Thanks, David, for putting an historian's perspective on this "legend". Bill Mc Afee -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of David Houchin Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 2:46 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [HCGS] question about Bulltown Indian massacre There's some uncertainty about the Bulltown massacre, and I don't know if it's something we can still resolve. Captain Bull the son of Teedyuscung is usually assumed to have been the "Bull" of Bulltown. I imagine this is right though I wouldn't say there was positive proof. I've heard it said that the son of Teedyuscung lived in later years on the White River in Indiana. I personally don't have proof of that either, but Delaware specialists would know. According to the traditional account of the Bulltown massacre Bull and the rest of the people in his village were killed by a settler band that included John Cutright, Jesse Hughes and several others, in 1772. Withers published the story in 1831 and it's been current ever since. Bob Smith of HCPD published a brief study of the subject in the Hackers Creek Journal years ago, suggesting that in reality the settler band found an abandoned village and invented the massacre story as a way of reassuring frightened families that the danger was past. I should point out that such a massacre of peaceful Delawares, had it ever been discovered, would have guaranteed a season of deadly raiding in revenge. And no such raiding followed. At the least it would have been necessary to negotiate an alternative to such vengeance. Again nothing of the kind is known to have occured. So I'm inclined to agree with Bob Smith that the massacre story was a fiction of some sort. Now, in 1781 another settler band--call them militia, I suppose--went in pursuit of a party that raided the Leading Creek settlements in the Tygart valley. William Lowther led this group. It included John Cutright, Jesse Hughes and about a dozen others. The pursuers caught up with the raiders on the Hughes River and shot and killed several from ambush. This is a well known story too. Interestingly, the raiders are said traditionally to have been Delawares led by Captain Bull and Captain Johnny. The historical Bull and Johnny were both at some stage Moravian converts. Both had responsibilities among the Delaware that would have led in wartime to a conflict over the proper role to adopt. We know that in Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War Bull led a merciless raid in vengeance for the apparent murder of his father and the destruction of two Delaware villages. We know that during the Revolution Johnny was one of the Delawares who were prominent--though not very numerous--allies of the Patriots. So it seems a little unlikely that he was raiding in the Tygart Valley in '81, though I suppose he may have shifted his alliance, as others did in that season. As for his death, Johnny and his wife were among the slain at Gnadenhutten in '82. I bring this up to show how difficult it can be to bring history and tradition into any sort of alignment. One of the principal sources of the Bulltown story is the Cutright tradition, and in his old age it doesn't seem that John Cutright was able to distinguish the events of 1772 (the alleged Bulltown massacre) from the events of 1781 (the Leading Creek pursuit), with the result that Jesse Hughes had the honor, so to speak, of killing Captain Bull on two occasions. What's to be made of all this? I wish I knew. As a massacre story Bulltown is almost a miniature of Gnadenhutten. Angry settlers kill Indians associated with the Moravian missions, giving the justification that clothing found matched the clothing of slain settlers, etc. In later years it became a sort of game to name the participants in these infamous acts. John Cutright is made to confess on his deathbed, as if he were accepting salvation at last and admitting that he could not justify the conduct of his life. In other words, the story of the story makes sense. But this doesn't take us back to the facts. (Now I'll have to go back to the sources and see what I've gotten wrong.) David Houchin Special Collections Clarksburg-Harrison Public Library ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]>; <[email protected]> Cc: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, January 25, 2010 8:55 PM Subject: [HCGS] question about Bulltown Indian massacre > Can someone tell me if the Indians were killed at Bulltown or not? It > seems to me that i read somewhere that they actually moved to Ohio. > > Linda > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I had better say promptly that I'm an amateur historian at best. David H. ----- Original Message ----- From: "William McAfee" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 5:13 PM Subject: Re: [HCGS] question about Bulltown Indian massacre > Thanks, David, for putting an historian's perspective on this "legend". > > Bill Mc Afee > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf > Of David Houchin > Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 2:46 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [HCGS] question about Bulltown Indian massacre > > There's some uncertainty about the Bulltown massacre, and I don't know if > it's something we can still resolve. > > Captain Bull the son of Teedyuscung is usually assumed to have been the > "Bull" of Bulltown. I imagine this is right though I wouldn't say there > was > > positive proof. I've heard it said that the son of Teedyuscung lived in > later years on the White River in Indiana. I personally don't have proof > of > > that either, but Delaware specialists would know. > > According to the traditional account of the Bulltown massacre Bull and > the > rest of the people in his village were killed by a settler band that > included John Cutright, Jesse Hughes and several others, in 1772. Withers > published the story in 1831 and it's been current ever since. > > Bob Smith of HCPD published a brief study of the subject in the Hackers > Creek Journal years ago, suggesting that in reality the settler band found > an abandoned village and invented the massacre story as a way of > reassuring > frightened families that the danger was past. > > I should point out that such a massacre of peaceful Delawares, had it ever > been discovered, would have guaranteed a season of deadly raiding in > revenge. And no such raiding followed. At the least it would have been > necessary to negotiate an alternative to such vengeance. Again nothing of > the kind is known to have occured. So I'm inclined to agree with Bob > Smith > that the massacre story was a fiction of some sort. > > Now, in 1781 another settler band--call them militia, I suppose--went in > pursuit of a party that raided the Leading Creek settlements in the Tygart > valley. William Lowther led this group. It included John Cutright, Jesse > Hughes and about a dozen others. > > The pursuers caught up with the raiders on the Hughes River and shot and > killed several from ambush. This is a well known story too. > Interestingly, > > the raiders are said traditionally to have been Delawares led by Captain > Bull and Captain Johnny. > > The historical Bull and Johnny were both at some stage Moravian converts. > Both had responsibilities among the Delaware that would have led in > wartime > to a conflict over the proper role to adopt. We know that in Pennsylvania > during the French and Indian War Bull led a merciless raid in vengeance > for > the apparent murder of his father and the destruction of two Delaware > villages. We know that during the Revolution Johnny was one of the > Delawares who were prominent--though not very numerous--allies of the > Patriots. So it seems a little unlikely that he was raiding in the Tygart > Valley in '81, though I suppose he may have shifted his alliance, as > others > did in that season. > > As for his death, Johnny and his wife were among the slain at Gnadenhutten > in '82. > > I bring this up to show how difficult it can be to bring history and > tradition into any sort of alignment. > > One of the principal sources of the Bulltown story is the Cutright > tradition, and in his old age it doesn't seem that John Cutright was able > to > > distinguish the events of 1772 (the alleged Bulltown massacre) from the > events of 1781 (the Leading Creek pursuit), with the result that Jesse > Hughes had the honor, so to speak, of killing Captain Bull on two > occasions. > > What's to be made of all this? I wish I knew. > > As a massacre story Bulltown is almost a miniature of Gnadenhutten. Angry > settlers kill Indians associated with the Moravian missions, giving the > justification that clothing found matched the clothing of slain settlers, > etc. > > In later years it became a sort of game to name the participants in these > infamous acts. > > John Cutright is made to confess on his deathbed, as if he were accepting > salvation at last and admitting that he could not justify the conduct of > his > > life. > > In other words, the story of the story makes sense. But this doesn't take > us back to the facts. > > (Now I'll have to go back to the sources and see what I've gotten wrong.) > > David Houchin > Special Collections > Clarksburg-Harrison Public Library > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]>; <[email protected]> > Cc: <[email protected]> > Sent: Monday, January 25, 2010 8:55 PM > Subject: [HCGS] question about Bulltown Indian massacre > > >> Can someone tell me if the Indians were killed at Bulltown or not? It >> seems to me that i read somewhere that they actually moved to Ohio. >> >> Linda >> >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes >> in the subject and the body of the message > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in > the subject and the body of the message > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message >

I'M SORRY, SIR, BUT YOU UNDER-RATE YOURSELF. Bill McAfee "There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know." -- H.S. Truman -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of David Houchin Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 1:54 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [HCGS] question about Bulltown Indian massacre I had better say promptly that I'm an amateur historian at best. David H. ----- Original Message ----- From: "William McAfee" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 5:13 PM Subject: Re: [HCGS] question about Bulltown Indian massacre > Thanks, David, for putting an historian's perspective on this "legend". > > Bill Mc Afee > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf > Of David Houchin > Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 2:46 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [HCGS] question about Bulltown Indian massacre > > There's some uncertainty about the Bulltown massacre, and I don't know if > it's something we can still resolve. > > Captain Bull the son of Teedyuscung is usually assumed to have been the > "Bull" of Bulltown. I imagine this is right though I wouldn't say there > was > > positive proof. I've heard it said that the son of Teedyuscung lived in > later years on the White River in Indiana. I personally don't have proof > of > > that either, but Delaware specialists would know. > > According to the traditional account of the Bulltown massacre Bull and > the > rest of the people in his village were killed by a settler band that > included John Cutright, Jesse Hughes and several others, in 1772. Withers > published the story in 1831 and it's been current ever since. > > Bob Smith of HCPD published a brief study of the subject in the Hackers > Creek Journal years ago, suggesting that in reality the settler band found > an abandoned village and invented the massacre story as a way of > reassuring > frightened families that the danger was past. > > I should point out that such a massacre of peaceful Delawares, had it ever > been discovered, would have guaranteed a season of deadly raiding in > revenge. And no such raiding followed. At the least it would have been > necessary to negotiate an alternative to such vengeance. Again nothing of > the kind is known to have occured. So I'm inclined to agree with Bob > Smith > that the massacre story was a fiction of some sort. > > Now, in 1781 another settler band--call them militia, I suppose--went in > pursuit of a party that raided the Leading Creek settlements in the Tygart > valley. William Lowther led this group. It included John Cutright, Jesse > Hughes and about a dozen others. > > The pursuers caught up with the raiders on the Hughes River and shot and > killed several from ambush. This is a well known story too. > Interestingly, > > the raiders are said traditionally to have been Delawares led by Captain > Bull and Captain Johnny. > > The historical Bull and Johnny were both at some stage Moravian converts. > Both had responsibilities among the Delaware that would have led in > wartime > to a conflict over the proper role to adopt. We know that in Pennsylvania > during the French and Indian War Bull led a merciless raid in vengeance > for > the apparent murder of his father and the destruction of two Delaware > villages. We know that during the Revolution Johnny was one of the > Delawares who were prominent--though not very numerous--allies of the > Patriots. So it seems a little unlikely that he was raiding in the Tygart > Valley in '81, though I suppose he may have shifted his alliance, as > others > did in that season. > > As for his death, Johnny and his wife were among the slain at Gnadenhutten > in '82. > > I bring this up to show how difficult it can be to bring history and > tradition into any sort of alignment. > > One of the principal sources of the Bulltown story is the Cutright > tradition, and in his old age it doesn't seem that John Cutright was able > to > > distinguish the events of 1772 (the alleged Bulltown massacre) from the > events of 1781 (the Leading Creek pursuit), with the result that Jesse > Hughes had the honor, so to speak, of killing Captain Bull on two > occasions. > > What's to be made of all this? I wish I knew. > > As a massacre story Bulltown is almost a miniature of Gnadenhutten. Angry > settlers kill Indians associated with the Moravian missions, giving the > justification that clothing found matched the clothing of slain settlers, > etc. > > In later years it became a sort of game to name the participants in these > infamous acts. > > John Cutright is made to confess on his deathbed, as if he were accepting > salvation at last and admitting that he could not justify the conduct of > his > > life. > > In other words, the story of the story makes sense. But this doesn't take > us back to the facts. > > (Now I'll have to go back to the sources and see what I've gotten wrong.) > > David Houchin > Special Collections > Clarksburg-Harrison Public Library > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]>; <[email protected]> > Cc: <[email protected]> > Sent: Monday, January 25, 2010 8:55 PM > Subject: [HCGS] question about Bulltown Indian massacre > > >> Can someone tell me if the Indians were killed at Bulltown or not? It >> seems to me that i read somewhere that they actually moved to Ohio. >> >> Linda >> >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes >> in the subject and the body of the message > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in > the subject and the body of the message > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message > ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message