FOUND AT LAST.
The narration of the circumstances which led to the discovery of
Matthew Brayton by his relatives requires us to go back a little from
the point to which his account has brought the reader. The intervening
years between the loss of Matthew Brayton by his relatives and the
present time have caused many changes in the neighborhood once so
excited in consequence of that loss. The red men clung for many years
to their last foothold in Ohio. Four years after the loss of the boy,
the Delawares left their village below Upper Sandusky, and set out for
their new homes farther west. Two years afterwards the Senecas
extinguished their council fires and sought a resting place nearer the
Rocky Mountains. But the Wyandots held tenaciously to their homes, and
eighteen years passed away before they finally consented to abandon
Ohio to the exclusive occupation of the white race.
Fine farms now cover the site of the waste land and woods over and
through which the weary hunt for the missing boy was conducted day
after day. Towns and villages have sprung up where humble log cabins
here and there stood in the incipient clearing, and the huts of the
red skins have passed away forever.
The sturdy farmer, Elijah Brayton, who once returned to his cabin from
the weary journey to Chillicothe after millstones, and was met by news
that made the blood forsake his parental heart in a sudden rush, had
passed by some years the allotted period of man's life, and is fast
progressing towards his fourscore years. William, the boy of sixteen
who had set out with his little brother on that search for stray
cattle, but had returned without him, has reached the meridian of
life, and sees around him a young family springing up. Long since, the
paternal cabin near the Tymochte Creek has disappeared, and two or
three miles away from it, somewhere in the direction where the two
brothers had separated thirty-four years ago, a fine brick house has
become the dwelling of the oldest son of Elijah Brayton. Up at
Springville, some five or six miles farther to the northwest, and at
no great distance from the trail on which the young boy was borne off
by the thieving Canadian Indians, lives another brother, Peter, and
one of the married sisters. Here also lives the patriarch himself.
There are other sisters who mourned when their brother was lost, and
they too are married. A son and daughter born to the patriarch of the
family after the loss of Matthew, have long since died, and another
son, Asa, younger yet, pursues the practice of medicine in the
adjoining town of Carey.
The publication of the "Indian Captive's" narrative in the Cleveland
_Herald_ was the means of creating considerable interest in his
fortunes. The story was extensively copied, and several letters were
received by the editors of that paper from people in different
sections of the country who had lost children many years ago; it was
supposed by means of Indians. None of these letters afforded any clue
by which the Indian Captive could trace out his family.
A weekly paper containing the story, copied from the Cleveland
_Herald_, was sent by a friend to the Braytons, and this first gave
them an idea that there might be a possibility of recovering the
missing member of the family. On the 26th of September, one month
after the first publication of the narrative, Dr. Asa Brayton wrote to
the editors of the _Herald_, stating the manner in which he had met
with the article, and giving some particulars of the method in which
his brother Matthew had been lost. About a week afterwards a cousin of
the Doctor called at the office of that paper, and made inquiries
respecting the Indian Captive. He was followed in a few days by Mr.
Peter Brayton, one of the brothers of the missing Matthew, who went to
Warren, O., in search of the "Captive," but lost trace of him there
and returned discouraged.
The interest in the subject did not abate, and from time to time the
_Herald_ gave some intelligence regarding the wanderings of the
"Indian Captive." The more the Braytons considered the matter the
stronger was their desire to satisfy themselves, and on the tenth of
November, William Brayton, the eldest brother, who had accompanied
Matthew on the morning of the day when the latter was lost, set out
with the determination of not returning until he could satisfy himself
as to whether the "Indian Captive" was identical with his lost
brother, or not.
Previous to setting out, William was charged by his father to examine
the man for two marks by which his identity could probably be
established. One was a scar on the top of the head, caused by a razor
cut which the father had made in lancing a boil, and the other was a
scar on the great toe of the right foot, resulting from the cut of an
axe.
William Brayton came to Cleveland and learned that the person of whom
he was in search had been heard of in Northern Pennsylvania, and was
directed where to go. At the place pointed out he struck the trail of
the "Captive," and traced him to Sugar Grove. Here he learned that the
man had crossed the State line into New York. The chase was too near
at an end to allow any delay, so Mr. Brayton took along a doctor as
witness of the interview, and set out for the house of Mr. Smith,
where it was said that the "Captive" had gone.
It was seven o'clock in the evening when the two arrived at the house,
and the daylight was fast fading into darkness. They knocked at the
door, and, in response to an invitation from within, entered the
house. A man, with his boots off, was drying his feet at the fire. Mr.
Brayton stepped forward eagerly and enquired where the "folks" were,
and was told that they were out doing some work in the yard. Mr.
Brayton said he wanted them called in, and wished a light struck
at once, following up the request with the question whether the
man to whom he spoke was the "Indian Captive." On being told in the
affirmative he became greatly agitated and proceeded at once to get a
light. The "Captive" hastily drew on his boots, buckled his dog to his
belt, and drew back with suspicion from the strangers. As soon as the
light was obtained Mr. Brayton bade the "Captive" bare his head, and
then both he and his companion examined the spot where his father
had told them to search for the scar. The emotion of William Brayton
may be imagined when the scar was plainly revealed to his eyes,
unmistakable in its character, and situated precisely where he had
been told to look for it. In an agitated voice he bade the man take
the boot from his right foot, which was done, and there too, was a
scar visible, just where it had been described to exist.
The emotions of William Brayton may be imagined, but cannot be
portrayed. The brother for whose loss he had always reproached himself
was at length found through his means, and the sorrows of thirty-four
years were at an end. For some minutes he paced up and down the room,
his whole frame convulsed with agitation. Then he turned to the cause
of all this emotion, who sat perfectly astonished at the proceedings,
and the "Indian Captive" was declared to be the long lost Matthew
Brayton.
A letter was at once sent home, containing the glad news of the
discovery, and, as soon as possible, the reunited brothers set out in
the same direction.
At every station on the road home, crowds gathered, and at Carey,
where they were expected to stop, hundreds were collected--old men who
had searched for the lost boy--aged mothers who had held him in their
arms--young men who had heard the story narrated by their parents. But
the couple stopped five miles north of Carey, at Adrian Station, and
at once started for William Brayton's house.
Here the family were gathered. The old man, seventy-three years of
age, but still hale and vigorous--the brothers and sisters. When the
eldest brother entered with his charge the intense feeling that
prevailed the hearts of all in the room can scarcely be
imagined--cannot be described. The aged father arose, placed his
trembling hand on the head of the stranger, and searched for the scar,
which he could scarcely distinguish through the mist that filled his
eyes. Then he knelt to examine the foot. For a moment every breath was
hushed, and the hearts of the other relatives almost ceased to beat.
Then the old man tottered to his feet, and with a gush of tears--the
stream of affection that had been pent up for the third of a
century--fell on the neck of his son--Matthew Brayton! It is useless
to attempt a description of the scene that followed. The father that
had so long secretly mourned for his child, the household pet; the
brother who never forgot that it was from his company that the little
boy had passed away to a mysterious fate; the other brother who had
been his playmate; the sisters who had fondled their little brother in
infancy--all were gathered to share in that happy meeting. There was
one absent whose presence was needed to make the cup of joy full to
overflowing, but her motherly heart might perhaps even then be
rejoicing in Heaven for the happiness on earth.
The news of the return spread like wildfire. The return was on
Thursday the 17th of November. For days afterwards the house was
besieged by anxious people eager to see the "boy" so long lost, and so
strangely found. Old men who had shared with zeal in that weary and
hopeless search thirty-four years ago, came up, and all who had known
him as a little boy, acknowledged the identity.
At present Matthew Brayton, the hero of these strange adventures, is
residing with his father and brothers, and has become somewhat
reconciled to civilized life. He has abandoned his design of returning
to the Indians, and is endeavoring to fit himself for the different
lot now assigned him. He has attended school as frequently as the
state of his eyes permitted, and can now read a little, as well as
converse very readily in the English language. After his thirty-four
years of wanderings and hardships it is to be hoped that he will now
be content to remain among his family and partake to the full of the
blessings of civilization.
* * * * *
The foregoing is a reproduction of a book published in 1860, giving
the strange history of this Indian Captive. After returning to
civilization, he resided for a few months in Carey and Fostoria, and
made several lecture tours giving an account of his adventures and the
manners and customs of the Indians.
This mode of life was too much of a change from the wild life he had
been living, and when the war of the Rebellion broke out he enlisted
in an Indiana Regiment, and went to the South to fight for his
country. He proved a brave soldier, but while in the service he was
taken dangerously ill, and after a short sickness died at Pittsburgh
Landing in 1862.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
1. The italicized chapter sub-headings from the original text have
been indented in this etext version. Other italic words from the
original are surrounded by _underscores_.
2. The following misprints have been corrected:
"Balckfeet" corrected to "Blackfeet" (page 12)
"speakes" corrected to "speaks" (page 16)
"Somtimes" corrected to "Sometimes" (page 53)
"de" corrected to "be" (page 53)
"trom" corrected to "from" (page 63)
"reurn" corrected to "return" (page 63)
"or" corrected to "of" (page 63)
"an" corrected to "and" (page 68)
3. Other than the corrections listed above, printer's inconsistencies
in spelling, punctuation and hyphenation have been retained.