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wetzel
Feb 12, 2005 14:16:06 GMT -5
Post by ronnie gunn on Feb 12, 2005 14:16:06 GMT -5
has anybody been to wetzels cave, right along big wheeling creek.
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wetzel
Feb 12, 2005 17:50:48 GMT -5
Post by Matthew S. Schweitzer on Feb 12, 2005 17:50:48 GMT -5
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wetzel
Feb 15, 2005 8:37:41 GMT -5
Post by ronnie gunn on Feb 15, 2005 8:37:41 GMT -5
yeah, that's the place alright. i first went there in 1967. i had three little kids with me [mine] it was pretty scary walking across the train bridge. you couldn't tell fi a train was going to come roaring out of that tunnel. ive been back several times since then. when you get back inside about 20 ft. there is a hole in the floor. then you slide down to a lower room. its about seven ft high. maybe 15x15.maybe bigger. a lot of rock has came down from the ceiling because of the blasting when they put the tunnel in around 1905. trains no longer go thru it. the tracks are gone. the other rock shelter was known as the turkey gobble cave. back in wetzels time an indian hid in there and gave a turkey gobble. when some one came to investigate he shot them. when wetzel heard about this, he sat there all day, and fianally shot the indian when he came into view.
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wetzel
Feb 28, 2005 12:41:11 GMT -5
Post by ronnie gunn on Feb 28, 2005 12:41:11 GMT -5
wetzels grave was found in 1946 or 47 in natchez miss. it was returned to west virginia, and is now in the mc creary cem.this is most certainly him, as the long hair traces were in the grave along with his rifle.the name of which i deem improper to write here. the rifle is in some museum in west va. there is no picture of any kind of wetzel, no drawing, but descriptions, yes. he was about 5'10" tall, very wide at the shoulders and tapering down to a slim waist. very agile, and very strong. he had dark penetrating eyes, and coal black hair, that probably was graying at his death. his hair was very long, when combed out, it reached near to his knees, very dusty, and well worn deer skin clothing. his face is described as being longish, and pocked marked from small pox. we will never know if he could read or write, or wether or not the inscription on wetzel rock was really enscribed by him. but he was inteligent, having taught him self to play the fiddle. wetzel excerized extreme patience in hunting and in the killing of indians. he was a very fast runner, and could out distance pursuers while at the same time reloading his weapon. he is a hero to many, particularly in his own time. but to others, he was a cold blooded killer. one head man of one of the present shawnee tribal groups told me that he is still much hated by the shawnee. he did beat the indians at their own game, he played by their rules, and was prepared to meet his fate if captured, which he was several times but he managed to escape. some questions remain that could be answered. where is wetzels fiddle? surely some one kept it for him when he roamed the forests for months on end. secondly, what did he really look like? well, his skull rest beneath the earth. if it were given to one of those forensic people who apply clay to the skull, we would have a true look at this man. hal sherman has a great painting of wetzel, which truly captures the spirit of the man. how about it hal, do you want to post it?
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wetzel
Feb 28, 2005 13:34:47 GMT -5
Post by Matthew S. Schweitzer on Feb 28, 2005 13:34:47 GMT -5
Wetzel certainly is an intriguing and controversial character. He surely is portrayed quite negatively in many recent books on the Indian War era, most notably by Eckert and others. But I do know that he was (and is) considered a great frontier hero by many of the settlers in the Ohio Valley and their descendents. He certainly had unrivaled skill in forest warfare, as you mention, beating the Indians at their own game. Sometimes though, one generation's hero loses his luster when viewed through the eyes of history, as we see in many cases of American history. For anyone interested, there are a number of books on the subject, the most famous of which are probably Cecil B. Hartley's Life and Adventures of Lewis Wetzel; the Virginia Ranger and Clarence Brent Allman's The Life and Times of Lewis Wetzel. I would really like to see a modern biography of Wetzel, as most of the material on him out there is quite dated. Any others you might recommend Ronnie?
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wetzel
Mar 1, 2005 13:47:32 GMT -5
Post by ronnie gunn on Mar 1, 2005 13:47:32 GMT -5
those pretty well cover wetzel. i personally like allman's book. the draper manuscripts are also interesting. he was in touch with a relative of wetzel's and gave draper some good info. i believe they are now in a historical soc. in wis. i'll check on this.
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wetzel
Mar 25, 2005 13:11:41 GMT -5
Post by Bob Cheeks on Mar 25, 2005 13:11:41 GMT -5
Re: Wetzel, see "The True Wetzelians," at P.O. Box 122 Freetown, In 47235-0122 The editor is the author, Bill Hintzen; he provides an excellent, monthly, newsletter for $12.00 per year, a bargain, for the info is terrific.
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wetzel
Mar 25, 2005 20:55:05 GMT -5
Post by ronnie gunn on Mar 25, 2005 20:55:05 GMT -5
well, i have his book on wetzel, but as i remember.... i didnt like his slant on wetzel....im going to have to read it again, to jog my mind. what all does the news letter cover? thanks for this info.
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wetzel
Mar 26, 2005 23:53:31 GMT -5
Post by Bob Cheeks on Mar 26, 2005 23:53:31 GMT -5
The newsletter covers the upper Ohio valley area from 1770 until the end of the Indian wars. It has very specific and informative articles, much on the Whetzel's, Zane's, McCullough, the seiges at Fort Henry and they have a rendezvous every year at Wheeling. I've been to the old Whetzel homestead, the McCreary cemetery where several of the family are buried, ect. You'd enjoy it and the "True Whetzelians" are fine folks!
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wetzel
Mar 7, 2007 17:53:20 GMT -5
Post by halsherman on Mar 7, 2007 17:53:20 GMT -5
You don't hear much about Martin Wetzel, Lewis' brother, however he was as mean as Lewis when it came to the Indians. Daniel and Squire Boone situation was similar most of the writings were about Daniel even though Squire was just as much as an Indian fighter. You can find a good story on Martin Wetzel at wheeling.weirton.lib.wv.us/people/others/wetzel01.htm
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wetzel
Mar 8, 2007 14:06:40 GMT -5
Post by Matthew S. Schweitzer on Mar 8, 2007 14:06:40 GMT -5
Thansk for that post Hal. I never knew anything about Lewis Wetzel's brother. Seems like the Wetzel boys didn't care for the Indians too much eh? It really is interesting how perceptions about historical figures change over time.
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wetzel
Aug 17, 2007 17:02:12 GMT -5
Post by halsherman on Aug 17, 2007 17:02:12 GMT -5
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wetzel
Oct 27, 2007 10:59:16 GMT -5
Post by RONNIEGUNN on Oct 27, 2007 10:59:16 GMT -5
This is sad. Just up stream on the Ohio river from New Martinsburg, Wva, is the grave of Captain John wetzel. He lies buried beside another rev. War captain, Baker of Baker's station. I first found the graves maybe 25 years ago. This area was once a roadside rest for travelers, but now is nothing. a small creek enters the Ohio here, and there is a ruins of a building. I dont remember too much about that. I would imagine the original bakers station was constructed of logs. However, the grave stones where there and were ledigible. I believe that I made a pencil tracing on a brown paper shopping bag, but its location is lost in my archives. Now the sad part. Vandals have removed the grave stones, and you can't even tell where the graves are. I heard that a large piece of the headstone of wetzel is in a Philadelphia museum. If so, this should be returned to wva and a proper monument erected at the graves, perhaps incorperating this piece of stone. Its been three of four years since I visited this site, but I was shocked. I doubt if anything has been done to mark these graves again. Perhaps someone has an update on this subject. This truly is sacred ground. One can only imagine how many hours Lewis and his brothers sat at this spot in silent meditation. If you want to stand on a piece of ground that Lewis wetzel stood upon, go thence.
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wetzel
Nov 20, 2007 0:11:09 GMT -5
Post by Matthew S. Schweitzer on Nov 20, 2007 0:11:09 GMT -5
That is awful. There are so many historic sites that are not just neglected, but vandalized. There really should be a marker or a decent monument at places like this. As with so many things, if they are not marked then they will eventually be forgotten. It is no wonder that so many unique sites like this have been lost to memory. Here in Columbus there is an interesting cemetery along the Scioto River where a couple who served as Washington's spies/couriers were buried which is now overgrown with weeds and many of the headstones broken or lost. It's a shame. We should all do more to help preserve our heritage.
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wetzel
Apr 28, 2008 10:45:25 GMT -5
Post by RONNIEGUNN on Apr 28, 2008 10:45:25 GMT -5
Here is some information that I got off the web while searching for "the true Wetzelian" From Harry G. Enoch, 1999. "Affair at Captina Creek." page 46. "Capt. John Wetzel was buried at Bakers Fort, now hidden under the slags heaps at graveyard run, when the industrial park was constructed at Cresaps bottom. the graveyard markers were moved to the Americana Roadside park just across rt 2. Then when the highway was widened John Wetzels marker was moved to McCreary Cemetary." This is what I have read, I dont know it to be true. Is so, where is the body of capt. John Wetzel? Under the slag heaps? In any case it just gets worse. This doesn't say much for the highway dept of West Va.or of the State govt. regarding this matter. Ronnie Gunn (aka) Ron Goebel
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