Indian Killer: Lewis Wetzel, the frontiersman and murderer whose rifle was always loaded.

Lewis “Death Wind” Wetzel was born into the Ohio Valley frontier in 1763. His own kidnapping and the murder of much of his family by Native Americans retaliating against American westward expansion will shape his life. By 15 years old he has killed Indians in conflict on the frontier. By 17 he is doing so as a scout for the local militia. He will turn from helping his community against their perceived enemy to actively hunting Native Americans as a serial killer. His skill and patience are incredible. He is famous for encounters where he faces multiple attackers at once and is able to escape by reloading his flintlock on the run, leading to the phrase “his gun is always loaded.” An ability that must find to be nearly impossible. He rescues captured settlers and tracks Native Americans who have stolen property or attacked the community. Also hunts and Indians in cold blood. Killing as many as 100 in his lifetime and never failing to take the victims’ scalp. Wetzel is a complicated figure. He is a terrorist to one side and largely respected by his own. If you were living as an American on the Frontier, would you admire or despise him? In the video I work through my thoughts on the idea.

Feel encouraged to like, share, and comment. Work and research on this episode as been thought provoking and support and chance for further discussion would be awesome.

Resrouces

1. Book- a life and times of Lewis Wetzel

2. Lewis Wetzel- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_W...

3. Lewis Wetzel, Dark Hero of the Ohio- https://www.varsitytutors.com/earlyam...

4. Natural Born Killers- Part I- Lewis Wetzel- https://frontierpartisans.com/7987/na...

5. Killing George Washington: The American West in Five Voices by Anne Jennings Paris https://books.google.com/books?id=1-I...

6. Stories of Ohio by William Dean Howells http://gutenberg.readingroo.ms/2/1/3/...

7. Adventure of Lewis Wetzel- From The Casket, 1837 https://archive.wvculture.org/history...

8. Lewis Wetzel: Warfare Tactics on the Frontier By George Carroll https://archive.wvculture.org/history...

9. The Crawford Expedition https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crawf...

• #entertainment
• #frontier
• #history
• #indian
• #indians
• #lewis_wetzel
• #native_american
• #ohio
• #shawnee
• #wetzel
• #frontiersmen
• #murder
• #scalp
• #scout
• #tomahawk