The National tribune., 1902-02-27

and his head upon his hands, buried in
profound reflection. when an Indian. who
had taken some offense, stole up behind
him and buried his tomahawt in his
brains. Another writer says that Logan
was killed by an Indian during n quarrel
in self-defense. Thus perished Logan, the
last of his race, and one who will live
upon the pages of history as long as time
| shall last.
OF the unfortunate expedition of Col.
Crawford against the Indians. in order to
be brief, and yet to furnish the reader with
some of the exciting causes which led to
the war, we must go back q little, prior
to the event itself. and learn, if possible.
what was in reality the leading motive
which influenced the troops who composed
the expedition.
1t was during that stormy period when
our country was passing through the cru
chile of war with Great Britain that the
English, wherever it was possible, had
stirred the Indians to activity against the
frontier settlements along western Penn
sylvania and Virginia, and quite num-
Der of settlers and their families had been
cruelty slaughtered as a result. These
depredations had been carried on to such
an extent that the settlers determined to
retaliate with a vengeance.
Situated about midway between the hos
tile Indian towns and the frontier settle
numbering 300 inhabitants or more, who
had been converted to Christianity under
the preaching of the Moravian mission
aries. They We're originally from the Sus-
quchanna, in Pennsylvania, and had
moved TO Tuscarawas River in. 1872, un-
der the missionaries Xiesberger and Heck
ewelder, who built two villages on the
eastern bank of that river, on land set
apart for them by the Delawarcs-S -Shoen-
brun treaty three miles southeast of the
present New Philadelphia, and Gnaden-
hutten road, about seven miles lower down
the river. Some time after this they built
Salem, on the west bank of the Tuscara-
was.
Situated as they were, it served to con
firm the belief among the settlers that
these Indians secretly helped their enemies
by harbOring them and otherwise assisting
in their murderous fOrays. Acting under
this belief they determined to destroy the
MOravian towns aad thus remove what
they supposed one of the great factors in
the present disturbance.
The Indians had, during the continuance
Of the French war, nObly WithStOOd every
allurement which was practiced to draw
them within its vortex, ari expressed
their strong disapprobatiOu of war in gen
TO that Great Being who made men to
destroy one another, but their duty was
to love and assist each other"
Early in the month of March, 1872,
about 100 men assembled themselves for
the purpose of effecting the destruction of
the Moravian towns. They were placed
under command of Col. David William
son. who avowed their object to be the
destruction of the houses and the laying
waste the crops, in order to deprive the
hostile savages of the advantages of OBJ
tanning shelter and provisions so near the
frontier, and the removal Of the Mora
vians 20 Fort Pitt, to preserve them from
the personal injury which, it was feared,
would be inflicted upon them.
They took up the line of march from
the Mingo town, and on the morning of
March 6 they reached the town of Gnad-
enhutten.
Arrived among the Indians, they offered
no violence, but. on the contrary, pro-
Tossing peace and good will, assured them
they had come for the purpose of escorting
them safely to Fort Pitt, that they might
no longer be exposed TO molestation from
the militia of the whites or the warriors
Of the savages, many of whom believed
them to he acting in behalf of the whites,
and consequently merited their displeasure.
With these fair promises the Indians
were induced to lay down their arms, and
making preparations for the
A party was dispatched to Sa
lem to bring in those who were there |
They then shut up the Moravians in two |
houses some distance apart, and had them
well guarded.
A council of war was then held to de- |
termine on the fate of the prisoners. At |
ter taking vote, only IS out of the en-
tire number 200 or mOre) were in favor |
IF sparing their lives; the rest were unan-
mOus in their desire to have them muir
lered at once. We pass over the horrible |
scene, wherein 96 human beings, ma
iOrity of them being women and children, |
were most barbarously and inhumanly |
butchered by those who should have been
heir protectors. Only two Indian boys |
one of them having been knockesi |
lown and scalped, but afterward revived |
md escaped under cover of darkness. The |
Dther succeeded in crawling through hole |
n the floor Of the building and out be-
leath. and so escaped the fate of the rest |
After committing this barbarous act, |
Williamson and his men set fire to the
houses containing the dead, and marched |
IF for Shoenbrun, the upper Indian town.
But here the news of their atrocious deeds
lad preceded them, and the inhabitants
lad all fed.
After this the balance of the MOravian
Indians living along the Tuscarawas re-
moved to the plains of Sandusky in the
immediate vicinity of the Wyandotte vii
ages at that place; the warriors from
hese towns were known to be particularly
lctive and untiring in their hostility to
he frontier settlements of Pennsylvania,
Crawf0rd's campaign, in one point of
'iew at least, is to be considered as a sec
md Moravian campaign. as one of its OBJ
ects was that of finishing the work of
murder and plunder of the Christian In
lians at their new establishment on the
The next object was that of
destroying the Wyandotte towns on the
ame river. 1t was the resolution of all
hose concerned in this expedition not to
all in their hands. whether friends or
Oes. 1t will be seen that the result of
his campaign was widely different from
hat of the Moravian campaign the pre-
eding March. 1t did seem that the long
continuance of the Indian war had de-
'ased Il considerable portion of our pOpu-
alton to the savage state. and they be
ame subjects of that indiscrminating
hirst for revenge, and having Il taste of
Hood and plunder, without risk or loss on
heir part, they resolved to go on and kill
very Indian they could find, whether
riend or foe.
Preparations for this campaign COM
nenced sOOE after the return of the Mora
ian campaign in the month of March
IN the 25th of May, 1852, 4S0 men mus
cred at the old Mingo town just below
Here an election was held
or the Office of COMMUNICATIVE chief for the
XpeditiOn. The candidates were Col vii
amson and Col Crawford; the latter was
he successful candidate.
The army marched along "Williamson's
rail- until they arrived at Shoenbrun, the