EMIGRATION - 75 perseverance, great self-denial and hard labor, without reward, or hope of reward, for a long time to come. The British and Indian foes were subdued and conquered, but now there were other foes to conquer; not only the forests and the swamps and other tasks inevitable, but diseases incident to frontier life, and. especially those that attended the life in the woods. Many of the settlers of, and emigrants to, the valley of the Sandusky, who came from the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia; and, also, some from Ireland, France and Germany, were in comfortable circumstances, and after having paid for their land, mostly entered, or bought at government prices, had some money left, and were somewhat prepared for emergencies; but by far the largest number of them expended their last dollar to pay for their land, and then trusted to Providence, their iron will and strong arms, for success. Those that came by the way of Lake Erie had to encounter the forest as soon as they touched the shore. Those that came over the mountains by way of Pittsburg, had to make their way through the forest almost from the time they crossed the Ohio river. It was the same way with those who came from the south. Nothing but forest as soon as they left the settlements on the Scioto, the Muskingum, or the Great Miami, except the Sandusky plains. The way through the woods was marked by cutting a piece of balk from a tree as big as a man's hand, about five or six feet from the ground, and on both sides of the tree. Then, by- cutting away the underbrush and removing fallen timber, a wagon track was opened by winding around between the trees. One or two men, with their axes, would walk ahead of the team, blaze the trees a,nd remove obstructions. In the absence of a compass, on a cloudy day, the course east and west, as well as north and south, was found by observing the moss on the trees, which always grows most profusely on the north side. When the team came to a stream it was often very troublesome to cross. Fallen trees, brush and drift-wood had set the water back and dammed the stream. Then a crossing had to be found by driving up or down the stream, and cutting a road, as it became necessary. Finally, the land, or tract of land, that had been bought, or was soon to be purchased, was found, and a halt ordered. Those that were fortunate enough to have their own teams were rich; but emigrants from Europe, who had hired teams at Cleveland, Sandusky, Dayton or Pittsburg to bring them here, were left in the woods and. the teams started back. Here was the emigrant, with his wife and children, with their clothing, bedding, a few cooking utensils, very little provision, an axe or two, cross-cut 76 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. saw, iron wedges, some carpenter tools, a gun, some ammunition, and, best of all a will. A few poles leaned against a large tree, and brushes thrown upon the poles, soon made a roof and a shelter. Two forks driven into the gronnd about five feet apart, and a pole laid upon the forks, would be sufficient to suspend a small iron kettle in which the meal could be cooked. Life in the woods had commenced. Very few people had come as far as the Sandusky river before the land sales, as the sales of the government lands were called. The Senecas, as has already been stated, owned 40,000 acres, mostly in the present limits of Seneca county, and the Wyandots twelve miles square immediately south of the Senecas, which tracts, of course, were not in market. Some men left their families in the settlements and came to the Sandusky valley on foot or on horseback, on a sort of an exploring expedition, prospecting and looking up tracts that suited them, then return and bring the family, or go to Delaware, make an entry, and then return and start with the family. Before the land sales, however, and up to the year 1820, a very few families had located between these reservations. Those who settled along the banks of the Sandusky, will all be named, and as near as possible described in these pages. The Wyandot Indians had a tradition as to the history of their tribe that located their ancestors north of the St. Lawrence, where their wigwams were spread along the Utiwas down to Coon lake, and to the mouth of the gulf. They were then known as the Hurons, and their country they called Cu-none-tat-tia. The Senecas, who were also a large tribe, occupied a large tract of country south of the St. Lawrence. How it came that the Hurons changed their name to Wyandot is not knownp nor is it material. Nor is it worth investigating why a Greek name—Seneca—was ever given to a tribe of American savages. A legend about a war between these two tribes, preserved by tradition, of course, may not be out of place here, for the dwellers of the valley of Sandusky river occupy the last hunting grounds of these tribes east of the Mississippi river. A man of the Hurons—as the story goes—wanted a certain squaw for his wife, but she objected, and said that her wooer had never taken any scalps—that he Was no warrior. To remove this objection to his suit, he raised a small war-party, and in their hunt for scalps, fell upon a party of Senecas and,killed and scalped some of them. This caused a war between the two tribes. that lasted more than a century, and which they supposed was fully a hundred winters before the French came to Quebec. Both tribes were greatly wasted in the WAR BETWEEN THE SENECAS AND WYANDOTS - 77 contest. They often made peace, but the first opportunity the Sene-cas had,to take advantage of the Hurons, they would destroy all they could--men, women and children. The Wyandots, fearing the danger of being entirely exterminated, concluded to leave their homes on the St. Lawrence, and go to the vast west. They made their escape to the upper lakes in their canoes, and settled in several villages in the vicinity of Green Bay. After a few years the Senecas raised a war-party, followed the Wyandots to their new homes, destroyed one of their villages, killed a number of the Wyandots and returned. This was sorrie time before the Indians had any knowledge of fire-arms or gun-powder. Their impleinents of war consisted of bows, arrows and the war-club; also, a war-axe, which was a stone cut to an edge on one side or end, a broad, flat ball at the other end, arid near which a groove was made around the stone to receive the thin end of the handle, which was bent into the groove and fastened with a string cut out of a raw-hide. Soon after this the French laid out afid built Quebec, and opened trade with the Indians; supplied them with, and instructed them in the use of, fire-drins and various other instruments. The Senecas, feeling themselves proficient in the use of fire-arms, made up a war-party against the Wyandots at the upper lakes. They came upon them in the night, fired into their huts and terrified them exceedingly. The Wyandots thought it was lightning and thunder, but resisted the Sene-cas and drove them away. A few years later the Senecas made a third attack upon the Wyandot settlements, and took nearly all of them; but it so happened that at that time the young men were all engaged in a war with the Fox Indians along the Mississippi. The few that the Senecas had not killed agreed to give up resistance, return with their conquerors and become one people. It was agreed that the Senecas would wait two days to give the Wyandots time to get ready, collect their goods, get into their canoes and join them on the morning of the day at a point where the Senecas had gone to wait for them. They had a, dance during the night. Meantime, the Wyandots had sent word to other Wyandot villages, which the Senecas had not disturbed. They met, consulted together, and agreed to‘go down, and as near to the Senecas as possible without being observed, and listen to what they were doing. They equipped themselves, went down, and found the Senecas engaged in the dance, and feasting on two Wyandot men they had killed and roasted, as they said, for their beef; and as they danced, they shouted their victory, and spoke of how good their Wyandot beef was. They continued 78 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. the dance until near the break of day, and being tired, laid down and soon fell asleep. Then the Wyandots fell upon their sleeping foes and killed all of them. Not one was left to tell the tale of destruction. This ended the war for many years. Now the French supplied the Wyandots with guns, also. At length another war broke out between these tribes. Both parties met in their canoes, on lake Erie, and the Senecas lost every man engaged. The Wyandots themselves were so badly exhausted that they allowed the canoes of the Senecas to float on the water, while they hastened to the shore. Thus ended this war, and the, last trouble between the two tribes. After that the Wyandots came with their canoes to the mouth of the Sandusky river, and took possession of its entire valley. They built their towns along its banks and tributaries, and up into the plains. There is neither history nor tradition of any note about them until the outbreak of the revolutionary war, when they perpetrated their infamous depredations along tie back counties of Pennsylvania and Virginia—particularly those of Washington, Yougiogheny and Westmoreland. It was the depredations of the Wyandots that caused the various expeditions against western Indians, and especially that of Crawford. Nearly all these failed, and the savages were never properly chastised until Gen. Wayne came down upon them. From the peace at Greenville until the war of 1812, there was no trouble with the Indians on the frontier. During this ,war the Wyandots, Shawnees and Senecas remained friendly to the United States. The deaths of Tecumseh and his brother, The Prophet, and their defeat on the Thames destroyed their power in the northwest forever. Lewis Cass and Duncan McArthur, as commissioners of the United States, on the one part, and the sachems, chiefs and warriors of the Wyandots, Senecas, Delawares, Shawnees, Potawatomies, Ottawas and Chippewas, on the other part, held at the foot of the rapids of the Miami, of lake Erie, on the 29th day of September, 1817, a treaty, wherein all the lands of these Indians in Ohio passed over to the United States. At this time there was not a single white settler within the present limits of Seneca. county. At this treaty the United States granted to Takawmadoaw, Captain Harris, Isahowmasaw, Joseph, Tawgyou, Captain Smith, Coffeehouse, Running about and Wipingstick, chiefs of the Seneca tribe, 30,000 acres adjoining the Sandusky river, on the east side, mostly within the present limits of Seneca county. At a subsequent treaty, viz: Sep- LOGAN'S SPEECH - 79 tember 17, 1818, 10,000 acres were added. These 40;000 acres were afterwards known as the Seneca Reservation. Thereupon, this remnant of several tribes of Indians, and mixtures of others, such as Cayugas, Mohawks, Onondagas, Tuscarawas, Wyandots and Oneidas, settled upon this reservation. The Cayugas predominated in number. There was not one full blood Seneca amongst them. The Mingoes were originally Cayugas, and their chief was Logan. After the murder of Logan's family, the Mingoes scattered in bands all over the northwest. Their hunting grounds were along the banks of the Scioto and the Olentangy, and some Seneca chief significantly remarked: "Their children were raised on their backs." They had no particular home. At the time of the treaty they had concentrated along the banks of the. Sandusky, and the testimony of a Seneca chief, who knew Logan-well, proves the fact that Logan spent his last days upon the banks of the Sandusky river. The place where the celebrated speech of Logan was delivered, by an interpreter, sentence by sentence, was under a tree seven miles south of Circleville. Logan had refused to join a commission of peace. Here is the speech: "I appeal to any white man to say if he ever entered Logan's cabin hungry, and he gave him not meat; if he came naked and cold, and I clothed him not. During the last long and bloody war Logan remained idle in his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such was my love for the whites, that my countrymen, as they passed me, said: Logan is the friend of the whites. I had thought of living among you, but for the injuries of one man. Col. Cresap, last spring, in cold blood and unprovoked, murdered all the relations of Logan, not sparing even my women and children. There runs not one drop of my blood in the veins of any living creature. This called on me for revenge. I have sought it; I have killed many; I have fully glutted my vengeance. For my country, I rejoice in the beams of peace. But do not harbor the thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to save his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan?" President Jefferson has written of this powerful address of Logan: "I may challenge the whole orations of Demosthenes and Cicero, and of any more eminent orator, if Europe has furnished •more eminent, to produce a single passage superior to the speech of Logan." The poet Campbell, in "Gertrude, of Wyoming," has thus beautifully versified its sentiments: 80 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. "He, left, of all my tribe, Nor man, nor child, nor thing of living birth; No, not the dog that watched my household hearth Escaped that night of blood upon-our plains. All perished. I alone am left on earth ! To whom not relative nor blood remains— No, not a kindred drop that runs in human veins." The fate of Logan was a very sad one. His last years were melancholy in the extreme. Homeless, childless, friendless—he wandered about, from tribe to tribe, with never a smile, and apparently without a joy. His friends were all dead, his tribe dwindled away, and, in his great dejection, he resorted to the fatal stimulus of strong drink. He was at last murdered by an Indian. Logan was sitting by the camp fire, silently musing, with his blanket over his head, his elbows upon his knees and his head upon his hands. An 'Indian, influenced by some unknown motive of revenge, stealthily approached him from behind and buried his tomahawk in his brain. Thus fell this unfortunate chieftain—the last of his race. CHAPTER IV. COUNCIL WITH INDIANS-HARRISON'S SPEECH-HARRISON AT FORT SENECA -CROGHAN'S DEFENSE OF HARRISON-BLUE JACKET'S PLAN TO ASSASSINATE HARRISON-BLUE JACKET'S DEATH-ARMY ROADS-THOMAS CORWIN-ANECDOTE OF CORWIN-SKETCHES OF JAMES MONTGOMERY AND JAMES T. WORTHINGTON. ABOUT the first of July, 1813, a detachment of men, under the command of Gen. Harrison, erected a stockade upon the west bank of the Sandusky river, within .the present limits of Pleasant township, in this county, to which was given the name of Camp Seneca. It was situated upon a bank, about forty feet above the bed of the river, close .to the old army road, and contained within its enclosure about one and 'one-half acres of ground. It was built nearly in the form of a square, surrounded by pickets of oak timber'a foot in thick-• ness and twelve feet high. Between this spot and the river are several springs of water, one of which was inside of the pickets. On the east side were two rows of pickets, six. feet apart, the space filled with earth. On the south was a single row of pickets. A little beyond this was a deep ravine, between which and the camp an embankment was thrown up, traces of which are still remaining. On the west was a single row of pickets, with a ditch about six feet deep, arid twelve feet,wide. On the north there was also a deep ditch, with an embankment, upon the top of which were placed the pickets. A blockhouse was erected at the southwest corner, sixteen feet high, and about twenty.-five feet square, which has long since passed away. It consisted of large logs, with port-holes for cannon and small arms, and was located in such a manner as to completely command the ditch. There was a projection at the northeast corner, strongly picketed, used, perhaps, as a magazine; and. two, small blockhouses at each of the other corners, with port holes. The spot is one mile south of the northern boundary of Pleasant township, the section line between sections 8 and 9 running through it! There is a deep ravine on the South of the spot. Previous to the building of this camp, in June, 1813, Gen. Harrison - 6 - 82 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. held a council with the chiefs of the friendly Indians, at Franklinton, the Delawares, Wyandots, Shawnees and Senecas being represented. He urged upon them the necessity of taking a decided stand in the war with Great Britain, and say whether they were . in favor of, or against, the United, States; that the President wished no false friends;" that the proposition of Proctor to exchange the Kentucky militia for the tribes friendly with us, indicated that he had received some hint of their willingness to take up the tomahawk against us; that to give the United States a proof of their good disposition, they must remove with their families into the interior, or the warriors must accompany. him in the ensuing campaign, and fight for the United States. To the latter proposition the chiefs and warriors unanimously agreed, and said they had long been anxious for an invitation to fight for the Americans. Tarhee, the oldest Indian in the western country, who represented all the tribes, professed in their name the most indissoluble friendship for the United States. Geri. Harrison then told, them that he would let them know when they would be wanted in the service, and said to them: "But you must conform to our mode of warfare. You are not to kill defenseless prisoners, old men, women or children." He added, that by their conduct he would be able to tell whether the British would restrain the Indians from such horrible cruelty. For, if the Indians fighting with him would forbear such conduct, it would prove that the British could also restrain theirs if they wished, to do so. He humorously told them that he had been informed of Gen. Proctor's promise to deliver him into the hands of Tecumseh, to he treated as that warrior might see fit, provided he, Proctor, succeeded at Fort Meigs. "Now, if I can succeed in taking Proctor, you shall have him for your prisoner, provided you will agree to treat him as a squaw, and only put petticoats upon him; for he must be a coward who would kill a defenseless prisoner."   There can be no doubt of that arrangement between Proctor and Tecumseh, for the latter sought for revenge since the .battle of Tippecanoe. "Tecumseh insisted and Proctor agreed," says Dawson, "that Gen. Harrison and all who fought at Tippecanoe should be given up to the Indians to be burned." Major Ball ascertained the same facts from prisoners, deserters and Indians. And this, also, proves the other fact: That Tecumseh had intended to violate his promise made to Harrison at Vincennes. In the same month, and while still at Franklinton, Gen. Harrison Was informed of the movement of Proctor upon Fort Meigs. started with re-enforcements, and having learned that it was a false HARRISON AT FORT SENECA - 83 alarm, returned to. Lower Sandusky, on the first of. July. On the following day he set out for Cleveland to see after public stores, and the building of boats to transport the army across the lake. When Gen. Harrison returned to Lower Sandusky, and being informed that a large body of Indians had been seen passing Fort Meigs, he concluded that it was only a feint, and that the real object of the enemy was to surprise. Fort 'Stephenson or Cleveland. He immediately removed his headquarters to Fort Seneca, nine miles above Lower Sandusky. From this place he could fall back and protect Upper Sandusky, or pass by a secret route to the relief of Fort. Meigs, if necessary—two points to be defended—Lower Sandusky being of comparatively little consequence. Major Croghan was left, as already stated, at Fort Stephenson, with one hundred and sixty men. There were then about six hundred troops at Fort Seneca, a force too small to assist Fort Meigs. Gen. Harrison's anticipations. proved to be correct. The enemy moved upon Fort Stephenson. Gen. Harrison, as early as. the 21st of April, in a letter to the Secretary of War, speaking of the operations of the campaign, with his usual and wonderful sagacity, remarked: "I shall cause the movement of the enemy to be narrowly watched; but in the event of their landing at Lower Sandusky, that post can not be saved. I will direct it, in such an event, to be evacuated. The stores there are' not of much consequence, excepting about five hundred stand of arms, which I shall cause to be removed as soon as the roads are practicable; at present, it is impossible." These arms were subsequently, and before the battle, taken away. Gen. Harrison' was fully convinced that Fort Stephenson could not be defended against heavy artillery, and the fort must be abandoned and burned, provided a retreat could be effected with safety. The orders left for Major Croghan, stated: "Should the British troops approach you in force, with cannon, and you can discover them in time to effect a retreat, you will do so immediately, destroying all the public stores. You must be aware that the. attempt to retreat in the face of an Indian force, would be vain. Against such an enemy your garrison would, be safe, however great the number." To show that Gen. Harrison's opinion as to the safety of Fort Stephenson was proper, it should be remembered that at a council of war, composed of McArthur, Cass, Ball, Paul, Wood, Hukill, Holmes and Graham, it was the unanimous opinion that the fort could not be held against heavy artillery; that the post was relatively unimportant; that the garrison should not be re-enforced, but withdrawn, and the place 84 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. destroyed. Thereupon, and immediately, the order was despatched to Croghan to leave, as already stated. In addition to what has already been said of the battle of Fort Stephenson, and Gen. Harrison's relation thereto, it should be remembered that there were only about 800 troops al Fort Seneca. 'One-fifth of these were Cavalry and the remainder raw militia. To have marched upon an enemy five times.their number, with these troops, would, in all human probability, have resulted in disaster. There were then, also, one hundred and fifty-Six. soldiers at Fort' Stephenson; and to leave these to the mercy of the tomahawks, was a responsibility that no military leader of the capacity of Gen. Harrison, Would overlook. In addition to all this, Gen. HarrisQn had every reason to .believe that Tecumseh, with .his following; were making for Fort Stephenson. The). were then lying in the swamp between that point an Fort Meigs, 2,000 strong, ready to strike upon either camp—Upper Sandusky or Fort Seneca-- the moment it should be ascertained that Harrison had moved to the relief of Fort Stephenson. Under all these circumstances' he was bound, by every military principle, to retain that position in which he could, with the greatest certainty, accomplish the best. result. He' therefore determined to wait for a time the progress of events, hoping, that reenforcements would arrive before the fort could be reduced. On the night Of the second of August, he was informed of the retreat of the enemy, and reenforcements having arrived before morning, he set out with 300 militia for the fort, attended by dragoons, and ordered the remainder of the disposable foree, under Gens. Cass and McArthur, to follow. Upon reaching the fort, Harrison was informed that Tecumseh wa. in the swamp south of Fort Meigs, ready to make' for Upper Sandusky on the first opportunity. He thereupon directed Gen. McArthur, who. had nOt yet arrived, to return to Camp Seneca with all possible speed. Gen. Harrison, in his official report, said: "It will not be among the least of Gen. Proctor's mortifications to find that he has been baffled by a youth who has just passed his twenty-first year. He is, however, a hero worthy of his gallant uncle, George R. Clark." . President Madison immediately conferred the brevet rank of Lieutenant-Colonel on Major Croghan. Shortly after an attack was made on Gen. Harrison in some public prints, as to his conduct in the defense of Fort Stephenson, to which Major Croghan promptly replied, by forwarding to a newspaper in Cincinnati a communication dated Lower Sandusky, August 27, 1813, in which he gives the true reasons for disobeying Gen. Harrison's CROGHAN'S DEFENSE OF HARRISON - 85 orders to destroy the fort, etc., and says: "I have with much regret seen in some of the public prints such misrepresentations respecting . my refusal to evacuate •this post, as are calculated not only to injure me in the estimation of military men, but also to excite unfavorable impressions as to the propriety of Gen. Harrison's conduct relative to this affair. His character as a military man is too well established to need my approbation or support. But his public services entitle him at least .to common justice. This affair does not furnish cause for reproach. If public opinion has been lately misled respecting his conduct it will require but a moment's cool, dispassionate reflection, to convince them of its propriety. The measures recently adopted by him, so far from descrying censure, are the clear proofs of his keen penetration and able generalship." The letter concludes with the following paragraph, alike honorable to the soldier and gentleman: "It would be insincere to say that I am not flattered by the many handsome things which have been said about the defense which was made by the troops under my command; but I desire no plaudits which are bestowed upon me at the expense of Gen. Harrison. I have, at all times, enjoyed his confidence so far as my rank in the arrny entitled me to it, and on proper occasions received his marked attention. I have felt the warmest attachment for him as a man, and my confidence. in him as an able commander remains unshaken. I feel every assurance that he will. at all times do me ample justice; and nothing could give me more pain than to see his enemies seize upon this occasion to deal out their unfriendly feelings and acrimonious dislike. And as long as he continues (as in my humble opinion he has hitherto done) to make the wisest arrangements, and most judicious disposition which the forces under his command will justify, I shall not hesitate to unite with the army in bestowing upon him that confidence which he so richly merits, and which has on no occasion been withheld." Whoever now lives to remember the, ever memorable presidential, campaign of 1840, with all its attending circumstances and displays, too tedious to enumerate, will also remember the heat of passion and excesses of party strife exhibited on both sides. Something of it may be recorded in other pages. I, desire here only to express my great regret to know that in American politics the personal character of the opposing candidate, and his personal feelings, and his pride, seem to have nothing in them that his political enemies should regard as sacred. The candidate on the other side, for any office, high or low, is regarded as public property, and every political enemy has full license to assail 86 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. him at his pleasure. For a proud and intelligent people, in the choice of men for officers, to resort to all manner of personal vituperation and abuse of opposing candidates, and to assail, blacken, traduce, and ruin, if possible, by all manner of means, characters. that may be as fair and honorable as those of the best of men, and simply to win at the polls, is a, crime against good breeding, against common justice, against good morals, and against ordinary decency. The ladies of Chillicothe had a right to present Col. Croghan with a splendid sword if they saw fit so to do and to make him a nice speech—certainly they had. But to have it said that they presented Gen. Harrison with a petticoat, and have that paraphernalia painted on transparencies and carried through the streets in democratic processions to turn to ridicule the valuable seivices of an able, high, minded and patriotic citizen and soldier like Gen. Harrison, seemed very wrong to me then, young as I was, and the impression sticks to me still. It seemed equally wicked to paint Martin VanBuren on transparencies with the sword in one hand and the purse in the other, to make people believe that the Little Fox of Lindenwald would usurp and destroy free government. And to cap the climax of this manner of political warfare, after a candidate has been abused and vilified to the hearts' content of his opponents, and is elected withal, nevertheless, then not only quietly submit to the administration of the duties of his office, but to shake hands with him and congratulate him upon his success ! Such things can be done only in America. While Gen. Harrison was at Ca.mp Seneca he narrowly escaped. being murdered by an Indian: The reader will remember that the Delawares, Shawnees, Wyandots. and Senecas had been invited to join the army under .Harrison against the British and. their Indian allies.' Quite a number of them had accepted the invitation, and had reached Fort Seneca before the arrival of the Kentucky troops. Before, the departure of these friendly Indians from their respective towns, an unfriendly Indian had insinuated himself into the good graces of the chiefs under pretense of friendship for the Americans, but With the intention of killing the commanding general. He was a Shawnees, and was known by the name of Blue jacket, but was not the celebrated Blue Jacket who signed the treaty, of Greenville with General Wayne. He had formerly lived at the Indian town of Wapakoneta. He had been absent from his tribe some time, and had returned but a few days before the warriors of that town had set out to join the American army. He informed, the chiefs that he had been hunting on the Wabash, .and at his own request was permitted to join the party that was now BLUE JACKET AND BEAVER - 87 getting ready to march to Fort Seneca. Upon their arrival at McArthur's blockhouse; they halted and encamped for the purpose of receiving provisions from the deputy Indian agent, Col. McPherson, who resided there. Before their arrival at that place, Blue Jacket had communicated to a friend of his, a Shawnees warrior, his intention to kill the American general, and requested his assistance. This' his friend declined, and endeavored to dissuade him from attempting it, assuring .him ihat it could not be done without the certain loss of his own life, as he had been at the American camp, and knew that there was always a guard around the General's quarters, who were on duty day and night. Blue jacket replied that he was determined to execute his intention at any risk, and said: "I will kill the General, even if. I was sure that the guard will cut me into pieces no bigger than my thumb-nail." No people ori earth are More faithful in keeping a secret tban the Indians, but each warrior has a friend from whom he will. conceal nothing. It was the good fortune of Gen. Harrison that the friend and confidant of Blue Jacket was a young Delaware chief by the name of Beaver, who was also bound to the General by ties of friendship. He was the son of a Delaware war chief of the same name, who had, with others, been put to death by his own tribe, on the charge of practicing sorcery. Gen. Harrison had been on terms of friendship with his father, and had patronized his orphan boy, at that time some ten or twelve years of age. He had now arrived at manhood, and was considered among the most promising warriors of his tribe. To this young chief the friend of Blue jacket revealed tile fatal secret. The Beaver was placed, by this communication, in an embarrassing situation; for, should he disclose what he had heard and been entrusted with, he b,etrayed his friend, than which nothing could be more repugnant to the principles of .an Indian warrior. Should he not disclose it, consequences equal, or even more to be deprecated, were likely to ensue,. The assassination of a friend—his father's friend—whose life he was bound to save and defend, or whose death to avenge, by the same principle of fidelity and honor which forbid the disclosure. " While in this state of meditation and hesitation, the young Delaware being undecided as to which of these conflicting duties was the strongest, Blue Jacket came up to the Delaware camp somewhat intoxicated, vociferating vengeance, upon Col. McPherson, who had Just turned him out of his house, and whom. he declared he would kill for this insult. The sight of the traitor raised the indignation and resent- 88 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. ment of the Beaver to the highest pitch. He seized his tomahawk, and advancing towards the villain, said to him: "You must be a great Warrior; you will not only kill this white man for treating You as you deserve, but you will also murder our father, the American chief, and bring disgrace and mischief upon us all. But you shall do neither; I will serve you as I would a mad dog." A furious blow from the tomahawk of the Beaver stretched the unfortunate Blue Jacket at his feet, and a second finished him. "There," said Beaver, to some Shawnees, who were present, "take him to the camp of his tribe and tell them who has done "the deed." The Shawnees approved of the act, and were pleased to have escaped the ignominy which 'the villainy of Blue Jacket would have brought upon them It is impossible to say what was the motive of Blue Jacket to attempt the life of Gen. Harrison. He was not one of the Tippecanoe Shaw-nees, and therefore could have no personal resentment, or cause for . malice, against the General. There is but little doubt that Blue Jacket came from Malden, under British influence, when he arrived at Wapakoneta, and that he came for the express purpose to assassinate Gen. Harrison; but whether he was instigated or hired by any person or conceived the idea himself, has never been ascertained. The country west of the Sandusky river was not only a dense forest, but also a vast swamp, in which the Indians themselves found. no spots suitable to build their wigwams. Tliis great swamp was the country of the Wolfcreeks—sluggish streams that come together near the mouth where Wolfcreek proper enters the Sandusky river in Ballville township, Sandusky county. There were no Indian trails' through this swale. These followed the banks of the river on both sides, from. the headwaters of the Sandusky to the mouth. Along these trails they built their towns, and the army road, niade and opened in the late war, under the direction of Gen. Harrison, following the left bank of the river on high ground wherever practicable, and without any line of survey. There was another army road from Delaware to Fort Seneca, on the east side of the river. Along this road Fort Seneca and Fort Stephenson were supplied with 'provisions. And right here, before proceeding any further in this narrative, it may be asked. "What in this world can possibly be said of the history of a part of our county that was once a dense forest and a dead swamp? What historic events can be connected with the bard work requisite to reduce both forest and swale, and enable the pioneer farmer to raise his bread and support his family?" THOMAS CORWIN - 89 This question arises very naturally, and it must be admitted that, while no great battles were fought within the boundaries of Seneca; while it can not boast of a Lexington, a Bunker Hill or a Yorktown; while it was not the birthplace of, any person whose name has adorned general history, yet it will be admitted that men of not only state, but of. national notoriety, and whose names have adorned not only the history of our state, but also that of the general government, were identified with events that transpired within her borders, and a history of Seneca county without a relation of the movements of Gen. Harrison along this valley would be nothing but a fraction of what it should be. There was also another character identified . with Fort Seneca. It was "Tom, the wagon-boy," as he was then familiarly called. Let us see who he was. Mathias Corwin, in 1798, settled in what is now Warren county, and which was then as complete a wilderness as Seneca in 1820 and the school houses and opportunities for education were also of a like character. He had a son by the name of Thomas, who, in 1812, when the war broke out, was about fifteen years of age. Our unnatural enemies Were stimulating. the avag;es all along o'ur northern frontier to kill, burn and destroy. Gen. Hull had made his disastrous surrender at Detroit. All plans of the War Department in the northwest were thus deranged. Our soldiers, unsupplied with food,were in danger of starvation. In this emergency, Judge Corwin determined to send a team to the extreme frontier, loaded with supplies for the suffering troops. His son Thomas drove the team. He came by the Delaware army road to Fort Seneca, with the load, while Gen. Harrison was there. This trip attached to him the name of "Tom, the wagon-boy,". for life. He became highly popular with the people of Ohio in after years, and won honors at the bar, in the legislature of the state, in the council of the general government as Senator from Ohio. He was Governor of Ohio, and Secretary of the Treasury under the administration of Mr. Fillmore. In 1861, President Lincoln appointed Mr. Corwin Minister to Mexico. He aied in the City of Washington, on the 18th day of December, 1865. Mr. Corwin was a fines specimen of a self-made min. He was, recognized by friend and foe as a man of strict notions of honor, an able lawyer, a great statesman, and an orator of the first order. He could hold a crowd as by magic, and his anecdotes, accompanied with his unsurpassable grimaces and applications, were irresistible in their effect. Mr. Corwin was a man about five feet nine inches high, very compactly built, muscular and fleshy, with strong features, dark eyes, high 90 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. forehead, black hair, short neck and of very dark complexion. He was gentle, social, kind. The writer was present one time when a company of gentlemen met at the old American house in Columbus, and heard Gov. Wood tell a good joke on Mr. Corwin in his, presence. Gov. Wood said: "A few years ago, in the, winter, while Mr. Corwin was in Columbus attending to business in the United States District Court, the mulattoes in Columbus had a dance, and had given notice that none but pure mulattoes would be admitted. One of Mr. Corwin's friends offered small bet that he (Mr. Corwin) could not get, in to see the dance because he was too dark for a mulatto. Mr. Corwin accepted the bet, and, dressing himself in the best manner he could to deceive the door keeper, put a hat with a very wide rim on his head, and the party started for the ball. Mr. Corwin presented his ticket, and the mulatto door keeper lifted up the rim of Mr. Corwin's hat, and said: Can't get in heah, Massa—one shade too dark;' and Mr. Corwin lost the bet." The Senecas took possession of their lands soon after the treaty, and began to build cabins and open little clearings around them. By virtue of the treaty, the United States were obliged to establish an agency near the :reservation, to provide for their wants, and in every way to assist in carrying into effect the conditions of the treaty. The Rev. James Montgomery was appointed agent for the Senecas. On the 19th day of November, 1819, he moved with his family into the old blockhouse of the fort, and immediately took charge of his office. Mr. Montgomery was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, November 20, 1776. He finished his education in Pittsburgh, and when he was seventeen years old, moved with his widowed mother to the state of Kentucky. His father died in the revolutionary war in Johnstown, New Jersey, of camp fever. The widow and her children settled on one of those celebrated "tomahawk claims" in Kentucky, and which, as fa matter of course, became involved in litigation, which was usual, and lost. Mr. Montgomery married a Miss Kaziah Rouse, and in 1806 moved into Champaign county, Ohio, and located. eight „miles east of Urbana. He preached through that county as a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In the year 1812, he moved with his family to Springfield, Ohio, and while there he was appointed by Gov. Meigs commissary for the army. After the war he moved back to Champaign county, and while there, received his appointment flour the president as agent for the Seneca Indians. The family lived in the old blockhouse seven years, when he built a large cabin close by, where he afterwards lived with his family to the time of his death, which JAMES MONTGOMERY-JAMES T. WORTHINGTON -91 occurred on the is day of June, 1830. During his residence here, whenever the duties of his office as Indian agent would admit of it, he attended to his ministerial duties, and became generally respected and beloved by all who had an opportunity to enjoy his acquaintance. He was possessed of a noble, manly character, kind, generous and hospitable. His house became the headquarters for traders. The latch string of his door was always out. Ministers, lawyers, surveyors, Indians and whites made Mr. Montgomery's house a stopping place. The Indians called him Kuckoo-wassa—new acorn. He was but fifty-four years old when he died. The Rev.. Ezechiel Cooper a Methodist Episcopal preacher, preached his funeral sermon from the text:— "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." All the chiefs and braves of the Senecas attended his funeral. He was buried in the old cemetery near the fort. He had eleven children—two sons and nine daughters. Mr. William Montgomery, who was afterwards extensively engaged in the mercantile business in Tiffin, was his oldest son. Mrs. Sally Ingham, who now resides in the city of Tiffin, is the only surviving 'member of that large. family. Mr. Montgomery was. about five feet six inches high, strong and compactly built, without being corpulent. His carriage was straight and erect. He had black hair and eyebrows, dark eyes, prominent nose, smooth forehead, rather heavy lower jaw, clenched lips, a frank and open, countenance, which; together, would mark him, not only as a man of great decision, but also as a leader in any capacity. He had a clear, strong voice, fine control of language, and was altogether practical in his orthodoxy. His conversation was cheerful, humorous and instructive. He was the kind neighbor, affectionate husband and father, an honest officer, and a blessing to all around him. Shortly before his removal to Fort. Seneca, he was ordained by Bishop Asbury, in Lebanon, Warren county, Ohio, in 1819. Among the many visitors at the old blockhouse was Mr. James T. Worthington, who was employed by the government to survey several of the townships in Seneca county into sections and quarter-sections. Mr. Worthington often stopped at Montgomery's for meals. He was then a young man, about twenty-three years old, about five feet eight inches high, slender built, with light brown hair, brushed back and over the left side, of fair complexion, grey eyes, expressive, intellectual Countenance, pleasing in conversation, gentlemanly in his bearing, and very good looking. His grey linsey-woolsey Indian hunting shirt, with cape and fringe, became him very. much: He was a son of Governor Worthington, of Ohio. 92 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. The early emigrants to the valley of the Sandusky were compelled to make their way through forest and swamp as best they could. They had to follow old army roads, or Indian trails, fording streams, and winding through the woods for hours and days by blazed trees. There was no bridge across any stream in the whole valley of the river—nor could a house or cabin be found to stop at. They had to camp out, and sleep in the wagon, or on the ground, with no roof but the trees, or the broad canopy of heaven. When Mr. Montgomery moved into the old fort, there was no bridge between Urbana and Lower Sandusky. When the writer came to Seneca, in 1833, there was no bridge ip the county. Neighbors on opposite sides of streams, made a way to get across by falling a tree across and walking over the log. In the years 1819 and 1820, there were but five families of white people living between Fort Seneca and Fort Ball. These were the Dumonds, William Harris, Abner Pike, (who had a cabin near the place where Ezra Baker afterwards built.a frame house near the mills,) an old mah by the name of McNutt, and widow Shippy. "Beniamin Barney, Anson Gray and Joel Chapin also arrived about that time. Anson Gray afterwards married one of the Harris girls—Jane. The farm, about one mile south of tile present town of Fort Seneca, which was afterwards owned by the Rev. J. J. Beilhars, of the German , Lutheran church, and where he died, was bought at the land sales, by Anson Gray. In .after years Gray moved with his family to Illinois. In 1820, old Mr. McNutt lived in a log cabin at a place that afterwards became familiarly known as the "Wright farm.” Here McNutt cleared some land. The cabin was built for a school house, and was the first school house built in the Sandusky valley. "The Barney Boys," as they were familiarly called, afterwards lived with Joel Chapin, in the same house. Afterwards, Lorenzo Abbott and Joel: Chapin and their families lived in the same house. They had rented the place, and had about thirty-five acres cleared and under fence. The widow Shippy also lived on the Wright faun, in a cabin near the school house. Three brothers: Willard, Francis and: Ezra Sprague, lived in a cabin on the farm that is now known as the Gangwer place. Ezra afterwards lived with a family by the name of Downing. Most all of these first cabins were built in the woods, without regard to section lines, roads, or anything else, except to get to some neighbor, if possible, and with a view of buying the lands at the sales, or entering them at the land office after the sales. Several of these cabins were built by the. Indians EARLY SETTLERS - 93 before they moved together on to their reservation to the east of the river. Other settlers that came on afterwards occupied the cabins on the west side of the river that the Senecas had abandoned. In these cabins' the early settler§ made themselves as .comfortable as they could while they waited for the time of .the land sales. There were no cabins any distance west and from the river, and but two more between the fort and Lower Sandusky. A Mr. Wilson lived in a cabin at a place that afterwards became known as the Frank Abbott farm. Caleb Rice lived in a cabin on the farm now owned by Mr. William Montgomery. Daniel Rice; who married Ann Barney, was the first justice of the peace in that neighborhood. He was a, brother of, Caleb Rice, and his widow is still living with her son, north of Clyde, in Sandusky county. CHAPTER V SPEECH OF ISAAC I. DUMOND BEFORE THE SENECA PIONEER ASSOCIATION -SAMUEL CROWELL'S CONTRIBUTION-THE DOG-DANCE-SOW-DOWS-KY. ON THE 22d day of February, 1869, being the anniversary of the birth of George Washington, in conformity to a call previously issued, a large number of the pioneers of Seneca. county met at the court house in .Tiffin, to organize a Pioneer Association. At one of the subsequent meetings, February 22, 1871, Mr. Isaac I. Dumond, one of the first settlers near the west bank of the river, in Pleasant township, read a paper before the Association, which is given below in full. '[he further proceeding's of the Association, of general interest, will be referred to hereafter. Mr. Dumond said:  LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:-My father, moved with his family to what was then called "The New Purchase," on the Sandusky river, in 1821. which time I was in my twentieth year. We found the entire country .a wilderness, with no other than the rude improvements made by the Indians. There was but one public road known as a highway in all the region of the country designated as the new purchase, which was opened in the fall of 1820, and ran on the east side of the Sandusky river, north and south, then known and still continuing as the Marion State Road.  My father settled in what is now Pleasant township, in this county, where, for a time, we had to encounter many difficulties. During a part of the year the roads were almost impassable, by reason of the mud mixed with the branch roots. During the summer, mosquitoes and: house-flies gave us a degree of trouble that none can realize, except from experience. The flies would gather on a horse in such quantities that a single grab would fill a man's hand. The Massasaugar, or prairie rattle-snake, was another unpleasant enemy, which appeared in great numbers. I killed five in cutting a small piece of oats; but to my knowledge, no one ever suffered from them. At that time there were few families living along the entire route from Tymochtee (which name means, in the Indian language, "the stream around the plains") to Lower Sandusky. We had few mechanics; but the one Most needful was a blacksmith, which we found in Leroy Cresey, at Fort Ball. Dr. Brainard was the only physician in the neighborhood, and his practice extended from Lower Sandusky, his place of residence, to Tymochtee. Throughout the entire settlement there was not a lawyer to be found. SPEECH OF ISAAC I. DUMOND - 95 The only minister we had was the Rev. James Montgomery, of the M. E. church. Jesse and George Omsted had our only store between Delaware and Lower Sandusky. There was considerable travel during the Spring and early summer of 1821, by men in search of land, till August, when the land sale occurred. Our greatest privation was want of mills. Our nearest mill was at Cold creek, about twenty-four miles distant, and without a direct road leading to it. The difficulties in some cases were very trying. For example: Mr. Barney and Daniel Rice arranged for a trip to mill, each with a team of oxen and wagon. As they had to cross the river, the grain was hauled there, unloaded and 'ferried across; then the wagon ferried over, and afterwards the team swam .over, when they could reload, hitch and proceed. This was in April, 1821. After having their grain ground, and on their homeward route, they were overtaken by a snow storm. The snow was damp, and fell to the depth of a foot, rendering the road almost impassable, and so weighed the bushes down over them, that they were compelled to abandon their wagons, and with much difficulty succeeded in reaching home with their oxen. Although the year 1821 was a trying one, it had secured to many a sufficient amount of land to afford a home for the future, and to encourage us. We had an abundant crop. Many of the people had acted as squatters. The Indians, who had formerly lived on the west side of the river, had removed to their reservation on the east side,. and abandoned their old homes and houses, which were appropriated by the white settlers, and held until they wished to go, or were displaced by a deed from Uncle. Sam, conveying the same to somebody else. The settlement was weak in 1821, and .to raise a log-cabin, the neighbors were often summoned from places five or six miles distant. Of those who came previous to the land sales, some suffered from sickness,. and, becoming discouraged, left, and others died; but immediately after the land sales the population steadily increased, and in 1823, Mr. Rumley built a mill on Green creek, and soon after, Mr. Moore built a mill on the Sandusky river, in order to supply the increased demand, which greatly diminished the inconvenience we had all experienced. The early settlers were in the majority; rough, but generous, whole-souled and kind towards one another, and ever ready to lend a helping hand to the needy. The use of intoxicating drinks was our greatest evil. Some would get on sprees, and after taking much whisky, would form a ring, and with bells, horns, tin pans, log chains, or any noisy instrument, engage in a hideous dance, sing, and give Indian war-whoops. Such a state of society was not the rule entirely; however, and was wholly displaced in a short time by the ingress of more refined people, who controlled the moral standard of the neighborhood. That enemy of civilization—whisky—was hard to subdue, however. This is always the case. I remember when farmers would trade a bushel of corn for five quarts of whisky, and this was as necessary for harvest as provisions. In the fall of 1824, the first general muster of the militia took place at 96 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY Fort Seneca. The regiment numbered about 400 men, under Gen. Rumley and Col. J. B. Cooley, who gathered from over the country between Cold creek and Tymochtee, many having to camp out in' order to reach the fort iu time: A considerable trade was carried on between the southern portion of the state, after the close of the war of 1812, and Lower Sandusky and Sandusky City. Teams came loaded with flour, bacon and whisky, and returned with fish or, merchant goods, which were sold at Urbana, Springfield and Dayton. The Indian tribes here at the time of the first settlement by the whites, were the Senecas, Cayugas, Mohawks and Oneidas. The Seneca—the most numerous—and Cayugas occupied the lower part, and the Oneidas and Mohawks the upper part of the reservation, which was nine miles north and south, and six miles east and west, on the east side of the Sandusky river. The land was held in joint stock, and each had the privilege of making improvements, as he wished. They numbered several hundred, and were not bad in general character, but friendly and kind when well treated and not maddened' hy whisky, for which they had a strong passion. I have known them to offer two or three dollars' worth of goods for a quart of whisky; and, when intoxicated, would give anything they possessed for it. They depended largely upon hunting for subsistence, in which, when children, they commenced by shooting fish and small game with the bow. Most of the Indians and squaws cultivated each a small piece of land, varying from a half to two acres, which they formerly did with a hoe; but seeing us use the plow, and the amount of labor saved thereby, they concluded to abandon the custom of their fathers. Seeing two Indians plowing on the opposite side of the river one day, I crossed over and discovered them going the wrong way over the land, throwing the furrows in, and next time running inside of it, and then another, which they thought very well, until I turned them the other way, and gave a little instruction, which they thankfully received. They raised a soft corn, which they pounded into meal and used to thicken soup. They had much idle time, which they all liked—the children spending it in shooting, the old people smoking from the pipes made in the heads of the tomahawks, with an adjustable handle for a stem. They smoked the sumac leaves, dried and pounded, which gave a pleasant odor. The young Indians had a love for sports. 'Their chief summer game was ball—a' game in which ten or twelve to a side engaged, the ground being marked off in a space of about sixty rods, the center of which was the starting point. Each player. had a staff some five feet long, with a bow made of iraw hide on one end, with which to handle the ball, as no one was allowed to touch it with his hands. At the commencement, the ball was taken to the center and placed between two of the staffs, each pulling toward his outpost. Then the strife began to get the ball beyond the outpost by every one, the success in which counted one for the victor, when the ball was taken tothe center again and a new contest began. The squaw and older Indians constituted the witnesses to these sports, and added est by their cheers. The favorite winter sport was running upon skates:. They would spread SPEECH OF ISAAC I. DUMOND - 97 blanket on the ice and jump over it with skates on, trying to excel in the distance made beyond. Another favorite sport was to throw upon the snow, to run the greatest distance, snow snakes made of hickory wood, about five feet long, one and one-half inches wide, one inch thick, turned up at the point like a snake's head, and painted black. The Mohawks and Oneidas had some very well educated people, and most of their. tribes could read and write. They had religious services every Sabbath in the form of the, Church of England, held by a minister of their own tribe. They were excellent singers, and often attracted the whites to their religious exercises, which pleased them very highly. The Senecas and Cayugas were more inclined to adhere to the custom of their forefathers. They held in reverence many gatherings. The green corn dance was prominent among them, but that most worthy of note was the dog dance. This was the great dance, which took place about mid-winter, and lasted three days, at the close of which they burnt their dogs. Great preparations were made for this festival. Provisions in great abundance were collected to constitute a common store, from which all were fed. The two dogs were selected, often, months in advance, well fed and made fat. They were as near alike as possible, and white, with yellow spots. When the time for the festival arrived, the dogs were killed—but in what way I never learned—washed clean as possible, trimmed with pink ribbons about the neck, each legand foot, and about the tail. After the hairs over the entire body were carefully smoothed down, they were hung up by the neck to the arm of a post, similar to a sign post, where they remained through the services. The dance was held at the council-house, which was built of logs, about twenty feet wide and seventy-five feet long, with three holes in the roof to allow the smoke to escape. At these places fires were kept burning during the season, over which were suspended brass kettles containing provisions. At this time, strong as was their appetite for whisky, none was allowed on the premises, and any intoxicated perspn appearing was sent off at once. All things being ready, their war dance began, which was participated in by.none but those fit for the service of the warriors. Blue Jacket led the band. Each dancer carried a war-club in his right hand, and had ped to each leg a string of deer hoofs, which rattled at every step. The object was to assist in keeping time to the music, which consisted of an Indian sing-song, and the beating with a stick on a dry skin stretched over a hominy block. When the music commenced, Blue Jacket would step out and walk around the fire, exerting himself to display some warriors’ exploits. About the second round, others would fall in, and continue until the ring around the fire was full, all moving with their faces. toward the fire, until they came to some change in the music, when they would turn their faces outward, and at another change trail in single file, all the while keeping time to the music. While the Indians were tints engaged, the, squaws formed another ring around another fire, but moved very slow. They would tip on their heels and toes, alternately, and endeavored to move with the music. At meal time all were seated with wooden bowls and ladles, when they - 7 - 98 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. were served by those appointed, until all were satisfied. Then all were quietly awaiting the next scene. Soon a rumbling noise was heard at the door in one end of the house. This startled the squaws and children, who then ran to the other end of the house Then the door flew open, and an Indian came in, dressed in bear skin, and skins of some other animals. He wore a false face, and carrying a dry turtle shell filled with stones, he would throw that about. This, added to his low, growling voice, and menaeing ways with his head, made a frightful object. Almost immediately thereafter the door at the other end of the house would open and a similar character enter, and soon another drop from the roof, who, striking his hands, proceeded to throw live coals and embers in every direction among the rushing crowd. After this performance these demons, as they were represented to be, contested in a foot race. At the end of the third day, they burnt the dogs. Although much mirth was indulged in, there was a sort of solemnity maintained. throughout the entire services. So far, Mr. Dumond. Although Mr. Dumond had not the advantages of an education, having spent his boyhood days on a farm, and in the forest, it must be admitted that his recollections of early days are set forth in a clear and interestipg style. The people of Seneca county will, in all human probability, never have an opportunity to witness scenes of a like character, and the county being named after these savages, a further relation of incidents connected with their stay on the reservation will not be deemed out of place here. The following is taken from Butterfield's history, who copied from the Sidney Aurora: More than half of the present township of Adams, and so much of Pleasant township as lies east of the Sandusky river, together with a portion of Clinton and Scipio townships, formerly belonged to the Seneca Indians. But as we have given a geographical description of most of what was their grant of land, we proceed to a more minute account of that nation, and we can not better introduce this subject than by giving the following, from the scrap-book of Samuel Crowell, of Lower Sandusky, which was published in the Sidney Aurora, in as it relates some interesting facts relative to this nation, but particularly, as it describes their famous chief, "Hard Hickory." Says the writer: The Senecas who roamed these Wilds In ages long by gone, Are now rejoicing in the chase, Towards the setting sun. Their sacrifices offered up, And Deity appeased, Their Fatherland they left in peace, With their exchange well pleased. SAMUEL CROWELL'S CONTRIBUTION - 99 On the first day of February, some fourteen years ago, I witnessed an interesting, and to me, a novel, religious ceremony of the Seneca tribes of Indians; then occupying the portion of territory now comprising a part of Seneca and Sandusky counties, Ohio, familiarly known to the inhabitants of this region as the Seneca Reservation. The fact that this nation had recently ceded this reserve to the United States, and were about to commemorate, for the last time in this country, this annual festival, previous to their emigration to the Rocky mountains, contributed not a little to add to. it an unusual degree of interest. To those acquainted with the characteristics of the red men, it is unnecessary to remark that there is a reservedness attached to them peculiarly their own; but especially, when about to celebrate this annual festival, they seem, so far, at least, as the pale-faces are concerned, to shroud their design in impenetrable secrecy. And the festival of which I now speak might have been, as many others of a similar character were, observed by themselves with due solemnity, and without the knowledge or interference of their white neighbors,.but that the general poverty and reckless improvidence of the Senecas were proverbial, and those were the causes which awakened the suspicions of the inquisitive Yankees. In order, therefore, that the approaching festival, as it was intended to be the last of those observances here, should not lack in anything necessary to make it imposing, and impress a permanent recollection of Sandusky on the. minds of their rising race, no effort was spared, and no fatigue regarded, that would tend to promote this object. Thus, for some time previous to the period of which I am now speaking, by the unerring aim of the Seneca rifle, the antlers, with the body of many a tall and stately buck, fell prostrate. And in crowds the Indians now came into Lower Sandusky, with their venison and their skins; and the squaws, with their painted baskets and moccasins, not, as heretofore, to barter for necessaries, but chiefly for ornaments. * * * * * * * The principal headmen, or chiefs, were Good Minter, Hard Hickory and .Tall Chief. There were also some "sub," or half-chiefs; among those of the latter rank, Benjamin F. Warner, a white, or half-breed, had considerable, influence. This Warner was a white man, and had previously been a fireman . on a steamboat that plied between Buffalo and Green Bay. On one of the downward trips he persuaded. an Indian woman who was traveling to New York to elope with him. They came to the Seneca nation and. were adopted by them. In this as in other nations, civilized as well as savage, though there may be several men of apparent equal rank, yet there is usually one, who, either by artificial or universally acknowledged, talent, directs, in a great measure, tile destinies of the nation, and such, among the Senecas, was Hard Hickory. [And yet they killed him for robbing them, as. we shall hereafter' see.— AUTHOR.] And, as in the mind of man there is something intuitive. better known