USA > Ohio > The history of the state of Ohio; from the discovery of the great valley, to the present time > Part 2
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those crags to gaze upon the dim regions beyond. The wildest stories were told, around the cabin fires, of those unexplored realms-of the plumed and painted Indians, of the verdant, blooming, park-like prairies, and of the majestic, almost bound- less forests, clear of underbrush and all filled with game-of the rivers, sparkling with fishes, and the nuts, and berries, and grapes, growing in richest profusion.
Daniel Boone, endowed by nature with a passionate love of the solitude and sublimity of the wilderness, listened to the recital of these marvels with a throbbing heart. As he mused the fire burned. A small company of six hardy pioneers was organized to cross the mountains and explore the world beyond. Not even a pack-horse could tread those defiles or climb those cliffs. With their rifles the adventurers would procure food, and with their hatchets rear such shelters as they might need.
Hardy as were these pioneers, and accustomed as they were to life in the wilderness, they found their path so rugged and intricate that it took them a full month to effect the passage of the mountains. Where Daniel Boone and his companions crossed these successive ridges, the distance, in a direct line, was nearly three hundred miles. They made it perhaps twice that distance by the circuitous route which they found it necessary to take, threading these innumerable defiles. In the valleys, buffaloes were found in great abundance, and very tame, as they were so far removed from the usual route of the Indian hunters.
In June they reached the summit of the most westernly ridge, and gazed, almost entranced with delight, upon the Eden-like beauty of the scene which was spread out before them. Distance lent enchantment to the forests, softening down all the asperities of the landscape. Lakes, rivers, forests, prairies, were all aglow with the radiance of the setting sun. An artist has seized upon this incident and has transferred it to canvas in one of the most attractive pictures, entitled "Daniel Boone's First View of Ken- tucky."
Rapidly descending the western declivity of the mountains, they came to a smooth, flower-bespangled prairie, upon the banks of a stream now called Red River. It was a lovely spot. The water was of crystal clearness. There was a beautiful grove skirting the stream, with shade from the sun and shelter from the wind, and ample material for their hut and for fires. Game, in great
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variety, was also abundant. Lured by the attractions which the spot presented, they reared their cabin and passed the whole summer there, in apparently luxurious indolence. Daniel Boone's only record of these months is :
" In this forest, the habitation of beasts of every kind natural to America, we practiced hunting with great success, until the 22d day of December following."
Through all this period no Indians were seen, and no traces of them were visible. Their hut was built of logs, with a wide opening in front, which faced the south, the interstices between the logs being filled with clay. The climate was mild, the men all good natured and congenial. The summer and autumn seemed to have passed away very delightfully.
One day Boone, with one of his companions, John Stewart, set out on a hunting expedition to a little greater distance from the camp than usual. They were following along one of those streets as they were called, which the buffalo had marked out and trampled down in single file for ages. Suddenly a large band of Indians, in ambush, sprang out upon them from the thick cane brakes which lined the path. Escape was impossible, and resist- ance could be of no avail.
The savages plundered them of all they had, but inflicted upon them no personal injuries. They were thieves only, not enemies; for thus far, these remote Indians had received no injuries from the white men to exasperate them. Boone acted the part of a true philosopher, and, by the course he pursued, soon won the confidence and even the affection of these wild men. He assumed perfect contentment with his lot, appearing unconscious that he was a captive. He cultivated friendly relations with them; showed them, to their inexpressible astonishment, the marvelous powers of the death-dealing rifle, which instrument they had never seen before. They were amazed when they saw the invisible rifle bullet strike down the game even at twice the distance their arrows would reach. They admired the courage of Boone, and soon relaxed their vigilance over their captives, whom they were daily leading farther and farther from their camp.
Boone was thoroughly acquainted with the Indian character. He knew that any attempt to escape, if unsuccessful, would but bury the tomahawk in his brain. Thus seven days and nights passed away. This band of Indian hunters had their home far
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away in the North, beyond the flood of a majestic river, which they called the Wabash; which the French called, when they discovered it, La Belle Riviere, or The Beautiful River; and which we now call the Ohio. The vast plains, now known as Kentucky constituted then a sort of neutral hunting ground for many sur- rounding tribes.
The Indians who had captured Boone came from the vicinity of the present town of Chillicothe, on the Scioto River. Rapidly they were retracing their footsteps homeward with their two white captives. Each night they built their fires, cooked what they deemed a luxurious supper from choice cuts of the game they had taken, spent a few hours in jokes and laughter, and boastful stories, and then, having appointed one of their number as a guard, threw themselves on the ground around the fires and slept soundly until morning. Ordinarily they paid no more attention to the weather than did the buffaloes around them.
Daniel Boone was a man of superior mind. John Stewart, his fellow captive, conscious of this, was ever ready to follow his counsel. They both feigned entire contentment and friendliness, and soon so far dispelled all suspicion of any desire to escape, that they were treated as adopted members of the tribe.
On the seventh night after the capture, the Indians, aided by Boone's death-dealing rifle, had been unusually successful in the chase. In many respects the savages were, in character, like over- grown children. Elated with abundance they had a sumptuous feast, and sang and danced till midnight, causing the wide solitudes of the forest to resound with their jollity. The night was very dark. The Indians slept soundly. Even the guard had fallen asleep, leaning against the trunk of a tree; his bow and arrow had fallen from his hand; the fire, unreplenished, burned feebly; they were in the midst of a boundless forest, as free from underbrush as a nobleman's park. The autumnal fires, annually kindled by the Indians, swept through the heavy growth of timber consuming the leaves and dried herbage, and all tender sprouts, but left the sturdy trees unharmed.
The favorable moment for escape had come. And yet the attempt was full of peril. The savages, like dogs, slept very lightly. The slightest unaccustomed sound caused them to spring to their feet, with their weapons ready for use. Their friendship was very precarious. The escaping captives, if detected, were sure to be followed.
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John Stewart was soundly asleep. Daniel Boone was feigning slumber. Fortunately they both had been allowed to retain their rifles, which had proved so valuable in supplying the Indians with game. Cautiously Boone awoke his companion, and motioned him to follow. With moccasined feet, they softly trod, conscious that the rustling of a leaf, or the breaking of a twig would cause them instant death. After a few moments of intense solicitude, moving with a step as soft and stealthy as that of the panther, they found themselves, with throbbing hearts, at a distance of several rods from the smouldering fires. The darkness of mid- night enveloped them; the gloom of the forest surrounded them. Even an Indian's piercing eye, could no longer discern their movements.
Daniel Boone was in nearly all respects the superior of his savage captors. He was their equal in strength and endurance. He was equally with them accustomed to forest life and all its emergencies; and he enjoyed the inestimable advantage which the culture of civilization gives, over merely savage instincts. Dark as was the night, and dense as was the growth of the forest, Daniel Boone was able to direct his steps in a straight line towards the camp from which he was removed by the distance of a seven day's journey. The Indians not having taken him at the camp, had no conception of its locality. They, therefore, when they awoke in the morning, would have no clue to the direction of his flight. The fugitives were also very careful not to leave behind them any trace of their footsteps.
Though it chanced that the weather was very mild in that region, fortunately for them, these December nights were very long. Hour after hour they pressed their flight, till the dawn of the morning, and through the hours of another day, apparently as tireless as if their sinews were of wrought iron. Then, at length, as the sun was going down, feeling, in some measure, secure from pursuit, they ventured to shoot some game, kindle a small fire, just sufficient to cook their supper, and then extinguishing its embers, they threw themselves upon the sod to enjoy that sweet sleep which weariness brings to the healthy man.
At length they reached their camp, and to their disappointment and alarm, found it plundered and deserted. They were quite unable to decide whether some Indian band had discovered it and carried of its occupants with all their effects, or whether their
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companions, alarmed by the loss of Boone and Stewart, and seeing indications that the savages were around them, had broken up their encampment and fled. In either case the men must have perished in the wilderness, for no tidings were ever heard of them. Their fate is to be added to the thousand of tragedies, ever occurring upon the sea and upon the land, which no pen has recorded, and which the revelations of the judgment-day can alone unfold.
Boone and Stewart were thus left alone in the wilderness. One would have supposed that these disasters would have led them to retrace their steps homeward. They were at the distance of five hundred miles from their cabins on the banks of the Yadkin. It is difficult to imagine what motives could have induced them to prolong their stay. But they do not seem to have thought of a movement homeward. Apprehensive that the Indians had dis- covered their camp, and might pay it another visit, they did not venture to reinhabit it. They, however, selected another spot at a distance, so concealed by nature that it could not be found unless carefully sought for, where they reared another hut. Here they remained for a month. Notwithstanding the greatest care in husbanding their resources, their powder and lead were rapidly disappearing, and the question of a supply began to force itself painfully upon them.
It is often said that fact is stranger than fiction. A well- authenticated incident now occurred which seems almost incred- ible. Boone and Stewart were in a little, carefully-concealed hut, in the depths of a pathless, unexplored wilderness of mountains, rivers, lakes and forests, five hundred miles beyond the remotest frontiers of civilization. One sunny morning in January they were sitting at the door of their camp, when, not a little to their alarm, they discovered two men in the distance. They supposed, of course, that they were Indians, probably followed by a numer- ous band. Captivity with its unknown fate seemed imminent. They endeavored to conceal themselves, and as the men drew nearer, saw, to their surprise, that they were white men. One proved to be Daniel Boone's brother, who had the singular Christian name of Squire. The other was a North Carolinian, who had accompanied him. They brought with them quite a supply of powder and lead, an inestimable treasure, which no labor could create and no money could purchase in the wilder-
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ness. How they were enabled to find the wanderers it is difficult to imagine. 1595966
There were now four to occupy the hut; the two Boones, Stewart, and the companion of Squire Boone, whose name is not given. As the weeks glided away, and there were no signs of Indians, the men became emboldened, and gradually extended the range of their hunting grounds. Again one day Boone and Stewart were in pursuit of game, at quite a distance from the camp, when they found themselves almost surrounded by Indians. These savages had probably heard of the white men, and of the . wonderful power of their rifles, for instead of rushing upon them for their capture, they let fly upon them, from ambush, a shower of arrows. Stewart was almost instantly killed. Boone was wounded, and with the agility of a deer disappeared in the forest. The savages, probably dreading the bullet, did not venture to pursue him. If they made any attempt to discover his camp, they were unsuccessful. They were a band of wandering hunters who, moving over the boundless plains, had accidentally come across the pioneers.
Not long after this the Carolinian, who seems to have been rather an attendant of Squire Boone, and a man of not much character, wandered in the woods and was lost. It is supposed he perished of hunger. A skeleton subsequently found, picked clean by the wolves, indicated his fate. The two brothers Boone were now the sole occupants of the camp. Boone says their life was far from an idle one; that they had sufficient employ- ment to occupy their time. They had game to hunt, bring in and dress; their hut to guard against the violence of storms; their fire to kindle, replenish and watch, and to keep themselves pro- vided with a sufficient supply of fuel; deer-skins to tan softly, and to fashion into clothing and moccasins; and, more than all, they had to keep up an unremitting guard against the Indians.
The Spring came early, and beautiful with bud, leaf and flower. And now occurs another of those incidents which seems utterly inexplicable. Their powder and lead were nearly expended. A supply was essential to any further continuance in the wilderness. But the question arises, " Why should either of them have wished to remain any longer in those perilous solitudes?" There was nothing apparent to be accomplished by it, unless it were the gratification of the love of adventure, in exploring beautiful realms
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which the light of civilization had never yet penetrated. What- ever may have been the motive which influenced these extra- ordinary men, the fact remains certain. Squire Boone set out alone, on foot, with no earthly protection but his rifle, to traverse a pathless wilderness five hundred miles in extent, exposed to ferocious beasts, such as panthers, bears and wolves, and to wandering bands of Indians still more to be dreaded. Having gained his home, he was to load himself with powder and bullets, and retrace his steps to the lonely camp of his brother.
It was a journey which, with the utmost diligence, would require at least three months for its accomplishment. In the meantime Daniel was to be left alone in his solitary hut.
On the first of May, 1770, Squire Boone set out on his arduous journey, and Daniel, as he expressed himself, was left " one by my- self, without bread, salt or sugar; without company of any fellow- creatures, or even a horse or a dog." It is said that he spent his time in a cave, which, tapestried and carpeted with skins, he had rendered comfortable and cheerful. It was situated on the waters of the Shawanee, in Mercer County, Kentucky.
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CHAPTER II.
CONFLICTING CLAIMS OF FRANCE AND ENGLAND.
THE RETURN OF SQUIRE BOONE-THE EMIGRATING COMPANY- CLAIMS OF THE FRENCH-EXPEDITIONS FROM CANADA - MISSION OF CHRISTOPHER GIST - PECULIAR FESTIVALS- CONFLICT AT THE MIAMI - HEROIC FEAT OF GEORGE WASH- INGTON -HIS EARLY DAYS- JOURNEY THROUGH THE WIL- DERNESS- EXTRACTS FROM WASHINGTON'S JOURNAL- LORD FAIRFAX - WASHINGTON COMMISSIONED AS MAJOR - HIS PERILOUS UNDERTAKING - MELANCHOLY ADVENTURE.
AFTER THE lapse of three months, early in August, Squire Boone returned, and found his brother safe and alone in his solitude. But Daniel Boone declares, that during the absence of Squire, he had not experienced one hour of loneliness. The charms of the wilderness to him were such, that in the brightness of the sunniest day, and in the gloom of the darkest night, he was alike serene and happy. He was never over-excited by joy, or depressed by sadness; even the perpetual howling of the wolves, in the forest, afforded him a kind of pensive pleasure.
Squire Boone succeeded in bringing with him, over the moun- tains, two pack-horses. They were an invaluable, but perilous acquisition to the pioneers. They brought an ample supply of the necessaries for camp life. But the sagacious Indians could, without difficulty, follow their trail, and the animals could not easily be concealed. Still eight months passed away, and no In, dians approached them. Mounting their horses, they explored the region, far and wide, until they became very thoroughly ac- quainted with the country, the flow of the rivers, the sweep of the mountains, and the fertile, treeless meadows, or prairies, which were all prepared by nature, for the plow and the hoe. Thus they employed themselves during the lovely autumn, and the mild winter, seldom sleeping two nights in the same place. It seems
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as though a special providence must have protected them from encountering any of the Indian bands ever running over those hunting fields.
Daniel Boone having become thoroughly conversant with this southern portion of the great valley, and appreciating its value to future generations, set out with his brother, in March, 1771, on his return home. The journey of a few weeks brought him to the Yadkin, where he found his wife and family in safety. The labors of his elder sons, with their rifles, and the cultivation of a few fertile acres, amply supplied the wants of the household.
A company was soon formed, incited by the representations of Daniel Boone, to emigrate to those realms, beyond the mountains, of marvelous fertility and beauty. This is not the place to enter into the details of this expedition intimately, as its fate was sub- sequently connected with the settlements in that northern portion of the great valley which is now called Ohio. These emigrants, after a series of wonderful adventures, established a settlement in the southern portion of the great valley, at a place now called. Booneville, Kentucky.
We must now retrace a little the path of time. While these scenes were transpiring south of the Ohio River, the French were enjoying the almost undisturbed possession of all the vast terri- tory north of that majestic stream. They had established military posts, around which flourishing settlements were springing up, at Detroit, Peoria, Kaskaskia, and Vincennes. To render their title still more valid, the Governor of Canada had sent surveyors, with a. guard of three hundred soldiers, to plant leaden plates, containing; inscriptions of the claims of France, at the mouths of all the prin- cipal rivers flowing into the Ohio.
Captain Celeron, who led the expedition, was also instructed, should he meet with any English traders among the Indians, to warn them off, as trespassers on the territory of France. The English traders, in pursuit of furs, were, at this time, penetrating the country in various directions, and they had established quite an important trading house on the banks of the Great Miami River. And, in the meantime, the King of England had granted to several English companies the whole coast of North America, between the Spanish possessions in the south and the French possessions in the north. The language of these grants declared,
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INDIAN MARRIAGE CEREMONY.
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that their territory should extend " up into the land throughout, from sea to sea, west and northwest."
In 1748, a company was formed in Virginia, entitled the "Ohio Land Company." The object was to survey the lands and estab- lish English colonies beyond the Alleghanies. They sent an agent to explore the region, and to direct particular attention to that portion of it which is now included within the limits of Ohio. This agent, Christopher Gist, traveling through leagues of almost unbroken forest, crossed the Muskingum and Scioto Rivers, and was kindly received in a large village of Shawnee Indians, on the banks of the Ohio, a few miles below the mouth of the Scioto River. Here he witnessed a very singular spectacle, which is worthy of record as illustrative of barbarian customs. It was announced that there was to be a great festival, of three days, continuance, first of fasting, then of feasting and dancing. At the close of the festival, all the married women were at liberty to choose their husbands anew. We are not informed whether the young girls were permitted at that time to select their com- panions, or what rights a man had to reject a woman whom he might not fancy.
After an abundant feast and great merry-making, the women were all assembled in front of one of their largest wigwams, called the Council House. The men then, gaily plumed and decorated, danced before them, performing the intricate mazes of their bar- barian cotillions, with loud shoutings and the clangor of their rude instruments. It was in the night. The whole wild-like spectacle was brilliantly illuminated by the blaze of their fires. The women eagerly watched their movements. When any man drew near whom any woman fancied, she seized a part of his garment and joined him in the dance. Thus the festival continued until all the women had selected their partners, when the new marriages were all solemnized together.
One's curiosity is somewhat excited to know what would be the fate of the man whom no woman fancied. And again, how would the difficulty be settled should half a dozen women, at the same moment, pounce upon some gay cavalier. An infirm dame of fifty years might, perchance, grasp the garment of some lithe young warrior of twenty.
There is probably now some large town of wealth and culture
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near the spot where these curious barbaric betrothals and nuptials took place, only a little more than one hundred years ago. What would probably be the result were the dance now some night renewed, were each woman to enjoy the privilege of remaining with her present husband, or selecting a new partner. If we may judge by the frequency of divorces, in these modern times, prob- ably some remarkable changes would take place.
Mr. Gist then continued his journey more than a hundred miles farther west, through an almost unbroken forest, to the Miami River. Here there was another numerous tribe of Indians, called the Miamis. It was not far from the mouth of this stream that the English had established their most important trading post. Retracing his steps to the Scioto, Mr. Gist took a birch canoe, and descended the river to the Falls of the Ohio.
The French, hearing that the British traders had established " hemselves on the Miami, sent a detachment of soldiers, with a pretty strong force of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, to destroy the settlement. The Miami warriors took the part of their friends, the English. There was a hard fight. The Miamis were over- powered; the block-house was demolished, and the traders were carried prisoners to Canada.
Of course, the English were greatly enraged. But the French, with their many garrisons scattered through the wilderness, were far too strong, in the Great Valley, for the English to attempt to cope with them there. There was a small English trading post at a place called Logstown, on the north bank of the Ohio, seven- teen miles below Pittsburgh. Some English commissioners were sent there to meet the chiefs of several adjacent tribes. Here they obtained the ratification of a treaty, into which they had pre- viously entered, for the cession to the English of a large tract of land in Ohio. They also made arrangements to construct a fort at the mouth of the Alleghany and Monongahela Rivers, whose united floods form the upper waters of the Ohio.
The Monongahela flows from the south a distance of three hundred miles, furnishing more than two hundred miles of boat navigation. It is nearly four hundred yards in width at its mouth. The Alleghany comes down from the north a distance of nearly four hundred miles, also affording boat navigation through regions three hundred miles in extent. It contributes its flood, equally abundant with that of the Monongahela, for the formation of the
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Ohio. This beautiful river flows a distance of nine hundred and fifty-nine miles, through as lovely a region as can be found on this globe, before it enters the Mississippi. Its waters flow two thousand five hundred miles before they are emptied into the Gulf of Mexico.
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