BOWMAN'S EXPEDITION
AGAINST CHILLICOTHE.
May-June, 1779.
Draper MSS., Border Forays, 5 D. chap.
27, pp. 1-20.
[The following account of Captain
Bowman's expedition against
Chillicothe on the Little Miami, in
1779, is from the original manuscript
of the Draper collection in the archive
department of the Wisconsin
Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin.
During the past summer (1910).
through the courtesy of Dr. Reuben Gold
Thwaites, Secretary of the
Wisconsin Historical Society, we were
permitted to examine the exten-
sive and valuable collection of the
Draper Manuscripts and select there-
from certain ones for publication in
this Quarterly.-Editor.]
In the month of October, 1776, the
Commonwealth of
Virginia passed an act dividing the
county of Fincastle-then
the most westerly of any in its
jurisdiction-into three distinct
counties, to one of which they gave the
name of Kentucky,
being, substantially, the present State
so-called. The act took
effect on the last day of the
year.1 On the twenty-first of
December, John Bowman was
appointed by Patrick Henry, jr.,
then Governor, to the office of Colonel
of its militia.2 In the
Summer following, he arrived out,
reaching Harrodsburgh on
the second of September, when he took
upon himself the duties
of his office.3 The Colonel
was made Lieutenant of the county,
in 1778, receiving his commission from
Thomas Jefferson who
had become Governor.4 By
virtue of his office, he had the
general direction of military affairs,
at that date, in that dis-
tant region.
By the terms of the treaty made by Lord
Dunmore with
the Shawanese in the Autumn of 1774, on
the banks of the
Scioto, that nation was to give up all
the prisoners ever taken
1Hening's Stat's at Large, IX, 257.
2R. H. Collins' Hist. Ky., Vol. I, p.
10.
3Diary of George Rogers Clark, from Dec.
25, 1776, to 22d of Nov.
1777: MS. This Diary has been
published-first in Morehead's Ad-
dress-1840.
4Collins' Hist. Ky., I, p. 10.
(446)
Bowman's Expedition Against
Chillicothe 447
by them in war both white people and negroes and all the
horses stolen or taken by them since the
close of the war of
1764; and further, no Indian of that
nation for the future was
to hunt on the Virginia side of the Ohio
nor any white man
on the other side of that river. This
agreement at once opened
the pathway for an advance of emigration
into the region
which soon after became the county of
Kentucky. However,
even before the treaty-in June,
1774-James Harrod and
others had erected a cabin in that
country, upon th site of the
present Harrodsburgh, Mercer
county,-only to be deserted
shortly after, because of the
hostilities of the savages.5
The adventurers who came to the Kentucky
country in
1775, enjoyed, for that season, almost
entire immunity from
savage aggression; only a few killed and
wounded; enough,
however, to induce the settlers to be
watchful - ever on their
guard. But the next year-1776-the
Indians were more
emboldened. With an increase of
emigration came an increase
of their attacks. The machinations of
the British began to
have an effect upon the Shawanese; and
the Mingoes, who, it
will be remembered, were not a party to
Lord Dunmore's treaty,
were avowedly hostile. Already the
pioneers had ayailed them-
selves of the advantages of rude forts
as protections against
the savages: one was commenced and
completed in the early
part of April, 1775, near the mouth of
Otter creel in what is
now Madison county, and was known as
Fort Boone.6 Others
were built as the exigencies of the
settlements seemed to de-
mand; among them, that of McClelland's,
adjoining the site
of the present Georgetown, Scott county,
which, on the twenty-
5"July 24, 1774. Proceeded to the
cabin (Harrod's) four miles
further. At our arrival, we were
surprised to find every thing squandered
upon the ground, and two fires burning.
Mr. Floyd and Mr. Nash went
down to the landing and found these
words written on a tree: 'Alarmed
by finding some people killed. We are
going down this way.'"-Journal
of a Surveyor.
6 "On the 14th (of April) the Fort
was finished:" Bradford's
Notes. "Thursday, 20 (April,
1775)-Arrived at Fort Boone, on the
mouth of Otter Creek, on Cantuckee
River, where we were saluted by
a running fire of about 25 guns:"
Henderson's Journal--M S. This has
been published.
448 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
ninth of December,
1776, was assailed by the Pluggy's-town
gang of Mingoes and
their famous leader killed2 -the first
regular attack upon
any fort in Kentucky.
Early in 1777, the
Indians commenced their depredations in
the settlements south
of the Ohio. More of
the Shawanese
now started upon the war-path from their towns upon the
Scioto and Miami.
Before the end of the year, a large portion
of that nation had taken
up the hatchet. In the Spring, as
there were but very
few men interested in keeping possession
of the posts on the
north side of the Kentucky river, they broke
up--their occupants
removing, on the thirtieth of January,
either to
Boonesborough or Harrodsburgh. The whole popu-
lation was then in
these two forts and did not exceed one hun-
dred and fifty men fit
for duty, with about forty families.
As the months wore
away, both posts were attacked,7 but neither
taken. In the
meantime, Logan's fort near the site of the pres-
ent town of Stanford,
Lincoln county, was occupied ;8 it, too,
was assailed by the
savages, but their attack proved unsuccess-
ful.9 So
troublesome had been the Indians throughout the year
-so discouraging had
their hostilities proved to immigration
-that, at its close,
the settlements were restricted to the three
forts just mentioned.
The siege of
Boonesborough was the great event of the
year 1778, in
Kentucky. Preparations for this, at the
prin-
cipal town of the
Shawanese Indians north of the Ohio.10 oper-
ated for a length of
time to restrain small parties of savages
from their incursions into the settlements. Still, there were
Indian depredations
before and after that event. As to the
siege itself -it is
more notorious for what was not accom-
2Bradford's Notes on
Ky. (Stipp's West. Miscel.), pp. 25, 26.
Clark's Diary-MS.
Morehead's Address, p. 161.
7Each twice: Harrodsburgh, on the 7 March and 29 Apr.;
Boones-
borough, on the 24
Apr. and 23 May.-Clark's Diary: MS.
8This was in
March:" MS. Narr. of Wm. Whitley. Marshall's
Hist. Ky., I, 48.
9This occurred May 30th: Clark's Diary-MS. Compare More-
head's Address, p.
162.
10"Old Chelicothe
(Chillicothe), the principal Indian town, on Lit-
tle Miami:"
Filson's Kentucke (1784), p. 63.
Bowman's Expedition Against
Chillicothe. 449
plished than for any particular success
of the enemy. That
three hundred and thirty Indians with
eight Canadians,l1 one
of whom - Captain Isadore Chene12- commanded the
ex-
pedition, should, for eleven days and
nights, beleaguer the rude
stockade causing a loss of only two
killed4 and four wounded,
notwithstanding at one time nine men
were outside negotiating
with the enemy, - is something bordering
on the marvelous.
This occurred in September. The savages
then dispersed to the
different forts, waylaying hunters but
captured no posts.
The time had arrived with the opening of
the Spring of
1779, when it was very evident to the
settlers of Kentucky that,
of all the Indians who were at that time
infesting the country,
the Shawanese were the most active and
blood-thirsty. It
seemed exceedingly plain to them that
from Chillicothe, on the
Little Miami, came most of the
war-parties marauding in the
now
increasing settlements.13 "Why
should not that prolific
hive of mischief be destroyed?" was
a question then frequently
asked. And it was finally determined, by
the settlers, to free
themselves from danger and their
settlements from savage
inroads, to carry an expedition against
it. John Bowman, re-
siding at Harrodsburgh, as Colonel of
militia and Lieutenant
of Kentucky, called for volunteers,
resolved to take the com-
mand of them in person;-the first
regular enterprise to at-
tack, in force, the Indians beyond the
Ohio, ever planned in
Kentucky. Bowman, the year previous, had
contemplated an
expedition to the same town, and sent
Simon Kenton with two
others to Chillicothe to make
discoveries. The settlers were
11Jno. Bowman, in Butler's Ky. (2d Ed.)
p. 534. "Four hundred
and forty-four Indians-twelve Frenchmen
(Canadians) :" Filson, 67,
68. "Five to seven hundred
Indians-twelve Frenchmen (Canadians):"
Bradford. Bowman wrote on the 14th of
October, 1778-not many days
after the siege was raised.
12A. S. De
Peyster's "Miscellanies," pp. 247, 261. C. I. Walker's
Address before the State Hist. Soc.
Wis., 31 Jan., 1871.
4David
Bundrin and a negro named London.
13 "April
1, Robert Patterson, at the head of twenty-five men, com-
menced a blockhouse where Lexington now
stands;" George W. Ranck.
Vol. XIX. - 29.
450
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
to plant their corn and be in readiness
to rendezvous in May,
at the mouth of Licking. The Shawanese
seem not to have
had any apprehensions of such a
retaliation for their frequent
invasions of the Dark and Bloody Land.
The place of meet-
ing for the volunteers of the interior
was fixed at Harrods-
burgh; whence, under Benjamin Logan and
Silas Harlan, as
Captains, they marched to Lexington,
meeting at that point a
company from Boonesborough commanded by
Captain John
Holder. These two companies were there reinforced by
another headed by Captain Levi Todd;
they marched from
Lexington by way of the Little North
Fork of Elkhorn, en-
camping the first night near its mouth.
Their second encamp-
ment was on a small branch of Mill
Creek, about two miles
northward from Lee's Lick. Thence, they
went down the
Licking, until they finally reached its
mouth-opposite what
is now the city of Cincinnati, then a
howling wilderness--the
place appointed for the general meeting
of the army; the site
of the present city of Covington,
Kentucky.14
Previous to this time, William Harrod as
Captain had
reached the place appointed for the
general meeting with a com-
pany of men from the Falls of the Ohio -
Louisville. To stir
up the people that volunteering might go
forward with alacrity,
Harrod took "the stump," while
his company was forming,
haranguing the settlers, showing the
necessity of the expedition,
and that the settlements in the other parts
of Kentucky were
desirous of promoting the enteprise.
With his force, when
it arrived at the mouth of Licking, were
a number of men from
Redstone Old Fort, on their way home,
but who proposed to
go upon the expedition. They had visited
the Big Bone Lick
and had with them a canoeload of
specimens from that in-
teresting locality, which they were
transporting up the river.
Harrod had been ordered by Bowman to
meet him with boats
to enable the troops to cross the
Ohio-two keel-boats and
14Just before their arrival, one of the
men wandered off hunting.
Ascending a hill, he saw below him a
buffalo. The beast taking the
alarm started off at full speed.but
stumbled upon some rocks and fell
prostrate. The hunter pursued, jumped
upon the animal's back and dis-
patched him with his knife. He was
greatly complimented by the troops.
Bowman's
Expedition Against Chillicothe. 451
three
canoes were brought up for that purpose to the place of
rendezvous.
The men from the Falls employed their time until
the
arrival of the other companies in hunting;- killing buffalo,
bears,
and deer, for provisions. They had killed some game
while
at the Big Bone Lick.
Colonel
Bowman left the men from Lexington, on their
way
to the Ohio, - turning off to the right, to go to Licking -
afterward
Ruddell's Station. Here he found a few men under
Lieutenant
John Haggin. With this force, he started for the
mouth
of Licking where he arrived on the twenty-seventh of
May,
and immediately began preparations for crossing; as the
troops
were now all present and eager to be led into the wilder-
ness.
"I had gathered," afterward wrote Bowman, "two hun-
dred
and ninety-six men."15
Early
in the morning of the twenty-eighth of May, 1779,
immediately
below the mouth of Licking river, Colonel John
Bowman
and his army crossed the Ohio. Thirty-two men re-
mained
to take care of the boats;-two hundred and sixty-
five,
including officers, formed into marching order with George
M.
Bedinger as Adjutant and Quarter Master, commenced their
march
along an Indian trace for the objective point of the ex-
pedition
-the Shawanese town, on the east side of the Little
Miami,
distant about sixty-five miles in a northeast direction,
piloted
by George Clark and William Whitley. The men
were
mostly on foot, not very heavily encumbered with pro-
vision-a
peck of parched corn and some "jerked" meat to
each
man was all. Firing was interdicted after crossing the
15Bowman
to Geo. Rogers Clark, 13 June, 1779: MS. letter. The
following
was the number of men (officers included) belonging to each
company:
Capt.
Logan's Company ........................48 men.
Capt.
Harrods's Company ......................99 men.
Capt.
Holder's Company ............ ......... 58 men.
Capt. Todd's Company ........................28 men.
Capt.
Harlan's Company .......................43 men.
Lieut.
Haggin's Company ......................19 men.
Col. Bowman .................................
1
Total.
.................................296 men.
452 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
river and the whole force marched
rapidly on their way, mak-
ing directly for the Little Miami, which
stream they were to
follow to the Indian town. One of the
pilots upon the ex-
pedition was William Whitley. The volunteers were armed
with rifles and tomahawks. They arrived
within ten miles of
Chillicothe at dusk, on the twenty-ninth
when a halt was
ordered. During the whole journey not an
Indian had been
seen, and the Commander was sanguine of
being able to sur-
prise the savages.16
A council was now called to determine
upon the time of
attacking the town. It was resolved to
march that night and
invest the place and commence the attack
at day-break the
next morning. A point a few hundred
yards south-west of the
village, in a prairie, was reached a
little after midnight. Bow-
man and his Captains now went forward to
reconnoitre. They
were gone about an hour. Upon their
return, a disposition of
the force was made preparatory to the
attack.17 The men were
separated into three divisions: one
under Captain Logan was
to March to the left of the town;
another under Captain
Harrod to the right until they met on
the north side. The
other division under Captain Holder was
to march directly in
front of the village, but to stop some
distance away. By this
arrangement there would be an opening
south of the two first
mentioned companies through which, when
the alarm was given,
the Indians might escape;-they would be
allowed to go some
distance from their cabins before
encountering, immediately
before them, the Company of Holder. This
was a very in-
geniously contrived plan; for, if all
the men were to rush up
at once, the enemy would be forced to
remain in their wig-
wams where they could fight their
assailants at a great advan-
tage on their side. Silently and
undiscerned, the three divisions
took the positions assigned them and
impatiently awaited the
appearance of day, so as to begin the
work of death. The men
under Harrod and Logan, at a given
signal, were to commence
16 During the march out one of the men
was bitten by a rattlesnake.
He was sent back to the boats
accompanied by a comrade, with orders
to be sent back to the Falls of the
Ohio.
17 Statement of Henry Hall, a survivor,
made in 1844.
Bowman's Expedition Against
Chillicothe. 453
the attack; while Holder's were to lie
in ambush, to await the
out-rushing of the frightened savages
and pour in upon them,
as they appeared, a deadly fire. It was
understood if the men
should be discovered before daylight
-Holder's division was
to endeavor immediately to fire the
cabins. It was not long
before the Indian dogs set up a loud and
persistent barking.
Their owners would come out, in some
instances, and encour-
age them on as if they were apprehensive
of danger.
The town thus silently encompassed by
two hundred and
sixty-three backwoodsmen anxious for
daylight to appear, was
the Little Chillicothe of the Shawanese;
known, however, to
the frontiersmen of that day as New
Chillicothe. The center
of the village was about one hundred and
seventy rods east
of the Little Miami. Skirting along on
the east side of the town
was a small stream, afterward called Old
Town Run, which,
with a course nearly north, empties its
tribute into Massie's
creek at no great distance away. On the
west side of the vil-
lage was a fine spring, the waters from
which run in a south-
westerly direction, soon to mingle with
those of the Little
Miami. A prairie lay adjoining the town,
on the south; and
the cabins were built some distance upon
one, on the North.
A ridge south of the spring, extended
from the skirts of the
village in a southwest course to the
river; another, just across
the run to the east, has a northeast
trend to Massies Creek.18
The site of the village is about three
miles north of the present
town of Xenia - county-seat of Greene
county, Ohio.
At the time of this expedition against
the Shawanese their
whole number of warriors at Wapatomica,
Machacheek and
Piqua19 on Mad river and at
Chillicothe on the Little Miami
was about five hundred, of whom one
hundred were in the
latter village with about two hundred
squaws and children.
About a month previous, true to the
wandering instincts of that
nation, four hundred of their warriors
with their families,
under their chiefs Black Stump and
Yellow Hawk, accom-
18 MS.
Notes of James Galloway.
19 The birth place of Tecumseh; it was
situated on the north side
of Mad river about five miles west of
the present site of Springfield, in
Clark county, Ohio.
454 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
panied by the French trader, Laramie,
migrated west of the
Mississippi, settling upon Sugar creek,
a little distance above
Cape Girardeau in what is now the State
of Missouri, then
under Spanish rule. The principal chief
of the Shawanese at
Chillicothe when the town was invested
by Bowman, was Black
Fish. His subordinates were Black Hoof
and Black Beard.
Northeast of the center of the town stood the council house
-a large building, said to have been
sixty feet square, built
of round hickory logs, one story high,
with gable ends open
and upright posts supporting the roof.
Black Fish's cabin was
some thirty yards to the west of this
structure. There were
several board houses or huts in the
south part of the village
-some ten or twelve.20
Now it so happened while the army of
Bowman lay quietly
around Chillicothe, a Shawanese hunter
was returning, on its
tail, excitedly of course to the
threatened village. As he neared
Holder's division, "puffing and
blowing," fearful of falling
into a trap, he suddenly stopped, and
made a kind of interrog-
ative ejaculation, as much as to say,
"Who's there ?"- when
one of the men very near him, shot, and
the savage fell, at the
same time giving a weak, confused yell.
Immediately another
soldier ran up and tomahawked and
scalped him.21 The firing
of that gun set at naught many of the
wise plans and well-laid
schemes depending upon daylight for
their execution. A few
Indians came out in the direction of the
report, to ascertain the
cause. As they approached Holder's line,
the men laid close
and still, only cocking their guns. But
this was enough to alarm
the vigilant savages who hastily
retreated, receiving a volley as
they fell back, wounding Black Fish
severely, the ball ranging
from his knee along up his thigh and out
at the joint shatter-
ing the bone; showing that he received
the wound in a squat-
ting position. He was taken to his cabin
by three warriors.
20 Statement
of Joseph Jackson: 1884. Jackson was a prisoner to
the Shawnese and in Chillicothe when
attacked by Bowman, as will pres-
ently be seen.
21 Statements
of Geo. M. Bedinger, a survivor: 1839 and 1843.
Jackson also speaks of the return of
this hunter, and his being killed.
Bowman's Expedition Against
Chillicothe. 455
He called upon them not to leave him but
to stand their ground
and all die together.22
The return of the party of observation
and the volley fired
by Holder's men, fully aroused the
slumbering occupants of
Chillicothe. There was immediately a
great out-cry and con-
fusion. About seventy-five warriors
taking advantage of the
darkness escaped through the lines which
surrounded the town.
The squaws and children with a few men
made a rush for the
council house. According to previous
orders Holder's division
now advanced and set fire to the town.
The men reached the
board shanties on the south, and at once
began the work of
plundering, giving the savages ample
time to fortify themselves
by fastening securely the door of the
huge building they had
congregated in. The houses were set on
fire as fast as they
were plundered. This attracted the attention of the other
divisions, portions of which, without
orders, left their positions
and joined in the work of securing
valuables.
No sooner were the cabins all ablaze
than an attempt was
made to capture the Council house; but
the assailants were so
warmly received that they were glad to
fall back. It now be-
gan to grow light in the east and Bowman
satisfied that it would
be impossible to capture the stronghold
of the enemy sent word
to Logan's and Harrod's divisions to
fall back to the south of
the town. Meanwhile, in front, a
desultory fire was kept up.
between some of Holder's men and those
within the Council
house; the stragglers from the other
divisions also took part.
When it became broad daylight, a few
men, in their endeavors
to get as near the building as possible
in hopes of killing some
of the inmates, found themselves so much
exposed that to at-
tempt a retreat would be certain to draw
upon them a volley
from the council house. They had taken a
position behind a
large white oak log not over thirty
yards from the enemy.
Some of the party in moving their bodies
to get a good position
for delivering their fire, were
killed. The survivors finally
heard a voice calling to them to
retreat; but how this was to be
done was the question, Adjutant Bedinger
concluded to make
22These interesting details are given by
Jackson.
456 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
the attempt. The spot where the men lay
was south east of
the Council house. Bedinger sprang up,
ran a very zigzag race
across the stream east, and escaped
unhurt, although a volley
was fired at him. The rest of the party
immediately ran to
an empty cabin near by reaching it
before the enemy had time
to reload their rifles.
The men remained in the hut some time,
trying to devise
means to escape. Finally a novel plan
was hit upon. Each one
provided himself with a plank and
holding it upon his back
slantingly so as to protect his body
from the bullets of the
savages, started upon the run. This movable backwork-
rather than breastwork - proved amply
sufficient to save the
lives of all; for they all escaped over
the fork of Massie's
creek near by; dropping, each one, his
puncheon as he entered
in safety the cornfield at that point.23
During all this time the scenes being
enacted within the
Council house were of a strange
character. Assatakoma, a
conjurer, nearly one hundred years old,
kept constantly calling
out, encouraging the few warriors congregated there-not
over twenty-five in number, with about
fifteen boys who could
shoot; but quite a number had no guns to
use. The squaws
and children kept up a great noise-
screaming and whooping.
The Indians managed to make what
answered for port-holes,
between the logs and in the roof of the
building, through which
they fired. Joseph Jackson who had been
a prisoner to the
Shawanese since February of the
preceding year, calmly sur-
veyed the scene - tied as he was to a
post in the midst of the
shrieking crowd. At the first alarm, he
had seized a rifle and
started for the woods, but was overtaken
by a warrior, brought
back, and secured, as just related.
As soon as Bowman determined not to
attempt the cap-
ture of the Council house, deeming it
too strong to be assailed
with rifles only, and had called back the
divisions to the south-
west of the town, the principal effort
was to secure horses - a
large number being found near by in a
kind of commons-
23 Statement of Bland W. Ballard, a
survivor; 1844. Jackson, Bed-
inger and others are corroborative.
Bowman's Expedition Against
Chillicothe. 457
evidently driven in from the woods by
the flies. One hundred
and eighty were captured.24 The
army was thus engaged when
the surviving stragglers who had been in
such close quarters
behind the oak log, arrived. The sun was
then about two hours
high. The amount of plunder taken from
the cabins that had
been burned and from others on the west
side of the town
not fired, was considerable, consisting
of silver ornaments-of
which a large number was found - and
clothing. By nine
o'clock everything being arranged
marching orders were given
and the army started upon its return
having lost eight men
killed in exposing themselves to the
fire of the savages within
the Council house and one wounded. The
trail out was the
route taken; the men, as is usual with
volunteers and militia
upon such occasion, being at first in
considerable confusion.
the principal cause, however, was this:
soon after daylight
a negro woman came out of the Council
house as if having
escaped the savages, and reached the
army without harm. She
declared that Simon Girty with one
hundred Shawanese from
Piqua-twelve miles distant-was hourly
expected. The
commander gave little credence to this
tale; but the story get-
ting among the men and the number of
Girty's savages increas-
ing to five hundred by the time of
starting, caused some con-
sternation - resulting in a disposition
of many to be off re-
gardless of the manner of their going;
but order was soon re-
stored and the march continued.
After making fourteen miles, Indians
were discovered in
pursuit, soon commencing an attack. Bowman with great
courage and steadiness called a halt,
formed his men in a hol-
low square-ready to meet the savages
should they appear in
force. It was soon discovered there were
but a few of them,
but as they continued their annoyance,
wounding some of the
men, a small detachment charged out and
routed them. One
of their number was killed and scalped.
Bowman had three
of his men wounded, in all, during the
afternoon,-none
killed. After this, they were not again
molested by the Indians.
24 MS. Notes of James Ray, a survivor,
taken in 1833 by Mann
Butler.
458
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
The army reached the Ohio just above the
mouth of the Little
Miami, early on the first day of June,
where they found the
boats in waiting. The men were soon
conveyed across the
stream - the horses
swimming. The number of the latter cap-
tured from the savages, reaching the
Kentucky shore, was one
hundred and sixty-three.25 The boatmen, while the army was
absent, had remained in the batteaux and
canoes moving up
and down the river, for greater safety.
The army now feeling greatly at ease
moved leisurely some
three or four miles to the rear of the
elevated hills which skirted
the Ohio until a fine spring was reached
where it halted. Hunt-
ing and fishing soon supplied the camp
and what with rest and
sleep enjoyed, soon gave new life and
vigor to all. They were
again in Kentucky where pea-vines, wild
clover and wild rye
furnished an abundance of food for the
half famished horses.
It was now agreed to have a sale of the
horses and other booty;
and then, an equal division was to be
made of the amount
realized. The captains were to keep the
account of the amount
purchased by their respective companies
and when it should be
ascertained that any one had bid in
property exceeding the
amount of his dividend he was to pay the
surplus- having a
credit of one year--to his commanding
officer. The several
sums thus collected were to be divided
among such as did not
purchase to the full amount of their
dividend. The vendue
realized a little over thirty-two thousand
pounds, giving to each
one of the two hundred and ninety-six
about one hundred and
ten pounds, Continental currency.26 Many purchased more
than that amount; but, as these debtors
were scattered after-
ward from Red Stone Old Fort on the
Monongahela to the
Falls of the Ohio and Boonesborough, no
collections were ever
made, or if made were never paid over to
those who were
justly entitled thereto; so, it resulted
in each one securing, in
most cases, just what was struck off to
him at the vendue.
The Monongaheleans now took to their
canoes and made
their way up the Ohio to their homes;
while the residue scat-
25 MS. Statement of James Patton, a
Lieutenant in Capt. Harrod's
Company.
26Patton's Statement, just cited.
Bowman's Expedition Against
Chillicothe. 459
tered to their various places of
abode-the general impression
being that the expedition was far from a
failure. The amount
of booty obtained was large; the march
had been conducted
outward with great secrecy; and it was
evident to all, but for
the accident of the return just as that
inauspicious moment of
the Shawanese hunter, the whole village
would have been cap-
tured;-as it was, not only many of their
cabins were burned,
but much corn was destroyed. It is very
evident from the jour-
nals of that day, that the enterprise
was looked upon as a suc-
cess.27 The noted leader of
the Shawanese nation, Black Fish,
died of his wound in about six weeks
from that date. One of
the assailants supposed to have been
killed behind the white
oak log near the Council house and
numbered among the dead
of the expedition, was found soon after
the return march began,
fast asleep and entirely free of any
wound. An aged warrior
begged to have the opportunity of
killing him; as it would be,
doubtless, the last chance he would ever
have of wreaking his
vengeance upon the foe. The request was
granted, and he
tomahawked the soldier, who made not the
slightest resistance
-who uttered not a single word-as the
old savage assailed
him
with the instrument of death;-a priceless boon to the
unhappy man, who no doubt fully expected
as his fate horrible
tortures at the stake.
27Extract from the Va. Gaz., July 10,
1779 (No. 22): "By a
gentleman from the frontiers we are
informed, that Captain Bowman
with 200 volunteers marched from
Kentucky against Chillacoffee, the
lower Shawanese town, and surrounded it
the 29th of May last (being
the night the moon was totally eclipsed)
without being discovered. At
daybreak the next morning he made an
attack, and after a short engage-
ment, the Indians with a number of
British troops, fled to a small
block house which the red coats had
provided for a safe retreat. Captain
Bowman burnt the town, together with a
great quantity of corn, ammuni-
tion and stores. He has taken from the
enemy 163 valuable horses,
loaded with goods to the amount of
£32,000. The Indians had five killed
at the town and were repulsed with loss
in two attacks they made on
our party on their return. We had seven
men killed in this expedition."