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Les diagrammas suivants illustrent la mAthoda. ita lure. 3 ax 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 *•' f- INDIAN WARS OF THE WEST; ooNTAnrQia ^BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THOSE PIONfiEES :^. l¥HO HEADED THE WESTERN: MTTI«E8 IN BBPBLLIN0 THE l« ATTACKS OF THE SAVAGES, 1;-, TOGETHER WITH A \\ ■<, y EW OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, MONUMENTS, AND ANTIQUITIES OF THE WESTERN INDIANS. vC BY TIMOTHY FLINt- f .0i .Piff- Westward the Star of Empire holds its way. i CINCINNATI:. rVBIItBBD BT B. H, FLINT. I 1888. .''*il Entered according to the act of Congress, in the year 1832, by E. H. FiiiNT, in the Clerk's office of the Circuit Court of the district of Ohio. ."**' N. & 6. Guilford jc Co., Frvniert* \ INDIAN WARS OF THE WEST. CHAPTER I. PHYSICAL VIEW OP THE WEST. The country, of whose first settlers we propose to give sketches, is now called in common parlance the West, and the Mississippi valley, indicating its position in regard to the elder and more populous country on the shores of the Atlantic. It is the largest, most singular, and most fertile valley on thQ globe. A profile, or physical section of the vast plain between the Alleghanies and Rocky mountains^ places this fact in an impressive point of view. A line round the edge of the immense basin, commen' cing at the northern sources of the head waters of the lakes,- rouad the ABeghanies, the gulf of Florida, the mountains thfit separate the waters of the Rio del Norte from those of the Mississippi, and the central ridges of the Rocky mountains dividing between the watdrs of the Missouri, the gulf of California, and the Oregon, and thence around the htod sources of the Mississippi, to its commencement north of the lakes, would be at least five thousand miles in extent. This vfllst surface is watered by the longest rivers oB' the globe. The Missouri, Mississippi, Arkansas, Re^. .River, phio, Tennessee, Wabash, Platt^^osas, Yellow Stone, lUinoiS) Osage, and many odiear j»t the western rivers, are as different in charactgr fi|||a |hQS)s of the old world, as this valley is more extontAfe iJ|d ipagniSceiu" than any o^et. In comparison to tiieir widtlji they haye far longer (^rse's, aui. "umish a navigation l($w impeded by falls and rapids.. These rivers may 1)q cjpiiii^ iin-^ 4156$ •Vl I I if » ■• • 4 INDIAN WARS mense natural canals winding through this vast valley in every direction, at once irrigating, fertilizing, and connec- ting its remotest points by navigable water communica-' tions. Three of these streams, to wit : the Missouri, the Mississippi, and Arkansas present a continued steam boat navrgation of more than two thousand miles in length. Three more, to wit: Red River, the Ohio, aiid Tennessee have moje than a thousand miles. Of those which are actually ascended by steam boats from three to six hundred miles, the number wcfuld be too tedious to enumerate. W» Each of these streams is a kind of Nile to the region it irrigates, having a wide alluvial valley along its course, bounded on either shore by bluffs of a peculiar character, generally faced with precipitous limestone walls fronk two to four hundred feet high. It is but a few years since s|eam boats have first begun to be seen mounting with the power of the imprisoned elements between these hoary and ancient parapets of the streams, scaring the water- fowls from their domain, and the wild beasts from their shores. The discoveries, the peculiar journals and inci- dents of these long and recent voyages, are too new and voluminous, and we are yet too Iktle acquainted with the new position in which they have placed us, to possess at present all their intrinsic interest. They will constitute the burden of the history and song of the coming genera- tions. The peculiar configuration, climate, physical character, fertility, and modes of communication of this wide region, circumstances all having a peculiar bearing upon the character of its inhabitants, have not failed to form a lan- guage, and mode of thinking, and manners peculiar to the west, presenting to the eye of a curious observer suf- ficiently amusing differences between the people of the Atlantic country and the Mississippi valley. The loiig. jorneys of the jinhabitants in steam boats, and by other ^ Water conveyaacei, create the necessity of new phrases, " modes of speech, add even h^ts of thinking and feeling. Among the results may bee. nBBv reckoned greater entejr- prise, and a readier habit dP bre>>king the ties^f home, 1^ f%m in doing it, and in general the hardier and more reck« ',■*« ^^' ■M OF THK WSfiTT. 9 km habitf of loldiera, travetlen, and hunters. Time and oupcuoNiUinces have yet to determine, whether these ha*^ bits will form, ters as furnishing their customary modes of travel and conveyance, qualify them, when borne down their fbrests to the sea, to become sailors at once. Fearlessness, frank* ness, fluency in conversation, a touch, perhaps, of rough* ness, smacking of the union of the hunter, soldier, sailor and merchant, addictedness to cards and profanity form the prominent traits of the present voyagers on the western rivers. The fertility of the greater portion of this valley is as , surprising as its extent. Apparently of more recent for- mation than the remainder of the CiHitinent, it seems less marked with the curse of steiility. Immense portions are alluvial. Other portions far frojm rivers, or the present courses of waters, show as if they were the deposit of immense drained lakes, or a vast region of former sub- mersion. Even the pine districts, which are extensive iii the south and southwest of the valley, and towards the sources of the Mississippi, are not sterile, like the same tracts in the Atlantic country. They are generally co* vered in the summer with a luxuriant growth of grass, herbage and flowers, and bring moderate crops of corn, wheat, sweet potatoes, and garden vegetables without manuring. This natural fertility seems to be owing to the deep loam stratum of the vegetable soil^'and its contain- iag uncommon proportions of limestone^ triturateH, and perfectly mixe' with it. Whatever be the cause, every traveller ha» remarked, in pfOpeilliHi tm he begins to de- Miend any of the ridgee, thi^t fe««4Kl|t outline of this val- lej^l tiiat the foil shows a proportldiiiia^ increase of fertiU- tf , It is B^teeifnded, ti»l thift *t« not heroi asfi^- 1» ■^;'- ^MM I ' I n I III I I 1 I INDIAN WARS where, extensive legions consigned to sterility; but oriy that the proportion of fertile soil, compared with other countries, is unusually great. ^ The climate, though every where subject to frequent changes and the extremes of heat and cold, is generally a mild and temperate one, presenting an atmosphere with a fair proportion of cloudless days, and a sky intensely blue and transparent. In winter it no where has the same a- mount of snow, as in the corresponding Atlantic latitudes. Another feature of diversity from the Atlantic country is seen in the vast western prairies. Probably two-thirds of the whole surface of this valley are of this character. The term was furnished by the French, the first settlers of the country, and imports the same as the English word mea- doto. This term to an American ear generally denotes a low and wet grass enclosure. Nothing is farther from the true import of the term prairie, as applied to the grass plains of the west. The savannas of Florida and some of the interior prairies, are wet and marshy ; but the infinite- ly larger proportion is high and dry. Indead, their desti- tution of water is in general their greatest inconvenience. They spread extents too uniformly level to admit of springs, and areas too open to evaporation and the direct operation 6f the sun^s rays, to retain moisture. It has been generally asserted, that not far from the shores of the upper Missouri, Kansas, Platte, Yellow Stone, Arkansas, and Red Rivers, the prairies become a sterile and moving sand. More re- cent discoveries tend to discredit these assertions. The prairies the most remote from rivers are generally found yielding in the season a rank growth of grass, plants, and flowers. When American population shall press upon the means of subsistence, the vast level grass plains with coal beds and salt springs beneath, will be dotted with houses of brick and hedges of thorn, and will be the land of shep- herds and cultivators. To encourage this hope, a fact equally new, beautiful, and unquestionable has been set- tled by experience, that the innocent labors of the cultiva- tor call down the blessing of the sky upon the earth. Be- tween the husbandioaan, the earth, and the atmosphere there aeema a sort of compatibility and cootnct^ that the OF THE W|SST. 7 ■hall till, and the others grant moisture and increase* Oppression and disease have no sooner banibhed man from the plains of Babylon, Persia, and Palestine, than the ground parches, the trees disappear, the beasts, and even the birds depart into exile, and the country, aban- doned to sterility, becomes a moving sand. In reverse of this order, when the thousands of square leagues of dry grass plains west of the Mississippi, shall become the re* sorts of husbandmen, the granges, the hedges, the young orchards, the mulberry groves, forming a new alliance with the sky, will generate showers, arrest the clouds, and pour innumerable rivulets over all these green wastes. In regard to the products of the west, without entering into details foreign to our plan, we remark four distinct species of cultivation, predominating in as many parallel belts, as we descend from the northern extremity of the valley towards the south. The first is a zone with products similar to the northern Atlantic states; and commencing at the sources of the Mississippi, and terminating at Prai- rie du Ghien, it corresponds to the climate between Mon- treal and Boston. The Indian corn of the northern states, Irish potatoes, rye, wheat, and cultivated grasses are raised in perfection. The winter has an average dura- tion of five months. The second belt, commencing at Prairie du Chien, and terminating at latitude 36 deg., produces the gourd-seed corn, rye, wheat, apples, pears, p#&ches, and sweet pota- toes. The average winter is four months. The next belt, reaching from 36 to 31 deg., is the region t)f cotton. From 30 deg. to the gulf of Mexico is the belt of the sugar cane, the orange and fig tree, and the corresponding productions. Sugar and cotton from these districts already constitute a prodigious item in the products of the American soil ; and when this valley is peopled and cultivated, as one day it will be, imagination can hardly limit the extent, to which these articles will be produced. The progress of the population of this country is with- out any example or parallel in the records of other colo' Dies in ancient or modern times ; ni^-excepting even the an- oAlaof the advancement of the Adantic countcyi We can i UflltAir; WAtS reniember, when all this country, except the ancient Fraaeb eoJkNiies in it, waa an unknown and an unpeopled wilder*' neia. The firat settlers encountered incredible hardshina and dangers. But cmly open before Amerioans a fertile soil, and a mild climate, and their native enterprise, fos- tercMd by the stimulcuit effect of freedom and mild laws, will overcome every impediment. Sickness, solitude, moun« tains, the war-hoop, the merciless tomahawk, wolves, pan* there, and bears, dear and distant homes, foraedien forever, will come over their waking thoughts, and revisit their dreams in vain, to prevent the young, fk>rid and unpor' tioned pair from scaling remote mountains, descending long rivers, and finally selecting their spot in the forests, and consecrating their solitary cabin with the dear and sa- cred name of home. The following synoptical view will show in a few words, the astonishing advance of this population. In 1790 the population of this valley, exclXisfveof the country west of the Mississippi and of Florida, which were not then with- in our territorial limits, was .estimated by enumeration, at little more than one hundred thousand. In 1600 it was something short of three hundred and eighty thousand. In 1810 it was short of one million. In 1820, including the population west of the Mississippi, rating the popu- lation of Florida at twenty thousand, and that of the parts of Virginia and Pennsylvania included in this valley at three hundred thousand, and it will give the population of 1820 at two millions five hundred thousand. The present population may be rated at four millioua. It will be per- ceived, that this is an increase, in more than a duplicate ratio in ten years. Some considerable allowance must be made, of course, for the flood of immigration, which can not reasonably be expected to set this way for the future, as atrcmgly as it has for the past. Ohio, with the largest and most dense population of any of the western states, has nearly doubled her number of inhabitants, between tfie census of 1820 and 1830. Duringtfaat interval, her gain by immigration has hakUy equall^ her loss by emigration ; and of course, ii. wnply that of natunl increaae. In this rapidity of thiv rinrS"'iiiiMih'ii r^^*^— OP THE WEST. 9 increase, we believe, this state not only exceeds any other in the west, but in the world. It is the good natured jest of all, who travel through the western states, that however productive in other harvests, they are still more so in an unequalled crop of flaxen-headed children, the nobler CTovvth our realms supply! We have a million more mhabitaats than the thirteen good old United States, w hen, at the commencement of the revolutionary war, they threw down the gauntlet in the face of the parent country, then the most powerful empire on the globe. Notwithstanding the impression, so generally entertain- ed in the Atlantic country, that this valley is universally unhealthy, ana notwithstanding the necessary admission^ that fever and ague is prevalent to a great and annoying degree, the stubborn facts above stated, dc^r/nstrate, be- yond all possibility of denial, that no country is :nore pro- pitious to increase by natural population. Wherever the means of easy, free, and ample subsistence are provided, it is in the nature and order of human thiiigi^, that poiiulatioa should increase rapidly. In such a country, though some parts of it should prove sickly, perseverance will ultimate- ly triumph over even this impediment, the most formidable of all. In that fertile region, for its insalubrious districts are almost invariably those of (he highest fertility, immi- grants will arrive, become sickly and discouraged; and perhaps, return with an evil report of the country. In the productive and sickly sections of the south, allured by its rich products, and (ts exemption from winter, adventurers will successively arrive, fix themselves, become sickly, and it may be, die. Others, lusting for gain, and with that recklessness to the future, for wise ends awarded us by Providence, and undismayed by the fate of those who have preceded them, will replace them. By culture, drai- . ning, the feeding of cattle, and the opening the country to the fever-banishing breeze, the atmosphere is found grad- ualfy to meliorate. The inhabitants, taught by experience and suffering, come by degrees to learn the climate, the diseases, and preventives, and a race will finally stand, which will possess the adaptation to the country, which re- sults, from acclimation; and even these sections are fotilHi .M%. 10 filDIAIf WAR9 .'§.' in timefto Iwv^'ti d6^^e of natural increase of population with thereat. Such has proved to be the steady advance of things in the sickliest points of the south. The rapidity- of c;>f io^rcase in numbers multiplies the difficulties of subsisteopj^iuicl stimulates, aitid sharpens the swarming fa- culties ail^ propensities in the parent hive, and willcaufje, that ii| due lapse of time and progress of things, ^very fer- tild carter section in this valley will support its family. Another, pleasant circumstance impended to this view is, that almost the entire population of the valley are cul- tivators of the soil. The inhabitants of cfowded towns and villages, the numerous artizans and laborers in manu- ^ factories, can neither be, as a mass, so healthy, so virtuous or happy, as free cultivators of the soil. The man whose daily range of prospect is dusty streets, or smoky and dead brick wallg. ibd whose views become limit^ by habit to the encloswe of these walls; who depends fdr his subsist- ence on the daily supplies of the marl ., and whose mo- tives to action are elicited by constant and hourly struggle ipd competition with his fellows, will have the advantage in some points over the secluded tenant of a cabin or a fiirm house. But still, taking every thing into the calcu- lation, we would choose to be the owner of a half section of land, and daily contemplate nature, as we tilled the soil, aided in that primitive and noble occupation by our own vigorous children. The dweller in towns and villages may have more of Ule air and tone of society, and his daughters. may keep nearer to the chiuiges of the fashions. But we have little doubt, that, in str^ing the balance of enjoyment, tjbe latter will be found to jhitbe happier man, and more likely to have a numerous and healthy family. The people of the west, with very small deductions, are cultivators of the soil. All, that are neither idle, nor un- able to labor, have a rural abundance of the articles, which the soil can furnish, far beyond the needs of the country; and it is one of our most prevalent complaints, that this abundance is far beyond the chances of profitable sale. The extent, to which the commerce of the country has been (sarriedy-may be inferred from the fact, that the annu- a\ expcMTts from New Orleans average from twelve to fif- OF TW v^wm^ n inn millions of doUars. Among tfie items 1^|#1^ Wi aii IMt tdbnage exceeds fifty thousand tons^ 'flaaew^fmitfi^ wai eighty steam boats have be«n built or run; anil two hondred are now actually running upon flie lilJIteni nv^nli ■ ■ ■ '^.'-M.-' New Orleans, the chief city of the western emUtff contains ov^ fifty thousand inhalntants, and more com- ^^ mercial business is transacted in it than in any other of the'^ size in Ameiica. Cincinnati, ihe next largest town, con- tains over thirty thousand inhabitants; and few towns in the United States surpass it in beauty«j| Pittsburgh, a town of immense manufacturing business aij4- resources, contains with its suburbs twenty-two thousand four hun- dred and thirty-three inhabitants. Louisville, a large commercial town of Kentucky, contains upwards of/te^ thousand inhabitants. St, Louis, Nashville, Lexinitoir/ and Zanesville, are large and growing towns; and hun- dreds of villages are rapidly advancing to the same rank. Towers, churches, manufactories, seminaries, and institu- tions are springing up on every side. Before we proceed to present sketches of the adventu- rous spirits, who preceded in the discovery and settlement of this vast valley, we give in a compressed and tabular view, some of its most interesting physical, taoral, and political features. It contains four-fifths of the area of the Uflited States. The Missouri exceeds three thousand miles in length. The Mississippi has a course of two thousand eight hun- dred; the Arkansas of two thousand five hundred; Red River of one thousand ej|^t hundred; ...a Ohio of one thousand five hundred; White River of one thousand two huildi^ ; and Tennessee of the same extent — some of the rivers of the Mis^ri, as the Platte and Yellow Stone, have courses of equal length! Ph)ceoding on a leM ratio of increase, than thatirliicb ,' ;-.^l f,^- m *p ■n 11J INDIAN; WARS has marked the prc^ess of western population from tl^e commencement of its settlement, in the year 1850 this valley will contain ten millions of inhabitants, or more than half the population of the whole United States. Of course, the balance of physical power will be west of the Alleghany inountains. Another interesting circumstance may be mentioned. So far as physical configuration and relative position may be supposed capable of influencing^ the physical and moral destinies of a country, there is no one of the same extent rcement8. In the absence of the commandant, the father Hennepin was instructed to ascend the Mississippi to its sources; 22 INDIAN WARS f while La*Salle on his return proposed to descend the river to its mouth ; so that between them, the exploration of the river might be complete. The father left the fort in the spring with two associates^ to accomplish his part of the plan. He reached the Mis- sissippi, March 8th, 1680. Having 'arrived there, wheth- er he found it easier to descend, than ascend the current, or whether he deemed that more fame would result from the downward, than the upward exploration, does n()t ap- pear. But he descended the Mississippi from the mouth of the Illinois to the Balize in sixteen days. The discrep- ancies and exaggerations in his journal, and the very short period occupied in the descent, have induced some histori- ans to view his whole narrative with doubt. But a peri- ogae with a moderate use ofoars, during the spring floods, and floating night and day, would easily descend the river from that point to the Balize in sixteen days. Kis journal records a fact of more difficult credibility, than the rapidi- ty of his descent, to wit, that on his return he ascended the river from the mouth of the Illinois ^o the falls of St. Antho«> ny. Thence he returned u> Oanada, and embarked im- mediately for Fraitce. He there published his travels in the most splendid style, and dedicating his book to the great minister ttolbert. The country received the name of Lou* isiana, in honor of Louis XIV, then on the throne of France. La Salle, in the mean time, delighted with the ccuntry of the Illinois, put in requisition e^y resource, which his exhausted means would allow, to %imish another expedi- tion to that region. A crowd of adventurers joined him to push their fortunes in these unexplored countries. Thisy reached the Mississippi in 1683. With these associates he founded the villages of Kaskaskia and Cahokia, in the fertile »Uuvion near the Mississippi, since called the A- merican bottom; and these are the oldest settlements in what may be properly called the Mississippi valley. Halv- ing given his friend M. de Tonti the command of this little eolony , he hastened back to Canada, and thence to France, in order to enlist the French minisby in co-q>eration with bis views. OF THE WEST. 91 One of his first objects was to convince the ministry of (be existence of 'that astonishing inland water communi- cation, which nature has furnished between the gulf of St. Lawrence and of Mexico, which unites these distant points by an almost unbroken chain of nearly four thousand miles in length. He first comprehended, and suggested that plan, upon which the French government afterwards so steadily acted, of extending a chain of communications from one point to the other, thus drawing a hostile arch, like a bow, round every point of the English colonies, save that which was shielded by the ocean : and thus insulating these set- tlements within this impassable barrier. Communications being thus formed between Canada, the lakes, and the up- per Mississippi, it was necessary to the completion of this plan to commence an establishment at the mouth of the river. La Salle obtained from the king the command of a squad- ron to explore the mouth of the Mississippi by the Mexi- can gnlf. The expedition sailed; August, 1684 ; but steer- ing too far to the westward, instead of reaching the mouth of the Mississippi, they made land more than one hundred leagues west of the Balize, in the bay of St. Bernard, in the present country of Texas. One of his vessels was stranded on the bar at the entrance of the bay. He final- ly succeeded in landing his followers on the banks of the Gaudaloupe. They soon raised a fortification, which pro- tected them from the continual assaults of the savages. But they were visited with disease ; and in want, and in utter ignorance of their position on these desolate prairies, they found their condition inexpressibly lonely and hope- less. The unquenchable spirit of this brave man impelled him to incredible efTorts to rescue the band of associates, thus attached to his fortunes, from impending destruction. His first effort was with twenty followers to reach the, Missis- sippi, and ascend it to the colony of his friend M. de TontL The nearest point of the Mississippi on the line of his march was not less than five hundred miles. His route was through a country, wholly unknown, and peopled with va- rious tribes of Indians; and presented an endless success- ;#.. ^11 4 vjl '( il 94 INDIAN WARS ion of swamps, forests, prairies, and rivers. In a^vrncing into these unlmown solitudes, the Indiahs received them with the utmost kindnessf domesticating the wanderers, and offermg them their wives, their game, and the shel- ter of their cabins, with a boundless hospitality. Four of his licentious followers lefl him to domesticate themselves with the savages. Sickness, desertion, and weariness com- pelled him in weakness and discouragement to retrace his way to the fort of ^t. Bernard. ^ In a few days they resumed courage to renew their at- tempt to journey over land to the Illinois. Two longmonths they wandered in «, north-west direction through the un- known forests and prairies.*' At length they encamped in a beautiful plain, where game abounded, and where they were welcomed by a tribe of Indians. De La Salle here halted, to allow his exhausted companions relaxation and repose. The Indians made them free of their cabins, as on their former journey. Delighted with this unbridled license, wearied with toi^ and excited by the example of the deserters on the former trip, these unprincipled recruits from the populace of a French ciiy, abandoned their com- mander and joined the Indians. tJpbraided by their com- mander, to treachery they added murder. They first as- sassinated a party which La Salle had sent out to hunt, among which was his nephew. La Salle, aware of this mutinous spirit, and uneasy about the fate of the>hunting party, set out in search of them. His gloomy presenti- ments were soon realized. Scarcely had he discovered their dead bodies before he fell himself under the fire of the mutineers. Thus died this distinguished adventurer, identified with the earliest periods of European acquain- tance with the Mississippi valley, alike illustrious by his merits, his courage, and his misfortunes. History has not clearly settled at what point of his route he fell. Some of the ill-fated colony, which he left at St. Bernard, were murdered by the savages, and the remainder were carried captive into the interior of Mexico, by a" Spanish detach- ment from New Leon. •The mutineers soon quarrelled among themselves. In the quarrel the two persons that fired upon La Salle, in X OT THE WEST. 25 iTie re-action of justice, inflicted death upon each other. Two priests of the party became penitent ibr having wink- ed at the assassination, and furnished these incidents. Sev- en of the company only remained, who, guided by these priests, and conducted by the Indian tribes on their way, finally reached the Arkansas, where they found a French colony from Canada, that had just formed a settlement there. . Charlevoix throws a melancholy interest over the fate of the other great discoverer of Louisiana, father Mar- quette. Pievious to his discovery of the Mississippi, he had been a laborious and devoted missionary among the Canadian tribes of Indians. He was still prosecuting his travels with great ardor. On his return from Chicago to Michilimacinac, he entered a river of lake Michigan, which bore his name. He requested his followers to land, inti- mating a presentiment that he should end his days on that lonely shore. They landed, and at his request raised a rude altar, at which he celebrated mass, afterwards re- questing, that he might be left to offer thanks to God alone for half an hour. When they returned, the apostle of the wilderness had expired. Both La Salle and Marquette furnish affecting exam- ples of the evaiiescance of human records. The place where they were buried, is unknown. The Spaniards and the French seem to have been alike aware, that these beginnings would be the germ of a great empire. The whole policy of each nation sufficiently in- timates, with how much jealousy the one nation watched the colonial movements of the other. The Spaniards of Florida had founded Pensacola in west Florida, obvi,ously as a military post, to watch and overawe ihe French colo- nial attempts in these regions. Ibberville, by order of the king of France, sailed for Louisiana, accompanied by three considerable ships of war. In March, 1699, after explor- ing much of the Florida shore, they entered the Mississip- pi. On that river they became acquainted with many of the native tribes, and entered into amicable negotiations with them. The expedition terminated by establishing a colony at Biloxi, in Biloxi bay, a position equally remarka- #{« 26 INDIAN WARS ble for its health and sterility. It was fortified, garrisoned by a few soldiers, buccaneers, and Canadians, and hft in the command of M. de Bienville. In May following, the governor of Biloxi set out on an exploring expedition on the Mississippi. In that river he discovered at eighteen leagues from the sea, an English vessel named the Ban, which had left a consort at the mouth of the river. The English captain assured him, that he wished to plant a colony there under the protection of the French, if he could obtain for it liberty of conscience, in which case four hundred families would emigrate to it from Carolina. He was assured, that the king of France had not expelled heretics from his kingdom at home, to estab- lish them in a republic in the new world. The English- man was in doubt, whether he was in the Mississippi or not; and Bienville, glad to avail himself of his ignorance, assured him, that this was not the Mississippi, which was much farther to the west, but a river of Canada under the jurisdiction of his master. Deceived in this way, the Eng- lish cartain was induced to put his ship about, and to leave the river. This point has hence borne the name of the English turn. In December, 1699, Ibberville arrived with two large ships of war from France. With him came thirty miners, and sixty Canadians accompanied by M. de Seuer, who had been an extensive traveller in Canada; and they were en- joined to ascend the Mississipj, , and form an establish- ment near its sources, and particularly to explore a mine of ous dwellers with barbarous names in those far wilderness- es. They had been mostegregiously deceived by the con- fident tales of an impostor, who pretended ta have di3>> covered mines of unexampled richness on the Missouri. Search for these mines brought them acquainted with the extensive lead mines, which, however, yielded gains too slow and moderate to satisfy their greedy and inflamed imaginations. In 1702 news arriVed in these forests, that France and Spain had declared war with England. In 1703 the Eng- lish made an unavailing effort, with a fleet of seventeen vessels, aided by two thousand savages, to take St. Augus- tine in East Florida. At an early period in the annals of these settlements, it became a part of the French policy to gather from the streets and magdalens of * he French towns poor girls, and to send them to this remote colony, where they were generally married to the colonists on the night of their arrival. The history of one of the girls, thus sent out, presents a series of incidents surpassing in interest and pathos the fictions of roraance. About this time the or THE WEST. 39 afinffilsr oC Louisiana begin to give details of the wars be> tween the Choctaw?, in alliance with the French, and the Chickasaws, who were friends of the English. An inci- dent, which occurred near Mobile in 1705, affords stri- king views of savage character. The Chickasaws had sold a number of families of the Choctaws, who had visited them in time of peace, as slaves to the English. This exasperated the latter to revenge. It happened, that seventy Chickasaws of both sexes were on a vifc;it to the French fort at Mobile. In returning home, they were obliged to pass through the country of the Choc- taws, now at war with them. In their embarrassment, Ihey besought M. de Bienville to grant them an escort of French soldiers, to protect them on their return. He con- sented, and a captain and twenty-five soldiers were detail- ed for this service. They arrived near the chief Choctaw town. The Choctaw chiefs invited the Chickasaws to a talk, assuring them, that they did not mean to hinder their return, but only to reproach them for their perfidy in the hearing of the French. The Chickasaws had it not in. their power to refuse, and gathered to hear the talk. The Choctaw chief placed himself in a large open space, sur- rounded by an immense circle of three thousand of his war- riors. He then began his harangue, reproaching them in the most cutting terms with the falsehood and cruelty of their late attempt upon his people. When he had exhaust- ed his stores of invective, he lowered his calumet, as the signal for their death. Instantly thousands of arrows w6re despatched at them, and they fell. In circumscri- bing the circle, and in the fury of their revenge, many Choctaws were killed by the arrows of their own people. Among others, Bienville was slightly wounded. He was escorted back to Mobile by three hundred Choctaw warriors. Ibberville, the great patron of this first French colony, died in 1707, and La Salle, one of the patriarchs of Lou- isiana, in 1710. In this year an English buccaneer with his crew, made a descent upon Isle au Dauphine, plunder- ing it of fifty thousand dollars. About the same time the French and Spanish settlers began to be embarrassed by 3* 30 INDIAN WARS'- the interference of the English of Carolina with the Indi- ans in their vicinity, contracting alliances with them, and presenting a menacing aspect upon their eastern borders. In 1710 Bienville had orders to esiablish settlements at Natchez, and even as high as the Wabash. In a quarrel with the Natchez, five French wtre slain by them and six made prisoners. Arriving there, Bienville summoned the chiefs to a conference, in which they readily consented to give up their prisoners, but made more difficulty about sur- rendering the authors of the murders. Upon this, the mur- derers were immediately imprisoned by the French. He then obtained the promise, that White-head, the chief of the murderers, should be put to death. Another chief of inferior rank immediately offered himself to die in his stead. Bienville finally proposed peace to them, on condition, that they should send him the head of Big-beard, one of the murderers, and build a fort for the French, with which they complied, and thus became accessories to their own sub- jugation. In October of 1716, M. de St. Denis, after having trav- elled to Mexico, arranged a plan in concert with the Vice- roy of that country, to establish missions among the tribes of natives at Nacogdoches, Adayes, and Ayache ; and M. de La Motte was sent to commence an establishment at Natchitoches on Red River. At this time, the colony of Mobile numbered seven hundred souls, and possessed four hundred horned cattle. Hitherto agriculture, the most es- sential interest of a colony, had been almost entirely neg- lected. The government at length became enlightened to see the advantages of establishing a colony on the Missis- sippi, that should devote itself to raising provisions. The growing of silk, indigo, rice, and tobacco were the first ar- ticles proposed. It was judged also, that Florida could furnish the parent country with pitch, tar, and othernaval supplies. New Orleans was selected as the spot on which to commence the new agricultural colony. The settle- ment was commenced in 1717. The forest trees were cut down, and about one hundred and fifty persons were established in cabins among the dead trees, whore thai great commercial city now stands. ^ $ OF THE WEST. 31 CHAPTER III. ANGLO-AMEKICAN SETTLEMENTS. The first efforts towards the settlement of the Mississippi valley were made by the French, at its three remotest and opposite points, on the Illinois, and at Kaskaskia, whence their settlements extended across the Mississippi to St. Genevieve and St. Louis; on the Mexican gulf at Biloxi and Mobile, and on the lower Mississippi at New Orleans. In pursuance of their great plan of occupying this whole valley, and connecting their settlements from Can- ada to the Mexican gulf, by a litie of posts with water communications, like the chord of an immense semicir- cle, stretching along the whole rear of the English settle- ments, they gradually extended their fortifications to the south side of lake Erie, erecting one at Presq'sle, on the present site of Erie, and another on Boeuf, on French creek, between that point and the Ohio; and a third at the delta of the junction of the Alleghany and Monon- gahela. The advantages of that admirable position did not escape the eyes of a people remarkably acute to dis- cern the advantages of posts. By it they proposed to com- mand the trade, and awe the obedience of the Indians of the Ohio and the lakes, and connect the southern Canadian posts by the long and unrivalled communication of the Ohio with the settlements of the Wabash, Illinois, and lower Mississippi. Indeed, they had a double motive to the occupancy of this fine position. The Ohio Company, formed in Eng- land, had for its express object the occupancy and settle- ment of the country on the Ohio. At the recommenda- tion of General Washington, they sent out a party to erect a stockade fort on this very delta, where the Ohio com- mences. This party, accompanied by a detachment of militia from Virginia, arrived at this point in 1753. They were driven oflfby the French, who immediately proceeded 32 INDIAN WAR9 fo anticipate them by erectix<^ a fort on the present posi' tion of Pittsburgh, named Du Quesne, after the governor of Canada. So important was the occupancy of this point deemed in England, that the ministry oixlered the assemblage of a powerful regular force, under the com- mand of General Braddock, to take it; who, aided by a large body of the provincial militia, set off through the dark forests, and over the pathless mountains for the west. From the time this army had crossed the AUeghanies, its movements were continually watched by spies from fort Du Quesne, whose garrison was thus daily and almost hourly acquainted with its route and progress. General Braddock, stubbornly devoted to the precision of European tactics, moved down from the mountains through the for- ests in close order, as though marching on the hostile plains of Europe. His army had just crossed the Monongahela, and were defilint? from its alluvion through a ravine. On its upland summit lay the French and Indians, concealed among the high grass and timber. The Indians exulted, and assured their French allies that they would shoot them down like pigeons* Washington, thus early provident in council, foresaw the issue, and by his persuasion attemp' ted in vain to avert it.r The brave but obstinate English general rushed on to his fate* The Indian yell was raised, and an invisible and invulnerable enemy poured a fire upon them, which literally mowed down their ranks* Washington was spared, apparently as by a miracle* The forest resounded with the groans of the dying. The com- mander soon received a mortal wound, and a complete rout ensued. The provincials commanded by Washington were the last to retire, covering the retreat of the regulars^ and saving all that escaped that ill-fated day. The loss of the English amounted to sixty-four officers out of eighty-five, and about seven hundred privates. The result of this bat- tle gave the French and Indians a complete ascendency on the Ohio. The incursions of the savages extended along the whole western frontier of Virginia, and even excited the apprehensions of the settlements east of the Blue ridge. But in 1758 the tide of war again began to turn against tlie French. Fort Frontiniac^ an important .m OF THE WEST. French post on lake Ontario, was taken by a British de- tachment under Colonel Bradstreet. This facilitated the reduction of fort Du Quesne on the Ohio. General Forbes was ordered for that service, assisted by a body of provin- cials and Virginia regulars under Washington, then a colonel. Before the main army moved from Raystown, in Penn- sylvanic, Major Grant was detached with eight hundred men, partly regulars and partly provincials, to precede the main army, and reconnoitre the country and the fort. This force, like Braddock's, imprudently advanced into an ambuscade of the French garrison of fort Du Quesne, was surrounded by the enemy, and after a brave but una- vailing struggle, lost three hundred men killed and wouii- ded, and Major Grant and nineteen officers taken prisoners. General Forbes, with the main army, amounting to eight thousand men, at length advanced from Raystown, slowly marching towards the Ohio, which they did not reach until November. The French, incapable of resisting a force so formidable, abandoned the fort the evening preceding the arrival of the army, and escaped in their boats down the Ohio, to join the colony on the Illinois.. The English immediately took possession of this important post, which, in compliment to the popular and successful British minis- ter, they named fort Pitt, and afterwards Pittsburgh. This was the first English establishment on the Ohio. From that period we date the commencement of Anglo-Ameri- can settlements in this valley. But even previous to' this, an attempt had been made by two men of the name of Tygart and Files to establish their families on an upper water of the Monongahela. The valley in which they selected their abode, still bears the name of Tygart's valley, and his name has been giv- en to the east fork of the Monongahela. The family of Files soon fell victims to the Indians, and that of Tygart, warned by their fate, abandoned the country in 1754. Not long after, Thomas Eckerly and two brothers, of the sect denominated Dimkards, emigrating from Pennsylva- nia to the west, and encamped at the mouth of a creek emptying into the Monongahela, ten miles below what is. ilr- m 84 INDIAN WARS now Morgantown,from that circumstance called Dunkard^ creek. These harmless religionists here passed years in sylvan abundance and solitude, unmolested by the Indians, who were carrying desolation among the white settlements in every direction. Their being thus remarkably spared, subjected them to the suspicion of being in confederacy with them, and acting as their spies. The sect was odious, and the elder Eckerly, on his return from a visit to the old settlements, was imprisoned. It was with ditficulty that - he at length prevailed on the officer of the nearest fron- tier post, with a guard, to accompany him to his establish- ment. On approaching the solitary abodes of these inof- fensive people, their cabins were found in ashes, the muti- lated bodies of the inhabitants strewed the yard, and the ruthless vengeance of savage desolation had swept over their pleasant little fields. It was an affecting testimony to their innocence of the charge of confederacy with the Indians. Mr. Eckerly abandoned the country. In 1758, a party conducted by Thomas Decker, com- menced a settlement on the Monongahela, at the mouth of what is thence called Decker^s creek. But in the ensuing spring, the Dela wares and Mingoes assaulted it, murdered most of its inmates, and completely broke up the estab* lishment. Soon afler the capture of fort Du Quesne, a small fortification had been established at the present posi- tion of Brownsville, on the Monongahela, then known by the name of Redstone fort. It was commanded by Cap- tain Paul. One of the survivors of Decker's company reached there, with the intelligence of the destruction of that settlement. The garrison was too weak to senda de- tachment in pursuit of the murderers. But Captain .Paul despatched a runner with the intelligence to fort Pitt. Captain Gibson of that fort, started with thirty men in pursuit of the Indians. Although the perpetrators had retreated beyond his reach, he overtook a small party of Mingoes near the present site of Steubenville. The Little Eagle, a Mingo chief, headed this party. Captain Gibson came upon them at day-break. As soon as the American leader was disco\ered by the Indian chief, the latter raised the war-hoop and fired upon him. The § OF THE WEST. 35 ball passed through Captain Gibson's hunting shirt, and wounded a soldier behind him. The chief, in return for his fire, received from Gibson a swoi*d cut of such prodi- gious force as completely to sever his head from his body. Two other Indians were killed, and the remainder escaped. There were a number of captive Americans at the Min- go towns, when Little Eagle's discomfitted party returned. Several of them were sacrificed to appease his shade. The remainder were restored at the peace of 1765. They stated, that the survivors of Little Eagle's party affirmed that Captain Gibson had cut off that chief's head by a sin- gle stroke of his long knife. A war dance ensued, inter- spersed with cries for revenge on the long knife warrior. The name thus elicited went into a general appellation, and the Virginia warriors, and the Anglo-American militia in general, were thenceforward designated by the western Indians as the long knives. In presenting an outline of the annals of the first settle- ment of west Pennsylvania and west Virginia, we must not forget, that Pittsburgh, Redstone, and the first Virginia settlements west of the Alleghanies, were the germs of the Anglo-American settlements in the great Ohio valley. Thence proceeded the pioneers, who settled Ohio and Kentucky. Thither they returned, in the hour of defeat and dismay, to recruit their numbers, and to resume cour- age for a return to their abandoned cabins, in the far and fertile wilderness. The names of fort Pitt, Redstone, Point Pleasant, and Powell's valley, recur at every period of the Kentucky and Ohio annals, as the homes of secu- rity and supply, to which the settlers fled from Indian ['plunder and massacre, and whence expeditions returned to resume their forsaken enterprises. But to enter with any particularity into the relation of individual efforts and sufferings, and less important tri- umphs and defeats, would only render our chronicles a confused mass of rencontres of the rifle and tomahawk, of burnings, murder, captivities, and reprisals, which confound by their number, and weary by their monotony and resemblance. Jf^few'more prominent events only can be selected, as samples of the rest. A few names ^K^ * 0^ 86 INDIAN WARS only, from the long catalogue of pionoers, can be trans- ferred to this summary. The memory of the hundreds, necessarily omitted, lives, where they would have wished it to live, in the winter^s evening cabin recital, in the rus- tic mountain ballad, in the rude but interesting chronicles of border warfare. A dreary uniformity of incident marks all the story of the commencing settlements in every part of our country, from Plymouth to Jamestown, and from the lakes to the Balize. There are examples, indeed, which present the French forming colonies among the Indians, and remain- ing in profound peace. But it was by amalgamating with them, losing their own identity, and becoming savagea The case of the colony of William Penn, presents only a seeming exception. It grew out of circumstances, that never occurred before or since; and, when analyzed, will be found to be no anomaly from the general aspect. In tlie whole history of the incipient settlement of our country, not one solitary instance of an attempt to settle an unoccupied tract, claimed by the natives, is to be found, which was not succeeded by all the revolting details of In- dian warfare. It is of little importance to enquire, which party was the aggressor. The natives were not sufficient civilians to distinguish between the right of empire and the right of soil. Beside a repulsion of nature, an incom- patibility of character and pursuit, they constantly saw in every settler a new element to effect their expulsion from their native soil. Our industry, fixed residences, modes, laws, institutions, schools, religion, rendered an union with them as incompatible as with animals of another nature. The crime of aggression, force, and final extinction, cha^ ged upon the whites, in relation to the natives, and discus- sed on the narrow principles of crimination and recrimi* nation, has only been discussed hitherto in a manner worthy of congress wranglers, and in a style of narrow puerility. In the unchangeable order of things, two such races can not exist together, each preserving its co-ordinate identity. Either this great continent, in the order of Providence^ should have remained in the occup^pcy of half a million of savages, engaged in everlasting conflicts of their pecu^ ■*ii OF THE WEST. 87 liar warfare with each other, or it must have become, as it has, the domain of civilized millions. It is in vain to charge upon the latter race results, which grew out of the laws of nature, and the universal march of human erents. Let the same occupancy of the American wildemegs by Ithe municipal European race be repeated, if it could be, junder the control of the most philanthropic eulogists of the saVages, and every reasoning mind will discover, that in [the gradual ascendency of the one race, the decline of the )ther must have been a consequence, and that substantial- ly the same annals would be repeated, as the dark and re- krolting incidents which we have to record. We do not Bay, that the aggression has not been in irmumerable in- stances on the part of the whites. We do not deny, that ^he white borderers have too often been more savage, than le Indians themselves. We abhor injustice as much when )rocticed towards the whites as the Indians ; and we allirm m undoubting belief, from no unfrequent nor inconsidcra- )le means of observation, that aggression has commence^ the account current of mutual crime, as a hundred to one |>n the part of the Indians. It has been the intercourse of race more calculating, more wi^e, with ampler means, is admitted, but without the instinct of gratuitous cruelty, >r a natural propensity to war as a pursuit, with another ice organized to the love of the horrible excitement of war Ind murder for their own sake. Circumstances, fear, impo- 3nce may restrain them. But still in the Indian animal [nd moral structure, their ancient propensities would be * )und, we doubt not, as vigorous as ever among those rem- nants the most subdued and modified by our institutions. irive them scope, development, and an object, place them view of an equal or inferior enemy, and their instinc- |ve nature would again raise the war-hoop, and wield the lalping knife, and renew the Indian warfare of the by-gone lys. The chronicles of the commencing settlements of West [ennsylvania and Virginia redeem from oblivion many pits, hitherto almost unrecorded by history, of ihe activ- vigilance, and efficiency of General Washington, in ivancing these settlements, and repelling pr punishing 4 I ^^ ■f TO INDIAN WARS border aggressions. All the great enterprises for this pur- pose seem to have been suggested, and many of them car- ried into effect by him. Among the actual warrior pioneers, we find the con- spicuous names of Col. Lewis, Capts. Hogg, Paul, and M'- [ Nutt. They furnish striking examples of that hardy race, who were the advance guard of the subduers of the wil- 1 derness, whom no certainty of lal^r, solitude, or suffering! could deter, and no form of danger or death daunt, so as to, induce them to abandon their purpose to fix their families j in the remote wilderness. The first expedition from Virginia, to avenge the de-| struction of the Roanoke settlement by a party of Shaw- nese in 1757, was headed by these intrepid borderers. Bel side thg chastisement of the Indiansj it had for its objecti the establishment of a post at the mouth of the Big Sandy I of the Ohio; and to check the Indian communications bei tween the upper French forts and Galliopolis, a FrenchI settlement on the Ohio. The expedition, after encounter^ ing every form of sutfering from famine and fatigue, whol- ly failed, many of the party perishing miserably from hunj ger. The destruction of Sivert's fort on the upper tract! of a water of the Potomac, and the treacherous massacre! of its inmates, after they had surrendered on the promisej of being spared, and the massacre of 1671, on the settlef ments of James river are passed over, as these events (liii| ^ not happen in the valley of the Ohio. The escape of Mrs. Denis, who had been taken captive! in the James river settlement, in 1761, presents a parallel! to similar narratives of female captives in the early histonl of the settlement of New England. Her husband havinjj been slain, after being taken captive, they conducted heJ over the mountains and through the forests to the Chilil cothe towns north of the Ohio. There she seemed to conl form to their ways, painted and dresrod herself, and liveoj as a squaw. Added to this., she gained fame by attendinjl to the sick, both as a nurse and a physician ; and becanHJ so celebrated for her cures, as to obtain from that very! perstitious people the reputation of being a necromancer,! and thvi honor paid to a person supposed to have power will the Great Spirit. OF THE WEST. 39 In 1763 she left them, under the pretext of obtaining me- dicinal herbs, as she had ofter done before. Not returning at night, her object was suspected, and she vvas pin'suv^d. To avoid leaving tracesof her path, she crossed the Sciuto three times, and was making her fourth crossing forty miles below the towns, when she was discover^, and fired unun without effect. But in the speed of her fli^t, she wound- ed her foot with a sharp stone, so as to be unable to pro^ ceed. The Indians had crossed the river, and were just I behind her. Sb eluded their pursuit by hiding in a hollow I sycamore log. They frequently stepped on the log that concealed her, and encamped near it for the night. Next morning they proceeded in their pursuit of herj and she started in another direction as fast as her lameness would permit, but was obliged to remain near that place three [ days. She then set off for the Ohio, over which she rafted I herself at tha mouth of the Great Kenhawi., on a drift log; I travelling only by night through fear of discovery, and sub' sisting only on roots, wild fruits, and the river shell fish. I She reached the Green Briar, having passed forests, rivers, I and mountains more than three hundred miles. Ii^re she I laid down exhausted, and resigned herself to die, when j providentially she was discovered by some of the people of that settlement, and hospitably treated at one of their I habitations. The settlement paid a dreadful penalty for this hospita* [ble act. Sixty warriors came to it, pretending the niost [perfect friendship, for it was a time of peace. While the inhabitants were feasting these seeming friendly Indians, they rose and killed nearly every man in the settlement, [carrying the women and children into captivity. An affecting incident occurred from an assault of fifty [Delaware and Mingo warrio-'' upon thesettleme.it of Big Sandy in 1761. Having committed a number of massa- cres, they were pursued by a party under Capt. Paul. He overtook an encampment of a division of this party, who were guarding some prisoners. It was night. Uncon- scious that there were prisoners among them, Paul fired upon them, killing three warriors, and wounding more. The remainder fled. Capt. Paul rushed on the camp, to 4 'im. 'I h! •*■ i^f 40 INDIAN WA.RS secure the wounded and arrest the fugitives. One of the party, seeing what appeared a squaw, sitting in a sort of composure of defiance, was about to dispatch her with hig tomahawk. Capt. Paul threw himself between the assail- ant, and the victim, and received the blow intended for her on his arm, remarking, that it was a shame to kill a wo- man, though she were a squaw. It was Mrs. Gunn, an English lady, who had been an inmate in the fi.mily of his father in law ; and who had been made a captive a few- days before, when her husband and her two children were slain. When asked why she had not made herself known, she replied, 'my parents are dead, my husband and chil- dren are slain; I have none for whom I wish to live, no wishes, no hopes, no fears. I would as soon die as not. I i! 1) 1 CHAPTER IV. ANNALS OF WEST PENNSYLVANIA ANO VIRGINIA. Some circumstances of horror occurred at this time in these annals, of a new complexion even in the history of Indian warfare. A scalping party of fifty savages in 1754, returning from their customary murders and burnings with twenty scalps and some prisoners, on the Susquehannah thtsy murdered the wholefamily of Jacob Miller; proceed- ing thence to the house of George Folk, kilUng him, his wife and nine children, and deliberately cutting their bod- ies into small fragments, and throwing them, piece by piecC; to the swine. Two of their prisoners were tied to trees, around which fires were kindled, and the victims were gra'^ually scorched to death. A third was placed, with his arms closely pinioned, in a hole in the earth, ih' ^oil of which was closely rammed round his body, so that i.. head only was above the gi-ound. He was then scalped; and after a long interval, a fire was kindled near his head. The victim declared that his braia boiled in his head, aod OF THE WEST. 41 V. impTored instant death in vain. His agony continued, un- til the pupils of his eyes burst from their sockets. These sMjilieDij^horrors sometimes drew down retalia- tion upaaa^inrt^ent, as well as the guilty. An associ- ation, de«BBkt^ the 'Paxton Boys,' broke into a settle- ment of ^K»ga Indians, not3d for their harmlessness. The whole, tlpfe number of forty, were massacred. The christian Indians of Naquetank and Nain were preserved from a similar fate only by the interposition of the g(>vern- ment, and their removal to safe keeping in Philadelphia. The peace of 1765 did not put an end to the Indian war. The hostile ^vages continued in force east of fort Pijt It became necessary to furnish that place a supply of pro- visions. A quantity was forwarded under a strong guard, commanded by Col. Boquet of the regulars. The Indians assailed the guard at Turtle creek in a narrow defile^ and a most obstinate conflict e>:sued for many houys. The fierceness of ihe assault may be calculated from the fact, that the Bridsh loss in killed and wounded exceeded one hundred ; and that of the savages was reputed* at nearly the same number, among whom were many of their most noted chiefs and warriors.. This repulse saved fort Pitt, humbled the savagr s, and disposed them to a peace, by which thi'ee hundred prison- * ers were immediately redeemed, and the redemption of ma- ny others in dispersed positions stipulated. An amusing incident occurred at this time, calculated to divert attention from these revolting details. By a roy- fi\ proclaipation, every person was forbidden to trade with ne Indians, to prevent their obtaining guns aiid ammuni- 'i'.ij. In despite of this, a cavalcade of many wagons, ^j* 18? with ammunition, was despatched from Philadelphia "f • fort Pitt. Capt. Smith, a distinguished backwoods- man, who had been in a long captivity among the Indians, and conapicuous in the border wars, collected a number of hisfrierKls, called 'black boys,' from being painted as In- dians. The^ men he distributed behind the trees, and as the o&viilcade began to appro-.oh Sideling hill, they were ordefdi*tafire upon the horses. The conductors finding the konieis falling under them, came to a halt, and capitulated f Sfevi. f- . . .. ii ^^ ,.t !^ m:i i \h 42 INDIAN WARS with Capt. Smith. They were allowed to take their pri* vate property ; but all the rest, consisting of powder, lead, warlike stores, and various articles for traffic with the In- dians, was burned or destroyed. The discoo^ted traders obtained from a neighboring post a party olHphland sol- diers, who arrested and imprisoned someju^ese ^black boys,' as robbers. Capt. Smith was not m^aon to leave his enterprise in an unfinished state. He collected three hundred riflemen, marched to ibrt Loudon, where his com- panions were imprisoned; dat down against it, commen- " eed retaliation, and under a flag of truce, soon obtained the release of the prisoners, who returned in joy and triumph ^their homes. On the occasion, verses not unlike Yan- kee doodle, were composed, and sung in conHnemoration i 'hr OF THE WEST. mous speech, to which the pen of Mr. Jefferson has given so much celebrity. Logan was distinguished for his elo- quence, and was the son of Skilleinus, a distinguished Cay- uga chief, who set his son an example of devoted attach- ment to tlie English. After the close of Dunmore's war, in which Logan lost all his relatives, he became melan- choly and addicted to drunkenness and mental derangement. It was, in such a frame of mind that he affirmed, that he would not turn on bis heel to save his life. On his route from Detroit to Miami, he was murdered in a way that is not related. The necessary brevity of these sketches induces us to pass over most of the memorable incidents of Indian war- fare in these regions, allowing us only space for a short narrative of the celebrated action at Point Pleasant, at the mouth of the Big Kenhawa, in September, 1744. A campaign had been iij^^paration, to chastise the savages for their numerous anHrcmorseless border assaults in time of peace. The army destined for this expedition, was composed chiefly of volunteer militia, collected west of the Blue ridge. One division was commanded by Lord Dunmore, and the other by GeneralAndrew Lewis. The forces started from camp Union, now Lewisburg, nine miles west of the White Sulphur Spirngs. They were ninete(3n days in mar<^ng through the rug- ged and mountainous forest to the Ohio; and not without heart-burnings and separations and divisions from the dif- ficulty of settling the point of priority of command. One division only, that commanded by General Lewis, reached Point Pleasant. The forces under Lord Dunmore pro- ceeded in another direction, intending to cross the Ohio, and march against the towns of the Shawnese» General Lewis was ordered to join forces, and proceed with him to that point. Accordingly he made prepara- tions for crossing his troops to the north bank of the Ohio, when news were brought him, that a body of the enemy had been found drawn up in close order, and covering four acres of ground. Cols. Lewis and Fleming were imme- diately ordered out to meet them. They formed their troogs into two lines, and had scarcely advanced a few hundred m 1-^ ^-4 44 INDIAN WARS U yards, before the action commenced. At th^ onset both the colonels fell wounded, and the advance fled. They were rallied by a reinforcement under Col. Field. Never was savage obstinacy displayed more unyieldingly. For- ming a line across the delta between the rivers, and shel- tered by logs in front, they maintained the contest from sun- rise till evening, repelling frerth CaiT)linn. But all the eastern deciivilios (jftlie Allegluinies prusjontod the ascending smokes of incipient euJtivatioii. Jn follow- ing Finley over those mountains into the untuuclR'd und fertile wilderness ot Kentucky, he found in tiie clover and cane break lawns, enlivened with bears, burtliloes., und turkeys, the cherished home of his imagination. In 1709, wc Hnd him seeking to select the spot on which to build his tamily cabin, tor he was now married. Though un- educated, in the sense in which that phrase is now under-, stood, ha*'possessed a quickness of apprehension, a stern firmness of decision, a strength of character, a self posses^ sion, which stamped him with pre-eminence in his peculiar walk, and eminently fitted him at once for command and self dependence. The great hunter of Kentucky was equal- ly remarkable for an unwavering and an unconquerable fortitude, which bade defiance to pain and death, and for gentleness of manners, and humanity of disposition. All his peculiar traits of character were fortif'od by his long cherished habits of wandering for days together with no other companionship than his rifle and his own thoughts. His first exploration with Finley, without accident, was one of unmixed pleasure. But in his second journey there, his sufferings commenced. As he and a single as- sociate named Stewart, had started for a morning hunt, they were taken prisoners by the Indians, who first plun- dered them of every thing, and then led them into captivi- ty, by long and severe marches through the wilderness. They were generally watched with unsleeping vigilance. But their captors, relaxing it for a moment on the morning of their eighth day's march, they escaped, ami returned to their plundered camp,* where, having neither guns, ammu- nition, nor food, they would have perished with hunger, had it not been that at the exact period of their return to their camp, they were visited by a brother of Boone, who furnished them a timely supply. Soon after, they wfire fired upon by a considerable body of savages, and Stew- art was killed. The brothers escaped ; -and with their tomahawks built themselves a cabin of pole% and bark, in >•*„ 52 INDIAN WARS which ihey spent the winter. In the spring of 1770, Boone's brother returned to North Carolina, and left him alone in the woods, the only white man in Kentucky. He had neither bread, nor salt*, nor even a dog for a compan- ion. During this absence of his brother, he made an ex- ploring trip to the Ohio, returned on his steps, and in July met his brother comir^g from North Carolina, according to his agreement, when they parted. They then explored the country together, as far as the river Cumberland, and in 1771 returned to their families, with the intention of re- moving them to Kentucky. In the autumn of 1773, Daniel Boone returned with his family > joined by five other perse \ In Powell's valley the party received an accession of forty other persons, all confiding in the guidance and management of Daniel Boone. The party thence advanced into the wilderness in high spirits, until the 10th of Octobefr, when the Indians fired upon their rear, and killed six men. Among the slain was th6 eldest son of Daniel Boone. They faced upon the foe, and drove them off, but not until their cattle were dis- persed. The immigrants themselves were so much afflic- ted and disheartened, that it was deemed expedient to re- tire to the settlements on Clinch river. Here Daniel Boone continued to hunt, until June, 1774. At this tiine he was requested by the governor of Vir- ginia, to whom fame had made him known, to repair to the Falls of Ohio, to conduct thence a party of surveyors,' whose stay there was deemed unsafe, on account of the recent hostility of the northern savages. With a man of the name of Stoner for his companion, he made his way through the woods in safety to the Falls, and piloted the surveyors a- way, according to request. He was absent from home two months. This year the Shawnese and other northern Indians commenced open hostilities upon the frontier set- tlements. Daniel Boo le was ordered, with the rank of captain, to take command of three contiguous forts, where hb discharged his assigned duty, until peace was declared with the Indians. Being released from this duty, he was solicited by Henderson and company of North Carolina, as their agent, to attend a meeting of the southern Indians, CW THE WEST. 53 which they had convoked, with a view to purchase of them lands south of Kentucky river. In 1775 he met the Indi- ans, pursuant to his appointment, and made the purchases. Ho was then requested to head a part^ sent to take pos- session of the lands. He opened a load from Holston to the Kentucky, with their assistance ; but was attacked by the Indians, and four of the party were killed, and five wounded. It was in the early part of the summer, that the survivors reached Kentucky river. A fort was com- menced at the lick, where Boonesborough now stands; but the party, enfeebled and discouraged by their los?, were sometime engaged in its erection. Leaving some men to guard the fort, Boone took the re- mainder to Clinch settlement, to escort his family to the country; and his wife and daughter were the first v jite women who arrived in Kentucky. Here he remained a number of years, aiding and encouraging those who were bold enough to follow his example, and to choose his mode of life. Tho Indians were continually harassing and mur- dering tl}& new settlers; and he wa» always ready to head the parties of woodsmen, who sought revenge, to put them on Hie trail of their foe, and give them a chance to retali- ate. The future historical incidents of his career are na- turally interwoven with the events in the pxogress of the settlements in the west. With the following brief sketch of his character, we shall return to'the ordo ' of those events. The very name of Daniel Boone is a romance in itself, A Nimrod by instinct and physical character, his home was in the range of woods, his beau ideal the chase, and forests full of buffaloes, bears, an 1 deer. More expert at their own arts, than the Indians themselves, to fightthera, and foil them, gave scope to the exulting consciousness of the exercise of his own appropriate and peculiar potVers. He fights them in numerous woods and arabuslos. His com- panions fall about him. lie is one of those pivuliar persons, whom destiny seems to have charmed against balls. V/lien, by daring or stratagem, he comes off safe from a desperate conflict, it affords him a delightful theme to recount to his hstning companions around the cabin fire, or as feasting on the smoking buffaloe hump, on a winter es^ening, his strange ■m m mi m §.) 5* 54 INDIAN WARS adventures anc' his hair-breadth escapes. At length he is taken. But the savajjes have too much reverence for such a grand 'medicine' of a man as Boone, to kill him. He as- sumes such an entire satisfaction along with them, and they are so naturally delighted with such a mighty hunter, and such a free and fortunate spirit, that they are charmed, and deceived into a confidence that he is really at home v/ii.h thcjm, and would not escape if he could. It is prob- able, tQO, that his seeming satisfaction is not altogether af- , fected. The Indian way of life is the way of his heart. It is almost one thing to him, so that he wanders in the woods with expert hunters, whether he takes his diversion with the whites, or the Indians. They are lulled into such confidence, as to allow him almbst his jown range. He seizes his opportunity, and in escaping, undergoes such incredible hardships, privations, and dangers, as nothing would render credible, but the most indubitable evidence, that they had been actually so endured. Boone thought little of titles and courts of record. Fen- CD ces, butts, and bounds, and partition lines, and all the bar- barous terms invented by the si)irit of Meiim and Tuum; and the paltry lets and hindrances of civilization were terms of unhappy omen in his ear. He finds himself cir- cumvented by those who had thought with more respect of these things; and in his age, he fled from landholders and lawsuits in Kentucky, to the banks of the Missouri. Here, pn '» river, with a course of something more than a thou- sand leagues, all through wilderness, an ample and a pleas- ant range was opened to his imagination. We saw him on those banks. With thin, grey hair, a high forehead, a keen eye, a cheerful expression, a singularly bold conformation of -countenance and breast, and a sharp and commanding voict, and a creed for the future, embracing not many ar- ticles beyond his red rival hunters, he appeared to us the same Daniel Boone, if we may use the expression, 'jerked' and dried to high preservation, that we had figured, as the wanderer in woods, and the slayer of bears and Indians. He could no longer well descry the wild turkey on the trees; but his eve still kindled at the hunter's tale ; and he re- marked, that the population on that part of the Missouri OF THE WEST. 55 was becoming too dense, and the farms too near each oth- er, for comfortable range ; and that he never wished to reside in a place, where he could not fall trees enough in- to his yard to keep up his winter fire. Dim as was hia eye with age, it would not have been difficult, we appre- hend, to have obtained him as a volunteer, on a hunting expedition over the Rocky mountains. No man ever ex- emplified more strongly the ruling passion strong in death. In 1770, a party of nine persons, headed by Colonel James Ejiox, reached Kentucky with a view to hunt, and explore. It is not known that Knox and Boone ever met, or had any knowledge that the other was in the country. This may be accounted for by the circumstance, that their different attempts were made in different parts of the coun- try. Boone saw the country only with the eye of a ban- ter, with very little forecast of its future value and destiny. Knox and his party viewed this fa " region with different eyes, and saw it in the aspect of it. value under the hands of cultivation and habitancy. While they, however, were meditating, whether it were better to induce a great body of Iheir countrymen to immigrate with them, or to enter on their enterprise alone, the whole country, which had hith- erto been claimed by France, passed by ceded transfer to the possession of England. The Virginia troopp, who had served in the Canadian war, received bounties in these wes- tern lands ; and were anxious to survey tl n, and ascertain their value. Theclaimants, with their sm eyois, arrived in the country, in 1773, to view and select their 'auds. They descended the Ohio from fort Pitt to the Failn, and explored the country on the Kentucky side of the rivor. They Qxamined some of the salines, or licks,, and among others 'Big bone lick}' and contemplated, with astonish- ment, thoflfj^normous organic remains found there. They returned delighted with the appearance of the country. A- bout the same time, General Thompson, of Pennsylvania, commenced an extensive course of surveys of the rich lands on the north fork of Licking. In 1774, other surveyors followqd the same route. After reaching the Falls of Ohio, they travelled up both sides of Kentucky river, as far as Elkhom, on the north) and Dick's river on the south. 1 i"' m 56 INDIAN WARS This year, the first cabin for family habitancy was built on the present site of Harrodsburg, by James Harrod. This habitation answered the aouble purpose of a house and a fort. The occupants were emigrants from Monongahela. Ail the Indians north-west of the Ohio were now at open war with the Virginians. A severe battle, which we have already noticed, was fought between the parties at the mouth of the Great Kenhawa. It terminated in i&vor of the Virginians. The battle field was called Point Pleas- ant. Many of the soldiers returned to the south-western parts of Virginia through Kentucky. Governor Dunmore, who then commanded the main army of militia, who had not been in the action of Point Pleasant, marched into the Indian country. Peace was soon after made between him and tiiG Indians. The surveyors were again able to exe- cute their commissions. While the government of Virgin- ia made use of these means to render the country safely habitable, individuals in several places built cabins, inhab- ited them one season, and then returned to their homes ; in this way giving themselves a future claim to the land, up- on which they had built. Harrodsburg, Boonesborough, and Logan's camp, near the present site of Stamford, were the first permanent settlements. The two latter settle- ments were made under the auspices of Virginia. Hen- derson and company had been induced, by exaggerated accounts of the fertility of the soil, to wish for some claim, to enable them to monopolize the profits which would accrue from the occupancy and sale of the new country. They accordingly made that purchase of lands from the Indians, to which we have referred, and in which Boone was their agent. Boone was now upon the grouud. A fort was built, and a land office opened by Henderson and company, for the sale < »f their lands. The purchasers were to receive titles in virtue of that which Henderson and company had received from the Indians. This would have been a golden speculation indeed, could this company have realized their expectations. Virginia had as yet at- tached little value to her western possessions. The great conflict between the colonies and the mother country had occupied all her chief thoughts and energies. Things so OF THE WEST. 67 remained, until in common with the other states, she pro- claimed herself free and independent, and alone possessing the right of extinguishing the Indian claims within her ter- ritory, and making sales of her lands. The legislature of that state declared Henderson's pur- chase null, as far as concerned the validity of the claim; but etfectual so far as related to extinguishing the claims of the Indians within her territories. To indemnify Hen- derson for his. loss, they made him a compensation of two hundred thousand acres of land, lying at the mouth of Green river. The association was satisfied with this grant ; and the settlers under titles received from them in other parts of the country, looked to Virginia for protection in their rights. The legislature at the same time confirmed a pur- chase, made by Colonel Donaldson from the six nations, of the country north of Kentucky river. The Indian claim to the whole of Kentucky, north of the Tennessee, M^as now exrtiiguished by purchasn. James Harrod and his men joined the Virginians at the battle of Point Pleasant. Af- ter peace with the Indians, he returned to Harrodsburg, and gathered around him a sufficient number of woodsmen to render Harrodsburg a safe retreat of refuge for travellers and immigrants. A I'oad, suLifficiently wide for a single file of pack horses, had been opened by Daniel Boone f^iom the eettlement on Holston to Kentucky river. He removed with his family and followers to Boonesborough. Several families moved to Harrodsburg in the month of September, 1775. Three women with their husbands and children, came this year to encounter all the dangers of the savage wilderness, the privations and hardships of a backwood's life, and the severe confinement of being shut up in the lim- its of a fort. These permanent settlements were viewed by the Indians with extreme jealousy. They seem to have been perfectly aware, to what results these things must lead. They commenced a systematic course of murder- ing all whom they could find unprotected, and beyond the hmits of the forts. James Harrod, the founder of this settlement, was an- other character like Boone, exactly fitted for the duties and calls of the relation, which he sustained to the colony. It 58 INDIAN WARS was not ambition that placed him at the head of a party, and his little colony ; but the call of the people, and an in- timate and deep feeling, that he was more qualified for those duties, than any one around him. He was a brave and expert huntsman, and a man of generous, frank, and independent character. Ho possessed, in an eminent de- gree, that instinctive keenness of tact, to seize the clue and circumstances, that guide the hunter in a straight and safe direction through the pathless woods. He united the in- stincts of an Indian to the calculations and reasoning pow- ers of civilized man. Any one, at all conversant with the scenes of a first settler in the wilderness, and the requisite traits for counsel and guidance in the leader of such an es- tablishment, can see at once what an invaluable acquisi- tion such a man would be to such a settlement. When the Indians had committed thefts or murders, he was always at hand to head an expedition of retaliation, or recovery. When a family made known, that their stock of provisions was running low, he was ready to shoulder his rifle, and to scour the woods to hunt for a supply. The hunting of lost cattle and horses in the woods is a profession in which the genius and skill of a backwoodsman has a peculiar field of dovolopment. Those who live in the old settle- ments can never imagine the skill, which men in situations like his, acquire in that way. The finding of cattle, lost in the woods, is a thing of vital importance to the first set- tlers in such a country. They who had lost them, repair- ed to Mr. Harrod. He sallied forth, availing himself of | his peculiar resources in this sort of experienco, t.nd their cattle were found. So dear did this way of life become to him, that after this primitive state of things had all passe away, after he had obtained the commission of colonel, had a family, friends, and comforts of all kinds multiplied around him, he used to leave his house, and repair to those parts of Kentucky, thatjwere still wide and waste wilderness aboun- ding in game. He would there remain, in the depth of woods, two or three weeks, secluded from the sight of ev- ery human being. In one of these expeditions he lost his life; but how, or where, is not exactly known. He left a OF THE WEST. 59 daughter, and an ample estate in lands. The early stages of the settlement of this state were fruitful in producing characters of this kind. Their names, exploits, and hair breadth escapes will remain themes of interest in the nar- ratives of their descendants around the evening fire. The third station, as we have mentioned, was at Logan's camp. Benjamin Logan was by birth a Virginian. By th« death of his father, when he was only fourteen, he was left with the care of a large family. He provided for the support of his mother; saw his family settled, left Virginia, and repaired west of the mountains, to these new regions, to provide for himself. He purchased lands, married, and I commenced improvements on the Holston. He was with I Lord Dunmore, when he made peace with the Indians, in 1774. The next year he visited Kentucky, selected the j spot where he afterwards built his fort, and in 1776, re- moved his family to the country. These three settlements of Boone, Harrod, and Logan were the grand rallying points for the solitary settlers dispersed over all the coua- try. The Indians were considered as enemies, for there [was no secia-ity by day or night, but in these stations. The 14th of July, 1776, a daughter of Daniel Boone, land two daughters of Colonel Calloway, were encountered by the Indians, beyond the precincts of the fort, and were carried away prisoners. Daniel Boone collected a party of eight men, and immediately followed them. On the 16th of the month, they were retaken uninjured, and two of the Indians were killed. It would be useless to attempt to de- scribe the joy of the parents and their lost daughters at this meeting. It is a scene which no words can paint. The narrative of their recapture, had we space to give it, would be one of extreme interest. S{X)n afterwards, the settlers ascertained that the Indi- lans had brought a considerable force into the country, and had divided it into small bodies, with which it was intended j to attack and destroy the settlements in detail. They had no knowledge oftha modes of bringing land sustaining a considerable force in the field. They can not make great efforts in a pitched battle, or in besieging a fort. But they are cunning, persevering, and terrible beyond coucepdofi, m*i m m'' ^.. 4 60 INDIAN WARS in carrying into effect the injuries and murders, which they meditate in this way. It is inconceivable, with what dex- terity they provide for their own safety, while they plan the murder of their enemy. They conceal themselves in a thicket, among the weeds, behind a fence, or any covert. Here they lie through the whole day or night, to way-lay the path, where they suppose the object of their revenge will pass. When they imagine their aim is sure, they fire, and if circumstances warrant, dart on their victim and take his^calp. If they dare not do this, they slide back to their ambush, retreat, and are gone, carrying with thenl the pleasant thought, that they have destroyed one or more (rf their enemies. They cut off the supplies of a garrison, by killing or driving off their cattle. They secrete themselves in ambush near the springs and watering places, that they may kill or capture those who repair there, unconscious of their danger. In the night, they place themselves near the gate of the fort, and watch patiently, until the morning, that they may kill the first person that conies forth. They are remarkably adroit in stratagems, to decoy the garri- son out on one side, while they enter on the other, and kill the women and children. When they have exhausted their stock of provisions, they supply themselves anew from the chase, and return to the siege, in the hope of getting anoth- er scalp. Their object is in this way, to kill the garrison, or destroy the settlement in detail. When at this d.istance of time we contemplate the ha^ ror of women and children, in conceiving such an enemy always about them in the pathless wilderness, it astonishes us, that settlers could ever have been found, who would put iheir lives in their hand, and march so far away from their native country and home, to encounter these dangers. We are surprised that they could cheejrfully meet the la- bors of cultivation and the field, constantly surrounded by these dangers ; and still more that they would expose them- selves to the greater dangers of hunting, under such cir- cumstances. But notwithstanding all these difficulties and dangers, in number and magnitude not to be described, the population of Kentucky was constantly increasing. The country was so extensive, that the numbers of the Indians OF THE WEST. 61 were not sufficient, to allow them to spread over the whole of it. Consequently, the solitary Ihiniiy .that plunged deep into the .v^ilderness, although far from the protection of the forts, might escape, through thfj ignorance of the Indians of their situation. It appears from the records of pre-emption rights, that more in^provements were made in 1776, than any preceding year. Many of those, who afterwards filled the most conspicuous places in the coun- try, were immigrants of this year. Among these we may name George Rogers Clark. Leestown, situated a mile below where Frankfort now stands, and so named from Willis Lee, who had b^n killed by the Indians, was es- tablished this year, as a rendezvous for the hunters and improvers on the north side of the river. It was at first nothing more than a cluster of cabins. Some of the other establishments that have since become considerable towns were inferior even to this.. These isolated settlements could not vv^ilhstand the fury of the Indian attacks, and were all deserted during the first year of them. Virginia was now so much interested in these remote settlements, and the country which she claimed here, that during the session of her legislature, in 1776, a law was passed, con- stituting that part of the country which had hitherto been a part of the county of Fincastle, in Virginia, a separate county by the name of Kentucky. The boundaries of the new county were defined, and constituted much the same country which now composes this state. The act gave the inhabitants of the new county a right to a county court, with the customary jurisdiction, and all the usual civil and military officers. The county waa duly organized. A court of justice was established, to hold quarterly sessions at Harrodsburg, which was composed of six or eight men, respectable for talent and information. They were, ex oJiciOf justices of peace. They could, besides, hold monthly sessions for the despatch of ordinary business. Benjamin Lcgan was of their number. They were duly attended by their sher- iff. The officers for a regiment of militia were commis- sioned. They immediately classed the citizens, whether resident or not, in companies or battalions. The military 62 JNDIAN WARS operations were under the control of a county lieutenant, with the title of colonel. During the winter the Indians were forced into a kind of truce by the severity of the season. The return of spring brought with it the renewal of Indian hostilities. Benjamin Logan removed to his own ^amp, which he for- tified for defence. Although the Indians were in the coun- try, this camp escaped attack until May. Harrodsburg was attacked in March. From the beginning this had been the strongest post in the country. Unfortunately, at the time of the assault, some of the men that belonged to it were absent. The 6th of Mar(^, a large party of Indi- ans, marching privately through the woods, surprised three persons who were making an improvement. One was ta- ken prisoner. One was killed and one escaped, and gave information to the garrison of Harrodsburg, of the appear- ance of the Indians. He was a mere youth, by name, James Ray, the same who was afterwards General Ray. The Indians, aware that the place was forewarned, and prepared fov them, deferred the attack until the next day, when Harrodsburg was infested, after the Indian method of warfare. The notice, short as it was, had enabled the people to put the place in the best order for defence. The fire commenced, and some were wounded on both sides. The assailants soon became satisfied with their reception, and withdrew, leaving one of their number slain behind. This fact always indicates great discomfiture on the part of the Indians, or greater rashness on the part of the slain. For it is well known to be their most sacred and invaria- ble custom, to remove their dead and wounded. This cus- tom, probably, has its origin in a purpose to prevent the enemy from ascertaining their loss. After their repulse, the Indians encamped in a body near the fort. They were in too great numbers to be pur- sued. On the 15th of April, Boonesborough in turn was attacked by one hundred savages. They were received there with such a determined spirit, that they retired after having killed one person, and wounded four. Their own killed and wounded were withdrawn, so that their loss could not be ascertained. Nearly the same number, and proba* OF THE WEST. 63 bly the samo force that had besieged Boonesborougli, soon aftorvvards attacked L'^gan's fort. It coatainod fiileun per- sons, of whom two were killed, and a third wounded. Tho enemy's loss, as before, was not ascertained. The forts of B jone and Harrod were about equi-distant from Lo- gan's; and they were tho only phces, whence help could be expected. These places, besides, were kept in such continual alarm, that it was useless to look for help from them. Tlie little garris3n suffered greatly. They were sustained by the dauntless example of Logan, and a con- sciousness of the result of capture. The savages hung pertinaciously round the fort, as though determined to reap the full measure of vengeance, of which they had been dis- appointed at the two other forts. At the mjment of attack, the women were without the fort, milking the cows. The men were guarding them. The Indians approached them under covert of a thick cane brake, which had not been cleared away around the cab- ins. Thence they fired upon the people, and killed two, as we have mentioned. A third person was wounded. The remainder with the women reached the fort unhurt. As soon as they reached the fort, the Indians, unwilling to lose their powder and lead, relaxed their fire. An affec- ting incident occurred, which, as strongly illustrative of Indian manners., and the circumstances of these kinds of warfare, we will relate. The besieged, looking from the fort, perceived that one of those whom they had supposed killed by the Indian fire, was still alive, and struggling to crawl towards the fort. He evidently dreaded being mangled and scalped by the Indiini^; and yet seemed to feel that if he made exertions to dra^r himself to the fort, they might be sufficient to at- tract the attention of the Indians, and yet not sufficient to enable him to accomplish his purpose. The unhappy man, meanwhile, knew that he had a family id the fort, and that deliverance was within a few rods of him. The gen- erous feelings of the intrepid Logan would not allow him to S83 him making these ineffectual struggles, without an eff)rt to aid him. He tried to raise volunteers from the garrison, to go out with him, and nmke an exertion to brin^ V ■ %4: •>M-«« 64 INDIAN WARS the wounded man in. But such was the probability that death would be the forfeit of the exposure, that none could be found, but a certain man, named Martin, who nad pri- ded himself on the reputation of a sol.lier, to offer his ser- vices. The man raised himself upon his knees, and seem- ed to be strug;Tling forward. The twj intended deliver- ers proceeded together to the gate. At that point Martin recoiled and turned back; Logan was lofl alone. He saw the poor man, after crawling a few steps, fink to the earth. His compassion could not sustain the sight. Collecting his powers, and putting his life in his hand, he rushed forth, took' up the half dead viptim in his arms, and bore him amidst a shower of balls into the fort. Som3 of the balls were buried in the pallisades close by his head. But along with this happy omen, another of a different aspect was seen. On the r3turn of the wounded man, the garrison discovered that they had but a few more shots of ammunition left; and there was no chance of replenishing their stock, nearer than the other two forts. They were aware at the same time, that these garrisons would need all they had for themselves. To detach any of their number to go to the settlement on Holston. would be so to weaken theirnumber as to leave them almost a certain prey to the invader. To sustain the siege without ammunition, was impossible. To go to Holston was the elected alternative. As the life of every member of the garrison depended upon the success of the expedition, it was necessary to select on the party, men who could judge with promptness and decision, what was best to be done in cases of emergency; and who were expert woodsmen, and capable of sustaining every kind of fatigue and suffering. Logan, indispensible as his presence was in the garri- son, was unanimously elected to head tlie party, to be de- spatched on this still more important expedition. It would be difficult fof imagination to group a more affecting pic- ture, than the parting of this small forlorn hope from their families, left in the desolate forests thus reduced in num- bers, and without ammunition, and surrounded by a sav- age foe. We can see them looking back upon the pale faces of their families, and contemplating from the thick OF THE WEST. C«^ cane brake, the pathless wildernera, which their imagina* tiotid woaid naturally represent filled with their ruthless enemies. Bit these men of iron sinew, although they had generous and tender hearts, had sound judgments and strong minds. They felt that the step was necessary. They might be allowed to drop ^niliiral tear»,^ and to cast fond lo3ks behini, as they went forth with stealthy pace from their weeping friends, to thread their way through the woods without being seen by the besieging savages. Th^y took for this purpose, an entirely untrodden track through the forests; and crossed the Cumberland moun- tain by a route, which had, probably, never been troddea before. We presume it never has been since. They reached Holston in safety; and obtained the^re- quisite supplies. Logan entrusted them to the remainder of his small party, with directions how to proceed ; and started on hiu way home alone, preceding the slower ad-^ vance of this party, to carry in ammunition. Within ten days from the time of his departure from the fort, he per- formi^d this !ong, hazardous, lonely journey, and reached the fort agaii.t. It was still invested by the savages, and almost in despair. His return seemed an interposition of Providence, and naturally tended to invigorate and en- f oiirage the besieged. The return of the party soon after, with ammunition, yielded them the physical means of an- noying the enemy, and sustaining the siege. A new difficulty arose. The garrison was approaching a state of starvation, and must hunt to relieve their neces- sities. This new difficulty once more spread the gloom of despair over th3ir prospects. But as they were resign- ing their hopes of escaping the savages, Colonel Bowman arrived at the fort with an hundred men, and dispersed them. The Canadians left a proclamation which had been prepared by the governor of Canada. It seemed to be in- tended for circulation among the people. It offered pro- tection to those of the people who would abjure their alle- giance to the revolted colonies, and threatened those who would not. The paper was Carried to Logan, who con^ cealed it carefully through fear of the effect it might work upoa the minds of the people. 6* 66 INDIAN WARS #■•'♦- The arrival of ths force under Colonel Bjwman, and the consequent dispersion of the Indians, was calculated to raisa the spirits of the garrison. But in the midst of their exultation and joy, they learned that his men were enlisted but for a short time, great part of which had beea consura3d on their march to their relief. They foresaw that the departure of this force would be the sure renewal of the horrors of the Indian invasion. They were again in want of ammunition; and Logan again undertook the long and lonoly expedition to Holston; and once more re- turned with a supply. Nothing inspires animation and in- trepidity in men, like seeing by experiment what may be done by patience and courage, in sustaining or vanquish- ing difficulties, and oeiig found equal to all emergencies. About this time, too, they were animated by being joined by Mr. Montgomery with a party of soldiers. On the 4th of July, the Indians, untiring and determin- ed in their hostilities, again attacked Boonesborough. To prevent this fjrt from receiving assistance from the two others, they had recourse to their customary plan of an- noyance; and sent detachments from their miin body, to intimidate each of Ihe forts, so as to prevent its aiding the other. In this siege the Indians killed one man, and woun- ded two others. It was ascertained thai they lost some of their own number, although the killed were removed, ac- cording to cuftom. Thdy kept up the siege with great vigor two days and. nights; but finding all their efforts to take the place in«flbctual, they suddenly disappoired. On the 25th of this month, a party consisting of forty- five men, joined Bjonc from North Carolina. In the in- tervals of these sieges, the inhabitants of the forts cleared and cidtivated their fields. A part kept guard, while the other part labored. This state of contiiiied hostility ni- turally inspired a spirit of adventurous revenge; and gave to thes? contests all the interest, which th3 strongest feal- ings of the human heart can impart. The continued re- currence of danger, cr ited a natural callousness and in- difference to it; and it became a point of keen and intense study, which party should see each other first, and get the first shot. Jn this species of dexterity the woodsmen were OF THE WEST, 617 quite as close and sure marksmen as the savages. The latter began to acquire a respectful caution, in reference to m3eting the former, and were very shy in approaching the garrisons; Ihe Indians had already denominated the Virginians, as has been seen, *Long Knife.' They could naw add that they were close shaoters- Winter returned, and the Indians as usual left tliem. The term of service, also, of the militia men of wham we have spoken, expired this autumn, and they returned to their homes. There re- mained at Boonesborough twenty-* wo, and at Harrodsburg sixty-five, and at Logan's fort fifteen men. The 1st of January, 1776, Boone with thirty men, went to the lower *Blue licks' to make salt for the different set- tletnants. The 7th of the next month, while he was in the woods, on a hunt to supply the salt makers with food, he came upon a party of one hundred and two Indians, march- ing to tliC assault of Boonesborough, the third attempt up- on th'd ill-fated place. It was clearly of all the settle- men'.s, the object of their most settled dislike and revenge. B)one flad^ but the savages pursued and took him prisoner. They then advanced upon the licks and made twenty-sev- en of the salt mr-kers prisoners by capitulation. The In- dians, delighte '^ with this signal success, marched their prisoners in trium^jh through the forests, and across the Ohio to Cliillicothe. On this march the weather was ex- ce3dingly inclement, and suffering from its severity in com;non with their prisoners, induced the savages to show lenity to them. If, instead of marching hom3 with their spoils, the savages had bent all their efforts against Boones- borough, weakened as it v/as by the loss of so many ofrits in:5n, it is probable that they would this time have succeed- ed in capturing the place. Flushed by this success, they wo.ild have vanquishsd the oth'ir two forts, and, no doubt, wo;ild hive murdered the inhabitants, as they threaljned, an I would thus have broken up the settlements for this time. Bit though the savages generally manifest suffi- cient cunning, they appear to want combined thought; and seldom make use of one advsintage, as a mean of obtaining another; and notwithstanding their own exultation, and the depression of the settlers, in consequence of tliis great iirai 68 INDIAN WARS success, they left the forts unmolested for a consiJerable tin(i3 aflervirards. Could ths savages have realizsd all the misery which the inhabitants sjfTdred, in consequence of the carrying off so many of their numbers into such a dreadful captivity, even thair vindictive spirit would have been satisfied with the extent of the suffering inflicted. In the manth of March, eleven of the prisaaers, among whom was Bjone, were led away from Chillicothe to De- troit, and presented to the British commandant, Hamilton. Tho governor offered them an hundred pounds, as a ran- som for Bjone, intending, as he said, to set him at liberty on a parole; for the readar will not need to be informed that this was at th3 commancement of the revolutionary ' ] war. They refused, it. A situation more vexatious to a spirit Uke his, than that in which he was thus placed, can not easily be imagined. The least attempted movement towards escape would alarm the vigilant savages, and on the other hand he refused the off^r of supplies of indispen- sable nscessaries by the British, as enemies of his country, and as never expecting to be able to repay them. The companions of his captivity were left to the British at De- troit, and he was compelled to return with his savage n:as- ters to Chillicothe. Soon after his return to that place, he was adopted into the family of one of the principal men of the tribe, and wisely appeared to.be reconciled to his new way of life, and to accommodate himself to it with cheer- fulness. Such deportment by such a mighty hunter and untamed spirit, could not but win the confidence and af- fection of his masters. When challenged to a trial of his skill with the rifle, he foand it much less difficult to sur- pass them in the closeness of his shooting, than to van- quish the envy and ill will created by this visible superi- ority in a point of so much importance in the eyes of that race. He proved himself a most successful hunter. He found it easy to ingratiate himself with the king chief of the Shawnese, by showing great apparent deferoace to him, and by always granting him a share of the proceeds of his hunt. Thus leading a life in accordance with his instmctive propensities, and acquired habits, and in great honor among tliat primitive race; it ia probable, that his OF THE WEST. 69 seeming acquiescence to his lot would have become real, had it not been for the remembrance of his wife and child- ren at Boonesborough. But these cherished recollections haunted him, and continually prompted the desire and the purpose to escape. In June following his captivity ,he was taken to tne Scioto salt works, and there employed so diligently in making salt that he fornd no means of escape. On his return with his masters to Chillicothe, he found four hundred and fifty warriors, in all their horrible paint- ing and war garnish, prepared for an expedition against Boonesborough. With all the love of country and family, natural to such a man, he now for the first time rejoiced in his captivity, as it enabled him to obtain such informa- tion respecting the objects of this expedition, as, could he transmit it to the fort, might save it from destruction. He determined to put in execution his long meditated purpose of escape. He arose early in the morning, and was al- lowed to go forth as usual to hunt. He contrived to se- crete a little food, enough to answer for one meal, and with this slender provision made his escape. In less than five days he traversed a distance of one hundred and sixty miles, in which distance, besides other rivers, he crossed the O- hio. He made but one meal on the journey. The fort was found in no state of preparation for the formidable at- tack that was preparing for it. But this forewarning, a distinct perception of the danger, and the energy and in- dustry of Boone soon put it in as high a state of defence as their means and the shortness of the time of prepara- tion would allow. Having made their preparations, the garrison were now anxiously awaiting the appearance of their enemy. The escape of one of Bjone's companions from captivity brought news of the expedition to the fort, and informed that in consequence of his escape, the expedition had been defer- red three weeks. Fortunately, the garrison had received accessions of considerable numbers, since the captivity of Boone. Meanwhile, Boone determined to anticipate their movements. With nineteen select associates, he set out from the fort, on an expedition to surprise ' Paint creek town,^ an Indian village on the Sciuto. Having arrived Mm fv wm f 70 INDIAN WARS within four miles of that place, thoy were met by thirty Indians, wh3 were marching to join the main army, now on its way to B lonesborough. A battle was immediately commenced, which terminated in the flight of the savages. Not a mm of Boone's party fell. Bjone immediately marched back towards Boonesborough, with all possible despatch. On the sixth day of his marjh, he passed the main Indian army unperceived, and on the seventh arrived at the fort. The day after his arrival, the Indian force appeared, commanded by Captain Daquesne, eleven other Canadi- an Frenchmen, and a number of savage chiefs. The Brit- ish flag was displayed- in their centre. They immediate- ly invested the fort and sent a regular summons, requiring Boone to surrender. This was by far the most imposing force that had ever been seen in the country ; and it was natural that the first view of it should produce consterna- tion. Boone requested two days, in which to consider the propriety of a surrender; and the savages weakly granted the request. The garrison consisted of fifly man, and the odds .in numbers was fearful. Boone assembled them; harangued them and placed before them the chances of their alternatives ; on the one hand victory or defeat, ia case of resistance; and on the -other hand the entire plun- der, and the hopeless condition of captivity, in consequence of surrender. The consultation was short, and the answer unanimous, that as long as one man lived, the fort should be defended. It may be supposed that the garrison dili- gently employed these two days of truce, in completing their defences. They had collected their CLUti«r and hor- ses, and driven them into the fort. At the expinrtion of the time, Boone, from one of the bastions, thanked th? com- mander of the Indians, for the time allowed him for pre- paration, and proclaimed the result of the determinations of the garrison. Duquesne, disappointed in the expecta- tion of surrender, endeavored to carry his point by dupli- city. He declared that he was charged by governor Ham- ilton, to take the garrison prisoners; but not to treat them harshly, and that if nine of the principal men would come out, and enter into parley with him, he would withdraw, upon condition that the garrison would swear alleg^anco men, w'a OF THE WEST- 71 to his master. To treat upon such terms would at least gain time, and Boone consented. The conference was opened within fifty yards ot the fort gate. The articles were few, explicit, and soon settled. B Jt it was remarked that many of the Indians, who had nothing to do in the trea- ty, stalked ahout the contracting parties, under suspicious circumstances. The articles were signed. Boone was informed that it was customary in such cases, that two principal Indians should Bhake hands with one of each of the whites. This, too, was granted ; and two approaching each of the nine, endeavored tc drag them off as prisoners. Boone instantly perceived their purpose. He and his men, by a violent struggle, disengaged themselves from the grasp of the Indians, and made for the fort. A volley of balls was fired upon them, and one man was wov.nded. The enemy immediately resumed an unremitting attack. The besiegers soon attempted to undermine the fort. This at- tempt was probably dictated to them by their French com- mander; for they knew little of war, except the use of gun- powder and brute force. The garrison discovered that their enemy was attempting to undermine the fort, on the side of the river, by remarking that the river, which was clear above, was turbid below, with the earth and clay thrown out by the excavation. To counteract the effect of this mine, the garrison dug a trench within ; and by throw- ing the earth of the trench over the wall, manifested to their foe that they penetrated their purpose. Perceiving that they were not like to carry their purpose, either by fraud or force, the enemy decamped on the 20th of August. Two men were killed, and four wounded in the fort.' The savages had thirty-seven killed. TUe number of their wounded could not be ascertained from the circumstance that they were immediately carried off. This was the last combined and powerful effort against Boonesborough. The assailants were to the besieged, as six to one. They had skilful leaders, and were not deficient in ferocious courage. The walls of the fortification were combustible, and but twelve feet high ; and the gastrison no better arm- ed or supplied than their foe. It was a striking example of the difficulty of conquering a small force of intrepid men, w'»o have determined never to surrender. V'H *i TO INDIAN WARS In the succeetling autumn, Boone made a journey to North Carolina to bring back his wife, who, during his captivity among the Indians, had returned to her father's house, despairing of his return. The Indians had made no open attack upon Logan's fort, during this period. He had, however, casual skirmishes with them, as his men met them at different points in the woods. In one of thase rencontres he was severely wounded. That these infant settlements survived these sustained hostilities of the sav- ages, and continued to increase in the woods, so far away from the protection of the parent state, evidences the in- trepidity and spirit of these primitive nurslings of storms and dangers. All this while, the parent state was engaged in a struggle for existence with the gigantic force of Great Britain ; and could do little more, than look occasionally from her own suspended conflicts, with admiration upoti the bitivery of her children in the new country, contend- ing with hosts of savages, headed, urged on, and supplied by the British of Canada, with the means of annoyance. But in 1778, having a moment ofbreathing time, Virginia felt that s«und policy, as well as maternal and good feel- ing, called upon her for some efficient measures, to render a residence in the woods of Kentucky more safe and desi- rable. It was within the scope of her policy, to reduce the British posts on the frontiers of the Ohio country, and of the Wabash, whence the savages were supplied with arms, munitions, and incitement to gaily forth, and make incursions upon the new settlements. For this purpose she raised a regiment of troops, and gave the command to George Rogers Clark. The force consisted of between two and three hundred men. Colonel Clark was intimate- ly acquainted with the topography of the western country, and, as after events abundantly showed, admirably quali- fied for a command of this kind. His main force descend- ed by water from the M the inner side Of course, these stations were the strong h)lds of the settlers. They united the 3trength, furnished the society, and ce- OF THE WEST. 77 irtented the friendships of the inhabitRnts; and were often the germs of populous and busy villnges. Adventurers cDwdeJ upon the country, SDme selecting lands for imme- diate and pormano.il settlement; and others choosing spots on which they purposed hereafter to build, returned to their native place. The In Jians, though thay mMst now have perceived the imp)ssibility of arres:.in| this advance of population, and the permmont occupancy of these h niting grounds, con- tinued their pertinacious purpose of reven-?e, by their cus- toniiry nndes of detached agijression, and the murder of individuals and families. It is astonishing^, haw little tho frequent recurrence of these terrible catastrophes seems to have retarded the sattlemcnt of the country, and the stea- dy advance of the settlers in building and improvement. The people began to be conscious of their s'rengih, and of the necessity of an efficient union, to put an end to the aggressions of the savages. An assemblage of the settle"*" was called at Hirrods'jurg, to devise the means of carry- ing their purposes into effect. The result jif tho common council was to carry the war into the enemy's country ; and, as the Shawnese had been most conspicuous in their hostilities, it was determined to fit out an expedition against old Chillicothe, which was their chief town. The volun- teers were to unite at Harrodsburg, and the command was assigned to Colonel Bjwman. Logan, Holder, Harrod, and B ilger commanded under him. Some of the most re- spectable citizens of the country served as privates. The united force amounted to two hundred. They reached Chillicothe undiscovered in July, towards sunset. After '' 3 liberation, it was determined to defer the attack, until the dawn of the succeeding morning. The force was divided into two detiichments, one commanded by Cjlonel Bjwman, and the other by Captain Logan. The one party was ordered to march to the right, and the other to the left; and upon a given signal, to surround the town, and attack it in concert. The party commanded by Logan repaired to the assignsd point, and waited in vain for the signal. The attention of the Indians was drawn to this point by the barking of a dog.* At this mo- 7» *• 78 INDIAN WARS ment one of the other party discharged u gun. The whole village of course was alarmed in a moment. The women and children were hurr'ed into the woods, through a path not yet occupied hy the assailants; and the warriors coU lected in a strong cabin. All this passed under the eyea of Logan^s party, who immediately took possession of «ome of the deserted cabins. It was now day light, and fre- quent shots were exchanged between the parties. The expedient of Logan, to inarch safely to the assault of the cabin was an ingenious one ; and as far as our reading eX' tends, original. He proposed to his party, to tear off the Indian cabin doors, and each to carry one before him as a breast work, in advancing upon the Indian cabin, where the warriors were assembled. As they were marching upon the foe behind their miveable wall. Colonel Bowman perceiving that their plan of surprising the Indians was dis'.-oncerted, sent them an order to retreat. Captain Lo' gan's party w^^-e astonished at thi» order, and reluctant to obey It. The reii'eat must take place over an open prai- rie, exposed to the covert fire of the Indians. Instead of a concerted retreat in good order, ©very one endeavored to make the best of his way from the danger, in the mode dictated by his own judgment. Each one started away from behind his concealment ; and made for the wood at his utmost speed. Some of their number fell by the bul- lets, which the savages showered upon them as they fled over the prairie. The stragglers assembled in the woods, and resumed something like order. The Indians sallied out upon the invaders, commanded by their chief. Black Fish. They were much inferior in numbers, not exceed- ing thirty; yet Colonel Bowman's force, once intimidated, continued to fly before them under the impulse of terror, and were severely pressed. His force was brought to a halt, in a low and sheltered ground. His fire upon the surrounding enemy, who were protected behind bushes, produced little effect. Captains Logan and Harrod, and others mounted some pack horses, and made a charge up- on the Indians. This assault somewhat staggered them. Black Fish was killed, and the Indians in their turn took to flight. The men pursued an unmolested march home- fi* OP THE WEST. 79 Wardis. In this ill managed expedition nine men were killed and one wounded. The Indian loss was compara" tiveiy small. Only two or three werolknown to be killed. The winter of 1779 and 'SO, was remarkable for its length and severity, and the accumulation of ice and snow. Many families immigrating to the country, in their transit over the mountains, were arrested by the snows, and suffered exceedingly from cold and hunger. Their cattle perished; and in some cases the owners were cor.> palled, by starvation, to feed upon their bodies. When thoy arrived in Kentucky, they found, indeed, plenty of animal food; but the grain of the country had been all consumed. They were introduced to the new modes ofa backwoods life, by being obliged to subsist upon milk and meat. The arrival of so many new settlers in the spring, rendered all the stations so crowded, that it was found ne- cessary to establish many new settlements in the forests. The old stations, in the central parts of the state, were, of course, the safest from Indian attack; and the country had now an interior and a frontier; a safe and an exposed re- gion. Many of the settlers at the close of this year, had a rustic abundance of all that the country could supply. Some of the immigrants of this year were men distinguish- ed for talents and standing in the regions from which they came. Among them we may name Colonel Thomas Mar- shall, who had distinguished himself at the battle of Bran- dywine. Colonel Slaughter, als;:), descended the Ohio, to the Falls with one hundred and fifty Virginia soldiers. This force added to that of Cjlonel Clark, already sta- tioned there, gave this place the aspect ofa regular fortifi- cation. The effect, however, was not such as might have been hoped. The people became confident, and careless, in their imagin3d sscurity. The Indians derived more ad- vantages than the whites from the protection of the Ohio. They could cross that river in their canoes at any point, ravage, plunder, murder, and return before the people could be sufficiently aroused to pursue them; and when once they had the Ohio in their front, and the interminable for- ests north of it in their rear, it was useless to follow them. Sometimes th^ soldiers met them and measured back a se- vere retaliation. INDIAN WAftS Meanwhile, the British commandant at Detroit, having recovered from the consteniatiim of the blow struck by Co- lonel Ciark, and feari;ig the effect it might produce upon his InJiau allies, p:epared to measure back a severer blow th:ia Kentucky had yet felt. He cjucerted an expedition with the InJian chiefs. Six hundred Iniians and Canadi- ans compased it. They were commanded by Colonel Byrd, a British officer. It was appointed with two field pieces, and its first point of destination was Louisville. The summer of 1780, was uncommonly wet; and all the streams were full to overflowing. This circumstance in- duced the commander to change his original destination, and to ascend the river Licking, which was sufficiently high to afford a water passage to his force and artillery by that route, to the very centre of the country. Colonel Byrd landed his men and munitions on the point at tho forks of Licking. His f )rce consisted of one thousand men. He reached Ruddle''s station the 2'2d of June. This was a new stockade station, incapable of any defence against artillery. The excessive rains had driven the wood cut- ters frcn their usiii^l business in the woods, to seek shelter under the roofs of the stations* Bvrd arrived undiscov- ered; and the first notice of the people in R,uddle\{ station of his approach, was announced by the discharge of hia cannon. He sent in a flag, demandinsr an in::riiediate sur- render at discretion. This demand Ruddle refused, ex- cept on condition that the men surrendered should be the prisoners of the British, and not of the Indians. Colonel Byrd consented to these terms, and immediately the gates were opened to him* The Indians rushed into the fort, snd each one laid hisi savage hands upon the first person that presented. Parea*^ and children, h isbands and wives were thus dispersed and separated in a moment. There are i'ew, who can not imagine the wailing, the consterna- tion and agony of children divided from their parents, and parents torn from their children. Ruddle remonstrated against thece cruel enonnities to no purpose. Colonel Byrd had even some semblance of reason in his apology- He declared his utter inability to control i^avages so much more numerous than his own troopS| and aflirnr.ad that ho himself was in their power. m iS OF THE WEST. 81 Af^er this station was thoroughly plundered, and the possession of the prisoners settled, the savages proposed to march immediately thence to the attack of Martin's sta- tion, at the distance of five miles. Colonel Byrd had'been so much affected with the barbarity of the savages here, that he peremptorily refused, unless the chiefs would gua- rantee to him that the prisoners should be entirely in his possession, and that the plunder only should be theirs. They consented. The station was taken without opposi- tion, and the prison.^rs and plunder were divided accord- ing to the terms of their compact. The ease with which these conquests had been made, only stimulated the Indi- an appetite for more. The savages clamored to be led against Bryant's station, and Lexiugtoii. Colonel Byrd declined, and assigned as reasons, that success was impro- bable; that it was impossible to procure a sufficiency of provisions for the prisoners they already had ; that it would be utterly impracticable to convey their artillery to any point of the Ohio, after the waters should have fallen; and that as there was a prospect of the speedy fall of the waters of Lickmg, prudence called upon them to avail themselves of their present advantages, and descend the river immediately. Movv^d by these reasons, the British and Indians com- menced their return march. They descended to their boats, wh.ch they had left at the forks, embarked their ar- tillery and munitions on board and began to descenerative. He advised a levy of four-f|fths of all the men in the country, capable of bearing arms, to be assembled a the mouth of Licking, m the 7th of July. Colonels Logan, Slaughter, Lynn, Floyd, and Harrod, were to command under hiim. He ordered the building of a number of transport boats at Louisville. The command of them was given to Colonel Slaughter, and they were ordered up the Ohio to Licking, with provisions and stores. In ascending \he Ohio, these boats were compeliv^d to keep near the shore. They were worked up the river in two divisions, one on each shore. It happened that while one of the boats was near the north shore, a party of Indians descended the bank, firud into the boat, and killed and wounded a number of the people, before the other boats could assemble to their assistance. On the way to the place of rendezvous, one of Logan's men deserted, taking with him a valuable horse. It was supposed that he had fled with the horse to Carolina. But on the arrival of the detachment at the mouth of Licking, the horse was found there, and it was ascertaiued that this traitor had •^one ovcjr to the Indians, and had given them notice of the approaching expedition. On the 2d day of August, 1780, General Clark, with his troops, took up the line of march from the place where Cincinnati now stands, for the Indian towns. The army marched in two divisions, and consisted of nine hundred and seventy men. The force was arranged according to the most rigid precepts of war ; and proceeded, without interruption to the Indian towns, where they arrived the 6th of the month. They found the first town abandoned, and many of the houses burning, having been fired the preceding morning. They cut down several hundred acres of corn. At four, in the evening of the next day, they . mm,^ 84 INDIAN WARS inarched for the Piqua towns, distant twelve miles. They had but just commenced their march, when they were drenched by a shower, accompanied with thunder and wind. They encamped in a hollow square, in the unpleasant pre- dicament of being in an enemy ^s country, and knowing that their guns were all wet. With proper precaution, they fired and reloaded them; and remained on the alert - and prepared for action during the night. At two in the afternoon of the next day, they arrived at Piqua. As they advanced upon the town, they were at- tacked by the Indians, who concealed themselves among high weeds, that skirted the town. Colonel Logan, with four hundred men, was ordered to file off, and march up the river to the east, and so to post himself as to prevent the escape of the Indians in that direction. Another di* vision, under Colonels Lynn, Floyd, and Harrod were do* tached, to cross the river and encompass the town on the west side ; while General Clark, with the troops of Colonel Slaughter, and those attached to the artillery, advanced upon the town in front. The prairie, where the Indians who commenced the attack were concealed, was about two hundred yards over. The division, who were ordered to encompass the town on the west side, found it necessary to traverse the prairie, in order to avoid the fire of ine con- cealed enemy. The Indians were seen to understand the purposes of the intended attack ; and evinced great fore- sight and skill, in arrangements to defeat it. To prevent being surrounded by the advance of the detachment from the west, they made a powerful effort to turn the left wing. To avoid this, Floyd and Lynn extended their force a mile west of the town ; and the engagement was warmly con- tested on both sides, until five o'clock, when the Indians disappeared, unperceived, and a few only remained in the town. The piece of cannon was brought up, and made to bear upon the houses, which soon dislodged the Indians that were in them. A most unfortunate occurrence took place at the close of the action. A nephew of Colcnel Clark, who had be*" a prisoner among the Indians, esca- ped from them at this pcmt of the engagement, and wa« shot by the troops, us supposed to he an Indian. Though mortally wounded, he survived some hours. ■9» OF THE WEST.. 85 Ik... On searching (he houses, a Frenchman was discovefed, concealed in one of the cabins. By him the troops were- informed that the Indians had been instructed in all their movements; and had more than once determined to at- tack them silently in the night, with the knife and the tom- ahawk. They had ititended this attack on the evening after the shower, knowing that the guns were wet, but ^. were prevented by the vigilance of Colonel Clark; aadib^- hearing the firing of the guiis, were convinced that the rain had not rendered them useless. The loss was nearly equal on either side, amounting to twenty killed. The Piqua town was built after the manner of the French villa- ges. The houses extended along the margin of ;;he river Miami) more than three miles, and were in many places more than twenty poles apart. Girty, of whom we have so often spoken, had been made a chief among the Min- >. goes, ftnd was in this action. Remarking the desperation with which Colonel Clark's men exposed themselves to the hottest of the fire, he drew off his three hundred Mingoes, observing that it was useless to fight with fool^ and mad men. It was estimated that at Chiilicothe and Piqua, more than five hundred acres of corn were destroyed, and every thing that related to subsistence, upori which the troopfi could lay their hands. The policy that required these se- vere measures was obvious. Apart from the gratification of those feelings of revenge naturally enkindled by the ex- terminating warfare between them and the savages, when ,. these means «f subsistence were destroyed, the Indians, were obliged to hunt for food, and of course to suspend tljeir ii ,, hostilities for a season. i'>f , Having completed their work of destruction, the troops commenced their return march. At the mouth of Licking the army dispersed, and each individual selected his own mode and route of return. Seldom have troops been , known to encounter the most severe toils and privations more cheerfully. The allowance had been neither more norless than six quarts of Indian corn, qiid a quantitv of salt for fpich man a day. And this had been their whole subsistence, e:^cept the greep corn and vegetables which they found in the lad^n villages, and the chance game that 8 mfm ;■■ -t?* %i / 'W. 86 INDIAN: WA B^f '■ offered by the wtiy. But they were fully aware df the emergency of the case, and tliat if this force was defeated, the Indians would pour in upon the defonceiess settle- ments, and butcher their wives and children in detail. Their purpose, therefore, was to conquer or perish. ' . A severe action was fought aboutv,thi& tirao by a small party under Captain AquilTa White. This party followed omtb^ trail of a marauding band of Indians who werere- treatihgi to the Falls of Ohio. White supposed that the Indians had already crossed the river, and was preparing to cross it in4he pursuit. The Indians were still on the south side, and ifixd upon his rear. Nine of his party, which consisted of but fifteen, v/ere wounded, one of them mortally. The residue returned to the bank, facedthe foe and defeated them. ^^ . ' Soon after this, a station o« the present site of Shdby- ville was deserted through fear of the Indians. The; in- habitants, while on their way to the settlements on Bear- grass, and while encumbered with carrying their effects and baggage, and driving their cattle, were fired upon by a large party of Indians^ As their wives and children were equally exposed with thentselves, the men felt it their duty to disperse, and escape individually if they might. Colonel Floyd learned the puedicumetot of these unfortu- nate people. He collected twenty-five men and haateiied to their relief He advanced, with great caution, but fell, notwithstanding, into an ariabliscade,and Was defeated with the loss of half his m^n. The savages weije supposed to have^ been triple in numbers, andttihe or ten of them were kilted. Colonel Floyd was wounded, and would have fal- len into their hands, but for the assistance of Captain Wells, who dismounted, placed him on his horse, and ran by his side to supiwrt hinii His conduct was the more generous, as the two had been personal enfemies. But from this time until their denth they were firm friends. Two men of the name of M'Afeo of McAfee's station, near Harrodsburg, were fired upon. On^'felK The dther ran for the fort at the distance of a quarter of! a rilMe. AH Indi{»i met hitn. They prese«ited their rifles^ the lAute^khia of which almost touched. The gun of the Yhdiah missed I \ Pf /T?iH5i mm^' m fite, and \h%r^U/4jeM' .I'veo men coihq out froii^ the fort on bearing the firing. M'ACee watn^ themnot to ad- vance. One of them not heeding tho> caution, ran to look at the dead Indian. Concealed Indian^ intercepted his return* He was now to. compete with the Indians in dex- terity, and the stake was his life. He sprang from tree to treepursued by them. ;His object \/as to avoid a shot, and their's was. to. gain i^ He reached a fence, one hun- dred and fifty yards from the fort in safety. As he sprang over the fence, he exposed himselfto a shot from one of these staunch hunters. He gained the opposite* side of tha fence without receiving the shot, His antagonist reached out his head from behind bis tree to take aim, and M'Afee shot him in ti^e mouth. He arrived at the fort un- touched, experiencing a hair breadth escape. The other man was fired upon by ^ve Inidians. He took refuge be- hind a tree, and four or 'five more shots were fired upon him. He also escaped them all, and reached the fort in safety. The station >ya9 immediately attacked by this same body of Indians; The females moulded and melted bullets for the men. . Afler an attack of two hours, the Indians finding that they produced >no effect, killed all the cattle roimJ the station and withdrew. Forty men under the. command of Major M'Grary, has- tily assetnbled at the alarm, and reached the station soon after the retreat of thje Indians. They pursued, overtook, defeated, and killed dij^ of them. Qf their party one was killed,, and one mortally wounded. During tho remain- der of this season, the attacks of the Indians were in a great, measure remitted; and the conviction seemed to be increasing^ that something more than these desultory modes of warfare was necessary to expel invaders, who were no longer slrangeite^ w.arjdei-iog over the soil, but men fight- ing for their families and fire sides. A general confede- racy of tlif? Indiaiii nations determined to make one gralid eli'urt, U» ullbmluate this purpose the sacceoding year. The counties began 'tO: wear tho form of a regular and oigainzed government. Officers, civil and military, were appointed, and 'thetactB which had hitherto been the spon- l&n^nUfJ lip^i^UtiQl iftdividufthwilis, assumed the aspect of m 'itMi m i?li riTDlAN WARS ' erhsiilating fr(»i the body politic. Ambi^ the offi IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ,„„ /^ ^ Si.^^ 1.0 I.I US 12^ U£ |2j2 |2.2 u lU 11-25 III 1.4 1.6 Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST h^M\i S7REET WEBSTIR.N.r. MStO A^ <^ 02 IITDIAN WARS drawn, and the Itation put in &uch a state of defence, as such a short notice might furnish, thirteen men weve sent out in the direction where the fire commenced. They were fired upon by one hundred Indians, and the ambus, cade rushed upon the side of the fort which they deemed waa now without defence. Their di^ppointment may be imagined, when they found every thing prepared for their reception. A well directed fire'from the garrison put the savages to flight. Some of the more desperate and daring approached sufficiently near to fire the houses, some of which were consumed. But an easterly wintf providen- tially arose, and drove the flames from the mass of the buildings and ^e garrison was saved. .The enemy with- drew and concealed themselves on the bank of the creek near the spring. They had been in some way informed of tho despatch of the two men to Lexington for aid ; and they arranged an ambuscade to intercept such forces as might be sent, on their approach to the station. When this rein- forcement came in sight, the firing had ceased. No ene- my was visible; and they drew near in the confidence that they had come on a false alarm. They^ode forward through a lane which was ambuscaded for one hundred yards on either side by Indians. The mounted men cre-i ated a dense cloud of dust as they moved along, i^he In- dians ilred upon them close at hand, but the obscuring dust hindered theii* aim. The six rode through this close fire unharmed, and without having even a horse wounded. The footmen were less fortunate. They were approaching the garrison through a thick corn field, and in a direction to have reached it unobserved by the savages. But hear- ing the firing on their mounted companions, they rushed to their aid, and were intercepted by masses of the savages, constantly increasing between them and the station. They would all have fallen, but for the thickness of the com field. 1 lese brave men reached the fort with the loss of two kill- ed' and four wounded. The cattle and sheep that came in towards the garrison as usual in the evening, were mostly destroyed. A little af^er sunset, (he famous Girty covertly approach- ed the garrison, and on a sudden made himself visible on a '^ 61' triB WEST. stumi^ t^^ihence he could be heard by th» people within, and demanded a surrender of the place. He managed his phipoeals with na little art, assigning as a reason for ma- iling thnn, that they were dicfatod by his humanity; that iioKiaiBe^crf' a Surrender heeotrid knswer for the security of 'tlie prisoners faiid that in the ievent of taking the garrison bysfdi^m hecould not; tl^t cannon were approaching with &'1reinfbreement, and w(Lid arrive that night; in which case the^ must be senile that defence of the place would be^cdly unavailing. His imposing manner had the more ^edt in producing^ consternation, as the garrison knew that the same ibes bad recelitly used cannon in the attack dP Ruddle's aikl Martin's stations. In thi> course of his hatrungue^'Girty denaanded of the garrison, if they knew whoit'Was that^jaddressed them? A young man by the name of Reynoldsj of whom honorable mention vat tl^ plaoi^yiiii comipl^idbfiEeij^ the innumerable herds of stnimals tfaiEtit in the ags^s pt^st, «ame here to drink *the v^atiBp, and lick ti^ salt olay . It % intereeoted -by ravines 9ndfi;jiedgyri4ge. I'heisqpuqptof the ridge was sterile and -nlrndst naked of ^nihcir^io^Ht the ravines were timbered and skirted with thick bffi^ Shortly after the decampment of the j||tdia{isfroi?ir]^- fmt^s station, thesoldiers of Lexii^gte'n^cll&rrodslturg, aiod Bponesborough assembled at JJFiyaiM^vSf sji^tion, to th0 mM&- ibetr of one hua<^red and si^ty ^ and; ^eterixud^d imtn^itUe- ly'to pursue (tie Indians. They wfr-ei^ommanjlefihy Co- lonels Todd and Trigg. . The odds, JMirponnt of ^ui^iJ^, was very great between this force and tiiat- of GiKty, $ut they were ijtave land high spirited menvW.ell mountedj-pro- vided, an4|armed. The veteran Boetne was ^moijg sdiem, «nd they iKimed with «i desire to chastise, the insojtj^nt And murderous ipvaders. Prudence shouldyhave indujo^thetn 40 wait for the reinforcement of Col(^el Itogan^ #ti0 fwss Jcnownto be collectingforcesinthe other stations, to qqw diem . They rashly chose to march unaided. andbyv^u^B' iciselvw IdidianS) fi«$9AuH and ^' onf^smm w^stp;^ 95 DUthb€^i«'i|iM^'pU7p<)Sd8, and as also ae^uamted ifijth ush| that if the troops advanced vipOHi then)) ^0 Indians had the iadvantage of position, stilt moral thaii numbere. He advised, therefor^, that theii'feTiE^' should^ ^itidiet) into equalpartS; that the one part sfalouM match up the rrv^rv-dnd cvossit t Elk creek al>eie thte^ upper ravine, while the oth^r part should take a poeitiott)^ to be able toco-operate with them in another quarter^ Hrttt' jnitMs way the advantage of position would be takenrfr^' the Indians and transferred to them; but above all; hiMli-" tioned thehi against crossing the riverat all, unti^wy^ should have tsent^ut spies thoroughly to reconnoitre the po> ' sition and force Of the ' m^ages^ The officers were dispo- sed^to listen to this saluMry counsel of wisdom and expe- rieiide.. ' Bjat Mijor Hiigh M'Gary, remarkable for his im- peta&8iA's-hiight be expectfed, the party caught the contiigibtis rashness. The officers were borne along^ by th^*tatt8, aiS'it crowded tumultuously into the river. After th^croisBing, there was neither order nor arrange- ment j biftevery mail rushed forward at his own choice, ov^rth© bare roeks' towards the sheltered ravines, and *h» wopd^^groundj Where the Indians were ocHioeated in closfe^ Majors M'Gary and Hai^land, and Captain M'Biide leicl^ th^Siiih^tice. Girty, at the head of a select band of sava- gei^Shtedupoft them with their customary yells. Thei contest was instantly fierce and sanguinary. The Itidi-" ans hfad ^tery advantage both of liiimb^ and pOsitiok The disorderly front of the assailants ^vb them still f^ ther siiperioritf i ; ' llie right wing was (sockb turned j aiidV ^ retl«At Wis iiieviiyble, and' that too, under the murderous edlgeof^ (h« t^maha^k. Golonell^ Todd aiid Trigg^ ftbd • MHj^>lifoj^hiHd fell early itk 4U aetioii. The ^UrviVors pl^ai^^tlii^]^ ]iett«a«i;!l»'^ll)Ot Elided bdi^hBd^ iti INBIAIf ;WiAB9 Bui the Iiicli9ii8|ptei:p0sed; between tbeni) andiii|«rp«q[tted their approacli; to the ferd; thusforGiiigtheii>t<»(ake to the river, where itcouldoQiyi be crossed byBwimminffb< Qf course the greatest camt^e took plaeiB near the fora; aiid loany were tomahawJked it) the river. Amaiiiwhose per- 8oiia|M courage "had bben the subject of doubt and question, here Jftobly proved those doubts unfounded. Ho hQjit9d:<»i the opposite bank, and animated^thers to follow hisreKani- fijif They faced and con^nienced a fire upon the purs^* era, aud checked them for a moment; thereby enabling spme exhausted and wounded fugitives to evade the-toma- hft^,.'k, already uplifted to destroy them. The brave and beinMmlent Reynolds, whose reply to Girty has beeo.r^Mr tec^Ppnquisbed his own horse to Colonel Robert Patter- soufWho was infirm fromformerwound8,and was retreat- ing on foot. He thus enabled ^at veteran to escf^pe. While thus signalizing his disinteHsted intre[Hdity, befell himself into the hands of the Indians^ The pfirtythat took him, consisted of three. Two, whites pfts^ ok their r^reat. Two of the Indians purs^ed^ leaving' hifo tinder the guard of the third. His cajplior stooped to^his^moc- casin, and he sprang awaj from him aiid escaped* i, It is supposed that one-fourth <^the men engaged in this ftction were commissicoied ojQIkers. The whdfe number f^gt^^ was one hundred and seventy-six. Of these, sixty -- troit. The terrible blow which the savages had struck at Blue lick, excited a general and immediate purpose of retalia- tion throqgh Kentucky, General Clark \. s appointed commander in chief) and Colonel Logan next uud^jr him 9 98 INDIAN WARS in emnmand of the expedition, to be raised for that purpose. The forces were to rendezvous at Licking. The last of September, 1782, General Clark with one thousand men marched from the present site of Cincinnati, for the Indi- an towns on the Miami. They fell in their route upon the camp of Simon €rirty, who would have been completely surprised with his Lidians, had not a straggling savage espied the advance, and reported it to them, just in season to enable them to scatter in every direction. They soon spread the intelligence that an army from Kentucky was marching upon their towns. As the army approached the towns on their toute, they founl^ that the inhabitants had eVacuated them, and had fled iznb the woods. All the cabins at Chiilicothe, Piqua, and Willis' were burnt. Some skirmishing took place, however, in which five Indians were killed, and seven made prisoners, without any loss to the^entuckians, save the wounding of one man, which afterwards proved mortal. One distinguished savage surrendered himself, and was afterwards inhumanly murdered by one of the troops, to the deep regret and mortification of General Clark. A femi^le achievement of heroism, is worthy of record in this place. A party of Indians in October, of this year, approached a house near the Crab orchard. A woman with three children and a negro servant were the occupants. One of the Indians rushed into the house, and made to- wards the negro. A little girl instantly shut the door b^* tween him and the entering Indians. The negro grap- pled with the Indian and threw him down. The woman seized an axe and killed him with a well directed blow on the head. The Indians on the outside hearing the mortal affray, attempted to cut down the door with their toma- hawks. A body of armed men happened to be passing that way, and came to the relief of the family, upon which the Indians fled. The summer of 1783, was one of repose and respite from Indian War. Immigrants continued to pour into the country. The rough aikl unwrooght furniture frcHoa the woods gave place to cabinet furniture. Considerable mo* n»y oiiculated, and labor was wcAt rewarded. Cattle and OF THE WEST. go flocks multiplied; and that rank growth of corn wa? seen in the fields, which was the presage of the abundance of this state in that article ever since. Wheat began to be raised at first as an experiment. Reading and writing schools were commenced. The perniciwis article, whi»' key, began to be manufactured. Merchandize was wag- on^ from Philadelphia to fort Pitt, now Pittsburgh, and was thence conveyed in flat boats to Louisville, where a retail store was opened. An amusing incident in the administration of the laws, occurred at this time, which may serve also, to give a gen- eral idea of the state of things in the country. Thomas Paine had published a book, the substance of which wa9 to prove that Virginia had no right to the Kentucky lands ; but that they belonged of right to congress. Two Penn- sylvanians who Mad become converts to this doctrine, de- scended to Kentucky to proselyte the people there. One went to Louisville, but gained no converts. The other succeeded better at Lexington. He persuaded some peo- ple to commence clearing in their neighbors' lands, in the hope, that when these were declared ccmgress lands, they might claim by pre-emption. The occupants of these lands were alarmed, and applied to a justice, to arrest this dis- ciple of Paine's doctrines, as a disturber of the peace. . It was necessary to find a law for the purpose ; and one was discovered in the Virginia code, which made it penal for any one to be the bearer of false intelligence ; and the pwson convicted was to pay a mulct of tobacco, at the dis- cretion of the court. On this statute the man was arres- ted and brought up for examination. At the second trial, the man was convicted, as he had not even had the pre- caution to bring the book with him ; and perhaps hsid a plagiarizing purpose, to pass as the author and inventor of £e doctrine. A great concourse of people attended the trial. He was sentenced to pay oi . thousand pounds of tobacco, or go to prison. There, was not that amount of tobacco in the country. While he was sadly ruminating with himself upon the moral turpitude and guilt of circu- latmg false intelligence, preparatory to his imprisonment, it was intimated to him that if he left the country, it would . 100 INDIAN WAItS answer ifhe laws as well as if he went to prison. The man made his election and disappeared. The winter of 1783 and '84, was uncommonly severe. The accumulation of snow and ice did not quite reach that of the hard winter mentioned before. Companies of spec- ulators in Kentucky lands, were formed in Philadelphia, and a mercantile establishment, of which General Wilkin- son was at the head. The general came out to Lexington in February, 1784. His appearance, standing, rank, and supposed wealth procured for him such a reception, as might naturally be expected, in such circumstances of the ; country. The time, within which the British posts on the frontiers should have been evacuated, elapsed with- out that desirable event taking place. The country north of Licking had been, as yet, unoccupied by the whites, through fear of the northern savages. Surveyors were sent into this country to survey it in March, 1784. They discovered that Indians were among them in the country, and consulted their own safety by returning. Many of the more thinking and intelligent people in the country, wished to put an end to this long series of mur- ders and retaliations, by inviting the Indians into the set- tlements, and treating them with kindness, and by inspi- ring them with confidence, creating in them pacific senti- ments. There were others, who in remembrance of mur- dered friends, had sworn irreconcilable enmity. By a man cf such feelings, an Indian was enticed into the woods and murdered. An attempt was made to discover and punish the assassin ,* but this was found impracticable. The clouds of another Indian war were ga:thering. It had been sus- pended for a while. This was one among many circum- stances that caused it to burst anew. In 1784, Simon Kenton re-occuped the settlement near Washington, which he had commenced in 1775. Associ- ated with a number of people, he erected a block house, and made a station here. This became an important point of covering and defence for the interior country. Immi- grants felt more confidence in landing at Limestone. To render this confidence more complete, Kenton and his .^as- sociates built a block house at Limestone. Two men of f-- ?0T THE WEST. 101 #e name of Tanner had made a small settlemen the year preceding at Blue lick, and were now making salt there. The route from Limestone to Lexington became one of the most general travel for immigrants, and many stations sprung up upon it. Travellers to the country had hitherto been compelled to sleep under the open canopy, exposed to the rains and dews of the night. But cabins were now 80 common that they might generally repose under a roof, that sheltered them from the weathiBr; and find a bright fire, plenty of food, and with the rustic fare, a most cheer- ful and cordial welcome: The people of these new re- gions were hospitable from native inclination. They mere hospitable from circumstances. None but those who dwell in a wilderness where the savages roam, and the wolves howl, can understand all the pleasant associations, connee> ted with the sight of a stranger of the same race. The en- tertainer feh himself stronger from the presence of his guest. His offered food and fare were the spoils of the chase. He kard news from the old settlements, and the great world, aid he saw in the accession of every stranger, a new gua- r^iitee of the sec^ity,* wealth, and improvement of the in- fant country where he had chos'^n his resting place. In October, 1785, Mr. M'Clure and family, in company with a number of families, was attacked and defeated on Skegg's creek. Six were killed, and Mrs. M'Clure, her child, and a number of others made prisoners. The at- tack was made in the night. The circumstances of the capture of Mrs. M'Clure furnishes an affecting incident, illustrating the invincib)e force of maternal affection. She had secreted herself with her four children among thick brush, which, together with the darkness, screened her from observation. Had she chosen to have lefl her infant at a distance, she might have escaped. But she held it to her boeom, aware that its shrieks would make known her covert. The Indians, directed by its cries, killed the three lai^er children, and took her and h^ infant captives. This uftmrtuaate woman was obliged to aoc(»npany their march on an untamed and unbroken hcMrse. Intelligence of this mas- sacre' circulated rapidly. Captam WfaiUey immediately collected twenty ona men from the adjoining statioDS, over- 9* • 102 INDIAN WARS took, and kilted two of them, and retook Mrs. M^Clure, her babe, a negro woman, and the scalps of the six persons, whom the Indians had killed. Ten days afterwards, an- other party of immigrants led by Mr. Moore, were attacked, and nine of their number killed. Captain Whitloy pursu- ed the perpetrators of this bloody act, with thirty men. On the sixth day of pursuit, he came up with twenty mounted Indians, clad in the dresses of those whom they had slain. They dismounted and fled. Three of them were killed. The pursuers recovered eight scalps, aiid all the plunder which the Indians had cdlected'ac the late massacre. In consequence of the recommendation to the county- lieutenants, an expedition was got up against the Wabash Indians. The command was given to General Clark. It consisted of nearly one thousand men, and marched for the Indian towns from Louisville. The pro"' »ons and muni- tions proceeded for the Wabash in boats. The men arri- ved near the towns befors their provisions. They became discontented and mutinous in consequence. Gen. Clark called a council of his oflicers, and finding it impossible to appease the discontents of the soldiers,||^arched them back without striking a blow. . Colonel Logan at the same time raised a force to march against the Shawnese Indians who dwelt on the Scioto. He rightly deemed that the Indians there would have their thoughts turned towards General Clark's expedition, so as to leave their own towns unprotected. It was some time before he was able to collect a sufficient force. He reach- ed, and surprised an Indian town, killed a number of the warriorsj and took most of the women and children pris- oners. • In October, 1785, the national government convoked a general meeting of the Indian tribes north of the Ohio, at the mouth of the Great Miami. The commissioners to meet them were General Butler from Pennsylvania, Gen- eral Clark from Kentucky, and General Parsons from New- England. No tribe met them, except the Shawnese, &nd no beneficial effects resulted from the. meeting with them. From the representation of a majority of the commission- orsy congress seems to have entertained an impression that m m OF THE WEST. 109 at least a part of the cause of the^e continued hoetilities lay at the door of the Kentuckians, and tiiat in many in- stances, they had been the Aggressors. In the chronicle of Indian assaults, we ought to record the death of Colonel Christian, who was killed by the Indi- ans on Beargrass, in April, 1785. He was a ndtive of Virginia, and married a sister of Patrick Henry. He had served honorably in Braddock's war, under Lord Dunmore, and during the war of the revolution. He had led an ar- my of one thousand two hundred men from Virginia, with success, against-the Cherokees. In 1785, ho removed with his family to Kentucky. Colonel Floyd had also recently deceased in this settlement, from the effect of a wound in- flicted by the Indians. The fall of Colonel Christian, of distinguished name and influence among the people, increa- sed the dismay occasioned by that event. The fiVst newspaper printed in Kentucky, was issued August 28th, 1787. It was published on a deml sheet in Lexington, by Mr. John B(adford, and entitled the 'Ken- tucky Gazette.' No other paper was printed nearer than five hundred mile^ The political slander and heart-burn- ings that had been hitherto transmitted by oral channels, were now concentrated in this gazette. The convention appointed by 'the legislature of Virginia, met at Danville, and voted that the separation b.etween Virginia and Ken- tucky should take place, upon the proposed terms of the Virginia act. Ah address to congress was prepared, re- questing the admission of the state into the Union, by the name of Kentucky. The authority of Virginia was to ter- minate the last day of December, 1788. ' At the same time they provided for the meeting of another convention to frame a constitution of government for the state. They also requested that one of the Virginia representatives to congress might be chosen from Kentucky. Virginia con- sented, and in December, Mr. Brown was chosen. This gentleman had acted a very conspicuous part in the afiairs of this country for some time, past It was estimated that Kentucky had doubled her population within the last tbtteo years. M-!d'.- 104 tKDUN WAfiS In f*ebniary, 1788^ General Wilkinson returned {torn New Orleans. He encouraged the culture of tobacco^ by raising and purchasing it, and this may be considered as the era of the origin of that cultivation in this country. In giving these important details of the civil interests of the country, we have a little preceded the order of Indian as- saults. For some time past, many individual massacres had occurred. April 11th, 1787, a party of foinrteen Indi' ans attacked a family living on Coope's run, in Bourbon county. As this attack may serve as a general sample of the undescribed detail of horrors in most cases of similar assault, and as the circumstances possess a peculiar and in- trinsic interest, we will give them in detail. The family consisted tf)f the mother, two sons of mature age, a widow- ed daughter with an infant in her arms, two grown daugh- ters, and a daughter of ten years. They occupied a dou- ble cabin. In one division were the two grown daughters and the' smaller girl. In the other the remainder of the family. At evening twilight, a knocking was heard at the door of the latter, asking in good English, and the custom- ary phrase of the country, 'who keqflj^ house?' As the sons were opening the door, the motheriorbade, affirming, Uiat there were Indians there. The young men sprang to their guns. The Indians being refused admittance, made an eflbrt at the opposite door. They beat open the door of that room with a rail. They endeavored to take the three girls prisoners. The little girl escaped, and might have evaded danger in the darkness and the woods. But the forlorn child ran towards the other door and cried for help. The brothers wished to fly to her relief,'but the mother for^ bade her door to be opened. The merciless tomahawk soon hushed the cries of the distracted girl by murdering her. While a part of the Indians were murdering this child, and confining the other girl that was ma^ prisoner, the third defended herself with a knife, which she was using at her loom, at the moment of attack. The heroism of this giii was unavailing. She killed <»ie Indian, and was herself killed by another. The Indians in possession of one half of the house, fired it. The persons confined in OF THE WEST. 105 the other part of the cabin, had how to choose between ex- posure to the flames, spreading towards them, or the tomar hawks of the savages. The latter stationed themselves 91 the dark angles .of the fence, while the bright glare of ths flames would expose, as a clear mark, every person who should escape. One son took charge of his aged and in- firm mother; and the other of liis widowed sister and her infant. ^ The brothers separated with their charge, endear voring to spring over the fence at different points. The mother was shot dead in attempting to cross.' The other brother was killed, gallantly defending his sister. The widowed sister, her infant and one of the brothers escaped the massacre. These persons alarmed the settlement. Thirty men commanded by Colonel John Edwards, arrived next day to witness the horrid spectacle presented by this scene of murder and ruin. Considerable snow had fallen, and it was easy to pursue the Indians by their trail. In the evening of that day, they came upon the expiring body of the young woman, apparently murdered but a few mo- ments before their arrival. The Indians had been pre- monished of their Jiursuit by the barking of a dog that fol- lowed them. ThiPovertook and killed two of the Indians who had apparently staid behind as victims to secure the escape of the rest. ''" .*» CHAPTER VII. SETTLEMENT OF TENNESSEE. In 1730, this fine country was all a vast forest. From various causes it had been long deserted by the Indians; and in the fertile bottcans anrl grassy barrens, game lefl to increase unmolested, had b'^come abundant. To hunt in this unoccupied and beautiful country had become a lucra- tive business. Many of the first settlers were drawn here to puraue this object. The ancient mapd of the western -\v. 106 INDIAN WARS country enable us to judge of the situation of places at the time tbat France claimed the whole country south of Can. ada, between the Mississippi and the Alleghany moun* tains. French forts are represented 09 these maps, as standing, one at the mouth of the Kentucky river; one oq the south bank of the Ohio; another on the north side of the Ohio, at the mouth of the Wabash; one near the junc* tion of the Ohio with the Mississippi; one at (he Chicka- saw bluffs; one on the east bank of Red river; and one at the junction of the Coosa and the Tallapoosa, called Ala- bama, after the name of the river. On the head waters of the Tombeckbee they hadjilso a fort, called Thotdome. Five leagues up the Tennessee they had another. One, situated at the mouth of the Kenhawa was called Shawnee. One, not a great way above the mouth of the Illinois, was called Creve Ccmr; one, half way up the Illinois is mart ed by the name French fort, and one on the north-west- ern extremity of lake Michigan. This was part of that famous plan of posts, and connected lines of defences by which it was the French policy to hold this vast and fertile country in subjection. In 1755, the Cherokees, at that time a powerfnl tribe, were in alliancfflwith the French, and of course hostile to the English. In 1756, a treaty was made, both with them and the Catabas, on the condition that the English should build 'a fort in the country of each tribe; and the motive alleged was, that they would be for the defence of the women and children, when they were absent on their expeditions. With this view, fort Loudon was built for them in 1757. A garrison was placed in this fort; and the Indians offered bounties of land to induce ar- tizans to come and settle in the vicinity. The remem- brance of a three year's war was not immediately erased; and the Cherokees still manifested such symptoms of hos- tility, that Colontl Byrd was sent among them. He built and garrisoned two forts, one of them on the river Holston, opposite the upper end of Long island, in which forts his army wintered in 1758. The fort on the Holston was beautifully situated. At this time there was not another white settlement on that river. But afler the building of the fort, the reports which were circ alated of the fertility OP THE WEST. lOT of the soil) and the abundance of game, led some penaoa to settle between them, before the breaking out of the Cher- okee war, which commenced in 1759. The circumstance '^hich gave rise to this war, was the taking some horses by the Indians^ ^ich belonged to the new white settlers, to replace those which the savages had lost during the pre- ceding war with France, in which they had joined us. The white settlers seized their horses again; and either killed, or made prisoners of the warriors that had taken the horses. Thus was opened a vast field for the exercise of those ter- rible acts of ferocity, for which savages are so famous. The frMitiers of Virginia and North Carolina were terribly I ravaged with th<» flames and the tomahawk, as is customs^ ly in such cases. Fort Loudon was situated on the north side of Little Ten- { itessee, a mile above the mouth of Tellico, in the centre of the Ghe|*okee country. It had a small garriscm. The In- dians besieged it; and the garrison was compelled to sup- reoder for want of provisions. They were to be allowed to retreat to the white settlements beyond fhe Blue ridge. I All of them but nine, fell by indiscriminate massacre. B»> |re;e 10* 114 INDIAN WARS on the enemy, while they were within striking distance, determined to attack them, athough they were scarcely half their numbers. The mountaineers pursued Fergu- son with nine hundred and ten mounted riflemen. After pursuing Him in a drizzling rain for thirty-six hours, with- out alighting from their hcurses but once for refreshment in the wlwle distance,^e pursuers came upon him encamped on King's mountain, a table eminence, five or six hundred yards in length, and seventy yards wide. Colonel Sevier commanded the right wing; Colonel Campbell's and Colo- nel Shelby's regiments composed the centre. The right wing was led to battle by Colonel Sevier and Major Wins- ton; the lefl, by Colonels Cleveland and Williams. The attack was commenced by the fwo centre columns, as they were attempting to gain the eastern acclivity of the moun- tain. The .battle at this point was furious and bloody. Columns on each side repeatedly gave way, and were as often cheered again to' the contest. Towards the latter part of the action, the enemy made a fierce and gallant chargb upon the American troops on the eastern summit of the mountain, and drove them almost to the foot of it. The Americans were again rallied, and returned to the charge; and the enemy in their turn gave way. The euemy was driven down the western declivity of the mountain, and forced into a disorderly mass. Colonel Campbell press- ed upon them with hi« regiment, killing all that came in his way; and pouring in tus deadly fire upon the crowded mass. The British rallied again, and came upon the Ameri- cans with fixed bayonets. Few actions on record have been more hotly contested. Ferguson formed his troops into columns as a last effort, and attempted to cut his way through the assailants. In the attempt he was shot dead. The m:e from the Americans had become so hot and fatal, that the British were no longer able to sustain it. They laid down their arms, and were made prisoners. Colond Campbell received the highest, and most honorable testi- monials of gratitude from the legislature of Virginia. The general assembly of North Cardina voted similar testimo- nials to Colonel Shelby, and Colonel Sevier; the one a pa- triarchal soldier and settler of Kentucky, and the odier of •f OF THE WEST. 115 Tennessee. In this action tbe'lnountaineers and their gal- lant leaders gained imperishable honors, which their coun- trymen to the third and fourth generation will not forget. Ck)lonol Williams, fram Ninety-six, was the only distin- guished officer that was mortally wounded. Fifleen hund- red stands of arms were taken. The commander and one hundred and fitly of the enemy fell oft the field , and six hundred and ten were made prisoners. Only four hun- dred and forty escaped. The issue of this most gallant action had an effect far beyond its influence upon the peo- ple in the immediate vicinity. The drooping spirits of the people east of the mountains were again animated with the flush of hope. Lord Cornyrallis hearing of Ferguson's to- tal defeat by the mountain riflemen, immediately paused in his victorious career, and retreated to Winnsborough, a distance of between seventy and eighty miles. The effects of this battle upon the whole south-west of the Mississippi valley was highly auspicious to the new settlers. The rumor soon reached the Indians, and effec- tually dwed and repressed them from every incipient effort to favor the tories. The Cherokees and Chickasaws sued for peace. A land office was opened in 1783. But these cheering prospects for settlers were soon overclouded by the renewal of Indian hostilities against the settlers of West Tennessee, which amounted to a war of extermina- tion. The settlers were disheartened, and many of them abandoned their forts, and returned to Kentucky and Illi- nois. Those who remained were chiefly confined to two forts, suffering much from various causes ; but chiefly from want of provisions. These were priQcipally obtained from hunting, to pursue which, parties banded together in the strength and order of battle. The crop had failed from a general inundation of the rivers. Those who survived all these difficulties until 1782, were enabled by a law of that year to claim pre-emption rights. The terminaticm of the war of the revdution soon rendered the Indians less hos- tile, and immigrants from North Carolina began to fill the forests of West Tennessee. Ve should be glad to give a history of the origin and downfall of the republic of Frankland, in Tennessee, but »• 116 INDIAN WARS v# it would be foreign to our purpose. It is sufficient to re< mark that the inhabitants of Tennessee proposed to erect themselves into an independent state with this name. North Carolina, the parent state, objected; and there were two courts in Frankland, the one acting under the authority of the new state, and the other of North Carolina. Sheriff was at war with sherifT, and court with court. 'It was the first war, perhaps, in history, in which the chief battles were the wind of words, with a number of fist fights, acd but one death, together with a few persons wounded. In 1788, the republic of Frankland ceased to exist. From this time to the period when Tennessee was admitted into the Union in 1796, the prepress of population and improve- ment was rapid. 1791, the firat newspaper was published at Rogersville, and was called 'the Knoxville Gazette.' The disastrous defeat of General St. Clair, brought on a renewal of Indian hostilities over all the west. Afler suf- fering the usual results of Indian murders and frontier as- saults, an assault of the Cherokees with one thousand war- riors and one hundred mounted Indians was made upon Tennessee, in 1793. General Sevier was sent against them with a force amounting to nearly one thousand two hundred men. An engagement took place, which has ab- surdly been called the battle of High tower. The Ameri- cans in this skirmish lost but three men. A few Indians were killed, and many wounded. Spanish guns were found in the Indian cany, and clear evidences that the In- dians received aid and countenance from that quarter. Our troops marched through the Cherokee country, de- stroying their townS|( and laying waste their resources. A portion of that people were disposed to peace. Incalatan- ga, OF Double Head, one of their mqst blood-thirsty spirits, wh& litis Supposed personally to have shed more blood of tbe whites, than any other savage in the w€st>k|pited them to persevere in hostilities. vUlfi HiwgiDgf||fw» on the oontriry, Was for peace, and iiJDfAiMthe mrmiirdera tD the instigation of the 3p9iiUMi^ 51m» main body of the tribes professed pctac^ul intititiiM^ Iwt .notwithstanding this,ai»at|)«t9Mli4Q^ ^^ fired upon. The cniw fviniBii^^ The ** mmi OF THE WEST. 117 boat was pursued by two hundred and fifty savages to the Muscle Shoals, where it was overtaken, and every person on board killed. The history of Tennessee at this time is little more than a dreary chronicle of Indian massacres. Many of these narratives, related apart, would possess a harrowing interest. Grouped together, they occur in such numbers, and with such uniform circumstances of atrocity and barbarity, that they lose their interest in the confusion of the mass. No less than thirty murders of individuals, or of whole families, occurred within three years after tht setting up the federal government. To a person travel- ling through this tine and populous country, where there is now no more apprehension from Indians, than in the vi- cinity of Philadelphia, it s^ems almost incredible that such scenes should have occurred in the vicinity of Nashville, so late as 1796. The most conspicuous characters among the Indian chiefs were Double Head, Hanging-maw, Bloody-fellow, Mad- dog, and other chiefs with equally terrible names; and Bowles, Watts, and M'Gillivray, whites, who had become chiefs among them. Piomingo, a Chickasaw chief, is of- ten mentioned in the annals of these times, as having been uniformly friendly to the Americans. The last severe lesson taught these people by the Amer- icans, previous to the inflictions of General Jackson, by which they were completely and finally subdued, was at Nickajack, in 1704. An expedition was fitted out against this town from Tennessee. It had been a central point, whence the war parties had proceeded. The American force was sufficient to look down ' opposition. The town was large and populous. The inhabitants attempted to escape in their caaoes across the river, on which their town is built. The troops opened a deadly fire upon the canoes. Some were killed, and some leapt into the water and attemptUig to escape by swimming, were killed before they were out of the reach of the guns. Some women and children were taken prisoners, fifty-five warriors were slain, and that town and another reduced to ashes. In Nickajack were found fresh sca.lps taken at Cumber- land, and a quantity of powder and lead just received from &^. 118 INDIAN WARS the Spanish goverament, and a commission to the Breath, a chief of that town, who was killed in the action. This severe chastisement with other events that soon occurred, broke the spirits of the Cherokees. Among the murders that still continued to occur, we se- lect the following as a fair sample of the desperate char- acter of the conflicts between the Indians and Americans. We may infer that similar resistance took place in almost every case of the almost numberless assaults and murders in these border wars. On the 27th of January, a party of Indians killed George Mason, on Flat creek, about twelve miles from Knoxville. During the night he heard a noise at his stable, and stepped out to ascertain the cause; and the Indians coming in between him and the door, intercep- ted his return. He fled, but was fired upon and wounded. He reached a cave a quarter of a mile from his house, out of which, already weltering in his blood, he was dragged and murdered. Having finished this business, they re- turned to the house to dispatch his wife and children. Mrs. Mason, unconscious of the fate of her husband, heard them talking to each other as they approached the house. At first she was delighted with the^ hope that her neighbors, aroused by the firing, had come to Iier assistance. But understanding English and German, the language of her neighbors, and perceiving that the conversation was in neither of these tongues, she instantly inferred that they were savages coming to attack the house. This heroine had that very morning learned how the double trigger of a rifle was set. Fortunately the children were not awa- kened by the firing; and she took care not to disturb them. She shut the door, and barred it with benches and tables; and took down the well charged rifle of her husband. She placed herself directly opposite the opening which would be made by forcing the door. Her husband came not, and she was but too well aware that he was slain. She was alone in the darkness. The yelling savages were without, pressing upon the house. She took counsel from her o^n magnanimity, heightened by afiection for her children, sleeping unconsciously around her. The Indians pushing with great vioteice, gradually opened th^ INCIDENTS OF THE WEST. 119 door sufficiently wide to attempt an entrance. The body of one was thrust into the opening, and just filled it. He was struggling for admittance. Two or three more, di- rectly behind him, were propelling him forward. She set the trigger of the rifle, put the muzzle near the body of the foremost, and in a direction that the ball, after passing through his body, would penetrate those behind. She fired. The first Indian fell. The next one uttered the scream of mortal agony. This intrepid woman saw the necessity of profound silence. She observed it. The Indians in consequence were led to believe that armed men were in the house. They withdrew from the house, took three horses from the stable, and set it on fire. It was afler wards ascertained that this highminded woman had saved herself and children from the attack of twenty -five assail- ants. ^!^ i '■m^ 1^ CHAPTER VIII. i:«CIDENTS OF THE BORDER AVARFARE OF WEST PENN* SYLVAJflA AND VIRGINIA RESUMED. In order to give something like a connected view of the incidents attending the first settlement of Kentucky and Tennessee, we have preceded the order of time, and re- turn to narrate some of the more prominent events of In- dian hostility in the older settlements of the north-eastern extremity of the valley. A hasty j^larice at thesM events is all our limits will enable us to bestow. After the many bloody assaults of families in West Vir- ginia in 1778, the Indians appeared on Dunkard creek, ambushing the men of the settlement as they were return- ing fiwn their work in the neighboring fields. Many fell by the first shot; but those who survived it returned theii m 120 INDIAN WARS fire, and a severe contest ensued. But borne down by numbers, the few that escaped fled to Straddler's fort, near at hand, leaving eighteen of their companions dead in the '•'^ad, exposed to the usual process of scalping and mang- ling. To repel these repeated invasions, and chastise the perpetrators, the veteran and popular commander, General Clark was appointed by Virginia to lead an expedition into the heart of the Indian country. A regiment of in- fantry and a troop of caValry were placed under his com- mand, and he descended the Ghio, and marched through the vast wilderness to Kaskaskia, near the Mississippi, in what is now the state of Illinois. He surprised and took the town. The French settlements in what was then cal- led the Illinois, had hitherto preserved a sort of doubtful neutrality between the English and Americans, during the war of the revolution. But they evidently inclined, both from their habits and inclijiations, to the party of the Eng- lish and Indians ; and it was deemect by this gallant com- mander a wise and just precaution to subject them, as natural allies of the savages, to the American government. At Kaskaskia, General Clark received intelligence that governor Hamilton from Detroit, had arrived at Vincenries, one of the most ancient settlements, which the French had made east of the Mississippi, with a force chiefly compo- sed of Indians, amounting to six hjiindred m'^n, and des- tined against the settlements of Pennsylvania and Virgin- ia, wesi of the mountains. Hamilton was unconscious that Gene-^al Clark was between him and the Mississippi. He reposed in perfect security at Vincennes; and had de- tached his Indians in marauding parties among the Amer- ican settlements on the Ohio, reserving for the defence of the town only one company, and a few cannon. General Clark determined to surprise him, although it was mid-win- ter and the weather nncommonly severe. He fitted out a barge with two small cannon, and four swivels. The barge was obliged to make her way through floating ice, under circumstances that would have deterred any other man from making the attempt. In February he set out amidst the storms and deep snows, with one hundred and thirty men, to make his way by land to unite with the force that tts OF THE WEST. 121 he had sent around by water. The hardships that he en- dured, and the difficulties he sunnounted, can be credible only to those who know the habits of backwoodsmen. In crossing the drowned lands of the Wabash, they were fop- ced to wade five miles through the water and ice, some- liraes as high as their breasts. They appeared at length before Vincennesj and as fortune awarded it, almost sin»- ultaneously with their barge. Their appearance was so imexpectd, and their array so formidable, that Hamilton, in surprise and consternation, at beholding such an enemy, at such a season, surrendered the garrison prisoners of war, without firing a gun. This commander had been justly detestable for the atrocities practised by the Indians, either by his instigation or permission. General Clark was or- dered by the governor of Virginia to detajya him and hia subordinate instruments and counsellors in these nefari- ous transactions, close prisoners in irons. This daring and successful achievement drew after it a train of important consequences. It broke the chain which the British were attempting to form behind our frontiers. It awed the French inhabitants, and gave us the command of the country quite to the Mississippi. It unkennelled the savages from their lurking places, and detached them from their alliances; and it gave us a fair claim in the definitive treaty to the boundary which we obtained to the eastern bank of the Mississippi. A joint invading force of one thousand men was committed by Virginia to General M'- Intosh, to march at the same time with General Clark a- gainst the Indians. The force was directed against the Sandusky tribe. It was less efficient and successful than that under General Clark. He found great difficulty in raising, equipping, and organizing so large a force ; and it was late in the season before it was ready to march. Ho penetrated the interior as far as Tuscarawa, and erected fort La wrens on the banks of that river, leaving a garri- son of one hundred and fifly men under Colonel Gibson, and returned with the main body to fort Pitt. In the depth of winter a body of savages approached the new fort unperceivod . Having caught th^ garrison horses outside the fort, they rode them into the WQods, Then ap- •* , y$ ^m 122 INDIAN WARiS preaching the fort, concealing themselves in the high grass, and jingling the bells taken from the horses, they succeed- ed in beguiling sixteen men to come out from the fort, in the hope of finding their horses. Allured by the sound of (he bells, the detachment followed towards the sound until they were led into an ambuscade of the enemy. Four- teen of the sixteen were killed, and the other two made prisoners. The garrison was now besieged by eight hun- dred and forty-seven ;/arriors, continuing to menace, and propose conditions for six weeks, during which time they became so destitute of provisions, is to be obliged to aban- don the siege. After some other siirmishes fatal to par- ties of the Americans, the garrison itself was evacuated. One of the desperate conflicts of the settlers with the In- dians happened in 1779, at Ricket's fort in West Virginia. Mr. Morgan came in contact with two Indians, and was pursued by them. Being old and infirm, he faltered in his flight, and stepped behind a tree, awaiting his chances for a shot. The Indians, too, slid behind trees to shoot him in safety. One of them was not sufficiently sheltered, and Morgan, watching his opportunity, at length aimed at an exposed part of his body. The shot took effect, and the savage, rolling over in the agony of his wound, stabbed himself in the breast. Morgan having his gun thus un- loaded, fled again. The other Indian gained rapidly on him. Seeing his enemy close at hand, and his gun pois- ed, Morgan adroitly dropped aside, and the ball passed by him. Both now pressed to single combat, and the struggle for life. Morgan struck with his gun. The Indian threw his tomahawk, which cut off* one finger, and otherwise wounding his hand, at the same time disabling his gim, and knocking it out of his grasp. They closed, and Morgan being an expert wrestler, threw the Indian, but was soon overturned and beneath his powerful foe, who feeling for his knife, uttered the fearful Indian yell of assured victory. A woman's apron, which with savage fondness for our dress, he had bound round his waist, hindered him from coming at his knife. Morgan, too, having got possession of his fingers in his teeth, was able to operate upon the sinew of the red skin with effect. The Indian, after fum- OF THE WEST. 128 bling behind the apron, at length grasped the knife, elate with the confidence of despatching his prostrate foe. But he had seized the handle far towards the blade; and Mor- gan was enabled to grasp the remainder of the handle. As the Indian drew it from the scabbard, Morgan, crippling another finger with his teeth, causing the hand to relax a little from its force, drew the knife through the hand of the savage, cutting a deep wound in his hand, as he gained the entire possession of it. B.*th now sprang erect. But Mor- gan had still a savage finger in his mouth, and the body in his grasp, from which the Indian was struggling to disen- gage himself. He had now all the advantage, and was soon able to plunge the knife to the hilt in the body of the savage, which sunk from his grasp. A female exploit on Dunkard's creek ought to be recor- ded in this place. Two or three families of this settle- ment had fied for safety to Mr. Boyarth's house. The iiv dians came upon it, when it contained only Mr. Boyacth and two other men. Warned by the children that the 'ugr ly red men^ had come, one of the men ran to the door. He received a shot, and fell. The Indian- who had shot him, sprang in after him, and grappling with the other white man, was thrown on a bed. Having no woapon, the white man called M^n. Boyarth for a knife. Not finding a knife, the heroine seized an axe, and cleft the red man's skull, as he lay under his foe. At this moment another Indian entering shot the victorious white man dead. Mrs. Bo- yarth brandished her axe upon him, as soon as he had shot, and by a well directed blow at his body, laid him yelling on the floor. Others continuing to enter, she levelled the first one by a blow on the head. The Indian behind drew out his yelling companion, and leaving the door way clear, she closed it on the rest, and made it fast. The men with- in had been wounded, but not so as to prevent their aiding the heroine to maintain possession of the house, until they were relieved by a party from a neighboring settlement. All the children in the yard were slain, and the whole trans- action scarcely occupied three minutes, during which Mrs. Boyarth killed three Indians, and saved, the remainder of the family.. 124 INDIAN WARS An Indian expedition about this time, advancing from Wheeling to Washington, had made many prisoners. — Learning that a strong force was embodying against them, they determined to massacre all their prisoners, and re- trace their steps across the Ohio. Dreadfully did they car- ry their sa'^ge purpose into effect. The members of fam- ilies were pinioned, and bound to trees in sight of each oth- er. -Parents, children, husbands, and wives were all slow- ly despatched in each others' view. Their tormentors, the while, exulting in this spectacle of ineffable horror. Another similar massacre occurred. A party of Indians assailed the settlements near Booth's creek, on the upper waters of the Monongahela. They came upon the house of Captain Thomas, a religious man. In the midst of his family of seven children, himself and wife had just risen from prayers, and were singing the first line of the4iymn Kio worship at Immanuel's feet,' when a gun was fired at him, and he fell. The mother implored mercy for herself and her children in vain. The mother and six children were stricken with the merciless tomahawk. The seventh child was taken captive. A neighbor who was with this unfortunate family, engaged in prayer with the rest, crept under the bed, when the first gun was fired, and escaped the observation of the savages through all this scene of horror. The savages plundered every thing, and firing the house, lefl it. The neighbor, drawn from concealment by the flames, found Mrs-. Thomas still alive, though she soon afler expired. Some prisoners at this time were rescued from the sav- ages by a party of relatives, who pursued and fired upon them. As soon as the fire of the whites was opened on the red men, five of theni fell dead. The remainder fled, abandoning a mass of plunder. Unhappily, one of the prisoners, Alexander Rony, was killed by the fire of his own people. His mother escaping from them, and ignor- ant that her son was among the slain, frantic in the exul- tation of deliverance, exclaimed, as she reached the rescu- ing party, *I am Alexander Rony's wife, of the valley, and a pretty little woman too, if I was well dressed.' An Irish- man, also, was delivered, who benumbed, dressed like an OF THE WEST. 125 Indiaiiy and from his bro&d dialect, scarcely able to make himself understood, had well nigh been sacrificed as an In- dian. Terror unloosed his organs of speech, and he ex- claimed in his own broad dialect. ^Lord Jesus! am I to be killed by white people at last?^ These exclamations saved his life. Impartiality requires us to add that our own people sometimes proved savage, and acted after the worst examples of their foe. The only mitigation of the horrible massacre of the Moravian Indian settlements must be found in the exasperated state of the public mind, goad- ed to almost unendurable revenge by a series of Indian a^ saults and murders, which had been accumulating in the public memory for half a century. These converted savages were settled on the Musking- um. They had been converted through the agency cf the Moravians, had received either German or Bible names, and had made no inconsiderable progress in civilization and Christianity. Situated intermediate between the hos- tile savages and the frontier whites, allied to the one peo- ple by blood, and to the other by the ties of a common faith, striving to do good to both, and be friends to each, they shared the common fate of mediation between fierce, jeal- ous, and hostile opponents. They were suspected by both, and trusted by neither. The whites were planning their destruction, because of their supposed co-operation with the savages. Their own race charged them with convey- ing information to the whites, discouraging their allies, and frustrating their vengeance. Their number amoun- ted to between three and four hundred. Jealousies, ru- mors, suspicions, criminations had been gathering force »- gainst them for years. At length a private expedition was fitted out against them, commanded by Colonel Wil- liams. The professed object was to destroy their crops, that the hostile savages coming through their country , might not avail themselves of this resource for supplies, and to remove the Indian converts to fort Pitt. The village was surroiHided with the same precautions, as though the invj^- ding force expected to be attacked. In fact, the infuria>- ted whites, on some pretext, real or supposed, began to fire upon the Indians, and three or four of the converts were 11* ;i.l':-| "i^: fynm *%> 't'lr M 126 INDIAN WARS killed. The rest surrendered. Their brethreii were col- lected from the neighboring villages. All showed an en- tire readiness to be conducted to fort Pitt, and gave up their arms. Colonel Williams had been censured for using too much lenity towards this people on a former expedition a- gainsj them. An accursed thirst for popularity, reckless of justice, has been one of the vilest traits of the Ameri- can people from the beginning. A council was held m regard to the fate of this hapless people. Alas ! all the fiercer passions bad sealed their doom. But a few were found siifticiently independent and just to incline to the side of mercy. The victims were forewarned that they must die. Imprisoned, unarmed, they fell into each others' arms, wept, prayed, confessed, forgave, soothed, and en- couraged each other. Their comforting words were all about a happy meeting, 'where the wicked trouble not, and the weary are at rest.' Being asked if they were ready to die, they answered, ' Yes. We have commended our souls to God, and are ready to die.' Thus fell ninety-six Mo- ravian Indians, of each sex and every age, from the hoa- ry head to the infant on its mother's breast. The black transaction stands recorded to repress national boastful- ness, and an impressive memento to teach the people to listen to the voice of truth and mercy, rather than the brute suggestions of the passions. This expedition was conducted by inhabitants of West Pennsylvania. This dreadful success drew numbers around th(g standard of this expedition, until the force amounted to five hundred. Under the command of Colonel Crawford it moved against the Moravians, near the Upper Sandusky. When arrived at these villages, they found them utterly deserted j and the expedition weary, misguided, and dispirited, commen- ced a return march. They were attackend on their return, by a large body of Indians, and after soi^ loss, were glad to divide in small parties, and retreat in the night. The Indians fell upon these parties in detail, harassing them, killing, and making prisoners on all their return inarch. Crawford himself with nine others were made prisoners, and marched off towards the Indian towns. They soon came upon the bodies of four of the captives, and arrived OF THE WEST. 127 W in time to see iSve more put to death by squaws and boysy who were immediately engaged in kicking about the bloody heads in sport. Soon after, they met Simon Girty aiid several Indians on horse back. Colonel Crawford, mean« while, was stripped naked, pinioned, and fastened to a post by a cord, which allowed him to sit down, and walk once or twice around it. A fire burnt briskly close by. The doomed sufferer looked at Girty, as one of his own race, and asked him if he had been spared the tomahawk only to die by a slow fire. *X^s,' observed the monster with com- posure, *you must be burned. Colonel.' *Dreadfull' repli- ed the sufferer. *But I will endeavor to bear it patiently.' All the sickening inflictions of torture which savage inge-- nuity could invent, were applied. In the midst of this long agony, lie begged Girty to shoot him. The wretch replied, ironically laughing heartily the while, *How can I? You gee I have no gun.' The scene lasted more than three hours. Dr. Knight, who had been taken with him, witnessed this revolting spectacle, and was told by Girty that he must be led to the Shawnese towns to aflford the inhabitants the same gratifying show. The distance was forty miles. Having been cunducted twenty-five under the guard of a young warrior, and stopping to encamp, the Indian unpin- ioned him, to enable him to make a fii*e to drive away the mosquitoes. Watching his opportunity, he gave the sav- age a blow which stunned him. He seized the gun of his captor, who, seeing his position, fled with a yell of terror. He drew the cock of the Indian's gun, with so much force, in his eagerness to fire, as to break it, and the Indian esca- ped. After wandering twenty-one days in the woods, sub- sisting on berries, nettles, and rav/ tarrapins, and food of that kind, he arrived in a famished state at fort M'Intosh. The massacre of the family of the Rev. John Corbly,on Muddy creek in West Pennsylvania, from obvious circum- stances, excited a strong sympathy at the time. The fa- ther, his wife, and five children were on their way to the church where he officiated. He happened to be a little way in the rear. His wife, assailed first by the Indians, warned him to fly. He fled to raise assistance. They /• Vt.v 'i 128 INDIAN WARS began with the infant in its mother's arms. The toma* hawk fell in succession upon each, and last upon the hap' less mother. When the father returned, two of his daugh- ters manifested signs of life, and were recovered. An amusing incident which occurred in a second Indian expedition against Wheeling, serves to break the gloomy uniformity of these chronicles. The house of Colonel Zane, outside of the fort, contained a supply of ammunition, and was garrisoned by aeven or eight persons, male and female, beside his own family. He was determined to maintain it. The savage army approached, and before fi' ring upon the fort, demanded the surrender of the house. A brief and well directed fire was the reply. The women, aa usual, moulded bullets, charged the guns, and handed them to the men, enabling them to fire with so much viva< city, as to cause the assailants to recoil. By night, they attempted to fire the house. A savage crawled to the kitchen, and while waving a brand in the air, to kindle the fire so as to communicate it, received a shot from a black man, which sent him yelling away. An incident which promised the savages success in the end, operated in favor of the besieged. A small boat from fort Pitt, bound to the Falls of the Ohio, loaded with cannon balls, put to shore at Wheeling. It was steered by one man, who, though slightly wounded, reached the fort. The boat of course fell into the hands of the savages. They had balls in a- bundance, and a single cannon would have enabled them to batter down the pallisade. Necessity with the red as the white race is the mother of invention. A hollow log was procured with a cavity of calibre as nearly fitting the balls, as they could find. To render the new; piece of ord- nance safe, they adopted the ingenious expedient of apply- ing chains obtained from a blacksmith's shop hard by, and strongly twisted them around either end of the wooden can- non. It was then heavily charged, and pointed towards the pallisade. Their imaginations presenting the walls battered dowQ,and themselves entering to apply the toma- hawk and scalping knite, they applied fire. Like the o vercharged gun of Hudibras, the wooden mi:^chief blew into a thousand fragments, killed a number, wouiided more, OF THE WEST. 129 and lefl the sUlrvivors staring in mute astonishmont at the folly of meddling with the inventions of the white men. Exasperated to frenzy, they returned from the discomfit- ure of the log cannon to the assault of the house. A deadi- ly fire again compelled them to retire. Meanwhile, the ammunition was failing, and unless a supply could be ob- tained, the house must yield. It was proposed that some one should make a sally among the savages, and bring from the fort a heg of powder. Though the enterprise was for- lorn, volunteers offered to assume it. A young sister of Colonel Zane, who had just returned from a boarding school in Philadelphia, was of the numher. When reminded of the advantage of fleetness and force, which a man would have over her, the heroine replied *that the loss of a woman would be less felt.' Arranging her dress for the purpose, she bounded towards the fort. The besiegers under their native impulses, stood wrapt in admiration, and only ex- claimed, 'a squaw ! a squaw '.1' When arrived at the fort, Colonel Silas Zane, who commanded the fort, filled a table cloth with the contents of a keg of powder, bound it round her waist, and sent forth his fair and admirable kinswoman on her glorious errand. The Indians discovering the ob- ject of her mission, were no longer chained into inaction by the daring of the fair squaw ! But she escaped untouched through a whole volley of balls, and reached the fort in safety. A party soon after relieved the fort, and raised the siege. An achievement of Mr. Adam Poe, about this time would be worthy the narration of Sir Walter Scott. A party of savage marauders were out between Wheeling and fort j Pitt. Eight men pursued them. Among these were two brothers of the name of Poe, remarkable for gigantic size I and strength. Adam Poe fearing an ambuscade, lefl the rest, crossed the Ohio, and under high weeds crawled down the bank, searching for the enemy. A Wyandott chief, a large and powerful man, and a small Indian were on the shore, and so intent upon their own espionage, as not to have noticed him. Poe's gun missed, and the noise of the lock betrayed him. Too near to retreat, he grasped the large Indian by the breast with one arm, and the small ono I'Wt 'mm l|Bfi ^H» i ISO INDIAN WARS round the neck with the other, and threw both on the shelv- ing bank. The small Indian cleared himself from his grasp, and aimed his tomahawk at his head. A kick opportune- ly applied, staggered him, and shook the tomahawk from his hand. Recovering it in a moment, the nimble Indian flourished some exulting blows over his head, as preludes to the intended fatal one. Waiting for that, Poe threw up his arm, and averted it from his head by a wound in his wrist. Extricatinor himself from tho^clulches of the chief, who was attempting the while to throw him to the earth, he matched his fallen gun, and shot the little Indian dead. By this time the large chief was erect, and seizing Poe by the leg and shoulder at the same moment, prostrated him. Poe bounded on his feet in an instant, and both closed ina strug- ^e, which plunged both in the Ohid. A contest ensued be- tween these great and fierce combatants, the object of which was to drown each other. First one and then the other was thrust under the water by alternate successful efforts. Poe at length seized the long, black club of hair on the carown of the chief, skewered up in Indian fashion, and held the red man under the water, until he thought he had consigned him to the empire of the fishes. But he mistook. The savage was again erect in the water, and grappling again, each was carried beyond his depth, and obliged to «wim. Both aimed for shore, each straining to reach k first, in order to seize one of the guns lying there, and dis' patch the other. The Indian proved the better swimmer; and Poe perceiving it, made for the middle of the stream Id the hope to avoid the shot of his foe by diving. Fortunate- ly, the chief first took the gun of the, other Indian which &d been discharged, and Poe gained tune and was thus enabled to get farther into the river. Two of tlie whites tame up at this moment, and mistaking Poe for a wound- ed Indian, firetT and wounded him in the shoulder. He turned and swam bleeding towards the shore, and recog- nized his brother, called on him to shoot the big Indian be- tween him and the shore. The brother shot the Indian, and then plunged in the water to aid his brother to get to shore. MeanwhiJe, the wounded Indian, to escape being scalped, {dunged into the deep water, and sunk to rise no | more. OF THE WEST. 131 In 1784, general horror was excited by the result of an expedition oTthe savages to Clinch river, in which, among many murders, and the taking of many prisoners, Mrs. Moore, and her daughter Jane, an interesting girl of si^v- teen, were burnt to death with all the aggravated circuii> stances of Indian torture. A remarkable instance of female heroism iet recorded in the case of Mrs. Morill, of Nelson county, in 1701. The house was assaulted by savages. Mr. Merill opened the door to ascertain the cause of the barking of the dogs. Ha was fired at, and fell wounded into the room. •The sava- ges attempted to rush in after him, but Mrs. Merill and her daughter effectually closed the door. The assailants began to hew a passage through it with their tomahawks ; and having made a breach, began to squeeze through into the room. Undismayed by the cries and groans within, and the exulting yells without, the courageous wife seized an axe, gave the entering ruffian a fatal blow, and dragged him through the opening in the door. Another and anotlv- er pressed in, supposing their 'precursors were safely en- gaged in the work of death within, until four were slain. The silence within induced one of those without to exploro the interior, through the crevice of the door. Discovering the fate of his companions within, afler some counsel with those without, two mounted the house, and began to d» scend the broad wooden chimney. Aware from the noise of the climbers what was in agitation, Mrs. Merill prompt- ly met that danger. Her little son was ordered to cut open a feather bed, and throw the contents in the fire. The two lodgers in the funnel, scorched and suffocated by the buriv ing feathers, tumbled down in a half insensibility far from enviable. Mr. Merill so far recovered from his wound as to aid his heroic wife, helped to dispatch them, while i^ continued to guard the door with her uplifted axe. Anothr er savage a^emptod to enter, but was saluted with such a blow, as drove him howling away. Thus the whole party were either killed or wounded by female intrepidity with- out a parallel. A prisoner heard this incident related by the survivor in his own town. Being asked as usual, ^what news?^ he answered 'bad news! The squaw fight worse than the Long knives.' mm 'm. IfM '1 ld3 INDIAN WARS We select but one incident more from these border hor- rors. Two boys living on Short creek, on the west bank of the OhiO) were at play at a distance from their house. They were taken captive by two Indians, and led away four miles into the wilderness, where their captors, ailer giving them food, laid down for the night, each holding one of the captives in his arms. The elder endeavored to com- fort his brother with the hope of escape. The younger wept bitterly on finding himself in tlie power of those ter- rible red men, with the dread of whom his mother had of- ten hushecVhim to sleep. But the trembling one soon fell asleep in the muscular arms of his master. The other slept not; and finding his keeper in sound sleep, he arose, and to try the soundness of the sleep of his captors, renew- ed the fire with such movements as required noise, and would yet seem allowable to the Indians, should they a- waken. Their sleep remained profound. He walked to his brother, gently awakened him, and whispered in his ear, *we had better go home now.' Ti^e younger replied, *tl4ey will follow and catch us.' *Never fear,' said the el- der, *we will take care for that.' It was not without dif- ficulty that the elder prevailed on the younger to aid him in killing their captors. The Indians had but one gun be- tween them, and near it lay their tomahawks. The elder placed the gun levelled on a log near the ear of one of the I .dians, and stationed his brother with his finger on the trigger to pull it at his signal. He bestrode the other sav- age with tomahawk in hand. Brandishing it as the signal for pulling the trigger, the gun was discharged and the toirilfihawk fell together.' Lay on,' exclaimed the younger, *I have done it for mine.' The first blow of the tomahawk was not fatal ; but it was plied anew with so much force, i that the Indian, who upon the first blow had risen to his feet, was brought down again. Leaving their captors dead, the young heroes set off for home, where they arrivea at j early dawn, and heard, as they came to the do<.r, the plain- tive voice of their mother, exclaiming *poor little fellows, | they are killed or taken prisoners.' *No,' they res from without, ures. An expedition against the hostile tribes north-west cf the Ohio, was planned. The object was to bring the In- dians to a general engagement; or if that might not be, to destroy their establishments on the waters of the Scioto and the Wabash. General Uarmar was appointed to the com- mand of this expedition. Major Ilanlitranck, with a de- tachment, was to make a diversion in his favor up the Wa- bash. On the 13th of September, 1791, General Harmar marched from fort Washington, the present site of Cincin- nati, with three hundred and twenty regulars, and cfTected a junction with the militia of Penns^ Ivania and Kentucky, which had advanced twenty-five miles in front. The whole force amounted to one thousand four hundred and fifty-three men. Colonel Hardin, who commanded the Kentucky mi- litia, was detached with six hundred men, chiefly militia, to reconnoitre. On his approach to the Indian settlements, the Indians set fire to their villages and fled. In order, if possible, to overtake them, he was detached with a small- er force that could be moved more rapidly. It consisted of two hundred and ten men. A small party of Indians met, and attacked them ; and the greater part of the mili- tia behaved badly, — leaving a few brave men wlio would not fly, to their fate. Twenty-three of the party fell, and seven only made their escape, and rejoined the army. Not- withstanding this check, the army succeeded so far as to reduce the remaining towns to ashes, and destroy their pro- visions. On their return to fort Washington, General Ilarmar was desirous of wiping oflT in another action, the disgrace which public opinion had impressed upon his arms. He halted eight miles from Chillicothe; and late at night, de- tached Colonel Hardin, with orders to find the enemy, and bnng them to an engsigement. Early in the morning this detachment reached the enemy, and a severe engagement V. OF THE WEST. 135 ensued. The savages fought with desperation. Some o^ the American troops shrunk; but the officers conducted with great gallantry. Most of them fell, bravely discharg- ing their duty. More than fifty regular^nd one hundred militia, including the brave officers, Fontaine, Willys, and Frothmgham, were slain. Harmar, in his official account of this affair, claimed the victory, although the Americans seem clearly^t%have had the worst of it. At his request, he was tried1^& court martial, and honorably acquitted. The enemy hadTs^ffei^ ed so severely, that they allowed him to return unmolested to fort Washington, The terrors and the annoyance of Indian hostilities still hung over the western settlements. The call was Iqud and general from the frontiers, for ample and efficient protec- tion. Congress placed the means in the hands of the ex- ecutiye. Major General Arthur St. Clair was appointed '•j im. a'.-^j* in chief of the forces to be employed in the moaitiaiJ expedition. The objects of it vore, to destroy the Indian settlements between the Miamies, to expel them from the country, and establish a chain of posts, which should prevent their return duri'ij the war. This army was late in assembling in the vicinity effort Washington. They marched directly towards the chief establishments of the enemy, building and garrisoning in their way the two intermediate forts, Hamilton and Jefferson. After the de- tachments had been made for these garrisons, the effective force that remained amounted to something less than two thousand men. To open a road for their march was a slow and tedious busimegg. Small parties of Indians were of^ ten seen ho/e' ii^^c about their march; and some unimpor- tant skirmisLc • > .!' place. As the army ap(hx>ached the enemy's coi 'ic. y , st ty of the militia deaerted in a body To prevent tht mt t m*^.Q of such an example, Major Ham- tranck was.detached with a regiment in pursuit of the de- serteis. The army now. consisting of one thousand four hundre^ •" a, contmued ifs march. On the 3d of Novem- ber, 1792, it encamped fifteen miles south of the Miami villages. Having^ i)ton rejoined by Major Hamtranck, General St. Clair proposed to march immediately against them. wmm rs ■*# 136 INDIAN WARff Half an hour before sunrise, the militia was attacked by the savages, and fled in the utmost confusion. They burst through the formed line of the regulars into the camp. Great efforts were made by the officers, to restore order; but not with the desired success. The Indians pressed upon the heels of the flying militia, and engaged General But- ler with great intrepidity. I'he action became warm and general; and the fire of the assailants passing round both Banks of the first line, in a few minutes was poured with equal fury upon the rear. The artillerists in the centre were mowed down; and the fire was the more galling, as it was directed by an invisible enemy, crouching on the ground, or concealed behind trees. In this manner they advanced towards the very mouths of the cannon ; and fought with the iiiCiriated fierceness with which success always animates st i Some of the soldiers exhibited military fearlessness, i . tbught with great bravery. Oth- ers were timid and disposed to fly. With a self-devotion, which the occasion required, the officers generally expo- sed themselves to the hottest of the contest, and fell in great numbers in desperate efforts to restore the battle. The commanding general, though he had been for some time enfeebled with severe disease, acted with personal brave- ry, and delivered his orders with judgment and self-posses- sion. A charg*) was made upon the savages with the bay- onet; and they were driven from their covert with some loss, a distance of four hundred yards. But as soon as the charge was puspended tlKjy returned to the attack. Gen- eral Butler was mortally wounded;, the left of the right wing broken, and the artillerists killed almost to a man. The guns were seized, and the camp penetrated by the en- emy. A desperate charge was headed by Colonel Butlev, although he was severely wounded; and the Indians were again driven from the camp, and the artillery recovered. Several chaises were repeated with partial success. The enemy only retreated, to return to the charge, flushed with new ardor. The ranks of the troops were broken, and the men pressed together in crowds, and were shot down with- out resistance. A retreat was all that remained, to save U)i9 rempaiut of the army. Colonel Darke was ordered to OF THE WEST. 137 charge a body of savages that intercepted their retreat. Major Clark, with his battalion, was directed to cover tha rear. These orders were carried into effect ; and a most disorderly flight commenced. A pursuit was kept up four miles, when fortunately fur the surviving Americans, the natural greediness of the savage appetite for plunder calU ed back the victorious Indians to the camp, to divide the spoils. The routed troops continued their flight to fort Jefferson, throwing away their arms on the road. The wounded were left here, and the army retired upon fort Washington. In this fatal battle fell thirty-eight commissioned officers, and five hundred and ninety-three non-commissioned ofiih cers and privates. Twenty-one commissioned officers, ma- ny of whom aflerwards died of their wounds, andtwohui^ dred and forty-two non-commissioned officers and privates were wounded. The savage force in this fatal engagement was led by a Mississago chief, who had been trained to war under the British, during the revolution. So superior was his knowl- edge of tactics, that the Indian chiefs, though extremely jealous of him, yielded the entire command to him ; and he arranged and fought the battle with great combination of military skill. Their force amounted to four thousand, and they stated the Americans killed, at six hundred and twenty, and their own at sixty-five ; but it was undoubt- edly much greater. They took seven pieces of cannon, two hundred oxen, and many horses. The chief, at the close of the battle, bade the Indians forbear the pursuit of the Americans, as he said they had killed enough. General Scott with one thousand mounted volunteers from Kentucky, soon afler marched against a party of the victors, at St. Claires fatal field. He found the Indians rioting in their plunder, riding the oxen in the glee of trir umph, and acting as if the whole body was intoxicated. General Scott immediately attacked them. The contest was short, but decisive. The Indians had two hundred killed on the spot. The cannon and military stores re- maining were retaken, and the savages completely routed. The loss of the Kentuckians was inconsiderable. 13* v:m Wm ^« mm 1 ^^^i 'iwi ^^CTrlitl ^^^jlf! HHii 1 138 INDIAN WARS The reputation of the government was now committed in the fortunes of the war. Three additional regiments were directed to be raised. On the motion in congress for raising these regiments, there was an animated, and even a bitter debate. It was urged on one hand, that the ex- pense of such a force would involve the necessity of severe taxation ; that too much power was thrown into the hands ^ of the president; that the war had been badly managed, and ought to have been entrusted to the militia of die West, under their own officers ; and with more force they urged that no success could be of any avail, so long as the Brit' ish held those posts within our acknowledged limits, from which the savages were supplied with protection, shelter, arms, advice, and instigation to the war. On the other hand, the justice of the cause,^ as a war of defence, and not of conquest, was unquestionable. It was- proved that be- tween ITS3 and 1790, no less than one thousand five hun- dred people of Kentucky had been massacred by the sava- ges, or dragged into a horrid captivity; and that the fron- tiers of Pennsylvania and Virginia had suffered a loss not much less. It was proved that every effort had been made to pacify the savages without effect. They showed that in 1790, when a treaty was proposed to the savages at the JVIiami, they first refused to treat, and then asked thirty days for deliberation. It was granted. In the interim, they stated that not less than one hundred and twenty per- sons had been killed and captured, and several prisoners roasted alive ; at the term of which horrors, they refused any answer at all to the proposition to treat. Various oth- er remarks were made in defence of the bill. It tried the strength of parties in congress, and was finally carried. General St. Clair resigned, and Major General Anthony Wayne was appointed to succeed him. This officer com- manded the confidence of the western people, who confi- ded in that reckless bravery, which had long before pro- cared him the appellation of 'Mad Anthony.' There was a powerful party, who still affected to consider this war un- necessary ;. and every impediment was placed in the way of its success, which that party could devise. To prove to* them ihat the government was- still disposed to peace,- twa numerous s ans were a or THE WEST, 109 excellent officers and valuable men, Colonel Hardin and Major Truman were severally despatched with propositions of peace. They were both murdered by the savages. These unsuccessful attempts at negotiation, and the difficulties and delays naturally incident to the preparation of such a force^ together with the attempts that had been made in congress, to render the war unpopular, had worn away so much time that the season for operations for the year had almost elap- sed. But as soon as the negotiations had wholly failed, the campaign was opened with as much vigor as the na- ture of the case would admit. The general was able, however, to do no more this autumn, than to advance into the forest towards the country of the savages, six miles in advance effort Jefferson. He took possession of the ground on which the fatal defeat of St. Clair had taken pl9.ce, in 1791. He here erected a fortification, with the appropri- ate name of fort Recovery. His principal camp was call- ed Greenville.^ In Kentucky, meanwhile, many of the peo^ pie clamored against these measures, and loudly insisted that the war ought to be carried on by militia, to be com^ manded by an officer taken from their state. It was b^ lieved, too, by the executive, that the British governmenty by retaining their posts within our limits, and by various other measures, at least countenanced the Indians in their hostilities. That government took a more decisive mea^' ure early in the spring. A British detachment from De- troit advanced near fifty miles south of that place, and for- tified themselves on the Miami of the lakes. In one of the numerous skirmishes which took place between the sava- ges and the advance of General Wayne, it was affirmed,, that the British were mingled with the Indians. On the 8th of August, General Wayne reached the con- fluence of the Au Glaize,and the Miami of the lakes. The richest and most extensive settlements of the western Indi^ ans were at this place. It was distant only about thirty miles from the post on the Miami, which the British had recently occupied. The whole strength of the enemy,, a- mounting to nearly two thousand warriors, was collected^ m the vicinity of that post. The regulars of Gen. Wayne were not much inferior in numbers. A reinforcement o^ P ; V «t 140 INDIAN WARS one thousand one hundred mounted Kentucky militia, com- manded by General Scott, gave a decided superiority to the American force. The general was well aware that the enemy were ready to give him battle, and he ardently d^ flired it. But in pursurnce of the settled policy of the UnW ted States, another effort was made for the attainment of peace, without the shedding of blood. The savages were exhorted by those who were sent to them, no longer to fol- low the counsels of the bad men at the toot of the Rapids, who urged them on to the war, but had neither the power nor the inclination to protect them; that to listen to the propositions of the government of the United States, would restore them to their homes, and rescue them from famine. To ihese propositions they returned only an evasive ai>> iwer. On the 20th of August, the army of General Wayne inarched in columns. A select battalion under Maj . Price, moved as a reconnoitering force in front. Afler marching five miles, he received so heavy a fire from the savages, concealed as usual, that he was compelled to retreat. The savages had chosen their ground with great judgment They had moved into a thick wood, in advance of the BriW ish works, and had taken a position behind fallen timber, prostrated by a tornado. This rendered their position at most inaccessible to horse. They were formed in three r^ular lines, according to the Indian custom, very much extended in front. Their first efibrt was to turn the left flank of the American army. The American legion was ordered to advance with trai> led arms, and rouse the enemy from his covert at the point of the bayonet, and then deliver its fire. The cavalry led by Captain Campbell, was ordered to advance between the Indians and the river, where the wood admitted them to penetrate, and charge their lefl flank. General Scott, at the head of the mounted volunteers, was commanded to make a considerable circuit and turn their right. These, and all the complicated orders of General Wayne, were promptly executed. But such was the impetuosity of the charge made by the first line of infantry, so entirely was the enemy broken by it, and so rapid was the pursuit, that OF THE WEST. 141 only a small part of the second line, and of the mounted ' volunteers could take any part in the action. In the course of an hour, the savages were driven more than two miles, and within gun shot of the British fort. General Wayne remained three days on the field of bat- tle, reducing the houses and corn fields, above and below the fort, and some of them within pistol shot of if, to ashes. The houses and stores of Colonel M'Kee, an English tra- der, whose great influence among the savages had been uni- formly exerted for the continuance of the war, was burned among the rest. Correspondence on these points took place between General Wayne and Major Campbell, who commanded the British fort. That of General Wavne was sufficiently firm; and it manifested that the latter only a- voided hostilities with him, by acquiescing in the destruc- tion of British property within the range of his guns. On the 28th, *he army returned to Au Glaize, destroy- ing all the villages and corn within fifty miles of the river. In this decisive battle, the American loss in killed and wounded amounted to one hundred and seven, including officers. Among those that fell, were Captain Campbell and Lieutenant Towles. The general bestowed great and merited praise for their bravery and promptitude in this affair, to all his troops.. The hostility of the Indians still continuing,^ their whole country was laid waste; and forts were erected in the heart of their settlements to prevent Jheir return. This season- able victory, and this determined conduct on the part of the United States, rescued them from a general war with all the nations north-west of the Ohio. The Six Nations had manifested resentments, which were only appeased for the moment, by the suspension of a settlement, which Penn- sylvania was making at Presqu' Isle, within their alleged limits. The issue of this battle dissipated the clouds at once which had been thickening in that quarter. Its influ- ence was undoubtedly felt far to the south. The Indian inhabitants of Georgia, and still farther to the south had been apparently on the Verge of a war, and had been hardly re- strained from hostility by the feeble authority of that state. M m ■- ^\H tm miA 142 INDIAN WARS No incidents of great importance occurred in this quar- ter, until August 3d, of the next yearj when a definitive treaty was concluded by General Wayne, with the hostile Indians north-west of the Ohio. By this treaty, the de- structive war which had so long desolated that frontier, was ended in a manner acceptable to the United States. An accommodation was also brought about with the south- ern Indians, notwithstanding the intrigues of their Spanish neighbors. The regions of the Mississippi valley were opened on all sides to immigration, and rescued from the dread of Indian hostilities. The progress of the great state of Ohio has no parallel in the history of colonies. No records can be found of e- qual advancement of population, national wealth, strength and improvement of every sort, by the unforced progress of immigration and natural increase. But little more than thirty years ago, it was all possessed by ruthless savages; and we now see cities and towns, more than an hundred thousand militia, a million inhabitants, two canals, the one nearly seventy, and the other three hundred miles in length, a great number of flourishing villages, handsome farm hou- ses, and every indication of comfort and abundance, and the whole scene has at first view the aspect of fable and enchantment. We see one respectable and rapidly ad- ▼ancing town ; and a mass of farmers spread over the grea- ter portion of the surface of the state, not rich in money, but rich in rural abundance, in simplicity of manners, and the materials of genuine independence. The people are aa well fed and clothed, and as contented and happy, pe^ haps, as the same number of people any where on the globe. There are schools, colleges, manufactories, national works and improvements, of which any state, or any order of so> ciety, howsoever advanced, might be proud. This colony, which ha«< flourished by its own innate principle of vigor, without factitious support fi om speculation, or any forcing from opulence and power, still sees the original trees stancU ing in its fields. We should be glad to trace the origin and progress of every town and settlement in the state from Marietta, Cin< cinnati, a d Galliopolis, the oldest towns in the country, to OP THE WEST. 148 the most recent establishment on lake Erie. It would be pleasant to trace the gradual advance of the settlement from these central points and the shores of the Ohio, along the two Miamies, over the heights which separate the wa* ters of the Ohio from those of lake Erie. The history, al> so, of the settlement of the Connecticut Reserve, is an in- teresting one. We there find a large and compact settle- ment, distinct from the other divisions of the Ohio nopula- tion, in the equal dispersion of farms over the surface, in the disposition to support schools and public worship, ex- ceedingly like the parent people from whom they sprung. But they who achieved these great works, thought little of transmitting the remembrance of their works to posterity. Their minds were pleasantly occupied with other views, ai)d those copious, exact and satisfactory materials, necesh sary for a detailed history of the progress of Ohio, will, pro- bably, perish with the living depositories of them. Many of the founders of this great state still exist; but they are too intently occupied, in laying up the superstructure of their recent establishments, to think of furnishing such ma- terials. Besides, the details of such a work would fill vol- umes. Neither our limits or materials allow any more than some very abbreviated sketches. '^'he first effective settlement of Ohio, was by purchasers under the *Ohio Company' in 1788. The writer of this distinctly remembers the wagon that carried out a number of adventurers from the counties of Essex and Middlesex, in Massachusetts, on the second emigration to the woods of Ohio. He remembers the black canvass covering of the wagon ; the white and large lettering in capitals * Tb Marietta on the Ohio? He remembers the food which even then the thought of such a distant expedition furnish- ed to his imagination. Some twenty emigrants accompa- nied this wagon. The Rev. Dr. Manasseh Cutler, he thinks, had the direction of this band of emigrants. Gen- eral Putnam seems to have been the only one who prece- ded him in claims to be considered the patriarch of the Marietta settlement. Dr. Cutler, at the time of his being engaged in the speculation of th^ Ohio Company's purchase, had a feud, — it is not remembered whether literary, politi- ¥:rH !?l 144 INDIAN WARS cal, or religious, — with the late learned and eccentric Dn Bently of Salem, Massachusetts. Dr. Bcntly was then chief contributor to a paper which he afterwards edited. The writer still remembers, and can repeat doggerel ver- ses by Dr. Bontly upon the departure of Dr. Cutler on his first trip to explore his purchase on tho Ohio. The first travellers to explore Ohio, availed themselves of the full extent of tho traveller's privilege in regard to the wonders of this new land of promise, and the unparal- leled fertility of the soil. These extravagant representa- tions of the grandeur of the vegetation, and the fertility of the land, at first excited a great desire to emigrate to this new and wonderful rcjjion. But some returned with dif- lerent accounts, in discouragement; and the hostilities of the savages were painted in the most appalling colors. A reaction took place in the public mind. The wags of the day exercised their wit, in circulating caricatured and ex- aggerated editions of the stories of the first adventurers, 'that there were springs of brandy, flax, that bore little pie- ces of cloth on the stems, enormous pumpkins and melons, and the like. Accounts the most horrible were added of hoop snakes of such deadly malignity that a sting, which they bore in their tails, when it punctured the bark of a green tree, instantly caused its leaves to become sear, and the tree to die. Stories of Indian massacres and barbari- ties were related in all their horrors. The country was admitted to be fertile; but was pronounced excessively sickly, and poorly balancing by that advantage all these counterpoises of sickness, Indians, copper headed and hoop snakes, bears, wolves, and panthers. The tendency of the New England mind to enterprise and emigration, thus early began to develope. For all these horrors portrayed in all their darkness, and with all the dreadful imaginings connected with the thought of such a remote and boundless wilderness, did not hinder the de- parture of great numbers of the people following in the foot- steps of General Putnam and Dr. Cutler. They were both men of established character, whose words and opin- ions wrought confidence. Dr. Cutler was a man of exten- sive and various learning. He was particularly devoted iJb»^i OF THE WEST. M5 to the study of natural history; and was among tho first who began scientifically to explore the botany of our coun- try. He hsid great efficiency in founding the upper set- tlement on Ohio; and his descendants are among tho most respectable inhabitants of the country at presont. General Rufus Putnam had been a reputable and un- blemished officer in the war of the revolution. lie emi- grated from Leicester, in the county of Worcester, Massa- chusetts. He was, probably, the member of tho Ohio Company who had the greatest influence in imparting con- fidence to emigration from New England to Ohio. When he m9ved there, it was one compact and boundless forest. He saw that forest fall on all sides under the axe; and in tho progress of improvement, comfortable, and then large, commodious and splendid dwellings rise around him. He saw his favorite settlement sustain an inundation of the Ohio, which drowned the cattle, wafted away the dwel- lings, and in some instances the inhabitants in them. He saw the settlement survive the accumulated horrors of an Indian war. He saw its exhaustless fertility, and its nat- ural advantages triumph over all. He saw Marietta ma- king n mccs towards an union of interest with the gulf of M by floating down to its bosom a number of sea vessels, built at that place. He saw such a prodigious increase of navigation on the Ohio, as to number an hundred large boats passing his dwelling in a few hours. He heard the first tumult of steam boats as they began to be borne down between the forests. He had surrounded his repub- lican mansion with orchards bending with fruit. In the midst of rural abundance and endeared friends, who had grown up around him, far from the display of wealth, the bustle of ambition and intrigue, the f?ither of a colony, hospitable an i kind without ostentation and without effort, he displayed in these remote regions, the grandeur, real and intrinsic, of those immortal men who achieved our revolution. He has passed away. But the memory of really great and good man, like General Putnam, will remain as long as plenty, independence, and comfort, shall prevail on the shores of the Ohio. The next settlement in Ohio, in the order of time, and 13 ''. r\ 146 INDIAN WARS really the most efficient and important of all others, and which may be clearly considered the nucleus of the pop- ulation, was that between the two Miamies. Of this set- tlement Judge Symmes may fairly be considered the foun- der. Ho was a civilian, a lawyer, and an inhabitant of New Jersey. He v.as a member of congress when he first contcnif lated the idea of emigrating to the western country. He was the representative and agent* of the company whi'^h made the first purchase between the two Miamies. It comprehended a miifion of acres. He was afterwards a judge under the territorial government. His name is identified with all the subsequent sales, locations, establishments of the sites of toWns, and similar trpisac- tions, until Ohio became a state. Had his speculation been followed with the success which ought to have re- sulted from the foresight with which it was made, and the vigor with vvhich it was carried into effect, it must have secured an immense fortune for his posterity. But the is- sues of such great and combined operations are often de- termined by clemenls, beyond the reach of human fore- sight. Clear as his vision was into the future, he little foresaw the future value and conseq nonce of these lands. Purchasers, w ilh a kon still more limited, had not the cour- age nor forecast to make him sufficient payments to meet the great expenses of his speculations. Ho was unques- tionably fitted in a high degree to become the foster father to a new colony. He ]tossessed a sound understanding, great firmricss of purpose, and was a man of industrious habits, and devoted to business ; and had not the slightest touch of the hunter and courcvr du hois, which so strongly marked the first settlers of Kentucky and Tennessee, in his character. He was a zealous patron of the industri- ous and enterp'ising; and all that was necessary to secure tlie countenance and support of Judge Symmes, was to convince him that the man was sober, 'ndustrious, and dis- posed to exert himself. It was an honorable trait in his ■character, that he was a real and eflicient friend of the poor. Many amiable eccentricities belonged to his cha- racter; f.nd among other traits that might seem most for- eign to his industrious, calculating, and municipal habits, was, that proofs, a! names of ami count Amonor tl: settlers, a early dec< Kxplori north sho] any permi scending t which ma which we ] We read o; as related in a boat, w upon by th and the r< miles from blood, expo; able to trav the river to ried off his narrative of rowing intc was wantini impressive man can sul of these def and recovei terly hopeh the palliatij however iij plan excludj the first perj This coi. General Rl The compaJ and were necticut. OF THE WEST. 147 was, that he was a writer of versesj of which very copious proofs, as well as honorable to his muse, remain. The names of his chief associcites in the settlement of the Mi- ami country will naturally be interwoven in these annals. Among them was Colonel Israel Ludlow, one of the fir' i settlers, a man of great amiability of character, and whose early decease was considered a deep loss to the country. Exploring parties had made tempomry residences on the north shore of die Ohio, previous to the establishment of any permanent settlement, and boats, ascending and de- scending the river, had had rencontres with the Indians, in which many of those thrilling and terrible adventures, which we have already related to repetition, were common. We read of the occurrence of one in the autumn of 1776, as related by Mr. Patterson, who v. as ascending'the Ohio in a boat, with six or seven companions, and who was fired upon by the Indians. A pai t of the company were killed, and the remainder wounded. They were an hundred miles from settlements or relief, lying in their wounds and blood, exposed to the rain ani elements. One only was able to travel, and he was? wounded. He proceeded up the river to the nearest settlement, procured help, and car- ried off his wounded companions, who recovered. The narrative of the suffe.ings of this company i>s one of har- rowing interest. Noihing that human nature can suffer was wanting to their misery; and their case furnishes an impressive proof, through how much misery and suftering man can survive. We could easily fill up copious annals of these desperate rencontres, and hair breadth escapes, and recoveries from wounds, which would be deemed ut- terly hopeless in the view of the best surgical aid, and all the palliations of the comfort and aid of society. But, however impressive these narratives, the brevity of our plan excludes them, and we commence these annals with the first permanent settlement of Ohio. This commenced at Marietta, April 7th, 1788, under General Rufus Putnam, as agent for the Ohio Company. The company that came with him consisted of 47 persons, and were from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Con- necticut. Their first business was to build a stockg,de fort 148 INDIAN WARS of sufficient strength to secure them against any desultory attacks of the savages. These were all laborious men, who thought much more of the plough and hoe than the rifle and game. They were delighted with the appearance of the rich alluvion, and the immense trees and grape vines that rose from it; and treated themselves to the jests which had been circulated in their native regions, respecting pumpkin vines that ran across the Ohio, and bore pumpkins of a Mzeto furnish space in which sows might litter. The exuberant grandeur of the wild vegetation might well jus- tify extravagant expectations from the fertility of the soil. They deadened the trees, and planted fifty acres of corn. In the autumn twenty nfiore families joined them. They wore chiefly revolutionary soldiers, who had been used to face dangers and hardships of all sorts, and to give and receive blows. Their vigilance and boldness of counte- nance appear to have awed the Indians, so that they mo- lested them very little. While these prudent and laborious men tilled their grounds, they had always some one of their number stationed upon a high stump, or elevated point of ground, to forewarn them of the approach of the foe. Game of all sorts abounded in the woods, and fish in the rivers. The fields yielded the most ample abun- dance of return for whate\ er they had planted f so that abundant subsistence was obtained with the greatest ease. Six years afterwards, in 1794, the settlements of Belle- pre and Newbury, the one fifteen miles, and the other twenty miles below, on the river, were commenced. In each of these places stockade forts, to which the people could retreat in case of alarm from the savages, were built, according to the invariable custom in all the new western settlements. The strongest of these received the appro- priate name of the ' Farmer's Castle.* In 1701, Indian hostilities commenced upon these set- tlemeiits. The Ohio Company organized, and kept in con- stant em[)loympnt, a small company of spies, whose duty it was to perambulate the settlement. When these rangers discovered footsteps, or other indications of the contiguity of the savages, they were to give verbal notice; or if the omergency of alarm was urgent, to fire signal guns. On OF THE WEST. 149 receiving these signals, it was the duty of the settlers im- mediately to retreat to their stockades, and the soldiers to repair to their post of defence. The unsleeping and un- tiring vigilance of these settlers did not at all mutch with Indian notions of attack, who always seize the moments of carelessness and the unguarded point of weakness for the hour of assault. That this settlement suffered so much less than those that preceded it, under the same circum- stances, in the western country, may be solely attributed to that habitual watchfulness and unremitting posture of defence. Between 1791 and 1795, Major Goodall, a most valua- ble member of the settlement, and three others were killed. To have right estimates of this comparatively small amount of suffering from Indian warfare, ii must be re- membered, that this settlement stoi d alone on the north shore of the Ohio; was a frontier to the most nuh erous and powerful Indian villages in the western courtr \ and the object of their bitterest enmity and most concentered efforts. In addition to the men, mentioned above, one wo- man and her two children were slain. Another infant in her arms was tomahawked, but was rescued by the in- habitants, and recovered from its wounds. In 1790, a settlement was commenced at the forks of Duck creek, twenty miles up the Muskingum, at the site of the present town of Waterford; and onother fiftec miles higher on the same river at Big Bottom, and a thiru at Wolf creek, near the forks. These settlements were on a tract of one hundred thousand acres of land, laid off into farms of one hundred acres each, called ' donation lots,' which were gratuitously assigned to actual settlers. At the cloi5e of 1790, these settlements contained 447 men, of whom 107 had families ; a striking demonstration of the rapid increase of population even amidst the dangers of an Indian war. The settlement at Big Bottom was destroyed by the In- dians, January 2d, 1791 . Fourteen persons were killed,, and five taken prisoners. This fatal assault was made by the Indians with their usual guile and treachery. They had kept up a show of frankness and friendship towards la* ■"if 150 IKDIAN WARS these people, which had lulled them to a ruinous security, Unperceived by the people, the Indians watched the settle- ment from the summit of an adjacent hiii. The inhabi- tants were returning from their labors at evening twilight to their supper. The Indians, preceded by a huge Mo- hawk, rushed in upon the garrison and inflicted an unre- sisted massacre. One woman onlv contended, and she inflicted a wonnd upon the Mohawk, before she was killed. A boy was spared, and carried captive to Detroit. The settlement at Wolf creek was warned of its impen- ding danger by two men of the name of Bullard, who escaped from the massacre of Big Bottom. Next morning the Indians arrived to the assault of this place; but finding the inhabitants apprised of their attack, and in readiness for them, they decamped A^ithout any serious attempts upon it. Some murders were committed at Waterford and Lit- tle Wolf creek, in 1794, and 1795.. Although Marietta, from its vigilance and preparation, was considered by the savages impregnable, the- cows of the settlement often came in with arrows sticking in their bodies, as proofs of the good will of the Indians to injure them, were it in their power. The escape of the late R. J. IMeigs, Esq. afterwards governor of Ohio, and Postmaster General, from various circumstances, merits a relation. He was returning at night from the labors of the field, in company with Mr, Symonds and a black boy. The Indians fired upon Sy- monds and wounded him. He escaped them by reaching the river and swimming. The black boy was scalped. An Indian, armed only with a tomahawk, motioned Mr. Meigs to surrender. Instead of surrendering, he advan- ced upon the savage with his gun presented, bui which happened not to be loaded. As they came in contact, the one struck with his gun and the other with his tomahawk. Mr. Meigs was stunned by thebl(»w; but recovering, he fled from the Indian, who pursued without being able to overtake him. Seeing his victim like to escape him, he fired his tomahawk upon him, which nanrowly missed hia head. The Indian raised his customary war cry, and gave up the pursuit.. OF THE WEST. 151 In all this time the people of this settlement were not known to have killed but two Indians. One had mounted on the roof of a cabin, in an abandoned settlement at Duck creek. With the customnry disposition- to pry into tho concerns of the whites, he was looking down the large wooden chimney. Some spies happened to have occupied the cabin for the night. They discovered him, and killed- him on his perch. The spies had a shot at another Indian in company, who was amusing himself in turning a large, grindstone; but he escaped. The other was killed by one of the spies on the Little Muskingum. At this period the. country contiguous to this settlement abounded wilh game, such as buffaloe, deer, and wild turkeys. The deer were killed for their hides and tallow, and the turkeys afforded a game too common to be prized as a luxury. We return from these annals of the first settlement in Ohio, in the order of time, to contemplate the progress of that between the two Miamies,the first in the order of im- portance. This country was explored by Colonel Bowman, in 1779, at the head of ninety men, marching against the Indian village at Little Pickawav. The town was destroyed; but the returning party suffered severely from the Indians, and lost ten of their number. He gained, however, an accurate knowledge- of this fertile and inter- esting country, and the position* and force of the Indian towns contiguous to it. Between the years 1780 and 1762, General Clark con- ducted a larger force ngainst the Indians of that region, in which Old and New Pickaway villages were burned^,. In 1784, our government effected a treaty with them, in which, by certain mutual stipulations, they ceded to the United Staivs the country lying upon the Muskingum, Scioto, and Little and Great Miami, The 'Ohio Company' was organized at Boston, March 1st, 178t5. It was composed of revolutionary officers and soldiers, to whom Congress assigned a military grant of land north-west of the Ohio. The grant consisted of a million and a half of acres. General Putnam made the settlement, which we have just been contemplating, under &is grant; and this was the germ from which has growor. m INDIAN WARS up this great and populous community. In 1788, congress passed an ordinance, establishing a territorial government over the North-western Territory. Arthur St. Clair was appointed Governor. In September, 1788, the first judi- cial court was holden in the territory. The first political object with the governor was to establish a peace with the various hostile tribes, contiguous to the territory. The chiefs met at fort Harmar, at the mouth of the Muskin" gum, and agreed upon a former treaty, which had been settled at fort M'Intosh, in 1785, and which was now re- newed in 1790. In the winter of 1786, Mr. Stites, of Redstone, now Brownsville, on the Monongahela, presented himself be- fore congress, then sitting in New York, with a view to purchase a tract of country for settlement between the two Miamies. Ho was introduced to John Cleves Symmes, then a member of congress, whose aid he solicited, in or- der to enable him to make the purchase in question. Mr. Symmes was so much impressed with the project, as to make a journey to the country, wisely thinking it best to judge of the country by personal inspection. He journey- ed to the Ohio, and descended it to Louisville. He was pleased with the country, and on his retura, a purchase of one million of acres lying on the Ohio, and between the two Miamies, was made in his name. Mr. Symmes soon afterwards sold to Matthias Denman that part of his purchase which now forms the site of Cin- cinnati. The first settlers were from New York and New Jersey. Mr. Stites added several families from Redstone. Mr. Filson, in exploring the country, was killed by the Indians. Lieutenant Kersey and Ensign Luse, with near- ly forty soldiers, were ordered to join Mr. Symmes' party, as a corps of defence for the contemplated settlement. Major Stites, with the necessary preparation for commen- cing a settlement, descended to the mouth of the little Miami. In November 16th, 1789, they commenced to the number of twenty-six, the erection of a block house on the position where Columbia is now situated. With the re- quisite precaution against the Indians, a part stood guard, while the rest labored in the erection of the block house. OF THE WEST. 18» I A square stockade fort was soon after formed by the erec- tion of threw other block houses. This was the germ of the second settlement in Ohio, and the first between the two Miamies. Mr. Symmes soon after joined them with a small sergeant's guard of six soldiers, and they erected a small block house below those at the mouth of the Little Miami. About the commencement of the year 17C0, Israel Lud- low, who, after the death of Mr. Filson, became a joint partner with Mr. Denman and Patterson of the site of Cin- cinnati, left Limestone with a company of nearly twenty persons, to commence the settlement of their purchase. The town was first named Losantiville. As town making became af'erwards, in the progress of the western coun- try in population, a regular business, and the invention and coining of names for towns no mean study, it will be amusing to consider the ingenuity of this far fetched name. The town was commenced opposite Licking river in Ken- tucky. The name of the town took the initial of that river for its first letter. It borrowed os, the mouth, from the Latin; antif opposite, from the Greek, and vUhf a city^ from the French. Hence we have Losantiville, a city opposite the mouth of Licking. In a newspaper printed at Lexington in Kentucky, the tyi>e, appearance, and printing of which smacks strongly of the simplicity and coarseness of the olden time, is now to be seen the origin- al advertisement of the sale of the lots in this city, then covered with a heavy growth of timber. 'I'he newspa- per is shown as a curiosity in Mr. Letton's museum in Cincinnati. Mr. Ludlow on his arrival with his party commenced clearing near the present corner of Front and Main streets. Three or four log cabins were built on what is now Main street. Mr. Ludlow surveyed and laid out the town during the winter. The courses of the streets were marked on the trees of the heavy and dense forest. The abundance of game and fish left little diffi- culty of subsistence, and even the Indians, though hostile^ did not annoy them. Mr. Symmes, with the small force at his disposal, in February, 1789, descended the river fifteen miles to Nocth ! b 1 mi Hi] \ 154 INDIAN WARS Bend, which he deemed the best situation for a town. But neither that place, nor Columbia, above Cincinnati, have yet reached the size of even considerable villages; a clear proof that the wisest human foresight sometimes falls short in such calculations. In the following spring, Indian hostility manifested itself in the customary way of annoy- ance to the incipient settlements, by stealing horses, kill- ing the cattle, and murdering the inhabitants. Several persons of a surveying party, and five or six soldiers were killed. June 1st, 1780, Major Doughty arrived at Losantiville with one hundred and forty men, who built four block houses opposite tho mouth of Licking. On a lot of fifteen acres, sloping from the upper bank to the river, a little east of the present position of Broadway, was erected fort Washington. At the close of 1780, General Harmar arrived with three hundred men, and took command of the fort, preparatory to his expedition against the hostile In- dians. The population, besides the soldiers, consisted of eleven families and twenty-four unmarried men. They inhabited 20 small log cabins, chiefly on the lower bank. But a very small part of the present area of the town was cleared; nor were the logs removed for some years after- wards. Darius Orcutt and Miss M'Henry, and Daniel Shoemaker and Miss Alice Ross were the first couples le- gally married in Losantiville, and the first child born, in what is now called Cincinnati, was John Cummins. Co- lumbia still exceeded this place in population. The in- habitants at that place had the advantage of tilling fields, which had been made by the Indians, and so productive were these fields in maize, that captain Benjamin Davis measured one hundred and fourteen bushels of corn from a single acre. In January, 1790, governor St. Clair and the judges of the supreme court descended to Losantiville, where the first judicial court was organized in the Miami country. The governor, in ^honor of the military society of Cin- cinnati, changed the name of Losantiville to its present name. In the following spring, Mr. Dunlap and associates laid out the station of Colerain on the Great Miami, seven- OF THE WEST. 155 teen miles north-west of Cincinnati, and Ludlow's, Gar- rard's, Covall's, VVhite's, and Round Bottom stations wtre commenced. At each of these points general Harmur stationed a small number of regulars for defence; aad whoever rashly ventured beyond this "tine of defence was exposed to be murdered, or at least to receive ashot from the hostile Indians, who were constantly prowling round. Forty families were added to Cinciimati this year. As many cabins and the first two frame houses were erected. Seven mechanics were numbered among the inhabitants. Fifteen or twenty of the new settlers were murdered by the Indians, and Mr. Spencer, at present a distinguished citizen of the place, then a boy, was carried into captivity. On the application of his father, he was ransomed by the governor of Upper Canada, for the sum cf one hundred and twenty dollars. The issue of the unfortunate cam- paign of general Harmar, which took place about this time, has been related in another place. Twenty acres were planted with corn in different parts of town. The grinding was with hand mills. Flour and bacon, now in such abundance, were then imported from the older settlements. The tables were of split plankg, and the dishes were of wood. The men wore hunting shirts of domestic fabric. This dress was bound with a belt, or a girdle, in which were a knife and a tomahawk. The lower part of this dress was deer skin, and after the In- dian fashion; in fact the dress of the backwoods people in IlHnois and Missouri at the present day. The women, too, were as yet content with dresses of their own fabric. The old inhabitants at times, who still survive, look back from the squares and streets, the opulence, pride, coldness, and competition of the present day, to those primitive times of log cabins, love, amity, and affection, cemented by com- mon wants and dangers, as the golden age of Cincinnati, January 8th, 1791, a party of four persons, who were exploring the country west of the Great Miami, were at- tacked by the Indians. One was killed, one taken, and the other two escaped to Colerain station. The station consisted of fourteen inhabitants, and was defended by eighteen soldiers. Two days after the attack upon the .J' 1 iiil' p|||£ H m Wwi m Wm Mi f'^ffi bUt! W 1&6 INDIAN WARS exploring party, the Indians came upon this station to the number of three hundred. They demanded a surrender, which was met by a prompt refusal. A fire was instantly commenced from the garrison, and returned by the Indians. An express was sent to Cincinnati for a reinforcement, and sixty-three soldiers arrived next morning. But the Indians had decamped before their arrival. During the attack, lead failed for bullets. The women of the garri- son suppliod the deficiency, by melting their pewter vessels and moulding balls. Near the garrison was found the body of a prisoner, whom the ludians had slain in the dis- appointment of their defeat. He appeared to have been horribly mangled, and to have expired from the consuming fire of a burning brand applied to his bowels. An instance of the keenness of Indian ingenuity, in the invention of original modes of torture is given at this tima. The Indians captured a young man of the name of Moses Hewitt, who lived on the Little Hockhocking, and was a member of the Marietta settlement. He was remarkable for the suppleness of his limba, and the swiftness of his The Indians tested, him with their champion runnmg. racers, and, although he could not have run with much spirit, under his depressing circumstances, he easily van- quished them all in swiftness. They aft'ected to be pleas- ed, but their envy was piqued. They were destitute of provisions, and wished to secure their swift-footed prison- er, while they were occupied in their hunt. With this view, and probably to torture him at the same time, they fastened his wrists by crossing them, and binding them firmly with a cord. They then tied his arms to a stake, so as partly to raise the upper part of his body. They fasten- ed his legs in the same way, and partly cut off a young sapling, bending it down, so that the weight of the lower part of his body would be a counterpoise to the elastic force of the curved tree. Thus was he partially raised by his hands and feet, in a way most horribly painful; and yet in a position where death would be slow in arriving to his release. It was like the torture of killing by dropping water on the head. Fortunately the young man had re- markably slendep wrist bones. When left alone to medi- OP THE WEST. 157 lity, in the this tima. I of Moses md was a 3markable ess of his champion with much islly van- o be pleas- estitute of tedprison- With this time, they ding them a stake, so ley fasten- iff a young the lower the elastic T raised by inful; and arriving to dropping an had re- le to medi- tate upon his terrible situation, he contrived, not without disengaging the skin and flesh from his wrists, to disentan- gle his arms from their manacles and Anally his legs. He picked up a little of the scraps oi jerked meat, which the Indians had left. To baffle their pursuit and that of their dogs, he ran on the bodies of fallen trees, and mean- dered his course in every direction. Such was the adroit- ness of his management, that he put them completely at fault, escaped them, and came in to the settlement of Ma- rietta, wounded, his flesh torn and mangled, and emaciated to a skeleton — a living proof how much man can survive before he suflers the mortal pang. He had been absent fourteen days. In the disastrous campaign of General St. Clair, the issue of which has been related in another place, a great number of the inhabitants of Cincinnati were killed. The event of the campaign had a discouraging efiect upon the fortunes of the settlement. Several of the inhabitants removed to Kentucky for greater security from savage assault. So fresh was the settlement, that the establish- ment of a horse mill, for grinding, is recorded as an era in its history. But notwithstanding the fury and disastrous character of the Indian war, between forty and fifty immigrants ar- rived at Cincinnati, in 1792. A Presbyterian church was built, not far from the site of the present First Presbyterian church. It was occupied by the congregation of the Rev. James Kemper. The first school was opened this year in town, and consisted of thirty scholars. The next year, 1793, was distinguished by the prevalence of small pox among the soldiers an J inhabitants of Cincinnati, which swept off" nearly a third of their number, ^he glorious campaign of General Wayne succeeded; the events of which we have already narrated. The severe chastise- ment which the Indians received in this campaign, inspi- red them with sincere dispositions for peace. An end was put to their unprovoked and sanguinary hnstility, by the treaty of Fort Greenville, signed August 3d, 1795. It may be imagined with what joy this event was hailed by all the dwellers in the Ohio valley. Now, that they 14 P 158 INDIAN WARS H, considered the dangers of savage assault or ambush at an end, they issued forth from their straightened and uncom- fortable positions, in their forts and block hojine^, selected the spots of their choice, and the blows of the axe, and the baying dogs of the settlers begun to echo through the forest. As soon as the news of peace and security pafised the mountains to the Atlantic country, the fame of the western country for fertility revived the natural propeiisity of the American people to wander. On all the great roads to the western country, flocks of emigrants were seen directing their course to cross the Alleghanies. From the Alleghany and the Monongahela, boats crowded with adventurers were still floating down. Connecticut Re- serve was rapidly filled with people, chiefly from Connec- ticut. The settlements broadened and diverged from the Marietta settlement on the one hand, and Cincinnati on the other, gradually advancing from the shores of the Ohio towards the height of land between the waters of the Ohio and the lakes. The extraordinary fertility of the country on the Scioto caused the banks of that river early to be settled with a compact population. The country on the Great Miami, from Dayton along the cour&es of Mad River, soon became populous. The extent of the immi- gration could only be imagined by the innkeepers who lived on the great roads to the western country, or by the agents of the land office, or by the astonishing results of a census. For the rest, the settlers quietly dropped into their forest nests, and the next intelligence of them was by the passing traveller, who spoke of their wheat fields, and commencing improvements. Never was transformation from the silence of the forest to the results of population, towns, villages, farms, and all the accompaniments of civ- ilization and municipal life more silent and imperceptible, and at the same time "*'e sudden. In four years from the My of Greenville, to wit, in 1799, the territory passed to what has since been called the second grade or territorial government. The legisla- tive power, which in the first grade belonged to the Gover- nor and Judges, was transferred to a house of represen- tatives elected by the people, and a legislative council, ap- OP THE WEST. 150 pointed by congress. A delegate was chosen to represent ihe territory in the national legislature. In 1795, Cincin- nati contained 500 inhabitants; in 1600, 750; in 1605, 060; in 1820, 10,000; in 1830, 27,100; in 1831, 30,000. CHAPTER X. INCIDENTS ATTENDING THE SETTLEMENT OF LOUISIANA RESUMED. We have already noticed thnt portion of the annals of the settlement of Illinois and Louisiana, that fell within our limits and our object, to the period of the settling of New Orleans. This progress of the French in Louisiana could not but alarm the jealousy of the Spaniards, whose settlements in New Mexico had now advanced to the immediate vicinity of the French-on Red River. The Frenr'h, with their customary felicity of ingratia- ting them^'^lvr's with the Indians, had already secured the friendship uf the Indians far up the Missouri, particularly of the powerful tribe of the Missouries, from whom that river derives its name. That tribe was engaged in a war with the Pawnees, still farther up the river. The policy of the Spaniards was to add their force to that of tho Paw- nees, and destroy the Missouries, the allies uf the French, as a preliminary to gaining the ascendancy on the Missou- ri. A Spanish expedition was dispatched from Santa Fe, so well known for its present extensive trade with St. Louis. Their destination was the Pawnee towns. But mistaking their way, they unconsciously reached the chief town of the Missouries, thinking it was that of the Pawnees. The mistake was the more natural ns the Spaniard? knew little about these remote tribes. Beside, the two tribes spoke the same language. They communicated their plan to destroy the Missouries to themselves, requesting their co-operatioii 160 INDIAN WARS in their own destruction. Dissimulation is natural to the reseri^ed and silent savages, who instantly penetrated the mistake of their foe, and afTected to come into the plan, craflily enacting the part of the Pawnees. Retaining their customary unchangeable gravity of manners and counte- nance, they betrayed not the slightest surprise. They on- ly requested ti.ae to call in their warriors and consult them upon the proposition. At the end of forty-eigiit hours they had assembled two thousand warriors, and fell upon the unsuspectir^ Spaniards, not only reposing in a sense of the most perfect security, but meditating the destruction of these very Indians. The whole expedition was slain with the exception of the accompanying priest, who es- caped by the fleetness of his horse to tell the story. One of the most memorable events m the early history of I-ouisiana, is the massacre of the French among the Natchez by that tribe, and its final extinction by the French. The history of this interesting tribe has been given us by thoir destroyers. We may therefore presume that at least all the amiable traits allowed them were their due. Compared with the other tribes of this valley they were a polished people. Thai.r traditions imported that their forefathers had emivrnted from some region far to the south-west, probably Mexico. They hi^dlaws, sub- tirdination of classes, and various municipal institutions, an"^ were considerably acquainted «''ith the application of many of their medicinal rlmples. I'hey had an estab- lished worship, and a temple dedicated to the Great Spi- rit, on the altar of which they preserved a perpetual fire. Their chiefs, like the Incas of Peru, pretended to derive their 01 igin from the sun. Some barbarous customs were adopted by them, provmg that however mild and amiable in other respects, they were the victims of a gloomy super- stition. They offered human sacrifices on their altnrs; and when their chiefs were condemned to death, such was the blind veneration of their subjects that numbers were always ready to offer as voluntary substitutes tor them. They were a numerous people, comiiidnding respect and giving the law far up and down the Mississippi. Amidst the aQcieni toreat!) of these f^rtil^ hills, in peace^ content with OP THE WEST. 161 the simple gifts of nature, the admission of white men among them was the era of their doom. The French both courted and dreaded this formidable people; and of all their allies they hud been most perse- veringly faithful. They had aided them in all their pro- jects; and more than once, by the supplies which they had furnished the French, had saved them from famine. The outrage that is now to be related, is the more memorable from the circumstance that the French were generally no- ted for being lenient, faithful, and just in their intercourse with the savages. No doubt that these were the true se- crets of their general ascendancy among them. The cause of the quarrel that ensued between the French and Natchez was of the most trivial character. A soldier of the garrison of fort Rosalie, alleged that an old Natchez warrior owed him corn, and demanded imme- diate payment. The Indian replied, that the corn was yet green in the fields, and that as soon as it was suffi- ciently ripe, he f:,hould be paid. The soldier persisted to demand prompt payment, threatening him with a beating if he refused. Even the threat of being struck is ^^ ver in- supportable to an Indian. The old man sprang ir.consed from the fort, and challenge J the soldier to single combat. The soldier, alarmed by the rage of the Indian, cried mur- der! The warrior on this, and seeing a crowd collecting, retired slowly towards his village. One of the guard fired upon him, and he was mortally wounded. No enquiry was made, or at least no punishment inflicted upon him who had committed the outrage. All the revengeful feel- ings natural to savages, were called up on the occasion. The Natchez flew to arms, and the French were assailed on every side, and muny of them fell. The ' Stung Ser- pent,' an influential chief, interposed his authority, and the slaughter ceased. A new treaty of peace was the result of the discussion that ensued, and the whole aflfuir seemed to be buried in oblivion. Soon after this, in the year 1723, under different pre- texts, several hundred soldiers were secretly introduced into the settlements, and the defenceless and unsuspecting Natchez were slaughtered in their huts. The head of the 14* M f rq *- 1 1^- 11*1 ) •Sffi Ilk ^"E '^:\ ha h-t P ^* tP 3 '}^A ^i 162 INDIAN WARS first chief was demanded as the price of peace, and the wretched Natchez were obliged to yield to the demand. The slaughter had continued four days before peace was granted them. This was a deed of course never to be forgotten, nor forgiven by the savages. They saw at once that there now remained no alternative between their own destruction or that of their enemies. They were moody, pensive, t'mid, and slow; but they were sure in devising the means of vengeance. Things remained in this situation until 1729. At this time, M. de Chopart, who had been the chief agent in these transactions, and who was excessively obnoxious to the savages, had been ordered to New Orleans, to meet an investigation of his conduct, touching this affair. The joy of the savages was gi eat ; for they hoped, at least to be delivered from his enmity and oppression. To their despair they learned that he was justified, and rein- stated in his authority. He seemed on his return more vindictive than ever. To manifest his ill feelings he de- termined to build a town, two miles below the present site of Natchez, on ground occupied by a large and ancient village of the Intliaus. Accordingly he sent for die Sun chief, and ordered him to have the huts cleared away and the savages dispersed. The chief replied, < that their an- cestors had dwelt there for ages; and that it was good that their descendants should dwell there after them.' The order was repeated with a threat of destruction, if not obeyed. The Indians dissembled; and remarking < that the com had just come out of the ground, and that their hens were laying their eggs, and that to abandon their villages at that time would bring famine both on them and the French,' requested delay. All that they could obtain of the haughty commandani, was to delay until autumn, on condition that each should bring a basket of corn, and a fowl, as a tribute for this forbearance. The savages met, and held councils in private; and the unanimous result was, to make one final effort to preserve their indepen- dence and the tombs of their ancestors inviolate. The Ghickasaws, the allies of tho English, and the natural OF THE WE3T. 163 enemies of the French, were invited to take a part with them in their maditated vengeance upon the French. The Chickasaws eagerly consented ; but by the treachery of one of their women, probably in the interest of the French, were deceived as to the day, and did nr)t arrive until after the blow was struck. The massacre of the • French was arranged to take place on the time when the Natchez should be admitted among them, to pay their tribute of corn and fowls.- M. de Chopart was warned by a woman, probably attached to some Frenchman, of their approaching doom. Bat the evil star of the French prevailed, and the commmdant, instead of arousing to caution, punished the informer. The fatal period for the breaking forth of the smothered vengeance of the savages came. The last day of Novem- ber, 172^, the Gi*anJ Sin, with his warriors, repaired to the fort, with the promised tribute of corn and fowls. The soldiers were abroad in perfect security. The savages seized the gate, and other passages, by which the soldiers were excluded from their arms. The garrison was filled with warriors. The houses in the country were occupied, by previous concert, at the same time. It was a general massacre. None were spared but the slaves, and some of the women and children. Such was the horror and contempt of M . de Chopart, that the chiefs would not kill him, and he was slain by one of the meanest of the In- dians. Of seven hundred people, scarcely enough sur- vived to carry the tidings, of destruction to the capital. All the forts, settlements, and inhabitants on the Yazoo and Washita shared the common fate of massacre and the flames. Consternation at first pervaded the capital. But the French soon put every engine into operation, to retaliate. The Chickasaws, thinking themselves mocked by the Nat- chez, in being deceived as to the time when the blow was struck on the French, in resentment for not being at the massacre of the French, were ready to join the latter, to extirpate the Natchez. Fifteen hundred Chickasaws join- ed themselves to a detachment of French troops aided by cannon. The Natchez had fortified themselves; but on T ™ *V ■"J m m fiti ^w 'm fiiilul iklTri 164 INDIAN WARS the appearance of this formidable force, and the discharge of the cannon, they humbled themselves to sue for peace. They offered to restore the French prisoners in their pos* session, and forsake their country forever. M. de Lubois, anxious to save the prisoners, consented to put off the at* tack until the next day, provided that the prisoners were given up. The following night they deserted the fort, in a silence so profound as not to disturo their enemies. They crossed the Mississippi, and ascended Red River to a point not far from where Natchitoches is now situated. The French pursued them, headed by M. de Perrier, with can- non. They had fortified themselves; and in their last fastnesses they fought with the desperation of men who were ready to die. They sallied out, attempted to cut their way through the besieging force in vain. It was useless to contend with the strength that surrounded them. The women and children were enslaved at home; and the males were sent as slaves to St. Domingo. Thus utterly perished the once powerful tribe of the Natchez. The Spaniards had been long in the habit of using mul- titudes of Indians of the islands, as slaves. The practice had been far from bemg common among the French, in regard to the Indians of Canada and Louisiana. For some time even the Spaniards had desisted from the practice. The benevolent Las Casas had labored with the Spanish monarch and the priests, until his reasonings or his elo- quence had convinced them, contrary to tlieir pre-concei- ved opinions, that the Indians had souls. Millions of these persecuted beings had been slain, and other millions re- duced to bondage, before the Spanish government acted upon this conviction. The planters and cultivators, in the sultry climates of the Spanish colonies, conceived that they must have slaves. The guardian and patron of the Indians had caused the practice to be sispended, in rela- tion to them. The consequence was that the curse fell upon another race, equally unoffending, in another hemis- phere; and the blacks were torn from Africa, to sweat, not for themselves, in these burning climates. Yet horrible as this trafHc is, it is a striking fact that it had its origin in perverted and misapplied humanity. Las Casas preach- OP THE W^T. 165 ed humanity to the Indians; and the fetters were knocked off from one race only to be rivetted on another. This detestable traffic was started, indeed, by the Spanish. We find their evil example soon followed by the French. Even our own ancestors, pious and humane as we esteem them, were no way behind their Catholic examples, in their rea- diness to introduce black slaves into our hemisphere. Meanwhile the Chickasaws, whose country bounded on the English settlements in Carolina, and who had been steadily attached to their interests, had been long obnox* ious to the French, who were waiting for an opportunity to make them feel the weight of their resentment. A dou- ble motive stimulated them to this wish. The one was to drive the English from among them, and to securo their trade. The other, to abridge the concurrent influ- ence of the English and the Chickasaws among the other tribes in their vicinity. A pretext offered, and the French seized it with avidity. A few of the Natchez Indians, who had escaped the general massacre, had fled to the proteo- tion of the Chickasaws, and were incorporated with that tribe. These Indians, in 1736, were demanded by Bien- ville, and, as he foresaw, the demand was refused. Ho marched up the Mobile against them with a very considei^ able force. It came to a battle, and the French had thtt worst of the conflict, and were obliged to make a disgracei* ful retreat. At the same time, the Chickasaws had been assailed on their northern borders by the French from the Illinois, to make a diversion in favor of Bienville. These, also, were compelled to fly. It is related as a ludicrous circumstance, that the Illinois French, when they marched up to fight the Chickasaws, suspended wool sacks in front of Iheir bodies, as a shield against the arrows and balls of the Chickasaws. The circumstance excited great glee among the English and Indians, who fired at the legs of these pastoral people, who evinced their value of legs, and the uselessness of wool sacks, by running with their best Bienville undertook another campaign against them, with a still greater force. It was as unsuccessful as the former. It is said that 'lis force on this occasion was the 466 INDIAN V/ARS largest, and best appointed, which had ever been seen in Louisiana. So compietuly was it reduced, chiefly by fa* mine and desertion, that he was compelled to sue for peace. He obtained a tolerable one only through the ignorance of the enemy of his weakness. I From this peace to the commencement of the war be- tween France and England, in 1754, few events occurred in Louisiana, that properly belong to these annals. The French government had become sufficiently aware of the value of the fertile soil and mild climate of upper Louisi- ana. With the exception of a few ruptures with the In- dians, the coloni**ts were enabled to extend their settle- ments without interruption. The French fixed their villa- ges in the shade of deep forests,.on the fertile prairies, the beaks of streams, or at spring sources, as best suited their fancies. The wilderness and the prairies presented a boundless choice. They negotiated marriages or tempo- rary connexions with the young women of their red breth- ren; and the mixed races which we now see in their set- tlements were the fruit. Their ambition was gratified by managing their influence, so as to keep up a balance of power arnor>g the savage tribes, of such a kind that their weight in the opposite scale was sufficient to make it preponderate. Unlike the English cultivators, who gen- erally preferred range, or a wide space in the wilderness, the French commonly established themselves in compact settlements, with such narrow and huddled streets, that they could carry on their nimble conversations across them. The grand business of the young men was to nav- igate the almost interminable rivers, to hunt small adven- tures, trade und consort with the Indians to procure furs. They were mostly clad in skins. Their houses were fur- nished, their couches made, and their tables supplied from the spoils of the chase. Their evenings, on their return, were spent in dancing, in intercourse with the savages, and in relating long stories of their voyages, adventures, and exploits. Such is a brief outline of the modes of ex- istence in Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Vincennes, St. Genevieve, the post of Arkanseu$, Natchitoches on Red River, and Natdiez oa the Mississippi. At the capital tber^ were OF THE WEST. le-y alwa3r8 a certain number of people of funiily and educa- tion. There was a kind of court, a theatre, and the sem- blance of amusements of a higher order. The people contemplated their rural countrymen in the woods about at the same distance, and with the same estimation with which themselves were contemplated by the circles of Paris. Mau}*^ of the immigrants had been gentlemen, and most of them had been military characters. Some of them were of noble origin. The first settlers were probably of better family, as that matter was then rated, than those of any other colony in North America, save the colonists of Mexico. It is, perhaps, a fortunate trait in the French character— certainly it is an amiable one — that such men could so readily associate with savages, and make them- selves so gay and happy in these remote and unpeopled deserts, where they only heard from France once or twice in a year. They had their packs of dogs, their guns, their Indian beauties, and the range of an unexplored world, to fill their desires and their imaginations. Their descendants speak of these ancient * residenters>^ as a su- perior race of mortals, and of these times as a kind of golden age. An expedition was started from Michilimackinack, in 1780, against Upper Louisiana. It was composed of hordes of savages, amounting to one thousand five hun- dred, and one or two companies of English. It was chiefly destined against St. Louis; and is still remembered with shuddering recollections by the peaceful French inhabi- tants of that country, under the name of < Vannee du coup? Sixty of the inhabitants had been slain, and thirty made prisoners, when the gallant American General Clark ap- peared on the opposite shore of the Mississippi, with a con- siderable force. The view of this respectable armament of Americans struck the Indians with astonishment. They had no idea of meeting, or fighting, any people but the French; and they charged their allies with deception, in thus leading them to combat with a people, who spoke the s^me^^nguage with the English. In terrors, lest the jealous savages would turn upon them, the English se- m '^m 168 INDIAN WARS cfetly abandoned them, and both parties fnkde the best of their way to their homes. Unfortunate projects are apt to be disavowed. The British government disavowed the expedition, and the private property of the commander was seized to defray the expenses of it. CHAPTER XI. INCIDENTS OF THE LATE WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN, THAT OCCURRED IN THE WEST. From the severe defeat of the savages by General Wayne, until the late war with Great Britain, few sus- tained assaults of Indian warfare occurred in the west. At the close of the year 1811, instead of ccnnning them* selves to solitary depredations and individual murders, as had been their custom for a considerable time past, they began to harass the frontier settlements in the west with incessant incursions, and the murder of whole families. The several tribes seemed to emulate each other in deeds of horror and blood. These incursions were either coun- tenanced or instigated by the usual influence and arts of the British traders, as had been the case in former days. It was ascertained too, on a solemn invcstigati'on, that the savages were thoroughly armed, and equipped with new guns. The influence of a savage callec the ' Shawanese prophet,' had been particularly efficacious, in stirring up the tribes of the lakes and the Wabash against the United States. General Harrison, governor of Indiana territory, and General Boyd, commanding a regiment of United States' Infantry in that quarter, were ordered to march to the prophet's town, high on the Wabash, to demand repa- ration for the past, and security for the future. In November, 1811, afler a long march of more than thirty days, these ti-oops encamped in the vicinity §f the prophet's town. General Harrison, anxious to fit'event the effusion of blood, made various unsuccessful efforts 4 OP THE WEST. 169 at negotiation. An officer who was despatched to them with terms, narrowly escaped from them with his hfe. The troops were ordered slowly to approach the town in or- der of battle. They were met by a deputation of Indians, with the usual crafty protestations of friendship, and en- quiries respecting the object of his march into their coun- try. They promised to hold a council next day, to dis- cuss and settle all grounds of complaint. The prophet by night conaulted his * grand medicine,' and pronounced Hhat the enemy was now in their power, fast asleep, and should never wake.' Happily for the result of this battle, little reliance had been placed upon the avowal of pacific intentions by tho savages. The troops had been oi-dered to lie upon their arms, to be ready at a moment's warning. The prophet's forces have been differently estimated from four hundred to six hundred warriors. The American force amounted to about eight hundred men. The 7th of November, before four in the morning, the Indians attacked the American camp with a general dis- charge, and the most horrid yells. Favored by the pro- found darkness, they had broken into ihe camp. At the clear and distinct voice of General Harrison the troops rallied, and a fierce engagement of man with man com- menced, amidst the confusion of darkless, and the horrid' yells of the Indian war whoop. The militia at first re- coiled,* but the exerliwis of Colonel Geiger rallied them to the charge. During the darkness, it is obvious, unde^ s.uch circumstances, tJiat the savages would have the ad- vantage. The troops were soon formed in a parallelogram. The militia poured upon them a sheet of flame. As soon as it was possible to see their position, the fourth regiment charged them with the bayonet, with all the precision and effect of their admirable discipline. They were immedi- ately cleared from the camp and field, and fled. The mounted men cut down many of them on the retreat. It was a bloody victory, obtained by the loss of one hundred r nd eighty-eight men killed and wounded. Of the Indians, fifly-three were found dead in and about the camp; and their whole loss was calculated nearly to equal that of 15 ¥m ['ii,*;:i3 170 INDIAN WARS the Americans. General Harrison narrowly escaped, having had the hair of his head cut with a ball. He was distinguished for his exertions and gallantry on the jcca- sion. The officers in this affair merited and received the highest praise. Some of the bravest of them fell. In short, ofllicers and men gained the meed of having done their duty. Immediately after the battle, the town was deserted by the Indians. In the precipitancy of their flight, they left their provisions, and almost every thing they possessed, behind them. An incontestible proof that they had been supplied with arms by the British, appeared in our finding a great many guns here, which had never leen removed from the cases in which they had been imported, and a quantity of fine English-glazed gunpowder. A number of the northern tribes, consisting of the Pottowattomies, M iamics, Shawanesc, and Winnebageos, had sent their warriors to this place. They were headed by Stone Eater, White Loon, Winnemac, and Ellskwatawa, commonly called * the prophet,'and brother of Tecum^^eh. That cel- ebrated warrior, who makes so conspicuou, a figure in the subsequent battles, was absent on this occasion. Afler the army retired from the field, the savages, in- furiated by their losses, dug up (he dead bodies of the offi- cers, scalped and otherwise mutilated them; and they left a small force to hover on the rear of the Americans, to scalp those who fell behind, or died of their wounds. Chi the 18th of June, 1812, war was declared by the United States against Great Britain. A small army, con- sisting of the four'.h regiment of the United States' infan- try, and three regiments of Ohio volunteers, under the command of General Hull, governor of the Michigan ter- ritory, was ordered to march for the protection of* the fron- tiers, against the incursions of the savages. After a long and tedious march of thirt\ -five days, followed by British and Indians, who constantly hung upon their flanks, these troops arrived at Detroit. They amounted to two thou- sand five hundred. The British immediately began to defend their opposite shore. Their works were easily destroyed; and General Hull crossed his troops over the OF THE WEST. 171 river to the Canada side, and with much menace in va* poring proclamations, proposed to invade the country. The fall of Michillimackinack was the first in a series of dis* graces and misfortunes that befel the American arms in this quarter, at the commencement of the war. We can only go into these unpleasant details, as far as the troops and the great local interests of the west were imme' diately concerned. After a series of skirmishes, in which Colonel Cass, commanding the third regiment of Ohio volunteers, and Colonel M' Arthur, commanding another regiment of vol* unteers from Ohio, were most honorably engaged, and a series of mismanagements or misfortunes on the part of General Hull, there was a considerable skirmish at Ma- gagua. The American force was commanded by Colonel Miller. Against great odds, the Americans obtained an undisputed victory, in which many Indians and some British were slain. At the same time that this slight success was obtained, Captain Heald, who commanded at Chicago, at the head of Lake Michigan, received orders to march immediately from that place, and proceed with his command to Detroit by land. He commenced his march, accompanied by fifty-four regulars and twelve militia, e«?corted by Captain Wells, of Fort Wayne, and a few friendly Indians of the Miami tribe. The inhabitants in that quarter, chiefly wo- men and children, accompanied them, through terror of the savages. They were attacked on their way by five hundred Indians. Twenty-six of the regulars, and the militia to a man, were killed. Among the officers slain were Captain Wells and ^ ^ign Roman, both of them officers of great gallantry. I'wo women and twelve chil- dren were also killed. The rest were made prisoners. Captain Heald and his lady escaped alive to a British post, and were kindly received. Mrs. Heald was wounded by six shot, and the captain by two; but they both survi- ved. General Hull made a quick return from Canada; and things on his part were soon so far from invasion, that he was f ummoned by General Brock to surrender. In the mi 172 INDIAN WARS most disgrnceful manner, and almost without fighting, he did surrender. The men who had conducted so nobly at Brownstown, the heroes of the fou;th regiment, the brave volunteers at Raisin, the' whole territory, and every thing appertaining to it, were surrrendered with Detroit. Ohio had many brave officers and troops there. They had suf- fered severely in the skirmishing that preceded this disas- trous and disgraceful event. Never was astonishment and humiliation more extreme, than in the case of these surrendered troops. The British and Indians to whom General Hull surrendered, amounted to nearly one thou- sand four hundred. The force that surrendered to them amounted to about one thousand eight hundred. No event had ever occurred, that produced such a burning sense of shame and disgrace- in the west. Many of the bravest of that region wero feelingly alive to the honor of their country, and au-'bitious of returning to their secluded homes, covered with glory. They were dishonored cap- tives in a far distant country. An immense territory was surrendered; and a horde of infuriated savages, flushed with success, was ready to pour upon, the western frontier, now left without any shelter. This disastrous intelligence was distributed by the northern Indian nmners,. quite ta the southera extremity of the Union, with great celerity. The southern Indians were inviteil to take up the hatchet, in combination with those of the north. The Creeks and Seminoles soon be- came parties in the war; and not a few of the other tribes either joined them, or evidently wished well to their cause. The whole frontier from Tennessee to the bay of Mobile was laid open to their incursions. The British sent imr plements and munitions of war to Florida ; and they were put into their hands by the Spaniards. To meet these formidable aspects of danger, the people of the contiguous states made great and patriotic exertions. The Seminoles, uniting with stolen or fugitive negroes, made incursions into Georgia; and they commenced their accustomed course of cruelty and murder. A most brave and desperate exploit was performed against them by ColonelNewraan,of the Georgia volua- OF THE WEST. 173 teers, with one hundred and seventeen men. lie was on his march for the Lotchway towns, and was met by one hundred and fifty hostile mounted Indians. The meeting was unexpected on both sides. Seldom has a mare des- perate struggle been recorded. The Indians ret rented, and were reinforced to nearly double the nuiubor of the whites, and returned to the assault, 'i'hey were beaten again, retreated a little distance, and entrenched them- selves around this little gallant band, ti> make sure of them. They preserved a profound silence, and the In- ,dians thinking them fled, approached tlieir camp with con- fidence. They received a deadly tire, which killed and wounded thirty warriors. They were now allowed to re- treat unmolested. The Indians lost three of their princi- pal chiefs. Their young leader, and Bow-legs, their se- cond in command, were slain. In 1812, the famous Tec un)seh arrived among the Creek Indians, availing himself of the superstitions of the savages, and the predictions of his brother, the prophet, calculated at once to exasperate, and giv'e confidence to them. The Creeks soon began to perpetrate & series of outrages along the Alabama frontier. The crafty Tecumseh had enjoin- ed secrecy, as regarded the predictions and movements. But the smothered thirst for vengeance was too strong among these savages, rendered confident by these prophe- cies, to be long concealed. The red war-clubs were soon seen in every part of the nation. Their first fury spent itself on tliose of their own people, who were desirous of peace with the United States. These were obliged to fly tor their lives to the forts and settlements of the whites. Infatuated by the prophets, with the persuasion that the 'Great Spirit^ was on their side, and that they should be found invincible, they made their first assault upon fort Mimms, situated in the Tensaw settlement, in Mississippi; and here they terribly signalized their cruelty and ven- geance. It was crowded with women and children, who had fled to it, from terror of the savages, as a place of protection. It was garrisoned by one hundred and fifly men under the command of Mdjor Beasly. The savages obtained their ammunition and supplies from the Spanish 15* % 174 INDIAN WARS at Pensacola; and in 18 13^ to the number of six or seven hundred, commenced their attack upon the fort. They were fatally successful, and carried it by storm. About three hundred persons, more than half of them women and children, were massacred. Never was savage character more fully developed. The mother and the child were slain with the same stroke of the tomahawk. But seven- teen of the multitude that had crowded into the supposed protection of the fort, escaped to relate the catastrophe. The abominable cruelties of the savages, previous to this, mere merged at once in the excitement created by this monstrous and most unprovoked atrocity. As soon as the news reached the adjoining states, a just spirit of re- sentment was aroused. A campaign had been already planned by the governor of Tennessee, in conformity to instructions from the secretary of war, against them. The feelings universally excited on this occasion, naturally ac- celerated these operations. General Jackson was selec- ted by public sentiment as the commander in this cam- paign. General Jackson, though suffering from a severe wound which he had received in a private rencontre, accepted the command. Colonel Coffee, in whom, also, the Tennessee- ans reposed great confidence, commanded under him; and in case the general government should not see fit to adc^i the expedition, and defray its expense, the state voted three hundred thousand dollars for its support. In prepa- ring for this campiiign, and in marching to the scene of action. General Jackson encountered every difficulty and df 'ay, that cou'u arisa from the opinions of opposing fac- tioitis, fromfalse alarm and intelligeace, from the refracto- ry spirit of men generally unucej to control, and much more so to the stern control of a camp; and more than ill from hunger, and an uncertain supply of provisions. He seemed precisely the man to meet and obviate all these diti[]iculties. Uniting in an uncommon degree perseverance with promptitude, no opposition stood in his way, but that which in the nature of things was- insurmountable. He soon marched with such as these circumstances allowed him to collect. :^i OP THE WEST. 175 In the vicinity of the Creek settlements, Colonel Dyer was detached to attack Littafutchee-towu, one of their villages. He destroyed the village, and returned with a considerable number of its inhabitants prisoners. Gene- ral Jacks'jn had been for sometime anxiously waiting the arrival of Greneral Cocke from East Tennessee, with re- inforcemants and provisions. Learning that a considera- ble body of the enemy had posted themselves on the Tal- lushatchee, on the south side of the Coosa, thirteen miles distant, he detached General Coffee, with nine hundred men, to attack and disperse them. Greneral Coffee was so fortunate as to find a fordable point of the Coosa, and there crossed his troops, directing them to encircle the town, and unite their fronts beyoud it. The enemy announced their preparation for action, by beating their drums, and the customary yells and war- whoops. The Indians in the first instance assailed an ad- vance party with great fury. The action soon became general, and the savages retreated to their houses. Here they fought to desperation as long as they couM stand or sit; neither evincing fear nor asking for quarter. Their loss was one hundred and eighty-six killed; among whom, unfortunately, and in the accidental fury of the conflict, were some women j.nd children. Of the prisoners, eighty- four were women and children, who were treated with the utmost humanity. Oi" the Americans, five were killed, and forty one wounded. Two were killed with arrows. Most of the warriors had quivers filled witharrowSj which they used after the "first fire, until they could reload. On the northern frontier, the effect of the fall of Michil- imackinack, Chicago, and more than all, Detroit, was ap- paUing thropgh the Union. It had an electric effect upon the west. An offj'* was made to receive volunteers for the organization of a new army ; and there has not often been on record an instance of an army formed, equipped, and ready to march, with more celerity. From Pennsyl- vania, two thousand volunteers, under Brigadier General Crooks, General Tupper's brigade of Ohio volunteers^, and the 17th regiment under Colonel Wells, were soon on their march, and at their place of rendezvous. The comr^ III ,:i:^M 176 INDIAN WARS mand was assigned to General Harrison, who was highly popular uiuong the troops, and under him in conunand was General Pa3'ne, of Kentucky. Immediately after tiie disasters of Detroit, the prophet's Indians marched to invest forts Harrison and Wayne, which were garrisoned only by a few regulars and volun- teers. They murdered, burned, and destroyed every thing in the vicinity of these forts. They fired fort Har- rison; and the shrieks of women and children, contem- plating on one hand the sheet of flame rolling towards them, and on the other hearing the horrid yells of the mer- ciless savages, afford us one of those scenes that were so common during the war. Bjrh of these places were de- fended with desperate bravery, until they Were relieved; the one by a considerable fjrce of mounted volunteers from Illinois, and the other by the forces of General Har- rison. He divided his force, in the first instance, into scouting parties, and made these merciless and deluded beings teel, by retaliation, something of the horrors which themselves had perpetrated. Those Indian tribes that had remained faithful to the United States, and whose wish to join our standard had been hitherto refused, b^ an ar- rangement with the executive, were permitted to take a part in the war. Logan, a warrior ot distinguished repu- tation, joined General Harrison with seven hundred war- riors. Volunteers, more than were demanded by the ex- pedition, poured in from ail quarters. The zeal and patriotism of the western states were manifested by the most active exertions, and by sacrifices of every sort, such as the occasion required — sacrifices of endurance, treasure, and blood. Few were more conspicuous in the manifestation of this spirit, than Return J. Meigs, then Governor of Ohio. A separate command had been assigned to General Win- chester, as it appears, to the dissatisfaction of the troops confided to him. The troops of General Payne and Col- onel Wells, by this arrangement, were placed at his dispo- sal. He was directed to push forward in a parallel ad" vance, at ^ome distance from General Harrison, and in eoacert wit i him, regain the country occupied by the In- •4 OF THE WEST. diaas, retake the lost posts, and if possible capture Maiden, and all the places near our frontiers,^at were central coverts for the Indians. General Winchester advanced, until he found himself in front of an enemy of superior numbers. The advance of his force under Captain Bal- lard, had already had severe skirmishing with them. A few brave and inexperienced young volunteers, who had rashly ventured beyond the main body under I'nsign Lig- git, were slain, and caused deep regret at their untimely, fall. General Winchester immediately sent i^espatches to General Harrison, requesting aid. General Tupper, with his mounted men^ directly commenced his march to yield the required assistance.. There was some severe skirmishing of the enemy witb the advance of General Winchester's force, in which TjO- gan, the friendly chief, after conducting with great person- al bravery, was mortally woui ded. Colonel Campbell was detached by General Harrison, with a considerable force, against the Missisineway towns. In an attack upon one of these towns, a severe engagement ensued, in which the Indians were defeated, and that and some other towns destroyed. Next morning tkie Indians were reinforced and attacked him. They were again defeated ; but a num- ber of brave officers fell in the charge. The detachment behaved with, ^reat coolness and fortitude ; and what was still bettter, with humanity to the wounded, and those who fell into their power. Colonel Campbell, having ac- complished his object, «ommenced his march for Greens- ville. The terrible Tecumseh was reported to be lurking in the vicinity, with five hundred warriors. The weather was severe, and nearly the half of his men were disqual- ified from duty, by being frozen in some part of their limbs. The men expected an attack, and would probably have been destroyed. Their exemption from attack has been by some attributed to the absence of the prophet, who is supposed to have been slain in the attack upon Colonel Campbell. A brigade of Kentnckians, under General Hopkins, had been sent into Indiana territory against the savages of the Wabash and Illinois. They destroyed a number of towns, ^te;t.- 178 INDIAN WARS and had some skirmishing with the enemy. A company of cavalry belonging to this detachment, advanced to bury one of their slain companions, and felt inio an Indian am- buscade. Eighteen of their number were killed and wounded, and among them were several promising young officers. Exasperated by these repeated successes of the Ameri- can troops against the different Indian posts and villages, the enemy resolved to advs nee with their combined arms to Frenchtown, to intercept the American forces marching upon Detroit. The inhabitants of that vil'r-g^ expected to be massacred; and they implored the protection of Gene- ral Winchester. This expedition appears to have been undertaken without any concert with General Harrison. General Winchester, according to their request, marched to their aid, with six hundred men. Aftc some hard skir- mishing, in which the Americans were victorious, the con- centrated forces of General Winchester, amounting to about seven hundred and fifty men, found themselves in the vicinity of the British General Proctor, and Tecumseh, with two thousand men. These forces attacked the Amer- ican camp, and were bravely repulsed, though with severe loss. In a second attack. General Winchester, Colonel Lewis, and some other persons, by some unaccountable inadvertence, were made prisoners. The American force deprived thus of its chief officers, repelled every attack with the bravery of desperation, until a flag from the ene- my promised quarters and protection if they would sur- render; at the sam3 time menacing the towa with confla- gration, and the inhabitants with the uncontrolled fury of the savages, if they refused those terms. Twenty-two officers, and two hundred and seventy-five non-commis- sioned officers and privates had already been slain or wounded. Thirty-five officers, and four hundred and eigh- ty-sev3n non-commissioned officers and privates surren- dered Hi the faith of General Proctor. The enemy's loss had pvcbably been not much inferior to that of the Amer- ican'i i'he events that followed, have lost something of their 4ark coloring by thQ effect of time, that extinguishes re- ^ OF THE WEST. 179 venge, ani) softens the remembrance of injuries. But the infamous name of Proctor will nover be turgotlen in the West. Fathers still repair to the empty monuments of their high spirited and promising sons, who fell in the da9> tardly treachery of that surrender. Many officers of the first respectability, and young men of the best families and the highest promise, were massacred by the savages, after they had surrendered. The deportment of the British was little short of that of the savages, in regard to the prisoners in their possession. General Proctor, when charged with these enormities, did not attempt to deny them. He only affirmed, that no promise of protection had been given, and no obligation to control the savages incurred. These transactions are commonly known in the West by the name of the 'massacre of the ilaisin'' General Harrison, though his plans were wholly discon- certed by these disasters of General Winchester's troops, set himself immediately to organizing them anew. In this he was strongly aided by the indefatigable Meigs, who promptly forwarded two regiments of Ohio militia, as re- inforcements, and by the troops generally, who burned to avenge the loss of their brave brethren in arms. He again af^' anced to the Rapids, and built a fort, which has since I len famous under the name of fort Meigs. He then set out on his return to Ohio, to consult with the governor, and to accelerate the march of the recruits. The fort was be- sieged in his absence by the enemy. He was soon ap- prised of the circumstance, and returned. Great exertions were made, alike in the attack and the defence. The British and Indians manifested extreme rancor, and were unsparing in their labors and assaults. The roar of can- non and bomls discharged upon the fort was continual. The defence was gallant and determined, and a number of men were slain in it. At length a despatch arrived with forty-seven men, from General Clay's brigade, informing that hri was at hand, with one thousand one hundred Kentuckians. The besie- gers were attacked by him. Their batteries were carried, and their cannon spiked. In the ardor of pursuit. Colonel Dudley was led into an ambuscade, and an attack ecla- ir ll I 'Li >«•* 1', i- , " ISO INDIAN WARS menced upon the brave but indiscreet Kentuckians, Mrhich terminated in the death or capture of almost the whole detachment. The barbarities of the river Raisin were here acted over ag^in, though not to the same extent. The Indians massacred forty-five of the prisoners, and the gal- lant Colonel Dudley among them. He is said to have killed one of the assailing Indians, after he was himself mortally wounded. In the meantime, there was a sortie from the fort, which was intended to have been simulta- neous with the assault of Colonel Dudley. The troops that composed it experienced hard fighting. They were assailed by four times their number, and would have been cut ofl' had not Lieutenant Gwynne, at the critical moment come to their aid, and gallantly charged the Indians. On the 6th of the month, hostilities seemed suspended, as if by mutual consent. Terms, in relation to the prisoners and wounded, were mutually settled between besiegers and besieged. On the 9th, the enemy abandoned his works, and the siege, which had lasted thirteen days, and in which he had exhausted his efTorts, was raised. Proctor had vaunted to his Indian allies, that he would capture the garrison, and deliver it over to them, no doubt to share the fate of those who had before fallen into their hands. In the course of the siege, one thousand eight hundred shells and balls had been fired upon the fort, and a continual discharge of small arms been kept up. The American loss in the siege and sortie was two hundred and seventy killed and wounded. Kentucky here, as else- where, suffered most severely. The gallant but indis- creet impetuosity of her sons led them to select the points of peril. In the month of June, the Seneca Indians offered their services to General Harrison, and they were accepted. The incursions of the hostile savngtm upon our frontiers were frequent and bloody. Many of the inhabitants were killed, or made captives, and the remainder were of course in a state of continual alarm. In one of these assaults, Colonel Ball, with a small detachment, was attacked from an ambush, There were about twenty in each party. In of THfe WEST*. 181 the hottest of the fight, Colonel Ball, whose horse had been shot down, was engaged in personal contest with an Indian of great strength and jwowess. He was relieved by an officer of his party, who shot the Indian. The sav- ages then made a desperate onset with the usual yell, in- dicating that they would neither take nor give quarter. The band of savages was destroyed to a man. In his general orders after the raising the siege of fort Meigs, General Harrison spoke in the highest terms of the conduct of his men during the siege. To Majors Todd, Ball, Lodwick, Ritzer, and Johnson, he made the public expression of his warmest satisfaction. In speak- ing of the Kentuckians, he said — 'It rarely happened that a general had to complain of the excessive ardor of his troops; but that this seemed to be generally the cas3 when the Kentuckians were engaged; and that they appeared to think that valor alone could accomplish every thing.' Of the conduct of the General himself, it appears to bo generally conceded that he merited entire praise. During the seventh day of the siege of which we have just spoken, he received from General Proctor a summons to surrc ader the fort, making much parade of his own force, and avow- ing the usual desire to prevent the effusion of blood. The proper answer was returned, and the summons was not repeated. After the raising the siegj effort Meigs, General Har- rison transferred his head quarters to Seneca town, on the Lower Sandusky. It was now geneially supposed that General Proctor would unite his forces with tihose of the main Canadian army, engaged in another quarter. General Harrison better understood his purposes. Fort Meigs had Lcen placed in an excellent state of defence. Great exertions wore made to fortify fort Stephenson, as itapj»ear?, npiiinsl the counsels of General Harrison. Du- ring the mdith of July, Iho congregated tril.cs of savages under Teciansoh, who was reported to have received the rank and emoluments of Brigadier General under General Proctor, together with a considerable force of regulare^ proceeded on an expcditiijn, the object of which was the capture of forts Meigs and Stephenson. Tecumsch was 16 ■f M; 182 INDIAN WARS despatched with two thousand warriors, to make a diver- . sion favorable to the British, while they advanced to the attack of fort Stephenson. Proctor made a feint, mean- while, to keep the attention of General Harrison occupied with fort Meigs. Proctor immediately appeared before fort Stephenson, with seven hundred Indians under Dixon, and five hunched regulars. A number of guH boats had been brought round to bear upon the fort. Major Croghan was in it with no more than one hundred and sixty men. He had already disobeyed the orders of his commander in chief, in not destroying the works, and abandoning the place, as indefensible. It was immediately invested with a force of such immense superiority, as left him but a dark prospect of being able to maintain a siege, and little hope of relief, but by the desperate expedient of cutting his way to the enemy. He chose to defend it. He hastily cut a deep ditch, and raised a stockade round it. General Proctor attempted to gain the place by artifice. He sent a flag, accompanied -with the noted renegade. Colonel Elliott, well remembered for his conduct towards the Americans at the river Raisin. Parade, artifice, and menace, were alike unavailing to procure the surrender. The steady answer of Major Cro^q;han was, 'that he should never surrender the place as long as there were any men in it, to defend it.' General Proctor then opened batteries upon his works, and ccmmcticed a furious cannonade. This was continued a long lime without much effect. Col- onel Short, of the besiegers, then led up a force of three hundred and fifty regulars, in close column, to storm the fort. The fire which the besieged opened upon them threw them into confusion, and induced a hasty retreat. Colonel Short . rallied them, and they advanced so far the second lime as to gain the ditch. They leapt into it, and filled it. A concealed six pounder had been so placed as to rake the ditch in a line. It w as charged with slugs, and dis- charged upon them. The front of this column was only thirty yards from the piece. Colonel Short, and almost every man in the ditch, was killed. A volley of musketry at the same time was fired with fatal execution, upon those who were standing upon the outer edge of the ditch. The was c OP THE WEST. 183 officer who succeeded Colonel Short, rallied the broken column, and led it again into the ditch. A second dis- charge of the fatal six pounder was made with the same effect as the first; and the volley of m-.isketry that fol- lowed, completed the confusion. A retreat ensued, and an army retired from a garrison that contained not a tenth part of their numbers, and which, at the commencenient of the siege, had taken counsel only from their despair. No inconsiderable quantity of baggage and arms was left by the besiegers; and their loss was reported to have been not less than one hundred and fifty men. That of the gar- rison was only one killed and seven wounded. Major Croghan gained and received imperishable lienors. Cap- tain Hunter, Lieutenants Johnson, Bayle, Meeks, and Ensigns Shipp, and Duncan, acquired great and^ deserved praise. The brilliant and complete victory of lake Erie, by the fleet under the gallant Perry, followed. The result of this splendid action, placed the whole lake under the American control. Then first the masts of a. captured British fleet were seen among; the trees on the shores of Ohio. These foresters of the shores of Eric gazed on the impressive array of ships, which is usually seen only on the ocean. Six hundred British prisoners were conducted to Chillico- the. The flush of success and the animation of hope were infused into the couHtry. Governor Maigs made an ap- peal to the militia of Ohio for volunteers, and fifteen thou- sand were soon under arms. Their original object was the relief of fort Stephenson; but they now entertained other hopes. The governor of Kentucky, Colonel Isaac Shelby, arrived with four thousand mounted volunteers. Thegrenter part of the garrison of tort Maigs, under Gei% eral M'Arthur joined him. General Harrison immediate- ly determined upon invading the enemy's shores. The troops were received on board the victorious fleet of Com- modore Perry, increased by the captured ships of the ene- my. From sixteen vessels of war and one hundred boats they were landed, in perfect order, a league below Maiden. It must have been a voyage as novel and impressive as it was cheerins to these sons of the west. •M} l»l INDIAN WARS General Proctor immediately abandoned Maiden; and having first set fire to the fort, and destroyed the public prof:erty, he retreated with his Indians towards the Thames. The American army entered Amherstburgh) amidst the smoke of the conflagration of the public works. The wo- men of the place came out in a body, and begged that protection which Amaricans could never refuse. The place was, indeed, in many respects obnoxious to every feeling of retaliation and vengeance. Here the savages had been fostered. Here they had held their horrid orgies of exultation, on their return from successful expeditions. Hence, loaded with presents and munitions of war, they had marched to plundar, massacre, and destroy. Scarcely a volunteer who entered this odious place, but had suffered in his person, property, relations, or friends, by the outra- ges and massacres, which had been spirited and instigated from this place. But it was determined that the British and Indians should see the difference between the Ameri- can troops, and those who had enacted -the bloody tragedy of the river Raisin. Even the house of the renegado, Colonel Elliott, was spared. General Proctor and his army made all speed to Sand- wich. They were followed by the American army by land, and the fleet through the river Datroit. General Harrison directed General M'Arthur to remain, with most of the regular troops, to occupy Detroit, and to watch the motions of the celebrated chief * Split-log,' who had re- tired with a great body of savages to the woods, near the Huron of lake St. Clair. He continued the pursuit of Proctor up the Thames. He was joiied by tha regiment of Colonel Johnson, part of Colonel Ball^ regiment of Jfagoons, and the wholo of Governor Shelby's volunteers. General Cass and Commodore Perry acted as his aids. The fortunate capture of a British Lieutenant of dragoons and eleven privates, who had been left to destroy the brid- ges, enabled him to save a bridge, and to learn that the enemy had had no certain advices of his destination up the Thames. Djring this rapid pursuit, tha American array captured a quantity of clothing, two thousand stands of arms, and a number of cannon. They easily dispersed OF THE WEST. 185 the Indians from their path. In a skirmish, the rear of the enemy sufllered a considerable loss. Two gun boats, and several biirgos loaded with provisions, were taken. On the 5th of the month, the pursuit was eagerly re- newed, and intelligence was brought that the enemy was waiting for them, in order of battle, at four miles' dis- tance. Thsir position was well chosen. On one side was a swamp, an J on the other a river. Between the swamp and the river was a level plain, the approach to which was defended by a thick wood. The British were posted in a line across this plain. Their left rested upon the riv- er, and was supported by most of their artillery. Their centre was protected by two heavy pieces of cannon. Their force numbered about one thousand two hundred Indians, and six hundred regulars^ The arrangments of General Harrison for the several corps of his army were formed with great judgment. They were entrusted to Lieutenant Colonel James Johnson, Colonel Paul, and Colonel R. M. Johnson, Major Thompson, and CaptHin Strieker. A di- vision was commanded by General Desha. The Ameri- can troops mDved to the attack, and received the fire of the British. In a moment, the line of the enemy was broken by one thousand horsemen, who dashed through the centre, and either cut or trampled down all that oppo- sed them. The shock was irresistible. There was an immediate surrender of four hundred and seventy-two men, with their officers. General Proctor was aware of bis deserts and escaped with all possible speed. The Indians contes':ed the battle with much more perti- nacity than their British allies. Tecumseh put forth all his courage and prowess in this battle. He awaited the shock of the American cavalry, and dealt it a prodigioi4l» fire as it advanced. The first effort, although a desperate one, to break the Indian line, failed. Ci)lonel Johnson then ordered his men to dismount, and fitjht the Indians af- ter their own fashion. The fight was fierce and obstinate. Part of the Amarican line faltered; but at that critical mo- ment Colonel Shelby came up with a reinforcement and turned the scale. A personal ^.outest ensued between Co- lonel Johnson and Tecumseh, The former had been IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 1.25 Ui|28 |25 ■U Uii 12.2 U liii ■" no us KB lit my 2.0 ^U4 6" HiolDgraphic Sciences Corporalion 23 WIST MAIN STRUT WUSTM,N.Y. M5M (71(>)S72-4S03 166 INDIAN WARS wouaded five times, was covered with blood, and wasr smarting with the agony of his wounds. He had been mounted on a beautiful white charger through the action, which rendered him a conspicuous mark for the direction of the savage shots. He had received a shower of bullets, which pierced every part of his dress and accoutrements. His horse was wounded, and in staggering back exposed hitn to the tomahawk of his savage antagonist. It missed him. He drew his pistol, shot his enemy in the head, and they both fell together. This version of the mode of Te- cumseh^s death is now questioned. Major Thompson, on whom the command devdved, after the fall of Colonel Johnson, continued to direct the fight. It was long and ■obstinate. The savages finally fled, and numbers of them were cut down by the cavalry in their flight. Among the singular trophies of this victory were sev- eral pieces of brass cannon, which bad been taken from Burgoyue at Saratoga, surrendered by General Hull with Detroit, and now returned again to the Americans. The victory was complete, and the result was all that could be expected, or desired from it. Michigan was recovered. The British force in Upper Canada was broken down. The savages that had depended upon the British there, were intimidated, and their connexion with them broken up and destroyed. The prophet, a most powerful and in- veterate enemy of the United States — Tecumseh, the re- morseless and intrepid leader, whose hostility had wrought so much mischief to us — these chiefs no longer in being to lead them to battle, the confidence of the Indians sunk at once, and must of them made terms with the conquer- ing General. The general result to the west was, that iVie frontier people were relieved from their well founded apprehonsions. They no longer mistook by night the howl of the wild beasts for that of the savages. They returned in peace to their habitations, their confidence, and accustomed pursuits. ► While these events were occurring on the northern frontier, the Indians of the west and of the upper Iklissis- sippi were not idle. There can seldom be a movement of the savages in one quarter, without exciting a simultaneous son was sti __.J3«2:iSS- m\ OP tKfi WEST, W movement of them in another quarter. The incursions of the northern and western Indians were so severe upon the frontiers of Illinois and Missouri) that many of the inci<» pient settlemants in both those territories were broken up. The Indians often extended their ravaf^es to the central villages of those regions. A band of Sacs, Foxes, and Pottawattomies, ranged through Missouri, and committed a great numbei of the most atrocious murders. In some instances, whole families were destroyed, and their ac-^ customed fury was let loose upon women and children. A considerable force of mounted rangers was raised in the two territories. They were active and vigilant in scour- ing the frontiers, and in repressing the savage incursions. Meanwhile the war with the Creeks still raged in the south. After the battle of Tallushatchee, General Jack- ^ son was still waiting in the Indian country for the junction of the troops from East Tennessee. Intelligence was despatched to him, that the hostile Indians had arrived be- fore Talladega, a fort or town of friendly Indians. These Indians had incurred their peril by their fidelity to the United Statts. Honor and policy alike forbade that they should be sacrificed. Genera! Jackson, although pain- fully disappointed in his expectations of the junction of forces from East Tennessee, marched directly to the aid of the friendly Indians. The force of the Americans was not far from one thousand eight hundred. On the* 8th of December, 1813, at one in the mornigg, the army began crossing the river, behind which the In- dians were posted. It was here six hundred yards wide, and of course to cross it was a work of difficulty, as well as time. The next day at four in the morning the army^^ was again in motion. The infantry proceeded in tbree^^ columns ; the cavalry in the same order. The advance, consisting of a company of artillerists, with muskets, two companies of riflemen, and one of spies, marched about four hundred yards in front, under the command of Colo- nel Carroll, with orders, after commencing the action, to H fall back on the centre, and draw :.he enemy after them. Lieutenant Colonel Dyer was placed in the centre, with twc hundred and fifty cavalry, as a corps of reserve. The ISriiS!: ■ i„; 188 INDIAN WARS • remainder of the maunted troops'were directed to advance on the right and left, after encircling the enemy, by uniting the fronts of thsir culumns, and keeping their rear rested on the infantry, to face and press towards the centre, so as to leave the savages no»possib"ility of escape. The re- mainder of tha army advanced by heads of companies, General Hall's brigade occupying the right, and General Roberts' the left. At eight in the morning, the advance, within eighty yards of the enemy, received a severe fire from them, concealed as they were, behind a thick shrubbery. They returned if, and according to their instructions, fell back upon the centre. The enemy, with their customary yells and whoops, rushed upon General Roberts' brigade, a few companies of which recoiled in alarm, and fled at the first fire. To fill the chasm created by this desertion, the com- manding gen;;^ral directed a volimteer regiment of Colonel Bradley, which appeared to linger, to advance and occupy the vacant space. This order was not executed by Brad- ley. Owing to this failure, it became necessary to dis- mount the reserve, which met the rapid approach of the enemy with great firmness. This example inspirited the retreating militia, who rallied, and assisted in checking the advance of the savages. Ou the left they were met and repulsed by the mannted riflemen. But, owing to the dilatory movements of the volunteer regiment, and the toip extensive circuit made by Colonel Allcorn, who com- manded the cavalry of that wing, the intended circle was not so closed but that a number of the enemy escaped in the interval. The savages fought with determined spirit for some ''time, and then retreated for the adjacent hills. Many of them fell in this retreat, and the slaughter did not cease until they were sheltered among the hills, at the distance of three miles. General Jackson, in his report, bestowed the highest commendation'* on the ofticers and soldiers gen- erally. He mentioned Colonel Carroll and Lieutenant Colonel Dyer in terms of high praise for the spirited gal- lantry with which they met and repulsed the enemy; sta- ting that both officers and privates had answered hii would caus OF THE WfiST. 169 highest expectations, and merited the gratitude of their country. The enemy brought one thousand and eighty to this battle, of whom two hundred and ninety-three were killed on the field. It is supposed th%t many were killed in the flight. Few escaped unwounded. Their whole loss, as since stated by themselves, was about six hundred. The American force lost fifteen killed, and eighty wounded, of whom many aflerwards died. A scene ensued this victory that would be difficult to describe. The friendly Indians had been besieged close* ly for several days. They were a handful surrounded by infuriated enemies. Torture and the most horrible death were in reserve for them, as the certain consequence of surrender. la their siege, they endured every privation, particularly the dreadful one of water. They were relie- ved on the very day when an assault was to have been made upon them, which would almost inevitably have re- sulted in the destruction of every one of them. Their deliverance was one of the few occasions that melts even the savage heart to tenderness and joy. The manifesta- tions were affecting. Famished as they had been, they sold their provisions for the supply of the famished troops of General Jackson. Imagination can scarcely conjure up moire difficulties than those v/hich the General had to encounter in this caAipaign. General Cocke, who commanded the troops from Bast Tennessee, was, like General Jackson, a.Major General, having apparently a separate and independent command, and charged with precisely the same objects- — to avenge the injuries of the country, and punish the sav- age Toe. He seems to have been equally hearty in the cause. His reasons for attempting a separate campaign were, that on joining his troops to those of General Jack- son, adding the number of so many mouths to be filled, would cause the famine that already prevailed in his camp, to press still more heavily on the trojps of both Generals; and that in an unite. 1 command the former would gain all the laurels. Looking in vain for aid from that Quarter, suffering :^M ■■-a IM 190 INDIAN WARS • • personally from famine at his own table, and still more from witnessing the privations of the camp, and the mu- tinous and coraplainingspirit of insubordination, so natu- ral to men, situated as were the troops from Tennessee, the General was obliged to turn his back upon all the ad- vantages already gained, and to retreat under^he aspect of defeat, rather than of victory. All these dilBculties were increased by the p.rtsof some officers among his troops, who believing that the campaign was about to break up, wished to be the first to return home, and render themselves popular by being the heralds of their own exploits, and by taking part in the complaints of the soldiers. The otBcers and soldiers of the militia, collecting in their tents, and talking over their grievances, finally determined to abandon the camp, and return home. The general had immediate warning of their purpose, and was determiner! at every hazard to prevent it. At the mo- ment when they had determined to carry their intentions into effect, they beheld the volunteers, with the General at their head, in front of them, with positive commands to prevent their advancing, and to compel them to return to their camp. This decision and energy overawed them, and they returned to their camp, not only without mur- muring, but extolling iheunalterable firmness of their Gen- eral. The next day presented a different spectacle. The volunteers, who had been the day before the instruments of compelling the militia to return to their duty, particpa- ting with them in the same discontents, and secretly wish- ing well to the cause, began in turn to mutiny themselves. Knowing the disaffection of the militia, they deemed that when their discontents were manifest, there would be no power in the hands of the General to prevent their carry- ing their plans into effect. To their surprise, they found the militia disposed to return the good offices which they had received ; and when they had made all their arrange- ments to move off, they found the militia between them and their purposes, manifesting a fixed determination to obey the orders of their general. They fell in with the example which hadNbeen placed before them tha day^ before, and moved back in quietness to their quarters. OF THE WEST. 191 Part of these amusing results may be ascribed topiquo, and the grai;6cation which the parties alternately felt, in being able to'.hwarl the views of those who had so lately crossed their own. Added to this, they were conscioua that they had complained beyond their causes for complaint. They were anxious, from a great and mixed variety of mo- tives, to return to their homes. But the militia appear to have stopped short in their mutinous spirit socner than the volunteers. To the latter there seemed no alternative between carrying their point and dishonor. They were anxious that their calise should prcsper, that it might seem to be founded in justice. The wishes of the cavalry to return had such a just foundation, from the impossibility of procurmg forage, that on a solemn pledge by their platoon and field othcers, that they would return as soon as their horses were recruited, and themselves furnished with winter clothing. General Jackson granted their request, and they immediately set out on their return. The discontent was smothered for the moment, but it was not quenched; and the General was aware that on a favorable occasion it would be sure to burst forth again. His prospects of supply were brightened by letters, just re- ceived from the contractors, that provisions for the army were then on the road, and would shortly arrive in the camp. Under these circumstances he assembled his troops, and addressed them in the most energetic and animating terms, imploring them by every consideration to follow up the blow they had struck; promising them, that if supplies did not arrive in two days, he would himself march back with them; requesting them to reflect seriously upon the subject during the following night, and let him know the result of their intentions on thei succeeding morning. On retiring lo their tents, and deliberating on the measures proper to be adopted on this emergency, the officers of the volunteers concluded that nothing short of marching the army imme- diately back to the settlements could prevent the disgrace which must attend a forcible desertion of the camp by the soldiers. The officers of the militia d'^termincd differently, and were willing to remain until ii ould be ascertained whether a supply of provisions could be had. * If it can,' mM V.'-'u^P'!' %^ched towards fort Deposit with Orp THE WEST. 1^3 the remainder of the army, with the distinct understanding, that on meeting supplies, they were to return and prose- ci^te the campaign. They had not marched more than twelve miles, when they met one hundred and fitly beeves. A sight which gave the General so much delight, was to the discontented equally unwelcome. Their faces were towards home, apd the prospect of returning back to the war was hateiul. As soon as their devouring appe- tites were appeased, they were ordered to return to their encampment. Low murmurings ran along the lines, and presently broke out into open mutiny. One company was already moving off in a direction towards home. As soon as the General was informed of this, he pursued them with a part of his staff, and a few soldiers with General Coffee, who had halted a quarter of a mile in advance. He or- dered them immediately to form across the road, and to fire on the mutineers, if they attempted to proceed. Snatch- ing up their arms, these faithful adherents presented a front which awed the deserters, and caused them to retreat precipitately on the main body. But the example of mu- tiny was contagious. He soon ascertained that a whole brigade was in the attitude of marching tack by force. In this crisis, having taken his ground, he determined to tri- umph or perish. Seizing a musket, and resting it on the neck bf his horse, for he was disabled by a wound from the use of his left arm, he threw himself in front of the mutinous column, and declared that he would shoot the first man who should venture to advance. In this situa- tion he was found by Major Reid and General Coffee, who, judging from the length of his absence, that some disturbance had arisen, hastened to his side, and waited the result of his perilous determination, in the anxious sus:-"* pense of expectation. For many minutes the column pre- served a sullen, yet hesitating attitude, at once fearing to proceed, and reluctant to retreat. In the mean time, those who remained faithful to '' eir duty, amounting to about two com[>anics, were collected and" formed in renr of the General, and in advance of the troops, with positive orders to imitate his example in firing, if they attempted to ad- vance. The timidity, resulting from the consciousness rX 17 j?»a' V:''- A P-m •5^? • ^\m ** \ 104 INDIAN WARS a bad cause, prevailed. They returned quietly to their posts. This firmness, at this critical moment, undoubtedly saved the campaign, and perhaps determined the issue of the war. There are but few men who could have adopted such a course with safety. Shortly after the battle of Talladega, the Hillabee tribes, who had suffered most severely on that occasion, sued for peace. General Jackson sternly demanded the proper reparation and submission, assurmg them that fort Mimms should long be remembered by them in bitterness and tears, but informing them, that on manifestation of sin- cerity in their desires for peace, (le was not disposed to make war on those who were willing to become our friends. But before this answer arrived among them. General White had attacked and destroyed their town, killing sixty, and making two hundred and fifty-six prisoner s. This un- fortunate circumstance contributed to the desperation with which the Creeks afterwards fought. They had asked for peace on the General's own terms. - Finding themselves attacked under such circumstances, it produced among them the false conviction, that no submission would avail them, and they considered it as a war of extermination. There is no instance afterwards of their asking for quarter, or manifesting a disposition to receive it. We have been thus particular in giving the details of the first diiliculties and mutinies ^vhich General Jackson had to encounter at the commencement of the Creek war, as they serve as accurate samples of all his subsequent difficulties in bringing this war to a successful termination. They remind us of the trials which Washington had to ^ endure, in prosecuting the war of the revolution. His soldiers were little accustomed to any, even the most necessary control. They were full fed, and much accuE- tomed to spend their time at their own discretion at home. Their enlistments were for periods too limited. The arrangements of the contractors for supplies were grossly mismanaged. Some of the officers were no better than partisans. So formidable were the difficulties in the way of prosecuting the campaign, that even the Governor advi- OP THE WEST. 1*96 sed its abandonment. The troops were not certain whether they were to look to the general government, or that of their state, for their pay; or whether they might not ulti- mately fail of being paid by either. On tho 12th of De- cember, General Cocke arrived with one thousand five hundred men; but it was found that they wore not brought into the field under the requisition of the President of the United States; that the term of service of a great part of them would expire in a few days, and the whole in a few weeks. Mutiny succeeded to mutiny, and such was the general gloom of the prospect, that a man of any other temperament and character than that of General Jackson would have yielde )to the advice of Governor Blount, and wearied and disgusted with quelling mutiny in one form to-day, only to see it renewed in another to-morrow, would have abandoned the enterprise forever. Not so General Jackson. He harangued his troopsT — He appealed to every motive that can influence the human heart — their honor, their patriotism, their avarice, and their fears in turn. Tne more obstacles and impediments arose before him, the more firmly he attached himself to the cause. In one instance, he ordered the arrest of a muthious officer, LieiUenant Kearly, and demanded his sword. His reply was, *that he was a free man, not sub- ject to the orders of General Jackson, or any other per- son .1 declaring, at the same tiiue, that his sword should protect him on his way to Tennessee. The guards, who were ordered to arrest him, cocked their guns. Lieutenant Kearly and his men did the same. The General hastened to the scene, and demanded Kearly 's sword in person, which he persisted to refuse. The General snatched a pistol from his holster, and was levelling it at the breast of Kearly, when friends interposed, and he was induced to surrender his sword. During the crisis, both parties were prepared to fire, and a scene of bloodshed was nar-^ flowly escaped. Under these discouragements, and the departure of the troops from East Tennessee, for their homes, and the scattering away of his forces, he was far. from being induced to despond, and he was determined to^ ■ Wh l! : t r ,1*! m ■** 106 INPIAN WARS prosecute the campaign, with the feeble force still remail^ ing with him. On the 2d of January, 1814, Colonel Carroll and Mr. Blackburn arrived at head quarters, reporting the approach of eight hundred and fifty volunteers. These men had scarcely arrived, and chosen Colonels Perkins and Hig- gins to command them, when these othcers refused to march their regiments to head quarters under command o( General Coffee. There was no small ditficulty in quelling this mutiny, and it was not until the 13lh of the month, that these officers arrived at head quarters witli their regiments. The whole effective forca at this time consisted, according to the report, of only nine hundred men, and was in reali- ty short of that number. On the 15th, the troops commenced their march, and moved to Wehogee creek, three miles from fort Strolher. At Talladega he was joined by two hundred friendly In- dians, badly armed, and discoui'aged at the weakness of the united force. A thousand men, under such circum- stances, were led into the heart of an enemy ^s country, with no possible hope of escape, but from victory. To march seemed now tlje only alternative, although it was a course so full of peril. To irirch was necessary, to afford u diversion favorable to General Floyd, who was advancing from Georgia with an army against the Creeks. Another reason rendered this course indispensable.. Tho officer commanding at -fort Armstrong, had received intel- ligence, on which the utmost reliance was placed, that the warriors fiom fourteen or fifteen towns on the Tallapoosa wereabout to combine their forces, and attack that place. For the want of a sufficient garrison, it was in a defence- less condition. On reachiug^ Tdlladega,.the General re- ceived a letter from the commander at fort Armstrong, confirming the report, that this depot was about to be attacked. He was also informed, by an express from General Pinckney, that General Floyd was moving on the Creek country, and would shortly be a.t Tuckabatcha. The express desired him, for various reasons, to advance upon such of the Creek. to\yas as mi^ht b^ within striking distance from him. more sei OF* THE WEST. 197 Had he hcRitated before, these advices would have deci- ded him. It was understood, that tl^e hostile force was collected in a bend of the Tallapoosa, near the mouth of a creek, called Eriiuckfaw. On that ?>oint he marched by the shortest route. As he advanced, he became more and more sensible of the ignora.nce of his guides, and the in- experience and insubordination, both of his otlicers and troops. But they were in high spirits, and anxious to meet the enemy. On the 21st, the General encamped his small force on the eminences, that overlooked Emuckfaw, and made every preparation against an attack. At midnight, spies reported that they had discovered a large encamp- ment of Indians, at three miles distance, yelling and dan- cing in a manner to indicate that they were apprised of his arrival. At the dawn of the next morning, the alui m guns of the sentinels, succeeded by shrieks ond savage yells, announced the attack of the enemy. Their iTusi assault was on the left flank, commanded by Colonel Hig- gms. It was met. and opposed with great firmness. Gen- eral Coffee and Colonels Carrc^l and Sitler instantly re- paired to the point of attack, and by example and exhor- tation encouraged the men to their duty. The action raged for half an hour. The brunt of it being against the left wing,^ it had become considerably weakened. The first part of the action had taken place during the dimness of twilight.. The clear light of the morning, showing the position of the enemy, and Captain FerriPs company hav- ing reinforced the left wing. General Coffee directed a charge, and a rout immediately ensued. The enemy were pursued two miles. The General immediately detached General Coffee, with the friendly Indians and'four hundred men, to storm the enemy^s encampment, unless it should be found too strongly fortified, in which case he proposed^to bring up the artillery. Coffee, having reconnoitered the position, and found it too strongly fortified to be assailed with his force, returned to camp. H&had not returned nK>re than half an hour, when a fire was opened on the piquets on the right, accompanied with the usual savage yells. General Gofl^ volunteered his services to move upon the leH fiank. 17* ^fi^'\ ill' ft..- Id8 INDIAN WARS of the assailants. His detachment was taken from difler- ent corfr'. He placed himself at their head, and moved rapidly upon the foe. While he was thus occupied, the rear of his force had an opportunity to slip away unper- ceived, until the whole number did not exceed fifty men. He found the enemy occupying a ridge of open pine tim- ber,, covered with low underbrush, which afforded them every opportunity for concealment. To drive them from their lurking places, General Coffee ordered his men to dismount, and charge them. In carrying this order into execution, the General was wounded through the body, and his aid, Major Danelson, killed. This was followed by a violent onset on the line of the left. General Jackson repaired in person to the point of attack. The battle was maintained by the assailants by quick and irregular firing from behind logs, trees, shrub- bery, and whatever could afford concealment. Behind these, they prostrated themselves^ after firing, to reload, and rise, and fire again. After sustain ing this fire for some time, a brilliant and steady charge, under Colonel Carroll, broke their array, threw them into confusion, and caused them to fly. Their loss^ though it was certainly conside- rable, was not exactly known. On the right. General Coffee had not been able to drive them from their fastnesses to his wish; and with a view to draw them from their retreat, he affected to re' ire towards the place where he had first dismounted. This stratagem had the desired eflfect. They forsook their hiding places, and advanced rapidly upon him. The fight was renewed again on equal terms. A severe contest ensued, which lasted almost an hour, with nearly the same loss on each side. At this crisis, when several of the detachment had been killed, many wounded, and the whole Was exhausted with fatigue, a timely reinforcement from\General Jackson made its appearance on the enemy ^s left flank, ai$d put an end to the contest. General Coffee, although severely wounded, instantly ordered a charge, from which the ene- my fled in conslornation, and were pursued with great slaughter. At this place, few, if any, escaped. It was a day of almost continual hard fighting. « ' OF THE WEST. 19^ The oiglit, that drew on after such a day, amid the* gloom of the forest, would naturally be dispiriting to troops,' most of whom had never before seen an enemy, or formed a distinct idea of the horrors of a battle. The spirits of the men were observed visibly to flag, as the darkness increased. During the night, at even the least noise, the sentinels would hre their alarm guns, and retreat upon the main body. General Jackson, having accomplished the main objects of the expedition, a diversion in favor of General Floyd, and the relief of fort Armstrong, began to think of returning to his former station at the Ten Islands. The impossibility of subsistence for men and horses, where they were, rendered this measure indispensable. The appearance of a retreat, too, would probably draw the savages from their strong holds, where they could not be attacked with his present force, with any prospect of suc- cess. Every arrangement for the comfort and conveyance of his wounded being made, he began his retreat, at ten^ the next morning. He marched without interruption, until nearly night, and encamped on the, south side of Enoti- chopco creek. v The next day, various circumstances instructed the General that he was pursued. The delay of an attack led him to fear that he was marching into an anrvbuscade. The necessary crossing of a deep ravine between two hills, sheltered with thick shrubbery and brown, sedge, affording a most favorable concealment for savage attack, exposed him to an ambuscade. A few pioneers were despatched to find another crossing, place. At this place^the front guards, and part of the columns, had passed, and th^ artil- lery was crossing. The company of Captain Russell, who marched in the rear, was suddenly attacked by great- ly superior numbers. The General had made all possible arrangements for the emergency of an attack in tl * (/laco, and calcufated on a certain victory. Great was his aston- ishment, when he beheld the right and left columns of the rearguard, after a feeble resistance, giving way, carrying confusion and dismay with them, and obstructing the pas- sage overnvhich ihe principal strength of the army was to be recrossed. This timid deportment was well nigh being; 200 INDIAN WAKS fi^lowed with the most fatal consequences, which were \ here, but f jr this movement, ho would have been outnumbered by the enemy, and would, probably, have experienced a defeat. The army returned triumph- ant, and experience has proved how easily the ranks of a victorious army are filled. This army, whose term of service had nearly expired, was discharged. The spirif of the people was roused, and a new army was speedily collected, with^ longer period of enlistment. A renewal of the difficulties of sup- plies and of insubordination was experienced, though in a less degree than at the commencement of the former cam- paign. These evils, in a greater or less degree, are inevi- tably incidental to the calling into service inexperienced militia, whose submission and duties aro not settled by prescription, who are subjected to conflicting authorities, the limits of which are not well defined, and who con- stantly experience in the camp the most earnest longings to xeturu home. 902 mmAvt WARS The severe example of the execution of a mutinous private, John Woods, had a most salutary effect in clieck- ing the incipient spirit of mutiny, and probably prevented a second edition of the original ditficulties from that quar- ter. Bat there remained anxieties enough to leave little repose or quietness to the General. The East Tennes- see brigade, under the command of General Doherty, manifested, also, symptoms of disaffection, and ^as hardly restrained from returning immediately home. One hun- dred and eighty men deserted in a body. To put an end to this order of things, General Jackson issued an order to Greneral Doherty, to arrest and send to fort Strother, under guard, any officer, of whatever rank he might be, who idkould be found in his camp, attempting to incite the sol- diers to mutiny. About this time. Colonel Dyer was detached with six hundred men to the head of the Black Warrior, to ascer- tain if there were any Indians embodied in that quarter, and if there were, to disperse them, and prevent their ■coming on in the rear of the army. This detadiment marched eight days along the ridges of the Cahaba, and fell in with a trail of the enemy passing eastwardly ; but being able to gain no certain information of them, they desisted from the pursuit, and returned to camp. On the 14th of March, 1814, General Jackson had made such arrangements, and obtained such supplies, as enabled him to commence his march for the enemy. At the mouth of Cedar creek, he established fort Wiiliams. On the 24th, leaving a sufficient force for the protection of the fort,^nder Brigadier General Johnson, he set out for the Tallapoosa, by the way of Emuckfaw. His whole effective fores was something less than three thousand men. At ten in the morning of the 27th, after a march of fifly-two miles, he reached the village of Tohopeka. The enemy had collected here in considerable numbers, to give him battle. The warriors from Oakfudty, Hillabee, Eu- falee, and New Youcka, amounting to nearly one thousand two hundred, were at this place waiting his approach. They had selected an admirable place for defence. Situ- ated in a bei^d of the river^ which almost surrounded it, it OF THE WEST. 20ft wa»accessible only by a r.^rrow neck of land. This they had used great exertions to render impregnable, by pla- cing large timbers and trunks of trees horizontally on each other, leaving but a single place for entrance. From a double row of port holes, they were enabled to fire in per- fect security behind it. General Coffee^ with mounted infantry and friendly Indians, had been despatched early in the morning, to encircle the bend, and manoeuvre in ' such a way as to divert the savages from the real point of attack. He was particularly directed to prevent their escape to the opposite shore in their canoes, witk which, it was represented, the whole shore was lined. The Gene- ral posted the rest of his army in front of the breastwork. He began to batter their breastworks with his cannon. ■. Muskets and riHes were used, as the Indians occasionally showed themselves. The signals, which were to an- nounce that General Coffee had gained his destination, were given. The soldiers hailed it with acclamations, and advanced with the intrepidity of veterans. The 39th re- giment, led on by their skillful commander. Colonel Wil- liams, and the brave but ill-fated Major Montgomery, and the militia, amidst a sheet of fire that poured upon them, rushed forward to the rampart. Here an obstinate and destructive conflict ensued. In firing through the port holes on either side, many of the enemy's balls were wel- ded between the muskets and bayonets of our soldiers. At this moment, Major Montgomery, leaping on the ranv- part, called to his men to follow him. Scarcely had he spoken, when he was shot through the head, and fell. Our troops had now scaled the ramparts, and the savages fled before them, concealing themselves under the brush and timber, which abounded in the peninsula, whence they still continued a galling fire. Here they were charged, and dislodged. Their next alternative was their canoes; but they perceived that a pari of the army lined the oppo- site shoie, and precluded escape on that quarter. They that still survived the conflict, leaped down the banks, and took shelter behind the trees which had been felled from their margin. A flag, with an interpreter, was here sent them, to propose a surrender. They fired upon the party, pi m ■■« {M)4 INDIAN WARS and wounded one of them. Ascertaining their despera- tion, orders were given to dislodge them. The brush and trees about them were set on fire by. lighted torches, sent down among them, and the blaze drove them from their hiding places, and brought them to view. The slaughter €K)ntinued, until night concealed the combatants from each other. A few of the misguided savages, who had avoided the havoc of the day, made their escape under the covert of the darkness. The friendly Indians contributed not a little to the completeness of this victory. Several of the Cherokees, and Russell's spies, in the heat of the action, swam across the river, and fired the Indian town in the rear of the foe. Thus they found themselves assailed on every side, and vulnerable on a quarter from which they had not expected an attack. This battle gave a death blow to their hopes ; nor did they afterwards venture to make any decided stand. Here they had strongly fortified themselves. Here, their pro- phets had led them to believe, that they were secure of the aid of the 'Great Spirit,' and invincible. They had never met with so severe a loss, in any previous engagement. Their best and their bravest warriors fell. f*ew escaped the carnage. Many were thrown into the river, while the battle raged. Many were destroyed by Coffee's brigade in endeavoring to cross it, and five hundred and fifiy-seven were found dead on the field. Among the slain, were three of the prophets- These miserable impostors, with the fantastic and magic ffnery of 'medicine men,' danced, and howled, and prophesied, and kept up the delusive con- fidence of the savages to the last. Monohce, one of the chief of them^fell, with a cannon shot in the mouth, at the very rnomem when uttering his incantations, and urging them to stand to the fight. Four men only, and three hun- dred womitjn and children, were taken prisoners. The small number of men who surrendered, give an impressive view of the desperation with which they fought. The as- sault by the troops from East Tennessee -pon the Hillabee clans, after they had sued for peace on our own terms, had caused them to relinquish all confidence in our humanity, and to trust to nothing but bravery and despair. Our loss, OP THE WEST. 205 in the river; for lie had mcluding the friendly Indians, was fifty-five killed, and one hundred and forty-six wounded. Among the former was Major Montgomery, a brave and promising young officer of the 39th regiment, and Lieutenants Moulton and Somerville, who fell early in the action. The General sunk his dead found by experience, that when they were buried, the sav- ages raised the bodies, stripped, and scalped them, pre- senting the scalps among their own people, as trophies of victory, and thus tending to inspirit them with these hor- rid badges of triumph, to prolong the war. Having mads the necessary arrangements for carrying off his wounded, he returned safely to fort Williams. On the 2d day of April, the General issued a very spiri- ted address, in the form of congratulation to his soldiers. Understanding that the enemy were embodied in conside- rable numbers at Hoithlewalee, a town not far from the Hickory Ground, he was desirous to recommence opera- tions as soon as possible. Too much weakened by sick- ness, and the loss of the late battle, and some soldiers discharged, to open the campaign as efficiently as he could choose, witlihis own forces, he wished to form a junction with the army from Georgia. The North Carolina troops, under the command of General Graham, an experienced revolutionary officer, and those of Georgia, under Colonel Milton, were announced to be some where not far south of Tallapoosa, and could not be very distant. On the 7th, with all his disposable force, he commen- ced his march, with the double view of effecting this union and of attacking on his route the enemy's force collected at Hoithlewalee. CoUld the enemy, at the point they now occupied, be brought to fight, and a Jitecisive advan- tage obtained over them, they migrt be induced to fi.il mit to terms, and the war be ended. But if suffered to esca;;c, they might again collect, and giva battle at some fortu- nate moment, and protract the war. This could in no way be so effectually prevented, as for the Tennessee troops to advance upon them from the north, and the Caro- linians and Georgians from the south, making such a dis- 18 m 206 INDIAN WARS position as would prevent their escape by crossing the river, and passing off by the Escambia to Pensacola. It was some time before he could procure confidential messengers to convey the information of his intended movements to the southern army. He wrote by expres- ses, sent on two different routes, that on the 7th he should march with eight days' provisions for Hoithlewalee, which he expected to attack on the 11th; and he urged the neces- sity of proper concert on their part to meet this move- ment. High waters prevented his reaching his destina- tiofa until the 13th, before which the enemy had Leen sufficiently apprised of his approach to flee. The rear only of the retreating savages was overtaken, and twenty- five of them made prisoners. The next day part of the town of Hoithlewalee was destroyed by a detachment of the army j but the inhabitants and warriors had fled. The next day the long desired junction with the south- em army was effected. The Tennessee army was in a state of famine. Colonel Milton, who commanded the southern troops, proposed to lend General Jackson a tem- porary supply, but felt himself under no obligation to fur- nish any. To this courteous proffer, the General answer- ed, by ordering him immediately to send him five thou- sand rations, and to join him by ten the next day at Hoith- lewalee. The junction was accordingly effected. Thr necessary steps were taken to bringdown provisions from fort Decatur, and no further inconvenience was felt for want of supplies. The principal chiefs of the Hickory Ground tribes, and the Creek chiefs generally, came in with protestations of friendship, and applied for peace. The answer was, *that those of the w^r party, who wished to put an end to the contest and become friendly, must manifest it by retiring in the rear of the army, and settling themselves to the north of fort Williams. Fourteen chiefs were willing to furnish still further evidence of their desire for peace. They assured the General that their aged king, Tous-hat- chee, would have come with them in person, but was on bis way with his followers, to settle north of fort Williams, OF THE WEST. 207 according to the information which he had received frora the General by a flag. It was expected that the Indians would make a final stand at the Hickory Grounds, in the forks near where the Coosa and Tallapoosa unite. The army continued its march for this place, without hearing of any embodied enemy. At the old Toulossee fort on the Coosa, not far from the confluence, and where the two rivers approach within one hundred poles of each other, a fort was direc- ted to be raised, to be named after the commanding Gene- ral. Here the hostile chiefs arrived daily, with assuran- ces of friendshij), and proff*ers of submission. They con- curred to state, that those of the hostile chiefs who were still opposed to peace, had fled to the gulf coast and Pensa- cola. To these applications an answer was returned simi- lar to the former. To test the sincerity of their professions, they were di- rected to bring the notorious chief, Weatherford, bound ta the camp. He was one of the most influential chiefs of the nation, and had been the principal actor in the butche- ry at fort Mimms. Soon after, the General was surprised by a personal visit from that chief, who had come volunta- rily, and without being known, and had been admitted to the General's quarters. He entered with a calm front, and said Hhat he had come to ask peace for himself and his people.' The General expressed his astonishment that he, whose conduct at fort Mimms had been so well known, anJ who must be conscious that he deserved to die, should venture to appear iu his presence. *I had directed,' he continued, 'thai you should be brought to me confined. Had you appeared in this way, I should have known how to have treated you.' Weatherford replied, *I am in your power. Do with me as you please. I am a soldier. I have done the white people all the harm I could. I have fought them, and fought them bravely. If I had an army, I would yet fight, and contend to the last. But I have none. My people are all gone. I can now do no more than weep over the misfortunes of my nation.' This man had probably penetrated ' the character of General Jackson so far as to be aware tl xt this was tho -.:M Lii fS08 INDIAN WARS only mode of address in which to please that intrepid sol- dier. Somewhat softened, the General informed him how his nation could be saved, and peace restored to it, and that there was but that alternative; informing him, how- ever, that if the alternative was not acceptable, no ad- vantage should be taken of his voluntary surrender, and that he was at liberty to depart-, and unite himself to the war party when he pleai>ed; but that, if taken, his life would pay the forfeit of his crimes. Otherwise, he was assured, if he chose to remain, that he should be protected. Weatherford answered, *that he desired peace, that his nation might be relieved from their sufferings; that, inde- pendent of other sufferings, consequences of the war, their cattle were destroyed, and their women anil children des- titute of provisions. But,' he continued, *I may well be addressed in such language now. There was a time when I had a choice, and could have answered you. I havo none now. Even hope has ended. Once I could animate my warrior>< to battle. But I cannot animate the dead. My warriors can no longer hear my voice. Their bones are at Talladega, Tallashatchee, Emuckfaw, and Tohopeka.^ I have surrendered myself deliberately. While there were chances of success, I never left my post, or supplicated peace. My people are now gone, and I ask peace for my nation and myself. On the miseries and misfortunes brought upon my country. Hook back with the deepest sorrow, and wish to avert still greater calamities. If I had been left to contend with the Georgia army, I would have raised my corn on one bank of the river, and fought them on the other. Your people have destroyed my nation. You are a brave man. I rely upon your generosity. You will exact no terms of a conquered peo- ple, but those to which they are willing to accede. What- ever they may be, it would now be madness and folly to oppose them. If they are opposed, you shall find me among the sternest enforcers of obedience. Those who would hold out, can only be influenced by a mean spirit of revenge ; and to this they must not, and shall not sac- sifice the last remnant of their country. You have told OF THE WEST. 209 us where we may go and be safe. This is a good talk, and my nation ought to listen to it, and they shall listen to it; Such was the oration of Weatherford. The earnestness and bold independence of bis after conduct, left no doubL of the sincerity of his intentions. The necessary blow had been struck, and the war in effect was closed. The spirits of the Creeks were broken down. All who were disposed still to fight, had taken protection with the Spanish on the coast. Little remained for General Jackson to accomplish, but to give stability and perpetuity to the results already obtained. The Creek country was ^coured by his tro3ps, to find any gatherings of hostile Indians, or lurking adherents to them. Knowing the natural perfidy of these people, and that no guarantee for their future tiJelity, but their fears, could be expected, he was stern in adhering to the original pur- pose, to consider all the Indians who did not remove to the north of fort Williams, as enemies. By the establish- ment of fort Jackson, a line of posts was formed from Tennessee and Georgia to the Alabama. The required remove of the Indians interposed this line between them and their communications with the Spanish at Pensacola, and placed them properly within tlie control of the United States. On the 20th, General Pinckney arrived in camp, and assumed the command of the army in person. The mea- sures that had been adopted by General Jackson, in regard to the future fidelity of the Indians, met his entire appro- bation. The Indians were retiring with their families, where they were directed. Much of the property plun- dered at fort Mimms and along the frontier, was restored, and every thing indicated on their part sincere desires of peace. A sufficient force was retained for garrisoning the posts already occupied, and orders were issued on the 21st for the troops from Tennessee to be marched home and discharged. It was a cheering reflection to them, that having seen, inflicted, and suffered so much misery, they were now retiring to their homes, carrying with them the fiweeteat consolation to the mind of a citizen soldier, thj^t 18* -i ..•'r ^ .•V . . J.,: 1210 IK DI AN WARS in the trying situations in which they had been placed, they had acted with honor, had done their duty, and wore returning *o their retired and peaceful dwellings, covered with glory. It is matter of regret, that even while these arrangements were making, the iViendly Creeks were engaged in pursu- ing and destroying their fugitive countrymen, with the most unrelentin"; rijjor. To have been at fort Mimms, was a ground of accusation against a warrior, that at once placed him out of the pale of mercy. They viewed, or affected to view, this unprovoked outrage witii more vin- dictive feelings than even did our own troops. A Creek party was on its way to our camy, for the purpose of making their submission. The friendly Creeks, under- standing that they had accompanied Weatherford in his attack upon fort Mimms, met them on their way, and put them all to death. All necessary arrangements having been made for gar- risoning the posts, and for the future security of the coun- try, and the proper reports made to General Pinckney, the commanding ofKccr, after an impressive parting address to the troops, General Jackson despatched them to their homes. The freshness of the laurels which he had gath- ered in this war, will never fade. He had every thing to encounter, and he overcame every difficulty. He was the ottly one of the army that never despaired of the cause. Such was the promptitude and celerity of his movements, that he was often upon the savages before they had any intelligence of his approach. He was one of the few men who inspire universal confidence, and have the secret to command victory. Humanity will naturally recoil from the contemplation of the misery and ruin inflicted upon these deluded sava- ges. We may surely take to ourselves the consolation, that our country had exhausted forbearance befor.e she inflicted vengeance. For more than twenty years, the Creeks had been perpetrating cruelties and murders along our frontiers. Many a parent still lives, whose sad re- membrance treasures a child that had bled beneath their murderous hands. Cold Water, on Tennessee river; had: OF THE WEST. 211 long been a den, whence they issued to prowl and mtirder. As early as 1787, General Robertson colloctoil a force of volunteers, and destroyed this settlem3nt. Thi)so who escaped from this place, retired upon tho Black Warrior, harboring revenge, and soMking every favorable opportu- nity for mitrder, until tho winter of 1813, when their towna on that river were assailed, and destroyed. In the war that ensued between our country and Great Britain, the prowess of that nation was prodigiously mag- nified intheireycs. Their prophets contributed to the il- lusion. They were led to think that the 'Great Spirit' had taken cause with them, that they were allied with an invincible power, in the British, and that they should ulti- mately drive away the Americans from tho country. The tomahawk and scalping knife were used with unrelenting and unsparing vengeance. A more horrid massacre than that of fortMimms, never occurred in the annuls of savage barbarity. Tho Indians were acquainted with the diffi- culties which General Jackson had to encounter, and drew encouragemant from them. They soon found what kind of character they had to deal with in him. Instead of confining his plans to the guarding our own frontiers, a» under all his trials would have been as much as another man would have contemplated, General Jackson with his troops burst into tho centre of their country, and swept over it, as with a storm. One fxtal battle after another convinced them that their prophets were importers, and that neither the British nor the 'Great Spirit' protectad them from our just vengeance. Their courage was bro- ken down along with their power, and such results ob- tained, that we may confiJently hope they will never again, as a nation, raise the tomahawk against us, within- the limits of our country. i KWM 212 INDIAN WARS CHAPTER XII. MONUMENTAL REMAINS OF THE PAST, IN THE UlSSISSIPri VALLEY. Innumerable observers, in penetrating the bosom of the earth, in all the recorded periods of time, have come upon the remains of organized atiimal and vegetable bodies, the ruins of a gone-by world, the monuments of generations of rationals, whose history, whose annals, whose recorded tra- ces, are as completely extinct as though they had not been. These monuments present materials for meditation of the profoundest interest, and the most inextricable perplexity. The monuments of present tropical existences, are found deep under the soil of the temperate and polar regions, — im- pressions, petrifactions of the date, fern, bread-fruit tree, bamboo, lion, tiger, hippopotomus, — under the snows and frosts of the bitterest winters. It is but recently, that some French writers, as St. Pierre and BufTon, began to class these remains. Baron Cuvier, the historian of the ani- mals of a past world, entered, in the industry of great tal- ent and protound res3arch, into this walk, and from noting the conformation of organic remains, has been enabled to classify the generations of the past, and to write the history of the changes which our world has probably undergone. Dr. Buckland has found, that the caves of England, France, and Germany, are abundantly stored with the remains of animals, that at present only inhabit the tropics. The ferns of Mfexico, India, and the South Sea isles, are found im- bedded in English meadows. What a world must that have been, what species of men musi have been the spec- tators, when the mammoth and megalonyx trod the plains; and the monstrous lizards, whose bones are now rescued from the soil, reared their heads from the rivers and lakes! Whut must have been the terrors of rivers and swamps inhabited by lizards of tremendous teeth and powers, eighty feet in length, and possessing the wings attributed to the fabulous dragon ! ;**='- OF THE WEST. 213- It has been the custom with European writers to speak of America as the ncui world, and of our own geologists to describe the great Mississippi valley as the most, recent formation of this new world; and, in fact, as so lately reared from its submersion, as almost to bear on its sur- face the slimy traces of its emersion. More recent and better collated examinations, assign to this region an an- tiquity far beyond any recorded annals of human history or tradition. It is but a few years since some hardy an- tiquarians began to speak of finding the impress of the leaves and flowers of the bread-fruit tree, and the bamboo, and the fern, in our peat beds, and fossil coal formations. They were met by the public with increduliiy and unspa- ring ridicule. But as these e.vperimcnts muliiplied; as they became too numerous to be attributed to iinagination or deception; as they were so mjltiplied as to cease to be curiosities ; as the testimony of so respectable and unques- tioned a writer as Dr. Bjckland, was added to prove the same (acts in the old world, doubt began to change to per- plexed admiration and astonishment. Our bowlders of gra- nite in disruption, our vast masses of lead ore out of place, our stratified rocks, earths, and sands, our innumerable specimens of tropical organic animal and vegetable re^ mains, our regular walls, stoned wells, brick hearths, med- als, characters, apparently alphabetic, written on the cliffs, the brick hearths found deep below a soil which could not have been disturbed for ages, our implemonts of iron and copper foimd in a hntidrod places, and under circumstances to preclude a i-ecent and European origin, our mounds and their contents, clear monuments of a second and deteriora- ted race, our present red men, still lower in the scale of humanity, all announce that this valley, fondly deemed of such recent origin, has undergone the baptism of fire, and water, and death, and prodigious changes almost beyond the stretch of fancy ; and that this country of silent forests and prairies, has already seen, at immense and unrecord- ed intervals of tim3, three successive generations of men;- the primitive race acquainted with the use of iron, of al- phabetical or hieroglyphical writing, of structures of brick and stone ; the second and deteriorated race of the mounds • *ii .M i'''' WW '• '. ■rfM III mi III lib Hie ei4 INDIAN WARS but little acquainted witii the softer metals, and derivinor that acquaintance from the Mexican Indians, and whose most enduring monuments are these mounds of earth, partly fortifications and partly cemeteries, full of the bones and the puerile ornaments of the founders, and the present hapless race fading fast from existence and memory, who will leave no other remembrances than their bones. Alas! our fresh world, beneath its deep forests and flow- ering prairies, conceals the memorials of eras of the com- plete extirpation of successive raced. The tide of hfe and empire rolled where the traveller, from the rising to the setting sun, sees neither man nor human habitation. The races are entombed beneath the ruins of a world, that is post. Every thing speaks of life and death in the new world, as in the old. Our virgin and vegetable soil, which the immigrant turns up with his share for the first time, mey be the mouldering remains of a human body. The dew drop&, which glitter on the flower cups of the wide ocean prairies, may once have been tear drops rolling down the cheek of youth and beauty. The monuments of the primitive race, consist of regular stone walls, of wells stoned up, of medals of copper and sil- ver, of swords and other implements of iron, of the brick hearths found in diguina the Louisville cnnal, with the coal of the 'ast fires laying upon lem; of characters found on the iimestone blnfTs, which cannot but be deemed fes eithar alphabetic or hieroglyphical, are discovered in too many places in the west, and under circumstances too various to be attributed to any other origin than a primi- tive race, whose whole history of civilization our brief lim- its will not allow us to give, only in the fact, that they knew the manufacture and the use of iron. But though this history may be brief, it comprises volumes in regard to their civilization, compared with any races between them and us. Among the samg class of inexplicable anti- quities, we place the groves of ancient live oaks set in reg- ular park-forms in Florida, together with remains of cities, fortifications, and dwellings, near them. We have seen these strange and ancient swords. We have seen the iron shoe of some tiny animal of the horse class, encrusted with OF THE WEST. 215 the rust of ages, and found far beneath the soil. Frag- ments of woud dug from beneath the peat beds, bear the evident marks of having been cut by an implement of iron not unlike our axe. We recently saw a copper axe, which weighed, we should judge, over two pounds. Its cilge was singularly tempered and polished, and worked not unliktt an edge of steel. Its place for the insertion of a handle^ was made by the rolling over of the two outer rims, leav- ing place for a helve at the point of insertion of the width of a man^s hand. These monumentis, together with the western medals, we refer to a class anterior to the found- ers of the mounds, and much farther advanced in civiliza- tion. To this era belong the remains of the ancient city, of towers and temples, recently discovered in the Hercu- laneumof the new world, in Peru. The second era of American habitancy, is in the im- mense stone Teocalli of Mexico, and the earthen mounds discovered in every point of the valley, from lake Erie and West Pennsylvania and Virginia, to the savannas of Florida, and arising on the solitude of the western prairies quite to the Rocky mountains. Whether the mass of them was constructed tor fortifications, observatories, temples, or tombs, is a matter of conjecture alone. That some of them served the latter purpose, we have conclusive proof, in their abounding in skeletons and human bones. They show little art, though immense labor. Many of them are of regular mathematical figures, parallelograms, ellipses, sections of circles, showing the remains of gateways and subterranean passages. Some of them, after the lapse of ages, and with trees growing on them of a date of 500 ^ ears, are still 70 or 80 feet high. A circumstance the most in- explicoble of alUs, that these huge and rude erections are generally of a soil not furnished by the ground in the im- mediate vicinity, which at least is the general opinion, and such is their aspect to us. Some are found on hills, some on the fertile prairies; and they are generally most frequent enrich alluvial grounds, near portages, between long rivers, contiguous to fishing grounds and productive hunting regions. They are most abundant at points where it has been since most convenient to build the towns and 11 mm 816 INDIAN WAHS form the settlements of civilized man . We have seen them rising in their striking loneliness amidst the mountains of western Virginia, along the shores of the beautiful Ohio, on the prairies of the Miesouri, and on the lower courses of the Mississippi. Some are cone shaped. Some rec- tangles. One at Grave creek is between 70 and 80 feet in height. One among the hundreds near Caholjia, in the prairie of the American bottom, was large enough to furnish a garden and a residence to some monks of La Trappe, under a vow of perpetual silence. Where could these dreamers have meditated more profoundly in their silence, than in these flowering prairies, amidst nature's luxuriance of useless vegetation, in the wide solitude, and above the ):ones of a world, whose inhaLi!^antB were all passed away! There are very interesting miunds near St. Louis, and a little north of the town. Some of them have the appear- ance of enormous stacks. 'J'he mound, called the Falhng Garden, is pointed out to strangers at St. Louis as a great curiosity. One of those mounds was levelled in the centre of Chillicothe. In digging it down, cart loads of human bones are said to have teen removed. The town of Cir- cleville is laid out between a couple of mounds, the one cir- cular, the other square. Skeletons ha .e been found in dig- ging under one in Cincinnati. A thin circular piece of gold, alloyed with copper, was discovered in this mound last year. In passing over our vast prairie?, in viewing our noble and ancient forests, planted by nature, and nurtured only by ages, when we have seen the sun rising over a bound- less plain, where the blue of the heavens in all directions touched and mingled with the verdure and the flowers; when our thoughts have traversed rivers of a thousand leagues in length; when we have seen the ascending (Steam boat breasting (he surge, and gleaming through the verdure of the trees; when we have imagined the happy multitudes that from these shores will contemplate the scenery in days to come, we have thought that our great country might at least compare with others in the beauty of its natural scenery. When on an uninhabited prairie, 4ve have fallen at night-fall upon a group of these moundB, OF THE WEST. 217 and have thought of the masses of human bones that moul- der beneath; when our heart and imagmation evoked the busy muhitudcs that here 'strutted through life's poor play,' and asked the phantoms who and what they were, and why they have left no memorials but these mounds, we have found ample scope for reHections and associations of the past with the future. We should not highly estimate the mind or the heart of the man who could behold these tombs of the desert prairies without deep thought. Among the second class of Indian uniiquidcs may be classed the idols, vase?, and culinaiy utensiiH, of which such numbers arc found in the western counlry, as ih;it (hoy are no lonsrer rejiardod as curiosities. The bcauliliil three- headed idol, the most remarkable specimen of Indian pot- tery and moulding that has yet been found, was taken from a mound in Tennessee. It consists of *\uv.o lieads of pro- portions of considerable accurac}-, representing counte- nances of different expressions and ages. The whole workmanship is surprising, when viewed in reference to the common notion of Indian art. We possessed a beau- tiful and perfect specimen of Indian pottery in t1ie shape of a drinking gourd. The aperture roprescnicd the mouth of a squaw, which the thirsty drinker would natiually kiss Willi a degree of eager ap()etite. In digging a ditch round a garden below St. Charles, in the for]■ li.-' m , CHAPTER XIII. BRIEF NOTICES OF SOME OF THE WESTERN TIONEERS. After all, our most interesting remains are the trans- mitted examples and characters of our hardy pioneers, of whom but a very few now remain. From a near relative of Daniel Boone, we are enabled to add a few facts, in relation to his life, in addition to those that have already been recorded in this work; and which dates subsequent to the period of his leaving Ken- tucky. Boone was a man of the keenest sensitiveness; and, it is said, used to show great satisfaction at hearing any one read the flattering and rather exaggerated and sophomorical account of him, which, as original and authentic matter ap- r ■■;v!! ji4 ifl 11 ii 320 INI^iIAN WARS ^• proved by himself, has already been incorporated in these pa^es. jt, though ardently sensitive, he was not dis- posed to be querulous and repining, although he used to speak sometimes with strong indignation of those legal in- tricacies and quibbles, by which he lost all the rewards of his exposures, labors, sufferings, and dangers', in ' the first settlement of Kentucky. But having expended his indignation in u transient par- oxysm, he settled soon back to his customary mental com- placency and self-possession; and as ho had no j)ledge of consequence remaining to him in the soil of Kentucky; as it was, moreover, becoming on all sides subject to the em- pire of the cullivntor's axe and plough; and as Missouri, still an unpeopled wilderness, lying along an almost unex- plored river, exceeding a thousand leagues in length, of- fered to his imagination a new Kentucky, almost promising indemnity for that he hud lost, ho determined to remove there; and, in the year 1804, he moved with his family from Kentucky to Missouri. His character for honesty, courage, and fidelity, followed him. The country had just passed by cession fiom the then French republic to the United States. But the Spanish and French system still being in force, he was appointed commandant of the district of St. Charles by the Spanish commandant. This was the second district, in point of importance, in the terri- tory ; and he retained his command until the government of the United States went into effect. His first position was at Boone's Lick, not far from Franklin, and about 180 miles north-west of St. Louis, near Missouri river. Here he made salt, hunted bears and buffaloes, and trapped bea- vers, undisturbed by white cultivators, as in the halcyon days of salt making on the Blue Licks. But these times were too happy to last; and French hunters, and voyagcurs, and coureurs du bois^ began to scour the forests, kill the bears, drive oft' the buffaloes, and cut down the bee trees; and with their fleets of periogues ascend the Missouri to points, beyond v;here the stiffened sinews, and the time-worn frame of the Kentucky hunter permitted him to follow. The volatile and babbling OF THE WEST. 221 French, with their little, and to him despicablcf shot-guns, could bring down a turkey or a squirrel, whore the rifle bullet, formerly so unerring, now directed by his dim eye, could not reach. It was in vain, that the hind sights were rendered more conspicuous by shreds oi white paper. No vigor of will, no internal ardor of desire can repair the im- medicable and irresistible influence of time. And, howev- er the heart aud juvenile remembrances of Baone might follow these biisk and talkative hunters to the Rocky mountains and the VS'^estern Sea, the sad consciousness that years were stronger than the subduer of bears and In- dians, came over his mind like a cloud. Other sorrows came also with age. The British war, with its influence upon the savage auxiliaries of Britain, extended even to the remote forests of the Missouri. The Boone's Lick establishment was broken up by the incursions of numerous bands of murderous savages. Boone was no longer able to make onp of tiio rangers, who pursued them, and in some instances retaliated ample measures of re- venge. But ha sent numerous substitutes in his children, relatives, and nci^^hbors. Where he passed his time du- ring the war, wbether at the block-house at Cote Sans Dcsseln, or at St. Charles, Sf. Louis, or in Kentucky, does not appear. Though it is believed he made salt at Boone's Lick no inconsiderable part of the time, solacing his aged car with the music of his young days, — the howl of the noc- turnal wolf, and the war song of the prowling savages, heard far away from the co'.ni)anionship of the whites. When the writer lived in St. Charles in 18 IG, Colonel Boone, with the return of peace, had resumed his Ken- tucky habits, and resided on the Missouri, surrounded by the plantations of his children and connexions, farming, and still falling the trees for his winter fire, into his court- yard; and every autumn retiring to the remote and moon- illumined cities of the boavers, for the trapping of which, age had taken from him none of his capabilities. He could still, by the aid of paper on his rifle-sights, bring down an occasional turkey; at the Salt Licks he still waylaid the deer; and he found and cut down bee trees, as readily as in.his morning days. Never was old age more green, or 19* M Iff if mmm wtm-wr^) 2-22 INDIAN WAHS gray hairs more graceful. His high, calm, bold forehead, seemed converted by years to iron. Decay came for him without sorrow, infirmity, fever, or pain; and, surrounded and cherished by kind friends, he died as he had lived, composed and tranquil. This event took place in the eighty-fourth year of his age, at the house of his son-in-law, Colonel Calloway, not far below Boone's Lick, in the year 1818. He was five feet ten inches in height, of a very erect, clean limbed, and athletic form, admirably fitted in struc- ture, muscle, temperament, and habit, for the endurance of the labors, changes, and sufferings, he underwent. He had what phrenologists would consider a model head, with a forehead peculiarly high, noble, and bold, thin and com- pressed hps, a mild, clear blue eye, a large and prominent chin, and a general expression of co\mtenance, in which fearlessness and courage sat enthroned, aid which told the beholder at a glance what he had been, and was formed to be. Though ungratefully requited by his country, he has left a name identified with the history of Kentucky, and with the founders and benefactors of our great republic, hi all future time, and in every portion of the globe; in histo- ry, in sculpture, in song, in eloquence, the name of Daniel Boone will be recorded as the patriarch of Backwoods Pi- orieers. It is no humble fame to be thus commemorated by Lord Byron : Of all men, saving Isylla the man-slayer, Who passes for in life and death most lucky, Of the great names, which in our faces stare, The General Boone, backwoodsman of Kentucky, Was happiest among mortals any where, For killing nothing, but a bear or buck ; he Enjoy'd the lonely, vigorous, harmless days, Of his old age, in wilds of deepest maze. Crime came not near him ; she is not the child Of solitude ; health shrank not from him, for Her home is in the rarely trodden wild. Which, if men seek her not, and death be more Their choice than life, forgive them, as beguil'd By habit to what their own hearts abhor — In cities cag'd. The present case in point I Cite is, Boone livM hunting up to ninety : OP THE WEST. 223 And, what is stranger, left behind a name, For which men vainly decimate the throng ; Not only famous, but of that good fame. Without which glory's but a tavern song ; , Simple, serene, the antipodes of shame, Which hate or envy e'er could tinge with wrong; An active hermit ; even in age the child Of nature, or the Man of Ross run wild. 'Tis true, he shrank from men even of his nation. When they built up unto his darling trees ; He mov'd some aundred miles off, for a station. Where there were fewer houses and more ease. The inconvenience of civilization Is, that you neither can be pleased, nor please. But where he met the individual man. He show'd himself as kind as mortal can. He was not all alone ; around him grew A sylvan tribe of children of the chase. Whose young, unwaken'd world was always new ; Nor sword, nor sorrow, yet had left a trace On her unwrinklcd brow ; nor could you view A frown on nature's, or on human face. The free-born forest found, and kept them free, And fresh as is a torrent or a tree. And tall and strong, and swift of foot were they. Beyond the dwarfing city's pale abortions ; Because their thoughts had never been the prey Of care or gain ; the green woods were their portions. No sinking spirits told them they grew gray. No fashion made them apes Of her distortions. Simple they were ; not savage ; and their rifles, Though very true, were not yet us'd for trifles. Motion was in their days ; rest in their slumbers ; And cheerfulness the handmaid of their toil ; Nor yet too many, nor too few their numbers ; Corruption could not make their hearts her soil ; The lust, which stings ; the splendor, wliich encumbers, With the free foresters divide no spoil. Serene, not sullen, were the solitudes Of this unsighing people of the woods. Such is the spleadid tribute of the prince of modern po- ets to the patriarch of backwoodsmen. Among the great numbers of this country and foreign countries, who have made the Kentucky hunter the theme of their narrative romance, or song, we ought not to forget the poem to hie IV «|i 0-^4 INDIAN WARS mom.:)ry, entitled, *Tho Mountain Muao,' by our amiable and excellent cj.intrynian Bryan — a poem, which critics having found iinotiual, and not always striking or bcauti* ful, have consi^iiod very unjustly to oblivion. We wish, bctbrc wo dismiss this most interesting character, to set one point at rest, which no biography of him, with which we have m^jt, has aattlcd. IIo mirried Rebecca, daughter of Joseph Bryan, Esq. of Virginia, oldest sou of Morgan Bryan, head of a very respectable tamily. She was born near Winchester, in that state. But, while she was still young, her tatlivn' emigrated to North Carolina, where, on the banks of the Y.idkin, Bjona saw, loved, and married iier. Frequent enciuirio.B and opposite statements have been made, in regaril to tlif3 religious tenets of the Kentucky hunter. It is duo to simplicity and truth to state, that B3ona, little addictod to bojks, knew but little of the bible, the best of all. IIo worshipped, as ho often said, the Great Spirit — fjr the woods \yere his books and his tem- ple; and thj croad of the rod men naturally became his. But, such was tho truth, simplicity, and kindness of his life and characiOi', thorc can bo no doubt, had the gospel of the Sin of G)d boon proposed to him, in its sublime truth and reasonableness, that he would have added to all his other virtues tho hiidior name of a christian. We have only to add, that tho bust of B>ono in Wash- ington, tho pai:itinjol him ordered by the General Assam- bly of Missouri, and tho engravings of him irt general, have, his family being tho judges, very little resemblance. They want thj high port, and noble daring of his counte- nance. In the j idgmont of tho writer, there is no better resemblance of him extant, than the coarse wax figure of him, in tl»e attituilo of his fight with tho bear, in Letton'a Museum, in Ciarjianati. Next to the namo of Daniel Boone, we know of no other more conspicuo js in the early annals of tho Pioneers, than tlmt of SiniDn Konto:). He was born May, 1750, in Fau- quier county, Virginia. Stout in heart, robust in limb, he was taught neither to read nor write; and his only heri- tage was the physical powers and capabilities of a back- OF THE WEST. 225 woodsman. At sixteen the precocioua infant was violent- ly smitten wilh ti hiickwoods coquette. Another youth, by the name of ricitclun in, seams to have been equally fa- vored. Lcitrlmian, aided by his friends, watchwl his op- portunity, and buiil Kcuton sovcrei}. The foilowinjj spring, thuir tir.itual chiims were decided by a drawn bat- tle. It WHS a (losj)t;ratc encounter, in which biting, scratching, kicl;iiijamin Logan occupies a prominent place among the western pioneers. He was of Irish extract; and his father lirst settled in Pennsylvania, and afterwards moved to Virginia, where the subject of this notice was left an orphan. Inheriting all his father's landed estate, by the then law of primogeniture, he generously ordered it sold, and the proceeds equally divided among his brothers and sisters. Thence he became a back-woods- man and Indian (ightjr on the llolston. In 1775, he re- moved to Kent\icky, and established a small settlement, not far from Ilarrodsbnrgh, called Logan's Fort. From this time, his natue becomes identified with all the Indian contests. Many of his exploits have already been record- ed in these pages. In fact, we have incidentally intro- duced the prominent exploits of the greater number of the western pioneers; and, as they are now in various ways made known to the public, we shall touch upon the biogra- phy of some of (hose commanders, commissioned by the United States, who led more considerable forces against the Indians; and who, though they conducted armiesyand fought battles, decisive in regard to the final conquest of the Indians, are, perhaps, less known to western readers than these Indian figlUers, who aspired to no more than paitizan warfare. At the head of these we ))lace General George Rogers Clarke. This distinguished western hero performed ex- ploits which would fill a volume. He was born in Vir- ginia in 1750. We have no notices of him, previous to finding him a Colonel, in the service of Virginia. In 1778, he conducted a number of families to the Falls of the Ohio, whom, to secure them from Indian assault, he set- tled on an island in the Ohio, near tha. place. His ex- ploits at Kasknskia and Vincennes, have already been re- corded. In 1781, he received from Congress the rank of General, and the chief command of Kentucky. To pre- rc treat, n OF THE WEST. 227 vent the Indians qrossing from the north shore of the Ohio, to assail the settlements of Kentucky, he hit on the inge- nious expedient of a row galley, carrying some swivels and artillery, and rowing up and down the Ohio. The re- sult justified the wisdom of the expedient. A formidable Indian expedition was arrested by it ; and, in fact, no con- siderable body of Indians dared cross the Ohio, while this floating battery was in operation. With a small body of troops at fort Washington, now Cincinnati, surrounded by hordes of still hostile xndians, among whom were 300 fierce Shawnese, who exhibited much insolence and me- nace, he dictated the terms of a treaty; and astonished his officers and companions by the calmness of his demeanor, amidst dangers calculated to appal the stoutest heart. He died at Locust Grove, near Louisville, the scene of his early achievementp, in February, 1817, in the sixty -sixth year of his age. Bmvery, which nothing coulu daunt, and a perseverance which nothing could relax, decision, promptness, and great force of character, together with pe- culiar kindness of nature, were the characteristics of this most fortunate and distinguished veteran. Of General Harmar we only know, that in September, 1790, he was appointed by Congress to the command of the United States' troops at fort Washington ; that he con- ducted an expedition against the northern Indians, in which he was defeated with the loss of a number of gallant officers, am'>ng whom were Major Wyli\>', Major Fon- taine, and Lieutenant Frothingham, and 1^3 men. General Arthur St. Clair commanded the revolutionary tbrces at Ticonderoga, in the year 1777, and conducted a retreat, niarked by disaster, to the main American army at Stillwater. He seems to have been unif)rmly unfortu- nate, though sustaining important c^^maiids through the revolutionary war, and never torfeiiiun; the confidence of Washington. In 1791, he was appointed to the command of the north-western army. Ills forces consisJed of three United States' regiments of infantry, two companies of ar- tillery, and one of cavalry, and over 000 militia. He was defeated near the St. Mary, with great slaughter, losing tbur-fifths of his officers, and having half his men either w m 'A M ■ ')? H\ Ii «MM ./ 228 INDIAN WARS killed or wounded. Of private soldiers, voO were left dead on the field. General St. Clair was acknowledged to have commanded on this occasion with great judgment and presence cfmind, and to have exposed himself without any sense of j.orsonal danger. Eight balls passed through his hat and clothes, and several horses wore killed under him during the action, in proof of his personal exposure. General Washington was blamed for apptiinting to this command an aged, and more than all, an unfortunate offi- cer. In fact, his misfortune seems to have Leenj to have inherited that malign destiny, which was formerly sup- posed to result from an evil star. He was tried by a court martial, at his own request, and was honorably ac- quitted — and he was afterwards Governor of the north- western teiTitory. General Anthony Wayne was born in Chesler county, Pennsylvania, in 1745. His father was distinguished by various offices in that province. The subject of this no- tice was appointed to the command of a regiment by Con- gress; and he was sent inder General 'i'hompson into Canada. In the defeat which signalized that invasion, he was wounded; but displayed both gallantry and ability, in bringing off'the shattered American forces. lie served un- der General Gates, in the distinguished campaign in which Burgoyne was made prisoner. In addition to lincommon bravery, he showed talents as an engineer; aud f<)r his em- inent services, at the close of the campaign was made a brigadier general. At the battle of Brandy wine, he dis- played his accustomed heroism; but his detachment being defeated with severe loss, he demanded a trial by a court martial, and was honorably acquitted. In the battle of Germantown, he signalized himself, received two wounds, and had two horses shot under him. In the battle of Mon- mouth, his conduct received the particular apprt)! Uiori o( General Washington. From his glorious acliievciiient in the capture of Stony Point, one of the most brilliant affairs of the revolution, he has been denominated 'the hero of Stony Point.' He was here wounded in the head — it was at first supposed mortally. He called to his aids to carry hin.\ into the fort, that he might die in the scene of his glo- fl OF THE WEST. 229 ry. A number of the garrison were killed, and 543 made prisoners. For this achievement, Congress presented him with a gold medal. From his letter, announcing the capture of the fort, it would appear that Commodore Per- ry's famous bulletin was not altogether original. "Dear General — The fort and garrison, with Colonel Johnson, are ours. Our officers and men behaved like those determined to be fr»^e. Anthony Wayne. His Excellency, &c. George Washington." He bore a conspicuous part in procuring the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. tie was eminently successful after- wards, in reducing the British and loyalists in Georgia, where he had a number of severe partisan engagements. For his great services there, the legislature of that state rewarded him with a valuable farm. Oa the peace, he re- tired to private life. But we find him afterwards a mem- ber of the convention of his native Ftate; and his vote was in favor of adopting *he present constitution. In the >ear 1792, he was appointed to succeed the un- fortunate General St. Clair. We have seen in what man- ner he terminated the glorious Indian campaign, that re- stored peace to the western country. The Indians never experienced a defeat so severe, as from the hero of Stony Point, who, from his reckless bravery, was knovvn amon^ the soldiers by the name of 'Mad Anthony.' He died in a log hovel at Erie, on the shore of the lake, formerly Presqu' Isle, in his native state. Not long since, the bones of the hero were removed to his native county, where a monuraeut, with a brilliant inscription, w^as raised to f)is ir.QD->xry by the Society of the Cincinnati. 20 m ' I .i ■A mid.- 230 INDIAN WARS CHAPTER XIV. 4KETCH OF THE INDIAN WAR ON THE NORTH-WEST FRONTIER IN 1832. It had been confidently hoped and predicted, that the savages, within the Hmits of the Anierican territories, would never again raise the tomahawk against us. In this hope, the event disappointed us. The Sues and Foxes, who inhabit In^ waters of Rock and Fox rivers, claimed a great porti / the country embracing the lead mine district, of whic/ jlena is the centre. Tiie greater por- tion of these tribes were fiercely hostile to us, and took part with the British in the late war; and these Indians seem never to have entirely abandoned the hate genera- ted in that contest. They had, however, made a treaty with us, by which our claims to the lead mines were well defined. The hostile Sacs and Foxes had become parties to the treaty of cession, and had affected to be reconciled to us. But it is now evident, that they still fostered deep and settled purj)oses of revenge. These purposes were secretly fanned, by the circumstance that these tribes had become an asylum for refugees of quarrelson -^^ reckless, and murderous characters, who were outlaws from the other tribes about them. Their hostile feelings had been Btill further exasperated, by their being obliged to give up to punishment the murderers of some Indians under the protection of the United States. In addition to these causes of hostile feeling, the great source of Indian dread and hate had opened every where in the vicinity of their country. They saw the white settlements on all sides ap- proximating and surrounding them. Galena, in their im- mediate vicinity, had become a considerable town, with at least thirty stores, and two or three thousand inhabi- tants. The country about the mines was rapidly filling with inhabitants, who had planted themselves in that OF THE WEST. 231 healthy wilderness, either as miners, connected with mi- ning operations, or as farmers to furnish produce to the numerous laborers collected at the mines. A number of considerable villages in that vicinity, had grown up as rapidly as Galena. In another ;tirection, above the Sacs and Foxes, settle- ments were extending from Green Bay on lake Michigan, south-west towards the settlements at Galena. In a word, the north-west frontier of Michigan, Illinois, and Missouri, which all bound on the lead mine country, had become to the Indians what Kentucky and Ohioliad been forty years ago. The war with these tribes, was ushered in with precise- ly the same harbingers that used to accompany the Indian wars of those days. The savages were first seen prow- ling about among the remote habitations of the whites, moody and menacing in their deportment. This conduct slowly settled into aggressions, such as stealing horses, killing cattle and swine, and entering dwellings to demand whiskey; and, in the absence of the male members, me- nacing and affrightening tlie women. This order of things continued nearly a year, before they proceeded, to actual murders. These slow processes of obtaining revenge, suited not the thoughts of the reckless and murderous fugi- tives, and the abandoned young warriors among them. With them, the first object was to goad on the tribe to that gratuitous outrage, and those burnings and murders, which should place them out of the i)ale of longer endurance, and involve the absolute necessity of a war. The leading war chief of the Sacs and Foxes at this time, was a warrior known among the whites by the name of Black Hawk, which is only the translation of his name in the Sac dialect. His influence over his fierco people was confirmed by the aid and counsels of his bro- ther, the Prophet, a chief still more insidious, cruel, and revengeful, than Black Hawk himself. Both these chiefs are supposed always to have been in heart decidedly hos- tile to the Americans. United to the Sacs and Foxes un- der these chiefs, were fragments of tribes of the Sioux and Winnebagoes. They had long practised horse-steaI< I ••if li ■w. 7»:i '1? 11] IMMM f*Trr W^ •fniT'ifft T 232 INDIAN WAR^ ing, burned some houses, and committed some solitary murders, when their hostility was brought to a head by the following events. A party of the Illinois militia was collected near a body of these Indians. The parties came in collision; some skirmishing ensued, and two or three In- dians were killed. In the exercise of their accustomed policy, the party fled, to draw the militia into an ambus- cade. As soon as they began to retreat, the militia fol- lowed them tumultuously, two or three only together, and at wide intervals; and one collection rushing by the other, as they happened to excel in the fleetness of their horses. In this way they pursued their foe over a wide prairie, until about midnight, they found themselves decoyed into the centre of an Indian camp, whence a deadly fire was opened upon them, by which from 12 to 20 of their num- ber were killed. The remainder fled with still more haste- and disorder than they had advanced. Aware that they were now in a position of open war with the whites, they commenced their accustomed as- saults, burnings, and massacres, along a frontier of 30O miles, from the borders of Illinois to Green Bay. As in former times, their vengeance was indiscriminate and un- sparing. Old and young, mothers and infants, the sick and decrepid, were alike the victims of the merciless tom- ahawh. Burning and devastation completed their work of murder. On Indian creek, a tributary of Fox River, they destroyed a little settlement, murdering 15 persons. M. de St. Orain, Indian tigent to these Indiaiis, and of course, by their usages, a person considered inviolable, journeying in company with seven or eight men, was fired upon ; and, along with two others of the party, slain, A series of murders, the details of which have not yet been presented to the public, were perpetrated in Vermillion county, on the Wabash, and along the northern frontier of the mine settlements ; and such Was their audacity, as to fire upwi a steam boat descending from Galena to St. Louis. A harmless Dunkard minister, well known to them, on a mission in that country, was assaulted and slain, when on his solitary route. Among a. series of assaults too numerous to particular OP THE WEST. 233 ize, none excited more sympathy and regret, than that upon the family of Mr. Hall, living on Indian Creek. It was an educated iUmily, advanced in condition and man- ners beyond the rougher backwoods settlers about them. Of this numerous laiuily, two sons, that were at work in a distant field at the moment of the assault, were spared, and two daughters were made captives. The rest were all murdered, iiicliiding the .husband, wife, and children. The young ladies takon prisoners, ;irc s:iid to have pos* sessed, at least one of them, uucjmmon personal beauty. In carrying thorn olF, the Indians placed each upon ahorse, led by an Indian. Oihcrs walked beside them to keep them, in the ditlicult places on their route, from falling off. At night, a lodge was set apart fur them, detached fx'orn the sleeping places of the warriors; and elderly squawa were assigned to sleep on each side of them. They were offered their full share of the usual Indian food, which con- tinual weeping, and the natural grief incident to their con- dition, prevented them from taking. In no instance did the warriors c/fter them the slightest indelicacy of deport- ment. They terminated their journey in the interior of Black Hawk's camp, a position on a sort of island in a vast swamp, inaccessible on every side, save onej and that could be approached only through a miry and dangerous ford. No l)ost could have been selected more secure and impregna- ble. They v/ere ransomed through the mediation of the WinnebagoeSj vv'ho seem to have been a sort of equivocal alUes both to tlie Americans and the Sacs and Foxes, ac- cording as SLiccesi or interest preponderated. But the ransom was found an affair both of difliculty and expense. A young warrior of raidc claimed the handsomer captive as his prize, and showed the utmost reluctance to giving her up. A ransom to the value of 2000 dollars was offer- ed, and ten horses in addition for the young lady claimed by the warrior. To all this, the Winnebagoes, whom the Sacs dared not affront, were obliged to add menaces of joining the Americans, and rescuing the young ladies by violence. They were finally ransomed. But the young warrior, fierce, avaricious, and forlorn, insisted, as a sou* 20* I i W H J;.' m 234 INDIAN WARS venir from his fair captive flame, instead of her scalp, up- on cutting off a lock of her hair, w^ich he said he intended to keep, as a trophy at once of his valor and his love. The sparseness of the settlements in that quarter, and the great distance from our military resources, rendered the chastisement of these murderers slower than could have been wished; though, taking the circumstances into view, it was more prompt than could have been expected. The Illinois militia was promptly called out, and volunteers flocked to our standard. The corn crop in that quarter had failed the preceding year, and it was found difficult to obtain sufficient resources to keep the militia embodied. Nevertheless, they were soon driven by General Dodge from the frontiers to their fastnesses in their own country. A steam boat, trading on the waters of thp Mississippi to Prairie du Chien, on the first of August 1832, and while 40 miles above that place, discovered a large body of Sacs and Foxes on the eastern shore of the Mississippi, sup- posed to be their main force. The company considering it their duty to be first in the attack, fired upon them, killed a number, and put the rest to flight. We quote the ac- count of this affair, as related by the party, and as an amu- sing bulletin in its kind. "Prairie du Chien, Aug. 3, 1832. Dear Samuel :^ — I arrived at this place on Monday last; and was despatched with the Warrior alone, to Wa-pa- shaw's village, one hundred and twenty miles above, to inform them of the approach of the Sacs, and to order down all the friendly Indians to this place. On our way up, we met one of the Sioux band, who informed us, that the enemy was on Bad-axe river, to the number of four hundred. We stopped, took in wood, and prepared for actipn. Yesterday, at four in the afternoon, we found them, where he stated he had lefl; them. As we neared them, they raised a white flag, with which they endeav- ored to decoy us. But we were too old for that trick, and, instead of landing, ordered them to send a boat on board, which they declined. After fifteen minute's delay, to give them time to remove their women and children, we let Blip a six pounder, loaded with cannister, followed by a Of THE WEST. 235 severe fire of musketry ; and if you over saw straight blan- kets, you wpuW have seen them there. I fought them at anchor most of the time ; and we were all much exposed. I have a ball, which came in close by where I was stand- ing, and passed through the bulkhead of the wheel room. We fought them more than an hour, until our wood began to fail ; and night coming on, we left them, and went to the prairie. This affair cost them twenty-three killed, and a proportioAal number of wounded. We had a single man wounded. The next morning, before we could get back again, on account of a heavy fog, our whole army was upon them. We found them at it, and walked in, and took a hand ourselves. The first shot from the Warrior laid out three for them. The army had eight or nine kill- ed, and seventeen wounded, whom we took down with us. One died on deck last night. I assure you, my friend, there is no sport in fighting Indians, particularly at this season of the year, when the grass is so bright. We broiight down thirty-six women and children, who were prisoners. We had sixteen regulars, five riflemen, and twenty of ourselves. There was no small whizzing of bullets. Every man, and even my cabin boy, fought well." The officers of the militia in the vicinity, among whom General Dodge stood conspicuous, rendered continual and the most active services in this campaign. Generals Atkin- son and Scott, of the United State's army, with their com- mands, hurried vo the scene of action. General Scott, with a respectable force from the quarters of New York and the lakes, was unfortunately delayed, and his forces diminished, by the breaking out of the cholera, in a very mortal form among them. He at length arrived at the scene of action ; and his troops being united with those of General Atkinson and the partisan militia, formed a force sufficient to look down all opposition. The brave militia had kept them at bay; but were not in sufficient force to penetrate into their fastnesses. As soon as they discov- ered what was their inevitable fate, if forced to a contest, they attempted to retreat to the vast wildernesses west of the Mississippi ; and with a well imagined policy, and a h ' I f ' •I h i !33^S^ 1^6 INDIAN WARS perfect knowledge of that dilficult country of alternate mountains and swanipS) took to these wild, and as they fondly deemed, inaccessible routes to a regular army. But they mistook. Their enemy hung close upon their rear, over mountain and moor, and through the ravines and defiles. Seeing the probable issue of the war, the Sioux and Wintiebagocs fell upon them in the hour of their cxtre-' mity — the latter most thanklessly j for, it is aflirmed, that their counsels to the Sacs and Foxes, from the beginning, had been to fight it out. A party of Sioux fell upon one of their retreating bands, gained a most decisive victory, killed two hundred, and took forty prisoners, among whom was Na-o-popc, the prophet, and brother of Black Hawk. About the samj time, a detachment from Cassville encoun- tered a war i)arty of Sacs, and defeated them, killing twelve and taking some prisoners. The battle, to which alttision was had in the steam-boat bulletin, is given in the accounts of the day to this amount. On July 28 and 29, Generals Atkinson, Posey, Alexander, and Dodge, crossed at Helena, to the north shore of the Oui.sconsin, whence they marched in a northerly direction, and in a short time discovered a large Indian trail, leading north of west. A forced pursuit was immediately com- menced; and on the morning of the second of August, they were overtaken five miles from the banks of the Mississippi. General Dodge's squadron led the attack, anri the Indians were driven from hill to hill, until they came to the river, where they made a desperate stand. Find- ing themselves, however, defeated at o\'ery point, they plunged at length into the waterj-'-men, women, and chil- dren,-"in the hope of escaping the fire of their assailants by diving. The conflict lasted three hours. The troops of the United States lost twenty-seven in killed and woun- ded* The Indian loss could not be exactly ascertained; but it must have exceeded one hundred and fifty slain ; and fifty of their women and children were taken prisoners. Black Hawk is said to have fled up the river in the midst of the fight, leaving many of his valuables behind him, which were found on the battle ground. This battle was decisive of their fate. They nevei; I* O^ THE WEST. 237 made an effDrt to rally in force again. Their rcnogado allies had already shrunk from them. The Sioux, many of whom had shown equivocal deportment and double dealing between them and us, begged to bo allowed to go in pursuit of the fugitives. The Winnebagoes had taken most decisive steps against tbem; and, after their barbar- ous usages, werx) daily bringing in their scalps. They killed Stack-ar-ka-pee, a leading Fox warrior. The Me-" nomonees, too, came in to hunt them down. Some priso- ners brought in, informed, that before the encounter in which General Dodge had defeated them, on the twenty- first of July, they had lost two hundred warriors, beside the women and children, drowned by the sinking of their canoes in the Mississippi. Not long afterwards, the head chief, Black Hawk, Nc-o-pope, the prophet, and eleven other head chiefs, together with fifty warriors of less note, were taken prisoners by the Winnebagoes, and delivered up to the Indian agent at Prairie da Obien. Th« fifty captive warriors were dismissed, on their giving pledge, that they would remain hereafter peaceable. The Black Hawk, Ne-o-pope, and the other eleven chiefs were sent down the Mississippi in a steam boat to St. Louis; whence they were sent to Jefferson B;irracks, there to remain prisoners, and hostages for the peaceable conduct of their tribes, until a permanent peace should be established with them. Among the effects of Black Hawk, left behind on his retreat after the battle of the second of August, andl which fell into the hands of the Americans, were certifi- cates of his good character, and of his having fought bravely against the United States, in the late war with Great Britain, signed by British officers. The war of the Sacs and Foxes was, unquestionably, one of pure aggression, and entirely unprovoked, the lands which they claimed, having been sold by themselves, and the consideration amply and promptly paid. Never were savage aggressions more cruel and wanton, than theirs, upon the inoffensive settlers of the frontiers of Illinois and the north-western territory. Many families were mas- sacred, and settlements broken up, before retribution reached them. But when it did come, it was decisive 'a: I- f.' ^ 2^8 INDIAN WARS and final. Those tribes, which, for thirty years past, have hovered round our frontiers, like wolves, sometimes restrained from murder through fear or interest, or tran- sient policy, but always hostile at heart, at length provok- ed their fate, and are now so broken down, as never to be able again to raise the tomahawk, except as solitary and vagabond murderers. Tlie pioneers of civilization in those remote forests and prairies of the north-west, need never fear that their tranquility will bd again disturbed by the Sacs and Foxes. The uncertain and equivocating Winnebagojs, and Sioux, and Menomonccs, have had a stern lesson before their eyes, of the promptness and power of American chastisement; and the impossibility of escaping it by being cheered by the smiles of the British traders, or by their contiguity to the range of the British north-west trading company — a lesson, which, we trust, will awe them to quietness, unti4 our settlements in that quarter shall be so dense as to leave no apprehensions from savages in their vicinage, however diposed towards us. Black Hawk and Ne-o-pope arc shown at Jefferson Bar- racks, as fair samples of the unsophisticated red men of the north-west. Black Hawk is considerably advanced in years, we believe, turned of sixty. He is well built, of the middle stature, with an aquiline nose, a plausible and rather cunning expression of countenance, in which ho seems to wish to manifest moderation and benignity. The head is large, as large as a phrenologist would desire; but, unhappdy, with a forehead singularly retreating, and the back part of his head greatly superior in length and volume to the fore part. Indeed, dcstructiveness is de- veloped in his cranium to an inordinate degree. Yet the warrior, the commander, the chief among the fiercest of the red men, the man who could issue the most terrible war-hoop from the prairie, in view of a peaceful Amer- ican settlement, or who could utter the most plausible and moderate speech before American agents — all tliese capa- bilities sit enthroned on his countenance; and are legible by an ordinary observer. Nature has strongly marked him a chief. Ne-o-pope, the prophet, is a malignant, fierce looking savage, in whose countenance knavery, and ,p):e- OF THE WEST. 239 tension to sanctity, nnd the instinct blood-thirstiness of a wolf are curiously combined. We need hardly add, that within two or three past years, a new experiment is making upon tlic red people included within the territorial limits of the United States. Territories, marked by specific geographical limitn, are assigned them in the immense regions west of the Missis- sippi, and of the settlement of the whites. These loca- tions place them between our exterior settlements and the Rocky mountains, where a boundless region of prairie opens before them, furnishing the only hunting grounds, tliat are, to any considerable degree, productive within our territorial limits. Tart of the Cherokees, Chactaws, Chickasaw s and Creeks, and nearly all the Shuwnese and Delawares, are already removed there. It is expected, in the event of a pacilicution, that the Sacs and Foxes will also remove west of the Mississippi. It is now a vexed question, debated with intense inte- rest, and no little asperity, whether the remaining Indi- ans in the limils of Georgia, Alabama, Mississipj)i, and Tennessee, ought or ought not to be compelled to join their brethren, who have already removed to the country as- signed them west of the Mississippi. On the ' iiehand, it is contended, that the country, which the Indians above specified, inhabit, is secured to them by treaties with the United States, in which they are recognized as an inde- pendent people; and that being unwilling to remove, we have no right to compel them to that course. These ad- vocates speak of their improvements, their cultivated farms, manufactories, roads, bridges, police, and their es- tablished press. All these astonishing germs of Indian civilization, will be, they atlirm, extinguished by their re- moval. They are at once becoming christianized and civilized. In the western prairies they will again retro- grade to savages and pagans. Worse, if possible, than that; in that country of sterility, they will perish misera- bly either by war with the other tribes, into whose territo- ries we have, intruded them, or by famine. They add numerous affecting moral arguments against the measure, closed with the touching one drawn from the considera- 1 '1 i } 4'i "^^t^tHi'.iiW^i^Mli^d 240 INDIAN WARS OF THE WEST. tion of removing them from their venerated cemeteries, and the bones of their forefathers. On the other part, the advocates of removal contend, that the states, within whose limits they reside, have per- fect sovereignty in their lands, and an undoubted right either to compel their submission to their laws, or to re- move them. They state, that it is impossible, that the Indi- ans should exist, as an independent people, within the populous Umits of the whites; that collisions, murders, escapes of fugitive slaves, and the operations of laws and usages so essentially uifierent, as those of the white and red perple, will forever keep alive between the contigu- ous parties, feuds, quariels, and retaliations, which can never cease until one of the parties becomes extinct. They state, that commissioners, who have been sent to explore the country assigned to the Indians, who have already emigratec', find them generally in healthy and fer- tile countries, satisfied with their condition, and advancing still more rapidly in agriculture, wealth, and civilization, than their brethren east of the Mississippi; and, Uiat their removal wifi advance, instead of retarding these improve- ments. They expatiate on the liberal price paid for their relinquished lands, and the ample appropriation made by the government for their removal. One party sees no- thing in their removal, but oppression, violation of treaties, and of the faith of the United States, ',ii, .■*A.44rfi.a^«,.-. -',«i.-*Uy*tt';».„| ^*aS-