HCPD Journal, pg. 177/ Of Border Warfare-Withers, Alexander Scott.
Jesse HUGHES was said to be " one of the most famous scouts & Indian fighters of all the west". Susan TURNER HUGHES, widow of a descendant of Jesse Hughes, remembered " Old Jesse" & in 1902 made this description of the cruel & blood thirsty man, which coincides with what is known to true. " Old Jesse had eyes like a painter (panther) & could see at night almost as well as one. He could hear the slightest noise made in a forest at a great distance..He knew the ways of every animal & bird in the woods, and was familiar with the sounds & cries made by them. He could go through the woods, walking or running, without making any noise..He was as stealthy & noiseless as a painter, and could creep up on a deer without causing it any flight. He could outrun any Indian that ever prowled in the forest. Not only did Jesse engage in Indian killings...but he was a leader in the terrible massacre of the Bulltown Indians. For these deeds he was shunned ..by many decent people- but he & his brothers saved many forts & homes & countless pioneer lives.
Jesse Hughes & Grace TANNER had ten children including Martha who married Jacob BONNETT. On the slab that marks her grave in the Old Harmony Church Cemetery, on Hacker's Creek near Jane Lew, is inscribed: " Martha, daughter of Jesse Hughes/Born Dec. 1773/ Made prisoner by the Indians Dec. 1787/ Married Jacob BONNETT, 1792.
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