The First Massacre On Powell's River
By Emory L. Hamilton
From the unpublished manuscript Indian
Atrocities Along the Clinch, Powell and Holston
Rivers, pages 1-6.
The killing of Captain William Russell's
and Daniel Boone's sons, the Drake boy, the
Mendenhall brothers, and a colored slave of
Russell's on October 10, 1773, is the first recorded
Indian massacre on the waters of Powell's River.
This massacre occurred near the head of Wallen's
Creek, in present day Lee County, and not near
Cumberland Gap as some writers claim and where
the State Highway Historical marker is erroneously
placed.
The route this party probably followed
from Russell's place in Castlewood was most likely
that followed by the early Long Hunters and known
as the "Hunters Trail", crossing Clinch River at
Hunter's Ford, now the village of Dungannon,
through Hunter's Valley, Rye Cove, and crossing
Powell Mountain at Kane's Gap onto the head of
Wallen's Creek.
Dr. Lyman C. Draper, who spent years
doing research on the frontier events, including
interviews with some of the Boone family and
others who had knowledge of the occurrence, gives
the most accurate account of this massacre in his
unpublished "Life of Daniel Boone". (1)
Boone on his return from Kentucky in the
spring of 1773, met William Russell, then residing
at Castlewood on Clinch River, who entered so
heartily into Boone's views with reference to
settling Kentucky that he agreed to join him in the
enterprise. Somewhere in this region the McAfee
company on their way home from Kentucky met
Boone about the 12th of August then making
preparation to migrate to that country.
The Bryan party lived 60 miles eastward
of Boone's home on Yadkin agreed to join Boone's
company in Powell Valley on a specified day and
pass the most dangerous part of the journey
together. Boone went home, sold his farm and such
other household goods, produce and farming
utensils which he could not convey so great a
distance. The Bryan party numbering 40 overtook
the van as agreed. This reinforcement was not
entirely from the South Yadkin for several had
joined them in the Fort Chiswell and Holston
Valley regions, among whom was Michael Stoner,
William Bush, and Edmund Jennings. They had
passed Clinch Mountain, Powell's Mountain, and
Wallen's Ridge, and had barely entered Powell's
Valley.
Here, at, or near the western base of
Wallen's Ridge where Powell River flows along a
vale, Boone and his party went into camp and
awaited the arrival of the rear party. James Boone
and two brothers, John and Richard Mendenhall,
from Guilford County, North Carolina, had been
dispatched from the main company, probably at
Wolf Hills, now Abingdon, across country to
Captain Russell's at Castlewood for the double
purpose of notifying him of the advance of Boone's
Kentucky adventurers and procuring a quantity of
flour. Pack loads of flour were provided and
Captain Russell sent forward his oldest son Henry,
a youth of 17, two Negroes named Charles and
Adam, together with Isaac Crabtree and a youth
named Drake, (2) with several horses laden with
farming tools, provisions and other useful articles
and a few books. A small drove of cattle was also
sent under their charge. Captain Russell himself
remained behind to arrange his business, and then
with Captain David Gass (3) to hasten forward and
overtake the others. His intention was to erect a
comfortable domicile and open a plantation during
the autumn and winter, put in a crop in the spring,
and return for his family. Had these plans
succeeded, William Russell would probably have
become one of the most distinguished of the
primitive settlers of Kentucky.
It was now the 9th of October, and little
dreaming of danger the party of young Boone and
Russell pushed on cheerfully and as rapidly as
possible, endeavoring to reach the advanced party
that evening. Night overtaking them and probably
not aware that the company in front was only three
miles distant, they camped on the northern bank of
Wallen's Creek, at the old ford near the head of
that stream, a southern tributary of Powell's River.
Unknown to the little band, a party of
stealthy Indians had that day tagged them a
considerable distance, an during the evening while
young Boone and companions were seated around
their blazing campfire, they heard the howl of
wolves, or a successful imitation on the part of the
Indians. When the Mendenhalls, unused to such
frontier serenades, dropped some expression of
fear, Crabtree, a regular backwoodsman, laughed
heartily at their apprehensions and jeeringly told
them that they would hear as well the bellowing of
buffaloes as the howling of wolves in the tree tops
in Kentucky.
Locked in the sweet embrace of balmy
sleep, all unconscious of danger, the little band of
emigrants were attacked about daybreak the next
morning by the Indians, who creeping close to
camp, fired upon their unsuspecting victims, killing
some and wounding others. A heart rending scene
ensued. Young Russell was shot through both hips
and was unable to attempt escape. As the Indians
would run up with their knives to stab him he
would seize the naked blades with his hands and
thus had them badly mangled and was finally
tortured in a most barbaric manner. Young Boone
was also shot through his hips, breaking them both
and rendering him helpless. He recognized among
the Indians Big Jim, a Shawnee warrior, who had
often shared the hospitality of his father's house.
His unusually high cheek bones and broad face,
with a singularly peculiar chin, rendered it almost
impossible for anyone who had ever known him to
fail instantly to recognize his remarkable features.
James Boone implored him by name to spare his
life, but former friendship, past favors, nor present
misfortunes made any sensible impressions on the
adamantine heart of the blood thirsty warrior. The
Indians tortured young Boone by pulling out his toe
and finger nails when he besought Jim at once to
put him out of his misery. At the same time young
Russell was suffering similar tortures, when Boone
remarked to him that he presumed his parents,
brothers and sisters were all killed by the Indians.
At length both young sufferers were severely
stabbed and probably tomahawked when death like
an angel of mercy came to their relief. Both the
Mendenhalls and young Drake were among the
slain, one of whom, at the time ran off and was
neither found nor heard of at that period, but many
years after some of the family of Mr. John Thorpe,
residing nearby, found the bones of a man between
two high ledges of rocks about an eighth of a mile
above the defeated camp, which was supposed to
have been those of the missing man, who had
probably been mortally wounded in the attack, fled
as far as he could, and crawled between the ledges
and died. The Negro Adam fortunately escaped
unhurt, hid himself in some driftwood on the bank
of the creek close at hand and was an unwilling
spectator of the painful scene enacted at the camp.
Crabtree although wounded, also effected his
escape and first reached the settlement, while
Adam, getting lost, was eleven days making his
way to the frontier inhabitants. The other Negro
Charles, older and less active than Adam was taken
prisoner by the Indians who carried him off with
the horses and every other article they esteemed of
value. When they had gone about 40 miles, getting
into a dispute about the ownership of the Negro,
the leader of the party put an end to the quarrel by
tomahawking the poor captive.
In the advance camp was a young fellow
who had been detected in pilfering from his
commander and had become the butt of contempt
and ridicule of the camp to such an extent that he
resolved secretly to abandon the party and return to
the settlements. He took his silent departure a while
before day on the 10th of October an don the way
stole some deer skins with Daniel Boone had left
hung up beside the trail for the rear to bring along.
Reaching the ford at Wallen's Creek when the
Indians could have but a few moments before
decamped, he came upon the mangled remains of
the unfortunate slain; dropping the skins he hurried
back to the main camp where he arrived about
sunrise with the unhappy intelligence. Fear,
sorrow, and confusion, more or less, agitated every
heart beat and could be seen depicted on almost
every countenance. While a small party under
Squire Boone was sent back to bury the dead,
recovering whatsoever property the Indians may
not have carried off and ascertain their strength by
their sign. Daniel Boone remained with most of the
men ready to repel any attack that might be made
on the main camp; and as they at first had no
means of knowing the strength of the Indians who
had made the fatal onslaught on the rear, they set
themselves about making a rude fortification.
When Squire Boone's burial party reached
the defeated camp, they found Captain Russell and
Captain Gass already arrived there. In young
Russell's body, which was mangled in an inhuman
manner, was left sticking a dart of arrows, and
beside the bodies were left several painted hatchets
and war clubs, a sort of Indian declaration of war.
Mrs. Daniel Boone had sent sheets for shrouds and
young Boone and Russell were wrapped in the
same winding sheet and buried together...the other
slain were also decently interred. The bodies of all
were ripped open, but none of them were scalped,
as the Indians would not venture to take white
scalps to their towns in a time of professed peace.
The Indians had taken all the plunder and the cattle
were much scattered. Squire Boone and party with
Captains Russell and Gass returned to the main
camp where a general council was held, though it
was Daniel's wish to continue the journey, most of
the emigrants were too disheartened by the check
they had received and thought that only repetition
of Indian cruelty could be expected should they
persevere in their attempt. That it was best to
abandon the attempt and return. By this time the
cattle had become much dispersed and when
collected and the emigrants satisfied that the
Indians who had done the mischief were only a
small party and had departed, they commenced
retracing their footsteps. While others winnowed
their way back to their farming settlements in
Virginia and Carolina, Boone accepted the
invitation of Captain Gass to take up his temporary
abode in a cabin on his farm, about seven or eight
miles below Captain Russell's at Castlewood and
a little south of Clinch River. (4)
(1) Draper Mss 3 B, Chapter 9, pages 92-117.
(2) Perhaps the son of Joseph Drake who moved from
Clinch to Boonesboro and was killed there by Indians
in 1778.
(3) Capt. Gass moved from Albemarle Co., VA to
Castlewood in 1769. Was born in Pennsylvania about
1729, and died in Madison Co., KY, in 1805, or 1807.
Made eleven trips from Castlewood to Boonesboro
before settling there permanently in December, 1777.
(4) Boone lived on the Clinch from this time until
1775 when he led his second and successful party to
Kentucky to found Boonesborough. While living at
Castlewood, a son named William, was born to Daniel
and Rebecca Boone who died in infancy and was
buried in the Moore's Fort graveyard. An old log
house still standing in Castlewood on the lands he
owned may very well be the house in which Gass lived
when he gave shelter to the Boone family in a nearby
cabin.
Contact: Rhonda Robertson at: rsr@mounet.com
Collection of online messages & from Chronicles of Border Warfare by Alexander Scott Withers.
Daniel Boone was born 2 NOV 1734 in Reading, PA & died 1820. He was a noted pioneer and Indian fighter who became involved in the Kentucky settlements. His family settled on the Yadkin River, NC in 1753. Over the years, Daniel became a skillful hunter & trapper. In 1755, he served with British general Edward BRADDOCK in the campaign against Fort Duquesne during the French & Indian War. In 1767, we find him travelling through the KY River area. With 5 companions, he explored eastern KY following a trail through the Cumberland Gap. In 1775 he established a stockade & fort on the site of Boonesboro. The road he created to reach this fort was called Wilderness Road.
On FEB 7th, 1778, Daniel was taken captive by Indians while alone in the woods on a hunt to supply salt makers with meat. He encountered a party of 102 Indians & 2 Canadians & was taken prisoner. The savages advanced to the Licks & made prisoners of those making salt. Their object was the destruction of Boonesborough & had they continued there this would have happened but elated with success they returned to Chillicothe with their prisoners. In March, Boone was carried to Detroit where the Indians refused to liberate him then from which place they returned to Chillicothe in April. In the first of June, he went with them to Scioto salt springs & upon his return he found 150 choice warriors of the Shawanee equipping themselves for the attack on Boonesborough. Early June 16th, he went out as usual to hunt. He secreted food as would serve him for one meal, & with this he resolved on finding his way home. On the 20th, having travelled 160 miles, crossed the Ohio & other rivers, with no sustenance, he arrived at Boonesborough. The fort was quickly repaired & every preparation made to enable it to withstand a seige. ( Boone's strong build caused the Indians to call him Big Turtle, & he was adopted as the son of Black Fish.)
In the early 1780's, Daniel was forced to abandon his land around Boonesboro because of invalid titles & he moved to Boone's Station, KY. Between 1788-1798, he left KY & resided near Point Pleasant, VA/WVa. In 1799 he made his home in St. Louis, MO where he died 26 SEP 1820.
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