Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1882-09-24

Ao1IOs
l n Uaa not, in every sense Of the. word, .
l ,,;sfortnpe II trained those who ater-
| Yards became the most heroic characters
in border history. 1t gave them an idea OF
| what they must undergo, prepared 'nen'
for the
Ftereer Trials Of AFTER Years.
Many persons, who subseq uentiy oecane
famous, first brought themselves in'o hat h
| Lewis WefzeI received his baptism OF hre,
| and performed the first Of series OF facts
and adventures which place him above All
| competitors of his time as daring scout
| and desperate fighter. ,r
| When the Dunmore war was ended there
was a short period of tranquility along the
| troubled border. The population OF the
| frontier colonies doubled in numbers from
year to year. Repose and peace and happi.
ness smiled on. the land, and along the
din of industry, the voice of labor and the
song of contentment. But, this was soon
10 pass away. The airy castles OF peace
and Quietude which the old pioneers were
building were quickly to be dashed 70
atoms. 1t was the calm proceeding the
burst of the dreadful storm, that
would soon burst with wreck and
ruin upon the devoted colony. making the
feeble defenses of the frontiers tremble
for their existence, while the growing
pride. and wreath. and beauty of the land,
would be trampled and beaten down as
war, and with his wild red feet, would
sweep his charges and countercharges over
them. 49,.
AS the year IT'S passed away, and l776
came on, the red Indians on the whole from
tier from Canada to the Gulf Of Mexico
renewed their hostilities. The war OF the
Revolution was'then begun. Great Britain
armed and equipped these sayages and sent
them forth to torment and Kill the people
in the western country. The whole Will
derness was in an uproar. All the huts,
and boSels and dens poured out their
nainted warriors. and the frontiers were
filled with horror and drenched with
blood.
1t was, indeed,
Day OF Wrath without Morrow.
The war then begun ragged without inter,
mission for twenty years. wheeling hau
its share. Not q summer passed without "a
visitation from the cannibal red men. IL
was a struggle between life and death, pc
tween civilization and barbarism, but life
triumphed, and civilization steadily ad'
yanced.
OF the municipal and judicial history OF
Ohio county, there is not much Of special
importance, although as q whole it Is OF
great value. Ohio county was formed from
Augusta county, in 1776, and is, therefore,
exa city rs old as the U. s. A. West Lib
erty was the county seat, and remained so
till 1897, when it was changed to Wheel
ing.
The year 1777 will ever be memorable in
the history of Wheeling 1t will be memo
rable in the history of the whole country,
but there are special reasons why 1t Will
never be forgotten by the people along the
Ohio. They called It "the bloody year of
the three seyens." It was a bloody and a
terrible season along the whole border from
Pittsburg to Louisville. Indian armies in
vaded the settlements at various points,
and Wheeling did not escape. On the hrst
of September, an army of more than fOO OF
these sayages crossed the Ohio at Bogg's
Island, and under cover of the darkness,
proceeded to the Creek Bottom below the
post, where they placed themselves In am,
buscade among the weeds and corn, and
awaited the day.
At that time Fort Henry was the place OF
refuge into which the people OF Wheeling
and vicinity fled at the approach of danger.
1t was planned by General Clark in Iva,
and was at first called Fort Fincastle; but
its name was subsequently changed 10
Henry in honor of Patrick Henry, OF Viz
ginia.
The old books say that this army was led
by the notorious Simon Girty; but, without
entering into discussion OF this disputed
question, we may say that such is probably
a mistake 1t may have been led by George
or James Girty, brothers to Simon, but the
probabilities are that Simon himself was
not the leader. However, the leader, who
ever he was, was a white man. At day
break on September 1st, two men went TO
the field for horses, and were fired upon by
six Indians. One OF the men was killed,
and the other escaped to the fort. When
the commandant learned that there were
but six Indians, he sent Capt. Mason with
fourteen men 10 drive them off. When he
came within sight of them they began to
retreat, and, lest they should escape, he
pressed hurriedly forward and fired upon
them, but at two great distance 70 do ex-
ccution. Instantly the whole field started
up
as though the earth had opened and sent
sent them forth. Mason had passed di-
rectly into their snare, and they sprang
from their hiding place and rushed upon
him.
Seeing his dreadful situation he attempt
ed to fly TO the fort, but the savages had
thrown themselves between him and the
town. Then began a fearful battle. The
fifteen brave men fought with all the valor
of the Spartans at Thermopylac; but the
wild host came on In overwhelming num-
bers, furious as tigers maddened by the
taste OF blood. 1t was desperate struggle,
and the heroic soldiers, one by one, went
down on the CORY field. Only four were
left to retreat. They cut their way through
the encircling lines OF the enemy, and fed
toward the town. Capt. Mason was pain.
fully wounded and escaped with his life
only by killing the Indian who pursued
him. His sergeant also fell before he could
reach place of safety. VIM. Shepherd,
son of the commandant OF the fort, had
reached Indian spring where the Wheel
ing market house now stands, when his
foot caught in a grapevine and he fell. Be-
fore he could rise an Indian sprang upon
him and pounded him to death with club.
Those in the fort, hearing the discharge
OF the guns, and the shrieks of Mason's
men, were convinced that there were
more than six Indians in the field,
A dense fog hung over the scene.
hiding everything from view. Nothing was
visible, but it was plain that assistance was
needed. With noble purpose Capt. Ogle
and twelve soldiers hurried to the rescue,
and passed down through the cornfield at
a rapid march. All had become quiet, and
| they hoped that all had ended we'll.
yen
and hundreds OF Indians came bounding
through the corn from every direction, and
surrounded them. Capt Ogle was short
distance behind his men, and was thus left
outside of the ring that closed round them.
He hid among the briers and escaped. Ten
of his men were killed on the spot Two
| fed to the Fort. One was fearfully wound
ed; but both reached a place Of safety.
Martin Wetzel was the only one Of the COM
pany who escaped unhurt
Meanwhile We may family image the
scene in the little village Of Wheeling, then
containing some thirty houses. All was
hurry and confusion. Some were moving
their most valuable property to the fort,
| and others were glad to get there them
selves. The annihilators of Mason's and
Ogle's men made ii evident that the foe was
too powerful to be withstood on open
ground. Indeed, the awful fear was enter.
tanned that the fort itself, weakened as il
was by so great loss, would not be able IS
hold out.
Hidden I'm the Fog
all sides nj tho vii a1a fha Indiaua cnull