MRS. RACHAEL HALL MUNSON.
MRS. SYLVIA HALL HORN.
INDIAN CREEK MONUMENT.
Inscribed thereon is: “William Hall, aged 45;
Mary J. Hall, aged 45; Elizabeth Hall, aged 8;
William Pettigrew, wife and two children; –– Davis,
wife and five children, and Emery George.
Killed May 20, 1832.”
“It was in 1832, as near as I now recollect, on or about the 15th or 16th of May, Old Shabbona, chief of the Pottawatomies, notified my father and other neighbors that the Sac and Fox Indians were hostile, and would in all probability make a raid on the settlement where we lived and murder us and destroy our property, and advised him to leave that part of the country (LaSalle County, Illinois) and seek a place of safety; but Indian rumors were so common, and some of our neighbors did not sufficiently credit this old Indian, and we were advised by them, in connection with others, to collect together as many as possible and stand our ground and defend each other; so after spending the night and consulting together and hiding all heavy property that we could, my father loaded up his wagon and we started for Ottawa, and meeting Mr. Davis, who lived about two and a half miles west, who had been at Ottawa the day before, and had learned that a company had gone out in a northerly direction, to see what they could learn about the Indian movement, who were to report on their return, to Mr. Davis, in case of danger, he, my dear father, was prevailed on by Davis to abandon his retreat and stop at Davis’, where Mr. Pettigrew and family, Mr. Howard and son, Mr. John H. Henderson and two men that were hired by Mr. Davis, Robert Norris and Henry George, were all stopping. On or about the 20th day of May myself and dear father were working under a shed adjoining a blacksmith shop, and on the west side, next to the dwelling house, Mr. Davis and Norris were at work in the shop. Henry George and William Davis, Jr., were at work on a mill dam a little south of the shop. It being a very warm day in the afternoon, someone brought a bucket of cool water from the spring to the shop, and we all went into the shop to rest a few minutes and quench our thirst.
“Brother Edward Hall, Greenberry Hall and Mr. Howard and son, Henderson and two of Mr. Davis’ sons were at this time in the field, on the south side of the creek, and in full view of the house, and about one-half mile from the house, planting corn. While we were sitting resting ourselves in the shop, we heard a scream at the house. I immediately said, ‘There are the Indians now!’ and jumped out of the door of the shop, it being on the opposite side from the house, and the others followed as fast as they could, and as we turned the corner of the shop, I discovered the dooryard full of Indians. I next saw the Indians jerk Mr. Pettigrew’s child, four or five months old, taking it by the feet and dashing its brains out against a stump. Seeing Mr. Pettigrew back in the house, I heard two guns, seemingly in the house, and then the tomahawk soon ended the cries of those in the house, and as near this moment as possible they fired about twenty shots at our party of five, neither of us being hurt, that I know of. The next motion of the Indians was to pour some powder down their guns and drop a bullet out of their mouths and raise their guns and fire; this time I heard a short sentence of a prayer to my right and a little behind. On turning my eyes to the right I saw that my dear father was lying on the ground shot in the left breast and expiring in death. On looking around, I saw the last one of the company were gone or going, and the Indians had jumped the fence and were making towards me. Mr. Davis was running in a northeast direction for the timber. Looked back and said, ‘Take care,’ he having his gun in his hands. I at this time discovered quite a number of Indians on horseback in the edge of the woods as though they were guarding the house, to prevent any escape. Then it flashed into my mind that I would try and save myself. I think there were 60 or 80 Indians. I immediately turned toward the creek, which was fifteen or twenty steps from where I stood. The Indians by this time were within three paces of me, under full charge, with their guns in hand. I jumped down the bank of the creek, about 12 feet, which considerably stunned me. At this moment the third volley was fired, the balls passing over my head, killing Mr. Norris and George, who were ahead of me, and who had crossed the creek to the opposite shore, one in the water and the other on the bank. I then passed as swiftly as possible down the stream, on the side next the Indians, the bank hiding me from them. I passed down about two miles, when I crossed and started for Ottawa, through the prairie, overtaking Mr. Henderson, who had started ahead of me, and we went together until we got within four miles of Ottawa, when we fell into company with Mr. Howard and son and three sons of Mr. Davis and my two brothers, all of whom were in the field referred to, except one of Mr. Davis’ sons, who was in the shop when the first alarm was given, and who immediately left when he heard the cry of Indians. We all went to Ottawa together in the short space of one hour or less, it being twelve miles (and the county seat of LaSalle County). Here we aroused the inhabitants and raised a company during the night and started the next morning for the dreadful scene of slaughter and butchery.
“On the way we met with Stillman’s defeated troops, who had been defeated a night or two before, they having encamped within four miles of where the bloodthirsty Indians passed the night, after they had killed my dear friends, and instead of going with us and helping bury the dead, they passed on to Ottawa, and we went to the place where the massacre took place. And what a scene presented itself! Here were some with their hearts cut out, and others cut and lacerated in too shocking a manner to mention, or behold without shuddering. We buried them all in great haste, in one grave, without coffin, box or anything of the kind, there to remain until Gabriel’s trump shall wake the nations under the ground, and call to life the sleeping dead.