Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/71

 HISTORY OF OHIO.

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��('. e. Who was the first white child born in Ohio ? In all probability, the child was born during the captivity of its mother, as history plainly shows that when white women were released from the Indians, some of them cai'ried children born while among the natives.

When the Moravians were forced to leave their settlements on the Muskingum, and taken to San- dusky, they left growing fields of corn, to which they were obliged to return, to gather food. This aroused the whites, only wanting some pretext whereby they might attack them, and a party, headed by Col. David Williamson, determined to exterminate them. The Moravians, hearing of their approach, fled, but too late to warn other settle- ments, and Gnadenhutten, Salem and one or two smaller settlements, were surprised and taken. Under deceitful promises, the Indians gave up all their arms, showed the whites their treasures, and went unknowingly to a terrible death. When ap- prised of their fate, determined on by a majority of the rangers, they begged only time to prepare. They were led two by two, the men into one, the women and children into another "slaughter- house," as it was termed, and all but two lads were wantonly slain. An infamous and more bloody deed never darkened the pages of feudal times ; a deed that, in after years, called aloud for venge- ance, and in some measure received it. Some of Williamson's men wrung their hands at the cruel fate, and endeavored, by all the means in their power, to prevent it; but all to no purpose. The blood of the rangers was up, and they would not spare "man, woman or child, of all that peaceful band."

Having completed their horrible work, (March 8, 1782), Williamson and his men returned to Pittsburgh. Everywhere, the Indians lamented the untimely death of their kindred, their savage relatives determining on their revenge; the Chris- tian ones could only be resigned and weep.

Williamson's success, for such it was \'iewed by many, excited the borderers to another invasion, and a second army was raised, this time to go to the Sandusky town, and annihilate the Wyandots. Col. William Crawford was elected leader ; he accepted reluctantly ; on the way, the army was met by hordes of savages on the 5th of

��June, and totally routed. They were away north, in what is now Wyandot County, and were obliged to flee for their lives. The blood of the murdered Moravians called for revenge. The Indians de- sired it ; were they not relatives of the fallen Christians ? Crawford and many of his men fell into their hands ; all suflered unheard-of tortures, that of Crawford being as cruel as Indian cruelty could devise. Ho was pounded, pierced, cut with knives and burned, all of which occupied nearly a night, and finally lay down insensible on a bed of coals, and died. The savage captors, in demoniacal glee, danced around him, and upbraided him for the cruel murder of their relatives, giving him this only consolation, that had they captured William- son, he might go free, but he must answer for Will- iamson's brutality.

The war did not cease here. The Indians, now aroused, carried their attack as far south as into Kentucky, killing Capt. Estill, a brave man, and some of his companions. The British, too, were active in aiding them, and the 14th of August a large force of them, under Girty, gathered silently about Bryant's Station. They were obliged to re- treat. The Kentuckians pursued them, but were repulsed with considerable loss.

The attack on Bryant's Station aroused the peo- ple of Kentucky to strike a blow that would be felt. Gen. Clarke was put at the head of an army of one thousand and fifty men, and the Miami country was a second time destroyed. Clarke even went as far north as the British trading-post at the head of the Miami, where he captured a great amount of property, and destroyed the post. Other outposts also fell, the invading army suffering but little, and, by its decisive action, practically closing the Indian wars in the West. Pennsylvania suf- fered some, losing Hannahstown and one or two small settlements. Williamson's and Crawford's campaigns aroused the fury of the Indians that took time and much blood and war to subdue. The Revolution was, however, drawing to a close. Amer- ican arms were victorious, and a new nation was now coming into existence, who would change the whole current of Western matters, and make of the Northwest a land of liberty, equality and union. That nation was now on the statre.

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