Follow the River to Freedom

Follow the River to Freedom. Mary Draper Ingles (1732-1815). , Mary Draper Ingles was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1732. Her parents, George and Elenor Draper, immigrated to America from Donegal, Ireland, in 1729. Sometime between 1740 and 1744, the family moved to the western frontier of Virginia. In 1744, George Draper went on an exploratory trip into what is now West Virgina and never returned. In 1746, the family established a pioneer settlement on the banks of the Stroubles Creek near modern-day Blacksburg, Virginia, later known as Draper’s Meadow., On July 8, 1755, Draper’s Meadow was raided by a group of Shawnee warriors who killed four people, including an infant, and captured five others. A pregnant Mary Ingles and her sons, Thomas and George, were among the hostages. The Shawnee took their hostages into the mountainous, uninhabited wilderness of western Virgina. Along this trail, Mary gave birth to a baby girl. Contrary to the Shawnee’s usual custom, they allowed the child to live. The hostages were taken to lower Shawnee, a town on the Scioto River, and later, to Big Bone Lick on the Ohio River in Kentucky., A Big Bone Lick, Mary Ingles, conspired with a fellow captive known as the “Old Dutch Woman”, and together they made plans for an escape. Mary’s sons were separated from her at Shawnee. She then had to make the difficult decision of leaving her baby girl behind, knowing she, with the child, could not make the dangerous trek to freedom., On a given day, while the Old Dutch Woman and Mary were doing their assigned duties of gathering nuts and fruits from the wilderness, they headed straight for the Ohio River. Having no means for survival except a hatchet and a knife, the two women set off in the mountainous, uninhabited wilderness to begin their long journey home. Mary noticed that during their captive journey to Shawnee, the warriors had followed rivers and creeks to get to their destination. With no guide, the women could only make their escape by following the rivers., After 40 days and nights in the untamed wilderness with no food, no shelter, and sparse clothing, Mary Ingles arrived home at Draper’s Meadow near present-day Blacksburg, Virginia. She had followed and crossed the Ohio, Kanawha, New River, and their many tributaries. Her ordeal was a round-trip journey of nearly 1,000 miles through a treacherous, mountainous, untamed wilderness. The major part of her journey was through the mountains of western Virgina, now West Virgina., Mary walked along the banks of the New River at the present town of Hinton; up the Bluestone River; down the New River; through Crump’s Bottom, opposite Indian Creek; to Glenn Lynn, Virgina; and on to Blacksburg, Virginia. Mary arrived home safely but not with the Old Dutch Woman who experienced a mental breakdown and tried to kill Mary. This incident produced the need for them to travel on opposite sides of the rivers. Following Mary’s safe arrival home, a search party was organized to search for the Old Dutch Woman. She too had survived the arduous escape. The reunion between the two women was said to be a joyous occasion., Nothing is known of the baby girls Mary was forced to leave behind. Mary’s son Thomas was taken to Detroit and assimilated within the tribe. In later years, his freedom was purchased. George died in captivity. Mary Ingles and her husband had four more children after the ordeal; Mary, Susanna, Rhoda, and John. The Ingles established a ferry on the New River along with a tavern and blacksmith shop. Mary Draper Ingles died there in 1815 at the age of 83.