250 - HISTORY OF OHIO. approach occasionally of the bear in somewhat unpleasant proximity to the settler's cabin, added much to the disagreeableness of their situation. Smaller animals and venomous reptiles were quite unwilling to resign possession of the country. Many days were spent in hunting these annoying intruders, and it was only by the combined efforts of increasing numbers that their haunts were broker} up. The mutual aid required for protection against savage men and savage beasts did much to foster a spirit of harmony and affection among the early pioneers of the West. " The arrival of a bag of meal would make a whole family rejoicingly happy " and grateful then, when a loaded East Indiaman will fail to do it now, and is passed off as a common business transaction, without ever thinking of the Giver — so independent have we become in forty years ! Having got out of the wilderness in less time than the children of Israel, we seem to be even more forgetful and unthankful than they. " When Spring was fully come, and our little patch of corn, three acres, put in among the beech roots, which at every step contended with the, shovel-plough for the right of soil, and held it too, we enlarged our stock of conveniences. As soon as bark would run (peel off) we could make ropes and bark boxes. These we stood in great need of, as such, things as bureaus, stands, wardrobes, or even barrels, were not to be had. The manner of making ropes of lime bark was to cut the bark in strips of convenient length, and water-rot it in the same manner as rotting flax or hemp. When this was done, the inside bark would peel off and split up so fine as to make a pretty considerably rough and good-for-but little kind of rope. Of this, however, we were very glad, and let no ship owner with his grass ropes laugh at us. " We made two kinds of boxes for furniture. One kind was of hickory bark with the outside shaved off. This we would take off all round the tree, the size of which would determine the calibre of our box. Into one end we would place a flat piece of bark or puncheon cut round to fit in the bark, which stood on one end the same as when on the tree. "A much finer article was made of slippery elm bark, shaved smooth and with the inside out, bent round and sewed together where the ends of the hoop or main bark lapped over. A bottom was made of the same bark dried flat, and a lid like that of a common band-box, made in the same way. This was the finest fur- HISTORY OF OHIO - 251 niture in a lady's dressing room, and then, as now, with the finest furniture, the sewed side was turned to the wall and the prettiest part to the spectator. " The privations of a pioneer life contract the wants of man almost to total extinction, and allow him means of charity and benevolence. Sufferings ennoble his feelings, and the frequent necessity for united effort, produced in him habitual charity, almost unknown in these days of luxury. We have now but little time left to think of good and still less to practice it." The spot chosen by our settlers was covered with forest, principally beech, with a sprinkling of elm and ash. Although the land was very rich, the roots of the beech were very troublesome in the endeavor to cultivate it. Turnips they scraped and used with hickory nuts as fruit, and the timothy grass which they sowed produced a good crop. Corn meal made into mush, with milk, formed a staple article of food. But there was a serious trouble in getting corn into meal. Every expedient was resorted to ; sometimes pounding, sometimes grating it. The hard, laborious work of the hand-mill was welcomed, and when a mill turned by a horse was invented they were indeed happy. Salt at five dollars a bushel was a luxury not often used. Candles were never seen in these rude log cabins, and the poor substitute of shelly hickory, only served to make darkness visible. The raising of flax soon became a very important branch of industry as the strong virgin soil could bear the drain caused by this plant. Schools were infrequent in the new settlements, but we question if the boys of Ohio then did not apply their minds as vigorously to the study of books when they had the opportunity, as they had to the hard work of the pioneer's life, in the earliest days. One of them writes in his memorandum book, " I have in the last three days calculated, plotted, and written down fourteen pages of Gibson's Conveying, besides plowing ten acres of corn. This I counted good work." * American Pioneers, Vol. II. p. 449. CHAPTER XIII. BATTLES IN KENTUCKY. BYRD'S EXPEDITION - SACKING OF RUGGLES STATION - INDIAN ATROCITIES - RESPONSIBILITY OF THE ENGLISH - SACK OF MARTIN'S FORT - THE AMBUSCADE - NEW ARMY ORGANIZED AT DETROIT THE ATTACK UPON BRYANT'S STATION - HEROIC DEFENSE - DESCRIPTION OF THE FORT - HEROISM OF THE WOMEN - THE RE-ENFORCEMENT - THE AMBUSH - SIMON GIRTY DEMANDS SURRENDER - THE PIQUANT RESPONSE RETREAT OF THE SAVAGES DREADFUL SLAUGHTER AT THE BLUE LICKS - ESCAPE OF BOONE - HIS TESTIMONY. THE SAVAGES were much elated by their recent victories, and were eager to be led to new triumphs. Governor Hamilton, of Detroit, was also annoyed, that his faithful allies should be assailed, almost beneath the walls of the British fortress, by armed bands from the south side of the Ohio River. He therefore organized quite a powerful army, of picked warriors, about six hundred in number, to destroy all the settlements on the Kentucky and Licking Rivers. Nearly all these Indians were from the Valleys of the Sandusky and Little Miami. The Governor, being resolved to make his force strong enough to accomplish its purpose, enlisted about twenty Canadians to accompany the savages, and furnished them with six quite formidable pieces of artillery, and with skilled artillerists to man the guns. With these engines of war the strongest log fort could be easily battered down. The rush, then, of five hundred savages upon the feeble and defenseless garrisons, would soon silence all in death. The renowned Chieftain, Blackfish, was the Indian leader of the savage warriors. A British officer, Colonel Byrd, was entrusted with the general command of the expedition. It will be remembered that the Licking River, flowing from the south, into the Ohio, enters that stream a few miles only below HISTORY OF OHIO - 253 the point at which the Little Miami enters it, flowing down from the north. At this time there were several feeble settlements, which had been commenced not far from each other, along the Valley of the Licking. It required a march of twelve days to descend the Valley of the Little Miami, cross the Ohio, and ascend the Valley of the Licking to its south fork. This was accomplished with so much secrecy that the army reached Ruggles Station on the twenty-second of June, 1780, before any of the garrison had the slightest suspicion of its approach. The fort was a mere stockade, without artillery, and crowded with women and children. The feeble garrison could make no resistance, and at once surrendered to " the arms of his majesty," with the guarantee of their lives only. The victorious savages, elated by such unusual success, quite regardless of the remonstrances of Colonel Byrd, seized all the inmates of the fort, as their prisoners, to be carried off in triumph to their wild haunts, there to be exposed to indignities, slavery or death, by all the varieties of demoniac torture. Three of the captives, who made some slight resistance, were instantly tomahawked. The British commander, a humane man, was very indignant at this outrage, and felt greatly humiliated by it. He was fighting, as he supposed justly, under the banners of his king, to put down unjustifiable rebellion. He had hoped to elevate his savage troops to respect the customs of civilized warfare. Instead of this, he found that the savages were dragging him down to participation in their demoniac deeds. All that he could say in extenuation of these atrocities, so dishonoring to the British arms, was, that it was utterly beyond his power to control the wolfish nature of his allies. In reference to this horrible warfare, Mr. John W. Monette writes, in his interesting " History of the Valley of the Mississippi :" " All the horrors of this war, without doubt, are to be ascribed to the inhuman policy of England, in employing the savages to murder the defenseless frontier settlements, because they were a portion of the revolted provinces. Thus the most powerful of civilized nations, and whose subjects are most active in disseminating the gospel, prostituted her power and her resources to encourage the most inhuman barbarities upon innocent women and children, and authorized the commandants of the western posts to 254 - HISTORY OF OHIO. pay the Indians a stipulated price for each scalp and each prisoner for the purpose of stimulating them to greater exertions against the helpless frontier people. " Thus the scalps of the white man, and of his wife and children, under this diabolical policy, were, in the hands of the savages, a current coin, which, at the British posts, served to purchase powder, arms, clothing and the other necessaries for savage comfort. This policy has been denounced and discarded invariably by the Government of the United States, which would not permit it among those Indians who chose to range themselves under its banners. " This policy, pursued by this more than savage enemy, on the western frontier, had the effect of debasing many of the western people to the state of savage barbarity. It produced in them, that thirst for indiscriminate revenge against the Indians, which caused the commission of barbarities which the government could never approve. It was a war of mutual, but unavailing slaughter, devastation and revenge, over whose record humanity must drop a tear of regret. But that tear cannot efface its disgraceful history." The Indians loaded themselves with the spoil of Ruggles Station, and then, leading their bound captives, demanded to be led to the next post, which was about five miles farther up the river. It is said that Colonel Byrd was so affected by the atrocities he had witnessed, that he refused to go any farther. But he soon found that instead of commanding the savages, they commanded him. If he preferred to stay behind he could do so, and they could go without him. The Colonel, a proud British officer, was helpless, and was stung almost to madness, by the utter and contemptuous disregard of his authority. In the humane endeavor to save life, he consented to a humiliating compromise. He agreed that the savages should have all the plunder, while he should have all the prisoners. The ferocious band rioted along with war whoop and hideous yells till they reached the post called Martin's Fort. Here the same scenes were re-enacted, which had been witnessed at Ruggles' Station. The Indians Seized all the plunder, and then they grasped the inmates, as captives, using them as beasts of burden, and loading them heavily with the spoils of their own dwellings. There were several other stations, farther up the river, entirely at the mercy of this band. HISTORY OF OHIO - 257 The savages clamored still to be led on. But Colonel Byrd peremptorily refused to conduct them any further in such a warfare against his brethren. The savages, exultant and enriched, reflected that they could obtain their ammunition only from the British. Should they offend them too deeply, this might be withheld. Then they would be at the mercy of the avenging colonists. They, therefore, consented to return. When any of the captives fell beneath their burdens, they buried the tomahawk in their brains. We have before mentioned, that the region, south of the Ohio River, now called Kentucky, was the common hunting ground of many tribes occupying the region around. Over a large extent of this territory, it seems that no particular tribe was settled, or claimed exclusive possession. This fact, added to the loveliness of the climate, and the exceeding fertility and beauty of the country, lured many emigrants, across the Alleghanies, to that section. But all the valleys of the rivers in what is now Ohio, were crowded with Indians, who were very unfriendly to the encroachments of the English. Thus it happened that in 1781, when there was scarcely the but of a white settler to be found in all the region north of the Ohio River, there were many small settlements springing up in the rich and secluded valleys of Kentucky. It was a very ignoble warfare which the government of the mother country waged against these feeble hamlets, so powerless of harm. The Indians of Ohio, from the banks of the Muskingum, the Scioto, the Great and Little Miami, the Sandusky and the Maumee, were the agents whom the British employed, in predatory bands across the Ohio River, to lay waste these infant settlements. It is thus that the narrative of the outrages perpetrated in Kentucky, by the Indian tribes of Ohio, becomes an important part of the history of that state. Some bold pioneers had reared a few log houses, where Shelbyville now stands, about forty miles east of Louisville. Alarmed by the horrors which were occurring all around them, they abandoned their homes, to join another and stronger party at Bear's Creek. On their way they were assailed by a party of Indians in ambush, who opened fire upon them, killing several of their number, and wounding many more. It was probably a small party, for instead of repeating the attack, or awaiting the return fire, they immediately fled, raising defiant yells. Colonel Floyd col- 258 - HISTORY OF OHIO. lected from some of the neighboring stations, twenty men to pursue them. He also was drawn into an ambush. At the first fire one-half of his little band was struck down by their bullets. The rest with great difficulty escaped, leaving their comrades to be scalped and mutilated by the allies of Great Britain. It was this kind of warfare which led Thomas Jefferson, in his arraignment of King George III., to write indignantly. " He has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages, whose known rules of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions." The British authorities, at Detroit, now organized another army to cross the Ohio river, and sweep the frontier of Kentucky of all its white settlements. A force of five hundred savages was rendezvoused at Old Chillicothe, in the Valley of the Little Miami, from which so many marauding bands had already emerged. The army was composed of warriors from widely scattered tribes, the Shawanese on the Little Miami, the Wyandots on the Sandusky. the Tawas on the Maumee, and the Delawares on the Muskingum, were all represented by their most renowned braves. A number of Canadians enlisted at Detroit, adding efficiency to the force, The whole band was under the leadership of two British officers, renowned for their ferocity, Colonel McGee and the notorious Tory, Simon Girty. As the expedition was to move far and wide, it was not possible for them to take with them artillery on the pathless route. They, therefore, avoided Boonesborough, whose bullet-proof palisades had already proved themselves so impregnable. A few miles from Boonesborough, on the Kentucky River, there was a little cluster of log houses, called Bryant's Station. On the night of the fourteenth of August, 1782, the savages appeared before this little community, on the Elkhorn, about five miles from the present City of Lexington. The fort, or fortress, consisted of about forty cabins, placed in parallel lines, with a narrow street between them. Strong palisades surrounded the little village, enclosing a parallelogram thirty rods in length, by twenty in breadth, giving an area of about four acres. These palisades were twelve feet high, formed of hard timber, at least a foot in diameter. They were planted very firmly in the ground, the earth being rammed down around HISTORY OF OHIO - 259 them. This wall, which defied even savage agility in climbing or leaping, was surrounded by a ditch five feet deep. At the four angles of these palisades there were block-houses, projecting some feet, which gave additional strength to the corners, and which also enabled the inmates, through port-holes, to pour a raking fire upon any assailants who should approach the walls. There were two large folding-gates in front and rear, swinging on wooden-hinges, which afforded, in times of safety, ample entrance for men, cattle and wagons. When closed these gates were firmly held in place by bars. These were strong works to be assailed without artillery. The garrison amounted to about fifty men, for every able-bodied man was a soldier. Many of the women also had been taught to use the rifle with great skill. The six hundred savages who, led by British officers, approached the unsuspecting fort, in the darkness of the night, divided themselves into two parties for the attack. The grass, on that rich soil, grew so rank that it would afford a covert even for mounted horsemen. In this grass, and in the forest and shrubbery around, the savages concealed themselves, waiting for the dawn. There was as yet no well dug within the enclosure. But at a short distance from one of the gates, there was an abundant spring of pure water. In the hurry of constructing the fort, with but few hands to work upon it, they had failed to extend the palisades far enough to include this spring ; and there were also some portions of the work which were not fully completed. It seems that there were two plans of attack. One hundred savages concealed themselves as near as possible to the gate opening upon the spring. The other five hundred hid themselves in the rear of the fort. It was supposed that as soon as the morning dawned the men, unsuspicious of danger, would throw open the gates and come out from their several cabins for water for their families. There would be one hundred savages, in ambush, to take deadly aim at their victims, within half rifle-shot. This would be two savages to every white man. Nearly all would inevitably drop dead. The savages then, with hideous yells and gleaming tomahawks, would rush in at the open gate and make short work with the helpless remainder of the inmates. If this plan, so manifestly feasible, should fail, then these hundred savages, rushing from their ambush, would make a fierce 260 - HISTORY OF OHIO. attack upon the gate. The whole force of the garrison would instantly rally to its defense. It would naturally, in the confusion of the moment, be supposed that these assailants constituted the whole of the savage army. Then the five hundred, lying in ambush in the rear of the fort, were silently to leap forward to the palisades, and, clambering upon each other's shoulders, were to effect an entrance. Five hundred warriors thus attacking fifty men, already engaged in repelling a hundred, would very soon silence them all in death. Man proposes. God disposes. It would seem that one of these plans must succeed. They both failed. But they were so far above the ordinary cunning of the Indian, that there can be no doubt that they originated in the brains of the British officers. It was found impossible to bring the savages into obedience to British discipline. Early in the morning the gates were thrown wide open, and half a dozen early risers come out with their buckets for water. Some of the impatient savages, disregarding orders, could not wait for the whole body to come, but opened fire upon them. This gave the alarm. The gates were speedily closed, and the whole garrison was roused. There were wise men in that garrison, who were thoroughly acquainted with Indian warfare. They said immediately that the small number of Indians in ambush at the spring would not think of attacking their fort without the support of a large party. Sentinels were immediately stationed to watch every approach. There was probably great perplexity in the- Indian camp. For sometime there was perfect silence. Not a shout was heard; not a gun was fired ; not an Indian was to be seen. But the garrison was without water. The starvation of thirst would soon compel a surrender. A siege of thirty-six hours could scarcely be maintained. Very shrewdly it was conjectured that the assailants were forming some new plan of attack, and that the plan would be, fiercely to assail in feint some quarter of the fort, while the main attack would be made from the opposite quarter. This, as our readers know, was the very plan which had been devised. Under these circumstances the following very extraordinary expedient was adopted for obtaining water. The more experienced men of the garrison were satisfied that the feint would soon be made, and that the main body of the savages HISTORY OF OHIO - 261 would not unmask themselves until the firing from the garrison was returned with such warmth as to convince them that all its energies were absorbed in repelling the feigned attack. They therefore were convinced that the women might go to the spring and get water with at least a probability of returning unharmed. " Acting upon this impression, and yielding to the urgent necessity of the case, they summoned all the women, without exception, and explaining the circumstances in which they were placed,. and the improbability that any injury would be offered them, until. the fire had been returned from the opposite side of the fort, they urged them to go in a body to the spring, and each to bring up a bucket full of water. Some of the woman had no relish for the undertaking, and asked why the men could not bring water as well as themselves, observing that they were not bullet-proof, and that the Indians made no distinction between male and female scalps. "To this it was answered, that the women were in the habit of bringing water every morning to the fort, and if the Indians saw them engaged as usual, it would induce them to believe that their ambuscade was undiscovered, and that they would not unmask themselves for the sake of firing upon a few women, when they hoped, by remaining concealed a few moments longer, to obtain complete possession of the fort. It was said that if the men should go down to the spring, the Indians would immediately suspect that something was wrong, would despair of succeeding by ambuscade, and would instantly rush upon them, follow them into-the fort, or shoot them down at the spring. "The decision was soon formed. A few of the boldest declared their readiness to brave the danger, and the younger and more timid rallying in the rear of these veterans, they all marched down in a body to the spring. Some of the girls could not help, betraying symptoms of terror. But the married women in general. moved with a steadiness and composure which completely deceived the Indians. Not a shot was fired. The party were permitted to fill their buckets, one after another, without interruption. Although their steps became quicker and quicker on their return, and when near the fort degenerated into rather unmilitary celerity, attended with some little crowding at the gate, yet not more than one-fifth of the water was spilled."* * The Great West, by Henry Howe. 262 - HISTORY OF OHIO. Having thus obtained this supply, which, with careful usage, would last for several days, a brave party of thirteen men was sent out to reconnoiter. They were speedily fired upon by the .savages, and retreated within the gates without loss. They were followed by the whole band in ambush at the springs, who rent the air with their yells, and commenced a fierce assault upon the gate. Their fire was vigorously returned through the port-holes. Then the five hundred, concealed on the opposite side, supposing that the feint had accomplished its effect, rushed to the assault of what they supposed to be the unprotected side of the fort. But, to their surprise, every port-hole immediately opened its fire, striking down the warriors with the deadly bullet, from which there was no protection. Though, for a time, they pressed forward with great bravery, soon finding the storm of lead too deadly to be encountered, they turned in a panic and fled. Several were slain, and many more were wounded. It will be remembered that Bryant's Station was but at a distance of five miles from Lexington, where there was another quite important station. In some way intelligence had reached that post of the attack by the Indians. Immediately a reinforcement of forty men, sixteen of whom were mounted, was sent to their assistance. The wary savages, ever keeping out their scouts in all directions, were apprised of the approach of these troops. They immediately ceased from the attack upon the fort, and formed themselves in ambuscade to cut off those who were hastening to the relief of the garrison. There was a large corn-field through which the road to the fort ran. This southern corn, in its luxuriant growth, often attains a height of seven or eight feet. Here, on each side of the trail, the savages concealed themselves in two parallel lines nearly six hundred yards in length. For their own concealment it was necessary for them to keep at a distance of several rods from the trail. The growth of corn was so thick as to intercept their view, so that no individual aim could be taken. To add still more to their embarrassment, a long drouth, beneath the hot summer's sun, had rendered the earth so dry that the little army of horsemen and footmen were enveloped in a cloud of dust quite impervious to view. Thus the savages were compelled to fire almost at random. The firing was the signal at the fort to throw open the gates, and the whole party, horsemen and footmen, rushed in. Two only had been killed and HISTORY OF OHIO - 263 four wounded. Thus the strength of the garrison was nearly doubled. This eventful day of peril and of terror was drawing to a close. The garrison felt assured that they could now defend their works against any assaults which the Indians could bring against them. The assailants also began to despair of success. Just as the sun was going down the infamous Tory, Simon Girty, mounted a. stump at a little distance from the fort, and waving a white cloth, as a flag of truce, shouted to the garrison to surrender. " We have," said he, " several pieces of artillery, which will reach us to-night. With these we can easily batter down your walls. We have these six hundred warriors, thoroughly armed, to rush in upon you. The capture of the fort is inevitable. If the fort is thus taken by storm we cannot restrain the ferocity of the savages. Every inmate of the fort must perish. But if yon will now surrender, before they are exasperated by a fight, we can promise you all protection of your lives and your private property. I suppose you know who I am." All this was a lie. There were no pieces of artillery on the way. A young man named Reynolds, fearing the effect which the threat of cannon might have upon the garrison, shouted in reply, with more of piquancy than of military courtesy: " We do, indeed, know who you are. We know you to be a renegade, a cowardly villain, who delights in murdering women and children. I had a miserable, good-for-nothing dog whom I named Simon Girty. Wait until morning and you will find on which side the reinforcements are. We expect to leave not one of your cowardly souls alive. And if you are caught, our women shall whip you to death with hickory switches. Now clear out, you cut-throat villain, or we will put some bullets through you." Girty disappeared. The night passed away in silence. Probably the leaders of the expedition held a hurried consultation and decided that works so strong, and so well garrisoned, could not be taken by rifles alone. Like the shadows of night the whole band fled, seeking other fields of assassination and plunder. In the morning the Indian camp was found entirely deserted. Their fires were still burning brightly, and several pieces of meat were found upon their roasting-sticks. This led to the supposition that they had decamped very suddenly just at the break of day, It is probable that they were alarmed by the intelligence that still 264 - HISTORY OF OHIO. stronger reinforcements were on the march to aid the beleaguered garrison. During this conflict four of the settlers were killed by bullets entering the port-holes, and several others wounded. It subsequently appeared that thirty of the Indian warriors were slain by the unerring aim of the garrison ; Girty himself and many others were more or less severely wounded. William Bryant, who was the commandant of this heroic little band of settlers, had married a sister of Colonel Boone. The tidings of the attack soon reached the adjacent settlements, and .a band of one hundred and eighty men were speedily on the march. It was probably the approach of these reinforcements which alarmed the savages. Colonel Todd, one of the noblest of men, was the first in command in this expedition, which was hurrying to the relief of their beleaguered friends. Colonel Boone was the second officer. He was accompanied by his two sons, Israel and Samuel. The retreating army had struck across to the Licking River, and were following it down to enter the Valley of the Little Miami. The soldiers were so unanimous and impetuous in their desire to pursue the fugitives, that the officers were overpowered by their zeal. Neither of the officers thought it prudent for one hundred and eighty men to pursue an army of six hundred warriors, under the guidance of British officers of known ability, and through a region every mile of which presented the most favorable opportunities for an Indian ambush. There was no difficulty in following the trail of so large a war party, many of whom were on horseback. As the pursuers were cautiously advancing they came to a remarkable bend in the Licking River. This bend enclosed a large and very luxuriant meadow, which was surrounded with shrubs, and where the grass, thick and strong, and almost as tough as reeds, was seven or eight feet high. A well-trampled buffalo track, called a " street," led through these almost impervious reeds to the river. Along this path the Indians had retreated. The scouts, who were always sent forward to explore the way, returned with the announcement that there were no signs of Indians to be seen. There is some diversity in the accounts of the battle which ensued. The following is probably a correct narrative of the facts : This bend, like a horseshoe, enclosed two or three acres. The HISTORY OF OHIO - 265 cunning savages, aided by the intelligence of their officers, had formed a very strong double line in the thickets and the grass, at the neck of this bend, extending across from bank to bank of the stream. They left ample space for their victims to enter into the trap, whose door they would soon effectually close. As soon as the rear-guard of Colonel Todd's party had passed this neck, so that there was no possibility of escape, the war-whoop of five hundred savages rent the air, followed by an instantaneous explosion of rifles, while a volley of bullets, from behind and on each side, swept the ranks of the doomed colonists. Before that first discharge, sixty of them fell dead or seriously wounded. Colonel Todd himself was struck from his horse, and lay upon the sod, drenched in blood. One or two more volleys were poured in upon them, as they reeled to and fro in dreadful consternation. The savages, raising unearthly yells and brandishing their tomahawks, rushed in to complete the massacre. For the survivors, a backward retreat was impossible, and before them was the broad current of the Licking River. Colonel Boone's two sons fought by the side of their father. One of them, Israel, was shot dead. The other, Samuel, was severely, but not mortally, wounded. The unhappy father, to save his wounded son from the scalping knife of the savage, took him upon his shoulders and tottered beneath the bleeding body towards the river. A burly savage rushed upon him with gleaming knife. He dropped his boy, and shot the savage through the heart. But others came rushing on, and discharging their rifles, the poor boy was killed in his father's arms. Boone, leaving the bodies of his dead sons to their fate, fled with the agility of a deer towards the river, and swam the stream. His perfect familiarity with the region enabled him to elude his pursuers, and finally, by a circuitous route, and after much suffering, to reach his friends in safety. In the meantime, the scene of tumult and slaughter was awful beyond description. Indians and colonists were all blended to.- gether on the banks of the river, there being four Indians to one white man, and the stream seeming to be clogged with those who were endeavoring to escape by swimming. The Indians shot them and scalped them without mercy. Those who succeeded in escaping across the river scattered in all directions through the forest. 266 - HISTORY OF OHIO. There are different accounts of the numbers of the colonists who perished in this awful massacre. As there was no re-assembling of the utterly routed force, the missing could not well be counted. The Indians subsequently admitted the loss, on their part, of sixty-four warriors. This certainly proves the extraordinary valor with which the colonists fought. Colonel Boone, who almost miraculously escaped the carnage, gives the following modest, yet graphic, account of the calamity : " I can not reflect upon this dreadful scene, but sorrow fills my heart. A zeal for the defense of their country led these heroes to the scene of action, though with a few men, to attack a powerful army of experienced warriors. When we gave way, they pursued us with the utmost eagerness, and in every quarter spread. destruction. The river was difficult to cross, and many were killed in their flight ; some just entering the river, some in the water, and others after crossing, in ascending the cliffs. Some escaped on horseback, a few on foot ; and being dispersed everywhere, in a few hours brought the melancholy news to Lexington. The reader may guess what sorrow filled the hearts of the inhabitants, exceeding anything I am able to describe. Being reinforced, we returned to bury the dead, and found their bodies strewed everywhere, cut and mangled in a dreadful manner. This mournful scene exhibited a horror almost unparalleled, some torn and eaten by wild beasts, those in the river eaten by fishes, all in such a putrified condition that no one could be distinguished from another." The savages, in accordance with their barbaric custom, to appease the revengeful spirits of their slain, selected a number of their captives and put them to death by the most terrible tortures which fiend-like ingenuity could devise. This battle of the Blue Licks, fought by the Indians of Ohio upon one of the rivers of Kentucky, occupies one of the most melancholy chapters in the history of the latter state. Colonel Boone, a sorrow-stricken man, sent an official report of the conflict to Benjamin Harrison, then Governor of Virginia, father of William Henry Harrison, subsequently President of the United States. The region of the great valley, now called Kentucky, was then considered as under the dominion of Virginia. It was feared that the savages, elated by this victory, would attack and destroy nearly every one of the feeble settlements in HISTORY OF OHIO - 267 Kentucky. It was fearful to encounter a foe, combining the brain of the Englishman with the sinewy arm and ferocious temper of the savage. Influenced by such peril, nearly every man and boy, capable of shouldering a musket, immediately took the field. Though the whole militia of the region, occupied by these feeble settlements, numbered at this time only one hundred and thirty men, still they raised the extraordinary number of four hundred and sixty to pursue the Ohio savages. It would seem that there must have been reinforcements sent to them from Pittsburgh, and from beyond the mountains. In Colonel Boone's official report, he writes : " From these facts your Excellency may form an idea of our situation. I know that your own circumstances are critical. But are we to be wholly forgotten ? I hope not. I trust that about five hundred men may be sent to our assistance immediately. If these shall be stationed as our county lieutenant shall deem necessary, it may be the means of saving our part of the country. But if they are placed under the direction of General Clarke, they will be of little or no service to our settlement. The Falls of the Ohio lie one hundred miles west of us, and the Indians are in the northeast; while we are continually called to protect those at the Falls. " I have encouraged the people in this county, all that I could. But I can no longer justify them or myself, in risking our lives here under such extraordinary hazards. The inhabitants of this county are very much alarmed at the thoughts of the Indians bringing another campaign into our county this Fall. If this should be the case, it will break up the settlements. I hope, therefore, that your Excellency will take the matter into consideration, and send us some relief as soon as possible." 17 CHAPTER XIV. EMIGRATION AND ITS RESULTS. ANECDOTE OF GENERAL CLARKE-RAID THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE LITTLE MIAMI - FLIGHT OF THE SAVAGES THE DEVASTATION - PEACE WITH ENGLAND - CONTINUED HOSTILITY OF THE INDIANS- THE TIDE OF EMIGRATION LAND TITLES THE TREATY OF PEACE - POLICY OF THE FEDERAL GovERNMENT - TREATY WITH THE CHIEFS - THE THEFT OF HORSES - GREATNESS OF THE Loss — PERILS OF EMIGRATION -WARNING TO COLONEL MARSHALL -THE DECOY- ESCAPE OF CAPTAIN WARD - PERILOUS ADVENTURE OF MR. ROWAN AND PARTY TESTIMONY OF MR. ROWAN'S SON - MR. DALTON'S SPEECH - REPLY OF THE CHIEF. THE FALLS of the Ohio, where General Clarke was established, as military leader of Kentucky, are near the present City of Louisville. This is many miles southwest of the extreme western border of Ohio, opposite the State of Indiana. The British authorities, who were engaged in this terrible warfare against the frontier settlements, were admirably situated at Detroit for these operations. Here they held all the Indian tribes, north of the Ohio River, completely in hand, to hurl them in whatever direction they pleased. General Clarke was a man of great energy of character and of considerable military ability. The following anecdote is worthy of record, both as illustrative of the man and of the savages with whom he had to deal. Upon one of his expeditions a large reward had been offered by the British authorities for his capture, whether taken dead or alive. Some Indian chiefs formed a conspiracy to kill him while asleep. The plot was discovered. They were arrested and sent to the guard-house. The next day they were brought, in irons, before the General. He was engaged in business at the time, and, assuming an air of perfect indifference, paid no attention to them what- HISTORY OF OHIO - 269 ever. When his business was transacted, he turned to them very contemptuously, and said : " You ought to die for your treacherous attempt upon my life. I had determined to put you to death, But when I reflected upon the meanness of your conduct, in trying to catch a man and kill him when asleep, I became convinced that you were not warriors, but old women. You are therefore too mean to be killed by a Long Knife. You have put on men's clothes, pretending to be men, when you are only women." Then turning to his orderly, he said : " Strip these people of their clothes, and dress them in women's clothes. Then send them home. As women know nothing about hunting, give them food for their journey. While they remain, let them be treated, in all respects, like squaws, as they are." He then resumed conversation with his friends in attendance, as though the proud warriors before him were too contemptible to be further noticed. The offending chiefs were greatly agitated. One of them rose, and wished to offer the pipe of peace, and to make a speech. General Clarke spurned the calumet, and would not permit him to utter a word. " The Big Knife," said he, " never treats with squaws." Several chiefs of other tribes, who chanced to be present, moved by this terrible humiliation of their brother chiefs, rose to intercede in their behalf, entreating General Clarke to pity their families, assuring him that they would deem this a disgrace which could never be wiped out. The General replied : " The Big Knife never makes war upon squaws. When we come across such Indians as these in the woods, we shoot them, as we do wolves, to prevent their eating the deer." This mediation having failed, a consultation took place among themselves. Soon two of their young men, advancing into the middle of the floor, sat down and flung their blankets over their heads, to the astonishment of the whole assembly. Two of the more venerable chiefs then arose, and, with a pipe of peace, stood by these self-devoted victims, and offered the " lives of the young warriors as an atonement for the conduct of the chiefs of their tribe. This sacrifice," said they, " we hope will appease the Big Knife." And again they offered him the pipe of peace. General Clarke himself was deeply moved. In subsequently describing the event, he said: " I never before felt so powerful 270 - HISTORY OF OHIO. a gust of emotion." For a moment there was perfect silence. Anxiety to know the fate of the victims was depicted upon every countenance. The history of the past has seldom exhibited such an act of magnanimity, of self-devotion, as was thus displayed by these children of the forest. General Clarke soon recovered his self-possession, ordered the two heroic young Indians to arise. Then addressing them he said " I rejoice to find that there are men in all nations. Such alone are fit to be chiefs. With such I like to treat. I recognize you henceforth as chiefs. Through you I grant peace to your tribe." He then took them by the hand, and presented them, as chiefs, to several American, French, and Spanish officers, who were present. Then he presented them to the other Indian chiefs. All saluted them as chiefs of their tribe. There was no hesita tion. Presents were interchanged, and cordiality restored. General Clarke was afterwards informed that the incident was widely talked of among the Indians. No one disputed the legitimacy of the title of these young warriors to Indian nobility. General Clarke very strenuously urged the colonial government to furnish him with an army of two thousand men, with which he felt confident he could capture Detroit, and thus, at one blow, put an end to the raes which the Indians were perpetrating. The savages would be comparatively powerless, when deprived of the abundant ammunition with which the British government was supplying them. As soon as General Clarke heard of the disastrous battle at Blue Licks, he resolved immediately to pursue and punish the Indians in their own homes. The savages, greatly elated, had re-crossed the Ohio, and returned to their towns on the Little Miami for a general triumph. General Clarke ascended the Licking River with about five hundred men, to its entrance into the Ohio. There he formed a junction with the troops under Colonels Logan and Floyd, which created a force of about a thousand men, all well mounted. Colonel Boone accompanied this avenging army as a volunteer. The troops crossed the Ohio, in flat-bottomed boats, on the 30th of September, 1782, and commenced their march up the Little Miami, the bosom of every man glowing with the desire for vengeance. So rapid had been the movement, and so skillfully had it been concealed, that the Indians had no suspicion of the HISTORY OF OHIO - 271 approach of their foe, until they were within a few miles of Old Chillicothe. In the utmost consternation the savages fled, men, women and children. A thousand mounted warriors were within an hour's march of them. Resistance was not for a moment to be thought of. Their only safety was in precipitate flight. Everything was abandoned. It is probably well for the reputation of the colonists that the women and the children had escaped. The memory of their own burned dwellings, their comrades slain and scalped, their women and children tomahawked, their captive friends burned at slow fires, put to death by horrible tortures, so inflamed this colonial army that the women and the children would probably have been shot down like she-wolves and cubs. They deemed it a matter of duty and of humanity to punish these savages with severity which they should never forget ; so to chastise them, as to put an end to their horrible atrocities. The avenging army swept the fertile valley of the Little Miami, from its mouth to its head-waters, a distance of about eighty miles, with utter desolation. Every Indian that was seen was, like panther or bear, the object of pursuit, and the target for their bullets. Five of their towns were laid in ashes. The torch was applied to every solitary hut. Every tree bearing fruit was cut down. It was the Fall of the year. The golden corn was just ripening in their extensive fields. It had been carefully cultivated by the women and the children, while the warriors were devastating the settlers' homes in Kentucky. Upon this they mainly depended for sustenance the coming Winter. There was by no means sufficient game in the forest to preserve them from starvation. This whole harvest was entirely destroyed, either being trampled in the dust, or piled in heaps and burned. The savages had fled so precipitately that almost nothing was saved from the awful wreck. Their homes, their blankets, their furs, their cooking utensils, and most of their ammunition, were destroyed. Absolutely nothing was left to them. In utter destitution they were roaming the forest, with cold Winter approaching. Many of them must have perished of starvation. As many as were able toiled through the wilderness to Detroit, to receive from the British authorities support under the dreadful calamities which this adherence to the British cause had brought upon them. The punishment of the Indians was indeed terrible. They were 272 - HISTORY OF OHIO. alike astonished and dismayed by it. In their ignorance they had supposed that, in the carnage of the " Blue Licks," they had destroyed nearly all the warriors which the colonists could bring into the field. They were rejoicing in the thought that they could, at their leisure, recross the Ohio, and load themselves with the booty of the desolated homes of Kentucky, and that they could bring back with them the wives and children of the white men as captives and slaves. Instead of that, they had scarcely reached their homes ere an overwhelming army of a thousand white men came sweeping their valley with fire and ruin. The tidings of this avenging campaign, in the Valley of the Little Miami, soon reached the ears of all the Indian tribes in Ohio. They were so disheartened that they made no further attempt for the organized invasion of Kentucky. In the year 1783, peace was made with England, and the independence of the colonies was recognized. But as the waves of the ocean do not subside until long after the gale has ceased to blow, so the agitation on the frontiers, between the settlers and the Indians, continued for many years. The intense passions which had been called into exercise by the bloody conflict were too powerful to be speedily allayed. The settlers were determined to get possession of the lands of the Indians. The Indians were determined not to relinquish their ancient hunting grounds. A wonderful tide of emigration, across the mountains, immediately set in from North Carolina, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. But none of these emigrants ventured to penetrate the heart of Ohio, which was populated by such numerous and hostile tribes. Nearly all directed their steps toward the rich and beautiful region south of the river. A few families settled upon the upper waters of the Ohio, near the fort at Pittsburgh. These emigrants generally crossed the mountains in long lines of wagons, driving their flocks and herds before them, till they reached the waters of either the Alleghany or Monongahela. They then took flat-bottomed boats or rafts, and, borne by the currents of those streams to the Ohio River, floated down that stream for several hundred miles to points near the Licking and the Kentucky. Here they scattered south through one of the most beautiful regions of the globe, taking possession of their lands by what was called the Tomahawk Claim. The Virginia Legislature, which was then the recognized pro- HISTORY OF OHIO - 275 prietor of all these regions of indefinite boundaries, allowed each settler four hundred acres of any unoccupied lands, besides the preference right to purchase, at government prices, one thousand more contiguous acres. These settlements were generally marked by the initials of the claimant s name, cut with the tomahawk in several beech trees. These " tomahawk rights " were generally respected, even though the claimant had not taken up his actual residence on the lands. If he had cut down a few trees, and erected a log hut, his claim was considered as established. The pioneers were generally satisfied with one settlement-right ; but others, more ambitious of large landed estates, and of the wealth which was sure eventually to accrue from them, bought up many of these frail titles. This led, in after years, to almost endless litigation. Nearly the whole country, from the Alleghanies to these central rivers, of what was then called the District of Kentucky, for a distance of nearly five hundred miles, was an uninhabited mountain wilderness. There were, however, one or two stations along the south banks of the Ohio River. So great was the immigration from the Atlantic States into these attractive fields, that by the close of the year 1784, the population of Kentucky was estimated to amount to nearly thirty thousand souls. By the Treaty of Paris, 1783, Great Britain renounced all claim to all the territory south of the Great Lakes, and east of the Mississippi to its sources. The British Government also stipulated to withdraw her garrisons from all that territory. The most important stations, then held by the British, were at Niagara, at Detroit, and on the Miami and Maumee Rivers, and near the head-waters of the Wabash. This region, then called the Northwestern Territory, was a vast undivided realm, almost entirely uninhabited by white men. The powerful Indian tribes, clustered through the valleys of the tributaries of the Ohio, flowing from the North, had been nearly all enlisted under the banners of Great Britain. The horrible atrocities which these savages had perpetrated had enkindled in the bosoms of the Americans, generally, undying hatred. Still there was a disposition to conciliate the savages, as peace on the frontiers was essential to the prosperity of the rapidly-growing settlements there. The Federal Government consequently adopted a humane policy, and did everything in its power to restrain the exasner- 276 - HISTORY OF OHIO ated western people from aggressions upon the Indians. Every effort was made to prevent collision, and to cultivate friendly relations with these still formidable tribes. Indian agencies were established to confer with the chiefs upon all measures of importance. Annuities were granted, which perhaps too often assumed the form of bribes, to induce the leading men of the nation to enter into treaties, by which they relinquished large portions of their lands. These agents were required strictly to enforce the laws of Congress, prohibiting lawless white men from residing in the Indian country, and from carrying on contraband trade with the Indians. Trading posts were established, under governmental control, to supply them with useful articles at fair prices, and to rescue them from the impositions of fraudulent traders. A large council of the chiefs of the Ohio Indians was held at Fort McIntosh on the 21st of January, 1785. This fort was in the extreme western frontier of Pennsylvania. The Ohio tribes represented were the Wyandots, Delawares, Ottawas, and Chippewas. These tribes occupied the extreme northern portions of the present State of Ohio, west of the Cuyahoga River. In this treaty, the chiefs, sachems, and warriors of these tribes relinquished to the United States all the lands south of Lake Erie, and east of the Cuyahoga River, as well as all the southeastern portion of the present State of Ohio. The boundary line, which was definitely laid down, was as follows : Beginning at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, on the southern shore of Lake Erie, it ran up the east bank of that stream till it reached the head-waters of the Tuscarawas. Thence it followed that stream to its junction with Walhonding Creek. Then the line ran across the country a distance of about 15o miles to the mouth of Mad River, one of the largest tributaries of the Great Miami. Thence it followed the main branch of that river to the portage across to the St. Mary's. Then it followed that river in its very circuitous course till it reached the Maumee, which stream it followed to its entrance into Lake Erie. All the lands east and south of this line were ceded to the United States. On the other hand, the government recognized the title of the Indians to all the land north and west of this line, to be occupied by them as dwelling places and hunting grounds, free from encroachments from the whites. The government also reserved HISTORY OF OHIO - 277 the right of constructing certain roads through the Indian Territory, and the possession of six miles square, contiguous to all its military posts on the Northwestern frontier. Though there were thus nominally peaceful relations between the United States Government and the chiefs of these tribes, still there were malcontents on both sides, who paid no regard to treaties. They were equally savage, and their atrocities were equally fiend-like. In the month of March, 1785, a lawless band of Shawanese Indians crossed the Ohio, burned the house of a Mr. Elliott, killed him and took his scalp. In some way, members of his family escaped, carrying the tidings to other settlements, exciting great indignation and alarm. The main object of these marauding bands of Indians seems to have been not so much to take scalps as for the purpose of stealing horses. In parties of three or four, these gangs of savage horse-thieves, ever at home in the wilderness, would cross the Ohio, skulk in concealment around some settlement, and in the morning several of these valuable animals would have disappeared, no one knew where. Not an Indian would have been seen, and all traces of the direction of their flight would have been carefully concealed. Towards the close of 1786, these depredations became so frequent, that the settlements were v45, seriously disturbed and injured by them. The horse had become an absolute necessity in the agricultural operations and the social habits of the country. But no man was safe in the possession of this property. The horses must graze in the open fields. The farmer could not guard them, gun in hand, night after night. The prowling savage, having watched his chances from his covert by the light of day, in the dead hour of darkness and sleep seized his booty, and when the morning dawned was far away beyond pursuit. It was no uncommon occurrence for a party of five or six Indians after an absence of a week or ten days, to return to their rendezvous with ten or fifteen horses. Sometimes each individual would bring in one every night, until their complement was full. These free rangers of the forest, descending from the Valleys of the Great and Little Miami, the Scioto, and others of the Ohio Rivers, would penetrate Western Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky, often extending their raids two or three hundred miles. They moved in silence and unseen, like spirits of darkness, leaving no indication of their coming or going, save in the disappearance of the horses. 278 - HISTORY OF OHIO. It is said that during the five years preceding 1791, these frontier settlements had been robbed of not less than twenty thousand horses. And these estimates were based on authentic information. To prevent, as far as possible, these depredations and to discover the trail of these thieving bands, each settlement employed scouts or rangers to be continually traveling the forest around in search for any signs of the Indians. Thus in the midst of nominal peace, the most cautious measures of war had to be adopted. Though these rangers made every possible effort to search out the trail of the marauders, yet the savages were so cautious that it was very seldom that any of their movements were discovered. It was ascertained that the most active of these plunderers came from the upper waters of the Sandusky, and of the Great and Little Miami. They infested the banks of the Ohio River, continually attacking and plundering the boats descending to different points on the Kentucky shore. Frequently whole families were massacred. It is estimated that during the years 1783 and 1784, twelve thousand persons, mainly from Virginia and Pennsylvania, emigrated to Kentucky. The following incidents will show the perils they had to encounter, and the caution with which it was necessary to move. Colonel Thomas Marshall, a man of much distinction in those days, crossed the Alleghanies with his large family. At Pittsburgh he purchased a flat-bottomed boat, to float down the Ohio. He had passed the mouth of the Kenhawa without encountering any incident of note. One night, about ten o'clock the boat had drifted quite near the northern or Ohio bank of the stream, when he was hailed in English by a man upon the shore, who inquired who he was, and where he was bound. Upon receiving a reply he added : " I have been stationed here by my brother, Simon Girty, to warn all boats of the danger of being decoyed ashore. My brother regrets very deeply the injury he has inflicted upon his countrymen. To convince them of the sincerity of his repentance, and of his earnest desire to be restored to their society, he has stationed me here to warn all boats of the snares which are spread for them by the cunning of the Indians. Renegade white men will be placed upon the banks, who will represent themselves as in the greatest distress. Even children, taken captive, will be compelled, by threats of torture, to declare that they are all alone upon the shore, HISTORY OF OHIO - 279 and to entreat the boats to come and rescue them. But keep in the middle of the river, said Girty, and steel your hearts against any supplications you may hear." Colonel Marshall thanked him for his warning, and floated unmolested down the stream. This caution was by no means a needless one. There were many incidents like the following. A boat was descending the stream with an emigrant family on board. A band of prowling Indians discovered it and followed along, in concealment, through the forest, watching an opportunity for its capture. The large flat-bottomed boat, almost an ark, containing the family, their cattle and all their household goods, touched at a. point of land for a supply of fuel. The Indians, in ambush, fired upon their victims, and then rushing upon them with the tomahawk, soon silenced all in death except one girl of fourteen. They took her captive, and began to ascend the stream in search of another boat. At length they saw one descending the river. They gave their captive some dreadful experience of what were horrors of the Indian torture, and then told her that they would thus torture her to death, unless she world implicitly obey their directions. They tied her feet, so that she could not plunge into the river, placed themselves in ambush, at a distance of but a few yards, and then compelled her to cry as though her heart were breaking, and to tell a piteous story, that she was descending the river in a boat, with her family, that the Indians had attacked the boat and killed all but herself, that she had escaped in the night, and that she was almost dead of hunger and of terror lest she should be recaptured. And then, in the most heart-rending tones, she entreated them to come to her rescue. The agonizing cries of the poor child touched every heart. With much hesitation they cautiously moved towards the shore. The moment the bows of the boat touched the beach a deadly fire was opened upon them from the ambush ; the howling, leaping savages rushed with gleaming tomahawks upon their victims, and the fiend-like deed of blood and death was soon accomplished. All perished. About the same time Captain James Ward was taking several horses down the river for sale. He purchased at Pittsburgh a large flat-bottomed boat, forty-five feet long and eight feet wide. His crew consisted of half a dozen men and a lad, his nephew. The gunwale of the boat was composed of a single pine plank, 280 - HISTORY OF OHIO. about two inches thick. It was a lovely season of the year, and as the boat glided gently along through enchanting scenery, everything presented an aspect of peace and loveliness. There was nothing to mar the enjoyment of the hours save the dread which man had of his brother man. Several sunny days thus passed away as the boat floated along, past meadows and headlands and forests, which seemed to have been created by God for blissful homes. One morning, as they had been swept by the stream within about one hundred and fifty feet of the northern shore, suddenly several hundred Indians appeared upon the bank, and uttering savage yells, opened upon them a terrible fire from their rifles. There was no protection for the horses, and soon every one was shot. Some were instantly killed ; others, severely wounded, kicked and struggled so violently in death agonies, that the frail and heavily-laden boat dipped water, threatening to engulf all together. In the conflict Captain Ward's nephew, pierced by a ball in the breast, fell dead in the bottom of the boat. All the crew, except Captain Ward, were so panic-stricken by this sudden and fierce assault, that, as the only refuge from otherwise certain death, they threw themselves flat upon their faces in the bottom of the boat, among the convulsed animals, while a storm of bullets swept over them. It was in vain for six men to attempt resistance, when even a hand exposed would be a target for a hundred rifles. Fortunately there was a heavy post attached to the gunwale of the boat, which afforded Captain Ward some protection as he stood at the helm. With his oar, which he used as a rudder, he endeavored to guide the boat to the other side of the river. As the savages had no canoes, they could not attempt to board, but for more than an hour they ran along upon the banks of the stream, yelling, and keeping up a constant discharge of their rifles. At length the current swept the boat beyond their reach, and the wretches, with howls of rage, abandoned the pursuit and disappeared. We will relate another incident illustrative of the perils which in those days attended the navigation of the beautiful Ohio, where peace and plenty now hold their happy reign. A gentleman by the name of Rowan, with his own, and five other families, wished to emigrate to Green River, which was some distance below the Falls of the Ohio. For the long voyage they constructed two very large fiat-bottomed boats; one for the families, and the other HISTORY OF OHIO - 281 for the cattle and the furniture. As these boats would have no storms to encounter, and were merely to float along upon the current of the stream, they were frail in their structure, being scarcely more than floating rafts with gunwales three feet high. The boat which contained the families had quite a commodious cabin, or hut, in the stern, made of rough boards, which afforded entire protection from both wind and rain. Here they cooked their food, and slept. In the sunny days they had nothing to do but to float along, admiring the beautiful scenery, with occasional opportunities to shoot ducks upon the river, or a deer or turkeys upon the banks. A canoe was attached to the massive boat, with which they could easily fetch in their game. One can hardly imagine a voyage of hundreds of miles more delightful than was here presented. There was no sea-sickness, no danger from storms, no toil, shell!: from all unpleasant exposure, and an abundant supply of food. The two boats had floated about one hundred miles, through an uninhabited region of great loveliness, when one night, about ten o'clock, their attention was arrested and their fears excited by a prodigious shouting and yelling of Indians farther down the river, on the northern shore. Soon as they rounded a bend in the stream they came in full view of the scene of carousal. It would have been very beautiful, had it not been for the terrible apprehensions which it excited. In a grove on the river banks, beneath whose majestic trees there was no underbrush whatever, there was an encampment of several hundred Indians. Immense bonfires were blazing, and the savages were dancing around them, feasting and shouting in the celebration of some great festival. It afterwards appeared that they had seized and plundered an emigrant boat, and in their orgies, were exulting over their victory. Mr. Rowan immediately ordered the two boats to be lashed firmly together ; and then the men strained every nerve, with their immense oars, to push the boat as far as possible over towards the Kentucky shore. The faint hope was cherished that in the darkness, and under the shadow of the cliffs, the boats might possibly glide by unseen. There were hundreds of Indians on the shore. There was a fleet of birch canoes upon the beach. The Indians were all armed with rifles, and knew well how to use them. The camp fires extended along the grove for a distance of nearly half a mile. Of 282 - HISTORY OF OHIO. the six families in the emigrant's boat, there were but seven men capable of offering any resistance to the Indians — the remainder were women and small children. As the boats glided noiselessly along, the Indians, all absorbed in their carousal, did not discern them till the great central fire, which threw its brilliance across the whole breadth of the river, brought them clearly to view. A simultaneous shout from hundreds of savage throats greeted this discovery. The warriors, seizing their rifles, rushed to their canoes. The situation of the emigrants seemed utterly desperate. What could seven men do to repel an assault from several hundred savages completely surrounding them in their swift canoes. Fortunately it was a moonless night, and very dark. In a few moments the current swept them beyond the illumination of the camp fires into a region of midnight darkness. As the boats, crowded with Indians, came rushing down upon them, the emigrants' boat could be discerned only at the distance of a few rods. The Indians are very brave when they can fight from behind a rock, tree, or stump, but they are very timid when they must present their unprotected breasts to the sure aim of the white man. They did not know but that there were fifty of these sharp-shooters in these two immense boats. They did not know but that the gunwales of the boats were bullet-proof and so port-holed that the white men istin safety could take their aim. And they did know that these white men, were they more or less in number, would fight in the utmost desperation, and that the frail birch - bark canoes afforded not the slightest protection against their bullets, Mr. Rowan ordered all the men to conceal themselves behind the gunwales of the boats, and to keep perfect silence. Not a gun was to be fired until the Indian at whom it was discharged was so near that the powder would burn him. Thus every shot was to be the certain death of a warrior. The boat was still rapidly floating down the stream, when the noise of the paddles and the yells of the warriors announced the near approach of a fleet of canoes. When they arrived within about a hundred yards, and could just be discerned through the darkness, they suddenly slackened the eagerness of their pursuit. Every warrior seemed to feel that his bosom was the target for fifty rifles. They perceived at once that under the circumstances in which they were placed, that every flash of a rifle would be the death of some one of their number ; that bullet holes in their HISTORY OF OHIO - 283 canoes would sink them ; that all the canoes were so filled that those warriors struggling in the water in midnight darkness, could not be taken into any of the others. It was manifest that with the rapidity with which these trained riflemen could load and fire, perhaps a hundred of their warriors might be shot before the prows of their canoes should touch the boats. And then the force of the white men might be such that all their remaining warriors might be drowned or captured. Ignorant as they were of the numerical weakness of their foes, it was indeed one of those cases in which the better part of valor was discretion. The heroic Mrs. Rowan, as she saw the canoes approaching, supposing that the savages would endeavor to board the boat, crept quietly around in the darkness, collected all the axes and placed one by the side of each man, leaving the handle against his knee. She performed this significant act in silence, speaking not a word. She then returned to the post of defense which she had selected for herself, and sat down with a sharp hatchet at her side. The Indians did not venture to approach any nearer. Still they kept up the pursuit down the river for a distance of nearly three miles, assailing the white men only with harmless yells. At length, despairing of success, they relinquished the pursuit, and returned to their orgies around their camp-fires. The boat, thus wonderfully rescued, floated on and reached its destination safely. A son of Mr. Rowan, then but ten years of age, and who afterwards became one of the most prominent citizens of Kentucky, often in after years alluded to the emotions excited in his bosom by the scenes of that terrible night. "The gloom of the night, the solemn flow of the majestic river, the dim line of the forests on either side, the gleam of the camp fires of the Indians, around which the half-clad savages were dancing in hideous contortion ; the unearthly yells in which every demoniac passion seemed contending for the mastery ; the shout which was given when they discovered the boats beneath the shadows of the opposite cliffs ; the pursuing of the canoes, with redoubled vehemence of hooting ; the rapidity with which with brawny arms the savages paddled their boats to and fro ; the breathless silence which pervaded the flat boat, while for more than an hour the occupants awaited, momentarily expecting the terrible onset ; and, above all, the fortitude and heroism displayed 284 - HISTORY OF OHIO. by his mother,— all these combined to leave an impression upon the mind of the boy, which could never be obliterated." * The treaty of peace with England was signed in September, 1783. It was, however, one or two months before the knowledge of it reached the British posts on the frontier. A very curious document has been transmitted to us, giving an account of the announcement of the fact to a large council of hostile Indians, on the Wabash, by Mr. Dalton, a government agent, and the very characteristic response of one of their chiefs, a warrior of great renown, Piankeshaw by name. Mr. Dalton said : " My children : What I have often told you has now come to pass. This day I received news from my great chief at the Falls of the Ohio. Peace is made with the enemies of America. The tomahawk is buried. The Shawanese, the Delawares, the Chickasaws and the Cherokees, have taken the Long Knife by the hand. They have given up the captives they had taken. My children on the Wabash, open your ears, and let what I tell you sink into your hearts. You know me. Near twenty years I have been among you. The Long Knife is my nation ; I know their hearts. Peace they carry in one hand and war in another. Consider now which you will choose. We never beg peace of our enemies. If you love your women and children, receive the belt of wampum I present you. Return to me the captives you have in your villages, and the horses you stole from my people in Kentucky. Your corn-fields were never disturbed by the Long Knife, while your warriors were killing and robbing my people." Mr. Dalton then presented the chief with a belt of blue and and white wampum. There were several tribes represented on the occasion, but Piankeshaw was recognized as the head chief of the most powerful tribe. He accepted the emblem of peace, and then, with much dignity of manner, replied : " My Great Father, the Long Knife : You have been many years among us ; you have suffered by us. We still hope you will have pity and compassion upon us, on our women and children, the sun shines on us, and the good news of peace appears in our faces. This is the day of joy to the Wabash Indians. With one tongue we now speak. We accept your peace belt. " We received the tomahawk from the English. Poverty forced us to it. We were followed by other tribes. We are sorry for it. * Abbott's Life of Daniel Boone. HISTORY OF OHIO - 285 To-day we collect the scattered bones of our friends and bury them in one grave. Here is the pipe that gives us joy ; smoke out of it. We have buried the tomahawk ; have formed friendships never to be broken, and now we smoke out of your pipe. " We know that the Great Spirit was angry with us for stealing your horses and attacking your people. He has sent us so much snow and cold weather as to kill your horses with our own. We are a poor people. We hope that God will help us, and that the Long Knife will have compassion on our women and children. Your people who are with us are well. We shall collect them when they come in from hunting. We love them, and so do our young women. Some of your people mend our guns. Others tell us they can make rum out of corn. They are now the same as we. In one moon after this we will take them back to their friends in Kentucky. "My Father : This being the day of joy to the Wabash Indians, we beg a little drop of your milk, to let our warriors see that it came from your own breast. We were born and raised in the woods. We could never learn to make rum. God has made the white men masters of the world." Having finished his speech, Piankeshaw presented Mr. Dalton with three strings of wampum as the pledge of peace. Every reader must be impressed with the tone of despondency which pervades this address. It also excites melancholy emotions to observe the imploring tone with which the chief asks for rum, the greatest curse which ever afflicted his people. 18 CHAPTER XV. BORDER WARFARE AND EMIGRATION. JOHN CORBLY'S LETTER - PLOTS OF BRITISH TRADERS-EXPEDITIONS OF GENERALS CLARKE AND LOGAN- SUCCESS OF LOGAN - SIMON KENTON'S ENERGY - THE DEVASTATION - GENERAL CLARKE'S DISASTERS - RENEWED HOSTILITY OF THE SHAWANESE - RAID OF SIMON KENTON - PERILS ON THE RIVER EVENTS OF THREE MONTHS - THE TREATY OF PARIS-ERECTION OF FORT HARMAR- PEACE POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES - THE OHIO COMPANY - SYMMES' PURCHASE - THE SETTLEMENT AT MARIETTA - THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. WE DO not wish to fill these pages with a detail of the horrors of Indian warfare. The subject is too painful to dwell upon. Still, we would desire to give the reader a correct idea of those dark days of terror and of blood. The following letter describes the fate of hundreds of families on the frontier. It is from the pen of a Baptist clergyman, Mr. John Corbly, who gives an account of the utter devastation of his own home. The letter is dated Muddy Creek, Penn., Sept. 1, 1792 : "The following are the particulars of the destruction of my unfortunate family, by the savages : On the tenth of May last, being my appointment to preach at one of my meeting-houses, about a mile from my dwelling house, I set out, with my loving wife and five children, for public worship. Not suspecting any danger, I walked behind a few rods, with my bible in my hand, meditating. As I was thus employed, on a sudden I was greatly alarmed by the frightful shrieks of my dear family before me. "I immediately ran to their relief, with all possible speed, vainly hunting for a club as I ran. When within a few yards of them, my poor wife, observing me, cried out to me to make my escape. At this instant, an Indian ran up to shoot me. I had to strip, and by so doing outran him. My wife had an infant in her arms, which HISTORY OF OHIO - 287 the Indians killed and scalped. After which they struck my wife several times, but not bringing her to the ground, the Indian who attempted to shoot me, approached her and shot her through the body, after which they scalped her. " My little son, about six years old, they dispatched by sinking their hatchets into his brains. My little daughter, four years old, they in like manner tomahawked and scalped. My eldest daughter attempted an escape, by concealing herself in a hollow tree, about six rods from the fatal scene of action. Observing the Indians retiring, as she supposed, she deliberately crept from the place of her concealment, when one of the Indians, who yet remained on the ground, espying her, ran up to her and, with his tomahawk, knocked her down and scalped her. But, blessed be God, she still survives, as does her little sister, whom the savages, in like manner, knocked down and scalped. They are mangled to a shocking degree, but the doctors think that there are some hopes of their recovery. " When I supposed the Indians gone, I returned to see what had became of my unfortunate family, whom, alas ! I found in the condition above described. No one, my dear friend, can form a true conception of my feelings at this moment. A view of a scene, so shocking to humanity, quite overcame me. I fainted, and was unconsciously borne off by a friend, who at that moment arrived to my relief. Thus have I given you a faithful though a short narrative of the fatal catastrophe, amidst which my life is spared, but for what purpose the great Jehovah best knows." A volume might be filled with similar narratives. Though the chiefs of nearly all the tribes, at the close of the revolutionary war, had entered into friendly alliance with the Americans, these awful atrocities were continually taking place. There was no safety anywhere but in strong military protection. As treaties were thus found to be of no avail, it was deemed absolutely necessary to have recourse to arms, as the only mode by which the settlements and emigrants upon the river could be secured from continual danger. "At length it was perceived that these continued aggressions were prompted and instigated by British traders and agents at Detroit and upon the Maumee. The fur trade, in the northwestern territory, was almost wholly controlled by these British traders, who were deeply interested in checking the advance of 288 - HISTORY OF OHIO. the American population across the Ohio, which would sound the knell of approaching dissolution to their monopoly. A state of active hostilities, renewed by the savages, might yet defer for many yelp, the advance of white settlements north of the Ohio, and thus prolong the monopoly of the fur trade. Such were the views and conclusions of the British agents and traders at Detroit, and other points south of Lake Erie."* The first dry goods store in Kentucky was opened at Louisville, in the Summer of 1784. The united population of the settlements then amounted to about twenty thousand. Roads were beginning to be opened from the river back into the interior. The principal settlements were on the Kentucky River, the Licking, and just above the Falls of the Ohio. The region had been divided into three counties, which, early in the Spring of 1784, were recognized as the District of Kentucky. The district court was invested with the same civil and criminal jurisdiction with the other courts of Virginia. A log court house and a log jail were erected at Harrodsburg. Danville soon became the central point for all public meetings. The emigration into Kentucky now very rapidly increased. More than ten thousand settlers entered the state during the year. Towns were laid out, mills erected, and trade and agriculture began to develop their resources. All kinds of stock were introduced, and religious teachers, accompanying this tide of emigration, established churches and schools, and all those beneficent institutions which invariably attend the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Nearly the whole region, north of the Ohio River, was still a wilderness, inhabited only by savages. The Shawanese nation consisted of many minor tribes. They inhabited a large territory, including the Scioto River in Ohio, and the Wabash River in Indiana, with the intervening region. It was mainly from this region that marauding bands were continually crossing the Ohio River into Kentucky, plundering, burning and scalping. It was resolved in Kentucky to fit out an expedition to invade their country, and inflict upon them chastisement which would never be forgotten. There were many of these Indians who were innocent. But the blows of the avenger would fall upon the innocent and the guilty alike. * Monette's History of the Valley of the Mississippi. HISTORY OF OHIO - 289 The expedition was organized in two mounted parties. One division, of eleven hundred riflemen, under the heroic General Clarke, was to rendezvous at the Falls of the Ohio. He was to march directly across the country, a hundred and thirty miles, to Vincennes, on the Wabash. His supplies were to be forwarded to that place by boats. From that point his troops were to ravage the whole Valley of the Upper Wabash as far as Tippecanoe and Eel Rivers. The other party of seven hundred, under Colonel Logan, were to rendezvous at Kenton Station, thence cross the Ohio to the Little Miami, thence, ascending that stream, they were to sweep with utter desolation the whole Indian country, from the Scioto to the Great Miami. Such was the general plan of the campaign. Great care was taken to conceal from the Indians all knowledge of their impending doom. It was resolved to make this one of the most formidable invasions which had ever proceeded from Kentucky, and one which would strike the most distant tribes with terror. Many of the most prominent men in Kentucky volunteered their services as officers, and there was a general rush of the patriotic young men to the ranks. General Logan commenced his march on the first of October, 1786. Rapidly he ascended the valley, a distance of ninety miles, till he reached the Indian Town of Old Chillicothe. There were quite a number of Indian villages clustered in that neighborhood. The attack was so sudden and impetuous that nearly all the inhabitants were slain or taken captive. Simon Kenton, of whose sufferings our readers have been informed, accompanied the expedition as a guide, and was captain of a company of picked men from his own neighborhood. His energy was tremendous, and he was not disposed to treat very tenderly even those women who had tortured him with mercilessness, which even incarnate demons could not have exceeded. The few savages who escaped the bullet and the sword, fled shrieking to the adjacent villages. They were hotly pursued, and shot down as though they had been wolves or bears. All the villages were burned. Everything of value was destroyed. The corn crops, on which the savages had mainly relied for food during the winter, were committed to the flames. A region a hundred miles in length, and nearly forty miles in breadth, was laid 290 - HISTORY OF OHIO. utterly desolate. The numbers of the Indians who were slain is; not known. The savages, men, women and children, who escaped, fled so precipitately that they could save absolutely. nothing of their possessions. The avengers did not encumber themselves with prisoners. It was their object to wreak such ter-. rible vengeance upon these fiend-like foes, that they would tremble at the thought of ever again incurring the wrath of the white man. Colonel Logan returned victorious from his expedition. General Clarke was less successful. He crossed the country to Vincennes in safety. But the boats had not arrived. Nine large boats had been freighted with stores and provisions to descend the Ohio to the mouth of the Wabash, and then to ascend that stream to Vincennes. The extremely low state of the water retarded the arrival of his supplies. Eleven hundred. hungry mouths consume a vast amount of food. The days came and. went, and still no boats appeared, and no tidings were heard from. them. Starvation stared the army in the face. It became necessary to put the men on half allowance. Many of the thoughtless. became restless and mutinous. At length, after waiting nine days, the boats arrived. But to their bitter disappointment, through the heat of the weather the beef was all spoiled. Sound. rations for three days only remained. The hostile towns which the troops were on the march to attack, were still at a distance of two hundred miles. General Clarke urged an immediate and rapid advance. Many of the soldiers mutinied. They said they were willing to encounter the savages, but they could not make war against famine. Three hundred of the men, with several officers of high rank, mounted. their horses and departed for their homes. General Clarke, with the remainder of his troops, advanced towards the Indian town, living upon very meager rations. After a march of several days, they reached the region which the savages had inhabited, and not a solitary Indian was to be found. Through the delay the savages had been apprised of the formidable preparations which had been made against them, and taking with them all their valuables, had dispersed, in small bands, far and wide, through the wilderness. Nothing was left for the invaders. Such are the vicissitudes of war. General Clarke and his men, half-starved, worked their way back to the Falls, covered with shame and confusion at the unmerited HISTORY OF OHIO - 293 disgrace of their arms. The unfortunate general never recovered from the blow. He sunk into profound melancholy, and at length died, aged and poor, having been supported, the latter years of his life, by a pension from the State of Virginia, of four hundred dollars a year. This unsuccessful invasion of the country of the fierce and vindictive Shawanese, upon the Wabash, only exasperated the warriors. They immediately recommenced, with more vigor than ever, active hostilities along the whole line of the Kentucky frontier. During the Winter and the ensuing Spring they were continually crossing the Ohio River, and were assailing all the exposed settlements and farm-houses, even far into the interior of Kentucky. The peril became so great that the feebler settlements had to be abandoned, and the pioneers gathered around forts and other fortified stations. Simon Kenton, who had such grievous wrongs to avenge, assembled three hundred mounted riflemen, in the Autumn of 1787, and ravaged the country of the Scioto Valley, shooting the Indians, burning their dwellings, and destroying their crops. After a successful raid of ten days he returned, without the loss of a man. These ravages, instead of subduing the tribes, caused a general combination of them against the whites. Special efforts were made to attack the boats descending the river. The wily Indian, from his ambush on the river bank, would seek to strike, with his rifle bullets, any one who incautiously exposed his person above the bulwarks. If the boat touched the shore for fire-wood, the lurking savage was watching, with the hope of obtaining plunder and scalps. While parties thus waylaid the river banks, others were incessant in their roaming incursions through the settlements, waylaying every path, ambuscading every neighborhood, lurking as invisibly as the wolf, near every residence, watching every family spring, ensconced in every cornfield, and near every cross-road, patiently waiting whole days and nights for the approaching victim. These parties were nearly all Ohio Indians, from the Scioto, the Great and Little Miami, and their tributaries. The following brief narrative of events during four months— from the first of May to the first of August — will show the vigor with which the Indians pursued, their work of plunder and death : 294 - HISTORY OF OHIO. In the County of Jefferson, ten persons were killed, and ten -wounded, and twenty horses stolen. In Lincoln County, two were killed, two wounded, and twenty-five horses stolen. In Madison County, one was killed, two wounded, and ten horses stolen. In Bourbon County, two were wounded, and fifteen horses stolen. In Mason County, two were killed, and forty-one horses stolen. In Woodford County, several horses had been stolen, and one boy killed. The whole frontier region was kept in constant alarm. This state of things continued until checked by the severity of Winter. The same predatory warfare was carried on against the western counties of Virginia and Pennsylvania. The deadly assaults were spread over three hundred miles of exposed frontier. Between the years 1783 and 179o, the Indians killed, wounded and took captive fifteen hundred men, women and children, besides destroying property to the amount of fifty thousand dollars. By the Treaty of Paris so called because it was formed in that city — Great Britain renounced all claim to territory south of the Great Lakes and east of the Mississippi. The British Government made a great effort to have the Ohio River the northern boundary of the United States, instead of the line of the lakes; but Mr. Adams and Mr. Jay were inflexible in their demand that the lakes should be the boundary. It will be remembered that the chiefs of four Indian tribes, the Wyandots, Delawares, Ottawas, and Chippewas, in a council held at Fort McIntosh, in the western part of Pennsylvania, in January, 1785, had ceded to the United States a large extent of land in that portion of the Northwestern Territory now known as Ohio. In the Fall of that year the United States took formal possession of these lands by sending a detachment of troops from Fort McIntosh to rear a block-house, and commence a settlement on the point of land where the Muskingum River enters the Ohio. Major John Doughty was entrusted with the command of this expedition. He gave to the fort which he constructed the name " Harmar," in honor of the colonel of the regiment to which he belonged. The outline of the fort formed a pentagon, and was built of large timbers, laid horizontally, and enclosing an area of about three-quarters of an acre. Some fine gardens were laid out, in the rear of the works. The fort was on the western side of the HISTORY OF OHIO - 295 Muskingum River, and contained barracks sufficiently capacious to accommodate the soldiers, and also several families of settlers. This was the first military post of the United States in Ohio, if we except a small fort, called Laurens, built in 1778, on the Tuscarawas. The United States Government was very desirous of securing peace with the Indians. There was nothing to be gained by war. A council of the Shawanese chiefs was assembled at the mouth of the Great Miami, the latter part of January, 1786. Three distinguished gentlemen of the United States attended as commissioners. In the contract here entered into, which was known as the Treaty of the Great Miami, the Shawanese chiefs acknowledged the United States to be the sole and absolute sovereign of all the territory heretofore relinquished to them, by their chiefs, in the Treaty of January 14, 1785. The chiefs also agreed to abstain from all hostilities, to surrender three hostages for the faithful delivery of all the captives they held, to punish such of their young men as should be guilty of murder or robbery against the whites, and to give notice to the United States officers of any incursions they suspected of being in contemplation against the frontiers. The United States agreed to take the Shawanese under their protection, to allot to them, as their hunting grounds, the territory generally lying west of the Great Miami, and to prevent all intrusion of white settlements into their regions. Notwithstanding these treaties, hostile incursions still continued. The British Government had been very desirous of retaining the country between the Great Lakes and the Ohio. Defeated in this, the British traders and agents in Canada sought to prolong their influence over the Northwestern Indians, and their lucrative trade with them, by instigating them to that cruel warfare which would tend to arrest the advance of the American settlements. "Detroit had long been an important central depot for the British fur traders, with the Northwestern Indians. It was an important place of business, and many Scotch and English capitalists had large investments in the lucrative trade with the natives. To comply with the treaty stipulations would incommode these important personages, by interrupting their trade, and restricting their influence over the savage tribes south and west of the lakes. A state of hostilities between the Indians and the American people 296 - HISTORY OF OHIO. of the West would be a sufficient guarantee to them that, for a time, they should be free from interruption. Hence they wished to arrest the advance of emigration across the Ohio River." * The vast territory lying north and west of the Ohio River, was claimed, by virtue of original charters from the King of England, by the States of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and Virginia. Upon the peace which followed the Revolution, each of these states consented to relinquish its claims to the general government, with the exception of reservations by Connecticut and Virginia. These two states, embarassed by the expenses of the war, retained a portion of the territory for the purpose of paying their debts to the revolutionary soldiers. The region thus granted to Connecticut, by Congress, and which was called the Western Reserve, consisted of the country lying north of the 41st degree of latitude, and extending from the western boundary of the State of Pennsylvania to the Sandusky River ; or rather to the western borders of Sandusky and Seneca Counties. This region, bounded on the north by the lakes, was about fifty miles in breath, and one hundred and twenty miles from east to west. Virginia retained the lands lying between the Scioto and the Little Miami. This section was called " The Virginia Military District." The remainder of the vast, and as yet almost unknown, region of the Northwest was to be organized into states, so soon as the population should be sufficient. These cessions being completed, the United States Government, in the year 1787, established a territorial government over the whole, and as yet uninhabited, region, extending west to the Mississippi River. In this ordinance of territorial organization, we find it stated that no man shall be arrested for his mode of worship or his religious sentiments ; that the utmost good faith shall be observed towards the Indians ; that their lands shall never be taken from them without their consent, unless in just and lawful war; and that there shall be formed in the said territory not less than three nor more than five states. There was also the all-important provision introduced : " There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in said territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted ; provided, always, that * The Valley of the Mississippi, by John W. Monette, M.D., Vol. II., p. 226. HISTORY OF OHIO - 297 any person escaping into the same, from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed, in any of the original states, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed, and conveyed to the person claiming his or her labor in service as aforesaid." And now companies began. to be organiz d upon the Atlantic sea-board for the establishment of colonies n this northwestern territory. The Ohio Company sent agents to Congress to purchase a large extent of land between the Muskingum and the Hocking Rivers, bounded on the east by the Ohio ; for in that region the river line runs nearly north and south. The Ohio Company was formed of officers and soldiers of the Revolutionary army. They had resolved to move West to retrieve their exhausted fortunes. Many of them held large claims upon the Government, the payment of which they could obtain only in land. The purchase was made at one dollar an acre, payable in land scrip, or any other evidences of debt for revolutionary services. The purchase, including the mouths of the Muskingum and the Hocking Rivers, embraced between one and two million acres. Soon after this John Cleves Symmes, of New Jersey, purchased six thousand acres, between the Great and Little Miami. His northern border was the Ohio River. For this land he paid sixty-six cents an acre. In the Autumn of 1787, General Rufus Putnam, a son of General Israel Putnam, of revolutionary renown, set out with a party of forty-seven persons, mainly from New England, to commence a colony at the mouth of the Muskingum, on the eastern bank, opposite Fort Harmar. For nearly eight weeks this band of emigrants toiled painfully along through the rugged and almost pathless defiles of the Alleghany Mountains. The course they took was what was called Braddock's Road. It was the same route which was subsequently adopted by the national turnpike from Cumberland westward. At length they reached what was called Simrel's Ferry, on the Yohiogany, one of the tributaries of the Alleghany River. Here the severity of the Winter detained them for some time. They built at this place a large covered barge, which they named the Mayflower, in remembrance of their pilgrim ancestors. It was bullet-proof, so as to defy the rifles of the Indians. It is said that the boat was well adapted to transport the families and their effects to their ultimate destination, and to serve as a floating resi- 298 - HISTORY OF OHIO. dence, while more permanent ones were being erected on the land. The latter part of March, 1788, the Mayflower, freighted with its precious colony, commenced its voyage, to float down the Yohiogany, the Alleghany, and the Ohio, to the mouth of the Muskingum. On the 7th of April the emigrants took possession of their purchase. Better materials for a colony were probably never before brought together. The colonists were generally men of science and refinement, and of high moral worth. For their internal security they framed a simple code of laws, which were published by being nailed to a tree. It is a remarkable proof of the moral habits of the people that for three months there was but a single infraction of these laws. General Washington pays the following tribute to the character of these pioneers : " No colony in America was ever settled under such favorable auspices as that which was commenced at the Muskingum. Information, prosperity and strength will be its characteristics. I know many of the settlers personally, and there never were men better calculated to promote the welfare of such a community." The ordinance which organized the Territorial Government was placed in the hands of a governor and three judges. There was a drizzling rain, accompanied with fog, as the Mayflower drifted by the mouth of the Muskingum. The colonists Aid not perceive that they had reached their destination until the massive white-washed walls of Fort Harmar loomed up upon them through the mist, upon the right bank of the stream. They immediately entered the river, where they found pleasant accomodations for their boat. In the meantime the rain had ceased, the fog was dispersed, and the sun shone forth in all its glory. A scene of surpassing loveliness was opened before them. It was one of the most serene and balmy of spring mornings. The very air they breathed was exhilarating. The meadows were green with verdure ; the forest luxuriant with foliage. Birds filled the air; and all were alike delighted with their new home which they had found. The garrison at Fort Harmar gave them a very warm welcome, while its strong walls promised them security against any hostile attacks. It will be remembered that the Americans were nominally at peace with all the tribes. The outrages which were perpetrated were the deeds of vagabonds who perhaps could be no