History of Crawford County and Ohio, Part 31

Author: Perrin, William Henry, [from old catalog] comp; Battle, J. H., [from old catalog] comp; Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852- [from old catalog] comp; Baskin & Battey, Chicago, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1034

USA > Ohio > Crawford County > History of Crawford County and Ohio > Part 31

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' high places' of the nation, with its accompany- ing altar, upon which these ancient people of the valley could witness the celebration of the rites of their worship, its site having been obviously selected as the most prominent fea- ture in a populous district, abounding with military, civic and religious structures." The most remarkable mound in Ohio is in Adams County. Its form is that of an enormous ser- pent, more than a thousand feet in length, with body in graceful, anfractuous folds, and tail ending in triple coils. The greatest width of the body is thirty feet, and the effigy is elevated about five feet above the surrounding soil. " The neck of the figure," says the American Cyclopedia, "is stretched out and slightly curved, and the mouth is opened wide, as if in the act of swallowing or ejecting an oval figure, which rests partly within the distended jaws, The combined figure has been regarded by some as a representation of the oriental cosmo- logical idea of the serpent and the egg."

Defensive inclosures are irregular in form. and are always on high ground, in positions difficult to approach by a savage foe. "The walls," says the American Cyclopedia, " gener- ally wind around the borders of the elevations they occupy, and, when the nature of the ground renders some points more accessible than others, the height of the wall and the depth of the ditch at those weak points are proportionally increased. The gateways are narrow and few in number, and well guarded by embankments of earth, placed a few yards inside of the open- ings or gateways, and parallel with them, and projecting somewhat beyond them at each end, thus fully covering the entrances, which, in some cases, are still further protected by projecting walls on either side of them. These works are somewhat numerous, and indicate a clear appre- ciation of the elements, at least, of fortification, and unmistakably point out the purpose for which they were constructed. A large number of these defensive works consist of a line of

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ditches and embankments, or several lines car- ried across the neck of peninsulas or bluff headlands, formed within the bends of streams -an easy and obvious mode of fortification, common to all rude peoples." Many defensive mounds are found in Ohio, and the most notice- able one is in Warren County. The embank- ments are nearly four miles in length, varying in height from ten to twenty feet, to accord with the locality to be protected, and inclose several hundred acres. Covered ways, or parallel walls, are often found, either connecting different in- closures, or portions of the same. They were undoubtedly designed to protect those passing back and forth within. There are large num- bers of sacred inelosures of almost every con- ceivable shape, and many of them were de- signed with surprising geometrical accuracy. Some archæologists maintain that many of the so-called sacred inclosures were intended and used for national games and celebrations, and it is probable that those without the altar were used as such.

The mounds and their contents afford abun- dant opportunity to speculate as to the character and customs of the ancient people, of whom nothing is left save their crumbling habitations. They were unknown to the Indians. whose traditions reveal nothing of the Mound Build- ers' history, which will forever remain unwrit- ten and unknown. They were a numerous people, as is clearly proved by the magnitude and elaboration of their works. They were unquestionably subservient to rulers, or supc- riors, who had power to enforce the erection of gigantie structures, which, considering the semi-barbarous condition of the people, their lack of suitable implements of labor, and their imperfeet and insufficient knowledge of me- chanieal principles, are surprisingly vast in ex- tent and ingenious in design. Their works in- dicate that the people were war-like ; that they were familiar with many mathematical and me- chanical rules ; that they were religions and

probably idolatrous, as the effigies and sacred structures imply ; that they were skilled in the manufacture of bone and metallic ornaments and pottery ; that they had attained no little degree of perfection in the working of metals ; and that they were essentially homogeneous in customs, pursuits, religion and government. They were unquestionably well advanced in many of the arts of civilization. They of ne- cessity were an agricultural people, being too numerous to live by the chase alone. Super- stitious and uninformed, they offered burnt and other sacrifices and oblations to both good and bad spirits. Dr. Foster said that they wor- shiped the elements, such as fire, air and water-that they worshiped the sun, moon and stars, and offered human sacrifices to the gods they worshiped. Their origin and ulti- mate fate are enveloped in obseurity. It is thought by many intelligent writers that they were the progenitors of the Aztees and Peru- vians, found upon the shores of the New World when first visited by white men from Europe. It is thought that they were members of the same great family. However, authorities are widely at variance in their opinions regarding the origin of this strange people. But little can ever be known of their history ; yet throughout all the future, the civilized world will look with awe upon the decaying remnants of their works, and weave the bright fabric of romance about their mysterious lives.

When the Indian first appeared upon the Western Continent is unknown ; and his origin, like that of the Mound Builder, lies largely within the province of speculation. When Europeans first came to the country, the In- dians were found in possession of the soil, and their rude camp fires were burning on every stream. The most of their villages were tem- porary, depending for location upon the preva- lence of game, upon which the people largely subsisted. Sometimes their towns remained unchanged for scores of years, becoming popu-

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lous and opulent. During the latter half of the last century, or about the time of Col. Bouquet's expedition to their towns in Ohio, among others there were found the following tribes of Indians living in what afterward became the State of Ohio : The Wyandots (called Hurons by the French), the Delawares and Shawanese (both of the Algonquin group), the Miamis (also called Twigtwees), the Mingoes (a branch of the Iro- quois or Six Nations), and the Ottawas and Chippewas. The Wyandots occupied the country in the vicinity of the Sandusky River. The Delawares were established on the Mus- kingum and Tuscarawas Rivers, and a few other places. The Shawanese were chiefly found on the Scioto and Mad Rivers, and at few other points. The Miamis were on the Great and Little Miami Rivers. The Mingoes were in great force at Mingo Bottom, on the Ohio River, and at sev- eral other points in Ohio. The Ottawas occu- pied the valleys of the Maumee and Sandusky Rivers, and the Chippewas, few in number, were confined to the southern shore of Lake Erie. By the provisions of the treaty at Fort McIn- tosh in 1785, the Ottawas, Wyandots and Dela- wares were assigned territory in Northern Ohio, west of the Cuyahoga River.

The Wyandots, as indicated by the idioms and other characteristics of their language, were related to the Iroquois or Six Nations ; but, about the middle of the seventeenth cen- tury, they embraced the religious faith of the Roman Catholics, and for some reason unknown severed their connection with their relatives, the Iroquois, and cast their lot with the power- ful Algonquins .* Their original residence was in Canada, some authorities fixing their loca- tion on Georgian Bay, and others, as Mr. Schoolcraft, on Montreal Island. Their num- ber is estimated to have been about 40,000 souls. Some time after this they became in- volved in a war with the Iroquois, by whom they were nearly exterminated, after which, * American Cyclopedia.

they removed first to Charity Island, and after- ward to Quebec. They were found south of the Great Lakes in 1660, by some French traders, and ten years later, having become in- volved in a war with the powerful Sioux, they removed to Michilimackinac, and were accom- panied by Father Marquette. Afterward they established themselves at Detroit, their hunting- grounds extending into Northern Ohio. Rem- nants of the tribe were yet in Canada, while that at Detroit, in 1778, was estimated to con- tain about 180 warriors. In 1829, a small band of the tribe was located in Michigan. They numbered about forty, and were provided with annuities by the Government. Immedi- ately after the war of 1812, the principal por- tion of the Wyandots, numbering about 600, was established on the Sandusky River on a tract of land eighteen miles long east and west, and twelve miles wide. In 1835, the Wyan- dots decided to sell a strip of land five miles wide on the eastern border of their Reservation, and the land was accordingly thrown into mar- ket, very likely through the influence of the whites, who coveted the possessions of the Indian. In 1843, the Wyandots were trans- ferred to Kansas, where they have since resided, and the land of their Reservation was annexed to the adjoining counties.

When the white settlers first came to the county, and for many years afterward, the Wyandot Indians were established on their Reservation, which, until 1835, included a por- tion of Crawford County. Each year the Indi- ans were the recipients of an annuity of $10 per capita, paid to them by the agent of the Government located at their Reservation. The white settlers invaded the lands of the Wyan- dots to trade and converse with them, and to learn more of their habits. The Indians, in turn, mingled freely with the whites at their settlements, buying ammunition, tobacco, orna- ments, etc., and disposing of valuable furs and other products of the chase. The Indians

Lit Gormly

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traded largely at Bucyrus ; but their usual dealing with the settlers was carried on in their villages, or at the store in their Reservation, where their creditors came to adjust their accounts, and where avaricious and unscrupu- lous men came to obtain, by artifice or impos- ture, the annuity paid the natives by the Gov- ernment. Each Indian came forward with his family, and the money belonging to him was counted out, placed upon the counter by the agent, and was conveyed to the buckskin pouch of the Indian, or quite often was turned over by the agent, at the Indian's suggestion, to the settler who held an unsettled claim against the Indian, and who was aware of the importance of being present when the agent distributed the annuities, if he desired a speedy settlement. White hunters and trappers invaded the Reser- vation without authority, killing and trapping large numbers of valuable animals. The Indi- ans also roamed far and wide over the country adjoining their lands, in small detachments, locating temporarily where hunting and trap- ping were good, and changing their camps as game became scarce or failed altogether. Mills were built on the streams in the Reservation ; blacksmith and carpenter shops were ereeted, trading posts were established, and the various Christian denominations in surrounding settle- ments sent ministers to preach to the Indians. Among the ministers who labored faithfully in the Reservation, were Revs. Daniel and James Hooker, Russell Bigelow, H. O. Sheldon, Mr. Finley, Mr. Thompson and Mr. Wheeler, all of whom were Methodists. Notwithstanding the cessation of war and the permanent establish- ment of peace between the Wyandots and the settlers, all the war-like customs were still re- tained by the Indians, who were unable and unwilling to forget so soon the time-honored ceremonies of their tribe. War and scalp dances were held annually at their villages of Sandusky, Pipe Town and Broken Sword, the latter being situated about a mile west of the

present village of Nevada, Wyandot County, the location afterward falling within the bounda- ries of Crawford County. Here the settlers often assembled, sometimes to participate in the wild ceremonies, but more frequently to look on the strange pantomimes with increasing and thrilling interest. Large fires were built, and the savages, armed and painted as if for the war-path, surrounded them in circles, and then with a wild, monotonous song accompani- ment, they began their dance around the fire, springing up and down, first on one foot and then on the other, chanting in the meantime a gutteral "he, he, he; haw, haw, haw !" which signified "me big Indian !" interspersing the song with wild whoops, made to quaver at first by the motion of the hand on the lips, but end- ing with a clearness and force that made the forest ring. Their annuities were largely spent for "cockhoosy " or "Sandusky water;" and, when under its influence, the savage nature was predominant and asserted itself in fre- quent brawls and fights. The chiefs were elected by a vote of the tribe, the qualifications for that high office being honor, courage, and achievements in the chase and on the war-path. Some of the Indians were remarkable for strength and endurance, though they met their match in many of the white hunters. Their intercourse with the settlers was freely con- tinued until they were removed by the Gov- ernment to Kansas.

There are many interesting incidents and circumstances connected with the Wyandot Indians which occurred long before the settlers arrived, and which have never been made pub- lic save in miscellaneous newspaper articles. A few of these will be narrated. The facts from which they are derived were disclosed by Judge G. W. Leith, of Nevada, Ohio. whose grandfather, John Leith, was for twenty-nine years, beginning in 1763, a captive and a trad- er among the Wyandots. John Leith, when a boy of about sixteen, was employed by an ex-

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perienced trader to go into the Indian country to traffic with the natives. They built a rude store in an Indian village, where Lancaster, Ohio, now stands, and began trading cloth, ammunition, firearms and ornaments for furs of all kinds. After a time, Leith was left in charge of the store while his employer returned to Fort Pitt with a cargo of furs. While he was gone, an Indian war broke out all along the border settlements, and the Indians, fear- ing the destruction of their village, made immediate preparations to retire farther into the wilderness. Young Leith was summoned before Capt. Pipe, the chief of the tribe, who savagely informed him that his people were marching into the Indians' country, destroying and laying waste their villages and crops, and murdering their families. The boy was told to stand up, which he did, expecting to be in- stantly tomahawked, but he was told that he must either become a member of the tribe or be put to death. The ceremony of adoption was gone through with, greatly to the boy's relief, and the Indians bestowed upon him the name "John Tit." He went West with the tribe, and, several years afterward, the Indians having become the allies of the British, he was employed by the latter to open a store at San- dusky and trade with the Indians. Here he remained throughout the Revolution and the bloody Indian wars which followed it, a power- less and horrified spectator of the cruelty and fiendish atrocity of the Indian tribes. Here he became acquainted with and often met the no- torious outlaws Matthew Elliott, Alexander McKee and the three brothers, Simon, George and James Girty. His store became the head- quarters where these noted renegades came for supplies of various kinds, and where they assembled both before and after their bloody raids on the defenseless settlements. He mar- ried a captive white girl, named Sally Lowry, under romantic circumstances, and, finally, in 1791, after having waited anxiously for many

years, he succeeded in escaping with his wife and two children to the white settlements, closely pursued by the infuriated Indians. Soon after his store was established at San- dusky, he saw for the first time a white man run the gauntlet. The following is a narrative of that event, written by his biographer and grandson, Judge Leith : "One fine day in early summer, a band of warriors came in from the south with a captive, a powerful young Virginian. He had been overpowered and captured in a hand-to-hand struggle. I saw him stripped for the race, and thought him as fine a specimen of a man as I ever saw. His action was unimpaired, the only wound per- ceivable being a long gash on the fleshy part of his thigh, which, although considerably swelled, did not impede his motion. He was stripped naked and painted black for the race at my store. Two lines of Indians were formed, ex- tending back from the store about two hundred yards. He was marched back through the lines in a southerly direction, the savages pant- ing and yelling for the onset. Poor fellow ! he stepped with the elasticity of a race-horse, confidently believing that if he succeeded in the race his life would be spared. But his doom was sealed, and this was but the opening scene in the horrible tragedy. The warriors were armed with guns loaded with powder to be shot into his naked body, the boys were armed with bows and arrows, and the squaws and children with clubs and switches. No one was allowed to strike or shoot until the victim was opposite to where he stood, so that the speed of the runner might not be impeded or checked by a front fire. The word was given, ' All ready, go !' and simultaneously a yell went up all along the line from the savages, who were eager to inflict the severest punish- ment upon the helpless captive. The young fellow came through the lines with astonishing swiftness, and ran into the store where I was. He was covered with ragged and gaping

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wounds made by the discharges of powder and the tomahawks, and the arrows stuck out from his blackened body like the shafts of a clothes- rack. He gave me a most imploring look, as if he expected me to help him, and suddenly sprang high in the air as if in terrible agony. He turned and went out at the door, when he was brained with a tomahawk and fell to the ground with his last despairing groan. They cut off his head and raised it some twelve or fifteen feet in the air on a pole, and left his body lying in the yard. I asked the privilege of the warriors to take the head down and bury the body out of sight. They told me haughtily, 'Your people do not bury our dead, and we will not bury yours.' I told them that unless I could have the privilege of burying the corpse out of my sight I would move my store over to the 'Tymochtee.' They then said I might do as I pleased. I took the head down, placed it on the body, washed both and wrapped them in a clean blanket and buried them The Indians drove stakes down through the body, eager to glut their vengeance to the very last. This was one of the results of the march of the Virginians into the Indian country."

Leith and his wife were members of different tribes, and, despite their wishes to the contrary, they were necessarily separated the greater por- tion of the time. Every argument and induce- ment were offered the wife's captors to permit her to go and live with her husband, and finally they concluded to do so. The Indians at first concluded to tattoo her boy by pricking powder and vermilion into the skin with a needle ; but this procedure was abandoned, and the Indians, in council, decided that they should be stripped of all their clothing and allowed to go. This was done, and the Indians said to her : " Now, if you want to go to Sandusky, go." "She shouldered her boy, waded the 'Walholding,' the 'Tuscarawas,' passed through the wilder- ness, slept in the leaves by a log, contending

with briars, nettles, flies, mosquitos, and living on June berries, wild onions, wild peas, elm bark, roots, etc. She came to a squaw, who was tending a small piece of corn and taking care of several Indian children, while the war- rior was abroad. The squaw said : 'Where you go ?' She replied : 'Sandusky-my husband.' 'Where clothes ?' 'They took them' (point- ing from whence she came). 'You hungry ?' ' Yes.' 'Me get meat.' The squaw told her to remain until the warrior returned ; but she con- cluded to journey on. The squaw gave her a piece of blanket and some deer meat, and she started. I was at the time busily engaged in handling pelts, revolving in my mind what I should do. I was whipping the pelts and throw- ing them on a pile, and had just stepped in to get another supply, when I saw my wife approaching. She threw the child down on the skins, dropping there herself, saying : 'Here, John, I have brought your boy.' The fatigue of the journey and the joy of the meeting over- whelmed her for a time. There have been many happy meetings under far more favorable cir- cumstances, but at no time or place was there ever a meeting that filled the parties with more triumphant joy."*

For the purpose of subjugating and punish- ing the hostile Wyandots, Delawares, Shaw- anese and other Indian tribes that refused to enter into peace treaties with the Government, and that were outraging humanity by repeated acts of savage barbarity toward the settlers. several expeditions were fitted out and sent against them in 1764. Col. Bouquet marched against them with an army of 1,500 men ; where- upon the Indians sued for peace in the most abject manner, and over 300 white captives were surrendered to the victorious army. Compara- tive peace was thus secured until 1774, when another border conflict, known as Lord Dun- more's War, was begun. Various expeditions were sent against the savages, many of whom *Leith's Narrative.

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were slaughtered, and their fields and villages pillaged and burned. The Indians, who, when the Colonies rebelled, became allies of the Brit- ish, began, under the leadership of various chiefs and the white renegades, a bloody border war, and conducted it with such malignant ferocity as to cast gloom and terror over the frontier settlements. War parties of infuriated savages traversed the forests of Eastern Ohio under the command of Girty, Elliott and others of their stripe. The Wyandots became so re- vengeful and troublesome that, in 1782, it was resolved to organize an expedition to be sent out for the reduction of Sandusky, their princi- pal village. The force consisted wholly of vol- unteers ; yet it was understood by each man that all were to be governed by military rules, and, in all cases, were expected to obey the commands of their officers. The rendezvous was to take place on the 20th of May, 1782, at Mingo Bottom, a beautiful plateau of about 250 acres, on the Ohio River, a few miles below Steubenville. Each man furnished his own equipments, not doubting that his State would make good any loss resulting from the expedi- tion. By the 24th of May, 480 men had assem- bled at Mingo Bottom, mounted and armed for the journey. "For some time," says John Leith, by his biographer, "the Wyandots and other hostile tribes in Ohio had become aware, through their spies on the border, of an unusual commotion in the white settlements on the frontier. Reports of a pending invasion of their country swept rapidly from one Indian village to another, and scouts were dispatched to ascer- tain the cause of the commotion in the white settlements." John Leith was employed by the British to traffic with the Indians, and had at Sandusky, the objective point of the military expedition, about $8,000 worth of goods. When the indications began to point to a contemplated invasion of the Indian country by the Ameri- cans, Mr. Leith, foreseeing the probability of the destruction of Sandusky, in which case the

goods in his care would fall into the hands of the invaders, dispatched several Indian runners to watch the movements of the congregating borderers at Mingo Bottom .* Scarcely a day passed that did not bring some Indian runner to Sandusky and other villages with informa- tion regarding the number and strength of the advancing army and its probable course and design.

The volunteers met at one o'clock on the 24th to elect their officers and perfect their organi- zation. It was deemed best to divide the force into eighteen companies, cach of which was to elect its captain by vote. There were chosen one Colonel, four Field Majors, and one Brigade Major. William Crawford was chosen Colonel; Daniel Williamson, John McClelland, Major Brinton, and Thomas Gaddis, Majors; Daniel Loet, Brigade Major; John Knight, Surgeon; John Słover and Jonathan Zane, Guides. John Rose was detailed to act as aid to the com- manding officer. Each man was provided with thirty days' provisions, and early in the morn- ing of May 25, 1782, the army, in four columns, began its march through the woods for San- dusky, distance 150 miles. "The route lay through what is now the counties of Jefferson, Harrison, Tuscarawas, Holmes, Ashland, Rich- land and Crawford-nearly to the center of Wyandot County, Ohio. The whole distance, except about thirty miles at the end of the route, was through an unbroken forest. But little worthy of note transpired on the journey until after reaching what is now Wyandot County. Every precaution was employed to guard against surprises, and the army marched on as rapidly as could be done through the deep forest. While at their third encampment, several of the men lost their horses. These men were thus forced to return to Mingo Bot- tom, which they did reluctantly. On the fourth day of the march the army reached the Mus- kingum River. During the evening two In- *Judge George W. Leith, Nevada, Ohio.

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History of Crawford County and Ohio, Part 31

Author: Perrin, William Henry, [from old catalog] comp; Battle, J. H., [from old catalog] comp; Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852- [from old catalog] comp; Baskin & Battey, Chicago, pub. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey Number of Pages: 1034

Author: Perrin, William Henry, [from old catalog] comp; Battle, J. H., [from old catalog] comp; Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852- [from old catalog] comp; Baskin & Battey, Chicago, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1034