The early history of West Virginia and Ohio, is replete with
the daring deeds of this wilderness roamer, this lone hunter
and insatiable Nemesis, justly called the greatest Indian.
slayer known to men.

When Lewis was about twenty years old, and his brothers
John and Martin little' older, they left their Virginia home for
a protracted hunt. On their return they found the smoking
ruins of the home, the mangled remains of father and mother,
the naked and violated bodies of their sisters, and the scalped
and bleeding corpse of a baby brother.

Lewis Wetzel swore sleepless and eternal vengeance on the
whole Indian race. Terribly did he carry out that resolution.
From that time forward he lived most of the time in the woods,
and an Indian who crossed his trail was a doomed man. The
various Indian tribes gave him different names. The Shaw-
nees called him "Long Knife;" the Hurons, "Destroyer;" the
Delawares, "Death Wind," and any one of these names would
chill the heart of the stoutest warrior.

To most of the famed pioneer hunters of the border, In-
dian fighting was only a side issue--generally a necessary one
--but with Wetzel it was the business of his life. He lived
solely to kill Indians. He plunged recklessly into the strife,
and was never content unless roaming the wilderness solitudes,
trailing the savages to their very homes and ambushing the
village bridlcpath like a panther waiting for his prey. Often
in the gray of the morning the Indians, sleeping around their
camp fire, were awakened by a horrible, screeching yell. They
started up in terror only to fall victims to the tomahawk of
their merciless foe, or to hear a rifle shot and get a glimpse
of a form with flying black hair disappearing with wonderful
quickness in the forest. Wetzel always left death behind
him, and he was gone before his demoniac yell ceased to echo
throughout the woods. Although often pursued, he invariably
eluded the Indians, for he was the fleetest runner on the border.

For many years he was considered the right hand of the
defense of the fort. The Indians held him in superstitious
dread, and the fact that he was known to be in the settlement
had averted more than one attack by the Indians.

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