300 - HISTORY OF OHIO. more controlled than can thieves or murderers he restrained under more civilized governments. There were seventy Indians at the fort, engaged in traffic. Their chief came forward with the greatest cordiality to welcome the strangers. All was peace, prosperity and happiness. Joy inspired the industry of these fortunate pioneers. General Putnam had a splendid marquee, which was soon pitched on the green sward. Boards were landed and temporary huts rose as by magic. Streets were laid out for a rapidly growing city, judiciously retaining extensive portions for public squares. Scattered around the beautiful delta formed by the junction of the Muskingum with the Ohio, there were many very remarkable military remains. These must have been reared by some unknown people, who possessed the land long before the present tribes of Indians. The savages had no tradition even of their origin. These interesting relics were carefully preserved. On the second of July, the streets of the city having been laid out with great regularity, the associates all met to give a name to their new home. These Revolutionary officers and soldiers were not unmindful of our nation's obligation to France, in achieving its Independence. They therefore named their infant town Marietta, in honor of Maria Antoinette, the unhappy Queen of Louis XVI. A square was also set apart for the construction of a very important fort, which was designed to be so strong that no Indian bands would think of assailing it. On the fourth of July they had a great celebration, with the usual oration, the roar of cannon from Fort Harmar, and all the usual accompaniments of public joy. Their happiness was much increased by the arrival, two days before, of forty persons, many of them heads of families, from Worcester, Massachusetts. These emigrants had spent nine weeks on their journey. They came in large four-horse wagons, sheltered with canvas covering from the wind and rain. Their journey had been taken in a mild season of the year, and in it they had encountered no disasters. Every night they formed their regular encampment; which, with its busy scenes and glaring fires, presented a very attractive spectacle. Their canvas-top wagons formed as it were a village of movable tents. When they reached Wheeling, on the Ohio, about eighty miles above their point or destination, they procured a large Kentucky flat-boat, sufficiently HISTORY OF OHIO - 301 capacious to contain all the colonists with their personal effects. In two days the current floated them down to the mouth of the Muskingum, and they moored their craft by the side of the Mayflower. The men composing this colony, as we have mentioned, were well adapted to lay the foundations of a powerful state. One of their first objects was to make provision for the education of their children, and for the support of public worship. The Worcester colonists brought with them a young minister, Rev. Daniel Story. He was a man of fervent piety and of fine abilities. On the ninth of July, the Governor, General Arthur St. Clair, arrived. He immediately formed his executive council, and organized the government. The whole country north of the Ohio River, between the Muskingum and the Hockhocking Rivers, was designated as the County of Washington, and Marietta was, of course, the seat of justice. As there were many indications that difficulties might eventually arise with the Indians, it was deemed expedient to push forward as rapidly as possible the construction of their fort, to which they gave the appropriate, classical name of Campus Martius. It will be remembered that while Marietta was on the eastern bank of the Muskingum, Fort Harmar, erected by the government, was on the western side of the stream. Should the citizens be compelled by an attack from the Indians to flee for protection across the river to Fort Harmar, they would have to abandon their dwellings and their property to the savages. Therefore Campus Martius became to them a necessity. This very important fortress, which subsequently proved so useful in a civil and military point of view, demands more special mention. It was constructed under the superintendence of General Rufus Putnam, and was admirably adapted to the purposes for which it was reared. It consisted in fact of an immense structure whose walls were dwelling houses, forming a square whose sides were one hundred and eighty feet in length. Each corner was protected by a strong, projecting block-house, surmounted by a sentry box. These block houses were two stories high, the lower story being twenty feet square, and the upper story twenty-four. These corner houses projected six feet, so that from the port-holes they could rake the sides with musketry, should any foe approach. The walls of the dwelling houses were constructed of solid timber, bullet-proof, and hewn so as to fit closely together. Each dwelling house 302 - HISTORY OF OHIO. occupied a space of fifteen by thirty feet. They would all accommodate about fifty families. Indeed, in time of the Indian war, three hundred persons took refuge in them. These dwelling house walls enclosed an area, or court-yard, one hundred and fifty-four feet square, which was often used as a parade ground. In the center there was a well which would afford an unfailing supply of water in case of siege. Port-holes were cut through for musketry, and two pieces of artillery were mounted —the one on the northeast and the other on the southwest bastion. These bastions were erected on the corner of each block-house. They stood on four stout timbers, were built of thick plank, and were a little above the lower story. Along the whole breadth of the block-houses, there was a row of palisades, sloping outwards and resting on stout rails. In addition to this, there was at a. distance of twenty feet from the houses a row of very strong and large pickets, planted firmly in the earth and about twelve feet high. And as a still further precaution, at a short distance from the pickets there was a range of abattis, constructed of strong branches of trees placed thickly together, sharpened and pointed outwards so as to render it almost impossible for an enemy without cannon to reach even the outer palisades. All the ground beyond within rifle shot was cleared of every thing which could afford an assailing foe protection. A very substantial wharf was built on the shore of the river near the fort where the Mayflower, a fine cedar barge for twelve rowers, and quite a number of light canoes were moored. Thus was commenced the first regular town by white men within the present State of Ohio. This was but eighty-six years ago. The state now contains a population approaching three millions. During the Summer and Autumn, emigrants were constantly arriving, so that houses could not be built fast enough for their accommodation. All were busy. Peace, health and prosperity smiled upon the infant settlement. The laws were obeyed. The Gospel was preached. The Sabbath was revered, and a high tone of morals prevailed. Gamblers and inebriates avoided a place where there was no room for the gratification of their degrading and ruinous tastes. Fields were plowed, seed was sown, and gardens bloomed. The first civil court ever held in the Northwestern Territory was convened on the second day of September, 1788, in the great hall of the Campus Martius. The important event was attended with HISTORY OF OHIO- 303 appropriate and imposing ceremonies. A procession was formed at the little village, now rapidly rising, at a short distance from the fort. The sheriff, with a drawn sword, took the lead. He was followed by the citizens, the officers of the garrison at Fort Harmar, the members of the bar, the judges of the Supreme Court, the Governor, and a venerable clergyman, Rev. Dr. Cutler, and the judges of the newly organized Court of Common Pleas. When the procession reached the Campus Martius, it was countermarched so that the newly appointed judges, Rufus Putnam and General Tupper, entered the hall first, followed by the Governor and Rev. Dr. Cutler. The judges took their seats upon the bench. The audience reverently filled the room. The divine benediction was invoked by Dr. Cutler. Then the sheriff, Ebenezer Sproat, arose, and, probably ignorant of the French signification of the words, oyer, oyer, (hear, hear), cried out as has become the invariable custom, " 0 yes! 0 yes ! a court is open for the administration of evenhanded justice to the poor and to the rich, to the guilty and the innocent, without respect of persons ; none to be punished without trial by their peers, and in pursuance of the laws and evidence in the case." There was a large encampment of Indians near by. Hundreds of these untutored children of the forest and the prairie witnessed these ceremonies, with probably a very faint conception of their significance. During the Autumn and the Winter, new colonists were still constantly arriving, and early in the following Spring it was thought best to commence some new settlements. About twelve miles below Marietta, there was a beautiful meadow, holding out very attractive promise to the husbandman. On the eleventh of April, 1789, General Putnam, with a number of families, descended the river to this spot and commenced a settlement, which they called Belpre. But the menaces from the Indians were such that they deemed it prudent first to erect a block-house, where they could find refuge in case of an attack. This was called " The Farmer's Castle." Soon after, another party commenced a settlement ten miles still farther down the river, and called their little station Newburg. Other settlements were made along the banks of the Muskingum River, where the rich lands promised easy tillage and abundant harvests. 19 304 - HISTORY OF OHIO. Many of these settlers encountered pretty severe privations. One of them communicates the following facts in reference to the inconveniences of their forest homes : " The inhabitants had among them but few of what we consider the necessaries and conveniences of life. Brittle ware, such as earthen and glass, were wholly unknown, and but little of the manufactures of steel and iron, both of which were exceedingly dear. Iron and salt were procured in exchange for ginseng and peltries, and carried on horses from Fort Cumberland or Chambers-burg. It was no uncommon thing for the garrison to be wholly without salt for months, subsisting upon fresh meat, milk and vegetables, and bread made of corn pounded in a mortar. They did not yet indulge in the luxury of the hand-mill. " There had been an opinion, founded upon the information of the Indians, that there were salt springs in the neighborhood. Shortly after Wayne's victory in 1794, and after the inhabitants had left the garrison and gone to their farms, a white man who had long been a prisoner of the Indians, was released and returned to the settlements. He stopped at Olive Green and there gave an account of the salt springs and directions for finding them. A party was immediately formed, of whom George Ewing, a lad of seventeen, was one, who, after an absence of seven or eight days, returned, to the great joy of the inhabitants, with about a gallon of salt which they had made in their camp kettle. A supply, though a very small one, was made there that season for the use of the frontier settlement, CHAPTER XVI. THE MIAMI SETTLEMENTS. THE EMIGRANTS' JOURNEY - THE FIRST SETTLEMENT - THE FOUNDING OF LOSANTEVILLE - JUDGE SYMMES SETTLES AT NORTH BEND - JEALOUSY OF THE INDIANS- EXPLANATION OF THE JUDGE - THE STOLEN HORSES AND THE RETALIATION - THE THREE VILLAGES - ANECDOTE OF ENSIGN LUCE - FORT WASHINGTON - GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION - THE FIRST CULPRIT - GROWTH OF CINCINNATI - THE REIGN OF TERROR HARMAR'S EXPEDITION -EXULTATION OF THE SAVAGES-DISASTROUS EFFECTS OF THE CAMPAIGN - PERIL OF THE FRONTIERSMEN. WHILE THE little colonies, near the mouth of the Muskingum, were advancing so happily, Judge John Cleves Symmes was making vigorous movements for the settlement of his large purchase, of six hundred thousand acres, between the Great and Little Miami Rivers. He was disposing of smaller tracts to private individuals and companies, that he might encourage the establishment of colonies along the banks of the Ohio down to what was called the North Bend, twenty-three miles below the mouth of the Little Miami. Major Benjamin Stites purchased of him ten thousand acres, and organized a colony of twenty families, principally from New York and New Jersey to rear their homes in a region which seemed to combine everything which was attractive in soil, situation and climate. This little colony was composed of families of industry, energy, and high moral worth. They have left numerous descendants who perpetuate and honor their names. Weary must have been the journey in their canvas-covered emigrant wagons, from New York to the wild passes of the Alleghanies. Fatiguing in the extreme must have been their task in toiling, for a hundred miles, through the gorges and over the cliffs of this almost pathless 306 - HISTORY OF OHIO. and gigantic chain of mountains. Delightful must have been the change when, reaching the waters of the Ohio, they exchanged their wagons for the capacious barque, with its convenient cabin, affording room to move around with entire freedom from fatigue. It was delightful autumnal weather. The barge, Or ark, as it was sometimes appropriately called, floated down the placid current of the stream for several hundred miles through enchanting scenery, while the inmates enjoyed almost perfect rest from their toils. They had intelligence to appreciate the wonderful world of -freshness and beauty which was opening before them. They had culture of mind and manners, and congeniality of sympathies, which enabled them to live harmoniously together. There was nominal peace with the Indians, so that they had nothing to fear, save from small vagabond bands of Indian robbers, whom, with suit- HISTORY OF OHIO - 307 able precautions, they could easily repel from behind their bulletproof bulwarks. They reached the mouth of the Little Miami about the middle of November, 1788. Here they found a fine stretch of land, much of it covered with forest whose gigantic growth indicated the richness of the soil. On the west side of the river Major Stites proceeded to lay out in the woods the town, which he called Columbia. Immediately all hands combined in raising a large block-house, for the storage of their goods and for protection against the Indians. They then erected humble log cabins for the individual families. Thus was commenced the first settlement in the Miami country, about six months after the little hamlet of Marietta began to rise upon the banks of the Muskingum. While these things were transpiring, Mathias Denman, of New Jersey, formed a partnership with Robert Patterson and John Filsom, of Kentucky, and purchased a tract of several hundred acres farther down the river, immediately adjoining Major Stites' colony. Filsom remained to survey the purchase and to lay out the plan of a town, while Denham and Patterson returned to New Jersey to raise a party of colonists. Unfortunately Filsom, while engaged in the survey, was waylaid by straggling Indians and shot. Still Denham and Patterson pressed on with their enterprise, and engaged a colony of twenty persons, and in midwinter, amidst masses of floating ice, descended the Ohio to a point five miles below Columbia, and directly opposite the mouth of the Licking River. Here, according to a pre-matured plan, they laid out their town, to which they gave the rather peculiar name of Losanteville. It is said that an eccentric Frenchman, on board their boat, coined the name from the words L'os ante ville, which he translated, not very correctly, " The village opposite the mouth." This whimsical name, however, was soon abandoned, and the classical one of Cincinnati was given to a spot destined to attain ever increasing renown in the history of our country. The land of the township was laid off in lots, which were offered as a gift to volunteer settlers. In Burnett's Notes it is stated : " A misapprehension has prevailed, as appears from some recent publications, in regard to the price paid by the proprietors for the land on which the city stands. The original purchase by Mr. Denman included a section and a fraction of a section, for which 308 - HISTORY OF OHIO. he paid five shillings per acre in Continental certificates, which were then worth, in specie, five shillings on the pound; so that the specie price per acre was fifteen pence." Judge Symmes was a man of great energy of character, and was indefatigable in his exertions to sell his land and establish colonies. The latter part of January, 1789, the judge himself set out from New Jersey, with a large party of emigrants, for the far-off Miami country. Under the most favorable circumstances this was a toilsome journey of many weeks. It was a very unpropitious season of the year to undertake it. But the emigrants were anxious to be at their new homes by the early opening of the Spring. They suffered, however, very much by the way, and incurred serious peril from storms among the mountains and masses of ice in the river. It was the design of Judge Symmes to found a city at a point on the Ohio called North Bend, from its being the most northern point of the Ohio, below the mouth of the Great Kanawha. This point was not far from midway between Cincinnati and the subsequent eastern boundary of Indiana. The fiat-bottomed water-crafts called arks, or Kentucky boats, in which the emigrants descended the Ohio, were immense structures, arid really quite attractive in their appearance. These boats were built of stout oaken plank, fastened by wooden pins to frames of timber. The well-protected cabin was in the stern, with the smoke curling gracefully from its stove-pipe chimney. The cattle, the stores and the furniture, were in the bows. In the center were seen picturesque groups of men, women and children, in pleasant weather, thus joyously floating along, their only motive power being the gentle current of the stream. If the wind were chill or the rain were falling, there was ample shelter and warmth at the fireside. When the boats reached their destination they were broken up, and the materials of which they were composed were of great value in the construction of the new homes of the emigrants. Judge Symmes was a man of much influence. At his earnest solicitation General Harmar sent General Kearcy to accompany the judge, with forty-eight soldiers, rank and file, to protect the settlements in the Miami country. The judge and his party, with their all-important military escort, reached the Bend early in the Spring. They found here an elevated plateau presenting HISTORY OF OHIO - 309 admirable accommodations for their settlement. A little village of log huts speedily arose, which extended entirely across the neck of the peninsula formed by the bend in the Ohio and a corresponding bend of the Great Miami. Every individual belonging to the party received a donation lot, which he was bound to improve as the condition of obtaining a title. The town received the name of North Bend. It has since become somewhat noted as having been the residence of President William Henry Harrison. The number of emigrants rapidly increased, being encouraged by the presence of the soldiers. The Indians, however, who still, in large numbers occupied the valleys of the two Miamis, contemplated these operations with much jealousy. They not only foresaw that these rapidly growing settlements would soon drive them from their homes, but they also suffered many outrages from lawless white men whom no sense of justice or humanity could control. On one occasion a delegation of several chiefs called upon Judge Symmes, to complain of the frauds which had been practiced upon them. These frauds were undeniable and atrocious, and the perpetrators of them deserved to be hung. Judge Symmes endeavored to explain that these men had no connection, with his colony, and that he had no more power to restrain them than they had to control the conduct of bad young Indians of other tribes. He assured them that the government of his country, which country consisted of thirteen fires or nations, had sent him to the Miamis in the spirit of friendship. He showed them the flag of the Union, with its stars and stripes, and explained to them its significance. He exhibited to them the American eagle, with the olive-branch in one claw, emblematic of the peace which his country desired with all .people, and with the instruments of war and death in the other claw, indicating that, if others preferred hostility, his country was always prepared to meet them. The sagacious chiefs listened to these explanations attentively, but with evident anxiety. They were thoughtful men, uneducated, but endowed with much native intelligence. The chiefs had come to the Bend, accompained by quite a retinue, and had encamped a little outside of the village. They professed to be in some degree satisfied with the explanation of Judge Symmes, though, in that explanation, they found no resti- 310 - HISTORY OF OHIO. tution for the frauds which had been practiced upon them. On their way home, they passed near Columbia, where Major Stites had commenced his colony. Some of the Indians stole, as we should say, but as they said, took a number of horses, in compensation for the injuries they had received from the white traders. The theft was soon discovered, and a party of soldiers sent out in pursuit to follow their trail. Judging from the signs that they had nearly approached an Indian encampment, one of their party Captain Flynn, was sent forward cautiously to reconnoiter. He was surprised, taken captive and carried into the Indian camp. Here he was treated with apparently as much humanity as if, under similar circumstances, he had been captured by civilized men. He was neither bound nor closely guarded. Being a man of extraordinary muscular strength, watching his opportunity, he sprang from the midst of his captors, and made his escape, strange to say, unpursued. There were a number of Indian horses grazing near the spot which the soldiers had reached. They stole these horses, as the chiefs said, and with them returned to Columbia. But the soldiers said they took them in compensation for the horses which those Indians had stolen, over whom the chiefs professed not to be able to exert any control. Major Flynn, in making his escape, had thrown away his rifle. After a few days the chiefs came to Major Stites, at Columbia, bringing back Captain Flynn's rifle, and complaining of the loss of their horses. After considerable discussion the matter was amicably adjusted, and most of the lost horses were restored. There were now three little villages of log huts in the Miami country, Columbia, Cincinnati and North Bend. Though bound together by a common .danger, there was a very strong rivalry between them. For some time Columbia took the lead. It was the eldest of three; the largest in population, and decidedly the most attractive. in the arrangement and style of its buildings. But a detachment of troops had been sent from Fort Harmar, as we have already recorded, to North Bend. Greatly to the displeasure of Judge Symmes, the commander of the military force, Ensign Luce, declared that Cincinnati was the more appropriate place for the location of the fort which he was directed to construct. Regardless of the remonstrances of the judge, he insisted that he was at liberty to select such a spot for it as, in his judgment, was best calculated to afford protection to the Miami set- HISTORY OF OHIO - 311 tlers. Mr. Burnet, in his notes, gives the following account of the motives which influenced the ensign to remove his command to Cincinnati, and to commence his important works there : " Ensign Luce, viewing his duty in that light, put up a small temporary work, sufficient for the security of his troops, regardless of the earnest entreaty of the judge, to proceed at once to erect a substantial, spacious block-house, sufficient for the protection of the inhabitants of the village. The remonstrances and entreaties of the judge had but little influence on the mind of this officer. In despite of them all he left the Bend and proceeded to Cincinnati with his command, where he immediately commenced the construction of a military work. That important move was followed by very important results. It terminated the strife for supremacy, by removing the only motive which had induced former emigrants to pass the settlements above and proceed to the Bend. As soon as the troops removed from that place to Cincinnati, the settlers at the Bend, who were then the most numerous, feeling the loss of the protection on which they had relied, became uneasy, and began to follow. Ere long the place was almost entirely deserted, and the hope of making it even a respectable town was abandoned. " In the course of the ensuing Summer, Major Doughty arrived at Cincinnati, with troops from Fort Harmar, and commenced the construction of Fort Washington, which was the most important military work in the territory belonging to the United States. About that time there was a rumor in the settlement, said to have been endorsed by the judge himself, which goes far to unravel the mystery in which the removal of the troops from the Bend was involved. It was said and believed, that while the officer in command at that place was looking out very leisurely for a suitable site on which to build the block-honse, he formed an acquaintance with a beautiful black-eyed female, who called forth his most assiduous and tender attentions. She was the wife of one of the settlers at the Bend. Her husband saw the danger to which he would be exposed if he remained where he was. He, therefore, resolved at once to remove to Cincinnati, and very promptly executed his resolution. "As soon as the gallant commandant discovered that the object of his admiration had changed her residence, he began to think that the Bend was not an advantageous situation for a military 312 - HISTORY OF OHIO. work, and communicated that opinion to Judge Symmes, who strenuously opposed it. His reasoning, however, was not as persuasive as the sparkling eyes of the fair dulcinea, then at Cincinnati. The result was a determination to visit Cincinnati, and examine its advantages as a military post, which he communicated to the judge, with an assurance that if on examination, it did not prove to be the most eligible place, he would return and erect the post at the Bend. " The visit was quickly made, and resulted in the conviction that the Bend could not be compared with Cincinnati as a military position. The troops were accordingly removed to that place, and the building of the block-house commenced. Whether this structure was on the ground on which Fort Washington was erected, by Doughty, cannot now be ascertained. That movement, produced by a cause whimsical and apparently trivial in itself, was attended with results of incalculable importance. It settled the question whether North Bend or Cincinnati was to be the great commercial town of the Miami country. " Thus we see what unexpected results are sometimes produced by circumstances apparently trivial. The incomparable beauty of a Spartan dame, produced a ten years' war, which terminated in the destruction of Troy. And the irresistible charms of another female, transferred the commercial emporium of Ohio, from the place where it had been commenced, to the place where it now is. If this captivating American Helen had continued at the Bend, the garrison would have been erected there. Population, capital and business would have centered there, and there would have been the Queen City of the West. Emigration rapidly increased, and these emigrants began to scatter, in small parties of eight or ten families. But there were increasing acts of outrage, on the part of the Indians and of unprincipled white men. The indications of approaching hostilities were such that, in the Summer of 1789, Major Doughty was sent, from Fort Harmar, with one hundred and forty regular troops, for the defense of the Miami settlements. It was under these circumstances that he selected the post, for the erection of the fort, to which we have alluded, at Cincinnati, opposite the mouth of the Licking, on a reservation of fifteen acres of land belonging to the Federal government. Here he commenced the structure of Fort Washington, which afterwards HISTORY OF OHIO - 313 became so distinguished in the annals of those days. These were probably the works which Ensign Luce visited, and to the erection of which he decided to contribute his resources. The principal building was a large two-story block-house, one-hundred and eighty feet in length. The upper story projected two feet beyond the lower, and the whole building was divided off into barracks for the soldiers, and was well provided with portholes. The whole was surrounded with strong palisades, flanked by block-houses, at each corner, projecting ten feet from the line of stockades, so that cannon could be brought to rake the walls._ The principal entrance faced the river. It was twelve feet wide by ten feet high, and was protected by strong wooden doors. In front there was a fine esplanade, eighty feet wide. The whole exterior was whitewashed, and the massive structure presented a very imposing and handsome appearance. Very fine gardens were constructed by the officers, around the fort, which were decorated with flowers, and which produced an abundance of vegetables and small fruit. In December of x7898. General Harmar, with three hundred regular troops, arrived, and. Fort Washington became the headquarters of the Northwestern. army. Soon after, it became the residence of the governor. The population of the Miami settlements had now so increased. that Governor St. Clair, early in January, 1790, thought that the: time had come when it was expedient to organize civil govern ment there. Previous to this time no civil government and no judicial tribunal had existed in that portion of the country. For-mutual protection, the emigrants had held a public meeting under a large tree, and adopted a code of regulations for themselves. By-laws were formed, and punishments decreed for certain offenses. Every person present pledged himself to aid in carrying these provisions into execution. A judge was appointed, William M'Millan, and a sheriff, John Ludlow. The first culprit brought before this tribunal was Patrick Grimes. He was accused of theft. A jury was summoned. The crime was clearly proved, and he was sentenced to receive thirty-nine lashes on the bare back. The punishment was inflicted that evening. Soon after, a writ was issued for the arrest of another culprit. He escaped, and took refuge in the fort. The commandant assumed that the military power was the only legitimate authority- 314 - HISTORY OF OHIO. which existed in the settlement. He considered the self-organized government of the people was an impertinence, an interference with his prerogatives. He, therefore, protected the culprit, and sent an abusive note to Judge M'Millan. The judge, who was a high-spirited man, sent back, setting the commandant at defiance. The military pride of the commandant was touched. The next morning he sent a sergeant and three armed men to arrest the judge for disrespect to the constituted authorities. The judge was a man of large frame, and remarkable alike for both strength and agility. He was sitting quietly in his cabin when the sergeant's guard entered for his arrest. The judge sprang to his feet, declaring that he would never be taken alive, and assailed his foes with the fury with which a lion would repel attacking bull-dogs. For fifteen minutes the unequal conflict raged. The sergeant himself was soon prostrated and disabled by herculean blows from such weapons as the irate judge ,could grasp. Speedily another assailant was placed hors de con-hat. The two others, severely wounded, fled, and left the judge master of the field. He was badly wounded, but he was the undisputed victor. This was the first conflict between the civil and military authority in the Northwestern Territory. The intrepid judge had heroically and successfully maintained his cause. Upon the arrival of the governor, he was well-pleased that the judge had maintained the civil authority so valiantly, in opposition to military .arrogance, and appointed him one of the justices of the quorum, The territorial judges accompanied the governor to Cincinnati, where the Executive Council was convened, and the civil and military departments were organized the same as in Washington County. The whole country, north of the Ohio River, from the Hockhocking River to the Great Miami, was designated as the County of Hamilton, in honor of Alexander Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury. Cincinnati was declared to be the seat of justice for the County. The government, as thus organized, consisted of three justices of the peace, four captains of militia, four lieutenants, four ensigns, a court of quarter sessions, consisting of three associate justices, a clerk, and a sheriff. Cincinnati having thus become the seat of justice, as well as the head-quarters of the army, began to assume a degree of importance which gave it quite the ascendancy over the other small HISTORY OF OHIO - 315 towns springing up around it in the wilderness. All the citizens-felt their increased importance. It became the center of rural fashion and refinement. Ambitious frame houses began to be reared in the place of log huts, Emigrants of intelligence and enterprise were lured to the new emporium. During the Summer of 1790 forty log huts were reared, adding very considerably to the grandeur of the town. A new settlement was about this time commenced on the Great Miami River, about forty miles north from Cincinnati, which was called Coleraine. Several families took farms in that region, but, for mutual protection, it was necessary to have their houses clustered together, and all united in building a stockade for mutual defense. The incursions of the savages were every month becoming more frequent, and there was an alarming prospect of a general state of war. Lieutenant Kingsbury was, therefore, sent to Coleraine, with a small detachment of troops and one piece of artillery. Governor Arthur St. Clair was a man of great activity and energy. But, unfortunately for himself, he was prone to neglect his own private interests in devotion to the public welfare. Immediately after organizing the government of Hamilton County, he proceeded down the river to the Fails of the Ohio, near where Louisville now stands. Here he spent several days in organizing, a government for the little secluded settlement, far away in the wilderness there, and then directed his steps, through a narrow Indian trail, a distance of a hundred and thirty miles, to the hamlet of Vincennes, on the Wabash. Between the Falls of the Ohio and Vincennes there was not a single white inhabitant. It was a vast, silent, houseless wilderness, now and then traversed by hunting bands of Indians. In this portion of the Northwestern Territory, which is now mainly included within the limits of the State of Indiana, he organized the County of Knox. It was so named in honor of the Secretary of War. This vast county, larger than several of the States of the Union, was bounded on the south by the Ohio River, on the east by the Great Miami, and on the west by the Wabash. Vincennes was the seat of justice. The energetic governor then proceeded westward several hundred miles, through a pathless and almost unexplored wilderness, of almost illimitable prairies and boundless forests, to a little hamlet on the upper Mississippi,. 316 - HISTORY OF OHIO. called Cahokia, where a few bold pioneers had built their huts, probably for the purpose of trading with the Indians for furs. Here the governor organized the county of St. Clair. It embraced the whole vast territory between the Wabash on the east, the Ohio on the south, and the Mississippi on the west. Two years had now elapsed since the Mayflower, floating down the Ohio, had landed its energetic party of emigrants at the mouth Of the Muskingum. The settlements in that region, and the population had so rapidly increased that the militia rolls of the county comprised four hundred and forty-seven men, fit for military duty. Of these, one hundred and three were heads of families. The whole population amounted to twenty-five hundred :souls. During the two years quite a number of individuals had been cut off by the lurking savages. Eighteen months had passed since the settlement in the Miami country. The increase there had been fully as rapid as in Washington County. They already counted a population of two thousand souls. They had also the advantage of quite a large detachment of regular troops stationed at Fort Washington. In both :regions the annoyance and danger from the Indians had been continually increasing. The settlers were compelled to protect themselves with great care within their fortified stations, and in their block-houses. It was no longer deemed safe to extend their settlements farther into the country. Concentration rather than dispersion became essential. The Indians loitered around the settlements, and it was observed that they were carefully studying the nature of the defenses. It became unsafe to venture from their inclosures. Many had been waylaid, robbed and murdered in their advance from one settlement to another. The foe lurked under every bush and covert. Many negro slaves, preferring freedom with the Indian to slavery under the white man, had fled from their masters in Kentucky, and found refuge and a cordial welcome in the wigwam of the savage. These negroes were often not unwilling to avenge the intolerable wrongs which they had received from their oppressors. The danger had become so great that " a reign of terror " may be said to have commenced in all these hamlets. The executive council issued a decree, ordaining it to be a penal offense for any one to harbor an Indian or a negro, without first reporting him to the military commandant. All male settlers were commanded to HISTORY OF OHIO - 317 go armed on every occasion. When at work in the fields sentinels were always to be posted in some position which would enable them to give warning on the approach of danger. several of the Shawanese tribes had repudiated the treaty of peace, and the Wabash tribes had not been parties to it. It is not known that any of the tribes who had signed the treaty had proved false to their pledges. The foe assailing the settlements was invisible and -unpronounced. On the seventh of August, 1789, a surveying party was out in the Miami country. It consisted of Mr. Mathews, a surveyor, with four assistants and a guard of seven soldiers. One morning, just before leaving the camp, they were all gathered around their fire, taking breakfast, when two guns were fired upon them, from Indians in ambush. One man fell, instantly killed. The other bullet passed through the bosom of Mr. Mathews' shirt, just grazing the skin. As the men sprang to their feet, the forest seem to resound with the war-whoop of the savages, and another more deadly volley was poured in upon them. Six of the soldiers fell dead. Of the whole party of twelve, five only remained. This was the work of an instant. The survivors fled in various directions, and, after enduring great suffering, reached places of safety. The settlements in the vicinity of Cincinnati, were perhaps; more exposed than those on the Muskingum. They were in what it called the old war-path of the savages. Nearly all the Indian trails from Lake Erie, led down the Valleys of the Miamis to the Ohio. Thence the savage warriors crossing the river in their canoes, ascended the Valley of the Licking, spreading desolation and death among the settlements in Kentucky. The tribes on the upper waters of the Great and Little Miami, and in the Valleys f the Sandusky and the Maumee, had been almost entirely under the influence of the British, and through the influence of the British traders, as we have mentioned, they still continued hostile in their feelings. In September, 179o, General Josiah Harmar collected quite a large force where Covington now is, on the Kentucky side of the river, opposite Cincinnati. An expedition was then arranged to sweep through the whole Miami Valleys, with a resistless force hich should punish the guilty and overawe, by the exhibition of power, all the Indian tribes. General Harmar was appointed 318 - HISTORY OF OHIO. commander, with three hundred Federal troops and eleven hundred and thirty-three volunteer militia, from Pennsylvania, Western Virginia and. Kentucky. This gave him an army of more than fourteen hundred men—a large force for those days and that region. Colonel John Hardin was in command of the Kentucky volunteers, and Major John Paul led the battalion of Pennsylvania and Virginia volunteers. Encumbered with baggage, they were compelled to cut a road along the narrow war trail of the Indian. Thus, it was seventeen days before they could reach the Indian towns on the Maumee. The savages consequently had ample notice of their approach. They fled, and carried off with them everything which was transportable, and set fire to their huts. It was the fifteenth of October when General Harmar reached what was called the Great Village of the Miamis. For sometime he was quite embarrassed to know what course to follow. To pursue the Indians would indeed be like giving chase to a flea upon the mountains. To return from so expensive and imposing a campaign, to which the whole country had been directed, having accomplished nothing, would indeed be humiliating. After the tarry of a few days, General Harmar sent out detach. ments to small neighboring villages, which they also found deserted. Five of these they burned, besides destroying large quantities of corn and other vegetables. In one of these excursions the fresh trail of a large party of Indians was discovered. The commander immediately sent a party of two hundred and thirty men in pursuit. Eighty of these were regular troops. The remaining one hundred and fifty were Kentucky volunteers. They were all under the command of Colonel Hardin, of Kentucky. After a march of six miles, without meeting with any signs of a foe, they were crossing a narrow plain, bordered by thickets, when suddenly they were attacked by a large number of Indians, completely encircling them, in ambuscade. Strange as it appears, the Kentucky volunteers, terrified probably by the remembrance of the massacre of Blue Licks, broke and fled, to a man, without returning a single shot. The regular troops were left alone to combat an unseen foe, of whose numbers they were entirely ignorant. The conflict was short and bloody. The largely outnumbering savages fired with unerring aim upon their clearly defined foes, and, in a few moments, every man had fallen, except two or HISTORY OF OHIO - 319 three privates and two or three officers. The escape of some of these seemed almost miraculous. In the confusion of the rout and carnage, as Ensign Hartshorn was frantically running, he stumbled over a decaying log beneath which there chanced to be a small cavity. Unseen he crept into. it and drew the withered leaves around him. Thus he remained in the most dreadful agonies of suspense, till the savages had retired. There chanced to be a marshy pond overgrown with tall grass and reeds, within six hundred feet of the battle ground. Captain Armstrong plunged into the pond so burying himself in the water and mire as merely to be able to breathe. Here he remained during the long hours of the afternoon and the night. The exultant savages rushed from their coverts upon the plain. They built their triumphant fires. They yelled, they danced, they clashed their weapons in the exuberance of their demoniac joy. They scalped and mangled the bodies of the slain. They scalped the wounded while still living, and then like incarnate fiends tortured them to death, the shrieks of the victims blending with the war cries of their tormentors. In the morning the savages retired and Captain Armstrong succeeded in reaching his friends in safety. Two days after this disaster, General Harmar, being satisfied that nothing more could be accomplished, commenced his return. Colonel Hardin was intensely chagrined by the disastrous and disgraceful result of his expedition. He was very anxious to retrieve his reputation before he should return to meet his fellow citizens in Kentucky. After the army had advanced about ten miles on their homeward route, he rep, esented to Gen. Harmar that the savages, whose scouts were known to be extremely vigilant, would undoubtedly have been apprised of the retirement of he troops, and would by that time have returned in large numbers to their old homes. He, therefore, urged that he should be allowed to take five hundred militia, and sixty regulars, to march back rapidly upon the town, and attacking the savages by surprise, inflict upon them signal vengeance. The expedition was immediately organized and sent forward on its march. The wary Indians, who seemed often on these occasions to manifest more military sagacity than the white men, kept themselves informed of every movement. They stationed a small body of warriors at a carefully selected spot, who, after a short 20 320 - HISTORY OF OHIO. conflict, fled in a direction not towards the town. The whole body of the militia pursued them pell-mell, while the regulars slowly continued their march along the trail. The savages having thus adroitly separated their foes, fell with their whole force upon the little party of regulars. The bravery and impetuosity of this attack were extraordinary in the highest degree. The savages actually threw down their rifles and rushed with the tomahawk, two or three to on; upon the bayonets of the soldiers. All except nine were speedily killed. The Indians then, as if satisfied with their accomplishments, retired into their fastnesses. General Harmar, with the remainder of his force, returned from his inglorious campaign to Fort Washington. His loss amounted to one hundred and eighty-three in killed and thirty-one wounded. The effect of this campaign exasperated and encouraged the Indians. The war whoop resounded through all their tribes. Those Indians who were disposed to friendly relations were overpowered by the impetuous flood of savage enthusiasm. All the settlements in the Great Valley, in Western Pennsylvania; Western Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio, were alike menaced. The emigrants had much more to lose and much more cause to dread war than had the Indians. The farm-houses of the settlers were widely scattered. The burning of a frontier village, with the scalping and torturing of men, women and children, was a horror which no language can exaggerate. To burn the wigwam of a savage was comparatively a light catastrophe. He had no household furniture. A few hours' labor would replace his hut. He was in no danger, either himself, his wife or his children of being scalped and tortured. The perils to which the frontiers were exposed were terrible. In view of them the stoutest heart might quail. In view of them the most earnest petitions were sent to President Washington to authorize the raising of a force sufficiently powerful effectually to protect the frontiers. President Washington had in person witnessed all the horrors of savage warfare. He knew well how to sympathize with these suffering pioneers. Promptly he persuaded Congress, in the session which terminated on the third of March, 1791, to authorize him to raise a regiment of regulars and two thousand volunteers, to serve for six months. Immediate and vigorous measures were adopted for a new campaign. CHAPTER XVII. GOVERNOR ARTHUR ST. CLAIR'S DEFEAT. GOVERNOR ST. CLAIR, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF - DISSATISFACTION ARISING - KENTUCKY TROOPS DESERT - GENERAL ST. CLAIR'S ENCAMPMENT - INDIAN SAGACITY - TERRIBLE ATTACK ON THE MILITIA - COLONEL DRAKE'S CHARGE - GENERAL ST. CLAIR'S REPORT OF THE BATTLE - LOSS OF THE AMERICANS- ACCOUNT OF MAJOR JACOBS THRILLING INCIDENTS - CAPTAIN LITTELL'S ESCAPES- INDIAN TORTURES- REASONS FOR INDIAN SUCCESS- LITTLE TURTLE AND VOLNEY - BUCKONGAHELAS- BLUE JACKET. By AN Act of Congress of 1781, Arthur St. Clair, Governor of the Northwestern Territory, was also appointed Major General and Commander-in-Chief of the military forces. An army of two thousand men, including artillery and cavalry, assembled at Fort Washington. After many vexatious delays and disappointments the march was commenced, up what was called the Maumee Valley. The obstructions to the advance of such an army were so great that its progress was very slow. Crossing over the eastern branch of the Great Miami, they erected a strong block-house about twenty miles north from Cincinnati. Leaving a small garrison at this post, which they named Fort Hamilton, they advanced some twenty miles further, where they erected and garrisoned another fort, to which they gave the name of St. Clair. Still continuing their uninterrupted journey, they erected and garrisoned a third fortress, to which they gave the name of Fort Jefferson. But five or six weeks had been employed in these enterprises. For some unexplained reason there was great dissatisfaction in the camp. There had been very great mismanagement in the supply of provisions, and the providing of stores. When they reached a point about ninety miles from Fort Washington, sixty of the Kentuckians, disgusted with short rations, slow progress, 322 - HISTORY OF OHIO. and approaching snow storms, in a body shouldered their muskets, and bidding defiance to all authority commenced their march homewards. General St. Clair was daily expecting the arrival of provisions, in a caravan of wagons. Apprehensive that the deserters might seize these wagons, he hastily detached quite a large force to pursue the deserters, attack them if necessary, and rescue and protect the wagons. These various operations so diminished his forces, that his main army now consisted of but fourteen hundred men. His march became toilsome and difficult. The dreary month of November had come, with its storms of wind and rain. The route in a northwest direction, led through a flat, marshy, inhospitable region, covered with a dense forest. There was no road through these gloomy wilds. The ax had to be incessantly in use, in felling the trees, often of gigantic size, and in removing the stumps to open a passage for the baggage wagons and artillery. The heavily laden wheels often sank to their hubs. Governor St. Clair was aged, infirm, and was suffering severely from the gout. It certainly indicated a want of judgment in him under those circumstances to have undertaken the leadership in so arduous a campaign. And it cannot be denied that he was entirely outgeneraled by the Indian chiefs. On the third of November the army reached a point about a hundred and twenty-five miles north from Fort Washington. They were still fifty miles from the Indian towns of the Maumee, which they were on the march to destroy. It was a dismal day, with chill winds, and the ground covered with snow. The soldiers were weary, and their feet were soaked with water. Cutting their way through the almost pathless forest, they approached a creek, about forty feet wide, which proved to be one of the tributaries of the Wabash. There was a small meadow on the banks of this stream, while the dense forest spread gloomily all around. Here General St. Clair took up his encampment for the night. He sent the militia across the creek by a ford, as the advanced guards of the army. They bivouacked in two parallel lines, with the space of about two hundred feet between them. Skilled in the use of the ax, they speedily cut down the trees, and roaring fires blazed in the intervening space, illuminating the forest far and wide, and enabling both parties to cook their suppers, and enjoy the genial warmth. No scouts were sent out, for all were nearly perishing with cold and weariness, and there were no HISTORY OF OHIO - 323 indications whatever that any foe was at hand. But the cunning savages, in large numbers, were in the forest, watching every movement, and selecting their positions, every man behind a tree, from which, unseen and protected, the bullet could be thrown with unerring aim upon their foe, grouped together without any shelter. Upon the other side of the creek, the regulars were stationed in the same way, drawn up in two lines, and their camp-fires between. They also cut down trees, and gathered around the fires which revealed every movement to their savage foe. It would seem that if the chief had directed General St. Clair how to post his troops, so as to secure their destruction, the work could not have been more effectually done. The night passed away in quietude. But through the long hours of the night the savages, unseen and unheard, as with the silent tread of the panther, were making their preparations for the slaughter. It afterwards was made known that they were actually making themselves merry over the folly of the white men who were thus exposing themselves to certain destruction. The day had just began to dawn, and the militia on the farther side of the creek, in thoughtless confusion, were preparing their breakfast, when the yell of a thousand savages fell upon their ears, followed by the report of musketry, and a deadly discharge of bullets. Scarcely one missed its aim. The slaughter was so dreadful, that the panic-stricken militia fled instantly, and with the utmost precipitation. Many of them did not stop to pick up their guns. They plunged pell-mell through the creek, broke resistlessly through the first line, and stopped a tumultuous, helpless mass, at the second. All this was the work of but fifteen minutes. And now the little army of less than a thousand men, huddled together in terror-stricken confusion, were exposed to a deadly fire from every direction. No foe to be seen, except when here and there a warrior darted from the protection of one gigantic tree to another. There was no room for courage, for bravery, save to meet death without a tremor. There was no room for heroism, save to fire or to charge upon an invisible foe. Colonel Drake was in command of the second line of regulars when the flight of the militia had been arrested. He succeeded in forming his line, and charged into the forest. The wary Indians in that portion of the circumference, retired before him, while a storm of bullets from all around was rapidly striking down 324 - HISTORY OF OHIO. his men. As Drake again drew back to his position, the Indians followed like the closing in of the waves of the sea. It seems as if a large party of Indian sharp-shooters had been specially designated to attack the artillerymen. In a short time, every man at the guns was shot down. Not an hour elapsed from the commencement of the conflict, before one-half of the men of St. Clair's army were either killed or wounded, and nearly every horse was shot. In the Governor's official account of this awful disaster, he writes : " Our artillery being now silenced, and all the officers killed, except Captain Ford, who was badly wounded, more than half of the army fallen, being cut off from the road, it became necessary to attempt the regaining it, and to make a retreat if possible. To this purpose the remains of the army were formed, as well as circumstances would admit, towards the right of the encampment; from which, by the way of the second line, another charge was made upon the enemy, as if with the design to turn their right flank, but it was, in fact, to gain the road. This was effected, and as soon as it was open the militia entered it, followed by the troops, Major Clarke, with his battalion, covering the rear. The retreat in these circumstances was, you may be sure, a precipitate one. It was in fact a flight. The camp and artillery were abandoned. But that was unavoidable, as not a horse was left alive to have drawn it off, had it otherwise been practicable. " But the most disgraceful part of the business is, that the greatest part of the men threw away their arms and accouterments, even after the pursuit, which continued about four miles, had ceased. I found the road strewed with them for many miles, but was not able to remedy it; for having had all my horses killed, and being mounted on one that could not be pricked out of a walk, I could not get forward myself. The orders I sent forward, either to halt the front or prevent the men from parting with their arms, were unattended to. The rout continued quite to Fort Jefferson, twenty-nine miles, which was reached a little after sunset. The action began about half an hour before sunrise, and the retreat was attempted at half-past nine o'clock. " I have now, sir, finished my melancholy tale ; a tale that will be felt, sensibly felt, by every one that has sympathy for private distress, or for public misfortune. I have nothing to lay to the HISTORY OF OHIO - 325 charge of the troops, but their want of discipline, which from the short time they had been in service, it was impossible they should have acquired, and which rendered it difficult when they were thrown into confusion to reduce them again to order; and is one reason why the loss has fallen so heavily upon the officers, who did everything in their power to effect it. Neither were my own exertions wanting. But worn down with illness, and suffering under a painful disease, unable to mount or dismount without assistance, they were not so great as they otherwise would, or perhaps ought to have been." In this dreadful disaster the Indians killed over nine hundred of St. Clair's army, took seven pieces of cannon, two hundred oxen, a great number of horses, but no prisoners. The wounded were immediately, upon the field, tomahawked and scalped. The Indians lost only sixty-six warriors. The Governor was not wanting in bravery. Indeed the occasion was one in which there was no opportunity for a display of cowardice. There was no possible covert to be found. Like men upon a shelterless plain, exposed to a hail storm, there was little to be done but bide the tempest. Eight bullets passed through his clothes and hat. He had four horses for his use; the first, a spirited colt, was so nervous and terrified by the firing that it required three or four persons to help the invalid governor to mount. He was hardly seated in the saddle when a bullet passed through the animal's head, and an arm of the boy who was holding him. Another horse was immediately brought, and while the attendants were removing the saddle from the dead steed to the living one, one bullet struck the horse in a vital part, and another the servant who held him, and they both dropped dead together. A person was dispatched for the third horse. He did not return. Both horse and man fell dead by the way. One of the general's aids, Count de Malatie, had mounted the fourth horse, having lost his own, and the animal was shot beneath him. The governor, thus deprived of all of his horses, though suffering intense pain, exerted himself on foot, with an energy and alacrity which surprised every one. After some time a miserable worn-out packhorse was brought to him, just as he was so thoroughly exhausted that, but for that timely aid, he must have been left upon the field at the mercy of the Indians. Greatly would those savages have rejoiced to have kindled their fires and have passed the 326 - HISTORY OF OHIO. governor through that awful ordeal of torture and of death to which they had before doomed General Crawford. Among the incidents of the battle-field, the following are worthy of record. Major Jacob Fowler, a veteran pioneer, nearly whose whole life was spent amid the wildest scenes of the forest, was present on this occasion. In a very graphic account which he has given of these scenes he writes : "By this time there were about thirty men of Colonel Drake's command left standing, the rest being all shot down, and lying around us, either killed or wounded. I ran to the colonel, who was in the thickest of it, waving his sword to encourage his men, and told him we should all be down in five minutes more if we did not charge them. Charge, then, said he, to the little line that then remained, and they did so. I had been partially sheltered by a small tree. But a couple of Indians, who had taken a larger one, both fired at me at once. Feeling the steam of their guns, I supposed myself cut to pieces. But no harm had been done, and I brought my piece to my side and fired without aiming at the one who stood his ground, the fellow being so close to me that I could hardly miss him. I shot him through the hips, and while he was crawling away on all fours, Colonel Drake, who had been dismounted and stood close by me, made at him with his sword and struck his head off. "By this time the cock of my rifle lock had worn loose and gave me much trouble. Meeting with an acquaintance from Cincinnati, named McClure, I told him my difficulty. ' There is a first-rate rifle,' said he. I ran and got it, having ascertained that my bullets would fit it. Here I met Captain J. S. Gano, and observed to him `that we were defeated, and that if we got off we should need our rifles for subsistence in the woods.' The battle still raged, and at one spot might be seen a party of soldiers gathering together, having nothing to do but to present mere marks for the enemy. They appeared stupefied and bewildered by the danger. At another spot the soldiers had broken into the marquees of the officers, and were eating the breakfast from which those had been called into the battle." " It must be remembered that neither officers nor men had eaten anything the whole morning. Some of the men were shot down in the very act of eating. Just where I stood, there were no Indians visible, although their rifle balls were striking all HISTORY OF OHIO - 327 around. At last I saw an Indian break for a tree about forty yards off, behind which he loaded and fired four times, bringing down his man at every fire, and with such quickness as to give me no chance to take sight in the intervals of his firing. At length I got a range of two inches inside his back-bone, and blazed away. Down he fell, and I saw no more of him. "A short time after, I heard the cry given by St. Clair, and his adjutant-sergeant, to charge to the road. I ran across the army to where I had left my relative, Captain Piatt, and told him that the army was broken up and in full retreat. "Don't say so,' he replied, you will discourage my men, and I can't believe it.' I persisted a short time, when finding him obstinate, I said : "If you will rush on your fate, then do it.' " I then ran off towards the rear of the army, which was making off rapidly. Piatt called after me, saying, ' Wait for me.' It was of no use to stop, for by this time the savages were in full chase, and hardly twenty yards behind me. Being uncommonly active in those days, I soon got from the rear to the front of the troops, although I had great trouble to avoid the bayonets which the men had thrown after the retreat with the sharp point towards their pursuers." Another incident of the battle related by McClung, in his Sketches of Western Adventure, gives the reader a vivid idea of the terrors of the scene. The late William Kennan, of Fleming County, at that time a young man of eighteen, was attached to the corps of rangers who accompanied the regular force. He had long been remarkable for strength and activity. In the course of the march from Fort Washington, he had repeated opportunities of testing his astonishing powers in that respect, and was universally admitted to be the swiftest runner in the light corps. On the evening preceding the action, his corps had been advanced, as already observed, a few hundred yards in front of the first line of infantry, in order to give seasonable notice of the enemy's approach. Just as the day was dawning, he observed about thirty Indians within one hundred yards of the guard fire, advancing curiously toward the spot where he stood, together with about twenty rangers, the rest being considerably in the rear. Supposing it to be a mere scouting party, as usual, and not 328 - HISTORY OF OHIO. superior in number to the rangers, he sprang forward a few paces, in order to shelter himself in a spot of peculiarly rank grass, and firing with a quick aim upon the foremost Indian, he instantly fell flat upon his face, and proceeded, with all prompt rapidity, to load his gun, not doubting, for a moment, but that the rangers would maintain their position and support him. The Indians, however, rushed forward in such overwhelming masses, that the rangers were compelled to fly with precipitation, leaving young Kennan in total ignorance of his danger. Fortunately the captain of his company had observed him when he threw himself in the grass, and suddenly shouted aloud, " Run, Kennan, or you are a dead man." He instantly sprang to his feet, and beheld Indians within ten feet of him, while his company was more than one hundred yards in front. Not a moment was to be lost. He darted off with every muscle strained to its utmost, and was pursued by a dozen of the enemy with loud yells. He at first pressed forward to the usual fording place in the creek, which ran between the rangers and the main army. But several Indians, who had passed him before he rose from the grass, threw themselves in the way and completely cut him of from the rest. By the most powerful exertions he had thrown the whole body of his pursuers behind him, with the exception of one young chief, who displayed a swiftness and perseverance equal to his own. In the circuit which Kerman was obliged to make the race continued for more than four hundred yards. The distance between them was about eighteen feet, which Kennan could not increase, nor his adversary diminish. Each, for the time, put his whole soul into the race. Kennan, as far as he was able, kept his eye upon the motions of his pursuer, lest he should throw the tomahawk, which he held aloft, in a menacing attitude. At length finding that no other Indian was immediately at hand, he determined to try the metal of his pursuer, in a different manner, and felt for his tomahawk in order to turn at bay. It had escaped from its sheath, while he lay in the grass. His hair almost lifted his cap from his head when he saw himself totally disarmed. As he had slackened his pace for a moment, the Indian was almost within reach of him, when he recommenced the race. But the idea of being without arms lent wings to his flight, and, for the first time, he saw himself gaining ground. He had watched the motions of his pursuer HISTORY OF OHIO - 329 too closely, however, to pay proper attention to the nature of the ground before him, and he suddenly found himself in front of a large tree, which had been blown down, and upon which brush and other impediments lay, to the height of eight or nine feet. The Indian who, heretofore, had not uttered the slightest sound, now gave a short, quick yell, as if secure of his victim. Kennan had not a moment to deliberate. He must clear the impediment at a leap or perish. Putting his whole soul into the effort, he bounded into the air with a power which astonished himself, and clearing limbs, brush and every thing else, alighted, in perfect safety, upon the other side. A loud yell of astonishment burst from the band of pursuers, not one of whom had the hardihood to attempt the same feat. Kennan, as may be readily imagined, had no leisure to enjoy his triumph. But dashing into the bed of the creek, upon the banks of which the feat had been performed, where the high banks would shield him from the fire of the enemy, he ran up the stream until a convenient place offered for crossing, and rejoined the rangers in the rear of the encampment, panting from the fatigue of exertions which have seldom been surpassed. No breathing time was allowed him, however. The attack instantly commenced, as we have already observed, and was continued for three hours with unabated fury. Then the retreat commenced. Kennan was attached to Major Clarke's battalion, and had the dangerous service of protecting the rear. This corps quickly lost its commander, and was completely disorganized. Kennan was among the hindmost when the flight commenced, but by exerting those same powers which had saved him in the morning, he quickly gained the front, passing several horsemen in the flight. Here he beheld a private of his own company, an intimate acquaintance, lying upon the ground, with his thigh broken, and, in tones of the most piercing distress, imploring each horseman who hurried by, to take him up behind him. As soon as he beheld Kennan coming up, on foot, he stretched out his arms, and called aloud for him to save him.. Notwithstanding the imminent peril of the moment, his friend could not reject so passionate an appeal, but swinging him in his arms, he placed him upon his back, and ran, in that manner, for several hundred yards. Horseman after horseman passed them, all of whom refused to relieve him of his burden. At length the enemy was gaining upon him so fast, that Kennan 330 - HISTORY OF OHIO. saw their death certain, unless he relinquished his burden. He accordingly told his friend that he had used every possible exertion to save his life, but in vain ; that he must relax his hold around his neck or they both would perish. The unhappy wretch, heedless of every remonstrance, still clung convulsively to his back, and impeded his exertions, until the foremost of the enemy, armed with tomahawks alone, were within twenty yards of them. Kennan then drew his knife from its sheath, and cut the fingers of his companion, thus compelling him to relinquish his hold. The unhappy man rolled upon the ground in utter helplessness, and Kennan beheld him tomahawked before he had gone thirty yards. Relieved from his burden he darted forward with an activity which once more brought him to the van. Here again he was compelled to neglect his own safety in order to attend to that of others. Mr. Madison, of Kentucky, subsequently Governor of the State, was at that time a subaltern in St. Clair's army. He was a man who united the most amiable temper with the most unconquerable courage. Being a young man of rather feeble constitution, he was totally exhausted by the exertions of the morning, and was now sitting down upon a log, calmly awaiting the approach of his enemies. Kennan hastily accosted him and inquired the cause of his delay. Madison, pointing to a wound which had bled profusely, replied that he was unable to walk farther and had no horse. Kennan instantly ran back to a spot where he had seen an exhausted horse grazing, caught him without difficulty, and having assisted Madison to mount, walked by his side until they were out of danger. Fortunately the pursuit soon ceased, as the plunder of the camp presented irresistible attractions to the enemy. The friendship thus formed between these two young men endured, without interruption, through life. Mr. Kennan never entirely recovered from the immense exertions which he was compelled to make during this unfortunate expedition. He settled in Fleming County, and continued for many years a leading member of the Baptist Church. He died in 1827. Among those engaged in this disastrous battle there was a gentleman from New Jersey, Captain Littell, with his son Stephen. The captain had been a man of war from his youth. He had been engaged in thirteen skirmishes with the Indians, and had gained much reputation in the battles of the Revolution at Brandy- 332 - HISTORY OF OHIO. wine and Germantown. Having been unfortunate in business, he had turned his attention to the new lands at the West. His son, who accompanied him, had just attained his majority. The captain. thinking that, as a member of St. Clair's expedition, he would have a fine opportunity of exploring the country, applied for a commission. Being too late in his application, both he and his son enlisted in the ranks. He entertained the supposition, which unfortunately was very general, that there would be no fighting. It was thought that the Indians, appalled by the approach of so formidable a force, would not only make no resistance, but that they would throw down their arms and beg for peace. The company to which Captain Littell and his son attached themselves was composed mainly of young men from New Jersey, most of whom had come out for the purpose of viewing the country. This company was esteemed one of the best of the militia corps. It was stationed in the advance, upon the other side of the creek, where the savages commenced their onset. Captain Littell, being hotly engaged in the fight, was not aware of the order to retreat, until the enemy were all around him. With the gleaming tomahawks of the savages almost over his head, he sprang forward to cross the stream. As he leaped down the precipitous bank, he stumbled and fell, and thus escaped the shower of bullets whistling all around him. He fell into a hollow of mud and water. The pursuing Indians, supposing him to be shot dead, and that they could return at their leisure for his scalp, rushed by for other victims. Fortunately, the captain was somewhat screened from observation by the rank grass and dense underbrush which fringed the stream. His boots were filled with water, thus rendering rapid flight impossible. As he was emptying his boots and making other preparations for escape, he was discovered by a solitary Indian, who, supposing him to be helplessly wounded, rushed incautiously towards him to take his scalp. He stumbled over some slight impediment, and Captain Little, springing up, plunged his sword to the hilt in his bosom. The savage dropped dead into the water. The captain then fled into the forest. After two days of solitary wandering, and much suffering, he reached Fort Jefferson in safety. The escape of his son, Stephen, was still more remarkable. At HISTORY OF OHIO - 333 the commencement of the battle, he was at the extreme advance. Being unable to keep up with his comrades, in their precipitate flight, he sprung aside, and hid in a dense thicket. The yelling savages rushed by in their hot pursuit. The Indians were thus soon between him and the rest of the troops. Here he remained for some time, in dreadful suspense, as the roar of the battle died away in the distance, the Indians being in full chase of the flying army. He then ventured slowly forward, until he reached the scene of the night's encampment. Awful was the scene presented to him there. The bodies of nine hundred of the killed and wounded encumbered the ground. It was a cold, frosty morning. The scalped heads presented a very revolting spectacle, a peculiar vapor ascending from them all. Many of these poor creatures were still alive. Groans ascended from all sides. Several of the wounded, knowing that as soon as the savages returned they would be doomed to death by torture, implored young Littell to put an end to their misery. This he refused to do. Seeing among the dead one who bore a strong resemblance to his father, he was in the act of turning over the body to examine the features when the exultant and terrific shouts of the returning savages fell upon his ear, and already he could see through the forest the plumed warriors rushing back. It so chanced that an evergreen tree of very dense foliage had been felled near where he stood. It was his only possible covert. He sprang into the tree, and turned its branches, as well as he could, around him. Scarcely had he done this than the savages came bounding upon the ground, like so many demons. Immediately they commenced their fiend-like acts of torture upon all the wounded. One of their principal amusements was to bind a captive to a tree, and see how near to his head they could throw their tomahawks without killing him. If the cruel weapon chanced to strike the cheek or the brow, bringing forth the gushing blood, it only awoke fresh shouts of merriment, giving additional zest to the game. One of the tomahawks thus thrown came so near the tree where Stephen was concealed, that he could have stooped forward and picked it up. As the savage sprung to get it, Littell felt sure that his keen eye was fixed upon him, and he had doubted not that his dreadful doom was sealed. The Indian, fortunately, did not 334 - HISTORY OF OHIO. see him ; but, catching up his murderous weapon, sank it to the helve in the brain of the victim he was torturing. The scenes he continued to witness were as awful as the imagination can conceive. Incredible as it may seem, it is stated that there were two hundred and fifty women among the camp-followers in this campaign. This can only be accounted for upon the supposition that they, with the rest of the community, imagined that there would be no fighting ; that a treaty of friendship would be made with the Indians, and that garrisons would be established, under whose protection they, with their husbands, might find new homes. Fifty-six of them were killed, and they were tortured, if possible, even more unmercifully than the. men. Some accounts state that two hundred of these women fell vic tims to savage barbarity. One woman was running with her babe, but one year old, in her arms. In utter exhaustion, as she was about to fall by the wayside, she threw her wailing child into the snow. The Indians picked up the babe, spared its life, and took it to Sandusky, where it was brought up as one of the tribe. Some years after this dreadful defeat of the Americans, an old Indian woman, speaking of the event, said: "Oh, my arm, that night, was weary with scalping white men." We have no means of ascertaining what number of warriors the Indians brought into the battle. There is no evidence that at the commencement of the conflict they exceeded the number General St. Clair commanded. But, in an hour, nearly one-half of General St. Clair's army was destroyed, and the remainder were in tumultuous and frenzied flight. This gave the Indians an immense superiority. Their victory was clearly the result, not of overwhelming numbers, but of superior generalship. The fugitives scarcely stopped to breathe until they reached Fort Jefferson, about thirty miles from the field of battle. Here they met the First Regiment, which had been sent back for the protection of the baggage-wagons. As they had but just erected the fort, and left in it a small garrison, there were no supplies there for the exhausted, bleeding, starving army. General St. Clair, in his official report, writes : "Taking a view of the situation of our broken troops at Fort Jefferson, and that there were no provisions in the fort, I called upon the field officers for their advice as to what was proper further to be done. It was their unanimous opinion HISTORY OF OHIO - 335 that the addition of the First Regiment, unbroken as it was, did not put the army on so respectable a footing as it was in the morning, because a great part of it was now unarmed; that it had been found unequal to the enemy, and should they come on, which was probable, it would be found so again; that the troops could not be thrown into the fort, because it was too small,, and there were no provisions in it ; that provisions were known to be upon the road, at the distance of one, or at the most two, marches; that therefore it would be proper to move, without loss of time, to meet the provisions, when the men might have the sooner an opportunity of some refreshment ; and that a detachment might be sent forward with supplies, to be safely deposited in the fort." Agreeably to this advice, the exhausted and terrified army was again put upon the march at ten o'clock of that very night. Through all the dark hours they dragged along their weary feet. The next morning they fortunately met some wagons containing flour. Part of this was distributed among the almost famished troops, and part was sent forward to the relief of the little garrison in Fort Jefferson. The main body now pressed on to Cincinnati, where it took shelter beneath the walls of Fort Washington. Not long after this two white men, who had been prisoners in the Miami villages, escaped. They said that the Indian warriors made all manner of fun in describing the manner in which Governor St. Clair posted his troops. They even got up a sham fight, in representation of it, for the amusement of the squaws. With roars of laughter they reenacted the scene, calling it St. Clair's fight and dance. They said that they intended annually to celebrate the victory by a similar contemptuous festival. But war is a very uncertain game; and the braggadocio is very apt eventually to be humbled. Not long after this the Indians had their turn, in dancing, as they were pierced by the bullets of the white man; and they found something more serious to attend to than engaging in mock fights. There were three distinguished Indian chieftains who led in this battle—Blue Jacket, Buckongahelas, and Little Turtle. These were all men of remarkable ability, and we shall hear from them again. Little Turtle became very much interested in the civilization of his tribe. He made very minute inquiries of General. Harrison, respecting the organization of the National Govern- 21 336 - HISTORY OF OHIO. ment. In the war of 1812 he met Kosciusko, in Philadelphia, and quite a warm friendship sprang up between them. Little Turtle lived several years after the war, with a high reputation for wisdom, humanity and courage. Schoolcraft writes of him: "There have been few individuals, among the aborigines, who have done so much to abolish the rites of human sacrifice, The grave of this noted warrior is shown to visitors near Fort Wayne. It is frequently visited by the Indians in that part of the country, by whom his memory is cherished with the greatest respect and veneration." When Volney, the celebrated French traveler and philosopher, was in this country, he sought an interview with this illustrious Indian chief in Philadelphia, in the year 1797. From him he obtained a valuable vocabulary of the language of his tribe. In one of these interviews Volney said to Little Turtle : "Why do you not live among the whites ? Is not life in Philadelphia more comfortable than upon the banks of the Wabash?" The chief replied: "Taking all things together, you have the advantage over us. But here I am deaf and dumb. I do not talk your language. I can neither hear nor make myself heard, When I walk through the streets I see every person in his shop employed about something ; one makes shoes, another hats, a third sells cloth, and every one lives by his labor. I say to myself, which of all these things can you do ? Not one. I can make a bow or an arrow, catch fish, kill game, and go to war. But none of these is of any use here. To learn what is to be done here would require a very long time. Old age comes on. I should be a piece of furniture useless to the whites, and useless to myself, I must return to my own country." M. Volney says that the skin of Little Turtle, where not exposed, was as white as his own. Upon his mentioning this to the chief one day, he said : "I have seen Spaniards in Louisiana, and found no difference of color between them and me. And why should there be any? In them, as with us, it is the work of the Sun, the great father of colors, which burns us." Colonel John Johnston, in his "Recollections," says that Little Turtle was a man of great vivacity, and that he was particularly fond of the society of gentlemen, and of a good dinner. He had two wives living in the same lodge with him. One, having been HISTORY OF OHIO - 337 the choice of his youth, had grown old, being about fifty, and had sunk into a mere household drudge. The other was really a beautiful Indian girl of eighteen. She was the undisguised favorite, and yet there was never any feeling of jealousy perceptible between them. Little Turtle was fond of telling of his war adventures. One anecdote he used to relate with much gusto, in which he himself had been outwitted by a white man. "A white man," said he, "a prisoner of many years in the tribe, had often solicited permission to go on a war party, and had been refused. It never was the practice of the Indians to ask or encourage white prisoners among them to go to war against their countrymen. This man, however, had so far won the confidence of the Indians, and being very importunate, that at length we consented, and I took him on an expedition to Kentucky. "As was our practice, we had carefully reconnoitered, and had fixed on a house recently built as the one to be attacked the next morning before the dawn of day. The house was surrounded by a clearing, there being much brush and fallen timber on the ground. At the appointed time the Indians, with the white man, began to move to the attack. At all such times no talking or noise is to he made. They creep along on their hands and feet. All is done by signs from the leader. "The white man, all the time, was striving to be foremost, while the Indians were beckoning him to keep back. In spite of all their efforts he would keep ahead. And having, at length, got within running distance of the house, he jumped to his feet and went with all his speed, shouting at the top of his voice, Indians ! Indians! We had to make a precipitate retreat, losing forever our white companion and disappointed in our fancied conquest of the log cabin. From that day I would never trust a white man to accompany me again to war." Kosciusko presented Little Turtle with a favorite brace of pistols, saying to him : "These pistols I have carried and used in many a hard fought battle in defense of the oppressed, the weak, the wronged of my own race. I now present them to you with the injunction that with them you shoot dead the first man who ever comes to subjugate you or despoil you of your country." Buckongahelas was a war chief of the Delawares. He had been so much under the influence of the Moravian missionaries 338 - HISTORY OF OHIO. that he might be almost deemed a civilized man. He was endowed with unusual native strength of mind, and had been greatly exasperated at the massacre of his unoffending brethren by the infamous Colonel Williamson. He also felt outraged by the fraudulent treaties, through which the white men were nominally purchasing land of Indians, who had no right to dispose of it. In council there was no man who could speak more vehemently or more to the point than he. Mr. B. B. Thatcher says that no Christian knight was ever more scrupulous in performing all his engagements than was Buckongahelas. He had all the qualifications of a hero. His independence was of a noble nature, and all who approached him were impressed by his dignity of char acter. Blue Jacket, the leading chief of the Shawanese, had also attained much distinction as a warrior. There are, however, but few particulars of his history recorded. The simple explanation of the defeat of St. Clair is, that he had chieftains arrayed against him who were vastly his superiors in the art of war. He was brave and energetic, with but very little ability to conduct a campaign. Does the question arise, How was it possible for such men as these chieftains are represented to have been, to have allowed such horrible atrocities of barbaric torture as were inflicted upon their victims? It is very difficult to answer this question. Alas for man! Read the history of the Spanish Inquisition and see what civilized and professedly Christian men can do even in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Never did savage atrocities surpass those which civilized, educated and nominally religious men have perpetrated upon their brother man. And these Inquisitors were often tender husbands and loving fathers. It would seem as though the fiend and the angel may dwell together in the same man bosom, CHAPTER XVIII. THE CAMPAIGN OF WAYNE. SKETCH OF ARTHUR ST. CLAIR - EFFECT OF HIS DEFEAT-EXPEDITION OF GENERAL SCOTT - GROWING IMPORTANCE OF CINCINNATI - NEW EXPEDITION - ANTHONY WAYNE - EMPLOYMENT OF SPIES INCIDENTS - INDIAN DEMANDS- AMERICAN DEFEAT - FORT RECOVERY - POSITION OF FORT DEFIANCE - ITS STRENGTH - PROCLAMATION OF LORD DORCHESTER - INSTRUCTIONS OF WASHINGTON - MR. BURNET'S NOTES ON THE BATTLE OF FORT RECOVERY - MODE OF FORTIFICATION - WILLIAM WELLS' ANECDOTE - HENRY MILLER, THE SCOUT - CAPTURE OF CHRISTOPHER MILLER. THE AWFUL disaster which befell the troops under General St. Clair raised a fearful storm of indignation against him. It is admitted by all who knew him, that he was a man of very respectable abilities, of extensive information, of upright purposes, of genial character and manners which endeared him greatly to his friends. He was plain and simple in his dress and equipage, and equally accessible to all. There can be no question that he was sincerely devoted to the public welfare. Arthur St. Clair was born in Scotland, in the year 1764. After receiving a liberal education in one of the most distinguished universities of his native land, he studied medicine. Being of an adventurous turn of mind, he obtained a subaltern's appointment to accompany General Wolfe, in 1763, to the storming of Quebec. After the peace he was assigned to the command of Fort Ligonier, and receivea a grant of a thousand acres of land. In the conflict with Great Britain he warmly espoused the cause of the colonists. He fought bravely, and was promoted to the rank of brigadier. At Princeton and Trenton he gained new laurels. Subsequently he attained the rank of Major General, and was stationed at Ticonderoga. This post he abandoned upon the approach of Burgoyne's army. For this he was unjustly accused 340 - HISTORY OF OHIO. of incapacity, cowardice and treachery. A court-martial, after the most careful investigation, declared that Major General St. Clair is acquitted with the highest honor of the charges against him. Afterwards Congress, by a unanimous vote, confirmed this decision. It has been well and truly said that the works were incomplete, and incapable of being defended against the whole British army. By a brave defense St. Clair might have gained much personal renown. But he would have lost many men, and in the end the fort would unquestionably have been taken. This loss would have prevented the subsequent capture of Burgoyne's army. By daring to do an unpopular act, St. Clair exhibited moral courage far superior to that physical daring which often gains a battle. While residing on his farm at Ligonier, General St. Clair, in 1785, was chosen a delegate to the Continental Congress, and soon was elected president of that honorable body. After the passage of the ordinance for the government of the Northwestern Territory, he was appointed Governor, and continued in the office till the close of the year 1802, when he was removed by President Jefferson. After his removal from office he returned to the Ligonier Valley. He had laid up no money, but was poor, aged and infirm. He was very careless in money matters, and was very unwisely negligent of his own accounts. He had a claim against the government for a few thousand dollars, which he neglected to present until it was forfeited by the statute of limitation. After two years of harrassing troubles and disappointments, he relinquished the pursuit of his claim in despair, and returned to his home a broken-hearted, worn-out man, to dwell with a widowed daughter in abject poverty. The State of Pennsylvania, his adopted state, took pity upon him, and, after some time, voted him an annuity of six hundred and fifty dollars. This gave the gallant old soldier a comfortable subsistence for the remainder of his days. He lived, however, but a few years to enjoy this bounty. On the 31st of August, 1818, he died at the age of eighty-four. The return of St. Clair's routed army to Fort Washington spread consternation and mourning into almost every family. Nearly one-half of the settlers had entered upon this fatal campaign. All the settlements in the Miami country, excepting those in the immediate vicinity of the forts, were abandoned. Many HISTORY OF OHIO - 341 of the terrified pioneers, retreating with the army, continued their flight across the Ohio River into Kentucky, hoping to find safety in the stronger posts which had been established there. The Indians, emboldened by their great victory, ventured by night even into the streets of Cincinnati to spy out the exposure of the town, and the best points upon which to make an attack upon Fort Washington. The country generally was so disheartened that it was proposed in Congress to abandon the whole of the Northwestern Territory, to the Indians, and make the Ohio River the northern boundary Of the United States. The people east of the mountains were weary of these constantly recurring events of disaster and blood, and were reluctant to make any further appropriations for the conduct of such a war. It was nearly a year before the National Government adopted any decisive measures for the chastisement• of the Indians. In the meantime a very cruel and bloody war, with varying success, was surging to and fro all along the frontiers. A few weeks after the great defeat General Scott dispatched two spies to the scene of the late conflict to reconnoiter the position and movements of the enemy. A few miles from the fatal spot they discovered a large party of Indians rioting over the plunder they had taken. They were singing, dancing, feasting, and, with great merriment, were riding the bullocks which they had captured. The men returning with this report, General Scott arranged his troops in three divisions, and by forced marches advanced to attack the Indians by surprise. The expedition was a complete success. He fell furiously upon the bewildered warriors, killed two hundred of them, and put the rest to flight. He also recovered the cannon and all the remaining stores which were in the hands of the Indians. This victory was gained with the loss of but six men. General Scott visited the scene of St. Clair's defeat, and gives the following account of the spectacle presented to him there: "The place had a very melancholy appearance. Within the space of about three hundred and fifty yards lay three hundred skull-bones, which were buried by my men while on the ground. For five miles along the road the woods were strewed with skeletons, muskets," etc. Notwithstanding this victory of General Scott, the Indians had 342 - HISTORY OF OHIO. acquired great confidence in themselves and great contempt for their enemies on the Ohio. Their incursions were daily becoming more extended and daring. Very vigilantly they guarded the Ohio River to cut off the boats of the emigrants. Still, in the year 1793, about fifty settlers were added to the population of Cincinnati. Three or four frame houses were erected, besides several log cabins. A substantial but very plain house of worship was built. It was a mere box, without the slightest attempt at ornamentation. But as Cincinnati was the headquarters of the Territorial Army and the seat of Territorial Government, it assumed quite an important air of business. The town was built on what was called the lower terrace, near the river, and consisted of a straggling street, mainly of log cabins, intersected by short cross streets which led to the second terrace. This eminence Was crowned by the massive walls of Fort Washington. The ax had cut an opening in the gigantic forest for the erection of the town. Some of the rough places were leveled, but stumps and logs were yet seen everywhere. This rustic Presbyterian Church was occupied by its first pastor, James Kemper. He was a man of sincere piety and an eloquent preacher. During the summer a school was opened, which taught simply the elements of reading, writing and arithmetic. It was attended by about thirty boys and girls. Gradually the National Government had been gathering its resources and making preparations for a new expedition to the Maumee country. It was deemed very important, for its influence upon the Indians, that the national reputation should be retrieved. The troops were concentrated at the Falls of the Ohio. The little army was entrusted to the leadership of General Anthony Wayne. The impetuosity of his character had given him the sobriquet of Mad Anthony. It was generally supposed that he was much better calculated to head a charge than to conduct a campaign. His success, however, in this expedition gave him the reputation of being a general as well as a fighter. General Wayne was born in Eastown, Chester County, Pennsylvania, on the 1st of January, 1745. His father was a farmer who had served in the Indian wars, and who had taken his seat in the Provincial Legislature. Anthony received a good common school education, though, as a boy, he was much more fond of military amusements than of his books. At eighteen years of age HISTORY OF OHIO - 345 he left the Philadelphia Academy and commenced the business of a surveyor. With all the ardor of his nature he espoused the cause of the Revolution, and occupied several posts of political influence at the commencement of the strife. In 1775 he raised a regiment of volunteers and was unanimously chosen its colonel. In many conflicts he served with credit to himself, and in 1777 was promoted by Congress to the rank of brigadier general. He commanded a division at the battle of Brandywine, where both in the fight and the retreat he displayed much gallantry. At the battle of Germantown he was in the thickest of the conflict, and covered the retreat with great ability. In all councils of war he was noted for recommending the most energetic and decisive measures. In the capture of Stony Point, which expedition he led, he acquired much renown. He took a very active part in the final campaign which led to the capture of Cornwallis. In 1792 President Washington appointed him as successor of General St. Clair in command of the army on the western frontier. For two or three years the Ohio Company had kept six spies constantly employed. They ranged the woods, two and two, for miles around the vicinity of the settlements. It was their purpose to discover if any small parties of Indians were lurking about for scalps or plunder. An alarm gun fired from the fort conveyed the intelligence to all the little cluster of families that danger was near. There was then a general rush to the stockade. Limestone, now Maysville, Kentucky, was the head-quarters from which these rangers explored that region, to guard against marauding bands from the other side of the Ohio. Their employment was perilous indeed, and called for the utmost vigilance and sagacity. Of the four thus engaged in Maysville, one Duncan McArthur subsequently became Governor of Ohio. Another, Nathaniel Beasley, became major general of the militia. Two of them would leave Monday morning, and following along the southern shore of the Ohio River till they reached the mouth of the Big Sandy on Wednesday evening. On Thursday morning the other two would leave Limestone for the mouth of the Big Sandy. They would thus meet and pass each other nearly opposite the mouth of the Scioto River. By this constant vigilance, the region would be traversed four times each week. Sometimes they would paddle up and down the river in a birch canoe, creeping 346 - HISTORY OF OHIO. cautiously along the shores. One would paddle the canoe, while the other, a little ahead, would go on foot through the woods. Upon one of these tours, two of these spies, Samuel Davis and Duncan McArthur, had encamped at night nearly opposite the mouth of the Scioto. Early the next morning they crossed the river in their canoe, and went a short distance back into the woods, to one of the salt licks, which they knew to be frequented by deer. This lick was about two miles below the present site of Portsmouth, near the house subsequently reared and occupied by Judge John Collins. It was a beautiful, serene, autumnal morning. A light fog, not yet dispersed by the rising sun, hung over the lowland. With the. silent, stealthy tread of the catamount, looking anxiously in every. direction to see if any lurking savage were near, they approached the spring. Davis was creeping along through a thicket of wood and brush, when he lifted his head to see if any deer were insight. At that instant the crack of an Indian's rifle was heard, and a HISTORY OF OHIO - 347 bullet whistled by his ear; no foe was visible. The slight smoke of the rifle blended with the fog. The Indian, after a moment, stepped from behind the tree, which concealed him, to see what was the effect of his shot. The quick eye of Davis caught sight of him, and in an instant the savage fell, shot through the heart. Davis immediately, without moving, commenced reloading his rifle; under such circumstances that was always the first thing to be done. McArthur, hearing the shots, came rushing to him, and, at the same moment, quite a band of Indians sprung forward, in the clear space around the lick. The two rangers were so concealed in the rank weeds and underbrush, that they were not perceived by the Indians. They immediately commenced flight at their utmost speed, reached their canoe, crossed the Ohio, and were out of danger. Not long after this a boat was ascending the river, and when near the mouth of the Scioto, was fired upon by Indians from the Ohio shore. One man was instantly killed and two severely wounded. The remainder of the crew rapidly pushed the boat towards the other shore, and put back to Maysville. A fresh crew was procured, and the four rangers, who chanced to be then in Maysville, were directed to guard the boat as "far as the mouth of the Big Sandy. Here, at the mouth of a small creek, on the Kentucky shore, they found a birch canoe concealed. It was large enough for eight men. A party had evidently crossed the Ohio, and were prowling about somewhere in the country. One of the rangers immediately returned to Maysville to give the warning. The other three, having seen the packet boat to the mouth of the Big Sandy, commenced their return in a light canoe. The obvious danger was, that they might be fired upon by savages, in ambush on the banks. To obviate this peril, while one paddled the canoe, two advanced on foot to reconnoiter. Should there be signs of savages, .the rangers' could cross to the other shore. Should they be pursued, they could, from behind trees, take deliberate aim at the Indians in their canoe, and shoot them down rapidly. Encountering no foe, they reached the mouth of the Scioto in safety. Here McArthur went back a little distance, among the hills for game. He approached the deer lick, of which we have before spoken, and, concealing himself, waited an hour for the 348 - HISTORY OF OHIO. approach of a deer. At length he saw two Indians coming to the lick ; they were so near that it was impossible for him to escape without being discovered. They were burly savages, thoroughly armed with rifles, tomahawks and scalping knives. The situation of McArthur seemed desperate. In their line of approach they would certainly soon catch sight of him. Instantly he decided upon his mode of action. When the savages were within fourteen paces of him, he fired, and shot one through the heart. He had supposed that the other one, not knowing the number of foes who might be concealed, would instantly take to flight, In this he was mistaken. The Indian did not even dodge, as his companion sank dead by his side. Grasping his rifle, he looked sternly around in search of his invisible foe. McArthur's gun was discharged. The Indian's rifle was loaded. A personal conflict was hopeless. There was no chance for McArthur but in flight ; and he was not a fleet runner. But he broke from his concealment, and was rushing along, at his highest possible speed, when, his feet becoming entangled in the boughs of a fallen tree, he stumbled and fell. At that instant the savage fired, and the ball whistled by him, just singeing his hair. He sprang to his feet and rushed towards the savage, who was now on an equality with him, as both guns were discharged. But at that moment several other Indians came rushing through the thickets,. with unearthly yells. He turned again in his flight, the savages pursuing, like baying bloodhounds, and continually firing upon him. One of their bullets struck his powder-horn, and effectually shivered it, scattering all its contents. Terror lent wings to his flight. To his surprise, he gained upon the Indians, and at length they either lost sight of his track, or, for some other reason, relinquished the pursuit. When he reached the banks of the river he found his companions paddling up and down in the canoe, watching for him. They had heard the firing, had rightly judged its cause, and had despairingly hoped that their comrade might possibly escape. McArthur was hastily taken on board, and the canoe crossing rapidly to the other side of the river, they all soon found themselves safely in Maysville. President Washington was well aware of the atrocities which had been perpetrated upon the Indians, and he was anxious to do HISTORY OF OHIO - 349 everything in his power to secure friendly relations with them. Congress met in Philadelphia on the 5th of November, 1793. In his speech on that occasion, the President said: "The reiterated attempts which have been made to effect a pacification with the Indians, have issued only in new and outrageous proofs of persevering hostility on the part of the tribes with whom we are at war." In September of this year General Wayne had so organized his army as to be ready to move forward into the Indian country. By rapid marches, he advanced up the Valley of the Great Miami to Fort Jefferson, which was about five miles southwest of the present Town of Sidney. At this spot he established a camp, strongly fortified it, and called the place Greenville. Here he wintered, preparing for the campaign of the next Summer, should all efforts at peace be unavailing. Commissioners in the meantime; had been sent to confer with the chiefs. Elated with their success, they demanded that all the white settlements should be. removed to the other side of the river, and that the Ohio should henceforth and forever be the boundary line between their hunting grounds and the American settlements. This demand, of course, could not be complied with. Both parties prepared to renew the war. On the 17th of October, 1793, Lieutenant Lowry and Ensign Boyd, with about ninety men, were escorting to the camp at Greenville, twenty wagons, loaded with grain and stores. The Indian chief, of whom we have before spoken, Little Turtle, at the head of a party of Indians, attacked them. He had superior numbers, and the battle was fought with great desperation on both sides. The Americans were totally routed, with the loss of fifteen men, including both of the officers. in command. The rest of the troops fled, abandoning everything. The Indians, who had begun to despise their opponents, captured seventy horses with all the wagons. On the 24th of August, General Wayne was reinforced, by the arrival of General Scott from Kentucky, with about sixteen hundred mounted volunteers. In December, he moved forward to the battle-field where St. Clair was routed. Here he again erected defensive works, and named them Fort Recovery. They reached the place on Christmas day, and pitched their tents on the battle-round. One of the party writes : "When the men went to lie down in their beds at night, they