USA > Ohio > History of the Upper Ohio Valley, with family history and biographical sketches, a statement of its resources, industrial growth and commercial advantages, Vol. I > Part 13
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In the beginning of the year 1785 and especially in the spring of that year, the settlers on the frontiers were again seriously menaced by the Indians, who had commenced their incursions much earlier than it was customary for them to do. Many of the settlers with their families resorted to the fort at Wheeling, and the private forts above
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and below, for greater protection. Others, however, remained on their clearings, prepared at the first alarm to vacate them.
It was in the spring of this year that two boys went out one morn- ing for the purpose of catching horses which were needed at the fort (Shepherd's). One of these boys was John Wetzel, aged about sixteen or seventeen years, the son of John Wetzel, Sr., whose clearing was in Marshall county, and a brother of the celebrated Lewis Wetzel. The other was a lad slightly younger than John Wetzel, his companion. One of the animals they were instructed to catch and bring in, be- longed to a sister of young Wetzel, and was a mare with a young foal. This foal she had given to her brother sometime prior to this. While engaged in the search for the horses they ran into the midst of a party of Indians who had captured the horses, and placed them in a thicket, expecting that the sound of their bells would attract the at- tention of their owners, whom they could then easily capture and take their scalps.
The boys were attracted by the tinkle of the bells to the place where the Indians lay concealed, rejoicing that they had experienced so little difficulty in finding the horses, when they were at once seized by the rascals. John, however, made some resistance and had suc- ceeded in breaking away from his captor and was making his escape when he was shot through the arm by one of the savages and re-taken.
They directed their course toward the Ohio river. The compan- ion of John indulged in such grievous crying and was so loud in his lamentations and groanings, that the Indians tomahawked him and left his body where it had fallen. This was not the first time John had been taken a prisoner by the savages. Once before he had been captured, but succeeded in making his escape. Notwithstanding he suffered severe pain from his wounded arm, he kept up his spirits, and wore an air of cheerfulness and satisfaction, which was appar- ently approved of by his captors. About noon of the same day they reached the river at a point near the mouth of Grave creek, and but a short distance from the cabin of Mr. Tomlinson, which, at the time, was deserted on account of the unsettled and threatening condition of affairs along the border, he, with his family, having removed to Wheeling for the time being. Here finding some of Tomlinson's hogs straying about, they killed one of them, putting it into a canoe which they had secreted after crossing the river on the occasion of their raid into Virginia. Three of the Indians, together with their prisoner, got into the canoe, while the other Indians engaged in swim- ming the stolen horses over the river. That day three individuals, viz .: Isaac Williams, Hamilton Carr and a German by the name of Jacob, were looking after the stock left at the deserted settlement, having come down from Wheeling on that business.
While at the mouth of Little Grave creek, about a mile distant, they heard the report of a rifle. Williams exclaimed on the instant, " Dod rot 'em, a Kaintuck boat has landed down there at the creek and the crew are shooting my hogs." Quickening their steps, they
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hurried along and in a few minutes reached the vicinity of the creek, when they heard the whinnying of a horse. Carr, who was a much younger and more active man than Williams, was some distance in advance, and reached the bank first, and looking down the creek he saw three Indians in a canoe, one in the stern, one in the middle and one in the bow of the vessel. On the bottow of the canoe were four rifles and a dead hog. A fourth Indian was swimming a horse across the river not very far from the shore. The Indian in the stern of the canoe had just put his paddle into the water to shove the canoe from the creek into the river. As he made this movement Carr drew his rifle to his shoulder and shot the Indian in the stern, who fell overboard into the water. Just as Carr fired, Williams had reached his side, and shot the Indian in the bow of the canoe, who also fell overboard, plunging headlong into the water. Jacob, the German, then came up, and handing his empty rifle to Jacob, took the Ger- man's and shot the third Indian in the middle of the canoe. He also fell overboard, but grasped the side of the canoe as he arose with one of his hands. So astonished was this last Indian at the fate of his two companions, that in his dazed condition, he never moved to take up one of the rifles which lay in the bottom of the canoe, in his de- fense. The canoe was now caught by the current and carried out into the river, and had floated some distance below the mouth of the creek. Carr having observed another person lying in the bottom of the canoe, loaded his gun, raised it and was about to fire, when the recumbent individual arose and cried out, " Don't shoot, I'm a white man." He was told to loosen the hold of the Indian's hand to the side of the canoe. He replied that he could not as his arm was broken. The current bore the canoe near to some rocks, not far from the shore, on which he jumped, and from which he waded to land. Carr now took a shot at the Indian on horseback, who by this time, was more than a third of the way across the river. The shot struck near his person, splashing the water over him. Seeing the fate of his companions, and recognizing the fact that his life was at stake, he slipped from the back of the horse and bravely swam toward the abandoned canoe in which were the four rifles. The white men were on the upper side of the creek now and the canoe was below the creek. To cross the creek the white men would have to go some distance up to find a fording place, which would consume time and this was in his favor. He therefore succeeded in gaining possession of the canoe, crossed to the opposite side of the river, mounted the horse which had gained the opposite shore, and with a wild whoop and a yell of defiant anger, made his escape into the for- est. The canoe was turned adrift by him and was not taken up until it had floated 200 miles below the scene where this affair occurred. When found, the dead hog was still in it, the shooting of which had led to their discovery, and was the cause of the misfortunes which at- tended them.
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CHAPTER VI.
PREDATORY INCURSIONS OF THE INDIANS -THE CAPTURE AND RELEASE OF MRS. GLASS -THE CAPTURE OF HENRY BAKER -A REMINISCENCE OF PIONEER LIFE - AN ATTACK UPON A HUNTING PARTY -AN ATRO- CIOUS MURDER -THE ATTACK ON KIRKWOOD'S CABIN -A TIMELY WARNING - THE KILLING OF GRINDSTAFF-THE CAPTURE OF THE CROW GIRLS-MEMORIAL OF THE INHABITANTS OF MIDDLE WHEELING -LETTER OF COL. SHEPHERD-THE DEATH OF PARRON THE SCOUT - ESCAPE OF CUPPY -JOSHUA MEEK THE SCOUT -THREE HUNTERS WAYLAID AND KILLED -THE LAST BATTLE BETWEEN THE WHITES AND INDIANS IN THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY.
HE TREATY of peace entered into between the mother country and the colonies which ended the war of our revo- lution having withdrawn the aid of their English allies, the Indians were less able to carry on the bold and open warfare in which they had been engaged for so many years past. Yet while this was the case it did not put an end to the har- assments by them of the whites on every occasion which pre- sented itself. That section of the country -the borders- now began to develop more rapidly and population began to increase since the cessation of hostilities between Great Britain and the United States. The Indians in their incursions now rather sought plunder than to take human life, and although individuals sometimes were sacrificed by them yet this was not of frequent occurrence. At long intervals the people of the upper portion of northwestern Virginia would be startled by some blood curdling episode perpetrated on in- dividuals, or the capture of some settler. But so far as organized at- tacks by large bodies of Indians were concerned, there were none such that we have been able to discover. There were bands number- ing from two to twenty, perhaps, who roamed about at times in the vi- cinity of the settlement, seeking opportunities to steal, and the mur- ders which they perpetrated were rather exceptional than otherwise. There were some, of course, whose bloodthirsty natures could only be appeased by the taking of human life.
In the early spring of 1789 two Indians suddenly appeared at the cabin of a Mr. Glass, who resided in that part of Ohio county, now Brooke county, the first discovery of whom was made by a negro woman, who, in great terror, ran into the cabin where Mrs. Glass was engaged in spinning, exclaiming-" Indians! Indians!" Mrs. Glass jumped up from the spinning wheel and running to the door, there met an Indian with gun presented at her. She grasped the muzzle,
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pushing it to one side, and plead with him not to kill her. Walking into the house he was joined by the other Indian who had the negro ivoman and her boy about four or five years of age. Selecting some articles of clothing, they departed with their prisoners - Mrs. Glass and her little boy two years of age, the negro woman and her boy, and her infant child. They had not gone very far before they stopped and consulted together, and from their gestures and their pointing towards the children, inferred that they were deliberating about them; whereupon she placed her little boy in front of them and asked that his life might be spared, and added: "He will make a fine Indian chief after a while." By a motion they waved her to one side, when one of the Indians struck the negro boy on the head with the pipe end of his tomahawk, knocking him to the ground, and with the edge gave him a blow across the back of the neck, and then scalped and left him.
They reached the river about a mile above the creek and pulled a sunken canoe out of the river, which they had concealed there, and after emptying it of water, got into it and paddled down to the mouth of Rush run, a small steam which flowed into the Ohio about five miles from Wellsburg on the Indian side of the river, where they landed at the mouth of that stream and went up the run and en- camped for the night. During the entire night the black woman la- mented in an audible manner the killing of her child, which so aggravated the Indians that they threatened if she did not cease her mourning that they would dispatch her. In the early morning they hurried their prisoners away and in the . early afternoon halted on Shoat creek, about twenty or twenty-five miles from the mouth of Rush run. Here there was a depot of articles which they had carried away from Van Metre's, whose family they had so ruthlessly murdered. This plunder they had deposited in the hollow of a tree. Before this the same spot had been used by them as an encampment. There were a num- ber of sugar trees here and they started a fire and put on a kettle in which they placed a turkey which had been killed on the way. Tap- ping the sugar trees they filled the kettle with sugar water, in which they placed the turkey and proceeded to boil it.
At the time of the appearance of the Indians at his cabin Mr. Glass was absent, and with a companion, was working in a field distant about a half mile from his cabin, and knew nothing of what had trans- pired there until his return to his home at the noon hour. Unable to account for the absence of his family he visited several cabins in search of them, but not finding them, he then visited Wells' fort, where he secured ten men to accompany him in quest of them, and reaching the bottom on which the town of Wellsburg now stands, re- mained there during the night. Early on the following morning they started in pursuit and discovered signs of Indians and their tracks at the spot where they had embarked. The track of his wife was dis- covered by Mr. Glass from the impression of her shoe, the print of its high heel identifying it.
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Crossing the river they followed down the shore until they came to the mouth of the run, up which the Indians with their prisoners had encamped, but discovering no signs of Indians, some of the party con- cluded that they would continue by water to the mouth of the Mus- kingum, and proposed to turn back. The importunity of Mr. Glass, however, prevailed upon them to go as far as the mouth of Short creek, which was but a few miles distant. Upon reaching the mouth of Rush run they found the canoe of the Indians. This was known by a proof which showed the sagacity of Mrs. Glass. One of the Indians had taken from the cabin several papers belonging to that person. As they were on their way down the river he had thrown these into the stream, and some of them were picked up by Mrs. Glass, who, under the pretense of giving them to her child to amuse himself with, dropped them on the bottom of the canoe. These dumb witnesses gave evidence that they were on the right track, and searching the ground in the neighborhood they soon discovered the trail of the sav- ages. Within an hour or two after they had halted Glass and his companions came within sight of their camp. Their object was now to save the lives of the prisoners by making a sudden attack, and by surprising them, thus preventing them from killing their captives. With this view they stealthily approached the camp and concealed themselves until they had succeeded in reaching within a few yards of it. The son of Mrs. Glass had stepped to one side and was at- tempting unsuccessfully to pour the water from one of the sugar troughs, when the mother perceiving his inability to do so had gone to his assistance. The negro woman was sitting apart from the two Indians, who were curiously examining a garment which they had stolen. Suddenly dropping the garment they turned their gaze in the direction where the whites were lying awaiting a favorable opportun- ity to attack them, who supposing they were discovered, at once dis- charged several of their guns and rushed upon them, at the same time shouting at the top of their voices. One of the Indians appeared to have been wounded as he fell, at the same time dropping his gun and shot pouch. Recovering his feet, he ran a short distance when a sec- ond shot was fired at him which brought him to his hands and knees. But the pursuit was not continued, as there was another encampment not far distant, where were a number of Indians, and as they accom- plished their purpose, in obtaining possession of the captives, they at once started on their return, and reached the fort at Beech Bottom that evening. At the first fire the other Indian who had run a short distance beyond Mrs. Glass, thus placing her in a direct line between him and the whites, halted for a second to put on his shot pouch, which Mr. Glass mistook for an attempt to kill his wife by tomahawk- ing her. His life was saved because the whites could not shoot at him without endangering the life of the woman. The foregoing, we believe, is in main the correct account of this episode.
Sometime in the "eighties" information was received by James Marshall, lieutenant commandant of Washington county, Penn., of an apprehended attack by the Indians on Fort Henry. What foundation
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there was for this report, whether well or ill founded, we have been un- able to ascertain. At all events Col. Marshall deemed it sufficiently authentic to justify him in communicating the information to the mili- tary authorities of Ohio county, and accordingly dispatched Henry Baker, Lewis Yoho and one Stalnaker, to warn them.
Proceeding on their mission they had succeeded in reaching a point near the mouth of Woods run, about two miles from the Wheeling, when they were intercepted by a party of Indians who were lying in ambush, who fired upon them, killing Stalnaker. Baker's horse was shot and as it fell imprisoned the leg of Baker, by falling upon it, he being unable to disengage his foot from the stirrup, and he was captured. Baker had returned the fire of the Indians and killed a brother of the chief. Yoho succeeded in effecting his escape. The savages, indignant at the killing of one of their number, sought to slay Baker, and would have done so had not the old chief interfered and prevented them, who claimed him as his prisoner. This chief spoke broken English. Baker was carried by them to Chippewa Plains, where they proposed to put him to the torture and then burn him. The Indians in one of their raids some short time prior to this had captured nine Kentuckians. A council was held by them to decide on the fate of their prisoners and it was resolved that they should be burned one on each successive day until the whole of them were dis- . posed of, reserving Baker to the last because he was the youngest. The fearful programme was strictly followed, and each day Baker saw one of the Kentuckians led to the stake where he suffered the most horrible tortures which Indian ingenuity could invent, while the flames kindled upon him, the Indians the meanwhile dancing and yelling around their doomed and helpless victim as the flames leaped with angry tongues over his body and licked the roasting flesh from his bones. Thus day by day he was reminded of his own end. His day at last arrived and he was required to prepare himself for death. As he was being led forward to the fatal stake, he saw in the distance a horseman advancing at a rapid speed, who, as he drew near he dis- covered was a white man, and although it was not until he arrived upon the scene that he identified him, yet his despairing heart for no other reason than he was a white man, began to have a faint hope that through his instrumentality he might be relieved from his peril- ous situation. Hence he lingered and held back and as far as possi- ble delayed until the arrival of the horseman. It proved to be none other than Simon Girty. Baker was well acquainted with him, having frequently met him, and Girty was well acquainted with Baker. On recognizing the prisoner, Girty at once interposed in his behalf and for an hour he used all the power of eloquence and argu- ment at his command to save the life of the captive. Nor did his efforts prove to be in vain as his influence preserved his life. After Baker was released he questioned him closely concerning points on the border and in particular about Wheeling fort, its condition, its means of defense and who was in command there, and endeavored to obtain from him such information as would prove to be most useful
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and important. Baker was retained by the savages as a captive about one year, when again owing to the influence of Girty he was sent to the English commandant at Detroit where he was retained for two years longer, when he was set free and permitted to return, making his way from Detroit to Wheeling on foot. On the occasion of his re- turn a number of the settlers from the Virginia side of the river were gathered on the island engaged in making sugar. As Baker was spied in the distance approaching, clad in his Indian costume, the alarm was given that the Indians were upon them, and without stop- ping to investigate they at once fled to their canoes and made for the op- posite side of the river arousing the inmates of the fort by the same alarming intelligence. In the meantime Baker had come down to the shore of the island and was endeavoring to reassure those on the op- posite side by calling to them to come over and help him, that he was a white man who had been a prisoner at Detroit and was returning to his friends. Convinced of their mistake, they responded to his ap- peals and several persons at once went to his aid. He died in the year 1847 or 1848 at his home opposite the head of Captina Island, at the extreme old age of one hundred years, leaving surviving him six children-two girls and four boys, all of whom are deceased at this time.
The following occurrence in chronological order was omitted in its proper place and is inserted here for the purpose of preserving a local traditional reminiscence of life upon the border in the early days of which we write. It was written by Dr. J. C. Hupp, of the city of Wheeling, W. Va., and is a thrilling account of one of those attacks which so often and so suddenly overtook the pioneer in his infant set- tlement:
"In the spring of 1782 Indian hostilities commenced much earlier than usual along the western frontier. As early as the month of March hordes of savages were ascertained to have crossed the Ohio and were making their way into the settlements. The settlers thus threatened with the massacres, plunderings and captivities with which they had already become too familiar, were filled with spirit stirring excitement, commingled with alarm. In this predicament of apprehension and danger, the settlers along the Buffalo valley be- took themselves with their families to the forts and block houses. About three miles northeast of West Alexander, Washington Co., Penn., on the right bank of the "Dutch fork " of Buffalo, is a penin- sula formed by the meandering creek on the one side and Miller's run on the other. The isthmus next to the run is skirted by a narrow strip of bottom land which expands to many acres towards the creek and its confluence with the run. The side of the isthmus washed by the creek has a bold and precipitous bluff. On this isthmus was lo- cated .Miller's block house* which was besieged by a party of about seventy Shawnees on Easter Sunday, 1782.
* Miller's block house stood on land now owned by William Miller, Esq., about midway between his residence and the " Old Graveyard." Here, too, is the perpetual spring now in use by the fourth Miller generation, from which this beleaguered block house received its supply of water.
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"With their characteristic cunning and caution the Indians arrived in the vicinity the night previous, distributing themselves in ambush around the block house and along the paths leading thereto. Thus, lying concealed among the bushes or 'pea vines,' behind trees or fallen timber, they awaited the operation of circumstances. Nearly all the men were absent from the block house on this occasion; some of them being at Rice's fort, which was about two miles further down the creek. Of this fact the Indians most likely were apprised, and on this account the attack on the block house is supposed to have been deferred and the ambush protracted in order to destroy the men on their return hither.
"Of those who were in this rude shelter on that fatal Sabbath morn- ing were: John Hupp's wife and children, Mary, Margaret, John and Elizabeth; Jacob Miller and several of his family; the family of Ed- ward Gaither, and an old man named Mathias Ault. The devotional morning appeal had ascended with its wonted fervor to the Father of Mercies for preservation and protection. The sun had appeared above the eastern hills tinging with its feeble rays the summits of the lofty trees of the dense forest that surrounded this primitive place of de- fense. The quietude of the woods was undisturbed save by the occa- sional chirp of the wooded songster carrolling his morning anthem One of the matrons of the block house had fearful forebodings that some terrible calamity was about to befall her husband, and followed him to the door entreating him not to carry into execution his deter- mination to accompany his friend on that morning in search of a colt that had estrayed. The night previous she had dreamed that a 'cop- per' snake struck, fastening its fangs in the palm of her husband's hand, and that all her efforts to detach the venomous reptile were un- availing. This vision she interpreted as ominous of evil to her hus- band. But, notwithstanding his wife, John Hupp set out in company with his friend, Jacob Miller, in search of the estray.
"They entered the path leading across the run and through the woods in a northeasterly direction and were soon out of view. Soon the quietude of the woods was disturbed by the crack of a rifle, quickly followed by a savage war whoop issuing from that part of the forest in which Hupp and Miller had entered. This alarm filled the minds of the women with consternation and apprehensions as to their fate. But Hupp being in the prime and vigor of manhood, fleet and athletic, if merely overpowered by numbers, his prompt return to the block house was confidently expected. But he had fallen a victim to the foe that lay concealed, patiently awaiting the approach of some ill- fated person.
"The two unsuspecting men were allowed to follow the ambush path unmolested until they reached the second little ravine on land now owned by William Miller, Esq. Here, from his concealment behind fallen timber, a savage fired upon Hupp, wounding him mortally; he, how- ever, after he was shot, ran sixty or seventy yards to rise no more. Miller, being an elderly man, was boldly rushed upon by the merciless wretches with loud and exultant yells, and tomahawked on the spot.
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