USA > West Virginia > Marion County > History and progress of the county of Marion, West Virginia, from its earliest settlement by the whites, down to the present, together with biographical sketches of its most prominent citizens > Part 2
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As stated in the beginning of this chapter, the manners of society were very rude in those days. As an illustration of this, it may be in place to give an account of how a marriage was conducted. As a general rule the settlers married quite young, and, with very rare exceptions, their's were real "love matches." On this account their marriages proved mostly happy ones. The whole neighborhood would turn out en masse to a wedding, and considering the fact that a marriage celebration was about the only gathering " which was not accompanied with the la- bor of reaping, building a cabin, or planning some scout or campaign," this is not surprising. The cere- mony usually took place before dinner, which was a substantial feast of beef, pork, venison and bear meat,
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
potatoes, cabbage and other kinds of vegetables. The tables would perhaps be constructed of a large slab of timber, hewed out with a broad-axe, supported by four sticks set in augur holes, and its furniture would con- sist of pewter dishes, wooden bowls and trenchers. The spoons were of pewter and often much battered. . If knives were scarce, the scalping knives were brought from their sheathes and used to supply the deficiency. After dinner the dancing would com- mence and last until the next morning, while occa- sionally the jug would be passed around among the company. The figures of the dances were three and four handed reels, or square sets and jigs. The mazy waltz, the enchanting polka, or the enlivening schot- tische they knew nothing of. About nine or ten o'clock a deputation of young ladies would steal off the bride and put her to bed. The bridal chamber was usually in the loft of the cabin, and was reached by a ladder instead of a pair of stairs. The floor of the loft or chamber above was generally made of clap-boards loosely laid down and without nails. The ladder leading up stairs was hidden from. view, being in a corner of the room, curtained off with hunting shirts, petticoats and other clothing, so the exit of the bride was unnoticed. After this a deputation of young men in like manner made way with the groom, whom they would place beside his bride, and the dance would continue.
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If seats were scarce, it was customary, and consid- ered the height of gallantry, for the young men to offer their laps to the young ladies, and the girls ac- repted the proffered seats with perfect propriety. Oc- rasionally during the night, the bottle would be sent up the ladder to the couple in the loft, and it would often be accompanied with refreshments of other kinds, such as bread, beef, pork and cabbage. The feasting and dancing would last for several days, un- til the company, from sheer exhaustion, would return to their homes to rest.
Such was the rude state of society in Marion county a hundred years ago.
CHAPTER V.
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COMMENCEMENT OF INDIAN TROUBLES- FORTS ESTABLISHED, Erc.
e OR a period of nearly ten years after the close of the French and Indian war in 1765, and pre- vious to 1774, there were no outbreaks among the Indians of Northwestern Virginia, and the settlers were free from their depredations. This state of things would have doubtless continued had it not been for the unprovoked murder of three Indians by John Ryan, on the Ohio, Monongahela and Cheat rivers, at different periods during these years. The first of Ryan's victims was a chief of some distinction, known as Captain Peter, and the others were warriors on friendly terms with the whites. Several Indians were likewise killed in the vicinity by other settlers, while they were upon friendly visits.
Bald Eagle was an Indian on very friendly terms with the whites in this vicinity, and was in the habit of associating with them. While on one of his friendly visits to the white settlements, he was waylaid by three men, Jacob Scott, William Hacker and Elijah
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Runner, and murdered in cold blood. Their wanton thirst for Indian blood thus gratified, they seated the body in the stern of a canoe and set it afloat in the Monongahela river, after thrusting in the mouth of the dead warrior a piece of " journey cake." Several persons noticed the canoe and its ghastly burden de- scending the river, but supposed he was merely re- turning from a visit to his white friends at the settle- ments at the head of the stream. Finally, below the mouth of George's creek, the canoe floated near the shore, where it was observed by a Mrs. Province, who recognized the unfortunate old man, had him brought to shore and decently buried.
These, and various other murders of a like charac- ter, in different parts of the colony, aroused the pas- sions of the heretofore peaceful Indians, and they very soon re-opened hostilities and visited their terrible vengeance upon the heads of the innocent settlers, whenever opportunity afforded. Men, women and children everywhere fell victims to the savage ferocity thus excited. It was the opinion of many, however, that the hostilities of the Indians upon the American frontier at this time were not provoked by these or other massacres-that they were urged to war by emissaries of Great Britain and Canadian traders. It is true that the agents of Great Britain aided and en- couraged the Indians in the war commenced by them in 1774, but that their prime incentive was the out- 4
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rages perpetrated by the whites, together with the realization that the settlers were crowding them out of their lands-their rightful inheritance-there can be no doubt.
As soon as it was manifest that the Indians were intent upon waging a bloody war, the inhabitants on the frontiers of Northwestern Virginia proceeded to put themselves in a state of defense. Some took refuge in the forts, and others collected together into certain houses, which were converted into temporary fort- resses. Many made their way to Fort Pitt, at the con- fluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela river- the present site of Pittsburgh. It was then that there were a number of private forts established in various settlements. In Tygart's Valley the princi- pal forts erected were Westfall's and Cassino's. About five miles below Fairmont on the Monongahela, at the mouth of Prickett's creek was erected Prickett's fort, which afforded protection to all the settlers on the upper Monongahela, in the vicinity of where now stands the towns of Fairmont, Palatine, Rivesville and Newport. Nutter's fort, near Clarksburg, afforded protection to the inhabitants on the West Fork from its source to its confluence with the Valley river. Jackson's fort was also established on Ten Mile, and was a rendezvous for the settlers in that neighborhood. These were the most important stations in this vicin- ity, but there were quite a number of private strong-
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holds, in' which two or three families only would take refuge, when signs of the Indians appeared in their immediate neighborhood.
The region of the upper Monongahela and those set- tlements now embraced in Marion county were not the scenes of active war, but suffered from occasional depredations by straggling parties of savages, who would detach themselves from the main bodies and descend upon our settlements. The great chief, Lo- gan, justly celebrated for his prowess and eloquence led a party through the country from the Ohio to the West Fork, and committed several massacres in the vicinity of Simpkins. This was about the nearest that any regular war party came to this region. The straggling bands mentioned above, however, com- mitted more dreadful deeds than did the regular war parties. Their acts of vengeance were accompanied with more terror to the unfortunate victims, because they were unlooked for. They would steal upon the settlers when least expected, and when they were not in a state of defence-when they were at work in their fields, or upon the unguarded family at home, and massacre them in cold blood.
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CHAPTER VI.
MURDER OF JOSIAH PRICKETT-CONTINUA- TION OF INDIAN ATROCITIES-MURDER OF MISS COON-ATTACK ON FORT HARBERT.
8 S soon as the news of the depredations commit- ted by Logan and his band became known in the settlements of this vicinity, the inhabitants very much alarmned for their safety, retired immediately into the forts and other places of refuge. Strolling parties of savages were heard of occasionally; but no acts of violence took place in our settlements until the month of September. One day during that month Josiah Prickett and Mrs. Susan Ox left Prickett's fort, near Newport, for the purpose of driving up their cows. A party of Indians, attracted by the tinkling of the cow-bells, waylaid them on their return to the fort and succeeded in killing and scalping Prickett and taking Mrs. Ox prisoner.
It may be a matter of astonishment to the reader, that the settlers could thus recklessly expose then- selves, by leaving the fort, knowing that Indians were lurking in the vicinity. Some explanation may be
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found in the fact, that previous to this our settlers had been accustomed to come and go at will, hence the confinement of the forts was very irksome to them, and rather than pine under this present restraint they would hazard their lives in pursuit of their prin- cipal means of existence-game, or to attend to some duty connected with their farm work. Often, for weeks not a hostile sound would disturb the peaceful quiet reigning over the surrounding hills and valleys, until some settlers, deceived by the quiet stillness, ventured from his retreat, only to meet his death at the hands of the wily savage, who had awaited all this time for an unguarded moment in which to spring upon his deluded victim. Others, unwilling to risk the danger, would remain within the fort, tor- tured with the thought that their crops, long ago "ripe unto the harvest," and for the production of which they had toiled many weary days, were rotting in the fields. This latter fact, coupled with the necessity of procuring the necessaries of life, would cause many to brave even death itself.
On the 10th of October of this year (1774), the bat- tle of Point Pleasant virtually put an end to what has since been known as Gov. Dunmore's war, but the outrages by these strolling bands of Indians continued. Instead of following up the victory of Point Pleasant by a raid into the Indian territory and reducing their towns, the army disbanded, leaving the Indians at
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liberty to make further inroads upon our frontiers, in the pursuit of vengeance on those who had recently sent-so many of their bravest warriors to the "happy hunting grounds." . The character of the relations be- tween Great Britain and the American colonies was becoming more and more unfriendly, and the whole attention of the colonists was directed to it, leaving the frontier settlements for a time forgotten. The In- dians, knowing that Virginia needed all her available strength to defend herself from the invading hosts of Great Britain, and could not extend any aid to the frontier settlements, took advantage of this state of affairs and re-opened hostilities, utterly ignoring the treaty of peace made after the battle of Point Pleas- ant. The respite, then, after the close of the Dunmore war, was but momentary.
Between Wheeling and Point Pleasant, a distance of nearly two hundred miles by the Ohio river, there was no obstacle to prevent the raids of the Indian war parties from their territories west of the river upon our settlements on the upper Monongahela and its branches; yet, for two years after the killing of Josiah Prickett, there were no serious outrages in this imme- diate vicinity. Subsequent to this, the next import- ant event of the kind occurred in a settlement near the West Fork, in Harrison county, at the house of Charles Grisby. During the absence of Mr. Grisby, a party of Indians entered his house, and after plunder-
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ing it of everything valuable, departed, taking with them Mrs. Grisby and her two children as prisoners. The husband and father returned soon after, compre- hending instantly what had been done, and knowing the terrible danger of his wife and little ones, he has- tily gathered together some of his neighbors and set out in hot pursuit. After following the trail about six miles, they suddenly came upon a ghastly scene, which put to flight all the hopes they had entertained + of being able to recover at least two of the captives ; for lying on the ground were the bodies of Mrs. Grisby and her younger child, both scalped and killed by their inhuman captors. The settlers, leaving two of their number to take care of the remains of the unfor- tunate victims, pushed forward with renewed exer- tions in pursuit of the Indians, earnestly desiring to overtake them and avenge the bloody deed ; but they did not succeed, and were obliged to give up in despair and return home.
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Shortly after this, two Indians secreted themselves near Coon's fort on West Fork, waiting an opportu- nity to do some mischief; the occasion was not long in presenting itself, for a daughter of Mr. Coon came out of the fort for the purpose of performing some slight labor in a field near the roadside. Two men, Enoch Jones and Thomas Cunningham, came down the road, and after a short conversation with her, walked on. In the meantime the Indians were waiting for her to
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come near enough for them to capture her without alarming the people in the fort; but she, turning suddenly, observed them and started to run home : in- stantly one of the savages shot at her, while the other rushed to her, tomahawked and scalped her before the eyes of the horrified men who had only gone a short distance down the road, yet were not near enough to render any assistance. The settlers immediately turned out in pursuit of the murderers, but no traces of them could be discovered.
In the month of March following, a party of Indians came suddenly on a number of children playing in a yard on Ten Mile. The children ran screaming to the house (which was serving as a place of refuge for the settlers in that neighborhood, and was known as Fort Harbert,) and apprised the inmates of the Indians approach. John Murphey, rushing to the door to see if danger really was near, was instantly shot and fell back into the house: the Indian who had fired the shot, not knowing there were other men in the house, sprang in and was instantly grappled by Mr. Harbert, who threw him upon the floor and struck him with his tomahawk. While maintaining his position over the prostrate savage, two shots were fired at Harbert from without-the first wounding him, and the second, passing through his head, killed him. In the meantime, Edward Cunningham was having a terrible struggle with a warrior who had
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entered immediately after the first one. He drew up his gun to shoot the savage, but it flashed, and the two men closed in a hand-to-han encounter. After a contest of some moments, Cunningham wrenched from the hand of the Indian his tomahawk, and buried the spike end of it in his back, while Mrs. Cunningham, rushing up to the savage, struck him with an axe, causing him to release his hold upon Mr. Cunningham and retire bleeding from the house. The third Indian who entered the door wore a cap made of the unshorn front of a buffalo, with the ears and horns still attached to it, presenting the most hideous aspect ; a Miss Reece was standing near him and at her he aimed a blow which wounded her severely. Mrs. Reece secing her daughter's terrible danger, seized the horrible head-dress of the savage by its horns, hoping to turn aside the blow, but it came off in her hands and the blow fell on the head of the girl. The father of the girl then attacked the In- dian, but was quickly thrown to the floor, and the savage would have made short work of him had not Cunningham rushed to the rescue and tomahawked his assailant. During this time the rest of the In- dians, who had been prevented from entering the door by the women, were engaged in securing such of the children in the yard as were capable of being carried away prisoners. These, evidently not relish- ing the idea of further attack, retreated, carrying
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with them the children they had captured. In this attack one white person was killed in the house and four wounded.
In the yard eight children were either killed or taken prisoners, while the Indians had one killed and two wounded. This was the most serious of the In- dian depredations of that year in this section, and, although it did not transpire within the boundaries of what is now called Marion county, but in Harrison, it is given here for reasons that are obvious. Some of the settlers concerned in the incident belonged to this vicinity, or were inhabitants of this county; it is therefore appropriate as well as interesting to give it in this connection.
CHAPTER VII.
CAPTAIN BOOTH KILLED-CAPTURE OF CAP- TAIN COCHRAN-DAVID MORGAN'S EN- COUNTER WITH TWO INDIANS.
N the 16th of June, 1778, Captain James Booth and Nathaniel Cochran were at work in a field on Booth's creek, near where the little village of Brier- town is now situated. They were surprised by a party of Indians, who fired upon them killing Booth, and slightly wounding Cochran, who betook himself to flight, hoping to get beyond the range of the Indians' guns and escape; in this he did not succeed, for he was overtaken by them, made prisoner and carried into their towns.
The death of Captain Booth was mournfully regret- ted by the settlers, for he was a man of great energy, good education, and possessed extraordinary talents. He was probably the most prominent man in the set- tlements, and his death was felt to be a very great loss.
Cochran was afterwards taken by the Indians from their towns in Ohio to Detroit, where he was sold and remained a captive for a long period. While at De-
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troit he made an attempt to escape, and would have succeeded had he not unfortunately taken a path which led him directly to the old Maumee towns, where he was recaptured, and, after being detained for a time, was sent back to Detroit. After enduring many hardships and suffering many privations, being traded backwards and forwards among the Indians of that section and Canada, he was finally exchanged, and found his way home.
A youth of scarce eighteen when taken by the In- dians, he returned a man of thirty-five. He was after- wards a Captian in the militia, and lived to a ripe old age. Five of his children are still living in this state. They are William Cochran, the oldest, age 91, living at Worthington ; James, father of Nathaniel Cochran of Fairmont, who lives in Jackson county ; John, living near the mouth of Booth's creek; Mrs. Hannah Rowan, and Mrs. Polly Bowman, who live near Booth's creek.
Two or three days after the killing of Capt. Booth, the same party of Indians met Benjamin Shinn, Wm. Grundy and Benjamin Washburn returning from the head of Booth's creek, and Grundy fell a victim to the savages ; going on farther, the Indians saw a boy about sixteen years old standing in the path leading from Simpson's to Booth's creek, mending his saddle- girth. They fired at him, and the ball passing di- rectly through him, killing both himself and his horse.
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These inroads made by the Indians in 1778 led the inhabitants to make greater preparations for security than ever before, fearing that when the winter was over hostilities would be again renewed. Many of the settlements received accessions to their number from the emigrants who were constantly arriving, and the population gradually increased until it was evident that the time was rapidly approaching when the progress of civilization would be so great that the uncivilized must give way before it, for every settler lessened the dangers of frontier life as he increased its power to repel them.
Their troubles were not yet over, however, for early in the year 1779, the settlers were alarmed by circum- stances which led to the belief that Indians were lurk- ing in the neighborhood. The inhabitants around Prickett's fort especially became alarmed and entered the fort; yet their fears seemed groundless, for days passed and no signs of the Indians were seen. A sense of security began to take possession of them; but as spring was rapidly approaching, the season when the savages usually commenced their depredations, they continued to make the fort their place of abode at night, but attended to their farm duties during the day. Among those who sought refuge in Prickett's fort was the David Morgan mentioned in a former chapter, who at the time was upwards of seventy years of age. About the first of April, being unwell 5
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himself, he sent his two children-Stephen, a youth of sixteen (afterwards the father of the late Hons. William S. and Charles Morgan, ) and Sarah, a girl of fourteen- to feed the cattle on his farm, which was on the opposite side of the river about a mile distant. Unknown to their father, who supposed they would return immediately, the children took with them bread and meat for a lunch, and resolved to spend the day on the farmin, preparing the ground for watermel- ons. Accordingly, after feeding the stock, Stephen set himself to work, his sister helping him in various ways, and occasionally going to the cabin, a short dis- tance west of where they were, to wet some linen she was bleaching. After the children left the house Morgan, whose illness increased, went to bed, and fall- ing asleep, dreamed that he saw Sarah and Stephen walking about the yard of the fort, scalped. This dream, which under any circumstances would not tend to produce a comfortable feeling in the mind of the dreamer, caused Morgan no little apprehension, when on awaking he found the children were still absent. Taking with him his gun he immediately set out for the farm to see what detained them. Im- pressed with the fear that he would find his horrible dream realized, he ascended a slight eminence which overlooked the field where the children were, and was overjoyed to see them safe talking busily as they worked. Unobserved by them, he sat down to rest on
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an old log, commanding a full view of them and the cabin, he had been there but a short time when, happening to look towards the house, he saw two In- dians stealing from it towards the children. Fear- ing a sudden alarm would deprive them of their self- possession and unfit them for escape, Morgan retained his seat upon the log, and in a low voice, with as careless a manner as he could assume, told them of their danger and said, "run to the fort." The children instantly started and the Indians with hideous yells immediately pursued them. At this moment Morgan made himself known, and the Indians giving up the chase, sheltered themselves from his bullets behind two trees. Believing that discretion is the better part of valor, and not wishing to fight against such odds, Morgan then attempted to place himself out of danger by flight, but age and infirmity prevented his making much headway, and he soon realized that he would be speedily overtaken by the Indians, who were following in hot pursuit. Resolved to die game, he suddenly wheeled and made ready to fire at them, but seeing the motion they instantly sprang behind trees, and Morgan, wishing to save himself in the same manner, got behind a sugar sap- ling, but finding it insufficient for his protection he quitted it for a large oak a short distance further on. One of the Indians then took possession of the sap- ling he had just left, but seeing it could not shelter
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him, threw himself down behind a log which lay at the root of the tree. This also was not sufficient to cover him, and Morgan seeing him exposed, fired at him. The ball took effect and the savage, rolling over on his back stabbed himself twice. Having thus rid himself of one of his pursuers Morgan again took to flight, the surviving Indian close upon him. There were now no trees to shield him, and the Indian could readily overtake him ; and his gun being unloaded he had no means of defense. The race had continued for about ten yards, when looking over his shoulder Mor- gan observed the Indian almost upon him with his gun raised. Morgan watched closely the Indian's finger upon the trigger and as he pressed it sprang to one side, letting the bullet whiz harmlessly by. Seeing that a hand-to-hand encounter was inevitable, Morgan then aimed a blow with his gun at his ad- versary, who in return hurled his tomahawk at him, cutting off three fingers of his left hand and knocking the weapon from his grasp. They then closed, and Morgan, being a good wrestler in spite of his years, succeeded in throwing the Indian. He was not - strong enough to maintain his position, however, for the Indian was soon on top of him, and with a yell of triumph began feeling for his knife, with which to dispatch him. Fortunately for Morgan, the savage, . while in the house had seen a woman's apron, and, pleased with its bright color, had taken and bound it
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