History of Crawford County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 8

Author: Hopley, John E. (John Edward), 1850-
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago,Ill., Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1302

USA > Ohio > Crawford County > History of Crawford County, Ohio, and representative citizens > Part 8

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Lieut. Ashley, took to the dense woods, as did the two young men. The party that cap- tured Crawford and Knight, were Delaware Indians, who under their chief, Wingenund, had followed the retreating army as far as their camp, which was only half a mile dis- tant from the place where they captured Craw- ford, about a mile and a half northwest of Crestline.

Crawford and Knight were taken to Winge- nund's camp, where they found nine other prisoners. Wingenund sent a message to Capt. Pipe, announcing the capture of Col. Craw- ford, the leader of the expedition, and of the other prisoners, and received word to bring them to the headquarters of the Delawares on the Tymochtee. It was about three o'clock on Friday, June 7, that Crawford and Knight were captured, and on Sunday evening, June 9, some Delaware warriors returned bringing with them the scalps of Capt. Biggs and Lieut. Ashley, the two young men having escaped. On Monday morning, June 10, they started for the Indian towns on the Sandusky. Craw- ford had been told that Simon Girty was at Pomoacan's village, and as Girty knew him and had frequently been his guest at his home in Pennsylvania, he requested that he be taken there. As this would lead the Indians past the place where the two horses of Crawford had been abandoned, Wingenund consented. The Indians were seventeen in number. They followed the trail about three miles when the party separated. Crawford, guarded by two Indians, bearing to the northwest over the route by which he came, and the other six- teen with their ten prisoners going west over an Indian trail to the old town of Upper San- dusky, crossing the river southwest of the present site of Bucyrus. Crawford arrived at the Half King's house and had an interview with Girty, who promised to do what he could for him. After, his interview with Girty Crawford was taken up the river, about eight miles, to the Old Town, where the other pris- oners were. Here Pipe and Wingenund had preceded him, and painted the face of the pris- oners black, which meant death. On Craw- ford's arrival he was greeted by both chiefs with words of friendship, but he, too, was painted black. The whole party now started for the village of the Wyandots where Craw-

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

ford had spent the night, Crawford and or forty men, sixty or seventy squaws and Knight being guarded by Pipe and Wingenund. boys. As they marched they came to the dead bodies of four of the prisoners, tomahawked and scalped.

At the present site of Upper Sandusky, in- stead of continuing their march to the Half King's Wyandot town, they bore to the north- west for the Delaware town of Tymochtee. On reaching the Little Tymochtee about three miles from the Indian village, Knight was made a present to the Shawanese, to be taken to their town on the Mad river for torture, the other five prisoners, with their hands tied behind them, were given over to the squaws and boys, and were tomahawked and scalped, the bloody scalps being dashed in the faces of both Crawford and Knight. The line of march was again taken up, and the party were met by Simon Girty and several Indians, who had come across from the Half King's town to witness the death of Crawford. From now on both Crawford and Knight were struck over the head, face and body with the fists, or with sticks and clubs of the Indians. They soon reached a bluff near the Tymochtee, about three-quarters of a mile up the stream from the Delaware village, where a fire had already been prepared. The account of the death of Crawford is taken from the narrative of Dr. Knight, written in August, 1782, at Pittsburg. There being no printing office in Pittsburg at that time it was sent to Philadelphia and pub- lished in November, 1782. Speaking of the tortures of Crawford Knight says :

"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 hands behind his back and fas- tened the rope to the ligature between his wrists. The rope was long enough for him to sit down or walk round the post once or twice and return the same way. The Colonel then called to Girty and asked him if they in- tended to burn him ?- Girty answered, 'yes.' The Colonel said he would take it all patiently. Upon this Captain Pipe, a Delaware chief, made a speech to the Indians, viz : about thirty

"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 Col- onel's body, from his feet as far up as his neck. I think not less than seventy loads were dis- charged 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 the blood run- ning from both sides of his head in conse- quence 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, burnt. quite through in the middle, each end of the poles remaining about six feet in length. Three or four Indians by turns, would take up, in- dividually, one of these burning pieces of wood and apply it to his naked body, already burnt black with the powder. These torment- ors presented themselves on every side of him with the burning fagots and poles. Some of the squaws took broad boards upon which they would carry a quantity of the burning coals and hot embers and throw on him, so that in a short time he had nothing but hot coals of fire and hot ashes to walk upon.

"In the midst of these extreme tortures, he called to Simon Girty and begged him to shoot him; but Girty making no answer he called to him again. Girty then, by way of derision, told the Colonel he had no gun, at the same time turning about to an Indian who was behind him, laughed heartily, and by all his gestures seemed delighted at the horrid scene.

"Girty then came up to me and bade me prepare for death. He said, however, I was not to die at that place, but to be burnt at the Shawanese towns. He swore by G-d I need not expect to escape death, but should suffer it in all its extremities.

"He then observed, that some prisoners had given him to understand, that if our people had had him they would not hurt him; for his part, he said, he did not believe it, but desired to know my opinion of the matter, but being at that time in great anguish and

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY

distress for the torments the Colonel was suf- fering before my eyes, as well as the expecta- tion of undergoing the same fate in two days, I made little or no answer. He expressed a great deal of ill will for Col. Gibson, and said he was one of his greatest enemies, and more to the same purpose, to all which I paid very little attention.

"Col. Crawford at this period of his suffer- ings besought the Almighty to have mercy on his soul, spoke very low, and bore his tor- ments with the most manly fortitude. He con- tinued in all the extremities of pain for an hour and three-quarters or two hours longer, as near as I can judge, when as 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 was my great captain." An old squaw (whose appear- ance every way answered the ideas people en- tertain of the Devil) got a board, took a par- cel of coals and ashes and laid them on his back and head, after he had been scalped; he then raised himself upon his feet and began to walk around the post; they next put a burn- ing stick to him as usual, but he seemed more insensible of pain than before."

Dr. Knight was at this time taken away to Capt. Pipe's house, and did not see the final death of his commander. It was late in the afternoon when the torture of Col. Crawford commenced, and the Indians reported later that he breathed his last just as the sun was going down, and that the Indians covered the body with fagots, and around the blaze held a war dance until late into the night. The next morning as Knight started for the Shawanese town, the charred bones of Craw- ford were pointed out to him by his captors.

On his way to the Shawanese town Knight escaped, and after a very toilsome journey and much suffering, reached his friends in safety, passing through southern Crawford, or very near its border on his return journey. Slover was captured but he, too, made his escape.

The Wyandots had nothing to do with Crawford's death. He was a Delaware pris- oner. The Wyandots for some years had ceased the burning of prisoners at the stake. The Delawares and Shawanese still adhered to the custom. The Delawares, however, were

only by courtesy on the Wyandot's land, and Butterfield says that through a trick The Pipe and Wingenund obtained the Half King's consent to the death of Crawford. They sent to Pomoacan, a messenger, bearing a belt of wampum, with the following message: "Uncle! we, your nephews, the Lenni Lanape, salute you in a spirit of kindness, love and respect. Uncle! we have a project in view which we ardently wish to accomplish, and can accomplish if our uncle will not overrule us! By returning the wampum we will have your pledged word!" The message puzzled Pomoacan, and he questioned the messenger, who could give no information, and the Half King, believing it was some new expedition of the Delawares against the white settle- ments, sent back word: "Say to my nephews they have my pledge." This was the death warrant of Col. Crawford.

Many writers incline to the theory that Col. Crawford suffered torture in retaliation for the massacre of the Moravian Indians, who were Delewares. In a sense, this may be true, but The Pipe had a supreme contempt for the Moravian branch of his tribe; still, they were Delawares, and the Indian tribal spirit called for the tribe to avenge their death, even if they refused to revenge it themselves, although most of those who escaped the massacre joined their comrades in the fight against Crawford. It is probable, however, the fate of Crawford would have been the same if the Moravian incident had not occurred. From 1776 to 1781 the Delawares and Shawanese had made expeditions to the border, murdering and massacreing, and, when possible, brought prisoners back to their villages to die by tor- ture. It was the knowledge of these con- stant barbarities which led to the Moravian and the Crawford expeditions. Added to this was the fact of imperative orders of the Brit- ish officer at Detroit to his Indian allies to send no more prisoners to that place: The Wyandots killed theirs, sometimes after hav- ing made them run the gauntlet; the Dela- wares and Shawanese killed theirs, frequently with all the forms of cruelity their fiendish in- genuity could invent.

Cornwallis had surrendered at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, which practically ended the war of the Revolution, although the treaty

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

of peace was not signed until a year later, Nov. 30, 1782. The British still retained posses- sion of Detroit, and kept the Indians of the northwest hostile to the Americans, and the depredations still continued. The Americans, however, were now more free to protect their border, and expeditions were sent against them in the Miami valley and up toward the Maumee and Detroit, the Wyandots sending all their warriors to oppose the Americans on these expeditions. On Jan. 27, 1785, a treaty was signed at Fort McIntosh, a fort on the Ohio, thirty miles below Pittsburg, at the mouth of the Beaver river, where the town of Beaver, Pa., now is. This treaty was made between the Americans and the Wyandots,* Delawares, Chippewas and Ottawas. The boundary line between the United States and the Wyandots and Delawares was declared to begin "at the mouth of the river Cuyahoga, and to extend up said river to the portage between that and the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum, thence down that branch to the crossing place above Fort Laurens (on the border line of Stark and Tuscarawas counties, near where the town of Bolivar now is) thence westerly to the portage of the Big Miami, which runs into the Ohio (its western point being Fort Recovery in Mercer county) at the mouth of which branch was Fort Slovel which was taken by the French in 1752; then along said portage to the Great Miami or Omee river (Maumee) and down the south side of the same to its mouth, then along the south shores of Lake Erie to the mouth of the Cuyahoga river, where it began." All of the territory inside this boundary (all of northwestern Ohio), was assigned to the In- dians, with a few trading posts reserved, six miles square at the mouth of the Sandusky, and a tract two miles square at Fremont.

Sha-tay-ya-ron-yah, or Leather Lips, who signed this treaty and kept it, was afterward murdered under Indian law on account of his friendship for the Americans. In 1810 Te- cumseh commenced his organization of the Indians against the whites, but found the

*The Wyandots_signing this treaty were Tar-hé (or Crane), T. Williams Jr., Tey-yagh-taw, Ha-ro-en-you (or Half King's son), Te-haaw-to- rens, Aw-me-yee-ray, Staye-tak, Sha-tay-ya-ron-yah (or Leather Lips), Daugh-shut-tay-ah, Shay-aw-run- the.

Wyandots, led by Tar-hé and Leather Lips, were bitterly opposed to the plan. Gen. Har- rison was of the opinion the chief's death was the result of the direct command of Te- cumseh. In June, 1810, Leather Lips was an old man, and was on the Scioto river about twelve miles above Columbus, when parties arrived direct from Tecumseh's headquarters at Tippecanoe, accusing the aged chief of witchcraft. An Indian Council was called, which lasted for three hours. His accusers from Tippecanoe were very bitter in their de- nunciations. The venerable chief made a calm and dignified and dispassionate reply. Some whites present endeavored to save him, but the fierce vindictiveness of the opposition made all appeals for mercy useless. Sentence of death was pronounced and six Indians ap- pointed as his executioners. After the sen- tence Leather Lips walked slowly to his camp, calmly ate his dinner, washed, and dressed himself in his best apparel, wearing his finest skins and brightest colored chieftain feathers. He painted his face as a warrior. When the hour arrived, arrayed as a chieftain, his erect stride and gray hairs made his appearance graceful and commanding. He walked slowly to his doom, chanting the Indian death song in a voice of surprising melody and sweet- ness. Wyandot warriors slowly followed, timing their march to the mournful dirge. At the grave he shook hands with all present, and the Wyandot captain of the executioners offered a prayer, after which Leather Lips knelt, and while offering a prayer to the Great Spirit, one of the executioners quietly ap- proached from behind, and buried a toma- hawk in his brain. He was buried in his chieftain's robes, and with all his decorations. He had given his life as a penalty for keep- ing his word to remain loyal to the Americans, and a dozen or more of the white men were there to witness the cowardly act, and never raised a hand to stay the brutal murder.

Jan. 9, 1789, another treaty was made by Gov. St. Clair at Fort Harmar ( Marietta), with the Wyandots and others, confirming the treaty of 1785. It was not kept and the In- dians, supplied with arms and ammunition by the British at Detroit, continued their depre- · dations, and several expeditions sent against them were disastrous to the Americans. Fin-

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY

ally in 1794, Gen. Anthony Wayne, "Mad An- thony," led the expedition against them, and at the battle of Fallen Timbers he gained a complete and decisive victory, and on August 3, 1795, the Greenville treaty was signed, mak- ing the Indian reservation about as before.

On July 4, 1805, another treaty was signed at Fort Industry between the United States and the Wyandots and other tribes, by which the eastern boundary of their reservation was a meridian line, starting at a point on Lake Erie, 120 miles west of the western boundary of Pennsylvania, thence south to the Green- ville treaty line. This line was the present west boundary of Erie and Huron counties ; it passed through Crawford county giving the present eastern seven miles to the United States, the western thirteen miles being re- served to the Indians. It touched the Green- ville treaty line about two miles east of what is now Cardington, in Morrow county. All east of this north and south line, north of the Greenville treaty line, extending to the Cuyahoga river was now open to settlement. For this territory the Indians were given goods to the amount of $20,000, and were to receive in addition $7,500 in goods annually. From this new territory Richland county was created in 1807, and it included the four east- ern miles of what is now Crawford county, all of Auburn, Vernon and Jackson, and the eastern two miles of Jefferson and the eastern four miles of Polk. Between the western boundary of Richland county and the eastern boundary of the reservation, a three mile strip was left unattached, the present three eastern sections of Cranberry, all of Sandusky and the three western sections of Jefferson and Polk. For some years the Indians remained peaceful, their severe losses in their constant wars having so greatly reduced their num- bers that they realized, without help, all fur- ther opposition to the Americans was hopeless.

This peace would have continued but for the actions of the British in forcing the war of 1812. England for several years had been stopping American ships on the high seas, seizing seamen on those vessels and impress- ing them into the British navy on the ground they were British seamen. Many American born sailors were thus seized, and to all pro- tests the British government turned a deaf

ear. The British also instigated the Indians in the northwest to recommence their depre- dations against the Americans, and Tecumseh organized the savage tribes, and when war was declared by the United States Tecumseh and nearly all the northwestern Indians joined their forces with the British, with headquar- ters at Detroit. Tarhé "The Crane," was chief of the Wyandots at that time, and as- sisted by Between-the-Logs, another Wyandot chief, urged their tribe to remain neutral, which the majority of them did, very few Wyandots following the lead of Tecumseh. At the breaking out of the war, the first year in the northwest, the Americans met with a constant succession of reverses.

In July, 1812, Gen. William Hull, in com- mand at Detroit, surrendered that post to the British and Indians, without firing a gun. The allied army consisted of a thousand British and six hundred Indians. The force surrendered was 2,500 men, with thirty-three cannon, arms and ammunition. Just prior to the surrender a detachment of five hundred had been sent south to guard some supplies coming from Ohio. These were a part of Hull's army and were surrendered also, and as they were re- turning they were met by a company of Brit- ish soldiers who astonished them with the statement that they, too, were included in the capitulation. The American troops were released on parole. A number started home on foot, others were transported in boats across Lake Erie to the mouths of the San- dusky, Huron and Cuyahoga rivers, and left at those points to go overland the nearest route to their homes, many passing through Craw- ford as the nearest way home.

Gen. William Henry Harrison was placed in command of the army in the northwest in September of 1812, the objective point of this campaign being to regain Detroit from the British. Gen. Harrison immediately es- tablished a line of defense across the state from Wooster through Crawford county, to Upper Sandusky and St. Mary's to Ft. Wayne. The army was divided into three divisions, the left composed of the Kentucky troops and the Seventeenth and Eighteenth U. S. regu- lars under Brigadier General Winchester ; their route was up the Miami, with the base of supplies at St. Mary's, Auglaize county. The

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

central division was composed of 1,200 of the Ohio militia and eight hundred mounted in- fantry under Brigadier General Tupper, with their base of supplies at Fort McArthur (Kenton, Hardin county). The right was composed of three brigades of militia from Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio, and were to assemble at Fort Ferree, a fort erected at Upper Sandusky, where Gen. Harrison had his headquarters. During the early winter these troops were assembling at the three diff- erent points a large number of the right divi- sion marching to their post through Crawford county. On October 22, Gen Harrison wrote to the war department: "I am not able to fix any period for the advance of the troops to Detroit. It is pretty evident that it cannot be done, on proper principles, until the frost shall have become so severe as to enable us to use the rivers and the margin of the lake for the transportation of our baggage on the ice." He also stated that to go from Colum- bus to Upper Sandusky, for every team em- ployed in transporting supplies it would re- quire two teams loaded with forage for their subsistence, and that at Upper Sandusky it was necessary to accumulate not only provi- sions for the men but forage sufficient for at least two thousand horses and oxen, that would necessarily have to be employed in ad- vancing the main expedition. During No- vember and December Gen. Harrison did what he could toward improving the roads.

While at his headquarters on the Sandusky, Tarhé, the Wyandot chief, called on Gen. Harrison, and suggested that a meeting of the Indians be held, as it was his opinion many of the Indians had been deceived into joining the British forces. In response to this, a council of Indians, both friendly and unfriendly, was held on the American side of the Detroit river at Brownstown. The Wyandots were then the leading and most powerful Indian nation, and Tarhé, their chief, sent a strong message urging them to remain neutral. Tarhe's message was re- ceived in sullen silence, and Round Head, a Canadian chief, and a Wyandot, made a bit- ter speech against the Americans, which was endorsed by practically all present. The Brit- ish were represented at the council by two agents, Elliott and McKee, and Elliott, seeing the spirit of the Indians, made a very insulting

speech, boasting of the victories already achieved, and alluding to the President of the United States as a squaw, and saying: "If she receives this as an insult and feels disposed to fight, tell her to bring more men than she ever brought before. If she wishes to fight me and my children she must not burrow in the earth like a ground hog* where she is inac- cessible. She must come out and fight fairly." The leading chief of the Wyandots present was Between-the-Logs, the chief orator of that nation, and to the insulting speech of Elliott he made a dignified reply :

"Brothers, I am directed by my American father to inform you that if you reject the advice given you, he will march here with a large army, and if he should find any of the red people opposing him in his passage through this country, he will trample them under his feet. You cannot stand before him.

"And now for myself, I earnestly entreat you to consider the good talk I have brought, and listen to it. Why should you devote your- selves, your women and your children to de- struction? Let me tell you, if you should defeat the American army this time you have not done! Another will come on, and if you defeat that still another will appear that you cannot withstand; one that will come like the waves of the great water, and overwhelm you and sweep you from the face of the earth.

"If you doubt the account I give you of the force of the Americans, you can send some of your own people, in whom you have con- fidence, to examine their army and navy. They shall be permitted to return in-safety. The truth is your British father lies to you and deceives you. He boasts of the few vic- tories he gains, but never tells you of his de- feats, of his armies being slaughtered, and his vessels being taken on the big waters. He keeps all these things to himself.

"And now, father, let me address a few words to you. Your request shall be granted. I will bear your message to the American father. It is true none of your children ap- pear willing to forsake your standard, and it will be the worse for them. You compare the Americans to ground hogs, and complain of their mode of fighting. I must confess that

*Alluding to the Americans having pits in the embankments to shelter them from cannon balls thrown into their forts.

HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY

a ground hog is a very difficult animal to contend with. He has such sharp teeth, such an inflexible temper, and such an unconquer- able spirit, that he is truly a dangerous enemy, especially when he is in his own hole. But, father, let me tell you, you can have your wish. Before many days you will see the ground hog floating on yonder lake, paddling his 'canoe toward your hole, and then, father, you will have an opportunity of attacking your enemy in any way you may think best."

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Crawford County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 8

Author: Hopley, John E. (John Edward), 1850- Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Chicago,Ill., Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1302

Author: Hopley, John E. (John Edward), 1850-
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago,Ill., Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1302