Transcript:Haymond, Henry. History of Harrison County, West Virginia/p364

Source

Haymond, Henry. History of Harrison County, West Virginia: from earliest days of northwestern Virginia to the present. (Morgantown, West Virginia: Acme Publishing, 1910).

Overview

William Haymond, Jr. was the son of Major William Haymond. He submitted a series of letters about the life and times of his father and family to his nephew, Luther Haymond. Eight of these letters were included in the source above. This transcript is part of a series of transcripts that provide the text for those letters. The text is presented as accurately as possible and hyperlinks to werelate pages for individuals are provided. This is a work in progress.

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Transcript - Letter No. 6.

Letter No. 6.

Palatine Hill, Va., 13th. April 1842. Luther Maymond,

Sir: — I think in the year 1791 my father bought the land where Brother Cyrus now lives, in all about 200 acres for about 100 pounds. In the Fall, I think in October, we moved into it. On the road I cannot say how many gangs of turkeys we passed. I killed several on the way. Shortly, I believe, after we moved, the Indians burnt Mr. Thompson's house on Lost Creek and killed his cow. The night following I was with several others at said house while it was burning. We stayed all night at the fire. The next morning we crossed the creek and took the ridge at Hacker's Creek. We could not find the trail as it was too much in the settlement. We went to Hughes' Run and Hacker's Creek, where we were at one or two houses burning that had been fired by the Indians. We then returned home by way of Rooting Creek. On the night after our return Sim's House was burned. Next day I was at it. We took a circle round but not far enough or we would have found the trail, as they were afterv/ards followed to near Buckhannon by another party. The Indians had stolen some horses I believe at Sim's cabin and some at Buckhannon, from which place they steered their course to the Little Kanawha. Some of our men waylaid them on the Little Kanawha a day or two, but got out of patience and went in search of them. I have understood they were gone but a little while, when the Indians had passed the place where our men had laid in ambush for them. It seems to me that our men were on one side of the river and the Indians on the other. However, be that as it may, the Indians effected their escape down the river.

As we were on a new farm we turned our attention to work that fall and spring (except hunting time when I followed the woods.)

Next spring we planted a good crop. I worked on until June 1792 when the Indians being very troublesome, Watson Clark and myself were appointed to go and be stationed at Williams' Station, opposite Marietta. On the 22nd. day of said month we left Clarksburg with a horse to take for some person at the mouth of the Little Kanawha. The first night we stayed at Salem. There were, I think eight or ten men stationed there. Next day we proceeded on and arrived safe on Sunday. We were di- rected by Col. Lowther, who had command of the spies and military, to go up the river to the mouth of Middle Island Creek, four days out and two in.

While we were there. Mr. AToses Hunt who Jived at Npal's Station a mile ur» Kanawha from its mouth, went out to hunt his horse. He met with three Indians, M^ho I understood laid down their guns and caught him by running. He said on their way to the Indian towns that they would almost starve, and when they killed a deer that they would eat like dogs. On their way they found a bee tree. One of them stripped, climbed the tree, cut a hole and took out the honey. Having traveled by one or more of their towns they got out of provisions, stretched Hunt on the ground, tied a pole across him, and all three turned out to hunt. Hunt got loose and returned home. I saw him on his way. He was eleven days living on birds, roots, &c.

Watson Clark and myself continued spying until the middle of Au- gust when he returned home, and Allison Clark took his place. We had to go up the river and back any way we thought proper. During the sum- mer the weeds were so thick that we killed but few deer, and by the by it was rather dangerous to be shooting, but when we saw a deer we could not resist the temptation to shoot it. In the fall we killed a considerable number of them, one day six. They were plenty out in the hills.

One morning we heard two guns fired a mile or two from us, we con- cluded it was Indians and steered for the place. When we got to or near where we thought they had fired, we placed ourselves by a tree and howled like a wolf. We were answered by a man in the same manner. I continued howling and so did he, still coming nearer. In this situation I had to turn around and look in every direction, as I thought if his com- panions heard us they would know that the third person or persons must be near. When he was about 120 yards from us he hallooed and called his companion by name and I knew his voice. They had been up the river, perhaps to Wheeling, and had landed their canoe there over night, and in the morning turned out hunting. If you will consider yourself behind a tree and hearing an Indian howl, and expect to see one or more every minute, you may judge of my feelings at that time. I will only say it was the most trying time of my life. We were fifteen miles up the river from our station.

One other time I heard a gun near us and in the fall, the woods I saw burning appeared just to have been set on fire near where we had passed. By whom the gun was shot or the woods fired I never could learn. If any Indians crossed the river during our stay we had no know- ledge of it, except in the two cases mentioned, and they may have pro- ceeded from white men strolling in the woods, but I was induced to believe that the woods were fired by the Indians. We returned home safely, in December.

Yours &c.,

Wm. Haymond.