100 - HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY oblivion over their names, and nothing could now be gained by removing it." We may digress a moment to follow the fate of one of the authors of this massacre. 1 t will be remembered that the first blood shed was that of Joseph Shabosh, who was tomahawked and scalped by Charles Builderback. He was a Virginian, and settled near Carpenter's fort at the mouth of Short Creek in this county. He was with Crawford's army, but came home safely. Seven, years after, in 1789, his cabin was attacked by Indians, and Builderback and his brother captured. His wife hid in the bushes, but Builderback was ordered to call her by name, or they would kill him then and there. He did so, and she kept silent, but being warned of her husband's fate if she did not respond she came out, and the two were carried off, the brother having escaped. Near the Tuscarawas the Indians separated into two bands, one taking Builderback towards Gnadenhutten, and the other going with his wife farther up the ,stream to where Uhrichsville now stands. Shortly after the others came up, and one Hof them threw into her lap the scalp of her dead husband. She swooned away, and when she recovered the scalp was gone. She was taken to the Miami Valley, where she remained nine months, but was finally ransomed and returned to her Jefferson County home. In 1791 she married John Green and removed to Fairfield County, where she died in 1842, giving birth to the first white child in that county. Builderback's body was found a short distance from where he had killed Shabosh. I t was terribly mutilated, and it was the evident intention to burn him alive, but the pursuit was too close to permit it. Shabosh's relatives had been following Builderback for seven years, and the last direct victim of the massacre paid retributive justice for the murder of the first. If the authors of the outrage at Gnadenhutten imagined that their action would strike terror into the Indian tribes, or that the massacre of their peaceful relatives would be viewed with indifference by the warriors they were soon destined to discover their mistake. The infuriated Delawares, Shawanese and Wyandots made the border a perfect inferno. Crossing the Ohio large and small bodies penetrated into Virginia and Pennsylvania carrying destruction and death in their most terrible forms. The little forts or blockhouses which dotted the country were crowded with refugees. In some places a single blockhouse with a cabin outside constituted the whole fort. The fields were worked by parties guarded by sentinels, and everybody was prepared for instant combat. The horrible sights connected with Indian warfare, the terrible strain from which there seemed no prospect of release could not fail to have its effect, even on those settlers inclined to peace and justice. It would seem" says Doddridge, " that 'the long continuance of the Indian war had debased a considerable portion of our population to the savage state of our nature. Having lost so many of their relatives by the Indians, and witnessed their horrid murders and other depredations upon so extensive a scale, they became subjects of that indiscriminating thirst for revenge which is such a prominent feature in the savage character." Such a condition of things could not continue. The border must be defended or abandoned, and the only way to accomplish the former was the organization of an expedition into the Indian country of such character and strength as would be able to inflict such punishment on the savages as would stop the border raids. To this end General Irvine called a conference of leading men at Fort Pitt on April 5, for devising a general plan of operations that would be effective. Cornwallis had surrendered, and the war in the east was virtually ended, but in the west the contest raged with as much virulence as ever. There was talk of patroling the river front from Pittsburgh to Wheeling, and a project was broached of a large body of settlers emigrating to Ohio and setting up a new state as a barrier to future raids. The futility of both of these schemes was obvious, and the matter fin- AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 101 ally narrowed down to an organized expedition against Sandusky. Dr. Doddridge characterizes this "as a second Moravian campaign, as one of the objects was that of finishing the work of murder and plunder with Christian Indians at their new establishment on the Sandusky. The next object was that of destroying the Wyandot towns on the same river." In this statement the worthy clergyman has allowed his righteous indignation to get the better of his judgment. There is no evidence of an intention to repeat the Gnadenhutten tragedy so far as peaceful Indians were concerned, although doubtless there were not a few in the party with whom the life of an Indian, whether Christian or otherwise, would not have been safe for a moment. But the expedition in contrast with the previous one, was of a military character, ordered by the military authorities, and intended to break the military power of the enemy, so that the border might have peace and security. May 20th was the date set for the meeting of the different members of the expedition at Mingo Bottom, but it was the 24th before all had gathered there for organization. On the evening of that day John Rose, who had been sent by General Irvine as an aide to the commander of the expedition wrote to the General that they had four hundred and eighty men, gathered from Washington and Westmoreland counties, Pennsylvania and the Virginia Pan Handle. Officer Rose, who was very reticent concerning himself had already rendered valuable service to the American cause during the Revolution, and rendered most efficient aid during this ill fated expedition. It turned out later that he was a Russian nobleman—Baron Gustavus H. Rosenthal, of Livonia,—who, having killed another in a duel had fled from Russia, and sought safety, first in England and then in Amer- ica. He entered the army as a hospital steward, but General Irvine becoming interested in him lie was transferred and advanced, until, as a lieutenant, he became the aide of that officer. He served with fidelity until the close of the war, without revealing his true name or rank, and then by permission he returned to Europe, was regarded with favor by the Emperor Alexander, and became Grand Marshal of the province of Livonia. There was a lively contest for officers of the expedition, two hundred and thirty-five votes being cast for Col. William Crawford, as commander, and two hundred and thirty for David Williamson the leader of the previous expedition to Gnadenhutten. Williamson was second in command with the title of major, with Thomas Gaddis, John McClelland and Major Brinton ranking officers in the order named. We have two pretty full accounts of this expedition, the first by Dr. Doddridge, who no doubt got most of his information from participants, and one by C. W. Butterfield, published in 1873, in which is much. new matter gleaned from official records and from notes kept by the late Robert A. Sherrard, of Steubenville. Colonel Crawford, who commanded the expedition was a Revolutionary officer of high standing, and the special friend of Washington. Details having been arranged early on the morning of Saturday, May 25, the army in four columns, began its march from Mingo Bottom, in the straightest direction, through the woods, for Sandusky, distant one hundred and fifty miles. The route lay through what are now the counties of Jefferson, Harrison, Tuscarawas, Holmes, Ashland, Richland and Crawford. The whole distance, except about thirty miles, was through an unbroken forest. The only indication of civilization—and that a very sad one—in all the region traversed, was the wasted missionary establishments in the valley of the Muskingum. As the cavalcade moved up over the bluff, an almost due course west was taken, striking at once into the wilderness, now deepening and darkening around it. The army progressed rapidly at first, moving along the north side of Cross Creek, which had already received its name. After leaving what is now Steubenville Township, it passed through the 102 - HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY present townships of Cross Creek and Wayne, Jefferson County, and German Township, Harrison County, to the summit where the town of Jefferson now stands. The Panhandle Railroad follows this trail for about fifty miles. From this point a straight course would have led them into what is now Carroll County, but their horses had tired under the heavy loads in the hills and swamps, so they inclined southward into a more level although a more dangerous country. This alternative was accepted by Crawford with great reluctance, as his policy was to avoid Indian trails, relying for success upon effecting a surprise. Otherwise, he would have followed " Williamson's Trail" from Mingo to the Muskingum, which led a considerable distance south, near where Smithfield and Cadiz now stand. Doddridge says he did follow this trail, but Butterfield shows otherwise. But he might as well have followed it, so far as surprising the Indians was concerned. They had their spies in the wooded hills overlooking Mingo from the day that the army began assembling, watching every movement. They knew the plans of the commander as they were talked over in the councils of war, and therefore the Indian forces at Sandusky were prepared for the onslaught. The Indians and British in that battle were commanded by Capt. William Caldwell, Chief in command Captain Elliott, Captain McKee, Captain Grant, Lieutenant Turney, Lieutenant Clinch, and Simon Girty. On Monday night the 27th several of the men lost their horses, and were sent back home as they would impede the march of the army. It had been calculated that the army could reach Sandusky in about seven days, but it was Tuesday the 28th when it reached the Tuscarawas towns. In the preceding four days the army had made only sixty miles, but now that the country was more level and open better time was expected. The horses found abundant provender from the unharvested corn fields of the Moravians. Up to this time not an Indian had been seen, and Crawford held the delusive belief that his expedition had not been discovered, although spies had been hovering. on the flanks and rear ever since he had left Mingo. During the evening two Savages were noticed near the camp who were fired upon without effect. Of course secrecy was out of the question now, even if it had ever been necessary. There has been considerable discussion about the spies discovering at Mingo, after the army left, writing on trees and scraps of paper that "no quarter was to be given to any Indian, whether man, woman or child." Doddridge gives credence to these as proving that the object of the expedition was indiscriminate slaughter like the preceding one, while Butterfield discredits the statement in toto. We have seen that the expedition, although made up of volunteers who furnished their oven horses, etc. was a military one in the strict sense of the word, and although Irvine's instructions were "to destroy with fire and sword (if practicable) the Indian town and settlement at Sandusky," yet this instruction when taken in connection with. the context can hardly be construed as an order for wholesale massacre of non-combatants. On the other hand. Williamson and many of the members of the first expedition were in this party, and during the four or five days they were gathering at Mingo may easily have indulged in considerable reckless talk, for reticence was not a border virtue. Just what the results would have been had the expedition been successful we cannot say, but as the record stands we cannot charge those who inaugurated or commanded the expedition with the intention of repeating the Gnadenhutten outrage. On June 2nd the army reached the Sandusky River within twenty-five miles of its destination. Two days later the mouth of Little Sandusky was reached, and during that day the Wyandot town, near Upper Sandusky. The town was there, but not a single inhabitant. Some of the volunteers thought the Indians had removed to Lower Sandusky, forty miles south. Crawford ordered a halt for consultation, and started AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 103 on a march in search of the foe. Zane and others urged an immediate return. Provisions were getting low, and the absence of the enemy looked ominous. It was believed the Indians were concentrating and only waiting for the most favorable opportunity to fall on the army in overwhelming numbers and annihilate it. It is estimated that the Wyandots, Delawares and Shawanese mustered 1,100 warriors at that time, who with a company of British rangers and artillery from Detroit would make a most formidable force. Crawford coincided with Zane's views, and it was decided to continue the march that afternoon but no longer. Soon an advance guard came upon a party of Indians beyond a small grove which stood on a slight elevation, and immediately fell back on the main body. An advance was ordered and the grove secured after some brisk filing, which continued until sunset. The day was hot, and the soldiers suffered much from thirst, the river being over .a mile distant. John Sherrard, father of the late Robert A. Sherrard, and grandfather of Hon. R. Sherrard, of Steubenville, went in search of water, his gun having become useless from forcing a bullet into the barrel without powder. He found a stagnant pool where a tree had been blown down, where he quenched his thirst, and during the balance of the day traveled back and forward carrying water to the men while the bullets flew thickly around him. When evening came Crawford was in possession of the field, with five killed and nineteen wounded men. The Indians had suffered much more severely, but they were not dispirited, as they were expecting reinforcements in the morning, white as well as red. But little was done during the next day except desultory firing, Crawford intending a night attack. During the afternoon, however, a company of mounted men was seen approaching which proved to be Butler's British rangers from Detroit. Indian reinforcements were also arriving, and it was soon evident that any attack was out of the question. There was nothing to do but retreat. The killed were buried and fires burned over their graves to prevent discovery. Of the twenty wounded, seven were dangerously so, and biers were prepared for conveying them. The others were mounted on horse-back, and placed in the centre, the army marching in four lines. In order to deceive the Indians the army first moved towards Sandusky. Fire was opened on them, but the uncertainty as to whether the retreat was real or feigned, together with the general disinclination of the Indians for night attacks, doubtless saved the borderers from annihilation. The army turned during the night and found its old trail, but when the roll was called the next morning only three hundred answered. Among the missing were Colonel Crawford, the Commander, Dr. John Knight, and John Slover, the guide. Williamson now took command and with the able assistance of John Rose continued the retreat. They were attacked by a party of Indians on Olentanay Creek in what is now Crawford County on June 6, but succeeded in beating off their assailants with a loss of three killed and eight wounded. There was but little further annoyance, and the expedition reached Mingo on the 13th where they were joined by several of the missing ones, some of whom had arrived two days before. Opposite Mingo on the evening of the 13th the troops went into camp for the last time. The next day they were discharged, and the twenty day campaign was ended. Various causes have been assigned for the failure of this expedition, but there seems to have been one cause common to nearly all, these movements, namely, venturing far into the enemy's country, with an inadequate force and no base of supplies. If intended for a campaign the expedition was far too weak, it was certain to be overwhelmed if intended simply as a raid a smaller force of picked men would probably have been better. True Clark had accomplished wonders with a smaller force, but his genius enabled him to take advantage of conditions which did not exist in Ohio. We shall here refer to the fate of some 104 - HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY of the missing ones. Crawford had gone back to hurry up some stragglers, and was unable to overtake the army owing to the weariness of his horse. He met Dr. Knight and two others, and the next day came across several additional, When near the present site of Leesville on the south side of the Sandusky they met several Indians who had ambuscaded them. One Indian took Crawford by the hand and another Knight. They were taken to the Delaware camp a mile distant with nine other prisoners, two having been killed and scalped. On June 10th Crawford was taken to Half King's town where he met Simon Girty and offered him a thousand dollars to spare his life. Girty temporized but either could not or would not do anything, and Captain Pipe and the other chiefs determined to hasten Crawford's death. He was taken to the old town on the morning of June 11th with Knight and the other prisoners, their faces painted black, indicating death at the stake. Here five prisoners were tomahawked by boys and squaws and Knight turned over to some Shawanese Indians. Crawford and Knight were taken to Pipe's village, and in the afternoon the former was stripped and tied to a stake, a fire burning about seven feet distant. The rope had sufficient play to allow him to walk around the stake or sit down. In the crowd of about one hundred present there was said to have been a British officer in disguise. It is not necessary to relate his tortures in detail, the account is to be found in numerous publications. Knight was taken past the spot the next day where he saw the charred bones of the commander, around which the Indians had danced all night. Probably the most horrible part of the whole affair was when Crawford fell unconscious. After every imaginable torture he was scalped, and a squaw poured live coals in the open wound, causing him to get up and walk around once more. Knight succeeded in escaping during his journey to the Shawanese town, and reached Fort Pitt on July 4. Slover also escaped and reached the Ohio River in safety. We have already referred to the work of John Sherrard in connection with the battle of the Sandusky. Sherrard overtook the main body of the army just before the latter left the woodland again to thread its way in the open country, in what is now Crawford County. His story is a melancholy one. In company with Daniel Harbaugh, after having become separated from the division to which he belonged, just as the retreat commenced the evening before, he had followed as best he could, the main body of the troops, making, however, very slow progress, owing to the darkness which rendered it exceedingly difficult to to keep the trail of the retreating forces. It was a fortunate circumstance that the two followed in the rear of the division moving to the southwest from the field of battle, for had they taken the track of McClelland's party which led between the camps of the Delawares and Shawanese, both doubtless would have been killed or captured. Not long after sunrise the next morning they gained the woods, and moving along the trace on the east side of the Sandusky, some distance south of where the old town formerly stood, Sherrard, who was riding in advance of his companion, saw an Indian a short distance away on his left. He immediately dismounted and got behind a tree, calling at the same time to his companion to place himself in like posture of defense. Harbaugh had not been quick enough to discover the Indian, for in getting upon the exposed side of the tree, he was immediately shot by the savage, exclaiming as he gradually sunk down in a sitting posture, 'Lord, have mercy upon me, I am a dead man!' and immediately expired. As soon as the smoke of the Indian's gun had cleared away, the savage was discovered by Sherrard, running as if for life, doubtless expecting a shot from the latter; but he had already escaped from the reach of a bullet. At the sight of Harbaugh's pale face his friend was greatly AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 105 moved more unmanned than at any of the scenes witnessed during the battle. After a moment to collect his thoughts, Sherrard stripped the saddle from his dead companion's horse and turned the animal loose. He then relieved his own horse from a very uncomfortable packsaddle and put in its place the saddle of Harbaugh. Mounting and taking a parting glance at the prostrate form of his companion, still in a sitting posture, he rode sadly onward. Sherrard had proceeded on the trail not a very great distance when he made the discovery that in the excitement of the moment he had neglected to disengage from the packsaddle a supply of provisions which were rolled up in a blanket. He resolved to retrace his steps and secure the provisions. Upon returning to the place where Harbaugh was shot, a shocking spectacle was presented to his view. The Indian had returned and had scalped the lifeless soldier and then made off with his horse, gun and bridle. Sherrard's packsaddle and blanket had not, however, been discovered by the savage Sherrard having secured his provisions, again resumed his journey, overtaking the retreating army without again encountering an enemy, and was cordially greeted by his companions in arms. Martin Swickard and Michael Myers, two subsequent settlers in Jefferson County were also with this expedition. Swickard and Myers were together during a portion of the retreat, and had many hardships and adventures. At the loan exhibition connected with the centennial held at Steubenville in 1897 J. A. Swickard, a grandson of Martin had on view the powder horn carried by his grandfather. The horn was etched with a crude representation of British arms, and was probably captured from an Indian. Michael Myers died, it is said at the age of 107 years. He was born at Winchester, Va., in 1745, and in 1771 settled on Pigeon Creek, Pa. After the Gnadenhutten massacre he was one of those patroling the west bank of the Ohio from Mingo to Yellow Creek. He was a captain of scouts in the Crawford Expedition, and when separated from the army, found himself surrounded by a horde of yelling savages. Such was his immense strength and fleetness that he succeeded in escaping, rifle in hand, only to be met by another band, in fighting which he was wounded in his leg by an arrow. Pulling this out, he hastened onward, only to be again surrounded by a still larger party of Indians, and here he had to fight. Clubbing with his rifle be managed to keep them at a distance, but was finally struck by a tomahawk on the neck and again on the elbow, which forced him down upon his hands and knees. He was almost in the grasp of the Indians, when by a superhuman effort he raised himself and dashed through the ranks of the savages at full speed. In endeavoring to find the army he came across a companion scout who was wounded in the hip, and who was fearful of being left to die alone. Myers tried to assist him, and finally got him into a swamp, and then, hearing Indians approaching, was obliged to leave him to his fate. While in the swamp Myers got his rifle and ammunition so wet they were worthless, and he threw them away. He arrived at Fort Henry without further adventure. He always felt like killing an Indian after this whenever he met one, and would not attend an "Indian Show" for that reason. Myers made eleven trips to New Orleans on flatboats and returned overland through an almost unbroken wilderness. He made his last trip near the close of the last century. He and his brother were stricken with the yellow fever at New Orleans. The brother died and Michael was robbed of $1,600. About 1795 he located on land purchased by him on Croxton's run above Toronto and in 1799 built a log cabin on the bank of the Ohio near the mouth of the run. In 1800 he brought his family in a flatboat from what is now Monongahela City and became one of the first settlers. This boat served many years as a ferry boat. In 1808 he built a grist mill on Croxton's Run, which ran until 1861. At about the same time he built a stone house, the first of the 106 - HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY kind in this part of Ohio, thirty by forty feet, which was kept as a hotel for forty years. The disaster to the Crawford expedition naturally encouraged the savages to renewed efforts, and in August a grand council was held at Chillicothe resulting in the siege of Fort Henry on September 11th, which was saved by the celebrated powder exploit of Elizabeth Zane. The accounts of the defeat of General St. Clair in 1791 and the victory of Wayne in 1794, which resulted in the treaty of Greenville extinguishing all Indian titles to this part of Ohio are very interesting, but foreign to the purpose of this work. CHAPTER VII PIONEER SETTLERS Their Environment and Their Perils—Maxwell's Cabin and Massacre—Trouble With the Authorities—Thrilling Incidents—Last Indian Battle—Climate and Early Social Customs. To give a detailed history of the early attempts at settlement in Jefferson County and the adventures of the pioneers would require several volumes instead of one, so that we must in most cases be content with mere references. Reference has already been made to Maxwell's cabin at Rush Run in 1772 as probably the first effort in this direction. He returned here in 1780, bringing with him a young bride. Another cabin was erected and a small patch cleared for corn. They made friends with the Indians who called Mrs. Maxwell the "Wild Rose," and the red men while stealing from everybody else did not molest the Maxwells. The border troubles increasing, most of Maxwell's neighbors erected blockhouses as places of refuge and stored them with arms and provisions. He, however, considered himself safe, and soon a daughter was born and named Sally. When the daughter was about three years old the parents made a visit to Fort Henry, leaving her in charge of a young man who was visiting them. They intended remaining two days, but alarmed by a reported uprising of the Indians they returned home to bring their visitor and their daughter to the post. As they drew near their cabin the air became thick with smoke, and when they entered the cleared ground, and looked for their home, no home was there. Instead burn- ing logs and smoking ruins ; around the ground was trodden with many feet of moccasined men, A tomahawk smeared with fresh blood lay among the embers, and near by lay the charred remains of their late visitor, but not a trace could they discover of their daughter. There seemed no doubt that Sally was dead, and the mother was so crazed by the terrible calamity, that snatching the hunting knife from her husband's belt, she almost severed her head from the body. All the settlers had assembled at Fort Henry; they were soon notified by the infuriated husband, and decided to follow the trail of the savages, but during the first night heavy rains fell, causing all traces of the trail to disappear and the baffled party were obliged to return in order to defend their own homes and families. Then it was that Maxwell swore to be avenged, and single-handed for months he shadowed the red murderers through the dim forest until his grudge had been glutted a hundredfold, and his name inspired as much terror among the Indians as that of Simon Kenton or Lewis Wetzel. Maxwell did not appear again in this vicinity until about the time Fort Steuben was completed by Captain Hamtramck, in February, 1787. Colonel Zane recommended him to the captain as a scout for the new fort. Zane said his - 107 - 108 - HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY eye was keener and his tread lighter than those of the most wily savage. He rivaled even that subtlest of Indian hunters, Lewis Wetzel. It was on a scouting expedition from this fort that he met the party of Indians who had fired upon John Wetzel and a companion, who were going down the river in a canoe, and not obeying the command of the Indians to stop, Wetzel was shot through the body. He saved his friend, who was mortally wounded, from further outrage by directing him to lie in the bottom of the canoe, while he paddled beyond the reach of the savages. He died upon reaching the shore, and his death was terribly avenged by his son. Maxwell, who had acquired the habit of loading his gun while at a full run, was chased by this same party from tree to tree, until he had killed three of the six, and the others thinking him always loaded, left him. Maxwell returned to the fort that night with three scalps. He is said to have been surprised and captured by a party of Indians who had closely watched his movements. He was taken alive to their encampment, and after the usual rejoicing over the capture of a noted enemy he was made to run the gauntlet, after which he was blackened and tied to a stake while the fires were kindled. Just as the savages were about to begin the torture, a heavy rain put out the: fire. The Indians concluded not to finish the torture that day, and so postponed it. During the night they taunted the "soft stepper," as he was called by them, who was bound to a log by a buffalo throng around his neck, and his hands were bound to his back with cords. At last those watching him fell asleep, and Maxwell began trying to loose the cords, and soon extricated one of his arms. It was but the work of a few minutes for him to pull the strap binding him to the log over his head, and quietly getting a pair of moccasins and a jacket from one of his watchers, he sneaked away to where the horses were corralled, and selecting the first horse he came across, he was soon far away. It was not long until he was again on the trail of another band of Indians led by Simon Girty. He abandoned the pursuit, however, and was not again actively engaged in Indian warfare until the campaign of 1790, when he acted as a scout for General Harman After St. Clair's defeat the next year he returned home and fished along the banks of the Ohio until he joined Wayne, and was a scout in the battle of Fallen Timbers. It was .during Wayne's campaign that he discovered that his daughter had not been burned in his cabin twelve years before, but had been taken by a chief and by him sold to wandering Hurons, who had been expelled by the Iroquois, to the territory at about the headwaters of the Mississippi. He also learned that she was still living among the Hurons. No sooner did he hear this from an Indian of the Huron tribe than he set out for their land. He had no doubts, no fears, that she was not his daughter. How he identified her is not known, but in the course of a year after his departure he returned, bringing with him a beautiful and well-proportioned girl of about sixteen years of age. She could speak no word of English and had no recollection of her former home. After. she had become reconciled to her father and was able to speak his language, she told how her life had been spent among the Hurons, where her beauty and white skin had made her almost a goddess. She had always thought herself a daughter of the chief and had often wished that she could darken her skin and hair so she could more resemble the other maidens of the tribe. Although knowing nothing of the ways of civilized society, Sally was not by any means totally unaccomplished. Her adopted father had taught her to fear the great spirit, speak the 'truth and to bear pain without a murmur. She learned that the important part of the Indian woman's duty was to raise the vegetables needed for food, to prepare savory dishes of venison and other game, to make their garments, ornamenting them with uncommon skill and taste, and to manufacture baskets. She knew all the herbs, roots and barks that observation and tradition had taught the AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 109 Indian to employ in the cure of diseases ; all the trees and shrubs were known to her by the Indian name, and she was skilled in domestic surgery. For a long time she pined for the freedom of her Indian home, but the kindness and patience of the matrons living near Fort Henry, finally weaned her away from all inclination to return. Her father, now declared peace between him and the red man. Maxwell's early settlement was soon followed by others, which were not regarded as legalized by the government. After Congress issued orders for the settlers who had squatted on the west bank of the Ohio to remove until titles could be had from the Indians and then disposed of to settlers in a proper way, Colonel Harmar sent a detachment of troops down the river to dislodge all who refused to obey the order. This detachment was under command of Ensign Armstrong who made report April 12, 1785. He crossed the Little Beaver on April 1, and dispossessed a family. Four miles below he found families living in sheds, but they having no raft on which to transport their goods, he gave them until the 31st, in which to leave. At the mouth of Yellow Creek he dispossessed two families and destroyed their cabins with fire. On the 3rd he dispossessed eight families. On the 4th he arrived at Mingo, where he read his instructions to Joseph Ross, who would not believe the instructions came from Congress ; neither did he care from whom they came, he was determined to hold possession; if his house were destroyed he would build another, or six more, for that matter, within a week. "He also," says the report of Armstrong, "cast many reflections on the honorable, the Congress and the commissioners and the commanding officer." Armstrong said he considered him a dangerous man, took him prisoner and sent him to Wheeling under guard. The other settlers, who seemed to be tenants under Ross, were given a few days' time, at the end of which they promised to leave. On the evening of the 4th Charles Norris, with a party of armed men, arrived at the ensign's quarters and demanded his instructions ; but they were soon convinced and lodged their arms with the officer. Armstrong learned from Norris that a large body of armed settlers had assembled eleven miles below, ready to resist his orders. On the 5th Armstrong arrived at the Norris settlement. He informed Norris that if the order were resisted he would fire on the settlers, and he ordered his men to load. However, the settlers finally laid down their arms and agreed to remove to the east side of the river on the 19th. The names of the first settlers whose cabins were scattered throughout this region were as follows: Thomas Tilton, John Nixon, Henry Cassill, John Nowles, John Tilton, John Fitzpatrick, Daniel Menser, Zephenia Dunn, John McDonald, Henry Froggs, Wiland Hoagland, Michael Rawlings, Thomas Dawson, Thomas McDonald, William Shiff, Solomon Delong, Charles Ward, Frederick Lamb, John Rig-don, George Weleams, Jessie Edgington, Nathaniel Parremore, Jessie Parremore, Jacob Clark, James Clark, Adam Hause, Thomas Johnson, Hanament Davis, William Wallace, Joseph Redburn, Jonathan Mapins, William Mann, Daniel Kerr, William Kerr, Joseph Ross, James Watson, Abertious Bailey, Charles Chambers, Robert Hill, James Paul, William McNees, Archibald Harben, William Bailey, Jones Amspoker, Nicholas Decker, John Platt, Benjamin Reed, Joseph Goddard, Henry Conrod, William. Carpenter, John Goddard, George Reno, John Buchanan, Daniel Mathews. In the fall of the same year (1785) they returned, and rebuilt the cabins, and were found in possession by General Butler, who, accompanied by James Monroe, afterward President, was sent out to again warn them off. Joseph Ross with his wife and son Jacob settled on Mingo Bottom in 1784, and made their abode in the hollow stump of a sycamore tree located on the Wells, now the Wabash farm. Here it is claimed was born the first white child in Jefferson County. 110 - HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY although this is disputed by Rev. R. M. Coulter, who in a note to the Cadiz Republican dated October 31, 1895 declared that Jesse Long was born on Short Creek in 1776 and died in 1882. Ross was building his cabin when his child was born who became a fine specimen of physical manhood. His brother was with Van Buskirk in his Indian fight, and shot an Indian in .the back, and tried to get his scalp, but the Indian dived beneath some driftwood and roots of a tree. Absalom married Annie Edsell, of Brooke County, Virginia, and died in 1867. Joseph Ross while return- in.:, home from a visit to Bezaleel Wills in Steubenville in 1806 was struck and killed by a falling tree during a storm. Joseph Tilton came to the Ohio country from Pennsylvania in 1776, and settled on land near the site of Tiltonville. He became an, expert scout and was at two of the sieges of Fort Henry. After the survey he bought the land, on which he continued to live up to the time of his death, when it was divided among his children. His son, Caleb Tilton, in his boyhood, was looked upon as the first white child born in Jefferson County, the date of birth being previous to 1784, at which time Absalom Ross was born. The farm on which Tilton settled is now owned by William Medill. Others followed and settled at Warrenton and Tiltonville, and in the year 1785 there were large settlements at these points, and many of their descendants are living on the lands then taken by their ancestors—the Maxwells, McClearys, Tiltons, and McCormacks. The father of Ephraim Cable settled at the mouth of Island Creek in 1785, where Ephraim was born the same year, and until recently was noted as the first white child born in the county. The father built a blockhouse, where he lived and reared the elder children of a family of twelve. Ephraim Cable served in the War of 1812, and his name is connected with above Steubenville. Lewis Wetzel, the famous German Indian scout, lived at Mingo from 1783 to 1786. His exploits would fill a' large volume. He killed an Indian at the mouth of the Muskingum and escaped back to Mingo. General Harmar sent a file of soldiers after him, who arrived at Mingo during a shooting match, of which an eye witness says : "A company of men could as easily have drawn Beelzebub out of the bottomless pit as to take Lewis Wetzel, by force, from the Mingo bottom settlement. As soon as the object of Captain Kingsbury's visit was known, it was determined to ambush the captain's barge, and kill him and his company. Happily Major McMahan was present to prevent this catastrophe, who prevailed on Wetzel and his friends to suspend attack until he should pay Capt Kingsbury a visit ; perhaps he could induce him to return without making the proposed arrest. With reluctance they agreed to suspend the attack until McMahan should return. The resentment of Wetzel and his friends was burning with fury. 'A pretty affair, this,' said they, `to hang a man for killing an Indian when the Indians are killing our people every day.' Major McMahan informed Kingsbury of the disposition of the people in the Mingo settlement, and assured him that if he persisted in the attempt to seize Wetzel, he would have all the settlers in the country upon him ; that nothing could save him and his command from massacre but a speedy return. The captain took the advice, and Wetzel now considered the affair adjusted." General Harmar issued a proclamation offering a reward for. the delivery of Wetzel, who was finally retaken near the Falls of Ohio by Lieutenant Lawler and delivered to General Harmar, but the protests of the people all along the river from Mingo to the falls were so strong and persistent that the general was compelled to release him. Wetzel afterwards went to New Orleans, where he was arrested and imprisoned for passing a counterfeit bill, palmed off on him by a trader who had bought his pelts. He lay in prison for a. long time, or until released by the inter- AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 111 cession of friends in the neighborhood of the Mingo bottom settlement. He died in Texas and was buried near Austin. It was the depredations committed by the Indians near where Steubenville now stands, after their victory over St. Clair, that occasioned the John Wetzel expedition against the Indians in the spring of 1792. The Indians had made many raids on the border settlers along the Ohio, especially between the site of Steubenville and Wheeling, sometimes killing or capturing whole families, at other times stealing horses and whatever else they could carry away. After one of these forays the settlers determined to follow the savages. The party organized, with Wetzel as captain. The company consisted of William McCullough, John Hough, Joseph Hedges. Thomas Biggs, Kinsie Dickerson and William Linn, all being experienced scouts. From the site of Steubenville they marched up the river to Yellow Creek and then followed the old trail to Fort Laurens, in the Tuscarawas Valley. At the first Indian town, which was on Mohican Creek, they found their horses. For better safety they concluded to return by a different route, which brought them to a point on Wills Creek, near the site of Cambridge. Here they camped for a night, and while all were asleep excepting a guard, the party was attacked by the Indians. A party of savages bounded into the camp, yelling and brandishing their tomahawks like the demons they were. The scouts fled instantly, leaving all their equipments in the camp. In the fight that ensued Biggs, Hedges and Linn were killed, but Wetzel and the others escaped to Wheeling. The Indians making the attack were some of the old Moravian converts who had reverted to heathenism, and who were on the warpath to revenge the massacre at Gnadenhutten ten years before. Just previous to 1780 McDonald moved. from Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, and settled on the Mingo bottoms. A few years ago the late Capt. Farrer, an active member of the Ohio Historical and Archeological Society, and Dr. A. M. Reid, the latter of Steubenville, marked the point on the Ohio River at which occurred the fight between Andrew Poe and a big Indian. The place designated by their mark is at the mouth of Tomlinson's Run, which empties into the Ohio from the Virginia side about three miles above the head of Brown's Island. A short distance from the shore is a small island, and it was between the island and the shore the fight took place. Dr. Doddridge gives the first account of this fight and various reports have been printed, of which the one given by Mr. Caldwell in his history goes into the most detail. In the fall of 1781 Indian raids were common along the Ohio, and during one of them a party of six Wyandots broke into the cabin of William Jackson, in what was known as the Poe settlement, and took him prisoner. Jackson's son, aged seventeen, returning to the cabin, saw the Indians in the yard with his father, and fled to Harmon's fort. The next day twelve settlers mounted on horseback started in pursuit of the savages, and followed the trail until they reached the top of the river hill, a distance of about twelve miles. Here they left their horses and traveled on foot, the hill being very precipitous. When they reached the bottom of the hill the trail turned down the river, and in crossing the little stream, Tomlinson's Run, Andrew observed that where the Indians had stepped into the water it was still riley, and cautioned the men to keep quiet ; that the Indians were very near and would hear them and kill the prisoner, Jackson. After fruitless efforts to quiet the men he left the company, turning off square to the right, went to the bank of the river, and looking down he saw, about twelve feet below him, two Indians stooping with their guns in their hands, looking down the river in the direction of the noise. He observed that one of the Indians was a very large man. It occurred to him that he would shoot the larger and take the other a prisoner. He squatted in the weeds, and crept up to the brow of the bank, put his gun 112 - HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY through the weeds and took aim, but his gun missed fire. When the gun snapped, both Indians yelled, "Woh! woh !" Poe immediately drew his head back and the Indians did not see him. By this time the other settlers had overtaken the other five Indians with Jackson, who were about one hundred yards down the river, and had begun to fire, which drew the attention of the two under the eye of Andrew, who again drew aim, his gun missing fire the second time. He then dropped the rifle and sprang instantly upon them. On springing about at the snap of the gun, the two Indians were brought side by side, but did not have time to fire at Poe before he was upon them. He threw his weight upon the big Indian, catching each of them about the neck, and threw them both. The big Indian fell on his back, Andrew following with his left arm around his neck. The little Indian fell behind Andrew, whose right arm was around the Indian's neck. Their guns both fell. One of them lay within reach of Andrew, who observed that it was cocked. The Indians had a raft fastened to the shore close by where they were standing, the river being very high. The tomahawk and bullet pouch were on the raft. Andrew's knife was in the scabbard attached to his shot pouch, which was pressed between them. He got a slight hold of the handle and was trying to draw it, to dispatch the big Indian, who, observing it, caught his hand and spoke in his own tongue very vehemently to the other, who was struggling very hard to get loose. Andrew made several efforts to get his knife, but in vain. At last he jerked with all his might. The big Indian instantly let go and Andrew, not having a good hold of the handle, and the knife coming out unexpectedly easy in consequence of the big Indian loosing his grasp, it flew out of Andrew's hand and the little Indian drew his head from under his arm, his grasp being slackened in the act of drawing his knife. The big Indian instantly threw his long arm around Andrew's body and hugged him like a bear, while the little Indian sprang to the raft, which was about six feet off, and brought a tomahawk with which he struck at Andrew's head, who was still lying on his side on the big Indian, he holding him fast. Andrew threw up his foot as the stroke came and hit the Indian on the wrist with the toe of his shoe and the tomahawk flew into the river. The big Indian yelled at the little Indian furiously, who sprang to the raft and got the other tomahawk, and after making several motions at Andrew's head, who threw up his right arm and received the blow on his wrist, which broke one bone of his wrist and the chords of three of his fingers. Andrew immediately threw his hand over his head when he was struck, and the tomahawk catching in the sinews of his arm, drew it out of the Indian's hand and it flew over his head. After the stroke was given, the big Indian let go his hold and Andrew got upon his feet. As he rose he seized the gun which lay by his head, with his left hand, and it being already cocked. he shot the smaller Indian through the body; but scarcely had he done so, when the big Indian arose and placing one hand on his collar and the other on his hip, threw Andrew into the river. Andrew threw his hand back and caught the Indian by his buckskin breech clout and carried him into the river also. The water being deep they both went under. Then a desperate effort was made by each to drown the other; sometimes one was under the water, sometimes the other and sometimes both. In the struggle they were carried about thirty yards out into the river. Poe at length seized the tuft of hair on the scalp of the Inman, by which he held his .head under water until he supposed him drowned. Not being able to do, much with his right hand. he threw it on the back of the Indian's neck and swam with his left arm to recruit him self. But the Indian was not dead, and struck out for shore, Poe following. When the former got out of the water he picked up a gun and in trying to cock it disabled the lock. He threw it down and picking up the empty gun with which Andrew had shot AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 113 the other Indian, went to the raft for shot and powder and began loading. In the meantime, Andrew swam back into the river and called for his brother Adam, who was with the other party. Adam came running along the bank and began to load his gun. It was a race between him and the Indian, but the Indian drew his ramrod too quickly, and it slipped from his hands and fell a short distance from him. He caught it up and rammed down his bullet. The delay gave Poe an advantage, so that as the Indian raised his gun to shoot Andrew Adam's ball entered his breast, and he fell forward on his face on the river's margin. Adam jumped into the river to assist his brother to shore, but the latter called him to leave him alone and scalp the Indian. The latter, however, reached deep water before he expired, and the river carried him off before his scalp could be secured. Unfortunately, just as Adam arrived at the top of the bank for the relief of his brother, others hearing the cries came running up, and seeing Andrew in the river took him for an Indian, and three of them fired at him, one of them wounding him dangerously. The ball entered the right shoulder, coming out on his left side. During this contest the other Indians were preparing to cross the river on a raft with their prisoner Jackson, who, seeing the whites coming, ran towards them. One of the Indians tomahawked him in the back, making a slight wound. None of the Indians was captured, and but one of them got across the river, he being badly wounded, A settler named Cherry was shot through the lungs and died in about an hour. It should be noted here that there was no chief in this fight named Big Foot. The two Indians killed by the Poes were sons of Half-King, chief of the Wyandots, and Scotash, who escaped after being wounded, was a third son. His story was received with great grief by his tribe. Some time after the Poe fight Thomas Edgington, father of Jesse Edgington, who resided in the Cove opposite Steubenville, was cap- tured by the Indians near the mouth of Harmon's Creek and taken to the Indian towns, where he met Simon Girty. Here he found the Indian whose prize he was to be, Scotash, by whom he was treated like a brother. He was finally released, and returned home, and always remembered with gratitude the kindness of his dusky master. Another characteristic adventure of those days was that of the Johnson boys near what is now the town of Warrenton in 1788. The two boys, John and Henry, the former about thirteen and the latter eleven years of age, were in the forest cracking nuts when they were captured by two Indians, and after journeying some distance over a circuitous route the party halted for the night. The elder, in order to keep the Indians from killing them, pretended that they were pleased to be taken, as they had been treated illy at home and desired to get away from their people. During the evening and before they lay Sown to sleep, John guardedly informed his brother of a plan he had arranged in his mind for escape. After the Indians had tied the boys and had gone to sleep, John loosened his hands and, having also released his brother, they resolved to kill their captors. John took a position with a gun one of the Indians had by his side, and Henry was given a tomahawk. At a given signal, one discharged the rifle and the other almost severed the head of the other Indian with the tomahawk. The one struck with the tomahawk attempted to rise, but was immediately dispatched by the brave boy. Coming near Fort Carpenter early in the morning, they found the settlers preparing to go in an expedition of rescue. The story that they had killed the two Indians, one of whom was a chief, was not believed by the settlers about the fort, but to convince them John accompanied the men to the scene of the encounter, where they found the body of the Indian killed by John with the tomahawk, but the other had been only wounded and had crawled away. His body was found afterwards. 114 - HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY Doddridge says that after the Wayne victory, a friend of the Indians killed by the Johnson boys, asked what had become of the boys. When told that they still lived with their parents on Short Creek, the Indian replied, "You have not done right ; you should have made kings of those boys." The land on which the two Indians were killed was donated to the Johnson boys by the Government for this service. This land was. purchased from the Johnson boys by Captain Kirkwood, and has been since in the possession of the Howard, Medill and Kirk families. The two Castleman girls, Mary and Margaret, furnish another interesting story. They came from the Virginia side of the river in 1791 to a sugar camp at the mouth of Croxton's Run, above Toronto, accompanied by their uncle, a Mr. Martin. While engaged in boiling sap, they were surprised by Indians, who shot Martin and, capturing Mary, ran in a westerly direction. Margaret had hidden in a hollow sycamore, but started to follow her sister. A young Indian picked her up and claimed her as his property. The girls were taken to Sandusky, where Margaret was sold to a French trader and. Mary was married to a half-breed who treated her with great cruelty. When at last he threw his knife at her she ran away and . reached her friends on the Ohio, where she married a man named Wells. The father of the girls, after the Wayne treaty, found Margaret at Detroit and brought her home, where she married David Wright, who lived in the upper part of the county. She lived to the age of 103 years, and left a grand-niece, Mrs. Devore, living at Mingo. A Mr. Riley located on land west of Mingo, where he built a cabin. One day in 1784, while he and his two sons were working in a cornfield, the Indians surprised and killed the father and one son, the other having escaped. At the cabin they found the mother and two daughters. Mrs. Riley was tied to a grapevine and the two daughters carried off, one of whom was soon tomahawked and the other sold to a French trader at Detroit. The remains of the murdered ones were gathered together and buried in what is now Wells Township on the Smiley Johnson estate, where the graves have been cared for as a patriotic duty. Mrs. Riley had escaped from the grapevine and taken refuge in the blockhouse that stood at the mouth of Battle Run. Riley's Run, the little stream in that neighborhood, is now 3alled Riddle's Run. In the early days considerable ginseng was dug in this section and taken east to be exchanged for salt and other products. Josiah Davis, with several others, came across the river in canoes, and he, with an old man named Anderson, was engaged in digging the root on what is now the Bustard farm, adjoining Steubenville. Suddenly an Indian whoop was heard and the crack of two rifles. Anderson fell dead and Davis started to run, with the savages after him. The other members of the party, who do not seem to have been noticed by the savages, hastened home and reported both the missing ones dead. Davis, however, succeeded in distancing his pursuers, and reaching the river near the present site of the La Belle Mills, arrived home in safety, his knife still open in one hand and the stick he had been whittling to dig the root with in the other. During January, 1785, when the well known Indian chief, Joe White Eyes, was en route to Fort McIntosh at the mouth of the Beaver River to sign a treaty, he stole some horses from a farmer named Sullivan, in what is now Wells Township. Sullivan called his dog and gave chase. Approaching the Indian, the dog raised a great commotion, when White Eyes turned and shooting. Sullivan, continued his journey. Afterwards referring to the matter, he coolly remarked : "He must have been a fool ; he knew he was in danger when the dog kicked up so, and he knew I was not going to be thus detected, therefore he compelled me to shoot him—I couldn't help myself," a philosophical reflection characteristic of the border. It is said that Richard Wells, known as AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 117 "Greybeard," purchased from the Indians the entire frontage of the Virginia Hill opposite Steubenville from the old paper mill coal banks to Clark's Run, a distance of two miles, for two bottles of whisky. Another story concerning him is that, about the year 1800 he, with Bezaleel Wells and wife and John Ward and wife were walking along the river bank in front of Steubenville, when the "toot" of an Indian was heard. Looking across the river they noticed a redskin standing on a large rock near the ferry making offensive gestures at the ladies. Bringing his rifle to his shoulder, he fired at the Indian, who dropped off the rock into the river and was seen no more. About the close of the eighteenth century four Indians journeyed into the town of Warrenton, and bought some whisky, from which they soon became greatly intoxicated. When they started for home they were followed by a party of whites to a short distance back of what is now Portland Station on Short Creek, where they laid down to rest and were soon in a drunken stupor. Here they were attacked by the whites and all killed. The farm was afterwards owned by J. D. Stringer, who plowed up a number of bones supposed to belong to these unfortunates. Jack Tilton, of that same neighborhood, was killed by Indians when he was about fourteen years old, having 'been run down and shot and scalped while out after cows. His dead body was found on the bank of Short Creek, about half a mile west of Portland, where the house of George S. Bigger now stands. On March 27, 1789, as Mrs. Glass, afterwards Mrs. Brown, of Brooke County, Virginia, was spinning at her home, her black woman who was gathering sugar water outside, screamed, "Here are Indians.' She ran to the door, where an Indian presented his gun at her. She begged him not to shoot, but take her prisoner. Another Indian caught her boy and the negro woman, and after stealing some articles, started for the river, having for captives Mrs. Brown, her son, and the negro woman with her two children, four and one year old. After a short march they stopped for consultation, and to one of the Indians who could speak English she held out her son and begged for hi .s life, saying he would make a fine little Indian. The Indian motioned her to walk on with her child, when the other Indian struck the negro boy with the pipe end of his tomahawk, knocking him down, and dispatched and scalped him. They reached the river three miles below Mingo about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and taking their canoe, made for Rush Run, where they encamped for the night about mile above the mouth. At sunrise they crossed the divide on to Short. Creek, where they again camped in the afternoon and deposited their plunder with the fruits of previous robberies. Mr. Glass was working with a hired man in a field about a quarter of a mile from the house when his family was taken, but knew nothing of it until about 2 p. m., four hours after. After a fruitless search for the missing ones, he went to Wells fort and collected ten men, and that night lodged in a cabin where Wellsburg now stands. Next morning they found the place where the party had embarked, Mr. Glass recognizing the print of his wife's shoe in the earth. They crossed the river and examined the shore down nearly as far as Rush Run without result, when most of the men, concluding that the Indians had gone down the river to the Muskingum, wanted to turn back. Mr. Glass begged them to go at least as far as Short Creek, to which they agreed, and at Rush Run found the canoes. While going down the river one of the Indians threw into the water some papers which he had taken from Mr. Glass's trunk. Mrs. Glass picked several of the pieces out of the water, and under pretense of giving them to her boy dropped them into the bottom of the canoe, where her husband found them. The trail of the party up the run was soon discovered and easily followed, owing to the softness of the ground and the derangement of the weeds standing from 118 - HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY the previous fall. About an hour after the Indians halted on Short Creek, Mr. Glass and party saw the smoke of their camp. In order that the Indians might have no chance to kill their captives, they crept quietly through the bushes. Mrs. Brown's son had toddled to a sugar tree to get some water, where the Indians had made a tap, but not being able to get it out of the bark trough, his mother stepped out of the camp to get it for him. The negro woman was sitting some distance from the Indians, who were examining a scarlet jacket which they had taken. Suddenly they dropped the jacket and turned their eyes towards the men, who, supposing they were discovered, immediately discharged several guns, and with a yell rushed upon them. One of the Indians was wounded, and dropped his gun and shot pouch. After running a hundred yards a second shot was fired after him by Major McGuire, which brought him down, but the pursuit was not carried further, as the Indians had told Mrs. Brown that there was another encampment close by. They hurried home, and reached Beech Bottom fort that night. Croxton's Run, besides being the place of the capture of the Castleman girls, was the scene of a bloody battle in 1787 between fourteen hunters, several of them from Fort Steuben, and a party of Shawanese. The hunters camped there for the night, and were attacked early the next morning. Four hunters were killed, and the others reached their canoes and escaped to Fort Steuben. A reinforcement started for the place, but found only the mutilated bodies of the dead hunters, the Indians had gone with their dead and wounded. These tales might be continued almost indefinitely, but we will proceed to notice what was the last Indian fight of any importance in Jefferson County. The moving cause of this battle was in the summer of 1792, when a party of Indians came down to the river at what is now the foot of Market Street in Steubenville, and crossed to the Virginia side on a marauding expedition. Mrs. Lawson Van Buskirk, of Wells burg, had started from Wellsburg an horseback to Washington County, Pennsylvania, to have some- weaving done. She met the Indians at Painter's (probably Panther's) Creek, and in trying to turn her horse quickly the animal stumbled and threw her to the ground, spraining her ankle. She was captured and carried back along the ridge to the spot where they had crosses, the river. A .man named White, with two others, followed the Indians with the intention of ambushing them and rescuing the prisoner. The redskins came down the hill and began to raise their canoes, but they were too many to be attacked. Just as they were about to cross the river another party of scouts came up, who so alarmed the Indians that they threw Mrs. Buskirk on to a huge stone by the water side, not " Town Rock" as has been reported, and tomahawked her. They immediately took to their canoes and escaped across the river. The two parties of whites united and forded the river at Wells's ripple, but the savages had too good a start to be overtaken. The remains of Mrs. Buskirk were taken to Wellsburg for interment, and the next summer, moved by this as well as other depredations, Captain Buskirk organized a party of thirty men, including David Cox, Jacob Ross, two Cuppy boys, one Abraham who was afterwards killed by an Indian near Mt. Pleasant, John Aidy, John Parker and John 'Carpenter, for the purpose of punishing these marauders. They crossed the river about opposite George's Run" and then turned up the stream to Cross Creek and worked back into the country. About a mile west of Mingo, on what was afterwards the Adams farm, now occupied by the Wabash Railroad, they approached what is now called Battle Run, a small tributary of Cross Creek. Here they noticed a loin of "jerk," when Buskirk exclaimed : "Now boys, look out, there are Indians close." He ambuscaded the main body, and deployed to the right, sending Carpenter to the left to ascertain the position of the enemy. Suddenly, Carpenter AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 119 saw them in force in a thick cluster of paw paw and blackberry bushes. He yelled Indians and treed, receiving five shots through his knapsack. Buskirk shouted "where," and at once was the target for a volley from the bushes, eleven balls entering his body, killing him instantly. The frontiersmen stormed the thicket and the Indians retreated. It was here Jacob Ross shot and wounded an Indian and drove him into the creek, mention of which is made elsewhere. Three whites were wounded in this fight, and quite a number of Indians killed, whose bones were afterwards found, one instance being a skeleton concealed in the rocks with a bullet lodged in his hip joint. Buskirk was buried near where he fell. That the Indians were possessed of many noble traits is conceded by all. who have given any serious attention to the study of their character. That many of them were superior to the renegades and white thieves who infested the border is strikingly illustrated by two narratives related by Robert A. Sherrard, in his manuscript, referred to elsewhere. One concerned two brothers named Luke and Frank McGuire, who lived in the Virginia Pan Handle about three miles east of Steubenville. During the summer of 1819 they were engaged in the flour trade to Natchez and New Orleans and having sold their boat load of flour at Natchez for specie they could not get an exchange for United States bank paper without giving a high premium, and the same situation applied to getting a check on any Eastern bank. So they concluded to box their specie, and purchasing a horse and light buggy started for home overland, as steamboating had scarcely begun on those western waters. They were both weak and reduced by the fever common in the South during warm weather, but left Natchez in good spirits. They got along very well until they reached the Cherokee nation in Georgia. The country was then a wilderness, and they encountered a very extensive swamp. In attempting to cross it their buggy with its weight of specie sunk into the mud, and in their weakened state they could render the horse no assistance. They sat for some time not knowing what to do, when at length half a dozen Indians came along on their way through the swamp. They took the sick men from the buggy and carried them out of the swamp on their backs, while others carried the specie. They then loosened the horse and took the buggy to solid ground. The Indians then rehitched the horse to the buggy and putting the McGuires and the money therein led them to the house of one of the Indians and kept them a few days, until their fever had abated, and then sent them on their way rejoicing. In contrast with the above is related the case of Michael Myers, one of the pioneers of Knox Township. Returning overland from one of his trading trips to New Orleans, with three other flour traders, all were on horseback, with their specie stored in saddle bags. Before arriving at Natchez all had bilious fever, but finally started from the latter place, still quite ill. In a few days they became worse, and were obliged to lie under the shadow of a large tree far from any house or even an Indian wigwam. At length one of the four died, and the others, with pieces of fallen timber, scraped and scooped out a little earth and buried him as best they. could. The next day a second man died and was buried in the same manner, and a day or two later the third one died, leaving Myers alone, weak and sick. But weak as he was, he managed to bury his last comrade. He had proved to be the strongest of the party, and ministered to the wants of the others while they lived, and each day looked after the horses, which they had hobbled and allowed to range among the pasture nature had provided for them near the camp. After Myers had buried his last comrade, he turned his thoughts homeward, and concluded to start the next day. He therefore began preparations by taking the money of each of his dead comrades, and putting two parcels in each of two pair of saddlebags, and having brought the horses to 120 - HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY camp, he laid down and slept better than he had done for a good many nights. When daylight came he selected the best one of the three horses besides his own, which he bridled and saddled. He then put a pair of saddle-bags containing the money on each, and having removed the hobbles from the other horses, he let them go to shift for themselves. He then mounted and started, the two loose horses following for several miles, but at length they took to browsing, and he saw them no more. He traveled as far as was possible in his weakened state, and before night stopped to camp. That evening there came to his camp a solitary white man, who professed to be traveling to his home in Kentucky and appeared to be glad that he had found company. Myers believed his statements and agreed that he should have the oversight of the horses night and morning and might ride the lead horse. The man seemed very well pleased and attentive, and at evening he hobbled the horses and let them go to graze. In the morning he brought up the horses, saddled them, and put on the bags containing the silver, and. thus they went for two days. On the morning of the third day the stranger went out after the horses and, having remained a good while, returned without them. He proposed to Myers that if the latter would go north to look for the horses he would go south, which was agreed to and the men separated: Myers was gone about an hour, and finding no trace of the horses returned to camp, when he found that the stranger had returned with the horses, saddled them, put on the two pairs of saddle-bags containing nearly every dollar of the four traders, taken the back track southward, and was already out of sight. Myers was too weak to make pursuit, and started towards home on foot with but a small sum of money in his pocket. The thief got about $1,600. One of the three men who died was said to have been Myers' brother. He made his way through the Indian nation depending chiefly on the hospitality of the aborigines, and finally arrived in the state of Kentucky, where he found friends who loaned him money to take him home. It is conjectured that. the stranger belonged to the notorious. Bill Mason gang of robbers, which was a terror to every traveller through the wilderness from 1798 for many years. After this experience Mr. Myers made Louisville the terminus for his southern trade. Before leaving this branch of our subject, a word as to the natural environment and lives of the early settlers. This was indeed the wilderness and solitary place. Even the song birds, so numerous in our boyhood days, now, alas, being exterminated, only came with the settlers. Of course, there was no domestic fowl, and the gobble of the wild turkey, the croak of the raven and the tap of the woodpecker by day and the howl of the wolf or the hoot of the owl by night, did little more than accentuate the solitude. Not alone among the Indians did superstition prevail. Signs lucky and unlucky, dreams and omens, were taken with . all the faith of the Delphian oracle. Belief in witchcraft was not uncommon, although reported accounts of the killing of one or more witches in this county by piercing their images with silver bullets are, no doubt, apocryphal. That story is located in numerous sections of the country. As a sample version, it is related that one of the pioneer farmers of Smithfield Township returning home late one night, after a possible halt at one or more distilleries en route, lost his money, which he was certain had been taken from, him by a witch. He called on the famous Dr. McConnell to exorcise the spirit with the usual silver bullet, and that worthy put a silver bullet in his mouth and taking his gun in his hand the two went out to the barn, where a paper figure of the supposed witch was tacked on the barn door. The gun was charged, with a bullet taken from the doctor 's mouth, and the figure duly shot. The farmer went away in the full belief that this particular witch would trouble him no more, when the doctor took from his mouth the original silver bullet, having had a lead AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 121 one stored on the other side of his jaw which was used in the witch killing, with doubtless quite as much efficacy. Owing to the forests, summers were probably cooler than at present, while the swarms of gnats, mosquitoes and house- flies were veritable pests to man and beast. They lessened, the amount of milk the cattle gave, and it was customary to build fires around the settlements the smoke of which kept the flies from the cattle, which soon learned to change with the wind, so as to keep in the smoke. Concerning a much discussed question, Dr. Doddridge says : " Our summers in early times were mostly very dry. The beds of our large creeks, excepting in the deep holes,. presented nothing but naked rocks. The mills were not expected to do any grinding after the latter end of May, excepting for a short time after a thunder gust; our most prudent housekeepers, therefore, took care to have their summer stock of flour ground in the months of March and April. If this stock was expended too soon there were no resources but those of the hominy block or hand mill. It was a frequent saying among our farmers that three good rains were sufficient to make a crop of corn if they happened at the proper times. The want' of rain was compensated in some degree by heavy dews, which were then more common than of late, owing to the shaded situation of the earth (?), which prevented it from becoming warm or dry by the rays of the sun during even the warmest weather. Frost and snow set in much earlier in former times than of late. I have known the whole crop of corn in Greenbrier destroyed by frost on the night of the 22d of September. The corn in this district was mostly frost bitten at the same time. Such early frosts have not happened for some time past. Hunting snows usually commenced about the middle of October. November was regarded as a winter month, as the winter frequently set in with severity during that month, and sometimes at an early period of it." Mr. Sherrard, in his notes, relates that, "In February, 1801, a large light supposed to be a meteorite, about the size of a four-gallon pot, passed at a very rapid rate from an eastern to a western direction, about 9 o'clock in the evening. The light given out was very brilliant, and shone down the chimney of the house in which our family dwelt, so bright, that without the assistance of any other light a person might have seen to pick up a pin on the hearth." Squirrels were very destructive to crops, while honey bees, crows, blackbirds, rats, opossums and fox-squirrels were immigrants. Rattlesnakes and copperheads were very numerous. Wild strawberry, service berry, black and raspberries, gooseberries, whortleberries, plums, grapes, haws, cherries, pawpaws, crab apples and nuts were among the indigenous fruits. The peaches were only expected to bear once every three or four years. Household furniture was naturally scarce, and mostly made on the spot. There were a few pewter spoons and dishes, with wooden bowls and trenches, helped out by gourds and squashes. "Hog and Hominy" was long a, leading dish, with Johnny Cake pone, mush and milk. Tea and coffee were practically unknown. Hunting dresses after the Indian style, made of skins, were universal. So as to moccasins for feet covering, which were not very efficient weather protectors, causing much rheumatism to our forefathers. The women wore linsey petticoats and bed gowns, practically- all the stuff being home-made. At first peltry and furs supplied the place of money, which in the fall were sent eastward over the mountains to be exchanged for salt and other necessities, and sometimes for luxuries. Of course, hunting was extensively practiced not only as a pleasure but as a necessity to eke out the family larder. As a rule, the inhabitants married young, and the occasion was usually festive, attended from far and near. Doddridge gives accounts of some very quaint customs connected therewith, some of which might not be considered altogether refined in these days, but even the "virtues of the pioneers were frequently homely. All the friends and neighbors joined in the house-warming, barn raisings, etc., and each family had its own tailors, shoemakers and carpenters. Herbs were largely used as medicines, and perhaps they were as efficacious as some modern decoctions. Amusements were largely of an athletic nature, such as running, jumping, wrestling, etc. Dancing was always in favor, and it goes without 122 - HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY saying that target shooting was always in evidence. Occasionally there was a dramatic performance which requires no stretch of language to describe as amateur. At first there was "neither law nor gospel," as courts did not travel westward with the first emigrants, and clergymen were few and scattered. Nevertheless, as is always the case with Anglo-Saxons, there was rude administration of justice from the start. Offenses of a minor sort were punished by ostracism and banishment, and for more serious ones stripes were not uncommon. Family honor was rated high, and seduction and bastardy were very infrequent; in fact, the "unwritten law" was a very practical deterrent. In short, there was very little crime (if killing Indians be eliminated, as that was not considered criminal), because this section was not settled by criminals, but by the sturdy pioneers of Virginia and Maryland. Of course, the above statements apply to the very first corners. The establishment of military authority followed by courts and religious gatherings belong to a later period. CHAPTER VIII ANEW ERA Beginning of the United States Land System—Primitive Blockhouses and Building of Fort Steuben—Survey of the Seven Ranges—A Busy Year and Permanent Settlements—First United States Land Office, Blockhouses of a semi-public character were numerous in Jefferson County from the date of the earliest settlements. In fact, they were an absolute necessity, and around them were clustered the cabins and the clearings, close enough for the inhabitants to escape to their refuge whenever there was danger of a savage raid. These blockhouses were square, heavy, double-storied buildings, with the upper story extending over the lower about two feet all round. They also projected slightly over the stockade, commanding all the approaches thereto, so that no lodgment could be made against the pickets of which the stockade was built, to set them on fire, or to scale them. They also were pierced with loop-holes for musketry. The roof sloped equally from each side upward, and was surmounted at the centre by a quadrangular structure called the sentry box. This box was the post of observation, affording, from its elevated postion, an extensive view on all sides. It was usually occupied in times of siege or apprehended attack by three of the best riflemen, who were also well skilled in the tactics of Indian warfare. There were at least three blockhouses in Warren Township, "Carpenter's Fort" being the leading one, and George Carpenter established one below Rush Run in 1785. There were also several north of Steubenville, between Wills Creek and Yellow Creek. The blockhouses developed into the fort, in fact, the pioneer forts consisted of four blockhouses arranged in the form of a square and connected together by a palisade or picket of heavy posts. Of this character was Fort Steuben, which stood on the second river terrace at what is now the corner of High and Adams Streets in Steubenville, where the corners were identified and designated by iron markers by the centennial committee at the celebration in 1897. The fort was in the form of a square, with blockhouses twenty-eight feet square set diagonally at the corners. The angles of the blockhouse were connected with lines of pickets one hundred and fifty feet in length, forming the sides of the fort. Each blockhouse had two rooms sufficient to accommodate fourteen men. The fort also contained a commissary store, barracks, quartermaster's store, magazine, artificer's shop, guard house built on two piers with a piazza looking inward, and a sallyport built between the piers. A flag pole with the American colors was also provided, and a black hole for confining offenders. The main gate faced the river, and the width of the block-houses diagonally was about thirty-nine - 123 - 124 - HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY feet, making the outside measurement two hundred and twenty-eight feet. A reproduction of this post made by C. P. Filson may be found among the illustrations in this volume, and gives a very good idea of its appearance. The building of this fort was occasioned by one of the most important acts of Con PLAN OF FORT STEUNBEN No. 1, 1, 1, 1, block house 28 feet square, divided into two rooms, sufficient for 14 men each; 2, 2, officers' barracks; a, a, parlors; b, b, b, b, bedrooms; d, d, kitchens; 3, commissary's store; 4, quartermaster's store; 5, magazine; 6, artificer 's shop; 7, guard house built on two piers a, b, with a piazza looking inwards and a sally port between the piers, the pier a the common store; b, black hole, place of confinement; 8, flagstaff ; 9, main gate looking toward the river. The small squares in the sides and corners of the rooms represent chimneys. The width of the block houses diagonally is 39 feet 1 inch nearly, and the distance between the points 150 feet. gress in our National history. We have related the efforts of the Government to exclude settlers from the Ohio country, but recognizing the fact' that the time had come for a legal disposition of the lands and opening up the country for settlement Congress, on May 20, 1785, 'passed an act for the survey of seven ranges of land northwest of the Ohio River, which was the beginning of the public land system of the United States. This tract of seven ranges is bounded by a line forty-two miles in length, taking in seven townships each six miles square running due west from the intersection of the western boundary line of Pennsylvania with the Ohio River, thence south to the Ohio River at southeast corner of Marietta Township in Washington County, thence up the river to the place of beginning. The present counties of Jefferson, Columbiana, Carroll, Tuscarawas, Harrison, Guernsey, Belmont, Noble, Monroe and Washington are wholly or partly within this district. The ranges were numbered from east to west, and the townships from south to north. The townships were