It has already been stated, that, previous to the breaking out of the war, Kill-buck lived a good part of his time among the white settlers in the neighborhood of Fort Pleasant. An Irish servant, belonging to Peter Casey, absconded, and Casey offered a pistole* reward for his recovery. Kill-buck apprehended the servant, and delivered him to his master; but from some cause or other, Casey refused to pay the reward. A quarrel ensued, and Casey knocked Kill-buck down with his cane. When the war broke out, Kill-buck sought every opportunity to kill Casey, but never could succeed. Many years afterwards, Casey's son obtained a lieutenancy, and was ordered to Wheeling, where Kill-buck then being, young Casey requested some of his friends to introduce him to him. When Kill-buck heard his name, he paused for a moment, and repeating, "Casey! Casey!" inquired of the young man whether he knew Peter Casey. The lieutenant replied, "Yes, he is my father." Kill-buck immediately exclaimed, "Bad man, bad man, he once knocked me down with his cane.' On the young man's proposing to make up the breach, the old chief replied, "Will you pay me the pistole ?” Young Casey refused to do this, but proposed to treat with a quart of rum, to which the old warrior assented, saying, "Peter Casey old man-Kill-buck old man :" and then stated that he had frequently watched for an opportunity to kill him, "but he was too lazy-would not come out of the fort: Kill-buck now friends with him, and bury the tomahawk." This Indian chief, it is said, was living about fourteen years ago, but had become blind from his great age, being little under, and probably over, a hundred years.

*The pistole is a piece of gold, equal to three dollars and seventy-five cents in value.

†This anecdote is related, somewhat differently, by Dr. Turley, page 100 of this work,

110

CHAPTER VIII.

Indian incursions and massacres....Continued.

In a preceding chapter the erection of several stone dwelling-houses is noticed. These houses generally had small stockade forts about them; and whenever an alarm took place, the neighboring people took shelter in them, as places of security against their savage foe.*

The men never went out of the forts without their guns. The enemy were frequently lurking about them, and at every opportunity would kill some of the people. At the residence of Maj. Robert D. Glass, on Opequon, 5 miles south west of Winchester, part of his dwellinghouse was erected in the time of the Indian war: the port-holes were plainly to be seen before the body was covered with weather-boarding. The people were closely "forted" for about three years. After the termination of hostilities between England and France, the incursions of the Indians were less frequent, and never in large parties; but they were continued at intervals until the year 1766 or 1767,

About the year 1758, a man by the name of John Stone, near what is called the White House, in the Hawksbill settlement, was killed by Indians. Stone's wife, with her infant child and a son about 7 or 8 years old, and George Grandstaff, a youth of 16 years old, were taken off as prisoners. On the South Branch mountain, the Indians murdered Mrs. Stone and her infant, and took the boy and Grandstaff to their towns. Grandstaff was about three years a prisoner, and then got home. The little boy, Stone, grew up with the Indians, came home, and after obtaining possession of his father's property, sold it, got the money, returned to

The late Mrs. Rebecca Brinker, one of the daughters of George Bow. man, on Cedar creek, informed the author that she recollected when sixteen families took shelter in her father's house..

the Indians, and was never heard of by his friends afterwards.

The same Indians killed Jacob Holtiman's wife and her children, Holtiman escaping. They plundered old Brewbecker's house, piled up the chairs and spinning wheels, and set them on fire. A young woman who lived with Brewbecker had concealed herself in the garret; and after the Indians left the house, extinguished the fire, and saved the house from burning. Brewbecker's wife got information that the Indians were coming, and ran off with her children to where several men were at work, who conveyed her across the river to a neighboring house. Mr. John Brewbecker now resides on the farm where this occurrence took place.*

The following singular tradition, as connected with this occurrence, has been related to the author:

About dusk on the evening previous, Mrs. Brewbecker told her husband and family that the Indians would attack them next morning, saying that she could see a party of them on the side of Masinutton mountain, in the act of cooking their supper. She also declared that she saw their fire, and could count the number of Indians. She pointed to the spot; but no other part of the family saw it; and it was therefore thought that she must be mistaken. Persisting in her declarations, she begged her husband to remove her and her children to a place of safety; but she was laughed at, told that it was mere superstition, and that she was in no danger. It was however afterwards ascertained that the savages had encamped that night at the place on the mountain pointed out by Mrs. B. It was about two miles off.†

These outrages of the Indians drove many of the white settlers below the Blue ridge.

Probably the same year, several Indians attacked the house of a man named Bingaman, near the present site

"Mr. Brewbecker resides on the west side of the South fork of the Shenandoah river, on Masinutton creek, in the new county of Page, and has erected a large and elegant brick house on the spot where the Indians plundered his father's dwelling.

This tradition was given the author by Mr. Andrew Keyser, jr. who marrie la granddaughter of the woman who saw the Indens.

of Newmarket. Bingaman, who was remarkably stout and active, defended his family with great resolution and firmness, and laid two of the assailants dead at his feet: they succeeded, however, in killing his wife and children, Bingaman escaping with several wounds, from which he finally recovered. The same party took Lewis Bingaman (a nephew of the one just spoken of,) a prisoner. He was a boy about 13 or 14 years old, grew up with the Indians, and became a man of distinction among them.

About the same time the Indians forcibly entered the house of Mr. Young, who resided on the farm now owned by William Smith, Esq. not more than a mile from Zane's old iron works, and killed several of his family. They took an infant, dashed its head against a rock, beat out its brains, and left it lying on the ground. Two of Young's daughters, pretty well grown, were carried off prisoners. Lieutenant Samuel Fry raised a force of between 30 and 40 men, pursued, and came in sight of them, unobserved, at the Short mountain, near the Allegany. Fry's party prepared to fire; but unfortunately one of the white girls stepping accidentally before their guns, the intention was frustrated, and Fry being discovered the next moment, he ordered his men to charge. This was no sooner done than the Indians broke and ran off, leaving their guns, prisoners and plunder the two young females were thus rescued and brought safely home.

Another family in the same neighborhood, by the name of Day, were attacked, several killed, and two of the daughters taken off. A party of 18 or 20 whites pursued them. The girls, as they traveled through the mountains, expecting pursuit, took the precaution (unobserved by their captors) to tear off and frequently drop small scraps of white linen, as well as pluck off branches of bushes, and drop them as a trail, by which means their friends could readily discover their route. A brother to the girls, a young man, was one of the pursuing party. The Indians were overtaken on the South Branch

mountain; and as soon as seen, preparations were made to give them a deadly fire. But the young Day, in his eagerness to avenge the death of his father and family, prematurely fired, killing the object of his aim, when the others precipitately fled, leaving every thing behind them. They had cut off the girls' petticoats at the knees, in order that they should be able to make more speed in traveling. The girls were brought safe home.

There were several instances of the Indians committing murders on the whites about the Potomac and South Branch several years before Braddock's defeat. About the year 1752, a man by the name of James Davis was killed, pretty high up the Potomac; and in the succeeding year, William Zane and several of his family were taken prisoners on the South Branch, in the now county of Hardy. Isaac Zane, one of his sons, remained during his life with the Indians. The author saw this man at Chilicothe in the autumn of 1797, and had some conversation with him upon the subject of his captivity. He stated that he was captured when about nine years old; was four years without seeing a white person; had learned the Indian tung quite well, but never lost a knowledge of English, having learned to spell in two syllables, which he could still do, although pretty well advanced in years. He also said that a trader came to the Indian village four years after his captivity, and spoke to him in English, of which he understood every word; that when he grew up to manhood, he married a sister of the Wyandot king, and raised a family of seven or eight children. His sons were all Indians in their habits and dispositions; his daughters, four of them, all married white men, became civilized, and were remarkably fine women, considering the opportunities they had had for improvement.

This man possessed great influence with the tribes he was acquainted with; and as he retained a regard for his native countrymen, was several times instrumental in bringing about treaties of peace. The government of the United States granted him a patent for ten thou