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1Author:  De Hass Wills 1818?-1910Requires cookie*
 Title:  History of the early settlement and Indian wars of Western Virginia  
 Published:  2006 
 Subjects:  University of Virginia Library, Text collection | UVA-LIB-Text 
 Description: "Whereas, by a treaty at Easton, in the year 1758, and afterwards ratified by his Majesty's ministers, the country to the west of the Alleghany mountain is allowed to the Indians for their hunting ground. And as it is of the highest importance to his Majesty's service, and the preservation of the peace, and a good understanding with the Indians, to avoid giving them any just cause of complaint: This is therefore to forbid any of his Majesty's subjects to settle or hunt to the west of the Alleghany mountains, on any pretence whatever, unless such have obtained leave in writing from the general, or the governors of their respective provinces, and produce the same to the commanding officer at Fort Pitt. And all the officers and non-commissioned officers, commanding at the several posts erected in that part of the country, for the protection of the trade, are hereby ordered to seize, or cause to be seized, any of his Majesty's subjects, who, without the above authority, should pretend, after the publication hereof, to settle or hunt upon the said lands, and send them, with their horses and effects, to Fort Pitt, there to be tried and punished according to the nature of their offence, by the sentence of a court martial. What did you kill my people on Yellow creek for? The white people killed my kin at Conestoga, a great while ago, and I thought nothing of that. But you killed my kin again on Yellow creek, and took my cousin prisoner. Then I thought I must kill too; and I have been three times to war since; but the Indians are not angry, only myself. I have this moment received certain intelligence that the enemy are coming in great force against us, and particularly against Wheeling. You will immediately put your garrison in the best posture of defence, and lay in as great a quantity of water as circumstances will admit, and receive them coolly. They intend to decoy your garrison, but you are to guard against stratagem, and defend the post to the last extremity. We, the subscribers, do hereby certify that the within specified appraisements are just and true, to the best of our judgments; and that the several articles were lost in the late unhappy defeat near M'Mechen's narrows, on the 27th of September, 1777—as witness our hands, this 3d of October, 1777. On Monday afternoon, September 11, 1782, a body of about 300 Indians, and 50 British soldiers, composing part of a company known as the `Queen's Rangers,' appeared in front of the fort, and demanded a surrender. These forces were commanded respectively by the white renegade Girty, and a Captain Pratt. Yours of the 8th instant has just come to hand, and I with pleasure sit down to answer your request, which is a statement of my adventure with the Indians. I will give the narrative as found in my sketch book. I was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, February 4th, 1777. When about eight years old, my father, James Johnson, having a large family to provide for, sold his farm, with the expectation of acquiring larger possessions further west. Thus he was stimulated to encounter the perils of a pioneer life. He crossed the Ohio river, and bought some improvements on what was called Beach Bottom Flats, two and a half miles from the river, and three or four miles above the mouth of Short creek, with the expectation of holding by improvement right under the Virginia claim. Soon after we reached there, the Indians became troublesome; they stole horses, and killed a number of persons in our neighborhood. When I was between eleven and twelve years old, in the month of October, 1788, I was taken prisoner by the Indians, with my brother John, who was about eighteen months older than I. The circumstances were as follows:—On Saturday evening, we were out with an older brother, and came home late in the evening. The next morning one of us had lost a hat, and about the middle of the day, we thought that perhaps we had left it where we had been at work, about three-fourths of a mile from the house. We went to the place and found the hat, and sat down on a log by the road-side, and commenced cracking nuts. In a short time we saw two men coming toward us from the house. By their dress, we supposed they were two of our neighbors, James Perdue and J. Russell. We paid but little attention to them, until they came quite near us, when we saw our mistake; they were black. To escape by flight was impossible, had we been disposed to try. We sat still until they came up. One of them said, "How do, brodder?" My brother asked them if they were Indians, and they answered in the affirmative, and said we must go with them. One of them had a blue buckskin pouch, which we gave my brother to carry, and without further ceremony, he took up the line of march for the wilderness, not knowing whether we should ever return to our cheerful home; and not having much love for our commanding officers, of course we obeyed orders rather tardily. The mode of march was thus—one of the Indians walked about ten steps before, the other about ten behind us. After travelling some distance, we halted in a deep hollow and sat down. They took out their knives and whet them, and talked some time in the Indian tongue, which we could not understand. My brother and me sat eight or ten steps from them, and talked about killing them that night, and make our escape. I thought, from their looks and actions, that they were going to kill us; and, strange to say, I felt no alarm. I thought I would rather die than go with them. The most of my trouble was, that my father and mother would be fretting after us—not knowing what had become of us. I expressed my thoughts to John, who went and began to talk with them. He said that father was cross to him, and made him work hard, and that he did not like hard work; that he would rather be a hunter, and live in the woods. This seemed to please them; for they put up their knives, and talked more lively and pleasantly. We became very familiar, and many questions passed between us; all parties were very inquisitive. They asked my brother which way home was, several times, and he would tell them the contrary way every time, although he knew the way very well. This would make them laugh; they thought we were lost, and that we knew no better. They conducted us over the Short creek hills in search of horses, but found none; so we continued on foot until night, when we halted in a hollow, about three miles from Carpenter's fort, and about four from the place where they first took us; our route being somewhat circuitous, we made but slow progress. As night began to close in, I became fretful. My brother encouraged me, by whispering that we would kill them that night. After they had selected the place of our encampment, one of them scouted round, whilst the other struck fire, which was done by stopping the touch-hole of his gun, and flashing powder in the pan. After the Indian got the fire kindled, he re-primed the gun and went to an old stump, to get some tinder wood, and while he was thus employed, my brother John took the gun, cocked it, and was about to shoot the Indian: alarmed lest the other might be close by, I remonstrated, and taking hold of the gun, prevented him shooting; at the same time I begged him to wait till night, and I would help him kill them both. The other Indian came back about dark, when we took our supper, such as it was,—some corn parched on the coals, and some roasted pork. We then sat and talked for some time. They seemed to be acquainted with the whole border settlement, from Marietta to Beaver, and could number every fort and block-house, and asked my brother how many fighting men there were in each place, and how many guns. In some places, my brother said, there were a good many more guns than there were fighting men. They asked what use were these guns. He said the women could load while the men fired. But how did these guns get there? My brother said, when the war was over with Great Britain, the soldiers that were enlisted during the war were discharged, and they left a great many of their guns at the stations. They asked my brother who owned that black horse that wore a bell? He answered, father. They then said the Indians could never catch that horse. We then went to bed on the naked ground, to rest and study out the best mode of attack. They put us between them, that they might be the better able to guard us. After awhile, one of the Indians, supposing we were asleep, got up and stretched himself on the other side of the fire, and soon began to snore. John, who had been watching every motion, found they were sound asleep. He whispered to me to get up, which we did as carefully as possible. John took the gun with which the Indian had struck fire, cocked it, and placed it in the direction of the head of one of the Indians. He then took a tomahawk, and drew it over the head of the other Indian. I pulled the trigger, and he struck at the same instant; the blow falling too far back on the neck, only stunned the Indian. He attempted to spring to his feet, uttering most hideous yells, but my brother repeated the blows with such effect that the conflict became terrible, and somewhat doubtful. The Indian, however, was forced to yield to the blows he received on his head, and in a short time he lay quiet at our feet. The one that was shot never moved; and fearing there were others close by, we hurried off, and took nothing with us but the gun I shot with. They had told us we would see Indians about to-morrow, so we thought that there was a camp of Indians close by; and fearing the report of the gun, the Indian hallooing, and I calling to John, might bring them upon us, we took our course towards the river, and on going about three-fourths of a mile, came to a path which led to Carpenter's fort. My brother here hung up his hat, that he might know where to take off to find the camp. We got to the fort a little before daybreak. We related our adventure, and the next day a small party went out with my brother, and found the Indian that was tomahawked, on the ground; the other had crawled off, and was not found till some time after. He was shot through close by the ear. Having concluded this narrative, I will give a description of the two Indians. They were of the Delaware tribe, and one of them a chief. He wore the badges of his office—the wampum belt, three half-moons, and a silver plate on his breast; bands of silver on both arms, and his ears cut round and ornamented with silver; the hair on the top of his head was done up with silver wire. The other Indian seemed to be a kind of waiter. He was rather under size, a plain man. He wore a fine beaver hat, with a hole shot through the crown. My brother asked him about the hat. He said he killed a captain and got his hat. My brother asked him if he had killed many of the whites, and he answered, a good many. He then asked him if the big Indian had killed many of the whites, and he answered, a great many, and that he was a great captain—a chief. * * * * * Your note of this day I have duly received, and with sincere pleasure proceed to comply with your requisitions; especially, as the facts will have a more fitting and enduring place of record, than if stated in a public print—which it was my intention to have done, had you not presented a superior vehicle. Brigadier-General McIntosh having requested from Congress leave to retire from the command of the westward, they have, by a resolve of the 20th February, granted his request, and directed me to appoint an officer to succeed him. From my opinion of your abilities, your former acquaintance with the back country, and the knowledge you must have acquired upon this last tour of duty, I have appointed you to the command in preference to a stranger, as he would not have time to gain the necessary information between that of his assuming the command and the commencement of operations.
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