Licking County, Ohio - Chapter 4, 1881

By The English

ONTIAC, the great chief of the Ottawas, was now about fifty years old. He had watched the conflict between the nations witha jealous eye, and as he saw the gradual growth of the English people, their encroachment on the lands of the Indians, their greed, and their assumption of the soil, his soul was stirred within him to do something for his people. He had been a true friend of the French, and had led the Indians at the defeat of Braddock. Amid all the tumult, he alone saw the true state of affairs. The English would inevitably crush out the Indians. To save his race he saw another alliance with the French was necessary, and a restoration of their power and habits needed. It was the plan of a statesman. It only failed because of the perfidy of the French. Maturing his plans late in the autumn of 1762, he sent messengers to all the Western and Southern tribes, with the black wampum and red tomahawk, emblems of war, from the great Pontiac. "On a certain day in the next year," said the messenger, "all the tribes are.to rise, seize all the English posts, and then attack the whole frontier," The great council of all the tribes was held at the river Ecorces, on the 27th of April, 1763. There, before the assembled chiefs, Pontiac delivered a speech, full of eloquence and art, He recounted the injuries and encroachments of the English, and disclosed their designs. The French king was now awake and would aid them. Should they resign their homes and the graves of their fathers without an effort? Were their young men no longer brave? Were they squaws? The Great Master of Life had chided them for their inactivity, and had sent his commands to drive the "Red Dogs" from the earth. The chiefs eagerly accepted the wampum and the tomahawk, and separated to prepare for the coming strife.

The post at Detroit was informed of the plot the evening before it was to occur, by an Ojibway girl of great beauty, the mistress of the commander, Major Gladwin. Pontiae was foiled here, his treachery discovered, and he was sternly ordered from the conference. A regular seige followed, but he could not prevail. He exhibited a degree of sagacity unknown in the annals of savage warfare, but all to no purpose; the English were too strong for him.

At all the other posts, save one, however, the plans of Pontiac were carried out, and atrocities, unheard of before in American history, resulted. The Indians attacked Detroit on the first of May, and, foiled in their plans, a siege immediately followed. On the 16th, a party of Indians appeared before the fort at Sandusky. Seven of them were admitted. Suddenly, while smoking, the massacre begins. All but Ensign Paulli, the commander, fall. He is carried as a trophy to Pontiac.

At the mouth of the St. Joseph's, the missionaries had maintained a mission station over sixty years. They gave way to an English garrison of fourteen soldiers and a few traders. On _ the morning of May 25, a deputation of Pottawatomies are allowed to enter. In less than two minutes, all the garrison but the commander are slain. He is sent to Pontiac.

Near the present city of Fort Wayne, Ind., at the junction of the waters, stood Fort Miami, garrisoned by a few men. Holmes, the commander, is asked to visit a sick woman. He is slain on the way, the sergeant following is made prisoner, and the nine soldiers surrender.

On the night of the last day of May, the wampum reaches the Indian village below La Fayette, Ind., and near Fort Ouitenon. The commander of the fort is lured into a cabin, bound, and his garrison surrender. Through the clemency of French settlers, they are received into their houses and protected.

At Michilimackinae, a game of ball is projected. Suddenly the ball is thrown through the gate of the stockade. The Indians press in, and, at a signal, almost all are slain or made prisoners.

The fort at Presque Isle, now Erie, was the point of communication between Pittsburgh and Niagara and Detroit. It was one of the most tenable, and had a garrison of four and twenty men. On the 22d of June, the commander, to save his forces from total annihilation, surrenders, and all are carried prisoners to Detroit.

The capitulation at Erie left Le Boeuf' without hope. He was attacked on the 18th, but kept off the Indians till midnight, when he made a successful retreat. As they passed Venango, on their way to Fort Pitt, they saw only the ruins of that garrison. Not one of its immates had been spared.

Fort Pitt was the most important station west of the Alleghanies. "Escape!" said Turtle's Heart, a Delaware warrior; "you will all be slain. A great army is coming." "There are three large English armies coming to my aid," said Ecuyer, the commander. "I have enough provisions and ammunition to stand a siege of three years' time." A second and third attempt was | made by the savages to capture the post, but all to no avail. Baffled on all sides here, they destroy Ligonier, a few miles below, and massacre men, women and children. Fort Pitt was besieged till the last day of July, but withstood all attacks. Of all the outposts, only it and Detroit were left. All had been captured, and the majority of the garrison slain. Along the frontier, the war was waged with fury. The Indians were fighting for their homes and their hunting-grounds; and for these they fought with the fury and zeal of fanatics.

Detachments sent to aid Detroit are cui off. The prisoners are burnt, and Pontiac, infusing his zealous and demoniacal spirit into all his savage allies, pressed the siege with vigor. The French remained neutral, yet Pontiac made requisitions on them and on their neighbors in Ilinois, issuing bills of credit on birch-bark, all of which were faithfully redeemed. Though these two posts could not be captured, the frontier could be annihilated, and vigorously the Indians pursued their policy. Along the borders of Pennsylvania and Virginia a relentless warfare was waged, sparing no one inits way. Old age, feeble infancy, strong man and gentle woman, fair girl and hopeful boy - all fell before the scalping-knife of the merciless savage. The frontiers were devastated. Thousands were obliged to flee, leaving their possessions to the torch of the Indian.

The colonial government, under British direction, was inimical to the borders, and the colonists saw they must depend only upon their own arms for protection. Already the struggle for freedom was upon them. They could defend only themselves. They must do it, too; for that defense is now needed in a different cause than settling disputes between rival powers. '" We have millions for defense, but not a cent for tribute," said they, and time verified the remark.

Gen. Amherst bestirred himself to aid the frontiers. He sent Col. Henry Bouquet, a native of Switzerland, and now an officer in the English Army, to relieve the garrison at Fort Pitt. They followed the route made by Gen. Forbes, and on the way relieved Forts Bedford and Ligonier, both beleaguered by the Indians. About a day's journey beyond Ligonier, he was attacked by a body of Indians at a place called Bushy Run. For awhile, it seemed that he and all his army would be destroyed; but Bouquet was bold and brave and, under a feint of retreat, routed the savages. He passed on, and relieved the garrison at Fort

The campaign had been disastrous to the Enelish, but fatal to the plans of Pontiac. He could not capture Detroit, and he knew the great scheme must fail. The battle of Bushy Run and the relief of Fort Pitt closed the campaign, and all hope of co-operation was at an end. Circumstances were combined against the confederacy, and it was fast falling to pieces. A proclamation was issued to the Indians, explaining to them the existing state of affairs,and showing to them the futility of their plans. Pontiac, however, would not give up. Again he renewed the siege of Detroit, and Gen. Gage, now in command of the army in the colonies, resolved to carry the war into their own country. Col. Bradstreet was ordered to lead one army by way of the lakes, against the Northern Indians, while Col. Bouquet was sent against the Indians of the Ohio. Col. Bradstreet went on his way at the head of 1,200 men, but trusting too much to the natives and their promises, his expedition proved largely a failure. He relieved Detroit in August, 1764, which had been confined in the garrison over fifteen months, and dispersed the Indians that yet lay around the fort. But on his way back, he saw how the Indians had duped him, and that they were still plundering the settlements. His treaties were annulled by Gage, who ordered him to destroy their towns. The season was far advanced, his provisions were getting low, and he was obliged to return to Niagara chagrined and disappointed.

Col. Bouquet knew well the character of the Indians, and shaped his plans accordingly. He had an army of 1,500 men, 500 regulars and 1,000 volunteers. They had had experience in fighting the savages, and could be depended on. At Fort Loudon, he heard of Bradstreet's ill luck, and saw through the deception practiced by the Indians. He arrived at Fort Pitt the 17th of September, where he arrested a deputation' of chiefs, who met him with the same promises that had deceived Bradstreet. He sent one of their number back, threatening to put to death the chiefs unless they allowed his messengers to safely pass through their country to Detroit. The decisive tone of his words convinced them of the fate that awaited them unless they complied. On the 3d of October the army left Fort Pitt, marched down the river to and across the Tuscarawas, arriving in the vicinity of Fredrick Post's late mission on the 17th. There a conference was held with the assembled tribes. Bouquet sternly rebuked them for their faithlessness, and when told by the chiefs they could not restrain their young men, he as sternly told them they were responsible for their acts. He told them he would trust them no longer. If they delivered up all their prisoners within twelve days they might hope for peace, otherwise there would be no mercy shown them. They were completely humbled, and, separating hastily, gathered their captives. On the 25th, the army proceeded down to the Tuscarawas, to the junction with White Woman River, near the town of Coshocton, in Coshocton County, Ohio, and there made preparations for the reception of the captives. There they remained until the 18th of November; from day to day prisoners were brought in - men, women and children - and delivered to their friends. Many were the touching scenes enacted during this time. The separated husband and wife met, the latter often carrying a child born in captivity. Brothers and sisters, separated in youth, met; lovers rushed into each other's arms; children found their parents, mothers their sons, fathers their daughters, and neighbors those from whom they had been separated many years. Yet, there were many distressing scenes. Some looked in vain for long-lost relatives and friends, that never should return. Others, that had been captured in their infancy, would not leave their savage friends, and when force was used some fled away. One mother looked in vain for a child she had lost years before. Day by day, she anxiously watched, but no daughter's voice reached her ears. One, clad in savage attire, was brought before her. It could not be her daughter, she was grown. So was the maiden before her. 'Can not you remember some mark?" asked Bouquet, whose sympathies were aroused in this case. "There is none," said the anxious and sorrowful mother. "Sing a song you sang over her cradle, she may remember," suggested the commander. One is sung by her mother. As the song of childhood floats out among the trees the maiden stops and listens, then approaches. Yes, she remembers. Mother and daughter are held in a close embrace, and the stern Bouquet Wipes away a tear at the scene.

On the 18th, the army broke up its encampment and started on its homeward march. Bouquet kept six principal Indians as hostages, and returned to the homes of the captives. The Indians | kept their promises faithfully, and the next year | representatives of all the Western tribes met Sir | William Johnson, at the German Flats, and made country was ceded to the whites for the benefit of those who had suffered in the late war. The Indians desired to make a treaty with Johnson, whereby the Alleghany River should be the western boundary of the English, but he excused himself on the ground of proper power.

Not long after this the Illinois settlements, too remote to know much of the struggle or of any of the great events that had conyulsed an empire, and changed the destiny of a nation, were brought under the English rule. There were five villages at this date: Kaskaskia, Cahokia, St. Philip, Vincennes and Prairie du Rocher, near Fort Chartres, the military headquarters of these French possessions. They were under the control or command of M. de Abadie, at New Orleans. They had also extended explorations west of the Mississippi, and made a few settlements in what was Spanish territory. The country had been, however, ceded to France, and in February, 1764, the country was formally taken possession of and the present city of St. Louis laid out.

As soon as the French knew of the change of government, many of them went to the west side of the river, and took up their residence there. They were protected in their religion and civil rights by the terms of the treaty, but preferred the rule of their own King.

The British took possession of this country early in 1765. Gen. Gage sent Capt. Stirling, of the English Army, who arrived before summer, and to whom St. Ange, the nominal commandant, surrendered the authority. The British, through a succession of commanders, retained control of the country until defeated by George Rogers Clarke, and his "ragged Virginia militia."

After a short time, the French again ceded the country west of the Mississippi to Spain, and relinquished forever their control of all the West in the New World.

The population of Western Louisiana, when the exchange of governments occurred, was estimated to be 13,538, of which 891 were in the Llinois country - as it was called - west of the Mississippi. East of the river, and before the French crossed into Spanish country, the population was estimated to be about 3,000. All these had grown into communities of a peculiar character. Indeed, that peculiarity, as has been observed, never changed untit a gradual amalgamation with the American they did not yet occupy but a small part of it, but traders were again crossing the mountains, explorers for lands were on the Ohio, and families for settlement were beginning to look upon the West as their future home. Companies were again forming to purchase large tracts in the Ohio country, and open them for emigration. One thing yet stood in the way - a definite boundary line. That line, however, was between the English and the Indians, and not, as had heretofore been the case, between rival European Powers. It was necessary to arrange some definite boundary before land companies, who were now actively pushing their claims, could safely survey and locate their lands.

Sir William Johnson, who had at previous times been instrumental in securing treaties, wrote repeatedly to the Board of Trade, who controlled the greater part of the commercial transactions in the colonies - and who were the first to exclaim against extending English settlements beyond a limit whereby they would need manufactures, and thereby become independent of the Mother Country - urging upon them, and through them the Crown, the necessity of a fixed boundary, else another Indian war was probable. The Indians found themselves gradually hemmed in by the growing power of the whites, and began to exhibit hostile feelings. The irritation became so great that in the summer of 1767, Gage wrote to the Governor of Pennsylvania concerning it. The Governor communicated his letter to the General Assembly, who sent representatives to England, to urge the immediate settlement of the question. In compliance with these requests, and the letters of prominent citizens, Franklin among the number, instructions were sent to Johnson, ordering him to complete the purchase from the Six Nations, and settle all differences. He sent word to all the Western tribes to meet him at Fort Stanwix, in October, 1768. The conference was held on the 24th of that month, and was attended by colonial representatives, and by Indians from all parts of the Northwest. It was determined that the line should begin on the Ohio, at the mouth of the Cherokee (Tennessee), thence up the river to the Alleghany and on to Kittanning, and thence across to the Susquehanna. By this line, the whole country south of the Ohio and Alleghany, to which the Six Nations had any claim, was transferred. Part of this land was ever be based on the treaties of Lancaster, Logstown, etc., and were signed by the chiefs of the Six Nations for themselves, their allies and dependents, and the Shawanees, Delawares, Mingoes of Ohio, and others; though the Shawanees and Delaware deputies did not sign them. On this treaty, in a great measure, rests the title by purchase to Kentucky, Western Virginia and Western Pennsylvania. The rights of the Cherokees were purchased by Col. Donaldson, either for the King, Virginia, or for himself, it is impossible to say which.

The grant of the northern confederacy was now made. The white man could go in and possess these lands, and know that an army would protect him if necessary. Under such a guarantee, Western lands came rapidly into market. In addition to companies already in existence for the purchase of land, others, the most notable of these being the "Walpole" and the "Mississippi'"' Land Companies, were formed. This latter had among its organizers such men as Francis Lightfoot Lee, Richard Henry Lee, George Washington and Arthur Lee. Before any of these companies, some of whom absorbed the Ohio Company, could do anything, the Revolution came on, and all land transactions were at an end. After its close, Congress would not sanction their claims, and they fell through. This did not deter settlers, however, from crossing the mountains, and settling in the Ohio country. In citizens, and though considerable trouble was experienced with the Indians, and the operations of Col. Richard Henderson and others, who made unlawful treaties with the Indians, yet Daniel Boone and his associates had established a commonwealth, and, in 1777, a county was formed, which, erelong, was divided into three. Louisville was laid out on land belonging to Tories, and an important start made in this part of the West. Emigrants came down the Qhio | River, saw the northern shores were inviting, and sent back such accounts that the land north of the river rapidly grew in favor with Kastern people. !

spite of troubles with the Indians - some of whom regarded the treaties with the Six Nations as unlawful, and were disposed to complain at the rapid influx of whites - and the failure of the land companies, settlers came steadily during the decade from 1768 to 1778, so that by the close of that time, there was a large population south of the Ohio River; while scattered along the northern banks, extending many miles into the wilderness, were hardy adventurers, who were carving out homes in the magnificent forests everywhere covering the country.

Among the foremost speculators in Western lands, was George Washington. As early as 1763, he employed Col. Crawford, afterward the leader in " Crawford's campaign," to purchase lands for him. In 1770, he crossed the mountains in company with several gentlemen, and examined the country along the Ohio, down which stream he passed to the mouth of the Great Kanawha, where he shot some buffalo, then plenty, camped out a few nights, and returned, fully convinced, it seems, that one day the West would be the best part of the New- World. He owned, altogether, nearly fifty thousand acres in the West, which he valued at $3.33 per acre. Had not the war of the Revolution just then broken out, he might have been a resident of the West, and would have been, of course, one of its most prominent citizens.

Moravian

One of the most important Western characters, | Col. (afterward Gen.) George Rogers Clarke, had had much to do in forming its character. He was born November 19, 1752, in Albemarle County, Va., and early came West. He had an unusually sagacious spirit, was an excellent surveyor and general, and took an active interest in all State and national affairs. He understood the animus of the Revolution, and was prepared to move unequaled in its boldness, and one that had more to do with the success of America ir the struggle for independence than at first appears. He saw through the whole plan of the British, who held all the outposts, Kaskaskia, Detroit, Vincennes and Niagara, and determined to circumvent them and wrest the West from their power. The British hoped to encircle the Americans by these outposts, and also unite the Indians in a common war against them. That had been attempted by the French when the English conquered them. Then the French had a powerful ally in the person of Pontiac, yet the brave frontiersmen held their homes in many places, though the Indians "drank the blood of many a Briton, scooping it up in the hollow of joined hands." Now the Briton had no Pontiac to lead the scattered tribes - tribes who now feared the unerring aim of a settler, and would not attack him openly - Clarke knew that the Delawares were divided in feeling and that the Shawanees were but imperfectly united in favor of England since the murder of their noted chiefs. He was convinced that, if the British could be driven from the Western posts, the natives could easily be awed into submission, or bribed into neutrality or friendship. They admired, from their savage views of valor, the side that became victorious. They cared littie for the cause for which either side was fighting. Clarke sent out spies among them to ascertain the feasibility of his plans. The spies were gone from April 20 to June 22, and fully corroborated his views concerning the English policy and the fezlings of the Indians and French.

Before proceeding in the narrative of this expedition, however, it will be well to notice a few acts transpiring north of the Ohio River, especially relating to the land treaties, as they were not without effect on the British policy. Many of the Indians north and south of the Ohio would not recognize the validity of the Fort Stanwix treaty, claiming the Iroquois had no right to the lands, despite their conquest. These discontented natives harassed the emigrants in such a manner that many Indians were slain in retaliation. This, and the working of the French traders, who at all times were bitterly opposed to the English rule, filled the breasts of the natives with a malignant hate, which years of bloodshed could not wash out. The murder of several Indians by lawless whites fanned the coal into a blaze, and, by 1774, several retaliatory murders occurred, committed by the natives in revenge for their fallen friends. The Indian slew any white man he found, as a revenge on some friend of his slain; the frontiersman, acting on the same principle, made the borders extremely dangerous to invaders and invaded. Another cause

Pittsburgh had been claimed by both Pennsylvania and Virginia, and, in endeavoring to settle the dispute, Lord Dunmore's war followed. Dr. John Connelly, an ambitious, intriguing person, induced Lord Dunmore to assert the claims of Virginia, in the name of the King. In attempting to carry out his intentions, he was arrested by Arthur St. Clair, representing the proprietors of Pennsylvania, who was at Pittsburgh at the time. Connelly was released on bail, but went at once to Staunton, where he was sworn in as a Justice of Peace. Returning, he gathered a force of one hundred and fifty men, suddenly took possession of Pittsburgh, refused to allow the magistrates to enter the Court House, or to exercise the functions of their offices, unless in conformity to his will. Connelly refused any terms offered by the Pennsylvania deputies, kept possession of the place, acted very harshly toward the inhabitants, stirred up the neutral Indians, and, for a time, threatened to make the boundary line between the two colonies a very serious question. His actions led to hostile deeds by some Indians, when the whites, no doubt urged by him, murdered seven Indians at the mouth of the Captina River, and at the house of a settler named Baker, where the Indians were decoyed under promises of friendship and offers of rum. Among those murdered at the latter place, was the entire family of the famous Mingoe chief, Logan. This has been charged to Michael Cresap ; but is untrue. Daniel Greathouse had command of the party, and though Cresap may have been among them, it is unjust to lay the blame at his feet. Both murders, at Captina and Yellow Creek, were cruel and unwarranted, and were, without doubt, the cause of the war that followed, though the root of the matter lay in Connelly's arbitrary actions, and in his needlessly alarming the Indians. Whatever may have been the facts in relation to the murder of Logan's family, they were of such a nature as to make all feel sure of an Indian war, and preparations were made for the conflict.

An army was gathered at Wheeling, which, some time in July, under command of Col. Mc- Donald, descended the Ohio to the mouth of Captina Creek. They proposed to march against an Indian town on the Muskingum. The Indians sued for peace, but their pretensions being found spurious, their towns and crops were destroyed. The army then retreated to Williamsburg, having accomplished but little.

The Delawares were anxious for peace; even the Mingoes, whose relatives had been slain at Yellow Creek, and Captina, were restrained; but Logan, who had been turned to an inveterate foe to the Americans, came suddenly upon the Monongahela settlements, took thirteen scalps in revenge for the loss of his family, returned home and expressed himself ready to treat with the Long Knives, the Virginians. Had Connelly acted properly at this juncture, the war might have been ended; but his actions only incensed both borderers and Indians. So obnoxious did he become that Lord Dunmore lost faith in him, and severely reprimanded him.

To put a stop to the depredations of the Indians, two large bodies of troops were gathered in Virginia, one under Gen. Andrew Lewis, and one under command of Dunmore himself. Before the armies could meet at the mouth of the Great Kanawha, their objective point, Lewis' army, which arrived first, was attacked by a furious band of Delawares, Shawanees, Iroquois and Wyandots. The conflict was bitterly prolonged by the Indians, who, under the leadership of Cornstalk, were determined to make a decisive effort, and fought till late at night (October 10, 1774), and then only by a strategic move of Lewis' command - which resulted in the defeat of the Indians, compelling them to cross the Ohio - was the conflict ended. Meanwhile, Dunmore's army came into the enemy's country, and, being joined by the remainder of Lewis' command, pressed forward intending to annihilate the Indian towns. Cornstalk and his chiefs, however, sued for peace, and the conflict closed. Dunmore established a camp on Sippo Creek, where he held conferences with the natives and concluded the war. When he left the country, he stationed 100 men at the mouth of the Great Kanawha, a few more at Pittsburgh, and another corps at Wheeling, then called Fort Fincastle. Dunmore intended to return_to Pittsburgh the next spring, meet the Indians and form a definite peace; but the revolt of the colonies prevented. However, he opened several offices for the sale of lands in the West, some of which were in the limits of the Pennsylvania colony. This led to the old boundary dispute again; but before it could be settled, the Revolution began, and Lord Dunmore's, as well as almost all other land speculations in the West, were at an end.

Of Ohio

have them remain neutral inthe family quarrel now coming on, which they could not understand. The British, like the French, however, could not let them alone, and finally, as a retaliatory measure, Congress, under advice of Washington, won some of them over to the side of the colonies, getting their aid and holding them neutral. The colonies only offered them rewards for prisoners ; never, like the British, offering rewards for scalps. Under such rewards, the atrocities of the Indians in some quarters were simply horrible. The scalp was enough to get a reward, that was a mark of Indian valor, too, and hence, helpless innocence and decrepit old age were not spared. They stirred the minds of the pioneers, who saw the protection of their firesides a vital point, and led the way to the scheme of Col. Clarke, who was now, as has been noted, the leading spirit in Kentucky. He saw through the scheme of the British, and determined, by a quick, decisive blow, to put an end to it, and to cripple their power in the West.

Among the acts stimulating Clarke, was the attack on Fort Henry, a garrison about one-half mile above Wheeling Creek, on the Ohio, by a renegade white man, Simon Girty, an agent in theemploy of the British, it is thought, and one of the worst wretches ever known on the frontier. When Girty attacked Fort Henry, he led his red allies in regular military fashion, and attacked it without mercy. The defenders were brave, and knew with whom they were contending. Great bravery was displayed by the women in the fort, one of whom, a Miss Zane, carried a keg of gunpowder from a cabin to the fort. Though repeatedly fired at by the sayages, she reached the fort in safety. After awhile, however, the effect of the frontiersmen's shots began to be felt, and the Indians sullenly withdrew. Re-enforcements coming, the fort was held, and Girty and his band were obliged to flee.

Clarke saw that if the British once got control over the Western Indians the scene at Fort Henry would be repeated, and would not likely, in all cases, end in favor of the Americans. Without communicating any of his designs, he left Harrodsburg about the Ist of October, 1777, and reached the capital of Virginia by November 5. Still keeping his mind, he awaited a favorable opportunity to broach his plans to those in power, and, in the meanwhile, carefully watched the existing state of feeling. When the opportunity came, Clarke broached his plans to Patrick Henry, Goyernor of Virginia, who at once entered warmly

Through his aid, Clarke procured the necessary authority to prosecute his plans, and returned at once to Pittsburgh. He intended raising men about this post, but found them fearful of leaving their homes unprotected. However, he secured three companies, and, with these and a number of volunteers, picked up on the way down the Ohio River, he fortified Corn Island, near the falls, and made ready for his expedition. He had some trouble in keeping his men, some of those from Kentucky refusing to aid in subduing stations out of their own country. He did not announce his real intentions till he had reached this point. Here Col. Bowman joined him with his Kentucky militia, and, on the 24th of June, 1778, during a total eclipse of the sun, the party left the fort. Before his start, he learned of the capture of Burgoyne, and, when nearly down to Fort Massac, he met some of his spies, who informed him of the exaggerated accounts of the ferocity of the Long Knives that the French had received from the British. By proper action on his part, Clarke saw both these items of information could be made very beneficial to him. Leaying the river near Fort Massac, he set out on the march to Kaskaskia, through a hot summer's sun, over a country full of savage foes. They reached the town unnoticed, on the evening of July 4, and, before the astonished British and French knew it, they were all prisoners. M. Rocheblave, the English commander, was secured, but his wife adroitly concealed the papers belonging to the garrison. In the person of M. Gibault, the French priest, Clarke found a true friend. When the true character of the Virginians became apparent, the French were easily drawn to the American side, and the priest secured the surrender and allegiance of Cahokia through his personal influence. M. Gibault told him he would also secure the post at St. Vincent's, which he did, returning from the mission about the 1st of August. During the interval, Clarke reenlisted his men, formed his plans, sent his prisoners to Kentucky, and was ready for future action when M. Gibault arrived. He sent Capt. Helm and a single soldier to Vincennes to hold that fort until he could put a garrison there. It is but proper to state that the English commander, Col. Hamilton, and his band of soldiers, were absent at Detroit when the priest secured the village on the "@Quabache." When Hamilton returned, in the autumn, he was greatly surprised to see the American flag floating from the ramparts of the fort, and when approaching the gate he was abruptly halted by Capt. Helm, who stood with a lighted fuse in his hand by a cannon, answering Hamilton's demand to surrender with the imperative inquiry, "Upon what terms, sir?" "Upon the honors of war," answered Hamilton, and he marched in greatly chagrined to see he had been halted by two men. The British commander sat quietly down, intending to go on down the river and subdue Kentucky in the spring, in the mean time offering rewards for American scalps, and thereby gaining the epithet " Hair-buyer General." Clarke heard of his actions late in January, 1779, and, as he says, "I knew if I did not take him he would take me," set out early in February with his troops and marched across the marshy plains of Lower Illinois, reaching the Wabash post by the 22d of that month. The unerring aim of the Westerner was effectual. 'They will shoot your eyes out," said Helm to the British troops. "There, I told you so," he further exclaimed, as a soldier ventured near a port-hole and received a shot directly in his eye. On the 24th the fort surrendered. The American flag waved again over its ramparts. The " Hair-buyer General" was sent a prisoner to Virginia, where he was kept in close confinement for his cruel acts. Clarke returned to Kaskaskia, perfected his plans to hold the Illinois settlements, went on to Kentucky, from where he sent word to the colonial authorities of the success of his expedition. Had he received the aid promised him, Detroit, in easy reach, would have fallen too, but Gen. Green, failing to send it as promised, the capture of that important post was delayed.

Had Clarke failed, and Hamilton succeeded, the whole West would have been swept, from the Alleghanies to the Mississippi. But for this small army of fearless Virginians, the union of all the tribes from Georgia to Maine against the colonies might have been effected, and the whole current of American history changed. America owes Clarke and his band more than it can ever pay. Clarke reported the capture of Kaskaskia and the Illinois country early after its surrender, and in October the county of Illinois was established, extending over an unlimited expanse of country, by the Virginia Legislature. John Todd was appointed Lieutenant Colonel and Civil Governor. In November, Clarke and his men received the thanks of the same body, who, in after years, secured them a grant of land, which they selected on the right bank of the Ohio River, opposite Louisville. They expected here a city would rise into prominence as an important place.. By some means, their expectations failed, and only the dilapidated village of Clarkesburg perpetuates their hopes. The conquest of Clarke changed the face of | affairs in relation to the whole country north of the Ohio River, which would, in all probability, have been made the boundary between Canada and the United States. When this was proposed, the strenuous arguments based on this conquest, by the American Commissioners, secured the present boundary line in negotiating the treaty of 1793. Though Clarke had failed to capture Detroit, Corigress saw the importance of the post, and resolved on securing it. Gen. McCosh, commander at Fort Pitt, was put in command, and $1,000, 000 and 3,000 men placed at his disposal. By some dilatory means, he got no further than the Tuscarawas River, in Ohio, where a_ halfway house, called Fort Laurens, for the President of Congress, was built. It was too far out to be of practicable value, and was soon after abandoned. Indian troubles and incursions by the British were the most absorbing themes in the West. The British went so far as Kentucky at a later date, while they intended reducing Fort Pitt, only abandoning it when learning of its strength. Expeditions against the Western Indians were led by Gen. Sullivan, Col. Daniel Broadhead, Col. Bowman and others, which, for awhile, silenced the natives and taught them the power of the

Americans. They could not organize so readily as before, and began to attach themselves more closely to the British, or commit their depredations in bands, fleeing into the wilderness as soon as they struck a blow. In this way, several localities suffered, until the settlers became again exasperated; other expeditions were formed, and a second chastisement given. In 1781, Col. Broadhead | led an expedition against the Central Ohio Indians. It did not prove so successful, as the Indians were led by the noted chief Brant, who, though not cruel, was a foe to the Americans, and assisted the British greatly in their endeavors to secure the West.

Another class of, events. occurred now in the West, civil in their relations, yet destined to form an important part of its history - its land laws.

were based on land warrants issued in 1763; others on selection and survey and still others on settlement. In this state of | mixed affairs, it was difficult to say who held a secure claim. It was a question whether the old the change in government, and the eminent prospect of still another change. To, in some way, aid in settling these claims, Virginia sent a commission to the West to sit as a court and determine the proprietorship of these claims. This court, though of as doubtful authority as the claims themselves, went to work in Kentucky and along the Ohio River in 1779, and, in the course of one year, granted over three thousand certificates. These were considered as good authority for a definite title, and were so regarded in after purchases. Under them, many pioneers, like Daniel Boone, lost their lands, as all were required to hold some kind of a patent, while others, who possessed no more principle than "land-sharks " of to-day, acquired large tracts of land by holding a patent the court was bound to accept. Of all the colonies, Virginia seemed to have the best

Connecticut or Western Reserve and some similar tracts held by New York, Massachusetts When the territory of the Northwest was ceded to the General Government, its outlet, became an important but secret ally of When the French revolt was suppressed by O'Reilly, and the Spanish assumed the government of Louisiana, both Upper and Lower, there was a large tract of country, known and duly regarded as a part of her dominion. The boundaries had been settled when the French first occupied Lower Louisiana. The Spaniards adopted the patriarchal form of rule, as much as was consistent with their interests, and allowed the French full religious and civil liberty, save that all other colonies claimed land also in the West under the old Crown grants, which extended to the South or Western Sea. To more complicate mat-

| jealous of England's growing power, secretly sent | the Governors of Louisiana word to aid the | Americans in their struggle for freedom. Though they controlled the Mississippi River, they allowed an American officer (Capt. Willing) to descend the river in January, 1778, with a party of fifty men, and ravage the British shore from Manchez Bayou to Natchez.

On the 8th of May, 1779, Spain declared war against Great Britain; and, on the &th of July, the people of Louisiana were allowed to take a part in the war. Accordingly, Galvez collected a force of 1,400 men, and, on the 7th of September, took Fort Manchac. By the 21st of September, he had taken Baton Rouge and Natchez. Eight vessels were captured by the Spaniards on the Mississippi and on the lakes. In 1780 Mobile fell; in March, 1781, Pensacola, the chief British pest in West Florida, succumbed after a long siege, and, on the 9th of May, all West Florida was surrendered to Spain. .

This war, or the war on the Atlantic Coast, did not immediately affect Upper Louisiana. Great Britain, however, attempted to capture St. Louis. Though the commander was strongly suspected of being bribed by the English, yet the place stood the siege from the combined force of Indians and Canadians, and the assailants were dispersed. This was done during the summer of 1680, and in the autumn, a company of Spanish and French residents, under La Balme, went on an expedition against Detroit. They marched as far north as the British trading-post Ke-ki-ong-a, at the head of the Maumee River, but being surprised in the night, and the commander slain, the expedition was defeated, having done but little.

Spain may have had personal interests in aiding the Americans. She wasnow in control of the Mississippi River, the natural outlet of the Northwest, and, in 1780, began the troubles relative to the navigation of that stream. The claims of Spain were considered very unjust by the Continental Congress, and, while deliberating over the question, Virginia, who was jealously alive to her Western interests, and who yet held jurisdiction over Kentucky, sent through Jefferson, the Governor, Gen. George Rogers Clarke, to erect a fort below the mouth of the Ohio. This proceeding was rather unwarrantable, especially as the fort was built in the country of the Chickasaws, who had thus far been true friends to the Americans, and who looked upon the fort as an innovation on their territory. It was completed and occupied but a short time, Clarke being recalled. ;

Virginia, in 1780, did a very important thing; namely, establishing an institution for higher education. The Old Dominion confiscated the lands of "Robert McKenzie, Henry Collins and Alexander McKee, Britons, eight thousand acres," and invested the proceeds of the sale in a public seminary. Transylvania University now lives, a monument to that spirit.

While Clarke was building Fort Jefferson, a force of British and Indians, under command of Capt. Bryd, came down from Canada and attacked the Kentucky settlements, getting into the country before any one was aware. The winter before had been one of unusual severity, and game was exceedingly scarce, hence the army was not prepared to conduct a campaign. After the capture of Ruddle's Station, at the south fork of the Licking, Bryd abandoned any further attempts to reduce the settlements, except capturing Martin's Station, and returned to Detroit.

return from Fort Jefferson, went on an expedition against the Miami Indians. He destroyed their towns at Loramie's store, near thé present city of

While on the way, a part of the army remained on the north bank of the Ohio, and erected two block-houses on the present site of Cincinnati. The exploits of Clarkeand his men so effectually chastised the Indians, that, for a time, the West was safe. During this period of quiet, the measures which led to the cession of Western lands to the General Government, began to assume a definite form. All the colonies claiming Western lands were willing to cede them to the Government, of Southern country southeast of the Ohio, as far as South Carolina. All recognized the justice of all Western lands becoming public property, and thereby aiding in extinguishing the debts caused by the war of the Revolution, now about to close. As Virginia held a somewhat different view, the cession was not made until 1783.

The subject, however, could not be allowed to rest. The war of the Revolution was now drawing to a close; victory on the part of the colonies was apparent, and the Western lands must be a part of the public domain. Subsequent events brought about the desired cession, though several events transpired before the plan of cession was consummated.

Before the close of 1780, the Legislature of Virginia passed an act, establishing the "town of Louisville," and confiscated the lands of John

Connelly, who was one of its original proprietors, and who distinguished himself in the commencement of Lord Dunmore's war, and who was now a Tory, and doing all he could against the patriot cause. The proceeds of the sale of his lands were divided between Virginiaand the county of Jefferson. Kentucky, the next year, was divided into three counties, Jefferson, Lincoln and Fayette. Courts were appointed in each, and the entry and location of lands given into their hands. Settlers, in spite of Indian troubles and British intrigue, were pouring over the mountains, particularly so during the years 1780 and 1781. The expeditions of Clarke against the Miami Indians; Boone's captivity, and escape from them; their defeat when attacking Boonesboro, and other places - all combined to weaken their power, and teach them to respect a nation whose progress they cculd not stay.

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 might well have been omitted. Had such been the case, 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 missions. 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 stationed. 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 trafic; they were enemies to the Government, and the Indian and the white man combined against them. They were obliged to move from 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 16, 1781. It is but proper to say here, that it is an open question, and one that will probably never be decided, t. 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, to 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 give 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 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 suffered unheard-of tortures, that of Crawford being as cruel as Indian cruelty could devise. He was pounded, pierced, cut with knives and burned, all 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 suffering 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 toa 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.