History of Logan County and Ohio, Part 32

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Battle, J. H; O.L. Baskin & Co
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, O.L. Baskin
Number of Pages: 798

USA > Ohio > Logan County > History of Logan County and Ohio > Part 32

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*Notes on Kentucky.

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thoroughly beaten. The loss on both sides was about equal, each having about twenty killed. On the following day the army de- voted its attention to the destruction of the village and crops; the amount of corn de- stroved at the villages of Chillicothe and Piqua being estimated at 500 acres. These towns were never rebuilt by the Shawanoes, the inhabitants removing to the Great Miami, where they built a town and named it from the one destroyed. This was a severe blow, and gave the hunters plenty of occupation to provide for their families, which resulted in an extended cessation of hostilities on the border. Two years later Gen. Clarke organ- ized another expedition, numbering 1,000 men, for the purpose of breaking up the new Piqua towns which the Shawanoes had built on the Great Miami, after the destruction of the old towns on the Mad River. They started from Kentucky after corn planting, and proceeded without regard to their former trail, crossing the Mad River, not far from the present site of Dayton, and, keeping up the east side of the Miami, crossed it about four miles below the Piqua towns. The Indians seem to have been taken completely by sur- prise, and shortly after gaining the bottoms on the west side of the river, the army came upon a party of Indians mounted, and with tirir squaws, going to Piqua to hold some frolic or festival. The Indians fled from their towns, leaving most of their property behind. Here the army remained over night, the na- tives gathering nbout in the hazel bush, and loing such small damage as occasion afforded. But few lives were lost on either side; and after destroying the village and the store of the trader, Loramie, the army returned to Kentucky. Notwithstanding these repeated chastisements, the Shawanoes maintained an undaunted front, and avenged these compar- atively slight damages by repeated forays upon the border, that never failed to add to

the bloody trophies of their savage war. "On Easter Sunday, Miller's block-house, on the Dutch fork of Buffalo Creek, in Washing- ton County, Ohio, was attacked by a party of seventy Shawanoes."* This was not long after the attack on their towns in 1782, and illus- trated how difficult it was to quiet these in- placable foes of the whites.

"The war of the Revolution was now vir- tually ended. The western border war, how- ever, which it had evoked, was still raging with undiminished fury. Lord Cornwallis had surrendered, and the murdering forays of the Indians of the north were at an end; but, in the west, there was no cessation of predatory incursions of the savages .* The repeated successes of Boquet, Dunmore, Bowman and Clarke, while not subdu- ing the Shawanoes, had driven them from their old haunts, and had concentrated the hostile tribes in the northwestern part of the State. Retreating from the Scioto and the lawer waters of the Great Miami, the Shawa- noes had rebuilt their destroyed towns in this section; Chillicothe on the Upper and Lower Piqua, on the upper waters of the two Miami Rivers, and the Mackachack towns-Macka- chack, Pigeon Town, and Wapatomica-on the Mad River. After the destruction of their principal town on the Muskingum, by Broad- head in 1781, the Delawares had retreated from that river and set up their lodges among the Shawanoes and Wyandots-the village chief, Buekongehelas, locating in one of the Mackachack towns-and were now, in 1782, in close alliance with these tribes. The rallying point for these tribes seemed to be at Upper Sandusky. "That most of the scalping parties prowling upon the frontiers came from San- dusky, was well known; not, however, that all the savages depredating upon the settlements were Wyandots; but that their town was the

* Butterfield's Crawford's Campaign, 1782.

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grand rallying point for the British Indians before starting for the border. The pressing need, therefore, for its destruction, none failed to appreciate. On a line running nearly north and south from near the mouth of the of the Sandusky River to the head of the Miami were located Wyandots, Sha- wanoes, Delawares and Mingoes."* Or this line, about equally distant from the two extremes, was the objective point of an expedition then fitting out under Col. Wil- liam Crawford. The disastrous termination of this expedition, and the cruel fate of its gallant leader, is well known. The Indians kept a strict watch upon the border, and long before the expedition reached its destination, its objeet was known, and measures for defence concerted. The Delawares and Wy- andots were to keep the whites in check while the more remote nations-the Shawanoes and Mingoes, came to their relief. Word had been sent to Detroit, and troops were ex- pected from there. On the 4th of June Crawford's command came in sight of the enemy. "The Indians had chosen a favora- ble point for the assembling of their forces. It was not far distant from the two traces- the one leading northeast to the Half-king's town; the other, northwest to Pipe's town- branching off from the springs, the spot where Upper Sandusky now stands."t The fight that ensued was a stubborn one, in which the advantage was more with the whites, perhaps, than with their opponents, and on the follow- ing day the troops felt confident of victory. In the afternoon of the second day, however, matters took a serious change for the expedi- tion. Reinforcements from Detroit arrived, and soon after them some 200 Shawanoes came upon the field. The only question then for the expedition was how to secure their re- treat in the safest manner. As soon as it was

dark they began to make preparations to with- draw, the Indians discovering their intentions as they were about to start. They at once be- gan a furious attack, throwing the troops into disorder, inflicting severe loss upon them, in the way of killed and captured. The main body, finally shaking off their pursuers, reached the point from whence they started in safety, but a number that were separated from the troops in the confusion of the fight were either shot for captured. A party of six, one of whom was John Slover, a guide to the expedition, and who had been captured when a boy, and adopted into the Shawanoese tribe, had reach- ed a point within twenty miles of the Tuscar- awas, in what is now Wayne County. "Here they were ambuscaded by a party of Shawa- noes, who had followed their path all the way from the Sandusky Plains. The Indians kill- ed two of the men at the first fire. One es- caped, and Slover, with two men, were made prisoners. Strange to say, one of the Indians was of the party which captured Slover when a boy, in Virginia. lle was recognized by him; came up and spoke to him, calling him by his Indian name-Mannucothe. He up- braided him, however, for coming to war against them.

The three prisoners were taken back to the Plains, where the Indians had some horses they had taken, which had belonged to the Americans. These were found; and after the whole party had mounted, they started for the Shawanoes towns upon the Mad River, in what is now Logan County. On the third day after their capture, they came in sight of a small Indian village. Hitherto, the savages had treated their prisoners kindly, giving them a little meat and flour to eat, which they had found, or taken from other captives. Now, however, the Indians began to look sour. The town they were approaching was not far from Wapatomica, their principal village -situated just below what is now Zanesfield,

*Butterfield. +Butterfield.

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in Logan County- to which the savages in- tended to take their prisoners. The inhab- itants of the village, which they were nearing, came out with clubs and tomahawks-struck, beat and abused the three captives greatly. They seized one of Slover's companions, the oldest one, stripped him naked, and with coal and water painted him black. The man Sremed to surmise, that this was the sign that he was to be burnt, and shed tears. He asked Slover the meaning of his being blacked; but the Indians, in their own language, for- bade him telling the man what was intended. They assured the latter, speaking English to hím, that he was not to be hurt.

A warrior had been sent to Wapatomica, to acquaint them with the arrival of the prison- ers, and prepare them for the frolic; and, on the approach of the captives, the inhabitants came out with guns, clubs and tomahawks. The three were told they had to run to the council-house, about 300 yards distant. The man who was painted black was about twenty yards in advance of the other two in running the gauntlet. They made him their principal object; men, women and children beating him, and those who had guns firing loads of powder into his flesh as he ran naked, putting the muzzles of their guns up to his body; shouting, hallooing and beating their drums in the meantime.

The unhappy man had reached the door of the council-house, beaten and wounded in a shocking manner. Slover and his companion, having already arrived, then had a full view of the spectacle a most horrid one! They had ent him with their tomahawks, shot his body black, and burnt it into holes with loads of powder blown into it. A large wadding had made a wound in his shoulder, whenee the bledl gushed very freely.

The unfortunate man, agreeable to the dec- larations of the savage & when he first set out, ha I reason to think himself secure when the

door of the council-house was reached. This seemed to be his hope, for. coming up with great struggling and endeavor, he laid hold of the door, but was pulled back and drawn away by the enemy. Finding now that no mercy was intended, he attempted several times to snatch or lay hold of some of their tomahawks, but, being weak, could not effort it. Slover saw him borne off; and the In- dians were a long time beating, wounding, pursuing and killing him ! The same even- ing Slover saw the dead body close by the council-house. It was cruelly mangled; the blood mingled with the powder was rendered black. He saw, also, the same evening the body after it had been cut in two pieces-the limbs and head about 200 yards on the out- side of the town, stuck on poles.

The same evening Slover also saw the bodies of three others at Wapatomica, in the same black and mangled condition. These, he was toll, had been put to death the same day. and just before his arrival. One of these was William Harrison, the son-in-law of Craw- ford; another, young William Crawford, a nephew. The third body Slover could not recognize, but he believed it to be Major John McClelland, fourth in command of the expe- dition. The next day the bodies of these men were dragged to the outside of the town, and their corpses given to the dogs, except their limbs and heads, which were stuck on poles ! Such were the awful results of the wild orgies at Wapatomica.

The surviving companion of Slover, shortly after, was sent to another town, to be, as the latter presumed, either burnt or executed in the same manner as the other comrades had been. In the evening the Indians assembled in the council-house. It was a large building about fifty yards in length, and about twenty- five yards wide. Its height was about sixteen fort. It was built with split poles and cov- ered with bark. The first thing done upon

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the assembling of the savages was to examine Slover. This was done in their own tongue, as he spoke the Miami, Shawanoese and Dela- ware languages, especially the first two, with fluency. They interrogated him concerning the situation of his country, its provisions, the number of its inhabitants, the state of war between it and Great Britain. He informed them that Cornwallis was taken. The next day Capt. Matthew Elliot, with James Girty, came to the council. The later was the bro- ther of Simon Girty and an adopted Sha- wanoese. The former assurred the Indians that Slover had lied; that Cornwallis was not taken, and the Indians seemed to give full credit to his declaration. Hitherto Slover had been treated with some appearance of kindness, but now the savages began to alter their behavior toward him.

The council at Wapatomica lasted fifteen days, from fifty to one hundred warriors being usually present, and sometimes more. Every warrior was admitted, but only the chiefs or head warriors had the privilege of speaking -these being accounted such, from the nun- ber of scalps and prisoners they had taken. The third day Alexander McKee was in coun- cil, and afterward was generally present. He spoke little. Ile asked Slover no ques- tions; indeed, did not speak to him at all. He then lived about two miles out of the town; had a house built of square logs, with a shingle roof. He was dressed in gold-laced clothes. He was seen by Slover at the town the latter first passed through. On the last day of the council, save one, a "speech" came from Detroit, brought by a warrior who had been counseling with De Peyster, the com- manding officer at that place. The "speech" had long been expected, and was in answer to one sent some time previous to Detroit. It was in a belt of wampum, and began with the address, "My Children:" and inquired why the Indians continued to take prisoners.

"Provisions are scarce; when prisoners are brought in we are obliged to maintain them; and some of them run away and carry tidings of our affairs. When any of your people fall into the hands of the rebels, they show no merey; why, then, should you take prisoners? Take no more prisoners, my children, of any sort-man, woman or child."

Two days after, all the tribes that were near, being collected in council-Ottawas, Chippewas, Wyandots, Mingoes, Delawares, Shawanoes, Monseys, and a part of the Che- rokees-it was determined to take no more prisoners, and in the event of any tribe not present, taking any, the others would rise against them, take away the captives and put them to death. They laid plans also against the settlements of Kentucky-the Falls (Louisville) and Wheeling. About this time, twelve men were brought in from Kentucky, three of whom were burnt in Wampatomica. The remainder were dis- tributed to other towns, where they shared the same fate.

The council was now over, and on the fol- lowing day about forty warriors accompanied by George Girty, an adopted Delaware, a brother of Simon and James Girty, came early in the morning around the house where Slover was. He was sitting before the door. They put a rope around his neck, tied his arms behind his back, stripped him naked and blacked him in the usual manner. Girty, as soon as he was tied, cursed him, telling him he would get what he had many years deserved. Slover was led to a town about five miles away, to which a messenger had been dispatched to desire them to prepare to receive him. Arriving at the town, he was beaten with clubs and the pipe ends of the tomahawks, and was kept for some time tied to a tree before a house-door. In the mean- time, the inhabitants set out for another town about two miles distant, where Slover

HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY.

was to be burnt, and where he arrived about three o'clock in the afternoon. They were now at Mackachack, not far from the present site of West Liberty, in Logan County.

At Mackachack there was a council-house also, as at Wapatomica, but part only of it was covered. In the part without a roof was a post about sixteen feet in height; around this, at a distance of four feet, were three piles of wood about three feet high. Slover was brought to the post, his arms tied behind him, and the thong or cord with which they were bound was fastened to it ; a rope was also put about his neck and tied to the post about four feet above his head. While they were fying him, the wood was kindled and began to flame; just then the wind began to blow, and in a very short time the rain fell violently. The fire, which by this time had begun to blaze considerably, was instantly extinguished. The rain Jasted about a quarter of an hour.

When it was over, the savages stood amazed, and were a long time silent. At last one said they would let him alone till morning, and have n whole day's frolic in burning him. The, sun at this time, was about three hours high. The rope about his neck was untied, and making him sit down, they began to dance around him."* He was afterward allowed to lay down to rest under guard of three In- dians, and during the night he made his es- cape, reaching his home in safety.

Their success in this campaign greatly om- boldened the savages, and they carried out their plans concerted at Wapatomica, with terrible fatality among the scattered settle- ments of Kentucky and Pennsylvania. On the 11th of September, George Hirty, at the head of 200 Indians, reinforced by a party of forty rangers from Detroit, and some small cannon, made an unsuccessfulattack on the fort at Wheeling. Aslate as April 16, 1683, Gen.

Irvine wrote Gen. Lincoln, Secretary of War: "Savages have lately killed and taken a number of families, at nearly the same time, in many different places of the country, as well on the frontiers of Virginia as Penn- sylvania. Not less than seventeen persons are said to be killed and scalped in a small settlement on Wheeling Creek."* The great- est alarm prevailed along the border, and the frequent inroads of the savages had so inti- midated the settlers that many were leaving their homes for the east, to places of greater security. The whole frontier was in danger of being surrendered before measures could be adopted to check the savages. In January, 1785, a treaty was concluded with the Wyan- dot. Delaware, Chippewa and other nations, at Fort Melntosh, but the Shawanoes could not be induced to bury the hatchet, and, in the following year, Gen. Clarke projected an- other expedition against the hostile tribes, a part of the troops lead by himself to attack the towns on the Wabash, and a part under Col. Benjamin Logan to attack the Shawa- norse towns on the Mad River. This expedi- tion started out in the fall. Col. Logan separat- ing from the main command at the Falls of the Ohio, proceeding to the Mackachaek towns, Gen. William Lytle, who was a boy of six- teen at the time, accompanied the expedition under Logan, and thus describes the march and its results, in lowe's Historical Collec- tions of Ohio: " We came in view of the two first towns, one of which stood on the west bank of the Mad River, and the other on the northeast of it. They were separated by a prairie, half a milo in extent. The town on the northeast was situated on a high, commanding point of land that pro- jected a small distance into the prairie, at the foot of which eminence broke out sev- eral fine springs. This was the residence of the famous chief of the nation-Moluntha. Biterfield.

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His flag was flying at the time, from the top of a pole sixty feet high. We had advanced in three lines, the commander with some horse- men marching at the head of the centre line and the foot men in their rear. Col. Robert Patterson commanded the left, and I think Col. Thomas Kennedy the right. When we came in sight of the towns, the spies of the front guard made a halt, and sent a man back to inform the commander of the situation of the two towns. He ordered Col. Patterson to at- tack the town on the left bank of the river. Col. Kennedy was also charged to incline a little to the right of the town on the east side of the prairie. He determined himself to charge with the centre division, immediately on the upper town. As we approached within half a mile of the town on the left, and about three-fourths from that on the right, we saw the savages retreating in all directions, mak- ing for the thickets, swamps and high prairie grass, to secure them from the enemy. As we came up with the flying savages, I was dis- appointed, discovering that we should have little to do. I heard but one savage, with the exception of the chief, cry for quarter. They fought with desperation, as long as they could raise knife, gun or tomahawk, after they found they could not screen themselves. We dispatched all the warriors we overtook, and sent the women and children prisoners to the rear. We pushed ahead, and had not advanced more than a mile, before I discover- ed some of the enemy. When I arrived within fifty yards of them, I dismounted and raised my gun. I discovered at this moment some men of the right coming up on the left. The warrior I was about to shoot held up his hand in token of surrender, and I heard him order the Indians to stop. By this time, the men behind had arrived, and were in the act of firing upon the Indians. I called to them not to fire, for the enemy bad surrendered. The warrior that had surrendered to me came walking toward

me, calling his women and children to follow him. I advanced to meet him, with my right hand extended, but, before I could reach him, the men of the right wing had sur- rounded him. Irushed in among their horses. While he was giving me his hand, several of our men asked to tomahawk him. I informed them that they would have to tomahawk inc first. We led him back to the place where his flag had been. We had taken thirteen prisoners. Among them were the chief, his three wives-one of them a young and hand- some woman, another of them the famous grenadier squaw, upwards of six feet high- and two or three fine young lads. The rest were children. One of these lads was a remarka- bly interesting youth, about my own age and size. Ile clung closely to me, and appeared keenly to notice everything that was going on.

When we arrived at the town, a crowd of our men pressed around to see the chief. I stepped aside to fasten my horse, my prisoner clinging close to my side. A young man by the name of Curner had been to the springs to drink ; he discovered the young savage by my side, and came run- ning towards me. The young Indian sup- posed he was advancing to kill him; as I turned around, in the twinkling of an eye he let fly an arrow at Curner, for he was armed with a bow. I had just time to catch his arm as he discharged the arrow, which passed through Curner's dress and grazed his side. The jerk I gave his arm undoubtedly pre- vented his killing Curner on the spot. I took away his arrows, sternly reprimanding him, and led him back to the crowd which sur- rounded the prisoners. At the same moment, Col. MeGary, the same man who had caused the disaster at the Blue Lieks some years before, coming up, Gen. Logan's eye canght that of McGary. 'Col. MeGary,' said he, 'you must not molest these prisoners.' 'I will see to that,' McGary replied. Coming

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? up to the chief, his first salutation was the question: . Were you at the defeat of the Blue Licks?' The Indian, not knowing the meaning of the words, or not understanding the purport of the question, answered in the affirm- ative. MeGary instantly seized an ax from the hands of the grenadier squaw, and raised it to make a blow at the chief. 1 threw up my arm to ward off the blow, when the ax came down, the handle striking my wrist and nearly breaking it, while the blade sank into the head of the chief to the eyes, who fell dead at my feet. Provoked beyond measure at this wanton barbarity, I drew my knife for the purpose of avenging his cruelty by dispatching him. My arm was arrested by one of our men, which prevented me inflict- ing the thrust. MeGary escaped in the crowd.

A detachment was then ordered off to two other towns, distant six or eight miles. The men and prisoners were ordered to march down to the lower town and encamp. As we marched out of the upper town, we fired it. collecting a large pile of corn for our horses, anel beans, pumpkins, ete., for our own use. Next morning. Gen. Logan ordered another detachment to attack a town that lay seven or eight miles to the north or northwest of where we then were. This town was also burnt, to- gether with a large block house that the Eng- lish had built there, of huge size and thick- news, and the detachment returned that night to the main body. Mr. Isaac Zane was at that the living at this last village, he being married to a squaw, and having at the place his wife and several children at the time."

It appears that the warriors were absent hunting, and the openpants of the towns were principally the non-combatants of the nation. A deserting Frenchman warned these of their danger, but the troops, arriving so much sooner than was expected, effected a complete surprise and a easy victory. As it was the expedition resulted in the destruction of eight

large towns, and a large number of corn- fields, captured seventy or eighty prisoners, and killed some twenty fighting men, among whom was the chief, Moluntha. Jonathan Alder was living with the Indians at that time in one of the upper towns. A runner brought the tidings, one morning, that Mack- achak had been destroyed, when the squaws and children, taking what they could with them, retreated two days' march to the head waters of the Scioto, where they suf- fered much for the want of food. There was not a man among them capable of hunting, and they were compelled to subsist on paw- paws, muscles and craw-fish. In about eight days they returned to Zane's town, tarriel a short time, and from thence removed to Hog Creek, where they wintered; their principal living, at that place, was raccoons, and that with little or no salt, without a single bite of bread, hominy or sweet corn. In the spring, they moved back to the site of their village, where nothing remained but the ashes of their dwellings, and their corn burnt to charcoal. They remained here during the sugar season, and then removed to Blanchard's Fork, where, being obliged to clear the fand, they were en- abled to raise but a scanty crop of corn. While this was growing, they fared hard, and managed to oke out a bare subsistence by eating a kind of wild potato and poor rac- coons, that had been suckled down so poor that the dogs would hardly eat them. For fear of losing a little, they threw them on the fire, singed the hair off, and ate the skin and all .*

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History of Logan County and Ohio, Part 32

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Battle, J. H; O.L. Baskin & Co Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago, O.L. Baskin Number of Pages: 798

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Battle, J. H; O.L. Baskin & Co
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, O.L. Baskin
Number of Pages: 798