PUBLICITY FROM WORTHY SOURCE A valuable publication recently issued by the Ohio Archeological and Historical Society to acquaint its readers with outstanding features of the past and present of Ohio's counties contained a very flattering notice of Licking County and Newark. The county was described as Ohio's largest, in area ; as second in the production of hay and in the number of sheep and dairy cattle; as third in value of chickens, in egg production and in eggs sold; as fourth in number of native white farmers; as sixth in number of horses; as thirteenth in the value of its dairy products and apples. A few of Licking County's "famous natives" were thus listed: "Victoria and Tennessee Claflin, born in Homer, afterward women of wealth and distinction in London ; James E. Roye, who became president of Liberia, born in Newark, 1815 ; H. H. Bancroft, historian, born in Granville, 1832 ; Morris Schaff, author, Kirkersville, 1840; Janet E. Richards, lecturer, originator of lecture courses on 'current history day by day,' Granville; Mary H. Catherwood, historical novelist, Luray, 1847; Mary A. Sprague, author, 1849; Mrs. E. S. Hopley, welfare worker, author, Granville; O. C. Hooper, journalist, author, Alexandria, 1858." Among other famous names were : "T. D. Jones, sculptor; made bust of Lincoln in State House; died 1881; burial, Welsh' Hills Cemetery. John Winton Clem, 'Drummer Boy of Shiloh;' born Newark, 1851." The county's historic points and scenes are thus described: Old Burying Grounds. Established 1805. Historical. Edge of Granville. Buckeye Lake. Scenic. Summer resort. Owned by state. Welsh Hills. District originally settled by Welshmen, near Granville. Octagon Mound. One of most famous prehistoric earthworks in state. Newark Country Club. Circular Mound. Mound encloses thirty acres. Licking County Fair Grounds. Eagle's Nest. Good roads memorial, near Brownsville. SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 153 Denison University. Incorporated 1832. Granville. Baptist. Narrows of Licking. Beautiful cliffs along Licking River, east of Newark eight miles. Flint Ridge Quarries. Source of flint weapons and tools for prehistoric man, west of Zanesville ten miles, near Brownsville. Black Hand Gorge. West of Toboso. Rain Rock. Northeast of Newark twelve miles. Buxton House. Historic. Built 1812. Near Granville. Opossum Mound. Near Granville. Baughman's Park. Six miles east of Hanover. COSHOCTON COUNTY CHAPTER XCVI PREHISTORIC MAN WAS ACTIVE IN COSHOCTON COUNTY HER WIDE VALLEYS FURNISHED IDEAL TERRITORY-IMPORTANT FLINT QUARRIES ON THE WALHONDING-ABORIGINAL TRAILS BRANCHED OUT FROM FORKS OF THE MUSKINGUM-SIXTY-TWO MOUNDS, TWENTY-ONE ENCLOSURES, NINE VILLAGE SITES, TWENTY BURIALS, TWO STONE GRAVES AND FIVE FLINT QUARRIES REPORTED IN THE COUNTY. "Your years are old, your work is old Since man first named you Home ; His trail is o'er your glacial shore, And where the mammoth roamed. He has left his bones in your ice-drift stones, And mounds of ancient earth ; While forests reared and forests seared, Before the Red Man's birth." —Bahmer. "Few counties present a more typical record of aboriginal life than Coshocton. While for the most part the topography is rugged, the broad and fertile valleys of the Muskingum, Walhonding and Tuscarawas furnished ideal territory for the county's first inhabitants. Scattered along these streams, on either side and for their entire distance within the county, are numerous evidences of a prosperous occupation, evidenced by many mounds, village sites, enclosures, etc. "An important feature of the archeology of Coshocton County is the flint quarries from which material was obtained for the manufacture of chipped flint implements. These quarries are located in Jefferson and New Castle townships, on both sides of the Walhonding River. The deposits of flint are the northeastern extension of the immense formation known as Flint Ridge, in Licking and Muskingum counties. - 155 - 11-VOL. 2 156 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO FORKS FORMED THE HUB OF MANY TRAILS "Perhaps no other spot in Ohio was of more importance as a center for aboriginal trails than the forks of the Muskingum. Various trails centered here, whence they extended in practically every direction. There were many aboriginal villages located here when white traders and missionaries came into the Muskingum Valley, from the East." In these words Dr. William C. Mills, curator of the Ohio Archeological and Historical Society, has confirmed Coshocton County's claims that the Mound Builders found along her streams conditions answering in a superior way to the needs of their existence. The "Ohio Archeological Atlas," from which Dr. Mills' findings are taken, goes into very interesting details on this subject and lists the following townships and the earthworks reported for each : EARTHWORKS IN THE TOWNSHIPS Tiverton, mounds two, enclosures one, village sites one; New Castle, mounds sixteen, enclosures three, village sites two, flint quarries two; Perry, mound one, burial one; Pike, mound one, burial one; Washington, burials two; Jefferson, mounds five, enclosures two, burials five, flint quarries three; Bedford, burials two; Clark, enclosures one, burials one; Monroe, burials one; Bethlehem, mounds eight, enclosures two, burials three, stone graves one; Jackson, mound one, village sites one; Keene, mounds three, enclosures two; Tuscarawas, mounds thirteen, enclosures two, village sites two; Franklin, mounds two, burials two; White Eyes, enclosures one, stone graves one; Lafayette, mounds four, enclosures four, burials one; Linton, mounds three, enclosures two; Oxford, mounds three, village sites three, burials one; Totals, mounds sixty-two, enclosures twenty-one, village sites nine, burials twenty, stone graves two, flint quarries five. ONLY 2,000 OR 3,000 YEARS AGO? We know not when nor whence came the aborigines who wrought these strange works nor when and whither they went. Archeologists do venture to speculate upon the period of occupation but with varying opinions. H. C. Shetrone, as assistant. SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 157 curator of the Ohio Archeological and Historical Society, has made the following estimate : "Conditions prevailing in the mounds and village sites of the state indicate that many of them were constructed or used within a very short time preceding exploration and settlement. Their evidence is to the effect that prehistoric occupation extended from a period perhaps 2,000 or 3,000 years ago and that the custom of building mounds in some instances prevailed until possibly after the discovery of America." Readers who are inclined to dwell upon the puzzles presented by the ancient works of Coshocton County and its near neighbors, Muskingum, Licking and Perry, will find in this work's county histories data pointing to a vast array of materials from which the reports were drawn. The topic is of abiding interest but the limits of our space compel us to turn from the Mound Builder and his strange works to his red skinned successor. To do justice to this later denizen of the Coshocton wilderness is no little undertaking, since the white man knew him at the Forks of the Muskingum more than 175 years ago, while the Bouquet expedition to that point followed in 1764. CHAPTER XCVII CHRISTOPHER GIST AT MUSKINGUM'S FORKS FOUND CROGHAN THE TRADER AND THE INDIAN CHIEF FLYING THE BRITISH FLAG-HELD RELIGIOUS SERVICE ON CHRISTMAS DAYINDIANS ASKED HIM TO REMAIN AND BUILD A FORT TO KEEP OFF THE FRENCH-SAW THE SAVAGES SLAY A CAPTIVE WOMAN-ATTENDED KING'S COUNCIL BUT FAILED TO GET PROMISE OF SUPPORT FOR THE ENGLISH CAUSE-INVITED INDIANS TO VIRGINIA-WENT TO WHITE WOMAN'S CREEK AND WAS TOLD OF WHITE MAN'S WICKEDNESS-LEFT FOR SCIOTO COUNTRY BY WAY OF BUCKEYE LAKE. GIST FOUND CROGHAN THE TRADER Coshoctonians will long read with interest the story of this visit. Gist was a North Carolinian whom the Ohio Company of Virginia had employed in 1750 to visit Ohio and examine the ands they claimed to own therein. He made his way to Fort Pitt and thence to the Indian town which existed where Coshocton now stands. We quote here from that portion of his journal which deals with his stay here : "Friday December 14, 1750. Set out W 5 M to Muskingum, Town of the Wyendotts. The land upon Elk's Eye Creek is in eneral very broken, the Bottom narrow. The Wyendotts, or little Mingoes, are divided between the French and English, one-half them adhere to the first, and the other half are firmly ttached to the latter. The Town of Muskingum consists of bout one hundred families. When we came within sight of the own, We perceived English Colors hoisted on the (Indian) ing's House, and at George Croghan's; upon enquiring the Rean I was informed that the French had lately taken several nglish Traders, and that Mr. Croghan had ordered all the hite Men to come into this Town, and had sent Expresses to e Traders of the lower Towns, and among the Pickweylinees, nd the Indians had sent to their People to come to Council bout it. - 159 - 160 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO "Saturday 15 & Sunday 16.—Nothing remarkable happened "Monday 17.—Came into Town two Traders belonging to M Croghan, and informed Us that two of his people were taken b 40 Frenchmen, and twenty French Indians who had carri them with seven Horse Loads of Skins to a new Fort that th French were building on one of the Branches of Lake Erie. "Tuesday 18.—I acquainted Mr. Croghan. and Andrew Montour with my Business with the Indians, and talked much of a Regulation of Trade with which they were much pleased, and treated Me very kindly. "From Wednesday 19 to Monday 24.—Nothing remarkable. "Tuesday 25.—This being Christmas Day, I intended to read Prayers, but after inviting some of the White Men, they informed each other of my Intentions, and being of several different Persuasions, and few of them inclined to hear any Good, they refused to come. But one Thomas Burney. a Black Smith who is settled there, went about and talked to them and then several of them came; and Andrew Montour invited several of the well disposed Indians who came freely; by this time the Morning was spent and I had given over all Thoughts of them, but seeing them come, to oblige All, and offend None, I stood up and said, 'Gentlemen, I have no Design or Intention to give Offence to any particular Sectary or Religion, but as our King indulges Us all in a Liberty of Conscience and hinders none of you in the Exercise of your religious worship, so it would be unjust in you, to endeavor to stop the Propagation of His; The Doctrine of Salvation, Faith and Good Works, is what I only propose to treat of, as I find it extracted from the Homilies of the Church of England,' which I then read them in the best Manner I could, and after I had done the Interpreter told the Indians what I had read, and that it was the true Faith which the great King and his Church recommended to his Children; the Indians seemed well pleased, and came up to Me and returned Me their Thanks; and then invited Me to live among Them, and gave Me a Name in their Language Annosanah; the Interpreter told Me this was a Name of a good Man that had formerly lived among them, and their King said that must always be my Name, for which I returned them Thanks; but as to Living among them I excused myself by saying I did not know whether the Governor would give Me Leave,, and if he did the French would come and carry SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 161 me away as they had clone the English Traders, to which they answered I might bring great Guns and make a Fort, that they had now left the French, and were very desirous of being instructed in the Principles of Christianity that they liked Me very well and wanted Me to marry Them after the Christian Manner, and baptize their Children ; and then they said they would never desire to return to the French, or suffer Them or their Priests to come near them more, for they loved the English, but had seen little Religion among Them; and some of their great Men came and wanted Me to baptize their Children; for as I had read to Them and appeared to talk about Religion they took Me to be a Minister of the Gospel; upon which I desired Mr. Montour (the Interpreter) to tell Them, that no minister could venture to baptize any Children until those that were to be Sureties for Them, were well instructed in the Faith themselves, and that this was according to the great King's Religion, in which he desired his Children should be instructed and we dare not do it in any other Way, than was by Law established but I hoped if I could not be admitted to live among them, that the great King would send them proper Ministers to exercise that Office among them, at which they seemed well pleased; and one of them went and brought Me his Book (which was a Kind contrived for Them by the French in which the Days of the Week were so marked, that by moving a Pin every Morning they kept a pretty exact account of the time) to shew Me that He understood Me, and that He and his Family always observed the Sabbath Day. "Wednesday December 26.—This Day a Woman, who had been a long time Prisoner, and had deserted, and been retaken, and brought into the Town on Christmas Eve, was put to Death in the following manner : They carried her without the Town, and let her loose, and when she attempted to run away, the Persons appointed for that Purpose pursued her and struck Her on the Ear, on the right Side of her Head, which beat her flat on her Face on the Ground ; they then struck her several Times, through the Back with a Dart, to the Heart, scalped Her, and threw the Scalp in the Air, and another cut off her Head; There the dismal Spectacle lay till Evening, and then Barny Curran desired leave to bury Her, which He, and his Men, and some of the Indians did just at Dark. 162 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO "From Thursday December 27 to Thursday January 1751.—Nothing remarkable happened in the Town. "Friday January 4.—One Teafe (an Indian Trader) came to Town from near Lake Erie and informed Us, that the Wyendott Indians had advised Him to keep clear of the Ottaways (these are a Nation of Indians formerly attached to the French and inhabit near the Lakes) and told Him that the Branches of the Lakes are claimed by the French; but that all the Branches of Ohio belonged to Them, and their Brothers the English and that the French had no Business there and that it was expected that the other Part of the Wyendott Nation would desert the French and come over to the English Interest, and join their. Brethren on the Elk's Eye Creek, and build a strong Fort and Town there. "From Saturday 5 to Tuesday 8.—The weather still continues bad, I stayed in the Town to recruit my Horses, and though Corn was very dear among the Indians, I was obliged to feed them well, or run the Risque of losing them as I had a great way to travel. "Wednesday 9.—The Wind Southerly, warmer; this Day came into Town two Traders from among the Pickwaylinees (these are a tribe of the Twigtwees) and brought News that another English Trader was taken prisoner by the French, and that three French Soldiers had deserted and come over to the English and surrendered themselves to some of the Traders of the Pick Town, and that the Indians would have put them to Death, to revenge their taking our Traders, but as the French Prisoners had surrendered themselves, the English would not let the Indians hurt them, but had ordered them to be sent under the Care of three of our Traders and delivered at this Town, to George Croghan. "Friday 11.—This Day came into Town an Indian from over the Lakes and confirmed the news we had heard. "Saturday 12.—We sent away our People towards the lower Town intending to follow them the next Morning, and this Evening We went into Council in the Wyendott's King's House—The Council had been put off a long Time expecting some of their great Men in, but few of them came, and this Evening some of thy King's Council being a little disordered with Liquor, no Business could be done, but We were desired to come next Day. SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 163 "Sunday January 13.—No Business done. "Monday 14.—This Day George Croghan, by the Assistance of Andrew Montour, acquainted the King and Council of this Nation (by presenting them four Strings of Wampum) that the great King over the Water, their Roggony Father, had sent under the Care of the Governor of Virginia, their Brother, a large Present of Goods, which was now landed safe in Virginia, and the Governor had sent Me to invite them to come and see Him and partake of their Father's Charity to all his Children on the Branches of the Ohio. In answer to which one of the Chiefs stood up and said That their King and All of Them 'thanked their Brother the Governor of Virginia for his Care, and Me for bringing them the News, but they could not give Me an answer until they had a full or general Council of the several Nations of Indians which could not be till next Spring' : and so the King and Council shaking Hands with us, We took our Leave. "Tuesday 15.—We left Muskingum and went W 5 M, to the White Woman's Creek, on which is a small Town ; this White Woman was taken away from New England when she was not above ten years old, by the French Indians; She is now upwards of fifty, and has an Indian husband and several Children—Her name is Mary Harris, she still remembers they used to be very religious in New England and wonders how the White Men can be so wicked as she has seen them in these woods. "Wednesday 16.—Set out S W 25 M, to Licking Creek—The land from Muskingum to this Place rich but broken—Upon the N side of Licking Creek about 6 M from the Mouth, are several Salt Licks, or Ponds, formed by little Streams or Dreins of Water. "Thursday 17.—Set out W 5 M, S W 15 M, to great Swamp. "Friday 18.—Set out from the great Swamp S W 15 M. "Saturday 19.—W 15 M to Hockhockin a small Town with only four or five Delaware Families. "Sunday 20.—The Snow began to grow thin, and the weather warmer; Set out from Hockhockin S 5 M, then W 5 M, then S W 5 M, to the Maguck, a little Delaware Town of about ten Families by the N Side of a plain or clear Field about 5 M in Length N E & S W & 2 M broad, with a small Rising in the Middle which gives a fine. Prospect over the whole Plain, and a large Creek on the N Side of it called Sciodoe Creek. All the way from Licking 164 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO Creek to this Place is fine rich level Land, with large Meadows, fine Clover Bottoms and spacious Plains, covered with wild rye; the wood chiefly larger Walnuts and Hickories, here and there mixed with Poplars, Cherry trees and Sugar Trees. From Monday 21 to Wednesday 23—Stayed in the Maguck Town." Gist did not return to Virginia by the way he came bu crossed the lower Ohio and traveled the Southern route. THE CELORON AND GIST VISITS CONTRASTED Gist's visit to Ohio was not merely to appraise the value of its soil, timber, etc. A part of his errand was to keep the Indians from an alliance with the French. There was a great contrast between the methods of the Ohio Company and those of the French government, as exemplified in the expedition of Celoron on the one hand and the Ohio journey of Christopher Gist on the other. Celoron spoke softly to the Indians on some occasions but with 250 followers he carried a big stick. Gist took but a few men with him to Coshocton and on the westward journey and depended altogether upon conciliatory words. The contrast wa not lost upon the Indians. CHAPTER XCVIII THE DELAWARES WERE NEWCOMERS AT THE FORKS HAD BEEN DRIVEN WESTWARD FROM THE EASTERN SEABOARD-FOUND COSHOCTON'S AMPLE VALLEYS MUCH TO THEIR LIKING-SITE OF COSHOCTON BECAME THEIR CAPITAL-INDIAN VILLAGES THERE AND NEAR AT HAND- IMPORTANT INDIAN TRAILS CROSSED THE COUNTY-MARY HARRIS THE WALHONDING'S FIRST WHITE WOMAN-COLONEL JAMES SMITH A CAPTIVE AT TULLIHAS. DRIVEN WESTWARD FROM EASTERN SEABOARD The territory known today as Coshocton County was found to be an attractive region to the Indians when white men began to venture thither about the middle of the eighteenth century and learned that at and near the "Forks of the Muskingum" several well-populated villages were well established. Yet the Delawares themselves were newcomers from beyond the Ohio. Driven from their hunting grounds in and about the Hudson, Susquehanna and Delaware valleys and facing the setting sun with bitter hearts they climbed the Alleghanies and crossed the Ohio to seek a new home. LIVED ON OHIO'S MASTER STREAM The Muskingum responded to their necessities. In that day its headwaters were near those of the Cuyahoga, for the Tuscarawas was then known as the Muskingum; and so short was the portage between the sources of this stream and those of the Cuyahoga and so much more water did those sources carry than is found in them today that journeys by canoe through the two valleys between Lake Erie and the Ohio River were made with comparative ease. In the streams themselves the red man found fish in vast abundance and in the wilderness his arrow or rifle brought down game from unlimited supplies, the large types of animals furnishing skins to keep his body warm as well as meat for the wig- - 165 - 166 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO warn. The rich soil was no less responsive to the cultivating activities of his squaws, the most indolent of whom could plant and gather vegetables with a welcome economy of effort. COUNCILS HELD AT THE FORKS That the savages hoped to remain on Coshocton land is at least implied by the number and character of the villages they established at and near where the Tuscarawas and Walhonding rivers unite to form the Muskingum. There were several of these; Goschachgunk, the largest, occupying that part of the site of Coshocton now lying between Third Street and the river, was for years the capital of the Delaware tribes, "where grand councils were held." Here Chief Netawatwees lived and here White Eyes, Killbuck and other chiefs often came. The Indians lived in huts made of the barks and limbs of trees and cultivated corn and other plants. COSHOCTON'S INDIAN VILLAGES AND TRAILS If the student of the county's history required proofs of the fondness of the redskins for its wide valleys he would find conclusive ones in the maps and statements printed in the "Archeological Atlas of Ohio." The Indian-trail map of this valuable work shows that eight Indian villages dotted the territory now known as Coshocton County : "White Woman's Town," situated on the Walhonding in the western section ; "Wakatomika," almost on the line between Coshocton and Muskingum counties in southwestern Coshocton; two named "Delaware Town," on the Muskingum River in southern Coshocton ; "White Eyes Town" in eastern Coshocton on or near the Tuscarawas River; the Delaware capital within the Forks of the Muskingum and Conchake and Muskingum Towns, north of the forks. TWO MUCH USED INDIAN TRAILS The Atlas exhibits two important Coshocton County Indian trails, which it designates as Trail No. Three and Trail No. Fiv and says of the former: "This trail connected the Indian country about the forks o SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 167 the Muskingum with the Shawnee settlements on the Scioto and thence west and north to the important Miami towns on the Miamis and the upper course of the Maumee River. At the Muskingum forks it connected with important trails running east and north. The principal towns (on the whole trail) were Conchake, White Woman's, Wakatomika, French Margaret's, Mayguck, Cornstalk's, Upper Chillicothe and Pickawillany." Of Trail No. Five the Atlas says : "Trail No. Five, known as the Cuyahoga-Muskingum Trail, extended from the mouth of the Cuyahoga River on the north and following the Cuyahoga River and crossing the portage in Summit County descended the Tuscarawas and Muskingum to its mouth. The principal towns on this trail were Laguire's Post, 011awa Town and Mingo Town on the Cuyahoga ; Tuscarawas and Beaver Towns on the Great Trail ; Conchake and White Eyes towns near the forks of the Muskingum and the several Delaware towns to the south." Dr. Mills says of Ohio's Indian towns and trails that they probably reach back into the prehistoric period and are links which connect it with the present. WOMAN THE FIRST WHITE RESIDENT It is believed that Mary Harris, who was stolen as a child from her New England home and later became an Indian's wife, was the first white person to remain for any length of time in what is now Coshocton County. Christopher Gist found her near the forks of the Muskingum while there in January, 1751, and she had lived there for years. James Smith, who is referred to in Judge S. H. Nicholas' article which is to follow, was brought as a captive to Tullihas, on the Walhonding, in 1755 and adopted by the Indians, remaining among them during about four years. The Girty renegades also visited the forks. CHAPTER XCIX BOUQUET'S BLOODLESS VICTORY AT THE "FORKS" HIS EXPEDITION TO THAT POINT LEFT FORT PITT IN OCTOBER, 1764— TROOPS NUMBERED 1500 AND PACKHORSES AND DROVES OF CATTLE WENT ALONG— MARCHED DOWN TUSCARA WAS AND REACHED COSHOCTON COUNTY—CHIEFS SUED FOR PEACE AND SURRENDERED 206 WHITE CAPTIVES—EXTRAORDINARY SCENES ENACTED WHEN WHITES WERE BROUGHT IN—BOUQUET TOOK HOSTAGES TO PITT—JUDGE NICHOLAS TELLS WHY CAMP 16 SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS OCCUPYING JOHNSON HILL—ANGUS McDONALD PUNISHED SHAWNEES AT WAKATOMIKA—BRODHEAD EXPEDITION. BOUQUET'S EXPEDITION TO THE FORKS When England wrested the Northwest Territory from France in 1763 it was hoped that Indian troubles would be lessened, but due account had not been taken of Indian bitterness over the terms of the French-English treaty. Pontiac proceeded to organize the resentment and the tribes' war-making resources and invested the frontier forts. These were viciously attacked, homes were burned and pioneers murdered. These terrors aroused officials east of the Ohio who saw that prompt and formidable action was imperative. Colonel Henry Bouquet, then in command at Philadelphia, was chosen to teach the savages a lesson. Marching to the relief of Fort Pitt he inflicted a crushing defeat upon the warriors at Bushy Run, Pennsylvania, and relieved the fort August 10, 1763. The Indians retreated westward and many of the whites returned to their homes; but although the winter brought comparative peace the Indians signalized the advent of spring by renewing hostilities. IMPRESSIVE WAS BOUQUET'S MARCH WESTWARD Bouquet's little army at Fort Pitt consisted of 500 Regulars, mostly Highlanders, and 1,000 Pennsylvania militia, while there was a corps of Virginia volunteers. Leaving Pitt October 3, - 169 - 170 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO 1764, this force marched westward with a long train of packhorses and great droves of cattle. The expedition was intended to be self-sustaining and the savages must be shown by this display that it would be so in fact. On reaching the southern part of what became Columbiana County Bouquet marched on to the Tuscarawas River and followed the stream southward, making but five miles the first day, Next day's march was much swifter for there the forest was devoid of underbrush, and seventeen miles were covered. It was October 13 when Bouquet reached the Tuscarawas and there messengers whom he had sent ahead to tell the Indian chiefs of his intention to deal with them rejoined his force and reported the situation. LAID DOWN THE LAW At the end of another day's march down the Tuscarawas the army went into camp, where six chiefs appeared to say that others eight miles away were ready to enter upon negotiations. At the next conference Bouquet delivered his ultimatum : the chiefs must deliver within ten days all their white captives, of whom a list had been previously made out by the whites. The march was then resumed (October 22) and still following the Tuscarawas the army camped for the fourteenth time after leaving Fort Pitt. Here it was within a few miles of what is now the eastern boundary of Coshocton County. On the 23rd the army penetrated this territory a distance of 16 miles and camped about seven miles east of what is now the City of Coshocton. On the 25th the march was resumed and it ceased at the Forks of the Muskingum. BOUQUET'S MASTERY COMPLETE Bouquet's thorough preparations, the threatening size and character of his force, the provisions made to avoid food shortage and the firmness of the Colonel's warnings and demands greatly impressed the Indians. They saw that treachery would not defeat the plans of this deep-seeing and able soldier and that his demands for the surrender of their white prisoners and for guarantees of good behavior could not safely be defied. The details SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 171 of the surrender of the 206 whites form one of the most striking stories in frontier annals. EXTRAORDINARY SCENES ENSUED There were wide contrasts. Some of those brought in had been made captive when children and it was difficult for the parents who were with Bouquet to recognize and claim them; and when there was mutual recognition some of the young captives refused to part from the Indians that were dear to them and these had to be bound lest they might refuse to be taken eastward. On the other hand there were many affecting reunions, long-separated wives and husbands, parents and children and brothers and sisters rushing into each other's arms when brought together and expressing their joy with floods, of tears. Bitter was the lot of others who had fondly hoped to be reunited with loved ones in the Bouquet camp only to be disappointed. On November 18, having concluded his work, Bouquet returned to Fort Pitt, his column being augmented by the released captives and the hostages which he required the tribes to yield. Among the features of the campaign which are set down to Colonel Bouquet's everlasting credit is that he lost not a single man during its execution. CAMP 16 ON THE JOHNSON HILL Coshocton County historians and their readers have had much to say concerning the location of Colonel Bouquet's last camp, No. 16, some holding that it was on the Johnson hill, Lake Park; others that the Miller hill was the spot chosen. We present below some of the conclusions arrived at by the late Judge Samuel H. Nicholas who, after weighing all the evidence, communicated his opinion to Thomas J. Hanley, president of the Coshocton Historical Society, in response to that gentleman's request. Judge Nicholas' opinion was printed in the Coshocton Tribune February 16, 1927. It proved to be a timely contribution to local history, as the well known and highly esteemed jurist's death occurred October 29. Judge Nicholas stated that he had collaborated with his fellow townsman, John Hoehnes, and at the end of the Judge's article Mr. Hoehnes had written: 12-VOL. 2 172 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO "I have carefully and critically read the above communication and heartily concur in the conclusion therein arrived at and attest to the truth of the facts cited." The first source of history depended upon by Judge Nicholas is an account given by Dr. William Smith of Philadelphia, Pa., and published in 1765. Colonel Hutchins, second in command of the Bouquet expedition, had furnished Doctor Smith with the details, a fact which had given weight to them in Judge Nicholas' estimation. Commenting on Doctor Smith's statement that Camp 16 was "situated within a mile of the forks of the Muskingum" Judge Nicholas observed : "In describing Camp 16 on page 50, the author says, 'Four redoubts were built here opposite to the four angles of the camp, the ground in the front was cleared, a storehouse for the provisions erected, and likewise a house to receive and treat of peace with the Indians when they returned.' "On page 105 he defines the term 'redoubts' to mean obstacle built in front of the camp made of kegs and bags of flour or fa cines (branches of trees, logs, etc.).' "In a letter I received in 1911 from Dr. Thomas H. Johnson, of Pittsburgh, Pa., an old Coshocton boy and for many years chief engineer of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, he tells me that some of those old logs, horns, and bones of cattle and sheep were visible on this ground as late as 1840. "In the Randall and Ryan History of Ohio (1912), page 440, Volume I, they say, 'He then advanced some twenty-two miles to his 16th camp, situated within a mile of the forks of the Muskingum where the White Woman's Creek enters the former.' "On page 441, describing Camp 16, they say, 'Along the banks of the Tuscarawas.' "This stream for some distance above the forks is sometimes called the Tuscarawas and sometimes the Muskingum, but never, so far as my reading goes, is it called the White Woman or the Walhonding, and the Miller camp site is on the Walhonding and does not touch either the Muskingum or the Tuscarawas. "Once more referring to the Randall and Ryan History, I find on page 439, Volume I, a copy of the Colonel Hutchins map, first published by Doctor Smith in 1765. "This map shows Camp 16 located on the east side of Mill Creek with the little stream known in my boyhood as Sal's Gut SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 173 still further east, i. e., Camp 16 lying between Mill Creek and the present site of the Ohio Canal. It also locates the village of Chief Custaloga on the Miller farm. "In the publication we know as the Bahmer history (1909), on page 15, we find this language, quoted from the report of W. K. Moorehead, the archeologist, and at that time curator of the Ohio State Historical and Archeological Society, speaking of the works on the Miller farm, 'Many citizens of Coshocton claim it to be a French fort, but we would call it decidedly Indian in form.' "As a circumstance tending to indicate the view of the active members and officials of The Ohio Archeological and Historical Society of Ohio, I would call your attention to Volume XXI, page 434, where will be found a plat of the forks of the Muskingum, with the towns of Coshocton and Roscoe and the surrounding terrain with Colonel Bouquet's Camp 16 marked as lying with the Ohio Canal on the east and Mill Creek on the west. "Christopher Gist, the surveyor and land locater of the Ohio Company, of which George Washington was the president, who visited this locality in the winter of 1750-51, locates the village of Custaloga on the site of the Miller farm and Colonel Bouquet certainly did not erect his camp inside the bounds of a village occupied by one of his most powerful enemies. "So far as my reading goes, every scrap of historic, legendary or other evidence points to the crest of the ridge which terminates north of Lake Park as the site of Camp 16. "If anyone knows anything to the contrary, I should certainly be delighted to join in an earnest, sincere, frank investigation." BOUQUET AS A COMMANDER At this point Judge Nicholas called to the aid of his argument Colonel Bouquet's well known military ability. This also is here submitted, first because of its connection with the Judge's argument and also because of the light it throws upon a successful commander : "There are a few argumental facts which deserve a place in this communication as they served me some assistance in reaching my conviction. The first and probably the most cogent of these is the military qualities of Colonel Bouquet. For 28 years 174 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO before being dispatched to America by the British war office, he had led the life of the professional soldier in the armies of various European nations, serving under the leadership of the greatest military commanders of his time. "In the summer before his memorable journey to this part of the world he fought the battle of Bushy Run, in Western Pennsylvania, where he retrieved all that had been lost by the defeat of General Braddock and where he taught the Indians that the white man was his superior in Indian warfare. "When the time came to select the leaders for the western campaign and only himself and General Bradstreet seemed fitted for so important missions, the more difficult, dangerous and exacting one, that which led through a trackless wilderness with no possible means of retreat in event of repulse at any point, the penetrating to the heart of the then Indian world was intrusted to him. "Following the Indian trail, which led from Fort Pitt to Sandusky Bay, thence to Detroit, to the point where it divided, one branch leading to the southwest along the east bank of the Tuscarawas River to its junction with the Walhonding and along which trail he had reason to believe the red man would have all in readiness to strike him at a disadvantage, he boldly crossed the Tuscarawas and struck southwesterly away from the river into the wilderness where white feet had never trod, but where the enemy had made no preparation to harass him or impede his progress, keeping to the ridges and camping at night on high ground, he at length came to the forks and then decided it was unnecessary to proceed to his original objective, Wakatomik some ten or fifteen miles down the Muskingum. "Here his mission was accomplished. "A significant fact developed at Camp 14, twenty-two miles from the future site of Camp 16. "At Camp 14 representatives of tribes from far and near presented themselves seeking terms of peace. For two days the colonel parleyed with them, but at length refused further discussion and the next morning started a forced march to the junction of the Tuscarawas with the Walhonding. While before this the colonel had contented himself with making eight or ten miles a day, on this day he drove his men, cattle, sheep, and horses, more than sixteen miles, a tremendous task, but one rendered neces- SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 175 sary by the perils of his surroundings. Search the map at this point and see how the genius and knowledge of Colonel Hutchins, the greatest engineer of his day in America, directed the line of march on practically an air line from the point of divergence of the two trails to the forks of the Muskingum. "I am justified in this last observation by the fact that county historical societies of the various counties have succeeded in closely approximating the line of march and the various camps in their respective counties. "According to their discoveries, this line of march entered Coshocton County at a point between one and two miles north of the southeast corner of Crawford Township." COLONELS HUTCHINS AND SMITH Judge Nicholas added that had Bouquet left the high ground which he had followed on his march down the Tuscarawas and veered to the west he would have been forced to cross the marshy, swampy valley of Mills Creek. To the Judge this would have been an unthinkable error on Colonel Bouquet's part. The remainder of Judge Nicholas' paper is not only interesting Coshocton County history but good biography, dealing as it does with two very worthy American pioneers, Colonel Hutchins and Col. James Smith : "While the above manuscript was in the hands of the typist and while idly reviewing Mitchener's 'Centennial History of the Muskingum and Tuscarawas Valleys,' I find on page 55 what for years off and on, I have vainly striven for—who, if any one, acted as guide for Colonel Bouquet on this expedition. Though I knew Colonel Hutchins, his second in command, had traveled over Ohio both north and south of the expedition's point of destination, and had indeed made a map of the northern and southern portions of the state—though the map showed the country south of the Sandusky trail and north of about where Zanesville now stands as inexplored territory—yet I felt that some one familiar with the topography from where the colonel left the Sandusky trail on the west side of the river must have directed his route, I could not believe that chance alone could have directed this almost unerring air line toward his objective. "On the above mentioned page I find that that wonderful old 176 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO character, Col. James Smith, of Pennsylvania, was the official guide of the expedition. "A sketch of the career of Colonel Smith would fit nicely into this narrative and explain why Colonel Bouquet's line of march was ideal, but suffice it to say, that nine years before the expedition started, Colonel Smith had been taken prisoner by the Delawares, carried from his home to the Indian village of Tullihas, on the Walhonding (near the present site of the Village of Walhonding) , where he was made a blood-brother to the tribe. "For years, thereafter, until about the time of the Bouquet expedition, he roamed the country with his Indian brethren and became the ideal guide for he was a man of unusual character, ability, and experience, later commanding a regiment in the War of the Revolution, and finally [became] a member of the Kentucky Legislature." M'DONALD DEFEATS THE SHAWNEES Ten years later another demonstration against the Indians of the Muskingum valley was made when Col. Angus McDonald with 400 soldiers marched from Captina Creek, below Wheeling, across country to discipline the Shawnees located in villages on the Wakatomika, near the site of Dresden. The march through the wilderness was difficult and dangerous but McDonald and his men gave a good account of themselves when the Dresden villages were reached. They defeated the savages, burned five towns, destroyed 500 bushels of old corn and cut down 75 acres of standing grain. Then they turned back toward the Ohio, carrying hostages along. The march through the forest was one of hardship and suffering but the expedition had driven the Shawnees out of their position on the Wakatomika and added to the security of the whites of the Muskingum valley. BRODHEAD'S FORCE MARCHES WESTWARD TOO The next exertion of armed force in that valley followed seven years later when Col. Daniel Brodhead, commander of the Western Military Department with headquarters at Fort Pitt, organized 300 men at Wheeling. Early in the spring of 1881 hostile Indians had passed over the Ohio River at several points, bent on mischief. The little army left Fort Henry in April and SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 177 reached Coshocton on the 19th. Indians were captured on the east side of the river but those on the west side escaped. Sixteen of the captive warriors were killed and scalped. The redskins' town at Lichtenau, the abandoned Moravian village, was destroyed. The force returned to Wheeling with twenty prisoners, all of whom but a few women and children were killed by the whites. Before this event occurred and after the attack made upon the Indians of the Wakatomika the Dunmore war had passed. to its close with the victory of Gen. Andrew Lewis over Corn-planter at Point Pleasant and the treaty made with the Indians at Camp Charlotte by Dunmore. This was on the eve of the Revolution, which was to bring the British on the Lakes into alliance with the redskins. CHAPTER C THE MASSACRE AT GNADENHUTTEN AFTER A DECADE OF PROGRESS IN RECLAIMING MANY INDIANS FROM SAVAGERY THEIR MORAVIAN FRIENDS WERE UNABLE TO SAVE THEM FROM BEING RUTHLESSLY SLAIN-BODY OF WHITES FROM BEYOND THE OHIO GUILTY OF THE CRUEL DEED-THEY DRAGGED THE DOOMED INDIANS FROM CHURCH TO "SLAUGHTER HOUSE"-"PASTURE OF LIGHT" (LICHTENAU) ESTABLISHED ON THE MUSKINGUM BY MORAVIANS WAS ABANDONED. The Moravians who came into Ohio to establish a mission in behalf of the Indians settled on a spot called Schoenbrunn, situated ten miles north of New Comerstown. To this point in 1772 came those two deeply religious Moravian missionaries, David Zeisberger and John Heckwelder. In spite of the great difficulties encountered they made good progress in reclaiming many of the redskins; but on March 8, 1782, there was a massacre of ninety-four of their charges, men, women and children, by a party of whites, about eighty in number who had come from beyond the Ohio for the express purpose of killing the Indians. MET ON THE BANKS OF THE OHIO The story is horrible beyond words. The nearness to Coshocton County of the scene of this wholesale slaughter and the Moravians' efforts at Lichtenau, this county, to convert the savages add importance to the event in the minds of Coshocton County readers, even though nearly a century and a half has come and gone since it occurred. The men who were notified to meet on the Ohio, opposite Mingo, to carry the plot through reached there on March 4, 1782, some on foot and others mounted. Crossing to the Ohio side they chose officers and began the movement toward the Moravian settlement; following the Moravian trail, up Cross Creek. "They chose their own officers," says Doddridge, "furnished their own means and conducted war in their own way." Colonel Williamson was given command. - 179 - 180 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO VAINLY PLEAD FOR HIS LIFE Two days later in the evening, they were within about a mile of the middle Moravian village. The next morning having learned that some of their prospective victims were working on the west side of the river they sent a part of their force across to that side and approached the town from different directions. The first Indian this detachment saw was killed and scalped although he declared that his father was John Schebosh, a Christian convert. His appeals to be spared fell on deaf ears. Others met the same fate before the whites had reached the town. CAME TO SLAY BUT RELENTED The whites held off on March 7 while awaiting the return of those of their number who had been sent to Salem and Schoenbrunn to bring in the Indians who were there. It was on this day that the best among the whites sought to draw back, realizing that they were about to commit a terrible wrong. Among the whites was a young minister who had joined the expedition in order to avenge the capture of his fiancee whom the savages had carried off. The songs and prayers of the Moravian Indians while facing death broke down his bloody purpose and he was one of the eighteen who voted to carry the intended victims as prisoners to Fort Pitt and he sought to stop the murders, but as Farrall says: "All in vain ; the demon had been roused, and only blood could stay his hand. Whether Colonel Williamson witnessed the slaughter or retired from the scene with those who voted against it, we are not told, but to those who have visited the place and are familiar with the locality, that excuse is valueless. The river on the west side of the village runs deep in the earth, and it was under the bank where the eighteen retired, distant by measurement not more than seventy-five yards from the church out of which the victims were dragged to the slaughter houses. Standing there, they could not see, but could distinctly hear all that was going on above. SWAM THE RIVER BUT WAS SHOT "And one of those who stood there and lived to be the last survivor of the eighteen has told persons yet living that while so SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 181 waiting, a young Indian escaped from his murderers, and all covered with blood, came running to the river, plunged in and swam to the other side and was already clambering up the bank, when one of the party raised his gun and shot him through the body. Of the details of the massacre little is known." PLUNDERED THE VILLAGE Not satisfied with their crime against human life these men plundered the village and attaching the spoil to their horses they set fire to the houses and turned homeward, reaching Mingo on the afternoon of Saturday. Here they crossed to the east side of the Ohio and disappeared. Quoting again from Farrall : "Whether they had agreed among themselves to say nothing is not known, but it is more than likely that on the way back to the river they had begun to realize what they had done, that they would be called to account for it by the military authorities at Fort Pitt and therefore the less said about the matter the better and no expedition of equal importance, military or civil so suddenly and so entirely disappeared from public notice, even the families of many of the members being entirely ignorant of their connection with the affair." COSHOCTON'S "PASTURE OF LIGHT" This was Lichtenau where the Moravians established a mission (on the Muskingum, two miles below Coshocton), and where David Zeisberger, John Heckwelder and nearly three dozen of their followers came in 1776. Netawatwees, the Delaware chief, who had heard Zeisberger preach on the Alleghany, granted him land on the Muskingum and Lichtenau was founded. The chief, his grandson, Killbuck, and Chief White Eyes were the Moravians' friends but other Delawares and members of other tribes were plotting with the British and the Moravians found it difficult to hold even their redskin friends to the paths of peace, for Captain Pipe, who was for war with the Colonists, exerted a dangerous power. GIRTY IN HIS SATANIC CHARACTER At length Newalike, the Munsey chief, brought a report from the north that the Wyandots were to come down the Walhonding, 182 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO destroy Lichtenau and carry back the scalps of Zeisberger, White Eyes and Killbuck. Simon Girty came to Coshocton from Fort Pitt with a band of deserters from the Colonial army and stirred the Delawares up with lies to the effect that Washington had been killed, his army scattered and that bodies of whites were coming west to slay the Indians. WHITE EYES FRIEND OF THE WHITES White Eyes denounced the lies and asked his tribe for a suspension of judgment. He plead for 10 days' time and it was granted. Meanwhile Fort Pitt heard of the situation on the Muskingum and Heckwelder was handed peace messages and dispatches to carry thither. He and an attendant galloped westward and arrived at the forks of the Muskingum none too soon. The time granted White Eyes had well-nigh expired and the warriors were almost on the point of opening hostilities. Confounded by the exposure of their false tales and the news that Burgoyne had surrendered, Pipe, Girty and their followers deserted the spot. Zeisberger left Lichtenau for the Schoenbrunn mission on the Tuscarawas and later Heckwelder and others of the whites followed. Thus, at the end of about three years, Lichtenau was abandoned by its founders. White Eyes went to Fort Pitt and entered the Colonial army. He died from smallpox while in the service. CHAPTER CI TEN YEARS OF PIONEERING BEFORE COUNTYHOOD CHARLES WILLIAMS CAME FROM VIRGINIA IN 1799 AND BUILT A TAVERN AT THE FORKS WHICH SERVED AS THE FIRST COURTHOUSE-OTHERS FOLLOWED UNTIL THE TERRITORY WAS THOUGHT WORTHY OF COUNTYHOOD BY THE LEGISLATURE-ACT OF ORGANIZATION PASSED APRIL 1, 1811-FIRST COURTHOUSE ERECTED IN 1824 AT A COST OF $2,000-THE 1873 COURTHOUSE COST FIFTY TIMES AS MUCH. The county's Indian history has much to tell about white en who passed through it, traded in it, were brought thither as captives or came and went as soldiers under Bouquet and Brodhead, but this chapter is meant to deal with the earliest of those who settled at and near the forks of the Muskingum. These and the whites who had preceded them but not as settlers could tell inhabitants of the states east and south of the Ohio why the Indians had established a considerable number of their villages and the capital of their tribe at and near the forks—could tell eloquently of the broad valleys which converged there, of the region's rich soil and noble streams, of the game within its forests and the fish within its rivers. In spite of these favorable reports the pioneer remained on the far side of the Ohio while the Indian remained hostile, and indeed it was several years after General Wayne's victory at Fallen Timbers (1794) before Coshocton territory began to receive permanent settlers. SOME OF THE EARLY PIONEERS Among the most famous of these was Charles Williams who at the age of 35 years came from Virginia (in 1799), by way of the Muskingum, accompanied by his wife and two children. For a while the family camped "in an open spot in the wilderness," says Bahmer, the historian, "a few miles up the Walhonding." Next year they came down to the forks, located where - 183 - 184 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO the Delawares had located their capital and there Williams began to make salt and to keep a tavern. The latter stood on what is now Water Street, at the northeast corner of Chestnut. Fronting the river its night lights became the ferryman's guide. Originally built of logs a two-story frame annex increased its capacity to accommodate the traveler. The structure remained a Coshocton landmark until about 1889. We quote again from Bahmer: "Williams was accompanied here by his brothers-in-law, the Carpenters and William and Samuel Morrison, who went to Holmes County. A brother of Williams was also on the ground, along with Isaac and Henry Hoagland, with their families; the Buckinghams, father and sister ; William Scritchfield and daughter who married George McCullough, probably the first pioneer wedding here." FOUR THOUSAND ACRES AT THE FORKS The reference to Buckingham and his sister recalls the fact that John Mathews and Ebenezer Buckingham, Jr., had in 1801 purchased from Elijah Backus, of Marietta, 4,000 acres of land located at the forks, which had been granted to Backus in 1800 by deed signed by President John Adams. Buckingham and Mathews laid out a town, on paper, April 30, 1802, naming it Tuscarawa which on January 30, 1811, was changed to Coshocton by the general assembly. In about 1801 Isaac and Henry Evans and Charles and Esaias Baker were settled enough to be planting corn on the Tuscarawas bottom at what became Orange. Others near the forks were John Noble and Benjamin Fry, J. Workman, the ferryman, the Moores, Fultons and Cantwells. By 1804 Thomas Wiggins and the McClains, Thomas and Seth, were in Lafayette Township. In 1806 George Miller was there. In the latter year Henry Miller, a soldier of the Revolution, with six sons, settled on what became known as the Haight farm, near Roscoe. LOGAN'S CAPTIVE BECOMES A SETTLER In 1801 Maj. William Robinson and his son Benjamin, located in Franklin Township. Logan, the Indian chief, had led the Major captive through Coshocton 27 years earlier. Michael Miller and his family reached the Robinson neighborhood in 1801 SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 185 and later came three other of Robinson's sons and six daughters. James Craig and Ira Kimberly were in Bethlehem Township in 1801 and in 1806 another Revolutionary soldier, John Bantham, from Maryland, and Henry Carr, came to Bethlehem. The Darling family represented Virginia in the Walhonding Valley as early as 1806 and in the same neighborhood were John Elder, and the Johns, Pigmans, Elys, Duncans, Giffens, Merediths and Butlers. Joseph Burrell, Adam Markley, William Speaks, another soldier of the Revolution, and Samuel Rea and Andrew Wilson, soldiers of the War of 1812, were also early settlers. The home of the McGuires was east of the site of Canal Lewisville and Garrett Moore and James Oglesby came early from Virginia to what became Keene. As early as 1806 a group of pioneers settled on Will's Creek —the McCunes of Revolutionary stock, the Addys, the Miskimins, the Mulvains, Waggoners, Leiningers, the Wolfes and the Loos family. At about the same time the Drapers of Virginia were located in the northwest part of Virginia Township, the Croys, Chalfants, Hardestys and Ashcrafts in its southwest section and other settlers in the township were the Tiltons, Norrises, Wrights and McCoys. To Bedford Township in the early years of the nineteenth century came the James, Haines and Wolford families; while to Adams Township, then a part of Oxford, came Robert Corbit, William Norris, Robert McFarland and the founder of Bakersville, John Baker. "A clearing in the wildwood, a section square of land, An ax upon his shoulder and a rifle in his hand ; A wife and tow-head children and an honest heart sincere ; Were all the worldly riches of the Early Pioneer." The foregoing paragraphs are in nowise intended as a history of the beginning of Coshocton County's settlement. They merely indicate that here there was a county in the making. The county was not made however in a legal and organized sense until April 1, 1811, when the legislature, then in session at Zanesville, struck off territory. The meaning of the word was thus spoken of some years ago 186 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO by Thomas H. Johnson, chief consulting engineer of the Pennsylvania Lines : "In the Delaware tongue 'Cush' is bear ; Cushog black bear and Wenk' is town. In Central Pennsylvania the word survives in the names of several streams in the following forms : Cush Creek, Bear Creek; Cushian Creek, Cub Creek; Cush-Cushian, Bear and Cub Creek. The terminal Wenk' was anglicized by the early settlers and the place became known as Cush-og-town, from which is derived the later form, Coshocton." TAVERN TURNED INTO COURTHOUSE The first court was held in the year of county organization and as there was no courthouse the judges proceeded up the outside stairway of the Williams tavern and held session in one of its upper rooms. The president judge was absent but his three associates, Peter Casey, Isaac Evans and William Mitchell, were ready for service, and they opened court by appointing Adam Johnson clerk, ordering the election of justices of the peace. The court's second session followed later in the year when Thomas L. Rue succeeded Adam Johnson as temporary clerk.' The first grand jury's members were James Tanner, foreman, James Craig, Benjamin Fry, Samuel Clark, Samuel Hardesty, John Hanson, Isaac Workman, Charles Miller, Michael Miller, Philip Waggoner, W. Miller, Francis McGuire, Henry Miller and John Mills. The court adjourned after appointing William Lockard county surveyor. LAWYER CASS' EARLY SUCCESS Lewis Cass, afterwards famous as soldier, territorial governor, diplomat, democratic candidate for the presidency, and member of Buchanan's cabinet, from which he resigned because his chief would not reinforce Fort Sumter, came to Coshocton from his Zanesville home and won a case (tried before the new county' first petit jury) in which Landlord Charles Williams had sued Adam Markley for $9.56. The reader perhaps wonders what fee Williams paid Cass. The court appointed Warner Wright prose, cuting attorney. A dealer in counterfeit money was fined $20 for his offense with 39 lashes on his back for good measure—at the SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 189 whipping post. The first jail, built by Adam Johnson, was of oak logs; the first sheriff was Cornelius P. Van Kirk. It was in 1821 that the county commissioners planned to build a courthouse, but it was 1824 before it was completed (at a cost of about. $2,000). This old structure was sold and removed in 1875. A proposition to erect another courthouse was submitted to the county's electors in 1872 and defeated by a large majority. In 1873, however, the legislature having passed an enabling act, the commissioners contracted for the building and work began on it that year. The county offices were established in it in July, 1875. It cost about $100,000. About the same time a jail and sheriff's residence were erected at a cost of about $25,000. CHAPTER CII OHIO CANAL A BOON TO COSHOCTON FARMERS MUSKINGUM ROUTE CHOSEN AND COMMISSIONERS AUTHORIZED TO BUILD AT A COST OF $3,000,000—FREIGHT BEING TRANSPORTED NEW YORK TO COSHOCTON IN 1830—CANAL OPERATION ADVANCED PRICE OF WHEAT FROM 30c TO $1.00 A BUSHEL—JAMES A. GARFIELD DROVE THE TOWPATH MULES—CANAL CARRIED COSHOCTON COAL TO NEWARK AND OTHER PORTS. The question of building a canal in Ohio was submitted to the general assembly by Governor Worthington in 1816 and his special message was accompanied by a statement made in behalf of interior waterways by New York's governor, DeWitt Clinton. Four years passed without decisive action and that came in 1820 in the form of the appointment of three commissioners delegated to locate a canal route to connect Lake Erie with the Ohio River. January 27, 1823, the legislature authorized the taking of steps to secure grants and donations, after having considered the report made by the commissioners the month before. Estimates on the work followed during the winter. In these it was reported that the Muskingum-Scioto route, including Cleveland, Columbus and Raccoon feeders, would cost $3,061,368.47. In February the commissioners were authorized to make a navigable canal on that route via Licking Summit. The route had a total length of 339 miles. BROUGHT BLESSINGS TO THE FARMER Ground was broken at Licking Summit, Licking County, July 4, 1825, under promising auspices, with a large attendance and impressive ceremonies. By May 30, 1829, the canal was reported to be completed between the Summit and Black 'Hand, Licking County, and it was announced that work would be done on the section eastward to Massillon by July 21. On September 4, 1830, Zanesville newspapers carried an announcement that the canal was in operation as far west as Dresden and that freight was be- - 191 - 192 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO ing transported thither by the Erie Canal, Lake Erie and the new Ohio canal. This facility for shipping products to good markets came none too soon for the citizens of Coshocton County. Roads were well nigh impassable and constantly increasing crops were producing surpluses under the pressure of which prices were sinking lower and lower. Wheat had sold at 75 cents a bushel in 1818; in a few years it brought but 50 cents and in 1823 but 30 cents. The canal advanced Coshocton's wheat to a dollar a bushel and carried heavy cargoes of it to the markets. Roscoe soon became a busy shipping point. Bahmer tells about the results at tha port. ROSCOE ROSE TO PROSPEROUS HEIGHTS "The town stirred with shipping life and scenes. There were the fleets of freighters that moved commerce between the Ohio River and Lake Erie. There was the passenger packet the sight of which aroused uneasy speculations concerning the disposal of passengers in the fiddle-case cabin. There was the confusion of the towpath, the tangle of long ropes, the teams and their drivers. puffy-faced with much talk, picturesque profanity, how-de-do and whistling the balance. Here, too, the barefoot Garfield drove the towpath mule, the canal boy stage of that historic life which endedin the White House." Roscoe profited greatly from the canal. Half a dozen stores were established : LeRetilley's high warehouse stood where the freighters could float alongside; Renfrew & Hay's distillery was a busy place ; the wheels of several mills were being turned by water power; the "Renfrew" canal boat had been built at Roscoe. Much faith was placed in the town's future and among the investors in its real estate were Leander Ransom, canal construction engineer, and Noah H. Swayne, then a Coshocton lawyer and later a justice of the United States Supreme Court. The Walhonding canal brought into prominence another Coshocton town, Rochester, in Tiverton Township. "The roads leading from the canal terminal were covered for miles with wagons bringing wheat from as far as Mount Vernon," says a local writer. GOOD TIMES AT OTHER POINTS Canal-day prosperity spread abroad. Walhonding grew the canal on the site of Captain Pipe's old Indian village—g SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 193 so fast that ambitious plans arose to make it the county seat of a new county and the bill intended to clinch the proposal failed in the legislature by but one vote. In Pike Township West Carlisle was in evidence with three stores, a tavern, two churches, a tannery, a hattery, a tailor shop and other shops quite as useful. In Perry Township arose New Guilford and Claysville, afterwards merged as East Union. Heaton's Town (New Bedford), a road house in 1817, developed stores, a blacksmith shop and a tannery. Keene broke through the wilderness with a schoolhouse, a tavern and stores. Warsaw bought and shipped grain and grew on the traffic. Canal Lewisville built three grain warehouses. Evansburg, later Orange, was proud of her warehouse, tannery, tavern and store. The canal proved to be of striking value to owners of Coshocton County's mineral lands. It carried coal out of the county, for instance, delivering to buyers at Newark and other ports, while the farmer continued to need and profit by the waterway for years, as may be judged from the statement of an early writer, who declared that as late as 1876 there was not in Coshocton County a mile of turnpike or macadam roadway. Other aspects of the building and operation of the Ohio Canal will be found in the Licking and Muskingum County sections of this work. The pioneer farmer's increase in the old canal days was wonderfully promoted by the productiveness of his virgin soil. His disadvantages as compared with those of present day farmers were largely centered in the crudeness of his tools. This verse of an old poem suggests the fact: "We did not have machinery then, To sow and reap and thresh the grain, But all was done by hand ; And those old-fashioned implements, Have long been banished hence, Or, rusting, lie inside the fence, No longer in demand." CHAPTER CIII COAL DEVELOPMENT IN COSHOCTON COUNTY ORRIS BURT BEGAN MINING IN 1834-OHIO CANAL CARRIED COAL CARGOES TO NEWARK ABOUT 1850-RAILROAD BUILDING QUICKENED PRODUCTION- DEVELOPMENT NEAR CONESVILLE WAS EXTENSIVE--COUNTY PRODUCED OVER FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND TONS IN 1910. Morris Burt mined coal in 1834 just east of Coshocton. Near what became known as "Hardscrabble" Thomas Thornsley, Elisha Turner and John Robson mined coal a little later. Sixteen years later the county's largest mines were in the hills northwest of Franklin station on land controlled by H. Goodale. The coal went to Newark by canal. After the boats ceased to run a track to the Pennsylvania line was laid. Foght Burt opened a mine about 1856, south of Coshocton, and it was connected with the Pennsylvania's line by rails over which the cars were at first hauled by horsepower and later by a small engine. Edward Prosser opened the Beech Hollow mine in 1861, operated it with profit four years and sold out to the Coshocton Coal Company. The Pennsylvania's engines coaled at Beech Hollow and the remainder of the mine's output was shipped to western markets. Prosser & Cassingham acquired the property about 1880 and exhausted the vein. EXHAUSTED SOME DEPOSITS This firm also mined all the coal in a mine which Mathias Shoemaker had opened on the Ricketts farm east of Coshocton and which the Miami Coal Company later operated. Prosser & Cassingham mined it profitably. Prosser mined "Pen Twyn" successfully until 1883, when the vein was exhausted. In 1868 N. E. Barney, D. L. Triplett, John A. Barney, S. H. Lee, G. W. Ricketts and Edward Prosser opened the Home Coal Company's mine at Hardscrabble, and sold it in 1876 to Edward Prosser, E. T. Dudley and J. W. Cassingham. A few years later the mine - 195 - 196 - SOUTHEASTERN OHIO became the property of G. W. Ricketts and David Waggoner, who mined all the coal left in it. The total output was very large. About at the close of the Civil war a mine was operated south of Coshocton, near the home of John Porteus, by the Union Coal & Mining Company. When the mine was abandoned J. W. Cassingham purchased its equipment and in 1887 opened a mine on the Vance and McCleary property. NEW RAILROAD QUICKENED MINING The building into Coshocton County in 1882 of the Conotton Valley Railroad (now the Wheeling and Lake Erie) had a good effect upon local development, connecting as it did the county mines with Cleveland. Taking advantage of this the Morgan Run Coal & Mining Company built a branch three miles long up Morgan run and shipped coal very extensively for years. The Wade Coal Company also became extensive coal operators on Morgan run. South of Rock run John Conly operated a mine which was later abandoned. In 1884 David Davis, J. W. Cassingham and D. M. Moore opened near the Pennsylvania line west of Conesville a large mine which became very profitable. Davis bought the Cassingham and Moore interests in 1885. He was at first an operator on a very small scale, hauling coal by wagon to the canal near where he was operating on a large scale in the middle '80s. THE CONESVILLE DEVELOPMENTS In 1887, after serving as county auditor, J. W. Cassingham opened a mine on the McCleary and Vance land and the output was hauled by the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad to points north. Until 1895 Cassingham operated it on a large scale and then sold it to the Coshocton Coal Company who worked it extensively. The Oden Valley Coal Company acquired a large acreage of coal land northwest of Conesville and opened there in the middle '90s mines connected with the Pennsylvania line, J. W. Cassingham being the company's chief stockholder. The Arnold Coal Company and the Burt Coal Company also went heavily into mining in the Conesville field and both properties were acquired by the Barnes Coal Company of Coshocton. The Warwick Coal Company of Cleveland opened up one of SOUTHEASTERN OHIO - 197 Coshocton County's most extensive mining districts when they purchased 1,200 acres of coal lands in Franklin Township and extending into Tuscarawas and Linton townships. The mines were equipped with electrical machinery and motor haulage, C. L. Cassingham, J. W. Warwick and Charles Zettlemyer being the owners. Under the lead of the mining enterprises named in the foregoing and of others there has been a constant growth in production until in 1910 the total was more than 400,000 tons valued at half a million dollars. COSHOCTON COUNTY COAL PRODUCTION In the general history which occupies the earlier pages of this work the mining returns of Ohio's coal counties are extensively set forth, covering, with five-year intervals, the period beginning in 1885 and ending in 1925. To Coshocton County readers the records reveal a steady production growth with two exceptions, which occurred in 1915 and 1925. The production of 99,609 short tons in 1885 climbed to 427,341 tons in 1910 and fell to 198,434 tons in 1915 and to 202,014 tons in 1925. Since the strike of April 1, 1927, there has been of course a far greater reduction. CHAPTER CIV PATRIOTISM SHOWN IN ALL THE WARS COUNTY BUT A YEARLING WHEN SECOND WAR WITH BRITAIN BROKE OUT BUT SOLDIERS WENT TO THE FRONT-MEXICAN WAR TROOPS LEFT ON CANAL BOATS-OVER TWENTY-FIVE HUNDRED OF COSHOCTON'S SONS IN CIVIL WAR-LIST OF SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR RECRUITS-THIRTY-EIGHT PARTICIPANTS IN THE WORLD WAR GAVE UP THEIR LIVES AND 2,000 SERVED. "Flag of the brave ! Thy folds shall fly The sign of hope and triumph high ! When speaks the signal-trumpet tone, And the long line comes gleaming on, Ere yet the life-blood, warm and wet Has dimmed the glistening bayonet.. Each soldier's eye shall brightly turn To where thy sky-born glories burn, And, as his springing steps advance, Catch war and vengeance from the glance." —Drake. COSHOCTON IN THE WAR OF 1812 The county was but a yearling when this conflict came. Her pioneers were anxious as to its effect upon the Indians in western parts. The British on the Lakes, it was feared, would urge the red men to harry the settlements on the Muskingum. Johnny Appleseed, at Mansfield, fearing for those settlements, hastened down the Walhonding into the county to warn her pioneers, to rouse them from their slumber, to cry "The Indians are murdering and scalping at Mansfield ! Fly, fly for your lives !" But the foe came not. The settlers were safe. WILLING SONS OF COSHOCTON The settlers responded to the need for soldiers. A Coshocton ounty company went to the front and joined Hull's forces; after - 199 -