CHAPTER VII.

A PICTURE OF OHIO ONE HUNDRED YEARS SINCE.

It is in our power, by transcribing freely from a Narrative of the Captivity of Col. James Smith among the Ohio Indians, between May, 1755, and April, 1759, to present a picture of the wilderness and its savage occupants, which, bearing intrinsic evidence of faithful accuracy, is also corroborated by the public and private character of the writer.

Col. James Smith was a native of Pennsylvania, and after his return from Indian captivity, was entrusted, in 1763, with the command of a company of riflemen. He trained his men in the Indian tactics and discipline, and directed them to assume the dress of warriors, and to paint their faces red and black, so that in appearance they were hardly distinguishable from the enemy. Some of his exploits in the defence of the Pennsylvania border are less creditable to him than his services in the war of the Revolution. He lived until the year 1812, and is the author of a Treatise on the Indian mode of warfare. In Kentucky, where he spent the latter part of his life, he was much respected, and several times elected to the Legislature.

The first edition of Smith's Journal was published in Lexington, Kentucky, by John Bradford, in 1799.1 Samuel G. Drake, the Indian antiquarian and author, accompanies

1) See a volume entitled "Indian Captivities, or Life in the Wigwam;" by S. G. Drake, author of the "Book of the Indians; " Derby & Miller, publishers, Auburn, N. Y

its republication in 1851 by a tribute to Smith as "an exemplary Christian and unwavering patriot.”

In the spring of 1755, James Smith, then eighteen years of age, was captured by three Indians, (two Delawares and one Canasatauga,) about four or five miles above Bedford, in Western Pennsylvania. He was immediately led to the banks of the Alleghany River, opposite Fort Du Quesne, where he was compelled to run the gauntlet between two long ranks of Indians, each stationed about two or three rods apart. His treatment was not severe, until near the end of the lines, when he was felled by a blow from a stick or tomahawk handle, and, on attempting to rise, was blinded by sand thrown into his eyes. The blows continued until he became insensible, and when he recovered his consciousness, he found himself within the fort, much bruised, and under the charge of a French physician.

While yet unrecovered from his wounds, Smith was a witness of the French exultation and the Indian orgies over the disastrous defeat of Braddock. A few days afterwards, his Indian captors placed him in a canoe, and ascended the Alleghany River to an Indian town on the north side of the river, about forty miles above Fort Du Quesne. Here they remained three weeks, when the party proceeded to a village on the west branch of the Muskingum, about twenty miles above the forks. This village was called Tullihas, and was inhabited by Delawares, Caughnewagas and Mohicans.

The

2) Heckewelder, in his History of the Indian Nations (p. 77), says that the Cochnewago Indians were a remnant of the Mohicans of New England, who had fled to the shores of the St. Lawrence, where they incorporated themselves with the Iroquois, and became a mixed race, of course under French influence. A number of the Mohicans from Connecticut emigrated to Ohio in 1762, and their chief was "Mohican John," whose village was on the trail from Sandusky to Fort Pitt, near the township of Mohican, in Ashland county, according to our reckoning.

soil between the Alleghany and Muskingum rivers, on the route here designated, is described as "chiefly black oak and white oak land, which appeared generally to be good wheat land, chiefly second and third rate, intermixed with some rich bottoms."

While remaining at Tullihas, Smith describes the manner of his adoption by the Indians and other ceremonies, which we prefer to give in his own words:

"The day after my arrival at the aforesaid town, a number of Indians collected about me, and one of them began to pull the hair out of my head. He had some ashes on a piece of bark, in which he frequently dipped his fingers in order to take the firmer hold, and so he went on, as if he had been plucking a turkey, until he had all the hair clean out of my head, except a small spot about three or four inches square on my crown. This they cut off with a pair of scissors, excepting three locks, which they dressed up in their own mode. Two of these they wrapped round with a narrow beaded garter, made by themselves for that purpose, and the other they plaited at full length, and then stuck it full of silver brooches. After this they bored my nose and ears, and fixed me off with ear-rings and nose-jewels. Then they ordered me to strip off my clothes and put on a breech-clout, which I did. They then painted my head, face and body, in various colors. They put a large belt of wampum on my neck, and silver bands on my hands and right arm; and so an old Chief led me out on the street, and gave the alarm halloo, coo-wigh, several times, repeated quick; and on this, all that were in the town came running and stood round the old Chief, who held me by the hand in the midst. As I at that time knew nothing of their mode of adoption, and had seen them put to death all they had taken, and as I never

could find that they saved a man alive at Braddock's defeat, I made no doubt but they were about putting me to death in some cruel manner. The old Chief holding me by the hand, made a long speech, very loud, and when he had done, he handed me to three young squaws, who led me by the hand down the bank, into the river, until the water was up to our middle. The squaws then made signs to me to plunge myself into the water, but I did not understand them. I thought the result of the council was that I should be drowned, and that these young ladies were to be the executioners. They all three laid violent hold of me, and I for some time opposed them with all my might, which occasioned loud laughter by the multitude that were on the bank of the river. At length one of the squaws made out to speak a little English (for I believe they began to be afraid of me) and said 'No hurt you.' On this I gave myself up to their ladyships, who were as good as their word; for though they plunged me under water, and washed and rubbed me severely, yet I could not say they hurt me much.

"These young women then led me up to the council house, where some of the tribe were ready with new clothes for me. They gave me a new ruffled shirt, which I put on, also a pair of leggins done off with ribbons and beads, likewise a pair of moccasins, and garters dressed with beads, porcupine quills and red hair-also a tinsel-laced cappo. They again painted my head and face with various colors, and tied a bunch of red feathers to one of those locks they had left on the crown of my head, which stood up five or six inches. They seated me on a bear-skin and gave me a pipe, tomahawk and polecat-skin pouch, which had been skinned pocketfashion, and contained tobacco, killegenico, or dry sumach leaves, which they mix with their tobacco; also spunk, flint

and steel. When I was thus seated, the Indians came in, dressed and painted in their grandest manner. As they came in, they took their seats, and for a considerable time there was a profound silence-every one was smoking; but not a word was spoken among them. At length one of the Chiefs made a speech, which was delivered to me by an interpreter, and was as followeth: 'My son, you are now flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone. By the ceremony which was performed this day, every drop of white blood was washed out of your veins; you are taken into the Caughnewago nation and initiated into a war-like tribe; you are adopted into a great family, and now received with great seriousness and solemnity in the room and place of a great man. After what has passed this day, you are now one of us by an old strong law and custom. My son, you have now nothing to fear-we are now under the same obligations to love, support and defend you that we are to love and defend one another; therefore you are to consider yourself as one of our people.' At this time I did not believe this fine speech, especially that of the white blood being washed out of me; but since that time I have found that there was much sincerity in said speech; for, from that day, I never knew them to make any distinction between me and themselves, in any respect whatever, until I left them. If they had plenty of clothing, I had plenty; if we were scarce, we all shared one fate.

"After this ceremony was over, I was introduced to my new kin, and told that I was to attend a feast that evening, which I did. And as the custom was, they gave me also a bowl and wooden spoon, which I carried with me to the place, where there was a number of large brass kettles, full of boiled venison and green corn; every one advanced with