Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1888-01-26

| fered premiums for scalps varying from the
silver locks of the six months old child to the
silver grey of the aged grand sire, and last
but not least, of the evils, Mr.. Simon o.
Girty.
In closing this discourse. will say that
the closing sciences of the life of this noted
renegade, the time of his death and where,
seems to be as much matter of conjecture
\ as the treatment of disease by the medical
| fraternity to-day. Some accounts say that
he died in Maldin, Canada, in 1915, others
that he was cut to pieces at the battle of the
| Thames. by Col. Johnson's mounted men,
others that he was drowned in crossing the
Detroit river at the evacuation in 1913, in
| trying to swim his horses across, while a
writer in the American Magazine in 1920
went on at great length to say that he took it
in his head in his old age TO revisit the
scenes Of his early atrocities; that he selected
a companion to accompany him, that in
passing through the mountains in Western
Virginia he stopped one day at n log raising
and that he was recognized by one of the
settlers who witnessed the outrage of his
mother when boy, by this same monster.
The account goes on to say that the settlers
consulted together and resolved to give him
a dose of his own medicine, that large fire
was built and the old miscrean was burnt
alive. This was thought at the time to be
the reason so much obscurity rests over the
time and manner of his death.
| In personal appearance he was anything
but prepossessing. Oliver Spencer who saw
him at Defiance in 1892 in speaking of him
says, his shaggy hair, his low forehead, his
brows contracted and meeting above his
short fiat nose, his grey sunken and cross
eyes, his lips thin and compressed. seemed
to him to be the very picture of villain.
Col. Johnson, who was long an Indian
agent at Piqua, Ohio, who was intimately
acquainted with him, said Simon Girty was
man of the most indomitable courage; in a
quarrel with an Indian Chief of great cour-
age and prowess, the latter called him
squaw (the greatest insult that can be offered
an Indian Girty deliberately walked into
the traders store picked up keg of powder
with one hand, fire brand with the other,
! inviting the Chief to take seat on a log op
posite him. The Chief beat hasty retreat;
and it was believed by those who knew him
best that he would have kept his word and
blowed them both to kingdom come.
His reputation with the whisky men and
traders was that of an honest man, and it
is said that he once sold his horse rather
than incur the odium of violating his prom
Use. Thus showing that he possessed those
qualities which in our day would eminently
qualify him to act as Congressman, men,
Der of the Penitentiary, the Legislature or
Military Chieftain
1t was commonly believed by the early
| SOtIiSAo bhelU hACh WIZ lldu Dt6h SlCdb CIl
nails were debaerd from that haven of heav-
enly rest that their souls were condemned
to wander like the wandering Jew until they
had expiated or atoned for their crimes, and
it was believed by many, and is still by some
that the ghost of Simon Girty still ranges
over this island at certain times of the moon,
emitting sulphuric smells as he rises from
the realms of his satanic majesty, uttering
shrieks and yells sufficient, if they were
here, to drive all the wild beasts and Indians
out of the woods. (The eloquence of the
speaker, together with inspection too numer-
Gus to mention, had wrought the audience
up to that state of mind, or more properly
speaking called frenzy, that nothing would
be too improbable for belief. The speaker
resumed with more than his usual vltupera-
tion.)
We will now proceed to close this sermon,
or lecture, or whatever you call it, by saying
that we stand before you tonight as the rep
resensative of that free born, free thinking
American citizen. We, like the progressive
Chinamau, have thought ourselves out of
the delusions of the joss house, we have cut
off our queue, we have doffed our superfuous
garments and donned the garments of the
free thinking, free white man. The tradi-
tional stories of Girty's ghost and other hob
goblins have all been disapproved by the facts
of science and sound philosophy.
At this juncture there came sound from
the trees overhead that in our excited state
seemed to chill thevery marrow in our bones.
Casting our eyes in the direction of the speak
er, he seemed to be tfansfxed to the spot
his knees smote together, like Belshazzar's at
his impous feast, and the joints in his har-
ness seemed about to be loosed. Passing the
speaker up a mouthful we tried to think what
the sound was like. To the best of our recol-
, lection it seemed like this: "Whoo, whoo
!, whoo are you. Some one suggested that the
, speaker tell the ghost who we we're and ask
him who he was, for we all supposed it was
Girty's ghost. The speaker, in somewhat
modulated tone, stated that we were gentle
men fromNapoleon, that we came up for a
little amusement, that we had in our weak
feeble way tried to show honor to Mr.. Girty
that if Mr.. Girty was mad we would leave as
soon as we could remove our stores. Tell us
who are you. This seemed to arouse the anger
, of the speaker in answering our question by
asking another. We are gentlemen from Ma
, poleon, told you before, who the h - are
you? In few seconds the question was re-
peated and was answered in hooking tone
from up the river and down the river, while
some of the sounds seemed to come from a
. long distance. This was too much for fest
. and blood to stand, and as the speaker quick
ly descended from his stump he said stand uL
like men, boys, letuS take few more mouths
full and die like men if necessary. After a
whispered consultation the speaker ordered
the roll called and two members were found
to be missing. What they said when they re-
turned, and what great things grew out OF
this meeting, we shall reserve for future