Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1873-05-29

eu, WnlIe Lewis WetZel was crossing
the Ohio in canoe, he saw young
man of his acquaintance standing on
the western bank beckoning him to
hasten. He applied the paddle with
double force, and soon learned that a
white family, who had established
home near the mouth of Captina
Creek, had been masacreed, save a
daughter of some eighteen years, who
had been taken away by the Indians.
| The young man was lover of the girl,
and in fever of excitement he begged,
Wetzel to go with him to the rescue.
Wetzel said he would go, but told
his friend. Harry that lovers are liable
to be indiscreet; that the girl could not
be rescued without trouble, and cool
ness and strategy would be required to
accomplish his wishes. The young
man promised to be guided entirely by
his superior, and the two set out in
pursuit of the savages.
| Just at nightfall the second day after
the massacre, they came upon the par
! ty for which they were searching, and
were gratified to find but five Della
wares, in fact but four, as one was q
white renegade noted for his fiendish
conduct towards his people. The saw
ages were seated around a fire cooking
their evening meal, ann the fair cap
tive was bound to n tree close by
Harry, at the sight OF his idol, was for
rushing upon the redskins at once, but
Wetzel kept him back, telling him
that such course might be fatal to
themselves, while by waiting until a
proper time, not only might the girl
be rescued, but all of the savages kill
ed. The plan of the artful hunter was
to wait until daybreaK the next morn
ing, and then make quick and desper-
ate work. rr.
The slow hours of night passed heav-
lily to Harry. although several yards
away from his beloved, he could hear
her sobs above the moaning of the
winds though the trees, the hooting
rl of the owl, or bowling of the wolf. 1t
was more than his nature could ell
dure, and in spite of the injunctions OF
his. companion, and regardless OF his
promises, he crept forward as silently
as possible, determined to set the cap
tive at liberty without awakening the
fees. He had reached a point not
more than twenty feet from where the
e Indians were sleeping, when stick
snapped beneath his knee. In an in
slant one OF the savages sprang to his
r. feet and cried out naiIlst! Ia wolff and
fired his gun in the direction from
where the sound proceeded. Harry
scampered back as rapidly as possible
upon all fours. with Il slight flesh
wound upon his arm as the result o.
his folly A little commntion took
place at the camp, but the Indians be.
lieving the intruder to be wild beast
increased their fire and laid down
again to rest. |
/ At this time the DelaWares held un.
disputed claim to the territory lying
between the Muskingum and Ohio
rivers. They were a powerful tribe,
and did not deem caution essential af.
ter perpetrating outrages upon the few
whites who ventured to settle upon
their lands. The whites had felt a
greater assurance of safety here than
among almost any other tribe, on &C.
count of the Moravian Mission on the
Muskingum. Two chapels had been
built by the Christian Delaware Indi.
ans, one in what is now Tuscarawas
county, some two miles from the pres.
ent site of New Philadelphia, the other
some seven miles further south on
same side of the river. Besides this,
in 1777 the Huron Indians offered q
war belt to the Delawares to join them
in making war against the Colonies,
but the chief returned :he belt and an.
swered that he would not fight the
white people. THESE things gave the
settlers encoura cement; but in 1879, 8
year previous to he event in our story
change came; the noble chief, White
Eye, died, and after thai the Christian
Indians stood alone in resolution not
to harm the whites, an6 massacres
were not unfrequent; most of them
however, were melted by English rem
egades and free-booters. With this
depression we will return to the spot
where the fair captive was held, and
see what came of Lewis Wetzel's plan
for rescue. o."
The two, under cover Of night, took
as favorable a position as possible, and
when dayoreak came, just as the Indi-
ans began to arise, both fired, Wetzel
taking the largest of the savages and
Harry the white renegade, and both
shots were fatal. They sprang from
their coneealment with such yell as
to frighten the remaining sayages to
that extent that they took to their
heels, leaving their guns behind
Harry fastened to cut the thongs
which bound the girl, and placing one
, of the guns left in her hands and
throwing the rest into creek, the two
took rapid steps eastward. .l- r.i
Wetzel bounded after the fleeing
redskins, loading his rifle as he ran;
, but when ready to fire, found that the
Indians had gone into ambush. After
waiting awhile for them to appear, and
not seeing feather, he fred his gun at
random and took the back track. AS
he expected, the savages came out
: with yell and followed. Wetzel