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Found this and thought it would be of interest to most of us.
Subject: The Long Hunter-Pitts-Martin
The Long Hunter
The Long Hunter by Emory L. Hamilton, p. 29, The Mountain Empire Genealogical
Quarterly, Spring l984. The Long Hunter was peculiar to Southwest Va., only
and nowhere else on any frontier did such hunts ever originate. True, there
were hunters and groups of hunters on all frontiers in pioneer days, but they
were never organized and publicized as the long hunts which originated on the
Va. frontier. Most, if not all of the long hunts originated on the Holston in
the vicinity of present day Chilhowie, but were made up of hunters who lived
on both the Clinch and Holston rivers. The idea of this manuscript is to
prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that these long hunters were native to the
area and were land owners, or residents along the waters of these two rivers.
Perhaps no group in history, who contributed so much to the knowledge of the
topography of our county, have been so nearly completely by-passed by
historians as have the long hunter of the late colonial days. In almost every
instance when the pioneer settler moved toward the extreme frontier, he had
long since been proceeded by the long hunter. When the first settlers were
arriving at Wolf Hills (Abingdon) and Cassell’s Woods in l768 and l769, the
long hunters had long ago by-passed these points and were then hunting far
away in the Ohio and Cumberland river basins of Ky. and western Tenn. Most of
the rivers and streams, gaps, salt licks, mountains and valleys had long ago
been named by these hunters. When the lst settlers arrived, they, in most
cases, adopted the names bestowed by the long hunters on natural land marks,
with very few changes, and we are still using most of them after a lapse of
nearly two centuries. Dr. Thomas Walker, on his trip to the Ohio, entered in
his Journal on April 9, l750, this statement: “We traveled to a river, which
I supposed to be that which hunters call Clinch’s river, from on Clinch a
hunter who first found it.” This entry was made almost twenty years before a
settlement was made on the Clinch River and leaves little doubt as to how the
river got its name. In the annals of American history there is no braver lot
than these early hunters. Not only did they endure the rigorous winters in
crude shelters, but the danger of sickness, privation, exposure, hunting
accidents, and the very real and ever present danger of being scalped by the
Indians. They were especially disliked by the Indians, being looked upon as
robbers of their hunting grounds, which they truly were, and also, as
forerunners of the ever-spreading, land-clearing, soil-tilling settler. Just
why was this particular group of men given to hunting, instead of tilling the
soil as most settlers? Perhaps there are three answers to this question;
first, the spirit of adventure born in some people which they are unable to
quell, among whom were James Dysart and Castleton Brooks who were quite
well-to-do, as well as Colonel James Knox, who is referred to as the leader
of the long hunters and who later became very wealthy. Secondly, there were
those who enjoyed, above all else, the spirit of the hunt, among whom were
Elisha Wallen, William Carr, Isaac Bledsoe, and others, who, all their lives
were hunters and nothing but hunters. The last answer, but certainly not the
least, was the profit derived from these hunts. it was not uncommon for a h
unter to realize sixteen to seventeen hundred dollars for his season’s take,
and this was far in excess of what he could earn in almost any other
lucrative endeavor. The hides and pelts were sold along the coast, where
animals were not longer plentiful, and in England, for making leather,
especially buffalo skins. The British market was lost at the outbreak of the
Rev. War and the long hunts were never again pursued after the Rev. War
began. The long hunter today would be called a scientist, naturalist,
explorer, or some other high-sounding name, for he had to be master of many
arts. He knew the sky and what a sunset foretold; he knew the wind and could
tell it by smell, as to weather dry or moist, and could wet his finger with
spittle and tell in which direction it was blowing. He could, in numerous
ways, tell the seasons, predict the weather, and by the stars he could tell
the time and direction. He knew the plants and where they grew, and by
feeling the moss and shaggy bark of a tree, determine the north and find his
direction by night. He knew the medicinal properties of plants and how to
treat his wounds and ailments there from. He knew his rifle, how to use it,
repair it, and even in some instances how to make one. He knew the use of the
hunting and skinning knife, the tomahawk, and other tools and weapons of the
hunt and the kill, which was often times the kill of an Indian whose skill
and cunning he was forced to match and outwit in order to survive. He was
aware of , and knew the habits and animals and birds and was able to
distinguish the true call of such from the imitation by an Indian. He
received his training from masters of natural history to survive. The very
toys of his childhood were imitations of his future life. The long hunters
usually went out in Oct. and returned the latter part of March, or early in
April. Their winter’s take consisted of both fur pelts and hides, especially
the hides of buffalo which were want only slaughtered for the hides only, the
carcass left to be devoured by animals and vultures. There are recorded
events where hundreds and, a few times, where thousands were slain, and
certainly the Indian was justified in his feelings that his hunting grounds
were being robbed. The best descriptions of the long hunters have been left
to us by John Reed, who knew many of them intimately, both in his native
Pittsylvania Co., and also in Powell Valley when he came to Martin’s station
in l775. According to Reed, the long hunters seldom hunted in parties larger
than two or three men. their reasons for this were two-fold: first, larger
parties were more apt to scare game away, and secondly, the Indians were less
likely to become suspicious of a small group robbing their hunting grounds,
not to mention that smaller parties were less likely to be discovered by the
Indians. Redd tells a very interesting story about Powell Valley that was
related to him by the long Hunter, William Carr. “Twelve miles south of
Martin’s Station on Powell River, there was a very rich piece of bottom land
call “rob Camp”. In this there was the remains of an old hunting camp from
which the land took its name. Some five years before Martin’s Station was
settled (Martin first came to Lee county in l769, explored the valley, but
stayed only a few days. He returned in l775 and established his Station,
hence the referred to event must have taken place in l770), three men, with
two horses each, and with their traps, guns and other necessary equipment for
a long hunt, settled down in the bottom above alluded to; built a camp and
spent the fall, winter and part of the spring there in hunting.” At that time
peace existed between the whites and Indians. These hunters were very succe
ssful in killing game and lived in perfect harmony with the Indians, who
frequently visited the hunters and congratulated them upon their success in
taking game. This intimacy continued until the spring, at which time, the
hunters concluded that they had as much fur and skins as they could
conveniently carry home. Accordingly, they commenced packing loaded their
horses and were in the act of setting off for home, with the earnings of
their successful hunt, when twelve or fifteen Indians came up, took
possession of their horses, furs, guns, and in fact all the hunters had, and
in exchange gave them three of their old guns, and told the hunters that the
land they were hunting on belonged to the Indians, and also the game, that
they would spare their lives that time, but cautioned them never to return.
Reed tells of another interesting camp he saw in Powell Valley. He states: ”
I was b. on the 25th day of Oct. l755. In Jan. l775, when we were on our way
out to settle Martin’s Station in Powell’s valley, in going down Wallen’s
Creek, near its junction with Powell river, where the hills closed in very
near the creek, was found the remains of an old hunting camp, and in front of
the camp the bones of two men were lying bleached. they were said to be the
bones of two men who went out hunting in the fall of l773 and never returned.
their names I have forgotten. In another letter to Dr. Lyman C. Draper, Redd
has this to say in his answer to a query made by Draper: “The remains of the
camp I saw in Powell Valley were on its north side; and as well as my memory
serves me, were within forty or fifty yards of the mouth of Wallen’s creek at
the ford of Powell/s river. The camp was built beside a large limestone rock
which served for the back of the camp. The names of the persons whose bones I
saw there I should be unable to accurately distinguish were I to hear them.
continued…
This may be possibly the camp pitched by Bonne’s war party. The bones I saw
were not known certainly to be those of the two long hunters having gone on a
long hunt in Powell Valley in l773, who had not returned. The camp was eight
or ten miles from Martin’s Station. Redd’s reference to “Boone’s war party”
must be a reference to the spot where Daniel Boone’s party camped in l773 to
await the party coming to join them from Castlewood, which was ambushed and
massacred near the head of Wallen’s Creek on Oct. l0, l773. the location
described by Redd also fits the general location of Elisha Wallen’s hunting
camp of l76l. Redd says the long hunters set out with two pack horses each a
large supply of powder and lead, a small hand vise and bellows, a screwplate
and files for repairing their rifles, and while he makes no mention of it,
they also carried a supply of flour and bread. In fact, on the way out they
could carry quite a lot of supplies as each hunter had two pack horses. The
long hunters went out together in large parties, built a station camp, then
fanned out in twos and threes to range and hunt over large areas. The first
known station camp established in Powell’s Valley was that of Elisha Wallen
in l76l. It is thought his party consisted of eighteen or nineteen men, but
since no list has been preserved, only the names of a very few are known
certainly to have been in the party. Wallen’s station camp, set up at the
mouth of Wallen’s Creek, was probably like other station camps, built of
poles, sometime only eight-ten feet, covered with puncheions or bark, walls
on three sides the front open, along which a fire was built for warmth.
Upright poles were set up—often a forked pole was driven into the ground,
with a cross pole on which the bark or pucheons were laid, sloping toward the
back in order to drain melting snow or rain away from the fire. This type of
shelter was known as “Half-faced” camps. Other times an extra large
already-fallen tree or large rock was used for the backwall of such a camp
shelter. Some of Wallen’s party are said to have seen the eleven-year-old
carving of the name of Powell and so named the valley, river and mountain.
Ambrose Powell had been a member of Dr. Thomas Walker’s exploring party of
l750. Redd says that when he knew Wallen on Smith’s river in Pittsylvania Co.
in l774, he was then some forty years old and had been a long hunter for many
years before. that he usually hunted on a range of mountains lying on the
east of Powells’ Valley and from Wallen to the mountain took its name. Wallen
described the ridge and surrounding country on which he hunted as abounding
in almost every known specie of game. The animals and birds had been intruded
on so seldom that they did not fear his presence, but rather regarded him as
a benefactor, but soon learned to flee from his presence. Wallen, along with
Blevins and Coaxes, who were connected by marriage, lived on Smith’s river in
Pittsylvania Co. in l774. they owned no land, but were squatters. During the
Rev. War, the Va. Legislature passes a law that British subjects who owned
land must come in and take the oath of allegiance or their lands would be
confiscated. Redd says that some in Pittsylvania Co. did this, and Wallen,
the Blevinses and Coxes, packed up “enmass” and moved to the frontier for
fear they would have to pay many years back rent as squatters. He states that
the Blevins and Cox families settled on Holston River, above Long Island,,
(now Kingport) and that Wallen settled on the Holston about eighteen miles
above Knoxville, and that in l776 he stopped by to see him, and was informed
by Wallen’s wife that he had then been on a hunt for two months. Redd further
states that Wallen later moved to Powell Valley, lived there a short time and
then moved to Mo. Redd’s statement of Wallen’s movements is borne out by a
letter written to Dr. Draper by F.A. Wallen, a nephew to Elisha, from
Fairlan, Livingston Co., Mo., dated Oct. l5, l853, in which he says: “He
(Elisha) moved from Va. to Tenn. thence to Ky., thence to Washington Co. Mo.
at a very early date.” That Elisha Wallen lived for sometime in Powell
Valley, near Martin’s Station is further proven by a letter to Col. William
Martin, son of Gen. Joseph Martin who built Martin’s Station. This letter is
dated Dixon Springs, (Tenn.) 7 July l842, and is also to Dr. Draper. In the
letter William Martin tells of going on hunting trips with Wallen who lived
near his father’s station in Powell Valley. He said Wallen told him of going
back and forth to Pittsylvania Co. where he lived, of his helping col.
(William) Byrd establish fort Chiswell (l76l) of being at fort Loudon, and of
building a fort at Long Island of Houston. Col. Martin says that he was
intimately acquainted with Wallen in his latter days. The time col. Martin
knew Wallen was in l785 and thereafter, as he did not come out to his
father’s station in Powell Valley until l785. In Wallen’s party of l76l, some
were known to hunt as fart away as the Cumberland river in western Tenn.
Among those known to have been in this party, besides Wallen, there was his
father-in-law Jack Blevins, his brother-in-law, William Blevins, Charles Cox,
William Newman, William Pitman, Henry Scaggs, Uriah Stone, Michael Stoner;
James Harrod and William Carr. At this time, William Pittman was in his early
twenties, six feet tall and of fine appearance. There were several Pittmans
and more than one named William. Of this William Pittman, John Redd says; “In
the latter part of Feb.l776, Pittman and Scaggs came to Martin’s Station in
Powell Valley. They were returning from a long hunt they had taken in the
“Brush” on the northwest side of Cumberland Mountain. They returned earlier
than usual and their reason for doing so was that they had seen a great smoke
some distance off which they knew was Indian “ring-hunting”, and besides,
they had seen Indian tracks through the woods, where they were hunting;
whereupon they set out for home. They spent some eight to ten days at the
Station. While they were with us, they showed some silver ore they had found
on top of a little hill in their hunting ground. They said that while they
were hunting, a snow fell some twelve to eighteen inches deep. Scaggs and
Pittman went out through the snow to kill some game. after going a short
distance from their camp, they discovered that on top of a certain hill,
there was no snow, while all the surrounding hills were covered with it. This
led them to go upon the hill and see the cause of its not being covered with
snow like the rest. On arriving at the summit of the hill, they discovered
that it was covered with a very heavy kind of ore. Each of them put some of
the ore in their shot bag and returned to camp.” “When they arrived at the
camp, they took some of the ore, and by means of their hand bellows and some
thick oak bark, it was melted and they found it to be silver ore. They
brought it back with them to Martin’s Station—the silver they had extracted
and some of the ore. The silver was pronounced by all who saw it to be very
pure.” “Scaggs & Pittman were said to be men of a very high sense of honor
and very great truth. By the next fall the war with the Indians broke out and
they went no more on their long hunts.” He further states that in l776 Scaggs
and Pittman lived on New river. In Washington Co., Va., Land Entry Book I, p.
86, dated Nov. 8, l782, I find where William Pittman once owned the land on
sugar Hill, overlooking St. Paul. Va. This is the land upon which John
English settled in l772, where his wife and children were killed by Indians
in l787, and which he sold to the Bench Baron Pierre De Tubeuf in l79l, and
the site where the Baron was murdered in l795. The land had changed hands
many times by assignment of warrant before the Baron bought it. English
obtained it from Henry Hamlin who had obtained it from Joseph Drake, another
long hunter, and Drake had gotten it from William Pittman, who in turn had
received it from Thomas Pittman and Joseph Drake. Just what relation Thomas
was to the long hunter, William Pittman, is unknown. Henry Scaggs left the
area and moved on into Ky., dying on Pittman’s Creek in Taylor Co., Ky.,
about l808 or l809, upwards of 80 years old. Collins, in his “History of
Ky.”, says: “He was six feet tall, dark skinned, bony, bold, enterprising and
fearless. He and his brother (Perhaps Charles) were noted hunters, and
nothing but hunters. It was from Scaggs that Scaggs Creek in Rockcastle Co.,
Ky., got its name. In l779 Henry Scaggs wads living on the Clinch in Tenn.
continued…
He
had been hunting for twenty years on the other side of the mountain, and this
fall in addition to a party of upwards of twenty men, with extra pack horses,
he took his young son. In Powell Valley, his party had the not-very-unusual
luck of being attacked by Indians, who, though they killed no man, took
eleven of their horses. All the hunters turned back except Scaggs, his son,
and a man remembered only by the name of Sinclair (undoubtedly this was
Charles Sinclair who lived on New river at Sinclar’s Bottom). Scaggs’ young
son sickened and died on this trip and because of the severe winter of
l779-80, the ground was so frozen he had to bury him in a hollow tree.” the
severity of this winter is attested in many Rev. War pension claims. Of
William Carr little is known, except the little left to us in the
Reminiscences of John Redd, who says: “He was raised in Albemarle Co., Va.,
and at a very early age removed to the frontier. In l775 I became acquainted
with him in Powell’s Valley. He lived on the frontier for twenty years or
more and had spent the whole time hunting, Carr hunted over in Ky., beyond
the Cumberland Mountains to the right of Cumberland Gap in a place called
“the bush”. Carr always returned with his horses laden with furs and skins.
He described the game as being so gentle the animals rarely run from the
report of his gun.” “Carr was the most venturesome hunter I ever knew. He
would frequently go on these hunting expeditions alone. After the breaking
out of the Indian War of l776, few men ventured on these long hunts. Carr
determined to take one more long hunt, and as no one would go with him, he
determined to go alone. I do not know just where Carr resided on the
frontier. it is hard to trace the name since the records show both a William
Carr and William Kerr, and whether they are one and the same I do not know.
In a land suit in Augusta Superior Court in l809, (Fugate vs. Mahan) with the
land in question lying on Moccasin Creek, Agness Fugate Mahan, widow of
Francis Fugate, said: “that in l77l, Francis Fugate purchased the land in
question from William Carr, a “Negro man of color”, and that Carr was
supposed to have bought the land from John Morgan, one of the first settlers
in that area.” In the same suit John Montgomery, another witness said:
“William Carr is supposed to be a near relation to Gen. Joseph Martin.”
rockhound,
I seem to remember a thread asking about the Wallens and I thought you had started it but a search brought only this thread. Here’s some detailed info on the Wallens family that I came across.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~vahsswv/historicalsketches/1983-no16/trackingwallin.html
Jim
Rockhound,
Hat-tip for this much needed posting.
“Wallen”, “Wallin”, “Walling”, “Walden/Walding”, and even “Walker” appear to be, and I think are, the same family grouping in an area stretching from Albemarle Va into NE Tenn in the 1740s to 1800 period. The “Walker” spelling interpretation, is by my personal reading of the early land and deed records of earlier King William/Essex and when later created, Spotsylvania & Orange Co’s, a misreading of “Wallen” as rendered in its cursive form in that era. Most of these records are in early Spotsylvania county.
My personal hypothesis, albeit unproven and also possibly unprovable, is that there is a Monacan derivative base, spliting to the north, west and separatively to the south during the 1740s which accounts for the common surname relatedness and for these related lines living near each other in the late 1700s on the NC/Va borders and in early 1800s SW Va, NE Tn and NW/Central NC, with a similar/related surname grouping in the early NW Territory and early Ohio. Don’t jump on this… it’s far from being factual – just a work in progress, but it will only be here if it can be supported.
Jim,
Thanks for the addition – it adds alot.
Bill
Bill Childs wrote: Rockhound,
Hat-tip for this much needed posting.
Bill
Well thank you.
I am trying to make it a habit that if I come across anything remotely connected to names I see here at Saponitown, even if they may not be my kin, that I post it because it may open a door for someone else (and I hope others will do the same for my Riddle, Ridle, Ridley line 😀 ).
I can’t remember now, but I think Elisha Wallen is connected to my group in some way…
I have seen the Martin surname mentioned here often and have wondered if there is a connection between these Martins and Martinsville, VA (Henry Co.) I have also wondered about Gibsonville, which is due south in NC, just outside Greensboro. Does anyone know the origins of these town names? I realize they are both common names…just curious
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