USA > Ohio > Historical collections of Ohio, containing a collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, etc., relating to its general and local history : with descriptions of its counties, principal towns, and villages > Part 16
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Thus ended this Spartan conflict, with the loss of three valiant men on our part, and with that of the whole of the Indian party, with the exception of one warrior. Never, on any. occasion, was there a greater display of desperate bravery, and seldom did a conflict take place, which, in the issue, proved fatal to so great a proportion of those engaged in it.
The fatal issue of this little campaign on the side of the Indians, occasioned an uni- versal mourning among the Wyandot nation. The big Indian, with his four brothers, all of whom were killed at the same place, were among the most distinguished chiefs and warriors of their nation.
The big Indian was magnanimous, as well as brave. He, more than any other indi- vidual, contributed, by his example and influence, to the good character of the Wyandots, for lenity towards their prisoners. He would not suffer them to be killed or ill treated. This mercy to captives, was an honorable distinction in the character of the Wyandots, and was well understood by our first settlers, who, in case of captivity, thought it a for- tunate circumstance to fall into their hands.
New Lisbon, the county seat, is in the township of Center, 155 miles NE. of Columbus, 35 from Steubenville, and 56 from Pittsburg. It is on the line of the Sandy and Beaver canal, on the middle fork of Little Beaver, and is surrounded by a populous and well culti- vated country. The town is remarkably compact and substantially built ; many of its streets are paved, and it has the appearance of a small city. The view was taken fron the southeastern part of the
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COLUMBIANA COUNTY.
public square ; and shows, on the left, the county buildings, and on the right, the market. New Lisbon was laid out in 1802, by the
Public Square, New Lisbon.
Rev. Lewis Kinney, of the Baptist denomination, and proprietor of the soil ; a year or two after, it was made the county seat. 'It con- tains 1 Friends meeting house, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Episcopal and 1 Reformed Methodist, 1 Disciples, 1 Dutch Reformed, and 1 Seceder church, 3 newspaper printing offices, 2 woolen manufactories, 2 founderies, 2 flouring mills, 14 mercantile stores, and about 1800 inhabitants. Carriage making and tanning are extensively carried on in this village.
The Cottage of a German Swiss Emigrant.
In travelling through the west, one often meets with scenes that remind him of another land. The foreigner who makes his home
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COLUMBIANA COUNTY.
upon American soil, does not at once assimilate in language, modes of life, and current of thought with that congenial to his adopted country. The German emigrant is peculiar in this respect, and so much attached is he to his fatherland, that years often elapse ere there is any perceptible change. The annexed engraving illustrates these remarks. It shows the mud cottage of a German Swiss emi- grant, now standing in the neighborhood of others of like character, in the northwestern part of this county. The frame work is of wood, with the interstices filled with light colored clay, and the whole surmounted by a ponderous shingled roof, of a picturesque form. Beside the tenement, hop vines are clustering around their slender supporters, while hard by stands the abandoned log dwelling of the emigrant-deserted for one more congenial with his early predilections.
Eastern entrance into Salem.
.. Salem is 10 miles north of New Lisbon, in the midst of a beautiful agricultural country, thickly settled by Friends, who are industrious and wealthy. This flourishing town was laid out about 1806, by Zadock Street, John Strong and Samuel Davis, members of the society of Friends, from Redstone, Pa. Until within a few years, it was an inconsiderable village. It now contains 2 Friends meeting houses, 2 Baptist, 1 Methodist and 1 Presbyterian church, a classical academy, in good repute, under the charge of Rev. Jacob Coon, 24 mercantile stores, 2 woolen factories, 3 founderies, 1 grist mill, 2 engine shops, ana about 1300 inhabitants. There are four newspapers published here, one of which is the American Water Cure Advocate, edited by Dr. John P. Cope, principal of a water cure establishment, in full operation, in this village. The engraving shows the principal street of the town, as it appears on entering it from the east : Street's woolen factory is seen on the left.
Wellsville is at the mouth of Yellow creek, on the great bend of
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COLUMBIANA COUNTY.
the Ohio river, where it approximates nearest to Lake Erie, 50 miles below Pittsburg, and 14 from New Lisbon. It was laid out in the autumn of 1824, by William Wells, from whom it derived its name. Until 1828, it contained but a few buildings ; it is now an important point for the shipment and transhipment of goods, and does a large
ENTERTAINMENT BY W. HAMILTON.
HERE OHIO FREE
LITTLE BEN
Wellsville, on the Ohio.
business with the surrounding country. The landing is one of the best, in all stages of water, on the river. This flourishing town has 1 Presbyterian, 1 Episcopal Methodist, 1 Reformed Methodist, and 1 Disciples church, 1 newspaper printing office, 1 linseed oil and 1 saw mill, 1 pottery, 1 raw carding machine, 1 foundery, 16 mercan- tile stores, and, in 1840, had a population of 759, and in 1846, 1066. The view, taken from the Virginia bank of the Ohio, shows but a small part of the town. About a mile below, on the river bank, in a natural grove, are several beautiful private dwellings. The "Cleveland and Pittsburg railroad," 97 miles in length, will com- mence at Cleveland and terminate at Wellsville, and whenever built, will tend to make Wellsville a place of great business and population. A survey for this work has been recently made, and there is a good prospect of its being constructed.
The first paper mill in Ohio, and the second west of the Alle- ghanies, was erected in 1805-6, on Little Beaver creek, near its mouth, in this county. It was called the Ohio paper mill : its pro- prietors were John Bever and John Coulter.
Liverpool, 4 miles above Wellsville, on the Ohio, has a population of about 600. The manufacture of earthen-ware is carried on there to a considerable extent. Hanover, 10 miles west of New Lisbon, on the Sandy and Beaver canal, is a thriving town, containing 3 churches, 8 stores, and about 600 inhabitants. The following are
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the names of other towns in the county, with their population in 1840, some of which are smart business places. Columbiana, 273; Gillford, 263; Unity, 204; Georgetown, 219; New Garden, 194; Fairfield, 181; Calcutta, 135; Franklin Square, 151 ; Washington- ville, 107 : Benton, Clarkson, Chambersburg, Dugannon, Damascus, Elkton, Middle Beaver, Palestine, Rochester, Salinesville and West- ville are small places.
COSHOCTON.
COSHOCTON was organized April 1st, 1811. The name is a Dela- ware word, and is derived from that of the Indian village Goschach- quenk, which is represented on a map in Loskiel, as having stood north of the mouth of the Tuscarawas river, in the fork formed by its junction with the Walhonding. The surface is mostly rolling ; in some parts hilly, with fine broad vallies along the Muskingum and its tributaries. The soil is varied, and abruptly so : here we see the rich alluvion almost overhung by a red-bush hill, while, per- haps, on the very next acclivity, is seen the poplar and sugar tree, indicative of a fertile soil. With regard to sand and clay, the changes are equally sudden. The hills abound in coal and iron ore, and several salt wells have been sunk, and salt manufactured. The principal products are wheat, corn, oats and wool. It was first settled by Virginians and Pennsylvanians. The following is a list of its townships, in 1840, with their population.
Adams,
838
Keene,
1043
Perry,
1339
Bedford,
1141
Lafayette,
848
Pike,
1115
Bethlehem, 827
Linton,
1196
Tiverton, 665
Clark, 703
Mill Creek,
907
Tuscarawas, 1144
Crawford, 1134
Monroe,
557
Virginia.
1005
Franklin, 670
New Castle, 905
Washington, 1029
Jackson,
1896
Oxford,
760
White Eyes, 997
Jefferson, 771
The population of the county, in 1820, was 7086; in 1830, 11,162, and in 1840, 21590, or 38 inhabitants to a square mile.
Previous to the settlement of the country, there were several mil- itary expeditions into this region. The first in importance and in order of time, was that made by Col. Boquet, in October, 1764. The following is extracted from the lecture of CHARLES WHITTLESEY, Esq., delivered at Cleveland, Dec. 17th, 1846.
The Indians were very much displeased, when they saw the English taking possession of their country, for they preferred the Frenchmen, who had been their friends and traders more than one hundred years, and had married Indian women. A noted chief of the Ottawa tribe, known by the name of Pontiac, formed the resolution to destroy all the English frontier posts at one assault, in which he was encouraged by the French traders.
He succeeded in forming an alliance with the Ottawas, having 900 warriors ; the Poto- wotomies, with 350; Miamies of the lake, 350; Chippewas, 5000 ; Wyandots, 300; Del- awares, 600 ; Shawnees, 500; Kickapoos, 300; Ouatanons of the Wabash, 400, and the Pinankeshaws, 250 ; in all, able to muster 8950 warriors. This may be called the " First
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COSHOCTON COUNTY.
Great Northwestern Confederacy" against the whites. The second took place under Brandt, or Thayandanegea, during the revolution, and was continued by Little Turtle ; the third, under Tecumseh, in the last war. Pontiac's projects were brought to a focus in the fall of 1763, and the result was nearly equal to the design. The Indians collected at all the northwestern forts, under the pretence of trade and friendly intercourse ; and having killed all the English traders who were scattered through their villages, they made a simul- taneous attack upon the forts, and were in a great measure successful.
The inliabitants of Pennsylvania and Virginia were now subject to great alarm, and frequently robberies and murders were committed upon them by the Indians, and prisoners were captured. General Gage was at this time the commander-in-chief of the British forces in America, and his head-quarters were at Boston. He ordered an expedition of 3000 men for the relief of Detroit, to move early in the year 1764. It was directed to assemble at Fort Niagara, and proceeded up Lake Erie in boats, commanded by General Bradstreet. The other was the expedition I design principally to notice at this time. It was at first composed of the 42d and 77th regiments, who had been at the siege of Havana, in Cuba, under the command of Col. Henry Boquet. This force left Philadelphia, for the relief of Fort Pitt, in July, 1763, and after defeating the Indians at Bushy Run, in August, drove them across the Ohio. It wintered at Fort Pitt, where some of the houses, built by Col. Boquet, may still be seen, his name cut in stone upon the wall.
General Gage directed Col. Boquet to organize a corps of 1500 men, and to enter the country of the Delawares and the Shawnees, at the same time that General Bradstreet was engaged in chastising the Wyandots and Ottawas, of Lake Erie, who were still investing Detroit. As a part of Col. Boquet's force was composed of militia from Pennsylvania and Virginia, it was slow to assemble. On the 5th of August, the Pennsylvania quota rendez- voused at Carlisle, where 300 of them deserted. The Virginia quota arrived at Fort Pitt on the 17th of September, and uniting with the provincial militia, a part of the 42d and 60th regiments, the army moved from Fort Pitt on the 3d of October. General Bradstreet, having dispersed the Indian forces besieging Detroit, passed into the Wyandot country, by way of Sandusky bay. He ascended the bay and river, as far as it was navigable for boats, and there made a camp. A treaty of peace and friendship was signed by the chiefs and head men, who delivered but very few of their prisoners.
When Col. Boquet was at Fort Loudon, in Pennsylvania, between Carlisle and Fort Pitt, urging forward the militia levies, he received a despatch from General Bradstreet, notifying him of the peace effected at Sandusky. But the Ohio Indians, particularly the Shawnees of the Scioto river, and the Delawares of the Muskingum, still continued their robberies and murders along the frontier of Pennsylvania ; and so Col. Boquet determined to proceed with this division, notwithstanding the peace of General Bradstreet, which did not include the Shawnees and Delawares. In the march from Philadelphia to Fort Pitt, Col. Boquet had shown himself to be a man of decision, courage and military genius. In the engage- ment at Bushy Run, he displayed that caution in preparing for emergencies, that high per- sonal influence over his troops, and a facility in changing liis plans as circumstances changed during the battle, which mark the good commander and the cool-headed officer. He had been with Forbes and Washington, when Fort Pitt was taken from the French. The In- dians who were assembled at Fort Pitt, left the siege of that place and advanced to meet the force of Boquet, intending to execute a surprise and destroy the whole command. These savages remembered how easily they had entrapped General Braddock, a few years before, by the same movement, and had no doubt of success against Boquet. But he moved always in a hollow square, with his provision train and his cattle in the centre, im- pressing his men with the idea that a fire might open upon them at any moment. When the important hour arrived, and they were saluted with the discharge of a thousand rifles, accompanied by the terrific yells of so many savage warriors, arrayed in the livery of demons, the English and provincial troops behaved like veterans, whom nothing could shake. They achieved a complete victory, and drove the allied Indian force beyond the Ohio.
From Fort Pitt, Col. Boquet proceeded westward, on the north bank of the Ohio, with such caution, that the Indians were unable to draw him into an ambuscade. At the mouth of Big Beaver, the troops crossed by a ford, and on the 6th of October, reached the Little Beaver, passed up its east branch, and across the highlands to the waters of the Yellow creek, through an open and bushy country. Reaching Sandy creek, they passed down its banks, and crossing the stream by a ford, reached a beautiful plain-where the village
..
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COSHOCTON COUNTY.
of Bolivar now stands-on which they encamped. By the 16th of October, Col. Boquet erected a stockade, two miles and forty rods below the ford, at a ravine, and completed his arrangements against a surprise.
The Indians being convinced that they could not succeed in any attempt against him, made a treaty of peace, and engaged to restore all the prisoners taken from the whites.
On Monday, the 22d, the troops broke up camp, and proceeded down the west bank of the Muskingum towards the Wakatomaka towns, about the mouth of the Whitewoman. The deputations accompanied them as guides. They reached the highland, one mile north of the mouth of the Walhonding or Whitewoman, on Thursday, and made a camp. The distance of this point from the mouth of Big Beaver or Mahoning river, by the route of the army, is 101 miles and 83 rods. Col. Boquet caused a stockade to be built, with four redoubts, and erected.cabins and store-houses, determined to wait for the arrival of the prisoners.
On the 9th of November, 206 prisoners, including women and children, had been deliv- ered, of whom 32 men and 58 women and children were from Virginia, and 49 males and 67 females from Pennsylvania.
On the 18th of November, the army broke up its cantonement at the Whitewoman and returned to Fort Pitt, which they reached on the 28th of the same month. This expedition was conducted with so much skill and prudence, that none of those frightful disasters that often result from Indian wars occurred. The savages, although in great strength, found no opportunity to make an attack. No prisoners were taken, none died of sickness, and every man of the party returned except one, who was killed and scalped by an Indian, when separated from camp. The Pennsylvania troops were under Lieut. Col. Francis, and Lieut. Col. Clayton. Col. Reid was next in command to Col. Boquet.
The provincial troops were discharged, and the regulars sent to garrison Fort Loudon, Fort Bedford and Carlisle. Col. Boquet arrived at Philadelphia in January, and received a complimentary address from the legislature, and also from the house of Burgesses of Vir- ginia. Before these resolutions reached England, the king promoted him to be a brigadier general. He was ordered to the command of the post of Mobile, and the next season died there.
The scene which took place when the captives were brought in by the Indians, as mentioned in the preceding account, is thus re- lated by Mr. Hutchins.
Language indeed can but weakly describe the scene, one to which the poet or painter might have repaired to enrich the highest colorings of the variety of the human passions, the philosopher, to find ample subject for the most serious reflection, and the man to exer- cise all the tender and sympathetic feelings of the soul. There were to be seen fathers and mothers recognizing and clasping their once lost babes, husbands hanging round the necks of their newly recovered wives, sisters and brothers unexpectedly meeting together, after a long separation, scarcely able to speak the same language, or for some time to be sure that they were the children of the same parents. In all these interviews joy and rap- ture inexpressible were seen, while feelings of a very different nature were painted in the looks of others, flying from place to place, in eager inquiries after relatives not found ; trembling to receive an answer to questions ; distracted with doubts, hopes and fears on obtaining no account of those they sought for ; or stiffened into living monuments of horror and woe, on learning their unhappy fate.
The Indians too, as if wholly forgetting their usual savageness, bore a capital part in heightening this most affecting scene. They delivered up their beloved captives with the utmost reluctance-shed torrents of tears over them-recommending them to the care and protection of the commanding officer. Their regard to them continued all the while they remained in camp. They visited them from day to day, brought them what corn, skins, horses, and other matters had been bestowed upon them while in their families, accompa- nied with other presents, and all the marks of the most sincere and tender affection. Nay, they didn't stop here, but when the army marched, some of the Indians solicited and ob- tained permission to accompany their former captives to Fort Pitt, and employed them- selves in hunting and bringing provisions for them on the way. A young Mingo carried this still farther, and gave an instance of love which would make a figure even in romance.
15
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COSHOCTON COUNTY.
A young woman of Virginia, was among the captives, to whom he had formed so strong an attachment as to call her his wife. Against all the remonstrances of the imminent danger to which he exposed himself by approaching the frontier, he persisted in following her, at the risk of being killed by the surviving relatives of many unfortunate persons, who had been taken captive or scalped by those of his nation.
Among the captives, a woman was brought into camp at Muskingum with a babe about three months old at the breast. One of the Virginia volunteers soon knew her to be his wife ! She had been taken by the Indians about six months before. He flew with her to his tent and clothed her and his child with proper apparel. But their joy after the first transports, was soon dampened by the reflection that another dear child about two years old, taken with the mother had been separated from her, and was still missing, although many children had been brought in.
A few days afterwards, a number of other persons were brought in, among them was sev- eral children. The woman was sent for, and one supposed to be hers was produced to her. At first sight she was not certain, but viewing the child with great earnestness, she soon recol- lected its features, and was so overcome with joy, that forgetting her sucking child, she dropt it from her arms, and catching up the new found child, in ecstacy, pressed it to her breast, and bursting into tears, carried it off unable to speak for joy. The father rising up with the babe she had let fall, followed her in no less transport and affection.
But it must not be deemed that there were not some, even grown persons who showed an unwillingness to return. The Shawnees were obliged to bind some of their prisoners, and force them along to the camp, and some women who had been delivered up, afterwards found means to escape, and went back to the Indian tribes. Some who could not make their escape, clung to their savage acquaintances at parting, and continued many days in bitter lamentations, even refusing sustenance.
Another expedition was undertaken in the summer of 1780, and directed against the Indian villages at the forks of the Muskingum. The narrative of this, usually known as "the Coshocton campaign," we derive from Doddridge's Notes.
The place of rendezvous was Wheeling. The number of regulars and militia, about eight hundred. From Wheeling they made a rapid march, by the nearest route, to the place of their destination. When the army reached the river, a little below Salem, the lower Moravian town, Col. Broadhead sent an express to the missionary in that place, the Rev. John Heckewelder, informing him of his arrival in his neighborhood, with his army, requesting a small supply of provisions, and a visit from him in his camp. When the mis- sionary arrived at the camp, the general informed him of the object of the expedition he was engaged in, and inquired of him, whether any of the christian Indians were hunting, or engaged in business in the direction of his march. On being answered in the negative, he stated that nothing would give him greater pain, than to hear that any of the Moravian Indians had been molested by the troops, as these Indians had always, from the commence- ment of the war, conducted themselves in a manner that did them honor.
A part of the militia had resolved on going up the river, to destroy the Moravian vil- lages, but were prevented from executing their project by Gen. Broadhead, and Col. Shep- herd, of Wheeling. At White Eyes' Plain, a few miles from Coshocton, an Indian pris- oner was taken. Soon afterwards two more Indians were discovered, one of whom was wounded, but he, as well as the other, made their escape.
The commander, knowing that these two Indians would make the utmost dispatch in going to the town, to give notice of the approach of the army, ordered a rapid march, in the midst of a heavy fall of rain, to reach the town before them, and take it by surprise. The plan succeeded. The army reached the place in three divisions. The right and left wings approached the river a little above and below the town, while the center marched di- rectly upon it. The whole number of the Indians in the village, on the east side of the river, together with ten or twelve from a little village, some distance above, were made prisoners, without firing a single shot. The river having risen to a great height, owing to the recent fall of rain, the army could not cross it. Owing to this, the villages with their inhabitants on the west side of the river, escaped destruction.
Among the prisoners, sixteen warriors were pointed out by Pekillon, a friendly Delaware chief, who was with the army of Broadhead. A little after dark, a council of war was held, to determine on the fate of the warriors in custody. They were doomed to death, and by order of the commander, they were bound, taken a little distance below the town and dispatched with tomahawks and spears, and scalped.
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COSHOCTON COUNTY.
Early the next morning, an Indian presented himself on the opposite bank of the river and asked for the big captain. Broadhead presented himself, and asked the Indian what he wanted ? To which he replied, " I want peace." " Send over some of your chiefs," said Broadhead. " May be you kill," said the Indian. He was answered, " They shall not be killed." One of the chiefs, a well-looking man, came over the river, and entered into conversation with the commander in the street ; but while engaged in conversation, a man of the name of Wetzel came up behind him, with a tomahawk concealed in the bosom of his hunting shirt, and struck him on the back of his head. He fell and instantly ex- pired. About 11 or 12 o'clock, the army commenced its retreat from Coshocton. Gen. Broadhead committed the care of the prisoners to the militia. They were about twenty in number. After marching about half a mile, the men commenced killing them. In a short time they were all despatched, except a few women and children, who were spared and taken to Fort Pitt, and after some time, exchanged for an equal number of their prisoners.
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