The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-06-29
GheG,ttsaiaeuter!
..yTrISIAL "REMINISCENCES.
r,u, with Col. Samuel Baker
Of MARSHALL County. 10

Inc notice Of the historian, hereby seno
Won Inc substance Of u conversation held
with Col. Samuel P. Baker, living neal
Benwood in Union District. Col. Baker
!. now in his 79th year and is the oldes
native born citizen now living IN Mar
shall county. He is a very Intelligent
old gentleman and am satisfied the
what he relates Is authentic, and alSt
that but very little Of il has ever appear,
cd in print. And as in these Centennial
times we are searching for the unWritlen
history OF the different localities Of our
country, this may prove interesting ~ ~
many Of your readers. ! give que GU y.
yersation a. nearly in his own "o'u' 40
John Baker, my grandfather, I was =
prnssian. and he came to the Ghi'Sa
States In the year 1855. lie I1nue G. AZ
9I';I.JoIrb;. where he married Yer
m.n I.JY nv The name OF Elizabeth spili-
man iauy yoar iTCO. Immediately after
Ean, ~ .h ~ he moved to the Shenandoah
Valley, Virginia, where IN sns err iI Ho
Henry Baker, my father, was porn, ~ gu
ihs wear 1907 he emigrased from there t9
nI,nnkard Creek, Green county, Pa, and
p ttInJ among The Indians, four tribes Of
' Sg,nS were then living there in,peaee
viii the whites, viz: the Delaware, the
Wyandots, the Swanees and the Mingoes.
II: remained there until the breaking
out OF Dunmore's war, when he took
refuge with his family in what was then
called Redstone Old Fort low Browns
vile, Pennsylvania.
ISTHE YEAR 1871 l..
he went to where Washington, Pa, now
stands, then known as Catfish Camp.
About this time the country about there
was yery much alarmed, and the people
were on the look out for the Indians,
who were reported 70. have crossed
The river near Holidays Cove, and
and were expected to make inroads upon
The settlements. An express was sent to
Wheeling fort to give fhe alarm concern
ingit. The party sent consisted OF Henry
Baker, NV father then IS years OF age),
Henry Yoho, and = starnater. They
travelled in safety until they came to the
Narrows, on Wheeling creek, near where
Col. Woods lived and died. Here they
were ambushed by party OF Indians.
Starnater shot the Indian nearest him
and in return lie and his horse were inn
mediately killed. Yoho's horse was shot
and fell but arising almost Immediately
il dashed through the Indians, carrying
him away in safety TO Wheeling fort.
Bakers horse was shot but ran some hun.
,jroJ vorIa when tfell on him. Extri-
eating himself as soon as possible, and
throwing away his arms to tighten himself,
he ran for about a quarter Of , mile, when
seeing very large Redskin approaching
him directly IN front with pistol in one
hand and n tomahawk in the other, he
saw that escape was impossible and stop
ned. He said The Indian took him by the
hair Of the head and shook him till he
almost thought he would shake his head
OF, telling him NJ the same time in good
English .E..
YOU AREA PRISONER. T.
He was taken back to the body Of the
Indians. Among whom was brother OF
the one killed by Starmater. This In.
dian was raying mad and was determined
to kill Baker in revenge for the death oil
his brother, but he was prevented from
doing so by the chief. They came rapid
" down this ridge where live, no doubt
thinking they would DO pursued. They
struck the river 81 Hates Rock, where
they found several canoes filled with In.
lians, who seemed 10 be waiting for them,
From this point, after rowing a short
distance down the river they lett the
stream and going to the back Of the Grave
Creek flats they crossed the creek near
where the water station now Is and struck
the river asain at the lower end Of the
Round Bottom. Here they crossed the
river and encamped for the night Mt the
head OF Captine Island. All this time
he carried his own and SLarnater,'s and
the dead Indians rifle strapped to his
back. lie was tied to a sapling and
passed the night without food.
They started early next morning and
Travelled three days and three nights
without stopping to camp, Or xith
scarcely anything 70 eat. AT NE END oil
this time they arrived at Chilicothe
Here thinking they were out OF the dan
ger Of pursuit, they travelled more leis.
urely and killing some deer, they had
plenty 10 eat. Arriving at Sandusky
they found band Of at least three hun
dred warriors, and there were nine other
men from Kentucky as prisoners. They
were all compelled to run the gauntlet,
Ny father being young and active ran 1t
easily which so enraged a young Indian
that hc knocked him down with his club
after he had entered the house. He
witnessed the, running Of the nine Ken.
tuckians, one being burned each day, all
the time being warned that his fatswas to
be the same AZ theirs. On the tenth day
he was ordered to DO taken out and be
tied 10 the stake by an old Indian. HG
resisted somewhat, and tried TO parley
with them, hut on starting out toward The
stake he saw horseman rapidly ap
proaching. When the horseman came. VI
he saw a man dressed in the uniform o.
A British officer. He Immediately ran e
the man, who asked him what he wanted
He told him that the Indians were about
TO burn him, and he wanted him 10 save
him. Heiound out the man TO be
SIMON dTRTY,
who, on finding who Baker was and
wherc.he was from, plead with the 1ndi:
ans for two hours 10 spare his life, and
finally succeeded. Ny father always sup.
posed that Girty anticipated making an
attack on Wheeling, and expected him te
be useful to him as n guide, for he took
him aside and asked him all. manner o.
questions concerning Wheeling and yicin
ity. Through the interposition OF Girty
he was sent to Detroit and reported t
the Governor. He was then set at liber
ty. Hiring himself to an Indian trader
he remained with him some time trading
with the Indians. aa-.-. ---=>
At length with tive others he stsrtet
for Virginia, and after a tedious march
getting lost at one time for near the
weeks, they arrived nj the point wher'
Bridgeport now stands. The inhabltant
Of Wheeling we're some Of them on tina
side Of the river, making sugar and sell
ing It, They supposed them 70 be In
dians and fed to the fort and gave th