B ) //. S. KNA PP. 'J TO I, K n O : J HIArtK MAMMOTH PRIHTINS ANn I'I'HI.IAHINH HOlinr. 1S71I Entered according to an act oi: (.'ougi-eas, iii the year 187'^, By H. 8. KNAPP, in the oftire of the ),;brariai> o' Congress, :il V>' ashinglou. TO RUTHERFORD BIRCHARI* HAYES. latb: governor of ohio : Whose official lite adds lustre tu the character of the true suidicr, and able and incorruptible statesman, and whose interest in all that bears relation to the preservation of the historical wealtii o) ( )hio has been manifested throughout his life, this vokune is respectfully dedicated, by H. S. K. Toledo, May, 1^73 INTRODUCTORY AND EXPLANATORY. The author of Ecce Deus says : " History can never be written. It ran only be hinted at, and most dimly outlined from the particu- lar stand-])oint which the historian has chosen to occupy. It is only by courtesy that any man can be called a historian. Seldom do men so flatly contradict each other as upon points of fact. Incom- pleteness marks all narrations. No man can fully write his own life. On reviewing the sheets which were to have told everything, the autobiographer is struck with their reticence and poverty." It may be said that in this work appear many historians. Its com- piler, in> a large degree, has acted only the part of a faithful amanu- ensis, and transcribed the recollections of others, as they have been given him. Statements are made regarding the same facts by per- sons of high character, which other persons equally entitled to credit, and having knowledge of the same cotemporaneous events, may cri- ticise and contradict. These discrepancies result from the infirmi- ties of human memory, and the author could not undertake to adjust or reconcile them ; and the remark above (juoted he has found so obviously true as to justify repetition : " Seldom do men so flatly contradict each other as upon points of fact." This observation will apply even to matter emanating from the highest official sources, including Messages of Presidents, and reports from heads of civil and military departments. For a wise purpose, doubtless, it was ordered that the words of only One should outlive and defy all criticism. A primary object of this work has been to embody the names and recollections of as many of the pioneers of the Maumee Valley as it was practicable to obtain, within a reasonable space of time, and bring the survivors, so far as the art of printing could execute the design, into a Common Council. It is sad to review the decimation, made by the hand ot death, during the last two years and more, since the commencement of this volume, among the early settlers. If the years immediately succeeding make similar inroads upon their ranks, the time is close at hand when the last of the old race we call "pio- neer," will have been conveyed to his final rest. The names of many worthy 'old settlers' of theValley are necessarily omitted ; but this work, now largely exceeding the limits originally designed, and extending several months beyond the time fixed for its appearance, should reach the "finis" before its author reaches his tomb. Even if the task has been imperfectly accomplished, the months of drudging, though pleasant, toil, devoted to it, will not be regarded as spent in vain. The author only regrets that he had not lease of longer life than will probably be alloted him, and ample pecu- niary resources, to make the work more acceptable. But, commen- cing on a prescribed limit of 350 pages, it was again fixed at 500, and now, as the reader discovers, considerably exceeds 600, exclu- sive of engravings and maps. Acknowledgments are due such a multitude of good people for kindnesses that discrimination is hardly proper. It would, however, be scarcely pardonable to omit expression of general obligation to my old cotemporaries of the newspaper press throughout the Valley and country, and to name especially the late A. T. Goodman, Secre- tary of the Western Reserve and Northern Ohio Historical Associa- tion, and the late Secretary of State, W. H. Smitu, Clark Waggoner, Alfred F. Edgertuu, Jesup W. Scott, and to the works of my old friend and editorial associate, Mr. Charles Cist, of Cincinnati. Typographical errors will be discovered. 1 he responsibility for these, in a court of equity, would be about equally distributed, pro- bably, among printers, proof reader and author. In most instances they are so manifest, that the intelligent reader will pass them by without complaining of the absence of a hackneyed and hateful "errata." H. S. K. Toledo, May, 1873. losriDEix: Allen county, Indiana — its area— first officers — list of Justices in 1872 — pro- gress in population and wealth— officers of the county in 1872 378-381 Allen county, Ohio -its formation, 1820.. ..._• 451 Altitudes — Table of; [see Appendix "B" pioneers, notes of _ ..452-459 officers in 1872— jail building, population, &c.... 459-461 Arrowsmith Miller, personal sketch of 593-594 Armstrong, Captain John — his operations and escape near Fort Wayne, in 1790 67, 68 Auglaize river — a night bivouac on 142 military posts on 154 navigation of.. 470 Auglaize county — its organization. . _ , 465 first term of Court 472 taxable basis — Federal census. 474, 475 Barclay, (Captain of the British fleet on Lake Erie) 183 Bayless, Samuel — " Book of General Orders " 179-182 Bouquet and Bradstreet, campaigns of . . . 40, 41 Bowling Green in 1872 484 Bucyrus— plotted in 1822.. 477 Bucyrusin 1872 480 Canal systems of Ohio and Indiana 829-347 CasSj General Lewis — letter from to the Governor of Ohio 134, 135 Clay, General Green. 160 Cofflnberry, Andrew — reminiscences of 306-310 Coffinberry, James M — personal sketch of... 317,318 Conant, Dr. Horatio— letter of, in 1822 - 427,428 personal sketch of 571, 572 Combs, Genei-al Leslie — letter from 205, 206 speech of. ..213-217 Couch. Joseph N — letter from 135, 136 Crawford county — organization and origin of its name — early history— first Court — first and present officers — proceedings of the Board of Com . missioners of 1831 1 475-480 Crawford county— population, wealth, &c., in 1872-73 480, 481 Crawford's Expedition 51-58 Croghan, Major, at Fort Stephenson - - .183 his answer to General Harrison^. 184 his heroic defence at Fort Stephenson. 185, 18i), 187, 188, 189 promoted for his gallantry, and complimented by General Harrison — 190 receives the plaudits of his countrymen . - 191 at the battle of the Thames ' . ^ - - . 201 Croghan, George — his visit to the Maumee Valley in 1765-- - -46-49 in command at Fort i\leigs 174 receives instructions from General Harrison . . 176 his desperate resolve 177 letter to General Harrison 206-208 Daniels, Willard J — personal sketch of 559-561 8 De Cnleron's expedition in 1749 81 Defiiincf county -- — 58' Df'fiiinff (fori ) (Tcrlfd Aupiist, 1704. 87 troops to 111- cnllfftc'd Ht 140 Cicncr.il lliirriUDii at 111,142 ri'volt in ii Kentucky regiment. 14'2-14') Wincliestcr ill ^1^ Defiance threatened 176 Logan's deiUli and bnrial .. . . .. 215-lf5G fort improved by General Wayne in ITiM '■'>^)^ his nmrcli to Fori Wayne . o'i5 Col. Johnson at Defiance in 1813 - 377 early white history of . ^62-'yQ'.i Defiance, (town) — early instory, when laid out, its lapid growth, popnlation, resources, Ac, 59l)-(102 Delphos— popnlation— ia50. 1860, 1870 .. 4'il historical sketch of, and present business 402-465 Detroit 10-37 Dickiny)n, Rodolphus— commissioner to establish Crawford 00011179881.47^ personal sketch of 525, 526 Dudley. Colimel, at Fort Meigs .. - 101-170 Edger ton, Alfred P— personal sketch of. .. 422-424 Edsall, Wm. S— reminiscences of .. .. 390-402 Elli(iit, (British Colonel).. 172 Evans, Dr. John, and S. Gary — personal sketches of . 402-407 Ewing, Colonel. Geo. W — personal sketch of .40li^l3 Findlay. (fort)— erecticm of Oil 012 Fort Adams erected in 1794 .80 besie-^ed in April, 1813 . 159 pioneers of Find lay, population, &C., - 612-615 Fort Industry, (Toledo) 93 " Dearborn, (at Chicago) 138 *' Jennings, (i^iitmiu County) — erected in 1812 141 Fort Stephenson — letters relating to military situation of 177, 178 Harrison at 183 heroic defence of ..186 Fort iMeigs — military defences and operations at in the spring and summer of 1H13 115 the post besieged 689 Fort Miami at Fort Wayne 14 rebuilt in 1748 by the French, under Lieut. Dubuisson.- 18-30 Fort Wayne— in 1680 10 Indian towns at 65-68 the town in 1812 183 the post relieved 140 openioL,' of canal navigation at 846,347 early history of 348 La Balm's unfortunate expedition to 351-353 its military importance in the view of Generals Washington, St. Clair, Wayne and Kno.x in 1790-'91-'94 3.5:i-355 Little Turtle and Gen. Wayne .' .....855-358 buried at 861 Indian treaty at Fort Wayne in 18'J3 a^O-SOl John B. Kichardville— his birili and death at Fort Wayne 303-804 General Wayne reaches the town Sept., 1794, and determines the location of t he new garrison 865 fort completed and named , 386 Fort Wayne from 1794 to 1811 .. 867,368 the old Counril TToiise SflO Mrtjor William (Mivor and Logftn at .. J?(>i) 873 tilt' fort h»'i*it\::t"il Harrison marches to its nlief — his tUTivftl nnii fliijhi of th«' iiK'inv , .375 situdlion of llif ton *. - . . .»70 Colonel ,Ii»linson a^ain .vl thp fi>rt 870 ct>niman(lanis of tho t(>rt . , 877 land otllro .stahlishod at in 1839 ...878 mnnioipal oflixrs 18 U> 1870 .880 chunlu-s, ntwspaptTs, scln^ols, benevolent institnlions ;iS3,88S the town in IS8I 884 887 hnsiness of the liiy in U^73 887 80ft j>ii>neers of t he \' rtlley , non-resident* of 878, 8i>ft. 434 i>ein!: threatened by tJUe Indians, prompts the expedition against Mis- sinsinewa ...... 469 Proctor demands its snrrender Harrison's reply 160 narrowly esrapcs ilostrnotiou . 167 se<"ond sii'ue of . . . 174 saved Iron* a srreat peril • . . 177 r-anip lite at 170-183 the second siege abandoned ..,..., 184 in»pi>rtance ot the post 191 the fort as^ain threatened 877 F(>ot of the Ixnpids capture of Captain John A. Clark, a British offi- cer 140.147 Winchester at 148 Harrison at . tr>9 159 British erect batteries (>n left bank..,. . lt?6 Foster, Tharles W , persoinil sketch of 508, ft04 Fostoria 508-505 Fulton county 578 French posts surrender t^f in I7t">l. by the French 83 Frontenac, (Count) . 10 Gano. General .lohti S letter of 210. 311 Girty . Simon, his family 58. 59, 60 a poet's view i>f his character . 579-580 Gladwvn, eonunauvlant at Detrtnt . 80. 87 GtHifrey. Dr. Charles M 009 Hancock County — Early history of, pioneers, present resources, «!tc., 611-616 Harilin, Colonel — operations near Fort Wayne 07-70 Harmar's lampaigu 63-73 Harrismi, Ctcneral William Henry — appointment ot as commander-in-chief of the north western army. September 17. 1818— instructions from the war department .,..., ,. . 189. 140 his defence of Fort Meigs, ,-» 158-161 invades Canada ..;,.. - • 198 his otheial rt^port of the battle of the Thames 198-303 Henrv county ■ 578-583 Hoakjland, Pfinv, personal sketch of 418-415 Holgate. Win v.. personal sketch of... 597-599 Holmes, eusii^n, his death at Fort Wayne. -85 Htill, General — appointed to command of north-western army — his incapacity and misfortunes — terms of his surrender at Detroit, and his trial ior treason 136 183 letter from General Jessup in relation to 184 Hunt, John K,. reminiscences and personal sketch of 568-508 Indian naval engajrcment 44 Indians— moral and reliirious condition of in 18(V,? 103 101 Iriflinn tndii*'- Ht Fori M'lui'x^h, 'Kt df Jariimry, 1785 . . . fit Korl H;irmiir, January •'. 17H9 at Fort 'irifciivillf. Aii;.niHl ;i. \i'X> ... ar F>>r\ lri, 1H<)H at tin- foot of tlH- Miiiiriic«- HiiitidM, H<-\>\i-in\tfr 2U, ]H] , Hi St. Mary'H. H«'plKaii, (Itif Indian fjiief.) and Mcjor Wm. <^)liv«!r Lotjin'.H lurnily and dealli . lyorauiie, j'eier, liis station and his dwilh, At; Loskiel. Moravian iniHKionary Lower Sandnsky — HUggt^ation of name for the town, in IHlf; Lower Sandusky freneral Harrison at mililary situation al operationH at in 1818 "general firdiTH." May 14 and 22, 1818.. Proft(»r al A had mililary [KiHilirin petition for relief to Gov. Meigs, from citiz'-nB of letter from Gen. Gano Liica.s eonnly its early hiHlory. pioneers, Ac . itB hiHtorv reHiimed Mrtckinar, surrender of Manmee Valley — first wliilf settlement in 108orlanc« of, and of Lake Erie, oh viewed by the French in i:6I 88 Mftumee river— its importance to the army in the war of 1812, hh a channel of transportation 212 Mr Arthur, Gen. I>un<;an — letter to Governor Worthington 212 Mereer county— when formed— origin of ilR natne— St. Clair's battle— Wayne's trace— Bimon Girty — the fort at St. Mary's — l"tler from Gen. Wayne- earliest white witlement at Fort R4-rovery— the slain of St. Clair's army •. 43b-441 first fcsftion of the commiHsioners . ;.. 441 first Court term 442 pioneers .41'.', 4>8 reservoir troubles.. .. 44;<-44.^ pioneer notes 44.'"» 4.')0 county administration— county offlrers for 1871-72 — valuation of pro|.«*riy and population — Celina, Ac . ... I'lO 4'^1 Metcalf, .ludge Ben —anecdote by ... 821 Miller, Cohmel John,-at the Hieire of Fort Meigs .161 .218. 219 21!», 220 .22r) 226 227 227, 228 2!h •f'.U 2;n 2.',H 2:58 859 8«il 2:i9 199 201 208 2« Tecum- 201 208 4.-58 4fll 8.'55-8ft« :w.t 3'ii 215 M;r, 4tifl 2 "•, 2« AS AH 140 151 153 158 177 . 17m 183 192 21 Kl .210 210, , 211 532 5:j« «l« 35 9 14 . 20 30 6 Miami, (Fort Wayne,) passes under control of English in 1761 88 captured under Pontiac in 1764 35 Miami villages at and near Fort Wayne — their military importance in the view of General Washington 73 Miner, Byrum D — a public spirited citizen of Fort Wayne, who represented Allen county in the legislature of Indiana, and also held other responsible official ixxiA fiduciary (not, as printed, "judiciary") positions 412 " Mohickon," John's Town. , -..._. _ _ . . 32 Moravian Missions in Ohio 49, 50, 51 Morris, his reception and maltreatmemt at Fort Wayne 42-44 Morrison, John H — reminiscences of 326, 327 Mott, Richard, recollections of, regarding Toledo 544-559' Nichols, Francis L., personal sketch of 577, 578 Nicholas— his conspiracy in 1745 -.. 14-19 Ohio, United States and Michigan territory — boundary ctmtroversy — origin of the constitutional provision in 1802 — letters from Amos Spafford and Dr. H. Conant — the agitation renewed in 1835 — legislative hostilities between Ohio and Michigan — efforts at compromise — Gov. Mason, of Michigan, rejects the peace offers — the surveying expedition — explanation of a Michi- gan prisoner — Major Stickney and N. Goodsell, prisoners ; their letters — letter from Andrew Palmer — meeting at Toledo — Gov. Lucas calls an extra session ; his message — atteni])t to arrest Two Stickney — Noah H. Swayne, Wm. Allen and David T. Disney, Ohio commissioners to Wash- ington — close of the controversy — peace jubilee at Toledo 240-364 Oliver, Major William — letter refering to siege ol Fort Findlay 159, 160 reaches Fort Meigs with message to Harrison 160 at Upper Sandusky - - .-- 21)9 at Waupaukonnetta and Fort Wayne -. - . .215 again at Fort Wa.yne ...369-372 Onatanon, (fort near Lafayette, Indiana) 35 Ottawa county '..- 531, 533 Paulding County — when organized, popttlation, &c., ...602-604 notes by Gen. Curtis ... - 603 Paully, ensign, commandant at Fort Sandusky — his capture, romantic narra- tive, divorce and escape . 35-37 Perkins, General Ohio Militia, assigned to command of the right wing of the army, by General Harrison 145 Perry, Commodore — his naval victory upon Lake Erie 193-198 at the battle of the Thames 201 Perrysburg (see Fort Meigs) — post office established at in 1810, and in 1816 the ONLY (not, as printed, " old ") post office between the river Raisin and Lower Sandusky, and between the Maumee bay and Chicago 425 suggestion that originated the name 427 thetown in 1833 ...432 " " " 1838 438, 434 " " " 1872 434, 435 Pickawillany — its destruction 22-26 Pioneers — others in the Maumee Valley; [see Appendix marked " D."] Political campa^n of 1840— mtmster meeting at Fort Meigs -265-269 humors of later conflicts 2(59-273 Pontiac — his speech to Alexander Henry 32,33 besieges Detroit — 38 his craft fails . 39 his financial scheme -- 40 his character and death 44 Posts — French, surrender of 33 Potter, Emery D., personal sketch of - 285-288 Proctor, (British General) 158,165, 183 Prentice, Frederick— personal sketch of. 501-563 Presbyterian Mission on the Muumee ; [Appendix "C" Piilinm County — Early history, pioneers, first lawyers first pbysicianti, 606-609 Population - 611 Khea, Captain J it8, i;«, 184 Kice, Clark II., personal sketch of 60!)-bl0 Rice, Gen. A. V., military record of 610-011 Richardviile, John B— his character and death 862-364 Rogers, Major Robert, expedition of, in 1760— his trip fVom Detroit via Mau- mee river to Pittsburg 81, :^2 Rudisili, Henry 407,408 Sandusky county — early history, present resources, &c 505- o81 Sandusky (fort,) surrender of under Pontiac, in 1764 85, 36 Scott, Jesup VV., personal sketcii of 572-577 Seneca county — organization — early history, present resources, «fec 490-505 Seneca (fort) — Pleasant township, Beneca county 188 Sessions Horace, personal sketch of 594-597 Spink, John C — reminiscences of 8l4r-816 St. Clair, General Arthur — succeeds Harmar 71 instructions to 72, 78, 74, 75 his army in motion — his defeat, and explanations 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82 jiersonal sketch ol... 572 St. Mary's — its military importance during the war of 1812 .140, 141 war transports for army 212 tirst settlements at 468 early settlers — old block house, &c 470, 471 the town audits prospects in 1872 471,472 formerly known as Girty's town — its sitiialictn in 1814 468 as a depot for army supplies 469 the town in 1824 and 1872 _ ....474 Suttenfield, Mrs. Laura— 408,409 Tecumseh at the siege of Fort Meigs 161 his magnanimity _ 163-173 m peril • ,,. 165 at Fort Stephenson 188, 192, 193 killed l)y Colonel Johnson at the battle of the Thames 199. 2n2. 2i);j his character and generous qualities .. 204,205,206 The old Bench and Bar — tirst Court north-west of the river Ohio — the territo- rial judiciary — attorneys admitted in 1H02— Supreme Bench, 1802-1872— reminiscences of Judge David Iliggins ; hi> views regarding the boundary controversy — Indian murder trial at F'remont— judicial circuits in North- western Ohio under the tirst Constitution — Common Pleas Judges under the Constitution of 1802 — the old Bar members. Judge Emery D. Potter, Judge John Fitcli, and others — reminiscences ot lion. Tho.-* W. Powell ; his recollections of Perrysburg and Mauniee city in 1^20; of the \ It is to the White river and to the Beautiful river, (Ohio,) that I expect you will immediately march in ([uest of him, and when you destroy him, you will seize and divide all his goods among you. .Set out forthwith. You shall want for nothing that you require for the extirpation of this scum. If the ICnglish escape you on the lieautiful river, (Ohio,) you will lind them a little farther off with liis brother, the Flat- Head." In answer to a message of the White river Indians, M. de Long- ueuilsaid: "Wait not till the English strike lirst; commence by binding and pillaging all the English who come to your parts, and the Beautiful river, (Ohio); divide the goods among you, and bring the men here to Detroit.'' During the year 1700, the Iroquois, after years of hostility, made a treaty with the French, by which their missionaries and traders were allowed in all parts of the West. About this time a party of factors from Detroit built a small post on the Maumee, Avhere Toledo now stands. In 1703, the English invited the Ilurons and Miamis to locate near the Senecas, on Lake Erie, assuring them of protection against the French. The i)roposition was rejected. During the year 1705, Sieur de Joncaiie visited the Seneca Indians, and Sieur de Vincennes the Miamis, on business of the Governor of Canada, and found English traders with each nation. In 1107, M. de Cadillac, commandant at Detroit, marched with a small force against the Miamis, and soon forced them to terms. Two years later (1709), Cadillac advocated the building of a ship canal from i^ake Erie to Lake Ontario. In 1712, Sieur de Vincennes paid a second visit to the ^liamis. The French post at Detroit was besieged by the Pouteouatiunis and Saguenays. who made war on the Indian allies of the French, massa- creing nearly one thousand men, women and children of the Outaga- mis and Maskoutins. As early as 1714, Governor Alexander Spotswood, of Virginia, a man of foresight and energy, saw the advantage \q be gained by ati 12 First White Settlement early settlement of the Ohio country. He had been appointed Gov- ernor in 1710, an office which he filled with great ability for twelve years. During the year 1714, he explored the country across the Blue Kidge to the Ohio, and became enamored with the surroundings. It was not, however, until the year 1716, that he communicated to the Legislature a plan for a company to settle the lands on the Ohio river. The Legislature viewed the matter favorably, and the papers were sent to the English Ministry for approval. They were held for a long time, and finally the plan was rejected. The exact cause was never known, but was supposed to have been fear on the part of the Ministry, that the planting of colonies to the westward would give offence to the French. Notwithstanding this disheartening refusal, the matter was not entirely dropped. From time to time, pamphlets were printed, and letters published, urging upon the English Gov- ernment the necessity of pushing its possessions westward. There were plenty of capitalists ready to risk their money in the purchase of lands and building up of settlements, but the Ministry were weak and timid, and would give no encouragement whatever. In 1714, Captain de La Forest showed to the French Government the importance of maintaining Detroit, and keeping possession of Lake Erie and its environs. The French monarch had more fore- sight than England's King, and spent vast sums of money in extending his possessions. In 1715, a party of Englishmen from North Carolina constructed three posts on the south side of the Ohio, and its branches. The French having obtained control of the Ohio Indians, the English in 1716 sent agents among them with speeches and presents, and endeavored to form an alliance, but were unsuccessful. The same year seventeen Frenchmen were killed while on their way from the Illinois country to Detroit. In a letter, addressed about this time by M. de Ramezay and M. Begon, to the Governor of Canada, they requested the French Government to build a post at Niagara, on the ground that "this post would deter the Mississague and Amicoue Indians from going to the Iroquois to trade, when passing from the neighborhood of Lake Erie." A stockade was built by the French at Vincennes, but soon abandoned. During the year 1720, French traders were active along the Ohio. Sieur de Joucaire reported that he had seen "a fountain near the head waters of the Ohio, the water of which is like oil, and tasted like iron." iFurther north, he rejwrtod another fbiintain of tlie samo In ihe Maumre Valley. 1 '^ kind. " The savages," he says, "make use of the water to appease all manner of pains.'' In lT2v', a trt'aty was made at Albany, New York, between the Iro(|Uois and Jliighsh, by which tjie lands west of the Allegheny Mountains were acknowledged to belong to the Irocjuois by reason of their eon(|nests from the Eries, Conoys, Tongorias, &c. In 17:2"), Han>n ile Longueuil was made Governor of Canada, and soon after rei)orted that, "the P^nglish have built two houses and some stores on a small stream which flows into the Wabash, where they trade with the Miamis and Ouyatanons." During the year K'-iC, the country from the Cuyahoga in Ohio, to Oswego in Xew Vori<, was placed by tiie Iroquois under the ])rotec- tion of the English. In 17'2H. the Alaniuis de Beauharnois, then Governor of Canada, recommended the en-eiion of a fort on the south shore of Lake Erie, to serve as winter tpiarters for two sloops he proposed to build on that lake. ''By tliis nu-ans," he writes, "the English would be prevented tro,ii Sfuding loaded canoes with l)randy and merchandise to the head of Lake P'rif." The King declined building the fort, or ]iaying for the construction of sloops. In 1720, Joshua Gee, of London, printed a pam]»hlet urging the planting of English colonies in Western America. The following year (17:J0), CJovernor Keith urged upon the Ministry the advantages of securing British dominion west of the mountains. During the year 1731, Sieur de Joncaire, by direction of the Gov- ernor of Canada, visted the Shawanese, who had located on the Ohio and its branches — for the pur]»ose of securing their friendship and alliance. In 173(», Vincennes was destroyed by the savages. The French now claimed to have 10,403 warriors, and 8:i,000 souls under their control in the West. During the year 173«J, M. dc Longueuil left Detroit, -crossed the Ohio country, and discovered Bigbone Lick, in Kentucky. De Lon- gueuil constructed a road from Detroit to the Ohio river, which crossed tlie Maumee at the foot of the ra)ii(l>, and was thereafter used by the Canadians. In 1742, a number of herdsmen from Detroit siitied at \'iiieeniK'.>.. John Howard, an English traveler, crossed the mountains from Virginia, descended the Ohio in a cauoe, and was taken prisoner by the French, near the Mississippi. 14 Plot of Nklwlas. In 1743, Peter Charties, a Frenchman living in Philadelphia, undertook, by a mission among the Ohio Shavvanese, to engage them in war with the Six Nations. For this" he was severely reprimanded by the Governor of Pennsylvania, and becoming alarmed, fled to Canada, where he was appointed Captain in the French service. lie secured an alliance of the Shavvanese with the French. The same year the Detroit French sent goods and presents to a party of Sene- cas, Onon'Iagas, and others of the Iroquois, then recently settled on the White river. In return for these favors, the Indians promised to drive off all English traders from the Ohio. In 1744, Commissioners of the Colony of Pennsylvania made a treaty at Lancaster, Pa., with representatives of the six nations, by which the latter *■' recognized the King's right to all lands beyond the mountains." Encouraged by this, the English formed several settlements and magazines along the Ohio, but were driven off, almost immediately, by Detroit Indians. Hearing of their location on the White river, (Indiana,) M. de Longueuil sent thirty-five picked warriors of the Outaouais, to kill and plunder them, which Avas accomplished. Peter Charties, with one hundred Shawanese, ambuscaded two English traders on the Allegheny, near the Ohio, and seized their property, valued at sixteen hundred pounds. The traders were sent to Canada. During the year 1745, a dispute arose with the Senecas, in which several of the latter were killed, but no general warfare followed. PLOT OF NICHOLAS TO EXTERMINATE THE FRENCH POWER IN THE WEST. This year, the Miamis entered into the conspiracy of Nicholas, the distinguished Huron chief, who resided at *' Sandosket," on the bay of that name. A plot was formed for a general extermination of the French power in the West. Seventeen tribes joined in this move- ment. In July, the Miamis danced the Calumet at Detroit, yet soon after seized Fort Miami, took eight Frenchmen, and destroyed the buildings. This tribe had removed from the Detroit river to lands on the north side of Sandusky bay. They were a powerful body of men; active, energetic, and unscrupulous. They had in gome manner been offended by the French at Detroit, which affords the reason of their change of Imbitatiou, Nicholas, their principal Plot of Xirlwlas. 15 / chief, was a wily fellow, full of savage cnmiing, whose enmity, when once aroused, was greatly to be feared. Late in the same year a party of En<;li.sh traders from Pennsylva- nia visited the village of Nicholas, and were received with marked attention. Kicholas had become an implacable enemy of the French, and was therefore ready to make a treaty of amity and good will with the English. lie accordingly permitted the erection of a large block house at his principal town on the bay, and suffered the traders to nmiain and dispose of their stock of goods. Once located, the Knglisl: established themselves at the place, and, according to French accounts, acquired great influence with Nicholas and his tribe. This influence was always exercised to the injury of the French. On the 2.")d of June, 1747, live Frenchmen, with peltries, arrived at the Sandusky town from White river, a small stream falling into tiie "Wabash nearly opposite the i)resent town of Mt. Carmel, Illinois. Tiiese Frenchmen, being wholly unaware of the presence of English among the Ilurotie, were unsuspicious of danger, and counted upon the hospitality and friendshi}) of the Indians. Their presence, however, inspired anytliing but tokens of good will. Nicholas was greatly irritated at the audacity of the French in com- ing into his towns without his consent. The English traders, noticing this feeling, urged the chief to seize the Frenchmen and their jjcltries. This was accomplished on the afternoon of the day of their arrival. The fate of the poor Frtiichmen was soon deter- mined. Nicholas condemned them to death, and tlu-y were toma- hawked in cold blood. Their stock of peltries was disposed of to the English, and by them sold to a party of Seneca Indians. The news of these outrages created much feeling among the French at Detroit, and especially so among the traders in the Ohio country. As soon as the Sandusky munlers came to the information of the Governor of Canada, he ordered M. de Longueuil, command- ant at Detroit, to send a messenger to Nicholas denninding the surrender of the murderers of the five Frenchmen. The deman-l was not complied with. Three other messengers in turn followed, but were met with the same refusal. M. de Longueuil then sent a l)ereniptory demand, ref|uiring the surrender of the murderers, to be disposed of acrording to his pleasure; that the llnroiis must ally themselves at once with the French, or the latter will become their irreconcilable enemies ; that the French were disposed to look upon the ncent murders as acts of irresponsible parties, and not of the 16 Frenclh Village at Fort Wayne. Huron tribe, and that all English traders must leave the Indian towns forthwith. The answer returned to these propositions amounted to a defiance, and preparations were made for an expedition against Sandusky. The crafty Nicholas was not less active than the French. He formed a great conspiracy for the capture of Detroit and the upper French posts, and the massacre of the white inhabitants. How long this conspiracy had been brewing, we have no information. We know that by August, 174T, the Iroquois, Hurons, Outaouagas, Abenaquis, Pons, Ouabash, Sauteurs, Outaouas, Mississagues, Foxes, Sioux, Sacs, Sarastaus, Loups, Pouteouatamis, Chaouenons and Miamis had entered into a grand league, haviug for its object exter- mination of French dominion and authority in the West. Every nation of Indians, excepting those in the Illinois country, entered into the plan with zeal and alacrity. Offensive operations were to commence at once. A party of De- troit Hurons were to sleep in the fort and houses at Detroit, as they had often done before, and each was to kill the people where he lodged. The day set for this massacre was one of the holidays of Pentecost. A band of Pouteauatamis were commissioned to destroy the French mission and villages on Bois Blanc Island ; the Miamis, to seize the French traders in their country; the Iroquois, to destroy the French village at the junction of the Miami and St. Joseph ; the Foxes, to destroy the village at Grreen Bay ; the Sioux, Sacs and Sarastaus to reduce Michillimacinac ; Avhile the other tribes were to destroy the French trading posts in their respective countries, seize the traders, and put them to death. This great conspiracy, so skillfully planned and arranged, would have been attended with a frightful loss of life, and tlie utter annihi- lation of French power, but for its accidental yet timely discovery. It seems that a party of Detroit Hurons had struck before the other tribes were ready, by the murder of a Frenchman in the forest. a few leagues from Detroit. This act was unauthorized by the Huron chiefs, who had made their arrangements for occupying the houses at Detroit, and were only waiting for the appointed time to strike the fatal blow. So fearful were the chiefs that their object would be detected since the murder, that a council was held in one of the houses, which had been obtained for the purpose, to deter- mine whether any change of oj)erations was necessary. While they were in council, one of their squaws, going into the garret of the Plot of NichotaH Defeated. 1 7 house in search of Indian corn, overheard the details of the con- spiracy. She at once hastened to a Jesuit priest, and revealed the plans of the savages. The priest lost no time in communicating with M. de Longueuil, the. French commandant, who ordered out the troops, aroused the people, and gave the Indians to understand that their plans had been discovered, and would be discomfited. With great alacrity, messengers were despatched to the forts and trading posts, which put the people on their guard, and caused them to retire to places of safety. All t'ae settlers in the vicinity of De- troit were uotitled to enter the fort. The poSt of Miami was aban- doned, and relief asked for from Quebec. When the Hurous at Detroit found they had been detected, they sullenly withdrew, the commandant being unwilling to open actual hostilities by detaining them. Soon after this the Indian operations began, though confined to a small scale, on account of the vigilance of M. de Longueuil in apprising his countrymen of their danger. The latter part of August, 174T, a number of Frenchmen were killed at Chibarnani ; eight traders were seized in the Miami country; a man named Martineau was killed near Detroit ; the SiUiteurs attacked a convoy of French canoes on Lake St. Clair, captured one and plundered the goods; the Outaowas killed a number, of French traders residing in their country : the Foxes murdered several traders at Green Bay ; a French trader was killed on the Miami ; a party of Hurons attacked the inhabitants of Bois Blanc Island, and wounded three men. Five of the Hurons were captured, taken to Detroit, and heavily ironed. One was soon after killed by the people, and another committed suicide. Other murders were committed, and trading houses destroyed, but the conspiracy had been pretty effectu- ally broken up by its timely discovery. Soon after hostilities had commenced, numbers of those who had entered the league deserted it, and craved the pardon and favor of the French. First among these were the OutaoAvas and Pouteowatamis, the latter having agreed to destroy the Bois Blanc villages. Thus weakened,. the plans and efforts of Nicholas were in a measure paralyzed. On the 22d of Septemberj a large. number of boats, containing one hundred and fifty regular soldiers, arrived at Detroit from Montreal. Upon hearing of this, Nicholas abandoned all his plans, and was ready to make peace on the best terms he could obtain. He knew that certain destruction awaited his villages, unless pardon was 3 18 Nicholas abandons Sandusky Bay obtained ; for the French commandant was already meditating a punishment for him and his people, for the murder of the five traders the June previous. During the summer, two chiefs of the* Detroit Hurons, Sastaredzy and Taychatin, had visited Detroit on a professed mission of friend- ship. They were seized and sent to Quebec to answer for the mur- ders committed by the Sandusky Hurons. Sastaredzy died at Quebec on the 4th of August ; Taychatin was released when peace was made. Nicholas secured the j)ardon of himself and the San- dusky Hurons, upon the most favorable terms — that of maintaining peace in the future. The French abandoned their demand for the murderers of the five traders, and made no conditions as to the Indian trade with the English. Even during the winter that fol- lowed, 1747-8, Nicholas received at the Sandusky villages, on two occasions, a party of Englishmen from Philadelphia, and allowed his people to trade with them. Soon after this, Nicholas received belts and other tokens of friendship from the English. These things came to the ear of M. de Longueuil, and he lost no time in asking instructions from Quebec. On the 14th of January, 1748, Nicholas sent fourteen of his warriors to Detroit to ask for the release of the three remaining Indians captured at Bois Blanc Island. M. de Longueuil, wishing to secure N icholas as an ally, granted his request, and the prisoners were released. In February, 1748, French soldiers relmilt and again occupied the / • post on the Miami. The same month. La Joncaire, Governor of Canada, ordered M. de Longueuil to give Nicholas notice that no English traders would be allowed among his people^ or in the West- ern country; and if any were found, they should receive notice to quit forthwith. Agreeable to these instructions, a French officer was sent to Sandusky, who notified Nicholas of the wishes of the Governor of Canada. Finding several English at the towns, the officer commanded them to leave the country, which they promised to do. Finding himself deserted by nearly all of his allies, his power for mischief gone, and the activity and determination of the French to suffer encroachments from the English no longer, Nicholas finally resolved to abandon his towns on Sandusky Bay and seek a home farther west. On the 7th of April, 1748, he destroyed the villages I//'/ Ji'riiinri'.s IIV.s/. lf> and fort and on the following day, at the head of one hundred and ninctci'ii warriors, ajul thi'r to arrest him and put him to death on the spot." Similar orders were issued at all French pr.sts in the North- west. These harsh, but necessary measures, had their lessons, and the Indians became as quiet and peaceable as ever. Thus rnded the conspiracy of Nicholas. Tin- Miamis were fully in the plot, and performed the part assigned them by the capture and destruction of Fort Miami, as it was then known, at the confluence of the St. Joseph's and St. Mary's rivers. In 1746, the Mar<|Mi3 de Vaudreuil advocated the erection of a French post at the Falls of the Ohio, At this tinn* the English were operating between the mouth of the ('uyahoga anil "Sandus- ket." The celebrated (Jeorge Croghan* had a house at the Cuyahoga, and did an extensive business with the tribes along the lake. !/ 20 Fort Miami Behuilt. When the conspiracy of Nicholas had been crushed, Fort Miami was rebuilt and occupied by the French under Sieur Dubuisson. In May, 1748, Captain de Celeron left Montreal for. Detroit, with a convoy of arras, ammunition, goods and provisions. The Governor of Pennsykania sent Conrad Weisser to Logstown with a large sup- ply of presents, to secure the friendship of the Ohio Indians. At this time the French were considering the practicability of building a fort " on Lake Erie, below Detroit," when a treaty of peace was signed at Aix-la-Chapelle. By the terms of this treaty, Commis- sioners were to be appointed to run a boundary line between the French and English possessions in America, but nothing seems to have been done in the premisses. On the 3d of October, 1748, Gov- ernor Clinton, of New York, addressed a communication to the Duke of Bedford. The following is an extract : " I am informed that all the numerous nations to the westward of the English colo- nies are exceedingly dissatisfied with the French; that they have killed several of the French traders, and had blocked up the small forts the French had amongst them, and killed several of their soldiers. This was owing to the English selling goods more than one-half cheaper than the French did, and by the French endeavor- ing to hinder the Indians from trading with the English." This refers to the conspiracy of Nicholas. In October, 1748, Count de La Galissonniere wrote to M. de Lon- gueuil, commandant at Detroit, that " though we be at peace, every attempt of the English to settle at Eiver a la Eoche (Maumee), White river, and Ohio river, or any of their tributaries, must be resisted by force." Not long after this a party under Captain de Celeron, forced the English to leave Sandosket and the Cuyahoga. During this year (1748), a treaty was made with the Twigtwees, or Miamis, at Luncaster, Pennsylvania, by which they allied them- selves to the English, and agreed to protect such traders as might be sent among them. The same year, Thomas Lee, who was connected with the provisional government of Virginia, formed a design of effecting a settlement on the wild lands west of the Allegheny Mountains. His plans were cordially approved by the Executive Council of Virginia. Lee associated himself with twelve Virginians, among whom were Lawrence and Augustine Washington, brothers of George. Washington, and a Mr. Hanbury, of London, and formed the " Ohio Land Company.'-' The following year (1749), they obtained from King George XL a grant of five hundred thousand acres De Celeroiis lunmUi'unt. 21 of land situated on both sides of the Ohio, but principally on the Virj^inia side between tfif- Mononjialiela and Kanawlia. Dnrini; the year 1749, Captain de Celeron oondncted an expedition into the "bhio country, to formally take possession of the territory. in the name of the King of the French. lie buried leaden plates alont: the Ohio river, visited the interi<.r of the country, held con- ferences with the Indian tribes, and faithfully performed the duties of his mission. In August, Captain Celeron discovered an English trading colony at an old Shawanese town on the Ohio, near the Muskingum. The traders were permitted to Icav. on thr^ir promise never to return. From that place Celeron wrote to the Governor ol i'ennsylvania: '^ To warn him that if any English traders should thereafter m;ike their appearance on the Ohio river, they would be treated without any delicacy." During this year, also, mmy interesting events took place. In August, Governor Hamilton, of Pennsylvania, sent George Croghan to the Ohio Indians with a message, informing them that war had ceased betw(>en the French and English, and to inquire the reason of Captain Celeron's march through their country. We have noticed a treaty of amity and friendship made in IMS between the English and Twigtwees. Desirous of maintair.ing and preserving the relations established, the colony of Pennsylvania, in the Fall of IT.IO, lent its aid to the planting of a company ot traders among its new aUies. Late in that year a party of twenty-live pt-r- sons from Eastern Pennsylvania, built a station on the Great Miami, at thf mouth of what is now known as Loraraie's Creek, sixteen miles northwest of Sidney, Shelby county. It was called Pickawillany, after a distinguished chief of the Twigtwees. Before Spring, a block house and several stores and dwellings were erected. The place prospered, the traders did a flourishing business, and success had seemingly attended the efforts of the Pennsylvanians, when an occasion happened which gave umbrage to the French. In the Summer of 17.")1. three or four French soldiers, who hid deserted, delivered themselves to the English at Pickawillany. The Twigtwees, who had long suftered from the French and their Indian allies, wanted th" three deserters delivered to them for purposes of revenge. The English would not consent to this, l)nt w. re obliged, in order to save their lives, to send them to an Engli^h })ost on the 22 Fort Pickawillany. Muskingum, where they were delivered to George Croghan. When the French heard that deserters from their service were received and protected at Pickawillany, the Governor of Candida determined upon the destruction of that post. A force under Sieur de Joncaire, was sent, but was obliged to return to Detroit from difficulties niet with in the wilderness. In May, 1752, another party left Detroit on the same mission. The French and tlieir allies numbered about two hundred and fifty men. On the 21st of June, at early morn, they reached Pickawillany, and at once began the attack. A skirmish took place, in which one Englishman and fourteen Twigtwees were killed. The place, after some further resistance, was surrendered, and a general plunder of the houses followed. Some of tiie huts were razed to the ground ; the fort, or block house was left stand- ing. The English traders were sent to Canada, but tradition says few of them reached, there. The Twigtwee King, " Old Britain," was killed and eaten in the presence of his conquered people. In the following year the Gover- nors of Pennsylvania and Virginia sent presents and messages of condolence to the Twigtwee nation. Kecurring to the order of years, we are brought back to 1750. During that year, English traders were a second time expelled from the Cuyahoga. A party of French from Detroit built Fort Junandat, on the east bank of the Sandusky river, near the bay. Fort Char- tres was also rebuilt. About this time Luke Arowin, of Pennsyl- vania, Joseph Fortener, of New Jersey, and Thomas Borke, traders, were captured near Fort Janandat. John Pathen, an English trader, was arrested near Fort Miami. All of these were sent to Canada, thence to France. The Governor of Canada, upon learn- ing the facts, wrote to the Governor of New York, complaining that " the English, far from confining themselves within the limits of the King of Great Britain's possessions, not satisfied with multiplying themselves more and more on Rock river, with liaving houses and open stores there, have, more than that, proceeded within sight of Detroit, even unto the Fort of the Miamis.'' Soon after, the Gov- ernor urged upon the French Ministry the great importance, and the benefits to be derived from holding the Ohio and its tributaries. Desiring to put an end to the influence of the English, sundry rewards were offered for the scalps of traders found on French territory. Pickavolllany Ucatroytd. 23 A nuniljer of PhihidL-lpliia ;iml LaiicasliT traders explored the Ohio to the IlliiioLs country, and on their return furnished VHluable inlorniation to Lewis Evans tor his map nf the Western country. The Ent^Iish this year made thi-ir way into the N'cnaiif^o country, and on Heaver Creek, while the French e.srai)lished trading posts on the Huron, at its moutii, and at "Ogontz," on tlie site of Sandusky city. In 1752, Christopher Gist was aopointed surveyor of the (Miio Company, and at his suggestion a trading post was established during the Fall of that year, at a point somewhat east of Pickawillany, which had been destroyed by the French during the Summer. It did not continue long; for the traders, learning of an intended visit from the French, hastily gathered up their goods and proceeded eastward. The site of this post can not now be determined. FURTHER REG.\RDING POST '' PICKAWILLANY," AXD ITS DESTRUC- TION IN 17.52. [In 1870-71, the late Mr. A. T. Goodman, then Secretary of the Wfstern Reserve Historical Society, at Cleveland, was successful, througli lion. John Loth rop Motley, Minister at the Court of St. James, in obtaining certain valuable historical pipers relating to the British trading post Pickawillany, which was attacked and destroyed by the Freiicli in 17.">2. An aiuilysis of those papers was made bv Mr. Goodman, and published in 1S71, by Robert Clarke & Co., of Cincinnati, in a volume entitled, "Journal of Captain Trent.'' The wriU'r avails himself of the material points embraced in this volume, as the principal of them belong to the history of the Maumee Valley. I For many years prior to the advent of Indian traders in the West, the Miamis had a village on the west side of the Great Miami river, .it the mouth of what afterward became known as Loramie's Creek. That point was visited by the Conrcnrs des Dots, or Canadian voya- gers, who traveled under the direction of the traders, at an early day, and had Ix^come a place of note long previous to the alliance of the Miamis with the Kngli.>;h. From the latter, it received the ?iame of " Tdiri.r/n'i /o«v/," until the building of a slockad-'. when it was called rirkaiciUnnii, thf)ngh in some accounts we find the name " Picktovn''^ applied to it. 24 PichawiUany Destroyed. English traders dealt witli the Miamis at an early period, even while the latter were ,fnlly pledged to French interests. The Penn- sylvania factors seem to have been special ftivoiites, for they sold their goods at half the price asked by the Coiirenrs des Bois. This was a matter of importance to the Indians, and, donbtless, had much to do with the subsequent friendly alliance with the English. During the Summer of 1749, M. de Celeron visited the Tawixtwii town, but found no traders there, they having had timely notice of his coming, and departed with their goods and chattels. The Miami Avarriors were in force at the time of Celeron's visit, and that officer did no injury. On the contrar}^ he treated them with kind- ness and attention. Presents were given, and the usual speeches made, but the Indians withstood his arts and artifices, and remained friendly to the English. While the English traders felt safe in the hands of the Miamis, they were in constant fear of the French.. •Occasionally an unfortunate trader became a victim. The di'ead of such a fate was increased by the fact that the Ottawas were known to '• kill, roast and eat'' their English captives. The Miamis shared this feeling, as several of their best warriors had fallen into the enemy's hands. The need of a strong post was felt, which would afford better protection than the ordinary houses of the traders. It was some time, however before the Indians would allow the erection of such a structure. In Pennsylvania, licenses to trade with the Indians were granted by the Grovernor, upon the recommendation of the iustices of tb.e counties in which the applicant resided. The traders' goods were carried on pack-horses, along the old Indian trails, which led to all the principal towns and villages. The articles of traffic on the part of the whites were fire-arms, gunpowder, lead, l)al], knives, flints, hatcliets, rings, rum, tobacco, medals, blades, leather, cooking uten sils, shirts, and other articles of wearing apparel : pipes, paint, etc. Some of the traders would run )'egular " caravans '' of fifteen or y^ twenty horses, making several trips during the year. It is impossible to give any definite account of the extent of this traffic, but it must luivc amounted to great value. Having obtained permission from the Indians, the English, in the Fall of 1750, began the erection of a stockade, as a place of protec- tion, in case of suddeji attack, both for their persons and property. When the main' building was completed, it was surrounded with a Ptter Loi'dtnie and his Sfution. 2') \\\g\\ Willi of split lo^^s, liavjn<^ three gate-ways. Within the inclo- 8ure the traderd tliig a well, which furnished an al)undant sujiply of fresh water during the fall, winti-r and spring. \n\\ failed in suniinrr. At this time I'ickawillany contained four hundn-d Indian families, and was (he residence of the principal chief of the Miami Confedera- cy. Christopher Gist was there in Fehruary, 17.") 1. utid in his puh- lished journal, says the ])lace was daily increasing, and accounted •' one of the strongest towns on tliis continent.'' In several contemporary j>apers we hnd it stated that the fort at IMckawillany was built of stone. If this was the case, remains of the structure ought yet to he visible, liut we are informed, on good anthoritv. that no traces of the kind are to be found in the neiffh- borhood of the mouth of Loramie's Creek. This statement ol Mr. Gist, however, may widl be (|uesti(»ned, although ample evidence exists in support of the conclusion that it was a populous and flourishing town, and the centre of a large Indian trade, liut more than a century previous, seats of a larger trade, probably, existed u]>on the Maumee river. In December. John Patten was sent by the Governor of Pennsyl- vania to learn the intentions of the Miamis, and it appears he report- ed them as "gone over to the French." At this time most of the / English traders abandoned the Ohio trade. Pickawillany was wholly deserted by them. Not long after, the P'reneh commandant at V'incennes. deeming the location a good one. sent some traders to the pl.ii-e, an«l made .i treaty of concord and friemlship with the Miamis. lavishing upon tlicni a very large amoimt of tnonev, and a great variety of costly presents. The place, however, did not pos- .sess enterprise or spirit, an]>artnr('." No attention was paid to liiis modest demand. Altlinii._rli war between France and Kntrland was not declared imti! the year lT.">n. the conflict actually bci^an in 17")4. I)nrin4. a ]dan of confederation was formed by a Colonial Convention, at Albany It was rejected by the assemblies as too frn'sforni/i(\ and liy the Eng- lish Lords of Tr.-ide becaiise it was too fhm'n-rofi- . A plan for the eKtablishment of colonies in the West, was published this year. Ity the celebrated Dr. Franklin. Among other recoinmendaiions. he aL as the F^nglish were driven off in IToO. aneace f'i ri.reciit. Oji 28 English and French Hostilities. February 6fch, France answering said, that the eld claims in America were untenable, and offered as a compromise that the English retire east of the Alleghenies, and the French remain west of the Ohio river. On the 7th of March, the English agreed to the French offer of compromise, providing the latter destroyed all forts on the Ohio and its branches. This the French Monarch declined to do, and the negotiations ended. In May, 1756, England declared war against France, and the latter followed with a like declaration in June. The Newport (Rhode Island) Mercury, of December, 1758, con- tained the following : New York, December 1.3th, 1758. Early on Monday morning last, an express arrived here from the westward, and brought sundry letters, which gave an account that General Forbes was in possession of Fort Du Quesne. One of these letters says, that the Monsieurs did not stay for the approach of our army, but blew up the fort, spiked their cannon, threw them into the river, and made the best of their way off, carrying with them everything valuable, except the spot where the fort stood. And yesterday another express arrived here with other letters confirming the foregoing, and directed from the fort itself; the most particular of which arc as follows, viz : Fort Du Quesne, November 26th, 1758. I have now the pleasure to write you from the ruins of the fort. On the 24th, at night, we were informed by one of our Indian scouts, that he had discovered a cloud of smoke above the place ; and soon after another came in with certain intelligence that it was burnt and abandoned by the enemy. We were then about fifteen miles from it. A troop of horse was sent forward immediately, to extin- guish the burning, and the whole army followed. We arrived at six o'clock last night, and found it in a great measure destroyed. There are two forts about twenty yards distant — the one built with immense labor; small, but a great deal of very strong works collected into little room, and stands on the point of a narrow neck of laud, at the confluence of the two rivers. It is square, and has two ravelins, gabions at each corner, etc. The other fort stands on the l)ank of the Allegheny, in the form of a parallelogram, but nothing so strong as the other. Several of the outworks are lately begun, Re/irard ojfered for In Audi Scalps, 29 and still untinisla'il. There are, 1 think, thirty stacks of chimneys .■standing, but the houses are all destroyed. They sprung a mine, which ruined one of their magazines; in the otiier we found sixteen harn-ls ot ammunition, a prodigious (|uantity of old carriage iron, liarrel.s of guns, about a cart-load of scalping knives, etc. They went otf in so much haste that they could not make quite the havoc of their works they intended. We are told by the Indians that they lay the night before at Beaver Creek, about forty miles down the Ohio from here. WlietlKr they buried their cannon in tiie river, or carried them down in their batteau.x, we have not yet learnt. A boy 12 years old, who has been their prisoner two years, and made his escajie the /Jd instant, tells us they had carried a prodigious quantity of wood into the fort ; that they had burnt five of the prisoners they took at Major Grant's defeat, on the i)arade, and delivered others to the Indians, who were tomahawked on the spot. Wt. found numl)ers of bodies within a (juarter of a mile of the fort, unburietl — so many monuments of French humanity I A great many Indians, mostly Dt.'lawares, were 'jathered on the Island last night and this morning, to treat with the General, and we are making rafts to bring them over. Whether the General will think of repairing the ruins, or leaving any of the troops here, I have not yet learnt. Mr. Beatie is appointed to preach a thankstrivini.'" sfrmon for the superi(»rity of bis majesty's arms. During the same year, the Legislature of rennsylvania passeil an act to encour.'ige settlements in the West, while the \'irginia Assem- bly offered a price of ten pounds sterling for the scalp of every hostile Indian over twelve years of age. The English sent Commis- sioners to the Delaware.s and Shawanese in Ohio, for the purpose of detaching those tribes from their alliance with the Frencii. The effort failed. In lTr)9, ^M, de Viiudreuil, Governor o;' C!anada reported to tin- French Ministry, "that M. de Ligneris has had orders to remain at Fort Machiiult, on the Ohio: 1st, to support the Nations; ::2d, to annoy the English ; 3d, to force them to a diversion ; 4th, to cover Lak<- Erie and lorce the enemy to march only with an army, which would entail consideral)le prejjarations, whence arises serious dilli- culties for victualling of all sorts in a country where the ground is eai)al)le of l)eing defended inch by inch. The scarcity of j)rovisii)ns, l)revailing in the colony, has determined me to send orders to the Illinois and Detroit to forward to Presque Isle all the men these two 80 Cupidity of French. Officers. \ forts can furnish." After receiving this communication, M. de Ligneris visited the Indians along the Ohio, and obtained a promise from them "to phice limits to the ambition of the English." At the request of the Shawanese on the Scioto, Ligneris appointed M. Hertel, an influential trader, as French agent among them. The activity of Sir William Johnson caused an early abandon- ment of Fort Venango. The Delawares were also brought to English terms, and delivered to Johnson five prisoners taken by them on the borders, viz : James Perry, Robert Wilsoi. Elizabeth Armstrong, Catharine Hiltz, and a Highland soldier. Il, was now (1759), that French power in the West showed signs of an early overthrow. Disaster upon disaster happened. Marquis de Mont- calm reported to his government that "' Cupidity has seized officers, store-keepers and traders on the Ohio and elsewhere, and 'hey are amassing astonishing fortunes." Early in the year the French built a small post at Up on the Great Miami river. A year or two later a party of ^a^h traders and Indians attempted its capture, but were defeated, with great loss. In June, it was reported to the Governor of Canada that " The Cherokees have allowed them to be gained by the presents of the English, so that above and below the Beautiful river, (Ohio,) we need not flatter ourselves with finding any allies among the Indians.'' During the same month, (June, 1 759,) three hundred French soldiers and militia, and six hundred Indians marched fro' ^' Illinois country for Fort Machault. The route taken was doi Mississippi to the Ohio, up the Ohio to the Wabash, and thei that river to the portage at Fort Miami. From that poin stores were carried to the Maumee, down the Maumee to Lake and along the southern shore to Presque Isle; thence it Machault. There they joined the forces of M. de Ligneri marched to Fort Niagara, for the relief and reinforcement Pouchot, who was besieged by English and Indians unut. Sir William Johnson. On the 24th of July this relief force was t )tal]y defeated near the fort by Johnson. On the 25th Niagara surrender- ed, when the Indian allies of the English massacred in cold blood a large number of the Illinois French. In September, Quebec was taken, and the following month, Fort Massiac abandoned. The year closed under disheartening circumstances to the French. JU'jH'fUtMii of Major Jtoyvrs. M Early in KOO, the Governor of C'juiadii ordered Fort Massiac to !)(' rel)iiilt and strongly fortilied ; he also liad erected a military post at Kuskaskia, Illinois. Four Knj^lish traders were killed near Fort Massiar, and M. Hertel, who had maintained his ground among the Indians on the Sciota, reported that numerous English prisoners from Carolina were brought to him hy the savages. Though they seemed friendly, Hertel recommended an early removal of the Sciot<> Indians to a point near Fi)rt Massiac. During the spring the Missis- sagut'S, )"7ng on Lake Erir, near Presque Isle, joined the French at Detroii. jAtiaii'S in the West were assuming a brighter aspect for the French, when disasters m Carolina produced an entire revulsion. The Governor is.sued an order directing the atjandonment of all jiosts on the (•)hio. Agreealdy to this, they were destroyed, and the garri- sons rwfired with provisions, arms, artillery, ammunition, etc., to Detn 1 narrating this event to the French Ministry, the Gover- nor t -. y.j .V" t''® nations on the Beautiful river, (Ohio,) witnessed with , v.-w the departure oi the French. Chevalier de Portneuf sent t.^em a message, especially the Ciiaouonions, to engage them to persevere in their g<^<>d intentions." The English, in KGO, were active and vigilant. A party at Fort I'itt constructed several small batteaux, in which they sailed down the Ohio, and took notes of the islands in that river and the streams that 'emjity into it. Among this party was 'LMiomas llutchins, the famous geographer. Dr. Thomas Walker, of Pennsylvania, aFso l)asi»ed down that river into Kentucky. During the summer (1760), Cannla surrendered to the English, and in September, Majitr Robert Uo^ is was sent West to take possession of Detroit, and other Fr(a->eh ports along the lakes. Jle left Montreal on the loth i»f Sit; J?mber, 1T'!0, and, on the Sth of October, reached Pres<|ue Isle, wlfei-e Bouquet commanded. He then went slowly up Lake Erie to Def lit, wliich place he summoned to yield itself on the 19th of No aiiber. While waiting for an answer from this demand, he wa.s v' 1 by the givat Ottawa chieftain. Poiitiae, who demanded how the iSiTglish dared enter his country ; to which answer was given, that they»came, not to enter the country, but to open a free way of trade, and to expel the French, who interrupted their trade. This reply, together with other moderate and kindly word.'j. spoken by Rogers, seemed to lull the rising fears of the savages, and Pontiac promised him bis j)rf)tection. I^-leter. tneantime, who commanded at Detroit, had not yielded ; nay. wonl was brought to Rogers on the :24th, ti)at 32 Major Rogern on tlie Maumee, &c. his messenger had been confined tmd a flag-pole erected, with a wooden head upon it, to represent Biitain, on which stood a crow picking the eyes out, — as em-blematic of the success of France. In a few days, however, the commander heard of the fate of the lower posts ; and, as his Indians did not stand by him on the 29th, he yielded. Eogers remained at Detroit until December 2.jd, under the personal i)rotectiou of Pontiac, to whose presence he probably owed his safety. From Detroit the Major went to the Maumee, and thence across the present State of Ohio to Fort Pitt ; and his journal of this overland trip is the first we have of such an one in that region. His route was nearly that given by Hutchins, in Bouquet's expedition, as the common one from Sandusky to the Fork of the Ohio. It went from Sandusky, where Sandusky City now is, crossed the Huron river, then called Bald Eagle Creek, to '' Mohickon John's Town," upon what we know as Mohicon Creek, the northern branch of "White Woman's river, and thence crossed to Beaver's Town, a Delaware town, on the west side of the " Maskongan Creek," oppo- site "a fine river," which, from Hutchins' map, we presume was Sandy Creek. At Beaver's Town was one hundred and eighty warriors, and not less than three thousand acres of cleared land. From there the track went up Sandy Creek and across to the Big Beaver, and up the Ohio, through Logstown, to Fort Pitt, which place Rogers reached January 23d, 1760, precisely one month having passed while he was upon the way. In the spring of 1761, Alexander Henry, an English trader, went to Michillimacinac for purposes of business, and he found every- where the strongest feeling against the English, who had done nothing by word or act to conciliate the Indians. Having, by means .of a Ca7iadian dress, managed to reach Michillimacinac in safety, he was there discovered, and waited upon by an Indian chief, who was, in the opinion of Thatcher, Pontiac himself. This chief, after conveying to him the idea that his French father would soon awake and utterly destroy his enemies, continued : " Englishman ! although you have conquered the French, you have not yet conquered us! We are not your slaves! These lakes, these woods, these mountains, were left to us by our ancestors. They are our inheritance, and we will part with them to non^. Your nation supposes that we, like the white people, can not live ^wrender of the FrenaTi Postg, S3 without bread, and pork and beef. But you ought to know that He, the Great Spirit and Master of Life, has provided food for us upon these broad lakes and in these mountains." Before the close of the year, Detroit, Michillimacinae, Sandusky, Presque Isle, Miami, Green Bay, St. Joseph, and other French posts, passed under conti'ol of the English, who guaranteed security of person, property and religion, to all French inhabitants of the conquered territory. It was at this time that French dominion virtually ceased over the Ohio country. M. Dumas addressed a Memoir on Canada to the King of France. Anticipating an early treaty of peace, he urged that monarch to "insist strongly on the entire possession of the Ohio river, as it affords a passage to the Mississippi, and thence to the sea." He also expressed the hope, that Lake Erie would be held, as by that lake and the Miami and Wabash, another passage is provided for the Mississippi. He further said : " The entire possession of Lake Erie ought to belong to France, incontestably, up to the head waters of the streams that empty into the lake on the south side; the rivers flowing toward the Ohio are included in the neutrality proposed for that river." This season, Sir William Johnson made a journey from Niagara to Detroit, along the southern shore of Lake Erie. He encamped for a time at the mouth of the Cuyahoga, where Cleveland now stands. During the year 1762, the terms of a treaty of peace were agreed upon between France and England. The former made a secret covenant 'with Spain, conveying to that nation the territory of Louisiana, which embraced a large portion of Western America. Early in 1763, peace was effected between the belligerent powers in America. By the treaty that year, France surrendered her posses- sions in North America to the English. The Ohio country passed under the control of the oflBcials of that Empire, and for some years affairs there and in the far West, were managed by army officers, commandants of posts on the frontiers. The Moravian Loskiel relates that in the villages of the Hurons, or Wyaudots, on the Sandusky, the traders were so numerous in 1763, that the Indians were afraid to attack them openly, and had recourse to the following stratagem : They told their unsuspecting victims hat the surrounding tribes had risen in arms, and were soon coming that way, bent on killing every Englishman they could 4 34 Pontiac's Conspiracy. find. The Wyaudots averred that they would gladly protect their friends, — the white men, — but that it would be impossible to do so, unless the latter would consent, for the sake of appearances, to become their prisoners. In this case, they said, the hostile Indians would refrain from injuring them, and they should be set at liberty as soon as the danger was past. The traders fell into the snare. They gave up their arms, and the better to carry out the deception, even consented to be bound; but no sooner was this accomplished, than their treacherous counsellors murdered them all in cold blood. The years 1763 and 1764 are memorable in W . ^^ history by reason of their having been marked by the formidable coalition of the Indian nations, extending from the northern lakes to the fron- tiers of North Carolina, organized with the object to fall upon the whole line of British posts, and annihilate the white inhabitants. Chippewas, Ottawas, Wyandots, Miamis, Shawanese, Delawares and Mingoes, for the time, laid by their old hostile feelings, and united under Pontiac in this great enterprise. The voice of that sagacious and noble man, (says James H. Perkins, in his '' Western Annals,") was heard in the distant North, crying, " Why," says the Great Spirit, " do you suffer these dogs in red clothing to enter your country and take the land I have given you ? Drive them from it! Drive them ! When you are in distress I will help you." That voice was heard, but not by the whites. The unsuspecting traders journeyed from village to village; the soldiers in the forts shrunk from the sun of the early summer, and dozed away the ihiy ; the frontier settler, singing in fancied security, sowed his croj^, o-, watching the sunset through the girdled trees, mused upon one more peaceful harvest, and told his children of the horrors of the ten years' war, now, thank God ! over. From the Alleghenies to the Mississippi the trees had leaved, and .ill was calm life and joy. But through that great country, even then, biinds of sullen red men were journeying from the central valleys to the lakes and the eastern hills. Ottawas filled the woods near Detroit. The Maumee post, Presque Isle, Niagara, Pitt, Ligonier. and every English fort was hemmed in by Indian tribes, who felt that the great battle drew nigh which was to determine their fate and the possession of their noble lands. At last the day came. The traders everywhere were seized, their goods taken from them, and more than one hundred of them put to death. Nine British forts yielded instantly, and the savages drank, " scooped up in the hollows of joined hands," the Capitulation of Forts Miami and Sandusly. 35 blood of many a Briton. The border streams of Pennsylvania and Virginia ran red again. '* We hear/' says a letter from Fort Pitt, "of scalping every hour." In Western Virginia more than twenty thousand ])eople were driven from their homes. Mackinac was taken by stratagem. Following closely the surrender of Mackinac and Onatanon, (the latter a fort situated upon the Wabash, just below the present town of Lafayette,) came the intelligence that Fort Miami was taken. This post, s^""ding at the head of the Maumee river, was commanded by Ensign I- "s* and here one cannot but remark on the forlorn situation ot these otVicers, isolated in the wilderness, hundreds of miles, in some instances, from any congenial associates, separated from every human being except the rude soldiers under their com- mand, and the white or red savages who ranged the surrounding woods. Holmes suspected the intention of the Indians, and was therefore on his guard, when, on the 27th of May, a young Indian girl, who lived with him, came to inform him that a squaw lay danger- ously ill in a wigwam near the fort, and urged liim to come to her relief. Having conlidence in the girl, Holmes followed her out of the fort. ' Pitched at the edge of a meadow, hidden from view by an intervening span of the woodland, stood a great number of Indian wigwams. When Holmes came in sight of them, his treacherous conductress pointed out that in whicii the sick woman lay. He walked on without suspicion ; but, as he drew near, two guns flashed from behind the hut, and stretched him lifeless on the grass. The shots were heard at the fort, and the sergeant rashly went out to learn the reason of the firing. He was immediately taken prisoner, amid exulting yells and whoopings. The soldiers in the fort climbed upon the palisades to look out, when Godfroy, a Cana- dian, together with two other white men, made his appearance, and summoned them to surrender, promising that if thev did so their lives should be spared, but that otherwise they would all be killed without mercy. The men, being in great terror, and without a leader, soon threw open the gate and gave themselves up as prisoners. Sandusky had been attacked by the band of Wyaiidols living in its neighborhood, aided by a detachment of their brethren from Detroit. Among the few survivors of the slaughter, was the commanding of!lcer. Ensign Paully, who had been brought prisoner to Detroit, bound hand and toot, and solaced on the pivjsage with the expecta- 36 Captivity and Escape of Commandant Panlly, tion of being burnt alive. On landing near the camp of Pontiac, he was snrronuded by a crowd of Indians, chiefly squaws and children, who pelted him with stones, sticks and gravel, forcing him to dance and sing, though by no means in a cheerful strain. A worse infliction seemed in store for him, when, happily, an old woman, whose husband had lately died, chose to adopt him in place of the deceased warrior. Seeing no alternative but the stake, Paully accepted the proposal; and having been first plunged in the river, that the white blood might be washed from his veins, he was conducted to the lodge of the widow, and treated thenceforth with all the consideration due an Ottawa warrior. Gladwyn, the commandant at Detroit, soon received a letter from him, through one of the Canadian inhabitants, giving a full account of the capture of Fort Sandusky. On the IGth of May — such was the substance of the communication — Paully was informed that seven Indians were waiting at the gate to speak with him. As several of the number were well known to him, he ordered them, without hesitation, to be admitted. Arriving at his quarters, two of the treacherous visitors seated themselves on each side of the commandant, while the rest were disposed in various parts of the room. The pipes were lighted, and the convention began, when an Indian, who stood in the doorway, suddenly made a signal by raising his head. Upon this, the astonished officer was instantly pounced upon and disarmed; while, at the same moment, a confused noise of shrieks and yells, the firing of guns, and the hurried tramp of feet, sounded from the area of the fort without. It soon ceased, however, and Paully, led by his captors from the room, saw the parade ground strewn with the corpses of his murdered garrison. At nightfall, he was conducted to the margin of the lake, where several birch canoes lay in readiness; and as, amid thick darkness, the party pushed out from shore, the captive saw the fort, lately under his command, bursting on all sides into sheets of flame. Subsequently, during Pontiac's siege of Detroit, a man was discov- ered one afternoon about four o'clock, running towards the fort, closely pursued by Indians. On his arriving within gun-shot distance, they gave over the chase, and the fugitive came panting beneath the walls, where a wicket was thrown open to receive him. He proved to be the late commandant at Sandusky, who, liaving, as before mentioned, been adopted by the Indians, and married to an Pit nil 1/ l)i roi'ct-fl from his. Sqatnr, 37 old s<|U:iw, now seized the first oi)i)urtunity of obtaiuing a suniniary divorce, and escaping from her tender embraces. For the above interesting circumstances attending the surrender of the defences at Forts >rianii and iSandusky, the writer is iu!nion. and a clamorous dehate (.-nsued. 'i'wo of his Canadian attendants— (iod- froy and St. \'incent — had followed him to the village, and now ventured to interpo-e with the chiefs in his hehalf. Amung the latter was a nephew of Pontiac, a young man, though not yet arrived at maturity, who shareil the b(dd spirit «d" his heroic kinsman. He harangued the tumultuous crowd, declaring that he would not see one of the Englisii jnit to death, when so many of his own relatives were in their hands at Detroit. A ^fiami chief, named the Swan, also took part with the jirisoner, and cut loose his bonds : but Morris had no sooner begun to speak in his own behalf, than another chief, called the White Cat. seized him, and bound him fast by the neck to a post. Upon this, Pontiac's nejihew rode up oti horseback, severed the cord with his hatchet, and relejised the unfor- tunate man. " I give this Englishman his life," exclaimed the daring boy. " If you want English meat, go to Detroit, or to the Lake, and you will lind enough of it. What business have you with this man, who has come to speak with ns? " The current of feeling among the throng now began to change ; and, having vented their hatred and spite by a profusion of words and blow.s, they at length thrust the ambjissador witli violence out of the village. He succeeded in regaining the fort, although, on the way, he was met by one of the Indians, who beat his naked body witli a stick. 44 An Indian Naval Engagement. He found the Canadian inhabitants of the fort disposed to befriend him, as far as tiiey could do so without danger to themselves ; but his situation was still extremely critical. The two warriors, who had led liim across the river, were constantly lurking about, watch- ing an opportunity to kill him ; and the Kickapoos, whose lodges were pitched on the meadow, sent him a message to the eli'ect that if the Miamis did not put him to death, they themselves would do so, whenever he should pass their camp. He was still on the threshold of his journey, and his final point of destination was several hundred miles distant ; yet, with great resolution, he deter- mined to persevere, and, if possible, completely fulfill his mission. His Indian and Canadian attendants used every means to dissuade him, and in the evening held a council with the Miami chiefs, the result of which was most discouraging. Morris received message after message, threatening his life should lie persist in his design ; and word was brought him that several of the Shawanese deputies were returning to the fort, expressly to kill him. Under these circumstances, it would have been madness to persevere ; and, reluctantly abandoning his purpose, he retraced his steps towards Detroit, where he arrived on the 17th of September, fully expecting to find Bradstreet still encamped in the neighborhood. But that agile commander had returned to Sandusky, whither Morris, com- pletely exhausted by hardships and sufferings, was unable to follow him. He hastened, however, to send Bradstreet the journal of his unfortunate embass}', accompanied by a letter, in which occurs the following extract: "The villains have nipped our fairest hopes in the bud. I tremble for you at Sandusky; though I was greatly pleased to find you have one of the vessels with you, and artillery. I wish the chiefs were assembled on board the vessel, and that she had a hole in her bottom. Treachery should be paid with treachery ; and it is a more than ordinary pleasure to deceive those who would deceive us." The above account is gathered from Parkman's history of the conspiracy of Pontiac, and from the testimony of his Indian and Canadiaii attendants, given in Bradstreet's presence, at his camp near Sandusky. The original journal is in the London Archives. A naval engagement, which occurred during this Pontiac war, is thus mentioned in the " British Annual Register" for 1763 : " On Lake Erie, with a crowd of canoes, the Indians attacked a schooner, wbjph conveyed provisions to the fort at Petroit, Though in their Chtrttcirr (,f I'oitf'mr. 45 savage navy they had employed near four hundred men, and had but a single vessel to engasre, they were repul§ed, after a liot enpape- ment, with considerable loss. This vessel was, to tlu'ni. as a fortili- (jiition on the water, and they could not make their attacks witli so much advantage as ujwn the enemy by laud." In this war the Miamis were with their red bn'tlir<;i), and as.-i.slcd particuhirly in the destruction of Forts Miamis and Sandusky. They brought into the field one thousand warriors. After the failure of I'ontiac, that great chief sought refuge among the Miamis, and continued with them for more than a year. In March, 1T65, we tiiid Sir William .Tohnson complaining that the Miamis took a soldier of Fort ^liami prisoner, robbed him of all his clothing, and turned him into the woods. lie also reports that the Miamis are at war with the Chippewas, allies of the English, and had killed and captured a large number of them. George Croghan, on the 'i.\\\\ of August, attended by Colonel Campbell, made a treaty with the Miamis, by which that nation was to remain undisturbed in its hunting grounds. Not long after this, the tribes abandoned their towns on the Great Miami, and removed to the Maumee, the St. Joseph and Wabash rivers. The confederated tribes had failed to take the three most impor- tant fortresses in the West — Detroit. Pitt and Niagara. ^Many of them became disheartened ; othere wished to return home for the winter : others had satisfied their longings for revenge. United only by the hojie of achieving an immediate success, they fell from one another when that success did not come. Jealousies and old enmi- ties revived ; the league was broken ; and Pontiac left his tribe and wnt into the West, and for some years after was living iimong the Illinois, and at St. Ijouis. attempting, but in vain, to bring about a new union and a new war. He was, in the end, killed by a Kaskas- kia Indian. So far as we can form a judgment of this chieftain, (says .1. II. Perkins, in liis Western Annals,) in point of talent, nobleness of spirit, honor and devotion, he was the superior <»f any red man of whom wi have an account. His plan of extermination was most masii-rly : bis execution of it eipiid to its conception. Hut for the treachery of one of his followers, he would have taken Detroit early in May. His wh(»le force might then have lieen tlirected in one mass, first ni>on Niagani, and then upon Pitt; and in all jirobability both i>o8t*' would have fallen. Even disajipointed as he was at Detroit, had 46 George Orogliarih Visit to the the six nations, with their dependent allies, the Delawares and Shawanese, been true to him, the British might have been long kept beyond the mountains ; but the Iroquois, — close upon the colonies, old allies of England, very greatly under the influence of Sir William Johnson, and disposed, as they ever proved themselves, to claim and sell, but not to defend the West, — were for peace on the terms of the British King's proclamation. Indeed, the Mohawks, and leading tribes, were from the first with the British ; so that, after the success of Bouquet and Bradstreet, there was no difficulty in concluding a treaty with all the Western Indians. George Croghan, of Pennsylvania, Sir William Johnson's sub- Commissioner, made a visit to the West in ]705, for the purpose of establishing more friendly relations between the English and the more distant Western tribes. From the journal of his travels, published in the Appendix to Butler's History of Kentucky, it appears that he setoff from Fort Pitt with two bateaux, on the 17th of May, 1705, and on the date named below, we find him at the mouth of the Wabash: July 25th, 17G5, we set out from tliis place (after settling all matters happily with the natives), for the Miames, and traveled the whole way tiirough a tine, rich bottom, overgrown with wild hemp, along the Oaabaclie,"till we came to Eel river, where we arrived the 27th. About six miles up this river is a small v'llage of the Twightwee, situated on a very delightful spot of ground on the bank of the river. The Eel river heads near St. Joseph's, and runs nearly parallel to the Miames, and at some few miles distant from it, through a fine, pleasant country, and after a course of about one hundred and eighty miles, emi)ties itself into the Ouabache. On the 28th, 29th, oOth and 31st, we traveled still along side the Eel river, passing through fine, clear woods, and some good meadows, though not so large as those we passed some days before. The country is more overgrown with woods, the soil is sufficiently rich, and well watered with springs. August 1st, we arrived at the carrying place between the river Miames and the Ouabache, which is about nine miles long in dry seasons, but not above half that length in freshets. The head of the Ouabache is about forty miles from this place, and after a course of about seven hundred and sixty miles from the head spring, through one of the finest countries in the world, it empties itself into the Ohio. The navigation from hence to Ouicatanon, is very Mmim ee T '7/ lie v / // 1 7 ('• "> . 47 ditlicult in low water, on account of many rapids and rifts ; but in I'reshets, which generally happen in the spring and lull, bateaux or canoes will pass, without diflicuhy, I'rom here to Ouieatanon in three days, wliicli is about two hundred and forty miles, and by land al)out two hundred and ten miles from Ouicatanon to Port Vincent, and thence to the Ohio ; bateaux and canoes may go at any season of the year. Throughout the whole course of the Ouabache, tiie banks are pretty high, and in the river are a great many islands. Many shrubs and trees are found here unknown to us. Within a mile of the Twightwee village, I was met by the chiefs of that nation, who received us very kindly. The most part of these Indians knew me, and conducted me to their village, where they immediately hoisted an English flag that I had formerly given them at Fort Pitt, The next day they held a council, after which they gave me up all the English prisoners they had ; then made several speeches, in all of which they expressed the great pleasure it gave them, to see the unhappy differences which embroiled the several nations in a war with their l)rethren (the English) were now s(» near a happy conclusion, and that peace was established in their country. Tiie Twightwee village is situated on l)oth sides of a river, called St. Joseph. This river, where it falls into the ^liame river, about a quarter of a mile from tliis place, is one hundred yards wide, on the east side of which stands a stockade fort, somewhat ruinous. The Indian village consists of about forty or Hfty cabins, besides nine or ten French houses — a runaway colony from Detroit. During tiie late Inarticu- larly at the close, or Indian hug, he seldom gained much matter of triumph. But in all trials of agility, they stood no chance with him ! " This intimacy continued through life, and was j)roved upon more than one occasion to be genuine friendship; — to be relied upon in emergency. Until William Crawford reached his 23d yt ar, he followed the double occupation of a survevor and farmer. He subsequently held important judicial trusts in Pennsylvania ; was actively engaged iu the French war and revolutionary struggle, 54 Crawford's Ill-fated Expedition. and was energetic in urging Congress to an effectual defence of the western frontiers. During the fall of 1779, Colonel Crawford led several small parties into Ohio in pursuit of savage depredators. No better em- ployment was desired by him than e, and on the Kth crossing the Maumee river (i ()6 Indie II \ 'il luges at Ju)ii Wai/iie. to the Indian village, formed a junction again Avith Hardin, at the Omee (au Miami, Fr.) village, [now called Harmar's Ford.] This was the same town burnt and abandoned by the savages. At this point of the narrative, there is considerable obscurity with names and places which I must explore as I l>est can. The Indians had seven villages it seems, clustering about the junction of the St. Mary's and St. Joseph's rivers, which, as is well known, form the river Maiimee. These were : 1st, the Miami village, so called after the tribe of that name; corruptly and by contraction, Omee, from Au Miami, the designation given it by the French traders, who were here resident in great force. This lay in the fork of the St. Joseph's and Maumee; [now the Cole-Taber farm.] 2d, a village of the Maumees, of thirty houses, Ke Kiogue, now Fort Wayne — in the fork of the St. Mary's and Maumee. 3d, Chillicothe, a name signifying ' town,' being a village of the Shawanees, down the Maumee, on its north bank, and of fifty-eight houses. Opposite this was another of the same tribe, of eighteen liouses. The Dela- wares had their villages, two on the St. Mary's, [near where the Allen county, Ind., Poor Asylum is now situate,] about three miles from its mouth, and opposite each other, with forty-five houses together, and the other consisting of thirty- six houses, on the east side of the St. Joseph's, two or three miles Irom its mouth. The day of Harmar's junction with Hardin, tAvo Indians Avere discovered by a scouting party, as they were crossing a prairie. The scouts pursued them and shot one; the other made his escape. A young man named Johnson, seeing the Indian was not dead, attempted to shoot him again ; but his pistol not making fire, the Indian raised his rifle and shot Johnson through the body, which proved fatal. This night the Indians succeeded in driving through the lines between fifty and one hundred horses, and bore them oft", to the no small mortification of the whites. The same day (October 17th) was employed in searching in the hazel thickets for hidden treasure. Much corn was found buried in the earth. On the evening of this day. Captain McClure and McClary fell upon a stratagem peculiar to backwoodsmen. They conveyed a horse a short distance down the river undiscovered, fettered him, unstrapped the bell-tongue, and concealed themselves with their rifles. An Indian, attracted by the sound of the bell, came cautiously up and began to untie him, when McOlurc shot him. The report of the gun alarmed the camp, and brought many //I'/'/f'fis C(ninniin