NATIVE AMERICANS
Luke Kelley’s Reminiscences #2
Submitted by Bob Davisson
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, Ohio so that the first settlers here experienced none of the difficulties of Indian troubles.
Indians did not occupy this region except as a hunting ground. For that 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 over 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 into 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 southwestern 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; the only evidence of their crossing were marks of feet or tomahawks. 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. Still, 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 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; on 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 a 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 about 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 communicate 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, the lower part of Hanging Rock, cut off her bag, took out her tongue, then filed up 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 whiskeys. The Indians heard of it, collected for a general “dance,” and camped for two or three days. The night before breaking up, they were particularly “jolly.”
They first gave all their guns, tomahawks, 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 for 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.
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