CHAPTER II.
INDIANS AND INDIAN FIGHTERS.
THE Ohio of 1650 was doubtless a wilderness occupied principally by a tribe of Indians known as the Eries. It is generally conceded that the Fries were members of the Iroquois family, as distinguished from the Algonquin tribes. In 1650 the Iroquois, or confederated Mohawks, Onondagas, Oneidas, Cayugas and Senecas, occupied the territory now embraced within New York and Northern Pennsylvania. The Hurons or Wyandots, and a kindred Neutral Nation, held the peninsula between Lakes Huron, Erie and Ontario. The Fries occupied the southern shore of Lake Erie, and the Andastes possessed the valleys of the Allegheny and Upper Ohio rivers. All these were, in their dialects, of the Iroquois family, but not included in the Iroquois confederation.
Prominent among the Algonquins were the Lenni Lenapees or Delawares, so called from their being found in the region of the Delaware and its tributary streams in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. Their traditions declare them to be the parent stock from which other Algonquin tribes have sprung; and this claim seems to be recognized by the Algonquins in designating the ancient Lenapees by the title of Grandfather. The Algonquins were the most numerous race, judging from their wide distribution. We find them confronting Cartier on his ascent of the St. Lawrence ; the first British colonists found savages of the same race in the vicinity of Jamestown; and it was a daughter of an Algonquin chief who saved the life of the adventurous Captain Smith; the Algonquins under Sassacus the Pequot, and Philip, of Mount Hope, waged deadly war against the Puritans of New England. The same race made the covenant of peace with William Penn ; and when the French Jesuits and traders explored the Wabash and the Ohio, they found the valleys occupied by the same far-extending race.
Toward the middle of the eighteenth century parties of Delawares, being disturbed in their possessions in Pennsylvania, by the encroachments of the European settlers, removed to the west of the Alleghanies, and obtained from their ancient allies and uncles, the Wyan-
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dots, permission to live and hunt in the bounds of the present state of Ohio. They settled on the branches of the Muskingum and as far west as the Scioto, and became powerful and influential in the Indian affairs of Ohio. Another tribe besides those mentioned wielded a powerful influence in the troublous times upon the Scioto, and in Ross county pioneer history. We refer to the Shawanees. Though there is conflicting testimony regarding these people, and disagreement as to their identity, yet "Gallatin's Synopsis," page 65, presents a plausible and generally accepted explanation. He gives it as his opinion that the "Shawnoes," as he writes the word, separated at an early date from the other Lenape tribes, and established themselves south of the Ohio, in what is now the state of Kentucky ; that having been driven from that territory probably by the Chickasaws and Cherokees, some portion found their way, during the first half of the seventeenth century, as far east as the country of the Susquehannocks, a kindred tribe ; that the main body of the nation, invited by the Miamis and the Andastes, crossed the Ohio, and occupied the country on and adjacent to the Scioto, and joined in the war against the Five Nations; and that after their final defeat, and that of their allies, in the year 1672, they were again dispersed in several directions. A considerable portion of the Shawanees about that time made a forcible settlement on the head waters of the rivers of Carolina ; and these, after having been driven away by the Catawbas, found, as others had already done, an asylum in different parts of the Creek country. Another portion joined their brethren in Pennsylvania, and still others may have remained in the vicinity of the Scioto and Miami. Those in Pennsylvania were not entirely subjugated, though they held their lands there as tenants at will, the Five Nations being their recognized superiors, to whom they were obliged to acknowledge a kind of sovereignty or superiority.
The Shawanees seem to have been discontented with their lot, and were apparently more anxious than the Delawares to return to the country north of the Ohio. This they effected under the auspices of the Wyandots, and on invitation of the French. They reoccupied the Scioto country in 1740 to 1755. Their domain extended also to Sandusky, and westward to the Great Miami. They have left the names of two of their tribes--Chillicothe and Piqua--to bear witness to their existence. Here the remnant of the race that had settled among the Creeks joined them, and the nation was once more reunited. This migration from the South probably gives rise to the statement of some authors, that the Shawanees originally came from the South. It is said on good authority that Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet, were sons of a Creek woman, married to a Shawanee during that sojourn. For a period of forty years following this reunion, the Shawanees were almost constantly at war with the settlers. They were the most active allies of the French during
INDIANS AND INDIAN FIGHTERS. - 29
the Seven Years' War, and after the conquest of Canada, continued, in conjunction with the Delawares, until finally defeated by General Bouquet.
The first permanent American settlements west of the Alleghanies were commenced in 1769, and were soon followed by a war with the Shawanees, which continued until 1774, when they were defeated in a severe engagement at the mouth of the Kanawha, and the Virginia settlers penetrated into their country. They were the most active enemies of the colonists during the Revolutionary War, and took a prominent part in the Indian war which followed, and was terminated in 1795, at Fort Greenville. They lost by the terms of that treaty, nearly the whole territory which they acquired from the Wyandots; and a part of them, under Tecumseh, again joined the British during the war of 1812.
Some authors connect the Shawanees and Cherokees with the ancient mounds, and other believe that the Scioto valley was a Shawanee seat in 1650. History does not sustain the claim that they came originally from the South, as previously stated in this chapter. A very plausible theory is that they were the advance guard of Algonquin invasion from the northwest, pushing out the original mound builders. There is good evidence that the Fries were expelled from their ancient. country on the shores of Lake Erie, and driven south by the conquering Iroquois, in 1650. The Shawanees, being enemies of the Iroquois, probably shared the fate of the Eries. As sustaining this view we cite the reader to the following authorities: Transactions Am. Antiq. Soc., Vol. II, p. 87 ; Historical Collections of South Carolina, Vol. I, pp. 49, 188 ; Am. Abor. Arch., Vol. III, p. 288 ; Bishop Gregg's History of the Old Chehaws, pp. 3 & 18. Samuel G. Drake, in his admirable work, "The Aboriginal Races of North America," fixes the date of the Shawanee expulsion from Ohio by the Iroquois, as 1672, and the destruction of the Eries by the same enemy, in 1654, they having subdued the Hurons (according to Drake) in 1650. He also locates the Iroquois on both sides of the Ohio to the Mississippi, in 1687.
But it is entirely foreign to our purpose to follow the varying fortunes of the different tribes or nations beyond the limits of the Scioto valley, except when necessary to give a proper understanding within the bounds of our subject. Of the five tribes inhabiting the Scioto valley when the first definite knowledge of the country was acquired, the Shawanees were the most prominent, as they were, also, the most active and unconquerable. The other tribes represented were the Wyandots, Delawares, Mingoes and Maumees. But the pioneers of the Scioto valley, and particularly of Ross county and vicinity, had to deal principally, and in fact almost wholly, with the Shawanees. After their expulsion from the Scioto country, and a long period of absence, covering the greater part of a century, they returned from
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the East, South and West, and reunited their tribes in the Scioto valley, becoming a strong and vigilant adversary against the encroachments of civilization. It is said that the Delawares, who occupied the territory at this time, peaceably vacated it, and "placed the Shawanees in their laps." More accurately, they were both tenants under the Wyandots and Iroquois. The tribal divisions of the Shawanees are said to have been four, namely : The Piqua, Kiskapocke, Mequachuke and Chillicothe. But the "Pioneer Record of Ross County" says that "the Indian occupation of the county in 1750 was by the Shawanees, Piquas and Chillicothe tribes," omitting the others.
It is to be noted that while the word Scioto is of Wyandot origin, from the Iroquois family of language, Chillicothe is a name originating with the Shawanees. Scioto, in its older forms and pronunciations, suggests some Iroquois place-names that remain in the geography of New York and Pennsylvania, but Chillicothe has more of a resemblance to Southern names given by Choctaw, Creek or Cherokee Indians. There is a Chillicoco in Indian territory, among the Cherokees, and in Tennessee there is Chilhowie, not unlikely a place where Shawanees or Cherokees once lived, and in North Carolina is a Chiloe. Resembling this is Chilloway, in Delaware county, N. Y., where the Shawanees probably never lived. But Chillisquaqua, in Northumberland county, Pa., is the closest of all to the word Chillicothe, which, it must be remembered, is undoubtedly only an approximation to the Indian word. The Indians had no alphabet or written documents, and the name is as it was written by those who learned it through the frontier raiders and hunters. Chillisquaque was originally the name of a creek that emptied into the west branch of the Susquehanna nearly opposite the abode of Shikellimus, the Iroquois chief who was the father of Logan. Shikellimus was sent into that region as a sort of viceroy of the Shawanees and Muncies, and there Logan was born. On this Chillisquaque creek there was a settlement of Shawanees, probably some of those who came up from the South, when Conrad Weiser went. there to visit Shikellimus in 1737. Weiser called the creek "Zilli Squache," and a Pennsylvania historian has translated it "snow birds," but this explanation may be doubted.
After the return of the Shawanees to the Scioto country, their chief town, at first, was at the mouth of the Scioto river, on the site of the present town of Alexandria, opposite Portsmouth, and partly on the Kentucky shore. It was a famous town for Indian traders and had log cabins and stone chimney stacks.
The Indians of the Scioto valley were unvisited except by the French and Pennsylvania traders, until 1749, when the people of the Shawanee town at the mouth of the river saw approaching down the Ohio the famous expedition of Celeron, sent from Canada to mark the Ohio river as the boundary of New France. The red men fired
INDIANS AND INDIAN FIGHTERS. - 31
at the French flag, but yielded to persuasion, and allowed Celeron to expel the Scotch-Irish traders. Next, in January, 1751, the y alley was visited by Christopher Gist, representing the Ohio company of Virginia, and George Croghan representing the government of Pennsylvania. With them was a famous interpreter, the half-breed, Andrew Montour. The object of these visitors was to gain the friend-ship and trade of the Scioto valley Indians, and wean them from the French influence.
The Journal of Christopher Gist was first published in London in 1776 by Governor Pownall, as an appendix to his "Topographical Description of North America." We reprint here those portions of the journal that relate to the Scioto valley, as this is the report of the first white traveler in Ross county whose experiences are preserved in type. The notes added are condensed from the notes of William M. Darlington, editor of the Pittsburg edition, 1893. After coming into central Ohio by way of the Tuscarawas river and crossing Licking creek, Gist, accompanied by Croghan, Montour and their followers, "stayed in the Maguck town," January 21st to 24th, 1751. This town was on the Pickaway plains, three and a half miles south of Circleville. Thence, continues the diary:
"Thursday 24.-Set out from the Maguck Town S about 15 M, thro fine rich level land to a small Town called Harrickintoms consisting of about five or six Delaware Families, on the SW Sciodoe Creek."
(It seems that Gist did not cross the Scioto, and it is thought that Harrickinton's town was on the east side. It is so shown by Governor Pownall's edition of Evans' map, 1776, and on Mitchell's map of 1775, but the maps of Evans, 1775, and Hutchins, 1778, put the town on the west side. It seems to have stood a little below the site of the present city of Chillicothe and, if on the east side, nearly opposite the mouth of Paint Creek.)
"Friday 25. The Creek being very high and full of Ice, We could not ford it, and were obliged to go down it on the SE side SE 4 M to the Salt Lick Creek about 1 M up this Creek on the S side is a very large Salt Lick, the streams which run into this Lick are very salt, & tho clear leave a blueish Sediment: The Indians and Traders make salt for their Horses of this, Water, by boiling it; it has at first a blueish Color, and somewhat bitter Taste, but upon being dissolved in fair Water and boiled a second Time, it becomes tolerable pure salt.
(The Scioto Salt Works, the first and for several years the only manufactory of salt in this part of Ohio, were on this creek.)
"Saturday 26.-Set out S 2 M, S W 14 M.
"Sunday 27.S 12 M to a small Delaware Town of about twenty Families on the S E side of Sciodoe Creek. We lodged at the House of an Indian whose name was Windaughalah, a great Man and Chief of this Town, & much in the English Interest. He entertained Us very kindly, and ordered a Negro Man that belonged to him to feed
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our Horses well; this Night it snowed, and in the Morning tho the Snow was six or seven Inches deep, the wild Rye appeared very green and flourishing thro it, and our Horses had fine Feeding.
(This town stood on the east branch of the Scioto in the present township of Clay, Scioto county. Windaughalah was a great. war chief during the French wars. His name signifies ambassador. He was a prominent counselor in peace times, also. He lived at Tuscarawas in 1762, and had the figure of a water lizard tatooed on his face above the chin. He was then named Swe-gash-shasin. He figured in several important treaties, the last at Fort McIntosh, in 1785, when land was first ceded for the settlement of Ohio, and being the oldest chief present, signed first. He was also in the Fort Finney treaty of 1786. His son was the great Delaware warrior, Buck-ongehelas. The mention of a negro man indicates the early introduction of slavery in Ohio. The wild rye was a coarse natural grass, much used for fodder by the early settlers.)
"Monday Jany 28.--We went into Council with the Indians of this Town, and after the Interpreter (Montour) had informed them of his Instructions from the Governor of Pennsylvania, and given them some Cautions in regard to the French, they returned for Answer as follows. The Speaker with four Strings of Wampum in his Hand stood up, and addressing himself to the Governor of Pennsylvania, said, `Brothers, We the Delawares return You our hearty Thanks for the News You have sent Us, and We assure You, We will not hear the Voice of any other Nation for We are to be directed by You, our Brothers the English, &, by none else : We shall be glad to hear what our Brothers have to say to Us at the Loggs Town in the Spring, and to assure You of our hearty Good will & Love to our Brothers We present you with these four Strings of Wampum. This is the last Town of the Delawares to the Westward--The Delaware Indians by the best accounts I could gather consist of about 500 fighting Men all firmly attached to the English Interest, they are not properly a Part of the Six Nations, but are scattered about among the Six Nations, from whom they have Leave to hunt upon their Lands."
"Tuesday 29.-Set out SW 5 M, S 5 M, to the month of Sciodoe Creek opposite to the Shannoah Town, here we fired our Guns to alarm the Traders, who soon answered, and came and ferryed us over to the Town." After describing this town at the mouth of the Scioto briefly, Gist noted that "The Shallows are not a Part of the Six Nations, but. were formerly at Variance with them, tho now reconciled; they are great Friends to the English who once protected them from the Fury of the Six Nations, which they gratefully remember."
Other interesting facts, but little known, are contained in the records of the Ingles or Inglis family, of Montgomery county, and, briefly told, are as follows : In 1748, Thomas Ingles, or Inglis, as the name is differently spelled, with his three sons, of Scotch--Irish stock, removed from Staunton, Va., and made the first white settlement west of the Alleghany divide, on the New River, then called
INDIANS AND INDIAN FIGHTERS. - 33
"Wood's River," at Draper's Meadows, the present site of Blacksburg, Montgomery county, Va. The New River had been discovered and named in 1654, by Col. Abraham Wood, before Governor Spotswood and his "Knights of the Golden Horseshoe" had passed the then limits of western exploration, the mysterious Blue Ridge.
William Inglis, the oldest son of Thomas, married Mary Draper, daughter of another settler, he being twenty-one and she eighteen years of age at the time ; and their wedding, in 1750, was the first white wedding west of the Alleghanies. Mary Draper was a remarkable woman, an athlete equal to any man; it is authentically recorded that she could run and leap almost her own height, spring from the ground to a horse's back without block or stirrup, and jump over the hack of a common chair, standing, and that with her skirts on, too. It was to her strength and agility that she afterward owed her life.
On Sunday, July 8, 1755, the day before Braddock's defeat near Ft. Duquesne, a war party of Shawanees, on their way to attack their enemies, the Catawbas, further to the south, fell upon Draper's Meadows instead, and massacred all the settlers, with the exception of Mary Draper Inglis, her sister-in-law, and her children, whom they took prisoners. They jocularly cut. off the head of Philip Barger, an old, white-haired man, put it in a bag and left it at Lybarger's station, as they passed westward, telling the settlers to take a peep at an old acquaintance. They then fell back, down the New River, on horseback.
On the third day, in the wilderness, a daughter was born to Mrs. Inglis. This would ordinarily have meant tomahawking and instant death for both mother and child, to avoid delay; but Mrs. Inglis, a woman of iron, wrapped her baby in one of her skirts, mounted her horse in the morning, and, earring her child, rode on again, over the mountains to the Kanawha, at Campbell's creek, where she was set to making salt, from a salt lick, in one of her own stolen kettles. After several days the Indians continued down the Kanawha to the Ohio, and along the Ohio to the mouth of the Scioto.
The chief council-town of the Shawanees was then situated a short distance below the mouth of the Scioto: in its center was a council-house, built of logs, roofed with oak bark and paw-paw withes, and ninety feet long. Here Mrs. Draper, sister-in-law of Mrs. Inglis, was forced to run the gauntlet in spite of the fact that she had a broken arm, but Mrs. Inglis was excused from the ordeal because of her condition and on account of the respect and admiration the savages felt for her hardihood. The prisoners were then separated and Mrs. Inglis never saw her children again. Her oldest son, George, and Mrs. Draper, were taken to the northwest, where, not known, but she believed, to Chillicothe Old Town, now Frankfort, then the second Shawanee town.
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French traders found Mrs. Inglis at the Scioto month, but were unable to buy her freedom, she having proved herself too valuable as a maker of hunting-shirts, salt, and other things. The French traders said she was the first English white woman * in all the region now comprised in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, still claimed, at that date, as parts of Virginia. Mrs. Inglis remained a prisoner a long time, her only white companion being "an old Dutch woman" from Pennsylvania, whose name was not known. They were taken several times to the western Kentucky salt-licks, by the Shawanees, and made much salt for their captors, also cracking for them many walnuts, on the bones of mastodons which there protruded from the swampy ground.
In 1763 or 1765, it is uncertain which, a very high flood in the Ohio swept away the greater part of the Shawanee town at the mouth of the Scioto, while Mrs. Inglis was still a prisoner there, and the town was never rebuilt at that place, the tribe, so Mrs. Inglis said, believing the place to be bewitched. They removed all their tribal effects and headquarters northward from the "Bloody River" as they afterward called the Ohio, to land lying between the upper Little Miami and the Scioto, part to Old Chillicothe, and part to "a second rise beyond the fork of Paint creek," which must have been very close to where Chillicothe now stands, on the second plateau above the fork of the river and creek. Mrs. Inglis afterward escaped from the Indians, while at the Kentucky salt-licks, and made her way to her old home, through the wilderness of the mountains, after enduring incredible hardships. The record of Mrs. Inglis is very clear and distinct on every point except dates, and it is no wonder that she lost those.
There is much speculation as to the true history of the Shawanees ; but all authors agree as to their aggressive, fearless and warlike spirit. They were splendid specimens of the American Indian, and possessed many commendatory characteristics peculiar to themselves. Doubtless no Indian nation produced more renowned warriors and leaders. Of these the great Tecumseh was possibly the most prominent, though Cornstalk, Red Hawk (1) and Wawwilaway cannot be ignored in this distinction. Other Shawanee chiefs who figured prominently during the war of the Revolution against the settlers in the Scioto valley, wherein Simon Kenton and Daniel Boone were conspicuous figures, were Battise, Black Snake, Wolf and Chinskau. But these were generally subordinate under command of Tecumseh and Cornstalk, as allies of the British. Of the four named as most
* But see mention of the white woman of Walhonding, in the State history, who had been a prisoner for forty years, in 1750.
(1) Though a chief of the Delawares, he fought under Tecumseh and Cornstalk, and died with the latter. There is some conflict of evidence as to his identity. "Red Hawk was a chief speaker of the Shawanees" after the second b. the of Bushy Run.--Drake's Aboriginal Races of North America.
INDIANS AND INDIAN FIGHTERS. - 35
prominent Shawanee chiefs confronting the whites in the Scioto country, all except Tecumseh met death by treachery. He was killed in the battle of Thames, October 5, 1813, in the famous battle of General Harrison against the allied forces of the British and Indians. "Tecumseh was a man of noble appearance and a perfectly symmetrical form. His carriage was erect and lofty--his motions quick--his eyes penetrating his visage stern, with an air of hauteur in his countenance, which arose from an elevated pride of soul. It did not leave him even in death." He is thus spoken of by one who knew him. Tecumseh was about forty-four years of age at the time of his death. During the war of 1812, he was made a brigadier-general in the army of Great Britain. It is doubtful if he joined the British, and wore the red sash, and other badges of office, because he was fond of imitating the whites; but he employed them, more probably, as a means of inspiring his followers with that respect and veneration for himself which was necessary in the work of expulsion, which he had undertaken. He was careful and deliberate in forming conclusions, and disinclined to war, except as a means of preserving the territory of his people, and avenging their wrongs.
On the occasion of the cowardly and unprovoked murder of Wawwilaway in 1803, the whites anticipating a renewal of hostilities, Tecumseh was induced to come to Chillicothe and reassure the people of his peaceful intentions. This meeting was presided over by Governor Tiffin. Colonel McDonald, who was an eye witness, says: "When Tecumseh arose to speak, as he cast his gaze over the vast multitude which the interesting occasion had brought together, ho appeared one of the most dignified men I ever beheld. While this orator of nature was speaking, the vast crowd preserved the most profound silence. From the confident manner in which he spoke of the intention of the Indians to adhere to the treaty of Greenville, and live in peace and friendship with their white brethren, he dispelled, as if by magic, the apprehensions of the whites the settlers returned to their farms, and business generally was resumed throughout that region." Drake says, "This incident is of value in forming an estimate of the character of this chief--it exhibits the confidence reposed in him by the white inhabitants of the frontier. The declaration of no other Indian could thus have dispelled the fears of a border war, which then pervaded the settlement."
In palliation of the crime attributed to the murderers of Wawwilaway, it may be said that a white man--Captain Herrod--had been mysteriously murdered, and that the crime was placed at the door of the Indians. This occurred near the turnpike bridge over Herrod's creek, in Concord township. The condition of the body when found was such as to lead to the belief that he had been killed and scalped by the Indians. The thought which was uppermost in the minds of the great majority was that the Indians, who since 1795 had
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faithfully observed the conditions of the Greenville treaty, had now recommenced hostilities against the whites. But there were persons among the white people who firmly believed that Captain Herrod had not been a victim of Indian treachery, but that he had been killed by a jealous and unsuccessful rival for preferment in the state militia. The case baffled all efforts toward a satisfactory solution, and remains a mystery to this day. But popular feeling ran high against the Indians, who strenuously denied any connection with the death of Captain Herrod. Wawwilaway was an old and faithful hunter for General Massie during his surveying tours, and an unwavering friend of the white man; hence his destruction in retaliation, with-out the slightest justification, very justly then, and ever after, rendered the perpetrators subject to condemnation
Cornstalk sustains the name in history as the greatest chief among the Scioto Shawanees. He commanded the allied forces of the Shawanees, Senecas, Delawares and Wyandots at the celebrated battle of Point Pleasant. This has been characterized in history as "one of the most sanguinary and best fought battles in the annals of Indian warfare in the west." The battle raged with unabated fury from early morning until afternoon, succeeded by a less vigorous onslaught, continuing until night. Logan was there in command of the Mingoes (known also as the Senecas), and Red Hawk and Ellinipsco were subordinate commanders. These were in the foremost of the fight, encouraging the warriors both by word and example. Cornstalk's voice was heard above the din of conflict, calling to his men to "Be strong ! Be strong!" It. is said that he tomahawked one of his tribe who showed signs of cowardice. This campaign is known in history as Lord Dunmore's War, the decisive battle occurring on the tenth of October, 1773, the Indians being defeated. It was followed by a treaty at Camp Charlotte in which Logan refused to participate, although the Mingoes pledged Lord Dunmore to observe the peace. This was the occasion of the famous speech of Logan, for generations familiar to the school children of every land. The Shawanees returned to their village on the west bank of the Scioto near the south line of Pickaway county. This was headquarters of the confederated tribes and was called Cornstalk's Town, or Old Chillicothe, on the present site of Westfall. Here Cornstalk called a council of the nation, and censured them for not permitting him to make peace, as he is said to have desired on the eve of the disastrous battle. "What," said he, "will you do now?" "The Big Knife is coming on us [the Virginians were usually termed the Long Knives], and we shall all be killed." "Now you must fight or we are undone." But no one answering, he said, "then let us kill all our women and children and go and fight until we die." Still no answer was made, when rising, he struck his tomahawk in a post of the council-house and exclaimed, "I'll go and make peace." To this the warriors assented, and the
INDIANS AND INDIAN FIGHTERS. - 37
chiefs followed the example of their leader. The appearance and oratory of Cornstalk when he appeared before Lord Dunmore, is thus described by Colonel Wilson, one of the staff : "When he arose he was no wise confused or daunted, but spoke in a distinct and audible voice, without stammering or repetition, and with peculiar emphasis. His looks, while addressing Lord Dunmore, were truly grand and majestic, yet graceful and attractive. I have heard many celebrated orators, but never one whose powers of delivery surpassed those of Cornstalk on this occasion."
After the treaty with Lord Dunmore in 1771, this magnanimous chief had been the steadfast friend of neutrality among the belligerent whites. Perhaps he had the sagacity to perceive that the future of his race could not be altered by any issue of the controversy--that the rapacity of the Europeans, and not of a party, was the proper object of patriotic dread. In the spring of 1777, Cornstalk, accompanied by Red Hawk, went on a friendly visit to the fort at Point Pleasant, communicated information as to the hostile disposition of the Ohio tribes, and expressed his sorrow that the Shawanee nation, except himself and his tribe, were determined to espouse the British cause, unless the Long Knives could prevent them. Upon receiving this information, the commander of the garrison, Captain Arbuckle, seized upon Cornstalk and his companion as hostages for the peaceful conduct of his nation.
During his captivity, Cornstalk held frequent conversations with the officers, and took pleasure in describing to them the geography of the west, then little known. One afternoon while engaged in drawing upon the floor a. map of the Missouri territory, its water courses and mountains, a halloo was heard from the forest, which Cornstalk recognized as the voice of his son Ellinipsco, a young warrior whose courage and address were almost as celebrated as his own. Ellinipsco entered the fort and embraced his father most affectionately, having been much concerned at his long absence. The day following the arrival of Ellinipsco, two men belonging to the fort crossed the Kanawha on a hunting expedition, and as they returned, some Indians in ambush killed one of them, near the month of the Kanawha. The survivor was rescued and the dead man brought to the fort. This atrocity so incensed the soldiers that they cried out, "Kill the red dogs in the fort." They believed that the Indians who had killed their comrade had come with Cornstalk's son on the preceding day. This the young man solemnly denied. In accordance with this hasty resolution, and without the semblance of evidence, they murdered Corn-stalk, his son Ellinipsco, and companion and friend, Red Hawk.
Mr. Withers, an able writer on Indian affairs, speaks of him as follows : "Thus perished the mighty Cornstalk, sachem of the Shawanees, and king of the northern confederacy in 1774--a chief remarkable for many great and good qualities. He was disposed to
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be at all times the friend of white men, as he ever was the advocate of honorable peace. But when his country's wrongs called aloud for battle, he became the thunderbolt of war, and made her oppressors feel the weight of his uplifted arms. His noble bearing, his generous and disinterested attachment to the colonies when the thunder of British cannon was reverberating through the land, his anxiety to preserve the frontier of Virginia from desolation and death (the object of his visit to Point Pleasant), all conspired to win for him the esteem and respect of others ; while the untimely and perfidious manner of his death caused a deep and lasting regret to pervade the bosoms even of those who were enemies of his nation, and excited the just indignation of all toward his inhuman and barbarous murderers."
Logan was, perhaps, the best known, and in many respects the most noted of the Indian race who inhabited the Scioto Valley. His life and history are so intimately associated with the pioneer period in Ross county that every child is familiar with his sad and interesting record. He was called a Mingo chief, a branch of the Iroquois, but his later years were spent among the Shawanees, and finally, before his death, he associated with no particular tribe, but was welcomed as a brother among all. He was a son of Shikellimus, who was a chief of the Cayugas. Logan's father was greatly attached to the benevolent James Logan, once secretary of Pennsylvania, and gave his son the English name Logan his Indian name being Tahgahjute. The frontier battlegrounds being gradually pushed westward by the accumulating strength of the colonies, Logan came to Ohio in 1772, and located at a Mingo village on the Ohio river at the mouth of Indian creek. His popularity among these people was such that the village was subsequently- named for him, as indeed are many others in different states, while children of all races have been named in honor of the great chieftain.
Logan was, according to the testimony of those who knew him intimately, a "savage of the most noble nature, strong but sensitive, full of dignity and pride, generous and great, brave and true." He was disposed to be peaceful, and only took up arms against the whites when driven to desperation by the annihilation of his family. Then his vengeance was swift and terrible. The murder of his relatives at the mouth of Yellow creek May 24, 1774, by a party under Captain Greathouse, drove him to vengeance. Previously he had counselled peace, in which he was joined by Cornstalk. But the atrocious affair at Yellow creek hastened a decision, and arrayed Logan and his followers against the expedition of Lord Dunmore, the results of which are spoken of in connection with Cornstalk. The murder of Logan's brother and others of his family was an event which led to a horrible Indian war, in which many innocent families were sacrificed to satisfy the vengeance of an incensed and injured people. Doubtless Logan had much to do with organizing and planning the attack upon
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Point Pleasant, as he did in subsequent troubles with the Shawanees, until he again laid aside the tomahawk, and retired to peaceful life. All the kindness of his great heart had been turned to bitterness. He became melancholy and miserable wandered about from tribe to tribe --solitary, dejected and broken-hearted. To drown his sorrow in his later years, he resorted to the stimulus of strong drink. His life closed with a tragedy. The memory of Logan is perpetuated by a monument. under "Logan's Elm" on the Boggs place in Pickaway county, formerly in Green township, Ross county, and by another at Auburn. But the most enduring of all is Mount Logan, just east of Chillicothe. This is a massive hill over six hundred feet high, where the great chieftain remained for a time as a refugee. Perhaps every resident. of Ross county is familiar with the traditional history of Mount. Logan. "For magnanimity in war, and greatness of soul in peace, few, if any, in any nation, ever surpassed Logan."
In connection with the Indians, it will be appropriate to mention some of the noted Indian fighters. Two characters in Ross county pioneer history whose deeds of daring are something out of the usual order, even in those times of personal danger and sacrifice, are Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton. These daring frontiersmen were often together, though not always, in their exploits against the savages. Of the two, perhaps Boone was the more aggressive and unrelenting; but as much of his history relates to border warfare in Kentucky and other fields foreign to our subject, we must be content with a brief abstract of such portions of it as particularly relate to the territory under consideration.
Boone's ancestral home was on the Yadkin river in North Carolina; but as early as 1769, he began his explorations in Kentucky and was captured by Indians on the 22nd of December, in that year. He was kept a prisoner for seven days, when he effected his escape. He removed his family from their North Carolina home to the embryo Boonesboro, in June, 1775. On the 10th of October following, they were attacked by a band of forty Indians, and his eldest son was killed. Soon after this Boone was employed by Governor Dunmore of Virginia to conduct a party of surveyors to the Falls of the Ohio. This embraced a lour of eight hundred miles, through unbroken forest and endless dangers. Returning in safety, he was given command of three garrisons in a campaign against. the Shawanees, holding his commission from Governor Dunmore. In 1775, he was engaged for a time in "blazing' roads through the wilderness from Virginia to the new settlements in Kentucky.
April 1, 1775, he began the erection of the fort at Boonesboro. It is said that his wife and daughter were the first. white women who ever stood on the banks of the Kentucky river. July 15, 1776, a band of Indians attacked the fort, and took his (laughter a prisoner. Boone pursued them with eight men, killed two Indians and recovered his
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daughter. The Indians separated their forces and attacked the infant settlements simultaneously, shooting down the men while working in their clearings. April 15, 1777, one hundred Indians attacked Boonesboro, and killed a number of the inhabitants, but were repulsed. On the 20th of August, Colonel Bowman arrived from Virginia bringing one hundred men, when the savages began to learn the superiority of the "Long Knives." February 7, 177S, while hunting alone, Boone met a party of over a hundred Indians, led by two Frenchmen, marching to attack Boonesboro. He was taken prisoner, and conveyed to Old Chillicothe, the principal Indian town on the Scioto river. In March. following, e was taken to Detroit, but returned to Old Chillicothe in April. There he was adopted into a family, and became exceedingly familiar and friendly with his new relatives, for a purpose. He was variously employed by his captors a portion of the time in making salt at the springs east of the Scioto. Returning after a. ten days' absence in that employment, he learned that. the tribe contemplated an attack upon Boonesboro, and already one hundred and fifty picked warriors were ready for the march. In the early morning of June 13th he made his escape and arrived at Boonesboro on the 20th, after a journey of one hundred and sixty miles, during which time he ate but one meal. The alarm was given, and everything made ready to receive the attack. But Boone's escape, and probable destination, caused a change of program, and the attack was deferred.
On the first of August Boone departed from his home with a party of nineteen men-among whom was the daring scout, Simon Kenton intent upon attacking and surprising the Indian town on Paint Creek (probably Old Town) and when within four miles of the village, met forty warriors marching against Boonesboro. The little party, though largely in the minority, promptly gave battle, completely routing the Indians and capturing three horses and all their baggage. One Indian was killed, and two wounded, while the whites escaped injury. This is one of the most daring exploits in the annals of Indian fighting. After penetrating more than a hundred miles into the country of hostile Indians, without communication with friends, or hope of support, to attack a force more than double their own number, and put them to flight, is an act of heroism seldom equaled, even on the frontier. Knowing that the village which they sought to destroy was vacated, and that the Indians were on the march to attack Boonesboro, this little party was in great peril; yet with the daring and fortitude of the true frontiersman, they spied out the positions of the enemy, and passed them on the route, arriving at Boonesboro the day before a general attack by the Shawanees and British. The little garrison held out under a ten days' siege, during which time thirty-seven Indians were killed, and many wounded. The losses in the garrison were insignificant.
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After the disastrous battle at Blue Licks, in August, 1782, wherein the colonists lost sixty-seven killed and seven prisoners--among whom was Boone's second son--a relief expedition was started under General Clark, to pursue and cut off the savages. Boone says : "We overtook them within two miles of their town. They fled in the utmost disorder, and evacuated all their towns. We burned to ashes Old Chillicothe, Piqua, New Chillicothe and Will's Town, entirely destroyed their corn and other fruits, and spread desolation through their country. We took seven prisoners, and fifteen scalps, and lost only four men, two of whom were accidentally killed by ourselves."
Though it would be interesting to follow the career of this courageous and intrepid scout, yet we must leave him to the commission of many more acts of heroism, in localities remote from the field under consideration. And while it is probably true that no other frontiersman endured greater hardships, or faced death on more fields, and under more hopeless circumstances than he, yet Lieut.-Col. Daniel Boone was permitted to die a natural death, which occurred at the home of his son, Major N. Boone, in Montgomery county, September 26, 1820. He was in his eighty-fifth year. We are indebted to the narrative of his life as written by himself, and published in "Trumbull's Indian Wars," for the data in the foregoing review. Boone closes this interesting narrative in the following terse and significant language: "Two darling sons and a brother I have lost by savage hands, which have also taken from me forty valuable horses and abundance of cattle. Many dark and sleepless nights have I spent, separated from the cheerful society of men, scorched by the summer's sun. and pinched by the winter's cold--an instrument ordained to settle the wilderness."
We now return to consider, briefly, some of the more important events in the life of Simon Kenton--spelled by himself "Kanton." We have noticed that he was a companion and colaborer with Boone. Doubtless he appeared upon many fields in company with him, where Kenton's name is not mentioned, their interests being identical, and location similar. It is stated that Kenton was the bearer of the message to the beleaguered garrison at Point Pleasant, from Governor Dunmore to Colonel Lewis, wherein the latter was directed to form a junction with Dunmore's army near the Shawanee towns on the upper Scioto. Kenton then was known as Butler. (See Aboriginal Races of North America, p. 541.) This occurring just prior to the great battle at Point Pleasant, when the armies of Dunmore and Colonel Lewis were some seventy-five miles apart, gives rise to the
*Chillicothe seems to have been a favorite name with the Shawanees, there having been several towns of that name, viz.: One on the site of Frankfort in Ross county; one on the site of Westfall, Pickaway county; one three miles north of Xenia in Greene county; one on the site of Piqua in Miami county, and one on the Maumee.
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opinion, expressed by Burk in his history of Virginia, that the English governor rather favored the destruction of the Lewis army; and that this was a ruse to weaken it at a critical moment. It is not charged, however, that Kenton had other than the most loyal motives. The most thrilling experiences recorded of Kenton is his capture and imprisonment in the autumn of 1778. He and two companions were sent by Colonel Bowman to explore the territory, and report as to the strength and attitude of the Indians in the vicinity of Chillicothe (Old Town, Greene county). After having successfully completed this service, he was imbued with a desire to possess a drove of horses belonging to the Indians. In getting the animals away, the savages were aroused, and gave chase. Although Kenton and his companions reached the northern bank of the Ohio, yet they were overtaken with their plunder, one of the party was killed, another escaped, and Kenton was taken prisoner. He was twice condemned to torture, and as often ran the gauntlet. He was saved from death through the influence of Simon Girty, who had been the cause of hundreds of deaths among the pioneers. Yet he proclaimed Kenton his dear and esteemed friend, having formed his acquaintance at Fort Pitt, during Dunmore's expedition. But the celebrated Logan also was instrumental in saving the life of the undaunted Kenton, and probably had as much influence to that end as Girty. A ransom was paid for Kenton's transfer from the Indians to the British, and after about a year's imprisonment at Detroit, he escaped and returned to Kentucky. Kenton died in 1836 at the age of eighty-one and is buried near the scene of his last fifteen years of life five miles northeast of Bellefontaine, in Jefferson township, Logan county, Ohio. There a suitable monument, erected at State expense, marks his last resting place. This was brought about through the influence of his friend and admirer, lion. Joseph Newell, a member of the legislature from Logan county, in 1854.
The history of Indian battles in the Scioto valley is closely allied with the records of the chief participants, as already given, but a brief resume will be of interest. The destruction of Logan's family no doubt led to Lord Dunmore's War, the most important expedition against the Shawanees in the Scioto country. The Indian villages at that time were located as follows: Old Chillicothe, now Westfall, Pickaway county; Grenadier Squaw town and Cornstalk's town, on Scippo creek--a tributary of the Scioto, and Old Chillicothe on the north fork of Paint creek, Ross county. This was better known as "Old Town," and occupied the present site of Frankfort. These were the places from whence radiated the savages in their warfare against the whites in Kentucky, and their villages were the objective points of the settlers in that great contention. The Indian occupants of these villages were twice visited, unsuccessfully, by the missionary, Rev. David Jones, in the years 1772 and 1773 ; but they
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were implacable, and all efforts at conciliation with the whites, or the acceptance of the doctrines of Christianity, were equally unavailing. Only lead and powder had a conciliating influence, as demonstrated by the treaty of Lord Dunmore.
Following this, there was a period of comparative peace. But the Indians were wrought into a fever of hostility after the death of their renowned chief, Cornstalk. The battleground had been pushed to the westward, by the onward march of civilization, but the Indians seemed determined to wipe out of existence the little settlements in the northern part of Kentucky. It is probable that the Scioto Shawanees, who had been awed by the size of Dunmore's army, and only escaped complete annihilation by their submission to the terms dictated at Camp Charlotte, were less anxious to prosecute the war than those tribes of their nation located farther to the west. The valleys of the Miamis and Mad river became the objective points of the Kentuckians in their prosecution of hostilities against the savages. Their efforts were directed against the towns of Old Chillicothe, on the present site of Xenia ; Piqua, noted as the birthplace of Tecumseh, situated on the north bank of Mad river, seven miles west of Springfield, and upper and lower Piqua in Miami county. This region, as well as the sparsely settled northern part of Kentucky, was characterized as the "dark and bloody ground," a term fully justified and appropriately used, in view of the fierce and sudden attacks, numerous battles and skirmishes, and stealthy and silent murders by the Indians. But their white foes, as sagacious as they, and equally as brave, were not slow in meeting them with blow for blow.
The honors of the first battle on Paint creek are about equally divided between Boone and Kenton, but the destruction of Old Town or Chillicothe on the north fork of Paint creek is clearly Kenton's victory. This battle occurred in 17S7, on the present site of Frankfort, Ross county. For some time previous to this expedition, the Indians had kept the settlers around Kenton's station in perpetual alarm. Though no direct assaults were made, the settlers were harrassed by thefts and predatory incursions wherein the savages sometimes stealthily committed murder. At the suggestion of Kenton, an expedition was fitted out under command of Colonel Tod, and with their joint forces, aggregating several hundred highly incensed men, they started for the field. Kenton commanded a company, and piloted the expedition. When they reached a point about five miles south of Old Town, at a place known as Poplar ridge, the advance guard met four Indians, two of whom they killed, and the others were captured. From the prisoners they learned that there was a large encampment of Indians between them and their objective point. On receiving this intelligence, the army was halted on Poplar ridge, and Kenton and his company went forward to ascertain the situation
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of the enemy. This done, he sent an express to Colonel Tod with the acquired information. During the night, Major Kinkston joined the party, and prompt measures were taken for surrounding the Indian encampment. The attack was made at early dawn, but being impatient of delay, it was precipitated before there was sufficient light for deliberate aim, hence results were not fully satisfactory. Two Indians were killed, and seven were taken prisoners. Those who escaped, alarmed the town, and by the time the attacking party reached the village, it was deserted. The town was reduced to ashes, and everything else of value to the Indians was destroyed or appropriated. There were no casualties in the attacking party. The whites encamped near their recent battleground, and the next day took up their march for home.
According to McDonald's Sketches, a second battle was fought on Paint creek, under the leadership of the intrepid Renton. This occurred in 1793. The exact location is not fully described, though the battle was fought, and a decided victory won, at a place not far from Reeves' crossing. Kenton and a party of about thirty of his former followers--"tried and true" learning that a band of Indians had crossed the Ohio near the mouth of the Scioto, and were headed north, decided to intercept them, and cut them off. The whites judged rightly as to the point at which they might overtake the Indians. After carefully investigating the location and strength of the enemy, Kenton's men surrounded the camp in the early morning, and were prepared for the attack, having explicit orders to hold their fire until it was light enough to take sure aim ; but, as in the ease of the former attack on Old Town, a gun was discharged pre-maturely, which alarmed the Indians, and precipitated the conflict. The Indians took to flight, dashing through the creek and into the woods. Three Indians and a white man named Ward, were killed, the others escaping. One of the attacking party--Joseph Jones--was killed. There is some disagreement between authorities regarding this battle. Drake, in his life of Tecumseh, says that instead of the Indians jumping into the creek and escaping, they secured the horses of Kenton's party and rode away; that John Ward was the only man killed upon the Indian side, and that he was a brother of Captain James Ward, of the attacking party. Drake also states that Tecumseh commanded the Indians.
General Nathaniel Massie figured conspicuously in this event. In the summer of 1795, the Kentuckians having learned of the fertile lands in the Scioto valley, a party was organized at Manchester to explore the country. The Indians were inactive owing to the cheek given them the previous summer by General Wayne; and while the terms of the treaty following that expedition were under consideration, General Massie and his party started on their perilous tour of investigation. It may be remarked, incidentally, that Massie
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had, some years previously, entered and surveyed a considerable body of land in the Scioto and Paint creek valleys, and that the principal object of his visit at this time, was with a view to establishing a settlement and locating a town. The difficulty with Indians on this occasion deterred him in this until the following year. Massie's party consisted of about forty men, about half of whom were thoroughly schooled in the art of Indian warfare, the others being designated as "raw hands" or "raw recruits." It is said that some of the latter, even when opportunity presented, were not inclined to change this mark of distinction for that of "seasoned veterans." As leaders of the exploring party, we find Gen. James Menary, and Rev. Robert W. Finley in connection with General Massie. After several days' travel through the wilderness, they observed fresh Indian signs near the falls of Paint creek. The savages were soon located at Reeves' crossing--the site of Kenton's battle two years before. Preparations were made for a surprise and attack, which was done in true frontier style, and resulted in a decided victory to the attacking party. The Indians left everything except their guns. Massie's party hastily gathered up whatever of value the enemy had left behind, and they, too, retreated towards the settlement at Manchester. Expecting that the Indians would follow, they made preparations to repel an attack on their night-camp, on Brush Creek. The following morning, the Indians attacked them before daylight, and the fighters in the company resisted manfully. Those who were "averse to the shedding of blood"--particularly their own--occupied a convenient and accommodating sink-hole, where the bullets could not reach them. Several of the party's horses were killed, and one man was severely wounded. After an hour's severe fighting the Indians retreated. At the first encounter a Mr. Robinson was killed, and Massie's party liberated a white prisoner, whom they returned to his friends.
This was the last Indian fight in the Scioto country, as it was, also, the last contest of the old Indian war. Colonel McDonald, to whose sketches we are indebted for much information in affairs pertaining to Indian troubles in the Scioto valley, very pertinently says: "Notwithstanding I was born and raised on the frontier, I am unable to describe to the life, the terror, tumult and confusion of an Indian alarm. Although I have when young, repeatedly run clinging to my mother's gown, from our cabin to a place of safety--the confusion and distressing scene of a family in flight, their cabin in flames, their all destroyed, the thousand restless cares and tender sorrows, to which they were incessantly exposed, language fails in describing. To see whole families wandering from their homes, seeking shelter and safety, was only a common occurrence on the frontier. Such scenes as these tried the worth of men, and proved who were the sol
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diers. Happily for our country, no repetition of such scenes of distress are to be anticipated in future."
The Shawanees, the unconquerable and uncompromising enemy of the early settlers in the Scioto country, were slow to join with the tide of westward emigration ; and, for many years after a permanent peace was established, wandering bands of Shawanees would annually visit their old hunting grounds in Ross county, and their intercourse with the settlers came to be regarded more as an occasion of pleasant remembrances than of dread or danger. Some pleasant friendships were formed between the pioneer families and some of their former blood-thirsty foes. They were warm and devoted friends, but treacherous and unrelenting enemies. The Shawanees were endowed with a greater degree of intelligence than most other tribes of the Indian race, and were also superior specimens of physical manhood. By degrees they submitted to national control, and finally reached the government reservation in Indian Territory. There the remnant of the tribe--about fifteen hundred have adopted the customs of their white brothers, engaging in general farming, and have even put their children in schools.