USA > Ohio > History of the state of Ohio > Part 20
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HISTORY OF OHIO.
McGary, Mrs. Denton, and Mrs. Hogan, at Boonesborough in September, 1775-the rapid increase of emigration thence- forth-the appointment of George Rogers Clark, and one Gabriel Jones, in June, 1776, at a little Congress assembled in Boonesborough, to represent Kentucky in the Assembly of Virginia-at length, after a year's suspense and appre- hension, excited by occasional outbreaks of Indian hostility, the frightful scenes of 1777, when the Shawanese once more, as in 1774, ravaged the settlements :- this succession of events, although of thrilling interest, we must dismiss with the most cursory allusion.
As we have said, the murder of Cornstalk terminated all uncertainty, and precipitated the savages over the Kentucky and Virginia border. At the close of 1777, only three set- tlements existed in the interior of Kentucky-Harrodsburg, Boonesborough and Logan's-and of these three, the whole military population, did not exceed one hundred and two in number. It was a year of siege, of struggle, of suffering- but the gloomy months elicited some extraordinary instances of heroism and humanity. We read of James Ray, a lad of sixteen, loading an old horse with the game which he shot by day, remote from Harrodsburg, and silently stealing into the besieged fort at night, whence, however, he would again emerge before the next dawn, thus for weeks saving the dis- tressed garrison from starvation-of Benjamin Logan, break- ing from the shelter of a block house, into a tempest of rifle balls, to rescue a wounded comrade who had been surprised by an ambush of savages : and of a journey of four hundred miles, through a wilderness swarming with war parties of Indians, and across the mountains to the settlements, to obtain ammunition for his beleaguered companions, success- fully accomplishing his hazardous errand. Such, and similar
277
SIEGE OF FORT HENRY.
occurrences, which tradition fondly cherishes, are the romance of history.
The month of September witnessed the siege of Wheeling. Here, where the Zanes had settled in 1770, Fort Fincastle (so called from the western county of Virginia,) was estab- lished by Lord Dunmore in 1774. The name was changed in 1776, to Fort Henry, in honor of Patrick Henry, then Governor of Virginia, and this fort was the central point between Fort Pitt and the stockade at the mouth of Ken- hawa. In the early autumn of 1777, Colonel Hand, who commanded at Fort Pitt, was informed that a large body of the northwestern Indians was preparing to attack the posts of the Upper Ohio. On the evening of September 26, smoke was seen by those near Wheeling, down the river, and was supposed to proceed from the burning of the block house at Grave Creek, and the people of the vicinity, taking the alarm, repaired to the fort. Here were assembled forty-two fighting men, well supplied with rifles and muskets, but with a scanty supply of gunpowder. Early on the 27th, two men, who were sent out for horses, for the purpose of alarming neighboring settlements, and had proceeded some distance from the fort, met a party of six savages, by whom one of them was shot. The commandant, Col. Shepherd, learning from the survivor, that there were but six of the assailants, sent a party of fifteen men in pursuit. These were led into an ambush, where, completely surrounded, all but three were killed. Still another band of thirteen men rushed from the fort to the assistance of their comrades, and shared their fate. It was now sunrise, and four hundred Indians, led by Simon Girty, soon invested the fort, which was defended by only twelve men and boys.
Fort Henry stood immediately upon the bank of the Ohio,
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HISTORY OF OHIO.
about a quarter of a mile above the mouth of Wheeling creek. Between it and the steep river hill on the east, were twenty or thirty log huts, which the Indians occupied, and challenged the garrison to surrender. Colonel Shepherd refused, and the attack commenced. From sunrise until noon, the fire on both sides was constant, when that of the assailants slackened. Within the fort, the only alarm was for the want of powder, and then it was remembered that a keg was concealed in the house of Ebenezer Zane, some sixty yards distant. It was determined to make an effort to obtain it, and the question, "Who will go?" was proposed. Then occurred an incident which is related as follows by Mr. G. S. McKiernan, in the American Pioneer :1
" At this crisis, a young lady, the sister of Ebenezer and Silas Zane, came forward and desired that she might be permitted to execute the service. This proposition seemed so extravagant that it met with a peremptory refusal ; but she instantly renewed her petition in terms of redoubled earnestness, and all the remonstrances of the Colonel and her relatives failed to dissuade her from her heroic purpose. It was finally represented to her that either of the young men, on account of his superior fleetness and familiarity with scenes of danger, would be more likely than herself to do the work successfully. She replied that the danger which would attend the enterprise was the identical reason that induced her to offer her services, for, as the garrison was very weak, no soldier's life should be placed in needless jeopardy, and that if she were to fall her loss would not be felt. Her petition was ultimately granted, and the gate opened for her to pass out. The opening of the gate arrested the attention of several Indians who were straggling through
1) Vol. ii., p. 309.
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SIEGE OF FORT HENRY.
the village. It was noticed that their eyes were upon her as she crossed the open space to reach her brother's house ; but seized, perhaps, with a sudden freak of clemency, or believing that a woman's life was not worth a load of gun- powder, or influenced by some other unexplained motive, they permitted her to pass without molestation. When she reäp- peared with the powder in her arms, the Indians, suspecting, no doubt, the character of her burden, elevated their fire- locks and discharged a volley at her as she swiftly glided towards the gate; but the balls all flew wide of the mark, and the fearless girl reached the fort in safety with her prize. The pages of history may furnish a parallel to the noble exploit of Elizabeth Zane, but an instance of greater self- devotion and moral intrepidity is not to be found any- where."2
The assault was resumed with much fierceness, and con- tinued until evening. A party of eighteen or twenty Indians, armed with rails and billets of wood, rushed forward and attempted to force open the gate of the fort, but were repulsed with the loss of six or eight of their number. As darkness set in, the fire of the savages grew weaker, though it was not entirely discontinued until next morning. Soon after nightfall, a considerable party of Indians advanced within sixty yards of the fort, bringing with them a hollow maple log, which they had converted into a cannon by plug- ging up one of its ends with a block of wood. To give it additional strength, a quantity of chains, taken from a black- smith's shop, encompassed it from end to end. It was heavily charged with powder, and then filled to the muzzle with
2) " Elizabeth Zane afterwards lived about two miles above Bridgeport, on the Ohio side of the river, near Martinsville, in Belmont county. She was twice married-first to Mr. Mclaughlin. and, secondly, to Mr. Clark." -Howe's Ohio Historical Collections, 61.
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HISTORY OF OHIO.
pieces of stones, slugs of iron, and such other hard substances as could be found. The cannon was graduated carefully to discharge its contents against the gate of the fort. When the match was applied, it burst into many fragments, and although it made no effect upon the fort, it killed and wounded several of the Indians who stood by to witness its discharge. A loud yell succeeded the failure of this experiment, and the crowd dispersed.
Late in the evening, Francis Duke, a son-in-law of Col. Shepherd, arrived from the forks of Wheeling, and was shot down by the Indians before he could reach the gate of the fort. Early next morning, Col. Swearingen, with fourteen men from Cross creek, and Major Samuel Mccullough, with forty mounted men from Short creek, succeeded in reaching the inclosure, except Major Mccullough himself, who was not permitted to pass the gateway. After a perilous pursuit, Putnam-like, he baffled the Indians, by dashing his horse down an almost perpendicular precipice of one hundred and fifty feet descent, with Wheeling creek at its base, and so made his escape.
After the escape of Major Mccullough, the Indians con- centrated at the foot of the hill, and soon after set fire to all the houses and fences outside of the fort, and killed about three hundred head of cattle belonging to the settlers. They then raised the siege and disappeared.
This band were principally Wyandots, with some Mingoes and Shawanese, and their loss is estimated at from sixty. to one hundred. The total number of Americans killed was twenty-six, and four or five were wounded. During the investiture of the fort, not a man within the walls was killed, and only one slightly wounded.
This attack upon Fort Henry indicates decisively that the
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DELAWARE NEUTRALITY.
Wyandots, Ottawas, Mingoes and Shawanese were engaged in open hostilities against the Americans in the autumn of 1777 ; and about the same time, the Delawares began to waver in their resolution to observe a neutrality. A report was circulated that Col. Hand, who had recently been ap- pointed to the command at Pittsburgh, was about to march, with a body of American troops, to attack Goschocking, the Delaware town at the forks of the Muskingum. Captain Pike's party was immediately on the alert, and he declared that he would join the Wyandots to repel the Americans. Very soon, however, friendly speeches were received from the commandant at Pittsburgh and Col. Morgan, assuring the Delawares that they had nothing to fear. Notwithstand- ing these assurances, the American officers were unable to restrain a party of freebooters from the Ohio settlements, who were proceeding in October to destroy the Delaware towns, when they were encountered by a party of Wyandots, and defeated with great slaughter. It can be readily con- ceived that such an outrage would exasperate the Delawares and make it almost impossible to prevent an offensive alliance with the Wyandots and Shawanese. The war-party increased daily. During the winter of 1777-8, Alexander McKee, Matthew Elliott and Simon Girty3 made their appearance in
3) These names will occur so frequently that some other than incidental notice of them may be expected.
Alexander McKee had been an Indian agent of the British government ; and, when here mentioned, had been permitted to go at large on parol, which he forfeited by leaving Pittsburgh at this time.
Mathew Elliott was an Indian trader, and we first hear of him in 1774, as an envoy to Lord Dunmore from the submissive Shawanese. He continued to traverse the Indian country as a trader, but after the war between England and the colonies, he received a commission as a British captain. He con- cealed this fact, however, and was once taken prisoner by a party of San- dusky warriors, but was of course liberated at Detroit. On his return to Pittsburgh he endeavored to deceive the inhabitants and authorities with 12*
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HISTORY OF OHIO.
the Muskingum towns, with the false intelligence that the English were completely victorious, and that the Americans, driven to the westward, were about to wage an indiscriminate war against the Indians. This redoubled the activity of Captain Pipe, and great consternation prevailed among the Delawares. The peace-chief, White Eyes, saw, with much concern, that an overwhelming majority of his nation, under the influence of McKee and his associates, were resolved upon war, but he did not lose his self-possession. Knowing that his conduct was closely watched by his astute rival, Captain Pipe, White Eyes called a general council of the nation, in which, when assembled, he proposed to delay hos- tilities against the Americans for ten days, in order to obtain further information, either from Tamenend, (Col. Morgan) Col. Gibson, or some other friend. Pipe, thinking that the
regard to his real eharaeter, by boasting of his ingenuity in having pro- eurcd his liberation from the British. In the winter of 1777, McKee and Elliott seemed to have absconded from Pittsburgh, and were theneeforth the avowed emissaries of the Britishi, as we find above.
There were three Girtys-Simon, George and James. They were taken prisoners from Pennsylvania about 1755, and adopted into different tribes. Simon became a Seneca ; and, although a white savage, was not incapable of humane conduct, and was scrupulously exaet in the redemption of his word. James was adopted by the Shawanese, and seems to have been an unmitigated monster. George was adopted by the Delawares, and belonged to that small fragment of the tribes who were constantly engaged in the campaigns against the settlements. The trio were desperate drunkards.
Early in the Revolutionary struggle, the Girtys, like their Indian brethren, were undecided how to act. Even in the summer of 1777, James Girty was the medium of speeches and presents from the Americans, to atone for the murder of Cornstalk; while Simon Girty acted as interpreter for the United States on many occasions. About 1777, however, both brothers had been seduced by the British emissaries, and are known to border tradition as renegades. This is hardly just. They should not be regarded otherwise than as Indians of their respective tribes. Such had been their training- their education. They were white savages-nothing else-and the active partizans of Great Britain for the rest of the century.
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A CRISIS AT COSHOCTON.
moment had arrived to destroy the influence of White Eyes, or "place him in the back ground," as Heckewelder ex- presses it, summoned the warriors together, and proposed " to declare every man an enemy to the nation who should throw an obstacle in the way that might tend to prevent the taking up arms against the American people." White Eyes, seeing the blow aimed against himself, once more assembled his men and told them, "That if they meant in earnest to go out, (as he observed some of them were preparing to do) they should not go without him. He had taken peace meas- ures in order to save the nation from utter destruction. But if they believed that he was in the wrong, and gave more credit to vagabond fugitives, whom he knew to be such, than to himself, who was best acquainted with the real state of things-if they had determined to follow their advice, and go out against the Americans, he would go out with them, but not like the hear hunter, who sets the dogs on the animal to be beaten about with his paws while he keeps at a safe distance. No! he would himself lead them on, place him- self in the front, and be the first who should fall. They only had to determine what they meant to do, for his own mind was fully made up not to survive the nation ; and he would not spend the remainder of a miserable life in bewail- ing the total destruction of a brave people who deserved a better fate."
This spirited address of White Eyes had the desired effect; all declared that they would wait until the ten days were expired, and many added that they never would go to war against the American people unless they had him for a leader.
It so happened that our old friend, John Heckewelder, had been dispatched in February, 1778, by the Moravians of Bethlehem, with instructions to repair to Pittsburgh, and,
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HISTORY OF OHIO.
if possible, to the Muskingum, and ascertain the condition and prospects of the Ohio missionaries and their flocks. He bore a passport from Henry Laurens, the President of Con- gress, and, upon his arrival at Pittsburgh, found the officer in command, Col. Hand, and the Indian agent, Col. Morgan, extremely solicitous lest the machinations of McKee, Elliott and Girty should result in the total alienation of the Dela-
wares. They had sought in vain for a trusty messenger to bear their pacific messages-the risk of death from the numerous war parties of Indians being so imminent. The devoted Heckewelder, "after due consideration during a night," determined to undertake the hazardous journey. He was accompanied, he says, " by a white man, brother John Shabosch, who had married an Indian sister, and whose family resided at Gnadenhutten." We shall continue the narrative of their subsequent adventures in the words of Heckewelder himself :
" Accordingly, in the morning," as his narrative proceeds, "we made known our resolution to Cols. Hand and Gibson, whose best wishes for our success we were assured of, and leaving our baggage behind, and turning a deaf ear to all entreaties of well-meaning friends, who considered us lost if we went, we crossed the Alleghany River, and at eleven o'clock in the night, after the third day, reached Gnaden- hutten, after having several times narrowly escaped falling in with war-parties. Indeed, in one instance, we were en- camped on the Big Beaver, near its mouth, when a party of warriors in that very night were murdering people on Raccoon creek, not many miles distant from where we were, though we were ignorant of the circumstances at that time. We had traveled all day and night, only leaving our horses time to feed. We crossed the Big Beaver, which had overflowed its banks,
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A CRISIS AT COSHOCTON.
on a raft we had made of poles. Other large creeks on the way we swam with our horses-never attempting to kindle a fire, fearing lest we might be discovered by the warriors perceiving the smoke. When arrived within a few miles of Gnadenhutten, we distinctly heard the beat of a drum, and on drawing near, the war-song of an Indian party : all which being in the direction of the town, we naturally concluded that the Christian Indians must have moved off; wherefore we proceeded with caution, lest we should fall into the hands of the warriors. However, the people still there informed us that the war-party consisted of Wyandots from Sandusky, who arrived that evening, and were encamped on the bluff two miles below the town, on the opposite side of the river ; and who probably would the next morning travel along the path we had just come.
"Fatigued as we were, after our journey, and without one hour of sound sleep, I was now requested by the inhabitants of Gnadenhutten, to proceed immediately to Goschoching, about thirty miles distant. At that place, all was trouble and confusion ; and many were preparing to go off to fight the American people, in consequence of the advice given them by McKee, Elliott and Girty ; who had told them that the Ameri- cans were embodying themselves at this time, for the purpose of killing every Indian they should meet with, be he friend or foe. We were further informed that Captain White Eyes had been threatened with death, if he persisted in vindicating the character of the American people: many believing the sto- ries propagated by McKee and his associates, had, in conse- quence already shaved their heads, ready to lay on the war- plume, and turn out to war, as soon as the ten days, which White Eyes had desired them to wait, should have expired ; and to-morrow being the ninth day, and no message having
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HISTORY OF OHIO.
arrived from their friends at Pittsburgh, they were now pre- paring to go; and further, that this place, Gnadenhutten was now breaking up, and its inhabitants were to join the congregation at Lichtenan: they having been assured that they were not safe, even for one day, from an attack by the Americans, while they remained here. Finding the matter so very urgent, and admitting of not even a day's delay, I consented to proceed. After enjoying a few hours' repose, and furnished with a trusty companion and a fresh horse, between three and four in the evening, the national assistant, John Martin, being called on for the purpose, we sat out, swimming our horses across the Muskingum River, and taking a circuit through the woods, in order to avoid the encampment of the war party, which was close to our path. Arriving about ten o'clock in the forenoon, within sight of Goschoching, a few yells were given by a person who had discovered us, to notify the inhabitants that a white man was coming. This immediately drew the whole body of the Indi- ans into the street; but although I saluted them in passing, not a single person returned the compliment; which, as my conductor observed, was no good omen. Even Captain White Eyes and the other chiefs, who had always befriended me, now stepped back, when I reached out my hand to them. This strange conduct would have disheartened me, had I not observed among the crowd, some men well known to me as spies of Captain Pipe, watching the actions of these peace- chiefs. I was therefore satisfied, that they were acting from policy, and not from any ill will against me personally. Indeed, on looking round, I thought I could read joy in the countenances of many of them, on seeing me among them at so critical a juncture, when they had been told but a few days before, that nothing short of their destruction had been
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HECKEWELDER CONCILIATES THE DELAWARES.
determined upon by the long knives (the Virginians or Amer- ican people.) Yet as no one would reach out his hand to me, I inquired into the cause: when Captain White Eyes, boldly stepping forward, replied: 'That by what had been told them by McKee and his party, they no longer had a single friend among the American people : if, therefore, this be so, they must consider every white man who came to them from that side as an enemy, who came but to deceive them, and to put them off their guard, in order to give an enemy an opportunity to take them by surprise.' I replied that the imputation was unfounded, and that were I not their friend, they would have never seen me here. 'Then,' continued White Eyes, ' will you tell us the truth with regard to what I ask?' On my having assured him of this, he asked me: 'Are the American armies all cut to pieces by the English troops? Is General Washington killed? Is there no more a Congress; and have the English hung some of them, and taken the rest to England to hang them there? Is the whole country beyond the mountains in the posses- sion of the English; and are the few thousand Americans, who have escaped them, now embodying themselves on this side of the mountains for the purpose of killing all the Indi- ans in this country, even our women and children? Now do not deceive us, but speak the truth; is all this true that I have been saying to you ?'
"I declared before the whole assembly, that not one word of what he had just now told me was true; and held out to him, as I had done before, the friendly speeches sent for them by me; which he however refused to accept, prob- ably from prudential considerations. I thought by the coun- tenances of most of the bystanders, that the moment bade fair for their listening at least to the contents of these
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HISTORY OF OHIO.
speeches, and accidentally catching the drummer's eye, I called to him to beat the drum for the assembly to meet, for the purpose of hearing what their American brethren had to say to them. There was a general smile of approbation; and White Eyes, thinking the favorable moment had arrived, asked the assembly, 'Shall we, my friends and relations, listen once more to those who call us their brethren ?' The question was answered almost by acclamation: the drum was beat, and the whole body repaired to the council house. The speeches, all of which were of the most pacific nature, were read and interpreted to them: when Captain White Eyes rose, and in a long address, took particular notice of the good disposition of the American people towards the Indians; observing that they had never as yet called on them to fight the English, knowing that wars were destruc- tive to nations; and that they (the Americans) had, from the beginning of the war to the present time, always advised the Indians to remain quiet, and not to take up the hatchet against either side. A newspaper containing the capitula- tion of General Burgoyne's army, being found enclosed in the packet, White Eyes again rose, and holding the paper unfolded with both his hands, so that all could have a view of it, said, 'See, my friends and relatives, this document contains great events; not the song of a bird, but the truth.' Then stepping up to me, he gave me his hand ; saying, 'you are welcome with us, brother.' Every one present immedi- ately followed his example."
But for the expedition of Heckewelder, and the foregoing interview, the spring of 1778 would have inevitably recruited the Indian allies of Great Britain with the Delawares of Ohio. It is interesting, also, to mark the reverberation of the victory at Saratoga (its date was October 17, 1777,)
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