Marmaduke: The Shawnee Language From Trapper

If given the chance to follow your curiosity, would you leave everything behind? The answer for a young Marmaduke Van Swearingen was yes. Born on January 2, 1753 in Fayette County Pennsylvania, the young man grew up on a thousand acre farm. His parents, John and Katherine Stoll Swearingen, had 14 children; Marmaduke was the fourth. The Swearingen children had a first hand account with the biased attitudes and expiernces possessed by the white settlers in North America, but Marmaduke seemed different. From a young age, he showed a remarkable affinity for the native way of life: their reverence of the land and dauntlessness. Therefore, Marmaduke trained himself to become a Shawnee, seeking lessons regarding the Shawnee language from trapper who lived among the Shawnee. Marmaduke continued to be fascinated with Shawnee culture that professed sympathy regarding the natives’s plight and a desire to live among them in his manhood. One fateful day in 1796, Marmauke and Charles (his older brother) were hunting in West Virginia when they encountered a Kispokotha hunting party of Ohio. Utilizing his knowledge of the language, he avoided an altercation. The party agreed to allow his brother to depart unharmed if he …show more content…
Finally, on October 10, 1774 Blue Jacket decided to shift gears form defense to offense in order to combat the feverish westward expansion of the white settlers. He would frequently squabble with various British officers and even Daniel Boone! In 1795 Blue Jacket was quoted, declaring, “From all quarters we receive speeches from the American, and no two are alike. We suppose they intend to deceive us …” As Blue Jacket’s contempt for the expansion grew, his people also became seemingly anxious. On November 4th, the battle of Saint Claire was fought It was at this savage battle that many were killed, including Charles Swearingen. Charles’ killer was Blue Jacker