USA > West Virginia > Tucker County > History of Tucker County, West Virginia, from the earliest explorations and settlements to the present time; > Part 4
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JOHN MINEAR.
than fifty. The whites expected an attack any hour. If the attack had been made, it is doubtful if the place could have held out; because the hill near by would have given the assailing party a great advantage.
The garrison were desirous of impressing the Indians with the idea that the fort contained a strong force of men. To this end, they dressed first in one kind of clothes and then in another, at each change walking about the yard in full view of the foe. The Indians, who were all the time looking on, and not more than a quarter of a mile away, must have been led to believe that the fort was stronger than they could attack with safety. At any rate, they made no assault ; and, in a day or two they disappeared from the hill, and the people hoped that the foe 'so much dreaded had indeed left the country.
However, it was deemed best to remain in the fort till the return of those who had gone east. This was not long. The men returned the next evening, and for the present little fear of danger was entertained. The people did not remain so constantly on the lookout. When they began to visit their cabins near about the fort, it was found that the Indians had rummaged them, and had carried off what they could, and had destroyed much that they could not take. Still, nothing was seen to indicate that the enemy was yet in the country.
Some of the men took their families to their cabins, de- termined to do a little more work before the season for In- dian incursions-for it was still earlier in the spring than the Indians were in the habit of making raids into the set- tlements. Among those who left the fort under the im- pression that the red men were gone and danger for the present at an end, was Daniel Cameron, who lived opposite
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HISTORY OF TUCKER COUNTY.
Miller Hill, on the farm since known as the Bowman Plan- tation, by the nearest road some three miles from St. George. He removed his family to his farm, and that night they locked the door, as was usual at that time. Awhile after dark, a noise was heard like the rattle of a charger against a powder-horn. If no danger had been feared, this slight incident would scarcely have been noticed. But, at a time of such intense anxiety, it at once aroused suspicions. Presently other disturbances were heard, and it became nearly certain that Indians were prowling about. The light in the house was extinguished, and the family crawled out at the back door, and hid in a brush heap until everything became quiet, when they made their way to the fort, and reported what had taken place. But the people were not disposed to credit the story, and little attention was paid to it.
A day or two more passed, and nothing further was seen or heard of the Indians. But, all this time the treacherous savages were lying hid on the hill above the mouth of Clover Run, in a field near the present residence of Hon. William Ewin. They were about a mile from the fort; but still in sight of it. They had abandoned the laurel thicket opposite the fort, because they suspected that the garrison had discovered them. They selected their new hiding place, and remained in it during the day, and at night they prowled about the settlement. From where they were they could see all that went on in and about St. George, and they were ready to fall upon any stray party who should go out. An opportunity for this soon came.
Jonathan Minear's farm was two miles below St. George, on the south side of the river, just below where John Auvil, Esq., now lives. Jonathan Run is named from him. He
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selected this site at the same time that his father selected the one where St. George stands, and he made it his home, except when danger compelled him to remove to the fort for safety. When the Indians first came into the neighbor- hood, he abandoned his farm and retired to St. George, where he remained until he considered all danger at an end. But, when nothing more could be seen of the enemy, and nothing heard, except vague rumors, of which there always was sufficient, he determined to visit his farm and look after his cattle. His brother-in-law, Washburn, volunteered to go with him, and, at daylight, the two left the fort together and proceeded to the ford, about half mile below. Here they were joined by Cameron, who was afoot, and was on his way to his own farm. His way was along the northern bank of the river, while Minear and Washburn's was along the southern bank. They talked a few minutes, and separated, Minear and Washburn, on horseback, cross- ing the river and Cameron proceeding down the northern bank on foot.
The morning was clear and cold, for it was in March or early in April. The men on horseback passed very near where the Indians lay concealed, but not so near as to be shot. However, the savages probably learned from their conversation where they were going, and running on ahead, hid in the tall dry weeds that stood thick along the bank of the river in the field where the cattle were. The men rode leisurely on, thinking little of danger. When they got to the cabin they tied their horses. Washburn proceeded to the field to feed the cattle fodder, while Minear went to get corn for the hogs. With a shock of fodder on his back, Washburn was passing through the bars when some Indians sprang out of the fence corner and seized him. Immediately
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there was a discharge of guns, and Washburn saw Minear running toward the river, and a dozen Indians after him. Minear ran as though wounded, and the savages gained fast upon him, and overtook him on the bank of the river.
He had been shot in the thigh, and was so disabled that he could not escape. When he reached the bank, he saw that the Indians would strike him with their tomahawks; and, to avoid the blows, for him the last resort, he ran round a beech tree, bracing himself against the tree with one hand and fighting the Indians off with the other.
It is a characteristic of the Indians that, when they chase a man, as they did Minear, they always run one behind another, and do not try to head off the object of their pur- suit. Thus, when they came up with Minear at the beech tree and he ran round it, instead of some of them turning back in the opposite direction to head him off, they all ran round the same way, round and round and round. They were striking at him with their tomahawks, and he was try- ing to ward off the blows. Several times they missed him and struck the tree, and the marks of their tomahawks are to be seen on the tree to this day. Three of his fingers were cut off while thus defending himself. But the odds were too great against him, and he fell, his head cleft by a tomahawk.
All this, from the first attack on Washburn till Minear fell dead, was done in a few seconds ; and, while Washburn was standing with the fodder still on his back, and looking at the Indians who were murdering Minear, Cameron was also an eye witness from the other side of the river. Wash- burn, in his anxiety for his companion, forgot that himself was a prisoner ; and, not until ordered to do so by the In- dians, did he throw down his fodder. But Cameron realized
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JOHN MINEAR.
it all at a glance, although he did not know the whole truth. He saw Minear overtaken and tomahawked, and supposed that Washburn was likewise killed. He had heard the dis- charge of guns, and concluded that by them Washburn was killed. Without waiting for further investigation-in fact, further investigation was not possible-he wheeled and ran with all his speed up the river toward the fort.
But the discharge of gums had been heard at St. George, and the wildest excitement prevailed. The men mounted their horses in hot haste and galloped off down the river. They did not cross at the ford, but continued down the northern bank. This probably saved them from a bloody ambuscade; for the Indians were ready for them, and would have cut them off almost to a man, had they gone down the same path that Washburn and Minear had taken. But fortune favored them, and they continued down the northern shore.
They had not proceeded more than half-way when they met Cameron, who was out of breath from running and could scarcely speak for excitement. He told them that Minear and Washburn were killed. The party halted, and a hasty consultation took place. If the men were already dead, it could avail them little to be avenged: The strength of the Indians was not known; and it was feared that they would immediately bear down upon the fort. Under the circumstances it was thought best to hurry back and put the place in the best possible condition for defense. This wise resolution was immediately carried into effect. The men rode back, carrying Cameron with them, and brought the sad intelligence to the fort. All was hurry and activity. There was no time for lamentations. A supply of water was provided, so that the inmates might not suffer from thirst
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HISTORY OF TUCKER COUNTY.
in case of a siege. Ammunition was gotten ready. Large quantities of bullets were molded, and all the guns were loaded ready for an attack any moment.
The day passed, and no attack was made. The enemy had not appeared in sight. But the anxiety and dread were not lessened; for it then began to be believed that the In- dians were probably keeping out of sight in order to throw the garrison off their guard, and that an attack would be made that night. No one thought of sleep. Every man was up and in arms. The fort was not defended by regular soldiers, but depended for defense upon those who took shelter within its walls. When night came, and the addi- tional suspense and fear, that always accompany darkness and silence, fell upon the people, they determined to put on a bold front, hoping that, by doing so, they could strike terror into the hearts of the Indians and keep them at bay.
There was in the fort a gigantic negro named Moats. Him they dressed as a soldier, and had him march round and round the fort, within the palisades, beating a drum. This was to cause a belief among the Indians, should they be skulking near, that a large force was under arms in the fort-yard, and that this martial display was a legitimate manifestation of power. This was kept up all night, and scarcely an eye was closed in slumber. No enemy appeared. Whether the display of force had alarmed the Indians, they did not then know. But, when the morning broke, and no enemy, or sign of any, was in sight, the men prepared to visit the scene of the tragedy of the previous day. It is not now known how many men were in St. George at that time ; but, judging from what is known on the subject, there must have been between twenty and thirty. They were
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JOHN MINEAR.
gathered in from all the settlements for miles around, both above and below St. George.
It had been a cold, frosty night. Early in the morning the men formed in a body and marched down the river, on the the north side. When they reached a point opposite where Minear was killed, the men ranged themselves in line of battle along the side of the hill, and sent Moats, the negro, across the river to see if the Indians were any- where about. The men stood ready to fire, in case the enemy should put in an appearance. Moats rode over, searched the thickets up and down the shore, and saw nothing to indicate that the foe was hidden anywhere around. Then the men crossed over, using the greatest caution lest they should fall into an ambuscade. They feared that the Indians were hidden in the weeds, and would wait till an advantage was presented, and then run out and attack the party.
When they got over the river they found Minear lying dead where he fell. The Indians had killed him by the beech tree, and had chopped the upper part of his head off with their tomahawks. They then broke his skull into fragments and drove the pieces into a stump hard by. A dog that had always followed him was found guarding the dead man.
Search was then made for Washburn. It was not known what had become of him. Cameron had not seen him; but he supposed that it was at him that the guns had been fired. The whites explored the woods and the corn field, but could find no trace of him. Nor was anything seen of Indians. But, finally a trail was found leading up a ridge, since known as Indian Point, and by following it a short distance it was found that the Indians had retreated by
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that way on the day before. It was also discovered that Washburn was carried off a prisoner. His track was dis- tinguished from those of the Indians. The Indians did not always kill every one whom they caught. Often they car- ried their prisoners into captivity, and sometimes they would take a captive with them hundreds of miles into their country, and then burn him or pound him to death. At times, prisoners were well treated; but, it was generally considered that to fall a captive to the Indians was a fate little less to be dreaded than death. So, when it was found that Washburn was taken prisoner it was considered that he was little more fortunate than Minear, who was killed.
It was resolved to follow the Indians as soon as Minear should be buried. His dead body was taken up, bound on a horse and carried to the fort. He had stiffened and fro- zen as he fell. His arms were extended wide, and he was covered with coagulated blood. Thus he was carried to St. George and was buried. No one now knows where his grave is; but it is believed to be under a chestnut tree about one half-mile east of the town.
The next morning as many men as could be spared from the fort went in pursuit of the Indians. They trailed them a night and two days. Had the Indians immediately shaped their course for the Ohio River they must have es- caped before the whites could have overtaken them. But they did not do this. They seemed to be hunting for set- tlements about the Valley River, and by spending their time in this manner they allowed the pursuing party to come up. The Indian camp was discovered awhile after dark on the second night. David Minear, brother to Jona- than, crawled up near enough to spy out the position of the enemy, and to see that Washburn was indeed a prisoner
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with them. It was resolved to fall on the Indians at once. The whole party of whites cautiously approached and let the Indians have it. A tumultuous uproar followed. The savages caught up what plunder they could snatch, and bounded away into the woods, while the whites rushed into the camp to take the wounded savages prisoner. Wash- burn was found unhurt. Two or three of the enemy were shot. While the whites stood round the fire in the excite- ment of the victory, an Indian came ramping into their midst, snatched up a pouch of something from the ground, and was off before the whites recovered enough from their surprise to capture or shoot the scoundrel. It was thought that the pouch contained some superstitious concoction of medicine.
After this skirmish, when it was certain that the Indians were gone and no more punishment could be inflicted upon them, the company returned to St. George. The Indians made their way back across the Ohio River into their own country.
About the colony of St. George, affairs went on well enough for some time. The people were very careful not to expose themselves to the Indians. Some returned to their farms and underwent all risks; while others would go to their plantations during the day and repair to the fort at night. Another visit was made by the Indians about this time. The date is not certain, but it is believed to have been in 1780. A small band of Indians carried away a boy who was at work in a field at the mouth of Clover Run, nearly a mile from the fort. Not much is known of this event; but it is said that when the Indians took the boy prisoner he had with him a pet crow, and it followed him nearly to the Ohio River, where the Indians killed it, be-
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HISTORY OP TUCKER COUNTY.
cause they thought it possessed of an evil spirit. It is not known what became of the boy.
The year 1781 records the greatest calamity that ever be- fell the St. George colony. It was the murder by Indians of Daniel Cameron, Mr. Cooper and John Minear. They were the three foremost men of the settlement. John Mi- near had planned and founded the colony ; and to him more than to any one else was its prosperity due. He was killed in April, 1781.
The band of Indians, by whom the murder was commit- ted, made a raid very similar to that of the gang that killed Jonathan Minear. Nearly the same territory was overrun and nearly the extent of wickedness done. The savages first appeared in Lewis County, on the head of Stone Coal Creek, where they waylaid three men named Schoolcraft, who had gone there from Buckhannon for the purpose of hunting pigeons. The Indian shot at them and killed one. The two others were taken prisoner, and it is not certain that they were ever again heard of. But it was believed that they joined the Indians, and afterwards guided parties of the savages through the settlements and helped them kill white people. These were the last of the Schoolcraft fam- ily. Fifteen of them had been killed or carried into cap- tivity within the space of seven years. Their fate and that of the Minears seemed connected. It is thought that the party that killed Jonathan Minear also killed Austin School- craft and took prisoner his niece. Then, the band by which John Minear was killed, the next year, killed and captured three Schoolcrafts, making five in all that fell by the hands that slew the Minears.
After this depredation in Lewis County, the Indians passed over to the Valley River, in Barbour County ; and a
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JOHN MINEAR.
few miles below Philippi they set themselves in ambush at a narrow place in the road.
About this time commissioners had been appointed to adjust land claims in this part of the State, and to execute the necessary legal papers to those who had complied with the law in pre-empting the public lands. The commissioners met at Clarksburg. Land claimants went there from all neighboring parts to present claims for consideration. The people of St. George, in common with those of other settle- ments, sent their agents to Clarksburg to attend to the business and to obtain deeds for the various tracts of land claimed by the different settlers. Those whom St. George sent were Jolın Minear, Daniel Cameron, two men named Miller, Mr. Cooper and Mr. Goffe. They had proceeded to Clarksburg, attended to their business, and were on their way home at the time the Indians were lying in their am- buscade below Philippi. It seems from the circumstances that the Indians were looking for them.
The Indians placed themselves in a position commanding the road, and hung a leather gun-case by a string over the path. This was to attract attention, cause a halt and give the savages an opportunity to take deliberate aim. The trap was well set, and the men came riding along the path, thinking nothing of danger. The path was so narrow that they could ride only in single file. They were almost under the leather decoy before they saw it. They instantly brought their horses to a halt. The truth flashed into Minear's mind, and quickly wheeling his horse, he exclaimed "Indians!" The whole party would have wheeled; but, instantly a discharge of guns from the hidden foe threw them into the wildest confusion. Horses and men fell together. Minear, Cameron and Cooper were killed on the
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HISTORY OF TUCKER COUNTY.
spot. Goffe and one of the Millers sprang from their horses and took to the woods. The other Miller was not unhorsed. He wheeled back, and fled toward Clarksburg. The savages tried hard to catch him ; but his horse was fleeter than they, and he made good his flight to Clarksburg.
Miller sought to escape by ascending the hill. He was on foot, and two or three Indians started in pursuit, armed only with knives and tomahawks. He had the start of them by less than twenty yards, and they seemed confident of overhauling him. Indeed, he had little hope of escaping ; but he considered it better to make an effort for his life. His pursuers, close upon his heels, called continually to him to stop, and told him if he did not, they would most cer- tainly kill him. They accompanied their threats by the most violent gesticulations. Had they exerted all their en- ergy in the pursuit and done less yelling, they might have sooner terminated the chase. As it was, Miller did not stop in compliance with their demand, although he almost de- spaired of being able to get away. The hill was steep, and his strength was nearly gone; but he struggled upward, reached the summit, turned down the other side, and was out of sight of the savages. But the chase was not done. The Indians followed fast after him, and he ran through the tangled brush, dodged to left and right, and finally avoided them. He knew not but that he was the only one who had escaped. He had seen the others fall, and thought them killed. But it was not entirely so.
While Miller was thus getting away from his pursuers by a long and desperate race, Goffe was making a still more wonderful escape. When he leaped from his horse, instead of going up the hill, as Miller had done, he broke through the line of foes and ran for the river. A score of the say-
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JOHN MINEAR.
ages started in pursuit, as confident of a speedy capture as those had been who followed Miller. But, in spite of their efforts to catch him, Goffe kept his distance. He looked back as he reached the river bank, and no Indians were in sight. He threw off his coat to swim, and leaped down the bank. But at that instant he heard his pursuers tearing through the brush almost immediately above him. He saw that it was impossible to escape by swimming; and, on the impulse of the moment, he pitched his coat in the water, and crept for concealment into an otter den which happened to be at hand.
By this time the Indians had reached the bank above him. He could hear them talking; and he learned from their conversation that they thought he had dived. They expected to see him rise from the water. He could see their images mirrored from the water of the river under him. He could see the glittering and glistening of their tomahawks and knives in the sunlight. His den was barely large enough to conceal him ; and his tracks in the mud would lead to his hiding place. He prepared to plunge into the water and take his chances of escape by diving. But the Indians had caught sight of the coat as it was floating down the river ; and they began to move off to keep pace with it. They supposed that Goffe was either drowned or had made his escape. They abandoned the man for the moment and turned their attention to saving the coat. How they suc- ceeded in this is not known ; for Goffe did not wait to see the termination of the affair. He crawled from his den and made off, leaving them a hundred yards below. He started directly for St. George, which he reached that night.
Severe as this blow was to the Cheat River settlement, it was probably lighter than it would have been, had not the
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HISTORY OF TUCKER COUNTY.
attack been made on the party of land claimants. This band of Indians were heading for St. George; but, when Goffe and the Millers escaped, it was not deemed advisable to proceed, since the place could not be taken by surprise. Therefore, the Indians turned back up the Valley River to Tygart's Valley, where they fell upon settlements unpre- pared for them.
Leading Creek, in Randolph County, was then a flourish- ing colony. The people had heard of the presence of Indians in the more western counties, and were busily mov- ing into the fort. While thus engaged, the savages fell upon them and nearly destroyed the whole settlement. Among those killed were Alexander Roney, two women, Mrs. Daugherty and Mrs. Hornbeck, and a family of chil- dren. They also took several prisoners, among whom were Mrs. Roney and Daniel Daugherty. Others of the settle- ment made their escape, and carried the news to Friend's fort. A company of men at once collected to hunt down the Indians and kill them. Col. Wilson led the pursuing party. When they reached Leading Creek they found the settlement broken up, the people gone and nearly all the houses and barns burned to the ground. The trail of the Indians was soon found, and a swift pursuit was made. The savages turned westward, and seemed to be aiming for the West Fork River. Colonel Wilson's party continued upon their track for some time, and until the men began to grow fearful that other Indians might fall upon the Tygart's Valley settlements, while thus deprived of so many of its men. Some wanted to go back, and only a few were very anxious to continue the pursuit of the Indians. A vote was taken to decide whether or not the party should proceed. Only four, Colonel Wilson, Richard Kittle, Alexander West
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JOHN MINEAR.
and Joseph Friend, voted to go on. Consequently, the whole party turned back.
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