Letter - Committee of Holliday's Cove to Colonel Baird Submitted by Dale Patterson Norton750@aol.com ********************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any 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. ********************************************************************** Copied from " History of the Panhandle, being Historical Collections of the Counties of Ohio, Brooke, Marshall and Hancock, West Virginia". Compiled and Written by: J.H. Newton, G.G. Nichols, and A.G. Sprankle Published by: J.A. Caldwell, 1879, Wheeling, W. VA. THE COMMITTEE OF HOLLIDAY'S COVE TO COLONEL BAIRD. March 20th, 1792. Sir: -- The time is now come when our Situation is growing every day more Critical; the Indians have already begun their depridations in our Neighborhood, and it is the opinion of the most experienced Men among us, that they are at this moment lying in Bodies at no great Distance waiting for the Removal of the Snow, which at present is deep in their Country, to make an Invasion upon us. For this Reason, We the Committee of the Inhabitants in and near Holliday's Cove, have again thought it necessary to trouble you on this subject. We formerly Represented to you, Sir, the Manner in which we have been Hitherto neglected, and from every appearance at present (unless relief comes from your County) we will this year be no better protecketed than we have been in years past. The Rangers from your State come down no lower than Beaver, and the Rangers Raised by the State of Virginia will not come higher up than the Mingo Bottom, so that we are left intirely to our own exertions, which considering the circumstances of our Country, laid before you in a former address, must be but feeble and enable us to make but a short stand. Let us then, sir, urge you, if consistent with your orders, to draft as many of the Militia of your County (as no other provision is now made) as will serve this part of the Frontier. In our opinion, sixty men would not be more than sufficient for this purpose. We would further Remark, Sir, the more to evince the Necessity of immediate assistance, that from the Dread of the Indians, numbers of People holding no Landed property here, have already moved, and are daily Moving off, and we have the greatest Reason to believe that upon the very first attack, unless encouraged by protection being afforded, the greatest part of the Inhabitants will Remove at the most Convenient places for Stations. Block-houses are already erected, we mean, Sir, at Yellow Creek, Croxton's Run and Mouth of Herman's Creek. Men placed In these Stations would, in our opinion, be the best mode of disposing them and Most agreeable to the Inhabitants. The Spies, now in the Indian Country would likewise be greatly Benefitted by the filling of these Block-houses. When a Discovery is made, they will have these posts to Remove to, where a boat can always be had to convey them over the River for the pupose of Warning the Inhabitants. Sir, we submit these hints to your better Judgment, and hope you will do everything for us that our Dangerous Situation Requires. James Campbell Richard Brown William Ledlie David Bruce