West's Fort in Jane Lew 1778
Taken in part from the Book
Chronicles of Border Warfare
or a
History of the Settlement of the Whites, of Northern Virginia, and of the Indian Wars and Massacres in that section of the State
by Alexander Scott Withers
copyright,1895
West's fort on Hacker's creek, was also visited by the savages, early in this year. The frequent incursions of the Indians into this settlement, in the year 1778, had
caused the inhabitants to desert their homes the next year, and shelter themselves in places of greater security; but being unwilling to give up the improvements which they had already made and commence anew in the woods, some few families returned to it during the winter, & on the approach of spring, moved into the fort. They had not been long here, before the savages made their
appearance, and continued to invest the fort for some time. Too weak to sally out and give them battle, and not knowing when to expect relief, the inhabitants were almost reduced to despair, when Jesse Hughs resolved at his own hazard, to try to obtain assistance to drive off the enemy.
Leaving the fort at night, he broke by their sentinels and ran with speed to the Buchannon fort. Here he prevailed on a party of the men to accompany him to West's, and relieve those
who had been so long confined there. They arrived before day, and it was thought advisable to abandon the place once more, and remove to Buchannon. On their
way, the Indians used every artifice to separate the party, so as to gain an advantageous opportunity of
attacking them; but in vain. They exercised so much caution, and kept so well together, that every stratagem was
frustrated, and they all reached the fort in safety.
Two days after this, as Jeremiah Curl, Henry Fink and Edmund West, who were old men, and
Alexander West, Peter Cutright, and Simon Schoolcraft, were returning to the fort with some of their neighbor's property, they were fired at by the Indians who were
lying concealed along a run bank. Curl was slightly wounded under the chin, but disdaining to fly without making a stand he called to his companions, "stand your ground, for we are able to 'whip them." At this instant a lusty warrior drew a tomahawk from his belt and rushed towards him. Nothing daunted by the danger which seemed to threaten him, Curl raised his gun; but the
powder being damped by the blood from his wound, it did not fire. He instantly picked up West's gun (which he had been carrying to relieve West of part of his burden) and discharging it at his assailant, brought him to the ground.
The whites being by this time rid of their encumbrances, the Indians retreated in two parties and pursued different routes, not however without being pursued. Alexander West being swift of foot, soon came near
enough to fire, and brought down a second, but having only wounded him, and seeing the Indians spring be- hind trees, he could not advance to
finish him; nor could he again shoot at him, the flint having fallen out when he first fired. Jackson (who was hunting sheep not far off) hearing the report of the
guns, ran towards the spot, and being in sight of the Indian when West shot, saw him fall and
afterwards recover and hobble off. Simon Schoolcraft, following after West, came
to him just after Jackson, with his gun cocked; and asking where the Indians were, was advised by Jackson to get behind a tree, or they would soon let him know where they were.
Instantly the report of a gun was heard, and Schoolcraft let fall his arm. The ball had passed through it, and striking a steel tobacco box in his waistcoat pocket, did him no farther injury. Cutright, when West fired at one of the Indians, saw another of them drop behind a log, and changing his position, espied him, where the log was a little raised from the earth. With steady nerves, he drew upon him. The moaning cry of the savage, as he sprang from the ground and moved haltingly away, convinced them that the shot had taken effect. The rest of the
Indians continued behind trees, until they observed a reinforcement coming up to the aid of the whites, and they
fled with the utmost precipitancy. Night soon coming on, those who followed them, had to give over the pursuit.
A company of fifteen men went early next morning to the battle ground, and taking the trail of the Indians and pursuing it some distance, came to where they had some horses (which they had stolen after the skirmish) hobbled out on a fork of Hacker's creek. They
then found the plunder which the savages had taken from neighboring houses, and supposing that their wounded warriors were near, the whites commenced looking for them, when a gun was fired at them by an Indian concealed in a laurel thicket, which wounded John
Cutright!(see footnote)
The whites then caught the stolen horses and returned with them and the plunder to the fort.
For some time after this, there was nothing occurring to indicate the presence of Indians in the Buchannon
settlement, and some of those who were in the fort, hoping that they should not be again visited by them this season, determined on returning to their homes. Austin
Schoolcraft was one of these, and being engaged in removing some of his property from the fort, as he and his niece were passing through a swamp in their way to his house, they were shot at by some Indians. Mr. Schoolcraft was killed and his niece taken prisoner.
L.V.Mc'Whorter says: "The branch of Hacker's creek
on which John Cutright was wounded, is now known as Laurel I.ick, near Berlin, W. Va."
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