USA > West Virginia > Harrison County > History of Harrison County, West Virginia : from the early days of Northwestern Virginia to the present > Part 39
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50
I must tell you a little anecdote. A Mr. Amaziah Davisson, who for- merly lived about three miles east of Clarksburg had traveled the road from Marietta to Clarksburg. I saw him some time after this, and he told me that he had been very uneasy for some time past as he heard that my father had called him a liar. He had said there was one hill on said road that it would take 1,000 horses to pull an empty wagon up. When my father heard it he said it was a lie for 500 could do it. After his hear- ing how he happened to be called a liar he was pleased at the joke.
I informed you that my father had taken two certificates for land in Harrison (I supposed assigned to him) one on the West Fork for a valua- ble tract, some person claimed it and he gave it up. The other was for 400 acres on Rooting Creek where Simon Arnold now lives. I remember it being said that he got this tract surveyed and some person who lived on the Branch claimed the land and he assigned him the plat. Adjoining this he had a preemption warrant of 1000 acres which he got surveyed. I helped to carry the chain. Previous to our going to survey George Ar- nold, who made the 1000 survey, asked my father if he intended to take the land between the 400 acres survey and Grigsby's survey. My father said not and Arnold located it. I believe that this was the best land in the bounds of the 1000 acre survey. My father it seems had made his cal- culations to make his survey above the resident right, and would not change cven for better land. I do not make this statement with any re- flection on him. I am perfectly satisfied, but to show how little he cared for anything in this world. The land he sold for little but I expect it in part is now valuable.
Poor old Slider and Prince died, I belive, while we lived at that place. They had lived in the times that tried men's souls, but this they
359
HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
knew but little about. I shall have but little to say hereafter in this nar- rative except you wish to hear some other of my adventures with the In- dians, &c. I think Nicholas Carpenter, who lives in your place, Clarks- burg, Va., was with us at Johnson's at the time his family was killed. Ask him.
Yours &c.,
WM. HAYMOND.
Letter No. 4.
PALATINE HILL, VA., 6th. April, 1842.
Luther Haymond,
SIR :- In my last letter I had brought my narrative up to the year 1790. We were still living on the hill above Clarksburg. The Indians were getting to be very troublesome, still we would venture in the woods. It seems strange to me at this time that my father would indulge us in our excursions at that time. As those times are so forcibly impressed on my mind I will give you an account of one or two circumstances which to me now would seem perilous. In the fall of 1790 I went with old Mr. Thomas Nutter and Isaac Richards on a hunting excursion to sec if we could find any buffalos. We steered our course through the hills towards Marietta, generally leaving the road to our right hand until we reached the Hughes' River, five miles below where the road crossed said river, we fell on the trail of a buffalo bull, followed him about a mile when we saw him jump up and start to run. Richards and myself fired at the same instant; one of us shot him in some part of the head which brought him to his knees, the other hit him behind the shoulder, which was the killing shot. He ran about 150 yards and fell. He was a fine animal. We but- chered him and set out for home. We came into the State road near where Mr. Martin now lives, we arrived safe at home with our meat.
One other trip I will mention. In the last of February, 1791 Jona- than Coburn and myself started on a trapping voyage. We hired Daniel McCann to go with us to the mouth of Fink's Fork of Leading Creek to help carry our traps out and bring in our horses. Just below the mouth of said fork Coburn and myself camped, built a canoe and stayed there about a week. While there we caught four beavers. We then descended the Creek in our canoe to its mouth, which we thought was about twenty- five miles. At the junction of the creek with the river we set a trap and went up the river about one hundred yards. It was then near dark. Co- burn went on the land to find a place to camp; he came back and said he had found a fine chance for a fire,a small house he said, which had been built by hunters to put meat in. We struck fire, put in a quantity, and it blazed up finely while the bark lasted, and then it took the balance of the night to keep it alive. It was a very cold night and too dark to hunt wood. As soon as day came, we made a fine fire to thaw ourselves. Co- burn said he had dreamed that he had a scuffle with a man who had but one arm, and said he: "I expect I shall find a beaver in that trap with one foot off." He went to the trap and brought back a beaver which had
360
HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
lost one of its fore legs. I suppose he had been caught in a trap and gnawed his leg off. This was one of the truest dreams I ever knew. We then descended the river slowly saying to each other that when we got to the usual crossing places of the Indians we would be very careful, but we always forgot to be so in crossing those places. There had been a great beech mast the preceding year. There was plenty of mast in March. The woods were full of deer, bear and some buffalo and a large quantity of turkeys. We lived chiefly on turkeys. They were very fat. About ten miles above the mouth of the West Fork of the Kanawha we killed a buffalo, and about six miles above the same place we saw a bear swimming in the river. We landed and had a hard fight. We shot about six times before we killed him. I think he would have weighed about 400 pounds. We took him on board our canoe. Just above said West Fork I saw some deer, landed and proceeded after them. Coburn shot a buffalo on the bank. The dogs jumped out of the canoe and ran the buffalo down the river and stopped opposite to me, but I still kept down the river and left Coburn to kill him, which he did. He was a very large bull. We landed at the mouth of the West Fork where we barbecued bear meat &c., and then proceeded down said river. About a mile below the mouth of Spring creek we saw a deer standing near the river. Coburn landed to shoot it, when about half up the bank we heard a gun up Spring Creek. Said Coburn, "Shall I shoot?" At that time the deer ran. We heard dogs bark and then thought it a white man though with some doubts. We started and got near where the gun was fired and hallooed, and the man answered, and we went to him. He had killed a fine bear. He thought when he heard us, or I suppose he would have broke ground, that it was his two companions who had left him twenty-six days past, for Neal's station. He had been camped about three miles below Spring Creek, had killed and jerked some buffalo. We took his bear and carried it or a part of it to our canoe and started again. before we got to his camp we found a fine canoe lodged on one side of the bank, which we launched and took with us.
While there launching the canoe, Coburn shot a large otter, the skin of which we afterwards sold for four or five dollars. We stayed at his camp that night consulting whether to go up the river again to the mouth of the West Fork to hunt. But Coburn, having a family, was opposed to returning and having so many dreams, I suppose having once dreamed true, thought he had done so again, so we gave it up. I am not aware that these hunting trips will be interesting to you. I write them merely to show how venturesome people were in those days.
Yours & C.,
WM. HAYMOND.
361
HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
Letter No. 5.
PALATINE HILL, VA., April 10, 1842.
Luther Haymond,
SIR :- In my last letter I think I stated that our trip on Kanawha was in 1791. I am not certain whether it was in that year or 1792, not important. In my last letter we were as far as Shepard's camp. Shep- ard was the name of the man we found in the woods. The next morning after we got to his camp we loaded the meat in our canoe, that is the one we found. We left our first made canoe and descended the river, had not gone far before we met two men going up the river to hunt, each in a separate canoe. Shepard went back with them and Coburn and myself proceeded down the river having first exchanged our big canoe with one of them for a less one. We landed at Neal's Station safe with our load. Stayed there a day or two and then proceeded up the River to Marietta.
The river was very high and we had a hard day's work to get up, not being in the habit of working. At Marietta we sold our skins, bear meat, &c. After staying several days at Mr. Williams we started home. When about six miles we met Isaac Richards with about 15 or 20 men go- ing to be stationed at Williams and Neal's Stations.
Coburn would turn back with them to Williams. This I opposed, but yielded. Back we went. Stayed three or four days and then started again. By this time our company had increased to 10 or 12, among whom was a Frenchman who could not understand English. He was not able to keep up and Richards hired him his horse to ride to Clarksburg where we arrived safe some time about the first of April, having been gone 40 days or upwards, during which time we had never changed our clothes. We might have made considerable if we had been industrious. We, I be- lieve, sold our beaver skins for two dollars a pound and the bear meat for six pence a pound. What would you think now to see two such persons as we were?
In May following, the Indians stole some horses on the West Fork of the Monongahela River and took two or three prisoners. They were fol- lowed to near the Kanawha River. Our men discovered them at night, went back and laid until near day when they crept up to the fire, but the Indians were gone. They pursued them until they got to the river, a part of the Indians had crossed, the other had taken down the river, or otherwise, the Indians that had crossed the river left the horses over on the west side of said river being too closely pursued and took the prison- ers off. Our men then went up the river to a ford, crossed over and took the horses. On their return up the ford to recross they saw that same Shepherd and his companion Daniel Rowell descending the river with our canoe before mentioned, and a hollow Sycamore tree made so that it would carry a load. They thought at first sight that it was the Indians crossing the river and Shepherd and Rowell thought the others were In- dians. However, they soon found out their mistake. 'Shepherd and Row-
362
HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
ell proceeded down the river and had not gone far when they saw the raft of the Indians floating from the shore, they having just crossed.
The same year, or about that time, the said Rowell and two other young men, one of whom was a Neal, were up said river near the mouth of the West Fork. Rowell was sitting in the canoe ferrying the others over the river, the two young men were standing up when the Indians fired on them and killed the two young men who fell out of the canoe. Rowell swam ashore, ran to the camp and got his gun without a lock he had taken it off to grease. He then made for Neal's Station. On his way he hid his gun and was never able to find it again. The men stationed at Neal's ascended the River (Kanawha) found the men and buried them. The Indians had not found them as they were not scalped.
About this time the spies at Neal's Station saw the trail of Indians, who had been on the West Fork of the Monongahela and stole perhaps S or 10 horses. They had crossed the Kanawha some 25 or 30 miles above its mouth. The men at the station got in canoes, went down the Ohio until they struck the trail where they had crossed. They followed and overtook the Indians, retook the horses and brought them back to the Station, made a sale and divided the proceeds. This is the first and last case that I have any knowledge of that the men of this Country kept the property taken from the Indians that had been stolen by them. (See the Border Warfare.)
In the year 1791 the Indians killed James or John McIntire and wife a mile or two above the mouth of Bingamon Creek. Five or six of us when we heard the news, started and went to Benj. Robinson's. Robinson had appointed before we got to his house, to meet some men on Buffalo Creek. We started eleven of us in all, went up Tenmile Creek to the mouth of Jones' Run, and in going up said Run we found the trail of the Indians, but as Robinson had promised to meet those men, we went on to Buffalo Creek, but found no persons. We took up Buffalo to the head of Fishing Creek, went down a considerable distance, took up a right hand branch on which we camped. Next morning crossed over the divid- ing ridge, fell on the waters of Middle Island, went down the same, to the creek about a mile below the three forks. The Indians had just come down the creek. Here was a fresh trail. Col. George Jackson proposed that six men should be chosen who should strip as light as they could and go ahead of the horses. He also asked the privilege of choosing them and going ahead, which was granted. I then thought, chosen or not, I would be one of them. George Jackson, Benj. Robinson, Christopher Carpenter. John Haymond, John Harbert and myself the 6th. one, were the number. We stripped ourselves as lightly as we could, tied handkerchiefs around our heads, and proceeded to travel as fast as we could. The Indians ap- peared to travel very carelessly, broke bushes, &c. It was in May. The weeds were young and tender. We could follow a man very easily. We went about seven or eight miles, passed where the Indians had stopped to eat. Arriving on a high bank Jackson turned around and said: "Where do you think they have gone?" with that he jumped down the bank and we proceeded down on the beach a short distance, when one of the Indians
363
HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
fired. I think we were about forty yards from them, we on the beach, they on the bank on the same side of the creek. We started on the run and had run ten or fifteen yards when the other three fired, then we were in about thirty yards of them. At the first gun, Jackson wheeled around and said: "Where did that gun come from?" John Harbert and brother John discovered them first running up the hill, they fired. Benj. Robin- son and myself ran and jumped on the bank where the Indians left their knapsacks. I fired the third shot, the Indians were sixty yards off. They had run up a very steep hill. Robinson shot at the same Indian that I did. I heard him or one of them talk after I shot. Jackson and Carpen- ter shot last. We than ran a little to the right from where the Indians had ran up the hill. I was the first on top, with the company I was with (the other men had joined us and two or three went round the hill in an- other place.)
We then turned down to where the Indians had got on the top of the hill, there we found a blanket, belt, knife, scabbard and blood. The Indian had bled considerable. He went about a quarter of a mile and cut a stick which we supposed was to stop the blood. We followed him about a mile when we then thought it dangerous to follow, thinking he had his gun with him and would hide and kill one of us. To my morti- fication we returned. We could have trailed him anywhere. On our re- turn we found his shot pouch. Had we found it first, I think we would have overtaken him. About ten years after, his gun was found. After we fired, I wanted to run down a creek as I could see that a run came in just below, but the rest would not. If we had, I have no doubt we would have met them again as the wounded Indian crossed the point and run not very far from its mouth. The other Indians we did not follow, but I think they crossed below where the wounded one did. We returned to the Indians' place of attack where we found all their knapsacks, one shot pouch (having previously found one) four hatchets and all their plunder, including the woman's scalp. Here on examination we found that Brother John had been shot through the handkerchief just above his ear, and Jackson through the shirt sleeve near his wrist. Had we looked, we would have found the Indian's gun. We ought to have expected that the Indian would have thrown away his gun before his shot pouch. I have since heard that one of the Cunninghams who was a prisoner with the Indians at thattime, on his return said that an Indian came home and said that he had been with three others on Muddy River (West Fork) killed a man and a woman, and they were followed, and they fired on the white men and killed two, and that the white men fired on them and wounded three, one of whom died after crossing the second ridge at a run. We were on the second ridge and near the second run. The other two died between that and the Ohio River. If this account is true and the Indians we followed were the same, we must have shot well. We thought at the time we had wounded two. We sold our Indian plunder for about twenty dollars among which were some curious affairs.
Yours &c.,
WM. HAYMOND.
364
HISTORY
OF HARRISON COUNTY
Letter No. 6. PALATINE HILL, VA., 13th. April 1842.
Luther Haymond,
SIR :- I think in the year 1791 my father bought the land where Brother Cyrus now lives, in all about 200 acres for about 100 pounds. In the Fall, I think in October, we moved into it. On the road I cannot say how many gangs of turkeys we passed. I killed several on the way. Shortly, I believe, after we moved, the Indians burnt Mr. Thompson's house on Lost Creek and killed his cow. The night following I was with several others at said house while it was burning. We stayed all night at the fire. The next morning we crossed the creek and took the ridge at Hacker's Creek. We could not find the trail as it was too much in the settlement. We went to Hughes' Run and Hacker's Creek, where we were at one or two houses burning that had been fired by the Indians. We then returned home by way of Rooting Creek. On the night after our return Sim's House was burned. Next day I was at it. We took a circle round but not far enough or we would have found the trail, as they were afterwards followed to near Buckhannon by another party. The Indians had stolen some horses I believe at Sim's cabin and some at Buckhannon, from which place they steered their course to the Little Kanawha. Some of our men waylaid them on the Little Kanawha a day or two, but got out of patience and went in search of them. I have understood they were gone but a little while, when the Indians had passed the place where our men had laid in ambush for them. It seems to me that our men were on one side of the river and the Indians on the other. However, be that as it may, the Indians effected their escape down the river.
As we were on a new farm we turned our attention to work that fall and spring (except hunting time when I followed the woods.)
Next spring we planted a good crop. I worked on until June 1792 when the Indians being very troublesome, Watson Clark and myself were appointed to go and be stationed at Williams' Station, opposite Marietta. On the 22nd. day of said month we left Clarksburg with a horse to take for some person at the mouth of the Little Kanawha. The first night we stayed at Salem. There were, I think eight or ten men stationed there. Next day we proceeded on and arrived safe on Sunday. We were di- rected by Col. Lowther, who had command of the spies and military, to go up the river to the mouth of Middle Island Creek, four days out and two in.
While we were there. Mr. Moses Hunt who lived at Neal's Station a mile up Kanawha from its mouth, went out to hunt his horse. He met with three Indians, who I understood laid down their guns and caught him by running. He said on their way to the Indian towns that they would almost starve, and when they killed a deer that they would eat like dogs. On their way they found a bee tree. One of them stripped, climbed the tree, cut a hole and took out the honey. Having traveled by one or more of their towns they got out of provisions, stretched Hunt on the ground, tied a pole across him, and all three turned out to hunt.
365
HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
Hunt got loose and returned home. I saw him on his way. He was eleven days living on birds, roots, &c.
Watson Clark and myself continued spying until the middle of Au- gust when he returned home, and Allison Clark took his place. We had to go up the river and back any way we thought proper. During the sum- mer the weeds were so thick that we killed but few deer, and by the by it was rather dangerous to be shooting, but when we saw a deer we could not resist the temptation to shoot it. In the fall we killed a considerable number of them, one day six. They were plenty out in the hills.
One morning we heard two guns fired a mile or two from us, we con- cluded it was Indians and steered for the place. When we got to or near where we thought they had fired, we placed ourselves by a tree and howled like a wolf. We were answered by a man in the same manner. I continued howling and so did he, still coming nearer. In this situation I had to turn around and look in every direction, as I thought if his com- panions heard us they would know that the third person or persons must be near. When he was about 120 yards from us he hallooed and called his companion by name and I knew his voice. They had been up the river, perhaps to Wheeling, and had landed their canoe there over night, and in the morning turned out hunting. If you will consider yourself behind a tree and hearing an Indian howl, and expect to see one or more every minute, you may judge of my feelings at that time. I will only say it was the most trying time of my life. We were fifteen miles up the river from our station.
One other time I heard a gun near us and in the fall, the woods I saw burning appeared just to have been set on fire near where we had passed. By whom the gun was shot or the woods fired I never could learn. If any Indians crossed the river during our stay we had no know- ledge of it, except in the two cases mentioned, and they may have pro- ceeded from white men strolling in the woods, but I was induced to believe that the woods were fired by the Indians. We returned home safely, in December.
Yours &c., WM. HAYMOND.
Letter No. 7.
PALATINE HILL, VA., 4th. May 1842.
Luther Haymond,
DEAR SIR :- I will give you an account of the Indians killing N. Car- penter, as well as I recollect it. I think in a former letter I stated to you that Nicholas Carpenter was with us at the time we overtook the Indians on Middle Island, if so it was a mistake for it was his brother Christo- pher, who was with us. We used to call him Stuffle Carpenter. This was in the year 1790 or 1791, Marietta being newly settled, Carpenter had collected a lot of cattle to drive there. I saw him in Clarksburg the day or the day before he started, and I was on the eve of going with him, but did not. He went on with his son about twelve years of age, Jesse
366
HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
Hughes, and two or three other men. A company of Indians came near Neal's Station on the Little Kanawha, caught a negro boy, brought him with them to where they struck the road leading from Clarksburg to Marietta, I presume some place on Hughes River or its waters, Carpenter and his company had passed the same day. The Indians danced and cut many fine capers when they saw the trail and started on after Carpenter. He had camped about six miles this side of Marietta when the Indians got in hearing of the bells. They took the negro boy in the woods and tied him and proceeded to the attack. It was between daybreak and sun- rise. One man was sitting by the fire. They fired, a part at least ran towards the fire, the men raised and ran. Hughes took up two guns. The Indians followed him, shot two holes through his hunting shirt. He was compelled to throw down one gun and would tree and present his gun, then the Indians would tree. He at last got on top of the hill where he hallooed and cleared himself. He said he heard the tomahawk strike into Carpenter's son's head. Carpenter got into a hole of water, but was discovered, taken and tomahawked. One man was taken prisoner and one made his escape after being shot through the hand, making two with Jesse Hughes who escaped. I believe Carpenter, his son and one other man was killed. During the conflict the negro boy got loose and escaped to the settlement. The Indians took the horses and went up the Ohio some place not far from the mouth of Bull Creek. I believe the horses were retaken from them by some men going up the river. The horses were restored to Carpenter's heirs. I saw Jesse Hughes on his return to Clarksburg and the holes in his hunting shirt. The negro boy gave the account of their following on the trail of Carpenter.
In 1793 I was again appointed spy under Levi Morgan. We stayed at Salem most of the winter without the Company of our Lieutenant Mor- gan. The last of February we concluded to take a scout, John Cain, Samuel Jackson and myself started with an intention of going on the South Fork of Hughes River. We went on Middle Island Creek or rather a branch of it, where the first night we lodged in a camp. Here we were detained two or three days by the rain, when it cleard up we proceeded. On a branch of said creek we found four horses which had been in the woods all winter. We caught them and sent Jackson to the settlement with them. Cain and myself then changed our course and fell on the head of Fink's Fork of Leading Creek. The hills bound so close to the creek that we were often obliged to wade it, and in doing so had some- times to hold up our shot pouches. Finally we camped. The next morn- ing crossed the ridge and fell on Leading Creek and returned home.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.