The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1906-07-24

onel Crawford as a man of honor and
integrity, we must say that 1t was
lot his intention at all to murder
the Moravian Indians at Sandusky.
The object in view with him was the
punishment of the Wyandotte Indians
who were ravaging and numbering
the settlers along the border; and had
there been any effort on the part of
his troops to destroy the Moravlan
Indians he would have prevented II
If possible, as he was a man of great
worth and good. moral character and
Of any kind. Rev. Joseph Doddridge
in his notes says of Colonel William
son that If he would have had his
own way in the Moravian campaign
the lives of the Christian Indians
would have been spared but he was
destitute of sufficient sternness of
character, and was persuaded TO let
the bloodthirsty borderers have their
own way, without making any effort
whatever for the prevention of their
destruction. He was a good mill
tary man and capable leader of
troops in action; but did not possess
the necessary courage to control his
men when they wished to go beyond
what belonged to civilized warfare
We must not omit mentioning a le-
gend that at one time was quite ex-
tensively known along the Tusca-
rawas valley, but for near a century
and thus has been almost forgotten.
In fact, many of the present day in
habitants of the valley have no knowl-
edge whatever of the existence of the
once fine spring that supplied the
primitive town of Shoenbrun with
water of the best quality, as the
spring has for more than a century
past been lost to view and what little
water oozes out of the ground is bit
ter and unfit for use.
Shortly after the slaughter of the
Moravian Indians it was commonly
reported that the valley was haunt
ed; that the troop of murdered IN
dians could be seen dressed in their
skeleton garbs marching up and down
the valley led by one Ann Charity
who lived nomadic life wandering
from place to place, and being gifted
with a mysterious mental power, her
religion was half healthier, half Chris
tian. "She claimed to be able to call
UP the dead and when the massacre
took place she resolved to try her
power, and revenge her friends and
kindred She came down from the
Wabash-no one knew her and was
the first to apprise the western In
dians of Crawford's army crossing
the valley. When all was over, she
became again a pious Christian on
White river, Indiana, and was Lnere
burned as a witch, about the yeal
1906 by order of Tecumseh, the pro-
phet."
"Crawford's army reached the Tus-
carawas about the 26th of May, and
camped at the ruins of Shoenbrun,
without having seen an Indian war
rior, so desolate had the accurseu
valley become. In the night two war
riors were seen by the officers who
were passing on their grand round
duty around the camp, and who fired,
but the warriors disappeared unhurt.
The firing alarmed the camp, and
Crawford's men rushed out pell nell
in Oanip nc If surrounded hv oil tho
Indian hosts, who had come to ap-
pease the wrath of the Great Spirit
yelling up and down the haunted val
ley. There were. however. no Indians
about, yet the historian says that even
Crawford when he saw his troopers
panic stricken that night forsaw his
coming death, and as he lay there
amid the ruins of Shoenbrun, his i'm
agination conjured UP the skeletons of
the victims of Williamson's men filing
along the trail on the banks of the
Tuscarawas, and led by one Ann Char
ity. Their skulls were mashed in
and the bones of some were charred
to crisp. They were singing the In
dian song of sorrow, and calling on
not our God-but their Manitoo or
Great Spirit to avenge their death.
AN ANXIOUS NIGHT.
Williamson being second in COM
mand, rested in the same tent with
Crawford, and shuddered as the latter
told what he had seen, then peerlng
out in the darkness he listened, but
in vain, for the sound of the Gnomes.
They had gone on up the trail toward
Sandusky. AS soon as daylight ap-
peared the two commanders ordered
the four hundred troopers into their
saddles, and galloped west out of the
valley, crossing the Tuscarawas be-
tween Stone creek and Sugar creek;
from thence they plunged into the
wilderness toward Sandusky, but on
a trail to the left of the one Ann and
her skeletons had taken" 1t was now