Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1854-05-18
a monunent 10 simon tfer,.s.

1
A bill has passed the Legislatur
which proposes that the State of Obi
shall concur with the citizens of Loga
county, by an appropriation of $1,000
in the erection of a monument to tn
memory of SIMON KENroN. A selec
committee, of which the author of tn
bill, Mr.. NEWELL, of Logan, was chair
man, presented report on the subject
that preserves so many incidents in tn
life Of the old hero of the woods, whicl
are equally of historical interest, tha
we transfer the body of the document t,
our columns. After the usual prelimi
naries, the report proceeds as follows:
"Simon Kenton was a Representative,
of that fearless spirit of adventur,
which precedes colonization in a wilder
ness. As explorer, as pioneer, as tht
indomitable hero of border warfare
initiating, more effectually to repel, the
willy tactics of a savage foe-his name
like that of Daniel Boone, of Kentucky
is landmark of our early annals; and
the people of Ohio must fully and
promptly appreciate the propriety ol
erecting a monument over the spot OF
his interment.
ga native of Fauquier county, Vir-
ginia, in 1855, Kenton was but sixteen
year of age when he crossed the ALLIE
ghany mountains, and in 1772 roamed
and hunted along the Ohio river, and
through the valleys of its tributaries
the Kanawha, the Sandy and Licking.
His adventures were not confined to
Kentucky; for when Lord Dunmore, in
October, 1774, led an army to chastise
the hostile Shawanese on the Scioto,
Kenton had become so familiar with the
interior of Ohio, that he was employed
as scout to procede the march of the
Virginians up the valley of Hockhock-
ing, and westward to the Pickaway
plains, as precaution against ambus-
cades. When, during the Revolution,
the Western tribes had mostly leagued
with Great Britain, and the scattered
settlements of Kentucky were in immi-
nent and constant peril, his vigilance
and zeal were so remarkable, that the
tradition of his services is warmly
cherished to this day by every citizen of
Kentucky. In 1873 he accompanied
Colonel afterwards GENERALLY George
Rogers Clark in the romantic and sue
cessful expedition against the British
posts on the Illinois; and, few days
.eTo. .oSo1.t1 dc surrender Of Kaskaskia, was
selected as the bearer OF uIspaIcnes |
through the wilderness, now consisting
of three States, to Harrodsburgh, on
the Kentucky river, accomplishing the |
journey in thirteen days, and sending
back to Clark, by one of his companions,
a full description of the vicinity and for
tifcations of Vineennes, which was
then, and six months afterwards, held
by the British.
CATER Kenton's return from the Hi
nois there succeeded series of excur-
sions against the Shawanese villages on
Paint Greek, in what is now Ross coun-
ty, and on the Little Miami, within the
present limits of Greene and Clark coun-
ties, which, even more than his share
in the prominent campaigns of the day,
have made the name of Kenton familiar
in four mouths as household words
In one of these forays (September,
1778) he wasmade prisoner, compelled
to run the gauntlet at town then called
near Oldtown, in Greene
county, and doomed to death by torture,
out respited until his captors should
each Wapatomika, village two miles
southeast of GAINESVILLE, in Logan coun-
y. On his way to Wapatomika he was
yauntleted at Piqua, the present site of
Boston, in Clark county, and at Macka-
heck, now West Liberty, Logan coun-
y, and bafied in an attempt to escape
rom his tormentors at Mackacheek.-
Arrived at the scene of his prospective
orture, Kenton was recognized by ST.
non Girty, who had been his companion ]
Turing Dunmores' expedition, and now,
oy his eloquence and influence, inter-
posed to save his friend. The savages
and the two whites traversed
he villages which studded the beautiful g,
,lains of the Miami and Mad rivers,
without any further attempt against the
ife or liberty of Kenton until the ar
ival of war party from an unsuceess-
ul excursion against some settlements
lear Wheeling, when another demand [
rose for the sacrifice of the prisoner,
N vain Girty pleaded, demonstrated,
hreatened-the utmost that would be |
yielded was an agreement that the tor (
ure should not Immediately take place, (
,ut be postponed to great assemblage /;
# the Ohio tribes at Upper Sandusky, ,
which had been summoned for the dis
by the British emissaries, of I
heir annual gifts-emphatically the |
rice of blood. This delay saved the |
ife of Kenton, however, for on the way I
o Sandusky, Logan, SO celebrated for 1
he well-known specimen of Indian elo- ,
Iuence and pathos, and who was then i
wing at "a small village on the river I
'cioto,' See McDonald's sketches, p. !
'31, became interested in his fate, and
induced Canadian Frenchman, Peter
9ruyer, then connected with the British G
ndlan Department, and ranking as Cap 7