DUNMORE'S WAR
PRIMARY DOCUMENTS
Reminiscences of Judge Henry Jolly.
From Documentary History of Dunmore's War, edited by Reuben Gold Thwaites and Louise Phelps Kellogg (Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society, 1905), pp. 9-14
In the Spring of the year 1774 a party of Indians encamped on the Northwest of the Ohio, near the mouth of Yellow Creek, a party of whites called Greathouse's party, lay on the opposite side of the river, the Indians came over to the white party - I think five men, one woman and an infant babe, the whites Gave thim rum, which three of them drank, and in a short time became very drunk. The other two men and the woman refused, the Sober Indians were chalenged to shoot at a mark, to which they agreed, and as soon as the[y] emptied their Guns, the whites shot them down, the woman Attempted to escape by flight, but was also shot down, She lived long enough however to beg mercy for her babe, telling them that it was a Kin to themselves, they had a man in the Cabbin, prepared with a tomahawk for the purpose of killing the three drunk Indians, which was immediately done. The party of men women &c moved off for the Interior Settlements, and came to Catfis[h] camp on the evening of the next day, where they tarried untill the next day, I very well recollect my mother, feeding and dressing the Babe, Chirping to the little innocent, and it smiling, however they took it away, and talked of sending it to its supposed father, Col. Geo. [John] Gibson of Carlisle (Pa.) who was then [and] had been for several years a trader amongst the Indians.
The remainder of the party, at the mouth of Yellow Creek, finding that their friends on the opposite side of the river was Massacred, the[y] attempted to escape by descending the ohio, and in order to avoid being discovered by the whites, passed on the west side of Wheeling Island, and landed at pipe creek, a small stream that empties into the ohio a few miles below Graves creek, where they were overtaken by Cresap with a party of men from Wheeling, the[y] took one Indian scalp, and had one white man badly wounded, (Big Tarrence) they I believe carried him in a litter from Wheeling to redstone I saw the party on the return from their victorious campaign.
The Indians had for some time before this event thought themselves intruded upon by the long Knife, as they Called the Virginians at that time, and many of them were for war however the[y] calld a Council, in which Logan acted a Conspicuous part, he admited their Ground of complaint, but at the same time reminded them of some aggressions on the part of the Indians, and that by a war, they could but harrass and distress the frontier Settlements for a short time, that the long Knife would come like the trees in the woods, and that ultimately, they would be drove from their good land that they now possessed; he therefore strongly recommended peace, to him they all agreed, Grounded the hatchet, every thing wore a tranquil appearance, when behold, in came the fugitives from Yellow creek; Logan's father, Brother and sister murdered; what is to be done now; Logan has lost three of his nearest and dearest relations, the consequence is that this same Logan, who a few days before was so pacific, raises the hatchet, with a declaration, that he will not Ground it, untill he has taken ten for one, which I believe he completely fulfilled, by taking thirty scalps and prisoners in the sumer of 74. the above has often been told to me by sundry persons who was at the Indian town, at the time of the Council alluded to, and also when the remains of the party came in from Yellow creek; thomas Nicholson has told me the above and much more, another person (whose name I cannot recollect) told me that he was at the towns when the Yellow Creek Indians came in, that there was a very Great lamentation by all the Indians of that places, some friendly Indian advised him to leave the Indian Settlement, which he did Could any person of common rationality, believe for a moment, that the Indians came to Yellow creek with hostile intention, or that they had any suspicion of the whites, having any hostile Intentions against them, would five men have crossed the river, three of them in a Short time dead drunk, the other two discharging their Guns, puting themselves entirely at they mercy of the whites, or would they have brought over a Squaw, with an infant paupoos, if they had not reposed the utmost Confidence in the friendship of the whites, every person who is acquainted with Indians Knows better, and it was the belief of the Inhabitants who were capable of reasoning on the Subject, that all the depredations Commited on the frontiers was by Logan and his party, as a retaliation, for the murder of Logans friends at Yellow creek - I mean all the depredations commited in the year 1774. It was well Known that Michael Cresap had no hand in the Massacre at Yellow Creek.