Ohio History Journal

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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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-

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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; an_d others seek now to walk to the exact spot in the light

given by Colonel Butterfield.

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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 c^ountry 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.

• 12
 

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-

• 13
 

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

• 14
 

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

• 15
 

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

• 16
 

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,

• 17
 

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.

• 18