CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 75 A fine marble monument stands on the lot in the Mansfield cemetery where this distinguished governor and member of congress is buried, and upon it is inscribed : "Mordecai Bartley. one of the Pioneers of Northern Ohio. Representative in Congress from 1823 to 1831. Governor of Ohio from 1845 to 1846. A Christian and a Patriot." Governor Bartley was a soldier in the war of 1812. Thomas W. Bartley was a judge of the supreme court of Ohio from 1852 to 1859,, died in 1885 and is buried in Glenwood cemetery, Washington, D. C. He was the father of Mrs. S. Eberle Jenner, of this city. Thomas H. Ford was on the ticket with Salmon P. Chase, and was elected lieutenant-governor of Ohio in 1855. He served as a captain in the Mexican war and as a colonel in the war of the Rebellion. He was the printer of the national house of representatives at one time—now called "public printer." As a campaign speaker he had a national reputation. He was the father of our P. P. Ford. Governor Ford is buried in our cemetery, and a marble monument shows where the soldier-statesman rests. William Patterson represented the Richland district two terms, serving in the twenty-third and twenty-fourth congresses—from 1833 to 1837. He had previously served as agent for the Virginia military school land, and had been associate judge of the court of common pleas. He lived in the country three miles west of Mansfield, on the Ontario road, on what was later known as the Crouch farm, and the old brick house on the north side of the road was his residence. While a member of congress Judge Patterson tendered a West Point cadetship to Hiram R. Smith, but as Mr. Smith had just entered partnership with Hugh McFall in the mercantile business the appointment was not accepted. When Patterson was in congress, Andrew Jackson was president, Benton, Webster and Calhoun were in the senate and Clay and Houston and Crockett were in the house. Judge Patterson was an active politician, and the opposition paper often used the term, "Who struck Billy Patterson?" The later years of Judge Patterson's life were passed in Van Wert county with his children, where he died August 17, 1868. His remains were brought to Mansfield and were interred on lot No. 209, beside those of his wife. There is a slab headstone to his wife's grave but none to his own. Judge Patterson was a soldier of 1812. Jacob Brinkerhoff was a member of congress from this district from 1843 to 1847, and was the author of the celebrated Wilmot proviso. There were giants in congress in those days, and Judge Brinkerhoff was the peer of the best of them. On the gray granite monument that marks Judge Brinkerhoff's grave is inscribed the text of the Wilmot proviso. The inscription on 76 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. the side notes that Jacob Brinkerhoff was born August To, 1810, and died July 18, 1880, and that he was prosecuting attorney of Richland county in 1839, a member of congress from 1843 to 1847, author of the Wilmot proviso, and supreme judge of Ohio from 1856 to 1871. Judge Brinkerhoff was the father of George Brinkerhoff and the cousin of General R. Brinkerhoff. William Johnston represented the Richland district in the thirty-eighth congress-1863-1865. He was scholarly, brilliant and gifted; was a ready speaker, an eloquent orator. In 1844 Johnston published the Richland Bugle —a campaign paper—and was afterward often called "Bugle Bill," to distinguish him from other Bill Johnstons. Johnston lived on South Main street, at the first house south of the "Hilltop" grocery. He died May 1, 1866, aged forty-eight years, and is buried in the Mansfield cemetery, but there is not even a headstone to mark his grave. The lot is a short distance north of General Brinkerhoff's lot. A shrub bush in the center gives out its perfume as summer incense, and an evergreen tree guards the grave, typifying immortality. George W. Geddes served eight years in congress—from 1879 to 1887. Before going to congress Geddes was for several terms a judge of the court of common pleas. Judge Geddes died in 1892, and a large, gray granite monument stands upon his burial lot. At the bar, upon the hustings and in the halls of congress Geddes was in the front rank as a public speaker, and his ability- was equaled only by his eloquence. M. D. Harter was a member of congress from the Richland district two terms—from 1891 to 1895,—and is buried in the Mansfield cemetery. A fine gray monument has been erected, "In loving remembrance of Michael Daniel Harter." Harter was born April 6, 1846, and died February 22, 1896. An inscription on the monument reads, "Patriotism knows no politics, no religion, no color, no birthplace." In the journalistic field the late John Y. Glessner was prominent for many years, not only in Richland county but also throughout the state. For over forty years he was the editor and proprietor of the Richland Shield and Banner newspaper, the Democratic organ of Richland county. As a friend, Mr. Glessner was always constant, as a citizen he was enterprising, and as a partisan he was ever vigilant. To his party he was ever loyal and as an editor he was courteous and generous, even to his opponents. Mr. Glessner had lived such a life that at his death an opposition paper said of him : "John Y. Glessner was one of the noblest of men. His whole life was a constant devotion to everything that was good and true, and but few men enjoyed to a higher degree the respect and esteem of his political adversaries." CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 77 Of the lawyers who in the early days were prominent in their profession, the most complimentary mention could be made of the Hon. John M. May, Judge Jacob Parker and Judge James Stewart. Mr. May was the first resident lawyer in Mansfield, and Parker and Stewart attained distinction upon the bench as well as at the bar. The Hon. John Sherman, whose body was interred in the Mansfield cemetery October 25, 1900, had been congressman, senator and cabinet minister. His public life, extending over a period of nearly fifty years, is so well known and so closely identified with American history that an extended notice of his career is here unnecessary. What a galaxy of distinguished names are among those of our dead! Governors, jurists, warriors and journalists are gone and statesmen have been transferred from the American congress to the "parliament of the skies." ASHLAND COUNTY. The law to erect the county of Ashland passed the Ohio legislature February 24, 1846. Of its townships, some were taken from Richland county, others from Lorain, Huron and Wayne. For many years after its organization Richland county contained a larger area than any other county in Ohio. Historian Knapp states that this fact gave rise to a number of new county schemes, and the legislature was annually beleaguered with applications for the creation of new counties. Prominent among these was one for a new county of Ellsworth. with the seat of justice at Sullivan; the county of Mohigan, with the seat of justice at Loudonville; another for the county of Vermillion, with the seat of justice at Havesville. There were also similar applications—Jerome. Orange and Savannah. At a later date application was made for the county of Ashland, with Ashland village for the county seat. The erection of this new- county robbed old Richland not only of much of her most valuable land but also of a part of her historic territory, for some of the most stirring scenes and tragic events of our early history transpired and were enacted within that part of Richland which now forms a part of Ashland county. One of the most notable places which Ashland county gained was the old Indian village of Greentown, situate on the Black Fork, three miles above Perrysville. 78 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. GREENTOWN. "Were there no works of glory Done in the olden time? And has the west no story Of deathless deeds sublime? "Go, ask yon shining river And it will tell a tale Of deeds of noble daring, Will make your cheek grow pale. "Go, ask you smiling valley, Whose forests bloom so fair ; 'Twill tell thee a sad story Of the brave who slumber there." For a number of years there was an Indian village on the west bank of the Clear Fork of the Mohican, a mile below Newville, called Helltown,—signifying "town on the clear water." This village was on the path of travel between Gnadenhutten and the Sandusky country. After the massacre of the Moravian Indians—ninety-six in number—at Gnadenhutten, March 8, 1782, the Indians evacuated Helltown and the Clear Fork valley, and founded Greentown, on the Black Fork, for greater safety. Greentown was situate on the east bank of the Black Fork, about three miles above Perrysville, and the buildings were log cabins and pole huts. Greentown was burned in August, 1812, by a party of soldiers who were absent from their commands. To understand the burning of the village it is necessary, at least briefly, to review the situation of the country at that time,—the summer and early autumn of 1812, especially that summer in the Black Fork valley, a. summer in which the earth was bringing forth a bountiful harvest ; a summer luxuriant with flowers and musical with the carol of birds by day, while at night the moon was wont to peer atwixt the leafy branches of the forest, casting its pale glimmers of light through the languorous atmosphere ere it sailed forth into the open space of the sky to keep watch and ward over those who slept, as if to say, "Peace ! be still." But those peaceful days and restful nights of ^nature seemed but a mockery, for there were days of toil and nights of watching for the white settlers who worked hard and dwelt in insecurity, for the Indians were liable to come upon them, like the proverbial "thief in the night," unawares. As the times became more threatening, with indications of an Indian out- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 79 break probable at any moment, the several families kept sentinels on guard to warn them of the approach of stealthy foes. It is easy to conceive how, from long apprehension of danger, the minds of the whites could be wrought up until they imagined they could see ominous signs in the rays of the sun as they glinted over the hills and flecked the tree-tops here and there with touches of red, and tinted the fleecy clouds with gorgeous hues and colored the western sky with crimson dye, all of which seemed to foretell that the red blood of human life would be shed in the conflict that all realized was then impending. To understand this state of apprehension and the results which followed, let us briefly consider the condition of the country and the menacing attitude of Great Britain. which culminated in the war of 1812. For years previous to this period Great Britain had been impressing our seamen and trying to deprive American vessels of the rights of commerce upon the high seas, and British ships of war had even been stationed before the principal harbors of the American coast to board and search our merchantmen departing from or returning to the United States, and a number of vessels had been captured and sent as prizes to British ports. From 1805 to 1811 over nine hundred American vessels laden with valuable cargoes had been captured by British cruisers, and hundreds of American citizens had been impressed into British service. The contempt in which the British officers held the American navy led to an action prior to the war. The frigate President, commanded by Commodore Rogers, met a vessel one evening off the Virginia coast, which he hailed, but for an answer a shot was fired which struck the mainmast of the President. The fire was instantly returned and was continued until Commodore Rogers ascertained his antagonist was disabled, when he desisted. The vessel proved to be the British sloop-of-war Little Belt, carrying eighteen guns. There was no loss on the American side, but thirty-two were killed and wounded on the British sloop. This was the first lesson. Early in November, 1811, President Madison convened congress and his message to that body indicated apprehensions of hostilities with Great Britain, and congress passed acts increasing the efficiency of both the army and navy. Although continuing to prepare for war, the administration still cherished the hope that a change of policy on the part of Great Britain would make an appeal to arms unnecessary. But in May, 1812, the Hornet brought still more unfavorable news from across the waters, and on the 1st of June the president sent a message to congress, recounting the wrongs received from Great Britain and submitting the question whether the United States should continue to endure them or resort to war. The message was considered 80 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. with closed doors and on the 18th an act was passed declaring war against Great Britain, and the next day a proclamation was issued by the president to that effect. For a while the American army met with reverses, defeat being added to defeat and surrender following surrender. General Hull, who was the governor of the territory of Michigan, commanded our troops at Detroit, then considered the most important on the lakes. With a flourish of trumpets, he crossed the river on the 12th of July, to attack Malden, with Montreal as an ulterior point. But, receiving information that Fort Mackinaw had surrendered to the British, and that a large force of red-coats and red-skins were coming down to overwhelm the American troops, General Hull hastened to eay.e the Canadian shore, recrossed the river and returned to Detriot. General Brock, the commandant at Malden, pursued General Hull and placed batteries opposite Detroit. The next clay, meeting with no opposition, General Brock narched directly forward as if to assault the fort. The American troops, Being confident of victory, looked with complacency upon the approach of the enemy and calmly waited the order to fire; but, to their dismay and concernation, Hull ran up the white flag and surrendered. An event so disgraceful has no parallel in history. Later General Van Rensselaer, with headquarters at Lewistown, led troops across the Niagara river to attack a fort at Queenstown, but after a long and hard-fought engagement was forced to surrender. In that action General Brock was killed. While these reverses prolonged the war and emboldened the Indians to commit greater atrocities, the Americans never lost confidence in the final result. While the army suffered defeat, the navy gained victory after victory, which was particularly gratifying to American pride, for they were won by that :lass whose rights had been violated ; and these victories were gained over a nation whose navy was the "mistress of the seas." These naval victories were extended from the ocean to the lakes, where Perry, on the l0th of September, (1813), "as we all well remember," won imperishable fame. The army finally achieved successes, as had the navy, and these led up to the final defeat of :he British by General Jackson, at New Orleans, in January, and to the victorious peace proclaimed February 18, 1815, just two years and eight months From the day war had been declared. In this war the Indians acted as the allies of the British. History status that Lord Dorchester, then governor general of Canada, industriously instigated the Indians to hostilities on our northern frontier, and that he had gents throughout Ohio and elsewhere distributing blankets, food, ammuni- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 81 tion and arms among the Indians, and at Malden a reward was paid for every white man's scalp brought in by the Indians. The Indians at Greentown and Jeromeville had received supplies from the British. This fact, coupled with their suspicious action and warlike demonstrations, gave the white settlers reasonable cause for believing that their savage neighbors contemplated a murderous assault upon them. At the time of which I write Colonel Kratzer, who was in command of the troops at Mansfield, received orders to remove the Indians from both Greentown and Jeromeville, as a precautionary measure against an outbreak, and for that purpose sent Captain Douglas to enforce the order. There were about eighty' Indian "braves" at Greentown, and it has been doubted whether Captain Douglas could have successfully coped with them. But such questions are only discussed in "piping times of peace," for in times of war American soldiers whip the enemy first and discuss the matter afterward ! Armstrong was the Greentown chief, and at first refused to consent to be removed. Captain Douglas then sought James Copus, who lived a few miles further up the valley, and requested him to persuade the Indians to comply peacefully with the order. Copus was a local preacher in whom the Indians had confidence. He refused to interfere against them. After entreaty had failed Captain Douglas is reported to have said, "Mr. Copus, my business is to carry out the instructions of my superior officers, and if I can't persuade you to comply with my request, I shall arrest you as a traitor to the government of the United States." Mr. Copus then consented to go, the officer assuring him that the Indians should be protected in both person and property. When the officers returned to the Indian village, accompanied by Mr. Copus, another conference was held with the chief, at which Mr. Copus repeated the assurances that had been given him. Captain Douglas again explained that his order was mandatory and that the Indians had to comply with its mandate or take the alternative. After conferring with his counselors, the old chief reluctantly announced that they would go, and Judge Peter Kinney and Captain James Cunningham took an inventory of their effects, and the Indians were formed into line and marched away under guard from the place that had for thirty years been the home of that part of their tribe. They had not proceeded far when, looking back, they saw a cloud of smoke ascending from their burning village! The burning of Greentown has been criticised and censured by sentimentalists, who regarded it as a breach of faith with the "noble red man," who 82 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. was cruelly driven from his "happy hunting grounds" into a forced exile. But the burning of that village was not a breach of faith, for the officers did not sanction the act. It was done without warrant by five or six stragglers who had dropped out of the ranks for that purpose. They were militiamen who had suffered wrongs too grievous to be borne from the bloody hands of the Indians, and it was but human nature for them to retaliate. It seems like maudlin sentimentalism to dilate upon the wrongs which the white settlers committed against the Indians, for the few misdeeds that may have been done by the pioneers were too insignificant to be given prominence in history. In the early history of France we read of the dark and bloody acts of the Druids and how they immolated human life in their forest temples, but it was as a religious rite, as an atoning or propitiating sacrifice, and while we stand appalled at the bloody spectacle, our condemnation is somewhat mollified when we consider the motive that prompted the act. But with the Indians it was cruelty for cruelty's sake. They were savages, and through all the civilizing influences of a century they are savages still. Even those who have been educated at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, at the expense of the general government, drift back into barbarism, as a rule, after they return to the west. Let those who have tears to shed over the burning of Greentown read the accounts of the Wyoming massacre and its aftermath of butcheries, and then consider the Indians' bloody deeds in our own state and county—of cruelty, torture, death,—these three, and then tell us where is their claim for charity ! Settlers have returned from the hunt and chase and found their cabins burnt and their families murdered. The bloody tomahawk and gory scalping knife had done their work, and mutilation had been added to murder. Notwithstanding the beautifully drawn and charmingly colored word-pictures given us by novelists, history teaches us that the Indian is cruel, deceitful and bloodthirsty by nature and devoid of the redeeming traits of humanity. Greentown was founded in 1782, and was destroyed by fire in 1812, after an existence of thirty years. The number of cabins it contained has been variously stated at from sixty to one hundred. The number of the dead buried there is not known, but as about three hundred Indians, on an average, lived there for three decades, the number is no doubt quite large. The writer recently visited the site of old Greentown in mid-winter an appropriate season to view in its dearth and desolation the former location of a town that is now no more. The Black Fork had overflowed its banks in a recent freshet, and, ere the waters could recede from the lowlands, had frozen into sheets of ice that reflected sparkling gems of crystal purity in the CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 83 gladsome sunshine, and the hills glistened with a white covering of snow, forming a scene of beauty to be remembered in many a future dream. To appreciate a place of historic note, one must enter into the feelings created by reading its history and learning its traditions. Standing upon that village site, we realized that the valley whose broad and fertile acres spread out before us was the place where the civilization of this part of the west was first planted and from which it extended even to the golden shores of the Pacific. The events which stirred the souls and tried the courage of the pioneers seemed to come out of the dim past and glide as panoramic views before us. A number of the actors in those thrilling scenes were of our "kith and kin," who have long since "crossed over the river." But little change has taken place at the old site of Greentown in the past fifty years, except that the old-time Indian burial ground, that has withstood the innovations of a century, is being despoiled of its timber, and one feels like exclaiming, "Woodman, spare those trees ; Touch not a single bough." But sentiment, it seems, must give way to utility. The burial ground is at the west end of the knoll upon which Greentown was situated and is somewhat triangular in shape. Heretofore, the ground has been held in superstitious, if not sacred, veneration. But it will soon be turned over to the plowshare and the agriculturist. Greentown was built upon an oblong knoll, of about half a mile in length and a quarter of a mile in width, running nearly east and west, with an elevation of fifty feet, and of irregular topography. The Black Fork, after straightening from its tortuous course and running south for a short distance, makes a graceful curve to the east at the southwest limits of the grounds, courses along the base of the south side of the ridge, then turns again to the south and resumes its zigzag wanderings until its waters unite with those of other "forks" and form the Mohican. The cabins comprising the village stood principally upon the rolling plateau-like summit of the hill, each Indian selecting a site to suit himself, with but little regard for streets or regularity. A sycamore tree, which in the olden times cast its shade over the council-house of the tribe, still stands like a monument from the past, grim and white, stretching its branches like skeleton arms in the attitude of benediction. A wild cherry-tree stands several rods northeast, around which there was formerely a circular mound, evidently made by the Indians, and still discernible; but whether it was used as a circus ring for athletic sports, or as a receptacle, 84 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. is a matter of conjecture. Many think it was for the latter, as trinkets, if valuables, have been taken from it; but no general exhumation was ever made THE ZIMMER MASSACRE. The Zimmer family, consisting of father, mother, daughter Kate and son Philip, lived about two miles south of the present site of Mifflin and five miles north of Greentown. About September a), a short time after the removal of the Indians, a party of five redskins were seen one afternoon going toward the Zimmer cabin. Martin Ruffner, a stalwart German who lived near Mifflin, heard of the presence of Indians in the neighborhood and that the direction they were going indicated that the Zimmer home was their objective point. Ruffner hastened to Zimmer's and as the Indians had made a halt he reached the cabin first and apprised them of the lurking foe. Philip Zimmer, leaving Ruffner to protect his family, went to inform James Copies, John Lambright and other settlers of the approach of the Indians and to secure their assistance. As the settlers lived some miles apart it took Philip several hours to make the trip. Soon after Philip left the house the Indians came and seemed surprised upon finding Ruffner there. The friendly Kate, thinking to appease them, got them supper, but they still seemed sullen, showing that they meant harm to the family. For some time a desultory conversation was held at intervals, but finally the actors to the impending tragedy sat and eyed each other in silence, conflicting emotions, no doubt, passing through the mind of each. Ruffner, the valiant German, sat like a Trojan soldier between the helpless family and their savage foes. Finally, when suspense could be borne no longer, the Indians sprang to their feet with a yell of demoniacal fury and made a rush at the brave Ruffner, who shot his foremost assailant dead, and, clubbing his rifle, felled another prostrate to the floor. As he struck at the third, he accidentally hit the stock of his rifle against a joist, and the Indians, taking advantage of the mishap, fired upon him, two shots taking effect, either of which would of itself been fatal. They dragged the body of the dying man into the yard, and inhumanly removed his scalp ere he expired ! At the beginning of the assault Kate fainted. When she regained consciousness she realized that Ruffner had been killed, and, seeing them assault her aged parents, she again fell in a swoon, unconsciousness kindly veiling from her sight the horrible spectacle. (I, too, would fain turn a page rather than prolong this story of blood, but history is remorseless and must be written whether its narration brings smiles or tears.) When Kate recovered CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 85 and realized the awful butchery that had been committed, her grief gave vent in heart-piercing shrieks and lamentations whose intensity should have reached the calloused hearts of even those inhuman savages. But instead she was ordered by her relentless foes to give them her father's money and the valuables of the family, and as she complied with their demand, her ring was rudely taken from her finger. But they did not then spare her life, for Kanotche, raising his tomahawk, buried it in her brains and she fell upon the hearth, mingling her life's blood with that of her parents ! The account of this tragedy was given some time later by Kanotche himself, while he was confined as a prisoner in the jail at New Philadelphia. The principal motive which led to the murder of the Zimmers was that of robbery, as they were regarded as quite wealthy and were known to possess considerable money. When Philip returned with his party, nature had already thrown her sable mantle of night over the valley. Except for the occasional hooting of an owl there was almost deathlike stillness. No breath of wind stirred the leaves of the forest, and the stars shone with a pale, flickering light. As the party neared the cabin, no light was seen and all was quiet and still within. After a consultation, Mr. Copus advanced alone to the rear of the house and tried to peer through its window, but nothing could be seen in the darkness within. He then cautiously crept upon his hands and knees around to the front of the building, and, finding the door ajar, endeavored to push it further open, but found something against it like a body, on the inside. He then placed his hand through the opening of the door and found that the floor was covered with blood. Returning to the party, he though it best not to tell Philip what he had discovered, fearing that the Indians might still be in the house awaiting. the son's return. Enjoining silence, he led them quietly away, and when at a safe distance told them that he feared the family had been taken prisoners, and that they had better go to the block-house for assistance. Philip's anxiety for the safety of the family made him want to rush recklessly inside the house to learn their fate ; but his friends restrained him, and the weary, groping walk through the darkness to the block-house was commenced. A halt was made at a Mr. Hill's, where the town of Lucas now stands, and upon the break of day they proceeded to the Beam block-house on the Rocky Run, where the first settlement in the county was made, and there got a detachment of troops and some settlers, who accompanied them back to the Zimmer cabin, where they found the (lead and mutilated body of the brave Ruffner in the yard, and those of the family inside the house. 86 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. The grief of Philip was so great that many of the strong men present were moved to tears by witnessing his sorrow. ,Father, mother and sister all gone, and he left alone ! Would that he had shared their fate with them, was his wish. Kind friends tried to console him, while others diggeci graves and performed the last office the living can do for the dead. Then they returned to the block-house. Philip gave his service to his country during the remainder of the war. Several years later he sold the farm to a Mr. Culler, whose descendants own it to-day, and upon the site of the ill-fated cabin a monument now stands, erected to the memory of the Zimmer family and Martin Ruffner who fell in their defence. The Indians who committed these crimes were stragglers from tha Greentown tribe, who returned for rapine and murder. Of the five who constituted the party, Ruffner killed two, whose bodies were carried away, as was the custom among the Indians, and the three survivors were afterward captured about five miles below New Philadelphia, on what is now called Fern Island, a picnic resort on the C. L. & W. Railway, near the Royal Clay works. The massacre at the Zimmer cabin aroused the feelings of the people not only in Richland but also in other counties almost to frenzy, and companies were organized at Wooster, New Philadelphia and other places to protect the settlers. Captain Mullen commanded the Wooster company and Alex McConnel the one at New Philadelphia. Fern island is an isle in the Tuscarawas river, one of the most poetry-inspiring streams in the state. It courses through one of Ohio's most fertile valleys with an ease and grandeur that is both restful and inspiring. As rays of light shine upon its dark waters they reflect emerald tints as though the bottom was paved with precious stones. But the Indians had not sought that locality because of its romantic beauty, nor because the waters of the Tuscarawas were wont to dazzle one with their diamond-like gleams, but for the protection the dense forest of that secluded isle would give them. The mark of Cain was upon them and the avenging Nemesis was following their trail. In that forest-embowered isle stood armies of ferns with nodding plumes and crimson falchions, and among these the tired savages lay clown to sleep. Captain McConnel, hearing that Indians were upon the island, marched his company over the "Plains," and when the destination was reached he left his men on the bank and swam his horse across the eastern branch of the river, and, surprising the redskins, took them prisoners. On reaching the company with his prisoners some of the men suggested that the Indians should be put to death. "Not until they have a trial according to law," said the CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 87 captain. The prisoners were then marched up past the old site of Shoenbrun to New Philadelphia, and there incarcerated in jail. When the news of this capture reached Wooster the excitement there became intense and Captain Mullen marched his company to New Philadelphia to take summary vengeance upon the captives. Henry Laffer, then sheriff of Tuscarawas county, called upon the citizens to turn out and protect the prisoners, which they refused to do. John C. Wright, an attorney from Steubenville, was in town, and volunteered his services to the sheriff. Mr. Wright was afterward judge of the court of that circuit. Captain McConnel, Sheriff Laffer and Mr. Wright pleaded with the attacking party for the lives of the Indians and declared if the prisoners were molested it would be after they had walked over their dead bodies. The attack was finally abandoned and the company returned to Wooster. While in jail there, Kanotche made a confession to the sheriff, detailing the Zimmer-Ruffner murder and the part he took in the same, admitting that he had killed Kate, and that the principal motive for the crime was robbery. The other prisoners did not confess and Kanotche refused either to implicate or exonerate them. The Indians were kept in jail until Governor Meigs arrived in New Philadelphia, when they were turned over to the military authorities and were conducted by Lieutenant Shane of the regular army to the western part of the state, where, under the terms of a cartel, they, as prisoners of war, were released, the charge of murder not being placed against then. While en route Lieutenant Shane, with his troops and prisoners, stopped over night at Newark, where an attempt was made by two recruits to buy drugs to poison the Indians, which shows the deep-seated feeling then existing against them on account of the atrocities and murders they had committed. Kate Zimmer was described by the writer's father, who lived a few miles further down the valley and often saw her, as being a beautiful girl, a brunette, rather stout in build, and of a cheerful disposition. Tradition says she was engaged to be married to a man who lived near her former home in the east ; but this is not verified by history. Her reputed lover, Henry Martin, like Lilly Pipe, was a myth. Both were the creations of that gifted novelist, the Rev. James F. McGaw. While June is the month of roses, September is regarded by many as being the most charming of the year. The hazy halo of the atmosphere with its languorous warmth are conductive to day dreaming. And, to follow the romance of the novelist, there were days of dreaming for the beautiful Kate, whose betrothed lover was soon to come to claim her for his bride. Days 88 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. of roaming in the leafy forest or rowing upon the crystal lake ; days of watch ing the crimson sunset shining redly through the darkness of the branches and glittering away as golden threads to a paradise too sweet to name ; day; when love seemed to fill the air and make music sweet in the rustle of the leaves ; days when Kate wondered vaguely whether she was not dreaming happy dreams,--dreams too enhancing to last ; and they were, for instead of the bridal robe the winding sheet was soon to be her habiliment. The news of the murder of the Zimmer family caused the settlers to go to the block-house for safety, and nearly every cabin was left tenantless, and the country was filled with alarm, and not without cause, for other deeds of blood were soon to follow. The name Zimmer was pronounced by the Pennsylvania German settlers something like Zemer, and McGaw, in his romance, changed it to Seymour, The government deed was to Philip Zimmer, and when the land was transferred to Mr. Culler the deed was signed by Philip Zimmer and Elizabeth Zimmer, his wife. Philip Zimmer married a Pickaway county woman soon after the close of the war, and the deed for the land in Richland county (now Ashland) was executed May I, 1815, before Thomas Mace, a justice of the peace in Pickaway county. Captain James Cunningham dispatched couriers in all directions to inform the settlers of the Zimmer massacre, and advised them to go to the blockhouses for protection. All the settlers of the Black Fork, Mr. Copus and family included, took refuge in the block-houses, but Mr. Copus soon became restless of confinement in the Beam block-house and wanted to return home. He believed the Indians were all gone, but if any were lurking around he felt confident they would do him no harm, as he was their friend. When he stated that he intended to return to his cabin Captain Martin, the commandant at the block-house, protested against his taking such a step and told him he would endanger the lives of himself and family by doing so. Mr. Copus was a man of decided opinions, and on the morning of the fourth day after the Zimmer murder started with his wife and seven children to their forest home, a detail of nine soldiers going with them. Captain Martin, who was going out with a scouting party, promised to call and spend the night there. Finding no trace of the Indians, and reconnoitering farther than they had intended to go, they did not get to the Copus home until noon the next day, too late to avert the fate that had fallen upon that household. THE FATAL RETURN. When the Copus party arrived at the cabin they found things undisturbed; CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 89 with the stock grazing in the fields. The soldiers indulged in athletic sports during the day, and, seeing no signs of Indians, felt no uneasiness for the safety of the family. However, Sarah, the twelve-year-old daughter of Mr. Copus, going into the field for potatoes for dinner, saw some Indians lurking there. This she did not tell, knowing her father did not believe they were near, and, being a very strict man, would punish her for trying to raise an alarm. As evening drew near the sun gave a strange, weird aspect to the sky that seemed ominous of ill. Its rays melted into a transparent sheen that stretched over hill and valley, casting a forboding aspect upon the earth, which was remembered and commented upon in after years by those who witnessed the phenomenon. Mr. Copus became apprehensive of danger and insisted upon the soldiers sleeping within the cabin ; but, the night being warm, they preferred the barn, a few rods distant, but promised to come to the cabin at the morning's dawn. As the night advanced Mr. Copus' fears increased and the intervening hours were weary, sleepless, restless ones, and he told. his family of his forebodings of dangers. Except the barking of the dogs, silence reigned without, but the death angel hovered over the valley. THE COPUS MASSACRE. "The Indians shook the morning air With their wild and doleful yells." As the dawn of Tuesday morning, September 15, 1812, approached, the nine soldiers, true to their promise, left their couches of hay at the barn and went to the cabin. As they grouped around the door amber streaks darted into golden rays in the eastern sky, heralds of the coming day. The troops, no doubt, recalled the red-flamed sky of the preceding sunset and were thankful that the night. was being succeeded by the glorious light of another day, so beautiful in its aerial aspect that one might have imagined it presaged the resurrection and looked for angels to appear and proclaim that "Time was, time is, but time shall be no more ;" but it was the angel of death that was soon to claim four of that little band. Mr. Copus, still apprehensive of danger, cautioned the soldiers to be on their guard, but they laughed at his fears, and, leaning their muskets against the cabin, went to the spring, a few rods away ; but ere they had finished their lavations the Indians came upon them with demoniacal yells, and— "On the right, on the left, above, below, Sprung up at once the lurking foe;" 90 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. THE ATTACK. And forty-five painted savages, armed with muskets, tomahawks and scalping knives, rushed upon the unarmed soldiers and a scene of carnage, of butchery and death ensued ! When the attack was made Mr. Copus hastily seized his rifle and went to the door and as he opened it a ball fired by an advancing savage passed through the leather strap that supported his powder horn and entered his breast, inflicting a wound from which he expired within an hour. When fired upon, being unarmed, the soldiers fled in different directions. Two attempted to reach the forest upon the hillside for protection, but were overtaken by the Indians, murdered and scalped. Their names were John Tedrick and George Shipley. A third, named Warnock, was shot through the bowels, hut went some distance, and, becoming weak from loss of blood, sat down by a tree and died. He had stuffed his handkerchief into the wound to stop the flow of blood. His body was found several weeks afterward, in a sitting posture. Five of the soldiers who were nearer the cabin got inside safely, but the sixth, named George Dye, was not so fortunate and was shot through the thigh as he entered the door, and George Launtz was shot in the arm, a short time later, while removing a chink to make a port hole in the wall. Mr. Copus, who realized that he was mortally wounded, entreated the soldiers to defend, as best they could, his wife and children. WITHIN THE CABIN. The scene within the cabin was pathetically dramatic. He who an hour before stood as the protector of his family now lay in the throes of death, his grief-stricken wife and seven children grouped about his bedside, and as the spirit of this just man took its flight the mother, as the center of that little band of mourners, was seen to gaze upward—heavenward—as if in prayer, commending her fatherless children to Him who tempers the winds to the shorn lamb and who alone can bind up the broken heart. But they had soon to turn from the dead and assist the soldiers in their defence of the cabin. Early in the contest, Nancy Copus, aged fifteen, was shot above the knee, inflicting a painful wound. The children were then placed up-stairs for greater safety, and that was but poor, for a number of the Indians were upon the hillside in front of the house and kept up an incessant firing upon the roof of the house, until the clapboards, it is said, afterward presented almost a sieve-like appearance. And nearly all that forenoon the CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 91 battle raged and the deadly lead was fired not only upon the roof but also upon the walls, windows and doors of that home, and the yells of the murderous savages were enough to daunt the bravest heart. THE HEROIC DEFENCE. The few soldiers within made a heroic defence. They fired through port-holes and their aim was often unerring, as a number of the redskins were seen to fall to rise no more. After five long hours of murderous assault from outside and of valiant defence from within, the awful contest ended by the Indians retreating, taking their dead with them and firing a parting volley into a flock of sheep which had huddled together in terror near the barn. After the Indians had disappeared, one of the soldiers got out upon the roof of the cabin, and, cautiously glancing around and seeing no foe, climbed down and went to the Beam block-house for assistance. About t o'clock Captain Martin and his squad of soldiers who had been expected to arrive the night before, came upon the scene two hours after the battle had ended, but before assistance had time to come from the block-house. Captain Martin, not seeing any Indians in his reconnoitre the day previous, and not expecting any trouble at the Copus home, had bivouacked for the night at the Ruffner cabin, near where Mifflin now stands, three and a half miles north of the Copus settlement. ARRIVAL OF THE TROOPS. During the forenoon Captain Martin thought he heard firing, but supposed the troops below were at target practice. When Martin and his troops arrived at the scene of the tragedy they were appalled at the horrible spectacle that met their view. Attention was given to the wounded and the dead were buried. An attempt was made to track the Indians and it was thought they went east; but as they had three hours start they were not pursued. The bodies of Copus, Tedrick and Shipley were buried in one grave a few rods from the cabin and a monument now marks their grave. Stretchers were made upon which to carry the wounded, and the march of the whole party to Beam's block-house was commenced. As it was late in the clay when the start was made, they went only a short distance until they stopped for the night. By that time the number of the party had increased to about one hundred, and pickets were thrown out to guard against surprise. The march was resumed the next morning, the route being up the valley to Mifflin, thence west along a trail now known as the Mansfield-Wooster road, and then down 92 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. to the Beam block-house, the distance being about thirteen miles, where they arrived safely in the evening. THE MISSING SOLDIER FOUND. Several weeks afterward a squad of soldiers accompanied Henry Copus, a son of James Copus, to the cabin, and on the way, some distance from the Copus cabin, they discovered the missing soldier (Warnock) sitting against a tree, dead. They buried him near where he was found. They also found the bodies of two Indians, 'which were left to their fate. Mrs. Copus and children remained in the block-house about two months and were then taken to Guernsey county, where they lived until the close of the war, when they returned to their home on the Black Fork, and where Mrs. Copus reared the family and lived to a good old age, beloved and respected by her neighbors and friends. Sarah Copus, the daughter, became Mrs. Vail, and lived to be present at the unveiling of the monument, September 15, 1882, erected to the memory of her father and the soldiers who were killed in that awful tragedy at that humble cabin in the wilderness, September 15, 1812. Among the incidents of the fight it is stated that Copus and an Indian fired at each other simultaneously, the former receiving a mortal wound and the latter being killed instantly. Copus did not fall when he was shot, but staggered back across the room to a table, from which he was assisted to the bed. He told his wife that he could not live and that she would have to rear the children as best she could. A number of times while the battle lasted the savages tried to take the cabin by storm, but the soldiers had taken the precaution to barricade the door and windows with puncheons removed from the floor. A GOOD SHOT. George Launtz, the soldier who had an arm broken by a bullet, caught sight of an Indian peeping around a tree, and, taking deliberate aim, fired, and had the satisfaction of seeing the savage bound into the air and then roll down the hill, dead. Another redskin, who had been shot, fell in the yard. His groans were heard as he attempted to crawl away, but a well-directed bullet from the cabin put an end to his suffering. Forty-five scoop-outs where fires had been, were afterward found in the cornfield, where the Indians had roasted corn, and from that it was taken that there had been forty-five savages CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 93 in the assault. Of that number, nine were carried away by the Indians when they retreated, which, with the two bodies found later, made their loss eleven, killed and wounded. During the greater part of the battle the Indians fought from ambush, taking refuge behind the trees on the hillside in front of the house. On the same day that the Copus battle took place the cabins of Newell, Cuppy and Fry, farther east, were burned, and the Indians who attacked the Copus family were supposed to have been the incendiaries, as they went in that direction. Those families were at the Jerometown block-house. After the close of the war a number of the Indians returned to this county. Sarah Copus, the girl who had seen the redskins lurking around the day before the attack was made on their home, did not seem to be in favor with the savages. Going on the hill beyond the spring one day, after the family had returned from Guernsey county, she saw one hiding behind a tree. She ran toward the house, the Indian pursuing her almost to the door. They said the girl "knew too much"—was too observant of them and their actions. KNEW ABOUT IT. Tom Lyons, an ugly old redskin of the Delaware tribe, in a conversation with Mrs. Copus in 1816, admitted he knew all about the attack on their cabin, but denied that he took part in it. After the times became more secure the settlers returned to their homes, but affairs were more or less troubled until the close of the war. MONUMENTS REARED. "Ah, alas ! imagination, Ever weaving dream on dream, Soon forgets the buried red men For some more congenial theme." At a meeting of the Ashland County Pioneer Society, held August 18, 1881, the matter of erecting monuments to those who fell in the Zimmer-Ruffner and Copus massacres was considered, but no definite action was taken until at a special meeting held September 10 of the same year, when Dr. S. Riddle introduced the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted : "Resolved, That we erect suitable monuments to the memory of those pioneers and soldiers who were killed by the Indians in the fall of 1812 and buried in Mifflin township." A committee was appointed to conduct the canvass for funds, and two 94 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. hundred and fifty dollars were contributed. Dr. Riddle was the secretary of the Ashland Pioneer Society, and to him credit is due for the conception of the thought, the formulation of the plans and the raising of a large share of the funds that finally placed monuments to mark the graves of those pioneers and soldiers who fell victims to Indian rapacity, hate and vengeance. THE FUND RAISED. The fund having been raised, the committee met at Ashland June 1o, 1882, and ordered two monuments, at one hundred and twenty-five dollars each, of Dorland & Kerr. The monuments were put up, one at the Copus place, and the other on the site of the Zimmer cabin, and were unveiled with great ceremony Friday, September 15, 1882, in the presence of a multitude of ten thousand people. The day of the unveiling ceremony was warm and perfect in the blending of the elements, in the beauty of its light and color, and in the mellowness of its atmosphere. An early frost had touched the tops of the trees with its icy fingers and colored the leaves here and there with shades of red and gold, while in the soft shelter of the hills some yet waved their green boughs in the mild September air ; still others, standing in some open space, spread out their tremulous panoplies of unbroken amber. And while the whole landscape was suffused with the loveliness of early autumn, yet nowhere was nature more replete in its beauty than on the hill where the exercises were held and at whose base the Copus monument was unveiled. The exercises were opened with music by a brass band, followed by prayer by the Rev. J. A. Hall. Short speeches were made by Dr. William Bushnell and others. GUESTS OF HONOR. Mrs. Sarah Vail, aged eighty-four, and Mrs. Elizabeth Baughman, seventy-nine, were given seats of honor on the platform and were introduced to the audience. Mrs. Vail was the daughter of James Copus and was the girl who saw the Indians lurking near the cornfield the day before the attack on the cabin and was in the house when her father was shot at the door. Mrs. Baughman was the daughter of Captain Cunningham, who was a prominent actor in the events of the pioneer days. THE ADDRESSES. At the noon hour a recess was taken and a picnic dinner partaken of, CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 95 and, upon re-assembling, the principal addresses of the day were delivered by Hon. R. M. Campbell, of Ashland, Hon. Henry C. Hedges, of Mansfield, and Dr. P. H. Clark, the president of the day. Mr. Hedges' remarks referred particularly to Martin Ruffner, paying a beautiful tribute to his memory and character, saying that he possessed the strength and courage of a man and the gentleness and heart of a woman. MONUMENTS UNVEILED. At the close of the services the assemblage repaired to the foot of the hill, where the Copus monument was unveiled, and then proceeded to the Zimmer place, a mile and a half distant, and there unveiled the Zimmer-Ruffner monument. The ceremonies took place just seventy years from the date of the Copus battle. The names of James Copus, George Shipley, John Tedrick and Warnock are on the monument at the Copus place, and a cenotaph to Johnny Appleseed was added at the suggestion of the late Rosella Rice. On the other monument are engraved the names of Frederick Zimmer and wife and daughter Kate, and Martin Ruffner. COUNTY LOCALITIES. The localities where the soldiers and pioneers were killed by the Indians were then within the lines of Richland, but in the formation of new counties in 1846 the boundaries of old Richland were reduced to their present limits and the fertile valley of the Black Fork was given to Ashland, including the historic grounds where the Copus and Zimmer-Ruffner monuments stand. Among the first settlers in that neighborhood were James Copus, Frederick Zimmer, John Lambright, Martin Ruffner, Richard Hughes, Henry Smith, Michael Ruffner, David Braden, Leonard Croninger, Michael Culler, Daniel Harlan, Peter Thomas, George Thomas and Jacob Keever, all of whom settled there prior to 1816. James Copus powder-horn is still in the possession of the descendants of the Copus family as an heirloom. The ball that killed Copus passed through the strap that was attached to this horn ere it entered his breast. Another bullet entered the horn, but was too far spent to pass through and remains enclosed in it still. 96 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. THE BLACK FORK SETTLEMENT, The location where James Copus lived is on the east side of the Black Fork, about midway between Mifflin and the old Indian village of Greentown. As we look about the place, the various scenes of that bloody battle come up from the history of the past like panoramic views before us. But few can walk indifferent and unmoved over fields of bloodshed and strife, and the lapse of time only serves to enhance the memories of other years. And these are heightened by the thought that our ancestors shared in the early struggles and conflicts of the Mohican valley. LOCALITIES OF HISTORIC INTEREST. In this asynartete sketch only a brief mention can be made of several places of geographical and historical interest in the valley of the Black Fork. The Petersburg Lakes are well known. There are three and are fed by springs. They form a chain of lakes, the largest covering an area of about fifty acres, the middle about thirty and the smallest ten acres. These lakes were a favorite fishing resort in the Indian times, as they are to-day. The Copus spring flows from the base of a hill on the east side of the valley, near where the Copus cabin stood. Early in the summer of 1782 Colonel William Crawford's ill-fated expedition crossed the valley of the Black Fork on its way to the Sandusky country and to the defeat and the horrible atrocities that followed. Caldwell's Atlas says : "Colonel Crawford's army passed up the old trail which crossed the Killbuck some twelve miles south of Wooster ; thence to the north side of Odell's lake; thence across the southern part of Ashland county to the vicinity of Greentown, passing from George Guthrie's to the old Baughman farm, and from there to the point where the Rocky Fork empties into the Black Fork, where the army crossed the stream and proceeded up the former via the present sites of Lucas and Mansfield to Spring Mills, and thence west to the Wyandot country!' General Robert Crooks, with an army of over two thousand men and a large number of heavy wagons loaded with army supplies, stopped a few days at Greentown shortly after the Indians had left, and confiscated their green corn and four weeks later Colonel Anderson, with about one hundred and fifty men, with a train of twenty-five cannon and fifty covered wagons, each drawn by six horses, hauling munitions of war, made a halt at Greentown, then followed Crooks' trail to Fort Meigs. All three of these expeditions CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 97 passed over part of the ground where the city of Mansfield now stands, and camped over night in the vicinity of the big springs on East Fourth street. One of these springs is at Lampert's and one on the lot on the northwest corner of Fourth and Adams streets, known for years as the Clapp Spring. PIONEER INCIDENTS. Abraham Baughman, the first settler on the Black Fork, bought a calf from an Indian, paying him the price asked. A year later an additional sum of money was demanded, as the calf had grown larger, and the amount was paid to avoid trouble ; but still a year afterward another supplemental price was demanded and paid under protest. To prevent the heifer from growing bigger still, it was slaughtered for beef, as the owner did not want to pay for its growth every year. Abraham Baughman was the first white man to make his home on the Black Fork; but ere long came the Coulters, the Crawfords and others, and soon quite a settlement sprang up around him. As the population increased a distillery was put in operation, as was then the custom in the west. One evening, when Baughman and wife were at a neighbor's, two Indians called at the Baughman cabin, and, finding the boys in bed, ordered them to get up and give them something to eat. After they had partaken of the luncheon they ordered Jacob, the older son, to go to the "still house"—as distilleries were then called—and get them whisky, and held George as hostage, threatening to scalp him if Jacob delayed or gave the alarm. For the want of a more suitable vessel, Jacob took his mother's tea canister and made the trip as expeditiously as possible. Upon his return the Indians cautiously smelled the whisky, and, detecting a peculiar odor, suspected it was poisoned, becoming enraged and flourishing their tomahawks about the boys' heads in a lively manner. Then they made the boys drink of it and waited to see the "poison" take effect on them ; but, as no bad symptoms were noticed, the redskins finally accepted the tea explanation and proceeded to drink the contents of the canister and were howling drunk when the parents returned. TWO BATTLES OF COWPENS. There are two battles of Cowpens recorded in history,—one fought in South Carolina during the war of the Revolution, and the other in Ashland county—in our own Buckeye state--in the war of 1812. The former was a terrible reality; the latter a bloodless incident. 98 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. At Cowpens, a village in Spartanburg county, South Carolina, on January 17, 1781, the American army under General Morgan defeated the British under General Tarleton. The American loss in this battle was but seventy-two, while that of the British was over eight hundred—making the result a signal victory for the patriots. The Ashland county incident occurred in what is now Vermillion township, then a part of Richland county, ere the legislature cut up its original boundaries to create new counties. When General Beall made his memorable march in the fall of 1812 to protect the settlements in this part of the state from attacks of the savages and incursions of the British, he cut a road, called Beall's Trail, through the wilderness from Wooster to the state road at Planktown, this county. While en route the army camped for two weeks in the vicinity of Hayes' Cross Roads, now called Hayesville. The camp was called Camp Musser, after Major Musser, an officer in General Beall's army. While the army was at Camp Musser an incident occurred known in our local history as the battle of the Cowpens. It was on a dark, rainy night that the soldiers were awakened from their slumbers by the firing of pickets at one of the outposts and the command to "fall in" soon formed the men into line to meet the foe, as it was supposed the Indians were coming to attack the camp in "The stilly hours of the night." The pickets reported that the enemy was advancing upon the camp in solid phalanx and the ground trembled with the tread of forming battalions and of approaching "foes !" It was the army's first experience in war's alarms and the soldiers acted as calmly as veterans of old, and with steady hands opened fire upon the advancing foe ( ?), lighting up with lurid glare and quickening flash the inky blackness of the night. The cracking of musketry, the charging of cavalry over logs and stumps, combined to make night grand and awful with the pomp and reality of war. Soon, however, the tramp and bellowing of stamping cattle explained the "attack"—that the stock had broken out of the corral, and, advancing toward the picket post, had been mistaken by the guards for hostile Indians. The incident, however, showed the vigilance of the troops, as well as their coolness and bravery in the face 0f danger. A sagacious general is equal to and ready to meet surprises, midnight attacks and other emergencies. Napoleon won at least three of his most striking victories - Marenga, Austerlitz and Dresden—by passing at the right moment suddenly CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 99 from an apparent passive attitude of defence to a vigorous offensive. Wellington, after the world had come to regard him as great only on the defensive, used strictly the opposite tactics, with victorious results, at Victoria, Orthez and Toulouse, the last of these three actions being one of such apparent temerity as can hardly be paralleled in modern history. General Beall had many of the essential characteristics of a commander, and led his troops successfully through the wilderness in his campaign against both a savage and an invading foe, and defended himself against the jealous machinations of West Pointers. General Beall had previously served in the army, having been an officer in General Harmar's campaign against the Indians in 1790. He was a congressman from Ohio in 1813-15 and died at Wooster February 20, 1843. His campaign was made when Return Jonathan Meigs was governor of Ohio, and the story of Governor Meigs' life reads like a romance. In 1789 he was an attorney at law at Marietta and delivered a Fourth-of-July address, concluding with a poem, the first ever printed in Ohio : "See the spires of Marietta rise, And domes and temples swell into the skies." In 1802 Meigs was the chief justice of the supreme court of Ohio ; in 1804 he was the commander of the United States troops in the upper district of Louisiana; in 1805, one of the judges of the territory of Louisiana ; in 1807, one of the judges of the territory of Michigan ; in 1808, elected a supreme judge for Ohio ; in 1809, chosen United States senator from Ohio ; in 181o, elected governor of Ohio, and re-elected in 1812 ; and in 1814, appointed postmaster-general of the United States. He died at Marietta March 29, 1825, aged sixty years. Beall's Battle of the Cowpens has been likened, in its humorous aspect, to the Battle of the Kegs in the war of the Revolution. In January, 1778, the American army floated kegs filled with combustibles down the river to destroy the British shipping at Philadelphia. This was a Yankee trick the British did not understand and supposed that each keg contained a "rebel," and when the kegs were discovered the British opened fire upon them and "fought with valor and pride." Francis Hopkinson wrote a mock heroic poem of this episode, from which the following lines are taken : "Twas early day, as poets say, Just when the sun was rising, A soldier stood on a log of wood, And saw a thing surprising.