History of Sandusky County Ohio with Illustrations 1882, Part 5

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The Indians during this time were not inactive. Williamson had taught them the necessity of wakefulness, and spies daily visited the border hills along the Ohio. Before the organization of the volunteers on the Ohio side was complete, the whole Indian country, from the falls of the Sandusky far into the Scioto and Miami Valleys was making hurried preparations for war. The objective point of the expedition the Indians did not know, but the warriors of every tribe were in readiness, and swift spies promptly reported the onward march of the mounted volunteers. They read on the trees the inscription left by loungers of the advancing army, "No quarter is to be given to any Indian, whether man, woman, or child." They saw prominently in command the hated Williamson and had no reason to doubt

the terrible and inhuman threat. Every patriotic, more than that, every generous feeling of the red man's heart was aroused. More than their beautiful valley and loved hunting ground was now at stake; upon the issue of the battle hung the lives of their women and innocent children. We do not mean to imply that this threat was authorized by Colonel Crawford, or that in the event of success he would have permitted indiscriminate murder without mercy, as Williamson had at Gnadenhutten, but the Indians had both precedent and threat on which to base premonitions of the terrors of defeat, and their resolve to fight as long as a drop of blood remained to give them strength, is an evidence of real nobility of character.

The northward course of the volunteers after crossing the Muskingum left no doubt as to the destination of the expedition. The Shawnees of the Upper Scioto, the Delawares, and the Wyandots of the whole Sandusky Valley began to concentrate their forces on the plains. Meanwhile the mounted borderers were rapidly approaching, anxious for the fray. The sixth day the old Moravian village on one of the upper branches of the Sandusky was reached, but, as will be seen in a suc- ceeding chapter, the missionary band had been removed in March preceding, and the congregation dispersed by order of Governor DePeyster, commandant at Detroit. This was a fortunate circumstance, for it was the purpose of the invaders to destroy and plunder this village first. In place of meeting with Indians and plunder they found nothing but vestiges of desolation.

The army next moved to where the town of Sandusky formerly stood, but from which the Indians had lately moved to their new town eighteen miles below. Again disappointed at finding no Indians or plunder, the volunteers became

HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

anxious to return, giving as a reason that only five days' rations remained and that the horses were jaded; so a council was held and the officers decided to continue the march one day longer; but just as the council was breaking up a scout reported that the advance guard had met the Indians in considerable numbers. The main line resolutely advanced over the plain covered with high grass, while the advance guard slowly retired before the enemy. The red warriors began to take shelter in an island of wood in the vast expanse of grassy plain. Crawford, seeing the advantage thus being gained by his enemy, ordered his men to dismount, tie their horses and force the Indians from their position, which they did. The Indians continued their fire from the high grass in the prairie. From 4 o'clock until dark the contest was animated. Some of the volunteers ascended into the thick tops of the trees, and from these aimed mes- sengers of death at the enemy sheltering in the grass, while others from behind trees and logs fired at the red warriors when they raised to shoot. The presence of Girty, the white savage, was noticed among the Indians, and Elliott, a runaway Tory of Pennsylvania, who was given a captain's commission in the British army, was seen directing the battle. At night the enemy withdrew, and Crawford's soldiers slept on their arms expecting to resume battle the next morning. The attack was not resumed as was expected, as the Indians seemed to be awaiting reinforcements. In large bodies they traversed the plains in every direction, apparently carrying off their dead.

It was evident to the volunteers that the Indian forces were increasing rapidly and that their position was one of great danger. At nightfall a council was held and a retreat decided upon.

The outposts were silently withdrawn,

and the troops arranged in three parallel lines with the wounded in the centre. At 9 o'clock the retreat began in good order. Scarcely a hundred paces had been traversed, when the report of several shots in the rear had the effect of a lightning shock upon the lines. The shrill voice of a man in front crying out that the design was discovered, and the "savages" would soon be upon them, precipitated a panic. Uproar and confusion made the command unmanageable. The wounded were abandoned, and straggling parties hurried in every direction. The Indians, abandoning the main body, pursued the stragglers, and few of them escaped. Less than three hundred reached the Ohio, thus making the number killed and captured more than one hundred and fifty, among whom was the commandant. The remnant of the army was conducted back to the frontier by Colonel Williamson.

Colonel Crawford, when flight com- menced, tried to seek out from the panic- stricken soldiers his son, son-in-law and two nephews, and for this purpose remained till the last straggler had passed. He met the surgeon, Dr. Knight, but no trace of those for whom he was searching was found. Presently a heavy fire was heard in the distance, accompanied by yells, which indicated a fierce attack. Crawford, out of heart and anticipating the worst, set off with Dr. Knight and two others in a northward direction. After travelling about an hour they turned east, thus avoiding the enemy. They entered the forest and pushed their course eastward as fast as their horses could travel until morning, when the exhausted animals were abandoned, and the refugees hurried along on foot. Their company was increased to six in the course of the day, by casually meeting Captain Biggs and Lieutenant Ashley, to whom he had given his horse, Ashley being wounded. On the second day they came to the path

HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

which the expedition had followed on their advance. Here Crawford insisted on retracing the trail, and the other members of the party reluctantly followed. They had not travelled more than an hour, when a party of Delaware Indians sprang up within twenty yards of Crawford and Knight, who were one hundred and fifty yards in advance of their comrades. The Indians presented their guns, and in good English ordered the fugitives to stop. Crawford and Knight surrendered; the other members of the party escaped, but two of them, Biggs and Ashley, were captured and killed the next day.

It was an unfortunate circumstance for Crawford that he was captured by Delawares, for the disposal of his case thereby fell to Captain Pipe, at whose hands little mercy could be expected. He was taken to Sandusky, where he was permitted an interview with Simon Girty, whom he had known. Girty promised to do all he could to procure his ransom, and it is supposed offered Captain Pipe three hundred and fifty dollars to release the prisoner. The proud Delaware treated the proposition as an insult and threatened Girty with torture should it be renewed.

On the morning of June 11, 1782, Crawford was taken to the old town, where he joined his companions in captivity, whose faces had been painted black by Captain Pipe. Pipe, upon Crawford's arrival, painted him also, but was respectful and dignified in his manner. The party now proceeded toward Tyinochtee, Crawford and Knight in charge of Wingemand and Pipe, the other nine prisoners being sent on ahead. The two in the rear had the horror of seeing the bodies of four of the prisoners in the path, and of witnessing the slaughter of the other five. Now anticipating the worst, Crawford took advantage of an opportunity to make an appeal to Wingemand, whom he had

long known and frequently drank punch with. The chief told him that nothing could save him; that he had come with the cowardly Williamson to destroy the defenceless Christian Indians. Crawford tried to convince the chief that he was not responsible for the murder of the. Moravians, and would have prevented a repetition of that atrocity. We quote the chief's reply, which shows the intense feeling of the Indian nature:

Had Williamson been taken with you, I and some of my friends, by making use of what you have said, might, perhaps, have saved you; but as the matter now stands no man would dare interfere in your behalf. The King of England himself, were he to come to this spot, with all his wealth and treasure, could not effect this purpose. The blood of the innocent Moravians, more than half of them women and children, cruelly and wantonly murdered, calls for revenge. The relatives of the slain who are among us, cry out and stand ready for revenge. The nation to which they belonged will have revenge, The Shawnees, our grandchildren, have asked for your fellow prisoner (Dr. Knight). On him, they will take revenge. All nations connected with us cry out, revenge, revenge. The Moravians whom they came to destroy, having fled instead of avenging their brethren, the offence is become national, and the nation itself is bound to take revenge.

The chief then tried to reconcile Crawford to his fate. When the crowd came to the pile he took an affectionate farewell of his old friend, and hid in the bushes. The fire was lighted, and no words can express the three hours of excruciating torture and pain which ended the ill-fated life. In vain the sufferer appealed to Girty for the mercy of a well aimed bullet, but that monster exulted at his writhing, and told Knight, the other prisoner, that a precisely similar fate awaited him. After the last breath of life had passed away in the ascending smoke, Knight was placed in charge of a guide and hurried toward the Shawnee towns on Mad River. He made his escape, however, on the way, and returned to Virginia.

Thus ended the doomed expedition of Crawford. The Wyandots returned to

HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

their homes on the Sandusky with greater confidence in their own power and ability to resist invasion. The failure of the expedition also preserved to the territory of

the Wyandots of Sandusky a superstition that it was to be the inviolable seat of the nation.

CHAPTER IV.

LOWER SANDUSKY BEFORE FORT STEPHENSON.

Sources of Information- Lower Sandusky Becomes a Trading Pos- Geographical Features of Ohio, Give the Place Its Importance in Indian History- Captain Bradys Adventure-The Moravian Missionaries Prisoners at Lower Sandusky-Description of Running the Gauntlet- Location of the Gauntlet Course-General Treatment of Prisoners-Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton, Captives- A Sentence to Torture Revoked-James Whittaker and Elizabeth Fulk, Captives; A Romantic Incident-Negro Captives-First Appearance of Bees in the Indian Country- Captivity of Major Goodale and Daniel Convers- Sarah Vincent Made a Captive- Her Marriage to Isaac Williams- The Williams Family- Tecumseh Visits Muncietown- His Plans of War Are Overheard- Expedition of Five Hundred Warriors from Muncietown- Tecumseh Visits Isaac Williams- The Ottawas and Death of Captain Pumpkin- Agriculture Along the Sandusky.

I N 1764 the village of Junquiindundeh (Lower Sandusky), located at the falls of the river, was on an Indian trail leading from Fort Pitt in a northwesterly direction .* This part of the State was then little known to the whites, till a score of years later, and then the information was derived froth ransomed Indian captives. Upon these same narratives we are compelled to rely for the greater part of our information relating to Lower Sandusky, and, by repeating a variety of incidents, we hope to be able to present an intelligible picture of life in the fertile Sandusky Valley, before the advent of white soldiers, in 1813.

We have no satisfactory knowledge of the Indian. village which occupied the hill rising toward the east from the headwaters of navigation, until about 1780, when the well- known borderer, Samuel Brady, at the instance of Washington,

came here as a spy. About this time began the general border war, which continued until 1795, and in which the Wyandots took a conspicuous part. This period was productive of the scenes which it is the object of this chapter to delineate.

In 1795 the Wyandot Nation passed the summit of its power and glory. For more than a century the warriors of the tribes had gratified the vanity and avarice of the nation, but one defeat turned the tide of fortune, and twenty-two years more grouped the survivors of a haughty dominion within the confines of a tract twelve miles square. The disaster of Fallen Timbers extinguished the council fire at Lower Sandusky. Crane, the great war chief, became the head of the nation, and only peace councils called the wise men together until the close of the period to which we have allotted this chapter.

shall frequently have occasion to mention,

* Hutchins's History of Boquet's Expedition

HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

The time of the advent of traders is not known. Arundel and Robbins, whom we were here in 1782. The Wyandot village, although it had lost its importance, maintained its existence until troops formally took possession of the two miles square reserved for trading purposes by the treaty of Fort McIntosh, and unconditionally reserved by the treaty of Greenville. The language of the former treaty, which is given in a preceding chapter, indicates that the commercial advantage of the place was fully appreciated as early as 1785; the next ten years gave the author of the treaty of Greenville a knowledge of its military importance.

The treaty of Greenville also had the effect of concentrating into the Northwestern Indian Reservation, of which this county was a part, representatives of all the tribes of Ohio. The Delawares, whose relations with

the Wyandots had always been of the most cordial character, came into the Sandusky country in considerable numbers. They established a village about three miles below Lower Sandusky, on the east side of the river. The white traders named this village Muncietown, most of its inhabitants being of the Muncie tribe of Delawares.

Detroit, from the time the French estab- lished themselves at that point, was the leading trading post of all the tribes of the Northwest Territory. After the outbreak of the Revolution and during the whole period of border war, the British Government at that point encouraged hostility by paying a liberal bounty for scalps and ransom for prisoners. The northwestern part of the State being almost an impenetrable swamp, the Sandusky River became the common thoroughfare of all the Ohio tribes. The favorite canoe of the Indians was made of birch bark. These were only used in water free from obstructions. Streams abounding in ripples and with

dangerous bottoms were, however, avenues of travel but only with wooden canoes which were made by hollowing out the half of a log. A short distance below the falls at the side of the river, was a place for burying the bark canoes." This was done, probably, for the purpose of keeping them from cracking.

War parties usually came to this point on foot or on horses captured in the white settlements, and when captives were taken further, as most of them were, canoes were used for transportation. Horses were considered great prizes, and horseracing indulged in without mercy to the poor animals. An interesting race is described by Captain Samuel Brady, a man well known in the border history of Northern Ohio. He is celebrated chiefly for his wonderful leap across Cuyahoga River. In 1780, Captain Brady was dispatched, by direction of General Washington, to Sandusky, to learn if possible the strength of the Indians in this quarter and the geography of the country. Brady, with a few choice soldiers and four Chickasaw Indians, set out from Fort Pitt and made a forced march through the wilderness. Soon after entering the Wyandot country, the Chickasaw guides deserted, and it was feared by the brave scout had gone over to the enemy. Knowing the penalty of detection, Brady proceeded with the greatest caution. He approached the village adjacent to the rapids under cover of night, and fording the river, secreted himself on the island just below the falls. When morning dawned a fog rested over the valley, which completely cut off from view the shore on either side. About 11 o'clock a bright sun quickly dispelled the mist, and the celebrated borderer became the witness of an unusually interesting event. A war party had just returned from Kentucky with a number

*Colonel James Smith's Narrative, 1757

HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

of fine horses, a trial of whose speed was the feature of the day's amusement. The horses were all drawn up in line on the west side of the river a short distance above the head of the island. One heat after another always brought a white Kentucky mare out ahead. At first the Indians cheered heartily when the favorite pony reached the goal in advance of all competitors; but no amusement can last long without variety. The victorious mare was weighted down with two riders but even under this burden distanced her competitors. Another rider was added to the load, which accomplished the purpose of defeating her, and seemed to give the congregated warriors, children and squaws, great pleasure. All this time Brady was concealed on the island, disturbed only by the fear of being seen and made the Subject of an evening's barbarous sport, around a stake of torture. That night he escaped and hastened rapidly toward the fort, which he reached after a perilous tramp of several days.

In the preceding chapter, the history of the Moravian missions is reverted to the labor of the converts, their persecution, and the final murder of more than ninety persons. Simultaneously with this event, in consequence of the misrepresentations of the dishonest British agent Elliott and the white desperado Simon Girty, Captain Pipe and Half King applied persecution with such severity that in March, 1782, Governor De Peyster, fearing for the safety of the teachers, directed Girty and Half King to remove them and their families as prisoners to Detroit; but as these two had just planned an expedition to the Ohio, a Canadian Frenchman, Francis Levallie, was directed to accompany them. The company consisted of four families, two single men, "with a number of brethren and sisters," children, and a number of

Moravian Indians. Levallie was kindhearted and well-disposed toward his prisoners, giving Zeisberger his own horse to ride, insisting that the age and station of the missionary alike prompted the act.

Heckewelder, in his narrative says that after several days' travel through the wil- derness and swampy grounds they arrived at Lower Sandusky, where

they were hospitably received by two English traders- Arundel and Robbins. Arundel having a spacious house took in those who had families, and Robbins took in the single men and the guide. Boats were sent for at Detroit, and before they arrived two events took place, which are described by Heckewelder in such a way as to throw much light on the character of Indian life here at that time.

The houses of Arundel and Robbins were about a mile apart, and were located upon high elevations; between them was the Indian village. During his stay, Heckewelder went to the house of Robbins to visit the brethren, and while there the yelling of two parties of Indians returning from expeditions against the whites, was heard. One of the parties had been in the neighborhood of Fort McIntosh, at the mouth of Beaver, and was bringing with them three white prisoners; the other party came from the opposite direction and had scalps. From the elevation of Robbins' house both parties could be seen, but from the village, which lay between one of the parties and the house, but one party could be seen. The people of the village ran to meet the one band of returning warriors. Heckwelder, at the advice of Robbins, took advantage of the occasion and returned to Arundel's house through the village, while it was thus deserted. He reached Arundel's house before the people and the war party, with their prisoners, reached the place for running the gauntlet. Heckewelder

HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY

and his party saw this favorite treatment of prisoners and has given a faithful account of it.

A certain class of writers who depend upon a vivid imagination to supply defi- ciencies of information, have made the In- dian gauntlet an institution of the most shocking cruelty. It is true, severe tortures were often inflicted upon prisoners, the degree depending much upon their fortitude and presence of mind, for no people admired bravely as the Indians did. But the gauntlet was rather a place of amusement than punishment, unless the offence has been one worthy of particular revenge. On entering the village, the prisoner is shown a painted post at a distance of from twenty to forty yards, and told to run to it and catch hold of it as quickly as possible. On each side of the course stand men, women, and children, with axes, sticks, and other offensive weapons, ready to strike him as he passes. If he should be so unlucky as to fall or so frightened as to stop on the way, he is in danger of being dispatched by some one anxious to avenge the death of a relative or friend slain in battle; but if he reaches the goal safely, he is protected from further insult until his fate has been determined by the war council .*

Heckewelder goes on to state that if a prisoner in such a situation shows determined courage, and when bid to run for the painted post, starts with all his might, and exerts all his strength and agility until he reaches it, he will most commonly escape without much harm, and sometimes without any injury whatever; and on reaching the designated point will have the satisfaction of hearing his courage and bravery applauded. The coward who hesitates or shows symptoms of fear does well if he escapes with his life. A brave youth who has succeeded in reaching the

goal is almost certain to be adopted into one of the families of the tribe and treated with the greatest kindness. In many instances youths left their adopted parents with regret, when peace procured them ransom, and we have in our own county two notable instances of permanent adoption into the tribe, as we shall see further along.

But we have been digressing from the course of our narrative. The missionaries saw from Arundel's house the party of fourteen warriors, with their prisoners, ap- proach from the east, having come from Fort McIntosh. As soon' as they had crossed the Sandusky River, to' which the village lay adjacent, they were told by the captain of the party to run as hard as they could to a painted post, which was shown them. The youngest of the three immediately started without a moment's hesitation, and reached the post without a single blow; the second hesitated for a moment, but recollecting himself, he also ran as fast as he could and reached the post unhurt; but the third, frightened at seeing so many men, women, and children, with weapons in their hands ready to strike him, kept begging the captain to spare his life, saying that he was a mason and would build him a large stone house or do any other work he should choose. "Run for your life," cried the chief to him, "and don't talk now of building houses." But the poor fellow still insisted, begging and praying to the captain, who, at last, fearing the consequences, and finding his exhor- tations vain, turned his back upon him and would not hear him any longer. Our mason now began to run, but received many a hard blow, one of which nearly brought him to the ground, and which, if he had fallen, would have decided his fate. He, however, reached the goal, not without being sadly bruised, and besides he was bitterly scoffed at and reproached as

*Heckewelder's Indian Nations.

HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

a vile coward, while the others were hailed as brave men, and received tokens of uni- versal approbation.

Hon. Isaac Knapp, a pioneer of the county, and for many years an honored citizen, has related an incident in this con- nection which locates the gauntlet track, and contrary to the impression given by Heckewelder, indicates that having passed the savage lines and reached the goal did not insure to the prisoner absolute safety from injury until the disposition of his case by the council.

Some time before Wayne's campaign, three sisters and two brothers named Da- vidson were captured by a war party in Kentucky and brought to Lower Sandusky as prisoners. All were ordered to run the gauntlet. The brothers were stout, active men, and both succeeded in getting through without a scratch. John, the elder brother, seemed to be a mark of particular hatred. When he had reached the post exhausted and breathless, he sat down upon a log, having passed, as he supposed, the ordeal of his captivity. But an old squaw, dissatisfied with his easy escape, walked up behind, struck a tomahawk into his shoulder, and left him. The sisters were then ordered to run, but they refused, begging to be tomahawked where they sat. This conduct on their part probably made the sentence upon the whole family more severe. At a consultation of the chiefs and warriors it was decided to hold the prisoners as slaves. They were taken to Canada, where a British trader paid their ransom. Mr. Knapp afterwards became acquainted with these persons and knew them well. They settled in northern Kentucky. He obtained from them a minute description of the bends of the river, the lay of the ground, and the surrounding hills, from which he was enabled to locate the gauntlet track. According to the description, the lines of the savages extended from the site of the

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History of Sandusky County Ohio with Illustrations 1882, Part 5

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