Daily Richmond Whig

"And she said unto them, call me not Naomi, (Marah)—call me Mara, bitterness—for the Almighty hath dealt bitterly with me."—Ruth 1. 20.

Fort Young on James river, (near Covington) was established in 1761, under the command of Capt. John Dickinson—the late Col. Dickinson of Bath.

After the Greenbrier settlement was destroyed, in 1763, the Western Indians frequently penetrated undisturbed, to James River; as that terrible war of extermination, which had continued along the frontier from Carolina to Erie, since 1754, was but little abated by the Peace of Paris, and Bouquette's treaty, in 1765. The virulence and continuance of this border warfare, has been ascribed to the influence of the French Jesuits, in Canada, and on the Ohio; (1) whether justly or not, is a doubtful question.

In October 1764, about twenty Delawares and Mingoes, came down Dunlap's creek, and crossed James river above fort Young, in the night, unnoticed: and passed down the river to Wm. Carpenter's. (now Karen's mill) where there was a kind of a stockade fort, then under the care of a Mr. Brown.

They met with Carpenter just above that place, and killed him—they then came to the house, where they found a woman and some children, all the others being out in the fields at work, with Brown. They despoiled the house, and took away some horses, together with Carpenter's son, and Brown's two sons—Small children; and fearing detection at fort Young, they made great haste to retrace their steps, and escape to Ohio. Carpenter's son returned to this country about fifteen years afterwards—now Dr. Jeremiah Carpenter, of Nicholas county, Va. Brown's youngest son was redeemed and brought home under a treaty in 1769—he was the late Col. Samuel Brown of Greenbrier. Brown's oldest son never returned: it is said that he took an Indian wife, and became very wealthy. He lived at Brownstown in Michigan territory: where several of his respectable descendants still reside; he died in 1815, after acting a very conspicuous part in the late war.

When Carpenter was killed, Brown carried the alarm to fort Young; but that post being too weak to spare sufficient force for pursuit; the intelligence was carried up to fort Dinwiddie. (now Andrew Warwick's in Bath) then commanded by Capt. Paul; he set out, with twenty of his "flying guards" in pursuit of the enemy; they passed out at the head of Dunlap's creek, and down Indian creek and New river, to Piny river, but found no signs of the enemy.

As they went out, they met Alexander Pitman, on the head of Indian creek; who had been running all night and the day before, from New river, to inform those at Young's fort, of the enemy's approach. He said that a Mr. Swope and a Mr. Pack, and himself, had been down on New river; trapping beavers—that about fifty Indians had passed them two or three days before—that the Indians had divided on New river—that one party of them had gone up the river, towards Roanoke and Kanawha, and the others had gone towards Jackson's river—that Swope and Pack had gone to Roanoke, to inform the whites there, of their danger—and that he, (Pitman) was then on his way to Young's fort, for a similar purpose. Pitman turned, and joined Paul's men in the pursuit of the party which had returned from killing Carpenter; but it seems that, that party knowing they would be pursued, had crossed the Dunlap's creek route, and gone out by way of Greenbrier and Kanawha, and so escaped to Ohio.

But as Paul and his men returned from Piny river, they accidentally met with the other party of Indians, which had gone up New river and across to Roanoke, and who were then on their return to the West.

Capt. Paul and his men came on them about midnight, while they were encamped on the north bank of New river, opposite the foot of a small island, at the mouth of Indian creek, (now Wm. McDaniel's.)—Their fire was nearly extinguished—they were all lying around it, wrapped in skins and blankets, excepting three or four, who seemed to be sitting up, watching three white captives, in the midst of them, whom they had brought from Kanawha. Paul's men, not then knowing that these were captives, fired amongst the crowd; the first fire killed three Indians, and wounded several others; and slightly wounded one of the captives, a little boy brought from Kanawha: one of the wounded Indians plunged into the river and drowned himself "to save his scalp;" as it is the greatest disgrace for an Indian to lose his scalp: a fact known to every man acquainted with them: there are numerous instances of them killing themselves, in battle, rather than to be slain by their enemies, a disposition very prevalent amongst men, in a barbarous state. (②) The balance of the Indians arose, raised a yell, and escaped down the river, in the darkness of the night; leaving all their guns, blankets and plunder; the captives had also started to run off, not knowing who had fired on them; but they recovered them before day; by calling in the English language: just at the moment of firing, Capt. Paul and his men had rushed into the camp, with drawn swords and bayonets; to secure the wounded, and prevent escapes.

One of the captives, was a Mrs. Catharine Gunn; a British lady, who had come to this country some years before, and had hired as a servant girl, (previous to her marriage,) with the family of Capt. Paul's father-in-law, where he had been acquainted with her; her maiden name had been Katy Lewey: the Indians had killed her husband and two only children, near the mouth of Kanawha, two or three days previously.

When Paul and his men fired, and rushed into the camp where she was, she made no effort to save herself, but sat on the ground by the fire, very composedly, wrapped in her blanket: her hands being tied, and her feet being hobbled with thongs of green hides.

One of Paul's men, supposing her to be an Indian squaw, raised a tomahawk, and was just about to chop her on the head with it, when Paul rushed in before him—received the wound in his arm, and forbade the soldier to do so; saying "it was a shame for a man to hurt a woman; even a squaw." Catharine Gunn knew Paul's voice, and named him; upon which he recognized her in the dark. After a light was kindled, Paul asked her, why she had not cried out, or endeavored to escape? She replied in the bitterness of grief, that "she would as soon be killed as not, if not rather;" she was asked why? she answered, "what would I live for? my husband is killed—my children are slain—my parents are dead—I have not a relation in America; who would there be to mourn for me? every thing dear to me on earth is gone—I have no wishes, no hopes, no fears, no object to live for: I would not have risen on my feet to save my life." (3)

The destruction of the enemy on this occasion, would probably have been much greater, had it not been for a slight incident, which may in some measure illustrate the spirit of the times:—When Paul and his men came on the enemy's camp in the night, they spent a short time in forming, and preparing for a simultaneous fire; to render it more efficient they all kneeled on one knee, to enable them to take aim by the faint sky light of the horizon, which glimmered down the valley of the river—all this had to be done by signs, secretly and silently: while they were in the act of taking aim, one of Paul's men named John McCollum, called out to his comrades to "take a steady pull, and send them to hell." His voice gave the wary enemy a moment's warning of their peril.

The white captives, and spoil, were brought to fort Dinwiddie. Many of the old settlers on James river, were afterwards acquainted with John McCollum—he volunteered in 1774, in Capt. Morrow's company, and was killed at Point Pleasant.

SON OF CORNSTALK.

(1) History of England, vol. 10, page 349, Dodd ridge's Notes on Penn. & Va page 214.

(②) "—Lest these uncircumcised Philistines, come and thrust me through and abuse me."— Therefore "Saul took a sword, and fell upon it."—1 Samuel, xxx.

(3) See also a striking instance in the siege of Jotapata, in Josephus's Wars of the Jews, vol. 3d.

The American debt $8,000,000 dollars is just one fourth of the expenditure of Great Britain, in a single