University of Virginia Library

CAPTIVITY OF MRS. GLASS.

Early on the morning of the 27th of March, two Indians
appeared on the premises of Mr. Glass, residing a few miles
back of the present town of Wellsburgh. At the time, Mrs. G.
was alone in her house, with the exception of an infant and a
small black girl. Mrs. Glass was spinning, and had sent her
negro woman to the woods for sugar water. In a few moments
she returned, screaming at the top of her voice, "Indians!
Indians!" Mrs. Glass jumped up, and running, first to the
window, then to the door, attempted to escape. But an Indian
met her, and presented his gun; Mrs. Glass caught hold of
the muzzle, turned it aside, and begged him not to kill her.
The other Indian, in the meantime, caught the negro woman,
and brought her into the house. They then opened a chest
and took out a small box and some articles of clothing, and
without doing any further damage, departed with their
prisoners. After proceeding about a mile and a half, they
halted, and held a consultation, as she supposed, to kill the
children. This she understood to be the subject by their
gestures. To one of the Indians, who could speak English,
she held out her little boy, and begged not to kill him, as
he would make a fine chief after awhile. The Indian made a
motion for her to walk on with her child. The other Indian
then struck the negro child with the pipe end of his tomahawk,
which knocked it down, and then, by a blow with the
edge, across the back of the neck, dispatched it.

"About four o'clock in the evening they reached the river,
a mile above the creek, and carried a canoe, which had been
thrown up in some drift wood, into the river. They got into
this canoe, and worked it down to the mouth of Rush run, a

distance of about five miles. They pulled the canoe into the
mouth of the stream, as far as they could; going up the run
about a mile, encamped for the night. The Indians gave the
prisoners all their own clothes for covering, and one of them
added his own blanket. Shortly before daylight the Indians
got up, and put another blanket over them. The black
woman complained much on account of the loss of her child,
and they threatened, if she did not desist, to kill her.

"About sunrise they commenced their march, up a very steep
hill, and at two o'clock halted on Short creek, about twenty
miles from the place whence they set out in the morning.
The spot had been an encampment shortly before, as well as a
place of deposite for the plunder, which they had recently taken
from the house of a Mr. Vanmeter, whose family had been killed.
The plunder was deposited in a sycamore tree. They had
tapped some sugar trees when there before, and now kindled
a fire, and put on a brass kettle, with a turkey, which they had
killed on the way, to boil in sugar water.

"Mr. Glass was working, with a hired man in a field, about
a quarter of a mile from the house, when his wife and family
were taken, but knew nothing of the event until noon. After
searching about the place, and going to several houses in quest
of his family, he went to Wells' fort, collected ten men, and
that night lodged in a cabin, on the bottom on which the town
of Wellsburg now stands.

"Next morning they discovered the place where the Indians
had taken the canoe from the drift, and their tracks at the
place of embarkation. Mr. Glass could distinguish the
track of his wife by the print of the high heel of her shoe.
They crossed over the river, and went down on the other
side, until they came near the mouth of Rush run; but discovering
no tracks of the Indians, most of the men concluded
that they would go to the mouth of the Muskingum, by water,
and therefore wished to turn back. Mr. Glass begged of them
to go as far as the mouth of Short creek, which was only two
or three miles. To this they agreed. When they got to the

mouth of Rush run, they found the canoe of the Indians.
This was identified by a proof, which goes to show the presence
of mind of Mrs. Glass. While passing down the river, one of
the Indians threw into the water several papers, which he
had taken out of Mr. Glass' trunk; some of these she carelessly
picked up, and under pretence of giving them to the
child, dropped them into the bottom of the canoe. These left
no doubt. The trail of the Indians, and their prisoners, up
the run to their camp, and then up the river hill, was soon
discovered.

"About an hour after the Indians had halted, Mr. Glass and
his men came within sight of their camp. The object then
was to save the lives of the prisoners, by attacking the Indians
so unexpectedly, as not to allow time to kill them. With this
view, they crept along until they got within one hundred
yards of the camp. Fortunately, Mrs. Glass' little son had
gone to a sugar-tree, but not being able to get the water, his
mother had stepped out to get it for him. The negro woman
was sitting some distance from the two Indians, who were
looking attentively at a scarlet jacket, which they had taken
some time before. On a sudden they dropped the jacket, and
turned their eyes towards the men, who, supposing they were
discovered, immediately discharged several guns, and rushed
upon them, at full speed, with an Indian yell. One of the
Indians, it was supposed, was wounded the first fire, as he
fell and dropped his gun and shot pouch. After running
about one hundred yards, a second shot was fired after him,
by Maj. M'Guire, which brought him to his hands and knees;
but there was no time for pursuit, as the Indians had informed
Mrs. Glass that there was another encampment close by.
They therefore returned with all speed, and reached Beech
Bottom fort that night.

"The other Indian, at the first fire, ran a short distance
beyond Mrs. Glass, so that she was in a right line between
him and the white men; here he halted for a moment, to put

on his shot pouch, which Mr. Glass mistook for an attempt to
kill his wife with a tomahawk."

This artful manœuvre, no doubt, saved the life of the savage,
as his pursuers could not shoot at him, without risking the
life of the woman.

The above we have slightly altered from the account already
published, and think it is entirely correct as now given. Mrs.
Glass subsequently married a Mr. Brown, and was long a
resident of Brooke county.

The Monongahela settlements suffered somewhat severely
from savage visitation during most of this year. The tomahawk
and scalping knife found their victims in almost every
neighborhood.

"In August, five Indians on their way to the Monongahela,
met with two men on Middle Island creek, and killed them.
Taking their horses, they continued on until they came to the
house of William Johnson, on Ten-mile, and made prisoners
of Mrs. Johnson and some children, plundered the house,
killed part of the stock, and taking with them one of Johnson's
horses, returned towards the Ohio. When the Indians
came to the house, Johnson had gone to a lick not far off,
and on his return in the morning, seeing what had been done,
and searching until he found the trail of the savages and
their prisoners, ran to Clarksburg for assistance. A company
of men repaired with him to where he had discovered the
trail, and keeping it about a mile, found four of the children
lying dead in the woods. The savages had tomahawked and
scalped them, and placing their heads close together, turned
their bodies and feet out so as to represent a cross. The
dead were buried, and further pursuit given over."

In the same month, two lads were surprised and killed at
Neil's station, a small stockade which stood on the Kanawha,
about a mile back of the present town of Parkersburg. The
boys were twelve and fifteen, sons of a German who lived

within a few hundred yards of the block-house. They had been
to the station late in the evening, and returning, went out of
their path to hunt the cows. The savages had watched them
go down, and at a favorable moment fell upon them with
their tomahawks and killed both on the spot. Alarmed at
their delay, the parents made a search for them on the
following morning and found their bodies as described.
That night, the Indians attempted to burn the block-house
by means of straw and hay, which they thrust through the
port-holes; but in this they were foiled by the vigilance of
those within.