TIP #489 - MADISON COUNTY INDIAN RAIDS - PART 1 Roberta Willett sent me the following taken from the Draper Manuscripts and I thought you might be interested due to my recent look at the life and perils of our early settlers in the forts of Kentucky. This an a slightly different account of the Indian attack on the Stevenson house in Madison Co where her grandmother, Jane Stevenson was captured by the Indians. There will be notes at the end of this series which will give further information and possibly corrections. DRAPER MANUSCRIPT, Lyman Copeland Draper's Interview with William Champ of Paint Lick, Kentucky 11 September 1863. From William Champ born near the head of the North Fork of Roanoke, Botetourt County, Va. July 27th, 1776 - was taken to Miller's Station, on Paint Lick Creek, Oct. 4th, 1784. His father and others came through the wilderness together - some 25 young men, mounted, served as guard and pioneers - would go ahead towards night and select a proper camp, with water convenient. They camped on the south bank of Laurel River - the families arriving there after dark - had gone farther than usual as they could not find water. At their camp discover the dead body and other mangled carcasses of McNitt and Ford's defeat, which occurred at that place eight days before - hence about Sept. 22 - as Mr. Champ supposes it took about four days to thence to Miller's Station. Thirty odd persons were killed at that time - was called the big defeater camp. All that night, the Champ party were camped there, their dogs fought the wolves who were seeking the carcasses of the unfortunate slain. Polly Ford, so long with the Indians, was a daughter of Ford's - she once came to Kentucky, but did not like living with whites and soon returned to her Indian husband. Capt. Whitley raised around Crab Orchard and one from Miller's Station - Andw. Miller, a half brother of my informant - some 25 men, went and buried the dead - and then took the trail of the Indians. Whitley well concluded that as the Indians got a very large amount of plunder, they would make slow progress in their retreat. When Whitley and Party reached within a few miles of the Forks of Kentucky, where the old Indian trail crossed, he called a council of his men, and said it would be useless to pursue farther on the direct road, but proposed to make a dash and leave the trail and take a circuit and strike the forks of Kentucky at the crossing - making their best speed - all being mounted - they might possibly get to the ford before the Indians, in which case they could stand a fair chance of taking them unaware and defeating them. They all agreed to Whitley's plans and at once put it into execution. When reaching the ford, no fresh sign was discovered and glancing back towards Laurel, the unconscious Indians were discovered slowly winding down the hill with their long line of pack horses - both parties being on the South side of Kentucky. Whitley and his men quickly attacked them. Whitley and Andw. Miller shot the same Indian - the balls of both taking effect. (Tom) Kennedy, of Miller's Station - famous for wrestling and fisticuffs - having shot off his gun, threw it down empty, and made at an Indian near him, who with others was turning the pack horses, and endeavoring to get them to retrace their steps and as he jumped at the Indian and the latter saw a conflict unavoidable raised his hands, exclaiming "Ken-naw-la" - perhaps an expression of surrender - Kennedy only saying "I'll give you Ken-naw-la," and as they clinched, Kennedy could manage to throw him, but the Indian would squirm over and couldn't be kept down, and as they were on the side of the river bluff, they ultimately rolled down clinched, and as good luck would have it, at the bottom they rolled and lodged against a log, and Kennedy on top - when he resorted to new tactics, by quickly thrusting a thumb in to each of the Indian's eyes, and thus succeeding in holding him while the Indian was endeavoring to draw his tomahawk from his belt and use it on Kennedy's head - when Nathan Ferrisran up and dispatched the Indian and relieved Kennedy in his heinous (hideous) situation. Ferris came from Holston River. Whitley's party got three scalps - Indians dodged into the cave, and it was not regarded as safe to pursue them there: Recovered thirty three horses heavily loaded with the plunder from the (--?--) Camp, and brought it all in. As Whitley and his victorious party approached near to Miller's Station, they fired a feu de jore, when the women in the fort alarmed, supposing Indians were coming ran helter-skelter hunting up their children, to see that they were all inside the gates and picketing. They rejoiced in their ludicrous mistake - and Whitley's party went into Whitley's Station - advertised the recovered horses and plunder - all was claimed by survivors of the defeated party, except three horses with their packs, which were eventually sold and the proceeds divided among the captors. Edward Stevenson settled in Kentucky in 1785 - and about 1787, settled out, locating on the waters of Meadow Fork of Paint Lick Creek. His daughter Patsy, a young woman grown, in August, 1791, at dusk of evening baking bread for a party of persons expected to pass through the wilderness, sent her sister Jenny out at the yard fence to get some hickory bark, of which a pile had been gathered there, and having got some of the bark, she felt her head strike against something, and looking around discovered it was the muzzle of an Indian's gun, with several others protruding through the fence, when dropping her load, she ran for the house exclaiming "there's a whole yard full of Indians." Her sister Sally, came to the door to see about the alarm and was shot through the body, though in her confusion did not then know it - she barred the door and then discovered by the dripping blood that she was wounded. Mr. Stevenson was at home and ready for the Indians - they soon decamped. A silk handkerchief was drawn through Sally's wound, and she soon recovered - though shot completely through the body. Attack on Stevenson's, Aug., 1792. Just a year after Sally Stevenson was wounded, early one morning in August, Andrew Stevenson, a lad of some eight years. With a younger brother, came home from their neighbor, Mr. Robinson's where they had accompanied some of the Robinson boys from school and stayed all night. As the family was not yet up, the boys whopped and yelled around in sport, when at length their sister Patsy got up and unbarred the door to let the boys in - when several Indians rushed up so suddenly that none discovered them until they had possession of the door. Stevenson and a young man named Bonham jumped out of bed. Bonham was instantly shot and fell back dead upon the bed as he was in the act of putting on his pantaloons. Mrs. Stevenson was shot while yet in bed, probably mistaken for a man - the ball entering below the knee and (--?--) up breaking the thigh bone half way up her body. She never recovered, except to crawl about and lived only a few years and the ball went through her arm without breaking the bone. One of the Indians, who proved to be Captain Blue Skin, a Shawnee, and the leader of this party, rushed into the room, with a large knife nine or ten inches long, with a heavy buck-horn handle, in one hand, a large war club in the other - made a dash at Stevenson, who as he jumped from bed, without stopping for his clothes, aimed for his cutlass sword which was hanging up -but the Indian seized him before he could get it and commenced using his knife freely, cutting and slashing and stabbing and making the blood fly endeavoring to wield his war club, the handle had become slippery with the blood spiriting from Stevenson's wounds, it flew from his grasp and flew completely under one of the beds and no more figured in the contest. Attempting to seize the formidable knife by the blade, Stevenson got both his hands completely scraped of flesh - the handle of the knife having a natural knob on the end, enabled its possessor easily to hold on his grasp. The other three or four Indians were intervening this unequal and exciting contest grinning and laughing - when Patsy who, for the moment, for this was all the work of a moment - stood behind the door, now suddenly shut the door with such force as to knock the Indians out and some of them upon their backs on the ground - the next instant she had the door barred. Remembering her father's butcher knife was in its scabbard hanging up with his gun and shot pouch and powder horn on hooks on the wall, ran and got it, and commenced stabbing the Indian -giving him half a dozen stabs, but each time striking his breast bone, and the last time with such force as to break the blade. As she turned away, Captain Blue Skin made a stab at her. This Indian and his antagonist at that moment grasped and floundering about the room and completely severed a big toe from one of her feet, which bounced away. Mr. Stevenson now weak, with a portion of his entrails protruding from his wounds, called to his little son Andrew to get his gun and shoot the Indian, saying if the Indian should succeed in killing him, he would then soon kill them all. Andrew seized the first gun he came at, which proved to be a double-triggered gun, of which he had no knowledge of the management, and cocked it without setting the trigger, and aimed to shoot the Indian, but it would not go off and so exclaimed to his father, who told him to pull harder on the trigger. He did so and broke both triggers. Then Mr. Stevenson mistrusted the matter, said to Andrew to throw it down, and get another - all were loaded for use at a moment's warning - and got his hunting gun, with a half ounce ball. Mr. S. now kept urging Andrew to shoot and the Indian probably seeing how matters stood made desperate efforts to dispatch his antagonist and keep on the alert meanwhile - so Andrew placed the muzzle to the pit of the Indian's stomach and fired - the Indian rolled over, and gave a single long groan and all was over with him. The Indians outside had been endeavoring to break in the heavy (--?--) door, now hearing this groan, made off. The Indians previous to attacking Stevenson's house had gathered up in that region quite a drove of horses. Jenny Stevenson, sleeping in the loft of the house, and while the Indians at the commencement of the affair were at the front door, jumped out of an upper window, her petticoat caught on a fence stake, which threw her head downwards and broke the straps of her garment, and she ran off in her undress; perhaps a hundred yards off at the spring was a lame Indian, who intercepted the fleeing girl and made off with her. Her brother William, who seems not to have been at home during this attack, served on Wayne's campaign of 1794 & 1795, and at the treaty got his sister - she was married to a French trader in Detroit who (-----ed) her out in gaudy dresses. It was very likely a marriage of necessity or convenience. After her return home, she married Mr. Turbing and they left the country. Patsy never married in Madison. Sally married Edmund Terrill, a young man, moved away and raised a large family of children. Don't know what became of Andrew. The killing of Mr. Stevenson and crippling and short life of Mrs. Stephenson, scattered the family. Dr. Reuben Smith, a physician from of the eastern states, attended Stevenson, cut off a plate full of caul fat and cleansed his entrails and got them in again as well as he could and said the man could not live. He survived till the next morning. Dr. Smith attended to families professionally at twenty five cents a year for each person, taking his pay in the produce of the country. Thus many subscribed for his services, and was faithful and got a fair living. He resided in Madison Co., and died a few years after of consumption. Before noon of the day of the attack, fifteen men gathered, my informant one of them - Col. Edmund Terrill, an old Revolutionary Va. Colonel who served in Washington's army, was among them, and proposed to go and reconnoiter and scout - ten volunteered, Champ among them, then 16 years of age, all mounted - soon found the trail and followed till a heavy storm obliterated all traces of the route of the fugitives and had to abandon the pursuit that afternoon, leaving the Indians to retire with their prisoner and horses. With a pony and rope, the dead Indian was dragged off some distance and left - after which a young Harris (not Nathan) cut a piece of skin from the Indian's back for a razor strap. 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