THE PERRYSBIJM JOURNAL.
BY S. CLARK.
"Agriculture, Commerce, Manufactures
$1.50 In Advance.
VOL. 2.
PERRYSBURG, WOOD COUNTY, OHIO, SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 1854.
NO. 8.
A Funeral Thought.
BY BAYARD TAYLOR.
When the pale (Jeiiiux, t whoso hollow trump
Kcho this startled chainliers of the coul,
Waves his inverted torch o'er that wiui camp
Where this archangel's iniu'liuliu trumpets roll,
would not meet him in the chamber dim,
Hushed ando'erburdeiied with ;i nameless fear,
"When the breath flutters nnl the senses swim,
Ami the drcu.1 hour is near !
TiioiiLfh loVs dear arms might clasp me fondly then,
As it' to keep the summonerat buy,
Anil women's woe and the calm ::rii't' of men,
Hallow ut last the still, unbreathing clay
fl,.. nr.. earth's tetters, ami tin? soul wouiut.ui nut,
rinislioiiiid.from darkness awl the dread unknown,
SM-i'tchin its arm from Death's eternal brink,
Whiili it must dare alone .
lint in the awful silence of the sky.
I nun some mountain summit never trod.
Through the bright ether would I climb, to dio
Afar from mortals and alone with (Jod !
'i' the pure keeping of the stainless air
Would I resign my feeble, failing breath,
iid with the rapture f my answered piaver
Welcome the kiss of Death '.
The soul, w hich w restled with that doom of pain,
Promethcus-like. its lingering1 portion here,
Would there forget the vulture and the chain.
And leap to freedom from its mountain-bier !
All that it ever knew of noble thought.
Would auide it upward on the glorious track,
V.r the keen panjrs by parting anguish wrought,
Turn its brijrht glances back !
Then to the. elements my frame would turn :
No worms would riot on my coffined clay;
J hit my cold limbs, from that sepulchral urn
In the slow storms of aires, waste away t
!.oud winds, and thunder's diapason high.
Should be my reipiiem through coming; time,
And the w hite 'summit fading in the sky,
Mv monument sublime !
Gen. Samuel Dale—His great Canoe Fight.
In ITS t, when Samuel Dale was yet a boy,
father removed from Virginia, and made a
settlement near the site of the present town
of Greensboro', Georgia. But a lew
Lad elapsed, when the subjecr of our sketch
a vmith of sixteen summers found himself-
mi" orphan; and in virtue of seniority. guar-
tlian of seven brothers and sisters. DLspos-;
in" of them in the best manner his limited;
would allow, he joined a company
.f volunteers, raised to repel the invasions
of the Creek Indians ; and here commenced
that military career, which only closed when
ihe difficulties of his country "ceased. We
do not propose to follow it up. "Whoever is
with the history of the Indian
wavs with the bloody battles of Hurnt Corn
dud Holy Ground the terrible massacre of
Fort Mims, the hazardous expeditions of Clai-!
Lome, and the Seminole campaigns of Jack-j
MJ11 knows enough to appreciate the iron!
nerve and daring intrepidity of Gen. Dale,
"We. will now notice a few of those remark-1
Hhle adventures with which his life is to re-1
pletP.
His celebrated canoe fight,'' in the Ala
bama river, in which he and two of his com
pany, brained, with clubbed rifles, nine In
dian warriors, in fair and open combat, is
kind of household word with our old settlers.
Everv old crone on the river could relate
you "the incidents of the bloody conflict
while her aged partner, whose head had whi-jand
tened with the growing improvement of his
state, would hobble down to the bank and
point out the very spot in the bright waters
where the two canoes met ; if, perchance, the
reader has ever made a tup down the river
on that elegant boat which bears our hero's
name, (Sam Dale.) he has doubtless had de
signated to him, by the courteoug captain,
the. time honored old beech which marlis the
spot, as well as a high projecting bank which
Lad previously sheltered the namesake of his
boat from the fire of the Indians.
Soon after the bloody tragedy of Fort Mims,
many of the whites, urged by their defence
less condition and the increasing hostilities
of the Indians, took refuge in Fort Madison.
As Gen. Claiborne was prevented from march
ing to their aid, by the hostile movements
the enemy about St. Stephen's, Capt. Dale
and Capt. Carson were left in command
the fort. As soon as his wounds received
the Bunt Corn fight were sufficiently healed,
Dale determined to change the mode of con
iduct from defensive to offensive. With 70
jmen, he proceeded southwestwardly to Bra-
1 .1 til IT. . il
ziers landing on tne Aiaoama. nere mey
found two canoes, belonging to a negro na
med Caesar, who informed them that there
were. Indians above there on each side of the
river. He also tendered them the use of the
canoes, and proffered to act as their pilot,
Capt. Dale immediately placed the canoes in
charge of Jeremiah Austill and six men, who
were ordered to keep them parallel with the
party on land. Arriving at the mouth of
Randan's Creek, the canoe party discovered I
! a boat filled with Indians, who, however,)
.immediately paddled to shore and fled
Ihe land party, hnding it impossible to
continue their route on account of the thick i
cane and vines, were ordered to cross over
on the other side. v hue i
land proceed up
! thev were effecting a passage, Dale and sev
eral of his men kindled a fire a short distance
ifroin the river, to prepare their day's meal.
iThus engaged, they were fired upon by a
j party of Creeks from an ambuscade, lle-
' treating towards tin river, so as to gain the
... i . i i i i
cover ot trie projecting oaiiK, tney uncover
ed a large flat-bottomed canoe, containing
eleven armed and painted warriors. The
party behind them now retired, leaving Dale
to choose his own course towards those in
the boat. As both of his canoes were on
the opposite side. Dale ordered the larger one
to be manned, two ot the warriors now
left their boat and swam for shore; but a
ball from the unerring rifle of James Smith
perforated the skull of one of them, and he
. 1 1 .I .L " 1.1 t
, im mecuateiy sunK ; xne omergainea me snore
ami escaped. Eight men had, in the mean
time, manned the larger canoe, and were ap
his proaching the Indian boat ; but coming near
.enough to see the number of rifle-muzzles
days;over the edge ot the boat, they hastily pacl-j
'died back to the shore,
Dale, exasperated by this " clear back out'
as he termed it, on the part of his men,
shouted to them in a scornful tone, to " look
and see three brave men do what eight cow
resources ; ards shrunk from ;" and, followed by Austill,
! and Smith, sprang into the smaller canoe,
! which the faithful Caesar had just brought
i over. Paddling their canoe directly towards
their enemies, they soon commenced the
i" canoe fight,'' so celebrated in Alabama tra
ncquainted dition.
j When within twenty paces of the Indians,
I our heroes arose in their canoe to give them
an opening broadside ; but unfortunately the
priming of their guns was wet with the mist
that was falling, and they failed to fire. Had
j not the same accident befallen the enemy,
the result of the canoe fight might have been
very different. Dale now ordered Caesar to
bring his boat alongside and hold them to
gether
a
to
The warriors, confident of their
strength, and eager to grapple with three men
whose guns would not fire, allowed their boat
to move leisurely along with the current.
As the two neared each other, the chief arose,
and with an ejaculation of defiance to "Big
; Sam," (which, on account of his great size
strength, was the name applied by the
I Indians to Dale,) leveled his gun at Smith's
of
of
at
breast ; but before he could draw trigger, the
latter directed a blow at him, which would
have proved fatal had it not been adroitly
avoided.
The canoes came together with a jar, which
threw Austill slightly off his balance, and
ere he could recover it, a well directed blow
from a war-club prostrated him across the
boat. A half dozen powerful arms were
raised to complete the work, when the hea
vy rifle of Dale came down upon the head
of the chief, with a force that sunk it deep
into his skull. Smith had not been less ac
tive, and his trusty barrel had fallen with
like effect on the skull of another warrior,
and the two now felt their death throes in
the bottom of the canoe. Austill had in the
meantime recovered, and added his strength
to the work of destruction. The bold Cae
sar held the boats together with an iron grasp,
and with one foot in each our heroes fought.
Two successive blows from AustiU's rifle
despatched two of the enemy, one of whom
fell overboard. Thinking to make sure of
his foe by a second stroke, Austill leaned
forward to strike, when he was again pros
trated by an Indian club. The exulting sav
age, never forgetful of a scalp, raised the
war-whoop, seized his victim by the hair
the scalping-knife glittered in the air, when
another timely blow from Dale's clubbed ri
fle divided his skull.
Tradition savs. that so great was the force
of the blow, that the skull was split from
the crown to the vertebral column. In the
meantime Smith, at the other end of the ca
noe, grappled with two lusty warriors. He
was a powerful man, but the chances now
were against him. The iron clutches of one
of his assailants are upon his throat the
tomahawk of the other is above his head!
and Austill's rifles
he sees his danger ; one foot is in one canoe,
one in the other; with a desperate effort he
gets both feet into one canoe, and draws one
Indian after him, while the sudden movement
separates the ends of the boats and leaves
the others behind to meet the late ot those
who have already come within range of Dale's
Smith now had his enemy in his power,
and soon dispatched him. The conflict now
became equal three to three. The savages,
reduced in numbers from nine to three, now
fought with the energy of despair. Light
and active, they avoided many of the blows
of the whites, and dealt in return such well
directed ones that they were beginning to
tell in their favor, when Dale, calling to Cae
sar to hold the boats firmly together, sprang
upon one of the seats and dealt a blow which
shivered a club that had been directed to
meet it, and leveled another warrior. The
remaining two were left to have destruction
dealt out to them, at the hands of the victo
rious Dale, who, while Smith and Austill
leaned upon their bloody and brain-bespat
tered rifles, despatched them at two succes
sive blows. During the whole of this san
guinary conflict, the heroes were encouraged
by the continued cheers of their comrades
on either bank. Of the nine warriors, Smith
killed two, Austill two, and Dale five.
" Having laid them all low," says Mr. Pick
ett, " these undaunted Americans began to
cast them into the bright waters of the Ala
bama their native stream now to be their
grave. Every time a savage was raised up
from the bottom of the canoe and slung into
the water, the Americans upon the banks set
up shouts loud and long, as some slight re
venge for the tragedy of Fort Mims. The
Indian canoe presented a sight unusually re
volting several inches deep in savage blood,
thickened with clots of brains, bunches of
hair, &c."
A few years previous to the canoe fight,
Gen. Dale was engaged in another hand-to-hand
rencontre hardly less exciting. There
is so much of the spirit of wild adventure
and romance connected with the incident,
we are surprised that it has not, ere this,
been made the basis of one of our thrilling
border tales. When the Indian hostilities
first began to assume a threatening attitude,
in consequence of the Galphinton treaty, a
white woman was seized by a party ol lndi
I ans, and carried into captivity. All at-
tempts towards recapturing her seemed
fruitless, indeed so many similar cases oc
curred, that they failed. to excite that inter
est which we would naturally expect.
Dale, however, having gained some informa
tion as to her whereabouts, determined and
with him determination was but another
word for accomplishment to rescue her.
Setting out alone, his experience in trailing
soon brought him upon the heels ot the sav
ages. Finding himself near them, with
characteristic coolness he stopped to drink
and refresh himself previous to beginning
his work. While stooping to drink, two of
the party who were nearer to him than he
he thought, sprang upon him. Without at
tempting to rise, he drew his hunting knife,
stroke, killed one of his'
and, with an under
a
Tecumseh and Weatherford and in war
name of Big cam fell on the ear ot
issailants,.then rising suddenly, he threw
the other from him, and ere he could regain
Ins feet, dispatched him.
Thus much accomplished, he . took the
trail of the others followed them for many
miles came upon them asleep knifed three
of them cut the thongs of the captive wo-'
man, and was about to commence his tri-
umDhant march homeward, when another
warrior whose position behind a log had.
screened him from view, sprang upon him..
Weak from the loss of blood, and in the
deadly grasp of the savage, Dale would now
have fallen by the hands oi a toe wnom ne
had ever conquered, had not tne n Derated
woman snatched up a tomahawk and split.
jthe Indian's skull. The mutual deliverers,
laving exchanged congratulations upon
'their fortunate escape, were soon in the
i niclst of their rejoicing friends. Gen. Dale,
i n after life, often said that he had given up
fill hope of life in this instance, and could
hardly believe that the weak emaciated fe
inale, whose captive thongs he had just cut,'
could be his deliverer.
The biographer of Gen. . Dale, John H. F.
fclaiborne of Mississippi, cites the above in
cident and vouches for its truth. The tales
pf Knight-Errantry could hardly equal it in
iomance and wildness of adventure, and no'
I3ois-de-Gilbert, of the Middle Ages, in
Tpanonlv complete," could boast of greater
triumphs of his lance, than could Gen. Dale
c i i i x i : r
nis Hunting Kiine.
J After the treaty of peace with the Indi
ans. Gen. Dale settled in Lauderdale county,
the uorthern part of Alabama, where his
bg cabin was the seat of an extensive and
merous hospitality, in ibso ne was eiec-
d to the State legislature, in which he
:rved with his characteristic openness and
dependence of character. An interesting
necdote of him is related by Mr. Clairborne
in his biographical memoir. We give it in
the author s own language :
"Some time ago Gen. Dale was held in
Mobile, as endorser upon a note. The debt."
was in the hands of a stranger. Accom
panied by an officer, he sought the creditor
and found him in the saloon of Cullum'sfar
famed hotel. ' Sir,' said the General, I have
no money to pay this debt. The principal
has property, make him pay it, or let me go
home and work it out.' The Shylock hesitated.
' Very well,' said the veteran, in tones that
ran? indieilantlv throush the anartment.
o o J O I
Very well, sir ! Look at my scars ! I will
march down to jail, down Muise street, and
all Mobile shall witness the treatment of an,
soldier!' These simple words fell like elec
tricity upon that high-toned people. In-.
half an hour a dozen of the brightest names-
nf tbA nitir turp nnnn tbnt Hnnrl anil fwfnwx.
morning the debt was paid and a lull dis
charge handed to the General."
Gen. Dale died in 1841, at his residence,.
" Tvith the fortitude of a soldier, and the
resignation of a christian."
We know not better how to close this ar
ticle than bv quoting from the well-written
Diograpny, wnicn we nave aireauy usea :
" In many respects, physical and moral, he
resembled his antagonists of the woods.
TTf had thi snnarp fnrphparl triA rno-h hlj
: n . " ' " . .ts"
bones, the compressed lips, and in fact the
physiognomy of an Indian, relieved how
ever by a fine benevolent Saxon eye. Like
the red man of the forest, too, his foot fell
lightly on the ground, and turned neither to
the right nor left. He was habitually taci
turn ; his face grave ; he spoke slowly and
in low tones and seldom laughed. I observed
of him what I have often noticed as pecu
liar to border men of high attributes he en
tertained the strongest attachment for the
Indians extolled their courage, their love of
country, and many of their domestic quali
ties ; and I have often seen the wretched
remnant of the Choctaws encamped around
his plantation, and subsisting on his crops.
In peace thev felt for him the strongest ven
eration he had been the. friend both of
the
the