The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1947-09-04
Louisa And The Chief

'You best should stop here and re-
turn to Marietta" Louisa st. Clair
told the lone guardsman who had ac-
companied her on the wild all-night
gallop into the Indian country. eve
now are in the land of the Mohawks
and l will ride on alone into their
camp. | think / shall be safe, but for
you--if you were taken by the
Indians it would be certain death, 4"
the girl said in dismissing him.
Reluctantly the ranger turned back
towards Marietta and Louisa rode on
alone into the country of the hostile
Mohawks-now Mahoning County.
Before her winded horse had covered
two miles she was captured by the
Indians and taken on to Duncans
Falls where the chief town and
council house of the tribe was located.
Louisa was not distressed by that be-
cause it was just where she was 60
ing anyway.
1t was the winter of 1890 and that
year Louisa, daughter of Arthur St.
Clair, first governor of the Ohio
country, was 10. With her brother,
Arthur Jr., 81, and two younger
sisters, she had come with her father
to the then Ohio capital Immediately
after his appointment the same year
Louisa was pretty, and more, she
was vivacious, athletic, full of life and
had a figure rivaling that of Diana
the Huntress. Healthy, fond of frolic
and ready to draw amusement from
everything and anything, Louisa was
an excellent horsewoman, an expert
skater, born huntress and a dead
shot with the rifle" a Washington
County historian related.
She liked to roam the woods and
often went alone into the forest I'M
mindful of the savages who sulked
among the trees. She would mount
the widest horse and with only a
blanket for a saddle, keep her seat
with surprising skill much to the
astonishment and admiration of
friendly Indians who might be visit
ing the white settlement.
Once, visiting in Philadelphia,
Louisa had been introduced to a
young Indian chief, Joseph (Little
Chief Brant, whom his father, Big
Chief Joseph Brant had sent there
for partial education.
The Little Chief, after he had alb
sorbed a bit of the white mems
learning, was to be taken to his tribe
where he might succeed his father
in the leadership of the tribe and per-
haps eventually advance to command
of the whole, newly-formed Fedora
tion of Western Tribes. St. Clair's
daughter never forgot the look of
open admiration in the flashing black
eyes of the slim young brave-per-
haps often wandering if the young
savage too, remembered the meeting.
For a week before Louisa's night
long gallop into the territory of the
warlike Mohawks, Indians from all
parts had been gathering at Marietta
in response to Governor st. Clair's
invitation to come in and try, with
the whites, to make a satisfactory
treaty of peace.
Chiefs of every tribe were there
and busily were arguing in the white
mems council house-that is, all ex-
cept the Mohawks, most warlike of
all, whose chief, scorning the whites
request, had remained away. With
out the Mohawks peace treaty
would mean little or nothing.
Goes to Meet Mohawks
With their chief, Joseph Brant, the
tribe was camped at Duncan's Falls
high in the Indian country, the gov
ernor was told. Some way that in.
formation found its way to Louisa
and early that night the girl, attend
ed by lone ranger and unknown to
any other in the settlement. started
on her wild ride through the forest
Whether the chief was Big Joe OF
Little Joe, the girl probably was un'
Il