USA > Kentucky > Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. II > Part 114
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The nine men were divided into three watches for the night, who were alternately to continue awake and be on the look-out for two hours at a time. The arms on board, which consisted principally of old muskets much out of order, were col-
* Marshall's History, Vol. I, pp. 292-3.
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lected, loaded, and put in the best possible condition for service. At about sun- set on that day, the 23d of March, 1791, our party overtook a fleet of six boats descending the river in company, and intended to have continued with them ; but as their passengers seemed more disposed to dancing than fighting, and as, soon after dark, notwithstanding the remonstrances of Captain Hubbell, they com- menced fiddling and dancing instead of preparing their arms and taking the neces- sary rest preparatory to battle, it was wisely considered more hazardous to be in such company than to be alone.
It was therefore determined to proceed rapidly forward by aid of the cars, and to leave those thoughtless fellow-travelers behind. One of the boats, however, belonging to the fleet, commanded by a Captain Greathouse,* adopted the same plan, and for a while kept up with Captain Hubbell, but all its crew at length falling asleep, that boat also ceased to be propelled by the oars, and Captain Hubbell and his party proceeded steadily forward alone. Early in the night a canoe was dimly seen floating down the river, in which were probably Indians reconnoitering, and other evident indications were observed of the neighborhood and hostile intentions of a formidable party of savages.
It was now agreed, that should the attack, as was probable, be deferred till morning, every man should be up before the dawn, in order to make as great a show as possible of numbers and of strength ; and that, whenever the action should take place, the women and children should lie down on the cabin floor and be protected as well as they could by the trunks and other baggage, which might be placed around them. In this perilous situation they continued during the night, and the captain, who had not slept more than one hour since he left Pitts- burgh, was too deeply impressed with the imminent danger which surrounded him to obtain any rest at that time.
Just as daylight began to appear in the east, and before the men were up and at their posts agreeably to arrangement, a voice at some distance below them in a plaintive tone repeatedly solicited them to come on shore, as there were some white persons who wished to obtain a passage in their boat. This the captain very naturally and correctly concluded to be an Indian artifice, and its only effect was to rouse the men and place every one on his guard. The voice of entreaty was soon changed into the language of indignation and insult, and the sound of distant paddles announced the approach of the savage foe. At length three Indian canoes were seen through the mist of the morning rapidly advancing. With the utmost coolness the captain and his companions prepared to receive them. The chairs, tables, and other incumbrances were thrown into the river, in order to clear the deck for action.
Every man took his position, and was ordered not to fire till the savages had approached so near, that (to use the words of Captain Hubbell.) " the flash from the guns might singe their eyebrows ; " and a special caution was given that the men should fire successively, so that there might be no interval. On the arrival of the canoes, they were found to contain about twenty-five or thirty Indians each. As soon as they approached within the reach of musket shot, a general fire was given from one of them, which wounded Mr. Tucker through the hip so severely that his leg hung only by the flesh, and shot Mr. Light just below the ribs. The three canoes placed themselves at the bow, stern, and on the right side of the boat, so that they had an opportunity of raking in every direction. The fire now commenced from the boat, and had a powerful effect in checking the confidence and fury of the Indians.
The captain, after firing his own gun, took up that of one of the wounded men, raised it to his shoulder, and was about to discharge it. when a ball came and took away the lock ; he coolly turned round, seized a brand of fire from the ket- tle which served for a caboose, and applying it to the pan, discharged the piece with effect. A very regular and constant fire was now kept up on both sides. The captain was just in the act of raising his gun a third time, when a ball passed through his right arm, and for a moment disabled him. Scarcely had he recov- ered from the shock and re-acquired the use of his hand. which had been sud- denly drawn up by the wound, when he observed the Indians in one of the canoes just about to board the boat in its bow, where the horses were placed
* Captain Greathouse was on shore hunting, and shot in the river while swimming to his boal.
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belonging to the party. So near had they approached, that some of them had actually seized with their hands the side of the boat.
Severely wounded as he was, he caught up a pair of horseman's pistols, and rushed forward to repel the attempt at boarding. On his approach the Indians fell back, and he discharged a pistol with effect at the foremost man. After fir- ing the second pistol, he found himself without arms, and was compelled to retreat ; but stepping back upon a pile of small wood which had been prepared for burning in the kettle, the thought struck him, that it might be made use of in repelling the foe, and he continued for some time to strike them with it so forci- bly and actively that they were unable to enter the boat, and at length he woun- ded one of them so severely that with a yell they suddenly gave way. All the canoes instantly discontinued the contest and directed their course to Captain Greathouse's boat, which was then in sight. Here a striking contrast was exhib- ited to the firmness and intrepidity which had been displayed.
Instead of resisting the attack, the people on board of this boat retired to the cabin in dismay. The Indians entered it without opposition, and rowed it to the shore, where they instantly killed the captain and a lad of about fourteen years of age. The women they placed in the centre of their canoes, and man- ning them with fresh hands, again pursued Captain Hubbell and party. A mel- ancholy alternative now presented itself to these brave but almost desponding men, either to fall a prey to the savages themselves, or to run the risk of shoot- ing the women, who had been placed in the canoes in the hope of deriving pro- tection from their presence. But " self preservation is the first law of nature," and the captain very justly remarked, there would not be much humanity in pre- serving their lives at such a sacrifice, merely that they might become victims of savage cruelty at some subsequent period. <7
There were now but four men left on board of Captain Hubbell's boat, capable of defending it, and the captain himself was severely wounded in two places. The second attack, however, was resisted with almost incredible firmness and vigor. Whenever the Indians would rise to fire, their opponents would commonly give them the first shot, which in almost every instance would prove fatal. Notwith- standing the disparity of numbers, and the exhausted condition of the defenders of the boat, the Indians at length appeared to despair of success, and the canoes successively retired to the shore. Just as the last one was departing, Captain Hubbell called to the Indian, who was standing in the stern, and on his turning round, discharged his piece at him. When the smoke, which for a moment obstructed the vision, was dissipated, he was seen lying on his back, and appeared to be severely, perhaps mortally wounded.
Unfortunately the boat now drifted near to the shore where the Indians were col- lected, and a large concourse, probably between four and five hundred, were seen rushing down on the bank. Ray and Plascut, the only men remaining unhurt, were placed at the oars, and as the boat was not more than twenty yards from shore, it was deemed prudent for all to lie down in as safe a position as possible and attempt to push forward with the utmost practicable rapidity. While they continued in this situation, nine balls were shot into one oar, and ten into the other, without wounding the rowers, who were hidden from view and protected by the side of the boat and the blankets in its stern. During this dreadful expo- sure to the fire of the savages, which continued about twenty minutes, Mr. Kil- patrick observed a particular Indian, whom he thought a favorable mark for his rifle, and, notwithstanding the solemn warning of Captain Hubbell, rose to shoot him. He immediately received a ball in his mouth, which passed out at the back part of his head, and was almost at the same moment shot through the heart. He fell among the horses that about the same time were killed, and presented to his afflicted daughters and fellow travelers, who were witnesses of the awful oc- currence, a spectacle of horror which we need not further attempt to describe.
The boat was now providentially and suddenly carried out into the middle of the stream, and taken by the current beyond the reach of the enemy's balls. Our little band, reduced as they were in numbers, wounded, afflicted, and almost exhausted by fatigue, were still unsubdued in spirit, and being assembled in all their strength, men, women and children, with an appearance of triumph gave three hearty cheers, calling to the Indians to come on again if they were fond of the sport.
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Thus ended this awful conflict, in which, out of nine men, two only escaped unhurt. Tucker and Kilpatrick were killed on the spot, Stoner was mortally wounded, and died on his arrival at Limestone, and all the rest, excepting Ray and Plascut, were severely wounded. 'The women and children were all unin- jured, excepting a little son of Mr. Plascut, who, after the battle was over, came to the captain, and, with great coolness, requested him to take a ball out of his head. On examination, it appeared that a bullet, which had passed through the side of the boat, had penetrated the forehead of this little hero, and remained un- der the skin. The captain took it out, and the youth, observing, " that is not all," raised his arm, and exhibited a piece of bone at the point of his elbow, which had been shot off, and hung only by the skin. His mother exclaimed, " why did you not tell me of this ?"" "Because," he coolly replied, " the captain directed us to be silent during the action, and I thought you would be likely to make a noise if I told you."
The boat made the best of its way down the river, and the object was to reach Limestone that night. The captain's arm had bled profusely, and he was com- pelled to close the sleeve of his coat in order to retain the blood and stop its effu- sion. In this situation, tormented by excruciating pain and faint through loss of blood, he was under the necessity of steering the boat with his left arm, till about ten o'clock that night, when he was relieved by Mr. William Brooks, who resi- ded on the bank of the river, and who was induced, by the calls of the suffering party, to come out to their assistance. By his aid, and that of some other persons, who were in the same manner brought to their relief, they were enabled to reach Limestone about twelve o'clock that night.
Immediately on the arrival of Mr. Brooks, Capt. Hubbell, relieved from labor and responsibility, sunk under the weight of pain and fatigue, and became for a while totally insensible. When the boat reached Limestone, he found himself unable to walk, and was obliged to be carried up to the tavern. Here he had his wound dressed, and continued several days, until he acquired sufficient strength to proceed hornewards.
On the arrival of our party at Limestone, they found a considerable force of armed men, about to march against the same Indians, from whose attacks they had so severely suffered. They now learned, that on the Sunday preceding. the same party of savages had cut off a detachment of men ascending the Ohio from Fort Washington, at the mouth of Licking river, and had killed with their toma- hawks, without firing a gun, twenty-one out of twenty-two men, of which the detachment consisted.
Crowds of people, as might be expected, came to witness the boat which had been the scene of so much heroism, and such horrid carnage, and to visit the reso- lute little band by whom it had been so gallantly and perseveringly defended. On examination, it was found that the sides of the boat were literally filled with bul- lets and with bullet holes. There was scarcely a space of two feet square, in the part above water, which had not either a ball remaining in it, or a hole through which a ball had passed. Some persons who had the curiosity to count the num- ber of holes in the blankets which were hung up as curtains in the stern of the boat, affirmed that in the space of five feet square there were one hundred and twenty-two. Four horses out of five were killed, and the escape of the fifth, amidst such a shower of balls, appears almost miraculous.
The day after the arrival of Capt. Hubbell and his companions, the five remain- ing boats, which they had passed on the night preceding the battle, reached Lime- stone. Those on board remarked, that during the action they distinctly saw the flashes, but could not hear the reports of the guns. The Indians, it appears. had met with too formidable a resistance from a single boat to attack a fleet, and suf- fered them to pass unmolested : and since that time, it is believed that no boat has been assailed by Indians on the Ohio.
The force which marched out to disperse this formidable body of savages, dis- covered several Indians dead on the shore, near the scene of action. They also found the bodies of Capt. Greathouse and several others,-men, women and chil- dren,-who had been on board of his boat. Most of them appeared to have been whipped to death, as they were found stripped, tied to trees, and marked with the appearance of lashes; and large rods, which seemed to have been worn with nse, were observed lying near them. [From Western Review, Aug. 1819.]
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In the year 1788, a party of hunters,-five in number, -- from the station near Georgetown, Kentucky, landed at the mouth of Deer creek, in Cincinnati, in two canoes .* After hiding the canoes among the willows and weeds, that grew thick and rank upon that little stream, they proceeded to ascend the creek along the left bank. At the distance of about one hundred and fifty yards from the mouth, in the shade of a branching elm, they halted for refreshment, and sat down to par- take of the rude repast of the wilderness. The month was September, the day clear and warm, and the hour that within which the sun would " sink to rest " After having partaken of their coarse evening meal, the party, at the suggestion of a man named Hall,-one of their number,-proposed, as a matter of safety and comfort, that they should go among the northern hills, and there encamp un- til the morning's dawn, as the musquitoes and the frogs, amongst the creek's marshes, dinned the night with most annoying cherivari. The proposition of Hall was acceded to, and the party packed up for their journey.
Emerging from a thicket of iron weed, through which a deer-path was open, and into which the party walked single file, they entered, one after another, upon a grassy, weedless knob, which being elevated some distance above the tops of the blossomed iron weeds around, had the appearance of a green island in the midst of a purple sea. The deer-path crossed the knob, and entered the weed thicket again on the northern side. The hunters did not pause for a moment, but entered the narrow avenue, one after another.
As the last man was about to enter the path, he fell simultaneously with the crack of a rifle, discharged from amongst the weeds on the western slope. The whole party dashed into the thicket on either side, and "squatted," with rifles cocked, ready for any emergency. Quietly in this position they waited until night- fall; but every thing around being still, and no further hostile demonstrations be- ing made, one after another they again ventured out into the path and started to- wards the opening-observing, however, the utmost caution.
Hall, a bold fellow, and connected by ties of kindred with the man who had been shot, whose name was Baxter, crawled quietly upon his hands and knees to the spot where his comrade had fallen, and found him dead, lying with his face downward, a bullet having entered his skull forward of the left temple. Baxter had fallen some ten feet from the thicket's entrance. and Hall, after getting out of the thicket, rolled slowly to the side of the dead man, lest he should be ob- served by the skulking enemy-as, in an upright position, notwithstanding the gloom of nightfall, he would have been. He lay for several minutes by the side of the corpse, analyzing, as it were, the sounds of the night, as if to detect in them the decoying tricks so common with the Indian. There was nothing, how- ever, that, even to his practiced ear, indicated the presence of an enemy ; and he ventured, at length, to stand erect. With rifle ready, and eye-ball strained to penetrate the gloom that hung like a marsh-mist upon the purple fields around, he stood for several seconds, and then gave a signal for the approach of his compa- nions. The party cautiously approached the spot where Hall stood, and after a moment's consultation in whispers, agreed to bury the unfortunate man, and then pursue their journey. Poor Baxter was carried to the bank of the river, and si- lently interred under a beech, a few feet from the bluff, the grave being dug by the knives and tomahawks of his late companions. Yet in the warmth of recent life, the body was laid in its rude resting-place, and the sod which was to shut it out from the glow of star or planet-the light of sun or moon-was moistened with many a tear from many an eye that danger never blenched.
Having performed the last sad duties to the departed, the party prepared to leave, and had advanced, silently, a step or two, when they were startled by a sound upon the water. "A canoe !" whispered Hall. A suspicion flashed upon his mind, and he crawled to the spot where the canoes had been hidden, and found one of them gone.
Quick to decide, and fired with a spirit of vengeance, he proposed to his com- rades that immediate pursuit be made. The proposition was agreed to, and in less than five minutes three of the hunters, armed and determined for a deadly mission, were darting silently through the quiet waters, in the direction of the wound which they had recently heard. About one hundred yards below the mouth
Cist's Cincinnati Advertiser, 1847.
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of Licking, on the Kentucky side, they came within rifle-shot of the canoe, fired at the person who was paddling it, scarcely visible in the dim starlight, and a short exclamation of agony evidenced the certainty of the shct.
Paddling up along side, the canoe was found to contain but a single person, - and that an old Indian, writhing in death's agony, the blood gushing from his shaven brow. In the bottom of the canoe lay a rifle, and near it a pouch of parched corn, and a gourd about half filled with whisky. It was this Indian, evidently, who shot Baxter, and it seemed equally evident that he was alone upon the war-path. The savage was scalped, and his body thrown into the river.
Hall and his party returned to the mouth of the creek-again hid the canoes -- encamped near Baxter's grave for the night, and with the morning's dawn started upon their journey to the north.
Col. ROBERT JOHNSON (the father of colonels Richard M., James, and Major John T. Johnson,) was a native of Virginia, and emigrated to Kentucky, then a county of that State, during the stormy period of the revolution. He was distin- guished for that high-toned integrity and courage which marked the age and coun- try in which he lived ; and took an active and prominent part in the sanguinary conflicts which raged between the settlers and natives, in the early settlement of Kentucky. So great was the confidence reposed in his skill and courage, by the adventurers of that age, by whom he was surrounded, that he was called to take a conspicuous position in almost every hazardous enterprise. The sentiments of patrio ism and integrity which marked the history of his active life, he did not fail to inculcate upon the minds of his children ; and the character of those chil- dren, as developed, shows that they were not without their proper effect. Of Col. Richard M. Johnson, the eldest son, a sketch will be found under the head of Johnson county. Col. James Johnson was the lieutenant-colonel of the mounted regiment of Col. R. M. Johnson, during the late war, and distinguished himself at the battle of the Thames, as well as on several occasions while in the service. He subsequently served several sessions in the Congress of the United States, with general acceptance. At the time of his death, which occurred many years since, he was in communion with the. Baptist church, and was esteemed a zealous and devoted christian. Major John T. Johnson was, for a short time, a member of the appellate court of Kentucky ; subsequently, for several sessions, a member of Congress ; and is now, (1847), and has been for some eight or ten years, a dis- tinguished minister of the Christian church.
Gen. JOSEPH DESHA was a descendant of the Huguenots of France, his pater- nal grandfather being one of that persecuted sect, who in the middle of the seven- teenth century fled to America, to avoid the fury of intolerance, and enjoy, unmo- lested, the religion of their choice. The subject of this notice was born, Dec. 9, 1768, in Monroe county, in the eastern part of the then colony of Pennsyl- vania. In July, 1781, his father emigrated to Kentucky, and in the following year removed to that part of the present State of Tennessee which was then known as the Cumberland District. In the month of December, 1789, Joseph Desha was united in marriage with the daughter of Cel. Bledsoe; and in the year 1792, settled permanently in Mason county, Kentucky.
As early as the year 1794, he volunteered under General Wayne, and served in his campaigns against the Indians, with distinction. Indeed, at the early age of fifteen, and between that age and twenty-two, he took an active part in various skirmishes with the foe, who at that period in the early history of the west, proved so fatal an annoyance to the settlers. In one of these skirmishes he had the mis- fortune to lose two of his brothers, who were killed in Tennessee; an event which no doubt stimulated his courage and greatly excited his vengeance against the perfidious enemy. His gallant bearing as a soldier, and amiable qualities as a man, rendered him justly popular with the people, and for nine years pre- vious to 1806, he represented the county of Mason in the State legislature. In 1816 he was elected to Congress, and by successive re-elections was continued in that body until the year 1819.
While in Congress he acted with the republican party, and was devotedly zealous in the prosecution of all such measures as were calculated in his judg ment to advance the interest and glory of the nation. He was a warm supportel
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of the war of 1812, and in 1813 accepted a commission as major general of vol unteers, and was present with his division, in the battle of the Thames.
In 1824 he was elected governor of Kentucky, and served the usual term of four years. His administration of the State government was efficient and vigor- ous. At the expiration of his term he retired from public life, and continued engaged in his private affairs upon his farm, in Harrison county, until his death, which occurred, at Georgetown, Scott county, on the 11th of October, 1842.
General CHARLES SCOTT, from whom this county received its name, a distin- guished officer of the revolution, was born in Cumberland county, Virginia. He served as a corporal in a volunteer company of militia in the memorable cam- paign of 1755, which terminated in Braddock's defeat. Upon the breaking out of the revolutionary war, he raised the first company of volunteers south of James river that entered into actual service, and so distinguished himself that when the county of Powhatan was formed in 1777, the county of Scott was named in honor of him. Having been appointed by General Washington to the cominand of a regiment in the continental line, he was with General Wayne at the storming of Stony Point. He was in Charleston when it surrendered to Sir Henry Clinton. When marching out of the gate a British officer spoke to him very abruptly ; ordered him to march faster to give room for others. Scott turned upon him, rip- ped out a tremendous oath, (one of his characteristics,) and shamed the officer for having let so few men stand out so long against so large an army. The offi- cer molested him no further. After the war terminated he removed to Kentucky, and in 1785 settled in Woodford county. He was with General St. Clair in his defeat on the 4th of November, 1791, when there were about six hundred men killed in one hour. In 1791, he and General Wilkinson conducted a corps of horsemen against the Indian towns on the Wabash, killed some of the warriors and took a number of prisoners. In 1794 he commanded a portion of Wayne's army at the battle of the Fallen Timber, where the Indians were defeated and driven under the walls of the British fort. In 1808 he was elected to the office of Governor of Kentucky, and discharged its duties faithfully.
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