Ohio History Journal

ANDREW POE'S ENCOUNTER WITH INDIANS.

 

(From the Draper Mss. Border Forays, 5 D-Chap 29, Wisconsin

Historical Society Archives.)

Andrew Poe was born the thirtieth of September, 1742, in

Frederick county, Maryland, George Poe, the father of Andrew,

died while the latter was in his teens. He remained at home

until he became of age, living with his mother and an elder

brother. Not long after the termination of Pontiac's War, he

came to the neighborhood of Pittsburgh, where he remained

some time; when, in company with two others, he commenced

the first settlement on Harman's creek, in what is now Wash-

ington county, Pennsylvania, at a point about twelve miles from

the Ohio river. Two years after, he returned to Maryland, and

induced his brother Adam, who was some years younger than

himself, to go with him to his new location. Andrew had al-

ready selected a tract of land for a farm and made improve-

ments; Adam, upon his arrival out, also secured a piece not far

from his brother's. Here the two continued to reside. Andrew

was five feet, eleven and one-half inches in hight; and his usual

weight, two hundred and five pounds. He was a man of un-

usual strength and activity.

On the twentieth of September, 1781,1 a party of Wyandot

warriors, seven in number, was sent by the Half King, principal

or head chief of that nation, from the banks of the Walhonding,

where the latter then was on his way to the Sandusky, on a

maraud upon the white settlers to the eastward of, and across

the Ohio river. Among the braves were three sons of that

sachem, the oldest of whom was Scotash who afterward be-

came chief of the Wyandots. The latter was put in command

of the party,² which reached and crossed the river near the

1 Heckewelder (Narr., p. 279,) speaks of an expedition leaving that

day,-two sons of the Half King with the party.

2 Thomas Edgington was, on the first day of April, 1782, captured by

a party of ten, one of whom was Scotash; and from whom and others

he received these particulars: Statement of his son. Geo. Edgington,-

1845. Compare Vermont Hist. Soc. Coll., Vol. II, p. 356.

(492)

• 1
 

Andrew Poe's Encounter With Indians.       493

 

mouth of Tomlinson's run, a distance of about twelve miles

from the settlement of the Poe's on Harman's creek.

The Wyandots came within one mile of Adam Poe's about

midnight, capturing one Jackson, a man about sixty years of

age, whom the savages found alone in his house. With their

prisoner, they immediately set off for the Ohio. But the fact of

the incursion of the Indians into the settlement having been dis-

covered just after they had departed, a small number at once

assembled, and made preparations to pursue the marauders as

soon as it was light enough to see their trail. Andrew Poe was

chosen a lieutenant-to lead the party.

That night there was a sharp frost-the first of the season;

so that the borderers, in pursuit, as soon as the morning dawned,

had but little difficulty, although all were mounted, in following

the tracks of the savages. Rapidly they approached the Ohio.

On the river hill, half a mile from the stream, they dismounted

and tied their horses. They were now a short distance below

Tomlinson's run,⁴ the trail at the bottom   of the hill turning

down the river.    Here fresh signs of the Indians were dis-

covered. Some of the men were now cautioned by their leader

to march quietly; as they were making considerable noise with

their feet in running. The fear was, that the Indians would

discover them and at once kill their prisoners. But one of the

men, in particular, was not to be restrained; so Andrew Poe

turned squarely to the right, leaving his company, and, making

his way cautiously, took a straight course to the immediate bank

of the Ohio.

3 Pension Statement of Adam Poe (1833); MS. copy. The tradi-

tions handed down from Andrew Poe, agree substantially with the

declaration of the former, except as to the date. Adam gives the month

as September-corroborated by Heckewelder. It would seem to be

abundantly substantiated that the incursion was made a short time pre-

vious to the arrival of the Moravian Missionaries upon the banks of

the Sandusky river. As to the year, there can be no question; both the

brothers, when, in aftertimes, their attention was called to it, said it

occurred in 1781. Compare, also, De Hass' Hist. Ind. Wars, W. Va.,

p. 336; Charles McKnight's Western Border, p. 443.

4 Both Thomas Edgington (who lived at the time a short distance

above the present Steubenville, but on the Virginia side) and Andrew

Poe (in his Pension Statement) agree as to the locality.

• 2
 

494       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

The residue of settlers, with whom was Adam Poe, fol-

lowed the trail of the retreating Wyandots to the river, where

they discovered five Indians and the prisoner, Jackson. Four

of the savages were making a raft which they had quite com-

pleted, while the remaining Indian stood sentry and also guarded

their captive. The borderers got within twenty-five yards of the

warriors before they were discovered. Jackson saw them at the

same moment, and sprang forward to escape to his deliverers, but

his savage keeper seizing a tomahawk pursued him instantly and

succeeded in striking him in the back with the weapon, fortu-

nately, however, inflicting not a very serious wound. Before

the Indian could repeat the blow, he was shot dead by one of

the settlers. Thereupon, the rescued man ran up and embraced

one of the borderers-William Castleman, crying out, "Oh!

Castleman! Oh! Castleman"; seeming all unconscious of his

wound; so over-joyed was he to escape.

In the meantime, the bordermen had fired upon the four

Wyandots and the latter returned the fire. The Indians all

sprang into the river; one only escaped, and he-Scotash-

badly wounded in the hand. He was the elder of the three sons

of the Half King, and leader of the party. One of the settlers

was shot,-a young man by the name of Cherry. He sat down

by a sugar-tree, expressing a hope that his companions would

not let the Indians scalp him. His wound was in his left side

cutting away the lower part of his left lung. Thus ended the

contest with the five savages, which, of itself, would have been

a memorable one; but, as will now be seen, it had already been

eclipsed by a hand-to-hand conflict up the river a short distance,

wherein the leader of the white men was performing prodigies

of heroic daring.

Andrew Poe, when he left his companions, and had reached

the river bank, peered cautiously over it. He discovered two

Indians near the water's edge, both half bent, with their guns

in their hands, and looking intently down the river. The two

savages were brothers of Scotash and sons of the Half King;

• 3
 

Andrew Poe's Encounter With Indians.           495

 

neither was remarkable for size;5 one, however, was a trifle

smaller than the other; nor was either of them a chief of the

Wyandots; but their father being head-sachem of the nation,

they, of course, were of distinction and importance.⁶ When

first discovered by Poe, they were evidently alarmed at the noise

of the approaching party farther down the stream.

Andrew Poe instantly concluded to shoot the larger Indian

and then, with his butcher-knife, jump down the bank-about

fifteen feet at that point to the water's edge and attack the other

before he could turn and use his gun. It was a most desperate

resolve. He had not been discovered; so, taking deliberate aim,

he pulled the trigger-but his gun missed fire. Both Indians at

once turned around, with a "Waugh !" of surprise. Poe, as quick

as thought, dropping his gun, jumped down the declivity, in-

tending first to dispatch the larger savage with his knife, and

then the smaller one. As he alighted upon them, he caught each

around the neck. His weight and the force acquired from the

distance he had jumped, brought the larger Indian upon his

back and Poe upon his breast, the other savage being brought

down, also, and held there by Poe's right arm and his right

leg over the fellow's body. Both their guns fell from their hands

as Poe descended upon them.

The smaller savage made violent efforts to disengage him-

self from the clasp of his antagonist; but he was held by Poe

as in a vice; meanwhile the latter tried to reach his knife which

was in a scabbard attached to his shot-pouch and was partly

under him as he lay upon the larger Indian. The savage com-

prehending his intention, seized his left hand; the other Indian

 

5 This fact would seem to be fairly authenticated. Edgington was

not only so informed, the next Spring, by Scotash and Simon Girty, but

by several others who knew them well. It is equally certain that neither

bore the name of Big Foot. No printed account gives the "Big Indian"

that name within fifty years after the occurrence mentioned in this

chapter.

6 As early, at least, as the Spring of 1779, the three brothers had

gone to war against the border: "This day six warriors came in here,

all Wyandots, and three of them the Half King's sons;-they killed two

men somewhere above Redstone."-Heckewelder to Brodhead, 9 Apr.,

1779, from Coshocton. MS.

• 4
 

496       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

all the while struggling to get loose. Poe now thought he would

make a desperate effort to get hold of his knife handle and draw

the weapon from its sheath with his right hand, even if, in so

doing, he should release the smaller savage, trusting to his ef-

forts and prowess with the weapon to dispatch the two. He had,

however no sooner loosened his right hand grip and seized hold of

his knife with his thumb and finger, and made a jerk, than the

Indian under him let go of his left hand-the knife came easily

from its scabbard; so easily, in fact, that the jerk caused it to

fly several feet from him upon the shore. This effort of Poe

necessarily, gave the smaller Indian a chance to free himself

from his foe.

The chances now were decidedly in favor of the Indians.

The larger one clasped his strong arms around Poe holding him

fast, while the other seized a tomahawk lying upon a raft which

was fastened to the shore not more than six feet away, and

aimed a blow at the head of his antagonist; seeing which, the

latter threw up his right foot, the toe of his shoe striking the

Indian's wrist as the weapon was descending-sending the toma-

hawk flying into the river. There was still one in reserve upon

the raft, which the savage lost no time in securing and after

two or three feints, levelled another blow at Poe's head. The

latter threw up his right hand and received the weapon on the

wrist, cutting off one of the bones and the cords of three of his

fingers. The tomahawk sticking fast among the sinews, was

drawn from the Indian's hand as Poe threw back his arm, drop-

ping some distance away upon the ground.⁷ The larger Indian now

loosened his hold of Poe who immediately jumped up, seizing

one of the guns as he rose, with his left hand, and it being al-

ready cocked, he shot the smaller Indian dead. This somewhat

lessened the odds against him.

Scarcely had the fatal shot been fired, when the other In-

dian jumping to his feet, seized Poe and threw him into the

river; but the latter, at the same time grasped the savage's

breech-clout with his left hand and brought him tumbling along

with him into the stream. The water was deep and both went

 

7This weapon, still preserved in the Poe family, is seven and one-

quarter inches long, and the blade two inches wide.

• 5
 

Andrew Poe's Encounter With Indians.       497

 

under. Now a mighty struggle was made by each to drown the

other. Sometimes one was under, sometimes the other, and fre-

quently both. Poe getting his antagonist by the tuft of hair

upon his scalp held his head under the water until he thought

him drowned. They had been by this time carried by the cur-

rent quite a distance from shore. Letting go the savage's hair

and pressing him down with his right arm over his neck, Poe

endeavored to swim with his left hand, getting at this time his

head above the surface to breathe. But the Indian immediately

slipped out from under his arm, rose to the surface, also, and

swam for shore with all possible speed, followed by his dis-

abled antagonist who was unable to overtake the uninjured

savage.

The moment the Indian reached the shore, he sprang for

the loaded gun, seeing which, Poe quickly turned and swam

back into the current, to escape the shot. The savage in cocking

the gun broke the lock. Throwing it down, he picked up the

empty gun and sprang to the raft for a shot-pouch and powder-

horn and commenced loading. Meanwhile Poe continued to

swim away from shore, turning upon his back and exposing only

his face; at the same time calling aloud for his brother Adam

whom he supposed could not be far away; and he was not mis-

taken; for the latter, after the contest was over with the Indians

down the stream, missing his brother and hearing the report

of a gun up the river, hastened to the spot. It was a very op-

portune arrival; for he reached the top of the bank with his

gun, unloaded, however, and caught sight of the savage just

as he was in the act of commencing to load. Adam remained

unperceived by the Indian but was discovered by Andrew in the

water who called to him to load quickly.

It was now a question whether the savage would shoot An-

drew or Adam the savage; it all depended upon who should load

first. The Indian would have had the first shot, had he not,

in drawing the ramrod let it fly from his hand upon the beach.

This gave his unseen antagonist the advantage; for, by the time

he had recovered the ramrod, rammed down the ball, and raised

the gun to shoot, the crack of Adam's rifle brought him down,

Vol. XXII.-- 32.

• 6
 

498       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

mortally wounded, but able to spring into the river, where he

struggled as if in the agonies of death. Seeing this turn of

affairs Andrew commenced swimming again toward the shore;

at the same time calling to his brother to catch the savage or

he would get away. While Adam was descending the bank and

endeavoring to reach the Indian, others of the party who had

made their way up the stream after the conflict with the five In-

dians, now espying Andrew in the river and supposing him to

be an Indian shot at him;-one ball splashing the water into

his face, another cutting his hunting-shirt, while a third one

wounded him dangerously.

Adam observing the accident paid no more attention to the

savage, but sprang into the river and assisted his wounded

brother ashore. The Indian sank and was seen no more. All

things considered, the encounter must be set down as one of

the most remarkable ever known to have taken place upon the

border in all the wars with the savages of the West. As soon

as it was over, young Cherry was brought up and placed beside

Andrew upon the beach; he died in half an hour. The wounded

man and the dead one were taken up the hill and back to the

spot where the horses were tied, when a litter was made and

Andrew placed upon it. Both were carried to the settlement,8

where Cherry was buried. Andrew Poe did not get well of his

wound for nearly a year; indeed, he never fully recovered the

use of the three injured fingers; and his right hand became smaller

than the other. He died in Green township, Beaver County,

Pennsylvania, on the fifteenth of July, 1823.

Scotash, the Wyandot who escaped, although badly wounded

in the hand, as had been shown, swam the river and hid until

night came on when he re-crossed the stream, found the dead

body of his brother, who was shot by Andrew Poe on the shore,

and buried his as well as he could where a tree, near by, had

turned up the earth.⁹ He then made his way homeward, com-

 

8Compare Smith's Hist. Jeff. Coll., p. 391 note.

9The late William Walker, of Wyandotte City, Kansas, used to

relate that his mother (a Wyandot of the Big Turtle clan) informed him

that the two sons of the Half King slain in the Poe contest were of the

Porcupine clan.

• 7
 

Andrew Poe's Encounter With Indians.            499 nunicating the news of the disaster to the Half King.10 The sachem afterward took ample revenge for the death of his two sons, by his unremitting hostility to the Americans; but that the nation at large ever attempted to requite the injuries done them by sending one of their number to murder Andrew Poe, after peace had been declared, or at any other time, is a pre- vailing tradition,-but one wholly unworthy of credit.11 10Just where the Half King was informed of the death of his two sons, whether upon the Walhonding or the Sandusky, is uncertain. Com- pare Heckewelder's Narr., p. 281, with Schwemitz' Zeisberger, p. 517. 11See Finley's Wyandot Mission, p. 254, for the tradition; and The Cadiz, (0.) Sentinel, Nov. 29, 1854, for its complete refutation.

• 8