USA > Ohio > The history of the state of Ohio; from the discovery of the great valley, to the present time > Part 39
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We will give one more narrative, illustrative of these days of blood and woe Mr. Johnson, of Westmoreland County, Penn- sylvania, having a large family to provide for, sold his farm and moved into the great Ohio Valley, that he might have larger pos- sessions to divide among his children as they should grow up. He crossed the Ohio River, near where Steubenville now is, and reared his cabin about two and a half miles back from the river, and three miles above the mouth of a little stream called Short Creek. He had two sons; John was about eleven and Henry thirteen years of age.
One Sunday morning the two boys were in the woods, at a little distance from the cabin, sitting upon a log cracking walnuts; they saw two men approaching through the forest, from the direc- tion of the house. From their dress they supposed them to be two neighbors, James Perdue and Mr. Russell. They were, there- fore, not at all alarmed until the men drew near, and they saw that they were Indians. Escape was now impossible, and they were terror stricken.
One of the Indians greeted the boys pleasantly, saying, " How do brodder," but told them, in terms not to be misunderstood, that they must immediately follow them. At once they took up their rapid line of march; both of the savages were strong men, well armed with rifle and tomahawk. One walked about ten steps in the advance, and the other at the same distance behind.
Rapidly they pressed on for several hours, to put as much dis- tance as possible between them and the friends of the boys, when they halted in a deep ravine and sat down to rest. They took out their knives and began to whet them, talking, in the mean- time, eagerly in the Indian tongue, which the boys did not under- stand. This was probably merely a savage ruse to ascertain the
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temper of the boys, and to learn whether they were cowardly or brave. If brave, they were worthy of being adopted into the tribe; if cowards, death was their doom.
Henry, the youngest, thought that the Indians were preparing to kill them, and told his brother so. John was of the same opinion, but, with wisdom above his years, he assumed an attitude of perfect calmness, and finding that the Indians understood a little English, said to them :
" We are very glad to go with you; we do not like to work upon the farm. We have to work very hard; we had very much rather live with the Indians, and go with them hunting in the woods."
This speech evidently pleased them greatly. They sheathed their knives and began to talk socially and pleasantly with the boys. They asked John which was the way home; though he knew perfectly well, he pointed in a contrary direction. This made them laugh heartly, for they thought that the boys were com- pletely bewildered and lost; soon they resumed their march. As the darkness of night began to settle down upon the forest, they selected a place of encampment in a deep gulley where there was a dense growth of trees and shrubs. The boys, worn out with the long march, and far away from their friends in the pathless forest, were not very closely watched. The Indians were doubly de- ceived; they thought that the boys had no wish to escape, and that escape was impossible, even had they desired it ever so much.
One of the Indians struck fire by flashing powder in the pan of his gun. As the gun was loaded, he plugged the touch-hole. They soon had a cheerful blaze, and, cooking some game by the camp-fire, ate a hearty supper, with such appetites as health and fatigue give. They all talked together some time very pleasantly, and then threw themselves upon the bare ground around the fire for sleep. The Indians took the precaution to put the two boys between them, that they might guard them more safely. After a time, one of the Indians, supposing the boys to be asleep, and not finding his own position very comfortable, rose and laid down on the other side of the fire, and, by his breathing, soon gave unmis- takable proof that he was soundly sleeping.
Both Henry and John were carefully watching every motion, and had whispered to each other, hoping that an opportunity might present itself for their escape.
John, when he found that they were soundly asleep, whispered
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to Henry to get up. They both rose as carefully as possible. John took the gun with which the Indian had struck fire, cocked it, and aimed it over a log directly at the head of one of the Indians, and left it in Henry's hand to pull the trigger as soon as he should make the sign. He then took a tomahawk, and crept to the side of the other Indian, and held it over his head. At the given sig- nal the gun was discharged, while at the same instant John brought down the sharp tomahawk upon the head of the other Indian with all the force with which the little fellow could strike. The bullet seemed effectually to have done its work, as the Indian neither groaned nor moved. He apparently lay still in death.
But John, in the excitement of the moment, struck the Indian too far back upon the head. Still, it was a stunning blow. The Indian, uttering a terrific yell, endeavored to spring to his feet. For a moment the conflict was terrible and doubtful. A little boy of thirteen was struggling against a burly savage of almost hercu- lean strength. But terror nerved the puny arm. Blow followed blow in quick succession, as the savage struggled upon his knees in the vain attempt to rise. The blood flowed profusely. At length the Indian sank down, helpless and senseless. John did not leave his work half done.
Satisfying themselves that both of the Indians were dead, the two boys took one of their guns, and in rapid flight returned to their friends with the astounding news. They reached home in safety. A small party was sent back, led by John, to the spot where the heroic deed had been achieved. The bodies of the Indians were found, and also the other gun.
Mr. O. A. Spencer, one of the early emigrants to Columbia, Ohio, in the year 1790, gives the following account of life as he then experienced it in that remote settlement :
"It is, perhaps, unknown to many that the broad and extensive plain stretching along the Ohio, from the Crawfish to the mouth, and for three miles up the Little Miami, and now divided into farms highly cultivated, was the ancient seat of Columbia, a town laid out by Major Benjamin Stiles, its original proprietor ; and by him and others once expected to become a large city, the great capital of the west. From the Crawfish, the small creek forming its northwestern boundary, more than one mile up the Ohio, and extending back about three-fourths of a mile, and half way up the high hill which formed a part of its eastern and northern
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limits, the ground was laid off into blocks, containing each eight lots of half an acre, bounded by streets intersected at right angles. The residue of the plain was divided into lots of four or five acres, for the accommodation of the town. Over this plain, on our arrival, we found scattered about fifty cabins, flanked by a small stockade, nearly half a mile below the mouth of the Miami, together with a few block-houses for the protection of the inhabi- tants, at suitable distances along the banks of the Ohio.
"Fresh on my remembrance is the rude log house, the first humble sanctuary of the first settlers of Columbia, standing amids tthe tall forest trees, on the beautiful knoll, where now (1834) is a grave-yard, and the ruins of the Baptist meeting-house of later years. There, on the holy Sabbath, we were wont to assemble to hear the Word of Life; but our fathers met with their muskets and rifles, prepared for action, and ready to repel any attack of the enemy. And while the watchman on the walls of Zion was utter- ing his faithful and pathetic warning, the sentinels without, at a few rods distance, with measured step, were now pacing their walks; and now standing and with strained eyes endeavoring to pierce through the distance, carefully scanning every object that seemed to have life or motion.
"The first clergyman I heard preach there was Mr. Gano, father of the late General Gano, of this city, then a captain, and one of the earliest settlers of Columbia. Never shall I forget that holy and venerable man, with locks white with years, as with a voice tremulous with age, he ably expounded the word of truth.
"I well recollect that, in 1791, so scarce and dear was flour, that the little that could be afforded in families was laid by to be used only in sickness, or for the entertainment of friends; and although corn was then abundant, there was but one mill, a float- ing mill on the Little Miami, near where Turpin's now stands; it was built in a small flat-boat tied to the bank, its wheel turning slowly with the natural current, running between the flat and a small pirogue anchored in the stream, and on which one end of its shaft rested; and having only one pair of small stones, it was at best barely sufficient to supply meal for the inhabitants of Columbia and the neighboring families; and sometimes from low water and other unfavorable circumstances, it was of little use, so that we were obliged to supply the deficiency from hand-mills, a most laborious mode of grinding.
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" The Winter of 1791-2 was followed by an early and delightful Spring. Indeed I have often thought that our first western win- ters were much milder, our springs earlier, and our autumns longer than they are now. On the last of February some of the trees were putting forth their foliage; in March the redbud, the haw- thorn and the dogwood, in full bloom, checkered the hills, display- ing their beautiful colors of rose and lily; and in April the ground was covered with May-apple, bloodroot, ginseng, violets, and a great variety of herbs and flowers. Flocks of parroquets were seen decked in their rich plumage of green and gold. Birds of various species and of every hue were flitting from tree to tree, and the beautiful redbird and the untaught songster of the West made the woods vocal with their melody.
" Now might be heard the plaintive wail of the dove, and now the rumbling drum of the partridge or the loud gobble of the tur- key. Here might be seen the clumsy bear, doggedly moving off or urged by pursuit into a laboring gallop, retreating to his citadel in the top of some lofty tree; or, approached suddenly, raising himself erect in the attitude of defense, facing his enemy and waiting his approach. There the timid deer, watchfully resting, or cautiously feeding, or aroused from his thicket gracefully bound- ing off; then stopping, erecting his stately head, and for a moment gazing around or snuffing the air to ascertain his enemy, instantly springing off, clearing logs and bushes at a bound, and soon dis- tancing his pursuers. It seemed an earthly paradise; and but for apprehensions of the wily copperhead, who lay silently coiled among the leaves or beneath the plants waiting to strike his victim; the horrid rattlesnake, who more chivalrous, however, with head erect amidst its ample folds, prepared to dart upon his foe, gen- erously with the loud noise of his rattle apprised him of danger ; and the still more fearful and insidious savage, who, crawling upon the ground, or noiselessly approaching behind trees and thickets, sped the deadly shaft or fatal bullet, you might have fancied you were in the confines of Eden, or the borders of elysium.
" At this delightful season the inhabitants of our village went forth to their labor, inclosing their fields which the spring floods had opened, tilling their ground, and planting their corn for their next year's sustenance. I said went forth, for the principal corn field was distant from Columbia about one and a half miles east,
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and adjoining the extensive plain on which the town stood. That large tract of alluvial ground, still known by the name of Turkey Bottom, and which, lying about fifteen feet below the adjoining plain, and annually overflowed, is yet very fertile, was laid off into lots of five acres each, and owned by the inhabitants of Columbia; some possessing one, and others two or more lots; and to save labor was enclosed with one fence.
"Here the men generally worked in companies, exchanging labor, or in adjoining fields, with their fire-arms near them, that in case of an attack they might be ready to unite for their common defense. Here their usual annual crop of corn, from ground very ordinarily cultivated, was eighty bushels per acre, and some lots well tilled produced a hundred, and in very favorable seasons a hundred and ten bushels to the acre. An inhabitant of New England, New Jersey, or some portions of Maryland, would scarcely think it credible, that in hills four feet apart, were four or five stalks, one and a-half inches in diameter and fifteen feet in height, bearing each two or three ears of corn, of which some were so far from the ground that to pull them an ordinary man was obliged to stand on tiptoe."
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CHAPTER XXV.
THE CAPTURE OF THE BOAT.
THE EMBARKATION -THE DECOY - THE CAPTURE - SCENE OF INDIAN REVELRY - DESTRUCTION OF THE CANOE AND ITS CREW -THE THREE BARGES-TERRIBLE RIVER FIGHT- CAPTURE OF TWO BOATS-PICTURESQUE FOREST SCENE - ANOTHER CAROUSE - DISTRIBUTION OF THE CAPTIVES AND THE BOOTY - PERIL FROM A DRUNKEN SAVAGE - KINDNESS OF MESS-HA-WA -THE JOURNEY TO THE INDIAN VILLAGES- VARIOUS INCIDENTS - GAME OF NOSEY - A COLD BATH-AN INDIAN TRADER - THE MIDNIGHT REVEL - PROPOSAL OF A MINGO CHIEF- CURIOUS INCIDENT.
IN THE month of February, 1790, Mr. John May, a gentleman from Virginia, who was employed in surveying lands in Kentucky, accompanied by Charles Johnston, who was but twenty years of age, purchased a boat, such as was then used for the navigation of the western waters, to descend the Kanawha River and the Ohio, to Lexington. At Kelly's Station they took on board Mr. Jacob Skyles with a stock of dry goods. Arriving at Point Pleasant, at the mouth of the Kanawha, a man by the name of Flinn and two Misses Flemings joined the party.
Here they learned that both banks of the Ohio were infested by bands of hostile Indians, who were using every stratagem which Indian cunning could devise to decoy boats on shore, when they plundered the boat and murdered or captured all on board. They resolved that they would keep in the middle of the channel, and that nothing should induce them to approach either bank. They knew that the Indians, concealed in the forest, would follow descending boats for miles- that by torture they would compel their white captives to assist them in luring their victims to land.
It was the season of spring floods, and the swollen river, filling its banks to the full, rolled along in its channel almost like a
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mountain torrent. Their speed was such that there was no need, save to keep themselves in the middle of the stream.
On the morning of the 20th of March, just as they had passed the point where the Scioto River enters the Ohio, they were awoke a little before daylight by Flinn, who was on the watch. Far down the river was to be seen the alarming gleam of camp-fires. Those fires could have been kindled only by the Indians. There was no hope of escaping their keen eyes. There might be a hundred warriors there, thoroughly armed with rifles, and with war canoes by which they could assail the boat from every quar- ter. The windings of the river were such that it was impossible to tell on which side of the stream the camp stood.
They could not land without certain destruction. They could not anchor. They could not force their way back against the current. All that remained to them was to float down to their fate, whatever that fate might be. As the current bore them swiftly on, it ere long became manifest that the encampment of the savages was on the Ohio shore. Soon two white men appeared upon the bank, in apparently a frenzy of terror. In the most earnest and piteous tones they entreated the voyagers to come to the bank and take them on board.
"We were captured," they said, "a few days ago by the Indians, at Kennedy's Bottom. Last night we escaped. The savages are in hot pursuit of us. Our death, by the most horrible torture, is certain unless you come to our rescue. You have nothing to fear. There are no Indians near enough to fire upon you before you have time to push out again into the middle of the stream. For the love of God save us, and do not leave two of your unfor- tunate countrymen to be tortured to death by the savages."
The voyagers, in accordance with their resolution, steeled their hearts against these imploring cries. The boat was swept along by the swollen current, at the rate of six or seven miles an hour. The two white men, perceiving the obduracy of the boatmen, ran along the bank evidently anguish stricken, and uttering the most lamentable entreaties to be saved. Human nature could not long withstand such supplication. The kind-hearted girls entreated the captain to go ashore. A council was held of the six on board the boat. Captain May, with Johnson and Skyles, declared that it was not safe to listen to their cry; that the chances were that a party of savages was in the forest, compelling the men, by
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threats of the most awful torture, to do their bidding; and that the moment the bows of the boat touched the shore they would be fired upon from ambush and all massacred.
But Flinn and the two Miss Flemmings pleaded for the fugitives. They urged that there was every evidence that the men were sincere; that there were too many circumstances corroborating their statement to render it reasonable to suppose that their story was made up for the occasion; and that it would be an eternal disgrace to them all, should they allow two of their fellow country- men miserably to perish when they could so easily rescue them.
Flinn heroically made a proposition which he said could be carried into effect without endangering any one but himself. The boat had now drifted nearly a mile below the men who were still despairingly running along the shore. He offered, if Captain May would only touch the shore with the bow of the boat, that he would leap on land before it would be possible for the Indians, even if they were at hand, to arrest the boat. The captain should immediately push from the shore and abandon him to his fate. If then he found that there was no danger all could be taken on board.
This plan was assented to. But the unwieldy and heavily-laden boat, when out of the current, was moved with difficulty. It took a much longer time than was expected to reach the bank. The moment the bows grated upon the sand Flinn leaped from the boat. At that moment six savages rushed upon him from the dense wood. They seized him, and with their rifles opened upon the crew a deadly fire. The panic was terrible. Two seized their rifles to return the fire. One seized an oar to push out into the stream. But such a mass could not easily be moved by one puny arm. The forest seemed to be alive with the savages, as with horrid yells they came rushing on. The boat became entan- gled in the bows of the trees. The Indians, at the distance of scarcely ten paces, were pouring in their fire.
There were many horses on board. Some were struck by the bullets. All were terrified. They broke their halters and plunged madly to and fro. All on board threw themselves on their faces as some slight protection. The yells of the Indians added to the terrors of the awful scene. The wary Indians, ever careful not to expose themselves, continued their fire. Soon all the horses were killed. One of the girls, venturing to raise her head a little, was
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pierced through the brain by a bullet, and fell dead. Skyles was struck by a bullet, which shattered his shoulder blade. May re- ceived a ball through the forehead, and dropped lifeless.
The lad Johnston and one of the Miss Flemmings alone remained unharmed, with the exception of Flinn, who was a captive on the shore. Twenty of the savages now boarded the boat, some swim- ming to it, and climbing over its sides. Johnston, making a virtue of necessity, received them with apparent kindness, and helped them in. They all seemed in high glee, and very good natured. They shook him quite cordially by the hand, exclaim- ing in broken English, "How de do?"
Skyles was writhing in anguish under his painful wound. Miss Flemming was sitting silent and pallid with horror by the side of her dead sister. The Indians greeted them both civilly. They then proceeded to scalping the dead, and the lifeless bodies were thrown overboard. The scalps were stretched upon hoops and hung up to dry. They then drew the boat ashore and very eagerly examined their prize. The unhappy Skyles, tortured by his cruel wound, saw his silks, cambrics and broadcloths seized by the barbarian spoilers, while many of his most precious articles were trampled contemptuously in the mire. At length they came upon a keg of whisky. A general shout of exultation greeted this discovery. Everything else was forgotten, and, in a tumult of delight, they rushed ashore.
They built an immense fire, and all gathered around it, dancing and singing. Thus far, in the excitement and eagerness of exam- ining their prize, they had made no attempt to rob the captives of their clothing. Johnston was quite richly dressed, for a boat- man, having provided himself with a new suit just before sailing. He had a warm broadcloth surtout, a thick red flannel vest, a ruffled shirt, and an excellent pair of boots.
While they were gathered around the fire, a stout Shawnee chief, whose name he afterwards learned to be Chick-a-tom-mo, came up and eyed his finery very closely. He then took hold of the skirt of the overcoat, and giving it several very expressive jerks, indicated, by gestures not to be misunderstood, that he wished for it. Johnston drew it off and politely handed it to him. The red flannel waist-coat was now exposed to view in all its shining glories.
The chief examined it with great admiration, and regarding it
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as an emblem of the wearer's martial rank, exclaimed: "Hugh ! you big cappatain ?" Johnston replied, in language which the chief seemed to understand, that he was not an officer, that he had nothing to do with military affairs. The chief, towering up as imposingly as he could, said: "Me cappatain; all dese," point- ing to the other Indians, "my sogers." He then demanded the waistcoat. It was a cold windy March day. Johnston gave it to him, and stood shivering in his shirt and pantaloons.
Just then an old Indian of hideous aspect, and filthy in the ex- treme, came up and fixed an eagle eye upon Johnston's nice clean ruffled shirt, and striking him upon the shoulder, said, in impera- tive tones: "Swap, swap!" There was nothing to be done but to obey. As he was drawing the shirt over his head, exposing his bare chest to the really wintry air, another Indian came up, a young man of very stout proportions, and of unexpectedly hu- mane spirit. The young Indian, whose name was afterwards found to be Tom Lewis, indicating that he had seen much of the whites, pulled the half-drawn shirt back again, and severely re- proached the old Indian for robbing the captive of his shirt in such cold weather.
Soon after this, the kind young man, with an extraordinary look of pity and compassion, threw his own blanket over the shivering shoulders of Johnston. This act greatly cheered the poor prison- er, for it proved that, even among the savages, there were those who had sympathies of kindness and generosity, to which one might appeal not in vain.
The two white men who had decoyed the boat ashore, now took seats by the side of the captives and began to make excuses for their infamous conduct. They said that the Indians had com- pelled them, by threats of instant death, to do as they had done. But these cheap words could by no means atone for so atrocious a crime. They had both been captured by the Indians from Ken- tucky. The name of one was Thomas, of the other, Divine. While they were talking, a negro, who was also a captive, came forward. He said that Thomas had been very averse to having any share in the treachery, but that Divine, having had a promise from the Indians that, in case of success, his own liberty should be restored to him, had planned the project, and with great eagerness entered into its execution. In some things the Indians had a high sense of honor; and it was known that they would be faithful
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in keeping such a promise. This charge against Divine was after- wards fully substantiated.
As the whole band of Indians and white captives were gathered around the bonfire, the Indians preparing for their carouse with the contents of the whisky keg, six Indian women came up, lead- ing with them two white children, a girl and a boy. They had recently been taken from Kentucky. Skyles' wound was agoniz- ingly painful, and Flinn, who, in his adventurous life, had picked up some little knowledge of surgery, dressed the wound as well as he could. An Indian woman kindly washed the wound, and, catching the bloody water in a tin cup, insisted upon Skyles' drink- ing it, saying that it would accelerate the cure.
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