Shingas (1740-1763?) was a noted chief of the Turkey Clan of the Delaware; he was also a brother of King (Tamaqua) Beaver (an immensely famous chief as well in our region).  Many authorities (chiefs) of the Ohio Valley region proclaimed him a nephew of the infamous Sassoonan, another famous chief of the region. Shingas carved a bloodthirsty reputation in the Allegheny Mountains and the Ohio valley region, and he had reason to.

Shingas did become a king in 1752 (this claim was announced at Logstown by Tanacharison, a well-known chief in the Beaver County and surrounding areas), a time when Beaver County was not in existence, but had accrued a bloody and violent history between White Settlers and various Iroquois and Algonquin tribes. The direct quote from Chief Tannacharison is as follows, “that is our right to give you a King” to represent the Lenape in “all publick Business” between the Lenape, the Six Nations, and the British.” Tanacharison announced to the Virginia commissioners, “we have given our Cousins, the Delawars, a King, who lives there, we desire you will look upon him as a Chief of that Nation.” Shingas was absent from the treaty conference, so Tamaqua (Shingas brother, King Beaver) “stood proxy for his brother and was presented with a lace hat and jacket and suit.” In another preserved journal by the Virginia Commissioners, the following is recorded verbatim, “The Journal of the Virginia Commissioners to this treaty, under date of June 11th, describes his coronation as follows: “Afterwards the Half King [Tanacharison] spoke to the Delawares: ‘Nephews, you received a speech last year from your brother, the Governor of Pennsylvania and from us, desiring you to choose one of the wisest councellors, and present him to us for a King. As you have not done it, we let you know it is our right to give you a King, and we think proper to give you Shingas for your King, whom you must look upon as your head chief, and with whom all public business must be transacted between you and your brethren, the English. On which the Half King put a laced hat on the head of The Beaver, who stood proxy for his brother, Shingas, and presented him with a rich jacket and a suit of English clothes, which had been delivered to the Half King by the Commissioners for that ¹purpose.” 

The trouble and conflict with white settlers escalated with the building of Fort Pitt. (Present day Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh.) The struggle to control this area of Beaver and Allegheny County was between Great Britain and France and the Six Nations of the Iroquois (“Haudenosaunee”, Iroquois name pronounced HOH-din-oh-SHOH-nee); at this time, the Delaware Tribes (Delaware were Algonquian Indians) were looked upon as inferior to the Iroquois who claimed to the French and English that they owned the lands. (This would include ALL present-day Allegheny and Beaver and Butler County.) Shingas, however, did not recognize Iroquois authority; consequently, he began his own raids on the white settlements established in the areas, even as far as Virginia. Shingas and a band of loyal followers took part in a dark and bloody campaign throughout all the frontier country of Pennsylvania, carving out a fearless and violent reputation as a warrior and zealous Delaware Indian. Even declining to assist George Washington at Fort Necessity, Shingas continued his terrible campaign through regions of Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Beaver County, Butler County, and even as far as Crawford County. ² However, there is mention of him by Washington himself in his journal in 1753 when he travelled to the French forts in the region; he discovered Shingas residing in what is now McKees Rocks near present-day Pittsburgh and commented on the following, “About two miles from this [the Forks of the Ohio], on the Southeast side of the River at ‘a place where the Ohio Company intended to erect a fort, lives Shingas, King of the Delawares. We called upon him to invite him to council at the Logs Town. Shingas attended us to the Logs Town, where we arrived between sun setting and dark on the 25th day after I left Williamsburg.” Shingas did participate in the discussions at Logstown and then left for the villages of Venango and Le Beouf.

In 1754, we discover Shingas again in the history of our area. He met with two diplomats by the names of George Croghan and Andrew Montour at Logstown. For this occasion, Shingas was joined by two other famous chiefs by the names of “Delaware George” and “Scarouady”. The primary purpose for Shingas was to present a requisition to the Governor of Virginia to consider building a “strong-house” at the forks of the Ohio River; just before the closing of these proceedings, Shingas rose from his place and spoke the following, “Brother Onas: I am glad to hear all our people here are of one mind. It is true I live on the river side, which is the French road, and I assure you by these strings of wampum [gave them strings of wampum] that I will neither go down or up, but will remove nearer to my brethren, the English, where I can keep our women and children safe from the enemy.” Shingas did not keep this promise; he sided with the French. After Braddock’s defeat, Shingas continued his bloody and ruthless reputation on the Ohio Valley frontier in unfathomable ways. During much of the French and Indian War, he spent his time convincing other tribes of the region such as Kittanning, Logstown and Sawkunk (a now famous Indian village near present-day Bridgewater/Rochester) to indulge in resisting against any white settler arriving in the region.

Unsurprisingly, the white settlers in our region were not able to effectively extinguish Shingas hit and raid tactics that he and his warriors were infamously known for. As his reputation grew, the colonial governments of both Pennsylvania and Virginia offered a substantial reward for his capture or death. His two most famous acts of cruelty are the burning of Fort McCord and the capture and killing of members of the Knox and Martin families. In one incident, some members of the families were sold like cattle to other frontiersman for rum or blankets.

However, it was during the Kittanning Expedition that Shingas mystically vanished from history. This incursion of the French and Indian War left the Delaware’s without an official residence in the area, forcing them to relocate to present day Ohio. According to some unverifiable accounts, Shingas may have contracted smallpox and met his end. Still, some say he was killed by White Settlers while on route to Ohio, as his fearless and bloody reputation had finally caught up with him. In another account, his brother, King Beaver (remember, whom the town of Beaver is referred), may have manipulated his brother into moving out of the area as they did not agree on how White Settlers should be dealt with. There is no evidence in existence at this time of how Shingas met his end. In the last of authentic historical narrative, Shingas is mentioned in taking part in the siege of Fort Pitt in July of 1763; from this incident, he is mentioned no longer.

Shingas bloodthirsty and despicable reputation entertains a higher level of indifference among scholars and local historians; however, his legacy on the Pennsylvania/Ohio frontier is legendary. He is, perhaps, the first ‘outlaw’ in our area; albeit, to his people, he was a man of intense loyalty, courage, and compassion who protected them from the expansion and settlements of White Authority.

On a final note, although Shingas and King Beaver are ‘credited’ as being Kings, it is highly unlikely, because of the Delaware traditions in place at the time, which could not have made them so. To be a TRUE KING, you had to be a ‘member’ of the ‘Turtle Clan’ and not the ‘Turkey Clan’ in order to be a TRUE KING of the DELAWARE. Does this tarnish the brothers’ reputations or their contributions to the development of our area? I think not. 

In closing, I think it proper to include of what we have of Shingas reputation as a warrior. It is from Reverend Heckewelder (A missionary of the Moravian Church in Pennsylvania), one of the LEADING authorities on Delaware Indian history and custom. He wrote the following on Shingas:

“Were his war exploits on record, they would form an interesting document, though a shocking one. Conococheague, Big Cove, Sherman’s Valley, and other settlements along the frontier, felt his strong arm sufficiently that he was a bloody warrior, cruel his treatment, relentless his fury. His person was small, but in a point of courage and activity, savage prowess, he was said to have never been exceeded by anyone.”

© 2025 – 2026, admin. All rights reserved.

The post SHINGAS: HERO/OUTLAW OF THE OHIO COUNTRY 🦃 appeared first on BEAVER COUNTY INDIANS.

The infancy of the American Indian in Beaver County is both sacred and obscure. Many of its residents claim some form of descendance from tribes that inhabited the Ohio Valley as well as Indians from the west and south. It is a well-deserved and ornate heritage that has had both social and civil influence deeply rooted throughout the county. 

One character that created such a discerning and lavish testament is Monacatootha. In 1753 Beaver County was primarily occupied by the French. To terminate their influence and extinguish their political control, the English desperately needed to amalgamate Indian treaties and royal support from the English throne. To achieve this objective, they established well supported common communication, exceedingly lavish “trade” relationships, and military support against the French who were constantly threatening and plundering their occupied territory. To irritate instances further, a young Virginia militia commander, George Washington, was sent to establish cheery and healthy relations with the already hostile Indians who bitterly resented the growing French occupation. Washington met Monacatootha at Logstown (later, Legionville). The Iroquois Confederacy appointed two chiefs to preside over the Indians at Logstown: Monacatootha (over the Shawnees) and Tanacharison (over the Delaware.)

A young and nervous Washington journeyed to the north to meet with high-ranking French commanders and to fully “discuss” the Ohio Valley situation.  After some considerable debate and meaningless attempts at negotiations, the French informed Washington that any Englishmen who attempted to trade or establish routes along the Ohio would be taken prisoner. Fearing for the lives of the men who worked along the banks of the Ohio, the Governor (Dinwiddie) sent Washington back to the area with a band of militia. With nervous energy, the Indians awaited Washington’s return; the French withdrew their forces from Venango, which constituted around a thousand men; however, the French forces far outnumbered the English which ultimately compelled the Indians to side with the French out of fear and desperation. 

Witnessing these venomous actions in horror, Monacatootha, believing this a circumstance of trickery by the French, made it his solemn duty to retaliate and rise to the defense of his new friend (Washington). His raped and burned his entire village, put his people in canoes, and proclaimed them as new members of Washington’s army. The message was candid and tense; to all the remaining Indians in the area that he would not succumb his people to French authority!  Almost every nation of the Iroquois Confederacy was united in peace, but clever actions Monacatootha had undertaken against the white invaders. Even with his people despondent and indignant, Monacatootha took more vindicating actions for the perseverance of his culture and people; he assisted Washington in taking up arms with him at the Battle of Fort Necessity.  Despondent and humiliated, Washington surrendered to the French and returned to Virginia; however, Monacatootha and his people could not return to the Ohio Valley because of full French occupation. But his struggle for the perseverance of his people would not be extinguished. He journeyed to New York to protest the malicious “Wyoming Purchase; Indians were fed alcohol and “signed” away their rights of land ownership over to white authority. As a direct result, the Iroquois Confederacy would not allow any white settlers into the Wyoming Valley. Years and many bloody massacres later, white settlers eventually cultivated these lands with savagery and violence, sadly.

In 1755 General Braddock was sent from England to force the French to abdicate their established influence and locations in the region. But unlike his counterpart, he deeply resented the American Indians and labeled them as ignorant and crude barbarians. Washington was completely incapable of convincing Braddock that he desperately needed the Indians to fight the French; in grave error, he exiled them, but a few. 

Some years later it was discovered that a British officer kept a journal of some of the military excursions of General Braddock which we find a mention of Monacatootha; he wrote: “Monacatootha, as chief of our Indians, being on the advance of the day before, was met by 70 Indians and some French who bound him and were going to kill him. An Indian of his own Nation being among them entreated that he might have his liberty which after some difficulty was granted.”

After deeper inquiry into the journal this officer asserts that the English were nervous and terrified of every “natural” sound that occurred. Not surprisingly, General Braddock refused to listen to any of Monacatootha’s suggestions in impugning French territory or implementing effective combat operations which the Indians had devised over time with their past incursions. As a result, General Braddock was defeated by the French forces (and aided by other Indian tribes who still supported the French) and consequently killed. Some months later, Monacatootha made an arduous and dangerous journey into Delaware Country. He reported his actions to the Pennsylvania Assembly, and they inevitably declared war on the Delaware. Sadly, Monacatootha died in 1757; at the time he was living in Lancaster and was never able to return to his home along the Ohio. In his glorious honor, the borough of Monaca, Pennsylvania, takes his name. 

The contribution and influence of the Native Americans in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, is extensive, though not widely appreciated and known and virtually unspoken of in our schools. Consider the following compilation of names and places associated with our natural relatives: Aliquippa,(related to Queen Aliquippa); Beaver,(possibly named after King Beaver of the Delaware tribe; though this is controversial); Blackhawk,(it was once a village on Lisbon Road; now Ohioville); Chippewa (named after an Indian tribe of the Great Lakes region); Connoquenessing,(the creek); Crow, (Crow’s Run Road); Logstown (a northeastern section of Aliquippa; but it was originally located across the river from Harmony Township); Monaca,(the town, named after Monacatootha); Ohio, (Ohioville Borough and Ohioville Village in Industry and the Ohio River; it is a Seneca name and means “good.”); Raccoon,(Raccoon Creek; it was originally called “raccoon stream” by the Indians); Sewickley, (New Sewickley Township, North Sewickley Township, Big Sewickley Creek; it is a Shawnee name.) How many do you know? 

Here is a video presentation I did this summer on the life and times of Monacatootha overlooking the famous “OH-HEE-O” Ohio River. (The word “OHIO” is a Seneca Indian term that means “good river.”)

© 2025, admin. All rights reserved.

The post MONACATOOTHA: WARRIOR&CHIEF OF THE ONEIDA 🪓 appeared first on BEAVER COUNTY INDIANS.

This is a remarkable story of courage, persistence, and preservation of the Cherokee people and their customs and integrity, led and supervised by an incredibly brave and compassionate woman, who was called “Nanye-hi”, which, in the Cherokee tongue means BELOVED WOMAN, which really means WAR WOMAN. The name can also mean “one who goes about” in accordance with Cherokee spiritual belief that the Great Spirit himself communicated directly from this woman to her people, a belief that was shared and respected by all the Cherokee chiefs and spiritual leaders. ³Her English name was Nancy Ward. Her story begins with her being born in Chota, an ancient Cherokee province in what is now Monroe County, Tennessee. While it is not officially documented as to who her biological father was, the Cherokee practiced a matrilineal tradition which named her mother Tame-Doe, a direct descendent of a prominent Cherokee chief of the Wolf Clan.

By all accounts, a winsome and gorgeous woman, Nancy had a husband and two children by age seventeen. During the Battle of Taliwa, her husband was ambushed and killed; she even chewed on the lead bullets before he would discharge his weapon to inflict more injury on the victims who were shot. After his death on this battlefield, in front of her, she rallied the Cherokee behind her to charge at the Creek Indians in retaliation. Picking up her husband’s rifle, and shooting at Creek Indians, they retreated almost instantly. As a result of this action, Nancy became a prominent figure in Cherokee and other tribal societies, heading the councils and tribal discussions of her people; her authority and responses to matters were equal to that of the chiefs. ⁴

FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR: 

Like an abundance of many Indian tribes, by the 1760’s most of the indigenous people were allies with the British; a few were allegiance to the French; in exchange for Cherokee cooperation, the British promised military protection on their lands and lodgings. At this time, most Cherokee land had British military posts and stations owned and operated in the name of the Royal Crown; this idea and symbolism did not sit well with elders of the tribes. As these posts and stations expanded in the geography of native lands, it also attracted more European settlers into their occupied areas. In most of present-day West Virginia, bands of Cherokees waged frontier wars on most of the white settlers, who were returning from assisting a “British takeover” of Fort Duquesne in Pittsburgh.This violent skirmish produced the killings of twenty more white settlers attempting to call this part of the Ohio valley region their home. (It is to be noted that there is a great abundance of evidence of Cherokee people passing through the Ohio Valley, and even settling in some unknown locations; however, most were forced into the area by relocation and other means of hostile transformation.) During these dark and bloody conflicts in our regions, it was noted that Nancy Ward would often spare her captives and release them, on the condition they inform their superiors of the resistance and bravery of the Cherokee people. One such woman whom she spared went by the name of Lydia (Russel) Bean. She took Mrs. Bean into her house, dressed and healed her wounds, from which she made a full recovery. In response to her kindness, Mrs. Bean taught Nancy Ward new loom-weaving techniques for use in making clothing more comforting and durable. In addition to this, Mrs. Bean bequeathed to Ward two dairy cows from which she was taught who to milk them and and process the cow’s milk into dairy products that could and did sustain the Cherokee people when hunting and fishing became thinned out; this is, arguably, the first interaction of Native People’s implementing dairy process and idea into their culture which would prove to be vital to their survival and persistence. At this point in the discourse of European influence and technology of the time, sadly, slavery was also introduced into Cherokee culture, albeit it was not practiced by all tribes of the people; it was much more active in the Deep South; it has been stated in various sources, however, that Nancy Ward did in fact own black slaves herself; however, Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole, and other tribes were under a dominant impression to arrive at the conclusion that owning black slaves would be, in some beneficial way, a means by which they could procure favoritism by white settlers. (In the end, only the opposite came true.) 

AMERICAN REVOLUTION:

The Cherokee People were in a sea of chaos in the time of the War of Independence: they faced enormous difficulties and difficult decision-making moments. Most of the Cherokee were allied with the British against the American colonists for various reasons. One is the obvious actions of the Colonists demanding that Cherokee and other tribes surrender their lands for the cause of white expansion. In the unique case of Nancy Ward, however, she sympathized with the Colonists. There can be numerous reasons to illustrate the reason. The most paramount one being is that the tribes in the area were so divided and so deceived by British authority. As conflicts all over the thirteen colonies spread, and the need for American Colonists to eradicate influence and loyalty to the English crown, Indigenous Peoples took it upon themselves to represent and accrue their own needs, preserving their sacred lands being of the highest utmost. If Ward could continue to convince her people could keep their lands by supporting the American cause for Independence, the whites would permit them to stay. (Once again, the opposite took places for ALL indigenous natives.) By the spring of 1775, Delaware, Mohawk, and Shawnee tribes aligned themselves, deceptively, with the British, in exchange for false pretenses of keeping their lands. By the year’s end, American and English settlements, largely in the Appalachian regions, were being raided by the Chickamauga (A branch of Cherokee who broke off from the major tribe) which resulted in Military retaliatory violence on the bloodiest level yet seen in our area. As a result, the Cherokee people were compelled to relinquish much more of their land to white authority. In an act of desperation for her own people as well as the American colonists, Nancy Ward warned a group of settlers that more bloodshed and loss of land was coming. To her accuracy, the attacks continued on territories all over the eastern and southern portions of the thirteen colonies; she even sent cattle to staving militia in the hopes that a cease fire between her people and the colonists would prevail. Her efforts and contributions were ignored. Finally, by 1895, Nancy Ward assisted in the negotiation of the Treaty of Hopewell. Despite this, settlers in the regions still demanded more Cherokee and tribal lands; Nancy Ward stood firm in her objection to this. Under intense pressure from the States of Georgia and Alabama (which was under Cherokee authority at the time) Indian encroachments would be dealt with severely. This marked the beginning of the end of traditional Cherokee lands.  ⁵

By 1817, a great Cherokee Council took place without Nancy Ward being present; she had fallen ill. She sent a letter to the council to instruct them on their proceedings, here is a quote from that letter: …”don’t part with anymore of our lands but continue on it and enlarge your farms and cultivate and raise corn and cotton an we, your mothers and sisters, will make clothing for you…it was our desire to forewarn you all not to part with our lands.” By 1819, too much had changed and taken place. The Cherokee submitted more of their lands as far north as the Hiwassee River to join other Cherokee tribes to move south.

LATE LIFE AND DEATH: 

Nancy Ward owned and operated an inn for travelers in southeastern Tennessee. With the help of her son, she made a substantial income from the place and lived out her final days there. She died peacefully in 1822 or 1824. It was just before the passing of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. A chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Tennessee is named after her in honor. Currently, in Polk County, Tennessee, money is being raised for a museum that will bear her name.

LEGACY: 

Nancy Ward is a pristine example of a woman’s voice when a woman’s voice did not exist. She was convinced, however, that women, and not men, could recognize and reside with the differences of white and red culture and live by peaceful means. While she is looked upon with reverence from the American Revolution perspective, a few of her descendants may not hold so high a position. While the contention can be proposed that she assisted in the removal of Cherokee traditions into a more Western way of life, she was a staunch advocate for the preservation of Cherokee lands. While she is also credited with the introduction of slavery to the Cherokee people, dairy farming, cattle production and creating better clothing transferred Cherokee culture into a blooming and still highly sought after means of a people, preserved by prosperity, integrity, courage, and assimilation, hence, their still impressively pious and serene existence in the Indigenous/American human experience. 

© 2024, admin. All rights reserved.

The post “Nanye-hi” (CHEROKEE SPELLING,”ᎾᏅᏰᎯ”) Nancy Ward: Cherokee Heroine of the Ohio Valley 🪓 appeared first on BEAVER COUNTY INDIANS.

© 2024, admin. All rights reserved.

The post A WALKING HISTORY OF NATIVE AMERICAN OHIO COUNTRY (PILOT EPISODE: CHIEF LOGAN”S LAMENT) 🏹 appeared first on BEAVER COUNTY INDIANS.

It was a glorious time in the Buffalo Valley of Pennsylvania, near the Susquehanna River. It was here, in this fertile and scenic valley where Chief Logan spent his childhood; he would come to appreciate the poetic and naturalistic beauty of our future state in a way from which we have separated ourselves from; Logan would lament deeply over this. In this (his) time, Pennsylvania was a rich and pleasurable land, replete with portly hunting grounds, endless fishing in streams and rivers, and fresh farmland for crops and fruits to thrive. However, for Chief Logan, it would be short lived and bloody.

Logan (his Indian name was Tah-gah-jute, which means spying) was born of white and red parents in the Indian village of Osco, near Auburn, New York around 1725. His father was a Canadian who was abducted by members of the Oneida Tribe (Iroquois) and raised by them; when he grew to manhood, he married a member of the Cayuga tribe, and around the year 1725, the future Indian leader came into the world. Although his father had Roman Catholic roots, he became baptized by Moravian missionaries into the Protestant version of the faith; it would appear by early written records that Chief Logan himself was certainly no stranger to the “white mans” religion. It was said he could recite scripture as eloquently as his traditional Indian oral narratives. Outside of this, hardly anything is mentioned in any historical records of his childhood until he reaches young adult; it is here that Chief Logan, rapidly, carves out a reputation for himself. Quite early in his youth, he would master the arts of warfare, trapping, hunting, and scouting. He became a renowned expert in the handling and performance of the bow and arrow; he could also throw a tomahawk at a tremendously far distance with horrifying precision; however, even more impressively, was his oratory skills in diplomacy and peace-making among other tribes as well as white settlers. As a result of his peacekeeping and oratory skills, Chief Logan grew in fame and acquired an impressive amount of admirers from all white settlers, trappers, militia, Indian chiefs from various tribes, and even the likes of Generals from various forts in the Pittsburgh and Ohio Valley regions; his fame and respect spread everywhere. From Ohio, various parts of north and southwestern Pennsylvania, New York, and even Canada, Logan was known and heavily relied upon as an honest negotiator, peacekeeper, impressive informer and conveyed, quite impressively, with ‘hardened’ warriors, his epistles on admonishing them against senseless attacks on white establishments throughout his traveling regions. In a certain time in his life, he convinced himself that white authority would be generous and cordial with the negotiations of exchange with Indian lands throughout the entire Ohio Valley area as well as upstate New York and further. It is accurately documented in the annals of Pennsylvania Colonial History that Chief Logan was the administrator and spokesperson for many tribes; Benjamin Franklin, it is claimed, was said to have spoken with Logan concerning the living arrangements of the various Indian tribes west of (present-day) Philadelphia after various negotiation treaties. Franklin was impressed with his tone of voice and oratory presentations, even though they were heavily laden with Iroquois and Algonquin accents. For several years, Chief Logan preserved and presented peaceful episodes on the Ohio frontier. But things soon changed. Tragedy and avarice would prevail. Despite Logan’s impeccable record and displays of peacekeeping and treaty preservations, the acquirement of lands throughout the Ohio Valley proved too much for white settlers. As more came into the region, the lands and forests became irresistible to trappers, fur traders, and about every European passing through; more importantly, the continuous arrival of white settlers also was paving the road to the west. As word spread of this land, traffic grew with insatiable conquest to obtain a piece of it. On the 30^th day of April,1774, blood would water the grounds of the Ohio Valley/Beaver County/Monongalia regions.

On this day, Logan was away from his family due to a hunting expedition; to preserve peace and protection for his family, he assigned them several of his best warriors, but through some strange sets of coincidences, they created their own plans of conviviality that, most likely, Logan would have been put in remonstrance over. Daniel Gatehouse, a Virginia frontiersman, who possessed a formidable disposition with certain members of the Mingo tribe invited the warriors as well as Logan’s family to be guests that day at his fort; the Mingos could not resist because they knew there would be replete supplies of rum, food, clothing and games (challenges). As to what happened next, the number of people involved are still presently debated; from one reporter the number of men was eight; Heckewelder himself, one of the most venerated historians on the Native Americans in the Ohio Valley, puts the number at an even twelve. In either case, these party of men and members of Logan’s family crossed the southside of the Ohio River just to the front of the mouth of Yellow Creek (about 40 miles northwest of Fort Pitt near present-day Pittsburgh.) There they entered a lodge called Baker’s Tavern, a local rum-seller. There was also an infant in the party that belonged to Logan’s sister. By most of the accounts that survive, the activities that commenced early in the day were cheerful and cordial. As afternoon approached, some of the Indians began to drink heavily; one that did not was Logan’s brother, John Petty. Sometime later, Logan’s brother and the other male Indians were challenged to shoot at a target; the Indians went first. When they all had a chance to discharge their weapons, they were shot down in cold blood by the settlers in the tavern, including Logan’s sister, her only baby, his mother and brother.

When Logan received word of the tragedy that was bestowed upon his family, it is said he wept and then went into an uncontrollable rage of anger; he sought the bloodiest vengeance that he could afford. In his own words, Logan lamented, “Logan thought only of revenge; Logan will not weep.” Before this tragedy struck Logan and his family, an assembly of chiefs were in favor of going to war to protect their lands; ironically, Logan was not in favor of this decision. “I admit you have just cause of complaint. But you must remember that, you too, have sometimes done wrong. By war you can only harass and distress the frontier settlements for a time and then the Virginians will come like the trees in the woods in number and drive you from the good lands you possess, from the hunting grounds so dear to you.” The chiefs themselves sided with Logan and no war was declared; however, the stage was prepared for one of the bloodiest raids ever witnessed and written of in the Ohio Valley region. Prior to this tragedy, Chief Logan was known as a wise and astute negotiator, among white settlers as well as his own brethren; he was a skilled hunter, tracker, chief and great warrior among his people. However, rage and anger would consume his soul. He quickly transformed himself from a chief of peace to a warrior of revenge, and revenge he would have. By nature, Logan was a disciple of peace, albeit a ridiculed one by, sometimes, his fellow Red Man; earlier in his youth, above all things, Chief Logan did what he could to avoid war; this course would prove, however, to be short lived. As more white settlers arrived in the Ohio Valley, disputes about land privilege grew violent and replete with avarice. In 1774, the British Parliament passed an Act (Quebec Act) which made the lands of the Ohio River, the purchase or payment to Native American tribes. These lands were now in the possessions of Quebec Territory, secured and maintained by local Virginians; the Governor was Lord Dunmore. Further, according to the “Colonial Records of Pennsylvania”, laws were in place that rewarded Indian scalps by white settlers at the price of 150 Spanish silver dollars; women and children were priced at fifty! Little did Chief Logan know, under the eyes of even his watchful and confident supervision, most of the white settlers arriving in the region possessed no interest in implementing friendly terms with his people.

After the attack along Yellow Creek, many Indians were assembling for a bloody retaliation; Chief Logan being the protagonist as the King of the Avengers. He became obsessed with slaughtering and scalping as many white settlers as possible; he decided that he would accrue ten scalps for each member of his slain family. To achieve this, rather than travel by canoe down the Ohio and Beaver rivers, he set out on foot, through all the ancient deer and Indian trails created long before his birth. In present day Beaver and Allegheny County and considerable portions of western Ohio and northern West Virginia, no person knew this terrain and forest better than he. He preferred to travel alone rather than with his warriors; he would strike suddenly and ferociously, only leaving a trail of blood and death in every location he encountered.

Around the 9^th of May 1774, Logan, briefly, grouped with a band of warriors and set on foot deep into the Monongahela Country. Patiently, for a length of two weeks, he waited for the perfect moment to strike a frontier family that was newly settled in. When his moment came, he and his warriors were struck with merciless ferocity! A family by the name of Spicer (according to written accounts) was horrifically annihilated. A husband and wife and six of their children were killed and scalped and two more children taken prisoner. A few days later, two more settlers were killed along Dunbar Creek (in present-day Fayette County, Pennsylvania); by the end of June, Chief Logan had claimed sixteen scalps for the price of his murdered family that totaled four members. As the summer months progressed, Logan unleashed a reign of terror in the Ohio Valley; he made stops in, particularly, southwestern Pennsylvania (he even lived, for a time, in present-day Rochester) where he was known as a shrewd diplomat and audacious titan. His name was replete with terror in this particular region of our present-day region that includes Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. As word of his bloodthirsty reputation spread, local militias in the varying regions began to organize themselves in an order to capture and/or kill him. Chief Logan went from a peaceful and valiant leader of the Mingo to a vengeful and cruel chief who was intent on completely abolishing white influence in the regions he inhabited. Logan felt the heartbeat of his entire race. He knew war and plundering meant a tragic end, eventually. The Yellow Creek Massacre, from which Logan never recovered, was etched into the surrounding tribes of the region because of his deadly raids; on the flip side of the coin, Indian distrust and removal became a motivating factor for more of the arriving white settlers into the area; as the months went forward, so did the violence continue. After accruing his shocking number of scalps and executions, Logan seems to have cooled his anger off; by most accounts, he began a period of serious self-examination. He wanted peace again. During one of his raids on a white settler village, he caught a certain man, Major Robinson, held him prisoner for a time and was officially adopted into Logan’s tribe; during his stay, he forced him to write a letter to a one Captain Cresap. Logan dictated and edited the note; several revisions, the note read in this manner:

To Captain Cresap:

“What did you kill my people on Yellow Creek for? The white people killed my kin at Conestoga a great while ago and I thought nothing of that; but you killed my kin again on Yellow Creek and took my cousin prisoner. Then I thought I must kill too; and I have been three times to War since; but the Indians are not angry, only myself.” Captain John (Chief) Logan, July 21^st, 1774

In any event, Captain Cresap was not responsible for the slaughter of Logan’s family, but it was difficult to convince him of this because of the information he was given by various informants on both sides; it is truly difficult to know what Logan felt towards the perpetrators whom he laid at least a certain level of responsibility towards the murder of his family; his inevitable result was, once again, rage. This time, he took a band of scouts with him to the banks of the Holston and Clinch rivers near the southwest corner of Virginia where it was reported to him that Captain Cresap had established a residence. Logan and his band reacted violently and took five more scalps, including the John Roberts family, save one boy whom they took as captive. Captain Cresap and his family were also included in the slaughter; it is worthy to note than on the day of Logan’s family execution, Captain Cresap was at Wheeling rather than anywhere near Yellow Creek where the massacre took place (his whereabouts are accounted for in local militia journals of the time.) As Logan’s warriors continued their raid deep into Virginia, by early Autumn, the Delaware Indians were driven from the Muskingum by local Virginia (British) militia and Logan had claimed thirty more scalps throughout the Ohio Valley and Virginia areas, as he had sworn, he would.

The result of these slaughter and raids would result in Dunmore’s War; however, in the infancy of this conflict, it would be labeled “Logan’s War.” As this senseless slaughter continued, the raids in the Ohio Valley region exceeded anyone’s expectation of a peaceful result; Logan’s reputation as a bloodthirsty chief and merciless murderer of white settlers, were replete, especially in areas such as present-day Beaver and Rochester, Pennsylvania where Logan lived for a time with his family; he was quite familiar and a well known diplomat in this exclusive region for a lengthy period of time before conducting violent raids throughout the Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia territories. By now, even the other chiefs, such as Cornstalk, Blue Jacket, White Eyes could hardly watch the blood spilling forth on their lands; Logan wreaked with vengeance and wore the armor of bravery like no chief in his lifetime. While he did not take part in Dunmore’s War or even the Battle of Point Pleasant. By this turn of events, he settled his anger with peace and began to commence on negotiations so that the Long Knives and Shawnee and Mingo could end their long feud, Pennsylvania promised to purchase lands from the Indians of the region by method of payment; however, in Virginia, they certainly displayed no honorary intentions of giving anything in exchange to Indians in order to obtain large tracts of land; more bloodshed, during the next several years continued in an effort to secure lands in the Ohio Valley for the purpose of white settlements, nothing more. Almost every treaty agreement that was created at Fort Pitt, and the surrounding regions between the British and French armies with the Indians was never permanent. The ravage and the chaos that followed for the continuing years is responsible for the creation of our present surrounding counties, municipalities, and cities.

In his final years, Logan succumbed to grief and alcoholism; he never fully recovered, it seems, from the Yellow Creek Massacre of his family. He regrouped along the Sandusky River and made his way in the northcentral part of Ohio near Lake Erie. He still maintained, as best he could, friendly relations with English settlers of the region; he even adopted a white woman into his tribe to replace the sister he had lost years earlier.

But fate would soon overtake the aged chief; on one particular incident a writer mentions in one of his journals that Logan, during a drunken rage, had a physical altercation with his wife; panic stricken and believing he would be in jeopardy by her family, he fled on foot at an encampment some miles from his Sandusky residence; his nephew, Tod-kah-dohs, had caught up with the aging warrior; him and Logan, by a number of written accounts, began a verbal exchange of contention that caused Logan to threaten him as well as his family; his nephew, being aware of Logan’s temper, caused him to strike the old chief with a tomahawk to the back of the head; he died instantly. There is another account of Logan being shot by his nephew as he was coming down from his horse in a rage to attack him. Whatever of whoever struck first, Tod-kah-dohs is the person who claims his death; the exact date and his place of burial are lost to the historical records of our entire region although the traditional date of his death is in the year 1780. What is not lost, however, is Logan’s eloquence and remorse for a violent and bloody past; he was known to have felt a considerable degree of guilt for slaughtering so many white settlers; he is also known to have been proud for his atrocious deeds. This was based on part of a struggling duality that was owed to his people and keeping peace with white authority in the area in an effort to prevent destruction and mayhem. Chief Logan himself says it best in his most famous speech, Logan’s Lament:

“I appeal to any white man to say, if ever he entered Logan’s cabin hungry, and he gave him not meat; if ever he came cold and naked, and he clothed him not. During the course of the last long and bloody war, Logan remained idle in his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such was my love for the whites, that my countrymen pointed as they passed, and said, Logan is the friend of the white men. I have even thought to live with you but for the injuries of one man. Col. Cresap, the last spring, in cold blood, and unprovoked, murdered all the relations of Logan, not sparing even my women and children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any living creature. This has called on me for revenge. I have sought it: I have killed many: I have fully glutted my vengeance. For my country, I rejoice at the beams of peace. But do not harbor a thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to save his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan? Not one.”

Thomas Jefferson was so moved by this speech that he even recorded it in his “Notes on the State of Virginia”; he makes mention of Chief Logan in a special letter her wrote to a colleague of his. I quote this entire letter in full because of the mention of local curiosity Jefferson makes mention of.

To John Gibson

Philadelphia May 31. 1797.

Dear Sir

“In my Notes on the state of Virginia I have given a translation of the celebrated speech of Logan to Ld. Dunmore with a statement of facts necessary to make it better understood. A Mr. Luther Martin of Maryland has lately come forward, denies the facts and also the authenticity of the speech. As far as my memory serves me we received the speech as a translation of yours, and tho’ I do not recollect that I have heard the facts from yourself, yet I think I understood that you stated them substantially in the same way. I have to ask the favor of you to give me what information you can on this subject, as well respecting the speech as the facts stated by me. I do not mean to enter the newspapers with Mr. Martin. But if any mistake has been committed to the prejudice of Colo. Cresap, it shall be set to rights in a new edition of the book now about to be printed. The book is too large to send you by post, but I imagine you may find a copy of it in Pittsburgh so as to see in what manner the facts are stated. I should express my regrets at the trouble I have proposed to give you, but that I am persuaded you will with willingness give your help to place this transaction on solid ground. It affords me at the same time the satisfaction of recalling myself to your recollection and of renewing to you assurances of the esteem with which I am Dear Sir Your most obedt & most humble servt.”

Thomas Jefferson

By all accounts, Chief Logan was, and still is, a domineering presence in the Ohio Valley region. In his lifetime, he accrued the mandatory respect needed to perform and maintain order in his hostile native lands. He was a profoundly skilled fighter (it was said he could throw a tomahawk at over one hundred yards and hit a bullseye!), navigator, hunter, and teacher for his family and tribe. He passionately, with all his demeanor and decorum, went through every step to prevent a bloodbath; that however, proved to be short lived because of the avarice and corruption of white settlers’ ambition for land and forestry. He cared seriously for all those who accrued a level of trust and seriousness with him. He adopted many people of color into his tribe and customs without question; he was intensely fierce and sagacious to all who were courageous and loyal enough to call him a friend. Irrespective of the reputation and habits of this Great Chief, it is irrational to dismiss the spirit and integrity of such a leader as Logan; he was devout, loyal, and fiercely protective of all those who came to him in friendliness and bravery. He was, indeed, the Red Spirit of All in the Ohio Valley and beyond.

© 2024, admin. All rights reserved.

The post CHIEF LOGAN: THE RED SPIRIT OF THE OHIO COUNTRY 🐢 appeared first on BEAVER COUNTY INDIANS.

While this website has explored and categorized numerous Indian chiefs of variously selected tribes of indigenous peoples of the Ohio Country, from time to time, there is always a story that is uniquely preserved from two points of view: one of those examples is Cornplanter, chief of the Seneca. His story is unique in the sense that he evolved into the spokesperson of his people as well as white settlers of the region. He took time, more than any chief from any tribe, to understand the whites and their ways. He made careful notations and was quite an astute negotiator in acquiring protection and securing peace treaties for his people and those of the surrounding tribes. He is also, like other chiefs before him, a tragically fallen figure whose storyline can be a significant learning structure for all coming generations of Native Americans as well as whites.

Life in the Ohio Country frontier was brutal. Endless wars between white settlers and Indian tribes were untrusting and soaked the land with blood of the fallen on both sides.  ⁶ Born of a Seneca mother and Dutch father sometime in the years of 1732-46 (it is not officially known his exact year of birth), Cornplanter’s bloodline already made him, by no account of his own, somewhat of a celebrity among both representatives residing on this sometimes-barbaric soil. While he certainly was raised as a Seneca, he possessed a natural talent to assimilate himself among whites. His Seneca name ‘Gyantwachia’ means ‘planter’; because the Seneca possessed matrilineal heritage among males, it was because of this tradition that Cornplanter secured a position of status among the elders and, consequently, attained the rank of Warrior Chief. During the French and Indian War, Cornplanter and his tribe took to the side of the French against the English. His fame as a skilled intermediary spread and he soon secured himself a confident, though short-lived position in securing neutrality for his people. Wanting the Seneca to remain out of the conflict between the British and the Colonists, Cornplanter sought a means to his advantage by witnessing the conflict as a war that would eventually threaten the existence of all indigenous tribes in the Ohio Country; as the conflict pursued, both sides made numerous attempts to recruit the Seneca for their advantage, the British offering them food and rum; the colonists promising them land after ending of the conflict. Inevitably, and marking a huge mistake in their trust of the British, the Seneca allied themselves with them, albeit some elders voted against this alliance. Nevertheless, Seneca and another chief, Sayenqueraghta, were named and honored as the Four Chiefs of the tribes of the Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca by Iroquois elders from other tribes whose authority extended into those tribes’ territories. This, of course, angered American Colonists and many wars continued to ensue in addition to fighting the British. Joining forces with Lt. Colonel William Butler, Cornplanter and his warriors fought a bloody battle in Pennsylvania in what would become known as the Wyoming Massacre. In this violent clash between the Seneca and the American patriots, many white settlers were killed and scalped, further dividing and inciting violence towards Indians in general; it is believed that over 300 settlers lost their lives in this struggle, and it also became known as one of the darkest episodes between Indians and whiter settlers in the Pennsylvania region. In bold response, the Seneca village of Tioga was burned to the ground, as well as  many of its inhabitants; to react, Cornplanter, and another famous Mohawk chief, Joseph Brant, along with the British, participated in fighting in present upstate New York that would be tragically known as the Cherry Valley Massacre. Sustaining a great loss of Colonists, General George Washington granted a full commission to John Sullivan, another Revolutionary General, to conduct a massive raid on all territory throughout the state of New York, burning villages to the ground, and capture and kill all Indian tribes within the vicinity. During this blood-thirsty retaliation, Cornplanter and Brant heroically attempted to save their people from starvation and execution by secretly obtaining many Indians and transported them into Canada. What is surprisingly not mentioned is they also saved the lives of the surrounding colonists who resided in the region, giving them food, water, and blankets to survive the unmerciful winter that was approaching.

As the War for Independence arrived at an end, Cornplanter quickly reacted to the advantage. He sought out Quakers and convinced them to educate Indian children and build schools in Seneca territories. He also took it upon himself to learn English, visit white cities and familiarize himself with English and Colonial customs; by doing so, Cornplanter was convinced that obtaining a peaceful means would benefit the preservation of Seneca and Native American societies During the War of 1812, he took up arms on the side of the Americans, hoping to secure a treaty that would permit his people to receive the benefits of security, land and food for his people. He even offered to the American Government 200 of his warriors to fight against the British at Lake Erie; the offer was declined.

As a result of his service to the American side, Cornplanter and his people were awarded 1,500 acres of land in Pennsylvania along the west bank of the Allegheny River, specifically near present-day Kinzua Dam in Warren County. The Federal Government claimed he and his people could reside on the land ‘forever’; this promise, like all other Indian promises created, would extinguish itself. In 1821, the citizens of Pennsylvania in the area demanded Cornplanter pay taxes on his land; in rebuttal to this he said, the ‘land had been given to him under the authority of your government and that I am exempt.’ After lengthy discussions, they concurred. While Cornplanter was impressed with Quaker Christian teachings, he never converted to any Christian faith; his half-brother, Handsome Lake, was a religious leader among the Seneca people, and Cornplnater, as he grew more distant from white society, promoted his brother’s view that Seneca people should place importance in continuing to practice the traditions of the tribes. 

Cornplanter died peacefully on his tract of land in 1836; he had requested to be buried without a marker. A piece of his eulogy is justly entered in this post as a tribute to a chief and warrior. Hon. John Ross Snowden, deputy attorney general in Pennsylvania, recited this about him: “He was a dauntless warrior and wisest statesperson of his nation, the patriarch of this tribe and the peacemaker of his race. He was a model man from nature’s mold. Truth, temperance, justice and humanity never had a nobler incarnation or more earnest and consistent advocate than him. As we loved him personally, and revere the noble, manly character he bore, we erect this tribute to his memory, that those who live after us may know and imitate his virtues.”

In 1965, the Allegheny Reservoir, along with the construction of the Kinzua Dam in Warren County, commenced; the final resting place of Cornplanter and over 300 of his descendants were relocated to the Riverview Corydon Cemetery in Elk Township, Warren County, Pennsylvania. Throughout parts of northwestern Pennsylvania, the Seneca nation flourished and preserved their way of life through religion, culture, history and adopted many white settlers ways of life into theirs. Near the Kinzua Dam is where Cornplanter and his people established one of the most proficient and productive Native American residencies in the entire Nation! It is now all but lost. In 2008, the Federal Government attempted to mark places to accurately establish Seneca locations with historical markers throughout the region and preserve the final resting place of hundreds of Seneca peoples; it has never been officially completed. The Seneca that once thrived with the original indigenous peoples of Pennsylvania have been submerged under the waters of the Allegheny Reservoir. When the Treaty of Paris ended the Revolutionary War, the British Empire ceded the land in all thirteen colonies to America; consequently, thousands of colonists were claiming large parts of it as their own; it was not theirs to claim. It belonged, as we know, to the Native Americans of unnumbered tribes, languages, customs, and cultures. After the construction of the Kinzua Dam commenced, the Seneca were forced to locate to the Allegheny Reservation where they reside today. Just a tiny portion of Cornplanter’s land is still owned by his descendants in Warren County, Pennsylvania. Recently, the Seneca Nation of Indians Tribal Historic Preservation Office, The Pennsylvania Historical Society and The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are in the process of preparing negotiations for a National Register Nomination to have this area designated as Traditional Cultural Property.

Cornplanter made a powerful and lasting contribution to his people. But he also created relations with white settlers, though himself engaged in violent warfare with them from time to time, that would be of outstanding benefit to both oppositions. He understood, more than any chief in his own time, how valuable it was too secure even contestable treaties that would encase the survival and endearment of his people’s identity. He was mischievous and profoundly astute and ruthless when it was required. As a result, the Seneca people have left the Ohio Country a colorful and richly illustrated ambience that still manifests through town names, locations and even dialects of Pennsylvania, New York and those who reside along Lake Ontario. Ohio is a Seneca word (o-hee-yoh) that means ‘good river.’ 

© 2024, admin. All rights reserved.

The post CORNPLANTER: THE GOOD CHIEF OF THE SENECA appeared first on BEAVER COUNTY INDIANS.