From: "Faith Keahey" <keahey@cyberhighway.net> To: LONGHUNTERS-L@rootsweb.com Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 10:31:54 -0600 Subject: Capt Spencer Records #9 Message-ID: <00af01beb5ba$4f1d0900$cf32a1d1@keahey> Return-path: <LONGHUNTERS-L-request@rootsweb.com> Received: from mx5.boston.juno.com (mx5.boston.juno.com [207.205.100.54]) by x11.boston.juno.com with SMTP id AAA5YHZ3RAM9KMG2 for <hermfagley@juno.com> (sender <LONGHUNTERS-L-request@rootsweb.com>); Sun, 13 Jun 1999 12:41:19 -0400 (EST) Received: from bl-11.rootsweb.com (bl-11.rootsweb.com [204.212.38.27]) by mx5.boston.juno.com with SMTP id AAA5YHZ3RAAH8NWA (sender <LONGHUNTERS-L-request@rootsweb.com>); Sun, 13 Jun 1999 12:41:18 -0400 (EST) Received: (from slist@localhost) by bl-11.rootsweb.com (8.9.3/8.9.3) id JAA08789; Sun, 13 Jun 1999 09:40:16 -0700 (PDT) Resent-From: LONGHUNTERS-L@rootsweb.com Resent-Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 09:40:16 -0700 (PDT) Resent-Sender: LONGHUNTERS-L-request@rootsweb.com Resent-Message-ID: <Ynw8-B.A.MJC.w79Y3@bl-11.rootsweb.com> X-Status: Read X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.1 X-Juno-Att: 0 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In July I again set off for PA after my father's money, and met a company at Stroud's station, 14 miles east of Lexington. About 40 men met, all armed. I met there John Gosset, a young man, with whom I had been acquainted with in PA. We took a trace, that had been lately marked out, passing the mud lick, at that time a very noted place. crossing Licking, and proceeded on over a very rough and mountainous part of the country, crossing the great Kanawha at Morris' station, a little below the mouth of Gauley river. Above the mouth of this river it is called New River. We then took an old cut out road, that led to Green-brier Court-house, now Lewisburgh, which was 86 miles. At this place the company seperated. Gosset and myself travelled in company; we proceeded up the big levels, crossed the Droop mountain, and up the little levels to the Clover lick, keeping Greenbrier river all the way on the right hand. At this lick, we took a trace to the left hand, crossed a mountain, and fell on the head of the Tygart valley fork of the Monongalela river, which we decended. This valley had been settled, but the inhabitants had all moved off, for fear of the Indians, and had not yet returned. The Monongahela and Tygart both run north, and interlock with the Little Kanawha, Gauley, and Elk rivers in the Greenbrier mountain. Before we came to the mouth of Tygart, we left it on the left hand and passing through the Monongahela glades, proceeded down to Brownsville. I went to the man that owed my father the money, but did not get it. I took a judgement bond on him, with a stay of execution for one year. I then returned on down the Ohio in a family boat. This fall [1787], the Indians killed Lot Masters and Hezakiah Wood near Washington [see Shane's "Collections" III, 152 - they were killed in spring 1786 - LCD], when they were hunting, and scalped Thomas Talmage, a boy about 12 years of age at Lee's station, about 2 miles from Washington. He was sitting near a fire after night, they had to cook in the day time. The Indians jumped on him, and took his scalp, doing no other injury. He got well, but never grew hair on his head again. About the same time, hunters ser out from Stockton's station to hunt on Fox creek. At night they made a fire, and lay by it. The Indians fired on them, and killed one of the Stocktons; the others sprang up and ran. An Indian threw a tomahawk, and hit one of them on the back, but fortunately it was not on the edge, and he escaped; but their horses and guns fell into the hands of the Indians. It was supposed that the savages had fell on their trail, dogged them till night and fell on them while they slept. This winter I learned the art of surveying in Washington with Zachariah Thompson, and bought a compass chain, scale and dividers from David Brod(e)rick, for which I gave him $34.12.5 cents. In March 1788, the Indians stole horses from John Kenton's stations, two miles from Washington. The horses were in the stable, not far from the station; the door was bolted in the inside with a wooden bolt. Not being able to open it, they uncovered the roof on the side from the station, sufficient for them to get in, cut the bolt with their tomahawks, and took off the horses. The men heard them at it, but were afraid to go out. In the morning, one of them ran to Washington. 15 of us crossed the river at Limestone, and took down the river till we found their trail; at night we came to White-oak creek, which is a very crooked rapid-running stream. They took an old buffaloe road, which led up the stream; crossing it at every bend, at the time about waist deep. We had to hold two or three together to enable us to cross it. We crossed it 8 times that night by moonlight, and twice next morning before sunrise. The trail then left the creek, and steered a NE course, we pursued rapidly, and soon came to a place where they halted and made a small fire, but did not appear that they had stayed there long; we pursued on, and about noon we came to a place where and Indian had been watching the trail on horseback; we supposed he had discovered us, as he had ridden off at full speed. We ran hastily on about a mile, and came to their camp. They had fled, but their fire was still burning. This camp was large, so they had been there for some time. There were tracks of children in the ashes. We there held a council whether to pursue them farther or not. Knowing their mode of warfare, and believing that they had discovered us, we were aware that if they thought they could not stand us, they would scatter in the woods and we could not find them, but if they thought they could stand us, they would waylay us in some convenient place, take the first fire and we might be defeated, as there were but 15 of us. We therefore concluded to pursue them no farther, and so returned home. The camp was near where Newmarket now stands. Sometime this spring (1788), I ran a strait line with my compass to my father's land, from Washington, and struck about 20 yards from the spring, where my father afterwards built his house at, which was 6 miles, and marked the mile trees. This line was some time afterwards cut out and made part of the road to Cincinnati. About the same time John Machir settled a station, half a mile east of my afther's land; to this station my father moved, but cleared ground and raised a crop of corn on his own land. We had to get meat by hunting, and pursue the same course of life, as when we lived in Washington. In August, I again set off for PA after money for my father, and met the company at the Crab Orchard, which place is in Lincoln Co, KY. We took the road to Cumberland Gap, being the route by which the Virginians reached KY and passed over into Powell's Valley. There the company seperated; some of us turned east, leaving all the waters of KY, Licking and Sandy to the left hand. Jeramiah Meeks, John Woods and myself travelling in company, crossing some of the head waters of the Clinch river, which takes its rise in Tazewell Co, VA, and runs SW. It is one of the main branches of the Tennessee, and interlocks with the Big Sandy. We then fell on the Blue Stone, a small river, which rising in Giles Co, VA, interelocks with Clinch and Big Sandy, and runs east into New River, above the mouth of Green-brier river. We crossed New River at English's Ferry, and after crossing Green-brier river, proceeded on to Green-brier Court-house. There Meeks left us, and we took the same route which I had followed the preceeding year, and arrived PA, where I collected the money due my father. I then went to the State of Deleware, to see the place of my nativity, and on my return home, crossed Susquehanna at Havre-de-grace, where the river is one mile wide. I then passed through Baltimore, and returned home down the Ohio in a family boat, having been four months absent from home. cont ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.