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 69
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And it may be here mentioned to the credit of the McAfees and MeCouns, that when a few years after they erected a rural church in their settlement, (the same over which the venerable Dr. Cleland now presides), mindful of the frequent in- terpositions of benignant Heaven in their favor, from the relief on the Alleghany mountains, through the entire progress of their history, they gave it the appropri- ate name of Providence church. Who can doubt, that from this humble structure built of logs, this church in the woods. the hymn and the prayer went up, as ac- ceptable to the ear of the Almighty, as though it had been one of those stately and elegant temples which have been reared in later years, attesting, if not the increased devotion, at least the increased wealth of the west.
The incursions of the savages gradually diminished from this period, as the country was more and more occupied by numerous emigrants, or Long Knives, as the Indians termed the whites. The MeAfee station. like all the others, became a prominent centre of population, and was looked up to as one of the main props of the country. Grist-mills began now to be erected ; improvements of all kinds were projected ; and uninterrupted prosperity finally crowned the enterprising pioneers. Having mentioned grist-mills. it may not be amiss to relate, out of the MISS., how their grain had been ground hitherto. Hand-mills were in use. of a primitive and almost oriental character, consisting of a pair of slabs of liniestone, about two feet in diameter, which were placed in a hollow tree, generally syca- more or gum ; and every morning each family would grind as much as would supply them through the day.
General George Rogers Clark first came to Kentucky in 1775, and penetrated to Harrodsburg, which had been re-occupied by Colonel Harrod. In this visit, from his well known and commanding talents, he was voluntarily placed in com- mand of the irregular troops then in Kentucky. In the fall, he returned to Vir- ginia, and came back again to Kentucky in 1776. Mr. Butler relates the follow- ing anecdote. received from the lips of General Ray, as having occurred with General Clark upon his second visit : "I had come down," said General Ray, " to where I now live, (about four miles north of Harrodsburg.) to turn some hor- ses in the range. I had killed a small blue-wing duck, that was feeding in my spring, and had roasted it nicely on the brow of the hill, about twenty steps east of my house. After having taken it off to cool, I was much surprised on being suddenly arrested by a fine, soldierly looking man, who exclaimed. . How do you do, my little fellow ? What is your name ? A'nt you afraid of being in the woods by yourself !' On satisfying the inquiries, I invited the traveler to par- take of my duck, which he did without leaving me a bone to pick. his appente was so keen, though he should have been welcome to all the game I could have killed, when I afterwards became acquainted with his noble and gallant sal." After satisfying his questions, he inquired of the stranger his own name and bust- ness in this remote region. "My name is Clark." be answered, " and I have Come out to see what you brave fellows are doing in Kentucky, and to lend you a helping hand if necessary." General Ray, then a boy of sixteen, conducted Clark to Harrodsburg, where be spent his time in observations on the condition and prospects of the country, natural to his comprehensive mind. and assisting at every opportunity in its defence.
At a general meeting of the settlers at Harrodstown, on the 6th of June. 1775, General George Rogers Clark, and Gabriel John Jones were chosen to represent
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them in the assembly of Virginia .* For the manner in which they discharged the trust committed to them, see sketch of General Clark.
In March, 1527, while James Ray, his brother, and another man were engaged in clearing some land abont four miles from Harrodstown, (the same place which afterwards continued to be the residence of the venerable pioneer, General James Ray, until his death.) they were attacked by a party of forty-seven hostile Indians, under the command of the celebrated chief, Blackfish. The Indians were attrac- ted to the place by the noise of the axes, and rushing upon the choppers. killed the younger Ray, and took the third prisoner. The elder Ray, (distinguished afterwards as General James Ray) being uninjured by the discharge of ritles, fled in the direction of the fort. Several of the swiftest Indians followed him in full chase, but such was his fleetness and activity, that he distanced them all, and reached the fort in safety. The remarkable swiftness of Ray elicited the admira- tion of the Indians, and Blackfish himself remarked to Boone after his capture at the Blue Licks the succeeding year, that some boy at Harrodstown had outrun all his warriors.
The speed of Ray was a fortunate circumstance for the fort at Harrodstown. as his information enabled the garrison to prepare for the expected attack. The militia was organised, ammunition prepared, water and provision secured, and the fort put in the best possible state of defence. On the morning of the 7th of March, 1777, several days after the escape of Ray, the Indians approached the vicinity of the fort, and preliminary to an attack, fired an out cabin on the east side of the town. The garrison, unconscious of the proximity of the enemy. and supposing the fire to be the result of accident, rushed out of the fort with a view to extinguish the flames. The Indians, doubtless intending to decoy the garrison, instantly attempted to intercept their return to the fort. The whites retreated, keeping up a random fre, until they reached a piece of woods on the hill, (now occupied by the court house in Harrodsburg,) where each man took a tree, and soon caused the Indians, in turn. to give back, when they succeeded in regaining the fort. The Indians soon afterwards withdrew. In this conflict, one Indian was killed, and four of the whites wounded, one of whom subsequently died.
In the " Sketches of the Early Catholic Missions of Kentucky," by the Rev. Dr. Spalding, of the Catholic church, recently published, a different version is given of the attack on the wood-choppers, than that published by Mr. Butler. " The third man," Dr. Spalding says, "was William Coomes; but there was yet a fourth man, natued Thomas Shores," who, and not William Coomes. " was taken prisoner by the Indians, at the Shawanee Springs." The statement of Mr. Coomes, as furnished Dr. Spalding by his son, is as follows :
" The party of choppers alluded to, consisted of the two Rays, Wm. Coomes, and Thomas Shores, who were engaged in clearing land, at the Shawanee Springs, for Hugh MeGary, the father-in-law of the two Rays. On the 6th of March, 1777, the two Rays, and Shores, visited a neighboring sugar-camp, to slake their thirst, leaving Mr. Coomes alone at the clearing. William Coomes, alarmed at their protracted absence, had suspended his work, and was about to start in search of them, when he suddenly spied a body of Indians-fifteen in number-coming directly towards him. from the direction of the sugar-camp. He instantly con- cealed himself behind the trunk of the tree which he had just felled, at the same time seizing and cooking his ritle. Fortunately, the Indians had not observed him, owing to the thick cane-brake and undergrowth : they passed by him. in In- dian file. to a temporary log cabin, which the woodmen had erected for their ar- commodation.
" So soon as they were out of sight, Coomes escaped towards the sugar-camp. to find out what had become of his companions. Discovering no trace of them. he concealed him-elf amidst the boughs of a fallen hickory tree, the yellow leaves of which were of nearly the same color as his garments. From bis biding-place he had a full view of the sugar-camp ; and, after a short the, he observed a party of forty Indians balt there, where they were soon rejoined by the fifteen whom he had previously seen. They tarried there for a long time, drinking the syrup. stre- ing their war-songs, and dancing their war-dance. Coomes was a breathless spectator of this scene of revelry, from the distance of only fitty or sixty yards.
. They hated as representatives from " the western part of Fincasde county, on the Kentucky' river."
JAMES RAY. 459
Other straggling parties of savages also came in, and the whole number amounted to about seventy, instead of forty-seven, as stated by Butler and Marshall.
" Meantime, Jaines Ray had escaped, and communicated the alarm to the pro- ple of Harrodstown. Great was the terror and confusion which ensued there. The hot-headed MeGary openly charged James Harrod with having been want- ing in the precautions and courage necessary for the defence of the fort. These two men, who had a personal enmity against each other, quarreled, and leveled their fatal rifles at each other's bosoms. In this conjuncture, the wife of Mediary rushed in and turned aside the rifle of her husband, when Harrod immediately withdrew his, and the difficulty was temporarily adjusted.
" MeGary insisted that a party of thirty should be immediately dispatched with him, in search of Coomnes, Shores, and his son-in-law, William Ray. Harrod, the commandant of the station, and Col. George Rogers Clark, thought this mea- sure rash and imprudent, as all the men were necessary for the defence of the place. which might be attacked by the Indians at any moment. At length, how- ever, the request of MeGary was granted, and thirty mounted men were placed under his command, for the expedition.
" The detachment moved with great rapidity, and soon reached the neighbor- hood of the sugar-camp, which the Indians had already abandoned. Near it they discovered the mangled remains of William Ray. at the sight of which, MeGary turned pale, and was near falling from his horse, in a fainting fit. As soon as the body was discovered, one of the men shouted out: . See there! they have killed poor Coomes !' Coomes, who had hitherto lurked in his hiding-place, now sallied forth, and ran towards the men, exclaiming : ' No, they haven't killed me, by Job ! I'm safe !'
"The party, having buried Ray and rescued Coomes, returned in safety to Har- rodstown, which they reached about sunset."
During the year 1777. the Indians collected in great numbers around Harrods- town. in order, it is supposed, to prevent any corn from being raised for the sup- port of the settlers. In this period of distress and peril, Ray, at that time but seventeen years old, rendered himself an object of general favor, by his intre- pidity, courage and enterprise. He often rose before day, and left the fort, on an old horse .- the only one left by the Indians. of forty brought to the country by Maj. MeGary,-in order to procure food for the garrison. Proceeding cautiously to Salt river. (generally riding in the water, or in the bed of some smail stream, in order to conceal his route), when sufficiently out of hearing, he would kill bis load of game, and bring it in to the suffering inhabitants after night-fall. Older and more experienced hunters, in similar hazardous enterprises, were killed by the Indians. *
During the same year, while Ray and a man named M'Connell were shooting at a mark near the fort, the latter was suddenly shot down by the Indians. Ray instantly glanced his eye in the direction of the shot, and perceiving the enemy, raised his rifle to avenge the death of his friend, when he was suddenly attacked by a large body of Indians, who had crept near him unseen. His powers as a runner were again called into requisition, and Ray bounded towards the fort, dis- tant a hundred and fifty yards, with the speed of an antelope, amidst showers .f bullets from the savages. But when he approached the gates of the fort. he found them closed. and the garrison too much under the influence of their fears to open them for his admission. In this critical situation, pursued by the savages. and refused shelter by his friends, Ray threw himself flat upon the ground, behind a stump just large enough to protect his body. Here, within seven steps of the fort wall, in sight of his mother, he lay for four hours, while the Indians kept up an incessant fire, the balls often striking and tearing up the ground on either side of him. At last, becoming somewhat impatient, he called out to the garrison, " for God's sake dig a hole under the cabin wall. and take me in." Strange as may have appeared the suggestion, it was immediately carried out, and the noble young hunter was speedily within the shelter of the fort and in the arms of his friends !
During the fall of this year. (1777),t in order to make up the deficiency aris- ing from having raised no corn, the people of the fort determined to make a tur-
* Butler's History.
t Ibid, page 44.
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nip patch. about two hundred yards north-west of the station. While clearing the ground, an Indian was shot at by the guard, and the men retired. The next day the cattle were perceived to be disturbed, and snuffing the air about a small field in the furthest corner, that had been allowed to grow up in very high weeds. The presence of concealed Indians was instantly suspected, so sure were the cat- tle to betray their vicinity, either from the sight of the Indians themselves. or from the smell of the paint upon their persons. This indication prompted Major George Rogers Clark to turn the ambuscade upon the enemy. For this purpose, some men were still kept at work in the turnip patch nearest the fort, and, in or- der to prevent suspicion by the Indians of any movement from within, they occa- sionally hallooed to their companions to come out to their work. while Clark. with a party of the garrison, sallied out of the fort with great secrecy, and making a circuit, came up on the rear of the Indians as they lay concealed in the weeds. A volley was discharged at the concealed foe, and four of their number killed- one by Clark and another by Ray. The Indians instantly retreated. and were pursued by the whites about four hundred yards down the creek, where they came upon the remains of a deserted Indian encampment, of sufficient extent for the accommodation of five or six hundred warriors. From this camp the enemy had issued during the preceding summer to assail the stations, which they had kept in a state of constant alarm, and had destroyed the greater portion of their horses and cattle. The Indians had now abandoned their position, and the party which had just been pursued was supposed to be the remnant of the Indian force which had occupied the encampment. Major Clark complimented James Ray (subsequently General James Ray) with the gun of the Indian which he had shot, and which was the first he had ever killed. The property found in the In- dian camp. consisting, principally, of cooking utensils, was, as usual, divided by lottery among the captors.
In Dr. Spalding's " Sketches," we find a record of the following adventure, in which William Coomes was an actor :
" In the spring of 1778, he [ Mr. Coomes ] was one of a party of thirty men sent out under Colonel Bowman, for the purpose of shelling corn at a plantation about seven miles distant from Harrodstown. The men were divided into pairs, each of which had a large sack, which was to be filled and brought back to the fort. While engaged in filling the sacks, they were fired on by a party of about forty Indians, who had lain concealed in a neighboring cane-brake. At the first fire, seven of the white men were shot down, and among them Mr. H. Berry, the person standing by the side of William Coomes, whose face was bespattered with the blood from the wounds of his fallen comrade. Fight others of the white men fled for shelter to the cane-brake ; but the rest of them, rallied by the loud cries of Colonel Bowman, seized their rifles. and sheltering themselves in an ad- joining cabin, or behind the trees. prepared to defend themselves to the last. One of the men, observing the face of Coomes reddened with blood. mistook him for an Indian, and was leveling his rifle at him. when the latter. fortunately remark- ing his movement, cried out, and thus saved his life.
" Meantime, Colonel Bowman dispatched a courier on horseback to Harrods- town, to carry the alarm and to obtain a re-inforcement. The messenger sped his way unharmed to the fort, though many a rifle was aimed at him, and though another strong party of savages were lying in ambush on the way he had to travel. In a few hours. the expected reinforcement arrived ; when the Indians. baffled in their object, betook themselves to flight. The white men. after burying their dead, returned to Harrodstown in the evening, with their replenished sacks of corn."
During the year 1779, an expedition was set on foot, from Harrodsburg against the Indian town at off Chillicothe. under the command of Colonel Bowman. The number of men who rendezvoused at Harrodsburg, is stated by Mr. Butler at three hundred, and by Mr. McClung at one hundred and sixty. Captains Benja- min Logan. John Holder, James Harrod and John Bulger, accompanied the expe- dition, of which Captain (afterwards general) Logan was second in command- and Major George M. Bedinger. of Nicholas county, lately deceased. was adju- tant. The expedition, owing to bad management on the part of Colonel Bow-
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ATTACK ON MCAFEE'S STATION.
man, proved a failure. The particulars will be found in the biographical sketch of General Logan, under the head of Logan county.
From McClung's Sketches, we copy the following account of an attack on MeAfee's station, in the year 1781 :
" Early in May, 1791, MeAfee's station, in the neighborhood of Harrodsburg, was alarmed. On the morning of the 9th, Samuel McAfee, accompanied by another man, left the fort, in order to visit a small plantation in the neighborhood. and at the distance of three hundred yards from the gate, they were fired upon by a party of Indians in ambush. The man who accompanied him instantly fell, and Me.Afee attempted to regain the fort. While running rapidly for that pur- pose. he found himself suddenly intercepted by an Indian, who. springing out of the cane-brake, placed himself directly in his path. There was no time for com- pliments, each glared upon the other for an instant in silence, and both raising their guns at the same moment, pulled the triggers together. The Indian's rifle snapped, while Mc Afee's ball passed directly through his brain. Having no time to reload his gun, he sprung over the body of his antagonist, and continued his fight to the fort.
" When within one hundred yards of the gate, he was met by his two brothers, Robert and James, who, at the report of the guns, had hurried out to the assis- tance of their brother. Samuel hastily informed them of their danger, and exhor- ted them instantly to return. James readily complied, but Robert, deaf to all remonstrances, declared that he must have a view of the dead Indian. He ran on, for that purpose, and having regaled himself with that spectacle, was hastily returning by the same path, when he saw five or six Indians between him and the fort, evidently bent upon taking him alive. All his activity and presence of mind was now put in requisition. He ran rapidly from tree to tree. endeavoring to turn their flank, and reach one of the gates, and after a variety of turns and doublings in the thick wood, he found himself pressed by only one Indian. McAfee hastily throwing himself behind a fence, turned upon his pursuer and compelled him to take shelter behind a tree.
" Both stood still for a moment, McAfee having his gun cocked, and the sight fixed upon the tree, at the spot where he supposed the Indian would thrust ont his head in order to have a view of his antagonist. After waiting a few seconds he was gratified. The Indian slowly and cautiously exposed a part of his head. and began to elevate his rifle. As soon as a sufficient mark presented itself, McAfee fired, and the Indian fell. While turning, in order to continue his flight. he was fired on by a party of six, which compelled him again to tree. But scarcely had he done so. when, from the opposite quarter he received the fire of three more enemies, which made the bark fly around him, and knocked up the dust about his feet. Thinking his post rather too hot for safety, he neglected all shelter, and ran directly for the fort, which, in defiance of all opposition, he reached in safety, to the inexpressible joy of his brothers, who had despaired ot his return.
"The Indians now opened a heavy fire upon the fort, in their usnal manner ; but finding every effort useless, they hastily decamped, without any loss beyond the two who had fallen by the hands of the brothers, and without having inthictrd any upon the garrison. Within half an hour. Major McGary brought up a party from Harrodsburg at full gallop, and uniting with the garrison, pursued the eur- my with all possible activity. They soon overtook them, and a sharp action ensued. The Indians were routed in a few minutes, with the loss of six war- riors left dead upon the ground. and many others wounded, who as usual were borne off. The pursuit was continued for several miles, but from the thickness of the woods, and the extreme activity and address of the enemy, was not very effectnal. MeGary lost one man dead upon the spot, and another mortally wounded."
ROBERT MCAFEE, the father of General Robert B. Me Afee, moved to and built a cabin on the place where General MeAfee now lives, in November, 1779, and remained during that winter. generally known as the " hard winter." Often, during the winter, and while the weather was intensely cold, he shot buffalo, deer and turkeys. while standing in his own door. The death of Joseph Mel oun. noticed in the preceding pages, induced Mr. MeAfee, with six other families, to
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move to James McAfee's station, where they remained till the spring of 1753. before they ventured to remove to their own farms. During the same year. a sinall party of Indians passed through the neighborhood and stole the greater portion of their horses. In the spring of 1795, Robert MeAfee took a boat load of flour and bacon to New Orleans, where, before day light on the morning of the 10th of May, he was killed by a Spaniard, in his boat, receiving the stroke of an axe in his temple, the object of the miscreant being to rob him. His eldest son, Samuel, experienced great difficulty with the Spanish government in his efforts to save the money and other property of his father. His remains were interred near the hospital, and after steamboat navigation was commenced on the river, his son, Robert B. McAfee, attempted to recover his bones, with a view to their interment at the homestead in Kentucky, but they were found in a state of decomposition.
WILLIAM MCAFEE commanded a company, under Gen. Clark, in 1780, in an expedition against the Shawanee Indians, on the Big Miami. In a skirmish, near Piqua, he was shot through the body, and mortally wounded ; but, through the aid of his brothers, he was enabled to return to the Ohio river. descend that river to the Falls, and then travel as far as Floyd's station, (where his wife met him). before he died. He left two infant daughters, and another daughter was born to him a few months after, who afterwards became the wife of Major Willis A. Lee. for many years clerk of the senate of Kentucky. The eldest married Capt. Eli- jah Craig, who was killed at the battle of the Thames, in October, 1813. These two sisters now live in the town of Salvisa, near their relatives, in humble, but comfortable circumstances, upon the remains of an extensive landed estate left them by their father.
GEORGE MCAFEE, sen., died on his farm, near Salvisa, on Salt river, on the 14th of April, 1803, and was the first person buried at New Providence church.
SAMUEL MCAFEE died in 1801, and was buried in the family grave-yard ; but. after the death of his wife, in 1817, his remains were removed to Providence, and interred with her.
JAMES MCAFEE, the eldest brother, died on his farm, in 1817, and was buried in the family burying-ground, near New Providence.
JANE MCAFEE, sen., the mother of the above sons, came to Kentucky in 1779, with her children, and died in 1788. She was buried on a beautiful eminence, on the east side of Salt river, west of Wilson's station, on the land now owned by Archibald Adams.
JAMES HARROD was emphatically the leader of the first settlers at Harrodsburg. Emigrating to the country in the year 1774, he has been rendered conspicuous, as the builder of the " first log cabin " in Kentucky. Possessing qualities of a high and generous nature-tall, erect, and commanding in his personal appearance- bold, resolute, active and energetic-inured to the life of a backwoodsman, and familiar with its dangers and capable of supporting its hardships-he was singu- larly adapted to the position that he was to occupy .* His open, manly counte- nance-his mild and conciliating manners-his integrity, kindness and generosity -all conspired to render him the idol of his associates. Expert in the use of the rifle, he was a successful hunter. and a skillful and dangerous antagonist of the Indian. If he was an unlettered, he was not an ignorant man. The defiets . f his education were supplied by the masculine energy of his natural endowment : and, at a period when the cultivation of the intellect was not only impracticable. but was deemed subordinate to the discipline of the body, his claim of rank. is a leader of the pioneers, was universally allowed. His attention to the safety and wants of his companions was as unremitted, as his magnanimity was pro- verbial. If he received information that a party of hunters had been surprised by the savages, " let us go and heat the red rascals," was his instantaneous order: and the command and its execution were synonymous with him. If & plow horse were missing-having strayed from the station,-and the owner, unecu- tomed to the range, or unwilling to encounter the risk of making search for him.
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