Coshocton County, Ohio - Chapter 19: Indians, 1881

Geographical Location of the Various Trlhes - The Delawares - Their Towns In this County - Brief History of .the Tribes In Ohio - Captain Pipe - White Eyes - Wingenund and Klllblick - Netawatwees - Manners, Customs, Feasts, etc. - Cabins, Wigwams, Food, etc. - Amusements and Hunting - Eemoval Beyond the Mississippi.

THE next inhabitants in the form of a human being to occupy the territory now embraced in Coshocton county, after the Mound Builders, were the American Indians. At least such is the generally received opinion, though whether the Indians and Mound Builders were not cotemporaneous is, perhaps, an open question. The Indian history, as well as that of the Mound Builders, is a good deal involved in obscurity, and much of it largely dependent on tradition, yet much of it is authentic and reliable. The Indians themselves, however, can be allowed very little, if any, credit for this preservation of their history ; it is almost, or entirely, owing to white occupation that they have any history at all. The day is not far distant when the Indian race, as a race, will become extinct. Supposing this extinction had occurred before white occupation of this 'country, what would the world know 'Of the Indian race? Where are their monuments ? Where the works that would perpetuate their memory ? In what particular spot on this great earth have they left a single indellible footprint or iraperishable mark to tell of their existence? Not so with the Mound Builders. They left works of an imperishable nature, and from these something of their history may be learned, even though personally they do not appear to exist anywhere. They were evidently workers, and much superior to the Indian, viewed from a civilized standpoint.

It is not an easy matter to define the boundaries of the territory of the various tribes occupying the Northwest Territory at the date of the advent of the whites. Nearly all the tribes were more or less migratorj- in their disposition, and doubtless during long ages in the dark past they all moved about from place to place, continuallj' at war with each other; conquering and possessing each other's territory; driving out and being in turn driven out; doubtless occasionally exterminating a weak tribe ; occasionally becoming friendly and intermingling and intermarrying, thus, perhaps, occasionally consolidating and losing their tribal individuality, and during all changes in all ages leaving no written record of the history they must have made.

Several tribes were found occupying the territory now embraced in Ohio, at the beginning of the present century ; among them the Delawares, Wyandots, Shawanees, Ottawas, Miamis and some others. These tribes were generally leagued together for self-protection' and self-defense, all determined to resist the encroahments of the allpowerful white race. They were generally on friendly terms with each other and, although each tribe occupied permanent camps or homes in some particular part of the territory, and hunted in particular localities, the exact boundaries of the domain of each was not probably known or defined. Each tribe was generally camped upon some stream and claimed for a hunting ground all the territory drained by that stream. Nevertheless they were a good deal mixed, and hunted much upon each other's territory, often establishing temporary and even permanent camps upon grounds outside of the domain of their tribe.

The Muskingum valley was generally claimed by the Delawares, though the Shawanese and Wyandots were also found here in considerable numbers, camping and roaming over the Delaware grounds with greajt freedom.

During the latter half of the last century the Shawnees occupied the Scioto country, and sometimes spread themselves more or less over this section; but the Wyandots (also called the Hurons) and tlie Delawares mainly occupied the country between the Muskingum and Scioto rivers.

In 1785, by the treaty of Fort Mcintosh, it was stipulated that the boundary line between the United States and the Delaware and Wyandot nations should "begin at the mouth of the Cuyahoga river and run thence up said river to the portage between that and the Tuscarawas branch of Muskingum, thence down said branch to the forks (at the present town of Bolivar), thence westerly to the portage of the Big IMiami, thence along said portage to the great Miami of the lakes (Maumee river), and down said river to its mouth; thence along the southern shore of Lake Erie to the mouth of the Cuyahoga, the place of beginning." By this treaty, as will be seen, they ceded a large territory-, including Coshocton county, to the United States. It is certain, however, that^man}' of them continued to occupy tljis territory many years after the date of the above treaty, wliich they found little difficulty in doing, as there were then no white settlers to dispute the possession with them.

To the Shawnees was assigned, by the treaty of Fort t"inney, in 1786, the country between the Big Miami and Wabash rivers. They also relinquished all claims to whatever territory they had m Ohio, but some of them also lingered here, even within the limits of this county, until the close of tlie centur}-, or later.

When the English-speaking white man first came into the territory now embraced in Coshocton county, it was occupied by the Delawares. It is quite certain that just before them the Shawnee Indians were in the land, retiring as the Delawares came in, to the more westerly and southerly regions. The French were then claiming dominion of all the Mississippi valley, and the head of the Muskingum, as an interesting and favored locality, was not unknown to their soldiers, traders and missionaries.

Their language at least will abide in the land as long as the names just mentioned, and also those of White Eyes, Mohican, and Killbuck continue to be accepted as the designations of the rivers and creeks to which they are now attached. Within the limits of the county as now bounded, there were, a hundred years ago, at least six considerable Indian towns, the houses being built of bark and limbs and logs, and arranged in lines or on streets. One of these towns was called White Eyes (Koguethagachton), and was in the neighborhood of Lafayette. Two other towns were located - one three and the other ten miles up the Walhonding - and were called the Monsey towns, the more distant being occupied by a faction of the Delawares under control of Captain Pipe, who became disgusted with the generally peaceful and Christian policy of the nation, and seceded from it, desiring more indulgence for his base and bloody passions. The lower town was Wengenunds'. The fourth town was Goschachgunk, occupying that part of the present town of Coshocton (a name said to be a modification of the name of the old Indian town) tetween Third street and the river. This was much the largest town, and_ for many years was the capital of the Delaware nation, where the grand councils were held and whither the tribes assembled. It was the residence of Netawatwees, their great chief, and was often visited by the famous councilors, White Eyes and Killbuck, as well as the big captains and braves of numerous tribes. The fifth town was situated about two miles below Coshocton on the east side of the Muskingum river (on the farms since in the possession of Samuel Moore and the Tingle heirs), and was called Lichtenau ("Pasture of Light "). It was occupied by Christian Indians under the direction of Rev. David Zeisberger (and afterward Rev. Wm. Ed-syards in conjunction with him), the famous Moravian missionary. In addition to these there was also a small Shawnee town in Washington township on the Wakatomica, and perhaps, at various times many others, either temporary or permanent, in different parts of the county. One called Muskingum was said to be located five miles above Coshocton, on the Tuscarawas. A brief history of the principal tribes occupying the soil of Ohio, and of their habits and customs, may be of interest here. Speaking of the Shawaneese or Shawanoes, Colonel Johnston, a most excellent authority on such subjects, says :

" We can trace their history to the time of their residence on the tide- waters of Florida, and, as well as the Delawares, they aver that they originally came from west of the Mississippi. Blackhoof, whp died at Wapaghkonnetta, at the advanced age of 105 years, and who, in his day, was a very influential chief among the Indians, told me that he remembered, when a boy, bathing in the salt waters of Florida; also that his people firmly believed white, or civilized, people had been in the country before them, having found in many instances the marks of iron tools upon the trees and stumps."

Shawanoese means " the south," or the " people from the south." * After the pea'ce of 1763, the Miamis removed from the big Miami river and a body of Shawnees established themselves at Lower and Upper Piqua, which became their principal headquarters in Ohio. They remained here until driven ofT by the Kentuckians, when they crossed over to the St.* Mary's and to Wapaghkonnetta. The Upper Piqua is said to have contained at one period over 4,000 Shawnees. They were very warlike and brave, and often were quite formidable enemies.

In the French war, which ended in 1763, a bloody battle was fought near the site of Colonel Johnson's residence, at Upper Piqua. At that time the Miamis had their towns here, which on ancient maps are marked as "Tewightewee towns." The Miamis, Ottawas, Wyandots, and other northern tribes adhering to the French, made a stand here, assisted by the French. The Delawares, Shawnees, Munseys, parts of the Senecas, residing in Pennsylvania ; Cherokees, Catawbas, and other tribes, adhering to the English, with English traders, attacked the French and Indians. The latter' had built a fort in which to protect and defend themselves, and were able to withstand the seige, which lasted more than a week. Not long after this contest, the Miamis left the country, retiring to the Miamies of the Lake (Maumee river and tributaries), at and near Fort Wayne,

The northern part of Ohio belonged in ancient times to the Eries, who were exterminated by the Five Nations in some of their wars. The Wyandots, who, at the time the French missionaries came to America were dwelling in the peninsula of Michigan, were allowed by the Five Nations to occupy the land of the Eries, sfnd thus came to dwell in Ohio. From Howe's Historical Collections, it is ascertained that the Wyandots once occupied the north side of the St. Lawrence river, down to Coon lake, and from thence up the Utiwas. The Seneoas owned the opposite side of the river, and the island upon which Montreal now stands. Both were large tribes, consisting of many thousands, and were blood relations, claiming each other as cousins.

A war originated between the two tribes in the following manner : A Wyandot brave wanted « certain woman for his wife; she objected; said he was no warrior, as he had never taken any scalps. He then raised a party of warriors and they fell upon a small party of Senecas, killing and scalping a number of them. It is presumed the Wyandot brave secured his wife, but this created a war between the tribes which lasted more than a hundred years, and until both nations were much weakened, and the Wyandots nearly exterminated. The latter were compelled to leave the country, and took up their residence on the peninsula of Michigan, as before stated. They were often compelled to fight their old enemies even in this far oflf region, as war parties of Senecas frequently went there for that purpose. A peace was finally arranged, and the remnanof Wyandots came to reside in Ohio. The Ottat was, another conquered tribe, and one allowed Bixistence only by paying a kind of tribute to their conquerors, the Iroquis, were also part occupants of this same part of Ohio. This nation produced the renowned chief, Pontiac, who was the cause of such wide-spread desolation in the West. The Ottawas were often known as "Canada Indians " among the early settlers. Their principal settlements were on the Maumee, along the lake shore, on the Huron and Black rivers, and on the streams flowing into them. These Indians were distinguished for their cunning and artifice, and were devoid of the attributes of a true warrior. They were often employed as emissaries,' their known diplomacy and artifice being well adapted for such business. The Wyandots, on the other hand, were a bold, warlike people. General Harrison says of them : " They were true warriors, and neither fatigue, famine, loss, or any of the' ills of war could daunt their courage. They were our most formidable and stubborn enemies among the aborigines in the war of 1812." They, like all tribes in the West, were often influenced by British rum and British gold, and found, in the end, as their chiefs so aptly expressed it, that they were " only tools in the hands of a superior power, who cared nothing for them, only to further their own selfish ends."

Of the Delawares, who were the principal occupants of the Muskingum valley and Coshocton county upon the advent of the first white settlers, Col. John Johnson says : " The true name of this once powerful tribe is Wa-be-nugh-ka, that is, 'the people from the east,' or 'the sun rising.' The tradition among themselves is, that ' they originally, at some very remote period, emigrated from the west, crossed the Mississippi, and ascending the Ohio river, fought their wa#^ eastward until the^ reached the Delaware river (so named from Lord Delaware), near where Philadelphia now stands, in which region of country they became fixed.

" About this time they were so numerous that no enumeration could be made of them. They welcomed to the shores of the new world that great law-giver, William Penn, and his peaceful followers; and ever since, this people have entertained a kind and grateful recollection of them; even to this day, in speaking of good men, they would say, ' wa-slie-a E-le-ne' - such a man is a Quaker; i. e., all good men are Quakers." Col. Johnson says : " In 1823, I removed to the west of the Mississippi persons of this tribe who were born and raised within thirty miles of Philadelphia. These were the most squalid, wretched and degraded of their race, and often furnished chiefs with a subject of reproach against the whites, pointing to these of their people and saying to us, 'see how you have spoiled them,' - meaning they had acquired all the bad habits of

5n 1819, there were belonging to Col. Johnson's agency in Ohio eighty Delawares, who were stationed near the yillage of Upper Sandusljy, in Wyandot county, and 2,300 of the same tribe in Indiana. They had been driven gradually back through Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Bockinghelas was, for many years after the advent of the whites, the principal chief of the Delawares. He was a distinguished warrior in his Killbuck, another Delaware chief, whose name is fortunately preserved for all time in the little stream in this county, was one of the principal chiefs in this valley. He was educated at Princeton college, and was prominent among the converts of the Moravian missionaries.

Captain Pipe was a prominent chief ot the Wolf tribe, the most warlike of all the tribes of the Delaware nation. He was a very artful, designing man, and a chief of considerable ability and influence. Captain Pipe was ambitious, bold, and noted for schemes and strategy. He was engaged at one time in plotting for a division of his nation. His ambitious spirit would brook no rival, and he was ever intriguing or engaged in plotting some nefarious scheme. He was one of the many warriors present at Fort Pitt, in July, 1759, at a conference between George Croghan (Sir William Johnson's deputy Indian agent), Hugh Mercer (Commandant), and the Indians of the Six Nations, Shawnese and Delawares. In September, 1764, he appeared at Fort Pitt, with other warriors, manifestly with hostile purposes, and he and two of his warriors were detained as Iiostages, and were not released until after the return of Col. Bouquet, with his army from the Muskingum in the latter part of November.

In 1765, Captain Pipe was at Fort Pitt, as one of the chief warriors of the Delawares, attending the conference held with the Senecas, Shawnese, Delawares and other tribes. He was also present at the great conference held at Fort Pitt in April, 1768, under the direction of George Croghan, with the chief warriors of the Six Nations, Delawares. Shawnese, Monsies, Mohicans and Wyandots. In 1771, Captain Pipe (as a chief ), sent " a speech " to Governor John Penn, which

In May, 1774, Pipe, with other chiefs, went to Fort Pitt, to confer with Captain John Connolly (Governor Dunmore's deputy), George Croghan, and other inhabitants of Pittsburgh, in reference to recent aggressions - the murder of Logan's family, and other outrages; the object of the conference being to avert the impending Indian war, which soon iollowed.

When the revolutionary war broke out and hostilities had commenced, the Delawares divided ; a portion of them under the lead of White Eyes and Killbuck (two influential chiefs), making common cause with the Colonies against the mother countrjr, and Pipe, who espoused the cause of the British. Netawatwes, White Eyes, Killbuck and Big Cat labored to preserve peace and to avert war, but in all their endeavors they were always frustrated by the restless, intriguing Pipe, who was ever warlike and vengeful, always brooding over old resentments. Captain Pipe, at this time (1775-6), had his residence fifteen miles up the Walhonding, from the " Forks of the Muskingum (now Coshocton), near or at the point of confluence of the Mohican and Owl creek (now Vernon river), where, in 1761, was situated an Indian town, known as TuUihas, and where was located the Indian village named " Owl Town," on Hutohin'smap,in Smith's history of the Bouquet expedition of 1764, issued the next year. Pipe's residence could not have been remote from the point above designated, now in Newcastle township, this county, if it was not immediately at the junction of those streams. There was an Indian chief who figured somewhat conspicuously as "The Owl," in early-time western history, but the impression that he built " Owl Town,'' or that it was named by him, or that he ever lived there, is not well authenticated. , The Indian name of Owl creek, or Vernon river, was, according to Zeisberger, Heekewelder, and Loskiel, Ook-ho-sing, the meaning or interpretation being " habitation of owls," and it is more likely that "Owl Town" was so called because of the great abundance of owls found at that point than from the problematical connection of the Indian chief known to history as " The Owl," with thattown, or even with that locality.

Captain JPipe, in 1780, removed to Crane's Town, an Indian village, situated about two miles above the present town of Upper Sandusky. He was a prominent leader at the defeat of Colonel Crawford in 1782, and at the torturing and burning of that officer by the Indians, which was done within a mile of his house, on the southeast bank of Tymocktee creek, in what is now Crawford township, Wyandot county. The town in which he lived was sometimes called ".Pipe's Town."

Butterfield, in " Crawford's Expedition against Sandusky, in 1782," characterizes Captain Pipe as a famous war-chief of the Delawares, and as one of the most implacable of all the savage enemies of the Americans in the western wilderness during the revolution. He was also a bitter enemy of the Moravian missionaries before he removed from the Muskingum valley, although it is said that he defended Zeisberger, Heokewelder and others that were tried at Detroit in 1781, on the charge of being spies, and of being inimical to the interests of the British. His enmity towards the Moravian missionaries, it is said, was not on personal grounds, but because " he was hostile to all attempts, come from what source they might, having a tendency to make the Delawares a civilized and an agricultural people." That a large majority of the Delaware nation, in 1780, took up the hatchet against the Americans, forming a close alliance with the British, says Butterfield, was almost wholly due to the influence and machinations of Captain Pipe.

Captain Pipe was present and signed the treaty of Fort Mcintosh, in 1785. He was also at the treaty of Fort Finney (mouth of the Great Miami), with the Shawanese, in 1786, signing that treaty as one of the witnesses.

Captain Pipe fought against Gen. Harmar in 1790, and participated actively in 1791, against General St. Clair. In 1792, a grand council of nearly all the Northwestern tribes assembled at the confluence of the Auglaize and Maumee rivers, (now Defiance,) to take into consideration the condition of affairs with the United States, at which it was agreed to hold a treaty with the Americans during the next summer. Pipe was there next summer, an advocate for peace, but the Indians declared for war. The result was that a large army was sent against them, commanded by General Wayne, who met the confederacy of Indians on the Maumee, in August,., 1794, and there fought and won the battle of the "Fallen Timbers."

The death of Captain Pipe occurred a few daysbefore the battle of the "Fallen Timbers" was fought. His record is most unsavory - his conduct was seldom commendable - his perfldiousness and treachery were conspicuous - and his barbarity and infamous conduct at the burning of Col. Crawford, will attach infamy to his fiame' wherever and whenever it is uttered.

Captain White Eyes was a mighty chief of the Delawares, who was once prominently identified with the territory that now constitutes Coshoctoncounty. He had his residence in " White Eyes- Town," which was situated near White Eyes Plains, on the Tuscarawas river, in what is now Oxford township, Coshocton county. " White Eyes Town" was probably situated at or near to the mouth of White Eyes creek, a small stream that enters the Tuscarawas river from the north, about eight miles east of Coshocton. Captain White- Eyes undoubtedly gave name to the town. He was a warm friend .of the Colonies in their contest for independence, and antagonized Captain Pipe^ on all occasions, and labored hard to counteract his influence. He also heartily and zealously favored the efforts made by the Moravian Missionaries to enlighten and christianize the Delaware Indians.

Captain White Eyes steadily and uniformly advocated 'peace measures, and attended a conference held at Fort Pitt, in 1774, with a view of averting the war 4hat was then threatened between the whites and Indians, known in history as the " Dunmore war."

On the breaking out of the war of the Revolution, the next year, the Delawares of the Muskingum valley divided into peace and war parties - White Eyes and Killbuck heading the former, and Captain Pipe the latter, or British party. White Eyes attended a conference held at Fort Pitt, in October, 1775, where he avowed himself the continued and unflinching friend of peace. The record made by White Eyes shows him to have been "a man of high 'character and clear mind, of courage such as became the leader of a race whose most common virtues were those of the wild man, and of a forbearance and kindness as unusual as fearlessness was frequent among his people." His achievements had given glory to the Delaware nation, and wherever the fires of their lodges burned, his fame was rehearsed. It was the all-absorbing purpose of his life to reclaim the Indian from barbarism and elevate him to an equality with the white man. Hence he readily and earnestly seconded the efforts and labors of the Moravian missionaries made in behalf of the red man.

Captain White Eyes was one of the chiefs 'of the Delawares who, in 1778, advocated the scheme of admitting the Delaware nation, or at least all that had been friendly to the American cause, to a perpetual alliance and confederation with the United States.

Gen. Mcintosh, during the year 1778, made a requisition upon tht Delaware council for two captains and sixty warriors, and White Eyes joined his command. Mcintosh, with a small force, encamped at Tuscarawas, an old Indian town on the river of that name, and built Fort Lansing, named in honor of the President of Congress. Tuscarawas, the old Indian village, was situated on the west banS; of the Tuscarawas river, at or near the crossing-place of the trail from Port Pitt, and on the line, or very near it, that separates Tuscarawas and Stark counties, Ohio. And it was here, at Tuscarawas - that ancient seat of the aborigines where their old men had, for generations, rehearsed their deeds of glory - that White Eyes, ofie of the greatest and best of the later Indians, finished his career, in the midst of an army of white men to whom he had ever remained true.

He died of small-pox on the tenth of November) 1778. Where his remains are resting no man knows ; the plowshare hal^ doubtless often furrowed his grave, but his name lives. Few men have done more for his race, especially ^f or the Delaware nation, and few men labored more faithfully or zealously than White Eyes to bring -the aboriginal tribes of the Great West under the influence of civilization and Christianity.

The death of White Eyes caused deep sorrow throughout the Indian country, and many embassies were sent from the West to condole with the Delawares.

The Christian Indians of the Tuscarawas valley and the Moravian missionaries everywhere realized that in the death of White Eyes they had lost a true friend. And no less did the friends of the Ameripan ' cause realize that in the death of this noble chief they too had lost a valued, unfailing friend ! And lastly, the Delaware nation had good reason to deplore the death of Captain White Eyes, than whom it would-be difficult to find one who was more steadily and heartily devoted to their interests.

A hundred years ago, there were six or more Indian villages within the present limits of Coshocton county, all being Delaware towns, except a Shawanese village oh the Wakatomika, in the present township of "Washington, and Muskingum, five miles up the Tuscarawas from its mouth, which Captain Trent's journal calls a Mingo town. The Delawares were divided into three tribes, kno\\rn as the Wolf, the Turkey and the Turtle tribes. The Wolf and- the Turtle tribes were the most numerous here, if indeed there were any of the Turkey tribe here at all, before the arrival, in 1776, of a chief and ten families of that tribe from Assununk, a town on the Hockkocking. The two villages up the Walhonding (the Monsey towns) were occupied by the Delawares of the Wolf tribe. Wingenund, the chief at White Womarfs town, like Captain Pipe, made himself conspicuously infamous at the burning of Colonel Crawford.

Killbuck, grandson of Netawatwees, sometimes called Geleleraend, was also prominently identified with the interests of the Delawares that formerly occupied the territory now constituting Coshocton county. The f orrher was but of small importance, but the last named was a man of consideration and influence, and of generally commendable deportment. He favored the efforts of the Moravian missionaries ; took a decided stand in favor of peace, and of the American cause against the British. Gelelemend was

(Gelelemend,) was born in 1737, near the Lehigh Water-Gap, now in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, and died at Goshen, a Moravian town on the Tuscarawas river, situated within the present Kmits of Goshen township, Tuscarawas county, in the year 1811, at the age of seventyfour years.

While some of the Delaware chiefs of this locality acquired infamous notoriety, it can be truthfully said of Gelelemend that he attained to most honorable distinction, and died greatly esteemed.

Netawatwees was the head of the Turtle tribe of the Delaware nation. His first capital was situated at the mouth of Gekelemukpechunk, (Still Water creek,) and bore the unpronounceable Indian name of the creek. It was situated on the north bank of the Tuscarawas river, in what is now Oxford township, Tuscarawas county, and occupied the outlets of the present village of Newcomerstown. He was an advocate for peace, an ardent friend of the colonies, and devotedly attached to the cause of Christian missions, and to Moravian interests. " His sympathy with the Moravian cause was manifested by large donations of land for the promotion of said cause. In 1775, Netawatwees and a grand council of the Delawares decided to abandon their capital and found a new one farther down the river. This decree was carried into effect by selecting the junction of the Tuscarawas and Walhonding rivers as the site, and by founding the town of Goschachunk, which was henceforth to be the capital of the Delaware nation.

Lichtenau, built by the Moravians, was located near to the capital of the Delaware nation, in deference to the repeatedly expressed wishes of Netawatwees. He thought that the evil consequences which had formerly grown out of the proximity of heathen villages were not any more to be expected, since so large a portion of the nation had become christianized; and moreover he held it to be his duty to aflford his people every opportunity to hear the gospel preached. He often visited Lichtenau, taking great interest in its progress, and hoped for success.

the end of the war waged between the colonies and the mother country, in the result of which he was so deeply interested. Nor did he live long enough to witness the return of that peace which he had so zealojisly and perseveringly advocated, and so ardently desired.

This great chief, of the Delaware nation died at Fort Pitt before the close of the year 1776; and in his death the cause of peace - the cause of the colonies - the cause of missions - the cause of Christianity lost a true, faithful, devoted friend. Few, very few, of the chiefs of the Delaware nation died more sincerely regretted than Netawatwees.

Many of the Indians of all these tribes were friendly to all whites until the breaking out of the war with Great Britain, when they left the co^ntry to join the forces of the king, and destroy the whites who occupied their country. They considered them then their enemies, and acted accordingly on all occasions, save where personal friendship, so strong in the Indian, developed itself, and in many instances, saved the lives of those in danger.

The manners, customs, feasts, war parties and daily life of these sons of the forest, form interesting chapters in aboriginal history. The character of the Indians was largely the result of their lives. They judged and lived by what the senses dictated. They had names and words for what they could hear, seS, feel, taste and smell. They had no conceptions of abstract ideas until they learned such from the whites. Hence their language was very symbohcal. They could see the sun in its brightness, they could feel his heat; hence they compared the actions of a good man to the glory of the sun, and his fervent energy to the heat of that body. The moon in her brightr ness, the wind in its fury, the clouds in their majesty, or in their slow, graceful motion through a lazy atmosphere; the grace and flight of the deer; the strength and fury of the bear; the rush or ripple of water as it coursed along the bed of a river, all gave them words whose expressive-, ness are a wonder and marvel to this day. They looked on the beautiful river that borders the southern shores of our State, and exclaimed, " 0-he-zo ! " beautiful ; on the placid waters of the stream bordering the western line of Indiana, and ejaculated, " Wa-ba," a summer cloud moving swiftly; on the river flowing into Lake Erie, and said, "Ouy-o-ga" (Cuyahoga), crooked; and so on through their entire vocabulary, each name expressive of a meaning, full and adtnirably adapted to the object.

The Indians in Ohio, the tribes already mentioned, had learned a iew^ things from their intercourse with the whites on the borders of Western Pennsylvania, when they were first seen by the pioneers of Coshocton county. Their cabins or wigwams were of two kinds - circular and parallelogram. The former, the true wigwam, was in use among the Ottawas when the whites came tq their country. It was made of a number of straight poles driven firmly into the ground, their upper ends being drawn closely together ; this formed a kind of skeleton tent. The squaws plaited mats of thongs, bark or grass, in such a manner as to render them impervious to water. These were spread on the poles, beginning at the bottom, and extending upward. A small hole was left for the egress of smoke from the fire kindled in the center of the wigwam. Around this ' fire, mats or skins were spread, on which the Indians slept at night, and on which they sat during the day. For a door they lifted one end of the mat, and crept in, letting it fall down behind them. These tents were warm and dry, and generally quite free from smoke. Their fuel was nearly always split by the squaws in the fall of the year, and sometimes kept dry by placing it under an inverted birch-bark canoe. These wigwams were easily moved about from place to place, the labor of their destruction and construction being always performed by the squaws - the beasts of burden among all savage nations. The wigwam was very light, and easily carried about. It resembled the tents of to-day in shape, and was often superior in point of comfort and protection.

The cabins were more substantial affairs, and were built of poles, about the thickness of a small sized telegraph pole, but were of various sizes, and commonly, about twelve or fifteen feet in length. These poles were laid one on the other, similar to the logs in a cabin, save that, until the Indians learned that notching the point of contact near the end, from the whites, they were held by two stakes being driven in the angles formed in the corners, and fastened at the top by a hickory or bark withe, or by a thong of buckskin. The pen was raised to the height of from four to six feet, when an arched roof was made over it by driving at each end a strong post, with a fork at the upper end, which stood a convenient height above the topmost log or pole. A stout pole was laid on the forks, and on this was laid a small pole reaching down to the wall. On these rafters, small lath was tied, and over the whole pieces of linn bark were thrown. These. were cut from the tree, often of great length, and from six to twelve inches in width. They were then cut into proper lengths to cover the cabin. At the ends of the cabin split timbers were set up, so that the entire cabin was inclosed except a small aperture at one end, left for a door. This was covered by a deer or bear skin. At the top of the cabin an opening was left for the smoke to escape, for all Indians built their fires on the ground'in the center of the cabin or wigwam, around which they spread skins and mats on which to recline and sleep. The cracks between the logs were filled with moss gathered from old logs. When made, the cabin was quite comfortable, and was often constructed in the same manner by the pioneers, while making improvements, and used until a permanent structure could be erected.

Most, if not all the villages in this county were composed of huts constructed as above described, mingled perhaps with some of better construction, as they had learned of the whites how to build them. In addition to these huts at their capital or central town (Goschachgunk), they had, in the center of the village, as was their custom, a large council house, used for all public y meetings of the tribe.

In regard to food, the Indians were more careful to provide for their future needs than their successors of the west are to-day. In the spring they made maple sugar by boiling the sap in large brass or iron kettles which they had obtained from the French and English traders. To secure the water they used \'«ssels made of elm bark in a very ingenious manner. They would strip the bark in the winter season when it would strip or run, by cutting down the tree, and, with a crooked stick, sharp and broad at one end, peel the bark in wide -strips, from which they would construct vessels holding, two or three gallons each. They would often make over a hundred of these. They cut a sloping notch in the side of a sugar-tree, stuck a tomahawk into the wood at the end of the notch, and, in the dent thus made, drove a long chip or spile, which conveyed the water to the bark vessels. They generally selected the larger trfees for tapping, as they considered the sap from such stronger and productive of more sugar. Their vessels for carrying the sap would hold from three to five gallons each, and sometimes, where a large camp was located and a number of squaws at work, using a halt-dozen kettles, great quantities of sugar would be made. When the sugar-water would collect faster than they could boil it, they would make three or four large troughs, holding more than a hundred gal- Ions each, in which they kept the sap until ready to boil. When the sugar was made, it was generally mixed with bear's oil or fat, forming a sweet mixture into which they dipped their roasted venison. As cleanliness was not a reigning virtue among the Indians, the cultivated taste of a civilized person would not always fancy the mixture, unless driven to it by hunger. The compound, when made, was generally kept in large bags made of coon skins, or vessels made of bark. The former were made by stripping the skin over the body toward the head, tying the holes made by the legs with buckskin cords, and sewing securely the holes of the eyes, ears and mouth. The hair was all removed, and then the bag blown full of air, from a hole in the upper end, and allowed to dry. Bags made in this way would hold whiskey, and were often used for such purposes. When they became saturated they were blown full of air again, the hole plugged, and they were left to dry. Sometimes the head was cut off without stripping the skin from it, and the skin of the neck gathered in folds like a purse, below which a string was tied and fastened with a pin. Skin vessels are not indigenous to the natives of America. All oriental countries possess them, where the traveler of to-day finds them the rule. They are as old, almost, as time.

corn, potatoes and melons. Corn was their principal crop, and was raised entirely by the squaws. When the season for planting drew near, the women cleared a spot of rich alluvial soil, and dug over the ground in a rude manner with their hoes. In planting the corn they followed lines, to a certain extent, thus forming rows each way across the field. When the corn began to grow, they cultivated it with wonderful industry, until it had matured sufficiently for use. The cornfields were nearly always in the vicinity of the villages, and sometimes were many acres in extent,, and in favorable seasons yielded plentifully. The squaws had entire charge of the work. It was considered beneath the dignity of a brave to do any kind of manual labor, and, when any one of them, or any of the white men whom they had adopted, did any work, they were severely reprimanded for acting like a squaw. The Indian women raised the coi'n, dried it, pounded it into meal in a rude stone mortar, or made it into hominy. Corn, in one form and another, formed the chief staple of of the Indian's food. They had various legends concerning its origin, which, in common with other stories, they were accustomed to recite in their assemblies.

The Indians were always fond of amusements of all kinds. These consisted of races, games of ball, throwing the tomahawk, shooting at a mark with the bow and arrow, or with the rifle after its distribution among them, horse races, and other sports incidental to savage life. Their powers of endurance were remarkable, and astonishing accounts are often now told of feats of prowess exhibited by these aborigines. Of the animals hunted by the Indians, none seems to have ehcited their skill more than the bear. To slay one of these beasts was proof of a warrior's prowess, and dangerous encounters often resulted in the hunter's search for such distinction. The vitaUty of bruin was unequaled among the animals of the forest, and on this account, and because of the danger attached to his capture, made him an object of special hunts and feats of courage.

The region of the Muskingum, and more especially of the Wakatomaka, further south, was somewhat famous for bear hunting. Some of the pioneers yet surviving can relate astounding stories of their exploits in this line. The habit of these animals was to search out a hollow tree, secure a clump of bushes late in the autumn, where they could remain three or four months, during the extreme cold of the winter, subsisting entirely on the fat of their bodies. They would emerge in the spring very lean, and when so were exceedingly ferocious. When searching out their places of winter solitude, they often left the impress of their feet on the hark of the tree they ascended, or on the grass in the lair they had found. The signs were easily discovered by Indians and expert bear hunters. They were then very fat, and were sought by the Indians for their flesh and fat. Sometimes they would ascend trees thirty or forty feet high, and find a good wintering place and take possession. Again they would ascend the tree, if hollow, from the inside, and, finding a good place, occupy it. Tl;pn the huntr ers would divide forces - one ascend the tree, and with a long pole, sharpened at one end,' or wrapped with a rag. or dry skin saturated with greese and set on fire, thrust the same down on the bear, and compel him to descend only to meet death at the foot of the tree from the arrow or bullet of the hunter below.

The skin of a fat bear was a great prize to an Indian. It made him an excellent couch on which to sleep, or a cloak to wear. His flesh was supposed to impart bravery to those who ate it, hence when dipped in sweetened bear's fat, it was considered an excellent dish, and one often offered to friends. Venison, prepared the satae way, was also considered a dish fit for the most royal visitors; a hospitality always extended to all who came to the camp, and if not accepted the doner was sure to be offended.

The domestic life of the Indians was very much the same in all parts of America. Among the Northern Ohio tribes, marriage consisted -simplyof two persons agreeing to live together, which simple agreement among many tribes was never broken. Sometimes the young woman oourted the young brave, much after the fashion of the white people during leap years. This custom was considered quite proper, and favorably looked upon by the braves. In some localities chief gave away the young woman to some .brave he considered competent to support her in the chase, a part of the domestic economy always devolving on the man. When the game was killed, the squaw was expected to cut up and prepare the meat for use, and stretch and tan the hide.

The marriage relation among the most of the tribes was held strictly by all, a variation from it on the part of the female meriting certain death.

The Wyandots and Delawares prided themselves on their virtue and hospitality, and no 'authenticated case of the misuse of a female captive, except to treat them as prisoners of war, can now be quoted. They always evinced the utmost modesty toward their female captives. Eespect for the aged, for parents and those in authority prevailed. When one among them spoke, all listened - never, under any circumstances, interrupting him. When he was done, then was the time to reply.

In theology, the natives were all believers in one Great Spirit. They firmly believed in his care of the world and of his children, though different theories prevailed among the tribes regarding their creation. Their ideas of a divinity, as expressed by James Smith, a captive many years among them, are well given in the following story, preserved in Smith's Memoirs :

He and his elder Indian brother, Tecaughretanego, had been on a hunt for some time, and, meeting with poor success, found themselves straitened for food. After they had smoked at their camp-fire awhile, Tecaughretanego delivered quite a. speech, in which he recounted how Owaneeyo (God) had fed them in times gone by; how he fed the white people, and why they raised their own meat; how the Great Spirit provided the Indian with food for his use ; and how, though the prospect was sometimes gloomy, the Great Spirit was only trying them ; and i£ they would only trust him and use means diligently, they would be certain to be provided for. The next morning Smith rose early, according to the Indian's instructions, and ere long killed a buffalo cow, whose meat kept them in food many days. This was the occasion of another speech from his Indian brother. This trust often led them to habits of prodigality. They seldom provided for the future, almost literally fulfilling the adage : " Let each day provide for its own

They hunted, fished and idled away their days. Possessed of a boundless inheritance, they allowed the white race to come in and possess their lands and eventually drive them entirely away. Their manner of feasts may also be noticed.

The following description is from the pen of Dr. Hill, of Ashland, Ohio. The Mr. Copus mentioned is the same who was afterwards murdered by the Indians.

" The ceremonies took place in the councilhouse, a building made of clapboards and poles, about thirty feet wide and fifty feet long. When the Indians entered the council-house, the squaws seated themselves on one side of the room, while the braves occupied the opposite side. There was a small mound of earth in the center of the room, eight or ten feet in diameter, which seemed to be a sort of sacrificial mound. The ceremonies began with a sort of rude music, made by beating on a small brass kettle, and on dried skins stretched over the mouths of pots, making a kind of a rude drum. The pounding was accompanied by a sort of song, which, as near as can be understood, ran : ' Tiny, tiny, tiny, ho, ha, ho, ha, ho,' accenting the last syllables, Then a chief arose and addressed them ; during the delivery of his "speech a profound silence prevailed. The whole audience seemed to be deeply moved by the oration. The speaker seemed to be about seventy years of age, and was very tall and graceful. His eyes had the fire of youth, and shone with emotion while he was speaking. The audience seemed deeply moved, and frequently sobbed while he spoke. Mr. Copus could not understand the language of the speaker, but presumed he was giving a summary history of the Delaware nation, two tribes of which, the Wolf and the Turtle, were represented at the feast. Mr. Copus learned that the speaker was the famous Captain Pipe, of Mohican Johnstown, the executioner of Colonel Crawford. At the close of the address, dancing commenced. The Indians were clothed in deer skin leggings and English blankets. Deer hoofs and bears' claws ' were strung along the seams of their leggings, and when the dance comnienced, the jingling of the hoofs and claws made a sort of harmony to the rude music of the pots and kettles. The men danced in files or lines by themselves around the central mound, the squaws following in a company by themselves. In the dance there seemed to be a proper modesty between the sexes. In fact, the Greentown Indians were always noted for being extremely scrupulous and modest in the presence of one another. After the dance, refreshments, made by boiling venison and fcear's meat, slightly tainted, together, were handed around. The food was not very palatableto the white persons present, and they were compelled to conceal it about their persons until they had left the wigwam, when they threw the unsavory morsels away. No greater insult could have been offered the Indians than to have refused the proffered refrtshments, hence a little deception was necessary to evade the censure of theseuntutored sons of the forest, whose stomachs could entertain almost anything."

Usually, and as to the great mass of them, the Delaware Indians entertained very friendly feelings for the whites. In their old home in Pennsylvania, froni the day of Willian Penn's treaty down, they had received a treatment calculated to produce such feelings, and the influence of the Moravian missions among them tended tothe same end. Far more Indian blood than white was shed about the kirks of the Muskingum, ancj, there is neither dark and bloody battle-field nor site of sickening family massacre within the limits of the county of Coshocton, so far as known. The numerous bullets found in after times, in the plowed fields near Coshocton,, were doubtless from the volleys fired by the expeditions, or from the rifles of the- early settlers,, with whom shooting at marks was a grand pastime. At one time seven hundred Indian warriors from the West encamped near the town, many with rifles.

When the Revolutionary War broke out, it was a matter of the utmost importance to the colonists to secure at least the neutrality of the Indisiji tribes, and eflbrts were accordingly made.. Two treaties were made at Pittsburgh in successive years - 1775 and 1776 - binding to neutrality the Delawares and some of the immediately adjacent nations.

At the opening of 1777, the hatchet sent from Detroit (the British headquarters), was accepted by the Shawnees, Wyandots and Mingoes. Rumor had it that it was also to be sent to the Delawares, and if they declined it they were to be treated as common enemies, and at once attacked by tlie British and their Indian allies. The famous chief Cornstalk himself came to Goschachgunk, reporting that despite his efforts the Shawnees were for war, parties were already out, and amunition was being forwarded for their use from Detroit. Even a portion of the Delawares had been already pledged to take up arms. At this crisis - so threatening to the colonists - a general council of the Delawares met at the capital, on the 9th of March, 1777. Some of the young warriors appeared with plumes and war paint. After earnest discussion and eloquent speeches, especially from White Eyes, it was resolved to decline the hatchet should it be offered. Three times during that summer it was tendered and as often declined. Despite the taunts of their own race - against even a faction of their own nation - rejecting bribes and spurning threats, the people stood, month after month, as a mighty wall of protection to the western colonists. Looking to the plainly discernible natural consequences of a different decision in that grand council, it is not wi_thout reason, that the claim may be made, that one of the grandest victories for the colonists in the American Revolutionary war was won at the Delaware capital, at the forks of the Muskingum. Subsequently, indeed, by the machinations of renegades like Simon Girty (who was several times at the capital), and the taunts of the tribes, a part of the nation was led to join the British Indians. In 1778, the rightful authorities of the nation made a complete treaty of alliance with the commissioners of the United States, therein providing for carrying out a cherished project of White Eyes, that the Delaware nation should be represented in the Colonial Congress, and become, as a Christian Indian State, one of the United States. By the neighboring tribes the Delawares were often taunted with being unduly gentle - " women " - and w.ere always remarked upon as having too many captives; making exertions to secure as such those commonly appointed by other Indians to the tomahawk or stake.

Killbuck, aided by the other Christain Indians, for a time held the nation very much in hand; but by 1780 Captain Pipe got the ascendancy at Goschachgunk, and put the people on the side of the British^ setting up a new town in the Seneca country. Killbuck and those who sided with him went over fully to the colonists, and left the forks, never to return. In 1795 their country, of which Coshocton county forms the central part, became by treaty the possession of the United States. Until after the war of 1812, a few straggling members of the nation, especially the Gnadenhutten ones, moved about in the country, hunting, disposing of pelts, or possibly visiting the graves of their ancestors. Fragments of the nation are yet recognized in Canada and in the Indian Territory, but its power was broken and the scepter had- departed when it was turned away from its loved haunts in the Tuscarawas and Walhonding valleys.

By the treaty of September 29, 1817, the Delawares were deeded a reservation on the south of the Wyandot reservation, both in Marion and Wyandot counties. When this was done, Captain Pipe, son of " Old Captain Pipe," was the principal Delaware chief. The Delaware Indians remained on their reservation until about 1829, when they ceded it to the United States for $3,000, and were moved, as before stated, west of the Mississippi. The Wgandots ceded theirs in March, 1842, and left for the far west in July of the next year. At that date they numbered about 700 souls, and were the last Indian tribe , to relinquish its claims to the soil of Ohio.