Voices; Birth-Marks; The Man and the Elephant

by Mathew Joseph Holt

  CHAPTER IX.--Chronicles.

  The Committee of Safety in September, 1775, promoted Captain ArchibaldCampbell. He was commissioned Colonel of the Minute Men of Botetourt andFincastle counties. From the date of this appointment his whole time wasconsumed by his military duties.

  John Mason, the former bond servant, still remained with him; and made amost efficient and trustworthy foreman. While he was yet an indenturedservant, he had been made a deacon of the Jackson River Meeting House;receiving more votes at the congregational meeting than a rich andrespected planter.

  He and Richard Cameron in the winter of 1773 had built for themselves acomfortable cabin of heavy hewn logs, near the plantation house; and onwinter nights long after the Campbells were asleep; their windows glowedfrom a bright light-wood fire.

  Mr. Campbell, curious to know why they kept such late hours, severaltimes stealthily peeped in and found that they were either reading froman old sheep-bound Bible, which Mason had brought with him from England,or some book borrowed from Mr. McDonald or the schoolmaster.

  Little John Calvin Campbell, after his supper, habitually went to thecabin and Mason read aloud to him or told stories of some patriarch ormartyr; and by this influence helped to mold the boy's character yetmore into that sweet, serious nature, which was its hereditary trend.

  While Logan had been a visitor at the plantation, he and Mason becamegreat friends. Mason made a list of three hundred common words and Logangave him the Mingo word corresponding to each; he also gave him a numberof lessons in idiomatic construction. These words he quickly committedto memory; and at every opportunity increased his vocabulary; until nowhe and John Calvin were the best interpreters in the county.

  Passing Indians continued to make the Campbell plantation their stoppingplace and thus he made the acquaintance of many; treating all of themwith such uniform kindness, that they upon their return spoke of him astheir white brother.

  In the early summer of 1775 it was rumored throughout the colonies thatLord Dunmore's agent, Connelley, and Sir John Stewart had been sent tothe Ohio tribes and Col. Guy Johnson had been sent to western New Yorkto organize and perfect alliances between the British and the Indians.

  It obviously being advisable to offset this influence, the colonialgovernment organized three departments, in charge of commissioners, towin the Indians; or failing in that, to induce them to remain neutral.

  The Virginia Committee of Safety, acting in conjunction with thecommissioners sent agents into the Indian country; and Col. John Morganwas named as chief of the colonial agents.

  Colonel Campbell was ordered to send a fit man into the Ohio Rivercountry for that purpose. At a loss, just whom to send, he asked theschoolmaster and Donald McDonald for suggestions and when both withouthesitancy named Mason; he was surprised that he had not thought of him.

  Mason was called before the county executive committee, a localsubdivision of the Colonial Committee of Safety, composed of ColonelCampbell, Captain Fairfax, Jeremiah Tyler, Samuel Preston and JamesSpeed, and asked to undertake the mission.

  He expressed a willingness to go not as a soldier but as a missionary,and requested that he be licensed for such service by the ValleyPresbytery, instead of the committee. This was arranged.

  Several days later, carrying nothing but his sheep-bound Bible, a changeof clothing, blanket, hunting knife, frying pan and a small bag ofparched corn, he accompanied Colonel Morgan to Pittsburgh. Several dayslater they traveled down the river in a canoe and arranged a councilwith several chiefs from the Scioto, Muskingum and Miami River valleys.

  The British agents, who had preceded them, by presents of arms and rum,had made allies of most of the Indians; who even now were organizing fora raid upon the white settlements.

  When their council met, two British agents were in attendance; andthough there were sixteen chiefs present, none favored the cause of thecolonies; four, Cornstalk, White Eyes, Red Hawk and Logan voted in favorof neutrality; the other twelve favored active co-operation with theBritish. These four had sufficient influence to procure a ten-dayarmistice.

  As soon as the council adjourned Cornstalk and Red Hawk, accompanied bya Shauanese warrior, traveled by canoe to Fort Randolph at the mouth ofKanawha, where they held a conference with Captain Arbuckle and warnedhim of the pending danger.

  Cornstalk, who had been defeated by General Lewis near the site of thefort, convinced that the Long Knives would win the struggle; knowingthat the Indians were not strong enough to fight the colonists afterpeace; was anxious that they remain neutral. He told the officers of thefort that of all the chiefs of that section only six favored neutrality;and that he and Red Hawk had come to confer with him, hoping thatsomething might be done to prevent hostilities.

  Arbuckle, keeping the three Indians as prisoners, as also Cornstalk'sson, who came to visit his father, sent word to the Shauanese that ifthey murdered any Americans he would shoot his prisoners.

  While they were held, two soldiers hunting at some distance from thefort were fired upon by Indians; one was killed, the other escaped. Whenthe soldiers of the fort learned of this, over the protest of theirofficers they killed the prisoners.

  Cornstalk met death like a stoic; but his son, hearing the soldiersapproaching, was greatly frightened. The father counseled: "My son, donot give place to fear. If the Great Spirit has sent you here to bekilled, submit to his will. Die like a man."

  When the council reconvened the Indians were wildly incensed; twenty-twochiefs were present and all but one, White Eyes, voted for war.

  Buckoulongas presiding, first addressed the council, saying:

  "Friends, listen! A great nation is divided. The sons, the Long Knives,fight their father, the British. The father has called on his Indianchildren to help him punish his white children. We should do what LordDunmore asks. He stood between us and destruction after the battle ofPoint Pleasant, when the Long Knives wished to burn our villages andmurder our women and children.

  "I took time to consider whether I should receive the hatchet of myfather to assist him. At first I thought it a family quarrel in which Iwas not interested. At length it appeared to me that the father wasright and his white sons should be punished.

  "The father has promised to arm and provision us and to treat us as hischildren, so we shall never want. But we have a greater cause for war.The Long Knives have broken their treaty with us. They steal ourproperty; they murder without provocation; even those of us who would betheir friends, who when they seek the shelter of their forts in peaceand for council and to do them a service are set upon and murdered. Lookat the murders committed by them upon the kindred of our friend andtheir friend also; who were living in peace on the banks of the Ohio.Did they not kill them without provocation and in cold blood? Will theybe any better? No. Even Logan, who so many times has spoken for them, isforced to remain silent; he cannot plead their cause.

  "There is no course but war, as they will continue to rob and murder solong as we have a foot of land remaining.

  "We respect Colonel Morgan, but are unfriendly to his cause. He mustreturn to Pittsburgh. John Mason, who has been our friend so long andwho comes to teach us about the white man's God, may remain."

  Of all the council but one chief dissented, White Eyes, a Delaware; andhe alone of all his tribe desired to remain neutral. When he spoke forneutrality, believing that the war would bring only disaster andsuffering to the Indians, Chieftain Pipe, a rival chief of his ownnation, rose and said: "I declare that every man should be called anenemy to his nation, who opposes war with the Long Knives."

  To which White Eyes replied:

  "If this council declares for war, you shall not go without me. I havebeen for peace that I might save my tribe from destruction; but allthink me wrong. I hope you are right. I am a warrior and a Delaware. Ifyou insist on fighting the Americans, go! and I will go with you. And Iwill not go like the bear hunter who sets his dogs upon the animal to bebeaten about by his paws while he keeps himself at a distance. No! I
will lead my people. I will be in the front. I will fall with the firstof you. I will not live to bewail the destruction of a brave people whodeserve a better fate.

  "I ask that John Mason, who has fed my people when they were hungry andwho has proved himself our friend, lodge with my tribe, many of whombelieve in the white man's God, having been instructed by Mr.Heckewelder. My tribe wished to drive him away; but I would not allowit, believing that something is to be learned from everyone. I am an oldman and know not how long I shall live. I now rejoice that I have beenable to induce my people to hear of this God. Our children andgrandchildren will reap the benefit. Now I am ready to die whenever Godpleases."

  A guard of Indians in three war canoes, escorted Colonel Morgan to hisfriends near Pittsburgh, but declined his invitation to land fearingthey might be massacred.

  John Mason remained with the Delawares; was taken into the family ofWhite Eyes and treated by the whole tribe, except Chieftain Pipe, as anhonored guest. Colonel Morgan had advised that he remain, hoping hisinfluence would keep the tribe from joining the British.

  He had been with them less than two months, when White Eyes was takenwith the smallpox. As the disease usually assumes a malignant form withIndians, he nursed the old chief and kept his people from the lodge.

  When it was evident that White Eyes was near death, he called forMason's Bible and holding it in his hands asked to be placed upon apallet without the lodge. There in the twilight of the day, and of hislife, he talked to his assembled people.

  "My friends, it is my dying wish that the Delawares should hear the wordof God. I have therefore gathered together my young men and theirchildren. I will kneel down before the Great Spirit who created them andme and I will pray unto Him that He will have mercy upon us and revealHis will to us. And as we cannot declare that will to those who are yetunborn, we will pray unto the Lord our God, to make it known unto ourchildren's children."

  White Eyes was succeeded by Chieftain Pipe, who hated all white men; butthe promises and bounties of the British bought his allegiance. He sentMason away and for several years willingly joined cause with theBritish.

  The longer the war lasted, the less he relished it; noting that hispeople, as White Eyes had foretold, were the chief sufferers and fullyaware that when peace was made between the whites a war of exterminationwould be waged against the Indian.

  These reflections and disappointments made him moodily superstitious. Hespoke of being visited and advised by the spirit of White Eyes towithdraw from the war and to become a Christian. He had always listenedto Mason's talks to his people. Towards the end of the war he exhibitedmuch sympathy for the settlers; commanding his braves not to molestwomen and children and to disarm and capture, rather than kill theirenemies. His people murmured because secretly he turned captives loose;and the belief prevailed among them that he had been converted toChristianity.

  He attended a council between the British authorities and their Indianallies at Detroit; and, though an ally, could not disguise his growinghostile spirit.

  Addressing the commanding officer, he said:

  "Father--though I do not know why I should call you father; I have neverknown any father but the French; still as this name is imposed upon us Iwill use it.

  "Father, some time ago, you put a war hatchet in my hands; you said:'Take this, and try it on the heads of my enemies, the Long Knives, thenlet me know if it is sharp and good.'

  "I have obeyed your commands. The hatchet I found sharp. This is whathas been done with it. These are the scalps we have taken. (Handing theCommandant, known as 'the Hair Buyer,' a package of forty-three scalps,cured, dried, hooped and painted, to indicate how and from whom taken.)And yet I did not do all I might have done. No, I did not. I feltcompassion for your enemy. Innocent women and children had no part inyour quarrels; therefore I spared them. These are the scalps of menkilled in battle.

  "I took some prisoners. As I was bringing them to you I spied one ofyour large canoes, in which I placed them. They will arrive in a fewdays. If you will examine their skin you will find it the same color asyour own. Father, I hope you will not kill those I have spared. You havethe means of preserving them from want. The Indian is poor. His cabin isalways empty. Your house is always full.

  "He has helped you because you have furnished him with rifles, hatchets,blankets, food and rum, though this is not his quarrel. That is thereason he has risked his life. For this you think the Indian a fool.

  "You and the Long Knives raised a quarrel among yourselves and you oughtto fight it out. You should not compel your children, the Indians, tofight for you. Many lives have already been lost. The tribes havesuffered and have been weakened. It is not known how many more willperish before your war shall end.

  "Father, I have said that you may think me a fool for rushingthoughtlessly on your enemy, as the hunter sets his dogs upon the bear.The Indian expects to see the father shake hands with his enemy, theLong Knives. Do not think that I am ignorant that soon you may makepeace with them. What then is to become of the Indian? You say you lovehim. It is for your interest to say so, that you may have him to serveyou."

  "The Hair Buyer" at this council paid the bounties and collected hisscalps. These were forwarded (eight packages) to the Governor of Canadawith the following communication:

  "May it Please Your Excellency:

  "At the request of the (illegible), I hereby send your Excellency, underthe care of James Hoyd, eight packages of scalps, cured, dried, hoopedand painted with all the triumphal marks of which the following is theinvoice and explanation:

  "No. 1. Containing forty-three scalps of Congress soldiers, killed indifferent skirmishes. These are stretched on black hoops four inches indiameter. The inside of the skin is painted red, with a small blackspot, to note their being killed with bullets; the hoops painted red,the skin painted brown and marked with a hoe; a black circle all aroundto denote their being surprised in the night; and a black hatchet in themiddle, signifying their being killed with that weapon.

  "No. 2. Containing ninety-eight of farmers killed in their houses; hoopsred, figure of a hoe, to mark their profession; great white circle andsun to show they were surprised in the day time; a little red foot toshow they stood upon their defense, and died fighting for their livesand families.

  "No. 3. Containing ninety-seven of farmers; hoop green to show they werekilled in the fields; a large white circle with a little round mark onit for a sun to show that it was in the day time; black bullets markedon some, a hatchet mark on others.

  "No. 4. Containing one hundred and two--eighteen marked with a littleyellow flame, to denote their being of prisoners burnt alive after beingscalped; their nails pulled out at the roots and other tortures. One ofthese latter being supposed to be an American clergyman; his hand beingfixed to the hoop of his scalp. Most appear to have been young or middleaged men; there being but sixty-seven very gray heads among them all,which makes the service more essential.

  "No. 5. Containing eighty-eight scalps of women; hair long, braided inIndian fashion to show they were mothers; hoops blue, skin yellow groundwith little red tadpoles to represent by way of triumph the tears ofgrief occasioned to their relatives; black scalping knife or hatchet atthe bottom, to mark their being killed by those instruments. Seventeenothers hair very gray, black hoops, plain brown color; no marks but theshort club or cassetete, to show they were knocked down or had theirbrains beat out.

  "No. 6. Containing one hundred and ninety-three boys' scalps of variousages. Small green hoops, whitish ground on the skin, with red tears onthe middle and black marks, knife, hatchet or club as their deathhappened.

  "No. 7. Containing two hundred and eleven girls' scalps, big and little,small yellow hoops, white ground, tears, hatchet, scalping knife.

  "No. 8. This package is a mixture of all the varieties above mentioned,to the number of one hundred and twenty-two; with a box of birch barkcontaining twenty-nine little infants' scalps.

  "With these packages the chiefs send to
your Excellency the followingspeech delivered by Conicogatachie in council:

  "'Father--We send you herewith many scalps that you may see we are notidle friends. We wish to send these scalps to the great King, that hemay regard them and be refreshed; and that he may see our faithfulnessin destroying his enemies and be convinced that his presents have notbeen made to an ungrateful people--etc--.'"

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  (This communication was published by Benjamin Franklin in the AmericanRemembrance; was reprinted in many European publications; and therevolting practice universally condemned in Europe and America).