about 1784 and '85, boats ascending the ohio river were often fired upon by the indians, and sometimes the crew were all killed or made prisoners. a t that time, the whites had no settlements on either side of the ohio. but kentucky contained several very important stations. in 1785, captain james ward descended the river, under circumstances, which rendered a meeting with the indians peculiarly to be dreaded.

the captain with half a dozen others, one of them his nephew, embarked in a crazy boat, about forty-five long, and eight feet wide, with no other bulwark than a single pine plank, above each gunnel. the boat was much encumbered with baggage, and seven horses were on board. having seen no enemy for several days, they had become secure and careless, and permitted the boat to drift within fifty yards of the ohio shore. suddenly several indians showed themselves on the bank, and opened heavy fire upon the boat. the astonishment of the crew may be conceived. captain ward and his nephew were at the oars when the enemy appeared, and the captain knowing that their safety depended upon their ability to regain the middle of the river, kept his seat firmly, and exerted his utmost powers at the oar, but his nephew started up at the sight of the enemy, seized his rifle and was in the act of levelling it, when he received a ball in the breast, and fell dead in the bottom of the boat. unfortunately, his oar fell into the river, and the captain having no one to pull against him, rather urged the boat nearer to the hostile shore than otherwise. he quickly seized a plank, however, and giving his own oar to another of the crew, he took the station which his nephew had held, and unhurt by the bullets which flew around him, continued to exert himself, until the boat had reached a more respectable distance. he then, for the first time, looked around him in order to observe the condition of the crew. his nephew lay in his blood, perfectly lifeless,—the horses had been all killed or mortally wounded. some had fallen overboard—others were struggling violently, and causing their frail bark to dip water so as to excite the most serious apprehensions.

but the crew presented the most singular spectacle. a captain, who had served with reputation in the continental army, seemed now totally bereft of his faculties. he lay upon his back in the bottom of the boat, with hands uplifted, and a countenance in which terror was personified, exclaiming in a tone of despair, "oh, lord! oh, lord!" a dutchman, whose weight might amount at about three hundred pounds, was busily engaged in endeavoring to find shelter for his bulky person, which, from the lowness of the gunnels, was a very difficult undertaking. in spite of his utmost efforts, a portion of his posterial luxuriance, appeared above the gunnel, and afforded a mark to the enemy, which brought a constant shower of balls around it. in vain he shifted his position. the lump still appeared, and the balls still flew around it, until the dutchman, losing all patience, raised his head above the gunnel, and in a tone of querulous remonstrance, called out, "oh, now i git tat nonsense, tere,—will you!" not a shot was fired from the boat.

at one time, after they had partly reined the current, captain ward attempted to bring his rifle to bear upon them, but so violent was the agitation of the boat, from the furious struggles of the horses, that he could not steady his piece within twenty yards of the enemy, and quickly laying it aside returned to the oar. the indians followed them down the river for more than an hour, but having no canoes, they did not attempt to board; and as the boat was at length transferred to the opposite side of the river, they finally abandoned the pursuit and disappeared. none of the crew, save the young man already mentioned, were hurt, although the dutchman's seat of honor served as a target for the space of an hour, and the continental captain was deeply mortified at the sudden, and, as he said, "unaccountable" panic which had seized him. captain ward himself was protected by a post, which had been fastened to the gunnel, and behind which he sat while rowing.