A Woman of Courage on the West Virginia Frontier

by Robert N. Thompson

  As Edward and the second warrior fought, a third Shawnee pushed inside past the women who were anxiously trying to close and barricade the door. Wearing the unshorn front of a buffalo on his head, with ears and horns still attached, this man presented a most warlike appearance. He immediately moved toward a teenage girl, raising his tomahawk to strike her. Her father, who had been cowering in a nearby corner throughout the fighting, jumped up and tried to intervene but was too late to stop the first blow. Before the Shawnee could strike her again, her father grabbed the warrior’s arm and deflected the blow but was immediately tossed to the ground by the much-stronger Indian attacker. As the warrior was about to crush the settler’s skull, Edward ran across the room and, before the warrior could strike, sunk his own tomahawk deep into the Indian’s head, killing him.

  During the fighting, the other women had finally managed to push the door closed against the combined weight of the remaining warriors trying to force it open. Unfortunately, several children had not made it to the safety of the blockhouse, and the warriors now killed and scalped those they did not see fit to carry away to captivity. One of those taken away was Joe Cunningham. A warrior had apparently seen him enter the loom house, followed him and discovered the little boy’s hiding place. Reaching down into the hole beneath the floor, the Shawnee grabbed his new captive by the collar, pulled him up and made him join the other prisoners, who were now being marched away to the Shawnee’s home village.

  Once there, Joe was adopted but not before he was forced to run the gauntlet. This was part of almost all the woodland Indian tribes’ adoption ritual, and in this case, the young settler’s gauntlet consisted of Shawnee boys his own age who struck him with sticks and their fists. Young Joe not only made it through the gauntlet, but when he neared its end, he also turned on his tormentors and struck back. The adult Shawnee laughed at this display of courage but also appeared pleased that their new family member was so brave. Joe would remain with the Shawnee for sixteen years before he would be ransomed back to his family at age twenty-three. During that time, he forgot almost all of the English language he had been raised to speak, except for his name. Whenever he was alone throughout those sixteen years, he would whisper, “Joe Cunningham, Joe Cunningham,” to himself repeatedly as his only way to maintain a connection to his former life and family.132 However, a worse tragedy would eventually visit the Cunningham family, arriving on a late summer day in 1785.

  THE WYANDOT COME TO CUNNINGHAM’S RUN

  In early August 1785, Thomas Cunningham decided to make a final trip to Pittsburgh before the fall harvest and the winter that would soon follow. He packed up his horses with furs he and Edward had trapped, which would be sold for cash or traded for supplies, and said farewell to Phebe and their four children, probably assuring her that he would return in a few weeks time with everything they needed for the coming winter. Knowing that Edward and his thirteen-year-old son, Benjamin, would be able to provide some protection to his family and relying on the militia scouts for warning of any Indian activity, Thomas likely left with as little trepidation as one living on the frontier at that time could have.

  As Thomas made his way down the Monongahela, Phebe continued her daily routine, working around the farm, performing seemingly endless household chores and, of course, taking care of her children. The last day of August soon arrived, and it began much the same as all the other summer days that preceded it. The only thing that was remotely noteworthy was the presence of a small bird that flew in the window during the early morning and fluttered about Phebe’s cabin. Given that the cabin doors and windows were usually open during summer days, this was not a particularly strange occurrence. However, based on what would happen later that day, every time a bird flew into her house for the rest her life, Phebe would see it as a bad omen, becoming anxious, frightened and often moved to tears.133

  As the morning progressed, Phebe washed her favorite red and white coverlet and then carefully draped it over the fence in front of the cabin to dry. With that task complete, she went inside to cook a large lunch for her children, as Sarah did the same a few yards away in her cabin. The noon meal Phebe prepared that day included a main course of bear meat plus new potatoes and fresh peas from the garden, with applesauce made from apples grown in their own orchard. The meal would be topped off with dessert in the form of a fresh-baked vinegar pie and sweet milk for her children.134 As midday arrived, Phebe set the table, and since Thomas was expected home at any time, she even set a place for him at the table. Then she rounded up her children and sat down to eat with them, not knowing that danger hovered nearby.

  That danger came from a raiding party of Wyandot warriors, who were at that moment crouched in the woods, watching and waiting for the right moment to move from their hiding place and attack the farm in what was likely intended as a captive-taking raid. On this occasion, the militia scout system had failed to detect the raiding party’s presence in the area, and the warriors had probably been observing the farm for some time. As a result, they knew that Edward and Benjamin were the only ones capable of making any meaningful resistance and that a total of two women and ten children were the potential prizes as captives. Furthermore, the noon meal offered an excellent opportunity to make their approach, as everyone was inside, focused on eating their meals and conversing, while the cabin doors stood wide open. Their plan seems to have been for one warrior to first enter Phebe’s cabin, where they knew no man was present to resist them. Once inside, the warrior could use his rifle to provide cover for the rest of the attackers, as they tried to get inside Edward and Sarah’s cabin before Edward and his son could reach their rifles and close the front door.

  As the Cunningham families ate their lunch, the warriors crept out from the woods and hid behind the coverlet drying on the fence. Then, one of the Wyandot, a tall, heavy man painted for war in red, yellow and black, crossed the yard and crept toward Phebe’s cabin. Inside, Phebe sat at the end of the table closest to the cabin door, chatting with her children and eating her meal. Suddenly, her peripheral vision detected movement, and she turned toward the door to see the shadow of a tomahawk crossing its threshold. Before she could move to close the door or cry out the alarm, the Wyandot quickly entered the cabin, closing the door behind him.135

  Often described as a handsome, rugged people, this Barbara Kiwak sculpture, The Huron, gives us an idea of what the warriors who came to the Cunningham farm might have looked like. Courtesy of the artist.

  As Phebe and her children sat frozen in their chairs, the warrior helped himself to their food, eating a potato, all the pie and drinking down much of the milk. He then asked in halting English how many men were in the cabin next door, and Phebe replied by holding up and extending the fingers of both hands to indicate ten.136 He frowned and said, “Augh Sagh,” which Phebe later learned meant ten.137 Since he almost certainly knew exactly how many men were in the other cabin, he likely found her attempt to trick him brave but somewhat foolish. He then turned to the small window and firing port in the cabin wall that faced Edward and Sarah’s cabin and peered across the yard.

  At this point, the Wyandot’s plan for a surprise attack on the other cabin went wrong. Edward had seen the warrior enter Phebe’s cabin and immediately closed their cabin door, grabbed his loaded rifle and moved to the window, where he saw the Wyandot peer through the firing port in Phebe’s cabin wall. Realizing that Edward was watching him and was even now taking aim with his rifle, the warrior quickly raised his musket and fired at Edward. Phebe’s brother-in-law saw this just in time to avoid the shot that quickly followed. Bark from the window frame next to Edward’s head was knocked off by the ball and flew up into his face. He quickly shook off the shards and returned fire as the warrior ducked below his window for cover.

  As Edward rushed to reload, another of the raiding party jumped from hiding and ran across the yard toward Edward and Sarah’s cabin. Hearing his war cry, Edward raised the now reloaded musket and took aim on his new target. As s
oon as the warrior saw the weapon pointed in his direction, he turned and tried to get out of range. However, just as he was about to spring over the fence, Edward fired, and the Wyandot fell forward. The ball hit him in the leg, fracturing his thighbone, and he hobbled over the fence, taking shelter behind the coverlet before Edward could reload and fire again.

  Meanwhile, the Wyandot who had fired from Phebe’s cabin saw his comrade’s misfortune and, realizing that their plan had failed, apparently decided to make an escape. Up to this moment, Phebe had not attempted to get away as she feared any attempt to do so would be seen and draw the warrior’s anger. Moreover, even if she managed to escape, the other raiders would likely kill her before she could make it to Edward and Sarah’s cabin. Worst of all, however, she knew that it was impossible for her to take the children with her, and she could not simply leave them alone with the warrior. Phebe held the forlorn hope that he would decide to withdraw without molesting any of them. Tragically, that would not be the case.

  The warrior grabbed another potato, shoved it in his mouth and then proceeded to set fire to blankets from the nearby beds. Thick smoke began to fill the room and pour out the doors and windows, masking the view from Edward and Sarah’s cabin. Once he was sure he would not be seen escaping, the Wyandot apparently decided he needed to do something to ensure Phebe’s cooperation. Grabbing her two-year old son, Walter, he raised his tomahawk and swiftly brought it down, smashing the little boy’s skull and killing him before his mother’s horrified eyes. As a scream caught in her throat, he jerked Phebe up from her chair, put the infant, Tommy, in her arms and ordered her and the other two children to leave with him via the front door. The Wyandot, who continued to drag Walter’s lifeless body with him, then led her away from the house with the baby in her arms and Henry and Lydia hanging onto her skirts. Despite the smoke, Edward could see Phebe and her family being led away by the warrior. He took aim, but the smoke was too dense to risk a shot that might hit Phebe or one of the children. Instead, Edward did about the only thing he could. He plaintively called out Phebe’s name across the yard, telling her not to lose hope and that a rescue would be coming soon.

  Once hidden among the trees, the warrior promptly took Walter’s scalp and tossed his body aside, and the raiding party watched as the flames from Phebe’s cabin jumped to the roof of Edward and Sarah’s home.138 The Wyandots hoped that the flames would drive the family from the house, but soon they could see that Edward and Benjamin had climbed up to the loft, thrown off the loose boards that covered it and were attempting to extinguish the fire. The raiding party began to take shots at them in an attempt to stop them from putting out the fire, but this effort failed. Edward and Benjamin quickly extinguished the blaze and began to return the warriors’ shots. Seeing that this particular target was going to be too hard to take, the raiding party elected to withdraw, taking their wounded comrade and new captives with them. However, before they traveled more than a few yards, the warriors decided to lighten their load.

  Although the goal of the raid was most likely to take captives, events had turned against the Wyandot. If their plan had succeeded, they would have eliminated Edward and Benjamin and, with them, any chance of an alarm being raised in the countryside. Then they could have easily retired from the area and made their way home, despite being slowed by the presence of twelve captives. Now, however, they knew it was only a matter of hours before armed militiamen would be dispatched in pursuit, and they had a badly wounded warrior to care for. Given that, military expediency made their captives excess baggage they could ill afford. While Phebe could probably keep up with them as they marched westward and carry little Tommy, four-year-old Henry and three-year-old Lydia were too great a liability. The warriors quickly killed both children with tomahawk blows as Phebe watched in motionless horror, probably expecting to receive the same fate, along with Tommy.

  With their wounded comrade carried on a rough litter, the raiding party and their two surviving captives crossed the nearby ridge to Bingamon Creek and then made their way to a smaller stream known today as Little Indian Run. There, they took shelter for the night in a cave formed by a large sandstone rock with a projecting roof, which was located about two miles from the Cunningham farm.139 After nightfall, the raiding party returned to the farm, and seeing that the rest of the Cunningham family had fled, they plundered the cabin before setting it ablaze.

  This monument along County Route 8 west of Peora, West Virginia, marks the location of the Cunningham farm. The sandstone rock comes from the cave in which the Wyandot hid with Phebe and her infant son. Photo by the author.

  Edward, Sarah, and their children were actually hiding in the neighboring woods, watching helplessly as their home burned to the ground. In the morning, they made their way to the nearest farm and gave the alarm. As the Wyandots had anticipated, a company of men was quickly raised to go in pursuit of the raiding party. When they arrived at the Cunningham’s farm, they found both houses now in ashes, and before long, they discovered the bodies of Phebe’s three children. After a quick burial, they set off in an attempt to find the Wyandots’ trail. Unfortunately, the raiders had covered their tracks well, and initially, no traces of them were uncovered.

  However, the next day, evidence of the warriors’ trail was finally discovered. The militia followed their path to within a short distance of the cave in which the Wyandot were hiding but could track them no further. As they searched the area, the militia came so close to the cave that Phebe could hear their voices clearly. She later told Lucullus McWhorter, “Not only were their voices plainly audible, and I recognized some of them, but the slightest rustle of their shot pouches was borne to my ear.”140 However, the warriors stood over her with rifles and tomahawks at the ready, indicating that she and her infant must remain silent and that any attempt to cry out would bring a swift death. Phebe crouched in the cave with her captors, holding Tommy close to her breast so he would not cry and give them away.141

  Finding nothing, the searchers returned to the Cunningham farm that evening. During the night, one of the search party who was familiar with the area remembered the presence of a cave along Little Indian Run and led the group to it, reaching the cave just after dawn the next morning. However, having heard the militia so close the day before, the raiding party had elected to leave during the night, taking Phebe and Tommy with them.

  Thomas returned a few days later to find his home in ashes, three of his children dead and his wife and infant son missing. His grief must have been almost unimaginable. As time passed, many would try to convince him that Phebe and Tommy were likely dead, as well, and that he needed to relinquish whatever hope he might harbor in his heart. Nevertheless, Thomas would never give up.

  Officially, Phebe was reported as being killed in the attack by Colonel John P. Duval, the County Lieutenant of Harrison County, in a dispatch to Governor Patrick Henry of Virginia, dated September 5, 1785:

  The Indians have again repeated their barbarities in Harrison County on the 31st of August by killing the wife and four children of Thomas Cunningham and burning his house and that of Edward Cunningham. The people are terrified. Expresses are arriving with intelligence of traces of Indians being nearby. He would do all he could to keep the people together until succor should arrive, but the Militia were not organized, and ammunition very scarce. He had sent out fifty men and six spies. The effective force in county being only about two hundred and fifteen men and about one hundred and thirty guns. He is about to send for the powder and lead agreeable to directions, but adds in case there are any rifles belonging to the State in any of the back magazines at Alexandria, Winchester or Fredericksburg should acknowledge it as a singular favor to send an order for about two hundred of them.142

  As Duval’s report made its way to Governor Patrick Henry in Richmond, Phebe continued marching to the west with her captors, unaware of just how long this journey would eventually be in terms of both distance and time.

  Chapter 4

 
A New World

  THE JOURNEY

  On the second night in the cave, the Wyandot conferred about what might be their next course of action. They had managed to take only two captives, their wounded comrade would not live through the night and the militia had come dangerously close to discovering their hiding place during the day. The only logical path was to abandon the cave before dawn, leaving the dead warrior behind, take the captive woman and her baby with them and start the long trek back to their village.

  Before the sun began to rise, Phebe watched as the warriors carried their comrade out of the cave on his litter, and her impression was that they hid the body in a neighboring pool of water.143 Once the Wyandot returned, they pulled her to her feet, and as she carried Tommy, they marched out into the darkness and headed west, away from the slowly brightening skies behind them. The warriors moved swiftly, as years of training and experience had taught them to do. They knew their pursuers might very well find the cave and pick up their trail, so time could not be wasted. Phebe did her best to keep up, concerned that any sign of weakness on her part might convince the warriors that she and her infant son were not worth the trouble.

  Over the course of the next few days, Phebe’s fatigue and hunger increased dramatically. Her Wyandot captors were conditioned by a lifetime of hunting and raiding to move great distances in a short amount of time and do so with little need for food or water. As a result, they did not make stops to rest, much less take a drink of water or have meals. They did take the time to kill a wild turkey; however, they only gave Phebe the head to eat. After that, they only provided her with three papaws, and despite her intense hunger, she carefully husbanded the fruit, eating each one slowly, making them last several days.