USA > Ohio > Allen County > A standard history of Allen county, Ohio : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development > Part 7
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A number of noted white prisoners who had been captured were taken to Detroit. One of these unfortunates was Simon Kenton whose career so excites the minds of youths. When the noted prisoner Simon Kenton reached the Upper Sandusky town, the Indians, young and old, came out to view him. His death was expected to take place here.
As soon as the grand court was organized, and ready to proceed to business, a Canadian Frenchman, one Pierre Druillard, who usually went by the name of Peter Druyer * * * made his appearance in the
council. * * * He began his speech by stating: "the Americans were the cause of the present bloody and distressing war-that neither peace nor safety could be expected, so long as these intruders were permit- ted to live upon the earth." He then explained to the Indians: "that the war to be carried on successfully required cunning as well as bravery-that the intelligence which might be extorted from a prisoner could be of more advantage in conducting the future operations of the war than would be the lives of twenty prisoners. Under these circum- stances, he hoped they would defer the death of the prisoner till he was taken to Detroit and examined by the commanding general." He next noticed "that they had already a great deal of trouble and fatigue with the prisoner without being revenged upon him; but that they had got back all the horses the prisoners had stolen from them, and killed one of his comrades ; and to insure something for their fatigue and trouble, he himself would give one hundred dollars in rum and tobacco or any other article they would choose, if they would let him take the prisoner to Detroit, to be examined by the British General." The Indians, without
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hesitation, agreed to Captain Druyer's proposition, and he paid down the ransom. As soon as these arrangements were concluded, Druyer and a principal chief set off with the prisoner for Lower Sandusky. From this place they proceeded by water to Detroit, where they arrived in a few days. With Kenton's escape was terminated one of the most remarkable adventures in Ohio history.
Another noted American who became acquainted with this region as a captive was Daniel Boone. While making salt at the Blue Licks he was taken captive by some Miamis and taken to Detroitt. Governor Hamilton offered the savages one hundred pounds for Boone, but the offer was refused. They brought him back to Ohio and he was adopted into the tribe. Not long afterwards, however, he escaped from them and success- fully made his way back to Kentucky and continued to maintain his repu- tation as an Indian fighter.
It was in the year 1778 that Major George Rogers Clark gathered together four small companies of brave men and headed an expedition into the Illinois country. His force boated down the Ohio to the falls and then proceeded overland. On the fourth of July they captured Kas- kaskia and a few days later Cahokia was yielded without a struggle. The British were dumbfounded to find colonial forces in this western country. The French usually welcomed the prospect of a change. They expelled the British at Vincennes and hoisted the American flag. Although he did not reach this region in person, the good effect of his successful campaign was felt all over the western country. Later in the same year the British organized a large expedition, consisting of fifteen large bateaux and several smaller boats, which were laden with food, clothing, tents, ammunition, and the inevitable rum, together with other presents for the savages. At the outset the forces consisted of one hundred seventy-seven white soldiers, together with a considerable number of Indians. This expedition started from Detroit with a destination of Vincennes. Oxen carts and even a six-pounder cannon were sent along on shore, together with beef cattle. The expedition encountered severe storms in crossing Lake Erie, and, because of the low stage of the water, it required sixteen days to make the journey from the mouth of the Maumee to its head. This force was attacked by American troops under Colonel Clark and they were defeated. The governor, Henry Hamilton, and all of his officers were made prisoners and conducted to Virginia, where they were closely confined and put in irons. The supplies of the expedition were also captured by the Americans, and they proved very useful in the work which was laid out before them.
It was in 1778 that the legislature of Virginia organized the North- western Territory into the county of Illinois. Following Clark's suc- cesses, a court of civil and criminal procedure was established at Vin- cennes. Col. John Todd, Jr., was named as military commandant and county lieutenant. The various claims of the Eastern states to the ter- ritory west of the Alleghenies was the cause of friction between these colonies for years. These claims were based on the colonial charters and upon treaties with the Aborigines, and were generally very indefinite regarding boundaries, because the greater part of the region had never been surveyed. It was finally advocated that each state should cede her claims to the newly organized Union. Congress passed an act in 1780 providing that the territory so ceded should be disposed of for the benefit of the United States in general. This act met a ready response from New York, which assigned her claim in 1781, but the other states did not act for several years. Virginia ceded to the United States all her right, title and claim to the country northwest of the Ohio River in 1784. The
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following year the Legislature of Massachusetts relinquished all her assertions to this territory, excepting Detroit and vicinity. In 1786, Con- necticut waived all her assertions of sovereignty, excepting the section designated as the Western Reserve, and opened an office for the disposal of the portion of the Reserve lying east of the Cuyahoga River. This cession cleared Northwest Ohio of all the claims of individual states.
The claim of Virginia was based upon her charter of 1609 in which her boundaries were described as follows: "Situate lying and being in that part of America called Virginia from the point of land called Cape or Point Comfort all along the sea coast to the northward two hundred miles, and all that space or circuit of land lying from sea to sea, west and northwest." Virginia statesmen and jurists interpreted this charter as granting all that vast territory bounded on these lines and extending to the Pacific Ocean as included within that colony. Jurisdiction was exercised over it from the very beginning. Early in the eighteenth century her pioneers had crossed the Allegheny Mountains. It was at first a part of Spottsylvania County, which was afterwards sub-divided into Orange County, which included all of the present site of Ohio, as well as much more. This immense domain was afterwards sub-divided, and our region became a part of Augusta County. Later, as heretofore mentioned, this section of the country was included in Illinois County, which embraced all the territory within the border limits of Virginia, northwest of the Ohio River, and east of the Mississippi. Thus it re- mained, so far as governmental relations were concerned, until Virginia ceded to the general government all her rights to the dominion northwest. of the Ohio River.
Notwithstanding the intense fighting between the colonists and the British, and the need of every able bodied man in the revolutionary armies, many families continued to enter the trans-Allegheny country. In the spring of 1780, 300 large family boats loaded with emigrants arrived at the Falls of the Ohio, near Louisville. Although many of these were attracted by the lauded fertility of the soil, some undoubt- edly fled with the hope of escaping conscription into the armies. In this same year a larger expedition than usual was gathered together to attack the isolated settlements of Americans now being established throughout Ohio. It was under the command of Capt. Henry Bird, with the three Girtys as guides and scouts. These Indians were well equipped and it is said had pieces of artillery, which was very unusual, if not without precedent, among those people. These Indians passed up the Maumee River to the mouth of the Auglaize, and then traversed that river as far as it was navigable. They numbered about one thousand men when they reached Ruddell's Station, in Kentucky. Ruddell's Sta- tion yielded, and was followed by Martin's Station a few miles distant. Several hundred captives were taken. Captain Bird tried to save the captives, but many were massacred, and the expedition returned to Detroit by the way of the Maumee. It was the most successful foray undertaken by the British against the Kentucky settlements.
Under date of July 6, 1780, Governor De Peyster wrote: "I am harried with war parties coming in from all quarters that I do not know *
* which way to turn myself." * On the 4th of August he again reported to Colonel Bolton, his superior officer on the lakes, that "I have the pleasure to acquaint you that Captain Bird arrived here this morn- ing with about 150 prisoners, mostly Germans who speak English, the remainder coming in, for, in spite of all his endeavors to prevent it, the Aborigines broke into the forts and seized many. The whole will * Thirteen have entered into the Rangers,
amount to about 350.
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and many more will enter, as the prisoners are greatly fatigued with traveling so far, some sick and some wounded. P. S. Please excuse the hurry of this letter-the Aborigines engross my time. We have more here than enough. Were it not absolutely necessary to keep in with them, they would tire my patience."
A few months after the surrender at Yorktown, and before peace was officially declared between England and the Colonies, there occurred a tragedy in this western country which startled the entire new nation. It was really a part of the revolutionary struggle, for the passions had been kept alive by British agents and the savages were still entirely pro- British. This tragic event took place within sixty miles of Wauseon and Bryan. No incident in the Indian warfare exceeds the burning of Col. William Crawford and the slaughter of his followers in bloodthirstiness and absolute cruelty. It proves to us that the bloodcurdling war cry of the savage had not yet ceased to break the stillness of the forests and prairies of the Maumee country. Children were still snatched into captivity by dark hands thrust out from secret places. The failure of the formidable expedition against the Indian stronghold in Northwestern Ohio fell like a thunderbolt from a clear sky upon the eastern settlements, where a feeling of serenity had succeeded the news of the success of . the Revolution. For those dwelling west and north of the Ohio River, it seemed to portend ruin and disaster.
The Indians of this western country were aroused to fury by the massacre of the peaceful Moravians at Gnadenhutten. Even those red men to whom the Christian religion made no appeal were horrified at the thought that their people, after listening to the seductive words of white preachers, were now cold in death, and they only waited an opportunity for vengeance. Hence when word reached them of the approaching expedition under Colonel Crawford, they resorted to every wile to waylay the whites and were prepared to administer the most horrible punishment upon any captive.
It was on the twenty-fifth day of May, 1782, that the Crawford expe- dition set out from Mingo Bottom for the Sandusky region miles distant. The instructions were to destroy if possible the Indian town and settle- ment of Sandusky. The shortest route was adopted and precautions taken by these experienced men against surprise and ambush. On the ninth day of March, the men emerged from the dense woods through which they had been traveling into rolling prairie. On the following morning the men were stirring and ready for the march before the ascending sun had illuminated the landscape. Throughout the entire camp there was a noticeable bustle of excitement. The men knew that they were near their destination, and they felt within themselves that a crisis was ap- proaching. The guns were carefully examined and fresh charges placed in them. Packs were readjusted and saddle girths were carefully tight- ened. The army was now encamped within the county of Wyandot, and not many miles distance from the present town of Upper Sandusky. The army followed a well marked path which led down a diminutive stream, known as the Little Sandusky. Soon they reached an opening in the woods where, in a beautiful location, they could see the Wyandot town, which had been the goal of the expedition. To their intense sur- prise, however, not a sign of life was visible. The empty huts were silent and tenantless. The ashes of the camp fires seemed to have been beaten by many a rain since the hot coals had glowed in their midst.
Upon the discovery of the abandoned Wyandot town, a council of war was immediately held. Opinion was divided upon the question of advance or retreat. The very failure to discover Indians led the wise ones to
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surmise that some ambuscade or surprise was being prepared. Further- more, there remained but five days' provisions for the forces. It was, however, finally decided to continue the progression during the afternoon, and, in case the enemy was not encountered, that retrogression should be commenced during the night. In the van of the army rode a party of scouts, who had not advanced very far ahead of the main army, when they encountered a considerable body of Indians running directly toward them. These were the Delawares under The Pipe. One of the scouts galloped back to inform Crawford of the enemy's whereabouts. The others withdrew slowly as the savages advanced to the attack. In a moment the army was ablaze with enthusiasm, and all started forward at full speed.
The Indians took possession of an island grove in the midst of the prairie. The military eye of Crawford at once recognized the strategic value of this grove of timber, and a quick, forward movement forced the Indians out. Some of the Americans climbed trees, and from this vantage point took deadly aim at the feathered heads of the enemy mov- ing about in the grass.
The battle was renewed between the contending forces at sunrise on the following day and several more of the Americans were wounded. Finally reinforcements were seen approaching. Among these were recog- nized white soldiers, who proved to be from the British garrison at Detroit. Some painted Shawnees came galloping across the prairies to assist their brethren. Then a council of war was held at which it was decided that the only safe recourse was retreat. It was determined that the retrogression should begin at nightfall. The dead were buried and litters made for the wounded. But the enemy was not sleeping. A hot fire was opened by them and the orderly plan of retreat was thrown into confusion. The great wonder is that it did not degenerate into an utter retreat. The party became scattered and Colonel Crawford himself became detached from his forces. On the second morning he and Doctor Knight, who had joined him, found themselves only eight miles away from their starting point. Here it was, at a place in Crawford County, that they were captured by three Delawares who came upon them unawares. Crawford and Knight were at once led captive to the camp of the Delawares. Their capture occurred on Friday afternoon. Great indeed was the joy of the Indians when they discovered that Crawford was the "big captain," and word was immediately sent to Captain Pipe. This important news demanded a grave council of the Delaware chiefs and it was decided that Crawford should be burned.
Knight and his companions were met by Captain Pipe at the old Wyandot town. With his own hand this chief painted the faces of all the prisoners black. While thus engaged he told Knight in very good English that he would be taken to the Shawnee town to see his friends. When Colonel Crawford was brought before him, he received him with pretended kindness and joked about his making a good Indian. But it was all a subterfuge. Here was a man upon whom to wreak vengeance, for Crawford was the official leader of this expedition which had dared to invade their precincts. Crawford was taken on June 11th to a place near what is known as Tymochtee, a few miles north of Upper San- dusky. Here he found a large fire burning and many Indians were lying about on the ground. Nevertheless, the dissembling war chief, both of whom well knew Crawford, told him he would be adopted as an Indian after he had been shaved. When the party conveying Crawford appeared, the scene of idleness was transformed to one of animation. After The Pipe had painted him black, a dozen warriors ran forward and seized
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him. They tore the clothes from him with eager hands, and he was made to sit on the ground. Surrounded by a howling mob, he at once became the object of showers of dirt, stones and sticks. While some were engaged in this-to them-sport, others quickly fixed in the ground a large stake, some fifteen feet long, which had been previously prepared. Still others ran quickly to and fro, piling up around the stake great piles of light and dry hickory wood, which had been gathered and prepared for the occasion.
The account of the burning of Colonel Crawford is related in the words of Doctor Knight, his companion, who was an unwilling eye- witness of this tragic scene, near which he stood securely bound and guarded.
"When we went to the fire the Colonel was stripped naked, ordered to sit down by the fire, and then they beat him with sticks and their fists. Presently after I was treated in the same manner. They then tied a rope to the foot of a post about fifteen feet high, bound the Colonel's
TORTURE AND DEATH OF COLONEL CRAWFORD
hands behind his back and fastened the rope to the ligature between his wrists. The rope was long enough for him to sit down or walk around the post once or twice and return the same way. Captain Pipe made a speech to the Indians, viz., about thirty or forty men, sixty or seventy squaws and boys.
"When the speech was finished, they all yelled a hideous and hearty assent to what had been said. The Indian men then took up their guns and` shot powder into the Colonel's body, from his feet as far up as his neck. I think that not less than seventy loads were discharged upon his naked body. They then crowded about him, and to the best of my observation cut off his ears ; when the throng had dispersed a little, I saw blood running from both sides of his head in consequence thereof.
"The fire was about six or seven yards from the post to which the Colonel was tied; it was made of small hickory poles, cut through in the middle, each end of the poles remaining about six feet in length. Three or four Indians by turns would take up, individually, one of these burning pieces of wood, and apply it to his naked body, already burnt black with powder. These tormentors presented themselves on every Vol. I-3
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side of him with the burning fagots and poles. Some of the squaws took broad boards, upon which they would carry a quantity of burning coals and hot embers and throw on him, so that in a short time he had nothing but coals of fire and hot ashes to walk upon. *
* * Colonel Crawford at this period of his suffering besought the Almighty to have mercy on his soul, spoke very low, and bore his. torments with the most manly fortitude. In the midst of his tortures he begged of Girty to shoot him, but the white savage made no answer. He continued in all the extremities of pain for an hour and three-quarters or two hours longer, as near as I can judge, when, at last, being almost exhausted, he lay down on his belly ; they then scalped him, and repeatedly threw the scalp in my face, telling me that 'That was my great captain.' * * *"
When the news of the torture and death of Colonel Crawford reached the Shawnee village the exultation was very great. Not so when the awful story was repeated in the settlements upon the border. A gloom was spread over every countenance. Crawford's unfortunate end was lamented by all who knew him. Heartrending was the anguish in a lonely cabin upon the banks of the Youghiogheny. There were few men on the frontiers at that time whose loss could have been more sensibly felt or more keenly deplored.
CHAPTER IV SIMON GIRTY AND HIS BROTHERS
The northwestern section of Ohio was not only the home and hunting ground of noted Indians, but it was the theater of the exploits of the most notorious of renegades known to American history. The three noted Girty brothers, Alexander McKee and Matthew Elliott formed a noted quintet of apostates who spent many years in the Maumee basin and adjoining territory and contributed largely to the hardships and suf- ferings of the early settlers of this delectable region. In the channel of the Maumee, near Napoleon, there is a large island which is still known as Girty's Island. It is erroneously claimed by some that this island was the retreat of Simon Girty, but it received its name because George Girty at one time lived in this vicinity.
Of all historic characters the name of the traitor to his race or to his country is most hated. His name becomes a byword and a reproach among the nations of the earth. Whether designated as turncoat, tory, apostate, or renegade, mankind have for him only universal expressions of contempt. He lives in the midst of the fiercest passions that darken the human heart. He is both a hater and the hated. The white rene- gade, who had abandoned his race and civilization for the company of the savages of the forest, is abhorred by all. For him there is no charity. His virtues, if he had any, pass into oblivion. His name is inscribed with that of Brutus, of Benedict Arnold, and of Judas Iscariot. He may have been really better than he seems, his vices may have been exaggerated, but of these things it is difficult to form a correct and impartial opinion, for the whirlwinds of abuse throw dust into the eyes of the most pains- taking historian.
The history of our border warfare furnishes us a number of instances of white men who relapsed into a state as savage as their associates. Our region has more than its full share of these ingrates. Of all these known instances of white renegades, none equals the cruelty and abso- lute baseness of Simon Girty, or Gerty, as it is sometimes spelled. Girty was an Irishman who was born in Pennsylvania not a great distance from Harrisburg. His father, who was also named Simon, was of a roving disposition and somewhat intemperate. "Grog was his song and grog would he have." Nothing so entirely commanded his deepest regard as a jug of fiery liquor. About the close of the year 1751 he was killed in a drunken frolic by an Indian known as "The Fish." One John Turner who had lived with the family avenged the killing of Girty by putting "The Fish" away from all earthly troubles and received the hand of the widow as his reward.
The four Girty brothers owed very little to either parent. The mother had not proved herself of very high character. Thomas, the eldest, was born in 1739; Simon, the second, first saw the light of day in 1741; James arrived in this world of trouble in 1743 and George was only two years younger. The entire family was captured by a marauding party of French and Indians at Fort Granville in July, 1756. The stepfather was put to death with horrible torture, all of which the boys and the miserable mother were compelled to witness. The Indians "tied Turner to a black post ; danced around him ; made a great fire ; and having heated gun-barrels red hot, ran them through his body. Having tormented him for three hours, they scalped him alive, and at last held up a boy with a
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hatchet in his hand to give him the finishing stroke." It is difficult to imagine boys who were compelled to witness such scenes as ever adapting themselves to such customs. The separation of the boys and their mother followed soon afterwards. James was formally adopted by the Shawnees, George by the Delawares, and Simon was taken by the Sene- cas, whose language he speedily learned. After three years all of the . brothers returned to their friends at Pittsburg, in accordance with a treaty, and these three returned at a later period, as will appear.
James Girty was not quite so much addicted to intoxication as Simon and George. He thoroughly adopted the savage life, however, married a Shawnee squaw, and became a trader with the aborigines in after years. His principal trading post for years was called Girty's Town, on the site of the present city of St. Marys. It was he who had the trading stand at a later period opposite Girty's Island, a short distance above Napoleon. George married a Delaware woman, who bore him several children. He died while intoxicated at the trading post of his brother James. The fourth brother, Thomas, who was the oldest, escaped soon after his capture, and was the only one of the family to remain loyal to the United States during all the troubles with the mother country. He made his home on Girty's Run, which was named after him, where he raised a respectable family and died in 1820 at a ripe old age. On one occasion, 1783, in company with his half-brother, John Turner, he visited Simon at Detroit. John Turner accumulated considerable prop- erty. For presenting a burial ground to the citizens of the locality in which he lived, Turner was known as "the benefactor of Squirrel Hill."
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