USA > Ohio > The history of the state of Ohio; from the discovery of the great valley, to the present time > Part 19
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THOMAS KIRKER Governor 1807-1808.
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Under these circumstances, the Indians at once placed them- selves under the protection of their newly-arrived friends. One of their number was dispatched down the river to inform the In- dians there of the arrangement, and to request them to repair immediately to Gnadenhutten. Colonel Williamson and his per- fidious crew accompanied their duped victims across the river. Here without difficulty they obtained possession of their guns, and then having decoyed them into two houses, shut them in, and carefully guarded them as prisoners. They then sent a party of armed men down the river to the Salem Village. The Indians had already commenced in a body the movement to join their brethren, and were met on the road. The same vile arts which already had been so successfully practiced, were again adopted to disarm and decoy their victims. They soon found themselves prisoners ; the men shut up in one house, the women and children in another. The whole body of these miscreants, acting upon their own responsibility, without any governmental authority, then met, officers and men, in a council of war, to decide upon the fate of their captives. Colonel Williamson then put the question whether they should be carried as prisoners to Fort Pitt, or be put to death. He requested all who were in favor of sparing their lives to step out from the general ranks, and form a second line. There were only eighteen to be found who were in favor of that little mercy. The remainder, eighty-two in number, clamored for immediate death.
In a very interesting history of the Moravian Mission there, written by James Patrick, Esq., of New Philadelphia, we find the following graphic account of the horrible scene which ensued :
" In the majority, which was large, no sympathy was manifested. They resolved to murder-for no other word can express the act- the whole of the Christian Indians in their custody. Among these were several who had contributed to aid the missionaries in the work of conversion and civilization. Two of these had emi- grated from New Jersey, after the death of their spiritual pastor, the Rev. David Brainerd. One woman, who could speak good English, knelt before the commander and begged his protection. The supplication was unavailing. They were ordered to prepare for death. But the warning had been anticipated. Their firm belief in their new creed was shown forth in this sad hour of their tribulation, by religious exercises of preparation. The orisons of
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these devoted people were already ascending to the Throne of the Most High. The sound of the Christian's hymn and the Christian's prayer found an echo in the surrounding woods, but no responsive feeling in the bosoms of their executioners. With gun, and spear, and tomahawk, and scalping-knife, the work of death progressed in these slaughter-houses, till not a sigh or moan was heard to proclaim the existence of human life within. All perished save two. Two Indian boys escaped as if by a mir- acle, to be witnesses in after times of the savage cruelty of the white man towards their unfortunate race."
After committing this barbarous act, when the gory bodies of the slain lay in heaps in the dwellings where they had been slaughtered, Williamson and his gang of assassins set fire to the buildings. The roaring conflagration consuming these huts of massive logs became the funeral pyre of the dead, consuming flesh and bones, so that no marks of the atrocious deed remained but undistinguishable ashes.
The wretches then commenced their march up the river to Schoenburn to perpetrate the same enormities there. But the news of their fiend-like deed had preceded them, and the Indians in precipitate flight had escaped beyond pursuit. These savage white men took their revenge by plundering and destroy- ing the village. Thus the fruits of ten years' labor of Christian missionaries was brought to a cruel end. The precepts of Chris- tianity inculcated by these disciples of Jesus had ennobled many of their natures, and prepared them, we trust, for the companion- ship of angels in Heaven. Dr. Doddridge touchingly writes :
" They anticipated their doom, and had commenced their devotions with hymns, prayers, and exhortations to each other to place a firm reliance upon the mercy of the Saviour of men. When their fate was announced to them, these devoted people embraced and kissed each other, and bedewing each other's faces and bosoms with their tears, asked pardon of the brothers and the sisters for any offense they might have committed through life. Thus at peace with God and each other, they replied to those who, impatient for the slaughter, demanded whether they were ready to die, "that having commended their souls to God, they were ready to die."
The whole number slain amounted to ninety-six. Of these, sixty-two were grown persons, of whom one-third were women.
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The remaining thirty-four were children. A few of the men who were supposed to be warriors, were taken from the slaughter houses and had their skulls split open with a tomahawk in the field. These generally knelt down and submitted to the execution without resistance. One only attempted to escape ; five bullets were immediately shot through his body, and he fell dead.
One would have thought that the atrocious massacre would have satiated the revengeful spirits of those American Colonists who had perpetrated it; but it seems only to have stimulated their appetite for blood. It will be remembered that more than one-half of the Indians from these Moravian settlements, on the Tuscarawas, were in a sort of captivity to the British savages far away on the banks of the Sandusky. The Indians also from Schoenburn, the upper Moravian town, had escaped and fled to join their companions on these remote waters. Immediately an expedition was fitted out to pursue and destroy them, together with the whole body of hostile Wyandots in the Valley of the Sandusky. Four hundred and eighty volunteers were immediately raised for a rapid and secret march to the Sandusky towns. Every man was to furnish himself with arms, the very best horses that could be procured, and every necessary outfit excepting ammunition, which was furnished them by the Lieutenant Colonel of Washington County, Pennsylvania. Thus this movement assumed much more the character of a governmental expedition than did the former. Indeed an assault upon the Wyandots of Sandusky, who were the active allies of Great Britain, was a legitimate operation. And it was not unnatural for them to assume that the Tuscarawas had voluntarily gone to join them in their merciless warfare against the colonists.
The little but very efficient army mustered at an old Indian town on the west side of the Ohio River, about seventy-five miles below Fort Pitt, and very near the present site of Steubenville. This town was the central one of a little cluster of Indian villages, belonging to the Mingo Tribe, of which the celebrated Logan was chief. There is quite a remarkable spring there, which still re- tains the name of Logan's Spring. The following anecdote respecting this distinguished chieftain, is related by William Brown, one of the pioneer settlers in that region. It is worthy of record here, as illustrative of the region, of the chief, and of the times.
The first time I ever saw that spring, my brother, a man by the
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name of James Reed and myself, had wandered out of the valley in search of land ; and finding it very good we were looking about for springs. About a mile from this we started a bear and separ- ated to get a shot at him. I was traveling along, looking about on the rising ground for the bear, when I came suddenly upon the spring. Being dry and more rejoiced to find a spring than to have killed a dozen bears, I set my rifle against a bush, and rushed down the bank and laid down to drink. Upon putting my head down I saw reflected in the water on the opposite side, the shadow of a tall Indian. I sprang for my rifle, when the Indian gave a yell, whether for peace or war, I was not just then sufficient mas- ter of my faculties to determine. Upon my seizing my rifle and facing him, he knocked up the pan of his gun, threw out the priming and extended his open palm in token of friendship. After putting down our guns we met at the spring, and shook hands. This was Logan, the best specimen of humanity I ever met with, either white or red. He could speak a little English, and told me there was another white hunter a little way down the stream, and offered to guide me to his camp.
Mr. Brown soon visited Logan at his lodge. Here the chief and a white man named Maclay amused themselves in the customary sport of the frontier in shooting at a mark, upon the wager of one dollar a shot. The white man beat, and Logan lost five dollars. He went into the lodge and brought out five deer skins, which were valued at a dollar a-piece, and gave them in payment of his forfeit- ure. Mr. Maclay declined receiving them, saying: "I am your guest. We have shot merely for amusement. I did not come here to plunder you. We wished to try our skill, and the bet was merely nominal."
The proud chief straightened himself up and said : " No ! me bet to make you shoot your best. Me gentleman, if me beat me take your dollar." Mr. Maclay found himself obliged to take the skins. And Logan would not even accept from him the present of a horn of powder, lest it should detract from the honest fulfillment of his engagement.
Mr. Brown who relates these anecdotes-and who subsequently became a distinguished citizen of that region, as Judge Brown- had a daughter, Mrs. Norris. She relates the following interesting incident in reference to this remarkable Indian chieftain.
Mrs. Norris had a little sister who was just beginning to learn
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to walk. But there were no shoes for the child, and far away in their wilderness home none could be purchased. Logan was one day at the hut an honored guest, and as he, with a smile, watched the toddling steps of the barefooted child, who knew and loved him, he begged Mrs. Brown to let the little girl go up with him and spend the day at his cabin. The child whom he had often caressed, threw her little arms around his neck, and was all ready to go. But the cautious mother was alarmed at the proposition. She knew the sensitiveness of Logan's feelings, and how deeply he would be wounded by the slightest intimation that they distrusted his fidelity. She therefore with assumed cheerfulness, but with real reluctance, consented to the arrangement. The hours of the day wore away very slowly to her, and the sun was setting, and yet her little one had not been brought back. Just then she saw the noble chief coming down the path with the child fondly folded in his arms. He placed her on the floor at the door, and the little one trotted to her mother in great glee, pointing to a beautiful pair of ornamented moccasins, on her little feet, which the chief had made for her with his own hands.
This was Logan, the friend of the white man. We have before alluded to the circumstances which led Logan to raise his arm against his former friends. A gentleman, Judge Henry Jolly, of Washington County, Pennsylvania, was near the place of the atrocious massacre of the Indians by a band of vagabond white men, which roused the vengeance of Logan. He gives the fol- lowing very interesting account of the meeting of Indians in council, at Mingo, to deliberate upon the measures to be pursued in relation to that massacre, which took place but seventeen miles farther up the river.
The Indians had for some time been aggrieved by the cruelties practiced upon them by the long knives. In the council which was convened, many of them earnestly advocated war. But Logan, who was the principal chief, and who had great influence among them in consequence of his moral worth, his bravery and his intelligence, argued for peace.
"I admit," he said, "the justice of our complaints. We have ample cause for war. But let us not forget that not a few out- rages have been inflicted upon them by our people. If we engage in war, we can only harass for a short time the few settlements scattered along the frontier. The Long Knives will come over
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the mountains upon us, in numbers like the trees of the forest. We shall ultimately be vanquished, and all be driven from our pleasant hunting grounds."
The Indians, though much exasperated, were influenced by these cogent arguments. They all agreed to continue in peace, and to the burial of the tomahawk. Just then an Indian runner came in, with the tidings that the massacre at the mouth of the Yellow Creek and of the Indians who had been pursued, was far more dreadful than they had at first apprehended. Among the number included in the assassination, were the father, brother and sister of Logan. They were the nearest and dearest of his friends. There was no longer any resisting the clamor for war. Logan grew pale. He raised his tomahawk and solemnly declared that he would never lay it down till he had avenged the spirits of his butchered relatives, by the slaughter of ten white men for every one of those who had been slain. He redeemed his pledge. It is said that during that Summer, which was of the year 1774, thirty white men fell pierced by his bullet, or struck down by the arm of Logan.
It was from this Logan-town-of-Mingo, that on the twenty-fifth day of March, 1783, the army of nearly five hundred men were: ready for the march, for the Valley of the Sandusky. It was a long journey of more than three hundred miles, through an almost pathless wilderness, and a fortnight of very efficient movement was spent in accomplishing it. Colonel Williamson accompanied the expedition as a subordinate officer. Five hundred mounted men, with five hundred pack horses, formed in that day a very imposing army. The narrow Indian trail was often very difficult for a horse's foot to tread, and often they advanced very slowly; a long line in single file.
They first struck directly across the country west, a distance of about thirty miles to the deserted Moravian villages on the Tus- carawas, following what they called Williamson's trail. There they found in the midst of the awful desolation the ungathered harvest of golden corn still in the fields. Here they encamped for the night, feeding their steeds abundantly with the rich forage. Individuals of their band affixed to the trees the declaration that they were on, a march of vengeance; that they should show no quarter ; that every Indian man, woman and child they encoun- tered would be put to death.
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They reached one of the upper branches of the Sandusky River, which stream it will be remembered flows from the south to the north, entering Lake Erie at Sandusky Bay. Their first object was to attack and destroy the Moravian village, which had been gathered there, some fifty miles south of the mouth of the river. But the fugitives there had either heard of the march of the army, or from some other unknown cause, had entirely abandoned their village, and retired some thirty or forty miles south to the upper waters of the Scioto. Nothing was found there but desolation. The officers of the invading army held a council of war to decide upon the next step best to be pursued. The Valley of the San- dusky was densely populated with Indians. Their warriors were men of renown. They were near Detroit, from which point Brit- ish officers could send them such supplies and reinforcements as they might need.
Among the many villages scattered along the valley there were two quite important Indian towns; the Upper and the Lower Sandusky. The Lower Town was but a few miles above the bay ; the Upper Town was about twenty miles farther south. The officers of the expedition began to be very nervous. Their po- sition was truly alarming. The flight of the Tuscarawas, they then knew not where, indicated that their march was discovered. As no Indians were to be seen, it was apprehended that, guided by British officers, and sustained by British reinforcements, they were assembling in overwhelming numbers farther down the val- ley. After much deliberation it was decided to continue one day's march farther, towards Upper Sandusky, which they could doubtless reach in that time. Should they find that town also deserted, it would confirm their fears of the general concentration of the foe, upon ground selected by themselves, and abundantly prepared for battle. Under those circumstances, early the next morning they cautiously recommenced their march.
About two o'clock their advanced guard entered an extended undulating plain with clusters of forest trees scattered about, and with waving tall grass. Suddenly they were assailed by a very hot fire from an invisible but evidently numerous foe, concealed behind the trees and in the grass. The main body hurried for- ward to support its advance. It was soon found that all their bravery and skill would be called into requisition, and would be tasked to the utmost to meet the emergency. During all the
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hours of a long June afternoon, the battle raged incessantly till the sun sank beneath the horizon, and night enveloped the field. Both parties slept upon their arms.
The scene presented during the night was very picturesque, and would have been beautiful had not the circumstances rendered it awful. Each party built along its line large camp fires to reveal the approach of any foe, while both of them retired to sleep at a distance from the fires, that they might not be surprised by a night attack. The next day the battle was not renewed by either party. The Indians seemed to be busy in removing their dead and caring for their wounded. They were also probably awaiting the arrival of large reinforcements hurrying to them from the lower part of the river. It was very apparent that every hour the Indians were increasing in number. Anxiously the colonial officers held a council of war. The prevailing voice was for a precipitate retreat. Colonel Williamson urged that he should be permitted to take a hundred and fifty picked men, advance rapidly down the valley to Lower Sandusky, the principal Indian town, and utterly destroy it. But Colonel Crawford replied :
"I have no doubt but that you might reach the town. You would, however, find nothing there but empty wigwams. Having taken away so many of our best men, you would leave the rest of us to be destroyed by the host of Indians now surrounding us. On your return they would attack and destroy you. They care nothing about defending their towns. Their wives, children and property, have been removed from them long ago. Our lives and baggage are what they want. If they can get us divided they will soon have them."
The shrewd savages, or, more probably, their still shrewder British officers, perceived indications of preparations for a retreat. The wounded were to be removed on litters. The dead were buried, and large fires were built over their graves to prevent the savages from discovering or dishonoring their remains. About sundown, the Indians renewed the battle with great fury. They surrounded the army on all sides, excepting that leading down the valley. It was their evident intention to drive their foes in the direction of Lower Sandusky, as they would thus encounter the powerful band hurrying up the river, and would be placed between two fires.
The next morning the retreat commenced. The troops were
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so hemmed in that they could only retire by the road which the savages left open for them. But after marching about a mile in that direction, they wheeled about, and, by a circuitous route, gained the trail along which they had advanced. With very rapid steps they continued their flight during the day, being but slightly annoyed by attacks from the Indians. The savages fol- lowed them, however, occasionally firing shots at their rear guard, by which several men were seriously wounded.
Night again came. The colonists built their camp fires, took their suppers, picketed their horses, and resigned themselves to repose without any molestation.
It is said that the post of honor in a retreat is the rear, where the foe is generally encountered, to be driven back. Colonel Crawford was, however, leading the main body, when he learned that his son, his son-in-law, and two nephews, were missing.
He accordingly halted, and allowed the long line of the army to pass by him as he searched the ranks to find his lost friends. They were not to be found. His weary horse then gave out, and he, being unable to keep up with the rest of the troops, was left behind. He was soon joined by six others of the inevitable stragglers of an army on the retreat, one of whom was severely wounded. But Indian bands were now coming down upon their trail from various directions, so that they were in imminent dan- ger of being cut off. As night came, this little band, in great exhaustion, encamped together.
The next morning, while their more fortunate companions were rapidly retreating, they were attacked by a party of Indians, who killed four of their number, and took Colonel Crawford and Dr. Knight prisoners. They were immediately taken to an Indian encampment, where they found nine others of their party in the hands of the savages. The colonel's son and son-in-law were among the captives. All the nine prisoners, including Colonel Crawford's son and son-in-law, were tomahawked and scalped. The colonel and the doctor, being deemed more conspicuous cap- tives, were reserved for a more dreadful fate. The former was to be burned on the spot; the latter, firmly bound, was entrusted to the care of one powerful Indian, who was to convey him to an important Indian town, forty miles distant, where he was to be burned for the amusement of the savages there.
Just before the execution of Crawford, a distinguished Wyan- 16
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dot chief by the name of Wingenund held a short interview with him. He had known the prisoner before, had visited at his house, and had been on friendly terms with him. The chief had retired to his cabin that he might not witness the horrible execution of his former friend. But the colonel sent for him, with the vague hope that he might be saved by his intercession. The Wyandot. chief greatly agitated, entered the cabin of the doomed man, and inquired, with much embarassment :
"Are you Colonel Crawford?"
" I am," was the reply.
" Ah! indeed, indeed !" said the chief, sadly, " and is it so?"
The colonel added : " Do you not recollect the friendship which has always existed between us?"
" Yes," was the reply, " I remember all this. We have often drank together, and you have ever been kind to me."
" Then I hope the same friendship still continues," added the colonel.
" It would, of course," said the chief, "if you were where you ought to be and not here."
"And why not here?" Colonel Crawford inquired. "I hope you would not desert a friend in time of need! Now is the time for you to exert yourself in my behalf, as I should do for you, were you in my place."
" Colonel Crawford," Wingenund replied, very solemnly, "you have placed yourself in a situation which puts it out of my power, and also of that of any of your friends, to do anything for you."
" How so ?" the colonel inquired.
" By joining yourself to that execrable man Williamson and his party -the man who, but the other day, murdered such a num- ber of Moravian Indians, knowing them to be his friends; know- ing also that he ran no risk in murdering a people who would not fight, and whose only business was praying."
"But I assure you, Wingenund," said Crawford, "that had I been with him at the time, this would not have happened. Not I alone, but all your friends, and all good men, whoever they are, reprobate acts of this kind."
" That may be," the chief responded; "yet these friends, these good men, did not prevent him from going out again, to kill the remainder of these foolish Moravian Indians. I say foolish, be- cause they believed the whites in preference to us. We had often
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told them that they would one day be so treated by those people who called themselves their friends. We told them that there was no faith to be placed in what the white men said; that their fair promises were only intended to allure us, that they might the more easily kill us, as they had done many Indians before these: Moravians."
"I am sorry," Colonel Crawford added, "to hear you speak thus. As to Williamson's going out again, when it was determined on, I went out with him, to prevent his committing fresh mur- ders."
"This," said the chief, "the Indians would not believe were: even I to tell them so."
" Why," inquired Mr. Crawford, " would they not believe it ?"
" Because," was the reply, "it would have been entirely out of your power to prevent him from doing whatever he pleased."
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