The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1872-02-22
got out into the lake and if we had

got out into the lake and if we had
not got off rs we did they would have
stripped us, if not killed us. There
was no law west of Cleveland but the
| strong arm and club law. We thought
of going to the point of Clay island,
| about three miles out in the lake. but
the wind was so strong against us that
we could not make it, so we turned
our course for the Peninsula, and got
there after dark. We saw fire out
| in the woods, and one of us went out
to see what it meant, and found an
old Frenchman living there who was
shooting rats in little marsh on the
Peninsula. We begged the privilege
of staying over night with him. He
said yes, so we huled our plunder to
his camp. About ten o'clock we heard
some firing up where we had left, and
about twelve o'clock two men came
up to our fire, and said they had had a
damnable scrape with the Frenchmeni
about where we had left. They had
taken everything from them but their
guns. They said they backed off into
the bushes and commenced firing at
them thinking they would kill some
of the devils. But the Frenchmen re-
| turned their fire. They knew where
| got away and came where we Were
One of them was Chauncey Lowry, of
Stow, and the other o man by the
name of Smith, both at that time of
Palmyra. The next day they went
| hunting on the Peninsula, and came
across herd of hogs belonging to the
French. Smith said he was going -
have pay for one trap, and he shot and
skinned one of them and brought it
near the camp so when the old French
man went out to shoot rats there was
| a good meal cooked of it. We stayed
there eight days, then went down the
lake shore. AS we were going along
we saw a man lying on tho shore, we
supposed he was dead and went out
and found him alive but SO badly
bruised and cut up that he could not
stand when assisted to his feet. His
face was so badly swollen that we
could not see his eyes. He said he
and his partner got into a fuss with
the Frenchmen, and they overpowered
and knocked them as long as 1t seemed
good to them, He conld- not tell
where his partner was. We took him
in and carried him around to the
main land and left him there in care
of a man then we went on down TO
Huron river. where we made hneA
haul that night but had to leave again
on account of the French. The next
day we went down to Black river,
where we stayed two days. There
shot an otter, and we did well while
we stayed there, and then went on
down to Cleveland, where we heard
of the death of J. Wood and Bishop
by the Indians. They were killed
about three miles from the mouth of
this Conon river. We were well ace
quainted with Wood and tried to find
him but failed. 1 think the Indians
that killed him belonged to the Chip
pawa tribe They killed them for
their traps and furs. There were
tn. .ee Of them that did the deed. Our
Government called on the chief to de-
liver up the perpetrators and he de-
livered them up in the fall of 1917.
They were tried and convicted on the
testimony of the Indians and two of
them were hung the other was dis
charged because he was young and
was led into the scrape by the older
ones. They were executed in May,
1848, and were the first persons exec
cuted in Cuyahoga county. We were
gone from home five weeks and got
$3.50 worth of furs, and might have
got three times that amount If we had
not been molesied by the French. 81