Final installment on Lyme Twp. history

(Continued from last week)

"When he saw the house was still standing, he was happily disappointed. He asked father to muster what men he could and be ready to take the trail as soon as his men arrived, which would be in a few minutes. They saddled up at once and armed themselves the best they could by the time the other party arrived. They took the trail, followed up the brook into the plum thicket and then turned west and went about three-quarters of a mile onto the highest of the ridges near Mr. Russell's orchard.

They found where the Indians had lain all the day before. They found where they had broken off bushes to keep off the mosquitoes and 10 beds in the grass.

This was an open piece of ground where they had a full view of our house. There is no doubt but that our military display saved us from an attack. They seemed to apprehend pursuit for after leaving this place they made but one track, that is each one stepped exactly in the track of the other ahead of him. When they came to a log they would walk the whole length of it and then jump as far as they could in order to break the trail and delay pursuit.

They took a northeast direction near Bellevue and from there to near where Birdseye now lives and there got into heavy timber. There the captain and his party gave up the pursuit as they could not gain on them in thick timber and the Indians would be sure to reach their canoes on the bayshore before they could overtake them. They returned to our house, took refreshments and went back to Bloomingville; so ended the raid."

With Indians in the neighboring territory, pioneer residents of the territory immediately east of Bellevue were constantly alert and suspicious of any unusual noises when their origin could not be immediately established -- thus an old black horse was the unwitting cause of an 'In-dian scare,' Lyman Strong, one of the first settlers on the Ridge concludes his story of those early days. He wrote:

"Those were the only Indians that came to the Ridge as far as it is known, but they were frequently at the head of Cold Creek. At one time old Mr. Putman, aged about 70, and Mr. Snow went from Bloomingville to the head of the creek. When they came upon the hill they discovered a number of Indians, they turned and ran for their lives. Mr. Snow threw away his rifle, a very valuable one but Mr. Putman said he would hold on to his gun and did so and came in safe. Snow was very courageous when no enemy was near, but his legs would not wait for him on this occasion. He had to make another journey to get his rifle, which he found. The old gentleman did not make as good as time but kept his gun and the laugh was turned on Mr. Snow.

Still later in the season my brother Lester one morning about sunrise saw a hen hawk after the hens. He thought to kill it, but if flew down into the corn field and it lit on a dry tree. He started after it but when he got near the back side of the field he heard something moving. He looked down through the rows of corn and saw he thought to be two Indians running, one after another, to cut him off from the house. He started and made the best time he could and arrived safe.

Two or three brothers and myself slept in the loft which was high enough in the center to crawl in, the sides coming down to the floor. I, being awake, heard him come and tell his story. I expected any moment to hear the rifles crack and must say I hoped they would for this continual reports of Indians in this country and their depredations in different places made me anxious to try the reality of an Indian fight. I laid and waited to hear the first guns, calculating my chances.

No Indians appearing, the men took their guns and crept up the garden to see what discovery they could make and what do you think they found? Seth Brown's old black horse had jumped into the corn field, which was planted in rows both ways. When he discovered my brother he started to get out and when he ran past him, he of course thinking of Indians, which was first in everybody's mind, looking down through the corn rows saw his hind and fore legs in different rows and thought it was two Indians running one after the other."

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Bellevue Historian Bill Oddo writes a weekly column for The Bellevue Gazette.