xt7x959c6335 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7x959c6335/data/mets.xml  1858  books b92-100-27765956 English Geo. G. Evans, : Philadelphia : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Indian captivities. Frontier and pioneer life Ohio River Valley.Frost, John, 1800-1859. Pioneer life in the West  : comprising the adventures of Boone, Kenton, Brady, Clarke, the Whetzels, and others, in their fierce encounters with the Indians. text Pioneer life in the West  : comprising the adventures of Boone, Kenton, Brady, Clarke, the Whetzels, and others, in their fierce encounters with the Indians. 1858 2002 true xt7x959c6335 section xt7x959c6335 






































































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BOONZ TAKE.N PRISONER.



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PIONEER LIFE IN THE WEST;


       COMPRISINQ THE ADVENTURLS oP



BOONE KENTON



BRADY, CLARKE



    THE WHETZELS,

         AND OTIERS,


IN THEIR FIERCE ENCOUNTERS


    WITH THE INDIANS.











    PHILADELPHIA:



GEO. G. EVANS, 439 CHESTNUT STIREET.

 







































     Entered acording to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by

                       J. W. BRADLEY,

In the Clerk's offies of the District Court of the Eastern Distriot of
                         Pennsylvania.

        XTV.REflTvyr'n nv IIIIII-V-IA RLN J No. 607 Ssn-,n street,
        PaiDmn TIr xKIU  BAIRL,   J    Philadelpbhia.



 











              CONTENTS.



                                              Play

DANIEL B      o omm ........................................  9
SIMON KENTON ........................................ 23
CAPTAIN B     eAD      Y.......................................68
CAPTAIN BRADY AND PHOUTS ........................... 101
PETER FRANCISCO..                              119
JOZ LOGSTONE..      ...................................... 128
Jussi HUGHES..............                    139
MAJOR MCCULLOC. .144
GENERAL GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE .159
TB  WHETZELS...........                       180
TEx POES........                              213
THE JOHNSONS ..226
JAMES SMITH...............................    233
WILLIAM BURBRIDGE.                            264
THE INDIAN TRAIL .280
ESTILL's DEFEAT. ............... 296
THE PIONEER AND THE PANTHER .309
THz PIONEER AND THE BEAR .316
MRS. PARKER AND THE INDIANS......................... 327

 
This page in the original text is blank.


 





















    (beqftttes of bpi cIBOOQC.

  DANIEL BOONE, one of the first adven-
thrers who penetrated into the wilds
Qf Kentucky, was born in Virginia, of
English parents, in the year 17.'0. Early
in his life his parents emigrated to the
banks of the Yadkin River, ip North
Carolina, then recently settled.
  In 1769, he, with John Finley, and four.
                                  (9)

 






ADVENTURES OF DANIEL BOONE.



other companions crossed the wilderness
bordering on the Cumberland Mountains,
in quest of the region of Kentucky, then
little known. On the 7th of June, they
arrived at Red River, north of the Ken-
tucky; soon after Boone and John Stewart,
one of his companions, were captured by
a party of savages; they within ten days
escaped, but could find no trace of the
rest of their party, who had returned
home. Boone and Stewart, would have
been constrained to follow them, had not
Daniel's brother, Squire Boone, followed
their track from North Carolina, and
brought a few necessaries to them. Stew-
art being killed soon after by the Indians,
the two Boones were left the only white
men in the wilderness. After living to-
gether in a cabin until May, Squire Boone
went home, returning however in July,
according to agreement. The brothers
then traversed the country to the Cum-
berland River, and, the following year,
returned to their families, determined to
remove them to Kentucky.



10

 






ADVENTURES OF DANIEL BOONE.



  In September, 1773, Boone commenced
his removal to Kentucky, with his own,
and five other families, and was joined by
forty men, who placed themselves under
his guidance. Being attacked by the In-
dians, six of his men were slain, and the
cattle belonging to the party dispersed.
The survivors returned, in consequence,
to the settlements on Clinch River, about
forty miles from the scene of action. A
company from North Carolina, having
formed a plan of purchasing the lands on
the south side of the Kentucky River from
the Southern Indians, employed Boone to
buy a tract of country, the limits of which
were described to him. He performed
the service, and soon after, made a road
from the settlements on the Holston
to the Kentucky River, notwithstanding
the incessant attacks of the Indians, in
which four of his men were killed and five
wounded.
  In 1774, at the request of Lord Dun-
more, Boone accompanied a party of
surveyors to the Falls of the Ohio, (Lou-



11

 






ADVENTURES OF DANIEL BOONE.



isville,) and was active in expeditions
against the Indians during that year.
  In April, 17753, he built a fort at a
salt spring, on the southern bank of
the Kentucky, where Boonesborough is
now situated. It consisted of a block
house and several cabins, enclosed with
palisades.
  In 1777, he sustained two sieges in
Boonesborough fromt the Indians, but
repulsed them.
  In the following year, however, Febru-
ary 7th, Boone was taken prisoner by the
savages, while hunting, with a number
of his men. In May, they were conducted
to Detroit, were they experienced great
kindness from Governor Hamilton, the
British commander of that post. He
even offered the Indians pound;100 for their
prisoner, in order that he might liberate
bini on parole, but they would not part
with him, having conceived for him seniti-
ments of great affection and respect. On
his return he was adopted by one of the
principal chiefs at Chilicothe, and might



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ADVENTURES OF DANIEL BOONE.



have been happy in this situation, had
hot the thoughts of his wife and children
continually kept alive the desire of escape.
  Four months after his capture, Boone
learned that five hundred warriors were
preparing to march against Boonesbor-
ough. One morning (June 16th), having
risen at the usual hunting hour, he
departed, apparently for the woods, but in
reality for Boonesborough. He arrived
there on the 20th of June; after a journey
of one hundred and sixty miles, performed
in four days, having eaten, it is said, but
one meal during that time.
  On the 8th of August, a body of
savages, to the number of four hun-
dred and fifty, commanded by Canadian
Frenchmen and some of their own chiefs,
invested the fort with British colors flying.
Boone was summoned to surrender, but
announced his determination, and that of
the garrison, who amounted to but fifty
men, "to defend the fort as long as a man
of them was alive."
  The enemy theii resolved to obtain it



15

 






ADVENTURES OF DANIEL BOONE.



by stratagem, and requested that nine of
the principal persons of the garrison
Would come out and treat with them,
promising terms so favorable, that the
invitation was accepted. After the arti-
cles of the treaty had been signed, Boone
and his companions were told that it was
customary, upon such occasions, among
the Indians, for two of them to shake
each white man by the hand, in order to
evince the sincerity of their friendship.
  This was also agreed to; and, accord-
ingly, two Indians approached each of
the nine, and, taking his hands, grap-
pled him, with the intent of making
him prisoner. Their object being then
immediately perceived, Boone and his
companions extricated themselves, and
retreated into the fort, amid a heavy fire
froin the savages.
  An attack was then quickly commenced,
and continued until the 20th of August,
when the enemy abandoned the siege.
Boone's wife and children had left the
fort before the siege commenced, to go to



16



 











































FRENCH AND INDIANS ATTACKING BOONESBOROUGH.



2



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ADVENTURES OF DANIEL BOONE.



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            BOONF PURSUED BY INDIANS.
the residence of Mrs. Boone's father on
the Yadkin, where Boone visited them
in 1779. In October, as Boone was
returning from the Blue Licks, with his
brother, the latter was slain, and Boone
pursued b)y a p)arty of Indians for three



19



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      9 A"Ot,
      'I

 






20   ADVENNTURES OF DANIEL BOONE.



miles, by the aid of a dog; but, having
killed the animal, he escaped.
  In 1782, the depredations of the sava-
ges increasing to an intolerable extent,
Boone, with other militia officers, collected
one hundred and seventy-six men, and
vent in pursuit of a large body, who had
marched beyond the Blue Licks, to a
bend of the main fork of the Licking
River, forty miles from Lexington. They
overtook them August 19th, but, being
much inferior in numbers, were obliged
to retreat.
  General Clarke, then at the falls of
the Ohio, immediately assembled a con-
siderable number of men, and commenced
the pursuit of the savages, accompanied
by Boone.
  In the year 1798, in consequence of a
defect in his title to lands in Kentucky,
Boone was dispossessed of what was an
ample estate, and made poor. The region
he had explored, and helped to defend,
now contained a population of half a
million. Indignant because of being dis-



O,,

 






ADVENTURES OF DANIEL BOONE.



possessed, he shouldered his rifle, left
Kentucky forever, and, with some fol-
lowers, plunged into the wild forests of
Missouri, west of the Mississippi. He
received a grant of two thousand acres
of land, in Upper Louisiana, from the
Spanish authorities, and his children and
followers were also presented with eight
hundred acres each. He settled with
them on the Missouri River, at Charette,
some distance beyond the inhabited parts
of the country, where he followed his
usual course of life-hunting and trap-
ping for bears, until September, 1822,
when he died, at the residence of his son,
Major A. Boone, in Montgomery County,
in the eightieth year of his age. He had
been gradually declining for some years
previous to his decease. It is related
that, some time before that event, he had
two coffins made out of a favorite cherry
tree, the first of which, not fitting, he
gave to a son-in-law; in the second he
was buried, having bestowed on it a fine
polish, by a course of rubbing for several



21

 








22    ADVENTURES OF DANIEL BOONE.

years.  His sons and     daughters still
residle in Missouri.



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    fthbeqtea of hO9 7ieCoq.
  SIMON KENTON first came out to Ken-
tucky, in the year 1771, at which time he
was a youth of sixteen. He was almost
constantly engaged in conflicts with the
Indians from that time until the treaty
of Greenville. He was probably in more
expeditions against the Indians, encoun-
tered greater peril, and had more narrow
escapes from death, than any man of
                              (23)

 






ADVENTURES OF SIMON KENTON.



his time. The many incidents of his
romantic and eventful life, are well de-
tailed by his friend and biographer,
Colonel John M'Donald, from whose work
we extract the thrilling narrative of his
captivity and hair-breadth escapes from a
cruel and lingering death.
  Kenton lay about Boone's and Logan's
stations, till ease became irlisome to him.
About the 1st of September of this same
year, 1778, we find him preparing for
another Indian expedition. Alexander
Montgomery and George Clark joined
him, and they set off from Boone's sta-
tion, for the avowed purpose of obtaining
horses from the Indians. They crossed
the Ohio, and proceeded cautiously to
Chillicothe, (now Oldtown, Ross county.)
They arrived at the town without meet-
ing any adventure. In the night they
fell in with a drove of horses that were
feeding in the rich prairies. They were
prepared with salt and halters. They
had nmuch difficulty to catch the horses;
however, at length they succeeded, and



24



 













































SatON KENTON.



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3

 
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ADVENTURES OF SIMON KENTON.



as soon as the horses were haltered, they
dashed off with seven-a pretty good
haul.
  They traveled with all the speed they
could to the Ohio. They came to the
Ohio near the mouth of Eagle creek, nowv
in Brown county. When they carre to
the river, the wind blew almost a hurri-
cane. The waves ran so high that the
horses were frightened, and could not be
induced to take the water. It was late
in the evening. They then rode back
into the hills some distance from the
river, hobbled and turned their horses
loose to graze; while they turned back
some distance, and watched the trail they
had come, to discover whether or not they
were pursued.
  Here they remained till the following
day, when the wind subsided. As soon
as the wind fell they caught their horses,
and went again to the river; but their
horses were so frightened with the waves
the day before, that all their efforts could
not induce themn to take tire water.



27

 






ADVENTURES OF SIMON KENTON.



This was a sore disappointment to our
adventurers. They were satisfied that
they were pursued by the enemy; they
therefore determined to lose no more time
in useless efforts to cross the Ohio; they
concluded to select three of the best
horses, and make their way to the falls of
the Ohio, where General Clark had left
soine men stationed.
  Each inade choice of a horse, and the
other horses were turned loose to shift
for themselves. After the spare horses
had been loosed, and permitted to ramble
off, avarice whispered to them, and why
not take all the horses The loose horses
had by this tinie scattered and straggled
out of sight. Our party now separated
to hunt up the horses they had turned
loose.
  Kenton went towards the river, and
had not gone far before he heard a whoop
in the direction of where they had been
trying to force the horses into the water.
He got off his horse and tied him, and
then crept with the stealthy tread of d



2!8



 






ADVENTURES OF SIMON KENTON.



s N7-IAN HOEBIUNUN. 1



cat, to make observations in the direction
he heard the whoop. Just as he reached
the high bank of the river, he met
the Indians on horseback. Being unper-
ceived by them, but so nigh that it was
impossible for him to retreat without
being  discovered, he concluded   the
boldest. course to be the safest, and very
deliberately took aim at the foremost
Indian. His gun flashed in the pan. He
then retreated. The Indians pursued on
horseback.
  In his retreat, he passed through a
piece of land where a storm had torn up
a great part of the timber. The fallen
trees afforded him some advantage of the
                   3 



29

 






30    ADVENTURES OF SIMON KENTON.



Indians in the race, as they were on
horseback and he on foot. The Indian
force divided; some rode on one side of
the fallen timber, and some on the other.
Just as he emerged from the fallen
timber, at the foot of the hill, one of
the Indians met him on horseback, and
boldly rode up to him, jumped off his
horse and rushed at him with his toma-
hawk.
  Kenton concluding a gun-barrel as
good a weapon of defence as a tomahawk,
drew back his gun to strike the Indian
before him. At that instant another
Indian, who, unperceived by Kenton, had
slipped up behind him, clasped him in
his arms. Being now overpowered by
numbers, further resistance was useless-
he surrendered. While the Indians were
binding Kenton with tugs, Montgomery
came in view, and fired at the Indians,
but missed his mark. Montgomery fled
on foot. Some of the Indians pursued,
shot at, and missed him; a second fire
was made, and Montgomery fell. The In-



 



















































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A DVENTURES OF SIMON KENTON.



dians soon returned to Kenton, shaking at
him Montgomery's bloody scalp. George
Clark, Kenton's other companion, made
his escape, crossed the Ohio, and arrived
safe at Logan's station.
  The. Indians encamped that night on
the bank of the Ohio. The next morning
they prepared their horses for a return to
their towns, with the unfortunate and
Unhappy prisoner. Nothing but death in
the most appalling form presented itself
to his view. When they were ready to
set off, they'caught the wildest horse in
Ihe company, and placed Kenton on his
lback. The horse being very restiff, it
took several of them to hold him, while
the others lashed the prisoner on the
horse. They first took a tug, or rope,
and fastened his legs and feet together
under the horse. They took another and
fastened his arms. They took another
and tied around his neck, and fastened
one end of it around the horse's neck; the
other end of the same rope was fastened
to the horse's tail, to answer in place of

 






ADVENTURES OF SIMON KENTON.



a crupper. They had a great deal of
anmusement to themselves, as they were
preparing Kenton and his horse for fun
and frolic. They would yelp and scream
around him, and ask him if he wished to
steal more horses. Another rope was
fastened around his thighs, and lashed
around the body of his horse; a pair of
moccasins was drawn over his hands, to
prevent him from defending hiis face from
the brush.
  Thus accoutred and fastened, the horse
was turned loose to the, woods. He
reared and plunged, ran through the
woods for some time, to the infinite
amusement of the Indians. After the
horse bad run about, plunging, rearing,
and kicking for some time, and found that
he could not shake off, nor kick off his
rider, he very quietly submitted himself
to his situation, and followed the caval-
cade as quiet and peaceable as his rider.
  The Indians moved towards Chillicothe,
and in three days reached the town. At
night they confined their prisoner in the



31

 






      ADVENTURES OF SIMON KENTON.  35
following manner: He was laid on his
back, his legs extended, drawn apart, and
fastened to two saplings or stakes driven
in the ground. His arms were extended,
a pole laid across his breast, and his
arms lashed to the pole with cords. A
rope was tied around his neck, and
stretched back just tight enough not to
choke him, and fastened to a tree or
stake near his head. In this painful and
uncomfortable situation, he spent three
miserable nights, exposed to gnats, and
musketoes, and weather. 0, poor human
nature, what miserable wretches we are,
thus to punish and harass each otherl
(The frontier whites of that day, were
but little behind the Indians, in wiles, in
cruelty, and revenge.)
  When the Indians came within about
a mile of the Chillicothe town, they
halted and camped for the night, and
fastened the poor unfortunate prisoner in
the usual uncomfortable manner. The
Indians, young and old, came from the
town to welcome the return of their

 






ADVENTURES OF SIMON KENTON.



successful warriors, and to visit their
prisoner.
  The Indian party, young and old, con-
sisting of about one hundred and fifty,
commenced dancing, singing and yelling
around Kenton, stopping occasionally and
kicking and beating him for amusement.
In this manner they tormented him for
about three hours when the cavalcade
returned to town, and he was left for the
rest of the night, exhausted and forlorn,
to the tender mercies of the gnats and
musketoes.
  As soon as it was light in the morning,
the Indians began to collect from the
town, and preparations were made for
fun and frolic at the expense of Kenton,
as he was now doomed to run the gaunt-
let. The Indians were formed in two
lines, about six feet apart, with each a
hickory in his hands, and Kenton placed
between the two lines, so that each
Indian could beat him as much as he
thought proper, as he ran through the
lines He had not ran far before he



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ADVBNTURES OF SIMON KENTON.



discovered an Indian with his knife
diawn to plunge it into him; as soon as
Kenton reached that part of the line
where the Indian stood who had the knife
drawn, he broke through the lines, and
made with all speed for the town.
  Kenton had been previously informed
by a negro named Caesar, who lived with
the Indians and knew their customs, that
if he could break through the Indians'
lines, and arrive at the council-house in
the town before he was overtaken, that
they would not force him a second time to
run the gauntlet. When he broke through
their lines, he ran at the top of his speed
for the council-house, pursued by two or
three hundred Indians, screaming like
infernal furies.
  Just as he had entered the town, he
was met by an Indian leisurely walking
towards the scene of amusement, wrap-
ped in a blanket. The Indian threw off
his blanket; and as he was fresh, and
Kenton nearly exhausted, the Indian soon
caught hini and threw him down. ln a



39

 






ADVENTURES OF SIMON KENTON.



moment the whole party who were in
pursuit came up), and fell to cuffing and
kicking him at a most fearful rate. They
tore off his clothes, and left him naked
and exhausted. After he had lain till he
had in some degree recovered from his
exhausted state, they brought him some
water and something to eat.
  As soon as his strength was sufficiently
recovered, they took him to the council-
house, to determine upon his fate. Their
manner of deciding his fate was as
follows: Their warriors were placed in
a circle in the council-house; an old
chief was placed in the centre of the
circle, with a knife and a piece of wood
in his hands. A number of speeches
were made. Kenton, although he did
not understand their language, soon
discovered by their animated gestures,
and fierce looks at him, that a majority
of their speakers were contending for his
lestruction. He could perceive that those
who pleaded for mercy, were received
coolly; but few grunts of approbation



40

 






ADVENTURES OF SIMON KENTON.



were uttered when the orators closed their
speeches.
  After the orators ceased speaking, the
old chief who sat in the midst of the
circle, raised up and handed a war-club to
the man who sat next the door. They
proceeded to take the decision of their
court. All who were for the death of the
prisoner, struck the war-club with vio-
lence against the ground; those who voted
to save the prisoner's life, passed the club
to his next neighbor without striking the
ground. Kenton, from their expressive
gestures, could easily distinguish the ob-
ject of their vote. The old chief who
stood to witness and record the number
that voted for death or mercy, as one
struck the ground with a war-club he
made a mark on one side of his piece of
wood; and when the club was passed
without striking, he made a mark on the
other. Kenton discovered that a large
majority were for death.
  Sentence of death being now l)assed
upon the prisoner, they made the welkin
    4



41



 






42    ADVENTURES OF SIMON KENTON.



INDIAC COUNC.



ring with shouts of joy. The sentence of
death being passed, there was another
question of considerable difficulty pre-
sented itself to the consideration of the
council; that was, the time and place,
--hen and where, he should be burnt.
The orators again made speeches on the
subject, less animated indeed than on the
trial; but some appeared to be quite
vehement for instant execution, while
others appeared to wish to make his
death a solemn national sacrifice.
  After a long debate, the vote was.
taken, when it was resolved that the place
of his execution should be Wapatomika,



 

































































LNDIAN WAARIW4.



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ADVENTURES OF SIMON KENTON.



(fnow  Zanesfield, Logan county.) The
next morning he was hurried away to the
l)lace destined for his execution. From
Chillicothe to Wapatomika, they had to
pass through two other Indian towns,
to wit: Pick away and Machecheek. At
both towns he was compelled to run the
gauntlet; and severely was he whipped
through the course. While he lay at
Machecheek, being carelessly guarded, he
made an attempt to escape. Nothing
worse than death could follow, and here
he made a bold push for life and freedom.
Being unconfined, he broke and run, and
soon cleared himself out of sight of his
pursuers.
  While he distanced his pursuers, and
got about two miles from the town, he
accidentally met some Indians on horse-
back. They instantly pursued and soon
came up with him, and drove him back
again to town. He now, for the first
time, gave up his case as hopeless.
Nothing but death stared him in the face.
Fate, it appeared to him, had sealed his



45S

 






ADVENTURES OF SIMON KENTON.



doom; and in sullen despair, he deter-
mined to await that doom, that it was
impossible for him to shun.
  How inscrutable are the ways of Provi-
dence, and how little can man control
his destiny! When the Indians returned
with Kenton to the town, there was a
general rejoicing. He was pinioned, and
given over to the young Indians. who
dragged him into the creek, tumbled him
in the water, and rolled him in the mud,
till he was nearly suffocated with mud and
water. In this way they amused them-
selves with him till he was nearly drowned.
  He now thought himself forsaken by
God. Shortly after this, his tormentors
moved with him to Wapatomika. As
soon as he arrived at this place, the
Indians, young and old, male and female,
crowded around the prisoner. Among
others who came to see him, was the
celebrated and notorious Simon Girty.
Kenton and Girty were bosom com-
panions at Fort Pitt, and in the campaign
with Load Dunmore.



46

 






ADVENTURES OF SIMON KENTON.



  As it was the custom of the Indians to
bla( k such prisoners as were intended
to be put to death, Girty did not
immediately recognize Kenton in his
black disguise. Girty came forward and
inquired of Kenton where he had lived.
Was answered Kentucky. He next in-
quired how many men there were in
Kentucky. He answered, he did not
know; but would give him the names and
rank of the officers, and he, Girty, could
judge of the probable number of men.
  Kenton then named a great many
officers, and their rank, many of whom.
had honorary titles, without any comls
mand.
  At length Girty asked the prisoner his
name. When he was answered, Simon
Butler. (He had changed his name when
he fled from his parents and home.)
  Girty eyed him for a moment, and
immediately recognized the active and
bold youth, who had been his companion
in arms about Fort Pitt, and in the
campaign with Lord Dunmore. Girty



47

 






ADVENTURES OF SIMON KENTON.



threw himself into Kenton's arms, em-
braced and wept aloud over him-calling
him his dear and esteemed friend. This
hardened wretch, who had been the cause
of the death of hundreds, had some of the
sparks of humanity remaining in him,
and wept like a child at the tragical fate
which hung over his friend. "Well," said
he, to Kenton, "you are condemned to die,
but I will use every means in my power
to save your life."
  Girty immediately had a council con-
vened, and made a long speech to the
Indians, to save the life of the prisoner.
As Girty was proceeding through his
speech, he became very animated; and
under his powerful eloquence, Kenton
could plainly discover the grim visages of
his savage judges relent. When Girty
concluded his powerful and animated
speech, the Indians rose with one simul-
taneous grunt of approbation, saved the
prisoner's life, and placed him under the
care and protection of his old companion,
Girty.



48



 






































































































......-            A N   G I R


i ENTON AND GIRTY.



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        (49)

 
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ADVENTURES OF SIMON KENTON.



  The British had a trading establish-
ment then at Wapatomika. Girty took
Kenton with him to the store, and dressed
him from head to foot, as well as he could
wish: he was also provided with a horse
and saddle. Kenton was now free, and
roamed about through the country, from
Indian town to town, in company with
his benefactor. How uncertain is the fate
of nations as well as that of individuals I
How sudden the changes from adversity
to prosperity, and from prosperity to
adversity.
  Kenton being a strong, robust man,
with an iron frame, with a resolution that
never winced at danger, and fortitude to
bear pain with the composure of a stoic,
he soon recovered from his scourges and
bruises, and the other severe treatment
be had received. It is thought probable,
that if the Indians had continued to treat
him with kindness and respect, he would
eventually have become one of them. He
had but few inducements to return again
to the whites. He was then a fugitive



51

 






ADVENTURES OF SIMON KENTON.



from justice, had changed his name, and
he thought it his interest to keep as far
from his former acquaintances as possible.
After Kenton and his benefactor had
been roaming about for some time, a
war party of Indians, who had been on
an expedition to the neighborhood of
Wheeling, returned; they had been de-
feated by the whites, some of their men
were killed, and others wounded. When
this defeated party returned they were
sullen, chagrined, and full of revenge,
and determined to kill any of the whites
who came within their grasp.
  Kenton was the only white man upon
whom they could satiate their revenge.
Kenton and Girty were then at Solomon's
town, a small distance from Wapatomika.
A messenger was immediately sent to
Girty to return, and bring Kenton with
him. The two friends met the mes-
senger on their way. The messenger
shook hands with Girty, but refused the
hand of Kenton.
  Girty, after talking aside with the



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1



5                  INDIAN LODGE.            (53)

 
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ADVENTURES OF SIMON KENTON.



messenger some time, said to Kenton,
they have sent for us to attend a grand
council at Wapatomika. They hurried to
the town; and when they arrived there
the council-house was crowded. When
Girty went into the house, the Indians all
rose up and shook hands with him; but
when Kenton offered his hand, it was
refused with a scowl of contempt. This
alarmed him; he began to admit the
idea that this sudden convention of the
council, and their refusing his hand,
boded him some evil.
  After the members of the council were
seated in their usual manner, the war
chief of the defeated party, rose up and
made a most vehement speech, frequently
turning his fiery and revengeful eyes on
Kenton during his speech. Girty was
the next to rise and address the council.
He told them that he had lived with
them. several years; that he had risked
his life in that time more frequently than
any of them; that they all knew that he
had never spared the life of one of the



55

 






ADVENTURES OF SIMON KENTON.



Ibated Americans; that they well knew
that be had never asked for a division of
thie s)1oils; that he fought alone for the
destruction of their enemies; and lie now
requested them to spare the life of this
young man on his account. The young
man, he said, was his early friend, for
whom lie felt the tenderness of a parent
for a son, and he hoped, after the many
evidences that le had given of his attach-
ment to the Indian cause, they would not
hesitate to grant his request. If they
would indulge him in granting his re-
quest to spare the life of this young man,
he would pledge himself never to ask
theni again to spare the life of a hated
American.
  Several chiefs spoke in succession on
this important subject; and with the
most apparent deliberation, the council
decided, by an overwhelming majority,
for death. After the decision of this
grand court was announced, Girty went
to Kenton, and embracing him very
tenderly, said that he very sincerely sym-



56