A GRAVE IN THE WILDERNESS.
BY BYRON R. LONG.
When one considers the amount of
material collected and
published having to do with the story of
Ohio and the North-
west Territory, he is apt to hesitate
before he sets himself the
task of adding to that collection. So
many details of that his-
tory have been published already that
one fears he may be
traversing the same grounds when he
attempts to narrate a
detail that has grown familiar to him
through personal and
intimate association. And then, except
one is giving himself
wholly to the business of writing
history, he scarcely feels com-
petent for the task of setting before
his readers a narrative
that is altogether new, or that has not
in part, at least, been
told before.
One may be comforted in the thought,
however, that well-
established historical data have been
provided in this very way.
Many writers dealing with the same event
or incident and at
different angles of observation give to
the general historian.
when he comes to sum up details, such a
vision of the whole as
enables him to present a narrative that
appeals to the candid
and serious student who makes history
contribute to the
philosophy or science of human
government.
In presenting this detail the writer has
no ambition other
than to call attention to it as having
some part in the beginning
of great commonwealths that now stand as
monuments to the
faithful and heroic men and women who
performed their tasks
at the close of the eighteenth and at
the beginning of the nine-
teenth centuries.
Scarcely had the ordinance of 1787 been
created when
a vaster pilgrimage set in toward the
Ohio country. Every
day in the year, winter and summer
alike, witnessed the new
arrivals; their miniature crafts
touching the wilderness borders
on the south shore of Lake Erie, or
their caravans wending
6 -Vol. XXIII. (81)
82 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
their way along the ridge roads from the east to find dwelling places in the untried forests. There was comedy and tragedy all the way along which they came. They were pilgrims and strangers setting their faces toward a goodly country, as they thought, and having set out it was for them to do and dare and be patient no matter whether the way be rough or pleasant withal. Graves marked the way they came, and not a few who reached the land which was to be their future home, sighed for |
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faces and forms which they had sadly covered from sight and left in unknown graves along the way. The interest the writer takes in telling this particular story has come of his visit to a grave which had the good fortune to be marked. And standing by this grave he said to himself, here is material for an interesting sketch. Most people move shy of graveyards. Living, stirring scenes interest them more. Underground where mineral-wealth veins lie is of greater moment than are the places where the |
A Grave in the Wilderness. 83
forms of once living men lie hidden
away. True it is, that
for long time men visit the graves of
their loved ones and carry
flowers to make them beautiful, and
there is a general sense in
which memory holds dear the resting
places of the dead. But
as a rule we put our dead away and as
the years speed on the
places of their sepulcher are but feebly
remembered.
Some graves to be sure become shrines,
and men travel
over long distances to stand beside them
and drop the wreath of
honor and right regard-the meed of
heroic action or the
memorial of high-born thought.
A few years ago a Bulgarian student at
Harvard Uni-
versity, before returning to his home
land after years of study
at that institution, came hundred of
miles into the interior of
our country at the behest of his
countrymen to express their
love by placing a wreath of flowers upon
the grave of a news-
paper correspondent, who, in a crisis of
their national life, had
spoken and written the words that
stirred another and power-
ful government to come to her defense in
a way that led up to
final deliverance.
America and Europe have many graves that
have become
shrines; and travelers on their way seek
them and stand be-
side them and gather inspiration for the
tasks still to be per-
formed.
The love of country; the admiration for
great men and
great achievements; the high respect
born of instinct and reason
which we have for lofty character, lend
hallowedness to the
spot of ground where repose the bodies
of heroes and states-
men, philanthropists and philosophers. The Westminster
Abbeys of the world are, by no means,
deserted grounds.
One may take a morbid interest in
matters like these, and
in this way lose any true value that
must come of a just esti-
mate that should be placed upon them.
But rated at their true
worth they become individual and
national assets of wonderful
significance.
The grave to which attention is called
in this document
gets its importance of the fact that it
entombs the body of one
of the most noted pioneers of the
Western Reserve. And it is
one of the oldest, if not the oldest,
marked grave in that region.
84 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Of other graves it may be said, as may
be said of the distin-
guished one along side this one, that
the occupants were as
early on the ground as was this man, but
it may also be said
that they lived on through many years
and came to the close
of their pilgrimage in the middle of the
century. Sad to say,
however, many of these have no markers
above their resting
places.
Here on this lonely ridge in the
wilderness a grave was
made in the autumn time of the year
before Washington died.
And it is of no little interest to note
that the man buried in this
grave was a compatriot of the Father of
his Country, and won
not a little renown in the Revolutionary
conflict under the leader-
ship of the greatest general of that
war.
Upon the stone above the grave is
inscribed the date 1798,
two years before the ushering in of the
century which, at its
close, had recorded the miracles of
science and demonstrated
the sovereignty of mind over matter. The
following lines,
partially worn away by time, express the
modest estimate of
those who lived to appreciate his sturdy
character:
"Around this monumental stone
Let friendship drop a sacred tear;
A husband, kind, a parent fond,
An upright man lies buried here."
Eleven years prior to this the great
document, the Ordi-
nance of '87, affecting all the region
of the new West, had come
as a part of the fabric of government.
Ten years before this
date the second Mayflower had landed
where the Muskingum
empties its turbid waters into the River
Beautiful, and where
the first settlers of Ohio established
their Campus Martius.
Two years previous to the making of this
grave in the
wilderness, on the Fourth of July, 1796,
a surveying party led
by Moses Cleaveland had landed at the
mouth of Conneaut
Creek, since named the Plymouth of the
Western Reserve, and
the man who led the party has been
mentioned as the Moses
of the New Promised Land. Moses
Cleaveland is known the
world over now, since his name was given
to the city founded at
A Grave in the Wilderness. 85
the mouth of the Cuyahoga, and which is
today the sixth city
in population in the United States and
the metropolis of Ohio.
The city of Cleveland had just begun to
be when this grave
was made thirty-five miles to the
eastward and in it was placed
the body of Alexander Harper, captain in
the army that fought
the battles of the American Revolution;
pioneer promoter of
commonwealths in two regions of our
country and the heroic
leader of bands of pilgrims and founder
of townships of the
same name in each of these
states-Harpersfield in New York
and Harpersfield in Ohio, the former in
1770 and
the latter
in 1798.
Captain Alexander Harper was born in
Middletown, Con-
necticut, in 1744, and therefore was in
his prime when malarial
fever carried him off at the age of 54
years.
In 1754, when he was but 10 years old,
his parents moved
to Cherry Valley, New York, famed as the
scene of the terrible
tragedy of 1778 when the Tories and
Indians swept down on
the beautiful region to massacre the
inhabitants and destroy their
homes. In 1768, while mutterings of
revolution were ominous
of epoch-making events, Captain Harper,
his brother and a
number of neighbors and friends secured
a patent for a large
tract of land in what is now Delaware
County, New York, and
here, as before mentioned, established
the town of Harpersfield.
They lived here in comparative quiet
during the next four or
five years. During this period, on July
30th, 1771, Captain
Harper was married to Elizabeth
Bartholomew, a woman of
remarkable character and worthy in every
way of her illustrious
husband and sharing with him during the
remainder of his
life the vicissitudes of soldier and
pioneer, and after his death
winning to herself great distinction
among the heroines of
the Western world. She lived to the
advanced age of eighty-
four years and was buried beside her
husband's wilderness
grave. The story of her life has
enlisted the pen of a ready
writer and is beautifully and
graphically told in a volume en-
titled "The Pioneer Women of the
West." The same volume
contains the biography of their
daughter, Elizabeth Tappan.
The counties of Herkimer, Schoharie,
Otsego, and Dela-
ware, New York, are geographical
divisions well known to the
86 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. student of the times of the Revolution. Threaded with spurs of hills - the receding slopes of the Catskill Mountains - and by the winding headwaters of the Mohawk, Delaware and Sus- quehanna rivers, these counties occupy a place on the map of our country memorable in the romance and struggle of the life of our Revolutionary fathers. There are towns here and there suggestive of great men and great events-Cherry Valley, Oriskany, Schoharie, Herkimer. These names call to mind the thrilling stories of the French and Indian War: The alliance |
|
with the Indians of Englishmen like Sir William Johnson, who by marriage got to himself a brother-in-law in the world- famed Indian, Joseph Brant, chief of the Mohawks; the heroism of old Nicholas Herkimer with his 800 men marching to the portage of Oneida to relieve Fort Stanwix; the battle of Oriskany on the way, which by one writer has been men- tioned as "the most obstinate and murderous of the entire Revolution", where a third of the eight hundred were killed and wounded yet winning the day and staying the march of Johnson |
A Grave in the Wilderness. 87
and Saint Leger's forces from marching
farther south. Here
it was that Herkimer's horse was shot
under him and his leg
shattered by a musket ball, but nothing
daunted, seated on his
saddle under a tree, he continued to
smoke and shout his com-
mands until the fight was over, dying
ten days after as the result
of an unskilled operation. The brave old
man was remembered
by a grateful people in the erection of
a magnificent monument
at Oriskany in 1884.
Schoharie deserves mention here also,
since the place is so
clearly identified with the person and
family of the man whose
story is being told in these pages. In
1777 Colonel John Harper,
brother of Captain Alexander Harper, was
in command at Fort
Schoharie and of the frontier stations
in this region under Gov-
ernor Clinton. The incident is related
in "Border Warfare,"
by Rev. Mr. Fenn, who declares that he
was told the story by
Colonel Harper himself. It reveals his
knowledge of how to deal
with Indians when they have blood in
their eye. He was on
an inspection tour, visiting Oriskany,
Cherry Valley and Har-
persfield. As he rounded a promontory he
came face to face
with a band of Indians. He chose rather
than to flee to march
right up to them and hail them on
friendly terms. His coat was
buttoned about him tightly so as to hide
his regimentals. He
knew the leader and some of the others
and began a colloquy,
the purpose of which was to allay any
feeling on their part as
to what his real mission was. In the
course of their talk he
discovered they were on their way down
the Susquehanna river
to make a foray on a Scotch settlement,
known as the Johnston
Settlement. He further learned that the
band would rest for
the night at a point near the mouth of
Schenevas Creek. After
getting these facts he bade them goodbye
and proceeded on his
journey. When he was out of sight he
changed his direction
and made a circuit for the head of
Charlotte river, where he
knew there was a company of white men
engaged in sugar
making. He ordered them to make ample
provision and meet
him at a place called Evans Place at a
certain hour that after-
noon. Then he rode with great speed to
Harpersfield and col-
lected the men there. On their return to
Evans Place they
found the Charlotte men, and together,
after the plan was out-
88 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
lined, they marched down the river and
across the mouth of
Schenevas Creek. Here the stalwart
braves had built their
camp fire and with their feet to the
blaze had surrendered them-
selves to the thrall of slumber. It was
a fatal surrender. The
enemy was too near and too familiar with
their plans for them
to permit such unguarded condition.
Colonel Harper and his
men were wary. They knew how to take
advantage of the
situation. Creeping silently toward the
place where the Indians
were sleeping they secured all their
weapons and put them at a
distance. Then each member of his
company, for they exactly
equaled the number of braves, sprang on
his man and after a
short but severe struggle they had them
securely in their power.
By this time the morning had advanced so
objects could be dis-
tinctly outlined, and as the Indian
leader Peter recognized Col-
onel Harper, he shouted: "Now,
Harper, I know thee; why did
I not know thee yesterday?" The
Colonel replied: "There is
some policy in war, Peter."
"Oh, me find it so now," said the
chief.
The Colonel marched the men to Albany
and delivered them
into the hands of the commanding officer
and by this act saved
the whole Scotch Settlement.
In 1778 an aggressive Tory, McDonald by
name, had mar-
shalled troops of about 300 Indians and
Tories and was making
wicked ravage on the frontier
settlements. Among others he
visited Schoharie and with fierce
barbaric spirit proceeded to
commit depredations.
Colonel Vrooman was commandant at
Schoharie at the time.
The garrison was very weak and the
besieged company were
very fearful of massacre. Colonel
Vrooman seemed helpless to
take any step to make safe the people he
was set to guard.
When the crisis came Colonel Harper was
ripe for the emer-
gency. He called for his horse and
started for Albany. He
made his way right through the enemy's
country. The story of
this venture relates that at Fox Creek
he presented himself at
the tavern, demanded a room and retired
for the night without
showing fear, but not long had he been
there when there was
a loud rap at the door. When he asked
what was wanted the
reply came that they desired to see
Colonel Harper. He arose
A Grave in the Wilderness. 89
and after securing part attire and
buckling on his sword and
pistol, he unbolted the door, stepped
back to his bed and bade
them come in. He pointed to a crevice in
the floor and said:
"Who crosses that mark is a dead
man." With a short parley
they left. He went to slumber no more
that night and with the
coming daylight continued his journey to
Albany. An Indian
pursued him almost into the city, but
every time he would wheel
his horse the Indian would turn and run.
At Albany he was
able immediately to get the ear of
Colonel Gansevoort, who, hear-
ing of the distress at Schoharie,
provided a squadron of horse
and in a brief time they were on the way
to relieve the fort.
They rode all night and were at
Schoharie in the early morning
(one writer says at noon) of the
following day. The tremendous
shrieking outside the fort was the first
intimation the imperilled
Schoharians had that the soldiers were
there to rescue them from
their danger. The men of the fort joined
in the fray. The
enemy were soon driven away and the
people were again per-
mitted to enjoy a period of peace and
were enabled to gather in
their harvest.
The hero of this episode in the period
of the Revolution
attained the highest distinction of any
of the Harper Brothers,
all of whom were great soldiers in that
war.
Many other stirring scenes are portrayed
in "Border War-
fare," the historic document from
which this incident has been
selected.
Thomas Dun English, the poet, has made
the incident at
Schoharie famous in his interesting
ballad:
"COLONEL HARPER'S CHARGE."
"As Eastward the shadows were
steadily creeping,
Fair wives were at spinning, stout
husbands at reaping,
Loud chattered the children with no one
to hush them;
None knew that the thunder was stooping
to crush them.
But soon from the forests, the hill and
the dingle,
Came footmen and horsemen, in bodies and
single.
Wild painted Cayugas, relentless and
fearless,
More barbarous Tories, black hearted and
fearless,
To hearthstone and roof tree destruction
to carry,
The cruel McDonald came down on
Schoharie.
No mercy was offered no quarter was
given;
90 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
The souls of the victims departed
unschriven,
Their requiem only the shrieks of the
flying,
The yells of the slayers, the groans of
the dying.
Too weak in our numbers to venture a
sally,
We sat in our fortress and looked on the
valley.
We heard the wild uproar, the screaming
and yelling,
The fire and the crashing, the butchery
telling.
No tigers imprisoned in iron bound
caging,
Felt half of our fury or equaled our
raging.
Yet what could we hinder? Revenge was
denied us
While ten times our number exulting
defied us.
Though wild was our anger and deep our
despairing,
To fight with three hundred was imbecile
daring;
But Colonel John Harper, who chafed at
the ravage,
The pillage and murder by Tory and
Savage,
Urged on the conflict and angrily
showered
Hot words on our chief as a cold blooded
coward.
We heard all his ravings of anger in
sadness;
We never resented but pitied his
madness.
John Harper looked round him and said he
scorned favor,
He'd seek for assistance from men who
were braver.
He called for his horse, and defied us
to stay him,
And scoffed at the cowards who dared not
obey him.
His foot in the stirrup, he hearkened to
no man,
Sank spurs to the rowels and charged
through the foemen.
He scattered them fiercely and e'er they
could rally,
Away like an arrow he shot through the
valley.
He broke through the circle created to
bound him,
The bullets they showered fell harmless
around him.
When fair in the saddle, he never was
idle;
He rode through the darkness and kept a
loose bridle.
On, on through the darkness, till
daylight was o'er him,
And Albany's houses rose proudly before
him.
We heard the shots rattle; we saw his
foes rally,
And thought that his life-blood had
moistened the valley.
Meanwhile, in the fortress, through all
the night dreary,
We watched till the sunrise,
disheartened and weary.
Noon came in its splendor, we saw them
preparing-
To storm our rude ramparts and laughed
at their daring;
For we were in shelter and they were
uncovered-
There was work for the buzzards that
over us hovered.
Each step they took forward, with
eagerness timing,
We handled our rifles and gave them
fresh priming.
But stay! Is this real or only delusion?
What means their blank terror, their
sudden confusion?
The whole of the foemen seem stricken
with one dread,
A Grave in the Wilderness. 91
'Tis Colonel John Harper with horsemen a
hundred.
We gazed but a moment in rapture and
wonder,
Rides Harper like lightning and falls
like the thunder.
To saddle, McDonald, your doom has been
spoken,
The tigers are on you, the bars have
been broken.
Whose horse is the swiftest may ride
from the foray,
No hope for the footman of Savage or
Tory.
The heart shuts on pity where vengeance
is portress;
And husbands and fathers came forth from
the fortress.
As the wails of our wives and our babes
we remember,
The bright flame of mercy goes out, the
last ember.
They meant but a visit, we forced them
to tarry,
But few of the foemen went back from
Schoharie."
I will here quote again from the volume
published in 1905
under the title of "Records of the
Harper Family," the portion
which is taken by the compiler from a
volume published by
Harper Brothers in 1831, known as the
"Annals of Tryon
County." This gives record of the
deal before mentioned, by
which the Harpers with others obtained a
patent for about
twenty thousand acres of land in
Delaware County, New York.
Here it was that they came to live after
leaving Cherry Valley,
and founded the settlement known as Harpersfield,
which was
to have a duplicate in the Western
Reserve twenty-eight years
afterward. It is also recorded in Volume
I, page 158, of the
"Proceedings of the Provincial
Congress" how Alexander Har-
per was appointed First Lieutenant July
17th, 1777. In the
same volume reference is made to the
Fifth Regiment.
The Council of Safety on this date
ordered two companies
of Rangers to be raised in the counties
of Tryon, Ulster and
Albany for the protection of frontier
inhabitants; one of these
companies was to be commanded by Colonel
John Harper, with
Alexander Harper as First Lieutenant.
This perhaps was the
beginning of the Fifth Regiment, which
appears in the record
later on March 3rd, 1780. The following
list of officers appear
in connection with appointments made at
the time:
John Harper, Colonel.
William Wills, Lieutenant Colonel.
Joseph Harper, First Major.
Thomas Henry, Second Major.
92 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
Saint Ledger Crowley, Adjutant.
Alexander Harper, Captain.
On another page appears the pay roll of
the officers, who were
prisoners in Canada. Upon this pay roll
appears the name of
Captain Alexander Harper from April 7th,
1780, to
November
28th, 1782, A. A. B. 225.
In the "Historical Collections of
the State of New York,"
published in 1841, some note is taken of
the capture of Captain
Harper by Joseph Brant, the noted Indian
Chieftain. A descrip-
tion of this event is given also in a
work entitled "Romance of
the Revolution," published in 1870
by Porter and Coates of
Philadelphia.
A little space might be used profitably
at this point to call
attention to the noted Indian Chief who
took Captain Harper
prisoner, bearing him away from his
family and holding him a
prisoner over a space of two years and
eight months, until his
people thought him dead.
Joseph Brant, the most famous Chief of
the Mohawks and
by some one estimated as the greatest of
all the North American
Indians, had a remarkable history. The
story of his life reads
like a romance. In fact it belongs to
the realm of romance as
well as of history. The Indian name of
Brant was Thay-en-da-
nega, and he was born on the Ohio River
while a great company
of his tribe from the Mohawk Valley were
on a hunting expedi-
tion in about the year 1740. The meaning of
his name is "A
bundle of sticks." Why he was given
such a name no one can
tell. He had a sister, Molly Brant, who
became the wife of
Sir William Johnston, an Irish baronet,
who came to America
in the middle of the 18th century and
took up his residence on
a large tract of land which he had
obtained of the English King.
Johnston was a great friend of the
Indians. He was very
successful and became one of the largest
landholders and one
of the leading Englishmen in the new
land.
His first wife was a splendid German
girl and they lived
happily on his princely estate. Three
children were born to
them, a boy and two girls. Soon after
the birth of the third
child his wife died. A while afterward
at a military field-day,
Johnston first saw Molly Brant and was
smitten with her wild
A Grave in the Wilderness. 93
beauty. He invited her to go to Johnston castle and be his mistress. This she finally consented to do. This common-law marriage pleased the Indians and Johnston was a great favorite ever afterward. His castle home was open to the friendly visits of members of the different families of Indians. In fact John- ston became a member by adoption of the Mohawk nation and was made a Mohawk war chief. His marriage to Molly Brant brought him in closest relation with her brother Thay-en-da-nega, or Joseph Brant, as he was familiarly known. |
|
Sir William took marked interest in Joseph and sent him to school at Lebanon, Connecticut. Here he was taught by Rev. Eleazer Wheelock and became very proficient in the use of the English language. Dr. Wheelock said of him: "He is an ex- cellent youth. He is always well, studious and diligent." It was at this school that Joseph Brant and Captain Alex- ander Harper first met, and many times afterward their paths crossed each other. Brant was at Crown Point in 1755. He was also present at the siege of Fort Niagara, fighting with Sir |
94 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
William Johnston's men and so getting
disciplined for the war
of the Revolution in which he was to
take part.
He married and lived quietly in
Canajohari. He was a
member of the Church of England. His
wife dying he married
her sister and lived a time at Fort
Hunter. During these times
he and Alexander Harper often saw each
other, and so be-
came well acquainted. When the Colonists
in 1775-20 years
after Crown Point - determined to resist
the tyranny of Great
Britain, Joseph Brant was found on the
side of England and
had by his own personal prowess and good
judgment, together
with the influence of his
brother-in-law, Sir William Johnston,
reached a place of great power among his
own people. The
Iroquois and Mohawk nation recognized
him as perhaps their
greatest Chieftain.
The story is told that the Colonists
tried to enlist him on
their side and so had his old teacher
Wheelock write him with
the purpose of determining on which side
he would fight in the
coming conflict. When Brant received the
letter he answered
with characteristic with-"I
remember," said he, "many happy
hours that I spent under your roof, dear
doctor, and I especially
remember the family prayers. These you
used to pray on bended
knee and ask that we all might be able
to live as good subjects,
to fear God and honor the king. How is
it that you no longer
wish to honor the very man for whom you
used to pray?"
Wheelock never attempted a reply. The
English had the sup-
port of the noted man and all his
followers. He went to Eng-
land and was lionized at the hands of
England's nobility. He
was not spoiled by it in any way and
came back to his own land
to live the plain life that had been his
custom. But he was
not permitted to be quiet for any
extended period. He was
called to take part in battles fought on
Canadian soil and here
won additional fame.
Now let us return to our narrative; 1777
as before learned
was a critical year in the history that
is here being recorded.
Cherry Valley in Otsego County, New
York, from which the
Harpers had removed a few years previous
to a point some
miles South in Delaware County, became
the center of attack
on the part of the Indian forces under
Brant. Here it was in
A Grave in the Wilderness. 95
November, 1778, that the terrible
massacre occurred with which
Joseph Brant's name has been always
associated. People in all
the surrounding country fled to the
forts. Alexander Harper's
family fled to Schoharie, where the
other brother, John Harper,
as before mentioned, had proved a hero.
We learned also that
it was the year before this that
Alexander Harper was made
first lieutenant. For the two years
following he performed his
duty as a Scout of the government in
such a commendable way
that he was commissioned Captain in
1780. It was this year that
he and Joseph Brant were to associate in
a way that was to try
both of them as to the mettle of their
manhood. On the 7th of
April in this year, while he and his men
were about the work
of making maple sugar, the enemy under
the leadership of
Captain Brant pounced unaware upon
Captain Harper and his
men. They had supposed there were no
armed foes nearer
than Niagara and the first intimation
they had of their proximity
was the thud of the tomahawks which sent
three of their number
into eternity. Harper himself was face
to face with the Mohawk
chieftain and his former friend. As
said, they had been in
school together. They knew each other
well. It was a critical
moment. Much depended on the skill with
which the circum-
stance could be handled. Courage and
adroitness were the
elemental qualities for such a time, and
Harper was awake to
the demands on him, as a preserver of
life to himself and little
company as well as of those who were in
the forts.
Brant knew Harper's mind and courage and
Harper was not
less aware of the mettle of the warrior
with whom he had to
deal. It was in fact a meeting of foes
worthy of each other's
steel.
That Brant's social sentiment was of a
good type was dem-
onstrated when he said to Captain
Harper: "Harper, I am sorry
you are here," and when the Captain
inquired why, his reply
was: "Because I must kill you,
although we were schoolmates
in our youth." He raised his
tomahawk to strike the fatal blow
when suddenly it fell to his side. It
had dawned upon him what
the murder of such a man might mean
under certain condi-
tions. So under the spell of fear and
respect he began to
make inquiry as to the state of things
at the forts. "How many
96 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
regular troops are there? How about the supplies and the
soldiery?" Answer to this inquiry
would determine his course.
The Captain saw that the telling of the
naked truth would mean
terrible danger to the people in the
fort, including his loved
ones. He resorted to a trick. His
representation did not fit the
facts, but it had the effect desired.
His answer was to the
effect that the forts were manned by
several hundred of the
Continental troops. Believing this
statement from his former
friend and schoolmate, Brant took a more
moderate course of
treatment than the tomahawk and scalping
knife. The captives
were bound and carefully guarded by the
Tories in the camp,
while the Indians held their solemn
council. The majority were
for the death penalty but their chief
stood out stoutly for other
disposition of the case.
There was much doubt even in Brant's
mind as to the truth-
fulness of the American Captain, but
Harper stood his ground,
with the result that the attack was not
made at that time and
the prisoners were carried captive to
Niagara. It was a journey
fraught with torture and great danger.
Those who could not
endure the march, which was rapid, were
tomahawked, scalped
and left by the wayside. On their
arrival at Niagara they were
subjected to trial and persecution and
barely escaped with their
lives.
One incident on the march was most
thrilling. On the way
from Niagara Brant had sent eleven of
his braves to make a
raid on Minisink settlement. These
warriors secured five of the
stalwart settlers and brought them as
far as Tioga Point. Here
the Indians, weary of their march, fell
into profound slumber
from which only one was ever to awaken.
One of the Minisink
men broke the cords which bound him and
silently but swiftly
liberated the others. With tomahawks
they dispatched nine of
their savage victims, while the other
two attempted to escape.
One succeeded and met Brant on the way.
The death yell of
the escaping warrior aroused the Indians
who had been with
Brant and for revenge they were
determined to treat Harper
and his companions in the same way. They
began their prepara-
tions for the slaughter, when, strange
to say, the survivor of the
A Grave in the Wilderness. 97 group, who had told the story of the awful death of his fellows, put up a strong appeal in behalf of the prisoners. "It was not these men who murdered my brothers," said he. "The Great Spirit would be very angry, if we were to take the lives of these white men on the ground that other white men had killed our brothers." It was a successful appeal. It after- ward proved that this Indian had known Harper and the other men and had associated with them in Harpersfield in the former era of peace. This act on the part of the warrior made a pro- |
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found impression on both the whites and the Indians and de- served historic mention, for it demonstrated the sense of justice latent in the breasts of these people, the finest specimen of the North American Indians. On the day following their arrival at Niagara they were compelled to run the gauntlet, one of the excruciating experiences to which captives were most always sub- jected. Harper was the first sent along the perilous way be- tween two parallel lines of warriors armed with clubs and knives and other instruments of torture. The swiftness with which 7-Vol. XXIII. |
98 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
the captive ran astonished the Indians,
and for fear he would
run the entire course without injury, a
stalwart brave stepped
before him in the path only to feel the
sledge-hammer blow
of the runner which put him
hors-de-combat. The garrison gate
was opened to receive him, as was his
right, but the Indian
ranks had been broken and the other
prisoners, profiting by it,
escaped the ordeal and finally escaped
captivity.
Captain Harper was carried captive to
Quebec, manacled in
iron and put in a gruesome prison cell
and afterward in a prison
ship. This captivity lasted two years
and eight months and his
family thought him dead. In 1783, on his
release, he returned to
Harpersfield, New York, and remained
there for a period of
fifteen years, witnessing the growth of
the community into all that
makes for the peaceful enjoyment of
civilization. In 1798, with
his own and two other families, he left
Harpersfield, New York,
and in June of that year landed off
shore of Lake Erie, opposite
the site of the spot which in September
became his burial place
and where in the year 1835 his faithful
wife was laid beside him.
The Wilderness grave is no longer in a
wilderness. As one
stands beside it and looks about him on
the wide stretches of
beautiful landscape and sees the elegant
homes that men of a
new century have builded, and sees here
and there a house that
has stood the storms through much of the
whole period since
Alexander Harper came into the dense
forest, he feels the pro-
found meaning of it all. Surely
"The Wilderness has blossomed
as the rose." We may not feel that
the touch that has trans-
formed has always been divine. Still
there is something in the
mighty change which has been wrought
here that constrains one
to think that the divine purpose which
stirred in the hearts of the
pioneers, can never be separated wholy
from the splendid fruitage
that is in evidence all about.
The change wrought in a hundred years
has, indeed, been
wonderful. To the writer, standing by
this grave, there came the
thought that men as a rule are too
unmindful of God's instru-
ments who have had part in the drama of
the years and who are,
in a vital way, part of the structure of
institutions and govern-
ments as they may stand completed or
completing in any present
time.
A Grave in the Wilderness. 99
All about this grave lies as beautiful
country region as the
state of Ohio affords. Men of great fortune have built
stately mansions on the very ground
where was erected the bark-
shack that housed the pioneers who with
ax and gun penetrated
the dense woods almost one and a quarter
centuries ago. One
hundred yards from where this temporary
shack was situated
are the four-track pathway of the great
Lake Shore Railroad,
the two-track way of the Nickel Plate
and the line of the Northern
Ohio Traction Company. Over these
railways travel daily
thousands of human beings unmindful of
the historic significance
of the places over which they travel.
The mighty traffic of a na-
tion passes to and fro East and West,
witnesses to the progress
of a civilization undreamed of by the
pioneers who cleared the for-
ests away. On the ridge, three-quarters
of a mile south and
within a hundred feet of the pioneer
grave, passes the roadway
which has for a century served the
multitudes passing from East
to West and who have developed the means
of transportation
from the covered wagon drawn by oxen to
the sixty-mile per hour
touring car, which traverses in a few
hours the distance which it
took the pioneers days and weeks to pass
over. This roadway is
the great highway stretching along the
lake shore from Buffalo to
Cleveland.
In the village stands an old inn. A
century of life has gone
in and out its hospitable doors, and now
the proprietors of a
large estate have purchased it and
propose to restore it to its old
condition, making out of it a modern
hostelry for auto tourists
passing to and from different parts of
the country.
One and a quarter miles from the grave
in an easterly direc-
tion and on this roadway stands the
Harper homestead, known as
"Shandy Hall". The old house
has stood there for one hundred
years and was erected by colonel Robert
Harper, youngest son of
Captain Alexander Harper, and who for
himself won distinction
in the War of 1812.
This sketch would be incomplete if
something were not said
about Shandy Hall. Compared with the
modern mansions all
about it, the old home does not present
a very attractive exterior.
Still there is an attraction there that
influences the traveler in a
way that beauty of architecture alone is
not able to do.
100 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
The dwelling place of a distinguished
family, covering a
century of time, becomes a shrine. If
the walls of this antique
home had tongues to whisper in our ears
the tale of the swift
flying years, it would be a story of
family life profoundly inter-
esting. Here were developed manhood and
womanhood of the
truly royal type. Out from under this
roof went soldiers, states-
men and citizens of which the state of
Ohio and the nation may
be proud.
Reference has been made to Elizabeth
Harper, the wife of
Captain Harper, who, three months after
the arrival of the pioneer
band, witnessed with tear-dimmed eyes
the wilderness grave close
over the body of the one upon who she
and the little company
had depended for guidance through the
pioneer period. This
woman became the tower of strength on
which the others leaned
after the passing of her husband.
Through experience that would
quail the ordinary woman she passed
courageous and strong,
till her sons and daughters stood beside
her bearing witness to
mother-love and faithful devotion to an
heroic task.
In "The Pioneer Women of the
West," published by Porter
and Coates, a chapter is given to
incidents in the life of this noble
matron. The closing paragraph sums up
the excellencies of her
character as follows:
"During all the privations, trials
and sufferings which Mrs.
Harper was compelled to endure, she was
never known to yield
to despondency, but with untiring energy
exerted herself to en-
courage all within the sphere of her
influence, teaching them to
bear up under misfortune and make the
best of the place where
their lot was cast. Her own family never
knew, until the hard-
ships of pioneer life had been overcome,
how much she had
endured, how many hours of anxiety, how
many sleepless nights,
she had passed in the times of darkness
and disaster. She found
her reward in the affection of her
children and the influence of
their lives, many of them filling
important positions in the
adopted state.
"During the war of 1812 the country
was exposed to all the
dangers of a frontier, liable on every
reverse of the American
army to be overrun by hostile tribes of
Indians. In time of
danger Mrs. Harper's advice was always
eagerly sought, as one
A Grave in the Wilderness. 101
whose experience qualified her to decide on the best course in any emergency. She lived to the great age of eighty-five years, dying on the 11th of June, 1833, retaining unimpaired until her last ill- ness the characteristic strength of her remarkable mind." The last twenty years of Elizabeth Harper's life were lived in "Shandy Hall," so that the old house connects up closely with the pioneer band who were sheltered under the bark shack structure a half mile away in the June days of 1798. The home is still occupied by the great-granddaughters of Alexander and Elizabeth Harper. The rooms are full of the furniture and household utensils of the early days -mahogany, |
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marble, bronze, elegant china, cut-glass, great tiers of book- shelves, filled with rare books now out of print, together with those of recent publication. All bear witness to culture and re- finement of the best sort. There are seventeen rooms in this quaint old structure. Pre- eminent is the one known as the "Banquet Hall". A good de- scription of this unique chamber is given in the brochure giving the record of the Harper family, published in 1905: "This room is exceedingly large and built in colonial style with a low arched ceiling. The old fire place and the wainscoting are black with age. The wall paper in this room is its most strik- |
102 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
ing feature. It is said to have been
imported from Paris for use
in a large hotel in Philadelphia about
1830; and through a failure
of some kind on the part of the company,
was offered for sale and
was purchased by Robert Harper for his
dining hall. The paper,
which was put on the walls in
eighteen-inch squares, represents a
continuous panorama, no two sections of
figures being alike.
Trees, castles, architectural ruins,
fountains, shady walks where
men and maidens stroll, a bay with ships
sailing in and out, and
above all a blue sky flecked with light
clouds, are all included
in this vastly artistic decoration. Time
has softened the colors
until the whole effect is beautiful in
the extreme.
"The round table in this dining
room was made from two
pieces of board sawed from a tree seven
feet in diameter. It is
beautifully polished and a rare piece of
furniture:"
There are glasses and dishes of all
shapes and sizes and of
unique designs. It is said that from a
tumbler, held in great
reverence, Washington drank when a
visitor in the Harper home
in Harpersfield, New York, during the
Revolutionary War.
This "Banquet Hall" was the
scene of many a famous gath-
ering in the old days. A young poet of
the tribe of Harper, in
"Reverie," wrote as follows of
"Shandy Hall":
In the twilight, Shandy Hall,
When the silent shadows flit
O'er my tired busy brain
In a reverie I sit.
From those quaint, old pictured walls
There come echoes of the past,
Of the days when pleasure reigned,
Of the days when sorrow came
And I would not change the picture if I
could.
The hearts that beat within thee, Shandy
Hall,
In those olden days, were just the same
as now,
Where the woof was grey with sorrow
They wove a brilliant warp of love,
And looked cheerfully towards the morrow
Placing trust in Him above.
I greet you, Shandy Hall,
And the memories you bring,
A Grave in the Wilderness. 103
Long may you stand As a monument to them, Who a hundred years ago, In the forest wild alone Struggled on with sturdy hearts For a future happy home. Aye, they won you, but through hardship, Shandy Hall; And we hold you now through hardship, Shandy Hall; But while loyally we stand, We will lend a helping hand, And no alien shall possess you, Shandy Hall. The writer, accompanied by a photographer, spent a day in July in the year 1913 amid the beautiful scenes that stretch in every direction from the village and its cemetery containing Alex- ander and Elizabeth Harper's graves. |
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104 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. Hopper home and the railway station is just opposite the lawn, on the west. The Hopper estate has indirect connection with the Standard Oil industry and the story is an interesting one. Mr. Hopper was an ordinary farmer who had the good fortune to entertain an angel unaware in the person of a ragged though intelligent tramp. This personage came to the Hopper home in great distress due to sickness. The Hoppers cared for him ten- derly and on his departure he left a slip of paper in Mr. Hopper's hand which afterwards proved a bonanza. It was a recipe for a solution for lining vessels such as barrels, boxes or cars. After a successful testing Mr. Hopper secured a patent, and in the course of time the Standard Oil Company, hearing of it, made investigation and finally purchased it. The purchase price was a princely fortune and the royalty was a vast income. Mrs. Hopper still lives in the Hopper mansion, and as said her two daughters, the Mesdames Nicholas and Fitch, with their families live in adjoining palatial homes. The farm lands, going into the thousands of acres, present an appearance of a veritable park. An army of men and women find employment on the estate. Strange that the earliest settlers on the spot and the present owners should have names so similar, Harper and Hopper. Beginning at Unionville, on to Cleveland, through Madison, Painesville, Mentor, Willoughby, past the homes of the Garfields and others of note, stretches the highway over which the pioneers came into Ohio and along which they built their homes and schools and churches, and as we turn aside under the trees where the long grass waves we remember with devout gratitude the heroes and heroines of the wilderness way a hundred years ago as we read on the leaning stone "Hic jacet." |
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A GRAVE IN THE WILDERNESS.
BY BYRON R. LONG.
When one considers the amount of
material collected and
published having to do with the story of
Ohio and the North-
west Territory, he is apt to hesitate
before he sets himself the
task of adding to that collection. So
many details of that his-
tory have been published already that
one fears he may be
traversing the same grounds when he
attempts to narrate a
detail that has grown familiar to him
through personal and
intimate association. And then, except
one is giving himself
wholly to the business of writing
history, he scarcely feels com-
petent for the task of setting before
his readers a narrative
that is altogether new, or that has not
in part, at least, been
told before.
One may be comforted in the thought,
however, that well-
established historical data have been
provided in this very way.
Many writers dealing with the same event
or incident and at
different angles of observation give to
the general historian.
when he comes to sum up details, such a
vision of the whole as
enables him to present a narrative that
appeals to the candid
and serious student who makes history
contribute to the
philosophy or science of human
government.
In presenting this detail the writer has
no ambition other
than to call attention to it as having
some part in the beginning
of great commonwealths that now stand as
monuments to the
faithful and heroic men and women who
performed their tasks
at the close of the eighteenth and at
the beginning of the nine-
teenth centuries.
Scarcely had the ordinance of 1787 been
created when
a vaster pilgrimage set in toward the
Ohio country. Every
day in the year, winter and summer
alike, witnessed the new
arrivals; their miniature crafts
touching the wilderness borders
on the south shore of Lake Erie, or
their caravans wending
6 -Vol. XXIII. (81)