History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 49

Author: John F. Haines
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051

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PURSUIT OF THE FUGITIVES.

When it was discovered by John's master that John and his family were missing, the man immediately knew the slaves had run away. All was confusion at the old house. Though the family was missing. no one knew what direction they had taken. A vigorous search and diligent inquiry was set about, but without success. In this way considerable time was lost to

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the master but gained by the runaways. Finally the master resorted to the bloodhounds. When some dogs were procured the search began in earnest. The dogs took the trail and several times were close upon the fugitives. Thus the race went on to the Mississippi river. John and his little family in the meantime were straining every effort to get to the river and across it before the hounds and men came upon them. At last John reached the broad "Father of Waters." Knowing there was no time to lose, he hastily con- structed a rude raft, made from logs and poles cut from the brush along the banks of the river. These he fastened together with hickory bark and small saplings. At last the rude craft was completed. Cutting a strong pole for a paddle, placing his precious tools and his little family on the raft, they started across the river to the Illinois side. They had scarcely covered one-third of the distance when their pursuers reached the bank they had just left. Having no boat or any other means of crossing the river, the master and his helpers also began the construction of a raft. This occupied some time and before the pursuers had launched their raft John and his family had crossed safely to the other side. There being no inhabitants in their immediate vicinity, John and his family started for the interior as fast as they could travel and by the time the master reached the Illinois shore John was far away. But the fugitives were too valuable to their owner for the hunt to be easily abandoned. The dogs were set to hunting the trail, which eventually they found. Not only were the dogs relied upon but the owner of the runaways advertised and offered rewards for the capture of the slaves. By these means they at last found the liberty-loving slaves. John and his family had done their best but the odds were against them. Being now in a free state, they could not be unceremoniously transported back to slavery. They could only be returned by process of law. The footsore and weary little family were placed in jail to await the legal proceedings. Things indeed looked dark to John Rhoads, but light was just ahead and help was nearer than John or his wife thought. The news of the capture of the poor fugitives flew all over that section of the state. The Abolitionists of the state were aroused. Meet- ings were held and it was determined to rescue these black brothers in need. Communication was begun with John and plans were laid for a rescue. So perfectly were the plans executed that John and his family were rescued and released from jail and started on the underground railway across Illinois and into Indiana, and were miles away before the master knew of the rescue. So secretly was the work of rescue planned and executed that John's pur- suers lost trace of him as completely as if he had been drowned in the river,

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and the master finally returned to the state of Missouri, disappointed in his . guest.

REFUGE IN HAMILTON COUNTY.

In the meantime John and his family reached Indiana and Hamilton county. They remained over night at the home of Joseph Baker, near the little town of Deming, in the year 1837. John's original purpose was to make Canada his destination. But during their short stay at Deming, they made many friends, who prevailed on them to make their future home in Hamil- ton county, the assurance being given them they could never be taken back into slavery from here. John finally decided to remain in this county and, after a short rest, he set about building a little home for himself and fam- ily. The kind people in the neighborhood furnished them with the necessi- ties for housekeeping. There was work in plenty, both for John and Louan, which they performed willingly and well. Though happy and contented in his new home, John was never entirely free from fear of pursuit. In time he purchased a small piece of ground and built a cabin on it, but the cabin was built without any windows, the only mode of entrance being the door or the chimney, and there was but one door. John slept "with one eye open" and with a trusty ax at the head of his bed. He feared that as the laws existed at that time he might yet be discovered and taken again into slavery. Sub- sequent events proved he had ample reasons for such fears.

Vaughn, the owner of the Rhoads family, lost all trace of his slaves, one reason for this being the assumed names taken by the fugitives, the real name having been Sam Burk instead of John Rhoads.

The way Vaughn finally discovered John's whereabouts was as follows : A kind-hearted old christian gentleman by the name of Abel Gibson moved from near Mooresville, Morgan county, Indiana, to Adams township, this county, and learned of the history of the Rhoads family, and afterward, when making a visit to his former home in Morgan county, stopped over night on his way with an acquaintance of the name of Merritt, near Bridgeport, and to this man he innocently related the story of the Rhoads family up to that date. This man, Merritt, afterward moved to Missouri and by chance located near the Vaughn plantation and became a neighbor of Mr. Vaughn. Vaughn related his story of the loss of his former slaves to Mr. Merritt and Merritt revealed the whereabouts of the unfortunate fam- ily and came all the way with the slave hunter to help capture them. Merritt visited his old friend, Abel Gibson, and pretending to be in the business of buying furs, expressed a wish to see John Rhoads for the purpose of buying

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fur of him and thus learned the way to his house.' He called at the Rhoads cabin and, while pretending to talk business, examined the house inside and out, and learned all the approaches, and on that very night led the slave hunt- ers to the cabin. Before that night, however, the slave hunters procured the proper papers from 'Squire Tyson, a justice of the peace at Strawtown, which would enable him to place the Rhoads family under arrest. So, with Merritt as a guide, and with a proper officer, the slave hunting party pro- ceeded to the home of John Rhoads in the night time. John, as usual, had securely fastened the door and had his ax standing at the head of the bed. As stated before, the cabin was purposely built without a window, so the only way to get in was either through the door or the chimney. At last, when the forces were properly distributed around the cabin and all was ready, Rhoads was called upon to surrender himself and his family and peaceably go with his old master back to Missouri; but this John refused emphatically to do. John had lived here a number of years by this time and his family had increased in size, and while preparations were going on on the outside preparations also were going on on the inside of the house. John and his faithful wife hastily made a sort of breastworks out of the little furniture they had for protection of their children, and then John took his station at the door with his ax and his wife at the fireplace, which had the ordinary pioneer stick chimney. Louan kept up a fire in the fireplace to prevent any one of the attacking party from climbing down the chimney. An assault, however, was made upon the chimney and door at the same time. The door resisted the first assault, but the clay and stick chimney soon gave way and was torn down. Vaughn ordered his men to enter by way of the fireplace, but Louan stood there with a long stick of hard burnt clay in each hand, declaring her intention of killing the first man who undertook to enter the cabin, and John and his trusty ax did not look at all inviting at the door. Since all had refused to obey orders, Vaughn concluded to make the at- tempt himself. but no sooner did he undertake it than Louan knocked him down with a lump of clay, which sent him sprawling quite a distance from the chimney opening, and still Louan stood at her post as defiant as ever, inviting the next one to make the attempt to enter, but the next one did not care about undergoing Vaughn's experience. John and Louan, in the meantime, had called loudly for help, and Owen Williams and Jesse Baker were the first to respond, but they were halted by the slave hunting party and officers, who were well supplied with arms. Joseph Baker next arrived, and the men ordered him to assist them in making the arrest, but this he

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refused to do, and made for the door of the cabin, which John opened for him.

HELP IN TIME OF NEED.

John and Louan had made a gallant fight; indeed, but they were greatly outnumbered, and began to despair, but Joseph Baker's appearance gave them new courage and they were again ready for the fight. Owen Baker and Jesse Baker soon spread the news and it was not long until people from Deming and Westfield heard of this attempted arrest and were upon the scene. John Rhoads' friends by this time outnumbered his enemies and . they demanded to know what Vaughn's intentions were towards the colored family. He said that he wanted to take them before a magistrate so that he might legally identify them. This resulted in a sort of parley, and it was suggested that he had worked his former slaves in a free state long enough to entitle them to their freedom. The suggestion finally was made that the family be taken to Westfield and this was agreed upon, or at least Rhoads' friends acted upon that understanding, and the entire party-slaves, masters and all-repaired to the home of Martin Anthony for breakfast. After procuring a team and a wagon, the Rhoads family was loaded into the wagon and a start was made for Westfield, as the friends of Rhoads supposed, the friends of the family remaining with the party. But Vaughn was determined that the wagon should be driven toward Noblesville, and threatened to shoot any man who attempted to drive toward Westfield with the Rhoads family. This place of parley was at the cross roads near what is known as No. I school house in Washington township. At that place the Lafayette diagonal road leading toward Noblesville was crossed by another diagonal road, leading in a southwesterly direction toward Westfield. When the Missourian made his threat a man by the name of Emsley Wade said, "Drive on, I'll catch the shot." and at the same time held out his hands as though he was in the act of trying to catch a ball. Vaughn and his men had placed them- selves in front of the team, but a young man by the name of Daniel F. Jones, then of Westfield, sprang into the wagon, seized the reins, which the former driver only too gladly gave up, ordered the men to get out of the way, told them to shoot if they dared, gave the spirited horses a sharp cut with the whip and turned toward Westfield. The horses sprang forward so sud- denly that the tongue of the wagon struck the horse of one of the officers, . hurling him out of the road and at the same time disarmed him. Jones started toward Westfield in a lively trot and had to drive near the old "Dismal Swamp," that all the old settlers in this part of the country know

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about. Jones looked steadily ahead, attending strictly to his driving, and while doing so his passengers "spilled out" through the cracks of the wagon bed, and Jones drove on to Westfield with his empty wagon. Vaughn and his party, seeing that they were outwitted as well as outnumbered, turned to- ward Noblesville soon after Jones had distanced them in his drive toward Westfield. Vaughn employed lawyers and began suit against those who had assisted in the escape of his former slaves and a long, protracted trial fol- lowed (a change of venue having been taken to Marion county), which resulted in a finding that John Rhoads and family, having been worked in a free state for a period of six months and over, were entitled to their freedom. This trial cost the defendants about six hundred dollars in attorney's fees and much loss of time, but they had saved this poor colored family from separation one from the other and from being again doomed to the condition of slavery.

The first night after John Rhoads and family had "spilled out" of the wagon, they were taken to a haystack belonging to Robert Tomlinson, where they remained till morning. Early the next morning Riley Moon brought them across "Dismal Swamp," wet as they could be, to the home of Mr. Lindley, where they were provided with food and dry clothing. They were then concealed in a deep forest near the Lindley home during the day and at night brought to the house again, where they were warmed and fed. Thus they remained concealed in the woods and the swamp until it was safe for them to live in the open again. After the trial which freed them, they settled on a part of the Lindley farm, where John and Louan, with their family, lived unmolested in regard to slavery until death claimed him and his faithful wife.

AN INDIAN STORY.

When Mrs. Rebecca Maker was just a young girl in her teens she re- sided not far from the present site of the hamlet of Clare. As was the cus- tom in those days, she set out one beautiful day in early autumn to gather wild grapes for the family use, either for jellies to be stored and kept for winter or to be baked immediately in some tempting dish. She had been quite successful in her quest of the dainty fruit, having her basket almost full. She walked quietly through the deep woods entirely alone, as she thought, but like the maidens of that day unafraid of danger, when sud- denly, without any previous warning of the approach of any one, even by the slightest snapping of a twig, a hand, large, muscular and fearsome, was ex- tended over her shoulder and into her precious basket of grapes, a voice very

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close to her ear said, "Indian like grapes." The hand grasped a big bunch of grapes and her visitor disappeared as suddenly as he had come. But it can well be imagined he left a little maiden rather frightened and eager to be at home and out of reach of mysterious hands, even of friendly Indians.

THE MURDER OF BENJAMIN FISHER.

It is believed that none of the eye witnesses to this tragedy are now liv- ing, and, like other occurrences that have been perpetuated only in tradi- tional form, the story has become somewhat distorted by frequent repetition, viva voce; consequently, there are almost as many versions as there are people who have heard the circumstances narrated. Without attempting to correct what may be erroneous regarding it, we will give preference to the narrative of his daughter, Mrs. Simmerman, as told to the writer. It is substantially as follows: One John Shintaffer kept a stock of goods at Strawtown, con- sisting of such articles as were usually in stock among Indian traders, and, of course, the inevitable whisky was a part of his merchandise. Of this the Indians purchased liberally and drank freely. On one occasion, in March, 1821, an Indian came to his establishment, half intoxicated, and after a few grumbling remarks, accused Shintaffer of putting "heap White River" into his liquor, or in other words, diluting it with water from the river. Shin- taffer, who was by no means a man of amiable temper, permitted his anger to overrule his judgment, and, seizing the drunken and almost helpless Indian, threw him violently into the midst of a log-heap then burning on his place, blind to, or careless of, the consequences that he knew must follow such atrocity when the news reached the tribe. The Indian, unable to extricate himself from the fiery prison, yelled in his agony, while the white fiend stood by unmoved, unpitying. and witnessed his horrible death. Had he but pur- sued a different and more pacific course, the bloody sequel might have been averted : but the Indians, whose amiable bearing toward the white invaders of their hunting grounds was far from sincere, were glad of an opportunity of gratifying an expression of the hatred that rankled in their breasts, under the specious plea of revenge. Accordingly, the news had scarcely reached the Indian camp, when ten or eleven braves, armed with tomahawks and clubs, repaired to the residence of Shintaffer. The latter saw them coming and guessed the object of their visit. He made hasty preparations for de- fense, and all the men then at home in the settlement, while they had no sympathy with Shintaffer in the commission of his crime, knew they must share the result of it. and formed themselves in line of battle to resist the

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savages and protect their homes. A fence divided the Indians from the set- tlers, and the battle began by one of the former picking up a hickory club and throwing it at one of the white men. Some one returned the compliment with deadly effect upon one of the Indians, who then fled, pursued by the settlers. It was in this chase that Mr. Fisher received a death wound from a tomahawk. Fearing the consequences of their raid, the Indians broke camp immediately, and left, it is said, for the neighborhood of Fort Wayne. Mr. Fisher had always been on friendly terms with them, but this friendship failed to protect him against their passion for revenge. Another account of this tragedy was contributed by a correspondent of the Anderson (Indiana) Democrat, under the title of "A Strawtown Reminiscence," and republished in the Noblesville Ledger of January 3, 1879. The narrative reads as follows :

"For several years after the admission of Indiana as a state in the Union, society in general was in a very chaotic and immoral condition. The transforming of the country and people from a state of semi-barbarism to one of intelligence and refinement could not be brought about in a short sea- son, but must be the work of years. This portion of the state at that period was the home of several tribes of savage Indians, among whom could be num- bered the Delawares, Miamis and Pottawatomies. Driven from one position to another by the continued encroachments of the whites, defeated in many bloody encounters by Wayne, Harrison and other able commanders of the early days, and seeing the country, which for ages had been their home, taken from them, it is not to be wondered at that they continually held deep feelings of revenge; and, although there was a quasi state of peace, there were fre- quent encounters between them and the first settlers, which, although not ris- ing to the dignity of a battle, were attended with the loss of life and the shedding of blood.

"The valley of White river was a favorite home of the Indians, and there were large numbers of them residing along its banks, from Muncie's Town to Strawtown, and up to the years 1820 there were not, perhaps, a dozen white families dwelling along the country between the two points. Strawtown was, for many years, an important trading post on the Western frontier, and large numbers of Indians congregated there.

"Drunkenness and quarrels were frequent. Among the residents of the place at this period was a notorious character, rejoicing in the name of Shin- tapper, who was the owner of a 'gin mill,' situated on the north side of the river, near the fort. His place was the headquarters for many of the high- est people of the region around, and the Indians were among his most fre- quent customers. Upon one occasion, an Indian who had become intoxicated

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and loitered around his place, incurred the displeasure of the saloon keeper, who, maddened, threw the almost helpless Indian into a large fire, and, despite his yells, allowed him to remain there until death relieved his suffer- ings. He was of the Pottawatomie tribe, and, learning the fate that had befallen him, his brother Indians determined at once upon revenge. Late one afternoon, in April, some eight or ten Indians, armed with tomahawks and clubs, were seen emerging from the woods to the northeast of the fort, and bearing down quickly and stealthily toward the house of Shintapper. Their movements were noticed by none more earnestly than Shintapper him- self, who, divining their purpose, hastily called in five or six whites near by, and immediately placed his house in a state of defense. Among the white men was numbered Benjamin Fisher, father of Charles Fisher, who is well known to the readers of the Democrat. The Indians, immediately upon arriving at the house, demanded that Shintapper should come forth, and, being refused, sought entrance. A general fight was now opened-the Indians with tomahawks and the whites with clubs, stones and anything that could be readily used. The white men soon emerged from the building, when the Indians beat a retreat, and were followed for a short distance, losing one of their number ( who was killed in the first engagement). They soon rallied and attacked the whites with redoubled fury, during which time, Mr. Fisher, who was somewhat in the advance of the others, was seized by an Indian, struck down with a tomahawk, and scalped before assistance could be rendered him. The Indians immediately fled and, knowing the feeling that would be aroused by this tragedy, retreated in the direction of Fort Wayne, and were never seen afterward in this locality.

"On the night following the tragedy, Shintapper, who had been the direct cause of it, hastily placed a few articles of his plunder in a canoe and, seizing oars, departed, to be seen no more.

"A small mound in the cemetery at Strawtown marks the last resting place of Benjamin Fisher-one of the hewers of wood and drawers of water in the pioneer days."

THE FIRST HOTEL.

The first hotel ever known in this county was kept by George Shirts. His wife was the daughter of Solomon Finch and she had the reputation of knowing how to make the best corn pone that could be had between In- dianapolis and the Wabash. Travelers are said to have inquired for days for the "landlady that made good corn bread." At this early tavern the whole court used to domicile during its sessions, and Judge Wick used to

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remark that "it was the best corn pone stopping place in the Fifth judicial district." George Shirts erected the first frame house in Noblesville. Besides being a tavern keeper he was the first shoe maker in the county and made all the shoes and moccasions used in the community for years.

HAMILTON COUNTY'S SEVEN THOUSAND HOMES. .

The United States Census Department at Washington has issued a bulletin dealing with the ownership of Hamilton county homes. The im- portant facts contained in the bulletin relative to this county are as follows :

There are 6,941 homes in Hamilton county. Of this number 3,028 are farm homes. Of these 1, 180 are owned by their occupants and are free of mortgage incumbrances. The mortgaged farm homes number 837 and rent- ers occupy 995 farm homes in this county.

Out of a total of 6,941 homes in the county, 3,913 are urban homes. There are 2,148 urban home owners in the county. Of this number 466 are mortgaged and 1,611 of the urban owned homes are free of incumbrance. There are 1,667 rented urban homes in the county. The census enumerators were unable to secure data pertaining to the ownership of a small percentage of both the rural and urban homes in this county.

POSTOFFICES OF THE COUNTY.

Hamilton county has ten postoffices and thirty-five rural routes, as fol- lows: Noblesville, eleven routes, Nos. I to II; Cicero, three routes, Nos. 12, 13 and 14; Arcadia, two routes, Nos. 15 and 16; Atlanta, four routes, Nos. 17, 18, 19 and 20: Sheridan, six routes, Nos. 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26; Hortonville, one route, No. 27; Westfield, four routes, Nos. 28, 29, 30 and 31 ; Carmel, three routes, Nos. 32, 33 and 34: Fisher's Station, one route, No. 35. Eagletown and Jolietville postoffices but no routes.

LOST IN THE WOODS.

It would be impossible for a person to be lost in any woods in Hamilton county at the present day, for the simple reason that the largest patches of timber contain but a few acres at most and even small patches of woods are few and far between. But early in the last century for the word to come that any person "was lost in the woods" struck terror to all hearts, especially if the lost one were either a woman or child. At that time the woods were dense with no well defined paths to those uninitiated in woodland ways, and

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were infested with bears and wolves, as well as poisonous snakes. Conse- quently, there was great consternation in the little settlement in Clay town- ship in 1827, when the word was sent to the neighbors that Mrs. Margaret Gray, an elderly lady of eighty years, had wandered into the woods and had failed to return to her home. Every one physically able joined in the search, dropping whatever work he had in hand. The old lady had already passed one night in the woods before the alarm became general. On the previous evening she had gone in search of a missing pig, her only guide through the forest being a narrow cow path, which had become obliterated by the wind- strewn leaves. Failing to find the stray pig, she had thought to retrace her steps toward home, when she found herself hopelessly lost in the forest with night almost upon her. All night her husband, with a few near neighbors, searched the woods in all directions without success. During the progress of the search, some of the party came upon some recent bear tracks, which added to the horror of the situation, as they feared they might come upon the mangled remains of the old lady at any time. She was not discovered until about sundown of the second day. Colonel Daniel Heaton was the fortunate one of the party, for he it was who found the old lady safe and unhurt but much exhausted from fright and exposure. He placed her upon his horse and took her in all haste to his own home, where she remained over night and was given all possible comforts, while the news of her dis- covery was spread through the settlement. The old lady lived four years after this trying experience. Mrs. Gray was the grandmother of James G. McShane, of Clay township, and some of her descendants still reside in Hamilton county.

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History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions, Part 49

Author: John F. Haines Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1051

Author: John F. Haines
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051