Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-06-03
NOT MUCH OF A HERO.
EXAMINING THE RECORD OF TOM
QUICK, INDIAN SLAYER.

IL Is supposed to be a poor tombstone
tnat cannot sing praises. In a thousand
graveyards the prevailing sentiment is,
Here lies good man" Some years ago
the people of this place erected a monn-
ment which they inscribed to TON Quick.
the Indian Slayer, or the Avenger of the
delaware" After considerable speech
making and celebrating they unveiled the
stone, upon which was inscribed the fol-
lowing touching tribute to the life and
character of the great Delaware valley
pioneer: tom Quick was the first white
enid born within the present borough of
Milford"
As he has long been known in history as
righteous avenger in1amed with Just
wrath against his enemies, the silence of
the marble upon those virtues which near
~ all dead men are said to have possessed
Is astonishing. Why the worthy gentle
men who had the matter in hand failed to
mention any of those qualities or deeds by
winch Tom Quick made fame, but simply
mentioned fact for which he apparently
was quite Irresponsible is possibly an un-
intentional rebuke to those who have de-
lighted to honor those qualities of pitiless
cruelty which rendered him famous.
Historians are as a rule unsentimental
The aesthetic people, the lovers of the
beautiful, the poetic dreamers, have al
ways claimed that Quick during his life
Ilme Killed 100 Indians. The local histori-
ans stoutly assert that he only killed ff
teen at the most. But certainly there
must be some glory in fifteen Indians. and
when the manner in which the historians
say Quick killed his Indians is taken into
consideration, it is not surprising that
QUICK occupies unique place in history.
he was born in Milford, where his parents
had settled in 1773.
His father built mills and owned other
valuable real estate in the town. but Tom
loved the woods and the mountains and
chose rather to spend his time wandering
with red companions than staying in or
near the settlements. He became a verita-
bic Indian in his habits. Until the French
and Indian war he lived in perfect amity
with the savages, sharing their amuse-
ments and pursuits During this war,
however, some savages shot Toms father
from ambush. His friendship turned i'm
mediately to the deadlest hatred, and he
swore that he would kill every redskin
that crossed his path; he would hunt them
as long as one of them remained east of the
Alleghanies The first Indian to be killed
by Quick was named Muskwink After
the French and Indian war this Indian re-
turned to the Valley of the Neversink
One day Quick went to tavern near the
junction of the Neversink and Delaware
rivers There he met Muskwnk, who
was, as usual, intoxicated. The Indian
approached Tom and told him with great
glee that he was of the party that Killed
Quick's father. He said he had scalped
the old man with his own hand. He de
scribed laughingly the dying agonies of
Quick's father and mimicked his cries and
groans. Tom was immediately worked up
to the convulsive fury of an enraged pan
ther He snatched an old musfet from
the wall, and pointing it at Muskwink's
breast drove him out of the house in adj
vance of himself. After proceeding with
his prisoner about mile from the tavern
he shot him in the back, dragged the body
into the bushes and left it.
At another time Tom and two other
white men went into ambush in a thicket
which overlooked some rocks where Indians
often fished. Three Indians came to the
rocks and We're attacked by the white men
| One was killed by blow on the head with
| club. Another was shot through the
head and through the hand, while the
| third jumped into the river to save his life.
On one occasion Quick and a number of
other white hunters sought shelter for the
| night in the log cabin of a man named
| Showers. An Indian arrived later and
asked permission to stay all night. Show
ers agreed and the Indian, rolling himself
in his blanket, lay down among the white
| hunters. In the middle of the night there
was an explosion. When the hunters
| hastily struck a light they discovered
| Quick with smoking rifle in his hand
! standing over the body CT the Indian, who
| had been shot dead in his sleep
! Another tale told of him smacks some
| what of the impossible, and yet should be
| recognized as Il unique method of fighting
| Indians. 1t seems that the tribes used to
send small parties of their young warriors
to kill this implacable hater of their race
| A party of these Indians once met Quick in
the woods. He was splitting long log.
| They announced to him their intention of
killing him. He parleyed with them for
some time. Finally he seemed to agree to
| their plan, but requested that he be al
lowed, as his last act on earth, to split that
| log. They agreed for certain reasons only
| known to themselves He drove a wedge
| in the end and then he begged as another
| favor, that they assist him in splitting the
| log. Again they innocently and guilelessly
agreed.
Arranging themselves in n long line
| down the side of the log, the imbecile red
| skins placed their fingers in the crack
held open by the wedge and began to
heave. Tom then calmly knocked out
the wedge, the log closed up and their fin
| gers were all caught tight and fast. They
of course danced about like so many kit
tens whose claws were caught in balls of
yarn. Tom enjoyed their peculiar gyra-
lions and listened to their passionate COM
ments for awhile and then proceeded to
cut them up in small pieces with his ak.
| 1t is notable fact that no one in the
history of the country has ever discovered
that kind of an Indian except Tom Quick
in this alleged adventure. Quick finally
died from old age in his bed quietly
| Milford Pa.) Cor. New York Tribune