USA > Virginia > A history of the valley of Virginia, 3rd ed > Part 9
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they choose, and then set fire to it. While the house was in flames, consuming the body of Mr. Painter, they forced from the arms of their mothers for infant children, hung them up in trees, shot them in savage sport, and left them hanging. They then set fire to a stable in which were enclosed a parcel of sheep and calves, thus cruelly and wantonly torturing to death the inoffensive dumb animals. After these atrocities they moved off with forty-eight prisoners ; among whom were Mrs. Painter, five of her daughters, and one of her sons ; and a Mrs. Smith, and several of her children ; a Mr. Fisher and several of his children, among them a lad of twelve or thirteen years old, a fine well grown boy, and remarkably fleshy. This little fellow, it will presently be seen, was destined to be the vic- tim of savage cruelty.
Two of Painter's sons, and a young man by the name of Jacob Myers escaped being captured by concealment. One of the Painters, with Myers, ran over that night to Powell's Fort, a distance at least of fifteen miles, and to Keller's Fort, in quest of aid. They had neither hat nor shoes, nor any other clothing than a shirt and trows- ers each. A small party of men set out early the next morning, well mounted and armed, to avenge the outrage. They reached Mr. Painter's early in the day ; but on learning their strength, (from the other young Painter, who had remained concealed all that evening and night, and by that means were able to count the number of the enemy), they declined pursuit, being to weak in numbers to ven- ture further. Thus this savage band got off with their prisoners and booty, without any pursuit or interruption.
After six days' travel they reached their villages, west of the Alleghany Mountains, where they held a council, and determined to sacrifice their helpless prisoner, Jacob Fisher. They first ordered him to collect a quantity of dry wood. The poor little fellow shud- dered, burst into tears, and told his father they intended to burn him. His father replied, "I hope not ;" and advised him to obey. When he had collected a sufficient quantity of wood to answer their purpose, they cleared and smoothed a ring, around a sapling, to which they tied him by one hand, then formed a trail of wood around the tree and set it on fire. The poor boy was then compelled to run round in this ring of fire until his rope wound him up to the sap- ling, and then back until he came in contact with the flame, whilst his infernal tormentors were drinking, singing and dancing around him with "horrid joy." This was continued for several hours ; during which time the savage mnen became beastly drunk, and as they fell prostrate to the ground, the squaws would keep up the fire. With long sharp poles, prepared for the purpose, they would pierce the body of their victim whenever he flagged, until the poor and help- less boy fell and expired with the most excruciating torments, whilst his father and brothers were compelled to be witnesses of the heart- rending tragedy.
After an absence of about three years, Mrs. Painter, with her
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son and two of her daughters ; Mrs. Smith, who had the honor, if it could be so deemed, of presenting her husband with an Indian son, * by a distinguished war chief ; Fisher and his remaining sons ; and several other prisoners returned home. Three of Painter's daughters remained with the Indians. Mary, the youngers, was about nine years old when taken, and was eighteen years a prisoner ; two of the daughters never returned. A man by the name of Michael Copple, who had himself been a prisoner about two years with the Indians, had learned their language, became an Indian trader and traveled much among them, at length found Mary Pain- ter with a wandering party of Cherokees. In conversing with her, he discovered who she was-that he was acquainted with her family connections, and proposed to her to accompany him home, to which she refused her assent. He then said that her brothers had removed to Point Pleasant, and were desirious of seeing her ; upon which she consented to accompany him that far to see her brothers ; but finding, on arriving at the Point, that he had deceived her, she manifested much dissatisfaction, and attempted to go back to the Indians, Copple, however, after much entreaty, and promising to make her his wife, prevailed upon her to return home. He per- formed his promise of marriage, lived several years on Painter's land, and raised a family of children. Mary had lost her mother tongue, learned a little English afterwards, but always conversed with her husband in the Indian language. ; They finally removed to tlie west.
The garrison at Fort Cumberland was frequently annoyed by the Indians. There are two high knobs of the mountain, one 011 the Virginia side of the Coliongoruton on the South, the other on the Maryland side on the north east, within a short distance of the Fort. The Indians frequently took possession of these heights, and fired into the Fort. Although they seldom did any injury in this way, yet it was disagreeable and attended with some danger. On a particular occasion a large party of Indians had taken possession of the knob on the Maryland side, and fired into the Fort. A Captain (the author regrets that he was not able to learn his name) and seventy-five brave fellows on a very dark night, volun- teered to dislodge the enemy. They sallied out from the Fort,
* Smith received his wife and never maltreated her on this account ; but he had a most bitter aversion to the young chief. The boy grew up to inall- hood, and exhibited the appearance and disposition of his sire. Attempts were made to educate him, but without success. He enlisted into the army of the revolution as a common soldier, and never returned.
* The author deems a particular history of this woman necessary, be- cause it is one among many instances of young white children, when taken prisoners, becoming attached to a savage life, and leaving it with great re- luctance. Mr. George Painter, an aged and respected citizen of Shenandoah county, who resides on the spot where this bloody tragedy was acted, and is a grandson of the man who was murdered and burnt, detailed these par- ticulars to the author.
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surrounded the knob, and cautiously ascending until they were within reach of the foe, waited for daybreak to make the attack. Light appearing, they opened a tremendous fire, which threw the Indians into utter confusion, rendering them powerless for defense, while the whites continued from all sides to pour in volley after volley, spreading death and carnage. But few of the Indians es- eaped. The knob is called " Bloody Hill" to this day. This tradi- tion the author received from several individuals in Cumberland ; indeed, the story appears to be familiar with every aged individual in the neighborhood.
Shortly after this occurrence, Kill-buck attempted to take Fort Cumberland by stratagem. He approached it at the head of a large force of warriors ; and under the guise of friendship, pretended to wish an amicable intercourse with the garrison, proposed to Maj. Livingston to admit himself and warriors. Some hints having been given to the commander to be upon his guard, Livingston seemingly consented to the proposal ; but no sooner had Kill-buck and his chief officers entered than the gates were closed upon them. The wiley chief being thus entrapped, was roundly charged with his in- tended treachery, of which the circumstances were too self-evident to be denied. Livingston, however, inflicted no other punishment upon his captives than a mark of humiliating disgrace, which to an Indian warrior was more mortifying than death. This stigma was, it is supposed, dressing them in petticoats and driving them out of the Fort. *
It has already been stated, that, previous to the breaking out of the war, Kill-buck lived a good part of his time among the white settlers in the neighborhood of Fort Pleasant. An Irish servant, belonging to Peter Casey, absconded, and Casey offered a pistole i reward for his recovery. Kill-buck apprehended the servant, and delivered him to his master ; but from some cause or other, Casey refused to pay the reward. A quarrel ensued, and Casey knocked Kill-buck down with his cane. When the war broke out, Kill-buck sought every opportunity to kill Casey, but never could succeed. Many years afterward, Casey's son obtained a Lieutenancy, and was ordered to Wheeling, where Kill-buck then being, young Casey requested some of his friends to introduce him to him. When Kill- buck heard his name, he paused for a moment, and repeating, "Casey ! Casey !" inquired of the young man whether he knew Peter Casey. The Lieutenant replied, "Yes, he is my father." Kill-buck immediately exclaimed, "Bad man, bad man, he once knocked me down with his cane. On the young man's proposing to
* The venerable John Tomlinson related this affair to the author. Mr. Tomlinson does not recollect the particular mark of disgrace inflicted on these Indians. The Rev. Mr. Jacobs, of Hampshire, suggested this as the most probable.
{ The postole is a piece of gold, equal to three dollars and seventy-five cents in value.
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make up the breach, the old chief replied, "Will you pay me the pistole?" Young Casey refused to do this, but proposed to treat with a quart of rum, to which the old warrior assented, saying, "Peter Casey old man-Kill-buck old man ;" and then stated that he had frequently watch an opportunity to kill him, "but he was too lazy-would not come out of the Fort ; Kill-buck now freinds with him, and bury the tomahawk." * This Indian chief, it is said was living about fourteen years ago, and had become blind from his great age, being little under, and probably over, ond httil- dred years.
* This anecdote is related, somewhat differently, by Dr. Turley, page, 72 of this work.
II
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CHAPTER VIII.
INDIAN INCURSIONS AND MASSACRES .- Continued.
In a preceding chapter the election of several stone dwelling- houses are noticed. These houses had generally small stockade forts about them ; and whenever an alarm took place, the neighbor- ing people took shelter in them, as places of security against their savage foes .*
The men never went out of the forts without their guns. The enemy were frequently lurking about them, and at every opportuni- ty would kill some of the people. At the residence of Major. Rob't D. Glass, on Opequon, five miles southwest of Winchester, part of his dwelling-house was erected in the time of the Indian war ; the port-holes were plainly to be seen before the body was covered with weather-boarding. The people were closely "forted" for about three years. After the termination of hostilities between England and France, the incursions of the Indians were less frequent, and never in large parties ; but they were continued at intervals until the year 1766 or 1767.
About the year 1758, a man by the name of John Stone, near what is called the White House, in the Hawksbill settlement, was killed by Indians. Stone's wife, with her infant child and a son about seven or eight years old, and George Grandstaff, a youth of sixteen years old, were taken off as prisoners. On the South Branch Mountain, the Indians murdered Mrs. Stone and her infant, and took the boy and Grandstaff to their towns. Grandstaff was about three years a prisoner, and then got home. The little boy, Stone, grew up with the Indians, came home, and after obtaining posses- session of his father's property, sold it, got the money, returned to the Indians, and was never heard of by his friends afterwards.
The same Indians killed Jacob Holtiman's wife and her chil- dren, Holtiman escaping. They phundered old Brewbecker's house, piled up the chairs and spinning wheel, and set them on fire. A young woman who lived with Brewbecker had concealed herself in : the garret ; and after the Indians left the house, extinguished the fire, and saved the house from burning. Brewbecker's wife got in- formation that the Indians were coming, and run off with her chil- den to where several men were at work, who conveyed her across
* The late Mrs. Rebecca Brinker, one of the daughters of George Bow- man, on Cedar Creek, informed the author that she recollected when sixteen families took shelter in her father's house.
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the river to a neighboring house. Mr. John Brewkecker now re- sides on the farm where this occurrence took place. *
The following singular tradition, as connected with this occur- rence, has been related to the author :
About dusk on the evening previous, Mr. Brewbecker told her husband and family that the Indians would attack them next morn- ing, saying that they could see a party of them on the side of the Massanutten Mountain, in the act of cooking their supper. She also declared that she saw their fire, and could count the number of Indians. She pointed to the spot ; but no other part of the family saw it ; and it was therefore thought that she must be mistaken. Persisting in her declarations, she begged her husband to remove her and her children to a place of safety ; but she was laughed at, told that it wa smere superstition, and that she was in no danger. It was, however, afterwards ascertained that the savages had encamped that night at the place on the mountain pointed out by Mrs. Brew- becker. It was about two miles off. i
These outrages of the Indians drove many of the white settlers below the Blue Ridge.
Probably the same year, several Indians attacked the house of a man named Bingaman, near the present site of New Market. Bingaman, who was remarkably stout and active, defended his fam- ily with great resolution and firmness, and laid two of the assassins dead at his feet ; they succeeded, however, in killing his wife and children, Bingaman escaping with several wounds, from which he finally recovered. The same party took Lewis Bingaman (a nephew of the one spoken of ), a prisoner. He was a boy about thirteen or fourteen years old, grew up with the Indians, and became a inan of distinction among them.
About the same time the Indians forcibly entered the house of Mr. Young, who resided on the farin now owned by William Smith, Esq., not more than a mile from Zane's old iron works, and killed several of his family. They took an infant, dashed its head against a rock, beat out its brains, and left it dying on the ground. Two of Young's daughters, pretty well grown, were carried off prison- ers. Lieutenant Samuel Fry raised a force of between thirty and forty men, pursued, and came in sight of them unobserved, at the Short Mountain, near the Alleghany. Fry's party prepared to fire ; but unfortunately one of the white girls stepping accidentally before their guns, the intention was frustrated, and Fry being discovered the next moment, he ordered his men to charge. This was no sooner done than the Indians broke and ran off, leaving their guns, prison-
* Mr. Brewbecker resides on the west side of the South Fork of the Shenandoah River, on Massanutten Creek, in the new county of Page, and has erected a large and elegant brick house on the spot where the Indians plun- dered his father's dwelling.
+ This tradition was given the author by Mr. Andrew Keyser, Jr., who married a granddaughter of the woman who saw the Indians.
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ers and plunder ; the two young females were then rescued and brought safely home.
Another family in the same neighborhood, by the name of Day, were attacked, several killed, and two of the daughters taken off. A party of eighteen or twenty whites pursued them. The girls, as they traveled through the mountains, expecting pursuit, took the precaution (unobserved by their captors) to tear off and frequently drop small scraps of white linen, as well as pluck off branches of bushes, and drop them as a trail, by which means their friends could readily discover their route. A brother to the girls, a young man, was one of the pursuing party. The Indians were overtaken on the South Branch Mountain, and as soon as seen, preparations were made to give them a deadly fire. But the young Day, in his eager- ness to avenge the death of his father and family, prematurely fired, killing the object af his aim, when the others precipitately fled, leav- ing everything behind them. They had cut off the girls' petticoats at the knees, in order that they should be able to make more speed in traveling. The girls were brought safe home.
There were several instances of the Indians committing murders on the whites about the Potomac, and South Branch, several years before Braddock's defeat. About the year 1752, a man by the name of James Davis was killed, pretty high up the Potomac; and in the succeeding year, William Zane and several of his family were taken prisoners on the South Branch, in the now county of Hardy. Isaac Zane, one of his sons, remained during his life with the Indians. The author saw this man at Chillicothe in the autumn of 1797, and had some conversation with him upon the subject of his captivity. He stated that he was captured when about nine years old ; was four years without seeing a white person ; had learned the Indian tongue quite well, but never lost a knowledge of the English, having learned to spell in two syllables, which he still could do, although pretty well advanced in years. He also said that a trader came to the In- dian village four years after his captivity, and spoke to him in Eng- lish, of which he understood every word ; that when he grew up to manhood, he married a sister of the Wyandotte king, and raised a family of seven or eight children. His sons were all Indians in their habits and dispositions; his daughters, four of them, all married white men, became civilized, and were remarkably fine women, considering the opportunities they had had for im- provement.
This man possessed a great influence with the tribes he was ac- quainted with ; and as he retained a regard for his native countrymen, was several times instrumental in bringing about treaties of peace. The government of the United States granted him a patent for ten thousand acres of land, which he claimed as his private property ; and when the author saw him he was on his way to Philadelphia to apply for a confirmation of his title. He was a near relation to the late Gen. Isaac Zane, of Frederick county, Virginia.
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About the same time that Mr. Zane's family were taken prison- ers, as just related, an Indian killed a white man near Oldtown, in Maryland, but was, in return, killed by the late Capt. Michael Cresap, then a boy, with a pistol, while he was in the act of scalping the white man. *
About the year 1758, there were two white men who disguised themselves in the habit of Indians, and appeared in the neighbor- hood of the present site of Martinsburg. They were pursued and killed, supposing them to be Indians. f It was no uncommon thing for unprincipled scoundrels to act in this manner. Their object was to frighten people to leave their homes, in order that they might rob and plunder them of their most valuable articles. ¿ The Indians were frequently charged with outrages they never committed.
A man by the name of Edes, with his family, resided in a cave for several years, about three miles above the mouth of Capon. This cave is in a large rock, and when other people would take shelter at a fort in the neighborhood, Eades, would remain in his cave. At length the Indians found them, by trailing the children when driving up their cows, and took Edes and his family prisoners. §
A Mr. Smith, a bachelor, resided on the west side of Capon River, in a small cabin. Three Indians, one morning, entered his house, split up the wooden bowls and trenchers (plates made of wood) destroyed his household goods generally, and took him off as a prisoner. They crossed the Cohongoruton, and halted at a place called Grass Lick, on the Maryland side with the intention of steal- ing horses. Two of them went into a meadow for that purpose, while the third remained to guard Smith. The two men soon hal- tered a young unbroken horse, delivered him to the guard, and went in pursuit of more. The fellow who held the horse discovered that the animal was easily frightened, several times scared him for his amusement, till at length he became so much alarmed that he made a sudden wheel, and ran off with the Indian hanging to the halter, dragging him a considerable distance. Smithi took this opportunity to escape, and succeeded in getting off. The next morning a party of white men collected with the intention of giving pursuit. They went to Smith's cabin and found him mending his bowls and tren- chers by sewing them up with wax-ends. ||
At Hedges' Fort, on the present road from Martinsburg to Bath, west of Back Creek, a man was killed while watching the Spring.
* Jacob's Life of Cresap.
+ Related by Captain James Glenn.
# Related by Lewis Neill.
§ Captain Glenn.
| Related by Captain Glenn.
T The same.
++ 5 =
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On Lost River there were two Forts, one on the land now the residence of Jeremiah Inskeep, Esq., called Riddle's Fort, where a man named Chesmer was killed ; the other called Warden's Fort,* where William Warden and a Mr. Taff were killed, and the Fort burnt down.
Just before the massacre on Looney's Creek, (related on the succeeding page), seven Indians surrounded the cabin of Samuel Bingaman, not far distant from the present village of Petersburg, in the county of Hardy. It was just before daybreak, that being the time when the Indians generally made their surprises. Mr. Binga- man's family consisted of himself and wife, his father and mother, and a hired man. The first four were asleep in the room below, and the hired man in the loft above. A shot was fired into the cabin, the ball passing through the fleshy part of the young Mrs. Binga- man's left breast. The family sprung to their feet, Bingaman seiz- ing his rifle, and the Indians at the same moment rushing in at the door. Bingaman told his wife and father and mother to get out of the way, under the bed, and called to the man in the loft to come down, who, however, never moved. It was still dark, and the In- dians were prevented from firing, by a fear of injuring one of their number. Bingaman, unrestrained by any fears of this kind, laid about him with desperation. At the first blow his rifle broke at the breech, shivering the stock to pieces ; but with the barrel he con- tinued his blows until he had cleared the room. Daylight now appearing he discovered that he had killed five, and that the remain- ing two were retreating across the field. He stepped out, and seizing a rifle which had been left by the party, fired at one of the fugitives, wounded, and tomahawked him. Tradition relates that the other fled to the Indian camp, and told his comrades that they had a fight with a man who was a devil-that he had killed six of them, and if they went again, would kill them all. When Binga- man, after the battle, discovered that his wife was wounded, he became frantic with rage at the cowardice of the hired man, and would have dispatched him but for the entreaties of Mrs. Bingaman, to spare his life. She recovered from her wound in a shori time.t
It was the practice of the settlers on the Wappatomaka in times of danger to leave the Forts in numbers, and assist each other in harvest. About the year 1756, a party of nine whites left the Fort opposite the present village of Petersburg, to assist Mr. Job Welton
* Warden's Fort was at the present residence of Mr. Benjamin Warden, a grandson of the man that was killed, about thirty-five miles southwest of Winchester.
{ The author received the particulars of this surprising adventure from Job Welton and Aaron Welton, Esqrs., of Petersburg. Mrs. Blue, wife of Mr. Garret Blue, also told the author, that when she was a small girl Binga- man frequently stopped at her father's residence on Cheat River, and she more than once heard him relate the circumstances of this affair, and say there were seven Indians.
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to cut his father's meadow and hunt the cattle. They took their rifles with them, as was invariably the practice whenever they left the Fort. After collecting the cattle, they turned in and cut a por- tion of the meadow. As night approached a proposition was made by Mr. Welton to return to the Fort, which was rather opposed by the rest of the party, who, not having been molested during the day, were disposed to believe in their perfect security. They repaired to the house of the elder Mr. Welton, fronting the meadow, and within two hundred yards of the present residence of Aaron Welton, Esq. Here they wished to remain, but the determination was resisted by Job Welton, who again advised to return to the Fort. After some consultation it was agreed on to repair to the shelter of a large elm tree in the meadow where they had been mowing, and where they concealed themselves in a winnow of the grass, and soon fell into a sound sleep ; from which they were sometime afterwards aroused by the crack of a rifle. Mr. Welton was lying with his brother Jona- than under the same blanket, and the latter was shot through the heart. The party sprang to their feet and attempted to escape. In his alarm, Mr. Welton forgot his rifle, and fled in company with a Mr. Delay. They had proceeded about two hundred yards, pur- sued by an Indian, when Delay wheeled and discharged his rifle, which brought his pursuer down. At the same instant that Delay wheeled, the Indian threw his tomahawk, which sunk into the back of Mr. Welton, severing two of his ribs. He fell to the ground, supposing himself mortally wounded by a rifle ball, while Delay con- tinued onward pursued by another Indian. Mr. Welton soon re- covered from his surprise, and proceeded cautiously in a direction towards the Fort, very weak from the loss of blood. He soon lieard Delay and the Indian in a parley ; the former being exhausted by running and disposed to yield, and the latter demanding his surren- der. Delay agreed to give up on condition that his enemy would spare his life, which being solemnly agreed to, lie was reconducted to the elm tree. Here a council was held, and Delay, with three others who had been taken, were inhumanly scalped, from which they died two or three days afterwards. Mr. Welton was able to reach the Fort, where he laid three months before his wound healed. Of the whole party, but three escaped, four were scalped and died, and two were killed at the first surprise. The escape of Mr. Kuy- kendall was remarkable. It was a bright moonlight night, while the shade of the elm rendered it quite dark under the tree. Mr. Kuykendall being an old man, was unable to fly with speed, and therefore remained still, while his companions fled across the mea- dow. The Indians passed over him, leaving the rear clear, when Mr. Kuykendall retreated at his leasure, and reached the Fort in safety, one and-a-half miles. *
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