USA > Ohio > The history of the state of Ohio; from the discovery of the great valley, to the present time > Part 44
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escapes, and the many sufferings I have endured, I hardly think that any one would be willing to pass through the same ex- periences for all the knowledge he would thus obtain.
The Indians generally consist of as many different kinds of people as are to be found among the whites. They vary in character like all other races of men. Some persons, I have been led to think, consider it impossible for an Indian to laugh, to make fun, and to have a jolly time, as white people do. This is not true. When in their villages they have sports and frolics like other people.
I recall an instance which occurred in 1852. A party of Indians caught a white man from an emigrant train. It was called the wheelbarrow train, as they were all men, and each man had a barrow, or a small hand-cart, in which was his entire stock in trade. They were all bound to the new Eldorado. Most of them were Irishmen. As I have said, one of them got separated from the rest, and was captured by a small band of very good-natured Indians. They wanted to have some fun. .
I chanced to be with those Indians, and was painted and dressed like them. They took the man, barrow and all, and brought him into camp. A very solemn mock council was held. The doom was announced by signs to Pat of death by burning. He was tied to a tree. The dry sticks were piled up around him. The Indians then all collected in a circle around. Not the movement of a muscle of their countenances was perceptible. At the same time we were all nearly dying with internal laughter as we listened to Pat's moans and cries. They were something as follows :
"O, holy St. Patrick, O Mother of Moses, let me out of this."
"By the Blessed Virgin, Mr. Injine, if you let me out of this, be jabbers you will not catch me again. O, is it yourself, Pat, that has come across the mountains, among the bloody hathen, to be murdered, to be burned to death, to be scalped. O, plase, Mr. Injine, let me out."
At a nod from one of the Indians, I approached him and said to him in English, "You have been caught on our hunting- grounds, but if you will promise that you will clear out immedi- ately, I will cut your thongs and let you go."
Never before did I see such an expression as came upon the countenance of poor Pat. "Come to my arms," he cried out, -1
THOMAS CORWIN Governor 1840-42.
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" By the pipers that played before Moses you are a jintleman. May the blessing of St. Patrick rest upon you. And its myself that can go now. May the Holy Mother bless you. Hold your ear here a bit. Are you an Injine? "
I nodded my head with a whoop, hurrah, and away he went as if all the fiends were after him. All the Indians broke out into a laugh, and it seemed as though some of them would go into convulsions as they rolled upon the ground in uncontrolled merriment. Thus you see that Indians can enjoy fun and frolic as well as white men.
It is also said by some writers that the Indian is treacherous to every one; that he never forms a friendship for the whites; that he is ever liable, at any moment, to prove false. This is not so.
My uncle, who resides in California, had two Indians, Joe, a Piute, and Jack, a Ute. Either of these boys would at any time have died for him. After a while they became attached to me. I recollect that, in the Summer of 1853, I was surveying in what is called the Montezuma Hills, some seventy-five miles in a northerly direction from Benicia. Previous to my leaving on my survey, I had heard that a white man, with whom I had previously exchanged a few words of not a very friendly nature, had expressed himself as determined to take revenge for some wrong which he unjustly thought that I had done him.
Jack, the Ute Indian, heard him say that he would shoot me at sight, at the same time expressing his determination to go out to the place where I was surveying to hunt me up. Jack said nothing, but immediately mounting his horse, rode out to find me and warn me of my danger. He at once began to tell me what the man, whose name was Bill Burns, had said.
This man was a thorough desperado, and the very worst man I ever knew. The only redeeming traits in his character were reckless courage and a certain kind of veracity, which made you sure that if he threatened to shoot a man he would certainly do it. I must either flee from the country or watch my opportunity and shoot him first, or be shot the moment he caught sight of me, or contrive, in some way, to get access to him so as to explain to him his error.
I made up my mind to try to hunt up Burns and, if possible, to undeceive him in regard to what he had heard. It was necessary for me to go prepared instantly to shoot him down if I saw that
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he was drawing his pistol upon me. I started at once for Benicia by a roundabout way. I did not wish to meet him on the road. When I arrived at Benicia he had gone to San Francisco. I immediately followed, having for my companion State Senator Wambeau.
Upon arriving we both went to the hotel in front of the plaza. My friend went in and found Burns asleep on a sofa between the bar and the billiard-room. I at once entered, stepped up to his side and awoke him. As he awoke he looked towards me, and saw me bending over him with my bowie-knife in my hand. He was entirely at my mercy. "Don't kill me," he cried out. I then said, "Burns, if you stir or move a step till I get through, I will kill you like a dog." I was about to explain to him, when he said, "I know all about it. You are not to blame. I should have shot you, however, if I had met you, for had I not done so you would have killed me."
I added, "You are satisfied then?" " Perfectly," he replied. " Well, then," I rejoined, "good-bye at once and forever. Never speak to me or recognize me. From this time we are strangers. I never harmed you, neither do I wish to."
I immediately turned to leave him, and behold my Indian boy Jack stood directly behind me, pistol in hand. He had followed me, coming down in the boat without my knowing it.
" What would you have done," said I to Jack, "if Burns had got a shot at me."
"I kill him quick," said he.
If the Indians were not capable of the strongest attachment, Jack would not have done as he did.
At another time I had some trouble with an official of the state, in which I got cut up a little. On Jack's finding it out, in order to prevent him from killing the man, we had to tie his arms and legs with our lariats until the man was beyond his reach.
No attachment can be stronger; no truer friend can be found than an Indian whom you have always treated well. But some one may say that this Indian was to a great extent civilized ; he had been among the whites so long that he had learned their ways. But can any man who has the slightest acquaintance with the past history of the Indian believe that he has learned any- thing good from the white man? No! a thousand times no. The Indian has been cheated, victimized, robbed in every con-
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ceivable way. The fire-water of the whites has carried desolation all through their vast regions. It has been the cause of more murders, more bloodshed, more poverty among the Indians, than all other influences. It has created that disease of the internal. organs which is more dreadful than small-pox or cholera.
Forty years ago a white man who traded fairly, who always told the truth to the poor Indian, and who did as he agreed to, was safe, comparatively speaking, in any of their lodges. He could go defenseless wherever he would, without fear of harm. If a. white man chanced to be lost, and came upon a tribe suddenly, even if the tribe had been provoked to hostilities, the Indians. would scorn to take advantage of his misfortune; they would feed him. Then, showing him the way of escape, they would chival- rously point to the sun and give him the start of several hours be- fore they would undertake to pursue him as an enemy. Then, should they overtake him, he would be deemed a lawful captive.
But look at the Indians now, after years of acquaintance with. the white man, and see how changed; but few are left. They have nearly all fallen beneath the white man's treachery. Whisky and diseases, introduced by the whites, have depopulated their hunt- ing-grounds as never could have been done by force of arms. The diminished and broken tribes, driven from the graves of their fathers, disheartened by their calamities, are slowly becoming ex- terminated.
Still there will be, probably, for a century to come, fragments of these tribes lingering amidst the vast ravines of the Rocky Moun- tains. The question of their civilization presents a very difficult problem. Scarcely any consideration can induce the male Indian to engage in any of the employments of useful industry. The women do all the work. If a camp is to be moved, Mr. In- dian takes his rifle or his bows and arrows, and starts off ahead. The squaw takes down the lodge, packs up all the movables, takes the heavy load upon her shoulders, and trudges along in the footsteps of her husband, who would scorn to relieve her of her burden in the slighest degree.
If the Indian goes a hunting, his squaw follows after him to skin the game and to bring into the camp upon her bending back, perhaps, the heavy four quarters of a deer. If the tribe chance to have horses, Mr. Indian mounts instead of going afoot. His squaw, however, saddles and bridles the horse, and brings hint
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to the door of the lodge. When the Indian returns from any horseback excursion at the close of the day, he jumps from his horse before the lodge, and his wife takes off his soiled moccasins and puts upon his feet a fresh pair. He then enters the lodge, throws himself down upon his soft couch of fur robes, while his wife takes care of the horse and serves to him his supper.
Such is life among the Indians. As a general thing the Indians have great regard for their chiefs, who rule them with an iron hand. I was acquainted with an old chief at Los Angelos, who was al- most fiend-like in his tyranny and cruelty. He was almost a giant in stature, being nearly seven feet high, and possessed of herculean strength. He was perfectly fearless, and all the Indians stood in awe of him. A conspiracy was formed for his deposition. They had a great carousal, and got him helplessly drunk. Then they seized and bound him hand and foot, so that he could scarcely move a muscle. Then they heated some needles red hot and pricked both his eyes until vision was entirely extinguished. They then released him, as utterly helpless and powerless as a new born babe.
He wandered to Los Angelos, where he got a living by begging. Here I often saw him. He got so that he knew my voice, and. seemed to love to have me talk to him. I have not the least doubt that, could he have caught in his powerful grasp any one of his tribe, he would instantly have strangled him.
But, as I have said, the Indians are generally very loyal to their chiefs. They also regard with profound reverence their medicine men. It is believed that they hold immediate converse with the Great Spirit, and that they have the power of prophecy and of working miracles. They can, the Indian thinks, by a wish destroy their enemies and bring prosperity to their friends.
The medicine men spend their time in collecting roots, stones, bones and other things to use in case of sickness, or to make into charms to be worn by the braves. These charms, it is supposed, will save them from the arrows or bullets of their enemies. They are always dressed in the most fantastic garb. Their faces are literally covered with streaks of paint. They howl and twist themselves into the most hideous contortions.
But the untutored Indians regard every thing that is strange or wonderful, or that they have never seen before, as "Big Medi- cine." I have often been asked if I have not seen Indians, in my
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many hostile encounters with them, who would rush upon their foes, headlong as it were, without paying any regard to numbers. or position. In other words, are there not Indians so brave and. impetuous that they apparently think nothing of their own lives,. but rush recklessly into the battle.
I answer no! I never saw an Indian yet who did not practice the utmost caution before he would expose any part of his per- son to be struck by a bullet. I have seen them dodge from tree to tree, eagerly seeking covert behind logs and stones and sand- hills, when in large and overpowering numbers they were endeav- oring to surround a small party. But I never have seen a party of Indians make an open charge upon a band of white men who had rifles and ammunition. We were not accustomed to fear any number of them in open battle. It was only necessary to guard against ambush and midnight surprises. I have often been without water and without food. But I never allowed myself to be with- out ammunition.
If the Indians would rush into danger, as the white man will, since they often vastly outnumbered us, we might easily have been overwhelmed, with comparatively small loss to themselves. But in such a charge it was certain that some of them would fall before our unerring rifles. Each warrior thought that he might be of that number. And no one was willing to purchase victory at that price. But when they fought from behind trees and rocks, there was a good chance that none of them might be hit. Thus they might gain the victory without any loss.
Inured to every hardship, as the Indians had been from child- hood, every muscle being tough as iron, accustomed to the use of the tomahawk and the scalping-knife, dodging almost as swift as the lightning's flash from covert to covert, unencumbered with clothing, and their skin, as a general thing, oiled to prevent any one from retaining a hold upon them, many of them superior to. the whites in physical strength; when we consider these things it must be admitted that the Indians were formidable foes to encounter
For my own part I should not wish again to take the chances which I have often taken, when our party consisted of but sixty-five men, while the Indians numbered fifteen hundred. On one such occasion we were two hundred miles from Fort Tejon, the nearest place to which we could look for any succor. As I now reflect
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upon those days, and think of my old friends, Kit Carson, J'oe Walker, Aleck Cody, Peg Leg Smith, and hosts of others, around whose camp-fires I have had the pleasure of sitting, and who have often been with me around my own camp-fires, and with some of whom I have month after month penetrated these wilds, all of whom are now dead, excepting perhaps Aleck Cody, I cannot but wish that I could again visit those places, even if there were a few Indians around hunting for one's scalp.
Such was the experience of Mr. Goodyear among these natives of the forest and the prairie. The warfare with the savages was very different from the warfare of the present day. There were often the most desperate hand-to-hand fights, the combatants grappling with frenzied energies in the death struggle, where the victory was entirely dependent upon superior agility and strength of muscle. We are indebted, in the main, to that very valuable work, Doddridge's Notes, for the following narrative of one of these most terrible encounters :
In the Summer of 1782 seven Wyandot Indians entered the cabin of an aged man residing alone a short distance from Fort Pitt, and some distance back from the Ohio River. They toma- hawked the old settler, and, plundering the cabin of everything they wished, took their departure. The circuinstance soon became known, and a small party was organized to go in pursuit of the savages. Among the men were two brothers, Adam and Andrew Poe, who were both famed for their size and courage.
The party determined, if possible, to capture or destroy these Indians. They traveled all night, and in the morning came upon the trail. This led down to the Ohio River. Andrew Poe, fear- ing an ambuscade, crept cautiously along the bank, hiding among the reeds and bushes, intending to fall upon the rear of the In- dians. Soon he discovered some rafts near the shore. With his gun cocked he stole along the edge of the bank, and espied two Indians of the Wyandot tribe; one a man of herculean frame, a chief, the other rather diminutive in size. They were but a few feet from him, but were earnestly looking in the opposite direction, their attention being arrested by the discovery of some white men farther along on the bank.
Adam Poe aimed at the giant and fired, but his gun flashed in the pan. The click of the gun-lock caught the ear of the savage and he instantly turned. Poe, being unarmed and too near to
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retreat, sprang down the bank and clutched the chief with one hand, holding him by a cloth fastened around his breast. The smaller one he seized around the neck, and then threw them both on the ground, being himself uppermost. The smaller one escaped from his grasp, and seizing a tomahawk aimed a blow at the head of his assailant. The chief, unable to rise, held Poe fast. But his feet, which were at liberty, he used vigorously, knocking the tomahawk from the hand of the savage, and, for the moment, dis- abling him.
But, recovering himself, the Indian caught up his weapon and approached Poe very cautiously, aiming again at his head. He, however, averted the blow, taking it upon his wrist. The blow was severe, but he did not by it lose the use of his hand. By a violent effort he freed himself from the grasp of the Indian. Seizing a gun he shot the smaller Indian through the breast. Instantly he was again in the brawny arms of the chief, and was thrown upon the ground. Rising to his feet he was again grap- pled, and the shore- being slippery, both fell into the water. Each endeavored to drown the other. Poe, seizing the scalp-lock of the savage, held him under water until he presumed him to be dead. But to his consternation, on releasing his hold, Poe found his antagonist ready for another fight.
In the deadly struggle which ensued they were both swept by the current into water beyond their depth. This compelled them to lose their hold of each other. The contest then was to see who could first gain the shore by swimming, and then seize a gun and shoot his antagonist. The Indian proved the best swimmer and grasped a rifle. Fortunately it was one which had just been discharged. Poe immediately turned back, swimming out into the stream, hoping to dodge the bullet by diving. Just then Andrew Poe came up. His gun had also just been discharged. The burly savage and the white man faced each other at the dis- tance of but a few yards. The question of life or death depended upon who could most quickly load his gun.
The Indian, in his eagerness, drew the ramrod from its thimbles with such violence that it slipped from his fingers and fell to the ground. This gave Adam Poe the advantage of two or three seconds. He shot the Indian through the heart, and the savage rolled down the steep and slippery bank into the river, to be swept by the current to some unknown grave. As Andrew Poe
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was struggling towards the shore, one of his own party caught sight of him, and mistaking him for an Indian, shot at him, in- flicting a serious but not fatal wound in the shoulder.
While these bloody scenes were transpiring, their comrades at- tacked the remaining six Indians and killed five of them. Thus ended this desperate conflict. All of the Indian party but one were slain. The white men lost three killed and one severely wounded. The gigantic Indian, of whom we have spoken, was one of the most renowned chiefs of the Wyandot nation. He was one of the bravest and most magnanimous of Indian warriors. He appears to have been a man of high moral principle, was noted for his kindness to all the captives taken by his tribe. He would never allow a prisoner to be ill-treated or killed.
Mr. Hutchins has given a very graphic account of the surren- der of the Indians upon the banks of the Muskingum, of two hundred and six prisoners, men, women and children, early in the period of the Indian wars :
"Language indeed can but weakly describe the scene, one to which the poet or painter might have repaired, to enrich the highest colorings of the variety of the human passions; the philosopher, to find ample subject for the most serious reflection ; and the man to exercise all the tender and sympathetic feelings of the soul. There were to be seen fathers and mothers recog- nizing and clasping their once lost babes ; husbands hanging round the necks of their newly recovered wives; sisters and brothers unexpectedly meeting together after a long separation, scarcely able to speak the same language, or for some time to be sure they were the children of the same parents. In all these interviews joy and rapture inexpressible were seen, while feelings of a very different nature were painted in the looks of others, flying from place to place, in eager inquiries after relatives not found, trembling to receive an answer to questions, distracted with doubts, hopes and fears on obtaining no account of those they sought for, or stiffened into living monuments of woe and horror on learning their unhappy fate.
" The Indians, too, as if wholly forgetting their usual savageness, bore a capital part in heightening this most affecting scene. They delivered up their beloved captives with the utmost reluc- tance-shed tears over them-recommending them to the care and protection of the commanding officer. Theirregard for them
THOMAS W.BARTLEY Governor 18 44.
HISTORY OF OHIO. 547
continued all the while they remained in the camp. They visited them from day to day, brought them what corn, skins, horses, and other matters had been bestowed upon them while in their families, accompanied with other presents, and all the marks of the most sincere and tender affection. Nay, they didn't stop here, but when the army marched, some of the Indians solicited and obtained permission to accompany their former captives to Fort Pitt, and employed themselves in hunting and bringing provisions for them on the way. A young Mingo carried this still further, and gave an instance of love which would make a figure even in romance. A young woman of Virginia was among the captives, to whom he had formed so strong an attachment as to call her his wife. Against all the remonstrances of the immi- nent danger to which he exposed himself by approaching the frontier, he persisted in following her at the risk of being killed by the surviving relatives of many unfortunate persons who had been taken captive, or scalped by those of his nation.
" Among the captives a woman was brought into camp at Mus- kingum, with a babe about three months old. One of the Vir- ginia volunteers soon knew her to be his wife. She had been taken by the Indians about six months before. He flew with her to his tent, and clothed her and his child with proper apparel. But their joy, after the first transports, was dampened by the reflection that another dear child about two years old, taken with the mother, had been separated from her and was still missing, although many children had been brought in.
" A few days afterwards a number of other persons were brought in, among whom were several children. The woman was sent for and one supposed to be her's was produced. At first sight she was not certain, but viewing the child with great earnestness, she: soon recollected its features, and was so overcome with joy that,. forgetting her nursing babe, she dropped it from her arms, and. catching up the new-found child, in ecstacy pressed it to her breast. and, bursting into tears, carried it off, unable to speak for joy. The father, rising up with the babe which she had let fall, followed. her in no less transport and affection.
"But it must not be denied that there were some, even grown persons, who showed an unwillingness to return. The: Shawanese were obliged to bind some of their prisoners and force: them along to the camp; and some women who had been deliv- 33
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ered up, afterwards found means to escape, clung to their savage acquaintances at parting, and continued many days in bitter lam- entations, even refusing sustenance."
J. W. Van Cleve, of Dayton, says that he was with a surveying party above the site of Columbus, in the year 1797. The party were nearly starved, having been reduced to three scanty meals in four days. In this condition they chanced to come upon the camp of a single Wyandot Indian with his family. The hospita- ble savage immediately gave them all the provisions he had, which consisted only of two rabbits and a small piece of venison; and still the father of this Wyandot had been murdered by vagabond white men in time of peace.
CHAPTER XXIX.
BLENNERHASSETT.
BIRTH AND EDUCATION OF HARMON BLENNERHASSETT - HIS EMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES-HIS HOME ON BLEN- NERHASSETT'S ISLAND-ITS BUILDINGS, FURNITURE AND AP- POINTMENTS- MR. BLENNERHASSETT'S TRUE GENEROSITY - APPEARANCE AND CHARACTER OF MRS. BLENNERHASSETT - HER DRESS, MANNERS, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND HABITS MIRTHFUL SCENES ON THE OHIO-DIFFICULTY OF TRAVEL IN OHIO, IN 1796 - PROGRESS AT BELPRE -AARON BURR AND HIS TREASONABLE SCHEMES -HE VISITS BLENNERHASSETT'S ISLAND-HE UNFOLDS PART OF HIS PLANS AND ENGAGES WITH MR. BLENNERHASSETT IN A LAND SPECULATION - HIS ENERGY AT MARIETTA.
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