The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1872-03-08

Il
roast and eat, taking with them all
the horses belonging to the Portland
went Immediately to where the big
Indian lay that he had shot during
the fight. He was too close to the
theFort to get away to his comrades.
! Captain Sloan pulled out the dead
Indians knife from its seabbard and
took off the Indians scalp, the hair
of which was strung full Of beads,
which Captain Sloan brought home
with him as a trophy. The loss Of
this warrior might have had the ef-
feet of discouraging the Indians and
induced them to give up the seige."
Colonel John Sloan here presents
to the rising generation another in
cident of Indian depreciation in war
fare perpetrated on defenceless
whites on the frontier settlement.
He says in connection with the
above: Il think it my duty to give
another instance of Indian warfare,
always attended with acts Of savage
barbarity. And l submit it the more
willingly as 1 have never saw it pub
lished. I presume am the only
person living that is acquainted with
the facts, as the occurrence took
place in the neighborhood near
where my father, Captain John Sloan,
then resided. It was in 1871 that a
party of Cornplanter Indians came
to the house Of a family by the name
of Mitchell, consisting of a mother,
daughter and son, who resided about
two miles up the Layalhannah creek,
above where Latrobe now stands, in
Westmoreland county, Pa. The
daughter and son, Charles and Susan,
were in the stable loft when the In
dians came in sight. Charles, who
was about seventeen years of age,
undertook to make his escape by
running, but was captured while eros
sing Loyalhannah creek. While the
Indians were engaged capturing
Charles, Susan had the presence Of
mind to go into the horse stable and
turn q large horse trough over her.
When the Indians returned after
capturing Charles, Susan was no.
where to be found. They then went
to the house and took Mrs. Mitchell
| prisoner, and made their retreat
northward. By the evening of the
same day, the Indians found thas
Mrs. Michel was unable to travel
and part of the Indians fell back with
her, and a part continued their
march, and when night overlook
them they kindled a fire, and soon
had the scalp of Mrs. Mitchell, and
took the pains to dry it before the
fire, and that, too, in the presence Of
her son Charles. They continued
their march next morning, and when
they got near MahOning creek, in
Armstrong county, Pa, they came
on the tracks of two white men,
where their course led them acros a
low wet piece of ground. At this
point the tracks of the two white men
lead of along the side of the ridge.
Charles Mitchell and the Indians saw
these two men at a distance. Charles
knew tEem to be Captain Sloan and
Harry Hill, they being his near
neighbors. There was snow on the
| ground, and it being soft, and Capt
Sloan being a large man, six feet
three inches, with moccasins pretty
well patched, made a large track.
| One Of the Indians pulled out his
ramrod and measured the moecasin
track, and holding it up said: great
sawariek, great sawaricks' yes said
Charles, that's big Captain Sloan, a
great Indian fighter 1t appeared
that the Indians had thought of at
tacking them, and Mitchell knew
tina his fate was sealed if they did.
So it happened that the big moccasin
track prevented an attack. When
Captain Sloan and Hill came down
of the side of the ridge they came
on the Indian tracks and concluded
that by getting ahead of them they
would cross Mahoning creek, and
probably might defeat the Indians;
but upon examining their tracks
they discovered a white mans in
company, and knowing if they would
attack them, the Indians would kill
the prisoner, they gave it up, not
knowing st the time that the white
man with the Indians was Charles,
Mitchell, their neighbor. I may as
well remark that my father, Captain
Sloan, after returning from the seige
of Fort Hamilton, received the ap-
pointment of Captain of Rangers,
or Indian Spies, and was out at this
time making observations and dis
cOyeries with regard to the better
| defence of the frontier settlements
against the inroads and depredations
of the savage Indians. At the time
of the capture Of the Mitchell family,
the writer was the youngest of five
small children, with their mother re-
siding about three-fourths Of a mile
north of the Mitchell family. If the
Indians had come to our place in
stead Of MitchePs, there could not
have been any resistance made, IS
| my father, Captain John Sloan was
out on the frontier at the time. 1t
was also well known to the old sett-
/ lers of these early times spoken Of
above, that Simon Girty, who was
well known at the time and place of
the burning of Colonel Crawford,
the 18th day of June, 1882, in Upper
| lSandusky, Crawford county, was al
so with the COrnplanter Indians in
| 1871, giving them directions. Simon
Girty knew Captain Sloan, and that
it would not be advisable to go to
his place had he been at home"
After transcribing to near the
close of Colonel Sloan's narrative
found that it ommitted to let the pub
lie know what became of Charles
Mitchell, for I knew that inquiry
would be made, as to whether he had
been killed or not. Accordingly I
wrote to Colonel Sloan, and in due
time received the following reply;
LIMESTONE, Jan. 4, 1872.
MR. ROBERT A. SHERRARD.-DeGr
Friead:-I will supply the Ommis-
sion with regard to Charles Mitchell
| He was taken to Cornplanters town,
/ - 1o,eo5 h., IN old sr,,ou- whom,