Me name is Catherine (Katy) Carpenter Ulen.
I be barn in Boston, Massachusetts in the summer of Lard Dunmore’s War, 1774. Me father sight land and weelth in the far waist Virginny Territory. The injuns weir a grate source o danger, as they attacked evry sittlement at will. Death was a dialy companion an life be ‘ard and dengerous.

I met me ‘usband in 1789 at thu Redstone Old Fort in the flats o Grave Creek nine miles south o Wheeling, Va. ‘E be a small man about 5’ 4” with a ruddy complexion. ‘E was fond of horse racing and good spirits for drinkin’. Aye, an ‘andsome ‘e was.

“is life be one for a story book, tis. Aye, the adventures that ‘e ‘ad on that wild frontier! Benjamin be barn in Philadelphia, Penn. In 1750. ‘E’s parents took ‘em to Mobile when ‘e be only a wee lad o ten years. Pour wee lad ‘e lost ‘is mum when ‘e was twelve years.

Benjamin an ‘is sister, Mary, be given to a guardian an sent to school. Poor Ben, bein’ so active, coudna abide they books, and when the master gave ‘im a thrashing, ‘e ran away an jained a group o injun traders hedin’ to they Creek Nation. The traders be ambushed by they injuns an poor Ben be taken, ‘e was.

Ben says ‘e lerned they ways, they language, an they vices o the Creeks. ‘E loved they foot racin’ an they ‘orse racin’ They Creeks called ‘im “the Rabbit”.

Benjamin came by they Ohio Valley region when they Creeks broight ‘im and anither white lad, George Hays, north with um to smoke they peace pipe wee they Shawnee an they Delaware injuns. ‘E was left be-ind when they Creeks slipped away in they noight. Wile among they northern injuns, ‘e learned they languages also.

‘E was adopted by a white man, Isaac Zanes, who lived among they injuns waith ‘is squaw wife. Ben felt much at ome waith ‘is white father and ‘is red mother, but a fight waith ‘is red brother sent ‘im runnin’ to Detroit. ‘E let ‘is self out to they British Commander of they fort to be an interpreter.
‘E grew restless an went to Wheeling. There ‘e loaded a boat wee supplies to trade wee they injuns. “E made money, but ‘e lost it in they horse racin’.

In Wheeling igain, ‘e had to make a sudden departure, so ‘e made it to Redstone Old Fort, where ‘e met me, Katy Carpenter. We married an our first child, Benjamin Ulen II, be barn in 1790. We obtained a flat-boat, loaded it waith flour, whiskey an pork, an Ben floated it down they Ohio to Point Pleasant. ‘E did well, ‘e did, and when ‘e returned, ‘e went to Penn. For supplies to take to the troops at Point Pleasant. We prospered again, and settled near Fort Randolph at Point Pleasant. We abided there for ten years.

While at Point, Benjamin an William Oney went in search of cattle south of the Kanawha River. They split up an Ben got off course an heard a turkey gobble. ‘Is injun wiays stood ‘im in good sted, and ‘e knew it didna sound right. “E stepped behind a tree jest as a bullet knocked the bark off it. Too late. They injuns ‘ad ‘im surrounded, an they took ‘im.

They injuns took Benjamin, stripped ‘im nekked, tied ‘im to a pine tree and set a fier under ‘is feet. Poor man, ‘e said ‘is prayers as ‘e knew that they ‘our o ‘is deth twas upon ‘im. But, jest as the fiar begun to pain ‘is feet, the Gode Lard opened they skies an poured they rain down to put out they fiar. The injuns took it to mean that they Great Spirit twas with’im, an they turned ‘im loose in they camp.

The injuns let ‘im ‘ave they run o they camp, but they be watchin’ ‘im. One day there br much commotion in they camp. Ben knew that soemthin was afoot. The chiefs be sittin in councils, they braves be paintin on they war paint, an even the wemen an wee lads be armin themselves waith the ‘atchets an scalpin knives.

Ben saw that they injuns be so occupied that ‘e could slip away. So swift of foot ‘e was, ‘e ran for ‘is freedom. Soon a yelp announced ‘is escape and they braves took after ‘im. The Rabbit ran that day, but ‘e wasn’t fast enough, for the injuns were gainin on ‘im. Lookin back over ‘is shoulder to see to ‘is progress, ‘e didna see the cliff which ‘e had run upon. There he be, twixt the injuns to they rear and they cliff to they front. What to do? “oh weill, ‘e said, “Tis neck or nothing” an ‘e jumped. Agin, they Gode Lard be with ‘im, for ‘e fell into they top of a Buckeye tree. They tree saved ‘im with only a cut on ‘is nose and a bad back which vexed ‘im for ‘is lifetime.


Poor Benjamin, ‘e found ‘is way to they Kanawha an called across to they Militia camp, “Allo,” ‘e called, “Send somebody to fetch me, for I canna swim.” But they men called back, “We canna send somebody. We don’t know if ye be a decoy for they injuns.” Wiel, there stood me poor Benjamin, nekked as the day ‘e was born, ‘e was, an ‘e couldna swim. But ‘e be a man with wit about ‘im, So, ‘e pushed a log into they river, straddled it an pushed ‘is way to they other shore. “E was saved again. They Col. Lewis give ‘im clothes an a rifle, an offered ‘im a good night’s sleep afore ‘e reterned ‘ome.

The next mornin’ two men went into they woods to ‘unt for breakfast. Only one o them reterned to sound they alarm. “The injuns be upon us!” So, began one of they fiercest battles of they times between they whites an they injuns, an me poor Benjamin finds ‘imself in they midst of it. Twas hand to hand fightin’ twas.

Benjamin saiys, “One warrior seemed to choose me as ‘is victim, but I had no intent to be ‘is victim. I raised me rifle an fiared at ‘im…..but I missed. Then he whirled ‘is tomahawk over ‘is hed an threw it with all ‘is might. It struck a tree behin me, an I ran to grap it. They brave ran for it to, an we grappled for it betwixt us, finally rolling over an over on they ground. Soon, I grew angry wee ‘im an I took me two thumbs, gouged ‘is eyes oot, which set ‘im to screamin’. Then I got down and I took ‘is nose betwixt me teeth and bit it off ‘is face. Then I took ‘is tomahawk an buried it inta ‘is scul an killed ‘im dead. After that, I got behind they biggest tree I could find an I told they Gode Lard that if I should live through this, I would never get into such a situation again. Because, fightin’ the injuns……there ain’t no fun in it.”

We left Point Pleasant after that. Took they flat boat down to they mouth of they Little Sandy in Greenup Co. , Kantuck.
We built they cabin an Ben kept to floatin’ supplies up an down they rivers til they injuns were full put down. Then, we farmed they land an raised our six lads an two lasses. A good life an long twas. Me Ben die.d from they pison whiskey and is buried on they farm near Ulen’s Branch, Kantuck.