EDITORIALANA.
VOL. XVIII. No.4. OCTOBER, 1909.
AVERY'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.
Volume VI of "A History of the
United States and its People,"
by Elroy M. Avery, is just received. In
elegance of paper and me-
chanical effect, in richness of
illustration, maps, charts, fac-similes of
documents and reproductions of paintings
in original colors, this volume
is fully equal to its predecessors. We
have in notices of the previous
volumes sufficiently commented upon the
typographical character of the
work. Volume six, before us, carries the
reader through the American
Revolution, to the Confederation and the
Ordinance of 1787. The
twenty chapters, embracing 475 pages,
open with the New York Cam-
paign and deal in succession with the
military movements and results,
foreign complications and governmental
constructive measures leading
to the formation of the union of states.
This period of American history
has been covered a hundred times by
other American and foreign his-
torians and Mr. Avery meets this flood
of competition with the same
excellency and indeed superiority that
stamps his recital to the present
volume. The chapter on Foreign Relations
and French Alliance, and
on New Governments, State and
Confederate, are concise and lucid,
while his description of the conflict
for Independence on the tented field;
the campaigns, sieges, battles, repulses
and victories are vivid and in
style and sentiment reflective of the
patriotic spirit, indomitable courage
and patience of the heroes who fought,
bled and died for the cause
of human liberty, equal rights and
untrammeled opportunities. The
tale of the American Revolution, with
its romance, heroism, suffering
and triumph is the old, old story of our
national birth. It was never
told more charmingly than by Mr. Avery,
the simplicity and clearness
of his narrative sweeps the reader adown
the current of events with
an earnestness and a picturesqueness
that is unsurpassed. The school
boy and the learned scholar may enjoy it
alike. There is not a page
dull or heavy, the warriors and
statesmen live and breathe and perform
their parts like actors before the
imaginative vision of the reader. The
chapter on the "Border Warfare and
Northwest Conquest" is especially
complete and satisfactory. The romantic
expedition of George Rogers
Clark, by which the Northwest Territory
was saved to the American
Union and the operations of the Western
Indians during the Revolu-
tion period are given due importance and
proper treatment. As we
have had occasion to remark, concerning
previous volumes, Mr. Avery
has given the western history of our
country proportionate considera-
tion, accorded it by no other so-called
complete United States history.
Nearly all other writers, mainly New
Englanders, have emphasized the
(572)
Editorialana. 573
events of the Atlantic colonies and
minimized or entirely ignored the
contemporary trans-Alleghany events.
Concerning this feature of Mr.
Avery's history, the chapter on
"Opening the West - Ordinance of 1787,"
is an exemplification. This chapter is particularly interesting and
valuable to the Ohio and western reader.
The problem of disposing
of the vast domain north and west of the
Ohio, was a most perplexing
one to the Congress of 1787. The
conflicting claims of New York,
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania
and Virginia to this vast
territory, involved not only questions
of proprietorship but of govern-
mental control and constitutional
status; says Mr. Avery:
"While war was being waged and in
spite of the king's
proclamation of 1763, a human tide was
pouring into this back
country; 'The paths that the deer had
made over the mountains
could not be blocked up. The hunter
followed the deer and the
settler followed the hunter,' as
narrated in the tenth chapter of
the fifth volume of this history. At the
same time, the states
that had fixed western boundaries
dreaded domination and future
tyranny if claims like those of Virginia
and New York were main-
tained. For such reasons, Maryland had
held up the articles of
confederation until she was assured that
the western lands should
become common property 'subject to be
parcelled out by congress
into free, convenient, and independent
governments.' This was a
perilous cutting away from the almost
universal notion of supreme
state sovereignty, the first expression
of an idea that has over-
whelmed the theory of union on which the
articles of confedera-
tion were based. The indignation thus
aroused was so fierce that
some were in favor of dividing Maryland
between the neighboring
states and erasing her name from the
map. But Maryland's atti-
tude was firm and her action came at the
decisive moment."
Then follows the colonial cessions, the
Quixotic propositions for
the carving of this wild empire into
states and the final outcome: The
formation of the Ohio Company of
Associates, and the Scioto Company.
Of the distribution of honors concerning
the authorship of the Or-
dinance of 1787, Mr. Avery says:
"The authorship of the ordinance
has occasioned much dis-
pute. The fact is that no one person is
entitled to all the credit.
It embodied the best parts of that of
1784 and of ordinances sub-
sequently introduced. Much has been
claimed for Nathan Dane
of Massachusetts, a member of the
committee, and it is sure that
Doctor Cutler exercised a powerful
influence, as did others. As
regards the clause prohibiting of
slavery, that, too, is in doubt.
Jefferson's draft of the ordinance of
1784 had contained such a
clause; in March, 1785, Rufus King of
Massachusetts had intro-
duced a resolution to the same effect;
the first draft of the
ordinance of 1787 did not contain the
immortal prohibition and, on
574 Ohio. Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
the second reading, Dane, apparently
upon a suggestion from the
Virginia delegation, brought it forward.
The claim of first place
for Doctor Cutler is, however, ably and
persistently urged by many,
and the last word has not yet been
written.
"While the ordinance was under
consideration, Cutler had
been pushing his negotiations for a land
purchase; on the twenty-
seventh of July, congress authorized the
sale of five million acres
in the region north of the Ohio and east
of the Scioto. A million
and a half acres were for the Ohio
company; the remainder was
'for private speculation in which many
of the principal characters
of America are concerned,' in other
words, the Scioto company.
The Ohio company proved to be an
effective agent for good, but
the Scioto purchase was disastrous to
all actively engaged therein.
The total price was three and a half
million dollars payable in
certificates of public indebtedness that
were worth about twelve
cents on the dollar-the largest private
contract that had ever
been made in America.
"General Parsons presented his
memorial to congress in May
and returned without having accomplished
anything. In the fol-
lowing month, Putnam and Cutler, the
other two directors, met
in Boston, and decided that the latter
should renew an attempt
in which Parsons, and Rufus King, and
Jefferson, and Wash-
ington, and several committees of
congress had conspicuously
failed.
In his diary, Cutler wrote: 'I
conversed with General
Putnam and settled the principles on
which I am to contract with
congress for lands on account of the
Ohio company.' In the two
or three days that the ordinance was
pending before congress, it
was proposed to reject some of the
amendments that he had sug-
gested, he does not specify which they
were. With worldly wisdom,
Cutler promptly 'paid his respects to
all the members of congress
in the city and informed them of his
intention to depart that day.'
He says that they urged him to 'tarry
till the next day and they
would put by all other business to
complete the contract.' The
diary further tells us that 'congress
came to the terms stated in
our letter without the least variation.'
In other words, according
to this account, Putnam and Cutler were
masters of the situa-
tion and the Ohio company dictated its
own terms."
Then follows the settlement of the new
Northwest and Marietta
becomes the Plymouth of a
"territory larger than the present German
Empire."
Mr. Avery's account of the First United
States Land Survey cor-
rects what had become a well fixed
error. "Thomas Hutchins was then
geographer of the United States, an
office that came to include the duties
of surveyor-general of the public lands. The first survey was to begin
at the point where the western boundary of Pennsylvania intersects the
Editorialana. 575
northern bank of the Ohio River. From
this point, a base line, known
as the Geographer's Line, was to be run
due west. North and south
lines six miles apart were to divide the
territory into seven ranges,
and east and west lines six miles apart
were to divide each range into
townships. Each township was to be
divided into thirty-six lots (sub-
sequently called sections) each one mile
square. Lots sixteen of each
township was to be reserved for the
maintenance of public schools
within that township and reservations
were to be made for the Chris-
tian Indians and for patriot refugees
from Canada and Nova Scotia.
The remaining lands were to be sold at
auction for not less than one
dollar an acre (specie value) and the
cost of surveying. Before any
lands were sold under this system,
congress had authorized the sale
of large tracts at much lower prices to
land companies or syndicates.
"On the thirtieth of September,
Hutchins began operations, but not
much of the work was completed that
year. The ordinance contemplated
a survey of seven ranges extending
northward from the Ohio River to
Lake Erie. The ranges were numbered from
east to west and the
townships in each range were numbered
from south to north. In 1786,
Connecticut ceded to the general
government her western lands reserv-
ing a tract in what is now north-eastern
Ohio. Owing probably to un-
settled questions relating to this
Western Reserve, the continental con-
gress, by a resolution dated the ninth
of May, 1786, directed that
Hutchins and his surveyors 'do not
proceed further northerly than
the east and west line mentioned in the
said ordinance,' i. e., the
Geographer's Line. Hutchins died in
1789, and, under an act of 1796,
Rufus Putnam became the first
surveyor-general. By item eight of in-
structions issued by Oliver Wolcott,
secretary of the treasury. Putnam
was directed to complete the survey of
the lands 'between the Southern
boundary of the Connecticut Claims [the
forty-first parallel] and the
Seven Ranges of Townships which were
surveyed in pursuance of an
ordinance of congress under the late
Confederation passed on the 20th
of May, 1785.' In accordance with these
instructions, Putnam had
the four tiers of townships between the
seven ranges and the military
lands on the south and the southern
boundary of the Western Reserve
on the north, and extending as far
westward as the Muskingum River,
thirty-eight townships in all, surveyed
in 1800. The thirty-six sec-
tions in each township of the old seven
ranges are numbered con-
secutively from the south-east corner of
the township while those of
the townships surveyed by Putnam north
of Hutchin's base line are
similarly numbered from the north-east
corner, a system that is still
maintained in the survey of the public
lands. The original manuscript
returns of this survey are preserved in
the general land office at
Washington City. They are without date,
but, as they mention an act
of May, 1800, they must have been made
subsequent to that date. It
has been generally stated by historians
that the famous seven ranges
extended from the Ohio River to the
forty-first parallel, and even
576 Ohio. Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
some of the veterans of the United
States general land office were of
the same opinion in April, 1909."
For the correction of this long-standing
error concerning the
Hutchins survey Mr. Avery gives credit
to Mr. Albion M. Dyer, present
secretary of the Western Reserve
Historical Society, who gave the
matter of the history of the Seven
Ranges special study, conducting his
investigation at Washington.
The Avery History of the United States
when complete will con-
sist of sixteen volumes. It is published
by The Burrows Brothers Com-
pany, Cleveland, Ohio.
THE PEACE OF MAD ANTHONY WAYNE.
Mr. Frazer E. Wilson, life member of The
Ohio State Archaeol-
ogical and Historical Society and writer
of some interesting articles
for the Society's Quarterly, is
the author of a little volume entitled
"The Peace of Mad Anthony
Wayne," an account of the subjugation
of the North-western Indian tribes and
the Treaty of Greenville. Mr.
Wilson, a resident of Greenville, has
been a diligent student of Ohio
history for many years and his studies
have resulted in one or two
previous monographs touching on the
subject of the volume in question.
In the 125 pages of Mr. Wilson's book
the author lays the foundation
for the Greenville Treaty, by an account
of the Indian peoples of the
Northwest and the chief historic events
leading up to the English ex-
peditions against the Ohio Indians
following the American Revolution.
The campaigns of St. Clair, Harmar,
Scott and Wilkinson are con-
cisely related. The recital of the Wayne
warfare is well written from
the best standard authorities. The
period covered by Mr. Wilson is
the most important and interesting in
the pre-state history of Ohio
and Mr. Wilson gives a most readable and
correct account of the events
included in his work. He has carefully
acquainted himself with the
facts of his story and has reproduced
them in a pleasing narrative
style. The campaign of Anthony Wayne,
culminating in the Battle
of Fallen Timber is one of the most
romantic episodes in American
history. Few historians have done it full justice. The war of the
Revolution really lasted in Ohio twenty
years, beginning with the battle
of Point Pleasant, W. Va., October 10,
1774, and ending with the battle of
Fallen Timber on the Maumee, August 20,
1794. Ohio was thus the
great battlefield on which the last
blows were struck by the Americans
against their British foes and moreover
Ohio was the great battle-
field on which the Indian took his last
stand to stay the tide of white
invasion. Mr. Wilson's little volume is
the most satisfactory summary
of the Indian wars described that has
appeared. It is appropriately
supplemented with illustrations and
maps. Printed by Chas. R. Kemble,
Greenville, Ohio, cloth bound, $1.25.
Editorialana. 577
PRE-HISTORIC MAP.
Concerning the archaeological atlas of
Ohio now being prepared
by The Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society, under the
direction of W. C. Mills, Curator of the
Society, the Associated Press
has given out the following statement:
Work on the archaeological atlas of
Ohio, a work unique of its
kind in the history of literature, is
about one-fourth completed, but so
quietly has it been in progress that
few, if any persons outside the
membership of the Ohio Archaeological
and Historical Society have
known of it. It will require at least a
year longer to complete.
The nearest approaches to this work are
an archaeological map
of the state of New York, which has been
completed and published,
and a series of maps which Wisconsin is
having prepared, showing
its wealth of mounds. Ohio, moreover,
according to William C. Mills,
curator and librarian of the Ohio
Archaeological and Historical Society,
has as much material in almost any of
its counties as most of the states.
The present work has been systematically
undertaken. There will
be a plate and a map for each of the 88
counties. Of these more than
20 have been completed. For a basis the
United States topographical
survey maps are being used. The scale is
one-half inch to the mile,
which permits of a vast amount of detail
going into the maps.
In telling of the work, Mr. Mills
continually says "we are doing
this and that," but that is only
modesty, and he is doing practically
all the work himself.
Work was begun in the north-eastern part
of the state, so that
the biggest counties are still to come.
The Miami, Scioto and Mus-
kingum valleys are richest in
archaeological treasures, and will entail
the most work in making the surveys.
Scioto county has just been
completed and the plate will be issued
in a few weeks. While some
counties have a great deal more material
than others, not one of
the 88 is barren.
Mr. Mills says it is a fact not
generally known that they are both
numerous and important, but, for the
most part they have all been
partly explored by amateurs, so that
when the society gets to work it
has little material to work on. Every
exploration has value, he says,
in proof of which he cites the recently
explored Seip mound in Ross
county. In it alligator teeth were
found, proving to the satisfaction
of the archaeologist the wide extent of
commerce carried on by the
aborigines and the long distance they
traveled. This is, to date, the
only case on record wherein such teeth
were found this far north.
Then, too, the scientific conception of
what the mounds really
were, has changed since most persons
learned about them. They are
no longer considered as signal towers,
forts or dwelling places. In-
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.
Editorialana. 583
"Early in October, 1853, my father
with his family moved onto the
old Myron Buell farm, at Crawfordsville,
and our dwelling house was
within half a mile and in plain sight of
the High Bank, on Tymochtee
creek, close to which, all agree,
Colonel Crawford was burned. The
traditions from the whites and Indians
agree that the execution took
place in this locality. The Indians were
numerous and better acquainted
with the exact place and its
environments than were the few whites.
"The first white settler within the
present limits of Wyandot county
was Henry Lish, who settled near the
mouth of Tymochtee creek, about
the year 1818. Settlers began to pour in
rapidly in 1821, and never
stopped coming until the public land was
all taken and the county was
completely settled. This settlement of
the county commenced less than
forty years from the time of Colonel
Crawford's cruel execution.
"The burning of Crawford was
contrary to the customs of the
Wyandots, and it strained the friendly
relations hitherto existing between
the Wyandots and the Delawares. Such an
unusual event would naturally
make a deep impression upon the minds of
the Indians of both tribes.
They all had an opportunity of knowing
the exact spot where the
tragedy was consummated and all must
concede that they did know.
Many of the actual participants in
Crawford's execution, not only lived
here when the white settlers began to
move into the country forty years
later, but they continued to live here
until their final removal west of
the Mississippi in 1843.
"The old settlers were a hardy,
long-lived people, and many of
them were active here until after the
close of the Civil War. The
Wyandots had only been gone ten years
when we moved into the
country. At that time the large timber
on and in the neighborhood
of the High Bank had never been
disturbed. The environments were
about the same as they had been for a
hundred years. Certainly the
relative positions of the creek and the
High Bank had not materially
changed since 1872. During the long
years of my residence in sight
of the spot I always understood that the
burning occurred under the
walnut trees in the bend of the creek,
just across the stream from
High Bank. This general description
brought the tragic spot within
the compass of less than an acre of
land, and that was as close as we
ever cared about getting to the 'exact
spot.'
"I never heard this location
disputed until in 1876, when the Craw-
ford monument was, dedicated, and then,
and at different times since,
old men living remote from the field and
very seldom having seen it,
fortified with little morsels of
hearsay, persist in putting a pin in the
'exact' spot where Colonel Crawford died
at the stake.
"One hundred and twenty-two years
ago Colonel Crawford died;
he was a noble, good man; a pioneer of
our pioneers. His place of
sepulchre was the place of his
execution, and, like one of the great
leaders of old, no man knows to this day
the exact place of his burial.
584 Ohio. Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
The Tymochtee remains, the 'Bend'
remains, the 'High Bank' remains,
and these monuments retain their
relative positions substantially as they
have existed for the last 150 years.
"The actors in the tragedy have
long since joined the silent
majority, but the early, undisputed
tradition yet lives in the memory of
living witnesses, and under the walnut
trees, in the bend of the creek,
just across from the High Bank is the
'exact spot' where the great
Colonel Crawford was burned at the
stake."
AN INDIAN CAPTIVITY.
A copy of the following article, by
courtesy of a member of the
Oviatt family, recently fell into the
hands of the Editor of the
QUARTERLY. It was published some years
ago in one of the news-
papers of Eastern Ohio. It gives a reliable account of an Indian
massacre and captivity typical of the
times in the early settlements of
the New England and Pennsylvania
colonies. This particular narrative
is interesting to Ohio readers for the
reason that those spoken of as
massacred or carried into captivity were
the progenitors of prominent
Ohio settlers, as appears in the
article. It is perhaps permissible to
say, en passant, that the Elizabeth
Carter and the Benjamin Oviatt,
of the account, were respectively the
great-grandmother and the great-
grandfather of the Editor of the
QUARTERLY, his grandfather being
Heman Oviatt who came to Ohio from Goshen, Conn., in 1800, in
the party of Henry Hudson, when the
latter founded the town given
his name. An account of the centennial
of Hudson town appeared in
the publications of the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical So-
ciety, volume IX, pages 318-371-EDITOR.
THE CAPTIVES.
A NARRATIVE OF REAL LIFE.
[NOTE.-During the past two or three
years I have been collect-
ing and arranging facts and data for a
complete geneology of the
Oviatt family in America. In connection
with this work, there has
come into my possession the following
narrative, which is said to
have been originally published in the Litchfield
(Conn.) Enquirer, about
1845 or 1846. The Benjamin Oviatt who
married Elizabeth Carter,
was my great-grandfather; my father,
Darius, being a son of Nathaniel
Oviatt, of Richfield, (Summit Co.,)
Ohio. Samuel Oviatt, (born in
1741,) who it appears was an older
brother of Benjamin, was the
progenitor of the Trumbull County
Oviatts. T. D. OVIATT.]
Warren, O., February 15th, 1889.
Almost incredible is the recital of the
hardships and sufferings
from savage cruelty to which the early
emigrants of our western set-
Editorialana. 585
tlements were exposed. With very few of
the comforts of life, and
none of its luxuries, they penetrated
deep into the dark and unbroken
forest, erected their rude habitations,
and placed within their un-
embellished walls their wives and little
ones. All they possessed on
earth thus insecurely reposed in the
bosom of solitude and danger.
The sound of the hoarse winds as they
rushed heavily through the
branches of the tall trees around their
dwelling, was often mingled
with the tread and growl of the wild
beast and the wily approach of
the more ferocious and deadly savage.
And often, too, was the mid-
day stillness of the forest broken by
the expiring shriek of these
lonely emigrants, as they were struck
down on their own thresholds
by the hands of barbarians, whose work
of death no weakness or sup-
plication could in the least avert.
Difficult it is to realize that amidst
these peaceful hills and vales, where
cities and clustering villages and
a thousand hamlets so joyfully repose,
scarce a century ago such
horrid scenes existed. And while thus
securely dwelling, we listen to
the recital of such deeds of darkness,
we scarce believe them other
than the wild legends of romance. But
instances there are of those
with whom we have associated, and from
whose lips we have heard
such recitals, who saw and participated
in those scenes of suffering.
Soon after the French and Indian war,
Mr. Nathaniel Carter
removed from Killingworth to Cornwall in
Litchfield Co., where he
purchased and settled on the farm now
owned and improved by Caleb
Jones, Esq., where he resided for some
years. But, as the tide of
emigration was at the time setting from
New England toward the
pleasant and fertile valleys of the
Delaware and Susquehanna in Penn-
sylvania, early in 1763 Mr. Carter, with
some of his hardy neighbors,
began to make preparations for removing
thither. The accounts which
they had received of that country had
filled them with glowing an-
ticipations, though they were by no
means unmindful of the fact that
the life of a pioneer was one of
hardship and peril. Mr. Carter's
family at this time consisted of his
wife and six children-Jemima,
the oldest daughter, having a short time
before been married to Mr.
John Bates, of Warren, [Conn.] The other children were Nathan,
Sarah, aged eleven years, Elizabeth,
eight, Nathaniel, six, and an infant.
On a beautiful morning in the spring of
the same year, this family,
(except the married daughter,) together
with two other families from
the same neighborhood, took up the line
of their journey for the "land
of promise." After a tedious tour,
marked with the usual vicissitudes
and adventures of such a journey, they
arrived in safety at the forks
of the Delaware, where they remained a
short time, and ultimately
settled on the Lackawaxen creek, in
Wayne county, [Pa.,] about twelve
miles below the site of the present town
of Bethany. They advanced
about fifteen miles beyond any other
white settlement, cleared a small
spot near the bank of the stream, and
erected a building of logs, in
which the three families resided. Here
they passed a few months in
586 Ohio. Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
apparent security, engaged in various
employments to improve the safety
and comfort of their new residence. The
tall trees immediately before
their dwelling they had in part cleared
away, some grain and garden
vegetables were growing hard by, while
around the doorway a few
flowers, transplanted from their dear
native New England, were bud-
ding and blossoming-adding variety and
beauty to the scene of their
wilderness home. While some were
laboring, others carried the musket
and ammunition, acting as sentinels,
that they might seasonably be
apprised of any approaching danger.
Every day seemed more promis-
ing of future happiness and security,
and added something to their little
stock of comforts. The wild scenery had
become familiar to their
view, and an agreeable interest had
associated itself with most of the
objects which were embraced by the
little horizon, formed by the tall
and unbroken forests which stretched
away to an almost interminable
breadth around them.
One day in the latter part of September,
when the inmates of this
little settlement were occupied in their
usual pursuits, Mr. Carter, with
his oldest son, and one or two others,
being engaged in building a
house a short distance in the woods, and
the man whose business it
was to act as sentinel having gone a few
rods out of sight of the
house to examine some traps, the
Indians, who had been secretly
watching for their prey, uttered their
savage war-whoop, and rushed
upon these defenceless women and
children. At this moment, Mrs.
Carter and her daughter Elizabeth were a
few rods from the door,
engaged in picking green corn for
dinner. Elizabeth, seeing them be-
fore the war-whoop was given, and
knowing from their appearance that
they were branded for war, turned to her
mother and gave the alarm,
but her words were scarcely uttered,
before she saw that beloved parent
turn deadly pale, and the next moment
beheld the tomahawk buried in
her skull. The Indians, twelve in
number, then rushed into the house,
where were the elder females, one of
whom was confined to the bed
with illness; a daughter of the same
woman, aged sixteen, who was
also ill; the infant daughter of Mr.
Carter, and five other children.
One of the Indians seized the infant and
dashed its brains out against
the logs of the house; and the two sick
females were instantly put
to death with the tomahawk. The man who
had gone to examine the
traps, hearing the shrieks of the
sufferers, hastened to their defense,
but had only time to discharge his gun
once, before he received a death
blow from the hands of the assailants.
The Indians having selected such of
their captives as they sup-
posed could best endure the hardships of
a savage life, and taking the
scalps of those they had killed, and
also the clothing and utensils which
they thought would best suit their
convenience, they set fire to the
house, and then hurried off to their
encampment, a short distance from
thence, on the other side of the creek.
The captives were three children
Editorialana. 587
of Mr. Carter, (Sarah, Elizabeth and
Nathaniel,) Mrs. Duncan, and
three children belonging to the other
family. At the encampment they
found about two hundred Indians,
principally warriors. Several large
fires were burning, around which the
Indians began to regale themselves
on roasted corn and other refreshments,
which they had brought from
the white settlement. After having
freely indulged themselves in exul-
tations at their recent successes and
night approaching, they secured their
captives with cords, and stretched
themselves on the ground around the
fires. Sarah, the oldest of the three
children of Mr. Carter, appeared
perfectly distracted by the
circumstances of her situation. She continued
crying and calling for her father to
come and rescue her. The Indians
several times appeared determined to
silence her screams with the tom-
ahawk. At length, when they had become
buried in sleep, Sarah ob-
tained a small brand from the fire, with
which she barely succeeded in
burning the cord which bound her to the
savages, but leaving her hands
still tied together. In this situation
and surrounded by the midnight
darkness, she succeeded in finding a
canoe and loosening it from its
fastenings, in which she reached the
opposite bank, and finally found
her way back to the smoking ruins of her
recent home, where she
gave way to the most violent
lamentations. Though her cries were
distinctly heard at the) encampment, she
was not pursued until morning,
when she was retaken.
The Indians then commenced their journey
through the woods,
carrying their prisoners on horseback.
After pursuing their route three
days in a westerly direction, they
halted and sent back a war party of
about one hundred. After five or six
days, the party returned with
several scalps; and the horror of the
captives can scarcely be imagined,
when they discovered among the number
those of Mr. Carter and Mr.
Duncan. These men, on returning from
their labors, and seeing the
desolation which the Indians had made,
repaired to the nearest white
settlement, and procured the aid of
forty men, with whom they returned
for the cattle, and with the faint hope
of recovering the captives. Just
as they gained the vicinity of their
recent home, they were suddenly
surprised by the yell of these savages,
and by the flight of their arrows.
About half of Carter's men, (most of
whom were Dutch,) instantly
deserted, and left their companions to
fight out the battle as best they
could. Yet, though struggling against
such fearful odds, these brave
men stood their ground, till Carter
found himself alone-all besides
him having been killed or disabled.
He stationed himself behind a rock, and
still kept up the fire until
struck down by the tomahawks of the
enemy. Some four or five of
those wounded in the early part of the
engagement, succeeded in crawl-
ing so far into the forest as to elude
the subsequent search of their
wily foes, and at length reached their
homes.
On the return of the Indian warriors to
the encampments, (as was
afterwards stated by the captives,)
there was great lamentation and
588 Ohio. Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
mourning among the savages over those of
their number who had
fallen in the battle-more than half of
the one hundred being among
the slain.
The Indians then re-commenced their
march through the woods
to the residence of their nation. As
nearly as the captives could
recollect, they traveled several days
diligently in a northwesterly di-
rection, and at length arrived at their
place of destination. Here in
dark and filthy huts, ornamented with
the scalps of their parents and
friends, separated from each other, did
these lonely captives spend
the long and tedious months of winter,
in a state of almost perfect starva-
tion. The Indians would never go abroad
to obtain new supplies of
food, so long as one morsel remained;
and then sometimes returned
with little success. Nathaniel, (the
youngest of the captives,) having
from the first been a general favorite
with the Indians, was treated
by them with comparative kindness and
attention; and so much so.
that the little white stranger soon
ceased to mourn his bereavements,
and joined heartily in the amusements
and pastimes which they de-
vised for the purpose of diverting him
and making sport for themselves.
Early in the spring they deserted their
winter quarters, and
journeyed towards the lakes; and after a
tour of several weeks, ar-
rived in the vicinity of Fort Niagara,
where Elizabeth and Sarah were
ransomed through the negotiations of Sir
William Johnson. But all
efforts to obtain Nathaniel were unavailing.
No considerations would
tempt the Indians to part with him; and,
strange as it may appear,
he had become so much attached to them
that he would not consent
to leave them. His sisters, after
bidding him an affectionate and final
farewell, were conveyed to Albany, where
their Connecticut friends,
being apprised of their ransom, met
them, and they soon had the un-
speakable gratification of once more
visiting the home of their nativity,
and finding themselves surrounded by
sympathizing friends and relatives.
Yet it was long, very long, before they
ceased to mourn over the
dreadful scenes through which they had
passed, and their sad be-
reavement.
The reader who has followed thus far our
narrative, may feel
an interest to know something of the
subsequent history of the captives.
Sarah Carter, from her ill-treatment and
mental suffering, never fully
recovered. Though she lived to an old
age, her intellect was per-
manently impaired; she died a few years
since in Goshen, [Conn.]
Elizabeth was married to Mr. Benjamin
Oviatt, of Goshen, and died
in that town in the autumn of 1835.
Among her children were the late
Mr. Lyman Oviatt, of Goshen; Heman
Oviatt, Esq., a wealthy and
enterprising citizen of Hudson, Ohio,
and distinguished as a liberal
patron of the college at that place; and
Mr. Nathaniel Oviatt, of
Richfield, O. The children of Mr.
Carter's eldest daughter, Jemima,
were the late Mr. John Bates, of Kent,
[Conn.,] the late Isaac Bates,
Editorialana. 589
of Warren, [Conn.,] Deacon Nathaniel
Carter Bates, recently of this
town,- [Litchfield.]
Nathaniel grew up among the Indians,
imbibed their habits, and
married one of their daughters. It is a
most remarkable circumstance,
that among the articles which the
Indians carried away with the captives,
was a Bible-which they afterwards gave
to their young favorite. He
had previously learned to read, and by
means of this book, which he
kept to manhood, he ever retained that
knowedge. He died in the
Cherokee nation, at the age of about
seventy.
Some years since, while the foreign
mission school was in opera-
tion at Cornwall, Mr. Isaac Bates, well
known as a warm friend of the
school, received a letter from a
missionary among the Indians, stating
that he sent on to be educated a
half-breed Indian, of fine talent and
exemplary piety, named Carter;
expressing a wish that he would be-
come acquainted with him. An early
acquaintance with the young man
was accordingly sought by Mr. Bates, and
greatly to his surprise and
gratification, he discovered in him a son of the long lost captive!
The youth remained at the school for a
considerable time, frequently
visiting his relatives in this vicinity;
and at length, after completing
his studies, he returned to his native
country with a view of there
preaching the gospel.