The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1853-09-21
Ulin,s a

.lhe following account OF q wonderful
leap. was published twenty-five years ago
in the most of the papers Of the country.
The Mr.. Ulin mentioned in it, is the Ia
mented father of DR.. Benz. Ulin, of Green.
up county, KY:
On the 18th Of April. 1879, Benjamin
Ulin left the stockade, about the mouth Of
the Kanawha river, {now Point Pleasant,
Va..) and crossing the Kanawha, he fol-
lowed q path that led up a point to the top
Of . hill about a mile below the Kanawha,
in pursuit of a stray horse. As he ap-
preached the hill, he was seen by three In
dams then on the top, who carefully CON
scealed themselves and lay in ambush un-
til he reached the top; when two of them,
who had arms, fired upon him. One of
their balls passed through his clothes, and
touched but did not bury itself in his right
hip; the other missed him. Finding their
fire had been Intellectual, they separated,
two of them running and occupying the
only passes by which he could descend the
hill, in the direction Of the steckade, and
she other made at him. Thus surrounded,
he was left with no other alternative, but 10
fall in their hands as a prisoner, or leap
down a precipice Of rocks on the north
side ofthe hill. fronting the Ohio river. Ac.
quainted with many of the Indians, and
knowing their feelings toward him. he was
satisfied that If he fell into their hands, thai
. certain, if not a lingering death awaited
him.9 In this awful predicament, he stood
pondering over his melancholy condition.
without arms TO defend himself, until the
Indians had come nearly up to him; when
be commenced a rapid retreat toward the
brink of the precipice, holly pursued by
the Misunderstanding there he did not
hesitate, but leaped down the precipice,
passing through the top branches of a small
sbuckeye tree. He jumped sixty five and a
halffeet before he reached the ground; re.
covering as soon as possible, he made
three other leaps, the first seventeen, the
second seven, and the third eleven feet,
which took him nearly to the base of the
hill. He then ran TO the Ohio river. plung-
al into the water, and undertook to swim
across, but finding the water very cold,
and that the Indians had not pursued him,
he returned to the beach, recrossed the Ka.
nawha in q small canoe and soon arrived
Q the stockade. The distance Of each
leap was measured by the late Col. Lewis,
OF Virginia, and Col. Boon, of Missouri,
who were atthe stockade al the time. From
the fall Of the leaves in Autumn, to their
budding in the Spring, the precipice car
be seen by boatmen descending the Ohio
river. from a great distance, and ever
since that occurrence it has received from
them the appellation OF .Ulin's Leap
Notwithstanding the extraordinary efforts
made after leaping down the precipice,
and which enabled him to effect his es.
cape. they were not made without consid.
cradle injury; for some time his life was
~despaired OF, but, he finally recovered. He
il now a respectable citizen Of Greenup
county, KY. He is sixty-fve years ofage:
he is keen, active and sprightly. mirihiul
jolly and gay. He enjoys perfect good
health, ave some occasional pains in his
back, which he thinks results from the in
iuries received, when he leaped down the
precipice ofrocks. After the treaty of179s
It was ascertained from some OF the In.
dians, who came into Point Pleasant and
mingled with the whites, that a story had
been in vogue among them and extensive.
~ believed in, on the authority Of those
who had chased Ulin: "IHat they had
fired on a rdite man who a to the Top o,
q precipice and took tcings and feu."