The Strategy and the Trap
Moses Moore, who settled along Knapps Creek around 1770, was a vigilant pioneer who watched regional Indian movements with extreme care, constantly scouting for tracks and signs. His primary tactical advantage lay in monitoring a narrow, natural crossing point on the Greenbrier River where traveling parties regularly vaulted across the water using long poles. By carefully checking which side of the river the vaulting poles were left on, Moore could accurately predict incoming crossings. Eventually, however, his strategy was discovered. A crossing party vaulted the river and cleverly threw the poles back to the opposite bank, completely throwing the veteran hunter off his guard.
The Surprise Capture
On a Saturday, Moore set his traps, checked the woods for deer sign, and established his camp with the intention of spending a quiet, restful Sabbath in the wilderness. Around daylight the next morning, he was relaxing on a bearskin reading his Bible while a fat turkey roasted over his campfire. Suddenly, the sharp snap of a dry stick broke the silence. Looking up, Moore found himself staring down the barrels of five or six rifles wielded by warriors who had silently hemmed him in.
Recognizing he had no hope of escape, Moore threw up his hands in a gesture of peace and offered them his roasting turkey. Suspicious of a trap or poison, the warriors grunted and gestured that Moore must eat first. Once he complied, they devoured the turkey ravenously, leaving almost nothing behind—not even the bones.
Following breakfast, the party bound Moore securely with buffalo rawhide thongs and marched him a few miles to a branch near a large spring (later named Moses Spring Run or Moses Run), where they pinioned him flat to the ground. While Moore lay helpless, a detachment of his captors went off toward Stony Bottom for two to three hours, returning heavily laden with raw lead ore from a hidden local mine. The party then marched to another location where they smelted and reduced the ore to make it lighter and easier to carry on their long journey back to Ohio.
The Gauntlet at Chillicothe
Moore was marched hundreds of miles to the Shawnee town of Chillicothe. Elated by the capture of such a prominent woodsman, the tribe convened a solemn council of inquiry. To satisfy and flatter the tribal squaws, the council decided that Moore must run the gauntlet. Two parallel lines of squaws, armed with clubs and weapons, were drawn up about six to eight feet apart. Another captive was forced into the line just ahead of Moore and was brutally stabbed, beaten, and hacked to pieces before his eyes.
Believing he was marching to a certain and agonizing death, Moore resolved to fight back with absolute ferocity. As he entered the gauntlet, a squaw struck him hard with a heavy, long-handled frying pan. Moore wrenched the frying pan out of her hands, knocked her flat with a single blow of his fist, and began swinging the heavy iron handle right and left as he charged down the line. He struck his tormentors with such force that the gauntlet lines broke in panic, sending the squaws scattering in every direction.
Earning Respect and Planning the Escape
Rather than angering the onlookers, Moore's fierce display of bravery won the deep admiration of the warriors. They crowded around him, patting him on the back and praising him as a "good soldier". Deciding he was far too brave to execute, they spared his life and took him into the tribe.
Over the subsequent months, Moore carefully cultivated the trust of his captors. Because of his exceptional skill as a marksman and hunter, his keeper began providing him with ammunition for solo hunting trips. Moore systematically secreted away a portion of the powder and bullets from each trip. As his hidden store of ammunition grew, his captors gradually extended his hunting privileges, eventually allowing him to be gone from camp for two or three days at a time.
Once he had amassed sufficient supplies and a massive head start, Moore launched his daring escape. By the time the tribe realized he was gone, he was too far ahead to be caught, successfully navigating the rugged wilderness back home to Pocahontas County.
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