The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1956-05-03
At Old Salt Springs

Even before the survey OF the east
ern part of the Western Reserve in
1916, white people from Connecticut
had come to "the old salt works" in
later Wethersfield Township, near
the Mahoning, to get salt. They had
known about the place since 1855, it
was related.
The salt spring tract was only a
couple of acres of cleared ground
with a plank vat 16 by 18 feet set
in the ground and filled with water
for boiling the salt. The water was
too weak and the salt consequently
scarce and before 1900 the spot had
been abandoned by the white men
and the Indian settlement established
there. The Indians were friendly to
the whites but occasional depredations
by young unruly members of the
tribe marred the relations between
the two.
In 1900 only the log cabins of
Joseph Mcmahon and Richard Story
stood near the Indian camp at Salt
Springs. Only 16 families lived in the
Western Reserve area around Warren.
Warren itself had only two cabins
that of William Fenton, built in 1898,
and the three-room hut of Ephriam
Quinby, put up in 1899. Quinby used
his cabin as a residence, tavern and
one room for a jail-with only one
prisoner ever having been in it.,
Perger Shehigh, for threatening the
life of John Young, of Youngstown.
On a September Friday in 1900
when Mcmahon and Story were
working in the woods near Warren
some of the Indians came down the
creek in a drunken orgy and abused
McMahon's family, terrorizing his
wife and tomahawking one of his
children. They threatened to kill the
whole family. The mortified woman
was unable to get word to her hus-
band in the woods until nearly noon
next day.
Mcmahon and Story at first started
for the Indian camp to kill the whole
tribe but on reflection went instead
to Warren and told the settlers
there about the outbreak. Quinby was
a mild, judicious man and from con-
stantly dealing with them, knew the
savages well.
Quinby hurriedly mustered every
man capable of bearing arms in the
neighborhood and on Sunday morning,
under command of John Lane, they
started for the Indian camp-14 men
and two boys.
Nearing the Indian camp, the group
stopped and Quinby went to it alone
to ascertain the savages' attitude. If
he did not come back in a half hour
the others were to go on and attack.
He did not return and the group
marched directly to the Indian camp,
Mcmahon first and Story next to him.
There they saw Quinby talking to
the Indian chief, Captain George. He
had said that if the white people
wanted war the Indians were ready
for them. The chief snatched his
tomahawk, sticking in a tree, and
going to Mcmahon said "If you kill
me / will lie here-if / kill you, you
you will lie there" then ordered the
squaws and papooses to seek shelter
and the warriors to "prime and tree"
He raised the tomahawk and Nc
Mahon sprang back, raised his al
ready cooked gun and Captain George
dropped dead. Story then shot Spotted
John, another ugly savage who was
placing his wife and children behind
trees. The same ball went through
his squaw's neck and through the
shoulders of his girl, about thirteen
Spotted John too, was dead.
The Indians then fled, the squaws
and children screaming and screeching
like mad and the white men in close
pursuit firing as they ran but hitting
nobody. The whites then gave up the
chase, buried the dead Indians and
went back to Warren for consultation
and safety.
There for several days the whole
population of the Warren neighbor-
hood and most of the men from
Youngstown remained garrisoned in
Quinby's house awaiting the Indian
onslaught. 1t did not come but half
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