Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1828-1831, 1829-08-20


As me his footsteps hosaeonrd turn'd
rom wandering OH foreign strand"
Lay Of the Last .iIashcL
IN August l76l party of about sixty-five Shaw.
nee warriors, came IN through Grecnbrier and down
James river, wherethcy committed some dcpredatons
ON the Katawbah. There was a fort then, n, the
mouth OF Looneys creek OH James river, command
ed ~ capt l.ooncy:-the savages avoid that fort
passed III the night through Bowens gap, IN the
Purgatory mountain, and assembled Purgatory creek
TO the gar ut the aoyth side OF that largest knob
which Is northeast ut Mayburry's furnace-at the
latter gap, (Olvcrsons aud) they Killed Tnomas Prcrv
IN his brothers patch, also Joseph Dennis an!
his child, and captured his wife Hannah Dennis
bout sunrise They then proceeded to Robert Rcnix
oiiSc, which was at the spring where Odcwalt now
lives about four hundred Yards north of Newclrs
mills. on the stage road. )-Renix was not ut home:
they captured Mrs. Renix (she was daughter o,
Sampson Archcrl aud her five children William Ro.
bert, Thomas, Joshua and Bctscv and dcspuilcd the
house They then came 10 Thomas Smiths; (wherc
hos Cross, Scnr. now lives the stage ruadl mis-
cabin stood on the ridge. Just about where 'Tho-nas
Cross, Senr'S barn now stands. Sally lew q free
white servant girl, lived i'm Smiths finiv-Rober,
ReniN was then at Smiths house on al errand the In
dams shot RenX and Sm H. and sea ned them and ,i
them Iyng before the door, and captured Mrs. Smith
ana Sally Jew. William Maxwell, Audlcy Maxwell
and Geo. Mathews, Gate Gcnora) were then lust
riding to Smiths house. business, when they heard
the Indians guns fire, they supposed there was a
shooting match at Smiths but when they came in
iont OF the cabin and the corpscs lying scalped,
they found their mistake. The Indians had seen Ma
thews and the MaXwclls coming, and some of them
had crowded into the house and shut the door; and
tile others had ran and took the prisoners down the
north side of the ridge which the house stood and
concealed themselves under the banks of the branch
behind some trees which had fallen out of root. The
NIaNwellS aud Mathews contcm lated the corpses
moment, then wheeled and rode back towards Sprino
heid Just as they wheeled six seven of the Indians
at the branch fired at them. Mrs. Rcnx stated after
she was restored TO the whites in 1866 that she wus
then sitting f'ed, IN the midst Of four of them who
"a q lgIP ,rttus nm loor 1.
thews-he others aimed at the Maxvells; but as
they had wheeled. just at the very moment of the
hre they all missed excepting one shot which passed
through Mathewss SHIRT collar, and cut the large
Knot or cIub from his bobguicu:-a that instant the
door was broke open, those in the house rushed out
ana raised the war ycll-sevcrul of them fired and
wounded Audlcy Maxwell slightly in the arm
Inc Indians knowing they were discovered, diSid.
ed-about twen'yt OF them took all the prisoners
and plumber, including some horses they had stolen
on ha;awba, INTO their charge, and set out by wav
OF Jacksons liver, for Ohio. The others, about
'Jfty, started down towards Whtelev's On Cedar
cree, as II they would stay To- do more mischief
Mathews and the MaXwels had spread the alarm.
and IN few hours, the whole settlement had cnec-
ted together at 'aus stockade fort, at the big spring
about half mile southwest of Sprinpfield Tbcv
!ct the women and children i'll the fort with AuIdcv
Maxwell and four or five other men, to defend it,
inc rest of the men, twenty-five in number elect ed
George Mathews as their commander, and set out In
quest of the Indians. They met the enemy i'm n
small fiat wood, (ust the bend of the prescn, hack
ROAD, at the nortl-cas corner Of Thomas Cross.
Sonrs field, next to George Parson's) and after a
very sc"ere engagement. the Indians dispersed.
Mathews and his men pursued the flpitivcs. duritp
The night, far as Purgatoy creek but they escon y.
cd through the darkness of u rainy night. This
remnant, titus escaped overlook the other party,
:, "ch had gone on with the prisoners and plumber,
Je next evening, at the fork of james and COWpas.
tuFe rivers and went without farther inter- upton
to ONO; the prisoners stated after their return
-, Mathews and his men returned next morning to
the battle ground, where they found nine Indians XII
ed, and three white men dead viz: BENJAMIN Smith
Thomas Maurry, and Sally Jews father They bn-
red the lndiuns on the battle ground, and took the
three dead white men, together with the bodies of
Thomas Smith, Robert Rcnx, Thomas Pcery, and
Joseph Dennis and his child which had been killed
the day before, and buried them together near the
FORK OF the branch (n Thomas Cross, Scnr's
meadow, about 800 yards north Of his barnl SaBv
jew was redeemed under Buqucttc's treaty and
brought home in 1864: sho died at Moorcs in Bote
tourt III 1912. and by her last request she was buried
NJ her fathers grave, IN Crosss neuduw.- w hen
her grave dug, in 1912, tho soul. bones teeth
nearly entire.
BY Col. Boqucttcs treaty with the Ohio Indians.
which followed the pence OF Paris Of 1868 the ,vI,tc
cnPtves, IN possession Of the Shawnccs were to be
delivered up, (Sce Note 7th, TO No 3d.) those cnp.
tlvcs were brought into Stanton and oihor nIocrs
from time 90 time, and rgnsomed by their relatives
In this way, Mrs. Rcnix was brought home IN Siaun
ton and ransomcd III the fall Of 1862 together with
two OF her sons, William the lnfo Col Rcnix of
Grccnbner. and Robert Of Grccnbricr.-her daucl-
ter Bcscy hnd died on the Miomi-hcr son Thomas
did not return until 1893; he soon afterwards settled
on tho Scioo Chillcothc whore bi4 rcspectnblo
descendants still rcsdc-Joshua Rcnix never return
ed 1t IS snid that he took an Indian vfe and became
a chlfl amongst the Miamics Of Matinee, where he
iVGd un'n 1910; and died near Detroit very wealthy
H"nhah Dcnni5 was separated Tom the other cap.
uVc', W l76l, sho allotted live NJ the ChilicO
the towps-s she was attentive 10 sick persons, and
became celebrated dOctress--sho was highly cs-
tccmrd by the Indians az such--sho learned their
language. painted herself, and conformed To their
manners: finding them very sUpcrstious and ford Of