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 14
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HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY.
Flushed with success the savages now left their hapless victims scalped and pilfered of all clothing, to join in the beleaguering of the block house. While this tragic scene was being enacted the wild excitement and confusion amongst the women and children in the block house, with no male defender but the old man Ault, can be more readily imag- ined than described.
"But at this trying moment Providence panoplied a female hero with courage sufficiently unfaltering for the dire emergency, in the person of Mrs. Ann Hupp. Having now realized the dread forebod- ings of her vision, and shaking off the shackles of despondency, she turned to calm the moral whirlwind that was raging amongst the fran- tic women and children, to inspire them with hope and to rally the only male defender. She, in the meantime, had deputed Frederick Miller, an active lad, aged about eleven years, as messenger to Rice's fort for aid. But in this strategy she was foiled. For the lad had gone willingly and heroically only a few hundred yards down the pen- insula on his dangerous embassy when he was interrupted by the In- dians. Retracing his steps, he was pursued by two ferocious Indians with hideous yells and uplifted tomahawks.
"This frightful race for life was witnessed from the block house with anxiety most intense. Every moment it seemed as though the lad would fall with cloven skull beneath the deadly stroke of one or the other of the two blood-thirsty pursuers, each vieing with the other which should strike the fatal blow. A fence had to be scaled by the boy without a blunder, or death-certain, instant death-was his doom. Summoning all his boyhood and failing strength he leaped the barrier, touching it merely with his hand as the foremost Indian's tomahawk struck the rail, accompanied by a yell of disappointment, when both Indians fired at him. One of the balls took effect and passed through the flexed arm, shattering the bones both above the elbow and between the joint and the wrist, whirling the lad around several times. Now subdued shrieks of terror commingled with joy were heard in the block house as the female hero, who sent out the boy embassador, received him in her arms as he bounded to the door, exhausted from the race and the loss of blood. At this moment the Indians, leaping from their concealment, appeared in every direction around the block house, and a hot and continuous firing was com- menced. The female band, with the now trembling and weeping Ault as their counsellor, in despair and anguish were forced to the conclu- sion that the block house would soon be taken by storm or envelope them in its flames, and with no hope of successful resistance was about to 'give up.'
"Again in this crisis of terrible trial and danger, Mrs. Ann Hupp proved equal to the emergency. Encouraging the trembling Ault and the weeping women with the consoling language of hope-nerving her arm and steeling her heart to the severe duties of the moment, she, with true Spartan courage, snatching up a rifle, fired at the ap- proaching Indians, and then 'ran from port hole to port hole' protrud-
8-A.
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ing its muzzle in different directions-to convey the idea of great forces in the house- at each presentation, causing Indians to cower behind trees or other objects for protection. This happily conceived and promptly executed strategy of this pioneer heroine, without doubt, saved the handful of women and children from what otherwise was inevitable-a wholesale massacre.
"A party of the Indians had taken shelter behind a stable that stood not far from the block house. Emboldened by their firing not being promptly returned, one of them would occasionally step out to view, holding up before himself, as a shield, a clapboard, and then quickly retreat again to his shelter. At length, he stepped out boldly into an open space, defiantly stretching his giant frame high in the air, at which Ault was prevailed upon to fire, but probably without doing any harm. This exasperated the besieging foe, causing the assault to become still more terrible. At this state of the siege the women saw and recognized three of their men approaching in great haste from the direction of Rice's fort, when they commenced screaming at the top of their voices and beckoning the men in the direction they supposed to be the safest point to pass the Indians in gaining the block house. While the Indians stood in confusion and wonderment, not comprehending the meaning of the screams, the men rushed for- ward, passing very near to where some of the savages stood, and be- fore the Indians sufficiently recovered from their surprise to fire upon them, with faces red and turgid from their race, bounded into the block house unscathed.
"The names of these three daring spirits, who periled their lives to save their helpless mothers, brothers and sisters, from savage fury, or perish with them, were Jacob Rowe, Capt. John Miller and Philip Hupp. After the arrival of these men the boldness and fury of the Indians abated, and during the remainder of the day only occasional shots were exchanged. Evidently, filled with chagrin and disappoint- ment, they skulked about the neighborhood till night fall, and noth- ing more was heard of them, they, no doubt, fearing a re-inforcement, left during the night, bearing away with them only the scalps of Hupp and Miller.
" The loss to the neighborhood of these two men was severely felt at a time when men were so much needed; but all hearts in that block house were overflowing with thanks and gratitude to a kind and mer- ciful Preserver for vouchsafing to them His aid and protection when their great and terror-filling peril was impending for saving them from the ruthless hands of the merciless savages. About noon on
* After the loss of her husband Mrs. Hupp and her children, in accordance with her own wish, were taken by her brother-in-law to his cabin on the bank of the Monongahela, near where the village of Mills- borough now stands, where they remained about four years, and returned to Buffalo where she contracted a second marriage with John May, and subsequently Benjamin, Ann and George were added to the family as before enumerated. She died on the 28th day of June, 1823, in the sixty-sixth year of her age. Two of her children, George May and Mrs. Elizabeth Rogers, still survive, the former residing in Nebraska, the latter on Buffalo ereek, who having seen the pioneer heroes and heroines of their youth one by one gathered to their fathers, they now stand the last of a raee who learned from their lips these thrilling inei- dents of pioneer life.
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Monday the men ventured out from the block house, going sadly and cautiously in search of Hupp and Miller, with the purpose of per- forming for them the last sad rites of the dear departed. They found the body of Miller lying near the bloody path, and following the traces of blood on the leaves and other objects over which Hupp had run, after he received his mortal wound, his remains were promptly recovered.
"Their mutilated and frozen bodies were borne to the peninsula and laid side by side a few yards from the block house in the same grave, with 'puncheons' for their coffins, and to-day are lying clus- tered about the graves of those two pioneer martyrs, the remains of Jacob Rowe, + Capt. John Jacob Miller, Frederick Miller,} the heroine, Mrs. Ann Hupp and her daughter, Mrs. Margaret Titus. When living, the cement and panoply of affection and good-will bound them together in the tender, natal, social and moral ties of domestic kind- ness, friendship and love, and the union for defense, and when dead they were not separated."
The following account, of an attack by the savages on a party who had gone to Fishing creek on a hunting expedition for elk, was ob- tained from one of the descendants of the Crow family who is now residing on the same farm on Big Wheeling creek, which has been occupied by the family and their descendants for more than a century.
In the month of August in the year 1789, Frederick, Martin and John Crow, together with a man by the name of Davis, left their homes on Big Wheeling creek, for the purpose of killing elk. Having reached their destination on Fishing creek they went into camp. On the evening of the second day, as Frederick and Martin, who had been out in search of game during the day, were returning to camp and had nearly reached it, they were suddenly attacked by Indians and fired upon from the rear of the camp, which was built after the fashion of the old style sugar house. Frederick was shot in the left breast, the ball passing through his arm and severing the artery near the shoulder. At the same time Martin had a portion of one of his
t Jacob Rowe being about ten years old in the fall of 1776, when, in company with his mother and three brothers and his father, Adam Rowe, on their way to Kentucky, made a hair-breadth escape from the Indians at a point not far from the mouth of Grave creek. Here the little party was attacked by a band of marauding savages, who killed Mrs. Rowe and her eldest son, and captured Daniel, the youngest son. Jacob escaped by running into a thicket of willows near at hand, when closely pursued by a large muscular Indian who had his little brother Daniel a captive on his back -and this is the last ac- count ever heard of the captive boy. After his escape, Jacob, trembling with fear, traveled all the day stealthily through the wild and dense woods, along the deep and dark hollows, and over the precipitous hills lying in his way back to Buffalo, and when night-fall overtook him with all its hideousness in the midst of the deep woods, he, 'overcome with fright, fatigue and hunger, nestled himself down among the leaves at the root of a fallen tree for the night. (He died of a throat affection, which, without doubt, was founded on that cold, dread and dreary November night.) The next day he arrived at Buffalo, and was received into the arms of his sister. Mrs. Ann Hupp, to whom the weeping lad related the tragic scenes he had witnessed on the previous morning. Adam Rowe, and his son Adam, also returned to the neigh- borhood, and afterward emigrated to Kentucky, and Jacob remained with his sister and was her survivor some three or four years.
# Frederick and Capt. John Jacob were sons of the unfortunate Jacob Miller. Frederick died on the 27th day of March, 1814, aged forty-three years, and Capt. John Jacob died August 20, 1830, aged nearly sixty-eight years.
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HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY.
ears shot away. Frederick being seriously wounded and bleeding profusely, had started to run, being closely pursued by the savages. He ran a distance of some three or four hundred yards when, looking back, he found that his pursuers were rapidly gaining upon him. Without hesitation, for he had no time to deliberate, he plunged into the waters of the creek, which were about waist deep, and waded across to the opposite bank. Instead of following him through the creek at once, they paused for a moment on the brink of the bank near the spot where he had entered the waters. On reaching the op- posite bank he looked back to see whether they were following him, when one of the savages hurled his tomahawk at him, which, fortun- ately, missed him, although it came in unpleasant proximity to his head. Their guns having been emptied at the time of the attack, in their haste to follow him in his retreatthey had had no opportunity to re-load. During their brief pause, however, one of his pursuers had reloaded his gun. They promptly re-commenced their pursuit, fol- lowing him up the stream, the side of which he closely hugged, to a long point extending out from the south side of the creek, with which they were familiar, and where they expected to succeed in cutting "him off and effecting his capture. This, however, proved to be unsuccessful.
As the wounded man ran, he placed the leaves of the sassafras, which grew in abundance in the neighborhood, with which he filled his mouth, and chewed them into a mucilage and pressed them into his wound, thereby staunching the flow of blood, the free loss of which was beginning to enfeeble and exhaust him. Upon turning again to look back upon his pursuers he discovered a savage with his gun to his shoulder taking aim and in the act of firing at him, but he eluded the deadly messenger by quickly throwing himself upon the ground, and the shot passed over him. At once jumping to his feet he gathered up his rifle, and realizing that it was a race for life he bent all his energies to the occasion, and in the rapidly gathering darkness which was settling down upon the scene he succeeded in eluding his pursuers and making good his escape.
Frederick and his companions, at their first setting out, had agreed upon certain signals to be used by them in case of emergency - such as the hooting of an owl or the howling of a wolf, by means of which in no long time they discovered the whereabouts of each other, and in company made their return to their homes, with the exception of John. It is supposed that this latter person, being absent at the time of the attack, on hearing the firing at once hastened back to the camp to render assistance if needed, and in so doing became a target for the Indians, as it was afterward found that five musket balls had entered his breast, which were so close together that they could be covered with the palm of an ordinary-sized hand. He must have been instantly killed. He was buried on the third day after he was killed, near the fatal spot where he fell, by a party of his neighbors who had gone out in search of him, under a large beech tree, which served the
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HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY.
purpose of his monument and on which, in rude letters, was cut his name, age, and date of his death.
One of the most atrocious murders perpetrated by the savages in Ohio county, was that on the family of a Mr. Purdy or Prudy, which of the two names being the correct one, is uncertain. He, with his wife and four children, had but lately settled near Wheeling. Per- haps it was a year or more since any Indians had appeared within that distance of the settlement of Wheeling, and a degree of con- fidence prevailed which led to the belief that they had entirely aban- doned that section of the country. This caused a feeling of security which induced the exercise of less caution than would have been the case under other circumstances.
In the spring of this year, just after dark one night, four or five Indians suddenly forced their way into the cabin of the unsuspecting family and mercilessly butchered the head and husband of the fam- ily, attacking the wife and mother whom they left lying senseless, tomahawking a boy and dashing out the brains of another: Two daughters were made prisoners and carried away. After plundering the house they hastily quitted the neighborhood and made with all possible speed for the Ohio, which they crossed and successfully ef- fected their retreat. Mrs. Purdy or Prudy, who had not been fatally hurt by the blow which had been dealt her, but only stunned, soon recovered from its effects, but fearing that the Indians were still in the vicinity, secreted herself until morning in a thicket, when she went into the settlement at Wheeling and gave information of the occurrence, but too late to pursue the murderers. The girls were re- tained by the Indians for a period of ten or twelve years, when they were released. This occurrence took place in the spring of 1790.
A few years after the close of the Revolutionary war, Capt. Robert Kirkwood, of the Delaware line, and who had been aid-de-camp to Gen. Washington, settled near the mouth of Indian run on the west side of the Ohio river in what is now Belmont county, Ohio, opposite to Wheeling. He here built a cabin and cleared the ground, and com- menced farming. About a year after his arrival he began the erec- tion of a block house, but before it was completed in the early spring of the year 1791, a large body of Indians attacked his cabin. At the time Capt. Kirkwood was absent in the east, but on this occasion Capt. Joseph Biggs with a company of his scouts was in the cabin, together with several persons who were sheltering there.
Early in the morning Capt. Biggs arose and went to the outside of the cabin, stretched himself for a brief space and returning, closed the large oaken door, and without any well-defined purpose in his mind for so doing, barricaded the door to make it more secure. ke- turning to his bed, in a few minutes he was startled by the familiar Indian yell, acompanied by their efforts to burst in the door, which they were trying to accomplish by a furious assault upon it with rails, logs and tomahawks. The lights in the cabin had all been extin- guished and Biggs so stationed his men as to fire upon the savages from every point. The night being clear and the moon full the be-
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sieged had the advantage of the besiegers, as they could plainly see any movements upon the part of the Indians, while they themselves were concealed from view. While Capt. Biggs was standing near one of the windows of the cabin watching the movements of the savages, one of them unobserved by Biggs had stolen close along the side of the building and suddenly thrust his rifle through the window where he was standing and shot the captain in his arm just below his shoul- der. Notwithstanding the serious character of the wound, he con- cealed the fact and did not make it known until day-light.
All attempts at battering down the door having failed, they next had recourse to fire and succeeded in setting the roof in a blaze. While the captain and the inmates were pushing off the burning roof, the Indians under the cover of the unfinished block house, opened upon them with a fierce fire. But the whites succeeded in pushing off the blaz- ing roof. This aroused the fury of the Indians, and they made re- newed efforts to burn the cabin by piling brush and dry wood against the sides of the building, which they fired. But with cautious perse- verance they succceeded in extinguishing the flames, which at times threatened them with dire destruction. To accomplish this, they used water, milk and other liquids, and in their state of almost hopeless despair, the damp earth was dug up from the cabin floor and thrown upon the burning piles of brush and wood.
The rapid exchange of shots aroused the people of Wheeling, who commenced firing their swivel gun, the heavy boom of which was echoed by the surrounding hills. This gave the besieged heart and they were encouraged by the hope of succor. The savages became disheartened, knowing full well what it betokened and promptly gathered up their wounded and disappeared. Five of the white were severely wounded, one of them mortally. They were Capt. Joseph Biggs, John Walker, Elijah Hedges, John Barrett and Joseph Van Metre. Walker, who had been shot through the hip during the fight, died the next day, having been taken to the residence of Col. Zane at Wheeling, where he died and was buried in the old cemetery, which at the time occupied the site of the present residence of Mr. George K. Wheat, on Main street, in the city of Wheeling.
In the cabin at the time of the siege was a man by the name of James Simpson, who had emigrated to the west in 1783, and settled in Washington county, Penn .; Kirkwood, who had been a neighbor of his in Delaware and also a comrade in arms during the war of the revolution, learning that he was residing in Washington county, urged him to come and see him and he would give him all the land he wanted if he would only settle near him on that side of the river. At his urgent solicitation Simpson went, but on his arrival found that Kirkwood was absent, but concluded to stay that night and the next day set out on his return journey to his home. That night the cabin was attacked. After the experience he passed through on that occasion he concluded that he would not settle there for all the land on that side of the river.
A singular incident connected with this affair of the attack on
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Kirkwood's cabin is related, concerning a niece of his, who lived at a distance of something like twenty miles from the scene of the occur- rence. She dreamed that her uncle's cabin was in flames, and the im- pression produced upon her mind was so deep and lasting that she visited the scene to assure herself of its truth or falsity. She arrived a few hours after the departure of the Indians to find her dream fully verified. A short time after his return Kirkwood joined the army of Gen. St. Clair in the expedition against the Indians, and was present at the overwhelming defeat of that officer, falling in a bayonet charge against the enemy.
In the summer of this year a band of Indians entered the cabin of a man by the name of Martin, who was located on a clearing near Wheeling, and, after murdering him and his family, set fire to the cabin and departed. When the news of the murder reached Wheel- ing, a party composed of eight or ten men, commanded by one How- ser (a private in Captain Grant's company) left in pursuit of the Indians. They had traveled a distance of some six or eight miles through the forest without discovering any signs of the marauders, and were about returning when Howser's attention was attracted by the sight of an Indian girl at a little distance from the party, descend- ing a hill in front of them. He promptly halted his men and made signs of peace to the girl to assure her, who approached to within a few rods, and drew from her bosom a small strip of paper and throw- ing it toward them, turned and bounded away into the forest. Howser advanced and picked up the paper and on perusing it found the fol- lowing written caution as if inscribed in great haste: "You must make your escape, the Indians are following after you and are on your trail." After reading this Howser and his men made all dispatch and. hastened their march in the direction of Baker's fort, a few miles be- low Grave creek. Before reaching it they were overtaken and fired upon by the Indians. The suddenness of the attack produced some confusion among them, from which they, however, soon rallied, and made a successful stand by keeping up a well-directed fire which finally caused the Indians to disperse. They then proceeded on their march to Baker's fort, which they reached without further molestation.
On arriving at this place they related the particulars of the skirmish in which they had been engaged, and the notable incident of the ap- pearance of the Indian maid. It was subsequently learned that the note was written by a white man by the name of Watson, who was with the Indians, and by him given to the girl who, under his instruc- tions, proceeded to warn the whites of their danger. It was generally . believed, among those at the time who were cognizant of the affair, that the girl was a daughter of a Delaware chief, friendly to the whites.
Among others who had settled on the waters of Wheeling creek was a worthy family of the name of Grindstaff. The head of it was an industrious and laborious person who, by his energy, had converted a portion of the wilderness into a pleasant home and well-improved farm, it being the same farm now known as the Buchanan farm, situ-
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IIISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY.
ated a few miles above the "forks of Wheeling." When the frequent incursions of the Indians in the neighborhood occurred, he took the , precaution to remove his family to Shepherd's fort for greater secur- ity. He, however, statedly, from time to time, visited his farm to look after his improvements and to exercise a general supervision over his property, but never, on such occasions remained absent from the fort over night. In accordance with his usual custom, he one day set out to visit his improvements, and remained there until late in the after- noon when he started to return to the fort. No indications of the presence of Indians were visible. Shortly after leaving the farm, while on his way to the fort, he was set upon by a party of Indians, who were lying in ambush, by whom he was killed and scalped.
The firing of guns attracted the attention of the inmates of the fort, a portion of whom started out, to discover the cause of the alarm, in the direction from which it proceeded. They had not proceeded far in their search before coming across the body of Grindstaff lying in the trail where he had fallen a victim to the blood-thirsty savages. They took up the body and bore it back to the fort where it was in- terred the following day. The Indians seemed to indulge a special spite against the settlements along Big Wheeling, and took every oppor- tunity to wreak it upon individuals and families living along it. Why this was the case we can only surmise, and the only explanation we can attempt may be found in the fact that it was here where the Wet- zels, Bounetts and Mersers lived, all of whom whom were implacable enemies of their race, and hunted them with relentless perseverance. and energy.
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