---------- > From: Bob Francis <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Subject: [KYBATH] Nathaniel Hart letters, part One > Date: Friday, June 16, 2000 6:46 AM > > Fellow researchers, > > I searched my files and came across some old Draper manuscripts of > letters from Nathaniel Hart, grandson of the original settler by that > name. These are very interesting letters in that they portray life > along the frontier. I have maintained the spelling and punctuation--so > be prepared for some deciphering on your part. > > Enjoy! > > Bob Francis > ----- > > >From Gleanings from Draper Mss. Library of Wisconsin State Historical > Society--HART > > LETTER BY NATHANIEL HART TO DRAPER. 1838. 2CC26 > > I have been a resident of Kentucky since the fall of 1779 to the present > time. I was too young to be an actor in many of the trying scones of > that early period but from 1788 until the conclusion of Col Wayne's > treaty in 1795, 1 missed few opportunities of joining in the pursuit of > such parties of Indiana as made incursions into the section of Kentucky > where I resided. From 1779 to 1786 my residence was in the fort at > Boonsborough, which my father, in conjunction with others, had erected > as early as 1775. He fell by the Indian tommahawk in the dangerous > season of 17821 just before the disasterous battle of the Blue Licks and > as my widowed mother survived him but two years, from that period I > relied upon my rifle for a greater part of my food and rainment. From > the fall of 1786 1 resided in the neighborhood of Harrodsburg and the > Indians, who then annoyed that part of the Country, generally crossed > the Ohio Ohio river between the mouth of the Kentucky and Louisville, > passing up on the south side of the river, which was then a wilderness, > to McAfees Station. I was twice engaged in the pursuit of these Indiana > an far as the banks of the Ohio without further success than that of > killing a fine blooded horse under an Indian who made his escape. Gen. > Scott's song while fishing on the bank of the Kentucky rivers was killed > by a party of of these Indians, in sight of his fathers house and > surveyor, Robert Todd, as late as 1794, was killed in view of Frankfort > immediately before the Legislature convened at that place. In 1780, the > Brittish officer,, Bird Col Bird, with his Indian army, decended the Big > Miami and ascended Licking river as far as the mouth of Beaver creeks > captured Riddles and Martins stations with the aid of his artillery. > Some years after this the Federal government, for a while prohibited the > Kentuckians from pursuing the Indians beyond the Ohio, but they were > sometimes tempted to cross over in disregard of the injunction. On one > occasion, I think in the spring of 1788, in the immediate neighborhood > of your flourishing city, they met an unexpectedly large encampment of > the enemy, who gave them battle and soon routed our little party with > considerable loss, Samue1 and Moses Grant, the later of whom had been my > school mate the previous year, were both killed at this time. Gen. Wm > Lytle, after participating in the conflict, exerted himself in > conducting from the ground to the canoes one or two men who were > wounded, apprehending that the foremost of the party might push out from > the shore before the wounded could reach it, he went ahead and finding > them in the act of starting, he was only able to restrain them by > raising his rifle and threatening to to shoot the first man who struck > an oar till the wounded men could get up. At this critical juncture, > when they expected to be fired on every instance by the enemy, an > individual, then of some note in the country, threw himself out of the > canoe into the river on the opposite side from the shore and patiently > held on until the wounded were brought up, to the great merriment of all > the rest. But in the spirit of the old injunction "to say nothing of the > dead but what is creditable", so it may be proper here to remark that > the decendants of this individual have long since distinguished > themselves by driving the Indians beyond the Lakes. About the year 1790, > Gen. Scott and Col. John Edwards conducted a party across the Ohio to > break up an encampment of the enemy who had been committing great > depredations on our river craft. On their arrival, the Indians had > decamped, but they caught a white man in a canoe who refused to give > satisfactory answers to their interragatories, when their patience was > nearly exhausted, Gen. Scott demanded of him how long he had been with > the Savages. Looking cooly up to the sun, he replied, " About two > hours", alluding to the time he had been their prisoner. Strange to say, > the party left this individual uninjured, being unable to determine > whether he was deranged or totally regardless of his life. My first and > only visit to Fort Washington, The site of your city, was in 1794, on my > way to join Gen. Wayne's army, and I shall never forget a scene which I > witnessed on my return; Cincinnati then of ten or a dozen rough log > cabins on the bank of the river. A two story hewed log house, where I > found Capt Gordon, an old acquaintance, keeping a house of > entertainment, with whom Gen. Barbee, Col. Beatty and myself quartered > for a day or two. On our way out, one of our Kentucky Colonels, (who was > more remarkable for his willingness to fight than to pay his just > debts), had contracted a debt with grocer, which the grocer was anxious > to collect on our return, but as it was not entirely convenient, the > Colonel refused to discharge it - a writ was obtained and placed in the > hands of the Sheriff to arrest him. He was found smoking a pipe > tommahawk in one of these cabins with a crowd of officers and soldiers > around him and evinced a desposition not to be taken, when the sheriff > exclaimed, "Clear the way and let me at him, God Almighty just made me > to take such a man". When he had approached near enough the Col reached > forward with his tommahawk and gave him a gentle chop on the heads upon > which the officer wheeled to the right about and marched off with double > quick step, considerably doubting the purpose for which he had been > created. We had but little intercourse with the Licking previous to > 1790. Frankfort, Georgetown and Paris were fronteer settlements when the > U. S. Army erected Fort Washington, and even after that periods Kentucky > had several forts or blockhouses on the banks of the Ohio to guard our > frontier. In 1791, Gen Scott went to Fort Washington to consult with Gen > Harmer in regard to the campaign conducted that year from Kentucky by > Scott and Wilkinson. A guard of twenty dragoons was furnished from > Lexington, who were equiped in handsome style, the General, himself in > ordinary dress. Upon reaching the river he started to lead his horse > into the boat ahead of the dragoon when the ferryman directed him to > stand aside while the gentlemen crossed over. Some one of the company > then whispered to the ferryman that the man was Gen Scott, when he > exclaimed, with an oath, that he had taken him for a waiter. This, of > course, diverted the old General very much and furnished the material > for one of his good stories. I know of no person living in this part of > Kentucky who participated in the settlement of Cincinnati as early as > the year 1788; My former neighbor, Jacob Sodusky, of Jessamine county, > who died some six years since, informed me that he had cut down the > first tree on the site of Cincinnati for the purpose of building a cabin > there. He was a man proverbial for his truth and integrity as well as > for enterprise, having come out with a small party as early as 1774 to > explore Kentucky and finding the country much infested with the Savages, > they were detained from attempting to return to Virginia directly either > by land or water, but ran down to New Orleans, in their canoes, and > taking passage on a vessel to Baltimore, thence reached their homes on > the South Branch of the Potomac after the absence of a year. When Fort > Washington was first erected, the Indiana showed no disposition to kill > the regular soldiers for some time, and in consequence of this, the > oommander of the U S Army was induced to charge the Kentuckians with > unnecessarily provoking the attacks of the Indians. In a short time, > however, his tune was changed, for they soon evinced as great a desire > to scalp his men as the had done the Kentuckians. Col. Elliott, the > contractor of the U S Army, and the father of the present Commander > Elliott of the American Navy, was the last person killed in the > neighborhood of Fort "Washington that I knew of. As soon as Gen Wayne > had succeeded in the objects of the campaign of 1794, Elliott quit the > Army and was hastening in to forward out supplies to the garrison, when > he was shot and scalped by the Indians between Fort Washington and > Hamilton, having directed his servant to make his escape. On the > following day a detachment of soldiers went with a cart and oxen with a > coffin to bring in his remains. The party had placed the corpse in the > cart they were fired on, Elliott's servant killed, the coffin broken > open and the corpse much mutilated. On the third day the soldiers, for > they were much attached to their contractor, rode to the place and > throwing the corpse across a horse, galloped off with it. A few days > afterwards, on my return from Fort Wayne, I saw the coffin lying on the > road side broken to pieces. Had it not been for the buffalos and other > wild game I am satisfied that Kentucky could not have been settled at > the time it was, for this constituted the main resource with the > settlers who were frequently without bread and salt. In the winter it > was hung up in an open house and kept frozen; in the summer it was > jerked in the woods and afterwards used in that state, sometimes > recooked with butter and cream, of which we had an abundance. There were > some 40 to 50 persons in my fathers family. One bushel of salt was as > much as we could procur a year; the article was manufactured at Mann's > Lick and at Bullit's Lick, in the neighborhood of Louisville, and was > procured in the upper settlements with great trouble and risk. I have > frequently seen a party of 10 or 15 hunters in the woods for a week with > a little bag of salt containing perhaps a gill, which of course was used > most sparingly. The hump of the buffalo was the choice delicacy with the > hunters; when they were killed near our forts, they were split into and > with a pole, or, when too heavy for that, with the assistance of a > sapling, bent down for the purpose, half the buffalo was put upon the > pack saddle and taken in. When killed at a distance from the forts, the > skins were taken off and used as a sack, in which 3 or 4 hundred pounds > of meat was carried at a load. But the constant dread of Indians made > this an unwelcome business to all but the intrepid, as they were > frequently fired on with these heavy loads on their horses, the riders > sometimes on the packs, in such cases to get clear of the loads and save > their lives was no trifling consideration. > > > -- > Bob Francis, 1920A Butner St., Ft. Eustis, VA 23604 > My Homepage is: http://www.shawhan.com > Ruddell's Fort Page: http://www.shawhan.com/ruddlesfort.html > Early Bourbon Co. Fam. Pg.: http://www.shawhan.com/bourbonfamilies.html > Bourbon Co., Ky., Bios: http://www.shawhan.com/biographies.html > Shawhan Genealogy: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~shawhan/Homepage.html > >