The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1870-08-26
Thomas Christians Adventures with
the Indians

/ tuC Iuuld0S
| Anything pertaining to the early history
of the Maumee Valley, whether of a civic
or military character, is read with interest
by all classes of citizens, and should be
placed in form for preservation. We
therefore take pleasure in transferring to
our columns the following account of Thos.
Christians adventures with the Indians at
the celebrated defeat of Dudley, from the
Paris, KY, True Kentuckian:.
Soon after the defeat of General Win
chester, near the river Raisin, by the Brit
ish and Indians, under the British General
Proctor, which occurred in January, 1913,
there was call by our country for more
help, to which many of us responded by
volunteering our services to her assistance.
! Companies and regiments were soon
formed In every direction. One Of Ken
tucky's brayest men, Col. Dudley, raised a
regiment which assembled at Lexington,
and which 1 joined at that place.
AS soon as our regiment was made
up and ready for travelling, we were
hurried across the country into Ohio,
to Fort Defiance, in the fork of the ST. Jo-
seph's and Augalaize rivers. In the mean
time General Harrison had built Fort
Meigs, at the rapids of the Maumee river,
and anticipating an attack we were called
Immediately to his assistance, and when
we arrived there the fort was already be-
sieged by the British and Indians, under
Proctor and Tecumseh, whom we attacked,
and being dismayed at the arrival of REIN
tOrcementS and our bold attack, they re.
treated leaving their cannons, which we
spiked and ran into the Maumee river.
The enemy was apparently so demoralized,
and ourselves being flushed with victory,
and being fresh troops and unaccustomed
to Indian warfare, we were easily decoyed
into the woods in pursuit Of them; but we
had not pursued them far until ve found
ourselves involved in q labyrinth of diff
culties from which but very few of us were
ever extricated. Col. Dudley and many
of our regiment were soon killed, and the
remainder surrendered to Proctor; but he
was not able to protect us from the Indians:
and then commenced the sickening details
of butchering unarmed men. The couu-
tenances Of the Indians were distorted by
the most heartless and hellish passions
that ever defOrmed the human face, besides
being painted in the most hideous manner
that could be invented by savage ingenuity.
They robbed and insulted all of us, and
then went around manning and numbering
the men in the most malicious man
ner. The British seemed to have some
sympathy for US, and ordered US into an
old deserted fort about a mile distant.
which they thought might be some protec-
ton to rs. But the Indians continued to
murder our men as we fastened to the fort.
Several men were killed very near to me,
and expected all the time to be killed
Just as got near the entrance of the fort
several Indians grabbed me, and being a
stout man and feeling the necessity of MAX
ing desperate effort, 1 sprang forward,
the buttons flew, and left my coat and the
Indians behind; but as soon as 1 escaped
they tomahawked an old man by the name
of Bradshaw so close to me that his blood
and brains flew all over me. The fort did
not afford much protection after all, for
the Indians invaded it, and would have
murdered every one of us, had not
even the savage heart of TecHmseh
sickeHed at the revolving spectacle, and
caused him to withdraw his Indians. AS
soon as the Indians were withdrawn, the
British conducted the remainder of us to
the Maumee River, put us upon some
small fiat-bottomed open boats, and floated
us down into Lake Erie and put us aboard
a British man-of-war, where we were inhu-
namely treated by reckless set of adven-
turers; but we were finally paroled and
turned loose on land at the mouth of Huron
river, without anything, to make our way
as best We could through a wildernes 6 back
to our friends.