USA > Kentucky > Historical sketches of Kentucky : embracing its history, antiquities, and natural curiosities, geographical, statistical, and geological descriptions with anecdotes of pioneer life, and more than one hundred biographical sketches of distinguished pioneers, soldiers, statesmen, jurists, lawyers, divines, etc. > Part 27
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The lands in Bourbon are in a high state of cultivation, being all enclosed, and the woodland well set in grass. The soil of the " Caneridge lands" is of a reddish color, which is supposed to be more durable than the black loam, and not so easily af- fected either by a dry or wet season. Primitive limestone, with- out any apparent organic remains, occurs in this section of the county in huge masses.
The only salt spring in the county is on the farm of Joseph Wilson, Esq., in the Caneridge neighborhood. It was formerly worked, and is said to be more strongly impregnated than the waters of the Blue Licks. Sul- phur and chalybeate springs are common in the county. Lead ore is occasionally found in small quantities, as also an inferior species of iron ore.
1
B
Scale, 50 pos. to the inch.
13
The line A B, in the annexed draw- ing, represents an ancient ditch across a narrow neck of land inter- cepted in a bend of Stoner, about one and a fourth miles below Paris. The peninsula thus cut off by the ditch, embraces an area of about fitty acres. The figures 1 and 2 represent mounds of earth. The first is situated on the lowest bench of the botten land, and the other is on the top of the cliff. The mound in the bottom has been opened, and human bones were discovered therein. An old settler of the county has informed me, that a well defined cause-way,
+
194
ANCIENT FORTIFICATIONS.
or smaller ditch, was perceptible at the period of the first settlement in the county, which extended from this ditch one and a half miles west to another large mound, on an elevated piece of ground. This latter mound is one of a range or chain of mounds, that extend quite across the county, in a north-west by west direction, than which, for telegraphic purposes, their position could hardly have been better selected by the most skillful engineer. Indeed, it is conjectured by some, that beacons were sometimes kindled on their summits, as coals have been found just below the surface, and occasionally, human bones, stone hatchets, spears, arrow points and a peculiar kind of ware.
South Licking
Hinkston
Stoner
This draft represents an ancient circular fortification with embrasures at the cardinal points, near the junction of Stoner's and Hinkston's forks of Licking, six miles north of Paris, near to which is the village of Ruddell's mills, formerly called Ruddell's station. No tradition points to the period when, or by whom this entrenchment was made; but being situated upon low ground, subject to overflow, there is reason to suppose, that it has been constructed within the last hundred and fifty years ; for it it had been formed anterior to this period. all ves- tiges of its configuration would have been destroyed by the action of the con- fluent waters.
Three miles further up Hinkston's fork, there is a similar fortification, with the addition of two mounds ; one within, and the other without the circle. Stone axes, hatchets, chisels, dirks, spear and arrow points of flint, also a hatchet of iron, very much corroded with rust. have been found here.
On all of the principal water courses in the county, Indian graves are to be found, sometimes single, but most frequently, several grouped together. Single graves are usually indicated by broad fiat stones, set in the ground edgewise around the skeleton ; but where a number have been deposited together. rude sto it walls were erected around them, and these having fallen inwards, the rocks !:- tain a vertical position, sometimes resembling a rough pavement. Many of these piles appear to be in various stages of decomposition, according to the lapse of time they have been thus exposed to the action of the elements. From the de- liberate care that seems to have been bestowed upon their dead, and other indi- cations, it is manifest that at no very remote period, the territory of Bourbon had a native Indian population. In proof of this, the vestiges of a large Indian town are still perceptible near where Pretty-rou empties into Strode's creek. on the farm of Pet. : Hedge. The centre of the site is distinguished by three smau mounds ranged in a line; and Ranked on either side by the remains of douidr rows of lodges or huts; and at the distance of about one hundred rods to a . castward, in a bluff of Stoner, was their regular burial ground. At the westin extremity of the village, on a slight elevation of black parth or mould, the both's of almost every species of wild animal are to be found, those of the buffalo, the bear and the deer being the most common.
At a short distance from this, on a stinilar elevation. is where either the funeral pyre or the stake, for the purpose of torturing prisoners was erected, as it is at the spot that coals, ashes and calcined human bones have been found ; sad vestiges of their cruel orgies. A variety of ornaments. such as bears' tasks and claws with holes drilled through them, stone medals, shells, etc .; fragments of vases will handles, stone axes, and implements of warfare, have been found in profesion The growth of the timber on the site, and in its immediate vicinity, fixes within
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195
BOURBON COUNTY.
reasonable certainty the period, when the village ceased to be inhabited. This timber is of the same varieties with that of the primitive stock on the hills, with this singular difference, that the former invariably grew two or three trees from the same roots, and when a portion of them were cut down by the present owner, they exhibited the uniform age of ninety years, counting the annulations. The current supposition is this, that the original growth was cut down by the inhabi- tants of the village, and after they made their exit, that two or three sprouts had sprung up from the still living roots, among the ruined wigwams, and thus ex- hibiting a cotemporaneous growth at the present day. However this may be, it is evident that this aboriginal town had a tragic end. In every direction the bones and teeth of its unfortunate inhabitants, corresponding to every age, have been discovered just beneath the surface of the soil ; sometimes lying across each other within the foundation of their huts, but most numerously in the bottom below the site of the town, whither perhaps the tide of battle rolled, and the devoted in- habitants met their fate at the hands of some hostile band.
In excavating a place for a building in this town a few years since, two or three large bones were found fifteen feet below the surface, in a fissure between two rocks. They were not as large as the bones of the mammoth, but were larger than those of any known species of living animal of this continent.
Five miles below Paris, on Stoner, a cave has been recently discovered, con- taining a number of skeletons in a good state of preservation. The crania is of Indian conformation, and one of them appears to have been pierced by a rifle ball. It is highly probable that these are the relics of some of the hostile Indians that were killed in the siege of Hinkston's station, a few miles below, as it is well remembered the same band of British and Indians encamped in the vicinity of this cave after the reduction of Hinkston's station, while on their march to attack Martin's station, which was located on Stoner, about three miles below Paris.
At a period when there were but few settlers in the county, a band of Indians, numbering about twenty, ventured into it, for the purpose of stealing horses. A party of a dozen hunters followed their trail, and overtook them on Stoner, a few miles above Paris, and fired a volley of ritle balls into their camp, which killed one of their number and wounded two or three more. The Indians then fled ; but after a short interval, contrary to their usual custom, they came back, and fired in turn upon the hunters while they were engaged in securing their stolen horses. Both parties then took trees, and the fight was continued obstinately for a long time. Finally the ammunition of the whites failed, and being nearly all wounded, they were obliged to leave the Indians masters of the field. In this skirmish, which was the last that took place in Bourbon, it was supposed the Indians lost half their number in killed and wounded. The hunters lost but one killed, (Frank Hickman, it is believed was his name), whose skeleton was afterwards identified by the initials on his knee buckles.
In June, 1780, Martin's station, in this county, was captured by a large body of Canadians and Indians, under Colonel Byrd, an officer of the British army. For the particulars of the expedition, and the capture of Ruddell's and Martin's stations, see Harrison county.
On the night of the 11th of April, 1787, the house of a widow, named Shanks, on Cooper's run, in this county, became the scene of an adventure of thrilling interest. She occupied what is generally called a double cabin, in a lonely part of the county, one room of which was tenanted by the old lady herself, together with two grown sons, and a widowed daughter, at that time suckling an infant, while the other was occupied by two unmarried daughters from sixteen to twenty years of age, together with a little girl not more than half grown. The hour way 11 o'clock at night. One of the unmarried daughters was still busily engaged at the loom, but the other members of the family, with the exception of one of the sons, had retired to rest. Some symptoms of an alarming nature had engaged the attention of the young man for an hour before anything of a decided character took place.
The cry of owls was heard in the adjoining wood, answering each other in rather an unusual manner. The horses, which were enclosed as usual in a pound near the house, were more than commonly excited, and by repeated snorting and galloping, announced the presence of some object of terror. The young man was often upon the point of awakening his brother, but was as often restrained by the
196
MURDERS BY INDIANS.
fear of incurring ridicule and the reproach of timidity, at that time an unpar- donable blemish in the character of a Kentuckian. At length hasty steps were heard in the yard, and quickly afterwards, several loud knocks at the door, accom- pauied by the usual exclamation, "who keeps house?" in very good English. The young man, supposing from the language, that some benighted settlers were at the door, hastily arose, and was advancing to withdraw the bar which secured it, when his mother, who had long lived upon the frontiers, and had probably detected the Indian tone in the demand for admission, instantly sprung out of bed, and ordered her son not to admit them, declaring that they were Indians.
She instantly awakened her other son, and the two young men seizing their guns, which were always charged, prepared to repel the enemy. The Indians finding it impossible to enter under their assumed characters, began to thunder at the door with great violence, but a single shot from a loop hole, compelled them to shift the attack to some less exposed point ; and. unfortunately, they discovered the door of the other cabin, which contained the three daughters. The rifles of the brothers could not be brought to bear upon this point, and by means of several rails taken from the yard fence, the door was forced from its hinges, and the three girls were at the mercy of the savages. One was instantly secured, but the eldest defended herself desperately with a knife which she had been using at the loom, and stabbed one of the Indians to the heart, before she was tomahawked.
In the meantime the little girl, who had been overlooked by the enemy in their eagerness to secure the others, ran out into the yard, and might have effected her escape. had she taken advantage of the darkness and fled, but instead of that the terrified little creature ran around the house wringing her hands, and crying out that her sisters were killed. The brothers, unable to hear her cries, withont risking every thing for her rescue, rushed to the door and were preparing to sally out to her assistance, when their mother threw herself before them and calmly declared that the child must be abandoned ro its fate ; that the sally would sac- rifice the lives of all the rest withont the slightest benefit to the little girl. Just then the child uttered a lond scream, followed by a few faint moans, and all was again silent. Presently the crackling of flames was heard, accompanied by a triumphant yell from the Indians, announcing that they had set fire to that division of the house which had been occupied by the daughters, and of which they held undisputed possession.
The fire was quickly communicated to the rest of the building, and it became necessary to abandon it, or perish in the flames. In the one case there was a possibility that some might escape; in the other, their fate would be equally certain and terrible. The rapid approach of the flames cut short their momentary suspense. The door was thrown open, and the old lady, supported by her eldest son, attempted to cross the fence at one point, while her daughter carrying her child in her arms, and attended by the younger of the brothers, ran in a different direction. The blazing roof shed a light over the yard but little interior to that of day, and the savages were distinctly seen awaiting the approach of their vic- tims. The old lady was permitted to reach the stile unmolested. but in the act of crossing, received several balls in her breast, and tell dead. Her son, provi- dentially, remained unhurt, and by extraordinary agility, effected his escape.
The other party succeeded also in reaching the fence unhurt, but in the act of crossing, were vigorously assailed by several Indians, who throwing down their guns, rushed upon them with their tomahawks. The young man defended his sister gallantly, firing upon the enemy as they approached, and then wielding the butt of his rifle with a fury that drew their whole attention upon hanselt. and gave his sister an opportunity of eiferting her escape. He quickly fell. however, under the tomahawks of his enemies, and was found at day-light, scalped and mangled in a shocking manner. Of the whole family. consisting of eight persons. when the attack commenced, only three escaped. Four were killed upon the spot. and one (the second daughter) carried off as a prisoner.
The neighborhood was quickly alarmed, and by daylight about thirty men were assembled under the command of Colonel Edwards. A light snow had fallen during the latter part of the night, and the Indian trail could be pursued at a gal- lop. It led directly into the mountainous country bordering upon Licking, and afforded evidences of great hurry and precipitation on the part of the fugitives. Unfortunately, a hound had been permitted to accompany the whites, and as the
197
BOURBON COUNTY
trail became fresh and the scent warm, she followed it with eagerness, baying loudly and giving the aların to the Indians. The consequences of this impre- dence were soon displayed. The enemy finding the pursuit keen, and perceiving that the strength of the prisoner began to fail. instantly sunk their tomahawks in her head, and left her, still warm and bleeding, upon the snow.
As the whites came up, she retained strength enough to wave her hands in token of recognition, and appeared desirous of giving them some information with regard to the enemy, but her strength was too far gone. Her brother sprung from his horse and knelt by her side. endeavoring to stop the effusion of blood, but in vain. She gave him her hand, muttered some inarticulate words, and expired within two minutes after the arrival of the party. The pursuit was renewed with additional ardor, and in twenty minutes the enemy was within view. They had taken possession of a steep narrow ridge, and seemed desirous of magnifying their numbers in the eyes of the whites, as they ran rapidly from tree to tree, and maintained a steady yell in their most appalling tones. The pursuers, how- ever, were too experienced to be deceived by so common an artifice. and being satisfied that the number of the enemy must be inferior to their own, they dis- mounted, tied their horses, and flanking out in such a manner as to enclose the enemy, ascended the ridge as rapidly as was consistent with a due regard to the shelter of their persons.
The firing quickly commenced, and now for the first time they discovered that only two Indians were opposed to them. They had voluntarily sacrificed them- selves for the safety of the main body, and had succeeded in delaying pursuit until their friends could reach the mountains. One of them was instantly shot dead, and the other was badly wounded, as was evident from the blood upon his blanket, as well as that which filled his tracks in the snow for a considerable dis- tance. The pursuit was recommenced, and urged keenly until night, when the trail entered a running stream and was lost. On the following morning the snow had melted, and every trace of the enemy was obliterated. This affair must be regarded as highly honorable to the skill, address, and activity of the Indians. and the self devotion of the rear guard is a lively instance of that magnanimity of which they are at times capable, and which is more remarkable in them, from the extreme caution, and tender regard for their own lives, which usually distin- guishes their warriors.
A few weeks after this melancholy affair, a very remarkable incident occurred in the same neighborhood. One morning, about sunrise, a young man of wild and savage appearance suddenly arose from a cluster of bushes in front of a cabin, and hailed the house in a barbarous dialect, which seemed neither exactly Indian nor English, but a collection of shreds and patches, from which the graces of both were carefully excluded. His skin had evidently once been white-although now grievously tanned by constant exposure to the weather. His dress in every respect was that of an Indian, as were his gestures, tones, and equipments, and his age could not be supposed to exceed twenty years. He talked volubly bus uncouthly, placed his hand upon bis breast, gestured vehemently, and seemed very earnestly bent upon communicating something. He was invited to enter the cabin, and the neighbors quickly collected around him.
He appeared involuntarily to shrink from contact with them ; his eyes rolled rapidly around with a distrustful expression from one to the other, and his whole manner was that of a wild animal, just caught, and shrinking from the touch of its captors. As several present understood the Indian tongue, they at length gathered the following circumstances, as accurately as they could be translated, out of a language which seemned to be an "omnium gatherum" of all that was mongrel, uncouth, and barbarous. He said that he had been taken by the In- dians, when a child, but could urither recollect his name, nor the country of his birth. That he had been adopted by an Indian warrior, who brought him up with his other soas, without making the slightest duference between them, and that under his father's roof he had lived happily until within the last month.
A few weeks before that time, his father, accompanied by himself and a younger brother. had hunted for some time upon the waters of the Miami, about forty miles from the spot where Cincinnati now stands, and after all their meat, skins, &c., had been properly secured, the old man determined to gratify his children by taking them upon a war expedition to Kentucky. They accordingly built a bark
198
SINGULAR INCIDENT.
canoe, in which they crossed the Ohio near the mouth of Licking, and having buried it, so as to secure it from the action of the sun, they advanced into the country and eneamped at the distance of fifteen miles from the river. Here their father was alarmed by hearing an owl cry in a peculiar tone, which he declared boded death or captivity to themselves, if they continued their expedition; and announced his intention of returning withont delay to the river.
Both of his sons vehemently opposed this resolution, and at length prevailed upon the old man to disregard the owl's warning, and conduct them, as he had promised, against the frontiers of Kentucky. The party then composed them- selves to sleep, but were quickly awakened by their father, who had again been warned in a dream that death awaited them in Kentucky, and again besought his children to release him from his promise, and lose no time in returning home. Again they prevailed upon him to disregard the warning, and persevere in the march. He consented to gratify them, but declared he would not remain a mo- ment longer in the camp which they now occupied, and accordingly they left it immediately, and marched on through the night, directing their course towards Bourbon county.
In the evening they approached a house. that which he had hailed, and in which he was now speaking. Suddenly, the desire of rejoining his people occupied his mind so strongly as to exclude every other idea, and seizing the first favorable opportunity, he had concealed himself in the bushes, and neglected to reply to all the signals which had been concerted for the purpose of collecting their party when scattered. This account appeared so extraordinary, and the young man's appearance was so wild and suspicious, that many of the neighbors suspected him of treachery, and thought that he should be arrested as a spy. Others op- posed this resolution, and gave full credit to his narrative. In order to satisfy themselves, however. they insisted upon his instantly conducting them to the spot where the canoe had been buried. To this the young man objected most vehe- mently, declaring. that although he had deserted his father and brother, yet he would not betray them.
These feelings were too delicate to meet with much sympathy from the rude borderers who surrounded him, and he was given to understand that nothing short of conducting them to the point of embarcation, would be accepted as an evi- dence of his sincerity. With obvious reluctance he at length complied. From twenty to thirty men were quickly assembled, mounted upon good horses, and under the guidance of the deserter, they moved rapidly towards the mouth of Licking. On the road, the young man informed them that he would first conduct them to the spot where they had encamped when the scream of the owl alarmed his father, and where an iron ketthe had been left concealed in a hollow tree. He was probably induced to do this from the hope of delaying the pursuit so long as to afford his friends an opportunity of crossing the river in safety.
But if such was his intention, no measure could have been more unfortunate. The whites approached the encampment in deep silence, and quickly perceived two Indians, an old man and a boy, seated by a fire. and busily employed in cooking some venison. The deserter became much agitated at the sight of them, and so earnestly implored his countrymen not to kill them, that it was agreed to surround the encampment, and endeavor to secure them as prisoners. This was accordingly attempted, but so desperate was the resistance of the Indians. and so determined were their efforts to escape, that the whites were compelled to fire upon them, and the old man fell mortally wounded, while the boy, by an in- credible display of address and activity, was enabled to escape. The deserter beheld his father fall, and throwing himself from his horse, he ran up to the siet where the old man lay. bleeding but still sensible, and falling upon his body. be- sought his forgiveness for being the unwilling cause of tas death. and wept bitterly.
His father evidently recognized him, and gave hun his hand. but almost in- stantiy afterwards expired. The white men now called upon him to conduct them at a gallop to the spot where the canoe was buried, expecting to reach it before the ludim boy, and intercept him. The deserter in vain implored them to compassionate his feelings. He urged that he had already sufficiently de mon- strated the truth of this formter assertions, at the expense of his father's le. ani earnestly entreated them to permit his younger brother to escape. His compan- ions, however, were inexorable. Nothing but the blood of the young Indian
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BOURBON COUNTY.
would satisfy them, and the deserter was again compelled to act as a mile. Within two hours they reached the designated spot. The canoe was still t'. . . and no track could be seen upon the sand, so that it was evident that the it Vieiras had not yet arrived.
Hastily dismounting, they tied their horses and concealed themselves withus close ride shot of the canoe. Within ten minutes after their arrival, the Inten appeared in sight, walking swiftly towards them. He went straight to the my where the canoe had been buried, and was in the act of digging it up, when he received a dozen balls through his body. and leaping high into the air, fell dead upon the sand. He was instantly scalped and buried where he fell, without having seen his brother, and probably without having known the treachery by which he and his father had lost their lives. The deserter remained but a short time in Bourbon, and never regained his tranquility of mind. He shortly after- wards disappeared, but whether to seek his relations in Virginia or Pennsylvania, or whether disgusted by the ferocity of the whites, he returned to the Indians, has never yet been known. He was never heard of afterwards .*
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