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ANNE NEWPORT ROYALL 519 SKETCHES OF HISTORY, LIFE~ AND MANNERS~ IN THE UNITED STATES (1826) from Kenhawa County As this famous county is to be a link in the chain which is to connect that part of Virginia east of the mountains with the whole of the western country, I have been at some pains to pick up every thing respecting it. As curiosity leads one to trace things to their origin, such as the history ofcountries , and remarkable events, I have traced this part ofVirginia as far back as the year seventeen hundred and seventy-four, to the memorable battle of the Point [Battle ofPoint Pleasant, in 1774, a pivotal Revolutionary War battle], fought between the whites and the Indians, at the mouth of this river [the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers]. I have seen several men who were in that bloody and hard fought battle, and have just returned from viewing the ground on which it was fought. I have seen that part occupied by the ''Augusta militia," commanded by Gen. Lewis, and that by the Indians . I have seen the bones ofthe latter sticking in the bank ofthe Ohio river; part of the bank having fallen in where the battle was fought discloses their bones sticking out in a horizontal position: the engagement lasted from sunrise till dark; the victory was claimed by the whites. From this bank, which is a hundred feet, or thereabouts, in height, I had a view of the beautiful river Ohio: at this place it is said to be five hundred yards wide. This river, which is justly celebrated for its beauty and utility, flows in a smooth current as silent as night; not the least noise can be heard from it; not the smallest ripple is seen. This, and its limpid appearance, the rich foliage which decorates its banks and looks as though it were growing in the water, by reason of its luxuriance, completely conceals the earth, and constitutes its beauty. If the reader can imagine a vast mirror of endless dimension, he will have an idea of this beautiful river. It is so transparent that you may see pebbles at the bottom; not a rock or stone of any size, has a place in the Ohio. Kenhawa is a very handsome river, being generally as smooth as the Ohio, but by no means so limpid; it has a greenish appearance; you cannot see the bottom, except at the shoals. And more than all this. I have seen the celebrated heroine, Ann Bailey, who richly deserves more of her country, than a name in its history. This female is a Welch woman, and is now very old. At the time Gen. Lewis's army lay at the Point, a station on Kenhawa river, Ann would shoul- 520 LISTEN HERE der her rifle, hang her shot-pouch over her shoulder, and lead a horse laden with ammunition to the army, two hundred miles distant, when not a man could be found to undertake the perilous task-the way thither being a perfect wilderness, and infested with Indians. I asked her ifshe was not afraidshe replied, "No, she was not; she trusted in the Almighty-she knew she could only be killed, and she had to die some time." I asked her ifshe never met with the Indians in her various journies. (for she went several times.) "Yes, she once met with two, and one ofthem said to the other let us kill her, (as she supposed, from the answer of the other). No, said his companion, God dam, too good a soger, and let her pass:" but how said I, did you find the way,-"Steered by the trace of Lewis's army, and I had a pocket compass too." "Well, but how did you get over the water courses?"-Some she forded, and some she swam, on others she made a raft: she "halways carried a hax and a hauger, and she could chop as well has hany man;" such was her dialect . This is a fact that hundreds can attest. A gentleman informed, that while the army was stationed near the mouth of Elk, he walked down that river to where it intersects with Kenhawa, for the purpose of fishing; he had not remained long there before he heard a plunge in the water, and upon looking up, he discovered Ann on horseback swimming toward him; when the horse gained the landing, she observed, "cod, I'd...

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