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That Dark and Bloody River

Page 131

by Allan Eckert


  738. The text of Gen. Scott’s message to the Indians was as follows: “TO THE VARIOUS TRIBES OF THE PIANKESHAWS AND ALL THE NATIONS OF RED PEOPLE LIVING ON THE WATERS OF THE WABASH RIVER—The sovereign Council of the Thirteen United States have long patiently borne your depredations against their settlements on this side of the great mountains, in hope that you would see your error and correct it by entering into bonds of amity and lasting peace. Moved by compassion and pitying your misguided councils, they have frequently addressed you on this subject, but without effect. At length their patience is exhausted and they have stretched forth the arm of power against you. Their mighty sons and chief warriors have at length taken up the hatchet; they have penetrated far into your country to meet your warriors and punish them for their transgressions. But you fled before them and declined the battle, leaving your wives and children to their mercy. They have destroyed your old town, Ouiattanon, and the neighboring villages and have taken many prisoners. Resting here two days to give you time to collect your strength, they have proceeded to your town of Kethlipecanunk; but you again fled before them, and that great town has been destroyed. After giving you this evidence of their power, they have stopped their hands because they are as merciful as strong, and they will indulge the hope that you will come to a sense of your true interest and determine to make a lasting peace with them and all their children forever. The United States have no desire to destroy the Red People, although they have the power; but should you decline this invitation and pursue your unprovoked hostilities, their strength will again be exerted against you. Your warriors will be slaughtered, your towns and villages ransacked and destroyed, your wives and children carried into captivity, and you may be assured that those who escape the fury of our mighty chiefs shall find no resting place on this side of the Great Lakes. The warriors of the United States wish not to distress or destroy women and children or old men, and although policy obliges them to retain some in captivity, yet compassion and humanity have induced them to set others at liberty, who will deliver you this talk. Those who are carried off will be left in the care of our great chief and warrior, General Saint Clair, near the mouth of the Miami and opposite to the Licking River, where they will be treated with humanity and tenderness. If you wish to recover them, repair to that place by the first of July next, determined with true hearts to bury the hatchet and smoke the pipe of peace. They will then be restored to you and you may again set down in security at your old towns and live in peace and happiness, unmolested by the people of the United States, who will become your friends and protectors and will be ready to furnish you with all the necessaries you may require. But should you foolishly persist in your warfare, the Sons of War will let loose against you and the hatchet will never be buried until your country is desolated and your people are humbled to the dust. Given under my hand and seal at Ouiatannon town, this fourth day of June, 1791. Charles Scott, B.G.”

  739. The term pulse is a collective for such vegetables as peas, beans and other legumes.

  740. Fort Hamilton was built on the site of the present city of Hamilton, Butler Co., O.

  741. Fort Jefferson was built at the junction of present Mud Creek and Prairie Outlet, on the site of the present village of Fort Jefferson, Darke Co., O.

  742. This stopping place of St. Clair’s army was on the site of the present village of Fort Recovery, Mercer Co., O.

  743. This was the last known battle in which Simon Girty actually participated with the Indians against the Americans.

  744. Included in this number are the estimated 200 wives, children, girlfriends and prostitutes who made up the camp-followers. Of the 52 officers in the battle, 39 had been killed and 7 wounded; of the 868 regular soldiers and militia in the battle, 593 were killed, 257 wounded. Discounting Maj. Hamtramck’s detachment, which played no part in the battle, the final total was, out of 920 men in the army, 632 dead and 264 wounded. Of the whole force, only 24 men returned uninjured.

  745. St. Clair’s Defeat was then—and remains today—the greatest Indian victory over any American military force. No complete listing exists of all the Indians, or even all the chiefs, who took part in St. Clair’s Defeat, but a listing of some of the more notable Indians known to have participated may be of value. They included: Apekonit (William Wells)—adopted Miami warrior; Berry—Shawnee warrior; Black Beard—Shawnee chief; Black Fish—Shawnee warrior; Black Partridge—Potawatomi chief; Buckangehela—Delaware principal chief; Carrymaunee (Walking Turtle)—Winnebago chief; Catahecassa (Black Hoof)—Shawnee principal chief; Chaubenee (Coal Burner)—Potawatomi chief; Chiuxca—Shawnee chief; Coonahaw—Shawnee warrior; Gomo—Potawatomi chief; Kasahda—Ottawa chief; Main Poche—Potawatomi chief; Michikiniqua (Little Turtle)—Miami principal chief; Mtamins—Potawatomi chief; Otussa—Ottawa chief; Pipe—Delaware chief; Siggenauk (Blackbird)—Wyandot chief; Stiahta (Roundhead)—Wyandot chief; Tarhe (the Crane)—Wyandot principal chief; Tecumseh—Shawnee warrior; Topenebe—Potawatomi chief; Wasegoboah (Stand Firm)—Shawnee warrior; Wehyehpihehrsehnwah (Blue Jacket)—Shawnee war chief; White Loon—Wyandot chief; Wingenund—Delaware chief.

  746. Tobias Lear honored George Washington’s directive and made no mention of this conversation or the President’s reaction to the news until some time after Washington’s death.

  747. The bitter rivalry between George Rogers Clark and James Wilkinson lasted for many years. As a regular military officer of advanced education, Wilkinson detested the uncouth character of Clark, his lack of formal education and the fact that he was a militia officer, not a regular. Extremely jealous of Clark’s achievements in taking Kaskaskia and Cahokia from the British, followed by his remarkable capture of Vincennes and British Gen. Henry Hamilton, Wilkinson attacked Clark in the area where he was most vulnerable: in his insobriety. He denigrated Clark at every opportunity and was in part responsible for discrediting Clark among military and political leaders in the east and subsequently causing Clark to be stripped of his military standing and reputation. It was not until some 80 years after the death of James Wilkinson that it was discovered that, during all that time, Wilkinson had been accepting money from the Spanish government and acting as a spy for Spain and a traitor to his own country.

  748. Fort St. Clair was erected on the site of the present city of Eaton, county seat of present Preble Co., O.

  749. On June 4, 1792, three days after Kentucky officially became a state, the new state legislature met for the first time—that meeting held in Lexington at the large log building widely known as the Sheaf of Wheat Tavern, which was temporarily being used as the statehouse—and, by common consent, chose Isaac Shelby as the state’s first governor.

  750. Contrary to some persisting stories that Wayne received the sobriquet “Mad” because of his rash heroism in battle, especially at Stony Point, the nickname actually came about another way. When a deserter of the Revolutionary Army was caught, he told officials just to get in touch with Anthony Wayne, and he would set matters straight. The deserter was playing on the chance that Wayne, a long-ago neighbor in Pennsylvania, would help him. Wayne, who loathed deserters, utterly refused to help him and even failed to recognize him, whereupon the deserter angrily commented, “He must be mad!” The comment quickly went the rounds, and the nickname was there for keeps.

  751. The James Stoops cabin was located within the present limits of the city of Pittsburgh, on the south side of the Ohio River in the present Corliss District, about 400 yards northeast of the present Fairywood School, between that institution and Wind Gap Road.

  752. An interesting confusion develops in regard to the name of Mrs. Stoops, who in many historical documents is referred to as “Granny” Stoops. This is the name the author first encountered in reference to her, yet he found it peculiar that a woman who had a child only four years old and was evidently still relatively young should be referred to as “Granny,” especially when none of her children were married and her eldest son was still less than 20 years old. This initiated a se
arch of documents to learn more about her. It illuminates the sort of nightmare researchers frequently encounter in regard to names. It turned out that Jane Stoops was called “Janie” by her husband and close friends. One early historian used that name almost exclusively, and a subsequent historian—or his editor—misinterpreted his handwriting and inadvertently changed the name to “Jennie,” which, in turn, was picked up by another historian who referred to her as “Jenny.” The evolution of the name completed its course when another, more widely read historian mistook the handwritten “Jenny” for “Granny.” Thus in the majority of accounts existing today, Jane Stoops is referred to as “Granny” Stoops.

  753. Ebenezer and Elizabeth had their thirteenth (and last) child when Ebenezer was 44 and Elizabeth 43. In addition to the newest infant, named Daniel (who lived to advanced years), their other eight living children at this time included Catherine, 23, Ann, 20, Sarah, 19, Rebecca, 16, Noah, 14, Samuel, 8, Hetty, 6, Mary, 4, and Jesse, 2. Three other sons died in infancy, the first Noah 18 years earlier, the first Samuel 10 years earlier and the first Daniel four years earlier.

  754. Probably no incident in Brady’s career has more confusing and improbable variations than this one, and a great many of the incidents that occurred on his first spying expedition against the Sandusky Towns in 1780 are attributed to this expedition 12 years later. The author has attempted to keep the story as straight as possible by accrediting only those incidents in which almost all accounts are in agreement.

  755. Considerable confusion exists in the accounts about this occurrence; one says two squaws were taken prisoner while gathering strawberries and were led away with them.

  756. One account states that only one of their two women prisoners escaped to the Indians at this time and that the other one was retained by them as they continued making their way back toward the settlements.

  757. One of the many varied accounts says that Brady and his men constructed a raft and were floating down the Ohio with their squaw prisoner when the raft hit a snag and broke apart, dunking them all and losing all their supplies and gunpowder except for the load already in Brady’s gun. Like so many of the accounts, it is far-fetched and most unlikely in view of the reliably known aspects of what occurred.

  758. The account that states that the captive squaw remained with them through all of this is suspect, as they could hardly have effectively taken her along under such conditions, yet the story prevails. A couple of accounts also state that the war party had a dog with them that they put on the trail of the whites and that when it caught up to them, Brady silenced it by strangling the animal to death with his hands. Many aspects of this contradictory spying expedition of Brady’s are reported in a very far-fetched manner, though some may have begun with an element of truth.

  759. The Brady camp was made almost exactly on the Ohio-Pennsylvania line, about two miles down the Mahoning (southeast) of the present village of Lowellville in Mahoning Co., O.

  760. One of the accounts says the warrior was mounted with the captive William in front of him and the captive Mrs. Stoops behind him, all on the same horse — a tale that is most unlikely.

  761. It is not known what happened to the other two Wyandots who were with the party when they attacked the Stoops place.

  762. Both John Wetzel and John Williamson had indeed heard the shots and Brady’s initial shouts and, according to plan, they separated at once and raced away. Another account says they rushed to aid Brady, and then all three men escaped back to Fort McIntosh together with Mrs. Stoops. A further account relates that the squaw still being held captive by them escaped at this point and got to the Indians, where she prevented their killing little William Stoops. The facts seem to indicate that although neither Wetzel nor Williamson saw Brady or each other on the return, both arrived safely back at the settlements.

  763. One of the many accounts says that the Stoopses’ dog had followed Jane Stoops when she was taken captive and was still following now, and that when Brady led her away the dog stayed to guard the child and the Indians had to kill it. Another account says he used her dog as a pillow when they rested at night, but that the continued following by the dog threatened to give away their presence to the Indians and so Brady finally was forced to strangle the animal. Yet another account states that Brady, while escaping with Mrs. Stoops, was all the while still herding along his two squaw captives and managed to get them back to Fort McIntosh. Finally, another account states that Brady led Mrs. Stoops away by holding her hand in his while carrying her three-year-old son under his other arm. All these tales are improbable and very unlikely to have occurred.

  764. There are a number of variations in regard to what happened to the Stoops boy, three-year-old William. Some say he was on the verge of being killed by the warriors when a squaw intervened and saved the boy after he had already been swatted alongside the head by the flat of a tomahawk; the squaw is stated by some to be one of the two held captive by Brady’s party but managed to escape when the firing broke out; others say that she was part of the Wyandot party to begin with. Whatever the case, William was taken to Detroit, where he was sold to the British and held for three years. Finally, through the efforts of Alexander McKee, he was returned to his parents. Jane Stoops fainted dead away with joy when she finally recognized him. William remained a resident of the upper Ohio, married in 1801, had seven children and finally died on July 24, 1835.

  765. One of the accounts states that Brady, with a party of men, went back to the attack site to see if he could find the boy, William, which he did not, and to secure the scalp of the Indian he had killed, which he supposedly did, after discovering the body where the warrior’s companions had hidden it about 100 yards distant from where he was killed, covering him with leaves and forest debris after first dressing him in ceremonial garb.

  766. Greater details of Hardin’s mission and his ultimate death may be found in the author’s Gateway to Empire (Boston: Little, Brown, 1983; New York: Bantam, 1984).

  767. Among the Indians in attendance at this farcical treaty were Le Gesse—The Quail—and Gomo, who had some degree of standing in the Potawatomi tribe but not enough to engage in such discussions, along with a common warrior named Wawiyezhi—Something Round—who claimed to be the son of the first king of his nation. Masemo—Resting Fish—was a Miami warrior without rank who also signed the treaty. They went so far with their hoax that two of them—Gomo and Le Gesse—even let themselves be taken east by military escorts to meet, with much pomp and ceremony, with President Washington as bona fide representatives of the Potawatomies. Not until they had been loaded with gifts and returned safely to their people was it discovered that the whole thing was a trick and that none of the Indians who had signed the Putnam Treaty had had any right to treat for their nations. Le Gesse, unfortunately, died of natural causes during the trip home. The United States Congress, in the process of ratifying the treaty, was mortified when the truth came out, and the whole supposed treaty was trashed.

  768. Col. Absalom Baird’s letter to Gen. Wayne from Washington, Pa., dated July 21, 1792, said in part: “On Wednesday last, a soldier belonging to Captain Paull’s Company of six months’ militia, was fired on by two Indians and wounded thro’ the hand, but escaped. This happened on the road about half way between the two stations. The Inhabitants of the frontier have either fled into settlements, or have gathered together into block-houses, and are in great distress, having left their crops standing. In my opinion a few more spies would be necessary if they can be allowed, the present ones having too large a range.”

  769. Lt. R. S. Howe’s letter from Gallipolis, dated August 23, 1792, was addressed to Gen. James Wilkinson at Fort Washington, with a copy to Gen. Wayne. It stated, in part: “On the 13th instant our scout of a Corporal and four men while returning from their daily custom of reconnoitering the fields and protecting the inhabitants while at work, were fired on, on their return at Six O’Clock Run, by a party of Indians within half a mile of the garrison. Ada
m Miller, of Captain Hughes’ Company, was shot through the body, left arm, and scalped, notwithstanding which he came in by himself and is in a fair way to recover. Richd Stacey, of Captain Kirkwood’s Company, was taken prisoner; the Corporal and the other two came in safe, with the loss of a gun and some clothing. The blockhouses were immediately put in order for action. The Indians continue around us constantly and we, together with the inhabitants, are constantly prepared to receive them, though it is with great difficulty Captain Rome [the garrison commander] can persuade them of the danger they have to apprehend.”

  770. Wayne established Legionville on the site of the present city of Ambridge, at the western terminus of present Fourteenth Street. That same site, in 1824, gave rise to a German socialist community established by George Rapp and, after that, the site became the location of a town named Economy, which was later annexed into Ambridge. The site of Legionville and Economy is presently preserved as the Old Economy Historical Site.

 

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