Transcript:Haymond, Henry. History of Harrison County, West Virginia/p365

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. 7.

Letter No. 7.

Palatine Hill, Va., 4th. May 1842. Luther Haymond,

Dear Sir: — I will give you an account of the Indians killing N. Carpenter, as well as I recollect it. I think in a former letter I stated to you that Nicholas Carpenter was with us at the time we overtook the Indians on Middle Island, if so it was a mistake for it was his brother Christo- pher, who was with us. We used to call him Stuffle Carpenter. This was in the year 1790 or 1791, Marietta being newly settled. Carpenter had collected a lot of cattle to drive there. I saw him in Clarksburg the day or the day before he started, and I was on the eve of going with him, but did not. He went on with his son about twelve years of age, Jesse Hughes, and two or three other men. A company of Indians came near Neal's Station on the Little Kanawha, caught a negro boy, brought him with them to where they struck the road leading from Clarksburg to Marietta, I presume some place on Hughes River or its waters. Carpenter and his company had passed the same day. The Indians danced and cut many fine capers when they saw the trail and started on after Carpenter. He had camped about six miles this side of Marietta when the Indians got in hearing of the bells. They took the negro boy in the woods and tied him and proceeded to the attack. It was between daybreak and sun- rise. One man was sitting by the fire. They fired, a part at least ran towards the fire, the men raised and ran. Hughes took up two guns. The Indians followed him. shot two holes through his hunting shirt. He was compelled to throw down one gun and would tree and present his gun, then the Indians would tree. He at last got on top of the hill where he hallooed and cleared himself. He said he heard the tomahawk strike into Carpenter's son's head. Carpenter got into a hole of water, but was discovered, taken and tomahawked. One man was taken prisoner and one made his escape after being shot through the hand, making two with Jesse Hughes who escaped. I believe Carpenter, his son and one other man was killed. During the conflict the negro boy got loose and escaped to the settlement. The Indians took the horses and went up the Ohio some place not far from the mouth of Bull Creek. I believe the horses were retaken from them by some men going up the river. The horses were restored to Carpenter's heirs. I saw Jesse Hughes on his return to Clarksburg and the holes in his hunting shirt. The negro boy gave the account of their following on the trail of Carpenter.

In 1793 I was again appointed spy under Levi Morgan. We stayed at Salem most of the winter without the Company of our Lieutenant Mor- gan. The last of February we concluded to take a scout, John Cain, Samuel Jackson and myself started with an intention of going on the South Fork of Hughes River. We went on Middle Island Creek or rather a branch of it, where the first night we lodged in a camp. Here we were detained two or three days by the rain, when it cleard up we proceeded. On a branch of said creek we found four horses which had been in the woods all winter. We caught them and sent Jackson to the settlement with them. Cain and myself then changed our course and fell on the head of Fink's Fork of Leading Creek. The hills bound so close to the creek that we were often obliged to wade it, and in doing so had some- times to hold up our shot pouches. Finally we camped. The next morn- ing crossed the ridge and fell on Leading Creek and returned home.

Jackson proceeded on and the first house he got to was Henry or William Runyon's where he stayed that night. A company of Indians came I presume to where we left Jackson perhaps the same day or a day or two after, followed him to Runyon's and stole from him six horses. A company of men followed them. The Indians had considerable start. Our men took the road to Marietta got in canoes and went down the river un- til they came to where the Indians had crossed, took the trail followed 30 or 40 miles, came up to them where they had camped. There were but two Indians. The whites fired, killed one Indian and wounded the other and retook four horses. It was thought that two Indians had perhaps the previous night gone on with the other horses to a hunting camp. Brother John Raymond was with this company. I was sorry that I was out of the way and had not an opportunity to be with them. Respectfully,

Wm, Haymond.