The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1886-01-09

substantial and elegant homes Of
citizens of the Athens of West Yir
ginia." The one fortunate enough tc
escape the massacre found his way
to Fort Redstone-now Brownsville
Pa, and from thence the sorry fate
of Decker and his companions was
carried to Fort Pitt-now Pittsburgh
and captain John Gibson with thirty
men set out to intercept the Indians
They failed in this but on their re-
turn at a place near where Steuben-
vile in Ohio now is, they came upon
a party of Indians headed by the
Mingo chief named ''Little Eagle. y
A bullet fired by this chief passed
through the hunting shirt of Captain
Gibson, whereupon the brave Cap
tain sprang forward and swinging his
sword with herculean force severed
the head of Little Eagle from his
body. The Indians fed in dismay
and reported to their people that
the head of their chief had
been cut off with a big knife
From hence Captain Gibson became
famous as the big Knife Warrior y
and Virginians became known among
the Northwestern Indians as the
big Knife Nation"
Thomas Decker's settlement was
destroyed in the year 1855.
THE MoRGANs.
Nine years later the indomitable
Morgans came and settled at the
mouth of Deckers creek. The chron-
icles of Border Warfare say that
this year olga the place which
had been occupied for awhile by
Thomas Decker and his unfortunate
associates, and where Morgantown
now is situated, was settled by q
party of emigrants, one of whom was
David Morgan, who became SO con.
spicuous for personal prowess and
for daring yet deliberate courage
displayed by him during the subse
quent troubles with the. Indians y
David Morgan, however, is said tc
have left his brother, blackwell Nor
gan, in possession of the land where
Morgantown now stands while he
assembled the Monongahela river, and
and made settlement opposite the
mouth of Pricketts creek, in what Is
now Marion county. He reared
three sons, to w.t. Stephen, Evans
and blackwell. The Hon. BENJAMIN
S. Morgan, the present State Super
intendent of Free Schools in West
Virginia, is great-grand son of the
one last named. blackwell Morgan
(brother Of David) had some seven
sons: Levi, Ralph, David, Uriah
Morgan, known as "Mad") James
and blackwell. Miss Druzilla Nor
gan, a grand daughter of blackwell, is
still living in Morgantown, and is q
sprightly old maid about sixty years
of age. Her father, blackwell Nor
gan, jr., was captain in the war Of
1872. A relative of David an6
blackwell Morgan named William
Morgan settled at the Dunkard Bot
tom, where the unfortunate Ecker
leys met their doom, in what is now
Preston county, about the same time
David and blackwell settled here
They are all relatives of General
Daniel Morgan, of Revolutionary
fame.
MURDER OF BALD EAGLE.
AT the time these settlements
were commenced there was peace
between the whites and the Indians
Among the causes leading to the
war of IVA was the cruel and un.
provoked murder of Bald Eagle
Border Warfare states that "Bald
Eagle was an Indian of notoriety
not only among his own nation but
among the inhabitants of the North
western frontier, with whom he was
in the habit of associating. In one
of his visits among them he was dis.
covered alone by Jacob Scott, VIM
Hacker and Elijah Runner, who
reckless of the consequences, muir
dered him, wholly to crafty most
wanton thirst for Indian blood.
After the commission of this most
outrageous enormity they seated him
in the stern of his canoe, and with a
piece of johnny cake thrust into his
mouth set him afiOat ON the Monon-
gahela. In this situation he was
seen descending the river by several
who supposed him to be, as usual,
returning from friendly hunt with
the whites in the upper settlements
and who expressed some astonish-
ment that he did not stop to sec
them. The canoe floating near to
the shore, below the mouth of Geor-
ge's creek, was observed by Mrs
Province, who had it brought to the
bank, and the friendly, but unfor-
tunate old Indian decently buried"
Tradition says that the wigwam
of Bald Eagle was on the waters OF
Cheat river not far from it's mouth
and that he was a frequent and well
come visitor at Kern's Fort, then
standing on Decker's creek just OPP
posite the ground now occupied by
Morgantown. This murder was com
mitted on the Monongahela river
somewhere between the mouth OF
Cheat river and Kern's Fort, and il
is reasonable supposition that the
old Indian was on his way to or from
this fort when he met his cruel and
undeserved fate. Scott, one of his
murderers, settled on the run bearing
his name, which puts into the Mon
ongahela at Jimtown, about three
miles below Morgahtown where some
of his descendants still reside. Hacker
went further up the river and settled
on the stream called Hackers creek
and became noted for bravery as
well as unscrupulousness in Indian
warfare. 1t is related that he with
four others from Hackers creek set
Element, went, against the remon-
STRANGE of the settlement, to an In
dian town called Bulltown on the
Little Kanawha, where five families
of friendly Indians lived, whom they
destroyed-men, women and chill
dren, and threw their bodies into the
river. Who Runner was, or what
BECAME of him is not known to the
writer. 1t was no doubt in the
miuda af many of tho SayaUas whau