[1] They lacked a central government and, like all other Indians within the region at that time, were subject to the control of the Iroquois Confederacy (comprising the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk, and Tuscarora people) headquartered in Upstate New York.
The Mingo originally lived closer to the Atlantic Coast, but European settlement had pushed them into western Virginia and eastern Ohio.
After the conclusion of the war in a French defeat, settlement of the region by American colonists led to increased tensions between them and the Mingo.
Scouts returning to Fort Pitt reported that war was inevitable, and John Connolly sent word for settlers in outlying settlements to be on their guard for an attack.
Joshua Baker lived at the mouth of this creek and operated an inn or tavern of sorts, selling grog to both whites and Indians.
[7] This massacre, following a series of incidents, was the final break in relations between the white settlers and the Indians and is considered the immediate cause of Lord Dunmore's War of 1774.
According to Allan Eckert's "The Frontiersman," Jacob Greathouse was captured, tortured and killed by Indians in 1791 for participation in the Yellow Creek Massacre.