Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1829-08-21

no. V.
'I.ves ;lere a with sou. 50 dead
Nhu never u himself hath said,
!his IS my own, my ua.rs land
whose iTeatt within him neer hath buud
~ lie has footsteps hOnerG'd tuIn'd,
iiJm wandering to,eign suand?"
Lay u tie Lust minstrel
III August 1861, party OF about sixtv-tivc Shaw
nee warriors, came in through Grcenbrier, and down
James river where ;lcy committed some Gupredation,
gu the hatawbah There WAS fort then at the
mouth OF LoouGy's creek, James river Command
cd by capt l4ooney-tle savagcs to avoid that fort
passed Ill the night through Bowpn's rap IN the
Purgatory mountain, and ascended Purna,ory creek,
to the gap, ut the north side of that largest knob
which Is northeast Of Mayburrv's flrnace-at the,
latter gap (Oiverson land they killed Tomas Pcerv
In his brothers corn patch also Joseph Dennis and
his child and captured his vile Hannah Dennis, a
bout srnrisc They then proceeded Robert Renx' S
house, (which was at the spring where Odewalt now
lives, about four hundred yards north OF Ncwels
mills, OH the stage road. )-R"nx was not at home;
they captured Mrs. RemX (she was daughter of
San gson Archerl and her iWc children, William, Ro
pert, Iiinas Joshua and Bctscy; and dcspoied the
house They then 10 Thomas Smith $; (yyhere
Ihos Cross, Scar. lives oil the stage road) mis-
cabin stood on the ridge just about where, Thomas
UfoSS' 9e"''S barn now STANDS Sally Jew, free
white servant girl lived i'll Smiths f,imy-Ro ebert
GnX was then 1T Smiths house erranl the In
dams shot ;enX and Smith and scalpc them and left
them lying before the door, and captured Mrs. Smith
ang Sally Jew. William Maxwell, Audcv Maxwell
and Geo Mathews, (late Gcnera) we're then lust
riding 10 Smiths house, business when they heard
the Indians guns fire, they supposed there was
shooting match at Smiths; but when they came in
'front.' OF the cabin and the corpses living scalped
they found their mistake. The Indians had seen Ma
theWs anu The hlaNWells coming, and some of them
mad crowded into the house ana shut the door; and
Tue 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 brunch
behind some trees which had fallen out of root The
MaZwcis aud Mathews contemplated tie corpses a
moment then wheeled and rode back towards Spring
Hh LODI ~
III the branch fired at tl-n. Mrs. Rcnx stated after
sue was restored to the whites 1866 that she was
then sitting tied, IN the midst OF four OF them who
rested their guns log, and took fair aim at Ma
thews-the others aimed at the MaXwes; but as
they had wheeled, just at the very moment of the
lire, they all missed excepting shot, which passed
through Mathews's shirt collar, and cut the large
knot club from his bob quieu-at that instant the
door was broke op.I those in the house rushed out
and raised the war yell-sevcral of them fred and
wounded Audley Maxwell, slightly in the arm.
The Indians knowing they were discovered; divid-
ed-abou twenty OF them took all the prisoners
ana plumber, including some horses they had stolen
on ha;aWbah into their charge, and set out by way
Of lackson's river> for Ohio. The others, about
forty, started down towards WhiteIcy's on Cedar
creek, if they would stay to do more mischief
Mathews and the MaXwells had spread the alarm
and IL few hours the whole settlement had collec
ted together at Paus stockadc fort at the bio sprnr
about halt mile south OF Springfield They
lett the women and children in the fort, with Auldey
MaXWc and four or five other men, to defend it,
the rest OF the men, twenty-five in number elected
George Mathews as their commander, and set out in
quest OF the Indians They met the enemy in a
small nat wood ust at the bend Of the present back
road at the northeast corner of Thomas Cross
Senrs field, neXb-to George Parson's) and after n
very severe engagement, the Indians were dispersed.
Mathews and his men pursued the fugtives, during
me night, as lar as Purgaoy creek; but thew escap-
ed through the darkness Of rainy night. This
remnant, thus escaped overlook the other party,
which had gone on with the prisoners and plumber
the next evening, at the fork of James and Cowpas.
"re MYERS and went on without farther interruption
to Ono; as the prisoners stated after their return
Mathews and his men returned next morrinr tn
the battle ground, where they found nine Indians kill
scd and three white men dead, viz: Benjamin Smith
Thomas Maurry, and Sally Jews father. They bu-
red tue Indians on the battle ground, and took the
three dead white men. together with the bodies of
Thomas Smith, Robert Rcnx, Thomas Peery, and
Joseph Dennis and Ills child, which had been killed
the day before, and buried them together near the
fork OF the branch, in now Thomas Cross, Senrs
meadow, about 800 yards north Of his barn.l Sally
jew was redeemed under Boquette's treaty, and
brought home in l7GI: she died at Moore's in Bote-
tourt III 1872 and by hr last request she was buried
at her fathers grave, H Crosss mcadOw.-When
her grave dug, in 1912, the sculi-bone teeth
nad hair, Of those buried there in 1901 were still
nearly entire.
BY Col Boqnctte's treaty with the Ohio Indians,
winch followed the peace Of Paris Of 1903 the white
,aptves in possession of the Sbawnccs, were to be
delivered up, (Ser Note 7th, To No. 3D. those can
ives were brought into Stanton and other places
from tine time, and ransomed by their relatives
IN this way, Mrs. Rcnx brought home to Staun-
ton, and raDsoDed in the fail Of 1867 together with
two Of her sons, William the late Col. Renix of
Gre"nbrier and Robert OF Greenbrcr--her dauph-
ter Bctscy had died on the MioDi--her son Thomas
5Id not return until i7Sj; he afterwards settled
ID the Scio'o Ciicotic where his respectable
descendants Still rcside--Joshua Renx never return
'd IL is said that he took an Indian wife, and became
! chlet amongst the Miames Of Matinee, where he
wed until 1910; aud died near Detroit very wealthy
Hannah Dennis was separated from tho other q D.
vcs' III 1852, she was allotted tove at the Chico-
nc I2fHs sic vas a',eD.,e u sick persons, and