USA > West Virginia > Tucker County > History of Tucker County, West Virginia, from the earliest explorations and settlements to the present time; > Part 3
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danger, but all west of the Alleghany Mountains were un- safe. Minear's colony in the Horse Shoe soon found occa- sion for alarm. Indian tracks were discovered not far from the fort, and the people were in constant fear of being mas- sacred. Nobody went beyond the reach of the guns of the fort, except with the greatest caution. But, they had to hunt through the woods for venison and other meat; for, the corn was not yet ripe enough for bread. Sometimes the hunters were chased by the savages, as was the case with one of the men who went to the Sugar Lands, on the Back- bone Mountain, some four miles east from the fort. He was hunting, and looking at the country, when he heard strange noises on the hill above him, and immediately heard an- swers from the valley below. He knew at once that it was Indians trying to trap him, having nearly surrounded him already. He affected not to notice the noises; but, he started off at a rapid rate down a cove that led into Coburn Run. When he passed over the bluff in his descent to the run, the noise of the Indians, who were whistling to each other and gobbling like turkeys, died away in the distance, and for some time he heard nothing more of it. However, he did not slacken his speed, but hurried down the rocky bed of the run, and had gone nearly two miles when he was suddenly startled by a hooting like that of an owl, on the hill near above him. The imitation was not so perfect but that he could detect that it was not an owl. He knew that it was an Indian. He was yet three miles from the fort, and only by flight could he hope to escape. The channel of the stream was rocky, full of cataracts and falls, and trees that had lopped into the ravine from both sides. Over and through these blockades and obstacles he ran as fast as he could, and with as little noise as possible. From this point,
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there are two accounts of the affair. One says that, as he was climbing down over a fall, an Indian came sliding down the hill within a few steps of him. The Indian was snatching and grabbing at brush, and seemed to be doing his best to stop himself. It is thought that he had tried to run along the side of the hill, which was very steep, and, missing his footing, could not regain it until he slid nearly to the run, and was almost under the hunter's feet. But the hunter saw his enemy just in time to escape. He wheeled and ran under the falls of the creek into a dry cav- ern beyond. Then, turning, he discharged his gun at the Indian; but, there is no evidence that the shot took effect. The Indian seemed to think that the white man was shoot- ing at him from under the water; and, serambling and claw- ing back up the hill, he disappeared hunter made use of the opportunity and
The summer of 1774 was passing aw the Indians did not lessen. It is not the settlers were killed; but, all mus peril of the colony was great ; for, late in the summer it be- gan to be considered whether it would not be better to abandon the fort and retreat to the Potomac. This was about the time that Lord Dunmore and General Lewis were organizing their army for a general campaign against the Indians in Ohio. Probably the settlers in the Horse Shoe heard of the gathering strife, and knowing that hard fighting was at hand, thought it best to retire beyond the Allegha- nies till the storm should pass away. Be this as it may, early in the fall of that year, 1774, the people of the Horse Shoe collected together what they could of their property, and fled to the Potomac. The fort, the small fields and all the improvements were thus abandoned; and, during the
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winter of 1774-5, there was not a white man in Tucker County, so far as is now known.
John Minear and his colony remained on the Potomac about eighteen months. Whether they all remained to- gether, as they had lived in the Horse Shoe, can not now be stated. Nor is it known who composed the colony, fur- ther than a few names. But, they could not content them- selves to give up the valley of Cheat forever. They were only waiting for a more auspicious season for founding a permanent settlement.
The next we hear of John Minear, he was again on Cheat, and was building up a colony on the site of the present town of St. George. For some reason, he did not return to the Horse Shoe, but chose St. George in its stead. What influenced him to this choice is unknown. But, it is probable that Capt. James Parsons had by that time se- cured the pre-emption of the Horse Shoe lands; and Minear, desirous of having the colony on his own lands, moved three miles further down the river, and located at the mouth of Mill Run, where the county seat of Tucker has since been built. It cannot be ascertained in what year Parsons secured his grant of the lands above St. George; but, it is well known that they were for a long time in dispute between him and Minear, and the final set- tlement at the land office gave the Horse Shoe lands to Parsons. The greater part of this land is still in the Par- sons family, having descended in an unbroken line of suc- cession from Captain Parsons to its present owners, Joseph and S. E. Parsons.
The emigrants which Minear led to St. George were not identical with those whom he conducted to the county in 1774. Some who had come in that year did not return in
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HISTORY OF TUCKER COUNTY.
1776; while some came in 1776 for the first time. Nor do we know the number of those who came in 1776. In addi- tion to John Minear and his two sons, David and Jonathan, and several daughters, and other women, there were men named Miller, Cooper, Goffe# and Cameron. John Minear's land claim was along the north side of the river, from St. George down the river two miles. On the other side, but not extending as far east as St. George, was the claim of Jonathan Minear, John's son. Cooper's land was two miles further down the river, at the foot of Miller Hill. Cameron located on the opposite side of the river from Miller (. 11.
John Minear's land, like that of James Parsons, Las coi tinned in the Minear family to this day. It is now th. property of D. S. Minear, Esq.
During the early years of the colony av St. Geo: is on record nothing that hindered its prosper first step of the settlers was to build a fort as against the Indians. This fort stood on the ground avory now stands the Court-house. It was a better fort inde Liu. one in the Horse Shoe, and was also four tin > as large. It was composed of a large log house, surrounded by palisades.
The logs, of which the house was built, were rotehed amtt fitted close, one upon another; and, so well placed that there was left not a crevice through which In- dians could shoot. But, in the upper story, openings were made between the logs, so that those in the house could shoot at approaching Indians. The chimney ran up on the inside. This was to prevent the Indians from getting to the roof by climbing up the chimney. There were no windows
. This name must not be confounded with that of James Goff, who settled on the river near the Preston County line.
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in the fort. Light was admitted through the port-holes, as the openings between the logs were called. In cold weather, or when no light was wanted, blocks of wood were fitted in the port-holes. The door was made of split boards, so thick that bullets would not go through. The fort was surrounded by palisades, or a line of stout posts planted firmly in the ground side by side and fitted closely together. These posts were about twelve feet high. They resembled a huge paling fence, and enclosed over one fourth of an acre of ground. The fort stood in the center of the enclos- ure, which was higher ground, and gave the inmates com- poda Gro michboring fields. No Indian could approach We disting without running great risk of being shot.
Among the First provements in the colony was a mill at St George, nem where the school-house now stands. The mon, and soir of the old timbers of the dam, are yet to And won The mill was intended only for grinding corn. At What tilw, no whk .t, rye or buckwheat was grown in the
During the Bit four years the settlement prospered greatly. New era grants came into the country, and brought borges, cours en l domestic animals with them. But, there Was constant anxiety lest the Indians should break into the settlement. In the winter there was not so much fear, be- cause the half clad savages did not travel through the snow when it could be avoided. They would be in danger of freezing to death ; and they preferred to remain in their huts on the other side of the Ohio River. But, when spring came, all the wigwams and Shawanese dens poured out their warriors ; and West Virginia, Kentucky and western Pennsylvania were overrun by warlike savages. It was thus at the commencement of the year 1780. That year
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HISTORY OF TUCKER COUNTY.
will ever be memorable in border history on account of the raids and murders by the Indians upon the white people. But, it is not so famous in that respect as 1777 and 1782. But, so far as Tucker County is concerned, the years 1780 and 1781 were the most disastrous in the Indian Wars. St. George was then the most flourishing settlement on Cheat River, and they soon learned the paths that led to the new country. It may be borne in mind that Tucker was natur- ally one of the most secluded localities in the State, being even less exposed to Indian attacks than Preston was. Randolph, and the more southern counties along the western base of the Alleghanies, were well known to the Indians, who, in the French and Indian War, had passed to and fro through them while making raids into Virginia. But, there was no occasion for passing through Tucker; and, if occasional bands of Indians did so, as in the case of the capture of James Parsons, they did it for the purpose of hunting or making explorations. Not so with the counties along the Ohio, and on the Monongahela and Kanawha. The Indians from Ohio could cross over at any time, and within a short distance find a thriving settlement to plun- der. Before they could reach Tucker or Preston, they would have to pass through several inhabited counties, which the Indians did not like to do, because the settlers might track them. But, Tucker's isolated position and its high mountain defenses did not exempt it from its full share of Indian outrages. The first of these was in the spring of 1780.
The band of Indians who made this incursion into Tucker, were remarkably persevering in their pursuit of wickedness. Very early in the spring of 1780 they crossed the Ohio in the vicinity of Parkersburg, and made their way unobserved
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into Lewis County, where they suddenly appeared before a fort on Hacker's Creek, known in early times as West's Fort. There were only a few men in the fort, and they were afraid to go out to fight the enemy. The Indians did not make an attack on the house, but lay hid near about in the woods, ready to shoot any one who should come out. The people thus penned in, were on the point of starving, and knew not whence deliverance was to come. Buckhan- non was the nearest place where assistance could be ob- tained, and that was sixteen miles. One in going there would be exposed to almost certain death, for the Indians were entirely round the fort.
One of the inmates, Jesse Hughes, was a man who shrunk from no duty and quailed at no danger. He was the most successful Indian fighter in West Virginia, except the Zanes Contain Brady and Lewis Wetzel. He had , of hair-breadth escapes, and had eleven years and knew their nature explored the country westward from iscovered and gave name to the West , the first white man who stood on the ForA ........
site of Weston. This was in 1769. From that time till the close of the Indian wars, in 1795, he was ever where brave men were most needed, in the front. To him Clarksburg almost owed its existence. There was scarcely a settlement in the central part of the State that did not profit by the bravery and courage of Jesse Hughes. Even St. George, sixty miles distant, had occasion to thank him, although his assistance did not avert the disasters which are now to be recorded.
He was in West's Fort when the Indians besieged it. His farm was almost within sight of the fort, and he had
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HISTORY OF TUCKER COUNTY.
sought shelter there in common with his neighbors. After the place had been invested for some time, and the inmates were getting short of provisions, while the enemy showed no disposition to raise the siege, it began to grow manifest that something must be done to procure help in driving the Indians off, or the place must fall. The plan most practi- cable seemed that of sending some one to Buckhannon with intelligence of the distress, and bring help from thence. Hughes volunteered to go ; and, on a dark night, he slipped from the fort, broke by the Indians, and ran to Buckhan-
non. He collected a company of men and at once started back. He arrived about daylight, and it was thought best to abandon the fort. This was done. The inmates, men, women and children, proceeded to Buckhannon. On the way the Indians tried to separate the company so as to at- tack it, but, in this they failed, and the settlers all reached Buckhannon in safety.
The Indians followed on to Buckhannon and prowled about the settlement a few days. They waylaid some men who were going to the fort, and one of them named Curl was shot in the chin. All the other men, five in number, started to run; but Curl called to them to stand their ground, for they could whip the Indians. But, the men were some distance away, and a powerful Indian warrior drew a tomahawk and started at Curl, who was now alone and wounded. Nothing daunted, he raised his gun to shoot the Indian. But, the blood from his wound had dampened the powder, and the gun missed fire. Instantly picking up another gun, which had been dropped in the excitement, he shot the savage and brought him to the ground. The Indians then retreated.
One of the whites ran after them alone, and being a re-
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markable runner, he quickly overtook them and shot an- other Indian. The other Indians got behind trees ; and, in a few minutes, the rest of the whites came up and renewed the fight. One of the whites was shot through the arm ; and, a third Indian, who was hiding behind a log, received a bullet which caused him to go howling away. In a few minutes the whole band of savages took to flight, and night coming on put a stop to the pursuit.
Early next morning fifteen men took the trail of the In- dians and followed them several miles, and finally found where they were hidden in a laurel thicket. As they ap- proached, one of the whites was shot; but, the Indians got away. However, the settlers found several Indian horses with their legs tied together. The Indians had left their animals in this fix to keep them from running off. The set- tlers took them back to Buckhannon. For several days nothing more was seen of the Indians; and, in the hope that the savages had left the country, some of the people returned to their farms. But, the enemy were not gone. They killed a man and took a young lady prisoner. The people fled back to the fort, and the Indians found no fur- ther opportunity for doing mischief at that time.
Thus far, the savages had raided through Lewis and Up- shur counties. They now passed into Randolph, where they continued to murder the people and burn property. They first made their appearance in the upper end of Ty- gart's Valley. This was in March. A man in passing along the path saw moccasin tracks in the mud. He stopped to look at them, and while doing so heard some one in the brush whisper: "Let him alone; he will go and bring more." He at once suspected Indians; and, without fur- ther examination, he hurried to Hadden's fort and reported
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HISTORY OF TUCKER COUNTY.
what he had seen and heard. But, he was not believed. There was a party of men from Greenbrier spending the night at the fort, and they intended to start home in the morning. Their road home led by this place where the tracks had been seen. When they got ready to go, a party of citizens volunteered to accompany them to this place, and ascertain whether there really were tracks in the mud.
The men proceeded carelessly, and when near the sus- pected hiding place of the enemy, they were fired upon by Indians in ambuscade. The horsemen sprang into a gallop and escaped; but the men on foot were surrounded by In- dians. The only means of escape was by crossing the river and climbing a steep hill on the opposite side. In doing this they were exposed to the fire of the enemy, and several were killed. John McLain was almost to the summit of the hill when he was shot. James Rolston, who was still fur- ther, was also killed at the same instant. James Crouch was likewise ascending the hill, and was nearly to the top when he was shot. But he was only wounded, and the next day made his way to the fort. John Nelson, another of the party, was killed at the water's edge. He had crossed the river with the rest, and would have ascended the hill with them ; but, they were a little in advance of him, and when they fell, he turned back, and tried to escape by running down the bank of the river. But this was a fatal policy: A fierce Indian leaped upon him, and a desperate fight en- sued. No white man saw it to tell how it went. It is only known from circumstances that it was a hand-to-hand fight, and a terrible one. The breech of Nelson's gun was split and shattered, and from appearances he had pounded the Indian with it. His hands, still clinched although he was dead, contained tufts of Indian hair, and gave evidence that
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it was a prolonged fight. But the savage got off victorious, and Nelson was killed. When the whites visited the scene of the battle, they found the dead man where he fell. The ground around him was torn up, as though a long struggle had taken place. It undoubtedly was a dear victory for the savage.
In a few days the Indians fell upon the family of John Gibson, on a branch of Tygart's Valley River. The family were at the sugar camp, when the Indians surprised them and took them prisoners. Mrs. Gibson was killed.
With this, the Indians left Randolph County and pro- ceeded into Tucker. Of course, it is understood that these counties-Lewis, Upshur, Randolph and Tucker-are called by their present names, and not by the names by which they were known at that time. Nor is it absolutely certain that all the mischief, narrated and to be yet narrated, was done by this band of Indians. It requires some little arbi- trary chronology to arrange into this order the fragments and scraps of history and legends gathered from various sources, but principally from Withers' Border Warfare. But, at this point, Withers' narrative ceases to furnish ma- terial for the account, except the mere mention of the killing of Sims above St. George; and, for the rest of the raid, and the murder of Jonathan Minear below St. George, and the captivity and rescue of Washburn, this account rests upon the authority of private papers and the tradi- tions that have come down from generation to generation. Unwritten tradition is one of the most unreliable sources from which to gather history. Yet in the absence of all other means, it must be resorted to. However, the follow- ing account of the Indian raid through Tucker has records for authority, and tradition furnishes little more than the minutia.
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HISTORY OF TUCKER COUNTY.
There is queston concerning the date of the incursion ; but contemporary facts ought to settle the question, and place it in the spring of 1780. Some maintain that John Minear was killed before Jonathan was, and that the mur- der of the latter took place as late as 1795. But this is so plainly a gross mistake that it is not deemed necessary to refute it.
It was in March, 1780; and the Indians, after their am- buscade on the Tygart River, moved over Laurel Hill and down Cheat River toward St. George. That had been a severe winter for Minear's colony. In addition to the suf- fering from want, the small-pox broke out among the people, and the affliction fell heavily upon the destitute settlers, who had spent the greater part of the winter without bread or salt. One thing was to their advantage, and that was that there was little to be feared from Indians during the winter months. The Indians seldom broke into settlements in cold weather when the snow was on the ground.
So, the colony at St. George pulled through the winter the best they could. They did not occupy the fort; but each man lived on his own farm, and worked to clear fields in which to plant grain the coming summer.
It was customary at that time to go east once a year to lay in a supply of such things as must be had. For the cen- tral part of West Virginia, the eastern market was Win- chester. The people of the frontier counties carried such produce as they had to that place and bartered it for salt, iron, ammunition and a few blacksmith and cooper tools. With the first appearance of spring, the colonists at St. George prepared to send their plunder to market. It was the plan to go and return before the warm weather would bring Indians into the settlements. The principal article
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of export was the skins of bear and other fur-bearing ani- mals. With a load of these strapped on pack horses, the settlers filed away through the woods toward Winchester. It was then early in March, and they expected to make the trip within two weeks.
Intelligence of the Indian murders in Lewis and Upshur counties had reached St. George, and the people, not know- ing whither the enemy had gone, thought it best to leave their farms and move into the fort. This they did. But some who had the small-pox were excluded from the fort. This was a harsh course to pursue; but it was rendered necessary. It was deemed better for a few to run the risk of falling a prey to Indians than for the whole colony to be stricken down with the small-pox. Accordingly, those who had that disease were not allowed to come near the fort. Among those thus excluded was the family of John Sims, who lived about five miles above St. George at a place ever since known as Sims' Bottom. Sims' Knob, a high moun- tain overlooking the Horse Shoe, is also named from this man .*
When the Indians left Tygart's Valley, they aimed for St. George; and, by passing along the west bank of Cheat River from the mouth of Pheasant Run, they had arrived within five miles of the fort, when they came into the clear- ing of Sims. The house stood on the bank of a swamp full of brush and weeds. The Indians made their way unob- served into this thicket, and were cautiously crawling toward the house when they were seen by a negro wench,
* Sims was brought to Cheat by Captain Parsons, and was only a tenant on Parsons' land. Ile had been placed on the farm where he was killed, to oversee the upper part of James Parsons' land, and to keep Thomas Parsons' cattle from crossing over into the Horse Shoe. The sycamore tree behind which the Indian lay was still to be seen a few years ago.
4
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HISTORY OF TUCKER COUNTY.
who ran to the door and gave the alarm. Bernard Sims caught up his gun and ran to the door. He was just recov- ering from the small-pox. As he stepped out at the door, he was shot by the Indians and fell forward in the yard. The savages leaped out from the brush and rushed into the yard ready to tomahawk and scalp the dead man. But as they came up they observed that he had a disease, to them most terrible; and, instead of scalping him, and killing those in the house, they took to flight, yelling as they ran : "Small- pox! Small-pox!"
They kept clear of that cabin after that, although they remained in the neighborhood several days. They moved on toward St. George. The people there discovered that the enemy was in the vicinity, and the strictest guard was kept night and day. Nobody left the fort under any cir- cumstances.
The fort stood where the Court-house now stands, about two hundred yards from the river, on. a rising ground. The Indians remained on the opposite side of the river, and concealed themselves on a bluff overlooking the fort and surroundings. Here they remained several days. There were not many men in the fort. Some had been kept away On account of small-pox; and those who had gone to Win- chester had not yet returned. The garrison well knew of the presence of the enemy, and knew just where the Indians were hidden; yet, they affected not to suspicion that an enemy was near. But, the greatest anxiety was felt, lest the Indians should make an attack while the place was so defenseless. The concealed foe could be descried crouch- ing under the thicket of laurel on the bluff beyond the river ; and their number was probably overestimated, al- though the actual number could not have been much less
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