MR. AND MRS. MUSIC / MUSICK
Luke Kelley’s Reminiscences #4
Submitted by Bob Davisson
Ironton Register August 24, 1854
In the following affair, we will let Mr. Kelley tell his own story;
“One day in 1792, I believe, when I was 12 years old, I was plowing in the field with my father, just after dinner. We saw a man running towards the house, and we went up. It was an express, and he said that 14 Indians had, on that morning, killed Mr. Music [also Musick], who lived 10 miles up the river and had carried off his wife and five children, also the horses.
“Father and six men immediately put on their moccasins, put their hunting shirts inside of their pants, took all the bread mother had, and struck for the mountains to intercept the Indians on Big Sandy. I was too young to go. Before night another express came.
“He was hungry; his mother was mixing dough, but he couldn’t wait for it to bake and snatched the dough and took his father’s trail. The first night two of the men gave out. The second express overtook father and the other four men just before a night on the second day.
“On the morning of the fourth day, father said he had been dreaming that they should overtake the Indians on that day, and he had the men shoot off their guns into a hollow log so that they might make no loud reports and load anew.
“It had rained the night before, and the bushes were wet. As they started, father charged the men to be very careful, or they would get their guns wet. “Oh yes, oh yes,” they all said, “no danger; we’ll look out.” They soon struck the trail of the Indians and had not followed it but a little way before they saw the smoke of their camp. It was yet early in the morning, and the Indians had not started. The place of this camp was on the waters of the West Fork of Big Sandy.
“Father and his five men came in sight of the camp, and there the Indians were scattered about; some were whetting their knives, some were tinkering their saddles–and others were getting ready to tomahawk two of Mrs. Music’s children, the third and fourth. The two oldest were boys able to run with the Indians; the fifth one was a child at the breast, which Mrs. Music had carried in her arms.
“The third and fourth had been lashed on their backs on horses, as they were too small to travel, and the sun and laurel bushes had done horrid work with their little faces; they were all torn to pieces, and neither of the two little fellows could see, their eyes were so scratched and their faces so swelled. They were in so bad a plight that the Indians thought it best to dispatch them and take their little scalps.
“But as good fortune would have it, they were saved from the hands of the savages. Just in time, father and his five men ranged themselves around the camp. Mrs. Music says she heard the crack of a bush, but the Indians were so engaged that they did not hear it. The men all aimed, each at his Indian, but the guns of the men, notwithstanding father’s words of caution, had become wet and father’s gun only went off.
“The Indian he shot at fell into the fire but made a bound and sprung into the creek. The Indians, alarmed, all ran over the creek to their horses, and as they were running, one of the men made out to get his gun off and shot another Indian. Mrs. Music caught up with one of the little children that were going to be tomahawked, the oldest boy the other, and ran to where father was.
“It was no time to stop as the Indians were still twelve to six, so Mrs. Music, carrying her nursing child, and the two oldest boys started on the hone trail. Two of the men took the two little mangled children, and placed them on their backs under their hunting shirts, then tied their shirts before, formed sort of sacks for the children, and started on.
“Father and the other three men followed behind to guard them. So rapidly did they run, the woman with her child leading, that the Indians could not head them to ambush them, and they were too great cowards to follow very near directly in the trail for fear of being ambushed themselves.
“One Indian did at one time during the day get an advantage position, but showing himself was shot down. On the second day, after taking the back trail, father got home safe with all the men, the woman, and her five children. Mrs. Music remained at her father’s for about two weeks and then went back to her place. Afterward, she married again and was still alive, a very old woman, about 18 months ago.”
Mr. Kelley further relates about his affair that on the morning of the attack on Music’s place, Capt. Lewis, who was stationed with 30 soldiers further down Clinch, had started with his men for Kanawha, but an express overtook him, and judging that he would find the Indians on Big Sandy, he turned aside.
“When he first came in sight of Sandy, the smoke of the camp of the Indians was discovered, but while the men were ranging themselves about the camp, the crack of bushes scattered the Indians so that they mostly escaped. So sudden, however, was their flight that they got off with only one tomahawk, as was afterward learned from returned prisoners.
“Capt. Lewis gathered up the “plunder” of the Indians and sent some of his men back with it, together with the horses, and he continued on to Kanawha. Mrs. Music recovered her horses, and the guns (poor affairs), tomahawks, etc., were taken to Luke Kelley’s and shot for, Luke Kelley winning almost all of them.”
We have not yet done with Mr. Kelley’s reminiscences but cannot publish any more until we see the old gentleman, so we may be obliged to omit them next week.
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