Wyandot County, Ohio - Chapter 3, 1884 (part 1 of 2)

The Inception of Crawford's Sandusky Expedition - The March - Battle - Results - Dr. Kntgiit's Narratio.v - Biographical Sketch of Col. Crawford - The Treaty of Fort McIntosh - Treaty of Fort Harmar - Sad Results Attending the ExPEDrrroNs under Gens. Harmar and St. Clair - "Mad Anthony" in the Field - He Defeats the Combined Savage Tribes at the "Fallen Timbers" - Indian Accounts OF THE Fight - Treaty of Greenville - Of Fort Industry - Of Broavnstown- The Wyandots the Friends of the Americans - War of 1812-15 - Treaty of the Foot of the Rapids of the Miami OF THE Lake - Terms - Supplementary Treaty Held at St. Mary's - The Wyandots Finally Established on Reservations, i. e., Lands NOW Embraced by Wyandot County - Death of their Great Chief Tariie - Attendant Funeral Ceremonies - Tribal Names of the Wyandots - Sketch OF Chief Tariie, as Prepared by William Walker, a Quadroon of the Wyandot Nation.

AS ali'eady indicated, the year 1782, especially along the American border settlements, was one of war, bloodshed and carnage. LTrged on by the British officers at Detroit, the Indians sought every opportunity of wreaking their vengeance upon the unprotected settlers. The woods of Western Pennsylvania and Virginia teemed with savages the most vindictive, and no one was safe from attack unless protected by the walls of a fortified station. On the 28th of March, Gen. William Irvine, commander of the Western Military Department, with headquarters at Fort Pitt, issued a call to the ofiicers of the militia of the counties of Westmoreland and Washington (which counties then comprised all that part of Southwestern Pennsylvania lying west of Laurel Hill, AVashington County, having been erected from Westmoreland in 1781) to meet in council at Pittsburgh on April 5, to take into consideration the adoption of some systematic defense of the exposed settlements. The council was largely attended, and the plan then agreed upon was to divide the regular troops equally between Forts Pitt and Mcintosh, and to keep flying bodies of volunteers marching from place to place along the line of the frontier.

The county of Westmoreland agreed to furnish sixty-five men to range along the border from the Allegheny River to Laurel Hill, while Washington County stipulated to keep in the field one hundred and sixty men to patrol the Ohio River from Montour' s Bottom to Wheeling. It was soon apparent, however, that this experiment or system of defense was inadequate, for in spite of every precaution, and in defiance of every expedient to thwart them, the wily savages would frequently cross to the left banks of the Ohio and Allegheny rivers, fall suddenly upon some unsuspecting and helpless settlements, and after completing their work of murder and pillage, would hurriedly recross the rivers, and be far away in the wettern wilds before the patroling volunteers were aware of their presence. Therefore it was soon demonstrated to the entire, satisfaction of the majority of the endangered inhabitants that the only security for the frontier lay iri carrying the war into the Indian country, and in accordance with this feelino- Col. Marshall, the commandant at Fort Mcintosh, wrote to Gen. Irvine, on the 2d of April, an follows : "This is most certain, that unless an expedition be carried against some of the principal Indian towns early this summer, this country must unavoidably suffer." Again, on the 4th of the same month, he wrote: "The people in general on the frontiers are waiting with anxious expectation, to know whether an expedition can be carried against Upper Sandusky * early this spring or not."

It is claimed that Gen. Irvine was not in favor of carrying the war into the Sandusky country, but be that as it may, he soon after called a council of the officers of his department to meet at his headquarters, at Fort Pitt, on the 7th of May, to take the matter under advisement. A large number of officers were present, and many others who could not come were represented in writing. There was a wonderful unanimity of opinion, at this meeting, as to the necessity of sending an expedition into the Indian country. It was known that most of the scalping parties prowling about the borders came from Upper Sandusky, not, however, that all the savao-es invading the settlements were Wyandots, but that their town was the grand rallying point for all the Northwest tribes before starting for the frontiers. Of the men called together at Gen. Irvine's headquarters, none failed to appreciate the pressing necessity for the destruction of the Sandusky rendezvous. An expedition was determined upon, and Upper Sandusky, the favorite point of assembling for the hostile Wyandots, Delawares, Shawanese and Mingoes, was named as the point of attack.

Mingo Bottom, a point on the right bank of the Ohio River, about two and one-half miles below the present town of Steubenville, was designated as the place of rendezvous, and Monday, May 20, as the time for the assemblage of those who were to take part in the movement. However, the volunteers did not all report until Friday morning, May 24, when the last one crossed to the west side of the river. The remainder of that day was occupied in the election of regimental and company officers, and in making prepara tions for the march to begin the following morning. Of the troops assembled, Washington County. Penn., had furnished three hundred and twenty; Westmoreland County, Penn.. one hundred and thirty; Ohio County, Ya., twenty; and other localities not known, ten; making a total of four hundred and eighty officers and men. In the election which took place for chief commander of the expedition. Col. William Crawford, of Westmoreland County, and Col. David Williamson, of Washington County - he who had commanded the expedition to the Tuscarawas countryf two months before - were the candidates. The vote stood two hundred and thirty- live for Col. Crawford and two hundred and thirty for Col. Williamson. Col. Crawford having been, by a small majoi'lty, placed at the head of the expedition, his competitor, Col. Williamson, was immedititely chosen, by a unanimous vote, fWe are well aware of the fact that numbers of those who have heretofore written concerning Crawford's Sandusky expedition have managed to interweave in their narriitinns something about the wretched Moravian affdir. The Delawares under the partial control of the easy-going Moravian roissionarien may or may not have been guilty of ofTenses against the whiles ea-ft of the Ohio River. It his been claimed that Delaware Indians who spoke the German language, and wh'i claimed to belong to one of the Moravian villages, committed murders in a while settlement on the Pennsylvania border, also, that Williamson'o men found children's clothing in one of the Moravian towns, which was identified as having been worn by little while children when killed or cariied off' by Indians. Be this as it may, we consider an account of the .Moravian aflair as not pertinent to the histoiy of the Wyandot Indians, or of Wyandot County, and, therefore, forbear making further mention of it. If, however, it be asserted that by reason of the killing of tbe Delaware Indians, at the Moravian towns, the Delaware tribes were made more bloodthirsty, and burned Col. Crawford by way ot retaliation, we answer, that the Delaware* were always bloodthirsty, vindictive, treacherous, cowardly, and that they burned many white prisoners at the stake, both before and after the death of Crawford.

the Senior Major, or second officer in rank. The other Majors were Thomas Gaddis, John McClelland and Maj. Brinton. Daniel Leet was elected Brigade-major; Dr. John Knight was appointed Surgeon; and JohnSlover and Jonathan Zane accompanied the expedition as guides. The force was divided into eighteen companies, some of which were commanded by the following named captains: McGeehan, Hoagland, Beeson, Munn, Boss, Ogle, John Biggs, Craig, Ritchie, John Miller, Joseph Bean and Andrew Hood.

Gen. Irvine issued sealed orders directed to the "Commander-in- Chief of the expedition against the Indian town at or near Sandusky,'' in which he specifically set forth the object of his command to be " to destroy with fire and sword (if practicable) the Indian town and settlement at Sandusky, by which it was hoped to give ease and safety to the inhabitants of this country; but if that should be found impracticable, to perform such other services in his power as would, in their consequences, have a tendency to answer that great end." It was also directed to "settle all questions of rank before leaving their rendezvous; and to regulate their last day's march so as to reach said town about dawn or a little before, in order to effect a surprise." Gen. Irvine spoke of the expedition as being composed of "disinterested and virtuous men, who had the protection of this country in view, and upon whom he enjoined it specially to act in such a manner as to reflect honor on and add reputation to the American arms." The orders concluded " with the sincere wishes of the department commander for their success."

It will thus be seen that the Crawford expedition ivas not, as many have thought and asserted, an unauthorized, illegal, ill-considered or murderous raid - " a sudden and wild maraud " of "untamed bordei'ers" - an organization put on foot by lawless men, for the destruction of the remnant of the Moravian Indians that had been, during the previous year, forcibly removed from their villages on the Tuscarawas, by the British and Delaware hostiles to the Saadusky Plains. The massacre of innocent, inoffensive Indians was not the purpose of the expedition, commanded by Col. Crawford, to the Saudusky country, in 1782. It was to chastise hostile Indian tribes who had been and still ^were the deadly enemies of the settlers on the Western borders - enemies of our civilization - enemies of our common country - enemies of the white race. And all those writers who have maintained that Col. Crawford's command was composed of "bandits and murderers," and that their purpose was "to destroy the remainder of the Moravian Indians," were undoubtedly mistaken. Butterfield, in his admirable history of "Crawford's Sandusky Campaign," says, that " in all examinations of the correspondence of those projecting the expedition against Sandusky, and of those who took part in it, as well as of papers and documents of that period relating thereto, and of contemporaneous publications, he had not met with a single statement or word calculated to awaken a suspicion, even of intended harm, to the Christian Indians upon the Sandusky. Whenever the objective point of the expedition is mentioned, it is invariably given as Sandusky, or the W^yandot town or towns."

Early on the morning of Saturday, May 25, Crawford's command began its march on horseback for the Sandusky Plains, distant about ]50 miles. They purposed making a rapid march, avoiding, as far as practicable, the Indian trails, so as to reach the Sandusky region without the knowledge of the Indians, and thus take them by surprise. The wily nature of the sav- ages, says Butterfield, was too well known to give assurance of security because no enemy was visible; hence Col. Crawford " took every precaution to guard against ambuscades and surprises." " Unceasing vigilance was the watchword." However, nothing worthy of note transpired until Monday night, the 27th, while at the third encampment. Here a number of the men lost their horses, which were hunted for the next morning without sue cess. It was then decided by Col. Crawford that these dismounted men should return home, as their crippled condition would contribute more to the burden and inconvenience of the movement than would their services toward securing its successful issue. On Tuesday, the 28th, the fourth day of the march, the command reached the Tuscarawas River, at a point about one mile below the present town of New Philadelphia, the county seat of Tuscarawas County. During the same evening, Maj. Brinton and Capt. Bean, while a short distance from the camp, discovered two Indians lurking near by, upon whom they immediately tired, but without effect. These escaping Indians, says Dr. Knight, gave notice to the hostiles ou the Sandusky of the movements of the Americans. The fact of the discovery while yet so remote from the objective point rendered the necessity greater for a rapid march. Therefore, on Wednesday morning, the 29th, the march was resumed with a rapidity not before attempted. The guides, Slover and Zane, in the advance, led off in a northwest course across the Killbuck, above the present town of Millersburg, county seat of Holmes County, leaving Wooster, the present county seat of Wayne County, about ten miles to the north, and Manstield, now the county seat of Richland County, a few miles south, and on the evening of Saturday, June 1, the entire command encamped at a point now known as Spring Mills, about eight miles east of the present town of Crestline, in Crawford County. On the following day, Sunday, June 2, the expedition arrived at the Sandusky River near the present village of Leesville, having marched about eighty -five miles during the last tive days. The Sandusky Plains were reached on Monday, the 3d day of June, and the mouth of the Little Sandusky on Tuesday, the 4th. Later on the same day, the troops reached the W^yandot town, then known as Upper Sandusky, which was situated about three miles southeast of the present town of that name, but to the utter astonishment of Crawford and his men, not an Indian was to be seen, and the village appeared as if it had been deserted for some time. It was now afternoon. The men and officers dismounted, and while the horses leisurely grazed upon the luxuriant and abundant pasturage, and the men drank from a neighboring spring, Col. Crawford and his officers consulted as to what was best to be done.

One of the guides of the expedition, Slover, had been a prisoner among the Indians, and was familiar with the localities in the Sandusky region. He communicated his opinion to Col. Crawford, that the Indians of the deserted Wyandot village, on hearing of his approach, had probably gone to one of their towns, situated about eight miles down the river. It was thereupon determined to move forward at once in search of them. A march of three miles brought them to the site of the present town of Upper Sandusky. After a, furthm' advance movement of about a mile, some of the men stated that they were short of supplies, and expressed a desire to retvirn instead of proceeding onward. A council of war was then held, to consider the question of the probability of the concentration of the hostile Indians in their front. Crawford and the guide, Zane, were of the opinion that there were indications that the Indians were bent on a determined resistance, and were then, probably, collecting their warriors. Zane advised an immediate re-

Col. Crawford had previously sent forward a small body of men for the purpose of reconnoitering. This party had gone but about two miles when they discovered the enemy in full force rapidly moving toward them. Immediately one of the scouts was sent back to Col. Crawford to inform him of the presence of the enemy. The council had just adjourned, and the troops were at once formed for action. After advancing about a mile, the enemy were found moving toward a grove, evidently meaning battle. Col. Crawford ordered his men to dismount and advance upon the Indians. They did so, and ere the expiration of many minutes the savages were dislodged, and the Americans in possession of the grove. Soon, the Delawares, with whom the battle was opened, were reinforced by the Wyandots, all being under the command of Capt. Mathew Elliott, an Irishman in the service of the British Government. Very soon, the action, which commenced aboiit 4 o'clock P. M., became general. The infamous renegade, Simon Girty, was with the savages and acted a conspicuous part. The Indians were protected, in a measure, by the tall prairie grass, and the Pennsylvanians were also afforded some protection, too, by the grove, of which they had, by gallant fighting, obtained possession. The fight at " Battle Island," in what is now termed Crane Township, Wyandot County, continued with varying success until dark, when the Indians retired farther out into the prairie, and ceased firing. The loss sustained by the Americans was four killed and nineteen wuunded. Doubtless the Indians lost a greater number, but of course it was never known.

Crawford retained his position in the grove during the night, his men meanwhile suffering terribly for lack of water. At daylight on the morning of June 5 (Wednesday), the firing was renewed, but in a desultory manner, and at long range only, and so continued throughout the day. Hence little damage was done (the Americans having four more men wounded) and the relative position of the opposing forces remained unchanged. During the day, however, the enemy was reinforced by a body of white troops, known as " Butler's Hangers," also by about 200 Shawanese Indians. Savages from other quarters also kept gathering in, so that the Americans were surrounded and greatly out- numbered. A council of war was thereupon called, which unanimously decided upon a retreat that night. The movement was to commence at 9 o'clock. Just as the hour had arrived for the retreat to begin, the enemy discovered the intentions of the Americans and opened fire from various points. Confusion followed, and some in the front line hurried off, followed by many pushing forward from the rear. The advance, under command of Maj. McClelland, was furiously attacked by the Delawares and Shawanese and suffered severely, he being fatally wounded. The rear division was also attacked and suffered considerable loss. All through the night the retreat was continued, the enemy pursuing in considerable force, with more or less vigor and efficiency. The advance of Crawford's command arrived at the oldi town of Upper Sandusky about daybreak of Thursday, June 6, where, after a short time, about 300 of the original force were collected.

It was then ascertained that Col. Crawford was missing. But none knew whether he was killed, captured, or was making his escape on some route other than that taken by the main body of his forces. Dr. Knight and John Slover, one of the pilots, or guides, were also among those unaccounted for. The retreating volunteers were now under the command of Col. Will- iamson, who is said to have conducted the movement as skillfully and successfully as could have been reasonably expected. When well along on the open country or "plains," a large body of mounted Indians and British cavalry came in sight of the retreating troops. The enemy pressed forward so closely upon their flanks and rear that the Pennsylvanians liually halted, formed their lines, and gave battle. This was at 2 o'clock P. M., on Thursday, June 6, near the eastern edge of the plains, not far from a small branch of the Olentangy Creek, a tributary of the Scioto, in what is now known as Whetstone Township, Crawford County. The enemy attacked on front, left flank and rear, but seemed glad to retire at the expiration of an hour's fighting. In this action, termed the " Battle of Olentangy,'' the Americans lost three men killed and eight wounded. The loss of the enemy was much greater.

The retreat then continued in a chilly, drenching rain, the enemy still pursuing and occasionally firing a shot at a respectable distance in the rear. At night the opposing forces were encamped within a mile of each other. Scarcely had the Americans formed their lines at daybreak of the 7th, when the enemy opened fire from the rear. Here they captured tAvo of the Americans, and it is supposed tomahawked them. But the main body was not pursued further, the last hostile shot having been fired near the present town of Crestline, in Crawford County. On their further retreat they had frequent accessions of stragglers, who had been detached by various means from the main body early in the retrograde movement. The homeward march was along the trail of the troops when outward bound, as far as the Tuscarawas, which they crossed June 10. From that point to the Ohio River, Williamson's trail was followed. Mingo Bottom was reached on the 13th, where, to their gi-eat joy, they found several of their missing comrades, who had arrived before them. But the gallant Crawford was not among them, and about 100 of the 480 men that started with the expedition never returned. Among the unre turned heroes were William Harrison, son- in-law, and William Crawford, the nephew of Col. Crawford. Harrison suffered death at the stake.

John Slover, the guide, was captured by a band of Shawanese within twenty miles of the Tuscarawas River, at a point now within the limits of Wayne County. He was taken back to the Sandusky Plains, and from thence to the Shawanese towns near Mad River, now in Logan County, where he was beaten and made to run the gauntlet. Finally, he was taken to Wapatomica, an Indian village situated near the site of Zanesfield, in Logan County, where a council condemned him to die at the stake. Taken to Mack-achack, another Indian village, which stood near the site of the present town oP West Liberty, in Logan County, he was bound to a post and a fire kindled around him. Soon after the fire began to blaze a heavy rainstorm came on and extinguished it. The savages then postponed the burning until the next day. During the night, though bound with cords and guarded, he escaped, and finally reached the settlements, having crossed the Ohio River at W'heeling, July 11, 1782.

We now give place to Dr. John Knight's narrative, which, written by him soon after his escape, tells of the march, battle, capture and death of Col. Crawford. It is as follows:

" About the latter end of the month of March or the beginning of April, of the year 1782, the Western Indians began to make incursions upon the frontiers of Ohio County, Va., and Washington and Westmoreland Counties, Penn.. which had been their constant j^ractice ever since the commencement of the present war between the United States and Great Britain.

" In consequence of these predatory invasions, the principal officers of the above-mentioned counties, named Cols. Williamson and Marshall, tried every method in their power to set on foot an expedition against the Wyandot tow^ns, which they could effect in no other way than by giving all possible encouragement to volunteers. The plau proposed was as follows: Every man furnishing himself with a horse, a gun, and one month's provision should be exempt from two tours of militia duty. Likewise that every one who had been plundered by the Indians should, if the plunder could be found at their towns, have it again, proving it to be his property; and all horses lost on the expedition by unavoidable accidents were to be replaced by horses taken in the enemy's country.

"The place appointed for the rendezvous or general meeting of the volunteers was fixed on the west side of the Ohio River, about forty miles below Fort Pitt by land, and, I think, about seventy-tive by water.

" Col. Crawford was solicited by the general voice of these western counties and districts to command the expedition. He accordingly set out as a volunteer and came to Fort Pitt two days before the time appointed for the assembling of the men. As thpre was no surgeon yet appointed to go with the expedition. Col. Crawford begged the favor of Gren. Irvine to permit me to accompany him (my consent having been previously asked), to which the General agreed, provided Col. Gibson did not object. Having obtained permission of the Colonel, I left Fort Pitt on Tuesday, May 21, and the next day about 1 in the afternoon arrived at the Min.o Bottom. The volunteers did not all cross the river until Friday morning, the 24th; they then distributed themselves into eighteen companies, choosing their Captains by vote. There were chosen also one Colonel commandant, four field Majors and one brigade Major. There were 465 who voted.

" We began our march on Saturday, May 25, making almost a due west course, and on the fourth day reached the old Moravian town upon the river Muskingum, about sixty miles from the river Ohio. Some of the men, having lost their horses on the night preceding, returned home. Tuesday, the 28th, in the evening, Maj. Brinton and Capt. Bean went some distance from camp to reconnoiter; having gone about one-quarter of a mile, they saw two Indians, upon whom they fired and then returned to camp. This was the first place we were discovered, as we understood afterward. On Tuesday, the 4th of June, which was the eleventh day of our march, about 1 o'clock, we came to the spot where the town of Sandusky formerly stood; the inhabitants had moved eighteen miles lower down the creek nearer Lower Sandusky; but as neither our guides or any who were with us had known anything of their removal, we began to conjecture there were no Indian towns nearer than Lower Sandusky, which was at least forty miles distant.

" However, after refreshing our horses, we advanced on in search of some of their settlements, but had scarcely got the distance of three or four miles from the old town, when a number of our men expressed their desire to return, some of them alleging that they had only five days' provisions; upon which the field officers and Captains determined in council to proceed that afternoon and no longer. Previous to the calling of this council, a small party of light horse .had been sent forward to reconnoiter. Just as the council had ended, an express retui'ned from the above-mentioned party of light horse with the intelligence that they had been about three miles in front, and had seen a large body of Indians running toward them. In a short time we saw the rest of the light horse, who joined us, and having gone one mile further met a number of Indians who had partly got possession of a piece of woods before us, whilst we were in the plains, but our men, alighting from their horses and rushing into the woods, soon obliged them to abandon that place.

" The enemy, being by this time re-inforced, flanked to the right and a part of them coming in our i-ear quickly made the action more serious. The tiring continued very warm on both sides from 4 o'clock until the dark of the evening, each party maintaining their ground. And next morning about 4 o'clock, some guns were dischai'ged at the distance of 200 or 300 yards; which continued till day, doing little or no execution on either side. The lield officers then assembled and agreed as the enemy were every moment increasing, and we had already a number wounded, to retreat that night. The whole body was to form into three lines, keeping the wounded in the center. We had four killed and twenty-three wounded, of the latter seven very dangerously, on which account as many biers were got ready to carry them; most of the rest were slightly wounded and none so bad but they could ride on horseback. After dark the officers went on the outposts and brought in all the men as expeditiously as they could. Just as the troops were about to form, several guns were fired by the enemy, upon which some of our men spoke out and said our intention was discovered by the Indians, who were firing alarm guns, upon which some in front hurried off, and the rest immediately followed, leaving the seven men that were dangerously wovinded, some of whom, however, got off on horseback by means of some good friends, who waited for and assisted them.

" We had not got a quarter of a mile from the field of action, when I heard Col. Crawford calling for his son, John Crawford, his son-in-law, Maj. Harrison. Maj. Rose, and William Crawford, his nephew, upon which I came up and told him I believed they were before us. He asked, ' Is that the doctor? ' I answered, 'yes.' He then replied that they were not in front, and begged of me not to leave him. I promised him I would not. We then waited and continued calling for these men until all of the troops had passed us. The Colonel told me that his horse had almost given out, that he could not keep up with the troops, and wished some of his best friends to remain with him; presently there came two men riding after us, one of them an old man, the other a lad. We inquired if they had seen any of the above persons, and they answered they had not.

"By this time there was a very hot tiring before us, and, as we judged, near where our main body must have been. Our course was then nearly sovithwest, but, changing it, we went north about two miles, the two men remaining in company with us. Judging ourselves now out of the enemy's lines, we took a due east course, taking care to keep at the distance of fifteen or twenty yards apart, and directing ourselves by the north star. The old man often lagged behind, and when this was the case he never failed to call for us to halt for him. When we were near the Sandusky River, he fell one hundred yards behind, and bawled out for us to stop, as usual. While we were preparing to I'eprimand him for making a noise, I heard an Indian halloo, as I thought, 150 yards from the man, and partly behind him. After this we did not hear the man call again, neither did he ever come up to us any more. It was now past midnight, and about daybreak Col. Crawford's and the young man's horses gave out, and they left them. We pursued our journey eastward, and about 1 o'clock fell in with (3apt. Biggs, who had carried Lieut. Ashley from the field of action, who had been dangerously wounded.

"We then went on about the space of an hour, when, a heavy rain coming on, we concluded it was best to encamp, as we were encumbered with the wounded officer. We then barked four or five trees, made an encampment and a fire, and remained there ail that night. Next morning we again prosecuted our journey, and having gone about three miles, found a deer which had been recently killed. The meat was sliced from the hams and bundled in the skin, with a tomahawk lying by it. We carried all with us, and, in advancing about one mile further, espied the smoke of a fire. We then gave the wounded officer into the charge of the young man, desiring him to stay behind whilst the Colonel, the Captain and myself walked up as cautiously as we could toward the fire. When we came to it we concluded, from several circumstances, some of our people had encamped there the preceding night. We then went about roasting the venison, and, when about to march, we observed one of our men coming upon our tracks. He seemed at first very shy, but having called to him, he came up and told that he was the person that killed the deer, but, upon hearing us come up, was afraid of Indians, hid in a thicket, and made off. Upon this we gave him some bread and roasted venison, proceeded altogether upon oiir journey, and about 2 o'clock came upon the paths by which we had gone out. Capt. Biggs and myself did not think it safe to keep the road, but the Colonel said the Indians would not follow the troops further than the plains, which we were then considerably past. As the wounded officer rode Capt. Biggs' horse, I loaned the Captain mine. The Colonel and myself went about one hundred yards in front, the Captain and wounded officer in the center, and the two young men behind. After wo had traveled about one mile and a half, several Indians started up within fifteen or twenty steps of the Colonel and me. As we at first discovered only three, I immediately got behind a large black oak, made ready my piece, and I'aised it up to take sight, when the Colonel called to me twice not to tire; upon that, one of the Indians ran up to the Colonel and took hiin by the hand. The Colonel then told me to put down ray gun, which I did. At that instant one of them came up to me whom I had formerly seen very often, calling me Doctor, and took me by the hand. They were Delaware Indians of the Wingenin tribe. Capt. Biggs fired amongst them, but did no execution. They then told us to call these and make them come back, else they would go and kill them, which the Colonel did, but they four got off and escaped for that time.

" The Colonel and I were then taken to the Indian camp, which was about one-half a mile from the place where we were captured. On Sunday evening five Delawares, who had posted themselves at some distance further on the road, brought back to the camp where we lay Capt. Biggs and Lieut. Ashley's scalps, with an Indian scalp, which Capt. Biggs had taken in the field of action. They also brought in Biggs' horse and mine. They told us the other two had got away from them.

" Monday morning, the 10th of June, we were paraded to march to Sandusky about thirty-three miles distant. They had eleven prisoners of us, and four scalps, the Indians being seventeen in number. Col. Crawford was very desirous to see a 'certain Simon Girty,' who lived among the Indians, and was on this account permitted to go to Tarhe the same night, with two warriors to guard him, having orders at the same time to pass by the place where the Colonel had turned out his horse, that they might if possible find him. The rest of us were taken to the old town, which was within eifrht miles of the new.

"Tuesday morning, the 11th, Col. Crawford was brought out to us on purpose to be marched in with the prisoners. I asked the Colonel if he had seen Mr. Girty; he told me had, and that Girty had promised to do everything in his power for him, but that the Indians were very much enraged against the prisoners, particularly Capt. Pipe, one of the chiefs. He likewise told me that Girty had informed him that his son-in-law, Maj. Harrison, and his nephew, William Crawford, were made prisoners by the Shawanese, but had been pardoned. This Capt. Pipe had come from the towns about an hour- before Col. Crawford, and had painted all the prisoners' faces black.

" As he was painting me, he told me that I should go to the Shawanese towns and see my friends. When the Colonel arrived he painted him black, also told him he was glad to see him, and that he would have him shaved when he came to see his friends at the Wyandot town. When we marched the Colonel and I were kept back between Pipe and Wingeniu, the two Delaware chiefs, the other nine prisoners were sent forward with another party of Indians. As we went along we saw four of the prisoners lying by the path tomahawked and scalped. Some of them were at the distance of half a mile from each other. When we arrived within half a mile of the place where the Colonel was to be executed, we overtook the five prisoners that remained alive. The Indians had caused them to sit down on the ground, as they did, also, the Colonel and me at some distance from them. I was then given in charge of an Indian fellow to be taken to the Shawanese towns.

*' In the place where we were made to sit down, there were a number of squaws and boys who fell on the five prisoners and tomahawked them. There was a certain John McKinley among the prisoners, formerly an officer in the Thirteenth Virginia Regiment, whose head an old squaw cut off, and the Indians kicked it about on the ground. The young Indian fellows came often where the Colonel and I were, and dashed the scalps in our faces. We were then conducted along toward the place where the Colonel was afterward executed. When we came within about a half mile of it, Simon Girty met ub, with several Indians on horseback; he spoke to the Colonel, but I was about 150 yards behind, and could not hear what passed between them. Almost every Indian we met struck us either with sticks or their fists. Girty waited until I was brought up, and asked was that the doctor. I told him yes, and went toward him reaching out my hand, but

" When we were come to the fire, the Colonel was stripped naked, ordered to sit down by the fire, and then they beat him with sticks and their fists. Presently after, I was treated in the same manner. They then tied a rope to the foot of a post about fifteen feet high, bound the Colonel's hands behind his back, and fastened the rope to the ligatures between his wrists. The rope was long enough either for him to sit down or walk around the post once or twice and return the same way. The Colonel then called to Girty and asked him if they intended to burn him. Girty answered yes. The Colonel said he would take it all patiently. Upon this Capt. Pipe, the Delaware chief, made a speech to the Indians, to about thirty or forty men, sixty or seventy squaws and boys. When the speech was finished, they all yelled a hideous and hearty assent to what had been said. The Indian men then took their guns and shot powder into the Colonel's body, from his feet as far up as his neck. I think not less than seventeen loads were discharged upon his naked body. They then crowded about him and to the best of my observation cut off his ears; when the throng had dispersed a little, I saw the blood running from both sides of his head in consequence thereof.

" The fire was about six or seven yards from the post to which the Colonel was tied. It was made of small hickory poles, each about six feet long. Three or four Indians, by turns, would take up, individually, one of these bm*ning pieces of wood, and apply it to his naked body, already burned black with the powder. These tormentors presented themselves on every side of him so that whichever way he ran around the post they met him with burning faggots and poles. Some of the squaws took wide boards upon which they would put a quantity of burning coals and hot embers, and throw on him, so that in a short time he had nothing but coals of fire and hot ashes to walk upon. In the midst of these extreme torments and tortures he called to Simon Girty, and begged of him to shoot him, but Girty making no answer, he called to him again Girty by way of derision told the Colonel he had no gun, at the same time turning about to an Indian who was behind him, laughed heartily, and by all his gestures seemed delighted at the horrid scene.

" Girty then came up to me and bade me prepare for death. He said, however, I was not to die at this place, but to be burned at the Shawanese town. He swore by G - d, I need not expect to escape death, but should suffer it in all its extremities. He then observed that some prisoners had given him to understand that if our people had him they would not hurt him; for his part, he said, he did not believe it, but desired to know my opinion of the matter. Being at that time in great anguish and distress for the torments the Colonel was suffering before my eyes, as well as the expectation of underging the same fate in two days. I made little or no reply. He expressed a great deal of ill will for Col. Gibson, and said he was one of his greatest enemies, and more to the same purpose, to all of which I paid very little attention. Col. Crawford, at this period of his sufferings, besought the Almighty to have mercy on his soul, spoke very low, and bore his torments with the most manly fortitude. He continued in all the extremities of pain for an hour and three-quarters or two hours, as near as I can judge, when at last, being almost spent, he lay down on his belly. They then scalped him, and repeatedly threw the scalp in my face, telling me 'that was my Captain.' An old squaw (whose appearance every way answered the idea the people entertain of the devil) got a board, took a parcel of coals and ashes, and laid them on his back and head after he had been scalped; he then raised himself upon his feet and began to walk around the post; they next put a burning stick to him as usual, but he seemed more insensible of pain than before.

"The Indian fellow who had me in charge now took mo away to Capt. Pipe's house, about three-quarters of a mile from the place of the Colonel's execution. I was bound all night, and thus prevented from seeing the last of the horrid spectacle. Next morning, being June 12, the Indian untied me, painted me black, and we set off for the Shawanese town, which he told me was somewhat less than forty miles from that place. We soon came to the spot where the Colonel had been burnt, as it was partly in our way. I saw his bones lying among the remains of the lire, almost bui'nt to ashes. I suppose after he Avas dead they had laid his body on the fire.

halloo. He was on horseback and drove me befoi'e him. I pretended to this Indian I was ignorant ot* the death I was to die at the Shawanese town; affected as cheerful a countenance as possible, and asked him if we were not to live together as brothers in one house when we should get to the town. He seemed well pleased, and said yes. He then asked me if I could make wigwams. I told him I could; he then seemed more friendly. We went that day, as near as I can judge, about twenty-live miles, the course partly southwest. The Indian told me we should the next day come to the town, the sun being in such a direction, pointing nearly south. At night, when we went to rest, I attempted very often to untie myself, but the Indian was extremely vigilant and scarce ever shut his eyes that night. About daybreak, he got up and untied me. He next began to mend the fire, and as the gnats were troublesome, I asked him if I could make a smoke behind him. He said yes. I then took the end of a dogwood fork, which had been burnt down to about eighteen inches long; it was the longest stick I could find, yet too small for the purpose I had in view; then I picked up another smaller stick, and taking a coal of fire between them, went behind him, then turning suddenly about, I* struck him on the head with all the force I was master of, which so stunned him that he fell forward with both his hands in the fire.

" Seeing him recover and get up, I seized his gun, while he ran off howling in a most fearful manner. I followed him with the determination to shoot him down, but pulling back the cock of the gun with too great violence, I believe I broke the mainspring. I pursued him about thirty yards, still endeavoring to fire the gun, but could not; then going back to the fire, I took his blanket, a pair of new moccasins, his hatchet, powder-horn, bullet-bag, together with his gun, and marched off, directing my course toward the 5 o'clock mark. About half an hour before sunset, I came to the plains, which I think are about sixteen miles wide. I laid me down in a thicket till dark, and then by the assistance of the north star made my way through them and got into the woods before morning. I pressed on the next day, and about noon crossed the paths by which our troops had gone out. These paths were nearly east and west, but I went due north nearly all that afternoon, with a view to avoid the enemy.

"In the evening I began to be very faint, and no wondei*. I had been six days a prisoner, the two latter days of which I had eaten nothing, and but very little the first three or four. There were wild gooseberries in abundance in the woods, but being unripe required mastication, which at that time I was not able to perform on account of a blow received from an Indian on the jaw with the back of a tomahawk. There was a weed that grew in that place, the juice of which I knew to be grateful and nourishing. I gathered up a bundle of the same, took up my lodging under a large spreading beech tree, having sucked plentifully of the juice, and went to sleep. Next day I made a due east course, which I generally kept the rest of my journey. I often imagined my gun was only wood- bound, and tried every method I could devise to unscrew the lock, but never could effect it, having no knife nor anything fitting for the purpose. I had now the satisfaction to find my jaw began to mend, and in four or five days could chew any vegetable proper for nourishment, but finding ray gun a useless burden, left her in the wilderness. I had no apparatus for making fire to sleep by, so that I could get but little rest for the gnats and mosquitoes. There are likewise a great many swamps in the beech ridge, which occasioned me very often to lie wet. This ridge through which I traveled is about twenty miles broad; the ground in general is very level and rich, free from shrubs and brush; there are, however, very few springs, yet wells might easily be dug in all parts of the ridge. The timber on it is very lofty, but it is no easy matter to make a straight course through the same, the moss growing as high upon the south side of the trees as on the north.

" There are a great many white oak, ash and hickory trees that grow among the beech timber. There are likewise some places on the ridge, pei'haps for three or four continued miles, where there is little or no beech, and in such spots, black, white oak, ash and hickory abound; sugar trees grow there also to a very great bulk. The soil is remarkably good, the ground a little ascending and descending with some rivulets and a few springs. When I got out of the beech ridge and near the River Muskingum, the land was more broken, but equally rich with those before mentioned and abounding with brooks and springs of water. There are also several small creeks that empty into that river, the bed of which is more than a mile wide in places. The wood consists of white and black oaks, walnut, hickory and sugar tree in the greatest abundance. In all parts of the country through which I came, the game was plenty, that is to say, deer, turkeys and pheasants. I likewise saw a great many vestiges of bears and elks.

"I crossed the River Muskingum about three or four miles below Fort Laurens, and crossing all paths, aimed for the Ohio River. All this time my food was gooseberries, young nettles, the juice of herbs, a few service berries and some May apples, likewise two young blackbirds and a terrapin, which I devoured raw. When my food sat heavy on my stomach, I used to eat a little wild ginger, which put all to rights. I came upon the Ohio River about live miles below Fort Mcintosh, in the evening of the twentyfirst day after I had made my escape, and on the twenty -second, about 7 o'clock in the morning, being the 4tb of July, arrived safe, though much fatigued." In 1784, Dr. Knight married Col. Crawford's half sister. He finally settled at Shelbyville, Ky., where he died March 12, 1838.

As shown in the foregoing narration, the Delawares, true to their savage and cowardly nature from time immemorial, and led on by the chiefs, Capt. Pipe and Wingenund, were the guilty authors of this terrible act of barbarity. This most atrocious deed, connived at by British officers, was perpetrated, it is claimed, in the present township of Crawford, on the southeast bank of Tyraochtee Ci'eek, a short distance northeast from the present town of Crawfordsville, and distant about seven miles northwest from

/pper Sandusky, county seat of Wyandot County. Col. William Crawford, a son of Scotch-Irish parents, was born in the region now known as Berkeley County. W. Va. , in the year 1732. When about eighteen years of age, he became acquainted with George Washington, who was of the same age with himself, and was at that time in ihe service of Lord Fairfax as surveyor. Crawford's early home was in the Fairfax grant, in which Washington was surveying, being in what was called the "Northern Neck of Virginia," or the northern portion of the since famous Shenandoah Valley. Their acquaintance soon ripened into warm friendship, which was never impaired or broken, or suffered the slightest interruption while life lasted. Crawford's whole life was passed upon the frontiers. Therefore, his education was limited, but his natural abilities, good judgment and knowledge of men were very remarkable. He was generous in disposition, and in common with those of his lineage on the Pennsyl- vania and Virginia borders, possessed tlie most undaunted courage. He acquired a knowledge of surveying from Washington, and made it his business pui'suit in part until the openingof the "old French and Indian war," when he joined a company of Virginia Rangers, and participated in Braddock's disastrous expedition as an Ensign. For gallantry on the battle-field, he was promoted to a lieutenancy. During the subsequent two or three years, he was employed in garrison duty, or as a scout on the frontiers. In 1758, he was commissioned Captain of a company of Virginia Riflemen, which was attached to Col. George Washington's regiment of Virginians, and performed efficient service during Gen. Forbes' successful campaign against Fort Du Quesne. Capt. Crawford remained in the service of the colony of Virginia until th^ close of the war mentioned.

In 1767, he moved to a point then and for years afterward known as "Stewart's Crossing " of the Youghiogheny, but afterward called New Haven, a village opposite the present town of Connellsville, in Fayette County, Penn. Crawford was among the first to settle in that part of the present State of Pennsylvania, a region which was then claimed by the province of Virginia, and of which the Indian title was not extinguished until the following year (1768). However, from Stewart's Crossing. Capt. Crawford kept up his correspondence with his old friend Washington, and to the close of bis life (Washington having purchased from the Virginia authorities a large tract of land, lying in the present southwest quarter of Pennsylvania, west of Laurel Hill) served him as his land agent. In 177U, Washington and Crawford, with other gentlemen, voyaged together down the Ohio River, from Fort Pitt to the mouth of the Kanawha, and up that river, exploring with a view to the ultimate location and purchase of lands.

By an act of the General Assembly of the Province of Pennsylvania, passed on Saturday, March 9, 1771, Bedford was erected as the ninth county of the province. It embraced all of the settled regions lying west of the Tuscarora Mountain, or, in other words, the entire southwest quarter of the present State. On Monday, March 11, of the same year, John Fraser, Barnard Dougherty, Arthur St. Clair, W^illiam Proctor, Jr., Robert Cluggage, Robert Hanna, George Wilson, George Woods, William Lochry, William Crawford, Dorsey Pentecost, William McConnell, Thomas Gist, James Mulligan and Alexander McKee wei'e appointed by the same General Assembly Justices of the Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, and of the County Court of Common Pleas for the new county. Nearly all of these men wore of Scotch or Scotch-Irish parentage, and all were stanch patriots during the Revolutionary war (which began four years later), a majority of them holding commissions high in rank.

The great extent of Bedford County, originally, the sparse and widely scattered settlements contained within it, together with the lack of highways other than those constructed years before by the armies of Braddock and Forbes, made it an extremely difficult matter to transact the public business, to assess and collect taxes, etc. Besides, as Virginia claimed all that part of the province lying west of Laurel Hill, and northward to and including Fort Pitt, and as the authorities of that province were issuing certificates for land in the disputed region at the rate of only ten shiiliugs per 100 acres, it was but natural that a majority of those who had obtained their homesteads so cheaply should espouse the cause of Virginia (from which province they had recently removed) as against Pennsylvania, and in consequence refuse to recognize the authority of the Bedford County officials, or to pay the taxes levied upon them.

Regarding these difficxTlties, the following letters, written by two of the first Justices of Bedford County, will afford a partial explanation :

Sir : I understand by Capt. John Harding, the Bearer of this, that there is an Agreement inter'd into be a Number of the inhabitants of Monongahalia and Readstone, iio has Entered into a bond or Articles of an Agreement that Each man will Joyn and Keep off all Officers belonging to the Law, and under the Penalty of fifty pounds for to be forfeited by the party refusing to Joyn against all Officers whatsoever.

I understand this was set on foot by a set of People who has maid a breach of the Law by Driving out a man from his home, for which there was a King's warrant Ishued against them, together with a notion Propegated by Coll. Croghan, that them posts would not fall into Pensilvania, he told me it was the Opinion of some of the best Judges that the Province Line would not E.xtend, by Considerable, so far, as it would be settled at 48 Miles to a Degree of Longetude which was the distance of a degree of Longitude allowd at the time the Charter was granted to Mr. Pen, and has since told those People that they had no right to Obay any presept Ishued from Pensj^lvania.

He has run a Line from the mouth of Rackoon up the Ohio to Fort Pitt, and from thence up Monongahalia Above Pigeon Creek, and from thence Across till it strikes Rackoon Creek, ten Miles up it, and he Says he has one more grant of 100,000 acres more to lay of in a parelele with that. Many sirways he had cut to peaces and sold to sundry People that has bin returnd into your Office, some of mine which is not above 3 or 4 Mile from Fort Pitt; one of mine he has and many others; it is a great Pity there is not a Stop put to such Proceedings, as it will be attended with very bad Consequence.

We supplement Col. (then known as Capt.) Crawford's communication with one written on the same topic by his colleague, Col. Wilson, not because of any pertinency to our subject, but by reason of the courage shown by the writer, and his quaint way of expressing his ideas.

My Dear Capt: I am Sorey that the first Letter I ever undertook to Write you Should Contain a Detail of a Greivance so Disagreeable to me; Wars of any Cind are not agreable to aney Person Posesed of ye proper feelings of Humanity, But more Especially intestin Broyls. I no Sooner Returned Home from Court than I Found papers containing the Resolves, as they Called them, of ye inhabitants to ye Westward of ye Laurall hills, ware handing fast abowt amongst ye people, in which amongst ye rest Was one that they Were Resolved to oppose everey of Pens Laws as they Called them. Except Felonious actions at ye Risque of Life, & under ye penelty of fiftey pounds, to be Recovoured, or Leveyed By themselves, off ye Estates of ye failure. The first of them I found Hardey anugh to offer it in publick, I Emeditly ordered into Custodey, on which a large number Ware assembled as Was Seposed to Resque the Prisonar. I indavoured, By all ye Reason I was Capable of to Convince them of the ill Consequences that would of Consecjuence attend such a Rebellion, & Hapely Gained on the People to Consent to Relinquish their Resolves, & to Burn the peper they had Signed. When their forman saw that the Arms of His Contrie, that as hee said Hee had thrown himself into would not Resque him By force, hee Catched up his Rifle, Which was Well Loded, Jumped out of Dors, & swore if aney man Cam nigh him hee 'would put What Was in his throo them; the Person that Had him in Custody Called for assistance in ye King's name, & in pirtickelaur Commanded myself. I told him I Was a Subject & Was not fit to Command if not Willing to obay, on which I watched his Eye untill I Saw a Chance, Sprang in on him & sezed ye Rifle by ye Muzle and held him. So as he Could not Shoot mee, until more help got in to my assistance, on which I Disarmed him & Broke his Rifle to peeses. I Res'd a Sore Bruze on one of my arms By a punch of ye Gun in ye Strugle. Then put him under a Strong Guard, Told them ye Laws of their Contrie was Stronger then the Hardiest Ruffin amongst them.

I found it necesery on their Complyance & altering their Resolves, & his promising to Give himself no more trouble in the affair, as hee found that the people Ware not as hardey as hee Expected them to be, to Relece him on his promise of Good Behavour.

I am affraid Sum Who Have Been too much Countenanced By their King & ye province of Pensallvania are Grate accesoreys to those factions, & God knows where they May Eind. I have, in my Little time in Life, taken the oath of Ale^^ence to His Majestic seven times, & always Did it with ye Consent of my whole Heart, & am Determined in my proper place to Seport the Contents thereof to ye outmost of my power, as I look on it as my Duty to Let those things be Known to Government & my acquaintance at Philadelphia is none. I expect you will Commuuicat those things to them, that the Wisdom of Government may provide Remedies in time, as there are numbers in the Lowr parts of ower Settlements still incressing ye faction.

It Givs mee Grate Pleasure that my nighbors are Determined not to joyn in the faction, & I hope the Difirant Majestrits in this side ye Mountains will use their influence to Discorage it. I understand Grate thrates are made against mee in partikohiur if possible to intimidate mee With fear & allso against the Sherifs & Constables, & all Ministers of Justice, But I hope the Laws, ye BuUworks of ower nation, will be seported in Spight of those Low Lifed trifling Raskells.

In 1773, when the county of Westmoreland was organized from Bedford, Capt. William Crawford was the senior Justice of the Peace, and for that reason became the presiding officer of the courts of the new county. At the same time, Capt. Arthur St. Clair was commissioned as the first Prothonotary Clerk of courts, etc., of the new jurisdiction. The latter resided at Fort Ligonier, the former at Stewart's Crossing, and both within Westmoreland County as then formed. In 1774, Capt. Crawford received another Captain's commission from the Governor of Virginia for service against the hostile Indians. He at once raised a company and served through the campaign known as "Dunmore's war." While the main body of the army was lying at Camp Charlotte, he was sent out with a force for the purpose of destroying some Mingo towns up the Scioto. The object of the expedition was successfully accomplished, and a consider able number of Indians were captured and taken to Ft. Pitt.

When the Revolutionary war began, Virginia had not yet relinquished her claim to the southwest part of the present State of Pennsylvania - a region which, as before mentioned, and had been largely settled to that time by natives of or immigrants from the Old Dominion. Hence, when volunteers were called out to defend their country against British arms, hired mercenaries and Indians; a majority of the men enlisting from the territory lying west of Laurel Hill, very naturally attached themselves to Virginia companies and regiments. Thus did it happen that in the year 1775, Col. William Crawford entered the American army as Lieutenant Colonel of the Fifth Regiment of the Virginia Line. Soon after he was commissioned Colonel, and commanded his regiment in the battle of Long Island, in the retreat through New Jersey, the crossing of the Delaware River with Gen. Washington on Christmas Day, 1776, and in the battle of Princeton, fought January 3, 1777. The next year he was in command of the Continental troops and militia at Fort Pitt. He also, during a part of the year 1778, commanded a Virginia regiment in service in the Western Military Department under Gen. Mcintosh. At the time he assumed command of the ill-fated Sandusky expedition, it appears that he was not in active service, but was living in comparative retirement at his home at "Stewart's Crossing."

+Then known as ('apt. St. Clair, and serving as the first Prothonotary, Clerk of court.s, etc., of the county of Bedford. lie was afterward famed as Maj. Gen. St. Clair, Governor of the Northv.est Territory, etc.

Says a recent writer, Smucker: " Col. Crawford was cool, brave, patriotic, and fitted by nature to be a commander. He was a man of mark, a leader, a man of courage and judgment, who rendered essential services to his country, especially to the West. He was greatly esteemed as a soldier, as a civil officer, and as a citizen, and as already remarked, his cruel death excited the sympathies of the entire country, and Gen. Washington was deeply moved by the awful death of the friend of his early years. His language shows the intensity of his feelings. He wrote: 'It is with the greatest soitow and concern that I have leai'ned the melancholy tidings of Col. Crawford's death. He was known to me as an officer of much care and prudence; brave, experienced and active. The manner of his death was shocking to me.' And no marvel! We can not fully estimate, and have not language adequate to express, the sum total of the agony and suffering endured by the noble Crawford; and when the terrible story of his torture was told in the border settlemei;ts among his kindred and friends who knew him well and esteemed him so highly, and when the frontiersmen came to realize that the brave soldier's life was tortured out of him by the slow burning fires kindled by the fiendish savages, and that the agony-rent soul of that pure patriot- hero, left his fire-crisped, charred, blistered body amidst the blazing flames of the stake, there was experienced such heartrending anguish of soul as cannot be expressed in words. A gloom was spread in every countenance. Sympathy and commiseration went out from every heart. All keenly felt the tortures inflicted upon the heroic patriot soldier. Every one sorely lamented, with the Father of his Country, the melancholy, sad, sorrowful ending of the noble life of the brave companion in arms and friend of Washington. All hearts were moved by the tenderest sympathy when the announcement was made that there was such a sorrowful termination to the valuable life of the brave pioneer of the Youghiagheny.'' V At the close of the Revolutionary war, the treaty of peace gave to the United States the Northwest Territory, which inchided the State of Ohio, but English troops continued to hold Detroit and various other posts for years thereafter, and, as a natural result, the Wyandots, with other tribes of this section, were still under their baneful influence.

However, on the 2l8t of January, 1785, a treaty was concluded at Fort Mcintosh with the Wyandot, Delaware, Chippewa and Ottawa Indians, by which the boundary line between the United States and the Wyandot and Delaware nations was declared to begin "at the mouth of the river Cuyahoga, and to extend up said river to the portage, between that and the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum, thence down that branch to the crossing place above Fort Laurens, thence westerly to the poi'tage of the Big Miami, which runs into the Ohio, at the mouth of which branch the fort stood which was taken by the French in 1752; then along said Portage to the Great Miami, or Omee River (now known as the Maumee), and down the south side of the same to its mouth; then along the south shore of Lake Erie to the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, where it began." The United States Government allotted all the lands contained within said lines (which the reader will observe embraced the territory now forming Wyandot County) to the Wyandot and Delaware nations, to live and hunt on, and to such of the Ottawa nation as lived thereon; saving and reserving for the establishment of trading posts, six miles square at the mouth of the Miami, or Omee River; and the same at the portage, on that branch of the Big Miami which now runs into the Ohio; and the same on the lake of Sandusky where

On the 9th -Tanuary, 1 789, another treaty was made at Fort Harmer, between Gov. Arthur St. Clair and the sachems and warriors of the Wyandot, Chippewa, Pottawatomie, Sac and other nations, in which the treaty at Fort Mcintosh was renewed and confirmed. But it did not produce the favorable results anticipated. The Ohio and Michigan Indians still hated the Americans who were moving westward in a resistless column of emigration, and were continually encouraged in this feeling by the British officials. They were also equipped with guns and ammunition obtained at the British post at Detroit. Therefore, as might have been expected, the Indians the same year assumed a hostile attitude, and again all the horrors of a relentless, savage warfare were re-enacted along the line of the American border settlements. Block-houses were erected by the settlers in each of the new settlements, and in June, 1789, Maj. Doughty, with 140 men from Fort Harmer, commenced the building of Fort Washington, on a site now within the limits of Cincinnati. A few months afterwax'd Gen. Harmer arrived with 300 men, and assumed command of the fort.

Again efforts were made to effect a peace with the hostile tribes, but by reason of British influence they proved unavailing, and as a last resort Gen. Harmer was directed to attack and destroy their towns. He marched from Fort Washington in September, 1790, with 1,300 men, of whom about onefourth were regular troops. When near the Indian towns, on the Miami of the Lake, in the vicinity of what is now Ft. Wayne, Ind., an advanced detachment of 210 militia fell into an ambush and was defeated with severe loss. Gen. Harmer, however, succeeded in burning the Indian villages, and in destroying their standing corn. The army then commenced its march homeward. They had not proceeded far when Harmer received intelligence that the Indians had returned to their ruined towns. He immediately detached about one-third of his remaining force, under the command of Col. Hardin, with orders to bring them to an engagement. Hardin succeeded in this eai'ly the nest morning; the Indians fought with desperation, and the militia and regular troops alike behaved with gallantry. However, moro than one hundred of the militia, and all the regulars except nine were killed, and the rest were driven back to the main body. Dispirited by this misfortune, Harmer immediately marched to Fort Washington or Cincinnati. Thus the object of the expedition in intimidating the Indians was wholly unsuccessful.

Gaining increased confidence in their prowess and ability to successfully contend with the white troops of the Americans, by reason of their victory over a portion of Harmer's army, the Wyandots, together with other tribes composing the Miami league, continued hostile. Therefore, in 1791, anew army, superior to Harmer's, was assembled at Cincinnati under Major General, or as then termed Gov. St. Clair. The regular force amounted to 2,300 men; the militia numbered about 600. With this army St. Clair commenced his march toward the Indian towns on the Maumee. Two forts, Hamilton and' Jefferson, were established and garrisoned on the route, about forty miles distant from each other, yet misfortune attended the expedition almost from its commencement. Soon after leaving Fort Jefferson, a considerable number of the militia deserted in a body. The first regiment, under Maj. Hamtranck, was ordered to pursue them and secure the advancing convoys of provisions, which it was feared they designed to plunder. Thus weakened by desertion and division, Gen. St. Clair approached the In- dian villages. On the 3d of November, when at what is now the line of Drake and Mercer Counties, and within two or three miles of the Indiana State line, he halted, intending to throw up some slight fortification for the protection of baggage, and to await the return of the absent regiment. On the following morning, however, about half an hour before sunrise, the American Army was attacked with great fury by the whole disposable force of the Northwest tribes - the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawanese, Miamis, Ottawas, Chippewas and Pottawatomies. The Americans were totally defeated. Gen. Butler and more than 600 subaltern officers and enlisted men were killed.

The vigorous prosecution of the war for the protection of the Northwest Territory was now urged by President Washington, but various obstacles retarded the organization of a new army. In the spring and summer of 1794, however, an American Army was assembled at Greenville, in Darke County, under the command of Gen. Anthony Wayne, a bold, energetic and experienced officer of the Revolutionary war. His force consisted of about 2,000 regular troops and 1,500 mounted volunteers from Kentucky. To oppose him the Indian tribes above mentioned had collected their whole force, amounting to more than 2,000 warriors, near a British fort, erected since the treaty of 1783, and in violation of its obligations, at the foot of the Maumee Rapids. They were well supplied with arms and ammunition, obtained at the British posts at Detroit and on the Maumee, and felt confident of defeating Wayne. But "Mad Anthony" was a difierent kind of General from those who had previously commanded in the West, and when, on the 20th of August, the hostile forces of red men and white men met at the Maumee Rapids, or "the battle of Fallen Timbers," the former were completely routed and fled in the utmost precipitation from the field.

Robinson, a young half-breed Pottawatomie, afterward one of the principal war chiefs of that tribe, was present at the battle with Wayne, and in later years was in the habit of describing it very clearly. It appears that the chiefs of the allied tribes had selected a swamp for the battleground. They formed their line, however, half a mile in front of it, on the summit of a gentle elevation, covered with an open growth of timber, with no underbru.sh, intending, when AVayne attacked them, to fall back slowly, thus inducing the Americans to follow them into the swamp, where the Indians would have every advantage, and where they expected a certain victory. But "Mad Anthony" soon broke up their plan. As we have shown, nearly one-half of his little army was composed of mounted Kentuckians, whom he formed in front of his infantry. After a few volleys from his artillery, always very trying to the nerves of the red men, hb ordered the mounted men to advance. The Indians had never seen men fight on horseback, and supposed they would dismount before reaching the top of the ridge. But instead of that they began to trot, then drew their swords - those terrible " long knives," which always inspired the Indians with dread - then broke into a gallop, and the next moment were charging at the top of their horses' speed, " yelling like hell," as Robinson expressed it, swinging their swords, and looking like demons of wrath to the astonished red men.

They gave but one random fire, and fled as fast as possible toward the swamp. But it was too late. The mounted Kentuckians burst through them like a whirlwind, and then wheeled about to cut off their retreat, while the infantry came up on the double-quick and barred their escape in that direction.

Robinson admired his conqueror so much that he named one of his sons "Anthony Wayne," and always expressed the most profound respect for that dashing soldier.

Wayne's victory at the "Fallen Timbers" did not at once reduce the savages to submission. Hence their country was laid waste, and forts were erected in the heart of their territory. At length, however, they became thoroughly convinced of their inability to resist in a successful manner the American troops, and sued for peace. A grand council was therefore held at Greenville, in the summer of 1795, and on the 3d of August of that year, Gen. Wayne concluded a treaty of peace with the Wyandots, Delawares. Shawanese, Ottawas, Chippewas, Pottawatomies and Miamis, besides some less important tribes. More than one thousand Indians were present. The principal chiefs were Tarhe, or the Crane, of the Wyandots, Buckongehelas, Black Hoof, Blue Jacket and Little Turtle. A majority of the chiefs had been tampered with by the British agents and advised not to make peace with the Americans, but their people having been reduced to great extremities by the generalship of Wayne, were determined to make a permanent peace with the " Thirteen Fires " as they termed the original States of the federal Union.

The basis of the treaty of Greenville was, that hostilities were to cease, and all prisoners be restored. Article 3 defined the Indian boundarv as follows:

" The general boundary line between the lands of the United States and the lands of the said Indian tribes shall begin at the mouth of Cuyahoga River, and run thence up the same to the portage, between that and the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum; thence down that branch to the crossing place above Fort Laurens; thence westerly to a fork of that branch of the Great Miami River, running into the Ohio, at or near which fork stood Loromie's store, and where commences the portage between the Miami of the Ohio and St. Mary's River, which is a branch of the Miami which runs into Lake Erie; thence a westerly course to Fort Recovery [erected upon the grounds where St. Clair was defeated in November, 1 791], which stands on a branch of the Wabash; thence southwesterly in a direct line to the Ohio, so as to intersect that river opposite the mouth of Kentucky or Cuttawa River."

By the terms of the treaty, the Indians also ceded to the United States Government various small tracts of land surrounding military posts erected and to be erected. Also, the right to the people of the United States of a free passage by land and water through the territory still owned by the Indians. The reader will understand that the Indians relinquished all claims to the lands lying eastwardly and southwardly of the line above described, in consideration " of the peace now established; of the goods formerly received from the United States; of those now to be delivered; and of the yearly delivery of goods now stipulated to be made hereafter; and to indemnify the United States for the injuries and expenses they have sustained during the war."

On the 4th day of Jvily, 1805, at a treaty made at Fort Industry, on the Miami of the Lake, between the United States of America and the sachems, chiefs and Avarriors of the Wyandot, Ottawa, Chippewa, Muncie, Delaware, Shawanese and Pottawatomie nations, it was determined that " the boundary line between the United States and the nations aforesaid shall in future be a meridian line drawn north and south through a boundary to be erected on the south shore of Lake Erie, 120 miles due west of the west boundary line of the State of Pennsylvania, extending north until it intersects the boundary line of the United States, and extending south until it intersects a line heretofore established by the treaty of Greenville." Thus, all the lands lying east of the above-described line, bounded southerly and easterly by the line established by the treaty of Greenville, and northerly by the northernmost part of the forty-first degree of north latitude, were ceded by the Indians to the United States. By Article 4 of this treaty, the United States delivered to the Wyandot, Shawanese, Muncie and Delaware nations goods to the value of $20,000, and stipulated for a perpetual annuity of $9,500, payable in goods reckoned at first cost in the city or place in the United States where they should be procured.

The Wyandots were also interested parties in the treaty of Detroit, which was concluded on the 17th day of November, 1807; but as the lands ceded were for the most part within the limits of the present State of Michigan, we refrain from further mention of its provisions, etc.

The treaty of Brownstown was made November 25, 1808, between William Hull, Governor of Michigan Territory, and the Chippewa, Ottawa, Pottawatomie, Wyandot and Shawanese nations. This treaty related mainly to the cession of lands for roads throiTgh the territory still owned by the Indians. Among the routes then ceded was "a tract of land, for a road only, of 120 feet in width, to run southwardly fi'om what is called Lower Sandusky, to thn boundary line established by the treaty of Greenville, with the privilege of taking at all times such timber and other materials from the adjacent lands as may be necessary for making and keeping in repair the said road, with the bridges that may be required along the same. " This, probably, was the first highway projected by the English-speaking whites, or Americans, in a direction which would lead through the present county of Wyandot.

Meanwhile, from the date of the conclusion of the treaty of Greenville until the beginning of the last war with Great Britian - 1812-15 - the Wyandots, true to their treaty obligations, remained at peace with the Americans. In 1812, however, at a time when the great Shawanese Chieftain, Tecumseh, and his brother the Prophet, were endeavoring to array under arms all of the Northwestern tribes against the Americans, a great Indian council of the Northern nations was held at Brownstown in the Michigan Territory. At that meeting Tarhe, or "The Crane" and Between-thelogs* were among the chief representatives of the Wyandots. The eloquence of Tecumseh's adherents, and the glittering promises of the British

*The distinguished chief, Between-the-logs, whose portrait the reader will find in this work, was born near Lowt r Sandusky about the year 1780. His father was a Seneca, and his mother a member of the Bear tribe of the Wyandot nation. When still in his teens, he, with other Wyandots, fought Gen. Wayne's troops at the battle of the Maumee Rapids, or "f^allen Timbers." He then lived 'at Lower Sandusky. He early became prominent in his nation, and when still a young man, because of his retentive memory and ability in discussion, was made a chief and appointed chief speaker of his nation. When al)Out twenty-five years old he was sent to fathom the doctrines and pretensions of a celebrated Seneca prophet, whose fallacy agents, proved to be as nothing to them, and they firmly rejected all overtures to join in the war against the Americans. True, a few fiery younw warriors of the Wyandot nation did enter the British service. But Tarhe, Between- the-logs, Summandewat, Big Tree, and the major portion of the Wyandots remained faithful to their pledges. These chiefs left the Brownstown council, returned to Upper Sandusky, and immediately joined the American cause Fort Ferree, at Upper Sandusky, and Fort Meigs, at Lower Sandusky, were erected^upon their lands. Here were concentrated large numbers of troops from Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Ohio, under Gen. Harrison, and here were they treated in the most friendly manner by the Wyandots. When Gen. Harrison invaded Canada, he was accompanied by a large party of Wyandot chiefs and warriors. But the principal object of his Indian friends was to detach that part of the Wyandot nation from the British interest, who, by the surrounding Indians, had in a measure been forced to join the English. This was effected.

We now come to the consideration of an event which, by its realization, placed the Wyandots upon a comparatively small tract of territory or " reservation," where they remained until within the memory of many of the present inhabitants of Wyandot County. We allude to the " treaty of the Foot of the Rapids, of the Miami of the Lake," which was concluded on the 29th day of September, 1817, between Lewis Cass and Duncan McArthur, Commissioners of the United States, and the sachems, chiefs and warriors of the Wyandot, Seneca, Delaware, Shawanese, Pottawatomie, Ottawa and Chippewa tribes of Indians. The articles of this treaty which have an especial reference to our topic are as follows:

"Article 2. The Wyandot tribe of Indians, in consideration of the stipulations herein made on the part of the United States, do hereby forever cede to the United States the lands comprehended within the following lines and boundaries: Beginning at a point on the southern shore of Lake Erie, where the present Indian boundary line intersects the same, between the mouth of Sandusky Bay and the mouth of Poi'tage River: thence running south v.'ith said line to the line established in the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five, by the treaty of Greenville, which runs from the crossing place above Fort Laurens to Loromie's store; thence westerly with the last mentioned line to the eastern line of the reserve at Loromie's store; thence with the lines of said reserve north and west to the northwest corner thereof; thence to the northwestern corner of the reserve on the River St. Mary's, at the head of the navigable waters thereof; thence east to the western bank of the St. Mary's River aforesaid; thence down on the western bank of the said river to the reserve at Fort he soon detected. About two years afterward he was sent on a like errand to a noted Shawanese prophet - Tecumseh's brother^with whom he staid nearly a year, and then returned, convinced and convincing others that the Prophet's pretensions were all delusion and destitute of truth.

During the war of 1812-15, he was the firm friend of the Americans, and he was instrumental in detaching from the British interests a number of the young men of the Wyandot nation who had been misled. After that war he settled permanently in the neighborhood of Upper Sandusky. He now, in common with many of the Wyandots, became addicted to habits of intemperance, and in a time of debauch and drunkenness killed his wife. When he became sober, the horror of this deed made so deep an impression un his mind that from that day he measurably abandoned the use of ardent spirits. In 1817, he made himself conspicuous by visiting Washington, and securing advantages to the Wyandots, as shown in the text of this chapter relating to the treaty at St. Mary's. When ,Tohn Stewart, the colored exhorter, appeared among the Wyandots, hetween-the-logs became his friend, and soon after embraced Christianity. Soon after this, he was regularly appointed an exhorter in the church, in which relation he remained until his death, a devoted friend and advocate of (iod. He also watched with unremitting diligence over the temporal interests of the nation ; enduring the fatigues of business, and of the longest journeys, for the welfare of his people without complaint. lie was uniformly an attendant upon the(Jhio .\nnual Conference, at which he made some of the most rational and eloquent speeches ever delivered by an Indian before that body. He always manifested a deep interest in the welfare of the mission and school. He was rather above the medium height, of slight build, but well proportioned, with an open and manly countenance. He died of consumption January 1, 1827, and was buried in the grounds surrounding the Mission Church.

Wayne; thence with the lines of the last-mentioned reserve, easterly and northerly, to the north bank of the River Miami of Lake Erie; thence down on the north bank of the said river to the western line of the land ceded to the United States by the treaty of Detroit, in the year one thousand, eight hundred and seven: thence with the said line south to the middle of said Miami River, opposite the mouth of the Great Auglaize River; thence down the middle of said Miami River, and easterly with the lines of the tract ceded to the United States by the treaty of Detroit aforesaid, so far that a south line will strike the place of beginning.

"Art. 3. The Wyandot, Seneca, Delaware, Shawanese, Pottawatomie, Ottawa and Chippewa tribes of Indians, accede to the cessions mentioned in the two preceding articles.

" Art. 6. The United States agree to grant, by patent, in fee simple, to Doanquod, Howoner, Rontondee, Tauyau, Rontayau, Dawatont, Manocue, Tauyaudautauson and Haudauwaugh, chiefs of the Wyandot tribe and their successors in office, chiefs of the said tribe, for the use of the persons and for the purposes mentioned in the annexed schedule, a tract of land twelve miles square at Upper Sandusky, the center of which shall be the place whei'e Fort Ferree stands; and also a tract of one mile square, to be located where the chiefs direct, on a cranberry swamp, on Broken Sword Creek, and to be held for the use of the tribe. *******

"Art. 7. And the said chiefs or their successors may, at anytime they may think proper, convey to either of the persons mentioned in the said schedule, or his heirs, the quantity secured thereby to him, or may refuse to do so. But the use of the said land shall be in the said person; and after the share of any person is conveyed by the chiefs to him, he may convey the same to any person whatever. And any one entitled by the said schedule to a portion of the said land, may, at any time, convey the same to any person, by obtaining the approbation of the President of the United_ States, or of the person appointed by him to give such approbation. And the agent of the United States shall make an equitable partition of the said share when conveyed.

'-Art. 8. At the special request of the said Indians, the United States agree to grant, by patent, in fee simple, to the persons hereinafter mentioned, all of whom are connected with the said Indians, by blood or adoption, the tracts of land herein described:

" To Elizabeth Whitaker, who was taken prisoner by the Wyandots, and has ever since lived among them, 1,280 acres of land, on the west side of the Sandusky River, below Croghansville, to be laid off in a square form, as nearly as the meanders of the said river will admit, and to"^un an equal distance above and below the house in which the said Elizabeth Whitaker now lives.

" To Robert Armstrong, who was taken prisoner by the Indians, and has ever since lived among them, and has married a Wyandot woman, one section to contain 640 acres of land, on the west side of the Sandusky River, to begin at the place called Camp Ball, and to run up the river, with the meanders thereof, 160 poles, and from the beginning down the river, with the meanders thereof, 160 poles, and from the extremity of these lines west for quantity.

" To the children of the late William McCollock, who was killed in August, 1812, near Maugaugon, and who are quarter- blood Wyandot Indians, one section, to contain 640 acres of land, on the west side of the Sandusky River, adjoining the lower line of tht? tract hereby granted to Robert Armstrong, and extending in the same manner, with and from the said river.

" To John Vanmeter, who was taken prisoner by the Wyandots, and who has piver since lived among them, and has married a Seneca woman, and to his wife's three brothers, Seuecas, who now reside on Honey Creek, 1,000 acres of land, to begin north, forty -five degrees west, one hundred and forty poles from the house in which the said John Vanmeter now lives, and to run thence south 320 poles, thence and from the beginning, east for quantity.

"To Sarah Williams, Joseph Williams and Rachel Nugent, late Rachel Williams, the said Sarah having been taken prisoner by the Indians, and has ever since lived among them, and being the widow, and the said Joseph and Rachel being the children of the late Isaac Williams, a half-blood Wyandot, one-quarter section of land, to contain 160 acres, on the east side of the Sandusky River, below Croghansville, and to include their improvements at a place called Negro Point.

" To Catharine Walker, a Wyandot woman, and to John R. Walker, her son, who was wounded in the service of the United States at the battle of Maugaugon, in 1812, a section of 640 acres of land each, to begin at the northwestern corner of the tract hereby granted to John Vanmeter and his wife's brothers, and to run with the line thereof south 320 poles; thence and from the beginning west for quantity.

"To William Spicer, who was taken prisoner by the Indians, and has ever since lived among them and has married a Seneca woman, a section of land to contain 640 acres, beginning on the east bank of the Sandusky River, forty poles below the lower corner of said Spicer's corn-field; thence up the river on the east side, with the meanders thereof, one mile; thence and from the beginning east for quantity.

" To Horonu, or the ' Cherokee Boy,' a Wyandot chief, a section of land to contain 640 acres, on the Sandusky River, to be laid off in a square form, and to include his improvements.

" A.RT. 15. The tracts of land herein granted to the chiefs, for the use of the Wyandot, Shawanese, Seneca and Delaware Indians, and the reserve for the Ottawa Indians, shall not be liable to taxes of any kind so long as such lands continue the property of said Indians.

"Art. 18. The Delaware tribe of Indians in consideration of the stipulations herein made on the part of the United States, dohereby forever cede to the United States all the claim which they have.to the thirteen sections of land reserved for the use of certain persons of their tribe, by the second section of the act of Congress, passed March the third, one thousand eight hundred and seven, providing for the disposal of the land of the United States between the United States Military Tract and the Connecticut Reserve, and the lands of the United States between the Cincinnati and Vincennes districts.

"Art. 19. The United States agree to grant, by patent, in fee simple, to Zeeshawan, or James Armstrong, and to Sanondoyourayquaw, or Silas Armstrong, chiefs of the Delaware Indians, living on the Sandusky waters, and their successors in office, chiefs of the said tribe, for the use of the persons mentioned in the annexed schedule, in the same manner and subject to the same cc)nditions, provisions and limitations as is hereinbefore provided for the lands granted to the Wyandot, Seneca and Shawanose Indians, a tract of ]and to contain nine square miles, to join the tract granted to the Wyandots of twelve mileS square, to be laid oif as nearly in a square form as practicable, and to include Captain Pipe's village.'

By this treaty the United States stipulated to pay the Wyandots a perpetual annuity of $4,000 ; to the Senecas, $500 ; to the Shawanese, $2,000 ; to the Pottawatomies, annually, for fifteen years, $1,300 ; to the Ottawas, annually, for fifteen years, $1,000; to the Chippewas, annually, for fifteen years, $1,000, and to the Delawares, $500, but no annuity. The United States also engaged to erect a saw and grist mill, for the use of the Wyandots ; and to provide and maintain two blacksmiths : one for the use of the Wyandots and Senecas, the other for the Indians at Hog Creek.

The United States further agreed to pay the sums ToITowing for property, etc., injured during the war of 1812-15 : To the Wyandots, $4,819.39; to the Senecas, $3,989.24 ; to Indians at Lewis' and Scoutash's towns, $1,227.50 ; to the Delawares, $3,956.50 ; to the representatives of Hembis, $348.50 ; to the Shawanese, $420, and to the Senecas, an additional sum of $219. It was also agreed to pay the Shawanese, under the ti-eaty of Fort Industry, $2,500. By Article 17, the value of improvements abandoned, was to be paid for.

A treaty supplementary to the "Treaty of the Foot of the Rapids of the Miami of the Lake," was concluded at St. Mary's, Ohio, on the 17th day of September, 1818, between Lewis Cass and Duncan McArthur, Commissioners of the United States, and the sachems, chiefs, and warriors of the Wyandot, Seneca, Shawanese and Ottawa tribes of Indians. The following are the articles of the supplemental treaty which were of special significance to the Wyandot nation :