100 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. than defined, by which instinctively., as it were, we find in the bosom of another a response to our own feelings. So, in the present case, this noble Indian soon discovered in the late Obed Dickinson, a merchant of Lower Sandusky, a generous, confiding and elevated mind, whose honorable vibrations beat in unison with his own. [This Mr. Dickinson was the brother of the Hon. Rudolphus Dickinson, and uncle of the present Judge Dickinson, of Fremont.] To. Mr. Dickinson, therefore, he made known the time when they would celebrate their festival, by sacrificing their dogs, etc., and cordially invited him to attend as, a guest, and, if so disposed, to bring a friend with him. Correctly supposing that I never had an opportunity of witnessing this religious rite, Mr. D. kindly requested me to accompany him to their council house, on Green creek, in that part of this county included in the present township of Green Creek. On giving me the invitation, Mr. D. remarked that by taking a present in our hand, we should probably be made the more welcome; in accordance, therefore, with this suggestion, we took with us a quantity of. loaf sugar and tobacco. It was some time in the afternoon when we arrived, and immediately thereafter we were ushered into the council house, with demonstrations of public joy and marked respect. As soon as seated, we gave our presents to Hard, Hickory, who, rising. held one of them up, and pointing to Mr. D., addressed the Indians in an audible vorde, in their own tongue; then holding up the other, he pointed to me, repeating to them what he had before said. This done, he turned to us and said: "You stay here as long as you want; nobody hurt you." Confiding in the assurance of this chief, I hung up my valise, in which were some important papers, for I was then on my way further east, attending to my official duties as Sheriff of this county, and felt perfectly at home. • To the inhabitants of this section of Ohio a minute description of the council house would be deemed unnecessary. Suffice it to say, that its dimensions were perhaps sixty by twenty-five feet; a fire-place in the center, and corresponding therewith, an aperture was left in the roof for the smoke to ascend. Contiguous to the fire-place were two upright posts, to which a board fourteen or fifteen inches broad was firmly fastened, and over this board the skin of a deer was stretched very tight. On a seat near by this board sat a blind Indian with a gourd in his hand, in which were beans or corn. With this he beat time for the dancers. Such was the musician, and such the music. The dancing had commenced previous to our anival, and was continued, with little intermission, for several successive days and nights. An effort by me to describe their Manner of dancing would be fruitless. I have witnessed dancing assemblies in populous cities of the east, among the refined classes of society, but having seen nothing like this, I must therefore pronounce it sui generis. I was strongly solicited. by some of the chiefs to unite with them in. the dance; I, however, declined the intended honor, but gave to one of them my cane, as a proxy; with which Ile seemed much delighted. Several of their white neighbors, both male a,nd female, entered the ring. SAMUEL CROWELL'S CONTRIBUTION - 101 There was, on this occasion, a splendid. display of ornament. Those who have seen the members of a certain society, in their most prosperous days, march in procession in honor of their patron saint, decorated with the badges and insignia of their order, may have some conception of the dress and. ornamental decoration of those head men while engaged in the dance. I will select "Unum E Pluribus." Their doctor, as he was called, wore very long hair, and from the nape of his neck to the termination of his queue, there was a, continuous line of pieces of silver - the upper one being larger than a dollar, and the lower one less than a half-dime. Some of the More inferior Indians were stuck over with baubles and hung round with strings. Many of them wore small bells tied around their ankles; and those who could not afford bells had deer-hoofs in place thereof. These made a jingling sound as they put down their feet in the dance. The squaws, also, exhibited themselves to the best advantage. Several of them were splendidly attired and decorated. Their dresses were chiefly of silk, of various colors, and some were of good, old-fashioned queens-gray. These dresses were not "cut," as our fair belles would say, a la mode, but they were cut and made after their own fashion; that is, not so long as to conceal the scarlet hose, their ankles, their small feet, or. their moccasins, which were s6 ingeniously beaded and manufactured by their own olive hands. Nor must I omit saying that the propriety and correct demeanor of the Indians, and the modest deportment of the squaws, merited the highest commendation. At the commencement of each dance, or, to borrow our own phraseology, each "set-dance," a chief first rose and began to sing the word "Yah-Ho-Wah!" with slow, sonorous and strong syllabic emphasis, keeping time with his feet, and advancing round the house; directly arose another, and then, in regular succession, one after another, rising and singing the same word, and falling in the rear, until all the Indians had joined in the dance. Next, the squaws, at a respectful distance in the rear, in the same manner, by seniority, rose and united in the song and dance. Now the step was quicker and the pronunciation more rapid—all singing and all .dancing, while Jim, the blind musician, struck harder and faster with his gourd on the undressed deer-skin; thus they continued, the same, for more than an hour, without cessation. The Indian boys who did not join in the dance, amused themselves the meanwhile, discharging heavily loaded muskets through the aperture in the roof, the reverbetions of which were almost deafening. Taken. together, to the eye and ear of a Stranger, it seemed like a frantic festivity-. Tall Chief, who was confined to his bed by indisposition, felt it so much his duty to join in the dance with his people, that he actually left his bed, notwithstanding it was mid-winter, came to the council house, and took part in the dance as long as he was able to stand. About the "noon of night," Hard Hickory invited Mr. D. to accept of a bed at his residence. To this proposition we readily assented. Here we were hospitably provided for, and entertained in a style which we little anticipated. Even among many of our white inhabitants, at this early day a curtained bed, was a luxury, not often enjoyed. Such was the bed we 102 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. occupied. Shortly after our .arrival at the house of this chief, Mr. D. retired. Not so with our friendly host and myself. While sitting near a clean brick hearth, before a cheerful fire, Hard Hickory unbosomed himself to me unreservedly. Mr. D. was asleep, and the chief and I were then the only persons in the house. Hard Hickory, among other things, told me it was owing chiefly to him that this feast was now celebrated; that it was in part to appease the anger of the Good Spirit, in consequence of a dream he lately had, and as an explanation, he gave me the following narration: "He dreamed he was fleeing from an enemy; it was, he supposed, something supernatural— perhaps an evil spirit; that after it had pursued him a long time, and for a great distance, and every effort to escape from it seemed impossible, as it was now at his heels, and he almost exhausted. At this perilous time he saw a large water, to which he made with all his remaining strength, and at the very instant, when he expected every bound to be his last, he beheld, to his joy, a canoe near the. shore; this appeared as his laSt hope; breathless, and faint, he threw himself into it, and that moment, of its own accord, quick as an arrow from the bow; it shot from the shore, leaving his pursuer behind." While relating this circumstance to me, which he did with. earnestn.ess, trepidation and alarm strongly expressed in his countenance, he took from his bosom something neatly and carefully enclosed in several distinct folds of -buckskin". This he began to unroll, laying each piece by itself, and on opening the last there was enclosed therein a miniature canoe. On handing it to me to look at, he remarked that .no other person, save myself and he, had ever seen it, and that as a memento, he would wear it in his bosom as long as he lived. It was a piece of light wood, resembling cork, about six inches long; and, as it was intended, so it was, a perfect model of a canoe. * * * The night now being far advanced, he pointed to the bed and told me to sleep there—but that he must go to the council house to the dance, for his people would not like it if he would stay away—and wishing me good-night, he withdrew. So far, Mr. Crowell. Another eye-witness of this last sacred ritual proceeds to relate the remainder of that night's proceedings at the council house, as follows: The first object which arrested our attention was a pair of dogs; male and female, suspended on a cross—one on each side. These animals had been strangled—not a bone was broken—nor could a disarranged hair be seen. They were of a beautiful cream color, except a few dark spots on one—naturally—which same spots were put on the other, artificially, by the devotees. The Indians are very partial in the selection of dogs entirely white for this occasion, and for which they will give almost any price. Now far part of the decorations, and a description of one will do for both: First, a scarlet ribbon was tastefully tied just above the nose, and near the eyes, another; next, around the neck was a white ribbon, to which were attached some bulbs, concealed in another white ribbon; this was placed ANOTHER ACCOUNT - 103 directly under the right ear, and I suppose it was Intended as an amulet, or charm. Then ribbons were bound around the fore-legs, at the knees, and near the feet. These were red and white, alternately. Around the body was a profuse decoration; then the hind-legs were decorated as the fore-legs. Thus were the victims prepared, and thus ornamented, for the burnt-offering. While minutely making this examination, I was almost unconscious of the collection of a large number of Indians, who were then assembled to offer their sacrifices. Adjacent to the cross was a large fire built on a few logs; and, though the snow was several inches deep, they had prepared a sufficient quantity of' wood, removed the snow from the logs and placed thereon their fire. I have often regretted that I did not see them light this pile. My opinion is, that they did not use ordinary fire, but-struck fire with a steel, this being deemed sacred. It was near morning, and the sun about rising, when the Indians simultaneously formed a semi-circle, enclosing the cross, each flank resting on the pile of logs. Good Hunter, who officiated as high-priest, now appeared and approached the cross. Arrayed in his pontifical robes, he looked quite respectable. The Indians being all assembled—I say Indians, for now there was not a squaw present—at a signal given by the high-priest, two young chiefs sprang upon the cross, and each taking off one of the dogs, brought it down and presented it on his arms to the high-priest, who, receiving it with great reverence, in like manner advanced to the fire, and with a very grave and solemn air, laid it thereon. This he also .did with the other. He then retired to the cross. In a devout manner, he now commenced an oration. the tone of his voice was audible, and somewhat chanting. At every pause in his discourse he took from a white cloth he held in his left hand a portion of dried, odoriferous herbs, which he threw on the fire. This was intended as incense. In the meanwhile, his auditory, their eyes on the ground, with grave aspect, and in solemn silence, stood motionless, listening to every word he 'uttered. .Thus he proceeded, until the dogs were entirely consumed and the incense exhausted, when he concluded his service. The oblation now made and the wrath of the Great Spirit, as they believed, appeased, they again assembled for the purpose of performing a part of their festival different from any I had yet witnessed. Each Indian, as he entered, seated himself on the floor, thus forming a large,circle, when one of the old chiefs rose, and with that native dignity which some Indians possess in. a great degree, recounted his exploits as a warrior; told in how many fights he had been the victor, the number of scalps he had taken from his enemies, and what, at the head of his braves, he yet intended to do at the Rocky mountains, accompanying his narration with energy, warmth, and Strong gesticulation. When he ended, he received the unanimous applause of the assembled tribe. This meed of praise was awarded to the chief by "three time' s three" articulations,. which were properly neither nasal, oral, nor 'guttural, but rather abdominal. Others followed in like manner. Among these was Good Hunter; but he 104 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. "Had laid his robes away, His mitre and his vest." His remarks were not filled with such bombast as some others, but brief, modest and appropriate; in short, they were such as became a priest of one of, the lost ten tribes of Israel. After all had spoken who wished to speak, the floor was cleared and the dance renewed, in which Indians and squaw united with their wonted hilarity and zeal. Just as the dance ended, an Indian boy ran to me, and with fear depicted on his countenance, caught me by the arm and drew me to the door, pointing with his other hand towards something which he wished me to observe. I looked in that direction and saw the appearance of an Indian running at full speed to the council house; in an instant he was in it and literally in the fire, which he took in his hands and threw coals and ashes in various directions through the house, and apparently, all. over himself. At his entrance, the young Indians, much alarmed, had all fled to the other end of the house, where they remained crowded together in great dread of his personification of the Evil Spirit. After diverting himself with the fire it few moments at the expense of the young ones, to their no small joy. he disappeared. This was an Indian disguised with a hideous false-face, having horns on his head, and his hands and feet protected from the effects of the fire; and though not a professed "fire-king," he certainly performed his part to admiration. During the continuance of the festival, the hospitality of the Indians was unbounded. In the council house and at the residence of the Tall Chief were a number of large, fat bucks, and fat hogs, hanging up and neatly dressed. Bread, also, of both corn and wheat, in great abundance. Large kettles of soup, ready prepared, in which maple sugar, profusely added, made a prominent ingredient, thus forming a very agreeable saccharine coalescence. All were invited, and all were made welcome; indeed, a refusal to partake of their bounty was deemed disrespectful, if not unfriendly. I left them in the afternoon enjoying themselves to the fullest extent; and so far. as I could perceive, their pleasure was without alloy. They were eating and drinking—but on this occasion no ardent spirits were Permitted —dancing and rejoicing, caring, and probably thinking not of tomorrow. The word Sandusky, that has given names to so many towns and other places, and especially to this river, seems to be buried in obscurity, as to its origin. Authors differ materially, and their researches seem to have led them into mists where it is easy to become associated with error. In fact, it requires a good, strong light in every direction of inquiry to discriminate between truth and error. History is not exempt from the rule. Even in the popular sciences of the day, one thinker refutes and attacks the assertions and the theories of another and heretics, critics and free-thinkers seem to think that they can find SOW-DOWS-KY - 105 errors in the preaching of the glorious gospel of our holy religion, and the administration of the church of God on earth. So it is. Men will differ on almost everything. To, avoid being denounced as a critic, the views of the several authors on the origin of the word Sandusky are recorded here without comment, except one instance, and this only. Says Mr. Butterfield, p. 74: "As to the origin of the name of this river, there are two opinions. By some it is,believed to be a word of French extraction, given to the bay and river by the Indians, in honor of the first French trader who visited the country. In Champaign county, Illinois, there is now living a man of this name, who claims that one of his ancestors, settling at an early period upon the Sandusky, and becoming a great favorite among the Indians, they, as a mark of respect, gave his name (Sow-dows-ky) to the river and bay." Nobody will deny the fact that the Butterfields are a little prejudiced in favor of the French, and they have a right to be; but nobody will believe that "Sow-dows-ky" is a French name. If the origin in that direction had been traced to a Russian or a Pole, it would have. been more excusable. The French have no w in their alphabet, nor in their names. Of the old Indian tradition given by the warriors to Gen. Harrison, the following is the origin: After the naval fight between the Wyandots and Senecas, heretofore mentioned, the conquering band, having landed at Maumee, followed the lake shore towards the east, passing and giving names to bays, creeks and rivers, until they arrived at Cold creek, where it enters the Sandusky bay. Being charmed with the springs of clear, cold water in this vicinity, they pitched their tents and engaged in hunting and fishing. By them (the Wyandots) the bay and river were called Sandusky, meaning, in their language, "at the cold water." Mr. John H. James, an old veteran pioneer of Urbana, Ohio, in a note to the American Pioneer, mentions a part of a conversation he had with William Walker, at Columbus, in 1835-6, when he was the principal chief of the Wyandots at Upper Sandusky, and says: "I asked of him the meaning of the word 'Sandusky.' He said it meant 'at the cold water,' and said it should. be pronounced ‘San-doos-tee.' He said it carried with it the force of a preposition." The Upper Cold Water and the Lower Cold Water, then, were descriptive Indian names, given long before the presence of the trader, Sow-dows-ky. In the vocabulary of Wyandot words given by John Johnson, Esq., formerly Indian agent in Ohio, printed in Archologia Americana, vol. 106 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. I, p. 295, the word "water" s criven "Sa-un-dus-tee," or, "water within water pools." The historians of Ohio seem to be satisfied with the meaning of the word as "at the cold water.," but Mr. Butterfield, in his Crawford, p. 147, says that Sandusky is the old "San-dus-quet" of 'the old French traders and voyagers; "Sah-un-dus-kee," "clear water," or, "San-doos-'tee," "at the cold water." * * * Or, it may have been derived from, "Sa-un-dus-tee," "water within water pools." They will stick in the Frenchman, any way. But no matter about the origin. It is not very likely that any better light will ever he thrown upon the origin of the word. While on this subject, it should also be remembered that the terms, "Miami of the Lake," or "Miami of Lake Erie," wherever they occur, should not be confounded with the "Great" and "Little Miami," which are tributaries of the Ohio. The former terms simply mean and signify the Maumee river. "Mad Spirit" is the Indian signification of "Erie." CHAPTER VI. EARLY SETTLERS-STATEMENT OF MRS. STANLEY-THE HARRIS FAMILY ROBBERY OF SPICER - THE BRUSH-DAM-PETER PORK- JACOB KNISELY AND CROW--GOING TO MILL-KILLING WITCHES-WOLVES-THE FIRST HORSE-RACE. STATEMENT OF MRS. STANLEY. TO WM. LANG, Esq.—Being one of the oldest settlers of Seneca county now living, and remembering a great many incidents connected with the early settlement of the county along the Sandusky river, I will comply with your invitation and hereby send you a short statement, which you may use, if found appropriate. Respectfully, TABITHA STANLEY. "My grandfather came from England, a young man, and single. His name was Samuel Harris. My grandmother's name was Betsey Boner, and she was a native of Ireland. They were married in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, long before the revolutionary war, and settled in Harrisburgh, Pennsylvania, where my father, William Harris, was born in 1760, After the war he married Mary Mead, whose father came from Wales. My father enlisted as a soldier in the revolutionary war when he was but a mere boy, only fourteen years old, as a private, and served during the war to the close. He never received a pension for his services in the war until after he moved to Seneca county, when Mr. Abel Rawson, one of the pioneer lawyers of Tiffin, procured it for him. My parents raised ten children. Betsey, my oldest sister, was married to David Roberts ; Hettie was married to Moses Hunt ; brother Augustus was married to Aurelia Clark ; Nancy was naarried to Chambers Mead ; Polly married James Eaton; brother Samuel died in what is now Townsend township in Sandusky county, Ohio, in 1826., in the twenty-eighth year of his age, and unmarried ; John married Betsey Hays : Minerva married Benjamin Barney; Tabitha, (myself,) married Benjamin Culver in 1828; and Jane, the . youngest of our children, married Anson Gray. Minerva, Jane and myself were married in this county and were amongst the few first white girls that were married here at that time: Barney, Culver and Gray were amongst the few first settlers that located here. My father moved from Harrisburgh into Livingston county, in the state of New York, where we lived until the year 1818, and in that year we moved back to Pennsylvania and settled near Meadville, in Crawford county. Here my sister Nancy was married to Chababers Mead. She died at Meadville. When we left Livingston county, New York, to move to Pennsylvania, some of my brothers and sisters were mauled, and stayed there. Father and 108 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. mother, with the rest of us children that were not married—Nancy, Samuel, John, Minerva, Tabitha, Jane, and Marshal Harris—started together. When we got to Olean Point my father bought a boat, called a scow. On this he put our goods, wagon and all. John and myself took three horses and two cows, and drove then overland for Lawrenceburgh. On the way there a man overtook us, and at his request we let him ride one of the horses, and is       the rascal ran away with the horse. There was at that time no road down the valley of the Allegheny. When we all met at Lawrenceburgh we left the scow, and hitched the horses to the wagon and traveled together to Meadville, where we settled. Here we stayed about two years ; then my brother Samuel and a young man by the name of John Eaton, from the state of. New York, started for Ohio on foot, for the purpose of prospecting and I ,   exploring the country. They came to the valley of the Sandusky, and wrote back to us to pack up and come out here : that they had found an excellent country, etc. The following winter my father and brother John started for Ohio to meet the boys here leaving the rest of us at Meadville. My father was a gun-smith by trade, and brought his tools with him. He put up a shop on the north east part of a piece of land that afterwards became the property of my husband, Benjamin Culver, and known as the Culver farm, near Fort Seneca. In the following spring father and John came back to Meadville, and then we all started for the Sandusky valley, except my sister Nancy, who was then married. When we got here we found the country a dense wilderness. We put up with Barney's folks, and moved into the smile cabin they occupied, which had been built by William Spicer, who then had moved upon his section in the Seneca reservation, east of the river. Spicer was an Indian captive, and had ,a, family of half Indian children. Their names were John, James, Small Cloud, Little Town, and one daughter, who was married to another white captive by the name of Crow. Spicer was a great help to the new comers, for he had cattle, horses and hogs in large numbers. He used to let his land out on shares, and often furnished horses and oxen to farm with. He sold a great deal of corn to the immigrants ; also cattle and hogs, and often let cows out for pay. He was a good neighbor, ever ready and willing to help the needy. People often borrowed his horses and oxen to go to the mill. We had to go to Monroeville or to Cold Creek Mills, to get our grinding done—some thirty miles away, through forest and swamps, without any bridges across the streams, and no road or any other way to guide the traveler but blazed trees. The Barney family consisted of West, who was the oldest, and Benjamin, both single, a widowed sister, Mrs. Polly Orr, who afterwards married John Eaton, who came out here with my brother Samuel in 1819, as already stated and Ann, the youngest sister, who was afterwards married to David Rice, in the fall of 1820. Benjamin Barney married my sister Minerva in the win- ter of 1820. David Smith of Fort Ball, who was then a Justice of the Peace solemnized the marriage, and played the violin that night at the wedding dance. Mr. Erastus Bowe came with Mr. Smith to the wedding. Mr. Bowe was the first settler in Fort Ball. The wedding was a rural affair, indeed. The dancing was done on a pungeon floor. A pungeon is a plank about six inches thick, split out of a solid STATEMENT OF MRS. STANLEY - 109 log, and then hewed on one side and " spotted "on the other so as to fit even on the sleepers. This made a very solid and substantial floor to dance on. Boards were very scarce and hard to get, on account of the great want of saw mills. We came here in the summer of 1820. That fall we all took sick, and became so reduced in strength that one was not able to help the other. There was no doctor nearer than Huron county, where doctor Stephenson lived. He came sometimes, and stayed a day or two to supply us with medicine. We were all fortunate enough to get well. The following year my brother Augustus came. Soon after his arrival his wife took sick and died, leaving him with two children, both small. We were all well and hearty the next year, except my mother, who was then very sick, but recovered. Benjamin Barney moved to Fort Seneca, close to the old fort built by General Harrison in 1812, and then occupied by Mr. James Montgomery, a Methodist preacher and agent for the Seneca Indians. He, (Mr. Montgomery,) was also afterwards elected Justice of the Peace, and solemnized the marriage ceremony when Mr. Culver and I were married. Mr. Montgomery was considered a. very good man, and was highly respected. One of his sons died. I was the only white girl outside of the family who attended the funeral. Mr. Benjamin Barney and Mr. Anson Gray both moved with their families to the state of Illinois, and both became wealthy. Gray and his wife are both dead. Barney's wife is also dead, but Barney is still living and is now about eighty-four years old. One year ago, when he was here on a visit, I saw him at Mr. Rice's, in Townsend township, Sandusky county, when he was very hearty and active. Very few white people lived here when we came. Mr. Bowe, Mr. Risdon, M r. David Smith and Mr. Levi Crissey lived in Fort Ball ; Abner Pike, Ezra Sprague, Willard Sprague, Francis Sprague, widow Shippey, Nathan Shippey, Robert and Lorenzo Abbott, Dorcas and Polly Shippey, Joel Chapin, Mr. McNutt, who had two sons—Alexander and Daniel—Caleb Rice and Daniel . Rice, Pardon Wilson, Phineas Frary, Sidney Barney—a cousin of Benjamin Barney—Samuel, Silas, Hiram, Asel and Phineas Pike, Louisa Emmerson, who taught school, Eliphalet Rogers, Henry Rogers, Ebenezer Mills; Daniel Mills, Jeremiah Chapman, Hannah Jackson, the Rollins family, and the Dumond, Duke and Montgomery families, constituted about all the white people that lived within ten miles of the fort, except the captives on the reservation. They used to have their military trainings on the Culver farm, then known as the Spicer place. At one of these trainings I first saw Mr. Hugh Welsh. . I think he was the fifer for the Company. Caleb Rice was Captain, my brother Samuel was Lieutenant, John Eaton was Orderly, and West Barney was Ensign. They used to meet there every year. The general muster was held near the stockade of the fort. The reservation extended from a point opposite Baker's mill to a point opposite the mouth of Wolf Creek, in Sandusky county. The Mohawks lived on the farms now owned by the Frys, Flummerfelts and Claggetts. The Senecas lived opposite the old fort and below. Some of them lived near Green Springs, and up to what is now Watson's Station on the C. S. & C. R.   110 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. R. Crow lived further up, opposite my father's, joining the Spicer section on the north. In 1821 a log cabin stood at a place near what is now Sandusky street in Tiffin, and where Captain Bagby built a very nice residence opposite the old residence of Luther A. Hall, Esq. This residence is now occupied by a family named Lewis. Into this cabin a gentleman from Auburn, New York, moved in that year. His name was Mr. Childs. There was but himself and his wife. They were well dressed, and both very handsome. Mr. Childs had been in the mercantile business in the state of New York. He was then about twenty-five years old, when he took sick and died in the cabin. Soon after his death Mrs. Childs was delivered of a child, and the neighbors took her and the babe to Judge Ingraham's, who then lived near neighbor to Mr. Bowe, where, after suffering about nine days, she also died. The widow of a sister of the Barneys, took the child to raise and kept it one year, when a sister of Mrs. Childs came out here, and took it Back to Auburn with her. Somebody had named the child Nancy. Childs and his wife were both buried in the old grave yard, near the B. & 0. depot." So far Mrs. Stanley. This William Spicer, who played so conspicuous a part in, the history of the Seneca Indians while living in this valley, was a native of Pennsylvania, and was captured by the Indians when he was very. young. When the white settlers first came into this valley Spicer had been on the Sandusky forty years, and during the revolutionary war. There is but little known of his history. The Wyandots took him to the banks of the Ohio, and used him as a decoy to bring boatmen to the shore. They tied him to a tree near the bank of the, river and compelled him to call on the boatmen for help, and while the savages lay in ambush any person approaching Spicer became an easy prey. Many were thus made to suffer the cruelty of the Wyandots, but it is to be presumed that Spicer played his part merely by compulsion. Mr. Mark A. Harris, whose observations were as close as his recollections are fresh and minute, says : I came to Seneca county with my grandfather, William Harris, with whom I had always lived, and up to the time when my aunt. Tabitha married Mr. Culver ; then I lived with them. This was in 1828. My uncle, Benjamin Culver, bought eight hundred and four acres of land at the sales. His homestead consisted of three hundred acres. The Flummerfelt and Abbott farms are also parts of Culver's purchase. He also owned the land where the " Cronise saw-mill" used to be, in Liberty township. These lands he bought at the sales, in Delaware. Horton Howard was receiver, and Platt Brush was register of the land office., Mr. Brush lived near and south of Fremont. He married for his second wife a widow Green, from Maryland, formerly—the mother of the Honorable Frederick W. Green, who was Auditor, of Seneca county for a long, time, and afterwards represented this congressional district in Washington. This was during the ever memorable THE HARRIS FAMILY - 111 trouble occasioned by the repeal of the eighth section of the " Missouri Compromise." After serving a term in Congress, Mr. Green was appointed Clerk of the U. S. District Court for the northern district of Ohio, when he moved to Cleveland, where he lived up to the time of his death, which occurred in the spring of 1879. The Barneys came here from Massachusetts in 1818, and settled near the old fort. It seems that nearly all the settlers in that vicinity preferred to be near the fort, so, as to have the benefit of its protection in time of danger. There were three brothers of these Barneys—West, Benjamin and Marshal: and two sister—Polly Orr, whose husband and one child had died here, and Ann Barney, the youngest sister. Marshal also died here, and he, Mr. Orr and his child were buried at the Spicer place. Ann married Daniel Rice; who was afterwards elected justice of the peace—the first one in the town. ship. His widow is still living in Sandusky county, north of Clyde. Benjamin Barney was a very resolute and honorable man, and a great friend to William Spicer ; and when Spicer was robbed Benjamin tools great interest in having the robbers brought to justice, And securing the money. This was probably the first robbery in Seneca county, and it occurred in this wise, viz :—Spicer was well off, and took in a great deal of money from the sale of hogs, cattle, horses and corn. His money was all in gold and silver. Spicer lived on the top of the hill on the west bank of the river, opposite the north point of the island in the river, and about four miles south of the fort. One afternoon when Spicer was alone in his cabin, a man by the name of Rollins came in and demanded Spicer's money and the key of his chest. Spicer refused to deliver over, and Rollins struck him with a club on the head, which stunned him, and he fell. While.. in this condition he heard Rollins laugh, and also heard some others come in, but could not tell who they were. When Spicer recovered his consciousness, the men and his money were .gone. Spicer was a small man, and had no education ; he could not count much, and did not know exactly how much money he did have, but it was generally believed that he had between six and seven thousand dollars. This Rollins was a carpenter by trade, and at the time of this occurrence was employed to help a certain Paul D. Butler in building a saw mill on the left bank of the river, where Lafayette street, in Tiffin, comes down to the river. Some of the timbers of this mill were afterwards used by Mr. Josiah Hedges in the building of the saw mill standing on the left bank of the river, opposite Reuben Kedler's Mill, so-called. As soon as the news. of the robbery became known, the neighbors turned out to assist the constable in the chase after the thieves and the recovery of the money. A man by the name of Downing lived on the top of the hill back and south of Baker's mill, some three miles north of Tiffin, in a cabin near the river. The constable, Mr. Papineau, in company with Benjamin Barney, came to Downing's house and sat down to talk awhile, when a little girl of the family said to these men; "My papa put something nice under there ;" pointing to the hearth-stone. They arrested Downing, and raising the hearth=stone, found over five hundred dollars in silver under it. Afterwards some six hundred dollars more were found in the spring at the foot of the hill close by the cabin. These six hundred dollars were supposed to 112 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. have been put into the spring by thiS William Rollins who struck Spicer, and who was also arrested seen after. Downing got away from the constable, and was never heard of afterwards. Judge Fitch, who lived near the river, below Elder Kating's, also found some money supposed to .be Spicer's, in a ravine that runs across the north west corner of the Culver place, (as then known.) This sum was also over five hundred dollars. All this money was promptly restored to Spicer. Butler, Case, and quite a number of others were arrested, and were all taken to Norwalk, in Huron county, for trial. Caleb Bice also assisted in making these arrests. Some of the 'prisoners escaped before trial ; Case, Butler and some others were acquitted. Rollins was the only one that was convicted .of the robbery, and was sentenced to the. penitentiary for the term of eleven years. He was pardoned out before his term expired, Spicer himself signing the petition. The saw mill near the old Fort Ball I spoke of, was a very. rickety affair, and so was the dam that supplied the Water. The dam was made of brush laid across the river with the points up stream. On the top of each layer of brush other brush were laid cross-wise,. and then another layer on top of these like the first layer, and so on. The whole string of brush was held down by boulders and dirt put on top of the brush. The dam reached to the right bank of the river at a point where doctor McFarland's stable now stands. Mr. Jesse Spencer owning the saw mill and the land on that side of the river, and Mr. Josiah Hedges the land on this side, somehow, trouble arose between these men about the dam. It is possible that the water in the river was set back, and overflowed some of Mr. Hedges' land. One night, however, Mr. Hedges procured a number of men with picks and shovels, and had a ditch dug in a half moon shape around the east end of the dam, and on the next morning the water of the river flowed through the ditch, leaving dam and saw mill high and dry. This Judge Fitch, above mentioned, was a tall, slender man, very intelligent and communicative, and in every way an excellent citizen. Elisha Smith kept tavern where the Holt house, so-called, now stands on Sandusky street in Tiffin. That tavern used to be the place for July celebrations. On these occasions it was customary for Judge Fitch to come up and treat all the young men. Then he would say to them that before long they would have to take care, of the government, etc. One time we had a Fourth of July dance there when fifteen couples attended, which took nearly all the people that were here. Abner Pike lived on the Ezra Baker farm, near the old house oil the hill. He came here with his family from New Jersey. His wife was a sister to this Butler that built.Spencer's saw mill. Pike was a man of medium size, stout and compactly built, had dark hair and dark eyes, and a dull look ; he was not very cleanly in his person, and as lazy as he was ignorant, but otherwise a harmless sort of a man. Mr. Erastus Bowe had a tavern at the old Fort Ball. It was a double log house, one story high. It was built of rough logs, and had two rooms. Mr. Bowe was a pleasant, sociable gentleman, and highly esteemed. My grandfather was a gunsmith by trade, and wherever he lived, in Pennsylvania, New York or Ohio, had. Indians for customers, and in this way he THE HARRIS FAMILY - 113 became acquainted with the languages of several tribes. He had no difficulty to talk the Seneca when we came here. He carried on his gull shop until he died, in 1834. Samuel and John Wright, in later years, became the owners of the farm that from thence bore their name. Theywere from Rochester, New York. John Wright and Daniel Bissell, also from New York, put up a distillery near the springs on the banks of the river, on this farm. I worked in, and conducted, the distillery for a long time. The business was done in the firm name of " Bissell & Wright." When the Tanners brought their corn to be distilled on shares or to be exchanged, we gave them five quarts, and when the corn was cheap and plenty, we gave them six quarts of whisky for one bushel of corn. About that time two young ladies came to my aunt, Mrs. Culver, from New York on a visit. They were sisters : Mariah Hunt, the oldest, and the younger, Sylvia Ann Hunt, daughters of her sister. While here, the two Mr. Wrights made their acquaintance and married them. John Wright married Mariah, and Samuel Wright married Sylvia Ann. Samuel and his wife did not live very happily ; some young merchant from Tiffin became too intimate in the family, and in some way a divorce ..was brought about. Wright went away: Soon after this occurrence, Mr. Rufus W. Reid, from Tiffin, married Mrs. Wright. .Reid was at that time engaged Very largely in the mercantile business and the produce trade. He built a large warehouse near the depot of the Mad River & Lake Erie Railroad, then in Fort Ball. The building is now occupied by Mr. Solomon Koup, as a door, sash and blind factory. Mr. Reid was the rival of Mr. R. W. Shawhan, not only in the mercantile business, but also in the various conflicts in the establishment of banks in Tiffin, each striving to become master of the situation. One succeeded, and the other went down. Reid failed in business, and giving himself up to his appetite for' strong drink, lived a very hard life up to his death. Mrs. Reid is still living in Cincinnati. Those that knew Mr. Reid well must acknowledge that with all his faults, and before he fell; he possessed business qualities of the highest order, combined with a wonderful degree of perseverance. He was gentlemanly and courteous, highly intelligent and accomplished, possessed of a rare memory, and as the presiding officer of a lodge of F. & A. M. he had scarcely, his superior in any quality that properly belongs to that station—except virtue. How truly the words of the poet may be applied to him :- "Pity he loved an adventurer's life's variety ! He was so great a loss to good society. But, to let Mr. Harris proceed. When I was about eleven years old, I had to go with my uncle, John Harris, to the mill at. Monroeville. This was the nearest mill to our home, and about thirty miles away. We could not get across the river with a team, so we hauled our corn to the shore of the river, and unloaded it there. Then - 8 - 114 -HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. we took our team home, and loading our corn into a dug-out—a canoe made out of a log—we-hauled it across and unloaded- it on the other shore. Then we borrowed a yoke of oxen from Mr. Spicer,,and a cart from Crow, (we did not say "Mister " to an Indian,) and loaded up our Corn and started. The next night we stopped with a man by the name of Nichols, near Bellevue, and in the evening of the second day we reached Monroeville. There were a great manyoustomers ahead of us, and there was no prospect for us to get in for about a week ; so we started for Cold. Creek mills, which were eleven miles northwest from here. They had just commenced dressing the mill-stones when we arrived, and after waiting two days at Cold Creek, we started home with our grist. At Cold Creek we bought a. bushel of peaches, which were then, and especially with us in the woods, a great variety. Afterwards they grew almost spontaneously, and produced abundantly. until within about fifteen years ago. Now it is seldom that a crop of them can be raised in this county. The first night on the way home we reached Dr. Stephenson's. The next day our provisions gave out. We came to a fire in the woods where a man had been chopping, and being very hungry, we looked around, amongst the logs for provisions that the wood-chopper might have hidden somewhere, and found raw pork and bread. We d,ivided even with the man, and. putting his half back where it was, made way with olirs, and drove on. When we got home we were gone nearly a week. The only place where we could get fruit at that time was at Whitecker's. below Fremont about two miles. Mrs. Whitecker was a widow and a captive of the Senecas, and she received this place by the treaty. One time her son james stalled with his wagon near our house, and he had to abandon it. When he left he told me to tell the Senecas that the wagon belonged to him, and then they would not touch it. Some time after we arrived here, I went up the river with Hiram Pike, who wanted to get a.pair of shoes he had up there to get, mended. We came to a little clearing of about two acres, in the midst of which was a cabin. Here the shoemaker lived. His name was Johnson, and his cabin the only one on the right bank of the river from' the reservation far up towards the town of McCutchenville. It was situated where Jefferson and Perry streets cross. The first log heap that was burnt on the Tiffin side, was where the Commercial Bank now_is, next lot north of the court house. Mr. Erastus Bowe lived near the old fort. on the west bank, and David Smith lived in a cabin, somewhere near or at the place where the Ohio stove works now are. Up the hill, near where McNeal's store now stands, there vvas an old Indian cabin, into which Mr. Agreen Ingraham soon aftermoved. Close by this cabin Alr. Milton Mc:Neal soon after built his store, and he was the first merchant on that side of the river. William D. Sherwood entered six hundred and forty acres of land, including the farms afterwards owned by the Rev. JOhn Solider and the Stoners. Sherwood built a cabin at the Souder place. There Wasno other house on the army road between the Sherwood cabin and Fort Seneea. Sherwood's wife died in this cabin, and was buried in the grave yard that was situated between the depot of the B. & O. Railroad in Tiffin, and the late residence of Mrs. Joseph Walker on the hill, and where Mr. Fraiccis Wagner now lives. All traces of the graveyard are gone. Mr. Sherwood's son was here THE HARRIS PAMILY - 115 a few years ago, looking for his mother's grave, but could find no trace of it. Phineas Frary, another old settler, married a Miss Cochran. A. CourtrightMarried a sister of Mrs. Frary, and settled up the river somewhere south of Tiffin. Mrs. Harriet Segur was one of the Cochran girls. She is still living on her farm, on the reservation. The council-honse used to stand on that place. This was made of three lengths of logs, cornered as usual, and Iyhere the logs came together at the ends, they were flattened and laid on top of each other. The roof was made of bark, with a hole left in middle to let the smoke out. I knew all the Indians on the reserve, and Was well acquainted with Crow. He was stolen by the Wyandots on the Loyal Hannah in Pennsylvania, and given to the Senecas, who adopted him. Crow was about two or three years.old when he was taken away. The parents were away from home at the time, and the other children out after berries. The savages got away with the child unobserved. When Crow's father came to hunt him up, he stopped at Crow's and sent for my grandfather to,Come and interpret the conversation. Crow could not talk .English. So I went along and heard all that was said. Mr. Jacob Knisely came on horseback to look for his son. lie stated all about the manner of the stealing of his son, and said he had now visited all the lodges of the other tribes without success. My grandfather had been with the Senecas so much that he spoke their language quite fluently. He was one of the few who made their escape at the massacre of Wyoming. They talked a long time. Crow did not want to talk ; denied every recolection of his white ancestry, and often refused to give any answer. Finally Mr. Knisely said to him, " If you are my son, then your name is Jacob." With this, Crow jumped up and said, " That is my name, and I am.your son; I recollect that, but I kept it all to myself for fear that somebody would. claim me and take me away." Crow then sent up to the Wyandots and had his foster-mother come down, who corroborated Mr. Knisely's version of the stealing of his child. She was a very old. squaw, and stayed several .days, and as long as Mr. Knisely stayed, to satisfy herself that Crow would not go back with his father. Mr. Knisely tried every way to inthice his son to go back with him to Pennsylvania ; he said that his wife had been sick some time; that she had mourned for her lost child some fifty years, and would be willing to die if she could only once more see her dear boy. The scene was very affecting; but Crow was immovable. He said he had now a family of his own to look after and could not go, but promised to visit his parents some other time. He laughed heartily over the idea as to how he would look dressed up like a wliite man. Mr. Knisely left one morning, and Crow accompanied his father as far as Bellevue, where they stayed together all night. Crow returned next day, and when the Indians started for their new liomes in the West he went with them. He never went to see his parents at all. Crow got his share in the .treaties with the Wyandots, as well as with the Senecas, and became quite well off. Crow's first wife was a full blood Indian ; his second wife was a daugfhter of William Spicer. White Crow -was his oldest son, who came back here on a visit in 1852, and stayed with me one night. He had just then been at Dayton, Ohio, where he left his second son at school, and where his oldest son was also securing an educa- 116 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY tion. Tears came into hj.s eyes when he looked at the old reservation, and he regretted that he had ever left. When the Senecas were,paid off,. Crow received for his improvements nine hundred and fifty dollars, and another Indian paid. hint fifty dollars on an old debt. Martin Lane.was an interpreter for, the Senecas, and went with them. to the west, and returned here. It is a most remarkable fact, that while it is very hard to make a civilized man out of a savage, the civilized man takes to savage life. like a fish to water., Col. McIlvain was the chief agent for the Sen.ecas, and often stopped with Lane at the Spicer place. The Senecas were very slow getting ready to go. Finally they got their things on the wagons and started. Spicer was dead before they left here. Crow died at his new home, of cholera. White Crow got rich,and adopted the name of his grandfather Knisely. PETER PORK. A man by the name of Benazah Parker lived on the west side of the street, near where Lorenzo Abbott had his store, in the village then called McNutt's Corners, afterwards Swope's Corners, and now Fort Seneca. Parker kept a whisky shop, and often sold whisky to the Indians in violation of law, and for which he was frequently arrested and fined. Yet he went on in his' infamous business. In the night of the 4th of October, 1829, they were having a high time at Parker's. The whole gang was drunk, and Parker administered a mock sacrament to his drunken crowd. Seated about on benches, he passed corn-dodgers to them for bread, and whisky for wine, accompanied with blasphemous remarks, Pork was there: He was a. mean, ill-tempered savage, had committed several murders, and had no redeeming trait about him. Pork asked for whisky, and Parker refusing, he became very angry and ugly. Parker ordered him out, and Pork refusing to go, Parker took a burning Stick from the fireplace., and making with that towards Pork, was stabbed by Pork in his side. Pork dropped the knife and ran. Says Mr. Harris :— My uncle, Anson Gray, was at, Parker's at the time this occurred. He used to drink to excess often at that time, but he afterwards reformed, became highly respectable and wealthy. Pork got out and ran home, and when he went to bed he stuck his scalping knife into a crack in a log close by his bed, and within reaching distance. His squaw noticed that there was something wrong? and when Pork was sound asleep she took the knife away and put a wooden one in its place. The neighbors became aroused, and getting a warrant for the arrest of Pork, Judge Jaques Hurlbut, one of the best and most influential of men in THE HARRIS FAMILY - 117 that vicinity, took with him Jonathan Abbott, Anson Gray, Stephen Ross, Jeremiah Hays, John Hauls., Silas Pike and Henry Yeaky. When they got to Pork's house.he jumped out of bed, took hold of the wooden knife, kicked out the lantern', and struck Judge Hurlbut with the Wooden knife with such force that he cut his home-made cloth overcoat to, the skin. The Judge called out, "Boys, he is stabbing me." They had a hard struggle witii the villain, but finally sitbdued. him. They put him on a horse, and.tied his feet together under the horse, to prevent escape. On the way to Tiffin he said to his escort, "Tomorrow me die ;" thinking that he would be executed. They put him into the old hewed log jail that stood at the southeast corner of the court house yard in Tiffin. Pork .was tried, Judge Lane .presiding, and was sent to the penitentiary for a term of three years; but when the Senecas left he was pardoned and went with them. The sentence was made light from the fact that Parker had often violated the law, in selling whisky to the In.dians. Abel Rawson was prosecuting attorney. Parker lived some fifteen months after he was stabbed, and died from the effects of the wound, as it was supposed. Some four years after die Senecas went away, Joseph Herrin, a half blood Mohawk, came. here on a visit. While here he learned that Pork had killed Joseph Silas, a cousin of hip. Herrin said : "This makes three cousins of mine that Pork has killed, and when I come home I kill Pork." He kept his word, and when in .1852 White Crow came here, he said that " Herrin knocked Pork down, and cut his throat clear off." Butterfield says that Pork had committed no less than eight murders. He was a Cayuga, a stalwart, brutal monster, and the, terror of the neighborhood. He had killed Strong Arm—Teguania—an Indian of his tribe, just before the fatal affray with Parker. Both had been at Lower Sandusky, and returning home drunk, got into a fight with axes. Tequania was badly mangled. Doctor Dresbach, of Tiffin, dressed his wounds, but he. died in nine days. Perk also killed "Thomas Brandt's old wife," as she was called, who lived in, a cabin by herself. He met her one day, killed her, and coverpd her remainsawith brush. Pork was sentenced for "stabbing with intent to kill," in the Parker case, on the 28th of April, 1830. Mr. Harris proceeds : While Mr, Ingraham lived in the old cabin near McNeal's store, the whole family took sick, and no one was able to help the other. Mrs. Stanley went up and waited on them. One of the Ingraham girls married a Mr. McGee, who afterwards carried on adrug store at Fremont. Melissa married Frank Abbott, the youngest of the Abbott family, who is still living. Old Mr. Andrew Dukes, also an old settler, had one son, John, and one daughter; Sophia, by his first wife. He married, for his second wife, Mrs. Gittie Swimm, who was a widow, and sister, of Mr. Isaac I. Dumond. He lived near the Dukes' burying ground. Duniond married old Mr. Dukes' daughter, Sophia. John Dukes married another sister of Mr. Thimond. 118 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. father aild son married two sisters, and Mr. Dimond was both brother-in-law and son-in-law to Mr. Dukes, and Mr. Dukes was both father-in-law and brother-in-law to Mr: Dumond. HARD HICKORY Was a large, noble looking man, and nearly half white, about six feet high, had little chin whiskers, was very straight and muscular, spoke English well, and was highly respected. He had a large nose, and was about fifty years old when they left. GOOD HUNTER Was of medium height, had a melancholy look, most always drooped his head, walking or sitting, but had a sharp eye, and was considered smart. He was a full-blood Seneca, a little gray, about fifty years old, and took the place of Seneca John after he was killed. SENECA JOHN Was a splendid looking Indian, strictly honest, as many of the Senecas were, was very straight, square-shouldered, and had a frank, open, noble look. He carried a silver ring in his nose, and one in each ear. He wore a fur hat and broadcloth coat, cut Indian fashion, with a belt, and a silver band three inches wide on each upper arm. He was a stylish man, .and of commanding bearing. He lived near Green Springs,when he was executed, then about thirty-eight years old. SENECA STEEL Was a small Indian, very active, but there was nothing otherwise uncommon about him. Seneca: John, Comstock and Coonstick were his brothers. Mr. Montgomery preached Spicer's funeral sermon. George Herris a half Mohawk, was interpreter, and gave the sermon in the Indian, sentence by sentence. (Slow preaching.) One of Spicer's boys, Small Cloud, was a fine looking fellow, a half blood. He married Crow's daughter by his first wife. Little Town Spicer had three or four wives. Both these Spicer boys went west with the Senecas. Whenever an Indian was buried they built a pen of poles about three feet high around the grave, and laid poles over the top. Before they left they carried these pens away and threw the poles over the bank. Crow was a great deer hunter, and shot many a fine buck after night. THE HARRIS FAMILY - 119 He would then carry a pole seven feet long, pointed at the end, with a fork .at the upper end. A piece of bark, about fifteen inches wide and two feet long, was fastened to the fork so as to make the bottom level an'cl the other end sticking up along the pole, like a letter L. A candle was put into the bottom part, and Crow, holding this over his head, was in the shade; but could see objects far off. The deer would look at the light, and not notice Crow in the dark. As soon .as Crow saw a deer he would stick the pole in the soft ground, and make spre of his game. This was called "fire hunting," and Crow would always travel along the edge of the river, where the deer would conrie down to drink and find "salt licks," The Indians made their wax candles by using cotton rags for wicks, and pouring the melted wax into dry stocks of the wild parsnip, which they used as candle-moulds. They had another light for house use, made of strips of fat pork, which were dried in the chimneys, fastened to a stick so that they hung straight down. When dry and hard, these 1,.vere stuck into a hole bored into a chip, for a canClle stick,.and then lit, making as good a light as a candle. The name for a 'candle was " gigh-di-tagua." There was a great deal of sickness amongst the Senecas in 1822, and many died. They believed themselves bewitched, and holding a council on the subject, condemned four poor old squaws to be tomahawked for witchcraft. Next day, these squaws' went to Lower Sandusky and bought whisky. When they came back they got drunk, and when in that condition they said they were ready, and told the executioner to "cut away." One Indian killed them all. His name was Jim Sky. Says Mr. Harris :— A few days after the execution some of the Indians brought the tomahawk to my grandfather's shop, to have it put into better shape. It was a "pipe tomahawk." Soon after a young Indian came in and saw the tomahawk laying on the bench, when he broke out in a horrible. oath, and told me to lay it away, for that had killed his mamma. He then cried aloud a long time. His name Good Spring. Seneca Joseph had an old squaw living with him who was suspected of being a witch. She -was very sick, and Mrs. Stanley used to go over to see her often. One day, when .she came there the old squaw was dead, and all drawn up crooked ; so they made a crooked grave to fit her. They laid bark on the bottom, wrapped her in a blanket, put her in and covered her with bark, and then filled up the grave with dirt. One of the Shippey girls came to our honse one day on horseback; having heard some wolves howl, she was afraid to go home alone, and some of our folks had to go with her. She afterwards married John Rickets; and Mr. Rezin Rickets, in Hopewell township, is a son of William Rickets, brother to John. 120 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. The wolves used to make a fearful howling noise, which they sometimes kept up all night. No one ca,n now imagine what terrible feelings the howling of the wolves would create, on a dark, wintry night, when we were in bed : the wolves howling on the one side, and the Indians keeping up their everlasting tum, tum, tum, on the other, dancing all night. MOUND BUILDERS. There were several mounds on the Culver place, and we often plowed up bones and ancient crockery. In 1850 we opened one of these mounds, and found a, very large skeleton, with a well shaped skull, and a stone pitcher near the head. The pitcher seemed to have been made of sand and clay. Small vessels of the same material, filled with clam-shells, were placed inside of the elbows. Some of these pitchers would hold half a gallon. We gave them to Gen. Brish. These things were as wonderful to the Indians as to us. HORSE-RACE. Some time after Doctor Dresbach came to Tiffin, he and Mr. Josiah Hedges and their riders came to the Spice place to have a horse-race. They had a straight track made through Spicer's Corn fieldg. Dresbach had a small gray mare. Hedges' 'horse was a bay belonging to a friend of his by the name of Connell. McNeal's clerk rode the Dresbach mare, and .Albert Hedges rode the Connell mare. Hedges' bay won. The same day the Connell horse ran against some body's elese horse, on the same track. At the outcome the bay stopped short and threw Albert Hedges clear over the fence, and he had his ankle dislocated. They came down here to have the race, because they could find no other place so free fronrstumps. The track was straight from the bank of the river to the hill where Mr. Toomb's house now stands. This was the first horse-race in Seneca county. CHAPTER VII THE SENECA CHIEF PRESENTS THE GOVERNOR OF CANADA WITH 954 AMERICAN SCALPS-TALL CHIEF-THE TUQUANIAS-KILLING THE SQUAW OF GEORGE WASHINGTON-JUDGE HULBURT-CALEB RICE-BENJ. CULVER - REV. JAMES B. FINLAY-CAPT. JOSEPH- MRS. INGHAM-CAPT. JOSEPH- CAPT. SHERWOOD-SKETCH OF MRS. INGHAM-EARLY MARRIAGES. THE Senecas were, at one time in their history, a very powerful race, and about the time of the revolutionary war the most savage and cruel of any of these forest monsters. About the time they took possession of their reservation. in Seneca county, there was scarcely anything left of them, and those that did settle here were a mixed rabble of several tribes, half-breeds and captives. For more than a century this tribe had been in contact with the white race, in peace and in war; and instead of deriving the benefit which naturally ought to have followed, from this intimacy, they deteriorated to more abject barbarism still, and dwindled down to a handful of' dirty, stupid, superstitious, worthless rabble.. Had not this county once been theirhome, and been named after them, nobody would care to read or learn anything about them. As it is, the reader would scarce be satisfied, in perusing a history of this county, without having an opportunity to learn all there .was of them, and what they were like when they roamed over the ground that contains so many happy homes a. now enjoyed by the people. here.. .All these sprung up by magic, as it were, since the last satanic yell of these hell-hounds of the woods died on the desert air. The manner in which the British. government carried on both. her wars with. the United States, by making these red fiends their allies, and supplying them with everything needful to perpetrate their cruelties. upon the white people along the fro.ntier, put that government in a 'worse light still,-looked at from every stand-point that time may justify. For a high-toned, christian people, claiming the mastery of the seas, and upon whose territory the sun never ceases to shine, not only justifying midnight butcheries pf her superior enemy by savage warfare, but helping it along and approving these atrocities, calls aloud for universal condemnation. 122 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. The relation of Great Britain with the western savages, and .the power this red ally exercised on the western frontier, is clearly shown in a letter that Dr. Franklin furnished the Anzerican Rimembrancer,,an authority which nobody will dispute. The British government had sent its agents to all the Indian tribes to enlist the savages against the colonists. The Americans sent Benjamin Franklin to Paris to secure, if possible, the aid of France in favor of his countrymen. Dr. Franklin wrote an article for the American Remembrancer, which, in that day, exerted a very powerful influence in both Europe and America. It purported to be a letter from a British :officer to the Governor of Canada, accompanying a present of eight packages of scalps of the colonists, which he had received from the chief of the Senecas. As a very important part of the history of the times, the letter should be recorded. It was as follows: "MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY: "At the request of the Seneca chief,-I hereby send to your Excellency, under the care of James Hoyt, eight packages. of scalps, cured,-dried, hooped and painted with all the triumphal marks; of which the following is the invoice and explanation:. "No. 1—Containing forty-three scalps of Congress soldiers, killed in different skirmishes. These are stretched. on black hoops, four inches in diameter. The inside of the skin is painted red, with a small black spot, to denote their being killed with bullets; the hoops painted red; the skin . painted brown and marked with a hoe; a black 'circle all roun.d, to denote. their being surprised in the night; and a black hatchet in the middle, signifying. their being killed with that. weapon. . "No. 2—Containing the scalps of ninety-eight farmers, killed in their houses; hoops red, figure of a hoe,' to mark their profession; great white circle and sun,to show they were surprised in day time; a little red foot, to show they stood upon their defense, and died 'fighting for their lives and families. "No. 3—Containing ninety-seven, of farmers; hoops' green, to show that they were killed in the fields; a large, white circle, with a little round mark on it, for a sun, to show. it was in. the day time; a black bullet mark on some, a hatchet mark on others. "No. 4—Containing one hundred and two, farmers; mixture of several of the marks above; only eighteen marked with a little yellow flame, to denote their being of prisoners burnt alive, after being scalped; their, nails pulled out by the roots, and other torments; one of these latter. being supposed to be an American clergyman, his hand being fixed to the hook of his scalp. Most of the fanners appear, by the hair, to have been young or middle-aged men, there being but sixty-seven ,very gray heads among them all, which makes the service more essential. "No. 5—Containing eighty-eight sealps of women; hair long, braided in the Indian fashion, to. show they were mothers; hoops, blue; skin, yellow ground, with. little red tad-poles, to represent, by way of triumph, the tears PRESENT OF SCALPS-MRS. SALLY INGHAM - 123 of grief occasioned to their. relatives; a black scalping knife or hatchet at the bottom, to mark their being killed by those instruments. Seventeen others, being very gray; black hoops; plain brown. color; no marks but the short club or cassetete, to show they were knocked down dead, or had their brains beaten out. "No. 6—Containing one hundred and ninety-three boys' scalps, of various ages; small green hoops, with ground on the skin, with red tears in the middle, and black marks, knife, hatchet or club, as their death happened. "No. 7—Containing two hundred and eleven girls scalps, big and little; small yellow hoops; white ground tears, hatchet and scalping knife. "No. 8—This package is a mixture of all the varieties above mentioned, to the number of one hundred and twenty-two, with a box of birch bark, containing twenty-nine little infants' scalps,' of various sizes; small white hoops, white ground, to show that they were nipped out of their mothers wombs. "With these packs, the chiefs send to your Excellency the following speech. delivered by Conicogatchie, in council, interpreted by the elder Moore, the trader, and taken down by me in writing: "Father—We send you herewith many scalps, that you may see we are not idle friends. We wish you to send. these scalps to the Great King, that he may regard them, and be refreshed; and that he may see our faithfulness in destroying his enemies, and be convinced that his presents have not been made to an ungrateful people " etc.—Abb. Hist. of Ohio, p. 189. Is the reader at a loss to determine which is the most lovely of the two— the American savage or the British savage—the giver or the receiver of these scalps? Mrs. Sally Ingham, in her contribution, says: My father was the Rev. James Montgomery who was appointed the first agent of the Seneca Indians. He took charge of his office in November, 1819, when we moved into the old blockhouse at Fort Seneca. I was then a little girl eight years old. Louis Tuquania was then the head chief of the tribe. Tall Chief was a tall, noble looking specimen of an Indian, Sober and honorable. Seneca John, Steel, Coonstick and Comstock were nephews of Tall Chief. Comstock died very suddenly when Coonstick was out West for :some time, and when he returned an investigation was instituted to ascertain . the manner of his death. John, his brother, was found guilty of the murder by having procured the services ,of a medicine woman who administered poison to Coonstock. Coonstick, Shane and Steel were his executioners. I think the particulars given by Gen. Brish are, perhaps, the most correct version of the whole affair. We lived in the old blockhouse seven years. The pickets were yet there when we came. Some of them had been broken down. The Senecas were an exceedingly superstitibus people, and notwithstaning all the influences brought to bear upon them to love and embrace the Christian religion, they were very stubborn, and seemed to prefer their untutored notions about the Deity to the beauties of divine revelation. 124 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. The belief in witches was a part of their faith, and whenever anything occurred that troubled them, they were sure that some witch was at the bottom of the mischief. Their vengeance then generally fell upon some poor old squaw, who was then almost certain of being killed. An old squaw, the wife of an Indian by the name of George Washington, an old chief during the revolutionary war, and then an old man, was charged with being a witch, and the whole tribe was prejudiced against her. She was soon condemned to die, and even her husband consented to her death. The poor old. squaw was at the hominy block, pounding hominy, when the Indians came into her lint. Without any further ceremony, and without asking any questions, Shane struck her on the head with a tomahawk,, and she fell. Shane then called another Indian to come and finish her, which lie did very promptly. The husband of the squaw stood by and permitted the outrage, without the least interference. When my father heard of this, he sent for some of the chiefs and told them that if another circumstance like it was ever permitted to occur again, he would have the matter investigated, and the murderers punished under the laws of the white people. This seemed to have the desired effect, and for some time afterwards nothing further was heard of killing. witches on the reserve. The Senecas had their annual green-corn-dance, which was a sort of thanksgiving frolic, and differed very much from the performances of the dog-dance, which seemed to be a proceeding and ceremony of a more sacred character. The dog-dance was the grand dance, and generally lasted nine days. It always took place about the time of our Christmas. They would then dress in their best style, and observe every rule with great punctuality. The dance commenced by one Indian shooting off his gun through the smoke hole in the roof. The Indians then, all armed to the teeth, would one by one enter the dance, one chief leading, whooping and yelling, drums. beating, chains rattling, etc. They danced up and down, and the old chiefs, in a guttural sound, which approximated a roaring, indicated the time with their "Yah-Ho-Wah!" The squaws never danced with the men, but formed a ring by themselves. The squaws danced to their own music, which was a sort of whine on a high note, and seemed to come from a great distance. They feasted on the best that the forest and their little corn patches could afford. At a certain part of the dance one Indian would appear, dressed in a bear skin, and another in a deer skin, with polished brass for the eyes of the animals, to make the figures look fearful. Thus fixed up, they ran around the ring of dancers. This was to scare away the evil spirits. They had one dance in the afternoon, and one after supper. My father often went over to the council house where, and while, the dances were going on, to keep the white people from selling whisky to the Indians. Father often talked to them about their dances, to ascertain their meaning or origin, but never succeeded in getting any intelligent explanation from them, any further than this, viz: They said their ancestors were rich at one time, and used to sacrifice fat cattle and sheep; now their children were poor, and could only sacrifice the best they had, and that was their white dogs.