The Indians Called Him "Death Wind:" Lewis Wetzel, the Fierce Frontiersman of Western Virginia

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 2 січ 2025

КОМЕНТАРІ • 719

  • @grigori7779
    @grigori7779 Рік тому +22

    I'm proud to carry this man's namesake! I'm adopted but would hear these stories growing up. His bloodline still lives on and carries his spirit.

    • @GregoryChew0921
      @GregoryChew0921 3 місяці тому +1

      That’s so cool. Hey Man U wanna hang out one time? Maybe watch some football or play some Xbox? U got any scalps laying around?

  • @richardbrown8503
    @richardbrown8503 Рік тому +147

    The men and women that formed this new frontier and great country were some of the most daring of their time! Thanks for a great story! Riveting!!!

  • @Teresia12
    @Teresia12 Рік тому +16

    I just found your channel. I'm really enjoying it. I'm listening to the stories of Fanny Kelly. I'm listening while canning sausage. I look forward to doing all my chores listening to the history you will tell. I'm a widow and live alone and don't care for TV. But I LOVE history. The added benefit of your channel is that I don't have to sit to listen to it. ✌️🦋

  • @ricksilver7398
    @ricksilver7398 Рік тому +19

    I played in Wetzel Cave as a kid and played baseball in a place called tunnel green which was just across Wheeling Creek from the cave. swam in the mouth of the river, and hopped a train to Beachbottom to stay with friends who lived along the river and watch movies at a drive-in the early 70s. Went to Wheeling Island to roller skating rink where Fort Henry once was. It seems funny to have roamed a lot of the same places as a legend once roamed. Brought back a lot of memories of when I was a kid and loved the history lesson of a great pioneer to where I was born and grew up.

    • @garystevenson6582
      @garystevenson6582 11 місяців тому

      This is in the State of West Virginia right? Not Western Virginia

    • @ricksilver7398
      @ricksilver7398 11 місяців тому

      @@garystevenson6582 correct.

    • @barbpaq
      @barbpaq 4 місяці тому +2

      Yes, hearing the names of some of those familiar PA stomping grounds like Kittining, Punxatawny, Lancaster and of course Philly grabs at the heart of family memories.

  • @MarkBooth-31
    @MarkBooth-31 Рік тому +54

    Wetzel had a direct descendant and namesake who lived near Kent WV. He worked for my dad on our farm at nearby Natrium,WV in the 1960s. My Dad had a book called Lewis Wetzel Indian Fighter. I read it and probably still have it somewhere

    • @catharperfect7036
      @catharperfect7036 Рік тому +1

      based.

    • @Greg-l8r
      @Greg-l8r Рік тому +2

      Lew wetzel left no descendants

    • @MarkBooth-31
      @MarkBooth-31 Рік тому +4

      My father is the one who conveyed the info to me- but I may remember it incorrectly . It may have been that he was descended from a brother of Wetzel? He died In The 1970s. I’ll try to find an obituary.

    • @goatmoag
      @goatmoag 9 місяців тому +1

      @@MarkBooth-31 Family on my mother's side are from Wetzel county, and we have Wetzels in the genealogy a few generations back. No idea what relation to Lewis, but the vid caught my attention because of it.

    • @Orangesjesus
      @Orangesjesus 9 місяців тому

      ​@@Greg-l8ronly pillage and mayhem, very respectful of the squaws?.😂

  • @rauschershollow2204
    @rauschershollow2204 8 місяців тому +25

    Louis Wetzel is my 5th great uncle on my mother's. I've enjoyed hearing this narration.

    • @huns12345
      @huns12345 2 місяці тому

      I was wondering if I could talk to you over the phone,I'll give you my telephone # when you reply?

    • @IMiss_OnlYours
      @IMiss_OnlYours Місяць тому +1

      Lewis*

  • @nikolastsatsaronis5544
    @nikolastsatsaronis5544 Рік тому +126

    So important to keep these stories alive. I had an old mate. A drover and a stockman (Australian Cowboy). He enlisted to fight the Japanese in WWII three times. The first time he lied about his age and was accepted as a soldier in the Australian Army. His Mother found out, went to the Commanding Officer and had him discharged.
    Dusty ran away from home, went interstate and re-enlisted, once again lying about his age. This time he made it all the way through military training and was put on a train with his company to be sent off to the Pacific to fight the Japanese. His Mother tracked him down. Found out he was on the train and literally pulled him out by the ear just before the train departed. The rest of the Company was shipped off to New Guinea. They were ambushed in their first patrol and every last man was killed.
    Dusty re enrolled a third time when he was old enough to do so legally. Once again completing his military training but the war finished before he could get onto a two way shooting gallery. He was mightily disappointed.
    He told me of a WWII soldier he knew. Cog Russell from Deniliquin, NSW in Australia. Cog was a country boy, a natural bushman. Knew how to hunt, stalk and track. He also loved to fight and had a habit of punching out officers which meant he kept on repeating basic training because of all the time spent in the brig. This all changed when Cog’s brother was killed by the Japanese. Cog settled down and completed boot camp before he was shipped off to the Pacific theatre.
    On his first patrol in the jungle, Cog yelled out for everyone to take cover. With everyone in hiding the Sergeant wanted to know what he had seen? Cog replied that he felt they were being watched. The Sergeant abused Cog for being a frightened coward, ordered every one to resume patrolling and stood up. At that instant, a sniper took the Sergeant out with a head shot. No one doubted Cog’s instinct after that. He would scout and kept his unit safe but was frustrated by the ineptitude of his fellow soldiers in the bush.
    He took to sneaking out of his unit at sunset with nothing but his knife and returning in the morning having taken out out an entire Japanese patrol at night. His mates got to thinking he was lying. That he was sneaking out to sleep in the jungle in order to avoid picketing on guard duty so one day he took them out to show them his handiwork. No one doubted his stories after that.
    Following Japanese patrols he would sneak up on the last man and take him out, then follow up on the next until eventually he would work his way to the front and take out the lead scout.
    Eventually, an entire Japanese division moved their theatre of operations. They had no idea what was happening. All they knew was that night after night, they were losing soldiers without even a single shot being fired. It was as if they were being pursued and hunted by a phantom.
    Cog never respected rank or privilege and upset or wacked too many soldiers with tracks to ever be recommended for any commendations even though he was peerless as a jungle fighter and his exploits were the stuff of legend.
    Sadly, his stories haven’t been recorded and have largely disappeared. We are all the poorer for it.
    Will continue to follow your channel. Well done on reaching 200 milestone.

    • @AnarSchism.
      @AnarSchism. Рік тому +16

      There are probably a few people like that in every generation.
      Thanks for posting this.

    • @tikitavi7120
      @tikitavi7120 Рік тому +9

      A real life Mick Dundee!

    • @deana8202
      @deana8202 Рік тому +5

      Do you know his full name? Thank you for keeping his story alive. I often think of all the stories of hardship and heros we will never know. What acts of courage were performed that are lost in the past because no one wrote them down.

    • @nikolastsatsaronis5544
      @nikolastsatsaronis5544 Рік тому +11

      @@deana8202 Dusty told me quite a few stories and he always referred to him as “Cog Russel” who was a shearer from Deniliquin in rural New South Wales Australia. I suspect that was his nick name. He would have grown up during the Depression and rural NSW was quite isolated. He most likely would have played with aboriginal children. Australian bushmen often picked up a lot of their skills by going hunting and fishing with them when they were young.
      Dusty had been to a lot of places travelling on horse back. He’d done a lot of things. He was at home in the bush. Was a crack shot, a very good tracker for a white fella with an innate sense of direction. He was in absolute awe of Cog so Cog must have been something special.
      Dusty told me he and his brother didn’t mind getting into a blue and they especially loved backing each other in a fight. They never worried about the odds. You wouldn’t have wanted to be a bunch of Townies acting up in the same pub with them. When the Japanese killed his brother it became personal for Cog and he essentially went on the warpath becoming a one man army.
      Dusty passed away many years ago. I wish I had of asked more questions but it was just one story he had amongst hundreds.
      I would advise anyone to gather the stories of those who are close. Particularly if they’re older. I was going to record Dusty and get his stories written down. He was a natural story teller and would yarn all day but soon as I started recording he became very self conscious and I could barely get a word out of him.
      Hope that helps.

    • @cowboywoodard2569
      @cowboywoodard2569 Рік тому +3

      Very good article!! Thanks Cowboy from Texas

  • @myfairlady5050
    @myfairlady5050 5 місяців тому +2

    I love these stories, even though I am not sure how I feel about Wetzel. My whole family is from Marietta Ohio. They have deep roots in Appalachia , from places like Wheeling and Romney West Virginia, and some in Tennessee. My ancestors have many of the last names you mention, McCullough, Sharp, Dubois, etc. My grandpa used to tell me so many stories about the Indians, but he has now passed. I am so glad I found your channel.

  • @hennies9509
    @hennies9509 Рік тому +51

    My family in the UK left for the USA in 1820, but then one of them decided to go to Africa. His family tried to get him to change his mind but was unsuccessful. My family in Africa was part of the Border Farmers who fought the Xhosa tribes that would always attack the Farmers. I have not had a family member that was not involved in war. The Boer War against the English, WW1, WW2, Korea, Rhodesia and my war which was a proxy War fought against Angola, Cubans and Russians. This lasted from 1966 to 1989. My children are the first not to be involved in any war. We live in South Africa but once in Africa you cannot leave it as there are no place like it.
    I must say the USA is very similar in having its heroes, just like us. We fought the tribes in Africa and we always had excellent Scouts as well. Salute to your Scouts.

    • @mikewarden57
      @mikewarden57 9 місяців тому +5

      @henies9509. Interesting family history!

    • @nicolelittrell2937
      @nicolelittrell2937 23 дні тому +1

      My father born in the Midwest of the USA. He was sent to Africa in the late 60's by the Army. He always wanted to go back until the day he died. He never lost his love for Africa ❤

    • @alexgonzales4460
      @alexgonzales4460 17 днів тому +2

      Long live the boer

    • @hennies9509
      @hennies9509 16 днів тому

      @nicolelittrell2937 When you see Africa and its beauty, its people and spilled blood here, it infects you and become one of us. With the call of the fish eagle in the background, you do not want to go back once you see the sunset from Africa. We are good people here in the South of Africa, and you will see and experience how the MSM has lied to the world about South Africans.
      Google "Springbok Rugby 2024" just for fun and see what big boys we grow in Africa 💪🏻👍🏻.

  • @sandramoore895
    @sandramoore895 Рік тому +18

    This man is actually a direct ancestor of mine. Amazing!

    • @Hunt_or_Die
      @Hunt_or_Die Рік тому +2

      Your grandfather was in an expedition with mine, my grandfather was William Crawford. Small world 😅

    • @jamesstone9213
      @jamesstone9213 Рік тому

      ​@Huntin_Farmin_Livin mine too..
      😂

    • @sandramoore895
      @sandramoore895 Рік тому

      Small world indeed.😌

  • @Hunt_or_Die
    @Hunt_or_Die Рік тому +82

    God bless Lewis Wetzel, a true man. I get so tired of people apologizing for the actions of their forefathers.... I am proud and will never apologize once! William Crawford was my great grandfather friend of George Washington... strangely i look exactly like him.

    • @cannowuppass8214
      @cannowuppass8214 Рік тому

      He was a murderer.. He also got a lot of settlers killed because he couldn't stop killing the indians even when hostilities stopped. He was a racist POS.

    • @ProudhonKropotkin
      @ProudhonKropotkin Рік тому

      The majority of frontiersmen were all disgusting war criminals just trying to make a quick buck off land speculation or working for someone in politics trying to make a quick buck off land speculation. But, so was everyone else. No need to apologize, but sticking up for them is problematic at the end of the day.
      Jackson dug up dead Native Americans just so he could collect their scalps.
      The US soldiers cut the genitalia from the native women they massacred at SandCreek and wore the clitoris’ as hat ties. Lincoln was thrilled with the massacre.
      Texas went to war with Mexico because Mexico was ending slavery-Texas fought two wars to keep black slaves. Native Americans were enslaved by Americans all the way up to 1924-that’s when slavery really ended in the US.
      There’s a lot more bs, but these are the big ones.
      So, it is what it is. I’m not comfortable in deriding the actions these people did, but I’m also not comfortable in praising them

    • @markymark6088
      @markymark6088 Рік тому +4

      I read Allan Eckert’s account of Crawford’s death at the hands of hostile Indians. His torture was almost beyond belief.

    • @CT-uv8os
      @CT-uv8os 11 місяців тому

      Crawford and his men tortured Native children by throwing them up in the air and shooting them like clay pigeons. They waited till the men went hunting and then barricaded the Native women in the houses and burnt them down. Crawfords second in command was the same man who led the massacre of the Christian Delaware at Gneddenhutten.
      There are two sides to every story. I for one don't regret what the Aunties did to him. War criminals are war criminals and the Britishers always broke their agreements.
      No different from what is going in Gaza today.
      Remember that when you meet Jesus.
      Wyandotte Deer Nation Bear Clan, Mingo Nation Deer Clan.

    • @TerriMagoo
      @TerriMagoo 11 місяців тому

      @@markymark6088it was most horrible- I read
      That too - unbearable to think

  • @beaulamotte3862
    @beaulamotte3862 Рік тому +20

    Wetzel is one of the reasons you won't find anymore arrowheads in the ohio valley today. What you will find is his name carved into many a rock for many a mile. He was ruthless but impressive none the less. As much as I honor the warriors who were here first I have to honor those that allowed me this place so close to the river. From his cave to barkcamp and more. I only hope to raise my boys to be half as much of men.

  • @Lt.CurtissGhost
    @Lt.CurtissGhost Рік тому +32

    Great video... I have an ancestor named Wm. (Indian Billy) Galloway Ice who was kidnapped by natives as a child but got away when he was in his twenties to fight Indians. He served in every American conflict in his life time. A forgotten hero.

    • @kman7169
      @kman7169 Рік тому

      i call BS and if so he was just controlled opposition . lol - how could he have met all those timeline of conflict if not a controller so better just learn to be of the now , they have people content and living in the past and afraid to act for their future . Fk your uncl Buck

    • @shawndyer8140
      @shawndyer8140 10 місяців тому +2

      I hope he kept a diary. His life would make a good movie.

    • @blaise6981
      @blaise6981 Місяць тому

      That’s so sick. He returned to his real tribe

  • @Sandbarfight
    @Sandbarfight Рік тому +60

    Heck yeah!!! Another amazing history documentary we don't deserve. Thank you for all your hard work

    • @cecilysharrock678
      @cecilysharrock678 Рік тому +1

      Well worth watching and listening to.

    • @Sandbarfight
      @Sandbarfight Рік тому

      @@cecilysharrock678 amen

    • @RSKLove
      @RSKLove Рік тому

      Dumb history

    • @charliehay1520
      @charliehay1520 Рік тому +3

      You must check out Allan W Eckert his books are phenomenal on frontier history you will not be disappointed if you love this kind of history! Just Google his name! My too 3 favorite books of his are
      1) the frontiersmen
      2)a dark and bloody river..the history of the bloody Ohio River with exploits of Lewis Wetzel, Sam Brady, Simon Kenton, and Daniel Boone and more
      3)a sorrow in our hearts.. the tale of Tecumseh...
      He has written over 40 some books! I'm not kidding thus guy can write,once you start reading you cannot stop!

    • @bjellison905
      @bjellison905 Рік тому

      Its full of inaccuracies

  • @andreweden9405
    @andreweden9405 Рік тому +82

    Awww, SNAP! Harmar's Defeat actually took place here in Indiana, btw. The Indians called it the "Battle of the Pumpkin Field" because the scalped skulls of the Americans reminded them of a pumpkin patch. Their dead bodies still being warm, the bloody, exposed tops of their skulls were giving off steam in the chilly October air! I know, it's rather random and grim, but it's true!

    • @lizziesangi1602
      @lizziesangi1602 Рік тому +18

      Awesome story that most do not know! How many of these true stories remain today to be passed down as they should be. These stories of our history shouldn't be lost!!
      Thank you !

    • @fn7.628
      @fn7.628 Рік тому

      Well, let's just hope your miserable scalp steams the air sometime soon too !

    • @YouT00ber
      @YouT00ber Рік тому +3

      That’s a wild visual, certainly true to the times.

    • @kentneumann5209
      @kentneumann5209 Рік тому +2

      Is there a puke emoji?

    • @andreweden9405
      @andreweden9405 Рік тому

      @@kentneumann5209 🤮

  • @theaffiliate4208
    @theaffiliate4208 Рік тому +50

    As a descendent of some of the early settlers of central Western Virginia, learning stories of the exploits of remarkable persons of that time is not only exciting to hear but very informative to the life they lived.

    • @charliehay1520
      @charliehay1520 Рік тому +4

      I live in Lee county, VA not far from Martin's station. I love the history of the frontiersmen and longhunters. Have you heard of Allan W Eckert?
      If you love frontier history you will not be disappointed he has written over 40 some books my top 3 favorites are..
      1) the frontiersmen
      on Simon Kenton
      2) a dark and bloody river...the dark and bloody history of the Ohio River...with tales of Lewis Wetzel, Sam Brady, Simon Kenton, and Daniel Boone
      3) a sorrow in our hearts..Tecumsehs story..if you love frontier history you will not be disappointed!

    • @lizziesangi1602
      @lizziesangi1602 Рік тому

      Our "settlers" and their tribulations formed our Country and we weren't taught any of this in History. Going back to college, nothing of OUR Countrys' history as such wasn't offered. That's sad not only because it's our history but it is so intriguing!

    • @jm1979mx
      @jm1979mx Рік тому +1

      @@charliehay1520 , only thing is they killed native souls for our land. And celebrate it. You've come a long way since then though all colonialized, civilized and citizens of the corporation with religion created by man for control. not spirituality, that has been removed, forgotten and not taught in america.

    • @gib59er56
      @gib59er56 Рік тому

      Yeah! Some amazing man (and women) with an appetite for exploration, hunting and the way of the mountain man are almost beyond belief. How does a man live facing such extreme conditions and continue to become even better and stronger. Death is in the very plants, rivers and extreme weather, and a tiny cut on your foot or anywhere can become infected , killing you. We just wash our cuts and pop a band aid on it today and forget all about it. Natives bent on torturing you with fire and flaying you alive (the Blackfoot liked to put a white mans head in the fire, cut out the eyes and stand you up so you stagger until your boiling brain exploded. Your horse goes lame= death, you break a bone, set it right or you die. No game, you better know what you can eat. These are just the norm for the mountain man.

  • @wiseguysoutdoors2954
    @wiseguysoutdoors2954 Рік тому +22

    My 5th great uncle Col Richard "Shawtunte" Sparks was also a survivor of Crawford's defeat. He was a scout and cautioned Crawford to not press forward because there were signs of a much larger Delaware force than expected. Sparks had been taken captive from near Pittsburgh in 1760, at age 3, by the father of Tecumseh, Pukshinwah and adopted by him. He was repatriated after Pukshinwah's death at the battle of point pleasant in Lord Dunsmores war. He had lived as a Shawnee child and warrior. He knew everything about the Shawnee and neighboring tribes, including the Seneca, Wyandotte, miamis and Delaware. Crawford, like St Claire after, ignored his pleas. He was finally listened to by Gen Anthony Wayne and Wayne was victorious at Fallen Timbers!!

  • @davidrose415
    @davidrose415 Рік тому +23

    I'm a hunter, and basically live like a mountain man. Stories like this really fit my bill for entertainment. My father raised me to be spec ops, but the military wouldn't accept me because I had surgery on my knee in second grade to remove a bone cancer tumor. So I got the privilege to work as a civilian contractor with a contract security company. I lived a very wild life in the jungles of the central and South America hunting drug runners. So I have truly lived the life of an 18th century mountain man just a little different. I'm a master trapper from living that life. I miss it everyday. I still trap though. The stories of the colonial and wild west make my day. Thank you sir...

    • @Orangesjesus
      @Orangesjesus 9 місяців тому

      What does a plaintive turkey cry sound like?...I've only heard; "bok,bok,bok", or "gobble, gobble, gobble"?...peacocks, make a plaintive cry?(I would say?). Bush turkeys , are rangey little fellows, in oz (black, orange when babies), that were left for the old people, by the aboriginals..

    • @leslieyeich1837
      @leslieyeich1837 7 місяців тому

      You're full of shit

  • @conradnelson5283
    @conradnelson5283 4 місяці тому +1

    For a man whose name and fame will long survive, i’ve never heard of them until just now. Interesting story good video.

  • @reddiver7293
    @reddiver7293 Рік тому +3

    Rip roaring tales of adventure!
    Great prose with wonderful illustrations.
    A great video! Thank you so much for putting together and posting.

  • @rt3box6tx74
    @rt3box6tx74 Рік тому +23

    Congrats on airing #200. May there be many more as great as this.

  • @wesleyestill7653
    @wesleyestill7653 Рік тому +5

    Thank you for sharing this history. All we ever hear is about The Trail of Tears

  • @Joseph-dq5wb
    @Joseph-dq5wb Рік тому +5

    I was really blown away by this story I hate to admit I'd never heard about this brave man until today and I've lived in WV my entire life 44 years old and never heard his story that's sad.

  • @michelmoss7559
    @michelmoss7559 Рік тому +7

    Lewis Wetzel is one of my favorite historical figures, I read a book about him in the 1970s so there is literature about his life, however I have not found that book in decades. It was more of a dime novel but it did exist as long as my memory is not playing tricks on me! lol

  • @steveshoemaker6347
    @steveshoemaker6347 Рік тому +1

    EXCELLENT READING OF LEWIS WETZEL a very brave man.....Thanks so very much.......🇺🇸

  • @markheckman572
    @markheckman572 Рік тому +6

    Thanks for covering this subject. Capt. John Wetzel (Lewis's father )is my 6th great grandfather.

  • @jamesdeen3011
    @jamesdeen3011 Рік тому +8

    Unworthy History huh? I think not. This channel is like the channel FORGOTTEN HISTORY they also believe in telling history as it is without any misconcieved political agendas. Once you stated how the history channel does not cover history anymore you had me just as FORGOTTEN HISTORY did and I immediately subscribed. I intend to spend the day,sence its Sunday, to watch as many of your videos as possible. Great research, editing and production. Thank you for all of your hard work. Enjoyed.

  • @erichughes284
    @erichughes284 Рік тому +8

    That story was great I will never forget Lewis Wetzel

  • @bonnie5546
    @bonnie5546 Рік тому +7

    Thank you for your uploads...challenging and uplifting to the human/American spirit.

  • @GregoryChew0921
    @GregoryChew0921 3 місяці тому +1

    The stories are toned down, not exaggerated. My boy sweet Lew don’t mess around.

  • @j.sumner6999
    @j.sumner6999 Рік тому +28

    If I remember correctly, Zane Grey had Lewis Wetzel as one of the characters in "Spirit of the Border" as Lew Wetzel.

    • @bengunn3698
      @bengunn3698 Рік тому +4

      @j.summer With the indian Wingenund and Simon Girty as his main enemies . I got that book for christmas in the 1950's in England .

    • @leidersammlung6955
      @leidersammlung6955 Рік тому +9

      I have the first printing of that book.
      I read a copy of it when I was very young in the kootenai National forest. I was raised as Amish, and my parents would have burned that book had they found it!
      So I read it in secret while I was “hunting” after I had killed enough game to justify my time.
      Excellent book!

    • @TheMollyPitchers
      @TheMollyPitchers Рік тому +6

      It's actually a Trilogy: Betty Zane, The Spirit of the Border, The Last Trail.

    • @j.sumner6999
      @j.sumner6999 Рік тому +1

      @@TheMollyPitchers Thanks.

    • @rodneyadderton1077
      @rodneyadderton1077 Рік тому +1

      Yeah, that's right. I like Zane Grey. He was a great writer.

  • @TRHARTAmericanArtist
    @TRHARTAmericanArtist Рік тому +2

    So glad that I found this channel. I'm surprised that UA-cam hasn't cancelled it.

  • @drivenmad7676
    @drivenmad7676 Рік тому +222

    It's not natural to live the way we do today. I feel lost and without purpose. Though i'm a father and husband, i don't feel like a man.

    • @KillrMillr7
      @KillrMillr7 Рік тому +45

      You’re not alone brother

    • @chucknora4194
      @chucknora4194 Рік тому +17

      A different appealing way of life and adventure just by living, however if you did not have sand/SISU the frontier back then chewed up and spit out a lot who could not pass natures terms to live that lifestyle. I always hoped I would have what it took to “ride the river” with. For sure he who hesitate s dies in that world!

    • @boathousejoed1126
      @boathousejoed1126 Рік тому

      Killing others won't make you a man.

    • @michaelcline3123
      @michaelcline3123 Рік тому +12

      Well I'd say when we start moving out into space. ,,( if we don't blow ourselves up. ) It will take some real men and women to pull it off. Just like back then.

    • @jenniferlloyd9574
      @jenniferlloyd9574 Рік тому +56

      Plato enumerated the behaviors of people that surprised him most:
      “They get bored in childhood, and they hurry to grow up, but then they miss their childhood.
      They lose their health to earn money, but they pay money to regain their health.
      Worried about tomorrow they forget about today. In the end, they neither live today nor tomorrow.
      They live as if they’ll never die, but they die as if they never lived.”

  • @deadhorse1391
    @deadhorse1391 Рік тому +52

    I’ve been looking forward for your video on Lewis Wetzel, he was always a personal hero of mine, I grew up in WV and dated a Wetzel girl…she was a real firecracker!😃
    I had read that he almost was included in the Lewis and Clark expedition, with his hatred of all Indians can’t help to think that things may have turned out differently with him along.
    Easy to forget the depredations the Indians visited on the whites back then and how it led to such hate
    Supposedly Wetzel was a good fiddle player and liked children and dogs
    When he died his family buried him with his long rifle saying any gun that killed as many as it had would haunt any house that it would be kept it.
    200 video!…Don’t think I have missed one!

    • @unworthyhistory
      @unworthyhistory  Рік тому +4

      Thanks for watching! Wow, crazy that you dated a Wetzel girl!

    • @peghead
      @peghead Рік тому

      Wetzel would have been a huge liability to the Lewis and Clark expedition, his intense hatred for natives was probably obvious to everyone.

    • @leslieyeich1837
      @leslieyeich1837 7 місяців тому

      So your personal hero is an unmitigated, genocidal racist? Go you rofl

  • @TOMGATES100
    @TOMGATES100 Рік тому +7

    Really enjoyed this presentation. Well spoken, very informative. Again, very good narrative. Thank you.

  • @rogeramos5810
    @rogeramos5810 Рік тому +4

    Thank you for this interesting story of a Frontiers man until now i have never heard of.

  • @aaronmcconnell7358
    @aaronmcconnell7358 Рік тому +13

    There are a few markings in stone signed by Lewis wetzel across Ohio ,near mcconnellsville stating "enjoy the peace I have prepared for you" I have heard of others and I personally have seen one on a large stone near Buffalo creek marked L.W and was told it was made by wetzel but have no proof .
    I really enjoyed this and will be subscribing , if I could make a suggestion for another story would be that of Simon Girty 1741-1818 another legend of western virginia who's story is overlooked but we'll worth telling.

  • @mechcavandy986
    @mechcavandy986 Рік тому +12

    My 5x grandfather, William McWilliams, fought Indians at Fort Henry near Wheeling.

    • @jamesstone9213
      @jamesstone9213 Рік тому

      Mine too.

    • @michaelloose6961
      @michaelloose6961 Рік тому +1

      My family came to the new world in 1685 from Germany with the first settlement in western Pennsylvania , a religious community of people mostly by the name of Loose. I need to find out more about my ancestors.

  • @8626John
    @8626John Рік тому +80

    My wife calls me Death Wind sometimes, but for a different reason.

  • @WilliamJohnson-g6z
    @WilliamJohnson-g6z 4 місяці тому

    That was a great story. I never knew about this guy. I'm glad I learned about him.

  • @John-jp7hn
    @John-jp7hn Рік тому +3

    Wow, just came across this chanel. What an amazing story and told very well. Thank you for your hard work! Will definitely be watching your other videos.

  • @robertmann1194
    @robertmann1194 Рік тому +8

    Being from West Virginia believe me Wetzel County hasn't changed much since his day😉

  • @oldspiritart
    @oldspiritart 8 місяців тому +1

    I’m enjoying listening my way thru all your fantastic videos🥰

  • @arneservatius1982
    @arneservatius1982 Рік тому +1

    I deeply appreciate your exactness and detail! Your type today is an endangered species 🤗

  • @corneliuswowbagger
    @corneliuswowbagger Рік тому +16

    My immediate ancestors,the McColloch’s, knew Wetzel. Samuel was a several times great uncle. The “Death Wind” name was because he had a distinctive howling wail when he had a successful Indian hunt. Supposedly when not hunting Wetzel was a quiet, gentle man, who liked to play with or otherwise entertain the children at the various forts in the region. Just discovered your channel.
    So this is number 200, guess I have some listening to do!

    • @steammccracken2500
      @steammccracken2500 Рік тому +3

      Wasn’t it a McCulloch who made a famous leap with his horse?

    • @Johnnywalleye1
      @Johnnywalleye1 Рік тому +3

      @@steammccracken2500 yes He leaped from the top of wheeling hill down to wheeling creek , very close to Wetzel cave

    • @ricksilver7398
      @ricksilver7398 Рік тому +3

      McCollochs leap is in N. Wheeling. Another famous landmark. Wetzel cave was in E. Wheeling. I played as a kid in both places. Wheeling is not very big and I have been all over it either walking or on a bicycle as a kid. Had friends all over the place

    • @grigori7779
      @grigori7779 Рік тому +1

      I was told he would blow through his musket to make an eerie sound if he was outnumbered. It was a French influenced tribe that gave him that name vent de mort.

    • @myfairlady5050
      @myfairlady5050 5 місяців тому +1

      Yes, I believe maybe Samuel McCullough? I am a direct descendant of his brother. My family is from Marietta Ohio.

  • @fight4ourright306
    @fight4ourright306 Рік тому +4

    Incredible narrating skills sir. You got my sub.

  • @johndaugherty4127
    @johndaugherty4127 Рік тому +5

    Most valuable channel on youtube. The story reminds me of Jeremiah Johnson.

  • @CaptainAmerica-mo8hi
    @CaptainAmerica-mo8hi Рік тому +2

    utterly remarkable thanks for the great history story just subscribed thanks again- amazing

  • @edwinb4193
    @edwinb4193 11 місяців тому

    I lived two summers at the Lewis wetzel WMA in Jacksonburg WV working as an avian field technician. Never knew about the actual man until now. Thanks for info and sharing. God bless WV - miss that place

  • @michelmoss7559
    @michelmoss7559 Рік тому +3

    I was trying to remember Simon Kenton’s name, there was a man’s man! Captured 3 times by Indians and survived the Gauntlet all three times to become a tribe member only to escape back to Kentucky/Indiana Indian Hunting lands. Of course we can’t prove what happened or did not happen, but great tales!

  • @grannyfisher3863
    @grannyfisher3863 Рік тому +8

    Congratulations on your 200th episode! I believe I've listened to all your videos on this channel, and enjoy them very much.

  • @lambastepirate
    @lambastepirate Рік тому +5

    Great episode thanks

  • @wolfpack4694
    @wolfpack4694 Рік тому +12

    I’ve been reading some excellent stories by Zane Gray that feature Wetzel frequently. Quite a fellow.

  • @frankvierra2487
    @frankvierra2487 Рік тому +1

    Well done....thank you for these works....this is what all children should be learning....

  • @CoastGord
    @CoastGord Рік тому +1

    Love the story...Love the concept! Thank you.

  • @vernondodge1689
    @vernondodge1689 Рік тому +1

    Thanks Unworthy History!

  • @shellybadger7727
    @shellybadger7727 Рік тому +30

    Have you heard of Tom Quick, another hero during Indian raids of settlements? His is another fascinating story. I really appreciate your channel!

    • @charliehay1520
      @charliehay1520 Рік тому +3

      Have you heard of Allan Eckert? His books are phenomenal if you love frontier history you will love his books...just Google his name you won't be disappointed !

    • @daleslover2771
      @daleslover2771 Рік тому +2

      @charliehay1520 one of the most incredible reads you'll ever get your hands on....unbleaveble foot notes, Simon Kention was a legend.

    • @azhatssss
      @azhatssss Рік тому +1

      A hero? We claimed their land as our own, and eventually turned to genocide. This isn't what most would call heroic.

    • @TomBTerrific
      @TomBTerrific Рік тому

      Few could reload on the fly but those who could became legends. Just to name a few Daniel Boone, Simon Girty, Simon Keaton…

    • @TomBTerrific
      @TomBTerrific Рік тому

      @@daleslover2771Keaton

  • @jimd8008
    @jimd8008 Рік тому +2

    Thx again for your episodes

  • @markpalmer6760
    @markpalmer6760 Рік тому +4

    Excellent video enjoyed the story

  • @davehilty4800
    @davehilty4800 Місяць тому

    So my name is David Hilty, my mother's maiden name was wetzel and I do believe in our genealogy books I remember mention of a Lewis wetzel. He was mentioned by the specific nickname of death wind in that book. The more I look into my family's history the more I'm intrigued there's so many really cool things from this specific family line.

  • @SarahWRah
    @SarahWRah Рік тому +3

    Zane Grey's gripping novel SPIRIT OF THE BORDER (on UA-cam) describes the harsh life of the Ohio River Valley pioneers. It covers Lewis Wetzel and Zane Grey's ancestors, based on a journal written by Jonathan Zane. It's part of a trilogy that includes BETTY ZANE (info on UA-cam but I don't see the novel) and THE LAST TRAIL (novel on UA-cam).

  • @robertfleming387
    @robertfleming387 Рік тому

    Thank you for your untiring work....we need so much to hear this true history....Carry On...

  • @ianwebb2235
    @ianwebb2235 Рік тому +3

    That was fascinating! Thank you!

  • @michaelbillhymer8327
    @michaelbillhymer8327 Рік тому +2

    Cogratulations on 200 episodes!

  • @madgxsrx8436
    @madgxsrx8436 Рік тому +1

    Thank you for the History lesson .. Was a great listen too . Very interesting Man .

  • @jjandrews2190
    @jjandrews2190 Рік тому

    What an amazing Story. Thanks for the share.

  • @mitchwood6609
    @mitchwood6609 Рік тому +2

    Would love to meet this man in person.

  • @harrymurphey2634
    @harrymurphey2634 Рік тому +10

    ... Lew Wetzel was referenced to in Ride the River" several times ... by Louis L Amour ...it is a Sackett story .... a very good read ...

  • @donaldturcotte
    @donaldturcotte Рік тому +1

    Thank you. I love this story.

  • @godschildyes
    @godschildyes Рік тому +1

    Wow! He was FEARLESS! The vengeance over the death of loved ones is SO Powerful!

  • @mrpeabodythethird
    @mrpeabodythethird 11 місяців тому

    You got my subscription! Actual history... If it's deemed unworthy by the woke there must be some kind of truth in there.

  • @alowens1159
    @alowens1159 Рік тому +27

    I became enthralled with Lewis Wetzel by reading the frontier trilogy of Zane Grey that featured Lewis Wetzel and Jonathan Zane. They are "Betty Zane," "The Spirit of the Border," and "The Last Trail." They are excellent novels based on research and were well written as most of Grey's books were. I highly recommend them. I've read those books at least three times, and Wetzel is described in them much as this documentary described him. He is even called Death Wind in the books.

    • @sisleymichael
      @sisleymichael Рік тому +10

      I used to spend summers as a kid with my grandmother in the Texas Hill Country north of San Antonio. She had all the Zan Grey books. I read as many as I could. I grew up outdoors, very rural and roamed the outdoors hunting and fishing and trapping. I spent 28yrs in the Army seeking adventure. Now 65, I live on a small ranch in South Texas, in the brush country. We are getting lots of adventure these days with militant illegals trapsing across the ranch. About two months ago I captured 12 illegals and held them for 2 hours waiting on Border Patrol to haul them away. They were attempting to hotwire my old pickup. The weapon of choice today is the AR-15. I could use a man like Wetzel here.

    • @battalion151R
      @battalion151R Рік тому +2

      ​@@sisleymichael
      Just think, they are probably in a hotel in NYC right now, on our tax dime.

    • @kylewetzel1750
      @kylewetzel1750 Рік тому +4

      Lewis Wetzel is my great great great grandfather. Honestly, not just saying that.

    • @sisleymichael
      @sisleymichael Рік тому +1

      @@kylewetzel1750 Wow. Neat.

    • @kylewetzel1750
      @kylewetzel1750 Рік тому +1

      @@sisleymichael Yep, my family still lives in central Ohio to this day. Including myself. Unfortunately I do not speak to that side of the family. They are all uneducated, poor, drug addicts, severe alcoholics, criminals, wife beaters, adulterers, and severely lack the slightest bit of education including even a speck of historical knowledge. I on the other hand absolutely love history. Especially early American History including the war for Independence and native American events, Roman Empire history, British History, Medieval history, Greek Mythology and then I dabble in a myriad of other world history.
      To me history is the most important thing to know and understand. By understanding history you are not swept up by the media and misconceptions of the world. From the true history of slavery all the way to the realities of American independence. If you are not well educated in history you will simply agree to the common understanding of current events without seeing the hypocrisy of it. Or worse yet you will form a strong opinion of the main stream event without even understanding that your opinion you believe so much in is based off of a lie. You will lose friends and loved ones, cost yourself jobs and tear apart families all because you believe you understand what you're supporting but are in all reality entirely wrong, with no one being able to change your mind one way or the other.
      The way great men achieve great power is not by their wealth, their looks, their backgrounds, their formal execution or by their ability to lead, instead it's by their knowledge of history. With that skill set they will know what works and what doesn't. They will know what people want to hear and by knowing that they will know how to manipulate and control them. They will be excellent tacticians on the battlefield and know how to defeat their enemies. They will make nations fall and rise. History is truly the skill of the elite.

  • @imtruth69
    @imtruth69 Рік тому +1

    Great history lesson. Thank you

  • @courtneyking400
    @courtneyking400 Рік тому +1

    Hooked from the first lucky day I was fortunate enough to find this channel ❤😊

  • @janetpattersonskene6854
    @janetpattersonskene6854 Рік тому +1

    Wow. Just wow! Some of the best people ever

  • @rodwoods2108
    @rodwoods2108 Рік тому +2

    Must read Alans book. One in my library , I have not gotten too yet. Zane Grey produced a retty good book on Wetzel and Jonethan Zane. They arted company when Jonathan married tht eMiami Chiefs Daughter and settled near Zanesville. That may have been the episode where thye tracked down th efour Indiand and the woman thye kidnapped. One of the few times any captive party was ever caught by the pursuers. But those two were not your average pursuer. They were fast and fearless. I never realized that Alan Eckart said Wetzel went west to the Brazos in Texas. Eckart wrote a number of great accounts of the Ohio frontier people.

  • @Washoejim
    @Washoejim 11 місяців тому

    A really enjoyable story, I loved every too short minute of it.

  • @wmff15
    @wmff15 Рік тому +3

    Great work on this documentary glad I found this channel, you’ve earned yourself a new subscriber Keep up the good work

  • @HereIsMyStuff35
    @HereIsMyStuff35 Рік тому +4

    he was a true warrior and saved many settlers lives by warning them at night that there were war partys about

  • @grigori7779
    @grigori7779 Рік тому

    Thank you for doing this video and your devotion to true history. ❤

  • @2gpowell
    @2gpowell Рік тому

    Excellent, certainly stands out above all others!

  • @paulcass3180
    @paulcass3180 Рік тому +3

    He gets much coverage in a book by Allan Eckert titled "That Dark and Bloody River". Great read on the history of the Ohio River Valley.

    • @esthahyahgeh6533
      @esthahyahgeh6533 Рік тому

      Superb books!!!! "That dark and body river," " wilderness way", "gateway to empire" all of them. That author is one of my favorites

  • @notsomeanmark
    @notsomeanmark Рік тому

    My dog and i enjoy listening . Thanks

  • @outdoorlife5396
    @outdoorlife5396 Рік тому +3

    You know you hear so much about Daniel Boone, but I have noticed there are a lot of like this that are just as interesting. Like the courthouse tragedy, the Harp brothers etc.

  • @kennedy67951
    @kennedy67951 4 місяці тому

    Well told story. Very enjoyable.😊

  • @tonyholt90
    @tonyholt90 Рік тому +1

    Congratulations on your 200th
    Great Chanel always captivating 👍

  • @BrianJohnson-bb2vi
    @BrianJohnson-bb2vi Рік тому +1

    Outflippingstanding,again Thanks.

  • @sharonbosarge4866
    @sharonbosarge4866 Рік тому +2

    Amazing history lesson

  • @thegreenman7
    @thegreenman7 Рік тому

    Fantastic! Thanks for sharing!!!

  • @johnovanic9560
    @johnovanic9560 Рік тому +4

    Great video. It is said that history is written by the victor. But who is the Victor in this story? I suspect this is why little is written about the life of Lewis Wetzel and countless other men who roam around the Border Frontier. There is a short supply of true history so I thank you for bringing some of it to light.

  • @IIIElijah
    @IIIElijah Рік тому +1

    I love Truth.
    This channel is great.

  • @mjac8373
    @mjac8373 Рік тому +8

    Fifty years ago I lived on a farm in West Virgina which abutted to McCreary Cemetery where Louis Wetzel is buried. There were at the time wooden markers for buried slaves as well as other unmarked grave sites. Haven't been back for decades. Thanks for posting this interesting video, and excellent reading!!

    • @deenettles5369
      @deenettles5369 Рік тому +1

      Lewis Wetzel died in the Mississippi community in which I live. His body was exhumed in the 1940’s.

    • @Greg-l8r
      @Greg-l8r Рік тому

      Lew died out on the old muddy. It’s obscure where he is now. Too bad. He was a damn hero

  • @ericfarnsworth4430
    @ericfarnsworth4430 Рік тому

    Crazy I live next to fort Harmar in Marietta and was in wheeling yesterday. I even went to harmar school

  • @darrencorrigan8505
    @darrencorrigan8505 Рік тому

    Thanks, Unworthy History.

  • @longyx321
    @longyx321 Рік тому +1

    Was there a film made about him? Fantastic story.

  • @jgren4048
    @jgren4048 Рік тому +1

    Joseph A altsheler wrote about a version where a young man met wetzel, and their journeys. Also about the civil war in a most riveting manner.

  • @dougmcdougal8226
    @dougmcdougal8226 4 місяці тому

    Outstanding work

  • @nancytestani1470
    @nancytestani1470 8 місяців тому +1

    Is this where Last of the Mohicans movie. It was so good.

  • @KAA36777
    @KAA36777 4 місяці тому

    Great episode!!!!

  • @johnwager6704
    @johnwager6704 Рік тому

    Exceptional Content!! Thankyou.