Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/289

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��HISTOEY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

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��notice at the ti'eat}' of Fort Industry-, July 4, 1805. He was probably' chief of the Turtle branch of the Lena Lenapf, or Delaware trilie. and located at (rreentown, about the time Capt. Pipe made his residence near Mohican Johns- town. He was often visited by the Moravian missionary Heckewelder. long before any white settlers made their appearance.

At the time these white settlers came, Capt. Armstrong appeared to be about sixty -five years of age ; was a small man, slightly stoop- ing, rather dignified and reticent, dressed in full Indian costume, and appeared to advantage. He had two wives — one an old squaw, by whom he had James and Silas, and, probably, other children. He married a young squaw in 1808, by whom he had children. He frequently vis- ited the cabin of James Copus, and made sugar there the first spring after his arrival. James and Silas often shot at a mark, with bows and arrows, with James and Wesley Copus, in the sugar camp. They also amused themselves by hopping, wrestling, and other l)oyish sports. Armstrong had two Indian slaves, or servants, both deaf They were of some other tribe. He was a harmless old chief, and treated every one very kindly. The favorite hunting-gi"ound of his tribe was in Knox County, along Owl Creek and its tributaries, and they frequentl}^ had difHculty with the early settlers of that region. After their removal to Piqua, Armstrong settled in the Upper Sandusk}' region, among the Dela- wares and Wyandots, and never returned to Greentown ; his boys, however, James and Silas, frequently came back. The chief was a good Indian Doctor, and could talk very good English. His descendants married among the Wyandots and Delawares, and, when these tribes were removed, went with them bej-ond the Mississippi, settling near Wyandot, Kansas.

During the short time the Greentown Indians were encamped in Mansfield, two of them, a warrior and his daughter, a little girl, escaped

��from the guards and made their way toward Upper Sandusky. This Indian's name was Tol)y ; he did not belong to the Greentown In- dians, but to another tril)e located at Upper Sandusky. For some reason, his little daugh- ter had been living with the Greentown Indians, and, when he found they were being removed by the Government, he came to take her home, and met her at Mansfield. Here he found her under guard, and, not being -able to get her away openly, he succeeded in getting her through the guards, and they stai-ted for Upper Sandusky. At that time there was, in Col. Kratzer's command, a company of soldiers from Coshocton, and, among them, two men by the name of Morrison and McCulloch ; the latter had had a brother killed by the Indians at the battle of Brownstown. These two men took their rifles and started in pursuit of the fugi- tives, on the Sandusky trail. Two miles out, they overtook and immediately fired upon them, wounding the father. They then returned to town. The Indian ran about forty rods, to a stream, and laid down in it. Morrison and McCulloch told what they had done ; and a company of soldiers, under Sergt. J. C. Gilkin- son, and accompanied by the two scouts, Mor- rison and McCulloch, went out to look for the wounded Indian, and found him still alive, lying in the stream. As the}^ approached, he lifted his hands, imploring mercy, but there was no mercy for him. Morrison drew his tomahawk from his l^elt and handed it to McCulloch, saying, '• Take revenge for your brother's blood." McCulloch walked deliber- ately up, and, in spite of the entreaties of Mr. Gilkison, sank the tomahawk into the Indian's skull up to the handle.

They then took the body out of the water, and, having piled some logs on it, left it for the present and went home, taking along the gun, tomahawk, and other articles belonging to the Indian. Some days after, they returned, cut ofl?" the head of the Indian, scalped it, brought it

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