USA > Ohio > Noble County > History of Noble County, Ohio: With Portraits and Biographical Sketches of some of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 4
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The mounds described were doubt- less burial-mounds. Others, erected
on hilltops. seem to have been con- structed as watch-towers, while still others, by their peculiar construction. show that they were built as defens- ive fortifications.
On the farm of John Noble, in Noble township, is a curious relic of the prehistoric people which is doubt- less of great antiquity. On a rise of land bordering upon the creek bot- tom a short distance east of the Cleve- land and Marietta railroad may still be traced the outlines of a circular earthwork about sixty feet in diam- eter. Formerly the enclosure was a mound-shaped elevation, from which an observer could overlook all the ground within a radius of a half mile or more. The earth-wall surround- ing the mound -if such it was -- was thrown up to the height of at least six feet, leaving a space be- tween the ring and the mound wherein men could stand and guard themselves against their enemies. Cultivation of the ground has par- tially obliterated the work. but enough of it is still traceable to clearly indicate that here was a de fensive fortification probably be- longing to the age of the Mound- Builders. Mr. Noble states that when he first observed the work a stump of a tree about three feet in diameter was standing on the edge of the outer ring. This would indi- cate that the work was done in a re- mote age, for it must have required hundreds of years for the tree to grow, mature and decay. The site of the earth-work clearly shows that the work was intended for a defens- ive one. There are no neighboring
** Centennial History of the Muskingum and Tuscarawas Valleys," by C. H. Mitchener.
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INDIANS OF THE OHIO VALLEY.
elevations for some distance around commanding a view of the spot, and as the ground juts off abruptly from the fortification toward the creek bottom, those within the wall could effectually guard against a surprise.
On the same farm have been found scores of arrow and spear- heads, fashioned from flint, stone axes, and remains of pottery, which would indicate that the Indians had also occupied this locality in a later period ; and it is not improbable that here may have been the scene of some mighty conflict between sav- age nations, years before the white men came to occupy the beautiful valley of the Ohio. Not far from the work above described was formerly a spot called by the early settlers an " Indian burying-ground." Here the earth was covered to the depth of several feet with bits of broken lime- stone, none of them larger than a man's fist. Some of the pieces bore evidence of having been burned, and all were so broken and placed to- gether as to prove beyond question that the work was done by men, though with what object there is no means of determining. No exami- nation of this work has ever been made, and no one yet knows whether the stones conceal skeletons or not.
Among late theories as to what people built the mounds of the great central valley of America, one sup- poses them to have been kindred to or identical with the Aztecs of Mex- ico; another, that the Zuñi Indians of the Far West are the last remnant of this once great people.
The condition of the country of
the Upper Ohio was found to be, as we have described it, a region with- out inhabitants when the early French voyageurs first explored the West, and so it continued years later when English adventurers and Amer- ican explorers visited it. It seems probable that the savage Indian tribes of the North made warlike incursions upon the ancient people of the valley, dispossessed them of their lands, and were in turn them- selves conquered and driven out by the powerful Iroquois. The latter supposition is corroborated by various Indian legends.
The Five Nations (increased to Six by an alliance [about 1711] with their kinsman, the Tuscaroras or Tuscarawas), whose densest popula- tion was in Northern New York, ambitiously claimed to be the con- querers of the entire West, and act- ually held several weaker tribes in subjugation. They maintained the strongest organized confederacy known among the aborigines of North America, and their govern- ment had some of the elements of a rude republic. Their confederacy is said to have been formed early in the sixteenth century, and the result of the powerful alliance was that they soon gained a complete mastery of the tribes which had hitherto held dominion in the territory now constituting the State of Ohio. Their powerful warriors were the dreaded enemies of the western Indians, and the use of the Upper Ohio by their war parties doubtless caused it to be deserted by other tribes.
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HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
The Eries, a once powerful people are supposed to have anciently held sway over the greater portion of what is now the State of Ohio. Their chief villages were on the borders of the great lake bearing their name. The Andastes are said to have occupied the valleys of the Allegheny and the Upper Ohio, and the Hurons or Wyandots to have held dominion in the upper peninsula between the lakes. All were of Iroquois origin. The Upper Ohio and the Allegheny was called by the early French travelers the River of the Iroquois, and its explora- tion was long deferred on account of their hostility. The Hurons were the first nation conquered by the Iroquois confederacy. The Eries were next compelled to yield sub- mission before the prowess of the valiant warriors of the Five Nations. The warfare was long and bloody, and its close left but a feeble rem- nant of the once mighty Eries alive. This conquest took place about the year 1655. About 1672 the Five Nations won their victory over the Andastes.
The Miamis, occupying the coun- try along the Miami and Maumee Rivers are also supposed by some to have been conquered by the Six Nations, but there is no historical evidence of the fact.
However complete the conquest of the Six Nations may have been, they soon suffered other tribes to occupy the valleys of the chief east- ern tributaries of the Ohio, and the villages of the red race again ap- peared on the banks of the Cuya-
hoga, the Tuscarawas, the Muskin- gum, the Scioto, the Miamis and the Maumee.
About 1750, when the West began to be known to English-Americans. the principal tribes within the pres- ent limits of Ohio were as follows: The Delawares, on the Tuscarawas and the Muskingum; the Shawnees, in the Scioto Valley ; the Miamis, upon the rivers bearing their name ; the Wyandots, sometimes called the Hurons, occupying the country on the Sandusky River and Bay ; the Ottawas, in the valleys of the Mau- mee and the Sandusky ; the Chip- pewas, along the south shore of Lake Erie, and the Mingoes (of Iro- quois lineage). on the Ohio below where Steubenville now is. The territory of each tribe was not fixed by definite boundaries, nor was the seat of densest population of all the tribes permanent. By the time white settlers made their appearance in the valley considerable change had occurred - some tribes having moved westward and others north- ward -and it was noted that preda- tory and war-parties were frequently made up of warriors from several different tribes.
The Delawares were the chief oc- cupants of Eastern Ohio, and were virtually in possession of half the present territory of the state, from the Ohio to the lake. The Dela- wares called themselves the Lenni- Lenape, or original people, and had various legends proving the antiquity of their origin. According to their traditions, the original home of the Lenni-Lenape was west of the Missis-
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INDIANS OF THE OHIO VALLEY.
sippi, whence they migrated east- ward to the region of the Allegheny Mountains, where they became in- volved in a war with a powerful race, of giant stature, known as the Alle- gewi, who sought to stay their fur- ther progress. In this war they were assisted by the Mengwe, other- wise known as the Mingoes or Iro- quois, who had come from the west with them. The Lenape and the Mengwe conquered and extirpated the Allegewi, and took possession of their country, the Mengwe taking as their territory the country along the great lakes and the St. Lawrence, and the Lenape reserving to them- selves the vast tract stretching from the Allegheny Mountains to the At- lantic coast, and eventually settling their densest population on the Dela- ware, the Susquehanna and the Po- tomac. The Europeans having taken possession of the Atlantic coast, and · the Delawares having become embit- tered against their ancient allies, the Iroquois, whom they accused of treachery, a western migration of the Delawares ensued, and they took up their abode in the valley of the Allegheny River. There they were again disturbed by the white man, and a part of the tribe obtained per- mission from the Wyandots to oc- cupy the valleys of the Tuscarawas and the Muskingum, where their chief population soon became gath- ered. The Delawares were not such a fierce race as the Iroquois, and were called women by the latter, who held them in subjection to themselves. The success of the Mor- avian missionaries among them
proves that they were susceptible to the influences of Christianity and civilization, and steadfast in friend- ship to those who treated them kindly.
The Delawares were divided into three tribes-the Unamis, the Unachtigo and the Minsi, (called also Monseys or Muncies). Their tribal designations signified respect- ively the turkey, the turtle and the wolf. Their principal villages were on the Tuscarawas and the Upper Muskingum. So far as is known they had no settlements whatever in the lower valleys of the Muskingum, which was regarded as a part of the great hunting-ground. The name of the river was originally Mooskin- gom, which, in the Delaware tongue signified elk's eye. The Tuscarawas took its name from an Indian town of the same name, situated near the site of Bolivar. According to Hecke- welder the signification of the word was Old Town.
Among Delaware chiefs in Ohio, White Eyes and Captain Pipe were most influential. Others were Neta- watmees, Buckongahelas, Half King and King Newcomer, after whom Newcomerstown was named. Cap- tain Pipe was a war chief and mis- chief maker; White Eyes was gen- erally on the side of peace, though he was brave and renowned for his valor in war. The two were great and jealous rivals, and there was almost constant intrigue between them. White Eyes was the friend and encourager of the Moravian missions, while Captain Pipe pre- ferred charges against the mission-
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HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
aries, and was implicated in the movement which led to their arrest and the destruction of the settle- ments. White Eyes died about 1780, and Captain Pipe gained the ascendency among his people, turn- ing them against the whites and drawing them into war.
The Shawnees, more than any other nation were cruel, relentless and bitterly hostile to the whites. First on the side of the French, then as allies of the British, they made war upon the Americans. They were the terror of the frontier settlements, and the record of their atrocities in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky would fill volumes. Ac- cording to their traditions the Shaw- nees were of foreign origin, and they were accustomed to celebrate annu- ally with festivals and ceremonies the arrival of their progenitors on these shores. It is generally believed that at a remote period of their his- tory the Shawnees dwelt in the south, and ranged from Kentucky to Florida. They appear to have always been wanderers, and have been styled "the Bedouins of the American wil- derness. Afterward they are sup- posed to have drifted northward, and many of them occupied the Scioto Valley until driven from it by the Iroquois invasion about 1672. The shattered and weakened nation then returned south ward and occupied the country of North Carolina until they were forced therefrom and compelled to take refuge among the Creeks. Later, encouraged by the Wyandots and the French, they again returned north of the Ohio, and their camp-fires
once more blazed along the Scioto. The Shawnee tribes were known as the Piqua, Kiskapocke, Mequachuke and Chillicothe. Cornstalk was their principal chief, and led his warriors on many a hostile expedition. Later, their most renowned chieftain and warrior was Tecumseh, who is said to have had Creek blood in his veins.
The Hurons or Wyandots had their densest population about Detroit, and minor settlements on the Sandusky and the Maumee. With the excep- tion of a village on White-woman Creek they appear to have made no settlements in Central of Southern Ohio. They claimed a remoter ori- gin than any other nation, and even the Delawares did not dispute their claim. Their claim of dominion of the country between the Alle- gheny and the Ohio Rivers, Lake Erie and the Great Miami was never disputed, save by the Six Nations. The Jesuit missionaries who were among them as early as 1639 esti- mated their number at ten thousand. They depended less than other tribes on the results of the chase for food, but devoted much attention to the cultivation of the soil, and had ex- tensive cornfields around all their settlements. They were valorous in war, seldom retreated, but usually fought to the death.
The Ottawas in Ohio were few and scattering at the time the whites be- came acquainted with the region. The renowned Pontiac was of this tribe. The Miamis, anciently called the Twigtwees, appear to have been the earliest Indians to occupy the val- leys of the rivers named after them.
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INDIANS OF THE OHIO VALLEY.
The Mingoes, also known as the Cay- ugas, had a few small villages in Ohio, one near the present site of Steubenville, and others on the Scioto.
Colonel Morgan, Indian agent, es- timated the number of warriors that could speedily be assembled for war in the Northwest in 1778 at 10,600.
An interesting statement of the manner of life of the savages of the Muskingum and Tuscarawas Valleys, over a century and a quarter ago, is furnished in a "Narrative" written by James Smith of Pennsylvania, who was captured by the Indians near Bedford, Pa., in 1755, taken west of the Ohio and adopted into their tribe, remaining among them several years. Smith was a remak- ably courageous backwoodsman, and led a romantic and adventurous ca- reer. After his capture he was taken to Fort Duquesne (afterward Fort Pitt), where he witnessed the bar- barous atrocities inflicted upon the white prisoners taken at the scene of Braddock's defeat. Thence he was taken to an Indian town called Tul- hillas (otherwise Pluggystown), on White-woman Creek, about twenty miles north of Coshocton, where he remained several months. Later he went into the lake country, and re- mained for several years among the
· Indians, hunting and fishing. In 1760 he accompanied a war party into Canada, was taken prisoner, and after some time exchanged and re- turned to Pennsylvania. There he became the leader of a lawless band of squatter settlers styled the Black Boys, who, on one occasion, attacked and destroyed the stores of a trading
party who were crossing the moun- tains on their way to Fort Pitt. Afterward he and a portion of his Black Boys surprised and captured Fort Bedford, then held by the king's troops. He accompanied Bouquet as a guide on his expedition to the Muskingumn. He joined the patriot army in the Revolution and became colonel of a Pennsylvania regiment. After the war he settled in Ken- tucky and served there as a member of the legislature. In his "Narra- tive," speaking of his being taken to Tulhillas, Colonel Smith says:
"The day after my arrival at the aforesaid town a number of Indians collected about me, and one of them began to pull the hair out of my head. He had some ashes on a piece of bark in which he frequently dip- ped his fingers, in order to take a firmer hold, and so he went on as if he had been plucking a turkey, until he had all the hair clean out of my head, except a small spot about three or four inches square on my crown; this they cut off with a pair of scis- sors, excepting three locks, which they dressed up in their own mode. Two of these they wrapped around with a narrow beaded garter made by themselves for that purpose, and the other they plaited at full length, then stuck it full of silver brooches. After this they bored my nose and ears and fixed me off with ear- rings and nose jewels; then they or- dered me to strip off my clothes and put on a breechclout, which I did. They then painted my head, face and body in various-colors. They put a large belt of wampum on my neck
:
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HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
and silver bands on my hands and right arm; and so an old chief led me out into the street and gave the alarm halloo, Coo-wigh! several times, repeated quick; and on this all that were in town came running and stood around the old chief, who held me by the hand in their midst. As I at that time knew nothing of their mode of adoption, and had seen them put to death all they had taken, and as I never could find that they saved a man alive at Braddock's de- feat, I made no doubt but they were about putting me to death in some cruel manner. The old chief, hold- ing me by the hand, made a long speech, very loud, and when he had done he handed me to three young squaws, who led me by the hand down the bank into the river until the water was up to my middle. The squaws then made signs for me to plunge myself into the water, but I did not understand them. I thought the result of the counsel was that I should be drowned, and that these young ladies were to be the execu- tioners. They all three laid violent hold of me, and I for some time op- posed them with all my might, which occasioned loud laughter by the multitude that were on the bank of the river. At length one of the squaws made out to speak a little English (for I believe they began to be afraid of me), and said, 'No hurt you.' On this I gave myself up to their ladyships, who were as good as their word ; for though they plunged me under water, and washed and rubbed me severely, I could not say they hurt me much.
"These young women then led me up to the council-house, where some of the tribe were ready with new clothes for me. They gave me a new ruffled shirt, which I put on; also a pair of leggins, done off with ribbons and beads ; likewise a pair of mocca- sins, and garters dressed with beads, porcupine quills and red hair, also a tinsel-laced chapeau. They again painted my head and face with va- rious colors, and tied a bunch of red feathers to one of those locks they had left on the crown of my head, which stood up five or six inches. They reseated me on a bear-skin, and gave me a pipe, tomahawk and polecat-skin pouch, which had been skinned pocket fashion, and con- tained tobacco, killegenico, or dried sumac leaves, which they mixed with their tobacco; also spunk, flint and steel. When I was thus seated the Indians came in, dressed and painted in their grandest manner. As they came in they took their seats, and for a considerable time there was a pro- found silence. Everyone was smok- ing, but not a word was spoken among them. At length one of the chiefs made a speech, which was de- livered to me by an interpreter, and was as follows :
"'My son, you are now flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone. By the ceremony which was performed this day every drop of white blood was washed out of your veins; you are taken into the Caughnewaga na- tion and initiated into a warlike tribe; you are adopted into a great family, and now received with great seriousness and solemnity in the room
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INDIANS OF THE OHIO VALLEY.
and place of a great man. After what has passed this day you are now one of us by an old, strong law and custom. My son, you have nothing to fear; we are now under the same obligation to love, support and de- fend you that we are to love and de- fend one another; therefore you are to consider yourself as one of our people.'
"At this time I did not believe this fine speech, especially that of the white blood being washed out of me; but since that time I have found that there was much sincerity in said speech ; for from that day I never knew them to make any distinction between me and themselves in any respect whatever until I left them. If they had plenty of clothing, I had plenty ; if we were scarce, we all shared alike.
"After this ceremony was over I was introduced to my new kin, and told that I was to attend a feast that evening, which I did. And, as the custom was, they gave me also a bowl and wooden spoon, which I carried with me to the place where there were a number of large brass kettles full of boiled venison and green corn. Everyone advanced with his bowl and spoon and had his share given him. After this one of the chiefs made a short speech, and then we began to eat.
"The name of one of the chiefs in this town was Tecanyaterightigo, alias Pluggy, and the other Asalle- coa, alias Mohawk Solomon. As Pluggy and his party were to start the next day to war, to the frontiers of Virginia, the next thing to be per-
formed was their war dance and their war songs. At their war dance they had both vocal and instrumental music. They had a short, hollow gun, closed at one end, with water in it, and parchment stretched over the open end thereof, which they beat with one stick and made a sound nearly like a muffled drum. All those who were going on this expedi- tion collected together and formed. An old Indian then began to sing, and timed the music by beating on this drum, as the ancients formerly timed their music by beating the tabor. On this the warriors began to advance or move forward in con- cert, like well disciplined troops would march to the fife and drum. Each warrior had a tomahawk, spear or war-mallet in his hand, and they all moved regularly toward the east, or the way they intended to go to war. At length they all stretched their tomahawks toward the Potomac, and giving a hideous shout or yell, they wheeled quick about and danced in the same manner back.
"The next was the war song. In performing this only one sang at a time, in a moving posture, with a tomahawk in his hand, while all the other warriors were engaged in call- ing aloud, 'He-uh ! he-uh!' which they constantly repeated while the war song was going on. When the warrior that was singing had ended his song he struck a war-post with his tomahawk, and with a loud voice told what warlike exploits he had done, and what he now intended to do, which was answered by the other warriors with loud shouts of applause.
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HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
Some who had not before intended to go to war, at this time were so animated by this performance that they took up the tomahawk and sang the war song, which was answered with shouts of joy as they were then initiated into the present marching company. The next morning this company all collected at one place, with their heads and faces painted various colors, and packs upon their backs. 'T'hey marched off, all silent except the commander, who in the front sang the traveling song, which began in this manner : 'Hoo caugh- tainte heegana.' Just as the rear passed the end of the town they be- gan to fire in their slow manner, from the front to the rear, which was accompanied with shouts and yells from all quarters.
"That evening I was invited to another sort of dance, which was a sort of promiscuous dance. The yong men stood in one rank and the young women in another, about a rod apart, facing each other. The one that raised the tune or started the song held a small gourd or dry shell of a squash in his hand, which contained beads or small stones which rattled. When he began to sing he timed the tune with his rattle. Both men and women danced and sang together, advancing toward each other, stooping until their heads would be touching together, and then ceased from dancing, with loud shouts, and retreated and formed again, and so repeated the same thing over and over for three or four hours without intermission. This exercise seemed to me at first irrational and
insipid, but I found that in singing their tunes they used ya, ne, no, hoo. wa, ne, etc., like our fa, sol, la, and though they have no such thing as jingling verse, they can intermix sentences with their notes and say whatever they please to each other and carry on the tune in concert. I found that this was a kind of wooing or courting dance, and as they ad- vanced, stooping with their heads to- gether, they could say what they pleased in each other's ear without disconcerting their rough music and the others, or those near not hear what they said.
"Shortly after this I went out to hunt in company with Mohawk Solomon, some of the Caughnewagas and a Delaware Indian that was mar- ried to a Caughnewaga squaw. We traveled about south from this town, and the first night we killed nothing, but we had with us green corn, which we roasted and ate that night. The next day we encamped about twelve o'clock and the hunters turned out to hunt, and I went down the run that we encamped on, in company with some squaws and boys to hunt for plums, which we found in great plenty. On my return to camp I observed a large piece of fat meat ; the Delaware Indian that could talk some English observed me looking earnestly at this meat, and asked me, 'What meat you think that is?' I said I supposed it was bear-meat; he laughed, and said : 'Ho, all one fool you; beal now elly pool,' and point- ing to the other side of the camp, he said : 'Look at that skin; you think that beal-skin? I went and
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