More About Astorians 345 Robert McClellan This romantic character of the West was one of the seven Astorians who returned overland to St. Louis. He was the son of Robert McClellan and was born in Pennsylvania near Mercersburg, in 1770. Here he was schooled in all the arts of woodcraft and inured to the hardships of frontier life. His first employment was as "pack-horseman." McClellan was an expert shot, steady of hand, keen of eye, robust, enterprising, and absolutely fearless. He was of slight physique, but muscular, displaying strength, activity and firmness. His eyes were dark, deep-set and piercing. He was reckless and impetuous, with a temper that was sometimes ungovernable. McClellan was a great athlete and stories are related about his marvelous feats. On one occasion he beat a horse in a race on a stretch of ground between Mercersburg and Fort Loudon, which was afterwards known as the "race track." We are told that while he was at Fort Hamilton he would frequently leap over the tallest horse, without apparent exertion; that while walking in the town of Lexington, Kentucky, he came upon a yoke of large oxen obstructing the narrow sidewalk, and instead of walking around them he, with- out hesitating, jumped over them. When with the Army at Greenville, at a trial of feats of strength among the soldiers, he leaped over a wagon with a covered top, a height of eight and one-half feet. 13 In 1790 McClellan's restless disposition led him to seek adventure in the West. His personal prowess and daring nature suggested the Army, which he entered in the capacity of spy, or ranger, at Fort Gower, a stockade fort just above the mouth of the Hocking at the Ohio river. He served as a spy under General Wayne, and rendered valuable service in the Indian campaigns; re- maining in the Army until after General Wayne's treaty 13 McBride, James — Pioneer Biographical Sketches of Some of the Early Settlers of Butler County, Ohio. Cincinnati, 1871, vol. 2, pp. 1-98.
