USA > Virginia > A history of the valley of Virginia, 3rd ed > Part 26
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Relaxing his hold too soon, Poe instantly found his gigantic antagonist on his feet again, and ready for another combat. In this they were carried into the water beyond their depth. In this situa- tion they were compelled to loose their hold on each other and swim for mutual safety. Both sought the shore, to seize a gun and end the contest with bullets. The Indian being the best swimmer, reached the land first. Poe seeing this, immediately turned back into the water, to escape, if possible, being shot, by diving. For- tunately the Indian caught up the rifle with which Poe had killed the other warrior.
At this juncture, Andrew Poe, missing his brother from the party, and supposing from the report of the gun which he shot, that he was either killed or engaged in conflict with the Indians hastened to the spot. On seeing him, Adam called out to him to "kill the big Indian on shore." But Andrew's gun, like that of the Indian's was empty. The contest was now between the white man and the Indian, who should load and fire first. Very fortun-
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ADAM POE.
ately for Poe, the Indian, on loading, drew the ramrod from the thimbles of the stock of the gun with so much violence, that it slip- ped out of his hand and fell a little distance from him. He quickly caught it up, and rammed down his bullet. This little delay gave Poe the advantage. He shot the Indian as he was raising his gun to take aim at him.
As soon as Andrew had shot the Indian, he jumped into the River to assist his wounded brother to shore; but Adam, thinking more of the honor of carrying the scalp of the big Indian home as a trophy of victory than of his own safety, urged Andrew to go back and prevent the struggling savage from rolling himself into the River and escaping. Andrew's solicitude for the life of his brother pre- vented him from complying with this request.
In the mean time, the Indian, jealous of the honor of his scalp even in the agonies of death, succeeded in reaching the River and getting into the current, so that his body was never obtained.
An unfortunate occurrence took place during this conflict. Just as Andrew arrived at the top of the bank for the relief of his brother, one of the party who had followed close behind him, seeing Adam in the River, and mistaking him for a wounded Indian, shot at him and wounded him in the shoulder. He, however, recovered from his wounds.
During the contest between Adam Poe and the Indians, the party had overtaken the remaining six of them. A desperate conflict ensued, in which five of the Indians were killed. Our loss was three men killed and Adam Poe severely wounded.
Thus ended this Spartan conflict, with the loss of three valiant men on our part, and with that of the whole Indian party ex- cepting one warrior. Never on any occasion was there a greater display of desparate bravery, and seldom did a conflict take place, which, in the issue, proved so fatal to so great a proportion of those engaged in it.
The fatal result of this little campaign, on the side of the In- dians, occasioned a universal mourning among the Wyandotte na- tion. The big Indian and his four brothers, all of whom were killed at the same place, were among the most distinguished chiefs and warriors of their nation.
The big Indian was magnanimous as well as brave. He, more than any other individual, contributed, by his example and influence, to the good character of the Wyandottes for lenity towards their prisoners. He would not suffer them to be killed or ill-treated. This mercy to captives was an honorable distinction of character of the Wyandottes and was well understood by our first settlers, who, in case of captivity, thought it a fortunate circumstance to fall into their hands.
It is consoling to the historians to find instances of these endow- ments of mind which constitute human greatness even among savages. The original stamina of these endowments or what is called genius,
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ADAM POE.
are but thinly scattered over the earth, and there can be but little doubt but that the lower grades of society possess their equal propor- tion of the bases of moral greatness, or in other words, that there is as much of native genius in proportion to numbers, among sav- ages, as there is among civilized people. The difference between these two extremes of society is merely in the difference of education. This view of human nature, philosphically correct, is well calculated to increase the benevolence of even the good Samaritan himself, and encourage his endeavors for the instruction of the most ignorant, and the reformation of the most barbarous.
Had the aboriginals of our country been possessed of science to enable them to commit to the faithful page of history the events of their intercourse with us since the discovery and settlement of their native land by the Europeans, what would be the contents of this history ! Not such as it is from the hands of our historians, who have presented nought but the worst features of the Indian charac- ter, as exhibited in the coarse of their wars against the invaders of their country, while the wrongs inflicted on thein by civilized men have occupied but a very small portion of the record. Their suffer- ings, their private virtues, their bravery and magnanimity in war, together with their individual instances of greatness of mind, hero- ism, and clemency to captives in the midst of the cruelties of their barbarous warfare, must soon be buried with themselves in the tomb of their national existence.
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THE JOHNSON'S.
CHAPTER XV.
THE JOHNSON'S.
The following narrative goes to show that the long continuance of the Indian war had inspired even the young lads of our coun- try not only with all the bravery, but all the subtility of the Indians themselves.
In the fall of the year 1793, two boys by the name of John and Henry Johnson, the first thirteen and the latter eleven years old, whose parents lived in Carpenter's Station, a little distance from the mouth of Short Creek, on the east side of the Ohio River, were sent out in the evening to hunt the cows. At the foot of a hill, at the back of the Bottom, they sat down under a hickory tree to crack some nuts. They soon saw two men coming towards them, one of whom had a bridle in his hand. Being dressed like white men, they inistook them for their father and an uncle in search of the horses. When they discovered their mistake and attempted to run off, the In- dians pointed their guns at them, told them to stop or they would kill them. They halted and were taken prisoners.
The Indians, being in pursuit of horses, conducted the boys by a circuitous route over the Short Creek Hills in search of them, until late in the evening, when they halted at a spring in a hollow place, about three miles from the Fort. Here they kindled a small fire, cooked and ate some vitals, and prepared to repose for the night.
Henry, the youngest of the boys, during the ramble had af- fected the greatest satisfaction at having been taken a prisoner. He said his father was a hard master, who kept him always at hard work, and allowed him no play; but that for his part he wished to live in the woods and be a hunter. This deportinent soon brought him into intimacy with one of the Indians, who could speak very good English. The Indians frequently asked the boys if they knew of any good horses running in the woods. Sometime before they halted, one of the Indians gave the largest of the boys a little bag, which he supposed contained money, and made him carry it.
When night came on the fire was covered up, the boys pinioned, and made to lie down together. The Indians then placed their hop- pis straps over them, and laid down, one on each side of them, ou the ends of the straps.
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THE JOHNSON'S.
Pretty late in the night the Indians fell asleep, and one of them becoming cold, caught hold of John in his arms, and turned him over on the outside. In this situation, the boy, who had kept awake, found means to get his hand loose. He then whispered to his brother, made him get up and untie his arms. This done, Henry thought of nothing but running off as fast as possible ; but when about to start, John caught hold of him, saying, "We must kill these Indians before we go." After some hesitation, Henry agreed to make the attempt. John then took one of the rifles of the In- dians, and placed it on a log with the muzzle close to the head of one of them. He then cocked the gun, and placed his little brother at the britch, with his finger on the triger, with instructions to pull it as soon as he should strike the other Indian.
He then took one of the Indian's tomahawks, and standing astraddle of one of the Indians, struck him with it. The blow, however, fell on the back of the neck and to one side, so as not to be fatal. The Indian then attempted to spring up; but the little fellow repeated his blows with such force and rapidity on the skull, that as he expressed it, "the Indian laid still and began to quiver."
At the moment of the first stroke given by the elder brother with the tomahawk, the younger one pulled the trigger, and shot away a considerable portion of the Indian's lower jaw. This In- dian, a moment after receiving the shot, began to flounce about and yell in the most frightful manner. The boys then made the best of their way to the Fort, and reached it a little before daybreak. On getting near the Fort they found the people all up and in great agi- tation on their account. On hearing a woman exclaim, "Poor little fellows, they are killed or taken prisoners !" the oldest one ans- wered, "No mother, we are here yet."
Having brought nothing away with them from the Indian camp, their relation of what had taken place between them and the Indians was not fully credited. A small party was soon made up to go and ascertain the truth or falsehood of their report. This party the boys conducted to the spot by the shortest route. On arriving at the place, they found the Indian whom the oldest brother had tomahawked, lying dead in the camp ; the other had crawled away, and taken his gun and shot-pouch with him. After scalping the Indian, the party returned to the Fort, and the same day a larger party went out to look after the wounded Indian, who had crawled some distance from the camp and concealed himself in the top of a fallen tree, where, notwithstanding the severity of his wound, with a Spartan bravery he determined to sell his life as dearly as possible. Having fixed his gun for the purpose, on the approach of the men to a proper distance, he took aim at one of them, and pulled the trigger, but his gun missed fire. On hearing the snap of the lock, one of the men exclaimed, "I should not like to be killed by a dead Indian !" The party concluded that the Indian would die at any
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THE JOHNSON'S.
rate, thought best to retreat, and return and look for him after some time. On returning, however, he could not be found, having crawled away and concealed himself in some other place. His skeleton and gun were found sometime afterwards.
The Indians who were killed were great warriors, and very wealthy. The bag, which was supposed to contain money, it was conjectured was got by one of the party, who went out first in the morning. On hearing the report of the boys, he slipped off by him- self, and reached the place before the party arrived. For some time afterwards he appeared to have a greater plenty of money than his neighbors.
The Indians themselves did honor to the bravery of these two boys. After their treaty with Gen. Wayne, a friend of the Indians who were killed made enquiry of a man from Short Creek, what had become of the boys, who killed the Indians? He was answered that they lived at the same place with their parents. The Indian replied, "You have not done right ; you should have made kings of those boys."
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SETTLEMENT OF
CHAPTER XVI.
SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTRY.
Having thus given to the reader, in the preceding pages, a con- nected history of the wars with the Indians, from the earliest settle- ment of the country until the treaty of peace made by Gen. Wayne, in 1794, I will go back to the year 1772, and trace the various steps by which our settlements advanced to their present vigorous state of existence.
The settlements on this side of the mountains commenced along the Monongahela, and between that River and the Laurel Ridge, in the year 1772. In the succeeding year they reached the Ohio River. The greater number of the first settlers came from the upper part of the then colonies of Maryland and Virginia. Braddock's trail, as it was called, was the route by which the greater number of them crossed the mountains. A less number of them came by the way of Bedford and Fort Ligonier, the military road from Eastern Pennsyl- vania to Pittsburg. They effected their removal on horses furnished with pack-saddles. This was the more easily done, as but few of these early adventurers into the wilderness were encumbered with much baggage.
Land was the object which invited the greater number of these people to cross the mountain ; for as the saying then was, "it was to be had here for the taking up." That is, building a cabin and raising a crop of grain, however small, of any kind, entitled the occupant to four hundred acres of land, and a pre-emption right to one thousand acres more adjoining, to be secured by a land office warrant. This right was to take effect if there happened to be so much vacant land, or any part thereof, adjoining the tract secured by the settlement right.
At an early period the government of Virginia appointed three Commissioners to give certificates of settlement rights. These cer- tificates, together with the Surveyor's plat, was sent to the land office of the State, where they laid six months, to await any caveat which might be offered. If none was offered the patent then issued.
There was, at an early period of our settlements, an inferior kind of land title, dominated a "tomahawk right," which was made by deadening a few trees near the head of a spring, and marking the bark of some one or more of them with the initials of the name of
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THE COUNTRY.
the person who made the improvement. I remember having seen a number of those "tomahawk rights " when a boy. For a long time many of them bore the name of those who made them. I have no knowledge of the efficacy of the tomahawk improvement, or whether it conferred any right whatever, unless followed by an actual settle- ment. These rights, however, were often bought and sold. Those who wished to make settlements on their favorite tracts of land, bought up the tomahawk improvements, rather than enter into quar- rals with those who made them. Othier improvers of the land with a view to actual settlement. and who happened to be stout veteran fellows, took a very different course from that of purchas- ing the tomahawk rights. When annoyed by the claimants under these rights, they deliberately cut a few good hickories, and gave them what was called in those days "a laced jacket " that is a sound whipping.
Some of the early settiers took the precaution to come over the mountains in the spring (leaving their families behind), to raise a crop of corn, and then return and bring them out in the fall. This I should think was the better way. Others, especially those whose families were small, brought them with them in the spring. My father took the latter course. His family were but small, and he brought them with him. The Indian meal which he brought over the mountain was expended six weeks too soon, so for that length of time we had to live without bread. The lean vension and the breast of the wild turkeys we were taught to call bread, and the flesh of the bear was dominated as meat. This artifice did not succeed very well; for after living in this way for some time we became sickly, the stomach seeming to be always empty and tormented with a sense of hunger. I remember how narrowly the children watched the growth of the potatoe tops, pumpkin and squash vines, hoping from day to day to get something to answer in the place of bread. How delicious was the taste of the young potatoes when we got them ! What jubilee when we were permitted to pull the young corn for roasting ears ! still more so when it had acquired a sufficient hardness to be made into johnny-cakes by the aid of a tin-grater ! We then became healthy, vigorous, and contented with our situa- tion, poor as it was.
My father, with a small number of his neighbors, made their settlements in the spring of 1773. Though they were in a poor and destitute situation, they nevertheless lived in peace ; but their tran- quility was not of long continuance. Those most atrocious murders of the peaceable inoffensive Indians of Captina and Yellow Creek, brought on the war of Lord Dunmore in the spring of the year 1774. Our little settlement then broke up. The women and chil- dren were removed to Morris's Fort, in Sandy Creek Glade, some distance to the east of Uniontown. The Fort consisted of an assem- blage of small hovels, situated on the margin of a large and noxious marsh, the effluvia of which gave most of the women and children
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SETTLEMENT OF
the fever and ague. The men were compelled by necessity to re- turn home, risking the tomahawk and scalping knife of the Indians, to raise corn to keep their families from starvation the succeeding winter. These sufferings, danger and losses, were the tribute we had to pay to that thirst for blood which actuated those veteran mur- ders who brought the war upon us! The memory of the sufferers in this war, as well as that of their descendants, still looks back upon them with regret and abhorence and the page of history will consign their names to posterity with the full weight of infamy they deserve.
A correct and detailed view of the origin of societies, and their progress from one condition or point of wealth, science and civiliza- tion, to another, is always highly interesting, even when received through the dusky mediums of history, oftentimes but poorly and partially written ; but when this retrospect of things past and gone is drawn from the recollections of experience, the impres- sions which it makes on the heart are of the most vivid, deep and lasting kind.
The following history of the state of society, manners and cus- toms of our forefathers, is to be drawn from the latter source ; and it is given to the world with the recollection that many of my co- temporaries, still living, have, as well as myself, witnessed all the scenes and events herein described, and whose memories would speed- ily detect and expose any errors the work may contain.
The municipal, as well as ecclesiastical institutions of society, whether good or bad, in consequence of their long continued use, give a corresponding cast to the public character of society whose conduct they direct and the more so because in the lapse of time the observance of them becomes a matter of conscience.
This observation applies in full force to that influence of our early land laws which allowed four hundred acres and no inore to a set- tlement right. Many of our early settlers seem to regard this amount of the surface of the earth as the allotment of Divine Provi- dence for one family, and believed that any attempt to get more would be sinful. Most of them, therefore, contented themselves with that amount, although they might have evaded the law, which allowed but one settlement right to any one individual, by taking out the title papers in the names of others, to be afterwards trans- ferred to them, as if by purchase. Some few indeed pursued this practice, but it was held in detestation.
My father, like many others, believed, that having secured this legal allotment, the rest of the country belonged of right to those who choose to settle in it. There was a piece of vacant land adjoin- ing his tract, amounting to about two hundered acres. To this tract of land he had the pre-emption right, and accordingly secured it by warrant ; but his conscience would not permit him to retain it in his family ; he therefore gave it to an apprentice lad whom he raised
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THE COUNTRY.
in his house. This lad sold it to an uncle of mine for a cow and calf and a wool hat.
Owing to the equal distribution of real property directed by our land laws, and the sterling integrity of our forefathers in their ob- servance of them, we have no districts of "sold land," as it is called, that is, large tracts of land in the hands of individuals and companies who neither sell nor improve them, as is the case of Lower Canada and the northwestern part of Pennsylvania. These unset- tled tracts make huge blanks in the population of the country where- ever they exist.
The division lines between those whose lands adjoined, were generally made in an amicable manner by the parties concerned, before any survey of them was made. In doing this they were guided mainly by the tops of ridges and water courses, but particu- larly the former. Hence the greater number of farms in the west- ern parts of Pennsylvania and Virginia bear a striking resemblance to an amphitheater. The buildings occupy a low situation, and the tops of the surrounding hills are the boundaries of the tract to which the family mansion belongs.
Our forefathers were fond of farms of this description, because, as they said, they are attended with this convenience, "that every- thing comes to the house down hill." In the hilly parts of the state of Ohio, the land having been laid off in an arbitrary manner, by straight parallel lines, without regard to hill or dale, the farmers present a different aspect from those on the east side of the River oppo- site. There the building frequently occupy the tops of the hills as any other situation.
Our people had become so accustomed to the mode of "getting land for taking it up," that for a long time it was generally be- lieved that the land on the west side of the Ohio would ultimately be disposed of in that way.
Hence almost the whole tract of country between the Ohio and Muskingum was parceled out in tomahawk improvements ; but these latter improvers did not content themselves with a single four hundred acre tract apiece. Many of them owned a great number of tracts of the best land, and thus, in imagination, were as "wealthy as a South Sea dream." Many of the land-jobbers of this class did not content themselves with marking the trees, at the usual height, with the initials of their names ; but climed up the large beech trees, and cut the letters in their bark, from twenty to forty feet from the ground. To enable them to identify those trees, at a future period, they made marks on other trees around them as references.
Most of the early settlers considered their land of little value, from an apprehension that after a few years' cultivation it would lose its fertility, at least for a long time. I have often heard them say that such a field would bear so many crops, and another so many more or less than that. The ground of this belief concerning the short-lived fertility of the land in this country, was, the poverty
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SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTRY.
of a great proportion of the land in the lower parts of Maryland and Virginia, which, after producing a few crops, became unfit for use, and was thrown out into commons.
In their unfavorable opinion of the nature of the soil of our country our forefathers were utterly mistaken. The native weeds were scarcely destroyed before the white clover and different kinds of grass made their appearance. These soon covered the ground, so as to afford pasture for the cattle by the time the wood range was eaten out, as well as protect the soil from being washed away by drenching rains, so often injurious in hilly countries.
Judging from Virgil's* test of fruitful and barren soils, the greater part of this country must possess every requisity for fertili- ty. The test is this. Dig a hole of any reasonable dimensions and depth ; if the earth which was taken out, when thrown lightly back into it does not fill up the hole, the soil is fruitful ; but if it more than fills it up, the soil is barren.
Whoever chooses to try this experiment will find the result in- dicative of the richness of our soil. Even our graves, notwith- standing the size of the vault, are seldom finished with the earth thrown out of them, and they soon sink below the surrounding surface.
* Ante locum capies oculis, alteque jubebis,
In solido puteum, demitti, omnemque repones Rursus humum, et pedibus summas aquabis arenas.
Si deerunt ; rarum, pecorique et vitibus almis Aptius uber erit. Sin in sua posse negabunt Ire loca, et scrobibus superabit terra repletis, Spissus ager : glebas cunctantes crassaque terga Expecta, et validis terram proscinde juvencis.
Vir. Geo. lib. 2, 1. 230.
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HOUSE FURNITURE AND DIET.
CHAPTER XVII.
HOUSE FURNITURE AND DIET.
The settlement of a new country in the immediate neighborhood of an old one, is not attended with much difficulty, because supplies can be obtained from the latter ; but the settlement of a country very remote from any cultivated region, is a very different thing ; be- cause at the outset, food, raiment, and the implements of husban- dry, are obtained only in small supplies and with great difficulty. The task of making new establishments in a remote wilderness, in time of profound peace, is sufficiently difficult ; but when, in addi- tion to all the unavoidable hardships attendant on this business, those resting from an extensive and furious warfare with savages are superadded , toil, privations and sufferings, are then carried to the full extent of the capacity of men to endure them.
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