DUNMORE'S WAR
PRIMARY DOCUMENTS
Recollections of Capt. Michael Myers, Newburgh,
Ohio,
given to Dr. Draper February 25 and 26, 1850.
From Documentary History of Dunmore's War, edited by Reuben Gold Thwaites and Louise Phelps Kellogg (Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society, 1905), pp. 17-19
In the Spring of 1774, Mr. Myers was residing on Pigeon Creek, in now Washington Co. Pa. & was called out to guard the frontier, with others, to the Greathouse Settlement at Baker's Bottom.
Two men came there, who wished to cross the Ohio to Yellow Creek, & desired a pilot, & engaged Mr. Myers to go over with them. They swam over their horse beside the canoe, & went two or 3 miles up on the western side or bank of Yellow Creek. Their object was to examine land. It was near night, & concluded to stop, spanseled out the horse, & prepared to camp. The horse feeding, rambled over a rise of ground about 300 yards distant; & soon after, hearing the bell on the horse rattling rather violently, Myers and the men picked up their guns & went to see what it meant: and when within 40 yards, Myers discovered an Indian in the act of unspanselling the horse, who was rather restive (running round towards the camp of his white masters) not seeming to like his new visitor. The Indian's gun was lying on the ground near by. Myers drew up & shot the Indian who fell over, as if dead. It was now near sun-down. Presently in a few minutes Myers discovered another Indian approach with a gun in his hand, who had been attracted thither by the report of Myers' shot; & when about 30 yards from Myers, looking down the hill at the dead fallen or wounded Indian, as if in astonishment, Myers having reloaded immediately after his former shot, now fired, & this second Indian also fell, whether dead or not, Myers did not wait to see. The Indian camp was only about a hundred yards off, with a large number of deer & bear skins presented to view. By this time the two white men had got their horse & ran off; & when Myers reached the river, the men were partly over in the boat with their horse swimming beside, & would not consent to return. Myers hurried up the river to a spot where he could ford it, & thus got over.
Next morning an Indian came to inquire who shot the two Indians the day before; and some of the party stationed there (about 30, Mr. Myers thinks) killed this Indian. Myers, however, did not participate in this murder. The same day, or the next, as Myers thinks, a large "dug-out" came over a few rods below the mouth of Yellow Creek. Greathouse's party, and Myers with the rest, some 30 or 40, were posted along the Southern bank of the river behind trees & bushes, & logs, & as the Indian canoe came within 5 or 6 rods (Myers says he thinks nearer) of shore, they fired upon the Indians as directed by their Captain (Greathouse). the Indians had guns with them, [he] thinks all of them were shot (& erroneously supposes there were some 30 of them.)
The remainder of this Indian party, who did not attempt to come over, went down the river to Wheeling & there got attacked.
Sappington lived a little below Greathouse's; Geo. Cox was a large man and well known to Myers.
Mr. Myers was not out with McDonald, Dunmore nor Lewis in 1774.