the returning
adventurer, young in years, but old in deeds and reputation, on reaching home, to find that his aged father "yet
lived?" The reunion was joyful to all, especially so to
* Collins.




ï~~KENTON'S FATHER DIES.

161

his friends, who had considered him dead. He visited
with delight the friends and the scenes of his early
childhood, so different from his boisterous manhood; and
the gauntlet, the stake, and the fierce foray, and the wild
war-whoop were to him as the confused image of some
uneasy dream. Leitchman and the ungracious fair one,
his first love, were still living; he saw them, and each forgot the old feud.
He gathered up his father and family, and proceeded
as far as Red Stone Fort, journeying to Kain-tuck-ee,
where his old father died, and was buried on the winding
banks of the Monongahela, without marble or inscription
to mark the last resting place of the father of the great
pioneer. Kenton, with the remainder of his father's
family, reached his settlement in safety, in the winter
of 1784.
Kentucky was now a flourishing territory, and emigrants came flocking in to appropriate her fertile lands.
Kenton determined to occupy his lands, around his old
camp, near Maysville, remarkable for their beauty and
fertility. This part of Kentucky was still uninhabited,
and infested by the Indians. In July, 1784, collecting
a small party of adventurers, he went to his old camp,
one mile from Washington, in Mason county. The
Indians being too troublesome, the party returned to
Salt river. In the fall of the same year, Kenton
returned, built some block-houses, and was speedily
joined by a few families. In the spring of '85, many
new settlements were made around Kenton's station, and
that part of the country soon assumed a thriving appearance, in spite of the incursions of the savages. In 1786,
11




ï~~162      BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
Kenton sold (or, according to M'Donald, gave) Arthur
Fox and William Wood, one thousand acres of land, on
which they laid out the town of Washington; " Old Ned
Waller" had settled at Limestone (Maysville) the year
before. The Indians were too badly crippled, by Clark's
last expedition, to offer any considerable opposition to
the settlers; nevertheless they were exceedingly troublesome, during their many small predatory excursions, and
plied the fashionable trade of horse-stealing with praiseworthy activity. To put a stop to such proceedings, on the
part of their red neighbors, an expedition, seven hundred
strong, composed of volunteers from all the surrounding
stations, assembled at Washington, under the command
of Colonel Logan. Fighting, in those days, cost the
government very little, as every man paid his own
war expenses. Kenton commanded a company from
his settlement, and, as usual, piloted the way into
the enemy's country. The expedition fell upon Mochacheck and Pickaway very suddenly, defeated the Indians
with considerable loss, burnt four other towns, without
resistance, and returned to Washington, with only ten
men killed and wounded.
Notwithstanding this successful blow, the Indians, all
next year, kept the inhabitants around Kenton's station
in perpetual alarm. Kenton again called on the stations
to rendezvous at Washington, for the purpose of punishing
the Indians, by " carrying the war into Africa;" a trick
he had learned from his old commander, General Clark.
It was essential to the interest of the interior stations to
see Kenton's well sustained, as thereby the savages were
kept at a distance from them. They were, consequently,




ï~~INDIANS DRIVEN FROM KENTUCKY.

163

always ready to render their more exposed brethren any
assistance required. Several hundred hardy hunters,
under Colonel Todd, assembled again at Washington.
Kenton again commanded his company, a gallant set of
young men, trained by himself, and piloted the expedition.
Near Chillicothe, a detachment, led by Majors Henkston and Kenton, fell upon a large body of Indians,
about daybreak, and defeated them before Todd came up.
Chillicothe was burned down, and the expedition returned
without losing a man.
The pioneers had now become formidable to the
Indians, and kept them at bay. Kenton's station was
a frontier for the interior settlements, and manfully beat
back the foe, in his incursions into the State. The
country around Washington was fast filling up, and bade
fair soon to be in a condition to set the Indians at
defiance. Kenton, universally esteemed and beloved,
was acknowledged to be the chief man in the community.
His great experience and reputation as a frontier man;
his superior courage and skill in the fight, as well as the
extent of his possessions, rendered him conspicuous. In
all the incursions made to the country of the enemy, and
the many local contests that took place with the Indians,
Captain Kenton was invariably the leader selected by
the settlers.
From 1788 to 1793, many small but bloody conflicts
came off around the settlements in Mason county, in
which the Indians were severely punished by Captain
Kenton and his volunteers. In 1793, the Indians made
the last incursion into this, or perhaps any other part of
Kentucky. On that occasion, Kenton ambushed them




ï~~164      BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
at the place where they crossed the Ohio, killed six of
the party, and dispersed the remainder. They never
afterwards invaded the long-contested shore of their
beloved hunting-ground. t After a desperate and sanguinary struggle for more than twenty years, Kaintuck-ee, "the dark and bloody ground," was lost to the
red man forever. The Saxon, in his insatiable thirst for
land, had felled her forests, driven out her elk and
buffalo, ploughed up her virgin sod, polluted her soil
with the unfamiliar city and village, and in the blood of
the red man written his title to the country, which he
held with a grasp of iron. Cornstalk, Blackfish, Logan,
Little Turtle, Elenipsico, Meshawah, the young Tecumseh, and the thousand northwestern braves, bled in vain.
Equal courage, superior intellect, and the destiny of the
Saxon, overthrew the heroism, the perseverance, and the
despair of the sons of the forest.*
* Collins.




ï~~KENTON'S WEALTH.

165

CHAPTER VI.
Kenton a Major under General Wayne-Kenton's wealth-How it
was lost-Settles at Urbana-His magnanimity-Moves to Mad
River-He applies to the Legislature for aid-General Floyd's
kindness to him--His lands are released, and a pension granted to
him-His death-Personal appearance and character.
IN 1793, General Wayne came down the Ohio to prepare for his successful expedition. Kenton, at that time
a major, joined Wayne with his battalion, and proceeded
to Greenville, where he was conspicuous among the
hardy hunters composing the army, on account of his
superior reputation, courage, skill, and activity. He
was not in the battle of the Fallen Timber, having been
discharged with his battalion the winter previous. The
Indians, being defeated by Wayne, and their power completely broken, sued for peace, which was granted, and
the war was over.
Kentucky and the West, after the peace of Greenville,
rushed forward with rapid strides in the career of population and wealth. Emigrants came pouring over the
Alleghanies into the fertile valleys of the Ohio, to occupy the beautiful "land of the cane."        These fertile
lands rose rapidly in price and importance, and Kenton
was now thought to be one of the wealthiest men in his




ï~~166      BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
State, and deserved to be so, for he had purchased his
wealth by many a bloody conflict, and by many incredible hardships. But behold the gratitude of his countrymen!
The crafty offspring of peace, who slept in the lap of
Eastern ease and security, while this noble pioneer was
enduring the hardships of the wilderness, and braving
the gauntlet, and stake, and tomahawk of the Indian, to
redeem the soil of the West, creep in when the fight, and
toil, and danger are past, and by dishonorable trick, miserable technicality, and cunning procedure, wrest the
possessions bought at such a terrible price from the gallant, unlettered, simple-hearted man, unversed in the rascality of civilization. He lost his lands, acre after acre,
the superior skill of the speculator prevailing over the
simplicity and ignorance of the hunter. What a burning,
deep disgrace to the West, that the hero who had suffered
so much, and fought so well to win the soil of his glorious
" cane land" from the savage, should, when the contest
was ended, be compelled to leave it to those who never
struck a blow in its defence! Together with Boone,
and numerous other brave old frontier men, who bore
"the heat and burden of the day," Kenton, like an old
shoe, was kicked aside when he was no longer of any
use, or had become too antiquated for the fashion of the
times. Kentucky treated her earliest and staunchest
defenders scarcely so well as they treated their dogsafter running down the game, she denied them the very
offal.*
The fate of General Simon Kenton was still more hard
* Collins.




ï~~PATRIOTISM OF KENTON.

167

than that of the other simple-hearted fathers of the
west. His body was taken for debt upon the covenants,
in deeds to lands, which he had, in effect, given away,
and for twelve months he was imprisoned upon the very
spot where he first built his cabin, in '75, where he
planted the first corn ever planted on the north of the
Kentucky river, by the hand of any-white man, where
he ranged the pathless forest in freedom and safety,
where he subsequently erected his foremost station-house
and battled the Indians in a hundred encounters, and
nearly alone endured the hardships of the wilderness,
while those who then reaped the fruits of his former sufferings, was yet unborn, or dwelt afar in the lap of peace
and plenty.
In 1802, beggared by law-suits and losses, he moved
into Ohio, and settled in Ur bana. He was no longer
young, and the prospect of spending his old age in independence, surrounded by plenty and comfort, which
lightened the toils and sufferings of his youth, was now
succeeded by cheerless anticipations of poverty and neglect. Thus, after thirty years of the prime of his
life, spent faithfully in the cause of Kentucky, and the
West, all that remained to him was the recollection of
his services, and a cabin in the wilderness of Ohio. He
himself never repined, and such was his exalted patriotism that he would not suffer others to upbraid his country in his presence, without expressing a degree of anger
altogether foreign from his usual mild and amiable manner. It never occurred to his ingenuous mind that his
country could treat anybody, much less him, with ne



ï~~168       BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KRENTON.
glect, and his devotion and patriotism continued to the
last unimpaired.
In 1805, he was elected a brigadier general in the
Ohio militia,* and in 1810 he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church. It is a consoling fact, that nearly all the
"old fathers of the West" devoted the evenings of their
stormy lives to the service of their Maker, and died in
the triumphs of the Christian faith. In 1813, the gallant old man joined the Kentucky troops under Governor
Shelby, into whose family he was admitted as a privileged member, and was in the battle of the Thames.
This was his last battle, and from it the old hero returned to obscurity and poverty in his humble cabin in
the woods. He remained in Urbana till 1820, when he
moved to the head of Mad river, Logan county, Ohio,
in sight of Wapatomika, where he had been tied to the
stake by the Indians when a prisoner in their hands.
Here he was harassed by judgments and executions from
Kentucky, and to prevent being driven from his cabin
by his white brethren (as formerly by the savages) to
the forest for a shelter, he was compelled to have some
* The following document, published in the American Pioneer,
shows that Kenton resigned his office the same year:
AI'PRIL 18th, 1805.
GENL. GANo:-Â~Sir: Having taken a resolution of making a tour
through the late acquired lands of the United States, in consequence
of which think proper to resign up my commission of brigadier of the
militia; and you are hereby requested to regard this as full notice of
the same, given under my hand.             SImo N KENTON.
To John S. Gano, Major Genl. of the 1st Division of Militia, in
the State of Ohio.
[Endorsed, "General Kenton's resignation, April, 1805."]




ï~~POVERTY OF KENTON.         1

169

land entered in the name of his wife and children. IHe
still had many tracts of mountain land in Kentucky, of
little value, which, however, were forfeited to the State
for taxes. In 1824, then seventy years of age, he undertook a journey to Frankfort, in tattered garments
and on a sorry horse, to endeavor to get the Legislature,
then in session, to release the claim of the State on his
mountain lands.
Here, where he had roved in an unbroken wilderness
in his early days, now stood a flourishing city, but he
walked up and down the streets, an object of curiosity
to the boys, a stranger, recognized by no one. A new
generation had arisen to people and possess the land
which he had defended, and his old friends and companions were gone. At length General Thomas Fletcher,
from Bath county, saw and knew him, and by his means
the old pioneer was clothed in a decent suit, and entertained in a kind and becoming manner. When it became known that Simon Kenton was in the town, numbers speedily assembled to see the celebrated warrior
and hunter, and testify their. regard for him. He was
taken to the capitol and placed in the Speaker's chair,
" and then was introduced the second great adventurer
of the West, to a crowded assembly of legislators, judges,
officers of the government, and citizens generally."
This the simple-hearted old man was wont to call "the
proudest day" of his life. His lands were at once released, and shortly afterwards, by the exertions of Judge
Burnet and General Vance, of Congress, a pension of
two hundred and forty dollars a year was obtained for
him, securing his old age from absolute want.




ï~~170      BRIGADIER GENERAL SIMON KENTON.
Without any further reward from his government, or
particular notice from his fellow-citizens and contemporaries, General Kenton lived in his quiet and obscure
home to the age of eighty-one, beloved and respected by
all who knew him. In April, 1836, in sight of the place
where the Indians, fifty-eight years before, proposed to
torture him to death, he breathed his last, surrounded
by his family and neighbors, and supported by the consolations of the gospel.*
The following is a description of the appearance and
character of this remarkable man, by one who often
shared with him in the dangers of the forest and the
fight:
"General Kenton was of fair complexion, six feet
one inch in height. He stood and walked very erect;
and, in the prime of life, weighed about one hundred and
ninety pounds. He never was inclined to be corpulent,
although of sufficient fullness to form a graceful person.
He had a soft, tremulous voice, very pleasing to the
hearer. He had laughing, gray eyes, which appeared
to fascinate the beholder, and dark auburn hair. He
was a pleasant, good-humored, and obliging companion.
When excited, or provoked to anger (which was seldom
the case), the fiery glance of his eye would almost curdle
the blood of those with whom he came in contact. His
rage, when roused, was a tornado. In his dealing, he
was perfectly honest; his confidence in man, and his
credulity, were such, that the same man might cheat him
twenty times; and if he professed friendship, he might
cheat him still." t
SCollins.                t Collins.




ï~~GENERAL BENJAMIN LOGAN.
(171)




ï~~


ï~~GENERAL BENJAMIN LOGAN.
CHAPTER I.
Parentage of General Logan-Relinquishes his paternal property to his
mother, brothers, and sisters-Removes to the Holston-Engages in
Dunmore's war-Removes to Kentucky-His education imperfect
-Settles at Logan's Fort-Removes to Harrodsburgh-Returns
to Logan's Fort--Attack on the Fort-Logan rescues Harrison
from the Indians-Siege of the Fort-Logan goes for a supply of
ammunition and returns safely to the Fort-Fart relieved by
Colonel Bowman's party.
AMONG the earliest and most respectable of the emigrants to Kentucky, was General Benjamin Logan. His
father was an Irishman, who had left his own country
early in the 18th century, and settled in Pennsylvania,
from which he subsequently removed to Augusta county,
Virginia.    Here he shortly afterwards died.       Young
Logan, as the eldest son, was entitled by the laws of
Virginia, to the whole of the landed property, (his father
having died intestate.)    He refused, however, to avail
himself of this circumstance, and as the farm upon which
(173)




ï~~GENERAL BENJAMIN LOGAN.

the family resided was too small to admit of a division,
he caused it to be sold, and the money to be distributed
among his brothers and sisters, reserving a portion for
his mother. At the age of twenty-one, he removed from
Augusta county to the banks of the Holston, where,
shortly afterwards, he purchased a farm and married.
In 1774, he accompanied Dunmore in his expedition,
probably as a private. In 1775, he removed to Kentucky, and soon became particularly distinguished. His
person was striking and manly, his hair and complexion
very dark, his eye keen and penetrating, his countenance
grave, thoughtful, and expressive of a firmness, probity,
and intelligence, which were eminently displayed throughout his life.  His education was very imperfect, and
confined, we believe, simply, to the arts of reading and
writing. Having remained in Kentucky, in a very exposed situation, until the spring of 1776, he returned
for his family, and brought them out to a small settlement, called Logan's Fort, not far from Harrodsburgh.
The Indians during this summer were so numerous and
daring in their excursions, that Logan was compelled to
remove his wife and family for safety, to Harrodsburgh,
while he himself remained at his cabins, and cultivated
a crop of corn.
In the spring of 1777, his wife returned to Logan's
Fort; and several settlers having joined him, he determined to maintain himself there at all risk. His courage was soon put to the test. On the morning of the
20th May, a few days after his wife had rejoined him,
the women were milking the cows at the gate of the little
fort, and some of the garrison attending them, when a




ï~~DESPERATE STATE OF HARRISON.

175

party of Indians appeared and fired upon them. One
man was shot dead, and two more wounded, one of them
mortally. The whole party, including one of the wounded
men, instantly ran into the fort and closed the gate.
The enemy quickly showed themselves upon the edge
of a canebrake, within close rifle shot of the gate, and
seemed numerous and determined. Having a moment's
leisure to look around, they beheld a spectacle, which
awakened the most lively interest and compassion.
A man, named Harrison, had been severely wounded,
and still lay near the spot where he had fallen, within
full view both of the garrison and the enemy. The poor
fellow was, at intervals, endeavoring to crawl in the direction of the fort, and had succeeded in reaching a
cluster of bushes, which, however, were too thin to shelter his person from the enemy. His wife and family
were in the fort, and in deep distress at his situation.
The enemy undoubtedly forbore to fire upon him, from
the supposition that some of the garrison would attempt
to save him, in which case, they held themselves in readiness to fire upon them from the canebrake. The case
was a very trying one. It seemed impossible to save
him without sacrificing the lives of several of the garrison, and their numbers already were far too few for an
effectual defence, having originally amounted only to fifteen men, three of whom had already been put hors de
combat.
Yet the spectacle was so moving, and the lamentation
of his family so distressing, that it seemed equally impossible not to make an effort to relieve him. Logan
endeavored to persuade some of his men to accompany




ï~~176

GENERAL BENJAMIN LOGAN.

him in a sally, but so evident and appalling was the danger, that all at first refused; one Herculean fellow observing that he was a " weakly man," and another declaring that he was sorry for Harrison, "but that the
skin was closer than the shirt." At length, John Martin collected his courage, and declared his willingness to
accompany Logan, saying, that "he could only die once,
and that he was as ready now as he ever would be."
The two men opened the gate and started upon their forlorn expedition, Logan leading the way.
They had not advanced five steps, when Harrison
perceiving them, made a vigorous effort to rise, upon
which Martin, supposing him able to help himself, immediately sprung back within the gate.    Harrison's
strength almost instantly failed, and he fell at full length
upon the grass.   Logan paused a moment after the
desertion of Martin, then suddenly sprung forward to
the spot where Harrison lay, rushing through a tremendous shower of rifle balls, which was poured upon
him from every spot around the fort, capable of covering an Indian.   Seizing the wounded man in his
arms, he ran with him to the fort, through the same
heavy fire, and entered it unhurt, although the gate and
wicketing near him were riddled with balls, and his hat
and clothes pierced in several places.
The fort was now vigorously assailed in the Indian
manner, and as vigorously defended by the garrison.
The women were all employed in moulding bullets, while
the men were constantly at their posts. The weakness
of the garrison was not their only grievance. A distressing scarcity of ammunition prevailed, and no sup



ï~~BLOCKADED BY INDIANS.

177

ply could be procured nearer than Holston. But how
was it to be obtained? The fort was closely blockaded,
the Indians were swarming in the woods, and chances
were sadly against the. probability of the safe passage of
any courier through so many dangers    Under these
circumstances, Logan determined to take the dangerous
office upon himself. After encouraging the men, as well
as he could, with the prospect of a safe and speedy return, he took the advantage of a dark night, and crawled
through the Indian encampment without discovery.
Shunning the ordinary route through Cumberland
Gap, he arrived at Holston by by-paths which no white
man had yet trodden; through canebrakes and thickets;
over tremendous cliffs and precipices, where the deer
could scarcely obtain footing, and where no vestige of
any of the human family could be seen. Having obtained a supply of powder and lead, he returned through
the same almost inaccessible paths to the fort, which he
found still besieged, and now reduced to extremity. The
safe return of their leader inspired them with fresh courage, and in a few days, the appearance of Colonel Bowman's party compelled the Indians to retire.
12




ï~~178

GENERAL BENJAMIN LOGAN.

CHAPTER II.
Incursions of the Indians-Logan serves as second in command under
Colonel Bowman in the expedition against Chillicothe-Logan attacks the town-Bowman fails to support him, and orders a retreat
-Logan rejoins Bowman-Disorder-Bowman's strange conduct
-Second action with the Indians, who are defeated and dispersedLogan conducts an expedition against the North-western IndiansAffair of Moluntha-Logan returns to his farm-Assists in convention for framing constitution of Kentucky--Member of the Legislature-Death of Logan.
DURING the whole of this and the next year, the Indians were exceedingly troublesome. The Shawnees
particularly distinguished themselves by the frequency
and inveterate nature of their incursions; and as their
capital, Chillicothe, was within striking distance, an expedition was set on foot against it in 1779, in which Logan served as second in command. Captain James Harrod and John Bulger accompanied the expedition; the
former of whom, shortly afterwards, perished in a lonely
ramble; and the latter was killed at the Blue Licks.
Colonel Bowman commanded in chief. The detachment
amounted to one hundred and sixty men, consisted entirely of volunteers, accustomed to Indian warfare, and
was well officered, with the exception of its commander.
They left Harrodsburgh in July, and took their prelimi



ï~~BOWMAN'S EXPEDITION.

179

nary measures so well, that they arrived within a mile
of Chillicothe, without giving the slightest alarm to the
enemy. Here the detachment halted at an early hour
in the night, and as usual, sent out spies to examine the
condition of the village. Before midnight they returned,
and reported that the enemy remained unapprised of
their being in the neighborhood, and were in the most
unmilitary security. The army was instantly put in
motion. It was determined that Logan, with one half
of the men, should turn to the left and march half way
around the town, while Bowman, at the head of the remainder, should make a corresponding march to the right;
that both parties should proceed in silence, until they
had met at the opposite extremity of the village, when
having thus completely encircled it, the attack was to
commence.
Logan, who was bravery itself, performed his part of
the combined operation, with perfect order, and in profound silence; and having reached the designated spot,
awaited with impatience the arrival of his commander.
Hour after hour stole away, but Bowman did not appear.
At length daylight appeared. Logan, still expecting the
arrival of his colonel, ordered the men to conceal themselves in the high grass, and await the expected signal to
attack. No orders, however, arrived. In the mean
time, the men, in shifting about through the grass,
alarmed an Indian dog, the only sentinel on duty. He
instantly began to bay loudly, and advanced in the direction of the man who had attracted his attention. Presently a solitary Indian left his cabin, and walked cau



ï~~180

GENERAL BENJAMIN LOGAN.

ttously towards the party, halting frequently, rising upon
tiptoes, and gazing around him.
Logan's party lay close, with the hope of taking him,
without giving the alarm; but at that instant a gun was
fired in an opposite quarter of the town, as was afterwards ascertained by one of Bowman's party, and the
Indian, giving one shrill whoop, ran swiftly back to the
council house. Concealment was now impossible. Logan's party instantly sprung up from the grass, and
rushed upon the village, not doubting for a moment that
they would be gallantly supported. As they advanced,
they perceived Indians of all ages and of both sexes running to the great cabin, near the center of the town, where
they collected in full force, and appeared determined upon
an obstinate defence. Logan instantly took possession
of the houses which had been deserted, and rapidly advancing from cabin to cabin, at length established his
detachment within close rifle shot of the Indian redoubt.
He now listened impatiently for the firing which should
have been heard from the opposite extremity of the town,
where he supposed Bowman's party to be, but to his astonishment, everything remained quiet in that quarter.
In the mean time his own position had become critical.
The Indians had recovered from their panic, and kept
up a close and heavy fire upon the cabins which covered
his men. He had pushed his detachment so close to the
redoubt, that they could neither advance nor retreat
without great exposure. The enemy outnumbered him,
and gave indications of a disposition to turn both flanks
of his position, and thus endanger his retreat.
Under these circumstances, ignorant of the condition




ï~~BOWMAN ORDERS A RETREAT.

181

of his commander, and cut off from communication with
him, he formed the bold and judicious resolution, to make
a moveable breastwork of the planks which formed the
floor of the cabins, and under cover of it, to rush upon
the stronghold of the enemy and carry it by main force.
Had this gallant determination been carried into effect,
and had the movement been promptly seconded, as it
ought to have been by Bowman, the conflict would have
been bloody, and the victory decisive. Most probably
not an Indian would have escaped, and the consternation
which such signal vengeance would have spread throughout the Indian tribes, might have repressed their incursions for a considerable time. But before the necessary
steps could be taken, a messenger arrived from Bowman,
with orders "to retreat!"
Astonished at such an order, at a time when honor and
safety required an offensive movement on their part, Logan hastily asked if Bowman had been overpowered by
the enemy? No! Had he ever beheld an enemy? No I
What then was the cause of this extraordinary abandonment of a design so prosperously begun? He did not
know: the Colonel had ordered a retreat! Logan, however reluctantly, was compelled to obey. A retreat is
always a dispiriting movement, and with militia, is almost
certain to terminate in a complete rout. As soon as the
men were informed of the order, a most irregular and
tumultuous scene commenced. Not being buoyed up by
the mutual confidence which is the offspring of discipline,
and which sustains regular soldiers under all circumstances, they no longer acted in concert.
Each man selected the time, manner, and route of his




ï~~182

GENERAL BENJAMIN LOGAN.

retreat for himself. Here a solitary Kentuckian would
start up from behind a stump, and scud away through the
grass, dodging and turning to avoid the balls which whistled around him. There a dozen men would run from a
cabin, and scatter in every direction, each anxious to
save himself, and none having leisure to attend to their
neighbors. The Indians, astonished at seeing men rout
themselves in this manner, sallied out of their redoubts
and pursued the stragglers, as sportsmen would cut up a
scattered flock of wild geese. They soon united themselves to Bowman's party, who from some unaccountable
panic of their commander, or fault in themselves, had
stood stock still near the spot where Logan had left them
the night before.
All was confusion. Some cursed their colonel; some
reproached other officers: one shouted one thing; one
bellowed another; but all seemed to agree that they
ought to make the best of their way home, without the
loss of a moment's time. By great exertions on the
part of Logan, well seconded by Harrod, Bulger, and
the gallant Major Bedinger, of the Blue Licks, some
degree of order was restored, and a tolerably respectable retreat commenced.    The Indians, however, soon
surrounded them on all sides, and kept up a hot fire,
which began to grow fatal. Colonel Bowman appeared
totally demented, and sat upon his horse like a pillar of
stone, neither giving an order nor taking any measure
to repel the enemy. The sound of the rifle shots had,
however, completely restored the men to their senses,
and they readily formed in a large hollow square, took
trees, and returned the fire with equal vivacity. The




ï~~RETREAT OF THE ARMY.

183

enemy was quickly repelled, and the troops recommenced
their march.
But scarcely had they advanced half a mile, when the
Indians reappeared, and again opened a fire upon the
front, rear, and both flanks. Again a square was formed
and the enemy repelled; but scarcely had the harassed
troops recommenced their march, when the same galling
fire was opened upon them from every tree, bush, and
stone capable of concealing an Indian. Matters now
began to look serious. The enemy were evidently endeavoring to detain them, until fresh Indians could come
up in sufficient force to compel them to lay down their
arms. The men began to be unsteady, and the panic
was rapidly spreading from the colonel to the privates.
At this crisis, Logan, Harrod, Bedinger, &c., selected
the boldest and best mounted men, and dashing into the
bushes on horseback, scoured the woods in every direction, forcing the Indians from their coverts, and cutting
down as many as they could overtake.
This decisive step completely dispersed the enemy,
and the weary and dispirited troops continued their retreat unmolested. They lost nine killed, and a few
others wounded. But the loss of reputation on the part
of the colonel was incalculable, for, as usual, he was the
scapegoat upon whose head the disgrace of the miscarriage was laid. No good reason has ever been assigned
for the extraordinary failure of his own detachment; and
the subsequent panic which he displayed when harassed
in the wood, affords room for suspicion, that either the
darkness of the night, or the cry of an owl, (for he did




ï~~1.84

GENERAL BENJAMIN LOGAN.

not see the face of an enemy,) had robbed the colonel of
his usual courage.
It may be here remarked, that the propriety of combined operations with irregular troops, is at least doubtful. Different corps, moving by different routes upon
the same point, are liable to miscarriage from so many
different causes, that the measure is scarcely ever attended with success, unless when the troops are good,
the officers intelligent and unanimous, and the ground
perfectly understood. The intervention of a creek, the
ignorance of a guide, or the panic of an officer, as in the
case of Bowman, may destroy the unity of the operation,
and expose the detachment which has reached its station
in proper time to be cut off.
The signal failure of Washington at Germantown,
may, in a great measure, be attributed to the complicated plan of attack, as the several divisions arrived at
different times, attacked without concert, and were
beaten in detail. I can scarcely recollect a single instance, save the affair of Trenton, in which raw troops
have succeeded by combined operations; and many miscarriages in our own annals may be attributed to that
circumstance. Logan returned to Kentucky with a reputation increased, rather than diminished, by the failure
of the expedition. His conduct was placed in glaring
contrast to that of his unfortunate commander, and the
praise of the one was in exact correspondence to the
censure of the other.
No other affair of consequence occurred, until the
rash and disastrous battle of the Blue Licks, in which as
we have seen, Logan was unable to share. He seems




ï~~INCIDENT OF MOLUNTHA.

1.35

to have remained quietly engaged in agricultural pursuits, until the summer of 1788, when he conducted an
expedition against the north-western tribes, which, as
usual, terminated in burning their villages, and cutting
up their cornfields, serving to irritate, but not to subdue
the enemy. A single incident attending this expedition,
deserves to be commemorated. Upon approaching a
large village of the Shawnese, from which, as usual, most
of the inhabitants had fled, an old chief named Moluntha, came out to meet them, fantastically dressed in an
old cocked hat, set jauntily upon one side of his head,
and a fine shawl thrown over his shoulders. He carried
an enormous pipe in one hand, and a tobacco pouch in the
other, and strutted out with the air of an old French
beau, to smoke the pipe of peace with his 'enemies, whom
he found himself unable to meet in the field.
Nothing could be more striking than the fearless confidence with which he walked through the foremost ranks
of the Kentuckians, evidently highly pleased with his
own appearance, and enjoying the admiration which he
doubted not that his cocked hat and splendid shawl inspired. Many of the Kentuckians were highly amused
at the mixture of dandyism and gallantry which the poor
old man exhibited, and shook hands with him very cordially.  Unfortunately, however, he at length   approached Major MeGary, whose temper, never particularly sweet, was as much inflamed by the sight of an
Indian, as that of a wild bull by the waving of a red
flag.  It happened, unfortunately too, that Moluntha
had been one of the chiefs who commanded at the




ï~~186

GENERAL BENJAMIN LOGAN.

Blue Licks, a disaster which McGary had not yet forgotten.
Instead of giving his hand as the others had done,
McGary scowled upon the old man, and asked him if
"he recollected the Blue Licks?"   Moluntha smiled,
and merely repeated the word "Blue Licks!" when
McGary instantly drew his tomahawk and cleft him to
the brain. The old man received the blow without
flinching for a second, and fell dead at the feet of his
destroyer. Great excitement instantly prevailed in the
army. Some called it a ruthless murder; and others
swore that he had done right; that an Indian was not to
be regarded as a human being, but ought to be shot
down as a wolf whenever and wherever he appeared.
McGary himself raved like a madman at the reproach
of his countrymen, and declared, with many bitter
oaths, that he would not only kill every Indian whom
he met, whether in peace or war, at church or market,
but that he would equally as readily tomahawk the man
who blamed him for the act.
From this time until the period of his death, General
Logan devoted himself to the cultivation of his farm,
and engaged actively in the civil and political contests
'which had begun to occupy a large share of public attention. He was a member of the convention of 1792,
which formed the first constitution of Kentucky; and
when in 1799, a convention was called for the purpose
of remodelling that instrument, he was a delegate from
the county of Shelby, and assisted in the formation of
the present constitution. He was repeatedly a member
of the State Legislature, and it is scarcely necessary




ï~~DEA'TH OF LOGAN.              187
to add, stood high in the esteem and confidence of his
legislative compeers.
After having discharged faithfully and with ability all
the duties of the man, the soldier, the patriot, and
statesman, he died at an advanced age, full of years and
full of honors, beloved and mourned by all who knew
him. General Logan was the father of the Honorable
William Logan, twice a Judge of the court of appeals.




ï~~


ï~~CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.
(189)




ï~~


ï~~CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY
CHAPTER I.
Birth and parentage of Brady-His father moves to the West Branch
of the Susquehanna-Samuel Brady's gallantry at the siege of
Boston-Appointed First Lieutenant-His father a CaptainSamuel hears of his father's death-Vows vengeance against all
Indians-At battle of Princeton-At Paoli massacre.
Wno has not heard of Brady-captain of the spies?
-Of his perilous adventures by field and flood?-Of his
hair-breadth escapes in the imminent deadly breach?Of his chivalrous courage?-Of his unmatched personal
activity?-Yet where do we read his history?     It is to
be learned only from the aged settlers of Western Pennsylvania, or, peradventure, from a time-worn ranger;for a few of Brady's warriors still survive.
Actuated by a desire to preserve from oblivion, such
portions of his life and actions as may yet be obtained,
I have made several attempts to procure from individuals the most interesting events in his military career,
(191)




ï~~192

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

but hitherto without success. At length an aged friend
has kindly offered to furnish such details as an intimate
acquaintance with Captain Brady enables him to give.
We trust that the subject will be deemed of such interest, that others will contribute their mite, and that a
historian will be found to place Brady, of the Rangers,
by the side of Wayne, Marion, Lee, of the Legion, and
other distinguished patriots whose memories are immortal.
He is emphatically the hero of Western Pennsylvania;
and future bards of this region, when time shall have
mellowed the facts of history, will find his name the personification of all that was fearless and fruitful of resource in the hour of danger. His, the step that faltered not-the eye that quailed not, even in the terrific
scenes of Indian warfare. Many a mother has quieted
the fears, and lulled to sleep her infant family, by the
assurance that the broad Allegheny, the dividing line
between the Indians and the Whites, was watched by the
gallant captain and his rangers; and to their apprehensions of death or captivity by the Indians, has replied
encouragingly, '. They dare not move on the river, for
there lie Brady and the rangers."
John Brady, the father of Captain Samuel Brady, was
born in the State of Delaware, A. D., 1733. Hugh
3rady, the father of John, had emigrated from Ireland.
At a very early period, Hugh Brady settled within five
miles of where Shippensburg now stands. The country
was then a wilderness, thinly settled by Irish emigrants,
simple, sincere, and religious. Many anecdotes are col



ï~~HIS ANCESTORS.

193

lected, evincive of this, but they would be out of place
here.
During the French and Indian wars, that part of the
country was much harassed by the Indians. John Brady
and several other young men had been active against
them, and as a mark and reward of merit, he was appointed captain in the provincial line, which at that time
was no small distinction. He married Mary Quigly,
and Samuel, their first child, was born in the town of
Shippensburg, A. D., 1758.
After the war, and a purchase had been made from
the Indians in 1768, John Brady moved with his family
to the West Branch of the Susquehanna, where Samuel
resided with him till June, 1775. Captain John Lowden, a widower, raised a company of volunteer riflemen,
seventy in number, and all unmarried, and marched to
Boston. Samuel Brady was one of this band, and the
captain intended that he should be an officer, but his
father objected, saying, " Let him first learn the duty of
a soldier, and then he will know how to act as an
officer."
While the riflemen lay in the " Leaguer of Boston,"
frequent skirmishes took place. On one occasion, Lowden was ordered to select some able-bodied men, and
wade to an island; when the tide was out, and drive out
some cattle belonging to the British. He considered
Brady too young for this service, and left him out of his
selection; but to the captain's astonishment, Brady was
the second man on the island, and behaved most gallantly. On another occasion, he was sitting on a fence,
with his captain, viewing the British works, when a can'
13




ï~~194

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

non ball struck the fence under them. Brady was first
up, caught the captain in his arms and raised him, saying,
with great composure, " We are not hurt, captain."
Many like instances of his coolness and courage happened while the army lay at Boston.
In 1776, Samuel Brady was appointed a first lieutenant in Captain Thomas Doyle's company, raised in
Lancaster county. He continued with the army, and
was in all the principal engagements until after the battle of Monmouth, when he was promoted to a captaincy,
and ordered to the West under General Brodhead. On
their march he had leave to visit his friends in Northumberland county. His father, in 1776, had accepted
a captaincy in the 12th Pennsylvania Regiment, was
badly wounded at the battle of Brandywine, and was
then at home. Whilst there, he heard of his brother's
death, who had been murdered by the Indians on the 9th
day of August, 1778. He remained at his father's until
the beginning of 1779, when he started for Pittsburg and
joined his regiment.
Shortly after he had arrived at Pittsburg, he heard
the news of his father being murdered by the Indians, on
the 11th day of April, 1779. He then vowed vengeance
against all Indians, and he never altered his mind.
Here commenced his western exploits.
At the battle of Princeton he was under Colonel Hand,
of Lancaster, and had advanced too far; they were
nearly surrounded-Brady cut a horse out of a team,
got his Colonel on, jumped on behind him, and they made
their escape.




ï~~MASSACRE OF PAOLI.             195
At the massacre at Paoli, Brady had been on guard,
and had laid down with his blanket buckled round him.
The British were nearly on them before the sentinel
fired. Brady had to run; he tried to get clear of his
blanket coat, but could not. As he jumped a post and
rail fence, a British soldier struck at him with his bayonet, and pinned the blanket to the rail, but so near the
edge that it tore out. He dashed on; a horseman
overtook him and ordered him to stop. Brady wheeled,
shot him down, and ran on. He got into a small swamp
in a field. He knew of no person but one being in it
beside himself; but in the morning there were fifty-five,
one of whom was a lieutenant. They compared commissions; Brady's was the oldest; he took the command
and marched them to headquarters.




ï~~196

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

CHAPTER II.
Captain Brady sent on a scout to the Indian country-Arrives at
Sandusky-Makes his reconnoissance-Sufferings on his returnSingular adventure-Brady kills an Indian, and saves the squaw
and child-Brady returns to Pittsburg-Anecdote of his retreat
through the woods.
IN 1780, a small fort, within the present limits of
Pittsburg, was the headquarters of General Brodhead,
who was charged with the defence of this quarter of the
frontier. The country north and west of the Allegheny
river was in possession of the Indians. General Washington, whose comprehensive sagacity foresaw and provided against all dangers that menaced the country,
wrote to General Brodhead to select a suitable officer
and dispatch him to Sandusky, for the purpose of examining the place, and ascertaining the force of British
and Indians assembled there, with a view to measures
of preparation and defence, against the depredations
and attacks to be expected from thence.
General Brodhead had no hesitation in making the
selection of an officer qualified for this difficult and dangerous duty. He sent for Brady, now a captain, showed
him Washington's letter, and a draft or map of the
country he must traverse; very defective, as Brady




ï~~CAPTAIN BRADY ON A SCOUT.

197

afterwards discovered, but the best, no doubt, that could
be obtained at that time.
Captain Brady was not insensible to the danger, or
ignorant of the difficulty of the enterprise. But he saw
the anxiety of the father of his country to procure information that could only be obtained by this perilous
mode, and knew its importance. His own danger was
of inferior consideration. The appointment was accepted, and selecting a few soldiers, and four Chickasaw
Indians as guides, he crossed the Allegheny river, and
was at once in the enemy's country.
It was in May, 1780, that he commenced his march.
The season was uncommonly wet. Every considerable
stream was swollen; neither road, bridge, nor house
facilitated their march, or shielded their repose. Part
of their provision was picked up by the way as they
crept, rather than marched through the wilderness by
night, and lay concealed in its branches by day. The
slightest trace of his movement, the print of a white
man's foot on the sand of a river, might have occasioned
the extermination of the party. Brady was versed in
all the wiles of Indian "strategie," and, dressed in the
full war dress of an Indian warrior, and well acquainted
with their languages, he led his band in safety near to
the Sandusky towns, without seeing a hostile Indian.
The night before he reached Sandusky he saw a fire,
approached it, and found two squaws reposing beside it.
He passed on without molesting them. But his Chickasaws now deserted. This was alarming, for it was
probable they had gone over to the enemy. However,
he determined to proceed. With a full knowledge of




ï~~198

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

the horrible death that awaited him if taken prisoner, he
passed on, until he stood beside the town and on the
bank of the river.
His first care was to provide a place of concealment
for his men. When this was effected, having selected
one man as the companion of his future adventures, he
waded the river to an island partially covered with driftwood, opposite the town, where he concealed himself and
comrade for the night.
Leonidas was brave, and in obedience to the institutions of his country, he courted death and found it in
the pass of Thermopyle. But he was surrounded by
his three hundred Spartans, and cheered by the Spartan
battle hymn, mingled in concert with the sweet tones of
the flute.
Napoleon was brave, but his bravest acts were performed in the presence of embattled thousands; and
when, at the bridge of Lodi, he snatched the tri-color
from its terrified bearer, and uttering the war cry of his
enthusiastic soldiers, "Vive la Republique, he breasted
the fire of thirty pieces of Austrian cannon, and planted
it in the midst of its enemies, he was seen and followed
by the gallant remains of the consular guard, and lauded
with the cries and tears of his whole army.
In constancy of purpose, in cool, deliberate courage,
the captain of the rangers will compare with the examples quoted, or any other. Neither banner nor pennon waved over him. He was hundreds of miles in the
heart of an enemy's country. An enemy who, had they
possessed it, would have given his weight in gold for the
pleasure of burning him to death with a slow fire;




ï~~INDIAN HORSE RACING.

199

adding to his torments, both mental and physical, every
ingredient that savage ingenuity could supply.
Who that has poetry of feeling, or feeling of poetry,
but must pause o'er such a scene, and in imagination
contemplate its features!
The murmuring river; the Indian village wrapt in
sleep; the sylvan landscape; us each was gazed upon
by that lonely, but dauntless warrior, in the still midnight hour.
The next morning a dense fog spread over hill and
dale, town and river. All was hid from Brady's eyes,
save the logs and brush around him. About 11 o'clock
it cleared off, and afforded him a view of about three
thousand Indians engaged in the amusements of the
race ground.
They had just returned from Virginia or Kentucky
with some very fine horses. One grey horse in particular attracted his notice. He won every race until
near evening, when, as if envious of his speed, two riders
were placed on him, and thus he was beaten. The
starting post was only a few rods above where Brady
lay, and he had a pretty fair chance of enjoying the
amusement, without the risk of losing anything by betting on the race.
He made such observation through the day as was in his
power, waded out from the island at night, collected his
men, went to the Indian camp he had seen as he came
out; the squaws were still there, he took them prisoners,
and continued his march homeward.
The map furnished by General Brodhead was found to
be defective. The distance was represented to be much




ï~~200

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

less than it really was. The provisions and ammunition
of the men were exhausted by the time they had reached
the Big Beaver, on their return. Brady shot an otter,
but could not eat it. The last load was in his rifle.
They arrived at an old encampment, and found plenty
of strawberries, which they stopped to appease their
hunger with. Having discovered a deer track, Brady
followed it, telling the men he would perhaps get a shot
at it. He had gone but a few rods when he saw the
deer standing broadside to him. He raised his rifle and
attempted to fire, but it flashed in the pan, and he had
not a priming of powder. He sat down, picked the
touch hole, and then started on. After going a short
distance the path made a bend, and he saw before him a
large Indian on horseback, with a child before, and its
mother behind him on the horse, and a number of warriors marching in the rear. His first impulse was to
shoot the Indian on horseback, but as he raised the rifle
he observed the child's head to roll with the motion of
the horse. It was fast asleep and tied to the Indian.
He, stepped behind the root of a tree, and waited until
he could shoot the Indian, without danger to the child
or its mother.
When he considered the chance certain he shot the
Indian, who fell from his horse, and the child and its
mother fell with him. Brady called to his men with a
voice that made the forest ring, to surround the Indians and
give them a general fire. He sprung to the fallen Indian's
powder horn, but could not pull it off. Being dressed like
an Indian, the woman thought he was one, and said, "Why
did you shoot your brother?" He caught up the child




ï~~EXPLOIT OF CAPTAIN BRADY.

201'

saying, "Jenny Stupes, I am Captain Brady, follow me,
and I will secure you and your child." He caught her
hand in his, carrying the child under the other arm, and
dashed into the brush. Many guns were fired at him by this
time, but no ball harmed him, and the Indians, dreading
an ambuscade, were glad to make off. The next day he
arrived at Fort M'Intosh with the woman and her child.
His men had got there before him. They had heard
his war whoop and knew it was Indians he had encountered, but having no ammunition they had taken to their
heels and ran off. The squaws he had taken at Sandusky, availing themselves of the panic, had also made
their escape.
In those days Indian fashions prevailed in some measure with the Whites, at least with rangers. Brady was
desirous of seeing the Indian he had shot, and the officer
in command of Fort M'Intosh gave him some men in
addition to his own, and he returned to search for the
body. The place where he had fallen was discovered,
but nothing more. No pains were spared to search, but
the body was not found. They were about to quit the
place when the yell of a pet Indian, that came with them
from the fort, called them to a little glade, where the
grave was discovered. The Indians had interred their
dead brother there, carefully replacing the sod in the
neatest manner. They had also cut brushes and stuck
them into the ground; but the brushes had withered,
and instead of concealing the grave they led to the disovery.
He was buried about two feet deep, with all his implements of war about him.




ï~~202

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

"He lay like a warrior taking his rest,
With his powder-horn and pouch about him."
All his savage jewelry, his arms and ammunition were
taken from him, and the scalp from the head, and then
they left him thus stripped alone in his grave. It is
painful to think of such things being done by American
soldiers, but we cannot now know all the excusing circumstances that may have existed at the time. Perhaps
the husband of this woman, the father of this child, was
thus butchered before his wife and children; and the
younger members of the family unable to bear the fatigues of travelling, had their brains dashed out on the
threshold. Such things were common, and a spirit of
revenge was deeply seated in the breasts of the people
of the frontiers.  Captain Brady's own family had heavily felt the merciless tomahawk. His brave and honored father, and a beloved brother had been treacherously slain by the Indians, and he had vowed vengeance.
After refreshing himself and men, they went up to
Pittsburg by water, where they were received with military honors. Minute guns were fired from the time Brady came in sight until he landed.
The Chickasaw Indians had returned to Pittsburg and
reported that the captain and his party had been cut off
near Sandusky town by the Indians. When General
13rodhead heard this, he said Brady was an aspiring
young man and had solicited the command. But on
Brady's arrival at Pittsburg, the general acknowledged
that the captain had accepted the command with much
diffidence.
A few days after Brady had left Sandusky with his




ï~~INCIDENT OF THE EXPEDITION.

203

squaw prisoners, keeping a sharp look out in expectation
of being pursued, and taking every precaution to avoid
pursuit, such as keeping on the driest ridges and walking
on logs whenever they suited his course, he found he was
followed by Indians. His practised eye would occasionally discover in.the distance, an Indian hopping to or
from a tree, or other screen, and advancing on his trail.
After being satisfied of the fact, he stated it to his men
and told them no Indian could thus pursue him, after
the precautions he had taken, without having a dog on
his track. " I will stop," said Brady, " and shoot the
dog, and then we can get along better.
He selected the root of a tall chestnut tree which had
fallen Westward, for his place of ambush. He walked
from the west end of the tree or log to the east, and sat
down in the pit made by the raising of the root. He
had not been long there when a small slut mounted the
log at the west end and with her nose to the trunk approached him. Close behind her followed a plumed warrior.  Brady had his choice. He preferred shooting
the slut, which he did, she rolled off the log stone dead,
and the warrior, with a loud whoops sprung into the
woods and disappeared. He was followed no further.




ï~~204

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

CHAPTER III.
Captain Brady sent with a party to catch Indians-Watches an Indian camp-Surprise and destruction of the Indians.
MANY of Captain Brady's adventures occurred at periods of which no certainty as to dates can now be had.
The following is of that class:
His success as a partizan had acquired for him its
usual results-approbation with some, and envy with
others. Some of his brother officers censured the Commandant for affording him such frequent opportunities
for honorable distinction. At length an open complaint
was made, accompanied by a request, in the nature of a
demand, that others should be permitted to share with
Brady the perils and honors of the service, abroad from
the fort. The general apprised Brady of what had
passed, who readily acquiesced in the proposed arrangement; and an opportunity was not long wanting
for testing its efficiency.
The Indians made an inroad into the Sewickly settlement, committing the most barbarous murders of men,
women, and children; stealing such property as was
portable, and destroying all else. The alarm was brought
to Pittsburg, and a party of soldiers under the command
of the emulous officers dispatched for the protection of




ï~~CATCHING THE INDIANS.

205

the settlements, and chastisement of the foe. From this
expedition Brady was, of course, excluded; but the restraint was irksome to his feelings.
The day after the detachment had marched, he solicited permission from the commander to take a small
party for the purpose of " catching the Indians," but was
refused. By dint of importunity, however, he at length
wrung from him a reluctant consent, and the command
of five men; to this he added his pet Indian, and made
hasty preparation.
Instead of moving toward Sewickly, as the first detachment had done, he crossed the Allegheny at Pittsburg, and proceeded up the river. Conjecturing that the
Indians had descended that stream in canoes, till near
the settlement; he was careful to examine the mouths
of all creeks coming into it, particularly from the southeast. At the mouth of Big Mahoning, about six miles
above Kittanning, the canoes were seen drawn up to its
western bank. He instantly retreated down the river,
and waited for night. As soon as it was dark, he made
a raft, and crossed to the Kittanning side. He then
proceeded up the creek, and found that the Indians had,
in the meantime, crossed the creek, as their canoes were
drawn to its upper or north-eastern bank.
The country on both sides of Mahoning, at its mouth,
is rough and mountainous, and the stream, which was
then high, very rapid. Several ineffectual attempts were
made to wade it, which they at length succeeded in
doing, three or four miles above the canoes. Next, a
fire was made, their clothing dried, and arms inspected;
and the party moved toward the Indian camp, which was




ï~~206

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

pitched on the second bank of the river. Brady placed
his men at some distance on the lower or first bank.
The Indians had brought from Sewickly a stallion,
which they had fettered and turned to pasture on the
lower bank. An Indian, probably the owner, under the
law of arms, came frequently down to him, and occasioned the party no little trouble.  The horse, too,
seemed willing to keep their company, and it required
considerable circumspection to avoid all intercourse with
either. Brady became so provoked that he had a strong
inclination to tomahawk the Indian, but his calmer judgment repudiated the act, as likely to put to hazard a
more decisive and important achievement.
At length the Indians seemed quiet, and the captain
determined to pay them a closer visit; and if, in doing
so, he met with a ludicrous adventure, gentle reader, it
is no fault of mine.
He got quite near their fires; his pet Indian had
caught him by the hair, and gave it a pluck, intimating
the advice to retire, which he would not venture to whisper; but finding Brady regardless of it, he crawled off;
when the captain, who was scanning their numbers and
the position of their guns, observed one throw off his
blanket and rise to his feet. It was altogether impracticable for Brady to move, without being seen. He instantly decided to remain where he was, and risk what
might happen. He drew his head slowly beneath the
brow of the bank, putting his forehead to the earth for
concealment. His next sensation was that of warm water poured into the hollow of his neck, as from the spout
of a tea-pot, which, trickling down his back over the




ï~~ATTACK ON THE INDIANS.

207

chilled skin, produced a feeling that even his iron nerves
could scarce master. He felt quietly for his tomahawk,
and had it been about him, he probably would have used
it; but he had divested himself even of that, when preparing
to approach the fires, lest by striking against the stones
or gravel, it might give alarm. He was compelled, therefore, "nolens volens," to submit to this very unpleasant
operation, until it should please his warriorship to refrain, which he soon did, and returning to his place
wrapped himself up in his blanket, and composed himself
for sleep as if nothing had happened.
Brady returned too, and posted his men, and in the
deepest silence all awaited the break of day. When it
appeared, the Indians arose and stood around their fires,
exulting doubtless in the scalps they had taken, the
plunder they had acquired, and the injuries they had inflicted on their enemies. Precarious joy! short-lived
triumph! the avenger of blood was beside them. At a
signal given, seven rifles cracked, and five Indians were
dead ere they fell. Brady's well known war-cry was
heard, his party were among them, and their guns
(mostly empty,) were all secured. The remaining Indians instantly fled and disappeared. One was pursued
by the trace of his blood, which he seems to have succeeded in staunching. The pet Indian then imitated the
cry of a young wolf, which was answered by the wounded
man, and the pursuit was again renewed. A second
time the wolf cry was given and answered, and the pursuit continued into a windfall. Here he must have espied
his pursuers, for he answered no more. Brady found his




ï~~208            CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.
remains three weeks afterwards, being led to the place
by ravens that were preying on the carcass.
The horse was unfettered, the plunder gathered, and
the party commenced their return to Pittsburg, most of
them descending in the Indian canoes.
Three days after their return, the first detachment
came in. They reported that they had followed the
Indians closely, but that the latter had got into their
canoes and made their escape.




ï~~RETALIATION UPON THE INDIANS.

209

CHAPTER IV.
Captain Brady commands the advance guard, under General Brodhead
-Battle-Insolent Indian punished-Brady's vow of vengeance.
THE incursions of the Indians had become so frequent,
and their outrages so alarming, that it was thought
advisable to retaliate upon them the injuries of war, and
carry into the country occupied by them, the same system
of destructive warfare with which they had visited the
settlements. For this purpose, an adequate force was
provided, under the immediate command of General
Brodhead, the command of the advance guard of which
was confided to Captain Brady.
The troops proceeded up the Allegheny river, and had
arrived at the flat of land near the mouth of Redbank
creek, now known by the name of Brady's Bend, without
encountering an enemy. Brady and his rangers were
some distance in front of the main body, as their duty
required, when they suddenly discovered a war party of
Indians approaching them. Relying on the strength of
the main body, and its ability to force the Indians to
retreat, and anticipating, as Napoleon did in the battle
with the Mamelukes, that when driven back, they would
return upon the same route they had advanced on, Brady
permitted them to proceed without hindrance, and has14




ï~~210

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

tened to seize a narrow pass, higher up the river, where
the rocks, nearly perpendicular, approached the river,
and where a few determined men might successfully
combat superior numbers.
In a short time, the Indians encountered the main
body under Brodhead, and were driven back. In full
and swift retreat, they pressed on to gain the pass
between the rocks and the river, but it was occupied by
their daring and relentless foes, Brady and his rangers,
who failed not to pour into their flying columns a most
destructive fire.
"At once there rose so wild a yell
Within that dark and narrow dell,
As all the fiends from heaven that fell,
lad pealed the banner-cry of Hell!
Forth from the pass in tumult driven,
Like chaff before the winds of heaven,
The Indians appear;
For life! for life! their flight they ply--
And shriek, and shout, and battle cry
Are maddening in the rear."
Indeed, we have been told by an officer of the American
army, who is no stranger to Indian battles, that Walter
Scott's description of the battle of "Beal An Duine,"
from which we have ventured to make the above extract,
would suit very well for that of any battle with the
Indians, by changing a few names, and substituting
plumes for bonnets, bayonets for spears, &c.
Be that as it may, the Indians on this occasion were
again broken, routed, and forced to jump into the river.
Many were killed on the bank, and many more in the




ï~~INSOLENT INDIAN PUNISHED.

211

stream. Cornplanter, chief of the Senecas, then a young
man, saved himself by swimming, as did several others
of the party.
After they had crossed the river, Brady was standing
on the bank, wiping his rifle. An Indian, exasperated
at the unexpected defeat, and disgraceful retreat of his
party, and supposing himself now safe from the wellknown and abhorred enemy of his race, commenced a
species of conversation with him in broken English,
which we call blackguarding-calling Brady and his men
cowards, squaws, and the like- and putting himself
in such attitudes as he probably thought would be most
expressive of his utter contempt of them. When the
main army arrived, a canoe was manned, and Brady and
a few men crossed to where the Indian had been seen.
They found blood on the ground, and had followed it but
a short distance, till the Indian jumped up, struck his
breast, and said, "I am a man."  It was Brady's wish
to take him prisoner, without doing him further harm.
The Indian continuing to repeat, "I am a man,"" Yes," said an Irishman who was along, "by J-   s,
you're a purty boy,"-and, before Brady could arrest
the blow, sunk his tomahawk into the Indian's brain.
The army moved onward, and after destroying all the
Indians' corn, and ravaging the Kenjua flats, returned
to Pittsburg.
It has been stated that Captain John Brady, the
father of Captain Samuel, had been wounded at the
battle of Brandywine; that his son John was also
wounded there (who was but a lad of sixteen at the
time), and that in consequence of their wounds, both had




ï~~212

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

permission to return to their home, which was on the
west branch of the Susquehanna. It was farther stated,
that Captain John Brady and one of his sons were killed
by the Indians, soon after Samuel had left home for
Bedford or Pittsburg.
Although not immediately connected with the personal
adventures of Captain Samuel Brady, we propose giving
a sketch of events of the Susquehanna, prior and up to
the death of his father and brother.
The transactions on the Susquehanna have, it is true,
this connection with the biography of Captain Samuel
Brady, that, on hearing of the murder of his youngest
brother, and that of his father, by the Indians there, he
did, it is said, raise his hand on high and vow-" Aided
by Him who formed yonder sun and heavens, I will revenge the murder of my father and brother: nor while
I live will I ever be at peace with the Indians, of any
tribe." This exclamation, uttered in a moment of anguished feeling, the recital of his brother's sufferings
being fresh in his mind, has been assigned as the principal cause of his daring and unparalleled courage and
address in the various conflicts he had with the Indians
afterwards.
This representation has rather obscured his character
than otherwise. He has been considered a devoted mankiller, reckless of all sympathy, and destitute of all
humanity towards the Indian race. This is by no means
true. Brady, as we have been informed by one who
became acquainted with him on the occasion of his being
indicted for the murder of certain Indians in time of
peace, was a gentlemanly, fine looking man, possessed




ï~~VINDICATION OF BRADY'S CHARACTER.

218

of a noble heart, and intellect of a high order. His
conduct on that occasion, when investigated, was found
to be correct; and that he had used his influence as far,
probably, as was safe with an infuriated band, to protect
the Indians with whose murder he was charged. But
of this hereafter.
Another cause than blind revenge might be assigned
for that heroic devotedness of courage--that eagerness
to solicit dangerous commands-that contempt for all
that is allied to fear--by which he was distinguished.
But it is of little moment now, further than to authorize
the assertion that it was honorable in its origin, though
unpropitious in its termination.
After having pursued our statement of the occurrences
at Susquehanna, and retaining in his mind the intimation
contained in the above lines, the reader will be satisfied
that the excitement which prompted the vow, was not
of that savage character it has generally been supposed
to bear; but that it was the unpremeditated exclamation of one
" Upon whose ear the signal word
Of strife and death was hourly breaking,
Who slept with head upon the sword
His fevered hand must grasp in waking."




ï~~214

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

CHAPTER V.
Some details respecting Captain Brady's father-Fort Augusta garrisoned-Treaty with the Seneca and Muncy tribes attempted-A
rum affair at Derr's trading house.
WHEN Captain John Brady left Shippensburg, he
located himself at the Standing Stone, a celebrated
Indian town at the confluence of the Standing Stone
creek and the Juniata river; the present town of Hun
tingdon, in Huntingdon county, stands in part on the
site of the Standing Stone. From thence he removed
to the west branch of the Susquehanna, opposite the spot
on which Lewisburg or Derrstown, in Union county,
stands. Derr had a small mill on the run that empties
into the river below the town, and a trading house, from
whence the Indians were supplied with powder, lead,
tobacco, and rum. In the commencement of the strife
between the colonies and the mother country, Brady discovered that the Indians were likely to be tampered
with by the British.
The Seneca and Muncy tribes were in considerable
force, and Pine and Lycoming creeks were navigable
almost to the State line for canoes. Fort Augusta had
been built on the east side of the north branch, immediately where it connects with the west, about a mile




ï~~ATTEMPT TO FORM A TREATY.

215

above the present town of Sunbury. It was garrisoned
by a "fearless few," and commanded by Captain, afterwards Major Hunter, a meritorious officer. He had
under his command about fifty men. In the season
for tillage, some attention was paid to farming, but the
women and children mostly resided in the fort, or were
taken there on the slightest alarm.
It was known that the Wyoming Flats were full of
Indians, of the Delaware and Shamokin tribes. The
latter, since extinct, were then a feeble people, and under
the protection of the Delawares. In this state of affairs,
Captain John Brady suggested to his neighbors and
comrades, under arms at Fort Augusta, the propriety of
making a treaty with the Seneca and Muncy tribes;
knowing them to be at variance with the Delawares.
This course was approved of, and petitions sent on to
the proper authorities, praying the appointment of commissioners for the purpose of holding a treaty.
Commissioners were appointed, and Fort Augusta was
designated as a place of conference; and notice of that,
and of the time fixed for the arrival of the commissioners, was directed to be given to the two tribes.
Captain John Brady, and two others, were selected by
the people in the fort to seek the Senecas and Muncies,
and communicate to them the proposal.
The Indians met the "ambassadors" of the settlers,
to wit, Captain John Brady and his companions, in a
very friendly manner: the chiefs listened with apparent
pleasure to the proposal for a treaty, and after smoking
the pipe of peace, and promising to attend at Fort
Augusta on the appointed day, led our men out of their




ï~~216

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

camp, and, shaking hands with them cordially, parted
in seeming friendship.
Brady feared to trust the friendship so warmly expressed, and took a different route in returning with his
company from that they had gone, and arrived safe at
home.
On the day appointed for holding the treaty the Indians appeared, with their wives and children. There
were about one hundred men, all warriors, and dressed
in war costume. Care had been taken that the little
fort should look as fierce as possible, and every man was
on the alert.
In former treaties the Indians had received large
presents, and were expecting them here; but finding the
fort too poor to give anything of value, (and an Indian
never trusts,) all efforts to form a treaty with them
proved abortive. They left the fort, however, apparently in good humor, and well satisfied with their treatment, and taking to their canoes, proceeded homeward.
The remainder of the day was chiefly spent by the
officers and people of the fort in devising means of protection against the anticipated attacks of the Indians.
Late in the day, Brady thought of Derr's trading
house, and foreboding evil from that point, mounted a
small mare he had at the fort, and crossing the north
branch he rode with all possible speed. On his way
home he saw the canoes of the Indians on the bank of
the river near Derr's. When near enough to observe
the river, he saw the squaws exerting themselves to the
utmost, at their paddles, to work canoes over to this side
of the river; and that when they landed, they made for




ï~~DRUNKEN INDIANS.

217

the thickets of sumach, which grew in abundance on his
land to the height of a man's head, and very thick upon
the ground. He was not slow in conjecturing the cause.
He rode on to where the squaws were landing, and saw
that they were conveying rifles, tomahawks, and knives
into the sumach thickets, and hiding them. He immediately jumped into a canoe and crossed to Derr's trading house, where he found the Indians brutally drunk.
He saw a barrel of rum standing on end before Derr's
door, with the head out. He instantly overset it, and
spilled the rum, saying to Derr, " My God, Frederick,
what have you done?"   Derr replied, " Dey dells me
you gif um no dreet town on de fort, so I dinks as I gif
um one here, als he go home in bease."
One of the Indians, who saw the rum spilled, but was
unable to prevent it, told Brady that he would one day
rue the spilling of that barrel. Being well acquainted
with the Indian character, he knew death was the penalty
of this offence, and was constantly on his guard for several years.
Next day the Indians started off. They did not soon
attack the settlements, but carried arms for their allies,
the English, in other parts. Meanwhile, emigration to
the west branch continued; the settlement extended, and
Freelyng's, or Freelan's Fort was built, near the mouth
of Warrior Run, about eight miles above Derr's trading
house.




ï~~218

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY

CHAPTER V1
Fort Freelyng, a. Rallying Point-Alarm of Indian Hostilities-Cap.
tain Dougherty in command-Attack of the Indians-They force
the works and massacre the Garrison-Ecape of Brady and
Dougherty.
CONTRARY to expectation, the tomahawk remained at
rest for several years on the Susquehanna. Fort Freelyng was the rallying point in case of alarm. Spies were
out in the wilderness and margin of the settlements, and
even ventured a great distance into the Indian country
without discovering signs of hostility. The cloud that
for a while had threatened and then rolled away, was
about to return, however, darker than before, and
charged with destructive fury.
One evening a scouting party came in who had seen
signs of Indians making their way toward the Susquehanna. The neighborhood was alarmed, and fled for
safety to the fort. A council of war was held, and a
decision made, that all the women and children should
be sent down the river to Fort Augusta immediately,
and spies sent out to observe the approaching force.
The spies soon returned with intelligence that the enemy
were near two hundred strong, and that there were white
men among them.




ï~~ATTACK ON FORT FIREELYNG.

219

Fort Freelyng was commanded by Captain Dougherty,
(than whom no braver man ever lived,) who had under
his command about sixty men. After hearing the force
of the enemy, the officers agreed upon evacuating that
fort, and retiring to Fort Augusta, where, on uniting the
whole force of the country, it was there determined to
make a last and desperate defence. The Indians had
been seen skulking around the fort, and the men were
preparing for a march, when an old tory who was in the
fort, exclaimed, "Captain Dougherty, I always knew
the continental troops would not fight." Dougherty was
a man of impetuous feeling: he instantly replied, " You
d-d old rascal, we will show you we can fight; and if
the fort is betrayed, and I survive, I will sacrifice
you.
The Indians attacked the fort early in the morning,
on the upper side. On the lower was a kind of glade,
covered over thickly with large bushes, from six to seven
feet high, having a small path through to the river. The
fire of the Indians was of no great account, as they
chose to keep at a safe distance. The fire from the fort
was well directed by the best marksmen, and proved
very galling. A British officer was seen busily engaged
directing the Indians; but a lad in the fort taking deliberate aim at him, fired, and he was seen to fall-supposed to be killed or badly wounded. The attack was
suspended from a little before sunset till the next morning. The Indians during the night had hid themselves
in the bushes in order to draw the men out of the fort,
but finding the little band too circumspect for the snare,
came again to the attack with a most tremendous yell.




ï~~220

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

They finally succeeded in getting into the fort, when a
dreadful massacre ensued. Captain Dougherty kept his
eye on the old tory, and finding all was over, sent a bullet through him, with the imprecation-" Damn the
traitor!"
Every man sold his life as dear as possible; none escaped but Captain Dougherty and Samuel Brady, brother to Captain John Brady, and uncle to Captain
Samuel. They left the fort together, pursued by a host
of Indians. The hazel bushes being so thick on the side
of the fort at which they came out, it was impossible for
the enemy to follow them. Captain Dougherty, who
was an uncommonly active man, could load his rifle
whilst under the cover of the brush, and when he heard
the noise of an Indian, he could leap high enough to see
and fire upon him. Samuel Brady (known in his day
as uncle Sam) had made his way through the large
thicket and came upon a plain below. He thought it
best, as he was heard to say afterwards, to " make his
eternal escape."
He had already run a considerable distance, when on
looking back, he beheld two Indians in pursuit, one of
them, a large, dangerous looking fellow, the other of
small stature. He renerved his speed, and was getting
along pretty well, when his foot slipped into a hole, and
he fell down.   The large Indian was foremost and
armed. But Brady had fallen with a loaded rifle in his
hand, with which he shot the savage, who gave a wild
yell and fell dead. The little warrior, thinking perhaps,
there were more rifles about, wheeled and made for the
fort. At the edge of the thicket it was his fortune to




ï~~ESCAPE OF DOUGHERTY AND BRADY.          221
meet Captain Dougherty, who split his skull with the
butt of his rifle, and ran on. These two only, Dougherty and Brady, survived that day's massacre, and
brought the news to Fort Augusta. It may be supposed
that that night was one of gloom and sorrow in the little
fortress. The reader can sketch the picture according
to his own fancy.




ï~~222

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

CHAPTER VII.
Effects of the massacre at Fort Freelyng-Retreat of the IndiansCaptain John Brady commands the fort at the Muncy HillsJames Brady commands a small party of men - Attacked by
Indians-Scalped-His narrative and death-New war with the
Indians--Particular account of the death of Captain John Brady
-Captain Samuel Brady kills the Bald Eagle.
THE massacre at Fort Freelyng cast a damp on the
settlement at the West Branch, but the hardy settlers
prepared for the worst, by such measures of precaution
as their means afforded. The Indians, after committing
some further depredations, and murdering some families
in Buffalo Valley, retreated. The settlement increased,
and had reached the Muncy Hills. A fort was built at
the mouth of Muncy creek, near where Pennsboro' now
stands, the command of which was given to Captain John
Brady.
Frequent skirmishes took place between the Whites
and Indians, who resumed their old practice of harassing
the settlers by dividing themselves into small squads;
taking some prisoners, scalping others, and carrying
away or destroying the cattle and movable property of
their victims. Brady, it appears, left the fort for the
regular service, prior to the battle of Brandywine.
Shortly after the return from camp of Captain Brady




ï~~JAMES BRADY SELECTED CAPTAIN.

223

and his son, a company of men formed for the purpose
of aiding a friend to cut his oats, near the mouth of the
Loyalsock creek. James Brady, son of Captain John,
and a younger brother of Captain Samuel of the rangers,
went along. According to a custom in those days, which
was, that if no commissioned officer were present, the
company selected a leader, whom they styled " Captain,"
and readily obeyed as such, James was selected leader or
captain of this little band of about twenty men. After
arriving on the ground, they placed two sentinels at
opposite sides of the field; the other sides, having clear
land around, were not thought to require any.   The
guns were all placed together at one side of the field,
and the order was, that in case of alarm, all were to run
to the rifles.
The first day, which was spent in cradling the oats,
nothing remarkable happened; during the night, a strict
watch was kept. The next day, in the evening, one of
the sentinels fired, and cried, " Indians!"  The young
captain, without looking around for his men, ran for his
rifle. When near the guns, he was fired upon by a white
man, with a pistol. Happening to stumble over a sheaf
of oats, he fell, and the ball missed him. The Indians,
supposing him dead, ran to secure his scalp. He fell
within reach of the guns, and seizing one, he shot the
first Indian who approached him. He now discovered
that his men had fled, and left him to contend with the
savages alone. Despair rendered him but the more
determined to die gallantly. He caught another gun,
and brought down the second Indian.. They then rushed
in upon him in numbers; he was a stout, active man, and




ï~~224

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

struggled with them for some time. At length, one of
them struck his tomahawk into his head. He was
stunned with the blow, and for a time remained altogether powerless; yet, strange as it may seem, he retained
his senses. They tore the scalp from his head as he lay
ii apparent death, and it was quite a trophy to them, for
he had long red hair.
After they had scalped him, as he related afterwards, a
little Indian was called and made to strike the tomahawk
into his head in four separate places; then leaving him
for dead, they took the guns and fled to the woods.
After coming to himself, he attempted, between walking and creeping, to reach a little cabin, where was an
old man who had been employed to cook for the working
party. On hearing the report of the guns, the old man
had hid himself, but when he saw Brady return, he came
to him. James begged the old man to fly to the fort,
saying, "The Indians will soon be back, and will kill
you."  The old man refused to leave him. Brady then
requested to be taken down to the river, where he drank
large quantities of water. He still begged the old man
to leave him, and save himself, but he would not. He
next directed his old friend to load the gun that was in
the cabin, which was done, and put into his hands; he
then lay down and appeared to sleep. A noise was
suddenly heard on the bank above them; he jumped to
his feet, and cocked the gun. It was soon discovered
that the noise was made by some troops who had come
from the fort, on horseback, in pursuit.of the Indians.
They carried the brave young "Captain" to the fort,
where he lived for five days. The first four days he




ï~~DEATH OF JAMES BRADY.

225

was delirious; on the fifth, his reason returned, and he
described the whole scene he had passed through, with
great minuteness. He said the Indians were of the
Seneca tribe, and amongst them were two chiefs: that
one of those two chiefs was a very large man, and, by
the description, was supposed to be CORNPLANTER;: the
other he personally knew to be the celebrated chief
" Bald Eagle," from whom certain creeks, and the Ridge
so called, in Centre and Huntingdon counties, have their
name.   " The Bald Eagle's Nest," as his camp was
called, was for part of the year at the mouth of the creek
called "Bald Eagle," which empties into the Susquehanna
near the Great Island, and about thirty miles, by water,
from the scene of action.
On the evening of the fifth day, the young captain
died, deeply regretted by all within the fort. Vengeance,
"4not loud, but deep," was breathed against the Bald
Eagle; but he laughed it to scorn, till the fatal day at
Brady's Bend, on the Allegheny.
War with the Indians again broke out all along the
frontiers, and men of activity and courage were sent to
the forts on the West Branch, and every precaution taken
for the security of the settlements. It became necessary
to go up the river some distance to procure supplies for
the fort, and Captain John Brady, taking with him a
wagon team and guard, went himself and procured what
could be had; on his return, in the afternoon, riding a
fine mare, and within a short distance of the fort, where
the road forked, and being some distance behind the
team and guard, and in conversation with a man named
Peter Smith, he recommended it to Smith not to take
15




ï~~226

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

the road the wagon had, but the other, as it was shorter.
They traveled on together till they came near a run
where the two roads joined.   Brady observed, " This
would be a good place for Indians to secrete themselves."
Smith said, " Yes."  That instant, three rifles cracked,
and Brady fell; the mare ran past Smith, who threw
himself on her, and was carried in a few seconds to the
fort. The people in the fort heard the rifles, and seeing
Smith on the mare, coming at full speed, all ran to ask
for Captain Brady, his wife along with, or rather before
the rest. To their question, Where is Captain Brady?
Smith replied, "In Heaven, or Hell, or on his way to
Tioga,"-meaning, he was either dead, or a prisoner to
the Indians.
The men in the fort ran to the spot; the wagon guard
had also been attracted by the firing. They found the
captain lying on the road, his scalp taken off, his rifle
gone, but the Indians were in such haste that they had
not taken either his watch or his shot-pouch.
Samuel Brady, Captain of the Rangers, or Spies, for
the people called him by both names, was in Pittsburg
when he heard of his father's death.
It chanced that the party of Indians, one hundred
strong, he encountered at Brady's Bend, on the Allegheny, several years after the death of his father and his
brother James, was a war party of Senecas, under the
command of Cornplanter, on their march to the Bald
Eagle's nest, and that the Bald Eagle himself was in
company with them.
Captain Samuel Brady recognized the Bald Eagle on
that day in the pass, and fired at him, but with what ef



ï~~BALD EAGLE KILLED.              227
fect he knew not till afterwards. When the battle was
over, he searched for the Eagle's body, and found it: a
ball had pierced his heart, and the blood of the young
" Captain " at Loyalsock, was found to have been fatally
avenged by the hand of his brother, on the bank of the
Allegheny.




ï~~228

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

CHAPTER VIII.
Captain Samuel Brady proposes to a Dutchman, Phouts, to go on a
scouting expedition-Phouts accepts the proposition, and they set
out-Discover an Indian Camp-Capture an Indian who is left
with Phouts-His treachery and its punishment-Captain Brady
reports to the General.
CAPTAIN BRADY had returned from Sandusky, perhaps a week, when he was observed one evening by a
man of the name of Phouts, sitting in a solitary part of
the fort, apparently absorbed in thought. Phouts approached him unregarded, and was pained to the bottom
of his honest heart to perceive that the countenance of
his honored captain bore traces of deep care, and even
melancholy. He accosted him, however, in the best English he had, and soothingly said, " Gabtain, was ails
you?" Brady looked at him for a short time without
speaking; then resuming his usual equanimity, replied,
" I have been thinking about the red skins, and it is my
opinion there are some above us on the river. I have a
mind to pay them a visit. Now, if I get permission from
the general to do so, will you go along?" Phouts was
a stout, thick Dutchman, of uncommon strength and activity. He was also well acquainted with the woods.
When Brady had ceased speaking, Phouts raised him



ï~~PHOUTS CONSENTS TO GO WITH BRADY.       229
self on tip-toe, and bringing his heels hard down on the
ground, by way of emphasis, his eyes full of fire, said,
" By dunder und lightnin, I would rader go mit you,
Gabtain, as to any of te finest weddins in tis guntry."
Brady told him to keep quiet, and say nothing about it,
as no man in the fort must know anything of the expedition except General Brodhead, bidding Phouts call at
his tent in an hour. He then went to the general's
quarters, whom he found reading. After the usual topics
were discussed, Brady proposed for consideration, his
project of ascending the Allegheny, with but one man in
company; stating his reasons for apprehending a descent
from that quarter by the Indians. The general gave his
consent; at parting, took him by the hand in a friendly
manner, advising him how to proceed, and charging him
particularly to be careful of his own life, and that of the
men or man whom he might select to accompany him;
so affectionate were the general's admonitions, and so
great the emotion he displayed, that Brady left him with
tears in his eyes, and repaired to his tent where he
found Phouts in deep conversation with one of his pet
Indians.
He told Phouts of his success with the general, and
that, as it was early in the light of the moon, they must
get ready and be off betimes.
They immediately set about cleaning their guns, preparing their ammunition, and having secured a small
quantity of salt, they lay down together, and slept
soundly until about two hours before daybreak. Brady
awoke first, and stirring Phouts, each took down the
"deadly rifle," and whilst all but the sentinels were




ï~~230

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

wrapt in sleep, they left the little fort, and in a short
time found themselves deep buried in the forest. That
day they marched through woods never traversed by
either of them before; following the general course of
the river, they reached a small creek that put in from
the Pittsburg side; it was near night when they got
there, and having no provision, they concluded to remain
there all night.
Phouts struck a fire, and after having kindled a little,
they covered it up with leaves and brush, to keep it in.
They then proceeded up the creek to look for game.
About a mile from the mouth of the creek, a run comes
into it; upon this run was a lick apparently much frequented by deer. They placed themselves in readiness,
and in a short time two deer came in; Phouts shot one,
which they skinned and carried over to their fire, and
during the night jerked a great part of it. In the morning they took what they could carry of jerked, and hung
the remainder on a small tree, in the skin, intending,
if they were spared to return, to call for it on their way
homeward.
Next morning they started early and traveled hard all
day; near evening they espied a number of crows hovering over the tops of the trees, near the bank of the river.
Brady told Phouts that there were Indians in the neighborhood, or else the men who were expected from Susquehanna at Pittsburg where they encamped, or had been
some time before.
Phouts was anxious to go down and see, but Brady
forbade him, telling him at the same time, " We must
secrete ourselves till after night, when fires will be made




ï~~DISCOVER AN INDIAN CAMP.

231

by them, be they whom they may."  Accordingly, they
hid themselves amongst fallen timber, and remained so
till about ten o'clock at night. But even then they could
still see no fire. Brady concluded there must be a hill
or thick woods between him and where the crows were
seen, and decided on leaving his hiding place to ascertain the fact; Phouts accompanied him. They walked
with the utmost caution down towards the river bank,
and had gone about two hundred yards, when they observed the twinkling of a fire, at some distance on their
right. They at first thought the river made a very short
bend, but on proceeding further they discovered that it
was a fork or brahich of the river, probably the Kiskeminetas. Brady desired Phouts to stay where he was, intending to go himself to the fire, and see who was there;
but Phouts refused, saying, " No, by George, I vill see
too."  They approached the fire together, but with the
utmost care; and from appearances judged it to be an
Indian encampment, much too large to be attacked by
them.
Having resolved to ascertain the number of the enemy,
the captain of the spies and his brave comrade went close
up to the fire, and discovered an old Indian sitting beside
a tree near the fire, either mending or making a pair of
moccasins.
Phouts, who never thought of danger, was for shooting the Indian immediately; but Brady prevented him.
After examining carefully around the camp, he was of
opinion that the number by which it was made had been
large, but that they were principally absent. He determined on knowing more in the morning. and forcing




ï~~232

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

Phouts away with him, who was bent on killing the old
Indian, he retired a short distance into the woods to
await the approach of day. As soon as it appeared, they
returned to the camp again, but saw no living thing,
except the old Indian, a dog, and a horse.
Brady wished to see the country around the camp, and
understand its features better; for this purpose he kept
at some distance from it, and examined about, till he
got on the river above it. Here he found a large trail
of Indians, who had gone up the Allegheny: to his judgment it appeared to have been made one or two days
before. Upon seeing this, he concluded on going back
to the camp, and taking the old Indian prisoner.
Supposing the old savage to have arms about him, and
not wishing to run the risk of the alarm the report of a
rifle might create, if Indians were in the neighborhood,
Brady determined to seize the old fellow single handed,
without doing him further "scathe," and carry him off
to Pittsburg. With this view both crept toward the camp
again very cautiously. When they came so near as to
perceive him, the Indian was lying on his back, with his
head towards them.
Brady ordered Phouts to remain where he was, and
not to fire at all, unless the dog should attempt to assist
his master. In that case he was to shoot the dog, but
by no means to hurt the Indian. The plan being arranged,
Brady dropped his rifle, and, tomahawk in hand, silently
crept towards the " old man of the woods," till within a
few feet, then raising himself up, he made a spring like a
panther, and with a yell that awakened the echoes round,
seized the Indian hard and fast by the throat. The old




ï~~TREACHERY OF THE INDIAN.

man struggled a little at first, but Brady's was the grip
of a lion; holding his tomahawk, over the head of his
prisoner, he bade him surrender, as he valued his life.
The dog behaved very civilly; he merely growled a little.
Phouts came up and they tied their prisoner. On examining the camp they found nothing of value except
some powder and lead, which they threw into the river.
When the Indian learned that he was to be taken to
Piittsburg, and would be kindly treated, he showed them
a canoe which they stepped into with their prisoner and
his dog, and were soon afloat on the smooth bosom of the
Allegheny.
They paddled swiftly along for the purpose of reaching
the mouth of the run on which they had encamped coming up; for Brady had left his wiping rod there. It was
late when they got to the creek's mouth. They landed,
made a fire, and all laid down to sleep.
As soon as day light appeared, the captain started to
where their jerk was hanging, leaving Phouts in charge
of the prisoner and his canoe. He had not left the camp
long, till the Indian complained to Phouts that the cords
upon his wrist hurt him. He had probably discovered
that in Phout's composition there was a much larger proportion of kindness than of fear. The Dutchman at once
took off the cords, and the Indian was, or pretended to
be, very grateful.
Phouts was busied with something else in a minute,
and had left his gun standing by a tree. The moment
the Indian saw that the eye of the other was not upon
hinm, he sprung to the tree, seized the gun, and the first
Phouts knew was that it was cooked, and at his breast,




ï~~24

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

whereupon he let out a most magnificent roar and jumped
at the Indian. But the trigger was pulled, and the
bullet whistled past him, taking with it a part of his shotpouch belt. One stroke of the Dutchman's tomahawk
settled the Indian forever, and nearly severed the head
from his body.
Brady heard the report of the rifle, and the yell of
Phouts; and supposing all was not right, ran instantly to
the spot, where he found the latter sitting on the body
of the Indian, examining the rent in his shot-pouch belt.
"In the name of Heaven," said Brady, "what have you
done!" 1'"Yust look, Gabtain," said the fearless Dutchman, "vas dis d       d black b ---h vas apout;"
holding up to view the hole in his belt. He then related
what has been stated with respect to his untying the
Indian, and the attempt of the latter to kill him. They
then took off the scalp of the Indian, got their canoe,
took in the Indian's dog, and returned to Pittsburg, the
fourth day after their departure.
The captain related to the general what he had seen,
and gave it as his opinion, that the Indians whose camp
he had discovered, were about making an attack upon
the Susquehanna settlement. The general was of the
same opinion, and was much affected by the information;
for he had just made a requisition upon the country for
men, and he had been expecting them on every day. He
now feared that the Indians would either draw them into
an ambuscade and cut them off, or fall upon their families,
rendered defenceless by their absence.




ï~~BRADY GETS INTO TROUBLE.

235

CHAPTER IX.
Captain Brady acts as leader of a scouting party in the French Creek
country-Falls on a trail-Attacks the Indians in front and rearPeril and flight-Brady's famous leap-Return to PittsburgAmusing instance of Indian superstition-Brady's marriage and
family--His character.
THE injuries inflicted on the Indians by the troops
under General Brodhead, quieted the country for some
time; he kept spies out, however, for the purpose of
watching their motions, and guarding against sudden
attacks on the settlements.   One of these parties, under
the command of Captain Brady, had the French creek
country assigned as their field of duty.
The captain had reached the waters of Slippery Rock,
a branch of Beaver, without seeing any signs of Indians;
here, however, he came on an Indian trail in the evening,
which he followed till dark, without overtaking the
Indians. The next morning, he renewed the pursuit,
and overtook them while they were engaged at their
morning meal.
Unfortunately for him, another party of Indians were
in his rear; they had fallen upon his trail, and pursued
him doubtless with as much ardor as characterized his
pursuit, and at the moment he fired upon the Indians in




ï~~236

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

his front, he was, in turn, fired upon by those inm ms
rear. He was now between two fires, and vastly outnumbered. Two of his men fell, his tomahawk was shot
from his side, and the battle yell was given by the party
in his rear, and loudly returned and repeated by those in
his front.
There was no time for hesitation, no safety in delay,
no chance for successful defence in their present position;
the brave captain and his rangers had to flee before
their enemies, who pressed on their flying footsteps with
no lagging speed.
Brady ran towards the creek.     He was known by
many, if not all of them, and many and deep were the
scores to be settled between him and them. They knew
the country well; he did not; and from his running
towards the creek, they were certain of taking him
prisoner. The creek was, for a long distance above and
below the point he was approaching, washed in its
channel to a great depth. In the certain expectation
of catching him there, the private soldiers of his party
were disregarded, and throwing down their guns, and
drawing their tomahawks, all pressed forward to seize
their victim.
Quick of eye, fearless of heart, and determined never
to be a captive to the Indians, Brady comprehended their
object and his only chance of escape, the moment he saw
the creek; and by one mighty effort of courage and
activity, defeated the one, and effected the other. He
sprang across the abyss of waters, and stood, rifle in
hand, on the opposite bank, in safety. As quick as
lightning his rifle was primed, for it was his invariable




ï~~BRADY'S LEAP.

237

practice to prime first; the next minute, the powder-horn
was at the gun's muzzle, when, as he was in this act, a
large Indian, who had been foremost in pursuit, came to
the opposite bank, and with the manliness of a generous
foe, who scorns to undervalue the qualities of an enemy,
said, in a loud voice and tolerable English, " Blady make
good jump."
It may indeed be doubted whether the compliment was
uttered in derision, for the moment he had said so, he
took to his heels, and, as if fearful of the return it might
merit, ran as crooked as a worm fence---sometimes leaping
high, at others suddenly squatting down, he appeared no
ways certain that Brady would not answer from the
mouth of his rifle, but the rifle was not yet loaded.
The Captain was at the place afterwards, and ascertained that his leap was about twenty-three feet, and
that the water was twenty feet deep.
Brady's next effort was to gather up his men; they
had a place designated at which to meet, in case they
should happen to be separated; and thither he went and
found the other three. They immediately commenced
their homeward march, and returned to Pittsburg, about
half defeated. Three Indians had been seen to fall, from
the fire they gave them at breakfast.
The Indians did not return that season to do any
injury to the Whites; and early that fall, moved off to
their friends, the British, who had to keep them all
winter, their corn having been destroyed by Brodhead.
When the General found the Indians were gone, at the
suggestion of Brady, three companies were ordered out,
with a sufficient number of pack-horses, to kill game for




ï~~238

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

the supply of the garrison.  These companies were
commanded by Captains Harrison, Springer, and Brady.
Game was very plenty, for neither Whites nor Indians
ventured to hunt, and great quantities were put up.
In putting up his tent, Captain Brady's tomahawk
had slipped and cut his knee, by which he was lamed for
some time. This occasioned him to remain at the tents
until he got well, which afforded him the opportunity of
witnessing some of the peculiar superstitions of his Indian
allies, for he had his Indians and their families along
with him.
One of these Indians had assumed the name of Wilson.
The captain was lying in his tent one afternoon, and
observed his man Wilson coming home in a great hurry,
and that as he met his squaw, he gave her a kick, without
saying a word, and began to unbreech his gun. The
squaw went away, and returned soon after, with some
roots, which she had gathered; and, after washing them
clean, she put them into a kettle to boil. While boiling,
Wilson corked up the muzzle of his gun, and stuck the
breech into the kettle, and continued it there until the
plug flew out of the muzzle. He then took it out and
put it into the stock. Brady, knowing the Indians were
very " superstitious," as we call it, did not speak to him
until he saw him wiping his gun. He then called to him,
and asked what was the matter. Wilson came to the
captain, and said, in reply, that his gun had been very
sick-that she could not shoot; he had been just giving
her a vomit, and she was now well. Whether the vomit
helped the gun, or only strengthened Wilson's nerves,




ï~~BRADY'S CAPTURE.

239

the Captain could not tell, but he averred that Wilson
killed ten deer the next day.
Beaver valley, says Mr. De Haas, was the scene of
many of Captain Brady's stirring adventures. We have
recently visited some of the interesting localities celebrated as Brady's theatre of action, and heard from
many of the older citizens their accounts of his thrilling
exploits. They speak in unbounded terms of admiration
of his daring and success;.his many hair-breadth escapes
by "field and flood;" and always concluded by declaring that he was a greater man than Daniel Boone or
Lewis Wetzel, either of whom, in the eyes of the old pioneers, were the very embodiment of dare-devilism.
The following, illustrating one of Brady's adventures
in the region referred to, we give from a published source.
In one of his trapping and hunting excursions, he was
surprised and taken prisoner by Indians who had closely
watched his movements.
" To have shot or tomahawked him would have been
but a small gratification to that of satiating their revenge
by burning him at a slow fire, in presence of all the Indians of their village. He was therefore taken alive to
their encampment, on the west bank of the Beaver river,
about a mile and a half from its mouth. After the
usual exultations and rejoicings at the capture of a noted
enemy, and causing him to run the gauntlet, a fire was
prepared, near which Brady was placed, after being
stripped, and with his arms unbound.
Previous to tying him to the stake, a large circle was
formed around of Indian men, women, and children,
dancing and yelling, and uttering all manner of threats




ï~~240

CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.

and abuses that their small knowledge of the English
language could afford. The prisoner looked on these
preparations for death, and on his savage foe with a firm
countenance, and a steady eye, meeting all their threats
with truly savage fortitude. In the midst of their dancing and rejoicing, a squaw of one of their chiefs came
near him with a child in her arms. Quick as thought
and with intuitive prescience, he snatched it from her,
and threw it into the midst of the flames. Horrorstricken at the sudden outrage, the Indians simultaneously
rushed to rescue the infant from the fire. In the midst
of this confusion, Brady darted from the circle, overturning all that came in his way, and rushed into the
adjacent thicket, with the Indians yelling at his heels.
He ascended the steep side of a hill amidst a shower of
bullets, and darting down the opposite declivity, secreted
himself in the deep ravines and laurel thickets that
abound for several miles to the west. His knowledge
of the country and wonderful activity enabled him to
elude his enemies, and reach the settlements in safety."
Captain Brady married a daughter of Captain Van
Swearengen, of Ohio county, who bore him two children,
John and Van S., both of whom are still living. Captain
Brady possessed all the elements of a brave and successful soldier. Like Marion, " he consulted with all his
men respectfully, heard them patiently, weighed their
suggestions, and silently approached his own conclusions.
They knew his determination only by his actions."
Brady had but few superiors as a woodsman: he would
strike out into the heart of the wilderness, and with no
guide, but the sun by day, and the stars by night, or in




ï~~HIS SUPERIORITY AS A WOODMAN.         241
their absence, then by such natural marks as the bark
and tops of trees he would move on steadily, in a direct
line toward the point of his destination. He always
avoided beaten paths and the borders of streams; and
never was known to leave his track behind him. In this
manner he eluded pursuit, and defied detection. He
was often vainly hunted by his own men, and was more
likely to find them, than they him.
16




ï~~


ï~~GOVERNOR ISAAC SHELBY.
(243)




ï~~


ï~~GOVERNOR ISAAC SHELBY.
CHAPTER I.
Birth and parentage of Isaac Shelby-The old French war-Evan
Shelby, Isaac's father, serves in it as a captain of rangers-Isaac
Shelby's education-Appointed deputy Sheriff--Removal of the
family to the West-Dunmore's war-Isaac and Evan Shelby at
the battle of Point Pleasant.
ISAAc SHELBY was born December 11th, 1750, near
Hagerstown, Maryland. His father was General Evan
Shelby, a native of Wales, but who came with his father
to America when but a boy, and settled in the abovementioned colony. The constant danger to which every
emigrant was then exposed, from the incursions of the
Indians, made his life one of continued activity and danger. Nature had fitted him for such scenes, and he
soon became one of the most distinguished in resisting
and avenging the outrages of the savages. Soon after a
more formidable foe appeared, and the colonies became
involved in the old French war. The horrors of that
terrible period are familiar to all; men were called from
(245)




ï~~246

GOVERNOR ISAAC SHELBY.

their peaceful cottages, not to face a regular foe in regular battle, but to wander through wilds, and swamps,
and forests in vain quest of a few straggling savages,
who perhaps the evening before had fired the dwelling
of their neighbor, and butchered the inmates. In such
scenes as these Shelby won for himself a high reputation
for coolness, bravery, and unremitting labor.  Before
the war ended, we find him a captain of rangers. iHe
behaved himself handsomely in the expeditions against
Fort du Quesne, and in the one under Forbes he was
intrusted with the command of the advance. Throughout his subsequent career, and especially in the revolution, he continued to serve his country in a manner creditable to himself, and beneficial to it.
The education, then, of young Shelby, like that of
most other heroes of the revolution, was derived from
the scenes of activity and danger around him; and although sent to school at a tender age, his attainments in
learning do not seem to have advanced further than the
rudiments of a plain English education. His habits and
character were similar to those of his parent. Before
he was twenty-one years old, we find him acting as deputy sheriff for Frederick county, an office which he
seems to have filled with ability. When of age, he removed with his father to the Western waters of Virginia,
beyond the Allegheny mountains, where he was principally engaged in tending cattle.
Early in the year 1774, difficulties took place among
the north-western Indians, in consequence of their illtreatment by the Whites. Several parties were murdered
in cold blood by some colonists under Cresap and Great



ï~~THE BATTLE AT POINT PLEASANT.

247

house; no age nor sex were spared. Among the slain
were some relatives of the distinguished warrior, Logan,
and he immediately determined on revenge. Through
his influence the Delawares, Shawanese, Cayugas, and
other tribes, united in an attack upon a settlement on
the Muskingum, where one man was killed and two were
taken. On the reception of this news, the Virginia legislature ordered the raising of three thousand troops,
part of whom were to act on the Great Kanhawa, and
the other against the settlements more remote.  The
first, consisting of eleven hundred men, under General
Lewis, marched to Point Pleasant, and encamped to wait
the arrival of Governor Dunmore, who led the other division. On the 10th of October, intelligence reached
the general that a large body of Indians was rapidly approaching, and soon after a reconnoitering party, which
had been advanced by the commander, was driven back,
with the loss of Colonel Lewis, brother of the general,
and some others. Another regiment was now advanced,
and the Indians took refuge in a log breast-work, from
whence they poured a heavy fire upon the provincials.
A savage combat ensued, which lasted till late in the
afternoon, during which General Lewis lost many men,
including Colonels Field and Fleming.   The Indians
were commanded by Red Eagle, Logan, Cornstalk, and
other chiefs, and fought with such determined bravery
that the commander found it necessary to throw a detachment in their rear. The care of this body was intrusted
to Captain Shelby, assisted by Captains Stewart and
Matthews. He attacked the enemy with such vigor that
they fled in dismay across the river, supposing that a




ï~~248           GOVERNOR ISAAO SHELBY.
reinforcement had arrived. The Americans lost fiftyfive killed, and eighty-seven wounded; the loss of the
Indians was never ascertained.
Both Isaac Shelby and his father were in this battle,
and the former acted as lieutenant in his parent's company. A fortification was subsequently erected on the
ground, and the defence of it intrusted to young Shelby.
This post he occupied about nine months, when it was
destroyed by order of the governor.




ï~~SHELBY IN FAVOR OF THE REVOLUTION.

249

CHAPTER II.
Shelby in favor of the Revolution-Appointed commissary of supplies-Ferguson's riflemen-Shelby raises a force and marches into
the Carolinas-Shelby, Clark, and Sevier, capture the British garrison at Pacolet-The march towards King's Mountain-Affair at
Cedar Spring-Affair on the Enoree river-News of the battle of
Camden-Retreat to the mountains-A force raised and marched
to attack Ferguson-Arrival at King's Mountain-The battle of
King's Mountain-Total defeat of Ferguson--Shelby's important
services.
SHELBY was a warm advocate of the rights of the
colonists against the aggressions of the mother country.
He thought much upon the subject, and although possessing little influence beyond the circle of his personal
acquaintance, yet he exerted himself with them in a manner altogether praiseworthy. In 1777, he was appointed
commissary of supplies for a large body of militia, which,
though an arduous task, was performed with satisfaction
to all. He was also intrusted with the defence of the
back settlements, and with the provisions of a treaty
soon to be concluded with the Cherokee Indians. In the
two following years he was chiefly occupied in obtaining
supplies for different portions of the army, when he acted
with his usual energy and sound judgment.
In 1780, the distressed condition of the southern




ï~~250

GOVERNOR ISAAC SHELBY.

country made the services of every true patriot doubly
valuable. The success of Cornwallis and his officers,
together with the dissatisfaction existing in that portion
of the Union, caused many of the friends of Congress
to despair of ultimate success. A few there were, however, whom no misfortune could dampen, no danger intimidate. They maintained the conflict amid swamps,
forests, and mountains, and though not obtaining any
decisive victory, tended to harass the enemy and keep
alive the spirit of opposition.
In the summer of this year, Colonel Ferguson's riflemen had become very famous for their success against
American scouting parties, and their general conduct in
battle. They were considered the best marksmen of
Cornwallis's army, and being used to success, considered
themselves as invincible.
This officer was detached to raise a royal militia from
among the disaffected inhabitants, and was so active and
successful, that in a short time he found himself at the
head of about twenty-five hundred men. At the same
time, his efforts incited corresponding exertion among
the friends of Congress, and active partisans had collected
a small force and united with each other, to act as circumstances might warrant. Shelby was then in Virginia;
but receiving notice of these movements, he exerted
himself in raising a small force, with which he marched
into the Carolinas. He joined the camp of General
McDowell, with three hundred men, and soon after, in
company with Lieutenant-Colonels Clark and Sevier, he
was sent to attack a British garrison on the Pacolet.
The enemy were commanded by Captain Patrick Moore,




ï~~SKIRMISH AT CEDAR SPRING.

251

and occupied a strong and well-defended fort. Moore
surrendered without firing a shot, and nearly a hundred
royalists, with two hundred and fifty muskets, fell into
the hands of the Americans.
This affair gave renewed energy to the patriots of that
quarter, and numbers of militia joined themselves to the
different commanders. Colonels Clark and Shelby hastened on toward Ferguson's force, to harass his movements and intercept supplies.     Meanwhile, Colonels
Campbell, of Virginia, Cleveland and McDowell, of North
Carolina, and Lacey, Hill, and Hawthorn, of South
Carolina, were actively engaged in the same enterprise.
The difficulties undergone by these gallant officers and
their men were appalling.  " Some of them subsisted,"
says Ramsay, " for weeks together without tasting bread,
or salt, or spirituous liquors, and slept in the woods
without blankets. The running stream quenched their
thirst; at night the earth afforded them a bed, and the
heavens, or at most, the limbs of trees, were their only
covering. Ears of corn or pumpkins thrown into the
fire, with occasional supplies of beef or venison, killed
and roasted in the woods, were the chief articles of their
provisions."
Some attempts of the British officer to attack Colonel
Shelby at a disadvantage were unsuccessful. On the
first of August, however, his van engaged the American
force at Cedar Spring, and a skirmish took place, which
lasted half an hour.  The British main body then approached, and Shelby and Clark retreated, with about
fifty prisoners. A rapid pursuit commenced, but the




ï~~252

GOVERNOR ISAAC SHELBY.

enemy were baffled, and the two colonels, with their
prisoners, placed beyond danger.
This affair gained the commendation of General
McDowell, who, soon after, sent Shelby, Clark, and Williams, against a body of tories and mounted militia stationed on the Enoree river. On the 19th of August,
after riding all night, they encountered a party of Ferguson's army, with whom they exchanged shots, and a
few were killed on both sides. The colonels were on the
point of advancing, when a farmer arrived with the intelligence, that on the previous day, Ferguson had been
reinforced by six hundred regulars. This news disconcerted the original plan, and it became equally dangerous
to advance or retreat.
Captain Inman was sent with twenty-five men to
harass the enemy, and the remainder determined to construct a fort of logs and brush, and await the arrival of
the British. Inman soon became engaged, and by an
artful retreat, drew the whole force of the enemy in disorder after him, while fondly hoping that they had defeated the whole American force. The colonel led them
to within one hundred yards of the log fort; when the
next moment they received a heavy fire from the concealed garrison. A fierce battle then ensued, and the
Americans were driven from their breastwork; but at
this critical moment, the British commander, Innes, their
last surviving officer, was shot down, together with the
leader of the tories, Captain Hawsey, and the enemy
broke in disorder. They were pursued across the Enoree.
In this spirited action they lost one hundred and fifty
wounded and captured, and sixty-three killed. The




ï~~RETREAT TO THE MOUNTAINS.

258

Americans had four killed, including the lamented Captain Inman, and nine wounded. Among the latter were
Colonel Clark and Captain Clark.
As soon as Ferguson received notice of this defeat, he
hurried on his whole force in hope of overtaking the
victors, and recovering the prisoners. The party hurried to their horses, and were on the point of starting
on another enterprise, when an express reached them
with news of the total defeat of General Gates at Camden, and urging immediate retreat, as the British were
maturing plans to cut off all the partisan corps. Their
situation was now one of imminent danger. A vastly
superior enemy was before and behind, men and horses
were worn down by excessive labor and privation, and
they were encumbered with prisoners. Their plan was
soon formed; they resolved to retreat by the mountains,
and in order to receive as little interruption as possible
from the prisoners, they divided them equally among the
parties, assigning  one to every three men.      They
marched a night and two days without dismounting for a
single moment, while the army of Ferguson was in close
pursuit. The Americans, however, gained the mountains, and were safe. The prisoners were secured, and
Shelby pushed on to the Western Waters in Virginia.
Baffled of the fruits of his toilsome march, Ferguson established himself at Gilbert-town, and issued proclamations against the rebels of the surrounding district. He
was soon to feel that the spirit of opposition, though
smothered, was not extinguished. At the instigation of
Shelby, himself, Sevier, and Campbell, collected about
one thousand men at Doe Run, among the Alleghenies,




ï~~254

GOVERNOR ISAAC SHELBY.

and determined to fall upon Ferguson at night. On
the 26th of September they commenced their march,
and were soon joined by Colonels Cleveland, Lacey, and
Williams, with six hundred men, all burning to avenge
late outrages of the tories. By the recommendation of
Colonel Shelby, Colonel Campbell was appointed commander, and immediately set out with nine hundred
and ten horsemen.
Undoubtedly for devotedness to the object, and unflinching perseverance, this pursuit had few equals during the war. A great part of the time they rode through
rain so excessive, as to compel the men to wrap their
clothing around their firelocks, to prevent the spoiling
of the powder; and although within convenient distance
of several bodies of tories, they did not turn from their
course to attack them.  On the 7th of October, 1780,
they came up with Ferguson, strongly encamped on
King's Mountain. He had taken up this position, preparatory to attacking Colonel Clark, who was returning
from an unsuccessful assault upon Augusta. The Americans formed themselves into three divisions; the right was
led by Sevier, and included the companies of McDowell
and Winston; the left by Cleveland, and the centre by
Campbell and Shelby. When near the enemy, the whole
force dismounted, and the right wing marched to the
attack, while the remaining columns took a circuitous
route in order to fall upon the enemy at different points.
Cleveland's men opened a galling fire from behind trees,
but were furiously charged with the bayonet, and compelled to give way. At this moment, Colonel Shelby
opened his fire, also from among the trees; Ferguson




ï~~BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN.

255

met this new danger with unshaken fortitude, and the
colonel was obliged to retire. Campbell had now gained
the summit, and he opened with deadly effect, but was
also forced from  his position.  The whole American
force then returned together, and the battle raged with
great fury for nearly an hour. Ferguson then received
a ball and fell dead; and soon after the enemy beat a
parley. Terms were immediately adopted, and the whole
force became prisoners of war.
The loss of the British in this affair was three hundred killed and wounded, and one hundred regulars, and
seven hundred royalists taken.    The Americans lost
about sixty.   Colonel Williams of South Carolina, a
most active and esteemed officer, was killed. Fifteen
hundred muskets and a large quantity of stores fell into
the hands of the victors.
The news of this important event filled the patriots
of the south with exultation, and tended to atone in a
small degree for the defeat of Gates. The legislature of
North Carolina voted their thanks to the men and officers, together with a sword to each of the latter.
A large share of the glory of this battle is justly due
to Colonel Shelby, not only for his undaunted courage
and general good conduct while before Ferguson, but inasmuch as its plan originated with him. He is also said
to have suggested the detaching of Morgan from the
main army, which advice was followed by General
Greene, and resulted in the battle of the Cowpens.




ï~~256

GOVERNOR ISAAC SHELBY.

CHAPTER III.
Shelby sent on special service by General Greene--Shelby at Monk's
Corner-Shelby a member of the North Carolina Assembly-His
services there-His marriage-Settles in Kentucky-Civil services
-Elected first governor of Kentucky-Services in the war of 1812
-Governor Shelby raises an army and marches to CanadaGovernor Shelby at the battle of the Thames-Testimonies of
General Harrison and President Monroe to Shelby's merit-He
retires to private life-Declines to be Secretary of War-Assists
at the Chickasaw treaty-His death.
WHEN Lord Cornwallis had been driven into Virginia
by General Greene, the latter officer ordered Colonel
Shelby to march from the Western waters with five
hundred riflemen, in order to join Marion, and assist in
cutting off the anticipated retreat of his lordship through
North   Carolina.    This was in the autumn of 1781.
Shelby joined the American general, but the fall of
Yorktown soon after changed the proposed plan, and
Marion was ordered to the south.
At this time the British held a strong post near
Monk's Corner, but where a number of Hessians were
understood to be in a state of mutiny. In order to take
advantage of this circumstance, Marion detached Colonel
Mayhem with a strong body of dragoons, who were ordered to push their operations with vigor, as the army




ï~~SHELBY MADE CHIEF MAGISTRATE.

257

of the enemy was within a few miles. Shelby was the
second in command.     On arriving before the enemy,
the colonel ascertained that the disaffected soldiers had
been sent to Charleston. The British regulars surrendered. This was the last active service performed by
Colonel Shelby during the Revolution.    He obtained
leave to attend the North Carolina Assembly, and the
acknowledgment of our independence by Great Britain
soon terminated the war.
While a member of the assembly, he gave repeated
proofs of legal and diplomatic ability, and was appointed
on several important committees. When the war closed,
he married a daughter of Captain Nathaniel Hart, and
settled in  Kentucky.    He assisted at the Convention which separated that territory from Virginia, and
the one that formed a constitution; and was elected the
first governor of Kentucky.
From this period until the war of 1812, Governor
Shelby seldom appears on the stage of public events.
At that time he was recalled from retirement by a second
election to the office of chief magistrate of the state.
This was, perhaps, the most trying period of his life;
the western frontier, for hundreds of miles, was bordered
by tribes of hostile Indians, urged on to deeds of barbarism by Tecumseh and British emissaries, and safe
from retaliation in impenetrable forests. It was the
duty of the governor to defend his territory, to do which
an army was to be raised immediately from among men
who had never been in battle, and had no knowledge of
military operations.
Notwithstanding these difficulties, the governor assidu17




ï~~258

GOVERNOR ISAAC SHELBY.

ously labored at his difficult task, and although still further embarrassed by the surrender of General Hull, he
succeeded in organizing an army of four thousand men,
with which he marched in person into Canada.     He
fought under General Harrison at the Thames, where his
conduct, notwithstanding his advanced age, elicited the
greatest applause.  "The venerable governor of Kentucky," says Harrison, in his official dispatch, " at the age
of sixty-six, preserves all the vigor of youth, the ardent
zeal which distinguished him in the revolutionary war,
and the undaunted bravery which he manifested at
King's Mountain."   Aid again, "In communicating to
the President my opinion of the conduct of the officers
who served under my command, I am at a loss how to
mention that of Governor Shelby, being convinced that
no eulogium of mine can reach his merits. The governor
of an independent state, greatly my superior in years, in
experience, and in military character, he placed himself
under my command, and was not more remarkable for
his zeal and activity, than for the promptitude and
cheerfulness with which he obeyed my orders."
In President Madison's annual message of December
7th, 1813, he says, "This result [the victory of the
Thames] is signally honorable to Major-General Harrison, by whose military talents it was prepared, and to
the spirit of the volunteer militia, equally brave and patriotic, who bore an interesting part in the scene; more
especially to the chief magistrate of Kentucky at the
head of them, whose heroism, signalized in the war which
established the independence of his country, sdught, at




ï~~SHELBY'S DEATH.                259
an advanced age, a share in hardships and battles for
maintaining its rights and its safety.
At the close of the war he retired to private life, and
for about three years lived in domestic seclusion. He
thought proper to decline the office of Secretary of War,
tendered to him at the accession of President Monroe,
but was subsequently engaged with General Jackson in
negotiating the " Chickasaw treaty," by which the possessions of that tribe, west of the Tennessee, were ceded
to the United States.
Governor Shelby died on the 18th of July 1826, at
the age of seventy-six.    His disease was apoplexy;
but he had been for some years afflicted by lameness,
resulting from a paralytic attack.




ï~~


ï~~JESSE HUGHES AND ELIAS HUGHES.
(261)




ï~~


ï~~JESSE HUGHES AND ELIAS HUGHES.
CHAPTER I.
Jesse Hughes and his brother, Elias, among the frontier heroes of
Western Virginia-Elias the last survivor of the battle of Point
Pleasant - Thomas Hughes settled at Clarksburg - Jesse and
Elias in a company of Rangers-Surprise and escape-Affair with
the Indians at West's Fort-Jesse Hughes appointed Captain, to
succeed Captain Booth-Relieves the garrison at West's FortSurprise of the party at Leading Creek-Chastisement of the Indians-A party of horse-stealing Indians punished-Elias Hughes'
contest with an Indian-Capture and ransom of Jesse Hughes's
daughter.
THE noble and disinterested men who first settled the
West, have now nearly all passed from the theatre of
life. Their equals in courage and patriotism can scarcely
be found in the records of history.
Among these heroic spirits two brothers, Jesse and
Elias Hughes, figured in the frontier wars of Western
Virginia.   They were both remarkable men.         As early
as 1774, Elias bore arms at the age of 18, and was,
doubtless, at the period of his death, which occurred as
(263)




ï~~264

JESSE HUGHES AND ELIAS HUGHES.

lately as the 22d of March, 1845, the last survivor of
the memorable battle of Point Pleasant, on the 10th of
October, 1774. This was the hardest fight ever sustained with the Indians, it having lasted from early in
the morning till near night, several persons perishing
from exhaustion in the course of the day.
Thomas Hughes, the head of the family, had emigrated from the south branch of the Potomac, and established himself with his wife and children at Clarksburg,
Harrison county, on the head waters of the Monongahela, at that period on the frontiers of the white settlements. In this region, periodically invaded by Indians,
the brothers, Jesse and Elias, served their apprenticeship
to border warfare.
In 1777, Jesse, who was twenty-two, and Elias twenty
years of age, attached themselves to a company of spies,
or rangers, raised by Captain James Booth for the protection of the settlements. At one time, the brothers
being out on a scout, they examined the localities of the
enemy near the steep bank of a run, made a smoke of
rotten wood to keep off the gnats, and lay down upon
their arms for the night, their moccasins tied to the
breech of their guns. Some time after, hearing something like the snapping of a stick, and looking in the direction, they saw at a distance three Indians approaching.
Instantly the young men sprang to their feet, leaped down
the bank and over the run. The Indians in pursuit, not
knowing the place so well, fell down the bank. The
Whites hearing the plash, stopped an instant, put on their
moccasins, raised a yell, and put off at full speed, leaving
the Indians to take care of themselves.




ï~~ATTACK ON THREE WOMEN.

265

In the middle of June, three women went out from
West's Fort to gather greens in an adjoining field, and
while thus engaged, were fired on by one individual of a
party of four Indians. The ball passed through the bonnet of a Mrs. Hacker, who screamed, and with the others
ran towards the fort. An Indian having in his hand a
long staff mounted with a spear, pursuing closely after
them, thrust it with so much violence at a Mrs. Freeman,
another of the women, that, entering her back just below
the shoulder, it came out at her left breast. With his
tomahawk, he cleft the upper part of the head, and carried it off to save the scalp.
The screams of the women alarmed the men in the
fort, and seizing their rifles, they ran out just as Mrs.
Freeman fell; a few shots were fired at the Indian while
he was tugging away at the scalp, but without effect, except so far as to warn the men outside of the fort that
danger was at hand, and they quickly came in. Among
these were Jesse Hughes, and a comrade named John
Schooleraft, who, while they were getting in, discovered
two Indians standing by the fence, and looking so intently towards the men at the fort as not to perceive any
one else. Hughes and Schooleraft being unarmedhaving left their guns in the fort, stepped to one side and
made their way in safely. Hughes, his brother, and four
others, armed themselves and went out to bring in the
dead body, and while Jesse was pointing out to the rest.
1f the party how near he had approached the Indians
)efore noticing them, one of the Indians made a howl
like a wolf, and the whole party moved off in the direction whence the sound proceeded until, supposing them



ï~~266       JESSE HUGHES AND ELIAS HUGHES.
selves near the spot, and stopping in a suitable place,
Jesse howled also. He was answered, and two Indians
were soon seen advancing. An opportunity offering,
Elias Hughes shot one and the other took to flight.
Being pursued by the Whites, he took shelter in a thicket
of brush, and while they were proceeding to intercept
him at his coming out, he returned the way he entered
and made his escape. The wounded Indian also got off.
In their pursuit of the others, the party passed by where
the wounded man lay, and one of the men was for stopping and finishing him, but Hughes called out, " He is
safe! let us have the others," and they all pressed forward into the thicket. On their return, the savage was
gone, and although his free bleeding enabled them to
pursue his track readily for a while, a heavy shower of
rain falling while they were in pursuit, all traces of him
were finally lost.
On the 16th of June, Captain Booth, who was a
well educated man, as well as an efficient leader in scouting parties, being at work in his field, was surprised and
shot by the savages. Jesse Hughes, by common consent, succeeded to his post.
In 1780, West's Fort was again visited by the Indians. The frequent incursions of the savages during
the year 1778, had led the inhabitants to desert their
homes, and shelter themselves in places of greater security; but being unwilling to give up the improvements
which they had already made, and commence anew in
the woods, some few families returned to their farms
during the winter, and on the approach of spring moved
into forts. In this case, the settlers had been in only a




ï~~JESSE VENTURES TO BUCHANNAN FORT.

267

short time, when the enemy made his appearance, and
continued to invest the fort for some time. Ignorant
when to expect relief, the feeble band shut up there were
becoming desperate, when Jesse Hughes resolved at all
hazards to obtain assistance from abroad. Leaving the
fort at night, he eluded their sentinels, and made his
way to the Buchannan fort. Here he prevailed on a
party of the men to accompany them to West's and relieve those who had been so long shut up there. They
arrived before day, and on consultation, it was thought
advisable to abandon the place once more and remove to
Buchannan fort. On their way, the Indians resorted to
every artifice to separate the party so as to cut them up
in detachments, but to no purpose. All their stratagems
were frustrated, and the entire body reached the fort in
safety.
In March, 1781, a party of Indians surprised the inhabitants on Leading Creek, Tygart's Valley, nearly depopulating the settlement. Among others they killed
Alexander Roney, Mrs. Dougherty, and carried away
Mrs. Roney and son, and Mr. Dougherty prisoners. On
receipt of these tidings at Clarksburg, a party was
promptly made up to chastise the savages, and, if possible, rescue the prisoners, and pursuit being immediately
made, the advance of the party discovered the Indians
on a branch of Hughes' river. Colonel Lowther and the
brothers, Jesse and Elias Hughes, led the pursuing force.
It was concluded to leave the Hugheses to watch the enemy, while the residue of the party retired a short distance to rest, with the design to attack them in the
morning. As soon as day dawned, on a preconcerted




ï~~268

JESSE HUGHES AND ELIAS HUGHES.

signal being made, the Whites crawled through the brush,
and a general fire was poured in on the Indians, of whom
one only made his escape. Young Roney unfortunately
lay sleeping in the bosom of one of the Indians, and the
same bullet that passed through the head of the savage
deprived the boy of life. Mrs. Roney, ignorant of the
fate of her son, and in the prospect of deliverance, losing
the recollection of the recent murder of her husband, ran
to the Whites repeating, "Ii am Aleck Roney's wife of
the valley, I am Aleck Roney's wife of the valley, and a
pretty little woman, too, if I was well dressed!"
Dougherty, who was tied down and unable to move, was
discovered by the whites as they rushed into the camp.
Fearing that he was one of the enemy, and might do
them injury, as they advanced, one of the party stopping
demanded who he was. Benumbed with cold, and discomposed by the firing, he could not make himself known
or understood. The white man raised his gun, directing
it towards him, and called out that if he did not say who
he was, he would put a ball through him, be he white
man or Indian. Fears supplying him with energy, he
exclaimed at last, " J-! am I to be killed by white
people at last?" Colonel Lowther then recognized him
and saved his life. The plunder recovered on this occasion w,.as so abundant as to divide fourteen pounds
seventeen shillings and six pence nearly forty dollars
to each of the recaptors.
In September, 1785, a party of Indians who had been
stealing horses near Clarksburg were followed by a company raised on the spot out of the border warriors, com



ï~~,j7

C%+

46

ELIAS HUGHES BILLING AN INDIAN.




ï~~


ï~~AN INDIAN ADVENTURE.

269

manded, as before, by Lowther, and      the brothers
Hughes, Jesse and Elias. On the third night after
starting, the Whites and Indians, unknown to the fact,
had encamped within a short distance of each other. In
the morning the pursuers divided, taking two different
routes. Elias Hughes and his party discovered the Indians by the smoke of their fires, and creeping cautiously
up through the brush were enabled to get near enough
for Hughes to shoot, when one of the savages fell and
the residue took to flight. One of the Indians passing
near where Colonel Lowther stood, was fired at by
him  as he ran, and killed on the spot. The horses
and other plunder regained from the savages were
taken home by the Whites, who were, however, waylaid on the route, and one of their number, John
Barnet, so badly wounded, that he died before reaching
home.
At another time, Elias Hughes and his men, discovering a party of Indians, fired upon them. The Indians
ran in different directions. Hughes made after one, and
was gaining upon him fast, in a bottom piece of land in
which were no trees, when the Indian turned quickly
about with loaded gun uplifted. Hughes' gun was empty,
and there were no trees to spring behind. But instantly
springing obliquely to the right and left, with a bound
and outstretched arm, he flirted the muzzle of the Indian's gun to one side, and the next moment had his long
knife in him up to the hilt.
On the 5th of December of the same year, the Indians
made another inroad into these devoted regions, and




ï~~270       JESSE HUGHES AND ELIAS HUGHES.
marking their progress with blood and plunder, massacred several of the men and women, and carried off some
prisoners, a daughter of Jesse Hughes among the rest.
She remained in captivity a year, when she was ransomed
by her father.




ï~~ATTACKED BY INDIANS.

271

CHAPTER II.
Jesse Hughes in a Party of Drovers attacked by the Indians-Narrow Escape-Story of the Boy saved from an Indian by HughesThe Turkey Call--Jesse joins a Party in pursuit of Indian Marauders-Advises a Change of Course to avoid Ambush-His
Advice disregarded and Two Men Shot in consequence-They
come upon the Indian Trail, and all refuse to go on except
Hughes who follows the Indian Party--Kills one of them and
brings off his Scalp-Recent Death of Jesse Hughes-Elias Hughes
settles on the Licking River-He goes in pursuit of Indian Marauders-Singular Stratagem-Last Days and Death of Elias
Hughes.
IN September 1789, Jesse Hughes being one of a
party of drovers who were taking cattle into Marietta,
for the supply of the settlers there, the company encamped for the night, when within a few miles of the
Ohio river. In the morning, while dressing, they were
alarmed by a discharge of guns which killed one and
wounded another of the drovers. The most of the party
escaped by flight. Nicholas Carpenter and his son, who
had hid in a pond of water, were discovered, tomahawked,
and scalped. George Leggett, another of the drovers,
was never heard of afterwards, having doubtless lost his
life there. Hughes himself, although taken at great disadvantage, effected his escape.   He wore long leggings,




ï~~272

JESSE HUGHES AND ELIAS HUGHES.

and when the firing commenced, they were fastened to
his belt, but were hanging loose below. Although an
active runner, he found his pursuers were gaining on
him, and that his safety depended in getting rid of these
incumbrances. In as brief a space of time as possible,
he halted, stepping on the lower part of the leggings
and broke the strings attaching them to the belt, which
he had no time to untie, or even to get out his knife and
cut. As little time as this cost, it was at the hazard of
his life. One of the Indians approached and flung a
tomahawk at him, which, however, only grazed his head.
Once disencumbered of the leggings, he soon made his
escape.
On one occasion during this period of danger, which
kept such men as the Hugheses in constant employment,
Jesse observed a lad intently engaged fixing his rifle.
" Jim," said he, " what are you doing there?" " I am
going to shoot a gobbler that I hear on the hillside,"
said Jim. " I hear no turkey," replied Hughes. " Listen," said Jim; " there, don't you hear it; listen again."'
"Well," said Hughes, after hearing it repeated, "I'll
go and kill it."  " No, you won't," exclaimed the lad,
"it is my turkey; I heard it first."    "Well," said
Hughes, "you know I am the best marksman, and besides I don't want the turkey; you may have it."  Jim
then acquiescing, Hughes went out with his own rifle,
from the side of the fort which was furthest from the
supposed turkey, and skirting a ravine came in on the
rear, and, as he expected, discovered an Indian who was
seated on a chesnut stump, surrounded and partly hid
by sprouts, gobbling at intervals, and watching in the




ï~~KILLING AN INDIAN TURKEY.

273

direction of the fort, to see whom he would be able to
decoy out.  Hughes crept up behind him, and the first
notice given the savage of his presence, was a shot which
deprived him of life. He took off the scalp and went
into the fort where Jim was waiting for the prize.
" There now," said the lad, "you have let the turkey
go; I should have killed it if I had gone." "No," said
Hughes, "I did not let it go;" and taking out the scalp
and throwing it down, " there take your turkey,
Jim, I don't want it." The lad was overcome and
nearly fainted in view of the narrow escape he had
made.
In 1790, the hostilities of the Indians had been reduced to stealing horses, merely. The Ohio above Marietta was their crossing place to Clarksburg, the route
from that river being through a dense forest. All was
quiet in the settlements, as they had been for some time
without alarms on the score of Indians. One night a
man who had a horse in an enclosure, heard the fence
fall; he jumped up and ran out and saw an Indian spring
on the horse and dash off. An hour or two sufficed to
rouse the neighborhood, and a company of twenty-five
or thirty persons agreed to assemble and start by daylight. They took a circle round the settlement, and
soon struck the trail of ten or twelve horses, ridden off,
as they judged probable, by the same number of Indians.
The captain called a halt for consultation.    Jesse
Hughes, who was one of the party, was opposed to following their trace, alleging he could pilot them a nearer
way to the Ohio, where they would be able to intercept
their retreat. A majority, including the captain, advo18




ï~~274

JESSE HUGHES AND ELIAS HUGHES.

cated pursuit. Hughes then insisted that the Indians
would waylay their trail, in order to know if they were
followed, and could choose spots where they would be
able to shoot two or three of the Whites, and put their
own friends upon their guard, and that the savages once
alarmed, would keep the start they had already got.
These arguments appearing to shake the purpose of the
party, the commander, jealous of Hughes' influence, broke
up the council, calling on the men to follow him, and let
all cowards go home. He dashed on then, the men all
following him. Hughes felt the insult keenly, but kept
on with the rest. They had not proceeded many miles
till the trail went down a drain, where the ridge on one
side was very steep, with a ledge of rocks for a considerable distance. On the top of the cliff, two Indians lay
in ambush, and when the company got opposite, they
made some noise which induced the men to halt; that
instant two of the company were shot and mortally
wounded. Before any of them    could ride round and
ascend the cliff, the Indians were out of reach and
sight.
The party of Whites then agreed that Hughes was in
the right, and although fearful they were too late,
changed their route to intercept them at 'their crossing
place. They gave the wounded men in charge of some of
their numbers, and making a desperate push, reached
the Ohio river next day about an hour after the savages
had crossed it. The water was yet muddy with the horses'
trails, and the rafts the Indians had crossed on, were
yet floating on the opposite shore. The company were
then unanimous for abandoning all pursuit. Hughes




ï~~TAKING A SCALP.

275

had now full satisfaction for the insult. It seemed, he
said, as if they were going to prove the captain's words
and show who were the cowards. As for himself, he
said he would cross with as many as were willing, half
their party being, as he supposed, enough to take the
enemy's scalps. They all refused. He then said if but
one man would cross with him he would keep on, but
still no one would consent. He then said he would go
by himself, and take a scalp or leave his own.
After his party had got out of sight, Hughes made his
way up the river, three or four miles, keeping out of
view from the other shore, as he supposed the Indians
were watching to see if the party would cross. He then
made a raft and crossed the river, and encamped for the
night. He struck their trail next day, and pursuing it
very cautiously, some ten miles from the river found
their camp.
There was but one Indian in it, the rest being out
hunting. In order to pass his time pleasantly, he had
made a sort of fiddle out of bones, and was sitting at
ease singing and playing. Hughes crept up and shot
him. He then took his scalp and made his way home.
This is the last we have been able to learn of Jesse
Hughes, except that he survived many years, and died
not long since.
After General Wayne's treaty, Elias Hughes and
family settled upon the waters of the Licking, in Ohio.
The Indians having, at an early day, killed a young
woman whom he highly esteemed, and subsequently his
father, the return of peace did not eradicate his antipathy to the race. In the month of April, 1800, two In



ï~~276

JESSE HUGHES AND ELIAS HUGHES.

dians, having collected a quantity of fur on the Rocky
Fork of Licking, proceeded to the Bowling Green, stole
three horses and put off for Sandusky. The next morning Hughes, Ratcliff, and Bland, going out for the horses
and not finding them, did not return to apprise the families, but continued upon their trail, and at might discovering the Indians' fire on Granny's creek, some few
miles N. W. of where Mount Yernon stands, lay down
for the night, and the next morning walked up to
the Indians as they were cooking their morning repast.
At first the Indians looked somewhat embarrassed,
proposed restoration of the horses, and giving part of
their furs by way of conciliation, from which the whites
did not dissent, but were thinking of the whole of their
furs and the future safety of the horses.
It being a damp morning, it was proposed to shoot off
all their guns and put in fresh loads. A mark was
made, Hughes raised his gun ostensibly to shoot, which
attracted the attention of the Indians to the mark, and
was a signal. Ratcliff downed one, Bland's gun flashed,
but Hughes turning quickly round, emptied his gun in
the other Indian's head, setting fire at the same time to
the handkerchief around it. On returning, they kept
their expedition a secret for some time.
Hughes's memory failed him   considerably the last
three or four years. Previously his eyesight failed him
entirely, but partially returned again. With patience
he waited his approaching end, firmly believing that his
Redeemer lived, and that through Him he should enjoy
the life to come.
His decease occurred, as I have stated, on March




ï~~DEATH OF ELIAS HUGHES.              277
22nd, 1845. With him, doubtless, disappeared the last
survivor of those who bore a part in the memorable battle of Point Pleasant, at the mouth of Kenawha, seventyone years since. The body was attended to the grave
with every demonstration of the respect due to his past
services, by several military corps, and a concourse of
his fellow citizens.*
* Cincinnati Miscellany.




ï~~


ï~~ISAAC WILLIAMS.
(279)




ï~~


ï~~ISAAC WILLIAMS.
CHAPTER I.
Early reminiscences should be preserved-Isaac Williams' birth and
adventures-A distressing occurrence--Settlement and explorations
-Land entries--Marries Rebecca Martin-Her prowess-Her
medical skill-Their Wedding--Indian troubles.
To us who are now enjoying the benefits of the toils
and dangers of the early explorers and pioneers of the
valley of the Ohio, there ought to be no more pleasant
employment than that of recounting their exploits, and
preserving the remembrances of their names. It is a
duty we owe to their memory. Amongst that hardy list
of adventurers, on the left bank of the Ohio, I know the
name of no one more worthy of preservation than that
of Isaac Williams.
He was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, the 1.6th
day of July, 1737. While he was quite a boy his parents
moved to Winchester, Virginia, then a frontier town.
Soon after this event his father died, and his mother
married Mr. Buckley. When he was about eighteen
years old, the colonial government employed him as a
(281)




ï~~282

ISAAC WILLIAMS.

ranger, or spy, to watch and observe the movements of
the Indians, for which his early acquaintance with a
hunter's life eminently fitted him. In this capacity he
served in the army of General Braddock. He also formed
one of the party who guarded the first convoy of provisions
to Fort Du Quesne, after its surrender to General Forbes
in 1758.
The stores were carried on pack horses over the rough
declivities of the mountains, continually exposed to the
attack of the Indians, for which the deep ravines and
narrow ridges of the mountain ranges afforded every
facility.
After the peace made with the Indians in 1765, by
Colonel Bouquet, the country on the waters of the Monongahela began to be settled by the people east of the
mountains. Amongst the early emigrants to this region
were the parents of Mr. Williams, whom he conducted
across the mountains in 1768, but did not finally locate
himself in the West till the following year, when he settled
on the waters of Buffalo creek, near the present town of
West Liberty. He accompanied Ebenezer and Jonathan
Zane, when they explored and located the country about
Wheeling, in 1769. Previous to this period, however,
he made several hunting excursions to the waters of the
Ohio.
In returning from one of these adventurous expeditions
in company with two other men in the winter of 1767,
the following incident befell him. Early in December,
as they were crossing the glades of the Allegheny mountains, they were overtaken by a violent snow storm.
This is always a stormy cold region, but on the present




ï~~HIS HUMANITY.

283

occasion the snow fell to the depth of five or six feet, and
put a stop to their further progress. It was followed by
intensely cold weather. While confined in this manner
to their camp, with a scanty supply of food and no chance
of procuring more by hunting, one of his companions was
taken sick and died, partly from disease and partly from
having no food but the tough indigestible skins of their
peltry, from which the hair had been singed off at the
camp fire and then boiled in their kettle. Soon after
the death of this man, his remaining companion, from
the difficulty of procuring fuel, became so much frozen
in the feet that he could render Mr. Williams no further
assistance. He contrived, however, to bury the dead
man in the snow. The feet of this man were so badly
frosted that he lost all his toes and a part of each foot,
thus rendering him entirely unable to travel for a period
of nearly two months. During this time their food consisted of the few remnants of their skins, and their drink
of melted snow. The kind heart of Mr. Williams would
not allow him to leave his friend in this suffering condition while he went to the nearest settlement for aid, lest
he should be attacked by wild beasts or perish for want
of sustenance. With a patience and fortitude that would
have awarded him a civic crown in the best days of the
chivalrous Romans, he remained with his helpless friend
until he was so far restored to health as to enable him
to accompany him in his return to his home. So much
reduced was his own strength, from starvation and cold,
that it was many months before his usual health was restored.
In 1769, he became a resident of the western wilds,




ï~~284

ISAAC WILLIAMS.

and made his home on the waters of Buffalo creek. Here
he found himself in a wide field for the exercise of his
darling passion, hunting. From his boyhood he had
displayed a great relish for a hunter's life, and in this
employment he for several years explored the recesses
of the western wilds, and followed the water courses of
the great valley to the mouth of the Ohio; and from
thence along the shores of the Mississippi to the banks
of the turbid Missouri. As early as the year 1770 he
trapped the beaver on the tributaries of this river, and
returned in safety with a rich load of furs.
During the prime of his life he was occupied in hunting and in making entries of lands. This was done by
girdling a few trees and planting a small patch of corn.
This operation entitled the person to four hundred acres
of land. Entries of this kind were very aptly called
"1Tomahawk   improvements."    An enterprising  man
could make a number of these in a season, and sell them
to persons who, coming later into the country, had not
so good an opportunity to select prime lands as the first
adventurers. Mr. Williams sold many of these "rights"
for a few dollars, or the value of a rifle gun, which was
then thought a fair equivalent, of so little account was
land then considered; and besides, like other hunters of
his day, he thought wild lands of little value except as hunting grounds. There was, however, another advantage
attached to these simple claims; it gave the possessor
the right of entering one thousand acres of land adjoining the improvement, on condition of his paying a small
sum per acre into the treasury of the state of Virginia.
These entries were denominated "pre-emption rights,"




ï~~HIS MARRIAGE.

285

and many of the richest lands on the left bank of the
Ohio river are now held under these early titles. As
Virginia then claimed all the lands on the north-west side
of the Ohio, many similar entries were made at this early
day on the right bank, and also on the rich alluvions of
the Muskingum, as high up as the Falls-one tract, a few
miles above Marietta, is still known as " Wiseman's Bottom," after the man who made a "tomahawk entry" at
that place. After the cession of the lands or the territory north-west of the river Ohio to the United States,
these early claims were forfeited.
While occupied in these pursuits, he became acquainted with Rebecca Martin, the daughter of Mr.
Joseph Tomlinson, of Grave creek, then a young widow,
and married her in October, 1775. Her former husband,
John Martin, had been a trader among the Indians, and
was killed on the Big Hockhocking in the year 1770.
A man by the name of Hartness, her uncle on the mother's side, was killed with him at the same time by the
Shawanee Indians. As a striking proof of the veneration of the Indians for William Penn and the people of
his colony, two men from Pennsylvania who were with
them were spared. The two killed were from Virginia.
The fact is referred to by Lord Dunmore, in his speech
at the Indian treaty near Chillicothe, in the year 1774.
Mr. Williams accompanied Dunmore in this campaign,
and acted as a ranger until its close.
By this marriage Mr. Williams became united to a
woman whose spirit was congenial to his own. She was
born the 14th of February, 1754, at Will's creek, on the
Potomac, in the province of Maryland, and had removed




ï~~286

ISAAC WILLIAMS.

with her father's family to Grave creek in 1771. Since
her residence in the western country, she had lived with
her brothers, Samuel and Joseph, as their house keeper,
near the mouth of Grave creek; and for weeks together,
while they were absent on tours of hunting, she was left
entirely alone. She was now in her twenty-first year;
full of life and activity, and as fearless of danger as the
man who had chosen her for his companion.
One proof of her courageous spirit is related by her
niece, Mrs. Bukey. In the spring of the year 1774, she
made a visit to a sister, who was married to a Mr. Baker,
then living on the Ohio river, opposite the mouth of
Yellow creek. It was soon after the time of the massacre
of Logan's relatives, at Baker's Station. Having finished
her visit, she prepared to return home in a canoe by
herself, the traveling being chiefly done by water. The
distance from her sister's to Grave creek was about fifty
miles. She left there in the afternoon, and paddled her
light canoe along until dark. Knowing that the moon
would rise at a certain hour, she landed, and fastening
the slender craft to the willows, she leaped on shore;
and, lying down in a thick clump of bushes, waited
patiently the rising of the mnoon. As soon as it had
cleared the tops of the trees, and began to shed its
cheerful rays over the dark bosom of the Ohio, she
prepared to embark. The water being shallow near the
shore, she had to wade a few paces before reaching the
canoe; when just in the act of stepping on board, her
naked foot rested on the dead cold body of an Indian,
who had been killed a short time before; and which, in
the gloom of the night, she had not discovered in landing.




ï~~REBEOCA'S SKILL IN CURING WOUNDS.

287

Without flinching or screaming, she stepped lightly into
the canoe, with the reflection that she was thankful he
was not alive. Resuming the paddle, she reached the
mouth of Grave creek in safety early the following
morning.
Walter Scott's Rebecca, the Jewess, was not more
celebrated for her cures and skill in treating wounds,
than was Rebecca Williams amongst the honest borderers
of the Ohio river. About the year 1785, while living a,
short time at Wheeling, on account of Indian depredations, she, with the assistance of Mrs. Zane, dressed the
wounds of Thomas Mills, who was wounded in fourteen
places by rifle shots. He with three other men were
spearing fish by torch light, about a mile above the
garrison, when they were fired on by a party of Indians
secreted on the shore, Mills stood in the bow of the
canoe, holding a torch, and, as he was a fair mark,
received the most of the shots- the others escaped
unhurt-one arm and one leg were broken, in addition
to the flesh wounds. Had he been in the regular service,
with plenty of surgeons, he probably would have lost one
or both limbs by amputation. But this being out of the
question here, where no surgeon could be procured, these
women, with their fomentations and simple applications
of slippery elm bark, not only cured his wounds, at the
time deemed impossible, and restored him to health, but
also saved both his limbs. Many years after this, while
the writer of this article was attending on a man with a
compound fracture of the leg, from the kick of a horse,
and who was lying near her residence, she was present
at one of the dressings, and related several of her cures




ï~~288

ISAAC WILLIAMS.

in border times. She said her principal dressings were
made of slippery elm, the leaves of stramonium, or
"jimson," and daily ablutions with warm water.
Their marriage was as unostentatious and as simple
as the manners and habits of the party. A traveling
preacher happening to come into the settlement, as they
sometimes did, though rarely, they were married, without
any previous preparation of nice dresses, bride cakes, or
bride maids-he standing up in a hunting dress, and she
in a short gown and petticoat of homespun, the common
wear of the country.
In the summer of 1774, the year before her marriage,
she was one morning busily occupied in kindling a fire
preparatory to breakfast, with her back to the door, on
her knees, puffing away at the coals. Hearing some one
step cautiously on to the floor, she looked round, and
beheld a tall Indian close to her side.  He made a
motion of silence to her, at the same time shaking his
tomahawk in a threatening manner if she made any
alarm.  He, however, did not offer to harm her; but
looking carefully around the cabin, he espied her brother
Samuel's rifle, hanging on the hooks over the fire place.
This he seized upon, and fearing the arrival of some of
the men, hastened his departure, without any further
damage.
While he was with her in the house, she preserved her
presence of mind, and betrayed no marks of fear; but
no sooner was he gone, however, than she left the cabin,
and secreted herself in the corn, till her brother came in.
Samuel was lame at the time, but happened to be out of
the way; so that it is probable his life might have been




ï~~REMOVES TO WHEELING.

289

saved from this circumstance. It was but seldom that
the Indians killed unresisting women or children, except
in the excitement of an attack, and when they had met
with opposition from the men.
In 1777, two years after their marriage, the depredations and massacres by the Indians were so frequent,
that the settlement at Grave creek, now consisting of
several families, was broken up. It was the frontier
station, and lower on the Ohio than any other, above the
mouth of the Big Kenawha. It was in this year that
the Indians made their great attack on the fort at
Wheeling. Mr. Williams and his wife, with her father's
family, Mr. Joseph Tomlinson, moved on to the Monongahela river above Redstone, old fort. Here he remained
until the spring of the year 1783, when he returned with
his wife and Mr. Tomlinson to their plantations on Grave
creek. In the year 1785, he had to remove again from
his farm into the garrison at Wheeling.
19




ï~~290

ISAAC WILLIAMS.

CHAPTER II.
Capture of John Wetzel-His release--Williams settles opposite Fort
Harmer-New settlements-Great famine among the settlers-The
benevolence of our hero-Famine ends--Beaver trapping-Peculiarities in Mfr. Williams' character--His death.
SOME time in the spring of the succeeding year, Williams had the following adventure with the Indians.
John Wetzel, a younger brother of Lewis, the celebrated Indian hunter, then about sixteen years old, with
a neighboring boy of about the same age, was in search
of horses that had strayed away in thee woods, on
Wheeling creek, where the parents of John resided. One
of the stray animals was a mare with a young foal, belonging to John's sister, and she had offered the colt to
John, as a reward for finding the mare. While on this
service, they were captured by a party of four Indians,
who, having come across the horses, had seized upon
them, and placed them in a thicket, expecting that their
bells would attract the notice of their owners, and they
ohould then easily capture them    or take their scalps.
The horse was ever a favorite object of plunder with the
savages; as not only facilitating his own escape from
pursuit, but also assisting him in carrying off the spoil.
The boys hearing the well known tinkle of the bells,




ï~~CAPTURE OF JOHN WETZEL.

291

approached the spot where the Indians lay concealed,
congratulating themselves on their good luck in so readily finding the strays, and were immediately seized by
the savages. John, in attempting to escape, was shot
through the arm. On their march to the Ohio, his companion made so much lamentation and moaning on the
account of his captivity, that the Indians dispatched him
with the tomahawk, while John, who had once before
been taken prisoner and escaped, made light of it, and
went along cheerfully with his wounded arm.
The party struck the Ohio river early the following
morning, at a point near the mouth of Grave creek, and
just below the clearing of Mr. Tomlinson. Here they
found some hogs, and killing one of them with the rifle,
put it into a canoe they had stolen.   Three of the
Indians took possession of the canoe with their prisoner,
while the other Indian was busied in swimming the horses
across the river. It so happened that Isaac Williams,
Hamilton Carr, and Jacob, a Dutchman, had come down
that morning from Wheeling, to look after the cattle and
hogs left at the deserted settlement at the mouth of the
creek. While at the outlet of Little Grave creek, about
a mile above, they heard the report of a rifle in the
direction of the plantation. " Dod rot 'em," exclaimed
Mr. Williams, "a Kentuck boat has landed at the creek,
and they are shooting my hogs." Immediately quickening their pace to a smart trot, they in a few minutes
were within a short distance of the creek, when they
heard the loud snort of a horse.
Carr being in the prime of life, and younger than Mr.
Williams, was several rods ahead, and reached the bank




ï~~292

ISAAC WILLIAMS.

first. As he looked down into the creek, he saw three
Indians standing in a canoe; one was in the stern, one
in the bow, and one in the middle of the boat. At the
feet of the latter lay four rifles, and a dead hog; while
a fourth Indian was swimming a horse across the Ohio,
a few rods from the shore. The one in the stern had
his paddle in the edge of the water, in the act of turning
and shoving the canoe from the mouth of the creek into
the river.
Before they were aware of his presence, Carr drew up
and shot the Indian in the stern, who instantly fell into
the water. The crack of his rifle had scarcely ceased,
when Mr. Williams came on to the bank and shot the
Indian in the bow of the canoe, who also fell overboard,
as Jacob came up. Carr dropped his own rifle, and
seizing that of the Dutchman, shot the remaining Indian
in the waist of the boat. He fell over into the water,
but still held on to the side of the canoe with one hand.
So amazed was the last Indian at the fall of his companions, that he never offered to lift one of the rifles
which lay at his feet in self-defence, but acted like one
bereft of his senses.
By this time the canoe, impelled by the impetus given
to it by the first Indian, had reached the current of the
Ohio, and was some rods below the mouth of the creek.
Carr now reloaded his own gun, and seeing another man
lying in the bottom of the canoe, raised it to his face in
the act of firing, when he, seeing the movement, called
out, "Don't shoot, I am a white man."  Carr told him
to knock loose the Indian's hand from the side of the
canoe, and paddle to the shore. In reply, he said his




ï~~ESCAPE OF ONE INDIAN.

293

arm was broken, and he could not. The current, however, set it near some rocks not far from land, on to
which he jumped and waded out. Carr now aimed his
rifle at the Indian on horseback, who by this time had
reached the middle of the Ohio. The shot struck near
him, splashing the water on to his naked skin.
The Indian seeing the fate of his companions, with the
bravery of an ancient Spartan, immediately slipped from
the back of the horse, and swam for the abandoned
canoe, in which were the rifles of the whole four warriors.
This was, in fact, an act of necessity, as well as of noble
daring, as he well knew he could not reach his country
without the means of killing game by the way. He also
was aware that in this act there was little or no hazard,
as his enemies could not cross the creek without a canoe;
and to ford it, they must run up it nearly a mile, and
before that could be done, he would be out of their reach.
He soon gained possession of the canoe, unmolested,
crossed with the arms to his own side of the Ohio,
mounted the captive horse, which had swam to the Indian
shore, and with a yell of defiance escaped into the woods.
The canoe was turned adrift to spite his enemies, and
was taken up near Maysville, with the dead hog still in
it, which had caused the discovery by their shooting, and
being the source of all their misfortunes.
It has been stated that Rebecca Martin, before her
marriage to Mr. Williams, acted as housekeeper for her
brothers for several years. In consideration of her service, her brothers, Joseph and Samuel, made an entry
of four hundred acres of land on the Virginia shore of
the Ohio river, directly opposite to the mouth of the




ï~~294

ISAAO WILLIAMS.

Muskingum, for their sister; girdling the trees, building
a cabin, and planting and fencing four acres of corn, on
the high second bottom, in the spring of the year 1773.
They spent the summer on the spot, occupying their
time with hunting, during the growth of the crop. In
this time they had exhausted their small stock of salt
and bread stuff, and lived for two or three months altogether on boiled turkeys, which were eaten without salt.
So accustomed had Samuel become to eating his meat
without this condiment, that it was some time before he
could again relish the taste of it.
The following winter the two brothers hunted on the
Big Kenawha. Some time in March, 1774, they reached
the mouth of the river on their return. They were detained here a few days by a remarkably high freshet in
the Ohio river, which, from certain fixed marks on
Wheeling Creek, is supposed to have been fully equal
to that of February 1832. That year was long known
as that of Dunmore's war, and noted for Indian depredations.
The renewed and oft repeated inroads of the Indians
led Mr. Williams to turn his thoughts towards a more
quiet retreat than that at Grave creek. Fort Harmer,
at the mouth of the Muskingum, having been erected in
1786, and garrisoned by United States troops, he came
to the conclusion that he would now occupy the land belonging to his wife, and located by her brothers, as before noted. This tract contained four hundred acres,
and embraced a large share of rich alluvions. The piece
opened by the Tomlinsons in 1773, had grown up with
young saplings, but could be easily reclaimed. Having




ï~~SCARCITY OF FOOD.

295

previously visited the spot, and put up log cabins, he
finally removed his family and effects thither, the 26th
of March, A. D. 1787, being the year before the Ohio
company took possession of their purchase at the mouth
of the Muskingum.
In the January following the removal to his forest domain, his wife gave birth to a daughter, and was the
only issue by this marriage. He was now fifty-two years
old, so that she might be called the child of his old age.
This daughter was named Drusilla, and married Mr.
John Henderson. She died, when about twenty years
old, leaving no issue.
Soon after the Ohio company emigrants had established themselves at Marietta, a pleasing and friendly
intercourse was kept up between Mr. Williams and them;
and as he had now turned his attention more especially
to clearing and cultivating his farm than to hunting, he
was glad to see the new openings springing up around
him, and the rude forest changing into the home of civilized man. Settlements had been commenced at Belprie
and Waterford, the year after that at Marietta. As
yet little had been done in cultivating the soil; their
time was chiefly occupied in building cabins and clearing
the land.
From the destructive effects of an untimely frost in
September of the year 1789, the crops of corn were
greatly injured, and where late planted, entirely ruined.
In the spring and summer of 1790, the inhabitants began to suffer from want of food, especially wholesome
bread-stuffs. The Indians were also becoming troublesome, and rendered it hazardous boating provisions from




ï~~296

ISAAC WILLIAMS.

the older settlements on the Monongahela, or hunting
for venison in the adjacent forests. Many families, especially at Belprie, had no other meal than that made
from musty or mouldy corn; and were sometimes destitute even of this for several days in succession. This
mouldy corn commanded nine shillings, or a dollar and
a half a bushel; and when ground in their hand-mills,
and made into bread, few stomachs were able to digest
it, or even to retain it for a few minutes.
The writer of this sketch has often heard his early
friend, C. Devoll, Esqr., who was then a small boy, narrate with much feeling his gastronomic trials with this
mouldy meal made into a dish called " sap porridge,"
and which when made of sweet corn meal, and the fresh
saccharine juice of the maple, afforded both a nourishing
and a savory dish. The family, then living at Belprie,
had been without food for two days, when his father returned from Marietta, just at evening, with a scanty
supply of mouldy corn. The hand-mill was immediately
put in operation, and the meal cooked into sap porridge,
as it was then the season of sugar making. The famished children swallowed eagerly the unsavory mess,
which was almost as instantly rejected; reminding us of
the deadly pottage of the children of the prophet, but
lacking the healing power of an Elijah, to render it salutary and nutritious. Disappointed of expected relief,
the poor children went supperless to bed, to dream of
savory food and plenteous meals, unrealized in their
waking hours.
It was during this period of want, that Mr. Williams
displayed his benevolent feelings for the suffering colo



ï~~HIS LIBERALITY.

297

nists. From the circumstance of his being in the country earlier, he had more ground cleared, and had raised
a large crop of several hundred bushels of corn. This
he now distributed amongst the inhabitants at the low
rate of three shillings, or fifty cents a bushel, when at
the same time he had been offered, and urged, to take a
dollar per bushel, by speculators, for his whole crop;
for man has ever been disposed to fatten on the distresses of his fellows. " Dod rot 'em," said the old
hunter, "I would not let them have a bushel."  He not
only parted with his corn at this cheap rate, but he also
prudently proportioned the number of bushels, according to the number of individuals in a family. An empty
purse was no bar to the needy applicant; but his wants
were equally supplied with those who had money, and a
credit given until more favorable times should enable
him to discharge the debt.
Captain Jonathan Devoll, the father of Charles Devoll,
Esq., who resided at the mouth of the Big Hockhocking,
hearing of Mr. Williams' corn, and the cheap rate at
which he sold it, made a trip to Marietta, directly after
the adventure with the sap-porridge, to procure some of
it. The journey was made by land, and in the night,
traveling on the ridges adjacent to the river, as the
stream itself was so swollen by the spring flood, as to
prevent his traveling by water in a canoe. He chose
to come in the night, on account of the danger from
Indians. The intrepidity of the man may be estimated
from his making this journey alone, a distance of twelve
or fourteen miles. He reached Fort Harmar at daylight.
Major Doughty, the commander, after giving him a warm




ï~~298

ISAAC WILLIAMS.

breakfast, ordered two soldiers to set him across the
Ohio, in the garrison boat. Mr. Williams treated him
with much kindness, and after letting him have several
bushels of corn at the moderate rate of three shillings a
bushel, the usual price at that day in plentiful years,
aelso furnished him with his only canoe, in which to
transport it to his home. Captain Devoll felt unwilling
to take it, but he urged it upon him, saying he could
soon make another.
During this season of want, some of the present
inhabitants, who were then children, to this day relate,
with what anxiety, from week to week, they watched
the tardy growth of the corn, beans, and squashes, and
with what delight they partook of the first meal prepared
from vegetables of their own raising. Disinterested
benevolence, such as every one must admire in Mr.
Williams, is confined to no country and no age; but
flourishes with the greatest vigor in the hut of the
forester, and amidst the inhabitants of an exposed
frontier.  Common danger creates a community of
feeling and of interest; and there is no doubt that our
forefathers, could they again speak, would say that the
years passed by them in garrison, and surrounded by
dangers and privations, were some of the most interesting, if not the most happy, of their lives.
Mr. Williams retained a relish for hunting to his
latest years, and whenever a little unwell, forsaking his
comfortable home, would take his rifle and favorite old
dog " Cap," accompanied by one of his black servants,
retire to the woods, and encamping by some clear
stream, remain there, drinking the pure water, and




ï~~BEAVER TRAPPING.

299

eating such food as his rifle procured. Medicine he
never took, except such simple remedies as the forest
afforded. The untrodden wilderness was to him full of
charms, and before the close of the Revolutionary war,
he had hunted over all parts of the valley of the Ohio,
sometimes with a companion, but oftener alone.
From his sedate manners and quiet habits, the trapping
of the beaver was his most favorite pursuit. This was
a great art amongst the early pioneers and hunters of
the West, and he who was the most successful and adroit
in this mystery, was accounted a fortunate man; it was
many times quite lucrative, the proceeds of a few months'
hunt often realizing three or four hundred dollars to the
trapper. Mr. Williams stood high in this branch of the
hunter's occupations, and few men could entrap more
beavers than himself.
To be a successful trapper required great caution, as
well as a perfect knowledge of the habits of the animal.
The residence of the beaver was often discovered by
seeing bits of green wood, and gnawed branches of the
bass-wood, slippery elm, and sycamore, their favorite
food, floating on the water, or lodged on the shores of
the stream below, as well as by their tracks or footmarks.
They were also sometimes discovered by their dams,
thrown across creeks and small sluggish streams, forming
a pond, in which were erected their habitations.
The hunter, as he proceeded to set his traps, generally approached by water, in his canoe. He selected a
steep, abrupt spot in the bank of the creek, in which a
hole was excavated with his paddle, as he sat in the
canoe, sufficiently large to hold the trap, and so deep as




ï~~300

ISAAO WILLIAMS.

to be about three inches below the surface of the water,
when the jaws of the trap were expanded. About two
feet above the trap, a stick, three or four inches in
length, was stuck in the bank. In the upper end of
this, the trapper excavated a small hole with his knife,
into which he dropped a small quantity of the essence,
or perfume, used to attract the beaver to the spot. This
stick was attached by a string of horse hair to the trap,
and with it was pulled into the water by the beaver.
The reason for this was, that it might not remain after
the trap was sprung, and attract other beavers to the
spot, and thus prevent their going to where there was another trap ready for them.
The scent, or essence, was made by mingling the fresh
castor of the beaver, with an extract of the bark of the
roots of the spice-bush, and kept in a bottle for use.
The making of this essence was held a profound secret,
and often sold for a considerable sum to the younger
trappers, by the older proficients in the mystery of
beaver hunting.    Where they had no proper bait,
they sometimes made use of the fresh roots of sassafras, or spice-bush; of both these, the beaver was very
fond.
It is said by old trappers that they will smell the well
prepared essence the distance of a mile. Their sense of
smell is very acute, or they would not so readily detect
the vicinity of man by the smell of his trail. The aroma of the essence having attracted the animal into the
vicinity of the trap, in his attempt to reach it, he has to
climb up on to the bank where it is sticking. This effort leads him directly over the trap, and he is usually




ï~~MODE OF TRAPPING BEAVER.

801

taken by one of the fore legs. The trap was connected
by a chain of iron, six feet in length, to a stout line
made of the bark of leatherwood, twisted into a neat
cord, of fifteen or twenty feet.  These were usually fabricated at home or at their camps; cords of hemp or flax
were scarce in the days of beaver hunting. The end of
the line was secured to a stake driven into the bed of the
creek under water. In his struggles to escape, the beaver was usually drowned before the arrival of the trapper. Sometimes, however, he freed himself by gnawing
off his own leg, though this was rarely the case. If
there was a prospect of rain, or it was raining at the
time of setting the trap, a leaf, generally of sycamore,
was placed over the essence stick to protect it from the
rain.
The beaver being a very sagacious and cautious animal, it required great care in the trapper, in his approach
to its haunts to set his traps, that no scent of his feet or
hands was left on the earth or bushes that he touched.
For this reason he generally approached in a canoe. If
he had no canoe, it was necessary to enter the stream
thirty or forty yards below, and walk in the water to the
place, taking care to return in the same manner, or the
beaver would take alarm and not come near the bait, as
his fear of the vicinity of man was greater than his sense
of appetite for the essence. It also required caution in
kindling a fire near their haunts, as the smell of smoke
alarmed them. The firing of a gun, also, often marred
the sport of the trapper.  Thus it will be seen that to
make a successful beaver hunter, required more qualities
or natural gifts than fall to the share of most men. Mr.




ï~~302

ISAAO WILLIAMS.

Williams was eminently qualified for the calling of a
hunter, both by disposition and by practice. He was a
close observer of nature; taciturn in his manners,
and slow and cautious in his movements: never in
a hurry, or flurried by an unexpected occurrence.
In many respects he was an exact portrait of Cooper's "beau ideal"   of a master hunter, so finely
portrayed in "the Pioneer," and other back woods legends.
During the Indian war, from 1791 to 1795, Williams
remained unmolested in his cabin, protected in some
measure from attack, by the Ohio river and the proximity of Fort Harmar, as well as by the stockade around
his own dwellings, which sheltered several families besides his own. Mr. Williams seldom spoke of his own
exploits, and when related, they generally came from the
lips of his companions. There was only one situation in
which he could be induceed to relax his natural reserve, and freely narrate the romantic and hazardous adventures which had befallen him in his hunting and war excursions in all parts of the western
wilderness, and that was when encamped by the evening fire, in some remote spot, after the toils of the
day were closed, and the supper of venison and bear meat
finished.
Here, while reclining on a bed of fresh leaves, beneath
the lofty branches of the forest, with no listener but the
stars and his companion, the spirit of narration would
come upon him, and for hours he would rehearse the details of his youthful and hazardous adventures by forest,




ï~~PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS.

303

flood, and field. In such situations, surrounded by the
works of God, his body and his mind felt a freedom that
the hut and the clearing could not give. In this manner, the late Alexander Henderson informed the writer,
he had passed some of the most interesting hours of his
life, while hunting with Mr. Williams on the head of the
Little Kenawha.
In person, he was of the middle size, with an upright
frame, and robust, muscular limbs; his features firm and
strongly marked, with a taciturn and quiet manner. In
his youth, he does not appear to have been attached to
the rude sports, and rough plays, so congenial to most of
the borderers of those early days, but preferred social
converse, and an interchange of good offices with his fellows. Although he lived at a time and in a situation
where he was deprived of all opportunity for religious
instruction, yet he appears to have had an intuitive dread
of all vicious words or actiorls. The writer distinctly
recollects hearing him reprove a keel boatman, a class
of men whose language was intermingled with oaths, in
the most severe manner for his profanity, as he was passing the boat where the man was at work.
Like Isaac and Rebecca of old, this modern Isaac and
Rebecca were given to good deeds; and many a poor,
sick, and abandoned boatman has been nursed and restored to health beneath their humble roof. Many years
before his death, he liberated all his slaves; and by his
will left valuable tokens of his love and good feeling for the
oppressed and despised African. -Full of days and good
deeds, and strong in the faith of a blessed immortality,




ï~~804                ISAAC WILLIAMS.
Mr. Williams resigned his spirit to Him who gave it, the
25th of September, A. D., 1820, aged eighty-four years;
and was buried in a beautiful grove on his own plantation, surrounded by the trees he so dearly loved when
living.*
* S. P. Hildreth, in American Pioneer.




ï~~COLONEL ROBERT PATTERSON.
20                  (305)




ï~~


ï~~COLONEL ROBERT PATTERSON.
CHAPTER I.
Birth of Colonel Patterson-His father a Ranger-Robert emigrates
to Kentucky-Helps to build a house at Georgetown-Settles at
Lexington-Settling of McLel]and's Station-Patterson assists in
defending the fort-Starts for Pittsburg-Attacked by Indians on
the way-Subsequent adventures.
COLONEL ROBERT PATTERSON was born March 15th,
1753, in the neighborhood of the Cove Mountain, in the
State of Pennsylvania. His father was a native of
Ireland. In 1774, being twenty-one years old, he served
six months with the Rangers against the Indians on the
frontiers of Pennsylvania. This was the year of Dunmore's war, and his treaty quieted the settlements until
the close of the next year.,
In October, 1775, in company with John McLelland
and family, Robert Patterson, and six other young men,
left the neighborhood of Pittsburg for Kentucky, taking
their moveable property in canoes, and driving their
cattle by land. At the mouth of Salt Lick creek, he
(307)




ï~~308

COLONEL ROBERT PATTERSON.

and three of the young men left the Ohio river, intending to meet the families and canoes at Leestown. They
went up the creek to its head, crossed Cabin creek, and
struck the Stone Lick where Francis McDermond afterwards located his settlement and pre-emption. From
thence they proceeded by May's Lick to the Lower Blue
Licks, where they met with Simon Kenton and John
Williams, who knew of no other white persons in the
country. They then proceeded across the Licking, and
several branches of the Elkhorn, to Leestown. As soon
as the canoes arrived, they went with John McLelland
and his family to the Royal Spring, now Georgetown,
where they helped to build a house, and made it their
home until April, 1776. The young men of the party
then built a cabin two miles below, where Lexington now
is, where William McConnell afterwards lived, the place
being near the centre of their improvements; and they
continued there until the corn was laid by.
During that summer, the inhabitants on the north
side of the Kentucky river, in consequence of the Indians having renewed their hostilities, formed a military
organization, by choosing a committee who enrolled the
militia. A battalion was formed, the officers of which
were soon afterwards commissioned by the State of Virginia, and drew pay and rations until the conclusion of
the war. Some of the families collected from the mouth
of Kentucky river, from Kingston's settlement, and
from Drennan's Lick, and built a fort at Royal Spring,
where Georgetown now is, which was known by the
name of McLelland's fort or station. It was attacked
by the Indians on the 29th of December following, and,




ï~~ATTACKED BY INDIANS.

309

about a month afterwards, was abandoned by its occupants, who retired to the defences on the southern side
of the Kentucky river.
Colonel Patterson had assisted in building the fort,
and was one of its defenders until the beginning of October, 1776. The supply of powder had been nearly
exhausted, and he and six others started to Pittsburg to
procure ammunition and other necessaries. They went
by the Lower Blue Licks, where they spent three or
four days curing buffalo jerk and tallow, for their journey
up the river. They procured a canoe at Limestone,
commenced their voyage, and arrived at Point Pleasant,
at the mouth of the Great Kenawha, without any trouble
on the way. Point Pleasant was the only place occupied
by the Americans between McLelland's station and
Grave creek, a few miles below Wheeling. The State
of Virginia supported a garrison there under the command of Captain Arbuckle, from whom the party received some despatches for the commandant at Wheeling.
They traveled very cautiously, on account of the danger
from the Indians, starting before daybreak and going
on until after dark, and sleeping without fire.
Late in the evening of the 12th of October, they
landed a couple of miles from the mouth of the Hockhocking, and, contrary to their usual practice, made a
fire; having become less cautious in consequence of their
approach to the settlements. They laid upon their arms
around the fire, and in the night were attacked by a
party of eleven Indians, who gave them a volley, and
then fell upon them with their tomahawks.
Colonel Patterson received two balls in his right arm




ï~~810

COLONEL ROBERT PATTERSON.

above the elbow, by which it was broken, and a tornahawk was struck into his side between two of his ribs.
penetrating into the cavity of the body. He sprang out
into the darkness and got clear, supposing all his companions were killed. He made for the river, in hopes
of getting into the canoe and floating down to Point
Pleasant; but as he approached it, he discovered that
there was an Indian in it. After some time the whole
party of Indians went on board and floated off down the
river.
Colonel Patterson then made an attempt to get to the
fire, in which he succeeded. He found a companion
named Templeton wounded in a manner very similar to
his own case, and another named Wernock wounded dangerously, and another named Perry, slightly. Of the
other three, one was killed, one was missing, and the other.
named Mitchell, was unhurt. They had saved one gun
and some ammunition. They remained on the ground
until morning, when they attempted to proceed up the
river on foot; but Wernock was unable to move, and they
were forced to leave him. They, however, found themselves unable to go any farther after they had gone a little
more than a quarter of a mile from the camp, and it was
then agreed that Perry should endeavor to reach Grave
creek and bring them aid, while Mitchell was to remain
and take care of the others.
Wernock, who was left behind, died in the evening,
and Mitchell, who had gone back to assist him, lost his
way in returning to Patterson and Templeton, and did
not find them until next morning. They then moved a
couple of hundred yards further from the river, and the




ï~~DEATH OF WERNOCK                811
next day got under a cliff, which sheltered them from
the rain, where they remained until Perry returned from
Grave creek with assistance. They were removed to
that place after lying eight days in their suffering condition. He lay twelve months under the surgeon's care.




ï~~812

312    ~COLONE3L R~OBERT PATTERSON&

CHAPTER VI.
Patterson joins Clark's expedition to Illinois-Taking of Kaskaskia
-Patterson settles at Harrodsburg-He lays out the town of Lexington-Joins Bowman's expedition-Serves as Captain under
Colonel Clark against the Shawanees-Battle of Pickaway--Destruction of Indian settlements and crops-Colonel Patterson second to Colonel Boone in the battle of Blue Licks-His perilHis life saved by Aaron Reynolds-His gift of land to ReynoldsColonel Patterson serves as Colonel in Clark's expedition to the
Miami-Serves under General Logan in an expedition against the
Shawanese towns-Severely wounded-Settles near DaytonDeath of Colonel Patterson.
IN April, 1778, with ten other volunteers, Colonel
Robert Patterson joined Colonel George Rogers Clark,
at Pittsburg, who was then about starting on his celebrated Illinois campaign. They descended to the falls
of Ohio, where they built a fort, and were joined by a
portion of the Kentucky militia.     They descended the
falls on the 24th of June, and on the evening of the 28th
landed at a creek just above Fort Massac. The next
morning, without cannon and without a single horse,
they commenced their march through the wilderness,
every man carrying provisions for six days.
On the 4th of July, about midnight, they surprised
and took Kaskaskia, and on the next night Coho, and




ï~~ATTACK ON THE SHAWANEES.

313

the country was reduced under the government of Virginia. Colonel Patterson returned to Kentucky in September, with about seventy of the Kentuckians, and
settled at Harrodsburg, and enrolled himself with the
militia.
In April, 1779, being then an ensign, he was ordered
to proceed from Harrodsburg, with twenty-five men, and
establish a garrison at some convenient site, north of the
Kentucky river.  On the 17th, he accordingly commenced the erection of a fort at the place where Lexington now stands, and about that time laid off the town.
On the 15th of May following, he joined the expedition
of Colonel Bowman against the Shawanee town, Chillicothe, on the Little Miami, near the present town of
Xenia, Ohio. He was an ensign under the command of
Captain Levi Todd. His memoranda generally agree
with the "Notes on Kentucky," published some years
ago in the Kentucky Gazette; but in this case he puts
the number of men under Bowman's command at four
hundred, and the Notes on Kentucky say one hundred
and sixty.
In August, 1780, he served as a captain under Colonel Clark in his expedition against the Shawanees on
the Little Miami and Mad river. They reached Chillicothe, the town attacked by Colonel Bowman the year
before, on the 6th, and found it in flames, having been
set on fire by the Indians. On the 8th, they had a battle with the Indians, in the prairie at the lower end of
the Pickaway town, on the west side of Mad river, seventeen miles above the present town of Dayton. They
defeated the Indians, destroyed their town and their




ï~~314

COLONEL ROBERT PATTERSON.

crops, and for the next year freed Kentucky from their
molestations.
At the battle of the Lower Blue Licks, on the 19th of
August, 1782, Colonel Patterson was second to Colonel
Boon, who commanded one of the lines. During the retreat, he was on foot, entirely exhausted, and the enemy
was close at hand. A young man, named Aaron Reynolds, overtook him, and, seeing him in such a desperate
situation, dismounted, gave him his horse, assisted him
into the saddle, and risked his own safety on foot. Colonel Patterson escaped; but Reynolds, after swimming
the river, was taken prisoner by three Indians. In a
short time two of them started in pursuit of some white
men who came in sight, and Reynolds shortly afterwards
knocked the other one over with his fist and took to his
heels and made his escape. Colonel Patterson afterwards presented him with a tract of land, in gratitude
for his timely aid and generous service.
In the latter part of September, General Clark assembled an army at the mouth of Licking, to revenge the
defeat of the Blue Licks by an invasion of the Indian
country. Colonel Patterson served as colonel in the expedition. The towns on the little Miami and Mad river,
and the Pickaway town on the Great Miami, were destroyed, but the Indians retired before the army without
giving them battle.
In 1786, he was under the command of General
Logan, as colonel, in an expedition against the Shawanee
towns. They surprised Mecocheck, Moluntha, and McKee's town, on the head waters of Mad river. In the
assault upon Mecocheck, which took place on the 5th of




ï~~DEATH OF PATTERSON.,            315
November, he had a personal contest with an Indian.
As he was making a stroke at the Indian's head with his
sword, the Indian knocked it off by a blow with his rifle,
which he was aiming at the colonel's head. The rifle
struck the back of his hand and broke two of the bones.
Not having proper surgical aid, inflammation ensued,
and caused the old wound in his arm, which had been
partially healed, to break out afresh, and it never healed
again, but remained open until his death, more than forty
years afterwards.
In 1804, colonel Patterson removed from Lexington
to the vicinity of Dayton, Ohio, where he resided upon
a farm until his death, which took place on the 5th of
August, 1827.*
* John W. VanCleve, in American Pioneer.




ï~~ANECDOTES.
FoR the following anecdotes of border warfare, we are
indebted to Howe's Historical Collections of Virginia.
There is living upon Thirteen Mile creek, Mr. Jesse
Van Bebber, an aged pioneer in this county. His life,
like his own mountainastream, was rough and turbulent
at its commencement; but as it nears its close, calm and
peaceful, beautifully reflecting the Christian virtues.
From conversation with him, we gathered many interesting anecdotes and incidents, illustrating the history
of this region, Marion county, Virginia, some of which
here follow:
BATTLE OF POINT PLEASANT. - During the action,
those troops from the more eastern part of the state, unaccustomed to fighting with the Indians, were all the day
engaged in making a breastwork at the junction of the
Kanawha with the Ohio, so that the army, if defeated,
should have a secure retreat.  Ignorant of how the
action would terminate, they worked as if for their
lives, and before the day was finished had a strong for(316)




ï~~ANECDOTES.

817

tification erected. When the alarm was given that the
Indians were near, General Lewis deliberately lighted
his pipe, and then coolly gave the orders to his brother,
Colonel Charles Lewis, to advance upon them. The
soldiers in Colonel Fleming's regiment used a stratagem
that proved very effectual. They concealed themselves
behind trees, and then held out their hats, which the Indians mistakingly shot at.   The hat being at once
dropped, the Indian would run out from his covert to
scalp his victim, and thus met a sure death from the
tomahawk of his adversary. The Whites in this action
being all backwoodsmen, were more successful marksmen
than the savages; a fact in part owing to the want of
the mechanical skill in the Indians, requisite to keeping
their rifles in order. At the close of the action, the Indians went off hallooing, as if coming on to renew the
attack. This stratagem deceived the Whites, and enabled them to retreat in more safety. They recrossed
the Ohio on rafts, three miles above, near the old Shawanee town.
FORT AT POINT PLEASANT.-A fort was erected at
Point Pleasant just after the battle, at the mouth of the
Kanawha. It was a rectangular stockade, about eighty
yards long, with blockhouses at two of its corners. It
was finally destroyed, and a smaller one erected about
fifty rods further up the Ohio, on the site of the store of
James Capehart. It was composed of a circle of cabins,
in which the settlers lived.
EULEN'S LEAP.-In the spring of '88 or '89, Ben
Eulen, who was then insane, was out hunting in the
woods below Point Pleasant, when he was discovered and




ï~~318

ANECDOTES.

pursued by an Indian. He threw away his rifle, an ele
gant silver-mounted piece, to arrest the attention of the
Indian and gain time. The Indian stopped to pick it
up. Eulen unexpectedly came to a precipice, and fell
head foremost through a buckeye, struck a branch, which
turned him over, and he came upon his feet. The fall
was fifty-three feet perpendicular. He then leaped another precipice of twelve feet in height, and escaped.
ANECDOTES OF THE VAN BEBBERS. - A few years
after the close of the revolution, a daughter of Captain
John Van Bebber, named Rhoda, aged 17, and Joseph
Van Bebber, a young lad of 13, a brother of our informant, had crossed over in a canoe one morning, to the
west side of the Ohio, opposite Point Pleasant, on an
errand to Rhoda's father, then living temporarily in a
house that side of the stream, when a party of Indians
suddenly made their appearance. Dave, a black man
belonging to Captain Van Bebber, gave the alarm, and
rushed into the house. The Indians attacked the house,
but were driven off by Dave and Captain Van Bebber,
with the loss of two or three of their number. Joseph
and Rhoda, in their terror, hastened to the canoe,
whither the Indians pursued them, killed and scalped the
young lady, and took Joseph a prisoner to Detroit. Rhoda's scalp the Indians divided into two, and sold them to
the Indian traders at Detroit for $30 each; their object
in purchasing them was to encourage the savages in their
incursions, so as to prevent a settlement of the country
by the Whites, and thus monopolize the Indian trade.
Joseph afterwards stated that the barrel in which the
scalps were put was nearly full of the horrid trophies.




ï~~ANECDOTES.

319

He remained with the Indians two years, during which
he learned their language, and acted as interpreter between them and the traders. He at length made his
escape, and lived with a trader until after Wayne's victory, when he returned home. While at Detroit, he became acquainted with the notorious Simon Girty, then a
British pensioner for services in the revolution. He said
Girty was an affable man, but extremely intemperate.
Girty denied to him that he was the instigator of the
death of Colonel Crawford, but that he went so far to
save him that his own life was in danger.
In the fall of '88 or '89, Matthias Van Bebber, aged
18, and Jacob, aged 12 years, were out a short distance
from Point Pleasant, with a horse, when they were waylaid by four Indians. Jacob was leading the horse, and
Matthias was a short distance ahead, with a rifle across
his shoulder, when the Indians fired two guns at Matthias. One of the balls struck him over the eyes, and
rendered him momentarily blind; he sprang one side,
and fell into a gully. The boy Jacob, on hearing the
report of the guns, fled, and three of the Indians went in
pursuit. Matthias, in the meantime, sprang up and took
to a tree. The remaining Indian did the same. Matthias brought up his gun to an aim, the Indian dodged,
and the former took the opportunity and escaped into
the fort. The Indians, after a tight chase of half a mile,
caught the lad, who, being very active, would have
escaped had his moccasins not been too large. The Indians
retreated across the Ohio with their prisoner. He was
a sprightly little fellow, small of his age, and the Indians, pleased with him, treated him kindly. On the




ï~~320

ANECDOTES.

first night of their encampment, they took him on their
knees, and sang to him. He turned away his head to
conceal his tears. On arriving at their town, while running the gauntlet between the children of the place, one
Indian boy, much larger than himself, threw a bone,
which struck him on the head. Enraged by the pain,
Jacob drew back, and running with all his force, butted
him over, much to the amusement of the Indian warriors.
He was adopted into an Indian family, where he was
used with kindness. On one occasion his adopted father
whipped him, though slightly, which affected his Indian
mother and sister to tears. After remaining with the
Indians about a year, he escaped, and for five days travelled through the wilderness to his home. When he
had arrived at maturity, he was remarkable for his fleetness. None of the Indians who visited the Point could
ever equal him in that respect.
INDIAN INC URSION.-In May, 1791, a party of eighteen
Whites were attacked by about thirty Indians, about one
mile north of the fort at Point Pleasant, near the field
now belonging to David Long. The Whites were defeated. Michael See and Robert Sinclair were killed.
Hampton and Thomas Northrop, and a black boy, belonging to See, were taken prisoners. This boy was a
son of Dick Pointer, who acted so bravely a few years
before at the attack on Donnally's fort, in Greenbrier.
He became an Indian chief, and in the late war with
Great Britain took   part with the friendly Indians
against the enemy.




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