When thinking of historical figures, we tend to think of them in more modern terms. This is wrong. We can't say that someone like, say, Wyatt Earp was wrong to do some of the things that he did. Times were very different in the 1870s and 1880s as they are today. The old west towns like Dodge City, Kansas and Tombstone, Arizona were much more dangerous as most towns at the present time. Though, today many cities are just as dangerous, it was much more serious back then.

Frontiersman Lewis Wetzel, by today's terms could be considered a mass murderer. But you have to remember, back in the 1700s in America, there were no laws that read you couldn't kill Indians. Right or wrong, that was the facts. And there are also those today who claim that the early American soldiers and settlers murdered Indians for the hell of it. But let's not forget how murderous the Indians were.

The white man came here to start a better life and to settle on their own property. However, it really wasn't their property. It was the home of the American Indian. And the Indians were very willing, at first, to share the land with the white man. But the settlers kept wanting more and more and wars broke out over these infringements. Lewis Wetzel had several family members killed by Indians and that set in motion his hatred of them. He would fight the Indians for the rest of his life.

Wetzel managed to get so good at it that the Indians feared him. He was identified by his long black hair that he never cut. Many Indians would retreat from him when he was spotted. To them, Wetzel was like an evil demon that they couldn't kill. One of the acts that the Indians could not understand was that Wetzel's musket was always loaded. Back then the only guns were single shot muzzle loaders and to reload them took a minute or two for the best riflemen. But they only fired one shot and had to be reloaded. The Indians couldn't understand how Lewis Wetzel's rifle was always loaded and he could shoot several of them in a single fight.

Wetzel never stood still during his raids on the Indians. He moved around constantly. As he ran, he would load the black powder down the gun's barrel and instead of using the ramrod, he would tap the gun a few times on the ground which settled the powder into place. He kept three or four lead balls in his mouth and would press one into the barrel using his finger and then would put the finer powder into the trap at the hammer and fire again. The Indians never saw him doing the reloading and simply thought he had several rounds loaded. Of course, repeatedly keeping the lead balls in his mouth probably caused health and/or serious mental problems in later life, they did not know of these things at the time. Wetzel was also known for putting in lighter powder loads to save time reloading. The fact is, as long as the load was powerful enough to kill his victim, that was all that mattered. And since these fights were, in most cases, fought at closer range, the gunshots would do their work.

Wetzel also always took scalps. One, he took them as trophies and also to prove that he had killed the Indians. This also struck fear in the Indians.

Also, in the following story it is mentioned that Lewis Wetzel spent time in prison for counterfeiting. It should be noted that, besides the fact that Wetzel was "slow", he could not read or write and had no use for money. His entire life he traded and bartered for his needs. So it's very possible that he had no idea what he was doing and may not have even known it was illegal.

So, as you read about Lewis Wetzel, remember that times were different in those days. People were different as well. One might argue that even right and wrong were different. Just keep that in mind.