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had charge of the hospital, a house near by, belonging to John Jerome, in which were forty-five wounded, among others Major Madison and Captain Hart, a brother of Mrs. Henry Clay. The building was fired, and Couture and Doctor Bower were stripped and tied by a band of Chippewas, and stood near the blazing ruins in momentary expectation of death. An old Ottawa chief by the name of Wau-gon, who had been a friend of Couture before the war, was reeling with drunkenness in the road near by. Couture beckoned to him; he came to him, recognized him and comprehending the horrors of his condition, put his fingers to his mouth and gave a shrill whistle. Immediately several Indians came running to the spot.

"Take care of him," said Wau-gon, pointing to Couture," he is my son; his father lies dead in the yard and I am now his father. Don't harm him." He gave Couture the name of Sa-gus na, which signifies "Be Brave.”

Couture, understanding that he was now safe, interceded successfully with his Indian father for the life of Doctor Bower. He was taken to Detroit and afterwards Couture saw him on their march to the Thames. Doctor Bower, who was surgeon's mate of the Fifth Kentucky Regiment, gives the following account of the murderous scene:

"Yours of the 5th instant, requesting me to give you a statement respecting the late disaster at Frenchtown, was duly received. Rest assured, sir, that it is with sensations the most unpleasant that I undertake to recount the infamous and barbarous conduct of the British and Indians after the battle of the 22d of January. The blood runs cold in my veins when I think of it.

"On the morning of the 23d, shortly after light, six or eight Indians came to the house of Jean Baptiste Jereaume, where I was, in company with Major Graves, Captains Hart and Hickman, Doctor Todd, and fifteen or twenty volunteers, belonging to different corps. They did not molest any person or thing on their first approach, but kept sauntering about until there was a large number collected (say one or two hundred), at which time they commenced plundering the houses of the inhabitants, and the massacre of the wounded prisoners. I was one amongst the first that was taken prisoner, and was taken to a horse about

twenty paces from the house, after being divested of part of my clothing, and commanded. by signs there to remain for further orders. Shortly after being there, I saw them knock down Captain Hickman at the door, together with several others with whom I was not acquainted. Supposing a general massacre had commenced, I made an effort to get to a house about one hundred yards distant, which contained a number of wounded, but on my reaching the house, to my great mortification, found it surrounded by Indians, which precluded the possibility of my giving notice to the unfortunate victims of savage barbarity. An Indian chief of the Tawa tribe of the name of McCarty, gave me possession of his horse and blanket, telling me by signs to lead the horse to the house which I had just before left. The Indian that first took me, by this time came up, and manifested a hostile disposition towards me, by raising his tomahawk as if to give me the fatal blow, which was prevented by my very good friend McCarty. On my reaching the house which I had first started from, I saw the Indians take off several prisoners, which I afterwards saw in the road, in a most mangled condition, and entirely stripped of their clothing.

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"Messrs. Bradford, Searls, Turner and Blythe, were collected round a carryall, which contained articles taken by the Indians from the citizens. We had all been placed there, by our respective captors, except Blythe, who came where we were entreating an Indian to convey him to Malden, promising to give him. forty or fifty dollars, and whilst in the act of pleading for mercy, an Indian more savage than the other, stepped up behind, tomahawked, stripped and scalped him. The next that attracted my attention was the houses on fire that contained several wounded, whom I knew were not able to get out. After the houses were nearly consumed, we received marching orders, and after arriving at Sandy Creek, the Indians called a halt and commenced cooking; after preparing and eating a little sweetened gruel, Messrs. Bradford, Searls, Turner and myself received some, and were eating, when an Indian came up and proposed exchanging his moccasins for Mr. Searl's shoes, which he readily complied with. They then exchanged hats, after which the Indian inquired how many men Harrison had with him, and, at the same time, calling Searls a Washington or

Madison, then raised his tomahawk and struck him on the shoulder, which cut into the cavity of the body. Searls then caught hold of the tomahawk and appeared to resist, and upon my telling him his fate was inevitable, he closed his eyes and received the savage blow which terminated his existence. I was near enough to him to receive the brains and blood, after the fatal blow, on my blanket. A short time after the death of Searls, I saw three others share a similar fate. We then set out for Brownstown, which place we reached about 12 or 1 o'clock at night. After being exposed to several hours' incessant rain in reaching that place, we were put into the Council-house, the floor of which was partly covered with water, at which place we remained until next morning, when we again received marching orders for their village on the River Rouge, which place we made that day, where I was kept six days, then taken to Detroit and sold. more detailed account of the proceedings, I take the liberty of referring you to a publication which appeared in the public prints, signed by Ensign J. L. Baker, and to the publication of Judge Woodward, both of which I have particularly examined, and find them to be literally correct, so far as came under my notice."

For a

The fate of Captain Hart was a very sad one. He had been wounded, and when the Indians came up to the hospital he offered a friendly Pottawatomie chief by the name of Os-a-med $100 if he would conduct him safely to Malden. The chief attempted the service, threw his blanket over the captain, lifted him upon his pony and started for Detroit. They had proceeded but a short distance before Captain Hart fell from his saddle with a bullet in his brain, fired by a Chippewa. This Indian stripped him and scalped him, leaving his body a prey to the wolves. In the night, after the Indians had departed, Couture, with the help of a settler by the name of Chovin, buried the body of Captain Hart in a hollow made by the roots. of a fallen tree, first covering it with bark.

As some controversy subsequently arose as to the manner and time of Captain Hart's massacre, I here add the statement of Judge Laurent Durocher, a member of our territorial Legislature, for many years a Judge of Probate for the county of Monroe, and his statements are regarded reliable by many of our citizens

now living. I also add the statement of P. Lecuyer to Major Charles Larned, of Detroit, less than two months after the massacre, together with the letter of the Hon. Daniel S. Bacon, addressed to the Hon. R. McClelland.

The following is Judge Durocher's narrative of Captain Hart's massacre:

"In the action of January 22, 1813, Captain Hart received a wound in one of his ankles. He was taken prisoner by a Pottawatomie Indian about the same time that General Winchester was taken in the attempt to rally the flying soldiers, and near the place where the general was captured. After Captain Hart was murdered, the Indian who took him captive declared that he intended to have saved his life. When the captain was taken, his captor made him remain on the horse he had been riding, and led the animal, with his rider upon him, toward the battle ground. He then made signs to Captain Hart to follow him up the River Raisin, to get out of the way of the other Indians. On their way up the river, about 100 rods west from the battle ground, the Indian stopped at the house of Antoine Campeau and made signs to Captain Hart to proceed, which he accordingly did. On arriving in front of Francis Lasselle's house, which was about forty rods up the river from Campeau's, he stopped the horse in the road and hailed; and when Lasselle partially opened the front. door, Captain Hart earnestly entreated that he would save him from the hands of the Indians. Lasselle answered sorrowfully that it was out of his power to save him; that in the morning, at the beginning of the action, several Indians, mostly Wyandots, had come into the yard back of his (Lasselle's) house, and asked who were within, particularly inquiring if any Americans were there; and on being answered by Lasselle from an upper window that there were no Americans there, and no one at all except women and children, the Indians had warned him not to suffer any one to come in, and to keep his doors and window shutters closely shut, for if an American were found in his house every one in it should be killed and all the buildings should be destroyed.

"As the road appeared clear of Indians, Mr. Lasselle thought the best and only way for Captain Hart would be to proceed with his captor to his brother, James Lasselle, whose influence with the Indians would save him, and said

that he himself would accompany the captain but for the apprehension that, in his absence, some Indians might come into his house and commit acts of pillage and cruelty or murder. During this conversation the Indian already mentioned had overtaken Captain Hart, and Francis Lasselle spoke to him and entreated him in the most earnest manner to take good care of the captain, to which he signified his willingness.

"Captain Hart in despair followed the In. dian. Unfortunately, in the next house (which was about fifteen rods distant from the dwelling of Lasselle) were five Delaware Indians, who had entered it seeking for plunder, and had found some whisky and become intoxicated. This Lasselle did not know. As the Indian and Captain Hart came in front of his house, the Indians within the house called to the one in the road to come in. He went to the gate, leading the horse on which Captain Hart was, tied the halter to the gate-post, and went in. One of the Indians from within, standing at the door, leveled his rifle at Captain Hart and shot him in the breast. Another ran and scalped him and tomahawked him and left the body stretched in the road almost naked. Then the Indian who had captured Captain Hart, feeling very much grieved at the outrage, threatened threatened to avenge his death; and would have killed the one who shot the captain, had it not been for the interference of the others, who prevented him.

"As the Indians had threatened and warned the inhabitants that they should not remove the bodies of Americans lying exposed in the roads or elsewhere, the body of Captain Hart remain ed on the same spot until in the night, when one Joseph Ruland (who occupied the house), with some others, took it and placed it in a potato hole from which the potatoes had been previously taken out, and covered it up well until the next night. The next day Messrs. Chovin, Campeau and St. Cosme dug a grave in a thicket back of a field, on Robert Navarre's farm, and under the protection of the darkness of the night, wrapped up the body in a piece of carpet and buried it there.

"Mr. St. Cosme has informed Judge Bacon, of Monroe, that he was in the road and saw Captain Hart shot; that he fell from his horse instantly on being shot and died without a groan.

Some years after, at the request of a

friend from Lexington then at Monroe for the purpose, the grave was opened and the lower jaw taken out, and the visitor carried it away with him."

DETROIT, 9th March, 1818.

Major Charles Larned

DEAR SIR: My best endeavors to procure from Lasselle or others, honorary notes of the circumstances attending the death of Captain Hart, were in vain; they promised, but their neglect to perform compelled me to leave River Raisin without them. However, the following is the substance of the history they gave of it as far as I can recollect.

Yours very sincerely,

P. LECUYER.

Captain Hart in the action ofthe 22d January, 1813, received a wound in his leg or ankle (they disagree), and among other wounded took refuge in Jerome's house. Whether before or after the general massacre (I did not learn or do not recollect) he chanced to fall in the hands of a Pottawatomie Indian who considered him his prisoner, and, as is reported, intended to take him to Malden; at all events, from the mild treatment Captain Hart received from this Indian, no doubt is entertained of his intention to save him. He caused Captain Hart to mount his own (Captain Hart's) horse, and, if I remember well, gave him his saddle bags, then beckoned the Captain to follow him up. the river. When they arrived opposite old. Campeau's the Indian stopped, and as he was going into the house, made signs to Captain Hart to proceed, which he did until he arrived opposite Mr. Lasselle's, and finding him within call, he most earnestly entreated him to rescue him from the barbarous hands of the savages; to which Mr. Lasselle grievingly assured him "that it was not in his power to save him; that, since the morning, five of the Delaware Indians had taken possession of his house and were constantly offering him insults and threatening to burn up his property, and in fact were using every means to find an apparently plausible cause to begin their hellish deeds; and should he attempt to shelter him, he (Captain Hart) not only would be exposed to more danger and undoubtedly the first victim, but afford a pretext to these savages to destroy lives and property indiscriminately; that, as it then appeared, the road being clear of Indians, the best and

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only way for him would be for him to proceed to his brother James, whose influence with the Indians, he had no doubt, would save him, and he would follow him thither if it was in his power to get rid of the Indians.”

Captain Hart, then, with the deepest anguish and despair depicted in his face, turned away his head and rode on. Most unfortunately the next house above Lasselle's was full of Indians, the greatest part of whom were intoxicated, which circumstance, Lasselle says, he then was totally ignorant of; and as soon as Captain Hart came in sight of them, one leveled his rifle at him and shot him through the breast; another ran, scalped him and sunk the head of his tomahawk into the back of his skull, as the hole, yet to be seen through that part, fully proves.

As the Indians had positively declared that whoever should dare to touch one of the bodies of these American dogs should share the same fate, Captain Hart's body, consequently, remained on the same spot nearly two days; and at last, Messrs. Lacroix and Lasselle's humane feelings prevailing over all apprehensions of the consequences, they resolved to pay to his remains (as they expressed themselves) the last tribute of their respect due his memory, and, after having in daytime reconnoitered a suitable place for the purpose, they, aided by an old man named Chovin, under the protection of the darkness of night, went and deposited his remains in a grave.

MONROE, March 29th, 1858.

Hon. R. McClelland

DEAR SIR: The accompanying statement of our friend Durocher I had intended giving to you personally and to have made some explanation, that you might not err in putting it in form.

Lest I might not see you on my way east, I enclose the paper with the request of the Judge, to which I add my own, that it be prepared for publication.

I will add that St. Cosme has informed me that he was in the road and near Captain Hart when shot; that he fell from his horse instantly on being shot without a word or a groan.

He says further, that some years after, at the request of some Lexington friend, then here for the purpose, the grave was opened and the

under jaw taken by said friend. I have the promise of our friend that he will commence a history of the settlement of this county. Respectfully Yours,

D. S. BACON.

Jack Brady (before mentioned) also captured Whitemore Knaggs, the old Pottawatomie agent, and father of George and James Knaggs, of the Raisin valley. Some time before the war Knaggs had caused Jack to be flogged for some offense, and now supposed as a matter of course he would be slain, but Jack re-assured him with promises of safety. Before they arrived at the camp they were met by a band of Pottawatomies who with upraised tomahawks rushed toward Knaggs. Jack stepped between them and his prisoner, told them they must kill him before they killed Knaggs, and saved him from massacre.

This same Jack Brady, a few days before the massacre of the Raisin, in conversation with Harry Hunt, of Detroit, said that if occasion ever offered he would be kind to the Yankees and bring any that might fall into his hands to Detroit without injury. This promise he so far fulfilled as to drag from the buildings at the time of the massacre, a large Kentuckian by the name of John Green, who had been wounded in the engagement. wounded in the engagement. Wrapping him carefully in his blanket he laid him in the bottom of his carryall and started on a trot for Detroit. The next morning Hunt saw Jack drive up in front of the town, and with one or two friends went out to see him.

"Well, Jack," he enquired, "have you brought us some venison to-day?"

"Yes, Harry Hunt," replied the Indian, throwing his blanket off the captive, "good Yankee venison."

"There, Harry Hunt," he continued, as soon as discovered that the prisoner was one of the Raisin captives, "I told you. Jack Brady can

not lie."

Mr. Hunt purchased the liberty of Green, took him to his house and afterwards restored him to his friends, who supposed he was slain. Soon after he enlisted under Harrison to avenge the death of his comrades.

On the retreat of the Indians from the engagement of the 18th, some of them entered

the cabin of Achan Labo, an old Frenchman living upon Sandy Creek. They killed Labo and his son-in-law, John Soleau. Two children, Alexis and Genevieve, crept between the beds, where they remained all night without discovery, and by running barefooted the next day a mile or more over frozen ground, escaped with their lives.

The lives of the French inhabitants, in consideration of former kindness to the Indians, were generally spared, and they exerted themselves in behalf of the suffering captives and saved some from untimely graves. After the battle of the 22d the Indians came into the house of Colonel Francis Navarre, and according to statements of Mrs. Navarre, piled up the bloody scalps they had just cut from the beads of these brave Kentuckians, upon her table against the wall, making a high heap, of which she could not reach the top. This incident was confirmed by the statement of the nephew of Colonel Navarre, who at the time of the battle of the Raisin was young. He had taken refuge with others in the house of his uncle, and was an eye witness of many of the bloody scenes of the battle, and said he did not feel frightened until he saw the burning buildings on the morning of the 22d; then he feared their turn might come next.

The following incident will show how the Indians were paid by the British for their horrid work at the battle of the Raisin. Squa-gana-ba, an old chief of the Ottawas, died in 1868, and a medal was found hanging on his neck which he had worn fifty-four years, and which was presented to him in 1814 by the British Government for the part he had taken in killing and scalping the Americans at the River Raisin

massacre.

On the 2d of February, 1813, one of the United States Judges, Augustus B. Woodward, of Detroit, wrote to General Proctor, the British commander, stating the barbarities of which the Indians had been guilty after the battle and capitulation of the Raisin. He charges that the American prisoners were tomahawked by the savages, some of them shot, some burned, and that the buildings of many of the settlers had been destroyed by fire. General Proctor requested him to substantiate his statements by proofs, and Judge Woodward presented for his consideration the following affidavits :

TERRITORY OF MICHIGAN, I SS. District of Detroit,

Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, one of the Justices of the Peace in the District of Detroit, Joseph Robert, an inhabitant on the River Aux Raisins, who being duly sworn on the Holy Evangelists, deposes and says that on the next day after the battle on the River Raisin, a short time after sunrise, he saw the Indians kill the American prisoners with their tomahawks, and they also shot several; that the Indians set the houses in which the prisoners were on fire, and that in going out the prisoners were massacred as aforesaid, i. e., three men shot the others were killed in their houses and burned with them. The Indians burned first the house of Jean Baptiste · Jereaume, and afterwards that of Gabriel Godfroy, jr. The deponent has been informed that there were about fifty prisoners in the two houses. The deponent has seen dead bodies on the highway which the hogs were tearing and eating. eating. He also says that Baptiste Couture (father of Medard Couture) was killed near deponent's house on the day of the second battle, a little after sunrise. The Indians have often threatened to burn deponent's house and barn if he did not march against the AmeriJOSEPH ROBERT.

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Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, one of the Justices of the Peace in the District of Detroit, Antoine Boulard, of the River Aux Raisins, who, being duly sworn on the Holy Evangelists, deposes and says that on the next day after the last battle on the River Aux Raisins, he saw the Indians kill the Secretary of the American General, who was on the horse of the Indian who had taken him prisoner. He fell on one side and an Indian came up and finished him with a sabre, scalped him and carried away his clothes. The body remained two days on the highway before the door of the deponent, and was partly eaten up by the hogs. Afterward the deponent, together with Francois Lasselle, Hubert Lacroix, Charles Chovin and Louis Lajoy, took up the remains at dusk and carried them into a field

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