USA > Ohio > Historical collections of Ohio in three volumes ; an encyclopedia of the state : with notes of a tour over it in 1886 contrasting the Ohio of 1846 with 1886-90, Vol. III > Part 36
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ALFRED H. WELCH, born at Fostoria, in 1850, died in 1888, when professor of English Literature in the Ohio State Univer- sity, after a short but bright and useful career as teacher and author. Besides a series of school books he published "The Conflict of the Ages," The Development of English Literature and Language, " and "Man and his Relations." Ile started a youth of humble means and in the employment of Hon. Charles Foster, who observing his faithfulness and capacity assisted him to obtain a college edu- cation. He has been said in many respects to resemble Goldsmith. He was fond of flowers and children, and it was his delight to organize parties to hunt flowers in the wild woods or gather pond-lilies.
CAPTIVITY AND EXPERIENCES AMONG THE OHIO INDIANS
OF COL. JAMES SMITH,1
Between May, 1755 and April, 1759, as related by himself.
In the year 1854, was published at Sandusky, one volume of "A History of Ohio," by James W. Taylor, a journalist of Sandusky. Only one of its two de- signed volumes was issued. This comprised the period between the years 1650 and 1787 and therefore before Ohio itself existed.
One of its chapters is entitled "A Pilgrim of Ohio One Hundred Years ago." That chapter embodies all that is essential in the personal narration of Col. Smith and is here copied entire. It is highly attractive from its simplicity of style and evident truthfulness in details.
It is in our power, by transcribing from a Narrative of the Captivity of Col. James Smith among the Indians, between May, 1755, and April, 1759, to present a picture of the wilderness and its savage ocenpants, which, bearing intrinsic evidence of faithful accuracy, is also corroborated by the public and private character of the writer.
Col. James Smith was a native of Pennsyl- vania, and after his return from Indian cap- tivity, was entrusted, in 1736, with the com- mand ef a company of riflemen. He trained his men in the Indian tactics and discipline, and dirceted them to assume the dress of warriors and to paint their faces red and black, so that in appearance they were hardly distinguishable from the enemy. Some of his exploits in the defense of the Pennsylva- nia border are less creditable to him than his services in the war of the revolution. He lived until the year 1812, and is the anthor of a "Treatise on the Indian mode of war- fare." In Kentucky, where he spent the latter part of his life, he was much respected and several times elected to the legislature.
The first edition of Smith's Journal was published in Lexington, Kentucky, by John Bradford, in 1799. Samuel Drake, the In- dian antiquarian and anthor, accompanies its republication in 1851 by a tribute to Smith as "an exemplary Christian and unwavering patriot."
CAPTURE OF SMITH.
In the spring of 1755, James Smith, then eighteen years of age, was captured by three Indians (two Delaware and one Canasatauga) about four or five miles above Bedford, in Western Pennsylvania. He was immediately led to the banks of the Allegheny river, op- posite Fort DuQuesne, where he was com- pelled to run the gauntlet between two long ranks of Indians, each stationed about two or three rods apart. His treatment was not severe until near the end of the lines, when he was filled by a blow from n stick or comn- hawk handle, and on attempting to rise, was blinded by sand thrown into his eyes. The blows continued until he became insensible
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and when he recovered his consciousness, he found himself within the fort, much bruised and under the charge of a French physician.
EXULTATION OVER BRADDOCK'S DEFEAT.
While yet unrecovered from his wounds, Smith was a witness of the French exultation and the Indian orgies over the disastrous de- feat of Braddock. A few days afterward, his Indian captors placed him in a canoe and ascended the Allegheny river to an Indian town on the north side of the river, about forty miles above Fort DuQuesne. Here they remained three weeks, when the party proceeded to a village on the west branch of the Muskingum, about twenty miles above the forks. This village called Tullihas, was inhabited by Delawares, Caughnewagas and Mohicans. The soil between the Allegheny and Muskingum rivers on the route here designated, is described as "chiefly black oak and white oak land, which appeared generally to be good wheat land, chiefly second and third rate, intermixed with sonre rich bottoms.
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CEREMONY OF ADOPTION.
While remaining at Tullihas, Smith de- scribes the manner of his adoption by the Indians and other ceremonies, which we pre- fer to give in his own words: "The day after my arrival at the aforesaid town, a number of Indians collected about me, and one of them began to pull the hair out of my head. He had some ashes on a piece of. bark, in which he frequently dipped his fingers in order to take a firmer hold, and so he went on, as if he had been plucking a turkey, until he had all the hair elean out of my head, except a small spot about three or four inches square on my crown. This they cut off with a pair scissors, excepting three locks, which they dressed up in their own mode. Two of these they wrapped round with a narrow beaded garter, made by them- selves for that purpose and the other they plaited at full length and then stuck it full of silver brooches. After this they bored my nose and ears, and fixed ine off with earrings and nose-jewels, Then they ordered me to strip off my clothes and put on a breech- elout, which I did. They then painted my head, face and body in various colors. They put a large belt of wampum on my neck and silver bands on my hands and right arm; and so an old chief led me out on the street and gave the alarm halloo, "coo-wigh," several times, repeated quick ; and on this, all that were in the town came running and stood round the old chief, who held me by the hand in the midst. As I at that time knew nothing of their mode of adoption, and had seen them put to death all they had taken and as I never could find that they saved a man alive at Braddock's defeat, I made no doubt that they were about putting me to death in some ernel manner. The old chief
holding me by the hand, made a long speech, very loud, and when he had done he handed me to three young squaws, who led me by the hand down the bank, into the river, until the water was up to our middle. The squaws then made signs to me to plunge myself into the water, but I did not understand them. I thought the result of the council was that I should be drowned, and that these young ladies were to be the executioners. They all three laid violent hold of me and I for some time opposed them with all my might, which occasioned lond laughter by the multitude that were on the bank of the river. At length one of the squaws made out to speak a little English ( for I believe they began to be afraid of me) and said " No hurt you." On this I gave myself up to their ladyships, who were as good at their word, for though they plunged me under water and washed and rubbed me severely, yet I could not say they hurt me much.
These young women led me to the council house, where some of the tribe were ready with new clothes for me. They gave me a new ruffled shirt, which I put on; also, a pair of leggins done off with ribbons and beads, porcupine quills and red hair ; also, a tinsel-laced cappo. They again painted my head and face with various colors, and tied a bunch of red feathers to one of those locks they had left on the crown of my head, which stood up five or six inches. They seated me on a bearskin and gave me a pipe, tomahawk and polecat-skin pouch, which had been skinned pocket-fashion and contained tobacco, killegenico or dry sumach leaves, which they mix with their tobacco ; also, punk, flint and steel. When I was thus scated the Indians came in, dressed and painted in their- grandest manner. As they came in they took their seats, and for a con- siderable time there was profound silence ; everyone was smoking, but not a word spoken among them. At length one of the chiefs made. a speech, which was delivered to me by an interpreter and was as follows : "My son, you are now flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone. By the ceremony which was performed this day, every drop of white blood was washed out of your veins ; you are taken into the Cauglinewago nation and ini- tiated into a warlike tribe ; you are adopted into a great family, and now received with great seriousness and solemnity in the room and place of a great man. After what has passed this day, you are now one of us by an old strong law and custom. My son, you have now nothing to fear-we are now under the same obligations to love, support and de- fend you, that we are to love and defend one another ; therefore you are to consider your- self as one of our people." At this time I did not believe this fine speech, especially that of the white blood being washed out of me ; but since that time I have found that there was much sincerity in said speech ; for, from that day, I never knew them to make any distinction between me and themselves, in any respect whatever, until I left them.
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If they had plenty of clothing, I had plenty; if we were scarce, we all shared one fate.
After this ceremony was over I was intro- duced to my new kin, and told that I was to attend a feast that evening, which I did. And as the enstom was, they gave me also a bowl and wooden spoon, which I carried with me to the place, where there were a number of large brass kettles, full of boiled venison and green corn. Everyone advanced with his bowl and spoon and had his share given him. After this one of the chief's made a short speech and then we began to cat.
SMITH DESCRIBES THE WAR-DANCE.
The name of one of the chiefs of this town was Tecanyaterigto, alias " Plnggy." and the other Asallecoa, alias " Mohawk Solomon." As Plnggy and his party were to start the next day to war, to the frontiers of Virginia, the next thing to be performed was the war- dance and their war-songs. At their war- dance they had both vocal and instrumental music ; they had a short, hollow gum, closed at one end, with water in it, and parchment stretched over the open end thereof, which they beat with one stick, and made a sound nearly like that of a muffled drum. All of those who were going on this expedition col- lected together and formed. An old Indian then began to sing, and timed the music by beating on this drum, as the ancients formerly timed their music by beating the tabor. On this the warriors began to advance or move forward in concert, as well-disciplined troops would march to the fife and drum. Each warrior had a tomahawk, spear or war-mallet in his hand, and they all moved regularly to- ward the east, or the way they intended to go to war. At length they all stretched their tomahawks toward the Potomac, and giving a hideous shout or yell, they wheeled quick about and danced in the same manner back. The next was the war-song. In performing this only one sung at a time, in a moving posture, with a tomahawk in his hand, while all the other warriors were engaged in calling aloud, "He uh, he uh," which they con- stantly repeated while the war-song was going on. When the warrior who was singing had ended his song, he struck a war-post with his tomahawk and with a loud voice told what warlike exploits he had done and what he now intended to do, which were answered by the other warriors with loud shouts, of ap- plause. Some who had not before intended to go to war at this time, were so animated by this performance that they took up the tomahawk and sing the war-song, which was answered with shouts of joy, as they were then initiated into the present marching com- pany. The next morning this company all collected at one place, with their heads and faces painted various colors, and packs upon their backs ; they marched off, all silent ex- cept the commander, who, in the front sung the traveling-song, which began in this man- ner : "Hoo caughtaintcheogana." Just as the rear passed the end of the town they be-
gan to fire in their slow manner, from the front to the rear, which was accompanied with shouts and yells from all quarters.
A COURTING-DANCE.
This evening I was invited to another sort of dance, which was a kind of promiscuous dance. The young men stood in one rank, and the young women in another, about one rod apart, facing each other. The one that raised the tune, or started the song, held a small gourd or dry shell of a squash in his hand, which contained beads or small stones, which rattled. When he began to sing he timed the tune with his rattle ; both men and women danced and sung together, advancing toward each other, stooping until their heads would be touching together, and then ceased from dancing with lond shouts, and retreated and formed again, and so repeated the same thing over and over for three or four hours without intermission. This exercise appeared to me at first irrational and insipid ; but I found that in singing their tunes, " Ya ne no hoo wa ne," etc., like our " Fa sol la," and though they have no such thing as jingling verse, yet they can intermix sentences with their notes, and say what they please to each other, and carry on the tune in concert. I found this was a kind of wooing or courting- dance, and as they advanced stooping with their heads together, they could say what they pleased in each other's ear, without dis- concerting their rough music, and the others. or those near, not hear what they said.
Smith describes an expedition about thirty or forty miles southwardly, to a spot which he supposed to be between the Ohio, Mus- kingum and Scioto rivers (Hocking river, near Athens), perhaps in Licking county. It was a buffalo lick, where the Indians killed several buffalo, and in their small brass kettles made about half a bushel of salt. Here were clear, open woods, and thin white-oak land, with several paths like wagon roads leading to the liek ..
SMITH GOES TO LAKE ERIE.
Returning to the Indian village on the Muskingum, Smith obtained an English Bible, which Pluggy and his party had brought baek among other spoils of an expe- dition so far as the sonth branch of the Po- tomac. He remained at Tullihas until Oc- tober, when he accompanied his adopted brother, whose name was Tontileaugo, and who had married a Wyandot woman, to Lake Erie. Their route was up the west branch of the Muskingum, through a country which for some distance was "hilly, but intermixed with large bodies of tolerable rich upland and excellent bottoms." They proceeded to the headwaters of the west branch of the Muskingum, and thence crossed to the waters of a stream, called by Smith the "Canesa- dooharie." This was probably the Black river, which, rising in Ashland, and travers- ing Medina and Lorain counties (at least by the waters of its cast branch), falls into Lake
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Erie a few miles north of Elyria. If we suppose that Tullihas, situated twenty miles above the principal forks of the Muskingum, was near the junction of the Vernon and Mohican rivers, on the borders of Knox and Coshocton counties, Smith and his companion probably followed what is called on Thayer's Map of Ohio, the " Lake fork of the Mo- hican," until they reached the northern por- tion of Ashland county, and there struck the headwaters of the Canesadooharie, where, as Smith testifies, they found "a large body of rich, well-lying land-the timber, ash, walnut, sugar-tree, buckeye, honey-loenst and cherry, intermixed with some oak and hickory." Let us here resmne the narrative :
On this route we had no horses with us, and when we started from the town all the pack I carried was a ponch, containing my books, a little dried venison and my blanket. I had then no gnn. But Toutileango was a first-rate hunter, carried a rifle-gun, and every day killed deer, raccoons'or bears. We left the incat, excepting a little for present use, and carried the skins with us until we encamped, and then stretched them with elm bark on a frame made with poles stuck in the ground and tied together with lin or elm bark, and when the skins were dried by the fire we packed them up and carried them with us the next day.
As Tontileaugo could not speak English, I had to make use of all the Caughnewaga I had learned even to talk very imperfectly with him. But I found I learned to talk In- dian faster this way than when I had those with me who could talk English.
As we proceeded down the Canesadooharie waters our packs increased by the skins that were daily killed, and became so heavy that we could not march more than eight or ten miles a day.
We came to Lake Erie about six miles west of the mouth of Canesadooharic. As the wind was very high the evening we came to the lake, I was surprised to hear the roar- ing of the water and see the high waves that dashed against the shore nke the ocean. We encamped on a run near the lake, and as the wind fell that night, the surface was only in a moderate motion, and we marched on the sand along the side of the water, frequently resting ourselves as we were heavy laden. I saw on the strand a number of large fish that had been left in flat or hollow places ; as the wind fell and waves abated they were left without water, or only a small quantity, and numbers of bald and gray eagles, etc., were along the shore devouring them.
WYANDOT CAMP.
Some time in the afternoon we came to a camp of Wyandots, at the mouth of the Canesadooharie, where Tontileango's wife was. [This is believed to be the Black River in Lorain Conty. ]
Here we were kindly received : they gave us a kind of rough brown potatoes, which grew spontaneously, and were called by the
Caughnewagas ohnenata. These potatoes peeled, and dipped in raccoon's fat, taste nearly like our sweet potatoes. They gave us also what they called cancheanta, which is a kind of hominy made of green corn, dried, and beans mixed together.
From the headwaters of Canesadooharie to this place the land is generally good, chiefly first or second rate, and comparatively little or no third rate. The only refuse is some swamps that appear to be too wet for use, yet I apprehend that a number of them if drained would make excellent meadows. The timber is black oak, walnut, hickory, cherry, black ash, white ash, water ash, buckeye, black-lo- cust, honey-locust, sugar-tree and elm. There is also some land, though comparatively small, where the timber is chiefly white oak or beech ; this may be called third rate.
In the bottoms, and also many places in the uplands, there is a large quantity of wild- apple, pluum, and red and black haw trees. It appeared to be well watered, and plenty of meadow ground intermixed with upland, but no large prairies or glades that I saw or heard of. In this route deer, bear, turkeys and raccoons appeared plenty, but no buffalo, and very little signs of elks.
We continued our camp at the month of Canesadooharie for some time, where we killed some deer and a great many raccoons : the raccoons here were remarkably large and fat. At length we embarked in a birch canoe. This vessel was four feet wide and three feet deep, and about five and thirty feet long ; and though it could earry a heavy burden, it was so artfully and euriously constructed that four men could carry it several miles, or from one landing place to another, or from the waters of the lake to the waters of the Ohio. We proceeded up Canesadooharie a few miles, and went on shore to hunt ; but to my great surprise, they carried the vessel that we all came in up the bank, and inverted it, or turned the bottom up, and converted it into a dwelling honse, and kindled a fire be- fore us to warm ourselves and cook. With our baggage and ourselves in this house, we were very much crowded, yet our little house turned off the rain very well.
We kept moving and hunting up this river until we came to the falls : here we remained some weeks, and killed a number of deer, several bears and a great many raccoons. They then buried their large canoe in the ground, which is the way to preserve this sort of a canoe in the winter season.
INDIAN MANNER OF BUILDING CABINS.
As we had at this time no horses, every one had a paek on his back, and we steered an east course about twelve miles and eneamp- ed. The next morning we proceeded on the same course abont twelve miles to a large creek that empties into Lake Erie betwixt. Canesadooharie and Cayahaga. Here they made their winter cabin in the following form : they ent logs about fifteen feet long, and laid these logs upon each other, and
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drove posts in the ground at each end to keep them together : the posts they tied to- gether at the top with bark, and by this means raised a wall fifteen feet long, and abont four feet high, and in the same manner another wall opposite to this, nt about twelve feet distance : they then drove forks in the ground in the center of each end, and laid a strong pole from end to end on these forks : and from these walls to the poles, they set up poles instead of rafters, and on these they tied small poles in place of laths : and a cover was made of linn bark, which will run even in the winter season.
As every tree will not run, they examine the tree first, by trying it near the ground, and when they find it will do, they fell the tree and raise the bark with the tomahawk, near the top of the tree, about five or six inches broad, then put the tomahawk handle under the bark, and pull it down to the butt of the tree ; so that sometimes one piece of bark will be thirty feet long. This bark they cut at suitable lengths in order to cover the hut.
At the end of these walls they set up split timber, so that they had timber all around, excepting a door at each end. At the top, in place of a chinmey, they left an open place, and for bedding they laid down the aforesaid kind of bark, on which they spread bear skins.
From end to end of this hut, along the middle, there were fires, which the squaws made of dry split wood, and the holes or open places that appeared, the squaws stopped with moss, which they collected from old logs, and at the door they hung a bearskin, and notwithstanding the winters are hard here, our lodging was much better than I ex- pected.
It appears that this Wyandot encampment consisted of eight hunters and thirteen squaws, boys and children. Soon afterwards, four of the hunters started on an expedition against the English settlements, leaving Ton- tileaugo, three other Indians and Smith to supply the camp with food. The winter months passed in hunting-excursions-the bear, even more than the deer, being an ob- ject of active and successful pursuit. The months of February and March, 1756, seem to have been occupied as follows :
SUGAR MAKING.
In February we began to make sugar. As some of the elm bark will strip at this season, the squaws, after finding a tree that will do, eut it down and with a crooked stiek, broad and sharp at the end, took the bark off the tree, and of this bark made vessels in a enri- ons manner, that would hold about two gal- lons cach ; they made above one hundred of this kind of vessels. In the sugar tree they cut a notch, sloping down, and at the end where they stuck a tomahawk, they drove a long chip, in order to carry the water ont from the tree, and under this they set their
vessel to receive it. As the sugar-trees were plenty and large here, they seldom or never notched a tree that was not two or three feet over. They also made bark vessels for ear- rying the water that would hold abont four gallons each. They had two brass kettles that held fifteen gallons each, and other smaller kettles in which they boiled the wa- ter. But as they could not at times boil away the water as fast as collected, they made vessels of bark that would hold about one hundred gallons each for retaining the water, and though the sugar-trees did not run every day, they had always a sufficient quan- tity of water to keep them boiling during the whole sugar season.
The way we commonly used our sugar while encamped was by putting it in bear's fat until the fat was almost as sweet as the sugar itself and in this we dipped our roasted venison. About this time, some of the Indian lads and myself were employed in making and attending traps for catching rac- coons, foxes, wild cats, etc.
TRAPPING COONS, FOXES, ETC.
As the raccoon is a kind of water animal that frequents the rims or small water courses almost the whole night, we made our traps on the runs, by laying one small sap- ling on another and driving in posts to keep them from rolling. The under sapling we raised about eighteen inches and set so that on the raccoon's touching a string or a small piece of bark, the sapling would fall and kill it; and lest the raccoon should pass by, we laid brush on both sides of the run, only leaving the eliannel open.
The fox-traps we made nearly in the same manner, at the end of a hollow log or oppo- site to a hole at the root of a hollow tree, and put venison on a stick for bait : we had it so set that when the fox took hold of the meat, the trap fell. While the squaws were em- ployed in making sugar, the boys and men were engaged in hunting and trapping.
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