Tuesday, June 1, 2010

the curse of chief leatherlips


Wyandot warrior
It's Leatherlips season at the manor. For those of you who are new readers of this blog, the Native American Wyandot Chief Leatherlips was executed 200 years ago today, June 1, 1810, on the banks of the Scioto River, in the general vicinity of Willow Manor. The chief was called "Leatherlips" because he was known to be trustworthy; his word was his bond. He was friendly with the white settlers in and around Dublin, Ohio, including the early resident Sells brothers, and was a local fixture at their new Black Horse Tavern. His Wyandot people relocated to Northwest Ohio, and were plagued by many mishaps, including disease. They blamed Leatherlips for their turn of unfortunate luck and returned to Dublin to escort him to their northern encampment. When he refused, his fellow Wyandots accused Leatherlips of witchcraft, and pronounced the sentence of death, executing him by tomahawk. This photo is of a Wyandot warrior, similar to how Leatherlips may have looked in his full tribal regalia; since he was killed in 1810, there are no photos of him in existence.

The Curse of Chief Leatherlips
This time of year is also our local Annual Muirfield Memorial PGA Golf Tournament. It is said that Jack Nicklaus built his course on sacred Wyandot Indian burial grounds, and that the tournament is cursed by Chief Leatherlips. It is certainly peculiar that every year, golfers and spectators are drenched with torrents of rain. Could it be that Central Ohio just gets a lot of rain this time of year? Possibly.

Bill Moose Crowfoot, 1930
Another Native American who was known to wander the area of the Scioto River banks in Dublin, Ohio, was Bill Moose Crowfoot, pictured here in head dress and beaded tunic, 1930. He is said to be the last of the Wyandots to live in Central Ohio. Born in Northwest Ohio in 1837, Crowfoot moved to the Columbus area with his family, when most of his tribe was displaced to Kansas and later Oklahoma. When we first moved to Willow Manor, there were three "Indian trees", sometimes called signal trees, in a line about 150 yards apart, the center one on our property. They were maples bent as saplings and secured with buckskin ties by the Wyandots, to mark a significant location. These maples grew into huge unusual "s" shaped trees. I've always wondered, exactly what was the significance of the trees in this particular location at the manor?

Some 20 years ago, when the area around the manor was very rural, my youngest son came into the kitchen one sunny June day. "Mommy, who's that old man outside in the overalls?" After investigating the area there was no one to be found. A few years later, also in the month of June, by the way, WT saw an old Native American looking man in overalls, standing near a stack of three large rocks we fondly call the Willow Manor Cairn. By the time he walked across the property to greet our visitor, he was gone.

The months of May and June are always hot spots for ghostly occurrences at the manor. A long time resident passed away here in the month of May, and sadly, a previous owner, died by his own hand at the manor in the month of June. This week has certainly been no exception; there's been lots of drawer openings, door slammings and loud nightly noises. But, the most unusual this week, so far, was a dead snake, it's head obviously crushed, strangely displayed on the rock wall outside the garage door. The Wyandot tribe was known to do the snake dance in order to bring on rain. Maybe Leatherlips was just gearing up for the Memorial Tournament, since it's been pouring rain all day. Did I just hear thunder?

48 comments:

  1. Thanks for the fascinating post. You live in a very cool house/area. I spent two years in my husband's family's summer house, built in 1863 and kept mostly to the period, and 'met' three ghosts, all relations, and wrote about them in my week of Halloween postings. I love ghost stories. I also love all things native american, and believe they were the true process theologians. I will be back...

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  2. willow, you live in the most fascinating place...

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  3. Ah yes, the ghosts are stirring here, too. Actually I'm hoping they will vamoose DC now that Memorial Day has come and gone.

    You are so gracious with your ghosts, much the same way you're gracious with your visitors here, and I'm sure with the living visitors to the manor.

    Love the history here, too. Leatherlips? Hope you are resting in honest peace.

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  4. like a well- mended and darned cloth, the land carries many layers both visible and invisible...

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  5. great post Willow. I really enjoy your ghost stories and local history.

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  6. Delightful shivery feelings are running through me. I love the sense of mystery your writing evokes; the richness of spirit, the liminal places of heart and soul ... the love and respect for the unknown.

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  7. Love folklore of an area and who is to say it is just folklore. I always thought and still do think that verbal stories have a seed of truth in them. Your post was intriguing about Leatherlips and Bill Moose Crowfoot. You mentioned Scioto which hit a spark in my brain. My maternal family is from that area but I haven't done much research on them as of yet. From all your history and tales I think I should someday find the time to check out the area. Very good post -- barbara

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  8. Fascinating. Love the trees as a form of cairns. Have you ever used a metal detector around the manor. Wonder what you'd find. Keep us posted about the ghosties and gillies.

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  9. Donna, WT's been wanting to get a metal detector for years. I think we might just have to!

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  10. It's always interesting to hear present day Americans talk of their recent Native-American past. A little like antipodean history.

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  11. Wonderful history told here Willow.

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  12. I envy your ghosts and those s bend trees must be wonderful.

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  13. "Could it be that Central Ohio just gets a lot of rain this time of year? Possibly" Really, willow, you always look for the strangest, most fanciful, eeries ways of explaining perfectly simply and ordinary occurrences (like hauntings)! Seasonal weather patterns, puhlease!

    I really liked this post, as it reminds me of some of the stories (true and otherwise) that circulared where I grew up in NJ about Chief Tamaques and the Leni Lenape tribe. I don't know about ghosts, but certainly something abides, or at least should.

    Have you written anything else about the signal trees? Sounds like a fascinating prompt.

    By the way, thunder is just Leatherlips' way of yelling "Fore!".

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  14. Have you any idea as to the identity of the "..old Native American looking man in overalls."?

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  15. Ooooh! Great follow-up post ;)

    Wondering why they never alter th' tourney dates? Not that it would help, heh, heh...

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  16. Another of your delightfully ghostly posts dear Willow.
    Poor old Leatherlips, what a ghastly end he came to.

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  17. How very fascinating. The internet has this trick of making us all residents of the same village - my computer linked to yours by a piece of string like the tin can phones of our childhood - and we forget that we live in very different lands with very different histories.

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  18. I too enjoy the ghostly happenings at the manor.

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  19. Yours is such a fascinating area, Willow. Lots of blog fodder :)

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  20. Very interesting history there. I would love to see the tree, too. A great and intriguing post.

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  21. Lorenzo, if you click on "Indiana Trees" in the body of this post it will take you to a previous post about them.

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  22. Martin, not a clue. There's no one that lives around here who would come near to matching the description. He was only seen those two times.

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  23. Subby, they supposedly changed the tournament dates some time back, and still the rain continues to pour!

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  24. Nice to have those ghostly neighbors!

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  25. You sure have to watch out for ... 'things' over at your place! -j

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  26. Hello Willow,

    I've been catching up a little. I remember you talking of Leatherlips before and of your Memorial Day ancestors Time passes quickly, doesn't it? I enjoyed your Alley Oops poem!

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  27. as always........
    spooky and interesting.
    i believe in all that spirit stuff.

    xxx

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  28. Native American history is such a rich and golden thread in our past. Our town sits in the heart of the Creek Nation. I believe I have seen a signal tree in our nearby state park, but I did not know what it was. Wow! Always something new to learn about at Willow Manor!
    Peace be with you and to Leatherlips!

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  29. Aaahhh! I see. Yet th' curse continues, heh, heh...

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  30. What wonderful bedtime(or daytime)tales to be told at the Willow Manor...and comforting to know the old Americans still wander the grounds of their homeland.

    Cool post!

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  31. Willow, I grew up in Wyandotte, a town just south of Detroit that was once a Wyandot Indian village. The village was known as Maquaqua and was located on the banks of the Detroit river, which is where downtown Wyandotte is now. There is a totem pole in town with a turtle at the top because the chief of the Wyandots was called Walk-in-the-water. They probably moved to Ohio when they were kicked out of Michigan. What a shame.

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  32. Good to know the rain dance Leatherlips is doing is working--it worked here for us, too! I drove in to work in a major downpour today, and I was glad--we need the rain, and I definitely don't want another drought year.

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  33. Sue, it's been so dry here, too. I'm not much into the golf tournament, so it was actually very welcome here at the manor.

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  34. Wyndott's in my area too! It's is where the tribe began than they got displaced to Kansas. Dr. Garrad an anthropologist has done extensive study at UofT re: The Petuns. I love native studying and found this absolutely fascinating. I am scared of leatherlips!

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  35. I'm completely fascinated. My daughter felt the presence of a young girl not long after we moved into our current home. We call her Alice.

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  36. What a wonderful post! You live in such history. It must be exciting :)
    Happy Tuesday,
    Jen

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  37. Truly fascinating... I have always been drawn to Indian history, art, dancing... they did (and still do) have a real grasp on life, the world, the past, the future...

    I do believe in Ghosts....once, when I was about 10, I was walking home from school with a girlfriend....we passed a high hill overlooking Lone Mountain College (now a part of USF)....we were way below, but something made me look up - and I CLEARLY saw the fugure of a Nun (in an old-fashioned habit), looking down over the hill at us..... my hair stood on end - something about this Nun made me more sad than afraid....but, it was still chilling. I remember my girlfriend and I both ran home.... when I told my Mum, she laughed it off and said it was my overly-active imagination. Several years later, when I was actually attending USF, I learned that a Nun had killed herself by jumping off that very hill - and her "spirit" had been often seen by many people.. my Mum was still living - and I think, for the first time, she believed what I seen so long ago.

    Had to share this with you.... we must be kind to those Spirits who still visit us.

    Love,

    ♥ Robin ♥

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  38. Robin, wow, the story of the nun is absolutely bone chilling! I totally believe you. I've written quite a few posts on the ghostly happenings at the manor. You can click on the link in the body of this post if you're interested.

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  39. Oh my. What an interesting story.

    I used to spend a lot of time on the Scioto River between Waverly and Piketon. Mostly fishing and camping out. One of the fellows I went with had relatives across the road from the river and got permission from them originally. Never caught a lot but the sleeping was good and the bacon and fried ants were excellent each morning, not to mention boiled coffee.

    Those were the days.

    Lots of history down there. I never felt I was really alone in the Shawnee State Forest either, but the original was logged out a long time ago and whats there now is relatively new stuff but still there were some might big trees there. I used to drive a four door green Corvair (the only one and the first one sold in Darke County).

    Living is so difficult these days.
    The cost of breathing is high.
    When I think how it used to be
    I think I'm gonna cry.

    Abraham Lincoln
    My Birds Blog

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  40. Thanks for telling us about the fascinating history and ghost lore at Willow Manor. Never heard of signal trees before. I'm hoping to come across one someday (now that I know what it is).

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  41. "Ghostly occurences for May and June"..I'll take a ticket! Love all these creepy crawly stories of yours..and am so pleased to meet the heroic Leatherlips..maybe he took a sacrifice doing the snake dance?

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  42. Abe, that is the sweetest, saddest little poem. I'm thinking of you today, dear friend.

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  43. What an excellent post. Loved reading about Leatherlips. I have never heard of signal trees either, and may have to do a little research on that subject. Your house sounds incredibly interesting, but don't the ghost "happenings" get a little spooky?

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  44. The local village Dr. used to live in our house & used one large room that has a separate entrance as his Consulting Clinic. The only ghosts we're likely to see are those of patients past or Drug Reps. on the run! I think all your ethereal 'visitors' are just checking out The Manor to see all is well.
    Millie ^_^

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  45. It was cool to read about Chief Leatherlips and the Wyandot people. Depending on how far to the nw they traveled, I'm guessing the Black Swamp had much to do with disease of the migrating Wyandots.

    Loved your ghostly post!

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  46. I have Native American blood--most likely related to the brave and strong Chief Joseph, who's heart was broken, and who is buried in St. Joseph, Oregon.

    I was gasping over your story of the man in overalls...when we first moved into our home, my son saw a guy in overalls in the back yard. My daughter saw a guy in top hat and tails disappear into the upstairs bathrooms.

    One wonders about such things.

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  47. hey liked your story just woundering if you or any body eles has info. on the Wyanddot trib Iam doing a social studies fair project on them so any info would be helpful thannks.

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  48. This is my uncle!!!!! thanks for the update. Wish I had this when I presented on him back in elementary school

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)