OHIO STATEWIDE FILES OH-FOOTSTEPS Mailing List *********************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ *********************************************************************** OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 99 : Issue 867 Today's Topics: #1 Abbott's History of Ohio Chapter 2 ["Maggie Stewart" that contains in the body of the message the command unsubscribe and no other text. No subject line is necessary, but if your software requires one, just use unsubscribe in the subject, too. ______________________________ ------------------------------ X-Message: #1 Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 14:07:31 -0500 From: "Maggie Stewart" > To: OH-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <0cf001bf53c2$4a428ee0$0300a8c0@local.net > Subject: Abbott's History of Ohio Chapter 27 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Transcribed by Kay L. Mason kkmason@shianet.org Chapter XXVII Organization of the State The emigrants to Southern Ohio, from the New England and Middle States, usually traveled in their wagons, until they struck the Ohio at Wheeling. They then took boats, and floated down the river, several hundred miles, to Maysville, Kentucky, or to other points near, where they made preparations to cross the river, and to proceed to their final places of residence. In the year 1796, the whole white population of the Northwestern Territory, was estimated at five thousand souls. These were generally scattered along the bankds of the Muskingum, the Scioto and the Miami, and their tributaries, within fifty miles of the Ohio River. Cincinnati contained then one hundred log cabins, about a dozen frame houses, and six hundred inhabitants. Brick had not been yet introduced. The chimneys were built of stone taken from the hills in the rear of the town. As stone was more easily obtained than lumber, it soon became quite commonly used in building. Colonel Nathaniel Massie, an enterprising young man from Virginia, had been very efficient in colonizing the military district of that State. During the year 1795, he had secured large bodies of excellent lands, west of the Scioto, upon the branches of Paint Creek, and soon erected a station at the mouth of the creek. A vigorous colony commenced operations there. The settlement was called "Station Prairie," and was about three miles below the present City of Chilicothe. The colony was well provided with horses, stock, poultry and all needed farming utensils. Stable cabins were erected, and during the first season thirty plows were employed in turning up three hundred acres of fertile prairie land. Three miles above these rich farming fields there was an elevated, alluvial plain, which presented peculiar attractions for a large town. This was carefully surveyed and laid off into two hundred and eighty-seven town lots, with one hundred and sixty-nine out lots. The wide streets, alternating with lanes, intersected each other at right angles. As an attraction to emigrants, a town lot and a house lot were given to each of the first one hundred settlers. Those who came afterwards were to purchase their lands, but at a very low rate. For a choice town lot ten dollars were to be paid. "The town sprang up," writes John W. Monette, "as it were, by magic. Before the close of the year it contained, besides private residences, several stores, taverns and mechanical shops. The arts of pioneer life began to multiply, and to give competence in the midst of the wilderness. Emigrants constantly arrived. The population, trade and enterprise of the place continued to increase under the liberal policy of its enterprising founder. The town was called Chillicothe, a term which in the Indian dialect signifies town. It was the first town west of the mountains which was built in peace and quietude, and not requiring the protection of stockades and forts against Indian hostility." Emigrants rapidly advanced throughout the whole Valley of the Scioto, and also ascended the Muskingum to Zanesville. We have already alluded to the settlement of Cleveland, on the lands of the Connecticut Reserve. Though the town was situated on a beautiful, alluvial, well-wooded plain, about eighty feet above the waters of the lake, and was well adapted for commercial purposes, yet the place attained no importance until the year 1806. It then became the county seat of Cuyahoga County. In the original survey the town was divided into two hundred and twenty lots, intersected by seven streets and four lanes. The northwestern military posts which had been evacuated by the British were held by United States troops. The settlements on the Detroit River and the Maumee were annexed to the jurisdiction of the Northwestern Territory, and were incorporated in a county called Wayne. Detroit was the seat of justice. Two full regiments garrisoned these forts until the year 1798. Five counties comprised the whole territory not actually in possession of the Indians. In the year 1790 there were more than fifty log cabins at Chillicothe, and several small settlements were scattered among the river for twenty miles below. Forty miles above, there were three or four log cabins at Franklin, opposite the present City of Columbus. The whole surrounding region presented a gloomy wilderness of dense forests and marshy prairies. There were a few hunters to be found here, and a few vagabond whites living with the Indians, having renounced civilization and adopted barbarism. But the flood of emigration was such, that in the two years after this time the cabin of a settler could be found every ten or twelve miles along all the principal routes and Indian trails. New counties began to be organized, and hundreds of small settlements were springing up in all directions. The pomp and pagentry of cruel war had abandoned Cincinnati. For eight years it had been the center of all military parades. The thrilling music of the drum and fife was continually heard in the streets. The sonorous peals of the bugle, blending with the roar of the morning and evening gun, reverberated along the hills which fringed the magnificent stream. But now the deserted fort was crumbling to decay. It was no longer the rendezvous of troops destined to hostile campaigns and to the frontier posts. Cincinnati began to assume the appearance of a peaceful, thrifty and happy agricultural and commercial town. The strongest tide of emigration flowed into the Scioto country. This valley was far-famed for its fertility, its salubrity, its splendidly wooded bottoms, and its level plains, inviting the plow. The governor organized a new country, called Ross, of which Chillicothe was the seat of justice. This country contained large regions of wilderness which had then never been even explored. There were then but three cabins between Chillicothe and Lancaster, on the Hockhocking River. The region of Lancaster had belonged to the Wyandots. They had, in addition to other towns, a pleasant little village here of a hundred bark wigwams, containing a population of about five hundred. The whole tribe could bring five hundred warriors into the field. By the treaty of Greenville the Wyandots surrendered their whole territory to the United States. Most of the tribe, under their chief, moved to the Upper Sandusky. A few remained behind for four or five years, expressing a great unwillingness to tear themselves away from the graves of their father and from their ancient hunting grounds. They were very peaceable and friendly, so that no one desired their removal. Still they were never willing to engage vigorously in agricultural work; and as the game disappeared, they gradually rejoined their friends in the wilds of the Upper Sandusky. The enterprising Ebenezer Zane had a road cut, for a distance of about two hundred miles, from the Ohio River, opposite Wheeling, to a point on the river opposite Maysville, which, as we have mentioned, was then called Limestone. This road, called Zane's Truce, rough as it was, became a celebrated route for the wagons of the emigrants. They forded the Hocking River near the present site of Lancaster. The first settler, in this upper Hocking Valley was Captain Joseph Hunter. It is difficult to conceive what motive could induce a man to separate himself from all the advantages of neighborhood, and to bury his family in such awful solitudes. When Captain Hunter felled the trees, and cleared away the underbrush, and built his log hut, on the banks of this lonely stream, there was not a cabin on the east of him nearer than the Muskingum River, or on the west nearer than the Scioto. He is regarded as the father of the now populous County of Fairfield. He lived to see the country around him quite densely populated. Lancaster was laid out by Mr. Zane, in the year 1800. It was named from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as many of the emigrants came from that place. The town lots were sold from five to fifty dollars each. Most of the first settlers were mechanics. Their intelligence and energy wrought wonders. The town soon assumed a very thriving appearance. They sustained the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which lies at the foundation of all real prosperity. It is said that shortly after the settlement of the place, several emigrants came and made purchases there, who were of different character from the first proprietors. They had occasionally their drinking frolics, which would often terminate in disgraceful brawls. There were then no established tribunes of law and justice. The better disposed of the settlers determined to put a stop to such riotous proceedings. They met in a general gathering, and passed a resolution that any person of the town found intoxicated should for every such offense dig a stump out of the streets, or suffer personal chastisement at the whipping-post. It was no easy task to uproot one of these gigantic stumps, firmly imbedded in the soil. But it was better to perform that labor than to endure the keen pain of the lash upon the bare back. The law proved a very effective preventive of intemperance. A few stumps were cleared away, when dram drinking ceased, and the inhabitants of Lancaster became a peculiarly sober and happy people. The majority of the emigrants into the Valley of the Scioto were from Virginia. Their settlements rapidly extended upon all the fine lands within twenty miles of Chillicothe. Adams County was organized from the eastern portion of Hamilton. Manchester became its seat of justice. In the Autumn of 1798, four surveyors set out to explore the wilderness far up the Scioto River. Lord Dunmore, with his army, had penetrated this region more than twenty years before, and had brought back the report that lands of very rare excellence were to be found there. Each surveyor had a rifle, a good horse, which he rode, and a pack-horse, which he led, laden with supplies and ammunition. They advanced through Zane's Truce, traversing league after league of sublime forest without encountering any sign of inhabitants. At Zanesville they found two or three shanties, where several white hunters were encamped, men almost as rude and uncouth as the Indians. Near by there were several wigwams of the savages, who were also employed in hunting, fishing, and especially in drinking the whisky which they obtained from itinerate traders. Where Columbus, the capital of the state, now stands, they found but a dense, silent forest. About a mile above, upon the river bank, there was a collection of three or four log cabins, without chinking or daubing, and having a blanket in the doorway instead of a wooden door. They found here the wigwam of a white man by the name of John Brickell. When a child he had been taken captive by the Indians. At the treaty of Greenville he was nominally surrendered, but he had become so much attached to his Indian friends that he refused to leave them. Nothing could induce him to abandon the freedom of barbarian life for the restraints of civilization. This year two men, James Ross and Basil Wells, having purchased a large tract of land in the northern portion of Jefferson County, laid out a town on the western banks of the Ohio, about twenty miles above Wheeling. They named the place Steubenville, in honor of Baron Steuben, who had nobly volunteered his services in the cause of American independence. The town was admirably located on an elevated and fertile plain, surrounded by beautiful scenery. As, by the census taken at this time, the population of the territory amounted to five thousand free white males, the people were entitled, by the ordinance of 1787, to what was called the 'second grade' of territorial government. Governor St. Clair accordingly issued a proclamation, ordering an election to be held in the several counties on the third Monday of the following December, to elect twenty representatives, to serve as a Lower House of the Territorial Legislature. In reference to this measure, Mr. Monette very justly writes: "Those elected to compose this Legislature were such as are not excelled in point of talent by the members of any legislative body in the United States, even at this late day. Among the pioneers of Ohio were men of the first order of talent and of finished education, improved and polished by much intercourse with the most refined population of the Atlantic States. Hamilton County sent a strong representation. Of these, William McMillan was a native of Virginia, a man of strong and commanding talent, and a finished scholar. "John Smith was a man of strong mind, native talent and great energy of character. His laudable ambition and rectitude of purpose placed him above many of the talented leaders of his day. Jacob Burnett, another representative from Hamilton, was a prominent member of the territorial government, and continued to fill responsible offices under the state government for many years. "Solomon Sibley, of Detroit, representative from Wayne County, possessed a sound mind, improved by a liberal education, and a stability of character which commanded general respect and made him rank as one of the most talented men in the House. "Return J. Meigs and Paul Fearing, both lawyers of Marietta, and representatives of Washington County, were men of talent and great worth. Nathaniel Massie and Joseph Darlington, representatives of Adams County, were among the earliest and most enterprising citizens of Ohio. Ross County sent a representation not excelled by any county in the territory for intelligence and talent. Worthington, Tiffin, Finley and Langham were qualified to exert an influence in any deliberative body." The representatives to this Territorial Legislature met at Cincinnati the first Monday of February, 1799, and nominated ten men to the President of the United States, to serve as a legislative council. The first regular session of the Legislature was opened at Cincinnati on the sixteenth of September, and continued its sitting for nearly three months. It is said that the address of the governor was remarkable for its polished diction. Captain William H. Harrison, subsequently President of the United States, was elected the first delegate to Congress. To prevent large bodies of fine land from falling into the hands of speculators, who would check emigration by greatly advancing the price, Congress devised a mode of survey and sale by which the public lands should be laid off in small tracts, and be held open for sale to any individual. In the year 1800 Trumbull County was organized from lands belonging to the Western Reserve, and an immense population flowed into it from Pennsylvania. At the commencement of this year there were but sixteen settlers in that region, but the number very rapidly increased. The following story is told respecting one of the adventures of these pioneers: "A Mr. Orviatt was informed that a considerable number of huge rattlesnakes were scattered over a certain tract of wilderness. The old man asked whether there were a ledge of rocks in the vicinity, and if any springs issued from the ledge. Being answered in the affirmative, he rejoined, 'We will go about the last of May and have some sport.' Accordingly they proceeded through the woods, well armed with cudgels. Arriving at the battle ground, they cautiously ascended the hill step by step in a solid column. Suddenly the enemy gave the alarm, and the men found themselves completely surrounded by hosts of rattlesnakes of enormous size, and a huge squadron of black snakes. No time was lost. At the signal of the rattling of the snakes the action commenced, and hot and furious was the fight. In short, the snakes beat a retreat up the hill, our men cudgeling with all their might. When they arrived at the top of the ledge they found the ground and rocks in places almost covered with snakes retreating into their dens. Afterwards the slain were collected into heaps, and found to amount to four hundred and eighty-six, a good portion of which were larger than a man's leg below the calf, and over five feet in length." Cornelius Feather, who gives the above narrative, adds: "One circumstance I should relate, with regard to snake hunting. Having procured an instrument like a very long chisel, with a handle eight or nine feet long, I proceeded to the ledge alone, placed myself on the body of a butternut tree, lying slanted over a broad crevice in the rocks, seven or eight feet deep, the bottom, of which was literally covered with the yellow and black serpents. I held my weapon poised in my right hand ready to give the deadly blow; my left hand held a small branch to keep my balance, when both my feet slipped, and I came within a hair's breadth of plunging headlong into the den. Nothing but the small limb saved me from a most terrible death, as I could not have gotten out had there been no snakes, the rocks on all sides being nearly perpendicular." In the session of Congress of 1800 the Northwestern Territory was divided into two parts. The eastern portion, which still retained the name of the Northwestern Territory, embraced the region now included in the States of Ohio and Michigan, containing eighty thousand square miles. The western, which was called the Indiana Territory, comprised all the country from the great Miami westward to the Mississippi, and from the Ohio River on the south to Lake Superior, and the sources of the Mississippi on the north. It spread over the vast area of one hundred and eighty thousand squares, embracing the present States of Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Governor St. Clair was very unpopular. His awful defeat by the Indians was never forgotten or forgiven. By the census of 1800, the territory over which he presided contained a population of forty-two thousand, a number nearly sufficient to entitle it to admission into the Union as a state. Earnest petitions were sent to Congress to that effect. On the thirteenth of April, 1802, an act of Congress was passed authorizing the call of a convention to form a state constitution for a state to be called Ohio. The convention assembled at Chillicothe on the first of November, and on the 20th of the same month a constitution was ratified, and signed by the members of the convention. It became the fundamental law of the state, by the act of the convention alone, not being referred to the votes of the people. This constitution was remarkably democratic. The right of suffrage was conferred on all the male white inhabitants of the state above twenty-one years of age. The members of the House of Representatives were to number not less than seventy-two nor more than seventy-six, and were to be elected annually, apportioned among the counties according to their number of votes. The Senate was to consist in number of not less than one-third, nor more than one-half, of the members in the lower house, and were to be elected for two years. The governor chosen by the people for two years, was not to hold office more than six years out of eight. He was intrusted with but very little power. He could grant reprieves and pardons, could convene the Legislature, and could fill vacancies in state offices when the houses were not in session. The judicial power was vested in the Supreme Court, Courts of Common Pleas and in Justices of the Peace. The judges were elected by joint ballot of both houses, for the period of seven years. The justices of the peace were elected by the townships for three years. Though St. Clair was a candidate for governor, he received but few votes. The almost unanimous choice fell on Edward Tiffin. The boundaries of the state were laid down as now recognized. By act of Congress, the sixteenth section in each township was set apart for the use of schools. Where that section had been disposed of, other and equivalent lands were granted. Thirty-eight sections of land, where salt springs had been found, were always to belong to the state, and never to be sold. One-twentieth of the proceeds of public lands sold within the state were to be appropriated to the construction of roads. One of the first acts of the State Legislature was to organize seven new counties. There were now fifteen counties in the state. Many of them were large and very sparsely settled. At this time nearly all the northwestern part, including nearly one-half of the state, was in the possession of the Indians. In some of the new counties many rude and very strange people were gathered. Green County embraced a good farming region on the Little Miami River. We have fortunately a perfectly correct picture of the first court-house erected in that county. Then it was almost an entire wilderness, the primeval forest waving gloomily, yet, sublimely, all around. A few log cabins were scattered about, miles apart, amidst the giant trees of the forest. Each cabin had its little patch of corn, thickly dotted over with girdled trees, whose leafless and dead branches presented a very cheerless view. Many of the cabins were the abodes of contentment; and the most warm-hearted hospitality was ever to be met at their firesides. The path through which the traveler passed from one of these cabins to the other was designated simply by blazed trees; that is, trees from which the bark on one side had been hewn off. Strange scenes were sometimes witnesses in these courts. The first court in Green County was held in the log cabin which was also occupied as a residence by Peter Bordus. General Benjamin Whitman was the presiding judge. He had a sturdy neighbor, Owen Davis, not far off, whose cabin and mill combined, were on Beaver Creek. These were the days of pure democracy, and there was truly no respect of person. While the court was in session, Davis charged another man, out of doors, with stealing his swine. A hard fight ensued. Davis severly whipped his opponent. But Davis was a lover of justice, and meant to be a firm supporter of the laws. Bearing many marks, in disheveled dress and hair, and bruises of the fight, he went into the court room, that is, the cabin, and approaching the table where the judges sat, addressed his neighbor, Judge Benjamin Whitman, saying: "Ben, I have whipped that accursed hog thief. What's the damage? What's to pay? There's my purse. Take what's right." Suiting the action to the word, he threw his purse upon the table, containing eight or ten dollars. At the same time, shaking his clenched fist in the judge's face, he added: "Ben, if you'd steal a hog, I'll be hanged if I wouldn't whip you too." The judge decided that the damage was about eight dollars, which he took from the purse. The whole taxable property at this time in the county returned by the assessors were three hundred ninety-three dollars and four cents. The general aspect of the people was quite uncouth. Many wore moccasins instead of shoes. Coats, hunting-shirts and pantaloons were made of deer skins. Almost every man appeared armed with a good rifle and a formidable looking knife. There was not, it is said, at that time a single pleasure carriage or a bridge in the state. In traversing the woods, it was more safe to follow the pocket compass or the sun than to endeavor to search out the narrow bridle-paths marked by blazed trees. Almost every farmer kept a large number of dogs to protect his swine, sheep and poultry from wild beasts. The swine mulitplied so rapidly that thousands of them ran wild in the woods. An untoward event occured in Trumbull County, which, for a time, threatened to bring on a general Indian war. A Mr. Joseph McMahon was absent from his cabin, near Warren, when a small band of Indians came along, bound on a drunken spree. A chief of some note, called Captain George, was with them. They entered the cabin boisterously, and treated the family with rudeness. Mrs. McMahon was greatly terrified. The Indians threatened to kill all the family - at least Mrs. McMahon so understood their gestures. As soon as the savages had left, she either carried or sent word to her husband of the outrage. He however did not get the news until noon of the next day. McMahon was a fearless, impetuous man, and he resolved to inflict severe chastisement upon the Indians for the outrage. He had a neighbor, one Richard Story, who had severely beaten an Indian for stealing some whisky. The proud Indians could never forget blows received from a white man. The Indian who had been thus beaten was a malignant, ill-favored fellow, called Spotted John. He was so named from having his face all spotted over with hair moles. It was said that he had threatened to kill Story for the blows which he had received from him. McMahon and Story repaired to Warren to beat up recruits to go with them, and in vengeance to put to death the whole band. It was Sunday morning. They soon raised a strongly armed party of sixteen to go with them to the Indian encampment, there to decide what measures of revenge should be adopted. There was at Warren an excellent man, mild and judicious, by the name of Captain Ephraim Quimby. He was familiarly acquainted with the Indians, for they had often stopped at his house, which was a sort of tavern. His honorable treatment of them had won their confidence and affection. He resolved to accompany the party, hoping, by measures of conciliation, to avert hostilities. When the party had arrived within a half a mile of the Indian camp, Mr. Quimby proposed a halt, stating that he would proceed along to the encampment, ask for an explanation of their conduct, and ascertain whether they were for peace or war. He knew taht it was a very hazardous enterprise, as these children of the forest had their whisky bottles with them, and they often acted from momentary impulse. He therefore informed them that it he did not return in half an hour, they might infer that he was killed, and that they must then prepare for war. The half hour passed and he did not return. The impatient McMahon put his little band in rapid motion. As they emerged from the woods, in view of the encampment, they saw the Indian chief and Captain Quimby talking very earnestly together. Several other Indians were standing peaceably around. Among the rest was Spotted John, with his wife and daughter, a child about thirteen years of age. The whites marched directly up to where the Indians were grouped. The chief, Captain George, was chivalrously proposing that the difficulty should be settled by a sort of duel between him and Mr. Quimby. In his own language, which Captain Quimby understood, he said, as he held his tomahawk in his hand: "We fight. If you kill me, the Indians shall not revenge. If I kill, your people shall not revenge." Mr. McMahon was at the head of his band, within a few feet of the chief. Next to him stood Story. McMahon instantly raised his gun, which was already cocked, and shot the chief dead. At the same moment Story discharged his rifle and shot Spotted John dead, the same bullet passing through his wife's neck and the shoulders of his daughter. The Indians, thus taken by surprise, fled with loud outcries. The whites pursued, firing upon them as rapidly as possible. The women and children, panic-stricken, screamed piteously as they dispersed in all directions. Several of the Indians were killed before the pursuit was relinquished. The party who had committed this foul murder then returned to Warren. The little community of white settlers was thrown into a state of consternation. They knew full well that the Indians would not allow such an outrage to pass unavenged. Those of the Indians who escaped, stopped first to bury their dead, fled as rapidly as possible to Sandusky to rouse the powerful tribes residing there. It so happened that Colonel James Hillman, of Youngstown, the next morning, Monday, came to Warren. He was one of the most enterprising and estimable of the pioneers of the West. He was very extensively acquainted with the Indians, and enjoyed their full confidence. For several years he had been employed in forwarding goods and supplies, on pack-horses, across the whole breadth of Ohio, from Pittsburgh to the mouth of the Cuyahoga, where Cleveland now stands. There they were shipped to Detroit, by a small schooner called the Monongahela. The caravan with which, in single file, he traversed the broad wilderness, consisted of ten men and ninety horses. Starting from Pittsburgh, they forded the Beaver River about four miles below the mouth of the Shenango. Thence they followed up the left bank of the Mahoning, crossing it three miles above the present village of Youngstown. The trail then led directly west, through uninhabited wilds, where Milton and Ravenna have since sprung up. There was not even a solitary log cabin along this route at that time. They crossed the winding Cuyahoga River near the mouth of Tinker's Creek. They followed down the left bank of the river to its mouth, where they had constructed a log store-house to receive their goods while awaiting shipment. By such journeyings for eight years, Colonel Hillman had become intimately acquainted with many of the Indians. He spoke their language quite fluently. Warren, in Trumbull County, was situated on the Mahoning River. Not far from there there was some salt springs, where a large party of Indians had been encamped for some time making salt. Colonel Hillman, with Mr. Young and Judge Pease, of Warren, immediately set out for the salt springs, hoping to appease the Indians. They knew that they were justly exasperated, and to satisfy them that the whites did not justify the murders, both of the criminals, McMahon and Story, were arrested and held for trial. Upon reaching the springs, not an Indian was to be found. It was not doubted that they had all fled to gather strength for signal vengeance. Great was the panic in the cabins of the whites through all that region. Many packed up their goods preparing to seek refuge in the larger settlements. The little hamlet of Youngstown was but ten or twelve miles east of Warren. Both settlements were about to be abandoned. The leading inhabitants met for consultation, not a little indignant with the culprits who had thus suddenly plunged them into these dreadful perils. During the night Story had escaped from his keeper, John Lane. It was decided that McMahon should be sent to Pittsburgh, to be kept in close imprisonment until he could be tried. Colonel Hillman then advised that a deputation should be sent to a large Indian village, on the waters of the upper Mahoning, with endeavors to avert the threatening danger by making some suitable atonement. It was a very hazardous undertaking. It was a part of the Indian religion that the death of one of their brethren must be avenged by the death of a white man, and that in the spirit land he would be made glad in witnessing those tortures which were avenging his death. Any one who should go on this mission would not only be exposed to the peril of being immediately tomahawked, but to the awful doom of being put to death by lingering torments. Heroically, Colonel Hillman volunteered his services. We can hardly conceive of an act of greater heroism. Another man, Mr. Randall, volunteered to accompany him. Though urged to go strongly armed, Colonel Hillman declined taking any weapon of defense whatever. The exigencies of the case were such that not a moment was to be lost. Both of the men mounted their horses, and pressing as rapidly as possible through the paths of the forest, came upon an encampment of Indian warriors just before sunrise. They were seventeen in number and were asleep, each with his gun and powder horn resting upon a forked stick at his head, ready to be grasped at any moment. Hillman was in the advantage. As he approached, the tramp of his horse awoke the savages, and instantly every one sprang to his feet, with gun in hand. Seeing the colonel and his companion riding quietly into their encampment, totally unarmed, they gathered around them. A chief by the name of Onondaga, who knew Colonel Hillman, happened to be among the warriors. Hillman told him frankly the object of his visit. He condemned McMahon entirely, and assured the chief that the culprit was then on his way to Pittsburgh, to be tried for the murders he had committed. He said also that though Story had escaped, every effort would be made to re-arrest him, and bring him to punishment. The chief, Onondaga, seemed greatly agitated, and manifested very deep feeling in view of the murders. He said, however, that nothing could be done until another chief should arrive, who had gone to a distance to summon the braves of the tribe, to confer and decide upon the question; and that he expected their arrival that afternoon. In the course of the day they came, while in the meantime Colonel Hillman and his companion were treated with cold courtesy. The chief who came with the band of warriors was called Captain Peters. He did not know Colonel Hillman; but the moment his eye rested upon two white men in the encampment, his features expressed the most implacable hatred. The colonel immediately sought an interview with the two chiefs, and endeavored by every means in his power to induce them to listen to terms of pacification. But it was evident that his words produced but little effort. He said to them: "We condemn the conduct of these wicked men. We will, if possible, bring them to punishment; and we will, as an atonement for the crime, pay you five hundred dollars if you will bury the hatchet and return to friendly relations with us." "No, no!" was their persistant reply. "We must go to the Sandusky, and hold a council with the chiefs there before we can decide what shall be done." Hillman replied: "Will you hold a council there, light the wartorch, rally all the warriors throughout the forest, and with savage barbarity come and attempt to massacre all your best friends among the whites, in consequence of the crimes of two men, whose crimes they denounce, and whom they will severely punish, and for whose conduct they are anxious to make all the restitution in their power?" The chiefs evidently felt the force of this reasoning. They were embarrassed, but shaking their heads, they said: "We can do nothing; we must lay the affair before the council of the chiefs. Within fourteen days some of our number will return and inform you on what terms peace can be restored." With this answer, Colonel Hillman and Mr. Randall returned to Warren. Not knowing what the result might be, in both of the Villages of Warren and Youngstown they made vigorous preparations for defense, in case they should again encounter the doom of another Indian war. On the day appointed, four or five Indian chiefs, with a suitable retinue, came to Warren. The occasion was one of so much importance that three hundred white people had assembled in the little hamlet, anxious to learn the result. A resident of the county writes: "The chiefs were conducted by Mr. Hillman to the place prepared to hold their council. After the ceremony of smoking, the speeches were commenced. It was generally conceded that the Indian chief, Captain Peters, had the best of the argument. Throughout the whole of the consultation he showed a decided superiority over the whites opposed to him, in adroitness and force of reasoning, although our people had appointed three of the their best men for that purpose, all of whom had prepared themselves for this encounter with Indian shrewdness." The Indian chiefs demanded that McMahon and Story should be surrendered to them in Sandusky; that they should be tried by the Indian laws, and if found guilty should be punished by them. They were told that this was impossible, since Story had fled from the country, and McMahon was already a prisoner in the jail at Pittsburgh, beyond their jurisdiction, to be tried by the laws of the whites. At length, after long discussion, they came to a result which was accepted by both parties. It was agreed, simply, that McMahon should be brought under a strong guard to Youngstown, there to be tried by the white men in accordance with their laws. And that the Indian chiefs should be permitted to be present, to see that the trial was fairly conducted. The Governor of Ohio ordered a special court for that purpose. Return J. Meigs and Benjamin Ives were the judges. Persons from a great distance attended the court. It was believed that many unprincipled adventurers had come, resolved to rescue McMahon, should he be found guilty. Many of these men deemed it no greater sin to shoot an Indian than to shoot a wolf. The Indian chief, Captain Peters, sat by the side of the judges. One man testified falsely, as even a majority of the whites believed, that McMahon fired in self-defense; that he was retreating and trying to escape, when he saw that he must either kill or be killed. The jury, probably somewhat over-awed by the menaces of the white men crowding around, accepted this testimony. When the Indian chief heard it he whispered to Judge Meigs that the jury would acquit the prisoner. Under the circumstances, it is very much to the credit of the Indians that they accepted the result, with the admission that the prisoner had been fairly tried by the laws of the white men. Thus was tranquility restored and a horrible warfare averted, which certainly would have resulted in the loss of thousands of dollars and of hundreds of lives, creating and entailing unimaginable misery. And these great results were mainly accomplished through the sagacity and Christian spirit of a single man, Colonel James Hillman. -------------------------------- End of OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest V99 Issue #867 *******************************************