THE FRONTIER ANGEL--THE SHAWNEES.
THE person referred to in the preceding chapter as the Frontier Angel,
had received that appellation from the scouts and rangers who had known
her for several years. We say had known her, but beyond the mere fact of
her existence, nothing was known. Who she was or where she had come from
was a mystery to all. She was ever painted and dressed in the fantastic
costume of an Indian, but many supposed her to be a white person, and
gave as a reason that her language was precisely the same as that used
by themselves. She discarded entirely the extravagant, high-flown
figures so much in vogue among the North American Indians, and which
often renders their meaning unintelligible to ordinary persons. She was
always alone, and rarely if ever seen in the daytime. The whole object
of her life seemed to be that of befriending the settlers. More than
once her timely warning had saved scores of whites from the fury of the
savages. Sometimes she would make her appearance among the settlements
in the Sciota Valley, and after giving full intelligence of the
movements of their enemies, would take her departure; and the next that
would be heard of her, would be that she had performed a similar office
for the villages further east. She became known to all the rangers,
nearly all of whom regarded her not as either a white person or an
Indian, but as a spirit--an angel; and it was thus that she had gained
the name that we have mentioned. These hardy, but superstitious beings,
reverenced her as something far above them, whose touch would be instant
death. Lewis Whetzel, the most famous of the four celebrated brothers,
was the one who, to his dying day, carried out the very letter of the
vow he had made, never to let any treaty, flag of truce, or any
imaginable pretense, screen an Indian from his vengeance. This terrible
resolution he had made for the inhuman butchery of his parents when a
mere boy by the savages. The case is familiar to all, of his having
associated with Veach Dickerson, and killed an Indian in the face of the
proclamation issued by General Harmar, that all hostilities should cease
for a few days in order to negotiate with them. The reward offered by
Harmar for his apprehension, his capture, and subsequent escape to the
woods again, could not induce him to abate one tittle of his unceasing
hostility. It is said that this terrible Lew Whetzel once encountered
the Frontier Angel in the forest, and, for the first and only time in
his life, broke his vow. In relating the incident afterward, he said
that he felt as if he raised his rifle, one look from her eyes would
have struck him dead.
It was thus that the mysterious Frontier Angel was regarded by those who
held communication with her; it was no wonder that Dingle felt some
trepidation, and he hastened down, unbarred the massive gate, and saw
her standing beside him.
"What news have you to-night?" he asked.
"I have much news; but why have you remained at home so long?"
"I've no reason, I s'pose."
"Then hasten to the woods again, for there is much for you to see."
"Won't you tell me the fuss?"
"I know not it all, but the Shawnees and Wyandots are making great
preparations for taking the war-path."
"Is their idee to come hyerabouts?"
"I cannot tell; it may be, and it may be not."
"Whar' am they kickin' up this muss?"
"At Piqua."
"Yas; wal, I'll pay them a visit. Anything more?"
"That is all. I will now depart."
Dingle unbarred the gate, allowed her to pass out, and after securing
it, made his way back to the block-house again. As he passed out on the
platform, Jenkins demanded:
"Who is that you was talking with?"
"A gal that comes down to see me once in a while."
"An Injin?"
"A half-breed--splendid critter."
"Jerusalem! she looked purty. What in the name of all that's human made
she shoot that arrer at me?"
"To kill yer, in course."
"To kill me! What did she want to kill me for? I'm sure I never done her
any harm."
"She thought you'd jist come out to show yerself and try and cut me out.
It made her all-fired mad."
"Did you tell her about it."
"Yas; but I can't tell you what she said. I'm goin' in to sleep now.
Don't whistle so loud, nor slap your hoofs down so, nor git to talkin'
how mean Dick Dingle is, or he might come out and make you shut up."
With these words, the ranger opened the door of the block-house and
entered, leaving Jenkins completely dumbfounded at what he had said.
"By George! how did he know what I said? I'll bet that infernal Injin
gal is down there yet, and waiting for a chance to shoot. I'll kill her,
if she tries it, just as sure as I live. She'll wish she never knowed
anything of Pete Jenkins."
But no attempt was made upon the sentinel's life, and when the morning
dawned, the forest and river wore their usual appearance.
In the morning. Dingle imparted the message of the Frontier Angel to the
commander of the post, and offered to visit the Piqua village and
ascertain the meaning of their movements.
"If she says there is mischief afoot, you may depend that there is. Yes,
Dingle, you had better go. Take who you please, find out what you can,
and get back as soon as possible."
The visit of this strange being was only a night or two after the
interview between Abbot and Peterson, so that the latter had not yet
started upon his hunt after the renegade McGable. Upon consulting with
Dingle, it was argued between them that, as there was no need of
hurrying in such a matter, they would defer their expedition until after
their return from Piqua. The safety of the settlement was paramount to
all other considerations. Besides, it was very probable that the
renegade was in the village named, and they were just as likely to
accomplish the object of both their journeys at the same time. The two
rangers held a long consultation, and the conclusion they came to took
all by surprise. It was that Peterson should visit the Shawnee town in
Paint Creek valley, while Dingle, in company with the redoubtable
Jenkins, would reconnoiter Piqua. There was wisdom in this plan
certainly, but many thought it singular that the two should separate,
when they had never been known to do such a thing before when in
service.
The Shawnees were the great enemy of the whites, and to them may be
traced nearly all of the long and bloody wars on the frontier. They were
a vindictive, revengeful, "restless people, delighting in wars." Their
very name, as has been remarked, was a word of terror or of execration
to the early settlers among the canebrakes of Kentucky or upon the rich
bottoms of Ohio.
When this country was discovered, the Shawnees occupied the southern
part of Georgia and Florida. Here they, at last, became so obnoxious to
the other Indians by their continual murders and robberies, that a
combination of the most powerful tribes--the Choctaws, Cherokees, and
Creeks, was effected, and perpetual, unceasing war was declared against
them. Finding the country too hot to hold them, the Shawnees emigrated
north, settling on the Ohio and its tributaries. The Wyandots welcomed
them, and they increased to a mighty and powerful nation, retaining
their characteristic traits. From the commencement of the old French
war, in 1755, down to the final struggle between Tecumseh and the
whites, nearly sixty years after, they were continually engaged in some
murderous foray, interrupted only by a dozen years of quiet, succeeding
the treaty of Wayne.
Like all large Indian nations, the Shawnees were subdivided into tribes,
and these subdivided into families. The names of but four of these
tribes are now known: The Piqua, Kiskapocoke, Chillicothe, and
Mequachake. Piqua, in the Indian tongue, means a _man rising from the
ashes_, and there is a tradition among them, that it was thus this
division originated.
They had a large village at the head of Massie's Creek, a short distance
north of where Xenia now stands, and another named Piqua, on Mad River,
a few miles below Springfield. Their principal headquarters were in the
valley of Paint creek and Sciota river.
The simple preparations of the scouts were made, and it was agreed they
should start in a few hours upon their perilous journey.