Star of the Kanawha Valley. [volume] (Buffalo, Va. [W. Va.]) 1855-1856, 1855-06-06

- 't'f' yS"S oha
more experience. f. H..
"The news.or this daring adyen-
ture very soon de~him the man of
the frontier, clnmently qualified as a
leader inthe spy departmental which
position he andhis brother John rem
dered such important service to the
then Western country, until Lewis,
feeling himself deeply wounded BY
the. treatment Of that country for
which he had so often risked his life,
and for which he had.rcndercd such
great services left the northern from
tier for the Spanish province of Lou
lsiana. The many hazards and ad-
ventures ofwhich Lewis Wetzel was
the hero, during his service in the
spy department, would I'll q vol
umc and could not be abridged, had
| the material arranged into an ordi-
nary letter And As most. irnot all
ofhis Western at. rntuirs have been
collected AMI given tolhc public by
others, better able to perform the
task, and As my object is only to EN-.
body the outlines Of the life one. of
the daring spirits ofthc early pionf crs
of our own land, | pass over all
! that interesting. and to the frontier
valuable part OF his service. T..
! about the year 100, Wrtz"l be-
ing what was then called a scout, in
what is nov the State of Ohio, Killed
and scalped an Indian warrior ON
! the Tuscarawu5 Riycr, who it was
claimed by recent negotiations at
Fort llaflncr, was protected. from
harm from our"spcs and others etn-
ploycd in orr defence. J. The Indians
made bitter complaints to the com,
mandants OF our'iorts and gnrr;Sons,
and insisted that, unless Wctzcl was
punished, they would again turn
. hose their horde of warriors. Col.
.EIarmcr could not do otherwise than
offer reward for the arrest Of Wet
eel. lie accordingly Offered, with
great reluctance, reward of two
hundrcd dollars for the arrest of a
man who had spent his life in the
woods, standing ~ buIwarE be-
tween the deadly weapon Of the bar
barianand the struggling settlements
of the Christian frontier; II name that
was dear TO every man, woman aud
child in the Whole line Of western
settlements: one whose deeds OF dar-
ing. and adventure were taught to
; the children inlhrir earliest liSpingS
and whose achievements were to ill
the bFtg4+ +r1t page in the history OF
the early and desperate struggles -
To place apricc on,a man rs Grim
inal, who had made such sacrifices,
of course met with bitter denuncin-
! ton from all who could appreciate
his eminent services: particularly so
when they considered Wctzel guilty
ofnothing criminal whatever. True,
he had captured warrior in the
woods, at II time and under circpm-
stances when he (WttzcD had good
reason to believe the warrior was
attempting his life; he. was |out-gcn-
GRADED BY this hero of the forest and
himself made a >ictim 10 his unc ION
Turrcd adversary, an Indian that
belonged to7a warlitc tribe; u tribe
that had committed numerous MUIR
dcrs ana other depreciation. upon
the very settlement in which lived
the aged mother and father Of Wet
EEL. Besides TALL this, there was good
reason to believe. this Identical WAR.
rior. had been concerned in the very
ouungcs alluded to. That any white
man would attempt to arrest him, no
zone believed, and that any red man
could, the friends of Wetzel did not
fear. To avoid the constant clamor
of the Indians. he was advised by his
friends to leave for a time, until the
feeling on the part Of the Indians
should subsidc. Wetzcl accordingly
for the last time left the humble from!
tier abode Of his venerable parents,
and the place where he had played
manga tragic scene when life was
the stake; not, however, to arrestthe
mercilcss savage on his mission OF
! blood, butte avoid the action Of his
own country which he had so faith
| fully served. lie proceeded to The
vicinity Of Cincinnati where he en-
gagged in the service of the country
| as a spy, going when commanded,
and returning when his mission Was
performed. He was often heard TO
say that no one would attempt his
arrest because he had killed an In
dian, but the love. Of reward might
find some one heartless enough ito.
Judas like, sacrifice him for the mon
ley. Against the danger ofarrest he
! doubtless felt secure. In his securi.
Ity, however, he was not safe, While
he was enjoying the confidence and
receiving the admiration. of all the
people Of the west, Col. Parks was
ordered to remove two hundred men
| from Louisville to Fort Pitt. lie
stopped at Fort Washington, (Cin-
cinnati) with his keel boats, in which
| he was transferring his troops. Wet.
eel was there, and from regard for
| his duty, or some other cause, he or
dered a file. of his men to arrest Wet