USA > Ohio > Ashland County > History of Ashland County, Ohio > Part 2
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Some of our mounds were used as sepulchers for the dead, and should not be desecrated-even in the interest of historical research and investigation.
An old-time poet wrote:
"Oh, Mound ! consecrated before The white man's foot e'er trod our shore, To battle's strife and valour's grave, Spare! oh, spare, the buried brave! A thousand winters passed away, And yet demolished not the clay, Which on yon hillock held in trust The quiet of the warrior's dust. The Indian came and went again ; He hunted through the lengthened plain ; And from the mound he oft beheld
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The present silent battlefield.
But did the Indian e'er presume, To violate that ancient tomb ? Ah, no! he had the soldier grace Which spares the soldier's resting place. It is alone for Christian hand To sever that sepulchral band, Which ever to the view is spread, To bind the living to the dead."
Some may say why attempt to roll back the flight of years to learn of a prehistoric people, for the searchlight of investigation makes but little impression on the night of time. We have no data on which to base an estimate as to the antiquity of man, but we can contemplate the great periods of geological times, and the infinite greatness of the works of creation, as disclosed by Astronomy, with man's primeval conditon, as made evident by archaeology, and exclaim, "What is man that Thou art mindful of him!"
II.
TIIE INDIANS AS A RACE.
Scientific research indicates that the Indians followed the Mound Builders of this section of the country and it was long after the first white settler had penetrated into the region now known as Ohio that the Indians left for hunting grounds further west.
The Indians uniformly resisted all attempts to civilize them. They pre- ferred to subsist themselves by the chase, and it has been estimated that it would take fifty thousand acres of forest land to furnish game enough to support one Indian. With almost all the tribes the men furnished the game (meat) as their share of provision for the family. It was considered beneath the dignity of a "brave" to do any manual labor. The squaws had to plant the corn and cultivate it, cut the wood, carry water, do the cooking, feed the horses and carry the luggage when on the march. The women did not murmur at this, but seemed to consider it a natural distribution of family duties.
Polygamy was quite general among the Indians. Every "brave" had as many wives as he could support. In marriages the bride-to-be was seldom con- sulted, for the suitor addressed himself directly to the parents of the young squaw he wished to marry, and her fate depended on the wish of her parents. The custom of dowry was the reverse from what it is today, for then the suitor made presents to the parents of the bride, instead of receiving a portion with her.
Divorces were frequent, and where there were children, the mother had to support them. With the Dakotas, when a "brave" wished to marry, he had to take the bride's sisters, also. The Indians looked upon women as inferior to
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them and made them their slaves. They were savages. With civilized, christian people it is different. I have but little patience with a woman who says she is an infidel, for it is the religion of the Nazerene that has elevated her to the position of honor in which she is held today.
The Indians are fatalists. They never pray, but they sometimes return thanks to the Great Spirit. Whatever of good or of evil happens to them they receive with imperturable calmness, believing that the fates have so ordered. I use the present tense, for the Indian is about the same today that he was a century ago. The opinions, traditions and institutions of his tribe are en- deared to him by habit, feeling and authority ; and from early childhood he has been taught that the Great Spirit would be offended by any change in the customs of his red children.
Indians believe in a Great Spirit and in the immortality of the soul. They look upon the future state as a material paradise-a happy hunting ground. They blend sorcery in their belief in the healing art and their priests are also physicians and jugglers. Their tribes seem to be held together by a kind of family ligament; by the ties of blood, which in the infancy of society were stronger as other associations were weaker.
OHIO -- THE BATTLE GROUND.
Ohio was the battle ground where the Indians tried to stop the tide of civilization in its westward course across the American continent, and Ashland county was the battle field upon which some of the bloodiest tragedies of that terrible conflict were enacted. America has the unique distinction of being settled by pioneers. Other countries have been peopled by men moving in large bodies from one place to another. Whole tribes would move enmasse and over run or exterminate the inhabitants and occupy their territory. But the pioneers came singly or in small groups and became settlers. When the white men came the Indians had to leave, because the conflict between the civilized people and the savages was irrepressible. The white men possessed the country on the theory of the eternal fitness of things.
It is an interesting study to trace a country's history from its beginning and follow society in its formative state and note its material developments and scien- tific achievements. It took George Washington eight days to journey from Mt. Vernon to New York to be inaugurated first president of the United States. The same distance can now be traveled in less than eight hours.
The pioneer period is an epoch of the past. . The early settlers of Ashland county have passed away. It may have been difficult for some of them to accept and become reconciled to the changes that were brought about in their day and generation-at the change that had stamped its seal upon the wilderness whose winding paths they had known so well and had so often trodden. Many of them lived to see the country lay off its primeval wildness and beauty and grandeur of the forest, until the land bloomed like unto the gardens of gods. How
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beautiful has been the result of the labor of the pioneers and how much we owe to them. But that golden era passed away and bore upon its bosom the dear old men and women whose like we shall never see again. We rejoice to know that the glory of one age is not dimmed in the golden glory of the age succeed- ing it.
To give more fully the changes that have taken place, the spinning wheel of the pioneer days is now known only as a relic in a museum or an antique ornament in our parlor. The loom is no longer used in private houses; a piano has taken its place. Stockings at a trifle a pair have banished knitting, except for ornamental purposes. Water runs into our houses through pipes by turning a faucet and is carried out again by gravity. With gas manu- factured or natural as a fuel, with our houses heated from cellar to attic the labor of preparing for, making and keeping a fire is reduced to a very small matter. In cities and villages the baker relieves the housekeeper of the task of bread-making if she so desires, and thus at every point the burdens of life are made less strenuous and more bearable.
The pioneer times are frequently spoken of as "the good old days." An old gentleman sentimentally referring to those days had his remarks taken seriously by a bystander who understood him as wishing for a return of the things and conditions of the past. The bystander said: "Times change. Don't let us fall behind the procession, rather let us be thankful for the better con- ditions of our day and generation." He further said that the luxuries and comforts of today make us lack nothing. Would you go back to the years when the family surrounded the pot of mush and helped themselves from it a morsel at a time ?
The pioneer period was but the preface to the fuller development of the country that followed. The settlers who cleared the land, founded homes and formulated the first laws, builded better than they knew, and as we look back at their work in the lime-light of today, we award them the plaudit of "well done."
Within four years after the first settlement in Ashland county had been mnade, war was declared against Great Britain. This war is sometimes called our second war for independence. The question has been asked if that war advanced or retarded the settlement of the country. Those have read history to but little purpose if they have not learned that war advances civilization. The fighting instincts of human nature have brought about more important results than has any other one force.
IIomer, the earliest of the great poets, began his Iliad by invoking the muse to sing of martial exploits and expressed his faith in war as a means of progress. The spirit then displayed was not materially different from that which the patriots of colonial times manifested, which culminated in the war of the Revo- lution. The same impelling tendency was seen in the heroic events of the war of 1812, and also in our war with Mexico, as well as in our recent civil strife. The records of the "dull, piping times of peace" do not show the advance of civilization, as do the annals of war.
RTHE| ATTACK : ON :THE COPUS + CABIN + BY . INDIANS - MORNING+OF SEPT. + 15, *1812.
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HISTORY OF ASIILAND COUNTY
AN INDIAN FEAST.
In the fall of 1811, there was a great Indian feast at Greentown, which was attended by Rev. James Copus and Captain James Cunningham, two white settlers of the vicinity. Captain Cunningham was the grandfather of the author of this work. The refreshments at this feast consisted of boiled venison and bear meat, somewhat tainted, and not very palatable to the white guests. The ceremonies took place in the council house, a building composed of clap- boards and poles, some thirty feet wide, and perhaps fifty feet long. When the Indians entered the council house, the squaws seated themselves on one side and the men on the other. There was a small elevation of earth in the center, eight or ten feet in diameter, which seemed to be a sort of sacrificial mound. The ceremonies were opened by a rude sort of music, made by beating upon a small copper kettle, and pots, over the mouths of which dried skins had been stretched. This was accompanied by a sort of song, which, as near as could be understood, ran : "Tinny, tinny, tinny, ho, ha, ho, ha, ho"-accenting the last sylables. Then a tall chief arose and addressed them. During the delivery of his speech, a profound silence prevailed. The whole audience observed the speaker, and seemed to be deeply moved by the oration. The speaker seemed to be about seventy years of age. He was tall and graceful. ITis eyes had the fire of youth, and blazed with emotion while he was speaking. The audience frequent- ly sobbed, and seemed deeply affected. Mr. Copus could not understand the language of the address, but presumed the speaker was giving a summary history of the Delawares, two tribes of which, the "Wolf" and the "Turtle" were repre- sented at the feast. Mr. Copus learned that the distinguished chief who had addressed the meeting, was "Old Captain Pipe," of Mohican Johnstown, the executioner of the lamented Colonel Crawford. At the close of the address dancing commenced. The Indians were neatly clothed in deer skin and English blankets. Deer hoofs and bear claws were strung along the seams of their leggins, and when the dance commenced, the jingling of the hoofs and elaws gave a rude sort of harmony to the wild music made upon the pots and kettles. The men danced in files or lines, by themselves around the central mound, and the squaws followed in a company by themselves. In the dance there seemed to be a proper sense of modesty between the sexes. In fact, the Greentown Indians were always noted for being extremely scrupulous and modest in the presence of each other. After the dance, the refreshments were handed around. Not relishing the appearance of the food, Mr. Copus and the other whites present, carefully concealed the portions handed them until they left the wigwam, and then threw them away. No greater insult could be offered an Indian, than to refuse to accept the food proffered by him. So those present had to use a little deception to evade the censure of the Indians.
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HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY
THE INDIANS
WERE THE ALLIES OF THE BRITISH.
In the war of 1812 the Indians acted as the allies of the British. History states that Lord Dorchester, then governor general of Canada, industriously instigated the Indians to hostilities on our northern frontier, and that he had agents throughout Ohio and elsewhere distributing blankets, food, ammunition and arms among the Indians, and at Malden a reward was paid for every white man's scalp brought in by the Indians.
The Indians at Greentown and Jeromeville had received supplies from the British. This fact, coupled with their suspicious action and warlike demonstrations, gave the white settlers reasonable cause for believing that their savage neighbors contemplated a murderous assault upon them.
At the time of which I write Colonel Kratzer, who was in command of the troops at Mansfield, received orders to remove the Indians from both Greentown and Jeromeville, as a precautionary measure against an outbreak, and for that purpose sent Captain Douglas to enforce the order. There were about eighty Indian " braves" at Greentown, and it has been doubted whether Captain Douglas could have successfully coped with them. But such ques- tions are only discussed in " piping times of peace," for in times of war American soldiers whip the enemy first and discuss the matter afterward.
Armstrong was the Greentown chief, and at first refused to consent to be removed. Captain Douglas then sought James Copus, who lived a few miles further up the valley, and requested him to persuade the Indians to comply peacefully with the order. Copus was a local preacher in whom the Indians had confidence. He refused to interfere against them. After en- treaty had failed Captain Douglas is reported to have said, "Mr. Copus, my business is to carry out the instructions of my superior officers, and if I can't persuade you to comply with my request I shall arrest you as a traitor to the government of the United States." Mr. Copus then consented to go, the offi- cer assuring him that the Indians should be protected in both person and property.
When the officers returned to the Indian village, accompanied by Mr. Copus, another conference was held with the chief, at which Mr. Copus re- peated the assurances that had been given him.
Captain Douglas again explained that his order was mandatory and that the Indians had to comply with its mandate or take the alternative. After conferring with his counselors, the old chief reluctantly announced that they would go, and Judge Peter Kinney and Captain James Cunningham took an inventory of their effects, and the Indians were formed into line and marched away under guard from the village that had for thirty years been the home of that part of their tribe. They had not proceeded far when look- ing back, they saw a cloud of smoke ascending from their burning village.
The burning of Greentown has been criticised and censured by sentiment- alists, who regarded it as a breach of faith with the "noble red man," who
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HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY
was cruelly driven from his "happy hunting grounds" into a forced exile. But the burning of that village was not a breach of faith, for the officers did not sanction the act. It was done without warrant by five or six stragglers who had dropped out of the ranks for that purpose. They were militiamen who had suffered wrongs too grievous to be borne from the bloody hands of the Indians, and it was but human nature for them to retaliate. It seems like maudlin sentimentalism to dilate upon the wrongs which the white set- tlers committed against the Indians, for the few misdeeds that may have been done by the pioneers were too insignificant to be given prominence in history. In the early history of France we read of the dark and bloody acts of the Druids and how they immolated human life in their forest temples, but it was as a religious rite, as an atoning or propitiating sacrifice, and while we stand appalled at the bloody spectacle our condemnation is somewhat mol- ified when we consider the motive that prompted the act. But with the Indians it was cruelty for cruelty's sake. They were savages, and through all the civilizing influences of a century they are savages still. Even those who have been educated at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, at the expense of the gen- eral government, drift back into barbarism, as a rule, after they return to the west. Let those who have tears to shed over the burning of Greentowu read the accounts of the Wyoming massacre and its aftermath of butcherier. and then consider the Indians' bloody deeds in our own state and county-of cruelty, torture, death,-these three, and then tell us where is their claim for charity ! Settlers have returned from the hunt and chase and found their cabins burnt and their families murdered. The bloody tomahawk and gory scalping knife had done their work, and mutilation had been added to murder. Notwithstanding the beautifully drawn and charmingly colored word-pictures given us by novelists, history teaches us that the Indian is cruel, deceitful a' c' bloodthirsty by nature and devoid of the redeeming traits of humanity.
Greentown was founded in 1782, and was destroyed by fire in 1812, after an existence of thirty years. The number of cabins it contained has been variously stated at from sixty to one hundred. The number of the dead buried there is not known, but as about three hundred Indians, on an average, lived there for three decades, the number is no doubt quite large.
The writer recently visited the site of old Greentown in mid-winter,- an appropriate season to view in its dearth and desolation the former location of a town that is now no more. The Blackfork had overflowed its banks in a recent freshet, and, ere the waters could recede from the lowlands, had frozen into sheets of ice that reflected sparkling gems of crystal purity in the glad- some sunshine, and the hills glistened with a white covering of snow, forming a scene of beauty to be remembered in many a future dream.
To appreciate places of historic note, one must enter into the feelings created by reading its history and learning its traditions. Standing upon that village site, we realized that the valley whose broad and fertile acres spread out before us was the place where the civilization of this part of the West was first planted and from which it extended even to the golden shores of the Pacific. The events which stirred the souls and tried the courage of the pioneers seemed to come out of the dim past and glide as panoramic views
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before us. A number of the actors in those thrilling scenes were of our "kith and kin," who have long since crossed over the river. But little change has taken place at the old site of Greentown in the past fifty years, except that the old time Indian burial ground, that has withstood the innovations of a century, is being despoiled of its timber, and one feels like exclaiming:
"Woodman, spare those trees ; Touch not a single bough."
But sentiment, it seems, must give way to utility. The burial ground is at the west end of the knoll upon which Greentown was situated and is somewhat triangular in shape. IIeretofore, the ground has been held in superstitious, if not sacred, veneration. But it will soon be turned over to the plowshare and the agriculturist.
Greentown was built upon an oblong knoll, of about half a mile in length and a quarter of a mile in width, running nearly east and west, with an eleva- tion of fifty feet, and of irregular topography. The Black Fork, after straightening from its tortuous course and running south for a short distance, makes a graceful curve to the east at the southwest limits of the grounds, courses along the base of the south side of the ridge, then turns again to the south and resumes its zigzag wanderings until its waters unite with those of other forks and form the Mohican. The cabins comprising the village stood principally upon the rolling plateau-like summit of the hill, each Indian select- ing a site to suit himself, with but little regard for streets or regularity. A sycamore tree, which in the olden times cast its shade over the council-house of the tribe, still stands like a monument from the past, grim and white, stretching its branches like skeleton arms in the attitude of benediction. A
wild cherry-tree stands several rods northeast, around which there was for- merly a circular mound, evidently made by the Indians, and still discernable; but whether it was used as a circus ring for athletic sports, or as a receptacle, is a matter of conjecture. Many think it was for the latter, as trinkets, if not valuable, have been taken from it; but no general exhumation was ever made.
THE BLACKFORK VALLEY.
The settlers of 1808-09-10 found in the Blackfork valley a village of Dela- ware Indians, the remnant of a Turtle tribe. Their chief was Captain, Armstrong. The village was called Greentown. As a war measure the Indians were removed from Greentown in the early autumn of 1812, after which the village was burnt. The site of their old burial ground is almost obliterated. It is located a few rods north of the Black Fork, upon a gentle eminence, in the southwest part of northeast quarter section 18, Green town- ship. The southern portion of the site is still in woods, and the depressions that mark the graves are quite distinct. Henry Harkell and the author ex- humed several of the skeletons in the summer of 1876. In some cases the
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HISTORY OF ASIILAND COUNTY
remains were inclosed in a stone cist; in others, small rounded drift-boulders were placed in order around the skeletons. The long bones were mostly well preserved. No perfect skull was obtained, nor were there any stone implements found in the graves. At the foot of one a clam shell was found. The graves are from two and one-half to three feet deep and the remains repose horizontally. A few relics, such as stone axes, arrow heads and a few bits of copper, have been picked up in the immediate vicinity. They are in the hands of the author. On the opposite side of the stream and some distance below, near the south line of southeast quarter-section 18, Green township, there are ancient fireplaces. They are about fifteen inches below the present surface, and are formed of boulders,
regularly laid. The earth is burned red. Great numbers of stones have fallen into the stream during its incursions upon the west bank. Some three or four of these fireplaces are yet plainly visible, but in a few years they will be swept away by the current. About half a mile east of the graves is a small circular earthwork almost razed. It contains between one and two acres and had a gateway looking to the river, which is westward. It is situated upon nearly the level bottom land of the beautiful valley.
CAPTAIN PIPE.
Captain Pipe was a chief of the Wolf branch of the Delaware tribe and ruled at Mohican Johnstown. There was a Captain Pipe at Greentown at one time. who was supposed to be a son of the old chieftain. He later became a. half chief with Silas Armstrong, on the reservation at Pipestown, six miles from Upper Sandusky. This younger Captain Pipe died in 1839, in the Indian Territory.
Old Captain Pipe has been described as a typical Indian, uniting with the blandness and oily address of the cringing courtier, the malignity of the savage and the blood-thirsty ferocity of the skulking panther. With his own hand he painted Colonel Crawford black and by his order the Colonel was burnt at the stake. While painting the gallant Colonel, the treacherous Pipe feigned friendship and joked about him making a good looking Indian, but the black paint belied his words, for it portended death. It has been stated that Captain Pipe refused to join the British against the white settlers in 1812, but as he was a consummate dissembler, the statement should be received in accordance with the character of the man. After ITull's surrender, Captain Pipe was never seen in this part of the state and his fate is unknown.
FAST'S CAPTIVITY.
A captive among the Indians before the settlement of Ashland county, was Christian Fast, Sr. He often narrated the incidents of his capture and captiv- ity, which were published years ago. In after years he became a resident of Orange township, Ashland county, where a number of his descendants yet
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HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY
reside. The narrative is so interesting that we give it place here. It is as follows :
When a boy of sixteen, Mr. Fast was captured by the Delaware Indians near the Falls of Ohio. He had enlisted in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, in a company of two hundred men, organized for the purpose of chastising the Indians for depredations committed upon the frontier settlement. This force descended the Ohio in boats, and some distance above the falls, separated into two parties, young Fast being among those in the rear. The forward party were attacked a short distance above the falls, by parties of Indians on both sides of the river. The largest boat in the fleet, in which was Mr. Fast, had landed, and the others were making preparations to do so, when the attack commenced. The smaller boats immediately put up steam but the larger one was hard aground and could not be got off. Of the one hundred on that boat all were killed except. some thirty. Young Fast jumped into the water, receiving, at the same instant, a flesh wound in the hip, and swam to the opposite shore, where he was met by three Indans, who demanded that he should surrender, assuring him of friendly treatment. He declined their request and again plunged into the stream, the three Indians firing on him as he swam, one of the balls grazing his cheek, momentarily stunning him. Reaching the middle of the stream, he took obser- vations to determine the course of safety, and concluded to strike the shore several rods below where the large boat was grounded; but on approaching he again encountered the bullets of the Indians, and again made for the middle of the river. Some distance below he discovered a horse-boat belonging to his party, and at once resolved to reach and board it. Just as he had succeeded in getting aboard, the captain received a wound in the arm, and waved his hand to the Indians in token of surrender. The boat was immediately boarded by the Indians, and the whites were all made prisoners.
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