OHIO STATEWIDE FILES - Know your Ohio: Ohio Shawnee Indians [5]
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by
Darlene E. Kelley
http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00026.html#0006374
March 31, 2002
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Historical Collections of Ohio
Know Your Ohio
by Darlene E. Kelley
Ohio Shawnee Indians
Daniel Boone-- " Sheltowee " [ Big Turtle ]
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Ohio Shawnees -- part 5.
Daniel Boone--

After Lt Gov. Henry Hamilton of Detroit had refused to pay for Boone's
bounty, because Blackfish had refused to surrender him, Boone was taken
back to Old Chillicothe and was adopted by Blackfish. Boone was
exceedingly familiar and friendly with the Shawnees and was careful not
to exceed many of them in their shooting; for there were no people more
envious then they in this sport. He was admired for this behavior.

The site of the Shawnee villiage was then moved to a broad cornfield on
the outskirts of Xenia. Tukemas Pope, artist and chief of the 600 member
Remnant Shawnee, once lived in nearby Dayton in a home resplendent of
the their native American artifacts and paraphemlia. His group had
decended from remnants of Tecumseh's band, which was defeated in the war
of 1812. 

" Big Turtle " [ Boone ] was adopted for his bravery," Tukemas said. "
He was stealing at Blue Licks, the Shawnee horses, when we caught him,
but that was no big thing, as we stole horses constantly from the
settlers and they would steal them back. That was just the way it was,
part of the game."

Daniel Boone obviously had an affinity with the Shawnee. He had known
them all his life as they shared a love of the forest. the hunting, and
freedom. Usually he was a loner, and that was alien to the Shawnees. So
when they allowed Boone to hunt-- under supervision-- he began to hoard
powder and lead, and began to mediate an escape. 

When a large war party gathered in June, Boone realized that the attack
on Boonesborough was imminent. Slipping away from a hunting party, he
covered 160 miles in four days and staggered into the settlement. By
now, he looked more Indian than white. Of his family, he found only
Jemima. Rebecca, thinking him dead, had already returned to North
Carolina.

Boone quckly saw to the repair and completion of Boonesborough's
fortification and sent to nearby settlements and the Virginia Militia
for help. In early September the 450 Shawnee and French Canadian force
arrived on the north bank of the Kentucky.

Stalling for time, Boone agreed to talk to Blackfish. After the formal
greeting, Blackfish questioned Boone about why he had run away from the
tribe, and he explained to him that he had wanted to see his wife and
children. With this Blackfish assured him that all he had to do was to
ask and he would have let him visit.

The defenders parlayed and stalled for three days; Blackfish and his
allies then suggested a peace treaty. Ostensibly shaking hands in
friendship, the Indians seized eight Kentucky negotiators, who broke
loose and dashed for the Fort. The seize of Boonesborough had begun.

For days fierce rifle fire was exchanged. The Indians tried fire arrows
and a tunnel into the Fort, but rain thwarted both efforts. Finally on
the eighth day, dawned soggy, but quiet. Sometime in the night the
Shawnee and French Canandians had stole away.

Not many in history know that Daniel Boone was charged with Treason. I
will attempt to explain what actually happened in the following
paragraphs:

Indian raids on the Fort had left its inhabitants wih insufficient food
supplies. So Boone and a party of 26 other men needed to leave the fort
to get food and salt ( to preserve the food ). Without those supplies,
the people of Boonesborough could not survive the winter.

On February 7, 1778, after Boone had killed a buffalo, he saw several
Shawnee warriors closing in on him. The warriors were part of a larger
war party led by Chief Blackfish. Their objectives were to avenge the
death of Chief Cornsilk, who had been a moderate in his dealings with
the encroaching Americans. Inconceivable to the Shawnee, Cornsilk, had
been killed by the Americans.

The Shawnee had been camped at Hinkerston Creek. The four warriors were
scouting the area and were on their way back to the camp. They had found
Boone's salt makers at the Blue Salt Licks. Their plan was to kill the
salt makers, until they found and captured Daniel Boone.

Later, Boone said he was unable to flee the warriors because he was in
his mid-40s and could not run away fast enough. As Boone told the story
at his trial, he devised a " stratagem" to save his men and the fort. He
told Chief Blackfish he would convince his men to surrender as prisoners
of war. More importatly, he told Blackfish, he would negotiate the
surrender of the fort in the spring.

Boone did indeed talk his men into surrendering. No shots were fired.
One of Boone's men later wrote, " We were ordered by Colonel Boone to
stack our guns and surrender, and so we did so."

When the hunting party failed to return to the fort, scouts found tracks
in the snow that told the story. All 27 men had been captured by the
Shawnee, without a fight. It was this evidence, the lack of resistance,
that ultimately made the inhabitants of Boonesborough suspicious.

Why?-- Boone's fellow officers wondered. had the men failed to resist
capture. To Captain Richard Callaway and others,the lack of a struggle
indicated some kind of treachery. Amidst all the questions that were
raised by the fort leaders, Rebecca Boone left Boonesborough. She
returned to her family in Carolina.

The Shawnee took the Americans to their camp at Chillicothe. The
captives were forced to run the gauntlet. They were extremely upset with
the terrible conditions that exsisted in thecamp. They were hungry. They
became bitter. They believed they could have defended themselves against
the Shawnee. Many were upset with Boone, the man who had convinced them
to give in.

The captives were well aware that Boone had loyalist relatives. Everyone
knew that Rebecca's family had been the most prominent of all the Tory (
loyalists ) families to migrate to Kentucky. Everyone knew that in 1774
Daniel himself has accepted a captain's commission from the
British-appointed Governor. The captives began to wonder, " Whose side
was Daniel Boone really on ?"

To make matters worse, once the Shawnee brought their captives to the
British settlement at Fort Detroit, captives heard Boone talk to the
British Lt. Governor. Boone was overheard hinting to Lt. Governor Henry
Hamilton that the Americans inside Boonsborough were in bad shape and
were ready to abandon the American cause.

One of the captives, Andy Johnson, escaped. When he returned to
Boonsborough, he confirmed the worst suspicions of the fort's leaders.
Johnson reported that Boone was a Tory and had surrendered his men to
the British. Worse, Johnson reported that Boone had taken an oath of
allegiance to the British while Boone and his men were at Detroit.

While the men were held as captives, several were adopted by Shawnee
families. While it may seem strange to us, this ritual was very common
during the Revoluntionary War, and before. Daniel Boone, who had become
very fond of Chief Blackfish, was adopted by Blackfish.
Because Boone wore a heavy pack and walked slowly, the Shawnee thought
he resembled a turtle. That was the reason the Shawee name " Sheltowee "
which meant " Big Turtle."

In September of 1778, the Shawnee appeared outside the fort after Daniel
had escaped and returned to Boonesborough.
Chief Blackfish called for " Sheltowee " his son. Daniel Boone's actions
immediately thereafter convinced some of his fellow officers that he was
guilty of treason.

Blackfish reminded Boone of the promises he had made to give up the
fort. When Boone told Blackfish he was no longer in command of the fort
that bore his name. Blackfish agreed to negotiate only if Boone and the
other leaders agreed to talk in front of the fort, and not inside the
fort.

Everyone knew that agreeing to such a strategy would pose a significant
risk for the Americans, as if they were outside the protection of the
fort, what would stop the Indians from attacking. Boone's arguement in
favor of negotiating outside the fort was to allow the people inside the
fort to better prepare their defenses. So Boone convinced a delegation
to meet with Blackfish outside the fort. Later, those actions formed
part of the evidence against Boone.

Duing the negotiations, the Shawnee attempted to take members of the
negotiating team as prisoners. Fighting broke out between the fort and
the Indians, and the Shawnee laid seige to Boonesborough.

After ten days passed, the Shawnee grew restless. Seige warfare was not
their normal way to conduct a battle. They withdrew and the fort was
saved. To some, Daniel Boone was a hero. To others, he was a traitor. He
was charged with treason and placed under house arrest.
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to be continued in part 6-- The Court Martial.