USA > Missouri > Lincoln County > History of Lincoln County, Missouri, from the earliest time to the present > Part 20
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FIGHT NEAR FORT HOWARD.
Not long after the foregoing incident a rise took place in the Mississippi River, and the back water came up from Cuivre along the bluff. A party from Fort Howard went out in three skif's for some purpose. They had not gone far before they were fired upon by a party of Black Hawk's band, and seven men killed, among whom was George Burnes, son of James Burnes, who set- tled on Sandy Creek, as already mentioned. The survivors put back, and the Indians rejoined Black Hawk. The latter expected an attack and formed his men in line, himself standing boldly in front. This was scarcely done before the rangers, who had heard
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the firing from the fort, were seen advancing with great impetu- osity, led by Capt. Craig. Black Hawk took deliberate aim and fired, and Capt. Craig fell dead from his horse. The rangers never halted, but fired as they advanced and killed five of the bloodthirsty savages. Then, without taking time to reload, the Indians retreated into a sink-hole, the bottom of which was covered with bushes, which afforded protection from the fire of the rangers. They also dug holes with their knives in the sides of the depression, which gave them a pretty safe shelter. A desultory firing from both sides was kept up for some time. William McCormick, one of the rangers, declared that he was go- ing to kill an Indian, and that he would shoot him in the mouth. He carried out the boast exactly, he and several others going up to the edge of the sink-hole for that purpose. The others fired without effect. The fire was returned, killing Lieut. Spears on the brink and mortally wounding McCormick.
Black Hawk thus continues the narrative: "Some of my warriors commenced singing their death-songs. I heard the whites talking and called to them to come out and fight. I did not like my situation, and wished the matter settled. I soon heard chopping and knocking; I could not imagine what they were doing. Soon after they ran up wheels with a battery on it, and fired down without hurting any of us. I called to them again, and told them if they were brave men to come down and fight us. They gave up the siege and returned to the fort about dusk. There were eighteen in this trap with me. We all got out safe, and found one, white man dead on the edge of the sink- hole. They could not remove him for fear of our fire. We scalped him and placed our dead man upon him. We could not have left him in a better situation than on an enemy. " The " battery " was a keg of powder, to which was attached a fuse, and placed on the fore wheels of a wagon. This was run up to the brink, and intended to be pushed down into the midst of the Indians, but it exploded prematurely. The abandonment of the siege, which had continued from early in the day, was the result of a false alarm. This sink-hole was not a great distance from the fort, and is only a few yards from the Chain of Rocks and Cap-au-Gris road. Near by is a large spring, known to this day
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as the Black Hawk Spring. When the rangers returned to the fort, some of them brought the head of one of the fallen savages and stuck it upon a pole. Being without an officer, and in need of re-enforcements, they sent for Capt. Whiteside, who came the next day and had the pole taken down and the head buried. Black Hawk and his party abandoned their canoes and returned to Iowa by land, taking with them only two scalps, those of Durgee and Lieut. Spears. The body of the Lieutenant was found where he fell, with the dead Indian sitting astride it.
MASSACRE OF THE O'NEAL FAMILY.
Chauncey Durgee, one of the boys who hid in the log as before mentioned, moved to Canton, in this State, and died some years ago. John Ewing, who was one of his companions in the log, was a son of William Ewing, who, when his wife died, divided out his children, giving the youngest, Willie, a boy not quite two years old, to Mrs. O'Neal, whose husband had moved a few years before to a place three miles above Clarksville. At the beginning of the war O'Neal and his neighbors were engaged in building a stockade, where Clarksville now stands. On re- turning home in the evening O'Neal saw the hogs dragging some object down the path, quite a distance from the cabin. It was the body of his eldest daughter, seventeen years of age. The whole family, consisting of his wife and nine children, and the Ewing boy, had been massacred. Most of the bodies were found in the yard. Hanging over the fire was a large kettle, which Mrs. O'Neal had been using to heat water for washing. In this kettle O'Neal's youngest child, a mere infant, was thrown alive and literally roasted. Willie Ewing had been thrown on the fire, beneath the kettle, where his body was found partially consumed. This horrible butchery was perpetrated by a band of Pottawat- tomies. The next year this tribe made peace with the Americans after the defeat at Malden. Many of them were in the habit of visiting Fort Clark, at Peoria, Ill., while going on their hunting excursions down the Sangamon. One of the band, who visited the fort frequently, became very friendly, and loved to talk of his exploits during the time his tribe was at war with the whites. In one of his talks he told of having led the party that massacred
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the O'Neal family, and how, when scalping one of the boys, the victim grinned in the agonies of death.
This came to the ears of Lieut. John McNair, who lived in Troy before he enlisted, but was then in Fort Clark. McNair said, "The next time I see him I'll make him grin." The next day the Indian came back. McNair was asleep at the time. When he awoke he was told that the Indian had just gone. Inquiring the way, he gave immediate pursuit. He got almost upon the Indian before each saw the other. From the manner of his pursuer, the Indian saw that the matter was one of life or death, and prepared himself for defense. McNair got the first shot, and sent a ball crashing through the skull of the savage. Near the close of the war, Lieut. McNair was stationed at Cap-au-Gris, where Capt. Musick had command. A force of Indians came down on the Illinois side. Hearing of this the Lieutenant took six men and crossed over to reconnoiter, against the advice and caution of Frederick Dixon, who was familiar with the ways of the savages. They had not proceeded far from the river when four of their number were killed and McNair severely wounded. He and the other two men, Burnside and Webber, made for the skiff. The Indians reaching the boat first, sunk it. The white men plunged into the river, and the Indians after them. Web- ber being overtaken, plunged his hunting knife so deep into the breast of his pursuer that he could not withdraw it. He and Burnside reached a drift, where they were rescued by Dixon, David Lamaster and Thomas McNair, John's brother. Lieut. McNair was never afterward seen.
A JOKE WITH SAD RESULTS.
A party of rangers going from Fort Howard to Madison, on the bluff road, camped one night at a house on Hurricane Creek that had been lately abandoned. They found some provisions and a barrel of honey beer, of which they partook freely. The next morning, after marching a mile or more, the party concluded they must have some more beer, and sent about a dozen men back to get it, agreeing at the same time to march slowly, so as to be easily overtaken. As soon as the men started back, the onward party decided to have some fun, and to this end they
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deployed themselves in an ambush in such a manner as to make as large a show of strength as possible, intending to give their comrades a good scare when they returned with the beer, and then laugh at them. The result was not according to programme- the scare being changed to the other side. Presently the dozen rangers were seen coming along the road, happy in the possession of their beer and anticipating no danger. Their friends in ambush, at the proper moment, fired their guns in the air, raised the Indian yell, and kept up scattering volleys. The surprised men fell back with some disorder, which was keenly relished by their comrades in ambush. They rallied, and believing that they were attacked by concealed Indians, advanced and poured a well directed volley into the bush from whence came the heaviest firing. The command came out sharp and clear, "Load, boys, and let the red devils have it again." And again the leaden hail rattled through the brush. The fun had now lost all its charm. Several of the originators of it had been wounded, though not seriously, and they realized that they were in imminent danger. The other party was so intent upon the work of self-defense that all the shouting and hallooing could not make them understand the real situation. Finally some of the party in the bush rushed into the midst of the others and explained the affair. The wounded men were cared for, the beer was drank, and every man pledged himself not to engage in a practical joke of that kind again during his life. Pain and sadness took the place of the anticipated laugh.
DEATH OF LYNN AND KEIGHTLEY.
William Lynn, who lived where Brown's addition to Troy is situated, was a ranger, and at one time on duty at Fort Howard. He was fond of his dram and used to keep his bottle hid out. One day he took his usual walk to enjoy his bottle and was in the act of drinking, when he was shot and killed by the Indians. Abraham Keightley, of St. Charles County, while hunting his horses, crossed Cuivre at White's Bar, about a mile above Chain of Rocks, and when a few yards from the river, on the land between Maj. H. Anderson and Francis Freise, was killed by the savages. His son, who died near Troy a few years ago, pre-
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served his vest which showed the mark of the fatal bullet. Samuel Groshong, son of Jeremiah Groshong, was wounded in the shoulder, which caused a paralysis of the arm that lasted for several years. This occurred near Moscow, which vicinity was greatly infested by the Indians. After this five men were detailed from Clark's Fort to guard Groshong's mill. Among these was Peter Pugh, who used to declare that he would die before he would run from the Indians. He was a very pleasant and agreeable man, had been in several engagements and pos- sessed an excellent reputation for courage. How well he kept his vow will be seen further on.
EXPEDITION TO RELIEVE PRAIRIE DU CHIEN.
The disastrous attempt to relieve Prairie du Chien, was made early in the spring of 1814. The expedition consisted of three flat boats of soldiers, forty-two regulars under Lieut. Campbell, and sixty-five rangers, mostly from this county, under the com- mand of Lieuts. Riggs and Rector, and one or two boats loaded with provisions. At the rapids Campbell's boat grounded, and the other two passed on. Black Hawk attacked Campbell's boat, set it on fire and killed several of the men. Seeing this the other two boats put back, Riggs' getting aground and being delayed nearly an hour. Rector ran his boat alongside of Camp- bell's and took off the men. The Indians attacked them with great fury, causing considerable confusion among the soldiers, rendering their fire ineffectual, and preventing a proper man- agement of the boat. Riggs, after getting his boat off, concealed most of his men, handled his boat as if he were panic stricken, but managed to get it between the rest of the force and the Indians. The latter poured several volleys into it, to which Riggs paid no attention, but keeping up the show of utter demoralization, ran his boat toward the shore where the Indians stood. As soon as it touched, the savages rushed pell-mell for it, anticipating an easy triumph, but they found it a hornet's nest. Riggs saw his opportunity. At his orders the men rose and delivered a volley that sent the savages flying from the scene of battle. This diversion allowed the other boats time to recover, and they proceeded with all dispatch down the
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river. Lieut. Riggs hoisted sail and followed them, without having lost a man. The expedition returned to Cap-au-Gris. Two or three from Lincoln County were killed in this action, one of them being Peter Harpole, who was killed in Campbell's boat. The total loss was twelve killed and between twenty and thirty wounded. Black Hawk, in speaking of the conduct of Lieut. Riggs, says: "I had a good opinion of this war chief; he man- aged so much better than the others. It would give me pleasure to shake him by the hand."
DEATH OF M'COY, PUGH AND M'NAIR.
In April, 1814, Joseph McCoy, Sr., and his nephew, Joseph McCoy, Jr., and James McCoy, the first two being commonly known respectively as Big Joe and Little Joe, the latter a son-in- law of Maj. Christopher Clark, were sent from Fort Howard to find the whereabouts of the Indians. They went to Sulphur Lick, a spring strongly impregnated with sulphur, iron, salt and other minerals. It is situated about a quarter of a mile east of North Cuivre, and a mile and a half north of the Riggs Ford, on Section 3, Township 49, Range 1 west. The place had been settled some time before the war, a cabin built, and a small patch of ground cleared around the spring, but at this time it had been abandoned. The mineral water made the spring a favorable resort for deer. On this occasion no Indians were seen, and the scouts concluded to take a hunt. They unsaddled their horses and turned them in the old field to graze. Big Joe was not very well; he lay down in the lap of a fallen tree and went to sleep. James McCoy had killed a deer, and was at the spring washing out his gun. The Indians fired on him, wounding him in the thigh, and ran him about 300 yards, where they overtook and killed him. Big Joe awoke at the sound of the firing, but could not get a good chance to shoot, as the Indians were running about through the woods. Presently he was discovered, and as the savages closed in on him, he made a run for life. He was
the fleetest footed and most active of all the rangers. A big Indian, swift footed and active, soon distanced his fellows, and held McCoy a tight race for a mile or so. A large oak had been felled, and the branches lay directly in the path. Without
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swerving in the least, Big Joe made a terrific spring and leaped entirely over the tree top. The Indian stopped in amazement: " Whoop! Heap big jump! Me no follow!" McCoy's speed never slackened until he had gone several miles.
Little Joe was standing on the bank of the Lick Branch about a quarter of a mile below the spring when his brother was killed. He went up to the old field, caught and saddled his horse, and, finding the coast clear, went in the direction of the fort, leading the other two horses. He sent word to Maj. Clark. There were only two men in the fort besides the Major, Isaac White (who had both thumbs shot off a short time previous while in the act of firing, in a skirmish below Cap-au-Gris, where the rangers were driven back by the superior force) and David Mc- Nair. Maj. Clark collected eight men and gave pursuit. He followed the Indians some distance up North Cuivre to a point where they separated. It is said there were twenty-seven of the savages. Some time after this Peter Pugh and Robert McNair, the latter being a mere boy, and a brother to Lieut. John Mc- Nair, went to the same lick to hunt horses. The Indians attacked them and killed both. They might have easily escaped by a timely retreat, but Pugh dismounted, put his gun across his horse, and fought until he died. He killed four Indians. The savages, in revenge for his bloody work, hacked his body to pieces, and scattered it over the field. The remains were collected and buried with the body of young McNair on the bank of the lick stream .*
DEFEAT AND DEATH OF CAPT. CALLAWAY.
In March, 1815, Capt. James Callaway, with a body of rangers from Woods' Fort, was encamped on Loutre Island, in what is now Montgomery County. One night the Indians made a sudden dash into the camp and captured about thirty horses. The next day, being the ninth of the month, the Captain divided his men, leaving one detachment on guard, and with the other started in pursuit of the depredators. After following the Indian trail some twelve miles or more, Loutre Creek was crossed, and the
*Thus far the history of the War of 1812, pertaining to Lincoln County, has been principally copied, with some changes in the language, from Dr. Mudd's account of it as given in the county atlas. Quotation marks have been omitted because of the changes of the language, which have been made to adapt it to the present.
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horses were discovered tied close together, but not an Indian was visible. Capt. Callaway proposed to advance and secure them at once; but Lieut. Riggs, who was with the command, objected to this for fear of being led into a trap, and volunteered to make a reconnoissance. This being agreed to, he rode entirely around the horses, examined the ground, and returned without seeing an Indian. Being now satisfied that the enemy was not concealed within range of the horses, the command advanced and secured them, and turned about to go back to camp. The whole affair looked very suspicious; Riggs advised returning by another route, but the Captain refused to act upon this advice, and started back on the same route on which he went out. Loutre Creek was re- crossed, and the trail was followed down its banks and under the bluffs for several hundred yards. In this narrow defile a mur- derous fire was received from the concealed Indians. The rangers were thrown into confusion and disorder, from which the Captain, by his coolness and bravery, soon extracted them and made a desperate resistance; but their courage and desperate fighting were unavailing. The Captain and a large number of his men were killed. The command now devolved upon Lieut. Riggs, who, with the remnant of the command, cut his way out and re- turned to camp. The next day a party of rangers went out from the fort and buried the dead. The scene of their mangled forms was appalling.
Woods' Fort .- During the war twenty-five or thirty families took refuge in this fort. Among the men the following names have been preserved: Jacob Null and his son, John, Joseph Cottle, Joseph Collard and his son Elijah, Alambe and Job Williams, - McNair, a blacksmith, Zadock Woods and a man named Paris. These names have been preserved through the memory of John Null, who was then a boy. He remembered the Paris family on account of a fight between Mrs. Paris and another woman at the spring. This fight caused a considerable sensation in the fort.
During the War of 1812 many skirmishes with the Indians, and other incidents took place, which have been lost to history. No doubt but that many others, notherein mentioned, were killed. The sufferings of the early settlers during that period, from
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hunger and other privations, not to mention the anguish and grief of the friends of the slain, can now scarcely be imagined. The hardy pioneers labored hard, and fought their way in the midst of savages, to subdue the wilderness and make homes for their children and the succeeding generations. Their memory should be revered by all.
CHAPTER III.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
The history of Lincoln County properly dates from the begin- ning of the nineteenth century, when Maj. Christopher Clark erected his cabin, and became the first permanent settler within its limits. About five years previous, a few persons located on Spanish grants in the eastern part of the county, adjacent to the Mississippi and Cuivre Rivers. These were mostly French trap- pers and hunters, whose residences were only temporary. These settlements came to nought, and in a very few years every single grant was held by a non-resident owner. Hon. Tully R. Cornick, in an address before the first agricultural and mechanical fair ever held in the county, October 4, 1856, estimated that at the commencement of the present century less than forty acres of land had ever been put in cultivation in the county.
THE FIRST SETTLERS.
Maj. Clark was born in Lincoln County, N. C., in the year 1766. His father, James Clark by name, was a native of Ireland, and his mother, Catharine Horine, of Scotland. They first settled in Winchester, Va. They had six sons: Alexander, William, James, Christopher, John and David. Alexander, James and John remained in North Carolina. William was killed by the Indians in Kentucky. David visited Missouri in 1811. Return- ing to his native State he married Margaret Douglass, by whom he had one son, William, who was afterward well known all over this county. The family of David came to this State in
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1823, and settled on the Wright City road, three miles south of Troy. He died many years ago. He was greatly respected for his honest and upright character, and was for many years a justice of the peace. Christopher Clark settled in Lincoln County, Ky., in the year 1788. He married Elizabeth Adams, by whom he had six children: James, Sarah, Catharine, David, Hannah and Elizabeth. He served as lieutenant in a company of volunteers, guarding the frontiers of Kentucky, and also dur- ing a campaign up the Wabash River in 1790. He came to Missouri in 1799, bringing with him his horses and cattle. On this occasion he came on a prospecting tour as far north as the present site of Troy, where was then situated a small Indian village, the wigwams being placed in a kind of circle around the spring. The following year he brought his family in a pirogue, or large keel-boat, down the Kentucky and Ohio, and up the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, and landed at St. Charles. He settled at what is now known as Gilmore Springs, on the Wabash Railroad. A few days after his arrival his wife died. He immediately returned to Kentucky, and purchased a black girl to do the housework in his new home, where he resided about a year. In April, 1801, he moved into the limits of this county, being the first white man to cross Big Creek with a wagon, and built his cabin within a few feet of the present residence of Frederick Wing, Esq., three and a half miles southeast of Troy, on the St. Charles road. This was the first permanent settlement in the state north of the present limits of St. Charles County. At that time his nearest neighbor was Anthony Keller, who lived on the south bank of Big Creek, four miles off; after that the nearest settlement was made at Flint Hill.
Maj. Clark, in 1804, married his second wife, Hetty Calvert, of Virginia, by whom he had three children: Ralph H. F., Julia, and William Calvert. He died in 1841. He was a man of ster- ling honesty and of good solid judgment, and ever retained the confidence of his fellow citizens. During the last twenty years of his life, he was frequently solicited to run for office, but inva- riably refused. Of his children, James served one year as orderly sergeant under Capt. Nathan Boone, the youngest son of Daniel Boone, and was once severely wounded. David served one year
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under Capt. James Callaway, who was a grandson of Daniel Boone. He went to Texas with his brother James, in 1826, and was killed in battle in 1838. Sarah married Col. Alambe Will- iams, and went with him to Texas in 1831, where they both died many years ago. Catharine married Capt. Joseph McCoy, and went to Texas in 1824, where her husband died a few years after- ward. She was living when last heard from. Hannah died single in 1820. Elizabeth married Jesse Cox, and lived and died in
this county. Ralph was born while his mother was on a visit to
Green's Bottom, in St. Charles County, in 1804. He married Mary Murphy, of Kentucky, by whom he had two children. She died in 1839, and he afterward married Mary Atkinson, also of Kentucky, by whom he had eight children. He served many years as justice of the peace, while residing at the old homestead in this county. In 1858 he moved to Martinsburg in Audrain County. Julia married Valentine J. Peers, who was sheriff of this county from 1836 to 1838. Mr. Peers died in St. Louis. William died on his way to California in 1850. James died in Texas. McCoy and Williams each served a year under Capt. Daniel M. Boone, and a year under Capt. Callaway, during the War of 1812.
Soon after the settlement of Maj. Clark came Jeremiah Groshong, a native of Pennsylvania, who had lived a few years in St. Charles County, near the Missouri River. He settled half a mile northeast of Clark's, on the land known as the Castleman or Herndon place. He built a stone house on this farm, raised a family of nine children, was a prominent citizen, and took an active part in the organization of the county. In 1836, he and his family, excepting his son Jacob, moved to Wisconsin, where both he and his wife died-he at the age of eighty-six years. Jacob was born in October, 1800, a few months before his father settled in this county. About the year 1843, he settled on a farm four miles from Chain of Rocks on the Troy road, and lived there till his death at a very advanced age. At the time of his death he had been a resident of the county longer than any other per- son, and was doubtless the only person within its limits who had been a subject of Spain and France, and a citizen of the District of Louisiana, the Territory of Louisiana, the Territory of Mis-
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