350 - HISTORY OF OHIO. had to scrape the bones together, and carry them out, that they might make their beds. The next day holes were dug, and the bones remaining above ground were buried. Six hundred skulls were found among them. The flesh was entirely off the bones, and in many cases the sinews yet held them together. After this melancholy duty was performed, a fortification was built, and named Fort Recovery, in commemoration of its being recovered from the Indians, who had possession of the ground in 1791. On the completion of the fort, one company of artillery, and one of riflemen were left, while the rest returned to Greenville." General Wayne then advanced about sixty miles, along the banks of the Auglaise, until he reached its junction with the Maumee.' Here he constructed, in the heart of the enemy's country, very strong and scientifically arranged works, which he named, not inappropriately, Fort Defiance. Directly between the junction of the two streams he erected four strong, massive block, houses. These houses were connected by stout palisades, enclosing an area of one or two acres. Just outside of the pickets there was a wall of earth, faced with logs. Beyond that, there was a ditch, fifteen feet wide and eight feet deep, fed by water from the Auglaise. The fort was on the site of a large Indian settlement, which had extended several miles up and down the Maumee River. The situation was very beautiful and commanding. The Indians in this region, having long been in friendly intercourse with the French, were far advanced in civilization. The region around was highly cultivated. Vegetables of almost every kind were in abundance. There were more than a thousand acres waving with corn, and there were also large apple and peach orchards. Having erected and garrisoned this fort, General Wayne returned to Greenville. The whole body of troops under his control, occupying these forts, and ready to march beneath his banners, amounted to about three thousand men. The Indian warriors preparing for battle amounted, so far as General Wayne could ascertain, to two thousand men. Many British officers were associated with them, besides a large number of Canadian troops. The British authorities in Canada did not disguise the interest they took in the success of the savages. They encouraged them to a vigorous resistance, leading them to hope, as the Indians tes- HISTORY OF OHIO - 351 tified, in the co-operation of their arms. Lord Dorchester issued a proclamation to the savages, in which he told them that it was probable that England would soon join them in the war against the United States, and that the Indians, in that case, would be able to select their own boundary line, meaning clearly that the line of the Ohio, which they claimed, should be forced upon the United States. He wrote : "From the manner in which the people of the United States push forward, and talk, I should not be surprised if we were at .war with them in the course of the present year. In that case a line will have to be drawn by the warriors." President Washington had given General Wayne very minute instructions respecting the campaign. He suggested the order of march, the way to guard against surprises, the mode of forming speedily in order of battle in the thick woods. The camp at night was always to be in the form of a hollow square, protected by a breastwork of fallen timber or of earth. The cavalry and baggage were to be within the square. The troops were to be kept under the highest possible state of discipline, and to be especially exercised in loading and firing with rapidity and accuracy. Particularly they were to be taught to load while running. The general was entreated not to spare powder or lead in giving the troops skill in these practices, so essential in Indian warfare. The Indians had carefully watched the proceedings of the troops in erecting Fort Recovery, on the ground rendered memorable by the defeat of St. Clair. They resolved to make a desperate effort to destroy the small garrison left in guard there, and to gain the fort for themselves. On the 3oth of June, 1794, a large force, consisting of fifteen hundred Indians, with several companies of Canadians, with blackened faces and in Indian costume, led by British officers, in full dress, made a furious attack upon the fort. Major McMahon was encamped just outside of the works, with about one hundred and fifty troops. Mr. Burnet, in his Notes, gives the following account of this important conflict. "On the 3oth of June a very severe and bloody battle was fought, under the walls of Fort Recovery, between a detachment of American troops, consisting of ninety riflemen and fifty dragoons, commanded by Major McMahon, and a very numerous body of Indians and British, who at the same instant rushed on 352 - HISTORY OF OHIO. the detachment and assailed the fort on every side with fury. They were repulsed with a heavy loss, but again rallied and renewed the attack, keeping up a heavy and constant fire during the whole day, which was returned with spirit and effect by the garrison. "The preceding night was foggy and dark, and gave the Indians an opportunity of carrying off their dead by torch-light, which occasionally drew a fire from the garrison. They, however, succeeded so well that there were but eight or ten bodies left on the ground, which were too near the garrison to be approached. On the next morning McMahon's detachment having entered the fort the enemy renewed the attack, and continued it with great desperation during the day, but were ultimately compelled to retreat from the same field on which they had been proudly victorious on the 4th of November, 1791. "The expectation of the assailants must have been to surprise the post and carry it by storm, for they could not possibly have received intelligence of the movements of the escort under Major McMahon, which only marched from Greenville on the morning preceding, and on the same evening deposited in Fort Recovery the supplies it had conveyed. That occurrence, therefore, could not have led to the movement of the savages. " Judging from the extent of their encampment and their line of march in seventeen columns, forming a wide and extended front, and from other circumstances, it was believed that their numbers could not have been less than from fifteen hundred to two thousand warriors. It was also believed that they were in want of provisions, as they had killed and eaten a number of pack horses in their encampment the evening after the assault, and also at their encampment on their return, seven miles from Fort Recovery, where they remained two nights, having been much encumbered with their dead and wounded. " From the official report of Major Mills, adjutant general of the army, it appears that twenty-two officers and non-commissioned officers were killed, and thirty wounded. Among the former was Major McMahon, and among the latter, Lieutenant Drake. Captain Gibson, who commanded the fort, behaved with great gallantry, and received the thanks of the commander-inchief, as did every officer and soldier of the garrison, and the HISTORY OF OHIO - 353 escort, who were engaged in that most gallant and successful defense. " Immediately after the enemy had retreated, it was ascertained that their loss had been very heavy ; but the full extent of it was not known, till it was disclosed at the treaty of Greenville. References were made to that battle, by several of the chiefs in council, from which it was manifest that they had not, even then, ceased to mourn the distressing losses sustained on that occasion. Having made the attack with a determination to carry the fort or perish in the attempt, they exposed their persons in an unusual degree, and, of course, a large number of the bravest of the chiefs and warriors perished before they abandoned the enterprise. "From the facts afterwards communicated, it was satisfactorily ascertained that there were a considerable number of British soldiers and Detroit militia engaged with the savages on that occasion. A few days previous to that affair, the general had sent out three small parties of friendly Indians, Chickasaws and Choctaws, to take prisoners, for the purpose of obtaining information. One of these parties returned to Greenville, and reported that they had fallen in with a large body of Indians, at Girtystown, near the crossing of the St. Mary's River, on the evening of the twenty-seventh of June. They were apparently bending their course towards Chillicothe, on the Miami. There were a great many white men with them. The other two parties followed the trail of the hostile Indians, and were in sight when the assault on the post commenced. They affirm, one and all, that there were a large number of armed white men with painted faces, whom they frequently heard conversing in English, and encouraging the Indians to persevere and that there were also three British officers, dressed in scarlet, who appeared to be men of distinction, from the great attention and respect which were paid to them. These persons kept at a distance in the rear of the assailants. "Another strong corroborating proof that there were British soldiers and militia in the assault is, that a number of ounce balls and buck-shot were found, lodged in the block-houses and stockades of the fort, and that others were picked up on the ground, fired at such a distance as not to have momentum sufficient to enter the logs. It was supposed that the British who were engaged in the attack, expected to find the artillery that was lost on the fatal fourth of November, which had been hid in the ground, 22 354 - HISTORY OF OHIO. and covered with logs by the Indians, in the vicinity of the battle field. This inference was supported by the fact that, during the conflict, they were seen turning over logs and examining different places in the neighborhood, as if searching for something. There were many reasons-for believing that they depended on that artillery to aid in the reduction of the fort. But, fortunately, most of it had previously been found by its legitimate owners, and was then employed in its defense." It will be remembered that St. Clair, after his awful defeat, was compelled to abandon his artillery. General Wayne succeeded in recovering all these pieces, except one, which could not be found. Nearly twenty years after his day this piece was accidentally discovered, buried deep in the mud. It passed into the possession of an artillery company in Cincinnati, who may, probably, still retain it. The Indians were very adroit in their stratagems, and the utmost caution was requisite in a conflict with them. Captain Shaylor was in command of the little garrison at Fort Jefferson. Immediately after the retreat of the savages from their signal defeat at Fort Recovery, as no Indians were around, and it would take sometime to re-organize new war parties, all the garrisons felt much at their ease. Captain Shaylor, as the Indians well knew, was very fond of hunting. One pleasant summer morning the captain heard the gobble of a flock of turkeys in the woods at a little distance from the fort. Calling his son, they eagerly sallied forth to shoot some game for dinner. They fell into an ambuscade, the son fell, mortally wounded. The gobble of the turkeys was but a decoy of the Indians. The captain turned and fled to the garrison, the Indians, with loud yells, pursued, hoping either to capture him, or to enter the gates at his heels. They were, however, disappointed. He rushed in, though with an arrow quivering in his back, and the gates were immediately closed after him. General Wayne, in all his movements, followed very closely the instructions given him by President Washington. In his marches the army generally halted about the middle of the afternoon. The quartermasters, with the quartermaster-general, surveyor and engineers, selected the ground, and laid off the encampment of each company. They went a little in advance, so that the troops, as soon as they arrived, proceeded to pitch their tents. Each company HISTORY OF OHIO - 355 fortified twenty feet in front of its position. This was done either by throwing up the earth, or by cutting down trees, and piling up the logs. The whole breastwork, around the encampment, was usually completed before dark. Fort Defiance, at the mouth of the Auglaise, was one hundred and three miles from Greenville. During the construction of the fort the cavalry scoured the whole of the highly cultivated region for miles around, destroying the crops and burning the deserted villages. Having finished and strongly garrisoned the fort, Wayne pressed forward down the banks of the Maumee, a distance of forty-five miles, where, at what is called the Rapids, and within seven miles of the old English Fort Miami, he constructed Fort Deposit. It is said that the army which he assembled here amounted to two thousand regulars, besides eleven hundred riflemen, commanded by General Scott. General Wayne was very careful to guard his camp by scouts, who ranged the forest in all directions. One of the scouts, who obtained great distinction, was William Wells. He was captured by the Indians when a mere child, and was adopted into the family of Little Turtle. Here he was treated with the utmost kindness, and he became strongly attached to all the inmates of the lodge. Indeed he became an Indian, in all his sympathies, character and manners. He was one of the most valiant in their war parties, and in his paint and plumes could not be distinguished from other Indians. He commanded three hundred warriors in the attack upon St. Clair, and so directed their fire as to annihilate the artillerists. Notwithstanding this great victory, he felt assurred that, in the end, the whites would triumph. He therefore decided to abandon the Indians, and return to his countrymen., One morning he said to Little Turtle, his adopted father, pointing to the heavens : "When that sun reaches the meridian, I shall leave you for the whites. And whenever you meet me in battle, you must kill me, as I shall endeavor to do by you." It is very remarkable, that after this abrupt departure, the ties of friendship continued unbroken between these highly gifted men. Wells soon joined Wayne's army. His knowledge of Indian haunts and modes of warfare, rendered him an invaluable acquisition to the troops. After peace was restored he returned to his 356 - HISTORY OF OHIO. foster father, Little Turtle, and their friendship remained uninterrupted until his death. In one of his excursions, Captain Wells, upon approaching the banks of St. Mary's River, discovered a group of Indians ascend-the stream in a canoe. He was himself in Indian costume, and spoke their language like a native. The Indians, perceiving him, and not suspecting any danger, turned their canoe towards the shore. As they approached, Captain Wells recognized, among the rest, his Indian father and mother. At the same moment he heard his companions, who were lying in ambush cocking their rifles, to pour a deadly fire into the canoe. Captain Wells, alarmed at the danger to which his friends were exposed, turned to his men and ordered them to desist, declaring that he would shoot down the first man who should fire into the boat. " That family," said he, " has fed me when hungry, clothed me when naked, and nursed me when sick, and has treated me with as much affection as one of their own children." This speech touched the hearts of his comrades, who knew of his previous history. They dropped their rifles, and shook hands cordially with the trembling Indians. Such are the joys of peace and friendship. Captain Wells assured the family that they had nothing to fear. He, however, told Little Turtle that General Wayne was approaching with a force which the Indians could not resist, and that the best thing they could do was immediately to make peace. Urging his father to keep, for the future, out of danger, they took an affectionate leave of each other. The Indians seemed very grateful for this manifestation of kindness, and paddled rapidly from the shore. Another of the scouts, under the command of Captain Wells, was a man of remarkable history, by the name of Henry Miller. He, and a younger brother, Christopher, had been captured by the Indians when children, and had been kindly adopted into an Indian family. He lived with the Indians until he was twenty-four years of age. Though he had fully adopted the Indian's mode of life, and had entirely identified himself with the tribe, he began to yearn for a return to civilized life. He could not, however, persuade his brother to accompany him in his contemplated flight. Many years passed away, during which the brothers heard nothing of each other. Henry escaped through the woods, and safely HISTORY OF OHIO - 357 reached his friends in Kentucky. Henry and Wells had known each other when residing with the Indians. There were four other men, united with these two, who usually went out together, as scouts, making a party of six. In June, 1794, while the head-quarters of the army were at Greenville. General Wayne dispatched Wells and his corps on one of their excursions. They were particularly requested to bring some Indian into the camp, as a prisoner, from whom the movements of the :savages could be ascertained. They crossed the St. Mary's River, :and, as they were proceeding along the banks of the Auglaise, they discovered a slight smoke curling up through the tree-tops, at a distance. With great caution three of them crept along with the stealthy tread of an animal, seeking to plunge upon its prey, till they reached a spot screened by the dense boughs of a fallen tree, from which they saw three Indians, within half gun-shot distance, making themselves very merry around a camp-fire. They had just killed a deer, and were feasting upon the savory cuts. The plan of the scouts was immediately formed. Wells and Miller were to shoot two of the Indians, one on the right and the other on the left. Immediately, upon the report of the guns, McClellan, who was fleet of foot as a deer, was to spring forward and seize the center Indian, while instantly supported by his comrades. The guns were fired, and the two Indians dropped dead, shot through the heart. McClellan, with uplifted tomahawk, rushed upon his victim. The Indian, without even grasping his rifle, bounded down towards the river. At that place there was a bluff bank, nearly twenty feet high. Giving a tremendous leap, he landed in the stream but a short distance from the shore, and sank in the soft oozy bottom of mud, up to his waist. He was effectually imprisoned. McClellan sprang after him, and found himself in about the same predicament. As they were both floundering in the mire, the Indian drew his knife. McClellan, brandishing his tomahawk, ordered the Indian to throw his knife into the water, or he would instantly cleave his brain. He did so, and surrendered without further opposition. By this time Wells and his companion came to the bank and discovered the two struggling in the mire. Their prisoner being secure, they selected a place where the bank was less precipitous, went down, dragged the captive out and tied him. He was sulky, and refused 358 - HISTORY OF OHIO. to speak either English or Indian. Some of the party went back for their horses. The captive was painted, as was usual with the Indians, and was covered with mud. Upon washing off the mud and paint, they found, much to their surprise, that he was a white man. He however seemed very sullen, and refused to answer any questions. He was manifestly, in all his character, thoroughly an Indian, though the blood of the white man flowed in his veins. Henry Miller, for some cause, began to suspect that this might be his long lost brother, Christopher. After looking at him very closely, he came up and called him by his Indian name. The man started in great surprise, seemed bewildered, and asked him how he could possibly know his name. The mystery was soon solved. The captive was indeed Christopher Miller. His escape from death seemed to have been providential. Had he chanced to have stood either upon the right or left of the little group of three, he would certainly have been shot. Christopher was still not at all disposed to make friends of his captors. They took him to Greenville and placed him in the guard-house. General Wayne questioned him very closely, respecting the intentions of the Indians, but could get nothing from him. His brother and Captain Wells exhausted all their powers of persuasion in the endeavor to induce him to abandon the Indians, and return to civilized life. It is, however, a remarkable fact, that while it is easy, so to speak, to make an Indian of a white man, it is very difficult to lead one from the savage to the civilized state. The descent is easy, the ascent laborious and painful. Gradually Christopher became more reconciled and genial. At length he promised that, if they would release him from confinement, he would join them. To this arrangement General Wayne consented, though he had but little faith that his captive would keep his word. They equipped him in a new uniform, and mounted him upon a very fine horse. He joined the company of Captain. Wells, and continued through the war a faithful and intrepid soldier, CHAPTER XIX. THE BATTLE AND ITS RESULTS. CAPTURE OF A CHIEF - DARING ADVENTURE, AND RESULTS - MESSAGE OF GENERAL WAYNE - SPEECH OF LITTLE TURTLE - MOVEMENTS OF THE INDIANS -OFFICIAL REPORT OF GENERAL WAYNE-CONFERENCE BETWEEN GENERAL WAYNE AND MAJOR CAMPBELL - BUCKONGAHELAS AND HIS DEFIANT SPEECH -NARRATIVE BY JONATHAN ALDER-LETTER OF GENERAL HARRISON - VIEWS OF GOVERNOR. SIMCOE - COUNCIL OF CHIEFS AT FORT GREENVILLE - BOUNDARIES OF THE UNITED STATES DEFINED - LORAMIE'S STORE - ANECDOTE. AN OPPORTUNITY soon presented itself to test the fidelity of Christopher Miller. Captain Wells and his party set out on another scouting excursion. They took Christopher with them. They were all dressed as Indian warriors, painted in the highest style, and mounted on very fleet horses. Their tour again led them to the valley of the Auglaise. Here they met a single Indian, and called upon him to surrender. Though there were six against him, the valiant fellow refused. Hastily discharging his rifle at his foes and missing his mark, he turned and ran. It was in the midst of a dense forest, and the thick underbrush so retarded the speed of the horses, that the savage was fast gaining upon his pursuers. They did not fire upon him, for they were anxious to take him as a prisoner. Christopher Miller and McClelland dismounted and pursued. The latter, who had no equal as a runner, soon overtook him. The savage turned and fought like a tiger at bay. But Christopher soon came up, and they closed in upon him and made him their prisoner without inflicting any injury upon him. He turned out to be a Pottawatamie chief of great renown. He was considered by his tribe as unequaled in courage and prowess. They carried their captive back to Greenville. The part which Miller performed on this occasion established his reputation, and entire confidence was thenceforth reposed in him. 360 - HISTORY OF OHIO. Another adventure of these scouts is worthy of record. When General Wayne with his army was at the confluence of the Auglaise and the Maumee, building Fort Defiance, Captain Wells set out on another tour of reconnoisance. The party consisted of six—Captain Wells, the two Millers, McClellan, May and Mahaffy. They could all speak the Indian language, were familiar with Indian customs, and, when plumed, painted and dressed in Indian costume, no eye could detect any difference between them and ordinary Indian bands. They proceeded up the Maumee River, in a northerly direction, on the western banks, until they reached a small Indian village, directly opposite an important British post, called Fort Meigs. The station occupied nearly ten acres. It was well known that the British officers here were doing everything in their power to aid the Indians, supply them with arms and ammunition, and were instructing them in the art of war. This was on the 11th of August, only nine days before the great battle, for which each party was preparing. The little band rode boldly into the Indian village, assuming that they had just come from the English fort on the other side of the river. They chatted freely with the Indians as they trotted slowly along through the narrow street. It was supposed that they were warriors from some distant tribe, who had come to take part in the expected battle. After passing through the town, when at a short distance from it, they met an Indian man and woman, on horseback, returning from hunting. They took them both prisoners, and set out on their return to Fort Defiance. As they were pressing rapidly along, just after dark, they saw the gleam of camp-fires in the distance. Cautiously approaching, they came in sight of a large encampment of warriors, who were feasting and having a very merry time. It was a picturesque and exciting scene. The dark night, the glooms of the majestic forest, the crackle and blaze of the fires illuminating the region far around, the stalwart figures of the warriors in gorgeous barbaric adornment, the horses tethered at a distance — all these combined to present a spectacle which no one could look upon without emotion. These bold rangers, instead of stealing away from the peril, in the darkness, gagged and bound their prisoners at the distance of nearly half a mile from the warriors, and then deliberately rod HISTORY OF OHIO - 361 into their camp, with their rifles lying across the pommels of their saddles. Assuming that they were Indian allies from another tribe, they made minute inquiries about the expected movements of General Wayne, and the measures which the Indians were about to adopt to meet him. The unsuspecting warriors were very cordial and communicative. At length one of the Indians, more sagacious that the rest, began to think that all was not right. In a low tone of voice he said to one near him, " These men are spies ; they are brooding tribe, mischief.” The quick ear of Captain Wells overheard the alarming words. Surrounded as the rangers were, by many to one, the repetition of these words in a loud voice would have insured the immediate capture of every one of them, and their death by torture. Captain Wells gave a preconcerted signal. At that instant every ranger discharged his rifle, and six of the warriors dropped dead. But the bullets had not pierced their hearts ere every horse was spurred to his utmost speed, the riders bowing down, with their breasts on the horses' necks, that they might lessen the mark for the balls of the warriors. But the savages, accustomed to all surprises, were not bewildered. Seizing their rifles, with cool aim they fired. A bullet struck McClellan, and passed through beneath the shoulder-blade. Another ball broke Captain Wells' arm, and his rifle dropped to the ground. May's horse slipping upon a smooth rock, fell, and he was taken prisoner. The two Millers and Mahaffy escaped unharmed. These three, with the two wounded men, rode at full speed to the spot where their prisoners were bound, mounted them on horses, and continued their flight to Fort Defiance ; a long ride of thirty miles. One of them was sent ahead to obtain surgical aid for Wells and McClellan, who were suffering great pain. General Wayne immediately dispatched a surgeon, with a company of dragoons, to escort them in. They reached the fort in safety, and in due time the wounded recovered. May had formerly lived among theLL Indians. They recognized him. One of the chiefs said to him in broken English : " We know you. You speak Indian language. You not content to live with us. Tomorrow we take you to that tree. We will tie you up and make a mark upon your breast, and we will try what Indian can shoot nearest to it." 362 - HISTORY OF OHIO. The next day they bound him to a large burr oak at the edge of the clearing, near the British fort. Fifty bullets passed through his body, near the heart. Thus perished poor May. Fortunate indeed was he in escaping the horrors of Indian torture. On the 13th of August General Wayne, in accordance with the conciliatory and peaceful spirit urged upon him by Washington, sent the following message to the Indians. It was addressed to the Delawares, Shawanese, Miamis, Wyandots, and all other Indian nations north of the Ohio. " I, Anthony Wayne, Major General and Commander-in-chief of the Federal army, now at Grand Glaize, and Commissioner Plenipotentiary of the United States of America, for settling the terms on which a permanent and lasting peace shall be made with each and every of the hostile tribes or nations of Indians northwest of the Ohio, actuated by the purest principles of humanity, and urged by pity for the errors into which bad and designing men have led you, from the head of my army, now in possession of your abandoned villages, once more extend to you the friendly hand of peace. " I invite each and every of the hostile tribes of Indians, to appoint deputies to meet me and my army without delay, between this place and Roche de Boeuf, in order to settle the preliminaries of a lasting peace. This may eventually restore to you, and to all the tribes and nations settled on the margin of the Miami and Auglaise Rivers, your late grounds and possessions, and preserve you and your distressed women and children from danger and famine during the present Fall and ensuing Winter. " The arm of the United States is strong ; but they love mercy and kindness more than war and desolation. To remove any doubts of danger to the deputies whom you may appoint, I hereby pledge my sacred honor for their safety and return. I send Christopher Miller, an adopted Shawanee, and a warrior, whom I took prisoner, as a flag, who will advance in their front to meet me, Mr. Miller was taken prisoner by my warriors six months ago. He can testify to you of the kindness which I have shown to your people, my prisoners, that is, five warriors and two women, who are now all safe and well at Greenville. " But should this invitation be disregarded, and should Mr. Miller be detained or injured, I will immediately order all of those prisoners to be put to death, without distinction. Some of them HISTORY OF OHIO - 365 are known to belong to the first families of your nations. Brothers, be no longer deceived by the false promises of the bad white-men at the foot of the Rapids. They have neither the power nor the inclination to protect you. No longer shut your eyes to your true interests, nor your ears to this peaceful overture. In pity for your innocent women and children, come and prevent the further effusion of blood. Let them experience the kindness and friendship of the United States, and the blessings of peace. " ANTHONY WAYNE." A council of the Indians was held. Little Turtle earnestly counseled peace. In a brief but energetic speech, he said : "We have beaten the enemy twice under separate commanders.. We can not expect the same good fortune always to attend us. The Americans are now led by a chief who never sleeps. The night and the day are alike to him. During all the time that he has been marching upon our villages, notwithstanding the watchfulness of our young men, we have never been able to surprise him. Think well of it. There is something whispers me it would he prudent to listen to his offers of peace." A renowned Indian warrior, Blue Jacket, was commander-inchief of the Indian forces. He was strongly in favor of war, and silenced Little Turtle by accusing him of cowardice. At the close of the council, the chiefs returned the following answer : " If General Wayne will remain where he is for ten days, and then send Miller to us, we will treat with him. But, if he advances, we will give him battle." But General Wayne had already put his army on the march„ and met his messenger on his return at the distance of but a few miles from Fort Meigs. As Miller delivered the answer, he stated that the Indians were all dressed and painted for war ; that war parties were continually coming in, and were received with great enthusiasm ; and that it was his opinion that the message was merely a ruse by which the Indians hoped to gain a little more time to muster their forces. The Indians left their encampment, which, from the encouragement they had received from the British officers, they supposed to be safe under the protection of the guns of the fort, and crossed the river to meet their foes. At six o'clock on the morning of the twentieth of August, General Wayne advanced from Fort Deposit, or Roche de Boeuf, as- 366 - HISTORY OF OHIO. the station was also called, and took position a few miles further down the river on a long ridge called Presque Isle. We give General Wayne's official report of the battle which ensued : " It is with infinite pleasure that I announce to you the brilliant success of the Federal army under my command, in a general action with the combined forces of the hostile Indians and a considerable number of the volunteers and militia of Detroit, on the twentieth of August, 1794, on the banks of the Maumee, in the vicinity of the British fort and garrison at the foot of the Rapids. The army advanced to Roche de Boeuf, on the fifteenth. On the nineteenth, we were employed in making a temporary post for the reception of our stores and baggage, and in reconnoitering the position of the enemy, who were encamped behind a thick, bushy wood in the rear of the forts. " At eight o'clock in the morning of the twentieth, the army again advanced in columns agreeably to the standing order of the march. The legion was on the right — with its right flank covered by the Maumee. One brigade of mounted volunteers was on the left, under Brigadier General Todd, and the other in the rear, under Brigadier General Barbee. A select battalion of mounted volunteers moved in front of the legion, commanded by Major Price. He was directed to keep sufficiently advanced to give timely notice for the troops to form, in case of action— it being as yet uncertain whether the Indians would decide for peace or war. " After advancing about five miles, Major Price's corps received so severe a fire from the enemy, who were secreted in the woods and high grass, as to compel them to retreat. The legion was immediately formed in two lines, principally in a close, thick wood which extended for miles on our left, and for a very considerable distance in front. The ground was covered with old fallen timber, probably occasioned by a tornado, which rendered it impracticable for the cavalry to act with effect, and which afforded the enemy the most favorable covert for their mode of warfare. " The savages were formed in three lines within supporting distance of each other, and extending for nearly two miles, at right angles with the river. I soon discovered from the weight of their fire and extent of their lines, that the enemy were in full force in front, in possession of their favorite ground, and that they were HISTORY OF OHIO - 367 endeavoring to turn our left flank. I therefore gave orders for the second line to advance to support the first. I also directed Major General Scott to gain and turn the right flank of the savages by a circuitous route, with the whole of the mounted volunteers. "At the same time, I ordered the front line to advance and charge with trailed arms, and rouse the Indians, from their covert, at the point of the bayonet. When the Indians were up and fly ing, they were to deliver a close and well-directed fire upon their backs. This was to be followed by a brisk charge, so as not to. give them time to load again, or to form their lines. I also ordered Captain Campbell, who commanded the legionary cavalry, to turn the left flank of the enemy next the river, which afforded a favorable field for that corps to act in. "All these orders were obeyed with spirit and promptitude.. But such was the impetuosity of the charge, by the first line of infantry, that the Indians, and Canadian militia and volunteers, were driven from all their coverts in so short a time that although every possible exertion was used by the officers of the second line of the legion, and by Generals Scott, Wood and Barbee, of the mounted volunteers, to gain their proper positions, only a part of each could get up in season to participate in the action. The enemy were driven, in the course of one hour, more than two miles through the thick woods, by less than one-half of their number. "From every account, the enemy amounted to two thousand combatants. The troops actually engaged against them were short of nine hundred. This horde of savages, with their allies, abandoned themselves to flight, and dispersed with terror and dismay, leaving our victorious army in full and quiet possession of the field of battle, which terminated under the influence of the guns of the British garrison." The battle, though very decisive in the victory over the savages, was too short to be very sanguinary. The loss of the Americans was thirty-three killed and one hundred wounded. The Indian loss was much more severe; but just what it amounted to could never be ascertained, as they made great exertions to remove their dead and wounded. Still, the woods were strewed for a long distance with the bodies of the dead. Among them were found many of their white auxiliaries, armed with British muskets and bayonets. 368 - HISTORY OF OHIO. The victorious American army encamped for three days on the banks of the Maumee, within sight of the fort. This fort, erected by the British, for the protection and encouragement of the Indians, was clearly within the limits of the territory which had been ceded to the United States by the British Government, in the Treaty of Paris. If the region belonged to the United States, the British had no right to construct a fort there. If it belonged to Great Britain, the Americans had no right to fight a battle there. Still neither party wished to renew the war which had so recently terminated. Major Campbell, the commander of the fort, sent a letter to General Wayne, asking him what he meant by bringing his army within reach of the guns of a fort garrisoned by the troops of the King of Great Britain. General Wayne, with spirit, replied, that Major Campbell would find the most satisfactory answer to his question in the brilliant action which had just been fought against a horde of savages in the vicinity of his fort ; and that he should pay no respect to a British fort, which was only established since the commencement of the present war between the United States and the Indians. Major Campbell replied : "Although your letter of yesterday's date fully authorizes me to any act of hostility against the army of the United States, in this neighborhood, under your command, yet, anxious to prevent that dreadful decision, which perhaps is not intended by either of our countries, I have forborne, for these two days past, to resent those insults which you have offered to the British flag, flying at this fort, by approaching it within pistol-shot of my works, not only singly, but in numbers, with arms in their hands. " But should you, after this, continue to approach my post in the threatening manner you are this moment doing, my indispensable duty to my king and country, and the honor of my profession, will oblige me to have recourse to those measures which thousands of either nation may hereafter have cause to regret, and which, I solemnly appeal to God, I have used my utmost endeavors to arrest." To this General Wayne replied that Major Campbell was committing an act of hostility against the United States by building a fort within the acknowledged limits of the States. "This," said he, " is an act of the highest aggression. Hence it becomes my duty to demand, in the name of the President of the United States, HISTORY OF OHIO - 369 that you immediately desist from any further act of hostility or aggression, by forbearing to fortify, and by withdrawing the troops, artillery and stores under your direction, forthwith, and removing to the nearest post occupied by his Britannic Majesty's troops, at the peace of 1783." Campbell replied : "I cannot enter into any discussion of the right or impropriety of my occupying my present position. That must be left to the ambassadors of our different nations. I certainly will not abandon this post, at the summons of any power whatever, until I receive orders from those I have the honor to serve under, or the fortune of war should oblige me. I must still adhere to the purport of my letter this morning to deny that your army, or individuals belonging to it, will not approach within reach of my cannon, without expecting the consequences attending it. Let me add that I am much deceived if his Majesty the King of Great Britain had not a post on this river at, and prior to the period you mention." General Wayne had received private instructions from President Washington that, should he find himself in sufficient force to capture the British fort, he was to do so, and drive the garrison out of the country. He accordingly carefully inspected the works. They had an armament of ten pieces of artillery, and were garrisoned by four hundred and fifty men. It was therefore decided that the attempt to storm the fort would result in great slaughter, and probably in a failure. After the defeat, the officers of the fort did not venture to open its gates to receive the fugitive savages. This would have been, indeed, a declaration of war against the United States. As the British had encouraged the Indians, in every possible way, before the battle, they were greatly disgusted by this unexpected treatment. One of their celebrated chiefs — Buckongahelas, of whom we have before spoken — who had fled down the river, beyond the fort, assembled his tribe in a little fleet of canoes, to ascend the stream and enter into a treaty of peace with the victors. As they were approaching the fort, the officer of the day hailed Buckongahelas, and said that Major Campbell wished to speak to him. "In that case," said the proud chieftain, " let him come to me." "That he will never do," was the reply; "and he will not allow you to pass the fort unless you comply with his wishes." "What shall Prevent my passing ? " the chieftain responded. 370 - HISTORY OF OHIO. " Those guns," answered the orderly, as he pointed to the artillery which could sweep the stream with grapeshot. " I fear not your cannon," the chief replied. " After suffering the Americans to insult your flag, without daring to fire upon them, you must not expect to frighten Buckongahelas." The canoes pushed on, and passed the fort unmolested. A white man, Jonathan Alder, who was at that time living with the Indians, an adopted member of one of the tribes, gives the following account of the battle as seen from the Indian side of the field . " We remained near Fort Defiance about two weeks, until we heard of the approach of Wayne. We then packed up our goods, and started for the old English fort, at the Maumee Rapids. Here we prepared ourselves for battle, and sent the women and children down about three miles below the fort. As I did not wish to fight, they sent me to Sandusky to inform some Wyandots there of the great battle that was about to take place. I remained at Sandusky until the battle was over. The Indians did not wait more than three or four days, before Wayne made his appearance at the head of a long prairie on the river. "The Indians are curious about fighting. They will not eat just before going into battle. They say that if a man is shot through the body, when his bowels are empty, there is not so much danger as when they are full. So they started the first morning without eating anything, and, moving up to the end of the prairie, ranged themselves, in order of battle, at the edge Of the timber. There they waited all day, without any food, and at night returned and partook of their suppers. "The second morning they again placed themselves in the same position, and again returned at night and supped. By this time they had begun to get weak from eating only once a day, and concluded that they would eat breakfast before they again started. So the next morning they began to cook and eat. Some were eating, and others, who had finished, had moved forward to their stations, when Wayne's army was seen approaching. As soon as they were within gunshot, the Indians began firing upon them. But Wayne, making no halt, rushed on. Only a small part of the Indians being on the ground, they were obliged to give back, and finding Wayne too strong for them, endeavored to retreat. Those wno were on the way heard the noise and sprung to their HISTORY OF OHIO - 371 assistance. So some were running from, and others to, the field of battle, which created great confusion. In the mean time General Wayne's light horse had gone entirely around, and came in upon their rear, blowing their horns, and closing in upon them. The Indians now found that they were completely surrounded. All that could, made their escape, and the balance were killed, which was no small number. The main body of the Indians were back nearly two miles from the battle ground. Wayne had taken them by surprise, and made such slaughter among them, that they were entirely discouraged, and made the best of their way to their respective homes. General Harrison, subsequently President of the United States, was aid to General Wayne in this campaign. The following letter from him, addressed to Honorable Thomas Chilton, in February,. 1834, is too important to be omitted : "That the northwestern and Indian war was a continuation of the revolutionary contest, is susceptible of proof. The Indians, in that quarter, had been engaged in the first seven years of the war as the allies of Great Britain, and they had no inclination to continue it after the peace of 1783. It is to British influence that their subsequent hostilities are to be attributed. The agents of that government never ceased to stimulate their enmity against the government of the United States, and to represent the peace which had been made as a temporary truce, at the expiration of which their great father would unite with them in the war, and drive the Long Knives from the land they had so unjustly usurped from his red children. This was the cause of the detention of the posts of Detroit, Mackinaw and Niagara, so long after the treaty of 1783. "The bare suggestion of a wish, by the British authorities, would have been sufficient to induce the Indians to accept the terms proposed by the American Commissioners. At any rate, the withholding the supplies with which the Indians had been previously furnished, would have left no other alternative but to make peace. From that period, however, the war was no longer carried on in disguise. Acts of open hostility were committed. In June, 1794 the Indians assembled at the Miami of the Lake, and were completely equipped out of the king's store. From the fort, a large and regularly fortified work which had been built 23 HISTORY OF OHIO - 372 there the preceding Spring, for the purpose of supporting the operations of the Indians against the army of General Wayne. " Nor was the assistance limited to the supply of provisions and munitions of war. On the advance of the Indians, they were attended by a captain of the British army, a sergeant, and six matrosses, provided with fixed ammunition, suited to the caliber of two field pieces, which had been taken from General St. Clair, and deposited in a creek near the scene of his defeat, in 1791. " Thus attended, they appeared before Fort Recovery, the advanced post of our army, on the 4th of July, 1794, and having defeated a large detachment of our troops, encamped under its walls, and would probably have succeeded in taking the fort, if the guns which they expected to find had not been previously discovered and removed. In this action, Captain Hartshorn, of the first sub-legion, was wounded by the Indians, and afterwards killed in a struggle with Captain McKee, of the British army. " Upon the advance of the American army in the following month, the British Fort at the Rapids was again the point of rendezvous for the Indians. There the deficiencies in arms, ammunition and equipments, were again supplied, and there they were fed with regular rations from the king's stores, consisting of flour and Irish beef, until the arrival of General Wayne with his army, on the twentieth of August. In the general action of that day there were two militia companies from Amherstburg and Detroit. The captain of the cutter, who was also clerk of the court in that place, was among the killed, and one of his privates taken prisoner. "These unequivocal acts of hostility, on the part of Great Britain did not pass unnoticed by our Government, and, although anxious to avoid a general war, the President determined that the aggression on our territory, by the erection of a fortress so far within our acknowledged limits, required some decisive measure. Authority was therefore given to General Wayne to dispossess the intruders, if, in his opinion, it was necessary to the success of his operations against the Indians. Although the qualification of this order, in its literal sense, might be opposed to its execution, after the entire defeat of the Indians, the daring violation of neutrality, which was professed by the supply of food, arms and ammunition to the enemy, on the very morning of the action, afforded, in the opinion HISTORY OF OHIO - 373 of General Wayne, a sufficient justification for its being carried into effect. "An accurate examination, however, of the defenses of the fort, made by the general at great personal hazard, showed but too clearly that our small howitzers, which had been transported on the backs of horses, our only artillery, could make no impression upon its massive earthen parapet, while the deep fosse and frazing by which it was surrounded afforded no prospect of the success of an escalade, but at the expense of valuable lives which the occasion did not seem to call for. From my situation as aid-de-camp to the general-in-chief, I mention these things from personal knowledge. If, then, the relation which I have given is correct, it must be admitted that the war of the Revolution continued in the western country until the peace of Greenville, in 1795. Colonel English was commandant at Detroit during the campaign of general Wayne. Colonel McKee was Superintendent of the Indians under the King of Great Britain. In one of McKee's letters to English, just before the battle, dated "Rapids, August 13, 1794," he writes : "Sir: I was honored last night with your letter of the i ith, and am extremely glad to find you making such exertions to supply the Indians with provisions. Scouts are sent up to view the situation of Wayne's army ; and we now muster one thousand Indians. All the lake Indians, from Saginaw downwards, should not lose one moment in joining their brethren, as every accession of strength is an addition to their spirits." The Indians utterly disheartened by their great defeat, and considering themselves very dishonorably treated by the British officers, who had spurred them on to the battle, and then had abandoned them, were eager for peace. One of their distinguished chiefs, Blue Jacket, was associated with Little Turtle in the battle. He had, indeed, the chief control. In Drake's Life of Tecumseh, he writes: "In the month of October following this defeat, Blue Jacket concurred in the expediency of suing for peace. At the head of a deputation of chiefs, he was about to bear a flag to General Wayne, then at Greenville, when the mission was arrested by foreign influence. Governor Simcoe, Colonel McKee, and the Mohawk Chief, Brandt, having in charge one hundred and fifty 374 - HISTORY OF OHIO. Mohawks and Messasagoes, arrived at the Rapids of the Maumee, and invited the chiefs of the combined army to meet them at the mouth of the Detroit River, on the loth of October. To this Blue Jacket assented, for the purpose of hearing what the British officers had to propose. Governor Simcoe urged the Indians to retain their hostile attitude towards the United States. In referring to the encroachments of the people of this country on the Indian lands, he said : " Children, I am still of the opinion that the Ohio is your right and title. I have given orders to the Commandant of Fort Miami to fire on the Americans whenever they make their appearance again. I will go down to Quebec and lay your grievances before the great man. From there they will be forwarded to the king, your father. Next Spring you will know the result of everything, what you and I will do." " He urged the Indians to obtain a cessation of hostilities until the following Spring, when the English would be ready to attack the Americans, and, by driving them back across the Ohio, restore their lands to the Indians. These councils delayed the conclusion of peace until the following Summer. Blue Jacket was present at the treaty of Greenville, and conducted himself with moderation and dignity." It was the special object of General Wayne to inflict such terrible chastisement upon the Indians as would compel them to bury the tomahawk, and not to dare to take it up again. He therefore sent out his cavalry and laid utterly waste the whole Valley of the Maumee, for a distance of fifty miles. The women and children fled in terror into the woods. Every village was laid in ashes. The orchards were cut down the harvests of corn, potatoes and other vegetables, with which the rich fields luxuriantly abounded, were destroyed. Nothing was left. Cold Winter was approaching, and the homeless families, men, women and children, were doomed to hopeless destitution, misery and death. No imagination can probably exaggerate the woes which ensued. Such is war. "War," exclaimed Napoleon in anguish, as he witnessed its horrors, "is the science of barbarians." "War," says General Sherman, "is cruelty. You cannot refine it." The army returned by easy marches, while laying waste the adjacent country, to Fort Defiance. It reached this point on the 27th of August, and remained there until the 12th of September. HISTORY OF OHIO - 375 Then leaving a strong garrison in the works, the main army took up its march for what were called the Miami Villages, at the confluence of the St. Mary's and St. Joseph's Rivers. On the 17th of September the army reached the Miami villages, forty-seven miles, southwest of Fort Defiance. Here another stockade was erected, which was called Fort Wayne. Leaving a garrison here, the rest of the army set out on their march for Greenville, which post they reached on the 20th of November, where they went into winter quarters. The campaign fully accomplished its intended object. The Indians were thoroughly humbled and subdued. Their houses were destroyed, their country ravaged, their supplies consumed. They no longer cherished any hope of being able to check the advance of the white men. In this state of extreme suffering, they were so anxious for peace that they were ready to accept such terms as the conqueror might dictate. Early in January, 1795, movements were made for an assembling of a general council of the Indian tribes of the Northwest, to enter into a treaty of peace and friendship. Accordingly, in July, a council of chiefs and warriors from twelve of the tribes east of the Mississippi River was convened in the vicinity of Fort Greenville. Negotiations continued for six weeks. On the 3d of August the treaty was signed. General Wayne, acting as commissioner plenipotentiary, signed in behalf of the United States. The following tribes were represented : the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawanese, Ottawas, Chippewas, Potawatamies, Miamis, Eel Rivers, Weas, Kickapoos, Piankeshas and Kaskaskias. The boundary line between the Indian lands and those of the United States was then fixed as follows : Beginning at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, where it enters Lake Erie, it ran up to the portage between that and the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum. Crossing the portage, it followed down the Tuscarawas to Fort Laurens, an important military station about half a mile below the present town of Bolivar. From that point it ran directly west to Loramie's Creek, a tributary of the Great Miami. Thence it followed a line almost due west of Fort Recovery, which point was very near the present eastern boundary of Indiana. It then ran in a southerly direction to the Ohio, to strike that stream near the mouth of the Kentucky River, which the Indians called Cuttawa. 376 - HISTORY OF OHIO. The United States, however, reserved within the limits of the lands thus retained by the Indians, six miles square at what was called Loramie's Store, on Loramie's Creek; two miles square at the head of boat navigation on the St. Mary's River, a tributary of the Wabash; six miles square at the head of the navigable waters of the Auglaise; six miles square at Fort Defiance, situated at the confluence of the Auglaise and Maumee Rivers; twelve miles. square at the foot of the Maumee Rapids, where the British had constructed Fort Miami; six miles square at the mouth of the Maumee, where it enters Lake Erie; six miles square on Sandusky Bay, where a fort formerly stood, and two miles square at the lower rapids of the Sandusky River. In the annals of those days we meet with frequent mention of Loramie's Store. A Frenchman had established a trading post at the mouth of Loramie's Creek, about sixteen miles northwest of the present Town of Sidney. It was an important station, as here commenced the portage between the waters of the Miami, flowing into the Ohio, and those of the St. Mary, which, through the Maumee, entered Lake Erie. There is something wonderful in the power which the French had to endear themselves to the Indians. They seem always to have been on even affectionate terms with them. The Indians, as a general rule, welcomed them to all parts of their country. The most tender and lasting friendships sprang up between them. Colonel Johnston writes. " I have often seen the Indians burst into tears when speaking of the time when their French father had dominion over them; and their attachment to this day remains unabated." It is an undeniable fact, that while British gold purchased the reluctant alliance of the Indians, French friendliness won their cordial and loving support. Amidst all the horrors of savage warfare, Loramie was as secure, with his goods, in his lonely station in the wilderness, surrounded by savages, as if he had been on the boulevards of Paris. He had great influence with the Indians. When General Clarke, from Kentucky, invaded and laid desolate the Miami valley, he plundered and burnt Loramie's store. The Frenchman had a large stock of goods, and many valuable furs which he had purchased of the Indians. General Clarke, who was greatly in want of money, ordered them all to be sold at auction. An amusing story is told of one Burke, an Irishman. He was HISTORY OF OHIO - 377 considered but half witted, and was the butt of the army. Strolling through the store he found about two hundred dollars in coin, tied up in a bag. He secreted it, by cutting. a hole in a dilapidated saddle. At the auction no one bid for the saddle, it being deemed utterly worthless. It was struck off to Burke for a trifling sum, amidst roars of laughter ! Burke began examining the saddle, and drew forth, as if he had but just then found it, the bag of money. Shaking it in the eyes of the men, he exclaimed triumphantly, " An' it is not so bad a bargain after all." Loramie, thus plundered, and with his trading post laid in ashes, emigrated with a colony of Shawanese Indians to the Spanish territories west of the Mississippi. They settled at the junction of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers, where most of the rest of the nation eventually joined them. General Wayne did not receive, during his lifetime, the honors to which he was entitled for the services he had rendered his country. Had he failed in his campaign, all the 'southern Indians, from the Savannah River to the Mississippi, would undoubtedly have combined with the northwestern tribes, and scenes of devastation, woe and death would have ensued which even the imagination can scarcely exaggerate. At the close of the year 1796, General Wayne, returning from Detroit to the Eastern States, was taken sick in a humble log cabin at Presque Isle, on the shores of Lake Erie, now Erie, Pennsylvania. At that time it was but a little hamlet in the depths of the wilderness. Here, after a short illness, he died, and at his request was buried under the flag staff of the fort. Subsequently his son removed his remains to Radnor Churchyard, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. We have no means of knowing what preparation General Wayne deemed it necessary to make for his transference to the spirit land. "There is no death ; what seems such is transition. This life, of mortal breath, Is but the suburb of that life elysian Whose portals we call death." CHAPTER XX. ADVENTURES ON THE MUSKINGUM; AND THE FRENCH COLONY. SCENE AT BIG BOTTOM - AT CROOKED CREEK - NARROW ESCAPE AMUSEMENTS OF THE SETTLERS - BEQUEST TO THE OHIO COMPANY - POPULATION IN 1793 — THE SETTLER'S CABIN AND FURNITURE - THE TEA PARTY - PREPARATION OF CORN-THE HAND MILL-SURRENDER OF BRITISH POSTS- DIVISION OF THE NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY-GLOWING DESCRIPTION OF OHIO-FALSE REPRESENTATIONS-FOUNDING OF GALLIPOLIS - TESTIMONY OF MONS. MULETTE - TRIALS OF THE COLONISTS-THEY APPEAL TO CONGRESS. LET US now return to Marietta, on the Muskingum, to witness the scenes which have been transpiring there. In the autumn of 1790 a party of thirty-six men went from Marietta and commenced a settlement at Big Bottom. This was an expanse of rich meadow land, four miles above the mouth of Meigs Creek. They were mostly thoughtless young men, who deemed recklessness to be courage. The wiser men at Marietta considered it a very imprudent step to take, in view of the menacing attitude of the Indians. They went, however, and erected a block house sufficiently capacious to accommodate the whole of them on an emergency. The house was built of large birch logs, unhewn. Being in a hurry, they postponed filling in the chinks between the logs to some future period. This was a fatal error. They planted no pickets around the house, and stationed no sentry. All engrossed in the construction of their new homes and farms, they introduced no system of military discipline or defense. Their guns were lying about any where, without order. Twenty men usually encamped in the block house. Each individual cooked for himself. At one end of the room there was a fire-place. When the sun went down they all came in, built a large fire, whose blaze brilliantly illuminated the inclosure, and with jokes and merriment, HISTORY OF OHIO - 379 prepared and ate their suppers. It was midwinter. The weather was unusually cold. It was not customary at this season of the year for Indian war parties to venture out. This idea lulled these pioneers into fatal security. About twenty rods above the blockhouse, at a short distance back from the river, two brothers, by the name of Choate, had erected a cabin and commenced clearing a lot. Two hired men lived with them. About the same distance below the block-house there was another small cabin which two men by the name of Bullard occupied. An old Indian trail, or war-path, leading across the State of Ohio, from the Sandusky Valley to the mouth of the Muskingum, passed along the opposite bank of the river from which there was a clear view of the little settlement on the opposite shore. The Indians during the Summer had been loitering around all the settlements, selling venison and bear's meat in exchange for corn and vegetables. They had thus rendered themselves familiar with the approaches to the settlements and the most feasible points of attack. They had now gone to their towns, far up the river, preparatory to winter quarters. They then planned and fitted out their war party. The warriors reached the bank opposite Big Bottom early in the evening, crossed the river on the ice just above the settlement, and divided their men into two parties, one to attack the men in Choate's cabin, while the other took the block-house and then proceeded to capture the cabin of the Bullards below. The plan was skillfully arranged and successfully executed. Cautiously they approached Choate's cabin. The four men were at supper. Several of the Indians entered, assuming a friendly attitude, while others remained quietly outside the door. Looking eagerly around they espied some leather thongs which had been used in packing venison. At a given signal the rest rushed in, seized their victims who were unable to offer any resistance, and bound them firmly with the thongs. In the meantime the other and larger party advanced to the block-house unobserved. The whole interior was lighted by the blaze of the winter's fire. Peering through the crevices they saw the whole party within, which consisted of but twelve persons, including a woman and two children, seated around the supper-table. Their guns were stacked in one corner of the room. The sagacious Indians silently arranged themselves with their 380 - HISTORY OF OHIO. rifles around the door, each having selected his victim. One Indian then threw open the door, and, stepping in, held it open. At the same instant the savages fired, and nearly every one fell dead. The woman, Mrs. Meehs, from Virginia, either by accident or design, was not hit. Seizing an ax she aimed a tremendous blow at the head of the Indian who opened the door. He dodged, but the blow fell upon his face, cutting off entirely one of his cheeks, and burying its keen edge in his shoulder. Before she could repeat the blow a tomahawk cleft her skull. The savages all rushed in, and scarcely a moment elapsed before the tomahawk had finished the work of death. One of the young men, however, while this slaughter was going on, sprang to a ladder, by which he escaped to the top of the house. The savages followed him, and here he presented a fair mark for their rifles. Piteously he begged them to spare his life. They were merciless, and he fell pierced by their bullets Another young man, but sixteen years of age, crept under a bed. They dragged him out, and, satiated with massacre, carried him. off as a captive. There were but two men in the cabin of the Bullards. Hearing the firing they ran out and saw the demon Indians in and around the block-house. Seizing their rifles and some ammunition they plunged into the woods in a direction to be hid by the cabin from the sight of the Indians. Scarcely had they closed the door ere they heard it dashed in by the savages. In the darkness of the night they were not pursued. The Indians, thus triumphant, first carefully secured the scalps of all their victims. They then loaded themselves with all the plunder they deemed valuable. The dead bodies were then placed in a pile in the center of the room. The floor was torn up and thrown upon them. The torch was then applied, and the Indians, like fiends of darkness, disappeared. Fourteen were killed and five were taken captive to Detroit. The two Bullards, who escaped, ran with the alarm to a small neighboring settlement at Wolf Creek. The next day an armed party visited the ruins at Big Bottom. Dreadful was the sight which there met their view. Though the fire had not consumed the bodies, it had so charred and blackened them that no recognition was possible. The walls of the block-house, which were built of green beech logs, remained standing. As the ground was frozen hard without, they dug a pit HISTORY OF OHIO - 381 in the center of the hut, where they consigned these mutilated bodies to their mournful burial. One cannot read this narrative without emotions of indignation blending with those of grief. Civilized men, if they have no regard for their own lives, have no right thus to trifle with the sympathies of humanity. Major Putnam lost a son in this massacre, but he had in vain entreated that son to be more cautious in making preparations for defense against the Indians. Colonel Stacy, a veteran soldier, and familiar with Indian warfare, had two sons there. One of them was shot on the roof of the house. The other was dragged from beneath the bed and carried into captivity. The colonel had visited the post but a few days before the awful disaster, and entreated the inmates immediately to fill the chinks between the logs, so as to render them bullet-proof;: to open port-holes for defense ; immediately to prepare strong: bars for the door, to be shut every night at sunset ; and, without any delay, to establish a night watch. Had they done this the. Indians would not have attacked them, and if they had the little garrison, with its supply of guns and ammunition, might easily have beaten off two or three hundred assailants. But these reckless young men paid no heed to these common-sense warnings. The Indians, who could laugh to scorn General St. Clair's unmilitary posting of his troops, might well look with contempt. upon these fool-hardy young men. Having carefully watched. their proceedings, though they supposed the settlement to number thirty-six men, some of whom chanced to be absent on the occasion, they sent only twenty-five warriors to take their scalps, plunder their possessions, and burn down their station. Under the circumstances, had the white men outnumbered the Indians, two to one, the result would have been the same. Prowling bands were continually wandering about, watching for opportunities to shoot the unwary and to plunder. A boat was wrecked at the mouth of Crooked Creek. A man went out, incautiously, from Stone's garrison, to draw the nails from it. Two Indians caught sight of him. Creeping cautiously along the bank. they shot him, and took his scalp and his clothing. As he did not return that night an armed party went out in search of him. His mangled dead body was found by the side of the boat. This young man was to have been married the next day, and his wedding suit was already prepared. But here again we have an act. 382 - HISTORY OF OHIO. of great imprudence as well as of disobedience. The rules of the garrison strictly forbade any one from going alone beyond gunshot of the station. The next day six young men went down the Ohio in a canoe, in search of the murderers of their companion. They repaired to a pond, famous as a place for trapping beaver. Here they found unmistakable signs that Indians were about, and came across one of their traps ; it was near sunset. They concealed themselves in a thicket near by. They had not been long thus in ambush ere they saw a solitary Indian approaching. His quick eye caught their trail, and he saw at once that it was that of strangers. Slowly he moved along, anxiously examining it. When he had arrived within about a hundred feet of the ambush, one of the men fired, and the Indian fell ; but as he fell he raised the shrill war whoop. It was instantly responded to by his companions, forty in number, who were encamped at but a short distance. With loud yells they came rushing forward; the white men fled. Night was setting in; they were soon out of sight, amid the glooms of the forest. All night long they continued their flight, and at length reached their homes in safety. Several young men had obtained lots on the south branch of Wolfe's Creek, about three miles from the Waterford Garrison. They were accustomed to go out well armed, and in company, to clear their lands. Very prudently they built a block-house, and .cut the timber down all around, so that there should be no covert for a lurking foe. One morning it rained so violently that they remained in the block-house. One of them went to the creek, at a short distance from the house, to get some birch bark. In a few moments the report of a rifle was heard. Every one seized his gun, and every one rushed to a port-hole ; through them they saw their companion running, wounded and bleeding, towards the house, followed by a gang of savages in hot pursuit. When within a few yards of the door he fell, utterly exhausted, yet piteously imploring his comrades to rescue him. Two of them rushed out and brought him in. Then, with unerring aim from their port-holes, they soon compelled the savages to retire. One of the young men then volunteered to carry tidings of the attack to Waterford Station. An armed party was immediately sent to the rescue of the young men. Upon their arrival, they found the wounded man HISTORY OF OHIO - 383 dying. He breathed his last that night. The party cautiously reconnoitered the region around. They found the spot where the Indians had concealed themselves the night before, and where they had made arrangements to decoy their victims, so as to secure the destruction of them all. Probably the rain alone, by shutting them up in the block-house, saved their lives. There were very many adventures similar to the above. Still, notwithstanding all the privations of pioneer life, it would seem that the settlers had many bright and joyous days. The elasticity of the human mind is so wonderful, that it will find sources of enjoyment even under the most adverse circumstances. These intelligent settlers, who had come from the culture and refinement of the States, had not plunged into the wilderness, that. they might consign their families to barbarism. The great object of their emigration was to lift them up to a higher elevation of opulence, intelligence and comfort. Schools were established in the block-houses, where the children were very carefully taught reading, writing and arithmetic. The young men had their games of ball, leaping, wrestling, running. Foot-races were very much enjoyed, since fleetness of foot was often of inestimable advantage in their contests with the Indians. At all the military stations of the government, there were musical bands ; dancing to their inspiriting tunes was a favorite recreation with the young people. It was, by now means, all work and no play with these bold adventurers. Four or five times a year, picnic parties from Campus Martius, Fort Harmar and Farmer's Castle would meet at each others stations. They were always accompained by a strong guard. These fortresses took the place of the old baronial castles of Europe in feudal days. There was the military pageantry; the merry making of all kinds, with feasting, dancing, rifle shooting and all athletic games. It must have been a spectacle almost like paradise, to see a little fleet of boats and fairy-like birch canoes, often gaily caparisoned, crowded with young men and maidens, floating down the gentle current of the beautiful river, to Farmer's Castle, at Belpre. The soul-stirring strains of the martial bands would be floated over the water, and reverberated among the silent forest-clad hills. The moon would bathe the whole region in rays of loveliness, and God, our kind heavenly Father, would seem to say, through all the voices of nature, " I love to see my children happy." 384 - HISTORY OF OHIO Congress had made a bequest of a hundred thousand acres of land to the Ohio Company, under condition that the company should obtain a resident settler for each one hundred acres, within a period of five years. All the land not taken up within the specified time was to revert to the government. General R. Putnam was appointed by the government, the superintendent for surveying and deeding this land. For this service he was to receive five •dollars from each person to whom he should give a deed. The person purchasing must be a male, not less than eighteen years of age. In the year 1793 there were but a hundred and eighty-six males capable of bearing arms within the limits of the few stations clustered around the mouth of the Muskingum. The advance of wealth and luxury in the United States has been so great within the last half century that it is difficult for us to form a conception of the humble residences of these pioneers. The first object of the emigrant was to erect his cabin. Having selected his site, and generally with an eye to picturesque beauty, with a sunny exposure, a pleasant prospect, and, if possible, a rippling brook near his door, he constructed his walls of unhewn logs, piled one upon another, dove-tailed together at the ends. The interstices were compactly closed with clay, which soon became hardened in the sun. The floor was made of very rough planks, formed by splitting a log in two and hewing the surface as smooth as could be done with the broad-ax. The convex side of the log was buried in the earth, thus presenting a very solid and tolerably level floor. The roof was formed by sawing and splitting logs into a sort of clapboard, about six feet long and six or eight inches wide. The doors and windows were sawed out through the logs. The holes for the windows were pasted over with strong paper lubricated with bear's oil or lard. This effectually excluded the rain and yet allowed a softened light to enter the room. It was a very pleasant light when the sun shone brightly upon it, but sombre and gloomy in the dark days of storm and rain. The furniture was of corresponding simplicity. The bedstead was formed by fastening two stakes, about two feet high, to the floor and four and a half feet from the wall. Poles were then extended from the wall, and from one stake to the other. This frame-work was covered with the split clapboards, or puncheons, as they were called, such as were used for the roof. The skins HISTORY OF OHIO - 385 of the bear, the buffalo and the deer, constituted the bedding. A pot, kettle and frying-pan were considered the only indispensable utensils for cooking. A plate was a luxury which few enjoyed. The food could be eaten from trenchers or the puncheon table. The ingenuity of the good wife was sometimes pretty severely taxed in providing entertainment for an influx of visitors "A year or two after we arrived," writes one of the early pioneers, "a visiting party was arranged by the ladies in order to call on a, neighboring family who lived a little out of the common way. The hostess was much pleased to see us, and immediately commenced preparing the usual treat on such occasions — a cup of tea, with its accompaniments. She had only one fire-proof vessel in the house, an old broken bake-kettle, and it was some time before tea was ready. In the first place, some pork was fried in the kettle to obtain lard; secondly, some cakes were made and fried in it ; thirdly, some short cakes were prepared in it ; fourthly, it was used as a bucket to draw water; fifthly, the water was boiled in it ; and finally the tea was put in, and a very excellent and sociable dish of tea we had." The seats were generally three-legged stools. A few of the wealthier families had some split-bottomed chairs. Wood was abundant, and when this humble apartment was illumined with the blaze of the crackling fire, it presented quite an attractive aspect. Such was, in general, the home of the pioneer. But often has the emigrant, when his log but has given place to the sealed house, with glass windows and carpeted floors, and luxurious chairs and porcelain-ware—often has he said, " I was never so happy as in my little log cabin." As soon as the log house was completed, the next thing to be done was to effect a clearing for a corn patch. This was a very arduous task. Sometimes the settler would choose a spot for his residence at the edge of a treeless prairie, but not unfrequently the richness of the soil and the prospective advantages of the location would induce him to select his lot in the midst of the dense forest. To cut down the gigantic trees, burn them, and plant his crops amid the blackened stumps, required herculean energies. But the reward was often great, in the development of a farm of inexhaustible fertility. Thus toil and hardship in youth, secured competence and ease in old age. The journey cake, so called because so easily prepared, but 386 - HISTORY OF OHIO. which is now corrupted into johnny cake, was made of corn, thoroughly pounded into meal, and baked in the ashes or upon some utensil placed before the fire. There was much game in the forests, so that these hungry men had an ample supply of venison and wild turkeys. As they had no mills, a rude mortar was made by burning a hole in the end of a block of wood. This was called a " hominy block,'' in which they pounded their corn. Some of the more wealthy had hand-mills. After the corn was pounded it was passed through a sieve. The finer portion of the meal was. made into bread or mush, and the coarser portion into hominy. The usual supper of the pioneer consisted of mush and milk, if he were so fortunate as to have a cow. A large vessel filled with this preparation was placed in the center of the table, and each guest helped himself. The mush, when mingled with milk, and taken from a tin cup, with a pewter spoon, afforded a very satisfactory repast. Flour was so dear that only a little was kept to be used in case of sickness. But progress in comforts was very rapid. In the course of two or three years hand grist-mills were found standing in the chimney-corner of almost every dwelling. The stones were of the kind ordinarily used for grindstones. They were about twenty inches in diameter, and four inches thick. The upper stone or runner, was turned by hand. A pole was firmly fixed in the top of the stone, near the edge. The upper end of the pole entered a hole in a board or timber overhead. One person turned the stone, while another fed the corn into what was called the eye. It was hard and slow work to grind. The operators alternately changed places. It required the work of nearly two hours to supply meal enough for one person for a single day. Nearly all the animal food which found its way to the table of the pioneer was taken from the woods. The deer and the turkey were so timid that it was not easy to approach them. To elude their shyness, the hunters were accustomed to wear hunting shirts suited to the general appearance of the forest at that particular season of the year. In the Spring and Summer they wore a green dress. In the Fall of the year they assumed a color resembling the autumnal leaf. In the Winter, if there were snow upon the ground the hunter spread over his dress a white shirt. Generally, they went out on their excursions in companies. HISTORY OF OHIO - 387 Quite an imposing cavalcade was presented, when all were ready to move. The horses were laden with flour, meal, blankets or buffalo-robes, ammunition, traps, cooking utensils, and such other articles as might be needed. Some sequestered spot was chosen, where a rude cabin was reared, with an immense log-fire blazing in front of the door. The interior of the but was lined and carpeted with skins and moss, and presented a very alluring aspect. It was almost invariably in the Winter that these enterprises were undertaken, for then the men could not work upon the land. The winter evenings, in the cabins, must have seemed long and tedious. They had no candles. The principal substitute for them was pitch pine-knots. Sometimes a man of more than ordinary intelligence, would read to his family by this light. Usually, however, the evening was spent, by the fire-light, in shelling corn, scraping turnips, stemming and twisting tobacco, plaiting straw for hats, cracking hickory nuts, of which they always laid in a full supply. According to the Treaty of Paris, in 1783, the British military post at Detroit, and all their other forts within what the British. government had recognized as the boundaries of the United States, were to have been surrendered to the United States " as soon as convenient." Yet, for more than ten years after the treaty they retained these posts, notwithstanding the reiterated and earnest remonstrances of the American government. This utter disregard of the treaty stipulations was deemed a matter of so much importance that a special minister was sent to England, to urge the amicable evacuation of the posts. The minister, John Jay, after much difficulty, succeeded in obtaining a promise, from the British government, that all their troops and munitions of war should be withdrawn before the first day of June, 1796. The post at Detroit, and those on the Maumee, were accordingly delivered over to General Wayne early in that year. Peace being thus secured for the whole of the Northwestern Territory, all of the region, excepting that in the actual possession of the Indians, was divided into five counties. Washington County embraced all the territory within the present State of Ohio, between the Muskingum River and the Little Miami ; and extending north from the Ohio River forty miles. Marietta was the seat of justice for this county. All that portion of the state between the Little and the Great Miami, within forty miles of the 24 388 - HISTORY OF OHIO. Ohio River, was called Hamilton County. Cincinnati was the county seat. Knox County embraced the lands between the Great Miami and the Wabash, also bordering on the Ohio, with Vincennes for its seat of justice. The County of St. Clair included the settlements on the Illinois and the Kaskaskia Rivers, as well as those on the upper Mississippi, with Kaskaskia for its county seat. Wayne County embraced all the settlements on the Maumee, Raisin,. and Detroit Rivers, with Detroit for its seat of justice. Over this vast region, now teeming with a population so numerous, intelligent, and wealthy, there were then but a few small settlements, widely separated from each other. Often the unbroken wilderness extended for hundreds of miles, unenlivened by a single but of a white man. The only routes of travel were the rivers, over whose solitary waters the birch canoes could glide, or the narrow trail of the Indian. Great efforts were now made by land speculators, who had purchased large tracts of territory, to induce emigrants to take up the lots. The Ohio and Scioto Companies had sent Joel Barlow, to this purpose, to Europe. In the following glowing language, he described, to the toiling artisans in the thronged streets of Paris, the new Eden to which they were invited, beyond the Atlantic. It was indeed a picture to allure the toiling, half-famished artisans of that great metropolis. " The climate of Ohio is wholesome and delightful. Frost, even in winter, is almost entirely unknown. The river, called by way of eminence, ' The Beautiful,' abounds in excellent fish of a vast size. There are noble forests, consisting of trees which spontaneously produce sugar. There is a plant which yields ready-made candles. There is venison in plenty, the pursuit o which is uninterrupted by wolves, foxes, lions, or tigers. A couple of swine will multiply themselves a hundred fold in two or three years, without taking any care of them. There are no taxes to pay, and no military services to be performed." The distinguished French traveler, Volney, who visited this country in 1795, commenting upon these statements, writes : " These munificent promisers forgot to say that these forests must be cut down before corn could be raised ; that, for a year at least, they must bring their daily bread from a great distance; that hunting and fishing are agreeable amusements, when pursued HISTORY OF OHIO - 389 for the sake of amusement, but are widely different when followed for the sake of subsistence ; and they quite forgot to Mention that, though there be no lions or tigers in the neighborhood, there are wild beasts infinitely more cunning and ferocious, in the shape of men, who were at that time at open and cruel war with the whites. "In truth, the market value of these lands at that time, in America, was no more than six or seven cents an acre. In France, in Paris, the imagination was too heated to admit of doubt or suspicion. And the people were too ignorant and uninformed to perceive where the picture was defective and its colors too glaring. The example, too, of the wealthy and reputedly wise confirmed the popular delusion. Nothing Was talked of, in every social circle, but the paradise that was opened for Frenchmen in the western wilderness, the free and happy life to be led on the beautiful banks of the Scioto." Now and then some remonstrance was uttered. Occasionally some one would warn the excited community that the representations were greatly exaggerated. Unfortunately for *the French, about that time a French traveler, just returned from this country, published a book in Paris, entitled " New Travels in America." In this, we know not how influenced, he fully supports the statements of the Ohio and Scioto companies. Alluding to the Scioto organization, he writes: " This company has been much calumniated. It has been accused of selling land which it does not possess, of giving exaggerated accounts of its fertility, of deceiving the emigrants, of robbing France of her inhabitants, and of sending them to be butchered by the savages. But the title of this association is incontestible. The proprietors are reputable men. The descriptions which they have given of the lands are taken from the public and authentic reports of Mr. Hutchins, Geographer of Congress. No person can dispute their prodigious fertility." Such was the strain of eulogy which pervaded his book. He was regarded as an impartial witness. His endorsement wonderfully increased the confidence of the French community that a new earthly paradise was blooming for them on the banks of the Ohio, with fruit and flowers and bird-songs, which the unblighted garden of our first parents could scarcely have rivaled. The fascinating pages of Brissot completed the delusion. The office of the agency in Paris was thronged with eager buyers. Many of HISTORY OF OHIO - 391 these were from the better classes of society. They often disposed of their earthly all at a great sacrifice to purchase bowers in the Eden of the Ohio. About five hundred emigrants were thus induced to leave France for the New World. They were generally entirely unfitted to discharge the labors and grapple with the hardships of the wilderness. The company laid out a town for them on the banks of e Ohio, about four miles below the mouth of the Kanawha River, which was called Gallipolis, or the City of the French. In anticipation of the arrival of the emigrants, forty men were employed by the Scioto Company in cutting a large clearing from the vast and gigantic forest which entirely covered the region. This clearing, which had the river on its south front, was on the other three sides bounded by the sublime primeval forest. On this large square, still encumbered with stumps, and presenting a very gloomy aspect to artisans from Parisian streets and avenues, eighty log cabins were erected. There were four rows, with twenty in each row. Each cabin contained one room. There were eight blocks, the cabins being united, like the blocks in a .city, ten cabins in a block. At the four corners of these blocks, which formed in themselves quite a fortress, was built a strong block-house, two stories in height. Above the cabins on the square were two other parallel rows of cabins, with a block-house at each corner. These were surround by a high and strong stockade fence. These works were of the character of a citadel, to which all the population could flee for protection in case of danger. These upper cabins were constructed ten in each block. They were a story and a-half high, and were intended for the more wealthy families of the emigrants. They were built of hewed logs, and were a little more elaborately constructed than the rest. There was one large apartment finished off for a Council Chamber and a ball room. We will allow one of the emigrants himself, to tell the story of his experience. Let it be remembered, that Gallipolis was commenced two or three years before the campaign of General Wayne. Monsieur Meulette writes : " I did not arrive until nearly all of the colonists were there. descended the river in 1791, in flat boats, loaded with troops, commanded by General St. Clair, destined for an expedition against the Indians ; some of my countrymen joined that expedi- 392 - HISTORY OF OHIO. tion. Among others was Count Malartie, a captain in the Frenc guard of Louis XVI. General St Clair made him one of his aid-de-camps in the battle, in which he was severely wounded. He went back to Philadelphia, and thence returned to France. " The Indians were encouraged to greater depredations and murders by their success in this expedition, but most especially against the American settlements. From their intercourse with the French in Canada, they seemed less disposed to trouble us. Immediately after St. Clair's defeat, Colonel Sproat, who was commandant at Marrietta,appointed four spies or rangers for Gallipolis. Two of these were Americans and two were French, of whom I was one. It was not until after the treaty of Greenville, in 1795 that we were released. " Notwithstanding the great difficulties, the difference of temper, education and profession, the inhabitants lived in harmony. Having little or nothing to do, they made themselves agreeable and useful to each other. The Americans and hunters, employed by the company, performed the first labors of clearing the township, which was divided into lots. Although the French were willing to work, yet the clearing of an American wilderness and its heavy timber, was far more than they could perform To migrate from the Eastern States to the far West, is painful enough , but how much more must it be for a citizen of a large European town? Even a farmer of the old countries would find it very hard, if not impossible, to clear land in the wilderness. " Those hunters were paid by the colonists, to prepare their garden ground to receive the seeds brought from France. Few of the colonists knew how to make a garden; but they were guided by a few books on that subject, which they had brought likewise from France. The colony then began to improve in appearance and comfort. The fresh provisions were supplied by the company's hunters ; the others came from their magazines, " Many of the troops connected with the expeditions of Generals St. Clair and Wayne, stopped at Gallipolis for supplies, which had been deposited there by the government. Every morning and evening parties of the troops would go around the town, in the forest, to see if there were any traces of lurking Indians. The Indians, who doubtless came there often in the night, attacked one of these parties, killing and wounding several. One of the French colonists, who was endeavoring to raise some corn, at a little dis- HISTORY OF OHIO - 393 tance from the houses, saw an Indian, rising from ambush, and shot him through the shoulder. The Indian probably thought the Frenchman one of fhe American patrols. Sometime afterwards a Frenchman was killed, and a man and woman made prisoners, as they were going to a little distance from the town for ashes to make soap. NIGHT SCENE. "After this, although the Indians committed depredations on he Americans, on both sides of the river, the French suffered only from some cattle carried away The Scioto Company, in the meantime, had nearly fulfilled all their engagements for a period If six months. After this time they ceased their supply of provisions for the colonists One of their agents gave as a reason, hat the company had been cheated by one or two of their agents a France. It was said that ,they, having received the funds in France, for the purchased lands, had kept the money and run off England, without having purchased any of the tract which they lad sold to the deceived colonists. 394 - HISTORY OF OHIO. " This intelligence exasperated the French. It was the more sensibly felt, as a scarcity of provisions added to their disappointment. The winter was uncommonly severe. The creek and the Ohio River were frozen over. The hunters had no longer any meat to sell. Flat-boats could not come down with flour, as they had done before. This produced almost a famine in the settlement. A family of eight persons, father, mother, and children, was obliged to subsist for eight or ten days on dry beans, boiled in water, without either salt, grease, or bread , and this was a family which had never before known what it was to want for anything. On the other hand, the dangers from the Indians seemed to augment every day " The colonists were, by this time, weary of being confined to a few acres of land. Their industry and their labor were lost. The money and clothes they had brought were nearly gone. They knew not to whom they were to apply to get their lands. They hoped that if Wayne's campaign forced the Indians to make a lasting peace, the Scioto Company would send immediately, either to recover or purchase those promised lands. But they soon found out their mistake. After the treaty of Greenville, many Indians passing through Gallipolis, on their way to the seat of government, and many travelers, revealed the whole transaction. It was ascertained that the pretended Scioto Company was composed of New Englanders, the names of very few only being known to the French ; who, being ignorant of the English language, and so far from the residence of their defrauders, could get no redress. " Far away in a distant land, separated forever from friends and relations, with exhausted means, was it surprising that they were disheartened ? May the happy of this day never feel as they did, when all hope was blasted and they were left so destitute. Many of the colonists went and settled elsewhere, with the means that remained to them ; and resumed their trades in more populous parts of the country. Others led a half-savage life as hunters for skins The greater part, however, resolved, in a general assembly, to make a memorial of their grievances and send it to Congress The memorial claimed no rights from that body; but it was a detail of their wrongs and sufferings, together with an appeal to the generosity and feelings of Congress. " They did not appeal in vain. One of the colonists proposed HISTORY OF OHIO - 395 to carry the petition. He only stipulated that his expenses should be paid, by a contribution of the colonists, whether he succeeded or not. At Philadelphia, he met with a French lawyer, M. Duponceau, and through his aid he obtained from Congress a grant of twenty-four thousand acres of land, known by the name of the French Grant, opposite the Little Sandy River. This grant was for the French who were still resident at Gallipolis. The act annexed the condition of settling on the lands three years before receiving the deed of gift. As there were but ninety-two persons remaining in Gallipolis, and the bearer of the petition received four thousand acres of the grant, in consideration of his having purchased and paid for that amount, this left to each inhabitant a lot of two hundred and seventeen and a half acres.' CHAPTER XXI. HARDSHIPS AND PERILS. GALLIPOLIS AND ITS FIRST SETTLERS-DR. SAUGRAIN - PRIVATIONS OF THE FRENCH EMIGRANTS- NARRATIVE OF MR. BRECKENRIDGE - GENERAL WILKINSON - TERMS OF SALE OF LANDS IN OHIO-RESULT OF THE SPECULATION OF THE SCIOTO LAND COMPANY-SECOND VISIT OF MR. BRECKENRIDGE TO GALLIPOLIS-THE FIRST GRIST MILL-TRAVELING IN OHIO IN 1799- JACOB FAUST - INDIAN SHOPPING - A BRIDAL DRESS - COLONEL MEIGS' ADVENTURE - JOSEPH KELLEY AND MISHALENA - INCIDENT - DEATH AND CHARACTER OF COLONEL MEIGS - INDIAN VILLAGES ON THE AUGLAISE - TERRIBLE DESOLATION. MR. BRECKENRIDGE, in his recollections, gives a very graphic account of a visit to Gallipolis, in the year 1795, when he was a boy but nine years of age. The following extracts will give the reader some idea of the joys and griefs of the inexperienced pioneers : ‘Behold me once more in port, and domiciliated at the house, or the inn, of Monsieur. or rather Dr. Saugrain, a cheerful, sprightly little Frenchman, four feet six, English measure, and a chemist, natural philosopher, and physician, both in the English and French significations of the word. " This singular village was settled by people from Paris and Lyons, chiefly artisans and artists, peculiarly unfitted fo sit down in the wilderness and clear away forests. I have seen half a dozen at work in taking down a tree, some pulling ropes fastened to the branches, while others were cutting around it like beavers. Sometimes serious accidents would occur in consequence of their awkwardness. Their former employment had been only calculated to administer to the luxury of highly polished and wealthy societies. "There were carvers and gilders to the king, coach makers, hairdressers and wig makers, who were entirely out of place in HISTORY OF OHIO - 397 the wilds of Ohio. Their means by this time had been exhausted, and they were beginning to suffer for the wants, and even the necessaries of life. The country back from the river was still a wilderness, and the Gallipotians did not pretend to cultivate anything more than small garden spots, depending for their supply of provisions on the boats which now began to descend the river, but they had to pay in cash, and that had become scarce. " They still assembled at the ball room twice a week. It was evident, however, that they felt disappointment, and were no longer happy. Their private misfortunes had reached their acme, in consequence of the discovery that they had no title to their lands, having been cruelly deceived by those from whom they had purchased. It is well known that Congress generously made them a grant of twenty thousand acres. From this, however, but few of them ever derived any advantage. "As the Ohio was now more frequented, the house was occasionally resorted to, and especially by persons looking out for land to purchase. The doctor had a small apartment which contained his chemical apparatus, and I used to sit by him, as often as I could, watching the curious operations of his blow-pipe and crucible. I loved the cheerful little man, and he became very fond of me in return. Many of my countrymen used to come and stare at his doings, which they were half inclined to think had too near a resemblance to the black art. The doctor's little phosphoric matches, igniting spontaneously when the glass tube was broken, and from which he derived some emolument, were thought, by some, to be rather beyond human power. His barometer and thermometer, with the scale neatly painted with the pen, and the frames richly carved, were objects of wonder, and probably some of them are yet extant in the West. But what most astonished some of our visitors was a large peach in a glass bottle, the neck of which would only admit a common cork. This was accomplished by tying a bottle to the limb of a tree, with the peach, when young, inserted into it. His swans, which swam around basins of water, amused me more than any wonders exhibited by the wonderful man. "The doctor was a great favorite with the Americans, as well for his vivacity and sweetness of temper, which nothing could sour, as on account of a circumstance which gave him high claim to the esteem of backwoodsmen. He had shown himself, 398 - HISTORY OF OHIO notwithstanding his small stature and great good nature, a very hero in combat with the Indians. He had descended the Ohio in company with two French philosophers, who were believers in the primitive innocence and goodness of the children of the for. est. They could not be persuaded that any danger was to be apprehended from the Indians. As they had no intentions to injure that people, they supposed that no harm could be meditated on their part. " Doctor Saugrain was not altogether so well convinced of their good intentions. Accordingly he kept his pistols loaded. Near the mouth of the Sandy, a canoe, with a party of warriors, approached the boat. The philosophers invited them on board by .signs, when they came, rather too willingly. The first thing they did, on coming on board the boat, was to salute the two philosophers with the tomahawk. And they would have treated the doctor in the same way, but that he used his pistols with good effect; killed two of the savages, and then leaped into the water, diving like a dipper at the flash of the guns of the others, and succeeded in swimming to the shore, with several severe wounds, whose scars were conspicuous. " The doctor was married to an amiable young woman, but not possessing as much vivacity as himself. As Madam Saugrain had no maid, her brother, a boy of my age, and myself, were her principal helps in the kitchen. We brought water and wood, and washed the dishes. I used to go in the morning about two miles for a little milk, sometimes on the frozen ground, bare-footed. I tried a pair of sabots, or wooden shoes, but was unable to make any use of them, although they had been made by the carver to the king. In the Spring and Summer a good deal of my time was passed in the garden, weeding the beds. Towards the latter part of Summer, the inhabitants suffered severely from sickness and want of provisions. Their situation was truly wretched. The swamp in the rear, now exposed by the clearing between it and the river, became the cause of a frightful epidemic, from which few escaped and many became its victims. I had recovered from the ague, and was among the few exempted from the disease. But our family as well as the rest, suffered much from absolute hunger, a most painful sensation, as I had before experienced. "To show the extremity of our distress, on one occasion the brother of Madam Saugrain and myself, pushed a light canoe to