Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/108

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��HISTORY OF OHIO.

��where lie was shot by the Indians, while begging for his life. The firing at the block-house alarmed the Bullards in their cabin, and hastily barring the door, and securing their arms and ammunition, they fled to the woods, and escaped. After the slaughter was over, the Indians began to collect the plunder, and in doing so discovered the lad Philip Stacy. They were about to dispatch him, but his entrea- ties softened the heart of one of the chiefs, who took him as a captive with the intention of adopt- ing him into his family. The savages then piled the dead bodies on the floor, covered them with other portions of it not needed for that purpose, and set fire to the whole. The building, being made of green logs, did not burn, the flames con- suming only the floors and roof, leaving the walls standing.

There were twelve persons killed in this attack, all of whom were in the prime of life, and valuable aid to the settlements. They were well provided with arms, and had they taken the necessary pre- cautions, always pressed upon them when visited by the older ones from Marietta, they need not have suff"ered so terrible a fate.

The Indians, exultant over their horrible victory, went on to Wolf's mills, but here they found the people prepared, and, after reconnoitering the place, made their retreat, at early dawn, to the great re- lief of the inhabitants. Their number was never definitely known.

The news reached Marietta and its adjacent settlements soon after the massacre occurred, and struck terror and dismay into the hearts of all. Many had brothers and sons in the ill-fated party, and mourned their loss. Neither did they know what place would fall next. The Indian hostilities had begun, and they could only hope for peace when the savages were effectually concjuered.

The next day, Capt. Rogers led a party of men over to the Big Bottom. It was, indeed, a melan- choly sight to the poor borderers, as they knew not now how soon the same fate might befall them- selves. The fire had so disfigured their comrades that but two, Ezra Putnam and William Jones, were recognized. As the ground was frozen out- side, a hole was dug in the earth underneath the block-house floor, and the bodies consigned to one grave. No further attempt was made to settle here till after the peace of 1795.

The outbreak of Indian hostilities put a check on further settlements. Those that were estab- lished were put in a more active state of defense, and every preparation made that could be made

��for the impending crisis all felt sure must come. Either the Indians must go, or the whites must retreat. A few hardy and adventurous persons ventured out into the woods and made settle- ments, but even these were at the imminent risk of their lives, many of them perishing in the attempt.

The Indian war that followed is given fully in preceding pages. It may be briefly sketched by stating that the first campaign, under Gren Har- mar, ended in the defeat of his army at the Indian villages on the Miami of the lake, and the rapid retreat to Fort Washington. St. Clair was next commissioned to lead an army of nearly three thou- sand men, but these were furiously attacked at break of day, on the morning of November 4, 1791, and utterly defeated. Indian outrages sprung out anew after each defeat, and the borders were in a continual state of alarm. The most ter- rible sufferings were endured by prisoners in the hands of the savage foe, who thought to annihilate the whites.

The army was at once re-organized. Gen. An- thony Wayne put in command by Washington, and a vigorous campaign inaugurated. Though the savages had been given great aid by the Brit- ish, in direct violation of the treaty of 1783, Gen. Wayne pursued them so vigorously that they could not withstand his army, and, the 20th of August, 1794, defeated them, and utterly annihilated their forces, breaking up their camps, and laying waste their country, in some places under the guns of the British forts. The victory showed them the hopelessness of contending against the whites, and led their chiefs to sue for peace. The British, as at former times, deserted them, and they were again alone, contending against an invincible foe. A grand council was held at Greenville the 3d day of August, 1795, where eleven of the most power- ful chiefs made peace with Gen. Wayne on terms of his own dictation. The boundary established by the old treaty of Fort Mcintosh was confirmed, and extended westward from Loramie's to Fort Recovery, and thence southwest to the mouth of the Kentucky River. He also purchased all the territory not before ceded, within certain limits, comprehending, in all, about four-fifths of the State of Ohio. The line was long known as " The Green- ville Treaty line." Upon these, and a few other minor conditions, the United States received the Indians under their protection, gave them a large number of presents, and practically closed the war with the savao;es.

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