Joshua Davis

A RACE FOR LIFE

     Among a number of other quite interesting incidents of early times in Brooke county, and on the opposite side of the Ohio, resided at the pioneers association at Steubenville, as one narrated by Colonial Nathaniel Wells, of Joshua Davis, which is illustrative of the perils of those times which so sorely "tried men's souls".

     In those early days, all the salt procured by the settlers in this vicinity was transported from Baltimore on horseback, and in return for it people dug up through the forests here large quantities of ginseng, for which at that time there was a great demand in the markets of Baltimore. At the time in which this incident happened, there were no settlers on the Ohio side of the river, but when there were no rumors of Indians about, those on the Virginia side were frequently in the habit of crossing over from the settlement at the fort to gather "sang root" as it was then popularly called, on the hills near where Steubenville now stands. At the time of the occurrence we are about to relate, Joshua Davis, of whom many of the old citizens have heard, and who was then a young man, in company with a number of others, had crossed in canoes and proceeded to a little clearing upon what is not the farm owned by John Bustard, for the purpose of laying in a supply of this marketable vegetable. The manner of digging was by sharpening a long stick with which the root was "pried" up from its native earth, and afterwards dried, when it was ready for market.

     The party had reached the clearings, but only two had entered it- young Davis, and an old man named Anderson. The old man had kneeled down on the ground and was busy at his work, while Davis was standing by him, engaged in sharpening his stick, when suddenly, a wild whoop was uttered, two rifles rang out on the air, and old man Anderson fell a corps, over his work, but Davis was untouched. The remainder of the party the savages did not appear to have seen. They immediately made for their canoes and hurriedly cross the river, and reported the tidings to the distracted families, at the settlement that Anderson and Davis had both fallen under the bullets of the savages. This was incorrect however. At the fall of Anderson, Davis realized the perilous situation at once, and being exceedingly fleet of foot darted into the forest, in a southerly direction, leading toward what is now called Jacksonville. Then began a fearful race for life, between this young unarmed boy and the band of screeching, bloodthirsty demons that were after him, whose terrific yells as they rent the forest, would have frozen to stone the heart of the modern youth of this land with terror. Twice after his start did his pursuers get sight of him and sent the leaden messenger of death on its errand, but God's hand shielded this brave lad who was so nobly striving to save his companions form massacre by misleading the howling heathen who were on his track. Fortunately through the thickness of the forest, he succeeded in out distancing them and throwing them off his track he finally reached the river, near the present site of the roiling mill, into which he plunged and swan across. His friends were shortly after greatly astonished as well as gratified to see him bound into the cabin with his knife still open in one hand and the stick he had been whittling, in the other, both of which in his terrible race for live and his long dive through the river, he had never dropped from his hands.