USA > Kentucky > History of pioneer Kentucky > Part 10
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1 Draper, MSS. Life of Boone, Vol. IV, p. 170.
2 It was made of buffalo hides attached to a framework. When not in use it was hidden along the bank.
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red allies. Stringent orders were given and resolute pre- caution were taken against the torturing of prisoners. The price of a prisoner was double that of a scalp. Nor did they fail in their humane efforts ; Indian warfare was more civilized in 1778 than in any previous year. Prisoners were more kindly treated and agreements were more faith- fully observed.
The British efforts towards arousing the Indians were powerfully seconded by colonial treachery. Of the two great Shawnese chieftains, Blackfish urged war and Corn- stalk consistently favored peace. In the autumn of 1777 the latter, while on a friendly visit to Captain Arbuckle at Point Pleasant, was foully and treacherously murdered. The outraged Indians hastened to arms. They turned their rage first against Wheeling and only withdrew after losing one-fourth of their number. Enraged by their defeat, they prepared a new expedition, and this in the first days of 1778 directed its march to Kentucky. There were one hun- dred and two men in the party, of whom two were Cana- dians, eighty Shawnese and the remainder Miamis.
In the three settlements of Kentucky the pioneers were experiencing a scarcity of salt. It was their custom to make this from the various licks from time to time as a public enterprise ; but because of continuous Indian attacks in 1777, the supply was now running short.3 Accordingly, a company of men was enrolled from the different posts for the purpose of visiting Lower Blue Licks and making salt there for the various garrisons. Boone was the hunter and guide for the company. They set out on New Year's Day and worked in peace until the seventh of February. On that day Boone, while out hunting some distance away,
3 Filson, Autobiography of Boone, p. 60.
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fell in with the previously mentioned band of Shawnese and Miamis on their way to Boonesborough.4 He was numbed by the cold and in no condition to fight, even had there been no disparity of numbers. He tried to escape by flight, but was soon captured. The Shawnese were more than pleased when they recognized their prisoner. They had known Boone ever since they had taken him and Stewart in central Kentucky. He was known to them personally and by reputation. But they were far from feeling toward him the animosity usually displayed to their white foes. Rather their feeling was one of admiration and even of affection. Boone held much the same place in their hearts as in the hearts of the schoolchildren of today ; he was their hero. History, in fact, has no stranger anomaly than the relations of Boone and the Shawnese. Year after year they fought as foes, but countless incidents show the good feeling existing between them ; for Boone had much the same feeling for the Shawnese as they had for himself. He felt entirely at home when chance threw him among them. He had a strong appreciation of their mode of life and differed from them only in color and disposition. So the Shawnese were in great glee at taking Boone, and Boone, knowing well their feeling toward himself, felt no fear of suffering any injury at their hands.
The Indians, even before taking Boone, had discovered his companions at the lick, but had not molested them. They let themselves be cajoled by Boone into a promise of kind treatment if the men should surrender. This sur- render Boone undertook to bring about. He led the Indians
4 Charles Beaubien and Pierre Lorimer were the Canadian lead- ers. They had raised the Miamis from their town on the Maumee and the Shawnese from Piqua and Chillicothe. Beaubien and Lorimer were "Indian officers" in the British service.
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to the lick, and, after some argument, induced the men to give up their arms on his personal assurance that they should not be harmed. The influence of Boone and the ameliorating effect of English orders is well shown by the fact that the Indians faithfully observed their promise. The red chieftains informed Boone that they were on their way to Boonesborough and would greatly appreciate any information he might give them relative to its strength. Boone, well knowing the defenseless condition at Boones- borough, solemnly asserted that the fort was impregnable to attack and a large garrison was constantly on guard and looking for these same invaders; that because of his deep affection for his red brothers he would advise that the attack be postponed until another day. His red brothers, having some knowledge of their own, through their spies, in regard to the actual condition of things at Boones- borough, probably took Boone's statement with several grains of salt. They knew that the fort was unfinished and manned by a feeble garrison. But so pleased were they with Boone, whose imaginative faculty endeared him to his captors no less than did his prowess, that they determined to abandon the expedition and retrace their steps.5 More- over, they saw in the ransom of the prisoners a rich oppor- tunity for securing much "firewater," the deep affection for which among the Shawnese is a strong indication of their having once been Kentuckians.
Not all the men, however, had been made prisoners. Three of them had fortunately been dispatched to Boones- borough to carry in the salt they had made.6 After per- forming their task they returned to the Licks to assist in
5 Beaubien and Lorimer both wanted to go on against Boones- borough. The former was so incensed at the action of the Indians that he shortly afterwards abandoned them and went to Detroit.
6 Filson, Autobiography of Boone, p. 60.
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the salt-making. They were not long in perceiving that misfortune had befallen the others, though whether impris- onment or death they were, of course, unable to judge. Hurrying back, they reported the news to the panic-stricken fort. Such a blow had never before been struck against Kentucky; after the hostile encounters of the preceding year the pioneers had no hope that mercy would be shown to any one that fell into the hands of the Indians. The captives were given up for lost and their families mourned them as dead. An exodus began to Carolina and Virginia, and Boone's wife was in the departing number. The forts, and particularly Boonesborough, stood on guard con- tinually. Everyone waited in vain for the attack they knew to be inevitable.
Meanwhile Boone and his companions were being con- ducted to Old Chillicothe. It was a three days' journey thither and the weather was severe. Much suffering re- sulted both to captives and captors, but it is to the credit of the Indians that they did what they could to alleviate the pain of their prisoners. They shared with them their food and blankets. Indeed, they kept with scrupulous exactness their promise given to Boone that all should be treated well. This unusual conduct was probably caused as much by expectation of bounties as by any altruistic conception of honor. They remained at Old Chillicothe only for a short time. On the tenth of March Boone and ten others were sent on under the guard of forty Indians to Detroit. Here the ten were exchanged for the promised reward, but the Indians were firm in their refusal to part with Boone. It was in vain that Hamilton offered five times the usual ransom; the Indians would not let him go on any terms. Nor did Boone himself display any great desire to be ransomed. He refused to countenance any of
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the numerous plans suggested by the English for his de- tention, and even refused the gifts of some articles of comfort pressed upon him. In fact, Boone was in no hurry to give up his Indian life ; as long as peace obtained between them and his friends in Kentucky he was quite content to remain with them on equal terms. At Detroit the English seemed to place great confidence in him. Boone, on his part, conversed freely with the English in regard to Kentucky, telling them how the crops had been destroyed the previous year and that the settlements were in a bad way, with no hope of getting help from Con- gress.7 It is possible that he even promised to aid them in their plans against Kentucky. There is no reason to believe that Boone was doing more than exercising that talent of which he was very proud-the talent of "fooling" his enemies. But the British and even the Indians listened to his words as to Holy Writ.
At length, heavy laden with "firewater" and other tan- gible proofs of British affection, the Indians set out on their return to Old Chillicothe. Boone, of course, accom- panied them. Arriving, the Indians, as a special mark of their affection, decided to admit Boone to membership in their tribe; 8 he was to become the son of a chief.9 As a preliminary to entering into a relation so desirable it was necessary for Boone to take part in several ceremonies. He had to submit to having his hair plucked out by root ; only a small scalp lock on top was allowed to remain. The pain of this process was probably not lessened by the fact that it was done by women. He was then led into the
7 Haldimand Papers, Hamilton to Carleton, April 25, 1778. (Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, Vol. IX, p. 435.)
8 The sixteen companies of Boone were also adopted.
9 Blackfish.
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river and rubbed thoroughly to take out his white blood ; in all probability some of his blood was taken out in reality before the ceremony was finished. Then, dressed in Indian fashion with gay feathers in his scalp lock, he was taken into the council house and listened while the old men, as is the custom of old men, spoke eloquently of the golden opportunities before him. He was then given a coat of paint of many colors and given a huge banquet which, being somewhat unaccustomed to dog meat and similar delicacies, he probably found the most trying part of his initiation. The Indians, with a grave sense of humor, named him the Big Turtle, a name probably called forth by the small height and comfortable girth of the new member. He was also presented with a dog and a squaw.
Boone did not pretend, and there is no reason to be- lieve, that he disliked the life that followed. He was treated by the Indians as one of themselves and took part in all their activities. He was taken along on all hunting trips and quite won the heart of his father by keeping him supplied with meat. When he took part in their shoot- ing matches a delicate situation arose, inasmuch as he was obliged to shoot worse than his opponents in order not to arouse their jealousy. This was a difficult task, as the Shawnese were notoriously poor marksmen and could rarely be trusted to hit anything smaller than the solar system. However, Boone so managed that he every day grew in favor with the Indians. The nominal guard that was at first kept over him was gradually relaxed until finally he was allowed to come and go as he pleased. Boone made no efforts to escape; he was unfeignedly enjoying himself. Moreover, he was probably somewhat diffident about exposing his scalp lock and other Indian acquisitions to the jests and jibes of his rough neighbors at home. The
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wandering Indians drifted in June toward the Scioto Salt Lick to lay in a supply of salt. Boone went along, and when he returned to Chillicothe was startled to find a large force of Indians painted and ready to march on Kentucky.
Clearly this put a new light on things. Content to live and hunt with the Indians on friendly terms while Ken- tucky was at peace, the sturdy old pioneer could not re- main passive and see his old companions endangered. On the sixteenth of June he set out for his usual hunt and did not return. He made straight for Boonesborough, one hundred and sixty miles away. Fearing pursuit, he did not dare to stop to kill anything, and during the entire five days he was on the road he ate but one meal.10 He came to Boonesborough on the twentieth and was received as one from the dead. The pioneers had long since given him up as lost and were overjoyed to find him alive.11
Boone's stay with the Shawnese was a powerful factor in preserving for so any months a peace between red men and white. The Indians could but know that a move on Kentucky would cause Boone to bring his Indian life to a speedy close ; and their hearts were set on keeping Boone. The latter, for his part, understood that the Indians would not seriously molest Kentucky while he was among them. This knowledge must have strongly inclined him to defer his escape and appear content with Indian ways. But Hamilton, in a great conference held with the Indians at Detroit in June, had, by dint of extraordinary efforts, in- duced the Indians to take the warpath. Evidently there were to be few moments of peace for Kentucky in the near future.
10 He had brought this with him.
11 Bradford, Notes on Kentucky, p. 31.
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When Boone reached the fort he found it garrisoned by some sixty men, one-third of whom were unfit for fight- ing.12 The fort, despite a multitude of dangers, had never been finished. When Boone told his story the men began to apply themselves to bettering its condition and soon had it in good shape. Meanwhile the days wore on and no attack came. Several days after Boone there arrived at the fort a certain Stephen Hancock,13 who had been sur- rendered at the Lower Blue Licks and had been living in captivity since. He reported that on account of Boone's escape the Shawnese had postponed the expedition against Kentucky for three weeks. This was agreeable news to the Boonesborough men, but the remainder of his story was not so pleasant. He related how Boone while at De- troit had been on friendly terms with Governor Hamilton and had promised to deliver Boonesborough and its gar- rison into the hands of the British and Indians if oppor- tunity should arise.14 This story, undoubtedly true and not denied by Boone, was not long in causing a complete revulsion of feeling. Boone became no longer a popular hero, but a despised renegade. His old friend Calloway, now a colonel of militia, openly advocated that he be court- martialed and punished. The ambitious W. B. Smith came forward with the claim that he himself had been sub- stituted for both Calloway and Boone 15 in the command of the fort. Some of the garrison still clung to Boone, and were willing to believe his story that he had not in- tended to keep his promises to the British and Shawnese,
12 Draper, MSS. Life of Boone, Vol. IV, p. 217.
13 Draper and Rancke agree that Hancock came after Boone. Trabue, a contemporary, says that Hancock came before Boone. It seems certain that the former view is the correct one.
14 Autobiography of Daniel Trabue.
15 Rancke, Boonesborough, p. 98.
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but was deliberately deceiving them. Affairs were in a most chaotic condition, but as time wore on Boone gradu- ally regained his old place in the esteem of the people.
The three weeks mentioned by Hancock were passed and still no sight of the enemy. Boone urged that a coun- ter expedition be sent against the Shawnese town of Paint Lick near the Scioto. The wary old hunter had ascer- tained that Indian spies were lurking around the settle- ments, and he well knew the trouble such a thing portended. He hoped by his expedition northward to obtain full knowledge of what the Indians intended to do. The plan for a foray into Shawnese territory was strenuously op- posed by Calloway,16 the ranking officer in the little gar- rison. But military forms set lightly on the Kentuckians and on the first of August Boone, at the head of nineteen men, set out for the Ohio. Among the number was Kenton, who had accompanied Clarke to Kaskaskia and had come back to Harrodstown with dispatches. He served as a scout for the company. When but a few miles from their destination Kenton saw two Indians on one horse riding along in great glee. Now Kenton enjoyed taking a scalp as much as did the fiercest Wyandot. So, reckless of alarm, he fired and both Indians fell. Kenton ran forward for the much coveted scalp, and while engaged in that lawful industry, suddenly found himself surrounded by Indians. Fortunately his companions had heard the firing and hurried up in time to relieve him of a situation that was fast growing embarrassing. After this Kenton and Montgomery, reconnoitering, found the Indian village de- serted. Boone interpreted this to mean that the inhabi- tants had joined the Indian expedition to Kentucky; he
16 Autobiography of Daniel Trabue.
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straightway changed his course and hastened with all pos- sible speed back to Boonesborough. Finding the enemy's trail, he cautiously followed it, and, passing them in the night, he arrived safe at the fort on the seventh of August.17
On the eighth the Indians appeared. They numbered nearly three hundred men. Of these ten were Canadians, and the whole force was under the command of Fontenoy de Quindre, an "Indian officer" in the British service.18 English and French colors were flying over this motley force, and the Indians were painted in all the colors of war. The army, for it deserved the name, had crossed the Ohio at Limestone Creek and had penetrated into central Kentucky by way of the Lower Blue Lick. They ap- proached the fort from the north and crossed the Ken- tucky at the ford a little below the town. Then, without any haste and without the slightest effort at concealment, they moved around and took up their position on the south of the fort and near the hills. From the time they crossed the river the garrison had been watching their movements in silence. Not a shot was fired on either side; the gar- rison was so weak that it was absolutely necessary to save their ammunition, and the Indians were hoping to get possession of the fort by peaceful methods. They were still strong in their faith in Boone and heartily believed that he would surrender the fort to them at the earliest opportunity. Blackfish and Moluntha 19 were present in
17 Kenton and Montgomery stayed behind for a last shot at the Indians, and when they finally reached the fort they found them- selves locked out.
18 It must not be forgotten that these "Indian officers" were white men and were so called because they always commanded Indian troops. Like De Quindre, they were usually French.
19 Blackhoof, soon to be a renowned chief, was also present.
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command of the Shawnese ; it will be remembered that the former was the adopted "father" of Boone.
The first move on the part of the Indians was to request a parley with Boone. For this purpose they sent a negro slave 20 named Pompey to the fort to ask for him. Pompey went to within one hundred and fifty yards of the fort and, mounting a stump, yelled "hello." Although the men within the fort well knew what he wanted, no answer was made until he had repeated his summons several times. Then Boone condescended to look over the palisade and asked him what he wished. Thereupon Pompey delivered his message that the Indians wanted to have a conference with the chief men of the fort. They had sent word that if Boone would come out they would not hurt him. When Boone reported this message to the men within, there was much division of opinion in regard to the advisability of the conference. Boone put an end to the hesitation by declaring his purpose to go. He went confidently out from the fort to the place where Pompey was standing. The latter spread an Indian blanket on the ground 21 and Boone sat down on it, surrounded by the Indians who had now come up. To the Indian demand for a surrender he replied, as was the fact, that he was no longer the com- mander. He asked for time to consult the commanders, and it was given him. In the second conference he was accompanied by Calloway and Smith,22 while the Indians were represented by De Quindre, Blackfish and Moluntha.
20 Other authorities say that the request was delivered by two Canadians. McAfee in his Life and Times, gives the incident as above. 21 Shane MSS., Vol. I, p. 40.
22 Smith was dressed with a view to impress the Indians. He wore a macaroni hat with a long ostrich feather in it and had also arrayed himself in a red coat.
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The meeting between Boone and his "father" must have been an embarrassing one. Blackfish reproached Boone with running away and charged him with killing his son across the Ohio a few days before. Boone answered that he had not even been there. The settlers were urged to surrender, Blackfish saying he had brought along forty pack horses in order to carry them off easily. This offer seems to have been made by the Indians in good faith and as a result of a suggestion made by Boone while he was living a captive among them. The Indians were also un- doubtedly sincere in their promises to carry the garrison off without injury. These facts were well understood by Boone, and so, either in jest or sincerity, he affected to be well pleased with the proposition. He asked, however, for two days for consideration, saying that it was neces- sary to consult the men within the fort. This request was promptly granted and the conference came to an end.
When Boone returned to the fort and related to the garrison what had been said in the conference, their de- cision was unanimous against surrender. They had no such confidence in Indian promises as Boone had. Feeble as was the fort, they far preferred the chances of war to those of captivity. They decided, however, to defer their answer for the full two days, and in the meantime to strengthen their position in every way possible. There- upon was to be seen a spectacle unique in Indian warfare. While three hundred warriors were encamped in easy rifle shot, the pioneers went leisurely out and drove in their cattle without the slightest molestation. The men went freely about their work repairing the fort and making firm its gates, while the painted savages sauntered curiously around or looked on indifferently. The Indians, in fact,
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had no thought but that Boone would surrender the fort; they could not bring themselves to believe that the Big Turtle would turn against his adopted people. Moreover, they were greatly in earnest in wanting to take all the people prisoners ; they wanted the promised bounty. But at the end of the allotted time Boone gave his answer that the garrison was unwilling to surrender and was determined to defend itself to the utmost.23 To say that the Indians were chagrined at this would be putting it mildly. They saw their bounty money slipping away from them and their hopes fast fading of regaining Boone. To com- mence hostilities would be to lose all; they asked for another conference, repeating that they had instructions from Hamilton not to hurt the men, but to take them pris- oners. They proposed that nine representative men from the fort should meet De Quindre and the Indian chiefs at the springs some sixty yards from the fort to discuss terms. They gave the usual promises of protection to the envoys from the fort.
When Boone reported this proposal to the men, an altercation arose that well-nigh came to bloodshed. Cal- loway opposed it with all his power as a fool-hardy adven- ture. He was becoming more and more suspicious of Boone's loyalty and feared treachery if they should go outside the fort. Boone for his part urged that the con-
23 Boone's answer as recorded by Filson has quite a different sound from that with which McAfee credits him. The latter rep- resents him as saying that all but a few were ready to surrender, and that he would try further to influence them. McAfee says that Boone went alone to the Indian camp, and while there arranged for the meeting at the springs. The truth probably is that a great many conferences were held with the Indians on this subject before the details were arranged. Boone's conduct during the siege later became a matter of much controversy, and in all probability the reports even of the eyewitnesses were colored by their personal feelings toward the old pioneer.
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ference 24 be held, if for no other reason than to gain time. After a violent dispute, Boone prevailed, and it was de- cided to hold the conference. Daniel and Squire Boone, Richard and Flanders Calloway, W. B. Smith, Stephen and William Hancock and William Buchanan were chosen to represent the fort.25 Calloway, though going to the conference, had lost none of his suspicions ; he ordered the garrison to keep the guns trained on the Indians' repre- sentatives 26 and to be ready to fire at the first indication of violence. He also told the women of the fort to put on men's clothing and show themselves above the ramparts so as to make the Indians believe there was a large gar- rison within. Whether or not the Indians were impressed by this ruse is nowhere recorded. The treaty began on the morning of the tenth and lasted all day. While it was in progress the actions of both parties were of the friendliest. If the Indians meant treachery, no indication of it came to light. Squire Boone took occasion to inform some of the Indians that a huge army under Clarke was on the way from Virginia to relieve the fort. As the Indians knew that Clarke was in Illinois, they must have had, if they believed the story, a highly complimentary notion of that worthy's ubiquity. During the conference Blackfish wandered around the fort and surveyed it leisurely and curiously. Finally the treaty was arranged to be signed the next morning and the commissioners withdrew. Just what the provisions of this strange treaty were is not fully known. It, at least, made provision for annexing Boones-
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