, as they had already been on the chase longer than
was anticipated. Under these circumstances it was with great
difficulty, Captain Wilson could prevail [171] on them to continue the
pursuit one day longer; hoping the Indians would have to halt, in
order to hunt for food. Not yet being sensible that they gained upon
them, the men positively refused going farther; and they returned to
their several homes.

This was the last outrage committed by the savages on North Western
Virginia, in this year. And although there was not as much mischief
effected by them in this season, as had been in others, yet the year
1777, has become memorable in the annals of Border Warfare. The murder
of Cornstalk and his companions,--the attack on Wheeling Fort,--the
loss of lives and destruction of property which then took place,
together with the fatal ambuscade at Grave Creek Narrows, all
conspired to render it a period of much interest, and to impress its
incidents deeply on the minds of those who were actors in these
scenes.

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[1] This "year of the three sevens," as it was called, was
long known as "the bloody year" of border history.--R. G. T.

[2] General Hand was commandant, and George Morgan Indian
agent, at Fort Pitt. Runners from the Moravian towns on the
Tuscarawas and Muskingum rivers, in Ohio, frequently came into
the fort during the summer, with dispatches for either of
these officials. The Delawares, as a nation, were friendly
throughout the year. The hostiles were chiefly composed of
Wyandots and Mingoes, but with them were a few Shawnees and
Delawares.--R. G. T.

[3] The first fort at Wheeling was built in the summer of
1774, by order of Lord Dunmore, under direction of Majors
William Crawford and Angus McDonald. It stood upon the Ohio
bank about a quarter of a mile above the entrance of Wheeling
Creek. Standing in open ground, it was a parallelogram of
square pickets pointed at top, with bastions and sentry boxes
at the angles, and enclosed over half an acre. It ranked in
strength and importance, next to Fort Pitt. Within the fort
were log barracks, an officers' house, a storehouse, a well,
and cabins for families. A steep hill rises not far inland;
between the fort and the base of this hill the forest had been
leveled, and a few log cabins were nestled in the open. Such