578 Ohio. Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
stead it is now believed they are the
remains of sacred places, half
temples, where the dead were prepared
for burial, which was by crema-
tion. Inside this enclosure were
divisions corresponding, in a way, to
the family burying lot and in these the
ashes and the trinkets of the
dead were deposited. When these were
full the enclosure was filled
up and the mound thus erected became a
sort of monument, not to one
person, or one family, but to the dead
of an entire community.
The atlas, for which all this work is
being done, will be published
by the society, which is state
supported. When completed it will be
the final word on archaeology, particularly
as that science relates to
Ohio. Whether the book shall be made
encyclopedic as well as up to
the minute, is a point that has not been
determined. Data for any
exhaustive treatment of the subject is
at hand and is being prepared,
but whether it is to be incorporated in
this book is for the future
to decide. It may be that only enough
letter press will be employed
to properly explain and amplify the
various plates.
So far the work has cost less than was
anticipated. Acting under
the suggestion of Mr. Mills every
possible expense has been eliminated.
When completed it will be the only one
of its kind in the world.
MONUMENT TO SAMUEL BRADY.
A goodly percentage of the members of
Old Northwest Chapter
D. A. R. and many friends were present
August 18, 1909, at Ravenna,
Ohio, at the ceremonies attendant upon
the unveiling of a monu-
ment to Capt. Samuel Brady, near the
spot where he hid himself from
the Indians in the waters of the lake
which now bears his name.
The marker had been set in place some
days previous and after all
present had gathered near the exercises
opened with the singing of
America. Mrs. W. H. Beebe, who had
charge of the ceremonies, then
introduced Miss Eunice Strickland, who
read a short history of Capt.
Brady and his achievements, prepared by
herself for the occasion. Her
address complete concludes this article.
At the close of her remarks
the monument was ceremoniously unveiled
by Miss Treva Mae Allen,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Allen. R. S.
Webb was then an-
nounced, who thanked the Daughters in
behalf of Ravenna and Franklin
for the work they had done. He commended
them for their efforts
to keep alive an interest in historical
matters and told them that
posterity would owe a great debt to them
for the existence of many
similar monuments and markers. He said
he hoped the good work so
auspiciously begun would go on. Mrs.
Garrard then spoke briefly of
the reasons why the marker had been
placed where it is, and Mrs.
Beebe explained why the present name had
been chosen for the chapter.
She said the marker would be placed in
charge of John Williston, who
lives nearby, and Wallace Merrill, who
owns the land where it is
Editorialana. 579
placed. Dr. F. F. H. Pope of Kent was
then introduced and told of
his acquaintance, both personal and by
hearsay, with several of the
early pioneers and Indian fighters. Miss
Julia Sawyer of Kent sang
a medley of patriotic airs and the
dedication was over. Miss Strick-
land's address follows in full:
The material for this paper was gathered
from several different
sources, first from old historic records
of early frontier life in the
Western Reserve as recorded by one of
Brady's friends in a letter
found in a volume of records in the New
York State Library at Albany,
N. Y.; second, from "Howe's
Historical Collections of Ohio;" third,
from the account as given to J. R.
Williston, of Brady Lake, by old
Mr. Haymaker, one of the early pioneers
of this section.
The region known as "The Western
Reserve" at the coming of the
white man was one vast unbroken
wilderness, inhabited by Indians
and wild animals. Where today are broad
cultivated fields, hamlets,
towns and thriving cities the wild deer
then browsed and the pheasant
drummed his monotonous notes. Where
today steam and electric cars
speed through the country, the light
canoe was once borne swiftly
along by the steady dip of the paddle;
where today are broad highways
there were then only the narrow Indian
trails stealthily followed by the
red man and later by bold frontier
traders.
Closely associated with the early
history of this particular section
of country was a noted Indian fighter,
Captain Brady, the Daniel
Boone of Ohio, for whom this beautiful
lake is named, because of his
miraculous escape from his Indian
pursuers by hiding in its waters.
Little is known of his early life, but
it is said that he was a
relative of General Hugh Brady, an
American general who served under
Wayne and won distinction for his
bravery. According to one record
Brady was left an orphan at an early
age, and that he went to live
with relatives, whether with General
Brady or not is not certain. The
family with whom he lived had previously
adopted a lad named Simon
Girty, who was the same age as the
orphan lad. The two boys be-
came close comrades and grew to young
manhood sharing'together many
bold adventures and hairbreadth escapes incident
to the rugged frontier
life of those early days.
A frightful Indian massacre occurred in
the small settlement and
nearly every family met death at the
hands of the cruel Indians, how-
ever Brady and Girty made their escape.
Each took a different course
in flight but both settled in the great
western wilderness. Brady, like
Hannibal of old, "vowed eternal
vengeance" upon the Indians, and soon
after his escape he led a bold band of
traders and adventurers, while
strange to relate, Girty became chief of
several Indian tribes and a
dreaded enemy of the white settler. Thus
the former close comrades
of boyhood days became the heads of
intensely hostile forces, and it
is said that they met many times in
battle without recognition. It has
580 Ohio. Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
been a source of great wonder how Girty
could have turned upon the
white settlers, unless some drops of
fierce Indian blood coursed through
his veins.
According to "Howe's Historical
Collections of Ohio," about 1780
a band of Indians near the Cuyahoga made
an attack upon Catfish
Camp, south of the Ohio River, in the
southern part of what is now
known as Washington county.
To avenge the murder of a number of
families Captain Brady
immediately gathered a small force of
picked daring men and started
in swift pursuit of the marauders, but
the start which the Indians
had, prevented their capture.
Near Ravenna the Indians divided, one
party going north, the other
west to Cuyahoga Falls. Brady also
divided his force, a number fol-
lowing the northern trail, the remainder
going directly towards the
Indian village near North Hampton
township, Summit county.
Notwithstanding Brady's extreme caution
the Indians awaited him
with four times his force, and so
finding retreat scarcely possible,
Brady quickly ordered his men to
separate. However the Indians
gave pursuit to Brady alone because of
their deadly hatred of the bold
leader who had so often worsted them in
fight.
Another account states that Brady with
but twenty men, attempted
an attack upon the Indian village at
Sandusky, and that the Indians,
having in some way found out his plan,
waylaid his force near Kent.
This account further states that the
Indians were in ambush and that
in the terrible hand to hand conflict,
all the men excepting Captain
Brady and one other fell. With his one
surviving companion he sought
refuge in the dense forest: the Indians
pursued them and Captain
Brady was finally captured and taken to
Sandusky.
The arrival of the prisoner and his
captors at the Indian village
was hailed with great joy, for the
Indians had often met Brady in
unsuccessful fights and his capture
therefore was a source of general
rejoicing. Swift runners were at once
dispatched to spread the glad
news among the other tribes.
Meantime great preparations were made
for his execution, which
was to be a great occasion celebrated by
dancing and feasting. Though
entirely unknown to him Captain Brady's
manly appearance had won
the sympathy of an Indian chief's
daughter who begged her father
to spare his life, but she was severely
rebuked for her appeal in his
behalf.
On the day appointed for the execution,
thousands of gaily decked
warriors were gathered around the
funeral pile, to which the un-
fortunate victim was bound. Just as the
torch was about to be applied
Captain Brady suddenly recognized among
the chiefs his old boyhood
friend, Simon Girty, for whom he had a
brotherly affection. Captain
Brady made a strong appeal, but the
chief pretended not to know
Editorialana. 581
him and finally to Brady's last appeal,
which should have melted the
heart of a savage, refused any aid to
save his old time friend. This
most heartless act on Girty's part but
seems to prove that savage blood
did course in his veins, and that a
savage life was more to his liking
than that of the white settlers.
Thus condemned Brady was to be burned
alive at the stake, the
torch was applied and the red flames
shot upward about the helpless
victim, but just, at that moment the
Indian maiden sprang forward to
cut his bonds, when, by an almost
superhuman effort, Captain Brady
broke his fetters, and wholly unaware
that the maiden was trying to
free him, and feeling that something
must be done instantly, he gave
the poor Indian girl a great push which
made her fall on the burning
pile. As he had expected there was a
moment when the Indians were
almost stricken dumb, and consternation
reigned among the women and
children.
Captain Brady, though greatly weakened
by his long march and
stiffened from being bound to the stake,
lost not a single second in
making the best of this excitement, and
bounded away into the depths
of the forest. It was unquestionably a
race for life as very many swift
Indian runners had immediately set out
in his pursuit. The forest
rang with the red man's signal cries as
the escaped Captain plunged
through its dark recesses closely
followed by his enraged pursuers. The
race continued until Brady leaped the
Cuyahoga River which he had
intended to cross at the great stone
ford, however the Indians had
cunningly divided their forces and as he
drew near the place he caught
sight of a band on the opposite shore.
His only hope therefore was to
outrun his pursuers who were certainly
gaining upon him and at
Kent, where the Indians were close upon
his track, Captain Brady
leaped the Cuyahoga.
The rushing water coursed swiftly
through the dark chasm whose
straight, narrow, rocky walls rose from
twenty to thirty feet, fringed
with overhanging trees. It was
"Scylla or Charybdis," and the bold
hunter delayed not a moment, but leaped
and landed on a ledge of rock
above the water's level. His fall,
however, was partly broken by catch-
ing at some of the overhanging branches.
He took but a moment in
which to gather himself up and then ran
on.
The Indians had exulted in the thought
that Brady was trapped,
but when he suddenly disappeared their
exultation changed to a super-
stitious awe, for they thought the man
must be a god to vanish so
suddenly and so completely. For his
unaccountable disappearance the
Indians called him the "Wild
Turkey," and carved a large turkey foot
on the rock which was later cut away and
taken to Buchtel College as
an Indian relic.
Just before his wonderful leap of some
twenty-five feet the
Indians had slightly wounded Brady in
the hip and so disabled him a
582 Ohio.
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
little and after a careful search they
found some blood stains and with
a mighty war whoop dashed on his pursuit
once more. By this time Cap-
tain Brady's strength was nearly spent
and he ran with difficulty, but self
preservation was strong and he still
pressed on through the tangled
forest hoping to reach a place of
safety. About three or four miles
from Kent he hid himself beneath a great
chestnut log in the quiet
waters of this pretty lake, and managed
to get air through some water
reeds which grew in the lake.
Captain Brady had taken the utmost
precaution to destroy all
evidences of his trail and had succeeded
so well that when the Indians
came up and searched carefully for their
victim they did not find the
slightest trace of him and so concluded
that he had drowned himself in
the lake or that, being wounded, he had
been drowned while trying to
escape. However they lingered around the
lake for a time, and Brady,
in his safe retreat, heard their angry
words and decision which he
understood from his knowledge of the
Indian language. And as soon
as he thought it safe set out for the
white settlement where he ar-
rived a little later.
His friends could scarcely credit his
story, but found that he had
indeed had a race for life and rejoiced
with him that it had not been
in vain.
Captain Brady renewed his warfare upon
the Indians and at one
time captured several single handed and,
marching by night, and hiding
by day, took them a distance of many
miles.
The place where he made his bold leap
has since been known as
"Brady's Leap," the hill down
which he ran as "Brady's Hill," and
this lake in which he hid is still known
as "Brady's Lake."
LOCATION OF CRAWFORD'S BURNING.
Judge Allen Smalley, of Upper Sandusky,
in a letter made public
some years ago, located to within one
acre, the exact spot upon which
Col. CRAWFORD was burned.
"On the 11th day of June, 1782,
Col. William CRAWFORD was burned
at the stake by the Wyandot and Delaware
Indians about half a mile
north-east of the site of
CRAWFORDsville, in this county. No man knows
the exact spot where the execution
occurred. The Indians, Dr. Knight
and Simon Girty, knew exactly where the
burning took place, but as
to the particular point where the cruel
deed was done the balance of
mankind must be content with hearsay
tradition. Colonel Butterfield
tried to locate the tragic spot in the
light of first and second-hand
hearsay; and others seek now
to walk to the exact spot in the light
given by Colonel Butterfield.