Thomas Gist taken Hostage
Thomas Gist is a younger brother to Nathaniel Gist.
His brother, Nathaniel, is alleged to have married and sired Sequoyah, the creator of the Cherokee written language.
Their Dad was the first famous one,
Their Dad, Christopher Gist, was later immortalized in the video game series Assassin's Creed, albeit with a few biographical facts wrong. He's the one who guided George Washington on his trip to meet the French commander at Fort LeBoeuf in 1753.
But our subject is Thomas Gist.
He was taken hostage by the Huron, also known by themselves as the Wyandot.
Thomas Gist was taken hostage at Major James Grant's defeat 12 Sept 1758, near the hill (now much reduced) overlooking French Fort Duquesne.
DRAPER MSS. 4 ZZ 53. [A. L. S.]
Winchefter 4th Aug 1758
Dr Sir
[Col. Wm. Byrd] I arri'd here the evening before laft & hop'd to have met with fome orders from You Subfequent to the Exprefs I fent in, but not finding them I fup- pof'd that you had not receiv'd my letter which I inclof'd to the General, but Capt. Ge who came here laft night told me there was Expreffes paft very often between Fort Cumberland & Carlifle, Yet Tommy Beemer who came here Yefterday told me had never heard you mention me which makes me imagine you had not receiv'd it. So muft trouble you with a Recital of it I was to acquaint you that the very day that was appointed for to march They refufed going & laid it all to the Conjurors, I was £0 much aftonifhed that I cou'd hardly believe what I heard, but beg'd that they wou'd all come to the Fort & Sertify the Same under their hands the which They did I have inclof'd it to you I have got a Belt of Wampum which I fhou'd Send up but will (as it may be loft) bring myfelf which I cant do till I have the honour of a Line from you, for I have no Money to pay the Exprefs & have this morning apply 'd to Capt. Geft that I might not detain the Exprefs any longer. He has partly promift to fumifh me with money & I have told him I wont leave the Town till I pay him I muft beg of you to put it into my Power & fhall remain here till then. I \\a\e fent the inclof'd Certificate hoping you will
• Captain Paul Demer^ was the Britifh commandant at Fort Loudotm. Provifions ran fhort in the fort and the Indians befieged it. Demer^ furrendered on Auguft 7, 1760, but the Britifh were attacked, notwithftanding, and Demer^ and 26 others killed.
' Atta-cuUa-cuUa, or the Little Carpenter, was one of the principal chiefs of the Cherokee nations. He was concerned in making treaties with North and South Carolina about the beginning of the French and Indian War. He received Andrew Lewis with kindnefs when he came in 1756 to build Fort Loudoun. Atta-cuUa-culla was in general friendly to the Englifh. and when Fort Loudoun fell in 1760 he enabled Captain Stuart to efcape.
3 Old Hop, or Oconoftata, was one of the moft famous Cherokee chiefs, and an enemy to the Englifh. He was concerned in the Fort Loudoun Maffacre, and alfo projecfted an attack upon Fort Prince George.
4 Moy Toy was nominated commander and chief of the Cherokee nation in 1730 by Sir Alexander Cumming, who had been fent out to treat with the Cherokees. Moy Toy prefented the crown of the tribe to Cumming, and fix chiefs went to England to do homage to the king.
s Chriftopher or Nathaniel Gift. Chriftopher was a captain of rangers in 1756 and ferved fome time thereafter. Nathaniel was a lieutenant in Chriftopher's company, and later a captain in Geo. Wafhington's regiment; later ftill, a captain in Col. Adam Stephen's regiment, which was raifed in 1762. The man men- tioned is probably Nathaniel Gift.
Source:
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Through So Many Dangers, The Memoirs and Adventures of Robert Kirk, Late of the Royal Highland Regiment, by Robert Kirkwood
Robert Kirk served with the 42nd and 77th Highland Regiments in North America during the French and Indian War and Pontiac's Rebellion. From Niagara Falls to Newfoundland, from the Carolina's to the Mississippi, he covered some five thousand miles by foot, canoe, whaleboat, and transport ship. By the time he returned home after 10 years of "service truly critical," our roguish hero had not only been captured by Shwanee Indians but hat become an accomplished frontier man. Personal narratives by private soldiers are the rarest of all sources for this war; it's a unique first-hand account. Fully annotated by Ian McCulloch and Timothy Todish and illustrated with paintings by Robert Griffing. The introduction is by noted British historian Stephen Brumwell.
Thomas Gist's Indian Captivity 1758-1759, ed. Howard H Peckham, in the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, LXXX (1956) pages 281, 285-311
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https://www.jstor.org/stable/20088873 Captivity diary, 1758. Thomas Gist (d. 1786),
The son of Ohio Valley explorer and Indian agent Christopher Gist (1706–1759), Thomas was captured in 1758 during the French and Indian War by Wyandot (Huron) Indians near Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh). Taken with other prisoners to the Huron town opposite Fort Pontchartrain (Detroit), Gist was adopted by a Wyandot family and well treated. He escaped after a year of captivity. This account may have been written by a family member after Gist’s return. Gift of P. Blair Lee and E. Brooke Lee. General Manuscripts Bound, no. 376, Manuscripts Division. FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See this item’s catalog record.
Thomas Gist's Indian Captivity
I758-1759
285
DISCOVERY of a new "captivity journal" in the period of the French and Indian War throws more light on the participation of the Detroit Indians in Western Pennsylvania hostilities, further illuminates the battle of Grant's Hill during the Forbes expedition of 1758, and underscores certain ethnic traits of the Indians.
The author of the following journal was Thomas Gist (d. 1786), a son of the famed Christopher Gist (1706-1759), Ohio Valley explorer, scout for Washington and Braddock, and Indian agent.
Christopher had three sons and two daughters, probably all born in Maryland.
By 1750 the family had migrated to North Carolina and was living near the Boones.
About 1753 Christopher moved north-ward to the disputed wilderness of Western Pennsylvania, making a home and settlement west of Chestnut Ridge, near modern Brownsville. He guided Washington in both of his westward missions against the French, and with his two eldest sons, Nathaniel (d. 1798) and Thomas, served actively in Braddock's campaign. The family had fled into Virginia, and the two sons became officers in the provincial troops of that colony under Washington's command .
For more than three years the French remained supreme in Western Pennsylvania.
until the spring of 1758 was the second
286
effort made by the British to oust them. Brigadier General John Forbes was ordered to Philadelphia in April to gather supplies andtroops, both regular and provincial. Virginia furnished the largestnumber of militia, some 2,000 men. Among them were Lieutenant Nathaniel Gist and Ensign Thomas Gist. By the end of June, 1758,when Forbes moved out to Carlisle, he commanded almost 7,000men, of which only 2,000 were regulars. He advanced to Shippens-burg by the middle of August and to Raystown (Bedford) a monthlater, when Thomas Gist's journal begins.Unfortunately, Forbes had fallen ill before he left Philadelphia,and with dysentery and other complications he was hardly able tocarry on. Meanwhile, he dispatched Colonel Henry Bouquet to cuta new road over the Alleghenies in advance of the expedition. InAugust, Major James Grant was sent forward to join Bouquet atFort Ligonier. He was ambitious and hoped to distinguish himself inaction. Authority for the expedition he was about to lead stemmeddirectly from Bouquet, who wrote to Forbes on September 11 that the Indians were sniping at the road workers outside Dagworthy'sadvanced camp. "To check the boldness of this Indian rabble/' hecontinued, "I consented to the Major's request that I give him alarge party to go straight to the source. He departed the day beforeyesterday with the pick of the troops, and instructions to reconnoiterthe place [Fort T>uquesne\ carefully, and to have a plan made byRhor [the engineer} as soon as the distance would permit it, for therest letting himself be guided by the circumstances."1Details of the operation are found in the journal in so far as Gistsaw and understood them. Grant expected to attack the Indiansencamped around Fort Duquesne, but on arriving within view of theplace late at night he saw no fires. He ordered Major Lewis, whocommanded the Virginians, to take four hundred men and "Attackevery thing that was found about the Fort."2 Gist was with thisdetachment. The men were given white shirts to wear to identifyone another; they were to retreat without order when Grant soundeddrums and bagpipes. At daylight Lewis returned alone and said hecould do nothing; it was too dark, there were road blocks that sepa-
1 S. K. Stevens, Donald H. Kent and Autumn L. Leonard, eds., The Papers of HenryBouquet (Harrisburg, Pa., 1951), II, 493.2 Ibid., 501.
I956 THOMAS GIST'S INDIAN CAPTIVITY 287
rated the men, and everyone became confused. His detachment camestraggling back contrary to his orders.Understandably disappointed, Grant sent fifty men back to attackat least one Indian camp. They found no Indians outside the fort,but set fire to a house. Meanwhile, Lewis was ordered to the rear tosupport Captain Bullett, who was guarding the baggage. Then Grantsent Rhor and a hundred men forward so that a map could besketched. Shortly he ordered his drummers to beat reveille. TheFrench and their Indian allies within the fort, aroused first by thefire and then by the drums, poured out and fell on Rhor's advanceddetachment. The Indians swept around both flanks, and on Grant'sright the Pennsylvanians retreated without firing.Major Lewis came forward on hearing the battle cries, but failedto find Grant, who had had to fall back on Bullett's rear guard.There Grant made another stand, before moving off to the left wherehe was surrounded and surrendered. Lewis and Bullett held theretreat route open until Lewis was also captured, as was Gist. Grant'sforce of 700 to 900 men lost twenty-two officers and 278 men killed,and seven officers and thirty-two men captured. Of this number, the150 to 175 Virginians suffered the loss of sixty-two killed and fifty-one wounded!Grant got through a report on the battle to Bouquet, who for-warded it to Forbes on September 17 with the comment that Grantshould have retreated after Lewis' failure and certainly should nothave ordered Rhor and the detachment forward. Forbes was disap-pointed and denied any knowledge of the expedition; of course, hewished it had not been undertaken. But French jubilation was pre-mature. The loss to the over-all British effort was not serious.Bouquet repulsed an attack in October, pushed his road forwardrelentlessly, and Forbes moved up behind him, although he now hadto be carried in a sling between two horses. Unable to offer furtherresistance, the French evacuated and destroyed their fort, the site ofwhich was occupied by Forbes's army on November 25.Meanwhile, Gist and some of his companions who had been cap-tured by Hurons were carried to the Huron town opposite FortPontchartrain (Detroit), where they arrived on October 11. ThereGist was adopted by an Indian family and was well treated through-out the winter, spring, and summer of 1759. His journal reveals him
288 HOWARD H. PECKHAM July
to be a courageous, adaptable, and likeable young man, imbued withsome humor and never sorry for himself. However, he longed toescape, and with John and William McCrary he made the break inSeptember.His manuscript journal is contained in a small notebook, coveringone hundred seven pages, obviously written all at one time afterGist's return home. It is not in his handwriting. The details suggestan extraordinary memory or, what is more likely, notes made at thetime and transcribed afterward. At the head of the first page is anote: "This book was written by Thomas Gist—during his imprison-ment among the Indian, aged 14." This brief statement makes threeassertions, none of which is true! It was not actually written by Gist,could not have been done while he was a prisoner, and he certainlywas not fourteen years old in 1758. Boys of fourteen might occa-sionally slip into the militia, but they would not be elected officers;furthermore, Thomas had served with Braddock three years earlier.He was probably in his twenties. These errors suggest that someother member of the family transcribed Thomas' notes or took downhis dictation, then wrote the above sentence as a kind of title andpenned the wrong age—14 for 24 perhaps.Whatever the explanation, the reliability of the manuscript seemsunaffected. Every event or observation that can be tested is trueenough. It is an authentic document of an undoubted personal ad-venture. More disturbing is its incompleteness. The journal breaksoff on September 30, 1759, just before Gist reached Fort Niagara andsafety. It is as if he, or the copyist, had been interrupted in thewriting and never had returned to the task.In the papers of Thomas Gage at the William L. Clements Librarywere found a letter from Gist, which is quoted at the end of thejournal, and a letter from Captain Thomas Falconer at Fort Niagara,October 5, 1759. He informed Brigadier General Gage, then atOswego, New York, that Gist and the two McCrarys had just comeinto the fort. Lieutenant Colonel William Farquhar, though mortallyill, had spoken to the three fugitives and given each a shirt,shoes, and stockings. Falconer revealed that John McCrary and hisbrother William had been captured from their father's farm inAugusta County, Virginia. As a sloop was leaving for Oswego, theformer prisoners of war were put aboard and referred to Gage. There
1956 THOMAS GIST'S INDIAN CAPTIVITY 289
their trail is lost, but presumably they were sent across New Yorkto Albany and down the Hudson toward home.In transcribing the manuscript for printing, I could see no morepoint in trying to imitate the spacing, the ambiguous dashes, or othermisleading punctuation and capitalization than in attempting toreproduce the handwriting. I believe the reader is best served bybeing offered a readable transcription in which unending sentences arebroken by periods, clauses are set off by commas, and capitalizationfollows modern practice. The dating of entries has been standardized.Otherwise, the original spelling is maintained, nothing has beenomitted, and nothing has been added that is not enclosed in brackets.The resulting text can be comprehended, I trust, in a first readingrather than in labored study. The author's footnotes are so labeled;the others are those of the editor.The notebook belongs to P. Blair Lee, of Philadelphia, who kindlymade it available to THE PENNSYLVANIA MAGAZINE OF HISTORYAND BIOGRAPHY for publication.Thomas Qisfs JournalLegonier3 [September 9,175$\ This morning march'd a detach-ment of seven hundred rank and file (consisting of Royal Americans,Highlanders, Virginians, Marylanders, and Pensylvanians)4 to theside of a great hill two or three miles from Legonier, where we weretaught the art of bush fighting by our commander, Majr Grant,3 Fort Ligonier is modern Ligonier, Pa. It had just been built by Col. Bouquet on Loyal-hanna Creek.4 The Royal Americans were the 60th Regiment, organized earlier in the war for recruit-ment of Americans in the regular British army. Composed of four battalions of a thousandmen each, it was the largest regiment in the army. The Highlanders were the 77th Regimentunder Lt. Col. Archibald Montgomery; the 78th Regiment was called the Second HighlandBattalion. The Virginians were under Maj. Andrew Lewis, the Pennsylvanians under Col.James Burd, and the Maryland troops under Lt. Col. George Dagworthy. Although Gist givesa total of 700 men, plus officers, Forbes reported to William Pitt that Maj. Grant had 900 men(Alfred P. James, Writings of John Forbes [Menasha, Wis., 1938], 237), but his return ofcasualties and survivors after the battle totals up to 798 (Papers of Henry Bouquet, II, 509).From his study of the episode Douglas Southall Freeman counted 775 men, composed of 300Highlanders, 100 Royal Americans, 175 Virginians, 100 Pennsylvanians, 100 Marylanders, andsome Indian scouts (George Washington [New York, 1948], II, 341).
29O HOWARD H. PECKHAM JulyHighlander5;
from there to Dagworthys6 camp, seven miles more, andthere encamp'd.[September 10] Here we worked very hard all day making abrestwork of logs. At night the Virginians were drawn up and devidedinto plattoons, by which we were to mar[ch] and do other duties, andevery officer to lay with his party. We likewise received orders tohold our selves in readiness to march at a minutes warning and theGeneral to beat half an hour before day and the assembly at daybreake the next morning.[September //] Early this morning we all paraded, with difrentopinions concerning our adventure. Some was of opinion that we wasdes[t]ined for some Indian town, others that we was to go to Bradocksroad7 and perhaps to make some discoveries if posable. But MajrLewis8 determined the matter, he being before consulted in the wholesecret. Orders being given to march we took the road to FortDuquesne,9 marched twenty five miles and encamp'd.[September 12] Marched early this morning and arrived at ahigh hill ten miles from the Fort Duquesne about 2 oclock in theafternoon, where we received orders to kill our bullocks and have ourprovitions drest against the next morning. And Ens11 Allen10 with tenmen to go near the fort and make what discoveries he could. He didnot return till very late in the night and brought word that he hadseen a number of fires on both sides the river, and imajined there wasa great number of Indians and heard and saw them singing anddancing very merily.[September 13] This morning Majr Lewis with about threehundred men marched very early a[nd] formed an ambuscade within5 Maj. James Grant (1720-1806) of the 77th Regiment commanded the detachment ofHighlanders and the whole expeditionary force. He was sent a prisoner with Maj. Lewis toMontreal and was later exchanged. He served as governor of East Florida, fought in theAmerican Revolution, and sat in Parliament.6 Lt. Col. George Dagworthy was at work on a fortification about three miles north ofmodern Greensburg, Pa. He also had with him a few troops from Delaware and North Carolina.7 Braddock's Road was the route from Fort Cumberland west and northwest toward FortDuquesne cut in 1755.8 Maj. Andrew Lewis (1720-1781), Virginia frontiersman and soldier who became a briga-dier general in the Revolution. The Virginians he commanded were taken from Col. GeorgeWashington's regiment.9 Fort Duquesne had been erected by the French in 1754 to control the forks of the Ohio.It was on land claimed by both Pennsylvania and Virginia.10 Ens. Allen of the 1st Virginia Regiment.
1956 THOMAS GIST'S INDIAN CAPTIVITY 2o,Ifive miles of the fort; and sent Ens11 Chew11 with a small party ofIndians to find out if we was discovered, and in case he was persuedto retreat through a space left on purpose. A man was then sent backto Majr Grant to let him know that he had done all he could till hecame. About sun seting Majr Grant came with the remainder of thetroops, and gave orders that every man should put on a white shirtover his cloaths,12 and they which had none was to remain withCaptn Bullett13 at the place appointed to leave our baggage.14The light of the sun being now gone we marched by the light of themoon, and was not the most agreable sight that I ever saw (for theroad being very crooked gave us in the rear an opertunty of seeingthe glis[t]ening of the firelocks against the moon, and the whiteshirts appearing to dodg[e] every way in a movement which madesome of the soldiers observe that we look'd more like ghosts thansoldiers). We met Ens11 Chew about three miles from the fort whoinformed us that there was a number of Indians encamped about it.Here we left Captn Bullett and the baggage, and proceeded to thetop of a hill15 within one mile of the fort. From thence we discovereda number of fires which was supposed to be the Indian camp. Herewe halted a considerable time, and here the Highlanders gave upthere post to the Virgns. A party being ordered down towards thefort, the Royal Americans taking the front with Majr Lewis at theirhead, the Virgns the rear, and the Highlanders, Marylanders andPensylvanians in the center, we marched holding down the hill, eachholding his leaders shirt tail, and keeped the most profound silence.We had not gon[e] far when there was a halt,16 and soon after theHighlanders or Royal Americans began to cock their peaces andamediately after came back with such violence that we was obligedto give them the road and they keeped it till they join'd Major Granton the top of the hill from whence they came. They got their menin good order again by day break. A very thick fog arising preventedus from seeing the fort or any thing about it.n Ens. Colesby Chew was also of the 1st Virginia Regiment. He was killed. His party wasto draw the Indians into Lewis' ambush.12 Author's note: No man was to go unprovided with a white shirt.13 Capt. Thomas Bullett, a Virginia officer.14 Author's note: Captn Bullett with a hundred men was order'd to guard the baggage.15 Still known as Grant's Hill in modern Pittsburgh.16 Author's note: The cause of the halt was some of the Highlanders got lost and strayedinto the woods, one of which got to the French camp.
292 HOWARD H. PECKHAM July[September 14] About sunrise Majr Lewis was ordered from thetop of the hill to the baggage where he placed his men on the mostadvantagous post in order to wait for Majr Grant. But soon afterhaving taken post on the hill we heard M. Grant's drums,17 uponwhich the officers began to collect. Immediately after we heardseveral guns and then plattoons, and observe them retreat, theofficers & soldiers all eager to go to Majr Grant's assistance with allthe men except Captn Bullett's party, which still remaind with thebagage.We marched under the foot of the hill. We came oposite to theparties engaged18 and then took straight up the steep hill and after agood deal of trouble and difficulty arrived at the top of the hill,almost out of breath, and in the rear of the Indians. But had we gotup against them I believe they had made some of us find breathenough to have carried us down again. However, we attacted thembefore they knew we were at there heels. We stood and fought as longas they would let us be at armes length. By this time I could not seetwo white men together, so I took my leave in a very abrupt mannerby turning my back upon them an[d] making the best of my waydow[n] the hill, while they was content to send a plenty of theresugar plumbs on all sides of me, which luckely I keep'd clear of so far.When I came almost to the bottom of the hill I overtook Lt:Baker19 with about 20 men. We stear'd now for the bagage andarrived there soon, but met with such a reception from a party ofIndians who had posted themselves on purpose to receive us, that wewas obliged to face about and march back toward the fort, till we gotout of their sight. Then marched down to the riverside, where wehea[r]d a party of the enemy fireing at some of our straglers. Theywas coming very swift upon us. Lieut: Baker took [to?] the river20with the men, then made for the hills. I had not gone far when I sawtwo Indians at about a hundred yard[s] distance, and beleiving theydid not see me I stop'd behind a tree and striped myself and should!7 One of the mysteries of this expedition is why Maj. Grant, having achieved phenomenalsuccess in coming within sight of Fort Duquesne undetected, should have thrown away hissurprise and opened his attack with drums beating and bagpipes blowing.!8 Author's note: This I think was bad conduct. We ought to [have] raised the hill and beenready again they came.!9 Lieut. James Baker, of the 1st Virginia Regiment.20 Probably the Monongahela.
1956 THOMAS GIST'S INDIAN CAPTIVITY 293have stay'd some longer, but I discovered the party making down tothe place where Baker took the water. I made for the hill which thetwo young fellows discovering, persued with all their speed andcoming within twenty yards of me21 I expected they would fire so Iturned quickly about and presented my piece at one of them, uponwhich both of them fired. Upon which I ran again but being almostspent, I could not get out of their sight before they had chargedagain. It was not long before they overtook me and came withinfifteen steps of me, and calling as before. I turn'd about and fired atone, who fired at me at the same time,22 shot me across the foreheadand knocked me down. I got up immediately and the other shot methrough the right hand.I then had nothing left but my heels to depend on which I made asgood use of as was in my power till fairly run down. I was obligedto surrender to a husky likely young Indian man, almost naked andpainted all over. He had not time to charge his gun this time. Hetook hold of my hand and look'd at it, then put it into my bosomand made signs to me to march towards the fort, which I agreed towithout grumbling.We soon came where he had kill'd Lieut: Billings23 of the R[oyal]Americans, which after striping of his cloaths was cut almost topieces by some young Indians who came up in the meantime. Wethen marched for the fort, and the rest of the Indians went, I sup-pose, after plunder. When we came in sight of the fort, I saw a longIndian camp on the right hand of the rode, or rather a street with anumber of Indians sitting down who seemed not to notice us, alsosome log houses on the left whosfe] tops was cover'd with women.As soon as we got about half way [to?] the barrick yard24 theyjump'd up and screamed as if the Devil himself had possesed them.Everyone seized a tomahawk or some other as hateful a weapon tomy sight and was coming across the way toward me when my friend21 Author's note: The Indians was to the right and the hill as nigh to them as to me.22 Author's note: I believe I wounded the one I shot at. When I was brought back to theplace he could not be found, tho: the other hallowed for him. I saw one at the fort woundedwith two balls, and I shot two balls at that fellow I mentioned.23 Lieut. John Billings, of the 60th Regiment.2* Author's note: The Indian camp on the right was blankets and other things, one end tiedto pole set up for that purpose and the other end to the stockades. The camp was equal inlength with the barrack yard, 70 yards.
294 HOWARD H. PECKHAM Julythat wounded me in the hand once more saved my life, by pushingme headlong into a house on my left hand whos[e] door was, by goodfortune, standing open. He then got an old shirt and taring it inpieces tied up my wounds.Some time after I was conducted to a camp of the same nationwith the man that took me prisoner.25 From that I removed over theriver where we encamp'd. Here it was that I was first striped to mybuff and got a blow on the side of my head by a Shawaunah man26which did not much please the Indian who had the care of me. Iobserved several parties of Indians come from the persuit of our poorstragling men. They drove some prisoners before them, at the edgeof the woods in order to run to the fort, but none of the poor unhappyfellows I beleive had the luck to reach the d d hole, for they wasfollow'd by the Indians who they left behind them and met by anumber from the fort with tomahawks, knives, swords and stick,with the most horrid screaming and yelling that I ever heard, andwas beat and drove from one side of the cleared ground to the other,till the unhappy men could not stand; then they were tomohawked,scelped and in short was massacred in the most barbarious mannerthat can be immajined.Some few were thrown into the river. The rest was left in thefield, about two or three hundred yards from the fort, and unburied.Thus their effort continued till night, when they began to scrape theflesh and blood from the scalps, and dry them by the fire, after whichthey dressed them with feathers and painted them, then tied them onwhite, red, and black poles, which they made so by pealing the barkand then pain[t]ing them as it suited them. Immediately after theybegan to beat there drums, shake their rattles, hallow and dance likeso many Devils, I suppose, for I never saw in all my life any thinglike it.About nine oclock at night they left of[f] dancing, then came anIndian man to the fire where I was, and after having talked a fewminutes to the Indians there he made a sign to me to follow him.I immediately got up and followed him leaving in the hand of one ofthe Indians that stay'd the little bit of a lousy blanket which one ofthem had some time before put about my shoulders, to keep the25 Gist was taken by a Huron, or Wyandot.26 Shawanee, or Shawnee warrior.
1956 THOMAS GIST'S INDIAN CAPTIVITY 295frost from them. However, this new acquaintance threw a little halfdres'd dearskin over them again, which he took from his own. I thencame to another fire, where I saw the man that took me and savedme by pushing me into the house. I also saw Ens11 Mc Donnald27 ofthe Highlanders with five other prisoners. Here I got some stinkingbeef, rotten tallow, and as bad bread as ever was eat, neither ofwhich I could tast[e]. After some time I threw down my dearskinand laid down on it, and one of the Indians spread an old blanketwith an hundred holes in it over me, so I ended in sleep the mosttroublesome day I had ever seen.[September 15] About 12 oclock I got an Indian lad to go withme to the fort, where I expected to have my wounds dressed, but theSurgeion28 refused to do it and ordered me away from his house. Ithen prevailed with the young Indian to go with me to the hospital,where I apply'd to the orderlyman, who understood English. He toldme he could do nothing with it except washing it with brandy, whichhe thought would be of some service. Then he tied it up for me and Ireturned to the Indians again who was ready to set out for theretowns. I was sent down the river in a battau with the rest of thewounded; the others went by land. We encamped a few miles aboveLoggs Town.29[September 16] This morning set of[f] early down the river andarrived at Loggs Town in the afternoon where we was supplied withcorn, pumpkins, water melons, &c.[September 17} Remained here till 3 oclock in the afternoon,then marched (by land leaving our battaus) to the mouth of BeaverCreek,30 where they encamped and spent part of the night in dance-ing, singing, and making sport the prisoners.[September 18] This morning early up Beaver Creek. Wound'das I was, my lott was to carry about fifty pound of plunder that theyhad got chiefly from the Highlanders. After a very fatigueing daysmarch we arrived at Cuscuskies31 at sundown where we was plenti-fully supplied with corn and other provitions.27 Ens. John McDonald, of the 77th Regiment.28 The surgeon of the French garrison, whom I could not identify.29 Logstown, a Delaware town on the Ohio about eighteen miles northwest of Pittsburgh.It is close to modern Ambridge, Pa.30 Beaver Creek empties into the Ohio River at modern Beaver, Pa.31 Kuskuski was a Delaware town up Beaver Creek near modern New Castle, Pa.
296 HOWARD H. PECKHAM July[September 19] About 2 oclock this morning died a youngIndian man which I took to be the man that I wounded in the field(see page 19 [of the journal; page 293 of this transcription]). About9 oclock every thing was prepared for burial. A[t] 10 oclock thecorpsje] was laid in the grave, a post sett up at the head of the gravewith marks on it, with two or three sculps hing there on. Then beganthe women to shed their tears while the men set very serious smoak-ing their pipes. About 12 went a cryer through out the whole town(from our camp) and at one was gathered unto our camp about anhundred Indians, who held a councill for the space of about fourhourers and to conclude smoaked the pipe of friendship. I observed adeal of wampum to pass in the time of councill. The meaning of this,as I afterwards understood, was only a confirmation of friendshipbetween our folks (I mean the Wyendotts) [or Hurons] and Dil-lawaus [Delawares], the inhabitants of Cuscuskes. Late in the eveningour councilers dispersed and we concluded the evening with a danceand music and so betook ourselves to rest.[September 20] From this town we marched early, all handsloaded with green corn. The fatigues of marching and the pains of mywounds with the weight of the burthen of unnecessary goods that Icarryed put out of my head a thousand things I otherways shouldhave mention'd. We continued our march and hunted for provitions,suffering as much as any person can imagine who realy did never feelthe trouble of it. My burthen continued the same, my wound grewworse and my enemies less carefull of them. In this condition Iremaind till we came to the river,32 where we got boats and, rid of thetrouble of march8 with that of carreing loads on our backs, wesuffered no little by water, on acco* of storms and cold weather.Our boats was built of birch bark and in the form of cannoes,which I beleive need no description. Only they was as tender asbrown paper when the least snag, rock or any sharp thing touch'dthem. We frequently had them to mend, which was done in the mostexpeditious maner that can be emagined. If a hole was made in theside or bottom by any actident a patch of the same kind of bark wasput on (or sew'd on rather). If a crack, a little turpentine warmed andplastered on it stop'd all [leaks].32 Author's note: Our boats was left up the river call[e]d Canahoge or Kiehugar [probablyCuyahoga] about fifteen miles from the Leake.
1956 THOMAS GIST'S INDIAN CAPTIVITY 297We continued down the river with all the women, prisoners & partof the Indian men. The other part went by land to kill some provi-tions. When we came to the leake331 was a little surprised to see sucha body of water in that part of the world. Here we took our boats outof the water, and cook'd a plenty of venison, after which our boatswas again put into the water, masts set up and al[l] things again puton board. The wind blew very fresh and the sea (if it may be socall'd) run very high. We push'd directly into the leake.For my part I never expected to come alive to the land again. Wehad seventeen or eighteen boats and in ten minutes after we got outof the mouth of the river I am convinced I could not see above oneor two at a time. The wind being allmost ahead we was obliged tomake use of paddles altogether. The wind grew stronger, the wavesran higher, the boats all squandered about so that is seldom that Icould discover any of them, and we at least one mile from land. (Wenever went nigher land when the water was rough; I mean when wedirst venture, for sometimes it was so very rough that we dirst notput in our boats for fear of having [them] dash'd to peaces.) We con-tinued about the same distance from land nor did I see any prospectof geting to the land if we'd had a minde to do so, for it appear'd tome to be a steep rock near twenty miles [long?]. The waves dashedagainst it and rose ten or fifteen feet high. Thus continued we till sunsett, when the wind ceased and it grew an entire calm. Then we putin close by the shore where I saw a pretty beach and some littlecreeks empt[y]ing into the leake.We did not encamp till nine oclock at night, the method of whichwas this: we took our boat and carried out and laid them bottomupwards upon the beach, and laid ourselves under them, so theyserved us both for houses and boats.We was seven or eight days on the lake. The land on which weencamped every nite appeared to be very rich and level, and welltimbered. I saw a plenty of wild fowl such as swans, gees[e], ducks &c.Fish was also plenty. About the 10th of Octr we made the mouth ofthe straits Le Detroit, and encamp'd on an island.34 The next morn-ing my hair was cut off and my head shaved with an old razorsharp'd on a whetstone without soap, after which operation I was
33 Lake Erie.
34 Probably Isle au Bois Blanc.
298 HOWARD H. PECKHAM Julypainted all over in a most curious manner. (The other prisoners hadbeen drest many days before me.) After dresing we sett sail up theriver with a fair wind, and soon came in sight of the French settle-ment on the east side the strait, and is about seven miles in length.The land is a certain wedth35 on the strait and runs as far back as thefarmer is able to cultivate, which makes it appear very beautiful tothose that pass by it. The reason of laying the land out in this mannerwas for the conveniance of having the inhabitance ready to assisteach other in case of necessaty, or be the better able to fly to thefort36 if the Indians attempt any mischief.We landed a little below the Wyendott town37 which stands a milebelow the Frence fort on the east side the strait and marched to theedge of the [town?] with most horred shouts, accordinfg] to custom,where the Indians turned out to look at us, men, women and children,and sometimes would answer our shouts with such terrible screamsand yells that anything that I can mention is not half so terrible asthat appeared to me. I expected nothing but the same usage thatsome of our men received at Fort Duquesne which I have mentioned(page 24 & 25 [of the journal; page 294. of this transcription]),when several prisoners who had been before taken, and some Indianboys ran to us and every one of them taking one of us by the handran with us to a post set up in the middle of the town, where we stoodnaked, while the Indian ladies was satisfied as to their sight.For my part I expected they was going to chuse some of ye likeliestof us for husbands, by their standing and looking so long at us in thiscondition, and the weather being very cold, and my wounds notdress'd, that I suffered the most of any one of the prisoners. Afterstanding naked about an hour, we was taken away from the post,some to one house and some to another where we stayed till Sundayfollowing, when we were dressed with paint of various colours, and a35 Author's note: If I mistake not the lotts are ^i part of mile wide at the waterside. [Gistis commenting on the "ribbon farms" of the French habitants which were 400 to 800 feet wideand ran back from the shore two or three miles.]36 Author's note: The fort stands oposite the upper end of the settlement, on the west sideof the strait. [Fort Pontchartrain was a stockaded fort with three bastions and containingseventy or eighty houses besides the barracks. One gate opened directly on the river. It isregrettable that Gist never seems to have visited the fort nor left us a description of it, ascontemporary descriptions are few and somewhat contradictory.]37 The Wyandot or Huron town lay on the east side of the river almost opposite the mouthof River Rouge. It had been established on invitation to the tribe by Cadillac.
1956 THOMAS GIST'S INDIAN CAPTIVITY 299belt of wampum about our necks, then led to the house appointed.Seats being sett at the door we all set down.Then the cryer went through the town, and soon after was gath-ered a number of Indians who stood at some distance. About twentyold men took seats in the house. Then was call'd in one of theprisoners, and stood in the presents of the Indian majestie for aconsiderable time. (I thought at first we was to be tried for our lives,but after found it was their method of adoption.38) After a very longspeach, the prisoner was led to the door by one of his nearest relations(who came in at the conclution of the king's speach to receive him)where he return'd thanks to his majestie and the council for theirgreat care in keeping up the number of the family by adaptingprisoners in the stead of those that had died at home or been kill'dat war. After this the prisoner was led away by the person wholed him to the door, then came another and so on till all was dis-posed of.For my part I was led into the house where I was to live, therestrip'd by a female relation, and then led to the river. There shewash'd me from head to foot, leavin[g] none of the paint itself on me.We then returnd to house, where was gather[ed] all my relations (andI beleive few men has so many). Such hug[g]ing and kissing from thewomen and crying for joy, I never saw before. The men acted in adifferent manner; they looked very serious, shook my hand, andspake little. As soon as this ceremony was over I was clad from headto foot; then was an interpreter brought to tell me which of my kinwas the nearest to me. I think they rec[k]onded from brother toseventh cousins. They made great promises how vastly kind theywould be to me, and I must do them the justice to acknowledge thatthey was a[s] good as their word, for one of the old women didatten[d] me duly twice a day and dress my wounds, and all thefamily was as kind to me as if I had realy been the nearest of relationthey had in the world. The old man that I lived with had a sister38 Indians frequently adopted prisoners of war to replace members of the family who haddied or been killed. The prisoner of war might be another Indian or a white person. Someguard was usually maintained over the adopted person, or his freedom of movement limited,until the village became assured that he would not try to escape. If a female, the prisonercommonly remained a household slave; if a male, he usually shared equally in family activitiesand welfare. The treatment accorded Gist seems a little exceptional in his apparent freedomfrom duties; clearly he won the affection of the family with whom he lived
3O2 HOWARD H. PECKHAM
Julyher,
and told her that I had not the least occation. Soon after this Ihad the pleasure to [see?] all our Indians return, except six whichwent with the French to rais[e] the seige at Niagara,41 and withoutscalps or prisoners; and not long after, the fragment of the Frenchtroops that had saved their heads by the help of their heels. Theyhad a number of wounded me[n] with them.After I had deverted my self for several days with their mis-fortunes, I began to think of making my escape, and after havingseriously considered the risque, hardships and fetagues that I mustundergo in the attempt and had got a tolarable idea of the country,with the co[u]rses of the lake and rivers that emptied therein fromthe old man that I lived with, who took much pains to make meunderstand him, by marking them out to me as often as I would askhim. All curiosity with regard to acting the part of an Indian, whichI could do very well, being th[o]rougherly satisfied, I was determinedto be what I really was.On Sunday 9th Septr 1759, I went to town, and there I met withJohn McCrary, who I knew to be a lad I could depend on. I told himthe resolution I had taken and desired him to go with me. He agreedto it immediately. Then I told him the rout we must take. Thegreatest difficulty we labour'd under now was to provide amunition.He told me that an old Dutchman who was a prisoner also had aplenty and he believed that he would be glad to go with us or atleast supply us with a little, if not give us all he had. [We] went tohim and soon found that he had desire to get home, and after sometime trying him we let him unto the secret. He told us that he wasalready engaged with a party who was to go by water, if he chose togo with them. I desired he would come on Monday to my house andbring some amunition with him and there determine whether hewould go or not with us. But he, like a true Dutchman, never true[to] his trust, went and informed the other party.Here John McCrary proposed taking his brother with us, who wasbut thirteen years old. I told him what I thought of the matter, that41 Fort Niagara, under Capt. Francois Pouchot, was beseiged on July 7,1759, by Sir WilliamJohnson and his Iroquois allies. Capt. De Ligneris, who had abandoned Fort Duquesne andretreated to Fort Machault (Franklin, Pa.), called to his Indian allies and prepared to relieveFort Niagara. His force marched straight into an ambush prepared by Johnson on July 24.De Ligneris was killed, and the Detroit Indians fled home in their canoes. Fort Niagara fellto the British.
1956 THOMAS GIST'S INDIAN CAPTIVITY 303we would find it a difficult task to get home without haveing a childto take care of, who we could look upon in no other lite than anincumberance. He assured me that he could march as well as wecould, and if he lived and we found we were persued, or likely toperish for want of provitions, we would leave him in the woods; thatit was a matter of indifferance to him whether he went or not, if hecould not have his brother along with him. It being concluded hewas to go, and John McCrary to inform him of it Tuesday night,Wednessday being the day appointed for us to sett out for Niagara.[September //] Tuesday about 12 oclock came one of the otherparty to me and told me that two or three of the prisoners and aFrenchman, who I knew was of the party by water, wanted to see meat the Frenchman's house. I told him perhaps I mite walk down inthe afternoon. However, I never intended to go to them, for I wasnot without business of much more consequence to me. I was obligedto watch all apertunities that the Indians was out of the house tosteal a little amunition and dress'd leather to help me along on myjourney, which I hid in my bed.A little after dark another came and to[ld] me that the Dutchmanhad di[s]closed every thing and beg[g]ed that I would never think ofgoing by land and so continued to shew me the inconvenences thatwould necesaryly attend such a ja[u]nt. I told him I was not certainwhether I should attempt it or not. He replied that he was certainI was going and asked me when I would set of[f]. I assured him thatuntil I saw McCrary I knew nothing of the matter, and as the Dutch-man had deceived us, I beleived we should drop it. He desired Iwould go with him by water. I told him that that was the firstattempt that I had ever made and, as such bad luck attended it, Ishould not try soon again. He sayed he should sett of[f] that week,but hoped he would see me again and be able to satisfie me in some-things, which I was doubtfull was dangerous, in our pasage by water,and bid me good night. Now I was certain that every thing but timewhen we was to set of[f] was known to six or seven, amongst whichwas a woman, and I alway[s] understood that a woman never was tobe trusted with any secret, which made me restless all night.[September 12] This morning about day break I got up anddress'd myself in my hunting habbit, then folded up my fine cloathsand layed them by as I used to do when I was going a hunting. The
304 HOWARD H. PECKHAM Julyold woman asked me where I was going. I told her I was going to killsome ducks. She asked me if I would not take breakfast first. I toldher I was not hungry and wished her well till I should see her again.Now I set of[f] with a heart full of joy to meet my companion atthe place appointed, which was about one mile from the house whereI lived. We got there together and I told him all that happened. Herewe agreed that we had better continue our journey and not befritened by those people who only had it in their power to discoverthe plot after we was out of their reach, because the[y] knew notwhich way we was going, whether the north or south side of the lake.The boy was yet in the town. I desired the lad to go and bring hisbrother. He refused, and insisted very hard that I should go for him.I went back and found the boy by himself roasting some corn. I toldhim which way to go and I would meet him at the edge of the woods.I took another co[u]rse and as soon as I got out of sight of the townI ran as fast as I could, till I came to the place where he was to enterthe woods. Then I made him mend his pace, till we came where wehad left his brother, who immediately marched on as fast as wasnecessary. The young boy marched about sixty yards after hisbrother and I about the distance of one hundred yards in the reareof him.In this order we continued for the space of ten or twelve miles,when the foremost man saw a feasant. He knew that we ware withoutprovitions, as well as himself. He therefore halted till I came up. Hethen asked me if we should kill it. I immediately shot it, and wemarched very brisk for five or six miles further when we saw an owl.I then took my bow and arrows from the boy, for he having no guncarried them for me, and with it kill'd the owl. We was not uneasyabout provitions now and had nothing else to do but march as fastas were able. We heard guns fired on all sides from morning till aboutthree oclock. From then till sun sett, neither heard nor saw anything.We being now the best part of forty miles from the town, veryhungery, and allmost tired, set down on an old tree to rest. We didnot intend to move from there till dusk, and then march till it wasdark and we found a place that suited us to sleep at before westop'd again.We had not set long here when we heard several guns, at abouthalf a mile distance. Soon after we heard some thing walk in the
1956 THOMAS GIST'S INDIAN CAPTIVITY 305leaves and soon after discovered a very large racoon coming towardsus. We soon kill'd him, then threw away the owl, and marched fromthat place for fear of seeing more company. We continued marchingnotwithstanding it was very dark, till between eight and nine oclock,when we found a hole of water that was occationed by a tree beingblown up by the roots. Here we gathered some brush, made a fire,roasted our provitions, eat as much as was necessary, then put outour fire and laid down to sleep.[September IJ] Set of[f] this morning by day light. About sunrise we killed one raccoon with a tomahawk. The land till about12 oclock was much like what we traveled over the day before, thatis it was very level, rich and well timbered, with some swamps. Thenwe traveled through some bad swamps and poor land for three or fourhours, then came to good land again. We heard the enemys guns allday, and at some times not half a mile from us, but we never haltedtill after dark, when we made a fire and cooked our meat, mendedour mocasons, &c.[September 14] This morning by break of day we marched.About 9 oclock we came to the lake and discovered a sail at abouthalf a mile distantce from the land. We immediately took to thewoods again and after marching some few miles came to a swamp, ormarsh, about four miles wide. We attempted to cross it, but whenwe got about the middle it grew worse, and a stamp of my foot wouldmake it tremble twenty yards round us.By this time the grass had cut our mocasons and let our toes out.The flags and a small kind of reeds was so high in some places thatwe scarcely knew which way to stear. However, we at last got to aplace that was clear; from that we saw a point of wood that randirectly into the marsh and appeared to be the nighest to us of anyland that we could d[i]scover, so we steared directly for it. When wecame within half a mile of the woods, we was obliged to step orjump from on[e] tussoc to another. Thus we continued till we camewithin three hundred yards of the point we wanted to arrive at, andthen we had nothing to walk on but the mud, and that would notbare the weight of a bird. I then put down one leg and finding nobottom was some what affraid, but to return back, with my feet cutin several places, and nothing to hinder the grass from cut[t]ing themagain, I was determined not to do, if posable to be avoided.
306 HOWARD H. PECKHAM JulyI then took hold of some vines that grew upon the tussock that Istood on and leaped into the mud. After sinking to the middle of mybody, I found a good bottom and from there waded to the land. Herewe washed our cloaths, and after mending our moccasons we marchedbetween the swamp and the lake (which was not above a hundredyards apart) till we came to a large rode that was cleared from thelake to a large pond which was at the end of this swamp. We nowbegan to suspect that this water would be a stop to us where ever itentered the lake and had a mind to turn back and march round thehead of it, but considering it was intirely out of our co[u]rse to headit, we determined to attempt the mouth of it by the way of a raft.This pond appeard to me to be five or six miles over, and partlyround. I could see the woods all round it, except that side on whichthe marsh lay, from which I concluded the communication it hadwith the lake must be small and easely pass'd. We marched severalmiles on this point, which ran directly into the lake, when beingsuddenly surprised by the noise of the waves on our left hand, weconcluded that that pond was an arm of the lake, and some point ofwoods had intercepted our sight from where we saw it, and made itappear to us to be a pond. However, we was determined to see whatit was before we turned back, for we had a[t] least fifteen miles tomarch before we could get to the place where we first took theswamp.We now went to discover what all this proceeded. We soon saw itwas the lake, then went down on the beach and could discover theend of the point that we was on.42 We now marched almost backagain for we was only on the other side of the point which was notabove three hundred yards wide at the place where we discovered wewas wrong. We had not march'd far when we saw a bear, and allbeing hungry we was determined to kill him if posable. McCrarywent after him and got a shot at him. He wounded him badly but hetook a different course from that we wanted to go so we lost him.After marching about ten miles, we came to the pond again, andthere was [the] road from it to the lake. They was not above thirtyyards apart here. The Indians used to carry their canoes out of thelake at one of these carrying places, put it into the pond, sail throughit, and at the other carry them into the lake again, which saved themat least thirty miles. The sun being now very near out of our sight,42 Peninsula on the southwest side of Rondeau Harbor.
1956 THOMAS GIST'S INDIAN CAPTIVITY 307we march'd a few miles further, gathered a plenty of sower grasses,made a little fire, and then to mending shoes again.Notwithstanding we marched very hard [a] great part of this day,I am convinced we did not gain above ten miles. After get[t]ingourselves prepared for another days march, and eating grapes till wewas sick, put out our fire and sleep'd.[September 15] March'd this morning by breake of day. Aboutsunrise we shot a bear twice, but he got into the swamp that we wasin yesterday but we rather chose to lose him than follow. Being nowtolarable hungry, we march'd as fast as we was able, in hopes ofgeting some thing to eat. About 12 oclock we kill'd one raccoon. Thisday we marched through very poor land, the timber chiefly beech,and very thick underwoods. In the evening we kill'd another raccon,then march'd till dark and encamped not far from the lake.[September 16] This morning we marched as soon as day ap-pear'd. Till 11 oclock poor land, then came to very [good?] land welltimbered. About 2 oclock we came again to the lake. We saw aswamp not far from the lake and a narrow slipe of land lay betweenthem, on which we march'd, but that course was soon altered, for thelake breaking through the slipe of wood formed a large bay,43 and aswamp lay on the side of it which prevented us from marching by theside of [it], so we was obliged to march back again six or eight miles,in order to get to the main land. When we had got almost back tothe woods, we heard as we immagined a gun and saw some thing turnthe next point, which we took to be Indians. However, we stay'd notime to discover what it was, but ran as fast as we could to thewoods, marched in the thickest part of them. A little before dark wekill'd on[e] raccon and camp'd in the edge of the swamp.[September iy] This morning by the breake of day I wasawaked by some frightfull dreams. I desired the two that was withme to get up that we mite be gone from that place, and while I wastelling them that I believed there was something about us that I wasafraid of, was suddenly surprised by an old buck, who had beenfeeding about ten yards behind me, and I suppose either heard orsaw us, gave two or three skips amongst the brush. It was too severea shock to last long; we soon discover'd what it was, and shot himthrough the neck, altho: it was hardly yet light, and for fear he shouldserve us as the bears had done, we tomahawked him in a moment,43 Rondeau Harbor, the east side of which is a peninsula ending in Pointe aux Pins.
308 HOWARD H. PECKHAM Julycut of[f] as much as we thought would serve us seven day[s], nor eventook time to skin what [we] took, but tied it up, put it on our backsand marched of[f] before it was fairly light. We had very bad swamps44to march through, some of which was so thick with a kind of bushesand very [word omitted] that we was obliged to crawl under them;others so vary bad that we was forced to cut them out of the way.Notwithstanding the badness of the way, we never halted till 12oclock, when we made a fire, and two roasted the meat while theother one stood centrie at some distance. When our meat was a littlemore than half done, we tied it up again and after eating as much asnecessary, we march'd, nor halted more till night.[September 18] March'd till about 12 oclock through the samekind of land as yesterday, then came to the lake where we kill'd oneraccoon. March'd on the sand by the side of the lake till almostnight, then left the lake, got into a thicket to prevent our fire frombeing discovered by the enemy in case there should be any near us.[September 19} This day kill'd one raccoon in the evening. Theland we traveled on was but poor and very thick underwoods, andso continued, without any thing else worth taking notice of, tillSatureday night.[September 23} This day we broke our fast with the last of ourbuck and then march'd. About 10 oclock it began to rain, and con-tinued till about 12 at night. The land was tolarable good this day.[September 24] This morning came three bears within ten orfifteen yards of our fire. McCrary shot at one of them but his gunbeing damp by the rain which fell on us the day and night before,made long fire and missed them all. This day we lived on grapes.[September 25] Very good land and well timbered, but nothingto eat.[September 26] About 12 oclock we came again to the lake andthere found a buck that had been drown'd. He was so spoil'd that wecould not come near him. Not far from that we came to a littleriver45 that forked about thirty yards from the mouth. We wadedover, marched about ten miles then discovering we were marchingdirectly into the lake, for the land grew narrow and we discovered thelake on both sides of us. We march'd directly back, and got where the44 Author's note: These swamps was only along the water courses, the upland very richand well timbered.45 Probably Big Creek.
I9S6 THOMAS GIST'S INDIAN CAPTIVITY 309buck lay by dark. (The river that I observed came down throug[h] avery large marsh to the begining of this point of land46 which ranabout thirty miles into the lake. The fork of the river that we crossedran into the lake on the west or upper side of the point; the other,throug[h] a marsh about two miles and emptied into the lake on theeast, or lower side of said point. The French Indians used to gothrough this river, which did not exceed three miles, and so saved allthey otherways must have lost by going round so long a point.)I was here determined to stay all night and if posable to make mysupper of the buck, and while the lads kindled a fire I went and cut apeice of his thigh, roasted it and attempted to eat it, but it was sobad that it made me heave. The others lay down without trying it.{September 2/] This morning about 9 oclock came to a river47and finding it too deep to wade, march'd up it till 12 and finding itstill too deep, we agreed to make a bark canoe,48 and after workingtill almost sundown, we spoild it. We then fell to work and tied afew small dry logs together to raft ourselves over, but finding itwould bare one of us I tied a long piece of bark to one end of the raft,and after strip[p]ing to my buff and desired the boy to do the same,I tied them on the raft. Then causing the boy to take hold of the endof the raft, I took the end long string of bark between my teeth,swam over and so drew the raft and boy hanging to it. When I gotover and landed the cloaths and boy, I took my string again andreturned to the place from whence I came, and there being againfreighted, I made for the other side and after some difficulty arrivedsafe with my other companion and the remainder of our goods. Thecoldness of the water almost deprived me of the use of my limbs, but wesoon got a fire and warmed ourselves nor marched farther that night.[September 28} This day march'd th[r]ough chesnut hilly landtill about 4 oclock, then rained very hard. I kill'd one young turkey,which was not enough to satisfy us.[September 29] After marching some miles, we came again tothe lake and on the sand we found the leg of a raccon which had beenkill'd, and drawn amongst the sand till it was as dirty as it could be,and I believe it had laid there two or three days by the smell. Soon46 Long Point, which extends twenty miles into Lake Erie.47 Either Young Creek or Lynn River, which are four miles apart close to the lake shore.The latter empties at Port Dover.48 Author's note: The intent of this canoe was to have saved us the trouble of marching bygoing down the river to the lake and so to Niagara.
3IO HOWARD H. PECKHAM Julyafter we found a little fish, then we made a fire and roasted them,and eat them notwithstanding the smell. Here we discovered land onthe other side the lake for the first time, march'd all the afternoon onthe sand by the lake, gathered some fruit, and encamp'd not far fromthe lake.[September 30]Abruptly the journal ends here, just as Gist was approaching thesource of the Niagara River. But it was six days before the partyreached Fort Niagara, on the east side of the river where it dis-charges into Lake Ontario. The relatively short distance suggeststhat the fugitives suffered some delay or were forced to retrace someof their steps, perhaps to make a crossing. Nevertheless, theyachieved their goal and safety, and the journal makes clear that Gistwas definitely the leader of the three; perhaps the McCrary brotherscould never have finished the harrowing journey without him.After the interview at Fort Niagara and the gift of new clothes, thethree young men were sent by ship down the lake to Oswego. Prob-ably it was there that Gist rendered to General Gage the followingreport of his escape:SirI was taken prisone[r] the 14th of Septr 1758, within about fourmiles of Fort Duquesne by the Wyendot Indians at the defeat ofMajr Grant.The number of Frenchmen that can be raised at Fort Detroyt areabout twelve hundred.49The nations of Indians living near Detroit, first the Wyendots, the[Ot]Tawwas, the Potowotomes, these three nations live within sightof the Fort. The [O]Jebwas live some distance up the river fromDetroit which I do not know.50 The country is leavel and very wet,but chiefly sandy but good land, and well timbered bringeth goodgame.Between Detroit and Niagara, the country is chiefly leavel and the49 Possibly too large a figure. In 1760 George Croghan reported that the militia at Detroitnumbered about 800. A few Frenchmen left Detroit just before the British took over in 1760,but not enough to account for the discrepancy between the two figures. Gist may have countedin some regular soldiers.50 The Ojibways, or Chippewas, had a village at Saginaw Bay.
1956 THOMAS GIST'S INDIAN CAPTIVITY 3IImost part of it is good land and well timbered, but some part of itis prodejius bad, and beach timber.The people immagened that you would certainly come in the springif you did not come this fall, and distroy that place. The [Ot]Tawwasheared that Sir William Johnson51 took one of their men prisone[r]and cut his right arm off and his nose, for which they burned one ofthe Highland soldiers and eat part of him. The 12th of Septr 1759 Iset out from the Wyendot town with John McCrary & Wm: hisbrother, and arrived at Niagury 5th of Octor after being in the wood24 day[s].I am yourHumble Serv1Thomas GistJohn McCrary and his brotherwas taken in Augu[s]te Countyin Virginia on a branch of JamesRiver, by the Wyendot Indiens.The prisoners in the Wyendot town about 40.52Thomas Gist succeeded to his father's property in Western Penn-sylvania. He settled a tract of four hundred thirty-three acresadjoining his father's land and built a house, where he lived with hissister Ann. Later he acquired his brothers' inherited lands there andat one time owned 2,750 acres. George Washington visited him in1770 and again in 1784. In his diary of 1770, Washington wrote:"When we came down the Hill to the Plantation of Mr. Thos. Gist,the Ld. [land] appeared charming; that which lay level being as richand black as anything coud possibly be."53 Apparently Thomas didnot serve in the Revolution, at least not as a Continental officer. Hewas a justice of the peace for three counties at various times and diedin 1786.54William <£. Clements Sjbrary HOWARD H. PECKHAM51 Sir William Johnson (1715-1774) was the Crown Superintendent of Indian Affairs in theNorthern Department.52 Late in 1760 George Croghan obtained the release of fifty-seven English captives fromthe Detroit Indians.53 J. C. Fitzpatrick, ed., The Diaries of George Washington, 1748-1799 (Boston, 1925), I,407.54 Lawrence A. Orrill, "Christopher Gist and His Sons," Western Pennsylvania HistoricalMagazine, XV (1932), 191-218.
From George Washington
to Thomas Gist,
26 April 1758
To Thomas Gist To Mr Thomas Gist—Cadet [Fort Loudoun, 26 April 1758] Sir. You are forthwith to set out for Williamsburgh, and make all possible dispatch to that place. When you arrive there, wait on the Honble the President with my letter, and these Instructions: and take his directions what further to do.1 If you should be charged with a sum of money to bring to this place, take particular care of it, and return with as much expedition as possible; for the money is much wanted—You are to keep an exact account of your necessary expences, and give it in upon your return, to me, and it shall be allowed to you. Given under my hand, at Fort-Loudoun, this 26th day of April, 1758. G:W.
Instructions for Mr Gist
Founders Online footnotes:
Thomas Gist (b. 1735), third son of Christopher Gist, was listed in the “Return of the Virginia Regiment at Fort Loudoun” on 12 May 1758 as “Promoted to an Ensign” (DLC:GW). Adam Stephen named Thomas Gist on 14 Sept. 1758 as among those killed in Maj. James Grant’s disastrous engagement that day, but Gist in fact survived and reached the rank of lieutenant before the Virginia Regiment disbanded in 1762.
1. See GW to John Blair, this date.
Source:
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The Wyandot people originally lived in southern Ontario. They were also called Hurons,but they called themselves "Wendat" which in time became "Wyandot" or "Wyandotte." The Wyandot were related to the Iroquois, but in the years before European settlement, the Iroquois Confederacy attacked them and drove them from their homeland along the Georgian Bay.
Some came to live in northern Ohio. They built their main villages in Wyandot, Marion, and Crawford Counties, but they lived across northern Ohio and as far south as Ross County. Like the Algonquians, the Wendat were a confederacy of multiple peoples who spoke Wyandot languages, which were related to the Iroquois language.
The Wyandots had a special friendship with the Shawnee tribe. They referred to the Shawnee tribe as their "nephew" or "younger brother." Their alliances with other American Indian peoples in the Ohio Territory changed with the times.
1535 - August 10; Jacques Cartier, on a voyage of discovery for Francois I of France, sails into the St. Lawrence.
October 2; first French contact with Wyandots in the vicinity of the great town of Hochelaga, site of the present Montreal. Wyandots and related tribes may number between 30,000 and 45,000, with two of the largest, the Attignousntan and the Attigneenongnahac, joined in a confederacy. Already at war with other Iroquoian tribes, the Wyandots begin to move west.
c. 1560 - Iroquoian tribes south of the Great Lakes, at war with each other and surrounded by more numerous Algonquian enemies, are on the verge of extinction. The Iroquois Confederacy, the League of the Five Nations, is founded by Deganawidah and Hiawatha. Beginning of the "Great Peace."
The Arendahronon, the People of the Rock, join the Huron (Wyandot) Confederacy.
c. 1570 - The Tohonaenrat, the People of the Deer, join the Huron (Wyandot) Confederacy.
c. 1600 - The name "Hurons" is given to the Wyandots of the Huron Confederacy by the French. The four nations are at the height of their power in Ouendake (the French Huronia), with 16 towns between Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay in central Ontario. Capital of the confederacy is the town of Ossossane on Nottawasaga Bay. Ottawa to Wyandot to Iroquois fur trade flourishes, supported by Wyandot agricultural surplus.
South of the Hurons is a second, smaller Wyandot confederacy, the Tionontate, called Petun by the French. A third Wyandot group, the Attiwandaronk, called the Neutrals because of their stance in Wyandot-Iroquois conflicts, occupies the country west of Niagara.
1634-1640 - War, a devastating smallpox or measles epidemic, and religious dissension among the Wyandots reduce their number to approximately 10,000.
1651 - Under continuing Iroquois pressure, Petun and Huron Wyandots move from Mackinac to an island in Green Bay, where they are joined by Ottawa refugees.
The Neutrals are attacked by the Iroquois. Some flee to their Wyandot kin at Green Bay, others go south to Ohio where Wyandot refugees are enslaved by the Erie.
1652-c.1665 - The Wyandots and Ottawa move inland from Green Bay to the Mississippi River, then drift north to Chequamegon on Lake Superior in Sioux country, where they resume fur trade with the French.
1653 - February 2; the city of Nieuw Amsterdam is incorporated.
1653-1656 - The Erie lose a protracted war with the Iroquois. Some flee, others are absorbed by the Seneca. They disappear as a tribe. The Five Nations temporarily control all the lands on either side of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.
1654 - Huron refugees at Quebec are joined by others from Trois Rivieres. Their chief is Ignace Tsaouenhohouhi.
1655 - September 1; New Sweden falls to Peter Stuyvesant and the Dutch. In the years of skirmishing back and forth, the Delaware have generally sided with the Swedes.
1658 - September 3; death of Oliver Cromwell.
June 30; a new Lieutenant-General of New France, the Marquis de Tracy, arrives in Quebec with the first regular French troops. The Crown takes possession of the colony.
The Mission of La Pointe du St. Esprit is founded by Father Allouez at Chequamegon on Lake Superior, ministering to the Ottawa and Wyandots.
1666 - After over two decades of skirmishes, raids and ambushes, the French launch a full-scale military invasion of the Iroquois country.
September 20; Father Jacques Marquette arrives in Quebec from France.
1667 - July 7; the French and the Iroquois sign a peace treaty. This brings 20 years of peace to New France and largely ends the conflict between the Iroquois and the Wyandots.
1669 - Father Marquette joins the Mission of St. Esprit at Chequamegon. Kondiaronk is Sastaretsi, "Grand Sachem" or hereditary head chief of Wyandots in the west.
1670 - May 2; the Hudson Bay Company is chartered by Charles II to compete with the French in the Canadian fur trade.
1671 - In conflict with the Sioux and no longer menaced by the Iroquois, Wyandots move to Michilimackinac, where the Mission of St. Ignace is founded by Father Marquette.
1685 - February 6; death of Charles II. His brother James II becomes King of England.
March 21; birth of Johann Sebastian Bach.
1687 - March 19; La Salle is murdered by mutineers in present-day Texas.
1688 - December 22; the Glorious Revolution. James II abdicates, and William of Orange and his wife Mary, elder daughter of James II, become joint rulers of Great Britain as William III and Mary II.
1689-1697 - King William's War between Britain and France.
1690 - July 12; the Battle of the Boyne. Protestant forces led by William of Orange defeat James II in Ireland, as he attempts to regain his throne.
1692 - The Spanish retake Santa Fe, meeting little resistence, in an otherwise brutal reconquest of New Mexico.
1694 - December 28; death of Mary II after six years of joint rule with her husband William III.
1700-1730 - The Shawnee begin drifting back north into Kentucky - the Dark and Bloody Ground - and western Pennsylvania. One group ends up in Maryland.
1701 - July 24; Fort Pontchartrain du Detroit is founded by the French. At the invitation of Sieur Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, Wyandots move south from Michilimackinac to settle in the vicinity of the new fort, but pro- and anti-French (anti-Catholic) divisions persist. Cadillac himself is hostile toward the Jesuits and their missionary efforts.
In August, death of Kondiaronk, Sastaretsi of the Wyandots for over 40 years, at Montreal.
1702 - March 8; death of William III. Anne, second daughter of James II, becomes Queen of Great Britain and America.
1702-1713 - Queen Anne's War between Britain and France. Marlborough and Prinz Eugene versus the Sun King.
1704 - The last Wyandot having left, the Jesuits burn their mission house at Michilimackinac and return to Quebec.
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Thomas Gist, the son of an Indian agent in the Ohio Valley, was captured by Huron Native Americans in 1758 and lived with them for a year before being "released" and heading west. In a record of his capitivity, Gist describes the relative locations of the major tribes in the area and the state of the land in the area around Fort Pontchartrain (Detroit). In one particularly colorful episode, he recounts an altercation between the Odawa tribe and Sir William Johnson, who had taken a Native American man hostage and cut off his right arm and nose. For revenge, the Odawa captured a Highland soldier, burned him, and subsequently ate his nose and arm. This vicious act of cannibalism stuck out vividly to Gist, who had seen many sides of the Native Americans throughout his stay with them.
This episode is significant as it describes one side of the relations between the Native Americans and the European settlers in the area: the violent side. Not all of the relations at this time were violent like this - in fact, many were entirely peaceful. Gist himself was "adopted" into a family during his captivity and treated well. However, the violence of the Native Americans was usually the trait that stuck the most for European settlers. The supposed ferocity of Native American warriors was often used to the advantage of European and American settlers, who used alliances with different tribes to promote their own military aims in struggles over the ownership of the land. Notable battles include the siege of Pontiac on the Fort of Detroit in 1763 and the War of 1812 with involved British and Native American alliances.
To gain the cooperation of the "fierce" Native Americans, settlers often gave gifts of liquor and alcohol to the tribes, which they believed would induce a confused and compliant state in the natives. The settlers would then get the Native Americans to sign over land to themselves, and avoid political conflict.
Citations
Howard H. Thomas, Thomas Gist's Indian Captivity, 1758-1759. (Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, July 1956), 310-311
Detroit Historical Society, "Early American Detroit: 1787-1820", Detroit Historical Society, http://detroithistorical.org/learn/timeline-detroit/early-american-detroit-1787-1820 (accessed March 31, 2014)
The Pennsylvania magazine of history and biography - v. 80 (1956) - v. 80, no. 3 (July 1956)
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Cherokee Native Americans and Their Descendents - Descendants
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John "Old Trader" Benge BENGE, John Born: about 1735 in Virginia. Other records suggest he may have been born as early as 1726. Known as “Old Trader," and operated a trading post on the Cumberland. He was of Scottish descent. John Benge was an Indian trader with the Cherokee in northern GA. He had two wives, one was Elizabeth Lewis and his second was Wurteh, a Cherokee, and he had children from both marriages at about the same time. Married Elizabeth Lewis Born: about 1740, and was the, first wife of John Benge. She was a white woman, and the daughter of William Terrell Lewis and Sally Martin Lewis Wurteh Second wife of John Benge and the sister of Old Tassel. Probably born in Toqua, in the Cherokee Overhills Probably met John Benge before 1761. She was a Cherokee woman. Notes Robert 'Bob' Benge was born circa 1760 probably in the Cherokee village Toquo to John Benge and Wurteh, a Cherokee. Robert grew up to be the most notorious Cherokee in history. He was so feared in the central Appalachian areas of present-day Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee, that the settlers admonished their children by saying, "if you don't watch out, Captain Benge will get you.". He was known as The Bench ... Robert [Benge's] father was John 'Old Trader' Benge, an Indian trader who lived among the Cherokee, and his mother was Wurteh who was part of an influential Cherokee family. John was previously married to Elizabeth Lewis, daughter of William Terrell Lewis and Sarah Martin, a prominent family originally from Virginia. Elizabeth's sister, Susannah Lewis married John's brother, Thomas Benge. John and Elizabeth had several children at their home in western North Carolina. These were William Lewis, Sarah, and Obadiah Martin. Apparently, John was also living with Wurteh at his home with the Cherokee (probably Toquo) and had several children born there. These were Robert, Utana "the Tail," Lucy, and Tashliske. After Elizabeth and the Lewis family found out about John's Cherokee family, their marriage was dissolved and Elizabeth latter remarried John Fielder and had other children. Wurteh also had a child from a man whose last name was Gist or Guess and their child became known to history as Sequoyah. Robert and Sequoyah were half brothers... John Benge Also Known As: "Old Trader John", ""Old Trader" John Benge" Birthdate: circa 1735 (73) Birthplace: Charlottesville, Albemarle, Virginia Death: Died 1808 in Morgan, Calhoun County, Georgia, United States Cause of death: Unknown Immediate Family: Son of Thomas Benge, Sr. and Martha 1/2 Cherokee Benge Husband of Elizabeth Lewis and Wer-Teh Father of Sarah Ann Benge; Joseph Benjey; Obediah Martin Benge; William Lewis Benge; Bob "the Bench" Benge and 6 others Brother of James Benge; Thomas Benge and Samuel Benge Occupation: Operated a trading post on the Cumberland, Indian Trader Some notes on Immediate family: Lucy Lowery Born: 1786 In: Rattle Snake Springs, Tennessee, United States Died: Oct 10 1846 (at age ~60) In: Talequah, Cherokee, Oklahoma, United States Immediate family Father: John " Old Trader' Benge Mother: Wurteh Elizabeth Bege (born Watts) List of children and their connection to Lucy and William Lewis James Fielder Her brother Unknown Sequoyah Her brother Sequayah Gist Her brother George Sequoyah Gist Half brother William Lewis Benge Her brother William Lewis Benge Half brother Sarah Ann Benge Her sister William Lewis Benge Half brother Elisabeth Benge Half sister Sarah Ann Benge Half sister Joseph Benge Her brother Joseph Benge Half brother Sarah Ann Benge Half sister Joseph Benge Her brother Obediah Martin Benge Her brother Woman Cherokee Benge Her sister Obediah Martin Benge Half brother Richard Benge Her brother Joseph Benge Half brother Utana Benge Her brother Richard Benge Half brother Utana "The Tail" Pearce (born Benge) Her sister Tahlshliske Talohuskee Benge Her brother The Tail Her brother Tashliske Benge Her sister Tashliske Benge Half brother The Tail Her brother Lucy Benge Her sister Lucy Lowery (born Benge) Her sister Martin The Tail Benge Her brother Bob Benge Her sister Son Benge Her brother George Gist Half brother Unknown Tah Lon Tee Skee Her brother George Gist Her brother Ahuludegi John Jolly Benge Her brother War Red Bird Her brother Richard C Benge Her brother Lucy Lowrey (born Benge) Her sister Lucy Benge Her sister _____________________________________ Captain Benge The Red-headed Warrior Born around 1760 in the Cherokee village of Togue, possibly on the Little Ta ni si river, Bob Benge - also called Captain Benge and The Bench - was the son of a Scottish trader John Benge and a full blood Cherokee named Wurtah. John Benge lived among the Cherokee most of his adult life and was trusted by them as a man of his word. His mother was from an influential Cherokee family and it's said that later in life, she had a child by a man named Gist. That son was to become known as Sequoyah, inventor of the Cherokee alphabet. If true that would have made Robert Benge and Sequoyah half brothers. All young Robert's training was in Cherokee ways and he grew up to be one of the most feared of warriors. His reputation was such that mothers would tell their children if they weren't good "Captain Benge will get you." A description of Benge said that he had red hair; could pass for as a white man and had a great command of the English language . . . not your typical Cherokee warrior. He had a great dislike of white settlers and spent much time dedicated to their removal by any means necessary. In about 1777, The Benge family moved into the territory of a Cherokee chief named Dragging Canoe. The aim of this chief was to clear all whites from the frontier, and as they moved in, he burned them out, killing many. A small group of Shawnee warriors had come south from Ohio to join Dragging Canoe in his efforts to remove the whites. On a raid into the upper Holston River area in northeastern Tennessee (Ta ni si) and lower Virginia, the leader is thought to have been Robert Benge who led the band of Cherokee and Shawnee warriors. He earned great respect among all native warriors because of his ability to lead, his unquestioned courage, and his ferocity in battle. From 1777 until 1794 Benge and his war parties raided in Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina and Alabama and Benge acquired a legendary status among white settlers, many of whom, on hearing that Benge was headed their way, would abandon their homes and farms, never to return. One must remember that for all his ferocity, Benge was defending his land, his country. To him, those he attacked were foreign invaders trying to conquer his country, push out his people and destroy their whole way of life. He did what Wallace and The Bruce did, defend his country as he saw it. In April 1794 Benge was finally hunted down and killed by a militia led by Col. Arthur Campbell. He was actually shot by a Lieutenant Hobbs and as he lay dying Hobbs scalped him and his body was hung up for all to see. Col. Arthur Campbell sent Benge's scalp to Virginia's governor with an accompanying letter: "The scalp of Captain Benge, I have been requested to forward to your Excellency, as proof of Benge's death and the good conduct of Lt. Hobbs. A reward of a neat rifle to Mr. Hobbs would be accepted." The General Assembly of Virginia sent Mr. Hobbs a silver mounted rifle. Benge was seen as a savage by his enemies but as a hero by his own people, much the same as William Wallace.
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The Cherokee written language
Swallow, a Cherokee, mentions he cannot understanding writing, little knowing that 64 years later his Cherokee nation will have its own written alphabet. And who created it? Sequoyah – George “Guess.”
And that “Guess” might really be “Gist.”
He might be the son of Nathaniel Gist, a Scout under Colonel George Washington’s Virginia Regiment.
Nathaniel Gist is the son of Christopher Gist who is a Captain of a company of scouts under Colonel George Washington.
Christopher Gist accompanied George Washington in 1753 to deliver a message to tell the French to leave. A video game, Assassins Creed -Rogue, resurrects the name of Christopher Gist, but any history ends after using the name.
Source:
Orders to Colonel Nathaniel Gist,
13 January 1777
Orders to Colonel Nathaniel Gist [Morristown] Jany 13th 1777
Sir, You are hereby authorized and Impowered to raise four Companies of Rangers
upon the Continental pay, Rank, and establishmt—
To enable you to do this, you are furnished with a Warrant for 3,000 Dollars
to recruit with;
part of the bounty to be given at the time of Inlisting,
& the other part when the Men Join the Battn or Corps they belong to.
That you may not be restricted in the choice of Officers fit for this kind of Service, I leave the nomination of them (that is for the four Companies) to yourself, reserving to myself a negative upon any improper choice as in other Cases.
You are to delay no time in forwarding these Companies to the Army (under my immediate command) as fast as possible where they will be received & provided with necessaries—you are to keep me duly advised of your proceedings t
hat I may know in what time to expect your assistance—
when you consider the advanced Season,
and compare it with the time we shall undoubtedly be called into the Field
I am perswaded it will be a powerful argument in favour of your every exertion to raise the Men.1
Wishing you success in it I am Sir Yr Most Obedt Servt Go: Washington
ADfS, DLC:GW; Varick transcript, DLC:GW.
In the dateline of the draft, GW inadvertently wrote “New Town,” the name of his former headquarters in Bucks County, Pa., instead of Morristown.
Nathaniel Gist (b. 1733) served under GW in the Virginia Regiment as a lieutenant in the company of scouts commanded by his father, Capt. Christopher Gist, beginning in late 1755 (see GW’s Orders, 28 Dec. 1755), and after the disbanding of the Virginia Regiment in 1762, he joined Lt. Col. Adam Stephen’s Independent Regiment as a captain. After that regiment also disbanded, Gist lived on the frontier, trading with the Cherokee Indians in the Holston River valley.
At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, Gist was serving as a deputy to the British superintendent of Indian affairs. Although he initially remained loyal to the British crown, Gist in December 1776 reconciled himself with the Revolutionary forces in Virginia. Gist raised his ranger regiment in Virginia and Maryland during the spring and summer of this year.
In 1779 Gist’s regiment absorbed the Additional Continental Regiments commanded by colonels Charles Mynn Thruston and William Grayson, and on 12 May 1780 Gist was taken prisoner during the British attack on Charleston, South Carolina.
His regiment disbanded the following November, and he apparently retired upon his release from captivity in January 1781. Gist settled in Kentucky in 1793.
1. On 14 Jan. GW sent additional orders to Gist:
“By virtue of the powers to me given by the Honble Continental Congress, I do hereby authorize you, after Appointing the Officers of the four Ranging Companies mentioned in my Instructions of yesterday, and setting them to Recruiting;
to proceed immediately to the Cherokee,
or any other Nation of Indians in which you may have an Influence,
and there use your utmost endeavours
to procure a number of Warriors
(not exceeding in the whole 500)
to join the Army under my immediate Commd.
They are to come provided with arms Blankets &ca—
but shall be supplied with Ammunition and Provisions—
they shall receive in lieu of presents,
the same pay as the Troops in Continental Service do,
and if they have Officers of their own people
you may engage such advanced pay,
provided it bears a similarity to the difference in ours,
but not greater.
The Expence of the March will be borne by the public.
for the necessary provisions consumed on your Rout, you are to pass certificates, which will entitle the proprietors thereof to a claim upon the public—consult Œconomy—& use every dispatch in your power;
ever bearing in mind the shortness of the time you have to do a great deal in. . . .
N.B. This body of Indians (if obtaind) are to consider you as their head, and are to be Informed that they are to obey all such orders as you shall receive from me, and deliver to them”
(ADfS, DLC:GW). Gist negotiated a treaty with the Cherokee on the Virginia frontier, where his ranger regiment was stationed, which was signed at Fort Patrick Henry on 4 July 1777.
Source:
EXCLUSIVE: LISA CHRISTIANSEN A NATIVE AMERICAN CELEBRITY PRO-CYCLIST WITH UNIQUE CHEROKEE LINEAGE PARTICIPATES IN THIRD GREAT CYCLE CHALLENGE USA
confusing quantity of Wurteh
Chief John Watts
Who is this Cherokee Mom who changed the world?
Wurteh Watts of the Red Paint Clan was the daughter of an affluent Anglo- trader and interpreter, John Watts. Young Wurteh was born about 1742 in Tasagi Town, Crockett, Tennessee and died about 1800 near Willstown, Alabama.
She appears to be the sister of the Chief Old-Tassel, Chief Doublehead, and Chief John ‘Young Tassel’ Watts, Jr.
Chief Bloody Fellow was one mate and the father of Tahlontuskee. Another mate, Robert Due is the apparent father of John Jolly. A third mate, John ‘Old Trader’ Benge was the father of Captain Bob ‘The Bench’ Benge. Colonel Nathaniel Gist appears as the father of Sequoyah.
Mom Wurteh likely had other mates and definitively had additional children, who were influential. Clearly, she was a desirable woman. But our story involves the historical three: Tahlontuskee, John Jolly, and Sequoyah.
In the Cherokee family, the relation of uncle-nephew was more important than father-son, since the male mates were soon replaced. Having three capable chiefs as uncles undoubtedly played a key role with the boys.
Boys must have a positive male figure to teach them discipline and responsibility, how to manage testosterone as they are changing from boys to men, and how to positively handle conflicts and negotiate from a position of power.
I well recall when our sons were in junior high, my lovely, kind, gentle bride firmly made a formal declaration. “These boys are yours to raise. I give up. I do not understand them, why they do what they do, or how to corral them.”
Why should she? She experienced the estrogen, not testosterone, transition. Until that transition is complete, youngsters do not know who they are. The kids were just being young teenage boys. With appropriate nudging, they did more than OK. They both have doctorate degrees and their own businesses. She has reclaimed them.
In this vein, the Cherokee mother, Wurteh, raised her boys and lead the clan. She knew when she needed help with man functions and when to release her boys to that discipline and responsibility. Destiny was placed on Mom Wurteh, she did her part, and she is honored for it. Who were these accomplished sons?
Tahlontuskee was the Chief who settled Illinois Bayou and initiated Dwight Mission.
John Jolley, his half-brother, succeeded him at his death, completing the Mission and moving the tribe to the mouth of the Illinois River in Indian Territory. He named the village for his late brother. Jolley had adopted Houston as a teenage troublemaker in Tennessee and Houston returned to him for help at Three Forks.
Sequoyah, a junior brother, was the intellectual giant who educated the Nation, both East and West, as well as his cousins who had moved south to western Louisiana and Tejas (Mexico).
Think about how a mother of a Cherokee clan changed the world through her children. Besides the obvious physical birth, mothers are crucial to the education, culture, and confidence of children. Mothers decide children’s destiny either by action or abdication. No one else has the compassion or passion for a snotty-nose, rambunctious, or sickly child.
Gist and kirkwood experiences after being taken captive
Gist carrying 50lbs of plunder for his Indian hosts to Detroit.
Kirkwood eventually makes it back to Fort Cumberland?
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