USA > Ohio > Wyandot County > Past and present of Wyandot County, Ohio; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievemen, Vol. I > Part 13
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The search continued for many days, the settlers for miles around participating, but nothing further could be learned of the boy, and the search was finally abandoned.
Years passed by and the story of the boy's disappearance became one of the unsolved mysteries of the past. The par- ents, however, never gave up hope of recovering their lost child: every vague rumor was followed up without avail, un- til, after a lapse of sixteen years, the mother died of a broken heart, in her last moments weeping for her lost child.
Thirty-four years after the boy's disappearance the Bray- ton family learned through a weekly newspaper of an Indian captive, then in Cleveland, who did not know his own name,
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but in his youth had been stolen by Canadian Indians from some place in northwestern Ohio, had been taken into Michi- gan, and after thirty-four years of captivity had returned to Ohio to find his parents.
William Brayton at once started to see the "captive." Previous to setting out he had been instructed by his father to look for two scars by which his brother might be indenti- fied-one on his head, and the other on his great toe of the right foot, resulting from the cut of an axe. The returned "captive" was examined and found to have these scars on his person just as represented by the father .. Word was sent to the Brayton family that the long lost child had been found after many years, and was on his way home. The news spread throughout the region, and for many miles from his home mul- titudes of people gathered at the railroad stations to see the man whose experience had been so remarkable. Among them were many old men who had searched for the lost boy; aged mothers whose hearts had ached in sympathy for the bereaved parents ; young men and maidens who had heard the story of the lost boy related by their parents at the fireside.
The meeting at the family home was extremely touching, but the season of rejoicing was of short duration, for it soon transpired that it was not the long lost son and brother re- turned, but the child of other parents, and no tidings of Mat- thew Brayton ever reached his family.
It was conclusively proven that the "captive" was Will- iam Todd, and he was restored to his parents in Michigan. At the outbreak of the Rebellion he enlisted in the cavalry serv- ice, and died in Nashville, Tennessee.
EXECUTION OF A WYANDOT INDIAN
The majority of the Indians were very fond of drink, and would become intoxicated whenever they could obtain whis- key, and when intoxicated they were troublesome and hard to control. In consequence of this, the United States of- ficers at the agency had issued an order prohibiting persons selling on the reservation or giving to any Indian intoxicat- ing liquors. But as there was no law prohibiting persons out- side of the reservation from keeping or selling liquors to any person, a number of small villages outside were liberally sup- plied with liquor vendors, from whom the Indians could ob-
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tain all they wanted. It was in one of these villages that a party of Indians, in September, 1840, congregated, many of whom became intoxicated and engaged in numerous conten- tions. Among those present were two who were parties to the tragedy to be described.
An eye witness of the execution gives the following ac- count of the incidents leading up to and connected with the last Wyandot execution which took place at Upper Sandusky, in 1840:
One old man, a half-brother to a prominent half-breed named John Barnet, belonged to the Christian party, and al- though he had indulged in frequent potations, was but slightly intoxicated; the other, a young man, the son of a noted chief known as "Black Chief," was a rude and turbulent fellow, and had become greatly intoxicated during the day. Late in the afternoon, the former having procured a jug of whis- key started to go home, when the latter joined him. Their route was along a trail through the thick woods. Soon after entering the forest the young Indian wanted the old man to give him some whiskey, and when refused became enraged and seizing a bludgeon dealt the old man a murderous blow on the head, felling him to the ground, and following up his murderous blows crushed the head of the prostrate victim, killing him on the spot.
Soon thereafter a body of Indians going along the trail came upon the dead body of the victim, and passing a short distance farther found the murderer, still drunk, and lying upon the ground fast asleep, while the jug sat near by. This party seized the drunken Indian, and, binding his arms, con- veyed him, together with the dead body, to Upper Sandusky, and lodged the former in the little Indian jail for safekeep- ing. The news of the tragedy created great excitement in the nation, and soon the executive council ordered an exami- nation, whereupon the prisoner was taken before that tribu- nal, and after examining into particulars found him guilty of murder while in a state of intoxication, and sentenced him to perpetual banishment and the confiscation of all his property.
This disposition of the case caused great dissatisfaction among the nation, especially among the Christian party, and a demand was made for a reversal of the decree, and the cul- prit to be tried by the highest tribunal, viz., a trial before the
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assembled nation, acting as a jury, to decide by ballot the question of life or death.
The decree of the chiefs was set aside, the accused brought before the grand tribunal, and, after a full investigation of the case, the question, "Shall the prisoner suffer death or be permitted to live ?" was decided by a vote of all persons en- titled to vote (all male persons over twenty-one years of age). The vote resulted in an overwhelming majority in favor of death. The prisoner was thereupon sentenced to be shot to death, and the third Friday thereafter selected as the day. The place of execution was to be the Sandusky bottoms, ad- joining the village of Upper Sandusky.
It was early in the morning of the Friday designated for the execution that I set off on horseback to make a journey of twenty miles to witness the proceedings. I arrived at the village about nine in the morning, and found a considerable number of both whites and Indians of both sexes already in the village. The prisoner was confined in the jail, which was a hewed log structure standing upon a high bluff a short distance northeast from the council-house, which stood on a lot used as an Indian graveyard, and enclosed by a rude fence. Evidences of that graveyard may yet be seen. The jail build- ing was about 14 x 18 feet and two stories high, standing with the ends pointing north and south, and overlooking the San- dusky bottoms to the south and east. The lower story con- sisted of one room about eight feet high, supplied with one small window in the south end, from which a fair view of the bottoms could be had. The entrance was near the northwest corner; the outer door was a thick, heavy plank batten, and the inner door an iron grated one. These doors were so ar- ranged that the outer one could be opened, and afford an op- portunity for outside persons to converse with the prisoner, while the inner grated door, being securely fastened, pre- vented any escape.
The lower floor, as indeed the upper one, was made of hewed logs about eight or ten inches thick.
The upper room was of the same dimensions as the lower, with a window in the south end and an entrance at the north end, provided with two doors, situated and arranged as in the room below. The roof projected over the north end some six or eight feet, thus affording a kind of porch. The upper room was reached by an outside stairway, which commenced
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at the northwest corner and extended up to the platform at the door to the upper apartment. This building was erected soon after the establishment of the government agency, and stood as a pioneer relic until a few years ago, when the vandal hands of progress demolished it, and nothing now remains to mark the place where it stood.
Upon my arrival I was informed that the prisoner could be seen at the jail, and that the execution would not take place until afternoon, as the executive council was then in session in the council-house, probably arranging the details of procedure.
It was also rumored that an effort on the part of friends of the prisoner was being made to have the sentence sus- pended and the prisoner turned over to the state authorities to be tried by the laws of the state, and that the question was being considered by the council. However, preparations for the execution were going on; the grave was being dug by a party of Indians. The site of the grave was in the Sandusky bottom, about forty-six rods west from the river and at a. point about thirty yards north from the present embankment of the P., Ft. W. & C. R. R., which was also where the execu- tion was to take place.
I visited the jail for the purpose of seeing the prisoner, and, if possible, to have a talk with him. I found, upon ar- riving at the jail, quite a number of visitors, actuated by the same motive, already there. The outer door was open, and an old negro interpreter named Jonathan Pointer was seated by the door ready to give any information in his power, or to ask the prisoner any questions desired and interpret the an- swer. This old negro was taken captive by the Indians when a child, had grown to manhood and to old age (he was then about sixty years old) among them. He had learned to speak their dialect, as also the English language, and was the prin- cipal interpreter for the nation.
The prisoner was a stout, muscular young man, apparently about twenty-two years old, brave and sullen as a lion. I con- versed with him some by means of the interpreter Jonathan. He had but little to say, answering my questions in the short- est manner possible. He was very uneasy, continually pacing around his prison, frequently stopping for a moment at the little window to gaze away in the direction of his grave-dig- gers, who were plainly visible at their work. After standing
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and gazing thus for a few moments he would turn suddenly away, and resume his uneasy walking around his prison like a hyena in his cage.
The chiefs of the nation were closely shut in the council- house from early morn until late in the afternoon, when, hav- ing arranged the execution, which was to be conducted in true Indian military style, they came out and gave orders to pro- ceed with the execution. The executioners were six in number, secretly selected, three from the Christian and three from the heathen party. They were each at the proper time to be fur- nished with a loaded rifle, five of which were to contain pow- der and ball, and one to contain only powder. None of these were to know which had the rifle with the blank charge.
As before stated the execution was to take place at the grave. Accordingly, about 4 P. M., the spectators were ar- ranged in two parallel lines, about fifteen yards apart, extend- ing from the grave northward to a point about twenty rods . from the grave, at which point the executioners were to be stationed. The Indian spectators were upon the west side of the line, while the whites occupied the east side. There were many more whites than Indians, consequently a better chance of witnessing the proceeding was enjoyed by those on the Indian side. It was my fortune to occupy a position among the Indians, within a few feet of the grave.
Orders were given to bring the prisoner to the place of execution, and four braves, with rope in hand, approached the jail, two of whom entered and bound the prisoner securely by passing the rope twice around his body over his arms, which were securely fastened to his sides. He was now directed to pass out, each guard holding opposite ends of the rope. Once out of the prison the march to the place of execution com- menced, the prisoner marching between the guards, two on either side, holding firmly the rope that bound him.
The route taken was along an old trail past the graveyard and council-house before spoken of, down to the river bottom at the southeast part of the village to the grave-a distance of about a mile. I accompanied this march and watched the prisoner closely, who marched the whole distance without a falter, and apparently as firm and steady as though nothing unusual was in waiting. Soon after the arrival of the pris- oner, and while he was standing at the foot of his grave, Chief William Walker, one of the principal men of the nation, a
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good scholar and grand orator, advanced along the open space between the two lines of spectators to a point about twenty feet from the prisoner, and directly fronting him, proceeded in a loud and clear voice to read the death warrant. This was done first in the Wyandot dialect, and then in the English lan- guage. This document was a model one, couched in the finest language, and clear and pointed in every detail; one that would do honor to the most learned judiciary of any civilized nation. It recited the circumstances under which the crime had been committed, the details of the trial, how the prisoner had been tried by two tribunals, and had been found guilty by the high- est one known to the nation, and sentenced to suffer death.
The most perfect silence prevailed among the entire audi- ence during the reading. The prisoner, standing erect and gazing away into space, seemed perfectly unconcerned about what was passing. During the time these proceedings were taking place, his coffin, a rude box, was brought and placed beside his grave. He simply turned his head and took a look at it for a moment, and then, without apparently any emotion, resumed his vacant stare into space. He did not utter a word or make a noise of any kind during this whole performance. After concluding the reading of the death warrant he was asked by Chief Walker if he had anything to say. He simply shook his head, at which Walker, moving away, gave a signal to the guards.
One of the guards now advanced and requested the pris- oner to kneel at the foot of his grave, which he did without any emotion. The guard then bound a handkerchief over his eyes. The prisoner, after kneeling, raised his head, and, hold- ing himself erect, remained motionless as a statue. The exe- cutioners had previously been secreted behind a cluster of willows standing a few rods east from the line of spectators; and as soon as the prisoner had been blindfolded they emerged stealthily in single file, and, marching directly to the head of the open space between the lines of spectators, took their po- sition, when an officer, detailed for the purpose, advanced and handed each man his rifle, and stepping aside, another officer stepped to the front and to the east, with rod in hand, and raised it up, at which the executioners raised their rifles to take aim; the officer dropped his rod, and the six rifles were fired simultaneously-not a word was spoken.
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Upon the report of the rifles the prisoner instantly fell for- ward and to the right, and did not make a single motion or utter a sound. Dr. Mason, a physician at the agency, stepped forward, and after a short examination pronounced him dead. The body was now put into the coffin and the lid nailed on. and the whole was lowered into the grave and covered. Thus ended the last Indian execution among the Wyandots at Upper Sandusky.
THE BATTLE OF FALLEN TIMBERS
As reference is made in this work to the Battle of the Fallen Timbers, the results of which contributed so largely to restoring peace to the frontier settlements, a brief sketch of the battle is herewith given from General Wayne's report:
The legion was on the right, its flank covered by the Mau- mee: one brigade of mounted volunteers on the left, under Brigadier-General Todd, and the other in the rear, under Brig- adier-General Barbee. A select battalion of mounted volun- teers moved in front of the legion, commanded by Major Price, who was directed to keep sufficiently advanced so as to give timely notice for the troops to form in case of action, it being yet undetermined whether the Indians would decide for peace or war.
After advancing about five miles, Major Price's corps re- ceived so severe a fire from the enemy, who were secreted in the wood and high grass, as to compel them to retreat. The legion was immediately formed in two lines, principally in a close thick wood, which extended for miles on our left, and for a very considerable distance in front; the ground being covered with old fallen timber, probably occasioned by a tor- nado, which rendered it impracticable for the cavalry to act with effect, and afforded the enemy the most favorable covert for their mode of warfare. The savages were formed in three lines, within supporting distance of each other, and extend- ing for near two miles at right angles with the river. I soon discovered, from the weight of the fire and extent of their lines, that the enemy were in full force in front, in possession of their favorite ground and endeavoring to turn our left flank. I therefore gave orders for the second line to advance and support the first; and directed Major General Scott to gain and turn the right flank of the savages with the whole
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force of the mounted volunteers by a circuitous route; at the same time I ordered the front line to advance and charge with trailed arms, and rouse the Indians from their coverts at the point of the bayonet, and when up, to deliver a close and well directed fire on their backs, followed by a brisk charge, so as not to give them time to load again.
I also ordered Captain Campbell, who commanded the legionary cavalry, to turn the left flank of the enemy next the river, and which afforded a favorable field for that corps to act in. All these orders were obeyed with spirit and promp- titude; but such was the impetuosity of the charge by the first line of infantry, that the Indians and Canadian militia and volunteers were drove from all their coverts in so short a time that, although every possible exertion was used by the officers of the second line of the legion, and by Generals Scott, Todd and Barbee, of the mounted volunteers, to gain their proper positions, but part of each could get up in season to participate in the action; the enemy being drove, in the course of one hour, more than two miles through the thick woods al- ready mentioned, by less than one-half their numbers. From every account the enemy amounted to two thousand combat- ants. The troops actually engaged against them were short of nine hundred. This horde of savages, with their allies, abandoned themselves to flight, and dispersed with terror and dismay, leaving our victorious army in full and quiet posses- sion of the field of battle, which terminated under the influ- ence of the guns of the British garrison. * *
The bravery and conduct of every officer belonging to the army, from the generals down to the ensigns, merit my high- est approbation. There were, however, some whose rank and situation placed their conduct in a very conspicuous point of view, and which I observed with pleasure, and the most lively gratitude; among whom I must beg leave to mention Briga- dier General Wilkinson and Colonel Hamtramck, the com- mandants of the right and left wings of the legion, whose brave example inspired the troops. To those I must add the names of my faithful and gallant aides-de-camp, Captains De Butt and T. Lewis, and Lieutenant Harrison, who, with the Adjutant-General, Major Mills, rendered the most essential service by communicating my orders in every direction, and by their conduct and bravery exciting the troops to press for victory.
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The loss of the enemy was more than that of the federal army. The woods were strewed for a considerable distance with the dead bodies of Indians and their white auxiliaries, the latter armed with British muskets and bayonets.
We remained three days and nights on the banks of the Maumee, in front of the field of battle, during which time all the houses and cornfields were consumed and destroyed for a considerable distance, both above and below Fort Miami, as well as within pistol shot of the garrison, who were com- pelled to remain tacit spectators to this general devastation and conflagration, among which were the houses, stores and property of Colonel McKee, the British Indian agent and prin- cipal stimulator of the war now existing between the United States and the savages.
John Alder, who was at that time living with the Indians, has in his autobiography given the Indian account of the bat- tle, as follows :
We remained here (Defiance) about two weeks, until we. heard of the approach of Wayne, when we packed up our goods and started for the old English fort at the Maumee rapids. Here we prepared ourselves for battle, and sent the women and children down about three miles below the fort; and as I did not wish to fight, they sent me to Sandusky, to inform some Wyandots there of the great battle that was about to take place. Iremained at Sandusky until the battle was over. The Indians did not wait more than three or four days, before Wayne made his appearance at the head of a long prairie on the river, where he halted, and waited for an opportunity to suit himself. Now the Indians are very curious about fighting; for when they know they are going into a battle they will not eat anything just previous. They say that if a man is shot in the body when he is entirely empty, there is not half as much danger of the ball passing through the bowels as when they are full. So they started the first morning without eating anything, and moving up to the end of the prairie, ranged themselves in order of bat- tle at the edge of the timber. There they waited all day with- out any food, and at night returned and partook of their suppers. The second morning they again placed themselves in the same position, and again returned at night and supped. By this time they had begun to get weak from eating only once a day, and concluded they would eat breakfast before they
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again started. So the next morning they began to cook and eat. Some were eating, and others, who had finished, had moved forward to their stations, when Wayne's army was seen approaching. As soon as they were within gunshot, the Indians began firing upon them; but Wayne, making no halt, rushed on upon them. Only a small part of the Indians being on the ground they were obliged to give back, and finding Wayne too strong for them, attempted to retreat. Those who were on the way heard the noise and sprang to their assistance. So some were running from and others to the battle, which cre- ated great confusion. In the meantime the light horse had gone entirely around, and came in upon their rear, blowing their horns and closing in upon them. The Indians now found that they were completely surrounded, and all that could, made their escape, and the balance were all killed, which was no small number. Among these last, with one or two excep- tions, were all the Wyandots that lived at Sandusky at the time I went to inform them of the expected battle. The main body of the Indians were back nearly two miles from the bat- tle-ground, and Wayne had taken them by surprise. and made such a slaughter among them that they were entirely discour- aged, and made the best of their way to their respective homes.
This battle took place August 20, 1794.
Several months after the battle of Fallen Timbers a num- ber of Pottawatamie Indians arrived at Fort Wayne where they expressed a desire to see "The Wind," as they called General Wayne. On being asked for an explanation of the name, they replied, that at the battle of the 20th of August he was exactly like a hurricane, which drives and tears everything before it.
General Wayne was a man of most ardent impulses, and in the heat of action apt to forget that he was the general-not the soldier. When the attack on the Indians, who were con- cealed behind the fallen timbers, was commenced by ordering the regulars up, the late General Harrison, then aide to Wayne, being lieutenant with the title of major, addressed his superior -"General Wayne, I'm afraid you'll get into the fight your- self, and forget to give me the necessary field orders." "Per- haps I may," replied Wayne, "and if I do, recollect the stand- ing order for the day is, charge the d-d rascals with the bayonets!"
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FARM AND ORCHARD
Doubtless many readers of the Wyandot County History are farmers ; hence a resume of agriculture in the state will be appropriate and valuable as a matter of history. Agriculture is the true basis of national wealth and prosperity, and there- fore justly occupies a prominent place in Wyandot county history.
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