Indian Will was a well-known Native American who lived in a former settlement of the Shawnee Indians at the site of present-day Cumberland, Maryland  in the 18th century. This site was abandoned by the Shawnees prior to the first white settlers arriving in the region, however 'Indian Will' stayed behind living in a hut on the mountain side. Will was a local legend in his time, and he is even credited with the original ownership of the present day Wills Creek and Wills Mountain. According to William Harrison Lowdermilk, Will was a full-blooded Indian, who with family and a few followers remained in the land of their forefathers; despite the approach of the white man, they did not remove their wigwams , but received their strange visitors with a kindly greeting , and lived in intimate friendship with them. Governor  Bladen of Maryland persuaded Col. Thomas Cresap to survey the land in that area named 'Will's Town'. Apparently  Will's claims to ownership of this land were respected. When the early explorers decided to build a cabin here , they never failed to give the Indian some trifle as a pretended compensation for the land. As more cabins were built, the place customarily became known as 'Will's Creek' as early as 1728. However, on a map drawn in 1751, Will's Creek is marked as 'Caructucue Creek' , and was known by no other name amongst the Indians. Over the years  the original name for this stream, which originates in Bedford County, has been lost. The creek and  mountain, which begins at Cumberland and ends a few miles north west of Bedford, have been known as Wills Creek and Wills Mountain. There seems to be some variation in the date of Will's death. Lowdermilk's History states  "the date of death is not definitely known, but that event is supposed to have occurred about the close of the Revolutionary War or shortly thereafter ". In the Bedford County History, it is stated that sometime around 1758 a group of Indians made a raid in the section north east of Wills Creek in an area which is now known as Southampton Township in Bedford County. A number of settlers were massacred and a number of women and children taken prisoner. Apparently one member of this raiding party was Will. The Indians with their prisoners stopped for a short time at the southern tip of Wills Mountain to rest and to hold council. A posse of neighbors and relatives took up the pursuit hoping they might rescue the prisoners. When the Indians and prisoners were discovered, the posse did not attack  as they found  the Indians outnumbered them. Therefore, they played a waiting game to see what the Indians intended to do. When the Indians broke council, they started westward. One Indian did not go with them. Several members of the posse followed the main party of Indians and their prisoners. George Powell, who was one of the posse, vowed he would avenge the death of his neighbor Mrs. Perrin and her baby. (Mrs. Perrin, history states, was a sister of Ray who had the first trading post at Bedford). Powell silently followed the footsteps of the Indian along the crest of the mountain. He finally located his quarry on the highest northern part of the mountain. This point was less than two miles (3 km) west of Fort Bedford. Powell shot and killed the Indian. He discovered he had killed the man known as Will. He buried his body on the mountain at a place known as Will's Knob.
Indian Will was a well-known Native American who lived in a former settlement of the Shawnee Indians at the site of present-day Cumberland, Maryland , in the 18th century. The site was abandoned by the Shawnees prior to the first white settlers arriving in the region, but 'Indian Will' stayed behind living in a hut on the mountain side. Will was a local legend in his time, and he is even credited with the original ownership of the present-day Wills Creek and Wills Mountain. According to William Harrison Lowdermilk, Will was a full-blooded Indian, who with family and a few followers remained in the land of their forefathers; despite the approach of the white man, they did not remove their wigwams but received their strange visitors with a kindly greeting and lived in intimate friendship with them. Governor Thomas Bladen of Maryland persuaded Colonel Thomas Cresap to survey the land in that area named 'Will's Town'. Apparently , Will's claims to ownership of the land were respected. When the early explorers decided to build a cabin there , they never failed to give the Indian some trifle as a pretended compensation for the land. As more cabins were built, the place customarily became known as 'Will's Creek' as early as 1728. However, on a map drawn in 1751, Will's Creek is marked as 'Caructucue Creek' and was known by no other name by the Indians. Over the years , the original name for this stream, which originates in Bedford County, has been lost. The creek and the mountain, which begin at Cumberland and end a few miles north west of Bedford, have been known as Wills Creek and Wills Mountain. There seems to be some variation in the date of Will's death. Lowdermilk's History states that "the date of death is not definitely known, but that event is supposed to have occurred about the close of the Revolutionary War or shortly thereafter ." In the Bedford County History, it is stated that sometime around 1758 a group of Indians made a raid in the section north east of Wills Creek in an area which is now known as Southampton Township in Bedford County. A number of settlers were massacred and a number of women and children taken prisoner. Apparently one member of this raiding party was Will. The Indians with their prisoners stopped for a short time at the southern tip of Wills Mountain to rest and to hold council. A posse of neighbors and relatives took up the pursuit in the hope of rescuing the prisoners. When the Indians and prisoners were discovered, the posse did not attack , as they found that the Indians outnumbered them. Therefore, they played a waiting game to see what the Indians intended to do. When the Indians broke council, they started westward. One Indian did not go with them. Several members of the posse followed the main party of Indians and their prisoners. George Powell, who was one of the posse, vowed he would avenge the death of his neighbor Mrs. Perrin and her baby. (Mrs. Perrin, history states, was a sister of Ray who had the first trading post at Bedford). Powell silently followed the footsteps of the Indian along the crest of the mountain. He finally located his quarry on the highest northern part of the mountain. The point was less than two miles (3 km) west of Fort Bedford. Powell shot and killed the Indian. He discovere that he had killed the man known as Will. He buried his body on the mountain at a place known as Will's Knob.
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