REMINISCENCES, NO. 2

IRONTON REGISTER AUGUST 3, 1854

We continue the reminiscences of this region--points drawn out in a rambling conversation with Rev. John Kelley, who settled in Lawrence County in August, 1798--56 years ago this month.

INDIANS

The Indian wars in Ohio had been ended, and peace concluded, a year or two before the first settlement in what is now Lawrence County so that the first settlers here experienced none of the difficulties incident to Indian troubles. This region was not occupied by Indians except as a hunting ground, and for the purpose they frequently visited it after the settlements--the last of their hunting here being on Symmes creek and its waters.

Among the last of the Indians who hunted in this vicinity was Captain Johnnie, and from him was named "John's Creek," in the back part of the county. The Indians had a noted crossing place over the Ohio, at Hanging Rock, where the river is narrow, and where from the top of the "rock" they had a view of the river for several miles up and down. The principal Indian trace to the river came in to the "rock" past where now stand Lawrence Furnace, Union Furnace and by the valley at the place of James Rodgers; north of Lawrence Furnace the trace branched over to the waters of Symmes creek, and to Pine Creek, Little and Big Scioto.

This was their principal trace into south-western Virginia and the eastern part of Kentucky, during the Indian wars; and after the peace they frequently crossed into Kentucky to steal horses. In these horse stealing inroads of theirs they were very sly, making bark canoes of chestnut generally, just before reaching the river. They would cross in the night, and always return in the night, and the only evidence of their crossing were marks of feet, or of tommyhawks, and generally on return they would let their canoes float down the river--going over they would hide the canoes in the weeds up the bank, which covered the bottom and were 5 or 6 feet in height. The only case Mr. Kelley recollects of the Indians stealing horses on this side of the river, was near the mouth of Pine Creek.


 Two men followed and overtook the Indians somewhere beyond Bloom Furnace, but the horses had been sent ahead--and the only satisfaction they received was a laugh from the Indians, for following them so far for nothing. About a mile north of where Union Furnace now stands, up one of the valleys was the "Camp of the Painted Trees," the principal Indian camping ground of this region, where parties of Indians were frequently camped. At this camp they cut and carved many images and characters on beech trees which would convey information to parties coming after them; other trees they would peel, and paint on the smooth trunk the image of the chief of the party--generally very skillfully done--hence the name of the camp, "Painted Trees."

Upon these trees were painted the chiefs Turtle, Crane, Woodcock, etc. To indicate Captain Turtle they painted a turtle , for Captain Crane they painted a man, all but the head which was the head of a crane; for Captain Woodcock, a man with a head of a woodcock, and so on. On leaving a common camp like that of the Painted Trees, it was customary for Indians to set small sticks in the ground pointing in the direction they took, for the information for the next party arriving. During the war of 1812, Mr. Kelley then a Captain in the service, saw Captain Crane at Upper Sandusky. He said he had been to the "Rock" a great many times, and would tell of hunting about here and spoke particularly about "de hawks at de rocks;" there used to be great number of hawks flying and living in holes about the "rocks"--three species, one of which, Mr. Kelley says has long since disappeared from this section of the country.

 When questioned as to watching for boats on the "rock" and about matters during the Indian wars, Captain Crane would only answer "Ugh", and keep perfect silence, not being disposed to commun- icate at all respecting troubles with the whites. Chris Yingling mentions a little circumstance that he recollects. A company of five Indians shot a cow of Luke Kelley's, that was feeding on grass in the river opposite Robt. Hall's, lower part of Hanging Rock; cut off her bag and took out her tongue, then filed up over the hill, cooked and made a meal of them, and went off.

 The last general encampment of Indians in this county was in the fall of 1798, just above Union Landing; the camps after this were merely for one night, and of small hunting parties. James Kelley, brother of Luke, and another man had been up the river in a canoe, and up the Monongahela obtained a lot of whiskey. The Indians heard of it, and collected in for a general t'dance, and camped for two or three days. The night before breaking up, they were particularly "jolly." They first gave all their guns, tommyhawks, etc., into the hands of an old squaw who hid them and went in for "a regular built time of it," which, as usual, ended in a fight. Indians never strike one another so they pulled, pushed and hauled each other about, and tried to throw one another down.

Except bruises and scratches the only damage done was one Indian had his ear badly torn, so much so that amputation" was deemed necessary, which was performed on the next day with a flint. HUNTING John Kelley was raised on the frontiers, and at quite an early age became expert in the use of the rifle. We have before mentioned that he paid for a large portion of the 670 acres of land entered at the homestead of himself and father, with money earned by hunting.

The skins of animals he killed he used to sell to traders upon the river; for several years, at a very early day __________ Folsom, the father of Captain Sam and J. S. Folsom, took the skins at this trading boat. Mr. Kelley says that he has earned as high as $20 for skins of wild animals killed by himself alone, in one day; that he frequently made $10 a day by hunting," and says he: "If I made less than $2 in a day I looked very sour." Bears, buffaloes, wolves, panthers, deer, turkey, etc., were all very plenty in this region, at the coming of Mr. Kelley. For several years he killed 20 or more bears every Fall, besides buffaloes, wolves, panthers, deer, turkeys, etc. In the fall of 1799 he built a crib near where Lawrence Furnace now stands, which he filled with the meat of bears and buffaloes, dried and packed it home on horses at convenience. Of Mr. Kelley's bear, buffalo and painter (panther) stories we will give but one of each. There was "a large she-painter" that for several years committed depredations on the small stock of this neighborhood, and being "an old un," "a knowing un," managed for a long time to elude pursuit. At last "the sharp eyes of John Kelley" get a sight of her, and his "trusty rifle" soon brought her to the ground--on the hill just below Ironton.

 He caught her two young ones, killed one and petted the other, which, as it grew up, became very mischievous, killed the chickens, etc., and in turn, had to be killed. One Fall, close by Pine Grove Furnace, Mr. Kelley says he killed a "monster bear," the meat of which when baconed weighed over 300 lbs." and," said Mr. Kelley, "after it was wholly shrunk by baconing the meat measured seven inches thick, by an English rule, and Daniel Boone, who then lived above Greenupsburg, said it was thicker by an inch than any bear meat he ever saw." Part of this meat sold to a boat that was passing down the river for $10, at a sixpence (8 1/2 cents) per pound. The part of the bear baconed was the fat; the lean in baconing became dry, tough and unfit for use.

The mode of proceeding was this. After the bear was killed, he was first cut open and the insides taken out. The meat was then split down the backbone to the skin and the carcass thrown across a pole on crotches, the back of the skin lying on the pole in the direction of the slit in the meat, so that half of the bear would hang on each side of the pole. Then the ribs, together with the lean part of the meat, were taken off, leaving the fat part cleaving next to the skin, which in turn was shaved off, leaving the skin hanging on the pole--a curious way of skinning a bear, we should think. It was this fat part baconed which measured 7 inches thick, in Mr. Kelley's monster bear.

THE LAST BUFFALO KILLED IN OHIO In 1851

Professor Mather, in the Western Agriculturalist, said: "In 1843 an old hunter of Jackson county, Mr. George Willis, told us that he saw the last Buffalo killed within the limits of this State. He was shot by a hunter named Keenes, near the headwaters of Symmes creek, in the year 1802." This, Mr. Kelley says, is a mistake as he himself shot the last buffalo killed in Ohio in 1803, the next year after Keenes killed his buffalo. Let Mr. Kelley tell his own story: "I was out hunting and came upon the buffalo, on the waters of Storms creek, above where Vesuvius Furnace now is. He was a monstrous large buffalo.

The place for shooting a buffalo is just behind the shoulders, but I shot this one too far back, so that it didn't kill him right off, although I saw that he was so badly hurt that he would soon die; and he stood pawing and bellowing at the dogs. I loaded my gun again, and for curiosity aimed another shot square at his face, which only caused him to shake his head, but made him mad, and he broke right at me, but I dodged behind a tree, and he struck off, right ahead, in a bee line. I followed on as fast as I could, with the dogs.

He ran about two miles before he fell; the last part of the distance he began to stagger like a drunken man; he would lean up against a tree or sapling, and move on slowly; finally down he fell, all at once, dead--he never kicked after he fell. I then skinned him and laid his skin up across some sticks on a tree, and went home. The next day I took out a horse and packed his skin home. That was a monster in size you may know from this: Out of his hide I cut eleven pair of traces and two bed cords, and had some large scraps left. Judge Davisson, my brother-in-law, and Josiah Lambert, my wife's father, had some of the traces. They lasted in our families for many years."

Shall continue these sketches next week.