tntI)eCitpoflmjgork 
 
 THE LIBRARIES 
 
 Bequest of 
 
 Frederic Bancroft 
 
 1860-1945 
 
(»/ 
 
 \A'h w^' 
 
LEITHS NARRATIVE 
 
 SHORT BIOGRAPHY 
 
 OF 
 
 JOHN LEITH 
 
 WITH A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF HIS LIFE AMONG 
 
 THE INDIANS 
 
 A REPRINT 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIVE NOTES 
 
 BY 
 
 C. W. BUTTERFIELD 
 
 Author of " Nicolet's Discovery of the Northwest," " WasViington-Irvine 
 Correspondence," and other works 
 
 CINCINNATI 
 
 ROBERT CLARKE & CO 
 
 188-3 
 
 J > J J 
 
/-y 
 
 Copyright : 
 ROBERT CLARKE & CO. 
 
 1883. 
 
 One hundred and forty-three copies printed. 
 
 No....^l...__ ^''^^ '- 
 
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PREFATORY. 
 
 In adding illustrative notes to this reprint, the object has 
 been to mal<e the story more intelligible to the general reader; 
 for, as it stands originally, even the critical student of western 
 history, without considerable thought and study, might fail to 
 realize its importance. The annotations begin with Leith's in- 
 troduction to savage life, and end with his final return to civili- 
 zation ; beyond this point, the narrative gives a vivid portrayal 
 of hardships and privations such as were incident to the early 
 settlement of the West; but the. recital needs little if any eluci- 
 dation, and none is given. 
 
 This narrative, considering the age of the narrator when it 
 was taken from his lips, and the number of years which had 
 elapsed since he bade adieu to Indian haunts, is unusually ac- 
 curate. What few errors in his statements have been discov- 
 ered, are pointed out in the foot-notes. The mistake in spelling 
 Leith's name is clearly traceable to his editor, as the same or- 
 thography is adopted when the city of Leilh, Scotland, is men- 
 tioned, — it being given '' Leeth." The spelling, punctuation, and 
 capitalization of the original are strictly followed in the reprint; 
 and the original paging is indicated therein by brackets. Adding 
 greatly to the understanding of Leith's relation of events in 
 the wilderness are the depositions given by him immediately 
 after the occurrence of some of them. It is only recently that 
 one of these valuable contemporaneous statements has been 
 brought to light. The republication of what has become so ex- 
 cessively rare as this pamphlet, in a measure rescues from 
 oblivion a valuable contribution to American history, especially 
 to that portion of it relating to the region of the Northwest. 
 
 C. W. B. 
 Madison, Wis., ya?iHaryi 1SS3. 
 
SHORT BIOGKAFIIV 
 
 OF 
 
 GIVING A BRIEF ACCOUNT OP' HIS TRAVELS AND SUKKER- 
 
 INGS AMONG THE 
 
 ludiiiiiH fox* eigflitceu yeai's, 
 
 TOGETHER WITH 
 
 HIS hbligiovs exercises, 
 
 FROM HIS OWN RELATION, 
 
 BY EWEL JEFFRIES. 
 
 LANCASTER, OHIO. 
 
 PRINTED AT THE GAZETTE OFFICE— MAIN ST. 
 
 1831. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The design of the following work is to show the providence 
 of God, in guiding his creatures through life, although their situ- 
 ation, at times, may be, to all appearance, dismaying, perilous 
 and almost insurmountable. 
 
 Mr. Leeth, the subject of the following pages, is now living 
 [1S31], and has long been a respectable member of the Methodist 
 Communion. Having been directed, by an unseen hand, through 
 all the vicissitudes of fortune, from the savage haunts of a bound- 
 less wilderncsS; to the peaceful shades of civilized society, with a 
 competency to make his declining years easy and respectable, in 
 the large circle of friends in which he moves, he may truly say, 
 
 the Christian's life is a life of pleasantness. 
 
 The Author. 
 
Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 I was born in Hickory Grove, on the Pedee River, 
 South Carolina, on the 15th day of March, 1755, of 
 respectable parents, though of low circumstances in 
 the world. My father died before I was born; and 
 my mother died when I was about five years of age ; 
 after which, I was bound to a Tailor to learn the trade. 
 Shortly after I had entered into my new situation, my 
 master removed to Charleston, S. C. and took me with 
 him. After I had remained in his family about two 
 years, my mind became restless; and I eloped from my 
 master and his service. 1 made my way for Little 
 York, in Pennsylvania ; and when I arrived there, I 
 came to the conclusion that I was not properly able to 
 take care of myself, and bound myself to a farmer for 
 the term of four years ; which time I served out with 
 becoming fortitude and agility. [When my time of 
 service was out, and I was free from my master, I 
 bent my course to Fort Pitt now Pittsburg;^ and hired 
 
 'A fort — Diiquesne — was built at the point in the forks of the 
 
 Alleghany and Monongahela rivers where they form the Ohio, by 
 
 (ix) 
 
lo Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 m 
 
 yself to an Indian trader. Our first rout, from 
 
 the French at the commencement of the old French war, but was 
 burned by them in 175S, immediately before the occupation of 
 the place by the British, under General Forbes. It was a strong 
 fortification of earth and wood stockaded. In December, 1758) 
 the British erected a small stockade, with bastions, within two 
 hundred yards of the ruins of the French post. The next year, 
 however, was commenced a more formidable fortification. It was 
 near the site of Fort Duquesne, and was named Fort Pitt. It re- 
 mained in possession of a British force until the latter part of the 
 year 1773, when it was abandoned and considerably, though not 
 wholly, destroyed. During the year 1773, a citizen of Pittsburgh — 
 Edward Ward — had possession of what was left. It was, in 
 1774, reoccupied and somewhat repaired by Captain John Con- 
 oUy, under orders from Lord Dunmore, as a Virginia post, and 
 its name changed to Fort Dunmore, though the Pennsylvanians 
 still adhered to " Fort Pitt," which name was fully restored when 
 Dunmore became odious to Virginia. It was vacated by ConoUy 
 just at the commencement of the Revolution. Its first occupation 
 after that struggle began was by Virginia troops under Captain 
 John Neville, in i775' who were superceded early in 1777 by 
 others raised in the immediate neisfhborhood. Following: these 
 was a continental garrison, first under Brigadier-General Ed- 
 ward Hand, afterward under Brigadier-General Lachlan Mc- 
 intosh, whose successor was Colonel Daniel Brodhead, fol- 
 lowed by Colonel John Gibson, the latter being succeeded by 
 Brigadier-General William Irvine, who remained in command 
 until October i, 1783- The post was then put under the charge 
 of Captain Joseph Marbury, who occupied it with a small 
 force for a brief season. His successor was Lieutenant D. 
 Luckett ; the latter turned it over to Lieutenant-Colonel Josiah 
 
Biography of John Leeth. 1 1 
 
 thence, was to New Lancaster, (then an Indian Town,) 
 in the State of Ohio ; ^ and after being there some 
 
 Harmar, and it became little else than a government storehouse 
 from this time on to its final abandonment. 
 
 The words '' now Pittsburg" imply that, at the time of Leith's 
 arrival at Fort Pitt, there was no town known as Pittsburgh 
 there; but this is erroneous, as a "burgh" thus named had had 
 an existence at that point quite as long as the fort. A writer, 
 speaking of both at about the date of Leith's reaching Fort Pitt, 
 says : 
 
 "At this time [June, 1772] the fortification [Fort Pitt] was re- 
 maining, but somewhat impaired. Here were about eighty sol- 
 diers, with one commanding officer. It is said the erecting of 
 this fort cost the Crown £100,000 sterling; by some orders in 
 the fall, it was demolished and abandoned. East at about two 
 hundred yards distance, by the Monongahela, there is a small 
 town [Pittsburgh], chiefly inhabited by Indian traders and some 
 mechanics. The army was without a chaplain, nor was the town 
 supplied with any minister. Part of the inhabitants are agreeable 
 and worthy of regard, while others are lamentably dissolute in 
 their morals." — -Jones' youtvial, p. 20. Such was Pittsburgh one 
 hundred and ten years ago. 
 
 ^ It would have been nearer correct had he said " the present 
 Lancaster (then an Indian town called the Standing Stone, in 
 English), in what is now the State of Ohio." 
 
 In the fall of iSoo, Ebenezer Zane laid out a town on the 
 Hockhocking river, in what is now Fairfield county, O., to which 
 he gave the name of New Lancaster. It retained that name 
 legally until 1S05, when, by an act of the legislatin-e, the word 
 " New" was dropped ; but the place continued to be called by its 
 original name long after by the early settlers. Near by stands a 
 
12 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 length of time, in his employ, having the care and 
 oversight of his goods, I was taken prisoner by the 
 Delaware Indians/ in the following manner, when 
 about seventeen years of age : — On the loth day of 
 April, 1772,' when my employer had been from home 
 
 bold eminence, which, at an early day, gave the name of the 
 Standing Stone to a Delaware Indian village located there. 
 
 The Rev. David Jones was here on Tuesday, February 9, i773- 
 He says : " Before nine o'clock, came safe to Mr. McCormick's, 
 at the Standing Stone. This town consists chiefly of Delaware 
 Indians. It is situated on a creek called Hockhocking. The 
 soil about this [place] is equal to the highest wishes, but the creek 
 appears muddy. Though it is not wide, yet it soon admits large 
 canoes, and from hence peltry is transmitted to Fort Pitt. Over- 
 took here Mr. David Duncan, a trader from Shippen's town, who 
 was going to Fort Pitt." — Jones' yournal, p. S6. 
 
 Lancaster (as it is now called), the capital of Fairfield county, 
 Ohio, is situated on the Hocking river and the Hocking canal, 
 thii"ty-two miles southeast of Columbus, one hundred and sixteen 
 miles east northeast of Cincinnati, and fifty- two miles west south- 
 west of Zanesville. It is on the Columbus and Hocking Valley 
 railroad where it crosses the Cincinnati and Muskingum Valley 
 railroad. 
 
 'The Standing Stone (now Lancaster, Ohio,) was the farthest 
 town to the southwest inhabited by Delaware Indians at this date. 
 From this point northeast was Delaware territory (as claimed by 
 that tribe) well up to Pittsburgh. Their principal town was 
 Coshocton, on the Muskingum river, the site of the town of 
 that name, county-seat of Coshocton county, Ohio. 
 
 ^ This date is incorrect, as shown by what follows. The year 
 was 1774. 
 
Biography of John Leeth. 13 
 
 two weeks, I was lying on some skins in my em- 
 ployer's store; an Indian boy came to me, and told [6] 
 me his father wanted to see me. I went with him; 
 and when I came to the old man, he showed me a place 
 to sit down. I took my seat with much wonder and sur- 
 prise. As I could not yet understand Indian language, 
 the old Indian having a white woman for his wife,^ made 
 her interpreter for us. [He began with asking me if 
 I had heard the news that a war had broken out be- 
 tween the whites and Indians; that the Shawnees" had 
 killed seven white men, and taken four prisoners ;^ 
 that the Virginians had taken Mingo Town, at Cross 
 
 *By this it will be seen that two years before the commence- 
 ment of the Revolution, what is now Lancaster, Ohio, had at least 
 one white resident who was not a trader. Of her history, nothing 
 whatever is known. 
 
 ^The Shawanese, in 1774, had their homes in a number of 
 villages upon the waters of the Scioto river and beyond, in 
 what is now the State of Ohio ; but there were outlying towns 
 of theirs to the eastward as far as the Muskingum below 
 Coshocton. The " Pickaway plains" may be considered as hav- 
 ing been, at that date, about the center of their territory. 
 
 ^ It is now impossible to say exactly what act of hostility is 
 here referred to as being the first on the list of those result- 
 insr in what is known as Lord Dunmore's war. But the im- 
 portance of the statement consists in the assertion that the 
 Shawanese were the aggressors-^the first to commence the 
 work of death. 
 
^ 
 
 14 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 Creek, on the Ohio River/_[ I answered him, that I 
 had heard nothing of it. He asked me what I 
 thought of the matter. With a trembling heart I 
 informed him, I knew not what to think of it ; that 
 I had never done them any harm ; I had no hand 
 in the matter, and hoped they would take care of 
 me. He then told me to rise and stand up on my 
 feet. With the fearful expectation he intended to 
 kill me immediately, I arose, and stood before him. 
 He then proceeded, — "Your mother has risen from 
 the dead to give you suck;" at the same time point- 
 ing to his wife's breast; then laid his hand on his 
 own breast, and said, — " Your father has also arisen 
 to take care of you, and you need not be afraid, for 
 I will be a father to you," He then embraced my 
 neck, and called the chiefs around him ; when they 
 proceeded to divide the store-goods, spirits, and all 
 that I had care of, among themselves." 
 
 VJ" The Mingo town mentioned above was on wliat was 
 known as the Mingo bottom, just below the present Steubea- 
 ville, Jefferson county, Ohio. The town was not taken by 
 the Virginians as the Dchiware chief supposed ; but the 
 Mingoes, immediately after the killing of Logan's relatives 
 and other Indians, opposite the mouth of Yellow creek, on 
 the 30th of April, 1774, by Greathouse and paity, left the 
 Ohio river never to return// 
 
 -This fact has an important bearing upon the question as 
 to the disposition of the Delawares towaids the white traders, 
 at the first report of war existing between the Shawanese and 
 
Biography of John LeeiJi. i 5 
 
 The same fall, General Dunmore,^ a British officer, 
 came out against the Indians, with a considerable 
 army of whites;'" and after a variety of skirmishing 
 and manoeuvreing, a decisive battle was fought at the 
 
 Mnigocs on the one side and the Virginians on the other. 
 The Delawares as a tribe were not drawn into the conflict. 
 The confiscation of the goods belonging to the trader at tlie 
 Standing Stone, in care of Leith, would probably not have 
 taken place in any other of the Delaware villages ; but there 
 Shawanese influence was predominant. 
 
 ^John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, one of the repre- 
 sentative peers ot Scotland, was, at that date, governor of 
 Virginia. 
 
 ''In July, 1774, Major Angus McDonald arrived over the 
 mountains with a considerable force of Virginia militia, which, 
 when embodied with those already raised in the West, amounted 
 to seven hundred men. McDonald went down the Ohio as 
 far as Wheeling, in order to take command, as there the whole 
 force rendezvoused. A stockade fort (Fort Fincastle) was 
 erected under the joint directions of Major McDonald and 
 Captain William Crawford. 
 
 On the 26th of July, about four hundred men, having left 
 Wheeling, arrived at the mouth of Fish creek, on the east 
 side of the Ohio, twenty-four miles below. Here they de- 
 termined to move against the Shawanese villages upon the 
 Muskingum river, in what is now Muskingum county, Ohio. 
 The men were led by Major McDonald. Captain Crawford 
 remained in command at Fort Fincastle. The expedition 
 proved successful. Wakatomica (near what is now Dresden, 
 Ohio,) and other Shawanese towns were destroyed, and con- 
 
1 6 Biog7^aphy of John Leeth. 
 
 mouth of the Big Kenhawa ;^ the Indians retreated 
 with the loss of about twenty-five; the army pursued 
 and overtook them while they were crossing the river, 
 and killed about twenty-five more; after which the 
 Indians returned to their habitations, and gave up 
 the contest for that time.^ Some time after, news 
 
 siderable plunder secured. This was the first effective blow 
 struck by Virginia troops in Lord Dunmore's war. 
 
 Lord Dunmore left Williamsburg, Virginia, July lO, i774) 
 for the frontiers, reaching Fredericksburg on the i^th and Win- 
 chester some days after. Here he remained some time, to get 
 in order as many men as possible for service against the savages. 
 Such as v\^ere raised in the counties of Frederick, Berkeley, 
 and Dunmore were put under the command of Adam Stephen 
 as colonel. About the end of August they marched for Pitts- 
 burgh, accompanied by his Lordship. On the last day of 
 September, Dunmore reached Wheeling with twelve hundred 
 men. Major (previously Captain) Crawford, with five hundred, 
 was sent in advance to the mouth of the Hocking river, where 
 he commenced the erection of a stockade, which received the 
 name of Fort Gower, Duinnore arriving with the residue of 
 his men in time to take part in its construction. Here we will 
 leave him for the present. 
 
 ^ By Big Kenhawa is meant the river now known as the 
 Gieat Kanawha. 
 
 ^ Before Dunmore left Williamsburg he had authorized Colo- 
 nel Andrew Lewis to march an army down this river to its 
 mouth, there to erect a fort ; and then if he thought proper to 
 attack the hostile towns of the savages beyond the Ohio. Lewis 
 reached his point of destination, where he was unexpectedly 
 attacked by the Indians (Shawanese, Mingoes, and some from 
 
Biography of John Leeth. 1 7 
 
 came that Dun more was marching up the Hock- 
 hocking Ri[7]ver/ with an army ;'- when some of the 
 
 other tribes) on (he loth of October. A battle ensued which 
 lasted till nightfall. Lewis claimed the victory, but suffered 
 severely in killed and wounded. This is the conflict known 
 in history as the battle of Point Pleasant. 
 
 ^ Hocking river, Ohio, rises in Fairdeld county, runs south- 
 eastward through Hocking and Athens counties, and enters 
 the Ohio riv'er about fourteen miles below Parkersburg, West 
 Virginia. The chief towns on its banks are Lancaster, Logan, 
 and Athens. It traverses the Ohio coal-field. 
 
 ^ In a previous note we left Lord Dunmore with his army 
 at the mouth of the Hocking river assisting Captain Crawford 
 in finishing " Fort Gower." At that time his Lordship was 
 ignorant as to whether Colonel Andrew Lewis with his men 
 had reached the Ohio, a message sent by Dunmore having 
 arrived at the mouth of the Great Kanawha in advance of that 
 officer. Another express was thereupon dispatched, which, on 
 the 8th of October, 1774, found Lewis at Point Pleasant — the 
 name of the place in the forks of the Great Kanawha and the 
 Ohio. His orders were to march up the Ohio and join Dun- 
 more at the mouth of the Hocking. Meanwhile scouts had 
 been sent by him to Dunmore. These returned to Point Pleas- 
 ant on the 13th of October, three days after the battle there, 
 with an order from his Lordship (who was ignorant of what 
 had taken place between Lewis' force and the savages) to march 
 directly toward the Shawanese towns upon the Scioto, and join 
 him at a certain point on the way. 
 
 Lord Dunmore now put his division in motion up the Hock- 
 ing river for the same destination to which Lewis had been 
 ordered, namely, the Shawanese towns. It was just at this time 
 
1 8 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 Indians proposed to kill me, and put me out of the 
 way; but my late father, (for he was a father to me in- 
 deed,) interfered, and prevented their horrid intention. 
 They then commenced their flight from the Towns, and 
 took me with them, with my hands bound behind my 
 back ; they took me a long and wearisome journey to 
 their camp.^ Before we arrived at the camp, I formed 
 a firm and settled resolution to make my escape, 
 if any opportunity should offer, at which I made 
 several attempts; but was so closely watched, that all 
 possibility of an escape was utterly abortive. General 
 Dunmore marched to Shawnee Town, where Chilli- 
 cothe now is," where he received a letter informing him 
 that war was proclaimed ; and not thinking himself safe 
 in the situation he was, in order to make his escape, 
 
 that news was received upon ihe Scioto by the Indians, as re- 
 lated by Leith, of the advance of Dunmore up the " Hockhock- 
 ing river with an army." 
 
 ^ Their camp was doubtless some one of the Shawanese vil- 
 lages upon the waters either of tlie Little Miami or Great Miami 
 river, in what is now the State of Ohio. 
 
 ^Our last mention of Dunmore was to the effect that both 
 divisions of his army were marching for the Shawanese towns, — 
 he by way of the Hocking river, and Lewis across from the 
 mouth of the Great Kanawha. His Lordship was overtaken on 
 his march by a courier from Lewis, informing him of the hard- 
 fought battle with the Shawanese and Mingoes at Point Pleasant, 
 on the loth of October. On the 17th, Lewis crossed the Ohio, 
 and, agreeably to orders, marched directly for the Scioto to join 
 
Biography of John Leeth. \ 9 
 
 made a pretended peace with the Indians.^ After the 
 cessation of hostilities, my father gave me and his two 
 sons our freedom, with a rifle, two pounds of powder, 
 four pounds of lead, a blanket, shirt, match-coat, pair 
 of leggins, &c. to each, as our freedom suits; and told 
 us to shift for ourselves. Having my freedom to act 
 for myself, but destined to remain in an uncultivated 
 wilderness, where no voice was heard but the yells of 
 savages, the howling of wolves, and the dread screams of 
 
 Dunmore. A junction of the two forces occurred before the 
 Scioto was actually reached, under circumstances soon to be 
 related. 
 
 Leith's idea was that Lord Dunmore actually reached the spot 
 now the site of the ciiy of Chillicothe, Ohio, then one of the 
 Sliawanese towns ; but such was not the fact. His Lordship was 
 met, before he reached the Indian villages, with a deputation from 
 the enemy aiixious for an accommodation. A treaty was held at 
 *' Camp Charlotte," in what is now Pickaway county, Ohio, — some 
 of the Shawanese villages being in the immediate vicinity ; but 
 the arrival of Lewis and his gallant troops, fresh from the red 
 field of conflict at Point Pleasant, breathing revenge against the 
 savages, was an element diflicult to be controlled by Dunmore. 
 However, no order was intentionally disobeyed by Lewis, who 
 was commanded to return with his division to the mouth of the 
 Great Kanawha. 
 
 ' Leith's information was singularly inaccurate as to the peace 
 entered into between Dunmore and the Indians. He (Leith) was 
 not present at " Camp Charlotte" at the time, having been taken 
 a considerable distance to the westward, as is just before explained 
 by himself The treaty was dictated to the Shawanese and Min- 
 
20 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 the panther; no cultivated fields or lowing herds, nor 
 any prospect for the support of life, but what the dreary- 
 regions of a wide and boundless wilderness presented, 
 was appalling and discouraging ;^ and what added hor- 
 ror to my situation was, it was death to make an attempt 
 at seeking a more hospitable and fruitful clime : How- 
 ever, Providence smiled on me, and I made my living 
 by hunting, and trading with the Indians. In the course 
 of about two years, I had accumulated a considerable 
 
 goes by Dunmore ; for a peace had already been conquered by the 
 Virginians at a sacrifice of many vahiable lives, at Point Pleasant. 
 
 The stipulations were that the Shawanese and Mingoes were to 
 give up all the prisoners ever taken by them in war with the white 
 people still remaining in their possession or living with them ; 
 also, all negroes and all the horses stolen or taken by them since 
 the last war. And, further, no Indian was, for the future, to hunt 
 on the east side of the Ohio, nor any white man on the west side. 
 As a guarantee, on the part of the savages, of the fulfillment of 
 their agreement, they were to give up four of their chief men as 
 hostages, who were to be relieved yearly, or as they might choose. 
 It was also arranged that a supplemental treaty should be held 
 the ensuing spring at Pittsburgh. However, the Mir.goes were 
 not brought fully to terms until their towns in what is now 
 Franklin county, Ohio, had been destroyed by a detachment sent 
 against them by his Lordship under Major William Crawford. 
 With hostages to insure the fulfillment of the stipulations of the 
 treaty, Dunmore retraced his steps down the Hocking river; and 
 the war was ended. 
 
 ^ This rhetorical flourish is probably to be charged up to Mr. 
 Jeff'ries. 
 
Biography of John Leeth. ii 
 
 property in skins, furs, &c. perhaps to the amount of 
 two or three hundred dollars, spending my time mostly 
 in some useful employment.^ 
 
 About two years from the time of my freedom, about 
 twenty Indians came from another tribe ; and while I 
 [8] was dealing with a trader and his assistant, took us 
 all prisoners with all our property. They took me a 
 considerable rout through the wilderness; and after 
 some days sold me to another nation of Indians.^ Soon 
 after I was sold, my purchaser informed me he did not 
 buy me for the purpose of enslaving me; it was only 
 because he loved me and wished me to stay with him ; 
 and gave my liberty on my promise not to leave him.^ 
 At that time I had nothing but my gun. I then 
 set out once more to shift for myself in the woods; 
 and by hunting and trading that fall and spring,* 
 accumulated furs and skins to the amount of seventy 
 or seventy-five dollars.^ 
 
 ^Although the narrator was free to act for himself, his connec- 
 ticn with the Dela wares had by no means ceased. 
 
 ^ The narrative is here provoklngly silent as to the names of the 
 two tribes who had, in succession, their white prisoner with them. 
 Certain circumstances induce the belief that the first mentioned 
 was the Shawanese tribe ; the other, the Wyandot. 
 
 'This declaration of Leith's purchaser certainly exhibits that 
 savage in a very amiable light. 
 
 *This was in the spring of i777- 
 
 ^It seems that, among other places visited by Leith, the valley 
 of the Vernon river, in what is now the central part of the State 
 
22 Biography of John Leelh. 
 
 About this time, the war between Great Britain and 
 America,^ with their Indian allies," was at its height. I 
 went with some of the Indian traders to Detroit;^ and 
 when we arrived there, the British had the command and 
 control of the place, furnishing the Indians with fire- 
 arms, ammunition, the tomahawk and scalping-knife, to 
 assist them against the whites of America. Having by 
 this time become perfectly acquainted with the Indian 
 language,^ and inured to their habits and customs, I 
 then engaged with an Indian trader, who was to pay me 
 
 of Ohio, was one of his favorite hunting-grounds during this 
 period. 
 
 During the summer of 1S25, Mr. Leith visited the family of 
 Lyman W. Gates' father in Knox county, Ohio, and spent some 
 time there. Wishing to visit Mt. Vernon, the county-seat of that 
 county, Mr. Gates' father accompanied him. Wlien they had 
 reached the Gotshall place, Mr. Leith got off' his horse, and pointed 
 out the places where he had lain in vvait for the wild animals to 
 come and drink, and where he shot them. He also pointed out 
 other localities along the road where he had hunted successfully. 
 
 Vernon river rises in the present county of Morrow, Ohio, runs 
 eastward through Knox county, and enters the Mohican (or 
 Walhonding) river, in the western part of Coshocton county. 
 
 'Meaning, of course, the Revolution. 
 
 '^That is, the war of Great Britain and her Indian allies with 
 America, was, etc. 
 
 'This was in the year 1777. Detroit was identical with the 
 site of the pre&ent city of that name, the metropolis of Michigan. 
 
 * Leith means evidently the Wyandot language. He could, of 
 course, speak the Delaware also, and probably the Shawanese. 
 
Biography of John Leeth. 23 
 
 seven pounds ten shillings per month, with victuals and 
 clothing exclusively.' After engaging me, my employer 
 returned to Sandusky," where he had been a considerable 
 time engaged, leaving his goods with me to take on by 
 water, across the Lake. Fort Detroit was then under 
 martial law,"^ and no person was permitted to go in or 
 out without a pass from the Governor'^ thereof. When 
 
 'The word ''exclusively" is liere used in the sense of "in- 
 cluded." It is subsequently employed in this narrative, having the 
 same meaning. The trader's name was Arundle. 
 
 ^ Lower Sandusky, now the site of Fremont, in Sandusky 
 county, Ohio. 
 
 The Sandusky river, on which Lower Sandusky was situated, 
 rises in Springfield township, Richland county, Ohio, flowing a 
 southwesterly course, through Crawford county, passing into 
 Wyandot county, a little over two miles north of the southeast 
 corner. Soon after it sweeps around to the northward, and, fol- 
 lowing generally a northerly direction through that county, 
 enters Seneca county. It pursues the same general course 
 through Seneca and Sandusky counties, falling into the head of 
 Sandusky bay about eighty miles, by the course of the stream, 
 from its source. 
 
 ' There were then in the fort four companies of the Eighth (or 
 King's) regiment, commanded by Captain (afterward Major) R. 
 B. Lernoult ; two companies of Butler's Rangers, commanded by 
 Captain William Caldwell, and one company of the Forty-seventh 
 regiment, commanded by Captain Thomas Aubrey. The British 
 also had a small navy, which commanded the lakes. There were, 
 usually, several hundred Indians gathered about the foit. 
 
 * Under the Qiiebec act of 1774, Colonel Henry Hamilton, 
 formerly a captain in the Fifteenth regiment, was appointed by 
 
24 Biography of John Leetk. 
 
 I had made my arrangements to start with the goods, I 
 went to the Governor for a pass, informing him my em- 
 ployer had left orders with me to follow on after him, 
 with the goods. He asked where I wanted to take 
 them. I told him to Sandusky. He then asked me what 
 my employer gave me per month. I told him. He said 
 it was not enough, and if I would join the Indian de- 
 partment under his command, he would give me two 
 
 Governor Carlton, in 17755 " Lieutenant-Governor and Superin- 
 tendent of Detroit and its Dependencies," including the entire 
 Northwest. He had doubtless been selected because of his ca- 
 pacity, energy, and zeal, and with reference to the impending diffi- 
 culties between the colonies and the mother country. Henceforth, 
 and during the entire Revolution, Detroit was the center of British 
 power in the Northwest. The relentless and cruel Indian war- 
 fare that was carried on against the border settlements of Penn- 
 sylvania, Virginia, and Kentucky received its inspiration and 
 direction from this point. 
 
 In the latter part of winter, or early in the spring of that year 
 (that is, 1777)' Governor Hamilton sent a war hatchet, wrapped 
 in a belt of red and white beads, to the Ohio Indians. It was 
 accepted by the Wyandots and Shaw^anese, but rejected by the 
 Delavsares. Its effect was at once apparent. On tlie 6th of 
 March, a large party of Indians appeared before Harrodsburgh, 
 in Kentucky. On the 24th of April, Boonsborough was attacked, 
 and again on the 23d of May ; and, on the 30th of May, Logan's 
 fort. On the 27th of July, Hamilton reported to Secretary Ger- 
 maine that he had already sent out fifteen several parties of In- 
 dians, consisting of two hundred and eighty-nine braves, with 
 thirty white officers and rangers, to prowl on the frontiers of 
 Pennsylvania and Virginia. 
 
Biography of Jo hi Leeth. 25 
 
 dollars per [9] day/ and one and a half rations exclu- 
 sively." I then asked him what he wanted me to do. 
 He answered, he wanted me to interpret for them, and 
 sometimes go to war with them, against their enemies;^ 
 observing, as I understood both languages,'* I would be 
 
 'The following was the pay of" Officers, Inspectors, Smiths, 
 etc., in the Indian Department at Detroit, October 24, 1779 •" 
 Duperon Baby, Alexander McKee, Isadore Chene, Charles Beau- 
 bien (each under pay at ten shillings sterling per day) ; Mat- 
 thew Elliott, Simon Girty, James Girty, George Girty, Pierre 
 Drouillard, William Tucker, Robert Surplus, Fontenoy Dequin- 
 dre (each sixteen shillings, York currency, per dayj ; Nicolas 
 Loraine (ten shillings, York currency) ; Jeancaire Chabert (eight 
 shillings, York currency, and ten shillings sterling from 24th 
 March) ; Claud Lubute, Henry Baby, Francis Diel, Dnplessis, 
 La Seuexe, Gregor McGregor, Sampson Fleming, Charles Guion, 
 Thomas McCarly. 24^// yune — Francis L'Coellie, D. Dequindre 
 (each eight shillings, York, per day) ; John Mackay (four shil- 
 lings, York). Leith's pay as interpreter would have been the 
 same as that of Simon Girty, who was thus employed. 
 
 ^ The word " exclusively " is here used, as once before by Leith 
 in this narrative, for " included." 
 
 'Just what Lieutenant-Governor Hamilton desired of his inter- 
 preter is here explicitly given. It was not only " to interpret for 
 them " (that is, for the Indians then in alliance with Great Brit- 
 ain), but " sometimes to go to war with them against their ene- 
 mies ;" that is, against the frontier settlements of Pennsylvania, 
 Virginia, and Kentucky. To go to war with them meant, of 
 course, to take up the hatchet in true Indian style — to kill indis- 
 criminately men, women, and children. 
 
 * That is, the Shawanese and Wyandot tongues, else he would 
 
26 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 of peculiar service to them. This so affrighted and 
 confused me, that I did not know what answer to give 
 him ; but told him, as an excuse, that I was a very 
 unhealthy, weakly youth, and not able to perform such 
 services. He then requested me to go to him the next 
 morning, at nine o'clock; accordingly, I went at that 
 hour. He then enquired if I had considered of the 
 offer he had made me the evening before. I told him 
 I had; and urged the same excuse for not complying 
 with it. He answered, — " If you are not fit for the 
 service, you are not fit for Sandusky ; and you will 
 stay where you are." My employer had a partner^ in 
 the Fort; and I consulted him on the matter. I told 
 him he had better give me a discharge, as the Gov- 
 ernor would not let me go. He answered he would 
 not discharge me, but would wait the result of the 
 matter ; until which time he would board me at 
 Forsyth's Tavern ;^ and if I got my wages, I need 
 not care where I was. I acquiesced to the proposi- 
 tion, and went there to board. After some time 
 elapsed, while in that situation, as I was sitting in 
 one of the lower rooms, lamenting my condition, 
 
 not have been engaged to trade at Sandusky, which was a Wyan- 
 dot town, where the Shawanese also frequently brought their 
 peltry. Leith could also speak the Delaware language ; but this 
 tribe had not yet left the Muskingum and Tuscarawas. 
 
 ' One Robbins. 
 
 ^ The principal hostelry at that date in Detroit. 
 
Biography of Jo/m Leeth. 27 
 
 lest some sad misfortune should befall me, I heard 
 some men enter the house above; they inquired of 
 the landlady if there was a man by the name of Leeth 
 boarding there. She answered in the affirmative ; and 
 they observed, they would be glad to see him. She 
 came down and informed me, that some gentlemen 
 above wished to see me ; and requested I would go 
 up. I answered her, that I was afraid their visit por- 
 tended no good to me, and I was in a peculiar situation, 
 and felt some fears in going up. She informed me, they 
 were very clever gentlemen, and I need not fear to go up : 
 upon which, I went with her into the room. On my ar- 
 rival in the room, they presented me with a [10] chair — 
 I sat down. They then, with the utmost complaisance 
 and affability, presented me with some wine ;^ my mind 
 being considerably on the alert, and not knowing their 
 
 ' There seems to have been an abundance of wine in Detroit 
 during the Revohition. Not long subsequent to the incident 
 narrated above, the commanding officer at that post was fur- 
 nished with four casks of Madeira, of li^ gallons each, at forty 
 shillings per gallon, and one cask of red port, of thirty gallons, 
 at thirty shillings. Other gentlemen were frequently supplied 
 with wine bv the cask. In striking contrast with this was its 
 scarcity in the Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh) region during that conflict. 
 In a letter from James Marshel, lieutenant of Washington 
 county, Pennsylvania, to Brigadier-General William Irvine, 
 commanding that post and its dependencies, dated May 29, 
 1782, the writer says: ''I have been asked by a Presbyterian 
 minister and some of his people to request you to spare one 
 
28 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 intentions towards me, I refused to take any for some 
 time; but at length, through their friendly persua- 
 sions, I consented and took some. After this cere- 
 mony was over, they informed me that they had un- 
 derstood the Governor had refused to give me a pass, 
 and I was then detained, though on wages, against my 
 will. I answered in the affirmative; when they let 
 fall a volley of curses on him, and advised me not 
 to yield to him; but continue in the Fort. " It may 
 be," said they, " you do not like to board at the 
 Tavern ; if not, and you had rather be at a private 
 house, preparation shall be made for you to live with 
 us." Their complaisance won my affections ; and I 
 accepted their offer. They, being traders also, em- 
 ployed me to spy around the town, and when any 
 Indians brought skins, furs, &c. to market to deal 
 for them, in their behalf, as I understood the Indian 
 language, and had a better opportunity of trafficking 
 in that way, than themselves; for which rhey gave me 
 from two to five dollars per day, for ten weeks ; dur- 
 ing which time, I was confined to the Fort.^ 
 
 One day, while detained in the Fort, I observed 
 
 gallon of wine for the use of a sacrament. If it is in your 
 power to supply them with this article, I make no doubt you 
 will do it, as it can not be obtained in any other place in this 
 country." ( Washingto7i- Irvine Correspondence. Madison, Wis. : 
 David Atwood, 1SS2, p. 290). 
 
 ' Leith's meaning here is that he was not allowed to leave Detroit. 
 
Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 some soldiers drawing the cannon out of the Fort, 
 and placing them on the bank of the River;' and 
 whilst I was ruminating in my mind, what could be 
 the meaning of this singular mancEuvre, a young silver- 
 smith, with whom I was intimately acquainted, came 
 and asked me to walk with him, and see them fire the 
 cannon. I walked with him to the place where they 
 had carried them. When we arrived there, we found 
 Governor Hamilton, and several other British officers, 
 who were standing and sitting around. Immediately 
 after our arrival at the place, the Indians produced a 
 large quantity of scalps;'^ the cannon fired, the Indians 
 raised a shout, and the soldiers waved their hats, with 
 huzzas and tremendous shrieks, which lasted some 
 [ii] time.'' This ceremony being ended, the Indians 
 brought forward a parcel of American prisoners, as a 
 trophy of their victories; among whom, were eighteen 
 women and children, poor creatures, dreadtully mangled 
 and emaciated ; with their clothes tattered and torn to 
 
 1 
 
 The stream spoken of by Leith was, of course, the Detroit 
 
 river 
 
 That these were scalps of men, women, and children, torn 
 from the heads of inoffensive settlers who had fallen victims to 
 savage cruelty, is certain ; and it is equally certain that, for these 
 scalps, the savages were paid rewards by Hamilton. 
 
 ^ This plain, unvarnished statement shows, beyond all ques- 
 tion, the hideousness, the cruelty, the savageness with which the 
 war was carried on by the British from Detroit and its de- 
 pendencies against the border settlements. 
 
30 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 pieces, in such a manner as not to hide their nakedness ; 
 their legs bare and streaming with blood ; the effects of 
 being torn with thorns, briars and brush. ^ 
 
 To see these poor creatures dragged, like sheep to 
 the slaughter, along the British lines, caused my heart 
 to shrink with throbbings, and my hair to rise with 
 rage; and if ever I committed murder in my heart, it 
 was then, for if I had had an opportunity, and been 
 supported with strength, I should certainly have killed 
 the Governor, who seemed to take great delight in the 
 exhibition.- My business hurried me from this horrible 
 scene, and I know not what became of those poor 
 wretches, who were the miserable victims of savage 
 power. 
 
 Every man in the Fort, capable of bearing arms, was 
 trained twice a week, while I remained there. — I was 
 taken with them one evening on parade, and there 
 
 ' No one can doubt for a moment the truthfulness of this sad 
 recital ; but the most horrible part of the picture was hidden from 
 the narrator's view. The frightful tortures at the stake of un- 
 happy prisoners — what words can describe those savage scenes 
 of daily occurrence in the wilderness during the Revolution ! 
 
 ^If additional testimony were required to fix upon the memory 
 of Lieutenant-Governor Henry Hamilton the stamp of most bar- 
 barous cruelty, this one declaration of Leith's that " he seemed 
 to take great delight in the exhibition," would suffice ; no more, 
 certainly, is needed. To those writers who would fain attempt 
 to mitigate the atrocity of his conduct, the above positive assertion 
 of an eyewitness is commended for their careful consideration. 
 
Biography of John Leelh. 3 i 
 
 seemed to be a kind of providence in it, for it was the 
 means of my not being draughted, as, on that day, I 
 was taken with the ague and fever, and was not fit for 
 service. My employers were very kind to me, and paid 
 every attention in their power. On the next morning, 
 between daylight and sunrise, the drums beat to arms, 
 when my two employers rose immediately, dressed 
 themselves, and obeyed the call. I, also, took my 
 rifle and followed. One of them observing me, asked 
 me where I was going. I answered, I supposed I must 
 go on parade with them. They advised me to go back 
 and go to bed, for there would be a general draught 
 that day, and that I would be the first man draughted, 
 if I were found in the ranks. I went back and did as 
 they directed me, and with fears, and awful apprehen- 
 sions, waited their return. About 10 o'clock, they re- 
 turned, and said they had told me [12] in the morning 
 I would be the first man called in the draught, which 
 was truly the case, but said they answered to my name, 
 and informed the Governor that I was lying sick at 
 their house; and he made no reply. I remained with 
 them for three weeks more, under partly pretended, and 
 partly real sickness ; at the end of which time, my old 
 employer's partner^ came to my habitation, and in- 
 formed me that a favorable opportunity then offered 
 itself for me to leave the Fort, and if I would make 
 
 ^ Whose name, it will be remembered, was Robbins. 
 
32 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 application to the Governor, I might probably get a 
 pass. I, accordingly, waited on the Governor, and told 
 him I had remained a considerable time in the Fort, with 
 my employer's goods, and should be very glad to have 
 an opportunity of taking them to the place of destina- 
 tion, which I could not do without his signature to a 
 pass, which would permit me to leave the Fort. He 
 asked me when I would be ready to start. I told him 
 if I could obtain his permission, I would be ready to 
 start the next morning. He then asked me if I would 
 take some provisions with me. I enquired how much 
 he wanted taken. He answered, four barrels of flour 
 and two of pork, which he wanted left on the way. I 
 answered him, my Boat would be considerably crowded, 
 but I could take that quantity. On that condition, he 
 gave me liberty to go, and sent his provisions on board 
 the Boat the same evening. As I passed the door, go- 
 ing out of his ofiice, the guard observed to me, now 
 you will have to go to the Chief Justice,^ and procure 
 a certificate, before your pass is valid. 1 then went to 
 
 ^Philip Dejain. On the 24th day of April, 1767, Captain 
 George Trumbull, of the 60th (or Royal American) regiment, 
 commandant of Detroit and its dependencies, issued a commis- 
 sion to him as justice of the peace and notary. He also received 
 another commission on the 2Slh of July following from Robert 
 Bayard, major, commanding at that post. Dejain was a mer- 
 chant who had been unfortunate in his business. He spoke both 
 English and French. 
 
Biography of Jo/m Leeih. i^Z 
 
 him, and asked him for a certificate, on which he asked 
 me where was my bail. I informed him I had no bail 
 procured, nor did I know there was any needed under 
 such circumstances. — " Well," said he, " you can not go 
 until you furnish bail, neither can I give you a certifi- 
 cate." ^ I then went to my employer's partner, and in- 
 formed him that matters stood worse with me than ever, 
 for I could not get oflF without giving bail in the sum 
 of five hundred pounds sterling, which I had no idea I 
 could do, and [13] must still remain in the Fort. He 
 then observed he would go my bail. He went with 
 me to the Chief Justice, entered bail for me, and 
 I obtained a certificate.^ Having procured the proper 
 documents for my departure, I set sail next morning, 
 with two hands beside myself, and on the third day ar- 
 rived at Sandusky,- where I found my employer in good 
 
 ' As will soon be shown, Leilh had but little, if any, idea of 
 the conditions of the bond. 
 
 '^In going from Detroit to Lower Sandusky by water, Leith 
 sailed down the Detroit river, across the west end of Lake Erie, 
 into Sandusky bay, and up the bay and Sandusky river to his 
 point of destination — the lower Wyandot town upon that river. 
 This point during the Revolution was the port of entry for sup- 
 plies for the Wyandots, Shawanese and Mingoes, and, before the 
 close of the war, for the Delawares also. Here, too, British sol- 
 diers, officers and employes of the British Lidian department, 
 and, as we have seen, British traders, made their first landing on 
 their way to those tribes from Detroit. 
 
34 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 health, anxiously waiting my arrival. I continued with 
 him, and in his employ, until about the middle of Oc- 
 tober^ following; when, one morning, he appeared to 
 have some very serious reflections; and after a deep 
 study, observed to me, we should have to go to Detroit 
 in a few days. I informed him, that the situation of 
 the place was about as it was when I left there, and 
 I had had such difficulties there before, I believed 
 I should not go there again, while the place was 
 in that situation ; for it was probable I might again 
 meet with the same, or worse difficulties. He then ob- 
 served, I must go, or Robins,'- his partner, would have 
 
 ' That is, by the middle of October, 1777. It will be presently 
 seen that Leith, some days after, saw Lieutenant-Governor Henry 
 Hamilton in Detroit ; but that official left there on the 7th of Oc- 
 tober, 177S, and did not return ; so that the October spoken of by 
 Leith must have been in 1777. 
 
 ^One of the Moravian missionaries, on his way in 1783 from 
 Upper Sandusky to Detroit, along with other missionaries and 
 their families, stopped at Lower Sandusky. There he found a 
 Mr. Arundle and Mr. Robbins, residing as traders. He says: 
 
 " Arriving at Lower Sandusky [in March, 17S2], after several 
 days traveling through the wilderness and swampy grounds; we 
 were kindly received, by two English traders, who resided about 
 a mile from each other, with tlie principal village of the Wyan- 
 dots between them. Mr. Arundle, having a spacious house, took 
 in those who had families, while Mr. Robbins made the two sin- 
 gle brethren welcome at his house ; our conductor lodged with 
 the former. With the assistance of Mr. Ai'undle, a letter was im- 
 mediately written to the commandant at Detroit [Major A. S. De 
 
Biography of John LeeiJi. ^S 
 
 to pay the ,£500^ for which he was bail for me, when I 
 left there. I had not known before, that an obligation 
 
 Peyster], and sent by express to inform him of our arrival at this 
 place." — Heckewekler's Narrative^ pp. 329, 330. 
 
 From what is here said, and from certain otlier extrinsic evi- 
 dence, the conclusion is that Messrs. Arundle and Robbins were 
 partners — the same who employed Leith when he first arrived at 
 Detroit in 1777. 
 
 The following recitnl may not be devoid of interest in this 
 connection : 
 
 "In the spring of the year i7S3, the war-chief [Abraham 
 Kuhn] of the Wyandots of Lower Sandusky sent a white pris- 
 oner (a young man [name unknown], whom he had taken at 
 Fort Mcintosh) as a present to another chief, who was called the 
 Half-King oi Upper Sandusky, for the purpose of being adopted 
 into his family, in the place of one of his sons, who had been 
 killed [in the celebrated Poe fightj the preceding year, while at 
 war with the people on the Ohio. The prisoner arrived, and 
 was presented to the Half-King's wife, but she refused to receive 
 him, which, according to tlie Indian rule, was, in fact, a sentence 
 of death. The young man was, therefore, taken away for the pur- 
 pose of being tortured and burnt on the pile. While the dread- 
 ful preparations were making near the village, the unhappy vic- 
 tim being already tied to the stake, and the Indians arriving from 
 all quarters to join in the cruel act or to witness it, two English 
 traders, Messrs. Arundle and Robbins (I delight in making this 
 honorable mention of their names), shocked at the idea of the 
 cruelties which were about to be perpetrated, and moved by feel- 
 ings of pity aud humanity, resolved to unite their exertions to en- 
 deavor to save the prisoner's life by offering a ransom to the war- 
 chief [Abraham Kuhn], which he, however refused, because, said 
 
36 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 rested on my bail for my return, or, I believe, I should 
 not have left there under such circumstances. How- 
 ever, I determined to relieve my bail; and the next 
 morning we started for Detroit. When we arrived there, 
 I waited on the Governor,^ with my employer; and gave 
 
 he, it was an established rule among them, that when a prisoner 
 who had been given as a present, was refused adoption, he was 
 irrevocably doomed to the stake, and it was not in the power of 
 any one to save his life. Besides, added he, the numerous war 
 captains who were on the spot, had it in charge to see the sentence 
 carried into execution. The two generous Englishmen, how- 
 ever, were not discouraged, and determined to try a last eflbrt. 
 They well knew what effects the high-minded pride of an Indian 
 was capable of producing, and to this strong and noble passion 
 they directed their attacks. ' But,' said they, in reply to the answer 
 which the chief had made them, ' among all those chiefs whom 
 you have mentioned, there is none who equals you in greatness ; 
 3'ou are considered not only as the greatest and bravest, but as the 
 best man in the nation.' ' Do you really believe what vou say?' 
 said at once the Indian, looking them full in the face. ' Indeed, 
 we do.' Then, without saying another word, he blackened him- 
 self, and, taking his knife and tomahawk in his hand, made his way 
 thi'ough the crowd to the unhappy victim, crying out with a loud 
 voice, ' What have you to do with my prisoner.'" and at once cut- 
 ting the cords with which he was tied, took him to his house 
 which was near Mr. Arundle's, whence he was forthwith secured 
 and carried off by safe hands to Detroit." — Heckewelder's Ind. 
 Nations^ pp. 162, 163. 
 
 ^ After the capture of the Illinois country by George Rogers 
 Clark, Hamilton at Detroit planned an expedition for its recovery, 
 to be commanded by himself. It proved a failure, and the com- 
 
Biography of John Leeth. 37 
 
 up my pass and certificate to him. Now, said I to my 
 employer, you need not depend on my services any 
 longer, for I will never again plunge myself into such 
 difficulties, or attempt to get another pass, or give bail 
 in this place ; for I now feel myself a free man, and 
 will go where I please. He told me, I had better take 
 good care in what I said, for if any of the British 
 heard me use such expressions, they would immedi- 
 ately inform against me, and I would be put on board 
 the guard-ship then lying at anchor there. 
 
 mander fell into the hands of Clark. Among others captured 
 was his " grand judge," Philip Dejean, before mentioned. Ham- 
 ilton was sent a prisoner to Virginia, where he, " Grand Judge 
 Dejean," and one Captain La Mothe were, for awhile, ironed and 
 closely imprisoned in a dungeon at Williamsburg; were prohib- 
 ited the use of pen, ink and paper, and from all intercourse, by 
 order of the Council of Virginia, who upon examining the evi- 
 dence before them, found that Hamilton had been guilty of great 
 cruelties to American prisoners at Detroit ; that he had offered 
 rewards for scalps, but none for prisoners, thus inciting the In- 
 dians to murder the defenseless ; that Dejean was the willing in- 
 strument of his cruelty, and that La Alothe had himself led scalp- 
 ing parties, who spared neither men, women nor children. This 
 imprisonment led to a notable correspondence between Washing- 
 ton and Jefferson, the governer of Virginia, and others, as to 
 whether, as prisoners of war, Hamilton and his companions were 
 not entitled to different treatment. They were subsequently re- 
 leased and paroled. Hamilton was afterwards, for one year, 
 governor of Canada, and was then appointed governor of Do- 
 minica, and not long after died. 
 
38 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 I continued in the Fort about a week longer ; 
 when, one morning my employer asked me, when I 
 intended leaving there. I told him, I should go 
 when I pleas[i4]ed. He answered, he wished to know, 
 because he intended to leave there the next morning ; 
 and if I would meet him at Brownstown,^ he would 
 employ an Indian to take my horse around," and take 
 me on board his boat ; *' for," said he, " I can not 
 get along without you." 
 
 1 concluded I would meet him, and went there the 
 same evening;^ where I met him, and got on board 
 his boat; from whence, we made our way to Sandusky ;* 
 
 ^ Brownstown, an Indian village of the Detroit Wyandots, 
 situated on the site of what is now Gibraltar, a post-village of 
 Wayne county, Michigan, on the west side of the Detroit river, 
 at its entrance into Lake Erie, one mile from Gibraltar Station 
 of the Canada Southern railroad. Adam Brown, a Wyandot 
 chief, once resided there ; hence the name — Brownstown. 
 
 ^ That is, around the west end of Lake Erie to Lower 
 Sandusky. 
 
 ^ That Leith was enabled this time to leave Detroit without 
 giving bail, and his having returned there from Lower Sandusky 
 without any ostensible reason given by his employer, except 
 that his partner would have to pay the £500 jDenalty in his bail- 
 bond unless he returned, raises a suspicion that the whole matter 
 was a plan devised by the traders to relieve themselves from the 
 bond. 
 
 *It would seem, beyond all doubt, that it was Lower San- 
 dusky, and not Upper Sandusky, to which they made their way 
 at this time. The location of the former has already been given ; 
 
Biography of John Leeth. jp 
 
 where I remained some time in his employ. Whilst 
 remaining here, a circumstance took place, which was 
 in the utmost degree appalling to human nature; and 
 raised such sensations of horror in my breast, that I 
 never before experienced ; and which, the reader may 
 imagine, for I cannot describe them, A prisoner 
 was brought in by the Wyandotts' and Mingoes,^ to 
 the store of my employer. Before the store door were a 
 number of Wyandotts, waiting to join in the murdering 
 of him. As he was passing the house, they knocked 
 him down with tomahawks, cut off his head, and fixed 
 it on a pole, erected for the purpose; when commenced 
 a scene of yelling, dancing, singing and rioting, which, 
 I suppose, represented something like demons from 
 the infernal regions.^ After their fury and drunken 
 
 the last mentioned was about forty miles farther up the San- 
 dusky river. 
 
 'The valley of the Sandusk}', with considerable outlying ter- 
 ritory, was then, and had been for many years, the home of 
 Wyandot Indians, who had migrated there from the vicinity of 
 Detroit, where still remained a part of the nation. 
 
 ^ The Mingocs had no villages upon the Sandusky river 
 during the revolution ; but, to the southward, at not a great 
 distance, there dwelt different bands of these vagrant Iroquois, 
 in a number of villages. 
 
 ' The importance of this recital is, in an historical sense, 
 two-fold. It settles the question: (i.) that the Wyandots 
 were (notwithstanding their professions to the contrary), so 
 early as 177S, actually fighting against the United States as 
 
40 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 frolick was abated, we sent to the Chief of the Nation^ 
 for liberty to bury the body ; and his answer was, 
 " They do not bury our dead when they kill them, 
 and we will not bury theirs : " on the return of which, 
 we sent another petition, and informed him, that we 
 would remove our store out of the country, if we could 
 not have liberty to bury dead carcases out of our sight. 
 He answered then, that we might do as we pleased 
 with them : on which, we took the head down, placed 
 it to the body, as well as we could, wrapped them in a 
 clean blanket, and buried him as decently as our situa- 
 tion would admit of."- 
 
 allies of Great Britain ; and (2.) that captives were brought 
 from the border to points contiguous to Detroit, and then toma- 
 hawked and scalped, the direct result of Hamilton's barbarous 
 policy of offering a reward for scalps, but paying none for 
 prisoners. 
 
 ^ The Chief of the Sandusky Wyandots at this time was the 
 Half King — so called by the English, — a shrewd but rapacious 
 savage. His residence was not at Lower Sandusky, but at 
 Upper Sandusky, then located on the east side of the river, 
 above what is now a town of the same name, the county-seat of 
 Wyandot county, Ohio, but afterward moved to the w'est side 
 of that stream, about eight miles below its former site, as will 
 hereafter be explained. 
 
 ^ This burial is the Jirst one of any white person known to 
 have taken place within the limits of what is now Sandusky 
 county, Ohio ; and, as first things are, to local historians, import- 
 ant events, it is suggested that this fiict may be of interest to future 
 annalists of that county 
 
Biography of Jo/m LeetJi. 41 
 
 Some time after this scene, the Delaware Indian/ who 
 
 C 
 
 first took me, came to Sandusky, on purpose for me, and 
 said, I must go with him. I parleyed with him for some 
 time, and told him I was not ready, and [15] could not 
 leave my business; but through his insinuating per- 
 suasions, he, at length, prevailed on me to go. I made 
 ready as soon as possible, and accompanied him to 
 Coshocton, (the Muskingum River,)'" where I remained 
 a considerable time, j 
 
 The Spring following,^ I was married to a young 
 
 ' It may be thought strange that a Delaware, at this period, 
 should be found at Lower Sandusky, as his nation was, if not the 
 ally of the United States, quite friendly. But this state of affairs 
 was peculiar to the nation at large. Some bands were, even then, 
 hostile ; and it was not long before a considerable number, with- 
 drew from the Muskingum, and made their homes nearer the 
 British allies — the Shawanese, Mingoes, and Wyandots. 
 
 ■^ Coshocton was then the principal Delaware village, the site, as 
 already explained, of the present town of that name, county-seat 
 of Coshocton county, Ohio. The Muskingum river is formed 
 by the Walhonding and Tuscarawas rivers, which unite at 
 Coshocton. It runs southward, through the present county of 
 Aluskingum ; southeastward, through the counties of Morgan and 
 Washington, and enters the Ohio river at Marietta. It is about 
 one hundred and twenty miles long. The chief towns upon its 
 banks are Zanesville and Marietta. 
 
 ' That is, " the spring following " the year of Leith's arrival at 
 Coshocton ; or, in other words, "the spring of 1779' 
 
42 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 woman, ^ seventeen or eighteen years of age ; also a pris- 
 oner to the Indians ; who had been taken by them when 
 about twenty months old." 
 
 I was then in my twenty-fourth year." Our place of 
 residence was in Moravian Town/ for about two years f 
 about which time, Col. Williams, an American officer, 
 
 ' From the descendants of Leith, I learn that this young 
 woman's name was Sally Lowrey. 
 
 ^ It seems to be certain that Sally Lowrey was taken in 1763, 
 during what is known in history as Pontiac's war. It is a tra- 
 dition of the family descendants that she was captured at Big 
 Cove, in Pennsylania. 
 
 ^As Leith would be very apt to bear in mind his age at his 
 marriage, this assertion may be considered a verity. Now, as he 
 was born on the 15th of March, 1755, he would be, in 1779, in his 
 twenty-fourth year down to the 15th of that month. He must 
 have been married, therefore, in the first half of March, 1779, as 
 his nuptials took place in the spring. I know of no marriage 
 between two white persons of so early a date as this within the 
 present limits of Ohio. 
 
 *This town was known as Gnadenhiitten. It was a Moravian 
 missionary town, where were gathered a number of Indians, prin- 
 cipally Delawares. It was situated on what was then known as 
 the Muskingum, now Tuscarawas, in the present Clay township, 
 Tuscarawas county, Ohio, lying in the outskirts of what is now 
 
 the town of the same name. 
 
 ^The idea is, that the two went to live at Gnadenhiitten soon 
 
 after their marriage ; this is evident from what follows. 
 
Biography of John Leeth. 43 
 
 took possession of Coshocton ;^ and shortly after," the 
 
 ^Leith meant Colonel David Williamson ; but, in this, he was 
 mistaken. The American officer who " took possession of Co- 
 shocton " was Colonel Daniel Brodhead. This was a little over 
 two years after Leith's marriage. Colonel Brodhead, who was 
 then commanding Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh) and its dependencies, left 
 that post on the yih of April, 1781, with over one hundred and 
 fifty regulars, on an expedition against those Delawares who had 
 become hostile, dropjoing down to Wheeling, where David 
 Shepherd, lieutenant of Ohio county, Virginia, had collected 
 one hundred and thirty-four of the militia of his county, including 
 officers. With them went a few friendly Indians — Captains 
 Montour and Wilson, and three other warriors — who evinced a 
 keen desire for the scalps of the hostile Delawares. On the loth, 
 the united force made its way across the Ohio, taking the nearest 
 route to Coshocton. Shepherd's division consisted of four com- 
 panies. The savages were completely surprised. Their town 
 was laid waste ; also a village of theirs just below. Fifteen of 
 their warriors were killed, and over twenty prisoners taken. 
 Large quantities of peltry and other stores were destroyed, and 
 about forty head of cattle killed. The Americans then proceeded 
 up the valley to Newcomer's Town, where there were about thirty 
 friendly Delaware Indians, who were occupying the place. From 
 them, as well as from the Moravian missionaries and their con- 
 verts, whose tovv'ns were not far away, the troops experienced 
 great kindness, obtaining a sufficient supply of meat and corn to 
 subsist themselves and their horses to the Ohio. The expedition 
 proved a decided success ; for the hostile Delawares now entirely 
 forsook the valley of the Tuscarawas and Muskingum, never 
 again occupying either as a permanent abode — drawing back to 
 the Scioto, the Mad river, and the Sandusky. 
 
 ^In September following; that is, in September, 17S1. 
 
44 Biography of John Leetk. 
 
 British, and their Indian allies, took Moravian Town,^ 
 with me, my wife and children," and all the Moravians, 
 prisoners; and carried us to Sandusky.^ After arriving 
 at Sandusky, the British would not suffer me to trade 
 on my own footing, and for myself: — but five of them 
 having placed their funds into one general stock, em- 
 ployed me to attend to their business for them ; and, 
 two of them being mv old employers, they gave me 
 
 ^ The town "taken" was Gnadenhiitten. The Indians who 
 captured the missionaries and their flock was a party of Dela- 
 wares, Wyandots, Monseys, and a small number of Shawanese, 
 headed by Matthew Elliott and a few English and French. The 
 reason for the sacking of this missionary Indian town, as given 
 by Moravian writers, is wholly erroneous. The cause was this: 
 the Indians and the British, who were on an expedition against 
 the border, made this village a resting-place; and. w^hile there, 
 obtained information from prisoners which proved conclusively 
 that the Moravian missionaries had informed the Americans of 
 their intended raid. (See Washington-Irvine Correspondence, 
 pp. 5S-60.) 
 
 ^ The family of Leith consisted of his wife and two children. 
 The eldest, Samuel, died in Fairfield county, Ohio, in 1S20. 
 Both his children were boys, and both were born at Gnadenhiit- 
 ten. Samuel having been born in 17S0, was the second white 
 child, in point of time, born in the Tuscarawas valley, so far as is 
 now known : the first was John Lewis Roth, born in Gnadenhiit- 
 ten, July 4, 1773.) 
 
 'The point where the Moravian missionaries and their flock 
 spent the winter of 17S2, was on the east bank of the Sandusky 
 river, something over two miles above what is now Upper San- 
 dusky, Wyandot county, Ohio. 
 
Biography of John Leeth. 45 
 
 the same wacjes as heretofore. "Whilst in this em- 
 ploy, Col's Williams^ and Crawford'- marched with an 
 army, against Sandusky ;" at which time I was closely 
 
 * Colonel David Williamson. He was Colonel of the Third 
 Battalion of Washington county militia, and second in command 
 upon the Sandusky expedition. He was a son of John William- 
 son, and was born in 1752, near Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He came 
 to the western country when a boy ; he afterward returned home, 
 and persuaded his parents to emigrate beyond the Alleghanies, 
 They settled upon Buffalo creek, in what was subsequently Wash- 
 ington county, about twelve miles from the Ohio. At that point, 
 David had a "station" during the Revolution, which, though 
 often alarmed, was never attacked. From the commencement 
 of Indian depredations, Williamson took an active part in the 
 defense of the western border, having previously, during Dun- 
 more's war, held a captain's commission. He was every-where 
 recognized as a true lover of his country — willing to make any 
 sacrifice for its welfare. His activity in guarding the defenseless 
 inhabitants of the frontier settlements was untiring. His having led 
 an expedition, early in 17S3, to the Tuscarawas, which resulted in 
 the killing of a large number of Moravian Indians, resulted in his 
 being severely criticised. After the return of the Sandusky expe- 
 dition, an account of which is presently given, he was soon 
 activel}' engaged in watching the exposed border — continuing his 
 services until the restoration of peace. He was afterward popular 
 with the people of his county, being first county lieutenant, and 
 then elected, in 17S7, to the office of sheriff. 
 
 ''Colonel William Crawford, a biographical sketch of whom 
 is hereafter given. (Page 51, Note.) 
 
 ' That is, against Upper Sandusky — a Wyandot Indian village, 
 situated less than three miles up the Sandusky river, from the site 
 
46 ■ Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 watched by the Indians; and had to make my move- 
 ments with particular regularity ; though I had spies 
 going to and fro, by whom, I could hear, every even- 
 ing, where the army was encamped, for several days. 
 One evening, I was informed, the army was only 
 fifteen miles distant;^ when I immediately sent the 
 hands to gather the horses, &c. to take our goods to 
 Lower Sandusky. I packed up the goods, (about 
 £1500 worth in silver,^ furs, powder, lead, &c.) with 
 such agility, that by the next morning, at daylight, 
 we started for Lower Sandusky. I also took all the 
 cattle belonging to the company, along. After travel- 
 ling about three miles, I met Capt. Elliot, a British 
 officer;" and about twelve miles farther on, I met 
 
 of the present Upper Sandusky, county-seat of Wyandot county, 
 Ohio, but on the opposite side of the stream. The village had, 
 however, been deseited some time before ; and its occupants had 
 moved some distance down the river on the west side, at a point 
 five miles below the site of what is now Upper Sandusky. Its 
 locality was in the present Crane township, Wyandot county, 
 Ohio, just where what is now known as the " Kilbourne road " 
 crosses tlie Sandusky river. It was here that Leith was living 
 with his family when the Sandusky was approached by Craw- 
 ford and his army. 
 
 ' At a point not far from the present village of Wyandot, 
 Wyandot, county, Ohio. 
 
 '■'By "silver" is meant silver ornaments, such as were worn 
 by the Indians. 
 
 ■' Matthew Elliott was an Irishman by birth. He had for- 
 
Biography of John Leeih. " 47 
 
 the whole British army, composed of Col. Butler's 
 Rangers.^ They took from me [16] my cattle, and 
 let me pass. That night I encamped about fourteen 
 miles above Lower Sandusky ; when, just after 1 had 
 
 merly resided in Pennsylvania, east of the Alleghany Mount- 
 ains, and early engaged in the Indian trade, headquarters at 
 Fort Pitt. He was thus employed when hostilities began, in 
 1774, between the Virginians and the Mingoes and Shawanese. 
 He remained in the Indian country until after the battle of Point 
 Pleasant and the marching of Lord Dunmore to the Scioto 
 river, protected by the savages. He was, in fact, their messen- 
 ger, sent by the Shawanese asking terms of peace with the 
 Virginia governor. After the ending of "Lord Dunmore's 
 war," he again traded from Fort Pitt, with the Indians beyond 
 the Ohio, continuing until about the middle of November, 1776, 
 when he was captured near what is now Dresden, Muskingum 
 county, Ohio, by a party of six Wyandots, his goods confiscated, 
 and himself and assistant, one Michael Herbert, taken to De- 
 troit. The next year he was released on parole, and returned 
 to Pittsburgh by way of Qiiebec. In April, 177S, along with 
 Alexander McKee and Simon Girty, he fled his country, and 
 hastening into the wilderness, finally reached Detroit, where he 
 was welcomed as a loyalist by the British, and engaged by 
 Governor Hamilton in the Bntish Indian department. When 
 met by Leith he was making his way in all haste from Lower 
 Sandusky to the assistance of the Wyandots and their allies 
 against Crawford. 
 
 ' The " whole British army, composed of Colonel Butler's 
 Rangers," was a body of British soldiers imder command of 
 Captain William Caldwell, who, like Captain Elliott, was 
 hastening to the aid of the Indians at Upper Sandusky. 
 
48 ' Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 encamped, and put out my horses to graze, there came 
 to my camp, a man, who was a French interpreter to 
 the Indians.^ " Well," said he, " 1 believe I will stay 
 with you, to-night, and take care of you." I told him, 
 he could remain there for the night : but I intended 
 starting; early in the morning. Next morning, after 
 we had got our horses loaded, ready to start, and the 
 Frenchman had mounted his horse, we heard a cannon 
 fire at Upper Sandusky." The Frenchman clapped 
 his hand to his breast, and said, " I shall be there 
 before the battle is begun : " but, alas, poor fellow ! he 
 got there too soon : without fear, or any thought but 
 victory, he went on to where a parcel of Indians were 
 painting and preparing for battle, put on a ruffled 
 shirt, and painted a red spot on his breast; saving, 
 " Here is a mark for the Virginia riflemen ; " and 
 shortly after, marched with the Indians to battle; 
 where, in a short time, he received a ball in the very 
 spot, and died instantaneously.^ I arrived at Lower 
 Sandusky, on the second day, and remained there three 
 
 ^ Francis Le Villier. (See Washington-Irvine Correspond- 
 ence, pp. 305, 36S.) 
 
 ^ Captain Caldwell had cannon with him ; but Leith was mis- 
 taken in supposing that the firing was at Upper Sandusky. The 
 party having them in charge had not yet reached that point. 
 
 ^ The fact of Le Villier's death is corroborated by the official 
 report of Captain Caldwell, written at Lower Sandusky, June 
 II, 17S2. 
 
Biogj'aphy of "John Leefh. 49 
 
 days to hear the event. At length, the Americans 
 under Col. Williams,^ stole a retreat on the Indians, 
 who were gathering around them in great numbers ; but 
 Col. Crawford, with the most of his men, were taken 
 by them." They tomahawked all his men, and burnt him 
 
 ^ The name here given by Leith was intended for "William- 
 son," as in a previous instance. 
 
 '■^Of the volunteers who went upon the expedition against San- 
 dusky, about two-thirds were from Washington county, Pennsyl- 
 vania *, the residue, except a few from Ohio county, Virginia, were 
 from Westmoreland. The final rendezvous was at the Mineo 
 
 to 
 
 bottom on the west side of the Ohio river, where, on the twenty- 
 fourth day of May, 17S2, four hundred and eighty, finally, con- 
 gregated. They distributed themselves into eighteen companies. 
 The general officers elected were : for colonel - commandant, 
 Colonel Wm. Crawford ; for four field majors (to rank in the or- 
 der named), David Williamson, Thomas Gaddis, John McClel- 
 land, and James Brenton ; for brigade major, Daniel Leet. Dr. 
 John Knight went as surgeon ; John Rose, as aid. The guides 
 were Thomas Nicholson, John Slover and Jonathan Zane. 
 
 The volunteers began their march the next day for Upper San- 
 dusky. All were mounted. On the fourth of June, the enemy 
 were encountered a short distance north of what is now Upper 
 Sandusky, Ohio. They numbered something over three hundred, 
 consisting of about two hundred savages — Wyandots, Delawares, 
 Mingoes, and "Lake Indians" — beside the company of rangers 
 from Detroit, under command of Captain William Caldwell. A 
 battle ensued, with the advantage on the side of the Americans. 
 The loss of the enemy was five killed — four Indians and a ran- 
 ger — and eleven wounded, including Captain Caldwell; the 
 
5© Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 alive. After the decisive battle, my employers again in- 
 American loss was five killed and nineteen wounded. The next 
 day (June 5th) the enemy were re-enforced by not less than one 
 hundred and forty Shawanese and by a small detachment of ran- 
 gers. Crawford called a council of war, and it was decided to 
 retreat. 
 
 The return march began soon after dark of the same day, but 
 was attended with considerable confusion. The main portion of 
 the retreating army was joined the next morning by some strag- 
 gling parties, so that the whole numbered about three hundred ; 
 and the retreat was continued. Qiiite a number were missing ; 
 among them were Colonel Crawford, Dr. Knight, Major McClel- 
 land and John Slover. In the afternoon (June 6th), the volun- 
 teers were overtaken by a force of the enemy, in what is now 
 Crawford county, Ohio, and a warm engagement ensued ; but the 
 pursuers were driven off, with a loss to tlie Americans of three 
 killed and eight wounded. The expedition finally reached the 
 Mingo bottom on their return ; and recrossed the Ohio on the 
 thirteenth of June, having with them a number of their wounded. 
 The next day the army disbanded. The entire loss was about 
 fifty men. Of those taken by the enemy, only two escaped — Dr. 
 Knight and John Slover. A number of the captured were toma- 
 hawked ; but Colonel Crawford, his son-in-law (Wm. Harrison), 
 and a few others (all of whom had been made prisoners), were 
 tortured at the stake. Crawford perished miserably, amidbt the 
 most terrible suffering, on the eleventh of June, in what is now 
 Wyandot county, Ohio. (For an extended narrative of this cam- 
 paign, see An Historical Accouni of the Expedition against 
 Sandusky, ujider Colonel William Crawford, i?i 17S3. With 
 biographical Sketches, Personal Reminiscences, and Descrip- 
 tions of Interesti7ig Localities ; Inchiditig, also, Details of t/ie 
 
Biography of John Leeth. 51 
 
 sisted on my moving the store to Upper Sandusky, which 
 
 Disastrous Retreat^ the Barbarities of the Savages^ and the 
 Awful Death of Craivford by Torture. Cincinnati : Robert 
 Clarke & Co., 1S73) 
 
 Note. — William Crawford was born in Westmoreland county, 
 Virginia ; his family, however, early moved to Frederick county, 
 beyond the Blue Ridge. Here he married Hannah Vance. He 
 was about ten years older than Washington, but was taught by 
 the latter the art of surveying. Up until the commencement of 
 the old French war, Crawford's principal duties were such as 
 usually appertain to a farmer's life. In 1755, he forsook the com- 
 pass and the plow for 
 
 " The pomp and circumstance of glorious war," 
 
 receiving from the governor of Virginia a commission as ensign. 
 He was first employed in garrison duty, or as a scout upon the 
 frontiers. In 175S, he marched with the Virginia troops, under 
 Washington, to Fort Duquesne, which post was reached and oc- 
 cupied in November. Crawford remained in the service, being 
 promoted first to a lieutenantcy — afterwards commissioned as 
 captain. At the close of hostilities, he returned to his home and 
 resumed his labors of farmer and surveyor. In Pontiac's war, 
 which followed the seven years' war, he took an active part, doing 
 efficient service in protecting the frontiers from savage incur- 
 sions. 
 
 While in the Virginia army, Crawford became familiar with 
 the country watered by the Monongahela and its branches. He 
 had, indeed, become enamored of the trans-Alleghany region, 
 and resolved, at some future day, to make it his home. The time 
 had now arrived to put his resolution into practical effect. Early, 
 therefore, in the summer of 1765, he reached the Youghiogheny 
 river, where, at a place then known as " Stewart's Crossings," 
 
52 Biography of John Leeth, 
 
 I did as soon as practicable; where I remained about 
 
 in what is now Fayette county, Pennsylvania, he chose liis future 
 residence ; moving his family, consisting of his wife and three 
 children, over the mountains in the spring of 1766. With Craw- 
 ford, at this place, the next year, Washington opened a corre- 
 spondence, which continued until near the time of the above 
 letter. (See The Washington- Crawford Letters. Cincinnati : 
 Robert Clarke & Co., 1S77.) 
 
 Among the first employments of Crawford after his removal, 
 besides farming, were surveying and trading with the Indians. 
 During the year 17705 he was appointed one of the justices of 
 the peace for his county, Cumberland, then the most westerly 
 county of Pennsylvania. In the autumn of that year, he received 
 a visit, at his humble cabin upon the Youghiogheny, from Wash- 
 ington, who was then on a tour down the Ohio. Crawford ac- 
 companied his friend to the Great Kanawha, the party returning 
 to " Stewart's Crossings" late in November, whence Washington 
 leisurely made his way back to Mt. Vernon. 
 
 In March, 177^' Bedford county having been formed from that 
 part of Cumberland including the home of Crawford, he was ap- 
 pointed by Governor Penn one of the justices of the peace for 
 the new county ; and in 1773, the erection of Westmoreland from 
 Bedford taking in his residence, he was commissioned one of the 
 "justices of the court of general quarter sessions of the peace, 
 and of the county court of common pleas" for that county. As 
 he was first named on the list of justices, he became by courtesy 
 and usage the president judge of Westmoreland — the first to hold 
 that office in the county. He was, the same year, appointed 
 surveyor for the Ohio company by the college of William and 
 Mary. 
 
 In 1773, Lord Dunmore, the Governor of Virginia, paid a visit 
 to Crawford, at his house upon the Youghiogheny, the occasion 
 
Biography of Jo Jin Leelh. 53 
 
 three years in their employment.^ About that time 
 
 being turned to profitable account by both parties — by the Earl, 
 in getting reliable information of desirable lands; by Crawford, 
 in obtaining promises for patents for such as he had sought out 
 and surveyed. The next year (1774) occurred " Lord Dunmore's 
 war," a conflict between the Virginians on the one side, and the 
 Shawanese and Mingoes, principally, on the other. In this con- 
 test, Crawford was a prominent actor; — first as captain of a 
 company on a scouting expedition, building, subsequently, along 
 with Major Angus McDonald, a fort at the present site of Wheel- 
 ing; afterward as major in command of troops belonging to the 
 division of the army which descended the Ohio to the mouth of 
 Hocking river, in what is now the State of Ohio. The only 
 fighting done in the Indian country after the bloody battle of 
 Point Pleasant, on the loth of October, was bv a detachment 
 under Crawford, in what is now Franklin county, Ohio, where he 
 surprised and destroyed two Mingo villages, securing some pris- 
 oners, as well as considerable amount of plunder, and rescuing 
 two white captives. 
 
 The interest taken by Crawford in this war operated greatly 
 to uj^rejdice his Pennsylvania friends against him ; for, among 
 them, the conflict had been an exceedingly unpopular one. 
 Crawford, who, at first, had sided with Pennsylvania in the 
 boundary controversy subsisting between it and Virginia, now 
 took part with the latter ; so he was ousted from all offices held 
 by him under authority of the former province. In December, 
 1774, he had been commissioned by Dunmore a justice of the 
 peace and a justice of 03 er and terminer for the county of 
 
 ^ From what follows in his narrative, it will be noticed that 
 Leith's remembrance as to the time was a little at fault; it 
 was about two years and a half 
 
54 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 they dissolved partnership ; when each man took his 
 
 Augusta, the court to be held at Fort Dunmore (Pittsburgh). He 
 did not quahfy, however, for these offices until after he had been 
 superseded in those held by him under Pennsylvania authoiity. 
 Augusta county, as claimed by Virginia, included Crawford's 
 home upon the Youghiogheny ; aftei'ward the district of West 
 Augusta was formed out of that county. Crawford's place of 
 residence then fell in that district. Finally, when Yohogania 
 county was established, his cabin came within its boundaries, 
 and so remained until Virginia relinquished her claim to south- 
 western Pennsylvania. 
 
 Crawford not only took office under Virginia, but he became 
 an active partisan in extending the jurisdiction of his native 
 province over the disputed territory. Some of his acts were 
 doubtless oppressive, though he soon atoned for them in his 
 patriotic course upon the breaking out of the Revolution. The 
 partisan feeling in his breast immediately gave place to the noble 
 one of patriotism. He struck hands with Pennsylvanians in 
 the cause of liberty. 
 
 In 1776 Crawford entered the revolutionary service as Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel of the Fiftli Virginia Regiment — William Peachy, 
 colonel. He remained with his regiment until called to the 
 command of the Seventh, in place of William Dangerfield, re- 
 signed. Afterwards, being assigned to the duty of raising a new 
 regiment — the Thirteenth Virginia — he resigned his command of 
 the Seventh. His time thus far had been spent east of the 
 mountains; but now, late in the year, he returned to his home, 
 as the Thiiteenth — *' West Augusta regiment" — was to be raised 
 west of the Alleghanies. In August, 1777, with about two hun- 
 dred of his new levies, Crawford joined the main army under 
 Washington, who was then near Philadelphia. He rendered 
 
Biography of John Leeth. ^^ 
 
 own share of the goods, &c. and entered into business 
 
 efficient service in the preliminary movements which resulted 
 in the battle of Brandywine, and in that contest not only took an 
 active and prominent part, but came near being captured. He 
 was also, it seems, in the battle of Germantown. Just before 
 this, General Joseph Reed wrote Washington that he had "Colo- 
 nel Crawford" with him, "a very good officer." 
 
 Late in 1777 Crawford returned to his home, having been 
 sent to the West by Washington to take a command under 
 Brigadier-General Edward Hand. The Commander-in-Chief, in 
 writing to the Board of War, on the 23d of the following May, 
 spoke of Crawford as " a brave and active officer." His being 
 ordered to the Western Department lost him the command of 
 the Thirteenth Virginia and his place in the continental line, 
 which Washington, although he regretted the circumstance, 
 could not get restored to him. Under Brigadier-General Lachlan 
 Mcintosh, who succeeded Hand in August, 177S, at Pittsburgh, 
 Crawford took command of the militia of the western counties 
 of Virginia, and had in charge the building of Fort Mcintosh 
 at what is now Beaver, in Beaver county, Pennsylvania. He 
 marched with that officer into the Indian country in November, 
 in command of a brigade, and was present at the building, in 
 December, of Fort Laurens, upon the west bank of the Tusca- 
 rawas river, in what is now Tuscarawas county, Ohio. He 
 returned soon after to his home, and, in the spring, again 
 marched under Mcintosh into the wilderness to the relief of that 
 post. Crawford had now but few prospects before him in a 
 military way, nevertheless he lost no opportunity, when called 
 upon, in serving his country, for he still held his commission as 
 colonel, and continued to hold it until his death. 
 
 Notwithstanding the time spent by him in the army, Crawford 
 found leisure to fill several positions of honor and trust to which 
 
56 Biography of John Leetk. 
 
 for himself. One of them informed me, he was going 
 to establish a store at New Coshocton,^ on the head 
 waters of the Miami River;" and if I would go with 
 him, he would give me the same wages as heretofore ; 
 upon which, I agreed, and went with him. 
 
 he hnd been called by his fellow-citizens at home. In Novem- 
 ber, 1776, he was appointed Deputy Surveyor of Yohogania 
 county, and sat at intervals in 1777 and the following year as one 
 of its judges. In 177S he was one of the commissioners for 
 adjusting and settling the boundary line between Yohogania and 
 Ohio counties, Virginia; and, in 1779, was commissioned as 
 surveyor of his county, continuing in that office to the time of 
 his death, which occurred before the return of the expedition 
 against the Wyandots upon the Sandusky, as related in the 
 previous note. 
 
 ^ New Coshocton, a Delaware town, was three miles north 
 of the site of the present Bellefontaine, Logan county, Ohio. 
 It was also known as Buckongehelas' (or Pokongekalas') town. 
 Leich took his wife and two children with him. He had not a 
 great distance to travel ; about forty-five miles in a southwest 
 direction. The town was on a creek flowing southwest into the 
 Great Miami, in what is now Miami township, Logan county, 
 Ohio. 
 
 "Miami (or Great Miami) river rises in Hardin county, 
 Ohio, and drains part of Logan county. It runs southwestward 
 through Shelby county and southward through Miami county to 
 Dayton, below which it flows southwestward, intersecting the 
 counties of Butler and Hamilton, and entering the Ohio river 
 at the southwest extremity of the state, about three miles above 
 Lawrenceburg, Indiana. 
 
Biography of John Leeth. 57 
 
 [17] Sometime in the following Fall, the treaty be- 
 tween the Americans and Indians, took place at Fort 
 Pitt; when I went with the Indians to the treaty/ and 
 left my wife and children behind, at New Coshocton.^ 
 After matters were settled, and articles of peace signed, 
 
 ' The treaty here referred to was that of Fort Mcintosh, held 
 in January, 17S5 ; but the Indians who were present came in 
 December, 17S4, which was also the month of Leith's arrival. 
 Fort Mcintosh was located near what is now the borough of 
 Beaver, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, on the north side of the 
 Ohio river, about thirty miles down that stream from Pittsburgh. 
 
 ^ "A grand council was held some little time ago at Coshock- 
 ing, on the head waters of the Big Miami, at which were the 
 chiefs of many nations." (Statement of Alex. McCormick to 
 Captain Doughty, October, 17S5, in 7 he St. Clair Papers., Vol. 
 IL, p. ID, note.) Coshocking is a well-known synonymn for 
 Coshocton. As the town was fust occupied during the Revo- 
 lution, l^eith speaks of it as New Coshocton. Its locality has 
 already been pointed out. 
 
 '•I proceeded up the Miami [in the latter part of March, 
 17S6], which I found very rapid ; and on the 27th of April I fell 
 in with a Delaware town [New Coshocton, as called by Leith], 
 the residence of Pokonge-Kalas, a chief of great repute. I left 
 this town on the lOth of May, on my way to Sandusky, having 
 been, from the 37th of April, at two Shawanese and four Delaware 
 towns, and some scattering settlements of Wyandots. On the 
 13th of May, I arrived at the Delaware and Wyandot towns at 
 Sandusky, where I stayed three days — left it on the 15th, and 
 arrived at [Fort] Mcintosh on the 3Sth of May." (Liebert's 
 Report, July 30, 17S6, in The St. Clair Papers.^ Vol. II., pp. 16 
 and 17, note). 
 
5 8 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 I joined In partnership with two others,^ in a trading 
 association; and in a short time, started westward, with 
 thirty-four horses, loaded with ,£1484 worth of goods. 
 I went to Tuscarawas," and stayed about nine months; 
 in which time, I had sold out nearly all our goods. 
 About three months after I arrived there, Capt. Ham- 
 ilton, an American officer,^ came there with another 
 store, and set up close by me; about which time, I got 
 
 ^ One of whom was Mr. David Duncan, of Pittsburgh ; the 
 other's name was Wilson. 
 
 P^This was the old Tuscarawas town, situated on the south side 
 of the Tuscarawas river. It was a little below the old Indian 
 ford, but above the forks ; that is, above the mouth of Sandy- 
 creek. It was known as "Beaver Town at Tuscarawas" in 
 1764. It was not far from what is now the site of Bolivar, Tus- 
 carawas county, Ohio^ 
 
 Tuscarawas river drains a part of Summit county, Ohio, and 
 rims southward through Stark and Tuscarawas counties. It 
 finally flows westward, and unites with the Mohican (or Wal- 
 honding, sometimes called the White Woman) at Coshocton, in 
 Coshocton county, to form the Muskingum. It is about one 
 hundred and twenty-five miles long. The chief town upon this 
 stream is Massillon, Stark county. 
 
 ^ The American army, at this date, was what was called the 
 "First American Regiment." It was under the command of 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Josiah Harmar, headquarters at Fort Mcin- 
 tosh. There was no captain in his force of the name of Hamil- 
 ton ; it is probable, therefore, the captain spoken of by Leith 
 had been " an American oflScer," but was not one at that time. 
 Hamilton had a partner by the name of Greenough, as will be 
 presently seen. 
 
Biography of John Leeih. 59 
 
 my wife and children with me again.^ Some time after, 
 while Capt. Hamilton was gone to Fort Pitt, after 
 goods, several Wyandott Indians came to his store ; two 
 of them killed his clerk," and bore off all his goods; at 
 which, I was sorely frightened and alarmed, lest they 
 should next serve me in the same way. 
 
 While I was sadly ruminating on what might befall 
 me, a Delaware Indian, (one of my old acquaintances,) 
 came to me, and said, "John, I will stand by you, and 
 if you die, I will die by you," We went out soon 
 after, and saw the poor fellow's body lying naked on 
 the ground; we immediately prepared, and started 
 from that place, leaving the naked body of Hamilton's 
 clerk, lying on the ground. On my journey, I fully 
 determined to kill the Indian who had tomahawked 
 him; and thought, when we got to a thicket on Sugar- 
 creek^ bottom, I would accomplish it; but before we 
 arrived there, I got an opportunity to speak to my wife ; 
 when, I told her, my design was to kill that Indian, 
 
 ^ He had left them, it will be remembered, at New Coshocton. 
 
 *James Chambers. 
 
 'Sugar creek rises in what is now Wayne county, Ohio, runs 
 southeastward, intersects the present Stark county, and enters 
 the Tuscarawas river at what is now Canal Dover, Tuscarawas 
 county, Ohio. The stream is ahout fifty miles in length. From 
 the Tuscarawas town to the Shawanese villages upon the Mad 
 river, a branch of the Big Miami, Leith and his family had to 
 cross Sugar creek ; as it was to these towns, as will presently be 
 seen, that Leith and his family were taken. 
 
6o Biography of "John Leeth. 
 
 and make my escape. She immediately burst into 
 tears, and said, " O, John! would you use me so? to 
 kill him, and make your escape, leaving me and my 
 helpless children to the unabating fury of savage bar- 
 barity."^ This so aftected me, that I determined to 
 stay and suffer with her, while I lived, let what 
 [i8] might, turn up. Three days before this event took 
 place, I dreamed that my head was cut off, and a new 
 one put on, and tied with a silk handkerchief: — after 
 my new head was put on, I thought I would bury my 
 old one, and dug a hole under the sill of the store- 
 house ; but when I got the hole dug, I thought some- 
 thing would hurt my head, and refrained. I made two 
 more attempts to bury it ; though it appeared as if I 
 could see the ashes blow in my eyes. 
 
 LWe were then taken to the Shawnee Towns on Mad 
 River ;fjand while I was there, the Indians hid all 
 
 ^ Here, again, Leith's editor has probably indulged in a slight 
 rhetorical flourish. 
 
 ^ Mad river rises in Logan county, Ohio, and runs southward 
 through Champlain county to near Springfield, in Clark county. 
 Below this, it runs southwestward, touching the northwest part 
 of Greene county, and enters the Miami river at Dayton, Ohio. 
 Its length is about one hundred miles. The Shawanese towns 
 were : A small village called Wapakoneta, on a small creek 
 emptying into Mad river, in what is now Salem township. 
 Champaign county, Ohio, about two and a half miles south of the 
 present town of West Liberty, in Logan county ; a village called 
 Mac-a-chack (now usually written and pronounced Mac-a-cheek) 
 
Biography of John Leeth. 6i 
 
 my property at Tuscarawas. After some time, I got 
 a man to go with me to Fort Pitt;^ where I pur- 
 
 on a creek of the same name, on the north side of the stream, 
 somethhig over a mile nortlieast of the site of West Liberty ; a 
 village known as Pigeon town, on the west side of Mad river> 
 about three miles northwest of Mac-a-cheek ; a town named 
 Wapatomica, just below the present town of Zanesville ; and 
 another vidage, on the site of what is now Bellefontaine, called 
 Blue Jacket's town — all in the present county of Logan, Ohio. 
 
 * Leith reached Fort Mcintosh, on his way to Fort Pitt, about 
 the middle of October, 1785. Here Major John Doughty was in 
 command under Lieutenant-Colonel Josiah Harmar. Fortunately 
 enough, Major Doughty took the sworn statement of Leith con- 
 cerning the Tuscarawas affair and what followed immediately 
 thereafter. Leith's affidavit (for which I am indebted to that ex- 
 cellent work. The St. Clair Papers^ by Hon. William Henry 
 Smith, Vol. II, pp. 632, 633,) was as follows : 
 
 " The deponent saith that he was storekeeper for himself and 
 company at Tuscarawas, where he had a quantity of goods and 
 furs ; that there was another store at the same place, kept by 
 James Chambers, for Messrs. Hamilton and Greenough, where 
 was also a considerable amount of goods and skins ; that the 
 whole property in both stores was about the value of one thousand 
 pound [sterling]. 
 
 "That on Tuesday, the 27th of September [17S5], seven of the 
 Wyandot nation came to the store, about nine o'clock in the morn- 
 ing ; the deponent and Chambers were together at his house, sit- 
 ting by the fire ; the Wyandots told the Delawares, a party of 
 whom had been trading with him [Leith] for some days, that 
 there was war — that the hatchet was taken up ; upon which, one 
 of the Delawares came to him [Leith] and bid him rise and go 
 
62 Biography of John Leeih. 
 
 chased horses to go in search of my goods. The 
 
 with him ; the deponent went with him, when the Delaware told 
 him that Chambers would be killed ; he [Leith] soon heard the 
 stroke made at Chambers by one of the Wyandots ; he [Cham- 
 bers] was immediately tomahawked and drawn out before the 
 house, where he was left ; the deponent having been a prisoner 
 with the Delawares for twelve years, and being adopted as a 
 brother in that nation, was the reason, he supposes, why his life 
 was spared ; the Wyandots took the goods and furs, except the 
 property of the deponent, and made two parcels of them ; they 
 gave one division to the Delawares and took the other themselves. 
 
 " The deponent was carried to the Delaware towns to a place 
 called Coshurking [New Coshocton], on the head waters of the 
 Big Miami ; at the time of his arrival, there was a grand council 
 of the Indians, at which were present the chiefs of the Delawares, 
 Wyandots, Shawanese, Mingoes, Cherokees, Pottawattamies, 
 Kickapoos, and the Twightwees [Miamis], with belts and speeches 
 from the Ouiatenons, Tawas [Ottawas], Chippewas, and the Fox 
 nation. The council was held on the first of October, and lasted 
 two days and nights ; they held it three miles from the town ; he 
 [Leith] could not learn the object of their meeting. 
 
 " The deponent further saith that he met with Captain Pipe at 
 the council, and as soon as the council was over, the deponent 
 was released from confinement ; Captain Pipe and George Wash- 
 ington [an Indian] went with him to Pipe's residence, a Delaware 
 town on the Sandusky river [rather, on the Tymochtee, a branch 
 of the Sandusky, in what is now Wyandot county, Ohio] ; they 
 immediately went to work to collect the goods that were taken at 
 Tuscarawas, and had collected a considerable quantity to be re- 
 delivered to the owners ; they staid two nights at Pipe's town, 
 when Pipe, George Washington and the deponent went to the 
 Wyandot towns [on the Sandusky, not far away], where they 
 
Biography of John Leeih. 6^ 
 
 third day we arrived at Tuscarawas ; and after a con- 
 siderable search, found them all. I carried them to 
 
 were collecting the goods also ; that the chiefs of both nations 
 seemed very averse to the outrage committed at Tuscarawas; 
 the deponent verily bcHeves that a considerable quantity of the 
 goods will be returned ; the deponent is of the opinion from the 
 frequent conversations he has had with the Indians, before and 
 since the late afiair at Tuscarawas, that the chiefs of the Dela- 
 ware and Wyandot nations are for peace, but that the young men 
 and bad characters of both nations can not be kept at peace ; that 
 Simon Girty [a renegade American] and Captain [William] 
 Caldwell, of the British rangers, were lately at the Wyandot 
 towns, and that he verily believes, from the information given 
 him by a man well acquainted with these matters, that Girty and 
 Caldwell were using their endeavors to prevent the Delawares 
 and Wyandots from going to the treaty to be held at the mouth 
 of the Big Miami [which treaty was then being advocated by the 
 United States to be holden with the Indians]. 
 
 " The deponent further saith that from every observation he 
 could make, and from the general talk of the Indians, he is led 
 to believe that they are, in general, averse to giving up their 
 lands ; he is certain it will be dangerous for the Continental sur- 
 veyors to go on with their business, until some further treaty is 
 made with the Shawanese, Mingoes, and Cherokees, who appear 
 to be most averse to this business. 
 
 " The deponent further saith that he was at the Lower Sandusky 
 [now Fremont, Sandusky county, Ohio,] when the articles of 
 peace between Great Britain and America were made known to 
 the Indians ; that they were told that the hatchet was only laid 
 •down, but not buried; that the Half-King [head chief] of the 
 Wyandots remarked that if it was peace, it should be buried — 
 
64 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 Fort Pitt, and returned to my family •} after staying 
 with them some time, I again went to Fort Pitt, with 
 the intention of dissolving partnership. I informed 
 my partners, that the times were very dangerous, and 
 trade very uncertain ; and if they were willing, we would 
 dissolve, and quit business ; at any rate for the present: 
 but they had just purchased a large assortment of 
 goods ; and told me, if I would venture my body, 
 they would the goods. I then agreed to set out once 
 more. 
 
 I left Fort Pitt about the 15th of January;- and 
 fixed up a store, in the woods, at Coshocton, at the 
 mouth of Whitewoman creek. ^ In a short time, I col- 
 lected about fourteen horse-loads of skins and furs. 
 The hand^ 1 had with me, set out with them, for Fort 
 Pitt; and after getting about two-thirds of the way, 
 
 that there were many of their foolish young men who would take 
 it up, unless it was covered. And further saith not. 
 
 " Sworn to before me, at Fort Mcintosh, this 17th day of 
 October, 17S5. John Doughty, 
 
 " Major Comm'dt." 
 
 ^ Then at New Coshocton, it will be remembered. 
 
 "^ This was in the year 1786. 
 
 ^ This stream is still known as the White Woman, but usually 
 designated as the Mohican, or Walhonding. It is formed by the 
 Black Fork and Clear Fork, which unite in the south part of 
 what is now Ashland county, Ohio. 
 
 * It is a matter of regret that the name of this man is not 
 given by Leith. 
 
Biography of JoJui Leelh. 65 
 
 the MincTo and Wyandot Indians overtook him, killed 
 him, and took the horses, and all the loading, off with 
 them. I continued there with my family,^ and several 
 horses, until about the first of April, under great appre- 
 hensions and fears. I then moved to Tapacon," twenty- 
 five miles from Coshocton,'" where I left my family, and 
 went on horseback to Fort Pitt. I told [19] my 
 partners, it was risking the property, and our lives also, 
 to continue attempting to trade in such perilous times; 
 and once more, made a proposition to dissolve, and 
 quit, as the Indians had taken all our profits; but they 
 thought I had better try, and stand it out, until the 
 goods were all sold. I then returned to my family ; 
 
 .4 
 
 ^From this, it will be seen that Leith had his family with him 
 at Coshocton. 
 
 ^ Tapacon, or, more correctly, Tiippakin, was the Indian name 
 for New Schonbrunn, the upper Moravian mission town upon the 
 Tuscarawas, on the west side of that stream, one and a quarter 
 miles south of the present site of New Philadelphia, Tuscarawas 
 county, Ohio. The village was left without occupants in Sep- 
 tember, 17S1, upon the occasion of its inhabitants being com- 
 pelled by the British Indians to follow them to the Sandusky. 
 The cabins of the place were burned, early in 1782, by Will- 
 iamson's men, at the time of their killing, their Moravian and 
 other Indian prisoners — a transaction generally known in history 
 as the " Gnadenhiitten affair." 
 
 ^That is, twenty-five miles up the Tuscarawas river from 
 Coshocton. 
 
 *His family was still at " Tapacon." 
 
66 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 but just before my arrival at home, two Indians came 
 to my house, and told my wife, that we had better move 
 to Fort Pitt: they said the Mingoes had killed, and 
 taken all the property of, the two traders^ we left at 
 Coshocton. I then left my goods and skins with the 
 two Indians, and set out with my family, for Fort Pitt; 
 where we arrived in safety.^ Soon after, I returned 
 
 ^William Dawson and Charles McClain. The two traders 
 are spoken of by Leith in such a way as to raise the presumption 
 that he had mentioned them before ; but such was not the case ; 
 nor were the traders killed ; but their employes, four in number, 
 were slain, as explained in the next note. 
 
 ^ Immediately upon Leith's arrival with his family at Fort Pitt, 
 he made an affidavit as to the circumstances that had transpired 
 upon the Muskingum and Tuscarawas, that the information might 
 be sent to the state officials at Philadelphia. It was as follows : 
 
 "Pittsburgh, May i6(h, 17S6. 
 " The information of Mr. John Leith, being this instant arrived 
 from Muskingum [as the Tuscarawas was then called] from his 
 camp, he says that he arrived at his camp from this place on Sat- 
 urday, the thirteenth of this month ; and on his arrival, he found 
 every thing to his satisfaction, only that, by making inquiry, he 
 found that two Delaware Indians had come there above a quarter 
 of an hour before him, who informed him that a certain William 
 Dawson and Charles McClain, who were in the Indian trading 
 business [at Coshocton] were robbed of all their goods and prop- 
 erty that they had with them the same morning, about eleven 
 o'clock, — likewise four of their working hands were killed. The 
 opinion of the above mentioned Indians of Dawson and Mc- 
 Clain's lives being saved was, that it was because of their having 
 
Biography of John LeetJi. 67 
 
 with five men, to Tapacon ; where I found my skins, 
 where the Indians had hid them ; but they had taken 
 the goods and horses with them. We took the skins 
 
 bben formerly British traders, but at this time their goods were 
 from the United States. 
 
 " Tlie same two Indians told Mr. Leith to depart from that 
 place as quick as possible, as he was in very great danger of his 
 life. They likewise were so friendly with him that they took 
 upon themselves to secure all his goods and property that he had 
 at his camp. As for himself, they told him to escape immedi- 
 ately, as they were sure there would be a party of Cherokees and 
 Mingo Indians there that night to cut them all oft' likewise [that 
 is, Leith and his family]. They told him that there was another 
 party gone to the Salt Licks to cut off'the white people that were 
 there — if they had not already got there. Upon the hearing of 
 this news, he [Leith] immediately departed from that place unto 
 here [Pittsburgh], leaving all his property in the care of the two 
 mentioned Indians and one more who was hired with them. 
 
 " [Signed] John Leith. 
 
 "Sworn and subscribed before me. May 17, 17S6. 
 
 " Michael Huffnagle." 
 
 Thereupon, Mr. Hufthagle wrote to the Secretary of the Su- 
 preme Executive Council of Pennsylvania as follows: 
 
 "Pittsburgh, May 17, 17S6. 
 
 " Sir: A few days ago, a committee appointed at this place 
 wrote to the President and Supreme Executive [Council of Penn- 
 sylvania] informing them of our situation, and the disposition of 
 the Indians, from the different information we had received. I 
 am very sorry that I must address you, to give the now informa- 
 tion to Council again, for which information I inclose you the 
 deposition of Mr. John Leith, a man employed by Mr.- [David] 
 
68 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 on to Fort Pitt ; and soon after, I set out for the 
 Shawnee Towns ;^ and when I arrived there, found my 
 horses and goods. 
 
 I then set out with a hunting party, of seventeen 
 Indians, to Stillwater,- Muskingum,^ Licking,^ &c. In 
 
 Duncan in the Indian trade. I would also mention that, although 
 it is probable that the Delaware Indians and Wyandots wish to be 
 friendly, yet something ought to be done, as the people that ai"e 
 now doing the mischief are part of the Mingo nation ; and that 
 nation [the Wyandots] not calling them to an account, shows 
 that they must countenance them in it, or that they are afraid to 
 say any thing to them. Mr. Duncan sets off to-morrow morning 
 to look after his property. At his return, I will give you such 
 information as I may receive. 
 
 " Your vei-y humble serv't, 
 
 " Mich. Huffnagle. 
 
 " Gen. John Armstrong, Jr., Secretary Supreme Execu- 
 tive [Council], Philadelphia." 
 
 ^ Upon the Mad river, before described. 
 
 ^ Stillwater creek rises in what is now Belmont county, Ohio ; 
 runs in a north-northwest direction, intersects Harrison county, 
 and enters the Tuscarawas river about seven miles below New 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 ^By Muskingum, Leith here means the Tuscarawas, which 
 was then called Muskingum as far up as the mouth of Sandy 
 creek. 
 
 * Licking river is formed by the North Fork, the South Fork, 
 and Raccoon creek, which unite at Newark, in Licking county, 
 Ohio. The river runs eastward to Muskingum county, and 
 southeastward to Zanesville, where it enters the Muskingum 
 river. 
 
Biography of JoJm Leeth. 69 
 
 the course of the rout, I sold my goods for peltry, and 
 returned to Pittsburg. Shortly after, I settled up with 
 my partners, and gave them the horses. I then left 
 there with my family, and settled myself on Huron 
 River,' in a Moravian Town ;'- where I remained some 
 years. About that time, Gen. Harmer came with an 
 army, to the Maumee River;' and the appearance of 
 
 ' Huron river, of Ohio, rises in the north part of that state, 
 and, flowing through what are now Huron and Erie counties, 
 enters Lake Erie at the site of the present village of Huron, in 
 the last mentioned county. 
 
 ^ This Moravian Indian town was about two miles north of 
 what is now the town of Milan, in Erie county, Ohio, and was 
 occupied for the first time in May, 17S7; but the language of 
 Leith justifies the conclusion that he left Pittsburgh in the latter 
 part of 1786. It is probable, therefore, that he and his family 
 first rejoined' the Moravian Indians in their village upon the 
 Cuyahoga river, in what is now Independence township, Cuya- 
 hoga county, Ohio, where they were located when he left Pitts- 
 burgh, and where they spent the winter of 17S6-7 ; then in 
 May, 17S7, removing to the Huron river along with those In- 
 dians. Here Leith and his family remained until November, 
 1790, a period, since their leaving Pittsburgh, of about four 
 years. 
 
 'In July, 1790, Arthur St. Clair, Governor of the Northwest 
 Territory, while at Fort Washington, the site of what is now 
 Cincinnati, Ohio, concerted, along with General Josiah Harmar, 
 an expedition against the Maumee Indian towns in the vicinity of 
 what is now Fort Wayne, Indiana. The army consisted of four- 
 teen hundred and fifty-three men. The result was the intliction 
 
yo Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 things wore a very gloomy aspect. I knew not at what 
 moment we might all be taken, killed and plundered ; 
 and yet, not suffered to remove.^ One day, while I was 
 pulling turnips, something, as it were, said to me, while 
 I was stooping down, " What are you doing here ? now 
 is your time; make your escape with your family." I 
 raised up — thought a while on the matter; and con- 
 cluded it was all a notion of the brain ; and commenced 
 my work again ; when the same thing rang in my mind 
 again ; and on considerable reflection, went and told my 
 wife of it. Her reply was [20] we shall certainly be 
 killed, or taken, before we can possibly get through the 
 wilderness. I then concluded, with her, it was more 
 hazardous to go than to stay, and went to my work 
 again. In a few minutes, the same reflection came 
 again, more impressive than before. I went again to 
 my wife, and informed her of it. She answered, I might 
 do as I pleased. 1 then requested her secretly to pre- 
 
 of a considerable loss upon the enemy at their towns on the 
 Maumee river, but at a cost, in killed, wounded and missing, 
 considerably larger to the American army than that sustained by 
 the savages. 
 
 ^ Subsequent events proved that his fears were well grounded ; 
 for, soon after Harmar's campaign, the savages, at a grand coun- 
 cil, held at the site of the present city of Fort Wayne, Indiana, 
 determined to begin a general war. This was followed imme- 
 diately by an attempt, on the part of the hostile savages, to remove 
 the Moravian Indians to the head of the Maumee, from the 
 Huron river, to compel them to join their war-parties. 
 
Biography of John Leeth. 7 1 
 
 pare a good portion of parched corn, to pound it, and 
 put plenty of sugar with it, for our journey; and I em- 
 ployed myself in making ready. On the first day of 
 November,^ we started for Fort Pitt; and on the sev- 
 enteenth, in the evening, we arrived at Big Beaver 
 creek,'- at the American station,^ after travelling upwards 
 of two hundred miles ;^ every moment, fearfully look- 
 ing for the Indians to overtake us. Such awful feelings 
 and distress, I suppose, no man living, ever felt, as I 
 had on the way ; for, if we had been overtaken, we 
 should all have been butchered or burnt alive. We re- 
 mained three days at the station ; after which, we set 
 out again for Fort Pitt; where we arrived on the sec- 
 ond day. From thence we went to Budd's Ferry; and 
 
 ^ This was in the year 1790. 
 
 '^Beaver river, of Pennsylvania, is formed by the Malioning 
 and Shenango rivers, which unite in Lawrence county, about 
 three miles south of New Castle. It runs southward, and enters 
 the Ohio in Beaver county, at Rochester, and near the borough 
 of Be aver. 
 
 ^Fort Mcintosh. 
 
 * This journey on foot, of over two hundred miles, in seventeen 
 days, from a point just north of what is now Milan, in Erie 
 county, Ohio, to the present borough of Beaver, Beaver county, 
 Pennsylvania, by Leith and liis family, consisting of his wife 
 and two children, in the bleak month of November, with nothing 
 to eat but parched corn, was certainly a trip of no ordinary char- 
 acter. Contrast this with one of the present day, along nearly 
 the same route, in a palace car, as to time and convenience ! 
 
72 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 there I found my wife's relations, who received us with 
 a cordial welcome. We settled there among them, and 
 set up farming. 
 
 I have now got through with a narrative of some of 
 my savage life, for eighteen years together, among the 
 Indians; by which, the reader may imagine the suffer- 
 ings I was prone to, during that time, as well as the 
 savage disposition my mind had imbibed ; where I could 
 see or hear nothing, but scenes of bloodshed and car- 
 nage, sufficient to strike horror into any but savage 
 
 hearts.^ 
 
 I will now give a short sketch of the merciful deal- 
 
 in2;s of God towards me, in bringing me from the sav- 
 age haunts of darkness, into the kingdom of his grace, 
 to lead a religious life. My father was born in the city 
 of Leeth, in Scotland, and my mother in Virginia, in 
 the United States of America. They both [21] be- 
 longed to the Church of England, and were very pious 
 in their way ; but died too soon to give any example to 
 
 ^ Here ends the relation, by John Leith, of his sixteen years 
 and some months experience of savage life. It is true that he 
 speaks of eighteen years as the duration of his time in the wilder- 
 ness ; but this computation was doubtless the work of Mr. Jeffries, 
 made because of the supposed correctness of 1772 being the date 
 of his first captivity, when it should have been 1774, as is abund- 
 antly evident. It is proper here to state that Leith died at his 
 home in Fairfield county, Ohio, in 1833, the next year after the 
 publication of his narrative by Mr. Jeffries. 
 
Biography of John Leeih. y^ 
 
 me. After leaving my uncle, I was entirely among 
 strangers ; and thought or cared very little about re- 
 ligion. When I was about sixteen years of age, one 
 morning my mistress sent me to the spring for a pitcher 
 of water, not more than forty steps from the door ; 
 while 1 was on the way, I was seized with a trembling; 
 atid by the time I returned with the water, I shook as 
 with an ague. My master noticing it, asked me, what 
 was the matter. I told him, I did not know. He then 
 told me to go to bed. I went up stairs, and lay down ; 
 and he brought a glass of liquor to me ; but I could 
 not take it. I recollected nothing for some hours af- 
 terwards. The first thing I recollected was, my master 
 came to the bed with some stewed liquor; but the 
 smell was so disagreeable, that I could not bear it, and 
 I told him I could not take it ; but he forced it on me. 
 So soon as I had swallowed it, I puked it up again. 
 He then turned from me, and said, "Poor fellow;" 
 which was the last thing I knew for nine days and nights. 
 All this time, I was in a kind of sleep or stupor; and 
 the following scenes, or visions, took place in my mind : 
 At first, there was something resembling a cart, came 
 into the room, and took me up the chimney : I next 
 found myself on the side of a steep mountain, which, I 
 thought, I must climb to the top ; which seemed to be 
 a great distance. Sometimes, I would almost gain the 
 summit; when, I would get on a rolling stone, which 
 would carrv me back to where I started from, I made 
 
74 Biography of John Leeih. 
 
 several attempts, until I thought I had worn my arms 
 off to my elbows, and my legs to my knees ; when, at 
 last, by a hard effort, I gained the top. "When I got 
 there, I found it the handsomest and most delightful 
 green I ever beheld, and the most agreeable place, I had 
 ever been in. I walked along the green, until I came 
 to the most beautiful stream of water, I ever beheld — 
 so clear, that I could see every [22] pebble in it, any 
 way I looked. I at length discovered a woman, wash- 
 ing at the brook. She told me I should go back again : 
 when, I told her, I had very hard laboring to get there, 
 and I did not wish to go back. Said she, "You must 
 go back, and bring a board from Col. Chambers' saw- 
 mill." I went back ; but while on the way, I concluded 
 Col. Chambers' dogs would bite me; and, when I passed, 
 the dogs and all the family came after me, as if they 
 would tear me in pieces; but I out-went them all, got 
 to the saw-mill, picked up the board, and turned back 
 again; but knew not how to get past the house; for 
 when I had the board, I knew they could out-run me, 
 and I would be taken. Sure enough, they did take me, 
 carried me into the house, and lifted up a plank of the 
 floor, where all appeared to be boiling underneath; 
 which raised a steam of wormwood and all manner of 
 bitter herbs, with a very disagreeable smell. They 
 forced my head under, until I thought it would kill me. 
 I struggled, until I got my head so far round, that 1 
 could see out ; when I perceived they had locked the 
 
Biography of John Leeth. 75 
 
 door, which was made of stone, with iron hinges. I 
 continued in that situation for a length of time, strug- 
 gling for life in the most excruciating torture ; but 
 finally, I succeeded in getting away from them : the 
 door flew open, and I ran with all the speed I had, and 
 they pursued me along a level road, until I came near 
 the mill-pond. Here the road forked ; one to the left, 
 and the other to the right. I pondered in my mind, 
 which to take; but at length, took to the right. I had 
 not gone far, when 1 beheld a man coming meeting me, 
 riding a white horse; when my fears ceased, and my 
 mind became calm. When we met, he said, ''You 
 have got away, have you ? I was just coming to help 
 you." He then took me with him, to a new house; 
 and wc both went up the first stairs, where I found 
 it a delightful place. He then conducted me up to a 
 second floor, and from that to a third, which was filled 
 with the sweetest odours I ever smelt. Said he, " Now 
 [23] you must stay here, for if you go back, you will 
 be abused ; but I will take care of you here." While 
 he was talking to me, I heard a woman say, " Do you 
 think he will live till night ?" At that juncture of time, 
 I came to myself, after remaining in that situation nine 
 days and nights, without knowing any thing that passed 
 around me. After that time, I recovered as fast as 
 health could be restored; and while convalescent, began 
 to reflect very seriously. I thought, if I had died in 
 that situation, I should have gone to Hell without 
 
76 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 doubt; but then, I felt sure 1 would get well. How- 
 ever, I then resolved to alter my life, and live better 
 than I had done ; but, having no views but in my own 
 strength, alas ! I fell short, and the depravity of my 
 heart led me away from God ; for, through all my sav- 
 age life, at times, I had serious reflections about a future 
 state, and, sometimes, had thoughts about dying, which 
 gave me much uneasiness ; but, being without the Bible, 
 or any religious instruction, I passed the time without 
 a knowledge of any improvement. After I had settled 
 myself near Robbstown, in Pennsylvania, being free 
 from the Indians, and under American protection, I con- 
 ceived, that if I joined myself to some professed body 
 of Christians, that I should be saved : therefore, I went 
 to hear one preacher ; but could not feel satisfied to join 
 them. The next I went to hear, pleased me well, and 
 I joined the church to which he belonged, and paid 
 yearly to their minister for a considerable time; but, 
 on hearing him advance something I did not like, I con- 
 cluded I would leave the church, which I did shortly 
 after ; but still continued in doubts and fears. Some 
 months after I had left that church, as I was on my way 
 from mill, a woman of my acquaintance, told me, she 
 wished me to go with her to meeting; when, I asked 
 her who was to preach; she answered, a Methodist 
 preacher. I said, I should not go ; but she insisted I 
 should. I answered her, that I had understood they 
 were bad people, and from their behaviour I considered 
 
Biography of John Leeth. 77 
 
 them devils, and I [24] would not go near them ; when 
 I left her, and went on my way home. Two weeks from 
 that day, on my way from mill again, she invited me 
 into dinner, as, she said, it was just ready. I went in, 
 and sat down to the table. While at the table, she said 
 to me, *' John, you must go with me to meeting, this 
 day." I asked her again, who was to preach, when her 
 husband named Samuel Hitt. I enquired what denom- 
 ination he belonged to ; and he answered he was a Meth- 
 odist. I said, I should not go one yard. He answered, 
 " If you do not go with me, you will hurt my feelings 
 very much." He being a good neighbor, with whom I 
 was on very intimate terms, I concluded I would go, 
 rather than offend him. I at length agreed to go. On 
 the way, I concluded I would watch closely for some- 
 thing to condemn them, and make sport of; for my 
 heart was desperately wicked and contaminated ; not 
 knowing I must be born again before I could see the 
 kingdom of heaven. When we arrived at the house, 
 meeting had begun. They were singing; and when 
 done, they all knelt down, and the preacher began to 
 pray: while he was praying, I thought — How under 
 the heavens can that man, who is such a bad man, pray 
 in that manner. He arose, and took for his text the 
 whole of the third chapter of Malachi, commencing, 
 " Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall pre- 
 pare a way before me," &c. I paid great attention — 
 staring him in the face, expecting him to advance some- 
 
78 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 thing for me to lay hold on ; but it was not long before 
 his words began to find their way to my heart; and 
 while he was preaching, I concluded some person had 
 told him my case ; for he seemed to direct his whole 
 discourse to me, and pointed out what a poor, mis- 
 erable, undone sinner I was. After sermon, he told 
 the class to stay in for class-meeting, with all those who 
 felt a desire to stay in, and dismissed the congrega- 
 tion. I went out with the crowd, and left six or 
 eight in the house. When we were all out, they 
 shut the door. Now, thinks I, there is where they 
 [25] carry on their devilment, and I will immediately 
 go home; which I did. A few days after, a man, by 
 the name of Martin, came to the field, where I was at 
 work : after the common civilities of meeting, were 
 over, I observed, " Mr. Martin, I have been to hear 
 a Methodist preacher:" when, he enquired, " How did 
 you like him?" I answered, the man prayed very 
 well, and preached the best I ever heard, or, rather 
 guessed at matters, for he told me things which I had 
 never disclosed ; his words, however, seemed to come 
 with power to my heart ; but, afterwards, I went out 
 with the crowd of people ; they shut the door, for 
 some kind of private meeting ; and, I supposed, they 
 entered into all kinds of mischief and bad works. He 
 then asked me, when they would be there again. I 
 told him, that day two-weeks ; when, he answered, " If 
 you will go again, I will go with you." I answered 
 
Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 him, ** If you will come to my house, on the morning 
 of that day, I will go with you." He came according 
 to appointment; and on our way to meeting, he ob- 
 served, " I wonder if they will turn us out again?" 
 I answered, I did not know. "Well," said he, "if 
 they do not turn us out, we will not go out:" upon 
 which we firmly agreed to stay in on that day. He 
 preached his farewell sermon ; and a great sermon I 
 thought it was too. When sermon was over, he dis- 
 missed the congregation, and we both went out with 
 the crowd, forgetting our mutual promise, to stay in ; 
 and immediately set out for home. After conference 
 was over, there came two preachers on that circuit ; 
 one, by the name of Watson ; and the other, by the 
 name of Ferguson : and when I heard Watson was to 
 preach, I gave Martin notice thereof; and we went to 
 hear him. On our way, we again solemnly agreed to 
 stay in with the class. He preached a great sermon, 
 according to my idea ; for he again told me of all the 
 evils in my heart ; together with the many promises I 
 had made, to become religious ; which caused me to 
 wonder very much thereat ; knowing he could not pos- 
 [26] sibly have heard any thing of my case personally; 
 but, when sermon was over, we went out again, awfully 
 fearing to stay ; and went on our way home. Two 
 weeks after that, Ferguson preached, when, we went 
 again : as we were going to the meetings, " Now," said 
 Martin to me, "why do you go out of the house every 
 
8o Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 time? I would stay in ; but when I see you rise to go 
 out, I always follow you." We then made a firm reso- 
 lution again, to stay in that day. However, he said I 
 was the oldest man, and he would be guided by me, as 
 he only went with me for company : when, 1 told him 
 that that time 1 would certainly stay in with him. 
 When we got to meeting, it appeared, that Ferguson 
 had been sent to another circuit ; and one Philips came 
 in his place. He preached a very affecting sermon ; 
 after which, I arose and went out, and Martin followed 
 me; and we went on home the third time with broken 
 promises. At Mr. Watson's next appointment, we 
 went again ; and on the way again made a firm and 
 pointed promise to stay in class. Under preaching, 
 that day, I was more affected than I had ever been be- 
 fore ; though much alarmed when 1 heard Mr, Hitt 
 preach the first time. After preaching, I went out 
 again, walked across the road, and leaned against a fence, 
 entertaining awful apprehensions relative to a future 
 state. After some time, I turned around, and saw sev- 
 eral persons standing at the door listening; when, I 
 concluded I would go and hear too — perhaps there 
 might be some good news for me; but when I got 
 there, I found they were laughing, and making sport of 
 what was going on in the house. It struck me like 
 lightning — " My God, shall I be numbered with these !" 
 upon which, I went to Martin, and told him, I should 
 go home. He answered, *' I will go with you." We 
 
Biography of John Leeth. 8 i 
 
 started, and had travelled but a little way, when he tap- 
 ped me on the shoulder, and said, " Stop ; what are we 
 going home for ?" I told him I would never be found 
 with the mockers and game-makers. Upon which, he 
 proposed going back, and [27] said, "You open the 
 door, and I will go in with you." 1 observed, perhaps 
 they would not let us go in. He said, we would make 
 the trial at all events : so we pushed through the crowd 
 to the door; I raised the latch, and we went in and 
 seated ourselves. Soon after we were in, Mr. Watson 
 came to me, and spoke with a feeling, which had great 
 weight on my mind. Said he, " I see you are much 
 affected; do you wish to join with us?" I told him, I 
 desired to be in the right way, that leads to everlasting 
 rest: and, after advising, and trying to comfort me, he 
 spoke to Martin also; who told him, he wished to join 
 the class. Every word he spoke, representing Jesus 
 Christ as the Saviour, seemed to sink deep on my heart, 
 and my convictions became almost intolerable ; under 
 which, it seemed as if I was unable to bear up. After 
 meeting was over, Martin and myself started home. On 
 our way, I observed to Martin, "Now, we have joined 
 with a people, who are persecuted and scorned above all 
 others, and we must keep it a secret ;" for, at that time, 
 I would not have had the matter known, publicly, for 
 the world. My convictions now grew worse, and ap- 
 peared more awful than ever ; the reflections passing 
 
82 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 through my mind, that I had now made profession of 
 religion, and if I should be wrong, my situation was 
 worse than before, not yet being enabled to set faith in 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, and trust my all to him. 
 • I then betook myself to private prayer, at fixed 
 places and times, (not believing my heart was con- 
 stantly engaged.) Afterwards, I took up family prayer ; 
 but s'lill thought I would get religion without letting 
 the world know it, but did not know how to proceed ; 
 still thinking I had something peculiar to do, but did 
 not know which way to begin that work. I obtained 
 the Presbyterian Confession of Faith, thinking that 
 would give me some satisfaction ; but on perusal there- 
 of, I could receive no particular encouragement to a 
 desponding mind. I then heard of a Methodist Disci- 
 [28] pline, which I borrowed. I read it through, and 
 it seemed to give greater encouragement to those in my 
 situation : therefore, I concluded, that perhaps the Lord 
 would reach his sovereign mercy to me, though I had 
 been a great sinner; and contented myself to stay with 
 them, though I still continued to doubt and fear, lest I 
 was still wrong, and the Lord would not extend his 
 mercies to me; for, by this time, I was perfectly con- 
 vinced, that except a man be born again, he cannot see 
 the kingdom of heaven ; and, having tried all means 
 in my power, to initiate myself into his favor, in my own 
 strength, which all failed; I, therefore, came to the con- 
 clusion, that, if the Lord saw cause to save me, it was 
 
Biography of "John Leetk. 83 
 
 his mercy ; and if not, my sins had already condemned 
 me; and I must say the condemnation was just: but, 
 my continued prayers were now for mercy, to a poor, 
 miserable sinner. 
 
 Whilst I was at work in the cornfield, one day, when 
 the corn was about head high, such awful feelings, 
 with a darkness, came over me, that I knew not what 
 to do. I at length fell on my knees, and prayed to 
 God Almighty, to show me the right way, and put me 
 in it; for I was a poor, miserable creature, and with- 
 out his almighty aid, must be damned forever. When 
 I arose from my knees, I felt a gleam of hope; but it 
 soon vanished into doubts and fears, lest it should be 
 resting on a sandy foundation. The next meeting, 
 Mr. Philips' discourse took a deep hold on me; and 
 after he commenced class-meeting, came to me; but I 
 was so absorbed in thought, that I had lost my speech ; 
 for I was sure I should die, and go to hell. It ap- 
 peared as if my ribs were leaving my back-bone, and 
 expected in a few, minutes to know my eternal fate. 
 When he spoke to me, I roared out as loud as I could 
 halloo, and down I fell prostrate on the floor. He 
 called on a brother and sister to go to prayer, while he 
 stood by me; and, when they were down, prayed with 
 great power ; and I thought all in the house poured out 
 their prayers to God, in my behalf 
 
 [29] Whilst this scene was in operation, it appeared 
 as if my load of guilt left me, and my heart felt light, 
 
84 Biography of John heeth. 
 
 being much comforted with the precious promises of 
 mercy, held forth in the Gospel. Now, methought, 
 that the blood of Jesus Christ, which was shed on Cal- 
 vary, had made a complete atonement for my sins, and 
 that God, through that mediation, could look on me 
 with the same love and complacency, as though I had 
 never committed a sin in my life ; and, for his merits 
 alone, I stood completely justified before God ; which 
 gave me such a transport of joy, that the reader must 
 imagine, for I can not describe it. Every thing seemed 
 to wear a new appearance to me, and I could truly say, 
 that though, I thought God was angry with me, that 
 his anger was now turned away, and he did comfort me. 
 I then rose up to tell what the Lord had done for my 
 poor soul, and concluded my days of trouble were all 
 over, for I should not doubt or fear any more, after so 
 glorious an evidence from my heavenly Father. But, 
 alas ! to my sorrow, I have had many trials, doubts, 
 tribulations, and conflicts of every nature, to combat 
 with, since. At that time, I concluded I would not let 
 the world know my situation, on any account, for, such 
 dreadful persecution then raged in the land, that I was 
 afraid, if I came out with an open profession, that it 
 would injure my situation, as a citizen ; — so far did my 
 wicked heart of flesh lead me astray, from the paths of 
 rectitude; but, blessed be God! his will shall be ac- 
 complished, and his purposes performed; for it is he 
 that strengthens his children to fortify themselves against 
 
Biography of John Lee th. 85 
 
 opposition, and leads them in paths they have not 
 known, makes crooked things straight, and will not 
 forsake them. I must now stop a while to compare 
 the contrast between that day and this ; and am some- 
 times lost in wonder, when the Christian complains of 
 a hard heart, and many deceivers who have crept in 
 among us, together with ail the insinuating stratagems 
 of Satan, to lead them astray ; that he cannot direct his 
 [30] views towards the Author of his salvation and 
 hope. When we are now, through the providence of 
 Almighty God, placed in a land of liberty, where every 
 child of God may worship in that way the spirit dictates, 
 without any to make him afraid, where he may call to- 
 gether his family and neighbors, to join in worship — 
 and the Christian's life, or, rather, the professor's life, 
 has become honorable in the world, which seems to re- 
 ceive applause. But not the case then ; for they were 
 persecuted for religion's sake alone. The soul had to 
 fight, and bear up, under persecutions and privations, 
 which are not known now; which has often comforted 
 me, for, it seemed, as if a purification by fire, of perse- 
 cution ; and, I have often thought, if the same perse- 
 cution now existed, that the real children of God would 
 be more generally known to each other. The recollec- 
 tion of those times, I am apprehensive, will never be 
 erased from my mind. 
 
 In the year 1795, about two years after my conver- 
 sion, I moved, with my family to the Ohio River, in a 
 
86 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 boat of my own building, and landed at Marietta; there 
 I sold my boat, and bought a large canoe. I left part 
 of my goods at Marietta, and pushed my goods up the 
 Muskingum River, to the mouth of Meig's Creek ; 
 where my canoe sunk, and I lost all I had on it. I 
 staid there ten days, trying to get my goods and money 
 out of the river ; during which time, myself and family 
 subsisted on such game as I could procure from the 
 woods ; but I never found any thing but the canoe. I 
 then returned to Marietta, where we arrived on Sunday 
 morning; and found the inhabitants playing cards, and 
 shooting at mark, with other species of gambling. While 
 we remained at Marietta it took the chief part of my 
 goods left, for our support; except about one thousand 
 pounds of castings, which I let remain there. I also 
 sold my cattle, on the proceeds of which, we lived, after 
 the goods, stored there, were chiefly expended. After 
 some considerable stay, we set out for the place, from 
 which we started. 
 
 [31] Myself, wife, and two children, went on board 
 the canoe, and we rowed up the Ohio, as far as the 
 Tough Reach, when we halted at one Samuel Wilson's, 
 who persuaded us to settle in that neighborhood, on 
 Congress land, which was then unoccupied. I con- 
 cluded to do so; and that Fall, cleared about three 
 acres ; during which time, I had to live on bread and 
 water ; after being forced to part with my gun, for bread ; 
 which had, many times, been my chief dependence for 
 
Biography of John Leeth. 87 
 
 the support of life. I was constrained then, to borrow 
 a gun from one of my neighbors, wherewith to procure 
 game for myself and family to subsist on. But, glory 
 be to God ! in these sad extremities, when even starva- 
 tion seemed to stare me in the face, with that of my 
 family also, which was dearer to me than life itself, he 
 did not forsake me ; but gave such comforting effusions 
 of his love, into my soul, that enabled me to rejoice in 
 the anticipation of that blessed day, when he will make 
 up his jewels ; and enabled me to set faith in him ; with- 
 out which, I must have sunk beneath the terrible ob- 
 structions which seemed to oppose my way. And, 
 blessed be His name! he enabled me to contend earn- 
 estly, for the faith once delivered to the saints, through 
 all the perils which opposition seemed to present, and 
 enabled me to trust in him for all things. At length, 
 through the smiles of Providence, I got into a situation 
 to live reasonably well ; and continued in that place for 
 five years ; in which time, I accumulated sufficient funds 
 to purchase a small piece of land on Middle Island. 
 
 Two years before I left that place, for Middle Island, 
 my poor wife (who had been deranged for several years, 
 which was occasioned by the falling sickness,) left the 
 world, and me to lament her loss. She went off with- 
 out a groan, as one entering into a sound sleep. Then 
 a scene of severe troubles and trials, presented them- 
 selves to my view. One of my children had become of 
 age, and left me; and I had bound another to a trade; 
 
88 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 in consequence of which, I [32] was then left alone ; 
 and what to do I did not know ; but still placed my 
 confidence on Him, who, I was enabled to believe, cared 
 for me. 
 
 My situation then became such, that my neighbors 
 persuaded me, it would be best for me to marry again ; 
 and after a mature deliberation, and many prayers to 
 God, on the subject, I at length was married a second 
 time, to a widow, by the name of Sarah McKee, in the 
 year 1802. She was a woman, who was, at that time, 
 destitute of religion, but of good morals. The next 
 Spring, I heard there was to be preaching at Marietta, 
 by the Methodists; and myself, with two others, set 
 out to go there, which was about twenty-five miles dis- 
 tant. When we arrived there, we found a Mr. Steel, 
 who was a preacher; and, after the duties of the ap- 
 pointment were over, I invited him to preach at my 
 house. He made an appointment there, and attended 
 the same ; which was the first preaching I had heard 
 since I had left the place, where I had joined them. 
 After that there were regular appointments there, so 
 long as I stayed ; which was the first established preach- 
 ing in all that section of country. While I remained 
 there, we had a quarterly meeting; which was the most 
 gratifying to me, that I ever witnessed. The work of 
 the Lord manifested itself in quickening a number of 
 dead souls, who were, I trust, afterwards, truly con- 
 verted to God. Among the rest, was my wife, who 
 
Biography of John Leeih. 89 
 
 dated her conviction from that time; and shortly after- 
 wards, professed to have received a change of heart ; 
 placing all her hope and trust on the merits of a cruci- 
 fied Jesus; and, blessed be God! 1 was no longer left 
 alone in my feeble efforts, to grapple with oppositions ; 
 but, having since found her an active partner, in press- 
 ing forward to the mark for the prize of the high call- 
 ing of God in Christ Jesus. 
 
 Shortly after, I moved to Middle Island, only five 
 miles distant; and there, it pleased God to bless me, 
 not only with spiritual things, but in basket and store 
 also. I remained on the island five years ; when, I sold 
 V'iZ\ "^y property, and moved to Wills' Creek, in 
 Guernsey county ; where I stayed from April to Au- 
 gust ; at which time, I purchased a piece of land, in 
 Fairfield county, Ohio, ten miles from Lancaster; 
 where, I have now lived for fifteen years. And I praise 
 God, that I am yet a soldier of the cross; for He has 
 given me grace to support me through many trials and 
 difficulties ; and many have been the combats with the 
 enemy, which he has brought me through, and is still 
 my shield and buckler; for I cannot find any other 
 pool, where living waters flow. 
 
 I am now in my 77th year; and anticipate, that a 
 few more rough storms and beating tempests will land 
 my little bark on the other side of Jordan, where trials, 
 tempests, storms, sorrows, sin, or afi^ictions cannot 
 reach me. I must say, I have experienced some joyful 
 
90 Biography of John Leeth. 
 
 seasons ; and it lifts my soul into ecstacies, and warms 
 my heart with love, when 1 contemplate that the time 
 is near at hand, when I shall leave this poor polluted, 
 sinful and worn out body, and gain that land of rest 
 and delight, which is prepared at the right hand of God, 
 for all those that love him. And may the God of all 
 grace, give me grace to support me, and lead me in his 
 ways, to the honor and glory of his name, and reconcile 
 me to all his dispensations, until that time shall arrive, 
 is the prayer of poor, unworthy 
 
 JOHN LEETH. 
 
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