Class fsn BookJ- / SSBTOEBB OF WESTERN ADVENTURE. SKETCHES OF W!E8V3£3fiH AfflVfflS'ff WSBSs CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF THE MOST INTERESTING INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH THE SETTLEMENT OF THE WEST, from 1755 to 1794: TOGETHER WITH AN APPENDIX. BY JOHX A. M'CI47NG. IHiflalieLtriife. GRIGG & ELLIOT, NO. 9 NORTH FOURTH STREET. 1832. Entered according to the act of Congress, in the year eigh- teen hundred and thirty-two, by Lewis Collins, proprietor, m the Clerk's office of the District Court of Kentucky. L. Collins, Printer t Maysvitte. Ky, T* PREFACE In these "latter days," when a rage for book making per- vades all ages, sexes and conditions, it is scarcely necessary to offer the usual hacknied apology, for what is modestly called Estill determined to detach a party of six men, under Lieut. Miller, with orders to cross the creek above, and take the Indians in flank, while he maintained his ground, ready to co-operate, as circumstances might require. But he had to deal with an enemy equally bold and sagacious. The In- dian chief was quickly aware of the division of the force opposed to him, from the slackening of the fire in front, and readily conjecturing his object, he determined to frustrate it by crossing the creek with his whole force, and overwhelming Estill, now weakened by the absence of Miller. The ma- noeuvre was bold and masterly, and was executed with de- termined courage. Throwing themselves into the water, they fell upon Estill with the tomahawk, and drove him be- fore them with slaughter. Miller's party retreated with precipitation, and even lie under the reproach of deserting their friends, and absconding, instead of occupying the de- signated ground. Others contradict this statement, and af- firm that Miller punctually executed his orders, crossed the creek, and falling in with the enemy, was compelled to retire with loss. We think it probable, that the Indians rushed up- on Estill, as above mentioned, and having defeated him, re- crossed the creek and attacked Miller, thus cutting up their enemy in detail. Estill's party finding themselves furiously charged, and receiving no assistance from Miller, who was probably at that time on the oilier side of the creek, in the execution of his orders, would naturally consider themselves deserted, and when a clamor of that kind is once raised a- gainst a man, (particularly in a defeat,) the voice of reason «an no longer be heard. Some scapegoat is always neces- WESTERN ADVENTUKE. 69 sarv. The broken remains of the detachment returned to the station, and filled the country with consternation and alarm, greatly disproportioned to the extent of the loss. The brave Estill witheighfrof his men had fallen, and four more were wounded, more than half of their original number. This, notwithstanding the smallness of the numbers, is a v^ery remarkable action, and perhaps, more honorable to the Indians than any other one on record. The numbers, the arms, the courage and the position of the parties were equal- Both were composed of good marksmen, and skilful woods- men. There was no surprise, no panic, nor any particular accident, according to the most probable account which de- cided the action. A delicate manoeuvre, on the part of Es- till, gave an advantage, which was promptly seized by the Indian chief, and a bold and masterly movement decided the fate of the day. The great battles of Austerlitz and Wa- gram, exhibit the same error on the part of one commander, and the same decisive and successful step on the part of the other. The Arch Duke Charles extended his line to take the French in flank, and thereby weakened his centre, which was instantly broken by a rapid charge of the whole French army. No movement seems more delicate and dangerous than that of Estill, and the first great check which Bonoparte received, (that of Eylan,) was chiefly occasioned by weak- ening his front in order to assail the enemy in rear. It re- quires, however, great boldness and promptitude in the op- posite leader, to take advantage of it. A cautious and wary leader, will be apt to let the golden opportunity pass away, until the detachment has reached his flank, and it is then too late. The English military critics, censure our Washing- ton for hesitation of this kind at Brandy wine. They say, that when the detachment of Cornwallis, was absent on its march to take the Americans in flank, Washington should have crossed with his whole force, and have fallen upon 70 SKETCHES OF Kniphausen. Lee says that such a manoeuvre was contem- plated, but was prevented by false intelligence. The news of EstilPs disaster, was quickly succeeded by another, scarcely less startling to the alarmed settlers. Cap- tain Holder, at the head of seventeen men, pursued a party of Indians who had taken two boys from the neighborhood of Hoy's station. He overtook them after a rapid pursuit, and in the severe action which ensued, was repulsed with the loss of more than half his party. The tide of success seem- ed completely turned in favor of the Indians. They tra- versed the woods in every direction, sometimes singly, some- times in small parties, and kept the settlers in constant a- larm. At length, early in August, the grand effort was made. The allied Indian army, composed of detachments from near- ly all the northwestern tribes, and amounting to nearly six hundred men, commenced their march from Chillicothe, un- der the command of their respective chiefs, aided and influ- enced by Girty, McKee and other renegado white men. With a secrecy and celerity peculiar to themselves, they ad- vanced through the woods without giving the slightest indi- cations of their approach, and on the night of the 14th of August, they appeared before Bryant's station, as suddenly as if they had risen from the earth, and surrounding it on all sides, calmly awaited the approach of daylight, holding them- selves in readiness to rush in upon the inhabitants the mo- ment that the gates were opened in the morning. The su- preme influence of fortune in war, was never more strikingly displayed. The garrison had determined to march at day- light on the following morning, to the assistance of Hoy's station, from which a messenger had arrived the evening be- fore, with the intelligence of Holder's defeat. Had the In- dians arrived only a few hours later, they would have found the fort occupied only by old men, women and children, ..who* WESTERN ADVENTURE. 7} could not have resisted their attack for a moment. As it ^was, they found the garrison assembled and under arms, most of them busily engaged throughout the whole night, m preparing for an early march on the following morning. The Indians could distinctly hear the bustle of preparation, and . see lights glancing from block houses and cabins during the night, which must have led them to suspect that their ap- proach had been discovered. All continued tranquil during the night, and Girty silently concerted the plan of attack. The fort, consisting of about forty cabins placed in paral- lel lines, stands upon a gentle rise on the southern bank of the Elkhorn, a few paces to the right of the road from Maysville to Lexington, The garrison were supplied with water from a spring at some distance from the fort on its Northwestern ide — agreaterror, common to most of the stations, which, in a close and long continued siege, must have suffered dread- fully for w T ant of water. The great body of Indians placed themselves in ambush within half rifle shot of the spring, while one hundred select men were placed near the spot where the road now runs after passing the creek, with orders to open a brisk fire and show themselves to the garrison on that side, for the purpose of drawing them out, while the main body held themselves in readiness to rush upon the opposite gate of the fort, hew it down with their tomahawks, and force their way into tire midst of the cabins. At dawn of day, the garrison paraded under arms, and were preparing to open their gates and march off as already mentioned, when they were alarmed by a furious discharge of rifles, accompanied with yells and screams, which struck terror to the hearts of the women and children, and startled even the mem All ran hastily to the picketing, and beheld a small party of Indians, exposed to open view, firing, yelling and making the most furious ges- tures. The appearance was so singular, and so different 72 SKETCHES OF from their usual manner of fighting, that some of the more wary and experienced of the garrison, instantly pronounced it a decoy party, and restrained the young men from sallying out and attacking them, as some of them were strongly dis- posed to do. The opposite side of the fort was instantly manned, and several breaches in the picketing rapidly re- paired. Thei>* greatest distress arose from the prospect of suffering for water. The more experienced of the garrison felt satisfied that a powerful party was in ambuscade near the spring, but at the same time they supposed that the Indi- ans would not unmask themselves, until the firing upon the opposite side of the fort was returned with such warmth, as to induce the belief that the feint had succeeded. Acting upon this impression, and yielding to the urgent necessity of the case, they summoned all the women without exception, and explaining to them the circumstances in which they were placed, and the improbability that any injury would be offer- ed them, until the firing had been returned from the oppo- site side of the fort, they urged them to go in a body to the spring, and each to bring up a bucket full of water. Some of the ladies, as was natural, had no relish for the underta- king, and asked why the men could not bring water as well as themselves! observing that they were not bullet proof, and that the Indians made no distinction between male and female scalps! To this it was answered, that women were in the habit of bringing water every morning to the fort, and that if the Indians saw them engaged as usual, it would in- duce them to believe that their ambuscade was undiscovered f and that they would not unmask themselves for the sake of firing at a fe,w women, when they hoped, by remaining con- cealed a few moments longer, to oblain complete possession of the fort. That if men should go down to the spring, th« Indians would immediately suspect that something was wrong, would despair of succeeding by ambuscade, and WESTERN ADVENTURE. 73 would instantly rush upon them, follow them into the fort, or shoot them down at the spring* The decision was sooa over. A few of the boldest declared their readiness to brave the danger, and the younger and more timid rallying in the rear of these veterans, they all marched down in a body to the spring, within point blank shot of more than five hun- dred Indian warriors ! Some of the girls could not help be- traying symptoms of terror, but the married women, in gene- ral, moved with a steadiness and composure, which com- pletely deceived the Indians. Not a shot was fired. The party were permitted to fill their buckets, one after another, without interruption, and although their steps became quick- er and quicker, on their return, and when near the gate of the fort, degenerated into a rather unmilitary celerity, atten- ded with some little crowding in passing the gate, yet not more than one fifth of the water was spilled, and the eyes of the youngest had not dilated to more than double their ordi- nary size. Being now amply supplied with water, they sent out thir- teen young men to attack the decoy party, with orders to fire with great rapidity, and make as much noise as possible, but not to pursue the enemy too far, while the rest of the garrison took post on the opposite side of the fort, cocked their guns, and stood in readiness to receive the ambuscade as soon as it was unmasked. The firing of the light parties on the Lexington road was soon heard, and quickly became sharp and serious, gradually becoming more distant from the fort. Instantly, Girty sprung up at the head of his five hun- dred warriors, and rushed rapidly upon the western gate, ready to force his way over the undefended palisades. In- to this immense mass of dusky bodies, the garrison poured several rapid vollies of rifle balls with destructive effect. Their consternation may be imagined. With wild cries they dispersed on the right and left, and in two minutes not 7 74 SKETCHES OF an Indian was to be seen. At the same time, the party who had sallied out on the Lexington road, came running into the fort at the opposite gate in high spirits, and laughing heartily at the success of their manoeuvre. A regular attack, in the usual manner, then commenced, without much effect on either side, until two o'clock in the afternoon, when a new scene presented itself. Upon the first appearance of the Indians in the morning, two of the garrison, Tomlinson and Bell, had been mounted upon fleet horses, and sent at full speed to Lexington, announcing the arrival of the Indians and demanding reinforcements. Up- on their arrival, a little after sunrise, they found the town oc- cupied only by women and children, and a few old men, the rest having marched at the intelligence of Holder's defeat, to the general rendezvous at Hoy's station. The two couri- ers instantly followed at a gallop, and overtaking them on the road, informed them of the danger to which Lexington was exposed during their absence. The whole party, a- mounting to sixteen horsemen and more than double that number on foot, with some additional volunteers from Boone's station, instantly countermarched, and repaired with all pos- sible expedition to Bryant's station. They were entirely ign' rant of the overwhelming numbers opposed to them, or they would have proceeded with more caution. Tomlinson had only informed them that the station was surrounded, be- ing himself ignorant of the numbers of the enemy. By great exertions, horse and foot appeared before Bryant's at two in the afternoon, and pressed forward with precipitate gallantry to throw themselves into the fort. The Indians, however, had been aware of the departure of the two cou- riers, who had, in fact, broken through their line in order to give the alarm, and expecting the arrival of reinforcements, had taken measures to meet them. To the left of the long and narrow lane, where the Mays- WESTERN ADVENTUBE. 75 ville and Lexington road now runs, there were more than one hundred acres of green standing corn. The usual road from Lexington to Bryant's, ran parallel to the fence of this field, and only a few feet distant from it. On the opposite side of the road was a thick wood. Here, more than three hundred Indians lay in ambush, within pistol shot of the road, awaiting the approach of the party. The horsemen came in view at a time when the firing had ceased and eve- ry thing was quiet. Seeing no enemy, and hearing no noise, they entered the lane at a gallop, and were instantly salu- ted with a shower of rifle balls, from each side at the dis- tance of ten paces. At the first shot, the whole party set spurs to their horses, and rode at full speed through a rolling fire from either side, which continued for several hundred yards, but owing partly to the furious rate at which they rode, partly to the clouds of dust raised by the horses feet, they all entered the fort unhurt. The men on foot were less for- tunate. They were advancing through the cornfield, and might have reached the fort in safety, but for their eagerness to succor their friends. Without reflecting, that from the weight and extent of the fire, the enemy must have been ten times their number, they ran up with inconsiderate cour- age, to the spot where the firing was heard, and there found themselves cut off from the fort, and within pistol shot of more than three hundred savages. Fortunately, the Indian guns had just been discharged, and they had not yet had leisure to reload. At the sight of this brave body of foot- men, however, they raised a hideous yell, and rushed upon them, tomahawk in hand. Nothing but the high corn and their loaded rifles, could have saved them from destruction. The Indians were cautious in rushing upon a loaded rifle, with only a tomahawk, and when they halted to load their pieces, the Kentuckians ran with great rapidity, turning and dodging through the corn in every direction. Some entered 76 SKETCHES OF the wood and escaped through the thickets of cane, some were shot down in the cornfield, others maintained a run- ning fight, halting occasionally behind trees and keeping the enemy at bay with their rifles, for of all men, the In- dians are generally the most cautious in exposing themselves to danger. A stout, active young fellow, was so hard pres- sed by Girty and several savages, that he was compelled to discharge his rifle, (however unwillingly, having no time to re-load it,) and Girty fell. It happened, however, that a piece of thick soal leather was in his shot pouch at the time, which received the ball, and preserved his life, although the force of the blow felled him to the ground. The sava- ges halted upon his fall, and the young man escaped. Al- though the skirmish and race lasted for more than an hour, during which the cornfield presented a scene of turmoil and bustle which can scarcely be conceived, yet very few lives were lost. Only six of the white men were killed and wounded, and probably still fewer of the enemy, as the whites never fired until absolutely necessary, but re- served their loads as a check upon the enemy. Had the In- dians pursued them to Lexington, they might have possess- ed themselves of it without resistance, as there was no force there to oppose them ; but after following the fugitives for a few hundred yards, they returned to the hopeless siege of the - fort. It was now near sunset, and the fire on both sides had slackened. The Indians had become discouraged. Their loss in the morning had been heavy, and the country was ev- idently arming, and would soon be upon them. They had made no impression upon the fort, and without artillery could hope to make none. The chiefs spoke of raising the siege and decamping, but Girty determined, since his arms had been unavailing, to try the efficacy of negotiation. Near one of the bastions there was a large stump, to which he WESTERN ADVENTURE. 77 crept on his hands and knees, and from which he hailed the garrison. "He highly commended their courage, but assur- ed them, that further resistance would be madness, as he had six hundred warriors with him, and was in hourly expecta- tion of reinforcements, with artillery? which would instantly blow their cabins into the air; that if the fort was taken by storm, as it certainly would be, when their cannon arrived, it would be impossible for him to save their lives; but if the\ surrendered at once, he gave them his honor, that not a hair of their heads should be injured. He told them his name, enquired whether they knew him, and assured them, that they might safely trust to his honor. 1 ' The garrison listened in silence to his speech, and many of them looked very blank at the mention of the artillery, as the Indians had, on one oc- casion, brought cannon with them, and destroyed two sta- tions. But a young man by the name of Ile^/nolds, highly distinguished for courage, energy, and a frolicksome gaiety of temper, perceiving the effect of Girty's speech, took upon himself to reply to it. To Girty's enquiry of "whether the garrison knew him?"' Reynolds replied, "that he was very well known — that he himself, had a worthless dog, to which he had given the name of "Simon Girty," in consequence of his striking resemblance to the man of that name. That if he had either artillery or reinforcements, he might bring them up and be . That if either himself or any of the naked rascals with him, found their way into the fort % they would disdain to use their guns against them, but would drive them out again with switches, of which they had col- lected a great number for that purpose alone; and finally, lie declared, that they aiso expected reinforcements — that the whole country was marching to their assistance, and that if Girty and his gang of murderers remained twenty four hours longer before the fort, their scalps would be found drying in the sun upon the roof of their cabins i? Girty took great of- 7* 78 SKETCHES OF fence at the tone and language of the young Kentuekian f and retired with an expression of sorrow for the inevitable destruction which awaited them on the following morning. He quickly rejoined the chiefs, and instant preparations were made for raising the siege. The night passed away in un- interrupted tranquil ity r and at daylight in the morning, the Indian camp was found deserted. Fires were still burning brightly, and several pieces of meat were left upon their roasting sticks, from which it was inferred that they had re- treated a short time before daylight. Early in the d ay T reinforcements began to drop in, and by noon, one hundred and sixty seven men were assembled at Bryant's station. Col. Daniel Boone, accompanied by his youngest son, headed a strong party from Boonsborough ; Trigg brought up the force from the neighborhood of Har- rodsburgh, and Todd commanded the militia around Lexing- ton. Nearly a third of the whole number assembled, was composed of commisioned officers, who hurried from a dis- tance to the scene of hostilities, and for the time took their station in the ranks. Of those under the rank of Colonel, the most conspicuous were, Majors Harland, McBride, Mc- Gary, and Levy Todd, and Captains Bulger and Gordon. Of the six last named officers, all fell in the subsequent bat- tle, except Todd and McGary. Todd and Trigg, as senior Colonels, took the command, although their authority seems to have been in a great measure nominal. That, however, was of less consequence, as a sense of common danger is of- ten more binding than the strictest discipline. A tumultuous consultation, in which every one seems to have had a voice, terminated in a unanimous resolution to pursue the enemy without delay. It was well known that General Logan had collected a strong force in Lincoln, and would join them at farthest in twenty four hours. It was distinctly understood that the enemy was at least double, and, according to Gir- WESTERN ADVENTURE. 79 ty's accountj more than treble their own numbers. It was seen that their trail was broad and obvious, and that e\ew some indications of a tardiness and willingness to be pursu- ed, had been observed by their scouts, who had been sent out to reconnoitre^ and from which it might reasonably be inferred that they would halt on the way — at least march so leisurely as to permit them to wait for the aid of Logan! Yet so keen was the ardor of officer and soldier, that all these ob- vious reasons were overlooked, and in the afternoon of the 18th of August, the line of march was taken up, and the pursuit urged with that precipitate courage which has so of- ten been fatal to Kentuckians. Most of the officers and ma- ny of the privates were mounted. The Indians had followed the buffalo trace r and as if to render their trail still more evident, they had chopped many of the trees on each side of the road with their hatchets. These stong indications of tardiness, made some impression upon the cool and calculating mind of Boone, but it was too late to advise retreat. They encamped that night in the woods y and on the following day reached the fatal boundary of their pursuit! At the Lower Blue Licks, for the first time since the pursuit commenced, they came within view of an enemy. As the miscellaneous crowd of horse and foot reached the southern bank of Licking, they saw a num- ber of Indians ascending the rocky ridge on the other side, They halted upon the appearance of the Kentuckians, gaz- ed at them for a few moments in silence,, and then calmly and leisurely disappeared over the top of the hill. A halt immediately ensued. A dozen or twenty officers met in front of the ranks, and entered into consultation. The wild and lonely aspect of the country around them, their dis- tance from any point of support^with the certainty of their being in the presence of a superior enemy, seems to have in- spired a portion of seriousness bordering upon awe. All 80 SKETCHES OF eyes were now turned upon Boone, and Col, Todd asked his opinion as to what should be done. The veteran wooda^ man, with his usual unmoved gravity, replied, "that their situation was critical and delicate — -that the force opposed to them was undoubtedly numerous and ready for battle, as might readily be seen from the leisurely retreat of the few In- dians who had appeared upon the crest of the hill: that he was well acquainted with the ground in the neighborhood of the Lick, and was apprehensive that an ambuscade was form- ed at the distance of a mile in advance, where two ravines, one upon each side of the ridge, ran in such a manner, that a concealed enemy might assail them at once both in front and flank, before they were apprised of the danger. It would be proper, therefore, to do one of two things. Either to a- wait the arrival of Logan, who was now undoubtedly on his march to join them, or if it was determined to attack without delay, that one half of their number should march up the river, which there bends in an elliptical form, cross at the rapids, and fall upon the rear of the enemy, while the other division attacked in front. At any rate, he strongly urged the necessity of reconnoitering the ground carefully before the main body crossed the river." Such was the counsel of Boone. And although no measure could have been much more disastrous than that which was adopted, yet it may be doubted if any thing short of an immediate retreat upon Logan, could have saved this gallant body of men from the fate which they encountered. If they divided their force, the enemy, as in EstilPs case, might have overwhelmed them in detail — if they remained where they were, without ad- vancing, the enemy would certainly have attacked them, probably in the night, and with a certainty of success. They had committed a great error at first in not waiting for Lo- gan, and nothing short of a retreat, which would have been considered disgraceful, could now repair it. WESTERN ADVENTURE. 81 Boone was heard in silence and with deep attention. Some wished to adopt the first plan — others preferred the second, and the discussion threatened to be drawn out to some length, when the boiling ardor of McGary, who could never endure the presence of an enemy without instant battle, stimulated him to an act, which had nearly proved destructive to his country. He suddenly interrupted the consultation with a loud whoop, resembling the war cry of the Indians, spurred his horse into the stream, waved his hat over his head and shouted aloud, "let all who are not cowards follow me !" The words and the action together, produced an electrical effect. The mounted men dashed tumultously into the river, each striving to be foremost. The footmen were mingled with them in one rolling and irregular mass. No order was giv- en and none observed. They struggled through a deep ford as well as they could, McGary still leading the van, closely followed by Majors Harland and McBride. With the same rapidity they ascended the ridge, which, by the trampling of buffalo forages, had been stripped bare of all vegetation, with the exception of a few dwarfish cedars, and which was ren- dered still more desolate in appearance, by the multitude of rocks, blackened by the sun, which were spread over its sur- face. Upon reaching the top of the ridge, they followed the buffalo trace with the same precipitate ardor — Todd and Trigg in the rear; McGary, Harland, McBride and Boone in front. No scouts were sent in advance — none explored either flank— officers and soldiers seemed alike demented by the contagious example of a single man, and all struggled forward, horse and foot, as if to outstrip each other in the advance. Suddenly, the van halted. They had reached the spot mentioned by Boone, where the two ravines head, on each side of the ridge. Here a body of Indians presented them- selves, and attacked the van, McGary's party instantly re- 82 SKETCHES OF turned the fire, but under great disadvantage. They were upon a bare and open ridge— the Indians in a bushy ravine. The centre and rear, ignorant of the ground, hurried up to the assistance of the van, but were soon stopped by a terri- ble fire from the ravine which flanked them. They found themselves enclosed as if in the wings of a net, destitute of proper shelter, while the enemy were in a great measure covered from their fire. Still, however, they maintained their ground. The action became warm and bloody. The parties gradually closed, the Indians emerged from the ra- vine, and the fire became mutually destructive. The offi- cers suffered dreadfully. Todd and Trigg, in the rear- Harland, McBride and young Boone, in front, were already killed. The Indians gradually extended their line,, to turn the right of the Kentuckians, and cutoff their retreat. This was quickly perceived by the weight of the fire from that quarter, and the rear instantly fell back in disorder, and at- tempted to rush through their only opening to the river. The motion quickly communicated itself to the van, and a hurried retreat became general. The Indians instantly sprung forward in pursuit, and falling upon them with their tomahawks, made a cruel slaughter. From the battle ground to the river, the spectacle was terrible. The horsemen gen- erally escaped, but the foot, particularly the van, which had advanced farthest within the wings of the net, were almost totally destroyed. Ool. Boone, after witnessing the death of his son and many of his dearest friends, found himself almost entirely surrounded at the very commencement of the re- treat. Several hundred Indians were between him and the ford, to which the great mass of the fugitives were bending their flight, and to which the attention of the savages was principally directed. Being intimately acquainted with the ground, he, together with a few friends, dashed into the ra- vine which the Indians had occupied, but which most of WESTERN ADVENTURE. 83 them had now left to join in the pursuit. After sustaining one or two heavy fires, and baffling one or two small par- ties, who pursued him for a short distance, he crossed the river below the ford, by swimming, and entering the wood at a point where there was no pursuit, returned by a circuitous route to Bryant's station. In the mean time, the great mass of the victors and vanquished crowded the bank of the ford. The slaughter was great in the river. The ford was crowe ded with horsemen and foot and Indians, all mingled together. Some were compelled to seek a passage above by swimming -some, who could could not swim, were overtaken and kil- led at the edge of the water. A man by the name of Neth- erland, who had formerly been strongly suspected of cow- ardice, here displayed a coolness and presence of mind, equally noble and unexpected. Being finely mounted, he had outstripped the great mass of fugitives, and crossed the river in safety, A dozen or twenty horsemen accompanied him, and having placed the river between them and the enemy* showed a disposition to continue their flight, without regard to the safety of their friends who were on foot and still strug- gling with the current. Netherland instantly checked his horse, and in a loud voice, called upon his companions to halt ! — fire upon the Indians, and save those who were still in the stream. The party instantly obeyed — and facing a- bout, poured a close and fatal discharge of rifles upon the foremost of the pursuers. The enemy instantly fell back from the opposite bank, and gave time for the harrassed and miserable footmen to cross in safety. The check, however, was but momentary. Indians were seen crossing in great numbers above and below, and the flight again became gen eral. Most of the foot left the great buffalo track, and plun- ging into the thickets, escaped by a circuitous route to Bry- ant's. But little loss was sustained after crossing the river, al- 84 SKETCHES OP though the pursuit was urged keenly for twenty miles. From the battle ground to the ford, the loss was very heavy ; and at that stage of the retreat, there occurred a rare and stri- king instance of magnanimity, which it would be criminal to omit The reader cannot have forgotten young Rey- nolds, who replied with such rough but ready humor to the pompous summons of Girty, at the siege of Bryant's ! This young man, after bearing his share in the action with dis- tinguished gallantry, was galloping with several other horse- men in order to reach the ford. The great body of fugitives had preceded them, and their situation was in the highest degree critical and dangerous. About halfway between the battle ground and the river, the party overtook Capt. Patter- son on foot, exhausted by the rapidity of the flight, and in consequence of former wounds, received from the Indians, so infirm as to be unable to keep up with the main body of the men on foot. The Indians were close behind him, and his fate seemed inevitable. Reynolds, upon coming up with this brave officer, instantly sprung from his horse, aided Pat- terson to mount into the saddle, and continued his own flight on foot. Being remarkably active and vigorous, he contrived to elude his pursuers, and turning off from the main road, plunged into the river near the spot where Boone had cross ed, and swam in safety to the opposite side. Unfortunately, he wore a pair of buckskin breeches, which had become so heavy and full of water, as to prevent his exerting himself with his usual activity, and while sitting down for the pur- pose of pulling them off, he was overtaken by a party of In- dians and made prisoner. A prisoner is rarel} put to death by the Indians, unless wounded or infirm, until they return to their own country ; and then his fate is decided in solemn council. Young Reynolds, therefore, was treated kindly, and compelled to acompany his captors in the pursuit, small party of Kentuckians, soon attracted thfeir attention e WESTERN ADVENTURE. 85 and he was left in charge of three Indians, who* eager in pursuit, in turn committed him to the charge of one of their number, while they followed their companions. Reynolds and his guard jogged along very leisurely, the former totally unarmed — the latter with a tomahawk and rifle in his hands. At length the Indian stopped to tie his moccasin, when Rey- nolds instantly sprung upon him, knocked him down with his fist, and quickly disappeared in the thicket which sur- rounded them. For this act of generosity, Capt. Patterson afterwards made him a present of two hundred acres of first rate land. Late in the evening of the same day, most of the survi vors arrived at Bryant's station. The melancholy intelli- gence spread rapidly throughout the country, and the whole land was covered with mourning. Sixty men had been kil- led in the battle and flight, and seven had been taken pris- oners, of whom were afterwards put to death by the Indians, as was said, to make their loss even. This account, however, appears very improbable. It is almost incredible that the Indians should have suffered an equal loss. Their superiority of numbers, their advantage of position, (being in a great measure sheltered, while the Kentuckians, par- ticularly the horsemen, were much exposed,) the extreme bre- vitv of the battle, and the acknowledged bloodiness of the pursuit, all tend to contradict the report that the Indian loss exceeded ours. We have no doubt that some of the prison- ers were murdered, after arriving at their towns, but cannot believe that the reason assigned for so ordinary a piece of barbarity was the true one! Still the execution done hy the Kentuckians, while the battle lasted, seems to have been considerable, al hough far inferior to the loss which they themselves sustained. Todd and Trigg were a severe loss to their families and to the country general!} 7 . They were men of a rank in life superior to the ordinary class of set 8 86 SKETCHES OF tiers, and generally esteemed for courage, probity and intel- ligence. The death of Major Harland was deeply and uni- versally regretted. A keen courage, united to a temper the most amiable, and an integrity the most incorruptible, had rendered him extremely popular in the country. To- gether with his friend McBride, he accompanied McGary in the van, and both fell in the commencement of the action. McGary, notwithstanding the extreme exposure of his sta- tion, as leader of the van, and consequently most deeply in- volved in the ranks of the enemy, escaped without the slight- est injury. This gentleman will ever be remembered, as as- sociated with the disaster of which he was the immediate, although not the original cause. He has always been rep- resented as a. man of fiery and daring courage, strongly tinctured with ferocity, and unsoftened by any of the hu- mane and gentle qualities, which awaken affection. In the hour of battle, his presence was invaluable, but in civil life, the ferocity of his temper rendered him an unpleasant companion. Several years after the battle of the Blue Licks, a gen- tleman of Kentucky, since dead, fell in company with Mc- Gary atone of the circuit courts, and the conversation soon turned upon the battle. McGary frankly acknowledged that he, himself, was the immediate cause of the less of blood on that day, and with great heat and energy, assigned his reasons for urging on the battle. He said, that in the hur- ried council which was held at Bryant's on the 18th, he hadl strenuously urged Todd and Trigg to halt for twenty four I hours, assuring them, that with the aid of Logan, they would! be able to follow them even to Chillicothe if necessary, andl that their numbers then, were too weak to encounter theml alone ! He offered, he said, to pledge his head, that the In-I dians would not return with such precipitation as was sup-l jvosed, but would afford ample time to collect more force, audi WESTERN ADVENTURE, 87 give them battle with a prospect of success. He added, that Col. Todd scouted his arguments, and declared "that if a single day was lost, the Indians would never be overtaken — but, would cross the Ohio and disperse; that now was the time to strike them while they were in a body — that to talk of their numbers was nonsense — the more the merrier! — that for his part he was determined to pursue without a moment's delay, and did not doubt that there- were brave men enough on the ground, to enable him to at- tack them with effect." McGary declared "that he feh somewhat nettled at the manner in which his advice had been received; that he thought Todd and Trigg jealous of Logan, who, as senior Colonel, would be entitled to the com- mand upon his arrival ; and, that, in their eagerness to have the honor of the victory to themselves, they were rashly throwing themselves into a condition, which would endan- ger the safety of the country. "However, sir," continued he, with an air of unamiable triumph, "when I saw the gen- tlemen so keen for a fight, I gave way, and joined in the pursui f , as willingly as any; but when we came in sight of the enemy, and the gentlemen began to talk of "numbers,** "position," "Lf>gan," and "waiting," Iburstintoa passion, d d them for a set of cowards, who could not be wise until they were scared into it, and swore that since they had come se far for a fight — they should fight, or I would dis- grace them for ever! That when I spoke of waiting for Logan on the day before, they had scouted the idea, and hinted something about "Courage" — that now it would be shown who had courage, or who were d d cowards, that could talk big when the enemy w r as at a distance, but turn- ed pale when danger was near. I then dashed into the riv- er, and called upon all who were not cowards to follow !" The^gentleman upon whose authority this is given, added, that even then, McGary .spoke with bitterness of the de 88 SKETCHES WESTERN ADVENTURE. 109 pie revenge for the loss of their property. At every stroke of their ramrods over his head, (and they were neither few nor far between,) they would repeat in a tone of strong in- dignation, "steal Jndian hoss ! ! hey ! !" Their attention, however, was soon directed to Montgome- ry, who, having heard the noise attending Kenton's capture, very gallantly hastened up to his assistance ; while Clark very prudently consulted his own safety in betaking him- self to his heels, leaving his unfortunate companions to shift for themselves. Montgomery halted within gunshot and ap- peared busy with the pan of his gun, as if preparing to fire Two Indians instantly sprung off in pursuit of him, w r hile the rest attended to Kenton. In a few minutes Kenton heard the crack of two rifles in quick succession, followed by a halloo, which announced the fate of his friend. The Indi- dians quickly returned, waging the bloody scalp of Mont- gomery, and with countenances and gestures which menaced him with a similar fate. They then proceeded to secure their prisoner. They first compelled him to lie upon his back, and stretched out his arms to their full length. They then passed a stout stick at right angles across his breast, to each extremity of which his wrists were fastened by thongs made of Buffalo's hide. Stakes were then driven into the earth, near his feet, to which they were fastened in a simi- lar manner. A halter was then tied around his neck, and fastened to a sapling which grew near, and finally a strong rope was passed under his body, lashed strongly to the pole which lay transversely upon his breast, and finally wrapped around his arms at the elbows, in such a manner as to pin- ion them to the pole with a painful violence, and render him literally incapable of moving hand, foot, or head, in the slightest manner. During the whole of this severe operation, neither their tongues nor hands were by any means idle. They cuffed 10 110 SKETCHES OF him from time to time, with great heartiness, until his ears rung again, and abused him for a "tief ! — a hoss steal !— a rascal!" and finally for a 'F from his seat, took the end of a dog- wood fork about eighteen inches in length, and putting a coal of fire between it and another stick, went behind the Indian as if to kindle a fire. Gently laying down the coal, he paused a moment to collect his strength, and then struck the Indian a furious blow up- on the back of the head, with the dog- wood stick. The fel- low stumbled forward, and fell with his hands in the fire- but instantly rising again, ran off with great rapidity, how- ling most dismally. Knight instantly seized the rifle which his enemy had abandoned and pursued him, intending to shoot him dead on the spot, and thus prevent pursuit — but in drawing back the cock of the gun too violently, he injured it so much that it would not go off — and the Indian frighten- ed out of his wits, and leaping and dodging with the activity of a wild cat, at length effected his escape. On the same day about noon, as Knight afterwards learn- ed from a prisoner who effected his escape, the Indian ar- rived at the Shawanee village, with his head dreadfully cut and his legs torn by the briars. He proved to be a happy mix- ture of the braggadocio and coward, and treated his fellows with a magnificent description of his contest with Knight, whom he represented as a giant in stature (five feet seven in- ches!) and a buffalo in strength and fierceness. He said that Knight prevailed upon him to untie him, and that while they were conversing like brothers, and while he himself was suspecting no harm, his prisoner suddenly seized a dog- wood sapling, and belabored him, now on this side of his head, now on the other, (here his gestures were very lively,) until he was scarcely able to stand ! That, nevertheless, he made a manful resistance, and stabbed his gigantic antago- nist twice, once in the back, and once in the belly, but seeing that his knife made no impression upon the strength of the prisoner, he was at length compelled to leave him, satisfied that the wounds which he had inflicted must at length prove WESTERN ADVENTURE. 153 mortal. The Indians were much diverted at his account of the affair, and laughed loud and long, evidently not believ- ing a syllable of the tale — at least so far as his own prowess was concerned. In the mean time, Knight finding it useless to pursue the Indian, to whom terror had lent wings, hastily returned to the fire, and taking the Indian's blanket, moccasins, bullet bag and powder horn, lost no time in moving off, directing his course towards the north east. About half an hour by sun he came to the plains already mentioned, which were about sixteen miles wide. Not choosing to cross them by day- light, he lay down in the high grass until dark, then guided by the north star, he crossed them rapidly, and before day- light had reached the woods on the other side. Without hal- ting for a moment, he continued his march until late in the afternoon, crossing nearly at right angles the path by which the troops had advanced, and moving steadily to the north- ward, with the hope of avoiding the enemy who might still be lingering upon the rear of the troops. In the evening he felt very faint and hungry, having tasted nothing for three days, and very little since his captivity u Wild gooseberries grew very abundantly in the woods, but being still green, they required mastication, which he was unable to perform, his jaws having been much injured by a blow from the back of a tomahawk. There was a weed, however, which grew in the woods, the juice of which was grateful to the palate, and nourishing to the body. Of this he sucked plentifully, and finding himself much refreshed, was enabled to contin- ue his journey. Supposing that he had now advanced suf nciently to the northward to baffle his pursuers, he changed his course and steered due east. Wishing, if possible, to procure some animal food, he often attempted to rectify the lock of his gun, supposing that it was only wood bound, but having no knife, he was unable to unscrew it, and was at 154 SKETCHES OF length reluctantly compelled to throw it away as a useless burden. His jaw rapidly recovered, and he was enabled to chew green gooseberries, upon which, together with two young unfledged black birds, and one land tarapin, (both de- voured raw,) he managed to subsist for twenty one days. He swam the Muskingum a few miles below fort Lawrence, and crossing all paths, directed his steps to the Ohio river. He struck it at a few miles below fort Mcintosh on the eve- ning of the 21st day, and on the morning of the 22d reach- ed the fort in safety. Such was the lamentable expedition of Col. Crawford, rashly undertaken, injudiciously prosecuted, and termina- ting with almost unprecedented calamity. The insubordi- nate spirit of the men, together with the inadequacy of the force, were the great causes of the failure. The first wa$ incident to the nature of the force — but the second might have been remedied by a little consideration. Repeated dis- asters, however, were necessary to convince the Americans of the necessity of employing a sufficient force — and it was not until they had suffered by the experience of ten more ^ears, that this was at length done. The defeat of Brad- dock had been bloody, but not disgraceful. Officers and soldiers died in battle,, and with arms in their hands. Not a man offered to leave the ground until a retreat was order- ed. Crawford, on the contrary, perished miserably at the stake, as did most of his men. They were taken in detail, skulking through the woods, to avoid an enemy, whom they might have vanquished by anion, steadiness, and courage. It stands upon record as one of the most calamitous and dis- graceful expeditions which has ever stajned the American arms WESTERN ADVENTURE. 155 CHAPTER V. During the old French war, John Slover, a native oi Virginia, was taken by a party of Miami Indians, on the banks of White river, and immediately conducted to the In- dian town of Sanduskv. Here he resided from his eighth to his twentieth year. At the treaty of Pittsburgh, in the fall of '73, he came in with the Shawanee nation, and acci- dentally meeting with some of his relations, he was recog- nized, and earnestly exhorted to relinquish his connection with the Indians, and return to his friends, He yielded with some reluctance, (having become strongly attached to a sav age life,) and having probably but little relish for labor on a farm, after the easy life which he had led in Ohio, he enlis- ted in the continental army, and served two compaigns with credit, as a sharp shooter. Having been properly discharg- ed, he settled in Westmoreland county, and when the unfor- tunate expedition of Crawfrod was set on foot, was strongly urged to attend in the capacity of a guide. Conquering the distaste which he naturally felt, at the idea of conducting a hostile army against his former friends, he yielded to the persuasion of his neighbors and shared in all the dangers of the army. At the moment when the rout took place, Slover was in the immediate neighborhood of the enemy, attending to a number of horses that were grazing on the plain. But the uproar in front, occasioned by the tumultuous flight of more than four hundred men, soon warned him of his dan- ger. He hastily mounted the best horse within reach, and put him to his utmost speed. He soon overtook the main bo- dy, and was among the foremost when the Indians attempt <>d to intercept them. A deep bog crossed the line^of retreat, 156 SKETCHES OP and occasioned immense confusion. Those who first reach ed it, plunged in without hesitation, but after struggling for a few minutes their horses stuck fast, and were necessarily abandoned. The darkness of the night, and the hurry of the retreat, prevented the rear from profiting by the misfor- tune of the van. Horseman after horseman plunged madly into the swamp, and in a few minutes, a scene which baf- fles all attempt at description took place. Not one tenth part of the horses were able to struggle through. Their ri- ders dismounted and endeavored on foot, to reach the oppo- site side. The Indians pressed upon them, pouring an inces- sant fire upon the mass of fugitives, some of whom were completely mired, and sunk gradually to the chin, in which condition they remained until the following morning; others, with great difficulty, effected a passage, and continued their flight on foot. Slover having struggled for several minutes to disengage his horse, was at length compelled to abandon him, and wade through the morass as he best could, on foot. After incredi- ble fatigue and danger, he at length reached the firm ground, covered with mud, and frightened not a little at hearing the yells of the enemy immediately behind him, and upon each flank, many of them having crossed a few hundred yards a- bove, where the mud was not so deep. In a few minutes he overtook a party of six men on foot, having been compelled like himself to abandon their horses, and two of them hav- ing even lost their guns. Finding themselves hard pressed by the enemy, who urged the pursuit with great keenness, they changed their course from an eastern to a western di- rection, almost turning upon their own trail, and bending their steps towards Detroit. In a short time they struck the same swamp, although considerably higher up, and were compelled to wait until daylight in order to find their way across. Having succeeded at length, in reaching the oppo i WESTERN ADVENTURE. 157 site side, they travelled throughout the day, directly towards the Shawanee towns. This, as the event proved, was fines- sing rather too much. They would certainly avoid their pursuers, but they were plunging into the midst of the Indi- an settlements, and must expect to meet with roving bands of Indians in every direction. At 10 o'clock, they halted for breakfast, having eaten no- thing for two days. While busily engaged with their ration of cold pork and corn bread, they were alarmed by hearing a halloo immediately behind them, which was instantly an- swered by two others upon each flank. Hastily dropping their wallets, they fled into the grass, and falling upon their faces, awaited with beating hearts the approach of the ene- my. Presently, seven or eight Indians appeared, talking and laughing in high spirits, evidently ignorant of the pres- ence of the fugitives. In a few minutes they had passed, and the party cautiously returned to their wallets. The fright, however, had completely spoiled their appetites, and hastily gathering up the remnant of their provisions, they continued their journey, changing their course a little to the north, in order to avoid the party who had just passed. By twelve o'clock, they reached a large prairie, which it was necessary for them to cross, or return upon their own foot- steps. In the prairie they would be much exposed, as an enemy could see them at a vast distance, but to return to the spot from which they had started was so melancholy an al- ternative, that after a short and anxious consultation, it was determined at all risk to proceed. They accordingly enter- ed the vast plain, which stretched for many miles before them, affording no means of concealment but the grass, and advanced rapidly but cautiously, until about one o'clock, when the man in front, called their attention to a number of moving objects ahead, which seemed to approach them. The grass was high, and the objects indistinct. They might 14 158 SKETCHES OF be Indians or elk or buffalo, but whoever or whatever thay were, it would be as well perhaps not to await their coming. They accordingly crawled aside, and again lay down in the grass — occasionally lifting their heads in order to reconnoi- tre the strangers. As they drew near, they perceived them to be a party of Indians, but from the loose and straggling manner in which they walked, and the loudness of their voi- ces, they were satisfied that they had not been detected. The Indians quickly passed them and disappeared in the grass. The party then arose and continued their journey, looking keenly around them, in hourly expectation of anoth- er party of the enemy. In the evening, a heavy rain fell, the coldest that they had ever felt, and from which it was impossible to find a shel- ter Drenched to the skin and shivering with cold, they waded on through the grass until near sunset, when to their oreat joy they saw a deep forest immediately in front, where they could obtain shelter as well from the storm as the ene- my. The rain, however, which had poured in torrents while they were exposed to it, ceased at once as soon as they had reached a shelter. Considering this a good omen, they en- camped for the night, and on the following morning, recom- menced their journey with renewed spirits. They were much delayed, however, by the infirmity of two of their men, one of whom had burnt his foot severely, and the oth- er's knees were swollen with the rheumatism. The rheu- matic traveller, at length, fell considerably behind. The party halted, hallooed for him, and whistled loudly upon their chargers, but in vain. They saw him no more on their march, although he afterwards reached Wheeling in safety, while his stronger companions, as we shall quickly sec, were not so fortunate. They had now again shifted their course, and were mar- ching in a straight direction towards Pittsburgh. They had WESTERN ADVENTURE. 159 passed over the most dangerous part of the road, and had thus far, got the first view of every enemy who appeared. On the morning of the third day, however, a party of Indi- ans, who had secretly dogged them from the prairie, (through which their trail had been broad and obvious,) had now out- stripped them and lay in ambush on their road. The first intimation which Slover had of their existence, was a close discharge of rifles, which killed two of their party dead. The four survivors instantly ran to the trees, but two of their guns had been left in the swamp, so that two only remained tit for service. Slover, whose gun was in good order, took aim at the foremost Indian, who, raising his hand warningly, told him not to fire, and he should be treated kindly. Slov- er and his two unarmed companions instantly surrendered, but John Paul, the youth, refused to be included in the ca- pitulation, and being equally bold and active, completely baffled his pursuers and came safely into Wheeling. One of the Indians, instantly recognized Slover, having been present at his capture many years before, and having afterwards lived with him at Sandusky. He called him by his Indian name (Mannuchcothe,) and reproached him indig- nantly for bearing arms against his brothers. Slover was somewhat confused at the charge, fearing that his recogni tion would be fatal to him when he should reach the Indian towns. They were taken back to the prairie, where the In- dians had left their horses, and each mounting a horse, they moved rapidly towards the nearest town, which proved to be Waughcotomoco, the theatre of Kenton's adventure, four years before. Upon approaching the town, the Indians, who had heretofore been very kind to them, suddenly began to look sour, and put themselves into a passion by dwelling upon their injuries. Presently, as usual, the squaws, boys, &x. came out, and the usual scene commenced. They soon be came tired of abusing and switching them, and having se- 160 SKETCHES OF lected the oldest of the three, they blacked his face with coal and water. The poor fellow was much agitated, and cried bitterly, frequently asking Slover if they were not go- ing to burn him. The Indians, in their own language, has- tily forbid Slover to answer him, and coming up to their in- tended victim, patted him upon the back, and with many hon- ied epithets, assured him that they would not hurt him. They then marched on to the large town, about two miles beyond the small one, (both bearing the same name,) having as usual, sent a runner in advance to inform the inhabitants of their approach. The whole village presently flocked out, and a row was formed for the gauntlet. The man who had been blacked attracted so much attention, that Slover and his companion scarcely received a blow. The former preceded them by twenty yards, and was furiously attacked by every individual. Loads of powder were shot into his body, deep wounds were inflicted with knives and toma- hawks, and sand was thrown into his eyes, and he was sev- eral times knocked down by cudgels. Having heard that he would be safe on reaching the council house, he forced his way with gigantic strength, through all opposition, and crasped the post with both hands, his body burnt with pow- der and covered with Wood. He was furiously torn from his place of refuge, however, and thrust back among his en- emies, when finding that they would give him no quarter, he returned their blows with a fury equal to their own, cry- ing piteously the whole time, and frequently endeavoring to wrest a tomahawk from his enemies. This singular scene was continued for nearly half an hour, when the prisoner was at length beaten to death. Slover and his companion reached the post in safety, and were silent spectators of the fate of their friend. As soon as he was dead, the Indians cut up his body, and stuck the head and quarters upon poles in the centre of the town. WESTERN ADVENTURE. 161 On the same evening, he beheld the dead bodies of young Crawford and Col. Harrison, and a third whom he supposed to be Col. McCleland, the second in command. Their bo- dies were black and mangled, like that of their unfortunate companion, having been beaten to death a few hours before their arrival. As he passed by the bodies, the Indians smil- ed maliciously, and asked if he knew them? He mentioned their names, upon which they nodded with much satisfac- tion. In the evening all the dead bodies were dragged be- yond the limits of the town and abandoned to the dogs and wolves. In twenty four hours, their bones only were to be seen. On the following morning, Slovers only surviving com- panion was marched oiftoa neighboring town, and never heard of afterwards. Slover, himself, was summoned in the evening to attend at the council house, and give an ac- count of his conduct. Heretofore he had generally been treated with kindness, and on the first day of the council, he saw no symptoms of a disposition to put him to death. But on the second day, James Girty arrived from Crawford's ex- ecution, and instantly threw the whole weight of his influ- ence into the scale against the prisoner. He dwelt with much emphasis upon the ingratitude of Siover, in serving as a spy against those who had formerly treated him with such distinguished kindness, and scrupled not to affirm, that in a confidential conversation which he had had with the prison- er, on that morning, he had asked him "how he would like to live again with his old friends?" — Upon which Slover had laughed, and replied, that "he would stay until he had an opportunity of taking a scalp, and 7/ould then steal a horse and return to the whites." Slover knew many of his judg- es by name, spoke their language fluently / and made a vi- gorous defence. He said, that during the whole twelve years of his former captivity amongst them, he had given am- 14* 162 SKETCHES OF pie proofs of his fidelity to the Indians. That, although he had a thousand opportunities, he had never once attempted an escape, and there were several now present who could tes- tify that, at the treaty of fort Pitt, he had left them with re luctance in compliance with the earnest solicitations of his family ! That he had then taken leave of them publicly, in broad daylight, in time of profound peace, and with their full approbation. That he then had no idea of the existence of a future war, but when war came, it was his duty to ac- company his countrymen to the field against the Indians, precisely as he would have accompanied the Indians former- ly against the whites. That it was the undoubted duty of every warrior to serve his country, without regard to his own private feelings of attachment; that he had done so — and if the Indians thought it worthy of death, they could inflict the penalty upon him! — he was alone and in their power! — That Mr. Girty's assertion was positively false — he had not ex- changed a syllable with him, beyond a brief and cold saluta- tion, when they had met in the morning, not to mention the absurdity of supposing that if he had really entertained such an idea, he would have communicated it to Girty! — the sworn enemy of the whites, and as he believed his own per- sonal enemy* This vigorous and natural defence, seemed to make some impression upon his enemies. Girty 's assertion was so stri- kingly improbable, that very few gave it credit, and some of Slover's old friends exerted themselves actively in his be- half. The council suspended their decision for several days, and in the mean time, endeavored to gain information from him, as to the present condition of Virginia. Slover inform- ed them that Cornwallis had been captured, together with his whole army, which astonished them much, and compel- led them to utter some deep guttural interjections. But Gir- ty and McKey became very angry, swore that it was a lie. WESTERN ADVENTURE, 163 and renewed their exertions with increased ardor, to have him brought to the stake. While his trial was pending, he was unbound, and unguarded, was invited to all their dan- ces, and suffered to reside as an inmate in the cabin of an old squaw, who treated him with great affection. Girty was blustering, ferocious and vulgar in his manners, but McKey was silent, grave and stern, never addressing Slov- er, and seldom speaking in council. He lived apart from the rest in a handsome house, built of white oak logs, ele- gantly hewed, and neatly covered with shingles. His ha^ tred to the whites was deep and inveterate, and his influence was constantly exerted against every prisoner who came be- fore him. They spared no pains, in endeavoring to entrap Slover into some unguarded words, which might injure him with the Indians. A w T hite man one morning asked Slover to walk out with him, as he had samething of importance to communicate. As soon as they had gained the fields, the fellow halted, and in a confidential tone, informed Slover that he had two brothers living upon the banks of the Poto- mac, whom he was desirous of seeing again — that the Indi- ans had given him his life, for the present, but they were such capricious devils, that there was no confidence to be placed in them, and he felt disposed to escape, while it was in his power, if Slover would accompany him. Slover heard him coldly, and with an appearance of great surprize, blamed him for entertaining so rash a project, and assured him that he was determined to encounter no such risk. The emissary of Girty and McKey, returned instantly to the council, and reported that Slover had eagerly entered into the project, and was desirous of escaping that evening. Two days afterwards, a very large council was held, be- ing composed of warriors from the Shawanee, Delaware T Wyandott, Chippewa and Mingo tribes. Two Indians came lothe wigwam in order to conduct Slover once more before 164 SKETCHES OF his judges, but the old squaw concealed him beneath a large bear skin, and fell upon the two messengers so fiercely with her tongue, that they were compelled to retreat with some precipitation. This zeal in his service, on the part of the old squaw, was rather alarming than gratifying to Slover, for he rightly conjectured that something evil was brewing, which he knew that she would be unable to avert. He was not long in suspense. Within two hours, Girty came into the hut, followed by more than forty w r arriors, and seizing Slover, stripped him naked, bound his hands behind him, painted his body black, and bore him off with great violence. Girty exulted greatly in the success of his efforts, and load- ed him with curses and reproaches, assuring him that he would now get what he had long deserved. The prisoner was borne off to a town at the distance of five miles from Waughcotomoco, where he was met as usual, by all the inhabitants, and beaten in the ordinary manner for one hour. They then carried him to another little village about two miles distant, where a stake and hickory poles had been prepared, in order to burn him that evening. The scene of his intended execution was the council house, part of which was covered with shingles, and the remainder en- tirely open at top, and very slightly boarded at the sides. In the open space, a pole had been sunk in the ground, and the faggots collected. Slover was dragged to the stake, his hands bound behind him, and then fastened to the pole as in Craw- ford's case. Fire was quickly applied to the faggots which began to blaze briskly. An orator then, as usual, addressed the assembly, in order to inflame their passions to the pro- per height. Slover seeing his fate inevitable, rallied his courage, and prepared to endure it with firmness. For the last half hour the wind had been high, but the clouds were light, and appeared drifting rapidly away- While the orator was speaking, however, the wind suddenly lulled, and ahea- WESTERN ADVENTURE. 165 vy shower of rain fell which instantly extinguished the fire, and drenched the prisoner and his enemies to the skin. Poor Slover, who had been making preparations to battle with lire, was astonished at finding himself deluged all at once with so different an element, and the enemy seemed no less so. They instantly ran under the covered part of the house, and left the prisoner to take the rain freely, assuring him from time to time, that he should be burned on the following morning. As soon as the rain ceased, they again surroun- ded him, dancing around the stake, kicking him severely,, and striking him with sticks, until eleven o'clock at night, A tall young chief named "Half Moon," then stooped down and asked the prisoner if "he was net sleepy?" Slover,- somewhat astonished at such a question, and at such a time, replied in the affirmative. Half Moon then untied him, conducted him into a strong block house, pinioned his arms until the buffalo tug was buried in the flesh, and then pas sing another thong around his neck, and tying the other end to one of the beams of the house, left him under a strong guard, exhorting him to sleep soundly, for that he must "eat fire in the morning." The prisoner, on the contrary, never closed his eyes, a- waiting anxiously until his guard should fall asleep. They showed, however, no inclination to indulge him. Two of them lay down a little after midnight, but the third sat up talking and smoking until nearly daylight. He endeavored to entertain Slover, by speculations upon his (SJover's) abili- ty to bear pain, handling the painful subject with the zest of an amateur, and recounting to the prisoner,, the particulars of many exhibitions of the same kind which he had witness- ed. He dwelt upon the entertainment which he had no doubt Slover would afford, exhorting him to bear it like a man, and not forget that he had once been an Indian him- self. Upon this torturing subject, he talked, and smoked, 166 8KETCHES OF and talked again, until the prisoner's nerves tingled, as if the hot irons were actually hissing against his flesh. At length the tedious old man's head sunk gradually upon his breast, and Slover heard him snoring loudly. He paused a few moments, listening intently. His heart beat so strong- ly, that he was fearful lest the [ndians should hear it, and ar- rest him in his last effort to escape. They did not stir, how- ever, and with trembling hands he endeavored to slip the cords from his arms over his rist. In this he succeeded with- out much difficulty, but the thong around his neck was more obstinate. He attempted to gnaw it in two, but it was as thick as his thumb and as hard as iron, being made of a sea- soned buffalo's hide. Daylight was faintly breaking in the east, and he expected every moment, that his tormentors would summon him to the stake. In the agony and earnest- ness of his feelings, the sweat rolled in big drops down his forehead, and the quickness of his breathing awakened the old man. Slover lay still, fearful of being detected, and kept his arms under his back. The old Indian yawned, stretched himself, stirred the fire, and then lay down again, and began to snore as loudly as ever. Now was the time or never ! He seized the rope with both hands and giving it several quick jerks, could scarcely believe his senses, when he saw the knot come untied, and felt himself at liber- ty. He arose lightly, stepped silently over the bodies of the sleeping Indians, and in a moment stood in the open air. Day was just breaking — and the inhabitants of the village had not yet arisen. He looked around for a moment to see whether he was observed, and then ran hastily into a corn- •fieid, in order to conceal himself. On the road he had near- ly stumbled upon a squaw and several children, who were asleep under a tree. Hastily avoiding them, he ran through the cornfield, and observing a number of horses on the other side, he paused a moment, untied the cord, which still con- WESTERN ADVENTURE. 167 lined his right arm, and hastily fitting it into a halter, ap- proached a fine strong colt, about four years old, that fortu- nately proved as gentle as he could wish. Fancying that he heard a door open behind him, he sprung upon his back as lightly as a squirrel, although every limb was bruised and swollen, by the severe beating of the preceding night, and as the woods were open and the ground level, he put his horse to his utmost speed and was soon out of sight. Confident that pursuit would not be delayed more than fiften minutes, he never slackened his speed until about ten o'clock in the day, when he reached the Scioto, at a point fullv fity miles distant from the village which he had left at daylight. He here paused a moment, and allowed the noble animal, who had borne him so gallantly, to breathe for a few min- utes. Fearing, however, that the enemy had pursued him with the same mad violence, he quickly mounted his horse a- gain, and plunged into the Scioto, which was now swollen by the recent rains. His horse stemmed the current hand- somely, but began to fail in ascending the opposite bank. He ■still, however, urged him to full speed, and by three o'clock had left the Scioto more than twenty miles behind, when his horse sunk under him, having galloped upwards of seventy miles. Slover instantly sprung from his back, and ran on foot until sunset. Halting for a moment, he heard a halloo, far behind him, and seeing the keenness of the pursuit, he continued to run until ten o'clock at night, when he sunk upon the ground, and vomited violently. In two hours the moon arose, which he knew would enable the enemy to follow his trail through the night — and again starting up, he ran for- ward until day. During the night he had followed a path, but in the morning he abandoned it, and changing his course, followed a high ridge, covered with rank grass and weede, which he carefully put back with a stick as he passed through it in order to leave as indistinct a trail as possible. On that 168 SKETCHES OF evening he reached some of the tributaries of the Musking- um, where his naked and blistered skin attracted millions of musquetoes, that followed him day and night, effectually prevented his sleeping, and carefully removed such particles of skin as the nettles had left, so that if his own account is to be credited, upon reaching the Muskingum, which he did on the third day, he had been completely peeled from head to foot. Here he found a few wild raspberries, which was the first food he had tasted for four days. He had never felt hunger, but suffered much from faintness and exhaustion. He swam the Muskingum at Old Comer's town, and looking back, thought that he had put a great deal of ground between himself and the stake, at which he had been found near Wa- cotomoco — and that it would be very strange if, having been brought thus far, he should again fall into the power of the enemy. On the next day he reached Stillwater, where he caught two crawfish, and devoured them raw. Two days after- wards, he struck the Ohio river immediately opposite Whee- ling, and perceiving a man standing upon the Island, he cal- led to him, told him his name, and asked him to bring over a canoe for him. The fellow at first was very shy, but Slover having told the names of many officers and privates, who had accompanied the expedition, he was at length persuaded to venture across, and the fugitive was safely transported to the Virginia shore, after an escape which has few parallels in re- al life, and which seems even to exceed the bounds of proba- ble fiction. WESTERN ADVENTURE. 169 Int CHAPTER VI. the present chapter, we shall notice several circum- stances, in the order in which they occurred, none of which singly, are of sufficient importance to occupy a chapter to themselves. In the autumn of 1779, a number of keel boats were ascending the Ohio under the command of Maj. Rodg- ers, and had advanced as far as the mouth of. Licking with- out accident. Here, however, they observed a few Indians, standing upon the southern extremity of a sandbar, while a canoe, rowed by three others, was in the act of putting off from the Kentucky shore, as if for the purpose of taking them aboard. Rodgers instantly ordered the boats to be made fast on the Kentucky shore, while the crew, to the num- ber of seventy men, well armed, cautiously advanced in such a manner as to encircle the spot where the enemy had been seen to land. Only five or six Indians had been seen, and no one dreamed of encountering more than fifteen or twenty enemies. When Rodgers, however, had, as he sup- posed, completely surrounded the enemy, and was preparing to rush upon them, from several quarters at once, he was thunderstruck at beholding several hundred savages sudden- ly spring up in front, rear, and upon both flanks! They in- stantly poured in a close discharge of rifles, and then throw ing down their guns, fell upon the survivors with the toma- hawk ! The panic was complete, and the slaughter prodi- gious. Major Rodgers, together with forty five others of his men, were almost instantly destroyed. The survivors made an effort to regain their boats, but the five men who had been left in charge of them, had immediately put off from shore in the hindmost boat, and the enemy had already 15 170 SKETCHES OF gained possession of the others. Disappointed in the at- tempt, they turned furiously upon the enemy, and aided by the approach of darkness, forced their way through their lines, and with the loss of several severely wounded, at length effected their escape to Harrodsburgh. Among the wounded was Captain Robert Benham. Short- ly after breaking through the enemy's line, he was shot through both hips, and the bones being shattered, he instant- ly fell to the ground. Fortunately, a large tree had lately fallen near the spot where he lay, and with great pain, he dragged himself into the top, and lay concealed among the branches The Indians, eager in pursuit of the others, pas- sed him without notice, and by midnight all was quiet. On the following day, the Indians returned to the battle ground, in order to strip the dead and take care of the boats. Ben- ham, although in danger of famishing, permitted them to pass without making known his condition, very correctly supposing that his crippled legs, would only induce them to tomahawk him upon the spot, in order to avoid the trouble of carrying him to their town. He lay close, therefore, until the evening of the second day, when perceiving a raccoon descending a tree, near him, he shot it, hoping to devise some means of reaching it, when he could kindle a fire and make a meaL Scarcely had his gun cracked, however, when he heard a human cry, apparently not more than fifty yards off. Supposing it to be an Indian, he hastily reloaded his gun, and remained silent, expecting the approach of an enemy. Presently the same voice was heard again, but much near- er. Still Benham made no reply, but cocked his gun and sat ready to fire as soon as an object appeared. A third halloo was quickly heard, followed by an exclamation of impa- tience and distress, which convinced Benham that the un- known must be a Kcntuckian. As soon, therefore, as he heard the expression "whoever you are— for God*s sake an- WESTERN ADVENTURE. 171 swer me!"— he replied with readiness, and the parlies were soon together. Benham, as we have already observed, was shot through both legs! — the man who now appeared, had escaped from the same battle, with both armsbroken! Thus each was enabled to supply what the other wanted. Ben- ham having the perfect use of his arms, could load his gun and kill game, with great readiness, while his friend having the use of his legs, could kick the game to the spot where Benham sat, who was thus enabled to cook it. When no wood was near them, his companion would rake up brush with his feet, and gradually roll it within reach of Benham's hands, who constantly fed his companion, and dressed his wounds, as well as his own — tearing up both of their shirts for that purpose. They found some difficulty in procuring water, at first — but Benham at length took his own hat, and placing the rim between the teeth of his companion, directed him to wade into the Licking, up to his neck, and dip the hat into the water (by sinking his own head.) The man who could walk, was thus enabled to bring water, by means of his teeth, which Benham could afterwards dispose of as was necessary. In a few days, they had killed all the squirrels and birds within reach, and the man with the broken arms, was sent out to drive game within gunshot of the spot, to which Ben- ham was confined. Fortunately,, wild turkeys were abun- dant in those woods, and his companion would walk around, and drive them towards Benham, who seldom failed to kill two or three of each flock. In this manner, they supported themselves for several weeks, until their wounds had heal- ed, so as to enable them to travel. They then shifted their quarters, and put up a small shed at the mouth of Licking, where they encamped until late in November, anxiously ex- pecting the arrival of some boat, which should convey them to the falls of Ohio. 172 SKETCHES OF On the 27tli of November, they observed a flat boat mov- ing leisurely down the river. Benham instantly hoisted his hat upon a stick and hallooed loudly for help. The crew, however, supposing them to be Indians — at least suspecting them of an intention to decoy them ashore, paid no atten- tion to their signals of distress, but instantly put over to the opposite side of the river, and manning every oar, endeav- ored to pass them as rapidly as possible. Benham beheld them pass him with a sensation bordering on despair, for the place was much frequented by Indians, and the approach of winter threatened them with destruction, unless speedily relieved. • At length, after the boat had passed him nearly half a mile, he saw a canoe put off from its stern, and cau- tiously approach the Kentucky shore^ evidently reconnoiter- ing them with great suspicion. He called loudly upon them for assistance, mentioned his name and made known his con- dition. After a long parley, and many evidences of reluc- tance on the part of the crew, fehe canoe at length touched the shore, and Benham and his friend were taken on board. Their appearance excited much suspicion. They were al- most entirely naked, and their faces were garnished with six weeks growth of beard. The one was barely able to hob- ble upon crutches, and the other could manage to feed him- self with one of his hands. They were instantly taken to Louisville, where their clothes (which had been carried off in the boat which deserted them) w r ere restored to them, and after a few weeks confinement, both were perfectly re stored. Benham afterwards served in the northwest throughout the whole of the Indian war — accompanied the expeditions of Harmer and Wilkinson, shared in the disaster of Sl Clair, and afterwards in the triumph of Wayne. Upon the return of peace, he bought.the lanc|, upon which Rodggrs hacli WESTERN ADVENTURE. 173 been defeated, and ended his days in tranquility, amid the scenes which had witnessed his sufferings. Early in the spring of 1780, Mr. Alexander M'Connel, of Lexington, Ky. went into the woods on foot, to hunt deer. He soon killed a large buck, and returned home for a horse, in order to bring it in. During his absence, a party of five Indians 7 on one of their usual skulking expeditions, acciden- tally stumbled on the body of the deer, and perceiving that it had been recently killed, they naturally supposed that the hunter would speedily return to secure the flesh. Three of them, therefore, took their stations within close rifle shot of the deer, while the other two followed the trail of the hun- ter, and waylaid the path by which he was expected to re- turn. McConnel, expecting no danger, rode carelessly a- long the path, which the two scouts v/ere watching, until he had come within view of the deer, when he was fired upon by the whole party, and his horse killed. While laboring to extricate himself from the dying animal, he was seized by his enemies, instantly overpowered, and borne off as a pris- oner. His captors, however, seemed to be a merry, gocd natured set of fellows, and permitted him to accompany them unbound — and what was rather extraordinary, allowed him to retain his gun and hunting accoutrements. He accompa- nied them with great apparent cheerfulness through the day, and displayed his dexterity in shooting deer for the use of the company, until they began to regard him with great partiality. Having travelled with them in this man- ner for several days, they at length reached the banks of the Ohio river. Heretofore, the Indians had taken the pre- caution to bind him at night, although not very securely; but on that evening, he remonstrated with them on the subject, and complained so strongly of the pain which the cords gave him, that they merely wrapped the buffalo tug loosely a- round his wrists, and having tied it in an easy knot, and at- 15* 174 SKETCHES OF tached the extremities of the rope to their own bodies, -to order to prevent his moving without awakening them, they very composedly went to sleep, leaving the prisoner to follow their example or not as he pleased. McConnel determined to effect his escape that nighty if possible, as on the following morning they would cross the river, which would render it much more difficult. He, there- fore, lay quietly until near midnight, anxiously ruminating upon the best means of effecting his object. Accidentally casting his eyes in the direction of his feet, they fell upon the glittering blade of a knife,, which had escaped its sheath, and was now lying near the feet of one of the Indians. To reach it with his hands, without disturbing the two Indians, to whom he was fastened, was impossible, and it was very hazardous to attempt to draw it up with his feet. This, however, he attempted. With much difficulty he grasped the blade between his toes, and after repeated and long con- tinued efforts, succeeded at length in bringing it within reach of his hands. To cut his cords, was then but the work of a moment, and gradually and silently extricating his person from the arms of the Indians, he walked to the fire and sat down. He saw that his work was but half done. That if he should attempt to return home, without destroying his enemies, he would assuredly be pursued and probably over- taken, w r hen his fate would be certain. On the other hand, it seemed almost impossible for a single man to succeed in a conflict with five Indians, even although unarmed and a- sleep. He could not hope to deal a blow with his knife so silently and fatally, as to destroy each one of his enemies in turn, without awakening the rest: — Their slumbers were proverbially light and restless — and if he failed with a sin- gle one, he must instantly be overpowered by the survivors. The knife, therefore, was out of the question. After anx- ious reflection for a few minutes, he formed his plan. The western Adventure. 175' gun's' of the Indians were stacked near the fire — their knives and tomahawks were in sheaths by their sides. The latter he dared not touch for fear of awakening their owners — but the former he carefully removed, with the exception of two, and hid them in the woods, where he knew the Indians would not readily find them. He then returned to the spot where the Indians were still sleeping, perfectly ignorant of the fate being prepared for them, and taking a gun in each hand, he rested the muzzels upon a log within six feet of his victims, and having taken deliberate aim at the head of one, and the heart of another, he pulled both triggers at the same moment. Both shots were fatal. At the report of their guns, the others sprung to their feet, and stared wildly around them. McConnel, who had run instantly to the spot where the other rifles were hid, hastily seized one of them and fired at two of his enemies, who happened to stand in a line with each other. The nearest fell dead,- being shot through the centre of the body; the second fell also, bellow- ing loudly, but quickly recovering, limped off into the wood* as fast as possible. The fifth, and only one who remained unhurt, darted off like a deer, with a yell which announced equal terror and astonishment. McConnel, not wishing to fight any more such battles, selected his own rifle from the stack, and made the best of his way to Lexington, where he arrived safely within two days. Shortly afterwards, Mrs. Dunlap, of Fayette, who had been several months a prisoner amongst the Indians on Mad- river, made her escape, and returned to Lexington. She reported, that the survivor returned to his tribe with a lam- entable tale. He related that they had taken a fine young hunter near Lexington, and had brought him safely as far as the Ohio; — that while encamped upon the bank of the riv- er, a large party of white men had fallen upon them in the night, and killed all his companions, together with the poor 176 SKETCHES OF defenceless prisoner, who lay bound hand and foot, unable either to escape or resist ! ! Early in May, 1781, McAfee's station, in the neighbor- hood of Harrodsburgh, was alarmed. On the morning of the 9th, Samuel McAfee, accompanied by another man, left the fort in order to visit a small plantation in the neighborhood, and at the distance of three hundred yards from the gate, they were fired upon by a party of Indians in ambush. The man who accompanied him instantly fell, and McAfee attempted to regain the fort. While running rapidly for that purpose, he found himself suddenly intercepted by an Indian, who, springing out of the canebrake, planted himself directly in his path. There was no[timefor compliments* Each glar- ed upon the other for an instant in silence, and both raising their guns at the same moment, pulled the triggers together. The Indian's rifle snapped, while McAfee's ball passed di- rectly through his brain. Having no time to reload his gun, lie sprung over the body of his antagonist, and continued his flight to the fort. When within one hundred yards of the gate, he was met by his two brothers, Robert and James, who, at the report of the guns, had hurried out to the assis- tance of their brother. Samuel hastily informed them of their clanger, and exhorted them instantly to return. James readity complied, but Robert, deaf to all remonstrances, de- clared that he must have a view of the dead Indian. He ran on, for that purpose, and having regaled himself with that spectacle, was hastily returning by the same path, when he saw five or six Indians between him and the fort, evidently bent upon taking him aiive. All his activity and presence of mind was now put in request. He ran rapidly from tree to tree, endeavoring to turn their flank, and reach one of the gates, and after a variety of turns and doublings in the thick wood, he found himself pressed by only one In dian. McAfee, nastily throwing himself behind a fence, WESTERN ADVENTURE. 171 turned upon his pursuer and compelled him to take shelter behind a tree. Both stood still for a moment — McAfee hav ing his gun cocked, and the sight fixed upon the tree, at the spot where he supposed the Indian would thrust out his head in order to have a view of his antagonist. After waiting a few seconds he was gratified. The Indian slowly and cau- tiously exposed a part of his head, and began to elevate his rifle. As soon as a sufficient mark presented itself McAfee fired, and the Indian fell. While turning, in order to contin- ue his flight, he was fired on by a party of sis, which com- pelled him again to tree. But scarcely had he done so. when, from the opposite quarter he received the firs of three more enemies, which made the bark fly around him, and knocked up the dust about his feet. Thinking his post ra- ther too hot for safety, he neglected all shelter, and ran di- rectly for the fort, which, in defiance of all opposition^ he reached in safety, to the inexpressible joy of his brothers,,, who had despaired of his return. The Indians now opened a heavy fire upon the fort, in their usual manner ; but finding every effort useless, they has- tily decamped, without any loss beyond the two who had fallen by the hands of the brothers, and without having in- flicted any upon the garrison. Within half an hour, Major McGary brought up a party from Harrodsburgh at full gal- lop, and uniting with the garrison, pursued the enemy with all possible activity. They soon overtook them, and a sharp action ensued. The Indians were routed in a few minutes with the loss of six warriors left dead upon the ground, and many others wounded, who as usual were borne off. The pursuit was continued for several miles, but from the thick- ness of the woods, and the extreme activity and address of of the enemy, was not very effectual. McGary lost one man dead upon the spot, and another mortally wounded. About the same time, Bryant's station was much harrass- 178 SKETCHES OF ed by small parties of the enemy. This, as we have alrea- dy remarked, was a frontier post, and generally received the brunt of Indian hostility. It had been settled in 1779 by four brothers from North Carolina, one of whom, William, had married a sister of Col. Daniel Boone. The Indians were constantly lurking in the neighborhood, waylaying the paths, stealing their horses and butchering their cattle. It at length became necessary to hunt in parties of twenty or thirty men, so as to be able to meet and repel those at- tacks, which were every day becoming more bold and fre- quent. One afternoon, about the 20th of May, William Bryant, accompanied by twenty men, left the fort on a hun- ting expedition down the Elkhorn creek. They moved with caution, until they had passed all the points where ambus- cades had generally been formed, when, seeing no enemy, they became more bold, and determined, in order to sweep large extent of country, to divide their company into two parties. One of them, conducted by Bryant in person, was to descend the Elkhorn on its southern bank, flanking out largely* and occupying as much ground as possible. The other, under the orders of James Hogan, a young farmer in good circumstances, was to move down in a parallel line up- on the north bank. The two parties were to meet at night,, and encamp together at the mouth of Cane run. Each punc- tually performed the first part of their plans. Hogan, how ever, had travelled but a few hundred yards, when he heard a loud voice behind him exclaim in very good English, "stop boys P Hastily looking back, they saw several Indians on foot pursuing them as rapidly as possible. Without halting to count numbers, the party put spurs to their horses, and {lasted through the woods at full speed, the Indians keeping close behind them, and at times gaining upon them. There was a led horse in company, which had been brought with them for the purpose of packing game,. This was instant- WESTERN ADVENTURE. 179 ly abandoned and fell into the hands of the Indians. Sever- al of them lost their hats in the eagerness of flight; but quickly getting into the open woods, they left their pursuers so far behind, that they had leisure to breathe and enquire of each other, whether it was worth while to kill their horses before they had ascertained the number of the enemy. They quickly determined to cross the creek, and await the ap- proach of the Indians. If they found them superior to their own and Bryanfs party united, they would immediately re- turn to the fort — as, by continuing their march to the mouth of Cane run, they would bring a superior enemy upon their friends and endanger the lives of the whole party. They accordingly crossed the creek, dismounted, and awaited the approach of the enemy. By this time it had become dark, the Indians were distinctly beard approaching the creek up- on the opposite side, and after a short halt, a solitary warri- or descended the bank and began to wade through the stream. Hogan waited until they had emerged from the gloom of the trees which grew upon the bank, and as soon as he had reached the middle of the stream, where the light was more distinct, he took deliberate aim and fired. A great splash- ing in the water was heard, but presently all became quiet. The pursuit was discontinued, and the party, remounting their horses, returned home. Anxious, however, to apprize Bryant's party of their danger, they left the fort before day- light on the ensuing morning, and rode rapidly down the creek, in the direction of the mouth of Cane. When within a f^ew hundred yards of the spot where they supposed the en- campment to be, they heard the report of many guns in quick succession. Supposing that Bryant had fallen in with a herd of buffalo, they quickened their march in order to take part in the sport. The morning was foggy, and the smoke of the guns lay so heavily upon the ground that they could see nothing until they had approached within twenty 180 SKETCHES OF yards of the creek, when they suddenly found themselves within pistol shot of a party of Indians, very composedly seated upon their packs, and preparing their pipes. Both parties were much startled, buf quickly recovering, they shel- tered themselves as usual, and the action opened with great vivacity. The Indians maintained their ground for half an hour, with some firmness, but being hard pressed in front, and turned in flank, they at length gave way, and being close- ly pursued, were ultimately routed, with considerable loss, which, however, could not be distinctly ascertained. Of Hogan's party, one man was killed on the spot, and three others wounded, noise mortally. It happened that Bryant's company, had encamped at the mouth of Cane, as had been agreed upon, and were unable to account for Hogan's absence. That, about daylight, they had heard a bell at a distance, which they immediately re- cognized as the one belonging to the led horse which had ac- companied Hogan^s party, and which, as we have seen, had been abandoned to the enemy the evening before. Supposing their friends to be bewildered in the fog, and unable to find their camp, Bryant, accompanied by Grant, one of his men, mounted a horse, and rode to the spot where the bell was still ringing. They quickly fell into an ambuscade, and were fired upon. Bryant was mortally, and Grant severely wounded, the first being shot through the hip and both knees, the latter through the back. Being both able to keep the saddle, however, they set spurs to their horses, and arrived at the station shortly after breakfast. The Indians, in the mean time, had fallen upon the encampment, and instantly dispersed it, and while preparing to regale themselves after their victory, were suddenly attacked, as we have seen, by Hogan. The timidity of Hogan's party, at the first appear- ance of the Indians, was the cause of the death of Bryant. The same men who fled so hastily in the evening, were able WESTERN ADVENTURE. 181 the next morning, by a little firmness, to vanquish the same party of Indians. Had they stood at first, an equal suc- cess would probably have attended them, and the life of their leader would have been preserved. We have now to notice an adventure of a different kind, and which, from its singularity, is entitled to a place in our pages. In 1781, Lexington was only a cluster of cabins, one of which, near the spot where the ccuit house now stands, was used as a school house. One morning in May, McKinley, the teacher, was sitting alone at his desk, busily engaged in writing, when hearing a slight noise at the door. he turned his head, and beheld — what do you suppose, rea- der? A tall Indian, in his war paint? brandishing his tom- ahawk, or handling his knife? No! an enormous cat, with her forefeet upon the step of the door, her tail curled over her back, her bristles erect, and her eyes glancing rapidly through the room, as if in search of a mouse. McKinley's position at first completely concealed him, but a slight and involuntary motion of his chair, at sight of this shaggy in- habitant of the forest, attracted puss's attention, and their eyes met. McKinley having heard much of the powers of "the human face divine," in quelling the audacity of wild animals, attempted to disconcert the intruder by a frown. Bat puss was not to be bullied. Her eyes flashed fire, her tail waved angrily, and she began to gnash her teeth, evi- dently bent upon serious hostility. Seeing his danger, Mc- Kinley hastily arose and attempted to snatch a cylindrical rule from a table which stood within reach, but the cat was too quick for him. Darting upon him with the proverbial activity of her tribe, she fastened upon his side with her teem, and began to rend and tear with her claws like a fury. McKinley 's clothes were in an instant torn frcm his side, and his flesh dreadfully mangled by the enraged animal, whose strength and ferocity filled him with astonishment. He in 16 182 SKETCHES OF vain attempted to disengage her from his side. Her long sharp teeth were fastened between his ribs, and his efforts served but to enrage her the more. Seeing his blood flow very copiously from the numerous wounds in his side, he be- came seriously alarmed, and not knowing what else to do? he threw himself upon the edge of the table and pressed her against the sharp corner with the whole weight of his body. The cat now began to utter the most wild and discordant cries, and McKinley, at the same time, lifting up his voice in concert, the two together sent forth notes so doleful as to alarm the whole town. Women, who are always the first in hearing or spreading news, were now the first to come to McKinley's assistance. But so strange and unearthly was the harmony within the school house, that they hesitated long before they ventured to enter. At length the boldest of them rushed in, and seeing McKinley bending over the corner of the table, and writhing his body as if in great pain, she at first supposed that he was laboring under a severe fit of the colic — but quickly perceiving the cat which was now in the agonies of death, she screamed out, "why good heav- en! Mr. McKinley what is the matter?" "I have caught a cat, madam!" replied he, gravely turning around, while the sweat streamed from his face under the mingled operation of fright, fatigue and agony. Most of the neighbors had now arrived, and attempted to disengage the dead cat from her antagonist; but, so firmly were her tusks locked between his ribs, that this was a work of no small difficulty. Scarce- ly had it been effected, when McKinley became very sick, and was compelled to go to bed. In a few days, however, ke had totally recovered, and so late as 1820, was alive, and a resident of Bourbon county, Ky., where he has often been heard to affirm, that he, at any time, had rather fight two Indians than one wild cat. About the same time, a conflict, more unequal and equally WESTERN ADVENTURE. 183 remarkable, took place in another part of the country. Da- vid Morgan, a relation of the celebrated General Daniel Morgan, had settled upon the Monongahela, during the ear- lier period of the revolutionary war, and at this time had ventured to occupy a cabin at the distance of several miles from any settlement. One morning, having sent his youn- ger children out to a field at a considerable distance from the house, he became uneasy about them, and repaired to the spot where they were working, armed as usual with a good rifle. While sitting upon the fence, and giving some direc- tions, as to their work, he observed two Indians upon the oth- er side of the field gazing earnestly upon the party. He in- stantly called to the children to make their escape, while he should attempt to cover their retreat. The odds were great- ly against him, as in addition to other circumstances, he was nearly seventy years of age, and of course unable to contend with his enemies in running. The house was more than a mile distant, but the children, having two hundred yards the start, and being effectually covered by their fa ther, were soon so far in front, that the Indians turned their attention entirely to the old man. He ran for several hun- dred yards with an activity which astonished himself, but perceiving that he would be overtaken, long before he could reach his home, he fairly turned at bay, and prepared for a strenuous resistance. The woods through which they were running, were very thin, and consisted almost entirely of small trees, behind which, it was difficult to obtain proper shelter. When Morgan adopted the above mentioned reso- lution, he had just passed a large walnut, which stood like a patriarch among the saplings which surrounded it, and it be- came necessary to run back about ten steps in order to re- gain it. The Indians became startled at the sudden advance of the fugitive, and were compelled to halt among a cluster of saplings, where they anxiously strove, to shelter them- & 184 SKETCHES OF selves. This, however, was impossible, and Morgan, who was an excellent marksman, saw enough of the person of one of them to justify him in risking a shot. His enemy in- stantly fell mortally wounded. The other Indian, taking ad- vantage of Morgan's empty gun, sprung from his shelter and advanced rapidly upon him. The old man, having no time to reload his gun, was compelled to fly a second time. The Indian gained rapidly upon him, and when within twen- ty steps, fired,. but with so unsteady an aim, that Morgan was totally unhurt, the ball having passed over his shoulder. He now again stood at bay, clubbing his rifle for a blow, while tho Indian dropping his empty gun, brandished his tomahawk and prepared to throw it at his enemy. Morgan struck with, the but of his gun, and the Indian whirled his tomahawk, at one and the same moment. Both blows took effect — and both were at once wounded and disarmed. The breech of the rifle was broken against the Indian's skull, and the edge of the tomahawk was shattered against the barrel of the rifle, having first cut off two of the fingers of Mor- gan's left hand. The Indian then attempting to draw his knife, Morgan grappled him and bore him to the ground. A furious struggle ensued, in which the old man's strength failed, and the Indian succeeded in turning him. Planting his knee in the breast of his enemy, and yelling loudly,asis usual with them upon any turn of fortune, he again felt for his knife in order to terminate the struggle at once — but ha- ving lately stolen a woman's apron, and tied it around his waist, his knife was so much confined, that he had great diffi- culty in fi idiag the handle. Morgan, in the mean time, be- fnga regular pugilist, according to the custom of Virginia, and perfectly at home in a ground struggle, took advantage of the awkwardness of the Indian, and got one of the fin- gers of his right hand between his teeth. The Indian tug- ged and roared in vain, struggling to extricate it Morgan WESTERN ADVENTURE. 185 held him fast, and began to assist him in hunting for the knife. Each seized it at the same moment, the Indian by the blade and Morgan by the handle, but with a very slight hold. The Indian having the firmest hold, began to draw the knife further out of its sheath, when Morgan suddenly giv- ing his finger a furious bite, twitched the knife dexterously through his hand, cutting it severely. Both now sprung to their feet, Morgan brandishing his adversary's knife, and still holding his finger between his teeth. In vain the poor Indian struggled to get away — rearing, plunging and bolting- like an unbroken colt. The teeth of the white man were like a vice, and he at length succeeded in giving him a stab in the side . The Indian received it without falling, the knife hav- ing struck his ribs; but a second blow, aimed at the stomach, proved more effectual, and the savage fell. Morgan thrust the knife, handle and all, into the cavity: of the body, direc- ted it upward, and starting to his feet, made the best of his way home. The neighborhood was quickly alarmed, and hurrying to the spot where the struggle had taken place, they found the first Indian lying where he had fallen, but the second had dis- appeared. A broad trail of blood, however, conducted to a fal- len tree top, within one hundred yards of the spot, into which the poor fellow had dragged himself, and where he now lay bleeding, but still alive. He had plucked the knife from his wound and was endeavoring to dress it with the stolen a- pron which had cost him his life, when his enemies approach- ed. The love of life appeared still strong within him, how- ever. He greeted them with what was intended for an in- sinuating smile, held out his hand and exclaimed in broken English, "how de do, broder ! how de do ! glad to see you V But poor fellow, the love was all on his side. Their broth- erhood extended only to tomahawking, scalping, and skin- ning him, all of which operations were performed within a 16* 186 SKETCHES OF few minutes after the meeting. To such an extent had mu tual injury inflamed botli parties. About the middle of July,. 1782, seven Wyandotte crossed the Ohio a few miles above Wheeling, and committed great depredations upon the southern shore, killing an old man Y/horn they found alone in his cabin, and spreading terror throughout the neighborhood. Within a few hours after their retreat, eight men assembled from different parts of the small settlement and pursued the enemy with great expedi- tion. Among the most active and efficient of the party were two brothers, Adam and Andrew Poe. Adam was particular- ly popular In strength, action and hardihood, he had no equal — being finely formed and inured to all the perils of the woods. They had not followed the trail far^ before they became satisfied that the depredators were conducted by Big Foot, a renowned chief of the Wyandott tribe, who de- rived his name from the immense size of his feet. His height considerably exceeded six feet, and his strength was represented as Herculean. He had also five brothers, but little inferior to himself in size and courage, and as they gen- erally went in company, they were the terror of the whole country. Adam Poe was overjoyed at the idea of measur- ing his strength with that of so celebrated a chief, and urg- ed the pursuit wih a keenness which quickly brought him into the vicinity of the enemy. For the last few miles, the trail had led them up the southern bank of the Ohio, where the footprints in the sand were deep and obvious, but when within a few hundred yards of the point at which the whites as well as the Indians were in the habit of crossing, it sud- denly diverged from the stream, and stretched along a rocky ridge, forming an obtuse angle with its former direction. Here Adam halted for a moment, and directed his brother and the other young men to follow the trail with proper cau- tion, while he himself still adhered to the river path, which WESTERN ADVENTURE. 18-7 led through clusters of willows directly to the point where he supposed the enemy to lie. Having examined the pri- ming of his gun, he crept cautiously through the bushes, un- til he had a view of the point of embarcation. Here lay two canoes, empty and apparently deserted. Being satisfi- ed, however, that the Indians were close at hand, he relax- ed nothing of his vigilance, and quickly gained a jutting cliff, which hung immediately over the canoes. Hearing a low murmur beJow, he peered cautiously over, and beheld the object of his search. The gigantic Big Foot,, lay below him in the shade of a willow, and was talking in a low deep tone to another warrior, who seemed a mere pigmy by his side. Adam cautiously drew back, and cocked his gun, The mark was fair — the distance did not exceed twenty feet, and his aim was unerring. Raising his rifle slowly and cautiously, he took a steady aim at Big Foot's breast, and drew the trigger. His gun flashed. Both Indians sprung to their feet with a deep interjection of surprize, and for a sin- gle second all three stared upon each other. This inactivi- ty, however, was soon over. Adam was too much hamper- ed by the bushes to retreat, and setting his life upon a cast of the die, he sprung over the bush which had sheltered him, and summoning all his powers, leaped boldly down the pre- cipice and alighted upon the breast of Big Foot with a shock which bore him to the earth. At the moment of contact, Idam had also thrown his right arm around the neck of the smaller Indian, so that all three came to the earth together. At that momenta sharp firing was heard among the bushes above, announcing that the other parties were engaged, but the trio below were too busy to attend to any thing but them- selves. Big Foot was lor an instant stunned by the vio- lence of the shock, and Adam was enabled to keep them both down. But the exertion necessary for that purpose was so great, that he had no leisure to use his knife. Big Foot 188 SKETCHES OF quickly recovered, and without attempting to rise, wrapped his long arms around Adam's body, and pressed him to his breast with the crushing force of a Boa Constrictor! Ad- am, as we have already remarked, was a powerful man, and had seldom encountered his equal, but never had he yet felt an embrace like that of Big Foot. He instantly relax- ed his hold of the small Indian, who sprung to his feet. Big Foot then ordered him to run for his tomahawk which lay within ten steps, and kill the white man, while he held him in his arms. Adam, seeing his danger, struggled manfully to extricate himself from the folds of the giant, but in vain. The lesser Indian approached with his uplifted tomahawk, but Adam watched him closely, and as he was about to strike, gave him a kick so sudden and violent, as to knock the tomahawk from his hand, and send him staggering back into the water. Big Foot uttered an exclamation in a tone of deep contempt at the failure of his companion, and raising his voice to its highest pitch, thundered out several words in the Indian tongue, which Adam could not understand, but supposed to be a direction for a second attack. The lesser Indian now again approached, carefully shunning Adam's heels, and making many motions with his tomahawk, in or- der to deceive him as to the point where the blow would fall. This lasted for several seconds, until a thundering exclama- tion from Big Foot, compelled his companion to strike. Such was Adam's dexterity and vigilance, however, that he man- aged to receive the tomahawk in a glancing direction upon his left wrist, wounding him deeply but not disabling him. He now made a sudden and desperate effort to free himself from the arms of the giant and succeeded. Instantly snatch- ing up a rifle (for the Indian could not venture to shoot for fear of hurting his companion) he shot the lesser Indian through the body. But scarcely had he done so when Big Foot arose, and placing one hand upon his collar and the oth- WESTERN ADVENTURE, 189 er upon his hip, pitched him ten feet into the air, as he him- self would have pitched a child. Adam fell upon his back at the edge of the water, but before his antagonist could spring upon him, he was again upon his feet, and stung with rage at the idea of being handled so easily, he attacked his gigantic antagonist with a fury which for a time compensa- ted for inferiority of strength. It was now a fair fist fight between them, for in the hurry of the struggle neither had leisure to draw their knives. Adam's superior activity and experience as a pugilist, gave him great advantage. The Indian struck awkwardly, and finding himself rapidly drop- ping to leeward, he closed with his antagonist, and again hurled him to the ground. They quickly rolled into the riv- er, and the struggle continued with unabated fury, each at- tempting to drown the other. The Indian being unused to such violent exertion, and having been much injured by the first shock in his stomach, was unable to exert the same pow- ers which had given him such a decided superiority at first; and Adam, seizing him by the scalp lock, put his head un- der water, and held it there, until the faint struggles of the Indian induced him to believe that he was drowned, when he relaxed his hold and attempted to draw his knife. The Indian, however, to use Adam's own expression, "had only been possuming !" He instantly regained his feet, and in his turn put his adversary under. In the struggle, both were carried out into the current, beyond their depth, and each was compelled to relax his hold and swim for his life. There was still one loaded rifle upon the shore, and each swam hard in order to reach it, but the Indian proved the most expert swimmer, and Adam seeing that he should be too late, turn- ed and swam out into the stream, intending to dive and thus frustrate his enemy's intention. At this instant, Andrew, having heard that his brother was alone in a struggle with two Indians, and in great danger, ran up hastily to the edge 190 SKETCHES OF of the bank above, in order to assist him. Another white man followed him closely, and seeing Adam in the river, cov- ered with blood, and swimming rapidly from shore, mistook him for an Indian and fired upon him, wounding him dan- gerously in the shoulder. Adam turned, and seeing his bro- ther, called loudly upon him to "shoot the big Indian upon the shore." Andrew's gun, however, was empty, having just been discharged. Fortunately, Big Foot had also seiz- ed the gun with which Adam had shot the lesser Indian, so that both were upon an equality. The contest now was who should load first. Big Foot poured in his powder first, and drawing his ramrod out of its sheath in too great a hurry, threw it into the river, and while he ran to recover it, Andrew gained an advantage. Still the Indian was but a second too late, for his gun was at his shoulder, when Andrew's ball entered his breast. The gun dropped from his hands and he fell forward upon his face upon the very margin of the river. Andrew, now alarmed for his brother, who was scarcely able to swim, threw down his gun and rushed into the river in order to bring him ashore — but Adam, more in- tent upon securing the scalp of Big Foot as a trophy, than upon his own safety, called loudly upon his brother to leave him alone and scalp the big Indian, who was now endeavor- ing to roll himself into the water, from a romantic desire, peculiar to the Indian warrior, of securing his scalp from the enemy. Andrew, however, refused to obey, and insist- ed upon saving the Jiving, before attending to the dead. Big Foot, in the mean time, had succeeded in reaching the deep water before he expired, and his body was borne off by the waves, without being stripped of the ornament and pride of an Indian warrior. Not a man of the Indians had escaped. Five of Big Foot's brothers, the flower of the Wyandott nation, had ac- companied him in the expedition, and all perished. It is said WESTERN ADVENTURE. 191 that the news of this calamity, threw the whole tribe into mourning. Their remarkable size, their courage, and their superior intelligence, gave them immense influence, which, greatly to their credit, was generally exerted on the side of humanity. Their powerful interposition, had saved many prisoners from the stake, and had given a milder character to the warfare of the Indians in that part of the country. A ehiefofthe same name was alive in that part of the coun- try so late as 1792, but whether a brother or son of Big Foot, is not known. Adam Poe recovered of his wounds, and lived many years after his memorable conflict; but never forgot the tremendous "hug" which he sustained in the arms of Big Foot. 192 SKETCHES OF CHAPTER VII. The present, like the preceding chapter, will be devoted to miscellaneous items of intelligence, arranged in chrono- logical order. About the middle of the summer of 1792, a gentleman named Woods, imprudently removed from the neighborhood of a station, and for the benefit of his stock, set- tled on a lonely heath, near Beargrass. One morning, he left his family, consisting of a wife, a daughter not yet grown, and a lame negro man, and rode off to the nearest station, not expecting to return until night. Mrs. Woods, while engaged in her dairy, was alarmed at seeing several In- dians rapidly approaching the house. She instantly scream- ed loudly, in order to give the alarm, and ran with her ut- most speed, in order to reach the house before them. In this she succeeded, but had not time to close the door until the foremost Indian had forced his way into the house. As soon as he entered, the lame negro grappled him and attempted to throw him upon the floor, but was himself hurled to the ground with violence, the Indian falling upon him. Mrs. Woods was too busily engaged in keeping the door closed a- gainst the party without, to attend to the combatants, but the lame negro, holding the Indian in his arms, called to the young girl to cut his head off with a very sharp axe which lay under the bed. She attempted to obey, but struck with so trembling a hand, that the blow was ineffectual. Repeat- ing her efforts under the direction of the negro, however, she at length wounded the Indian so badly, that the negro was enabled to arise and complete the execution. Elated with success, he then called to his mistress and told her to suffer another Indian to enter and they would kill them all one by WBSTERN ADVENTURE. 193 one. While deliberating upon this proposal, however* a sharp firing was heard without, and the Indians quickly dis- appeared. A party of white men had seen them at a dis- tance, and having followed them cautiously, had now inter- posed, at a very critical moment, and rescued a helpless family from almost certain destruction. In the spring of 1784, three young Kentuckians, Davis. Caffree, and McClure, pursued a party of southern Indians, who had stolen horses from Lincoln county, and finding it impossible to overtake them, they determined to go on to the nearest Indian settlement, and make reprisals — horse steal- ing being at that time a very fashionable amusement, and much practised on both sides. After travelling several days, they came within a few miles of an Indian town near the Tennessee river, called Chicacaugo. Here they fell in with three Indians, Finding themselves equal in point of num- bers, the two parties made signs of peace, shook hands and agreed to travel together. Each, however, was evidently suspicious of the other. The Indians walked upon one side of the road and the whites upon the other, watching each other attentively. At length, the Indians spoke together in tones so low and earnest, that the whites became satisfied of their treacherous intentions, and determined to anticipate them. Caffree being a very powerful man, proposed that he himself should seize one Indian, while Davis and McClure should shoot the other two. The plan w 7 as a bad one, but was unfortunately adopted. Caffree sprung boldly upon the nearest Indian, grasped his throat firmly, hurled him to the ground, and drawing a cord from his pocket attempted to tie him. At the same instant Davis and McClure attempted to perform their respective parts. McClure killed his man, but Davis 1 gun missed fire. All three, i. e. the two white men, and the Indian at whom Davis had flashed, immediate- ly took trees, and prepared for a skirmish, while Caffree m- 17 194 SKETCHES OP mained upon the ground with the captured Indian — both ex- posed to the fire of the others. In a few seconds, the sav- age at whom Davis had flashed, shot CafFree as he lay up- on the ground and gave him a mortal wound — -and was in- stantly shot in turn by McClure who had reloaded his gun. CafFree becoming very weak, called upon Davis to come and assist him in tying the Indian, and instantly afterwards expired. As Davis was running up to the assistance of his friend — the Indian now released by the death of his captor, sprung to his feet, and seizing CafFree's rifle, presented it menacingly at Davis, whose gun was not in order for ser vice, and who ran off* into the forest closely pursued by the Indian. McClure hastily reloaded his gun and taking up the rifle which Davis had dropped, followed them for some distance into the forest, making all those signals which had been concerted between them, in case of separation. All, however, was vain — he saw nothing more of Davis, nor could he ever afterwards learn his fate. As he never re turned to Kentucky, however, he probably perished. McClure, finding himself alone in the enemy's country, and surrounded by dead bodies, thought it prudent to aban- don the object of the expedition and return to Kentucky. He accordingly retraced his steps, still bearing Davis' rifle in addition to his own. He had scarcely marched a mile, be- fore he saw advancing from the opposite direction, an Indian warrior, riding c horse with a bell around its neck, and ac- companied by a boy on foot. Dropping one of the rifles, which might have created suspicion, McClure advanced with an air of confidence, extending his hand and making other signs of peace. The opposite party appeared frankly to receive his overtures, and dismounting, seated Jiimself upon a log, and drawing out his pipe, gave a few puffs himself, and then handed it to McClure. In a few minutes another bell was heard, at the distance of half a mile, aad a second WESTERN ADVENTURE. 195 party of Indians appeared upon horseback. The Indian with McClure now coolly informed him by signs that when the horsemen arrived, he (McClure) was to be bound and carried off as a prisoner with his feet tied under the horse's belly. In order to explain it more fully, the Indian got a- stride of the log, and locked his legs together underneath it. McClure internally thanking the fellow for his excess of can- dour, determined to disappoint him, and while his enemy was busily engaged in riding the log, and mimicking the actions of a prisoner, he v^ery quietly blew his brains out, and ran off into the woods. The Indian boy instantly mounted the belled horse, and rode off in an opposite direction. McClure was fiercely pursued by several small Indian dogs, that frequently ran between his legs and threw him down. After falling five or six times, his eyes became full of dust and he was to- tally blind. Despairing of escape, he doggedly lay upon his face, expecting every instant to feel the edge of the tom- ahawk. To his astonishment, however, no enemy appear- ed, and even the Indian dogs after tugging at him for a few minutes, and completely stripping him of his breeches, left him to continue his journey unmolested. Finding every- thing quiet, in a kw moments he arose, and taking up his gun, continued his march to Kentucky. He reached home in safety, and in 1820 was still alive. This communication is from his own lips, and may be relied upon as correct. In the course of the next year, many families came down the Ohio in boats, landed at Maysville, and continued their route by land, into such parts of the country as pleased them. Out of a number of incidents, which attended the passage of boats down the river, I shall select tw T o, as wor- thy of being mentioned. Col. Thomas Marshall, formerly commander of the third Virginia regiment on continental es- tablishment, and subsequently holding the same rank in the Virginia artillery, embarked with a numerous family on 196 SKETCHES OF board of a flat bottomed boat, and descended the Ohio with- out any incident worthy of notice, until he had passed the mouth of Kenawha. Here, about ten o'clock at night ? he was hailed from the northern shore, by a man who spoke good English, and quickly announced himself as James Gir- ty, the brother of Simon, both of whom have already been repeatedly mentioned. The boat dropped slowly down with- in one hundred and fifty yards of the shore, and Girty ma- king a corresponding movement on the beach, the confer- ence was kept up for several minutes. He began by men- tioning his name, and enquiring that of the master of the boat. Having been satisfied upon this head, he assured him that he knew him well, respected him highly, &c. &c, and concluded with some rather extraordinary remarks. "He had been posted there, he said, by the order of his brother Simon, to warn all boats of the danger of permitting thenfr selves to be decoyed ashore. The Indians had become jeal- ous of him, and he had lost that influence which he former- ly held amongst thenv He deeply regretted the injury which he had inflicted upon his countrymen, and wished to be restored to their society. In order to convince them of the sincerity of his regard, he had directed him to warn all boats of the snares spread for them. Every effort would be made to draw passengers ashore. White men would appear on the bank — and children would be heard to supplicate for mercy. — But, coutinued he, do you keep the middle of the fiver, and steel your heart against every mournful applica- tion which you may receive." The Colonel thanked him for his intelligence, and continued his course. From this it would appear, that Girty's situation was by no means enviable. The superior intelligence which had first given him influence, gradually attracted envy. Com- binations were probably formed against him, as they are in, civilized life, against every man who is guilty of the unpar^ WESTERN ADVENTURE. 197, donable offence of mounting rapidly above his fellows. Am- bition, jealousy, intrigue, combinations for particular objects, prevail as strongly among savages as among civilized beings, and spring in each from the same source — a tender,, pas- sionate, inordinate love of self — a passion the most univer- sal, deeply rooted, and infinitely diversified in its opera- tions, of any in existence — a passion as strong and easily offended in the degraded Hottentot, as in the Emperor Na- poleon, in the superanua'ed old woman, as in. the blooming belle — the only human passion which age cannot tame, or misery extinguish or expariance cure, or philosophy expel ;, which flutters as strongly in the jaws of death, as in the vig- or of life, and is as buoyant and ridiculous in the breast of the philosopher, as in that of a village beauty. Nothing more was ever heard of Girty's wish to be restored to his station in society; but his warning, by whatever motive dic- tated, was of service to many families. About the same time, Captain James Ward, at present a highly respectable citizen of Mason county, Ky,, was de- scending the Ohio, under circums'ances which rendered a rencontre with the Indians peculiarly to be dreaded. He, together with half a dozen others, one of them his nephew, embarked in a crazy boat, about forty five feet long, and e'^ht feet wide, with no other bulwark than a single pine plank, above each gunnel. The boat was much encumber- ed with baggage, and seven horses were on board. Having seen no enemy for several days, they had become secure and careless, and permitted the boat to dnft within fifty yards of the Ohio shore. Suddenly, several hundred Indi- ans showed themselves on the bank, and running down bold lv to the water's edge, opened a heavy fire upon the boat. The astonishment of the crew may be conceived. Captain Ward and his nephew were at the cars when the enemy ap- peared, and the captain knowing that their safety depended 17* 198 SKETCHES OF upon their ability to regain the middle of the river, kept his seat firmly, and exerted his utmost powers at the oar, but hie? aephew started up at sight of the enemy, seized his rifle and was in the act of levelling it, when he received a ball in the breast, and fell dead in the bottom of the boat. Unfortu- nately, his oar fell into the river, and the Captain, having no one to pull against him, rather urged the boat nearer to the hostile shore than otherwise. He quickly seized a plank, however, and giving his own oar to another of the crew, he took the station which his nephew had held, and unhurt by the shower of bullets which flew around him, continued to exert himself, until the boat had reached a more respectable distance. He then, for the first time, looked around him in order to observe the condition of the crew. His nephew lay in his blood, perfectly lifeless— the horses had been all killed or mortally wounded. Some had fallen overboard — - others were struggling violently, and causing their frail bark to dip water so abundantly, as to excite the most seri- ous apprehensions. But the crew presented the most singu- lar spectacle. A captain, who had served with reputation in the continental army, seemed now totally bereft of his facul- ties. He lay upon his back in the bottom of the boat, with hands uplifted and a countenance in which terror was per- sonified,- exclaiming in a tone of despair, "Oh Lord! Oh! Lord!'* A Dutchman, whose weight might amount to about three hundred pounds, was anxiously engaged in endeavor- ing to find shelter for his bulky person, which, from the low- ness of the gunnels, was a very difficult undertaking. In spight of his utmost efforts, a portion of his posteriai luxuri- ance, appeared above the gunnel, and afforded a mark to the enemy, which brought a constant shower of balls around it. In vain he shifted his position. The hump still appeared^ and the balls still flew around it, until the Dutchman loosing all patience, raised his head above the gunnel, and in atone WESTERN ADVENTURE. 199 of querulous remonstrance, called out, "oh now! quit tat tamned nonsense, tere — will you!" Not a shot was fired from the boat. At one time, after they had partly regained the current, Capt. Ward attempted to bring his rifle to bear upon them, but so violent was the agitation of the boat, from the furious struggles of the horses, that he could not steady his piece within twenty yards of the enemy, and quickly laying it aside, returned to the oar. The Indians followed them down the river for more than an hour, but having noca- noes, they did not attempt to board ; and as the boat was at length transferred to the opposite side of the river, they at length abandoned the pursuit and disappeared. None of the crew, save the young man already mentioned, were hurt, although the Dutchman's seat of honor served as a target for the space of an hour, and the continental captain was deeply mortified at the sudden, and, as he said, "unaccount- able" panic which had seized him. Captain Ward himself was protected by a post, which had been fastened to the gunnel, and behind which he sat while rowing. In the month of August, 17S6 y Mr. Francis Downing^- then a mere lad, was living in a fort, where subsequently some iron works were erected by Mr. Jacob Myers, which are now known by the name of Slate creek works, and are the property of Col. Thomas DyeOwings. About the 16th ? a >oung man belonging to the fort, called upon Downing, and requested his assistance in hunting for a horse which had strayed away on the preceding evening. Downing readily complied, and the two friends traversed the woods in every direction, until at length, towards evening, they found them- selves in a wild valley, at the distance of six or seven miles from the fort. Here Downing became alarmed, and repeat- edly assured his elder companion, (whose name was Yates,} that he heard sticks cracking behind them, and was confi- dent that Indians were dogging them. Yates, being an ex- 200 SKETCHES OF perienced hunter, and from habit grown indifferent to thte dangers of the woods, diverted himself freely at the ex- pense of his young companion, often enquiring, at what price he rated his scalp, and offering to ensure it for sixpence. Downing, however, was not so easily sntisfiad. Ue observ- ed, that in whatever direction they turned, the same omin- ous sounds continued to haunt them, and as Yates still treat- ed his fears with the most perfect indifference, he determined to take his measures upon his own responsibility. Gradu- ally slackening his pace, he permitted Yates to advance twenty or thirty steps in front of him, and immediately af- ter descending a gentle hill, he suddenly sprung aside and hid himself in a thick cluster of wh>rtlebury bushes. Yates, who at that time was performing some woodland ditty to the full extent of his lungs, was too much pleased with his own voice, to attend either to Downing or the Indians, and was quickly out of sight. Scarcely had he disappeared when Downing, to his unspeakable terror, beheld two savages put aside the stalks of a canebrake, and look out cautiously in the direction which Yates had taken. Fearful that they had seen him step aside, he determined to fire upon them, and trust to his heels for safety, but so unsteady was his hand, that in raising his gun to his shoulder, she went off be fore he had taken aim. He lost no time in following her example, and after having run fifty yards, he met Yates, who, alarmed at the report, was hastily retracing his steps. It was not necessary to enquire what was the matter. The enemy were in fall view, pressing forward with great rapid- ity, and "devil take the hindmost," was the order of the day. Yates would not outstrip Downing, but ran by his side, although in so doing he risked both of their lives. The In- dians were well acquainted with the country, and soon took a path that diverged from the one which thn whites fol- lowed, at one point and rejoined it at. another, bearing the WESTERN ADVENTURE, 201 same relation to it, that the string does to the bow. The two paths were at no point, distant from each other more than one hundred yards, so that Yates and Downing could easily see the enemy gaining rapidly upon them. They reached the point of re-union first, however, and quickly came to a deep gulley which it was necessary to cross, or retrace their steps. Yates cleared it without difficulty, but Downing being much exhausted, fell short, and falling with his breast against the opposite brink, rebounded with vio- lence and fell at full length on the bottom. The Indians crossed the ditch a few yards below him y and eager for the capture of Yates, continued the pursuit, without appearing to notice Downing. The latter, who at first had given him- self up for lost, quickly recovered his strength and began ta walk slowly along the ditch, fearing to leave it lest the ene- my should see him. As he advanced, however, the ditch became more shallow, until at length it ceased to potect him at all. Looking around cautiously, he saw one of the Inci-*- ans returning apparently in quest of him. Unfortunately, he had neglected to reload his gun, while in the ditch, and a» the Indian instantly advanced upon him, he had no resource but flight. Throwing away his gun, which was new use- less, he plied his legs manfully, in ascending a long ridge which stretched before him, but the Indian gained upon him so rapidly, that he lost all hope of escape. Coming at length to a large poplar which had been blown up by the roots, he ran along the body of the tree upon one side, while the Indi- an followed it upon the other, doubtless expecting to inter- cept him at the root. But here the supreme dominion of for- tune was manifested. It happened that a large she bear was suckling her cubs in a bed which she had made at the root of the tree, and as the Indian reached that point first, she instantly sprung upon him, and a prodigious uproar took place. The Indian yelled, and stabbed with his knife, the 202 8KETCHES OF bear growled and saluted him with one of her most endear- ing "hugs ;" — while Downing, fervently wishing her suc- cess, ran off through the woods, without waiting to see the event of the struggle. Downing reached the fort in safety, and found Yates reposing after a hot chace, having eluded his pursuers, and gained the fort two hours before him. On the next morning, they collected a party and returned to the poplar tree, but no traces either of the Indian or bear were to be found. They both probably escaped with their lives al~ hough not without injury. On the night of the 11th of April, 1787, the house of a widow, in Bourbon county, became the scene of an adven ture, which we think deserves to be related. She occupied what is generally called a double cabin, in a lonely part of the county, one room of which was tenanted by the old lady herself, together with two grown sons, and a widowed daugh- ter, at that time suckling an infant, while the other was oc eupied by two unmarried daughters from sixteen to twenty years of age, together with a little girl not more than half grown. The hour was J I o'ciock at night. One of the un- married daughters was still busily engaged at the loom, but the other members of the family, with the exception of one of the sons, had retired to rest. Some symptoms of an alar- ming nature had engaged the attention of the young man for an hour before any thing of a decided character took place. The cry of owls were heard in the adjoining wood, answering each other in rather an unusual manner. The horses, which were enclosed as usual in a pound near the house, were more than commonly excited, and by repeated snorting and galloping, announced the presence of some ob- ject of terror. Thevoungman was often upon the point of awakening his brother, but was as often restrained by the fear of incurring ridicule and the reproach of timidity, at that tirne an unpardonable blemish in the character of a Ken- WESTERN ADVENTURE. 203 tuckian. At length, hasty steps were heard in the yard, and quickly afterwards, several loud knocks at the door, ac companied by the usual exclamation, "who keeps house ?" in very good English. The young man, supposing from the language, that some benighted settlers were at the door, has- tily arose, and was advancing to withdraw the bar which se- cured it, when his mother, who had long lived upon the fron- tiers, and had probably detected the Indian tone in the de- mand for admission, instantly sprung out of bed, and order- ed her son not to admit them, declaring that they were Indi- ans. She instantly awakened her other son, and the two young men seizing their guns, which were always charged, prepared to repel the enemy. The Indians finding it impos- sible to enter under their assumed characters, began to thun- der at the doorwi h great violence, but a single shot from a loophole, compelled them to shift the attack to some less ex- posed point; and. unfortunately, they discovered the door of the other cabin, which contained the three daughters. The rifles of the brothers could not be brought to bear upon this point, and by means of several rails taken from the yard fence, the door was orced from its hinges and the three girls were at the m vey of the savages. One was instantly secur- ed, but the eldest defended herself desperately with a knife which she had been using at the loom, and stabbed one of the Indians to the heart, before she was tomahawked. In the mean time the little girl, who had been overlooked by the enemy in their eagerness to secure the other?, ranout into the yard, and might have effected her escape, had she taken advantage of the darkness and fled, but instead of that the terrified little creature ran around the house wringing her hands, imd cry incr out that her sisters were killed. The bro- thers, unable to hear her cries, without risking every thing for her rescue, rushed to the door and were preparing to sal- ly ont to hor assistance, when their mother threw herself b& 204 SKETCHES OP fore them and calmly declared that the child must be aban- doned to its fate — that the sally would sacrifice the lives of all the rest without the slightest benefit to the little ffirl. Just then the child uttered a loud scream, followed by a few faint moans and all was again silent. Presently the crack- ling of flames was heard, accompanied by a triumphant yell from the Indians, announcing that they had set fire to that di- vision of the house which had been occupied by the daugh- ters, and of which they held undisputed possession. The fire was quickly communicated to the rest of the building, and it became necessary to abandon it or perish in the flames. In the one case, there was a possibility that some might escape ; in the other, their fate would be equally certain and terrible. The rapid approach of the flames cut short their momenta- ry suspense. The door was thrown open, and the old lady, supported by her eldest son, attempted to cross the fence at one point, while her daughter carrying her child in her arms, and attended by the younger of the brothers, ran in a different direction. The blazing roof shed a light over the yard but little inferior to that of day, and the savages were distinctly seen awaiting the approach of their victims. The old lady was permitted to reach the style unmolested, but in the act of crossing, received several balls in her breast and fell dead. Her son, providentially, remained unhurt, and by extraordinary agility, effected his escape. The other party succeeded also in reaching the fence unhurt, but in the act of crossing, were vigorously assailed by several Indians, who throwing down their guns, rushed upon them with their tomahawks. The young man defended his sister gallantly, firing upon the enemy *£s they approached, and then wielding the but of his rifle with a fury that drew their whole atten- tion upon himself, and gave his sister an opportunity of ef- fecting her escape. He quickly fell, however, under the tomahawk, of his enemies, and was found at daylight, scalp- WESTERN ADVENTURE. 205 eel and mangled in a shocking manner. Of the whole fami- ly, consisting of eight persons, when the attack commenced, only three escaped, Four were killed upon the spot, and one (the second daughter) carried off as a prisoner. The neighborhood was quickly alarmed, and by daylight, about thirty men were assembled under the command of Col. Edwards. Alight snow had fallen during the latter part of the night, and the Indian trail could be pursued at a gallop. It led directly into the mountainous country bor- dering upon Licking, and afforded evidences of great hurry and precipitation on the part of the fugitives. Unfortunate- ly, a hound had been permitted to accompany the whites, and as the trail became fresh and the scent warm, she follow- ed it with eagerness, baying loudly and giving the alarm to the Indians. The consequences of this imprudence were soon displayed. The enemy finding the pursuit keen, and perceiving that the strength of the prisoner began to fail, in- stantly sunk their tomahawks in her head and left her, still warm and bleeding upon the snow. As the whites came up, she retained strength enough to wave her hand in token of recognition, aud appeared desirous of giving them some information, with regard to the enemy, but her strength was too far gone. Her brother sprung from his horse and knelt by her side, endeavoring to stop the effusion of blood, but in vain. She gave him her hand, muttered some inarticulate words, and expired within two minutes after the arrival of the party . The pursuit was renewed with additional ar- dor, and in twenty minutes the enemy was within view. They had taken possession of a steep narrow ridge and >eemed desirous of magnifying their numbers in the eyes of the whites, as they ran rapidly from tree to tree, and main- tained a steady yell in their most appalling tones. The pur- suers, however, were too experienced to be deceived by so common an artifice, and being satisfied that the number of 18 206 SKETCHES OF the enemy must be inferior to their own, they dismounted, tied their horses, and flanking out in such a manner as to enclose the enemy, ascended the ridge as rapidly as was con- sistent with a due regard to the shelter of their persons. The firing quickly commenced, and now for the first time they discovered that only two Indians were opposed to them. They had voluntarily sacrificed themselves for the safety of the main body, and had succeeded in delaying pursuit until their friends could reach the mountains. One of them was instantly shot dead, and the other was badly wounded, as was evident from the blood upon his blanket, as well as that which filled his tracks in the snow for a considerable dis- tance. The pursuit was recommenced, and urged keenly until night, when the trail entered a running stream and was lost. On the following morning the snow had melted, and every trace of the enemy was obliterated. This affair must be regarded as highly honorable to the skill, address, and acti- vity of the Indians, and the self devotion of the rear guard, is a lively instance of that magnanimity of which they are at times capable, and which is more remarkable in them, from the extreme caution, and tender regard for their own lives, which usually distinguishes their warriors. A fe^v weeks after this melancholy affair, a very remarka- ble incident occurred in the same neighborhood. One mor- ning, about sun rise, a young man of wild and savage ap- pearance, suddenly arose from a cluster of bushes in front of a cabin, and hailed the house, in a barbarous dialect, which seemed neither exactly Indian nor English, but a col- lection of shreds and patches from which the graces of both were carefully excluded. His skin had evidently once been white — although now grievously tanned by constant expo- sure to the weather. His dress in every respect was that of an Indian, as were his gestures, tones and equipments, and his age could not be supposed to exceed twenty years. He WESTERN ADVENTURE. 20? talked volubly but uncouthly, placed his hand upon his breast, gestured vehemently, and seemed very earnestly bent upon communicating something. He was invited to enter the cabin, and the neighbors quickly collected around him. He appeared involuntarily to shrink from contact with them — his eyes rolled rapidly around with a distrustful expres- sion from one to the other, and his whole manner was that of a wild animal, just caught, and shrinking from the touch of its captors. As several present understood the Indian tongue, they at length gathered the following circumstances, as ac- curately as they could be translated, out of a language which seemed to* be an "omnium gatherum" of all that was mongrel, uncouth and barbarous, He said that he had been taken by the Indians, when a child, but could neither recollect his name, nor the country of his birth. That he had been adopted by an Indian warrior, who brought him up with his other sons, without making the slightest difference between them, and that under his father's roof, he had lived happily until within the last month. A few weeks before that time, his father, accompanied by himself and a young- er brother, had hunted for some time upon the waters of the Miami, about forty miles from the spot where Cincinnati now stands, and after all their meat, skins &c. had [been properly secured, the old man determined to gratify his chil- dren by taking them upon a war expedition to Kentucky. They accordingly built a bark canoe, in which they crossed the Ohio near the mouth of Licking, and having buried it, so as to secure it from the action of the suu, they advanced into the country and encamped at the distance of fifteen miles from the river. Here their father was alarmed by hearing an owl cry in a peculiar tone, which he declared bo- ded death or captivity to themselves, if they continued their expedition — and announced his intention of returning with- out delay to the river. Both of his sons vehemently oppos- 208 SKETCHES OF ed this resolution, and at length prevailed upon the old man to disregard theowTs warning, and conduct them, as he had promised, against the frontiers of Kentucky. The party then composed themselves to sleep, but were quickly awa- kened by the father, who had again been warned in a dream that death awaited them in Kentucky, and again besought his children to release him from his promise and loose no time in returning home. Again they prevailed upon him to disregard the warning, and persevere in the march. He consented to gratify them, but declared he would not remain a moment longer in the camp which they now occupied, and accordingly they left it immediately, and marched on through the night, directing their course towards Bour- bon County. In the evening, they approached a house, that which he had hailed and in which he was now speaking. Suddenly, the desire of rejoining his people occupied his mind so strongly as to exclude every other idea, and seizing the first favorable opportunity, he had concealed himself in the bushes, and neglected to reply to all the signals which had been concerted for the purpose of collecting their party when scattered. This account appeared so extraordinary, and the young man's appearance was so wild and suspicious, that many of the neighbors suspected him of treachery, and thought that he should be arrested as a spy. Others oppos- ed this resolution and gave full credit to his narrative. In order to satisfy themselves, however, they insisted upon his instantly conducting them to the spot where the canoe had been buried. To this the young man objected most vehe- mently, declaring that although he had deserted his father and brother, yet he would not betray them. These feelings were too delicate to meet with much sympathy from the rude borderers who surrounded him, and he was given to under- stand that nothing short of conducting them to the point of embarcation, would be accepted as an evidence of his sin- WESTERN ADVENTURE. 209 cerity. With obvious reluctance he at length complied. From twenty to thirty men were quickly assembled, moun- ted upon good horses, and under the guidance of the deser- ter, they moved rapidly towards the mouth of Licking. On the road, the young man informed them that he would first conduct them to the spot, where they had encamped when the scream of the owl alarmed his father, and where an iron kettle had been left concealed in a hollow tree. He was probably induced to do this from the hope of delaying the pursuit so long as to afford his friends an opportunity of cros- sing the river in safety. But if such was his intention, no measure could have been more unfortunate. The whites approached the encampment in deep silence, and quickly per- ceived two Indians, an old man and a boy, seated by the fire and busily employed in cooking some venison. The de- serter became much agitated at the sight of them, and so ear- nestly implored his countrymen not to kill them, that it was agreed to surround the encampment, and endeavor to se- cure them as prisoners, This w T as accordingly attempted, but so desperate was the resistance of the Indians, and so determined were their efforts to escape, that the whites were compelled to fire upon them, and the old man fell mortally wounded, while the boy, by an incredible display of address and activity, was enabled to escape. The deserter beheld his father fall, and throwing himself from his horse, he ran up to the spot where the old man lay bleeding but still sensi- ble, and falling upon his body, besought, his forgiveness for being the unwilling cause of his death, and wept bitterly. His father evidently recognised him, and gave him his hand, but almost instantly afterwards expired. The white men now called upon him to conduct them at a gallop to the spot where the canoe was buried, expecting to reach it before the Indian boy and intercept him. The deserter in vain implor- ed them to compassionate his feelings. He urged that he 18* 210 SKETCHES OF had already sufficiently demonstrated the truth of his for- mer assertions, at the expense of his father's life, and ear- nestly entreated them to permit his younger brother to es- cape. His companions, however, were inexorable. Noth- ing but the blood of the young Indian would satisfy them, and the deserter was again compelled to act as a guide. With- in two hours they reached the designated spot. The canoe was still there and no track could be seen upon the sand, so that it was evident that their victim had not yet arrived. Hastily dismounting, they tied their horses and concealed themselves within close rifle shot of the canoe. Within ten minutes after their arrival, the Indian appeared in sight, wal- king swiftly towards them. He went straight to the spot where the canoe had been buried, and was in the act of dig- ging it up, when he received a dozen balls through his body, and leaping high into the air, fell dead upon the sand. He was instantly scalped and buried where he fell, without hav- ing seen his brother, and probably without having known the treachery by which he and his father had lost their lives. The deserter remained but a short time in Bourbon, and never regained his tranquility of mind. He shortly after- wards disappeared, but whether to seek his relations in Vir- ginia or Pennsylvania, or whether disgusted by the ferocity of the whites, he returned to the Indians, has never yet been knowm. He was never heard of afterwards. During the summer, the house of Mr. John Merril, of Nel- son county, Ky., was attacked by the Indians, and defended with singular address and good fortune. Merril was alarm- ed by the barking of a dog about midnight, and upon open- ing the door in order to ascertain the cause of the disturb- ance, he received the fire of six or seven Indians, by which his arm and thigh were both broken. He instantly sunk up- on the floor and called upon his wife to close the door. This had scarcely been done, when it was violently assailed by WESTERN ADVENTURE. 211 the tomahawks of the enemy, and a large breach soon ef- fected. Mrs. Merril, however, being a perfect Amazon both in strength and courage, guarded it with an axe, and suc- cessively killed or badly wounded four of the enemy as the} attempted to force their way into the cabin. The Indians then ascended the roof and attempted to enter by way of the chimney, but here, again, they were met by the same determ- ined enemy. Mrs. Merril seized the only feather bed, which the cabin afforded, and hastily ripping it open, poured its contents upon the fire. A furious blaze and stifling smoke instantly ascended the chimney, and q uickly brought down two of the enemy, who lay for a few moments at the mercy of the lady. Seizing the axe, she quickly despatched them, and was instantly afterwards summoned to the door, where the only remaining savage now appeared endeavoring to effect an en- trance, while Mrs. Merril was engaged at the chimney. He soon received a gash in the cheek, which compelled him with a h ud yell to relinquish his purpose, and return hastily to Chillicothe, where, from the report of a prisoner, he gave an exaggerated account of the fierceness, strength and courage of the "long knife squaw P 212 SKETCHES OF CHAPTER VIII In the month of April, 1792, a number of horses belong- ing to Captain Luther Calvin, of Mason county, were sto- len by the Indians ; and, as usual, a strong party volunteered to go in pursuit of the enemy and recover the property. The party consisted of thirty seven men, commanded by Captains Calvin and Kenton, and was composed chiefly of young farmers, most of whom had never yet met an enemy. The present Captain Chaeles Ward, Deputy Sheriff of Mason county, was one of the volunteers, and was at that time a mere lad, totally unacquainted with Indian warfare. They rendezvoused upon the Kentucky shore, immediately opposite Ripley, and crossing the river in a small ferry boat, pursued the trail for five or six miles with great energy. Here, however, a specimen of the usual caprice and uncer- tainty attending the motions of militia, was given. One of the party, whose voice had been loud and resolute while on the Kentucky shore, all at once managed to discover that the enterprize was rash, ill advised, and if prosecuted, would certainly prove disastrous. A keen debate ensued, in which young Spencer Calvin, then a lad of eighteen, openly accused the gentleman alluded to of cowardice, and even threatened to take the measure of his shoulders with a ramrod, on the spot By the prompt interference of Kenton and the elder Calvin,the young man's wrath was appeased for the time, and all those who peferred safety to honor, were invited instantly to re- turn. The permission was promptly accepted, and no less than fifteen men, headed by the recreant already men- tioned, turned their horses' heads and reerossed the river. WESTERN ADVENTURE. 213 The remainder, consisting chiefly of experienced warriors, continued the pursuit. The trail led them down on the Miami, and about noon, on the second day, they heard a bell in front, apparently from a horse grazing. Cautiously approaching it, the}' quickly beheld a solitary Indian, mounted on horseback, and leisurely advancing towards them. A few of their best marksmen fired upon him and brought him to the ground. After a short consultation, it was then determined to follow his back trail, and ascertain whether there were more in the neighborhood. A small, active, resolute woodsman, named Mclntyre, accompanied by three others, was pushed on in advance, in order to give them early notice of the enemy's appearance, while the main body followed at a more leisure- ly pace. Within an hour, Mclntyre returned, and reported that they were then within a short distance of a large party of Indians, supposed to be greatly superior to their own. That they were encamped in a bottom upon the borders of a creek, and were amusing themselves, apparently awaiting the arrival of the Indian whom they had just killed, as they would occasionally halloo loudly, and then laugh immoderate- ly, supposing, probably, that their comrade had lost his way. This intelligence fell like a shower bath upon the spirits of the party, who, thinking it more prudent to put a greater interval between themselves and the enemy, set spurs to their horses, and galloped back in the direction from which they had come. Such was the panic, that one of the foot- men, a huge hulking fellow, six feet high, in his zeal for his own safety, sprung up behind Capt. Calvin, (who was then mounted upon Capt. Ward's horse, the Captain having dis- mounted in order to accommodate him,) and nothing short of a threat to blow his brains out, could induce him to dismount. In this orderly manner, they scampered through the woods for several miles, when, in obedience to the orders of Ken- 214 9KETCHES OP ton and Calvin, they halted, and prepared for resistance in case (as was probable,) the enemy had discovered them, and were engaged in the pursuit. Kenton and Calvin Avere engaged apart in earnest consultation. It was proposed that a number of saplings should be cut down and a temporary breastwork erected, and while the propriety of these meas- ures were under discussion, the men were left to them- selves. Captain Ward, as we have already observed, was then very young, and perfectly raw. He had been in the habit of looking up to one man as a perfect Hector, having al- ways heard him represented in his own neighborhood as a man of redoubted courage, and a perfect Anthropophagus among the Indians. When they halted, therefore, he natu- rally looked around for his friend, hoping to read safety, courage, and assurance of success in that countenance, usu- ally so ruddy and confident. But, alas! the gallant warrior was wofully chop-fallen. There had, generally, been a rud- dy tinge upon the tip of his nose, which some ascribed to the effervescence of a fiery valour, while others, more mali- ciously inclined, attributed it to the fumes of brandy. Even this burning beacon had been quenched, and had assumed a livid ashy hue, still deeper if possible than that of his lips . Captain Ward thinking that the danger must be appalling, which could damp the ardor of a man like — , instantly became grievously frightened himself, and the contagion seemed spreading rapidly, when Kenton and Calvin rejoined them, and speaking in a cheerful, confident tone, completely reanimated their spirits. Finding themselves not pursued by the enemy, as they had expected, it was determined, that they should remain in their present position until night, when a rapid attack was to be made in two divisions, upon the Indian camp, under the impression that the darkness of the night, and the sur-- WESTERN ADVENTURE. 215 prize of the enemy, might give them an advantage, which they could scarcely hope for in daylight. Accordingly, ev- ery thing remaining quiet at dusk, they again mounted and advanced rapidly, but in profound silence, upon the Indian camp. It was ascertained that the horses which the enemy had stolen, were grazing in a rich bottom below their camp. As they were advancing to the attack, therefore, Calvin detached his son with several halters, which he had borrowed from the men, to regain their own horses, and be prepared to carry them off in case the enemy should over- power them. The attack was then made in two divisions. Calvin conducted the upper and Kenton the lower party. The wood was thick, but the moon shone out clearly, and enabled them to distinguish objects with sufficient precision. Calvin's party came first in contact with the enemy. They had advanced within thirty yards of a large fire in front of a number of tents, without having seen a single Indian, when a dog which had been watching them for several minutes, sprung forward to meet them, baying loudly. Presently an Indian appeared approaching cautiously towards them, and occasionally speaking to the dog in the Indian tongue. This sight was too tempting to be borne, and Calvin heard the tick of a dozen rifles in rapid succession, as his party cocked them in order to fire. The Indian was too close to permit him to speak, but turning to his men he earnestly waved his hand as a warning to be quiet. Then cautiously raising his own rifle, he fired with a steady aim, just as the Indian had reached the fire, and stood fairly exposed to its light. The report of the rifle instantly broke the stillness of the night, and their ears were soon deafened by the yells of the enemy. The Indian at whom Calvin had fired, fell forward into the burning pile of faggots, and by his strug- gling to extricate himself, scattered the brands so much, as almost to extinguish the light. Several dusky forms, glan- 216 SKETCHES OF ced rapidly before them for a moment, which drew a vollev from his men, but with what effect could not be ascertained. Calvin, having discharged his piece, turned so rapidly as to strike the end of his ramrod against a tree behind him, and drive it into its sheath with such violence, that he was una- ble to extricate it for several minutes, and finally fractured two of his teeth in the effort. A heavy fire now commenced from the Indian camp, which was returned with equal spirit by the whites, but without much effect on either side. Trees were barked ve- ry plentifully, dogs bayed, the Indians yelled, the whites shouted, the squaws screamed, and a prodigious uproar was maintained for about fifteen minutes, when it was reported to Calvin that Kenton's party had been overpowered, and was in full retreat. It was not necessary to give orders for a similar movement. No sooner had the intelligence been received, than the Kentuckians of the upper division broke their ranks and every man attempted to save himself as he best could. They soon overtook the lower division, and a hot scramble took place for horses. One called upon an- other to wait for him until he could catch his horse, which had broken his bridle, but no attention was paid to the re- quest. Some fled upon their own horses, others mounted those of their friends. "First come, first served," seemed to be the order of the night, and a sad confusion of property took place, in consequence of which, to their great terror, a few were compelled to return on foot. The flight was originally caused by the panic of an individual. As the lower divis- ion moved up to the attack, most of the men appeared to ad- vance with alacrity. Captain Ward, however, happened to be stationed next to Mclntyre, whom we have already had occasion to mention as a practised woodsman and peculiarly expert marksman. Heretofore, he had always been foremost in every danger, WESTERN ADVENTURE. >217 and had become celebrated for the address,, activity, and boldness with which he had acquitted himself. As they were ascending the gentle acclivity upon which the Indian camp stood, however, he appeared much dejected, and spoke despondingly of their enterprize. He declared that it had been revealed to him in a dream, on the preceding night, that their efforts would be vain, and that he himself was destined to perish. That he was determined to fight, as long as any man of the party stood his ground, but if the whites were wise, they would instantly abandon the attempt upon the enemy, and recross the Ohio, as rapidly as possible. These observations made but little impression upon Ward, but seemed to take deep root in the mind of the gentleman whose pale face had alarmed the company at the breastwork. The action quickly commenced, and at the first fire from the Indians, Barre, a young Kentuckian, w r as shot by 's side. This circumstance completed the overthrow of his courage, which had declined visibly since the first encoun- ter in the morning, and elevating his voice to its shrillest notes, he shouted aloud, Ci Boys! it wont do for us to be here — Barre is killed, and the Indians are crossing the creek P Bonaparte has said, that there is a critical period in every battle, when the bravest men will eagerly seize an excuse to run away. The remark is doubly true with regard to mi- litia. No sooner had this speech been uttered by one who had never yet been charged with cowardice, than the rout instantly took place and all order was disregarded. Fortu- nately, the enemy were equally frightened, and probably would have fled themselves, had the whites given them time. No pursuit took place for several hours, nor did they then pursue the trail of the main body of fugitives. But it unfor- tunately happened that Mclntyre, instead of accompanying the rest, turned off from the main route, and returned to the breastwork where some flour and venison had been left. 19 218 SKETCHES OF The Indians quickly became aware of the circumstance, and following with rapidity, overtook, tomahawked, and scalped him, while engaged in preparing breakfast on the following morning. Thus was his dream verified. The prediction in this case as in many others, probably produced its own ac- complishment by confounding his mind, and depriving him of his ordinary alertness and intelligence. He certainly provoked his fate, by his own extraordinary rashness. NOTE. It is somewhat remarkable, that a brother of Captain Ward's was in the Indian camp at the moment when it was attacked. He had been taken by the Indians in 1758, be- ing at that time only three years old, had been adopted as a member of the Shawanee tribe and had married an Indian woman by whom he had several children, all of whcm, togeth- er with their mother, were then in camp. Captain Ward has informed the writer of this narrative, that, a few seconds before the firing began, while he steed within rife shot of the encampment, an Indian girl apparently fifteen years of age attracted his attention. She stood for an instant in an at- titude of alarm, in front of one of the tents, and gazed in- tently upon the spot where he then stood. Not immediate- ly perceiving that it was a female, he raised his gun, and was upon the point of firing, when her open besom announ- ced her sex, and her peculiarly light complexion caused him to doubt for a moment whether she could be an Indian by birth. He afterwards ascertained that she was his brother's child. It appears still more remarkable, that exactly one year af- terwards, John Ward, the adopted Indian, should have been opposed to another one of his brothers, Capt. James Ward, of Mason, in a night skirmish somewhat resembling that which we have just detailed. Capt. James Ward, togeth- er with Kenton, Baker and about thirty others, while engaged WESTERN ADVENTURE. 219 in pursuit of some stolen horses, fell upon a fresh trail of In- dians, that crossed the road which they were then pursuing. Instantly abandoning their former object, they followed the fresh trail with great eagerness, and a short time after dark arrived at an encampment. Having carefully reconnoitered it, they determined to reman quiet until daylight, and then fall upon the enemy as before, in two divisions, one to be commanded by Kenton and the other by Baker. Every thing remained quiet until four o'clock in the morning, when Baker moved at the head of his party, in order to take the appointed position, (which was very advantageous, and in conjunction with Kenton's, completely surrounded the ene- my,) while Kenton remained stationary, awaiting the sig- nal of attack. By some mistake, Baker moved in a false direction, and, to the surprize of both parties, instead of en- closing the Indian camp, he fell directly upon it. A heavy firing, and the usual yelling, quickly announced the fact to Kenton, who moved hastily up to the assistance of his friends. It was still perfectly dark and the firing was of course at random. Baker, in whose fiery character, courage predom- inated over every thing else, lost all patience at the restraint under which they lay, and urged strenuously, that they should rush upon the enemy, and decide the affair at once with the tomahawk; but Kenton, whom repeated misfortunes had rendered extremely cautious, opposed it so vehemently, that it was not done. One of their men had fallen, and they could hear one of the enemy, apparently not more than thir- ty yards from them, groan < deeply, and occasionally eon- verse with his companions in the Indian tongue. The wounded man was the unfortunate John Ward, whose hard fate it was, to fight against the whites in a battle in which his own father was killed, to encounter two of his brothers in the field, and finally to fall mortally wounded in a night skir- mish, when his brother was opposed to him, and was within 220 SKETCHES OF hearing of his groans. His father perished in the long bat- tle at the "Point," as it was called, near the mouth of the Kenawha. The whole force of the Shawanees was assem- bled at that point, and John Ward was then nineteen years of age, so that there can be but little doubt of his having been present. WESTERN ADVENTURE. 221 CHAPTER IX. Mr. John May, a gentleman of Virginia, had, at an ear- ly period, been appointed surveyor of the Kentucky lands, and had become so extensively involved in business, as to require the aid of a clerk. In 1789, he employed Mr. Charles Johnston, a young man scarcely twenty years of age, in that capacity. Johnston accompanied his employ- er to Kentucky in the summer of '89, and returned to Vir- ginia in the autumn of the same year, without any adven- ture worthy of notice; and in the month of February, 1790, it became necessary for them to return to Kentucky, in or der to complete the business which had been left unfinished on the former trip. Heretofore, they had travelled by land, but on the present occasion, May determined to descend the Great Kenawha and Ohio by water. They, accordingly, travelled by the usual route to Green Briar court house, where the town cf Lewisburgh has since been built, and from thence crossed the wilderness which lay between that point and the Great Kenawha. After suffering much from the weather, which was intensely cold, they at length reach- ed Kelly's station upon the Kenawha, from which point May proposed to embark Having purchased a boat, such as was then used for the navigation of the western waters, they embarked in company with Mr. Jacob Skyles, a gen- tleman of Virginia, who had at that time a stock o( dry goods intended fjr Lexington, and without any accident, in the course of a few days, they arrived at Point Pleasant. Here there was an accession to their number of three persons, a man named Flinn and two sisters of the name of Fleming. Flinn was a hardy borderer, accustomed from his 5 outh to 19* 222 SKETCHES OF all the dangers of the frontiers, and the two Miss Flemings were women of low station and doubtful character. They were all natives of Pittsburgh and were on their way to Kentucky. During their short stay at Point Pleasant, they learned that roving bands of Indians were constantly hovering upon either bank of the Ohio, and were in the habit of decoying boats ashore under various pretences, and murdering or ta- king captives, all who were on board; so that, upon leaving Point Pleasant, they determined that no consideration should induce them to approach eitner shore, but steeling their hearts against every entreaty, that they would resolutely keep the middle of the current, and leave distressed individ- uals to shift for themselves. How firmly this resolution was maintained the sequel will show. The spring freshet was in its height at the time of their embarcation, and their boat was wafted rapidly down the stream. There was no occa- sion to use the side oars, and it was only necessary for one individual at a time to watch throughout the night, at the steering oar, in order to keep the boat in the current. So long as this could be done, they entertained no dread of any number of Indians on either shore, as boarding had hitherto formed no part of their plans, and was supposed to be im- practicable, so long as arms were on board of the boat. On the morning of the 20th of March, when near the junc- tion of the Scioto, they were awakened at daylight by Flinn, whose turn it was to watch, and informed that danger was at hand. All instantly sprung to their feet, and hastened upon deck without removing their nightcaps or completing their dress. The cause of Flinn's alarm was quickly evi- dent. Far down the river a smoke was seen, ascending in thick wreaths above the trees, and floating in thinner masses over the bed of the river. All instantly perceived that it could only proceed from a large fire — and who was there to WESTERN ADVENTURE. 2%S kindle a fire in the wilderness which surrounded them? No one doubted that Indians were in front, and the only ques- tion to be decided was, upon which shore they lay, for the winding of the river, and their distance from the smoke, ren- dered it impossible at first to ascertain this point. As the boat drifted on, however, it became evident that the fire was upon the Ohio shore, and it was instantly determined to put over to the opposite side of the river. Before this could be done, however, two white men ran down upon the beach, and clasping their hands in the most earnest manner, implor- ed the crew to take them on board. They declared that they had been taken by a party of Indians in Kennedy's bot- tom, a few days before- — had been conducted across the Ohio, and had just effected their escape. They added, that the enemy was in close pursuit of them, and that their death was certain, unless admitted on board. Resolute in their purpose, on no account to leave the middle of the stream, and strongly suspecting the suppliants of treachery, the party paid no attention to their entreaties, but steadily pursued their course down the river, and were soon considerably a- lead of them. The two white men ran down the bank, in a line parallel with the course of the boat, and their entrea- ties were changed into the most piercing cries and lamenta- tions upon perceiving the obstinacy with which their request was disregarded. Instantly the obduracy of the crew be- gan to relax, Flinn and the two females, accustomed from their youth to undervalue danger from the Indians, earnest- ly insisted upon going ashore, and relieving the white men, and even the incredulity of May began to yield to the per- severing importunity of the suppliants. A parley took place. May called to them from the deck of the boat where he stood in his nightcap and drawers, and demanded the cause of the large fire the smoke of which had caused so much a - iarm. The white men positively denied that there was any 224 SKETCHES OF fire near them. This falsehood was so palpable, that May V former suspicions returned with additional force, and he pos- itive!} insisted upon continuing their course without paying the slightest attention to the request of the men. This reso- olution was firmly seconded by Johnston and Skyles, and as vehemently opposed by Fiinn and the Miss Flemings, for, contrary to all established rules of policy, the females were allowed an equal vote with the males on board of the boat. Fiinn urged that the men gave every evidence of real dis- tress which could be required, and recounted too many par- ticular circumstances attending their capture and escape, to give color to the suspicion that their story was invented for the occasion, and added, that it would be a burning shame to them and their's forever, if they should permit two coun- trymen to fall a sacrifice to the savages, when so slight a risk on their part would suffice to relieve them. He acknowl- edged that they had lied in relation to the fire, but declared himself satisfied that it was only because they were fearful of acknowledging the truth, lest the crew should suspect that Indians were concealed in the vicinity. The contro versy became warm, and during its progress, the boat drift- ed so far below the men, that they appeared to relinquish their pursuit in despair. At this time, Fiinn made a second proposal, which, ac- cording to his method of reasoning, could be carried into ef- fect, without the slightest risk to any one but himself. They were now more than a mile below the pursuers. He pro- posed that May should only touch the hostile shore long enough to permit him to jump out. That it was impossible for Indians, (even admitting that they were at hand,) to ar- rive in time to arrest the boat, and even should any appear, they could immediately put off from shore and abandon him to his fate. That he was confident of being able to outrun the red devils, if they saw him first, and was equally confi- WESTERN ADVENTURE. 225 dent of being able to see them as soon as they could see him. May remonstrated upon so unnecessary an exposure — but Flinn was inflexible, and in an evil hour, the boat was directed to the shore. They quickly discovered, what ought to have been known before, that they could not float as swift- ly after leaving the current as while borne along by it, and they were nearly double the time in making the shore, that they had calculated upon. When within reach Flinn leaped fearlessly upon the hostile bank, and the boat grated upon the sand. At that moment, five or six savages ran up out of breath, from the adjoining wood, and instantly seizing Flinn,. began to fire upon the boat's crew. Johnston and Skyles sprung to their arms, in order to return the fire, while May ? seizing an oar attempted to regain the current. Fresh Indi- ans arrived, however, in such rapid succession, that the beach was quickly crowded by them, and May called out to hi& companions to cease firing and come to the oars. This was instantly done, but it was too late. The river, as we have already observed, was very high, and their clumsy and unwieldy boat, had become entangled in the boughs of the trees which hung over the water, so that after the most desperate efforts to get her off, they were compelled to relinquish the attempt in despair. During the whole of this time the Indians were pouring a heavy fire into the boat, at a distance not exceeding ten paces. Their horses, of which they had a great number on board, had broken their halters, and mad with terror were plunging so furiously as to expose them to a danger scarcely less dread- ful than that which menaced them from shore. In addition to this, none of them had ever beheld a hostile Indian be- fore, (with the exception of May,) and the furious gestures and appalling yells of the enemy, struck a terror to their hearts which had almost deprived them of their faculties. Seeing it impossible to extricate themselves, they all lay 226 SKETCHES OF down upon their faces, in such parts of the boat, as would best protect them from the horses, and awaited in pas- sive helplessnes, the approach of the conquerors. The en- emy, however, still declined boarding, and contented them- selves with pouring in an incessant fire, by which all the horses were killed, and which at length began to grow fatal to the crew. One of the females received a ball in her mouth which had passed immediately over Johnston's head, and almost instantly expired. Skyles, immediately after- wards, was severely wounded in both shoulders, the ball stri- king the right shoulder blade, and ranging transversely a- long his back. The fire seemed to grow hotter every mo- ment, when, at length May arose and waved his nightcap a bove his head as a signal of surrender. He instantly re- ceived a ball in the middle of the forehead and fell perfectly dead by the side of Johnston, covering him with his blood. Now, at last, the enemy ventured to board. Throwing themselves into the water, with their tomahawks in their hands, a dozen or twenty swam to the boat, and began to climb the sides. Johnston stood ready to do the honors of the boat, and presenting his hand to each Indian in succes- sion, he helped them over the side to the number of twenty. Nothing could appear more cordial than the meeting. Each Indian shook him by the hand, with the usual salutation of "How de do," in passable English, while Johnston encoun- tered every visiter with an affectionate squeeze, and a forced smile, in which terror struggled with civility. The Indians then passed on to Skyles and the surviving Miss Fleming, where the demonstrations of mutual joy were not quite so lively. Skyles was writhing under a painful wound, and the girl was sitting by the dead body of her sister. Having sha- ken hands with all of their captives, the Indians proceeded to scalp the dead, which was done with great coolness, and the reeking scalps were stretched and prepared upon hoops WESTERN ADVENTURE. 227 for the usual process of drying, immediately before the eyes of the survivors. The boat was then drawn ashore, and its contents examined with great greediness. Poor Skyles, in addition to the pain of his wounds, was compelled to wit- ness the total destruction of his property, by the hands of these greedy spoilers, who tossed his silks, cambric, and broadcloth into the dirt, with the most reckless indifference. At length they stumbled upon a keg of whiskey. The prize was eagerly seized, and every thing else abandoned. The Indian who had found it, instantly carried it ashore and was followed by the rest with tumultuous delight. A large fire nearly fifty feet long was quickly kindled, and victors and vanquished indiscriminately huddled around it. As yet no attempt had been made to strip the prisoners, but unfortu- nately, Johnston was handsomely dressed in a broadcloth surtout, red vest, fine ruffled shirt and a new pair of boots. The Indians began to eye him attentively, and at length one of them, whose name he afterwards learned was Chick-a- tommo, a Shawanee chief, came up to him, and gave the skirt of his coat two or three hard pulls, accompanied by several gestures which were not to be mistaken. Johnston instantly stripped oft his coat, and very politely handed it to him. His red w\iistccat was now exposed to full vievr and attracted great attention. Chiok-a-tommo instantly exclaim- ed, ;i Hugh! you big Cappatain!' , Johnston hastily assured him that he was mistaken, that he was no officer — nor had any connection with military affairs whatever. The Indian then drew himself up, pointed with his ringer to his breast, and exclaimed, "Me Cappatain! all dese," pointing to his men, u my sogers !" The red waistcoat accompanied the surtout, and Johnston quickly stood shivering in his shirt and pantaloons. An old Indian then came up to him, and pla- cing one hand upon his own shirt (a greasy, filthy garment, which had not, probably, been washed for six months,) and 228 SKETCHES OF the other upon Johnston's ruffles, cried out in English, "Swap ! Swap!" at the same time, giving the ruffles a gentle pull with his dirty fingers. Johnston, conquering his disgust at the pro- posal, was about to comply, and had drawn his shirt over his head, when it was violently pulled back by another In- dian, whose name he afterwards learned, was Tom Lewis. His new ally then reproached the other Indian severely for wishing to take the shirt from a prisoner's back in such cold weather, and instantly afterwards threw his own blanket over Johnston's shoulders. The action was accompanied by a look so full of compassion and kindness, that Johnston, who had expected far different treatment, was perfectly as- tonished. He now saw that native kindness of heart and generosity of feeling, was by no means rare even among savages. The two white men who had decoyed them ashore, and whose names were Divine and Thomas, now appeared, and took their seats by the side of the captives. Sensible of the reproach to which they had exposed themselves, they has- tened to offer an excuse for their conduct. They declared that they really had been taken in Kennedy's bottom a few days before, and that the Indians had compelled them, by threats of instant death in case of refusal, to act as they had done. They concluded by some common place expressions of regret for the calamity which they had occasioned, and declared that their own misery was aggravated at beholding that of their countrymen ! In short, words were cheap with them, and they showered them out in profusion. But John- ston and Skyles' sufferings had been and still were too se- vere, to permit their resentment to be appeased by such light atonement. Their suspicions of the existence of wil- ful and malignant treachery on the part of the white men, (at least one of them,) were confirmed by the report of a negro, who quickly made his appearance, and who, as it ap- WESTERN ADVENTURE. 229 peared, had been taken in Kentucky a few days before. He declared that Thomas had been extremely averse to having any share in the treachery, but had been overruled by Di- vine, who alone had planned, and was most active in the ex- ecution of the project, having received a promise from the Indians, that, in case of success, his own liberty should be restored to him. This report has been amply confirmed by subsequent testimony. Mr. Thomas is now living near Maysville, and has always sustained an excellent reputa- tion. In a few minutes, six squaws, most of them very old, to- gether with two white children, a girl and a boy, came down to the fire, and seated themselves . The children had late- ly been taken from Kentucky. Skyles' wound now became excessively painful, and Flinn, who, in the course of his ad- venturous life, had picked up some knowledge of surgery, was permitted to examine it. He soon found it necessary to make an incision, which was done very neatly with a razor. An old squaw then washed the wound, and having caught the bloody w T ater in a tin cup, presented it to Skyles, and requested him to drink it, assuring him that it would greatly accelerate the cure. He thought it most prudent to comply. During the whole of this time, the Indians remained si- lently smoking or lounging around the fire. No sentinels were posted in order to prevent a surprize, but each man's gun stood immediately behind him, with the breech resting upon the ground, and the barrel supported against a small pole, placed horizontally upon two forks. Upon the slight- est alarm, every man could have laid his hand upon his own gun. Their captors were gomposed of small detachments from several tribes. Much the greater portion belonged to the Shawanees, but there were several Delawares, Wyan- dotts, and a few wandering Cherokees. After smoking, 20 230 SKETCHES OF they proceeded to the division of their prisoners. Flinn was given to a Shawanee warrior — Skyles to an old crab- bed, ferocious Indian of the same tribe, whose temper was sufficiently expressed in his countenance, while Johnston was assigned to a young Shawanee chief, whom he repre- sents as possessed of a disposition which would have done him honor in any age or in any nation. His name was Messhawa, and he had just reached the age of manhood. His person was tall and expressive rather of action than strength, his air was noble, and his countenance mild, open, and peculiarly prepossessing. He evidently possessed great influence among those of his own tribe, which, as the se- quel will show, he exerted with great activity on the side of humanity. The surviving Miss Fleming was given to the Cherokees, while the Wyandottsand the Delawares were al- lowed no share in the distribution. No dissatisfaction, how- ever, was expressed. The division had been proclaimed by an old chief in a loud voice, and a brief guttural monosyl- lable announced their concurrence. After the distribution of their captives, Flinn, Divine and Thomas, were ordered to prepare four additional oars, for the boat which they had taken, as they had determined to man it, and assail such oth- er boats as should be encountered during their stay on the Ohio. These and several other preparations occupied the rest of the day. On the next morning, the Indians arose early and prepar- ed for an encounter, expecting, as usual, that boats would be passing. They dressed their scalp tufts, and painted their faces in the most approved manner, before a pocket glass which each carried with him, grimmacing and frown- ing in order to drill their features to the expression of the most terrific passions. About tdn o'clock, a canoe, contain- ing six men, was seen, slowly and laboriously ascending the river upon the Kentucky shore All the prisoners serein- WESTERN ADVENTURE. 231 stantly ordered to descend the bank to the water's edge and decoy the canoe within reach of the Indian guns. Johnston, with whatever reluctance, was compelled to accompany the rest. Divine on this, as on the former occasion, was pecu- liarly active and ingenious in stratagems. He invented a lamentable story of their canoe having been overset and of their starving condition, destitute as they were of either guns or axes. It was with agony that Johnston beheld the canoes put off from the Kentucky shore, and move rapidly towards them, struggling with the powerful current, which bore them so far below them that they could not distinguish the repeated signs which Johnston made, warning them to keep off. The Indians perceiving how far the canoe was driven below them, ran rapidly down the river, under cover of the woods, and concealed themselves among the willows, which grew in thick clusters upon the bank. The unsus- pecting canoemen soon drew near, and when within six- ty yards, received a heavy fire which killed every man on board. Some fell into the river, and overset the canoe, which drifted rapidly down the current, as did the bodies of the slain. The Indians sprung into the water, and dragging them ashore, tomahawked two of them, who gave some signs of life, and scalped the whole. Scarcely had this been done, when a more splendid booty appeared in view. It happened that Captain Thomas Mar- shall, of the Virginia artillery, in company with several oth- er gentlemen, was descending the Ohio, having embarked on- ly one day later than May. They had three boats weakly manned, but heavily laden with horses and dry goods, inten- ded for Lexington. About twelve o'clock on the second day of Johnston's captivity, the little flotilla appeared about a mile above the point where the Indians stood. Instantly all was bustle and activity. The additional oars were fix- ed to the boat, the savages instantly sprung on board, and 232 SKETCHES OF the prisoners were compelled to station themselves at the oars, and were threatened with instant death unless they us- ed their utmost exertions to bring them along side of the en- emy. The three boats came down very rapidly and were soom immediately opposite their enemy's. The Indians opened a heavy fire upon them, and stimulated their rowers to their utmost efforts. The boats became quickly aware of their danger, and a warm contest of skill and strength took place. There was an interval of one hundred yards between each of the three boats in view. The hindmost was for a time in great danger. Having but one pair of oars, and being weakly manned, she was unable to compete with the Indian boat, which greatly outnumbered her both in oars and men. The Indians quickly came within rifle shot, and swept the deck with an incessant fire, which ren- dered it extremely dangerous for any of the crew to show themselves. Captain Marshall was on board of the hindmost boat, and maintained his position at the steering oar in defi- ance of the shower of balls which flew around him. He stood in his shirt sleeves with a red silk handkerchief bound around his head, which afforded a fair mark to the enemy, and steered the boat with equal steadiness and skill, while the crew below relieved each othor at the oars. The ene- my lost ground from two circumstances. In their eagerness to overtake the whites, they left the current, and attempted to cut across the river from point to point, in order to shorten the distance. In doing so, however, they lost the force of the current, and quickly found themselves dropping astern. In addition to this, the whites conducted themselves with equal coolness and dexterity. The second boat waited for the hindmost, and received her crew on board, abandoning the goods and horses, without scruple, to the enemy. Being now more strongly manned, she shot rapidly ahead, and quickly overtook the fprernost boat, which, in like manner, WESTERN ADVENTURE. 233 received her crew on board, abandoning the cargo as before, and having six pair of oars, and being powerfully manned, she w r as soon beyond the reach of the enemy's shot. The chace lasted more than an hour. For the first half hour, the fate of the hindmost boat hung in mournful suspense, and Johnston, with agony, looked forward to the probability of its capture. The prisoners were compelled to labor hard at the oars, but they took care never to pull together, and by every means in their power, endeavored to favor the es- cape of their friends. At length, the Indians abandoned the pursuit and turned their whole attention to the boats which had been deserted. The booty surpassed their most sanguine expectations. Sev- eral fine horses were on board, and flour, sugar, and choco- late in profusion. Another keg of whiskey was found and excited the same immoderate joy as at first. It was unan- imously determined to regale themselves in a regular feast, and instant preparations were made to carry their resolution into effect. A large kettle of chocolate and sugar, of which the sugar formed the greater part, was set upon the fire, which an old squaw stirred with a dirty stick. Johnston was promoted on the spot to the rank of cook, and received orders to bake a number of flour cakes in the fire. A deer skin, which had served for a saddle blanket, and was most disgustingly stained by having been applied to a horse's sore back, was given him as a tray, and being repeatedly odered to "make haste," he entered upon his new office with great zeal. By mixing a large portion of sugar with some dump- Lings, wlrch he boiled in chocolate, he so delighted the pal- ates of the Indians, that they were enthusiastic in their prai- ses, and announced their intention of keeping him in his present capacity as long as he remained with them. The two kegs which had been carefully guarded were now pro- duced, and the mirth began to border on the "fast and furi- 20* 234 gKETCHJtfS OF oiis." A select band, as usual, remained sober, in-order to maintain order and guard against surprize, but the prisoners were invited to get drunk with their red brothers. Johnston and Skyles declined the invitation, but Flinn, without wait- ing to be asked twice, instantly joined the revellers, and quickly became as drunk as any of them. In this situation he entered into a hot dispute with an Indian, which, after much abuse on both sides, terminated in blows, and his an- tagonist received a sad battering. Several of his tribe drew their knives, and rushed upon Flinn with fury, but were re- strained amid peals of laughter by the others, who declared that Flinn had proved himself a man, and should have fair play. In the mean time, Johnston and Skyles had been bound and removed to a convenient distance from the drinking par- ty, with the double design of saving their lives, and guard- ing against escape. While lying in this manner, and total- ly unable to help themselves, they beheld with terror, one of the revellers staggering towards them, with a drawn knife in his hand, and muttering a profusion of drunken curses. He stopped within a few paces of them, and harangued them with great vehemence, for nearly a minute, until he had worked himself up to a state of insane fury, when suddenly uttering a startling yell, he sprung upon the prostrate body of Skyles and seizing him by the hair endeavored to scalp him. Fortunately he was too much intoxicated to exert his usual dexterity, and before he had succeeded in his design, the guard ran up at full speed, and seizing him by the shoulders, hurl- ed him violently backwards to the distance of several yards. The drunken beast] rolled upon the ground, and with difficul- ty recovering his feet, staggered off, muttering curses against the white man, the guard, himself, and the whole world. Skyles had only felt the point of the knife, but had given up his scalp for lost, and rubbed the crown of his head seve- WESTERN ADVENTURE. 235 ral limes with feverish apprehensions, before he could be sat* isfied that his scalp was still safe. No other incident occurred during the night, and on the following morning the Indians separated. Those to whom Flinn belonged, remained at the river in expectation of in- tercepting other boats, while Johnston's party struck through the wilderness, in a steady direction for their towns. Du- ring their first day's march, he afforded much amusement o his captors. In the boat abandoned by Captain Marshall, they had found a milch cow, haltered in the usual manner. Upon leaving the river, they committed her to the care of Johnston, requiring him to lead her by the halter. Being totally unaccustomed to this method of travelling, she prov- ed very refractory and perplexed him exceedingly. When he took one side of a tree, she regularly chose the other. Whenever he attempted to lead her, she planted her feet firm ly before her, and refused to move a step. When he strove to drive her, she ran off into the bushes, dragging him after her, to the no small injury of his person and dress. The Indians were in a. roar of laughter throughout the whole day, and appeared highly to enjoy his perplexity. At night they arrived at a small encampment, where they had left their women and children. Here, to his great joy, Johnston was relieved of his charge, and saw her slaughtered with the utmost gratification. At night, he suffered severely by the absence of the benevolent Messhawa, to whose charge, as we have already said, he had been committed. The In- dians were apprehensive of pursuit, and directed Messha- wa, at the head of several warriors, to bring up the rear, and give them seasonable warning of any attempt on the part of the whites to regain their prisoners. In his absence, he had been committed to an Indian of very different char- acter. While his new master was engaged in tying his hands, as usual, for the night, he ventured to complain that 236 SKETCHES or the cords were drawn too tight, and gave him unnecessary pain. The Indian instantly flew into a passion, exclaimed, •'Dam you soul !" and drew the cord with all the violence of which he was capable, until it was completely buried in the flesh. Johnston, in consequence, did not sleep for a moment, but passed the whole night in exquisite torture. In the morning Messhawa came up, and finding his prisoner in a high fever, and his hands excessively swollen, instantly cut the cords, and exchanged some high words with the other Indian upon the subject. The march was quickly recommenced, and Johnston could not avoid congratulating himself every moment, upon his good fortune in having Messhawa for his guide. Skyles' master seemed to take pleasure in tormenting him. In ad- dition to an enormous quantity of baggage, he compelled him to carry his rifle, by which his raw wound was perpet- ually irritated and prevented from healing. Messhawa per- mitted Johnstoa to share his own mess upon all occasions, while the savage to whom Skyles belonged, would scarcely permit him to eat a dozen mouthfuls a day, and never with- out embittering his meat with curses and blows. In a few days they arrived at the Scioto river, which, from the recent rains, was too high to admit of being forded. The Indians were instantly employed in constructing a raft, and it was necessary to carry one very large log, several hundred yards. Two Indians with a handspike supported the lighter end, while the butt was very charitably bestowed upon John- ston alone. Not daring to murmur, he exerted his utmost strength, and aided by several Indians, with some difficulty, succeeded in placing the enormous burden upon his shoulder. He quickly found, however, that the weight was beyond his strength, and wishing to give his two companions in front warning of his inability to support it, he called to them in English to "take care !" They did not understand him, how- WESTERN ADVENTURE. 237 ever, and continued to support it, when rinding himself in danger of being crushed to death, he dropped the log so sud- denly that both Indians were knocked down, and lay for a time without sense or motion. They quickly sprung up, however, and drawing their tomahawks, would instantly have relieved Johnston of all his troubles, had not the other Indians, amid peals of laughter, restrained them, and com- pelled them to vent their spleen in curses, which were show- ered upon "Ketepels," as he was called, for the space of an hour, with great fury. After crossing the Scioto, the Indians displayed a disposi- tion to loiter and throw away time, but little in unison with Johnston's feelings, who was anxious to reachjtheir towns as speedily as possible, flattering himself with the hope that some benevolent trader would purchase him of the Indians and restore him to liberty. They amused themselves at a game called "Nosey," with a pack of cards which had been found in one of the abandoned boats The pack is equally divided between two of them, and by some process which Johnston did not understand, each endeavored to get all the cards into his own possession. The winner had a right to ten fillups at his adversary's nose, which the latter was re- quired to sustain with inflexible gravity, as the winner was entitled to ten additional fillups for every smile which he suc- ceeded in forcing from him. At this game they would be engaged for a whole day, with the keenest interest, the by- standers looking on with a delight scarcely inferior to that of the gamblers themselves, and laughing immoderately when the penalty was exacted. When gaming, they were unusually kind to their prison- ers, but this ray of sunshine was frequently very suddenly overcast Johnston ventured to ask an old Shawanee chief, how far they would be forced to travel, before reaching his village, The old man very good naturedly assured him, 288 SKETCHES OF by drawing a diagram upon the sand with a stick, pointing out the situation of the Ohio river, of the Scioto, and of the various Indian villages, and pointing to the sun, he waved his hand once for every day, which they would employ in the journey. Johnston then ventured to ask "how many in- habitants his village contained ?" The old man replied, that the Shawanees had once been a great nation^ but (and here his eyes flashed fire, and he worked himself into a furious passion,) the long knives had killed nearly the whole of his nation. ."However," continued he, "so long as there is a Shawanee alive, we will fight! fight! fight! When no Shawanee — then no fight." The prisoners were also in great danger whenever the Indians passed through a forest which had been surveyed, and where the marks of the axe upon the tress w r ere evident. They would halt upon coining to such a tree, and after a few minutes silence, would utter the most terrible yells, stri- king the trees with their hatchets, and cursing the prisoners with a fierceness which caused them often to abandon all hopes of life. On one occasion, they passed suddenly from the most ferocious state of excitement, to the opposite extreme of merriment at a slight disaster which befel Johnston. They were often compelled to ford creeks, but upon one occasion, they attempted to pass upon a log. The morning was bit- terly cold and frosty, and the log having been barked, was consequently very slippery. In passing upon this bridge, Johnston's foot slipped, and he fell into the cold water, with an outcry so sudden and shrill that the whole party, which the instant before had been inflamed with rage, burst at once into loud laughter, which, at intervals, was maintain- ed for several miles. Sometimes they amused themselves by compelling their prisoners to dance, causing them to pro- nounce in a tone bordering on music, the words "Kom-ne- kah! He-kah-kah! Was-sat-oo — Hos-ses-kah !" and this mo- WESTERN ADVENTURE. 239 notorious and fatiguing exercise, was occasionally relieved by the more exciting one, of springing over a large fire, when the blaze was at its highest, in which they could only escape injury by great activity. Their painful journey had now lasted nearly a month, and the Indian towns were yet at a great distance. Hitherto, Skyles and Johnston had remained together, but by the whimsical fancy of their captors, they were now separated. Skyles was borne off to the Miami towns, while Johnston was destined for Sandusky. A few days after this separa- tion, Johnston's party fell in with a Wyandott and a negro man, who, having run away from Kentucky, had been ta- ken up by the Wyandott, and retained as an assistant in a very lucrative trade, which he was at that time carrying on with the Indians of the interior. He was in the habit of pur- chasing whiskey, powder, blankets, &c, at Detroit, general- ly upon credit, packing them upon horses into the interior, and exchanging them at a profit of nearly one thousand per cent, for furs and hides. This casual rencounter in the wilderness, was followed by great demonstrations of joy on both sides. The trader produced his rum, the Shawa- neese their merchandize, and a very brisk exchange ensued. Johnston's boots, for which he had paid eight dollars in Va., were gladly given for a pint of rum,and other articles were sold at a proportionate price. Johnston, as before, was removed from the immediate neighborhood of the revellers, and com- mitted to the care of two sober Indians, with strict injunc- tions to prevent his escape. They, accordingly, bound him securely, and passing the ends of the cord under their own bodies, lay down to sleep, one upon each side of their pris- oner. At midnight, Johnston was awakened by a heavy rain, although his guards slept on with most enviable com- posure. Unable to extricate himself, and fearful of awa- kening them, he was endeavoring to submit with patience, £40 SKETCHES OF when the negro appeared and very courteously invited him to take shelter in his tent, which stood within fifty yards of the spot where he lay. Johnston was beginning to explain to his black friend the impossibility of moving without the consent of his guards, when they suddenly sprung to their feet, and seizing the negro by the throat, and at the same time grasping Johnston's collar, they uttered the alarm hal- loo in the most piercing tones. The whole band of drunk- en Indians instantly repeated the cry, and ran up, tomahawk in hand, and with the most ferocious gestures. Johnston gave himself up for lost, and the negro looked white with terror, but their enemies conducted themselves with more discretion, than, from their drunken condition, could have been anticipated. They seized Johnston, bore him off a few paces into the woods, and questioned him closely as to the conference between himself and the negro. He replied by simply and clearly stating the truth. They then grappled the negro, and menacing him with their knives, threatened to take his scalp on the spot, if he did not tell the truth. His story agreed exactly with Johnston's, and the Indians be- came satisfied that no plot had been concerted. The inci- dent, however, had completely sobered them, and for sever- al hours the rum cask gave way to the dancing ring, which was formed in front of the negro's tent, where Johnston had been permitted, after the alarm subsided, to take shelter from the rain. He quickly fell asleep, but was grievously tormented by the nightmare. He dreamed that he was drow- ning in the middle of the creek which he had crossed on that morning, and his respiration became so laborious and pain- ful, that he at length awoke. The song and the dance were still going on around him, and the cause of his unpleasant dream was quickly manifest. A huge Indian had very com- posedly seated himself upon his breast, and was smoking a long pipe, and contemplating the dancers, apparently very WESTERN ADVENTURE. 241 well satisfied with his seat. Johnston turned himself upon his side and threw the Indian off. He did not appear to rel- ish the change of place much, but soon settled himself and continued to smoke with uninterrupted gravity. At daylight, a new scene presented itself. The warriors painted themselves in the most frightful colors, and perform- ed a war dance, with the usual accompaniments. A stake, painted in alternate stripes of black and vermillion, was fix- ed in the ground, and the dancers moved in rapid but meas- ured evolutions around it. They recounted, with great en- ergy, the wrongs which they had received from the whites. Their lands had been taken from them — their corn cut up — their villages burnt — their friends slaughtered — every inju- ry which they had received was dwelt upon, until their pas- sions had become inflamed beyond all control. Suddenly, Chickatommo darted from the circle of dancers, and with eyes flashing fire, ran up to the spot where Johnston was sit- ting, calmly contemplating the spectacle before him. When within reach he struck him a furious blow with his fist, and was preparing to repeat it, when Johnston seized him by the arms, and hastily demanded the cause of such unprovoked violence. Chickatommo, grinding his teeth with rage, shou- ted "Sit down! sit down!" Johnston obeyed, and the Indi- an, perceiving the two white children within ten steps of him, snatched up a tomahawk, and advanced upon them with a quick step, and a determined look. The terrified little creatures instantly arose from the log on which they were sitting, and fled into the woods, uttering the most piercing screams, while their pursuer rapidly gained upon them with his tomahawk uplifted. The girl, being the youngest, was soon overtaken, and would instantly have been tomahawked, had not Messhawa bounded like a deer to her relief. He arrived barely in time to arrest the uplifted tomahawk of Chickatommo, after which, he seized him by the collar and 21 242 SKETCHES OF hurled him violently backward, to the distance of several paces. Snatching up the child in his arms 5 he then ran af- ter the brother, intending to secure him likewise from the fury of his companion, but the boy, misconstruing his in- tention, continued his flight with such rapidity, and doubled several times with such address, that the chace was prolong- ed to the distance of several hundred yards. At length Messhawa succeeded in taking him. The boy, thinking himself lost, uttered a wild cry, which was echoed by his sis- ter, but both were instantly calmed. Messhawa took them in his arms, spoke to them kindly, and soon convinced them that they had nothing to, fear from him. He quickly reap- peared, leading them gently by the hand, and soothing them in the Indian language, until they both clung to him closely for protection. No other incident disturbed the progress of the ceremonies, nor did Chickatommo appear to resent the violent interference of Messhawa. Their rum had not yet become exhausted, and after the conclusion of the war dance, they returned to it with renew- ed vigor. A lame Mingo, on a solitary hunting excursion soon joined them, and with drunken hospitality, was pressed, and in some degree compelled to get drunk with them. They soon became very affectionate, and the Mingo, taking ad- vantage of the momentary generosity produced by the rum, ventured to ask that Johnston might be given to him, for a particular purpose, which he explained to them. He said that he had lately killed a warrior of the Wyandott tribe, whose widow had clamorously demanded that he (the Min- go) should either procure her another husband, or lay down his own life, as a penalty for the slain Wyandott. He ad- ded that he was too poor to procure her another husband, unless he should take that honorable office upon himself, for which he had but small inclination, the squaw in question being well stricken in years, tolerably crooked, and withal a WESTERN ADVENTURE. 243 most terrible scold, and that he must submit to the other al- ternative, and lay down his life, unless the Shawanees would have compassion upon him, and give him Johnston, who (he said) being young and handsome, would doubtless be accept- able to the squaw aforesaid, and console her faithful heart for the loss of her former husband. Pie urged his suit with so much earnestness, that the Shawanees relented, and as- sured him that Johnston should instantly be delivered into his hands. This was accordingly done, without the slight- est regard to the prisoner's inclination, and within an hour, the whole party took leave of him, shaking him heartily by the hand, and congratulating him upon his approaching hap- piness, telling him that there was a fine squaw waiting for him in the Wyandott town. Johnston would have liked the adoption better without the appendage of the bride, but thinking that if she were one of the furies, her society would be preferable to the stake and hot irons, he determin- ed to make the best of his condition, and wear his shackles as easily as possible, until an opportunity offered of effect- ing his escape. His new master, after lingering around the late encampment until late in the day, at length shoulder- ed his wallet, and moved off by the same route which the Shawanees had taken. By noon, on the following day, they came up with them, when a curious scene ensued. As soon as the Shawanees had become sober, they repented their late liberality, and determined to reclaim their prisoner; the Mingo stoutly demurred, and a long argument took place, accompanied by animated gestures, and not a few oaths on both sides. At length Messhawa put an end to the wrang- ling by seizing a horse by the halter, and ordering Johnston instantly to mount. He then sprung upon another, and ap- plying the lash smartly to both horses, he quickly bore the prisoner be} ond the sound of the Mingo's voice. An hour's ride brought them to Upper Sandusky, where Messhawa dis- 244 SKETCHES OF mounted , and awaited the arrival of Chickatommo. He quickly appeared accompanied by his party and followed by the discontented Mingo. The latter regarded Johnston from time to time with so earnest a countenance, and appeared so desirous of approaching him, that the latter became alarm- ed, lest in the rage of disappointment, he should inflict upon the prisoner, the vengeance which he dared not indulge a- gainst the Shawanees. But his fears were quickly relieved. The Mingo dogged him so faithfully, that he at length came upon him while alone, and approaching him with a good natured smile, presented a small pamphlet which Johnston had dropped on the preceding day. Having done this, he shook him by the hand, and immediately left the village. At Sandusky, Johnston became acquainted with Mr. Du- chouquet, a French trader, who had for several years resi- ded among the Indians, and was extensively engaged in the fur trade. To him, he recounted his adventures, and ear- nestly solicited his good offices in delivering him from the Indians. Duchouquet promptly assured him, that every exertion should be used for that purpose, and lost no time in redeeming his pledge. That evening he spoke to Chicka- tommo, and offered a liberal ransom for the prisoner, but his efforts were fruitless. The Shawanee chief did not object to the price, but declared that no sum should induce them to give him up, until they had first taken him to their towns. This answer was quickly reported to Johnston, and filled him with despair. But as the Shawanee party, were enga- ged in another drinking bout, he entreated Duchouquet, to seize the favorable moment, when their hearts were mellow- ed by rum, and repeat his offer. The Frenchman complied, and was again peremptorily refused. Johnston now desired him to enquire of Chickatommo, the name of the town to which he was to be taken, and the fate which was in reserve for him, upon his arrival there. To the first queston Cfric^ WESTERN ADVENTURE. 245 kalommo promptly replied, that the prisoner was to be carried to the Miami villages, but to the second he gave no satisfac- tory answer, being probably ignorant himself upon the subject. The mention ofthe Miami villages, completely extinguished every spark of hope, which still existed in Johnston's breast, as those towns had heretofore been the grave of every white pris- oner who had visited them. He had also heard, that the Indi- ans carefully concealed from their victims, the fate which a- waited them, either from some instinctive feelings of com- passion, or more brobably from policy, in order to prevent the desperate efforts to escape, which were usual with pris- oners, who were informed of their destiny. Under these circumstances, he gloomily abandoned himself to despair, and lay down in helpless expectation of his fate. But no sooner had he abandoned the case, than fortune, as usual, put in her oar, and displayed that capricious but omnipotent power, for which she has so long and so deservedly been celebrated. The same Wyandott trader, who had encoun- tered them in the wilderness^ now again appeared at San- dusky, with several horses laden with kegs of rum, and in the course of two days, completely stripped them of every skin, blanket, and article of merchandize, which had escaped his rapacity before. On the morning of the third day, Chickatommo and his party awake as from a dream, and found themselves poor, destitute, ragged and hungry, without the means of supply- ing any of their wants. Ashamed to return to their village in this condition, after having sent before them so magnifi- cent a description of their wealth, they determined to re- turn to the Ohio, in hopes of again replenishing their purses at the expense of emigrants. They accordingly appeared of their own accord before Duchouquet, and declared, that as the scalp of their prisoner would be transported more ea- sily than his person, they had determined to burn him on 2 1* 246r SKETCHES OF' that evening — but, if he still wished to purchase him, they would forego the expected entertainment for his sake, and let him have the prisoner upon good terms. Duchouquet eagerly accepted the offer, and instantly counted down six hundred silver broaches, the ordinary price of a prisoner. The Indians lost no time in delivering him into the trader's hands, and having taken an affectionate leave of him, they instantly sat out for the Ohio. Johnston's gratification may easily be conceived, but on the following day, his apprehensions returned with renewed vigor. To his great surprize, Chickatommo and his party again made their appearance at Sandusky, having abandoa- ed their contemplated trip to Ohio, and loitered about the village for several days, without any visible cause for such capricious conduct. Johnston, recollecting their former whimsical bargain with the Mingo, was apprehensive that the same scene was to be repeated, and resolving not to be taken alive, he armed himself, and awaited calmly their determination. His suspicions, however, were entirely groundless. They passed him several times with- out the slightest notice, and at length set off in earnest for Detroit, leaving him at full liberty with his friend Duchou- quet. On the evening of their departure, a Delaware arrived from the Miami villages, with the heartrending intelligence, that his unfortunate companion, Flinn, had been burned at the stake a few days before. The savage declared that he himself had been present at the spectacle, had assisted in torturing him, and had afterwards eaten a portion of his flesh, which he declared "was sweeter than bear's meat." The intelligence was fully confirmed on the following day by a Canadian trader, who had just left the Miami towns. He stated that Flinn had been taken to their villages, and at first had entertained strong hopes of being adopted, as his WESTERN ADVENTURE* 247 liold, frank, and fearless character, had made considerable impression upon his enemies. But the arrival of some wild chiefs from the extreme northern tribes, most of whom were cannibals, had completely changed his prospects. A wild council was held, in which the most terrible sentiments with regard to the whites were uttered. The custom of adopting prisoners was indignantly reprobated, as frivolous and absurd, and the resolution proclaimed that henceforth no quarter should be given to any age, sex or condition. Flinn was ac- cordingly seized and fastened to the stake. The trader was one of the spectators. Flinn quickly observed him, and asked if he was not ashamed to witness the distress of a fellow creature in that manner, without making some effort to relieve him, upon which he instantly ran to the village and brought out several kegs of rum, which he offered as a ransom for the prisoner. The Indians, who, by this time, were in a terrible rage, rejected the offer with fierceness, and split the heads of the kegs with their tomahawks, suf- fering the liquor to flow unheeded upon the ground. The disappointed trader again returned to the village, and brought out six hundred silver broaches. They, in turn, were rejec- ted with additional fury, and not without a threat of treat- ing him id the same manner,, if he again interfered. T'le trader, finding every effort vain, communicated his ill suc- cess to Flinn, who heard him with composure, and barely re- plied, "Then all 1 have to say is, God have mercy upon my soul P The scene of torture then commenced, amid whoops and yells, which struck terror to the heart of the trader, but which the prisoner bore with the most heroic fortitude. Not a groan escaped him. He walked calmly around the stake for several hours, until his flesh was roasted, and the fire had burned down. An old squaw then approached in order to rekindle it, but Flinn, watching his opportunity, gave her so furious a kick in the breast, that she fell back totally insen- 248 SKETCHES OF sible, and for several minutes was unable to take any fur- ther share in the ceremony. The warriors then bored his ancles, and passing thongs through the sinews, confined them closely to the stake, so that he was unable afterwards to of- fer the same resistance. His sufferings continued for many hours, until they were at length terminated by the toma- hawk. Within a few days, he also heard of Skyles. After leav ing Johnston, this gentleman had been conducted to one of the towns on the Miami of the lake, near the scene of Flinn T s execution, where, as usual, he was compelled to run the gauntlet. The Indian boys were his chief tormentors. One of the little urchins displayed particular address and dexter- ity in his infernal art. He provided himself with a stout switch taken from a thorn tree, upon which one of the lar- gest thorns had been permitted to remain. As Skyles pas- sed him, he drove the keen instrument up to the head in his naked back. The switch was wrested from his grasp, and was borne by Skyles, sticking in his back, to the end of his painful career. He continued in the hands of the same crab- bed master, who had taken such pleasure in tormenting him upon the march through the wilderness, but had found means to make himself so acceptable to his squaw, that his time was rendered more agreeable than he could have anticipa- ted. He carried water for her, gathered her wood, and soothed her sullen temper by a thousand little artifices, so that her husband, who stood in some awe of his helpmate, was compelled to abate somewhat of his churlishness. He at length reaped the fruit of his civility. The squaw re- turned one evening alone to the wigwam, and informed Skyles, in confidence, that his death had been determined on,, in council, and that the following day had ben appointed for his execution. He at first doubted the truth of this start- ling intelligence, and retiring to rest as usual, feigned to be WESTERN ADVENTURE. 249 asleep, but listened attentively to the conversation of the old squaw with her daughter, a young girl of fifteen. His doubts were quickly dispelled, His approaching execution was the subject of conversation between them, and their lan- guage quickly became warm. The old lady insisted upon it that he was a good man, and ought to be saved, while the girl exulted at the idea of witnessing his agonies, declaring repeatedly that the "white people were all devils," and ought to be put to death. At length they ceased wrangling, and composed themselves to rest. Skyles instantly arose, took down his master's rifle, shot bag and corn pouch, and step- ping lightly over the bodies of the" family, quickly gained the wood, and bent his steps to the bank of the Miami river. Without an instant's delay, he plunged into the stream, and swam to the opposite side. In so doing, however, he com- pletely ruined his rifle, and was compelled to throw it away. Retaining the wallet of parched corn,, he directed his steps- to the southward, intending, if possible, to strike the settle- ments in Kentucky, but so poor a woodsman was he, that af- ter a hard march of six hours,, he again stumbled upon the Miami, within one hundred yards of the spot where he had crossed it before. While anxiously meditating upon the best means of avoiding the dangers which surrounded him, he heard the tinkle of a bell within a few hundred yards of the spot where he stood, and hastily directing his steps to-, wards it, he saw a horse grazing quietly upon the rank grass of the bottom, Instantly mounting him, he again at- tempted to move in a southern direction, but w r as compelled by the thickness of the wood, and the quantity of fallen ; timber to change his course so frequently that he again be- came bewildered, and abandoning his horse, determined to prosecute his journey on foot. Daylight found him in a deep forest, without a path to direct him, without the means most stoical indifference. As soon as her toilet had been completed, the King awakened her mas- ters, and informed them that the squaw was Ms/ that if they submitt ed quietly, it was well ! — if not, his young men and himself were ready for them. The Cherokees, as may rea- dily be imagined, protested loudly against such unrighteous proceedings, but what could words avail against drawn tom- ahawks and superior numbers? They finally expressed their willingness to resign the squaw — but hoped that King Crane would not be such a "beast" as to refuse them the ransom which he had offered them on the preceding dav ! The King replied coolly, that he had the squaw now in his own hands — and would serve them only right if he refused to pay a single broach— but that he disdained to receive a- ny thing at their hands, without paying an equivalent! and would give them six hundred silver broaches. He then re- turned to Lower Sandusky, accompanied by the liberated prisoner. She was instantly painted as a squaw by Whitta- ker, and sent off, under care of two trusty Indians to Pitts- burgh, where she arrived in safety in the course of the fol- lowing week. The Cherokees, in the evening, paraded the streets of Sandusky, armed and painted, as if upon a war party, and loudly complained of the violence which had been offered to them. They declared that they would not leave town until they had shed the blood of a white man, in revenge for the loss of their prisoner. Johnston and Duchouquet 22* 258 SKETCHES OF were compelled to remain closely at home for several days r until to their great joy, the Cherokees finally left the village and were seen no more. The remainder of Johnston's narrative is easily despatch- ed He quickly left Lower Sandusky, and embarked in a boat laden with fur to Detroit. After remaining here a few days, he took a passage to Montreal, and for the first and last time, had an opportunity of beholding the tremendous falls of Niagara.* Having arrived at Montreal in safety, he remained a few days in order to arrange his affairs, and as soon as possible, continued his journey by way of Fort Stanwix to New York. There he had an interview with President Washington, who, having been informed of his es- cape, sent for him, in order to make a number of enquiries as to the strength of the tribes through which he had pas- sed, the force and condition of the British garrisons, and the degree of countenance which they had afforded to the hos- tile Indians, Having given all the information of which he was possessed, he was dismissed with great kindness, and in tjbie course of the following week, he found himself once more in the bosom of his family. As the reader may probably take some interest in the fate of the Indians whom we have mentioned, we are enabled to add something upon that sub- ject. Chickatommo was killed at the decisive battle of the "Fallen timber," where the united force of the northwestern tribes was defeated by Gen. Wayne. Messhawa fought at the same place, but escaped, and afterwards became a devo- ted follower of the celebrated Tecumseh. He fought at Tip- pecanoe, Raisin, and finally at the River Thames, where it is supposed he was killed. King Crane lived to a great age, was present at St. Clair's defeat, and at the "Fallen timber, 1 * but finally became reconciled to the Americans, and fought •This Was an Iroquois word, and in their language signified "The Tan* k* #f the waters!*' It is pronounced Oni-aa gaara. WESTERN ADVENTURE, 25$ under Harrison at Thames. Whittaker, the white man, was* in St. Clair's defeat, and afterwards with the Indians against Wayne. He has been dead many years. Tom Lewis fought a^inst the Americans in all the northwestern battles, until the final peace in 1796, and then was one of the deputation who came on to Washington city, where Johnston saw him in '97. He afterwards rose to the rank of chiefi among tbs Shawanees, but having an incurable propensity to rum and thieving, he was degraded from his rank and removed, with a band of his countrymen, to the country west of the Mississippi 260 SKETCHES OF CHAPTER X. NARRATIVE OF CAPTAIN WILLIAM HUBBELL, JFrom ike Western Revieiv. In the year 1791, while the Indians were yet troublesome* especially on the banks of the Ohio, Captain William Hub- bell, who had previously emigrated to Kentucky from the state of Vermont, and who, after having fixed his family in the neighborhood of Frankfort, then a frontier settlement ? had been compelled to go to the eastward on business, was a second time on his way to this country. On one of the tributary streams of the river Monongahela, he procured a flat bottomed boat, and embarked in company with Mr. Dan- iel Light, and Mr. William Plascut and his family, consist- ing of a wife and eight children, destined for Limestone, Kentucky. On their progress down the river Ohio, and soon after passing Pittsburgh, they saw evident traces of In- dians along the banks, and there is every reason to believe that a boat which they overtook, and which, through care- lessness, was suffered to run aground on an island, became a prey to these merciless savages. Though Captain Hub- bell and his party stopped some time for it in a lower part of the river, it did not arrive, and it has never to their knowl- edge been heard of since. Before they reached the mouth of the Great Kenhawa, they had, by several successive ad- WESTERN ADVENTURE, 261 ditions, increased their number to twenty, consisting, of nine men, three women, and eight children. The men, v ° besides those mentioned above, were one John Stoner, an Irish- man and a Dutchman whose names are not recollected, Mes- srs. Ray and Tucker, and a Mr. Kilpatrick, whose two- daughters also were of the party. Information received at Gallipolis confirmed the expectation, which appearances previously raised, of a serious conflict with a large body of Indians; and as Captain Hubbell had been regularly appoin- ted commander of the boat, every possible preparation was made for a formidable and successful resistance of the anti- cipated attack. The nine men were divided into three wach- es for the night, which were alternately to continue awake and be on the look out for two hours at a time. The arms on board, which consisted principally of old muskets much out of order, were collected, loaded, and put in the best pos- sible condition for service. At about sunset on that day* the 23d of March, 1791, our party overtook a fleet of six boats descending the river in company,, and intended to have continued with them, but as their passengers seemed to be more disposed to dancing than fighting, and as, soon after dark, notwithstanding the remonstrances- of Captain Hub- bell, they commenced fiddling and dancing instead of pre- paring their arms and taking the necessary rest preparatory to battle, it was wisely considered more hazardous to be in such company than to be alone. It was therefore determin- ed to proceed rapidly forward by aid of the oars and to leave those thoughtless fellow-travellers behind.. One of the boats, however, belonging to the fleet, commanded by a Captaia Greathouse, adopted the same plan, and for a while kept up with Captain Hubbell, but all its crew at length falling a sleep, that boat also ceased to be propelled- by the oars, and- Captain Hubbell and his party proceeded; steadily forward} alone. Early in the night a canoe was dimly seen floating^ 262 SKETCHES OF down the river, in which were probably Indians reconnoi- tering, and other evident indications were observed of the neighborhood and hostile intentions of a formidable party of savages. It was now agreed, that should the attack, as was proba- ble, be deferred till morning, every man should be up before the dawn in order to make as great a show as possible of numbers and of strength ; and that, whenever the action should take place, the women and children should lie down on the cabin floor and be protected as well as they could by the trunks and other baggage, which might be placed around them. In this perilous situation they continued du- ring the night, and the Captain, who had not slept more than one hour since he left Pittsburgh, was too deeply impressed with the imminent danger which surrounded him to obtain any rest at that time. Just as daylight began to appear in the east, and before the men were up and at their posts agreeably to arrange- ment, a voice at some distance below them in a plaintive tone repeatedly solicited them to come on shore as there were some white persons who wished to obtain a passage in their boat. This the Captain very naturally and correctly concluded to be an Indian artifice, and its only effect was to rouse the men and place every one on his guard. The voice of entreaty was soon changed into the language of indigna- tion and insult, and the sound of distant paddles announced the approach of the savage foe. At length three Indian ca- noes were seen through the mist of the morning rapidly ad- vancing. With the utmost coolness the Captain and his com- panions prepared to receive them. The chairs, tables and other incumbrances were thrown into the river, in order to clear the deck for action. Every man took his position, and was ordered not to fire till the savages had approached so near, that, (to use the words of Captain Hubbell,) "the flash WESTERN ADVENTURE. 263 from the guns might singe their eye brows;" and a special caution was given, that the men should fire successively, so that there might be no interval. On the arrival of the ca- noes, they were found to contain about twenty-five or thirty Indians each. As soon as they had approached within the reach of musket shot, a general fire was given from one of them which wounded Mr. Tucker through the hip so severe- ly that his leg hung only by the flesh, and shot Mr. Light just below his ribs. The three canoes placed themselves at the bow, stern, and on the right side of the boat, so that they had an opportunity of raking in every direction. The fire now commenced from the boat, and had a powerful effect in checking the confidence and fury of the Indians. The Cap- tain, after firing his own gun took up that of one of the wounded men, raised it to his shoulder and was about to dis- charge it when a ball came and took away the lock ; he cool- ly turned round, seized a brand of fire from the kettle which served for a caboose, and applying it to the pan, discharged the piece with effect. A very regular and constant fire was now kept up on both sides. The Captain was just in the act of raising his gun a third time, when a ball passed through his right arm, and for a moment disabled him. Scarcely had he recovered from the shock and re-acquired the use of his hand, which had been suddenly drawn up by the wound^ when he observed the Indians in one of the canoes just about to board the boat in its bow, where the horses were placed belonging to the party. So near had they approached, that some of them had actually seized with their hands the side of the boat. Severely wounded as he was, he caught up a pair of horsemen's pistols and rushed forward to repel the attempt at boarding. On his approach the Indians fell back, and he discharged a pistol with effect at the foremost man- After firing the second pistol, he found himself without arms, and was compelled to retreat; but stepping back upon a pile 264 SKETCHES OF