Ohio History Journal
MINUTES
0F THE
Sixth Annual Meeting of the Society,
HELD IN
COLUMBUS, FEBRUARY 18 AND
19, 1891.
Thursday, February 19th the society came
to order in the
State Library. There being present the
following members:
Wm. E. Moore, of Columbus; A. A. Graham,
of Columbus;
N. S. Townshend, of Columbus; H. A.
Thompson, of Wester-
ville; J. A. Anderson, of Columbus; L.
B. Wing, of Newark;
Geo. F. Bareis, of Canal Winchester; A.
R. McIntire, of Mt.
Vernon; D. J. Ryan, of Portsmouth; J. J.
Janney, of Colum-
bus; S. S. Rickly, of Columbus; Thos. E
Van Home, of Co-
lumbus; J. A. Shawan, of Columbus; J. C.
Reeve, of Dayton;
Cyrus Falconer, of Hamilton; B. D.
Hills, of Columbus; Mrs.
N. E. Lovejoy, of Columbus; Edw. Orton,
of Columbus; R.
Brinkerhoff, of Mansfield; John G.
Doren, of Dayton; Thos. F.
Moses: Urbana; Rev. J. A. Snodgrass, of
Columbus; A. H.
Smythe, of Coumbus; Isaac Kagy, of
Tiffin; Frank H. Leib,
of Millersport; W. H. Morton, of
Cincinnati; John T. Gale, of
Columbus; Charles Parrett, of Columbus;
Henry Howe, of Co-
lumbus; James Poindexter, of Columbus;
Chas. P. Griffin, of
Toledo; R. W. McFarland, of Oxford;
Ralph Reamer, of Co-
lnmbus.
In the absence of the President of the
Society, F. C. Ses-
sions, Rev. Wm. E. Moore, First Vice
Presidsnt, presided. The
Secretary, A. A. Graham, presented and
read his annual report,
which, upon motion, was accepted and
ordered filed.
(261)
262 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
On motion of Mr. Doren, a committee was
appointed to
nominate to the society the names of
five members to serve as
trustees for three years. The chair
appointed as such commit-
tee, Messrs. Doren, Anderson and Janney.
The report of the Treasurer, S. S.
Rickly, was then read,
and on motion approved, and on his
request a committee was ap-
pointed to examine the books at a time
suitable to its con-
venience. The chair appointed Messrs.
Hancock and Town-
shend as such committee.
The Secretary made report of the
circular issued to the
members concerning proposed changes in
the act of incorpora-
tion and by-laws regarding change of
name, and increasing num-
ber of trustees. The circular had been
sent to all of the mem-
bers. Out of 54 replies, 52 voted for
both changes and two
against change of name. After discussion
of the matter, in-
volving the legality of such change, it
was decided to refer the
matter to the trustees with authority to
take the ncessary steps
looking to a change of name.
The committee appointed to nominate five
trustees for three
years reported the following names: F.
C. Sessions, of Colum-
bus; Calvin S. Brice, of Lima; Robert W.
Steele, of Dayton;
A. R. McIntyre, of Mt. Vernon.
The report of the committee was
accepted, and on motion
the rules were suspended and the
Secretary was instructed to
cast the vote of the members in favor of
the names proposed.
John S. Rhodes and George R. McDaniels,
of Fort Recov-
ery, presented the matter of the
anniversary of the Centennial
of Gen. St. Clair's defeat by the
Indians in the site of that
town in November, 1791, and asked that
some action be taken
by the society looking to the proper
observance of this Centen-
nial. After discussion of the matter, it
was on motion referred
to the Executive Committee with power to
act.
A committee of the citizens of Newark
came before the
society, asking its aid and co-operation
to secure the purchase
and preservation of that part of the
extensive system of earth-
works near the city, known as the
"octagon and circle." The
design being that when purchased the
State could use the land
for the erection thereon of such
institution as might be best.
Minutes of the Sixth Annual
Meeting. 263
After a full discussion, in which it was
stated the society could
not be engaged to secure for any
distinct institution, the follow-
ing resolution was, on motion of Mr.
Wing, adopted:
Resolved, That the members of the Ohio State Archaeologi-
cal and Historical Society are heartily
in favor of the passage of
the bill introduced in the Senate by
Senator Gaumer, for the
purchase by the State of the pre-historic earthworks at
Newark,
and that the Executive Committee of this
society be instructed
to use all proper effort to aid the
passage of the bill.
This done, after discussion of various
miscellaneous matters,
the society on motion adjourned to meet
the following evening at
the American Hotel, at 8 p. m., for the
annual dinner.
Friday evening, 8 p. m., the society met
in the parlors of
the American House, and after a short
time spent in a social
way, met around the tables in the dining
room. Rev. W. E.
Moore, the First Vice President
presiding. After the dinner,
which was greatly enjoyed, the members
were called to order by
the chairman, Dr. Moore, and the
following toasts were pre-
sented: "The Miami Valley,"
Governor James E. Campbell;
"The Old School Mistress,"
Miss Margaret Sutherland; "Gen.
Arthur St. Clair and the Indian Campaign
of 1791," Gen. E. B.
Finley; "The Maumee Valley in
History," Hon. Chas. P. Griffin,
"The Old Moravian Missions in
Ohio," Hon. Wm. Farrar;
"Ohio at the Columbian Exposition,"
Gen. R. Brinkerhoff.
In the absence of the Governor, to whom
had been as-
signed the place as toastmaster, Mr.
Claude Meeker, his private
secretary, was called to the chair, and
in that capacity filled the
place most acceptably.
At the conclusion of the responses to
the toasts, the follow-
ing resolution, offered by Dr. H. A.
Thompson, was unanimously
adopted:
WHEREAS, Having listened with pleasure
to the interesting
remarks of General Brinkerhoff as to the
part Ohio should take
in the Columbian Exposition in 1893, and
believing with him
the State we represent, occupying as she
does so conspicuous a
position among the Mississippi Valley
States, should be repre-
sented in a manner in keeping with her
position and history;
therefore, be it
264 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
Resolved, That we most heartily commend the effort being
made by Representative McMakin to secure
from the General
Assembly such an appropriation as will
enable the State to make
a creditable representation of her
material and educational in-
terests in said exposition. In the event
of an adequate appro-
priation for such purpose by the General
Assembly, we believe
that no small place should be given to
the work of the Ohio
Archaeological and Historical Society,
and do hereby pledge our-
selves to make such an exhibit as shall
do honor to the State.
The society, through Prof. John Hancock,
expressed its
thanks to the proprietors of the hotel
for the excellent manner
in which the dinner was served, and upon
motion the sixth
annual meeting adjourned.
WM. E. MOORE,
A. A. GRAHAM, First Vice President.
Secretary.
MEETING OF THE TRUSTEES, THURSDAY,
FEBRU-
ARY 19, 1891, FIVE P. M.
The Trustees met in the State Library.
Dr. Townshend in
the chair. The selecting of officers was
considered. On motion
of Dr. H. A. Thompson, Mr. F. C.
Sessions was elected
President.
On motion, Rev. W. E. Moore was elected
First Vice Presi-
dent, and R. Brinkerhoff Second Vice
President.
On motion, Mr. S. S. Rickly was elected
Treasurer, and
A. A Graham elected Secretary.
The following were elected as an
Executive Committee:
F. C. Sessions, Wm. E. Moore, S. S.
Rickly, D. J. Ryan, John
Hancock, H. A. Thompson, N. S.
Townshend. The committee
was authorized to fill vacancies and to
appoint such standing
committees as should be deemed
necessary. There being a
vacancy in the Board of Trustees, Mr.
George F. Baries, of
Canal Winchester, was appointed to the
place to serve three
years, from February 19, 1891.
The Executive Committee was instructed
to meet the next
day, Friday, at 10:00 A. M., to
consult further with the commit-
Minutes of the Sixth Annual
Meeting. 265
tee from Fort Recovery, relating to the
centennial exercises to
be held at that place in November, 1891.
The question of the contemplated change
in the society's
name was then considered. The Secretary
presented the circu-
lar which had been sent to the members,
and after discussion, it
was, on motion of Mr. A. R. McIntyre,
Resolved, That the Board of Trustees of this Society deem
it desirable that the articles of incorporation
of this Society be
amended by striking out the first, or
naming clause, and insert-
ing in lieu thereof the following: The
name of this corporation
shall be "The Ohio Historical
Society," and the proper steps be
at once taken to submit the question of
making the amendment
to a meeting of the members called for
that purpose.
After which, upon motion, the Board of
Trustees adjourned.
N. S. TOWNSHEND,
A. A. GRAHAM, Chairman pro tem.
Secretary.
Meeting of the Board of Trustees May
7th, 1891, in the
State Library. Present, Messrs.
Sessions, Brinkerhoff, Rickly,
Thompson, Read, Griffin, Gilmore,
Bareis, McIntyre, Hancock,
and Lockwood.
Minutes of the last annual meeting of
the Society and of
the Board of Trustees, February 19th and
20th, were read and
approved. The memorial regarding the
work of the Society in
the Ohio exhibit at the Columbian
Exposition, was read, dis-
cussed and approved. The Secretary was
instructed to arrange
for a conference with the Ohio
Commissioners, in session in the
office of the State Board of
Agriculture, and it was resolved that
the sum of $ 2,500 be requested for this
year's work.
On motion of Dr. Thompson, the Secretary
was authorized
to draw an order upon the Treasurer for
the expenses of the
Trustees in attendance at this meeting.
A conference having
been arranged, the Board met the Ohio
Commissioners and
through Messrs. Brinkerhoff and Read,
presented the memorial
of the Trustees regarding the Department
of Archaeology and
History in the Ohio exhibit at the
World's Fair.
266 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
After the conference, the Board renewed
deliberations. On
motion, a committee consisting of
Messrs. Brinkerhoff, Wright,
Baldwin, Read and the Secretary was
appointed to appear before
the Ohio Commissioners at their meeting
in Cleveland, June 4th,
the Committee to present a plan of the
proposed department,
and to report the same to the Executive
Committee. The Sec-
retary was instructed to send each
member of the Board the
names of the Ohio Commissioners to the
World's Fair.
The Board then adjourned to meet at Fort
Ancient the next
day, Friday, May 8th.
Fort Ancient, Friday, 2 p. M. Present,
Messrs. Brinker-
hoff, Read, Lockwood, Bareis, Williams,
Gilmore, Harris, Mc-
Intyre and Thompson, and by invitation,
Senator Jesse N. Oren.
Second Vice President Brinkerhoff in the
chair. The minutes
of the previous day were read and
approved. The "Care and
control of Fort Ancient" was
considered. After discussion, the
the appointment by the Executive
Committee of Messrs. Oren,
Harris and Williams, as a special
committee in charge of Fort
Ancient, was confirmed; this committee
to enter upon its duties
as soon as the transfer of the property
is made. This committee
was authorized to appoint a custodian
for the property, and to
establish such rules and regulations for
its care and control as
may be necessary, the action of the
committee in these matters
to be submitted to the Board of Trustees
for approval. After
an informal discussion of matters
connected with the Fort, the
board adjourned.
R. BRINKERHOFF, Chairman.
A. A. GRAHAM, Secretary.
SECRETARY'S REPORT.
To the Executive Committee:
The year closed has been marked by
steady progress. Lit-
tle in detail need be said. The
publication of the Quarterly to
the end of Volume II was completed.
Owing to the expense of
fitting the Society's room with the
necessary cases and furniture,
Secretary's Report. 267
an expense of near $300, sufficient
money did not remain to con-
tinue the Quarterly last year. Another
item which entered into
this matter was the fact that the
Society had been for some time
engaged in gathering the material on the
question of the bound-
ary between Ohio and Virginia, with a
view to publication, in
connection with the reprint of the
notable and strong argument
on that question by Mr. Samuel F.
Vinton, before the Virginia
Supreme Court in the Garber Slave case,
the intention being to
issue the argument and accompanying
papers in a single bound
volume, as Volume III. An examination of
the matter devel-
oped the fact that some time would be
necessary to secure and
prepare, as it should be done, such an
important matter, and the
publication was therefore deferred for
the present. In the
meantime, the Centennial of the
settlement of Gallipolis by the
French, October, 19, 1790, was brought
before the Society, and
it was decided to assist in that event,
as the Society had done at
Marietta in the centennial of April 7,
1888. The present volume
will be the result, and will speak for
itself.
The Society not finding sufficient
encouragement in the
effort to unite the Society and the
State Library upon the plan
followed in Wisconsin, Kansas and
several other states, turned
its attention elsewhere, upon the
request and suggestion of sev-
eral members, a publication fund was
started. Each active
member who desired to pay an amount of
money in addition to
what each had paid as active members to
equal a life member's
fee, $50, was given the opportunity. The
treasurer's report
shows the present condition of the fund.
The necessary care of the rooms, the
work of the Society
in its various branches, required all
the secretary's time, which
could not be given gratuitously. No
fixed amount until this
year was paid, only such as could be
spared, and without which
I could not have continued, and no one
capable of carrying it
forward could be found to do the work
free.
During the last term of the General
Assembly an appeal
was made to that body to aid the
Society. This was cheerfully
done, the Society being required to
place all its library collec-
tions in the State Library. A grant of
$2,000 was made, and
268 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
the Society placed in the State Library
some 900 bound volumes
and pamphlets.
It is expected that this policy will be
continued, and a closer
union between the State Library and the
Society be maintained.
A safe receptacle will be provided for
the library accommoda-
tions of the Society, where they can be
consulted by any who
may want them.
The coming World's Fair at Chicago will
afford the Society
an opportunity to extend its usefulness,
and its aid in making a
proper display of articles illustrating
the history of the State.
The General Assembly has already taken
steps to assure an ex-
hibit of Ohio's industries and Ohio's
history, and the Society
should be not only recognized, but
required to aid in the exhibit.
At the close of the exposition, the
Society can assume full care
of such articles as may be secured from
the exhibit there. By
such means, at the centennial
expositions held in Ohio in 1888,
a large and valuable collection
illustrating our archaeology and
history was secured. These collections
can now be seen in the
rooms of the Society, which, now
contains some four thousand
articles of archaeology. A large number
of maps, charts, carts,
photographs and other articles
illustrating the archaeology and
history of Ohio. The room is now
crowded, and the question
of larger and more convenient quarters
confronts us.
The interest in the approaching
centennials of many settle-
ments and many important events in our
history is apparent.
All turn to this society to see that
these are properly celebrated.
They tend to stimulate historical
enquiry and interest, and their
proper observance is a part of our work
and should receive the
attention each demands. The year closed
emphasizes the fact
that the growth of the society, its
usefulness, and its utility de-
pends on unremitting steady efforts.
This we shall try to do as
long as strength and support continues.
A. A. GRAHAM, Secretary.
Report of Trustees. 269
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES TO THE GOVERNOR
FOR THE YEAR ENDING FEBRUARY 19, 1891.
To His
Excellency, JAMES E. CAMPBELL,
Governor of Ohio:
The following report of this Society for
the current year is
herewith presented:
The fiscal year of the Society ends
February 19th, at which
time a full and detailed report of our
proceedings, receipts, and
expenditures is annually made.
At the last sesion of the General
Assembly an appropriation
of two thousand ($2,000) dollars was made
to this Society "for
books, manuscripts, etc., to be placed
in the State Library."
Under this authority the Society has
catalogued to date, and
placed in the State Library, about four
hundred (400) bound
volumes, about six hundred (600)
pamphlets, not including files
of magazines, many manuscripts, etc.
This enumeration does
not include duplicates nor remaining
parts of the Society's pub-
lication, which will be used for
exchange purposes, and the
works so received be placed in the
Library. It also has twenty-
nine framed charts, illustrating the
archaeology of Ohio, costing
originally about ten dollars each, which
were donated to the
Society; and several paintings,
drawings, and charts, which the
Library, owing to lack of wall-space,
cannot receive, and which
will therefore be left for the present
in the Society's room. The
Society has increased its permanent fund
to seven hundred ($700)
dollars, the intention being to secure
eventually twenty-five
thousand ($25,000) dollars, this fund to
be known as the "Pub-
lication Fund," the income derived
therefrom to be devoted to
publications. The experience of all
historical societies shows a
very slow growth, and years must elapse
before the fund will
reach the desired limit. In other States
more than half a cen-
tury elapses before such a fund is
secured. Several subscriptions
not yet due have been made, and as time
progresses more will be
secured. The report of the Treasurer is
as follows, and exhibits
in detail the financial transactions of the year:
270 Ohio Arch. and His. Society
Publications. [VOL. 3
RECEIPTS.
Balance
on hand from 1889 ..................................... $ 527 13
From
active membership fees .................................. 470 00
Subscriptions
to publication fund .............................. 580 00
From
appropriations...................
...................... 2,000
00
From
interest on permanent fund .............................. 27 33
$3604
46
DISBURSEMENTS.
For
postage ........... ...............
................ ... $ 175 00
Railway
fares of Secretary .................................... 22 00
Janitor
and clerk hire
...................................... . 163 15
Office
desk ................................................ 25 00
Repairs
in room ............................................. 14 50
Sundry
expenses, chiefly in connection with Gallipolis Centennial 162 34
Secretary's
salary for February, March and April, 1890 .......... 300 00
Expenses,
same period ................. ................... .... 22 11
Salary
Secretary, May 1, 1890, to March 1, 1891 .................. 1,000 00
Job
Printing ................................................ 298 50
Balance
printing of Volume II
................ ...... ......... 96 29
Money
expended for books ................ .................. 5 40
Transferred
to publication fund ............................... 500 00
Total ............................... .. ..... .. ....... $ 2,815 67
Balance
on hand ......... .............. ................. .... 788 79
$
3,604 46
From
the balance on hand will be paid the printing of Vol-
ume
III, now in press, about $400, a copy of which will be
placed
on the desk of each member of the Senate and House,
and
the necessary expenses, including the Secretary's salary,
until
May 15th.
VALUE
OF PUBLICATIONS AND STOCK ON HAND, FEBRUARY 19, 1891.
Plates
of Volume I cost ........................................ $182 10
Matrices
of Volume II cost ..................................... 73 22
Single
copies of Quarterlies, value .............................. 72 00
Eight
bound copies Volume II ................... ........... 40
00
Total
value publications, etc., on hand ...................... 367 32
Report of Trustees. 271
The supply of volumes one and two,
bound and unbound,
and of single numbers of the Quarterly,
is constantly being de-
pleted by calls for them from all parts
of the country. As soon
as the funds of the Society permit,
these volumes will be re-
printed from the plates.
The permanent fund is now $700, invested
and drawing
annual interest.
The Society will now issue Volume III of
its publications.
This will embody the Centennial exercises,
addresses, etc., at
Gallipolis, October 16-19 last, and also
several valuable papers
relating to the important historical
questions.
Arrangements have been made to exchange
the publications
of this Society with all other societies
of a similar nature, not
only in Ohio and the United States, but
also in many foreign
countries. The publications of all scientific, historical and
kindred societies are exceedingly
valuable. They do not con-
tain, as a rule, reading that interests
every citizen, but they do
contain monographs, carefully prepared,
of great value to stu-
dents of history, government, science,
political economy, and to
those whose vocations necessitate the
use of such material.
The publications of such societies are
not, as a rule, on sale,
hence no commercial value can be placed
on them. They are,
like the issues of this Society, given
to those who support the
organization, and to those who give in
return the results of their
labors.
Under the appropriations given the Society, we are required
to place in the Library not only our
present collection, but also
the accumulations received during the
year, whether by gift, pur-
chase or exchange. It also places an
injunction on the Society
to be diligent in acquiring documents,
publications, etc., of a
governmental, scientific, historical and
economic nature, and by
a system of exchange to secure as many
as it can. This it has
labored faithfully to do. The issues of
its first two volumes are
entirely exhausted, and as calls for
them are constantly being
made, the Society will, as soon as its
funds permit, republish
them. It will also, as has already been
said, issue its third vol-
ume soon, and through it receive a large
number of exchanges.
272 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
These, with all other accumulations, will be placed in the State
Library.
The Society desires to commend the efforts to secure and
build up pamphlet and manuscript departments in the State
Library. The move is most excellent. So careful a student of
history as ex-President Hayes, when Governor of Ohio, saw the
value of such departments, and did what he could to establish
and maintain them.
Such material is of inestimable value. Pamphlet publica-
tions are the cream of economical literature. The great libraries
of this country are exceedingly careful to secure such collec-
tions. A system of exchange can and should be systematically
arranged with all other libraries, and, through this Society, with
societies issuing such publications. The Legislator, the man of
business, and the student of government should have them at
ready command. We are well aware this entails additional labor
on the Librarian, who now, with a Library of some sixty thou-
sand (60,000) volumes, has the same assistance as the Librarian
of twenty-five years ago with less than half the number of
volumes and not one-fourth the applicants to examine them. If
this Society can be of any aid in this matter it will be glad to do
so. In view of the labor which these collections with its own
will impose, and the necessary work of caring for the sections
of pamphlets and manuscripts, the Society will assist, by its
Secretary, in such manner as the Library Commissioners and its
Trustees may decide. It is the earnest desire of the member-
ship, which comprises the intelligent citizens of the State, to co-
operate with the Library Commissioners to secure in our Capitol
a State Library of reference works such as Ohio should have
and such as the State can have if the proper efforts be encour-
aged.
In regard to future publications, the Society desires to call
your attention to unpublished manuscripts and documents in the
archives of the State House. Many are valuable and are giving
way to the "tooth of time," which will ere long destroy them.
We wish to collect them and publish such as are valuable. We
can do so should the small aid hitherto given be continued.
As far back as the year 1814, the Historical Society of New
Report of Trustees. 273
York sent to the Legislature of that
State, through their dis-
tinguished Vice President, Dewitt
Clinton, Esq., a memorial
drawn by his own hand, in behalf of the
perishing records of
that Commonwealth. This document
presented in strong terms
the urgency and importance of the
measure suggested. It ap-
pealed to the patriotism of the people,
whose State pride should
prompt them at once to rescue their
history from threatened
oblivion. The eloquent author called
upon the State to assist
the Society he represented, "in
drawing from their dark abodes
documents that would illume the obscure,
explain the doubtful,
and embalm the memories of the good and
great." This effort
was not in vain-funds sufficient to
carry out the purpose sug-
gested, were at once appropriated;
competent persons were em-
ployed to translate the earlier records
of the Colony while under
the Dutch, and agents were sent abroad
to collect in England,
Holland and France, original documents
and copies of every-
thing relating to the history of the
Empire State of America.
At a subsequent period, and after the
materials had been
collected, a proper person was appointed
"to compile the Docu-
mentary History of New York," which
work is now to be found
in an imposing array of folio volumes
upon the shelves of our
State Library, secured through this
Society.
Other American Commonwealths, in the
meantime, have
not been idle. The Historical Society of
Massachusetts has
rescued from loss most of the records of
that ancient colony and
influential State. They have been
collected, printed and bound
in series, each one of which consists of
numerous volumes.
The Historical Society and other
agencies of that State were
stimulated to this action by
occurrences, such as the burning of
the old State House at Boston; the
destruction of part of old
Cambridge College, and of certain
private residences which in-
volved the loss of many valuable
documents. Convinced by
such disasters that no depository at
that time was free from dan-
ger, it was wisely determined to
multiply copies of their records
through the printing press.
In the year 1851, the Executive of
Pennsylvania, by special
message to the Legislature of that
State, set forth the great im-
portance of preserving the perishing
records of the Common-
Vol. 111-18
274 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
wealth. A committee was at once
appointed to consider the sub-
ject, and now the "Documentary
History of Pennsylvania" ap-
pears in more than a dozen large
volumes, beginning at the year
1664 and coming down to the latest
dates.
Further south Maryland has accomplished
much, and the
States of Georgia and Louisiana have not
been idle. The records
of the latter have been preserved, in
part, from the time when
the royal standard of Spain was first
set up in the Floridas, until
the period of the American Revolution.
Even some of the newer States, Wisconsin
and Michigan in
particular, have already taken steps to
preserve their early
records. In Wisconsin, Minnesota, and
Kansas, the State His-
torical Societies are entrusted with
this work. The annual vol-
umes of these Societies, and their
various publications, attest the
fidelity with which it is done.
Dr. Palmer, of the Virginia Historical
Society, speaking of
manuscripts, says:
" The real value of manuscripts is
not always at once appre-
ciated. A paper cannot be without
interest, for instance, should
it but preserve the peculiarities of
style, the quaint phraseology
and antique orthography in use when it
was written. In the
earliest papers before us these are
prominent characteristics.
They appear as much in the private
correspondence as in official
documents, in which latter, however, as
may be expected, a
more stately, and often-times pompous,
diction prevails.
" It should be remembered that the best educated of our
fore-fathers were compelled to employ
the only vocabulary
known to them. They had inherited the style transmitted from
a more primitive age in letters, than
that even in which they
lived, and which did not begin its
approach to the smoother dic-
tion of the present day until about the
beginning of the second
century after the founding of the
colonies.
"Another merit of these documents
consists in their perpet-
uating certain phrases and expressions,
the only vehicles of a
class of ideas purely technical in their
signification. In many of
the oldest may be recognized also much
of the ruggedness of the
ancient Saxon tongue, as it appeared
before the Norman dialect
had added its softer elements, whereby
what may be termed the
Report of Trustees. 275
stone-age of our language began to pass
away. The papers of
this description are common until about
the time of Spotswood
when their style begins sensibly to
change. A little latter a
taste for the ornate becomes more
apparent; quaintness and sim-
plicity gives way to decoration, and as
we pass on to times
nearer our own day, the measured
sentences and rounded periods
of the more modern diction come into
frequent use.
"Still another value attaches to
these fading manuscripts
which may not, at first view, be
recognized. In the letters and
other communications interchanged by
people of every class of
society, one is impressed with the
courteous regard for the
amenities of social life exhibited in
them, although often couched
in awkward and commonplace
language."
The foregoing presents cogent reasons
why such materials
should be preserved, and should have
attention from those who
possess the power to do for Ohio what
has been done in New
York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts,
Virginia, Wisconsin and in
other American states, not to speak of
what has been done by
the National Government through such men
as Peter Force, the
compiler of the "Annals of
Congress," and by the publication
of such documents as the "American
State Papers."
Ohio has many valuable official letters,
orders, correspond-
ence, etc., etc., some of official
nature, much unofficial, yet all
of such a nature not at the time it was
issued best to print; yet
of such a nature that it should now be
preserved, and which
would go far toward correcting many
matters of history.
A little encouragement granted to the
Society will secure
the publication of all such a competent
committee would deem
of value. We trust some attention will
be given this matter,
and other volumes, like the " St.
Clair Papers," be issued, e'er
the material for them is irretrievably
lost.
We also wish to call attention to the
coming World's Fair.
Ohio should not be behind. Already the
Society possesses many
valuable articles, charts, maps, etc.,
of a historical nature that
should be there, and it will cheerfully
do all it can for this work.
The appropriation for our general work
could include this,
and thus no little expense be spared to
the State. The appro-
priation for publication purposes can
also be included. This,
276 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
with its annual receipts from members'
dues, interest, sale of
publications, etc., will keep it on a
plane with the best societies.
in the country and enable it to do its
full share of usefulness.
The General Assembly has provided for
the purchase and
preservation of that remarkable
earth-work--Fort Ancient-in
the Little Miami valley. It is the
largest and most extensive
prehistoric remains now in Ohio. The
move was most com-
mendable, and will result in its
preservation, whatever may be
the use of the grounds enclosed by the
embankments. The
Society was invited by the Legislative
Committee to visit the
place with them, and many members did
so. The Society will
assume the care of the "Fort,"
and place it under such use as
the General Assembly may direct. We
would also say that by
resolution of the members, such
legislation is requested as will
represent the state on the Board of
Trustees of the Society.
FRANCIS C. SESSIONS, President.
S. S. RICKLEY, Treasurer.
A. A. GRAHAM, Secretary.
By order of the Board of Trustees.
THE MORAVIAN MASSACRE.
[A paper read at the Sixth Annual
Meeting of the Society at Columbus,
by William M. Farrar.]
It is now more than a century since what
is known to history
as "The Moravian Massacre,"
occurred at Gnadenhutten, on
the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum
river; so long ago
that all those concerned in that affair
have long since passed to
their graves and been forgotten. This
sad affair was unique in
character, from any thing of the kind
recorded in ancient
or modern history, and has been more
persistently misrepre-
sented than any other event relating to
the early history of the
country, many of those
misrepresentations have passed into
history and been accepted as true.
It is the duty of this society to
vindicate the truth of history
and place upon record any facts that
time may have developed
The Moravian Massacre. 277
tending to explain, or throw light upon,
what has always been a
subject of much controversy.
This expedition which originated in the
western townships
of Washington, County, Pennsylvania,
during the fall and
winter of 1781, has been represented as
a military one, author-
ized by the lawfully constituted
military authority of that county,
commanded by a regularly commissioned
militia officer, and called
out in the regular way. And yet no such
order has ever been
found, nor is there any muster roll* in
existence giving the list
of names of the officers and privates
composing the expedition,
showing to what companies or battalion
of the enrolled militia
of the country they belonged, nor has
any claim for services
rendered, damages sustained, provisions
furnished, arms pro-
vided, or property lost, ever been
presented either against the
State or general government, by any
person claiming to have
been a member of the expedition. Neither
is there any official
report of the expedition extant, made by
either Col. Williamson
the officer in command, by James Marshel
the lieutenant of the
county who was responsible for it, if
any such expedition was
ordered out, or by Brigadier General
Irvine the commandant at
Fort Pitt in whose department it
occurred.
It is true that so accurate and careful
a historian as Mr.
Butterfield has pronounced otherwise,
but a review of the author-
ity upon which he relies does not seem
to justify his conclusions,
based as they are upon a single
statement made by Gen. Irvine
in a letter written from Fort Pitt, May
3, 1782, to President
Moore of the executive council of
Pennsylvania.+
Brigadier Gen. Wm. Irvine was appointed
to the command
of the Western Military Department,
October 11th, 1781. At
that day the Ohio river marked the
dividing line between
barbarism and civilization, east of it,
the hardy pioneers, after
making their way across the Alleghany
mountains with Fort
Pitt as their objective point, had
extended their settlements
north and south along the rich valleys
of the rivers forming the
Ohio, and pushed them westward until the
smoke of their cabins
* See Crumrine's History, Washington
County, Pennsylvania, page 110.
+ See W. & I. cor. 239 and 245.
278 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
could be seen, and the sounds of their
rifles and axes heard by
the red men who dwelt among the deep
forests beyond. To
guard this frontier line and protect the
settlements against
Indian raids, was the work assigned to
the commanding officer
of the Western Department, and for that
purpose small garrisons
of regular troops were stationed at the
several forts built along
this frontier line, and companies of
militia drawn from the
counties of Westmoreland and Washington
kept constantly rang-
ing along the border, to give timely
notice of the approach of
hostile bands of savages.
To assist the commandant at Fort Pitt in
this work, an
officer with the rank of Lieutenant
Colonel, and known as the
County Lieutenant, was appointed by the
Supreme Executive
Council of the State of Pennsylvania,
for each of the several
counties embraced in the Department,
whose duty it was to attend
to the enrollment and equipment of the
militia of the county,
and provide for their subsistence when
called into actual service;
also to make return of the number and
names of those subject
to military duty, together with the
names and rank of the officers
commanding the different companies
composing the several
Battalions to the commanding officer at
Fort Pitt, upon whose
requisitions they were called into
active service as necessity
required, whether by battalions,
companies, or in smaller details,
the officer in each and every case being
required to wait upon
the commandent at Fort Pitt for
instructions as to the kind
of service required and his own duty in
the premises.*
The orders of Congress and the Executive
Council, which
were the law in the case, together with
the explicit instructions
See History Washington County,
Pennsylvania, by Crumrine, page 136.
See Res. of Congress assigning General
Irvine to command of Fort
Pitt and his instructions dated
September 24, 1781.
See order Supreme Executive Council,
Pennsylvania, October 11, 1781.
See Letters Marshel to Irvine, November
20, 26 and 28, 1781.
See Requisition of Irvine to Marshel,
January 10, 1782.
See Letter of Irvine to Cook, January,
1782.
See instructions to Lieutenant Hay,
November 28, 1781, and January,
1782.
See Instructions to Major Scott, April,
1782.
See Letter, Marshel to Irvine,
Washington County, April 2, 1782.
The Moravian Massacre. 279
given to the general and subordinate
officers employed in this
frontier service, and the uniform manner
of calling out the
militia, are so plain and so consistent
with good military sense,
that it seems strange that any person
could be misled as to the
true character of the Moravian
Expedition, and yet Mr. Butter-
field has taken a single expression used
by General Irvine in his
letter of May 3, 1782, to President
Moore, of the Executive
Council, as "unequivocal"
evidence that the militia who went
to the Muskingum were "ordered
out" by Colonel James Mar-
shel, the Lieutenant of Washington
County, Pennsylvania.
The letter reads as follows:
FORT PITT, May 3, 1782.
Sir: Immediately on receipt of your excellency's letter of
the 13th of April, I wrote to Colonel
James Marshel, who or-
dered out the militia to go to Muskingum
(to that branch known
as the Tuscarawas) for his and Colonel
Williamson's report of
the matter, Colonel Williamson commanded
the party. Inclosed
you have their letters to me on the
subject, by way of report. I
have inquiries making in other quarters;
when any well authen-
ticated accounts come to my knowledge,
they shall be trans-
mitted. WM. IRVINE, B.
Gen'l.
It is somewhat difficult to reconcile
the statements con-
tained in the foregoing letter with the
facts and circumstances
of the case, for, if true, Marshel, as
County Lieutenant, had
been guilty of a palpable violation of law,
in calling out the
militia of the county without authority,
and sending them upon
an unauthorized expedition beyond the
limits of the state, with-
out the proper instructions, where they
had committed excesses
unheard of in civilized warfare,
excesses that were being very
generally condemned as a lasting
reproach to the good name of
the state, and yet he was never
court-martialed, investigated, or
even called upon by the Executive
Council of the state from
whom he held his appointment for an
explanation of his conduct.
That General Irvine wrote to Marshel and
Williamson for
their reports of the matter, and
transmitted the letters received
from them in reply to the President of
the Council, "by way of
report," as stated, is no doubt correct. But to assume that
these
were the official reports of the
transaction is not warranted.
|
280 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
The President of the Council, in acknowledging their receipt, speaks of them as not reports, but as "the representations made by Colonel Williamson and Colonel Marshel." It is greatly to be regretted that these letters cannot be found, as they would no doubt settle the question whether Mar- shel had anything to do with calling out the militia that went to the Muskingum, and would show to what extent, if any, he was responsible for the movement. James Marshel survived the massacre forty-seven years, and for almost twenty years thereafter was continuously in public office; Lieutenant of Washington county in 1781-2-3; Register in 1781; Recorder in 1791; Coroner from 1794 to 1799; and |
|
|
|
Sheriff from 1786 to 1787, when he was succeeded by Col. Williamson, whose election was opposed because of his connec- tion with the massacre, while no such objection was ever made against Marshel, who was certainly more to blame for ordering out the expedition, if he did so. But no such charge was made during his lifetime, nor until more than fifty years after his death, when the letter of May 3, 1782, was found among the Pennsylvania Archives and given to the public by Mr. Butter- field. (W and I cor. p. 239). About 1799, Col. Marshel removed to Wellsburgh, Virginia, where he died in 1829. For many years he was the neighbor and friend of Doddridge, the historian, and during the time his history was being written and published (in 1824) they were intimate personal friends, and it is at least reasonable to suppose that if Marshel had ordered out the militia that went to the Muskingum it would have been known to the historian and so stated. Had it been a military expedition, acting in pursuance of any competent authority, would Doddridge have stated (after detailing the events that led to it, as he does on page 248) "ac- cordingly between eighty and ninety men were hastily collected together for the fatal enterprise?" That "each man furnished |
The Moravian Massacre. 281
himself with his own arms, ammunition
and provisions." * * *
That "many of them had
horses;" that "the murder of the
Moravians was intended;" that
"no resistance from them was
anticipated" (page 253); that
"in the latter end of the year
1781, the militia of the frontier came
to a determination to break
up the Moravian villages on the
Muskingum" (page 259); and
that "it (the massacre) was one of
those convulsions of the
moral state of society, in which the
voice of the justice and
humanity of a majority, is silenced by
the clamor and violence
of a lawless minority." (Page 261.)
His son, John Marshel, who died in 186-,
was for many years
a well known resident of Washington,
Pennsylvania, cashier of
the old Franklin Bank, a man of much
intelligence and integrity
of character, with whom the writer often
conversed about the
Moravian Massacre, and he repeatedly
said that his father always
spoke of it as the outgrowth of a
mistaken belief that prevailed
at the time; as a matter of course his
father's connection with it
was not spoken of, because he was not
implicated.
It may, and does seem strange, that an
officer like Gen.
Irvine should write such a letter unless
there was some founda-
tion for it, and yet to take the
statement as correct, shows a dis-
regard of the instructions contained in
his letter of January 10,
1782, so gross and inexcusable, that it
would not have been
passed over with so much indifference.
By that letter the Lieu-
tenants were notified of his intended
absence, that Colonel Gib-
son would be left in command, that he
would be the best judge
of the necessity for calling out the
militia if one should arise,
and that they should "on his
requisition," order out such mem-
bers of the militia as he will call
for.
These orders Colonel Gibson exercised
during his absence,
by making a requisition upon the
Lieutenant of Westmoreland
county for militia to protect the frontier,
and to presume upon
no better authority than the statement
contained in the letter of
May 3, 1782, that a much larger and more
important expedition
to extend beyond the borders of the
State, was ordered out by
the Lieutenant of Washington county,
upon his own motion and
without even consulting Colonel Gibson,
would be very un-
reasonable, and yet, Colonel Gibson's
letter of May 9, 1782,
282 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
written to the Rev. Nathanial Seidel at
Bethlehem, Pennsyl-
vania, shows that he had no knowledge of
such an expedition,
and that if he had, " he should
have prevented it by informing
the poor sufferers of it."
Gen. Irvine left Fort Pitt on the 16th
day of January, 1782,
on a visit to his family at Carlile, and
did not return until the
25th day of March following, and it was
during his absence on
the 8th day of March that the massacre occurred.
Nineteen
days after his return, on the 12th day
of April, he wrote his wife
a letter, showing that he then knew all
that could be learned of
the massacre, as he details all the
terrible features of the affair,
including the fact that " Many
children were killed in their
wretched mothers' arms." And
then adds, " Whether this was
right or wrong, I do not pretend to
determine." But the key to
such inexcusable indifference on the
part of General Irvine is
found further along in the same letter,
as follows: " Whatever
your private opinion of these matters
may be, I conjure you by all
the ties of affection, and as you
value my reputation, that you will
keep your mind to yourself, and that
you will not express any
sentiment for or against these deeds;
as it may be alleged the
sentiments you express may come from
me or be mine. No man
knows whether I approve of killing
the Moravians."
It is evident from this correspondence
that General Irvine
was much alarmed about his own
reputation; that he withheld
from the council the information written
to his wife on the 12th
of April; that in his reply to Pres.
Moore, of May 2d, he sought
to give the impression that he was in
possession of no news
upon the subject, and on the 9th of May,
after due consultation,
he joined with Pentecost in advising
against an investigation.
The first news the people residing to
the east of the Alle-
gheny mountains received of the
massacre, was from a notice
published in the Pennsylvania Packet, of
April 9th, 1782, one
month after it had occurred, and which
came through Moravian
sources by way of Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania, and read as follows:
" A very important advantage has
lately been gained over
our savage enemies on the frontiers of
this State, by a party of
back-country militia; we hope to give
particulars in our next."
But before the next issue of the Packet
came to hand, fuller
The Moravian Massacre. 283
information received through the same
sources, showed a very
different state of affairs; the killing
was confirmed, but instead
of the victims being "savage
enemies," they were found to have
been Christian Indians, reclaimed from
savage life by the Mora-
vian missionaries, who ten years before
had planted their mis-
sions in the deep wilderness, and
succeeded in christianizing
several hundred of the rude and warring
savage tribes, who had
become converts, abandoned savage life,
and made considerable
progress in civilization. It was these
converts who had been
killed, their villages destroyed, and
the missions broken up, and
what was worse, even the women and
children, the old and in-
firm, had been cruelly slaughtered in a
manner that was shocking
to humanity, and a lasting disgrace to
civilization. And as the
details of the massacre became more
fully known east of the
mountains, a strong public sentiment
developed in condemnation
of an outrage so manifestly in violation
of the rules and usages
of civilized warfare. Whereupon, Dorsey
Pentecost, a member
of the executive council from Washington
county, left his post
of duty and hastened home, to stay, if
possible, the tide of popu-
lar indignation that seemed to be
setting in so strong against his
constituents. He reached Pittsburg on
the 2d of May, and on
the 8th wrote his chief as follows:
"PITTSBURGH, May 8th, 1782.
Dear Sir :--I arrived at home last Thursday without any
particular accident. Yesterday I came to
this place; have had a
long conference with General Irvine and
Colonel Gibson on the
subject of public matters, particularly
respecting the late excur-
sion to Kushocton. * * That affair * is
a subject of great
speculation here-some condemning, others
applauding the
measure; but the accounts are so various
that it is not only
difficult, but almost, indeed, entirely
impossible to ascertain the
real truth. No person can give
intelligence but those that were
along; and notwithstanding there seems
to have been some
difference amongst themselves about that
business, yet they will
say nothing; but this far I believe may
be depended on, that
they killed rather deliberately the
innocent with the guilty, and
it is likely the majority was the
former. I have heard it insin-
uated that about thirty or forty only of
the party gave their con-
sent or assisted in the catastrophe. It is said here,
and I believe
284 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
with truth, that sundry articles were
found amongst the Indians
that were taken from the inhabitants of
Washington county.
DORSEY PENTECOST.
Before this letter had been forwarded,
and on the next day,
he wrote again as follows:
" PITTSBURGH, May 9, 1782.
"Dear Sir: --Since writing the letter that accompanies
this, I have had another and more
particular conversation with
General Irvine on the subject of the
late excursion to Kushoc-
ton, and upon the whole, I find that it
will be impossible to get
an impartial and fair account of that
affair; for although sundry
persons that were in the company may
disapprove of the whole
or every part of the conduct (of those
engaged in the killing),
yet from their connection they will not
be willing, nor can they
be forced to give testimony, as it
affects themselves. And the
people here are greatly divided in
sentiment about it; and on in-
vestigation may produce serious effects,
and at least leave us as
ignorant as when we began, and instead
of rendering a service
may produce a confusion and ill-will
amongst the people. Yet
I think it necessary that the council
should take some cognizance
or notice of the matter, and in such a
time as may demonstrate
their disapprobation of such parts of
their conduct as are cen-
surable; otherwise it may be alleged
that the government,
tacitly at least, have encouraged the
killing of women and chil-
dren; and in a proclamation of this
kind, it might be well not
only to recommend but to forbid, that in
future excursions that
women and children and infirm persons
should not be killed-
so contrary to the law of arms as well
as christianity. I hope a
mode of proceeding something like this
would produce some
good effects, and perhaps soften the
minds of the people, for it
is really no wonder that those who have
lost all that is near and
dear to them go out with determined
revenge and extirpation of
all Indians. DORSEY
PENTECOST."
By way of contrast to these apologetic
letters of Mr. Pente-
cost, we have that of Col. Edward Cook,
Lieutenant of West-
moreland county, who was called upon
during General Irvine's
absence from his post of duty for a
detail of men for frontier
service, by Colonel Gibson, and
furnished the same, the officer
in command waiting upon Colonel Gibson
for instructions. It
bears date September 2, 1782, and
addressed to President Moore
of the Executive Council, as follows:
|
The Moravian Massacre. 285
"I am informed that you have it Reported that the Massacre of the Moravian Indians obtains the approbation of Every man on this side of the Mountains, which I assure your Excellency is false; that the better part of the community are of Opinion the Perpetrators of that wicked Deed ought to be brought to Condein Punishment; that without something is Done by Government in the Matter, it will disgrace the Annuls of the United States, and be an Everlasting Plea and cover for British cruelty."* These letters of Pentecost serve to show the difference in public sentiment that then prevailed east and west of the Alle- gheny Mountains in regard to the massacre. Pentecost was a politician, and therefore anxious to avoid a public investigation of the matter, and Irvine, in great alarm for his own reputation, readily joined him in advising against one. |
|
|
|
Colonel David Williamson, who commanded the expedition, has probably received a great deal more than his share of public censure, because of the prominent part he acted in the affair. Whether he held a commission at the time as a militia officer is uncertian; he certainly did soon after, and if so, that was about all the military character the expedition had. the fact that Williamson was chosen commander after they had assembled at Mingo, goes to show that he commanded by virtue of that authority, whatever it was, rather than because of any he exer- cised as a militia officer. The expedition was neither infantry nor cavalry, mounted nor dismounted, but a mixed crowd made up from that reckless and irresponsible element usually found along the borders of civ- ilization, boys from eighteen to twenty years of age, who joined the expedition from love of adventure, and partly of such well-known characters as Captain Sam Brady, of West Liberty, Virginia,
* See Crumrine's History Washington County, Pennsylvania, page 110. |
|
286 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
and at least one of the Wetzels from near Wheeling, who, from their experience and well-known bravery as frontiersmen, are said to have exercised very great influence in deciding the fate of the Indians. It has always been a matter of some surprise that the brothers, Andrew Poe and Adam Poe, were not members of the expedition. They were well known as stout, hardy, fearless backwoodsmen, experienced leaders in Indian warfare, and on hand wherever courage and endurance were required. But for some reason, now unknown, they were not along, and, so far as known, do not appear to have been advised of the movement. Their absence is all the more unaccountable as they had, in the September previous, greatly distinguished themselves by a vigorous pursuit of a Bigfoot party, which was overtaken at the Ohio River and dispatched, after a struggle that has made the name of Poe famous in pioneer history. |
|
|
|
The greater portion of the crowd were mounted, the others on foot; each man provided his own horse, arms and provisions, and it was noisy, turbulent and disorderly from the start,1 and the authority exercised by Williamson over it, about equivalent to that usually conceded to the leader of an ordinary mob. Who suggested that the question, whether the Indians should be killed or taken prisoners to Fort Pitt be submitted to a vote, is not known, but the fact that he did so only serves to show the extent of Williamson's authority. It has never been claimed, however, that he cast his own vote or participated in the slaughter. He is represented by those who knew him per-
Note 1.- Statement of a member of the expedition. |
The Moravian Massacre. 287
sonally as a man of naturally pleasant
and agreeable disposition,
six feet in height, rather fleshy in his
make-up, of florid com-
plexion, and of "too easy a
compliance with public opinion," as
Doddridge says.
In the Sandusky expedition that followed
closely upon the
Moravian massacre, Williamson was in
command, and it was
largely to his unremitting activity,
courage and judgment, that
any considerable number of the men were
kept together after
the defeat and brought back in even
tolerable order. He after-
ward filled a number of important and
responsible offices in
Washington County, Pennsylvania, and in
1787 was elected
sheriff of the county after a warm
canvass, during which his
connection with the Moravian expedition
Was strongly urged
against him. He was born in Carlile,
Pennsylvania, in 1752,
was thirty years of age in 1782, and
died at Washington, Penn-
sylvania, in 1814, aged sixty-two years,
and is buried in the old
graveyard on North Main street, but no
stone or other monu-
ment marks his last resting place. He
married Polly Urie, the
daughter of Thomas Urie, a well-known
family of Washington
County, Pennsylvania, and left a family
of four sons and four
daughters. Two of his daughters married
into the well-known
McNulty family, of West Middletown,
Pennsylvania, and Caleb
J. McNulty, of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, who
died on his way to
Mexico during the war with that country,
was his grandson.
He was the one member of the expedition
who, by reason of the
position he filled, could not hide from
public censure, and hence
his undue share of it. During a large
part of his lifetime he re-
sided on Buffalo creek, near to the
Virginia line, where he was
personally acquainted with the
historian, Doddridge, whose
statements concerning his character and
disposition may be
safely taken as correct.
John Carpenter has always been quoted as
an authority
whose statements go to extenuate the
massacre. The story is
that about the time of the Wallace
tragedy, or very soon after-
ward, he was captured on the waters of
Buffalo creek by six In-
dians, two of whom spoke good Dutch, and
called themselves
Moravians; that he was carried a
prisoner to the middle Mora-
288 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
vian town, where, among other things, he
saw the bloody dress
of Mrs. Wallace.
This was accepted as proof positive that
the Moravians were
in the habit of raiding the settlements,
or of harboring and
trading with those who did, and
therefore should be exter-
minated.
The value of this evidence, however,
depends upon the date
of Carpenter's capture. If it occurred
prior to the Wallace
tragedy, the conclusion is inevitable
that he did not see the
bloody clothing of Mrs. Wallace at the
Moravian town, as stated.
John Carpenter was among the first, if
not the very first,
white man to settle on the west side of
the Ohio river. He lived
for some years on Buffalo creek, ten or
twelve miles east of the
river, and in his hunting excursions
often crossed to the west
side, where game was more plentiful, and
believing, as many
settlers did, that the Indian titles
would, ere long, be extin-
guished and the rich lands on that side
of the river come into
possession of the government, and be
opened to settlement, he
determined to secure a claim by making
an improvement in ad-
vance, and therefore in the summer and
fall of 1781, he pro-
ceeded to clear a piece of ground and
build a cabin near the
mouth of Rush Run, the same that was
afterward strengthened
and became Carpenter's Fort. It was this
work he was engaged
upon in the month of September, 1781,
when the second Indian
attack upon Fort Henry (at Wheeling)
took place, and barely
received warning of their approach in
time to escape to the east
side of the river and remove his family
to a place of safety.
After the raid was over and all again
quiet, Carpenter re-
turned and continued his work, which he
finished late in the
fall, when he removed the game he had
killed across the river,
where it was loaded upon horses and
carried to his home on
Buffalo.
Having done this, he took a pair of
horses and started to
Fort Pitt in order to secure a supply of
salt, and while on his
way was captured, taken to the Moravian
town, and started from
there in charge of two of his captors,
from whom he escaped
and made his way back to Fort Pitt as
has been related, but all
this took place two months or more prior
to the 17th day of
The Moravian Massacre. 289
February, 1782, when the Wallace cabin
was destroyed and his
wife and children carried into
captivity.
In 1801, Edward Carpenter, the oldest
son of this John
Carpenter, took a government contract to
open a road from
Steubenville to the Wills creek crossing
on the Zane Trace, and
while so engaged entered a quarter of
land in section 26 of
township 11 of the 6th range, where he
continued to reside until
his death, January 12, 1828. And upon
the same quarter section
of land his son, Edward, lived until
March 22d, 1882, when he
died at the age of 80 years, and it is
from him that the facts
stated concerning the capture of his
grandfather were obtained.
He was a gentleman of much intelligence,
served for many
years as a justice of the peace, took
much pride in the history
of his ancestry, and had learned many of
the incidents relating
to his grandfather from the pioneer
himself, and many more
from his own father, both of whom were
very reliable men,
whose statements are much more likely to
be correct than the
indefinite rumors published in the
Pennsylvania Packet at that
time, based as they necessarily were
upon the most meagre
information concerning a transaction
that occurred several hun-
dred miles distant, the true character
of which it was the interest
and purpose of those implicated to
conceal.
Another misrepresentation that has
passed into history
and been often repeated, even as late as
1882 in Crumrine's
history of Washington county,
Pennsylvania,1 is, that the mas-
sacre was an after-thought, the result
of frenzied feelings, pro-
voked by finding the dead body of Mrs.
Wallace impaled on the
wayside, directly leading from Mingo
bottom to the villages on
the Muskingum, and also by finding in
possession of the
Indians, property stolen from the
plundered cabins of the set-
tlers, trinkets and clothing of murdered
relatives, at the sight of
which they became exasperated and forgot
themselves. In all
such statements, which have times
without number been urged
in excuse of the massacre, there is no
truth whatever.
The site of the Wallace cabin was a
short distance north of
NoTE 1. See Crumrine's History,
Washington county, Pennsylvania,
page 104.
Vol. 111-19
290 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
what was long known in the early
settlement of the country as
Briceland's cross-roads, and the Indians
that committed the out-
rage reached it by crossing the Ohio
river at the mouth of
Yellow creek and thence following the
well known trail along
the dividing ridge between the waters of
King's creek on
the south, and those of Travis creek on
the north, until the
advanced settlements were reached, when
having killed the
stock and plundered the cabin they set
it on fire and retreated by
the same route, carrying with them as
prisoners, Mrs. Wallace
and her three children, one being an
infant. This soon became
too much of an incumbrance for the
mother to carry and keep up
with the party as they feared pursuit
and were anxious to reach
the river and cross to the west side,
but when they attempted to
take it from her, or dispatch it in her
arms, she resisted so vigor-
ously that the Indian having her in
charge became enraged and
struck his tomahawk into her own skull.
The bodies of mother
and child were then carefully hidden,
that they might not aid the
pursuit, and remained concealed until
found years afterward.
The Indian trail followed by this party,
and within a few
rods of which the remains of Mrs.
Wallace* were afterward
found, was as much as twenty-five or
thirty miles further north
than the one followed by the Moravian
expedition through
Mingo, hence the absurdity of finding
the body of either mother
or child impaled by the wayside.
At the date of the massacre, Robert
Wallace did not know
that his wife was dead, but supposed her
to be a prisoner among
the Indians, nor did he learn otherwise
until nearly three years
afterward, when an Indian trader who had
been among the
Wyandots at Sandusky, learned that his
younger son (Robert)
was still living, but that the elder one
was dead, and that the
mother and youngest child had been
killed before reaching the
Ohio River, as has been stated. In a
letter written by the Lieu-
tenant of Washington county,
Pennsylvania, addressed to Gen-
* NoTE--Her maiden name was Jane McKay,
and Mr. Wallace always
insisted that she could easily have kept
up with the party and carried her
babe, had it not been that an old pair
of shoes she happened to have on
that day impeded her, as she was a strong, hearty woman.
(Statement of
her surviving son, Robert.)
|
The Moravian Massacre. 291
eral Irvine, and dated October 21st, 1782, it appears that at that time, more than eight months after the capture, Wallace believed his wife to be living, and was making efforts, through General Washington, to find out where she was and effect her recovery. He finally secured possession of the younger boy, and ascer- tained about the locality where the mother and child had been killed, when he made search and found the remains, which he gathered up carefully, carried back to his home and buried in the graveyard at Cross Creek, Pennsylvania. In 1792 he married Mary Walker, by whom he had five children, and died in 1808 at the age of seventy-three years. He is buried in the old cross-roads burying ground at Florence, Pennsylvania. |
|
|
|
The son Robert, redeemed from the Wyandotts, lived to be seventy-seven years of age, and died in 1855. He had a large scar on his right ear, given him while a prisoner, made by a squaw who became offended and swore she would kill him, but was prevented by another Indian from doing so. Whoever follows the affair carefully from beginning to end, will be convinced that the massacre was no accident or after-thought, but the result of a fixed and predetermined pur- pose, of which there is conclusive evidence, traditional, to be sure, but of the most reliable character. The Lyles removed from Northampton county, Pennsyl- vania, to the headwaters of Cross Creek, in 1784, two years after the Moravian massacre took place. East of the moun- tains the affair was almost universally condemned as being an inhuman outrage, and Robert Lyle so continued to speak of it after his removal west, but was soon given to understand that he must not so express himself, as public opinion would not permit it. In 1792, Robert Lyle and Joseph Vance, the proprietor of Vance's Fort, who had become brother church members and |
|
292 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. VOL. 3
fast friends, were riding together in advance of the funeral pro- cession of David Hays, when Lyle asked his friend if the de- ceased had not been a member of the Moravian expedition, to |
|
|
|
which Vance replied, "No, he was not," and after a few min- utes' silence said, "Did you ever know how that affair hap- pened?" and then went on to say that it originated in Vance's Fort in the fall of 1781, at a time when some twenty-five or thirty families were forting from the Indians. The opinion had long prevailed among the frontier settlers that the half- way houses, as they characterized the villages on the Mus- kingum, were simply resting places for the Sandusky war- riors on their plundering raids into the settlements, and that the settlers would get no permanent relief until those villages were broken up and destroyed. The military authorities at Fort Pitt knew better, knew that the Moravian missions were not only what they pretended to be, but that they had frequently received information from them of Indian expeditions into the settlements that enabled them to counter- act and defeat them. But they dared not communicate the same to the settlers, as it would have exposed the Missions to sure destruction by the Sandusky warriors, as eventually hap- pened. Driven from their homes and shut up within the fort, the men became very impatient and frequently discussed the situation with much earnestness. Prayer meetings were held daily, and often in the Vance cabin, which stood outside of but near to the stockade. After one of these meetings, Vance and two of his neighbors remained after the others had returned into the fort, and while talking over their troubles one of them said, "There is no use in talking, this thing will never be better until the half-way towns are destroyed." "Yes," replied another, "and I will be one of a company to go and wipe them out," to which the others assented, and that then and there the Moravian Massacre originated. The proposition was thereupon stated to |
The Moravian Massacre. 293
those in the fort, who approved it and
pledged their assistance
to carry it into execution, but what
steps were taken to com-
municate with the other frontier
settlements and secure their co-
operation is not known. The organization
was, however, com-
plete, and the intention to move
promptly on the half-way towns
about to be carried out, when the
movement was frustrated for
the time being by two companies sent out
by the commandant
of the Western Department, under Colonel
Williamson, for the
purpose of taking the Indians at the
Muskingum towns back
to Fort Pitt. The Pennsylvania Archives,
page 753, contains
what is believed to be a complete roll
of these companies, in-
cluding the names of two captains, two
lieutenants, one ser-
geant and fifty-one privates, but it
bears no date and only con-
tains the names of four persons known to
have been present at
the massacre in March following. But
Williamson found him-
self anticipated by an expedition from
Detroit that had already
removed the Missionaries and their
converts to Sandusky, and
finding but half a dozen Indians there,
who had either strayed
into the place or found their way back
after the removal, they
were taken back and delivered to the
authorities at Fort Pitt,
who soon after released them, thereby
giving great offense to
the settlers, who thought they should
have been killed. The
authorities were denounced, Williamson
severely censured, and
the frontier filled with exaggerated
rumors of Indian depreda-
tions and plots that were really without
foundation.
The expedition to the Muskingum was not
abandoned, only
in abeyance, when the Wallace tragedy
set the frontier in a blaze
of excitement, the word was passed
around, and on Monday,
the 4th of March, men in couples, squads
and singly, on horse-
back and on foot, appeared suddenly on
the east bank of the
river at Mingo, crossed over to the west
side, where, when all
had assembled, they chose officers, and
on the next morning dis-
appeared, going west along the old
Moravian trail up Cross
Creek. Doddridge says,1 "They
chose their own officers, fur-
nished their own means, and conducted
the war in their own
way." On Wednesday evening they
encamped within one mile
NoTE 1.- See Doddridge's Revised
History, p. 256.
294 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VoL. 3
of the middle Moravian village, but
carefully concealed.their ap-
proach until the next morning, when,
having discovered that
some of the Indians were at work on the
west side of the river,
they divided their force, part of which
crossed the river, when
they approached the town from different
directions. To show
the purpose with which they went there
to be murder, and mur-
der only, the party that crossed to the
west side killed and
scalped the first Indian they saw, while
he was pleading with
them not to kill him, that he was the
son of John Schebosh, a
well-known Christian convert. Others
were shot and killed be-
fore, the town was entered, proving that
it was not the sight of
what was found in the town that induced
the killing.
They deliberated all day of the 7th
while waiting for the re-
turn of the parties sent out to bring in
the Indians from Salem
and Schoenbrun, and it was during this
delay that some of the
better element among them began to
relent, to realize that they
had misjudged the Moravians, and that it
would not do to kill
them.
Among others who had joined the
expedition burning with
revenge, was a young preacher whose
affianced bride had been
carried off a prisoner by Indians, but
the prayers and songs of
the poor creatures softened his heart
and turned aside his wrath,
until he not only voted to take them
prisoners to Fort Pitt, but
remonstrated against the killing; all in
vain; the demon had
been roused, and only blood could stay
his hand. Whether
Colonel Williamson witnessed the
slaughter or retired from the
scene with those who voted against it,
we are not told, but to
those who have visited the place and are
familiar with the local-
ity, that excuse is valueless.
The river on the west side of the
village runs deep in the
earth, and it was under the bank where
the eighteen retired,
distant by measurement not more than
seventy-five yards from
the church out of which the victims were
dragged to the slaugh-
ter houses. Standing there, they could
not see, but could dis-
tinctly hear all that was going on
above. And one of those who
stood there and lived to be the last
survivor of the eighteen, has
told persons yet living, that while so
waiting, a young Indian
escaped from his murderers, and all
covered with blood, came
The Moravian Massacre. 295
running to the river, plunged in and
swam to the other side and
was already clambering up the bank, when
one of the party
raised his gun and shot him through the
body.
Of the details of the massacre little is
known. The sur-
vivor of the eighteen referred to, who
died in 1839 at the age of
ninety-six years, said that after all
was over, Robert Wallace
came to where several of the company,
including himself, were
standing, and bursting into a flood of
tears, said: "You know
I couldn't help it!" His clothing
was soiled and bloody, and he
was laboring under great excitement and
exhaustion.
Gathering together the plunder found at
the village, and
fastening it upon the backs of their
horses, they set fire to the
houses and set out upon their return.
They must have traveled
nearly all night, for they reached Mingo
late in the afternoon of
Saturday, where they halted only long
enough to readjust the
packages of plunder to their horses,
when they recrossed the
river and disappeared from the public
notice almost as com-
pletely as if they had perished in
crossing the stream.
Whether they had agreed among themselves
to say nothing
is not known, but it is more than likely
that on the way back
to the river they had begun to realize
what they had done, that
they would be called to account for it
by the military authorities
at Fort Pitt, and therefore the less
said about it the better. And
no expedition of equal importance,
military or civil, so suddenly
and so entirely disappeared from public
notice. Even the fam-
ilies of many of the members being
entirely ignorant of their
connection with the affair.
One example may be given; a colored man
(the slave of
one of the parties) who died in 1812,
was wont to tell that upon
going to the stable one Monday morning,
he discovered that the
horse his master usually rode when
absent on hunting or scout-
ing expeditions, was missing from his
accustomed place, but as
such things were not uncommon, nothing
was thought of it, nor
did any member of the family speak of
it. But on the next
Sunday morning, upon going to the same
place, the horse was
found in his stall, bearing marks of
hard usage, and his sides
and flanks streaked with blood; that
nothing was seen of his
master until the following morning, when
he shaved, washed
296 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
and dressed himself carefully and ate
his breakfast, after which
all the family were called in to
prayers, and that during the day
his master busied himself in stretching
a couple of scalps upon
a hoop, which was then hung up in the
great wooden chimney
to dry.
Although born and raised in the
community from which the
expedition was mostly raised, the
writer, in a peried of forty
years, has only been able to collect the
names of about thirty
persons that he has reason to believe
were members of the ex-
pedition, and as to only a few of those
is there absolute
certainty.
A gentleman born in 1796 said that he
was present at Bur-
gettstown, Pennsylvania, in August,
1812, upon the day when
volunteers were raised to march to
Detroit to repel the British
and Indians reported to be marching upon
the frontiers in con-
sequence of Hull's surrender of the post
at Detroit. It was a
day of great excitement, and called
together a large crowd of
people from the surrounding country.
That among other sights
that drew the attention of a boy of
sixteen years, he came
across a crowd being entertained by an
old man much the worse
for liquor, who was singing maudlin
songs, when some person
said, "Now, Uncle Sol, show us how
they killed the Indians."
That at once the old fellow's whole
manner changed from the
gay to the grave, and he began crying
and cursing the cowards
who killed women and children. Presently he ran forward,
making motions as if throwing a rope
over the heads of those in
front of him, and then running backwards
as if dragging an
object after him, seized the large stick
held in his hands, and be-
gan beating an imaginary object, all the
time howling and curs-
ing like a demon, when somebody pulled
him away, saying it
was a shame. That having but imperfectly
comprehended what
he saw, my informant made inquiry, and
learned that Uncle Sol
had been at the Moravian Massacre, and
when in his cups, as he
had seen him, would show how they killed
the Indians, but
when sober could not be induced to open
his mouth upon the
subject.
But little more remains to be said. None
of the excuses
urged in extenuation of the affair are
tenable. No murder was
The Moravian Massacre. 297
ever so well kept. The early historians
were meagre and in-
definite in their accounts of it,
because there was nothing known
to tell, and it was only after half a
century that a few details
leaked out and became known, as already
stated.
The Sandusky expedition followed so soon
after, with Col-
onel Williamson second in command, that
many of the same
persons joined it and took part in the
disastrous defeat at San-
dusky, resulting in the terrible death
of the commanding officer,
who was burned at the stake in
retaliation for the Moravian
Massacre, and in the shocking details of
his sufferings and death
the Moravian affair was lost sight of
and forgotten.
The men concerned in the affair returned
to their homes,
where many of them lived to a good old
age and spent exem-
plary lives, a number having become
ruling elders and leading
members in the churches at Cross Creek,
Upper Buffalo, and
other places. And it is a curious fact
that in the great religious
movement that swept over Western
Pennsylvania during the
latter part of the eighteenth and
beginning of the nineteenth
centuries, many of these same men were
active and leading par-
ticipants; and that the great religious
movement had its origin
at Vance's Fort* and among the same men
with whom the
Moravian Massacre originated. But time
has drawn the veil of
oblivion over their names and nothing
could now be gained by
removing it.
Ninety years after the occurrence of
this sad event the
Moravian brethren met at Gnadenhutten,
and with appropriate
ceremonies dedicated a monument to the
memory of the poor
Indian converts who perished there with
a heroism worthy of all
praise.
This monument stands upon the site of
the old Mission
Church, and the shaft, which rises 25
feet above the base, was
unveiled by four Moravian Indians, one
of whom was the great-
grandson of Joseph Schebosh, the first
victim of the Massacre.
On its western face the shaft bears this
inscription:
* See historical discourse of Rev. John
Stockton, D. D., on fortieth
anniversary of his ministry at Cross
Creek, Pa., page 7.
298 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
HERE
TRIUMPHED IN DEATH,
NINETY
CHRISTIAN INDIANS,
MARCH 8, 1782.
In the address of Bishop DeSchweinitz,
delivered on that
occasion, the names of the victims were
given and are herein
copied that they may go upon record and
never be forgotten.
NAMES OF THE VICTIMS OF THE MASSACRE.
Members of the Gnadenhutten Mission.
1. JOSEPH SCHEBOSH, a half-breed, son of
John Joseph
Schebosh or John Bull (which was his
real name), a white man
and assistant Missionary.
2. CHRISTIANA, his wife, a Sopus Indian
from New Eng-
land.
3. JOHN MARTIN, a distinguished national
assistant.
4 and 5. LUKE, and his wife, LUCIA.
6, 7 and 8. PHILIP and his
wife, LOVEL, and their little
daughter, SARAH.
9. ABRAHAM, surnamed the Mohican.
10 and 11. PAUL and ANTHONY, John
Martin's sons.
12. CHRISTIANA, a widow, educated in the
Moravian
schools at Bethlehem, a refined and
cultured woman.
13 and 14. MARY, another widow, and her
little daughter,
HANNAH.
15, 16 and 17. REBECCA, RACHEL and
MARIA ELIZABETH,
a young daughter of Mark.
The Moravian Massacre. 299
18 and 19. GOTTLIEB and BENJAMIN, two
little sons of
Joanna.
20 and 21. ANTHONY and JOHN THOMAS, two
other little
boys.
Members of the Salem Mission.
1. ISAAC GLIKKIKAN, one of the most
illustrious of Mora-
vian Indians, formerly a great warrior,
and after his conversion
a faithful assistant of the
Missionaries, baptized on Christmas
eve, 1779, by Zeisberger, at
Friedenstadt.
2. ANNA BENIGNA, his wife, who took the
pony of one of
the Sandusky warriors and rode all night
in order to notify the
garrison at Fort McIntosh of the Indian
movement upon Fort
Henry.
3 and 4. JONAH, another assistant, and
his wife AMELIA.
5 and 6. CHRISTIAN and his wife, AUGUSTINA.
7.
SAMUEL MORE,
a Jersey Indian.
8. TOBIA, a venerable sire.
9. ISRAEL, a celebrated Delaware chief,
known as Captain
Johnny.
10. MARK, surnamed the Delaware.
11 and
12. ADAM,
and his wife CORNELIA.
13 and
14. HENRY, and his wife, JOANNA.
15,
16, 17, 18, 19 and 20. SALOME, PAUL, MICHAEL,
PETER, GOTLEIB, DAVID.
21 and 22. LEWIS, and his wife, RUTH.
23 and 24. JOHN, and another John, a
young man who
was shot after swimming the river.
25. HANNAH, Joseph Peepis' wife.
26. JUDITH, an aged gray-haired widow,
the first killed
among the women.
27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33. CATHARINE,
MARIA SUSANNA,
JULIANA, ELIZABETH, MARTHA, ANNA ROSINA,
SALOME, to-
gether with the following little boys
and girls:
34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43,
44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49,
50. CHRISTIAN,
JOSEPH, MARK, JONATHAN, CHRISTIAN, GOTT
LIEB, TIMOTHY, JONAH, CHRISTIANA, LEAH,
BENIGNA, GER-
300
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL 3
TRUDE, CHRISTINA, ANNA CHRISTINA, ANNA,
SALOME, and
ANNA ELIZABETH.
Besides these there were five adults,
one man, SCHAPPIHIL-
LEN, the husband of Helen, together with
four women and thir-
teen babes not yet baptized, and the
following members of the
Mission at Schoenbrun, who happened to be at Gnadenhutten,
to-wit: NICHOLAS and his wife, JOANNA
SABINA, ABEL, HEN-
RY, ANNA, and BATHSHEBA, the last two
daughters of Joshua,
the founder of Gnadenhutten; in all,
twenty-eight men, twenty-
nine women, and thirty-three children.
Two boys, Thomas and
Jacob, escaped.
I cannot better close this paper than by
quoting the words
of Charles McKnight, who, in his
centennial work entitled,
"Our Western Border One Hundred
Years Ago," says:
"The whole massacre leaves a stain
of deepest dye on the
page of American history. It was simply
atrocious and execra-
ble-a blistering disgrace to all
concerned, utterly without ex-
cuse, and incapable of defense. It damns
the memory of each
participator to the last syllable of
recorded time. All down the
ages the Massacre of the Innocents will
be its only parallel."
WM. M. FARRAR.
THE MILITARY POSTS, FORTS AND
BATTLEFIELDS
WITHIN THE STATE OF OHIO.
The centennial is approaching of the
greatest battle fought
on the soil of Ohio, the battle between
the Indians and the army
under General Arthur St. Clair, November
4, 1791. It is well
to note in detail the important military
posts in our State. An
examination of the map accompanying this
article will show
that not many northwestern states have
such a military record.
The accompanying sketches are compiled
from so many
sources that it is impossible to give
credit to all, and hence none
will be mentioned. The description of
each is brief, and con-
fined to the important facts connected
with each. On each of
these places pages could be written, but
the object of this
article, however, is to place in compact
form the salient points
Military Posts in the State of
Ohio. 301
only. The narrative will, as far as
possible, follow the chron-
ological order.
FORT MIAMI, the oldest fortification in Ohio, was built by
an expedition sent by Frontenac,
Governor of Canada, in 1680,
as a military trading post, about
fifteen miles up the Maumee
from its mouth. It stood on the left
bank of the river, in what
is now Maumee City. It was used but a
short time, the trading
of the French being moved farther into
the Indian country. In
1785 the abandoned fort was rebuilt and
occupied by the British,
who remained in possession until the
treaty of peace with the
Indians in 1795. They again occupied the
fort during the war
of 1812. After its close, the post came
into use as a trading
place, being such when the Maumee valley
was settled by
Americans.
FORT SANDUSKY, a small stockade trading
place of the
French, was built about 1750, on the
left bank of the Sandusky
River, not far from the site of Sandusky
City. It was a trading
post only, and was abandoned soon after
the Peace of 1763.
LORAMIE'S FORT, as it was called, was
originally a trading
post, occupied by the English as early
as 1750 or 1751 as a trad-
ing station. It was then known as
Pickawillany. In 1752 the
place was attacked by an Indian and
French force sent from
Canada, the station being considered an
encroachment on French
territory. Not long after a Candian
Frenchman named Loramie,
established a store and trading post
here, and the place became
a hostile center against the American
settlements. In 1782,
Gen. George Rogers Clarke and a body of
Kentucky troops
invaded the Miami country and destroyed
this post. In 1794,
Gen. Wayne built a fort here called
"Fort Loramie." The fort
became a prominent point on the
Greenville Treaty line, and
soon afterward was abandoned as a
military post.
FORT JUNANDAT. A trading station on the
right bank of
the Sandusky river, was built about 1754
by French traders. It
was occupied but a short time, and with
other French posts, was
abandoned soon after the close of the
French and Indian war.
302 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
FORT GOWER-named for Earl Gower-a small
stockade,
was built by Lord Dunmore, at the mouth
of the Hocking river
in 1774, when on his march against the
Indians in the Northwest
Territory. From this place he marched
his troops up the river
to an encampment-Camp Charlotte-in what
is now called Ross
county, on the Scioto river, about seven
miles south of the
present city of Circleville. Here a
treaty of peace was con-
cluded with the Indians, and the army
returned to Fort Gower,
and then to Virginia.
FORT LAURENS-named in honor of the first
President of
Congress, was erected in the fall of
1778, by a detachment of
one thousand men under command of
General McIntosh, com-
mander at Fort Pitt, to act as a check
on the Indians who were
at that time hostile to the Americans,
and who gave the western
settlements no little cause for alarm.
After its completion a
garrison of one hundred and fifty men
was placed therein, under
charge of Col. John Gibson. The Indians
attacked the fort in
the winter following and gave the
garrison much trouble, killing
some of the soldiers who ventured
outside the walls of the
stockade. The Indian siege lasted until
late in February, reduc-
ing the garrison to close straits.
Couriers were sent to General
McIntosh, who brought provisions and
aid. The fort was
evacuated in August, 1779, being
untenable at a such a distance
on the frontier.
The fort stood "a little below the
mouth of Sandy Creek,"
on the west bank of the Tuscarawas
river, half a mile south of
the present village Bolivar. The walls
were octagonal in shape,
enclosing about an acre of ground. The
palisades were split
tree trunks, inside of which were the
soldiers' quarters. Col.
Charles Whittlesy visited the spot about
the time the canal was
made and traced the old embankment now
almost obliterated.
FORT HARMAR was built by Maj. John
Doughty in the
autumn of 1785 at the mouth (right bank)
of the Muskingum
river. The detachment of United States
troops under command
of Maj. Doughty, were part of Josiah
Harmar's regiment, and
hence the fort was named in his honor.
The outlines of the
fort formed a regular pentagon,
including about three quarters
Military Posts in the State of
Ohio. 303
of an acre. Its walls were formed of
large horizontal timbers,
the bastions being about fourteen feet
high, set firmly in the
earth. In the rear of the fort, Maj.
Doughty laid out fine gar-
dens, in which were many peach trees,
originating the familiar
"Doughty peach." The fort was
occupied by a United States
garrison until September 1790, when they
were ordered to Fort
Washington (Cincinnati). A company under
Capt. Haskell con-
tinued to make the fort headquarters
during the Indian war of
1790-95. From the date of the settlement
at Marietta across the
Muskingum in the spring of 1778, the
fort was constantly occu-
pied by settlers, then rapidly filling
the country.
FORT STEUBEN was built in 1789, on the
site of the present
city of Steubenville. It was built of
block houses connected by
a row of palisades and was one of the
early American out-posts
in the Northwest Territory. It was
garrisoned by a detachment
of United States troops under command of
Col. Beatty. The
post was abandoned soon after Wayne's
victory in 1794.
FORT WASHINGTON was built by Maj. John
Doughty, who
was sent with a detachment of troops
from Fort Harmar in Sep-
tember, 1789, to build a fort for the
protection of the settlers in
the "Symmes Purchase," between
the Miami rivers. It was
completed during the winter following,
and under date of Jan-
uary 14, 1790, Gen. Josiah Harmar wrote
that "It is built of
hewn timber, a perfect square, two stories
high, with four block
houses at the angles. The plan is Maj.
Doughty's and on ac-
count of its superior excellence I have
thought proper to honor
it with the name Fort
Washington." This was an
important
post during the Indian war of 1790-1795,
being headquarters for
all military operations.
FORT HAMILTON,
built in September, 1791, by Gen. Arthur
St. Clair, governor of the Northwest
Territory and commander
of the troops raised to pursue and
punish the Indians who the
year before broke out in open hostility
to the young American
settlements. The army under St. Clair
had rendezvoused at
Fort Washington, and after being divided
into three military or-
ganizations had started northward into
the Indian country.
Fort Hamilton, built principally as a
depot for supplies, stood
304 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
on the east bank of the Great Miami river, on the site of the
present city of Hamilton, Ohio, at the east end of the bridge
connecting Hamilton and Rossville. The fort was a stockade,
somewhat triangular in shape, with four good bastions and plat-
forms for cannon. The officers' quarters were near the river.
Eastward stood the soldiers' barracks and southward was the
magazine. The next summer an addition to the north was
erected by General Williamson, commander of the army. The
fort was occupied until the close of hostilities and was almost
the equal of Fort Washington in importance.
FORT JEFFERSON. This post was erected in 1791 by Gen-
eral St. Clair, forty-four miles north of Fort Hamilton. It
stood in a rich tract of country about six miles south and a little
west of the present city of Greenville. It was used chiefly as a
depot of supplies, and hence was not a fortification nor a place
to harbor troops. No plan of this fort is known to exist, but
examinations have shown it was probably erected somewhat
square within, with projecting corners, these being protected by
block house defenses.
FORT ST. CLAIR was built about a mile north of the site of
the present town of Eaton, in Preble county, in the winter of
1791-92, by a detachment of Gen. Wilkenson's troops under
command of Major John S. Gano. Gen. William Harrison,
then an ensign, commanded the guards each alternate night.
During its building no fires could be built, hence the soldiers
suffered greatly from the cold. The fort was a stockade, used
for storage and supply purposes. On the 6th of November,
1792, a severe battle was fought near the fort between a corps
of riflemen and a body of Indians under command of Little
Turtle, the latter attacking the former about runrise. After
severe fighting the Indians were defeated and driven away, hav-
ing suffered disastrously in the action.
FORT GREENVILLE, on the site of Greenville, Ohio, was
built in December, 1793, by Gen. Anthony Wayne, while on his
march to the Indian country on the Maumee river. The fort
occupied a large part of the town site, and was an irregular
fortification. It was occupied as a storage place for supplies
Military Posts in the State of Ohio. 305
until after the Indians were conquered
in the summer of 1794,
when General Wayne and his army
returned, increased its de-
fenses, and improved its quarters. Rows
of log houses were
built for the soldiers, and comfortable
quarters for the officers.
At this fort, in August, 1795, General
Wayne concluded a treaty
of peace with the following tribes of
Indians: Wyandots, Dela-
wares, Shawnees, Ottawas, Chippewa,
Pattawatamies, Miamis,
Weas, Kickapoos, Piankeshaws and
Kaskaskias. In all, about
thirteen hundred persons. The
geographical limits of these tribes
included the country north of the Ohio
river, westward to the
Mississippi. The Indian boundary line
established at this time
began at "the mouth of the Cuyahoga
river, thence up the
same to the Portage between that and the
Tuscarawas branch of
the Muskingum; thence down that branch
to the crossing place
above Fort Lawrence; thence
southwesterly to a fork of that
branch of the Great Miami river running
into the Ohio, at or
near which fort stood Loramie's store,
and where commenced
the portage between the Miami and the
Ohio and St. Mary's
river, which is a branch of the Miami
(Maumee) which runs
into Lake Erie; thence northwest to Fort
Recovery, which
stands on a branch of the Wabash; thence
southwesterly in a
direct line to the Ohio so as to
intersect that river opposite the
mouth of the Kentucke or Cuttawa
river."
No plan of the fort other than that of
the survey made by
James McBride of Hamilton, can be found.
The embankments
could plainly be seen in many places as
late as 1840. It was a
large irregular work, not only a
fortification, but a depot of sup-
plies and a rendezvous for the army.
After the Treaty of 1795
it was soon abandoned.
FORT RECOVERY was erected in December,
1793, by a de-
tachment of troops from Gen. Wayne's
army. The troops ar-
rived Christmas day, and built at once a
stockade on the site of
the disastrous defeat of Gen. Arthur St.
Clair by the Indians,
November 4th of 1791. No plan of this
stockade has been pre-
served, and but little regarding its
construction is known. It
stood on the left bank of the river (the
Wabash) and was, no
doubt, somewhat octagonal in shape, the
corners protected by
Vol. III-20
306 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
block houses. The palisades forming its
walks were firmly set
in a small embankment made by digging a
trench about the cir-
cumference. On June 30, 1794, while the
main army was still at
Fort Greenville, the detachment at Fort
Recovery was subjected
to a short but severe siege by the
Indians, whose actions showed
them to be under superior leadership,
probably British. The
fort was used but little after 1794,
being simply a "way station"
for supplies for the army.
Fort Recovery occupied the site of the
greatest and most
disastrous defeat of Americans by the
Indians in western history.
Gen. St. Clair, with his army, gathered
hastily in Pennsylvania,
Maryland and Virginia, had left, after
an imperfect organization,
Fort Washington in August, 1791; moved
forward Ludlow's sta-
tion six miles distant, remaining there
until September 17th.
From there the army moved farther up the
Great Miami, erect-
ing first Fort Hamilton (already
noticed), thence to Fort Jeffer-
son, which they left October 24th, and
began their march farther
northward, expecting to find the Indians
in the country about
the head waters of the Maumee. On the
3rd of November the
army reached the banks of a small river,
supposed to be the St.
Mary's, but really the head waters of
the Wabash river. That
afternoon the army camped in a
commanding rise of ground, the
river in the front. The militia had gone
about a mile farther,
crossing the river, and a low wooded
meadow half a mile wide,
and camped in the forest on the high
land beyond. It was the
intention of Gen. St. Clair to fortify
this position and await the
arrival of the first regiment sent back
at Fort Jefferson for pro-
visions. Weary with their march the
soldiers lay down to rest.
About daylight the next morning, just
after the parade, and as
the soldiers were preparing their
breakfast, the militia were sud-
denly and vigorously attacked by an
unseen foe, and becoming
frightened, ran back toward the camp of
the regular troops.
The onslaught was checked by the first
line of troops, but soon
a heavy and constant firing came from
all quarters, and, concen-
trating upon the artillery stationed in
the center, soon silenced it
by killing the gunners and wounding and
killing the horses.
The artillery being useless, several
vicious onslaughts were
made, and though repulsed again and
again, the wary foe steadily
Military Posts in the State of
Ohio. 307
gained ground. A retreat was necessary
and was ordered. A
panic seized the soldiers and the
retreat became a disorderly and
unmanageable rout. The soldiers and camp
followers fled in
great confusion, despite all attempts of
the officers, many of
whom were slain while in their efforts
to restore order. The fire
of the savages had been fearfully
destructive; fully 600 persons
perished, and of those wounded none were
spared the horrible
tortures of Indian warfare. The army
fled precipitately to Fort
Jefferson, where, meeting the first
regiment, they were stayed,
and where an account was taken of their
awful losses. From
this place they retreated to Forts
Hamilton and Washington,
and further attempts to conquer the
Indians were, for a time,
abandoned.
FORT PIQUA
was a small stockade built for storage
pur-
poses by General Wayne's army in 1794,
in what is now Miami
county, about three miles north of
Piqua. It was in the portage
between Fort Loramie and St. Mary's. The
garrison was under
command of Captain J. N. Vischer. After
the treaty of peace
in 1795, the place was abandoned.
FORT ST. MARYS was built by a detachment
of General
Wayne's army in 1794 on the site of the
town of St. Marys in
Mercer county. It stood on the west bank
of the St. Marys
river. It was erected as a supply depot,
and was under com-
mand of Captain John Whistler, during
what time the garrison
was kept within its palisades.
FORT DEFIANCE was built by General Wayne's army in
August, 1794, when on their march
against the Indians. It
stood in the angle formed by the
junction of the Auglaize and
Maumee rivers. The fort was built in the
form of a square, at
each corner of which were block houses
projecting beyond the
sides of the fort, thus protecting the
external sides. These
block houses were connected by a line of
strong pickets. Out-
side of these, and also of the block
houses, was a wall of earth
eight feet thick, a ditch fifteen feet
wide and eight feet deep sur-
rounding the whole except the side next
the Auglaize river.
The stockade was well built,
characteristic of the General's ac-
308 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
tions, affording the garrison which
might occupy it a safe retreat.
It was little used after the treaty of
peace in 1795.
FORT DEPOSIT was built by General Wayne in August,
1794, as a depot for supplies. It stood
on the left (north) bank
of the Maumee. No plan of the fort
exists. It was simply a
palisaded stockade, built for storage
and not for defensive pur-
poses. Leaving this place, General Wayne
marched toward the
Indian encampment, about two miles south
of the present town
of Maumee City, and about four miles
from Fort Miami, erected
and occupied by British troops. The
Indians were met and a
decisive battle fought, a complete
victory being gained by the
Americans.
THE BATTLE OF FALLEN
TIMBERS. This famous battle
decided the fate of the Indians in the
Northwest. Their power
was broken, and after the treaty at Fort
Greenville the next
summer, their claims to Ohio's territory
were practically ended.
The battle occurred August 20, 1794.
That morning, General
Wayne having decided his plan of
operations, moved from Fort
Deposit down the left bank of the Maumee
toward the Indians,
who had refused all overtures of peace,
and who were arranged
in camps on the river bluffs. The army
had marched about five
miles when the advance guard was
suddenly attacked by a
vigorous fire from an unseen foe, and
was compelled to fall back.
The army was at once formed in two lines
in a dense wood on
the borders of a swampy prairie, where a
tornado had at some
preceding time blown down many trees.
This fallen timber
gave the name to the battle-ground. This
timber afforded good
shelter to the foe, who were aided by
many Canadians, all under
superior discipline. General Wayne's
troops fell upon them
with relentless fury, and in a short
time put them to flight
toward the guns of Fort Miami, a few
miles down the river, and
then garrisoned by a British force under
command of Major
Campbell. Wayne's army pursued the
Indians under the very
walls of the fort, despite the protests
of the British commander
and the British trader, Colonel McKee,
whose property was de-
stroyed, General Wayne maintaining the
attitude that the fort
stood upon American soil. For three days
and nights this war-
Military Posts in the State of
Ohio. 309
fare was continued until the Indians
were thoroughly subdued,
and promised, through their chiefs, to
treat for peace the next
year at Fort Greenville. At this battle
the celebrated chief,
Turkey Foot, was slain, whose rock,
marked by prints resem-
bling turkeys' feet, perpetuates his
memory and his death.
FORT WAYNE. Though not in the confines
of Ohio, it
should be mentioned here. At the
junction of the St. Jospeph
and St. Marys rivers, the head of the
Miami of the lakes-
the Maumee-it appears in French history,
first as a trading
post and station. After the defeat of
the battle of Fallen Tim-
bers, General Wayne's army went first to
Fort Defiance, and
soon after, in September, to the head of
the Maumee, and there
built a strong fortification, calling it
Fort Wayne. It was com-
pleted by the 22d of October, and
garrisoned with infantry and
artillery, under command of Colonel John
Francis Hamtranck.
Soon after the treaty at Greenville, in
1795, the fort was practic-
ally abandoned, though the place was
always well noticed as a
great outpost. In the war of 1812 the
fort was built new, be-
came a conspicuous place, and withstood
several sieges. It was
an excellent fortification, and after
peace was declared in this
war, became a peaceful trading village,
and is now a prosper-
ous city.
FORT INDUSTRY was built by a detachment
of Wayne's
troops soon after his victory over the
Indians. It stood on a
bluff on the left bank of the Maumee, a
few miles above its
mouth, in what is now the city of
Toledo. It seems to have
been used but a short time.
FORT FINDLAY, a small stockade about
fifty yards square,
was built on the south side of
Blanchard's Fork, in what is now
Hancock county, during the war of 1812.
At each corner was
a block House, the soldiers' quarters
and the palisades protect-
ing the other portions. It was, like
many others of its nature,
erected as a supply depot, and was
little used for defensive pur-
poses. It was abandoned at the close of
the war.
FORT AMANDA, a small stockade, was built
during the war
of 1812, in what is now Allen county, on
the west bank of the
310 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
Auglaize River, near the west line of
the county, on.the site of
an old Ottawa town. It was used but a
short time as a supply
depot and a halting place for the
troops.
FORT MCARTHUR was built during the war
of 1812, on the
Scioto River, in what is now Hardin
county. It was a stockade
enclosing about half an acre. A block
house in the northwest
and southeast angles, a row of log cribs
covered with "shed"
roofs sloping inward, and palisades
completed its defenses. The
soldiers' huts were just inside the
palisades. It was in a danger-
ous locality and more than once was
attacked by Indians. The
garrison was commanded by Captain Robert
McClelland. After
the war the post was abandoned.
FORT BALL was built during the war of
1812 by a detach-
ment of General Harrison's army, on the
west bank of the San-
dusky River, in what is now the city of
Tiffin. It was a small
stockade, enclosing perhaps one-third of
an acre, and was used
as a supply depot.
FORT SENECA was built during the war of
1812, by a de-
tachment of Gen. Harrison's army, as a
depot for supplies. It
was a stockade, including several acres,
and stood on the right
bank of the Sandusky, a few miles above
Fort Stevenson. It
was used only during the war.
FORT STEVENSON was built during the war
of 1812 at the
head of navigation on the Sandusky
river, on the site of the
present city of Fremont. The fort was a
well built structure,
enclosing an acre of ground. Col. George
Croghan, the com-
mander, with a small body of troops, on
the 2d of August, 1813,
successfully defended the fort against a
vigorous attack of the
British and Indians. Commanded by Gen.
Proctor, the British
force consisted of some five hundred
regulars and eight hundred
Indians, their gun boats from the river
carrying five six-pound
guns, and their howitzer on shore,
bombarded the fort all night
of the first. The next day the enemy
massed his troops at one
angle of the fort and attempted to
capture it by assault. The
one six-pound gun of the garrison,
loaded with small missiles,
was discharged into their ranks when
they neared the fort, with
Military Posts in the State of
Ohio. 311
such fearful destruction, that with the
effective fire of the
soldiers they were repulsed, and
retreated. Soon after, fearing
an attack by General Harrison, whose
troops had so valiantly
defended Fort Meigs but a few days
before against the same foe,
they suddenly retreated, leaving the
gallant Croghan and his
handful of men in victorious possession
of the fort. After the
war the post was abandoned.
FORT MEIGS was built by Gen. William Henry
Harrison, in
the winter of 1812-13, on the right bank
of the Maumee, op-
posite the rapids. It was a large
palisaded ground, occupying
about ten acres in all, protected by
block houses, soldiers' bar-
racks, and a strong line of palisades.
Early in the summer of
1813 the fort was attacked by a large
force of British and In-
dians under Gen. Proctor, who formed
artillery encampments on
both sides of the river. Reinforcements
came, and the British
were repulsed in July. It became an
important frontier post,
and after peace came was abandoned.
PERRY'S VICTORY.-This remarkable victory
occurred on
the waters of Lake Erie, September 10,
1813. At ten o'clock on
that day Commodore Oliver H. Perry, in
command of the United
States lake squadron, consisting of two
ships, the Lawrence and
the Niagara, and four small vessels,
formed in line and advanced
to attack the British squadron. The
action was sharp and de-
cisive, and lasted only three hours,
resulting in the capture of
the enemy, The losses of both
combatants on the leading ships
were heavy. Commodore Perry's memorable
dispatch reporting
the victory to General Harrison is well
known in American
annals: " We have met the enemy and
they are ours; two ships,
two brigs, one schooner and one
sloop."
A large painting in the rotunda of
Ohio's capitol represents
the conflict at the time Commodore Perry
is leaving the Law-
rence, almost disabled, for the Niagara.
A. A. GRAHAM.
312 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. VOL. 3
FORT ANCIENT.
The General Assembly at the last session passed an act to
purchase this remarkable earth-work on the bluffs on the left
bank of the Little Miami river in Warren county. By some
oversight, the number of acres authorized to be purchased did
not include the entire fortification, and there still remains a por-
tion of the south or "old" fort and little of the north end un-
purchased. A bill was afterward introduced by Senator Jesse
N. Oren, through whom the first bill was introduced, to buy the
remainder; but by an oversight it was omitted in report of the
House Committee, after having passed the Senate. The meas-
ure will be again introduced at the coming session, and it is con-
fidently believed the next General Assembly will complete the
work. The "care and control of Fort Ancient was," by an-
other act of the Assembly, " vested in the Trustees of the Ohio
Archaeological and Historical Society." The trustees have
accepted the trust, and placed the Fort in charge of a commit-
tee, consisting of Jesse N. Oren of Wilmington, Israel Harris of
Waynesville, and Israel Williams of Hamilton. A competent
custodian has been placed in charge of the grounds, and will
proceed at once to put the same in proper keeping. In time, it
is hoped to have a fine park here, such as is now the "Serpent
Mound Park" in Adams county, enclosing the famous effigy of
the serpent.
Mr. Warren K. Moorehead, of Xenia, has spent almost a
year measuring, surveying, and exploring Fort Ancient. He
has written a very creditable work of 130 pages on the subject,
and at my request has furnished the following brief description
of the fort. The following map used to illustrate this article is
a reduced copy of the large map in his work.
A. A. GRAHAM.
Military Posts in the State of
Ohio. 313
FORT ANCIENT, AN OUTLINE DESCRIPTION.
The accompanying map from the survey
made under my
direction by Messrs. Fowke and Cowen
will acquaint the reader
with the hillsides and the embankments.
The walls run in very
crooked lines, always following the
brink of deep ravines,
twisting and turning in the directions
which would afford best
protection. The following briefly
narrated facts regarding the
embankments should be carefully noted.
The composition is tough, glacial clay.
A stone wall is
frequently found within the earth
embankment. The stones
average in size 14x20 to 9x14 inches and
in places remain stand-
ing to a height of eight feet. The earth
from the top of the
embankment washes down and covers them,
hence the wall can-
not be witnessed save by excavation.
Height and breadth. The
embankments average 13½ feet in
height. The average 431/2 feet wide at
base, 4 feet at summit.
Maximum height 3391/2 feet. Minimum,
41/3 feet.
Number of gateways 74.
Number of natural washes, occasionally
mistaken for gate-
ways 9.
Average length of walls between
gateways, 239½ feet.
Height above Atlantic Ocean level, 941
feet.
Divisions. The portion north of the Isthmus is called upon
the map New Fort. A better name is South
Fort. The central
part, Middle Fort; the portion south of
Great Gateway has been
called Old Fort. A better and not so
confusing a name would
be South Fort.
Terraces, bastions, etc. There are artificial "roads" or
terraces extending around the hillsides
on the river side of the
fortification. One or two short ones
follow the foot of the wall
just east ot the Great Gateway for a few
hundred yards. These
terraces are covered with stone graves.
Many spurs or bastions
run out for varying distances from each
gateway, and overlook
or command the ravine. This is
particularly true of the great
314 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications. [VOL. 3
hollow east of the structure, against
which the builders seem to
have protected themselves with the
greatest of care.
Washes and erosion. The fort walls do not easily erode,
being composed of very tough clay. They
are covered with
shrubs and large trees, the roots of the
latter, together with grass
and moss, forming a considerable
protection against storms and
wearing paths such as the thousands of
visitors to the enclosure
would undoubtedly make.
"Some ravines were probably small
when the fortification
was built, and others were large and
deep. The wall was carried
across the smaller ones, but stopped on
the edge of the bank of
the larger ones. Many of these have
since washed out, and the
washes in some of them are very old. A
good idea of the age
of this fortification can be obtained by
studying these washes.
Length of Embankment. Total length. 18,712.2 feet or
32/3 miles.
Two races fought for position and
supremacy at Fort
Ancient. The one had a skull of
Brachycephalic type, the
cranium of the other was
Solichocephalic. One buried in hol-
lowed vaults or stone graves, the other
underneath small mounds
rudely thrown up upon the terraces. Both
were savages, the
"stone-grave people," being
but a degree removed from their
enemies in that they were able to
construct the fortification.
The proofs of the two races are:
(a) Two types of crania.
(b) Two modes of burial.
(c) Two classes of implements and
pottery.
(d) Two kinds of lodge or house circles.
That neither of these peoples were
"civilized" is set forth
in the manner employed in the
construction of the embankments;
in the cemeteries, in the village site
debris. Dark patches of
earth of the size of peck measure,
several of which still retain
the imprint, the laced work of
a basket around them, have been
found in the walls. In the village sites
twenty-seven birds,
animals, fish and reptiles in ashes and
cooking places have been
found, together with a multitude of bone
shell, stone and clay
Military Posts in the State of
Ohio. 315
objects used by the woman, the man and
the child of the fort-
construction-period.
We have found a complete chain of
testimony regarding the
purpose for which the fort was erected,
we now know how it was
built, the characteristics of the
builders and their enemies; in
short, old Fort Ancient is no longer a
mystery. In the near
future, the writer hopes to be able to
give to the public a lengthy
and comprehensive account of the
discoveries made this summer.
WARREN K. MOOREHEAD.