Crawford County, Ohio - Chapter 3: English Explorations - Traders, 1881 (part 2 of 2)

The pioneers of the West, obliged to depend on themselves, owing to the struggle of the colonies for freedom, grew up a hardy, self-reliant race, with all the vices and virtues of a border life, and with habits, manners and customs necessary to their peculiar situation, and suited to their peculiar taste. A resume of their experiences and daily lives would be quite interesting, did the limits of this history admit it here. In the part relating directly to this county, the reader will find such lives given ; here, only the important events can be noticed.

The last event of consequence occurring in the West before the close of the Revolution, is one that raight well have been omitted. Had such been the ease, a great stain would have been spared the character of Western pioneers. Reference is made to the massacre of the Moravian Christian Indians.

These Indians were of the Delaware nation chiefly, though other Western tribes were visited and many converts made. The first converts were made in New York and Connecticut, where, after a good start had been made, and a prospect of many souls being saved, they incurred the enmity of the whites, who, becoming alarmed at their success, persecuted them to such an extent that they were driven out of New York into Pennsylvania, where, in 1744, four years after their arrival in the New World, they began new mis.sions. In 1748, the New York and Connecticut Indians followed their teachers, and were among the founders of Friedenshutten, "Tents of Peace," a hamlet near Bethlehem, where their teachers were sta^ tioned. Other hamlets grew around them, until in the interior of the colony, existed an Indian community, free from all savage vices, and growing up in Christian virtues. As their strength grew, lawless whites again began to oppress them. They could not understand the war of 1754, and were, indeed, in a truly embarrassing position. The savages could form no conception of any cause for neutrality, save a secret sympathy with the English; and if they could not take up the hatchet, they were in the way, and must be removed. Failing to do this, their red brothers became hostile. The whites were but little better. The old suspicions which drove them from New York were aroused. They were secret Papists, in league with the French, and furnished them with arms and intelligence; they were interfering with the liquor trafiic; they were enemies to the Government, and the Indian and the white man combined against them. They were obliged to move fi'om place to place; were at one time protected nearly a year, near Philadelphia, from lawless whites, and finally were compelled to go far enough West to be out of the way of French and English arms, or the Iroquois and Cherokee hatchets. They came finally to the Muskingum, where they made a settlement called Schonbrun, "beautiful clear spring," in what is now Tuscarawas County. Other settlements gathered, from time to time, as the years went on, till in 1772 large numbers of them were within the borders of the State.

Until the war of independence broke out, they were allowed to peacefully pursue their way. When that came, they were between Fort Pitt and Detroit, one of which contained British, the other Americans. Again they could not understand the struggle, and could not take up the hatchet. This brought on them the enmity of both belligerent parties, and that of their own forest companions, who could not see wherein their natures could change. Among the most hostile persons, were the white renegades McKee, Girty and Elliott. On their instigation, several of them were slain, and by their advice they were obliged to leave their fields and homes, where they had many comforts, and where they had erected good chapels in which to worship. It was just before one of these forced removals that Mary, daughter of the missionary Heckewelder, was born. She is supposed to be the first white female child born north of the Ohio River. Her birth occurred April l(i, 1781. It is but proper to say here, that it is an open question, and one that will probably never be decided, i. e. Who was the first white child born in Ohio ? In all probability, the child was born during the captivity of its mother, as history plainly shows that when white women were released from the Indians, some of them carried children born while among the natives.

When the Moravians were forced to leave their settlements on the Muskingum, and taken to Sandusky, they left growing fields of corn, to which they were obliged to return, *o gather food. This aroused the whites, only wanting some pretext whereby they might attack them, and a party, headed by Col. David Williamson, determined to exterminate them. The Moravians, hearing of their approach, fled, but too late to warn other settlements, and Gnadenhutten, Salem and one or two smaller settlements, were surprised and taken. Under deceitful promises, the Indians gave up all their arms, showed the whites their treasures, and went unknowingly to a terrible death. When apprised of their fate, determined on by a majority of the rangers, they begged only time to prepare. They were led two by two, the men into one, the women and children into another "slaughterhouse," as it was termed, and all but two lads were wantonly slain. An infamous and more bloody deed never darkened the pages of feudal times ; a deed that, in after years, called aloud for vengeance, and in some measure received it. Some of Williamson's men wrung their hands at the cruel fate, and endeavored, by all the means in their power, to prevent it; but all to no purpose. The blood of the rangers was up, and they would not spare "man, woman or child, of all that peaceful band."

Having completed their horrible work, ( March 8, 1782), Williamson and his men returned to Pittsburgh. Everywhere, the Indians lamented the untimely death of their kindred, their savage relatives determining on their revenge; the Christian ones could only be resigned and weep.

Williamson's success, for such it was viewed by many, excited the borderers to another invasion, and a second army was raised, this time to go to the Sandusky town, and annihilate the Wyandots. Col. William Crawford was elected leader ; he accepted reluctantly ; on the way, the army was met by hordes of savages on the 5th of

June, and totally routed. They were away north, in what is now Wyandot County, and were obliged to flee for their lives. The blood of the murdered Moravians called for revenge. The Indians desired it ; were they not relatives of the fallen Christians ? Crawford and many of his men fell into their hands ; all sufi'ered unheard-of tortures, that of Crawford being as cruel as Indian cruelty could devise. He was pounded, pierced, cut with knives and burned, ail of which occupied nearly three hours, and finally lay down insensible on a bed of coals, and died. The savage captors, in demoniacal glee, danced around him, and upbraided him for the cruel murder of their relatives, giving him this only consolation, that had they captured Williamson, he might go free, but he must answer for Williamson's brutality.

The war did not cease here. The Indians, now aroused, carried their attack as far south as into Kentucky, killing Capt. Estill, a brave man, and some of his companions. The British, too, were active in aiding them, and the 14th of August a large force of them, under Girty, gathered silently about Bryant's Station. They were obliged to retreat. The Kentuckians pursued them, but were repulsed with considerable loss.

The attack on Bryant's Station aroused the people of Kentucky to strike a blow that would be felt. Gen. Clarke was put at the head of an army of one thousand and fifty men, and the Miami country was a second time destroyed. Clarke even went as far north as the British trading-post at the head of the Miami, where he captured a great amount of property, and destroyed the post. Other outposts also fell, the invading army sufi'ering but little, and, by its decisive action, practically closing the Indian wars in the West. Pennsylvania suffered some, losing Hannahstown and one or two small settlements. Williamson's and Crawford's campaigns aroused the fury of the Indians that took time and much blood and war to subdue. The Revolution was, however, drawing to a close. American arms were victorious, and a new nation was now coming into existence, who would change the whole current of Western matters, and make of the Northwest a land of liberty, equality and union. That nation was now on the stage.