Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. II, Part 93

Author: Collins, Lewis, 1797-1870. cn; Collins, Richard H., 1824-1889. cn
Publication date: 1874
Publisher: Covington, Ky., Collins & Co.
Number of Pages: 1654

USA > Kentucky > Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. II > Part 93

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At length the Indians abandoned the pursuit, and turned their whole attention to the boats which had been deserted. The booty surpassed their most sanguine expectations. Several fine horses were on board, and flour, sugar, and chocolate in profusion. Another keg of whisky was found, and excited the same immoder- ate joy as at first.

Flinn was subsequently burnt by his fiendish captors at the stake, with all the aggravated tortures that savage cruelty could devise. Skiles, after running the gauntlet, and having been condemned to death, made his escape and reached the white settlements in safety. The remaining Miss Fleming was rescued by an Indian chief, at the very time when her captors had bound her to a stake and were making preparations to burn her alive, and conducted safely to Pittsburg. John ston was ransomed by a Frenchman at Sandusky, at the price of six hundred sil- ver brooches, and returned in safety to his family.

In April, 1791, Colonel TIMOTHY DOWNING, a citizen of Mason county, return- ing from Lexington, where he had been on a trading expedition with two horses, riding one and leading the other, which was laden with cotton goods, was cap- tured near the Blue Licks by a party of Shawanee Indians. They crossed with him into Ohio at Logan's Gap, where he was given in charge to two of the party,

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an old Indian and his son. After two day's traveling, the Indians with Downing encamped for the night. He had been treated very kindly by them during their march, and before supper the old Indian came up to him-" tie to-night, after to- night, no more tie ;" Downing replied-" no tie 'till after supper." This was assented to. The old Indian then directed him to hand a drink of water; and Downing, whilst getting the water. picked up a tomahawk, which he concealed. It had been raining during the day, and the young Indian was busy before the fire, drying a shirt, which had been taken from Downing; and whilst the old Indian, not suspecting any thing, was drinking the water he had handed him, Downing cleft his skull with the tomahawk and pitched him into the fire. It was neces- sary to kill the old Indian; but as they had been kind to him, he did not wish to hurt the young Indian. His object was to take him prisoner. But the instant he struck his father, the young Indian sprung upon his back with the most horri- ble yells, and confined him so that it was difficult to extricate himself from his grasp. It was not more than four or five miles to the main camp, and as soon as Downing was released from his struggles, he made for his horses, and the young Indian, who was badly wounded in the encounter, for the camp. He caught one of his horses and mounted him, and struck off into the woods, hoping that the other horse would follow. But the night was very dark, and he never saw any thing of his second horse. He was a bad woodsman, and before he got far from the scene of his exploits, he heard the eager yells of Indians in hot pursuit of him. But the darkness of the night favored his escape, and he succeeded in eluding his pursuers. A day or two afterwards Kenton, at the head of a party in pursuit of the Indians, came upon the camp whence Downing had escaped, discovered the old Indian, who had been buried with twenty five yards of the cloth wrapped around him, and found also Downing's shirt, with blood on it. No Indians were to be seen, and the party returned. Kenton took the shirt to Mrs. Downing, who recognized it at once as her husband's, whom she concluded to have been murdered by the Indians. Downing, in the meantime, after travel- ing all night after his escape, found himself on a creek, which he followed to its junction with the Scioto river, and finally struck the Ohio below the mouth of the Scioto, just as a flat boat was passing down. He immediately hailed it, but the boat very prudently made for the Kentucky shore, evidently suspecting an In- dian decoy. He followed it two miles before he could prevail on the owners of it to send a boat to his relief. He finally succeeded ; a man came in a canoe, with his rifle, and told him as he approached that if he saw an Indian, he would shoot him (Downing) dead in his tracks. He was taken on board, landed at Maysville, and rejoiced his family, who were mourning him as dead, by his sud- den return. He resided then where Mr. Robert Downing, of Mason county, now lives, and after reaching an advanced age, died about 1831.

In the month of April, 1792, a number of horses belonging to Captain Luther Calvin of Mason county, were stolen by the Indians; and, as usual, a strong party volunteered to go in pursuit of the enemy and recover the property. The party consisted of thirty-seven men, commanded by Captains Calvin and Ken- ton, and was composed chiefly of young farmers, most of whom had never yet met an enemy. Captain Charles Ward, late deputy sheriff of Mason county, was one of the volunteers, and was at that time a mere lad, totally unacquainted with Indian warfare. They rendezvoused upon the Kentucky shore, immediately opposite Ripley, and crossing the river in a small ferry boat, pursued the trail for five or six miles with great energy. Here, however, a specimen of the usual caprice and uncertainty attending the motions of militia, was given.

One of the party, whose voice had been loud and resolute while on the Kentucky shore, all at once managed to discover that the enterprise was rash. ill advised, and if prosecuted, would certainly prove disastrous. A keen debate ensued, in which young Spencer Calvin, then a lad of eighteen, openly accused the gentle- inan alluded to of cowardice, and even threatened to take the measure of his shoulders with a ramrod, on the spot. By the prompt interference of Kenton and the elder Calvin, the young man's wrath was appeased for the time, and all those who preferred safety to honor, were invited instantly to return. The permission was promptly accepted, and no less than fifteen men, headed by the recreant al-

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FIGHT WITH INDIANS.

ready mentioned, turned their horses' heads and re-crossed the river. The re- mainder, consisting chiefly of experienced warriors, continued the pursuit.

The trail led them down on the Miami, and about noon on the second day, they heard a bel! in front, apparently from a horse grazing. Cautiously approach- ing it, they beheld a solitary Indian, mounted on horseback, and leisurely advanc- ing towards them. A few of their best marksmen fired upon him and brought him to the ground. After a short consultation, it was then determined to follow his back trail, and ascertain whether there were more in the neighborhood. A small, active, resolute woodsman, named McIntyre, accompanied by three others, was pushed on in advance, in order to give them early notice of the enemy's ap- pearance, while the main body followed at a more leisurely pace. Within an hour, McIntyre returned, and reported that they were then within a short distance of a large party of Indians, supposed to be greatly superior to their own. That they were encamped in a bottom upon the borders of a creek, and were amusing themselves, apparently awaiting the arrival of the Indian whom they had just killed, as they would occasionally halloo loudly, and then laugh immoderately, supposing, probably, that their comrade had lost his way.

This intelligence fell like a shower bath upon the spirits of the party, who, thinking it more prudent to put a greater interval between themselves and the enemy, set spurs to their horses, and galloped back in the direction from which they had come. Such was the panic, that one of the footmen, a huge hulking fellow, six feet high, in his zeal for his own safety, sprung up behind Capt. Cal- vin, (who was then mounted upon Capt. Ward's horse, the captain having dis- mounted in order to accommodate him), and nothing short of a threat to blow his brains out, could induce him to dismount. In this orderly manner they scamper- ed through the woods for several miles, when, in obedience to the orders of Ren- ton and Calvin, they halted, and prepared for resistance in case (as was probable) the enemy had discovered them, and were engaged in the pursuit. Kenton and Calvin were engaged apart in earnest consultation. It was proposed that a num- ber of saplings should be cut down and a temporary breastwork erected, and while the propriety of these measures was under discussion, the men were left to them- selves.

Finding themselves not pursued by the enemy, as they had expected, it was determined that they should remain in their present position until night, when a rapid attack was to be made, in two divisions, upon the Indian camp, under the impression that the darkness of the night, and the surprise of the enemy, might give them an advantage, which they could scarcely hope for in daylight. Accord- ingly, every thing remaining quiet at dusk, they again mounted and advanced rapidly, but in profound silence, upon the Indian camp. It was ascertained that the horses which the enemy had stolen were grazing in a rich bottom below their camp. As they were advancing to the attack, therefore, Calvin detached his son with several halters, which he had borrowed from the men, to regain their own ~ horses, and be prepared to carry them off in case the enemy should overpower them. The attack was then made in two divisions.

Calvin conducted the upper and Kenton the lower party. The wood was thick, ut the moon shone out clearly, and enabled them to distinguish objects with suf- ficient precision. Calvin's party came first in contact with the enemy. They had advanced within thirty yards of a large fire in front of a number of tents, without having seen a single Indian, when a dog, which had been watching them for several minutes, sprung forward to meet them, baying loudly. Presently an Indian appeared approaching cautiously towards them, and occasionally speaking to the dog in the Indian tongue. This sight was too tempting to be borne, and Calvin heard the tick of a dozen rifles in rapid succession, as his party cocked them in order to fire. The Indian was too close to permit him to speak. but turn- ing to his men he earnestly waved his hand as a warning to be quiet. Then cau- tiously raising his own rifle, he fired with a steady aim, just as the Indian had reached the fire, and stood fairly exposed to its light.

The report of the rifle instantly broke the stillness of the night, and their ears were soon deafened by the yells of the enemy. The Indian at whom Calvin had fired, fell forward into the burning pile of faggots, and, by his struggles to extri- cate himself, scattered the brands so much, as almost to extinguish the light. Several dusky formns glanced rapidly before them for a moment, which drew a

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MASON COUNTY.

volley from his men, but with what effect could not be ascertained. Calvin, having discharged his piece, turned so rapidly as to strike the end of his ramrod against a tree behind him, and drive it into its sheath with such violence, that he was unable to extricate it for several minutes, and finally fractured two of his teeth in the effort. .. A heavy fire now commenced from the Indian camp, which was returned with equal spirit by the whites, but without much effect on either side. Trees were barked very plentifully, dogs bayed, the Indians yelled, the whites shouted, the squaws screamed, and a prodigious uproar was maintained for about fifteen min- utes, when it was reported to Calvin that Kenton's party had been overpowered, and was in full retreat. It was not necessary to give orders for a similar move- ment. No sooner had the intelligence been received, than the Kentuckians of the upper division broke their ranks, and every man attempted to save himself as he best could. They soon overtook the lower division, and a hot scramble took place for horses. One called upon another to wait for him until he could catch his horse, which had broken his bridle, but no attention was paid to the request. Some fled upon their own horses, others mounted those of their friends. "First come, first served," seemed to be the order of the night, and a sad confusion of property took place, in consequence of which, to their great terror, a few were compelled to return on foot. The flight was originally caused by the panic of an individual. As the lower division moved up to the attack, most of the men ap- peared to advance with alacrity. The action quickly commenced, and at the first fire from the Indians, Barr, a young Kentuckian, was shot by -'s side. This circumstance completely overthrew the courage of this one of the party, who had been the most boisterous and blustering when the chase commenced, but whose courage had visibly declined since the first encounter of the morning : and, elevating his voice to its shrillest notes, he shouted, " boys ! it won't do for us to be here ; Barr is killed, and the Indians are crossing the creek !" Bonaparte has said, that there is a critical period in every battle, when the bravest men will eagerly seize an excuse to run away. The remark is doubly true with regard to militia.

No sooner had this speech been uttered by one who had never yet been charged with cowardice, than the rout instantly took place, and all order was disregarded. Fortunately, the enemy were equally frightened, and probably would have fled themselves, had the whites given them time. No pursuit took place for several hours, nor did they then pursue the trail of the main body of fugitives. McIn- tyre, however, who had turned off from the main route, was pursued by the In- dians, overtaken, tomahawked and scalped.

It is somewhat remarkable, that a brother of Capt. Ward's was in the Indian camp at the moment when it was attacked. He had been taken by the Indians in 1758, being at that time only three years old. had been adopted as a member of the Shawanee tribe, and had married an Indian woman by whom he had several children, all of whom, together with their mother, were then in camp. Capt. Ward has informed the writer of this narrative, that, a few seconds before the firing began, while he stood within rifle shot of the encampment, an Indian girl, apparently fifteen years of age, attracted his attention. She stood for an instant in an attitude of alarm, in front of one of the tents, and gazed intently upon the spot where he then stood. Not immediately perceiving that it was a female, he raised his gun, and was upon the point of firing, when her open bosom announced her sex, and her peculiarly light complexion caused him to doubt for a moment whether she could be an Indian by birth. He afterwards ascertained that she was his brother's child.

The celebrated Tecumseh commanded the Indians. His cautious yet fearless intrepidity made him a host wherever he went. In military tactics night attacks are not allowable, except in cases like this, when the assailing party are far infe- rior in numbers. Sometimes, in such attacks, panics and confusion are created in the attacked party, which may render them a prey to inferior numbers. Ken- ton trusted to this on the present occasion, but Tecumseh's presence and influ- ence over the minds of his followers infused such confidence that superior num- bers only could prevail over them.

Some time in the spring of 1793, Tecumseh and a few of his followers, while hunting in the Scioto valley, on the waters of Paint creek, were unexpectedly attacked by a party of white men from Mason county, Kentucky. The circum- stances which led to this skirmish were the following : Early that spring, ar

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ISAAC BAKER.

express reached the settlement in Mason, that some stations had been attacked and captured on Slate creek, in Bath county, Kentucky, and that the Indians were returning with their prisoners to Ohio. A party of thirty-three men was immediately raised to cut off their retreat. They were divided into three compa- nies of ten men each ; Simon Kenton commanding one, - Baker another, and Captain James Ward the third. The whole party crossed the Ohio at Lime- stone, and aimed to strike the Scioto above Paint creek. After crossing this creek near where the great road from Maysville to Chillicothe now crosses it, evening came on, and they halted for the night. In a short time they heard a noise, and a little examination disclosed to them that they were in the immedi- ate vicinity of an Indian encampment. Their horses were promptly taken back some distance and tied, to prevent an alarm. A council was held, and Captain Baker offered to go and reconnoitre, which being agreed to, he took one of his company and made the examination. He found the Indians encamped on the bank of the creek, their horses being between them and the camp of the whites. After Baker's report was made, the party determined to remain where they were until near daylight the next morning. Captain Baker and his men were to march round and take a position on the bank of the stream in front of the Indian camp ; Captain Ward was to occupy the ground in the rear ; and Captain Ken- ton one side, while the river presented a barrier on the fourth, thus guarding against a retreat of the Indians. It was further agreed that the attack was not to commence until there was light enough to shoot with accuracy. Before Kenton and Ward had reached the positions they were respectively to occupy, the bark of a dog in the Indian camp was heard, and then the report of a gun. Upon this alarm, Baker's men instantly fired, and Captains Kenton and Ward, with their companies, raising the battle cry, rushed towards the camp. To their sur- prise, they found Baker and his men in the rear, instead of the front of the Indi- ans, thus deranging the plan of attack, whether from design or accident is unknown. The Indians sent back the battle cry, retreated a few paces and treed. It was still too dark to fire with precision, but random shots were made, and a terrible shouting kept up by the Indians. While the parties were thus at bay, Tecumseh had the address to send a part of his men to the rear of the Kentucki- ans for their horses : and when they had been taken to the front, which was · accomplished without discovery, the Indians mounted and effected their escape, carrying with them John Ward, the brother of Captain James Ward, the only one of their party who was shot. He died of his wound a few days after the engagement. One Kentuckian only, Jacob Jones, was killed, a member of Ba- ker's detachment. No pursuit of the Indians was made, nor did they prove to be the same party who had attacked the Slate creek station.

After the fatal disaster which befel our troops at the river Raisin, during the late war, Captain Isaac Baker, a son of the late Colonel Baker, of Mason county, attempted to make good his retreat with the remnant of his company, some fifteen or twenty in number. They were pursued by a .much larger party of Indians on horseback. When they came in sight, Captain Baker told his men that as they were on foot there was no possibility of escape, and that it only remained for them as brave men to sell their lives as dearly as possible. He ordered every man to tree and await the approach of the enemy. The order was promptly obeyed. The Indians approached within good rifle distance and then dismounted. As they did so, Captain Baker's little Spartan band poured in simultaneously a destructive fire, which brought the Indian force nearly to an equality with his own party. The Indians immediately treed, and the action continued in the true Indian manner of fighting, neither party firing except when there was a fair prospect of its taking effect. Unfortunately Captain Baker's men, at the commencement of the action, had but five rounds each. The fight was continued until the last load of ammunition was expended. Captain Baker then hoisted his handkerchief as the signal of surrender. The Indians approached, received the arms of the prisoners, counted the loss sustained on each side, and finding that theirs was the greater, began to make preparations to sacrifice as many as would bring the loss on each side to an equality. The first selected as a victim was the son of George Shinglebower, of Lexington, who was a red haired man, and as such an object of peculiar aversion to the Indians. A war- rior approached him, tomahawk in hand, and took off his hat, the better to exe-

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MASON COUNTY.

cute his dire purpose. Shinglebower, being a stout man, at the very moment the Indian was removing his hat, seized his tomahawk and sunk it into his head The Indians, aroused to the utmost pitch of rage by this daring deed, now rushed upon the prisoners with their tomahawks, determined to massacre the whole party. At this moment, an aged chief stepped forward and took two of the prisoners, one in each hand, and led them aside, claiming them as his, and protecting them from the enraged savages. These two men were Captain Baker, since deceased, and Captain McCarty, now a citizen of Pendleton county. They were purchased from the Indian chief at the restoration of peace ; the residue of Captain Baker's brave little band were all tomahawked on the spot where they surrendered.

Gen. HENRY LEE, a native of Virginia, was one of the earliest pioneers who settled in the county of Mason. He was a man of considerable intelligence and remarkably strong natural powers of mind. He was a member of the Virginia legislature from the district of Kentucky, and also of the convention which adopted the federal constitution. He served in the convention at Danville which met in 1787, and was one of the commissioners who located the seat of govern- ment at Frankfort. He was county lieutenant for all the territory north of Lick- ing river, and was appointed judge of the quarter sessions court, and associate judge of the circuit court for Mason county, and was president of the Wash- ington Branch of the old Bank of Kentucky. He came to Kentucky originally as a surveyor, and acted in that capacity for many years. He was a very saga- cious man, of fine business habits, and by his position and great application, amassed a very large fortune. He was tall and powerfully made, very erect, and a man of remarkably fine and imposing personal appearance. He died on the 24th Oct., 1845, in the eighty-ninth year of his age.

Judge WILLIAM MCCLUNG settled in Mason at an early period, and was a very prominent and influential citizen, and took an active part in advancing the interests of the new settlements. He was judge for many years of the district and circuit courts of the county, and was distinguished for his high attainments as a lawyer, but most eminently for his great unswerving and unapproachable integrity as a judge. He died while filling that office, about 1815. He had represented Nelson county. in the legislature in 1793, and in the senate, 1796-1800. His widow, a sister of U. S. chief justice John Marshall, survived him to 1858, aged 84; and two sons, John A. and Col. Alex. K., to 1859 and 1855.

ALEXANDER K. MARSHALL., Esq. a son of Colonel Thomas Marshall, and brother of the chief justice, was a pioneer lawyer of Mason county, and one of the very ablest of his day. In 1818 he was appointed reporter to the court of appeals, and during the period he held the office, published three volumes of reports.

Captain THOMAS MARSHALL, another son of Colonel Thomas Marshall, was the first clerk of the Mason county court. He was remarkable for his strong sense, benevolence and kind feelings, and was very generally beloved. He was a member of the convention that formed the second constitution of Kentucky.

Colonel ALEXANDER D. ORR, came to Kentucky from Virginia at an early period and settled in Mason on the farm (1834) occupied by John A. McClung, Esq. on the Ohio river, and built the first brick house ever erected in the county. He was elected to Congress in 1792 (after having been elected the same year to the state legislature), upon the admission of Kentucky into the Union, and took his seat at the session of 1792-3, in conjunction with his colleagues John Brown and John Edwards. He continued a member of Congress until 1797. He was a man of commanding personal appearance, and a polished gentleman of the old school. fle died in Paris about 1841.

Doctor BASIL DUKE was born in Calvert county, Maryland. He obtained a classical education in the school of a Scotchman of eminent scholarship. He studied medicine in the city of Baltimore. After practicing his profession a short time in his native county, he emigrated to Kentucky, and settled in Lexington in the year 1791, then about twenty-five years of age. During his residence at Lex- ington, his professional ability secured him a large practice. In '94 he married Charlotte, the daughter of Colonel Thomas Marshall, then of Woodford, and in 1798 removed to Mason county. At the head of his profession in that part of

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DEVALL PAYNE.

Kentucky, his practice for the greater part of his life was large and laborious, extending over Mason and the adjoining counties. His kind and benevolent character endeared him to the people, to whom his medical services rendered him greatly useful. He died in the town of Washington in 1828.

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Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. II, Part 93

Author: Collins, Lewis, 1797-1870. cn; Collins, Richard H., 1824-1889. cn Publication date: 1874 Publisher: Covington, Ky., Collins & Co. Number of Pages: 1654

Author: Collins, Lewis, 1797-1870. cn; Collins, Richard H., 1824-1889. cn
Publication date: 1874
Publisher: Covington, Ky., Collins & Co.
Number of Pages: 1654