New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1855-07-17

But his old three-cornsred hst,
And his breeches and all that,
Are soqueerl szas
And If should live to be Y-4
~. The last leaf upon the tree
Let them M smile. aSi "a IS do nor,
FL At the old forsaken bough,
Where cling ..5.s
Captain Samuel Brady and cornplanteT.
LEGErD ALLEsfiasy RIVER.
-
Many Of the wild legends Of border strife and
Indian barbarity that have been enacted along
the shores of the Allegheny and Ohio have
never been rescued from The dim and fading re-
membranes Of a past age. But occasionally q
story of thrilling interest is snatched from the
lingering records of the red man.
The story am about to relate / received
from an cid Indian pilot Of the Allegheny, Ii
was many years ago, when that stern old chief
Cornplanter, (whose remains now repose in
silence and loneliness on the banks of that beam
teous river he loved 30 we'll, was in his glory.
His tribe roamed over the dense and unbroken
forests along its banks, fearless, unmelested and
free. ,s0-.s7.
His people were hostile to the. whites, and
never lost any opportunity toslie in ambush
and seize the lonely voyager as he desoended
the river, and eonsign him to the stake and the
tortue But the watchfnl, shrewa. and deadly
foe of Cornplanter and the who'll i" tawny race .
was the indomitable and fearless Captain Sam
uel Brady. This veteran pioneer and Indian
hunter was one of those noble specimens Of the
hardy foresters who plunged fearlessly into the
nterminable forests that then oyerspread SO
large portion Of the Western States.
Like Daniel Boom. Lewis Wetzei, Simon Ken
ton, and others, who made Indian hunting q
pastime, his deadly hate of the Indian, and
his burning passion for hunting them down,
amounted to monomaniu. This hatred was in
consequence Of the wrongs they had inflicted
upon his family--his father, Captain John
Brady, and his brother having fallen victims
to the tomahawk and scalping knife,
The scene Of the present story is at place
| known to boatmen and raftslnen as "Brady's
Bend, and where now the noise and hustle Of q
| new manufacturing town called the "Great
/ Western resounds along the shores that then
| echoed only to the whoop of the savage Or the
panther scream.
It is bend in the river of nine miles in length,
| and is sometimes called the aNine Mile Bend .
and ia scarcely half o mile across the neck
| Here in this bend, Cornplanter, returned from
some successful iRrosds upon the whites, had
secured several prisoners, By tying them to as
| many trees, while his swarthy and hideousiy-
painted followers were busy in making prepare.
| tions for the faggot and the torture.
| The stake was erected and the faggots pre-
pared with all the coolness and refinement oi
Indian barbarity. 1t was beautiful evening
| the sunswss just sinking behind the lofty hill
upon the opposite shore Caimness had thrown
| its oily wand upon the Alleghany's crystal tide
and it slept, The full, round moon, just burst,
\ ing through the tree-tops behind them sailed
| calmly through the distant blue, and cast iii
mellow beams upon the sleeping river, ane
danced upon its placid bosom.
4 The melancholy note Of the whip-poer- vii
from the adjoining thicket fell sweetly upon tn,
ear. The victims were unbound and led fortl
to the place Of ftorture. Att this moment a voice
high up among the frowning rocks that loomee
cut from the thick hemlocks that crowned tht
hill opposite, hailed Cornplanter in the Indiar
tongue, informing him that she was an Indian
4 warrior, Just returned FROM the war-path with
goodly number Of prisoners" T"
He desired that the ceremonies Of the torture
might be, suspended until he could ford thu
river and join them, when they would eelehrat
the occasion with unusual demonstrations 9
savage rejoioings TO this Cornplanter con
sented The flames that had been kindled wer
extinguished, and the prisoners again bound t
thetrees.
In the meantime, Brady, for it was heywh
had deceived the wild Indian, with body {
men moved silently up the river to q plac
known as s. Truby's Ripple" and there fordin
the river, drew his men up across the neck {
the bend, and moved noiselessly down upon th
. sayages. So cautious was his approach tbs
!, the Indians were completely cut off from retres
before they became alarmed.
Brady's men hemmed them. in from behint
while the Allegheny rolled in front. The fir
intimation to the savsges of his approach We
Q communicated by deadly discharge from h
v unerring rifles. The Indians fought with de-
/, peration, but were overpowered; all were kille
or taken prisoners save tho chief, Cornplante
Who, finding himself alone, plunged into IL
river, and swan for the other shore. - -.
/ Being good swimmer, he remained sever
70 minutes under water, but as be rose for breat
y he WAS greeted with a shower of bullets.
q this way, alternately swimming under water
ls long as he could hold his breath, and the
10 | rising to this surface, he escaped unhuft, OF
reaching the other shore ID safety, secret
4 himself behind q large standing rock.
% The prisoners were of course unbound, o.
sg oil Joined in the Publications and JOY at t
&c timely and unlocked for release. The rock th
s5 as shielded Cornplanter from Brady's bullets "
il pointed out to me by the old Indian, in recs
ar, trip down this river 1t is known as Cornple
re. ter's Rock. ,. The old Indian gave me the ste
y with sad and detected countenance, in broi
NJ English. ss T.
/ 'Alas! what change! Where then the sh
ny tide of the beauteous Allegheny parted OF
to the swift skimming birehen canoe and ech
to the wild voices that came out Of the der
dark forest, now is heard the shrill whistle
the steam-pipe and the rushing Of the migl
steamer. Where the tawny savage then reolii
upon the shady banks from his pursuit Of
deer, the panther and the bear, or rested n
the war-path, is now the scene Of life ana
tiyity.
The tall old forest has receded from bet
! ar' the advance of civilization, and given place
nd farms, beautiful villas and bustling towns.
Nv ! Indian, too, has passed away; but few,
i. they but miserable decayipg relics of what Il
e's once were, are now occasionally seen, the
scendants Of the proud race that once could
fhasa hills and groves, ana rivers anu Oil VI
led sne0e Ais, A,os in tbe lanonaee of the noet.
the oMn' %A'ho - :.
N sehlsslains and tbss ty!bos have psFishsd,
-z- Like taa tnlskets whaEa taSS sTes,n