Red Men of the Ohio Valley

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH Jjarlington JMemorial l^iorary BED MEN OF THE OHIO VALLEY: ABORIGINAL HISTORY OP THK PERIOD COMMENCING A. D. 1650, AND ENDING AT THE TREATY OP GREENVILLE, A. D. 1795; EMBRACING NOTABLE FACTS AND THRILLING INCIDENTS IN ' THE SETTLEMENT BY THE • WHITES OE THE STATES OF KENTUCKY, OHIO, INDIANA AND ILLINOIS. BY J. R. DO DOE. Editor of the Amerfckn Boralist. SPRINGFIELD, O.: RURALIST PUBLISHING COMPANY. 1860. ^ r^ 7 of our Lord, 1859. by Congress, in the year , Entered according to Act of J. R. DODGE, States for the District Court of the United In the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of Ohio. E. MORGAN & SONS. BINDERS. STKBE0TTPEB8, PRINTERS AND 0. No. Ill Main-atreet, Cin., PREFACE. Virginia has her Pocahontas, Rhode Island her King Philip, Massachusetts her Massasoit, New York her repre- sentatives of Indian valor and Indian romance. The aboriginal records of the Atlantic States have a witching interest to dwellers in cot or hall, to old or young, to grave or gay. But the Indian history of the West, a mine hith- erto almost unwrought, is rich with bolder adventures, more reckless daring, and clearer revelations of the phi- losophy of Indian life, than have ever before been ex- hibited in popular history. In such a belief this work had its inception. It is now thrown before the world in a spirit utterly oblivious of un- friendly criticism, as a preliminary venture, small and in- complete, which, if successful, may be followed by a full and thorough examination of the whole field of Western Indian history. Within the limits of the present volume only the salient points of border life and pioneer conflicts, are given. In its compilation there has been no effort at smoothness of diction or unity of style, obtainable at the expense of graphic and original modes of pioneer narra- VI PREFACE. tion. Hence, in the relation of individual adventures, free scope has been allowed to the " scissors ; " and in many instances the substance of the narrative has been given in the exact words of the original manuscript. Among other sources of information, acknowledgments should be made to Burnet's " Northwestern Territory," Jeflferson's " Notes on Virginia," Bradford's "Kentucky," Boone's "Life," Taylor's and Howe's "Ohio," McDonald's "Sketches," etc. Such as it is, hastily prepared, amid the " herculean la- bors*' incident to the publishing and editing of a new and important periodical enterprise, it is freely and confidently left to the generosity of the Sons of the Pioneers. J. R. D. RORAUST Orriox, Springfidd, O., July, 1859. — CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. The Red Men of the Ohio Valley—Their Origin—Direction of Migra- tion—Occupants in 1650—The Iroquois—The Wyandots—The Otto- was—The Delawares—The Shawnees—The Miamis—The Illinois— Their hatred of the White Man. 13 CHAPTER II. Their Character and Customs — Marriage — Domestic Relations —Ball Playing — Commercial Integrity — Government—Their Fortitude Their Religion — Witchcraft — Dreams—Their Ideas of Death—Lan- guage—Specimens of the Shawnee and Wyandot Dialects. - 29 CHAPTER III. Intercooree with the French—Colonial Intercourse. - - 61 CHAPTER lY. Narrative of Colonel Jamea Smith. ----.. 75 CHAPTER V. The West surrendered by the French — Expedition of Major Rogers — Pontiac's Conspiracy 100 (vii) y\[[ CONTENTS. CHArTER VI. Muskingum Expedition - PoutJac Biadstreefs Expedition -Bouquet's Washington's lour. - lU Subdued— Dissatisfaction lucreasiug — CHAPTER VII. Logan's Speech." - 134 Logan-Murder of his Family-His Revenge-" CHAPTER VIII. West-His Pioneer Advea^ Daniel Booue-His Boyhood-Hears of the 148 tures—Captain Bullit at Old Chillicothe. - - - - CHAPTER IX. 1 CI Expedition against Wapatomica. CHAPTER X. Robert Patterson's Capture of Boone and Calloway's Children-Colonel Narrative. - - - CHAPTER XL Major Rogers Massacre—Story Siege of Fort Henry—Mrs.--------Tackett>-The of Captain Benham. CHAPTER XH. Boone's Capture. - 196 Attacks upon Boonesborough—Skirmishes— CHAPTER Xni. 206 Murder of Cornstalk. - Another Attack upon Boonesborough-The CONTENTS IX CHAPTER XIV. Simou Kenton's Captivity—The Johnson Boys—Murder of Kelly. - 215 CHAPTER XV. Bowman's Expedition—Invasion of British and Indians—John Hiuk- ston's Escape—Clark's Expedition. 235 CHAPTER XVI. The Moravian Missions. ..-..-. 248 CHAPTER XVII. Crawford's Company—Eout by the Indians—His Captui'e—Burning of Captain Crawford—Knight's Escape. - - - - - 271 CHAPTER XVHI. Hard Times in Kentucky—Another Adventure of Boone—Massacre of the Lower Blue Licks. 286 CHAPTER XIX. Thrilling Narrative of James Morgan — Fight of Adam and Andrew Poe. 238 CHAPTER XX. Treaty of Fort Stanwix—Fort M'lutosh and Fort Finney. - - 309 CHAPTER XXI. Settlement of Marietta—Campus Martins—Ancient Works—Olive Green Garrison—Big Bottom Massacre—Settlement of Manchester. - 320 X CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXII. Adventures -Edgington's R^ce-Tho Donalsoa's Narrative - Ellison's Wetzel. ' Battle of Captina— Lewis - - - " CHAPTER XXm. 356 Hewit's Captivity—^Neil Wastbuni. - - - ' CHAPTER XXIV. .----* 367 The Miami Settlements. CHAPTER XXV. the Narrative-Legend of Jacob Wetzel-Passing Oliver M. Speneer's M' Arthur. - - - ' Scioto—Adventures of Governor CHAPTER XXVI. Leap-Jonathan Alder'8 Captivity. - 402 Nathaniel Massie-Brady's CHAPTER XXVIl. 418 , _, - St. Clair's Defeat. - - - CHAPTER XXVHI. Anthony of Fort St. Clair-" Mad EatUe of Fort Recovery-Battle of Greenville. - ^^ Wayne "—Close of Hostilities -Treaty RED MEN OF THE OHIO VALLEY. CHAPTER I. The Red Men of the Ohio Valley—Their Origin—Direction of Migra- tion—Occupants in 1650—The Iroquois—The Wyandots—The Otto- was—The Delawares—The Shawuees—The Miamis—The Illinois— Their hatred of the White Man. The world's history can scarcely duplicate a scene so wonderful in all its aspects, as that furnished by the precipitation down the western slope of the Allegha- nies, during the last half century, of a continuous human avalanche upon the beautiful and fruitful Valley of the Ohio. Yielding to the resistless torrent, the tawny occupants of this fair domain reluctantly re- ceded. Their history, their physical and moral condi- tion, their fierce struggles for the conservation of hunt- ing ground and ancestral burying-place, are themes of unfading interest to the remorseless usurpers of their soil. While very complacently, and perhaps very properly, we regard their fate as a necessary result of advancing civilization, we find in these simple children of nature more to surprise, to instruct, and even to tascinate, than exists in any other race of barbarians belonging to the family of man. In common with the other North American tribes, the Indians of the Ohio, in their origin, are enveloped (13) 14 EED MEN OF THE OHIO VALLEY. in a mystery too deep to be easily dissipated. Not that it involves at all the necessity of a dual creation, or furnishes a single valid argument against the unity of the race. Neither continent nor island can be named on the whole wide waste of terrestrial waters, so isolated as to escape the advent of savage feet, borne thither by a spirit of barbarian adventure, or driven unwillingly by impelling winds. Tiie peopling of America may have been the result of many migrations. At the south, either by the pre- vailing winds from the nearest African coast, or by way of the Polynesian Islands of the Pacific, human beings may have been more than once thrown upon the continent. But the north presents comparatively easy facilities for the approach of wild wanderers. The distance across Behring's Straits is less than forty- four miles, in latitude sixty-five north; in latitude fifty-five, the Aleutian Isles, stretching westwardly from the promontory of Alaska, constitute a series of easy steps, the last of which is but three hundred and sixty miles from Kamschatka in Asia, and even that distance is so divided by the group of Behring and Mednoi Islands, as to reduce the longest line of open sea navigation to less than two hundred miles. Nor is it impossible that northern Europeans may have reached North America by way of Iceland and Green- land. Water has ever been the highway of barbarians. Indications that the flow of population was east- ward are numerous. The movement of civilization has generally been westward, savage men receding into new solitudes, until, in 1492, upon the shores of the OCCUPANTS IN inSn. 15 new world, the extremes meet again, and a conflict of extermination ensues. The California Indians looked northward for their ancestry ; the Aztecs selected high table-lands in confirmation of a similar origin. Prim- itive languages are numerous upon the western coast, and few upon the Atlantic. The western slope of the Kocky Mountains, nearly uniform in temperature almost up to the Aleutian Isles, has evidently been the highway of nations. In confirmation of this idea, a very strong resemblance, in physical structure and in language, may be traced between the North American and the Mongolian of Northern Asia. The American traveler, Ledyard, declares that in Siberia and in New England he saw but one race. Who were the original proprietors of the valley of La Belle Riviere f Our positive knowledge, beyond the date of 1650, loses itself in vague conjectures. There was a tradition among the Delawares that the ancient tenants of the Ohio basin were expelled by tribes of the Wyandot and Algonquin families, and Uiat the vanquished descended the Mississippi to light their council fires in more genial climes, secure from the incursions of their more vigorous northern foes. There is abundant evidence in the mounds everywhere abounding, and in the very bones found therein, as well as in articles buried beneath alluvial deposits, to indicate a former occupancy by a people differing so- cially and physically from the tribes so recently occu- pying the soil.

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