Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1854-10-20
miscellaneous.
The Two Suies.


From the Autobiography of Rev. J. B. Finley.
AS early as the year 1900, the block
house and stockade above the mouth of the
Hooking River, was frontier post for the
hardy pioneers of the North Western Ter
ritory. There nature was in her undisturb-
ed livery of dark and thick forests inter.
spersed with green and flowing prairies.-
Then the forest had not heard the sound
of the woodman's axe; nor the plow of the
husbandman opened the bosom of the EARTH
Then the beautiful prairies waved their
golden bloom to the God of Nature; and
among the most luxuriant of these were
those which lay along the Hooking Valley,
and especially that portion of it on which
the town of Lancaster now stands. This
place, for beauty, its richness of soil. and
picturesque scenery, was selected as a To-
cation for an Indian village. This afforded
suitable place for the gambol Of the In
dian sportsmen, as we'll as a central spot
for concentrating the Indian warriors.
Here the tribes Of the north and west
met to counsel. and from this spot led forth
the war path in different directions. Up
on one of these occasions, when the war
spirit moved nightly among the sons of
nature, and the tomahawk lesped in its
scabbard. and the spirits of their friends
who had died in the field OF battle visited
the warrior in his night visions, and called
loudly for revenge, it was ascertancd at
the garrison above the mouth of the Hook
ing river, that the Indians were gathering
in great numbers, for the purpose Of strik-
ing blow on some post Of the frontiers.-
To meet this crisis two of the most skilled
and indefatigsble spies were dispatched to
watch their movements and report.
M'Cleland and White, two spirits that
never quailed at danger, and as unconquer-
able as the Lybian lion, in the month of
October, and on one of the balmy days of
Indian summer, took leave of their fellows
and moved through the thick plum and
hazel bushes with the noseless tread of
panthers. armed with their unerring and
trusty rifles. They continued their march
skirting the prairies ill they reached that
most remarkable prominence. now known
by the name Of Mount Pleasant, the wes-
tern termination Of which is perpendicu-
lar cliff OF rocks Of some hundreds Of feet
high, and whose summit, from a western
view, towers to the clouds and overlooks
the vast plains below. When this spot was
gained, our hardy spies held a position
from which they could see every move
ment of the Indians below in the valley
Every day added few accessions Of
warriors to the company. They Witnessed
their exercises of horse-racing, running foot
races. jumping, throwing the tomahawk and
dancing. the old sachems looking on with
Indian indifference, the squaws engaged in
their usual drudgery. and the children en-
gagged in their playful gambols. The arri-
val OF a new warrior was greeted with ter
rible shouts. which striking the mural face
OF Mount Pleasant, were driven back in the
various indentations Of the sounding hills.
producing reyerberations and echoes as il
ten thousand 6ends were gathered at a
universal leyee. Such yells would have
struck terror to those unaccustomed to In-
dian reyelry,
To our spies this was but martial music