Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-02-22
I never heard any noise

resembling 1t before
After a days journey on foot the .expIor,
ing party returned to the canoe, which had
been sent down the river to wait them,
probably about the present site of Hart
salt is manufactured. and where there are
q. number of iron, rolling and nail mills:
The following morning, October Slst, the
oarsman in charge of the canoe was sent
to the mouth OF the Great Kanawha, and
Washington and party set out again on a
hunting expedition and O. to view me a lang eor
eight or nine miles, and bore southwardly
till we came to our camp at the confluence
of the rivers. The land from the river APP
peared but indifferent and broken; whether
these ridges may not be those lnat divide
the waters of the Ohio from the Kanawha
Is not certain, but believe they are. II 80,
they may yet be good. If not. that which
lies below the river bottoms is worth but
little
Indians and whites was fought at this
point three years after Wasnlngtohs
visit above recorded. Those engaged in
the conflict were the northern confederacy
of Indians consisting OF the ShaWnees,
Delaware, Mingo, Wyandotte and Cayuga
nations under the leadership OF the chefs
Of the various tribes, and Cornsualk, the
Sachem of the Shawnees and KIM OF the
oonfederaey, and two regiments OF whites
killed IN the first onset, Col. Fleming, VINO
was wounded, and Col. Field. the battie
having resulted in favor of the whites, the
indians fed 10 their homes across the
Ohio. Constalk, who had from the begin
ming opposed war, returned to the fort,
known then as Fort Randolph put atder7
there he concluded a treaty of peace when
ended the war OF fff4.
Tais Celebrated Chief
afterwards became a great friend to the
whites, but while on a visit in i1fi 10 warn
them of an intended outbreak of the IN
dams in which ali the tribes except MS
own would engage, he and his son Eiiinlp-
sico and a calef named Red Eagle, were
- nr4f 81 a~A tho 1TI~lA ? a
white man near the fort and without CIV
Ing them an opportunity 20 prove their m
nocence.or defend themselves in any way;
en- infuriated mob under the leadership o.
q man named Hall, surrounded the oulu-
ing where they were pleasantly, convers-
ing with Capt. Arbuchle, who had COM
mand of The militia at that point, ana
Notwithstanding his efforts 10 protect them,
they were killed, REQ Eagle beng nteraily
torn to pieces. An imposing Honunngst
was erected to the memory OF CornstaiK,
and unveiled in the court house yaru N
Point Pleasant on the l25th anniversary
of his death.
According TO the Ohio Navigator, in the
years 1Sl9-10, Point Pleasant contained
about IS or 20 families, a log court mouse,
a log Jail, and as usual, 9 pilioFy anu
whipping post" AT that time the town
seemed rather on a stand in point OF I'M
provement, arising. IL is .salq, from tAe
difficulty of establishing land utles, II
was, however, a considerable place OF en-
barkation for those descending the On-o
from the back and western parts OF NH-
ginia.'' Wil.am DangtW is said to ave
been the only merchant in Point fIeaSdHl
at that time. This c-ty, which IS the 1u-
dicial seat of Mason county, contains az
tbs. present time a populati9n OF soo sni
miles above Cincinnati and 81 miles peIow
Charleston, the capital OF West Virginia.
Both the Kanawha and ONO rivers are
spanned at this, point with handsome steel
bridges. Lock No. II, the. last OF a series
of government locks and dams on the ka.
naWha, is located here. henderson, on ne
opposite bank of this river, has ABOUT 0O
inhabitants. There IS also a town on me
Ohio side, opposite Point P!eas3ht, oy env
same name. Referring again TO the diary
we find that before 8 oclock on NoVSHl,
Der 1st, Washington ana party enlparheu
in their canoe, leaving the ONO ana eiFeS1+
Ing their course up the waters OF the Gceat
kanawha. In describing the country, me
diary says: THE land on both sidsS OIL the
river Is very fine; but on the east Sue Waeh
to be about SIX or seven hundred yaroS
from che river, il appears to pc wei ana
This bottom continues up the side Tor
about TWO miles, ard by gong up the RIVER
q good tract night be got OF Sood laho
including the old Shawnee town, WA.ch -
about three miles up the OHIO, just ABOVE
the mouth Of a creek. We judged we went
about ten miles up the kanawna to-udy;
On the east side appears to be SOM Soou
bottoms, but small, neither long nor VICE,
and the hills back of them rather steep
and poor
The creek ABOVE referred to WIS after
Gsn.Lewis campaign esGinst the indians
III battle " Point. Pleasant
= November ID found Washington proceed
ing up the river with me canoe, aoous
four or five miles further, Wnere tne
diary says they, "enc2mpea ana went d
hunting; killed five buffaloes and WOUNDED
some others, three deer, etc. ms country
abounds in buffalo and wild game OF al
kinds, as also in all kinds OF FOWL therg
being on the bottoms a great many. s!ldlt
grassy PONDS or lakes, which are tua OF
swans, geese and ducks OF different xmas;
Several of W~ashingtons party went up
Kanawha four or tive miles higher and
hunted, probably over the site OF the pres
ent town of Bunalo, which place is situated
in the northern part of Putnam county, zen
miles northeast from Windeld, the county
seat. II is sald 10 contain about 60 pop
ulation.
The last buffalo known to have been
killed in this yegion of the country was
during the year 1915, 40 years after WASH
ington's visit. The last elk was killed in
$50. From 1888 to 1873, Daniel Boone lved
in a cabin on the south bank of the Kama
wha, near the mouth of Campoell S Creek,
six miles above Charleston, where salt
hicks are said to have aooundea ana MnHefe
buIfalo. elk and deer were plentiful. Ellsna
Brooks. an old pioneer, Was the nrst man
there to manufacture salt in 1879.
The Indians informed Washington that
the same kind of country On the west side
continued without any enange 10 tle fais,
80 or 60 miles higher the bottoms next
to the water in most of the places Is de-
scribed as being very rich, but the land
next 10 the hills as poor. being covered
with a thin white oak land" The hills
were from a half to a mile from the river
and were steep in parts with pine growing
on them "Mhetner they are generally 50
or not" says Washington, L cannot tell,
but am of opinion they are. November
9th the voyagers set oil down the river on
their return homeward, and again encamp-
ed az the mouth OF the kanawha. Wner-
ever Washington found land OF value ne
marked it for a future surveyor, PROBABLY
Captain Crawford, who is known 10 ave
returned on an expedition OF this KIND. In
fact there is a letter still IN existence
from him 10 Washington N 1ii4 in when
he wrote, saying he mad built the cabin he
had promised, on his (WashlnStons lana
near the mouth of the Little Hocking.
Particular mention is mace OF Washing
ton having marked TWO naples, an elm
and a ~noopwood tree at the beginning of
the bottom above the Junction of the two
rivers. The following day, November 4tni
he resumed his voyage. After passing
about a mile of hills on the east side, ne
speaks of "a pretty good bottom on which
there was a sycamore tree about 50 yards
from the river, of d most extraordinary
size. il measuring 80 feet from The ground.
45 feet round lacking two inches, and not
30 yards was another 81 feet round. Con-
tinuing the journey, he says they passed
another mile of nils after winch they
again entered a bottom Whlch reached TO
within a half mile of the rapid at the point
OF the Great Bend.
On November 5tn, he sent the canoe with
the baggage 10 some point up the river,
probably 10 the Great Bend above referred
to. to await him. and walked across the
neck on foot with Capt. Crawford, a dis