The Moravian missions in Ohio

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THE

MORAVIAN MISSIONS

IN

OHIO.

BY

FRANCIS C. HUEBNER.

WASHINGTON, D. C. :
SIMMS & LEWIS, PRINTERS.

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L506U

Copyright, 1898, by

FRANCIS C . HUEBNEK

Washington, D. C.

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PRICK 75 CENTS.

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PREFACE

The early life of the writer of this little
volume was spent on the banks of the
Tuscarawas River within a stone's throw
of the site of the old Indian town of
Gnadenhutten, and it was here that an
interest in the history of the missions was
first awakened. Two old apple trees
which had been planted by the Indian
converts, and depressions in the earth
caused by the "caving in" of the cellars
where stood the houses of the inhabitants,
outlined what had existed, while two
solemn mounds and a tall, grey monu-
ment bearing the inscription, "Here
triumphed in death ninety Christian
Indians, March 8, 1782," told the story
of the end. The hiatus was supplied in
later years by reading such works as
Heckewelder's Narrative.; Loskiel's His-

PREFACE.

tory oi the Indian Missions; Dodridge's
Notes ; Taylor's History of Ohio ; Zeis-
berger's Diary (translated by Bliss) ; Life
and Times of David Zeisberger by De
Schweinitz, and other works, including
the Life of John Heckewelder, by Rond-
thaler. From the latter-named book was
obtained the picture of John Heckewelder,
and from the first-named the picture of
Zeisberger which are reproduced for the
benefit of my readers, and to each of the
above works I must give credit for the
historical information obtained and nar-
rated herein.

The object of this little volume is to
give to those interested in the history of
Eastern Ohio a condensed but full story
of the Moravian missions in Ohio.

The Author.
Washington, D. C,

September 15, 1898.

THE MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

For over ten years the history of the
now great Commonwealth of Ohio was
centered principally in two communities
in the Tuscarawas valley, named Schoen-
brnnn and Gnadenhutten. The former
stood about one and one-half miles south
of the present county seat of Tuscarawas
county, while just beside the heaps of
ashes of old Gnadenhutten was built the
quiet little hamlet of the present day
bearing that name.

These two towns were inhabited by

Indians, but they were Indians in name

only, and did not exercise the savage

nature which the word " Indian " im-

5

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHTO.

plies. Their aim was towards civiliza-
tion ; they desired to live at peace with
all people, and their number was large
enough, and their influence potential
enough to effect the history of the eastern
part of Ohio, if not the history of the
United States as a nation.

To properly present the history of these
two towns, it will be necessary to give a
brief review of the wanderings of the
people who formed the nucleus of them.
These wanderers were Moravian con-
verts from the Mohican, Delaware, and
other Indian nations. Moravian mis-
sionaries had been preaching to the In-
dians in the Eastern States — first in New
York and Connecticut, and then in Penn-
sylvania at various points. A mission
would be established, a town regularly
laid out, a log church constructed, and

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. I

in a very short time the church would be
surrounded with log houses. While the
missions were prospering, however, white
civilization was pushing rapidly to the
West, and wherever the whites and In-
dians met on the borders of civilization
there was contention. In case of war,
no discrimination was shown by the
border-whites generally, whether an In-
dian was disposed to do evil or not, but
every red skin was regarded as an enemy
to civilization. In all differences be-
tween Indians and whites, " might " was
considered " right," and the white race
being the superior, the final outcome in
each case was the retirement of the In-
dians to some land less desirable to the
whites at that time. For these reasons
the Moravian Indians had moved from
New York and Connecticut to the eastern

8 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

part of Pennsylvania, then to the central
part of that State, and next to the still
wilder portions. In the year 1770 we
find a number of them at Friedenshutten,
in the northern part of Pennsylvania, on
the Susquehanna River.

When the Moravian converts wished
to build a town they would obtain the
permission of the Indian tribe which
claimed the land on which they desired
to settle. The land upon which Fried-
enshutten stood belonged to the Iroquois
Nation, and it was from their council the
Moravian Indians obtained permission to
occupy that land. It was one of the
principles of Indian nations to give homes
and protection to smaller and weaker
tribes with the intention of adopting
them in order to strengthen their own,
and no doubt this \*as the incentive

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. V

which induced the Iroquois Nation to
give the Moravian Indians this land.
The Iroquois soon found, however, that
the principles of the Moravian Indians
would prevent their helping them in
time of war. When the Iroquois realized
this fact the j had no more use for the
Moravians, and the result was the land
upon which Friedenshutten stood was
sold by the Iroquois to the British.
When this bargain passed, the Moravian
Indians were without a home they could
call their own Here we must leave our
friends, however, and take a view of the
land which was destined to be their future
home.

The Delaware Nation of Indians oc-
cupied the eastern portion of Ohio and
the Western part of Pennsylvania. They
had formerly lived east of the Allegheny

10 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

mountains and were in power there when
William Penn made his famous treaty
with the Indians about one hundred years
before, but the whites forced them to re-
tire to the West, and during the years
1765 to 1795, the Delaware Nation was
at the height of its power in the Tus-
carawas Yalley.

To the south and west of the Dela-
wares lived the Mingoes and Shawnees.
To the north and northwest lived the
Wyandots. A number of Mohicans were
with the Delawares after 1772, but they
were principally those who emigrated to
that section with the Moravian Indians,
and most of them were settled in the
community of G-nadenhutten. This was
simply their home by adoption.

The Delaware Nation was divided into
three tribes, the Turtle, the Turkey, and

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 11

the Wolf. Each of these tribes supposed
they were connected by some distant
relationship with the animal after which
their tribe was named. They supposed
that the earth was supported on the back
of an immense turtle, which was the
father of the Turtle tribe, and reasoning
in some manner not clear to me, they
based upon that supposition the idea that
the Turtle tribe was the superior one.

At the time of these events, 1770, Neta-
watwes was the peace chief or sachem of
the Turtle tribe. Being the sachem of
the most important tribe of the Dela-
wares he was regarded as the head man
in the Delaware Nation, and had charge
of the records and wampum of the nation,
among which were the wampum belts
given his ancestors by William Penn.
In Indian councils the sachem not only

12 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

presided over the meetings, but if he was
a man of strong character he would
decide many of the important questions
himself. Netawatwes was a man of this
character. In Indian councils he would
ask the opinions of all the leading
men of the tribes on the matter under
consideration, and after each had ex-
pressed himself Netawatwes would give
his decision on the question, after which
there would seldom be further contro-
versy. The whites called him " King
Newcomer " (which name I will use
hereafter in this history), and from that
name the town in which he resided was
called " Newcomerstown."

Newcomerstown was the capital of the
Delaware Nation and the meeting place
of their Grand Council. The town con-
tained about one hundred log houses,

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 13

many of which were well constructed,
and equal to those erected by the white
settlers.

The principal war chief of the Turtle
tribe and the confidential adviser of King
Newcomer was White Eyes. This posi-
tion was one of great importance, as the
head war chief had not only in charge the
conduct of the war when it existed, but
he in a manner declared when war should
exist. White Eyes was chosen for this
position on account of his statesmanship,
bravery, and patriotism, and the influence
he could exert on the warriors. He was
one the foremost men in the nation, and
his oratorical powers, logical conclusions,
and powers of persuasion were truly re-
markable for a man who is considered a
savage.

The Turkey tribe we do not hear so

14 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

much about in connection with the mis-
sions. At the time I have mentioned
King Beaver was the head chief, and an
Indian we shall hereafter know as Cap-
tain Johnny was his war chief. The
capital of this tribe was southwest of
Newcomerstown a number of miles on
the Hockhocking river.

The Wolf tribe of the Delaware Nation
is sometimes called the Monseys, and
you will find that name used more often
probably than the English interpretation
" Wolf." However, to avoid confusion,
we will use the English, and hence will
continue to call this the " Wolf" tribe.
Their capital was at Kaskaskunk, on the
Big Beaver River, in Pennsylvania, just
across the Ohio line. King Pakanke
was the head chief of this tribe. Captain
Pipe was his war chief, and later, became

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 15

the principal chief of that tribe. Captain
Pipe was the opposite of White Eyes in
many respects. While White Eyes was
patriotic, Captain Pipe was selfishly ambi-
tions. While White Eyes was striving
to remain at peace with other nations and
with the whites, Cay tain Pipe, desiring
to get a reputation as the foremost war-
rior in the land, was in favor of war on
the slightest pretext.

Jnst about six years before, almost all
the Indians east of the Mississippi were at
war with the whites under the leadership
of Pontiac. Captain Pipe was one of
the Delaware chiefs who fought in that
war. Before it ended, Colonel Boquet,
an English officer, with an army of about
fifteen hundred men marched to the
Delaware country. The mere sight of
an arm v of that size with glistening bay-

16 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

onets and deadly guns had the desired
effect, and the Delawares were willing to
make a treaty of peace. But Colonel
Boquet feared treachery, and required a
number of chiefs to be sent to Pittsburg
with him as hostages. Captain Pipe and
Captain Johnny were two of those
selected. While White Eyes was willing
to put confidence in the Americans, Cap-
tain Pipe, from some experiences had in
Pittsburg with the whites, while a host-
age, had his mind full of the wrongs the
Indians were suffering at the hands of
the white men, and mistrusted their
every action.

One other man who belonged to the
Wolf tribe, and to whom I want to in-
troduce you, is Glikkikin. Before
Captain Pipe had attained the appoint-
ment as war chief of the Wolf tribe,

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 17

Glikkikin held that position, and was the
confidential adviser of King Pakanke.
Glikkikin had not only the confidence of
Pakanke, but of all the warriors. Dur-
ing Pontiac's War to which I have re-
ferred, Glikkikin's daring brought him
fame which was spoken of in every Indian
tribe east of the Mississippi. Then, he
too, was not only a warrior, but an
orator, and could sway the minds of his
hearers in council, or change the opinion
of individuals in conversation by his per-
suasive eloquence.

Zeisberger, the white missionary at
Friedenshutten, and his helpers had been
preaching to the Indians in the country
a short distance from Kaskaskunk.
Many Indians attended his preaching,
and interest was awakened in the new
religion. But the Indians had a religion

18 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

of their own. They believed in a happy
hunting ground where they would go
when they died, and believed that certain
requirements were necessary on their
part before they would be entitled to live
in that country after death. Some of
their religious practices seem foolish.
One teaching was that the more they
could vomit, the purer would be their
souls. This, of course, was not a very
healthful practice, for some of them who
were religiously inclined took emetics
continually, and nearly killed themselves
in thus practicing their religion.
But however foolish these practices
might be, that was what they were
taught, and that was the theory
many of them believed. King Pa-
kanke was a firm believer in this
Indian theory of religion, and when he

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 19

heard of this new preacher inducing the
Indians to forsake the Indian religion,
lie thought such preaching should be
stopped. The old Indian was no doubt
honest in his belief, for he had the idea
that all other religions could be over-
thrown by argument. Glikkikin had
never known defeat in debate. Frederick
Post, the Moravian missionary, who ac-
companied Washington on his trip over
the Allegheny Mountains to Fort Du-
quesne (Pittsburg) just at the beginning
01 the French and Indian War, had made
a trip to the Tuscarawas Valley eight
years before, and in his conversations
with the Indians he became involved
in a debate with Glikkikin. The
Indians regarded Glikkikin as the
victor in this contest. As Zeisberger
was j>rcaching the same doctrine taught

20 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

by Post, Pakanke requested Glikkikin
to meet Zeisberger in debate and dis-
close the fallacies of the Christian
religion. Glikkikin set out on this
mission full of confidence in his power
to combat any argument Zeisberger
might offer. As lie approached the
hut in which Zeisberger was staying
he decided to hear the missionary's argu-
ment first so he could the better prepare
his answer. When he arrived at the
door of the cabin, Zeisberger was not
there, but the Indian Anthony, who had
previously acknowledged Christianity
received him. He gave him food as was
the custom, and immediately began to
explain the Christian religion. Glik-
kikin listened first with a feeling of con-
tempt. Anthony was telling him some-
thing new, however, and his contempt

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 21

soon turned to a spirit of inquiry. When
this spirit is aroused in a man, there is
hope for a good cause. Glikkikin's
inquiries were being satisfied when Zeis-
berger entered and further explained
Christianity to him. > His savage nature
softened. His argument, intended to
overthrow Christianity, could not an-
swer the story of love. All he could
say was " I believe your words," and
Glikkikin, the great war captain, whose
very name was a synonym of dan-
ger to his enemies, resolved to become
a Christian. The energy he had in-
tended to use against the gospel, he now
determined to use to promote it.

It was not an easy matter to make such
a decision and to carry it out. The
teachings of one's fathers which have
been handed down from generation to

22 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

generation are hard to forsake, and the
conviction that it is one's duty to adopt
another system must be strong indeed to
overcome the teaching of childhood. A
greater obstacle to overcome is the in-
fluence exerted by the living. When a
man changes radically the habits of life,
those who were former associates gen-
erally look upon him as an oddity. This
is true in civilized life, and how much
more so in savage life, where people are
influenced by superstition.

Glikkikin returned to the capital. The
news of his conversion, and what IV
kanke thought was his defeat, preceded
him. When they met, King Pakanke
rebuked him severely for such conduct,
but Glikkikin answered in a most deter-
mined manner that his intention was to
follow the missionaries and their teach-

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 23

ings, and urged all his people to hear the
gospel. In taking this stand he was
compelled to resign his position as war
chief, and Pakanke no longer regarded
him as his confidential adviser. Captain
Pipe succeeded him to these positions.

Glikkikin was a man who could be
trusted. The warriors he had led in
battle during Pontiac's War knew it.
Although he had now turned from his
former practices ; was no longer their
war chief, and was not now Pakanke's
principal adviser, yet many were his true
friends and loved him still. Then, too,
the preaching of the missionaries con-
tinued, and others were converted, among
them Captain Pipe's wife. The result
was that in a council shortly after Glik-
kikins conversion, the majority of the
councilors expressed a desire to have the

24 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

gospel preached to their people, and later
their regard for Zeisberger led to his
adoption into their tribe. Captain Pipe,
however, from that time on was a leader
of a faction of the Delawares opposed to
the gospel.

Here we can take up the thread of our
story of the mission at Friedenshutten,
which we learned was about to be aban-
doned. Through the influence of Glik-
kikin the entire body of Moravian In-
dians was invited by the Wolf tribe to
settle in their country. Many of them
moved and built the town of Friedens-
stadt. This town, it will be remembered,
was in Pennsylvania.

Zeisberger, however, desired to pen-
etrate farther into the interior, so early
in the spring of 1771 he, in company

Rev. D. Zeisbp:rger.

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 25

with Glikkikin and several other In-
dians, made his lirst visit to Ohio.

They stopped at Newcomerstown, and
in the house of King Newcomer at
this place, Zeisberger preached the
first Protestant sermon delivered in the
State of Ohio. Glikkikin also talked
with the warriors, and before they left
King Newcomer had invited them with
the Moravian Indians to make their
homes in the Tuscarawas Valley under
the protection of the Delaware Nation.
Our friends returned to Friedensstadt,
however, without accepting the invita-
tion.

At this time White Eyes was taking a
very extended trip. He had some time
before left Newcomerstown for New
Orleans, and from there he sailed to New
York, and then traveled across the

26 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

country through Philadelphia to New-
comerstown. In this trip he had seen
something of the world outside his little
savage circle, and his ideas of what con-
stituted a nation were modified from
what they had been previously. His
ideas were broadened, and when the
matter of the removal of the Christian
Indians was presented to him on his
return, both he and King Newcomer in-
sisted that the missionaries move to their
country, and sent messengers to Fried-
ensstadt with renewed invitations.

Captain Pipe disliked to see the mis-
sions prosper. His ambition to become
a distinguished warrior like Pontiac was
hindered by the teachings of the mis-
sionaries. The faction of which he was
the leader tried in every possible way to
nullify the missionary influence. The

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. Zi

Moravians appealed to Pakanke, but
Captain Pipe had gained so much in-
fluence in the tribe that the protection
was refused, and when the second invita-
tion came to move to the Tuscarawas
Valley, the Moravian Indians determined
to accept it.

In March, 1772, Zeisberger and Glik-
kikin set out for the Tuscarawas Valley
a second time, this time to select a home.
They reached the Tuscarawas River on
their westward journey near the northern
boundary of Tuscarawas County, and from
that point they floated down the Tusca-
rawas in a canoe. One morning they came
to a beautiful lake about a mile long, and
running their canoes into it they found
the location pleasing. They got out near
a spring and explored the surrounding
country more carefullv- It was an ideal

28 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

place, and here Zeisberger determined to
make his future home. The spring at
which they first stopped seemed to sug-
gest the name, so the future town was
christened " Schoenbrunn."

Zeisberger and Glikkikin then visited
the Indian government at Newcomers-
town again to converse with the chiefs
about obtaining the land they had se-
lected. They found that the tract which
Zeisberger thought so suitable was the
one King Newcomer had also chosen for
the site for a mission. On this occasion
occurred a memorable meeting between
White Eyes and Glikkikin. White Eyes,
a savage, the war chief of the Turtle
tribe and confidential adviser of King
Newcomer, and Glikkikin, who had held
similar offices in the Wolf tribe under
King Pakanke, but who had resigned

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 29

them to lead a Christian life. They
walked and talked alone together about
religion and the future of their nation.
Each found the other possessed the true
qualities of manhood, and a bond of
friendship was formed between them
which was never broken.

Everything being satisfactorily ar-
ranged, Zeisberger and Glikkikin hast-
ened back to Friedensstadt to bring the
first colony of Moravians to Ohio. A few
weeks later five families were on their
way to the West, and on the 3rd of May,
1772, the town of Schoenbrunn was start-
ed with twenty-eight inhabitants. This
band came earlier than their brethren to
plant crops and prepare for the comma'
of those who had been left at home to
make arrangements for moving their
goods. They had many household arti-

30 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

cles to transport, as they had the same con-
veniences used by other civilized people.
No household articles could be procured
in the wilderness, for that term describes
the country they were going to, and all
the goods they desired were necessarily
transported on horseback or by hand.
Among the articles they desired to take
with them was the old church bell which
had so often called them to worship. Tt
had been their pleasure to hear its echo-
ing tones calling them to worship each
morning before they began their daily
work, and the custom became part of
their lives. The bell was mounted on a
platform, and four men were detailed to
carry this one article. They had seventy
head of cattle, and more than that num-
ber of horses to drive with them. The
woods through which they traveled were

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 31

dense and full of swamps and under-
growth and the air full of sand flies.
They started on the 11th of June and
arrived at Schoenbrunn the following
August.

Almost immediately after their arrival
at Schoenbrunn they had a conference and
drew up a set of rules for their govern-
ment. The building of the church was
next given special attention. It must be
remembered that at that time saw mills
were unknown in Ohio. If boards were
wanted the quickest way to procure them
was to roll a log on a platform and saw
it lengthwise with a crosscut saw. If
squared logs were wanted they were
squared with an ax. Regardless of the
labor thus necessary to build, they put
special and first attention to their church
in order to make it the most prominent

32 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

building in the town. It was of good
size, built of squared logs, the roof was
of split shingles, and the windows made
of deer skins. Although this brief de-
scription may picture a very crude struct-
ure, yet, comparing it with the wilder-
ness and bark huts and wigwams of the
uncivilized Indians, the church was a
prominent mark of civilization, and the
Indians so regarded it. The old church
bell which they had so cheerfully toiled
to bring through the forest was hung in
a small cupola on the church. On Sep-
tember 19, 1772, the chapel was dedi-
cated, and on that day the first church
bell ever rung in Ohio sent its musical
peals echoing among the hills of Tusca-
rawas Valley. After the church, the
school house was constructed, and then
attention was put to building their pri-

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 33

vate houses, so, in time, Schoenbrunn con-
tained more than sixty houses built of
squared timber, besides a number of huts
and lodges.

So far we have noted only two com-
panies of emigrants to the settlement of
Schoenbrunn. On the day before Schoen-
brunn chapel was dedicated, a third com-
pany arrived under the leadership of
Joshua, one of the earliest Indian con-
verts who had been chosen as a helper
to Zeisberger. These were Mohicans.
Immediately after their arrival they se-
lected a site near Canal Dover for their
mission. King Netawatwes was not
pleased with this selection, however, as
he desired them to build south of Schoen-
brunn at a place he and Zeisberger se-
lected. So the colony moved from their
their camp at Canal Dover, and on Octo-

34 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

ber 9, 1772, Joshua, the Mohican, began
the construction of old Gnadenhutten.
Here, too, their spirit of devotion was
shown by building their chapel first,
and then their homes. This colony
also knowing that their settlement
would be some distance from Schoen-'
brunn brought a bell for their own
chapel.

In both Schoenbrunn and Gnadenhut-
ten the inhabitants were all Christians.
Although the savages were invited to visit
the missions, yet it wras one of their rules
that no unbelieving Indian and no whites
except their teachers should make the
missions their regular home. Their fel-
lowship was shown, not only by the fact
that they toiled in common and that the
income from their industry went into a

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 35

common fund, but it was shown in their
dealings with all people.

When a traveler, white or Indian,
Christian or unbelieving, passed through
the missions, he was fed. Whenever
any one in trouble made a request, if the
circumstances would possibly permit,
such request would be granted. So it
was when war parties of Indians with
prisoners would pass through these towns,
every effort to secure their release, either
by petition or the payment of ransom,
would be made. Every day the church
bell called them to morning prayers be-
fore the day's work began. Such was
the daily life of the Moravian Indians.

Order, neatness, and industry were
also required of all the inhabitants.
The towns were laid out with
broad streets, which were always kept

36 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

clean. Each house was surrounded by
a picket fence. The gates and doors
hung on wooden hinges, and the old
time latch strings hung through a hole
in the door, which when pulled inside
the house answered all the requirements
of a lock. Many of the inhabitants were
farmers, and they had cleared some of
the rich river bottoms on the western
side of the Tuscarawas River where
they raised corn, potatoes, and other
crops and vegetables. They had large
herds of hogs, cattle, and horses.
Not all were farmers, however, as it
was necessary that the trades should
be represented also. Some were smiths,
some carpenters, and some worked at
other trades. Joshua, the Mohican who
founded Gnadenhutten, was a cooper.
He especially was ingenious with tools,

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 37

and had a reputation for building pre+ty
canoes and making handsome gun stocks.
At one time he made a spinnet for their
chapel and he was the musician. The re-
sults were apparent. These examples of
industry, order, happiness, and content-
ment were the silent forces which were
changing the lives of the Indians who
came in contact with the mission.

The principal trail used by the nations
and tribes of Southern Ohio and Ken-
tucky, in traveling north, passed through
the Tuscarawas Yalley. When the In-
dians made trips through this valley they
would always stop at Newcomerstown to
pay their respects to King Newcomer and
his council, and from the novelty of the
missions, and because the Moravian In-
dians had a reputation for hospitality,
thev would then visit Gnadenhutten and

38 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

Schoenbrunn. On such occasions the
Moravian Indians would not only show
by their examples their principles of
living, bnt the missionaries or converts
would stop their work to preach the
gospel. All who thus visited these
settlements were doubly impressed with
Christianity, and the seeds were in
this manner sown broadcast through-
out the Indian country. Many of the
head men of the nation joined the
missions, among them Captain Johnny,
who resigned his chiefship in the Turkey
tribe to live with the Christians.

The energy of Zeisberger and his fel-
low workers was unbounded, however.
As if the living examples, and the teach-
ing those who came to the missions were
not enough, frequent trips were made to
the Indian towns of the surrounding

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 39

country. Newcomerstown especially was
visited frequently, and here Glikkikin
used his natural powers of oratory in
discussing and explaining the religion he
had adopted.

Other nations were also visited, among
them the Shawnees.

As an item of interest in the history
of the missions it is related that on July
4, 1773, John Lewis Roth was born at
Gnadenhutten, of whom it is said that
he was the first white child born in Ohio.

When Gnadenhutten was about two
years old, a war occurred which tested
the missions. It may be proper to ex-
plain that at this time the present States
of Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, In-
diana, Illinois, and the part of Pennsylva-
nia in which Pittsburg is situated, were
claimed by Virginia, and went under the

40 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

name of Augusta County. Rather a
modest name for such an extended terri-
tory we would now think. An English
Lord, Dumore, was governor of Virginia,
and was very anxious to colonize the
country along the Ohio River with Eng-
lish. As I have before suggested, there
was always contention on the borders of
civilization which generally led to war,
and it was so in this instance. The In-
dians along the Ohio, the Shawnees and
Mingoes, did not trust the whites, and
the whites mistrusted the Indians. Corn-
stalk was the head chief of the Shawnees,
and Logan the war chief of the Mingoes.
Both of these men were of more than
ordinary foresight and statesmanship.
Both were friends of the white people,
and although they were not Christians,
they endeavored to keep their warriors

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 41

at peace with their white neighbors. It
so happened, however, that two Chero-
kee Indians from the south came to visit
Schoenbrunn in the spring of 1774. When
they were returning to their home they
met two white traders with whom they
got into trouble, and the brawl ended in
the murder of the traders. This act
was the commencement of Dunmore's
war. The white settlers in the vicinity
in a spirit of revenge, made an attack on
a number of Indian families, and among
those killed was the entire family of the
Mingo Chief Logan. This act made
Logan's friendship for the whites turn to
hate, and with a man of such influence
in favor of war, the Indians could not be
restrained. The entire Shawnee tribe
and the greater part of the Mingo tribe
went on the war path, and on October

42 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

10, 1774, the famous battle of Point
Pleasant was fought by the Indians un-
der Cornstalk and Logan, and the Vir-
ginians under Colonel Lewis. It is stated
that this battle waged all day, and some
historians claim it was the fiercest Indian
battle ever fought.

Returning to the Tuscarawas Valley,
the war spirit of the Dela wares was
aroused by the knowledge that their
brothers were fighting in the south.
White Eyes, with the help of Glikkikin
and the missionaries, did all he could to
maintain peace, and to keep his own
people from engaging in the war. It
was rumored, however, that Lord Dun-
more intended to raid the Tuscarawas
Valley and capture Kewcomerstown and
perhaps Gnadenhutten and Schoenbrunn,
and the brave White Eyes started for the

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 43

seat of war alone, determined to prevent
such a move if possible. He met Lord
Dunmore, argued with him on his plan
of invading the Tuscarawas Valley; and
finally persuaded him that such a pro-
ceeding would not result in good, so
Lord Dunmore ordered his men to return
to Virginia while he negotiated a treaty
of peace. AH was confusion in the Tus-
carawas Y alley while White Eyes was
away. A large band of them were
preparing for war which they thought
was imminent, but when White Eyes
returned and told them the success of his
undertaking, quiet was again restored.

Zeisberger and Glikkikin had made
two visits to the Shawnees before the war
of 1774, but apparently no impression
had been made upon them. Early in the
spring of 1775 Chief Cornstalk, the leader

44 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

in the war just closed, and the hero of the
battle of Point Pleasant, came to Gnaden-
hutten with thirty persons. The kird-
ness with which he was received, and the
object lesson of an Indian town advanced
in civilization as was Gnadenhutten, had
an effect on his mind, which it seems the
preaching in his own country did not
have. He attended the chapel service
regularly, and although he is not classed
as one of the converts, probably because
he did not join the missions, yet, his subse-
quent life shows a change in his char-
acter. A year later he called again, and
this time brought one hundred of his peo-
ple to hear the gospel. In parting he took
Mr. and Mrs. Schmick, the resident mis-
sionaries at Gnadenhutten, by the hand
and feelingly thanked them for the great
kindness shown his people, and formally

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 45

adopted them in his tribe. This, perhaps,
was the last visit of the great Chief
Cornstalk to Gnadenhutten, although the
following spring he came as far as New-
comerstown to consult with White Eyes
on the question of war. The Revolution-
ary War had begun. The English on
the one side were endeavoring to obtain
the Indians as allies, and the Americans
on the other side were endeavoring to
keep them at peace. Early in this struggle
the Iroquois Nation joined the British,
and their influence spread towards the
West. The Shawnees, under Cornstalk,
and the Delawares, under the influence
of White Eyes, remained neutral. The
British agents were pressing the matter
very hard, and many of both tribes
desired to join in the conflict. In the
interests of peace, Cornstalk resolved to

46 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

visit the garrison at Point Pleasant with
two or three of his friends. They went.
Cornstalk, in his straightforward manner
which had been strengthened at least by
his visits to Gnadenhutten, told the
American commander of the great desire
of his people to go to war again, and
asked for advice to keep them neutral.
The captain commanding, instead of giv-
ing Cornstalk the advice he sought, or at
least sending him back to his tribe to
continue to nse his influence for peace,
adopted the policy of making Cornstalk
a prisoner to be kept as a hostage for the
good behavior of his tribe. Very soon
after, a white man was killed in the
vicinity of the fort, and mad with rage,
a party of men, friends of the unfortunate
one, rushed to the fort where they knew
Cornstalk was kept a prisoner, and with-

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 47

out harrowing your minds with the man-
ner, they killed him. Cornstalk had
strong affection for a son who was visit-
ing him at the time, and they died side
by side without making an effort at
self-defense. To show you the evident
change which his visits to Gnadenhutten
made, I quote his last words : " My son,
the Great Spirit has seen fit that we
should die together and has sent you here
to that end. It is his will, let us sub-
mit— it is all for the best." To the credit
of the Americans it should be stated that
the Governor of Virginia offered a re-
ward for the apprehension of those who
murdered Cornstalk, but it availed noth-
ing, for they were never punished.

The Shawn ees, stung to the heart at
the death of their beloved chief in this

48 MOEAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

manner, joined the British against the
Americans.

We will now return to the Tuscarawas
Valley. During these troubles the Dela-
wares continued at peace and the mis-
sions- prospered. At the close of 1775
there were over four hundred converts.
The work being extended in this man-
ner other missionaries were needed.
John Heckewelder was sent to help in
the work even before the establish-
ment of Gnadenhutten. Heckewelder
had visited the Tuscarawas Y alley as
early as 1762 with Post, but on account
of Pontiac's war they were compelled
to leave. While here, however, Hecke-
welder found a fast friend in White
Eyes. Later, Mr. and Mrs. Koth, Mr.
and Mrs. Schmick, and Mr. and Mrs.
Jungman, moved to the mission. King

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 49

Newcomer also was impressed with the
necessity of giving them more land. He
was a magnanimous old fellow, and sup-
ported by the equal magnanimity of
White Eyes, the Moravian Indians were
given the land along the Tuscarawas
River to below Newcomerstown. In
making this gift it was necessary to re-
move the Delaware capital, which was
thereafter located at Coshocton. The
spring following this removal King New-
comer died. Kilbuck, his son, took his
father's position, but White Eyes re-
mained the head war chief and the con-
fidential adviser of Kilbuck, and was
regarded as the principal man in the
tribe. He was the chief in fact, if not in
name.

But we hasten on. This time we stop
at 1777. The Revolutionary war had

50 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

progressed, and all the tribes surround-
ing the Delaware Nation had joined the
British, but the Delawares, influenced
by having; the missions in their country,
and by the strong, peaceful, and Chris-
tianlike character of White Eyes, re-
mained at peace, although the war had
now been waging for more than two
years. Opposed to White Eyes and the
missions we have Captain Pipe, whom
we know as the chief of the Wolf tribe.
He was a shrewd politician as well as a
warrior, and at this time the circum-
stances were peculiarly fitting for him
to increase his following, and he was not
slow in making use of it. He used every
opportunity which presented itself, and
the war and peace factions of the nation
grew to be so nearly equal in strength
and numbers that the victories of either

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 51

side were won by the smallest majorities,
and, sometimes, when the question of
peace or war was presented, peace was
maintained by remarkable occurrences.
Zeisberger and others who were interested
in the missions knew if the Delaware
Nation joined in the war, the missions
would soon be broken up, the little band
of Christians scattered, and the work of
Christianizing the Delaware nation would
be practically terminated. The princi-
pal fear of the savage Delawares, and the
argument which seemed to have the
greatest influence upon them, was that
the Americans would not be successful,
and for their own protection they desired
to be with the winning side at the close
of the conflict. They knew the British
were the stronger, and naturally thought
it probable the stronger would win.

52 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

There were no telephones, telegraphs,
or railroads in those days, and the stage
lines were not in existence west of the
Allegheny mountains. All news was
necessarily brought by private carrier,
generally on horseback. Ko news of the
war in the East had been heard for some
time, and the condition of affairs in the
Tuscarawas Y alley was getting somewhat
critical from this circumstance of uncer-
tainty. It was therefore determined to
send a messenger to the East. It was
now August, 1777, and it was not proba-
ble that a messenger could make the trip
and return to Grnadenhutten before fall.
John Shebosh, who was connected with
the Gnadenhutten Mission, was selected
to make the trip, and John Hecke welder
went with him to pay a visit to his
friends in the East. Heckewelder in-

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 53

tended to return the following spring
and bring the news of what had tran-
spired during the winter.

Captain White Eyes, who at this time
lived in his little cabin at White Eyes
Plains, a short distance below Newcomers-
town, heard of the intention of Hecke-
welder and Shebosh to make this journey.
Immediately on receiving this informa-
tion he hurried to Heckewelder to offer
the services of himself and some of his
Indian friends to escort him safely as far
as Pittsburg, " For," he said, " The
Wyandots are at war and scouring the
country between here and Pittsburg, and
it is not safe for you two white men to
travel alone." The escort was accepted.
So Heckewelder, Shebosh, White Eyes,
and several other Indians started through
the dismal forest for Pittsburg, and from

54 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

there Heckewelder and Shebosh contin-
ued their journey alone, over the mount-
ains towards the east.

In the meantime the war faction did
not cease its clamorings. Captain Pipe,
with his gift of eloquence, was on every
opportune occasion advancing the British
cause, while White Eyes favored the
Americans, or rather, favored neutrality.
It is true White Eyes was supported by
the missionaries, by Glikkikin, and others
of the Christian Indians in this stand,
but with all that there was room for fear
as to the final outcome, as their neigh-
bors had all gone on the war path, and
their influence was assisting Captain
Pipe. Events had reached such a crisis
that peace was kept only by the power
of persuasion on the part of White Eyes.

The fall of 1777 came and passed away.

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 55

The winter of 1777-78 came, and also
was drawing to its close, but neither
Shebosh nor Heckewelder had returned.

Although the war chiefs usually de-
cided whether or not war should be de-
clared, yet as is done by officials of the
present day, they desired to take no
action disapproved by a majority of
the people. Councils were called to
determine the state of feeling existing in
the tribe on certain subjects so the head
men could act accordingly.

It was the custom of all Indian tribes
to choose the spring for beginning war.
The near approach of spring was in Cap-
tain Pipe's favor, and as the messengers
did not return he determined to push the
question of war to the front once more
and make his best efforts, and through
his influence the great council of the

56 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

Delaware Nation was summoned to meet
at Coshocton, the new capital, in Feb-
ruary, 1778. The Indians of this nation
gathered from far and near. The object
of the council was known, and the ques-
tion of war or peace wTas of the utmost
importance.

On the day appointed they gathered
around the council fire, and Captain Pipe,
as the leader of the war movement ad-
dressed them. He recited the wrongs
they had sustained at the hands of the
whites. He reminded them of the fact
that all the surrounding nations were
at war with the Americans, even their old
friends, the Shawnees, and explained the
position they occupied in the midst of na-
tions in conflict, not only bearing the brunt
of the battle and having their motives dis-
credited by other tribes, but that at any

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 57

time, either the British or the Americans
were liable to capture them and destroy
their nation. There seemed to be so
much truth in what Captain Pipe was
saying that regardless of the fact that
behind it all his object was the gratifica-
tion of a selfish ambition, his hearers
were in sympathy with his effort. He
noted that fact and gained confidence as
he proceeded, and in his final appeal he
denounced every person who opposed
immediate war as an enemy of the nation,
and declared that every such person
should be branded as a coward.

Every Indian in that council knew the
opinion White Eyes held on that subject,
and every man knew that White Eyes,
as leader of the peace faction would
make a defense if one were possible, and
the vast majority of those present deter-

58 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

mined to follow the leader who won in
this contest of debate.

White Eyes was equal to the occasion.
He had studied the interests of the nation
from his youth, and the laws of cause and
effect were as clear to him as to many
statesmen of the present day. He wanted
to see his people prosper, and he knew
the only way to accomplish that end was
to adopt civilization, and to avoid war
except in case of self defense, which he
thought had not yet arrived. He arose
to his feet. All was quiet in expectancy.
No doubt many Christians in that council
were trembling for him. The faithful
Glikkikin was there, and I can imagine
him uttering a silent prayer for White
Eyes' success. But nature had favored
White Eyes. There he stood, calm,
dignified, self-possessed, a savage Indian,

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 59

and yet, one of nature's noblemen, plead-
ing for the cause of American independ-
ence, for the welfare of his nation, and
for the safety of the missions. He began
where Captain Pipe had finished, and
referred to the charge of cowardice
which was intended for him in taking
the stand he did. He recalled the past,
when he had led many of them in battle,
and although he was not in favor of war
now, yet, if war was the will of the
council, he would go, and he would chal-
lenge any of them to dare follow where
he led. He referred to the kind treat-
ment the commandant at Pittsburg had
given them in times past, to the self-sacri-
ficing labors of the missionaries in their
midst, which was only for the good of the
Indians, and with an argument which
might have done credit to a Webster or

60 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

a Pitt, lie exposed the fallacies indulged
in by his opponent, Captain Pipe, and
awakened in the savage breasts a desire
for peace. The friends of the.peace policy
were so numerous after White Eyes'
speech that Captain Pipe was again in
despair.

But, although the victory seemed to
belong to White Eyes in this instance,
the contest was not finally won. Captain
Pipe was defeated in argument, it is true,
but at that juncture, Simon Girty ar-
rived. Simon Girty was a white man
He had been taken captive among the In-
dians with his two brothers when a child,
and had grown up with the savages. He
was cunning, naturally, and sad to say,
he did not have much moral principle.
He was adopted by the Seneca tribe in
New York. He soon became a leader

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 61

among the Indians, grew to love war,
and when he could induce them to plun-
der and murder, he would do so. At the
beginning of the Revolutionary war he
was undecided as to which side he would
join. The American commandant at
Pittsburg was in need of an Indian in-
terpreter, and Girty was pursuaded to
join the Americans in that capacity.
This work was not bloody enough for him,
however, and in the spring of 1778 he
turned traitor to the Americans, and with
a small body of Indians left Pittsburg,
going towards the Tuscarawas Valley.
He arrived in Gnadenhutten, and hear-
ing of the council in session at Coshocton
he went to that place. Captain Pipe
told him of his defeat. The designing
minds of these two evil men then began
anew to work. A report was started

62 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

that the British had won victory after
victory over the Americans who had
been driven over the mountains, and
were on their way to drive the Indians
from the Ohio country. This report was
not in accord with what White Eyes had
told them in council, and here was a
messenger, Simon Girty, who came direct
from Pittsburg, who affirmed its truth.
Under such a state of facts it seemed the
Delaware Nation must go to war to pro-
tect itself, and the war spirit was again
aroused.

White Eyes did not believe Girty's
statement. He affirmed this belief to his
followers again and again, but he had no
proof to offer. Argument could not save
them this time, it must be proof. If
Shebosh or Heckewelder would only ar-
rive all might be well, but, suppose

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 63

Girty's story was true. Then Hecke-
welder and Shebosh might be captured
and never come. They had been gone
six months already, and may have been
captured or killed. The Delawares might
be surprised by a night attack by the
Americans and their villages destroyed
before they could assume the defensive.
These were the thoughts in the minds of
the Indians. White Eyes realized the
position. His lasting faith in the Amer-
icans, with all these surmises, was strong,
and his love for his nation and the mis-
sions showed the highest patriotism.
When the war spirit reached the point
where he saw it could no longer be re-
strained, he asked that ten days be al-
lowed for preparation before starting the
war parties. The council agreed. Ten
days, no more, in which to hope for news

64 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

from the east, and if it did not come there
was to be war.

While these days are passing, let us
leave the scenes in Ohio and note the
events in the East which had just trans-
pired. The year 1777 had been a most
eventful one in the history of the Revolu-
tion. On January 3d of that year Wash-
ington's forces, with the victory of Trenton
of ten days before fresh in their minds,
met the British at Princeton, and gained
another victory. General Lafayette
from France, Baron de Kalb, a military
leader from Germ any, and Baron Steuben,
a military engineer from Prussia had
joined the American army and lent their
experience and energy to the cause of
American independence. At Benning-
ton, in August, the British, two thousand
strong, were met by a small body ot

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 65

Green Mountain boys under Colonel John
Stark, and after the battle the army of
the British numbered less than two hun-
dred, and the Americans held the field.
The greatest victory of all was the sur-
render of Burgoyne. His grand army of
fourteen thousand strong had dwindled
down to six thousand by the skirmishing
tactics of the Americans, and these sur-
rendered to General Gates at Saratoga.
In these battles I have mentioned, the
number of British who were captured or
surrendered were about one-third of the
entire British army in America. This
was the news in the East. This was the
information Shebosh was to carry to the
waiting warriors on the banks of the
Tuscarawas, which if brought in time
would mean peace. If not, it would
mean war for the Delaware Xation, loss

66 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

of life for an imagined wrong, the aban-
donment of the missions in the Tuscara-
was Valley, and another strong enemy
for onr fathers, struggling for their in-
dependence, to overcome.

But Shebosh was delayed and could
not start in the fall as he intended. Then
the winter of 1777-78 came on in all its
severity. That was the winter Wash-
ington's army spent at Yalley Forge, and
to describe the extreme cold would sim-
ply be repeating to you a known fact of
history which all historians of the Kev-
olutionary war dwell upon. Shebosh
was compelled to remain in the East un-
til spring, and it seemed spring would
never come.

Winter began to break the latter part
of February so a journey could be at-
tempted. It was then full six months

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 67

since Heckewelder and Shebosh had
left Gnadenhutten. The tribes of
New York and Pennsylvania were on
the war path, and the trip must be
made under the greatest danger. No
news had reached Gnadenhutten for so
long, and the importance of the trip was
so evident that the patriotism of Heck-
ewelder, and his self-sacrificing love
for the missions induced him to volunteer
for the trip. Shebosh determined to go
with him. His wife and children were
in Gnadenhutten, and the ties of home
and dear ones were incentive enough for
him to face the dangers, so they set out
towards Pittsburg.

On their way they saw signs of de-
struction everywhere. Severe as the
winter had been, the Wyandots had
made attacks on the lonelv settlers, and

68 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

those they did not kill they had driven
from home. On many a deserted cabin
door was written with chalk or charcoal,
" Travelers, avoid this road, the Indians
are out murdering us."

I will not dwell longer on this trip to
Pittsburg. The fort was reached in
safety. Colonel Hand, the commandant,
greeted them kindly, and in exchange
for the news they brought, told them of
the desertion of Girty and his band, and
of their going in the direction of Gnad-
denhutten. Colonel Hand anticipated
Girty's object to be to stir up the Indians
throughout the West, and feared the
Delawares were already on the war path.
If they were not, there was one hope
left, and that was to send a messenger
who would give the true story of the con-
dition of affairs to the Indians, for it was

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. *')(.>

rightfully presumed that Girty would
misrepresent the condition to suit his
purpose. Not one of the garrison at the
fort would volunteer for the trip, as it
was so full of danger, and Colonel Hand
would not draft a man for such an un-
dertaking. Heckewelder and Shebosh
declared their intention of going to
Gnadenhutten. Colonel Hand, moved
with sympathy for what he thought a
sacrifice of their lives, told them not to
venture. Heckewelder, with his love for
Zeisberger and the other missionaries ;
Shebosh, with his love for his family,
and both with a love for the missions and
a desire to do anything in their power
to protect them, expressed their calm de-
termination to undertake the trip. Girty,
however, had been gone about two weeks
and he was a man of action. So Hecke-

70 MOKAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

\felder and Shebosh were supplied with
fresh horses, and started. You have read
of famous rides. The ride of Paul Re-
vere when warning the people of the ap-
proach of the British was heroic, but he
was riding through a community of
friends. Sheridan's ride has been im-
mortalized, but there was no enemy be-
tween him and his army. But here are
two riders on whose skill and success de-
pended the peace or war of a nation.
They were to ride through a country in-
fested with Indians who were killing the
whites wherever they met them. Their
ride was through a wilderness, and in-
stead of being only twenty miles away
from their intended destination, they
were over one hundred miles away. Their
ride has not been commemorated in verse,
and possibly some of you have never

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 71

heard of it before, even in prose. Not
that I would detract from the fame of
Paul Revere or Phil Sheridan by the
comparison, for they deserve the credit
they receive, but I would that my readers
should know of the heroic riders of the
Tuscarawas Yalley.

At Coshocton the first day after the
agreement to wait ten days passed, but
no news came. The second day passed,
still no news. The third day passed, the
fourth day, the fifth, the sixth, and the
seventh arrived, but still no news. The
Wyandot warriors, under their head
chief, Half King, knew of the situation
of affairs, and wanted the Delawares to
join them in a body so they could inarch
against the Americans in force. They
desired also to impress the Moravian In-
dians of their strength and purpose, and

72 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

so they selected as the site for their en-
campment a hill, northwest of Gnaden-
hutten, known since as " Bluff Hill,"
where they, too, were waiting for the
morning of the tenth day. Captain
Pipe was rejoicing. He pictured to him-
self his future. If he overcame White
Eyes in this contest, which seemed
probable, he would be recognized as the
leading war chief of the Delaware tribe —
an honor which among the Indians was
the height of their ambition to attain.
Among his men and those who had for-
saken the hope of peace, all was activity.
Tomahawks were sharpened, and they
were painting themselves for the final
dance, which was to take place before
the march. Zeisberger and the faithful
Glikkikin were on the ground to hold
back, if possible, the onrushing tide of

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 73

war and to uphold White Eyes with their
prayers and presence. But now, even
White Eyes was beginning to lose hope.
His love for his nation was true patriot-
ism. His motto was : " My country, may
she ever be right, but right or wrong, my
country forever."

The seventh day passed without news,
the eighth was fast passing, the last dance
was ready to proceed, and every sound
seemed to proclaim War ! War ! War !
Was all lost ? Were the prayers of Glik-
kikin to be of no avail, and the plans
and hopes of White Eyes and the life
work of Zeisberger and his fellow mis-
sionaries to be destroyed in one brief
day ? It seemed so. Zeisberger, sick
with anxiety for the future of his beloved
missions retired from the scene to
Lichtenau, a branch mission about two.

74 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

miles from Coshocton, which was estab-
lished shortly after the Delaware capital
was moved. Glikkikin, who immediately
after he was converted answered his king
that where the brethren go, there will I
go, was as determined as ever in that
course, and intended to follow Zeisber-
ger to the last. Zeisberger retired in
secret to pray, and Glikkikin, hardly
knowing where he was going, probably
strolled towards the road which led from
Gnadenhutten to Coshocton. Other
Indians were along the road, as that was
the one over which the warriors would
no doubt start. Suddenly the keen ear
of the Indian caught a sound like
that of a horse on a gallop. He
listened. It became more and more dis-
tinct, and now he saw a man coming
on horseback. He came closer. It was

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 75

John Heckewelder with the messages of
victory. He had ridden since leaving
Pittsburg for three days and two nights.
When he arrived at Gnadenhutten he
saw the "Wyandot s camped on " Bluff
Hill." He learned from the Moravian
Indians the state of affairs at Coshocton,
and leaving Shebosh at home with his
family he took for his escort John Martin,
one of the Indian helpers, rode on to
Coshocton and arrived there just on
the eve of the departure of the warriors.
Iso time was to be lost, and Hecke-
welder knew it, for merely giving a
passing greeting he hurried on towards
the town. When he arrived there he met
White Eyes and greeted him, but White
Eyes did not answer. Anticipating from
what he had heard at Pittsburg and
Gnadenhutten as to what was on their

76 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

minds he stood up in his stirrups and
addressed them. He told them of the
American victories, of the good will the
Americans retained for them, and of the
papers he had brought as evidence. White
Eyes' faith in his American brothers im-
mediately returned. A council was sum-
moned. The war beat of the drum which
for the past twenty-four hours had not
ceased, making the hearts of the Indians
throb with thoughts of valor, was now
changed to summoning a council. The
warriors gathered. To introduce the
matter to the council White Eyes arose,
and in a speech in which he searched the
very hearts of his hearers, he closed by
asking, " Shall we, my friends and rela-
tives, listen once more to those who call
us brethren ? " A general shout of ap-
proval arose and Heckewelder was called

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 77

upon to address them. He took the
papers from his saddle bag, read the let-
ters from the American officers giving
assurances of good will towards them,
and ended his talk by translating an
account of Burgoyne's surrender.

Then White Eyes, filled with emotion
at the occurronce, jumped to his feet again,
and called attention to the evident object
of Girty's deception, and that the English,
knowing the destructful character of war
were continually pressing upon them to
fight, while the Americans advised them
not to take up the hatchet against either
side, but to remain at peace, and waving
aloft the paper containing the account of
Burgoyne's surrender he exclaimed,
" See, my friends, this paper contains the
truth." Ere this the warriors recognized
Girty's trickery, and many of the war

78 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

party, so numerous before, chagrined at
being thus deceived, were in favor of
maintaining peace. Heckewelder was
the hero of the hour. White Eyes stepped
up and shaking hands with him said,
" you are welcome with us, brother," and
the vast majority of the councilors fol-
lowed the example. Girty and Half King
saw the course events had taken against
them, and with their bands, left on
marauding expeditions. Captain Pipe
with his disgruntled followers retired
from the scene. He did not at that time
go on the war path, but he continued
secretly to oppose the Americans.

Colonel Hand, the commandant at
Pittsburg at this time, desired to follow
up the victory thus won by White Eyes,
Heckewelder and Zeisberger by making
a treaty of peace with the Delawares, so

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 79

he sent dispatches to Zeisberger, White
Eyes and other leaders among the In-
dians regarding the matter. Zeisberger
and White Eyes were in favor of the
project, so a number of prominent chiefs
went to Pittsburg where they met An-
drew and Thomas Lewis, the commis-
sioners appointed by Congress to nego-
tiate with them. On September 17, 1778,
the treaty was prepared and signed.
This was the first treaty made by the
United States as a nation with any In-
dian nation or tribe. White Eyes, who
was considered the leader of the Dela-
wares had the honor of being the first to
sign it. The only other signatures on
the part of the Indians are those of Kil-
buck, the son of King Newcomer, who
succeeded his father as sachem of the
Delawares, and Captain Pipe. Although

80 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

Captain Pipe's name appears on the
treaty, it is very evident his true senti-
ments were not expressed in it, for his
subsequent acts show that he still re-
mained an enemy to the Americans.

The treaty first recited the fact of the
mutual forgiveness of all offenses com-
mitted by either party in the past, and
that its object was a perpetual peace.
During the war then in progress, the
United States was to have the privilege of
free passage through the Delaware coun-
try to forts or towns of their enemies, and
to be allowed to construct a fort in the
Delaware country. The United States
was to guarantee to the Delawares
the privilege of keeping the land
they then possessed, and the Delaware
Nation was to invite other tribes to join
them and from a State which should have

p

John Heckewelder.

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 81

representatives in Congress when the
latter body approved of the step. This
had been one of the dreams of White
Eyes, as he desired to see his people
grow into a great nation like the one
he had seen in his travels, and it was
his ambition to be at the head of it.
This, it seemed, was never to be.

Although peace was maintained so long
by the force of character of White Eyes,
it • could not last. After the treaty at
Pittsburg, while White Eyes was with
General Mcintosh at Bolivar (the Ameri-
cans were building Fort Laurens at that
place in accordance with the treaty),
White Eyes took the small pox, and just
two months after the treaty was signed,
he died, The leadership of the peace
faction fell upon Kilbuck. He did
not possess the powerful magnetism and

82 MOKAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

influence of either his father or of White
Eyes, and the first storm of war which
broke, swept the Delaware Nation into
the conflict as an enemy of the Ameri-
cans. The Moravian Indians and a small
remnant of the peace faction of the Dela-
wares which remained loyal to Kilbuck,
and which moved from Coshocton hack
to Newcomerstown where Kilbnck made
his headquarters, were alone in the great
West in their policy for peace.

From the death of White Eyes dates
the persecution of the missionaries and
converts at the Moravian missions. Bands
of Shawnees, Wyandots and Delawares
in their marauding expeditions would
•make it an object to pass througn Gnad-
enhutten and to encamp for a time at
that place. They would demand sup-
plies for their warriors, and the converts

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 83

were compelled to furnish them for fear
of loosing their lives. Not content with
having their wants supplied, the warriors
would destroy property for the mere grati-
fication of their own sensual pleasure
and annoy the converts in every possible
manner. The worst enemies of the mis-
sions seemed to be their own country-
man, Captain Pipe and the trio of rene-
gades, Simon Girty, Elliott and McKee,
all three white men who were more than
" Indian " in their savage nature. In
one instance Girty, with a party of nine
Mingo warriors, waylaid Zeisberger with
an intention to capture or kill him, but
as they were in the act of committing
the deed, two Delaware Indians, who
knew Zeisberger well, saw what was
about to take place, and interfered, thus
saving his life. On another occasion

84 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

Heckewelder was on his way to Salem
where he was to hold a meeting, when
one of Captain Pipe's band attempted
to take his life, but the sexton of the
church, an old Indian named Tobias,
came at that moment to call Heckewelder
to the chapel, and frightened the would-
be-murderer away.

The Americans observed the fact that
many Indians made the Tuscarawas Val-
ley their rendezvous, and planned to send
an expeditien there under Colonel Broad-
head. Colonel Broadhead centered his
army at Wheeling, West Virginia, and
by a sudden maneuver pushed into the
interior and captured and destroyed the
Indian capital at Coshocton. He then
marched to Newcomerstown. The mis-
sionaries, who were further up the river
heard of his coming, and went to New-

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 85

comerstown, where they met Colonel
Broadhead. The situation was explained
and he recognized the fact that the
inhabitants of Kewcomerstown, Gnaden-
hutten, and Schoenbrunn were not ene-
mies of the Americans. He had no
desire to interfere with them, so he left.
Immediately after he left, however, a
large army of Delaware Indians, under
chief Pachgantschihilas, arrived at Gnad-
enhntten and demanded its surrender.
Just then a rumor spread that the Ameri-
cans knew of their presence at Gnaden-
hutten and were returning to capture
them, so the Dela wares hastily left the
town.

The Tuscarawas Yalley thus becoming
fighting ground, and the Moravian In-
dians and their friends refusing allegiance
to the British cause when all other In-

86 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

dians were their allies, and the presence
of the Americans at Fort Laurens and
elsewhere led the commandant in charge
of the British post at Detroit to consider
the Moravian Indians as American spies,
and he determined to have the missions
broken up. He called the Iroquois Na-
tion into council and expressed his desire
of having the missions destroyed, and
placed the matter into their hands to be
performed in any way they chose. The
Iroquois Nation desired to obey the
British, but they knew of no cause for such
action, and desiring to shift the responsi-
bility for the crime, they directed the
Chippewa and Ottawa tribes to do the
work. But they, although allies of the
British, warriors and savages, declined.
They declared that they would fight their
enemies but not their friends, and that

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 87

the Moravian Indians had always be-
friended them. The Iroquois next re-
quested the Wyandots to dispose of them.
Half King, their leader, at first refused
to be connected with any such scheme.
Captain Pipe and Captain Elliott were
with him, however, and they insisted on
accepting the proposition of the Iroquois,
and " doing away " with the missions.
At last Half King consented to remove
them peaceably to his own country which
would satisfy the British, no doubt, and
would save the Moravian Indians proba-
bly from a worse fate.

The plan was to be put into effect in
the fall of 1781, and in August of that
year an army of about three hundred
Indians marched to Gnadenhutten and
encamped at that town. This army was
composed principally of "Wyandot war-

88 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

riors under Half King and a number of
dissatisfied Delawares under Captain
Pipe. Captain Elliott, one of the trio of
renegades, was also with them to make
suggestions as to what he thought proper
movements.

Half King at first determined to use
peaceful measures in accomplishing the
removal of the Moravian Indians, and
called them into council to have them
determine the advisability of leaving.
Arguments were advanced by Half King,
Captain Pipe and Elliott, but the con-
verts refused to. leave. Their corn was
ripening, and their vegetables would
soon be ready to gather. They had
everything in plenty at Gnadenhutten,
and they thought it meant starvation to
go into an entirely new country, which
was probably barren and cold, to spend

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 89

the winter. They pleaded for just time
to gather their crops, and promised that
when winter came they would consider
more favorably the proposition of moving.

Half King saw the reasonableness of
such a request and was willing to grant
the favor. Captain Pipe and Captain
Elliott, however, did not view the matter
with regard to the welfare of the Mo-
ravian Indians, and urged Half King to
insist on their leaving. Their influence
was not confined to merely persuading
Half King to take peremptory measures,
but it extended to the warriors as well,
and the destruction of property, and
cruelties practiced on the Moravians by
these savages was in effect forcing them
to submit.

At this time a niece of Glikkikin was
visiting her mother and relatives at

90 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

Gnadenhutten. She saw the danger the
Moravian Indians were in, and although
she had come with the warriors and
seemed to be their friend, she now de-
termined to go to Pittsburg to inform
the Americans of what was transpiring.
She was a good rider, so unnoticed, she
took Captain Pipe's favorite horse, the
fleetest in the valley, and started for
Pittsburg. She was not gone long be-
fore Captain Pipe missed his horse, and
then her absence was discovered. These
two facts were immediately connected,
and it was presumed that she had
left to notify the Americans. Swift
riders were sent after her, and Captain
Pipe, whose hatred towards Glikkikin
was still active, directed twelve of his
men to bring Glikkikin to him, dead or

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 91

alive. He blamed Glikkikin for the
work of his niece.

Heckewelder had started a little set-
tlement called Salem near the present
town of Port Washington, the year he-
fore, and there they found Glikkikin.
They made him a prisoner, and brought
him to Gnadenhutten.

Our rider to Pittsburg was overtaken
and captured, but by her prowess she
escaped a second time and made her way
to Pittsburg. This unsuccessful attempt
to keep the news from the Americans at
Pittsburg was another argumeut for
speedy action on the part of the "Wyandots.
They were now in danger of being cap-
tured themselves, and desired to retire
north to their own country as speeily as
possible to avoid any such results.
Goaded with the taunts of Captain Pipe

92 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

and Captain Elliott that if his army re-
treated without capturing the Moravian
Indians, they would become the laughing
stock of other nations, Half King directed
that the missionaries and converts be
made prisoners, and that the march to-
ward the north should take place as soon
as possible. The order was put into
effect on September 11, 1781, and the
Wyandot and Delaware armies started
north with the Moravian Indians as pris-
oners of war, and they were thus com-
pelled to turn their backs to their own
homes. In speaking of this occurrence
Heckewelder says : " Never did the
Christian Indians leave a country with
more regret. Three beautiful settlements,
Gnadenhutten, Schoenbrunn, and Salem,
were now to be forsaken, together with
many of their young cattle that were in

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 93

the woods, with some hundred head of
hogs, and at least three hundred acres of
corn, potatoes, turnips, cabbage, etc ,
were now lost to them, together with
books that were burnt, many of which
were for the instruction of the youth."

I will not relate the sufferings of the
march, but suffice to say that just one
month after starting we find our Moravian
friends in the wilderness near Sandusky.
Here the Wyandot army disbanded, the
warriors returned to their homes, and the
leaders of the expedition to Detroit to
spend the winter. The few supplies the
Moravian Indians brought were soon ex-
hausted. There was no game in the
country and no other means of support
for them. The settlers who had corn for
sale asked a dollar for three or four
quarts, but the Indians had no money

94: MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

with which to buy. The women en-
deavored to dig edible roots, but the
ground was frozen, and, if they expected
to find a barren wilderness, their expecta-
tions were more than realized. From
this necessity some of the Indians were
sent back to Schoenbrunn and Gnaden-
hutten to obtain corn, but the road was a
hard, dangerous, and long one. To travel
one way required from five to six days,
and the meager facilities for transporta-
tion prevented them from bringing a
sufficient supply. The diary of Zeisber-
ger is full of the sufferings of this winter.
The savages seemed pleased at the state
of affairs, for they said, " Now you are
on a level with us." In this condition
they wandered from one place to another
trying to find a location for the winter
where they might at least have wood for

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 95

fires. They finally settled at a place we
now know as Captive's Town. Here
they built another church and a few huts
for the winter.

Time passed on with scant food, scant
clothing, far away from where they could
obtain either, and in a strange country
and with a cold winter, until February,
1782, when a number resolved once
more to visit their old homes to get
corn. Following out this resolution a
band of about one hundred and fifty
under the leadership of John Shebosh
started. They took all their horses along
so they could carry as much corn back
with them as possible.

The trip to the old settlements was
made without any special event of in-
terest. On arrival, the band divided into
detachments, one going to Schoenbrunn,

96 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

one to Salem, and the other remained at
Gnadenhutten, all working toward the
common end of procuring corn to carry
back to Captive's Town.

Early in March, after this band had
started for the Tuscarawas Valley, plans
were arranged for the removal of the
camp or settlement at Captive's Town
to Fremont, then known as Lower San-
dusky.

Those remaining at Captive's Town
were glad and ready to make the change
excepting for the fact that their people at
the old settlements had their horses, and
there was no way to move the few goods
brought with them when they left the
Tuscarawas Valley the fall before. They
also desired that all the Moravian In-
dians go with them. Messengers were
sent to the Tuscarawas Valley to hasten

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 97

their return, but as these messengers were
gone for some days and did not return,
still others were sent.

The savage Indians during the winter
of 1781-'82 had committed many depre-
dations, and the hoarder settlements in
Pennsylvania and Virginia were in con-
tinual danger. The occupants of the
lonely cabins which formed the outposts
of civilization were compelled to leave
their homes, and many of them were
murdered. Among the latter was Mrs.
Wallace and her child, who were at that
time living near the Ohio River. While
her husband was absent the horrible deed
was committed. This condition of affairs
called for severe measures on the part of
the settlers, and the knowledge that a
near' friend or relative had been killed
by the Indians worked the spirit of re-

98 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

venge to a frenzy. After the murders
were committed the savages would re-
treat towards the West, and a wrong idea
prevailed among some that the Moravian
Indians were the principal actors in
these outrages, and others believed their
settlements in the Tuscarawas Yalley to
be the starting point of these expeditions,
and that those Indians, if not the prin-
cipals in such affairs, were at least re-
sponsible for them. The frontier settlers
in Pennsylvania and Virginia determined
to break up these missions, and to pro-
ceed as far as Sandusky, if necessary, to
destroy the entire band of Moravian
Indians.

This company of men who took the
matter in hand is sometimes known as
Pennsylvania militia, but it is proper to
say that there was no regularly organ-

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 99

ized company which derived authority
from the United States, or the Star.- qf
Pennsylvania or Virginia. On the other
hand, the United States officials had al-
ways been friendly to the Moravians.
In the fall of 1781, at the time when the
first journey was made from Captive's
Town to the Tuscarawas Valley for corn,
Shebosh and five Moravian Indian- were
captured by whites and taken to Pitts-
burg as prisoners of war. Colonel Gib-
son, the commandant at that post at that
time, promptly released them.

The resolution to destroy the Moravian
settlements originated in a little frontier
town in Pennsylvania, and immediately
upon the suggestion a number of men
decided to go. Colonel David William-
son was chosen the commander of the
expedition, and immediately after the

100 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

plan was formed, those favoring it took
up their march towards Gnadenhutten.
On, the march, a number of adventurers
who enjoyed killing Indians simply for
sport joined them. In this manner the
company increased to about two hundred
men. It is stated that many who joined
this expedition did not tell their own
family of the purpose of the trip, or
where they were going. As it was purely
a volunteer company, each man furnished
his own ammunition, arms, and provis-
ions, and those who were mounted fur-
nished their own horses.

The Indians at Gnadenhutten had some
knowledge of the temper of the frontier
settlers. They were aware of the fact
that the savage Indians had begun their
marauding expeditions early in February,
or in fact, had not ceased them during

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 101

the entire winter just passed. Early in
March a white man coming through
Gnadenhutten told them of the murder
of Mrs. Wallace and her child, and that
a company of whites was forming to re-
venge these deaths, and that their inten-
tion was to kill every Indian they met,
whether savage or Christian. This aroused
some fear, and a meeting of the leading
Moravian Indians then in the Tuscarawas
Valley was called to determine what
should be done in case the whites can if
upon them. Some thought they should
scatter through the woods, and others
thought they should place enough faith
in the Americans to disbelieve any re-
ports that the Americans intended harm,
and should treat them as friends.
It was finally settled that each person
should act in accordance with his Benti-

102 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

ments. If he felt fearful, lie might run
away, and if not, he might do otherwise.
It was decided, however, to complete
their work the following day, and leave

Jv^ Captive's Town on March 7.

/ Colonel Gibson at Pittsburg heard of

the gathering of Williamson's company,
and immediately sent messengers to the
Tuscarawas Valley to warn the Moravian
settlements of their danger, but by that
time Williamson and his men were near-
ing the towns.

On March 5, 1782, the same day the
Moravian Indians had their council to
determine the action they should take in
case the whites approached them, this
company arrived within a mile of Gnad-
enhutten where they encamped for the
night. The following morning they re-
connoitered, and finding a number of In-

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 103

dians were in the vicinity, they deter-
mined upon the plan of attack. The
entire command was formed into two
divisions. One was to cross to the west-
ern side of the river and attack the
Indians there, while the other division
was to be divided into three detachments
which were to attack the town from dif-
ferent points simultaneously.

The first division found difficulty in
crossing the river, as it was full of float-
ing ice, but by the use of a large Bap
trough which answered the purposes of a
canoe, and by swimming, sixteen of them
managed to cross.

The first person they met was Joseph
Shebosh, the son of one of the heroes of
the ride from Pittsburg to Gruadenhutten
which I have related. He was endeavor-
ing to catch his horse which had strayed

104 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

away from him along the river bank,
when one of Williamson's men observed
him and shot, breaking his arm. A num-
ber of Williamson's men then gathered
aronnd him. He plead for his life, but
in vain. The thirst for blood was aroused,
and, regardless of the fact that the father
of Shebosh was a white man, and had
served the Americans so nobly, and with
so much danger to himself, they killed
him with their hatchets. Another Indian
named Jacob was working close to the
place where the whites were crossing,
and was about to make his presence
known when he saw one of the
whites on the eastern bank fire at an
Indian some distance down the river who
was getting into a canoe. The Indian
fell, apparently dead. Jacob wTas so
frightened at the occurrence that he ran

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 105

into the woods and hid himself for a day
and a half before he ventured to give the
alarm.

Quite a number of the Moravian In-
dians were at work in the fields tying up
corn preparatory to starting for Captive's
Town on the morrow. Most of them
had their guns with them. So few of
the whites got across the river that
they found themselves greatly out num-
bered, and they quickly adopted another
plan. Jacob was the only Indian who
knew the probable intention of the whites,
and he was too frightened to give the
alarm. Shebosh was not yet missed, and
it was probable that they could gain agreat
advantage by acting as friends and thus
gain the Indians' confidence. S,». ap-
proaching to where they were working,
the whites accosted them in a friendly

106 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

manner, and in conversation sympathized
with them in their troubles with the
Wyandots. They told them the object
of their coming to Gnadenhutten was to
take them back to Pittsburg as friends,
and not as prisoners, and their wants
would be supplied until after the war.
At the mention of Pittsburg, no doubt,
they recalled the kind treatment extended
by Colonel Gibson to some of their num-
ber who had been taken there as pris-
oners but a few months before, and from
the fact that the men to whom they were
speaking were Americans, in whom the
Moravians had the utmost confidence,
there was very little persuasion needed
to induce them to accept the proposition
of going to Pittsburg, and they agreed to
go to Gnadenhutten immediately to make
preparations for the proposed journey.

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 1<>7

The mask of friendship of the whites was
perfect, and the confidence placed in
them by the Indians was sincere. All
requests made by the whites were cheer-
fully complied with, and upon the repre-
sentation that all things would be re-
turned on arrival at Pittsburg, even their
guns and other weapons of defense were
surrendered.

The division which intended to attack
the town of Gnadenhutten carried out
the project. The attack was made, but
they found only one defenseless woman
there, whom they killed, and so had pos-
session of the town when they saw the
other division approaching, peaceably
conversing with the Indians they had
crossed the river to murder. This may
have caused some surprise to those who
had taken possession of Gnadenhutten,

108 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

but, quickly grasping the situation they
also acted the part of friends. They
spent the remainder of the day gathering
articles that had been hidden by the
Moravian Indians when the Wyandots
visited them the fall before and forced
their removal. That night, the 6th of
March, they all lay down to sleep to-
gether, as it has been said : " The one
dreaming of scalps, the other of happy
homes." On the morning of March 7
"Williamson sent an escort with several
of the Indians from Gnadenhutten to
bring those from Salem. This was ac-
complished in the same guise of friend-
ship and Christianity. The Indians at
Salem were asked to give up their arms,
which they did, and thus helpless, though
with cheerful hearts they trudged along
with the escort until they came to a pool

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 109

of blood and a bloody canoe at the place
where Jacob had witnessed the shooting.
The confidence of the Indians fled, but
they saw they were helpless in the hands
of their enemies. Their captors, fearing
their escape, bound them and brought
them also to Gnadenhutten.

On their arrival they found the Gnad-
enhutten Indians had been imprisoned in
two houses, the women and children in
one, and the men in the other, and the
Moravians from Salem were soon with
them. The true character of their sup-
posed friends was thus disclosed. Instead
of the kind words the Indians had heard
a few hours before, were the curses and
taunts of their captors. Their sympathy
for suffering was changed to thoughts of
murder.

Not all were murderers, however.

110 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

Some of Williamson's men realized the
crime which their companions in arms
wished to commit, and were in favor of
releasing the Indians, or at the worst
taking them captive to Pittsburg where
the United States authorities could deal
with them as was thought proper. Seeing
the difference of opinion, Williamson
resolved to leave the question to a vote
of his men, and a consultation was held.
Those in favor of sparing their lives de-
clared that the Indians were innocent of
any crime, while those in favor of death
pointed to the fact that they had articles
of household goods and clothing which
the Indians in their savage state could
not make. One of the band identified
a garment worn by an Indian woman as
belonging to Mrs. Wallace who had been
murdered a few days before. The con-

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. Ill

elusion the whites deducted was that the
Moravian Indians assisted in that murder.
The facts were, that the garment of
Mrs. Wallace had been sold at an auction
with other goods a few days before, and
not then knowing of the crime, or how
the garment was obtained by the person
selling it, one of the Moravian Indians
bought it for his wife. Her clothes had
been stolen by the Wyandots the fall be-
fore, and this garment was bought proba-
bly to supply an actual need, not realiz-
ing that it would be used as an evidence
of murder against the entire Moravian
band.

These facts, however, could not at that
time be presented for the company of
whites were of the nature of a mob, and
those who ruled had their opinions
formed before starting on the expedition,

112 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

and did not desire to consider any facts
in favor of the Indians. Colonel Wil-
liamson did not desire to. take the re-
sponsibility of action upon himself, how-
ever, determined to have his men decide
as to what should be done with them.
He ordered his men to " fall in," and
after explaining the situation he put the
question : " Shall the Moravian Indians
be taken prisoners to Pittsburg or put to
death ? All those in favor of sparing
their lives step one pace forward and
form a second rank." Eighteen stepped
forward to the line of mercy. About
eighty remained on the line of murder,
and the question was thus decided that
the Moravian Indians should die.

This intelligence was quickly commu-
nicated to the Indians where they were
prisoners in the houses built for their own

Monument at Gnadenhutten, Ohio.

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 113

protection. They were told they had
only one night more to prepare for death
and that they should make use of it and
die as Christians. At first this news
almost crushed them. That Americans
whom they had helped whenever they
could do so without voilating their
Christian principles ; Americans, whom
they looked upon as friends, and who
had but a few hours before talked with
them about Christianity and compli-
mented them on their piety should take
them prisoners, and go so far as to
murder them without even permission to
make a defense or explanation was too
much for the innocent mind of a Christian
to bear, even though an Indian.

They had been taught to overcome dis-
appointments, however, and as night
came on and they realized it was their

114 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

last one on earth, they spent it in sing-
ing and praying. One old Mohican In-
dian, Abraham, who had followed the
Moravians from New York, had in his
later days, become a backslider. He was
one of the unfortunates, and to prepare
for death he asked forgiveness of all whom
he had wronged, and then joined in the
singing and prayers also. While this
last prayer meeting was being held in
the prison house, the captors on the out-
side were discussing the method of exe-
cution. Some wanted to burn them.
Others favored a different plan as they
wanted scalps. It seemed Williamson's
men were not only blood thirsty, but
their desire for crime was a mania, and
the worst form which could be devised
was the preferable. They finally decided
to kill them separately in almost any man-

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 115

ner, one by one, but to make the work
complete. Those who had stepped to the
line of mercy pleaded that they be taken
prisoners instead of killed, but all
in vain, and then as Pilot of old, they
washed their hands of the matter and
called upon God to witness that the
crime was not upon them.

The morning of the 8th of March
dawned. The murderers began their
preparations. The cooper shop, in which
no doubt old Joshua had honestly toiled
many a day, was chosen as one of the
slaughter houses. A cooper's mallet lay-
ing there, which had so often been used
as a tool for works of mercy, was selected
as the instrument of death. The man
who picked it up remarked, " How ex-
actly will this answer the purpose,'' and
stood ready to begin the execution. The

116 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

whites then went to the prison houses
and inquired whether they were not soon
ready for the work, to which the inno-
cent Moravians replied, " We are ready."

The bloody work began. The Indians
were led out two by two. Old Abraham
was the first to be taken, and as the self
chosen executioner seized him by his
long flowing white hair he said to one of
his fellow criminals, " See what a fine
scalp this will make," and knocked him
in the head with the mallet. He kept
on with the work in this manner until
he had fourteen dead and dying at his
feet when he handed the mallet to an-
other, saying, " I think I have done
pretty well, go on with the work."

The work did continue until, to the
knowledge of the whites, not one Indian
of that band remained alive, and among

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO, 117

the dead were Captain Johnny, the chief
of the Turtle tribe, who had resigned his
position to follow the Moravians : Old
Tobias, the sexton of the church at Salem.
who had saved Heckewelder's life ; Grlik-
kikin, the former war chief of the Wolf
tribe whose faithfulness to the missions
and to the Americans was always prom-
inent, and John Martin, who had ridden
with John Heckew elder from Gnaden-
hutten to Coshocton on that day when the
tide of war was turned.

The ;,ouse which was occupied by the
women and children was also made a
slaughter house, and among those who
perished there were the two young
daughters of Joshua the cooper, the wife
of Glikkikin, and Christiana, a well edu-
cated woman who had lived among the
Americans in the East and could speak

118 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

three languages. Christiana fell upon
her knees before Williamson and begged
that her life be spared, but he replied
that he could do nothing for her. So
passed the day, and as the sun was sink-
ing in the West, ninety-six of the Mo-
ravian Indians had passed by the hands
of the Americans into the future state.

Only two persons escaped. Jacob, a
young boy who was imprisoned in the
house with the women and children, got
through a trap door into the cellar. The
massacre just over his head was proceed-
ing and the whites were so engaged in
their horrid work that he crept out of
the cellar window unobserved, and hid
in a clump of hazel bushes. Abel and
Thomas, two other boys, were not killed
by the blow from the mallet and by being
scalped, but lay as if dead. When Able

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 119

thought the murderers had left, he raised
slightly to see his surroundings. Just
then one of Williamson's men came into
the slaughter house, and seeing an In-
dian still alive, he crushed him under his
heels. Thomas observed this and lay
perfectly quiet until it became dark, when
he cautiously slipped out of the building
and escaped. By a coincidence he found
Jacob, and they two watched the mur-
derers set fire to the houses and make
merry over the result of their work, and
then with savage shouts, and oaths, start
for Schoenbrunn, where they expected to
repeat the crime committed at Gnaden-
hutten.

The messenger which Zeisberger sent
from Captive's Town to ask the Indians
to return, arrived at Schoenbrunn about
the time Williamson's party arrived at

120 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

Gnadenhutten. Having given the mes-
sage to the Indians there, messengers
proceeded towards Gnadenhutten. When
within a short distance of the town, they
found the body of their own country-
man, Shebosh, lying by the river bank,
dead and scalped. Tracks of horses were
also noticed in the vicinity, and they
then saw a number of whites across the
river at Gnadenhutten. Hastily taking
note of these facts the messengers retraced
their steps to Schoenbr.unn and told what
they had seen. The Moravian Indians
there, thinking these visitors might mean
harm, dispersed through the woods where
they could observe what was taking place
in their town without being seen.

Soon Williamson's band appeared and
seeing the town deserted, they satisfied

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 1 '1 1

themselves by looting the houses and
setting the town on fire.

The whites then made their way to-
wards the east, as it was learned that a
number of the Moravian Indians had
gone in that direction. Later they went
to Pittsburg with their stolen goods,
which were put up at auction and sold.

The missionaries at Captive's Town.
not hearing from those who went to the
Tuscarawas Yalley, were compelled t>>
start on their journey to Fremont with
the limited accommodations they could
procure at Sandusky. The trip took
them through marshes. The weather wag
still cold, and other hardships were to ho
borne. When they arrived at Fremont
they found true friends among the whites.
Here they heard the news of the massacre
of their people at Gnadenhutten.

122 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

The remaining history of the Moravian
Missions is soon told. The few converts
who had not relapsed into heathen-
ism or been killed were gathered to-
gether, and a new mission called New
Gnadenhntten was started in the present
State of Michigan, where they lived until
four years after the Revolutionary War.
The desire to return to their beloved
Tuscarawas Valley was still uppermost
in the minds of many of them, and es-
pecially was this the case with Zeisberger,
Hecke welder and Edwards, the only
missionaries left to care for the Indians.
New Gnadenhutten was a long distance
from Detroit, the nearest settlement, and
the road to that post lay partly through
a forest, and partly through a dense
swamp, so they were cut off from com-
munication with the outside world. From

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 123

the disadvantages of this position the
little flock was diminishing instead of
increasing, and it could not be otherwise
while they remained there. The day
came when they started on their home-
ward journey. On April 20, 17S6, the
congregation met for the last time in
their chapel at New Gnadenhutten and
offered thanks to God for His care and
protection. They went to Detroit, crossed
Lake Erie, and on June 8, arrived at
the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, at the
present site of Cleveland. Their inten-
tion was to go direct from here to the
Tuscarawas Y alley, but they were again
doomed to disappointment. They were
informed that but recently the whites
had murdered some Indians there, and
that the savage Indians had not yet ac-
cepted peace. For this reason they re-

124 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

mained for a time on the Cuyahoga at a
place named Pilgrims Rest.

Here Hecke welder also left the band
for other fields, and the remainder of
them moved back to the Huron River,
where New Salem was built, and later
we find them at Fairfield, Canada.

The savage Indians in Ohio kept up
the war spirit even after the Revolu-
tionary War was over. In 1790 hostili-
ties in an aggravated form began again.
St. Clair was sent to Ohio with an army to
preserve peace, but in a battle in 1791 he
was defeated. Then General Anthony
Wayne was sent, and the result of his
campaign was the treaty of peace made
in 1795 which forever ended Indian wars
in Ohio.

In 1785, Congress granted three large
tracts of land in which Schoenbrunn,

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 125

Gnadenhutten and Salem had been lo-
cated for the use of the Moravian Indians.
These grants were renewed in June, 1796,
and the remnant of the Moravian Indians
was invited to take possession of their
old homes. It was not, however, until
1798 that their desire to return could be
satisfied. That year, however, on May
31, Heckewelder, who was again with
the Moravian Indians, Edwards, another
missionary, and six of the Indians who had
been members of the missions for years,
started for the Tuscarawas Valley.
On August 15, Zeisberger with thirty-
three of the Indian converts followed.
About the 1st of October this little
band floated down the Tuscarawas
River in canoes as Zeisberger and
Glikkikin had done over twenty-seven
years before, and then they paddled

126 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

into the lake and to the landing at the
beautiful spring, where they arrived Oc-
tober 4, 1798.

Near by the town of Goshen was built,
and a mission started. Here the first
convert was the widow of Captain White
Eyes. White Eyes' sons also became
members of the mission.

The mission at Goshen prospered until
about 1800, when it too began to decline,
and at the death of Zeisberger in 1808,
the missions in the Tuscarawas Y alley
may be looked upon as abandoned.

To-day as we pass over the site of these
communities we note the changes. All
traces of Schoenbrunn are effaced. The
original beauty of the location is gone.
The beautiful spring is dry. The clear
lake has become a marsh by absorbing the
decay of generations. The virgin forest
has fallen, and the noble race which oc-
cupied its banks, have, like the forest, dis-

RC 10.5

MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO. 127

appeared before the destructive elements
of civilization.

The site of Old Gnadenhutten is a
pretty grove. One mound near the site
of the massacre is the last resting place
of the bones of the unfortunates, which
were gathered up and buried there by
their former teacher and faithful friend,
John Heckewelder, and David Peter,
about eighteen years after the massacre.
Another mound marks the site of the
Mission House, and the plot made sacred
by the presence of the church in which
so many prayers and exhortations were
uttered, is marked by a limestone shaft
bearing the inscription. " Here tri-
umphed in death ninety Christian In-
dians, March 8, 1782."

But, although the physical features are
thus changed and these events are looked
upon as matters of history, the results
still live. The moral influence exerted
by these faithful followers of Christianity
on not onlv those who came in contact

128 MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN OHIO.

with them, but on those who read about
them, can not be measured, and that in-
fluence is with us to-day.

The effect of their actions on the
political history of the United States
can only be conjectured, but their
policy for peace during the Revolu-
tionary war was at least instrumental
in helping our fathers secure their
Independence. On this one feature Gen-
eral Butler says : " Had the chiefs of
the Delaware Nation, together with the
Christian Indians, pursued a different
course than that which they adopted, all
joined the enemy and taken np the
hatchet against the American people, it
would have cost the United States much
blood and treasure, to have withstood
them and checked their progress, besides
weakening our already feeble armies on
the sea board by draining them of troops
for the Western service, and this might
have proved fatal to the cause."

THE END.

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

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