(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO - 81 CHAPTER VI. THE INDIAN WAR--1790 TO 1795. PRIMARY CAUSES OF THE WAR-DECLARATION OF THE ORDINANCE OF 1787 CONCERNING THE INDIANS - A PEACE POLICY CONTEMPLATED-ITS FUTILITY-PREPARATIONS FOR A TREATY-THE WHITES ATTACKED IN THE NIGHT AT DUNCAN'S FALLS-THE TREATY MADE AT FORT HARMAR IN JANUARY, 1789-DISSATISFACTION AMONG THE INDIAN TRIBES--ATTACK ON THE OHIO COMPANY’S SURVEYING PARTY--JOHN GARDNER'S ADVENTURE-WAR CONSIDERED INEVITABLE- GENERAL HARMAR’S UNSUCCESSFUL EXPEDITION- MEIGS' JOURNEYS TO DETROIT-THE COLONY AT BIG BOTTOM-MURDER OF THE SETTLERS-TWELVE PERSONS KILLED AND OTHERS CAPTURED - TWO MEN ELUDE THE INDIANS AND WARN THE NEIGHBORING SETTLEMENTS-ALARMING CONDITION OF THE SETTLERS-INCIDENTS AND ADVENTURES-A SCOUT KILLED-DEATH OF MATTHEW KERR-AN INDIAN KILLED AT DUCK CREEK- RELIGIOUS EXERCISES INTERRUPTED BY AN ALARM OF INDIANS-A SKIRMISH- NICHOLAS CARPENTER AND THREE OTHERS KILLED NEAR MARIETTA- ST. CLAIR'S DEFEAT-WHAT WASHINGTON THOUGHT OF IT-THE INDIAN CONFEDERACY - EVENTS OF 1792-3 ---DISAPPEARANCE OF MAJOR GOODALE-THE SAD FATE OF THE ARMSTRONG FAMILY-THE COLONY FORMED AT OLIVE GREEN IN 1794-THE MURDER OF ABEL SHERMAN-THE INDIAN SILVERHEELS-A SON AVENGES HIS FATHER'S MURDER-CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR-WAYNE'S VICTORY-THE TREATY OF GREENVILLE, AUGUST, 1795 - PEACE AND PROSPERITY. The earliest English-speaking colony in the northwestern territory was founded under favorable auspices. The pioneers were, as we have seen, welcomed to the banks of the Muskingum by an influential chief and several warriors of the Delawares; the land to which they came had been ceded by the Indians to the government, and sold by the latter to the Ohio Company. As far as the treaties could make it so, the title of the whites to the land was absolute and indisputable. But, chiefly for causes for which they were in no way responsible, the inhabitants of Washington County soon found themselves involved in a war with the savages, which proved to be long and bloody. The primary cause of the Indian war, no doubt, was jealousy on the part of the savages at the encroaching settlements. Then, too, the frontiers of Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky had become peopled by a class of whites who acted upon the theory still adhered to in some sections of our country that only dead Indians are good Indians. The Virginians, whom the savages called the "Long Knives," were the hated enemies of the red men ; and the hatred engendered by long years of border warfare, in accordance with the natural bent of the Indian character, was extended to the entire race. Again, the savages had witnessed the cruel and inhuman butchery by the whites of the innocent Moravians and other acts of treachery performed by those professing friendship. The treaties that 82 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. had been made were unsatisfactory and imperfectly comprehended. The British, who still had posts in the Northwest, sought by every means to rouse the ire of the savages against the Americans, and so prevent settlements in the Ohio Valley. Savage warfare did not cease with the close of the Revolution, but continued here and there on the frontiers with almost no cessation. It was estimated that in the seven years preceding the Indian war, which began in 1790, and on Ohio soil in 1791, fifteen hundred people were captured or killed by the Indians on the border south and west of the Ohio River, and that two thousand horses, and other property to the value of fifty thousand dollars, were stolen. The ordinance of 1787, which established the Northwest Territory, contained in one of its articles the following declarations : "The utmost good faith shall always be observed toward the Indians; their lands and property shall never be taken from them without consent; and in their property, rights and liberty they shall never be invaded or disturbed, unless in just and lawful wars authorized by Congress; but laws founded in justice and humanity shall from time to time, be made for preventing wrong being done to them and for preserving peace with them." To carry out this peace policy Governor St. Clair was charged with the duty of making a treaty as soon as practicable after arriving in the territory, for the purpose of confirming former treaties and establishing friendly relations with the Indians. Anticipating the arrival of the governor in June, 1788, a party of thirty men, under command of Lieutenant McDowell, was sent from Fort Harmar to the falls of the Muskingum, since known as Duncan’s Falls, to make preparations for the approaching treaty. They took goods for presents to the indians, and provisions, and were instructed to erect a council-house and cabins to protect the men and shelter the goods. On arriving at the spot (which the Indians had selected for the council) the soldiers found quite a number of Delawares assembled there ; also a band of about twenty savages, composed of Chippewas and other outcasts of different tribes. During the night of July 12th the sentries who were guarding the tent containing the goods were fired upon, and two of them killed and others wounded. The Indians, who designed the robbery of the tent, were defeated in their purpose and retired with a 1oss of one killed and one wounded. 0n the same night the colored servant of Major Duncan, a trader, who was awaiting the arrival of the tribes in order that he might traffic with them, was killed and scalped. The Delawares protested that they were entirely innocent of any part in the attack, pronounced the dead Indian a Chippewa, and seizing and binding six of the offenders gave them into the custody of Lieutenant McDowell to await punishment. On the next day a reinforcement arrived from Fort Harmar, which took charge of the prisoners and carried them back to the fort. They were kept for some time in irons, but finally escaped. The large boat of the Ohio Company was sent up to the falls, and the troops, with the good and provisions, were carried back to the fort. The treaty was delayed several months by this occurrence. The In- 83 - THE INDIAN WAR. dians in the meantime began to manifest symptoms of hostility, and murmured against the improvements which the settlers were making. They continued to linger in the vicinity and e woods for miles around, hunting and killing off all the game they could, leaving it to rot upon the ground, “to keep it," as they averred “from the white hunters." A council was held of the Ottawas and Chippewas, who opposed making a treaty, and declared themselves for war unless the whites would remove south of the Ohio. The Delawares, however, continued their professions of friendship, and the Wyandots and Six Nations sided with them, telling the dissatisfied tribes that if they fought the white men they must not expect aid from the Delawares and their friends. Captain Pipe, a Delaware chief, dined with General Putnam at Marietta and with the officers at Fort Harmar on several occasions. In September Gyantwahia, the Cornplanter, a leading Seneca chief, accompanied about forty warriors, arrived at Fort Harmar, escorted by Captain Ziegler and a company of soldiers from Fort Pitt. It was expected, that he would have great influence in consummating a treaty, from his authority in the councils of the Six Nations, his intelligence and his friendliness toward the American government. In December, 1788, the Ohio Company voted to give one mile square of the donation lands “to the Gyantwahia and his heirs forever” as a testimonial of their appreciation of the value of his services. In November a son of the celebrated Brant, who was at Duncan's Falls with two hundred warriors, sent a request to Governor St. Clair that the conference be held at that place rather than at Fort Harmar. On the refusal of the governor Brant and his warriors retired to their towns and used their influence to keep the Shawnees from Fort Harmar. Very few of them were present when the treaty was made. December 13th about two hundred Indians from different tribes arrived at the fort. They came from the north, along the west bank of the Muskingum, some of them mounted and bearing the United States flag at the head of the column in token of friendship. As they approached the fort they saluted it by firing their rifles in the air. "The salute," says Dr. Hildreth, " was returned by the cannon and musketry of the soldiers for several minutes, sounding so much like a real engagement of hostile bands that the old officers at Campus Martins were quite animated with the sound. A guard of soldiers with music escorted them into the garrison in military style, which much pleased the chiefs, who expressed theft thanks to the governor in a set speed at their cordial reception." The gov. ernor replied, welcoming them in appropriate words, and expressed the hope that the treaty might soon be finished. The council-fire was lighted the next day, but the deliberations proceeded so slowly that it was not until the 9th of January that all the articles of the treaty were arranged and agreed to. During this time Governor St. Clair was ill with gout, and was carried by the soldiers in a chair to the council daily. General Richard Butler was present as a commissioner at the treaty ; also the venerable Moravian missionary, Rev. John Heckewelder, who had labored for years among the Delawares on the Tuscarawas and was beloved and 84 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. respected both by the Christian and heathen Indians of that tribe. He spoke their language with fluency, and his presence was of great weight in the council. Three interpreters were present—Nicholson, Williams and La Chappelle. Two treaties were made, both on the 9th of January, 1789. The first was with the sachems and warriors of the Six Nations, and was signed by twenty- four of their chiefs. It renewed and confirmed previous treaties and re-established the boundaries of the territory of the Six Nations, as fixed by the treaty of Fort Stanwix, October 22, 1784. A distinct article was attached to the treaty which provided that if any murders were committed, either by the whites or the Indians, the guilty persons should be given up to the proper authorities to be punished according to law ; and if any horses were stolen the owners should reclaim them if found. For confirming and renewing the treaty the Six Nations were given presents in goods to the value of $3,000. The second treaty was between Governor St. Clair and the Wyandots, Delawares, Ottawas, Chippewas, Pottawatomies and Sacs, confirming and extending the treaty of Fort McIntosh (January, 1785). The Indians agreed to give over to Governor St. Clair, as soon as they conveniently could, all white prisoners then in their hands. The boundaries of their lands were fixed the same as by the treaty of Fort McIntosh, and they, were forbidden to sell to any foreign power. They were granted permission to hunt on lands ceded to the United States so long as they conducted themselves peaceably white men were forbidden to settle in their reservation ; trade with the Indians was to be permitted and encouraged, under regulations, etc. But what matters it to state the provisions of a treaty which was so soon to be disregarded and annulled by the Indians? At the time it gave great satisfaction. The people of Marietta banqueted the chieftains; speeches were made and Governor St. Clair was presented with a congratulatory and laudatory address. Peace seemed secure, but the hope was illusive. Dissatisfaction began among the different tribes — some complaining that they were not represented at the treaty; others that young warriors and not chiefs' had acted without authority while one tribe complained because they had received no presents. When Indians seek causes for complaint they usually find them without difficulty. Border warfare against the " Long Knives" of Virginia and Kentucky was renewed with the opening of spring. On the 1st of May, 1789, a settler of Washington County, Captain Zebulon King, of Belpre, who had gone into his clearing to work, was shot and scalped by two Indians. Alarm and uneasiness prevailed in all the settlements throughout the summer. In the month of August, at Meigs' Station, a small stockade near Belpre, two boys were killed while hunting for the cows in the woods near their home. On the 7th of August John Mathews, the Ohio Company's surveyor, while engaged in his work in what is now Lawrence County, with a party of assistants, was attacked by the Indians, and narrowly escaped death. Six soldiers and a corporal attended the surveying party as a guard. The attack was made on their camp in the morn- 85 - THE INDIAN WAR. Ing in daylight. Patchen, one of the surveyor’s assistants, was killed, and all the soldiers except the corporal shared his fate. Mathews and three of his men fled and made their way to the river, where they opportunely fell in with a boat and assistance. The corporal, who had remained concealed while the Indians plundered the camp, joined Mathews and his companions on the same day. It was supposed that the attaclomg Indians were Shawnees. In September John Gardner, a young man from Massachusetts, who was at work clearing land in the Waterford settlement, becoming a little weary with his labor, sat down upon a fallen tree to rest. Four Indians and a white man suddenly appeared ; Gardner, supposing the Indians to be some of the friendly Delawares who were hunting in the vicinity, was not alarmed, but on the white man beckoning to him, approached the group. He was seized and bound and taken two or three miles up Wolf Creek to the Indians' camp, where he saw two or three horses, one of which he recognized as that of his neighbor, Judge Devol. The Indians then mounted and rode by turns, but forced Gardner to walk all the time. Their course led southwest to the waters of Federal Creek. During the night he had no opportunity to escape, being securely bound to a sapling which the Indians bent over and forced him upon. To the branches of the sapling they attached some cow-bells - stolen from the settlers' cows- so that any movement made by him would awaken his captors, During the second day the Indians conversed with him, promised him he should build their cabins, become a good Shawnee and have a Shawnee wife. During a halt they cut his hair and painted his face. The second night was rainy, and the thongs which bound his bands having become slightly pliable, Gardner resolved to free himself from them and escape. After several hours of careful working he succeeded in his purpose, and grasping his rifle (which one of the Indians had appropriated to his own use) he left the camp without awakening his slumbering guardians. He traveled rapidly during the following day, and at night slept in a hollow log. The next day he came to Wolf Creek, which he followed down to the mills and accounted -to his friends for his mysterious disappearance. He suffered much from hunger, eating nothing from the time of his last supper with the Indians until he arrived at home, for though he had his rifle and saw some game, he could not kill anything, as the Indians had robbed him of powder and bullets. During the year 1790 the Indians did not seriously molest any of the id- habitants of the Ohio Company's lands, but many reports reached them of outrages south of the Ohio River and at the mouth of the Scioto. War was considered inevitable, and the settlers made the best preparations they could: In June of this year Major Doughty left the fort at the mouth of the Muskingum, and, accompanied by 150 me; proceeded down the Ohio and commenced the erection of Fort Washington, within the present limits of Cincinnati. A little later General Harnutp arrived at that place with 300 men, and, with the addition of nearly 1,000. Virginians, Kentuckians and Pennsylvanians, led an expedition against the Indians on the Maumee, destroying several of their villaires. His forces 86 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO were defeated with heavy losses on the 19th and 22d days of October. His campaign provoked instead of allaying the growing hostility. He returned to Fort Hamar in November. Meantime the British were furnishing arms and stores to the hostile tribes. Return J. Meigs, Jr., afterward governor, was sent to the governor of Detroit by General St. Clair, about the time Harmar started, with a letter informing the British commandant of the proposed expedition. The letter stated that no British post would be molested, and asked that no supplies be furnished the hostile savages. Only a formal answer was returned. Meigs was told that it would be dangerous for him to return to Marietta through the wilderness by the route he had come, and with his companion, John Whipple, son of Commodore Whipple, made a; long detour, going on a schooner to Presque Isle, whence they proceeded down the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers by boat. In spite of the unsettled condition of affairs the people of Washington County pursued their usual avocations during the year. An attempt was even made to extend the settlement at this time—a rash and foolhardy experiment, The " Big Bottom," on the left bank, of the Muskingum, in Windsor Township, contains the largest body of level or bottom land on the river between Duncan's Falls and Marietta. The lower part is directly opposite Roxbury; and extends up five miles, with an average width of three-fourths of a mile. Induced by the offer of donations tQ, actual settlers by the Ohio Company, an association of men, principally young, unmarried and unacquainted with the dangers of frontier life and the mode of Indian warfare, began, in the fall of 1790, a settlement by erecting a blockhouse a few rods from the river on the farm now owned and occupied by Obadiah Brokaw. About twenty rods from the blockhouse and a few rods further from the river Francis and Isaac Choate erected cabin and commenced clearing a Another of the company, James Patton, and a hired laborer, Thomas Shaw lived with them. About the same distance below was an old clearing and cabin, which had been made years before under the laws of Virginia, which Asa and Eleazer Bullard had fitted and occupied. The residents of the stations, families with the wiles and treachery of the Indians, advised them to defer the settlement until spring, as by that time the question of war or peace would probably be decided. But the young men were impatient, and, confident of their own ability to protect themselves, went. Their blockhouse, sufficiently capacious to accommodate all of them in an emergency, was built of large beech logs, rather open and not well filled between, the completion of the work being left for a rainy day or a more convenient season. Another error was the neglect of any system of defense and the omission to regularly put out sentinels. Thug, without system and under no constituted control, there was no provision made to repel an attack, and although the men were well armed their guns were permitted to stand in different parts of the house. The general interests appeared to be lost in the convenience of each individual. This indifference and fancied security at this time may in part be attributed to the expressed observation 87 - THE INDIAN WAR. of the early settlers that the Indians seldom started on a war expedition in the winter; and at the time the weather must have been very cold, as the river had remained frozen over since the 22d of December. On Sunday, January 2, there was a slight thaw, but the ground was covered with snow. The warpath of the Indians from Sandusky to the mouth of the Muskingum was on the hills on the est side of the river, from which an almost unobstructed view of the bottoms on either side could be had. During the preceding summer a number of the Delaware and Wyandot Indians had been loitering about the settlements at Waterford and Wolf Creek, and under the guise of friendship had made themselves familiar with the situation and the manner of living of the whites, who, not apprehending danger, generally occupied their own separate cabins. With the information thus obtained the Indians fitted out a war party for the destruction of the Waterford settlement, in the vicinity of where Beverly now stands. When they started out on this expedition it is supposed that they were not aware that there was a settlement at Big Bottom until they came in sight of it on the afternoon of Sunday, January 2, 1791, from their warpath on the opposite side, which gave them a comprehensive view of the defenseless condition of the residents. After completing their reconnaissance, and holding a council as to the mode of attack, the Indians crossed the river on the ice, a short distance above the blockhouse, and divided into two attacking parties. The larger one was to assault the blockhouse, while the other was to attack and make prisoners of those in the upper cabin without alarming those below. The plan was skillfully arranged and promptly executed. Cautiously approaching the cabin, they found the inmates at supper. Some of the Indians entered and spoke to the men in a friendly manner, while others stood outside. Suspecting no danger, the whites offered the savages food, which they accepted. The Indians, seeing some leather thongs in the corner of the room, took the men by the arms and making signs that they were prisoners bound them. Resista, ce being useless, they submitted to their fate. While this was being transacted at Choate's cabin the other party had reached the blockhouse, unobserved even by the dogs, which gave no warning as usual by barking. A large and resolute Indian threw open the door, stepped in and stood by to keep it open, while those outside shot down the white men standing around the fire. Zebulon Throop, from Massachusetts, who had just returned from the mill with meal, and was frying meat, fell dead in the fire. The Indians then rushed in and killed with the tomahawk all that were left. So sudden and unexpected was the attack that no effectual resistance was attempted by any of the men ; but a stout, resolute backwoods Virginian woman, the wife of Isaac Meeks, who was employed as a hunter, seized an axe and aimed a blow at the head of the Indian who opened the door, but a slight turn of his head saved his skull, and the axe passed down through his cheek into his shoulder, leaving a huge gash that severed half his face. Be- 88 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. fore she could repeat the blow she was killed by the tomahawk of another Indian. And this was the only injury received by any of the savages, as the men were all killed before they had time to reach their arms. While this savage butchery was being perpetrated John Stacy, a young man in the prime of life, son of Colonel Stacy, ascended by a ladder to the top of the building, hoping by that means to escape, but the Indians on the outside discovered and shot him while he was begging of them "for God's sake to spare his life." His appeal was heard by the two Bullards, who, alarmed by the firing at the blockhouse, ran out of their cabin to ascertain the cause. Discovering the Indians, they ran back, and taking their rifles ran for the woods in a direction hidden by their cabin from the sight of the Indians. They had barely escaped when they heard their door burst open. They were not pursued by the savages, although it must have been apparent that they had just left, as there was a brisk fire on the hearth and supper warm on the table. When the slaughter was finished and the scalps secured the Indians proceded to collect the plunder. In removing the bedding Philip Stacy, a young brother of John, was discovered, and the tomahawk was instantly raised for his destruction, when he threw himself at the feet of their leading warrior and begged his protection. The latter, either from compassion on his youth or being sated with the slaughter already made, interposed his authority and saved his life. After removing all that they thought was valuable they tore up the floor, piled it over the bodies of their victims and set it on fire, intending to consume them with the blockhouse, but the green beech logs would not burn, and the boards of the floor and roof only were consumed and the walls left standing. The persons killed were John Stacy, Ezra Putnam, son of Major Putnam, of Marietta ; John Camp and Zebulon Throop, from Massachusetts ; Jonathan Farewell and James Couch, from New Hampshire; William James, from Connecticut ; John Clark, from Rhode Island ; Isaac Meeks and his wife and two children, from Virginia. The captured were Isaac and Francis Choate, Thomas Shaw, young Philip Stacy and James Patton. Philip Stacy died at the Maumee Rapids; the others eventually returned to their former homes. After effecting their escape the Bullards hastened down the river to Samuel Mitchell's hunting-camp, in vicinity of the mouth of Meigs Creek. Captain Joseph Rogers, a soldier of the Revolution and a hunter, was staying there ; also a Mohican Indian of the name of Dick Layton, from Connecticut. Mitchell was absent at the mills, and the captain and Dick, wrapped in their blankets, were before the fire asleep. They were awakened and made acquainted with the cause of the untimely visit and the probable fate of the people at the blockhouse. Armed with their trusty rifles, they started immediately, crossed the river on the ice, and through the woods shaped their course for the Wolf Creek Mills, six miles distant, where they arrived about 10 o'clock at night. Their announcement produced a scene of consternation and alarm, not only at the mills; but at the scattered and unprotected cabins at Waterford, to which THE INDIAN WAR - 89 special messengers were speedily dispatched. Thus by the fortunate escape of the the several settlements were saved that night from death at the hands of the ruthless savages, who otherwise would have found the settlers, unconscious, of danger, asleep in their defenseless cabins. The next day Captain Rogers with a party of men went to the Bottom. The action of the fire had not consumed but had so blackened and disfigured the bodies that few of them could be recognized; and as the ground on the outside was forzen an excavation was made within the walls and they were all consigned to a common grave. A procedure of the Indians at this massacre demonstrated that, like other people, the ywere superstitious ; that they would "strain at a gnat and swallow a camel." Before they set fire to the blockhouse they very carefully removed all the eatables, meal, beans, etc., and put them in piles by the stumps of trees in the vicinity, under the impression that it was a crime to destroy food, and that it would offend the Great Spirit, and that they would be punished. The band of Indians which attacked the defenseless settlement consisted of twenty-five or thirty warriors of the hitherto tribes hitherto friendly. The war may be said to have actually begun on Ohio soil with the cruel and savage murder of the settlers at Big Bottom. Preparations were at once taken by the settlers of Washington County to strengthen their defensive works and to organize and equip the militia as well as possible. On the 8th of January General Rufus Putnam wrote to the Secretary of War and to President Washington. From the letter to the President we are able to form some idea of the true and alarming condition of the settlements. General Putnam stated that the governor and secretary were both absent, consequently no assistance from Virginia or Pennsylvania could be had; the garrison at Fort Harmar then consisted of little more than twenty men, while the entire number of men in the Ohio Company's purchase capable of bearing arms did not exceed 287, many of whom were badly armed. He detailed the situation of the people as follows : "At Marietta are about eighty houses in the distance of one mile, with scattering houses about three miles up the Ohio; a set of mills at Duck Creek, four, miles distant, and another mill two miles up the Muskingum. Twenty-two miles up this river is a settlement (Waterford) consisting of about twenty families; about two miles from them on Wolf Creek are five families and a set of mills. Down the Ohio and opposite the Little Kanawha commences the settlement called Belle Prairie (Belpre), which extends down the river with little interruption about twelve miles and contains between thirty and forty houses. Before the late disaster we had several other settlements which are already broken up. I have taken the liberty to inclose the proceedings of the Ohio Company and justices of the sessions on the occasion, and beg leave, with the greatest deference, to observe that unless the government speedily sends a body of troops for our protection we are a ruined people." The proceedings of The Ohio Company referred to in the letter were had on the day after the massacre and re- 90 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. lated to the organization of the militia, their pay, and the garrisoning of the blockhouses in the several settlements. The first resolution recommended that the inhabitants of the out-settlements be advised to remove their women and children to Marietta, where suitable accommodations would be provided for them. The Ohio Company, although already impoverished, acted with commendable liberality then and throughout the war, paying out over $11,000 for the protection of the settlements. Colonel Ebenezer Sproat had command of the militia, and Captain Zeigler was the officer in command of Fort Harmar. The settlers of the Ohio Company's lands were speedily gathered into the three best protected stations—Marietta, Belpre and Waterford. Meantime governor St. Clair and the United States government were preparing to secure peace, if possible, but at the same time organizing a large military force to be used if necessary. At the same time a confeder ation of all the Indian tribes northwest of the Ohio was being formed with the avowed object of driving the whites from the territory. In March, 1791, a band of Wyandots and Delawares from the Sandusky country gathered at Duncan's Falls preparatory to making an attack on the settlements below. Among them was an Indian of King Philip's tribe named John Miller, from Rhode Island, who had been at the settlements and was acquainted with many of the settlers. He resolved to defeat the plans of his savage brethren; and purposely cut his foot that he might be left behind at the camp instead of proceeding with the war party. The Indians left him, but being suspicious of him, bound him in the camp. As soon as he was left alone he loosened his bonds, prepared a raft and embarked upon the river. He passed the camp fire of the Indians without detection and made his way to Fort Frye, where he gave warning of the impending danger. The people of Waterford apparently disregarded his warning, or at least did not long continue watchful. The Indians first went to Duck Creek where had been a little settlement which was now abandoned. On the 11th of March, early in the morning, they returned to the Waterford settlement, where they fired upon and wounded a young man named Sprague as he was returning to the fort from a cabin whither he had gone to milk a cow. Shots were exchanged between the inmates of the blockhouse and the Indians, but no one was killed, and the savages retired from the vicinity. The next day three of the Indians alarmed the Belpre settlement and killed some cattle there. For some time prior to the opening of hostilities Col. Sproat had employed rangers to scour the woods a bout the settlements to give notice of approaching danger. They were habited in Indian costume and painted their faces after the manner of the savages. They had certain signs and signals by which they made themselves known to each other. Two of these scouts, Capt. Joseph Rogers and Edward Henderson, of Marietta, were returning at evening on the 13th of March, and when within, a mile of home Rogers was suddenly shot to the heart by an Indian. Henderson narrowly escaped by running. Rogers was a brave and experienced frontiers-man and his loss was deeply felt. During the summer Matthew Kerr THE INDIAN WAR - 91 was killed on Kerr's Island, near the mouth of Muskingum, where he had settled in 1787. In common with the other settlers he sought the shelter of the garrison at night in the time of danger, but went daily to his farm to work and attend to his stock. On the 16th of June he found a horse, which he conjectured that the Indians had stolen, tied in one of his corncribs, and took it down to the garrison. On the shore of the was approaching the island in his canoe, four Indians fired upon him and he fell, pierced by three bullets. The act was witnessed by several Virginia soldiers, who were powerless to render assistance, river being between. Matthew Kerr was the father of Hamilton Kerr, who distinguished himself as a scout during the war. In the latter part of July William Smith, a lad of eighteen years, who was acting as sentry for a party of men who were cutting timber in the woods near at the Point, in Marietta, was suddenly startled by a great commotion among the cattle in the woods. Running to inform his companions, he found they had already quit and gone to supper. Suspecting that the Indians had caused the alarm among the cattle, he followed the other men to the garrison and told his tale. The cattle were examined and an arrow was found still sticking in the side of one of the cows. The next day a party of about forty men, composed of volunteers and soldiers from the fort, explored the woods in search of the enemy. In the vicinity of Duck Creek Mills Hamilton Kerr, who acted as spy, discovered six Indians crossing the creek to a vacant cabin. Bidding his companions keep back, Kerr and his brother George crept forward to reconnoiter. They saw two Indians come out of the house and fired upon them. One Indian fell and Hamilton Kerr rushed up and dispatched him with his knife. The other, though wounded, escaped. The men who had waited behind now rushed up, but the remainder of the savages made good their escape. The head of the dead Indian was cut off, impaled upon a pole, and borne aloft by the hunters as they returned to Campus Martins. Sometimes days and weeks passed without any alarm to the inhabitants of the garrisons, while at other times nearly every day brought some proof of the nearness of the lurking enemy. One Sabbath morning in September: when nearly all the inhabitants of Marietta were attending divine worship, conducted by Rev. Daniel Story in the Campus Martins, Peter Nisewonger, one of the rangers, burst into the presence of the quiet congregation, shouting " Indians ! Indians ! " Instantly the sermon ceased, and instead rang out the "long roll" of the drum. A party of about twenty- five men—rangers, citizens and soldiers —was speedily made up and sallied forth in quest of the foe. Proceeding in canoes to the mouth of Duck Creek, they soon discovered a trail which led over towards the Little Muskingum. The Indians' camp was descried in a hollow east of the creek. Dividing into two parties, the rangers prepared to attack it. The Indians became alarmed, hearing some noise incautiously or accidentally made, ran, and concealing themselves behind trees began firing at their pursuers, who returned the fire with animation. In the skirmish one Indian was killed and another severely wounded. The rest of the savages (the whole party numbered seven) escaped. 92 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. None of the whites were injured, though one was badly frightened by a bullet whizzing through his clothes close to his body, and caused great amusement by shouting that he was killed, and in his fright falling into a brook that ran by the camp. The dead Indian was scalped and the bloody trophy carried to the garrison. In the same month, as Benoni Hurlburt and Joshua Fleehart, two of the Belpre settlers, were visiting traps of the Little Hocking, Hurlburt was shot down and scalped, but his companion eluded the savages and returned to Farmers' Castle in safety. On the 4th of October, 1791, Nicholas Carpenter and three others were killed by the Indians near Marietta. Carpenter, with his assistants, Hughes, Leggett, Paul, Barnes and Ellis, was engaged in bringing a drove of cattle from Clarksburg to supply the troops with beef. He had been on many similar trips and was an experienced backwoodsman. On this occasion his son, a lad of ten years accompanied him. On the evening of October 3d the party encamped about six miles above Marietta on a stream since known as Carpenter's Run. Their cattle were suffered to range at large, and the horses, with bells upon them, were also turned out to feed. Now it happened that a party of six Shawnees, headed by the afterward renowned Tecumseh, had been on an expedition of plunder, on the Little Kanawha, where they had taken a little colored boy prisoner. The Indians struck and followed Carpenter's trail and arrived in the vicinity of his camp before daylight on the morning of the 4th. Tying their little colored prisoner at a distance, the stealthy savages approached very near to the camp and concealed themselves behind trees. At dawn the men were astir, and Carpenter proposed commencing the day by devotions as was his usual custom. As he was reading a hymn, while the men sat around the fire, the Indians discharged their rifles at the party. Ellis fell dead and Paul received a wound in his hand. The others sprang to their feet, but before they could reach their rifles the Indians were among them. Hughes ran into the woods closely pursued by an Indian. As he stopped to disencumber himself of his leggins, which were loose and impeded his flight, a tomahawk thrown by his pursuer grazed his head. But freed from his encumbrance he sped onward and reached Marietta in safety though his hunting shirt was pierced b several bullets. Paul also escaped. Barnes was slain after a short resistance, and Leggett overtaken and kill after running nearly two miles. Carpenter, who was lame, and his little son attempted to conceal themselves, but were soon discovered and killed. The negro boy, who was left tied by his captors, succeeded in freeing himself an returned to his master. The Indians scalped all of the dead except Carpenter. It was thought this mark of respect was shown him because he had once mended the gun of one of the Indians who chanced to be of this party and had declined to receive pay for the job. During the fall the settlers were several times alarmed, but there were no serious engagements. On the 5th of December tidings reached Marietta of the defeat of St. Clair. The unexpected and startling news was brought by Major Denny, quartermaster of the army, who was on his way to Philadelphia. General St. Clair was at Pittsburgh in April, 1791, receiving volunteers and 93 - THE INDIAN WAR. detachments from the regular army, and providing supplies and equipments. In May he proceeded to Fort Washington, where his army was gradually concentrated. In the fall, all negotiations for peace having failed, he marched into the Indian country with an army of 2,300 strong, exclusive of militia. Most of the allied tribes were then on the Maumee and Wabash and in the country between those streams. As St. Clair advanced he erected forts where are now the towns of Hamilton and Eaton in Western Ohio, and Fort Jefferson in Darke County. His ariny was reduced by sickness and desertion to about 1,500 before final disastrous engagement. On the morning of November 4th (near the spot where Fort Recovery was afterward built), in the northern part of the present county of Darke, Ohio, the warriors of the powerful confederacy surprised the army and defeated it with terrible slaughter. Nearly 600 of the soldiers were killed, including many officers, and about 200 more were wounded. About a hundred women had followed the army and over half of them fell victims to the savage barbarity. The Indians were led by Little Turtle and several white savages who had joined them, and altogether numbered about 2,000. In their fury they did not content themselves with killing and scalping, but drove stakes through their enemies' bodies and crammed their throats and eyes full of dirt and clay, thus showing their detestation for the palefaces who were seeking to gain possession of their lands. Ridpath, in his History of the United States, thus speaks of St. Clair's defeat, “The fugitive militia fled precipitately to Fort Washington, where they arrived four days. after the battle. The news of the disaster spread gloom and sorrow throughout the land. When the tidings reached Philadelphia the government was for a while in consternation. For once the benignant spiiit of Washington gave way to wrath. Here,' said he, in a tempest of indignation, here, in this very room, I took leave of General St. Clair. I wished him success and honor. I said to him, " You have careful instructions from the Secretary of War, and I myself will add one word—Beware of a surprise. You know how the Indians fight us—beware of a surprise!" He went off with that, my last warning, ringing in his ears. And yet he has suffered that army to be cut to pieces, hacked, butchered, tomahawked, by a surprise—the very thing I guarded him against? How can he answer to his country ? The blood of the slain is upon him, the curse of widows and orphans ! Mr. Lear, the secretary, in whose presence this storm of wrath burst forth, sat speechless. Presently Washington grew silent. What I have uttered must not go beyond this room, said he, in a manner of great seriousness. Another pause of several minutes ensued, and then he continued, in a low and solemn tone : I looked at the dispatches hastily and did not note all the particulars Gen, eral St, Clair shall have justice. I will receive him without displeasure ; he shall have full justice.' Notwithstand ing his exculpation by a committee, poor St. Clair, overwhelmed with censures and reproaches, resigned his command and was superseded by General Wayne, whom the people had named Mad Anthony." Early in the year 1792 Fort Harmar was strengthened by the arrival of a company of soldiers. The winter passed 94 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. without hostilities being renewed in Washington County, the Indians devoting themselves to strengthening their confederacy for resistance to General Wayne's army then organizing at Pittsburgh. On the 15th of March, at Newbury, the " lower" Belpre settlement, Mrs. Brown, the wife of a newly-arrived settler, two children and Persis Dunham, a girl fourteen years of age, fell victims to the tomahawk and scalping-knife. The settlement, which had previously been abandoned, was again deserted in consequence of this murder. In June, as Return J. Meigs, Jr., afterward governor, was returning from his work in a field near Campus Martins, accompanied by his hired man Symonds and a colored boy, the party was attacked by two Indians. Symonds received a severe wound and the colored boy was killed and scalped. Meigs was chased for some distance by an Indian whom he recognized as the one who bad been his guide through the wilderness to Detroit in 1790, but reached the garrison uninjured. In the fall of 1792 General Rufus Putnam, of Marietta, who had been appointed commissioner for that purpose, negotiated a treaty with the Wabash tribes, the Pottawatomies, Eel River Indians, Kalkaskias, Onatonions, Pinkashaws, Kickapoos, Peorias and others. Rev. John Heckewelder accompanied General Putnam as interpreter. The treaty was made September 27th, and the tribes mentioned declared themselves at peace with the United States. Several of the chiefs visited Philadelphia to talk with the President, stopping on their way at Marietta, where they were tendered a reception and ,a banquet. In March, 1793, Major Nathan Goodale, while at work on his farm, a mile and a half below the mouth of the Little Kanawha, on the north side of the Ohio, was either killed or captured by a party of Indians who did th work so silently that they did not even attract the attention of the hired man who was working near by and who was unmolested. Search was made for Goodale in vain ; his fate was never accurately known. The Ohio Company's settlements suffered no other losses from the Indians during the remainder of the year. The winter of 1793-4 passed quietly, but in the spring following Belpre was again the scene of a horrible murder. John Armstrong, a native of Pennsylvania, had moved with his family from the headwaters of the Ohio to the Upper Belpre settlement in the fall of 1793. In company with Peter Mixner he operated a small floating mill, which was moored on the Virginia side of the river nearly opposite the head of the island, since famous as Blennerhassett's. Finding it inconvenient to cross the river so often of Armstrong and Mixner decided to build themselves cabins near the mill and move their families over. The nearness of the garrison, it was thought, would make the experiment reasonably safe. But Mrs. Armstrong strongly objected to the plan; she had good reasons for dreading and fearing the Indians, as both her father and mother had been killed by them in Pennsylvania. But she finally consented to the arrangement, and with her eight children took up her abode in her husband’s cabin. Mixner, a few days before, the Indians made their attack, had moved his family into a new cabin in 95 - THE INDIAN WAR. woods, leaving vacant the one he had first occupied. On the night of the 24th of April Armstrong was awakened by the barking of his dog. Thinking that a bear which had been prowling around a night or two before was attacking his pigpen, he seized his gun, and without dressing rushed out. Instead of a bear he saw four Indians. He fired at them and shouted "Indians! Indians!” for the purpose of giving the alarm to his neighbor, then retreated into the house and barred the door. He rushed to the loft of his cabin, and by the time he reached it the Indians had battered down the door and were inside. He succeeded in making a hole through the loose shingles of the roof, jumped to the ground outside, unperceived by the Indians, and went to the mill, where two of his older boys slept, to alarm them. Mrs. Armstrong, with her three youngest children, slept in the lower part of the cabin. All were killed and scalped. Three children, Jeremiah, John and Elizabeth, aged respectively eight, ten and fourteen years, were taken captives.. Meantime Mixner, roused by the report of Armstrong's gun, came out of his cabin, and listening attentively heard the voices of the Indians. He called his wife, who had once been a prisoner among the Wyandots and knew something of their language, and she heard them inquiring about the family which they supposed still occupied the vacant cabin. Hastily getting his family into a canoe, he paddled out into the middle of the stream, then floated silently past the Armstrong cabin. As they passed he heard the girl Elizabeth crying and moaning over the fate of her mother and the children. Mixner shouted and asked what was the matter. One of the Indians who spoke English forced her to reply, "Nothing," telling her if she did not he would kill her. Landing his family on the island (where there was a blockhouse), he gave the alarm about the same time that Armstrong did. The next day a party was organized, which followed the Indians as far as the Hocking River, where they discovered their trail, and from the prints of their feet learned that the captured children were still alive. Fearing that the Indians would kill the children if they were overtaken, the whites abandoned the pursuit. The captives all regained their liberty after the close of the war. There had been no hostilities for so long a time at the Waterford settlement that in the spring of 1794 the colony, which had received several accessions, decided to begin a new settlement farther up the Muskingum. Accordingly, at the confluence of Olive Green Creek* with the Muskingum a blockhouse was built, and around it several ordinary cabins, the whole being inclosed by a stockade. The little colony numbered about thirty, and was made up of Abel Sherman and wife, their son Ezra and his wife, and Ezra's two brothers, young, unmarried men ; Ezekiel Hoit and family, Aaron Delong and family, and George Ewing and family. In the last-named family was a lad five years of age, afterward eminent in the affairs of the nation— Thomas Ewing.f The colony had * There is a tradition that Olive Green Creek received its somewhat peculiar name from Colonel Robert Oliver and Griffin Greene, Esq., two of the directors of the Ohio Company, who being out with a surveying party got lost, and camped at night upon the stream, and at the same time gave it its name. + Mathews' History of Washington County, p. 85. 96 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. scarcely become settled when one of its leading members became the victim of the scalping-knife. One of the methods of waylaying the inmates was to drive off the cows, which, (luring the spring and. summer, found abundant food in the luxurious growth of peavine and clover. In June a party of three. Indians were in the vicinity and drove the cows tb the hills, confident the owners would go in search of them. Among the cows was one belonging to Abel Sherman, a stout courageous man, sixty years old. Contrary to the advice of the others, who suspected the scheme, he determined to go in search of the animals, and with his gun on his shoulder he wandered down the margin of the river about four miles to the garrison at Waterford, supposing they might have fallen in with the cattle of that settlement. When he reached that point he could hear nothing of them. It was then near evening, and he was urged to stay all night, as the settlers also suspected the Indians were the cause of the absence of the cattle, and were watching for those who might be in search of them ; but being bold and fearless, he declined. When he was within a quarter of a mile of the station, near the mouth of a run since called Sherman's Run, he found a patch of nice May-apples, fully ripe, and was tempted to gather some as a treat to the children at home. He had nearly filled the bosom of his hunting-shirt when, rising from his stooping posture, he saw an Indian within a few paces of him. Instantly springing for his gun, he fired at his enemy, while at the same instant the Indian fired at him. Sherman fell dead, and his mall broke the Indian's arm at the shoulder. The report of the two discharges was heard in the garrison, and one of them recognized by his son as that of his father's gun, an old-style musket, and fearless of consequences, with his own gun the young man was soon on the ground, to find his father dead and his scalp taken. But the Indians had fled, Sherman was buried the next day where he fell. After the close of the long, bloody Indian war the intercourse between the white man and the Indian became friendly and confidential to the extent that the Shawnees, Mingoes and Wyandots, who from earlier years had occupied in common the hunting grounds of the Muskingum Valley with the white hunter, roamed the forest unmolested. After this cessation of hostilities a Shawnee called Silver heels seems to have isolated himself from his tribe, and being a famous hunter lighted his campfire in the vicinity of the mouth of the Bald Eagle, above where is now Windsor, and near the ripple in the river known and called by the early boatmen Silverheels' Ripple, where game and fish were then plenty. One day, while the Olive Green salt makers were occupied, old Silverheels, who was well known to them, made his appearance at their encampment, confident of being a welcome recipient of their hospitality. The saltmakers had of course, a fair supply of the standard beverage, and with a knowledge of the Indian's appreciation of the article furnished it to him in liberal and frequent potations. After several repetitions he became garrulous and communicative, and according to the Indian habit boastful of his prowess in war, stating that in his battles and marauding excursions he had taken the scalps of sixteen white THE INDIAN WAR - 97 men, and specifically that he had during the last Indian war taken the scalp of an old man near the blockhouse, a short distance below the mouth of Olive Green Creek, on the Muskingum River, describing the scalp as having two crowns; that he had carefully cut and divided it so as to make two scalps, which he had sold to the British at Detroit for fifty dollars each. Also, that at the time he shot him the old man was gathering May-apples, and had the bosom of his hunting-shirt full of them. He minutely described the old man's musket, wiits iron bands, etc., adding that as the certainty of pursuit from the blockhouse required haste, and as the gun was of no use to him, he had hidden it in hollow of a tree. These particulars were no doubt drawn out by the saltmakers from interested motives, as several of them were well acquainted with Abel Sherman, having lived in the blockhouse at the time, and were familiar with the fact that he had been killed by the Indians at the time and in the manner described. Among the saltmakers was Josiah Sherman, son of Abel, and to make sure of the truth of Silverheels' statement he returned directly home and made search, and found in the hollow of a decayed tree an old musket, the stock mouldered and the barrel rusty, but in a condition to be identified as his father's, establishing the fact that Silverheels was personally concerned in his death. It was not long after this that the dead body of Silverheels was found by a hunter in the ashes of his campfire. There he had lived and there he died, and there was a father’s death avenged; and now the deepened water of the river hides the memorial of his name. Having made a brief digression, let us now return to the narration of incidents connected with the war. The last hostile act committed at Marietta took place May 10, 1794, when Robert Worth was killed while at work within a few rods of Fort Harman But other outrages were committed in Washington County before the establishment of peace. In February, 1795, unfortunate Belpre suffered still another loss. Jonas Davis, a young Massachusetts man from the upper settlement, had been to Marietta, and as he was returning discovered an old skiff at the mouth of Crooked Creek. The next day he returned to the spot to get the nails out of the skiff, nails being then very scarce and very high. As he was at work tearing the old boat to pieces he was shot by marauding Indians and scalped. The next day his remains were found by a party which had gone out to search for him. The same day four young men led by John James set out to avenge Davis' murder. At Gallipolis they were reinforced by four other volunteers, and they followed the Indians as far as the headwaters of Symmes Creek, distant a hundred miles from Belpre. There they came upon a large camp of Indians. The pursuers were now in their turn pursued, and during their hasty retreat one of the party had an adventure which nearly cost him his scalp; but all finally returned in safety from their hazardous expedition, greatly to the relief of their anxious friends. The last act of Indian hostility within the Ohio Company's purchase took place in the valley of the Muskingum, not far from the line of the present county of Morgan. In the spring. of -1796 five young men —William Ford, William 98 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. Hart, Jacob Proctor, John Waterman and Sherman Waterman,—who had drawn donation lots on the south branch of Wolf Creek, about three miles from the Waterford garrison, resolved to clear their lands in company. For their protection while at work a small blockhouse was erected on John Waterman's land. On the 15th of June, which was a rainy day, the young men remained about the house. Sherman Waterman, while gathering bark near the creek a few rods from the house, was fired upon by an Indian and shot through the body. In spite of his injury he succeeded in almost reaching the blockhouse, then fell exhausted. His companions, alarmed by the report of the rifle, grasped their weapons and sprang to the portholes, and saw that the Indians were still shooting at the prostrate form of Waterman. Two of them rushed out and brought him in, themselves unharmed, though the Indians' bullets flew all around them. Making good use of their own rifles, they soon caused the Indians to retreat. One of the young men then started to Waterford to notify the people there of what had happened. He returned with assistance, and the wounded man was removed to the settlement, where he died that night. The total number of whites killed in Washington County and on the opposite shore of the Ohio during the period of hostility was 38; the number captured, 10. Only four Indians were known to have been killed, though it was supposed that many died from the wounds inflicted by the white men's rifles. While the later events which we have been chronicling were transpiring on the Ohio and the Muskingum, General Anthony Wayne had carried terror into the heart of the Indian country, achieved a grand victory and, negotiated a treaty of peace. In the autumn of 1793, with a force of about three thousand men, he advanced into the territory claimed by the Indian confederacy. Near the field on which St. Clair's army had been defeated and slaughtered he erected Fort Recovery garrisoned it, and reinforced by General Scott and a regiment of mounted Kentuckians pressed on farther into the Indian country. At the junction of the Auglaize and the Maumee, in what is now the northwestern part of the State of Ohio, in July, 1794, Fort Defiance was built and garrisoned. The descending the Maumee to the rapids, General Wayne, before striking the final blow, sent proposals for peace to the Indians. All the chiefs save Little Turtle declared themselves for war. On the 20th of August, 1794, was fought the battle of the Fallen Timbers, which resulted in so decisive a victory that the savages were willing to accept peace on the intrepid general's terms.* After advancing still farther into the Indian country, and erecting Fort Wayne, the victorious commander, after months of negotiation, succeeded in concluding a general treaty of peace with all the hostile tribes of the Territory. The treaty was made at Greenville (Darke County, Ohio), August 10, 1795. It was based upon the Fort Harmar Treaty of 1789, and was the last service which General Wayne per- * The scene of the battle was near the present town of Waynesfield, Lucas County, Ohio. Not far from the battlefield stood the British post of Fort Miami, then occupied by British soldiers, the assistants, encouragers, and as far as they dared to be, the allies, of the savages in their warfare against the Americans. 99 - PIONEERS AND PIONEER LIFE. formed for his country. He died in December, 1796, on board a vessel in Lake Erie, while returning from the Indian country to Philadelphia. Wayne’s victory and the subsequent treaty secured permanent peace with the Indians on Ohio soil, extinguished the last vestige of Indian title to the lands now forming the eastern and southern parts of the State, prepared the way for immigration, which soon began pouring its ceaseless stream into the Ohio Valley, finally resulting in the opening of the great Northwest to the influences of civilization, the upbuilding of great cities and states and the development of the greatest agricultural region in the world.