NARRATIVE OF THE CAPTURE OF ABEL JANNEY
BY THE INDIANS IN 1782.1
FROM THE DIARY OF ABEL JANNEY.
On the 12th day of March 1782, about
break of day, as I
and my two companions were lying in our
blankets about half
a mile from the Ohio river, on the
Indian's side, near the mouth
of the Great Kenhaway2 river.
We were surprised by a shout of
Indians who came rushing upon us. When I
heard the noise
I spoke to my two companions and said
"rise up here are
Indians," when one of them said
"Oh Lord, what shall we do."
I told him to stand and fight. I was
near the Indians, and four
of them and a white man had their guns
presented upon us as
we rose within fifteen yards of us. I
caught hold of my gun
as quick as I possibly could, and fired
upon them; my two com-
panions did not take my advice, but
ketched up their guns and
ran. The Indians fired at the instant I
did, but to no effect.
The white man's gun missed fire the
first time, but he made
ready and fired after one of my
companions and killed him,
when one of them stept up to me with his
tomahawk in his hand
to kill me, but I turned the Britch of
my gun and made a blow
at him, but he avoided it by stepping
back, when immediately
the other four drew their tomahawks and
were all around me and
one of them spoke to me in English, and
told me to give up
and I should not be hurt. I then handed
him my gun and they
took hold of me and tied me exceedingly
fast. The other Indian
ran after the other of my companions and
caught him, but he
1Abel Janney was a resident of Goose
Creek neighborhood (now
Lincoln), Loudoun County, Virginia. He
was of a roving disposition,
often engaged in hunting or
"trapping," and it was while on a trapping
excursion that he was captured. Colman
Wilks and John Russell were
with him. Wilks was shot. Russell
escaped and reached the settlements
in Kentucky, but was so badly frozen and
prostrated that he lived but
a few days. Tradition says that A. J.
was employed at Washington as
interpreter - John J. Janney, Columbus,
Ohio.
2 I
have followed the spelling and the punctuation of the original.
Vol. VIII-30. (465)
466 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
escaped and got off, leaving his gun
with the Indian, and had no
clothes except a waistcoat, and Breeches
and a pair of stockings,
not even so much as a knife to help
himself with. The Indian
soon returned with his gun to where I
and the rest of the com-
pany were, when I had to stand and see
my other companion
scalpt and had all reason imaginable to
expect myself to be
the next victim of their cruelty as they
began to gather around
me and looked very much exasperated but
God, who is all-
sufficient to preserve, did not permit
them to hurt me. So they
tied a string around my neck, and the
white man led me and
put a heavy load of provisions upon my
back and we traveled
exceedingly fast all that day and two
days after we came to an
Indian camp, where some Indians were
hunting. When we
came near the camp they made a halt, and
painted me red
and the white man that killed my
companion painted himself
black, and then gave the scalp Halloo,
so we went on until we
passed the camp a small distance. The
Indians had not as yet
returned from hunting, but we had scarce
got fire kindled, when
we saw the Indians returning from
hunting. When my Indians
saw them they immediately cut three
large stakes and shaved
off the bark, and painted two of them
red, and the other black,
and I was tied very fast they
immediately came to our camp,
and my Indians (as I called them) were
all set down in a row,
except one who came and sat by me, the
strange Indians shook
hands with them immediately and sat
themselves down and
smoked, and talked a long time, at last
they began to make hoops
to stretch my companions scalp upon as
they had not yet done
it, when they had done it they made
another and stuck it up
before the fire. The little Indian who
sat by me pointed at it
and said "no good for you,"
which gave me all the reason imagin-
able to expect to be massacred. However,
I was fully resigned
to give up my life to Him that gave it,
when it should please
God to call it from me, however, some
time in the night, the
Squaws brought a quantity of roast Bears
meet, and they gave me
some to eat, and made me to understand
that I should see them at
their town, so I eat some of their meat,
and they tied me very
fast, and I laid down to sleep, and next
morning early, they
started forward on their way and nothing
extraordinary hap-
The Capture of Abel Janney by
the Indians. 467
pened until we arrived at their town,
when we came there, there
was nobody in the town but a fewold
squaws, the rest of the
Indians were all at their sugar camps
making sugar, which was
well for me, for had they been at home
in all probability I
should have been exceedingly ill
treated, as it is a general prac-
tice with that nation to whip prisoners
most barbarously at
their first coming into town, or at
least till they can get into the
Council House. It was on the 20th of
March when we got to
the town and the old Indian who kept me,
took me home, from
the Council House, to his own wigwam,
where I lived till I made
my escape from them. But to speak of the
barbarities com-
mitted by them on the prisoners that
came in after me (fully to
express it is beyond my discriptive
abilities) I shall fall short
of words sufficient to convey a full
idea of what they must have
suffered who were permitted to fall as
victims to their savage
barbarity. The first who was put to
death was one James Whart,
a Quaker, who appeared to be a sober,
solid man. They had
kept him about two weeks before they put
him to death, and
he had not the least expectation of it
until they took him and
painted him black, which they did very
early in the morning and
tied him securely; they then led him off
to a town three miles
distant from the town I lived in, and
there they gathered to
have a Frolic with this poor object of
pity. They led him up
to a large stake near a large fire
prepared for the purpose, and
when they had scalped him and cut his
nose off that it hung
below his under lip, and then they cut
off his ears, and took
bark shovels and threw hot embers out of
the fire upon his head,
whilst others were employed in burning
him with fire brands,
in short they lacked nothing that they
could invent to augment
his pain and many others suffered in a
most barbarous manner,
particularly Colonel Crawford, who was
unhappily defeated by
them, and fell a victim into their
hands, and suffered as follows,
(viz) they first scalped him, and then
they tied him fast to a
stake before a large fire made of logs
of wood for that purpose
and then cut out his tongue and cut off
his nose and ears and
then poured hot embers out of the fire
upon his head, whilst
others were employed in burning him with
long fire brands,
and none were more active in this
employment that the squaws
468 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
indeed my memory fails me in
recollecting the many inventions
they contrived to punish so brave a man,
who bore all they could
inflict upon him with such a calmness
and fortitude as seemed
to be surprising to human nature.3 His
son-in-law John Har-
rison also fell into their hands and was
most barbarously mur-
dered but seemed to be much assured that
he should find a
merciful Saviour and seemed to be very
fervent in his supplica-
tions. He did not in the least seem to
dread their severest
threats of torture, but seemed to be
fully resigned to the will
of his Creator, and desired me (if it
should please God to bring
me home again) to inform his wife that I
saw his end and like-
wise to desire her and her children to
live a more circumspect
life than they had done heretofore. So I
shall cease to enumerate
any more of their barbarities and turn
again to my own concerns.
It was about midnight on the 2nd of
August that I was pre-
paring myself with necessaries to make
my escape from these sav-
ages or die in the attempt, though I was
sore by reason of a cut on
my ankle, I did not mind it, for I
thought nothing should deter
me from making an attempt. I thought to
make up the deficiency
3 All the short biographies of Colonel
Crawford that I have seen
state that he was "burned to
death," thus leaving the reader to infer
that he was burned at the stake
according to the old religious method
of dealing with heretics, but that was
humane in comparison with the
Indian method. The former released the
sufferer in a few minutes; the
latter was usually prolonged through a
day, or sometimes parts of two
days. Butterfield, in the History of
Crawford's Campaign, says: "The
Indian men took up their guns and shot
powder into Crawford's naked
body from his feet as far up as his
neck. It was the opinion of Knight
that not less than seventy-five loads
were discharged upon him." Knight,
who was present, says: "The fire
was made of small hickory poles
burnt quite through in the middle,"
and "three or four Indians would
by turns take up, individually, one of
these pieces of wood and apply it
to his naked body, already burnt black
with powder." The squaws poured
hot coals on his head "so that, in
a short time he had nothing but
coals and hot ashes to walk on."
There used to be a tradition that one
method of Indian torture was to stick
sharp, short splinters all over the
naked body of the victim, and set them
on fire. As an evidence of forti-
tude, in my boyhood, we would stick a
short piece of broom-straw in
the hand, at the base of thumb, set it
on fire and let it burn out. The
pain was very acute, and we would try to
imagine what it would be if
the whole body was covered.
The Capture of Abel Janney by
the Indians. 469
of my ankle by depriving myself
with a good horse, which I
was unfortunately deprived of in the
following manner. I had every
necessary but a gun, which was my
dependance, both for defense
and provision. The men about this time
were chiefly gone to
Kentucky to war, and there was no guns
about the house I lived
in. I was therefore obliged to make a
search for one. I went
into one house and found a gun but upon
examining her, I did
not like her, and so I determined to
make further search. I
loaded her and went into another house4
and found the Indians
all from home, I searched about and
found a prettly likely rifle,
I viewed her by the light of the moon, I
looked into her pan.
and found no priming and unfortunately
for me I snapt her
and she went off and the firing of the
gun at this time of night
was a sufficient alarm. I ran into the
cornfields which was but a
few steps off. I loaded my gun again,
and broke the other that
I had before, and by this time the whole
town was alarmed,
and the horse that I intended to have
taken was standing by
the Council House in the midst of the
town, and so were most of
the horses belonging to the town and I
could by no means get
any of them. And what had like to have
been worse for me,
my provision and Blanket, Saddle and
Bridle were in a tent,
(where I staid to watch the garden to
keep the other Indians from
stealing the garden stuff) quite on the
other side of the town
from where I was but as soon as I had
loaded my gun I gave
a Halloo to draw them to the side of the
town where I was,
I then made the best of my way through
the corn till I came to
the backside of the town, so I went into
my tent, picked up my
provision and Blanket and Bridle,
leaving the saddle, for I
discovered three Indians coming into the
garden and I took
into the corn again and went a little
way, made a stop, fixed my
load to the best advantage I possibly
could and then I heard a
horse bell a considerable distance from
the town. I made to it,
and found several horses, but I could
not catch any but one,
which proved to be very indifferent,
however I knew I had no
time to spare I therefore put on my
bridle and mounted, and
4The writer doubtless used
"house" instead of tent or "wigwam."
The Indians had not learned how to build
houses, and did not feel the
need of them.
470 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
rode on steering an east course till
about one o'clock in the
afternoon, when my horse seemed so tired
and lazy withal, though
I had not rode him very fast that I
concluded to turn him out,
and go on foot, as I knew they would
pursue me on horse back,
but by going carefully on foot, I put a
stop to their pursuing
with any speed. I changed my course from
due east to south-
east and so I traveled for that day. I
then steered as directly for
Fort Wheeling as I possibly could, I met
with no interrup-
tion till the 8th in the morning I found
the cut in my ankle so
painful with wading through swamps, that
I thought it almost
impossible for me to travel and so
exceedingly swelled that I
had a notion of lying by that day, as I
had plenty of venison to
subsist upon, for the evening before I
had killed a deer, and bar-
bacued as much of it as I thought
necessary to take with me.
But however I thought I was then within
40 or 50 miles of fort
Wheeling the thoughts of relief from the
Inhuman Savages gave
me such a sweet satisfaction, that I was
determined to travel on
lame as I was but I had not traveled
past two hours before I
met with a company of Tawwa5 Indians. We
did not discover
each other until we were within 20 yards. It was
just on the
top of a ridge we met. I treed myse f
immediately, and know-
ing that I was exceedingly lame that I
could not run, I called
out as if there had been company behi d
me, telling them "here's
the yellow dogs and we will soon do for
them," and presented
my gun on one of them, and they ga e a
yell, and one of them
shot at me, but only grazed me under the
arm. I then perceived
that they were of a strange nation, I
called to them in Shawney6
and told them I was one of them. One of
them understanding
that tongue answered me "that he
was Tawwa and was good,"
and if I would surrender he would take
me to Detroit. I
accordingly surrendered, and throwing t
e breech of my gun fore-
most I came out from behind my tree and
he immediately ran
to meet me, holding out his hand, when
we met we shook hands
with each other, and he called me
"brother warrior," and assured
me he would take me to Detroit. He told
me he knew I was
run away from the Shawnese, which I did
not deny, and told
5Ottawas probably.
6Shawnese.
The Capture of Abel Janney by the Indians. 471
them in what sort they had used me, and when I had told
him,
he damned them saying "they were
not good, he would not use
prisoners so." They then inquired
if there were any more behind
me, I told them there was none, so they
examined my track a
distance back, and seen there was no
other, then they concluded
I had told them the truth. We then
marched straight for a town
called Sandusky, belonging to the
Wyandot nation. I had the
chief part of a good turn with me which
we eat up immediately
and that was the last mouthful we had,
but Blackberries for almost
four days, when one of them happened to
kill a wolf, which was
roasted and eat up speedily, they took
the entrails out and strip-
ping the stuff from them between their
fingers and threw them
on the coals when roasted a little they
offered me some, but as
hungry as I was my stomach revolted at
it; they devoured them
like dogs. They cut some slices from the
body and broiled on
the coals which they eat heartily of and
this was the last supply
we had, until we came to the
before-mentioned town of San-
dusky, which was one and a half day's
march. When we came
near the town, they made a halt, and
began to talk in their tongue.
I perceived it was something concerning
me, when the Chief of
the company turned about to me, and told
me that he must cut
my hair in their form, or else those
Indians that lived in the town
would beat me very much, and perhaps
kill me. So he took
a pair of scissors which they always
take with them to war, and
began to trim my hair, which they did
according to the Indian
custom then they painted me and fixed me
as much like them-
selves as they possibly could, and gave
my own gun, and we
marched to the town with two scalps on a
stick; and came into
it. When the Indians of the town (as
their custom is), brought
us victuals, such as they had, which was
very acceptable to us,
having eat nothing for almost two days.
From thence we went
most part of the way by water in a
canoe, till the wind blew so
hard against us, that we were obliged to
quit our canoe, and take
to our feet again, and had exceedingly
bad roads, which was very
bad for my ankle; though it was got much
better than it was
when I first met with them, as they were
very good doctors, and
spared no pains to dress it, but we had
many swamps to go
through and it began to swell and
get very painful. However
472 Ohio Arch. and His. Society
Publications.
we came to the village where they lived
on the 16th day of August
and I expected to be beat after the
manner of the savages I had
lived with before, but I was kindly
treated very unexpectedly for
the chief sat down by an old squaw, whom
he talked with for a
long time, and after he had made a stop
in speaking to her she
looked at me as I was standing, and
clapped her hand down on
the ground where she sat, showing me
that I must sit down by
her, and began to tell me that it was
her son who had taken me,
that she had one more at war yet, and
now I was to be her son
also, and so gave me some victuals,
water melons and apples,
and pitied me very much seeing that I
was so exceedingly poor.
She said the Shawnees were not good for
using prisoners so.
I remained there for two weeks and was
kindly treated by them,
having nothing to do, but cut a little
wood for the fire, and shoot
Blackbirds that came to eat up the corn,
and according to their
aforesaid promise, they carried me to
Detroit, where we arrived
on the 3rd of September, 1782,
where I was given up to one agent
Bailey, who sent me with a soldier to
Major Depasture7 com-
mander in Chief of the garrison, where I
remained in close con-
finement till the 22nd and then I
embarked on board the Dun-
more sloop of war, when we kept round by
Lake Erie 188
miles to fort Slusher9 which
is called 300 miles from Detroit.
From thence we went to Fort Niagara, 18
miles further which
lies about 16 miles below the falls of
that great river, (which they
say were measured and are 360 feet
high10) from thence we
embarked on board the Seneca sloop of
war, on October the 9th
and arrived the 11th at Carleton's
Island (which is 83 leagues
across Lake Ontario) where we were kept
on board a guard ship
till the 24th, when we embarked in
battoes for Sew Gurche11
7Major A. S. De Peyster, a British
officer, in command at Detroit
at the time, a grandson of J. W. De
Peyster, a leading Dutch settler of
New York.
8 This is erroneous or indefinite. He
says it "is called 300 miles
from Detroit.
9 Fort Schlosher, opposite the fort of
Grand Isle.
10 Really 160 feet, or, according to
some authorities, the American
side is 164 feet, and the Canadian side
150 feet.
11 I cannot identify this Sue; suppose
it to be a mispronounced
French name, which has disappeared from
the maps.
The Capture of Abel Janney by the
Indians. 473
which is 30 leagues, we arrived there
the 25th in the evening,
and proceeded the next morning in our
Battoes, and went down
a dangerous rapid called the Long Sew,12
which is reported to
run at the rapid rate of 9 miles in 20 minutes. We
arrived at
Cateawde Lake13 the 28th
which is 30 leagues from the aforesaid
place. From thence to Lasheen14 is 26
miles, and next morning
to Montreal 9 miles, by land where we
arrived the 28th and
continued there in close confinement
until the 28th of December
when we were sent back to Cateawde lake.
We came there the
same day and in two days after we were
put upon an island with a
guard of Dutch soldiers, which place was
prepared for keeping
prisoners, with a number of ordinary
Barracks and it stands in
the midst of such riffles in the river
as renders it almost impos-
sible to get off from thence. It was on
the 28th day of January
when I obtained my permit to teach
school for the children of
the officers of the garrison and the
merchants with whom I
lived till my releasement, which was on
the morning of the 7th
of July 1783; we left Cateawde Lake and
from thence round to
New York and from thence to Loudoun
County Virginia,
my native home.
12 Long Sue.
l3 Cateawde
Lake. This, I presume, was Lake St. Francis, an expan-
sion of the St. Lawrence river.
14 Lachine.