 During the settlement of the Ohio Country , two of Colonel Stacy 's sons were with a small group of pioneers attempting to establish a settlement on some good potential farmland known as Big Bottom , upriver from Marietta on the Muskingum River . Colonel Stacy ice skated 30 miles ( 48 km ) up the frozen river in late December 1790 and warned his sons about the danger of a possible Indian attack . His concerns were realized several days later on January 2 , 1791 with the occurrence of the Big Bottom massacre , and the beginning of the Northwest Indian War . Twelve people were killed in the attack , including Stacy 's son John . His son Philemon was taken captive and died later . 
