feeble as he was, he had come there to see an act of justice
performed, but he thought the fire in which the records of corruption
were to be destroyed should come from heaven. The people watched him in
silence. He drew from his bosom with trembling hands a sun glass, and in
this way burned the papers. Then, says tradition, the white-haired old
man mounted his horse and rode away, and was never seen again.

GEORGE MATTHEWS AND JOHN CLARKE.

[Illustration: George Matthews and John Clarke 143]

In giving the history of the Yazoo Fraud, mention has been made of
General George Matthews, who was governor at the time, and who was
compelled to leave the State because he had been persuaded to sign the
bill. General Matthews was one of the most remarkable characters of his
time. Governor Gilmer has drawn a very interesting portrait of him.
It is not a pleasing picture in some respects, but it gives a very
interesting glimpse of a man who in his day was one of the strongest
characters in the State.

He was the son of an Irishman named John Matthews, who settled in
western Virginia in 1737. George Matthews began to fight the Indians at
an age when most boys are at school. In 1761 the Indians attacked and
murdered a family not far from his father's home. He heard the guns, and
thought that a shooting match was going on. With some companions of his
own age, he rode forward to join in the sport; but the youngsters saw
the dead bodies of their neighbors lying in the yard where they had been
left by the murderous savages, and at once turned their horses' heads
and fled. They were not a moment too soon; for the Indians, who had
been lying in ambush, rose and fired at the boys. Matthews had a narrow
escape; for a bullet cut off the wisp of hair (known as a queue) that
hung dangling from the back of his head. The danger that he had passed
through, and the sight of his murdered neighbors, roused young Matthews
to action. He collected a party of men, put himself at the head of them,
followed and overtook the savages, and killed nine of their number.

In the greatest battle that ever took place between the Virginians and
the Indians, Matthews commanded a company, and bore a very conspicuous
part. The battle took place at the junction of the Ohio River with the
Kanawha, on what was called Point Pleasant. The fight began at sunrise,
and was kept up all day, with no great success on either side. The
Indians held their ground, and refu